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pumpkinhollow) wrote2000-02-08 08:52 pm
TDM #4 - Aurora Borealis Bust? [REPRINT]
[Find our plain text version here!]
Pumpkin Hollow Gazette
2/8/24 | TDM #4 - AURORA BOREALIS BLITZ BUST?
Content Warnings: "Further Details" section has independent CW labels.
Forecast: SEVERE BLIZZARD WARNING
REBUILDING HELP REQUESTED
By Cecil Gershwin Palmer
A photo taken of the damage.
ACROSS PUMPKIN HOLLOW - City government is requesting aid with repairs to public buildings and local fixtures after the recent earthquakes on Tuesday, January 8th. While there was minimal damage to Town Hall itself, several important buildings sustained damage, including the Magpie National Bank, the South Train Station and the Clock Tower, which is now stuck with hands at 8pm.
Regarding the cause of the earthquake, local biologist Dr. Elias Coldwood was heard to say “There's never been seismic activity here.” And he’s a scientist, so he would know! But clearly this is no longer the case. Perhaps Pumpkin Hollow has a mysterious tiny civilization underground worshiping a destroyer god, planning to attack through the bowling alley, the moment we create a bowling alley. Perhaps not. More on this story as it unfolds, faithful readers.
In the meantime, volunteers to help with the damage to city buildings are invited to meet with Mayor Hellen Poe for assignments.
AURORA TURNS VIOLENT - MYSTERIOUS BLIZZARD INTERRUPTS CHAOS
By Yorick Aberdeen
An artist's rendition of last year's view.
ABOVE MARROW ISLE - Despite our earlier report, it turns out that this year's annual aurora borealis season did not turn out to be a pleasant or romantic viewing experience. Instead, starry monsters based off of classic constellations have been attacking the town each time the aurora is in the sky! However, due to some extreme blizzards that have been occurring most nights each month since late January, the aurora has been interrupted more nights than not and the monsters intercepted. Still, the Pumpkin Hollow Safety Board would like to remind everyone to take appropriate precautions during inclement weather, and to tread carefully on clear nights as monsters may still be attacking until late February!
HOROSCOPES
By Cecil Gershwin Palmer
What do the stars say about you today?
Capricorn: Do you feel as if you’ve lost something? If not, it’s wise to double-check. Perhaps it’s not something like a button or a key, but your sense of wonder or your self-confidence. Remember, things tend to be in the last place you look.
Aquarius: Something about the year ending made you feel lighter, like taking off a heavy wool coat. Ride this burst of energy as far as it will take you, because the shiny of a fresh beginning tends to wear off quickly.
Pisces: Don’t worry, I don’t believe what everyone says behind your back. You’re not too sensitive or too naive. They’re just jealous. Really, most of the time when they’re whispering, it’s not even about you.
Aries: You’re the sort of warm individual that babies and animals are drawn to. Unfortunately, this may include hungry wolves and swarms of insects. But don’t let that bring you down! We need that sort of personality around here.
Taurus: There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be the best, until you work to stop others from also being the best. That’s called cheating and may lead to you being disqualified from competitions. If you get caught, that is.
Gemini: You know those riddles about the two guards, one who always tells the truth and one who always lies? Well, everyone hates those riddles with a passion. You’ll see for yourself, soon.
Cancer: Wouldn’t you like to know?
Leo: Your incandescent personality often makes you the center of attention. However, that’s not the only thing about you that glows. Moths may flock to you in the dark this week, and so might children afraid to sleep with the lights out.
Virgo: Be careful with your words–they aren’t just the precursors to your deeds, but the manifestation of your will. This is not a week for idioms and metaphors, not for you. Even something like bemoaning a lack of spoons may make eating cereal harder.
Libra: You are, inevitably, the first one heard to say a situation isn’t fair. And it’s not, nor will it ever be. Instead of getting upset, have you ever considered getting revenge? That’s usually more satisfying in the long run.
Scorpio: Ugh, Scorpios. The position of Venus means your usually volatile emotions will be in the doldrums instead. Enjoy this while it lasts I guess. Who knows if you’ll ever experience such peace again, given, well. You’re kind of an emotional mess and no one likes you.
Sagittarius: There will never be another day like today. You must strive to make the day everything you want it to be. No mistakes, now! Consider your choices very carefully. Consider your choice to consider, very carefully.
SUNFIRE'S HEARTH
By Yorick Aberdeen
A photo of Mayor Poe's cats, Toffee and Butter, enjoying the view.
ASSORTED LOCATIONS - As the coldest part of the year settles over our fair isle, it is time for Sunfire’s Hearth--- an informal celebration of bonfires and hearth flames, for those unfamiliar! For the months of January and February, a raised platform for bonfires will be lit on weekends, and restaurants and taverns across town will keep their fireplaces lit. Unlike many of our other festivities, there is no structured celebration--- simply make some time during this time to bask in the warmth of a fire! You can even celebrate at home.
An additional benefit of this time of year is that Merrymeet is well on its way. So take this time and get snuggly in front of a fire with your special person to get in the mood for romance! (Or they could be platonic snuggles. Whatever suits you best.)
LOCAL ALCHEMIST REPORTS MISSING POTION
By Yorick Aberdeen
Some of Mx. Sallek's usual stock. Could stand to have better labels./p>
LOCATION UNCERTAIN - Early Monday morning, local alchemist Aeryn Sallek reported that a large container of magical potion has been swapped with another, and it would seem that the mistaken jug has been sent out for delivery. According to Mx. Sallek, they sent a number of jugs out for delivery in a case with our local delivery extraordinaire, Sam Porter Bridges. The jugs were meant to contain a harmless, potable freeze-resistance potion for our town’s various water sources, in the interest of keeping water reserves drinkable in sub-freezing winter weather. However, when they returned to the shop, one of these potions remained on their counter while a love potion they’d been working on went missing.
“‘Love potion’ is kind of a misnomer, honestly,” Mx. Sallek is quoted to have said on the matter. “But ‘emotional acuity’ potion doesn’t quite roll off the tongue. Basically what it actually does is enhance existing romantic desire and embolden the user to be emotionally open. But Yorick should already know all this, since he’s the one who ordered it.” [Editing note: don’t forget to cut the last part of that comment before publishing. Cecil, you don’t need to include personal statements directed at reporters from these interviews!]
It’s unclear which area of town this particular potion ended up being injected into the water source, but according to Mx. Sallek, the potion was not particularly intense to begin with. It should be significantly diluted as to be harmless. Still, if you notice any strange symptoms such as butterflies in your stomach, a desire to burst into song, or inexplicable yearning, please file a report with the Safety Board at your earliest convenience.
FOOD SHORTAGES PUT STRAIN ON ISLAND ECONOMY
By Yorick Aberdeen
MARKET DISTRICT - While there are many things to celebrate this time of year, Marrow Isle is not without its adversity. Over these past months, many new members of our community have arrived by ferry after our numbers remained small and stagnant for many years. And the presence of our newfound neighbors has been a boon to all of us. Many artisans have opened useful businesses, medical professionals have expanded our access to healthcare, and a new fishing vessel has taken to the seas. However, despite a few additions, our farming community remains quite modest and planting was not planned with such incredible new growth in mind.
The unfortunate result of this is that food reserves on the island this year are uncharacteristically low. As such, Town Council has made the difficult decision to allow for the temporary inflation of food prices and the rationing of food staples.
“We understand the hardship this will place on the residents of Pumpkin Hollow,” said Mayor Poe in a statement after this decision was made. “But please know that we are all in this together. We hope to be able to offer a better incentive package for those interested in farming in the coming springtime.”
Page 1
Aurora
The dead of winter sheds all colors of the trees and flowers across Marrow Isle, but tonight, there are no stark whites and grays and browns.
Tonight, in the sky sprawling with stars above the dreary town, there are lights.
Sprawling trails of violet and green twist and wave through the sky, brightening the earth below and the sea beyond Jack's Marina in magical colors. The return of the borealis is something many Pumpkin Hollowites look forward to, and their reactions are very clear: people scurry down to the shores to watch with wide eyes, many retrieve telescopes, and some even borrow the decks of ships, abandoned for the night at the docks, to watch the sights.
It doesn't take long for this to change, however; the sea nor land are safe from the curse, and it's made quickly apparent that the sky is no exception.
At first, the sight seems like none more than an illusion, perhaps someone blinking and missing a strange shift of the lights. A glimmering outline forms around a cluster of stars, only slightly harder than any of the lines that define the aurora's rays. Several of these shapes form, each array of stars different from the last, some larger, some smaller.
And then, the stars begin to fall.
Seeming to peel off the painted sky, the ebbing colors surrounding the starlight drop, crashing to the world below. Some fall to the streets and beaches, while others fall into the forest, leaving view, or drop into the sea, leaving splashes and waves in their wake that ensure any watching knows full and well that this is not a trick of the light. At first, these shapes are unmoving, glowing masses of aurora-light with stars shining brightly within them. Most townsfolk are uneasy, but this seems to pale in severity to the other disasters, even if they lack any idea of what it could mean for them.
That is, of course, until the masses begin to move.
Each one is as varied as the constellation it stole from the sky: stars form suggestions of skeletal structures, and their "flesh", only consisting of swimming lights and liquid sky that steals any lights around them. Two identical glowing shapes rise to a face finally taking form, and slowly, moving more like gel than animal as it rises to freshly-formed legs, it settles on the closest living thing it can find.
There is no calculation in it, nor what seems to be a glimmer of thought.
It simply lunges with intent to kill.
Cecil’s disconcerting horoscopes have the following effects for the next few days:Horoscopes
[CW: Altered emotional states ]
(Don’t know your character’s sign? Feel free to just decide on one!)
The effects are not particularly intense. However, anyone who drinks any of the tavern’s housemade ale or cider, drinks the coffee, or eats any food that might require water to cook will experience symptoms of “emotional acuity”. This involves feeling more emotionally open, more receptive to positive feelings about others, a strong desire for physical or verbal affection, and the intensification of romantic or sexual attraction that you might already be experiencing. It will last about half a day. Just in time to help potentially land you a date for Merrymeet, a flower and fertility festival in early spring!Love Potion
[CW: Altered Emotional States ]
Unbeknownst to the townsfolk, the “love” potion ended up in the water supply of the Oak & Iron. As promised by Aeryn, it is thoroughly diluted, as its recipients believed it to be a normal freeze-resistance potion to be mixed with their water.
Food rationing and inflation will have the following impact: Grocery budgets for apped-in characters will be reduced in their efficacy. Bonuses and Discounts associated with the Farmer and Fisherman jobs are also reduced. Oak & Iron Residents will only be able to receive bland, repetitive meals with their food vouchers consisting of simple broth, plain bread, bland potato dishes, and the like. It is enough to be fed and comfortable but it is incredibly unsatisfying. (This includes all new characters that are not apped-in.) Drinks, however, are still plentiful. Characters who do not eat will find that their respective sources of fuel will be reduced to just barely enough to keep them functional, provided that they ration carefully. (Ex. Transformers may want to be less active. Vampires will find that victims cannot handle excessive blood loss without fainting and generally prefer to stay home.) Characters who were present to fight the Mother Crab back in late summer and chose to can some of their crab can use it now! Hunting, foraging, and fishing can help reduce the impact of these reductions, and people can share their food. You can absolutely die of starvation. After Merrymeet in February, food will return to normal.Famine
[CW: Starvation and food scarcity ]
Basic groceries will be only the most minimal of staples. You will likely go hungry if you do not find a way to supplement this.
Bountiful groceries will be reduced to the amount of food normally contained in basic.
Lavish groceries will not be available at all.
Your grocery choices from Activity Check are not able to be modified for this month unless otherwise stated.
Level 1 bonuses will be reduced to standard, which is to say how they would function for a non-Farmer/Fisherman character during a normal, pre-famine month. (ex. Whereas normally a Level 1 Farmer would get free Basic groceries, they will now have to pay the 50 Brass, but do not have the efficacy of Basic groceries reduced as described above.)
Level 2 bonuses will be reduced to that of a Level 1 Farmer/Fisherman. (ex. Whereas a Level 2 Fisherman would normally be able to have Bountiful groceries discounted to 50 Brass, they now must pay full price for Bountiful groceries. However, they can still get Basic groceries for free and don’t suffer from the famine induced efficacy reduction for either budget.)
Harry du Bois | Disco Elysium | Existing Player
You know, for a while, Harry felt like he was doing pretty well.
Making fairly normal decisions, doing a normal amount of drugs, abstaining from most drinking, retaining information that he received... since he'd started the case in Martinaise, things were looking on the up-and-up! Sure, he had some previously-sullied-relationships to put some band-aids on, but who didn't?
That was, of course, until things went dark. He found himself in an office, and couldn't even wrack his mind for how he got there.
One ugly-cry in Mortanne's nice chair later, and here he is, on the docks.
There's a lot of things he could do right now, freshly dead and freed of all policeman responsibilities. He could go pick up poetry! He could get a new job, forge an identity that people could respect!
Unfortunately, however, he isn't going to do that. Instead, he's going to tell poor Yorick that he can handle things from here, walk around (thoroughly lost), and pick things up off the ground.
Maybe he could use some help. Or maybe he's flagging you down to ask you something. Either way, he's here, for better and (probably) worse.
After the Money's Gone | Repairing
"Here, hold this."
He barely caught the instructions from a foreman repairing a house before he was handed a toolbag, and he nudged forward, into the building. Maybe he just looked strong and capable to help? He could be strong and capable of helping. If he knew the first thing about construction, that is.
It's probably for the best that he doesn't mess up whoever's house this is by wrecking the foundation by guessing. Instead, he tries to find someone else who's working on this project, and bring them the bag, clearing his throat. Just act natural. Act like you're supposed to be here.
He's doing... okay at it. ( Rolled an 11. )
"Hey! The foreman wanted me to bring these to you," He offers the bag over. Are there more tools where this person is? Maybe. Not his problem. Maybe excessive tools help things. "And he wanted to see if you could tell me where we need help. I'm new on the crew."
(That part technically isn't a lie, at least.)
Once in a Lifetime | Love Potions (CW: Alcoholism relapse)
There are several natural rules that are at work, in this place.
If there's Pumpkin Hollow, there is no death.
If you don't have a job, you're at the Oak & Iron.
If there's a bar, Harry du Bois is at it long into the night.
There are nights, in the Oak & Iron, where singers can freely take the stage. This is not one of those nights. Tonight, the live performers have just left, and Harry catches sight of this as he teeters on black-out drunk. (He'd been doing so well, back in Martinaise! What a shame. Such is life.)
With liquid courage running through his veins and his linen shirt feeling much too warm, he abandons the garment, stumbles up to the stage, and hefts himself onto it, ignoring the very helpful small flight of stairs that would've allowed him up there with ease.
He doesn't even remember what he said. Perhaps something along the lines of: "Pumpkin Hollow, I love you. I love you so much. I'm so fucking sorry. I love you so much. This song is for you."
Dredged from some part of his mind, hauled up in a filthy fish-net of brain-debris with as much effort as a real net would take, come the half-remembered words of The Smallest Church in Saint-Saëns.
Some sympathetic lute-player has parked themself by the stage, and is trying to give it a tune, and they're able to figure something out, even if it isn't the same.
He's weeping openly by the end of it.
Water Flowing Underground | Horoscopes (Pisces)
The next day, after his drunken outburst, Harry wakes up with his mind keenly aware of one thing and one thing only.
Everyone in this town fucking hates him now.
He can't show his face here. They're all bound to be talking about him. They've probably pinned his abandoned shirt to the wall. They're probably throwing darts at it.
He slips out into the cold, wrapped in the thin, wool blanket the inn provided, and, as discreetly as he can possibly manage, hikes out into the woods where he can't be seen, looking behind him every possible moment he can. The paranoia doesn't shake, and he only presses further. He might like to be found, to be rescued, even half-freezing - but his racing thoughts believing good intentions might be a whole new battle in and of itself.
Same as it Ever Was | Wildcard
Got something else in mind? Want him to cause a very specific problem, or lend a hand with something? Hit me up on Discord (socksmuggler) or send me a PM here!
Once in a lifetime
"Easy, my friend. Why don't you come sit with me in the corner? You seem to need a moment to collect yourself."
no subject
He's not making a very good case for him, looking not unlike a human manifestation of a wet paper bag, but he takes the hand offered to help him. He staggers on his long legs like a disoriented bird, but he makes it down the stairs without any damage to himself or the property. Successes where you could get them and all, right?
"You don't need t' worry about me, it's not worth the trouble," The slurred self-deprecation comes out as second-nature, but he doesn't drop the hand that leads him. His mind is a ale-sunken paradox of desperately wanting help and rejecting the weight it would put on another, and it's written all over him. The world's teetering is starting to feel all-too-familiar. "M' a miserable, drunk animal."
no subject
A quiet corner of the pub, a drink of water, and from there? Well, difficult to say. That's probably up to this poor fellow, more than anything. Watson flags down a server, makes a quickly murmured request, and returns to the business of leading Harry by the elbow to a place he can sit down in peace. "You can call me Watson. What should I call you?"
no subject
He can't help but note that this doctor has kinder eyes, though. Seems to look straight at him without quite so much shame, although the pity is still there. (Only himself to blame, on that - he was being pitiful.) That's likely why he didn't opt to lie about his name.
"Harry," He mumbles, struggling to keep his words as steady as he can. "Harrier."
Don't say "Harriest." That would be stupid. (He fights the temptation with vicious determination, and almost doesn't manage to resist it.)
no subject
"Well, sit down, Mr. Harrier," Watson says, soothing. The server comes back with a pitch of icy water and a couple of glasses; he thanks them for it and then pours out the water. "That was a lovely song you sang. I'm not familiar with it."
no subject
"Haven't heard that name since--- too long. My mother, maybe...? No, no, it's..." He trails off, briefly distracted, but tries to straighten his head on his shoulders. "Just Harry, or--- du Bois if we want to do... property." (He meant to say "propriety," but the slurring thoroughly botched that for him.)
When the water is offered, he takes it, and takes a drink. It's cold, harsh, but stops the swaying of the world from being quite so drastic. He's not sobered up, but it's a very helpful start.
"The song? Classic," He gestures with his both hands at classic, spilling a bit of water, but a grin spreads across his face. "Smallest Church in Saint-Saëns. It usually has these... these beautiful sweeping strings, and..."
He tries to recall, but clearly struggles to. The trouble remembering leaves him looking a bit perturbed. He tries to shove past it.
"Do you sing, doctor?"
no subject
"Mr. du Bois, then." A French name, or so it seems to him. "Hm, I suppose I can carry a tune if I need to," Watson says, amiably enough, though he watches Harry carefully. "And I certainly enjoy music, but I'm no musician myself."
Into the Blue Again (haha get it? Because she's blue?)
She stands behind him for a moment, watching him examine his latest find.
"Whatcha got there?"
no subject
He lifts his attention up, though, looking puzzled for a moment. This person is... blue! That's new. He should ask about it. (He shouldn't ask about it. That's rude. You can't just ask someone why they're blue.)
After a few fleeting seconds of internal debate, he replies, with the simplest answer he could get the ticking gears in his mind to agree on. His tone is jovial, and the grin he offers is a little ridiculous, to say the least of it.
"A bottle. Blue glass, and not even cracked at all."
no subject
"That's cool," Mairi agrees. "You gonna make something with it?"
no subject
"I'm going to... tumble it into sea glass." A beat. "Somehow. I haven't figured that part out yet. Hopefully without throwing it into the sea?"
no subject
Using Shape Water, Mairi creates an orb of tumbling water in midair, into which she tosses a few rocks.
"Stick that bad boy in there."