villagemod: (sᴛᴏɴᴇ)
The Village Mod ([personal profile] villagemod) wrote in [community profile] villagelogs2021-06-24 04:57 pm

065-071 » assign to oblivion / part iii

WHO: Everyone
WHERE: Mathias Township proper
WHEN: Days 065-071
WHAT: The residents of Mathias reunite under unnerving conditions.
WARNINGS: (PM this account to have a warning added!)
NOTES: Plotting post over here!

RECOMMENDED ♫ Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross "Outside"





DAY 065-071
ASSIGN TO OBLIVION

“No matter how much time passes, no matter what takes
place in the interim, there are some things we can never
assign to oblivion, memories we can never rub away.”
— Haruki Murakami


Only two days have passed since the town was fractured, leaving residents cut off from those they'd come to know and even care for. A mere two days of wandering the new streets, uncovering more secrets that continue to make little sense of this strange place. Two days with sunrises, sunsets, and nights that seem like any other.

And yet.

When residents wake on this third day, they will find that much has changed. All around them, wherever they may be, there are signs that time has passed without them. Dust covers everything, indoors and out, even areas that were spotlessly clean seemingly hours ago. The residents themselves are covered as well, dust clinging to their hair, skin, and clothing—

Clothing that they may not have been wearing when they went to sleep. Each resident, regardless of the state they were in previously, is now clad in a pair of white pajamas, with long pants and button-up shirts. Those who thoroughly explored Baneberry Hall will easily recognize these articles as identical to those well-stocked in the decaying great house. On top of this, the clothes they wore from home have disappeared, along with anything else they may have brought with them when they arrived or items from home that have been found within the borders of Mathias.

There is no sign that anyone has entered their place of shelter, nor is there any sign of what may have been done with these items or how they came to be wearing these clothes. The dust all around them is undisturbed, almost as if they had been sleeping there for quite some time, though it seems impossible for such a thing to have occurred naturally.


THE NEW ARRIVALS

The newest arrivals to Mathias will wake up on the lawn of Town Hall, at the center of the little town square. They, too, are bereft of any items from home and clothed in the identical white pajamas. There are shops all around them, with houses just beyond, and at first glance, everything seems almost picturesque. Except for the silence that is at times so complete as to be maddening... Welcome to Mathias.






SUMMERTIME

— When summer arrives, so too does an outdoor stand in front of the General Store. Sporting a handpainted sign proclaiming Whateley Farm, the stand is overflowing with a variety of produce: berries, plums, carrots, cabbage, cucumbers, green beans, leeks, onions, peppers, potatoes, zucchini, tomatoes, and garlic bulbs. These do not replace the produce offerings normally found inside the market, but they do behave strangely. The stand replenishes sporadically, sometimes every other day or every five days. There is no discernible pattern to when it replenishes, nor is there any sign of how it came to be there at all.

— With the now-complete reverse change of season, much of the autumn debris has cleared from around town. Only a few stray leaves and fallen branches remain, their crisp colors at odds with the warm summer days. The forest has also cleared of much of the fall detritus, making it easier to both follow the paths and potentially spy things that might be out of the ordinary.







CONDITIONS UPDATE
THE WEATHER Summer has arrived in Mathias, bringing with it warm days that average 70°F and comfortably cool nights. The skies are clear throughout the week save for Day 68 when a light rain falls from a grey sky throughout the day.

THE FOG has maintained its 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! Max Guevara and Liz Brundy have disappeared, and now that everyone is back together, residents will notice that Yennefer, Number Five, and Tony Stark have also vanished.

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
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 My non-RP life is busy and chaotic and I continue to ask for your forgiveness and understanding as game things continue to be slower, as I cannot promise timely mod responses beyond weekends and even that is not wholly guaranteed.

ITEMS FROM HOME All items from home that characters would normally possess have vanished for this log and will return in the next. This includes clothing and possessions they had when they arrived in Mathias, items that were found in the rain, and items that were found in Baneberry Hall and removed from the property. Items from home that were left behind by other characters no longer in the game have also vanished. (All other items and clothing still remain, it is only items from characters' homes that have disappeared.)

BANEBERRY ITEMS The items from home that were not removed from Baneberry Hall in the last log have vanished from the property. These items will not reappear in the next log. (Please be sure to comment in the appropriate spot on those logs about the state of your character's item for inventory purposes, ie whether they were removed from the property or left behind.)

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 points, not just those that occur in an inbox thread — this applies to both AC and AP totals. This adjustment is an extension of what has been in place since the start of the game: that all dialogue-only inbox tags counted for a half-point. Since such tags have occurred regularly in log threads as well, the half-point status is simply being extended to all tags regardless of location in order to be fairer in point distribution. (Examples will be provided in the AC post to assist with proper counting.)


navigation | faq | locations | report updates

walkingtrigger: (Default)

[personal profile] walkingtrigger 2021-07-19 07:30 pm (UTC)(link)
Tim was pensive for a couple of minutes, turning over what Raylan said against his own gut instincts.

"Calm before the storm," he said in a soft voice. He briefly considered pointing out that at this point in his life, with everything he had been through, Raylan tended to associate anything positive with an incoming punishment. It was little wonder, given the nature of his relationships, even his work life recently. But after consideration he decided it wasn't worth their time to point out something they both already took into account.

Instead he sucked a tooth and then sighed with a shake of his head.

"I ain't getting that from the fresh food," he said with the sort of directness he would use if he and Raylan were batting around a bit of evidence for a case. "I'm thinking either lulling us into a false sense to get our guard down. And/or, giving us a positive light at the end of the tunnel, getting our hopes up so the next incoming traumatic event is that much more demoralizing."

He'd seen both routes of psychological warfare in the Sandbox; used by both sides of the war.
tinstar: (See here)

[personal profile] tinstar 2021-07-19 10:44 pm (UTC)(link)
Raylan wasn't going to grace the 'what' with an answer, but he did flash a faint scoff of his features - an impressive trick in of itself. 'Get his things out of my room?' Come on now.

"Generally speakin', I don't live with people, so we're already off the beaten path there but none of the guys I've seen, say, shove a stick a dynamite down the throat of a guy and light the fuse, were in the Zombie Apocalypses. Now, look," he said, lifting a hand to stop whatever arguments might come with the half defense.

"It bothers the hell outta me that he could do that. Even if it was a show, and it wasn't, it takes a very harsh suspension of humanity. One that he hasn't been forced to suspended here. Mathis and us have given him no reason. Did he tell you why? For whatever grain it might throw onto the scales of situation, that's just as important. It's half of why the men I put down aren't held against me."

'They were bad guys' That wasn't good enough. 'They drew on you first' Half the time he pushed them to it. To say nothing of what he would do in his future.
Edited (Spacing edits) 2021-07-19 22:45 (UTC)
tinstar: (drinking)

[personal profile] tinstar 2021-07-19 11:26 pm (UTC)(link)
"Then I might have to produce a rake," he chuckled. "I'm already dangerously close to soundin' like a beaten housewife but that's better than havin' to explain myself. I got a feeling this-" he gestured at his face, "-Is a form of communication that you're familiar with. Suppose as long as I don't go 'Fell and hit my eye on a door knob', boring is just about what I'm goin' for. That kinda noise ruins the moonshine," he said, gesturing towards the bottle itself lazily.
conning: (screencaptures_346)

[personal profile] conning 2021-07-19 11:39 pm (UTC)(link)
That's a complicated tangle to unravel, and Neal's not sure he's ready to try. But he needs to. For Malcolm's sake, he needs to.

"Sometimes it does," he admits. "But it's not about the things, the... stuff. What I'm going after isn't what makes me happy. It's about the challenge, the adrenaline rush of getting in and getting out without getting caught."

He shifts so he can gather Malcolm a little closer, practically drawing the smaller man into his lap. He considers what else to say. "Peter caught me on fake bank bonds. Bonds that were supposedly 'uncrackable.' That's why I picked them. It wasn't what they were worth, it wasn't that I had anything against the bank owner. I just wanted to prove I could do it."

He draws in a slow, deep breath. Exhales quietly. "After I got out, after Peter got me out I mean, that guy's daughter got kidnapped, and the kidnapper wanted me to negotiate the terms of her return. It was the first time I ever... faced someone after I took something from them." He hesitates a moment. "It was awful. I felt awful. I hadn't thought about what cracking the bond would do to his business, his reputation, his family. Sure, he could afford it, but that's not the point. I overturned his life and I never thought twice about it until I was standing in his study helping figure out who took his kid."

Neal presses his face gently against Malcolm's hair. "I don't like hurting people, and whether I realized it or not, that's what I was doing. So I guess stealing things doesn't make me happy. Not really."

A revelation to him as much as to anyone else. "Getting away with it, though--that does."
bestfuneralever: (N4_183)

[personal profile] bestfuneralever 2021-07-20 12:18 am (UTC)(link)
"Eat enough of anything and you can OD." He shrugs, fidgeting with a loose string at the end of his pants. "I never stay dead anyway," he snorts, a self-derisive sound if there ever was one.

He laughs, a hollow, high-trill that tapers off at the end. "I- I'm just...so sick of this place, Malcolm. And- and losing everybody all the time. Five's gone, and Max is gone, and everybody I have ever come to care about in this godforsaken town is dead or disappeared to who-the-fuck-knows-where and I can't..." He presses his forehead against the tops of his knees. He doesn't want to do this again. He already did this with Raylan and Jeff.

"I just want to be numb again." his voice is a little muffled, but audible all the same. "Everything's better when I can't feel it."
nottevintersoldier: (eight)

cw; slavery

[personal profile] nottevintersoldier 2021-07-20 12:24 am (UTC)(link)
Dorian's brows loft a little with recognition and he says, "Ah, likewise. I may not look it but I am from nobility so we had servants to make dinner for us. Among other things."

He says servants when he really means slaves, but to be fair they treated their indentured servants more like family. He grew up with their children. They gave them a good life compared to others and treated them fairly.

"I would love to, though I do not wish to put you out. I have been nibbling on what things I could find thus far and a cooked meal would be absolute bliss right about now.
nottevintersoldier: (eight)

[personal profile] nottevintersoldier 2021-07-20 12:29 am (UTC)(link)
"If you're quite sure, I feel bad draining the last of your stash. But the company would be entirely welcome for the night. I've been warned against sleeping alone." He'll follow along easily, clearly not at all worried about the fact the other is a vampire who may or may not have a reason to attack him and drink his blood. Elijah had said he only does so from willing persons, so he believes him.

"How ominous. Does it change its appearance regularly?"
nottevintersoldier: (twelve)

[personal profile] nottevintersoldier 2021-07-20 12:35 am (UTC)(link)
"Truly?" His brows loft at the idea that someone hasn't experienced magic other than perhaps illusions or parlor tricks. He doesn't know what to think of a world without any magic other than in fairy tales.

"Don't worry, I've chosen a spot outside of the city limits near the edge of the forest that is a wide enough clearing to allow me to safely practice. If I'm blowing up anything it may just be myself." He sighs, collecting a few items as they talk and moving along the aisles looking for necessary things.

"I could show you if you were so inclined." Don't think he didn't notice the skepticism.

"It won't be nearly as impressive as it should be but, it will be a taste of some of my capabilities."
abrightboy: (consider this)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2021-07-20 01:10 am (UTC)(link)
“No it’s not. It’s just easier to ignore. But eventually sensation has to come back and then… everything is just… worse,” Malcolm promises. He looks over. “I’m sorry about your brother.”
tinstar: (Laughin)

[personal profile] tinstar 2021-07-20 01:14 am (UTC)(link)
"Takin' away my shields to hide behind, huh? Suppose that works out since you've already got keys to all those doors," he said, leaning into Malcolm and turning him into the center of room in time with the music.

"You ever cut anyone's hair before or am I trusting you with my life?"
bestfuneralever: (Breakdown)

[personal profile] bestfuneralever 2021-07-20 01:16 am (UTC)(link)
“Not if you just keep up the pattern.” But eventually that would run out, especially here, where these particular supplies were so vastly limited. Even if Malcolm wouldn’t scold him for it (he would), it would all be gone eventually and, like he said, Klaus would have to face it all the same.

He lifts his head, just enough to peek up at his friend. There are fresh tears stinging the edges of his eyes. “It’s not fair… I keep losing him. This is the third time… it was sixteen years the first time. What if I never find him again? We don’t know where they go— even people that have been here and come back, they don’t remember… I don’t want to wait another sixteen years to see him again.”
tinstar: (Real Smile)

[personal profile] tinstar 2021-07-20 01:40 am (UTC)(link)
It was hot and the moans around his length made him moan around Malcolm's in kind, hands running up and around his hips as Raylan swallowed him deeply, tongue wrapping around it as he swallowed, working his throat muscles. It wasn't cheating to use some of the things he'd learned, right?

If Malcolm had any plans on trying to pull away to spare Raylan something, he'd find it hard with the Marshal's fingers gripping into him.
myfavoritemurder: (I like to feel the air on my face)

[personal profile] myfavoritemurder 2021-07-20 02:28 am (UTC)(link)
"You understand death, yes?" she asks - trying to make sure that that word, at least, is coming across correctly. Just to be sure, she'll follow it up with a couple hand motions: sliding a finger across her throat, and miming stabbing a sword into her stomach. "This. If this, then after, you will live; you will living. The gods here make death gone. Really, it's something of a curse, if you think about it - it means there's no escape."

She does not, of course, expect him to understand that last bit, but she looks at him expectantly all the same, wanting to verify that everything that wasn't in Greek came across as she meant it.
thering: (Doc1100)

[personal profile] thering 2021-07-20 03:03 am (UTC)(link)
"They'll just keep coming anyway," Doc points out with a sigh. Even back in his day people were fairly transient. There has always been plenty more warm bodies to replace the cold and stiff ones, whether it is a bar or a bordello.

"I'm learning as I go," he admits. "Getting help with the telephone. Taught myself to drive. Trial and error with the microwave. Rosita, she-- an old friend. She is helping with the paperwork and the-... computer stuff required to run the bar. There are certainly things I don't miss about the Frontier. But there were fewer rules to live by. You make a living where you can, honest work if you can or wanna get it. Do right by your woman. And if some asshole decided he ain't gon' play nice you can settle all manner of problems at high noon. There wa'n't any of this other... stuff."
thering: (DH_640)

[personal profile] thering 2021-07-20 03:34 am (UTC)(link)
Doc has to bite his lip when Raylan stops him. Zombie apocalypses, as with any other trying circumstances, brings out the worst in people; just makes people do the things they are already capable of. They also bring out the best in people. Mathias is evidence that there's no need to be swinging barbwire bats around.

"It don't matter why! If you done me wrong I'll shoot you. I don't bring Winona and Willa and all of goddamned Harlan to make 'em watch the spectacle. Could you live with yourself when he snaps one day and goes to town on Malcolm like that? You weren't here to shovel your entrails and brain matter off the ground to bury what shreds of your rotting flesh were left." Not that what Raylan went through in the 'Other Mathias' wasn't traumatic. But that's neither here nor there.

"Goddammit, Raylan." You're making his blood pressure spike, tugging on all these tightly shut compartment doors threatening to make him spill.
twowaypath: (Default)

[personal profile] twowaypath 2021-07-20 04:01 am (UTC)(link)
"Daisy said the same." It's at least a little less of an odd concept now that he's had a few days to sit on it, but not by much.

"I'm not sure how I fit in, if that's the case."
twowaypath: (Default)

[personal profile] twowaypath 2021-07-20 04:05 am (UTC)(link)
He nods when she asks whether he understands death. That isn't the difficult part of this concept. He definitely does not understand the last bit, and replies with an appropriately confused look, followed by a brief moment of thoughtful silence. It's a disquieting idea, for more than one reason.

He almost doesn't want to ask. But he needs to ask. He hopes she'll understand the question. "Was anyone here dead already before they got here?"
twowaypath: (Default)

[personal profile] twowaypath 2021-07-20 04:30 am (UTC)(link)
He nods. "There was barely anyone here the first couple of days." Not that there are all that many now, but there are certainly more. The Jedi school never had all that many people, so Tai isn't used to being somewhere populated, but he is used to knowing everyone. It's been more difficult, being a complete stranger in such a strange place. (It's worse, knowing that even if he were to return home now, there would also be very little there to go back to.)
twowaypath: (Default)

[personal profile] twowaypath 2021-07-20 04:33 am (UTC)(link)
He wishes he were being dramatic, but it seems to be just the plain truth.

"Are you from Earth? Most people I've met seem to be."
abrightboy: (curious questions)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2021-07-20 11:19 am (UTC)(link)
Malcolm wasn’t thinking clearly enough to consider sparing Raylan, or he might have. Every ounce of any focus he could muster around what he was experiencing was in trying to provide the experience back to Raylan. He has to release Raylan from his mouth when he comes and the sudden shudder is almost a surprise to himself as he grasps Raylan in his hand still and tilts his head against Raylan’s thigh to ride out his climax before returning to working Raylan more earnestly.
prevenance: (Daniel Gillies in The Originals S 05 (66)

[personal profile] prevenance 2021-07-20 12:27 pm (UTC)(link)
"Every few weeks, I believe. We just had the crumpled remains of what I believe is a church appear. Or perhaps it was always there and I just never noticed."

But he thinks that it had just not been there one day and then it had been there the next. It points to some powerful magical force running this place but there's no clues as to who or what.

"I've been debating with a friend if these things are here and just cloaked or if they just appear."
tinstar: (yeah right)

[personal profile] tinstar 2021-07-20 12:29 pm (UTC)(link)
Something in Raylan's eyes hardened a little, not unkindly, against Doc's insistence. The Gunslinger, however bitterly realistic he could be, failed to understand the kind of man he was sitting across from. Raylan knew what it was to hold a life in your hand, consider it, and snuff it out without a flinch of humanity. He knew what it was to watch someone else string a life out for the fun of it.

It was justified.

"Henry, it matters why. Context matters and half the time, the context makes it worse and cements the position," he replied, tapping his finger on the table in emphasis of 'cement'. "He's not going to go feral on Malcolm, Malcolm is under the umbrellas of his people, and it's the same danger anyone else here poses. He already knows that if he even glances that way and I catch wind of it, he will suffer 15 different kinds of hell."

Hell he was sure Doc would help with, if it came down to it.

"If someone walked into your town and killed all the people that you were protecting, would just shootin' 'em be enough? You think you'd have any place in that head of yours for thinkin' about lessons, or do you just kill 'em all and keep walkin'?"

Either way, it didn't make them much better than Negan.
walkingtrigger: (pic#14813475)

[personal profile] walkingtrigger 2021-07-20 01:19 pm (UTC)(link)
"'Other stuff'?"

Sorry Doc but you kinda walked right into that question. Tim was settled back in his chair, legs sprawled under the table and looking for all the world like he was sat for the duration.
walkingtrigger: (pic#14813470)

[personal profile] walkingtrigger 2021-07-20 01:31 pm (UTC)(link)
"We generally try to encourage people to avoid that also," Tim said with dry humor, in response to Dorian's concern about blowing himself up.

The young sniper's lips twitched and for a brief moment there was something in his dark blue eyes that seemed to scream yes please!! But that something was part of a complex and fairly private coping mechanism that Tim usually went out of his way to avoid showing to strangers.

"Appreciate the offer, but perhaps some other time. I'll let you get back to your shopping, Dorian. Pleasure to have met you."
tinstar: (Squintin')

[personal profile] tinstar 2021-07-20 02:50 pm (UTC)(link)
Thankfully, Raylan knew that people staring at him wasn't always a bad thing, however accidental it was of them or himself for being that kind of distraction but he didn't hold it against Dorian. Hell, the man had already insinuated a fuck sandwhich, why shouldn't he look?

But he was right - Raylan had no idea what that was but he took the description well, nodding slightly as he picked through all that.

"So what you're sayin' is that you're, what, sort of a prince?" Well that would explain the Staff he'd mentioned before. "Don't think we've had one of those around yet." Good job breaking Mathis mold?

Raylan huffed a smile. "I am sorry to say that our spices range from salt to pepper. I think there's some cayenne and garlic too, but it's not exactly FlavorTown. We make edible stuff though. Eggs and bacon ain't too hard, if you eat that kinda stuff. Grits and oatmeal barely make the edible grade but that's the tough tack. When things get low."