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pedalbike2020-11-24 06:53 pm
upcyclingmod) wrote in pedalbike2020-11-24 06:53 pm
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Fourth TDM: Winter's breath
Welcome to the Test Drive Meme.
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As a quick note: This will be the last TDM and Application Round of the year! Have fun everyone!
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.
Start of Winter
Thankfully things have more or less dried out, for the seasons are already changing. Or at least, the weather is, and with it...comes snow.
The grass on the island is covered, various trees lose the last of their leaves, the sand becomes crunchy, and even a portion of the ocean water becomes frozen solid. (Take THAT, water!). And with it, Wickies wake up at their feet (or suddenly in their hands if they don’t sleep) warm clothing and various ways to keep warm- or at least keep the cold from messing with their joints!
And with it, there are snow shovels and boots that are set out neatly by the door. It seems more snowk is expected, and foot protection is more important than ever. While it is possible for some (those who are not infected by the Silence at least) to use the teleporter to get from town to their homes, there are pathways that need to be cleared for everyone.
It might be a good time to offer a helping hand! Especially with some Wickies who are snowed into their homes.
Or it could be a good time to use the shovels to gather snow for snow ball fights, snow forts, and similar winter activities. The nice thing about the winter shovels is that they’ll have them for a few months.
Too bad the ground is nearly frozen solid, and these particular shovels are not good for digging into the ground.
Frosty Protections
While there may be the snow and the quiet that’s coming in, there are other things that are coming into the island too. There are tables that linger day or night, which have tangyuan. Some in the shape of various animals, and some of them that are simply balls of colored dough. They are edible, and thankfully they don’t have a negative consequence to eating them (unlike the mooncakes from before) but there are written instructions, which also proclaim outloud to a Wickie if they linger for awhile:
“For the use of protective talismans! Stick it on your chair, your door, your window!”
Interestingly enough, they do seem to work. Wickies who are Silence infected are repelled by them, feeling uneasy and nauseous around them and touching the tangyuan even with covered hands will cause a burning sensation.
Infected Wickies who eat the treats...they’re in for a rough time. Really rough.
There are also little tables with various drinks, some being fruit juice, sparkling fruit juice, champagne and of similar ilk- but not ever with water. That’s just bad luck after everything.
The inscription for this table, which is again read out loud, “Toast to others health”
Picking up the cups, they will be unable to drop it, and the fluid will refill in the Wickie’s cup until they find someone to toast to- whether it’s in humor or in earnestness.
For the next twelve hours after the toast is made, even if the drink is not drunk after, the Wickie toasted will find they will have better luck in that subject, whether it is in health, love, or friendship, or just in general.
The same applies if Wickies toast together to a group of people as well.
Of hooves and horns
The strangest thing of all isn't the sweet rice balls, nor is it the smell of evergreens heavy in the air. Instead, it's the masks set to everyone, and the ruckus music that thrums through the air, deep into the night.
The masks are of a haggard old woman, well worn and aged, and that of a man with horns and facial hair similar to a goat.
There are different effects when it comes to the masks, both happening at night with the music starts.
Wickies wearing the devilish mask find themselves wearing a ragged fur suit, prancing in the streets, ready to whip other Wickies whose behavior has been suspect or bad as of late. Finding the wicked and punishing them is an impulse, neigh impossible to ignore. And, too, there is a sense of wicked glee when they do punish someone with their reeds and whips. Krampus masked Wickies thankfully can be pacified with rum or brandy. They'll need the help of another to pull of the mask. But once it's off, the costume vanishes, and the chagrin of what happened ( or the satisfaction) follows.
Wickies wearing the woman’s mask will find that they’re not trying to scare people, but instead, they find themselves loping in and out of the crowds, searching, scanning, for certain people, all the while wearing ragged clothing, and often a scarf on their now ratty, graying hair.
It’s with a sickening horror that Wickies will realize there is something in the mask that is watching through the mask itself, and is nodding to itself far away and writing their names on a list.
And it’s not Santa Claus.
The Wickie’s wearing the old woman’s mask can be distracted by scattering seeds or threads in front of them- one inducing a true distraction to count and pick up the seeds, and a rage that comes over that of wasted thread.
Seeds make it easier to pull off the mask, and thankfully popcorn counts as a seed! But thread...well, it is a distraction too, but one that can lead to violent consequences. It might mean some rounds of bait and switching until the mask is taken off.
And that’s when the Wickie who had been wearing the mask realizing the list is of ‘bad’ Wickies, But…
how bad could they be?
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:
What do you love about winter? Is it the nip on your nose? The hot drinks? Playing in the snow? Tell us!
no subject
[This girl isn't acting like the smiling, happy students Sabriel remembered from school. Or even how she'd acted at that age, torn between her school life and her father's lessons in necromancy.]
But first, lets find you some warm clothes- it probably won't get any warmer for months.
no subject
There's a light bit of frost on the windows already just from their few moments open. The warm spring air blowing at the curtains is such a clear, sharp memory still that she looks surprised at said frost.]
... This really is far away.
[Not that she doubted it but a part of her thought this might be like the basement and all those trial floors. All that stood between her and finding her way back to Zack (if he'd been real to begin with) then was a few puzzles. This though...
Her shoulders slacken a little. Fleeting, useless hope and now what weak wind there was is thoroughly shaken from her metaphorical sails. Her fingers thread around the strap of the messenger bag on her shoulder and she gives a faint, tired nod.]
Alright.
no subject
[And with that, Sabriel busies herself with finding warm clothes for the girl, not sure whether to surprised or alarmed when she's able to find more than she expects- there's a pair of boots too small for Sabriel or any of her housemates, warm wool clothes, and a puffy jacket that puts Sabriel in mind of a bunch of small pillows sewn together.
At least she won't be cold.]
Here- will any of these work?
no subject
When everything is put in front of her she sort of stares at it for a minute, particularly the coat. It's so puffy, obviously suited for winter and makes Rachel remember the last time she had a winter coat. It's too distant and fuzzy for her to fully recall.
After that moment of pause she gives her head a quick shake 'yes'. Her words are soft.]
Thank you.
[Another moment of hesitating and she takes her messenger bag off. It drops to the ground with a muffled clinking sound, objects rattling against one another.
As she settles against the floor first for a pair of thick socks that came with the rest of the clothes she looks... pleased? Her smile is as faint as the light frosting on the windows, purely an unconscious reaction to something just given to her without rhyme or reason.]
no subject
[Sabriel remembers being that age, although at this point she strongly suspects her childhood was happier than whatever this girl has gone through, in spite of learning necromancy and fighting and Dead that came close to her school.]
My name's Sabriel. You can stay here as long as you need to, but there are other empty homes if you'd rather stay somewhere else. [She's pretty sure neither of her housemates will object to another guest, and if they do... she'll just have to argue with them.]
no subject
Stay? Ah, well, if they can't leave then that makes sense. An empty house... she supposed that fit her well, didn't it. Her expression is only mildly surprised and then slips right back into a bland poker face as she accepts reality with ease.
Perhaps too easily to be honest.
There were questions though, implied and outright asked.]
Rachel.
[She finishes tugging off her coat and automatically folds it quite neatly. Her sneakers are lined up next to one another, her jacket placed gently beside them. She tugs the sweater over her head next, the length of her hair trapped under it before she reaches to pull it out too.]
... Cocoa.
[There's a pause before she adds softly.]
Thank you.
[She might be an odd kid but it seems she isn't lacking in politeness.]
no subject
We're not sure where we are, or- all of what's happening here. You're old enough to be sensible, I'm sure, but- [Sabriel frowns, not sure how to say this as she keeps stirring the milk to blend in the cocoa and sugar, and make sure it doesn't scald.]
I want you to be careful around people with purple markings. It's not their fault, but they've been infected with- something unpleasant, and it can take control of them at times.
no subject
What does it make them do.
[Casually asked. She's already forming plans in her mind as she slips her extra clothing into her bag, nestling whatever is already in there around to make room.]
no subject
[The cocoa's almost done, so Sabriel keeps stirring it.]
You can't say the name without getting it's attention, so we call it other things. Like the Purple Problem.
no subject
Eventually she speaks up again.]
Is it a living thing or a ghost? Has anyone tried to hurt it?
[She's so calm, her questions clearly trying to feel out what this Purple Problem might be exactly.]
no subject
[Sabriel pours the cocoa into two mugs, and hands one to Rachel.]
Calling it a spirit is probably accurate, but we don't actually know its location, or enough about its history to say if it was alive once, alive now... or if 'alive' is the wrong way to think about it.
[Sabriel approves of the calm approach. Although having been that age... she's worried about Rachel trying to hunt down the Silence.]
If there is a way to hurt it- or seal it away, it almost certainly involves magic.