03.2023 | WELCOME BACK! Hello friends old and new! I'm so excited to welcome you all back to SITW! I've made some changes to the plot and added the ability to play supernatural charcaters! So come and check it out! I can't wait to jump back into this little town with all of you!
A strange history surrounds the town, it is a place where mysterious and supernatural things have been known to happen. The reputation of the town reguarly draws in visitors and newcomers alike. While some residents avidly believe in the supernatural, others are far more skeptical. What do you believe?
It was true that Elrond himself couldn't see much out of the recordings. Some might question why he bothered to still do it. When he worked alone it was a laborious process. He had to painstakingly figure out where to aim the camera and set the camera by memory. If there was something wrong like the battery not. There were accessibility features sure but most of them were aimed at consumers' looking to take portraits so they just yelled when a face was in frame. Even in the best case he created something which to others was beautiful, mystical even but he could only see using a screen reader that read the contents of the timelapse out loud. The sort of robotic jolting tone of the screen reader left much to be desired in the way of description.
Despite all of that, he still felt the urge to catalogue the night sky as if confirming it was still up there to everyone else. He was lucky enough to have been connected with a capable photographer (or so he had been assured) from the local newspaper. Forking over a chunk of change was an easy trade for him. He got someone to make sure he didn't slip and fall in the middle of the dark mountain ridge and a set of eyes to see if he was actually aiming at the bit of sky he wanted.
Seeing as he couldn't drive himself he included a ride to and from the mountain as part of the job. He had asked that they help him head up to the mountain and set the camera before sundown, then to help him retrieve the camera the next morning. If he were setting the camera on his own he would have simply camped on the mountain but it was a bit much to ask of someone doing this as a paid odd job. He waited on the couch but his ear was waiting for the doorbell. Amongst all the large land estates and mansions his little cabin style home seemed modest in comparison. Not too hard to find he hoped.
last edited Dec 2, 2023 23:47:55 GMT by Elrond Toal
Tate was never one to turn down to opportunity for extra cash. He'd never been well off and had always survived by just barely making ends meat, sometimes not even that. It was only a year ago that he was able to purchase a trailer in Sunny Heights to call home and that had been a major accomplishment for the young man. Sure, he got it as a deal because it was in poor repair, but he had learned as a young orphan that a home was a home, no matter where it was and he was grateful for a roof over his head and relative warmth to keep him from freezing this time of year.
So when he was asked to help out a man with a photography project, Tate didn't hesitate for a moment to accept the job. He showed up at the man's cabin in his old beat up car. It had chipped paint, a crack in the windshield, and the fabric of the seats still smelled faintly of old cigarette smoke though Tate usually made a point not to smoke in the car. It was used of course and, again, he would take what he could get. It ran most of the time and got him from point A to point B.
He ran his fingers through the mop of hair on his head and then tossed his head to move the locks out of his eyes before he knocked on the door, then quickly shoved his cold hands into the pockets of his coat.
Elrond stood up from the couch at the sound of the knock. He made for the door and opened it to look down at the young man standing there. He looked in the general direction of the man’s face. This close he could see some details like the man’s fluffy mop of hair and his downcast eyes. There had been some description of the man given but really it was more that Elrond received so few guests that it was unlikely to be anyone else. Elrond met the man with a warm smile and the sort of enthusiasm only academics seem to have. “Ah, you must be Mr.Parrish. Just a moment.” He stepped away from the door to pick up the equipment he had left near the couch. Then turned and made his way back to the door. “ Right then! No time to waste!” Elrond stepped out and locked up the house quickly. He hustled over to the car and waited for the younger man to let him in. The second hand-ness of the car escaped him. From Elrond’s point of view it, like many other cars, was a shiny blur of metal. He could see some of the flaws if he looked hard enough but he was much too excited about setting up the timelaspe to notice. Elrond did vaguely notice the cigarette smell but strangely that was a smell he sort of liked. He himself wasn’t much of a smoker. It was only once he was in the car he realized he hadn’t actually introduced himself. “Oh, I’m so sorry! I completely forgot to introduce myself.” He turned in Tate’s general direction “Elrond Toal, Elrond is fine. Thank you for coming out all this way to help me set up.”
Tate didn't know what to except when he heard that the guy was asking for help because he couldn't see well enough to do it on his own. He supposed that in his head he pictured an old guy with glasses and a walking stick but Elrond wasn't that at all. He seemed to see well enough to get around his house, his eyes looked in the right directions and with a focused gaze as far as Tate could tell. So either he had mastered the ability to fake it or maybe he wasn't totally blind.
Regardless, they were soon in his car and on their way. "Yah, no problem. Happy to help, man." Tate said casually. "Elrond. Elrond, Elrond, Elrond. That's a cool name."
They drove down the street, a more twisty one than it would have been if they were in the heart of Sweetwater. "I thought you were gonna be like, blind blind." He said in a very Tate way. He had never quite mastered social skills and what things were okay to say and what weren't so he often just spouted whatever was on his mind. "Are you just real good at pretending or what?"
last edited Jan 14, 2024 4:28:05 GMT by Tate Parrish
In some ways the straight forward honesty was refreshing. He chuckled " legally I am Blind. But practically speaking.....I can still see some things. My vision is the worst in the dark....which is where we are going." He held up his folded cane "I'll actually need this then." He wasn't so unused to people questioning his blindness. It used to sting or frustrate him. Now that he lived out in isolation it was an almost nostalgic problem. "I can see what's straight ahead if it's bright." And if he squinted, he didn't think that Tate needed all the details. Even so some people liked to know just exactly what he couldn't see.
Elrond was willing to deal with the inconvenience of curiosity for the sake of research. It was no small taks to trek out there even if you could see and you were being paid. He would need tate's eyesight for sure to get to the site for setting up the timelapse. "I'm sure I'll live up to your expectations soon enough." He sat back in the seat glad that it wouldn't be too long of ride. He got carsick easily
The explanation was helpful but also left Tate with more questions, like just how much help he'd need. This may very well be pretty awkward with Tate either trying to help too much or not enough, but it wasn't like he wasn't used to things being awkward with people so this would just be another day really. Just a more interesting one and he wasn't complaining about that.
"Okay cool," he replied and then caught himself. "Well not 'cool', I just mean- you know what, nevermind." Yeah, already awkward. "Listen, you just tell me what you need from me and I've got you, man." Easy enough. He was getting paid to help and he was going to do just that. Maybe it would be even be fun.
The headlights on the road caught the image of a deer and Tate slowed down while the creature decided if it was going to try to cross or not. Ultimately it waited until Tate was basically right in front of it before it decide to dash across the road right in front of him. At that point Tate was already going at a crawl so he merely tapped his breaks to stop completely and make sure it was well out of the way before he kept driving.
Elrond offered an easy laugh in reassurance "That will be just fine. I'll be sure to let you know when I need your eyes." He noticed the car slow down but didn't really clock what was going on until they came to a dead stop in front of a large brown blob. He squinted at the shadow but it darted off before he could really tell for sure what it was. "What was that?" He asked with raised eyebrows "I hope it wasn't one of those cryptids Sweetwater is so famous for." Of course he knew it was almost certainly some form of the local wildlife. He was a city boy for the most part so he wasn't too familiar with what one usually came across out here. He had no real idea if was a deer or a cow or even a small moose. His gaze focused sort of in the general direction of the road. If he had felt any apprehension about a possible collision it didn't show in his face. He had full faith Tate could get them there in one piece. Well, he had to.
"Ah man! That would have been way cooler!" Tate said, clearly bummed it hadn't actually been a cool cryptid. "It was just a deer," he answered the question. Damn this guy really was pretty blind if he couldn't even tell a deer had just crossed right in front of them. He was fascinated by the way someone could just move on with life. He was pretty sure if he lost his eyesight he'd become a couch potato and just feel bad for himself all the time.
They kept going, continuing along the road carefully until they eventually reached the lookout point and Tate put the car in park. "Alrighty tighty, we're here."