TDM 004: WASHED ASHORE

[erkumods]

TDM 004: WASHED ASHORE

Arrival This time, you come out of the water. While the Augur reboots, the Nameless Island's own inherent energy draws people in. It's like being suspended between realities and walking through a rift in dimensions. It may make you sick, or that might be the motion of the ocean, lifting you and carrying you to shore. Waterlogged and covered in sand, new arrivals will be greeted by robots who welcome them with towels and bracelet devices. The A5 card is already loaded up. Inventory will be found a day later, wrapped up haphazardly and delivered to each person's makeshift home. ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● I. Feel the friendship! Recent arrivals and visitors to the beach may notice a sudden influx of hundreds of bright red crustaceans crawling (and coupling) across the sand. It's crab mating season, as it turns out, it's a regular invasion! To keep the beach a pleasant place to gather for the island's inhabitants, the robots are offering credits to especially enterprising crab-catchers. Grab a bucket and get to work! Be sure to watch out for their pinch, mind you. Their little claws are tiny, but that doesn’t mean they don’t hurt. Surprisingly, there is another effect that even the robots don't anticipate: islanders who are pinched by the crabs find themselves feeling instantly buddy-buddy with the next person they spot. Did you just become best friends?! Get pinched one too many times, however, and those feelings may sour into a crabby mood, indeed. If you are feeling particularly vengeful (or just hungry), the little crabs do make for delicious gumbo. Once cooked, they have no side effects whatsoever. ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● II. Phallus Phestival Although the Augur is offline and supplies are scarce, the robots of Erku are still eager to make their run-down little island a welcoming place for the new arrivals. To that end, they have arranged a three day festival to boost morale and promote the generation of plenty of Eros energy to assist in the restoration of the damaged and decayed parts of the city. The robots claim that this celebration was once a cornerstone of the long-lost civilization of the island. By the dawn of the first day, every island resident will find at their doorstep (or tent flap, mobile suit, etc) the traditional costume of the ancient islanders to wear to the festival. It appears to be... a giant sheet? There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to the sometimes garish colors and patterns of the fabric, but at least the robots have uploaded instructions on how to wear it to your bracelet device. Attendees will find food (mostly crab-flavored), confections, and household necessities in rather suggestive shapes, as well as goods you might find handy to complete your A5 squares: sex toys, pervertibles, sexy maid outfits, and the like. While islanders are welcome to set up shop on the festival grounds and sell (or charge) whatever they like, all items from the robots are offered up for free to those who wear their traditional island garb! ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● III. Fireside Adventures Each night of the festival is wrapped up in style with an enormous bonfire on the beach, where drinks, fruity cocktails, and lively music appropriate for dancing is all provided at no cost by the robots. Even if you’re not usually much of a dancer, the longer you stand by the fire and allow it to warm your limbs, the more you feel like moving! Not only that, but everyone is looking quite beautiful by the firelight, are they not? If you’ve grown tired - or if dancing just isn’t your thing - you might prefer to sit back and swap stories on one of the many driftwood log benches the robots have prepared for seating. Or, maybe you’d prefer to rough it for the night in one of the beachside canvas tents. Better claim one quick, though, or be prepared to share… there’s only one sleeping bag! ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● N A V I G A T I O N

Comments

Garma Zabi | Mobile Suit Gundam

[instrumentalized]

>>1. ARRIVAL

1.a Stranded (Day 1)
[ Garma is wet and that is about the last thing he expected after going out in a literal blaze of glory. He is wet and he is full of sand and he feels very very sick and-- it's bad. Arguably, it is less bad than being dead, but Garma is not in the mood to appreciate the little things. Or appreciate anything, really. He grabs the towel off a friendly robot rather roughly and barely listens to their explanations before removing himself from the situation to... petulantly sit in the sand, a little way off. He may or may not have just died, but he's choosing to not process this for the time being. What concerns him immediately is that his hair is disgusting and he's going to be spending the next while drying it off, getting the sand out, and combing through it with his fingers until it's halfway decent. It calms him to focus on this. As long as he only keeps his mind on this single tangible problem, he can manage not to freak out. As long as his hands are moving, he's fine. It's too bad that his fingers are shaking so hard...]

1.b Delivery (Day 2)
[ If you come to the beach today, you will be greeted with a very special sight. There is a framed funeral portrait in the sand. Sad, you might think, ordinarily. Ordinarily. In this case, you might be more likely to think 'what the fuck', because said portrait? It's roughly 10m tall. It's propped up slightly because it's upper end is leaning on an elegant black coffin.

And standing in front of it is the person this whole set-up is for, Garma Zabi, looking like he's about to start hyperventilating. He's keeping it together. Barely. ]

This--- This is--- That's just tasteless!!

>>2. FEEL THE CRABS (FRIENDSHIP)

[ Garma has never had to work for his money a day in his life. Sure, he has a job as a soldier, but his paycheck has never been of any interest. A Zabi scion gets what he wants. Money is never an object. Except he appears to be dead and in hell(??) and fate has not deemed it appropriate to send a credit card along for him. And thus... work. It's something to do. Garma has decided that keeping busy is about the only way he can hope to stay sane right now.

But crabs really are nasty little fellows and he cannot quite bring himself to actually touch them. So come find him poking at the crabs with his boots, hoping to nudge them into the direction of the bucket he placed on the ground... ]

>>3. PHALLUS FESTIVAL

[ Garma is not debasing himself by wearing that toga, he's just not. But he still needs supplies and has earned at least some credits from the crab disaster, so... it is time for window shopping, first.

Except it's not really window-shopping because Garma is making walking around the festival an exercise in how to pointedly not look at any display - he's just getting quick accidental glances! He is not actually examining this, okay?! Okay!! And yet his face is still bright red... ]

... isn't there anything to eat that won't make me lose all dignity....

2

[shangrilady]

For real dude?

[ Elle's got a bucket and a pair of tongs. You know, so you don't have to try and touch crabs with your bare skin.

Also hey doesn't this guy look familiar? ]

[instrumentalized]

[ He probably does look very familiar - if it's not the widely televised funeral, he's still wearing a Zeon military uniform...

And he's staring at these tongs with distress. ]

Where does one receive those?

[shangrilady]

[ Elle was six when that happened, so the Zeon uniform stands out. It's also an older uniform, so he could just be some former soldier, or a wannabe, or who else knows? But that's someone else from the same world.

Someone else with people hair. Another prettyboy with purple... hair. Is he related to Angelo? ]

I found 'em.

[instrumentalized]

If they're not available for use of everyone, you have no right to belittle efforts made without them.

[ Even if those efforts are absolutely pathetic toe-stubbing of crabs... Respect him, please. ]

[shangrilady]

What if those efforts are like... a total waste of time? Come on, at least scrounge around for a shirt you could try to wad 'em up with.

[ Anything? You're not making old school Zeon look very smart. Which is... a common problem, she's found. ]

[instrumentalized]

[ The Principality of Zeon was not built on crab catching and this was for very good reason.

Anyway, that is... actually a decent idea, as much as he loathes it. ]

Has anyone ever told you that your advice would be much better received if you were politer about it?

1b

[apodictic]

Oh.

[ oh my god, everybody who knows anything about char aznable knows where that portrait came from. everybody who's obsessed about char aznable and neo-zeon knows exactly who that person is.

and one lieutenant who's had to put up with a certain zabi is highly familiar with that face.

angelo grits his teeth as he stares at it in dismay. being petty, he starts shoving it, putting all of his weight and effort into pushing it ...... back to the sea. ]

[instrumentalized]

[ There is exactly one thing in the whole wild world that is worse than this portrait and it's people disrespecting that portrait. People who aren't Garma himself, anyway, he's allowed to hate it. Those are the privileges of being himself.

He's rushing over to where Angelo is because how dare you and then-- uh.

It's not a familiar uniform per se, but the emblematic pattern on the collar is still fairly unmistakable. Zeon. And that just raises even more questions. ]

Just what are you doing? Explain yourself!

[ With his best commanding officer voice because that's what he is, damn it, even if this guy's rank is unidentified. ]

[apodictic]

[ ah great. now he's here. angelo wants to be Very Rude (his captain does it!! all the time!! he's totally well within his rights to be rude!! they're not in Palau anymore!!!!! if the captain can do it anytime that means he can totally do it too!! when have they ever been helped by a zabi!! the captain --!!), but the problem is that he's fairly sure this is garma zabi. even if he likely deserves to be disrespected if only because he's associated with that princess, whose existence has always been a pain to everyone involved, especially his captain.

was his voice always like that? what's written of garma zabi was ridiculously melodramatic at best and he's not really entirely comfortable recounting that to an obviously dead man. angelo gives him a withering look. ]

It's in the way. And is quite the eyesore. [ and then he tacks a surly, ] Sir.

[ out there in the galaxy he hopes his captain appreciates his efforts. dear captain, i am being Extremely Nice Today. i hope you appreciate. sometimes angelo feels like he was brought here to suffer, and only to suffer. ]

[instrumentalized]

[ ... alright. Alright alright alright. If nothing else, the sorry attempt at being respectful does confirm that he's dealing with a fellow Zeon soldier who is at least vaguely aware of who he is. And that's... that's good. What's bad is that this portrait is so obviously funeral-themed and Garma would very much like to be just a superior instead of a dead superior. He's gonna get a headache real soon. ]

That's not an adequate excuse. List your name and rank, soldier.

[apodictic]

[ angelo gives the portrait one more angry shove before he snaps into proper form and salutes. ]

Lt. Angelo Sauper. Commander of the Royal Guard of Neo Zeon forces.

I serve Captain Full Frontal, also known as the Second Coming of Char Aznable, The Red Comet.

[ a pause, and then he adds, ] It is the year 0096 where I come from, sir.

1/2

[instrumentalized]

[














where does he even start with this.

For one, he knows he is dead. As much as he'd like to believe in some miracle rescue from that crashing Gaw, this island is not any safe haven he'd have been brought to in that case. No, this is... something else entirely, something worse, and yet better than expected because he still exists. That was already a lot of weirdness to try and come to terms with yesterday, so the idea of someone being from the future is... acceptable. He can work with it.

It's the precise content that gives him trouble. Who the hell would call themselves Full Frontal? What's Neo Zeon and-- ]

[instrumentalized]

[ Char Aznable, the Red Comet.

Garma had been doing so good in not thinking of him. Just keeping himself busy so those awful words stop ringing in his ears, so he can go through his day and not cry because that's undignified and Char is not worth his tears, not the dirt beneath his shoes, that filthy traitor-- His awful laughter, his horrid horrid amusement as Garma was getting surrounded by the smoke of his impending demise-- ]

-- does the world really need a second one of them?! The first was bad enough!

3

[marmoron]

[ Keith is also pointedly not wearing his sheet and is instead dressed in respectable paladin armor. He's eyeing all the food and merchandise with a bit of a flat expression, but as weird as this phallus festival is he's determined not to let the place get to him with something this stupid.

He's bought a taiyaki-but-penis-shaped dessert when he hears the dude next to him whining. ]

You know you're not putting an actual dick in your mouth, right?

[instrumentalized]

[ Garma's head whips around to give Keith an offended look only to be caught off-guard by the obscene sight of the taiyaki. Today is not his day. ]

I'm quite aware, yes. And yet I find myself considering this vulgar and quite beneath me.

[marmoron]

[ This is getting a raised eyebrow. ]

You say that, but you sure are sticking around the festival anyway.

[ Sounds like the lady doth protest too much. ]

[instrumentalized]

[ Okay, so what if maybe he's interested in the male physique. So what. Nothing to do with this. It's the principle of the thing - keep your dicks private! ]

We're on a largely abandoned island. Of course I am going to check out what resources are available to me. This isn't a leisure trip.

[marmoron]

[ Keith is going to stare for another moment, then turn off his brain before taking a bite out of the balls on his taiyaki. Nope, not gonna think about this. ]

Okay. So you've checked out the resources. [ Air quotes audible. ] Are you just hoping to find a non threatening dick snack or something.

[instrumentalized]

Is a snack that isn't phallic really too much to ask for?

[ Evidently the answer is yes. ]

I don't wish to disrespect the local... culture, but there are simply some things that a noble should not do!

1.b

[newtyping]

Tasteless isn't even the start of it.

[It's been 15 years, but he remembers that portrait. History remembers that portrait. And the man himself.]

Garma Zabi.

[instrumentalized]

[ Garma can't say he's surprised to be addressed by name. Wherever he goes, the reputation of his family precedes him - why would an afterlife island of obscenities be any different.

The man speaking doesn't spark any recognition and that, too, is not much of a surprise. He doesn't mind. His thoughts are very much on the grotesquery of this portrait. ]

Thank you. I can't believe they would think to be this morbid!

[ Whoever 'they' even are here... the robots? ]

[newtyping]

'They' carry out mass abductions and try to force people to be intimate. That's not exactly considerate behavior in the first place.

[He pauses. Should he tell him? He probably deserves to know.]

You have no idea who I am, do you. I suppose you couldn't.

[instrumentalized]

[ Who he is...? Garma finally turns away from the 10m nightmare bearing his face to give Amuro a proper lookover. Some important politician he should know and forgot...? No, he's good at keeping track of these things. He's been raised to. Huh. ]

I'm afraid even a Zabi is not capable of being clairvoyant. Why is it that I should be aware of you?

[newtyping]

I'm not here to antaganize you, but now that we're stuck here together it's only fair that you should be aware.

I was the Gundam's pilot, aboard the White Base.