079-081 » to the hideous end

[villagemod]

WHO: Everyone
WHERE: Mathias Township proper
WHEN: Days 079-081
WHAT: More mysteries are revealed in the aftermath.
WARNINGS: (PM this account to have a warning added!)
NOTES: Plotting post over here! The next log will be posted the weekend of August 22 29.
MOD NOTE: Thank you again for your patience!

RECOMMENDED ♫ Deadly Avenger "Kosho"

DAY 079-081
“If I am mad, it is mercy! May the gods pity the man
who in his callousness can remain sane to the hideous end!”
― H.P. Lovecraft
The day dawns red from the smoke that still hangs in the air, though the fires have long since burned out overnight. Ash covers the ground like grey snow all throughout Mathias, even to Baneberry Hall at the far edge of the town. There is still a strange heat clinging to the little town as if the fog that surrounds them has trapped even the temperature within its borders, but the skies have at least cleared of those ominous storm clouds.

While the fires have gone, the ruin they left behind remains. The eastern side of town is full of the charred shells of what were once homes, collapsed walls and questionable flooring warning off those who might consider venturing inside. There may be a few salvageable items within the wreckage but it certainly won't be much, and those foolish enough to try searching the rubble may sustain injuries in the attempt.

What residents are almost guaranteed to find in their wanderings through the town are decidedly more unsettling. Scattered throughout the town are the corpses of current residents seemingly still alive and well, their causes of death as varied as their locations: crushed bones and organs on the beach; asphyxiation on the steps of the library; broken neck in the tunnels under the residential district. The time of death is equally as varied, with some still warm to the touch while others have begun to rot and decay like the buildings around them.

And if that isn't enough to send their anxiety spiking, they will find that the darkness in Mathias has become even less welcoming than before. From nightfall to sunrise, wherever they have chosen to shelter, strange things may happen from one night to the next. These occurrences are not consistent, either across the night or the location, and no patterns arise to make sense of what happens. It is simply another oddity of Mathias perhaps designed to drive them further into madness.



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.



THE RESURRECTED
Those who perished on Day 078 will wake with the smell of burnt flesh still filling their nostrils, near what little remains of their former body. This will likely be in the crumbling, unstable remains of whatever building they were trapped inside. Welcome back to the land of the... living?

---

CORPSES BY DAY
— During any day of this log, characters may find one or more corpses in a location around town. This is an activity that must be opted-into by both players involved: the corpse-owner and the corpse-finder.

— The corpses that appear are only those of current residents within Mathias. The cause of death does not need to match any previous deaths that characters may have experienced in-game, though it should be only natural or possibly accidental — there should be no signs of the cause being an intentional death. (And, for the sake of your fellow players, please try to keep it light on the gore.)

— Corpses may be found in any outdoor location or inside any space where characters are not currently sheltering (such as the crumbling homes on the west side or the burned homes on the east side). The corpses will not appear inside any location where characters have been sleeping.

— The corpses can appear at various times throughout the day, meaning that a character may pass by the library in the morning with no corpse on the steps and then pass by again in the afternoon to suddenly find a corpse hanging out there.

— There may be items or clues found upon the corpses! These are not guaranteed for everyone. Players should submit this form to find out if they've won the Mathias Lottery.


TERRORS BY NIGHT
— Where players have chosen to shelter at night may have unexpected consequences, especially for those in the western half of Mathias. All characters must be accounted for.

— Mod feedback will provide either confirmation that nothing unusual happens in this location or details of any strange or unsettling occurrences on a given night and the potential consequences of staying there.

— If a player wants to opt-out of the consequences of their character staying in a particular location on a specific night, they must find another location at which their character can shelter.

---

SANITY LOSS

There are multiple opportunities for sanity loss within this log. All instances of such should be reported before the next log.

— CORPSE DISCOVERY Depending on your character's mental state, their relationship to the corpse, and the cause of death, sanity loss can range from 1-5 points per corpse found. This amount is up to the individual player. Items found on a corpse may also induce additional sanity loss per mod instruction.

— NIGHTTIME LOCATIONS Some locations within Mathias are safer than others at night. Players will receive mod feedback on their chosen nighttime locations which may include sanity loss for some things experienced.

---

CONDITIONS UPDATE

— THE WEATHER Summer continues in Mathias, with 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 & DEATHS have started up again. Neal Caffrey, Athena Carrigan, Jeff Calhoun, and Caitlin Snow have vanished from the town while Wynonna Earp died in the town fires.

— THE SHAPES in the water may be spotted more frequently, and residents may get the sense that whatever is out there is watching them and waiting for something...

---

OOC NOTES

— ENDGAME (Repeat message.) 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.

— SANITY NOTES

— Make sure that you're reported any sanity losses from the last log and claimed any madnesses earned with those losses. And report all the losses from this log before the next is posted!

— There is now additional guidance available about what happens when characters fall below 50 sanity points.

— A reminder that sanity may be regained through character actions.

— APPLICATIONS There are only two application rounds left before apps will be permanently closed. If you're trying to lure someone in for the end of the game, now is the time to get enabling.

— FORMS If there are comments on posts that have forms, please try to remember to respond directly to that comment. With DW notifs sporadically going missing, I rely on those comments ending up in the proper journal inbox, which is the only way I'm guaranteed to see them.

— MOD UPDATE The summer program I run is over but I'm back in person at the office for the first time in 16 months, so life is still incredibly stressful and I will continue to be slow for the next while.

I will be prioritizing sleeping location and corpse responses for this log since these are timely matters with information you will need in order to move forward.

— REMINDER Once again, there are a lot of moving parts to this log. Ask questions if something is not clear! Please also make sure to check questions others ask, as well.

navigation | faq | locations | report updates

Comments

QUESTIONS?

[villagemodama]

Use this space to ask general questions about this log and the circumstances or locations presented within. Players may also use this space to call the mod's attention to a thread to give feedback on the spooky happenings therein.

[likeknives]

Is there a limit to how many corpses a character can produce? For example, can a character's corpse show up 5 times in different places?

[enduresurvive]

Can a character find their own corpse?

[bestfuneralever]

Sanity regains are still on deck, yes?

And: For Klaus since he's.... down to 39, will it be harder to reach a regain than it might have been earlier?

{Edit} oh, oh, also! even if he does get some regains in, that will not change the state of those permanent madnesses, correct? Those are just stuck on him, regardless, for the rest of the game?

Re: QUESTIONS?

[just_akidfrombrooklyn]

I do not yet know where Steve will be sheltering for the night - can I answer the housing question once I do?

[nottevintersoldier]

I think I'm super overthinking this so I would like some clarification. Are the corpses of characters who previously died in-game or is it anyone/everyone currently in-game even if they haven't died yet?

Reading the description I think it's the latter, but I thought I'd ask to be sure!

[walkingtrigger]

Will characters still feel hunger, thirst, etc?

Thinking specifically about Tim's situation, where he wakes up beside his corpse and may spend more than a few hours confused about whether or not he's alive or something else entirely.

Re: QUESTIONS?

[myfavoritemurder]

Will anything weird happen if characters loot the corpses (I'm assuming they won't necessarily have any non-clothing items on them, but Callisto will be attempting to steal some armor/clothing from her own)?

EXPLORATION

[villagemodama]

Use this space when exploring new locations or revisiting older ones, including residential housing locations. This includes asking questions about these explorations as well as simply reporting that the explorations are taking place.

(AP rewards are not needed for basic explorations, only if you want to find something that might not otherwise be discovered.)

[liliowy]

hi!! will exploring the burned up areas yield any sort of hints as to what may have started it? it will be very vexing to return to half the town gone, and she will absolutely want to investigate, at least a little bit!

if she probes at the location with her magic, will she feel anything of note?

REWARDS

[villagemodama]

Use this space to ping the mod if you'd like to use one of your AP rewards (Idea, Spot Hidden, or Spooky Encounter). Submit your request using this form:

Requested reward: Idea, Spot Hidden, or Spooky Encounter
Characters involved: Please list all characters who will be involved if claiming a Spot Hidden or Spooky Encounter. You can also add characters by mentioning them in a later comment.
Link to thread: If available/applicable. May also be added in later comment.
Additional details: Location where this is happening, the circumstances of the character being there/searching, their current mental and emotional state, what they are searching for, etc.

<b>Requested reward:</b> <b>Characters involved:</b> <b>Link to thread:</b> <b>Additional details:</b>

To submit for History Revealed, use this form:

Requested reward: History Revealed
Character: Character who will be dreaming.
Additional details: Any plot or lore elements your character is especially interested in or intrigued by.

<b>Requested reward:</b> History Revealed <b>Character:</b> <b>Additional details:</b>

HISTORY REVEALED

[villagemodama]

FOR RAYLAN GIVENS —

A group of a dozen very well-dressed men and women arrive at Penhew House, greeted by a butler in a proper uniform. They sweep into the room with a sense of purpose, something about them screaming of power and prestige, and gather in the entry hall in front of the mirror. They chatter amongst themselves, though nothing in particular can be picked out of the conversation, and then the butler comes into view with silver tray with a dozen identical knives with polished black stone handles and blades etched with spirals. Each person takes one of the knives and makes a precise cut on their own inner forearm, blood slipping down their arms to drip onto the hardwood floor. The knives are returned to the tray and each of the guests takes their turn dipping fingertips into their own blood and writing a single unique spiral on the glass of the mirror before leaving the room.

Some of these faces are recognizable from the group photos found throughout the town.

FOR TIM GUTTERSON —

A small group of men are clustered inside a tunnel, two holding lanterns while two more work on the wall with paintbrushes. A fifth man consults a large leatherbound text, carefully studying one page before pointing out a correction to the artists at work. There is an excitement among all of them, a dedication in their faces as they look upon their work.

A few minutes pass and then the artists step back, the depiction of the three-lobed eye now complete. One of the lanterns disappears down the tunnel and returns shortly with two others, one with hands tied and a gag around his mouth. The prisoner is forced to his knees in front of the eye as the man with the text removes a knife from his belt, which he uses to slit the prisoner's throat. Blood splashes across the eye and pools in front of it while the group of men smile at their job well done.

PLAYER RESPONSES NEEDED

[villagemodama]

— All players should respond to Nighttime Locations.
— Players who have characters finding corpses should respond to Corpse Discovery.

NIGHTTIME LOCATIONS

[villagemodama]

All players should be sure that their character's nighttime location is reported for each night covered in this log. If multiple characters are shelting in one location together, they may be reported in the same comment. If characters move locations, then each location should be submitted via a different form, though they may be in the same comment.

The times covered in this log:

— late night 78 / early morning 79
— night 79 / early morning 80
— night 80 / early morning 81
— night 81 / early morning 82

<b>Character(s):</b> <b>Location:</b> <b>Night:</b>

Steve Rogers - New Arrival

[just_akidfrombrooklyn]

Town Hall.

It was the first and most reasonable place one might have come to - had Steve not opened his eyes and found himself there already. The lawn in the center of the village was quiet, and as Steve Rogers turned carefully around and took in his surroundings, he realized that it felt very...out of time. It was a feeling he could relate to, in some ways - but the rows of shops around the square, while looking at first glance like something Rockwell would have drawn, felt distinctly...Other. Ill at ease, he turned, and looked back towards the Town Hall building itself. It was a place where one might have easily gotten information about the when, the where of this place, if not exactly the what, why, or how. These days, Steve didn't put much stock into the sanctity or trustworthiness of government institutions, however, and as he had crossed the threshold into the otherwise welcoming building, that feeling was not much assuaged by the interior. He was just grateful that he'd awoken in nondescript street clothing - the uniform tended to draw too much attention.

Maybe this is a fever dream. Maybe I'm just exhausted from everything.

The empty halls seemed to stretch on, lacking warmth, and lacking the sterile, generic feeling of government facilities everywhere, really. It just felt...wrong. Off. He'd been on high alert since he found himself here, but if he could have just found some information, anything at all, that would have helped. He took a few steps in, towards the bulletin board on display at reception, and glanced to the side.

"...Hello?"

Yeah, he knew it was a dumb move, but the creaking front door would have announced his presence already, so there was no hiding at this point. When silence met his call, and he sensed no other immediate presences in the area, he strode towards the board to give it a look. At first glance, it appeared to be an old community board, though only scraps of paper remained. The eye in the center - his eyes narrowed as he reached out and touched his fingers against the strokes of red - and was resigned and not all that surprised to find that it was blood.

Well, this is just perfect. What have you gotten yourself into, Rogers.

At immediate glance, it didn't appear that there was blood elsewhere - no signs of a struggle or that a body had been dragged or moved. He glanced down at the floor and knelt, shifting a boot aside to survey the crumpled discarded remains of messages that had come before him. What he found did not ease that disquieting feeling he'd had about the blood either.

No mention of block parties, fundraisers, or general community events were among the refuse, but he saw cries for help. Pleas for missing persons, supplies, any number of plaintive requests. Frowning a bit more, he straightened, and considered his options. Normally, in a Town Hall or public records building, one could find, well, public records. Normally, he would have asked a receptionist or a clerk where he might pull documents to get a better idea of where he was and what was going on, but since he was apparently the only person in the building, that meant that he didn't have to worry about pulling documents - even classified ones.

Now, it was just a matter of finding the right room.

[exsto]

It had been a hell of a week and there's an underlying feeling that Mathias wasn't done with them. Not by any stretch. Bucky has gone from taking things in stride, dealing with events as they happen; to wondering what to expect when another day begins. And he wasn't the only one. That much was a certainty.

As people cluster together and take refuge in the bigger community structures, Bucky is wandering down from Poppy Cottage to check on friends. He wanted to check on Doc and Raylan and offer up assistance to anyone who might need it. As he always does when something happens in town.

From a distance, he sees a figure moving up towards the Town Hall entrance only to disappear inside. It can't be. Though he wouldn't be able to confirm that a hundred percent unless he saw the man's face for himself and preparing for it to be someone else.

Still, Bucky couldn't help having an inkling of hope.

Pushing through and looking around, he doesn't see anyone. Not Steve or anyone for that matter. But he hears something. Movement.

"Hey, anyone in here?"

Tim Gutterson | Justified

[walkingtrigger]

[ No plotting post this round, just come at me! If you have any questions or want to discuss a specific starter feel free to hit me up on plurk or DM this journal. But seriously, just throw it at me! ]

Day 79

[walkingtrigger]

[ooc notes: Tim was killed by the initial lightning strike that hit the Lighthouse, so he will be waking up to his corpse, per the mod note above. He also had the nightmare detailed above as well.

He has the madness agromania which is the need to be in open spaces.

TL:DR - He is a traumatized (on top of his PTSD) Army Ranger Sniper and he is pretty pissed off at everything right now. There is a high possibility of him turning violent, so please let me know how much violence you're up for encountering! OR if you'd like to discuss in private, hit me up in DM, plurk or on Discord.

Apologies in advance!!! /o\ ]

Doc Holliday | Wynonna Earp

[thering]

[Plotting post here

NOTE: Doc currently has haphephobia (fear of being touched)]

Day 79 @ School | OTA

[thering]

With Bucky's help and a bit of magic from Lady Luck, Doc manages to make it into the school after dodging a most certain death, almost getting caught up in the explosion from the unofficial moonshine brewery. As he drifted in and out of consciousness the glass and wooden splinters that had embedded themselves into his skin in half a dozen different places on his legs, arms and torso had been replaced by gauze and bandages. It hurt to even breathe but after a while when everything hurts it had been easy again to drift back into a long sleep.

When he comes to properly, it is the late morning of Day 79. He notices his torn, bloodied, snug-fitting jeans have been changed out into trackpants. He can feel the bandages around his thigh and shin beneath the loose pants, and some are visible around his left upper arm and right hand. His shirt and undershirt are gone, gauze taped onto that space between his left collarbone and nipple, and down on the right side of his abdomen. Someone's been playing nurse.

He can't see his hat, but. He does spot something glinting out of the corner of his eye as light refracts through the glass and the fluid held in the snowglobe. Pushing himself up slowly despite the pain and the old bones protesting all this movement, he's propped up on his elbows when he receives his first visitor. He will remain mostly conscious for at least half the day, the snowglobe in his lap or by his side or placed just within reach. And although he's clearly not happy about not being in any shape to get up and move, and a little despondent about the familiar half of the town getting lost to the fire, he's trying to maintain a fairly good-spirited, buoyant attitude.

Callisto | Xena: Warrior Princess

[myfavoritemurder]

[plotting post]

079; cw: desecration of a corpse

[myfavoritemurder]

A - PUZZLE; OTA

[When she finds her own dead body lying broken and twisted on the library steps, Callisto doesn't react with horror or fear: she doesn't gasp, she doesn't scream, she doesn't stumble backwards or turn and run. Instead, she drops down next to it, examining it closely. She runs her fingers through its hair, tests the feel of its skin, pries open its mouth and checks inside, even pulls out her little butter knife and messily cuts into its arm - looking, essentially, for any piece of proof that this isn't what it looks like. She's here, after all, living and breathing. If this isn't a hallucination or a trick of the gods, then what in the world could it be?

She'll continue in this fashion for quite some time, showing her own corpse absolutely no care or respect. Unless she's stopped or distracted, there will be cuts and gashes on nearly every exposed patch of skin. Several chunks of hair will be missing, seemingly yanked out at the root. A top incisor lies on the steps, having been yanked out, examined, and then discarded. And if all that isn't enough, before she goes - before she leaves the pitiful body behind, unburied and uncared for - she strips it of both arm bracers and one boot.]

B - BURIAL; CLOSED TO TIM

[It's the legs that she spots first, sticking out of the rubble, and that's what draws her in. She hauls a charred wooden beam off the body hauls it out to get a better look at it - and then realizes who it is.

She stands over it for a minute or two, studying it, before kneeling next to it and prodding at the clearly-broken neck. Taking out the butter knife that's still stained with the blood of her own corpse, she makes one little cut on the palm, but when that course of action doesn't net anything unusual or unexpected she gives up on it immediately. Moving to stand, she grabs the body roughly by the legs, dragging it out of the ruins and down the path towards the beach. She's not in the least bit gentle or caring about it, alternating between dragging it behind her and rolling in in front of her. When she reaches the rocks, she hoists it up over her shoulder and carries it like a sack of potatoes. All in all, it'll end the journey in an even more roughed-up state than it had been at the start.

But when she reaches the sand and drops it onto the ground, she kneels again, and using nothing but her hands, she starts digging a hole.]

Malcolm Bright | Prodigal Son

[abrightboy]

Plotting Post.

Day 79 - OTA

[abrightboy]

Malcolm is checking up on his people, inviting anyone who seems lost to join the group at the school, scavenging for supplies for the school population and is willing and even eager to examine any corpses anyone finds... including his own, if you like!

Ellie | The Last Of Us

[enduresurvive]

[ plotting post here or find me on boywonder. Ellie currently has thanatomania, belief that she is cursed by death magic. This will go on through day 82, whoops. ]

day 79 - early morning/morning, ota if you're at the theatre

[enduresurvive]

Ellie really just gravitated toward the theatre that last evening after the fire because of some weird misplaced…what, nostalgia? Maybe. It's been weeks since she was at the old theatre in Seattle with Dina. Fuck, she misses Dina. She has to believe that Dina got home all right, that she's not sick anymore.

It's hard to sleep. She's not sure where anyone is; she missed anyone else coming in here, so she's alone and exhausted. Sleep is fitful and she wakes too early. She can't shake the feeling that death is still waiting for her. Someone did this to the town, to...to her specifically? No, that's fucking bonkers, she knows, but...well, she can't shake it.

Wait, is something happening? She definitely hears something. She pulls her knife out and follows the sounds to the projection booth. But there's nothing up there when she goes up. She shines her flashlight around the booth, but nothing weird is here. Great. She's probably hearing shit too because why not, right?

"This fucking town, I swear to god," she says out loud to no one, stomping back down the stairs out of it. Sorry, were you sleeping here? Probably not anymore, between the sounds and her angry storming around.

It's still early, but she eventually finds some alcove and sits there with her guitar. Of course it's eerily reminiscent of the night she played for Dina, but whatever, she's still trying not to think of Dina. She's idly playing the guitar here for a bit before she heads out.

Anyone in the vicinity the morning of Day 79 can catch Ellie either coming out of the projection booth or playing the guitar.

Parker | Leverage

[sharker]

[ No plotting comment, but PM or hit me up at butteredcups to request something specific! ]

Movie Theatre - Days 79 & 80 (open)

[sharker]

[ She's got Hardison and Eliot with her, and to an extent, that's all she needs. But after the trauma of the fire and of seeing beyond the chasm before that, there's something to be said for larger groups. After all, the more of them there are together, the harder it is for anyone to disappear, right?

It may not be the soundest logic, but in her sleep-deprived state, as terrified as she is of taking her eyes off Hardison or Eliot even for a moment, it's all she can cling to. And so she's quick to invite anyone looking lost or afraid back to the relative safety of the movie theatre, or welcome those who wander up to its doors themselves. ]

It's a little haunted.

[ The warning is matter-of-fact, and there's nothing in her tone that suggests she may be joking or messing with whoever she's talking to. Her eyes may be a little wild, after two or three days with only minimal sleep, but it's been a long couple of days for everyone, right? She'll probably be fine. ]

But I don't think the ghosts want to hurt us.

Yet.

Dorian Pavus | Dragon Age: Inquisition

[nottevintersoldier]

((Plotting Post Here drop something there or feel free to hit me up on either discord, plurk AceOfSwords or PM this journal if you want a starter of some kind ♥))

Corpses Here
Day 80 - Library - Discovered and buried by Feydor
Day 81 - Beach - Discovered by Callisto but not moved

79-81 Schoolhouse Rock - OTA (TW: Burn wounds)

[nottevintersoldier]

Even with the help of one of his potions, Dorian is going to be laid up to heal for quite some time. The few days following the fire he'll be in the Schoolhouse, likely posted in a cot in the nurse's station or potentially wherever Athena, Jeff, Carter, or anyone else may have thought to put him to make him comfortable or safe.

Now that he's awake, moving around, or doing much of anything is painful, the burns spanning up his whole left side make it so. Sitting up is uncomfortable so for the most part he remains propped on his right side. Luckily it seems Carter or whoever else has managed to find enough bandages to cover his wounds, with his tattered and destroyed leather armor and robes from home kept somewhere nearby. They may yet be salvaged given some time and if he can find anyone that knows how to sew or work leather. But alas, he will mourn their short reunion.

Familiar faces are a blessing and he'll flash a smile at anyone that he sees or takes time out of their day to visit. All the while it's covering his pain, boredom, and the guilt he feels at failing the village. Quiet, alone time will be spent staring out the nearest window or contemplating how weak and useless he feels in this place. He talks a good game, tries to ramp himself up with the lie that he somehow bought everyone time to get nearly all the residents out. He fought hard, he completely tapped himself out to the point of nearly ending his own life when he couldn't escape the fire.

In reality, he knows... somewhere in his gut that none of what he'd done really made a difference. His power, his abilities are so stunted in this world and nearly out of his control to the detriment of himself and others. But he tried, and that had to count for something. It still hits home, the burns reminding him of his failures and it's something that will haunt him for a long time. It won't stop his determination though, but he'll need time before he can even hope to get up on his own two feet and try again.

Anyone passing by may get a friendly greeting, especially if someone brings food or comes to check on him. He'll likely try to sucker anyone into getting him some books to read to pass the time or at least strike up a simple conversation. Especially about the strange noises he's been hearing over the passing days.

Otherwise, Dorian will likely be privy to any of the goings-on in the Schoolhouse proper, idly observing quietly and listening in to the conversations around him to gather more information about those he's found himself allying with. After all, they're all in this together, and learning what he can about the people aiding him or caring for him is something he's interested in. Even if it's little more than eavesdropping on more personal things.

Pls come visit a bored and lonely Mage.

Raylan Givens

[tinstar]

[Plotting Post found here but feel free to throw a wild card at him, we're easy!!]

Day 79

[tinstar]

Phillips Drive OTA - CW: Corpses

Raylan had been all over town. Except here. Except Phillips Drive and the Grey Gull. The one fucking place that had started to matter to him. The houses that had kept them all safe, held fights and tears and love and dinners and game nights. There was a reason that Raylan had left Kentucky, a reason he'd never come back for his mother's funeral, a reason he avoided heartfelt fights if he could; running was easier than facing things head on when it came to wounding matters of the heart and soul.

It was half of why he was here now. He'd found Tim, his first priority with the light of day and now the sun was hanging like an innocent ball of butter in a deadly blue sky, almost taunting him with how pretty it was, in front of the charred ruins of.. Home. The word felt bitter, unspoken on his tongue but clear as a bell in the way his jaw set as he surveyed the total destruction of the place he had openly called that for the last two months. But it didn't matter how much he hated it, there was still work to do. Boxes to check off that the Darkness hadn't erased from his priority list.

Raylan moved woodenly but with an unmistakable purpose as he made his way through the houses.
The first body he came across was the worst of it, though death by coughing and internal lung hemorrhages or whatever TB actually was is likely one of the tamer ways to die in Mathis, but it didn't matter. Raylan's throat tightened to the point where it took conscious effort to try and draw air and when he managed it, it was wildly uneven. It didn't matter that he knew Doc was alive and well back at the schoolhouse, just like it hadn't mattered that he had held Tim in his hands and saw the sniper's corpse nearby. John Henry Holliday had escaped that terrible, now treatable fate. To see him laid out the way he was, sky blue eyes dull and starting to film over tore Raylan's heart out.

It didn't matter that he knew Doc was safe because this was, somehow, still Doc in front of him and there was no wheelbarrow to easily carry him. Raylan took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Alright Darlin'," he said to the gunslinger as he squatted down and brushed his hand over Doc's face to close his eyes. He couldn't look at that dead gaze anymore. "Don't you worry. I'm gonna come back and we'll get you someplace more suitable." Raylan folded Doc's hands over his stomach, feeling like Doc would be furious if his corpse was so rudely grotesque in the street.

Ignoring the way he still wasn't breathing like someone who wasn't on the verge of tears, Raylan moved on from 1307 across the street, only to be immediately met with another shock. It only took a turn around what used to be his front door to see Malcolm splayed backwards with a decoration of rebar sticking out of his chest and Raylan stopped short with a rough, choked sound. He knew full well that Malcolm was okay too, but neither did that matter. It never would.

"Jesus," he breathed before rubbing his whole face and hiding it there in his palms for a long second. An astute eye might see the shake of his shoulders as an errant fraction of how he felt slipped out of his tear ducks but when his hands dropped, his face would be dry. Malcolm looked smaller somehow, laid out this way, paler than any corpse he'd ever seen. Then again, he hadn't seen many drained of their blood.

"Let's get you off there," he choked out, his control slipping with every second he stood still. It took a bit of effort and more time than he wanted to get Malcolm's body to budge and the sound his body made as it slid off the rebar made Raylan want to hurl. If it was anyone else except the three that held him together, he would have been able to handle it more stoically. But Mathis had taken the softest parts of his heart and littered her streets with them.

Malcolm was lighter than he should be. It felt like an odd thing to notice but he felt fragile in Raylan's arms. Like if he dropped the profiler, he'd shatter. Raylan didn't drop him though, but set him down gently next to Doc and followed the same closed eyes/folded hands procedure. "I'll come back for you both. Don't worry."

Raylan went through the rest of the houses, searching 1308 first with a particular kind of frenzy for Jeff and Athena before coming up empty handed. That almost hurt more and Raylan sat in the ashes of the first kind of real home and comfort he'd felt for a very long time until the sun started to set. It was only then that he got up and, starting with Malcolm, started carrying the bodies to the graves he was now sadly appreciative for him having dug.
--

The School House - OTA

By the time Raylan made it back to the schoolhouse, darkness had already fallen and he was dirty with soot and grave dirt, hands scraped and discolored with his blood from the wooden crosses that he had to fashion together. Everything in him hurt and once he'd verified that everyone who was alive continued to be that way, Raylan holed up in the teachers Lounge to wash his hands and face. In a moment of mania, the soap line crept up his arms the harder he scrubbed until his arms were red. It was only then that he stopped and rinsed them off, giving no thought to his face as he turned off the tap and leaned there for a long second.

If he was at home, he'd get drunk and go do sleep, ignore everything. But he wasn't and he couldn't. There was no escape from the horrors and disappointments he'd seen today. So he collected himself and slipped into the least populated room to find a corner to lean himself into. Raylan slid slowly down the wall until he was seated, hands finding a place in his hair as he propped his elbows on his knees and tried to breathe.

He couldn't remember the last time he'd slept. He didn't know the last time he'd eaten. He knew he should care about these things, and yet all he could do was relive the past few days in silence until there were hot tears streaming down his face. He wasn't sure how much more he could take and he had no idea what happened after that.

It wasn't long until the flutter of paper and an odd, certain heavy thump of a book being dropped jolted him from his self-loathing and comfort, drawing him to his feet to go investigate.

elijah mikaelson — the originals

[prevenance]

( day 79 - ota )

[prevenance]

( things have really taken a turn. while elijah had never been comfortable with this place, he'd at least settled in the boarding house only to have it destroyed in the blink of an eye. he hadn't even been able to save anything because fire was one of those things that vampires just couldn't get close to.

so, they'd lost all their things and they'd had to take shelter in the antique shoppe. it's not ideal but elijah is glad that they're at least alive.

during the day, he does wander through what's left of the town, trying to find people that he knows and anything else that might be of use. he does find his way to the town hall to see if there's anything new there but only finds that more people have arrived and little else.

it's on the way back to the antique shoppe that he sees it. at first, he just thinks it's a bit of debris but as he gets closer, he realizes that the crumpled, grey skinned body outside the shoppe is his own corspe.

eliha knows what's happened to him. he knows what's killed him but he doesn't know why. a sense of uneasiness settles over him and he looks away, trying not to focus on the little details of the whole scene.

but eventually his eyes do come back and he stares, unable not to. )

alina starkov » shadow & bone

[darkestlights]

[ plotting post. ]

daisy johnson | marvel

[chuju]

[ plotting; will match format ]

day 079 » closed to bucky

[chuju]

i won’t let this break me even when the ground is shaking

The fire had spread quickly, moving too fast and too erratically to do anything but flee to safety. With the beach cut off and no way to leave even if they could reach it, that meant going west. It wasn’t ideal, there was still that pervasive feeling of wrongness anywhere beyond the town square, but it was the only good option. If the flames followed them… Well, they’d have to take their chances with the forest, even knowing what waited there.

The fire didn’t follow, though, and by the time that ominous orange glow in the sky finally begins to dim, darkness has long since fallen and it's likely the early morning now. The bed and breakfast is Daisy’s first thought for shelter — it’s on the very edge of town, the farthest they can get without going past the treeline, and no way is she letting them spend the night in Baneberry. That place gives her the creeps and she wouldn’t venture in at night if it were the last building left standing in this hellhole.

Having been there before, she immediately moves to the desk, clicking on the little lamp there so they can see. Her hands shake slightly as she moves to the next room, using the dim light filtering in to quickly find the nearest light switch. She doesn’t even notice how single-mindedly focused she is as she searches out every light source, nor the way she closes any curtains or blinds she comes across as she goes through the common rooms. It’s something she needs to do much more than she needs to wash the streaks of soot from her skin, hair, and clothes.

elena gilbert | the vampire diaries

[descendent]

[ plotting comment. ]

[79] HARDISON.

[descendent]

[ cw: references to drowning, dead bodies and death. ]

[ out of all the strange things that have happened in mathias, finding a dead body floating near the edge of the lake shouldn't take her by surprise. but it does.

despite her own fear of water being too deep and her being trapped inside of it, she runs to the water and pulls the body out. the dark hair and the waterlogged body is an unfamiliar shape at first, but when elena finally manages to pull it out of the water and onto the wet bank and flip it over, she's at a loss for words.

soaked to the bone with her jeans sticking uncomfortably to her legs and her boots feeling disgustingly waterlogged themselves, she stands at the lake for god knows how long before she seems to regain her voice.

and once she does, she thinks she shouts for help. that's the word that comes out the first few times, but the desperate pleas of that one syllable become gutteral and a screech. elena screams at seeing herself laying prone in the dirt. ]

Eliot Spencer | Leverage

[likeknives]

Day 81 - Closed to Parker and Hardison

[likeknives]

cw: references to injuries, strangulation, murder, PTSD, disassociation, claustrophobia, references to being buried alive

[He finds his body first, early. It's the second time this has happened and while technically, it should be easier since he's gone through this horror before, it just...isn't.

There really isn't anything that can prepare yourself for seeing yourself. Dead. Physically, right there, dead, in front of you.

There doesn't seem to be any sign of trauma, and for all he knows, his doppelgänger could have dropped dead from cardiac arrest or anything, really. At least, he thinks it's a doppelgänger. Maybe it's still himself, and he simply didn't remember dying this time.

At this point he can't be too sure of anything.

He buries...himself, in the graveyard, and thinks about all the people he's killed that would have been pleased about this.

How many times can you bury yourself to make up for all the lives you've taken?

He finds her the next day. Outside the Antiques place, signs point to strangulation of some kind.

If he was not okay with finding his own body, he's absolutely beside himself (no pun intended) with finding her.

Because she shouldn't be dead. Right now he's not entirely sure that this isn't a double, or this might be...it.

It can't be it, she can't really be dead, but that doesn't mean she might not have gotten killed between now and when he'd seen her last and...

...this can't be happening. Parker simply can't die, he won't allow it. He promised, he promised to keep them both safe until his dying day, so maybe his dying day came and now they could no longer be kept safe.

Eliot stays next to Parker's body for awhile. Keeping her company. He wonders if maybe she would like that. Appreciate that. He doesn't cry, not on the outside.

He buries her in the graveyard.

He finds him the next day.

From what he can tell, looks like a head injury of some kind. Not from a fight, likely, he's seen enough of these to know what probably went down. Maybe from a bad fall.

He can't keep them safe anymore because he died, he gets it. That's what's happened here.

He closes Hardison's eyes and picks him up, carrying him to the graveyard to bury next to Parker.

He could still be alive, just because he found a body simply could mean this was yet another double.

This could be the last time he ever sees Hardison. But the age of the geek never ends, right?

He doesn't want to bury him. Hardison wouldn't like that, he hated being buried the first time. But he doesn't want Parker to get lonely, so into the dirt he goes.

He falls to his knees next to the fresh piles of dirt and hits the ground, over and over again, until his arms are sore and the ground is wet from angry tears.

He might be yelling in rage.

Eliot doesn't leave the graveyard for awhile, but eventually his legs protest and his stomach growls and he remembers that he might still be alive, somehow, even though he doesn't really feel like he's alive. Not with so much death. Not with seeing his own body.

He gets up, wandering back over to the movie theater, wondering if he'd see Hardison and Parker alive and well. Or their bodies, splayed out again on the ground in front of him.

He rubs his face. He's been through war, he's done horrific, irredeemable things. He will never, ever get the sight of Parker and Hardison's bodies out of his head.]