pedalbike | First TDM: Sterile Blues

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First TDM: Sterile Blues

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Arrival

Not all characters (known as Wickie, singular or Wickies, plural) arrive at the same time, surprisingly enough! That’s life for you. Some Wickies find their way to the island at a pivotal (or very mundane) point in their life, or even after or during their death.

Wickies who were standing or walking often find themselves entering the town South Sister, located on Lighthouse Isle, through an open doorway. Those that were laying down, or sleeping, tend to be found lying prone in beds, bathtubs, showers, couches, and similar places within the cottages on Cottage Row. There’s no rhyme or reason to it all! To Wickies familiar with the era, they will realize that everything looks as if it’s come from the ‘90s.

The house which a Wickie finds themselves within could already be occupied. This includes walking into a fellow Wicke, waking up in the same location, or accidentally scaring a room full of people with their sudden appearance.

Oops.

Sterile Blues

After arriving, Wickes will find that food and water are easy enough to come by, as they can be readily found in the various houses which populate Lighthouse Isle. Medical supplies, on the other hand, are not so easily acquired. Bandaids and other simple trappings can be pilfered from the odd medical cabinet, but otherwise you’re on your own.

Thankfully, if a Wickie or their friend are in need of medicine or a pair of trauma shears, while you won’t find a full-fledged hospital on the island, there is a clinic. The clinic, named Sister’s Helpers, is like the rest of the buildings in town. Its appearance is well kept, and the doors are unlocked. Whether the Wickie goes in through the windows (because they can), or through the front door like most would, they’ll find that the clinic’s interior is crisp, clean, and orderly. There are plastic chairs, a desk where a receptionist would sit, white walls, but then—

There’s a sound. It could be mistaken for a breeze, at first. But as the sound goes on, it becomes more obvious that the ‘breeze’ is an exhale, prolonged and forced. At the end, there’s a murmur, professional and assuring.

“That’s good. Breathe.”

And with that, the clinic becomes awash in shades of blue. Sister’s Helpers itself hasn’t become warped in any way. There is only monochromatic coloring which, upon further realization, is not truly in the building, but a problem with their vision. Leaving without investigating further will mean having blue vision for the next twenty-four hours.

But for Wickies who choose to stay and explore, there is a chance at clearing their vision. This is is especially difficult for those who have a history of not taking care of their injuries. Gradually, it becomes more difficult to walk, as if there are weights on their feet. For Wickies are especially guilty of not tending to their wounds, their movements will become even more sluggish, and weight will settle on their arms and chest, forcing the worst of offenders into a crawl as they explore from room to room.

Laying on the patient beds will alleviate the situation for a short amount of time. The cure, however, will come from characters taking the supplies which they need for themselves and not for others.

If the Wickie fails this, over the course of an hour they will be crushed to death, and will eventually wake up outside of the clinic. Their vision stuck in shades of red with a weakness in their limbs for the next twenty four hours.

The Wickie’s only cure for that is either taking medical supplies for themselves or by doing some form of self care.

Ashes, Ashes

It’s the middle of the night when all the Wickies are jarred awake from sleep by the blare of a broken siren. Wailing into the dark, the siren functions as a foghorn might, warning of hazardous conditions to come. Beneath Wickies feet, the ground trembles, pulsating once. Twice. Three times. And again, and again until—

The world changes, and it is no longer the foggy island the Wickies knew.

Ash falls steadily from above, blanketing the ground, and at first glance it can be mistaken for snow. Whether by scent, by touch, or even by taste (an option for the brave, the bold, the few), the truth of the ‘snowfall’ can be easily revealed. It is strange, though, that there are no signs of fire in the vicinity. In fact, there doesn’t seem to be much of anything at all. There’s still no sign of the mainland. There are no buildings in this desolate place, either.

Lighting in this new landscape is hazy and sullen, but still conducive to exploring despite it being the dead of night just moments ago. But while Wickies walk, there’s a growing feeling of foreboding. There’s something… something else with them.

And it conceals itself in the ash.

It attacks by lashing out to grab at the ankles and the calves, attempting to drag the unsuspecting victim down, to somewhere far deeper and hidden by billowing piles of ash. It’s easy to save a Wickie from the pull, so long as they’re quickly freed from their assailants grasp. Retrieving someone out of the ash itself is nigh impossible, though.

Grabbed Wickies who lived to tell the tale, may find themselves bitten. The stalkers in the ash sink their teeth into the foot or calf of their prey, leveraging the force of their bite to take down their target. And once there’s blood, more of these creatures will be attracted to the smell.

If a Wickie is clever or strong enough to draw the stalkers out of the ash, they will find that the attackers are shark-like people. Most of their head consists of oversized jaws housing an impossible amount of teeth, and lacking any eyes. Their bodies are covered in ashen chitin and bone, with elongated feet and thin, taloned fingers. These Ash Sharks do not like being exposed, and will respond accordingly.

Ash Sharks cannot be reasoned with. Trapping one in ropes, magic, or other means will elicit angry shrieks which will attract other Ash Sharks, either to eat the trapper, or trapped, or both if they can. Being dragged completely under the ash will start a feeding frenzy, and the Ash Shark will proceed to rip and tear chunks out of its prey.

In dying, Wickies will reset to a random location within the ash filled fields, completely intact but for a purpling bruise where the initial bite took place.

Good luck.

Network Time: The Heart Game

There’s a beeping alert on all Wickie’s smartphones that refuses to stop until a particular notification is read. The notification is for something called the Heart Game (which, yes, looks annoying, overly bright, and cheesy). And surprise! The game opens up automatically with a loud ping!

The game begins (and ends!) with a question, one which will not go away even if you try to close out of it or shut off your smartphone. It reads:

It’s time for everyone's favorite game! Confession! Heeeeere is today’s question which you must confess!

What is… the scariest thing you’ve experienced? It can be anything!

code bases by tricklet

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Apparently, he'll have to find a whole lot of pennies to buy information. Kabane stores that knowledge away for future use.

He drops his gaze to the sand, blinking at the way his sneakers sink into it, before rising once more to the eyepatch man.]

I'm thinking about where we are and how we got here.

Those are very good questions to think about. I'm thinking about them, too.

[He strokes at his chin.]

You haven't been in a situation like this before, have you?

Um... [After a moment, he shakes his head.] Something similar happened before, but it was different. Someone I knew was there when I woke up.

Ah, and you have no familiarity with the people here, then, is what you're implying.

[Hm.]

What happened then? That got you to a different place like this...?

I was shot in Deer Village.

[In the head, actually. He's not trying to hide that fact. He just doesn't think it's relevant to the topic at hand.]

When I woke up, I was in Mr. Inugami's car in Tokyo. He told me he drove me there while I was asleep.

Shot?

[Well, that's...not good. Hansa frowns at that.]

Looks like you had a near-death experience. Or maybe a death experience! Who knows. [A beat.] Did you get shot before you woke up here, too?

[He nods. Yes, he was shot and died. Then he quickly shakes his head. No, he didn't get shot this time.]

I was training in Gunma.

Gunma...

[He repeats. Hm. Not a place he knows.]

Training with what?

A cliff.

[Rock climbing. A staple for any training session. Apparently.]

Mmm. I remember climbing up a lot of cliffs and such in my youth.

[He lived in a pretty mountainous region in Spain. Cliffs were pretty much all that there were.]

You didn't fall off, did you?

Really?

[Guess Mr. Inugami was really onto something then! They're not the only ones training their fundamentals by climbing cliffs.]

We fell a lot. Maybe we're not as strong as we thought yet.

Haha, well, you learn a lot from the fall, too! The point is not to give up.

[Though...we, huh?]

Were there others like you?

Three of us. I was with them until... [Until he wasn't. Kabane's shoulders sag under the weight of that thought.]

Hey, hey. No need to get down. We're all in this same situation. All it matters that we don't panic, and we'll find our way back to where we need to be.

[He lightly shakes his head.]

You seem like a good kid, anyways. They're probably missing you already. What's your name?

[They probably are missing him, giving up their precious training time to spend all hours on the search. If they're in any condition to do so. If something has happened to them too... He needs to get back to them soon.

He needs to know they're safe.]

I'm Kabane, and I'm part ghoul. If there's anything I can do to help, I'll do it.

Part...hm?

[A...ghoul? That sounds like a very specific term. Hansa gives the boy a curious look. Sure, he fights all sorts of things in his line of work, demons, vampires, but...ghouls. Hm. He doesn't think he's heard that specific term, besides just used generally for some kind of evil spirit.]

How helpful of you. I'm Hansa Cervantes. [A beat.] If you don't mind me asking...what's a ghoul?

[Kabane pauses, blinks. He doesn't know? Does he... not know about kemono at all? Is Hansa Cervantes human?

This seems like it should have been obvious in hindsight. Kabane should have assumed he was human from the start, but with all the confusion of his arrival to this unknown place, he hasn't given any thought to anything else. He's just revealed the existence of kemono to a human again, and this time Nobimaru isn't around to erase anyone's memories.

Hansa has the privilege of seeing Kabane's face gradually morph from unaffected to concerned and finally crack into an offbeat smile.]

Nothing important.

Nothing important, hm?

[His voice goes up and down on the syllables, almost singsong.]

Are you sure? I'm a priest, you know. It's fine to confess things to me no matter if its big or small.

[It seems like there's a bit of tongue-in-cheek with that statement.]

Really?

[Are priests people you can tell anything to?]

You won't tell anyone? Even if I'm not human?

[Yes, absolutely, tell him literally everything, that is how priests work,]

Hm? Of course not. In my line of work, I meet people who aren't human more often than you think.

[His eye closes - its meant to be a wink, but with his eyepatch, it probably just looks like he's blinking.]

If you want to cause trouble, or hurt or kill others, we'd need to have a different conversation. But for now...I'll turn a blind eye to whatever you are.

[Wow, priests sure are convenient! Besides, if Cervantes has no intention of sharing the information, then this situation is already very different from the last time Kabane accidentally spilled the beans.]

I don't want to do anything like that. Because I'm part-ghoul, I won't die, so I can help with things other people can't. That's all.

You can't die? That sure is a talent.

[Though a bit...problematic, he thinks, because it smacks him a little of the vampires he knows. Living corpses, the so-called Dead Apostles...]

[Ah, but this boy seems sweet, wanting to help and all. He'll let this pass.]

What other skills do you have, kid?

I'm strong.

[That's... That's it.]

[His eye lights up, and he grins at that.]

How strong are we talking?

[How does one quantify strength? Kabane frowns as he considers this for several seconds before he starts combing the beach for a large stone. In this case, it would be much easier to show rather than tell.

When he finds what he's looking for, he picks it up and waddles back to Hansa Cervantes. The stone is half his size and at least as heavy as him, but he raises it above his head and chucks it toward the sea. It flies like a professional baseball pitch and doesn't hit the waves until it's nearly out of sight.]

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