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villagelogs2021-07-17 05:52 pm
villagemod) wrote in villagelogs2021-07-17 05:52 pm
Entry tags:
- *overview log,
- alec hardison (leverage),
- callisto (xena warrior princess),
- doc holliday (wynonna earp),
- dorian pavus (dragon age),
- ellie (the last of us),
- malcolm bright (prodigal son),
- raylan givens (justified),
- tim gutterson (justified),
- wynonna earp (wynonna earp),
- ~ bucky barnes (marvel live action),
- ~ jeff calhoun (original),
- ~ neal caffrey (white collar)
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"
SANITY LOSS
CONDITIONS UPDATE
OOC NOTES
navigation | faq | locations | report updates
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.
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.
— 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.
— 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.
no subject
At first Tim wasn't sure he'd heard right and he turned to look at Raylan with a quizzical expression on his face. But when confronted with the way the older man was staring at the houses, as if they were about to draw on him, and the worrying of his horseshoe ring? The sniper was forced to accept that he had just heard right.
It made no sense and for a couple of breaths Tim's brain refused to process what was happening in front of him. When he was able to throw off preconceived notions, his expression softened. Whatever was going on behind those dark eyes, the demons Raylan was fighting were very real and very dangerous. The Ranger had experienced this with fellow servicemen in the throws of a PTSD episode.
"That's why I'm here," he assured Raylan and his tone was we do this all the time, nothing to see here normal. "I'll go on point, you cover my six and we'll sweep the house. Just like clearing it for perps. I'll take care of the mirrors, but I need you to cover me, okay?"
no subject
Running away from fear was also not generally in his repertoire and Mathis hadn't pushed him to a point where he picked it up quite yet, so Tim's assurances were taken with a thick swallow and a shallow nod and the deep, deep desire to have his gun on his hip again. Not that it would help. There were monsters here who were not men and did not bleed. That was outside his forte.
Raylan nodded again with a shaky breath. "Okay. Yeah. Okay." I trust you.
no subject
The sniper moved forward, thinking to keep them moving to try to keep Raylan from having time to overthink and panic himself all over again. He didn't know how the older man felt, but Tim always had to battle with the anxiety of waiting. Once he was in motion, everything came into focus.
Using a crabwalk approach, which allowed him to keep an eye on Raylan as well as the house, Tim lead them up the porch. He glanced back at his partner, giving him a nod, then took the door with the same skillful confidence as he would back home.
Usually his eyes were looking for movement signalling a perp. It took Tim a half beat to remind himself that he was after mirror and any obvious reflective surfaces. Just to be on the safe side. In typical Gutterson style, there was no fuss. Anything that could reflect an image back on Raylan was efficiently taken down and spun to face the wall, the Ranger using his body as a shield between Raylan and the mirrored surface.
Tim lead the way, clearing one room, then the next and the next always checking back to make sure Raylan was still with him. As soon as they had the lower level cleared, he tried to lead the older man towards one of the more comfortable sofas.
"Sit here while I get these things stuffed in a closet," so there was no risk of one of them tipping over and becoming a problem. "Do you want me to clear upstairs?" Tim wasn't keen on getting that far away from his partner, even leaving Raylan alone long enough to shove shit in a closet made Tim feel twitchy.
no subject
They paused on the porch and Raylan nodded back, and followed him in a few steps behind. It felt wrong to do this without a gun or a bat or something, creeping around corners like his reflection or something worse was going to eat them. It felt wrong to be doing it at all but the vicegrip around his chest argued that point quite loudly.
Raylan wasn't sure what he would have done if it weren't for Tim's thoroughness, even if he had posted up in the other house. He was grateful for the smaller man's swift actions, taking what would reflect back down and off the walls. It was only once they'd cleared the level that he breathed a little easier, the stressed flexing of his hands eased a bit.
He'd stand, but he'd stand mostly in the area directed, however fidgety he remained. "Yeah. Sorry to ask it. If you could, I'd.." Feel better. "Meantime, I'm gonna.. find a bottle of 'shine, just.. something to take the edge off."
no subject
"Sure," he agreed, already starting a mental list of where he needed to pull stuff down upstairs, intending to make quick work of it. Something was niggling just off in the peripheral of his conscious thoughts, but he couldn't quite nail it down and in his urge to get the house secure for Raylan, he ignored it.
"I'll be right back," he promised, touching Raylan's shoulder briefly, as much for himself as for the older man, before moving off to head upstairs.
no subject
Wringing his hands together, Raylan headed into the kitchen and dug around under a counter. No shine. He moved onto another one and another one, leaving doors open in his wake until he found the last two bottles stashed away.
"I'm gonna havta refill," he muttered to himself as he sunk back onto the floor and popped the cork off, leaning his long and tired limbs against the wood as he stared at the ceiling and listened to the scratching that he wasn't sure was really there. The echoes of everything they'd all been hearing over the last few nights never really left him in the daytime, or at least, it wasn't today.
no subject
It was possible that some of the scratching Raylan heard was Tim upstairs making a nuisance of himself. All the mirrors and pictures came down, including what was in the bedrooms and bathroom. The mirror in the bathroom he had shared with Raylan and Jeff was anchored into the wall leaving Tim with a decision.
The logical move would be to cover the mirror with a sheet and towels but as he stood there, holding a towel in his hands Tim felt a rush of fury wash over him. Anger that he rarely allowed out past his stoic demeanor rose up like bile after a night of heavy drinking and he felt his jaw working as he stared at his reflection. His reflection in this fucking mirror, in this fucking town, that was hurting the man he loved and leaving Tim unable to stop it.
He knew that if he felt this way, what Raylan might be feeling could be ten times worse, but at that moment Tim Gutterson was just pissed. Wrapping the towel around his hand, he hauled back and aimed a punch square for his reflection in the mirror. Glass spidered from the point of impact, allowing Tim to throw a couple more cathartic punches before the shards fell out of the frame and across the counter.
"Shit," he said softly as he looked at the mess. Shaking out the towel he laid the fabric across the worst of the mess and said a silent apology to Jeff before leaving the bathroom.
Making one last sweep, checking behind doors for any glass, Tim cantered down the steps.
"Clear upstairs," he called out as he walked towards the kitchen. "Tell Jeff I'm ..." Tim's voice trailed off as he couldn't immediately set eyes on Raylan and a jolt of panic shot through him.
"RAYLAN?!" he shouting his partner's name even as he stepped into the kitchen and found the older marshal on the floor. Concern for his partner was stark on his pale face and in his blue eyes, only slightly abating when he saw him on the floor.
"Comfortable?" He asked. Leaning a hand on the counter, as he caught his breath and steadied his body against the adrenaline surge he'd just experienced when he couldn't find Raylan.
no subject
Time meant nothing - Tim could have been gone five minutes or an hour and Raylan wouldn't have registered it, eyes glazed and lost off into nothingness until Tim was screaming his name like a madman. He jolted a little in his position on the floor, making his eyes all wide and wild again as he searched Tim's face for a hint as to what was wrong.
Tim was scared for him. Shit. Everything in Raylan screamed for him to fix it, but he didn't know how. He didn't know how to fix himself.
"It doesn't move. The ground," he answered lamely before pushing himself up to his feet and circling around the edge of the counter to slide the bottle in front of Tim. "I heard glass upstairs. What happened?"
no subject
He glanced at the bottle and then turned towards the fridge. "How about I make you something to eat, hmm? I meant what I said, you looked comfortable on the floor." It was a discreet encouragement for Raylan to sit back down, and if the older man needed to be on the floor? Then he should absolutely sit on the floor.
Tim's instinct was the reach for the bread and sliced cheese, but he stopped himself at the pantry door. Glancing back at Raylan, Tim grabbed something out of the pantry, but then went to the fridge. He puttered, clattered and rattled about in the kitchen though he never moved to turn on the stove.
Eventually he came to where Raylan had chosen to alight, a bowl in his hand and a soft smile just upturning the corners of his lips.
"Don't know that it'll win any awards for nutritional value," he said as he held the bowl out to Raylan. "Though there's eggs, milk, fruit and nuts?" In the bowl was a banana split. Actually it was vanilla ice cream with a banana cut up in it and sprinkled with walnuts.
"Thought about using the cocoa for chocolate syrup, but figured it would melt the ice cream."
no subject
That wasn't done out of pragmatism.
He eyed the sniper as he followed back around and slowly lowered himself to the floor. The floor felt safer, saner somehow. Secure in a way he didn't really understand, and his eyes tracked Tim's shoulders as he moved around. With Tim getting into the fridge too, Raylan narrowed his eyes. All until Tim turned around.
"Wait," he said shifting to sit up a little straighter, one leg folded in under the other as the moonshine was set aside. "We have ice cream?"
It wasn't Legos or Saturday morning cartoons, but Raylan loved ice cream on the basis that all humans loved it. Some part of him was always going to be an eight year old fisting a cone that is being greedily consumed.
It was weird, but Tim couldn't have done anything more perfect for the situation. Raylan took the bowl, crossing his legs as he settled and looked back up at Tim.
"Get two spoons, you're splitting this with me." Not because he couldn't put it away all on his own. He could. But he wanted to share it.
no subject
Though the meger fare was meant for Raylan there was no question of Tim refusing that request. He reached into the drawer and collected the two spoons before stepping up beside the older man and lowering himself down to sit on the floor next to him.
If Raylan felt safest on the floor, then they would sit on the floor.
Handing over a spoon, the smaller man wracked his brain briefly for a conversational gambit. But each opening question or statement that came to mind was quickly shuffled away. He was desperately curious about what had happened that Raylan was in his current state, but it seemed to him that the older marshal needed a break from whatever was haunting him. Raising the topic felt almost cruel and while Tim could be cruel when necessary, this didn't feel necessary.
He briefly toyed with tossing out some bullshit bit of small talk, but it seemed to him that he and Raylan had never needed idle chatter to fill a space. Especially as they had settled into their partnership, stakeouts had been quiet but it had been a comfortable sort of silence; companionable.
So with conversation off the table Tim decided to pursue another, thoroughly adult and reasonable route of interaction. He began to wait till Raylan's spoon was heading for a bit of banana, or a walnut and then he scooted in there with his spoon for the attempted steal!
no subject
Raylan grinned as Tim dug into the drawer and returned with two spoons, settling himself into a more comfortable position where Tim would fit in next to him seamlessly. He couldn't say why he found the floor safe, likely because of the embrace of the cabinets gave him a protection from bullets and Arlo seeing a young target to turn his fury onto.
Taking the spoon, Raylan had zero reservations about diving in and scooping a bite into his mouth, eyes smiling at Tim and a little less heavy for it. There was no darkness here. Nothing to drag or chase him into the pit, just ice cream and Tim. He was grateful for the lack of dive into what made him the way he was right now; it would hold. It would all still be there once this little bubble Tim had built popped back into their reality.
Besides, apparently, he had to defend his fruit and nuts!
Tim's swipe was half successful, managing to touch the nuts Raylan was going after before the Marshal pushed his spoon away. It was a brief moment of chaos before Tim got the bite and Raylan found himself grinning as he dove in for another bite while Tim's spoon was busy.
no subject
As the older man proved to be more experienced at ice cream defending, the younger marshal went for the next level of attack! Getting a little dollop of ice cream (not enough to be wasteful) on his spoon, he quickly moved in with the intention of attempted to smear the ice cream on Raylan's nose.
no subject
"Wasteful." It wasn't really an admonishment.
no subject
"So that's how it is, Givens?" He teased before reaching to dip his finger tip into the melted ice cream along the side of the bowl. Fingertip armed, he was heading for an ear!
no subject
"You star-hey!" he laughed, pushing Tim's arm away and grabbing his wrist, intent on trying to clean Tim's finger with his mouth without also allowing the man to smear more.
no subject
"Cheat," he teased. "Unfair use of masculine charms."
no subject
"Gotta use what little I got in my pockets, don't I?" The half grin was given behind another enthusiastic bite. For how bad his nerves and focus wrecked his appetite, his body was ready to recoop in the moment of peace.
But that didn't stop his mind drifting back to where they'd been all of fifteen minutes ago and Raylan stared at the bowl for a long second, covering it like he was choosing the best way to come into the mound in front of him.
"Thanks for bringin' me back.." He felt like he'd left part of himself in the forest and that hadn't changed, the issue wasn't solved, he knew this would happen again, but with ice cream and the security of the floor, Raylan was less likely to fall back into his own head that was still gnawing just outside his vision.
no subject
But it was just that, teasing. Teasing with no genuine expectation or even suggestion of anything more physical than sitting here as a comforting presence. Since Tim didn't feel the prickle on his skin that tended to alert him to people in the nearby vicinity, he took the risk of wrapping an arm around Raylan's broad shoulders. Pulling the older man towards him, careful of the ice cream, and turning to kiss his temple with chaste sweetness.
"I wish I could offer you grand, sweeping promises," he spoke against the older man's hairline. "But this place ..." Enough said, right? Tim took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, bumping his forehead against Raylan's temple. "Thank you, for trusting and coming back to me."
no subject
Half a glance was cast over at the unexpected arm, but he leaned into it and the kiss, bowl coming to temporarily rest in his hand on his knee, safely out of the way. His own deep breath preceded Tim's at those words and he pushed at his head gently.
"You're my partner, Tim. I trust your gut. Sometimes more than mine. If you say somethin's wrong-" be it with Raylan or the situation, "-I believe you. Trusting each other is how we stay alive at home, why should that be different here?"
no subject
Because both our guts are screaming at us that there is no getting out of here alive. The thought echoed in Tim's head but where normally he would have shared, for now he held his own council. Whatever scenarios were making his partner's head a nest of horrors, Raylan didn't need more fodder for the dark.
"I am absolutely going to take advantage of this information back home, when you try to tell us we can manage on a full and I insist on a king mattress," he teased with a hopeful sort of softness.
Maybe it was weak. Maybe it was unwise and would do nothing more than make encroaching reality that much more horrible. But Tim was out of plays. He couldn't lie to Raylan and tell him it would be 'okay' because they both knew that was patronizing bullshit. Declarations of getting out of here in one piece were likewise, impossible promises.
Some get so caught up in the story, they grow to like the target and when they got the green light; they couldn't pull.
It was a story he wove now, as ethereal as any he'd ever read about wizards and talking animals. But it was the only temporary escape he could give his partner.
Let's turn this into a sanity reclamation thread!
And yet, Tim found a totally different route and Raylan let himself be led down it the same way he'd allowed himself to be led back home. Tim already knew that Raylan was a reader, so it wasn't hard for the older man to fall into the story.
Time slipped away again, under the steady cadence and rhythm of Tim's storytelling and by the time the sniper had come around to the end, the sundae had been finished and the bowl set to the side in favor of leaning his shoulder against Tim's. The story helped as much as Tim's solid presence against him, but the darkness of the chasm he'd seen was quick to start seeping in around his edges.
"I wish we were anywhere but here," he sighed wistfully, eyes looking up at the ceiling that needed another cleaning - dust accumulated so fast here. "Anywhere that makes sense in the loud moments."