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apocalypsehowcomm2023-04-16 08:35 pm
- !event,
- cornelius hickey (the terror),
- cortana (halo),
- edalyn clawthorne (owl house),
- john sheppard (stargate: atlantis),
- manji (blade of the immortal),
- mercy graves (original),
- rodney mckay (stargate: atlantis),
- zz_bruce banner (marvel comics),
- zz_johnny summer (lavender jack),
- zz_power (chainsaw man)
Event - The Ballad of Thomazine Younger
(cw: references to blackmail, plague, fire, being buried alive, altered mental states, spying, and cannibalism; implied eye injury)
The local legend of Thomazine "Tammy" Younger, Witch Queen of Dogtown, has been regaining traction in local gossip of late. The stories all revolve around the same nuggets of probable historic fact: there definitely was a Thomazine Younger who lived in Dogtown at the time it was abandoned by most of its population in the 1800s, and she definitely had a reputation for witchcraft she used to extract tolls from any merchant or freighter passing by Fox Hill. Beyond that, the stories are varied and contradictory–some say she was the ringleader of a coven who would turn themselves into rats to thieve from neighboring Gloucester and spread pestilence; others that she could turn solid earth into mud to swallow up the wagons of those who refused to pay her off. Depending on whom you believe, Tammy engaged in such varied hobbies as sending unholy fire to burn entire fields of crops, spying on her neighbors with her magic eye, twisting the minds of brothers and sisters so they no longer knew one another, or luring travelers without goods for her to steal into her home to slaughter and eat them. Some even say she was the cause of Dogtown's mass exodus, blighting the land so that none but witches could survive there.
The resurgence of her urban rural legend coincides with something a bit more troubling: sightings of an old woman in a ragged dress on the outskirts of Dogtown. She's been seen just inside the fence line on the northern edge of the park, prowling around the general area of Fox Hill, staring and making arcane gestures at anyone who sees her before disappearing into the undergrowth. Eyewitness accounts from locals and ADI employees patrolling the area differ in terms of the specifics: in some accounts the specter of the Witch Queen is a tall, emaciated creature practically in rags; in others she's a stout, moon-faced matron with tears of blood dripping from her eyes, or a bent old crone with fingers too long and too many. Always, though, she disappears before anyone can come near enough to see her up close or confront her.
How she disappears, though, is less consistent. Sometimes her exit is precisely what one would expect of a ghost, when she disappears in the blink of an eye or her form twists before your eyes until you aren't certain whether she was there at all or if you mistook the gnarled trees for a vision of something more sinister. Other times, her exit is more…human. That is, she might simply turn and walk away deeper into the undergrowth until she's lost from sight, or slip behind a tree. One confused ADI patroller even claims he saw the ghost of Tammy Younger trip over a root before scrambling back to her feet and limping away at speed.
There's something pervasive and potentially dangerous going on here…but something about it doesn't quite line up.
(cw: alcohol, dolls, potential for injury)
ADI is keen to end things quickly with potential ghosts running amok, particularly one with a known history in Dogtown. There's a serious concern that regular residents of Gloucester are going to start taking matters into their own hands and trying to start exploring the park when they ought not to be.
The decision is made quickly to send ADI personnel into the park more actively to search out Fox Hill, one of the purported locations of Tammy Younger's hauntings. Volunteers will find themselves paired up and sent off. Curiously, the locations that were previously mapped by others aren't appearing properly. Like Dogtown is warping and twisting around at will for the moment. It's unclear why this is, but it seems… safer than it should? The obstacles and strangeness seem to have faded away for the time being, replaced by a quiet and picturesque woodland. It doesn't take long to find Fox Hill. It takes far less time than it reasonably should, in fact, but getting to the top of the hill is… a challenge.
There are hidden dangers on Fox Hill. Pit traps that seem to go down very deep, indeed, nets that spring up when you step in the wrong spot and leave their quarry trapped in some tree or other. Maybe you're one of the lucky ones that somehow triggers an avalanche of small boulders and… are those marbles? Every conceivable way that one could lay a trap to prevent someone from mounting the hill has been employed. Clearly, someone or something doesn't want you getting up.
Along the way, volunteers will spy evidence of the ghost. There are discarded liquor bottles everywhere–the legend does say she'll take her payments in drink or blood–phosphorescent trails, and small, sinister-looking stick dolls. Those trying to analyze these things will find that the liquor bottles are from the present day, the phosphorescent trails are a sort of paint, and the stick dolls… well, those look like what you would see in a horror movie that involves witches.
(cw: stalking, potential child endangerment)
The nights in Gloucester seem to be returning to a state of restlessness as rumors of ghosts quickly turn to rumors of ghost sightings. Pale and spectral figures lurk at the edges of people’s sight, follow victims, and seem to come out of nowhere and vanish just as quickly without a word. Between the recent evidence and a known slew of sightings a couple months ago, ADI is keen to put more than a few people on this to get out ahead of it. People are encouraged to search in groups no smaller than two, but won’t stop anyone who decides they hunt alone. After all, it’s a well-known fact ghosts rarely like to be seen by more than one set of eyes. Especially these ones.
People out investigating may find their paths fairly quiet most nights. However, separate from your partner for a bit, fall behind, or go it alone, and you might just notice a pale figure vanishing around a corner or standing eerily at the end of an alley. Sometimes things you follow even seem to vanish into walls or thin air. They very rarely say anything, but they can be heard. Boxes and small items knocked over, trash cans rattled, fire escapes landing just ahead of you to get in your path, it seems the ghosts are mostly interested in being seen, not interacted with. Too bad they got you on the case.
Those dedicated, skilled, or perhaps powerful enough to exert a little fear of the law or simply fear of things that actually go bump in the night may swiftly discover a few key things: Ghosts caught up to quickly enough can be seen slipping behind doors, scaling buildings, or using creative escape routes to get away. Clumsy ghosts seem prone to bumping into things as sure as the next person…and those fast enough to catch up to some gangly, terrified, legs are quick to learn the legs, torso, and the whole rest of the ‘ghost’ is very real. Very real, rather young, and often quite terrified of the adult now catching them. Hopefully no one used actual powers on these miscreant teens.
(cw: spiders, allusion to swarms, sleepwalking, compulsion)
'How did I get here?'
It might be one of the first thoughts to occur to you as you wake with a sudden start. But lucky you, you have a friend! Or… an enemy? You have another (apparently) human being nearby who's probably looking just as confused as you are. The spider web tattoo you earned after your ride with Gus the Bus tingles uncomfortably, like many delicate little feet are swarming across it before dissipating.
It may take a few moments, or possibly more, for you to realize you're somewhere you may not wish to be. These trees, the thick and eerie forest around you… this is Dogtown. Somehow, you've walked yourself into a veritable minefield of danger, avoiding everything that might kill you (or worse). Until now. You're conscious, stuck with someone you may or may not know well, wearing… well, if you're lucky, you're wearing your regular clothes and didn't walk in here in your pajamas.
Good luck finding your way out.
- GENERAL - Players are welcome to play background NPCs for themselves when they are needed in a thread. If you need more information on general behavior for these types of NPCs, please feel free to ask! In general, the information provided in the prompts should be sufficient and ordinary people will act like… ordinary people! You're welcome to make up any details for your specific scene. Also, please remember that character deaths are permanent and plan accordingly! For this event, in particular, the Meddling Kids™ are very dedicated to their efforts to remind the world about Thomazine Younger and bring her story to the world, so they're not going to break their ghoulish character until something truly frightening happens to them… or characters try to hurt them. Or… succeed in hurting them. Please don't murder too many young people now.
- GHOSTS OF YESTERYEAR (16-20 April) - While the ghost of Tammy Younger's appearance may vary, she usually appears as one of the three specters described in the prompt. Notably, when her ghost does not align with one of those three descriptions or when her proportions are twisted beyond what's humanly possible is when she's most likely to disappear in an obviously supernatural fashion rather than walk away like a real, solid person. Regardless, even at her most corporeal Tammy seems to be quite good at evading capture, as though very familiar with the current layout of Dogtown.
- OUTFOXED AT FOX HILL (19-20 April) - The path into Dogtown seems to have been chosen for the characters to lead them to Fox Hill. It's the only path that appears to exist during this period. Trying to leave Fox Hill will take you swiftly out of the park. It doesn't matter where you start from, what direction you're going. You end up coming to the fence or leaving the park. This effect will only be in place until the THOSE MEDDLING KIDS prompt concludes. The traps on Fox Hill are all designed to be nonlethal, but they can certainly hurt you, and players are welcome to come up with whatever traps they might like their characters to encounter. There's nothing particularly supernatural in any of the things found up there, and atop Fox Hill is only a stash of spray paint and half-drunk bottles of liquor.
- THOSE MEDDLING KIDS (20-24 April) - The pale figures reported are quickly found to be teenagers in bodysuits or paint (at least they didn’t use sheets) and very much still alive while the ghosts seen going through walls can be quickly explained through pretty decent mobile projectors. A couple of the teens will be caught wearing costumes that match the appearances of "Tammy" in Dogtown. Teens will flee and resist capture from most normal means, but won’t fight too much if caught other than to get away. They really do seem to be kids that went a little too far with a prank. Those who might end up on the wrong side of a stray power or two will be downright terrified of their pursuer and likely to either turn to another adult in the group for safety or shut down entirely. Maybe you should be more careful next time. Either way, the local authorities will take it from here.
- AND YOU MUST ASK YOURSELF (16 April - Ongoing) - Characters will only be affected by the compulsion to walk into Dogtown if they rode in and were marked by Gus the Bus. Gus continues to be available and around in Gloucester should you wish to have your character captured and marked by him. Details about Gus are included in the March 2023 TDM. Gus has also been added as a feature to the Dogtown Searches page and description in the Locations page.
Players can have their characters turn up in any explored square in Dogtown or one of the unexplored squares adjacent to them. Please just submit a search request for the unexplored square that you'd like your character (and a friend) to discover!
no subject
But it's not over.
He suspected something was up but the last thing he expected was to be confronted with Hickey mutating into some kind of...giant, bear-like creature.
"Oh, crap."
That's...well. That's happening.
John's mind is racing but also mildly malfunctioning at the same time. Because that means that Hickey is an Avatar, and not just an Avatar, but this coupled with what he just said, means that he's an Avatar of the Hunt and he's feeling like maybe the Hunt cheaped out on giving him like, at least some kind of Spidey-sense about this kind of thing? Like, not even a disturbance in the Force?
"You're--oof!"
The air is knocked out of John when he gets tackled and slammed into the ground, and he can't breathe for a second, and realizes the danger he's in--if that beast so much as flicks his paw he's dead (again) and Hickey doesn't seem to be in a merciful mood.
Welp. He doesn't have a choice and he's not going to be able to fight his way out unless he gets a level up.
"You know, you're really starting to piss me off here!"
John's eyes change first, his pupils turning cat-like and glowing yellow, the familiar sound of cracking bone, warping muscle, and a low growl under it all. Pointed feline ears, fur patterning, and a lengthened snout make him look like a large lynx or bobcat except with a long tail, but he's nowhere near the size of the bear-like creature, even though he's taller than he was minutes before.
...that could be a problem. Funnily enough, the crab claw--now visible, doesn't change too much, except it's proportional in size to the cat-creature that he now is, and a bit spikier in the carapace than before.
He tries to bite at the nearest bear paw he can find.
no subject
The bear laughs in Hickey's voice—though it's changed. The voice is Hickey's but there's also something bestial in it. He doesn't notice that John's going for a bite until it happens. The laughter turns into a yelp of pain as Hickey attempts to just swat John, trying to knock him away.
no subject
Ow.
He's not actually injured, just dazed, and he twists over and tries to recover, shaking his head, trying to clear it.
...of all the situations he's been through in Dogtown, it's like they're all trying to battle each other for the competing titles of worst and/or most absurd.
"Are we really doing this?" John's voice is lower, growly, but he can still speak.
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"You've got power. It looks like the Hunt's favored you as much as it has me! So why not indulge in it?"
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He's starting to get the sinking feeling that Hickey's already lost in it. And admittedly, a part of him wants to fight him, to get into a proper battle.
"Now I do indulge, a little. When it's appropriate."
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And don't mind him as he goes to immediately try and tackle John again, attempting to pin him to the ground with his paws.
no subject
He’s cut off by a pained yowl when he’s slammed into the ground again and pinned.
His eyes widen.
Not good.
He’s so much bigger than him and he knows that if he gets caught like this it’s all over. Again.
John snarls, bringing his knees and clawed feet-paws in to try to violently bicycle kick at the bear-creatures stomach—
no subject
After all, what matters most is that the prey feels fear. That he's able to scare them.
no subject
This is…not good.
“Hickey, let’s talk about this!”
Or. Or you could chase him. That’s happening now.
John’s fur goes on end, his tail poofed out, his ears flat against his skull.
Yep. That’s fear all right. John hisses and starts running on all fours, trying to dash away, knowing exactly what this was, exactly what Hickey was doing.
“Quit feeding off my fear!”
no subject
As far as Hickey's concerned, it's not going to happen.
no subject
John hisses as he scrabbles away and runs, looking for somewhere to lose him in the underbrush, but he’s not exactly small either, and most options for hiding or trying to wiggle away in deep brush are closed to him. He can only rely on speed here and he has the feeling that the Hunt wouldn’t care which one of them wins. Probably survival of the fittest and all that.
He knows what it means to be pursued by a Hunt Avatar. And he’s pretty screwed right now.
“Maybe I will!” John puts on another burst of speed, and jumps onto a tree, trying to start to climb it.
no subject
What this means is it can't climb trees for shit.
So as John scurries up the tree, Hickey attempts to climb it as well before sliding back to the ground. He tries one more time but those claws weren't meant for climbing. So instead, he skulks around the bottom before calling up, "Coward!"
no subject
Now that he's in somewhat of a safe place, he relaxes, just a little.
"You know, of all the people you could've chased, I actually agreed with you on some stuff! But you know what? I take it all back! You shouldn't be given any power, it goes right to your head!"
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He once again tries to ineffectively climb the tree, sliding down with a frown on his maw as he looks up at John. Hickey starts to pace, trying to find a way to actually climb that tree.
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Of course it’s not lost on him that the Hunt gave Hickey a far more powerful beast form, but he’s just gonna ignore that, for now.
Except. It looks like he’s gonna have a problem here shortly especially if he can’t get Hickey to give up the chase. Or if he gets tired.
“Shoo! I won this round, Hickey.”
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Hickey snarls, looking up at John before he points out, "You're still stuck in Dogtown. If I don't kill you, something else will. Honestly, you'd be better off taking your chances with me."
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His tail lashes back and forth as he actually does consider that.
"See, while that's a good point, I'm more likely to get killed by you now. I'll take my chances with Dogtown."
A beat.
"Listen, you don't have to kill me. Besides, I bet the Hunt will give you extra special brownie points for scaring a fellow Avatar. You can't scare me if I'm dead, so."
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He looks up at John with a calculating expression. After a moment Hickey laughs. "I think I'll let you escape this one. After all, that way you'll have to run back to civilization knowing that I'm there. I'm on your heels. I can get you at any moment."
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His voice is wry, annoyed. He supposes he deserves it, after all he’s done to other people. Including Rodney.
Except what he says gives John a dreadful chill, because that’s exactly like the Hunter that killed him. He tenses, expecting to hear a whistle any second now.
And it’s not unlike the Wraith, either. Guess this is his lot in life, it’s a wonder the Hunt doesn’t just laugh at him at this point.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m used to it.”
no subject
He's sticking around Dogtown, after all.