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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[conning]

When Negan pulls away, Neal tries for a moment to follow. But then Negan has his hand against Neal's cheek, he's outlining so simply the reasons this is a bad idea, and god Neal doesn't care, he doesn't care.

"Please," Neal says quietly.

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

He rests his forehead against Negan's chest, not even entirely sure what he's asking for. "Please."

[vampirebats]

When Neal leans in against him, Negan slides his hand to rest against the back of his head. Fingers brush and tangle through dark hair as he slides his other arm around him, holding on.

"I'm here." He shushes him quietly, not entirely sure what he's asking for either and not sure what he can actually give. "You know that place I got? Why don't we go there... bed's nice. I'll stay with you, alright?"

[conning]

He stands there for a little while without answering, one hand still gripping Negan's undershirt, the other fiddling mindlessly at the edge of Negan's jeans.

This is as good as it gets, he thinks, though he's not sure what he's referring to either.

"All right," is all he finally says, noticing the scratchiness of his throat for the first time. He must have been doing a lot of yelling.

He wants to get the moonshine bottle on the way out of the house, but he doesn't think Negan would let him. That's fine. That's okay. He snatched a few of Malcolm's pills before he left the house, too, not really thinking about why or what the results would be. Not enough to kill him--he doesn't want that--but enough to do something. Malcolm had said, after all, that he would share if Neal needed something to calm him down. This qualified, more or less.

[vampirebats]

He lets out a sigh, keeping that pipe in one hand and his other arm around Neal. Better to keep him close as they leave, just in case he has any other smart ideas like busting a house up -- or Tim's head, really.

"You gonna let me clean those cuts on your hand up too? I know I'm an irresistible kinda guy, but priorities here, Neal."

[conning]

Neal looks down, studying his hand in the fading light as they get to the street.

"Do I have a choice?" He tries for wry, mostly gets tired.

[vampirebats]

"Not really, but I'll give you the option of sprawling out on the bed first." See? He can be a reasonable guy.

[conning]

He's passively glad for the arm around him, the moonshine hitting even harder now that he's starting to calm down. Or lose steam, at least. He keeps his eyes on his feet, focuses on staying steady, and mostly manages.

"I punched Raylan when I found out," he says, tongue heavy in his mouth as the alcohol catches up to him. "He told me he'd only slept with Tim twice. And that it wouldn't happen again until after he told Malcolm. As though that makes him less of a--"

Whore. Neal can't quite make himself say it. His voice starts to rise again.

"And he was upset with me, before that, upset with me for breaking into the house of somebody I cared about, betraying them, he was upset with me for lying!"

[vampirebats]

"So, he might sleep with Tim again?" Raylan's really getting his cake and eating it too, from what Neal's telling him. He'd be impressed if he wasn't caught off fucking guard by all of this, if it wasn't causing a lot of fucking issues around them. Jesus fucking Christ...

"People can be hypocrites, Neal... that doesn't surprise you, does it?"

[conning]

"He will," Neal says flatly. "He didn't give up a damn thing."

He's silent for a moment, closing his eyes, nearly losing his balance. He keeps himself upright by grabbing a handful of Negan's undershirt. "No," he says softly. "I am one."

[vampirebats]

"Whoa, there-- Not time for lying down yet, man. Gotta get you to the bed first." He tightens his arm around Neal, trying to keep him upright. "Yeah? What makes you say that, Neal?"

[conning]

"I'm a liar," he says thickly. "I'm a liar, a criminal. I've never deserved my friends."

He laughs quietly. "I told Raylan he didn't deserve Malcolm, but it's not like I do."

[vampirebats]

"For fuck's sake, Neal... you're talking to a guy who lost his job for beating up an asshole, was on fucking parole and in debt up to his fucking eyeballs, and then became a murderer at the end of the world. Trust me, you're fine." Or as fine as Negan's company tends to ever be.

"It's not about deserving, you know. You don't really get to decide that for other people."

[conning]

He’s sinking into a pit of self-loathing, marinating in his own gloom, and even as Negan lists his own faults and crimes, somehow Neal tells himself that’s different. That’s who Negan was before, it’s who he doesn’t have to be now or even when they leave this place, if they can choose where they go.

But if Neal went back to his own New York, he’d be going to a New York where the most important person in his life will hand him off to a stranger for his own good.

This is pathetic, the tiny, still-sober voice in the back of his head snaps. Pull it together and stop feeling sorry for yourself.

He closes his eyes for a moment, leaning against Negan, still hanging onto his undershirt.

“They will eventually,” he says, calmer than the words deserve, probably. “Decide. They always do.”

[vampirebats]

"Hey, you still got me, asshole, for whatever that's worth." Which probably isn't much, honestly. Murdering asshole and all that. Still, he tips his head in to press a quick kiss to the top of Malcolm's head--

before he's steering him towards the door. "C'mon, gotta get inside. You think you can stand on your own a second?"

[conning]

His throat feels squeezed. "A lot," he manages. Though whether Negan will connect it to his first statement or not, Neal isn't sure.

He's not sure, in fact, that he can stand on his own, but it just takes a slightly unbalanced lurch for him to reach the wall of the house next to the door and hold himself up against it.

[vampirebats]

If he connects it, he doesn't really say anything. Neal is drunk as fuck anyway -- can't really know what he's saying or doing. He gets the door opened as quick as possible before he's reaching out again.

"C'mon, lean on me. We'll get you up to bed."

[conning]

Neal readily falls back against him, squinting one eye shut as the world sways a little.

"I kissed Malcolm," he says, words properly slurred, confessions entering 'will probably not remember this in the morning' territory. "After I found out, it was my night, and I kissed him. And he told me he couldn't, and that I knew why he couldn't."

Neal's jaw clenches, the muscles there flexing as he tries to sort out something to say that isn't a curse. "I wanted to let Raylan tell him. But right then I wanted to do it myself."

[vampirebats]

"Jesus fucking Christ, Neal... you're kissing everybody, aren't you?" It's not said in a mean way necessarily, not even in a judgmental way. It's just a hell of a surprise to hear.

"I reckon-- it's one of those situations where it's better to let him hear it from Raylan, let them handle their shit, especially when your own feelings are wrapped up in this shit. Did you?"

[conning]

“Yeah,” Neal says, voice tired. “I gave him 24 hours to do it. Made him stop waiting. I couldn’t give a mandate like that and just break my word.”

Not about something this. He studies the inside of the house.

“And I like kissing,” he adds with a mutter. “Where are we going?”

[vampirebats]

"Good. Better it come from Raylan anyway."

Once they're inside, Negan nudges the door shut with his boot and gives a thoughtful hum. "Well, so do I, but you can't kiss your way out of problems, my friend."

He's probably tried once or twice. "We're going upstairs to the bedroom, where you're gonna let me clean your hands up and then we're gonna try to get some sleep, alright?"

[conning]

He's definitely tried once or twice. And a few more times too. Neal exhales softly, nodding, letting himself be led. He doesn't say anything else until he's sitting on the edge of the bed and Negan is pulling glass out of the back of his hand with tweezers. He winces. It hurts a lot more now than it did in the moment.

His right hand tremors slightly, and Neal watches it like it belongs to someone else. "Doc says I need to... make peace with this."

He flexes his fingers, not really trying to make it clear what he's talking about but doing that anyway. "That I need to accept that I might never..."

Neal trails off, still watching his hand shake. He blinks, pulls the focus back to Negan.

"We miss you," he says, the change of subject feeling natural even though it's a wild leap from one to the other.