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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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ tilting her head upwards, she smiles down at him with all the pride in the world. ]

Yes, in fact; I have. Plenty of times, actually.

[ elena's lying. again.

she's never cut anyone's hair before. she's never cut stefan's, never cut jeremy's, never even cut jenna's. she's had hers cut by her mom and even by her aunt (not jenna), but elena has never been the girl holding the scissors and someone's looks in her hands. she could curse elijah to many months of wearing hats if she doesn't do this right. ]

I don't know why but I'm having a little trouble believing you, Elena. You don't sound very certain.

( she actually sounds extremely certain but he has a feeling it's a show she's putting on so he doesn't worry about putting his hair in her hands.

he swallows. )

Perhaps I should do it on my own.

You've had weeks to do it on your own, Elijah. I'm convinced you don't know how.

[ she holds the scissors out of reach just in case he thinks to try and grab them and cut his own hair off. ]

I've seen you hold knives. [ she shakes her head. ] You hold them unsafely.

I know how to use a stake, Elena, I think I can use scissors.

( and he still thinks he could do it better than most even if he does hold a knife wrong (which he doesn't). )

I just want a trim. Nothing drastic, please. I don't need a full on makeover.

[ he does.

elena pouts, making a disappointed noise behind him. ] And to think I wanted to cut your eyebrows, too. They're getting a little out of control, Elijah.

[ they're not. they're perfectly fine for bushy eyebrows. elena's, on the other hand, need a little waxing. she'll have to do that later; it's important to have a sharp eyebrow game. ]

You're not getting near my eyebrows.

( he would be the one to do his eyebrows if they truly were out of control. he doesn't reach up to check because that would just make her laugh. )

I'm letting you do my hair. Don't push your luck for anything more than that.

( she was lucky he was allowing this. )

[ she'll get to his eyebrows. first the bed, now his hair, and next, his eyebrows. elena knows she gets what she wants because she disregards what other people want and goes for it. #yolo ]

Can you please hold still? I don't want to cut your ear off.

[ could he regrow his ear? she wasn't too sure if vampires could regenerate like that. it's curious to think about. ]

Do you have anyone I could mail it to if I did?

If you cut off my ear, you're going to have other things to deal with besides where to mail it.

( so don't cut his ear off because it's going to make him very cross. )

And I'm still. I'm not moving so I'm giving you time now. If you waste it, I'm going to do it myself.

[ she chuckles. so, it turns out that elijah's not all prim and proper when it comes to his hair. he gets emotional, even testy and a touch insecure. she likes it.

brushing her fingers of her other hand through his hair, she takes a moment to realise that she's doing this to elijah. big, bad elijah, the thousand or so year old vampire. she's touching his hair.

it takes her a moment to coordinate herself, but once she does, holding some of his hair between two fingers, she snips. ]

Ooo.

[ she's allowed to have fun, no? ]

Elena, I'm an Original. I would advise you not to tease.

( not that he was actually going to do anything unless he really thought she'd done something disastrous but he can threaten so she at least knows he's serious. )

And just know that I am very, very quiet so know that you might wake up with no hair tomorrow if you do something to my hair.

You'd never do that.

[ snip, snip, snip. some of his hair clings to her fingers. she brushes them against her thigh before curling her fingers into his hair again and tugging it up. she tries to spy where his hair might be uneven and thick. ]

You're honourable.

[ and he isn't cruel. ]

I guess you'll see, hmm?

( he hums a bit because while it's probably true that he would never do that, she doesn't need to do that. )

Perhaps my hair is what turns my honor into something warped and awful.

( it wasn't. )

Considering you got a pretty significant haircut and you just become more stubborn? I highly doubt that's going to happen.

[ snip, snip, snip.

his floppy hair had been thick and boyish. his close-cropped cut had made him seem more older, more like someone she should listen to even if she'll disregard that intimidation to make fun of him. ]

When you spend so many centuries in a coffin, you don't really care much for how your hair looks when you get out.

( there had been other more important things to do. he sighs, staying still. )

Besides, I was always this stubborn.

( she just hadn't been around him. )

[ elena's not entirely sure she has ever heard him admit that he's been shoved in a coffin before. she remembers him telling her about his siblings, but she doesn't recall him ever mentioning himself. yes, she knows that she had daggered him and neutralised him for a few weeks, but he'd been dropped in a dirty basement. ]

How long were you in a coffin for?

[ she's very careful around his ears, mind you. ]

Which time?

( elijah rolls his eyes though it's not at her. he loves his brother but he knows that he's a dramatic man whose insecure and prone to violent outbursts.

unfortunately, his family tended to get in the way of that. elijah shakes his head. )

Centuries sometimes.

Do you...

[ this whole being in a coffin and being on ice thing is new for her. she isn't quite sure what that entails. is he awake? is he alive? is it like when she had daggered him where he looks sickly and pale? had he even dreamed then? was he awake? could he hear? if he could, he never implied as much when she brought him back to "life". elena hadn't thought to ask—there had been no time, and that hadn't been the most pressing question amongst her list. ]

Do you dream?

Dream while I was daggered or dream in general?

( he thinks the answer might be the same either or but maybe not. he waits for her to elaborate. )

I didn't do much of anything while I was daggered besides lay there and look dead.

So, were you conscious?

[ did she put him in some vegetative state? while elijah did deserve it in the moment (he was terrifying and he was intense, and elena couldn't bear to possibly lose at the time), she doesn't think it's right. it's what makes all of her decisions so fucking hard sometimes. ]

Could you hear everything? Feel anything?

Not really. I was alive but I wasn't really aware. I suppose I was in a coma, of a sort. Where I could be brought back to life but it wasn't going to happen without assistance.

( namely someone taking the dagger out of him. )

Besides, even if If was aware, I was inside a coffin and that coffin was usually somewhere deep and dark and dank. There was nothing for me to hear.

[ elena's slow to continue to cut his hair, her mind half on the task at hand and half on his answer. stefan had never told her about any of this, but stefan also hadn't experienced this at all. ]

That sounds... kind of what I felt immortality would be like.

[ something that felt claustrophobic and trapping. ]

Immortality is...a little different. Immortality is seeing your eternal life in front of you and knowing that you can't avoid it. It's having your choices made for you and adjusting to a life that isn't really yours anymore.

( when you were immortal, your life was time's, in elijah's opinion. he sighs. )

It's watching people you love live and die. It's dark.

[ she's already used to people making decisions for her. one doesn't need an immortal life for that, elijah. she bites her tongue. ]

So, if you had your choice to be anything, what would you be? Stay a vampire? Be a werewolf? Elf? Mermaid?

[ there's a little pep to her voice now. elena's genuinely curious. would he stay as he is? become a human? choose to be some other strange mythical creature? ]

I don't really like to answer those questions because what's the point? I can't change what I am.

( and imagining is just depressing. he's an original vampire and that's what he'll always be.

sorry to be a party pooper, elena. )

That's why it's fun to answer them.

[ elijah, sometimes, is very much the old man he truly is. elena sighs, but she isn't dejected. she's determined. after all, he's the one who forgets who she is: determinedly stupid elena gilbert. ]

I wanted to be a fairy when I was a kid. I wanted to collect teeth, so I used to try and take Jeremy's when he was losing them.

065-071 » assign to oblivion / part iii

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