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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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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. ]
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?
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.
myfavoritemurder: (we're not monsters)

[personal profile] myfavoritemurder 2021-06-14 09:24 pm (UTC)(link)
[It's such a strange reaction that it momentarily distracts her from her own upset, at least in part. Obviously he's loathe to openly admit that he cares about Raylan; that much is clear. But why? It's not like it's a secret that they're close - they're always together.]

You think I make death on him, to-- to fight you.

[To hurt you, she means; fight is just the closest word she knows right now.]

Yes? You're afraid of me, and it's good you're afraid of me. Are you afraid of I that know? I know now.

[She figures that her grammar is wonky, but hopes that her meaning is clear regardless: if he's trying to keep her from finding out that Raylan matters to him, he shouldn't bother, because she already knows. The damage is already done.]
walkingtrigger: (pic#14791796)

[personal profile] walkingtrigger 2021-06-14 09:44 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Don't over play it, don't over play it, don't over play it. The refrain echoed through Tim's head, flashing him back to Lexington and how hard he'd always worked to keep his interests away from the office. The delicate balance of between deflection and 'he doth protest too much'. ]

We are soldiers in arms. [ Tim knew she understood the word soldier, figured she understood the way the man fighting beside you became like a brother. ]
myfavoritemurder: (we can either call 911)

[personal profile] myfavoritemurder 2021-06-14 09:49 pm (UTC)(link)
Yes. And how do you say--

[She gives her chest another tap, insistent.]
walkingtrigger: (pic#14813474)

[personal profile] walkingtrigger 2021-06-14 10:05 pm (UTC)(link)
We're friends. We care about each other's well being. [ Callisto was absolutely right in what she was trying to infer. But a lifetime spent in the military under DADT, and then keeping his sexuality hidden while working as a marshal in the heart of Kentucky?

Tim's default setting was obfuscate, obfuscate, obfuscate until forced to flat out deny. ]
myfavoritemurder: (we begin bombing in five minutes)

[personal profile] myfavoritemurder 2021-06-14 10:26 pm (UTC)(link)
Friends? Care? Well-being? What. Is the word. For this.

[She pokes herself in the chest yet again, a hard enough jab that it hurts. She's trying to make a point here, Tim; gosh. Help her out a little.]
walkingtrigger: (pic#14791796)

[personal profile] walkingtrigger 2021-06-16 01:21 pm (UTC)(link)
[ The word was love. The word was love and he struggled with wanting to give it to her and trying to protect Raylan. He knew it would be a risk to give her this leverage over him, but maybe blame the fact that he was feeling poorly.

There was a way to do this that should still shield the soft squishy Cadbury creme egg center of his partner. The physical risk, that she might try to kill Raylan to hurt Tim? Well. Raylan was a big boy. ]


Love. Callisto. The word is love. It's what you felt for your family.
Edited 2021-06-16 13:22 (UTC)
myfavoritemurder: (just choose a bed in Hotel Sadness)

[personal profile] myfavoritemurder 2021-06-16 02:16 pm (UTC)(link)
[The shape of the word itself, technically, means nothing to her - he could have told her that the word was potato and she wouldn't have known the difference. But all the same, hearing it makes fresh tears spring to her eyes, and a lump forms in her throat that's so big that she can't speak around it at first.]

You have burdens.

[She says, her voice thick.]

I have no love; I have no burdens. I care for nobody living, and it's the most terrible kind of freedom that there is.

[She doesn't bother to use hand signals to try to translate that last bit for him. Even just saying it out loud in Greek exhausts her right now.]
walkingtrigger: (pic#14813473)

[personal profile] walkingtrigger 2021-06-17 01:48 pm (UTC)(link)
"More than you know." He agreed with a nod. "But some are worth their price."

[ He doesn't add hand gestures because these words haven't seen the light of day before and he actually does respect the risk she poses with too much information. Though his gut is telling him that perhaps she is as wrung out and distracted at the moment as he feels. ]

Want me to go? [ This time he asks, rather than simply heads for the door. It's a small drop of water in a large, turbulent ocean but it's all he can offer. This chance for her to make the choice, rather than have someone else Xena
myfavoritemurder: (yes‚ YES‚ the tiger is out)

[personal profile] myfavoritemurder 2021-06-17 05:32 pm (UTC)(link)
No.

[She snaps, managing to make the answer sound as hostile and caustic as it would have if it had been a yes. She wants you to stay, Tim, but don't expect her to be nice about it.]
walkingtrigger: (pic#14876719)

[personal profile] walkingtrigger 2021-06-17 06:41 pm (UTC)(link)
Okay. [ He said, agreeable enough. Tim slowly began to stretch back out on the dusty bed. ] Could do with a little more time off my feet.

[ The last bit was mostly to himself. He figured if she still wanted to talk, she would let him know. If she just needed him there as a way to keep it together, well he could do that from flat on his back. ]
myfavoritemurder: (you have very distinct scream lines)

[personal profile] myfavoritemurder 2021-06-17 08:44 pm (UTC)(link)
[Callisto is, for the most part, quiet. Every so often she shifts around on the floor, relieving some limb or another that she's been putting too much pressure on, and the occasional whimper or sigh escapes her - but for the most part she just lies there, staring up at the ceiling.]

I saw yours.

[She says at one point, completely out of the blue.]
walkingtrigger: (pic#14791796)

[personal profile] walkingtrigger 2021-06-17 09:25 pm (UTC)(link)
[ He was quiet as well. Dozing slightly, though it was a soldier's doze. One he could wake from in less than a blink of the eye. When she spoke he came awake, but lay there for a few breaths processing what she said.

It at least answered one question. There was something of his floating around in this place. ]


I doubt that was pleasant.

[ Seemed a safe, neutral response. Though inwardly he felt a knot in his stomach. There were a lot of things a memory from him could entail and there were certain, private encounters no one else needed to be experiencing. ]
myfavoritemurder: (I like to feel the air on my face)

[personal profile] myfavoritemurder 2021-06-17 09:55 pm (UTC)(link)
It was...

[She hesitates, and when she speaks again, she sounds uncertain.]

A gun?

[Doc had told her about guns, and had acted one out for her - imitating the cock of the hammer, and the bang that came after. She hadn't really understood then, and she doesn't understand that much more now, but the device that Tim had held in the memory had certainly seemed like what Doc had been talking about.]
walkingtrigger: (pic#14791797)

[personal profile] walkingtrigger 2021-06-17 10:13 pm (UTC)(link)
Yes. [ Because with him, there was probably a gun involved.

He held up his hands and gestured his next question.]


Long or short?

What was I doing with it?
myfavoritemurder: (is this what it's like to be Solid Snake)

[personal profile] myfavoritemurder 2021-06-17 10:54 pm (UTC)(link)
Short.

[Very short. She holds up her hands and demonstrates, lifting them high so that he can see with her needing to sit up.]

You made death on a man.
walkingtrigger: (pic#14791796)

[personal profile] walkingtrigger 2021-06-19 11:58 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Okay so his pistol.

That narrowed things down to his time as a Marshal. He hadn't had reason to use his sidearm all that often when he was deployed. It was either his sniper rifle or his automatic rifle both of which were definitely long guns.

Made death on a man, unfortunately didn't narrow it down any further. ]


Yeah, I do that a lot. [ He said in a neutral tone. ] Could you tell me about the man I made death on?
myfavoritemurder: (a weird act of God)

[personal profile] myfavoritemurder 2021-06-20 02:30 am (UTC)(link)
[An accurate, detailed description in English? Not likely - especially when she's pinged on him admitting that he's killed so many people

More big.

[She says, gesturing to Tim, trying to get across that the man had been taller than him.]

Big hair. You do that a lot?

[Tell her more!]
walkingtrigger: (pic#14791795)

[personal profile] walkingtrigger 2021-06-20 04:20 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Big hair. Nope, still not narrowing it down much, and wow is that a depressing realization. Maybe Art was right. He was always looking to kill someone else. ]

Long hair. Short hair? [ He gestured with the idea of hair brushing his shoulders, or hair up tight, like his own curls.

As for her question. Tim sucked a tooth and sighed softly as he pried himself back up into a sitting position. ]


Soldier. [ He pointed at himself. She used the word herself, he was assuming she knew what being a soldier meant. Lots of killing. ]
myfavoritemurder: (is this what it's like to be Solid Snake)

aaaaa my HTML

[personal profile] myfavoritemurder 2021-06-22 10:30 pm (UTC)(link)
Big.

[She repeats, gesturing to something somewhere around shoulder length - so long is what she means, really.]

He was a soldier? This man?
walkingtrigger: (pic#14813474)

html gremlins!

[personal profile] walkingtrigger 2021-06-22 10:41 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Shoulder length hair, killed using his side arm. That made a case for it having been Colt, but he still couldn't be certain. ]

Did he smoke? [ Tim lifted his fingers to his lips and mimed the act of taking a drag of something in his mouth, then lowering it. ]
myfavoritemurder: (it's not backup‚ it's babysitting)

[personal profile] myfavoritemurder 2021-06-22 10:43 pm (UTC)(link)
[She frowns in concentration, trying to remember.]

Yes.

[She thinks. That's definitely not the part she'd been paying attention to.]

He was a soldier, Tim? Yes or no.
walkingtrigger: (pic#14791795)

[personal profile] walkingtrigger 2021-06-22 10:46 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Definitely Colt. ]

Yes. He was a soldier. We were both soldiers in the same wars.

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