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

Crab Battle!

[whiteplume]

[Jingyi was just idly strolling along the shore when someone comes bumbling towards him. He pauses in midstep, his eyes wide with alarm once he comes face to face with this man. The elf stares at him for a long while with a hint of confusion in his gaze. While the man before him looks as if he could be one of Nie-gongzi's friends, Jingyi doesn't recall ever meeting him before. After a few awkward moments, Jingyi graces him with a kind smile.]

Not recently, no.

[He answers with a hesitant chuckle. Despite all the encounters he had thus far, this is by far one of the oddest.]

Are you offering?

[bingyun]

[is he? yan bingyun's brows draw together. it seems...strange for him. he's normally reserved - cold, unless he's on a mission that requires him to seem otherwise.

but there's no denying that he said the words, even if his reasoning doesn't make sense to him.]

There's plenty of them. Eat while you can, we don't know what lies ahead of us.

[whiteplume]

[While he's not interested in eating his weight in crab legs, Jingyi is willing to humor this young man. Besides, he was never the type to pass up on free food. After having to cook for himself for the last several days, he's quite thrilled at the idea of not having to do any work.]

Fear not. Life here upon this island isn't as dreadful as it seems.

[He says with a lighthearted chuckle before taking a step back. It's then that Jingyi drops to a bow.]

I'm Song Guiying, Seeker of the Vale, one of the many cultivators present on this island.

[Yes, there's a whole manor filled with cultivators like him. Many of which do hail from a similar realm much like his own. He doesn't doubt that this young man will eventually become well-acquainted with them. Especially since Nie-gongzi is always eager to meet newcomers.]

[bingyun]

It's not Qing.

[and for a nationalist like yan bingyun, that's all it takes to make it dreadful. he watches the other man, and after a moment returns a polite introductory bow of his own.]

Yan Bingyun.

[which is more than enough information. he says nothing of his occupation, but that would make him a poor excuse for a spy. he stands straight again, hands behind his back.]

Come. I'll handle them for you if you fear their claws.

[whiteplume]

[Qing? Jingyi can't help but arch his brow a little. He never heard of Qing before, so maybe this man hails from another world. That's most likely the case despite the similarities between them. It seems to be a common occurrence around here. Even so, Jingyi was hoping to meet someone hailing from his realm.]

You are most kind, Mister Yan.

[Judging by appearances and mannerisms alone, Jingyi doubts the other is a lord of any kind but he cannot help but feel the need to be polite. After all, this man is offering him a free meal out of the alleged kindness of his heart. Allegedly.]

Tell me, did you just arrive on the island?

[bingyun]

[he can't remember the last time someone called him 'kind'. maybe while he was in northern qi, pretending to be someone else. but even after his cover was blown and he was able to drop that, there was someone who still considered him kind...

he leads him to his fire, smoothing his white robes beneath him before he sits down. bingyun purses his lips, not answering right away as he reaches for one of the skewered crabs.]

I did. [he watches him from the corner of his eye as he passes it to him.] Is it not the same for you?

[whiteplume]

Not quite.

[ Jingyi answers as he reaches over to take the skewer. Crabmeat is something fo a delicacy in the region he's from. The closest ocean is several thousand miles away only leaving shallow streams and rivers available for the locals. There are no crabs there but there are succulent river snails that many people, including himself, like to eat.

He lets out a curious hum as he takes a tentative bite. The meat is a little fishy in terms of the smell but rather sweet. Taking another bite, Jingyi takes a moment to finish this piece before answering.]

I arrived just a month ago from today.

[He mutters while idly picking at the meat. This is pretty good despite the lack of seasoning.]

It's hard to tell since everyday almost feels the same.