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

Duo even sticks his tongue out at the back of the person who whiffed their last shot, kicking his legs a little on the platform he's sat on. It's a warm day, he's at a beach - and Heero Yuy is the next person in line.

Ah, shit.

He's still got a confident smirk on his face, but Heero can probably see that he realizes he's in very real danger of getting dunked (or hit in the head).

"Well hey, bud, come to try your luck next?"

He will face his fate with a grin.

Duo's only mistake was getting into a dunk tank with Heero Yuy on the same planet. Heero sees that flashy grin, but he doesn't miss the knowing look in the other pilot's eyes: Duo's in for it now.

"I don't need luck."

Heero doesn't need to take his time when he lines up to take aim at the target, silently judging the distance and the ideal trajectory for a forceful hit. When he draws the process out, the only purpose is to extend that sweet moment where Duo knows he is absolutely doomed.

There will probably be retribution in Heero's future, that's how it works between them - but Heero still throws that ball at the target without an ounce of mercy.

Duo's mistake was getting into a dunk tank with Heero Yuy in the same planetary system, honestly. Regardless, he's not going to show any fear - not to others, anyway. Heero definitely knows what's up, given his expression.

"Yeah, well I'd argue you need a hell of a lot of luck to get as far as you haaaave-!"

Duo's mostly rambling at this point because Heero doesn't throw the ball exactly when he expects it - which means he's mid-sentence when the ball slams its target and dumps him into the water with a splash.

The first thing that comes out is a hand, middle finger extended, and then the rest of him follows, sputtering out water.

"Heh."

That is the rare sound of satisfaction from pilot zero-one. Of course, out of all the people in the ESUN, Duo is one of the very few who is already aware that Heero has a sense of humor - and that it's exactly this twisted. He waves off whatever prize the robots might have had in mind for this game; seeing Duo take a dive is its own reward.

He waits for Duo to come up for air.

"Were you saying something?"

They've spent a lot of time together both during the war and after - and Duo is well aware while Heero was supposed to be emotionless, he's anything but. Instead, it's a little more subtle, used to being held back.

Case in point: zero-two heard that satisfaction, asshole.

Duo does look a little annoyed, but it's still mostly for show when he glares Heero up and down, wading to the edge of the tank.

"I was saying you always need a little bit of luck," he grumbles, hefting himself up and out of the tank, getting feet on the ground with a wet smack. "At least accept the prize so you don't look like a total asshole."

But he's smiling, starting to squeeze water out of his hair onto the ground.

Does Heero care about looking like an asshole? No, he does not.

"I don't need it. Luck or the prize."

Heero still likes to think that they are relatively self-sufficient, no matter how 'behind' he is on his magic bingo card. Besides, it's probably something wild like a sex toy, anyway.

There is one thing he's curious about, however.

"Did you get credits?"

"Yeah, yeah," Duo scoffs. He hasn't actually taken a look at the prizes but he suspects the same as Heero; they're probably related to sex or aphrodisiacs in some way. Unless the other prize is Duo having to walk around in a white t-shirt, maybe.

He steps away from the tank to let the next person get in, holding up his wristband. Thankfully, he'd checked that it was waterproof before he even got in the thing. There are indeed credits listed for him to use, now.

"Indeed I did. Which means if you're tired of eating whatever's in the cans we're scrounging up, I could grab something."

Since he abandoned his fish fry a while ago.

So the robots hadn't lying about working an easy and relatively benign job for credits, at least. That's good to know. Heero has been growing concerned about just what purpose this beach festival is meant to serve ever since he'd asked one of the AIs what a 'gloryhole' was.

He hadn't meant to prod Duo into buying him dinner, but at the mention of food, Heero's stomach answers for him with a growl. Sure, he can ignore hunger and subsist on rations without complaint, but the grilling seafood does smell good.

Nor can he help but notice how thin Duo is, now that he's out of his customary multiple layers and sporting a damp t-shirt that clings to his skin. Has he always been that thin? Are they so used to starving at they just aren't eating enough?

"...varying our diet might be good," Heero remarks, after a spell. The tone of his voice is a 'yes.'

Heero's stomach growls and Duo laughs, covering the bottom half of his face with his hand. Duo gets it - he's used to going without food for extended periods of time, making something that should only be one meal last for several.

That probably answers Heero's unasked question: he's just used to it. Duo has touched upon the fact he grew up on the streets of L2 once or twice, and he's always been the one of them who loves food, but if anyone expressed concern over supplies, to immediately ration everything without an argument.

"Yeah, it might be a good idea," Duo snickers, seemingly unconcerned. He lowers his hand and waves towards one of the spots where someone is grilling - a person, not a robot. He'd rather pay the other people trapped here.

"C'mon, lets grab some, I have a decent amount of credits for what the going rate is."

Is Duo going to order a shit ton of grilled fish and vegetables? Yes.

Heero looks back to the row of beachside grills with a new eye, now that Duo has them actively in pursuit of food. It wasn't that he didn't care about food, exactly. He'd had shockingly high caloric requirements ever since he'd been 'altered.' Eating was as important as any other function that kept him in top shape to perform.

It's just that... seeking out anything other than rations, supplemental protein bars, and the fruits they managed to scavenge had seemed fairly secondary to Heero. It isn't all that different from how they've lived already.

From that sudden spike of his hunger, Heero realizes now that he must be craving something more substantial - which accounts for how readily he follows Duo to the grills, and lets him rapidly fill their hands with skewers of fresh fish, octopus, and vegetables.

Heero waits until he's fairly certain he can't hold anything else to speak up. "Is this too much?"

(Says the guy who could put away all that and more.)

Fairly, Duo hadn't expected a beachside grill to pop overnight. It's not the funnest way to gather food, but they'd been making do, even if it wasn't exactly plentiful. The addition of fish as something they can catch, though, is definitely going into the survival handbook, because it's an easy source of protein for the calorie black hole that was Heero, and a good variety on top of that.

He pays for the skewers, stuffing first Heero's hands and then his own, and when Heero asks if it's too much he turns around, one skewer already fully in his mouth. He manages to pull the meat off and get the skewer out of his mouth before he answers.

"These aren't expensive," he says around his mouthful, "And I still got plenty of credits."

Also, he's seen you eat, Heero Yuy. You'll put it away.

Well, it was mostly the credits that had Heero concerned. The skewers may not be expensive, but he doesn't know when or if they would have the chance to get more of those credits, or how much they're even worth for that matter. On the other hand... the sea appears to be a productive enough source of food to last them for quite some time, and Duo doesn't look worried in the slightest about either the food or the currency.

Heero still makes a noise in the back of his throat that borders on reproach, but now that Duo's chowing down it's obviously too late to reconsider. May as well pack in the extra nutrients while they can.

And maybe he could stand to loosen up a little. It's a beach, after all... his limited understanding is that beaches are for relaxing.

"We can watch the sunset," Heero finally says, after a moment to think of what might be the most relaxing thing to do while eating too much food.

Duo waves one hand full of skewers as if to reassure Heero. He's gotten good at understanding his nonverbal language, and he knows he's worried. But Duo is fairly sure they'll be fine; he still has a decent amount, between selling fish earlier and getting into the dunk tank, and they may as well take up a treat while they can.

"Sounds like fun," he says with a big smile as Heero suggests it. "It might be cloudy, but that usually means the sunset looks pretty neat."

And that's one of those things that he still wasn't used to. On the colonies, the sunsets were simulated. The first time he saw one on Earth, it was an experience that stuck with him... and he thinks that's a good memory to build with Heero.

He sticks another piece of fish in his mouth and starts towards the shore, trying to get Heero to try a piece of octopus. His hair is still wet, but at least his clothes are starting to dry in the fading heat.

Admittedly, Heero is more than a little gratified that his suggestion was apparently a good one. Duo always smiles easily, but Heero has noticed the difference between those that come with the usual sarcasm and self-aggrandizing commentary and the ones that are more genuine. He finds himself smiling back, though it's a much more subtle thing than any of Duo's wide grins.

It's a relief to turn away from the commotion of the games and the food stalls on the beach and make way towards the more deserted shoreline. He doesn't take issue with trying the octopus, weird as it might seem to a colony boy who's hardly seen seafood outside of a can. The chewy texture is reminiscent of the reconstituted foods nearly all spacefaring folk are familiar with, but the briny taste of the meat combined with the salty-sweet of the sauce is a gustatory experience compared to the dry, tasteless protein bars.

Heero's brows rise slightly in surprise. Had he really forgotten what real food tastes like?

Duo's smile goes a little bit softer seeing Heero give him a small one in return, but he doesn't linger on it too long.

Leaving the noise behind is nice - he likes being around people, real living people, but he can admit he's had his fill of it for the day and would rather spend time with Heero. And, indeed, it's worth it for that faintly surprised expression, Duo waving his own skewer of octopus in his hand.

"It's good, right? I thought it was a little weird at first, but I think I might like it better than the fish."

Then again, Duo's always been the one of the pilots who enjoyed food a lot. Even trying weird and new things on other colonies or Earth had always been an experience for him. Part of that comes from his youth, growing up without real, proper food. You learn to appreciate things differently.

Duo finds a piece of driftwood that's settled inland, worn smooth from the sand and large enough to fit the two of them, and settles himself down, looking out at the ocean.

The fact that Heero is attacking his skewers like a starving man is answer enough, isn't it? Though in a way, he probably is starving. The MREs and ration bars are enough to sustain them, but they'll need more substantial food like this if they're going to do anything more than survive on this island..

Which is the idea behind the squares, he supposes. So are these fish just to serve as motivation for them to get started?

It's a thought that lingers in the back of Heero's mind, but not enough to sour the taste of real food. Or the experience of settling down onto a piece of driftwood to watch the sunset with someone he knows will appreciate it as much as he does. People who are born and raised on a planet are naturally inclined to take nature for granted; they don't know what it's like to live your life walled in on all four sides by metal and radiation shielding.

When he pauses a moment to thumb a bit of sauce off his lip, Heero speaks up.

"What did you think of Earth?"

Duo's doing much the same with his own food, so it does speak volumes. He's mostly eaten his by the time Heero speaks, sticking the skewers in the sand to make a weird little pile that looks like he might consider using it as a fire starter later.

He's taking more time to chew over his last piece of octopus when Heero asks, and he raises an eyebrow, looking out over the sea as he contemplates his answer. Heero asking questions like that is a little rare, if you except mission-related ones.

"It was beautiful," he says after a moment. "Nothing was made only because it had a purpose. No one planned where each of the trees went, or the rivers was going. Everything looked different because it just happened to be where it was when the seeds fell or the earth moved. Everything was alive."

Granted, Duo is a colony kid at heart. That'd been very clear from the start, from the fact that he wanted to return to L2 and help Relena with equalization. But even he could appreciate Earth.

Edited (phrasing) 2020-07-31 23:08 (UTC)

Heero nods. Duo, being a chatty sort, had always been more skilled at putting into the words the things that Heero couldn't quite figure out how to say. Maybe that was why he'd wanted to ask. To have some words to explain why the confined artificiality of the colonies had always made him feel uneasy, long before he'd ever set foot on Earth.

Looking out at the horizon, even here on the island, felt like freedom to Heero. No walls. No scientists.

"But you prefer Space," Heero observes, thinking back on how quickly Duo had returned to L2 after the first Eve War.

"Yeah," Duo agrees after a moment, digging his toes into the sand after extracting his feet from his sandals.

"Earth's beautiful, don't get me wrong... I don't like the fake skies or the endless metal walls. Some colonists, though, that's all they've known. And those are the people I want to help make the colonies better for... maybe in a couple hundred years, there'll be trees that weren't placed down carefully for aesthetic reasons or whatever."

The terraforming project that the Preventers were involved in, for example, was of some interest to him. He shrugs after a moment.

"Also, dunno if you noticed, but it seems I'm kind of allergic to dust."

Some part of Heero has to admire Duo for still feeling so magnanimous towards the colonists, and some of that shows in the softness of his expression as he listens. He supposes it makes sense. Duo grew up in those slums, after all, and suffered right alongside the poor children of L2. Heero, on the other hand, had been lured right off the streets of L1 and into the nascent Operation Meteor before he truly knew the meaning of living like a street orphan.

Neither Space nor the colonies held any sacred meaning for Heero, except as a place where peace had been snatched away and war and oppression unjustly shoved in its place. In contrast, Duo's more genuine motivations for helping the colonists felt pure and real. It reminded him of Relena, who fought for peace simply because she believed in it.

He wants to say that Duo could call on him for anything, except - what does it matter here? The colonies are a long way off. Here they have sand, and a sunset, and... a dusty apartment.

"Oh."

Heero had not noticed that. That does explain why Duo had been so intent on dusting him off, though. He scowls slightly to himself, silently berating himself for having missed that detail while he leans over to place his skewers on the little pile Duo's made.

"I'll clean."

They'll need cleaning supplies, but he'll figure it out.

He knows Heero's heart is probably on Earth, if he considers this line of questioning. He actually finds it admirable, his dedication to what is essentially their ancestral home.

Ultimately, though, he doesn't want the idea of Earth versus the colonies to endure. Both of them need to work together for the future - and hopefully that's what they're working towards.

Heero's sudden chagrin (almost unnoticeable for most people) has Duo's smile going a little crooked.

"This dust doesn't bother me too much, it's fine. Anyway, we're out here to enjoy the sunset, not worry about cleaning, right?"

"...mm."

Duo's right; the state of the apartment isn't something to mull over right now. Heero still intends to clean, because at least it's an easily defined task that has a clear objective: making sure the both of them can function at their best. It makes obvious sense in a way precious few things have, as of late.

Besides, once Heero Yuy puts himself on a mission there's no one in the ESUN who can stop him. Why wouldn't that be true on Erku, too?

He throws his emptied skewers onto the pile alongside Duo's, looking again out to the darkening ocean as the sky turns darker shades of pink and purple.

"Have you gone swimming in the ocean?"

Edited 2020-08-04 02:03 (UTC)

He knows that expression well. That means that Duo is going return back at one point and the apartment is going to be, most likely, spotless. It's probably the easiest, most clear task he could have offered.

It wasn't meant to be one, but he appreciates that Heero takes it so seriously - if only because it's one of the few things that they can actually manage to do.

He nudges his knee against Heero's in silent thanks before the other teen speaks, making Duo look over the ocean.

"A couple of times, mostly out of necessity." He thinks back to finding Wing under the water, how complicated such an easy salvage mission got. "Why, you thinkin' about it?"

And as he turns to look at Heero, he misses the start of the ocean slowly beginning to light up from the inside out, plankton beginning their drift towards the shore.

Already leaning down to unlace his boots, Heero glances back to Duo, a faint smile on his face. He silently gestures with a jerk of his chin towards the glowing shoreline, as if to say 'see?' It isn't as if he already knew the coast would light up like this, but he does have sharper senses than most. He probably saw them from further out, even with dusk just beginning to fall.

Shoes and socks taken care of, Heero rises from their little driftwood bench and heads for the waves without another word.

Obviously, that was an invitation.

"What the fuck?"

That's Duo's very polite and succinct response to seeing the plankton start lighting up. He gapes a little, surprised, because while it's strange it's also oddly gorgeous as the glow creeps in... a lot like nature back on Earth.

Duo looks over to Heero in time to see him get his boots and socks off and start heading in. Duo scrambles to pull his feet out from where he'd tucked them under warm sand. His hair might still be wet, but he quickly twists it up - he's not getting it more wet if he can help it.

But honestly, he's weirdly excited to see what Heero will do in the waves. The only memory he has of him in the water is face down after blowing both their Gundams up.

He trots after Heero, at a far lazier pace.

why does everyone want to get duo wet......

duo has a face that just asks for it

ngl it's true

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the only other frozen teardrop thing i'll touch on

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