villagemod: (sᴛᴏɴᴇ)
The Village Mod ([personal profile] villagemod) wrote in [community profile] villagelogs2021-06-05 08:09 pm

063-064 » no matter how much / part ii (group A)

WHO: Group A members only.
WHERE: Mathias Township proper
WHEN: Days 063-064
WHAT: Matthias becomes a little larger and a little smaller at the same time.
WARNINGS: (PM this account to have a warning added!)
NOTES: Plotting post over here!

RECOMMENDED ♫ DEADLY AVENGER "Raiju"





DAY 063-064
NO MATTER HOW MUCH

“No matter how much suffering you went through,
you never wanted to let go of those memories.”
— Haruki Murakami

At first, in the calm following the storm, nothing seems amiss. When the residents awake, it is to another glorious morning dawning in the unsettling paradise that is Mathias Township. Indeed, it does seem rather glorious that morning, for there is sunshine in a blue sky that has been cleared of any remnant of the angry storm clouds from the day before. But before long, residents will start to notice signs of something being not quite right.

It should be a familiar sensation to most by now.

It begins as just a feeling, a strange hint of something in the air, a nagging voice at the back of the mind. They can't quite put their finger on it but there is something. Something wrong, something that shouldn't be — which is quite a statement in a town where everything shouldn't be. But then the pieces will begin to come together.

A person has gone who ought to be there. This in itself is not a strange occurrence, for many have vanished and then returned, or not. This time, though, it is one person, and then two and three... A dozen people or more have gone, with no trace of their whereabouts to be found.

No resident is alone, thankfully. There are others who also remain: friends, acquaintances, strangers. Others who are just as trapped in this nightmarish place.

As the hours stretch on and residents begin to venture beyond their self-claimed shelters and move about the town, they will find that their fellow captives are not the only things that have vanished. The Chasm is gone as well, the crack in the earth that once stretched across and cut off the western part of town. There is not even the smallest mark to show where it had once been; it has gone so completely that some might wonder if they had merely imagined it.






ABOUT THE NEW LOCATIONS

POPPY COTTAGE This bed and breakfast has a sense of casual elegance with the elusive quality of being both sophisticated and comfortable at the same time. Aside from being covered in dust and grime, of course.

PENHEW HOUSE Perhaps familiar to some in Mathias, this grand house is different from any of the others the residents have entered. It looks... new. Fresh. Clean. The usual thick layers of dust and grime that would be caked onto every visible surface are nowhere in sight; this absence may be a relief for some and unsettling to others. There are certainly other unsettling things to be found in this location.

THE OLD CHURCH Barely more than ruins, the property is marked by a crumbled stone outline that has no roof and only partial walls, nothing left inside besides a broken cobblestone floor.

BANEBERRY HALL From the outside, Baneberry Hall seems like your average rich person's house, but one would be mistaken to assume anything of the sort. Even the baneberries that cover the back lawn leading to the forest treeline are deceptive, for they appear harmless but are fatal to any human foolish enough to eat them.

The building is decaying from within. The rooms have begun to rot, from the parlors and libraries still done up in grand and expensive style to the bedrooms that have locks on the doors and bars on the windows. There are restraints in some of those bedrooms, while others are bereft of sharp objects. In the hall closets, there are identical sets of white pajamas of all sizes, and the offices have locked cabinets (that may be picked) full of a rainbow of sedatives (that will not replenish). The names on doors and in logbook lists are all smudged beyond legibility, and all paperwork has been water-damaged and weathered, leaving no indication of who may have been kept in those bedrooms or why. But within each room, there is an item that may be familiar to one of the residents now wandering its halls. As caked in dust and grime as anything else, each item is placed as if it belongs there, as if it might have been there for years. But it couldn't have been... could it?



ABOUT THE ITEMS FROM HOME

Within the unsettling walls of Baneberry Hall, residents may find OBJECTS that are uncomfortably familiar to them. Each item has one singular memory attached to it that, when touched in any way, will be experienced first hand, as if the person receiving it had lived it themselves. This person will endure all of the associated emotions and psychological reactions to the memory that the memory's owner experienced.

— Items may only be found within Baneberry Hall. These items from home are not all in one room or a specific location but instead are scattered throughout the bedrooms. (Only the items on this list are available to this group.)

— Ownership and possession of the item are important elements to this event. While the item is in possession of someone who is not its owner, it will continue to infect all who touch it with the memory that belonged to its owner. The item will also, before long, begin to make the possessor ill, both physically and emotionally uncomfortable and upset. This only occurs until the item is reunited with its owner, or until it is no longer in someone else's possession. (For example, if Person A finds Person B's teddy bear and carries it with them, they will continue to experience the bear's associated memory until they no longer have it in their possession, whether this means they have left it somewhere or it has been returned to Person B.)

— Recipients of memories will retain those memories even after the event has ended.

— When the owner of an item finds their item or has it returned to them, they will also experience the memory once themselves, having it returned to them as if they had just lived those moments again. The memory is only replayed once in their minds and then the memory effect of the object is gone. After this point, the item can be held by the owner or any others without consequence.

— If a person removes an item from its room in Baneberry Hall but does not remove the item from the property entirely, the item will be mysteriously returned to its original location when no one is looking. This is so that people do not have to keep close track of where items are going in the possible changing of hands, so the original owners can still easily locate the item without having to plan in great detail. Once an item is removed from the property, it will not return to its original location even if it is discarded by the possessor before reaching its original owner. Instances such as this should be planned among all involved parties, including the owner of the item.

— Once an item is removed from the property, please comment below so that information may be updated. Items that are not removed by the end of the event may reappear at a later time, so accurate records are essential.

— Before an item's memory is viewed by someone other than the owner, permission must be granted or requested for that memory to be viewed by another character. Because the experience is an uncomfortable one for the other characters, the viewing of memories not their own should ideally be kept to a small number.








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 new boundaries.
— 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 from the western section of town entirely.
— 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 AND DEATHS continue! Yennefer, Number Five, and Tony Stark have vanished and Ellie is still missing, though this may be difficult to tell with half the town also seemingly having vanished. Will Graham's body may be found within the ruins of the Old Church; he appears to have been frightened to death. (If someone decides to take care of the body, please report it below. For in-game reasons, this does not need to be coordinated across groups.)

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 yet another amazing new map of Mathias!

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 For those who don't know, I run a summer program that is set to start in just 2 weeks. We've only recently been given the green light to go ahead in person, so it's a scramble to get everything pulled together in time. My non-RP life is going to be busy and chaotic for the next while and I am thus asking for your forgiveness and understanding as things continue to be slow, as I cannot guarantee timely mod responses beyond weekends, and even that is not guaranteed.

NEXT LOG Because of the aforementioned real-life chaos, the next log will be more relaxed and free form with everyone coming back together again and having a few chill days. It would be very much appreciated if some of the more intense investigations could be saved to take place in future logs, as the new locations that are opening up in this log will remain open in the next few at least and there will be plenty of time to explore all their mysteries.

ITEMS FROM HOME The items from home remaining in Baneberry Hall will not be available past this log, at least not in this form, so if you would like to play with these elements, you should not sleep on this opportunity. More things may show up in the future but, for now, this is the main event.

DW NOTIFS Back at the beginning of the year, the issue of missing email notifs was discussed in a code push plurk by Mark of the DW admin team. For those who missed it, the gist is that the issue with missing notifs is not going to be fixed anytime soon. The issue is so sporadic that the dev team has concluded the only way to possibly fix it is to redo the notification system entirely. This issue does not extend to DW's internal inbox, so short of checking every thread you're involved in, the DW inbox is the best way to make sure you're not missing things.

ACTIVITY CHECK Beginning with June's AC (posted at the start of July), all tags that consist of only dialogue will count as 0.5 comments, not just those that occur in an inbox thread. This applies to both AC and AP totals.



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conning: (screencaptures_072)

[personal profile] conning 2021-06-14 08:17 pm (UTC)(link)
"If you tried, I might attempt to take advantage of the fact that you're hurt after all," Neal says bluntly. He closes his eyes, trying not to let himself tilt sideways into those lives in his head that don't belong to him. "You wouldn't be doing yourself any favors either way."
tinstar: (Unimpressed)

[personal profile] tinstar 2021-06-14 08:18 pm (UTC)(link)
That got him to lift his eyebrows, head nodding a little. Tact, again - not something she had. It was harder for him to put his down.

"That so? Guess it's only fair I admit to seein' yours. You were a cute kid. Did it bore you? Put you to sleep from boredom?" He even mimed out sleep.
walkingtrigger: (pic#14813474)

[personal profile] walkingtrigger 2021-06-14 08:27 pm (UTC)(link)
[ He was opening his mouth to correct her, when she corrected herself. Head on the pillow he nodded up and down. ]

Precisely. [ He gave a thumbs up to indicate she was right. ] Raylan would not like it.
abrightboy: (regretful)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2021-06-14 08:29 pm (UTC)(link)
Malcolm had only been suggesting that his trauma was different from Tim's - something that Tim had felt important to point out earlier - and not that it was worse or more, but he was absorbed in his search and missed the clue to that thought on Tim's face. He caught that last bit of wording, though, and turned to look at him.

"Not going to bring it by yourself?" he questioned curiously.
myfavoritemurder: (is this what it's like to be Solid Snake)

[personal profile] myfavoritemurder 2021-06-14 08:30 pm (UTC)(link)
But you would like it.

[The implication of her tone being: who cares what Raylan thinks?]
myfavoritemurder: (hey‚ I shot myself in the knee too)

[personal profile] myfavoritemurder 2021-06-14 08:32 pm (UTC)(link)
Hold up, hold up. She'll ignore that second question for now, zeroing in on what she understands of the first bit instead.

"You saw mine? It was Xena, and the fire?"

She doesn't sound angry - just interested.
walkingtrigger: (pic#14813475)

[personal profile] walkingtrigger 2021-06-14 08:34 pm (UTC)(link)
"Well. Good thing I'm not tryin'." Tim assured the other man. "Given the nature of this place, I wouldn't expect anything we randomly stumble upon to come without strings."
conning: (screencaptures_304)

[personal profile] conning 2021-06-14 08:36 pm (UTC)(link)
Neal sits silently for a moment. "Find anything of your own?"
walkingtrigger: (pic#14791794)

[personal profile] walkingtrigger 2021-06-14 08:37 pm (UTC)(link)
Like? No. [ He didn't have a death wish, at least no more or less than any U.S. Marshal. ] Would it be a practical solution... [ Wait. How the hell could he sign the meaning of the word practical. Tim lay there for a few silent minutes, before he gave up and shook his head in an emphatic negative. ]

No. I would not like it.
walkingtrigger: (pic#14791796)

[personal profile] walkingtrigger 2021-06-14 08:38 pm (UTC)(link)
"Nope," Tim confirmed. "But then I can't say I've been looking, either. "Wouldn't mind if mine came in the form of a book." He mused in a pensive tone.
myfavoritemurder: (is this what it's like to be Solid Snake)

[personal profile] myfavoritemurder 2021-06-14 08:40 pm (UTC)(link)
[Hmmmm. She's not sure she's buying that.]

You care too much about what Raylan thinks.

[She says in Greek - tapping her heart to indicate caring, and her head to indicate thinking.]

You care too much about what Raylan thinks on you - you understand?
walkingtrigger: (pic#14791796)

[personal profile] walkingtrigger 2021-06-14 08:40 pm (UTC)(link)
"There a problem with me sending them over with Raylan?" It just seemed the most practical solution.
abrightboy: (consider this)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2021-06-14 08:43 pm (UTC)(link)
"I didn't know he was drugging me," Malcolm explains. "I only just remembered a fragment of that. I still don't remember most of that time. When I called the police, I didn't realize that any time had passed between finding her and calling them. When they came and she wasn't in the box... I didn't understand it. And I was ten. They thought I saw his drawings and his... photos and imagined her like some sort of nightmare." He took a deep breath. "And I have had nightmares about her. So many."
abrightboy: (you what?)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2021-06-14 08:44 pm (UTC)(link)
"The same two supper table problem I tried to talk to you about before," Malcolm informed him. "But you don't seem to think it's a problem," he pointed out.
walkingtrigger: (pic#14791799)

[personal profile] walkingtrigger 2021-06-14 08:47 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Goddamn it. Now he had to sit up.

Slowly and painfully Tim pushed himself upright, but he stayed seated on the bed. He was in a better position to gesture with his hands. ]


It's not like that. [ He began, signing out the negative and pointing towards her heart. ]

I care [ he repeated her motion of the tap to the heart ] about Raylan's emotional and mental [ Okay how to do 'health'? Tim takes a moment and then mimes out coughing. ] health.

I don't want to add [ he made stacking gestures with his hands ] to his worries ... uh to his burdens. [ Burden was mimed out with a hunched shoulder, acting like the weight of the world rested there. ]
walkingtrigger: (pic#14791799)

[personal profile] walkingtrigger 2021-06-14 08:48 pm (UTC)(link)
"Mostly because I have no idea what you're talking about," Tim responded but there was no heat in his tone, just confusion and a certain level of resignation. "I'll leave em in the mailbox if you'd rather."
myfavoritemurder: (I know what you're thinking)

[personal profile] myfavoritemurder 2021-06-14 08:50 pm (UTC)(link)
Because you're his friend. You care for him. You--

[She taps her chest again.]

-- him. What is this word? How do I say it?
tinstar: (Eyebrows)

[personal profile] tinstar 2021-06-14 08:52 pm (UTC)(link)
Steady hazel eyes held hers. There was a note of sorrow, a note of steely resolve that likely looked out of place without the context.

"Yes." And it was terrible. Raylan felt a lot of things about it, all moot and pointless - there was no going back and changing it, saving those people, sparing her what had been put upon her.. But neither was weeping and moaning over what could have been.

"You live a hard life."
abrightboy: (sounds weird)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2021-06-14 08:55 pm (UTC)(link)
Malcolm slammed the last drawer and looked at him with exasperation. "I'd rather you knock on my door and hand them to me like I'm your neighbour and not a stranger that lives next door," he spelled out. "It's like you don't even want to be part of the family here. Do you even understand why I thought you were a sociopath right after we met or is that a mystery to you? Do you just chalk it up to me being mean or rude or something? Because maybe I am any of those things, but your behaviour was a factor." He held a finger up. "For the sake of clarity, I would like to disclose that I don't think you're a sociopath anymore. In case that's a question you have but won't ask."
walkingtrigger: (pic#14791794)

[personal profile] walkingtrigger 2021-06-14 08:55 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Uh.

This was taking an uncomfortable turn towards truths that hadn't even taken half a breath outside the private confines of a bedroom. Tim couldn't help tensing a little, an act that set off all his aches and contusions into a symphony of agony, unable to keep the pinched pallor off his features.

Still he was quick with a quip, even as he was grabbing at the bed hard enough to rip at the sheets while he huffed through the physical pain. ]


Don't want to Death him? That's a fair statement.
abrightboy: (consider this)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2021-06-14 08:57 pm (UTC)(link)
"That's normal," Malcolm tells him. "Do it again. You can do it."
tinstar: (Real Smile)

[personal profile] tinstar 2021-06-14 08:57 pm (UTC)(link)
"Miss Kitty," he echoed, face curling into open amusement. Somehow he doubted it. "We in a Toby Keith song? Suppose it's ironic that I'm a US Marshal, even if my name ain't Dillion."
walkingtrigger: (pic#14813476)

[personal profile] walkingtrigger 2021-06-14 09:00 pm (UTC)(link)
"Malcolm for the love of ..." Tim began and without thinking he twisted at the waist to wheel back around into the room.

At least he got as far as twisted at the waist before pain strong enough to cause his vision to go black at the edges, and toss the contents of his stomach up to his throat hit with a vengeance. Breath was stolen from his lungs and Tim didn't even try to stay upright, letting himself drop to his hands and knees with the instinctive desire to curl in a ball and protect his vulnerable mid-section.

About the only saving grace to the whole situation was the fact that he managed to swallow down the bile, rather than pitching it all over the floor.
tinstar: (Eyeballin)

[personal profile] tinstar 2021-06-14 09:04 pm (UTC)(link)
Raylan let out a rough sigh and gestured towards that side of town as he turned, resigned and irritated.

"Guess we better, in case she decides to block it off again... You think it had anything to do with my tryin' to cross it? Maybe I just annoyed her to the point of lettin' us over."
abrightboy: (consider this)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2021-06-14 09:07 pm (UTC)(link)
"I think... nobody makes her do anything."

Malcolm caught his hand for a moment. Gave it a small squeeze before letting it go.

"They've opened the borders before. And closed them again. The path to the lighthouse comes and goes."