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ph_memes2025-03-10 09:10 pm
TDM #10 - Wither and Bloom [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!
Pumpkin Hollow Gazette
12/13/24 | TDM #10 - Wither and Bloom [First Edition]
Spring Pokémon Types - Grass, Fairy, Ground, Bug, Normal
WELCOME TO PUMPKIN HOLLOW
By Yorick Aberdeen
The crop for which the town is named.
Greetings, Hollowites, old and new! We are pleased to bring you yet another riveting issue of the Pumpkin Hollow Gazette. Or perhaps this is your very first one?
For nearly two years now, the mysterious ferryman has brought new and interesting faces across seas and stars and dimensional planes to reach our fair island. Since then, our community has grown larger and infinitely more interesting--- and we’re glad you’re joining us! Just in time for the weather to be just lovely.
This time of year tends to be a bit lighter on town-wide events due to this being a vitally busy time for our local agriculture industry, but we urge you to get involved with planting season and spend some time in nature. Who knows? You might even catch sight of our goddess of Land and Spring if you spend enough time among plants! Just don’t look into the trees--- they look back.
We invite you, as with all those who came before you, to enjoy your stay at the Oak & Iron tavern inn while you settle in. Please stop by Town Hall to discuss opportunities for work and more permanent housing! All newcomers get 100 Brass in their pocket upon arrival as well, so we encourage you to take advantage of this as well. Reach out to your neighbors for help if you need it, and don’t forget to pick up your copy of the Pumpkin Hollow Gazette whenever you need the local news!
SPRING WEATHER REPORT
By Phil Connors
The breeze will make your clothes smell great!
Start dusting those homes and beating those blankets! The days are getting longer, and with it, the winds are getting warmer. Spring is here! We’ll see some days that are still chilly and windy, but the more warm and temperate phases will get more common later in the season. We’re also entering the rainy period, meaning flowers are springing out of the ground and we’ll be seeing some very beautiful sunrises on misty mornings. Color is coming back to the isle, the frogs are in the rivers, and the insects and lambs are in the fields. It’s a good season to be outside.
Which means it’s also a good season to do laundry! Join us for our Community Laundry Day, where we all do our much-needed chores together and hang-dry our laundry in the warm and breezy weather! Join us on the green for some team washing. Water provided. Bring your own tubs, soap, and of course, clothes!
COMMUNITY EVENTS KEEP TOWN LIVELY ALL SPRING
By Timothy Stoker
The gazebo in town square, beside the festival green, is the place to be this season.
Legend has it that this time last year, a packed ferry arrived with a mass influx of offworlders, and an emergency potluck dinner was held to welcome the crowd. Now, this reporter wasn’t here just yet when that happened, but stories tell of a gathering of epic culinary proportions that heralded a new age of prosperity for Pumpkin Hollow. Sounds like something worth celebrating! Now that the weather has turned lovely once more (as elaborated on above by our own Phil Connors), the town has decided to celebrate the anniversary of the newly dubbed “Harbor Day” by revisiting that potluck idea. Drop by the Temple of Sacred Roots every other Friday from now until June to sample the cuisine of your new neighbors and local businesses. New residents need only bring themselves!
Also, in the spirit of spring cleaning, residents will also be selling or giving away their old items every weekend, weather permitting, in a series of mass yard sales. Some of our more modern residents supplied the term “yard crawl” for the event, which was deemed to be fitting. So come out on Saturday and Sunday mornings and afternoons to see what useful used items you can take off your neighbors’ hands! It’s a great way for new residents to decorate their new homes cheaply and get some new clothes.
And finally, on Wednesday evenings the Festival Green will be hosting “Swift Social” events (to be held in the Oak & Iron in the event of rain). A reimagining of last year’s popular charity speed dating event, this new Swift Social is expanded to include individuals seeking platonic relationships as well--- though that doesn’t mean romance is off the menu! The 10 Brass will be used to support the town’s medical community and the Autumn Leaves Dormitory House for Young Residents. So come out and make a friend or meet someone cute--- it’s for charity!
Fearsome Fae Antics Cause Town-Wide Trouble
By Melanie King
Up to no good, probably.
Things have been getting tricksy around town as, apparently, the fae population are staging the prank war to end all prank wars—or so local experts are telling us. If, like this reporter, you thought you were just having terrible luck with forgetting where you put things down or waking up with horrible bedhead, surprise! You've actually been caught in the crossfire of the fairies' games and may be entitled to financial compensation. (Not really. That's a joke.)
It looks like their antics are escalating significantly over time from harmless inconveniences to active dangers, so beware of any unusual sounds, behaviours or visual phenomenon you may encounter. Alluring or pleading voices from the woods, ghostly lights, critters acting oddly—if it's out of the ordinary, think twice. Or it might be the last time you think at all (at least, until tomorrow morning).
Fiendish Floral Figures Take Root Around Town
By Yorick Aberdeen
How eerie!
Spring is a time of year characterized by new life and by fresh floral blooms. It’s said that the land is Serranai’s canvas, and flowers are her paint. There is no debating that watching the Spring goddess’s artistry come to life in her season of power is an activity beloved by all! However, the Department of Supernatural Affairs is currently investigating some strangely behaved plant life.
While sightings have been somewhat rare, locals have been reporting eerie structures made out of flowering vines or woven flower stems that take the shape of hollowed out humanoid silhouettes. The poses seem to indicate motion and appear capable of springing to life at any moment, but the strange figures never seem to actually move --- at least, not that anyone has actually seen. However, many have cited that upon looking away from the figures and looking back, they appear to be closer. Those who have had direct contact with these floral armatures of people are also reporting some kind of ongoing allergic reaction from the encounter. Symptoms include severe shortness of breath, unpleasant itching that feels like it is coming from beneath the skin, and intense bouts of emotion which vary from person to person.
The Pumpkin Hollow Board of Safety is currently investigating long-term effects of contact with these beings and advises residents to avoid them. They seem highly resilient to fire, impact, and tearing, and while cutting with a sharp implement seems to have some success, it’s inadvisable to get close enough to the things to use such tools in the first place. Local alchemist Aeryn Sallek and local non-magical chemist Sally Boyle are currently working together to develop an herbicidal blend that is safe for human skin contact and potentially consumption to try and deal with the flowery menaces, which the Board of Safety has begun calling “Hanahilators”. But don’t let the name frighten you--- steering clear of these freaky floral followers should be a more than sufficient safety measure until the threat can be dealt with. Probably, anyway!
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Yard Crawl
Participate in the Yard Crawl as either a buyer, a seller, or both! When you take on a job in Pumpkin Hollow, you are supplied with permanent housing outside the Oak & Iron as part of your start-up kit, and most of them are full of old and worn furniture and clothes left behind when they were abandoned. Get rid of some of it or find something new at the Spring Yard Crawl! Plus, some of the native residents will also be selling or giving away their own old things.
Here’s how the Brass shakes out:
- Buyers can spend 50 Brass and get a haul of their choice of used or free clothing, furniture, or small decorative items. All of it will be of decent to low quality and relatively unremarkable design, so nothing extravagant. (Although a lone exciting knick knack could be considered passable!) Reminder that newcomers are given their first stipend of 100B upon arrival, so new characters are welcome to participate--- you’ll just need to mark that on your ledger if/when you app in. Ask for help if you have questions about this!
- Sellers can make 50B off of their participation but must make a toplevel. Only apped-in characters that are not Laggards can participate as a Seller.
- Those who are both buying and selling end up with a net zero of Brass, but all the aforementioned rules apply!
- Transactions related to the Yard Crawl can be applied to a character’s ledger three times --- once per month for the duration of this TDM!
Swift Social
Under the Swift Social toplevel posted from the mod account, join the fun by posting a starter with the provided code to create a profile card! Then comment on someone else’s starter with one of the following icebreaker questions to get started:
Which would be more surprising to see on your doorstep, a unicorn or a walrus?Be advised that you must post a comment with your profile card so that any Swift Social partners you have can reference it for your age and preferences.
If you could commit any crime with no consequences, what would it be?
If you were caught in a trap and the only way to escape from it with your life was to do something genuinely impressive, what would be your approach?
If you had to live on only one food for the rest of your life, what would you choose?
If you were held at knife point and instructed by your assailant that you must call someone on their sending stone, and if they do not answer, you die, who would you call?
Which would be most frightening to encounter in a dark alley: a ghost, an alien, or a horse?
If you could have any wish granted for you, no matter how big or small, what would it be? (Cannot ask for more wishes, that’s cheating!)
What’s a subject that you could confidently teach an hour-long class on with no preparation?
If you could instantly become an expert in any skill, what would you choose?
Make your own!
Fae Pranks
It’s a fairy prank war! A few of the local fae courts are using Marrow Isle as their battle ground, since the demons made it trendy. They’re mostly out to prank each other--- but they’re also happy to practice their tricks on you! And fairies have some very odd ideas about boundaries when it comes to pranks. Here’s a few examples of some of the tricks you might encounter, ranging from silly to genuinely dangerous:
- A truly outrageous amounts of butterflies
- Sightings of Edwin the Headless Postman, a Dullahan (this is a played character that a mod will tag out with, please leave an OOC note if you’d like to opt out)
- Will-o-wisps that lead you in circles or into danger
- Fae dance parties that will have you dancing yourself to death!
- Missing objects
- Mysteriously spoiled milk
- Your hair got braided or extra tangled while you were asleep
- Weird sounds in Prague Mill after dark. Is it haunted?
- Strange women crying in the forest or by the Bluffs, but when you approach them to try and help, you find yourself suddenly in life-threatening danger!
- Create your own! Have fun with it, get spooky or goofy as you see fit.
Floral Fiends [cw: body horror, death]
Loosely inspired by the Hanahaki disease and the film Annihilation, Hanahilators are uncanny figures made out of flowers that move when they are not being watched. If they catch you, they will grab you, but seemingly have no interest in harming you as they will relent as soon as they’ve touched you.
However, once you have pollen on you, the effects begin to take hold, and flowers begin growing within your body, first in your lungs and then pushing into the rest of you. These parasitic blooms feed off of your strong emotions and are influenced by the emotions which define you. (Feel free to use the Victorian flower language to determine what kinds of flowers you get!) Once strong enough, the vines begin feeding on your body, destroying it and leaving behind a brand new Hanahilator. But don’t worry, you’ll be back to your old self tomorrow, so enjoy the opportunity to explore the island as a ghost! Apped in characters should remember to fill out a Death Certificate! It’s a relatively rare encounter, so don’t worry about running into one if you don’t want to.
Pokémon
Each season, new types of Pokémon can be found in nature around the island! They cannot be captured as the technology does not exist on Marrow Isle, but they can be befriended and kept as pets. Since there is no PC, each person can have no more than six. You can befriend any Pokémon whose primary type matches the list at the top of the newspaper. (Eevee can be caught in any season.) Legendaries are off limits for obvious reasons, and mythicals can be encountered for fun but not kept! Evolutionary stones can be found in Paradesium, the magical subterranean jungle beneath the mountain to the North. Every type will be available at some point throughout the year, so if you don’t have access to your fave yet, check back next season!
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Not for the first time since this all began, CT can't help the tug of a smile at the reassurance such an offer brings. "I don't think so, not... right now, at least. She had me alone and didn't try anything even after I put a weapon in her hand."
A choice that she realises sounds like an unnecessary risk, because in many ways it was, but it was a calculated one. Despite being given the perfect opportunity to, Carolina didn't act against her—that's behavioural information worth having.
"But— I don't know. Apparently a lot has happened since I died back home and, well, that's... it makes it harder to account for all the variables." The woman she knew has changed. Not fundamentally, but enough that CT can't read her quite as well as she'd gotten used to. "There's things she's said that make no sense. She said Texas did get my message, that she turned the Director, but that..."
She trails off into a vague, uncertain sound. It doesn't make sense.
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Maybe he can... who knows. Learn a couple spells from Neil. The more Neil tells him about magic theory, the less satisfying theory feels minus its practical component.
And then he frowns again. "That what?" he prompts.
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"It doesn't make sense. I left her that message before I left and she killed me anyway! If it was going to be enough to turn her against him, that... I don't know. She wouldn't have been following his orders. Even knowing what we both know about how quickly they can turn on people, even their creators..."
She breathes out. Thunks her head back against the door.
"If she did turn on him, I just... I just can't imagine it has anything to do with me."
That's not something she knows how to reconcile with her lived experience, with the things that haunt her nightmares.
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It feels a little like when Gaius told him Galactica was falling apart at the seams: everything Gaeta sacrificed to try and save humanity, and none of it mattered in the end. After CT did so much to fight back, it may not have had an impact at all? Texas killing the Director would have happened anyway?
Well, he thinks a little sourly, AI.
"Maybe it didn't," he says, not wanting to voice even a comforting white lie: maybe Texas didn't believe the message at first; maybe you were the first domino falling, but it took a while to reach the end. "But what you did still mattered. You fought back."
A pause. Then, drier, "Carolina could also be lying to frak with you. Is she that kind of person?"
Look, his one exposure to other Freelancers besides CT was Agent South Dakota. It wasn't the best first impression.
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CT pulls a face and gestures, loosely, before pressing her knuckles against her lips, elbow propped against her other arm. "Not when I knew her? She's not really the lying type." Not like I turned into. "She keeps a lot unsaid, but when she opens her mouth it's generally the truth."
Granted, this was, apparently, years ago, and she's still not sure what's changed since then, but Carolina still seemed like her usual to-the-point self. Holding a lot back, definitely, but nothing she said struck CT like she was actually lying.
"Plus she hated Texas, like—hated her. For... good reason, completely unrelated to the AI thing. She didn't know back then." Reasons she can't get into. It's probably for the best that she never did explain that the Director saw Texas as a digital ghost of his dead wife, Carolina might actually have killed her if she'd left enough pieces for her friends to piece together her relation to the man. "I don't think she'd tell me something that made Texas seem... better, from her perspective."
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Gaeta grimaces. "I have to be honest, you're handling this a lot better than I would if Admiral Adama showed up. I wouldn't trust him to have changed at all."
Which isn't a condemnation of CT; just an observation. It surprises him a little, though, that he's the ultra-suspicious one right now.
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"Being able to read people was one of the only things that kept me alive, back there. I have to believe that I can still see her clearly enough that I won't miss her true intentions." And yet... she sighs, rubbing at her temple. "But I don't, not completely. I just don't know what else I can do. We both have to live here. Even if running her out of town would do any good, I couldn't."
Not with the barrier. They're all stuck here, so long as they want to live.
"And she's the only source of information I have on what's apparently happened since my death, so at some point... I'm going to have to talk to her and I won't even know if I can believe a word she says, and—" another sigh, she splays her hand to the heavens. "Honestly how you'd handle Adama might be the more sensible reaction. I feel like a— child backed into a corner."
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Considering how many people imprinted on Adama as a father figure after the attacks -- Gaeta included, much as he doesn't want to admit it -- it makes an upsetting kind of sense. He wonders if CT had anything similar with Carolina.
"...This might be a terrible idea," he goes on, quieter. "Or terrible advice. But if you wanted to be sure she told you the truth, there are probably magical ways to go about it."
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"I mean, I totally changed my jogging route and became even more of a workaholic just to avoid seeing her without planning on it, so I got one out of two?"
It's a dry joke based on truth. She needs some sort of sense of control, if she's going to see Carolina face-to-face again. Running into her at random doesn't give her that. Very little gives her that.
Which... makes that possibly terrible advice actually quite intriguing. "...I suppose there might be. Though I'm not exactly the magical type. Do you think— does that seem like something Neil might be able to do? He makes those demonic protection charms."
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(Is he... brightening a little as he says that? Yeah. Probably.
Shut up.)"I know there are spells that can compel truth-telling, so for someone of his skill, making a charm that'd have the same effect shouldn't be too difficult."
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(Look, she won't mention it so long as he doesn't mention it whenever Ripley inevitably comes up, one day.)
She nods, slowly, thoughtfully, chewing lightly at her knuckle before she makes herself drop her hand. "...yeah, I think I'll ask him. It's not like this is the only situation something like that would be helpful in."
That's one way to justify it to herself. These things don't generally seem to wear out after a single use. Maybe it'll come in handy down the line. Yeah. Yeah. This isn't just about Carolina.
(It's mostly about Carolina.)
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Of course, now he's wondering how strong a spell like that would have to be in order to compel a demon. That... might be beyond Neil's skill, no matter how considerable. But for other investigations pertaining to the barrier? It has to have some use.
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"Yeah, exactly. I'm almost surprised we didn't think of it sooner, but then, a lot of those we really need answers from are... probably still out of reach."
The same thought about the demons passes through her head. Even Dahlia might be growing more powerful with time. But other people, people less powerful than the demons themselves, that has to be worth something.
"Still, it'll be good enough. If he can offer us even partial protection from the demons like he does, this should be nothing."
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He pauses there; appears to steel himself. Cautiously, "And... he's good at cutting through illusions in other areas. Like the dreams a few months ago."
He has absolutely no idea if CT will take the opening. But it's there: another quiet how are you, really? on offer.
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There's the faintest sound of breath between teeth, before she shifts just enough to set the book down on a surface before refolding her arms and running a hand over the shaved side of her head.
"...yeah. He actually got me out, in the end." After one too many repeats of the same blood-soaked hell. "Found me the same place you did. Or, well, the raw version of it."
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"Good," is all he says at first. Despite his best efforts, he finds himself avoiding CT's eyes. (Maybe he shouldn't have given her the opening after all.) "It, ah... got kind of blurry for me after a certain point. But I think I cycled back into my own dreams for a while after ours collided."
Of which there were plenty -- and none of them good.
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"Yeah," she breathes. "I think I went through most of mine... several times. After a while only the ones people crashed stuck out and even the edges of those get... vaguer the further out we get from it."
Only the edges. Everything contained within is as vibrant as ever.
"...I guess we can add traumatic events while trapped on a small ship to the things we have in common," she snorts, humourless.
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That brings a wry sort of smile back to her lips for a moment, head drooping and bobbing with an empty laugh. Now wouldn't that be nice.
"I used to throw food out onto the balcony for these weird little— marsupial-cat things that treated the city like a weird forest? Does that count? They were pretty cute. Probably a bit unique, though."
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Well. Instead of.
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"Yeah," CT breathes. Instead of. "...in some ways I think we're— lucky, that it didn't blend the two of them together slightly differently. If that had been Texas..."
Things would have ended differently. Whether it was worse or just a different kind of the same level of terrible depends, but it'd definitely have been different.
"She was one of the Eights, wasn't she?"
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(Hopefully, that means CT won't see his hands trembling.)
"Yes." Very low. "She didn't have an individual name. Not that she told me. But I recognized her eventually." He wets his lips. "We worked together on New Caprica when I started passing information to the resistance."
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"That's what she meant. When she just... kept talking." All that damn talking, worming her way under their skin. Death tolls and misplaced trust.
You kill the ones your enemy values.
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"We were stranded on a Raptor together," he says. Bare facts. If he keeps it to nothing more than that, he might get through this. "About fifteen months after the occupation. She killed everyone else on board. Then she told me that a list of names I'd given her, of, of people she told me she could get out of detention -- "
His voice shivers in the cold.
"She killed them all, too."