villagelogs | 065-071 » assign to oblivion / part iii

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.)

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

When 1306 and 1308 woke up that morning, they'd find notes on their respective counters in a handwriting that probably only Tim would recognize.

Malcolm, Come meet me on the other side of town. You can find me.

A second note was written, one for Tim - Tim, I'm on the other side of town. I'll call you later. It's all fine.

Raylan was irritated. He'd fallen asleep downstairs in his favorite chair in 1306, heart heavy and still in pain and when he woke up, everything was.. Something had changed. It only took one glance down at his chest, a wild check on his head that sent a plume of dust up into the air and a glance around the now dirty room for his hat for him to confirm it.

"Goddamnit," he muttered. Pushing to his feet, Raylan expected to find himself still aching in the deep, inconsolable way he had been since Mathis decided to beat him against the cliff face. There were questions - always questions. Why was he dressed in all white like he was about to get baptized? Where the fuck had his hat gone? Why was everything, including himself, fucking filthy?

But he couldn't stay here. Couldn't risk seeing Neal, suffering the warning glares he'd get, if the New Yorker would meet his eye at all. He could figure the dust and the clothes out later.

So Raylan wrote and set his notes out, and left.

By the afternoon, he'd gotten some non-baptismal clothes from Poe's Clothes and a shower, but it had also come with several drinks to steel himself. Malcolm was going to be coming over, a clean empty bottle left out on the porch railing as a sign of which house Raylan was in, and he wasn't going to be able to do this without at least a shot or two in his gut.

Edited 2021-06-27 15:59 (UTC)

Malcolm was as confused and a little distressed as everyone else on waking that morning. Dressed like his dad put him on edge, until he realized everyone was dressed like his dad and it actually made him feel better.

Though he accounted for Ainsley and Neal and Doc, as well as some of the missing like Jeff and Athena, he had yet to see Raylan.

The note on the counter buoyed him. He supposed there was a point there. They couldn’t do anything about their situation. He got dressed in jeans and a t-shirt and tucked the note carefully into his pocket. Then he ran down to the Gull to retrieve the record of their song. He had it tucked under his arm as he made his way across town, keeping an eye out, smiling to himself at what he knew was Raylan’s signal.

He bounded up the steps, grabbing the bottle on his way in, in case anyone else took it as an invitation. He tapped on the door frame as he stepped inside, to announce his presence, smiling broadly as he closed the door behind him, locking it.

Raylan knew it was normal and right for him to feel nervous, barefeet pacing back and forth across the floor. His boots had left with his hat and his jeans he'd arrived in. He hadn't had time to check on his badge. He shouldn't be thinking about it, but it was a series of brief escapes.

He looked up at the knock on the door and smiled a softly pained smile at the face that greeted him.

"Malcolm." His glass was set down and he walked over, an arm extending out to welcome him into a hug and a tilt of his head as he claimed a gentle chaste kiss to go with it.

“Raylan!” He threw his arms around the Marshal, hugging him tight with the record clutched in his hand before meeting that kiss. “I was hoping you were just out checking on things,” he said with relief. It was what he suspected, but seeing him looking well was still a welcome sight. Even if he had started the moonshine a little early. It was a weird and stressful way to wake up.

“I’m glad you still wanted to do this, though. We can’t do anything about all that,” he said, waving towards the outside world. He held up the vinyl in his hand. “I brought the record,” he said with a big smile.

Always greeted with such exuberance. Shit. He wanted to soak up every second, in case he never got it again. In case Malcolm came to his senses and told him to fuck off. In case Malcolm told him he never wanted to see him again, however possible that would be in such a small town.

Raylan looked down at the record and brought his eyes back up a little too quickly. "Shit." That one was for a totally different reason.

"I didn't.. I didn't get the record player or the basket, that's." That wasn't what he'd wanted Malcolm to come find him for, though in retrospect, he could see where that assumption was going to be made.

“Oh.” Oh, god, he’d just assumed. He looked at the record and set it on the counter next to the moonshine bottle. “That’s okay,” he assured him. He glanced around the unfamiliar house. “What… “ His brow creased faintly in confusion. “What are we doing here?” he asked.

"Neal and I had a fight," he said simply, body already aching for the solid warmth to be up against him again. "He can punch pretty damned hard when it lands, you're lucky you missed out on that," he started as he ambled over to pick up his moonshine glass again, off hand shoved into his pocket.

“Well, he tried to punch me that time…” He just hadn’t let him. And Raylan didn’t have to let someone as inexperienced as Neal punch him, either.

“What happened; what did you fight about?” he asked softly with concern, stepping closer, reaching out to put a hand on the forearm whose hand was in the pocket, rubbing back and forth with his thumb. “I’m sure you’ll be able to work it out. Neal loves you.”

Protip: Continue to not let him.

"It started with memories but." Raylan shook his head and took a deep breath. He couldn't quite bring his eyes up. "It devolved.. Neal gave me.- " He still had to huff a little breath, a crook of his smile, dark eyes briefly coming up to meet Malcolm's. "He's a ballsy little fucker.."

No amount of humor was going to get him outta this.

"He gave me twenty four hours to fold you into the loop, otherwise he was going to and you don't deserve to hear it from someone else. Especially not in the way he would tell it." Raylan looked back up. "And I know it's gonna hurt no matter how it comes out."

Pushed off his own timeline again, even though he'd resolved to tell Malcolm. He supposed that's what he deserved for his indulgence of the heart anyway.

Malcolm’s expression became wary. Uncertain. He honestly couldn’t imagine what this news could be. Did it have something to do with the memories? But he’d seen Raylan’s memory. Hurt him or hurt Raylan? Hurt how?

“What loop?” he asked carefully.

"The one where Tim has admitted he's in love with me. We've slept together. It's why he was so cagey when you got here. Seein' me with other men just.."

He shook his head, and looked down, scared about what he'd see follow in Malcolm's features.

"I wanted to tell you a few days ago but with everything.." He was a greedy, selfish man who'd wanted to stay in his safe little bubble where the warmth and understanding and affection was for a little longer. For one more night.

And all that was possibly over now.

Malcolm just stared at him for a moment. Jealousy made sense with Tim's behaviour. You're fucking, he'd spat. But.

"You mean you slept together before you came here, right?" he clarified. Had they had an affair back home before Raylan came here and he didn't know how strong Tim's feelings were?

"No." Raylan lifted his eyes again. "We slept together the day after Tim died. The day after I-" It didn't matter what he had done that night. Or what he had felt. Or that he had watched his partner dissolve into night terrors that were just as horrific as Malcolm's because he hadn't moved in time. Only what he had done the next night. Or the nights after.

Only everything else.

Day 65 - Little OTA late morning, early afternoon, closed to Malcolm mid afternoon for now

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Phone Call for Tim

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