065-071 » assign to oblivion / part iii

[villagemod]

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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Comments

[abrightboy]

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."

[conning]

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."

[abrightboy]

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?"

[conning]

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."

[abrightboy]

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

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

[conning]

"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."

[abrightboy]

"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.

[conning]

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.

[abrightboy]

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?

[conning]

He's going back. He's going back to Raylan. Neal's chin twitches upward in the smallest tell of surprise, the moment gone before Malcolm turns to look at him.

Raylan's not mad, Malcolm says, and there's a flash of sick temper in his gut that makes him want to go find the marshal and punch him again.

"That's good," he says softly, and turns to get plates and dish up two small slices of pie. He doesn't think he can manage much more than Malcolm right now.

[abrightboy]

Malcolm scoops coffee into the press, keeping half an eye on Neal.

“You know… I appreciate you looking out for me, right? But. Raylan says you gave him a deadline. Is that true?”

[conning]

He stares at the two small slices for a moment. Twenty-four hours, or he'd tell Malcolm himself.

"Yes," he says, voice quiet. "And I'm not sorry I did. He'd already gone too long without telling you the truth."

[abrightboy]

Malcolm looks over and nods. “I agree.” He watches Neal a further moment. “Are you still mad at him?”

[conning]

"Yes," he says, voice still quiet. No point in trying to fake being fine in that regard, at least. There are some things Malcolm understands too well about him for it to work.

[abrightboy]

“He wasn’t trying to hurt me on purpose,” Malcolm tells him softly. “I know that… that didn’t quite work out but. It wasn’t malice. He’s worried if he comes home that you’ll leave.”

[conning]

Another sick, furious little jolt of anger. Good, he almost says. Good, he should be.

The thought doesn't even make a ghost of an appearance on his face as he turns around, holding the plates, forks balanced on their edges.

"He was being a coward," Neal says, voice still quiet, words blunt. "He was avoiding taking responsibility for what he did, because it would feel bad."

[abrightboy]

“I know. But people make mistakes. You wouldn’t move out if he came home, would you?”

He was sure the answer was ‘no’ when Raylan said it. No, Neal never would leave them; he promised.

He’s suddenly less certain.

[conning]

"You want him to come back," Neal says. It's not really a question. "I want you to be happy."

He offers one of the plates to Malcolm. Lifting one shoulder in a shrug. "I won't leave."

Not when it would hurt Malcolm. He's not sure how well he'll be able to control himself in the long run. He's not sure how Raylan will act when he comes back. But Neal knows, if it came down to it, Malcolm would want Raylan here more than he would want Neal. Maybe they don't have a future after Mathias, but that makes what they have here something Malcolm is going to cling to all the harder.

[abrightboy]

Neal's wrong. There's no configuration of their family breaking up that Malcolm would be more or less okay with.

He considers Neal for a moment.

"Maybe we all need a day or two to... process."

[conning]

He takes a deep breath. Waggles the plate at Malcolm. "It's his night tomorrow. I'll stay at Negan's hidey hole, if I feel like I need to."

[abrightboy]

He takes the plate and picks up his fork.

"You found Negan's other house, too? Oh, did he take you there after I hit him?"

He slices off a little piece of pie with his fork, but doesn't put it in his mouth yet.

"You're not going to stay there permanently, right?"

[conning]

"He did, and I won't."

Neal picks up his own fork, poking at the filling that doesn't seem so appetizing any more. He's going to need a piece of the truth to get him through this conversation. Malcolm won't let it go without something real.

"I'm angry with him, Malcolm. Raylan, I mean, not Negan. He made you a promise, he broke it, and then he hid it, because--mistake or not--he knew it was wrong. He knew."

And he cared more about himself than the truth.

[abrightboy]

“Angry is a valid reaction. I’m… I’m not angry as much as I’m hurt. And there will be repercussions. I know I won’t be able to help questioning things I would have simply accepted before. But… you don’t hate him, right? You don’t hate Raylan.”

[conning]

Neal pauses a breath too long before answering and he knows it.

"Of course not." He takes a bite of pie to buy him time before his next answer.

[abrightboy]

Malcolm gave him a look.

“Neal. He’s part of our family. What you think is important to him. Let him try to make it right.”