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Apocalypse How Mods ([personal profile] apocalypsehowmods) wrote in [community profile] apocalypsehowcomm2022-05-16 08:09 am

Event - Appalachia: Into the Pines


Appalachia: Into the Pines

Footage plays on the television as a new story comes on, showing a series of sweeping vistas, intercut with clips of wolves that have clearly been filmed at some local wildlife sanctuary. "As far as anyone knows it, the last wolf to ever freely roam the Allegheny Mountains was slain in West Virginia in 1897. Daniel Stoffer Hamrick saw to the beast's passing, and the woods in our part of the world have gone quieter ever since. Appalachia does not forget its history, though. It buries it beneath coal and flyash, debts and white powder and pills. And the blood of people taken before their time, by the mines, by the mountain, by things we don't have names for, just hurt. But Appalachia does not forget.

"This is Cindy Parsons with Channel 5, Wolf News." Footage cuts to a newscaster standing outside a gated apartment complex with FYRE's logo emblazoned on it. "As we know, our beloved Wolf Pen is home to one of the biggest FYRE worker housing complexes in Wyoming County. It is a monument to the history of our town, and this week, we'll be on the lookout for visitors from all over the country, coming to see the grand re-opening of the historic Bluestone Mine as a museum."

Footage cuts to a nondescript businessman, identified by the news footage as Carl Watts, CEO of FYRE. He's smiling blandly as he stands at a podium and gestures to the entrance of the mining tunnel behind him. "The Wolf Pen community has been a partner to us for decades now, and we knew it was finally time to give something back to all y’all. We'll have our soft opening on Monday with a full Rumble Down Under party in the old mines scheduled for June 15th. We'll have a live bluegrass concert and anticipate a huge influx of tourists to the area to help out our neighbors itching for a few more pocketbooks to tend to." A wink.

The footage returns to Cindy. "FYRE has stated that this new museum will provide an educational tool and tourist attraction for those wanting to learn about West Virginia, Wolf Pen, and the hard-working men and women who have made this beautiful part of our nation their home. Time will tell. Time is always telling when it comes to the promises of people who have used our land and our bodies to line their pocketbooks. They fill our blood and our lungs with black tar and-"

Cindy cuts out and is replaced by in-studio anchors. "Thank you, Cindy!" a blonde woman says, smile just a little strained. "I think we're all looking forward to seeing the big opening by FYRE on Sunday and that rocking good party next month. It should be a gneiss one! Now to Tim with the weather. Tim?"


➥ Links
cacophonish: MISC, B&W (misc03)

Austin

[personal profile] cacophonish 2022-05-20 03:32 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Jeff arrives with a plate full of muffins, courtesy of the hotel's continental breakfast. Or maybe it's the stale leftovers from yesterday's continental breakfast, since he likely wasn't awake or around in time to catch today's.

In any case, he sits on the edge of the conference table and slides the plate over to Austin in a friendly and totally unnecessary offering. ]


You got any leads with the concert, man? Maybe I can pose as a traveling country guitarist. Ooh! Or a bluegrass groupie!
pennedin: (Austin)

[personal profile] pennedin 2022-05-21 02:38 am (UTC)(link)
[Austin seems wholly unbothered by Jeff edging into his space. He casts the other young man a charming grin and will pick one of the muffins out.]

I was actually gonna tap you for that. The band coming in is apparently called the Undertones, but I can't find... any info on them. They don't got a website, no songs online I can find, but they're apparently some sort of big deal, according to Watts. There're some bands playing down at the Blue Dog tonight. You think you can sniff around? See if any of them have heard of these guys? Big event like this that's supposed to be about giving back to the community? You'd think they'd hire someone local.
cacophonish: MOPI (scene27331)

[personal profile] cacophonish 2022-05-21 11:49 am (UTC)(link)
[ Jeff may not be the most internet savvy, but even he knows that any up and coming band would stake out some kind of online presence in this day and age. So that tidbit definitely has him raising his brow. ]

Oooh. A mysterious band called The Undertones, performing in a mine... [ Jeff laughs a little and takes one of the muffins. ] What are the odds that it's some Buried bullshit?

[ He hums for a beat, then nods. ] Yeah, I can check out the Blue Dog. Make some friends, see what's up...
pennedin: (Austin)

[personal profile] pennedin 2022-05-22 04:07 am (UTC)(link)
Very high likelihood, given none of these folks are particularly subtle. FYRE, Undertones. Just waiting for one of their songs to be "The Black Note" or something like that.

[He shakes his head slightly.]

Don't think I can say it enough, but you did good with Down, helping get the intel you did. I hadn't been able to connect all the dots the first time I was out here, hunting down Anand. You and everyone else? You made a real difference. And, I expect, we'll be able to save a lot of people because of it. Hope you can work your charm over a few other people, Jeff. Keep it up. [He raises his muffin in salute.] The right way.
cacophonish: MOPI (set1-00877)

[personal profile] cacophonish 2022-05-23 02:44 pm (UTC)(link)
Thanks, I... I'm glad, you know. I mean, obviously I'm glad we're helping people. And I wanna keep helping, I mean, fuck, I don't want an apocalypse--

[ Jeff flashes a smile at Austin, though there's something a little conflicted in it. Guilt, maybe. It's normal for a young agent to feel a little weird about all this, right? ]

What happened to Down? Do I wanna know?
pennedin: (Austin)

[personal profile] pennedin 2022-05-24 02:23 am (UTC)(link)
You got as much right as anyone else to know. Maybe more than some. [Austin shrugs a shoulder.] He's dead. Melted into nothing like he should have been a hundred years ago.