TDM 003

[erkumods]

TDM 003: #BEACHBUMS

I. BEACH Welcome arrivals, new and old! The skies on Erku may be perpetually gray, but the weather has taken a sudden turn to summertime heat. Fortunately, soaring temperatures have chased away more of the strange fog that conceals so much of the island, unveiling a charming, sandy cove dotted here and there with rustic love shacks. These shabby little lean-tos are dusty and sparse, but they provide everything one (or two, wink wink) might need for a little relief from the sun. Just don’t wander too far... that fog has memory-loss properties. II. DRINKS The 'bots are very apologetic about the whole fog incident, and they are trying to get on the new arrivals' good sides by giving out fancy drinks. Of course, they still haven't mastered the art of making things properly, so each drink has a little something... extra. Geloso: Has a slightly bitter, yet refreshing herbal taste... and it will make you feel inexplicably envious of virtually anything, to a petty degree! Be it someone else’s shoes or their incredibly muscular physique, you’re jealous enough to tell them about it! Colpito: Fruity and sweet like candy. If you drink this, you will feel hopelessly infatuated with the very next person who catches your eye! Vivace: Delightfully tart, with a flavor somewhere between citrus and raspberry. This summery drink will fill you with bubbly energy. Whether you’re feeling flirty or just mischievous and playful, you’ve never felt more alive! Verace: Creamy, earthy, and a little nutty - the flavor is hard to describe, but delicious. After drinking this, you’ll feel strangely compelled to spill something you’ve been keeping a secret, no matter how incriminating or embarrassing. Conoscere: The robots are especially excited about this flavor! They’ve heard organic beings enjoy chocolate, and hope you like their first attempt (it’s a little bitter, but it is chocolatey). Those who drink this will feel incredibly confident and sensual. Better yet, if you share it with a partner - which the 'bots encourage you to do - you’ll find that every touch is enhanced, and every sensation is shared between the two of you. A lucky few may even be able to sense one another’s thoughts! III. SNACKS Lo! As you ask, the Augur shall provide. Thanks to the efforts of your organic predecessors in restoring the planet’s Eros energy, edible fishes and seaweeds have returned to the ponds and the shores of Erku. If you fancy yourself savvy to basic survival skills, why not fashion up a fishing rod and catch yourself dinner? Just be careful if you happen to hook one of the octopus creatures from the deeper waters - they can be quite forward with their tentacles! Or, if primitive angling isn’t in your repertoire, you can always trade some credits for a tasty catch from one of the food stalls along the coast. Most stalls are manned by 'bots, but there’s nothing stopping an enterprising arrival from setting up shop. No credits? No problem! The robots have also provided a bit of entertainment, and any volunteers to man the kissing booth, get dunked in the wet t-shirt dunk tank, or grill up some fish - among other opportunities - will find credits automatically loaded onto the payment app of their bracelet devices. The 'bots are recruiting especially hard for participants to work in the gloryhole tent! IV. SPARKLES As dusk descends, the white sands of the beach suddenly come alive with glittering lights. It’s as if the darkened waters have carried a thousand shining stars from the depths of the sea to the shores of the cove. In actuality, each little twinkle is a bioluminescent plankton or jellyfish! Feel free to wade among them and admire their shine; even the sting of the jellies won’t hurt you... though they do pack a different punch. The tentacles of the jellyfish elicit a powerful aphrodisiac response, which gets the heart racing and the blood pumping for an intimate touch. The effects come on within a matter of minutes, and last for a few hours. Only time will relieve the symptoms, but a partner will help to make it more bearable. ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● N A V I G A T I O N

Comments

[canceller]

[He takes it at face value, a smile curling at his lips. The query is really for politeness's sake, though the humor isn't lost on him.]

An excellent choice.

[Not that they serve much of anything else. There's water—he dearly hopes of which is safer than the other beverages, from what he's seen—but that's just in a dispenser next to the condiments and utensils. From a less hot part of the grill, he plates up one of the finished fish being kept toasty, picking up a napkin from their dwindling stack to tuck under the plate and offering it forward.]

There you go, miss. I would direct you on how to transfer the credits, but I confess I'm not yet familiar. [Some food vendor he is, even if he, you know, just got here.]

[shangrilady]

[ Fish. Water. Beefcake. What more do you need? On the other hand, he's polite in the way that, if he's like this all the time, she'd totally roll her eyes at. ]

I'm a real expert.

[ At being a LOSER goddamn. Elle just takes her fish gratefully. ]

Oooh, does that make it free? [ Don't be one of those people Elle. ]

[canceller]

[Eye-rolls may need to be in order then, not that he'd exactly stop on account of it. If Jeremiah's going to earn his accommodations in such a manner, he's going to do so the right and proper way. Too bad the service industry was never his calling before. Or maybe that's for the best?]

I'm afraid not. [His smile widens anyway.] Though you can take your chances with whatever "security" is around here and run off, if you really like.

[Ignoring the fact that, you know, he could also be held culpable, and he'd kind of like to keep this gig for the moment.]

[shangrilady]

[ They can save that for when he's not a source of delicious food, however. ]

Aww. ...not like it ever works.

[ Well, she's been here a bit, so she'll pay. ]

I'm not in the mood for robot fights.

[canceller]

[For his words, he looks approving when she settles up, watching to try and pick up on some of the bracelet function. Enough snooping on his own turned up some pretty unsavory-looking stuff, so he hasn't fussed with it to the fullest extent.]

So they do enforce some degree of civil obedience here?

[It would be kind of reassuring, given all the more troubling facets to the social structure they've built here, that they'd see fit to safely keep whatever that structure is in place. Jeremiah continues minding the grill, flipping a few of the fish to raucous sizzles, holding the further questions that bubble up.]

[shangrilady]

[ It's not too difficult. The money part, anyways. Having to go through a messed up bingo card on the other hand? ]

Sporadically? At best?

[ Which is more her style. ]

[canceller]

[Jeremiah gives a dry, brief laugh at that.]

I see. That does seem more likely, given the state of everything else here. [Run-down doesn't even begin to cover it. He almost cringes to think of what living quarters may be afforded, if any. Surely there's some licentious trade involved in that, too.]

[shangrilady]

[ The robots are silly. They try hard though. ]

The digs are mostly what I'm used to, at least.

[ Hell, she's had less trouble with leaking roofs than her old place. ]

[canceller]

Oh? [Right. Not everyone gets to live so comfortably as he has. It's as much a reality where he comes from as anywhere, but it's easy to forget when it's usually out of sight.

Glancing back, he turns a few more fish, setting his tongs aside for a moment.]

And what do living accommodations around here typically consist of?

[shangrilady]

[ Yeah learn about class divides fancy boy. ]

Whatever you can find. Apartments, shacks, whatever doesn't leak.

[canceller]

[He's tried. Kind of. It's been a while since he's actually witnessed things like refugee camps and ghettos, and he had a very different perspective on it all back then.]

That would make sense. [Jeremiah shrugs with one shoulder, but he's not making a face. He's prim, but perfectly capable of adapting.] I'll have to stake something out later, then.

[shangrilady]

[ Yeah well this place sure is dirt poor. ]

It's livable.

[ She's had worse. ]

And you seem pretty smart.

[canceller]

[And he'll take what he can get. Even if it isn't going to amount to much, evidently. He suddenly misses his mattress at the thought.]

You flatter me. [And flattery might get you somewhere, with him.] I do manage to get by.

[shangrilady]

[ The ever present conflict. Build influence or dunk on people? ]

That's all we really need for now.

[canceller]

[Why not both? He has it coming. Sometimes.]

Mm. It sounds as if you've taken to it, yourself.

[Survival from the elements, from hostile persons, whatever else may show itself here. Jeremiah's not fully sure, yet. As for everything else... well, he needn't pry into her business. She's young though. Young and yet likely subjected to the same things as anyone else. Jeremiah's gut churns, if briefly, seeing traces in her of somebody back home. Somebody he realized quickly he was glad to not have follow him here.]

[shangrilady]

[ That takes practice, she's working on it. ]

Been on my own for years. Well not - not entirely. Just... friends my age, you know? And Shangri-la was run down.

[ Surviving in the military was easy in between battles, comparatively. Except when you've crammed your cargo hold full of refugees you need to feed, fuck that. ]

So I can handle myself pretty well.

[canceller]

[Not the descriptor he expects to hear. His faint surprise is broken with a tap on his back, the bot from before behind him, expectantly holding the package of paper napkins it had fetched. Clearly he can handle these, if he isn't going to mind the grill.

Jeremiah shifts to the side to do so, feeling only a little chided, but begins opening it to sort out a few stacks. He looks back up to Elle, still standing there after the interruption.]

Interesting, given the name. Was it like how things are here?

[shangrilady]

[ Elle snorts. At the robot and then at the comment about the name. ]

It's ended up pretty ironic. Better in some ways, worse in others. They didn't, uh, reward us for having sex.

[canceller]

[Oh. That slots things a little better into place. A common enough story of survival, he supposes, living without support in a destitute cityscape. Jeremiah's gaze is carefully level, simply listening without judgment or pity, even if it sets his mouth into a tighter line across his face.]

I see. [There's no silver lining, really, none that he can see at the moment.] Then I do hope you've once more made companions you can rely upon.

[shangrilady]

[ Just a bunch of dirt poor orphans (???) getting by. ]

Workin' on it. Only now I gotta sleep with them to get things, so that's... weeeird.

[canceller]

[Well, so much for just skirting it. Better get used to that, Jeremiah.]

Yes, it... is. [He shifts, trying not to appear ruffled. It might not be working.] For better or for worse, you aren't alone in that line of thinking. I do think enough of us here do hold decent intentions.

[shangrilady]

[ Come on Jeremiah, it's fuckland! ]

As long as no one's... too creepy about it, I'll be fine.

[canceller]

[Give his poor sense of propriety a few days, it's all so very feather-ruffling.]

One would hope not, though I don't doubt your ability to fend for yourself.

[A nice sentiment. He's clearly not satisfied with it given his expression, however, frowning uselessly at the napkins before him. Jeremiah looks up.]

Far be it from me to assume your trust, but should such trouble find you, I'd like to be able to assist. We all need to look after one another here.

[shangrilady]

Hehe.

[ Elle can kick some ass. ]

I'll keep you in mind if I need a big strong man to protect me.

[ Wink. ]

[canceller]

[He laughs through his nose, but no inch of it is derisive.]

Wonderful.

[And he could say more, could be more flowery about how he appreciates the consideration, but he simply extends his hand forward.]

Jeremiah Gottwald, at your service.