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ph_memes2024-06-04 07:30 pm
TDM #6 - The Wheel Turns [REPRINT]
Currently, we are asking 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!
Also, as of June 7th, Pumpkin Hollow will have been around for one whole year! Thanks for an awesome trip around the sun, everybody! Here’s to another! This particular TDM is going to be a celebration of making it through our first year and all the adventures we had along the way, so please enjoy this highlight reel of our year in review and take a crack at some fun you may have missed. Have fun!
[Find our plain text version here!]
Pumpkin Hollow Gazette
5/10/24 | TDM #6 - The Wheel Turns [REPRINT]
Weather Forecast: Fog in early mornings, occasional rain, otherwise clear and slightly hot. Often muggy.
WELCOMING NEW RESIDENTS FOR ONE YEAR AND COUNTING!
By Mayor Hellen Poe
The crop for which the town is named.
ISLAND-WIDE - Last June, Jack’s Marina saw its first overseas vessel in five years come into port as the very first ferry arrived. Ever since that fateful day, that same ferry has ushered in newcomers from all over this wide, wild universe, bringing to this island a multitude of individuals. Each new resident has been unique --- most have been the only person from their world of origin, and each has their own skills and knowledge. However, all of them are unified by one characteristic: they have served as a symbol of hope.
Our island is deeply cursed, of that, there is no question. And in the past year, we have faced many challenges together, from cursed pirate treasure to nightmare carnivals, from food shortage to turnip overflow, from train rides to alternate dimensions to a parasite-infested ship. But in overcoming those challenges we have grown stronger as a community.
As the Wheel of the Year turns once more, we move forward with the hope built for us by our newest residents, and we are pleased to continue welcoming ferries into our docks. If you’ve just arrived, please feel free to stop by Town Hall or reach out to any of your new neighbors for assistance. Welcome, offworlders, and may your lanterns always be lit.
LAKE SAL-CO-PENN FOG ADVISORY
By Yorick Aberdeen
An eerie view of the notorious lake.
LOCKWOOD FOREST (Northern Marrow Isle) -The Pumpkin Hollow Board of Safety has released an important new weather advisory for everyone traveling through Lockwood Forest toward Paradesium on foot. As most of us are aware, the intense rain last month resulted in some very high humidity for this time of year, especially given that this time of year is still quite cool. This has resulted in some heavy fog around the notorious Lake Sal-Co-Penn at the base of Crane’s Ridge, particularly in the very early mornings and late afternoons as the sun begins to set.
For those not yet aware, Lake Sal-Co-Penn’s fog draws those exposed closer to the lake, where it will then subject the victim to dangerous illusory experiences. The side effects of these illusions include but are not limited to foul smells, supernatural compulsion, panic attacks, drowning, and death. If you come into contact with the fog from proximity to the lake, don’t panic! Once you see where the lake itself is, turn around so that your back is to the water and begin walking straight ahead as quickly as possible while reassuring yourself that you do not recognize the bodies in the water. Safe travels!
PAST FRIGHTS MAKE ROTATING ENCORES
By Chief Constable Janine Kilbride
ISLAND-WIDE - Reconnaissance officers set out by the constabulary, in conjunction with the Pumpkin Hollow Board of Safety, have reported multiple sightings of various hostile monsters and spirits that have plagued our town over the past year. These beings include recurring island staples such as Brutoks and the River Walker, as well as newer aggressive entities such as the Tristitia and some carnivorous creatures from Paradesium. They appear to be on some sort of rotation as to which will appear on a given day.
While the Board of Safety continues to monitor the situation and test theories about an observable pattern, please travel safely regardless of time of day or location. Report any monster sightings directly to the nearest Enforcer and keep an eye on the community bulletin board for information as this situation develops.
PUMPKIN HOLLOW JOB FAIR
By Yorick Aberdeen
FESTIVAL GREEN - Due to the success of our planting season recruitment efforts over the previous months, Pumpkin Hollow’s Town Council will be expanding upon its initiative to help people seek out career opportunities in a local Job Fair! Come down to the festival green if you’re interested in a new job, and one of our seasoned artisans and skilled laborers will show you the ropes!
MAGICAL CRITTERS GRACE ISLAND ONCE MORE
By Yorick Aberdeen
A little friend in the Festival Green tulips.
VARIOUS LOCATIONS (Lockwood Forest, Crane’s Ridge, Paradesium) - This past autumn, a host of eerie, magical animals resembling ghosts took over Lockwood Forest, but departed just as mysteriously as they’d arrived by the end of November. These creatures of unknown origin were found to possess incredible power, and while some were hostile, others seemed quite friendly and were content to follow us home. Those that decided upon homes remained even when their brethren vanished with the snowfall.
Now it would appear that another wave of these helpful companions has appeared in the wild! While some are familiar, many of them are entirely new. Most seem to bear plant-like features, but some whimsical pink creatures or pastry-themed animals have been spotted as well. If the pattern follows, they should be around until summer reaches its peak, so go out there and make a friend, and make sure to bring treats!
HELP WANTED: Piano Wrangler
By Dottie Siward, owner of Empty Pockets
DOWNTOWN HOLLOW (Empty Pockets Music Lounge) - Local music lounge seeking assistance taming piano mimic(?) acquired from Calloway’s Curios. Our old piano got bashed to bits in the flood a while back and we bought a fancy new grand piano for a ridiculously low price, especially for Calloway’s. This was a terrible mistake. The piano eats people. Especially people who play badly, which happens a lot on open stage nights. Please help. Half-price drinks for life to anyone who can get this thing to behave, at least until we get a new piano.
Page 1
Year in Review
Monsters from our previous TDMs will be making victory laps in a week-long rotation. Which creature you’ll encounter depends upon the day!
Monday's Child is Fair of Face [cw: facial mutilation]
On Mondays, Smiling Jack from TDM#3 - "It Came from Beyond the Veil!” will appear in and around the cemeteries and farmlands, primarily at night. He is a hostile spirit with a Jack-o-Lantern over his head to hide his Glasgow smile. He attempts to make his victims laugh with morbid jokes and pranks and will attack those who do not find his antics funny, exposing his mutilated face and inflicting his same injuries on them. Those who do laugh will be followed until they cross paths with someone new for him to torment. Defeat him by breaking his pumpkin head!Tuesday's Child is Full of Grace
On Tuesday nights, starry-bodied, glittering monsters themed around constellations from TDM #4 -”Aurora Borealis Blitz” can be found roaming the streets and beaches looking for people to aggress. They only appear interested in people, not in buildings. Unlike the previous iteration, they do not require the aurora borealis or a clear sky to manifest, but there are also significantly fewer of them and they do not seem interested in doing any property damage. Defeat them in combat to get a handful of magical stardust! Each monster’s worth of stardust grants one of the following wishes if tossed into the wind:Luck: One unexpected fortunate circumstance occurs organically within the next 24 hours, and any dice rolls made during the OOC week will gain a bonus of +2.
Shimmer: A Shiny Pokemon will appear.
Weather: You can decide the weather for the next day, which can only be interrupted by Cecil Palmer’s Weather with consent from the user.
Fortune: Gain 10 Brass! Wow!
Abundance: Mysteriously acquire one delicious home-cooked meal of your choice with no apparent source.
Safety:: One immediate respawn from death (only works once per character for duration of the game).
Pants: A fabulous new pair of pants, free of charge.
Those who acquired stardust in the prior TDM can now use it for these purposes.
Wednesday's Child is Full of Woe
One of the island’s local cryptids, the Tristitia, can be found wandering the streets of town on Wednesdays. She originated from player action but made her first official appearance on TDM #5 - “Paradesium”. She is a banshee-like evil spirit appearing as a veiled woman with a hollowed-out chest. While normally she is not particularly aggressive if given a wide berth, on her day of the week she has become more hostile. She is ever-grieving and will attempt to embrace her victims and force them to share in her anguish by drawing out their personal trauma and sadness. She is extremely difficult to kill, but will vanish on her own when satisfied with her work.
Thursday's Child Has Far to Go
On Thursday afternoons, Greenstriders from TDM #5 - “Paradesium” can be found coming all the way up from the underground jungles of Paradesium to hunt and forage in Lockwood Forest, even coming as far as Northwest Hollow to try and steal from farmers. They are violent, loud, aggressive, and venomous, and they work in small packs. Good luck if you get caught outside on a Thursday.Monsters from Paradesium, including Greenstriders, were studied and reported on during an expedition led by Dr. Elias Coldwood. More extensive notes on greenstriders can be found in Dr. Coldwood's improved besiary.
Friday's Child is Loving and Giving
Featured in our December Mini TDM - “The Dead of Winter,” the Whispering Trees of Lockwood Forest are found to be active throughout the day on Friday. Gentle voices from the trees lure unsuspecting, emotionally vulnerable victims out into the woods by telling them that they are loved--- moreso by the trees than any other time in their lives. Following their dulcet tones resulted in hypothermia back in December, but without the aid of snow, the trees will now attempt to manipulate their victims into other deadly behaviors. Lovebombing has never been so toxic.Saturday's Child Works Hard for a Living
On Saturdays, the River Walker from TDM #2 - “Down in the Underground” will be skulking around the Paring River which separates the town from the forest. A spider-like monstrosity with chitinous legs resembling rough hewn wood that bears the face of a drowned woman, the River Walker enjoys catching people unawares and knocking them unconscious. It then drags its victims down to labyrinthine tunnels where it will chase them through the claustrophobia-inducing burrows for hours and hours at a time, catching and killing them only when all hope is lost. However, the River Walker is quite weak and can only fight off one assailant at a time. Occasionally one can stop the Walker from kidnapping someone, but this is challenging as the creature is quite sneaky. The best way to defeat it is for two victims to find each other by sound in the tunnels and work together to escape, at which point the River Walker will avoid the pair and let them go for fear of retaliation. Escapees are let out near the mines in Crane’s Ridge!And the Child Born on the Sabbath Day is Bonny and Blithe, Good and Gay
Last but not least, on Sundays during daylight hours, one has a chance of being targeted by one or more Brutoks. Having been the very first monster to ever appear in a Pumpkin Hollow event, they were featured in TDM #1 - “The Vengeful Forest”. Brutoks are tricksters who hide in trees and then attach themselves to victims who make accidental eye contact. If attached, they will pull mean spirited pranks, steal personal belongings, vandalize property, and eventually try to kidnap the victim. Taken victims will be planted in the ground and slowly turn into trees that must be destroyed in order for the person to die and resurrect. To dispel Brutoks, one can look for their simple but well-camouflaged puzzles, which will be outside near the space they’ve attached to. Or, you can set them on fire. Dealer’s choice.
Additional Prompts
Lake Sal-Co-Penn
Lake Sal-Co-Penn is an infamous SCP which creates dangerous hallucinations. It presents the viewer with a vision of one or more floating corpses, which appear vaguely featureless until closer inspection. At this point the corpse(s) will take on the form of someone who the victim knows personally in an attempt to get them to enter the water, where they will be drowned and consumed. Feel free to roll dice to determine how well you can resist the illusion, and don’t forget to fill out a Death Certificate if you die!
Magical Creatures
The aforementioned mystical critters are Pokemon! Some Pokemon already exist on the island--- Ghost types were available during October and November. This time, both Fairy and Grass types can be found around the island for the duration of this TDM! (May & June). Here’s everything you need to know:
- Dual-types and pre-evolved forms of Pokemon that will gain Fairy or Grass types later are available. (Except for Eevee, due to its many evolutions. But Sylveon and Leafeon are available!)
- Evolution is possible--- stone deposits will be found in the mines later!
- Each character may have up to three Pokemon companions
- Neither Pokeballs nor the knowledge to create them currently exists in Pumpkin Hollow. Unless a PC with this knowledge shows up, you will just have to befriend them rather than capturing them properly.
- No Legendaries or Mythicals are available for adoption (for the sake of fairness), though Ogerpon can be found near Elsie’s Tree of Trinkets in Lockwood Forest. However, she is extremely shy and will flee from most people. She seems to respond to certain individuals, though…
- Shinies can be obtained through stardust or by purchasing a Sparkling Talisman from Calloway’s Curios for 50 Brass. Each character may only have one shiny. (Note that new arrivals begin with 100 Brass.)
Job Fair
The Pumpkin Hollow Job Fair is a great meet-and-greet for older residents and new arrivals! Farmers, artisans, fisherman, and more can set up booths, Q&As, or sign-ups for job shadowing on the Festival Green. New folks are given the opportunity to drop by and learn more about potential career options! Not only is this a recipe for new CR, but anyone who participates in a Job Fair thread (both presenters and newcomers) will gain an extra 100 Brass on their next (or first!) activity check! This bonus can only be claimed once per character.
Help Wanted
The man-eating piano in question is Yamaha, a staple of a previous game that much of our current player-base has migrated over from. While it has a particular taste for bad players, mistake-makers, and your sheet music, it seems to have an affinity for specific individuals. This is mostly a treat for our CRAU folks, but feel free to get eaten! We’ll see you tomorrow.
QUESTIONS/COMMENTS/CONCERNS
Cerrit Agrupnin | EXU: Calamity | Existing Player [Old enough to have a teenage-equivalent daughter]
Those who express interest in the enforcer career at the Job Fair are invited to speak to Cerrit outside the job fair, either in a cafe or in the enforcer office. He’s sitting there in what can only be described as a “tweed halter waistcoat” with room for his wings, perhaps straightening his wingfeathers with his beak while waiting for his guest to arrive.
In particular, he wants to highlight the unique parts of being an enforcer of this town’s laws. Things like paperwork for Warrant to Summon being a thing that Town Hall can issue, or how demon deals may affect not only someone’s willingness, but ability to talk about a matter without suffering devastating consequences. Things like the distinction between enforcers of law and Jean’s militia project.
He’s also absolutely willing to talk about his own experience back home, as Sightwarden of the Eyes of Avalir, dedicated to dealing with magical crime and profane rituals in a floating city powered by arcane energy. His goal, at the end of the day, is to impress upon the new enforcers (not rookies, he’s already realized most of them aren’t rookies any more than he was) the unique parts of their career here and to build trust with his team.
2. Looking back at the odds, they were all stacked [Stardust Monsters Aftermath]
While Cerrit hasn’t been going out to fight every enemy possible on every possible day, he’s made a point of going out on Tuesdays and Thursdays with his handaxes, ensuring that greenstriders don’t make it into down to attack vulnerable populations and gathering stardust.
Today, he’s going to make use of some of that stardust. Find him in the Oak and Iron, looking for new faces, particularly those who seem uncertain or homesick, so he can share the gift of abundance, luck or even…
…pants.
3. But I couldn't show a single sign of defeat to them [Wrangling]
Sometimes, being a small town cop is about grabbing teenagers by the collar as they attempt to graffiti a local business (like, say, West Dream Analytics). Sometimes, however, a farmer will report an escape–a couple of cows, a few goats, Bobbin the kleptomaniac chicken or otherwise, and the enforcers will offer help finding the wayward beasts.
Cerrit has managed to find the escapees. The issue is that farm animals are, by and large, prey beasts and Cerrit is, for the most part, a predator.
“Hey, you! Can you help me corral? They won’t let me get anywhere close, but I’m not exactly a herding dog.”
4. It was eat or be eaten [Wildcard]
[Find me at darkersolstice on Discord to plot, or just fling something at me!]
2
"Do you come here often?" he asks, at Cerrit's elbow.
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3!
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Celestine Wanderoff | Planet Arcana | 3 (by android standards, freshly adult) | Existing player
After having wandered awkwardly off the boat, he had a long chat with Yorick and then was turned loose. He's not exceptionally pleased to be here--- after all, if he's here, who will protect his friends? Who will help open the box? How will be find his long lost friend and his maker? But the good news is, he can get back. This place is merely an intermission. And besides, a very nice human lady has asked for his help. And so he sets himself to the task of doing good here with as much gusto as he can manage.
And so, now there is a little 5-foot-nothing brass-colored robot in town, a little scuffed but well built, gears clicking softly. One large cog turns slowly at the nape of his neck. He has two bright round eyes and a small slot where moving plates form a simple but expressive mouth. He approaches one of his new neighbors, clearing his throat unnecessarily. His voice is shockingly deep for his size, with a thick southern drawl. "Pardon me, friend. I don't suppose you could tell a fella where he might get himself a reasonable hat?"
-Sunday's Child-
Hat acquired, Celestine realizes he doesn't have the first idea of how to get started with solving this mystery. After some deliberation, he decides that a good first step is getting the lay of the land, so out he treks into the forest to hunt for clues. Because that's what you do, right? What he doesn't realize is that there is a Brutok following him, trying to make an attempt at snatching his newly-purchased hat.
-Thursday's Child-
"YEEHAW!"
With a loud whoop and a thunderous crash, a greenstrider that has been tied up in a lasso comes barreling out of the trees and into Northwest Hollow, attempting to thrash its rider loose--- a tiny brass robot in a cowboy hat. However, Celestine seems to have a pretty good handle on the situation, staying perfectly balanced on this bucking creature. He can even be heard laughing! However, while he's in the process of breaking in his new mount, there may be some... mild property damage.
-Wildcard-
Hit me with anything! Celestine will be starting a farm, spending a lot of time in Paradesium once he finds it, and will trying to convince the bartenders at the Oak & Iron to take a crack at making him a caeser, his favorite drink. They have clam juice in Pumpkin Hollow, right? And Worcestershire sauce?
Additionally, most nights he can be found outside looking at the stars.
Thursday
Carefully avoiding the greenstrider as it barrels down the street he turns to watch as it crashes right into the side wall of a store and then backs up shaking its head, stunned by the impact. "Are you trying to smash into everything? Or is that just a perk."
Little robot
Dr. Siebren de Kuiper (Sigma) | Overwatch | Existing Player [Over 60]
”Did you enjoy your time away with the fairies, Dr. de Kuiper?”
Moira’s mocking voice echoes in his head as he realizes that the creatures appearing around the island include many creatures he can only sort of class as fey. Several are pink, many float above the ground, and there’s a few who literally sparkle when they use their attacks. He seems to decide to mostly avoid the little pocket monsters.
Which doesn’t mean they’re all avoiding him, of course. One creature with a black and yellow body seems insistent on following him around, nipping at his heels (which are closer to eye-level for the beastie than most people’s, given Siebren’s habit of floating about half a foot off the ground, barefoot) with its far-too-large mouth. It seems to be doing so playfully, not leaving a mark, but it’s still frustrating. Perhaps he needs a rescue?
2. We feel each rock so differently [Help Wanted]
Word of a hungry piano spreads, and Siebren dares think he might be the one to tame it. After all, he’s been playing piano since he was a young boy! It can’t be too hard to convince one that he’s the player and it is the instrument!
He enters the lounge with such confidence, and it’s not long before the sound coming out of the Empty Pockets Music Lounge is a beautiful rendition of one of Erik Satie’s Gnossiennes.
The trouble comes toward the end of the evening, when Siebren tries to stop playing. In the manner of a cat who won’t let their person stop scratching that good spot under the chin or behind an ear, Yamaha seems loath to let Siebren complete his set and leave, thrashing and moving on him intimidatingly when he pulls his hands from the keys.
3. You gave me more than I could ask for [Friday’s Child]
Ever since his accident, Siebren’s been pretty susceptible to manipulation; it’s how he ended up as the muscle for a terrorist organization. He lets himself be drawn in by strong voices offering easy solutions. And today, while he’s headed out to the hills with his brass telescope, those strong voices are the Whispering Trees.
The signs that Siebren is under an external influence are subtle; the glassy glaze over his silver eyes, the way he mutters to himself as he heads deeper into the woods. “Please, please, all I want is the chance to be respected again. No, not just that. I want…to be someone worthy of respect.”
The trees make him such grand promises…
4. Indistinguishability [Wildcard]
[Find me at darkersolstice on Discord to plot, or just fling something at me!]
We Feel Each Rock So Differently
She could listen to him forever, beg his company as jealously as Yamaha, but she is not so selfish as that. She knows he must go, must rest and have his time to himself, to make debate with the spirits of numbers and reasonings she can scarcely grasp. But then, she hears the groan and scrape of boards and piano legs as the unruly instrument tries to intimidate the physicist. Drelasa hurries over, planning to help however she can.
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You gave me more than I could ask for?
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Reverend Degas Clayton | NPC (63)
The booth for the Temple isn't wholly there to find people to work at the temple. Between Father Mulcahy and Angel, Degas has more help than he's had in many years. Instead, his booth has a sign in front of it that reads INTERFAITH SUPPORT, painted in tidy green letters on a white background. Degas is there with a notebook, ready to figure out how he can support the visitors from other worlds. And for new arrivals who want to get the goddess spiel, well. This is a great opportunity.
2. Each must know his part [Pokemon]
For those who call upon Degas at the temple this spring, there may be an amusing sight: the preacher trying to coax what appears to be a mix of turtle and apple pie from the base of Serranai's altar where it's decided to take a nap. This one is a bit larger than most of its species, standing a solid two and half feet tall and heavy enough that the preacher can't just pick it up and make it move.
Considering how he ended up with Trevanant the last time the strange magical creatures showed up, he can already tell where this is going. But all the same, anyone visiting him might catch him trying to persuade the creature that it belongs outside.
3. To sow a new mentality [Wildcard]
[Catch me on discord at darkersolstice to plot, or just throw yourself at me.]
Philosophers and ploughmen
"Good morning, Degas." César is mildly proud of himself for remembering to greet someone first. "Interfaith support?"
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Each must know his part
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Mother Dearest | Changeling the Lost OC | 36
A woman stands frozen at the edge of the forest. The trees call out to her with promises of love and family. Love that no one else could give her, love that she has been denied. Her face is screwed up in longing and in pain, but she is not frozen because she believes them or because she is willing herself to resist. She is frozen because she is all too familiar with their tactics.
"Don't be hasty," she mutters, without realizing. "Ask them to stay too soon and they'll only be scared off, you know that."
2. Idle hands are the devil's tools (Job fair)
The woman wanders betwixt the job fair booths, her expression the picture of polite and earnest interest, her hands incessantly fidgeting againt each other. She never knew how to do nothing, and has no idea what she still trusts herself to do.
"Hi!" she calls as she approaches a booth, sweet and cloying as syrup. "Living someplace new is always nervewracking, so I'm hoping to busy myself somehow. I don't suppose you could help me? Or that I could help you, more like.
3. Mother knows best (Wildcard)
Somewhere in town is a woman. Maybe she seems too polite, maybe fake somehow or another. Maybe you can see past the Mask, see the sheep's fur, or the too-big teeth, or the faint lines that trace her skin like costume seams.
2.
The appraising look that Tayrey gives her is somewhat skeptical, however. Sure, stereotypes can be wildly inaccurate where individuals were concerned, but this woman isn't striking her as the security company type.
'Do you have much experience with firearms, or other weaponry? I can teach you if you don't, and you're interested, it's not a barrier, but we're a mercenary outfit. There's risk.' Having the right attitude would make up for lack of experience, but Tayrey wants to be clear about what she's offering.
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Wildcard | Spring Rains
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Idle hands
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Idle hands are the devil's tools (Job fair)
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Dr Watson | OTA | 39
The aurora monsters are, regrettably, familiar. Watson, during a sleepless evening's walk, is not pleased when he comes around the corner to face a starry tiger. With a sharp inhalation of breath, he retreats behind the wall and reaches into his pocket for his gun.
He puts up his hand to caution anyone approaching to stop where they are, as he prepares to make his move.
Saturday's Child
Watson breathes deeply in the darkness, his grip tight around his cane, which he's fortunately managed to keep hold of. He'd been caught off-guard by the River Walker, to his shame, but he is fortunately still alive.
The labyrinthine burrows are a nightmare, and the small sounds that echo along the corridors are difficult to identify, easy to imagine being things familiar or unfamiliar, but nothing ever good. Watson begins to inch his way along, listening intently as he tries to keep himself calm.
Wildcard
Come to the clinic, find him eating dinner at the Oak & Iron, or something else!
Saturday
Sure he entered at the mines and took a few random turns confident his clairvoyance could get him back to the entrance. However; he is now finding out that it apparently doesn't work properly down here in the labyrinth of tunnels and he's, well... lost.
No no no he's fine, he just needs to turn back the way he came from which was obviously that way and...
A sudden pause as he hears something. Footsteps maybe?
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Tuesday's Child
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Wildcard | Dinner
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Wildcard (cw: infection/sores mention)
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Oak & Iron Wildcard
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Merlin | Merlin.......... | 25 | Existing player, new character
Merlin had just been wandering outside of town, trying to get the lay of the land-- at least, that's the last thing he remembers before waking up in a dark, wet tunnel. The pain blossoming in the back of his head at least tells him some of the story-- something knocked him out.
His eyes flash gold, an orb of light summoned to his palm. It's faint, and the light doesn't carry far, but it's enough to see by-- enough to keep him from slipping in the dark. "Well... no way to go but forward, I suppose..."
He's hesitant to call out-- whoever knocked him out is surely still lingering nearby.
ii. you
do notrecognize the bodies in the waterSomeone did not read the warnings in the paper about the lake-- though the vibes coming off of it are rancid enough that Merlin has his doubts about getting closer. At least, until he sees the rough shape of a body floating in the water, just barely visible in the fog.
"Hey-- are you alright?" He calls out to the person, but their stillness and the odd way they're floating doesn't bode well. Merlin walks towards the lake with growing concern. Maybe someone with the sense to keep up on local warnings should try to stop him?
iii. whose lost child is this
Here Merlin is, minding his own business around town, when he feels-- something tug at his pants. He looks down to see a strange creature-- looking? up at him. If it has eyes, they're hidden by its... hair?
"Um... hello there." He crouches down to the creature's level, his voice soft and gentle, not wanting to startle the little thing. "Can I help you?"
It doesn't speak. But it can nod or shake its head, and it doesn't always seem to understand him. With the creature's permission, he picks them up. Maybe someone has lost their-- child? If he has to bother strangers until he figures out what to do with this little thing, then that's just what he'll have to do!
"Uh, excuse me, I don't suppose you know if anyone's looking for a lost-- kid?"
iv. wildcard
[merlin can be found..... around. he will absolutely jump in to help with any Creature Encounters, will aimlessly wander the job fair, and will be hanging out at the oak & iron while he Ponders what to do with himself here]
Bodies in the water
However; today is not that day.
Which is why as Merlin approaches full of concern, what looks like a glass orb full of green goo goes sailing towards one of the bodies in the lake and explodes, the sizzling and sulfuric smoke burning through the body before fizzling out as it touches the lake water.
"Hm. Curious." the tone soft, clearly talking to himself as he levitates in place a good distance back from the lake. Another orb is in his hand, and he grabs that with one of his tentacles as he reaches in his pocket for a scrap of paper and jots down a note with a fountain pen.
He gives no acknowledgement that he's noticed the other person.
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Ruby Rose | RWBY | Existing Character [19]
1. Job Fair
Ruby is set up at a table for Infernal Arms & Armor, the smithery run by River. They're not hiring, but they've put out a display of the kinds of things they can provide. This kind of public-facing thing doesn't seem to be Ruby's forte, exactly, but she's putting a good effort in and can at least let her skills speak for themselves for the most part.
There's a mix of items on display, ranging from weapons to hefty metal badges/emblems to things like walking canes, mostly with a mix of metal and woodwork—the latter of which doesn't seem to be done entirely with tools. Weapons have always been her speciality and so the blades are solid, reliable things, but it's definitely the detailing that stands out. Thanks to her particular magic Contracts, wood and the like bends to her desires and makes customising things easier—though she's still getting the hang of using it that way, just as she's getting the hang of real blacksmith work.
Come peruse and chat about what she can do, if you like.
2. Magical Creatures
She encounters the little bud creature in the forest while she's training her control over plants, when she accidentally disturbs the little nest it'd been sleeping in. This leads to needlessly frantic, "Sorry, sorry—!" that those nearby in the forest might overhear, and Ruby ending up making it up to the little one by letting her nap in the hood of her cloak. Budew stays there for the rest of her time training and is still there when she walks back into town to go about the rest of her business. After that, Ruby take her out with her every time she goes to train.
Other times, there is a girl lying on the floor of the O&I being excitedly licked by a dog made of... bread? She's giggling like mad and, though also pulling some comical faces at the aggressive slobbering, she's making no move to free herself from the dog's affection nor to move out of the way. Sorry?
The last Pokemon she meets is the odd little creature hiding beneath a disguise she doesn't know to recognise. It's damaged, when she encounters it hiding in the shadows near the edge of town, and though the Mimikyuu initially recoils, even comes close to lashing out, as Ruby reaches out to offer help...
"Hey. I'm not going to hurt you or try to take that off, if that's what you're worried about. I think I can make the head sit upright again and maybe fix that tear?"
It takes a little longer, but eventually the Mimikyuu cautiously shuffles closer until she can help it. After that, Mimikyuu can often be seen hovering around Ruby—if you know where to look. Beneath the table as she sits and eats, in the shadows nearby as she goes around town or as she works at the blacksmiths, in Ruby's cloak hood alone or alongside Budew, under the bottom of her cloak...
3. Wednesdays & Mondays
The first time Ruby realises her silver eyes (well, eye) have changed, it's when the Tristitia tries to draw her into her all-encompassing grief. As deeply stained by grief and trauma as Ruby is, she almost certainly would've been ensnared until the Tristitia was satisfied—if not for the fact that in the face of such overwhelming emotion, a burst of blinding white light erupts from Ruby's remaining eye and... freezes her?
Ruby falls back on her rear in surprise, blinking away the lingering effects on her own vision and staring dumbly at the frozen spirit. What—? How—? Since when—?
She shakes it before the effect can wear off, scrambling to her feet and away in the direction of the O&I. She doesn't even think about how the blinding light must have hit the surrounding buildings, creeping in through cracks in curtains, visible to anyone who might be so unfortunate as to be caught at the edges of this flashbang.
She avoids the streets after dark for a few days, after that. But eventually she strays out once more and it's on those subsequent Wednesdays that those unfortunate enough to have a run-in with the Tristitia may find themselves being assisted by a young woman with one shining, silver eye, who may or may not warn you before the light comes. The same can even be said of Monday or two, when Ruby is making her way back from a visit to the farmlands and realises that ol' Jack isn't immune to her eyes, either.
"Quick," she offers a hand, or beckons you, "before it wears off!"
4. Wildcard
Ruby will also help to fight the Star Creatures and Greenstriders, using more traditional methods (aka her sword). Also available: working at River's forge; at the O&I in general; sometimes just laying face down in the grass; generally going about her routine. Hit me with anything, or PM the account/poke me in the discord.
Job Fair
A young woman with short blonde hair eyes the tables from a bit of a distance, particularly looking at the various sorts of weaponry scattered about with curiosity. "Hmmmmmmmm". She'd have work, combat work! Tomorrow! She'd soon fight on the battlefields of Justice yet she lays empty-handed! Well... she always did have her EGO of sorts. Though, such things are best left as last resorts than as common weapons. Lest her keen mind become discordant, and she become unable to direct her attacks with purpose.
The longer Don's hand felt empty, the more worry filled her mind. Her dearest lance, her eternal companion in her battles. A banner to raise aloft in glorious victory... Oh to part with her dearest Sueno Imposible. Such a thing shall not stand!
Don looks over at the tables and one in particular catches her eye. Oh! The intricate engravings on those blades! Surely they must be able to forge a weapon of beauty befitting herself. Don approaches the apprentice's table with a wide smile and starry eyes, then loudly announces her request.
"A-ahem! Wouldst thou listen to my plea, noble blacksmith? I hath require a commission of a mighty lance!"
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Magical Creatures
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Job Fair
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Valdis | OC | 2500+ | Current Player
Does she want to be here? No. But she is making her best effort to at least try to recruit people. Or maybe she's just bored out of her mind, leaning back in her chair, with her feet on the table, sketching people who walk by into cartoonish versions of themselves.
She'll won't look up if someone approaches, but a potentially sheepish smile will cross her face.
"Hey, you heard about the enforcers?"
Magical Creatures
Roheryn is not thrilled with the large, lavender nine tailed fox that is following him and his rider down the road to the farmlands. The black stallion keeps dancing around and snorting, much like that white horse in her dreams.
The fox bounces after them, and Valdis does her best to ignore both her steed's antics and the strange magical creature who seems to have attached itself to her. The tiny charm hanging around her neck, a gift from Max, glows softly.
The fox bounds past her to poke the legs of someone passing.
Wildcard
Go for it or pm to discuss
Job Fair // Leon S. Kennedy | 27
"I'm starting to think almost everyone on the island who both wants to be and should be police might already be police by now," he says, brushing his hair out of his eyes idly. "Which sucks, because it always feels like we're short-handed, but."
He trails off, letting the implied 'so it goes' go unsaid.
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Magical Creatures - Getting Max his Fidough!
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Job Fair
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It's just another Tuesday
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Rue | OC | Mid 20s equivalent
Instruments & Repairs
Is the banner over the new stall that's popped up at the job fair. The table bears a small selection of simple wind instruments, mostly wooden flutes. A few sets of panpipes, one or two simple side-blown flutes, and a variety of fipple flutes.
The owner — a short wood elf with flowers woven through her messy hair, who despite looking like she belongs definitely wasn't here a few months ago — is sat beside the stall, carving patterns into an ocarina. She smiles brightly at anyone who looks her way for long enough.
Magical Creatures
It's been following her for a little while, the strange green creature with pink flowers. Rue's been ignoring it as she goes about gathering materials from the forest, but she could use a break and the percussive noise it makes has her intrigued, so she retrieves a flute from her pocket and starts to play.
It takes a few false starts to get going, but soon she's playing a jig, spinning as she dances, occasionally missing a note and laughing, accompanied by the maraca-like creature.
Magical Creatures
Instead he's further in the forest, levitating a few inches off the ground with his eyes closed. Mentally he's trying to map the area, a form of clairvoyance that lets him see all around himself without moving. It isn't working quite as intended, things appearing a little hazy, and he's not sure if it's the residual magic in this place or if something is wrong with him. Jamison had said things were taken from him upon arrival, he couldn't have meant non-physical things right?
As soon as the other comes within his range of mental observation he opens his eyes, drifting over to see who this is. He's just going to ominously float at the edge of the clearing where she's dancing and playing music with some strange plant creature.
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Job Fair [20s]
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Three new characters, three existing players, all 18+, details at bottom of post
They have. A little over a year; not so much time at all, to one way of looking at it, and really quite an astonishingly long time when looked at another way. Enough time for the place they've come from -- a world not so very different from this one, a little city-state in a northern mountain range -- to become home to all three of them, not just the one who was born there.
In the center: a pale young woman, standing very straight and poised, her long dark-brown hair accented with a streak of white. To the left: a young elven man, tall and broad and green as spring leaves, with an angry yellow patch over his left eye and temple; a select few who see him might be reminded of a decidedly more human boy, or else of storming skies. To the right: an older man (who would be offended if he could hear this narration because thirty-something is not that old!) with short-cropped hair perhaps showing more gray than he'd like, but otherwise looking remarkably fit, with cheeks full of color, tanned skin, and the healthily large posterior his friends know and love.
And it's this third -- his hand near his thigh out of habit, even if the gun he's used to having isn't there right now -- who looks around, gives a resigned sigh, and says "I don't think we're in Whitestone anymore, Toto ..."
[Three new arrivals! Cassandra de Rolo, early 20s (Critical Role Campaign 1) | Okie, 20 (Changeling OC) | John Crichton, mid-30s (Farscape), all with Sail and post-Sail CRAU. Tag any one or any combination, just let us know who your character’s talking to.]
for Cassandra
She doesn't regret it. She can't regret it, knowing what she does about where every single one of them would have ended up had she taken no action. It's one of the elementary lessons a spacer has to learn. Saving the people you can is better than waiting for a perfect solution and losing everyone as a result. Last-second miracles are for the holovids.
Her lack of regret by no means equates to a lack of grief, and when she first spots the woman, this is what she believes it is. A figment of the imagination. A local woman who would in fact look nothing like Cassandra if Tayrey got closer.
So she gets closer. Walks right up to her. Tayrey's still in that Tradeline uniform of hers, but the keen eye may spot the differences. The jacket is wool, the shirt beneath it pure linen. Not a trace of any synthetic material. She wears an elaborate lapis lazuli bracelet around her left wrist. The gun she carries isn't her energy pistol but a revolver.
Tayrey stands right there in front of the woman, and the discrepancies she expects aren't there. It's her. Impossibly. The comrade Tayrey had mourned, had held a memorial for, safe and healthy. She can't speak, at first. Can't do anything but stare, completely overwhelmed by emotion.
'Cassandra de Rolo,' she says at last, in a small voice full of wonder. 'It is you, isn't it? You're alive.' She swallows, trying to ignore the lump rising in her throat. 'Do you remember me?'
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Crichton
Re: Crichton
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Cassandra | Oak & Iron
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For Cass
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For Crichton
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For Okie
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for cassandra
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Crichton
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Okie | Yes I'm Tagging All Three With The Same Character | Face Me In Battle If You Dare
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For Cassandra & Okie (and Crichton was there too, maybe...)
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Plotted wildcard for Cassandra!
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cass & okie
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Grace ("the Naiad") | Identity V & Sail CRAU | Existing Player | 19 at time of death, 20 with CRAU
Catch of the Day | Arrival
Being paralyzed from the waist down and mute means that Grace cannot, in any literal sense, arrive to Marrow Island 'kicking and screaming'. She can, and does, arrive in a massive net being carried by the ferryman, thrashing and trying to lash out with the harpoon that is trapped at her side, spitting curses in her strange mental voice. The polite skeletal gentleman who drives the boat has the good sense to throw the entire net onto the dock and get the fuck out of there before a second ferry gets lost to these newcomers.
The unfortunate soul that unties the net gets thrown into the water for their troubles, with Grace floating upright to her full height with her teeth bared. That verminous god-thing had said something, said something, said...said...
...Gentleman Phil is here, she said...
A moment to compose herself. Grace makes a series of taps against the wood of the docks with her harpoon, her signal for, alternately, 'I come in peace' or 'I have created danger nearby, and am warning you'. One she'd taught to Phil, and to others, but the Gentleman Phil has such sharp ears, and will surely come running.
She does it again.
And again.
And again...
Eventually she'll have to make her way towards town proper. Eventually.
A Hunter of the Living | Job Fair
Hey ya'll there's a fucking corpse.
Okay, let's get more specific, there's lots of moving corpses on this island. This one was just a girl, once. In some ways, she still is, though it's quite obvious that she is not a thing living. Her hair moves in currents that are not there, and at times Grace 'swims' upwards, high above the fair, to observe the goings-on below her. She's careful, in the crowds, sometimes going so far as to hold her harpoon ramrod-straight against her back so as not to brush anyone with it.
She needs work. This is a place with work. With employment. Employment she can choose for herself. This new horizon is so impossibly broad, she's not even sure where to begin...
I Am Not Prey | Temple
Do you go to church a lot? Do you go near the Temple a lot? Fan of the Mothers are you? There's a floating corpse glaring daggers at the building on a regular basis. If looks could kill, nothing on this island would be moving any more.
You May Call Me Grace | Wildcard
Find Grace at Oak & Iron! Catch her murdering the shit out of sirens she's dragged ashore so that they can choke before they're run through! Someone stop her from trying to sell Pokemon meat to the townspeople, seriously, stop her. Or hit me with something of your own design, I'm easy.
wildcard.
And as ever, if new arrivals need help, all they have to do is walk up to her desk.
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Arrival
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arrival
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Wildcard - Oak & Iron
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Job Fair wildcard kinda
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Temple
Maxwell Carter | Don't Starve Together | Nimbus (Around 40, looks 60, technically an eternity old)
He knows he has to find a job, and soon. His obligations hang heavy around his neck and run thick through his veins. The feeling of it brings back bitter memories of pounding the pavement as a nobody, busking in vain, trying to break into the limelight. There's no time to waste on pursuing show business here, at least not yet. He refuses to be sent fleeing from his creditors again.
"Excuse me," he approaches a booth, only half paying attention to the details of the job advertised, as he prefers to receive his information from the horse's mouth, "Could you please tell me a little more about what your business does? I'm looking for employment."
Spun by forces you don't understand [Wednesday]
He's never been one for exerting himself without a good reason, but the fresh air here does wonders for his asthma, and unfortunately, this recreation for health's sake brings him into the path of the Tristitia. And of course, Maxwell has a lot of trauma to draw out.
But the thing is, Maxwell is also accustomed to psychic torments. He doesn't break down easily, he doesn't give in. Rather, he stays dapper, always. And he flips open his spellbook.
"Madam, I am going to have to ask that you take your leave, or else I may have to resort to unpleasant measures." And begin to dip into what that down payment got him.
Perhaps someone might stumble across this scene, on the precipice of a more dramatic confrontation.
The audience is everyone you know, my friend [Closed to Wilson]
There's a knock on Wilson's door, in the early hours of the morning. There, standing on the doorstep, is his magician- a little worse for wear, a little more pale and sickly than usual, but very much alive and present and, despite what one would expect given the rules of this place, still clutching that all-too-familiar spellbook. He doesn't look quite right without his fine clothes, his time-weariness not able to be disguised by a suit and a spritz of cologne (actually, the cologne is an illusion, isn't it? Why's Max not using that if he has the Codex?), his inky, magic-stained hands on display for the world to see.
"Higgsbury."
You can't stop dancing 'til the curtains fall [Wildcard]
Feel free to throw whatever at me, I'm trying to pick this menace back up and he needs AC to survive!
Wednesday - I will tag all your characters and you can't stop me.
He hears Maxwell before he sees him, his composed tone belaying the threat in front of him. Well what Imbros assumes is a threat, he hasn't seen this particular creature before, and his book unhelpfully didn't list the worlds monsters. But the man with the spellbook seems to have things under control, or thinks he does, and Imbros closes his own book with a snap and tucks it into his tentacles so he can hover around the periphery and watch.
Enjoy your audience Maxwell.
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The audience is everyone you know
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Lan Xichen | Mo Dao Zu Shi (Novel canon) | late 30s | Test Driving
Past Frights
Wildcard!
Wildcard
It's dinner time at the Oak and Iron tavern, the sound of conversation bright and warm and friendly in the air, when in walks a corpse. Shambles? No, walks. Like, the guy(?) isn't breathing or blinking or experiencing blood circulation or most other signs of life, but other than that, it seems to be okay. Still, it ends up seated at a table near Xichen, and is staring in the idle way of something who isn't paying attention to what it's looking at, with that dull unblinking gaze while it waits for its meal.
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For Advisory (A. T. Menelikov, 47ish)
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Past Frights
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Fog | Elsie is an NPC
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Past Frights (Nimona, 1000+/nebulously teenage)
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Alex Conklin | Bourne novels | 60
[CW: reference to child murder]
Look. You tell Alexander Conklin not to go somewhere, especially 'for his own good', and he's gonna do it. Even if it means hauling his damned foot and cane through the underbrush at fuck-all o'clock. The scout who'd made it through a hundred and forty miles of enemy territory, rivers and streams and rocks and jungles, strolling into base camp asking if anyone had a bottle of bourbon...no, he hadn't been that man for decades. But he's still that field man at heart, making a mental map of the area, the forest, the lake and its environs, Crane's ridge...if he's to be stuck here, he's got to know the territory like the insides of his own eyelids.
There's something in the water. Several somethings. He doesn't even have to get closer to know what they are. He's seen enough corpses in his life, made enough corpses. Seen his good friend holding his bullet-riddled wife and two kids on the banks of the Mekong, letting out the cry of a wounded animal as the unknown jet receded into the distance.
But that was another country, Eliot once said--and while he's loath to finish the thought, they were all dead, weren't they? Even the man who David had been, a stranger now even to himself.
Enough. He's finished scouting for now, having made a passable mental map of the area, and rises stiffly from his crouch (damn boot!) to leave, maybe head back to the Oak and Iron for some tea. As he stands, something catches his eye in the lake - a flash of red, like a cardinal. Not the red of freshly-spilled blood, or the dark rust of something dried, but a familiar red, an auburn as striking as any he'd ever seen, floating loosely in the water like so much seaweed.
His breath catches in his throat. He'd know Marie St. Jacques-Webb anywhere, crown of fiery hair or not. And with her...
...he wants to vomit. The tow-headed five-year-old Jamie, dead spit of his father, and infant Alison, who'd inherited her mother's hair. The Jackal's plan come to fruition. All that was missing from the grim tableau were the blood-scrawled words. Jason Bourne, brother of the Jackal. He knows they'd faked this, tricked Carlos before, but the utter viscerality of seeing the three familiar figures, face down in the water, not breathing, as he'd seen Dao, Joshua, and Alyssa decades ago...
He takes a step towards the lake, almost involuntarily, then another. The cane fails to plant firmly in the sand, and takes him down with it, the shock of hitting the ground on his hands and knees jarring the old spook out of his trance.
"You're not real," he mumbles to himself, remembering what the papers had said and realizing it wasn't just local superstition. "You're not real." He digs his hands into the rocky sand of the lakeshore, eyes screwed shut, traitorous tears leaking from them. "You're not real!"
The strangled shout echoes across the placid lake in the pre-dawn air. If Mo was here, he'd say take a break, Alex, take a breath, get up, get your head back on straight if it ever was, go for a walk, and Alex would joke back on what foot, you inconsiderate headshrinker, and they'd laugh, but he's not fucking here and oh Christ he's in a hospital in Paris, odds sixty-forty against.
Pull through, you bastard! Don't join me here! I want to see your stupid face more than anything but stay right the hell where you are!
b. poor little meow meow (magical creatures)
Alex hasn't stayed alive as long as he has not knowing when he's being followed. And he's being followed, all right. And his tail's being quite cheeky about it.
"I know you're there," he says, his back turned to it, and then - it strikes! A cat, looking for all the world like it took a dip in the Chicago River on St. Paddy's, leaps out of the bushes like lightning and starts attacking his cane. He moves it out of the way, and the cat attacks it again, clearly having a grand old time. He crouches carefully, the new prosthetic still alien to him, and lays the cane down.
"Now, what're you doing attacking a poor old cripple, koshka, didn't your mama teach you any manners?" he says, holding his hand out for it to sniff. It rolls around on the ground, sniffs his hand, and gives it a teething bite before jumping back, ready to play. Alex laughs - truly laughs - for the first time since he's arrived, and drags the end of his cane in front of the little cat, watching it pounce.
c. bright and diplomatic (job fair)
While he is quite technically retired, no way Alex is going to be getting a CIA pension here, and it's not like he's built for sitting idle, anyway. He'll end up getting into trouble if he does. He'll end up getting into trouble either way, of course, because if he doesn't go seeking it out then it damn sure comes and finds him, but he'd rather face it on his feet. Foot.
No way he's going to be a farmer. Not cut out for that. Nor a fisherman. Damned if a lot of these jobs don't require skills he doesn't have - or more accurately, skills he has but a body he can't carry them out with. Artisan? Not likely. Where's a career for a man with his particular set of skills--
Enforcer. Ding.
He limps over to the Enforcer booth, addressing the nearest person working at it. "Okay, you've got me curious. Now sell me."
What, you think he's just gonna sign up not knowing what he's in for? Nuh-uh, bud, he's too old for that.
d. once a field man, always a field man (wildcard)
[Alex is likely to be found around town, gathering what information he can, hanging out at the Oak and Iron and people-watching, eschewing alcohol in favor of tea. He's not hard to spot - just look for the greying guy with the limp and cane. If you want to plot, hit me up at
a house on lake geneva (cw: references to death by explosive ordinance)
The voice is followed by a hand on the man's shoulder--firm, strong. If he turns, he'll face a man who could have been pulled straight from the battlefield...was pulled straight from the battlefield...if not for his simple clothing suited to the setting of the town itself.
The battlefield is in his eyes--dark and cold, resolute. It's in the neat line of scar tissue running from the corner of his eye to his cheekbone. It's in the strange ways his face tries not to twist or move as he keeps one image fixed in his mind to resist the bodies he can see drifting in the water, keep the horror fresh of Danforth's pieces all over him. His voice, screaming I wanna go home, Johnny--his legs just fucking gone.
"You don't recognize the bodies in the water." John repeats, making sure he's got the other man's gaze. "Say it. I don't recognize the bodies in the water. Think of another one if you can, one that can't be there. Helps, tiny bit."
As he speaks, he's trying to put his hand into the other guy's to haul him to his feet (well, foot--thinking of Danforth now, John feels vaguely nauseous and holds onto that), tries to keep the guy looking at him and not at the water.
...is that longer hair on that one body? Are there handprints on that shoulder?--
"I wanna go home, Johnny! I wanna go home!"
"I can't find your fuckin' legs!"
"I don't recognize the bodies in the water." John repeats again, for himself, trying to make himself feel the blood and skin while holding the other man's gaze. "Say it. Move--c'mon."
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César Salazar | Generator Rex | FARMER, OTA [28] | Get fed for helping on the farm!
When César's at the job fair, he's got a small table with some of the crops grown on or some of the products made from things on his upgraded farm: citrus, soy beans, general vegetables, and some cut cheddar cheese and crackers resting on a glass covered plate which is in turn resting on a bowl of ice. There's a little sign in front of it that says:
Cheese made from the milk of Salazar Farm cows!
2. Job Fair - Absent
César can't be there all the time, which means no cheese. In it's place, there's a small placard. On it, written in neat black ink above instructions on how to get to the farm from the trolley is:
Work at the Salazar Farm for a morning or afternoon and get both citrus to trade for homeworld food from the Limoncello pirates and a few days worth of fresh food for two.
Lunch will be provided: tarta pascualina (similar to a pie, with spinach and ricotta), a fresh salad, and a blueberry muffin. Water or lemonaid is available for beverages. Substitutions can be made upon advanced notice.
((OOC: Handwave that they've already signed up for a morning/afternoon. We can skip partway through the day or start when they arrive. Any part of the day works! Repeat customers are allowed.))
3. Wildcard
Hit me up either on this account or at icelightning @ plurk. Jennerally at discord.
2
She thinks she kind of likes it, especially being out there in the early morning. She's never been afraid to get her hands dirty, literally or figuratively, and boy, now is it literal.
"How'm I doing, Mr. Salazar?" she asks. She's tilled a few rows for planting. They're not quite straight, but they're getting better.
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Link, but several thousand years before the other guy | Ocarina/Majora's Mask | New player | 20s
Look, Nimbus, I actually wrote something1. Arrival
Leaving the mayor's office, Link gives the odd stone he was just handed a tap against his teeth. He isn't sure what it's made of, but it feels magic and he should probably hold onto it. He's meant to go to a tavern; the mayor offered a room there, but he's seen taverns before. The other things she said--the demons, and mysteries, and Sewer Men--those sound far more interesting, particularly in a place where death is impermanent. The latter are meant to be found in man holes, from what he's overheard, so he'll make sure to check any man-sized holes he comes across on the way back out of town.
2. Sal-Co-Penn
After making his way into the northern forest, Link spends some time following an odd path through the trees made of wood planks and long iron bars before his attention is drawn away. The air feels a bit cooler against his skin as he catches sight of a deep fog bank not far from his path. Something about the stillness, the light between trees swallowed up by the haze, makes his hair stand on end and reminds him of home. Surely, there's no harm in taking a closer look?
3. Wildcard??
OOC: Nobody has told this man not to go out looking for monsters, so hopefully he doesn't get himself killed too quickly.
PM at askanisystem on discord
But what if the monsters find you first Link?
He watches as someone pokes around in every hole and depression they find, checking it for ...something? Maybe?
"What are you looking for?" Comes the confused voice as Imbros stands a few feet away, twisting one of his hands in the waist-long tentacles hanging down from his face.
Re: But what if the monsters find you first Link?
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Sal-Co-Penn
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Cadence | Crypt of the Necrodancer/Cadence of Hyrule (post-game) | Arrival
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sal-co-penn
oh no names are going to be confusing here :D
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helena adams | idv (+crau) | 21
She decides she's going to keep it calm, as much as someone can. Away from the festival for now, though she might go investigate it later, instead clinging to the less bustling parts of town, more towards the nature she's so missed. One of the less populated spots in town is what she picks for a meeting place. Some people are going to get a surprise - a call from Darcy, asking to meet at this location, only to find a second figure there as well. Or some may see the pair together, taking their time exploring - the news does spread fast.
And one particular person gets merely a message on her sending stone, without preface or warning:
"Hi, Erin."
reconnaissance. (ota)
The town is full of places, particularly when one is learning where everything is, and she takes it in increments. To those that don't know her, a new arrival may not garner much interest, beyond the rhythmic tapping of her cane as she walks, and her steady pace. But the town is something she takes in with great wonder - being deprived of a real actual place to live for so long, Helena has no desire to rush through it. Of course she stops at the library, making her way to the selection in braille. Skimpy, compared to what she's used to, but she's told it is changing over time, and that eases some worries. Other times, she might be at the inn, content enough to have a small table to herself and listening to the chatter around, though she skips any alcohol and prefers instead to be busying herself with a notebook and a stylus she put together. And once or twice, she may be slipping through the doors of the Temple, curious about it and the way it feels inside.
Though, truly, she goes so many places, trying to slowly familiarize herself with the general layout of the town. Into shops to determine what they are, around the Festival Green and the plaza to gain their measure, and where her feet and her time can take her. She has a gentle smile and a polite bearing, and Helena is content for now to drift from place to place. These streets must become known, and some pathways memorized, if she is ever to make her own way about. It's not always a companion can be free, and she had eventually mapped the ship, after all. She can do it again.
Freedom. It had once seemed so far fetched. And even if there are monsters to beware, that's hardly a deterrent. After all, she has not forgotten how to survive.
wildcard.
[have a different concept on what to do? go for it!]
[[ooc: for about five to seven days after her arrival, Helena is going to be nearly always in Darcy's company or with them nearby, though afterwards she'll start venturing out on her own more. please note that I'm open to prompts with the monsters, but Helena is not a fighter and will immediately attempt to flee and hide should she feel in danger.]]
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reunion.
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Recon
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Temple
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library
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temple
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reunion
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Library
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Dr A.T. Menelikov | Original Character | late 40s | OTA [existing player & character]
Tuesday's Child Is Full of Grace | open to all
2. behind our glass we'll sit and look
Pumpkin Hollow Job Fair | open to all
3. from a window in the tower of song
Wildcard | open to all
1
"Thank you, sir, I, um. I... left my sword inside. I thought it was Wednesday," He confesses, offering an embarrassed smile, before looking back over to the beast, watching it amble and scan the area.
When he speaks up again, it's quiet, hushed with awe.
"...They're beautiful, aren't they?"
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2. behind our glass
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Sheogorath | The Elder Scrolls | Job Fair
Re: Sheogorath | The Elder Scrolls | Job Fair
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Frater Imperator | Ghost (RHRN-spoilers!) | Early 50s
Job Fair
Having gotten used to being spoiled while his mother was in charge of the church, and having recently become the one in charge and acquired possession of the clergy's credit card, the sudden absence of work and money flow is not his favorite thing. Must remedy this immediately, and see what sort of work is available that he might actually be good at.
With no shortage of magically gifted people around, he will have to think outside the box. He wouldn't mind entertaining people for fun as a side-gig, forever addicted to the attention and making people feel good with music and dance, but it can't be his go-to anymore. Time to branch out and see how he can best contribute to local needs.
The dapper priest, in all black, salt and pepper hair, and shimmering brooch with black diamonds and blood rubies can be seen casually browsing various booths, considering his options. And yes, it is too hot to be wearing what he is wearing, but he refuses to dress down (for now), even if it means cleaning this outfit every day in the humid summer. A Virgo has their priorities, especially queer ones. Besides, that's what his black silk handkerchief was for.
Piano Wrangler
Frater Imperator isn't sure who specifically he should address about the man-eating piano, or even if he can help, but he has a way with monsters, and if nothing else, has to see it for himself. His strengths reside in summoning and binding, not banishing or exorcism, but he may be able to tame it or distract it long enough for someone to do something permanent to stop it.
Besides, what better way to start off on the right foot at the local music lounge? He enters, quietly, approaching the first person he finds who doesn't appear too busy. "Eh, hello there. I came because you have a..." He checks the note. "...murderous piano? I think I can help. I've befriended worse."
He summons demons from Hell to play in the clergy's band and do church taxes and other mundane tasks, most of which enjoyed cuddling at night. How much worse could a hungry piano be? Maybe it was just lonely and confused? Whatever was trapped inside of it probably didn't ask to get bound there.
Wildcard
Open to other prompts if you want to start or come up with something else entirely! Feel free to reach out and run ideas by me. I can be reached at copianoises on Discord and![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
wyrdweaver.
wildcard, around
"Pardon me," Mulcahy greets, when Frater Imperator is taking a break somewhere in town. His voice is as soft as his face and light as his eyes. "I don't believe I've seen you around before. Have you recently arrived by the ferry?"
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YESSS so excited to get to play with him this time around! [Job Fair]
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Dimitri | FE3H [20; CRAU]
It's only a few blocks to the lounge. Dimitri is barely out of breath when he skids in the door. It is indeed Yamaha, looking battered and salt-stained -- but clearly intact, as it's snapping at a patron who's climbed onto a table.
"YAMAHA! DOWN!"
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stitches [for Hawkeye]
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ca$h money [for Erin]
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Kahl-175 | Adult | New player, new character!
Kahl had thought everything would stop.
He'd brought the bomb to the big worm. He'd armed the timer, and he'd stayed with it. He feels like there are memories after that, but they aren't sticking in his head.
Whatever had happened didn't feel like waking up in the white-haired lady's house. Now Kahl was struggling to understand. White-haired lady hadn't said much, and the mayor people said too much.
Now Kahl's on the street, looking lost. It's easy to notice his head above the crowd: two meters tall, solid, but standing awkwardly with his new prostheses. Not-really-human skin weathered, tinged blue around the lips, drooping on the left side of his face where an eyepatch partly covers new scars. One orange eye searching for something that makes sense.
2. Piecing Things Together (First Aid):
Mayor looked at Kahl's new hands and feet, asked if they were his. Kahl said no. He didn't know them. Mayor told him, find First Aid. Explained that was a person. First Aid knows parts like Kahl's. His missing eye, too. Someone will take him there.
Kahl follows, augments slowly drawing a map of the route they take. The way it looks in his head is weird. Kahl doesn't know how to describe it. More like glass, like a thing instead of computer stuff. It keeps him distracted until they show up at the door.
3. Searching (Cecil, OTA!):
Kahl's radio is acting strange, just like the rest of his implants. It might be broken. But he still has to try. If death is how you get here, then there should be many.
He finds a hill, where the signal should be good. Opens a channel. "Kahl-One-Seven-Five, on frequency. Calling all Grineer." Nothing. "Brothers, respond."
He tries on every channel. Nothing. Just hiss, and bits of local chatter. No voices like home.
4. Run-in (OTA)
Kahl isn't used to being tall. He's the same height on his new feet, but everyone else is shorter. Among brothers, Kahl was normal size. Two meters, plus armor. Here? Kahl sees over almost every head.
And Kahl still doesn't know where he is. He walks in the crowd, looking around, not yet knowing how to think through his left eye being gone. He can't see anything there, or anyone.
5. Cultural Confusion (OTA)
Kahl knows credits. Grineer aren't supposed to have them, but soldiers have them anyway, sometimes. They trade each other for things. This brass stuff is like credits, maybe. Or the other stuff they collect and trade with, metal scraps, nice rocks, whatever they find.
But Kahl doesn't really understand these 'store' things. "Storehouse keep stuff," he's trying to explain to someone. "Take when need. Kahl need this." He holds up some tools that are the right size for disassembling his prosthetics. But the explanation doesn't seem to be helping.
6. A Little Help (OTA)
Kahl needs to think. He takes leftover food from his meeting with Cerric, goes west to the trees near the beach, to find quiet. When he sits down though, he doesn't think about anything. Too tired. He just sits, looking at the food in his hands, his new arms and legs, until sound brings him back.
Something with a little voice, singing. It isn't good at it. Kahl watches as a little pink thing bounces through the plants, all big round eyes and fuzzy pink hair. Every time it bounces, the singing goes unsteady. Either it doesn't notice Kahl, or it doesn't care.
Back with his brothers, in camps on the plains, he'd usually shoot at animals that get too close. But this thing... it looks like a floof. It doesn't smell bad. It sounds like when one of his brothers hums when she's bored, she's never good at it either. But she's dead now, and this thing isn't.
The little thing bounces to a stop not far away, singing getting louder, trying harder. Under its thin fur, it's turning bright pink.
Kahl tosses a piece of his food at its stubby feet. "Hey. Little guy need to breathe."
It stops with a small ig! of surprise, fur fluffing up. Then it snatches up the food, squishes itself, and bounces right up into a tree, looking down at Kahl over the food.
"Heh." Kahl feels a little like laughing. "Smart thing. Kahl not know what thing, though."
7. Wildcard!
[Kahl is from a canon full of science and magic, and he's physically competent for violent critter encounters if anyone wants him there! For more information on his canon and more of a sense of what he looks and sounds like, see his intro sequence. Content warning for flashing lights (fires, explosions, muzzle flashes), character death (background characters, attempted self-sacrifice), blood and disfigurement (Kahl loses an eye, and the empty socket is shown 8:55 onward. The wound is bleeding.) ]
No Voice Like Home
"Well, hi there! You're not really supposed to be transmitting here. Usually it's just me and Phil."
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Cultural Confusion
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Arrival
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A Little Help
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Piecing Things Together
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jeff | original (apocalypse how crau) | returning player [early 20s]
ii. job fair
iii. wildcard
[ CRAU INFO: Jeff's a CRAU from Apocalypse How, a spooky Magnus Archives themed game where he ended up becoming an avatar of the Spiral. This cost him his humanity, and granted him fun new powers and a need to stoke madness, deceit, and delusions. Right now he's going to try and blend in and act human, but he does have one big Tell, which is that his reflection (and photos/videos, but that's less of a factor here) always lies-- or tells the truth? Basically, it will always be inconsistent. It'll move slightly differently, or his expressions will be different, etc. He'll be doing his best to avoid standing by mirrors or other reflective surfaces, but hey, characters are free to pick up on some weirdness ]
i
He pauses as he's addressed like he should know who this is. What'd he miss?
"How should I know? I wasn't keeping track of everyone here. Do you mean at the cucumber festival?"
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The Return (cw: mention of blood, mental horror, unreality)
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