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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Barry snorts. "From the look of things on my way here, the plankton have aphrodisiacal properties, and the fish eat the plankton..." He shrugs, not nearly as worried about that as he should be, but untrustworthy food became a part of life ages ago.

He reaches into his pocket, producing one of the high calorie bars he was given on arrival. It's not as many as he needs, but he won't waste, at least. "I did some scouting. We can't go too far before the fog is too dense. This little strip is all there is outside of the city for now."

He rests his head on Garrett's shoulder. For the sake of his sanity, he's chosen to believe that Garrett is real, even if he doubts everything else. "Seen anyone else we know?"

Garrett tries and fails not to tense up at the question. This is it, then. Big boy communication time.

"Ah... actually, yes." Very carefully. "So... you know how there are two people who would strike the most fear into our hearts? In terms of... you know, relationship-wise. Well... apparently the Augur didn't fancy throwing Iris onto a weird sex beach, so..."

Which leaves only one option.

Oh, that's...okay. The detached part of Barry, the one he leans on more than any other part of himself these days, quickly files that in the 'probably still in Hell' column. He lifts his head from Garrett's shoulder, holding his knees a little tighter.

"I meant like Leonard or Oliver," he says with the barest huff. They're friends from his home, yes, but friends, not the one time love of his life. His stomach twists, and Barry can't help fixating on Garrett's choice of words.

"So I should be afraid?"

"No." The answer comes swift and immediate, surprisingly without sarcasm or bullshit. "Not in a you-and-me way, at least."

Garrett turns his head a little to look at Barry, wanting his fiance to see his sincerity.

"If he looks like he's about to start blowing things up, I'll let you know," he almost jokes. "But that's it. I was just... a bit worried how you'd take it."

Barry blanches. One wouldn't think 'has a tendency towards terrorism' would be his second concern, but in the moment he hadn't thought of it at all. He only thought of what he might lose, and Barry is so very tired of losing.

"Is he that Anders?" he asks, deciding to dwell on whether the man might soon commit mass murder rather than spirit Garrett away from him. "The one who'd do that?"

Garrett looks away and turns his gaze to the shimmering surf. Easier.

"I'm starting to think it's one of the... constants of every Thedas." Ox comes over to him and noses at Garrett, worming his head under the man's hand for Pets, which Garrett absently obliges. "That even my- the Anders I knew- is going to do that, too. Hearing it in his own words made a difference, but..."

He shakes his head slightly with a small sigh.

One of Ox's broad paws shifts the sand beneath Barry's feet, and he also looks away, fighting down the wobble of his chin as he thinks of Angel and Blue, lost somewhere in the ether between realities. "I'm sure there's a lot I don't understand," he admits. He's been to Thedas more than once, and he's seen first hand the wreckage of the Chantry, but that's not the same as living it. If people were hunting metas in his world, Barry can't say for certain what side he'd be on.

"You know I - " he says and stops, swallowing hard as the stupidly gorgeous and glowing surf rolls up to lick at their toes. After so many worlds, part of his sanity is wrapped up in the constant of the man next to him, but Barry knows that isn't fair. "I want you to be happy, Garrett. We're here now, and he's here, too, and we just left Hell. Me knowing I'm the reason you're not happy would be worse than that."

As he listens to Barry talk, the loudest thought in Garrett's head is that he could never, ever be as kind as this man. If their positions were reversed, Garrett wouldn't be half so gracious about the prospect of losing his love to Iris. Not ever. The tremble in Barry's voice speaks to how much it would hurt him, and yet he's still saying it.

Two years, and still putting Garrett's happiness first.

Garrett pulls Barry into a fierce embrace, wrapping his arms around the man tight so he can press a kiss into Barry's hair. "Shut up," he urges, somehow weaving love into those words. "You've been making me happier than he ever did since the beginning."

But it hurts to even think about- the idea that Barry would so readily let him go, let go of not just a boyfriend but a fiance, just to make him happy. His mind flits back to a cave in a forest almost two years ago, and how much of them was built around Garrett using him as an emotional crutch second-best to his boyfriend- to Anders. Slowly, his grip around Barry gentles, a hand coming up to stroke Barry's hair.

"You know I didn't fall in love with you just because you were there, right?" They've never really talked about this. Not like this. "I was falling for you since we met. At the start we were getting feelings- I felt for you, for him, for Dorian- I thought I'd have ages to get to know the two of you and put him away, but... Barry, I loved you for you. That's never going to change. You aren't a... backup plan or something I'm doing because I've got no other options. I can't imagine even wanting to be with anyone but you. Not anymore, at least. Not for a long damned time. It's not like that anymore- shit, that was true since before he disappeared."

Barry exhales a shuddering breath, burying his face in Garrett's chest when he wraps him up. He meant every word he said, but the relief that he won't actually have to walk that lonely path is nearly crushing, and he lists in Garrett's hold while he lets those assurances wash over him.

"Thank god," he murmurs, unburdened enough to laugh now, even if it's a small, wet thing. "I think that would have killed me." Barry pulls back enough to look at him. "You're not a replacement for anyone, either. You know that, right?"

Garrett cups Barry's face in his hand, giving him a warm, easy smile without a second's hesitation. "I know, love."

The situation demands a kiss. A very sweet one, gentle and chaste, the kind of unhurried thing that only comes from security, from calm, from knowing exactly where he stands and his place in the world. Even in yet another new corner of the multiverse, Garrett feels like he's home as long as he's with Barry.

When the kiss ends, he touches his forehead to Barry's, keeping him close. "You never have to worry about losing me to someone. I'm like a dog, and you've been feeding me."

Barry grins, lopsided. "Been feeding you pretty well," he allows before pushing at Garrett's shoulders for some room so he can climb into his lap. They make a ridiculous heap of too large muscles and gangly limbs on the beach, but for the first time since arriving, Barry begins to feel settled.

"This is real, isn't it?" he asks Garrett's throat where he's tucked his face. "We're really out."

"I think it is," Garrett says wonderingly. "If it was some stupid illusion, we'd have all the toys, the dogs, the stupid T-shirts. The bracelets."

Starting over with very little is how these things usually go. But Hell loved to bring the things they liked into the illusions with them, and never got around to erasing the dogs. Ox, though- Ox is from Thedas, from home, and it makes a kind of sense that he'd be the only one to follow them.

They're really out. Garrett's heart swells for the thought of Barry finally learning to smile again, his hands stroke Barry's back soothingly as he warms to the idea.

"I want to show you something," he murmurs into Barry's hair.

"Really?" Barry asks, lifting his head. His heart hurts for the mention of the dogs, of Blue, lost and found and lost all over again, but he fixes his eyes on Garrett's face and breathes through the too familiar ache.

"How do you already have something when we just got here?" he asks, smiling faintly. "You didn't bang something into existence already, did you?"

"Actually, no," he says with a very self-aware half-smile. "No banging yet."

Garrett reaches not for something new but for the old, familiar medallion around his neck. As with everything else, Barry knows this piece of him. He knows what the engraving on the back (Carver Hawke, 9:11-9:30, Ostagar) means, knows how it came to Garrett's possession, that the dragon on the front is heraldry, not just Aesthetic.

What he doesn't know...

Garrett turns the thing over in his hand, gently pressing his fingers to the circle around the edge of the central piece and turns his hands in the opposite direction- a twisting motion somewhat reminiscent of taking the top off an Oreo. Something clicks inside it, a simple little latch that lets that round piece in the middle open. It's not just a medallion, but a locket- well-hidden by the thickness of the star itself.

This isn't something he really shows anybody. It's not meant for anyone, not really- just him, something to carry close. A little memento mori, with tiny locks of hair from lost loved ones- Mother's gray, Father's salt-and-pepper, Carver's black. A tiny bundle of blonde, a little tuft of brown, and a small, tight, salt-and-pepper curl.

He looks at Barry, not sure if this kind of thing is... weird. A memento mori like this isn't weird to him, really, but Earth might be different, he has no fucking clue.

Barry's gaze remains politely interested, right up to the moment that the pendant opens. His mouth falls open with it, and he stares at its contents - hair, just like the Victorians used to do, clipping hair of passed loved ones to wear around their neck.

He doesn't recognize most of them, though he can make guesses, except..."Is this Leonard's?" he asks, fingertip outstretched as if to touch it. "I can't believe it was a locket all this time." Barry's seen it every day, has carried it, even, and he'd had no idea. "Why did you never tell me?"

When Barry reaches out Garrett's first instinct is to pull the locket away from him, but catches himself before it happens. Instead, he holds it out so Barry can examine if he wants, those little locks of hair held together by resin to keep or, a few cases, strong glue. Leonard doesn't belong only to him, after all. Barry has the right.

"Part tradition, part avoiding the grim topic, part leftover Zhautas paranoia about being spied on." It's as good an answer as any, he guesses. "It was Father's- when he and Mother were meeting in secret, he kept a small picture of her in it. A tiny self-portrait she drew just for him. Father gave it to Carver instead of me- I think he knew Carver felt left out of everything."

Barry smiles sadly down at the locket. Garrett's loved so many people so deeply, and this is all he has left of them. It's more than Barry has of his mother and father, but Garrett's sorrow always feels worse than his own, and in the end, he drops his hands without touching.

"I get it," he says, for he does. Barry's been growing in paranoia and constant vigilance since Zenith, he doesn't blame Garrett for keeping this to himself. "But why show me now?"

In the little moment that Barry is looking at the locket, Garrett's thoughts drift, ironically, to Barry's own losses. Would it help or hurt to have a piece of them to carry around like this? Barry is a strong, confident, brilliant man, a hero, capable of weathering so much- but so soft inside, too. If only there was something he could do. Anything.

How terribly romantic and stupid of them, to perpetually sit here wrapped up in one another's sorrow, always yearning for the ability to fix that which can only heal with time.

Garrett answers Barry's question with a sad smile of his own. "The only other person who knew is gone." Leonard. "I wanted you to see it."

He very carefully removes the tiny, tight little curl and lays it in his palm. "After the explosion, his hair was too short to get any- I tried- and... when he had that big, glorious mane of curls, I asked him for one."

Barry sucks in a breath, cradling the tiny scrap of hair like the precious thing it is. "I only ever felt his head when it was shorn," he says, touching a delicate fingertip to the tiny curl. It's hard to look at it and see Leonard, but it's what they have of him now. He swallows past the sudden, yawning ache in his chest.

Leonard's found them before. He might again, but Barry knows better than to hope anymore.

"I'm glad one of us has a part of him."

Garrett shakes his head slightly, reaching up to touch Barry's cheek, sliding his hand back to rest comfortingly over the back of his neck. A little bit of intimacy, of connection, that's needed even with how close they are.

"If we can ask the Augur for things, we can get that necklace I gave you- but as a locket. I want you to have something of his. Or maybe you can get that pinky ring."

"That'd be nice." Truth be told, Barry's barely paid attention to what this place wants from him or why, content to assume it won't be anything he wants at least half of the time. He's taken in just enough of his surroundings to avoid any obvious dangers, but this Augur situation is interesting.

"We could bang him into existence," he says with a small, sad laugh. "He'd probably like that."

He lets out an almost startled laugh, tickled in spite of himself at the thought of Leonard's reaction to such a thing. "It would have to be some very bitchy sex to produce him."

The hand not holding the locket tightens on the back of Barry's neck, thumb stroking his skin softly. An anchor- a reminder that we're still here. Despite it all, we are still here.

"I'm here, alright?" With a soft kiss. "There's nothing I like better than helping other people with their emotional issues. Makes a good excuse to avoid my own." A gentle self-tease in the thinnest stab at lightening the mood.

Barry smiles and leans his head on Garrett's shoulder. "Thanks," he says. Garrett might be mostly joking, but that he's offering at all is still miles from where they began. "So," he says. "More sex on the beach to save the universe. Or well. This one planet, apparently?"

He looks up. "At least there's a sky again. Even if I've yet to see the sun."

"I'd rather have permanent clouds than that red shit," Garrett answers. "This is the first time seeing something normal-looking since before Ainmhian."

He quietly puts the little locks of hair back into the locket and snaps it shut. Time to let the dead rest, and remember that he is alive. His hands slide down Barry's back and he leans in, pulling the man in his lap closer so Garrett can nestle his head in the curve of Barry's neck.

"And the bio- fuck." This word was always a bastard to say. On Zhautas Garrett usually avoided it by saying sparkly shit or something equally irreverent, but he makes the effort for his nerdy bae. "Bio-lum-in-es-ence. I'm glad you get to see it again."

Because Barry's happiness is much more important than his own. And, well, Barry was doing so much worse in Hell than Garrett was. The relief of being free and seeing Barry smile again makes his massive chest hurt.

Barry brightens, twisting a little in Garrett's arms so he can see the water. "We have this on Earth, but I've only ever seen it since leaving," he says, staring into the water eagerly. "The algae in the water is glowing. Scientists are divided on why - some say it's to frighten off predators. Others think it's to attract the predators of the algae's natural predators, like finding a bigger bully, kind of."

He sighs. "Either way, it's really gorgeous."

Edited 2020-07-24 04:01 (UTC)

TDM 003

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