villagelogs | 072-078 » pages of possible futures

WHO: Everyone
WHERE: Mathias Township proper
WHEN: Days 072-078
WHAT: The future is set in motion once more.
WARNINGS: (PM this account to have a warning added!)
NOTES: Plotting post over here! Next log will be the weekend of July 31.
MOD NOTE: The week did not go as planned. Apologies for the delay on this log and thank you for your patience!

RECOMMENDED ♫ Marco Beltrami "Bad Omens"

DAY 072
“The visions are fragmented and a dark cloud spreads
like spilt ink across the pages of possible futures.”
— Garth Nix
Blue skies greet residents on this bright new morning filled with summer sunshine. It's a day when birds would normally be singing, when there would be boats taken out on the water, children laughing and running through the streets. But in Mathias there is only silence, eerie and almost deafening in its absoluteness, and those blue skies do not stretch on forever. Far off on the horizon are dark clouds stretching ominously in all directions, never moving closer or farther away. They are always there, dark and angry, as if waiting... For what, who can say, but they will remain there for the days going forward, circling the town like a shark circles a meal.

Despite that dreadful darkness in the distance, there is some good news. Residents will also wake to find that their previously missing belongings have returned to them. Clothing and other personal effects are right where they should have been, as if they have always been there, and there is no sign of them having been returned by someone or something. They're just there.

That is, however, the extent of the good news. Residents who visit the Town Hall will find the bulletin board much changed, and those who have thrown caution to the wind and made use the sedatives found within Baneberry Hall will begin to find themselves changing as well. They are easily distracted while awake and plagued by nightmares while asleep. They dream of Mathias burning, fire spreading from the east until it consumes everything in its path. With increasing intensity as the week continues, they will wake with terror gripping their chests and sweat covering their too-hot skin.

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. 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.

DAY 073-075
With those dark clouds still hanging on the horizon, some residents may find themselves watching the ocean a little more closely, searching for signs of whatever it is they are beginning to sense is approaching. If they do, they will find those signs, for every so often a dark shape will appear from out of the water before disappearing a few moments later. Residents are welcome to try getting a better look at those shapes, though moving to higher vantage points will be ineffective and swimming may not be the best investigation method.

Nightfall strengthens the sense of that elusive something. Though nothing can be seen in the darkness, there is something out there. They can feel it when they are outside themselves, a heavy presence that their animal instincts warn them against, urging them to flee to safety indoors. But once inside, they can hear whatever is out there in the night, the sounds horrifying and yet utterly indescribable and beyond the limits of their perception.

There is no way to glimpse what might be making those sounds, nor is there any way to properly record them, though attempts may be made to do so.

DAY 076-077
The strange occurrences of recent days continue as something attempts to lead residents out into the southern forest should they venture within view of the treeline. Unrecognizable voices may call out incoherently or the sounds of someone moving through the trees may pull at their attention. Or, perhaps, a dark figure entering the forest will catch their eye, pulling them to follow the possibly feminine figure with no discernible characteristics.

Whatever it is, it will lead them along the paths or even away from their relative safety, winding this way and that until they're completely lost within the expanse of sun-dappled trees that seem innocent and threatening at the same time. There is nothing left to do but continue following that figure that is always just ahead at the edge of sight.

Eventually, the trees stop and there is a stretch of clearing, the sky a crisp blue overhead, sun shining down and yet—

That dark figure is still shrouded in shadow, as are the other four that have joined it. All slight with long hair, something feminine in the way they stand with hands held out at their sides, facing outward in a line along the edge of the ravine that borders the township, though for some reason their features cannot be focused on enough for true comprehension. They stand there in silence as if waiting, so close to the edge that a strong wind could easily knock them over into oblivion. A concerned resident might try to stop them; a curious one might try to finally get a better look at the figures that led them to this place. Regardless of the reason, any movement into the clearing toward them will end in the same result.

All five figures step forward as one and disappear into the nothingness below.

The ravine so deep that the bottom cannot be seen and wide enough that the other side is tantalizingly out of reach. At first, there is the sense that safety is just beyond if only they could get there, but with that sensation is also the knowledge that if they stay here, death will be a certainty. The edge seems unsteady, like getting too close would set it crumbling and send them tumbling into that as well...

That is when those who do venture to the edge see the truth of the ravine and what lies beyond it: nothing. There is a neverending dark nothingness below and beyond this ravine, beyond this town, and there is something staring back from within the dark.

DAY 078
As morning arrives in Mathias, so too does the storm. Those clouds that hovered in the distance move in quickly, plunging the town into a twilight-like darkness. The rumbling that breaks the silence is like that of a thunderstorm but infinitely more ominous, signaling something approaching that is not meant for the world of man. Within just a few minutes, the residents will learn why as lightning arcs across the sky, the cracks of powerful energy echoing through the air. Those branching spikes at first remain in the sky, but then suddenly they crash down to meet the earth, striking the Lighthouse. The sound of splintering wood and pierced metal fills the air, followed moments later by the roaring crackle of a fire raging into existence. Those cracks and crashes continue as the lightning moves inward, hitting the forest, the beach, and the Grey Gull before moving down Phillips Drive to attack the homes left rotting by time.

While the lightning eventually retreats to the sky, the fire spreads with purpose. It leaps from building to building, consuming everything in its path. It is a living, breathing thing driven by a need to devour. There is no stopping or controlling the almost sentient entity, for it does not behave as fire normally would — it skips buildings before doubling back, burns when there's nothing to fuel it, and seems to almost actively pursue residents fleeing to safety. Ultimately, the fire consumes everything east of the Library, from Jackson Boulevard to the beach and the northeastern forest to the Lighthouse; for an unknown reason, it does not venture farther inland than this.

Ash falls from the sky like snow throughout the town as the eastern half of Mathias glows a terrifying raging red. Residents may seek sanctuary in businesses along the square or in areas in the western half of the town, though the latter will not be without its own risks and consequences.

SANITY LOSS

There are multiple opportunities for sanity loss within this log. All instances of such should be reported before the next log.
— BANEBERRY SEDATIVES These will effect all who have taken them, regardless of type, quantity, or frequency, until the storm on day 78. Each night of nightmares will result in 1 point of sanity loss for a potential total loss of 6 points.

— FIGURES IN THE FOREST All who witness the figures jump into ravine will suffer 3 points of sanity loss.

— SEEING BEYOND THE RAVINE Any who see the truth of what is beyond the ravine will suffer 7 points of sanity loss that cannot be recovered. Additionally, any Madness that results from this sanity loss begins immediately.

— DEATH BY FIRE All who are killed by the fire lose 3 sanity points and gain the Madness pyrophobia for seven days, which should be reported. The pyrophobia will be experienced at an intensive level for the duration of the Madness.

CONDITIONS UPDATE

— THE WEATHER Summer has arrived in Mathias, bringing with it warm days that average 70°F and comfortably cool nights.

— THE FOG has maintained its recent 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 have ceased for the moment but they're sure to begin again soon.

OOC NOTES

— ENDGAME We are officially heading into endgame. Over the next few months, things will begin ramping up and moving toward the always planned conclusion, with the last log projected to go up between the end of October and middle of December.

What does this mean? Essentially, hopefully, this will mean more opportunities to dig into the mysteries and lore of the game, as well as more chances for your characters to creep toward insanity. However, how things progress and what information comes to light will depend upon character interaction with the setting and involvement with the mysteries of Mathias.

— ITEMS FROM HOME All items from home have returned to the exact state and location in which they were last seen. This includes all clothing and possessions they had on their person when they arrived in Mathias (or, for arrivals in the previous log, what they should have had). Items from home that were left behind by other characters no longer in the game have also returned.

— THE FIRE A rough representation of where the fire spreads is available over here.

— REMINDER There are a lot of moving parts to this log, as there will be for all logs going forward. Read the narrative and all OOC notes thoroughly and carefully. Ask questions if something is not clear, but please also look through questions others have asked for further clarification.

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Part of her wishes he would notice. For no other reason than to force the conversation about her self-destructive ways to something less about her. More productive. Or at least far more satisfying than trying to duck and dodge having to give an explanation, which she's going to try doing anyway.

With him closer and on her level, her eyes flick from him to the bottle, listening to what he was saying before hoisting herself into an upright position. She considers her words and knew that what she had to say wouldn't matter. Ms. Fiercely Strong & Independent didn't want to tell him that Mathias was eating away at her, more and more with each passing day.

And looking at Doc as he tries so hard to get her to reason, Wynonna can't help but wonder why he even cares. He has enough to worry about between Malcolm and the rest of the house he's taken responsibility for. Much like he did her and her sister. Only something told her it was more than some feeling of duty.

"That's why I took them," Her voice is even and slightly defensive. "I couldn't sleep." I haven't been sleeping.

Wynonna reaches down and grabs her jeans, shoving her legs into them and standing up to hitch the button and do up the zipper. She looks at him again before heading into the kitchen to make some coffee.

"And this place was doing shit to you and me and everyone else before I even took them. Anyway, they gave me nightmares. Bad ones."

Oh he knows not sleeping. Understands it more intimately than he would like.

"How do you know it's the pills?" Nightmares could come from anything. Getting abducted to another slice of nowhere town, for example. The prospect of losing each other forever. Murderous phantoms and choking gas in the fog. A day that never ends where they're stuck in place doing things that never seem to work. Something back home happening to Waverly. Or Alice. And that's not even mentioning the drinking.

"Look," he starts with a sigh, following after her into the kitchen. "Maybe I could spend tonight with you. We could. Do dinner, have a couple glasses. Bottles. Wherever the night takes us. Maybe I can help. Rather I give you nightmares than these, surely." Maybe he can read the phonebook in that drawl she likes. Or, well. He's sure they've both got things in mind that they'd like to do to each other that could tire them out enough to keep the nightmares at bay.

Along the way, she slips an oversized sweater on -- the same one she arrived in all those mornings ago when she practically lived in the thing for a solid week during the time loop. Wynonna kept it close, the only semblance of control she felt she had beyond what other small bits of free will Mathias allowed.

She stares out the window while filling the carafe with water, seeing flashes of the nightmare as it replays her screaming for Doc while fire consumed everything and everyone in its path until she was the last one left. Wynonna prepares the rest of the coffee before turning around and leaning herself up against the counter.

"Are you sure you aren't needed somewhere else?" Wynonna doesn't mean for the question to come out so testy, but it was a question worth asking. She would love nothing more than to spend an evening with him; to shut the rest of the world out and have him all to herself. Skin to skin.

She shifts and looks down before nodding. "Because I could really use more than just you checking in on me today."

He can't imagine anyone in his shoes would like the way she says that. He doesn't get testy with her when she's off trying to save the world, or spending family time with Waverly, or doing whatever she likes with Dolls. He's not her +1 here the way he is in her circle in Purgatory. It isn't fair to make him feel like he ought to be guilty over his obligations when he's kept his door open for her and otherwise stayed out of hers. And it is a little tiring to be the one who loves someone who just-- wants him without really loving him back. He's got so little left to give.

He grits his teeth and lowers his gaze, swallowing down the tendencies she brews in him to argue and fight back. God, he misses fighting with her, but he misses all the ways they don't love each other just a little bit more. To say nothing of how much he misses holding her against him in the dead of night, hay sticking out of her hair, bruises on his skin, before Mathias. Before Alice.

"I will stay." Beyond any necessary brief mentions, he doesn't like talking about somewhere else or someone else or something else when he's in the here and now.

"You look like you could use some help getting the last of the dust off." Knowing her, she's only done the bare minimum cleaning in the most frequently used areas of the house and just enough laundry to cycle through her most used clothes. He wouldn't want her to think he only wants to stay because he just wants sex or... whatever she thinks he wants.

One day soon, Wynonna will come to see and learn that she can see herself as more than just a woman that Doc Holliday fucked and had a child with. Back home, she had other means of distraction. A fully stocked bar that had what she wanted, when she wanted it. Men by the dozens if she was in the mood to play like that. But most of all, she had a purpose; a curse to end. Revenants to kill. Her purpose didn't extend to Mathias.

Wynonna Earp hates being clingy and relying on anyone and she lives by it. Her petty jealousy has turned Doc off before and it's happening again. If only she could see why she acted that way. Perhaps, for all the bad and crazy the township caused, it was finally getting her to see how important certain people were to her. Namely, the man holding onto her. But he didn't exactly express what he wanted either. Not as of Alice's birth anyway.

Wynonna catches herself after asking the question and right away wishes she can take it back. Her gaze drops to his chest again but a smile slowly returns.

"You talking about me or something else? Because I think we can squeeze into the shower if we get real close," she says, looking back up again.

"Well I could have spent half the day on my knees, but I suppose I do prefer the sound of squeezing in the shower. Especially if there's gon' be a different kind of decontaminating involved." If there is one thing to like about Mathias, it is the absence of BBD lackeys trying to control them.

It's been a while since they've. Decontaminated. Maybe they'll need a few minutes to find the way they used to share each other's space again, without stepping on toes or bumping limbs. He's fairly certain they'll manage just fine. Some things, like how they feel about each other, how they navigate each other's territories, how she fits in against him - they're not that easy to unlearn.

"Am I allowed to finish coffee before you get me wet, at least?" It's always polite to ask for permission. Especially since usually he's the one getting her wet. She'll find that once she starts letting him in, he might not be that easy to get rid of, so maybe she ought to be careful about what she's wishing for here.

072-078 » pages of possible futures

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