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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
"It's good to see you, too. Great, actually. I mean, it's not great that you're stuck here, or that I've missed things, and I know the circumstances are actually kind of bad, but... you know what? I'm gonna stop talking now."
Except she's not, because then Glimmer mentions the sword, and Adora draws it from where it's slung over her back; staring down at her reflection in the blade with her nose scrunched in mild confusion. Wearing it... she closes her eyes and focuses; first getting a baseball bat, then a fishing rod, but eventually, a bracer much like one of She-Ra's settles on her wrist, the way Glimmer should be used to seeing.
"Wow," she says, sounding a little awed at the convenience of it. "I should have thought of that sooner, huh? Guess the Best Friend Squad is solving problems already."
Adora holds her arms out for what would normally be a hug -- then lowers them again, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot.
"You, uh, probably shouldn't touch me, but maybe we could air hug? Just to be safe."
no subject
When Adora opens her arms, Glimmer moving towards them is so automatic that she actually stumbles when Adora withdraws and retreats, and concern suddenly wells in Glimmer - cold and deep in her stomach.
"What?" she's not gonna let this one go Adora how dare you prevent her from hugging
her big strong First Ones waifuone of her best friends in the world. "What happened to you?!"no subject
"I can't talk about it much." But that's just going to make things worse, so she fumbles her way through some kind of explanation. "I'll show you, but you have to stay back. Okay?"
Trusting Glimmer to listen to her, she takes off her jacket, tying it around her waist, then rolls up the sleeve of her turtleneck, until her entire arm is exposed. It looks fine... right up until she gets to above her elbow, where the skin from her shoulder to halfway down her upper arm is covered by two purple S-shaped marks.
"It's an infection, or, or something. I blacked out, and it was there when I woke up, and I thought it was fine, that I could handle things myself, but I was wrong. Really, really wrong." The pained look on her face says there's more to the story than she's telling. "It should be sealed now, but I don't want to hurt you, Glimmer. I'm not taking any chances."
no subject
Her aunt Castaspella is a massive gossip. Glimmer's heard stories from her about what dark magic can do to a person, and that is... disturbingly similar to how she's always imagined it.
It takes a conscious effort of will not to step away from Adora, and to instead take a step towards her, but she manages it just fine. She knows if she backs away Adora would never show her again - for better or worse. She reaches one hand towards Adora automatically, but clutches it back to her chest when she realises. "Does... does it hurt you? Are you alright?"
no subject
"It doesn't hurt," she says, truthfully; ignoring the second question. She's not alright, for more reasons than just the marks, but Glimmer doesn't need to know that. "I'm sorry. I should have told you right away, but I-- I didn't want to scare you."
And now look what she's done. Her lies to Catra she can pass off as necessity, but this was pure selfishness, the need to not lose Glimmer again as soon as she found her. With grim determination, she lifts her hand back to her sleeve, ready to roll it down again; hiding her less visible vulnerability beneath the mantle of a soldier, like the Horde taught her to do.
"... Maybe it's best if you stay away from me. Just for a while, until I know if it's safe or not." If she's safe or not. It breaks her heart to say, but it's the truth. She'd rather that than Glimmer hate her, which she will if she finds out what she did... or worse, if it happens again.
no subject
The purple almost reminds her of the corrupted First Ones tech Entrapta found, with the veins up Adora's arm, and that gives her something to focus her anger towards. If there's a source, they can find it. They can destroy it.
"Why on Etheria would something being dangerous stop us from working together to fix it? If something is hurting you-" what did it matter that Adora said otherwise, hurting other people upset her "-then I-- we are going to destroy it."
There it is again: the hardened steel gaze of one too many battles lost, the desperate need to have just one victory. Glimmer isn't going to let Adora down again. Not now, not here, in this new strange place that has her best friend so distraught.