IC Roleplay Logs

May Event - Welcome to the Jungle

Sun, 10 May 2026 02:16:07 GMT

May Event - Welcome to the Jungle

( Do you know where you are? )

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OTA | Dinner & Diatribes

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 23:08:29 GMT

Posted by: yourtwocents

Who: Lazarus Mezzasalma (yourtwocents) & You!
What: Various Acts of Indulgence and Hedonism as he settles in.
When: Mid-Late April through to the end of Spring
Where: Various - Pumpkin Hollow, Crane's Ridge, Paradesium
Warning(s): themes of excessive consumption, heavy drinking & smoking, one prompt specifically features the Brothel and will have those mature themes in play.

( Hell is a talking type )

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[CR-Specific] A Day Out with the Town Bicycle

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 03:20:34 GMT

Posted by: gooddefense

Who: Dmitri "North Dakota" Katina & his merry band of love interests
What: Dates!
When: Throughout late April and early May
Where: Various
Warning(s): Discussion potentially may turn to the circumstances of his death in April, or threads may turn NSFW. Will be marked appropriately, so check individual threads!

( I can ride my bike with no handlebars )

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[Event Followup] Let Me Wrap My Teeth Around the World

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 04:24:37 GMT

Posted by: daemoniumexmachina

( Eat Your Young )

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[NPC Open] A Day for All Seasons

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 01:11:25 GMT

Posted by: psalmofseasons

The Four Sacred Mothers can be found in their places of power all the year long. Come away to the wilds now, and find divinity.

Spring is Coming with a Strawberry in the Mouth

Call upon Serranai, Mother of Spring and Land

In the dappled light of morning amid the pines of Lockwood Forest, it is not uncommon to hear music. The sweet whine of pan pipes, the gentle drifting melody of a harp, the strange tart pluck of dulcimer strings. But most commonly, the jaunty bellowing of an accordion, as that is the goddess's favorite instrument. Call out to her, and she will answer.

In the night and on rainy days, it is more common to find her deep within the embrace of the earth, amid a concert hall of stone and foliage. If you hear a woman's laughter in Paradesium, you have nothing to fear--- though you may be dragged into a game of tag before you are able to catch her, should her whims decide it.

A Summer Night in Domita

Call upon Kora, Mother of Summer and Sea

On days when the weather's bearable, sometimes you'll find an unusual woman at Tawny Beach. Raven hair billows in the sunlight, often only partially tamed by a tri-corner hat with an array of feathers and cold pins on the right side. The warmer the weather, the less clothing she wears. She can often be found lounging on the beach with a bottle of rum, sitting perched on a rock jutting out from the side of the Bluffs, or on the docks, milling around. If you're very lucky, you may find her aboard her moored ship, the Golden Sun, a stunning ship constructed of dark wood with gilded railing and glowing gold mainsails bearing a white sunburst emblem.

Up by Eeltooth Lagoon, where the island slopes back toward the sea, those who come in search of strength of heart when it rains will find the Mother of All Waters swinging in a hammock under the cover of two willow trees, singing away as the raindrops pelting her collection of empty bottles harmonizes with her.

Mary Celeste was found alone
The fate of her crew is still unknown
Murder, fraud, or acts bizarre
No one can say but chances are

They're down, downed, and drowned
Downed and drowned and never found

Hail the Revenge for their bravery
Tried to escape fighting 53
The surrender of her last 16 crew
Couldn't save her boards from the briny blue

They're down, downed, and drowned
Downed and drowned and never found
They're down, drowned in the depths below
Where the sun don't shine and the winds don't blow
And the timbers crack and the mainstay fails
We'll all find peace wrapped within our sails.

When Autumn Leaves

Call upon Celestine, Mother of Autumn and Sky

There's not much call to climb Crane's Ridge when it isn't life or death, or mid-November. Accessible by train, it's typically only the mining crew who scales the mountain any other time, though those attending the hot springs get somewhat close to the summit.

But climb past the train station and up toward the sky, and chances are you'll find a tall, slender, radiant woman with dark skin and eyes the current color of the sky gazing out toward the horizon, or standing in an outdoor stone kitchen, crafting cloudstuff in a shiny silver pot and simmering starlight before bottling them and placing them on a wooden shelf.

Other days, wandering up by the Bluffs might lead you to a little house that you're sure wasn't there before. A cottage, small and modest, with a flourishing vegetable garden and a smoking chimney. That very same woman sits in a bay window, reading peacefully. But she wouldn't mind company. There'll be a cup of coffee or tea waiting for you inside, and it smells distinctly like something delicious is baking.

White Winter Hymnal

Call upon Mortanne, Mother of Winter and Beyond

There is only one place to find Mortanne, aside from that office you found yourself in when you were first offered a place in Pumpkin Hollow.

Fall's promise is that Winter is soon to follow, and thus, you can find Mother Death in her mourning garb standing in the cemetery that is thusly named. She strolls between the graves, sits straight-backed on the benches, or lingers before the Leeds family mausoleum, looking for all the world like just a mourner. But you know better, don't you?

Occasionally, however, Mortanne will send for you. Should you see a strange white horse anywhere on the island, staring intently at you, follow where it leads. Mother would like a word with you.

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Happy Birthday King Halo!

Fri, 24 Apr 2026 01:42:46 GMT

Posted by: overtookall

Who: King Halo and YOU! Everyone's Invited!

What: King Halo's Birthday Bash!

When: April 23rd

Where: Festival Green

Warning(s): Alcohol mentioned

Congrats! You are invited to King Halo's Nineteenth Birthday Party!

Don't know who that is? Got to Pumpkin Hollow just a fortnight ago? Don't know what a birthday is?

Doesn't matter! You still got an invitation either handed to you personally, in your mailbox, slipped under your door- somehow or another, you got invited. No presents required, all she wants for her birthday is to treat everyone to a nice party.

If you choose to come (which you absolutely should, just saying) there's a number of events going on and things to do. Or maybe you're walking past the festival green and happen to get dragged into the festivities? Either way, you're here now!

( happy birthday to her! )

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[OPEN MINGLE] Veterans Poker Night

Sun, 19 Apr 2026 16:52:09 GMT

Posted by: ownperson

Who: Agent South Dakota (ownperson) & Agent North Dakota (gooddefense) and you!
What: Card game social night for ex-soldiers/veterans and similar types!
When: Mid-late April
Where: 487 Juniper Street / North Star Farm, in Northwest Hollow
Warning(s): Alcohol use probably, war/conflict talk likely, others TBA as necessary

( Read more... )

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[Closed] The Business of Emotion

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 18:21:55 GMT

Posted by: psalmofseasons

Who: Celestine & the Allied Mastercomputer
What: An unorthodox new arrival requires a customized approach
When: April
Where: Cyberspace?
Warning(s): TBD, probably some cruel or intolerant language, references to torture, semi-unreality
( I know just what to show you. )

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(open) The world is cursed, but...

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 06:36:18 GMT

Posted by: xiaoxiuya

What: Somehow, you find reasons to keep living.
Who: Shen Qingqiu
When: After the death of Eligos.
Where: Martin Blackwood's tea house
Warning(s): None

( Forgive me, I'm not making any sense... )

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(open.) i'll leave you as you were

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 21:19:10 GMT

Posted by: abhorrently

Who: Fever (abhorrently) & open.
What: Trying to live life post Eligos's fall.
When: Latter half of April and beyond.
Where: Across Marrow Isle
Warning(s): Will be noted in thread headers.

( so just take me as i am )

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[OPEN] Dig down deep inside yourself, you'll find out what you need

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 17:37:08 GMT

Posted by: hemonaut

Who: Simon (hemonaut) & YOU

What: Simon's still getting his bearings, and that involves, among other things, finding a job.

When: After the fall of Eligos

Where: Around town, and then on his farm

Warning(s): The prompt titled "It really ain't that far" includes Iron Lung spoilers and canon-typical blood and body horror flashbacks. Similar flashbacks may occur in threads, but for the content of the threads themselves there's nothing spicy happening.

You gotta dig a little deeper

It's been a rough adjustment period for Simon, even before he was kidnapped and all of that shit happened. But now that the excitement is over, he's back in the town and still adrift. Taking odd jobs and delivery gigs, and still sleeping rough out in the woods at night, he moves around the town like a specter. Maybe it's your package he's delivering, holding it out with his good hand.

"Package for you."

Or maybe he's just looking for an odd job, and you're there looking busy.

"Hey. You need help with anything?"

...Or, if you're an Enforcer, he's just kind of looking sketchy and bothering people for work.

It really ain't that far

As he often does, Simon stands in front of the community bulletin board. However, today he's not really looking at the jobs on the board, lost in thought as he carefully worries a small, cracked glass pendant in his hand. This is not something he's had before, especially notable since he's been kind of looking more like a vagabond than a laggard, wearing all his clothing in layers like someone will take it away from him if he doesn't know exactly where it is.

The recruitment posters smile down at him, peeking out from behind the community notices and ads, friendly reminders of the jobs that need doing. Laborers laying down cobblestone streets, fishermen hauling nets full of silver bodies onto the deck of a ship, a farmer, with a wagon full of verdant armfuls of fresh vegetables.

"When the last son of Eden joins the grove, there will be a thousand trees!"

Blood, thick and sticky, pouring into his eyes, his nose, his mouth, soaking through his clothes and burning like acid on his skin. His face burns like it's tearing open, like every scream is splitting his mouth open wider, sharp teeth like claws splitting his cheek. And then a rupture, a release, a thousand ropy roots flooding through his veins and bursting out of his body, defiant and beautiful and alive, reaching for the surface with a thousand clawing branches, as desperate to live as Simon.

And, for Simon: darkness. Surrender. Death. A warm blanket in an office with a white-haired woman, and a body that now felt too small to hold him.

It wasn't what he had imagined, and he doubted it was what Father had imagined too, but... Well, he couldn't deny that there were thousands of trees.

"...How come I'm the only one here to see it?"

Sometime later, Simon is coming out of town hall with a key and a deed in his hand, looking at both like some kind of arcane objects that he's never seen before.

You'll find out what you need [CLOSED to Aloy]

The thing about signing up for a new job is that it isn't move-in ready. About a week, town hall said, to get him set up with the resources he needs to succeed. Which leaves him a week to tell his camping buddy that he's moving out.

"...Would you be...mad at me, if I told you I got a job?" he asks, pushing around his dinner with a spoon. His bowl is balanced on his knees and braced on one side with his stump. He's not sure why he said it that way, why her opinion matters to him so much. But she's been kind to him, opened up her camp to him and then let him come back, after...all that that happened. Having another person beside him has made it so much easier to adjust, and knowing that there's just one person has made it less overwhelming than trying to stay at the inn in town.

Blue skies and sunshine, guaranteed

A few days after Simon heads out to his farm, he's in town at the Community board, with a notice of his own:

WANTED
manual help getting a farm started. cleaning up weeds, maybe chopping down a few trees. someone who knows what they're doing preferred.

YOU GET
free ride back and forth
2 meals
free firewood if you want
75 brass

And then he sits on the back of his cart and waits for takers.

At the farm, he wasn't lying about it needing some work. He's cleaned out the well by himself, and cleared out weeds, vines, and small trees around the perimeter of an area about 60 feet by 20 feet. The house itself looks drafty but stable, but his priority is getting plants in the ground. A single brown chicken bobs around the overgrown land, burbling to herself and pecking at bugs she finds. A green, leafy grass-type Pokemon helps by trying to pull out plants bigger than she is.

But he's ready to get to work, getting down in the weeds and using the claw to hack at the roots to make the weeds easier to pull.

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SURPRISE APRIL EVENT - Adventures in Car-dew Valley

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 14:24:19 GMT

Posted by: pumpkinhollow

( Life is a Highway )

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[Closed] Well, well, look who's inside again

Sun, 29 Mar 2026 00:43:19 GMT

Posted by: jaxinthebox

Who: Jax (jaxinthebox), Pomni (jeveuxpartir), & Ragatha (raggedydamn) (and potentially other CR!)

What:Reconnecting after the fall of King Eligos

When: The days following the incidents on March 15th

Where: Jax's townhouse, Downtown Hollow

Warning(s): Suicidal ideation, past gore, and everything that goes into that :)

( Went out to look for a reason to hide again )

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March/April Event - By Order of the King

Sun, 15 Mar 2026 16:57:01 GMT

Posted by: pumpkinhollow

─ A Proclamation ─

By order of His Infernal Majesty, Eligos Rex, Dominus Altum of the Regnum Infernalis, Lord of the Court of Treason, the Indomitable King of Hell

y order of King Eligos, let it be known throughout the Realm of Demonkind that all current denizens of the Isle of Marrow shall be detained and relocated to the Palace Infernal, where they shall be put to trial for their crimes against our people. His Majesty names these trespasses thus:

Deliberate Interference with the Unholy Rite of Succession
Conspiracy to Fraudulently Coronate a King of Their Choosing
Two Counts of Principicide, Murder of His Majesty's Sons
Conspiracy with the Dynasty of Holy Mothers
Conspiracy with the Dynasty of Red Butterflies
Conspiracy with the Dynasty of Elder Gods
Disruption of the Machinations of His Infernal Majesty

All parties residing on the Isle of Marrow have been preemptively found guilty of at least one of these charges, either directly or as an accessory. The guilty have been captured by His Majesty's Royal Guard, dragged from their beds by force, and brought to the Palace Infernal, beyond the safety of the Great Barrier that We graciously constructed to conceal them from the eyes of Death. Here, they will be given Trial, where they will either emerge absolved, or perish entirely in their guilt without our Barrier to restore them.

The Guilty Must Atone.

Details to follow.

The Dungeon

Those deemed to have the ability to supply His Majesty's Court with the desired resources have been placed in the palace's dungeons in groups, where they must decide amongst themselves whose blood will be used to pay the island's penance, and who will move on to a greater duty.

{Be aware that beyond lies inevitable pain, mutilation, and death. Proceed?}

The room is dark. Not too dark to see by, but dim. The appearance of a castle dungeon is visible, at least, by the low and menacing flicker of torch light, tall shadows catching on the surfaces of imposing stone block walls and the dirty and uneven slate floor.

You are not alone here. There is at least one other, if not more, and there is the strange sensation of being watched. Each room is laid out a bit differently, perhaps set up with some kind of bondage holding its residents in place or some strange, unbelievable apparatus that serves no other purpose than an elaborate and dangerous trap. However, each room does share one thing--- a parchment hung to the wall in reading distance, starting with the proclamation above, and followed by the details of your entrapment, along with the conditions of escape. And while those terms vary as well, the one thing they all have in common is that not everyone is meant to survive, even if the text itself doesn't make that immediately clear.

Designed to feed the Court of Betrayal, each trap is designed with a test of trust and loyalty involved. Whether it's testing how much you value a new friendship, which of your loved ones you are truly the most loyal to, or how selfish you really are when it comes down to it--- or if it's just meant to make you betray yourself and your own values. Some will end quietly, others gruesomely, but someone must die in order to move forward, with the understanding that the barrier isn't here to save you. You're in the realm of demons now. There is nothing to stop your soul from leaving you for good. Not even Mortanne can reach you here. And there is no option to take no action--- the consequences of this are that everyone dies, and the reward for proceeding is the opportunity to try and help everyone go home.

Those who survive will find that the way out opens for them, where they may encounter others in the same position. The halls outside your cell may hold any number of trials, whether they be demonic guards, traps, or winding corridors designed to make you lose your way. Or maybe your own way forward is suspiciously clear… There may even be creature comforts provided to reward you for the ill deed you did to get where you are. You may also discover along your journey a heavy stone door labeled "catacombs" that will not open for you. But will it open from the other side?

But no, that's preposterous. Only the dead can be found in catacombs. Right?

The Senate Room

Alongside those in conspiracy to delay or interrupt His Infernal Majesty's plans for today, those ignorant of the truth of their nature and how it guides their fate or who were deemed inadequate fodder for the Court of Betrayal's dungeons have been placed in His Majesty's Senate Room, where his Court and the heads of others meet to discuss matters of the realm. They must rely on each other for information if they wish to leave, testing their mettle at courtly shrewdness, their ability to trust one another, and their understanding of the self.

{Be aware that beyond lies a complex and tense game of information-gathering, with the potential for death upon failure, and the possibility of unexpected violence. Proceed?}

Dark cloth sacks removed from your faces all at once, you are seated in a polished, official-looking meeting space, gathered around an ornate table of oak and marble. Around you are others--- quite a few, in fact. And in front of you, an envelope, with something written in tight, looping font on the front.

We are nothing but our nature. We do only what we were made to do. In this way, we are no different. In this envelope lies your passage forward to duty and destiny, but to open it, you must be able to speak the name of your nature. Do so before you are able, and perish. You are in the infernal realm. The barrier is not here to protect you. Best of luck.

Looking around, you can see words floating over the heads of those around you. They are not particularly flattering words. A descriptor, assigned to that person, presumably intended to define their nature. Above your own head, you see nothing. The game becomes clear. Predictably, if you try to speak the words you can see, or anything too similar that might give it away too easily, your throat tightens and your words are stolen from you.

Game on.

The Catacombs

Those who die in the fiery embrace of the Infernal Realm will not be saved by the Barrier. Lady Winter cannot save them, so their souls will remain here and their bodies will rest in our crypts.

{Be aware that beyond lies dangerous traps, monsters, and the remains of the dead. Proceed?}

You died.

This wouldn't be the first time. After all, that's how you got into this situation to begin with. But this time, it was made very clear to you that it would be permanent. You're outside the barrier, and with nothing to catch your soul at the border of reality and sling it back at you the next morning, it should be lost to whatever afterlife might find you here.

Unless, of course, you're not outside the barrier.

Whatever the case may be, you can't stay here. You have no idea how long it's been, and there are people somewhere who think you're dead. Surrounded by the ancient, dusty corpses of long-dead demons, it's difficult to confirm you're not. Perhaps you're in just as much of a hurry to convince yourself.

Down here, you will need to conquer physical obstacles, solve puzzles, and get past monsters to escape the catacombs. There are a number of stone doors that only open from the crypt side out, leading back up to the dungeon halls where the living are trying to escape the castle. You can encounter other "dead," or reach the dungeon to find other survivors. Perhaps if you're particularly persistent, you can reach the end of the maze entirely…

The Ceremonial Hall

Marrow Isle residents who do not capture the interest of His Infernal Majesty what so ever or whose usefulness to the Court of Treason is expended will be granted to His Infernal Highness Prince Aster of the Dark Feast, to use as indentured servants for a time, that they might be given worth elsewhere. They are not the concern of His Majesty, and he will bear them no mind.

{Be aware that beyond lies the alteration of memory. Proceed?}

Welcome to your first day at your new job! As an employee of the Infernal Royal Family, you've been tasked with preparing the castle's ceremonial hall for a coronation. After a great deal of ado, the Rite of Succession is finally nearing its end, and King Eligos is finally preparing to turn over his kingdom to his heir--- his middle son, Prince Aster. Shame about Prince Mendel and Prince Efrain, dead as they are, but that's how succession goes in the infernal realm.

What do you mean, you don't remember taking this job? Of course you did! There's nowhere more illustrious to work, nor a better time to have this job. You're making history, after all! So what if you don't remember the details of the application or interview? You know that this is your job. You remember coming to work. You know that you are supposed to be here, and that you chose to be here, and that you aren't going to leave. That's what's important, isn't it?

The hall is constructed of black marble primarily, and covered in red decorations that haven't been taken down since Eligos was coronated several hundred years ago. They're quite dusty. You'll need to take them down and replace them with the blue and gold ones intended for Crown Prince Aster. You'll also need to polish the throne, scrub the floors, set up the dining tables, prepare the food, dust everything, prepare the place settings… there's so much to do, so you had better get to work!

You'll be supervised by a Noble of Aster's Court, Duchess Claunthe. She can't be everywhere at once, of course, but she can be very, very strict when she wants to be. Take care not to get caught slacking off, even if it's tempting. This is a lot of work, after all, and there's demons coming and going who have no qualms about swapping courtly secrets and gossip in front of the help. Whenever you can catch a moment away, your coworkers would love to hear this.

Yes, this is definitely your job. (It's not.) You absolutely, definitely signed up for this. (You didn't.) It'd be absolutely preposterous to think otherwise. (You know you don't belong here. Run.) After all, this job pays so well, which you really need right now, don't you? (It doesn't. Even if it did, you have universal basic income, for the Mothers' sake. Please listen to me. Get out, now!) Besides, even if you didn't take this job, and this was all some grand trick---- where would you even go?

Get back to work.

The Waiting Room

A room is to be prepared for our Most Esteemed Guest, Father Francis Mulcahy. She is not a prisoner, but an ally to the Court of Woman Scorned led by Prince Dahlia, bringer of deliverance to a new era of Demonkind. Ensure that she is comfortable, and make room for any who might attend her, and prepare a line of communication. The King wishes for an audience.

{Be aware that beyond lies a terrible duty, and one inevitable death. Proceed?}

A round room, at the end of everything. It's strange, that particular detail is so clear despite the fact that it's impossible to see beyond it. Black walls bedecked neon red curtains, despite the lack of windows. Not blood red like Nyarlathotep prefers, but the red of malice. It's unclear how you can tell the difference, but you can. Plush curved sofas encircle the room, with gaps for tables at regular intervals that have lamps, statues, and the like sitting on them. The one in the center has a candlestick phone that rings when the first guest arrives.

If you manage to make your way through the catacombs or the dungeon, whatever route you take, you can end up here as well. But at first, it's just the one. Once the door closes on the final guest, and Eligos is ready for his audience, it opens back up, now leading somewhere else.

It's time. We all know what happens now.

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Event Annex - The Senate Room

Sun, 15 Mar 2026 16:26:03 GMT

Posted by: pumpkinhollow

CRY HAVOC, AND LET SLIP THE DOGS OF WAR.

elcome, esteemed guests, to the Senate Room.

The rules of the game are simple. You have a word over your head that you cannot see, and the same word written on a piece of paper in an envelope that also contains a key. There is a door out of this room. Each key opens the door for only one person. You can see the words above others' heads, but you cannot say them, nor can you say any direct synonyms that might give it away too easily, nor can you spell the word or its synonyms. You must find other ways to describe it to allow the other person to guess. More abstract. Get creative with it.

If you believe you know the word, speak it aloud and open your envelope to retrieve your key. If you are correct, you can leave without incident. If you are wrong, your organs will immediately fail and you will die.

Here are the words each participant has been assigned. Players can use them to refer to other players' characters to help them guess, and you can use them to check your answers when you guess, but you can also OOCly know your answer provided you don't use it to ICly cheat. Good luck.

Agent Connecticut

Fickle

Agni Azimar

Traitor (there is an additional document contained in this envelope)

Aloy

Obstinate

Ancient Fuelweaver

Ruined

Anzu Menelikov

Deceitful

Artemy Burakh

Tainted

Capochin Bastone

Inadequate

Cassandra de Rolo

Cynical

Dahlia Leeds

Insatiable

Daisy Tonner

Merciless

Elias Coldwood

Discarded

Ethan Winters

Insufficient

Felix Gaeta

Imprudent

Hector Monaque

Covetous

Jonathan Sims

Hubristic

Lev/Lyubov Morgenshtern

Weak

Luo Binghe

Alone

Marik Ishtar

Megalomaniacal

Mr. Ant Tenna

Histrionic

Papyrus

Ineffectual

Sasavachi Chunome

Misanthropic

Shen Qingqiu

Pretentious

Simon

Selfish

Violet Vespertine

Cowardly

✦Return to Event ✦

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FEBRUARY EVENT - Dance Into Spring

Sun, 15 Feb 2026 05:54:39 GMT

Posted by: pumpkinhollow

DANCE INTO SPRING

A Wealth of Happiness and Romance…

The sun rises on February 15th, and the whole town is buzzing with excitement. There's a similar excitement in the air on the days of other festivals, surely, as well as Dahlia's annual birthday gala, but something in the air is different today. Like a breath held, a flower waiting to bloom.

It's spent the last few days raining, patches of snow growing smaller and smaller until they are a memory. But yesterday, the sun was out, giving all that water a chance to saturate the earth while freshly-uncovered plants wake to sunlight and stretch toward its rays. Serendipitous. A blessed omen from Serranai herself. A sign that she, as well, is waking from her slumber. The world is alive again. Reborn, in that annual sacred miracle that is the onset of spring.

The Festival Green is decorated to the nines with all manner of fresh flowers---- early blooms and green-house raised. A naked maypole stands at the ready, loose fabric dangling errantly in the breeze. The gates open early, when the sun in her early morning vantage still stares just a bit harshly, still warming up to the idea of being aloft. Partygoers trickle in a few at a time, some eager to be early and others taking their sweet time in getting ready. It isn't until the light of later-morning softens and the world takes on the divine radiance of a sun-struck early spring day that Dahlia Leeds ascends the stairs of the large gazebo in a lush flower crown. A hush falls over the crowd of its own volition, and music begins to play, soft and rising. The procession is about to begin.

Crowning of the Flower Queen

Attendees line up along the pathway of flower petals leading from the festival gate to the gazebo, creating a colorful spectacle with their finery as they peek around each other, trying to get a look at the procession. To the tune of soft and pleasant music, the nominees for Flower Queen begin to file in, claim their prizes, and take their seats.

First comes the honor court--- those nominated who did not manage to clear the first round of voting. They are attended by their "courtiers", the name used for their chosen plus-ones. They come in as a group, tossing ever more flower petals in a hail like confetti and waving to the crowd. Patty Paisley and Kelaiah Voxx ride on the shoulders of Mettaton, who escorts Grace Holloway. Margaret Houlihan and Anya Kovacs carry bouquets of flowers associated with healing, gifted to them by the local medical staff. Ashley Graham, Haley Beckman, Cassandra de Rolo are tasked with carrying banners--- long pennants with floral patterns on them, made of light fabric so that they dance in the breeze as they're carried in. And the youngest contestants, Noelle Holiday and Harrowhark Nonagesimus, bring up the rear, each looking their own flavor of nervous. They and their guests find their seats at the honor-tables circling the base of the gazebo, where a crown of flowers awaits each member at their seat. Then comes the Floral Court, the honored nominees that made it to the second round of the vote. They come in two by two with their courtiers--- Daisy Tonner with Basira Hussein, Valdis with Agni Azimar, Lyubov Morghenschtern with Shen Qingqiu, Zivia Birnbaum with Degas Clayton, Susie Dyneaux with Ralsei, and Carolina Church with Gerry Keay. They make their way down the aisle of the festival green and up to the gazebo. Standing at the top of the short flight of steps is Dahlia Leeds, the previous year's Flower Queen, standing proudly in her blue and white gown beside her own courtier. Gracing each pair with a greeting of “hail and merry meet”, she places a ring of flowers on the head of each Flower Court member who kneels or bows to receive it, while Radar hands each courtier a matching boutonniere or corsage. The last two contestants receive a slightly larger flower crown and an extra prize as well--- a ribbon for being in the top three, decorated with a small flower-shaped metal charm. Susie's is bronze and Carolina's is silver. Once the formalities are complete, each pair files past Dahlia and Radar to take their seats at the high table.

Finally, it is time for the Flower Queen herself to arrive. By process of elimination, many onlookers have already determined the winner, but everyone still holds their breath as they await the arrival of their new Flower Queen.

And there she is. A vision in violet, escorted by North Dakota, is Fever Dream. The face of Town Hall, the hearse driver of choice for Mourner's Night, and a Daughter of Winter chosen by the goddess Mortanne herself. If ever were someone from off-world to deserve the title of "community pillar," none should deserve it more than her. The people have spoken, and they speak again as they erupt into thunderous cheering as their elected Queen appears at last.

As the pair make their way to the steps of the gazebo, a fresh shower of petals rains down upon them as the music swells to greet them. Once there, Dahlia steps down from the top landing, guiding Fever to stand there instead. A willful abdication, allowing the year to change and welcoming what comes next.

“Hail and merry meet.” Dahlia says, unable to contain her thrilled grin as she recites the words. “Today, just as I was one year ago, you have been chosen by the people of our town to be the Flower Queen. It is my honor to present you with gifts befitting a queen.”

Another townsperson passes her a basket, which Dahlia presents to Fever. It contains a number of spring-themed treats--- honey harvested from last spring’s flowers, a bottle of specially crafted sweet festival wine to be consumed on the summer solstice, a candle embedded with dried flowers, a blend of lavender and bergamot tea, a charming floral soap, and a necklace with a pressed forget-me-not inside a clear pendant. There is also a medal hanging around the wine bottle shaped like an orchid bloom, engraved on the back with text. “Flower Queen 16:56 - Pumpkin Hollow - Fever Dream”. Dahlia then passes the somewhat heavy basket off to North to carry--- after all, it’s the Courtier’s job to attend to the Queen!

Then, Dahlia pins a boutonniere to North's lapel, and beneath it, a medal of his own. “Floral Courtier - 16:56 - Dmitri 'North Dakota' Katina”.

“With this sprig of Serannai’s glory, I bestow upon you the honored duty of Courtier to the Flower Queen. Assist her as she needs and ensure that she spends this day as free and joyful as a spring breeze.”

Lastly, Dahlia turns back to Fever and lifts up the crown of flowers from her own head, larger and more elaborate than the others, holding it aloft for a moment before resting it upon Fever’s head.

“With this crown, I pass my title on to you. May it bring you felicity and fortune, so that you may share it with the earth as you put seed to soil.”

Before they all proceed up to the gazebo to join the rest of the Floral Court at their table, Dahlia takes Fever's hand and leans in to whisper to her. "Congratulations, love. You've more than earned it," Dahlia tells her emphatically, kissing her on the cheek. And then all four of them---- this year's Queen, the prior, and each of their courtiers, ascend the steps and take their honored places at the table.

Applause rings out over the crowd, music swells once more, and Merrymeet officially begins. Congratulations to Fever, and all the members of the Floral Court!

Dress to Impress

Generally speaking, the dress code for Merrymeet is garden party formalwear. Appropriate outfits can fall anywhere in the Classic or Lavish categories. Characters here less than 2 months are able to get free rentals if they’d like, but can buy their outfit if they wish. Everyone else is asked to please purchase their outfit (from 300-500B, depending upon complexity).

Short on Brass? Drop by Gourd en Glace before the event and grab yourself a sundae and bring it up to Venka Meridell, the proprietor who also happens to be the local tailor’s daughter. She’ll slip you a coupon for a half-price Merrymeet outfit if you’re willing to taste test one of her unorthodox new ice cream flavors. Her mother, Saraya, will begrudgingly accept these coupons. [Mod Note: Please only take this option if you have 500B or less in your ledger, we are trying to get some of these rich-ass characters to spend their damn money!]

Once you’re all dressed to the nines, please feel free to use the code below to show off your drip in the Fashion Show thread! Please remember that imgur is still not functional in the UK, so use URLs from Pinterest, Snipboard, Catbox, etc. so that no one misses out on your drip. If you got a discounted outfit, you also have to include what weird flavor of ice cream Venka made you taste-test and whether it was good or not.

…In the Golden Afternoon

Springtime Spread

It doesn’t take long for lunch to be brought out, courtesy of some helpful volunteers and the Oak & Iron’s diligent cooking staff. Salads full of spring greens, fresh bread with herbs baked in, puff pastries with fresh cheese and asparagus, egg tarts, chicken sandwiches, and crispy little hashbrowns formed into cups to look like bird nests, each with a devilled egg sitting inside. There are also dozens of little desserts made with flowers and spring berries, like cakes and custards, and even heart-shaped macarons.

And while there is wine being passed around the table, there is also tea. But this isn’t just any tea, and these aren’t just any tea pots. The pots are clear glass, surrounded by ornate silver fixtures, so that you can see the color of the tea and the leaves steeping within. Some are regular tea leaves rolling around in ball strainers while others are blooming floral teas perched in the center of the pots. And best of all, these teapots are enchanted, looking like chubby little tea puppies walking around on four short metal legs. They meander around between dishes on the tables, bumbling up to partygoers to offer their contents and tipping forward with surprising grace to pour tea into cups. They are helpfully labeled with tags tied to their handles, explaining what they contain.

And the teapots aren't the only thing that's been enchanted---- the teas themselves have been blended with some mood enhancers! The intensity of the effects depends on how much you drink and how susceptible to these sorts of things you tend to be, but don't worry--- if you don't like what you got, the drink won't overstay its welcome. Unfortunately, though, these enchantments are a bit experimental, and some of them don't really work as intended…

Well, don't worry too much about it. Surely nothing can go wrong, right? Anyway, the selection available is as follows:

Spiced Apple Blend - A black tea blend with fresh apple slices that makes the drinker feel happy! A great way to bring up the mood if you didn't make it to the festival in the best of spirits.

Orange Blossom Herbal - A delicious floral and citrus tisane that evokes a playful feeling, encouraging jokes and shenanigans along with making the drinker feel a little bit giggly.

Invigorating Green - an energizing green tea that has somewhat mixed effects--- while some may find it perks them up so they can dance longer and party harder, others may find that it provides a bit too much of a zing. The urge to burn off all that energy might be enough to send you for a jog or even a few push-ups, despite your finery, or you may just end up raising your heart rate for a bit.

Steamy Ginseng - for folks looking for a boost to their romance game, this warming tea will have the drinker feeling flirty! Be sweeter, more charming, and more receptive to romance!

Earl Grey, Hot - enjoy a boost of confidence with a strong cup of this classic black tea. You'll be as bold as bergamot!

Calming Chamomile - While this tea is intended to relieve tension, in some cases it will just make the drinker incredibly sleepy.

Pitch Black - this strong breakfast blend was intended to reduce sad feelings in the drinker, but there seems to have been a mishap in the brewing that now causes it to make you sadder. At least the tea is delicious--- it's probably one of the best-tasting teas you've ever had.

Bee's Delight - a bit of a misnomer. While this honey-infused lemon ginger tea was meant to draw on the social prowess of the bees involved in its making, it was accidentally brewed with honey from bees that were very angry with the harvester.

Enjoy any of these with your meal to turn up the mood! While these teas are clearly labeled, it's up to you whether or not you actually read them. Accidents can happen!

Planting Ritual

After the food is served and everyone's had plenty of time to eat, Dahlia calls everyone over to the far side of the Festival Green nearest Town Hall. Fever has a floral-print apron tied over her dress and has Her Majesty's Royal Spade in hand, and she and Dahlia stand in front of a small plot of earth with a row of tulips planted behind little stone plaques. A whole line of them, from nearly half a century of Flower Queens--- Juniper Sweetwater, Mary Dahl, Dahlia Leeds, and now, Fever Dream.

This part of the ceremony is short, just involving Dahlia and Fever saying a brief prayer to Serranai over a new tulip bud, followed by Fever burying it next to the others, which have already begun to sprout for the impending spring. Won't it be exciting to see what color the petals are in a month or two?

Once that concludes, Fever is released from her protective gardening get-up, and the party gets started in earnest. Time to dance, mingle, and enjoy a festival blessedly free of demonic or eldritch intervention. Who knows how many of those we have left?

Dance the Day Away (or whatever else you like!)

Food is a staple of any good Concordian holiday, no matter where on this beautiful planet you may find yourself, but it surely isn't all there is to do at Merrymeet. After all, what's a garden party without a bit of dancing?

Local musicians will be playing throughout the day for group and couple’s dances, including a local partner dance called the Sunrise Waltz and a classic maypole dance that is equal parts party game as it is fertility ritual. Feel free to dance the afternoon away with partners, friends, new acquaintances, and more!

There’s also areas to catch your breath and chat with friends, a chocolate dipping station with a variety of little treats, flower sprouts in tiny pots and premade seed packets as party favors, flower garland braiding areas, and plenty of wine!

Additionally, there are a few tents scattered around the far edges of the green. They're pitched low to the ground, with the floor of them covered in cushions and the upper interiors are strung with flower garlands and silk drapes, creating a very romantic ambiance for couples looking to grab a private moment together away from the crowd. It's the perfect place for a kiss, a proposal, a confession of love--- or anything else that might call for a moment alone. (You’re not supposed to, but if you’re quiet and don’t mind a bit of risk, it wouldn’t be hard to sneak a little naughty fun into your day in these little tents. Just keep it stealthy--- this is an all-ages festival, and you'll get kicked out if you're caught being inappropriate.)

Also, if upon returning to their seats, everyone in town will find an invitation to a bit of an afterparty on the Bluffs, a whole year in the making, right down to the day. (Though in reality, it's several decades overdue.)

Whether this is your first time celebrating this time-honored tradition with us, or you've been with us for all three years, or anywhere in-between, it is our sincere hope that this Merrymeet finds you well and joyful. Take this opportunity to share love, whether that's for your partners, your friends, or something somewhere in the middle, and greet spring with open arms. The festivities will at last draw to a close when the sun begins to set --- the perfect time to head out and grab some dinner, either at home or at unrelated gatherings, wherever you might find them.

Merry meet, merry part, and merry meet again, my friends.

| CONTENT WARNINGS: mood alteration (optional)|

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[Lore Mingle] Singing Songs to the Secrets Behind My Eye, Oh My

Sun, 01 Feb 2026 17:53:12 GMT

Posted by: thethirteenthchild

Who: Dahlia Leeds & the former members of the Ocularum
What: Q&A
When: Post-Kadath
Where: The Oak & Iron
Warning(s): None

( Ashes, ashes, dust to dust, the Devil's after both of us )

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January Event - Escape from Unknown Kadath

Mon, 19 Jan 2026 00:40:44 GMT

Posted by: pumpkinhollow

Escape from Unknown Kadath

Sleep

How many times now has it been?

I suppose it depends how long you've been here. This could very well be your first such excursion. But for many of you, it's an all too familiar circumstance.

You crawl into bed after a long day of work or… interpersonal drama, or whatever else you adorable, pointless little weirdos get up to in your free time. You close your eyes, and drift off into a deep slumber, far, far from the worries of a harsh and troubled world. Or so you thought. You wake to find yourself somewhere new, whether physically transported or simply trapped in some horrible lucid nightmare, and you are subjected to new and unimaginable horrors you never dared to dream back on that wretched little island. You are at the mercy of who or whatever brought you there, and their whims, or your own wits.

And so I ask again, "offworlder," how many times has it been now?

How many times have we met?

Would you even know?

Oh, goodness, where are my manners? I really should introduce myself. I have a number of names--- the Crawling Chaos, the Caliban Storm, the Bloody Tongue, Kayne--- would you believe I've even been called "Mr. Tiddles"? People are just so creative. But my proper, gods-given name is Nyarlathotep.

It's alright, I know you can't pronounce it. Why don't you just call me the name you usually do?

What do you mean, "which name"? Oh, come on now. Surely you've figured it out by now. Here's a hint. It starts with an N…

But there will be time for all that later, my pets. I have splendid news for you. All of you have been such good little playthings for the past several years that I've decided you deserve a holiday. I've brought you to a destination near and dear to my heart, for a dream getaway you surely won't forget.

Let me give you the tour.

Dream

{ CONTENT WARNINGS: Unreality }

The palace of the gods of old sits high above the great city. This hidden metropolis bustles in your ignorance, but is all but dead with you here to perceive it. Those brave enough to chase the rumors of its existence will find it perched high in steep and baseless mountains of sheer moon rock, with no ground at the edges and separated by a chasm with no end. These mountains, as austere as they are impossible, reach achingly like broken fingers towards a hungry, prismatic sky and can be found in that dreadful space where reality gnaws at the edges of your unconscious mind. The name of the city, spoken of in whispers exchanged among ghouls and cats, is Kadath.

I'm still workshopping that Airbnb listing. What do you think, too much?

Well, it doesn't matter for now. You all are the first guests in quite a long time, and our helpful attendants are just so eager to meet you! But more on that later.

Within the palace you'll find such splendid amenities as a banquet hall suited for the highest number of guests your rudimentary mind can realistically conceive of, a stairwell that always begins but does not end, a sprawling courtyard garden full of plants that refuse to accept a shape with physical boundaries and a wishing well that does not care about you, a constantly shifting maze of impossible hallways, the inner sanctum of all knowledge which shall never be written, and the throne room of the gods.

Your room, regardless of its location within the palace, will be fitted with a canopy bed whose gossamer drapes ebb and flow as if submerged in water, and a balcony that looks out onto that starving sky which beckons to you, begging that you may stare into it long enough for it to crawl into your eyes and become you. Such trappings, as it were, are yours to explore at your leisure.

Now, it is worth noting that we are not used to hosting guests as reality-impaired as yourselves, and thus our accommodations may take some getting used to. For one, you won't find an exit. And for another, you may find that your subconscious influences the way you perceive the… aesthetics of the palace, in ways your fellow guests may not see. The layout is also utterly indescribable, and thus you will only find anything if you were meant to, and you may have to be open to means of traversing spaces that are beyond your normal idea of what is possible.

Such is the way of dreams, no? Trying to make sense of it would be futile for a mind that is so accustomed to the rigid limitations of wakefulness, truth, and sanity. Although whether you realize you're dreaming may vary. I wouldn't recommend considering it too carefully if you want to enjoy your time here.

"Go home"? Now why in the world would I tell you how to do that?

Chaos

{ CONTENT WARNINGS: unreality, wrongness, faceless figures, memory loss }

Now, as I've said, each of our infinite guest rooms is outfitted with the same luxuries. Unlike Aster, I do not play favorites. I cherish you all equally! Most, but not all of you, will find yourselves waking there. Leaving your room and getting downstairs is entirely possible but does require you to traverse the upstairs hallways. Those can be a bit of a labyrinth. (Side note, there is a rather splendid film by the same name which really captures the same energy of the space. You really should watch it if you’re ever in the appropriate time period.) Some may find the journey more arduous than others, depending upon where you are attempting to go, but there's truly no one single right way to do anything around here.

In the banquet hall, the table will lengthen and food will appear itself as needed, but very seldom as desired. If you have a normal, healthy relationship with food and social gatherings, it will be perfectly fine. Probably.

You may also stumble across the broad glass doors that lead out into the sunlit courtyard. Ancient, impossible architecture sprawls out in every direction for what appears to be miles, far further than should be physically possible. The plant life within the garden is as abundant as it is strange and malformed, rife with fasciated blooms or leaves with no borders, like something generated by the hallucinating mind of a machine built to trick you into believing it can think like you. You can wander for hours, finding dream-like beauty beyond compare, forgetting yourself. Become lost in memories, chase buried desires, or simply lose yourself completely. There's a well at the center. You have a coin. Toss it in, make a wish. Whose voice do you yearn to hear? Who do you wish to be? What material thing do you desire? Do you even remember after travelling this far? Whatever bastardization the indifferent spirit here bestows, it will not make you happy.

Ah, you got me waxing poetic again, how dare you! Now let's see, what else… Ah, yes, the ballroom! You're just in time for our ball. I do know how you Pumpkin Hollowites love your fancy galas, and I'd already imagined you up some stunning clothing---- what? Did you think you'd be running through a nightmare castle, chased by incomprehensible horrors, in your work clothes? Where's the fun in that? Pardon me for a bit of glamour alongside the unreality and bloodshed.

In any case, you'll find the ballroom beautifully adorned and brimming with waltzing dancers wearing pallid, featureless masks. Don a mask of your own, and lose your face in the crowd--- there are secrets being spoken by unseen lips on the dance floor. Some of them are yours.

Then, in the heart of the castle, you will find the inner sanctum of the gods. An archive, mostly, full of reliquaries and books. Objects, holy and unholy, lost to time or only ever seen in dreams. Things conceived of but never built. Volumes upon volumes of knowledge that will never be written nor read, incomprehensible to mortal minds or simply just beyond their reach. The Necronomicon once lived here, before I gifted it to my followers. Now that it has been held in human hands, it can never reside on these shelves again. And there are things here that would very much like to prevent this from happening to the other books and artefacts stored here.

And the last room I shall bother to mention, as there are hundreds on just the ground floor, is the throne room. There is only one thing to find there.

Now, before we move on to what there is to find in the subterranean floors of the palace, I would like to ask your forgiveness for the small vermin infestation. Wretched little creatures the size of handbags running around the halls, primarily on this floor but also on others, who deliberately dreamed themselves here when they knew you'd all be coming. I asked my useless staff to try to catch them, but these blithering idiots only managed to lock up one of the smelly, obnoxious little blighters. So if you see some pointy-eared beast calling himself "Fluffy" or some nonsense like that, do let a member of our staff know immediately. And don't listen to a word he says.

Madness

{ CONTENT WARNINGS: insanity, potential for gore, cult references, potential for claustrophobia, heights, entrapment, graphic descriptions of eldritch body horror }

Now, the basement is where things really get interesting. Sure, the upper floors have luxurious balls and banquets, lavish gardens, spiral staircases for running up and down dramatically or thrilling sword fights, and all the amenities your heart desires. But the basement, that's where all the drama lives. The secrets a family keeps, the skeletons in their closet, their long forgotten treasures, the poorly stored holiday decorations that someone is going to get yelled at for next year, the cult ritual spaces---- you know, the good stuff.

Well, maybe your family doesn't keep cult ritual spaces, but mine certainly does. Dozens of them, take your pick! Torture chambers, well-appointed meeting rooms with austere wine goblets and tapestries on the walls, amphitheaters for grand gatherings of beings of immense size, dark rooms with rune circles and black candles on hardwood floors, and more besides. Why, there's even a blood pit. I recently had it remodeled, as well. Holds more blood now. But I digress.

Given that many of these rooms hold forbidden knowledge and eldritch relics, or maybe even some of my relatives (more on that shortly), you may also carelessly wander into trap rooms. Some of them are cleverly engineered puzzles that those with the mettle to solve can escape. Some are simply designed for violence, meant to crush or stab or maim or devour. Some do little more than hold you, a dark hole in which to be forgotten. Perhaps another will find your same pit, and you can die slowly together, watching each other's bodies unravel as time marches agonizingly on.

Speaking of places to be held, some lucky wanderers may encounter our pride and joy--- the dungeons. Rows and rows of intricately structured cells, winding around each other in such a way that it is impossible to tell what is a cell and what is the walkway just from looking! How does one prevent oneself from wandering into a cage and becoming trapped in its iron bars? How do you know you're not already in one? I do love a good mystery. Presently, the occupants within are meager, but once these very walls hosted hundreds of prisoners who dreamed of things their minds were not meant to see. Just as you do now.

The basements of Castle Kadath also contain some unfinished spaces. Caverns, if you will. Many are quite beautiful, filled with gravity-defying rock formations, glowing crystals, and pools of the clearest water you've ever seen. Though it may not be your own face you see in its mirror-like surface. Of course, not all of these caverns are peaceful, nor easily traversed. From narrow rock bridges to flooded passageways, you may have to risk some discomfort to proceed. But there are many possible rewards for doing so, whether that's safety from that which threatens your life, a reunion with a loved one, or an object of power that may even follow you home from dreaming.

Those luckier still (or perhaps unluckier, depending on how you look at it) may find enlightenment beyond their wildest dreams in the depths of the mountain.

Deep, deep within the belly of the old stone of dreams and moonlight, there exists the mouth to primordial chaos incarnate. The world turned inside out, the infinity of space buried within the cold stone of the world beneath unknown Kadath. The center of all infinity. The birthplace of the gods. No gods that you know, none that you dare worship, for just the sound of their names upon your fragile lips could be enough to crack reality. Cause the world to bend and break around their impossible forms just to make way for their incomprehensible will. Things like me, but not like me. Gibbering genius-fools with vast minds so full of everything and nothing that they are beyond thought or spoken word or the weak and limiting binds of coherency. And residing there, in the gulping maw of all that is and ever will be and never was and cannot become, one god still whispers, screams, loud and voiceless, accompanied by the pounding of drums like blood in the ears and the shrill and incessant whine of broken flutes. His form twists and churns, endless tendrils and hungering mouths coiling in on themselves and suffocating in his own bulk as new mouths and new tendrils and new blind and vacant eyes are born, endlessly folding like batter in an industrial mixer and made of vile and putrid matter that should not exist at all, much less as flesh. The few that have known him have called him many things, his collection of epithets even greater than my own. The Lord of All, the Primal Chaos, the Downbreaker, the Deep Dark, the Cold One. The Blind Idiot God. I personally just call him "Dad," these days.

But you, my privileged guests. You are here as visitors! Friends of the family! You, my dears, may simply call him Azathoth. I am sure he'd be delighted by your visit. It will surely be one you remember for a long, long time.

Oh, also, while I'm thinking about it--- should you need to return upstairs for any reason, do take care which staircase you take. There are a number of them that always begin but never end. I'd hate to see you waste hours climbing a thousand steps only to look back and find yourself still on the third one. But it's impossible to tell which ones will do this, or when the effect will pass, or when you'll be able to find another staircase. This place is a bit of a maze. Perhaps you should just climb a while more, see what happens.

Blood

{ CONTENT WARNINGS: eldritch body horror, death, Nyarlathotep literally suicide baiting you in the last paragraph }

And now, my beautiful dreamers, we have reached the finale of our grand tour. I'm sure you all feel so terribly fortunate to spend some indiscriminate amount of time as the houseguests of the Old Gods. Before we part ways, I do feel it pertinent that I should issue a few… safety warnings.

In addition to my staff, which is comprised predominantly of faceless mannequin men and bats, my niece's adorable children by and large have the run of the place. Shub-Niggurath, the Black Goat of the Woods, Mother of a Thousand Young, is the daughter of my sibling. And as her name suggests, she has a rather extensive number of whippersnappers--- though I think at this point "a thousand" is a bit of a misnomer, as I believe their number is more in the hundred-thousands by now. Not all of them are home, lucky for you.

Shub-Niggurath's children are so varied in appearance and size that I shan't bother to describe them individually. They are bestial things of darkness and hatred, borrowing the visages of the beasts of Earth and Concorde and worlds like them. Bears, birds, tigers, oxen, things with teeth and talons to gore you with, blended with--- goats, mostly. Caprine things, often with cephalopod bits mixed in, body parts that no beast should have and which have no names, just clever descriptors. Or occasionally just too many of the normal anatomical bits you might expect. You get the idea.

Their motivation, when they locate you, is simple. They will chase you single-mindedly through whatever maze you've found yourself in, regardless of what they have to destroy to do so. This will continue until you kill them, outrun them, or until they catch you. If they catch you, they will kill and eat you in the most excessively grotesque and excruciating way they can manage. Fairly straightforward, no?

By now I'm sure you're all asking, "but Nyarlathotep, what happens if I die? I'm outside of the barrier, but also this is some sort of dream. And Castle Kadath is dangerous! There's so many traps and creatures! What becomes of me if I succumb?"

Well, my pets, fear not. Because this is a dream, you cannot truly die. You will feel every moment of the act of dying in glorious detail, right down to the moment your final breath leaves your pathetic, fragile frame. In fact, you will likely find yourself far more conscious of your state than you would be for a normal death, no longer plagued with the delirium of blood loss or organ failure, completely cognizant of every breaking thing in your body until you can no longer perceive anything at all. But, as soon as it's over, you'll pop right back up in your room, right as rain and ready for another go. Now, your corpse may end up left behind if it can be sufficiently useful in tormenting your fellow dreamers, but you'll be none the wiser in most cases.

Of course, this is only relevant if something actively kills you. There are certain things you can do to break or alter this particular cycle. No, of course I'm not going to tell you what they are. Goodness, doesn't anyone enjoy a little mystery anymore? I swear, it's almost like you're reading this as some sort of explanation for what you're meant to be doing for the month or something. What am I supposed to be, a Dungeon Master?

Alright, fine, I'll give you one piece of advice. Get experimental. Try dying as many ways as you can think of! You could even try killing yourself if you're feeling spicy. The castle is your oyster.

In any case, dear visitors, this is where I bid you adieu. Have fun on your little adventure, you've had a painfully dull December and you're in for an equally droll Merrymeet, so this is the most excitement you'll get 'till the Ides. I'll plop you back into your quaint little reality whenever I feel sufficiently entertained, so do try to keep things amusing for me, won't you? And feel free to come pay me a visit if you're in the area! We'll do brunch.

See you soon!

Farewell

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December Event - Candlelight Revelry

Fri, 19 Dec 2025 16:56:28 GMT

Posted by: pumpkinhollow

Candlelight Revelry

The Longest Nights

{ CONTENT WARNINGS: grief, especially in a winter/December context, exclusive to Mourner's Night. All others should be mostly cw free! }

It is always interesting to consider that across many cultures, and indeed across many universes, there is something that is shared across numerous groups of people from many, many different backgrounds, and that is the concept of winter holidays. Not every culture has them, of course, and they vary in importance, involvement, reason, and length pretty wildly. But it's fun to think about the fact that all kinds of humanoids all across time and space looked at that bleak stretch of time between the end of November to the beginning of March and thought to themselves, "we should put some kind of party in there so we don't all lose our minds." The people of the Emerald Isles, of which Marrow Isle is one, are much the same in this regard.

Since its inception, Pumpkin Hollow has celebrated the two main winter holidays common among the various nations across Northern Leviathan, which are Mourner's Night and Givingstide. Additionally, it's become a bit of a new tradition in Pumpkin Hollow to join in offworlder celebrations, such as Hanukkah, Solstice, and Christmas--- often with more being added each year as newcomers arrive with their own traditions! And somehow, each year, it seems as though for a few weeks all of the evils take a rest as well. Is it because this time of year is simply too sacred for them to create trouble and pain? Or is it because the weavers of this world are too busy booking family dinners, plane flights, and road trips to subject their little toys to more horrors? It is one of the great mysteries of the universe, isn't it?

Anyway, here's wishing you a cozy, restful, blissful holiday season, regardless of your traditions. May this next year be just as full of adventure and fun, with far less trials and tribulations. (For the players. The characters should continue to endure the torment nexus, of course.)

Local Customs

MOURNER'S NIGHT | December 10th

Nightfall comes early this time of year, so it isn't too long of a wait for the sky to grow fully dark. Dressed in mourning clothes and warm coats, the people of the town gather in little clusters in the streets, in near silence. Lanternbearers dressed like undertakers carry tall posts with blazing lanterns hanging from them, faces painted like skulls. There hasn't been a true and final death in Pumpkin Hollow for years now, but that doesn't stop the people here from holding their annual vigil for those that were lost before the barrier.

The lanternbearers guide the groups through town, converging on Main Street, where they are awaited by a long-bodied black carriage drawn by black horses with white skeleton-markings painted on them. A hearse. In the driver's seat, a woman in a tight black dress and a mistletoe-patterned black veil, which gives only the smallest glimpses of her pale hair. It's Fever, acting in the role of Mortanne.

Very few words are exchanged as this procession makes its way through the cold to Fall's Promise Cemetery, where by the light of candles and lanterns alone, Reverend Clayton retells the story of Mortanne's final kindness. Those who pass away are met where they find their end by a horse-drawn hearse, where they ride with Death and recount their life until they reach their destination--- the afterlife they've earned. A mournful hymn is sung that seems to make the sky itself ache, and then…

Silence.

Stay at the candle light vigil for as long as you want. Remember those who you lost back home, honor those who passed away before you arrived but whose influence you still feel every day, or simply pay respects to yourself. You died to be here, after all. And then, when the cold starts biting too much to bear, part ways, and find your way home with a candle in hand. You will surely be left with much to think about.

Those who gravitate towards the outskirts, however, or linger after most have gone, may spy another woman in a black dress and veil. For a moment, it would be easy to mistake her as Fever--- the resemblance is striking. But then you see much longer, stark white hair spilling out of the bottom of the veil, and feel a gaze meet yours that feels like it's calling you home.

GIVINGSTIDE | December 22nd

Ah, Givingstide! After the somber observance of Mourner's Night, you only have to wait eleven days to have some proper winter-themed fun!

Held on the day after the longest night of the year, this holiday is a "thank goodness, we made it" tradition that celebrates the beginning of the sun's return and the first step in the journey towards spring. All across numerous countries in Concorde's Northern Hemisphere, communities gather in large communal spaces to eat, drink, and be warm together while exchanging gifts. And for Pumpkin Hollow, that takes place in the Oak & Iron, the beloved tavern where most spend their first nights on the island.

A massive feast is held, where the tavern itself, local restaurants, and amateur chefs collaborate to create a menu of warming, hearty dishes. Soups and stews, pasta, roasted meat, bread, root vegetable dishes, and sweets galore are served alongside hot cider, cocoa, coffee, tea, mulled wine, and mead. Paper horses and snowflakes line the walls, and boughs of pine and holly create beds for skulls on tables and above the fireplace. A miniature sleigh is set up in the center of the room, piled high with gifts that everyone placed in it upon their arrival. Once everyone has gotten their food, the mayor and Dahlia take turns plucking parcels from the pile and reading off who they are for so as to hand them out. Although some do prefer to give the gifts directly. (The mayor, for once, looks relaxed.)

With all the gifts passed out, songs are sung and instruments played in groups while others dance or sit by the fire. Some will go out to play in the snow, and by the end of the night, more than a dozen snowmen will have popped up outside the tavern. Others still will remain inside, basking in the warmth of being among their community. Children play with toys, adults laugh, desserts are overindulged in, and all is well.

OFFWORLD TRADITIONS

Winter Holidays from Around the Universe

The interfaith space within the Temple of Sacred Roots stays busy this time of year! Since most local traditions are celebrated outside the temple, many of the main areas are offered to the pursuit of offworld religious observances for much of December.

Hanukkah is up first among the larger celebrations, running from December 14th through the 22nd this year. The island's Jewish population consists primarily of Anzu, Lev/Lyubov, and Zivia, though they'll warmly invite friends and family to join in on the festivities.

Christmas, of course, is on December 25th, though the preceding evening is also a busy time. Despite being a Pumpkin Hollow native, Dahlia Leeds has partners who observe the holiday, as well as a gaggle of young housemates and a television who are all very enthusiastic about Christmas. As such, she's made the decision to host a fairly well-appointed and cozy Christmas Eve party in her home (though she largely allows Radar and the teenagers to select the guest list). Dress in your Christmas best and have dinner at Leeds Estate before proceeding to the Temple for midnight mass! Non-partygoers are invited to attend the ceremony by candlelight as well, as usual. Christmas Day celebrations vary by household!

But for those who don't have anything in particular to do on the afternoon of the 25th, a recent town addition is also hosting a celebration for the Feast of the Winter Star from her own home world. Those who signed up can participate in the "secret gift exchange" organized by Haley. But you don't need to be in the exchange to come and have fun! Light and decorate a holiday tree in the snow, enjoy a potluck with friends new and old, and enjoy some stargazing afterwards--- it's a perfect way to cap off the day, whether you're incorporating it into your own holiday or just there to have a nice time.

Other holidays celebrated throughout the month are:

Saturnalia on the 17th, celebrated by Gaeta
Winter's Crest on the 20th, celebrated by Cassandra
Dongzhi on the 21st, celebrated by Shen Qingqiu alongside his found family
Mittvinter on the 21st, celebrated by Hector, Capochin, Godpoke, Patty, and their found family and close friends
The Birth of Hathor on the 23rd, celebrated by Marik
The Winter Solstice celebration on the 25th, celebrated by Sorceress and Wizard
and Gyftmas on the 25th, celebrated by Mettaton and Papyrus

And of course there's New Years Eve on the 31st, celebrated by both locals and a majority of offworlders! Share some holiday cheer with your friends from all across the multiverse and take some time to get to know how your neighbor spends the season this year, and cap this year off with a wonderful, festive bang!

Happy Holidays!

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If I'm Out of Line, Just Show Me the Door [CLOSED]

Mon, 15 Dec 2025 13:55:24 GMT

Posted by: ownperson

Who: Agent South Dakota (ownperson) & Agent North Dakota (gooddefense)
What: Unresolved tension boils over
When: Mid-December, pre holidays
Where: North's farm, Northwest Hollow
Warning(s): Excessive alcohol/alcohol abuse, ongoing mental health crises, discussion of betrayal/fratricide by proxy, possible references to past emotional abuse/neglect, others added as necessary

( I promise you, I won't come here no more )

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Whoa, Tillie, Take Your Time | Grace Holloway | Open

Sun, 14 Dec 2025 23:35:12 GMT

Posted by: deepbluerevue

Who: Grace (deepbluerevue) and Open
What: Performances and rehearsals around Pumpkin Hollow
When: December 1st to 19th
Where: Pumpkin Hollow’s performance venues and other

( Whoa, Tillie, lay ‘em down )

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Like a Poem Said by a Lady in Red

Mon, 08 Dec 2025 03:12:28 GMT

Posted by: redlightgreenlight

Who: Valdis and Open
What: Still trying to deal with Life
When: December
Where: Paradesium and around Pumpkin Hollow
Warning(s): In Headers

( You Hear the Last Few Words of Your Life )

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Cold And Lonely December [Open]

Fri, 05 Dec 2025 17:44:38 GMT

Posted by: lordoftheozarks

Who: Erik & Open
What: Picking up the pieces now that Max is gone
When: December (or we can backdate to November)
Where: All over town
Warnings: Topics of loss and grief abound
( Oh, how long has it been? I don't know )

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November Event - Double Trouble

Sun, 23 Nov 2025 01:11:04 GMT

Posted by: pumpkinhollow

Double Trouble

The Dance of Celestine Begins

Ah, the Dance of Celestine! A festival in reverence of the Mother of Autumn and Sky, where everyone is asked to climb to the highest available point and spend a day outdoors cooking, dancing, singing, and enjoying the fall weather. The third one since offworlders began to come to the island, and what is hopefully a much-needed reprieve after the troubled end to October. The time around All Hallow’s Eve is always difficult, but the invasion of the Dread Powers of Fear was a particularly intense and difficult time. Many more people are staying home from the event than usual.

On the other hand, it was Celestine who called many to safety on the top of Crane’s Ridge, and others still feel particularly motivated to pay her gratitude.

So as Mother Autumn’s season makes its final descent, enjoy the last few weeks of trees bursting with vivid color, catch one more good crisp autumn breeze, and chase the sky with your neighbors. Ascend Crane’s Ridge on foot or by train to embrace the great wild blue. It’s going to be a beautiful day.

Led through the mist by the milk-light of moon, all that was lost is revealed

As you approach the main gathering area for the Dance of Celestine, you’ll notice that there are many mushrooms around this year. This shouldn’t surprise anyone who was in the safe zone that was here last month, as it quickly became apparent that mushrooms would sprout wherever the goddess spent any significant amount of time. Since greeting people as they arrived was very much at the top of her priorities, the areas where people might arrive are naturally covered in the things. Chanterelles and morels, boletes and oyster mushrooms, even chicken of the woods on nearby trees, a delicious selection of edible mushrooms can be found all over.

Among them, however, are little red-capped toadstools with white flecks. Adorable, but well-known for being toxic, and thus meant to be left alone. Some of them curiously grow in extremely obvious rings, and the superstitious among the town will surely know better than to step within. However, there are many “rings” that are not so obvious--- sparse, misshapen, or just too large to realize they’re growing in a circular pattern.

Many will be perfectly capable of avoiding the rings, either by complete chance and without even realizing they were there in the first place, or with a bit of care. But others, whether they fall for the obvious trap or happen upon a more deceptive one, will find themselves temporarily transported. Not to a pocket dimension of unimaginable horror created by Nyarlathotep or a shard of Hell devised by a demon, but to a place of wonder, filled with pink puffy clouds and soft amber skies, waving purple grass or pastel colored sands, vibrant neon jungles or forests of alabaster trees with glass leaves. This beautiful place made of magic and dreamstuff is a slice of the Feywilds. Dangerous? Maybe. But certainly not in the same way as any place you’ve been before. Before you, a ruin. An ancient temple or castle. And apparently the only way forward is through. But you are not alone---- you were brought here with one other. And only together can you find your way back to Marrow Isle.

---------

For this event, all participating characters must be paired up with one other character, and inside the temple will be a magical puzzle for them to solve in order to advance. It can be any sort of puzzle, something simple or complicated, and the details of what physical actions are being taken to solve it can be sort of handwaved if you are having trouble designing something. The puzzle in and of itself isn’t important. The key gameplay element will be that you need to have an important discussion in order to complete the puzzle and escape the Feywilds. The primary concept for this was that it'd be between two characters who have existing CR and something long overdue to discuss--- repressed feelings, unresolved conflicts, long kept secrets. But it can also be used to create CR by pairing off characters who have something meaningful in common to discuss, closely guarded secrets that they need a neutral party to talk to, or might have valuable advice for the other. Feel free to do whatever you like with it, as long as it's two characters who have something of value to discuss that would further their character development.

The intention here is that each character will only have ONE partner puzzle thread, in the interest of keeping thread loads light as we enter a season of heavy travel and continue to backtag meatier events. It’s technically fine to have multiples if you have a reason for a character to go back a second time, but we strongly encourage you to keep things light--- you can always have more threads at the party itself! Be nice to yourself and to your inbox, you’ve worked hard!

Once you reach some sort of conclusion or catharsis (which doesn’t necessarily have to be positive), the characters will be deposited back on the mountainside with very little real time lost, and can enjoy the festival itself in peace. Feel free to come away from the Feywilds with some innocuous souvenir, though it should not be something large or that provides any sort of power-up. Just some silly trinket or weird food, please, and do not kidnap or bottle any gnomes or pixies. You also do not have to participate in this part of the event at all, if you’d like to bypass it. Thank you! Have fun, or don’t!

Our long bygone burdens, mere echoes of the spring, but where have we come, and where shall we end?

Once you arrive at the party on the peak of Crane’s Ridge, you find that the short, step-like layers of the mountaintop are dotted with tents, left up here in a large storage area specifically for this festival. It’s fairly commonplace for people to spend the night here, as the festival runs late into the night so as to honor Mother Celestine under the light of her immense cosmos. There are also booths all around, cooking and serving food, preparing drinks, handing out handmade flower crowns and long ribbons on dowel rods for dancing with. And in the center of it all, a massive bonfire. Celestine, after all, is the goddess of the hearth among other things, and so the fire roars throughout the night. Musicians play and sing folk music, and people dance. All is well.

For the past few years, the Dance has been met with clear skies, but this year it gets a bit more overcast towards mid-afternoon. By the time evening draws near, a light rain dances over the festival, but no one seems disappointed. It’s not even raining hard enough to put out the bonfire, and the food booths are covered. So while some people retreat to their tents to wait out the mild rain, others dance beneath it, soaking their festival clothes and flinging raindrops with their ribbons. Besides, who would the Mother of Sky be without a bit of weather?

If dreams can’t come true, then why not pretend?

The rain clears up just in time to catch the tail end of the sunset cutting rich orange slices through the remaining clouds. Towels are distributed, and festivities continue undisturbed under the starlight. The three pastel moons of Concorde can be seen playing peekaboo through whatever cloud cover lingers. Cadence is full, in all her rosy glory, and Endurance and Silence are both crescents at opposing ends. Two thin smiles of light in waxing blue and waning white. Stars glimmer passionately overhead, as if they are just as thrilled to be dancing with you as you are with them.

Among the partygoers, there is a woman. Last year, she lingered on the fringes, an outsider. This year, she seems to float on the moonbeams caught in leftover raindrops in the grass, the heart of the festival. Her gown is shimmering, as golden as the firelight, and her eyes are as silver as Silence. Starlight showers her dark skin in a thousand kisses, and the braids in her hair, once adorned with raindrop charms, have been traded out for a long, massive, fluffy ponytail that floats like cloudstuff behind her. Her coily bangs have been carefully styled to resemble swooping sideswept bangs, and a golden cuff cinches the ponytail upward.

If you want to greet Celestine, you can find her anywhere. Dancing on the grass, plucking and roasting mushrooms, or basking serenely in the glow of the fire. Would you like to ask her for a dance?

For help looking for a partner, check out the sign-up sheet!

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there's a stranger in my eyes again [November/post-event catch-all]

Tue, 18 Nov 2025 01:37:44 GMT

Posted by: incomingchoppers

Who: Radar O'Reilly (incomingchoppers) & YOU!
What: Radar's fine. Everything's fine. :)
When: Throughout November
Where: Town Hall, the Leeds Estate, Baker Ranch, and the Temple
Warning(s): Some descriptions + discussion related to the Fears, especially Slaughter, Flesh, and Corruption; specific warnings will be on individual prompts/tags

( i swear to god i don't know him )

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