An Assortment of Happenstance (Random Events Wave 2)

[pumpkinhollow]

Pumpkin Hollow Community Bulletin

Main Nav | Permanent Bulletin | Calendar |

It's been a while since the community board has been redone! The weather hasn't really been permitting long excursions into town square to do up the board, especially since the blizzard, but today is a clear day for once and Yorick is in a hurry to get it all set up for Merrymeet.

He helpfully posts a few announcements.

COMMUNITY GATHERING AT TOWN HALL TONIGHT

A community gathering is scheduled in Town Hall tonight for all new residents ("offworlders") to discuss their recent experience with a mass shared dream event. Locals who are native to Pumpkin Hollow will be present to listen, learn, and help make sense of this strange dream. The intent of the gathering is to ascertain the meaning of the dream and share details to create a bigger picture.

Sweet potato muffins will be provided, courtesy of Cecil. The meeting will officially commence at 6pm. Dress warmly!

MERRYMEET FLOWER QUEEN VOTING

Voting for the Flower Queen of our upcoming Merrymeet celebration is now officially open! Please cast your vote for one of the following candidates from our final pool of nominees:

Dahlia Leeds, town councilwoman and Historical Society leader.
Annabel Lee Whitlock, seamstress and chess extraordinaire.
Mary Dahl, shop employee and freelance theatrical performance artist.
Magne Kikiishi, Oak & Iron employee and Fight Club leader.
Zelda of Hyrule, captain of the Mipha's Grace.
Sally Boyle, chemist/herbalist and proprietor of the Blackberry Apothecary.

Merrymeet will be held on Saturday, Feb. 24th, so all votes must be cast by then. This year's celebration will also feature our first Flower Princess in a while, Bobbin Kaspbrak, escorted by her keeper, Eddie! She is a chicken. (Note: the last Flower Princess was Butter Poe, a cat. She will sadly be unable to pass on her crown in the ceremonial manner due to being a cat, but she wishes Bobbin the best of luck.)

[ Ballot Box ]

BOTTLE COLLECTION NOTICE

ALERT TO ALL CITIZENS: down on Tawny Beach there have been sightings of bottled messages washing ashore that appear to be addressed to various offworld citizens. Please scan the beach or check in with Jack's Marina Port Authority to see if there are any intended for you at your earliest convenience.

[ Those who go to the beach to investigate may find a bottle carrying curled parchment with their name on it. Within, they will find a letter from a loved one from back home. The messages read more like prayers or thoughts about their subjects, often in third person rather than second, but contain important insight about how the writer truly views the recipient that may guide them in this world. They are also obviously written in the handwriting of the person who sent them. It's unclear how they got here, but perhaps they can help. ]

After Yorick has long since walked away, another strange message also appears. Nailed to the bottom of the board haphazardly, a piece of twine with a large tooth tied to it and a piece of parchment. The text is written in a neat but jagged font, ink seeming to almost fray at the edges, outlining agreed upon terms for some manner of agreement. A shot that must be discharged within a lunar cycle, a soul to be taken from this plane by King Eligos, and a mandatory betrayal of trust. It is signed by both Eligos and Vika. A line in the terms is underlined.

For whatever purpose I deem fit.

Beneath the signatures a note is scrawled that reads,

"Never let it be said that syntax doesn't matter. You didn't think I was going to help you kill my own grandchild, did you?"

Those going to Town Hall for the community gathering will see that the Pine Devil skull that Vika had hung there is now shattered, and her notice gone. The Pine Devil is loose once more.

Comments

CW: description of violence

[graveling]

"What is there to talk about? I was hunted down. Killed--chopped apart. And now I'm here."

There's no petulance or defensiveness in his tone of voice. Instead, he sounds almost confused. As if he doesn't realize how fucking traumatic that is. He's been very good at avoiding looking at the matter.

CW: description of violence

[lordoftheozarks]

"For starters, you could talk about how you've been handling the memory of that," because he knows what being chopped apart feels like, unfortunately, and he's certain that it would keep him awake with nightmares if he were capable of having those.

[graveling]

"Handling? What do you mean handling?" Ah, denial. Longest river in the world. He's stuffed the memory in a box and refused to look at it, or talk about it until now.

[lordoftheozarks]

"The word coping might be more apt. Angel, are you avoiding thinking about what happened to you because it is too painful to examine?"

[graveling]

"Is that wrong to do?" He doesn't have any other real mechanisms for coping. He never went through the normal human process of learning how to deal with life: childhood.

[lordoftheozarks]

"Not... always." Says the man who is doing a lot of it himself. "But there is an argument to be made that you might not be able to feel completely at peace until you've fully acknowledged and grieved what happened to you."

[graveling]

Angel thinks about that silently for a few seconds.

"I don't think I ever had the expectation that I could feel completely at peace. I never have."

[lordoftheozarks]

"There will always be hurts and regrets. That is a part of living. But it is one thing to confront it and then move past it and find a way to live at peace with it, it is another entirely to never lift the lid of that box and assume it won't come back to haunt you later. Does that translate for you?"

[graveling]

"Ugh, I guess. But...I don't want to. It's going to hurt if I do. I don't want to hurt."

But there's a vague sense of guilt in his tone.

[lordoftheozarks]

"Yes, it will. And avoiding pain is one of the most natural things for any living creature. I'm not trying to chastise you, Angel, but warn you. Only you can decide this for yourself. I'd ask you to consider talking to Eddie about these memories, at the very least, when you are ready."

[graveling]

"But...hearing about it would hurt Eddie too, wouldn't it? He's...I don't want him to have to deal with painful things."

He's not quite pouting, but he's definitely giving Erik a pathetic look.

[lordoftheozarks]

"Would you want him to tell you about such things, to confide in you, even if it was likely to make you feel similarly pained for him?"

[graveling]

"I mean, yes. He has. He does."

Angel cannot sigh, but he mimics the postural aspects of a sigh pretty vividly.

[lordoftheozarks]

"How would it make you feel if you learned he was holding back things for fear of causing you distress?" He's taking that not-quite-a-sigh as a sign his point is landing.