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

[citharede]

She perks up with interest at that. "Who gets to wear a black one? Is it just for Grisha? What are the other colors?"

Athena blinks and cuts herself off. "Sorry, just most people here are from some kind of version of Earth like me so it's not exactly interesting when they talk about home."

[skladka]

"A Shadow Summoner. As I'm the only one..." He trails off, setting the black button down aside and moving towards pants, automatically gravitating towards the darker colours. It takes him a few moments to speak, voice as calm as ever, though it's clearly not from hesitation--he's deciding how to best explain.

"There are three groups of Grisha. Corporalki, Etherealki, Materialki. Etherealki focus on elements--Squallers, Tide Makers, Inferni. Sun and Shadow Summoners. All work together in the Second Army the greater good of Ravka."

[citharede]

The only one. "That has to be lonely sometimes."

Hundreds of years... "Has there ever been another Shadow Summoner? That you met I mean?"

Personal questions who. She's still lit with curiosity when it comes to the Grisha, though. "Okay, tell me if I'm way off-base, but I'm guessing Materialki make things? What kind of things? What do Corporalki do?"

[skladka]

Athena's hit on something with that first comment, the Darkling's gaze soft as he looks away from her for a brief moment. It's a subtle movement, shifting slightly, making sure he doesn't clear his throat.

'It has to be lonely,' she says, like she doesn't know of Luda, or of that night in the woods where he had silently vowed his revenge. The Darkling busies himself with his clothes, all too aware of the other's memory, that park and that girl.

"My ancestors," he answers vaguely. "You're correct for Materialki--Durasts and Alkemi manage solid objects and chemicals, respectively. Corporalki are healers or heartrenders. Very talented with the human body." A beat. "They make the best soldiers."

[citharede]

Heartrenders. That paints a picture, doesn't it. It's too easy to think about how healers could be turned around to work as weapons. She shivers a little.

But there's something more important there, in the way he looks away. She hasn't forgotten Luda. She hasn't forgotten that dark promise. Athena takes a hesitant step closer, aware by now that he's not nearly as accustomed to hugging it out, as it were, as she is is. Uncertainly, she asks, "You're not the only one who lives so long, are you?"

[skladka]

"My longevity is something I keep close to my chest," he says softly, taking in Athena's face. There's a round quality to it, making her look even more youthful for the briefest of moments as she asks the inevitable. He busies himself with simple work, fishing out another black shirt.

"But the more Grisha use their powers, the healthier they are. The longer they live. With certain amplifiers, they can live to be a hundred, maybe more--Athena," he breaks off quickly, immediately, turning to face her properly. The shirt he'd just pulled out is immediately forgotten.

"The last thing I saw before we woke up here, it was something of yours."

[citharede]

The more they use their powers, the healthier they are. Seems like a win-win scenario to her, particularly if it means not living for a million years on your own. She blinks in surprise at the shift in conversation, not putting together the something with the trauma of the memories for some reason.

"Don't tell me I left my phone in another dimension of another dimension."

[skladka]

The Darkling stills entirely, his gaze shifting. He smiles, and while his lips quirk softly, it's tinged with something other than warmth. There's an edge of sadness to it, far removed from pity: empathy.

"Not quite."

[citharede]

Okay. That's... not promising. There's another moment where she doesn't quite realize what it could be, then--

"Oh," she says softly, as it clicks.