apocalypsehowcomm | Event - The Ballad of Thomazine Younger

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Event - The Ballad of Thomazine Younger

The Ballad of Thomazine Younger

➥ Ghosts of Yesteryear

AI-generated photo of a human figure with long hair standing in the woods. The figure is silhouetted, and the plants in the image are fragmentary in appearance.
(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.

➥ Outfoxed at Foxhill

Image of a natural stone wall on which the words 'repent or perish' have been written in faded red spray paint over top of indistinct words carved into the stone.
(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.

➥ Those Meddling Kids

Image of a silhouetted figure wearing a hoodie. The person is stood on the end of a wooden pier at night.
(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.

➥ And You Must Ask Yourself

Photo of a person standing in a wood. The sun is beginning to rise as the person raises their hand to cover their eyes against the light.
(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.

➥ Mod Notes

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!

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Obviously Hickey thinks different. He shakes his head, looking at Manji before he points out, "What changed is that the person who hurt you is dead. Yeah, there's another pompous fuck. But the world's full of pompous fucks. What matters is getting what you want despite all that."

"But at what cost? I haven't gotten what I actually want. I'm just as miserable as I was before I killed him. Maybe even more so because now I'm stuck in an endless loop of these bastards."

"Then point yourself to getting what you want to begin with!" Hickey says, like it's the most obvious thing in the world. "You've got power, Manji. Use it."

"What power? All I want is to die with a blade in my hand or be left in peace. Yet all that seems to happen is I get dragged into one problem after another." Okay, sometimes he goes willingly, but mostly it feels like he's dragged into it.

"Look, I ain't even blaming you. I'd probably have grabbed for power when I was younger." Ignore the fact that he's in his mid twenties, but is talking like he's fifty. "I'm just saying; have you really considered the bigger picture to it all?"

There's a pause before Hickey points out,

"You know I'm probably older than you, right?"

"I'm immortal, remember? I could be a hundred and two." He is not.

"You drink like a teenage idiot who just became old enough to sneak a drink," Hickey points out, like it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"Yeah? Well, when I'm from age doesn't really matter when you start drinking. Maybe we all drink like that?"

He scoffs. "Can't drink till you're twenty one is such bull shit." Not that was an actual problem for him here, but when he heard it he was shocked. "Your life is nearly half over by that point. It's ridiculous." Life expectancy might not be as high in Manji's time. What ere they talking about something to do with the Hunt?

"Right. One, you're not wrong about that drinking whenever you want point." Hickey is a firm believer that some rules are bullshit. One of those rules is obviously 'people don't like it when you get sixteen year olds drunk.' How are they supposed to learn their limits if they don't start young, huh?

"But two, y'know the leader of the expedition back home was like...fifty or so. Yeah he was a bit too old for the job, but he wasn't old enough that his appointment was ridiculous."

"Not surprised. Sometimes the old geezers of the world can be pretty tough. What would he say to you giving yourself over to some cosmic horror you don't fully understand?"

"Oh, he'd be pissed. Granted, he's be pissed because some cosmic horror I don't fully understand isn't our lord and savior Jesus Christ."

"Ah, one of those Christianity type guys? Haven't met many of them, but from what I hear they're all stuck up pricks."

Although they weren't here to talk about that, were they? "So, we should find these ghosts that are haunting up the place."

"And Sir John Franklin was the biggest prick of them all," Hickey grins. But there's a moment before he gives Manji a nod. The man seems...fine with this? Worried, of course, and he's pretty sure that Manji thinks Hickey's an idiot. But they're still settling into old routines. They're setting into their normal back and forth.

It's...nice. And Hickey hasn't had many nice things in his life.

"Yeah. We should find these ghosts. I remember the scent of that one Eda and I were chasing—bet I can find her again if we try hard enough."

The way Manji sees it? Hickey has made his choice and Manji just hopes the man doesn't immediately regret it. What has been done is done.

But yes, Manji thinks Hickey was a HUGE idiot.

"Their scent, huh? And how many people do you have to scare to be able to sniff them out?" He wants Hickey to really consider these things. "And you going to get down onto all fours to do it? That I'd love to see."

"Mate, if you wanna see me scare someone, we're gonna have to go somewhere a bit more remote. I can't do what I do best in a bloody city."

And what he does best is obviously turn into a murderbear.

"What I was saying is be careful using that shit. Not show it off."

"I am being careful. I'm not doing it in public."

"The point is you probably shouldn't be doing that shit at all. Not when you don't know the full cost of these things yet. It seems so far that nearly everyone has lost their minds that have given themselves over."

"Then all that means is we're overdue someone who hasn't," he points out, like it's a witty rebuttal to Manji's point and not 'rip to the other avatars but I'm different.'

"Oh?" Manji sounds skeptical. "And what will make you different from all the others?"

"I've got experience with this. I know what it's like to offer up power." And then get it soundly rejected. "I won't make the same mistakes others do. Besides, it's not giving myself over. It's working with it's needs."

"Do you?" He's a little surprise to hear that Hickey has some experience with this. "What mistakes do you think other's have made?" He's curious of Hickey's opinion. With his worms constantly needing to be fed to keep him in one piece he'd like some extra advice himself.

"Easy. Getting caught." Hickey grins, leaning in to Manji as he talks, conspiratorial tone in his voice,

"Way I see it, there's plenty of supernatural bullshit around. If you indulge in a little terror, indulge in your abilities in a place where you'll be overlooked? All the better. I'm going to start with Dogtown. There's so much nonsense in that place, I'll easily be overlooked."

Counterpoint: Hickey is an idiot.

"Dogtown?" Manji doesn't sound impressed. "Your plan is Dogtown?" He opens his mouth and shuts it several times before shaking his head. "You're right, that place is nonsense. Which is why it will likely eat you alive. Literally. I ran into a wall of bloodsuckers in that place."

"Not if I eat it alive first."

There's a pause before he clarifies,

"Metaphorically speaking, that is."

(no subject)

canofmanji - 2023-05-15 13:15 (UTC) - Expand

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