![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pumpkinhollow) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
ph_memes2024-07-06 01:29 pm
TDM #7 - Haunted Girl Summer [FIRST EDITION]
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!
[Our Plain Text version is under construction. The link will be added as soon as it is available, which should be later today. Apologies for the inconvenience!]
Pumpkin Hollow Gazette
5/10/24 | TDM #7 - Haunted Girl Summer
Weather Forecast: Detailed report within!
WELCOME TO PUMPKIN HOLLOW
By Yorick Aberdeen
The crop for which the town is named.
For just over one year, Pumpkin Hollow has been fondly welcoming new residents from beyond the confines of the dreaded barrier into our quirky little town. As more of you continue to arrive by ferry to make our ghost town a true community again, we Pumpkin Hollowites extend our warmest gratitude to you! Please drop by town hall if you need any assistance at all, or reach out to one of your neighbors. We may be cursed, but we sure are friendly! Welcome to your new home, and may your lantern always be lit.
PRE-ELECTION MEET & GREET IN TOWN SQUARE
By Yorick Aberdeen
A voting reminder created by our very own Mayor Poe!
DOWNTOWN HOLLOW (Town Square) - As many of you may know, our Town Council has recently opened up a seat and will be holding an election in September. In preparation for this election, there will be a number of scheduled Meet & Greets.
Our current candidates for the upcoming election are Claude von Reigan, Lord Erik Osborne, and Miles Upshur.
Claude von Reigan is our youngest candidate at 24 years of age, just a few months older than our current youngest councilperson, Dahlia Leeds. He has been working serving our community for several months now as the shop assistant at Blackberry Apothecary and comes to us from a previous life of governing a nation during a time of political turmoil. His primary goals are to work towards a unified community in Pumpkin Hollow and serve as a voice for those who come from other worlds.
Miles Upshur is our newest candidate, having only arrived in June, which gives him a very fresh perspective of our local politics. He comes from a prior life of investigative journalism, giving him firsthand knowledge of how political action directly affects constituents. His goals are ensuring the separation of corporate interests and government, and focusing on grassroots action and the concerns of the people.
Lord Erik Osborne is both our oldest candidate and the one of longest residence. He has been deeply entrenched in the local community here due to his work as an adult entertainer and his personal involvement with citizens both new and old. With no intention of returning to his previous life, Lord Osborne’s primary goal is to create a community he is proud to live out his days in and help the island thrive despite these troubling times.
Please check the community board for the meet and greet schedule and bring your questions! New arrivals are strongly encouraged to come speak with the candidates and make their unique needs and concerns heard.
JULY WEATHER FORECAST
By Phil Connors
Clouds break over the bluffs.
MARROW ISLE - Mostly sunny with the occasional thunderstorm this time of year. Make sure to check your roofs and cellars for leaks! The rain can come on fast, so don't go tanning without an umbrella, folks. A wooden one. Not for lightning, for rain vampires. That was a joke, metal's fine.
GRAND OPENING: GOURD EN GLACE
By Cecil Gershwin Palmer
Open on the end of downtown nearest the beach, as of July 3rd!
DOWNTOWN HOLLOW - Saraya Meridell of the Artisan’s Guild announced today that her daughter, Venka Meridell is going to be opening an ice cream parlor. “Stand still, you twit,” she said, as she pinned the trousers I needed tailored. “It’s not that I’m not happy for her, it’s just a waste of all the work she did to learn elemental magic. Frost and snow spells have a lot of practical uses, and ice cream is not one of the dignified ones.”
This reporter respectfully disagrees, and took the time to visit Venka after paying for the alterations to his clothing. She was very excited to see me.
“Cecil! It was actually your calzones and pizzas that inspired some of the flavors I’ve been trying. I’ve made a sweet barbecue sauce to go on top of sundaes, and a pineapple basil ice cream that you need to try!” So I did, and it was very good. I even suggested caramelized onions as a topping for future experiments.
The parlor will be opening at the beginning of July, and will be offering a sale to get people in the door: anyone who buys a large sundae with the intention of sharing will receive a 20% discount. So, help support a young woman who’s chasing her dreams this summer.
RESIDENTS ENCOURAGED TO KEEP A LITTLE DIRT UNDER THEIR PILLOWS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
By Yorick Aberdeen
A grainy photo taken of our break-in artist.
ISLAND-WIDE (centered around Crane’s Ridge) - The Pumpkin Hollow Board of Safety has put out yet another alert for a danger to the public, starting on the first of July, 16:54 and going until further notice.
Reports have been flooding to the constabulary and to the Safety Board that residents have been hearing strange music at night that is not unpleasant--- in fact, many have stated that it’s a bit of an earworm. However, those who have investigated the source of the tune have found that it accompanies a strange figure in a wide-brimmed hat and long coat who is trailed by a cloud of dust. He seems to move about the town only deep in the night and his intentions are yet unknown, but his movements and sightings have been tied to a recent string of break-ins and kidnappings.
After some field research, the Board of Safety has indicated that the best way to protect oneself from this sneaky, musical assailant is to place a handful of dirt under one’s pillow before sleeping at night. Residents are advised to check on a daily basis if the dirt is still present, and if it is not, it should be replaced at one’s earliest convenience. “Don’t be alarmed if the dirt disappears,” Chief Constable Janine Kilbride has been heard stating. “It’s just the system working as intended. We’ll alert everyone once this mystery man has been apprehended. But for now, do the dirt thing. Just… just trust us, alright?”
Please report any sightings of this dark and dirty stranger to a constable as soon as possible. The station will be banding together to ensure that phone lines stay open overnight as often as they’re able. Additionally, the Safety Board is accepting volunteers for search parties to look for victims of kidnapping up in Crane’s Ridge, both from the enforcers, and civilians.
BLUE ISLAND CRAB MATING SEASON BEGINS
By Yorick Aberdeen
You can see the desire for crime in its eyes.
TAWNY BEACH - It’s that time of year again, Pumpkin Hollow! Mating season at last has begun in earnest down on Tawny Beach for our local crab species, the Blue Island crab. While not in their usual numbers after the defeat of the colony’s colossal matriarch last summer, residents of Marrow Isle can still see the miracle of life in all its glory as little blue crabs scuttle onto our shores to deposit their eggs into the warm sands.
As with previous years, residents are advised to keep doors and windows to both businesses and residences closed as often as possible. Blue Island crabs are known for their mischief and have a propensity for stealing small valuables, raiding cabinets, and pinching the toes of the unwary. They are, however, quite delicious.
Additionally, this year there have been a few mentions of residents spotting a unique crab on the shore! A little reddish-orange crab of a slightly smaller proportion can be seen alongside a mate sporting the traditional blue, apparently guarding a nest. Is this new orange friend a separate species, or simply a mutated morph? We’re not sure yet, but one thing is for certain--- he does have a knife for some reason! It appears to be a steak knife from a fancy restaurant, and he does appear to know how to use it, so mind your ankles!
TRAVEL ADVISORY: WYVERN MIGRATION
By Yorick Aberdeen & Dr. Elias Coldwood
A sketch by Dr. Coldwood
LOCKWOOD FOREST - Recently, islanders have occasionally reported seeing a large predatory creature emerging from the depths of Paradesium, the sprawling subterranean jungle found underneath our island in early spring. Due to the unique nature of this hulking beast which has only recently been discovered, the Pumpkin Hollow Gazette takes you now to a slightly abridged statement from local wildlife expert, Dr. Elias Coldwood, on what you should do if you encounter one of these specimens.
"..a brief understanding of this creature is necessary: my expedition party have called this creature Rubiginosa, due to its distinctly-shaped natural defenses. Though draconic in nature, this creature is not sapient [...]. It is keenly intelligent, however. [...] Beyond any creatures in our island's waters, this is the largest land animal that we have ever encountered...
[...] Surely this is going to kill us all and decimate the local ecosystem [...].
...It spends much of its time eating [...]. During these warmer months, it's taken to a somewhat migratory pattern around Lockwood forest. [...] From Crane's Ridge, it arcs south-east, resting at Knotter's Rock in Hatchet Lake [...]. It then follows the Paring River to Eeltooth Lagoon, [...] it moves back northeast, scaling Crane's Ridge...
In order to avoid it and becoming part of its frequent hunt for easy prey... It's best to simply wait it out.
...I suggest potential hunters contact Town Hall to lend your services. Many parts of this creature could feasibly be harvested and used, if a need to fell the beast arises. [...]
Be safe, be well, and thank you for reading!"
Unfortunately, due to issues with space, the Gazette is unable to run any more of Dr. Coldwood's report in this issue. However, please feel free to drop by Dr. Coldwood's laboratory in the lighthouse on the Bluffs to speak to him personally or drop by Greymare Library during its hours of operation to receive the full report in the form of a helpful pamphlet!
Page 1
Meet & Greet
The campaign meet and greets are pretty informal and self-explanatory! We just ask that all three candidates make themselves available for both July and August with a brief prompt beneath the “Meet & Greet” toplevel and do their best to respond to their voters! Good luck, candidates!
The Dirt Man
Long has the fabled Dirt Man been whispered about with reverence and terror by people all throughout the land, and today, he has come to town. All that you can do is keep a little dirt under your pillow… and pray.
In the night, characters may hear the catchy bossa nova background melody of the Dirt Man’s iconic song as he wanders the roads of Pumpkin Hollow in his long duster coat and cowboy hat in search of offerings. While this sneaky sedimentary stalker in the night might seem a bit silly, he is anything but.
Sleeping residents may find their homes broken into by this shadowy figure and may wake to a pair of faintly glowing brown eyes in the dark and a clawed hand under their pillow. If the intruder finds no offering of soil or his victim reacts in fear or violence to his presence before he can claim it, the Dirt Man will drag his victim out of bed and take them to his lair, hidden under Crane’s Ridge. There, they will be placed inside a chamber that is slowly filling with dirt like that one scene from Aladdin. The one where Jasmine’s in the hourglass? You know the one.
To avoid dying of
The Dirt Man cannot be overpowered at night, as the moonlight gives him an invulnerable form of shadow and dust. However, in the daylight he just appears to be just a normal guy who looks suspiciously like TikTok music sensation Carter Vail, and can be attacked and defeated if he tries to prevent your escape from his dirt lair. Good luck! This prompt can be played for horror, comedy, or both, so mix it up as you see fit!
Blue Island Crabs
Also fairly self-explanatory, the Blue Island Crabs are little blue mischief-makers who have come to the island for the summer to lay eggs and to steal. They’re pretty crafty, so they cannot be caught in large numbers and can’t be used to alter food budgets for existing residents, but small quantities can be snatched up for a tasty snack! Just don’t overdo it or the island might get attacked by a giant crab again, and we just can’t have that.
Due to their reduced numbers, Blue Island crabs will be a lesser nuisance than last year and will not infringe upon beach enjoyment in a meaningful way. They do, however, come up off the shore to cause trouble in town.
As for the unique crab, our Sail CRAU crowd will recognize this little fellow as Ody, a crab from the Serena Eterna! He’s here with his new crab wife to hatch adorable mixed-breed babies and teach them how to stab. Three tiny purple crabs will be seen with their parents come August, play-stabbing with sticks. Please feel free to name Ody’s mate and children as a community!
Dragon Migration
Though the details in the paper were cut incredibly short (much to Dr. Coldwood's deep annoyance), the pamphlet's full version that can be found in the library is written below!
"While there's been several creatures that have emerged from Paradesium's depths recently, likely due to the warming weather of the surface, they've only been minor nuisances at worst. This, however, poses a significantly deeper problem to us - though, not one that many of us need worry about.
First, a brief understanding of this creature is necessary: my expedition party have called this creature Rubiginosa, due to its distinctly-shaped natural defenses. Though draconic in nature, this creature is not sapient, as many of us native to this world have come to be used to. It is keenly intelligent, however. I would liken it to the awareness of the world around it that a crow displays! This wyvern is brown and green in coloration, with deep, wine red thorns. Its typical standing height is estimated at about 10 feet, and 30 feet in length from tip of snout to longest tail thorn. It is fairly muscular, as any predator of its size will tend to be, approximately 12 feet wide, and its wingspan boasts an impressive 55 feet. Beyond any creatures in our island's waters, this is the largest land animal that we have ever encountered, and the largest that many of us will ever encounter in our lifetimes.
I know what you might be thinking, if your experience is similar to the one it looks like Mr. Aberdeen is having right now as I explain all this. Surely this is going to kill us all and decimate the local ecosystem, right? Fortunately, this is not the case, and I maybe should have worded my approach better to spare poor Yorick's blood pressure.
This creature, for something of such a menacing appearance, is remarkably docile. It spends much of its time eating, which would pose population issues in prey animals, if our local fauna weren't also bound by the constraints of our deathless home. During these warmer months, it's taken to a somewhat migratory pattern around Lockwood forest. Each pattern occurs over the span of two weeks; it's in no rush. From Crane's Ridge, it arcs south-east, resting at Knotter's Rock in Hatchet Lake for some time. It then follows the Paring River to Eeltooth Lagoon, and once it's stayed to its liking, it moves back northeast, scaling Crane's Ridge, likely to sun itself on the mountain's smooth stone cliffs. It repeats this pattern after a period of dormancy.
In order to avoid it and becoming part of its frequent hunt for easy prey, I recommend exercising great caution in your visits to Lockwood Forest this summer. There is no value in trying to be a hero, here - if you slay the wyvern, it will likely return to its schedule once it returns to life, just as any other creature does! It's best to simply wait it out.
Should it venture towards the city, however, preventative measures should be taken to deter any further visits. In that event--- and ONLY in that event, to minimize loss of life--- do I suggest potential hunters contact Town Hall to lend your services. Many parts of this creature could feasibly be harvested and used, if a need to fell the beast arises. The spines are sharp and strong, and the leather would truly stand the test of time, I imagine. Its venom could even potentially be used in medicines! Judging by how poison seeps from the beast during hunts, however, I would not recommend attempting to eat it. I believe any meals that could come from this beast would result in a swift death. Food poisoning is the best case scenario, really.
In brief: the Rubiginosa, while a indomitable force to be trifled with, is a new part of our ecosystem! It's best to take the time to learn how to live with our local megafauna with safety for both ourselves and the animals. Care and respect for our ecosystems, even in these strange times, is important to ensuring that Marrow Isle thrives. Be safe, be well, and thank you for reading!"
For prospective monster hunters, the Rubiginosa is remarkably difficult to engage into battle. Most attacks against it's thick, toxic hide do more damage to the assailants than they do to the wyvern, and it regards most strikes with disinterest, generally simply getting up to move.
Should enough strikes be landed, or a weak point (such as the eyes or inner mouth) be hit, however, it will enter a rage and fight back!
Fighting the Rubiginosa
First off: the Rubiginosa, for any unfamiliar, is a creature brought in from another world as many others have been, the Espinas from Monster Hunter!
We were able to find a D&D stat sheet, including health, attacks, and weaknesses to use for combat, should anyone want to run a brief dice-rolling combat encounter with it! The sheet can be found here, with credit to the person who created the sheet! These rounds would have the Espinas controlled by one member of the thread, so feel free to plot among yourselves and decide how it goes! (The fight doesn't have to necessarily go this way, either, if you would prefer to wing it. This is just to provide an option!)
To the Victor Go the Spoils
If you and your companion are able to defeat the Rubiginosa, the following loot can possibly be taken from it:
Plate Scale - a deep green scale, impenetrable by most tools.
Shield Hide - a firm piece of hide, suitable for drying and armor-work.
Poisoned Blood - a highly toxic glass vial of blood, potent enough to kill most living creatures.
Rosevine Segment - a piece of the tail of the Rubiginosa, with the sharp spikes it bore in life. Can be used for its parts, or used as a weapon, itself, in a pinch. Difficult to handle, though.
Seeping Thorn - one of the thorns from the hide of the wyvern, still oozing with potent poisons, even after its death.
Verdant Leather - a thin, easily workable piece of hide, in a rich, vibrant green. Works well for a durable piece of camouflage.
Assassin's Horn - a horn from the wyvern, named for it's poison coating and potential to make for an exceptionally fatal knife.
Good luck, and happy hunting!
Re: Evil Defining
"NAY, IT HAST NOT ATTACKED ANYTHING YET, BUT PERHAPS IT SHALL ATTACK SOON! SUCH A THING HATH PLANNED TO KILL EVERYONE!!! I HATH READ SUCH IN THE GAZETTE!!" Indeed, this Rubiginosa must be quite the danger! She must slay this beast before it wreaks havoc upon everything!
"IF THOU BEAR JUSTICE IN THY HEART AND COURAGE IN THY BLOOD AND SOUL, JOIN ME IN THIS NOBLE QUEST OF MINE!!!"
no subject
Moiré stares into the middle distance, processing that. "How do we know it's going to attack if it hasn't done anything yet? Did it say so? That certainly sounds concerning..."
They're picturing a dragon sending out press releases in advance of laying siege to the town. As comical as the mental image is, it doesn't seem impossible. There's hedgebeasts that would do that. "I think I have at least one of those things. Do you have spare armour or weapons? I seem to have left my chainmail in my other pants."
no subject
Don Quixote then responds to their question with absolute confidence in her voice. "And of course we know it shall attack, the reputable Dr. Elias Coldwood stated such! Thou must take the word of such a reputable individual as he for such matters! 'Surely this is going to kill us all and decimate the local ecosystem' was what he'd stated within the article of the Pumpkin Hollow Gazette! Surely he must have observed the dangers such a beast posed to the town and urged us to slay it before it could do so. I'd read such urgent words of his and immediately had to steel mineself to do so.
"And of course, fret not, for I shall fund any weapons and armor required to cut down this terror known as the Rubiginosa!"
no subject
Standing in the aisle between tables, they skim over an article about the election, another about crab migration, and something about a 'dirt man' breaking into people's houses before they find what they're looking for.
"Oh, I see." The article also says to avoid it, but that part's clearly not going to get them anywhere. It doesn't occur to Moiré that it's odd for the enforcers not to be handling this draconic menace, since it's not like the cops would have been any help against the supernatural at home. "So we should go to Town Hall when we're ready? It's too bad it doesn't say anything about a reward."
no subject
Don just realized something though, in her excitement, she'd somehow forgotten to announce her name. "Ah! Before we do such a thing, I forgot to introduce mineself. I am the noble knight Don Quixote!" she was also primarily a farm worker whenever she wasn't embarking upon unprompted quests of hers, but that doesn't make for as good of a story!
no subject
It takes a second for the implications of the name to catch up to them. "Wait, like the guy who rode around Spain trying to stab windmills with a lance?"
no subject
no subject
It was fiction, but the town was also full of Pokémon a week ago, so that doesn't mean it can't have been real somewhere even if it wasn't Moiré's world specifically.
"Spain's a country. It's on Earth; I'm guessing you're not from Earth. Or at least not anywhere near my era of Earth."
no subject
"I do hail of Earth, yet I hath not heard of any use the word country in such a manner as that from that Earth which I hail. Perhaps it may exist outside the City, but the Outskirts is a place fraught with danger and monstrous beings just as deadly as the one we shall be hunting." Well, for Don imagining the world as anything but the City and everything outside its walls is rather difficult, even the mirror worlds only show nearby possibilities. It's still a bit uncanny to her such possibilities exist even after a month of residing in another world.
"Are things similar in thine Earth?"
no subject
"Not really. Depending on how you define a city, even a small country can have anywhere from three or four of them to dozens, and it's generally safe to go from one city to another one. You'd usually be in a car, or a train, or an airplane if it's really far away; I don't know if your Earth has any of those but they're different kinds of vehicles. You're mostly safe from wildlife if you're in one, even stuff that would be dangerous to people on foot." Moiré pauses. "With a few exceptions. My country has moose, and if you crash a car into one of those, it'll do more damage to the car than the moose. But most people can drive to another city without even seeing a moose."
no subject
"I must mention... 'tis most rare to see cars within the Backstreets of a City's District, 'tis a place impoverished, violent, and rife with villainy. 'Tis a technology oft relegated to the Nests, of which offer safety from the Syndicates of which plague the Backstreets. 'Tis far easier to journey about untroubled in such places. Though, some vehicles might offer safety sufficient for such."
"Mine former employer, Limbus Company hath used a bus of the name Mephistopheles, oft taking route through the Backstreets of a District to navigate to their destinations. 'Tis a simple task to dispatch of the scoundrels who'd assail our vehicle when such actions are of necessity. I know not of the mechanisms that power this bus... though I know it to be nigh impervious to most dangers."
"I... hath never laid mine eyes upon a moose, I know only tales of the antlered beast. Are these creatures truly of such peril to travelers? I must admit... I'd shudder to cross paths with one, if what thou hast uttered holds truth."