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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day 69 » closed

[chuju]

suffering is easy when i'm sleeping through the pain

[ It’s been days since she last spoke with Bucky and even longer since she’d seen him. A week, perhaps? Too long, considering he’s the only person here from back home and he’d known the Other Her. That last part is probably why she’s been avoiding him, if she’s honest with herself, and since he’s allowed her to do it, she’s let it go on. But no more.

She’d left word for him at the boarding house that morning before going to the bookstore and market. An invitation for dinner that night at her place, the house where they’d first met and where she’d continued to stay when he hadn’t. That bothers her for reasons she hasn’t wanted to think about, but she can’t keep putting that off either. There are questions that only he can answer and it’s about time she asked them. ]

[exsto]

There was something in the back of his head that told him she wouldn't call that day that they spoke. Bucky didn't want to push her, so he didn't. He stuck to being as much of a ghost as he was when he was the Winter Soldier. He found a house on the other side of town, not so bad looking on the outside but the inside was in dire repairs. So, he stayed there, only leaving when he needed to find supplies.

He keeps the room at the boarding house and goes back when he needs to shower or eat. Pancakes are his specialty and when he makes them, the fridge gets a plate with a stack of eight for anyone who wants them. Living day to day, especially in Mathias can change from one minute to the next, but it's been four, almost five days now since anything has happened. That thought leads to that being the last time he's talked to Daisy.

When Bucky finds the message left for him it comes as a surprise. After two days, he was sure the next time he'd see her was in passing. Maybe at the Gull or at the market where he was lucky enough to get a handful of plums at the stand outside of it. He'd go, absolutely. But he wasn't sure what to expect so he went not expecting anything more than some talk about their world. Or to answer questions about Mathias.

He steps up to the door, knocks and waits.

[chuju]

The knock at the door sends Daisy careening around the kitchen island, hurriedly throwing open two windows to try to air out the faint smoke hanging in the air. Oven mitts are tossed onto the island, landing next to the usual row of sugar packets and nudging one out of alignment with the others, and then socked feet slide across the hardwood floor as she scurries to the door.

Bucky will be greeted to the sight of a disheveled Quake: her unseasonably warm sweater's sleeves are pulled up to her elbows, her hair is up in a messy ponytail with random bits escaping in various places, and she's wearing an apron that is covered with streaks of flour and smudges of some kind of batter. There flour in her hair too, and on her left cheek where just days ago she'd had a nasty cut.

"Hey," she says a bit breathlessly, staring at him dumbly for a moment before quickly moving back. "Come on in."

The kitchen is a disaster area, with chopped vegetable bits scattered all around the cutting board on the island and dirty bowls and measuring cups taking up counter space. Oh, and there's flour on practically every surface.

(Please don't notice the cookie tray leaning into the sink, one sad black disc of former cookie still clinging to it while its brethren rest in their garbage can grave.)

[exsto]

Bucky would be lying if the sight of her didn't bring him some level of amusement, which only grows when he steps in and can smell the unmistakable odour of burnt baking. It's a smell that doesn't leave you. He remembers when his sister tried and failed at making a batch of sugar cookies.

It's also hard to miss the tornado that hit the kitchen when he rounds the corner. Bucky looks at her, then the kitchen and then back at her.

"Did anything survive?" he asks, straightfaced.

[chuju]

She really can't blame him for being amused, she'd be making all sorts of good-natured cracks if their positions were reversed. Really, she's impressed at the straight face he's managing to keep, though she wonders how long he'll be able to manage it.

"Jury's out on the casserole, it's still in the oven," she admits, following him and looking more than a little sheepish. "I set three timers for it since apparently I can't be trusted with just one."

The cookies are proof of that. And the rolls.

[exsto]

His mouth shifts, slanting to one side though it could very well be the beginnings of a more pensive expression and not some desperate move to not burst into laughter. He nods, tugs on an earlobe before looking away and then back at her.

"How much longer on the casserole?" he barely gets out, realizing he can't keep the smirk off his face.

[chuju]

Oh, she sees that look. That attempt at hiding a smile. And is that a hint of repressed laughter she hears in his voice?

"Go ahead, let it out," she tells him in an exaggeratedly put-upon tone as she moves to lean tiredly against the island disaster area. "I know you want to. Honestly, you've lasted longer than I would have."

[exsto]

Only he can't. It's clear she made an attempt here and the act she did was far more appreciated than he can probably convey. He moves closer and blinks down at her before glancing over the mess again. It shouldn't take too long to tidy up.

"Pretty sure I'd have burned down the kitchen. So, you've already done better than me." Bucky says with a serious nod. "Let's clean some of this up and I can make us some pancakes."

[chuju]

And then he has to go and be nice about it. Is it any wonder the Other Her trusted him? Daisy watches him for a moment, biting her lower lip in consideration, before nodding with a small smile.

"Pancakes sound good." Nodding toward the oven, she makes a face. "You really don't want to see what's in there. It wasn't supposed to be that color."

[exsto]

Bucky takes off his sweater, leaving him in his favourite vintage black, short-sleeved t-shirt. All the while, he can't help crack another smile at her, defying that warning to cross and actually check what he's sure is an over-exaggeration.

He opens the door, grabs the oven mitts to pull it out and gets a closer look.

"What kind of casserole did you say this was?" he questions with a wince.

[chuju]

Of course, he looks. Of course.

When his back is turned, she rolls her eyes, amusement creeping in between the embarrassment she feels when he extracts the dinner-turned-science-experiment. But then her expression turns into a bit of wince as she says, "Chicken and broccoli with cheese."

The cookbook had the word EASY in big, bold letter across the front. There were less than a dozen ingredients, she'd only had to do a handful of steps, and yet, somehow, the concoction had turned a greenish-brown shade that... Well. She's very glad he'd offered to make pancakes.

[exsto]

No, it looks far from being a cheesy chicken and broccoli casserole. That's where it would end but he couldn't resist setting it down on top of the oven and poking a vibranium finger through the side. A puff of steam billows out and only then does he let out an audible chuckle.

"Alright, let's get just move everything that needs to be washed over there," he gestures to the right side of the sink. "And give the island a wipe down."

He can't resist one final ribbing with a serious face before breaking into another smirk.

"You think you can you handle that?"

[chuju]

She can't help but narrow her eyes a bit at the poking, though she's glad to hear him finally laugh. It's a good sound that she could stand to hear more of.

Nodding at the suggestion, she's already reaching for a cluster of forgotten chopped vegetables when that jibe comes her way. He gets only a second of warning via her oh, that's how it's gonna be? stare before she sends a broccoli stem flying straight at him. She's going to take great satisfaction in watching it bounce off that black t-shirt that looks really damn good on him. Not that she's thinking about that, of course. Nope. Barely even noticed.