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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.)
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"Leon Kennedy," he answers, still looking around with some curiosity and frowning at the sort of damage these things have been inflicting. "Seems like you run a pretty tight ship around here. This kind of thing happen often?"
He'd guess so, if the staff are so good at keeping calm under pressure - which is good, that they can, handle themselves so well and not be taken by surprise, but still. It's always sort of sad to meet other people for whom this kind of thing is everyday.
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Again, using the conversation as a cover for what they are doing, Chris efficiently disinfects the cut by wiping it with an alcohol pledget, and starts sewing it up neat, small stitches.
"Now, I don't think there's any venom to these things -- last week, someone got bitten by the serpent in Ophiuchus and they didn't show symptoms. But I'd prefer if you stayed here so you can report on any symptoms during the rest of the night."
They would prefer it. But they are also used to people arguing with them.
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He doesn't even flinch at the disinfectant or the stitches. As far as he's concerned, having someone else to do this for him right away is kind of a luxury, and he's not about to make their life difficult by fussing over it.
Of course, then Chris asks him to stay the night and be responsible about his injury instead of running off into the night again. He pulls a bit of a face, like he's about to protest, before thinking better of it. He's not running a solo mission in hostile territory here. There are other people out here who are better equipped than him to handle the problem right now.
"All right. I think it's fine, but you're probably right about making sure." Again, he sighs. "You got anything that needs doing around here that only takes one arm? I can do some field medicine, if you need an extra hand."
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It would be helpful, one less thing for a volunteer to juggle when someone is bleeding on stuff.
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(Despite this, it probably is a good thing they told him specifically not to - he might’ve, if the situation seemed to call for it.)
“Oh, and this isn’t me trying to get out of paying you,” he adds, as the thought occurs to him. “I don’t know how things work here, and I don’t have much right now, but whatever payment this-“ he gestures to his injury “-calls for, I’ll get it to you. I just don’t like sitting still when I could be helping, is all.”
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As for the mention of payment, Chris shakes their head (and finishes up the stitches). "I get my paychecks from Town Hall. They cover the costs for medical care when it comes to everyone. You don't need to pay me, or any clinic in Pumpkin Hollow. And in a way, the medical care is our payment to you, for helping defend the town."
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"Oh," he says, blinking. That makes a weird amount of sense, but he's pretty sure it never would've occurred to him a something that could work out, even if he were the type to think hard about thee things. "Wow. Well, I'll do my best not to wind up here too often. Wouldn't want to take too much advantage of a good thing."
He glances at the finished stitches and resists the urge to touch them or check them over with his very much not sterile hands before nodding in approval. For a moment he goes quiet again, waiting to be bandaged up, before one last question occurs to him - or rather, he gathers up the courage to ask one that's been hovering at the back of his mind since he walked in.
"By the way, uh. This is maybe a weird question, but what should I call you? Aside from your name, I mean. Like," he pauses, again, trying to figure out how to explain what the fuck he's asking. Ultimately he decides not to dance around it. "He or she? Oh, or they."
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They just listen quietly as he stumbles toward what he wants to ask, and then they pat him gently on the wrist. "My pronouns shift around, but 'they' is always a safe bet. And I don't like gendered titles like 'Miss' or 'Mister'; some folks will just call me 'Freeman'. Because I am a medical assistant, not an official doctor."
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"Got it. Would've been convenient to keep calling you 'doc' on that front, but I think I can remember that. You're, uh." Fuck, what was the word Angel used? "Genderfluid? I've been trying to be better about asking instead of assuming. Seems like it's the right choice a lot more often here than back home."
Which, again, is incredibly weird to him, and he's having some emotions about it that he can't quite identify just yet and has not really set about trying to unpack. They're not bad ones, but they are a lot.
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Chris nods at the next question, and says, "Genderfluid is the word I use." Beat. "Queer people have always existed, here and at home. They might not have the words for it, or the same words... or maybe it's just not safe to speak the words openly. But times can change."
It is meant to be the very gentlest of verbal nudges, just in case Leon is drawn to that sentiment of not having the words or being safe for them.
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But that does remind him of something he really needs to ask sooner rather than later, and after a moment of staring off into space he looks at Chris again.
"Hey, I'm gonna go help out like we talked about," he says. "But if things calm down a bit and you have a sec, can I talk to you about something privately later? It's a medical thing."
little timeskip ❤
But that's followed with a look with both brows aloft, and Chris says, "Of course you can come to me with your questions. Things will quiet down here eventually... the defense forces are pretty good taking out the star-beasts. It just takes a while."
***
And indeed, at some point Leon is able to put down those scissors because there's no one else to be bandaged and the volunteers don't need an extra hand. The volunteer he's been following around gently advises him to get some sleep -- and there's even bed space for him.
But of course it's up to Leon what he does. Chris is currently updating a few of the locals' medical records, quietly writing away at the reception desk. Seems like a calm enough moment, and there are empty examination rooms for privacy, too.
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Never mind that the sending stones don't work that way. In any case, he gets up, rolls his shoulder carefully to test his range of motion, and sets off to get to work.
***
It's not too late into the night when Leon's finally dismissed, but he's starting to feel it, and the bed that's been set aside for him does seem awfully inviting. But he still has that question, and it's a pretty important one.
"Hey," he says, leaning against the reception desk, voice low as much to keep from disrupting anyone else sleeping in the clinic as for the sake of his own nervousness at being overheard. "You got a moment to talk?"
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Straightening up, Leon heads over, waiting for Chris to follow. Once the door is closed behind them, he leans against the exam table and exhales slowly.
"So," he starts. This part never gets easier, even as many times as he's had to do it now. It helps that Chris is queer too - honestly if it weren't for that he probably would've put off asking the doctors here until something forced the issue - but even so, coming out has never been a fun thing for him, especially not to medical staff. He decides to just rip off the band-aid and be efficient about it rather than try to dance around the particulars like he's done in the past.
"I'm transgender." His face burns a little as he says it, unable to make eye contact as he says it even with Chris's earlier reassurance, even with Lev/Lyubov's, even with Angel's. He hurries through the rest, not wanting to leave that just hanging in the air. "And I don't know what they've got for hormone replacement therapy here, but it'd be better for me if I didn't have to, uh. Stop doing that, suddenly."
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"If that sounds a bit too woo-woo for your tastes, I'm sure Sally Boyle could figure something out. She's our pharmacist and OB-GYN, runs the apothecary, and she's a... she's a non-literal wizard about figuring out natural sources for medications." Chris asks, casual as you please, "I'm not making any assumptions here, so which is it you'd need? Testosterone or estradiol?"
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As much as he thinks it's obvious what he's going for, he guesses there's nothing saying he's not a trans woman just starting out on these things, like Lev guessed he might've been. In a way it is kind of nice to be asked - looking at it one way, it could mean whatever's going on in his pants didn't immediately become obvious once he brought it up. Or Chris is just very polite. Or both.
"I've gotta admit, I'm curious about the potions," he says. "All this magic stuff is weird, but if it means not having to stab myself in the thigh every week, I might be interested."
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"I can write you a referral to the potioneer I know, as well as a prescription to take to Sally at Blackberry Apothecary. That way you have the options on hand." Chris pulls out a pad of paper, and asks a few questions such as the dose Leon was on previously. They make a few notes, flip between the first few sheets on the pad, then tear off two papers to hand to Chris -- the referral, and the script. "We can go back out to the main room, and I'll get your official medical file started."
Chris also explains that Leon can stay with the Winterbottom Clinic if he likes, or switch to having Dr. Pierce or Dr. Watson as his main physician later -- if he switches, he just has to take the physical file. "Low tech, I know, but fax machines are a ways away," Chris jokes lightly. "And I recommend that you speak to Sally even if you opt for the potion course, given her specialization."
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Back in the main room, he nods, looking a little overwhelmed but in a distinctly good way.
"I'd like to stick with you here, if that's alright," he says. "This is the smoothest I've had anything medical go in... uh, ever, and I'm not the type to go changing things up when they're going well." Not that he wants to come across as clingy, or like he has doubts about the other doctors around, but it's hard not to be a little skittish after some of the shit he's had to put up with. "I'll talk to Sally, though, definitely. It'd be good to get an idea of what the options are here, and if you trust her with this kind of thing, then so do I."
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Chris is just going to leave it at that unless questioned. But that should be enough for now.
"We're trying to do better on these kinds of things, you know? Better than where and when we came from." Chris gives Leon a wry smile, "Especially for me, since there's been a FART resurgence when I'm from."
Oh, now that one... please ask questions about that statement.
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"A... FART resurgence?" he asks, eyebrows raised. Not a term he's familiar with, but a couple of days ago neither was 'genderfluid' or 'overwintering' so hey, he's learning all sorts of things. He gets the feeling this one'll be pretty different than the other two, though. Just a hunch.
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"Do you have TERFs where you're from? That stands for 'trans-exclusionary radical feminist', just so you know. Well, these gate-keeping pieces of crap have decided that 'TERF is a slur' so... in the spirit of malicious compliance, I don't use it anymore. I call them FARTs -- 'feminism-appropriating reactionary transphobes'."
cw: discussion of transphobia
"Nah, that's a new one to me," he says. "Sounds like your word for it suits 'em better, though. So, what, these people have decided that womanhood is some incredibly high standard to meet, and they're the judges of it?"
Folding his arms over his chest, he leans against the desk again. If he's right in his guess, that's not an entirely new attitude, but he definitely wasn't aware there were enough people like that specifically for there to be a name for them. Most transphobes he knew just thought being a girl sucked and no one would be one if they didn't have to, but that having the right parts did mean you had to no matter how much you didn't want to. No feminism there, appropriated or otherwise.
Re: cw: discussion of transphobia
And the FARTs that ran into Chris didn't really know how to respond to them... it was weird and hurtful like a lot of things in Chris's life since they stopped living as 'a man'. As an intersex individual, their concerns are so rarely addressed even in solidarity groups that are trying to be inclusive.
Chris gives a sigh, and a shrug. "Things are better here in Pumpkin Hollow. Not perfect, but at least people don't have their heads jammed up their own asses."
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"I'm not gonna pretend like women don't have it hard in a lot of ways, but seriously?"
No one acted like butches were some kind of precious and important resource back when he was getting called that all the time. If anything it seemed like they couldn't wait to be rid of him - and it's not his fault he went in the opposite direction than they wanted. Not to mention the extremely uncomfortable notion of declaring something a 'women's space' and then deciding that you must be This (Kind of) Woman to ride.
He shakes his head, huffing. "Yeah, you're right, though. Aside from the sky falling every night it's pretty nice here, actually. I can't get over how weird it is that people are so helpful all the time."
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wrap?
/wrap