(january catch-all) 2021 IS OFF TO A WEIRD START

[vestigemods]

JANUARY CATCH-ALL

► AT LEAST YOU FINALLY GET TO REST?

Though the new year starts off uneventful enough, with sunny skies and an inch or two of snow melting away with each new day, that good fortune lasts a whopping two whole days. At 5 AM on the 3rd, those slumbering fall into an even deeper sleep, and those still awake (or already awake, you overachievers) find themselves struck with an abrupt and insurmountable wave of exhaustion. It's all you can really do to lie down deliberately rather than collapse altogether, let alone making it to any sort of bed. And this is how the population of the containment zone remains for fourteen whole days, dead to the world (figuratively, of course) and to anything which may or may not be occurring around them.

Then, sometime throughout the 16th, you wake up - though the ambient ache in your neck, back, and joints may make you wish that you hadn't. It's almost as if you slept wrong, or... y'know, slept on the floor, apparently. (At the very least, those who were outside at maintenance time were moved indoors for the duration of it, though they were moved to the nearest available building so... have fun waking up in someone else's cabin, I guess.)

The first time you notice the date (on your phone, or maybe someone else breaks the news in their own confusion or panic), you probably struggle to believe it. Two weeks that you've been asleep. It doesn't feel like two weeks - you're clean, only mildly hungry or thirsty, with only a faint weakness in your muscles as you stand. It almost feels more likely that the Technicians adjusted the date overnight to alarm you. Perhaps you might even believe it, but for the evidence otherwise. The milk in your fridge has expired. The snow outside your door is fresh and untouched, with no sign of your passage supposedly yesterday. And the animals are gone, as well. Perhaps not a sign of how long you've slept, but certainly a sign that something isn't right.

If you expected an explanation, you aren't going to get one. Unless by 'explanation' you mean 'goddamn blizzard'.

A GODDAMN BLIZZARD

Because that's exactly what sets in on the 20th, a gale-force blizzard with increasingly limited visibility. Here's hoping you were smart enough to set out for home as soon as it began, because you aren't given more than a couple of hours before navigating outdoors is damn near impossible, between the visibility issue and the rapidly-deepening blanket of snow. As the afternoon fades to evening, it only seems to be getting worse. Those cabins with appropriately-slanted roofs find that the snow slides down to pile heavily against the cabin's exterior walls and door. Those cabins with a flat or gently-sloped roofs, on the other hand, are at strong risk of a part of their roof (and thus ceiling) collapsing under the weight of all that snow. As if having a blizzard outside the cabin wasn't bad enough.

And then things get just a little bit worse. Just before sunset, the cabins' electricity starts to flicker - just a little at first, but increasing in intensity until it finally goes out altogether a half hour later. This lasts through the night, and while it may seem promising that electricity within the town itself remains steady, that too goes into a blackout just before dawn.

This blackout lingers through the 21st and into the 22nd, cold seeping in through the windows and cracks as you huddle near the fire or generator-run space heater and hope for the best... But even the best isn't pleasant in the slightest. The lack of internal heat lets the doors and windows freeze shut, and snow piles high enough around the house's exterior that you'd have to climb out an upstairs window in order to exit. Not only is it cold as hell, but everyone's more-or-less trapped in it for now.

But not even the cold and the dark can last forever, and the blizzard lets up to a light dusting of snow mid-day on the 22nd. That evening, the power flickers back on as well, but some cabins/apartments/buildings may find that it's less consistent than others, continuing to flicker dangerously throughout the next day or so. But that doesn't mean the ordeal is over yet. The snow may have slowed to an almost laughable sprinkle and the sun may shine warm and bright in the rapidly-clearing sky, but that still leaves each cabin or building piled up with snow nearly as deep as you are tall (except you, Vivi - it's about twice your height). Might want to start digging yourself out, since it'll take nearly the rest of the month to melt down to reasonable levels if you don't.

► MOD NOTES

• This is the January Catch-All Log, for all log top-levels throughout the month. Large gatherings (parties, meetings, etc) are still encouraged to post their own logs for organizational purposes!
  
• This log also encompasses both Annual Maintenance (Jan 3rd - 16th) + Hey, Who Turned Out The Lights? (Jan 20th - 22nd), discussed at the bottom of the January Bulletin.
  
• Because this is a catch-all for everywhere + all month, try to remember to label your top-levels with identifying information like the IC date and location of each prompt (whether in the subject or in the prompt title within the comment), and be sure to clearly indicate event prompts.
  
• ( ! ) For the sake of organization, a top-level has been provided for all Annual Maintenance shenanigans and exclusively those. Please put any shared dream prompts under the top-level for the sake of organization, while any non-dream prompts should be posted as a regular top-level as normal.
  
• Cell phone signal does work during the blackout, but inconsistently! If you'd like to play with the trapped/isolated feelings, feel free to say they can't get a message out/in (or that it takes a long time to do so) even if others are able to more easily.
  
• Any questions can be directed to this top-level or, for a quicker response, to Trace on discord/plurk.

Comments

[moonape]

[It is a problem he comes upon pretty quickly. Winston peeks around for any buttons or holo panel to start the fire, even matches, but he's not found anything. At least not that he can see.]

Uhh... you wouldn't happen to have any matches or a lighter?

[He turns then, regarding the tiny human sadly. All alone in this cabin pushed back into he woods. Maybe he'd understand if the cabin were closer to the others even...]

Must be awful lonely, but as long as you're okay...?

[It must be strange having this big talking gorilla show up and offer to help, but also question your living situation.]

[lethechained]

-- Oh, [ Naminé says, as if the necessity of a way to start the fire hadn't crossed her mind at all. Tucking her chin bashfully, ] Yes, I do, in the kitchen - I'll get them for you.

[ And her weight shifts like she means to do exactly that, yet she pauses when he looks at her, pinned in place by the necessity of explaining herself. Her shoulders are already high, tucked into the blanket for warmth as they are, but there might be more to it than that when she pauses for moment, regarding him carefully in return. It is peculiar to have a stranger come asking about her state of affairs; she's usually able to avoid such questions given how rarely she has visitors. ]

I'm okay, [ she assures him at last, sounding briefly hesitant; she hasn't truly given it much thought before now. More certain is the, ] I'm used to being alone.

[ But that sounds like a poor excuse, and the sort of bemused way she studies him seems to indicate that she knows that. Turning her eyes away, she finally makes good on her word to collect the matches for him and steps past him to go into the kitchen. There's a quiet creak as she - presumably, since she's out of sight - opens a cabinet. Though she's efficient about it and doesn't waste time, she's still considering how she might assuage his concerns. Upon her return, she holds a barely-used book of matches out to him, finally admitting, ]

Sometimes it is lonely. But I think... maybe I'm more comfortable this way. [ She says that, yet her eyes are just a little sad as she looks up, asking, ] Does that make sense?

[moonape]

[To many maybe it would be a poor or strange excuse. Winston can relate quite a bit though.

When she returns he gently takes the comically small matchbook from her tiny hands. Compared to his that is.]

... mm, it does.

[He'd grown used to being "alone", does an AI companion count, for some years now. After Overwatch was disbanded, he didn't really have any where to go. Where does a genetically engineered talking gorilla go live when he no longer has his "family" anymore?

Illegally squat at an old Overwatch base that's what.

Winston turns to the fireplace now, awkwardly attempting to light a match with big thick fingers not made for such tasks. He'll manage. Maybe.]

Sometimes it's easier to be alone. Sometimes alone is all you've got.

[Though he was attempting to fix that before he was nabbed to Vestige. After fumbling with the matches and having no luck, Winston clears his throat and looks rather embarrassed as he offers the matches back to the girl.]

Um, do you mind? Haha I'm all thumbs.

[lethechained]

[ Something in her expression eases as he confirms his understanding. Looking just a tiny bit relieved, she relinquishes the matches to his hold, then folds her own hands together in front of her as he sets to work. Or... tries to, anyway, since the task seems to be quite challenging for someone so out of proportion with the tools involved. Naminé is just considering offering her assistance when his words give her pause.

They sound an awful lot like personal experience. With a blink, she angles her eyes thoughtfully up at his face, unable to keep them from growing concerned. Well aware as she is that such a subject might be a delicate one, she hesitates to ask about it. Instead, ]

Easier... Yes, it's easier. [ A beat. ] And-- safer, maybe.

[ Not in the more practical sense; there's safety in numbers, as they say, but in her case it's hard to find the gumption to attach herself to others when it's always worked out so badly in the past. It feels safer, is what she means. Perking at the clearing of his throat, the girl tilts her head until his intention becomes clear. ]

Of course, [ she agrees without hesitation, reaching to retrieve the little book of matches from him with such mild gentleness that one would think she were the one big enough to hurt him by accident.

That carefulness doesn't really help much when she tries to strike the match, though; it doesn't take the first time, or the second. On the third, she hesitates, spares a flickering glance upward at him before trying again. A tiny hint of magic is all it takes to make the flame finally catch - and the faint extra glow just as the stick lights is hardly noticeable. (Naminé hopes it was inconspicuous, anyway, because that's not something she'd like to have to explain if it turns out this fellow comes from a world that doesn't look kindly upon the supernatural.) ]

... There. [ She breathes it with more open relief than before. Peering up at him, she resists the instinct to hand the lit match to him; they've already established the state of his thumbs. ] Here - I'll start it.

[ The fire in the fireplace, that is. He'll have to move out of the way, however, to let her through, which is probably why she regards him expectantly thereafter. ]

[moonape]

[It seems like everyone here has had their fill of sad backstory. Maybe one day he'll go into it with the people here. Once they've unlocked friend lvl 2 with him.]

Safer... the situation certainly depends. I'm not so sure that applies in a place like this.

[His tone indicates that that's definitely her choice though. Winston offers a 'thank you' as she takes the matches and attempts to light one. It almost seems like she may have some trouble as well, but thankfully third time is the charm.

Lucky(?) for her he doesn't notice the bit of magic, but he would have been amazed if he had. "Magic" isn't real where he's from exactly, but people have special powers and such, usually through technology and experimental fuck ups. We won't talk about the brothers who can summon spirit dragons. Who even knows with that.]

Hey-! Good job.

[Oh wait- realizing he's in the way Winston apologizes with an "excuse me" shifting over to give her room.]

Maybe you don't mind being out here, but if you do ever need help, you're welcome to call. I'm Winston, and besides cold, you are?

[He's trying to joke around, lighten the mood. He can imagine the girl must feel a little odd having this giant ape in her cabin talking and all.]

[lethechained]

[ This certainly isn't a happy place, and it hasn't really seemed to attract very many exceptionally happy people, either. Maybe it's so much the better; the ones who know hardship already are better equipped to handle this sort of life. Naminé, for her part, is aware of how her statement might have sounded, as the definition 'safety' in this context is perhaps subjective. A touch self-consciously, she relents with a soft, ]

Maybe not. It is true that I'm not the most able to defend myself.

[ Of course, she's working on that. But since that's still very much in progress, she can admit to her failings in that area - although if she had the presence of mind she'd be proud of herself for getting magic to work the first time. The practice has really been paying off. Mouth curling just a little bit at the corners, ]

Thank you...! [ It's not every day that she receives praise, so it's a nice feeling. Her features are still kind as she gives a grateful nod of her head once he's out of the way and steps over to the fireplace. This part she's had some experience with lately, and before long she's made use of the match and is coaxing the firewood to burn. That doesn't stop her from glancing up, though, when he speaks. She looks pleasantly surprised by the introduction, and though it takes her a beat to comprehend the joke, it seems to amuse her once she does, judging by her gentle smile. ]

Naminé, [ she responds. ] My name is Naminé. I'll... keep that in mind, Winston. [ Although it feels rather like she's asked a lot of him already, what with all this snow clearing business. ] It's very nice to meet you.

[ Ah. Perhaps she ought to continue the humor, so-- after a second's hesitation, she adds a careful, ]

And that's-- not just because you made it so that I can leave my house again.

[moonape]

[To be fair to Naminé there's probably no place safe here in Vestige. The illusion of it was still nice once in a while though.]

I'm sorry you're in a place you have to concern yourself with defending yourself.

[She's just a kid after all. She shouldn't have to worry about that. No one should as far as Winston is concerned, but unfortunately that's not the case for a lot of people.

Thankfully Naminé has more luck in getting the fire going and soon it'll start to warm up.]

It's very nice to meet you too, Naminé.

[He chuckles, shifting closer to the fire again.]

I hope otherwise you're doing alright out here? Good on food and such?

[lethechained]

[ Fair enough; the Technicians have enough power over them that any kind of safety is an illusion. Not even their own minds seem sacred here - but that's beside the point and fortunately is far from her present thoughts. ]

It's alright, [ she responds, placidly enough to sound matter-of-fact about the whole thing, ] I'm used to it. Actually, you could even say that most days, my life here is more peaceful than the one I had before.

[ Then there are the days where it isn't, and those are the ones that really put a damper on the whole situation. With the fire handled and matchbook set aside, Naminé places herself close to the hearth, exhaling a quiet breath as the warmth begins to reach her. She looks as small as ever, legs tucked in to try to make the most of the heat the fire and the blanket provide. ]

Oh-- yes. I've been very lucky; I had some food stored already before the storm came in. I didn't even have to open the extras that girl left for everyone. Other than the firewood and how hard it is to draw in the dark, I haven't had much trouble.

[ Aside from, you know, the fact that it is pretty lonely out here. ]

What about you? You didn't seem to need any help with the snow.

[ Which makes him better equipped for all this than she is, to be sure. ]

[moonape]

[Well now that's just upsetting. Poor kid, when an evil suffering death cage is better than your life back home.]

I guess we have to take whatever silver lining we can.

[And good, he's glad she's not gone without food. Bad enough she'd been cold. Winston tilts his head curiously as she mentions drawing.]

Oh you like drawing? It must be nice to pass the time.

[And Winston does consider himself lucky, being so big and having fur he can handle the cold a wee bit better. Though the fire feels great right now, especially since he's been out in the snow for a while now.]

Thankfully not. Though I hope you don't mind if I warm up a little before heading back out.

[lethechained]

[ With her little nod at his comment about silver-lining, one could almost take her mood about the whole thing to be optimistic, but-- no, she's still as much a sad-eyed creature as she was before. But hey, there really has been a silver lining for her, and she's quite grateful for that. ]

I do, [ she confirms, and it feels like such a new development that she can actually say that. Before, she hadn't really known if she liked art or if it was just a matter of course for her. Now, she feels more confident that it actually is something she wants to participate in. ] It took me a while to find the right materials to keep up with it here, but I've been sketching my entire life.

[ He might even find evidence of that in the cabin if he's looking; a picture on the wall here, a stray pencil there. A touch bashfully, ]

I guess I just didn't know how else to keep busy once I arrived here.

[ The girl is quick to shake her head at his last comment; ]

You're welcome to stay as long as you like. It's the least I can do after you helped me out. Although... [ That hesitant shyness is back. She must admit, mustn't she, ] I'm not really sure what you're supposed to do when you have guests. Not many people visit me out here. So-- I'm sorry if I get it wrong.