ercookies | 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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[Velvet seemed to think it over as her gaze turned back towards the view.]

Yeah.

[She said with a hint of a smile.]

Better than most views, at least.

Ain't that the truth.

[Deadpan, like she's resigned - she sat herself down next to the other woman, brushed out her legs with her hand as she did. She's in a summer-y dress to begin with, barefoot, so letting her legs sink into the water isn't a problem.

Luckily, her legs aren't too scarred. Otherwise salt water would be a bad idea.]

You like the ocean?

[If Velvet thought much of the other woman's injured appearance, it didn't show at all. She kept her gaze mostly on the ocean, feet lazily drifting through the water.]

I suppose. [She finally answered.] Never thought about it much before, my brother used to talk about it all the time...

[She hesitated.]

Had to spend a lot of time at sea lately, though. Guess it grew on me.

[And Edith doesn't press on the hesitation - she knows better, at least by now. She stares out at the ocean, then leans back, palm flat against the ground behind her, kicking her legs idly. She feels the jellyfish approach, but to her, it just feels like they're lazing around her feet.]

I knew a guy who talked about it a lot, once I told him I'd never seen it. Except from very far away. At the end of the day, it was kind of underwhelming.

Sailing?

Something like that. [Not much point in shouting that she had joined a pirate crew. Or taken over a pirate crew? Or maybe bullied a pirate crew. Eh. They were probably friends by now.]

Anything is underwhelming if you hear about it too much, I think. Or you're too old to feel the awe that kids do. My brother would sit at the cape and stare at the sea for hours while I was out hunting. It was nice when he talked about it, but most of the time if I did it myself it just felt boring.

[Now though, it was just nice to have a moment to not worry about things.]

The guy I'm talking about was in his sixties.

[It is relaxing, if she's being honest. Talking about things. She lets her legs kick a little more, feeling the jellyfish sway away from her.]

Little brother, though? Since you said kid. I only had older sisters.

Yeah.

[Velvet seemed oblivious to the creatures swirling around their feet. Either they weren't effecting her much or she just didn't care.]

I had an older sister too. Celica. I don't think I could've handled more than one of her. [She said this last part with a bit of laughter in her voice.]

Celica. Nice name. I had six, so imagine how I felt. [Edith laughs a little, too - beneath her breath, more wry chuckle.]

I was the runt, so they'd usually ignore me until it was time to point fingers when we were getting in trouble. You know how it is. [She doesn't sound bitter, really.]

Edith. My name, not one of my sisters'. You?

Mm. Celica practically raised Laphi and I, and Laphi was always sick, so the three of us never really had time for bickering like that.

[It was strange how a rougher family life could somehow lead to more peace, she supposed, but it had. While it lasted, anyway.]

My friend Nico and I used to get into the worst arguments though. So I guess I got my bickering outside the house.

[A little joke. She nodded at the name.]

Velvet.

Also a nice name.

[She nodded, too, just as a minor indicator she was following Velvet. Weird. This is the first time she can remember talking about her childhood with any sort of nostalgia. It's not a bad feeling, though.]

We were in a pretty strict environment, so that's probably why we bickered. No friends or anything. We knew we could only really get away with it with each other.

Little sad when I put it like that, huh.

Little bit. [Velvet agreed, and it was hard to tell if she was teasing or not, with how flat her voice could be at times.] But sometimes all you really need is each other.

My life was pretty normal, all things considered. I was just a village girl.

[Which she realized probably strained credibility considering her clothing, her bandaged arm, her sword gauntlet, and her wild hair. She certainly wouldn't pass for anything close to normal now.]

[And Edith caught her hesitating a bit, after saying that - so.]

Not like I can judge.

[She lifted her damaged arm, what was left of it - tilted her head so her eyepatch was more obvious.]

Life takes us all sorts of places. Won't ask if you don't.

[Velvet just shook her head faintly at that. But the girl wasn't wrong.]

Fair enough.

[Hm.]

You been stuck here long?

Just got here, basically. You?

Me too. Woke up here this morning.

[She flicked at the surface of the water with her toe absently.]

It's nice, except for all the strange parts.

TDM 003

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