2nd Event: Choices We Make

[upcyclingmod]

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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!

Comments

[coinages]

[ That's nice of you, she says, as if he's just offered her a cup of tea, or some biscuits, or something wholly unremarkable; if she's capable of breaking free of these restraints, then why hasn't she done so already? There is, of course, a part of him that thinks he should do as she asks, then, and if something befalls her, or if they drag her dead body out of a lake, or off a tree, or something else equally horrific--well, he's done his duty, hasn't he? Tried to be a gentleman?

Except that Cloud Strife is here. And while he may be willing to believe that Rufus at least attempted to help, he may not be so forgiving should anything actually happen to the measly flower girl. How very annoying. Then again, on the other hand, if he manages to rescue her, that does give him the benefit of having a favor to ask--or at the very least, being owed some kind of obligatory moral return on his investment.

So his hand grips at the reins a little tighter; the horse seems even more agitated, especially when Rufus gives a firm, pointed yank to stop it from walking, and it tosses its head, blows a breath angrily into his face. ]

You're not fine, nor will you be. Give me your hand.

[flowertalks]

[ damn straight he should be afraid of her bodyguard. he's the best one around and you'd best not mess with her or him!!

but she still doesn't trust him at all — granted, she doesn't know him, and she is fully aware there can be good people in shinra that are just made to do bad things. but she can't imagine this guy is like that. not when he's the (new) president. she can just feel the spooky aura coming off him. ]

Turning over a new leaf? Or maybe you've always been this nice?

[ not like she can definitely tell. ]

What are you gonna do with it if I give it to you?

[ just help her down? or more than that? ]

[coinages]

It may surprise you to learn that I don't necessarily enjoy watching things die in front of me.

[ Her perceived petulance and inability to at least sense the danger is irritating, and makes his grip loosen, slightly, on the reins. The horse threatens to break away, but he realizes his folly and grips it tighter, pulls at the head of it, a commanding yank that he hopes will be the end of that. He doesn't think they have much time, and his own kind gesture is grating at his slim level of patience.]

Unless they deserve it, of course.

[ He glances up at her, eyes narrowed. ]

I will help you down, and then I will leave you. Does that sound adequate?

[ At least he won't offer to walk her to the cottage where Cloud is staying--partly because he's unsure which one it is. He untangles one hand and offers it to her: though he's unsure of what he'll even do, if she takes it. How is she going to be able to get down from there with how she's ensnared by everything? ]

[flowertalks]

[ aerith is certainly caught between a rock and a hard place right now. on the one hand, she has no plan with how to deal with this chain-y horse, but on the other, she has shinra's top member trying to help her down. neither is safe to be with, so she weighs things quickly in her head, and decides that it might actually be safer for everyone should she allow him to help her. if he's anything like the turks, he won't harm her, and he doesn't have a shinra building to bring her back to in this place... she thinks. and even if he does, it's better than any bystanders getting caught up in this situation if she leaves it for too long.

mmm, regardless of all the minute details, allowing him to do this seems okay. so she holds a hand out toward him, keeping her expression somewhat neutral so as to keep herself calm and strong through dealing with him. ]

It does, so long as you stick to that.

[ she's not happy about this but she can get herself through it. it'll be fine!! ]