#phpa

In 1899, a stray forest fire took out the entire bottom half of Bywick, a small, forgettable town too far west of the railroad tracks to draw visitors. Hundreds of people died burning, and they took the life of the area with them. This tragedy spliced the town in two: the north side, where the laws of the universe proceed as normal, and the south side, where phantoms coast the city blocks.

By the time seventeen-year-old Jasminder moves in, it's over a century later, the south side of Bywick has been rebuilt, and stories of the haunted half of town are almost as common as the haunts themselves. Jas couldn't care less about ghost stories. They've got better things to worry about, like the collaborative English project, or finding a place that'll still develop film, and stuff like, 'hey, was that noise real, or?'––at least until a turn of events leads them to ->

PHANTOM ALLEY Nicknamed such by those that are capable of utilizing it, Phantom Alley is the threshold between the world of the living and the world of the dead. To the unseeing eye, it's just an alley located right in the middle of town. To those that are special––and what makes someone special is none of your goddamn business, not quite yet––it's a doorway. When a regular person crosses through Phantom Alley, they see nothing unusual. When someone less than regular walks through, the normal world falls away. All of the people fade from view, and the sky goes black. The air is always hollow and warm, like summer nights. Nearly every building is a phantom. Nearly every object contains a phantom.

Phantoms cannot cross through the Alley. They're locked in the south side of town.

HOW DO PHANTOMS EVEN WORK?

Anything can become a phantom––people can, of course, but so can animals, objects, and places.

Phantoms are merely impressions of what they were before they died. They don't retain memories or personality, though some retain unique knowledge.

PLACES: Say a library is closed down and demolished; this library, because it's so full of knowledge and history and experience, dies. Because it dies, it becomes a phantom. The building isn't haunted, it is the haunting. Many locations in the south side of Bywick are haunted by the places that came before them. This gives them odd properties when visited after crossing through Phantom Alley (these properties are NOT NOTICEABLE BY DEFAULT for those that aren't aware of the hauntings). For example, the bowling alley gives people three shadows, and the shopping center induces dizziness and chills. The entire south side of Bywick is extremely haunted because nearly every house was burnt to the ground.

ANIMALS: Not too complicated. When a living thing dies, it has a chance of becoming a phantom. The more haunted of an area something dies in, the bigger a chance it has at persisting after death. There's a dog park in Bywick that's occupied by tons of doggie ghosts. Not relevant to the plot at all. I just wanted you to know that.

HUMANS: Phantoms of humans are unique. They aren't able to hold their humanoid forms for long, and usually occupy an object with some kind of significance to them; could be a book, weapon, piece of jewelry, etc. They can also turn parts of themselves corporeal for very short amounts of time. They are the only types of phantoms capable of possession.

POSSESSION

Possession, contrary to popular belief, is a mutual agreement. Phantoms must have agreement from their hosts before taking over the body, and can be forced out of the body by pure will of the vessel. Possessions, overall, are not healthy for the phantom or their vessel, so they only occur when necessary and for short periods of time. When a person is possessed, they gain physical aspects unique to the phantom, such as a triple shadow or face/body markings. When possessing someone, phantoms are able to channel their spirit through their vessel to ward off harm from other phantoms. They can also talk through their vessel, which they can't do otherwise.

WRANGLERS

The wranglers are a group of people that are able to cross through Phantom Alley and see the haunted copy of the south side of town. Their jobs are best described as zookeepers; Bywick doesn't need ghost hunters. It needs people that can communicate with phantoms and keep them entertained, keep them happy, and offer companionship. When a hostile or otherwise dangerous phantom appears, the wranglers work together as a group to take care of it. Each wrangler has a patron phantom that they work with.

OKAY MAVERICK THANK YOU. WHAT'S THE STORY EVEN ABOUT?

The plot kicks off when Jasminder stumbles through Phantom Alley and into the haunted half of town. They encounter some phantoms, maybe freak out a bit before realizing none of them mean any harm, and meet a few of the wranglers. Ecstatic that they have the ability to see ghosts, Jasminder asks to join them. You know, as an after-school activity.

They meet a phantom named Crasher, a... very self-confident phantom with an eye for world domination that's convinced it's evil. Much to both Jas' and Crasher's dismay, Crasher has to be Jas' patron phantom.

During a routine phantom wrangling, Crasher possesses Jasminder to protect them. Everything goes flawlessly, and they're feeling pretty good about being a team, and then Crasher realizes it has no idea how to... un-possess Jas. This is no good–-by which I mean potentially life-threatening––for the both of them.

And then they learn that in order to see phantoms, you have to have caused a death.

Jas certainly doesn't recall killing anybody.

There are bugs crawling in the corner of Jasminder's vision. Something's growing beneath the pipes. There's a ghost hunter in town. Something's gotta break. Something's gotta bend.

A calamity is coming.

OTHER INFO

Wranglers

Jas + Crasher (wip)

Extra phantom info (wip)

Haunted locations (wip)

PHPA ECHL Membership Commences Job Action Following League’s Refusal to Bargain in Good Faith

The Professional Hockey Players’ Association (PHPA) today confirmed that its ECHL membership has commenced job action following the league’s ongoing unfair labor practices, including persistent threats, coercive conduct, and a refusal to bargain in good faith.

Despite nearly a year of bargaining negotiations and sustained efforts by the union to reach a fair and reasonable collective agreement, the parties remain without a deal.

Over the past several days, the PHPA offered to return to work immediately on four separate occasions while continuing negotiations toward a settlement. In each instance, the union asked that if an agreement could not be reached within a short, defined period, the remaining issues be resolved with the assistance of an experienced mediator or arbitrator. Each request was denied by the league.

On Christmas Day, the ECHL presented what it described as a final offer. This proposal failed to meaningfully address key health, safety, and economic issues and misrepresented the impact of the proposed financial changes. The union also is also aware that the league is currently directing teams to engage in unlawful activities, including evictions and the removal of medical benefits, for participating in protected union activity. 

The PHPA has just completed a player rep and leadership call, where members expressed their confidence in their bargaining committee and the process. All questions were answered, and up-to-date information was provided in real-time.

The PHPA has identified the following key issues that remain unresolved:

Travel Between Back-to-Back Games The PHPA is seeking reasonable limitations on travel between games played on consecutive days in order to address player health and safety. Holiday Break The PHPA has requested a league-wide break without travel on December 24, 25, and 26 each season to allow players to spend time with their families during the holidays.  Guaranteed Contracts The PHPA is requesting that teams and players be permitted, by mutual agreement, to guarantee contracts for a season to provide stability when players relocate and commit to a city. Such agreements would be optional for both parties and non-binding should a player move to another league.  Health Benefits The PHPA is seeking uninterrupted medical coverage during the off-season for qualified players who remain signed, restricted, or under contract, consistent with benefits provided to other full-time staff, rather than the current practice of terminating coverage between July and October. Group Rights The PHPA is seeking a standard group licensing framework consistent with other professional sports leagues, including reasonable limits on the use of players’ name, image, and likeness, wearable-technology medical data, and off-ice time commitments.  Player Compensation The PHPA is requesting a weekly salary cap of $19,500 for the 2025-26 season, with inflationary increases in subsequent years. This equates to an average weekly wage of $975 for players, who are compensated only during the hockey season. 

The ECHL has refused each of these requests. 

“We recognize how important ECHL hockey is to fans, families, and local communities. Our members are simply seeking reasonable improvements that allow them to work safely and earn a sustainable living while continuing to perform at a high level. We remain ready to continue discussions with the league to reach a fair agreement,” said PHPA Executive Director Brian Ramsay.