pedalbike | 2nd Event: Choices We Make

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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.

C-C-Changes

Thankfully the fog has gone down to what it was before, a slow creeping crawl over the ground. And too, the monsters of before are gone, leaving the town much like it was before. Well...close to what it was before.

For now the season's have changed, from a lingering summer to a cooler fall.

There’s new foods to try, even if some things like lattes cause people to slip into warm boots and tie up their hair, and soups make people curl up under blankets on the couch. And it also means decorations of all sorts, made of the leaves from the forest, orange, yellow and red things and...we can not forget...

Pumpkin overflow

Pumpkins! They're everywhere. Wickies will find pumpkins infused into all sorts of things, like coffee, ice cream, even spaghetti options! It's wild.

There’s also many jack o'lanterns. They have been placed everywhere in town, outside homes, and even small ones have been made into table decorations. The Jack o lanterns have very cheerful faces, and seem to watch Wickies every single move.

That is, until a Wickie bashes or otherwise abuses a pumpkin. That's when it changes- there seem to be more of them. Their expressions change to that of anger, sadness and disgust. None of them attack- yet. But their faces become more and more horrifying, as they follow the Wickie more and more- outside of the bathroom perhaps, or found on top of them as the Wickie wakes up in the middle of the night.

It shouldn't matter right? They're only pumpkins.

What a ride

Funny enough, with the pumpkin invasion, there also comes a dull colored horse wandering about the island. Its head is drooped, and it looks depressed and lonely. The horse is tame on approach and will accept pats and treats, even from those who are obviously not human.

But it also wants something, for all that it seems to be begging for attention. It wants someone to ride them, seems to even be begging for it with its big eyes. The horse will help Wickies to figure out how to mount; it will even stand beside the Town Center benches, rocks, or even go down in order to make it possible for the Wickie to get onto the horse’s back.

That’s when it changes. The Wickie is immediately wrapped in chains from their barrel to the Wickie’s waist. The horse turns a coal black and the Wickie’s clothing changes into that of a soldier's uniform, with a hand either holding a whip modeled after a human spine, or a jack o'lantern.

The Wickie cannot get off the horse on their own, no matter how much they struggle. As the horse moves throughout the town, they will go anywhere from a walk to a full canter, seemingly impervious to any magic or physical attacks. The same cannot be said for their unfortunate rider.

If the rider is hit, or simply in pain, the Wickie will feel an impulse that grows and grows until they scream a name of someone in town, someone they know.

And the named will drop, paralyzed. Paralyzed wickie are likely to die within minutes, more so if they are too close to horse and rider. The horse will happily trample anyone on the ground to death.

Even without the impulse, should the Wickie rider use anyone’s name, that person will drop, paralyzed, and unable to breathe.

There is only one way to possibly save the rider: scatter golden objects in their path. The horse will shriek, and promptly buck the rider off, before running away. Just make sure to catch the rider, or at least cushion their fall: they have no way of saving themselves until they hit the ground.

Heart game: confession

Current residents of the island may remember this particular beeping alert, and how it doesn’t go away, no matter what they do! That is, unless they open up the Heart Game, and answer the question.

Welcome back everyone! It’s so good to see you again! Now let’s play that game, Confession! And the question isssssss…

How do you celebrate the changing seasons! Don't be shy!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Geri of House Mnemon. [Offered with a very slight nod. The apology gets an ironic smile from her.]

I mean, personally I wouldn't be that upset. It's a business meeting, not sentimental or anything like that. But there's been enough mess going on at home I don't want to add to it with my absence.
[And, now that the initial shock has worn off, her brain is starting to work through next steps. Which means... information needed.]
So how long have you been here?

I'd say nice to meet you, but I'm sure we'd both prefer better circumstances. [Business meetings with family members, huh... He's got enough complicated feelings about his own family to avoid pressing.] Not long at all, just a few hours. If we're lucky, no one's even realized I'm gone yet. [He smiles easily.] Though if this takes more than a day or two, I'll be in the same boat as you.

[...In a situation like this, it's probably more harm than help to be cagey about his experiences.] Time isn't necessarily going to move the same way here as it is back home, though.

[She gives a small derisive snort]
That's for sure. I can't say these are the worst circumstances I've ended up in, but it's in the top five for sure. Must be nice not to have people back home needing you at least.

[The time comment draws a frown]

What do you mean? Is this some sort of Wyld realm? [Oh look, a twinge of fear in her tone]

Ahaha, it's just me and my empty apartment! I don't even have plants to water.

[...which, come to think of it, it's probably pretty sad that he can end up trapped in yet another ayakashi realm and no one would even realize he was gone until he stood up a film shoot, but. What else is new.]

Wild realm...? I guess you could call it that. I have a feeling we aren't in the human world right now, in any case.

Ooof, I'd... All right I probably wouldn't kill for that. Especially with no plants.

[She shakes her head.]

Beyond the borders of Creation. Where reality starts to break down and the fair folk dwell. [Said with an obvious tone of 'obviously, everyone knows this!']

You could always pick one up at a convenience store.

[He can't say all of this lines up with what he's expecting (borders of creation? Maybe you could describe the ayakashi realm as a 'break down in reality,' but it's a little dramatic) but... He's not very familiar with spirits outside of Japan, but he's pretty sure that they use "fair folk" in a similar way to ayakashi in Europe-- spirits that can be helpful if you're lucky, more often harmful if you're not, or if they feel you've disrespected them; a huge assortment of creatures that can't always be seen by regular humans and follow their own laws.] Well, if it's that... yes, probably. But don't worry, I'm a professional.

A what now?

[And have a dubious raised eyebrow]

You're a professional. At dealing with things beyond Creation.

[And quickly her expression turns suspicious.]
You're not one of the Anathema are you?

A professional. [He repeats, as if he thinks that's what she's questioning. Though it seems likelier and likelier that it wasn't. This is a totally unfamiliar set of vocabulary for anything to do with the spirit world, and yet at the same time it wouldn't make any sense in the human one.] Mm, I don't know what that is. But I'm an exorcist, by profession. So, a professional.

[...He shouldn't be so flippant about this; this has to be an alarming situation to find yourself in, if you don't do it on the regular.] I'm sorry. I'm going to try to find out what's causing this as quickly as possible.

No no, not that. [ She waves a dismissive hand, looking a lot less worried. After all, exorcists are something she's familiar with.] What's a convenience store?

[She does shake her head though, looking thoughtful.]

I'm not sure exorcism's going to help. Or at least no more than any other skill right now. Feh. First time I find myself wishing I'd studied sorcery

[Hmm, so it really was the convenience store she was asking about. Interesting-- she seems a lot more familiar with what he's saying than vice-versa.]

Well, in my experience, something like this happens when a powerful ayaka-- er, spirit has enough influence that their realm overlaps with the human world. Sealing or otherwise dealing with the spirit should end it.

In any case, a convenience store is where you can go at any hour of the day to buy just about anything you need. See? Convenient.

Hmm. [She's really deep in thought now, scratching at the back of her neck]

The only spirts I know of that would be powerful enough to do anything like that would be the greater gods like the Unconquered Sun, or the Maidens maybe.

Or I suppose a big enough cohort of the fair folk. [She gives a single sharp nod.] That seems most likely. But they have to be straight up killed, not just banished, at least from what I've heard. Still, it's a lead. Might be worth working on.

[The convenience store description gets an offhanded shrug]
Ah. I usually just send a servant when I need something. Stores being open or not is their problem not mine.

2nd Event: Choices We Make

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