pedalbike | Fourth TDM: Winter's breath

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Fourth TDM: Winter's breath

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As a quick note: This will be the last TDM and Application Round of the year! Have fun everyone!

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.

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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Wonderful. He definitely catches that and he laughs back. He actually laughs back, "Can't have you hitting that, can we?"

His face. He means his face. Look, impressions are important and he knows he's handsome so he'd like to keep his face as lovely as possible. His priorities are definitely in place.

"I'm not letting you go." Not after all of this trouble he's been through and he holds on tight. That flash of pink had been... interesting. He was so convinced he was dealing with some crazy old man but that seemed too vibrant. Struggle all she wants, he's going to hold on and even give her a yank towards him so he can reach for that mask, "Now, let's see what's under that mask, huh?"

He's so tired of masks.

She certainly does struggle, and there's fight in that small figure, even going as far as trying to open his grip with her other hand; but really, all that does is leave the mask entirely undefended.

And when Claude pulls the mask off, there's-- a young woman underneath, probably around the same age as him, and for a moment her eyes are still glazed, her expression twisted into furious panic.

Then she blinks - and all at once, she stops fighting and the billowing robes and switch disappear from her figure and she squeaks in surprise as her face turns up, clutches her free hand to her chest as her face turns bright red when her eyes meet Claude's. Her voice is very quiet when she does speak.

"I-I am... so sorry."

Mask removed and tossed to the side without a second thought, he's definitely surprised to see... a girl? That doesn't exactly get him to let go, though. He's not going to underestimate someone just because they're a girl, no matter how cute they might be.

She looks so distressed though, he wonders if she's being genuine or just really good at acting.

When he speaks, he's calm but firm, "Explain."

She's still not trying to fight him - her wrist still hurts a little, actually, from just doing so - but it does make her feel more than a bit awkward, on top of already feeling mortified.

"I-- I don't know, I just-- I put on one of those masks lying around, I've never seen anything like it so I didn't know it would possess me!" Oh good, the panic has turned manic, and now she looks personally offended. "I don't like going around and hitting people for no reason! And I couldn't take it off, I-- it wouldn't let me!"

Her annoyance is so great that she actually goes to gesture with her captive hand and nearly smacks Claude again anyway.

If only he hadn't been caught off guard by one too many mask reveals this year. He'd probably be more forgiving.

Her reactions seem real but again, he's really not sure if he's just a good actress or not. Her emotions start to run higher though and well, it feels more genuine? The story is so strange, too. If someone had to lie and make up a story, he'd expect more than a cursed mask and some spooky story about possession.

"Hey, calm down." His grip loosens and he tries to catch her hand,

"I'm not angry." Not anymore. He's calm, really! "I'm just trying to understand what's going on here. You're saying you were possessed? How do you feel now? Can you tell me who you are?"

"I'm-- I'm fine now, really." She is, too! "I just-- feel really bad about hitting people."

He catches her hand easily, and it would be probably be cute if it wasn't increasingly awkward; but there are still other things to focus on.

"My name's Glimmer." But if he doesn't recognise her, maybe she won't bother with all the queen stuff just yet. It might be offputting (and look how well playing that card went last time). "I'm... from Bright Moon, on Etheria."

"I'd be concerned if you didn't." Feel bad for hitting people but he seems... satisfied with the answers he's gotten so far so he'll let her go. "Don't beat yourself up too much over it, though. I'm fine."

Sure, his chest still hurts from being whipped but he'll get over it. He's really been through so much worse before.

"Claude." He holds out a hand to her. Since she's gone so far to elaborate, he'll do the same, "Claude von Riegan from the Leicester Alliance in Fodlan."

No need to mention being a noble or any fancy titles like 'Heir to House Riegan'. If she doesn't recognize him by appearance or name, suffice to say, it isn't important. Titles don't seem to matter much here.

After all the smacking he's still offering his hand to shake. Glimmer's not sure what to make of that.

Still, she shakes his hand in return. "I don't think I've heard of that kingdom." She frowns gently, looking away. She's less red now, but it hasn't fully left her face. "But... maybe you're not on Etheria at all..."

God that had been a very not fun revelation to learn.

Of course. Why wouldn't he reach out to someone who's had a difficult time?

"I can't say I've ever heard of Etheria, either." He offers a smile, "But don't worry about it. That just gives us plenty to talk about later."

And Claude is nothing but curious. "For now, let's focus on these masks. I also received one but... You could say I'm not very fond of masks." There are some fresh, not so pleasant memories associated with them. Luckily, it had spared him from the same fate as her, "Who knows how many other masks are out there."

As for her mask? The one he'd tossed on the ground? He's going to step on it, digging his heel into the dirt. The material is some weird plastic or whatever so of course it doesn't break but let him just take out some of his frustration on it. Let this cursed mask know how troublesome it was!!!

She doesn't quite flinch, but there's definitely a small jump when he suddenly stomps on the mask. She doesn't like it but it was a little unexpected.

"I've only seen one other kind around, it looks like an old woman, but... I don't know how many other people got them." And that's worrying, isn't it? How many more people might be out there smacking people like she was. "But other people should be easier to stop than..." She grimaces. "...me. Teleporting isn't a common power where I'm from, so maybe it's not here either."

He just wants to make sure that mask doesn't get any funny ideas.

"Hey," He catches that look! When he speaks, he's firm but can honestly, kindly say, "What happened wasn't your fault."

He can't imagine how she must feel. It's one thing to make a mistake or cause trouble for others but it's something else to do it because of something out of your control. Possession... that's real nasty business and he's just relieved that she's able to break free from it.

"I'm glad I was able to help you." He isn't mad. He isn't holding anything against her. "And now we know how to help anyone else in this situation."

So something good had come out of it! He'd learned that the people behind these masks might not be enemies after all. They're victims. It's best to be careful with how they engage with them and do what they can to set them free.

"...right. Yeah." A small victory is still a victory, and after the last month she is going to cling to that like a lifeline. "Yeah! We've totally got this next time."

She grins warmly up at him, but there's still an underlying exhaustion that doesn't quite leave. "What sort of things can you do? I have sparkle magic!" She says it more explanatory than gleefully, as she lifts both hands to let off a plume of sparkling glittery motes from her palms.

He knows that look. Poor Glimmer. Hopefully she can get some rest soon.

"Sparkle magic...?" He raises a brow at that. He's never heard of anything like that unless she means something like light magic which is how he's choosing to relate this in his mind. Or at least, it's how he was going to relate it until she had to show off the glitter in her palm. Now that he thinks about it though, he'd seen a twinkle in the air when she'd teleported, hadn't he?

"All sorts of things." It's true. He's a rather talented young lord, "I'm an archer but as you can see, I've a sword with me instead for the time being." And he shows the silver sword at his side. The one he would have definitely stabbed Glimmer with if she'd been unluckier.

Arrows are a precious resource. He's saving them for now. It's best to carry something with him that he can use immediately at any moment without worrying about limits.

"Anything else I can do isn't really relevant right now."

Riding is useless when there's no horse. What good is having authority when there's no battalion to command? And his Crest isn't really important right now when all it can do is heal himself at random. He's just a guy with a sword for now.

It's totally technically light magic, but she's also called it sparkles since she was a child so sparkles it remains.

"That's still impressive, though!" With full sincerity! She's always been jealous of physical fighters. "My best friend is an archer as well, he makes his own trick arrows. Ones that shoot goo, or nets, or emit supersonic bursts for destroying tech!" It's all very exciting and she does light up a little talking about it - not literally, she just loves her best friend. "I can kind of use a staff, but mostly it's for magic. I've been trying to learn how to hit things with it but no one really wants to risk hitting--" wait abort totally not a queen right now "--uh, me."

...oh she made herself feel bitter. "Everyone thinks I'm all sparkle, no edge."

He can appreciate that! It's good to hold onto your inner child even as you grow.

Color Claude impressed though. The most he's ever done with his arrows is lace them with poison or maybe tie a rope or message to them for some trick. Well, that and some of his special combat arts. You know, arrows with a little magic to take down monsters or mages in particular.

"He sounds like my kind of guy." Someone he'd definitely like to meet some day. Maybe they could compare and share tricks. He wonders what she was going to say before she tripped over herself though. No one wants to risk hitting... what? A woman? Well, that's foolish. He wonders if she might be someone important. An up and coming soldier? Someone of a certain social class? He'd be able to relate somewhat. Of course, being a noble and a future duke doesn't stop anyone from trying to come for his neck in battle. In fact, it makes him a bigger target sometimes!!

"... That's their mistake," He speaks lightly, casually, "The best sword glimmers in battle before cutting down an enemy."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Fourth TDM: Winter's breath

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