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

[monstrology]

they're generally not, no.

that's a bit of a trick question for me, because i generally don't find monsters the least bit frightening. but i won't lie and say i've never been afraid in the presence of a monster. i almost became prey to a mother wolf and her child once.

[sohayamaru]

If wolves are the least of your worries, I wonder what else qualifies for a "monster" label. Sounds like some hungry animals at worst.

[monstrology]

haha that's fair! wolves are pretty standard and similar to regular animals as far as monsters go. that said, i'm not about to feel bad about almost falling prey to some.

why don't we establish a baseline, then? you must have monsters in your world, right? name some for me.

[sohayamaru]

A reasonable compromise. Very well, let's start with the basics.

The most common yokai is called a "Gaki". Although the weakest and smallest, they're still dangerous and constantly hungry, as they cannot eat normal food and must sustain themselves on the flesh of the dead. They often pretend to be corpses at the side of the road to ambush travellers.
If one devours its kin, it'll grow larger and even more unpredictable, so Gaki must be killed quickly if found in a group.

[monstrology]

oh man, they sound so unique! i'd love to see one in person! humanoid monsters are rare outside of primal beasts, but they're out there! reanimated skeletons and zombies are the most common. there are vampires as well, though they're an entirely different beast.

but back to these gaki of yours! i'm guessing they'd only eat their own if one were to be slain in its vicinity?

[sohayamaru]

Reanimated skeletons happen here occasionally as well. "Zombies" and "vampires" are new to me though. What are those?

Not exactly. They're opportunistic. If one Gaki is gravely wounded, the others will turn on it and tear it apart without a second thought. Fortunately they're quite frail and beheading one does the job cleanly enough.

Supposedly they were once humans. Many yokai were.

[monstrology]

zombies are reanimated corpses! they're also generally called 'the undead'. they're not naturally occurring, though. same goes for skeletons. usually there's some kind of magic in play, whether from a primal beast or human. as for vampires, they're a race of beings that are often lumped into the undead category, mostly because not a whole lot is known about them. the common myths about them are that they prey upon humans for their blood, and that the surefire way to spot one is by the wings atop their heads. they're totally sapient though, unlike the other monsters i described.

ahhh so it's survival of the fittest for them, rather than their groups having a sense of camaraderie! honestly, that makes sense if they're hungry and desperate enough.

humans turning into monsters, huh... there's probably some truth in it. it's more likely than you'd think.

[sohayamaru]

Interesting. Is there much difference between a skeleton and a zombie? They sound almost like what we would call dwellers back home.

Vampires seem like a mix of Tengu and Hino-Enma. The latter are quite rare though. I haven't seen one myself. Supposedly they pretend to be young women and drain their prey's life force to maintain their beauty.
Unlike your intelligent Vampires, Hino-Enma are insane through and through. They can't be reasoned with.

I'll believe it. A life of cruelty has a way of twisting people into monstrosities.

[monstrology]

zombies still have flesh, for one thing! and in some cases, a single zombie bite can turn a living human into another of the undead ranks. are your dwellers like that?

goodness, that's a pretty crafty one! you only see that kind of behavior from evil spirits in my world. most other monsters are pretty animalistic.

eh, i wasn't really coming at it from that angle. i'm not a fan of comparing people to monsters. that's an insult to the monsters! i've just seen phenomena happen that have caused just about anyone to turn into a monster.

[sohayamaru]

I see. Physically, they may be identical, but being bitten by one won't change the victim into another Dweller. They prefer to attack by flailing a pickaxe around or charging on all fours like a beast if unarmed rather than using their teeth.

There are monstrous people and peaceful monsters. An enlightened yokai may become a nigitama, after all. At least with them you know where you stand. Yokai rarely lie.
But perhaps you're right. We're all subject to be true to our natures in the end.

[monstrology]

man, you're really making me wish i could see these yokai for myself. i hope this world has worthwhile monsters to check out.

yeah. with monsters, they're just following their instincts and doing what they can to survive. but people have a lot more options, you know? yet so many choose to be awful. it's really frustrating.

[sohayamaru]

If I had any artistic talent at all, I could put together a picture for you. The more powerful yokai are difficult to describe.

Some choose, some are pushed, or led by the nose. It's rarely a black and white situation.