062 » that moment of experience / part i

[villagemod]

WHO: Everyone.
WHERE: Eastern/Central/Southern/Western Mathias
WHEN: Day 062
WHAT: A storm rains destruction upon the town.
WARNINGS: (PM this account to have a warning added!)
NOTES: Plotting post over here! Part II details are below.

RECOMMENDED ♫ Deadly Avenger "Creeper"

DAY 062
THAT MOMENT OF EXPERIENCE
“A story has no beginning or end: arbitrarily one
chooses that moment of experience from which to
look back or from which to look ahead.”
— Graham Greene
The day begins like any other might. The clouds occasionally part to give glimpses of the sun, offering a bit of hope that the hours might pass without incident. It is a hope that is soon dashed, however, for midday brings with it a suddenly darkening sky. Those near the beach will be able to see the ocean churning as all light seems to be bled from the day, the sky darkening into a purplish-black more quickly than is natural, the process taking a mere ten minutes from start to finish.

And then it begins.

The rain is so heavy and pouring so fast that the ground cannot take it all in, sending rivers down streets and leaving lawns as lakes. The winds blow in gusts so strong that they could knock someone over, and the lightning that arcs brightly through the sky is immediately followed by thunder that shakes the town to its core, the tremors almost reminiscent of the earthquakes that plagued the town only days ago.

For some, the storm will be another nuisance of mother nature, forcing them to remain wherever they were before its sudden approach. But for others, it will be far more than that, for this storm is seeking revenge on those who sought to destroy the town. Destruction will rain down and it will not stop until its vengeance is satisfied.




THE NEW ARRIVALS
The newest arrivals to Mathias will wake up on the beach near The Grey Gull. It's a bit chilly out with their wet clothes, but surely there's something to help warm them inside the restaurant. If nothing else, the cowboys' homemade moonshine should do the trick.

---

ABOUT THE STORM
The storm will begin at midday and last until late into the night, only calming in the early hours of the morning. The heavy rain will flood the streets, though it will not be enough to flood the buildings themselves (except as noted below), and the winds and thunder will shake the town with such strength that it will almost seem as if the town is trying to tear itself apart.

But this is not a simple storm. For those residents who took part in any way in the destruction of the Town Hall, History Museum, or Stoker Park house, they will find the storm will destroy their shelter in some fashion. This can include broken windows, caved-in roofs, flooding from the rain, or even lightning striking the building. The details are up to player choice but something will be damaged by the storm.

— All damage to buildings will be repaired by the dawn of the following day as if it never happened at all. There is no way to witness this process taking place.
— If a resident is sheltering in a shared living space with others who did not take part in the destruction of the town, you may choose to have only your character's section of that location damaged. However...
— The storm's focus will follow the resident if they move to another area or location, meaning that the new location will also suffer damage in some way.
— Only those who took part in the town destruction in some way will be targeted by the storm, but innocent bystanders can be caught up in the situation as well.

---

CONDITIONS UPDATE

— THE WEATHER conditions remain fairly typical for early fall: warm days and cool nights. It feels almost like spring arriving except that there fewer red and orange leaves on the ground and more of them oddly returning to the trees and slowly fading to green. It's like watching one of those nature documentaries that have a timelapse of the seasons, only it's going in reverse.

— THE FOG has retreated from some areas!

— Residents may now wander the southern stretch of the forest surrounding Mathias Township — it is possible to leave the paths but potentially unwise to do so.
— The fog has also retreated farther into the western section of town, now stretching across town between Stine Road and Shelley Drive. This has revealed the Chasm in the earth that stretches from one side of town to the other between Stine and Hill Lane.
— Access to the northern section of the forest is still blocked beginning a few dozen yards past the treeline; this section of fog will urge residents to stay huddled within the town proper by inducing a physical reaction of panic and fear.

— DISAPPEARANCES continue! Ellie has vanished while others have returned.

— ALCOHOL supplies have run dry, save for any dregs that have been squirreled away by individual residents. Moonshine can still be acquired by those in desperate need.

---

OOC NOTES

— NEW MAP Thanks so much to Scy for this amazing new map of Mathias!

— PROJECT HELP Your mod needs help with some projects!

— PART II The next part of the log series will be have characters divided up (by OOC choice, not IC) into groups, so be sure to sign up for one asap. Anyone who doesn't make the deadline will be automatically assigned to an available spot.

— UPDATES Don't forget to report updates as they come up! Changes to locations (like toppling a few bookshelves in the library), big plots you have coming up that will affect the game (parties, major property destruction, etc), or exciting discoveries that may tie into the game's mythology (even the things provided by the mod) are very helpful to have in one place so relevant page updates can be made. IC events are also helpful to know about in advance so they can be included in the log write-ups.

— MOD STATUS The usual reminder that it's just Amy steering this ship, so things will are going to be pretty slow for a while. Apologies in advance, and please don't feel shy about pestering me if you're stuck waiting for something. (All outstanding matters will be taken care of in the next few days!)

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Comments

[abrightboy]

"From people who could afford it," Malcolm reminds him. "You've never really hurt anyone. You're paying a steep penance for it."

[conning]

He shifts on the couch again, resting his hands against his thighs and scrubbing at his jeans with both palms. Damp, like everything else right now.

"It's not about the solve rate," he insists quietly. "It isn't. He said it in that memory. He doesn't want me to go back in. He wants to... to make sure I learn from this."

He glances down at his ankle. He's gotten used to it being bare.

And he has learned. He has, hasn't he? The choice to stay in New York, to give up the treasure, even to turn himself in before Keller made it unnecessary. He has learned. He wants a life. A real life. Though what Mozzie would think about him phrasing it that way, Neal doesn't want to know.

He braces his elbows on his knees and leans forward, rubbing his face again. "There has to be a reason. I have to... I must have done something."

An aggravated little noise. "I just wish I knew what."

[abrightboy]

"What if you didn't, though? What does he want you to learn from suffering?" Malcolm asks. "It seems to me," he adds, canting his head slightly, "that you've already learned everything that suffering has to teach you."

[conning]

Neal gives Malcolm an uncertain look. He'd been so sure, or let himself be sure, that he'd figured things out. That he knew why Peter had done it, that it was understandable and right, if disappointing.

"He... Maybe it was outside of his control. Maybe he was just making the best of a bad situation."

[abrightboy]

"Maybe," Malcolm allows him. "You know him better than I do," he reiterates. "I'm sure he at least thinks he's doing the right thing." He levels his gaze at Neal. "That doesn't make it the right thing, though."

[conning]

Neal shakes his head a little. Peter does the right thing. It's what he does, it's what he's always done. Nothing they've been through in the time Neal has known him says that Peter's choices haven't actually been the good ones.

Neal almost, almost turns it around. Turns the question on Malcolm. Just because Malcolm feels like he's making the right choice with Raylan, does that make it the truth? It has nothing to do with anything except as a way to escape this line of thought. He's ashamed of himself almost immediately for the impulse to use Raylan or Malcolm or their relationship that way.

"It doesn't really matter. None of us can do anything about it from here."

[abrightboy]

“I’m sorry,” Malcolm says sincerely. He often goes too far but he almost always realizes it at some point. “Nobody is just one story, either. I’m sure there are a lot of times when he’s been a great friend to you. I’m not… trying to tear him down. I’ve just seen you hurt already and I wish… I wish you were treated with the respect you deserve.”

[conning]

Neal smiles at him warmly. "Malcolm, you don't have to be sorry. You didn't do anything wrong." With a little irony, he adds, "I evaded, you saw it, you stopped pushing. There's nothing to apologize for."

He shifts, raising his legs onto the couch. He wraps both arms around Malcolm to pull him close, until they're basically lying together, Malcolm on top of Neal.

Neal trails his fingertips down Malcolm's sleeve, staring up at a wet spot on the ceiling, trying to track whether or not it's spreading as he watches. For a little while he's quiet. Bizarrely content in the middle of the chaos, in spite of the roaring of thunder and wind and the water damage.

"After I moved back here," he says, and stops. "After I moved back here, I thought about it. How things could have been if I stayed here after I kissed you."

[abrightboy]

Malcolm settles against him, making sure he can see out the front window, just in case Raylan runs past to 1308.

He smiles faintly at that. The kiss that was a mistake.

“What conclusions have you drawn?” he asks.

[conning]

"I should have taken my shot while I had it."

Soft, teasing, totally sincere.

[abrightboy]

That draws an almost surprised and definitely self-deprecating laugh from Malcolm.

“You know, my mother used to tell me that I had to work on getting better or I’d be a burden on anyone I ended up with. If only she could see me now, with men banging down my door,” he teases back, just as gently. He presses a kiss to Neal’s temple. “I was already pretty infatuated with Raylan back then… though I was also convinced he’d never be interested in me. Maybe we had a window there,” he admits.

[conning]

Neal huffs out a laugh himself. "No offense, but your mom needs to work on her communication skills. And how good she is at evaluating people."

He smiles a little, closing his eyes when Malcolm kisses him. "If you cannot hold me in your arms, then hold my memory in high regard. And if I cannot be in your life, then at least let me live in your heart."

He casts a little sideways glance at Malcolm, raising his eyebrows. "Of course, it doesn't really apply when we're lying on a couch together, very much in each others' lives, but the sentiment is there."

[abrightboy]

“You’re… not going to leave, are you?”

He’s suddenly concerned this is some sort of round-about way of saying good-bye.

[conning]

“I’m not going anywhere, I promise. Not again.” He settles his arms around Malcolm, giving him a reassuring little squeeze.

“I’m not leaving you. You’re my best friend, you idiot.”

[abrightboy]

That draws a much more relaxed smile out of Malcolm and he relaxes tangibly in Neal’s arms, fidgeting idly at the hem of his sleeve.

“If Raylan’s too much later, I’m going to have to hope he’s okay and go back upstairs. I told Doc I’d come back. I’m still worried about him.”

[conning]

“I’ll stay down here for a while. Until I fall asleep, anyway.”

He’s silent for a moment, enjoying Malcolm’s closeness. “They’re our cowboys. It’s not good to know they can need us as much as we need them… but it’s good that we’re here when they do.”

[abrightboy]

“They always need us,” Malcolm tells him. “They’re just not allowed to admit it. Something to do with Secret Cowboy Rules,” he explains, grinning into Neal’s shoulder.

[conning]

"The first rule of masculine feelings is that you don't talk about feelings," Neal says dryly.

He gives Malcolm a little squeeze. "Of course, the two of us just say 'I'm fine' until no one believes it any more."

[abrightboy]

Malcolm laughs. "It's okay if nobody believes it," he says breezily. "It's always a lie."

[conning]

"I don't say it much any more," Neal says, one part observation and one part... confession? "Not here, anyway."

There's no point, for one thing. For another... it's not as dangerous, admitting that there's something going on.

[abrightboy]

“I hope they’ll start to feel that way,” Malcolm says. “If this is a safe place for them to express themselves, maybe we can condition them out of suppressing everything.”

[conning]

He traces an aimless little pattern up and down Malcolm's arm with his fingertips, staring at the ceiling in silence for a little while.

"What do you think it's going to be like? Trying to go back to the normal world after all of this."

[abrightboy]

“Harder for some than others. Harder for me for different reasons.” He looks at Neal. “We’ll never see most of these people again. I’ll miss a lot of them.”

[conning]

Neal nods, making a soft noise of agreement. "Me too."

God, it's strange to think a month and a half ago he didn't know anyone in this town. "I'm... still thinking about it. About going with you, if you don't end up going with Raylan."

He feels guilty admitting as much.

[abrightboy]

"Or if I do?" he puts out there. "Just a thought."