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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!
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"I can give the arm back." As awful as his time as a secret basement government science experiment was, he was grateful for some of the knowledge of his own abilities they uncovered. "But the staff at the hospital wouldn't listen to me. Something about me being covered in blood and I don't think those ADI folks are going to like the idea either because it would be using my holy worms." In the end they will, but Manji doesn't know that yet.
He frowns as he goes back to the problem he was trying to solve last night. "I'm thinking of running. Laying low some place. Then when the kid is alone then maybe I can talk to him."
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Eda softens a little more, though she mostly just looks... kind of sad.
She raises an eyebrow at the next revelation, though. She hadn't been assuming giving the arm back was on the table, not without the sort of healing magic they didn't really have here. Especially when the ADI was keeping a tight purse on the healing magic they did have.
"I don't know if he'd want to talk to you," Eda points out, though she won't stop him from trying.
"But... you said you'd be using your worms? What would that do to him?" She doubted Manji would share his immortality that easily, given his feelings about it.
CW: talking about worms, body horror, and unethical human experimenting
"Right before I showed up here they were doing experiments to try to pass on my immortality. What they were doing was choppin' my limbs off and swappin' them around with other convicts." Not a time he usually likes to dwell on for very long.
"They only got immortality if they kept my limbs. Putting back their own arms and legs? The worms lived just long enough to reattached like nothing happened, but they'd loose the immortality. I don't know exactly what makes my body so special, but the worms can't reproduce without enough of me going with them." The doctors figured it out, but they didn't share the answer with their unwilling test subject. "As long as I keep this arm attached to me for now my worms will keep it healthy and alive. Then when the time comes? There will be just enough worms transferring between us to reattach. After that? The rest of the worms in his arm would die off. Leaving him like nothing happened."
Well... "You know, besides the memory of having his arm cut off and reattached. I can't really do anything about that."
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Eda relaxes a little, when he clarifies the immortality isn't... contagious for lack of a better word.
The next part, on the other hand, makes her grimace visibly. She knew he'd had a lot happen to him, but she hadn't known about that. Pointing out the fact the kid would be stuck remembering all this gets a grimace, too.
"That... actually sounds better than I was expecting," Eda admits. "You're sure they don't--I dunno, leave any other effects?"
She's worried about whether it would be worse here, with the Entities involved, but she also doesn't think this kid deserves to lose an arm if he doesn't have to. Maybe it would be worth trying to fix this, if the ADI actually let it happen.
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"But... that's good. It'd be nice if S--if the kid could get his arm back." Probably. Assuming there aren't any of those long-term side effects he's not sure about.
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"Yeah. So long as I can get close enough and if ADI don't lock me away in their basement first for attacking a kid." He rubs the back of his neck with a sigh. "Shit, Eda. If they can't even handle how you look how do you think they're going to react to this?" He gestures towards the backwards arm.
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"Pretty sure it ain't gonna be good," Eda admits. After all, she didn't even hurt anyone and they were pretty unhappy with her. On the other hand, at least he was only trying to attack what he thought was a ghost.
"Might help if they believe you only did it try and fix your mistake... but that's a big if," she muses, uncertainly. The ADI is probably the best bet if he actually wants to give the arm back, but she also doesn't want to see him locked up by them—even if he shouldn't have done any of this.
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"And even if they believe I'm trying to fix a mistake - you really think they're going to let me use supernatural stuff to do it?"
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"Honestly? I'm... not sure. They don't hide the fact they use healing magic when the people who get here wouldn't survive without it." Eda's even brought up things like that, and they've been quick to admit it's hypocritical but ask if she'd prefer the alternative. To be fair, she wouldn't.
"But I don't know if they'll see losing an arm as serious enough. Or want to risk the kid learning anything about us... and the longer it is the weirder I'm betting it's gonna look if it's possible." Which means one way or another, if he wants to try and convince them it should probably be soon.
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"At least the ADI's not government," Eda says, though that doesn't necessarily make them any better, in practice. While she likes the idea of the organization operating on its own terms, that doesn't mean they're the terms she'd choose.
"And they'd better not try and bully him." She sounds like she'll personally do something about if they do, and she certainly intends to... whether that's actually realistic or not.
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"So, what do you think? Should I turn myself over to the ADI? Or try to keep this from them until I can give the kid back his arm myself?"
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"You know it," she agrees, the ADI would definitely need to deal with the both of them if they try anything.
Eda's a little less sure about Manji's question, though. She runs her claws through her hair as she thinks about it.
"As much as I don't want to work with the ADI, just showing up at this kid's hospital room or house or whatever might go even worse." With more connections they might, at least, be able to pass it off as really good doctors as opposed to supernatural.
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Unfortunately she doubts there's any good solution here, but it's probably better to traumatise the kid as little as they can. She just hopes the ADI won't come down too hard on Manji.
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"Look... do you want me to come with you?" she asks, after a little pause. The idea of him going his own seems more likely to potentially end in him vanishing somehow.
While she doesn't think the ADI is always, or necessarily even often, behind that, she doesn't believe they're never behind it either. And she's tired of losing what friends she makes in this place.
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She might have been mad earlier, but that doesn't mean she wouldn't burn the ADI down if it turns they've hurt any of her friends.
"In fact you'd better text me when you're done talking to them. I don't know how long I'll feel like waiting around." This is... probably at least partly a joke. But only partly. She's definitely going to be on edge until she finds out how it goes.
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While she couldn't blame the ADI for also being fairly upset, she still doesn't trust them not to go overboard. As much as she'd like to find out if they ever are the ones making people disappear, she'd like her friends to be safe even more.
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But, for now, Eda will get out of his apartment; it's probably not the best place to wait, given how long it might be before she hears back.
Not to mention she should probably find some kind of distraction before she spends the day worrying about thing she can't fix herself.
I think this is a fine place to wrap up