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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"Our list of missing persons was pretty long," Raylan admitted with a nod and bob of his head. "We're gonna haveta do a head count. Eventually." Responsibility. Life kept moving. So should he. He wasn't up for it right now.

Yeah. It was hard but since Jeff admitted it, he didn't have to. That's how this worked, right?

"That big ass house with the deadly berries around it? We explored it too. Got to.." Got to invade everyone's head, got to be invaded. "Got to see a few interestin' sights."

Got into a fight. Got kicked out of his own house by any normal social rules. Got the TNT for any kind of life he was building. Were they? Building lives? Or was that strong enough to grow between the weeds of hell like plants pushing out of the sidewalk cracks.

"Stayin' on the other side'a town for a few nights. Vacation type situation." He was sure Jeff would understand. "I uh. I think I met a friend of yours. Well, as much as any of us are friends, considerin'." Considering they were all stuck in hell together. "You happen to remember a blonde about yay high, quirky attitude?"

He was talking about Parker, if that helped.

"Yeaaah... That house." He'd seen a few sights, himself, though it wasn't anything too traumatizing or world shattering. For Jeff, the past few days were upsetting, in some ways, but ultimately... a cakewalk compared to some of the worst shit he'd experienced.

He gives a sympathetic hum when Raylan mentions the 'vacation,' wanting to pry, but leaving it for the time being. It's hard to say if he's trying to respect Raylan's privacy, or if he's just immediately distracted by the next comment.

"Oh, Parker!" Looks like Jeff knows just who he's talking about, and he even lights up with a smile. Like, a normal smile. A smile that isn't being hastily patched over a crack in his sunny demeanor. "How'd that go? Isn't she cool?" Well, Jeff thinks she's cool.

(Jeff thinks everybody's cool.)

"Is that her name?" he asked, eyebrows lifting a little. If they didn't have to talk about Baneberry than Raylan would take that out, the coward that he was. No need to mention it further.

"She wouldn't give it to me. And that was before I put her on edge," he said with a faint pull of his smile that was half assed at best. "Told me her name was Miss Kitty, but I've listened to enough Toby Keith songs to know it. Moves like Lara Croft or somethin', ain't seen anything like it. Don't know if she ended up inside Baneberry, but the good news is that Malcolm's got some drugs and better restraints."

Was he rambling? He felt like he was rambling. Shutting up, Raylan grabbed a plum and bit into it.

"Suppose that's the good of it. That and the fuckin' chasm bein' gone."

Jeff returns the smile with one that's more full-assed. "That makes one of us." His own knowledge of Toby Keith is... limited, at best. The Miss Kitty reference? Totally flies over his head.

What doesn't fly over his head is the fact that Raylan's rambling. For once, it's not Jeff doing the rambling! His excitement over the tables turning, and shoes now being on the other feet, is short-lived, fading as soon as he Raylan mentions the drugs.

"Drugs and restraints, huh. Good. That's good." Somehow, he sounds totally uncertain. Time to correct it. Jeff points a declarative, decisive finger. "Good for him!"

Is he overcompensating with the cheer? Laying it on too thick? Shit.

"It is nice that our cage just got a little bigger," he admits, before circling back to an earlier point. "Hang on-- what'd you do to put her on edge?"

"You don't know Toby Keith? You're missin' out on a laugh." He was a good musician with a sense of humor that Raylan could appreciate. Raylan, whose eyebrows were lifting a little at the over-exuberant finger point. He was never going to get used to this - to seeing Jeff, seeing himself so animated.

Maybe a little too thick there kid.

Raylan's lips expressed how trepidatious and unsure he was about that particular fact but he didn't argue. Not that he would have had time to with the way Jeff swiveled onto his next point. His head ducked eyes focused on his plum for a little too long before coming up with a faint pull of his lips. "Gotta be better about swearin' in fronna women, Doc would have a conniption."

Jeff didn't need to know about everything that lay under his fracture veneer. Let him, at least, think Raylan was half decent for a little while longer.

"She's alright," he assured. "She settled down. After freakin' out that I was not you, by the way. Never thought I'd have to argue who I was to anyone. If you see her again you might wanna.. set up a code word or something. Ya know. Stranger Danger. Why High school, by the way? Of all the grades to teach, why the ones with the most assholes?"

"Weeee're... not well acquainted." Though Jeff's quick to add, as if worried he might offend his Kentucky twin, "I swear, I'm not one of those 'oh I like everything except rap and country' assholes! I was just always more familiar with Beat Farmers than, like, Garth Brooks."

Yeah, even Jeff's taste in country music is just all California.

And it's probably pretty clear in the way Jeff squints a little and opens his mouth, about to comment on Raylan's excuse about swearing, that he doesn't totally buy the explanation-- if only because 'fuck' is a word on heavy rotation in his mouth, and she didn't seem bothered by it when they'd met. But he stops himself, letting it go for the time being.

"Oh, like a safe word!" Why is that the first comparison to come to mind? Jeff winces and adds, "A totally... nonsexual safe word... Like we're spies..."

He lets out a soft laugh at the remark on high schoolers, though he supposes it's a fair question. "I dunno, it's just..." He shrugs. "It can be a totally overwhelming age, you know? You're still a kid, but people expect you to make these biiiig decisions and totally plan out the rest of your life, and you don't even know what the fuck--" Jeff glances down at the produce, reaching for some strawberries as he considers what he's trying to get at. "I always hated school when I was a kid. Didn't get an appreciation for it I did the whole GED thing later. I guess that's why I like being there for them. The asshole kids."

It's sure as hell easier for him to reach them than a lot of his colleagues, who were way more... academically inclined than Jeff.

Raylan's lips curled in amusement before breaking back into a smile that was a lot more natural on his features with a shake of his head. "Hey, I prefer ZZ top and Tom Petty to most of the new country, but to each their own. Also like Latin music, though I'd break an ankle even thinkin' about dancin' it." And he had no idea what a beet farmer had to do with music. Maybe there was a big beet farming culture out west that hadn't made headlines.

California would be the place for that weird shit.

The smile turned into a grin at Jeff's jump. "Somethin' like that. She might be, way she moves." Not an unfair jump (badumtish) in logic.

For as light as he had been, his everything simmered back down to the tired, half sad and trying soul that started the conversation. He nodded a little. "It's good of ya to care. Too many teachers are pricks and make it all harder."

Of course, there had been no big plans for Harlan Kids. Not really. You got through because it was the only leg up you had in life and it still didn't help 95% of the boys turning into men and working in a coal mine. There was enough depressing shit happening, no need to sour it.

"So long as you like it and you're good. Make if fun. I hear kids love that. Songs and shit to learn dates like when the Panama Canal was dug." Since Jeff was a Bard, that was right up his alley. Oh Raylan could pull some questions out about that but he didn't have the same energy as his brother from another mother.

That was something else the kids said nowadays, right?

Latin music is an unexpected reveal, and Jeff can't help but grin as he pictures it, Raylan pulling off some salsa dance moves-- or trying, anyway.

"Yeah..." Jeff laughs a little, but it's less in amusement than it is self deprecation. "Mine pretty much put me on the burnout track and washed their hands of me." Which meant that Jeff had been mostly left to his own devices, so long as he wasn't a distraction to his fellow students when he bothered to show up. As long as he did the bare minimum, they would've shuffled him out of high school with a C average and sent him on his way. But back in those days, even the bare minimum was too much to expect from Jeff, not when he had his eyes on a future of packed venues and screaming crowds. Who needed high school for that? "At the time, I didn't mind, but..." He shrugs. "I never want to do that to a kid. Wash my hands of 'em."

There's a lingering smile on his face and you know what? Jeff's absolutely going to write a song about the Panama Canal now, just for Raylan. But he doesn't exactly want to talk work right now, especially with how tired Raylan seems. They might not be the same person, and maybe Jeff spends too much time hiding his own sadness behind an armor of cheer, but he can see something small but painfully familiar in Raylan's expression.

"Hey, uh... You don't have to tell me anything you don't want, but--"

But what? Are you okay? That's the most easily dodged question in the universe. Jeff's an expert at that one, and he's sure Raylan is, too. Did something happen? Also easy to slip right past.

"--are you sure you should be staying alone on the other side of town? I know, I know, it's a 'vacation,' but--" Fuck it. He'll just be direct. "What happened?"

God Bless Teachers. Raylan could only hope that Willa found teachers like that in her school career and he hoped some of that showed in the smile and nod towards Jeff. The man might not know it, but he was continuing to rack up brownie points. Made Raylan wonder what was in the other half of Jeff. No one was only good.

Raylan would have been happy to talk work - kept everyone's mouth busy with easier and more palatable things - but he knew what came after You don't have to tell me anything you don't want and in prep he forced his crooked little smile that didn't fit him quite right to stay where it was.

Starting with a deep breath, Raylan used his thumb to scratch at his forehead, shoulders seeming to sink a little further under the question and the answer that was going to follow. He could lie to Jeff. He could come up with something clever to throw the man off, give him time to escape.. But he was tired and somehow, in that, the promise that he'd given Athena was holding to Jeff. It didn't mean he had to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, but he could tell some of it.

"It's just for a couple of nights-" That made it better right? He wasn't running away, just taking a break. "-But I pissed Neal off pretty bad and he kicked me out." Never mind that they weren't dating or anything like that - Neal had told him to leave and he had. "He was right to be pissed, so I'm layin' low till he says I can come back."

Pathetic, he knows. Man like him, everyone looks at him and thinks he will always walk in and take what he wants, or at least fight for every inch underneath him, but that was miles away from the truth in his personal life. His job? That was a different story, he had authority there.

"Ah..." He winces sympathetically. Sounds like a rough situation, and while whatever Raylan did to incur Neal's wrath isn't really any of Jeff's business, he can't help but wonder what it could have been. Was it really that bad, or was Raylan doing what Jeff so often did? Taking any excuse to cut and run when things got too difficult, too real.

Probably not. He seems to have a whole lot more integrity than Jeff ever did.

And while the explanation makes sense, it still doesn't quite sit right with him. Jeff has to bite back the impulse to point out that while it may make sense to avoid 1306, that didn't mean he had to exile himself from 1308, too, but... Fuck, who knows. Maybe it would seem like Raylan was just thumbing his nose at Neal, if he simply went right next door to lay low. Maybe it would've made an already uncomfortable situation worse.

And maybe his feelings are, totally irrationally, a little hurt by Raylan slipping out of the house like that. He knows it's stupid. It's not like the guy even knew he and Athena were back, and it's not like they really know each other all that well. Raylan sure as hell doesn't owe him anything, and Jeff has no right to get upset over the man taking care of his own personal matters.

But fuck, his connections here are so sparse and tenuous as it is. Waking up to find that everyone else was back, but he and Athena were still alone in the house only served to underscore just how lonely he is here.

Jeff swallows all these stupid, irrational feelings back and offers a sympathetic smile.

"Well... I hope you guys work things out soon. And hey, um. When you're up for it? You should go see Athena. I know she misses you."

Edited 2021-07-04 12:40 (UTC)

It was both that and worse than all that but Jeff blissfully didn't ask any follow up questions so Raylan didn't have to do any dancing. He could just skate by, or actually run, in these shoes. He might be more willing to talk about it once it was over.. and if he was drunk. Maybe.

Raylan picked over a few plums and nodded at the sympathies, eyes only coming back over at the mention of Athena, brow furrowing a little before he looked down guiltily.

"Ya know, if I had known y'all were back I would left a note for you guys too. Or stuck around for more than 5 minutes after wakin' up. I'll.. I'll hunt her down tomorrow. She's gonna have questions and I gotta figure out what the answer is."

He missed her too but that wasn't the kind of thing grown men of their type of relationship said to each other.

"But I know she'll be okay with you. Unless you're plannin' a similar kind of vacation? I mean, not that you can't but.." He would adjust what plans he had to, take what knocks he had to, to make sure Athena wasn't completely alone.

"I know," he nods. Or, maybe he didn't know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, but he'd believed it. "And I think she does, too. But it'll probably make her feel better to hear it straight from you--" He leans in with a teasing smile. "--instead of me doing my best impression of you."

Jeff's quick to shake his head at the notion of a vacation. "No, no, definitely-- I don't even know where I'd go or--" He scoffs, with a note of self deprecation. "Going off on my own tends to lead to bad decisions."

Anyway....

"But if you need anything, let me know. I could break in next door and get your--"

Hat. He was going to say hat, until he realized it probably went the way of his and Athena's respective belongings.

"--well. Whatever you might've left behind."

Did he know? Didn't matter, Raylan was in such a spot as he'd take the lie, if it was, on it's face. It didn't hurt, the way Jeff leaned in to lighten things and Raylan found himself scoffing good naturdly.

"Never be able to pull off this drawl right without seein' the people.. Or drinkin' the moonshine, I'm sure enough of that makes any accent sound proper. "That didn't mean he wasn't interested in hearing the impersonation. He'd noticed that Jeff hadn't touched any of the moonshine either. Something he meant to ask about.. At some point. Maybe those were the 'bad decisions' Jeff was talking about.

"Somehow I doubt you'd need to break in but.. Only things I got is a couple of books that one of the other kidnapees found, now. That ain't enough to make any kinda gopher task. I imagine my badge and holster are gone, same as my duster and hat." He frowned a little and looked over.

"You still got your guitar by any chance?" Or had Mathis decided to just fuck with him personally.

Jeff laughs, shaking his head. "Yeaaaah... I never had a gift for acting." His attempt at Raylan Givens would probably sound a whoooole lot more like Foghorn Leghorn. "Maybe one day I'll do some shots in the name of research."

Moonshine, though. He doubts his tolerance can take it these days. Wouldn't take much for him to get shitfaced and goofy.

He lets out a breath, sunny disposition dimming as Raylan goes through his own missing inventory.

"No. My guitar's gone. Athena's phone is, too. And the clothes I was wearing..." He pulls a face. "I woke up in these fucking... hospital pajamas."

Oh what Raylan wouldn't give to be there to hear it. "Make sure someone gets it on camera for me."

He could guess what the following answer would be with the way Jeff's face dipped and dropped, and he nodded fractionally at it, a thread of worry move through the slight furrow of his brow. Athena, when she was upset, ran full speed to the first thing that could make musical noise. Could Jeff do the same or was he just up a shit creek without a paddle? The phone meant the lost of shit too, shit that was vastly more important than a hat or a badge.

"I'm still waitin' for someone to make a proper Jonestown joke, but.." He wondered if Ellie was coming back. She had that acoustic. It was something. Better than nothing, right? But was she? "I got a hunt to go on later. For Ellie's guitar. She didn't come in with it, someone found it here." He rolled a shoulder in a shrug. "Someone oughta take care of it until she gets back too."

He watched Jeff's face sidelong and causal like, to see how he took that suggestion.

Hey, Raylan, who says you won't be there to witness it in all its glory?

Jeff cracks a smile, somewhat subdued, at the Jonestown remark. But it soon lights up into something a lot less strained when Raylan floats the idea of Jeff looking after Ellie's guitar. It's not that he's looking to take it and cling to it for totally selfish reasons or anything, it's just--

It's important, to Jeff, to care for a treasured instrument until its owner comes back. It feels significant, and almost sacred, even if only to him as a bard. The guitar should be tuned and treasured and kept from gathering dust.

"Oh... Yeah. Yeah! I'd look after it for you-- for her!" He looks a little embarrassed at his own enthusiasm, rubbing the back of his neck as he adds, "It's, ah... What I'd want someone to do with my guitar, if I ever..."

Blind, stupid luck.

But the lift in Jeff's face was enough. Raylan didn't understand the connection these people had to music, but he knew it was there. He couldn't unearth Jeff's guitar or grant him an amp. What he could do was try and better things, as fractional as it was. He tried to not let his amusement at Jeff's reaction at the idea color his features too much, and failed spectacularly.

"I think she'd appreciate it. Seems sentimental to her. You.. Wanna go take a look or am I distractin' you from somethin' important?"

Yes, it was easier to parse it as doing something for Ellie, but it was just a guitar. This was for Jeff.

See, all of this just strengthens Jeff's conviction in his belief that Raylan Givens is, unequivocally, A Good Person.

"Oh-- yeah, no, I'm not-- distracted, that is. I mean. Not busy. I've got nothing to do." Which, really, is part of the problem here. Trapped in a ghost town with too much free time. He's going to lose his fucking mind. "Let's go! We'll be like the Hardy Boys!" Jeff makes a face, then fixes Raylan with a thoughtful look. "Admittedly, I've never read the Hardy Boys, so I don't really know if it's the best comparison to make..."

"I liked Nancy Drew better," Raylan admitted with a little lean in before snagging and extra plum and turning around, jerking his head gently in the directions of Phillips Drive.

Jeff's conviction would be challenged just as soon as he saw the wrong side of Raylan.. Or learned how many people he's put into the ground. Even if Raylan wasn't thinking about it in the moment, it's how things tended to go. A cool comfort that his jacket file wasn't going to be found here.

"But honestly, if you're lookin' to busy yourself, we've found some shit in the walls, secret compartments in closets, doors into tunnels. Some houses turn up nothin' but if you know where to look..." Raylan looked over. "Do you.. know where to look?"

No offense but Jeff seemed like the kind of guy who knew how to hide drugs. Maybe that was just Raylan's biases showing.

It throws him for a second.

"I dunno." Jeff very pointedly doesn't look at Raylan as he answers the question, way too obvious in his attempt at being subtle and nonchalant. Which is as good as saying 'yes.'

It used to be, he knew the tricks, the little telltale signs most people don't think to look for. He'd show up at a house party, mingle and make the rounds, get good and fucking wasted, and still walk out with the host's personal stash of whatever-- drugs, cash, shit to pawn for drugs or cash. Nobody ever thought to blame him, even after he'd started spiraling out. Not Jeff, who could have gotten anything he wanted with a smile, back in those days.

"I guess it depends on what you're looking for." When he figures he can convincingly be Jeff the dorky dad again, he looks at his twin with a playful grin. "It's a terrible power to have when you've got a teenager. I keep finding her diary, man!" He holds up a finger. "And no, I've never read it."

It was as good as saying yes, especially to someone of Raylan's experience. It wasn't just that - it was also the way that Jeff bounced back into the ultra-perky that Raylan was sure swept some people up into a river of their own belief. He knew the power of a smile, of a smooth line and redirection. He used it often enough himself.

"Under mattresses and taped to the bottom of desk drawers sounds about right for Teenage shit.. Real innocent like teenage shit.. But we're lookin' for.. anything salacious. Hell, I'd give someone's left nut for one sense that anyone in this town had a vice. A bottle of cookin' sherry, a pill bottle, a needle, weed of any kind."

Yes, he was listing on purpose. He wanted to see what made Jeff twitch.

"I mean, we're knockin' on walls and floors, at this point."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

065-071 » assign to oblivion / part iii

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oops i made a blooper PRETEND HE DIDN'T SAY HER NAME

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