TDM #10 - Wither and Bloom [FINAL REPRINT]

[pumpkinhollow]

Pumpkin Hollow Gazette: Spring Issue

We ask that all toplevels include the age of the character (or at least a rough estimate) for TDM posts, to ensure that players both old and new can quickly make informed decisions about how to interact with a given character. We also ask that if someone lists a prompt as having an age preference, that it be respected. This is specifically for TDMs unless otherwise stated. Thank you!

Pumpkin Hollow Gazette

12/13/24 | TDM #10 - Wither and Bloom [First Edition]
Spring Pokémon Types - Grass, Fairy, Ground, Bug, Normal

WELCOME TO PUMPKIN HOLLOW

By Yorick Aberdeen

The crop for which the town is named.

Greetings, Hollowites, old and new! We are pleased to bring you yet another riveting issue of the Pumpkin Hollow Gazette. Or perhaps this is your very first one?

For nearly two years now, the mysterious ferryman has brought new and interesting faces across seas and stars and dimensional planes to reach our fair island. Since then, our community has grown larger and infinitely more interesting--- and we’re glad you’re joining us! Just in time for the weather to be just lovely.

This time of year tends to be a bit lighter on town-wide events due to this being a vitally busy time for our local agriculture industry, but we urge you to get involved with planting season and spend some time in nature. Who knows? You might even catch sight of our goddess of Land and Spring if you spend enough time among plants! Just don’t look into the trees--- they look back.

We invite you, as with all those who came before you, to enjoy your stay at the Oak & Iron tavern inn while you settle in. Please stop by Town Hall to discuss opportunities for work and more permanent housing! All newcomers get 100 Brass in their pocket upon arrival as well, so we encourage you to take advantage of this as well. Reach out to your neighbors for help if you need it, and don’t forget to pick up your copy of the Pumpkin Hollow Gazette whenever you need the local news!

SPRING WEATHER REPORT

By Phil Connors

The breeze will make your clothes smell great!

Start dusting those homes and beating those blankets! The days are getting longer, and with it, the winds are getting warmer. Spring is here! We’ll see some days that are still chilly and windy, but the more warm and temperate phases will get more common later in the season. We’re also entering the rainy period, meaning flowers are springing out of the ground and we’ll be seeing some very beautiful sunrises on misty mornings. Color is coming back to the isle, the frogs are in the rivers, and the insects and lambs are in the fields. It’s a good season to be outside.

Which means it’s also a good season to do laundry! Join us for our Community Laundry Day, where we all do our much-needed chores together and hang-dry our laundry in the warm and breezy weather! Join us on the green for some team washing. Water provided. Bring your own tubs, soap, and of course, clothes!

COMMUNITY EVENTS KEEP TOWN LIVELY ALL SPRING

By Timothy Stoker

The gazebo in town square, beside the festival green, is the place to be this season.

Legend has it that this time last year, a packed ferry arrived with a mass influx of offworlders, and an emergency potluck dinner was held to welcome the crowd. Now, this reporter wasn’t here just yet when that happened, but stories tell of a gathering of epic culinary proportions that heralded a new age of prosperity for Pumpkin Hollow. Sounds like something worth celebrating! Now that the weather has turned lovely once more (as elaborated on above by our own Phil Connors), the town has decided to celebrate the anniversary of the newly dubbed “Harbor Day” by revisiting that potluck idea. Drop by the Temple of Sacred Roots every other Friday from now until June to sample the cuisine of your new neighbors and local businesses. New residents need only bring themselves!

Also, in the spirit of spring cleaning, residents will also be selling or giving away their old items every weekend, weather permitting, in a series of mass yard sales. Some of our more modern residents supplied the term “yard crawl” for the event, which was deemed to be fitting. So come out on Saturday and Sunday mornings and afternoons to see what useful used items you can take off your neighbors’ hands! It’s a great way for new residents to decorate their new homes cheaply and get some new clothes.

And finally, on Wednesday evenings the Festival Green will be hosting “Swift Social” events (to be held in the Oak & Iron in the event of rain). A reimagining of last year’s popular charity speed dating event, this new Swift Social is expanded to include individuals seeking platonic relationships as well--- though that doesn’t mean romance is off the menu! The 10 Brass will be used to support the town’s medical community and the Autumn Leaves Dormitory House for Young Residents. So come out and make a friend or meet someone cute--- it’s for charity!

Fearsome Fae Antics Cause Town-Wide Trouble

By Melanie King

Up to no good, probably.

Things have been getting tricksy around town as, apparently, the fae population are staging the prank war to end all prank wars—or so local experts are telling us. If, like this reporter, you thought you were just having terrible luck with forgetting where you put things down or waking up with horrible bedhead, surprise! You've actually been caught in the crossfire of the fairies' games and may be entitled to financial compensation. (Not really. That's a joke.)

It looks like their antics are escalating significantly over time from harmless inconveniences to active dangers, so beware of any unusual sounds, behaviours or visual phenomenon you may encounter. Alluring or pleading voices from the woods, ghostly lights, critters acting oddly—if it's out of the ordinary, think twice. Or it might be the last time you think at all (at least, until tomorrow morning).

Fiendish Floral Figures Take Root Around Town

By Yorick Aberdeen

How eerie!

Spring is a time of year characterized by new life and by fresh floral blooms. It’s said that the land is Serranai’s canvas, and flowers are her paint. There is no debating that watching the Spring goddess’s artistry come to life in her season of power is an activity beloved by all! However, the Department of Supernatural Affairs is currently investigating some strangely behaved plant life.

While sightings have been somewhat rare, locals have been reporting eerie structures made out of flowering vines or woven flower stems that take the shape of hollowed out humanoid silhouettes. The poses seem to indicate motion and appear capable of springing to life at any moment, but the strange figures never seem to actually move --- at least, not that anyone has actually seen. However, many have cited that upon looking away from the figures and looking back, they appear to be closer. Those who have had direct contact with these floral armatures of people are also reporting some kind of ongoing allergic reaction from the encounter. Symptoms include severe shortness of breath, unpleasant itching that feels like it is coming from beneath the skin, and intense bouts of emotion which vary from person to person.

The Pumpkin Hollow Board of Safety is currently investigating long-term effects of contact with these beings and advises residents to avoid them. They seem highly resilient to fire, impact, and tearing, and while cutting with a sharp implement seems to have some success, it’s inadvisable to get close enough to the things to use such tools in the first place. Local alchemist Aeryn Sallek and local non-magical chemist Sally Boyle are currently working together to develop an herbicidal blend that is safe for human skin contact and potentially consumption to try and deal with the flowery menaces, which the Board of Safety has begun calling “Hanahilators”. But don’t let the name frighten you--- steering clear of these freaky floral followers should be a more than sufficient safety measure until the threat can be dealt with. Probably, anyway!

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Further Details...

Yard Crawl

Participate in the Yard Crawl as either a buyer, a seller, or both! When you take on a job in Pumpkin Hollow, you are supplied with permanent housing outside the Oak & Iron as part of your start-up kit, and most of them are full of old and worn furniture and clothes left behind when they were abandoned. Get rid of some of it or find something new at the Spring Yard Crawl! Plus, some of the native residents will also be selling or giving away their own old things.

Here’s how the Brass shakes out:

• Buyers can spend 50 Brass and get a haul of their choice of used or free clothing, furniture, or small decorative items. All of it will be of decent to low quality and relatively unremarkable design, so nothing extravagant. (Although a lone exciting knick knack could be considered passable!) Reminder that newcomers are given their first stipend of 100B upon arrival, so new characters are welcome to participate--- you’ll just need to mark that on your ledger if/when you app in. Ask for help if you have questions about this!


• Sellers can make 50B off of their participation but must make a toplevel. Only apped-in characters that are not Laggards can participate as a Seller.


• Those who are both buying and selling end up with a net zero of Brass, but all the aforementioned rules apply!


• Transactions related to the Yard Crawl can be applied to a character’s ledger three times --- once per month for the duration of this TDM!

Swift Social

Under the Swift Social toplevel posted from the mod account, join the fun by posting a starter with the provided code to create a profile card! Then comment on someone else’s starter with one of the following icebreaker questions to get started:

Which would be more surprising to see on your doorstep, a unicorn or a walrus?
If you could commit any crime with no consequences, what would it be?
If you were caught in a trap and the only way to escape from it with your life was to do something genuinely impressive, what would be your approach?
If you had to live on only one food for the rest of your life, what would you choose?
If you were held at knife point and instructed by your assailant that you must call someone on their sending stone, and if they do not answer, you die, who would you call?
Which would be most frightening to encounter in a dark alley: a ghost, an alien, or a horse?
If you could have any wish granted for you, no matter how big or small, what would it be? (Cannot ask for more wishes, that’s cheating!)
What’s a subject that you could confidently teach an hour-long class on with no preparation?
If you could instantly become an expert in any skill, what would you choose?
Make your own!

Be advised that you must post a comment with your profile card so that any Swift Social partners you have can reference it for your age and preferences.

Fae Pranks

It’s a fairy prank war! A few of the local fae courts are using Marrow Isle as their battle ground, since the demons made it trendy. They’re mostly out to prank each other--- but they’re also happy to practice their tricks on you! And fairies have some very odd ideas about boundaries when it comes to pranks. Here’s a few examples of some of the tricks you might encounter, ranging from silly to genuinely dangerous:

• A truly outrageous amounts of butterflies


• Sightings of Edwin the Headless Postman, a Dullahan (this is a played character that a mod will tag out with, please leave an OOC note if you’d like to opt out)


• Will-o-wisps that lead you in circles or into danger


• Fae dance parties that will have you dancing yourself to death!


• Missing objects


• Mysteriously spoiled milk


• Your hair got braided or extra tangled while you were asleep


• Weird sounds in Prague Mill after dark. Is it haunted?


• Strange women crying in the forest or by the Bluffs, but when you approach them to try and help, you find yourself suddenly in life-threatening danger!


• Create your own! Have fun with it, get spooky or goofy as you see fit.

Floral Fiends [cw: body horror, death]

Loosely inspired by the Hanahaki disease and the film Annihilation, Hanahilators are uncanny figures made out of flowers that move when they are not being watched. If they catch you, they will grab you, but seemingly have no interest in harming you as they will relent as soon as they’ve touched you.

However, once you have pollen on you, the effects begin to take hold, and flowers begin growing within your body, first in your lungs and then pushing into the rest of you. These parasitic blooms feed off of your strong emotions and are influenced by the emotions which define you. (Feel free to use the Victorian flower language to determine what kinds of flowers you get!) Once strong enough, the vines begin feeding on your body, destroying it and leaving behind a brand new Hanahilator. But don’t worry, you’ll be back to your old self tomorrow, so enjoy the opportunity to explore the island as a ghost! Apped in characters should remember to fill out a Death Certificate! It’s a relatively rare encounter, so don’t worry about running into one if you don’t want to.

Pokémon

Each season, new types of Pokémon can be found in nature around the island! They cannot be captured as the technology does not exist on Marrow Isle, but they can be befriended and kept as pets. Since there is no PC, each person can have no more than six. You can befriend any Pokémon whose primary type matches the list at the top of the newspaper. (Eevee can be caught in any season.) Legendaries are off limits for obvious reasons, and mythicals can be encountered for fun but not kept! Evolutionary stones can be found in Paradesium, the magical subterranean jungle beneath the mountain to the North. Every type will be available at some point throughout the year, so if you don’t have access to your fave yet, check back next season!

Comments

[lovethyneighb_or]

A vacation. Something familiar. Ah, he thinks he’s getting it, maybe. Incrementally his shoulders begin to relax.

A light laugh. “You had plenty to stress about, no doubt. Of all the ways to die I’d argue it’s one of the more honorable ones.” And not, you know, being on a boat that exploded into the void.

“There’s a strong interfaith presence here, as I’m sure you’ve noticed. It’s been such an honor servicing a community as colorful as this one. This potluck is a celebration of how many people have arrived from all corners of the universe to help this little town thrive.”

And if he’s scanning Aldo’s face very carefully after saying that, well, that’s his own business.

just don't have a heart attack, she doesn't know CPR :P

[hereticofthewilds]

Elsie is rather proud of her little trick, and she beams brightly--which, unfortunately, in the unlight of her shadow realm, makes her look like a faithful adaptation of Alice in Wonderland's Cheshire Cat.

"Yay, Elsie win! Want out?"

[mothofholiness]

Considering Aldo just yelled at his fascist coworker the other week for being horribly Islamophobic and let's-start-another-Crusade-in-this-the-year-of-our-Lord-2024-ish, Mulcahy needn't worry. In fact, his expression brightens just a bit.

"It takes all kinds, doesn't it? It's wonderful to see the diversity here."

People find comfort and meaning in religion. Obviously Aldo thinks his own is the right one, but he also thinks that quite a bit can be learned from interfaith exchange. Perhaps even a new facet of God's love.

[saintoflangley]

"In a minute," Alex says, looking curiously around. Not like he can see much but Elsie.

"I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore." No, Alex, the fae-ral child will not understand that.

[hereticofthewilds]

"Can stay," she offers. "Don't let go." If he does, he'll be, as the modern folks say, 'yeeted.'

"Kansas...?"

[lovethyneighb_or]

And again he relaxes just the littlest bit. Okay. Good.

“It truly does. We have all sorts here—even a Rabbi. Our own small flock here is from all over the world. And through time; I’m from 1953, myself. I was stationed in Korea.”

[mothofholiness]

Aldo refrains from saying that's seven years before I was born. Barely.

"I suppose it makes sense that somewhere outside of time as we know it - at least as far as I've gathered - would treat linear time as a mere suggestion. I'm from 2024, myself."

The Korean War. His dad had fought in Korea. It's a weird thought.

[saintoflangley]

"I won't," he reassures her. Good to know that Bad Things Will Happen if he does. He doesn't particularly want to ask.

The question makes him laugh a little. "It means we're not somewhere familiar." Probably not the best idea to explain film references and idiomatic language. At least, not while they're hanging out in the Twilight Zone.

Vickie Reeds (Number 44) | 23+ (time abyss) | Changeling: the Lost & CRAU

[arrayerofrazors]

Bless Me, Father | Closed to Mulcahy

So, Father. There's a new arrival at the temple. She's a tired, weary thing, dressed in the plain clothes of a new arrival, and she is very, very quiet. Very still. Her breathing is inaudible, the rise and fall of her chest nearly imperceptible. You've seen this look in people's eyes before, on a ship between worlds and again in a Village; an observer, looking at nothing, taking in everything. There is no comment. There are no words.

Not for awhile, anyway. Not until the late-crawling sunset, here at the edge of summer's dominion, threatens to make travel back home dangerous, or impossible. As others filter out, leaving you and perhaps Degas behind, the new woman's head turns to look directly at you, at long last. Her goblin glamour melts away to reveal familiar pale flesh, and hair of squirming shadows that drip, like maggots, onto the floor to evaporate into the light. Vickie Reeds. Number Forty-Four. Half-hunched like this her profile resembles nothing less than a kukri, wicked and weighted, but she'd never hurt you, would she?

She's so very tired.

"Sanctuary," Vickie murmurs. "...Always wanted to say it, but I do also mean it."

A Ragged Ghost | Open

The new arrival floats from job to job, trying this thing and that at any door that won't turn her away. Need a dish bitch at your bakery or the Burger King? Sure. Help with Laundry Day? She's already there. Farms are approached to ask if they might want a hand, with things so busy, though this strange thing that won't give a name keeps having to stop and wipe tears from her eyes when animals do the most normal things.

One day a butterfly lands on her shirt in the middle of the street, and she breaks down sobbing, inconsolable, demanding not to be touched.

Approach carefully. One last chance at life or not, there is a tail of hurt that trails after this woman, and she won't hesitate to dish it back out.

bless me, father (with your fierce tears, i pray)

[lovethyneighb_or]

It isn’t hard to see a new face in the audience. There’s vanishingly few of them, after all, but he knows the look on her face, and opts to leave her to her peace.

And then all of a sudden, he recognizes her in the waning of the light.

“Oh,” he murmurs, hushed and breathless. She would hurt him—she would hurt him only if it meant returning his mind to him and his heart to safety, knowing how much more valuable one’s sanity is over their body. In other words, she would never hurt him.

“Arrayer.” His arms open. “Please, come here.”

A Ragged Ghost

[not_the_last]

Floating from job to job may eventually bring the new arrival to the door of Hitchcock Textiles, on a day and time when Mr. Hitchcock isn't present and the bookkeeper is working the till.

There aren't many customers in just now either. As the newcomer enters, a young dwarf is just paying for a few spools of embroidery thread and a length of cream-colored linen, and a pair of humans are finishing their browsing and heading out.

"I'll be with you in just a moment," says the young woman behind the counter to the newcomer, "please feel free to look around."

[arrayerofrazors]

The newcomer nods, and does exactly that, browsing without a word. Her footsteps are silent; she does not come into contact with anything that might clank, or jingle, or otherwise make noise. There is an uncomfortable sensation of attention, as if Cassandra is being watched despite this new woman not looking at her.

In fact she's looking at...

The stitching? When she does touch something to get a better look at it, it's only to peer closer at the seams of it, giving a critical eye to the craftsmanship.

She can wait. She's good at waiting.

[arrayerofrazors]

Careful restraint prevents a flying hug; the Father's getting on in years, he doesn't need to take an entire Darkling at chest height just 'cause she's overwhelmed that he still thinks well of her. Still, the invitation is accepted, Vickie crossing the room (her boots ring out against the floor, an affectation only - Victoria Reeds is heard only when she chooses to be heard) and hugs her friend tightly.

She's shaking, subtly. It can be a dangerous sign, but probably she's just overwhelmed. Probably.

[not_the_last]

The dwarf finishes his purchase, bids a cheerful goodbye, and bustles out, leaving the shopkeeper and the newcomer alone in the room.

"Can I help you?" she offers.

[arrayerofrazors]

"Excellent question," comes a bitter, world-weary voice, oddly familiar...

The newcomer says nothing else for a few moments, still pacing through the displays, quiet, and intent. Only when a few are physically between her and Cassandra does she look up with an odd expression. "I'm not familiar with the local customs just yet," she says softly, and with an odd formality.

You've felt this before, Cass. This sensation of the world holding its breath and leaning in to listen. It's like when Erin is forging a Pledge.

"Am I under the aegis of your hospitality?"

[lovethyneighb_or]

This is a touch he’s had the privilege to feel vanishingly few times, and he luxuriates in it. He relishes it. He drinks deep of the bounty, the close company of a friend—more than a friend, a war buddy—he’d thought gone for good.

“I did so miss you.”

[lovethyneighb_or]

“2024! My, you may as well add that you’ve got flying cars, too!” He laughs lightly. “One of the flock is close to that—2017, I believe? That’s after man has landed on the moon, yes? And the invention of the… ah, what was it?”

He taps his chin thoughtfully. “The name is ‘the internet?’”

[arrayerofrazors]

"No accountin' for taste," she whispers through a tight throat. The new arrival squeezes her friend and pulls back, one hand on his shoulder, and just kinda looks him up and down. There is a soft and guilty sigh. "...Sorry for how it went down with your noodle. The jumpy little medic...Radar? Radar. He asked, an' I had to answer. Wasn't his to know or mine to tell but..."

[lovethyneighb_or]

It wasn’t noticeable from the pews before, but now that she’s looking at him up close, she sees it: ragged scar tissue peeking just above the collar, circling his whole neck. Little barely-visible lightning scars lancing out from his temples.

Your noodle. He laughs breezily—comparatively, anyway. There’s no getting rid of the iron anchor that weighs them both down.

“It’s alright. Of all the people to know, he was probably the best choice. Well…”

The glances down. “Well, not that the whole island doesn’t know about 58, now. A few months ago a demon prince put everyone’s worst moments on display in front of everyone else. Like an audience in a theatre. I’m very, very glad you didn’t have to be there for that.”

[mothofholiness]

Flying cars, no, hideous Cybertrucks, yes.

"Yes, the internet, and we can carry it around in our pockets. It's amazing to have access to all of human knowledge in the palm of your hand, but it's got its downsides. My friend calls his smartphone 'the Devil's contraption'. Sometimes I'm inclined to agree with him."

The late Holy Father had gently dissuaded him from running the Secretary of State's Twitter account himself. The reason given had been that he was far too busy for that; the real reason, which they both knew, was that it would be far too easy for his temper to be tripped.

He'd deleted the app as soon as that conversation was over, and he'd felt so much better for it.

"No flying cars, though. Probably a good thing. Roman drivers are bad enough already, I wouldn't want to add a third dimension to the mix." He chuckles.

[not_the_last]

Cassandra is suddenly very, very glad for the solid wooden counter between them, as well as the space and the displays.

"I don't own this place," she says, her voice carefully steady, "it belongs to a friend. Does that affect whether I can make that offer?"

[arrayerofrazors]

She scowls at the thought, teeth bared in a mask of rage. The Father won't accept her taking revenge on his behalf - not that she could, and not that she knows that - but it's an outrage all the same. Still...

"...Y'got wine that isn't the blood of Christ? I could use a drink."

Maybe things can be a little like they used to. Sit down peacefully. Talk. Actually introduce the Father to her were-grandma tendencies...

Oh.

Right.

"I made...a friend, briefly. She slapped a name on me that I haven't shucked off just yet, Nyx, if y'don't mind."

[arrayerofrazors]

"Always so careful."

The goblin skin she's clad in melts away, revealing hair of squirming darkness, a shadow that doesn't stand at the correct angle, too-pale skin criss-crossed with scars. That left hand, the one that can turn into filthy blades, gets rested carefully atop a display. "A real world agrees with you, Number Twelve."

[lovethyneighb_or]

He blinks. Then smiles, soft and warm.

“Nyx. How elegant. I like it.”

As for the rest: “There isn’t any here that isn’t for the goddess Kora, I think. But perhaps I can ask Degas for the rest of the evening off; we’ll go and fetch some from the store, and return to my house or yours to sit down and talk in private? I don’t keep any in my house as a matter of… restraint.”

Which, given that he had no problems drinking in itself on the ship, she would understand is less about the Catholicism and more about potential bad habits.

[lovethyneighb_or]

Mulcahy laughs brightly and completely genuinely. Oh, humor from home!

“I visited Rome when I was in seminary, and that was bad enough; I can’t imagine what it’s like in your time. But, ah, what makes a smartphone ‘the Devil’s contraption?’ And what’s a smartphone?”