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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!
arrival
so he's not the only person in this house. interesting.
he does, however, have the courtesy to knock (he would hate to walk in on someone accidentally, after all, but if there's no answer after a moment, he's just going to let himself in. ]
... Were you trying to take a shower? With your clothes on?
[ you have to take your clothes off first, xie lian, that's step number one. ]
no subject
He glances up when he realizes someone is speaking, but even caught in the act as he is, Xie Lian doesn't look terribly embarrassed.]
Oh- No, no, I didn't know how it worked. I haven't seen indoor plumbing like this before, how do they get the water hot while it's still in the pipes?
[He takes a moment to hold his hair over the tub and wring it a bit before he steps the rest of the way out.]
no subject
[ it's meant as a deadpan joke of some sort, except that vil has the 0.5 second belated realisation that xie lian just might take him more seriously than he intends, so he follows up hastily with: ] It's probably a heated water tank, but don't quote me on that, I'm not too familiar with the layout of the house.
[ that said, there are (conveniently!) some towels hanging around, so he's absolutely grabbing one and handing it to xie lian to dry himself off. having soaked robes absolutely cannot be comfortable in any form. ]
Wait, you haven't seen indoor plumbing like this before?
[ sliiiiight note of disbelief. he thought it was common! ]
no subject
Xie Lian hasn't studied plumbing much, save from the few times he's been part of building a new home, and usually he was stuck with the grunt work, heavy lifting, and the like, not the intricacies of plumbing.]
Ah... not like this, not exactly. It's nice enough to have indoor plumbing, but usually I still have to heat it. I was expecting it might come from the faucet, but...
[He gestures at the shower-head before taking the offered towel and patting off the areas worst hit by the blast.]
no subject
That sounds rather inconvenient, especially in the winter.
[ he does, opt to switch the topic as xie lian is drying himself off with the offered towel ]
Do you have an extra change of clothes? Those can't be comfortable and you'll catch a cold otherwise if you stay in them for too long.
[ just. gently nagging don't mind him ]
no subject
It's hard to be too bothered by the little mundane inconveniences of every day. I'd spend far too much time worrying and troubled.
[Some 800 years ago, he surely would have felt upset and inconvenienced, to not have a hot bath at the end of the day, or if his food wasn't prepared just so, but that was another lifetime ago, and Xie Lian was much more familiar with the everyday troubles of the common man.
As for his robes...]
Ah... no, no I don't, but it's all right. It's just water.
no subject
but, hmmmmm. a thoughtful look flits over vil's features for a moment: vil had noticed, from earlier, that xie lian hadn't balked at the mention of magic, so perhaps-- ]
Hold still.
[ the fire magic comes to him easily, so it doesn't take too long for the carefully controlled heat to dry xie lian off, mostly the hanfu because that can be fixed in the unfortunate event of any accidents, and vil lets the magic taper off when he's done. ]
That should help.
no subject
Oh! That's so handy, thank you!
[He pats his chest, marveling at how quickly he's dried.]
You're too kind. I, ah-
[Right. There's that whole business about being transported from his humble shrine in Puqi, to a completely new place.]
I wonder if I might impose on you further; as you may have surmised, I've no real idea what I'm doing here.