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upcyclingmod ([personal profile] upcyclingmod) wrote in [community profile] pedalbike2020-10-16 08:19 pm
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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!
omnimorphs: (What?!)

[personal profile] omnimorphs 2020-10-20 04:10 am (UTC)(link)
[The implication is pretty clear. Free magic bad. Book of the Dead good...? Wait...]

The Book of the Dead? Like, in that Brendan Frasier movie, y'mean?

[Cocking her head to the side, puzzled and clearly unsure, she regards the obvious expert carefully.]

Sorry, I'm really outta my depth here. But I get the feeling this is a big deal.
bindsthedead: (art-cause for concern)

[personal profile] bindsthedead 2020-10-21 04:21 am (UTC)(link)
I don't think I've seen that film. [Sabriel does know what a movie is- she's snuck out of school to watch her share at the cinema in Bain, but none of them were about the Dead, or necromancy.]

The Book is- a family grimoire, one with a thorough accounting of necromancy and counter-necromancy. [Sabriel represses a small shudder. Some of what was in that book frightened her, and other passages... well, the fact she'd been made to forget those passages until needed was probably an act of kindness.]

How much experience have you had with magic? [Clearly not much, but apparently enough to know that it was real, and not some Old Kingdom superstition.]
omnimorphs: (Sad)

[personal profile] omnimorphs 2020-10-21 04:55 am (UTC)(link)
Mmm.

[Paige nods, accepting the answers she's given patiently, noting the change in demeanor, and...well, it's probably for the best that she doesn't ask much about that.]

My experience with magic is fairly limited. I know and have worked alongside Stephen Strange, a man known in my world as the Sorcerer Supreme, and he taught me some of the very basic rules. Magic is manipulating the energies of the universe in some way, and the source of that energy determines what it can do. Different sources can change the spell, and how the energy can be manipulated.

So...very, very basic stuff. I tried to learn some very, very basic spellcraft with a book and some of his advice, and I managed to make a candle light up but that was pretty much the extent of my attempts.

[She...looks apologetic at that, both for not being good at it, and for probably talking the girl's ear off.]
bindsthedead: (art-cause for concern)

[personal profile] bindsthedead 2020-10-22 04:48 am (UTC)(link)
That sounds... somewhat different from my world, but also similar too. [There were two sources of power Sabriel knew of, and they required completely different methods of casting.]

But it sounds as though you're aware of the supernatural, but didn't make a serious study of it. Can you sense magic at all? [Most mages starting out their studies had at least a vague sense of it- if magic here was closer to what it was like where this woman was from, then perhaps she could find something Sabriel had missed.]
omnimorphs: (Upset)

[personal profile] omnimorphs 2020-10-22 11:10 pm (UTC)(link)
That's not...entirely accurate?

[Paige smiles somewhat awkwardly, almost apologetically, holding up a hand.]

I haven't studied magic much, no. But I've studied certain aspects of what humans would call supernatural. I'm a Mutant, and so I was born with innate abilities that are outside human norms.

But, no, I cannot sense magic.
bindsthedead: (art-explaining)

[personal profile] bindsthedead 2020-10-23 10:16 pm (UTC)(link)
I see. I've never heard of that. [And apparently none of those 'innate abilities' gave her any sensitivity to the supernatural.]

So your talents are inborn, rather than learned. And they don't include sensitivity to the supernatural. [So if she wanted to find other magic-users, she'd have to keep looking.]

Have you noticed anything at all about this place though-anything that might offer a hint about how to leave?
omnimorphs: (Oh!)

[personal profile] omnimorphs 2020-10-25 05:08 pm (UTC)(link)
Yep, you got me pegged.

[That's all correct, and she won't argue with it.]

I haven't. Other than the lighthouse, I guess?

What's your name? Mine's Husk.