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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Malcolm swallows.

"It's not. Ideal," he concedes. "But. I've agreed to the terms."

His grip on Malcolm's shoulders tightens. "That's not what I asked, Malcolm. I asked if this is what you want."

"It's some of what I want. And the rest is a compromise," he says evenly. He watches Neal's face a moment. "You're disappointed in me."

He keeps his voice calm and steady and tries not to tense his jaw at Malcolm's question. He gives his head a tiny shake. "I'm. If I'm disappointed in anyone, I'm disappointed in him. Who is compromising here, exactly?"

Malcolm gives him a rueful look. "You're a smart man and I think it's obvious who's compromising." Malcolm is. He breathes out and looks down at the floor then walks into the kitchen, taking down the french press. "I didn't realize you were vested in a particular outcome," he comments casually as he works. "I thought you wanted me to be happy."

He has to take a moment to gather himself before following Malcolm into the kitchen. He crosses his arms, props his elbows on the island, voice still quiet.

"I do. Can you honestly tell me you'll be happy knowing that every night Raylan spends outside of this house, he could be spending it with someone who treats you like garbage? When it was Doc, at least you could talk to him. You could communicate. That is a compromise. But this--"

He stops himself, pushing away from the island and coming around to hug Malcolm from behind. Very quietly, he says, "I do want you to be happy. I want you to be genuinely happy, without being the one to give in to everything someone else wants."

Malcolm looks at Neal over his shoulder.

"Life is a lot of compromises. Some of us don't get to just... have what we want. But I'll tell you something: the people in my life here make me happy in ways I've never been happy at home. Including you." He pauses. "Did you mean it, when you said you wanted to come with me?"

Some of us don't get to just have what we want.

But what if you could?

Except Neal knows that Malcolm is right. Some people don't get what they want, and they never will. He lets go slowly, stepping back to rest the small of his back against the island, gripping his edges with both hands. He dabs his tongue against his lips, throat tight. "I did."

Malcolm turns and looks at him earnestly.

"Then come with me. When it's time to go? Come with me."

Raylan can't talk about the future. He can't build those what-ifs. He'd always been reluctant to and Malcolm doesn't see how it would even be possible now. Tim is going home with him in one capacity or another. He and Malcolm live in the present and that's all there is. The Mathias bubble that Doc had talked about.

Neal stares at him, hopelessly confused for a moment.

"What?"

Yeah, it's the same thing he said at the beginning of this conversation, but it still feels like the right thing to ask.

Malcolm studies him, trying to get a read on what's behind that question. He knows Neal heard him.

"Do you not want to anymore?"

"No, that isn't--"

He stops, trying to sort out the sudden turn this conversation has taken. "I j--"

He stops again. "I don't understand why you would want me there."

Malcolm's expression creases.

"Because you're my best friend, you idiot," he replies shakily.

Isn't that why he cares so much about all this?

Heartbreak hits then, at those words, at the look on Malcolm's face.

Compromises, he thinks. Compromises.

He steps forward and pulls Malcolm into another hug. He presses his face against Malcolm's hair. "You don't... want to go with Raylan any more? I mean you really don't want to, not you're letting it go because... I don't know."

He falls into that hug, like he's falling down and down and down a well but it's pleasant. He buries his face in Neal's shoulder again.

"It's not going to happen," he says heavily. "It's not going to happen. Come with me anyway."

His best friend.

God, Neal is such an idiot.

Would he do it? Would he do it as more than a hypothetical, would he do it if it's really possible? Leave New York, leave Peter, leave Mozzie and Sara, leave everything.

"Okay," he says softly, after a moment. "If we can do it, if it's possible--I'll go with you."

Malcolm lifts his head, watching Neal for a moment.

"I know what that means, because I was going to do it. I really... really wanted to. And I won't ever take it lightly."

Neal brushes his thumb over Malcolm's cheekbone, telling himself this is enough. That it's a chance, maybe, down the line for something more. That even without something more, he's lucky to have this much. It doesn't even occur to him that he's doing the exact same thing he tried to counsel Malcolm against.

He presses a kiss against Malcolm's forehead, aching for it to be against his lips. "I know you won't. You never would."

That get a still frayed but genuinely grateful smile from Malcolm, a little something in his frame easing fractionally. He gestures to the counter behind him. "Did you make pie?"

He forces a small smile, glad for the years of practice he's had, feeling strange lying with his expression to Malcolm of all people.

"I figured no matter what happened, you could maybe use a pick-me-up. I tried to make it as Malcolm-friendly as possible."

That makes him smile, too, easing another fraction of distress and tension from his face.

"Malcolm-friendly," he echoes. "How so?"

"Low cornstarch in the filling, mild salt and no top crust." He keeps the smile in place. "Took a little fussing to get it low-salt without losing a little something, but I figured it out."

"That seems like a lot of trouble," Malcolm admits. His smile broadens a little bit. "But it seems to be working," he adds, leaning over to hug Neal again.

Neal holds on, draws Malcolm in close himself, squeezing tight.

"I want you to be happy," he says softly. "Remember that."

He loosens his grip and leans back a little to get a look at Malcolm's face. "What now?"

He hadn't planned for a scenario where Malcolm didn't come back completely broken.

Malcolm’s been better. His heart still aches, but… Raylan does love him and he has the best friends here. He can cry some more later. Right now? Right now is for friendship.

“Now you have some coffee and some pie with me.” He puts the kettle on. “Then I have to take Raylan some dinner. I don’t think he’s eaten today.” He looks over at Neal. “He says you hit him,” he notes. “I’ve been in that moment. It feels the worst afterwards, but he’s not mad at you.” Like Negan hadn’t been mad at him. Obviously that’s something Neal is concerned about, right?

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