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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!
Lt. Col. John Sheppard | Stargate: Atlantis | OTA
John feels like he’s in an episode of Scooby Doo. Still, way better than the usual, harrowing, downright grim adventures they’ve been having lately. From what they’ve been investigating, it looks like this entire witch thing is just some kids. Somebody in a mask, ready to be uncovered by a band of plucky mystery solvers and a forever-hungry Great Dane, and they would have gotten away with it too.
The unfortunate and quite on-brand twist in all this is it’s activating John’s hunt instincts and he might be just pursuing these terrible criminals with a little too much enthusiasm. Coupled with his general unease and Dogtown-related trauma, plus all the other trauma, he might not be in the…best place for doing this.
“There’s one!”
John points to a ghostly, glowing figure quickly scaling a fire escape. It’s obviously a person, and they’re quite good at parkour, they way they’re flying across the grating and rooftop.
Fortunately or unfortunately, John is also good at parkour, or maybe it’s also his beastly Avatar abilities making themselves known.
“Come on!”
Hope you can keep up.
B. And You Must Ask Yourself Part A- closed to Rodney - cw: PTSD, mention of cosmic horror, death, spiders/spider swarms
John groans, rubbing the side of his face. Didn’t he just rest his eyes a moment while watching TV? Wasn’t he just on the couch?
This is very much not the couch. It’s only lucky that he’s not actually in his pajamas, and has his boots on, because this looks an awful lot like…
…Dogtown.
His spider tattoo tingles uncomfortably and he looks at it, almost expecting to see tiny spiders swarming across it. He’d been suffering from the compulsions before but they’d never been dangerous. In fact, they’d actually been mildly helpful? Like making breakfast? This…however, is new. And potentially much more dangerous than toast. (Then again, he’d been attacked by too many toasters so maybe that wasn’t the best analogy.)
“Crap.” He pats himself down-no weapons, except his now-glamoured crab claw. Which, honestly speaking, wasn’t a bad weapon, all things considered. Plus he could beast-out if he really needed to. He was probably more dangerous than half the things in here which was…slightly comforting. And slightly discomforting. But he really wished he had his P-90 right now and feels unprepared and vulnerable without it.
Wait. He’s not alone.
“Rodney?!”
C. And You Must Ask Yourself Part B
[Please hit up
B
Maybe if he ignores this long enough, the Entities would get bored and leave him be? Yeah, because that worked so well on bullies, didn't it.
Bottom line is, his current mood and attitude is one big, giant, screaming no. Which is why when Sheppard approaches him, he holds up an index finger without looking at him.
"I'm not even speaking to you right now."
He's going through his pockets for something, anything to help him figure out where exactly in the D-hell they are or that give them a remote chance at survival. His face is set, and tense, and angry.
"I can't believe you did this! What is this, a nice picnic in the green, except the picnic is me? If you think I'll let you chase me around to get your fear fill, you are so very mistaken! Or did you think, oh, hey, the last traumatic event was more than 72 hours ago. Wouldn't want to start healing now, would we! You suck!"
So much for not speaking to him.
no subject
He gestures wildly everything around them.
“Contrary to popular belief, I have nothing to do with this!”
This is so very much not talking to him, Rodney.
“Wow, you think this is—this is some kind of Avatar trick? Okay, for one thing—there are so many easier ways to scare you. I wouldn’t even have to leave the room!”
Dogtown’s horror is just gonna have to wait a second, they have stuff to hash out here.
no subject
He doesn't believe you, mister.
Except...
"Excuse me? Are you calling me a coward now?"
And more importantly...
"Have you fed off me at the apartment!?"
no subject
Except.
“No! Of course not! But you do scare easily!”
So, not a coward, just easily scare-able?
“I—“
LOOK.
“You practically broadcast fear, all right? Is it so bad if I take a little off the top!? It’s not like you’re keeping it for later!”
no subject
Don't think he forgot about that! Or the hickey!
"You did! I knew it! Oh my God, I don't believe you! That's why you wanted to watch that horror movie! So you could turn me into an oversized popcorn bowl!"
no subject
“That—that…that was a totally different situation, and that doesn’t count!”
He jabs a finger in the air for good measure.
You should probably get over the hickey.
“Look, I wanted to watch the movie and you agreed, so…”
He throws a hand up.
“You were a very good oversized popcorn bowl?”
Is…this helping? Maybe he can just be…this side of manipulative to get out of the situation.
“I like spending time with you and watching movies. Scary movies gives me the excuse to, y’know. Do the arm wrap. Or do you not like the arm wrap?”
no subject
"How does it not count! They were the exact same circumstances! You, me, the woods of hell and your Hunt instincts making sure everyone has a really bad time!"
Rodney throws his hands up in turn, pacing, nervous.
"Well, when you said to me Rodney, do you wanna watch a movie you failed to include the fact that I'm the take-out!"
But there's a disgruntled huff and he crosses his arms, looking away.
"... I do like the arm wrap."
no subject
He paces too, Rodney’s agitation getting him all worked up.
“You were a great take-out? Your fear is pretty delicious!”
He pauses in his pacing.
“Okay. Great. And I’m sorry for not asking. Next time I’ll ask if I can have a fear snack.
no subject
And then he stops because he doesn't actually know what to say to that at all. No one has ever called him 'great take-out' before and he thinks it's a compliment? In a slightly messed up way?
"Huh. I suppose since my mind is just so much better at conceptualizing the predicaments we're in I'd be better fuel than most."
Leave it to him to find a way to be arrogant about being the biggest coward on the block.
"Wait. You don't just like me for my fear, do you?"
no subject
“See? Now you get it. And it’s not a bad thing…most of the time. It means you have a very good imagination.”
There’s a long.
Long.
Long.
Beat.
“Seriously, Rodney?!”
no subject
That's not the answer he wanted!
"Yes, seriously! You're the one who just admitted to secretly scaring me to make me your personal Snickers bar! And we just established that I am a very delicious Snickers bar! So if you had to choose between me and the Snickers bar, which is it?"
no subject
“Yes! You are a very delicious snickers bar.”
There’s another long beat.
“…both? I…y’know, cause both would be nice. And you are both.”
He scratches the side of his head.
“You do realize I liked you before we got here. In Atlantis.”
no subject
And then John goes ahead and says that and it puts a dent in all his agitated plans.
"Oh."
He blinks and stares at him, at a loss. He has, in fact, not realized this.
"You did?"
no subject
Except that seems to have thrown Rodney for a loop and John sighs.
“Yes, Rodney, I did. For a long time. A really long time, actually…”
He suddenly feels like he doesn’t know what to say, how do say it. What are feelings put to words, even.
I liked you the moment I pushed you off the balcony.
no subject
It's almost comical, the way he stands there, utterly deflated, in the middle of the worst place in the universe.
"... Why didn't you ever say anything? Before?"
no subject
Apparently they're doing this. Here, right now. In Dogtown.
"...because, I didn't think you liked me. And also, I suck at this kind of thing?"
no subject
He stares at him, incredulous, like he's trying to connect the dots here.
"But you're... you're you."
no subject
"Yeah? I mean, I knew we were friends and teammates, but you just, I didn't..."
He gestures vaguely at the world, staring back at him.
"The timing was never right, and I honestly couldn't tell if you were into me?"
no subject
There's suddenly a look of panic on his face when they're talking about this - okay, so maybe it's kind of his fault they're talking about this but now that they are he realizes he isn't prepared to be talking about this - and he stutters, fumbling for the words.
"I guess I just didn't expect you to be into me? What with you... looking like that and all the hot women you always get with..."
no subject
He's...starting to get what Rodney means. But also. He looks down a moment, crossing his arms, not able to look him in the eye.
"You know when it started?"
There's a half-smile on his face, something stupidly fond and reminiscent.
"You remember the personal shield device?"