Third TDM: Don't Turn Around

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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.


Braving the Trail

A new trail has opened up in the woods today! Funny, that there’s never been a real path before, but this one promises a spectacular view for all Wickies who brave it.

However, the view has to be earned with one stipulation: until the Wickie reaches the trail’s end, they are forbidden to turn around. At all. There’s no mention of what may happen if the Wickie does glance back, but the scripted text on the sign marking the trail hints that the consequences just might be dire.

The hike itself is fairly easy. It even feels peaceful with the sounds of bird calls echoing in the distance. But for Wickies who are known for past procrastination, the walk will prove to be difficult. These individuals will experience an itching urge to turn around and leave the trail, and the itch worsens with every pause of their footsteps.

If a Wickie does turn around, they will find themselves staring up at a blank masked figure, slightly taller than themselves. And as wisps of fog cover the packed-dirt path, the figure hisses out a sigh, their voice barely audible as they issue their reprimand:

“I’m disappointed.”

Why, it’s not clear at all.

But with those words, the Wickie will find their body locked into place, unable to scream as their limbs become paralyzed, their eyes remaining fixed upon the masked figure. Somehow, the figure moves without walking, inching closer and closer until their mask and the Wickie’s face are close enough to touch.

The only way to become unlocked from this position is to have someone come and cover the Wickie’s eyes before leading them back to the trail’s start, somehow breaking their vision of the masked figure, or by speaking of a past regret outloud.

Otherwise, the Wickie has a good chance of dying from exposure.


Currently residing

It’s been nearly three months since the first arrivals started off on the island. It’s had its ups and downs, but with the previous quiet month, it’s been easy to relax in the cottages and houses, and even feel safe.

But not everything stays as it should. Whether a Wickie is just scoping the houses out, or returning to sleep in one of those comfy beds during the night, they will find that things are just a little..off. It’s as if someone has moved everything just a little, by no more than an inch or two. Sometimes, it even looks as if someone hurried away from the middle of a task. For example, mugs left in the sink will be washed; unslept in beds have been stripped, and their sheets are found in the laundry.

It’s only after sitting down with a fellow Wickie, that what’s going on will slowly become apparent.

People, looking more like blue tinted holographic designs, appear within the house. Slowly they become more visible, going through the motions of daily life. People with their significant others, children playing, even pets can be seen, playing with their owners or doing things that pets do.

These residentials don’t seem to notice the newcomers in their surroundings. But they do notice objects are moved, particularly if it’s furnishings. They frown, confused, before talking to one another and seeing the items returned to where they believe it should be. And curious too, that while the residentials appear to speak to one another, there’s not a sound that’s uttered when their mouths move.

It’s not possible to interact with them, unless the Wickie has the spiritual power to speak with spirits. Even then they’re quite confused, and do not believe themselves dead- it’s as if they think the Wickie is the ghost instead.

It is possible to deter the residentials manifesting by lighting a candlek. Upon the candle being lit, they recoil, some of them violently, and with great upset, before fading.

But they weren’t causing any harm.

Are they?


It Arrives

The pumpkins have vanished (finally!) there’s no more costumes in the various drawers in town; the apple bobbing is done, and there’s no more bonfires. Pity that means the food is gone too.

But something else has arrived. Something...small, white, and with webbed feet.

You’ll know it by its sound. It’s unknown what has brought this particular goose to the island; it might have been a laden desire, or it had flown here over miles. Or who knows, maybe the Admin has set this goose out as some kind of petty revenge.

All that is known as that this goose likes to wreak havoc. It likes going into the flower and vegetable gardens, looking for seeds, vegetables, and flowers to pull up; it likes to grab keys and toss them just out of reach.

It’s also clever enough that it figured out how to get into Fruits Basket, into homes, and even...sometimes...onto roofs.

Thankfully, while the goose likes to startle people, its mischief is rather harmless, and even, at times, enjoyable to watch. Just be sure not to leave anything electrical it can throw into a body of water by accident- or any bells it can keep in its temporary home by the woods.

For those who are curious, yes it will accept all sorts of snacks, and it is a wild, ordinary goose. (So yes, it is as harmless as a normal goose and yes it is edible).


Confession network

Yet again, the phone goes off. Doesn’t look like it’s anybody in town, but it’s that weird, cheesy app called The Heart Game. And it’s persistent, too: it doesn’t want to be ignored, making a series of beeps and chirps, much like a pet that wants attention.

The message that pops up is as follows:

We’re back! It’s the time for everyone's favorite game- Confession! So beloved users, our question is:

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be? Why? Tell us everything!

Comments

Satoko Houjou | Higurashi no Naku Koro ni

[clamoris]

((I promise there are no spoilers for the new series currently airing in these prompts, though I will warn for the usual stuff that comes with this canon that may come up in threads: murder, gore, paranoia/mental health disorders, etc. etc. due to canon point being Disaster Awakening Arc))

A: Arrival

[Given that Satoko's last memory involved lying in a hospital bed, it comes as no surprise that she wakes up in a bed here in this strange place as opposed to being found outside somewhere.

However, the realization that she is in an unfamiliar bed that is not in the hospital has her quickly scrambling, practically crashing onto the floor in her haste to get away. Did the staff move her? ... Was she kidnapped and brought elsewhere? Could it... have been the same man that she felt was following her and Rika around those last few days?

As such, she needs to get the hell out of here as quickly as possible before the man comes back. Except, her falling out of bed may have attracted attention, so she looks around for something nearby: a broom, a chair, anything she can lift and swing as a potential weapon as she makes for the door.

... So, uh, whoever is coming to investigate, be prepared for potentially getting attacked by a scared 11 year old girl here.]

B: Honk

[Anyone investigating the recent goose sightings may come across a sudden trail of snacks that seem to be for the intent of leading the goose somewhere, as sure enough, the goose can be found sampling one of them on the ground.

... And then there's Satoko, who seems to be watching the goose very intently behind a nearby tree. What is she waiting for? ... Is she trying to trap the goose?

... Or maybe itll end up being you that falls into her trap if you accidentally take three more steps to the left, but either way, this sure is happening here.]

C: Wildcard

[Got something else you wanna do with us instead? Here's the prompt for it! You can also PM this journal or find me at wailords for more in depth plotting.]

B

[miiraculous]

[Rika is a mischievous girl herself. She's found it much easier to be herself since Satoko arrived, selfishly indulging in her best friend's company whenever she can. If she stops to think about it, Rika is horrified by Satoko's arrival. She has to keep moving or her friend will sense her concern.

So today, Rika walks up behind Satoko while she's laying the trap. Stealthy in her approach, then shameless in announcing her arrive;]

Honk Honk time~! ☆

[clamoris]

[That almost makes Satoko jump, but she's quick to catch herself before they can potentially give away their position to the goose, putting a hand over Rika's mouth.]

Ssssh, Rika, quiet!

[Thankfully, it doesn't seem to have heard them at all and is continuing to munch on snacks, so Satoko doesn't keep her hand over Rika's mouth for too long, though she does give her friend a warning.]

If you're too loud, the goose will notice us!

[miiraculous]

["That's the point!" Rika would say. It would be fun to chase the goose around for a bit. But she nods mutely, lowering her voice to a polite whisper.]

Maybe it will instead think I am its friend and be lured into a trap~. [She ducks out of sight with Satoko, watching the goose.]

Is goosey going to be our new pet?

[clamoris]

[Satoko starts to open her mouth to object to that idea... but then stops, reconsidering.]

Actually... that's not a bad idea, Rika. Maybe we could train it to keep away pests... or even help with some our traps against Keiichi-san...

[Oh my god Satoko do not send a goose chasing after Keiichi??]

honkhonk

[quietblueflame]

[ Rena notices the trail before she notices the goose honestly. It's a telltale sign of a classic Satoko trap or trick from home, so instead of going to the goose or the end of the trail, she circles around to where she thinks the girl is hiding.

She approaches from behind, squatting down and speaking in a quiet voice. ]

What're you doing, Satoko-chan?

[clamoris]

[Well, at least Rena is a little quieter than Rika was when sneaking up on us to see what we were doing.]

Isn't it obvious, Rena-san? I'm trying to catch a thief! And I've got the prime suspect in sight!

[... She says, as if there's actually more than one suspect here for who is responsible for the recent string of thefts.]

[quietblueflame]

Thief?

[ She carefully pokes her head over the bush to look. ]

The goose? But it's sooooo cute! You're not going to hurt it are you Satoko-chan? Are you?

[ Sometimes her traps go a liiiitttle too far after all. ]

[clamoris]

[Aww no Rena, don't make that face at us, you're going to make Satoko feel guilty.]

N--no, Rena-san, of course not. That would be very unladylike of me to hurt an animal for not knowing any better of what's right and wrong... but that's why we need to trap it so that it can be taught a lesson that stealing is wrong!

b.

[selforphaned]

[ in all honesty, russell wasn't paying attention to the trail and he much less was paying attention to satoko watching. he just wanted to find that goose that had stolen from him again.

so as soon as he had found the goose, he had begun to make cautious steps towards it. he just. wants. his knife back.

too bad he's going to end up falling for satoko's trap with a small yelp. HELP???? ]

[clamoris]

[Welp, into the (surprisingly deep) pitfall he goes. The goose startles with a honk and flaps away to stand a few feet further away out of reach from whatever the heck is going on here as Satoko is forced to approach from her hiding place in the bushes.

And honestly, she can't help but grin for a moment.]

Ohohoho! It may not have caught my intended target, but I'm glad to see that even my most simple of traps still works wonders!

[But, then she stops being too amused as she stoops down next to the pitfall. This... isn't a kid she recognizes, so unlike say... if Keiichi-san had been the one to fall prey to her trap, she wouldn't feel as guilty as she does now. (In fact she would be mildly offended if Keiichi had fallen for such a simple trick in comparison to her more grand trap-making skills...)

So, she holds out a hand to the other kid offering to help him back up.]

Are you okay?

[selforphaned]

[ unfortunately, russell is somewhat stunned after the fall, looking up in absolute confusion over how this happened. he had been walking down the grass when...he fell into a hole?? how does this make sense? does this make sense?? the goose honking into the distance only makes this feel even more pathetic as he continues looking around stupidly.

but it's when satoko admits to her crimes that russell feels irritation wash over him as he realizes what happened. a trap.

so when she gets over there to him, he has quite the irritated look on his face. it feels the same way it felt whenever he had to speak to that stupid informant, her laugh grating in his ears. ]

I'm fine. [ he won't take her hand, unfortunately, mostly because he doesn't know whether to trust her or not yet. he pushes himself up, dusting himself off as much as he can. ] What was that for?

[clamoris]

[Satoko won't be offended by him ignoring her hand, at least since it is her fault here that she trapped the wrong target. Instead she points at the goose that has gone back to partaking in the snacks she had scattered about, albeit positioned farther away from the two children for now.]

For catching the thief! Even for a goose, it is a formidable foe indeed... so we're going all out here. And that means using my traps to do it if I have to.

A

[sononizaki]

[The one that winds up finding Satoko is, unfortunately, Mion. It probably doesn't help that she's carrying something that might be close to a weapon, which means that she's finding herself looking just a little shocked, eyes wide.]

Satoko?!

[This was not as expected, or planned.

Uh.]

[clamoris]

[Thank goodness Mion had actually called her name, honestly she came dangerously close to being hit in the face with a chair. However, upon hearing her name, the chair freezes in the air from the arc it had been swung in, avoiding coming in contact with her friend.

A friend that she wasn't expecting to see standing there... or really anywhere else, given the condition Mion was in the last time Satoko had seen her.]

Mi... Mion-san? Is that... is it really you? How?

[Her tone is one of cautious hope... and yet, a good amount of wariness. As if she's being confronted by a ghost rather than just suddenly seeing someone familiar in an unknown place.]

[sononizaki]

...

[For a good moment, her voice stills. That's definitely not the kind of reaction that she expected from Satoko in the slightest bit. But then she's reminded of the words that Kei-chan had told her about Rena, and how Rena somehow recalls differing events.

Could this also apply to Satoko, too...?]

Yeah, it's really me. I— [What does she even say?] It's really me, I promise.

[She puts out a hand out to show that it's fine, that she's here.]

A

[croxxing]

[Taichi had a loud noise coming from one of the rooms, so he decides to carefully pursue what was going on there. He didn't sense any murderous intent yet... If he approaches this in a loud demanding manner, then he felt that could escalate things for the worst. So for now, he walks his way to the room without a single sound to his step. Weird.

Though whenever he peeks in, his suspicions shift more to worry. Even children were arriving here!?]

Huh? Who let a young child into a place like this? Wouldn't this be a problem for the ESRB rating system?

[What is he even talking about?]

[clamoris]

[Wow, not only is this an unfamiliar person, but he sure is saying things that doesn't make any real sense to Satoko right now. ESRB? Is that... code for something? It's definitely suspicious.

Satoko lifts the chair she's found in a stance to use as a potential shield, or even start swinging at him the moment she can find a good opportunity to do it as she glares at him.]

I--I don't know who you are, but you better start explaining yourself: don't you know that it's a crime to keep a young lady here against her will!?

[It's an attempt at confronting the issue in a more confident manner, but judging from the way her body shakes as she says it, her overall wariness and, quite frankly, the fact that she looks like she escaped from a hospital recently, there's no doubt she is scared and very confused about suddenly being here.]

[croxxing]

Oh! A sassy young child at that!

[Taichi will clear his throat to speak in a more formal gentlemanly voice. An ojou type? He has plenty of experience with talking with those types of girls.]

I can assure you, madam... Your body type does not arouse me in the slightest! Therefore, I have no reason to kidnap you! However, I, the Love Aristocrat, am a protector of all women of age, races, shapes and sizes! I am a loyal knight despite not wearing any armor!

[He'll make an attempt to step closer to her. His walking is slow, careful and calculated as he didn't want to make any sudden movements to scare her further. It was like dealing with a scared animal... Frankly, he's more worried about Satoko hurting herself than hurting him.]

So let's put down the chair and talk things out, okay? I am in the same predicament as you!

B

[keichan]

[ Unfortunately for Satoko, her expertly-laid trap was a little too expertly laid. Without any of Satoko's traps to keep his senses sharpened, Keiichi has been lulled into a false sense of security, focusing more on the other dangers around him. ]

Uwwaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

[ The good news for Satoko is, her trap definitely caught something. The bad news is, the commotion from it startled away the goose.

The weird news? Where her trap was, there is now a dazed Keiichi, still trying to process what happened. There's only one person who could spring traps like that that he knows, and there's no way that she's been here, right?!? ]

[clamoris]

[Satoko had only taken her eyes off of her trap for maybe a second, but that familiar scream of someone getting tricked rather than the intended target of the goose has her snapping her head in his direction so hard she almost gives herself whiplash.

She quickly leaves her hiding spot to approach, no longer caring for the goose having gotten away.]

Keiichi-san!?

[Normally, she would immediately laugh at him, or even express offense at how he fell for one of her easiest traps, but... she really had not been expecting to run into him out here.]

[keichan]

[ He blinks a few times, trying to process what's just happened. This looks like some sort of snare trap designed to catch something much smaller than him, hence why he's only been snagged by the ankle. But it's remarkably well-made.

And then, there's that voice that calls out his name. His eyes widen in shock... each of the club members had been looking for Satoko since their arrival, and they'd slowly assumed that she wasn't there. But that voice... it's definitely hers. ]

S-Satoko?!?

[ He's too bewildered, surprised, concerned, yet simultaneously relieved to be too upset about getting stuck in another one of her traps. He tries to work himself out of the trap, but it's not going so well. ]

b

[fortunateflower]

[When Hinami heard noises coming from a room nearby, she cautiously approaches to investigate. She's scared and confused, having woken up in a bathtub earlier, but... Maybe the people living here could tell her what's going on? Even though she's terrified of speaking to strangers, due to unfortunate circumstances. She isn't sure what to do, but if she finds them to be suspicious she's ready to run away.

Footsteps quiet as she steps towards the door, her hand trembles even as she grips hard on the doorknob and peeks inside, steeling herself.]

Um... H-hello?

[Then, Hinami sees a girl, scared as she is, and younger than her. She doesn't approach the other girl, in fact she seems to be shrinking away.]

Do you.. Do you live here?

[clamoris]

[Upon seeing that it's not a scary adult man, but a young girl close to her age, Satoko falters. She lowers her improvised weapon but doesn't let go of it entirely.]

No, no... I just woke up here... I shouldn't be here at all, I should be...

[... In the hospital. Or dead, possibly. Her last memory is rather fuzzy on the details.]

Who are you?

[This girl definitely wasn't in the hospital with her. Does she live here? ... Or maybe she was kidnapped too?]

[fortunateflower]

[It's very clear now the other girl is in the same predicament as she is. Still, Hinami doesn't make an attempt to approach just yet, only pushing the door wide open when it seems safe and no confrontation is going to happen. She could take the other girl on (naturally as a ghoul), but it doesn't mean she wants to or could bring herself to. Honestly, she's more worried that the other girl might hurt herself.]

Me neither... I don't even remember how I got here. Or where here is...

[This isn't Touka's apartment, or anywhere near, she's sure of it. She should be with her big sister, safe and secured in her home.]

Um... I'm Hinami.