May Mini Event - You Just Missed Him

[pumpkinhollow]

Concept and majority writing for primary event provided by Nimbus. Please shower them your praise and adulation for their work! Thank you!

Pumpkin Hollow Community Bulletin

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Yorick whistles pleasantly as he hangs up a new main announcement on the central bulletin board in town. There is an advertisement posted, bearing bold lettering. It reads:

For Health's Sake!

To ensure that proper care continues to be available for all in our growing community, we are pleased to announce a drive to increase supplies for medical use. No contribution is too small, and anything is appreciated. If you want to contribute but are not sure how, ask! Additionally, please see an attached list of dates and times at which various courses on first aid will be available. CPR is a highly valuable skill--- save lives! Please direct all inquiries to Cpt. Johnathan Tuttle.

The signature of one Captain Tuttle emblazes the bottom of the flier, along with that of Mayor Poe to indicate her approval of the project. There is also a date and time listed.

When did the ferry come? Why hasn’t this Tuttle gentleman been at any other events, like the job fair? (Wait, was he at the job fair? Suddenly you’re not sure.) If you ask Mayor Poe, she’ll tell you she can’t remember when she signed the paper but she remembers it happening, and she remembers that “John” (a surprising amount of familiarity from Hellen) stopped by a few days ago with it. What did he look like? What do you mean, what does he look like? Everyone knows what he looks like. But if you somehow managed to miss him, he’s a tall, fair-skinned man with auburn hair who looks like a soldier.

The rest of the people around town will all say the same. Dahlia, Neil, Degas, Yorick, Ambrose, Juniper, Dottie down at Empty Pockets, even Mr. Pennyburrow--- they all met him at one point and describe him the same way. He evidently came by recently, but you just missed him.

If you need something signed by the Captain, leave it with Dahlia. It will be signed in a timely manner, always just a bit before you come to pick it up. Anywhere you’re told you can find him, he just left. Oftentimes the reason he’s missing is to address an emergency, and the victims of said emergencies always recall the exact same man described by Mayor Poe having rescued them. You begin to feel like you probably have seen him, and your mind is just playing tricks. Surely you must have, right?

And of course, right as the drive is set to begin, all medical personnel in town (including the retired Agnes Winterbottom, the folks working at the apothecary, and even Anders, the local veterinarian) will wake up with a gift basket. They’re simple things containing mostly fruit and wrapped pastries, perhaps a book or candle or other small, pleasant item, each one incredibly thoughtful as if he knows the recipient personally. There is a signed thank you card in each one, with the same signature.

Captain Tuttle. Who is he? You must know, lest you go mad. Spend the days leading up to the charity drive investigating, or confront him at the drive itself--- surely there’s some way to see him!

Bonus Activities!

Speed Dating

Looking for love? On one of the days leading up to the healthcare charity drive, town square is set up with tables for a speed dating event! Entry costs 10 Brass per person, and all proceeds go to help the charity drive.

When you sit down with your partner, you will have 10 minutes to each discuss one icebreaker question of your choice. Here’s a list of ideas:

1. What is the best gift you’ve ever received? What did you love about it?
2. What is something that you’ve tried once but will never do again? Do you regret doing it?
3. Do you find it more fulfilling to create things that are practical or things that are beautiful?
4. What is the strongest animal or monster that you think you could defeat in unarmed combat?
5. Do you have any pet peeves?
6. Describe your dream home.
7. What is your most prized possession that you have ever owned? Do you still have it?
8. How do you prefer to spend a rainy day?
9. How would you describe your clothing preferences?
10. What is the dumbest thing you’ve ever spent money on?
11. How long do you think it would take you to realize that you were permanently cured of hiccups and would never have them again?
12. What is something that you wish you could be good at immediately?
13. If you could have a magical item that performs one function that is customized specifically to your needs, what would it do?
14. If you suddenly had infinite money, what’s the first thing you would do with it?
15. Between the two, would you prefer to go to a black tie formal party or a silly costume party?
You can also pick your own topic, if you have one! To participate, please reply to the speed dating toplevel below and tag out to at least one other speed dater. You are strongly encouraged to seek out those with fewer tags to keep things even. You may tag out as many times as you would like. Please include your age and preferred age range in your comment title and speed date appropriately. Have fun!

Town Council Elections

A member of the Pumpkin Hollow Town Council is retiring in a few months. Elections are opening for one new member! Interested in getting in on your local government? Start your campaign here! On the comment below, create a flier (either through formatting or just a narrative description of how it looks) with your information! In the title, put your name, age, and length of residency. The flier itself should discuss your experience, your values, and your ideal policies.

Elections will be held in September. Both PCs and NPCs will vote, so you will need to appeal to the townsfolk in general as well. Good luck!

Comments

[crushed_pearls]

BAM, bird-woman. Erin's got a big grin, elbows on the table, and a distinctly and dangerously amused expression as she laces her fingers under her chin.

There is an eternal moment of anticipatory silence.

And then: "Nine years ago I was flirting with a lass at the club on one of my rare days off, and she was real into it. Her boyfriend started some shit with me about it and I told him he only got to talk to me like that if he had tits, and I'll tell ya, at that time I was exactly enough of a giant bitch to sleep with the lass anyway whom I will not name 'cause if she somehow shows up here I want her privacy respected. Five years after that I'm back in town at the same club and this radiant fucking goddess with just -" she gestures at her own chest, "the greatest glory rolls up to me and goes 'I've been waiting for this' and fucking cusses me out and leaves me in awe at the runback."

"In that spirit, I wanna hear about you getting got fuckin' good."

[closureisformovies]

The look on Alice's face can best be described as 'fucking bwuh?'

"—girl holy shit."

Give her a second to process this.

[crushed_pearls]

"Which part of that was confusing?"

[closureisformovies]

"Mostly the part where you dropped in and unleashed it on me like a whole can of whoop-ass. Possibly the part where this queen has such impressive knockers but probably that's just jealously, actually."

[crushed_pearls]

"What can I say, sometimes people just have the big titties within them waiting to be released," Erin says with a wry little half-grin. "I didn't even get her new name, she just fucking destroyed me on the runback and then left."

[closureisformovies]

"The vindication she felt must've been the stuff fucking dreams are made of. And/or straight up orgasmic. Personally I'm gonna go with 'and'."

She shakes her head. "Christ alright, you want me getting absolutely dunked on... now this might come as a surprise but I don't think I've ever been got that good, but— hmmm. Okay. This is going to sound like a total cliché but right after I started dating my boyfriend from uni—I'm talking early, early days of this budding new bulb of new adult romance—he stayed over the night in my room in halls. None of our other mates knew we were a thing yet and we weren't in a rush to change that.

"Now those rooms aren't exactly palaces, the closet's not even big enough to hide a gender crisis let alone a whole-ass adult man. So when our bud Jess comes by to bodily drag my arse into my turn doing the washing up our literal only option was hiding him under the covers whilst I scrambled about getting dressed. Even had to reach under there and make him pass me my shirt at one point. We thought we were so fucking smooth. And then the second I'm ready to hustle Jess on outta there she hits us with—"

She puts on a voice for Jess's 'lines' at this point, alternating between that and her normal voice, "'What about Sam?' 'Haha I dunno what about Sam?' 'Well he's already awake under there, he might as well come dry up.' When I tell you we nearly up and died—"

[crushed_pearls]

Erin howls with laughter, wiping at her blindfold with the back of her hand to get rid of tears that aren't there. "I can't give you too much shit," she manages at last. "Never did any higher education, didn't even get to finish middle school before all this -" she gestures to herself, "- happened. Buuuuut I'll still ask if you learned your lesson there."

[closureisformovies]

With mock seriousness: "Do I look like the kind of woman that learns her lesson?"

With Malice Aforethought Given The Most Recent Episode

[crushed_pearls]

"Ahh, but don't you know - attentive students get rewards." A wing bends, brushing Alice's cheek with the soft tips of feathers; Erin's smile goes languid, and inviting. "You'd be amazed what wonders you can pull from the world, if you know how to cross your eyes just right."

[closureisformovies]

Two things are true: for all of her snark, Alice isn't a stupid woman. She's survived ten years in a job with a turnover rate to rivals the leadership of the Tories, and she did that by watching everyone else make the same mistakes and then not doing them. Alice Dyer would not be alive today if she couldn't learn sometimes.

But also, over in the corner where no learning has happened at all: Alice's biggest miscalculation, as it turns out, is how unprepared she actually is to face down serious forreal flirting after a dry spell so long it'd be more appropriate to call it a drought. Oh, sure, she can toss exaggerated, playful flirtation back and forth like a champ, but that's a game. She's rarely expecting it to go anywhere.

So really it's not all that surprising when she falls back on: "—girl do you even have eyes to cross under that blindfold?"

She's still a bit pink though. God help her little bisexual brain.

[crushed_pearls]

There it is. The taste of genuine Desire in the air, an honest reaction. Erin's entirely too pleased. "You know, Alice," she murmurs, "this isn't a bit. It's been hard going, but...I'm all of me, y'know? So. Ball in your court - how's this date going?"

[closureisformovies]

"Well I've had a lot worse," comes out first because Alice really doesn't know how to stop the bit half the time, that's the problem with a defence strategy you've all but bolted onto your psyche. "Solid, y'know, eight and a half out of ten. It'd be higher but you did get me thinking about some other woman's tits first."

[crushed_pearls]

"I ain't exactly the jealous sort," Erin says with a bit of a shrug. "Shit, when you meet Ylva sometime ask about how she started dating Max Maximum, the tall sexy dude who bakes, it's cute. But hey, if we wanna keep this date on topic..."

Erin leans in, her voice lowering to a murmur: "You wanna skip out for a bit and think real hard about mine?"

[closureisformovies]

"Ooh you smooth bitch."

She deserves to get laid, right? It's been so fucking long and, for all her petty desire to make him feel at least a twinge of jealousy, she's not actually under any such illusion as Sam actually still being into her. It's been ten years. They broke up. He's into girls like Celia now.

(Ugh, when did she get this pathetic...)

...fuck it. Fuck it! She's allowed to get laid! She huffs dramatically and— "—fuck it, yeah, alright."

BY TRADITION -

[crushed_pearls]

"Then the only question left is if you wanna be left with enough energy to come back."

[closureisformovies]

Jesus fucking christ help her. "—leave me with enough of my soul left in my body, alright, I did pay for this."

Nudity

[crushed_pearls]

"Alice, my girl, I don't eat souls." Beat. "I don't eat other people's souls."


* * * *

Maybe three minutes to Erin's place, and twenty or so of passion later, Erin spoons Alice from behind and kisses the back of her neck. It feels really nice, to bring someone else pleasure...

The hickies on Alice's neck and chest are a great bonus too.

"We should probably dress," Erin murmurs, making less than no move to do so. "You're fun when you're being genuine too, y'know that?"

[closureisformovies]

It really has been a while and frankly Alice doesn't even know how to process the post-fuck spooning properly right now, nor does she know how she's going to retain the shreds of her dignity dropping back into the square hickied up, but also—

"'scuse you. Y'say that like you're not always getting the hundo-percent unfiltered Alice Dyer experience."

[crushed_pearls]

"Lass which bitch in this cuddle do you think you're fooling, 'cause it ain't me and my magazine subscriptions of humor as a defense mechanism."

[closureisformovies]

Dryly, "I was raised on lolcats and tumblr humour, it's welded onto my personality like a big fancy decoration."

[crushed_pearls]

"If you nya me in bed you get the tentacles."

[closureisformovies]

"I've never nya'd someone in bed."

Probably. She can't actually promise she didn't do so to fuck with Sam at some point, she's done a lot of stupid things in bed before.

[crushed_pearls]

"So you say." Erin's voice softens as she continues. "...Hey. You want me to heal your marks? No drawbacks, no spooky side effects, just me pouting a little."

What can she say, Erin does like proof she's been with a girl.

[closureisformovies]

Pause of consideration. "Is it an all or nothing dealio 'cuz I don't mind the stuff my shirt covers but the rest might be a bit much for strollin' back into a square full of people, yeah."

It's going to be obvious to some people what happened anyway, but...

[crushed_pearls]

"I'm afraid it is, yeah," Erin admits sadly. "But on the flip side it comes with a full night's sleep in an instant and it might fix some other shit. The power of Spring is handy like that."

Beat.

"Won't reverse any surgeries so like, keep your mind away from fuckin' body horror, if you had a disc fixed or something you're still good."