hereticofthewilds: playby: Amanda Arcuri (Default)
[personal profile] hereticofthewilds
(I'm taking some cues from our last NPC handover, here, so thanks Schnikeys for the idea!)

Wave, Blue here. As most everyone know, we sadly lost Meghan from the game recently due to IRL circumstances and since she was running Elsie, I offered to step up and take over. This is a little bit intimidating, even as someone who's already a mod, as I've never run a plot NPC before, and Elsie has a bunch of history, but I'm going to do my damnedest!

I will be starting fresh threads wise, but I still have a lot of reading to do. So it might be a minute before Elsie is fully present again, especially in a plot-serving capacity, but that's where you all come in because I would greatly benefit from a summary of key CR and links to important threads!

My general plan is to have her absence since September primarily explained by her retreating to her tree and being somehow kept separate from everyone during the Kadath event, and hopefully have her pop up in a limited capacity at Merrymeet. From there, I'll ease into things.

I do run a pretty full roster, as people probably know, so I don't plan to overwhelm myself, but I do want to have her available for CR development, plot notes and will obviously make special effort wherever the Fae come in.

TL;DR: Let me know below if your character had CR with Elsie and if you have them accessible, links to threads would be great! I will backread as much as I can over the next couple weeks on my own, either way.
thetombkeeper: (037)
[personal profile] thetombkeeper
Image
You think you've private lives, think nothing of the kind
There is no true escape, I'm watching all the time


As Nyarlathotep's newly appointed Cult Leader, Marik's going to be people watching more than ever. He's always been an odd one, especially during large gatherings, where he'll simply stand on the sidelines and watch everyone. He may not be able to watch through the eyes of a person like he did when in possession of the Millennium Rod but he hasn't let that stop him. When viewing people, Marik studies their body language, listens to the tone even if he can't hear the full conversation, reads their expressions, stuff like that.

The Dark Lord asks that his new stooge servant be on the lookout people who are easily persuaded or of an unstable mind.

This is where you all come in. ♥

Would you like your character to be watched/investigated/possibly manipulated by Marik?

It can be as something simple as him hearing rumors or the tomb keeper conveniently appearing in the same locations as your character. If you'd prefer something more involved, I'm all for it! Just let me know in the comments or on discord if you'd like your character/s to potentially be a candidate for the wonderful Cult of the Crawling Chaos. You can write a little blurb of stuff he might here/see/learn that he can report back to Nyarly or we can even thread stuff out!
pumpkinhollow: (Default)
[personal profile] pumpkinhollow
Monthly Plotting Post | January
Woah, it's February already! Through snowstorms, capitalism, political nightmares, seasonal depression, and more, we persevere towards spring as the world gets ever-brighter with the return of the sun. I'm so proud of all of you for what you've gotten through <3 (It's Imbolc today and I'm sentimental, sue me ;P )

Anyway, we're gonna try to keep February a little light as we roll out of a hefty event in January that many folks are still enjoying, and in preparation for shit to get very real in March!

WINTER TDM
December - February
The Winter TDM is live for one more month! Take some time to play around on there and enjoy the market, sleigh rides, ice skating, or see if you can't catch a flying horse rustler! ICly, Jean Jacket will have vacated the premises by Merrymeet. Also, this is a great time to start thinking about things you'd like to see in the upcoming Spring TDM! Should we bring back speed dating? What flavor of evil flowers should we do this time?

FEBRUARY EVENT - Dance into Spring
February 15th
Merrymeet! A celebration of the onset of spring, a holiday of romance, fertility, rebirth, and renewal. We've been voting for our potential Flower Queen for a bit now and we'll be starting round 2 of voting with our highest scorers. Because we're between Kadath and the fall of Eligos, this event will be kept fairly light, though we were considering adding an element or two of low-stakes comic mischief just to keep things interesting. If anyone has suggestions, let me know! But otherwise, it'll just be a lovely outdoor garden party with more opportunities to dress up your barbies all fancy.

CURRENT METAPLOT
July 19th
There's a couple of things to go over with regard to the current metaplot! The first is that with Nyarlathotep's identity at last revealed as Dr. Neil West, West Dream Analytics is now fully closed and no longer accessible, as is the Ocularum's original base of operations. (Well, you can still get in the meeting room, if you break down the locked door, but all you'll find is a cheeky note. This information will be immediately available to all Ocularum members, and passing it along can be handwaved where appropriate. Good thing we have a new therapist in town! Definitely drop by Dr. Harvey's clinic if you're in the market.

Additionally, since Meghan regrettably had to drop out of PH due to some life circumstances, we are currently in the process of transferring playership of Elsie over to Blue. Meghan graciously provided really extensive notes, but it's still a work in progress, so Elsie will be temporarily out of commission but returning soon!

And lastly, another heads-up that we will be enjoying Eligos' final appearance fittingly over the Ides of March. Because the demon-killing events tend to be extremely involved, this event will cover both March and April with our next new event arriving in early May. It was decided that Mulcahy will be the one leading the charge.
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[personal profile] pumpkinhollow
Monthly Plotting Post | January
Happy New Year, all!

We've had a super busy beginning of the year here in Pumpkin Hollow, doing a number of housekeeping things already and making some changes that we think will benefit the game, with some tidying of mod pages and a very exciting Calloway's refresh on the way. The team is working really hard to bring you guys a fresh and shiny 2026!

We've had some time off from major plot developments, but with the fall of Eligos just around the bend, we only have a few more months before shit starts getting real again. And now that we've had a pretty chill November and December, it's time for things to get meaningfully spooky again! Buckle in--- January's going to be a wild ride!

WINTER TDM
December - February
Since the amount of characters TDMing/apping in has been pretty reduced these past few months, we've elected to spare ourselves a little trouble and stop reprinting the TDM on a monthly basis. We can always bring back the practice if it feels necessary later, but for the moment we're putting a pause on it and just posting each quarterly TDM once!

We have another two months with the Winter TDM, so if you'd like to check out any of those prompts, you still have time! We also have LOTS of new friends with toplevels this time around, so make sure to say hi! (Right after I say we've had more sparse new prospective players, of course. We'll see if the trend continues!)
JANUARY EVENT - Escape from Unknown Kadath
January 17th
For three years running now, our January event has been dream themed in some capacity. Our first year featured a dream of an alternate timeline where everyone was native to the planet of Concorde and transported to Pumpkin Hollow's past to see the island as it was before the Barrier. Our second year, last year, featured the extremely popular "Nightmare in Dreamland" event that trapped all the residents in a bubble of endless dreaming sleep, blending memory and nightmare. And this year, we get a sneak preview of Nyarlathotep's world--- and the kind of dangers we'll face down during Pumpkin Hollow's Endgame.

Deep within the Dreamlands, a mysterious realm that can only be accessed by the sleeping mind, there exists a hidden city buried deep within the impossible mountains housing a towering palace that is believed to be home to the gods of dreams. In whispers exchanged between cats, the name of this forbidden citadel has been spoken across space and time. Kadath. And it also just so happens to be where our own Nyarlathotep occasionally makes his home. And he thinks you all could use a little vacation. After all, it's been so long since you've been off the island. A little travel would do you some good, wouldn't it?

The specifics of the event are still a work in progress, but currently the intended vibe is a Labyrinth-esque eldritch castle maze exploration with dream logic, nightmare visions, Lovecraftian monsters, and a little bit of that Scooby-Doo chase scene nonsense. We're also plotting for a major reveal to at last come to fruition. It's about time someone had a word with Dr. West.
CURRENT METAPLOT
July 19th
There haven't been any major developments as of late, but we have a bit of a heavy one on the way--- the death of Eligos is intended to be a two-month event taking place over March and April, due to launch on the Ides of March in true treasonous fashion. However, there is a small snag there. Unlike with Mendel and Jean or Efrain and Nimona, there's no clear-cut individual that we can think of off-hand to lead the charge against Eligos. We have until March, but if anyone would like to put forward their character for this or help us decide on a direction for it, we'd appreciate it!

aghostinthemachine: (⊡ but you're running out of sight)
[personal profile] aghostinthemachine
GIVINGSTIDE GIFTS OOC POST

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For the purpose of making gift ideas easier and organized for everyone with how busy we'll likely all be for the holidays. This is pretty much the same idea as Haley's absolutely adorable IC gift exchange, except that it's OOC and general holiday gift giving.

Have fun, ya'll, and whatever you celebrate in real life — may your holiday be warm, festive, and full of happiness! ♥
preacher_in_reticence: playby: Waleed Zuaiter (Happy - Hopeful)
[personal profile] preacher_in_reticence
Surprise! It’s me, [personal profile] schnikeys! I am ambitiously adopting Degas Clayton. I beg for grace (🥁) and patience while I catch up. I’ve been doing what backreading I can! I will definitely be starting the inbox afresh.

First off, disclaimer: I do not intend to play Degas as vigorously as I plan to play Grace. I very much don’t want to leave anyone hanging because I’ve gotten overwhelmed, and so I will do my best to keep things manageable for myself in advance. This is to say, I don’t think I’ll be spontaneously tagging in places or posting top levels or what have you — I want to focus on playing Degas’s role as exposition fairy, local color, and, most importantly, on tagging in where invited, should people be so inclined.

You can do the job while you’re in town )
pumpkinhollow: (Default)
[personal profile] pumpkinhollow
Hey all!

Because of some birthdays and a holiday, the beginning of November has been SUPER frontloaded as far as activities go in IRL Land. So rather than keeping you guys waiting for the nice coded plotting post, I'm gonna just do a shitty one. We're also going to hold off on a State of the Game, since most of what is worth covering was already on the AC change post.

Having had two VERY heavy events, this month we're going to keep it as light as possible using a suggestion from Blue, inspired by one of their favorite scenes from RWBY. On the way up to the Dance of Celestine, characters have a chance to step into a subtle fairy ring on the ground, trapping them in a pocket dimension ostensibly within the Faewilds--- with a puzzle to solve, and a single companion to solve it with.

It can be any sort of puzzle, something simple or complicated, but the key gameplay element will be that you need to have an important discussion in order to advance. 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.

Once they've reached some form of catharsis, closure, or other resolution, they will be released from their trap at the top of the mountain, and can enjoy the rest of the festival in peace! I'll talk more about what the Dance of Celestine entails in the post itself, but it's good fun.

Because the fairy ring traps are ICly random, this event is inherently opt-out friendly, and very strictly limits each character to ONE heavy thread a piece, which should make it easier to manage thread loads during the slower season and keep backtagging the absolutely MONSTROUS October event. We have this event slated for November 22nd, which is the weekend before Thanksgiving, to hopefully allow people to both get some things started before they start to travel while also taking advantage of any holiday downtime they may find! (I know I spend HOURS after Thanksgiving dinner just doing nothing while my parents watch sports.) Plus, our December event will be a bit later in the month and will mostly just be an open forum for personal plotlines and seasonal gatherings.

Anyways, I hope you all have fun with this one! 'Tis the season for keeping things light!
pumpkinhollow: (Default)
[personal profile] pumpkinhollow
Hey all! As you know, we've been having some conversations within our community about updating our Activity Check policy.

For a long time, I've never felt that it's truly necessary to implement anything stricter than a check-in. It's simple, it's flexible, it's low-pressure and lenient. It keeps admin work minimal and player stress low. To put it frankly: it was delightfully lazy, and I mean that with nothing but fondness, because it has generally been perfectly fine. However, as we move toward some major plot beats and ultimately endgame, we've been reflecting on the impact of prolonged character absences and just how important it is for characters to be present, both for their respective player's satisfaction and for the sake of their CR circles.

So, after discussing it with the bulk of our community via our Discord server and workshopping ideas behind the scenes, Team Pumpkin has landed on what we'd like our expectations to be for Activity Check, with a hard launch in January of 2026! (To be checked for the first time during February's AC period.)

In preparation for the new policy, starting in November, we are going into our training wheels period for AC! That means that for this month’s activity check (performed in December), and for AC in December (checked in January), it’s now time to start practicing hitting AC under the impending new policy. There’s currently NO CONSEQUENCES for not making AC under the new policy, so don’t panic! Your job right now is to pretend as if the policy is active and treat your approach to activity accordingly, as a way of practicing. During this time, please think about how this impacts you as a player, whether or not your current activity level during most people’s slowest months is meeting the minimum, how challenging it is to juggle your current cast with the new expectations, and what changes (if any) need to be made to prepare for the change in January.

Our goal with this is that it will basically be barely felt by the average player, while some of our struggling players can use it to motivate themselves to be more present in the game and hold themselves accountable. If we find that more people are struggling than anticipated, having training wheels time also allows us to make tweaks to the new policy. It also allows people to get used to thinking about AC minimums again before it will actually impact you. Here are the new rules that were landed on by the moderation team:

  • These rules must be met with at least half of your current cast, rounding down to a minimum of 1 character.
    - If you have 1-3 characters, the minimum is 1.
    - If you have 4-5 characters, the minimum is 2.
    - If you have 6-7 characters, the minimum is 3.

  • You must submit within your normal AC at least one thread with 5 comments from you, or 2 threads with 3 comments from you per thread.

  • The threads you submit for AC must be tag-outs. This is due to the large number of toplevels we typically get--- we want to encourage people to give those some love, as well as branch out with their CR! Threads from your own TL can still be used for bonuses, just not for required AC. This may change if we find the toplevel to tag out ratio balances out consistently. If you’re submitting a 2-thread minimum, both being tag-outs is preferred, but only one is required.

  • Failing to meet the AC requirement will put you into time-out status until the following month. This means you do not receive any Brass (your character’s stipend goes directly to equal-value groceries) and you will need to make AC in the following month to be timed back in. If you have multiple characters and fail to reach AC for the minimum number of characters, we can discuss a partial time-out that only applies to a portion of your cast, proportional to the discrepancy.

  • If you have been on time-out for two months and fail AC a third time, you may be asked to make some changes, including but not limited to cast reduction, hiatus, or DTNPC status.

  • You must submit AC even if you do not meet the minimum. Failing to do so will put you at risk of sweeping, as before.

  • Moving forward, if someone misses AC ONE TIME and cannot be reached via PM, Discord, or Plurk within 3 days for correspondence, they will be automatically swept. If someone who misses AC touches base with a mod or has been seen in the Discord server, probation will proceed as normal. If someone is swept in error because of this, they can request to be reinstated by approaching a mod directly within a reasonable timeframe, I'm just not going to make our AC team continue to do admin work for people who are most likely ghosting out.

  • As before, a hiatus relieves you of the responsibility of AC. Extensions, as usual, will be available upon request. However, automatic check-in AC will NOT count as meeting AC minimum, and those who do an auto-check-in will still be in time-out. Functionally this means that you cannot auto-check-in more than twice in a row.

  • It is our intention to be lenient towards players who get very close to achieving the minimum and are maybe one or two tags shy, or who were unable to complete the thread due to their partner's absence. If you have a thread that almost makes the mark, feel free to turn it in and in most cases we will be able to approve it, so long as it is not becoming a pattern.


If you have any concerns about the new AC policy, please reach out! We'll have a thread here, but mods can also be approached via Discord or PM for questions, comments, or concerns.
pumpkinhollow: (Default)
[personal profile] pumpkinhollow
tag or treat


Happy Halloween, Pumpkin Patch!

As you all know, Halloween is the season that Pumpkin Hollow was made for! To spread the spooky love, we've come up with a fun little rewards system for players to earn sweet bonuses from our diabolical October event! Here's some rewards you can get!

Hunter's Delight: for tagging into any toplevel with someone you didn't already have premade plans with, you get a protein-rich snack bar that excuses you from groceries for the month of November. (Honor system applies, since this one's hard to prove.)

Spiral Cakes: for tagging into a toplevel that is on page 2 or 3, you can get a swiss roll cake that allows your character to regain an item from their canon. It appears in their house as if it has always been there.

Lonely Lemon Drops: for tagging into a toplevel with 2 tag-ins or less, you get a sour candy that allows you to disappear at a moment's notice, either becoming invisible for 30 minutes or teleporting to the Bluffs.

Dark Licorice: for tagging into the toplevel of a character yours does not already have any CR with, you obtain a ring or pendant in a design of your choice that wards off hostile creatures after dark. (Also honor's system but I kind of already have an idea of most people's CR circles so it's fine)

Eye Candy: for boomeranging any thread to AC length by the end of the weekend, you receive a hard candy shaped like an eye that gives your character a piece of meta-knowledge they did not already know, subject to mod approval. This is the only one where it does not have to be a new thread, but all 10 tags must be obtained during the event period, so prior tags don't count!

Goals must be completed by Monday, Nov 3rd and turned in by the end of the AC period, either via AC or right here! You cannot use previously started threads, and there's no grace periods! All items can be gifted to other characters if desired, but the item goes to the character that earned it initially. How many Tag or Treats can YOU get?

(Please note: please participate in good faith. Don't just tag in to get the prize and then ditch the thread. Players who do this may be subject to having their prize revoked, at mods' discretion!)

Have a great Halloween, everyone! Staaaay spooky! <3
pumpkinhollow: (Default)
[personal profile] pumpkinhollow
Monthly Plotting Post | October
Hey there, pumpkin patch! It is officially SPOOKY SEASON, which means it's time for our annual Halloween special! Due to the fact that people currently already have been pretty busy, which we felt would deter people from the original "Curse of Slasher Island" premise we'd been going off of because it's so action-heavy, we thought we'd switch things up a bit. After interviewing the Discord server, we managed to land on an event that we think people will really love!

That said, we're really looking forward to getting spooky with y'all! We've got some fun things on the horizon, so let's jump right in!
FALL TDM
Sept-Nov
The fall TDM continues! It launched right as the gala was starting, so we're hoping folks will have more time to enjoy it now that the chaos is starting to dwindle somewhat. Pumpkinfest, comedy clubs, and forest monsters, oh my!

It's also worth mentioning that the timeframe where it makes sense to onboard new members is starting to dwindle. If you have people you want to harass into joining us, strike while the iron's hot! We're definitely still new-player and new-character friendly!
HALLOWEEN SPECIAL - Statement Begins
October 19th
After a visit from a reality-breaking servant of the Web during the September event, the island is in for a nasty surprise, flavored after our beloved and broad Magnus Archives cast. Honestly, we'll probably blame Jon for it anyway, though.

Once upon a time, in a very specific iteration of London, England, there was an academic institute dedicated to studying and recording supernatural occurrences caused by fear itself made manifest, come to terrorize and feed off any living thing capable of feeling terror. This institute sorted these ostensibly-higher beings, their activities and their acolytes, into fourteen (later fifteen) distinct categories, each based on a primal, instinctual fear. They existed on the outskirts of reality, picking their victims off the fringes. Until one day, they didn't, thanks to the elaborate efforts of a few deeply terrible people, at the (sometimes willing) expense of Jonathan Sims. An apocalypse was born, and then ended by sacrifice. That should have been the end of the story. But one Annabelle Cain made sure that this would not be the case.

Deep in the heart of Paradesium, there is a crack in the world. From it, all manner of interdimensional terrors have come through to Pumpkin Hollow. And also, a water park that one time. But mostly terrors, hand selected and pulled through by demons or by Nyarlathotep. But this October, it will be used to create a miniature version of the temporary apocalypse that the people of Archives Universe London came to know only as "the Change."

The Fears will each occupy a physical space on Marrow Isle, arranged as follows:

fear map Each Fear Domain will have a specific aesthetic design as a jumping off point. However, due to the Fears operating on dream logic and wanting to terrorize each person as much as possible, some elements will be flexible and bend themselves to suit you. Each player must pick one starting point for each character, even if they have multiple suitable fears, so pick one that suits your character best or sounds the most fun--- but feel free to have them move through many! This will function pretty similar to the nightmare event from last January, for those familiar. Only those who begin in the End domain will be capable of death, meaning that others will remain alive and aware despite any injuries they might sustain--- no matter how fantastical.

Here's a breakdown of what each Fear is, and what their domains will be like.

The Buried - Also known as "Choke" or "Too Close I Cannot Breathe". Claustrophobia, the fear of being trapped without enough space, suffocation, being buried alive or drowning, or otherwise being crushed. Located inside of Crane's Ridge, occupants will find themselves trapped in tight, winding, abandoned caves or literally buried alive in loose but heavy dirt. Attempts to escape will be frequently quashed by rain, mudslides, rock slides, earthquakes, and other events designed to shuffle the earth and sink you lower. You may also find yourself crushed on a more abstract level, by feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness, and despair. Work together to escape... or take advantage of each other to further your own escape, like crabs in a bucket.

The Corruption - Also known as "The Crawling Rot", "The Flesh Hive," or sometimes simply "Filth." This represents the fear of corruption of bodies and spaces via disease, rot, insects, mold, and other things evoking feelings of deep disgust. The fear of unsanitary or revolting things. While this fear is almost always extremely literal, it can sometimes also manifest as toxic love. Centralized in the Winterbottom Clinic but using dream logic to tie all the medical facilities around town together via horrible "portals," the Corruption has formed a dingy hospital, where medical staff are presented with an endless string of patients with infected injuries and given only dirty tools and contaminated medicines to try and treat them with. Are you a physician, or a patient?

The Dark - An extremely old and deep fear of darkness, the unknown, and things that lurk out of sight in the darkness. Also sometimes called "Mr. Pitch" or "The Forever Blind". Often manifests as profound, endless darkness, shadowy figures, monsters that hide in shadow, deep and dark bodies of water and blindness. The Dark has its domain set in the vast majority of Lockwood Forest, where the woods will be consumed in complete darkness. This simple domain forces you to use your other senses to try and avoid whatever else is lurking there in the shadows with you. But sometimes the tiniest flashes of light allow you a faint glimpse of what is hiding in the trees. You may not like what you see.

The Desolation - Also called "The Lightless Flame," "The Blackened Earth," or "Asag." This is the fear of pain, agony, random destruction, loss, and burning. It often manifests in the form of destructive fire and things associated with it. Forest or house fires, destruction of potential, loss of loved ones, sabotage of success, and severe burn wounds are common. Its victims tend to lose the things they love most or die before realizing their potential, as well as come to harm by literal fire. Having taken up residence in the burned out shell of Larkin Estate, the Desolation has chosen to take a fairly literal approach, causing the manor to relive its devastating inferno indefinitely. Perhaps, over the roar of the flames, you can hear the voice of a loved one, calling for your help...

The End - Also called "Terminus" or just "Death". Represents the fear of dying, especially painfully, as well as the fear of what comes after (or lack thereof, in some cases). Its victims and its servants alike tend to be those who have had close calls or near-death experiences, if they survive at all. Finding itself right at home in Fall's Promise Cemetery, the names on the headstones have been replaced with the names of this domain's occupants, who wake to find themselves in hungry, open graves. Trying to escape will involve facing a terrible and dangerous fate tailored to your personal fears that is extraordinarily likely to kill you--- but don't worry, the End has graciously allowed you a much shorter respawn time. You'll wake up after only three hours, back in your grave, ready to start again, but bearing some injury or scar from your previous death. The more you collect, the harder it will be to escape your next fate, but those who do manage to escape the End's domain will be able to retain their three-hour respawn rate until the barrier goes down.

The Eye - Also known as "The Beholding" or "Ceaseless Watcher". The fear of being watched, stalked, followed, or exposed. Fear of a lack of privacy, fear of judgement from others. Fear of knowledge that could destroy you, and obsession with knowing. Manifests in the form of any eye, either real or symbolic. This can include drawings or photos of eyes, mirror images, camera lenses, and more. Its victims usually have experiences related to being watched intently, followed by unseen eyes, or other similar experiences. In this case, the Eye has created itself a miniature Panopticon in the clock tower. Jonathan Sims is trapped here, forced to watch the suffering of his neighbors as he was during the original Eyepocalypse. Victims trapped within the tower will wander through the obelisk, which now has glass walls so that they can be watched and judged by those on the streets below as they fail to navigate their way out of the labyrinthine tower. And all the while, they will feel as though they are being followed, spied on, observed as if under a microscope, and scrutinized for their failure. Victims who encounter each other in the tower will immediately become aware of each other's greatest regret, failure, or secret.

The Flesh - Also occasionally referred to as "Viscera". This is a strange Fear that is primarily born of livestock animals and their fear of butchery. However, this also has expanded into human fears such as the existential dread of just being electrified meat, gore, body horror, and other more subtle fears and discomforts with one's body or physicality in general. This Fear is housed in a long-time home of butchery, and I don't mean the local slaughterhouse--- Leeds Estate, which normally serves as a safehouse, has been completely overtaken for a one of a kind Hunt-to-table dining experience, courtesy of the Hunt domain right out back. Victims who start here or are caught in the Hunt domain will be taken to the basement for "processing", where they will be taken apart (but as previously noted, unable to die) and loudly scrutinized for their inadequacies before being served to other victims (or perhaps Avatars) upstairs as the main course. As their bodies slowly regrow, they will be subjected to "processing" repeatedly or chucked back out into the Hunt to begin the cycle again.

The Hunt - Another fear born from that of animals, this is the fear of being prey or being chased by a relentless, violent pursuer. Manifests as predatory animals and monsters, animalistic tendencies and characteristics, and hunting of all sorts. In the somewhat brighter section of forest behind Leeds Estate which surrounds Hatchet Lake, victims here will be forced to fight or flee from monstrous predators, or transform into one themself. But no matter how wolf-like someone becomes, it won't stop the tables from turning so that they become prey once more, so never, ever drop your guard. Once prey is incapacitated, it will be hauled off to the Flesh domain to begin the next step in the cycle. But don't worry, you'll get another chance to play hide and seek when they're done with you.

The Lonely - Also called "The Forsaken" or "The One Alone." This is the fear of isolation, either due to being separated from others by tangible barriers or social/emotional ones. The fear of having no one to reach out to, of abandonment, of being unloved or unwanted, of being cut off from society. This domain features two distinct areas. The first is the Tundra, a freighter ship owned by one Peter Lukas. Sailors aboard this ship will carry out tasks without any means to communicate with one another, finding themselves unable to speak or emote in any way, so that even on the crowded ship, they will never stop feeling alone. Any attempts to work around this will be swiftly punished by the crew in the form of solitary confinement in the brig, so be careful not to get caught. And then, on the beach and Bluffs, victims will find themselves perfectly capable of speech but struggling to recall or retain any memories or perceive each other's features. Maybe for a moment you might remember something about who you are, but in moments it will slip away once more.

The Slaughter - Fear of random, unpredictable outbursts of violence, pain, and death. Its most common manifestation is that of war and combat. However, it can apply to any form of random or mass violence. In this case, war has broken out in the fields of Northwest Hollow. Soldiers and warriors will find themselves fending off an endless onslaught of faceless enemies (who look suspiciously like enemies they've fought before) that they know want to do harm to their friends, while civilians trying to hunker down in farm houses will find themselves only slightly safer--- but who knows when a stray bullet or explosive might do them harm, or members of the enemy army might drag them from their home and beat them bloody? Unable to die, occupants of this domain find themselves forced to carry on through injuries that would have otherwise killed them. And sometimes, victims will succumb to the sound of beating war drums and be briefly overtaken with an insatiable desire to do violence themselves.

The Spiral - Also called "It Is Not What It Is" or "The Twisting Deceit." It is the fear of madness, losing one's grip on reality, being gaslit, deception of the mind and the senses. Manifests as hallucinations or illusions and can cause victims to improperly perceive time. A common appearance is that of a door that should not be where it is and impossible spaces, as well as fractal images. In this case, the Oak & Iron has been taken over by the Distortion, turning the tavern inn into a maze of impossible architecture, false friends, and hallucinated images.

The Stranger - Also called "I Do Not Know You". The fear of the uncanny valley, things that are almost human but not quite, perversions of the human form, and existential dread regarding identity and selfhood. Here, the Stranger has chosen to simply lay itself over Pumpkinfest, creating a horrible carnival of uncanny performers. Lining the streets are booths that sell spare parts--- new names, new faces, new souls, stolen from loved ones, objects of envy, or shiny, plastic, and brand new. Carve yourself a new identity at the pumpkin carving station or have your "you" stolen by someone else in the streets. Forget your face, your name, don a mask and become a brand new you. How will you fight back? Do you even remember how to make a fist? Which of these hands are yours?

The Vast - Also known as the "Falling Titan" or simply "Vertigo". It is the fear of heights, falling, endlessness, and the existential dread associated with inconceivably large spaces like the open sky, the depths of the sea, and the entirety of the universe. It also addresses the fear and despair surrounding being very small in comparison with grander things so as to be pointless or infinitesimal. Stationed on the edge of Ripjaw Falls and the surrounding ocean, victims will find themselves with a stone wall to their backs, toes hanging over the precipice. Fall for eternity at terminal velocity through open air or plunge into a deep and endless sea with access to air impossibly far above. Or for those who are terribly, terribly unlucky, bear witness as a dark, colossal rogue planet converges with the orbit of Concorde, two worlds colliding into one another and threatening to swallow your minuscule form whole.

The Web - Sometimes called "The Spider" or "The Mother of Puppets". This in part the fear of spiders themselves, but also the fear of being caught in someone else's web. The fear of being manipulated by someone else or having your actions controlled, being part of someone's master plan. This domain also features two areas. The part in Town Hall forces you to navigate an intricate web of municipal red tape to try and get yourself out. Complex rules and office politics pull strings to keep you trapped and wandering, filling out form after form and performing increasingly oppressive and undignified ID checks to proceed. In the library, the only way to proceed is to read--- but beware. The text in these books determines what you or others do. Choose the wrong book and wander deeper into danger, or control someone else in ways neither of you like. And on top of it all, both buildings are terribly full of cobwebs...

There is, of course an opt-out/safe zone for this event--- you'll notice that the very top of Crane's Ridge is not colored. This is because Celestine has set up a safe zone where her festival is normally held. With little notice, she focused on snatching up those who most needed to not be down in the rest of the town (this is your opt-out), but she didn't have time to get everyone. Work with Celestine to try and create signals to the rest of town, trying to summon as many people as possible to the top of the mountain! But with the rest of the landmark owned by the Buried, there is only one way to get to the safe zone. Which brings us to our final Fear...

The Extinction - Also referred to as "The Future Without Us". This is a relatively new Fear that plays off of several others, but has begun to establish itself as unique as environmental issues and weapons of mass destruction become more of a pressing issue. It is the fear of apocalypse, of a mass extinction event created by human hands through violence or negligence. Due to its youth, it occupies only one space on the island: the train up to Crane's Ridge. Innocuous at first, those who board the train will simply find it full of detritus. However, as soon as the train begins to run, smog will fill the air and the train cars will become inhospitably hot. Riders will become consumed with the fear that the train is poisoning the land, be shown visions of an apocalyptic future out the windows of the train, cough up gobs of crude oil, have their train car fill up with concrete, or be attacked by humanoid figures made of garbage. These terrible visions only cease when the train does.

So it's no small feat to get to the safe zone, but doing so will allow you to escape from the horrors below and spend some time with the Mother of Autumn and Sky. Most people who do not opt-out will be considered victims. However, there will be some guests/infernal servants as well as PCs who are already entitled to an Avatar role. It's also possible for other PCs who are suitable to acquire an Avatar role during the event. For those unfamiliar, an Avatar of a Fear is someone who has a special connection to that Fear that affords them a slice of its power. Avatars feed off the terror of victims, so accepting such a role will force you to participate in the suffering of those around you--- however, it will spare you from further danger, and those who accept Avatar status will be able to retain it after the event. This status is accompanied by thematic powers that can be used to help out with later events, including Endgame, so if you were looking for a way to power up and be a meaningful contender against Nyarlathotep, this is your in.

Phew! This was a long one, but we wanted to bring out our best for the Halloween season! This event will ICly run from Oct. 18th to 31st, with the island back to normal on Nov. 1st, at which point Nyarly will shunt the Fears out of the barrier because they're pushy and he's bored of them. Happy Halloween!
CURRENT METAPLOT
We now have a set roadmap towards Endgame! It's still a good ways off, but we're at the point where we have a clear picture of how and when the game is going to conclude, which we would like to share.

Because I'm hilarious, Eligos will meet his end over the Ides of March, giving Aster until Halloween of 2026 to be King of Hell. At this point, Dahlia will step into her role as King of Woman Scorned, and begin planning how to go about removing the barrier. Because it's just a new worldstate establishing event, I was planning to introduce our transition to the Dreamlands in December of 2026 so that people will have some low-stakes slice of (weird new) life and exploring to do over the holidays, and then begin the endgame questlines in January of 2027.

The preamble part of endgame is intended to last 6 months and be comprised of 3 questlines that will be assigned 2 months a piece, each one belonging to a particular team. Those who remain back on the island will have their own things to do, but each of the 3 quests will involve excursions into the Dreamlands for their respective teams. Teams for these quests will be chosen from characters that have been consistently active and will favor characters to whom they are plot relevant, and we currently do not have a set number of team members (though most threads within those quests will be able to be done in pairs still, so don't worry about potentially needing to do like a 6 person thread for 2 months). Because it's going to be important to move the plot along during this time, after the 2 months assigned, members of the teams will be asked to provide a write-up of how their quest went, even if some of it needs to be handwaved or backtagged later. That way the next team can proceed to their quest! Finally, there will be a final showdown with Nyarlathotep, and then an epilogue, each one being a month.

Barring incident, this means that Pumpkin Hollow will conclude in August of 2027. Throughout this time, Team Pumpkin will be preparing Emerald Crown so that we will be more or less prepared to jump into a prologue for the sequel game in September of that same year. It seems like a long time right now, but we've learned from experience that 2 years goes by in a flash! If you're looking to get properly involved in the plot, or people are looking to power up their characters so as to be a contender against Nyarly, now's the time to begin discussing it so that we can give you a satisfying character arc! See our State of the Game post for more details on how we plan to make sure everyone gets a slice of the plot pie!
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Monthly Plotting Post | Aug & Sept
Hey, everyone! Happy August! Things have been both crazy and slow around here because adult life remains incredibly weird. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m looking forward to getting back to full steam now that this stupid heat is finally moving on. We’ve got some pretty exciting stuff on the docket for these coming months, so this time around I’ll be doing a 2-for-1 plotting post so we can all strategize as far in advance as possible. Also, just a final reminder that items from the Interdimensional Flea Market will no longer be available for purchase after August, so please get those purchases in! Alright, there’s a lot of ground to cover, so without further ado, let’s get into it!
SUMMER & FALL TDMs
June-Aug & Sept-Nov
There’s one more month of our summer TDM! If you were planning to do any more shipwreck dives now’s your chance to get them in!

Which also means our autumn TDM is right around the corner. Pokemon types will be changing--- September, October, and November will feature Ghost, Dark, Flying, Electric, and Poison type Pokemon available for befriending! As usual, our spooky suggestion box is open for TDM prompt ideas, or just inspo! What’s your favorite thing to do outdoors in the fall? What’s the best Halloween decoration display you’ve ever seen? What’s a story, image, or piece of media that freaked you out lately? We love your input!

And of course we’ll have plenty of our own Halloween tricks and Autumnal treats in store! And of course, as with the other goddesses, Celestine will be here to visit during the TDM. Stay tuned for surprises!

AUGUST EVENT - Seemingly's Revenge
August 9th
The final living member of the Mendel’s Court of Fools returns after a year in hiding to perform their grand finale.

Mendel, the Prince of Fools, was the first demon royal to perish due to Aster’s machination, as well as the one to reveal Dahlia’s true nature as his niece. This wicked jester held domain over madness, lies, and cruel trickery, and while he did not survive the infamous gala, one of his court members did. A face-changing theatrical puppet called Seemingly, whose voice, personality, and gender swap with their faces, remains at large--- and they have a bone to pick with all of you. Especially you, Jonathan Sims.

An elaborate music box is placed in the town square, playing a tune and ticking away. At each week-long interval, a new mask slots into place on the front, representing one of Seemingly’s four faces. Each week, there will be a new affliction making havoc on Marrow Isle--- and a new opportunity to help end the nightmare. Four pairs/groups will be selected to brave the danger and collect one of the keys to unlock the music box, whether on purpose or by happenstance. Efforts to unlock the music box are being led by Jon Sims, who has a long-standing beef with Seemingly and is eager to see them defeated at long last.

The structure of this event is such that it expands and changes each week, representing four separate mini events that make up the larger one, then finally a last push by Jon to take Seemingly down directly once the music box that’s shielding them is opened. The event will launch on August 9th--- but only with the text for the first week! It will update each Saturday evening with the next week’s events.

We’d like to keep as much of the specifics of the event a surprise as possible, but we can tell you up front that each week will feature a new (super)natural disaster with terrifying side effects!

Here’s a brief sneak peek:

Burning Wrath - based on Seemingly’s Wrath face, an intense heatwave that can reach lethal heights and has strange effects on exposed bodies.

Twisting Wind - based on Seemingly’s Twist face, galeforce winds howl through the town, whispering memories, regrets, temptations, and fears… and possibly taking parts of your house along.

Gleeful Tidings - based on Seemingly’s Glee mask, flash floods rip through town from the Paring River down to Tawny Beach, with water so dark that it’s hard to tell what tricks hide underneath.

Hollow Chill - based on Seemingly’s Hollow mask, a cold snap that kills the summer heat with a miniature winter, freezing over all that wet ground, and plenty more besides.

All of these will have opt-outs of some variety, so feel free to sit out parts of the event that aren’t to your taste or handwave whatever you need to in order to manage your thread load. Anyone can sign up to be a part of the teams acquiring keys, but please refrain from volunteering if you don’t believe you could be expected to complete the thread before the start of the next event (Sept 20). I’m going to be working hard to make sure that my plot-vital threads are done before then, too!

SEPTEMBER EVENT - Guest Appearances
September 20th
It’s time once again for Dahlia’s birthday gala, this time with a special surprise. Back by popular demand, Dahlia Leeds’ highly anticipated birthday ball will serve as the stage for a remix of one of our most popular events ever, Ghosts of the Past!

It will function with similar rules. Each character can have up to two visitors from their homeworld, living or dead. These guests can be played by you (either from the associated character’s journal or a custom one) or by another player on your behalf. You can even invite non-member players to play that character for the event with moderator approval! For this event, characters will be here for the weekend ICly--- the Saturday of the party and the Sunday after.

Since this event is less intended to inspire deliberate chaos than its predecessor, you are under no obligation to have your visiting characters be more honest than usual about your regular characters’ history. However, this is still a working of Eligos, so feel free to include that if you like. After all, what is a fancy gala without some interpersonal drama? Let’s get this thing as messy as it is glamorous and turn Dahlia’s birthday into a Jane Austen novel in the absence of any spookies! Don’t worry, with October right around the corner, we’ll be right back in horror territory in no time!

The plotting post is a great place for prepping which visitors you'll have for which characters and keeping a reference list, so please feel free to make use of it!
CURRENT METAPLOT
As the five archfey of this world make proper contact for the very first time, we meet not only Elsie’s fairy father in earnest, but also his peers, and learn a bit more about the incredible world of fairies--- whimsical, dangerous, and diverse.

Queen Niamh of the Golden Sunspots, angelic bird-fae and celestial creatures who deal in dreams and desire--- often with wicked loopholes.

King Griswold of the Green Willows, classic forest fairies and tree spirits who represent the beauty and brutality of nature without remorse.

Queen Meriadne of the Indigo Scales, a host of naiads, sirens, selkies, and other water fae who sing the praises of the ever-changing fluidity of life.

Regent Copricus of the Teal Rain, myconids and rain spirits who rejoice in the rot and decay of all things--- and the renewed life which comes after.

And King Olwylder of the Red Butterflies, flower and insect fae who celebrate the liberating anarchy of a life unbound, finding joy in the chaos of the natural world.

Their relevance to the world will carry over to Emerald Crown, so don’t feel like there’s a whole new mystery being unveiled at the last minute, but knowing a bit more about the basis for Elsie’s lineage will certainly be helpful for events to come!

Additionally, this month it was OOCly revealed that the true identity of Nyarlathotep is Neil West in our Discord server! Hopefully that allows players to make decisions about how they want to interact with him during the final leg of the game. Do bear in mind that characters do not know this--- please use this metaknowledge appropriately! This reveal was to help players make mischief for themselves later, not give them a leg up in uncovering the mystery, so please don’t info-mod! Thank you, and have fun!

Also, since we have a crop of new people, I thought that a link to our Lore Document would be helpful! It could use a bit of updating but has most of the relevant info to help folks get caught up, so check it out when you have time!

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Monthly Plotting Post | May
Howdy gang, happy July! Sorry for missing the June plotting post, I'd been pretty sick last month and the heat's had me down, but I am slowly chugging back to life.

Special thanks to Kalineh and Meghan for helping me work on the concepts for the main events for July and August, and to Harvey for putting out this super fun mini event for this month! We're taking a short intermission still from the heavier plot stuff while I get my roll back, but we have some cool treats for you planned in the meantime, so stay tuned!

ALSO, don't forget to mark down whatever goodies you want to get at the Summer Flea Market! That stays open till August and I know y'all want some stuff to make this island weirder.

SUMMER TDM
June thru August
Round 2 of the Summer TDM begins! If you had a character do the treasure dive last month, you can now have the same character play again! You'll also get one more go in August. Also, reminder that while you don't need to actually thread out the obtaining of Pokemon if you don't want to, you should decide if you want any of this season's selection before the end of August. Thanks!
JULY MINI EVENT - Branching Out
July 6th
Thanks to numerous donations, the Autumn Leaves Dormitory House is getting an upgrade. Which means the kids are getting a camping excursion while renovations on their home are underway! And Mr. Pennyburrow is going to need all the help he can get. Guard the youngsters from pesky forest monsters like Brutoks and the River Walker, chase crabs out of the campsite, help to organize activities like skill classes and games, and keep the kiddos out of trouble! There's also a lot of cooking to do to keep these hungry campers fed. Who's ready for spooky summer camp?

JULY MAIN EVENT - Cirque du Fae
July 19th
This event is still in the works, which means I get to do one of my favorite things, which is open the floor to you all for suggestions!

Toward mid July, the fairy courts of Pumpkin Hollow will be gathering their best and brightest to put on a magical performance for the town. But this is no ordinary three-ring circus. It is a show of whimsy and terror, magic and mystery. Fairies, after all, don't play by our rules.

So far the structure that I'm planning is going to be a large tent full of multiple performance stages and other attractions, such as fun houses and "freak" shows and the like, some of which are pure fun and wonder, others of which are tricks and traps full of genuine danger, all with a nature/fae spin. There'll also be sort of a renaissance faire type campus around the tent. I don't have a ton of specifics hammered out just yet because life has been so crazy, but I did have a few concepts in mind, including something to do with carnivorous mushrooms, fortune telling by Amarantha, and some kind of nightmare funhouse. I plan on taking inspo from the Devil's Carnival! More details as they develop, but please feel free to leave ideas in my suggestion box below <3

CURRENT METAPLOT
Currently we're taking a short break from overarching metaplot developments! However, the current plan is to move into the fall of Eligos as our Halloween event this year. So stay tuned! As with the opera, I will probably make that a two-monther and let that bleed into November. Then we will most likely take down Aster in the spring time and move into our pre-endgame stage around our third anniversary!

(Also, if you thought Aster would be the end of this, you got a big surprise on the way, bwahahahaha.)

Which brings me to my last point for this month's meta plot discussion. As mentioned in the SOTG post, we're considering doing an OOC reveal of Nyarlathotep's true identity prior to the IC reveal, similarly to Dahlia. Is this something that people would want? Let me know! We can also tell people on a voluntary basis, so that those who want to keep the surprise can. We have a side-server for people who are aware of the info to shout about it, which we can continue to use.

Also, since we have a crop of new people, I thought that a link to our Lore Document would be helpful! It could use a bit of updating but has most of the relevant info to help folks get caught up, so check it out when you have time!

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[personal profile] pumpkinhollow
Hey gang! Hope everyone's enjoying the event! Ahead of the Cucumber Festival event for next month, voting for the Green King is now open!

Ballot here! Please read instructions carefully, thanks!
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[personal profile] pumpkinhollow
Monthly Plotting Post | May
Happy May, everybody!

As you all probably noticed, March and April were a little wonky, with a SUPER late March event, no proper April event, and no TDM reprint. For a variety of reasons, the earlier spring months took the wind out of a lot of folks’ sails this year, and I personally have been fighting an ongoing battle with extremely prolonged double ear infections. But the world keeps on turnin’, Summer is on the way, and we have lots of fun stuff planned! So let’s get into it!

SPRING TDM
March through May
This’ll be the final month of the 2025 Spring TDM, so whether you’ve got a certain type of Pokemon you want or don’t wanna miss your opportunity to get in on flower-based body horror, hop to it! We’ll also have one more run of our Swift Social, so grab a seat and make a friend! That'll be next Saturday, so you've got some time, but since we've lost a few players, we're also looking to start advertising on the EMP again. Make sure you keep your eyes peeled for new friends!
MAY EVENT - All Too Familiar
May 18th
A mysterious letter. A missing book. A foul shift in the air.

This month’s main event is going to be a surprise plot that is being co-written with long-time Mod Helper and NPC player Meghan, and will be centered around Elsie!

While player character Hector Monaque is in the midst of his deal with King Eligos, which involves writing terrible letters to his neighbors designed to strain their relationships, another letter is snuck into the delivery. One made out to Elsie, containing information that might just change her life.

Check out Meghan’s teaser in the comments below! Further information will be distributed as the event gets closer, but what we can say is that after a few months of magical traps and existential dread, it’ll be nice to have a problem that can be fixed with violence. Any character that has died since arriving in Pumpkin Hollow may want to make sure their death certificates are in order, though!
Green King Voting & Anniversary Prep
Late May
Now that a test year has passed and the residents of Pumpkin Hollow know FOR SURE that the beloved Cucumber Festival isn’t due to have any further interruptions, voting for the Green King will resume as normal! Time to learn about a new Pumpkin Hollow tradition!

The Cucumber Festival is a summer holiday celebrated in early June. While it is by and large a carnival and a celebration of agriculture, it is also the time of year to elect a Green King alongside the Flower Queen. Like with the Flower Queen voting back in February, any male or otherwise masculine-identified person over the age of 18 can be nominated for Green King, and must accept the nomination before voting begins.

Because the festival is so early in June, voting will open on May 24th and close on May 31st, so we’ll go ahead and open up nominations below! Discord crowd, you’ll receive reminders as the 24th approaches that nominations will be closing, so please help pass the word along to non-Discord-using players as you’re able. Thanks!

Also, tangentially related: coinciding with the Cucumber Festival will be the 2 year anniversary of Pumpkin Hollow’s first TDM! We’ll be hosting a party in the Discord server on the anniversary itself, June 7th. Thanks so much to all of you who have made this an AMAZING 2 years of mystery-solving horror-comedy fun! More info about the party towards the end of May, but expect a revisit of PH trivia, Jackbox, Among Us, and more! Last year’s party was an epic 14 hour blow-out so feel free to come and go as you’re able!

CURRENT METAPLOT
Efrain, the Prince of Sorrow’s Song, was defeated by Nimona! The end of this is still being threaded out, apologies for delays, but everything from April will have included this information. That means that two of the four Demon Royals who have been making trouble for Pumpkin Hollow residents have been felled. All that remain are the current Regent of Hell, Eligos, the King of Treason, and his conniving youngest son, Prince Aster of the Dark Feast.

However, the fewer Demon Royals there are, the more Aster’s half-demon daughter Dahlia comes into her own power. She has begun performing demonic boons, demonstrating that she seems to have her own Infernal Domain. But that should be impossible--- tieflings aren’t part of the infernal hierarchy, and the chain of command doesn’t even have language for women, much less space for them.

Unless someone changed the rules.

Stay tuned to find out what Eligos and Aster have planned for each other, and for Dahlia, in their family feud for the fate of Pumpkin Hollow! And what will our resident Elder One do when the feud resolves? Will anyone be able to identify him through his human disguise before that happens?

Also, since we have a crop of new people, I thought that a link to our Lore Document would be helpful! It could use a bit of updating but has most of the relevant info to help folks get caught up, so check it out when you have time!

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[personal profile] pumpkinhollow
Monthly Plotting Post | March
Happy Spring, gang! February was a tough month for a lot of folks in the game, but with warm weather and more sunshine on the horizon, I am so excited for what’s to come! I’m also SO PLEASED to be celebrating the anniversary of our game’s biggest boost in size to date! Even if the circumstances surrounding the Sail Migration weren’t the best, and we had a lot of growing pains in the aftermath of such a large change, we also gained a lot of beloved and engaged community members and I wouldn’t change it for the world. I’m so glad you guys are here and I’m so excited to celebrate the anniversary of our time as a community.

In more game-related news: I don’t know about you guys, but with a major plot event on the way (i.e. Efrain’s downfall in the March event), I could use a little extra time to wrap up my current threads and gear up for the big moment. Merrymeet is one of my favorite recurring events, and I’m excited to give it the time it deserves before a major plot development. Plus we’ve got a new TDM going up toward the beginning of March and a small mingle! As such, I’m going to have the March event be a little bit on the late side this month. I’m thinking either the 23rd or the 28th. Thoughts one way or the other? Drop a comment on the mod toplevel or let us know on Discord!

I also want to use this month’s metaplot section to talk about the game’s future--- the roadmap for the rest of the game, and what the sequel game will look like! It’s still a good ways off (like probably 8-12 months if we’re really efficient), but I want to give folks plenty of time to think about their post-game plans! Plus I’ve had it on the brain.

SPRING TDM
March through May
Originally, we had Pokemon acquisition sequestered to specific periods of time and only specific types, and the reason for this is because we didn’t want them to overwhelm the game. However, over the past year and a half, the concerns we had about Pumpkin Hollow developing a heavy culture around Pokemon that overtook the game never really came to pass--- people generally don’t even fill all their slots, and they are used more as a fun accent rather than a main feature! When last we discussed the Pokemon situation in the server, we had people express that they might like to check out some other types and we’d planned to have them available for Summer and Winter this year, but with the understanding that the way Pokemon are treated by the player base will most likely continue, we’d like to go ahead and offer them year-round with types determined by season, and have divided up all the types into a thematically appropriate season!

For springtime, you’ll be able to find Grass, Fairy, Ground, Bug, and Normal! (Yep, that’s right--- by popular demand, Eevee will be available with this change!) Rather than a special article, available types will now be listed at the top of the Gazette, and the intro article will make a brief note. We are prepared to roll back this change if it doesn’t work out or if it’s undesirable, but the intention is to make it so that everyone will have a chance to get their faves. Catch responsibly! Each character is still limited to 6 Pokemon pals, as we don’t have a PC for you to send them to!

Also on the agenda for spring right now are the player-requested community laundry days, a potluck as an homage to last year’s, as well as the ever-popular speed-dating from last year. (Although this year it’ll be called “Swift Social” to be inclusive of those looking for platonic CR, though it’ll still have opportunities to indicate you’re looking for love.) I’ve also got some plant-themed and fae-themed spookies on the docket for spring that are still in the works, so stay tuned! As always, I’m also open to suggestions!

HARBOR DAY MINGLE
March 5th
To celebrate the anniversary of the Great Sail Migration, we’ll be doing a simple mingle event called Then and Now--- post a toplevel to invite other characters to comment leaving their first impressions of yours and how they compare to their current feelings. How have things changed since your character arrived? Whether you’ve been here for a year, the whole game, or just a week or two, enjoy reminiscing with your Pumpkin Hollow pals!
MARCH SADNESS
Late March
It’s finally time to take down another Demon Prince! Efrain, the Prince of Sorrow’s Song, is the last thing standing between Prince Aster and becoming heir apparent--- leaving only King Eligos himself as Aster’s final obstacle.

A while ago, Nimbus had mentioned offhandedly the idea of a “day at the opera” event which has lived in my head rent-free ever since, and so it’s off to the opera we go. In Efrain’s attempt at a grand demonstration of his power, he will be transporting the islanders to a grand amphitheater, where his demonic orchestra will perform musical interpretations of each islander’s deepest source of pain, regret, and sorrow--- with the subject themself and their loved ones compelled to play the roles on stage while everyone else is a captive audience. Play out musical renditions of scenes from your past with your CR cast as your loved ones or enemies, catch a moment to chat in the Green Room before or after your performance, or find moments of solidarity from the auditorium seats between songs.

Not feeling the limelight? Take on a role as a member of the stage crew for the show and succumb instead to the despair of endless toil for the cruel and merciless stage manager! Take a seat in the pit and play with the orchestra, feeling every moment of others’ pain by proxy from the music your hands are forced to create. Or get saddled with a job in the concession stand for a different flavor of suffering--- mindless drudgery for an uncaring public. The choice is yours! But get too feisty and face the wrath of the security guards: a shade of one of your own loved ones like the false Ballister that had been created for Nimona.

However, Aster will be taking the beginning of March to prepare his assassins. Have a bone to pick with Efrain? Let me know and the demon-killing effort might recruit you! But anyone looking to get too close to Efrain will have to fight their way through his strange bodyguards, creatures of living glass whose creation Pyotr Stamatin may have to answer for later.

Due to the narrative function of the event, I am unfortunately unable to offer a full opt-out aside from a handwave for this event. But hopefully I’ve created enough alternative ways to enjoy this pity party that you’ll be able to find one that suits you! If not, let me know!
CURRENT METAPLOT
A lot has been going on recently in plot town! Primarily, the discovery that Dr. Elias Coldwood, lighthouse keeper and biologist, has a nascent Eldritch godling in his basement! There are two separate threads about this ongoing, one between Shen Qingqiu, Valdis, and Elias himself and the other between Gerry, Arthur, and John Doe. What is this creature that Elias has created? What are its ties--- and his--- to Nyarlathotep? And who was it that posted Elias’ anonymous bail just in time for him to attend Merrymeet? More details to come!

With all that’s going on in the game’s present day, I wanted to talk briefly about the trajectory for the game’s future as well! Here’s a basic outline of the major plot beats I’m planning to hit, unless something drastic changes:
➼ At the end of March, individuals chosen by Aster will be given the opportunity to kill Efrain. With Mendel dead, Aster will be the last remaining Prince left to succeed Eligos for the Infernal Throne.
➼ Throughout the Spring, fae involvement will become more prevalent. I’m still working out the exact details, but there are plans for Elsie and Olwylder to become more deeply involved in the plot, including a surprise I’m planning with Meghan!
➼ Also during this time, Eligos will be doing more to work on his contingency plan for dealing with Aster, which will involve turning Aster’s Court and Infernal Servants against him, and powering up his own favored and those of his other two sons.
➼ In the late summer, Eligos will make his own last stand, and he will die--- but not without setting things up for Aster’s eventual downfall in the process.
Aster will ascend the Infernal Throne.
➼ Dahlia will officially become a Prince--- and next in line for succession, as Aster has no other children. The Pine Devil’s curse of consumption will cease to be.
➼ With assistance from those that Eligos granted power to, those given boons by goddesses, and her own newly founded Court of Woman Scorned, Dahlia will strike back at Aster and become the new King of Hell.
As the only one left to maintain the contract with Nyarlathotep, Dahlia will break the truce, lowering the barrier!
➼ However, Nyarlathotep will not take kindly to this--- his reaction will remain a surprise for now, but this will launch us into a pre-endgame state where certain tasks must be accomplished to initiate endgame proper. We’re anticipating this taking several months at least.
➼ Once all tasks are accomplished, the final face-off with Nyarlathotep will occur, and the game will end with it finally being possible and safe to leave Marrow Isle. This will initiate our exploration-based sequel game, Emerald Crown! Pumpkin Hollowites will be given the means to leave this world and come back at will.
As we’re building up to the trials that characters will face during these major plot beats, we’re going to be looking at ways to make characters more formidable through items, skills, transformations, canon updates, and more! We’d like to get as many folks in on it as we can and plan as far in advance as possible. We look forward to seeing what cool ideas we can work out with all of you!

We’re also anticipating all of this taking quite some time, so there’s no rush to make major plans right this minute. Additionally, we’re planning to have Emerald Crown be more self-guided in an effort to give ourselves a break from heavy plot. We have more plot-heavy projects to share with you all in the future, and we could use some time to kick back and just play it by ear while we plan ahead! It’s also my plan to run a short-term game alongside Emerald Crown. Harvey, Drake, and I, operating under the name “Team Pumpkin,” have plans to bring you all tons of RP fun for years to come!

PHEW that was a long plotting post--- sorry it’s dropping so late at night for most of you! But we hope you’re as excited as we are to keep going on this adventure together!
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