ercookies | TDM 003

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TDM 003

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.

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N A V I G A T I O N

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Well at least she accepted it pretty quickly. Apparently this girl was pretty good at rolling with the punches. Good for her.

"That's probably a very good idea. Qrow is good at explaining things, but I'm not sure how much he wants to revisit this particular topic... then again I'm not sure how much anyone does."

So Qrow might have to take one for the team. Again.

At the very least she was quick on the uptake. She had to be.

"I'll ask whoever I run into. Each of them probably knows something from their perspective." Although she knew Qrow and Ironwood would know the most.

She shakes her head "It's probably better I don't think about it until I know more so... why don't you tell me what Ruby and Yang were like when they were younger? I bet they were a handful!"

"That's probably the best you can do. Between everyone maybe you can put the pieces together." Even if the resulting picture was... significantly less than pretty.

That could be important in and of itself, after all.

And then Pyrrha goes straight for the jugular and Summer's eyes light up the most they ever do when she's not about to vaporize a small army of Grimm.

"Oh I have many stories for you there. Come on. Let's go walk by the shore and I'll tell you." Because the fog was a good backdrop for the darker topic of what happened to Beacon, but her daughters? Didn't seem appropriate.

"So, question first. Have you ever seen Yang's reaction when someone tries to touch her hair?"

Seeing Summer light up like that brought a warm smile to Pyrrha's face. This is what she'd prefer, seeing others happy and sharing good memories from their lives.

Pyrrha obediently follows beside Summer as they talk "I believe I've heard something about it." To put it lightly.

"I'm guessing it was just as bad when she was a child?"

"Oh my yes. An absolute hellion. It's my fault, really. I used to tell her how pretty her hair was all the time. I think I accidentally got it to the point where she'd only trust me to cut or style it."

It hadn't been her intention, of course, but it was... weirdly sweet? That kind of trust and love.

Pyrrha couldn't help but laugh at the image. She covered her mouth, but she couldn't hold in the giggles. It sounded so cute.

"Oh no. I think I can see where this is going." That poor stylist.

"If you think it's going to the story of Yang's first haircut..." Summer let's that little promise hang in the air for a little while, building up the anticipation before she continues.

"Well, we all went into Patch one day, the four of us. I needed a Trim, Tai was wanting to try out some new style, I can't recall what, and we thought we'd get Yang's mane cleaned up a bit at the same time. Ruby was two at the time, so she didn't really need anything, but Qrow wasn't around to watch her so we just brought her along and sat her on my lap. Yang wasn't quite sure what we were going to do, but she was just happy for the trip."

She always had been adventurous.

Pyrrha hung onto every word. This all sounded so adorable already. It was clear Summer was enjoying telling the story too.

When there was a natural pause in the story she said "Oh right you didn't live in the city so a trip out must have been a big deal to her." Talking to Ruby and Yang she had gotten a rough idea of where they were from in Patch, though she had never been herself.

"Yang is really a social butterfly so I'm sure she wanted to see the places and people, right?"

"She knew to stick close to us, but she was greeting pretty much anyone who came by, yes. And with all her usual enthusiasm." Summer's lips curled up into an amused smile as she remembered just how eager Yang had been to say hi to literally everyone.

"Of course, that was after we got out of the truck, and we parked so that we didn't have long to go between it and the barber. But she managed to find plenty of people to say hi to regardless. She was all smiles when we went inside, sat happily on the chair next to me and played with Ruby." Yang had never missed a chance to play around with her baby sister, not as long as Summer had known her.

"They called her up and she skipped on over to the chair, sat down and started to chat... And then they brought out the scissors. I swear time slowed down when she saw them. She stared at them, I could see her eyes go wide and I suddenly realized something was about to happen. Then, she just... exploded. She jerked away from the poor man and started ranting angrily, saying that he was out of his mind if he thought she'd let him touch her hair, I swear I saw her ball her little hand into a fist. Tai stood up to go try and calm things down... and then Ruby started crying." Because of course she did, she'd heard her beloved big sister start freaking out as if the world was ending.

Thinking of Yang when she was a child. Just a friendly, eager kid brought a smile to Pyrrha's face. It was a sweet image.

Then Summer began to describe how things started to go down hill and Pyrrha couldn't help but start laughing. She felt a little bad, but it was just such a cute image in retrospect. That poor barber though.

"How did you two manage to calm them down?" She asked, a jovial tone to her voice. Hearing this sweet family story really was improving her mood immensely from earlier.

"Funnily enough, it was Ruby that saved us. The second Yang's ears picked up the sound of her little sister in distress, she bounded down out of the chair and ran over to find out what was wrong. She went from freaking out to trying to soothe Ruby in seconds, and once it became obvious that Yang herself wasn't throwing a fit anymore, that was enough to calm my little Rosebud too."

It was always like that. The sisters seemed to have an invisible bond, almost a sort of empathy between them. As if hurting one would ensure the other would feel it, and would come rushing to their side.

"Tai and I decided to cut our losses. We calmed things down with the barber, made sure there'd been no damage, and him and I got our hair trimmed instead. We were hoping that would ease Yang's fears, but... no luck. She still adamantly refused. So we shrugged and decided we'd have to figure out something else for her. We ran a few more errands, got ice cream and went home. Then I asked Yang what the problem had been at the barber's. Do you know what she said?"

Pyrrha couldn't restrain herself from saying "Awwww that's so sweet." She could definitely tell those feelings carried over to the pair today.

She continued to listen, completely engrossed in the story. When Summer asked her question Pyrrha shook her head. She couldn't guess exactly what Yang said.

And Summer absolutely had to giggle in response, because yes, it was completely adorable. The sisters always were when they were together.

"She told me she didn't want anyone touching her hair, because it was special and she wanted to make sure nobody messed it up. 'You're the only one who can do it right, mom'. It was... a little much, admittedly, but it was touching. I wonder if she still feels that way..."

Pyrrha covered her mouth in a soft gasp "Oh no that's too precious," It really was. She was very glad she asked Summer for stories.

As for her questioning "Yang is still definitely very protective of her hair and I've never seen her go to a salon. She does take care of it though... could she even take care of that much hair by herself?" Trimming it herself would be a nightmare.

"Don't underestimate how determined Yang can be. I wouldn't be surprised if she does just that." Though, at this point, that might be less of a charming, cute little quirk of hers, and more of a tragic reminder.

Pyrrha, however, doesn't need to know that. After all, it's obvious she doesn't actually know about what happened to Summer back home.

"I do know we never even tried to take her to a barber since. Maybe one day she'll find someone else she can trust to touch it."

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TDM 003

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