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

"Ferdinand!"

Seeing a smiling and familiar face was enough to draw a bright smile from Mercedes herself, and she scooted down the bench she'd taken while picking a drink to make space for him. "Of course you can join me. I was just trying to decide which drink to order. I'd narrowed it down-one is chocolate, but they say it should be shared, and the other sounds... well, they really aren't sure how to describe it, I guess!" She offered a slight shrug. "Would you like to share a drink, perhaps?"

Ferdinand has had enough experience with the drinks in Erku to know that he should be careful accepting anything that their robotic hosts offer them, especially if it comes in liquid form. It would be for the best that he give her some warning.

"Hmm... well, some of the drinks here might have a... slight effect on your mental state," he cautions, his smile fading slightly as he takes a seat next to her. "Very well, let us try the chocolate together. I certainly hope it is better than what passes for tea here. Would you believe that they served it chilled with ice?"

Whatever they did, it couldn't be that bad, right?

"Chilled, truly? How odd." With Ferdinand's assent, Mercedes ordered the conscere for two, which the bot happily provided before wandering off to find another newcomer to share drinks with. The drink was provided in one glass with the two straws, so Mercedes held it between the two of them. "Shall we?"

Ferdinand glanced at the glass between them, and he couldn't help but feel a slight twinge of nervousness. Sharing a drink so directly with another person was still quite new to him, and there was a certain innocence to him that even several months in Erku had eroded but not destroyed.

"Of course!" he declared boldly despite that nervous feeling, and at her invitation, he took a sip from the offered straw. "Hmmm... a tad bitter, but certainly an improvement over what I am used to from them. How are you enjoying it?"

"I wish it was sweeter." Apparently not enough so that it had kept her from appreciating it, as Mercedes had taken a long draw of the drink through her straw. The practice of sharing a drink was new to her, as well, but it hadn't stopped her from trying to go with the approach that was most obvious.

"But it's not bad! And I'm not noticing anything 'weird' about it."

He nods in agreement with her assessment. It certainly could have stood to be sweeter, but to the robots' credit, they at least had learned how to balance flavors instead of just throwing ingredients together. Some part of him remained on guard, ready for whatever effect (or lack of effect) the drink may have on him.

"It sometimes takes a while to set in," he admits sheepishly. "I should probably stay by your side for some time. To make certain that it does not have too great of an effect, of course."

"And in the meantime, you can tell me more about where 'here' is! Are we somewhere on Fodlan, or were we taken somewhere else? The last thing I remember is defeating the Immaculate One, and then Edelgard rushed over to the Professor..."

Memories after that were blurry, but she was certain it must not have been long before she'd woken up here. Taking another long drink, her eyes met Ferdinand's inquisitvely.

Ferdinand felt a sensation in his chest — relief — as Mercedes asked him about their whereabouts. So, she remembered precisely what he did — that she was among their allies, and that they had brought down the Immaculate One in Fhirdiad. At least, that's what he assumes that she remembers.

"Ah, well, that is close to the last thing I remember as well," he admits, placing a hand on his forehead. "But to answer your question, this is certainly not Fódlan. People appear to have come here from many different worlds besides our own, as strange as that sounds."

"From many different worlds? Do you think it could be because we won?" Perhaps the Goddess was angry with them-something Mercedes had been somewhat worried about, though she'd had faith that they were really doing what was best for both Fodlan and the followers of the Goddess, even if Rhea was so important to the church. Surprisingly, though, the worry seemed to be controlled, almost as if she was overcome with the relief that Ferdinand was feeling instead.

Ferdinand shook his head at that question, furrowing his brow. The whole concept went above his head, and he certainly did not feel like the most qualified person to explain what was happening, but she may as well hear it from him.

"No, I do not think that is the case," he responded, trying his best to sound reassuring. Although the Empire had gone to war with and ultimately defeated the Church, Ferdinand found that he still had some belief in the goddess, just not the version of the goddess that the Church had put forward. "You see, there are others here, such as some from the Kingdom. But their memories are different from what you or I remember. It seems that some of them remember the Professor siding with Dimitri instead of Edelgard."

"That... doesn't really make any sense. Truly, they are those we know, but don't remember the Professor siding with Edelgard? And instead with Dimitri? How would that even happen?" There was a point that she remembered, of course, where Byleth chose Edelgard over Rhea-but she hadn't exactly been privy to Byleth choosing the class to teach, and it had never come up.

The whole thing was a lot to wrap her head around, and Mercedes frowned in consternation as she lowered the drink slightly to rest in her lap.

Ferdinand can only shake his head again, looking a little regretful. "I am afraid I lack the answers to those questions," he responds thoughtfully. "However, I am glad to know that you remember the same events that I do. It is quite comforting."

His eyes dart downward to his lap, however, as he feels something touch it. But when his eyes lower, there is nothing there. Strange... it feels as if it were his lap she had placed the drink on and not hers.

"Has anybody tried to write down what all the differences are?" Her face scrunched up again, before she shook her head. "That would probably be a project for Lindhardt or maybe Lysithea-is either of them here with us?"

Mercedes hadn't been a bad student, but she was never one for that sort of in-depth research if she could avoid it. Much more up the alley of the more scholarly sorts. Lifting the drink again, she took another sip before offering it to Ferdinand. "It's almost gone."

"Until recently, it was just myself and Edelgard here," he responded gravely, still slightly unnerved by the phantom feeling in his lap. It seems to fade once she lifts the drink from her lap. "There are... others here as well. But their memories are different."

Before he had a chance to elucidate upon that point, he was offered the drink, and he nodded with a smile. "Thank you," he remarked, taking another sip from the drink. For some reason, he could still taste the slight bitterness of the rich chocolate flavor in his mouth even after he drank it.

"Well, perhaps it's something we should endeavor to, then. It could get confusing, otherwise." She was lucky, by the sounds of it, to have run into Ferdinand and not Edelgard or anybody from her *own* house. Though that brought her to another question, after she finished the drink, leaving her somewhat unsure what to do with the cup.

"Who all is here, if it's more than just you and Edelgard and, well, me?"

"Please, allow me," he stated, holding out his hand for the cup. He made eye contact with one of the robotic servers, who dutifully hovered over to retrieve the cup from them. He had to bite back the urge to thank the robot — they never respond when he does.

Addressing her question, he stroked his chin thoughtfully. "I have not met with everyone, but I have met with Sylvain and Dorothea," he muses aloud. "And I believe I heard that Dimitri is here as well. I have been spending all of my spare time trying to renovate the building that Edelgard and I claimed as a shelter, and between that and my training, I have had precious little time to meet with everyone."

"Dimitri..." Hopefully, in much better shape than he had been when she last saw him. Sylvain, of course, had fallen over himself to join the Black Eagles when the Professor took over the class, but she hadn't had an actual conversation with Dimitri in five years.

"You still keep up with your training, though? Is it dangerous here? Or do you think you will need to continue fighting when we return home?" Mercedes was completely out of the loop with regards to Those Who Slither in the Dark-and was looking forward to peacetime. Training was something she'd hoped to have been done with.

He could hear the melancholy in Mercedes's lovely, lilting voice. It saddened him to see her in such a mood, considering how selflessly she gave of herself unto others. If only there had been a way for all of Fódlan to unite and right the wrongs of the past without war, he tells himself, but the opportunity for that probably passed long before any of their fellow students were born.

Probably for the best, then, that he allowed her to change the topic.

"I have not encountered anything dangerous here," he concedes, shaking his head. "I am certain there will still be some fighting to be done when we return, but it is simply a matter of habit for me. Even if I never have reason to fight again, if I am to protect the people of Fódlan, then I must be ready to do so regardless."

"That makes sense, I suppose. And I'm not going to stop learning how to use white magic better-but I want to *help* people, not fight in a war." Though she'd avoided the brunt of it for some time, Mercedes wasn't really built to be a soldier despite her time at Garreg Mach.

"But it's nice that even if we might still want to train, and even if we'll have to fight when we get home, we can at least have a break from that here." Peace for a time sounded like just what the healer ordered, at least if she could keep from being *too* worried about what was happening in Fodlan while she was gone.

He really does find her desire to help others admirable, and her words bring a warm smile to his lips. Perhaps he'd come on a bit strongly when he first tried to befriend her during their days at the academy, going on about the duties of the nobility rather than simply finding out more about her, but he really has found that side of her so remarkable. Such selflessness is very rare, unfortunately, which makes it all the more important to preserve.

"I suppose you are right about that," he concedes, though he's not certain he would consider this a break. "That being said, there are some... well, rather difficult topics I must discuss pertaining to this place. Have you been told about what it is we are expected to do here?"

That typical optimism of his seems to have faded somewhat, a more concerned expression making its way across his features. He'd rather not have to break this news to her at all, but if she must hear it, then perhaps it is better she hears it from someone she knows.

Calm, collected positivity fading from Ferdinand's face was never a good sign, or, at least, it hadn't been since their academy days. Not since he seemed to learn to stop always comparing himself to Edelgard and instead focused on simply being the best he could truly be.

"Well, they wouldn't let me out of the hospital before they finished scanning me and explaining the squares on my bracelet-I assume it has something to do with that?" If not, she hadn't a clue-that was really all the information they'd given her, that great fortune would befall those who fulfill the requests. Nobody she'd spoken with before Ferdinand had shared any other details about Erku.

Well, at least she's not been left entirely in the dark. And perhaps Mercedes's pleasant, caring outlook on life will allow her to handle the burden of this knowledge better than he is giving her credit for. He nods, allowing himself a small, sympathetic smile.

"Something to do with that," he explains, calmly and patiently. "We were told that this area is powered by something called eros energy. Unfortunately, it seems that the way that eros energy is produced when people share... well, physical intimacy."

That's putting it rather mildly. Perhaps he should explain more clearly before she starts assuming that holding hands and hugging will be enough to produce that energy in any significant amount, but there is simply no way he can think of to explain it both clearly and politely.

"Physical intimacy... like hugging and kissing? Or-more than that?" The thought of the latter does make Mercedes blush, though as somebody as unfortunately familiar with the idea of having sex simply for the sake of crest babies-her mother's fate before her, and the fate that multiple father figures in her life would have foisted upon her-it can only do so much to embarrass her. "I suppose that would match up with the content of these squares." Some could be innocent enough, but when her list included things such as 'breeding/in heat' and 'orgasm control/denial' there wasn't much of a grey area.

"Ah, quite perceptive of you," he praises, though the topic of conversation makes his cheeks take on a reddish glow as well. "You are quite correct." He's not particularly fond of the idea of Mercedes in particular being exposed to such an environment. Of course, she's not weak. She survived the dissolution of her noble house and likely much worse, and she did so without losing that altruistic streak of hers.

He clears his throat, feeling rather flushed. "Ah, but you need not necessarily perform the tasks on your squares," he continues awkwardly. "Our captors may encourage such actions, but you should not allow them or anyone else to place pressure upon you."

With a soft smile, Mercedes shook her head. "I don't feel pressured! But it's not like all of them are that bad, either." Once she was over the hurdle of finding somebody she wanted to be intimate with, at least. There was that challenge, but cuddling? Size difference, should the pairing allow for it? They weren't *all* that bad.

Of course, Ferdinand's increased blush was making her feel all the more embarrassed nonetheless, and some of his awkwardness seeped through. Resulting in a rather inappropriate question. "Have you? Felt pressured-or performed any?"

TDM 003

Re: II

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It occurs to me how weirdly comfortable a character taken from Heroes would be in a jamjar.

Wow, that certainly would ease them into it.

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