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

[videnije]

[ she catches it, of course, and she files that away. objectively she knew chase was attractive - even before coming here, it was something she knew. but learning he and miranda had a history, the complicated feelings that she thought she saw from yaz - no, best not to contemplate it more beyond the surface acknowledgement that he was cute.

now, though, thoughts have time to wander. how much would count for a square, what his projection could do - and, even, if he still had feeling on what skin he had left, if that could do something for him.

background matter, though, to what they are discussing. ]

Anything you have or remember - please send it over to me. I can make arrangements, if nothing else.

[ he looks like he's remembering something, and she offers him a smaller smile, one that's not a flirty smirk or a serious grin. something more genuine. ]

It has been quite refreshing, even if I have been anxious about my absence. It is not as if we have the time to visit beaches... I'd be happier if the sun was out, though.

[ regardless of if he knows knows why, he's probably heard of the union campaign against russia. how they'd blacked out the skies, and then the radios, anything they could do to drive them out. ]

[torso]

[ Flirting with Valentina isn't something he's given much thought to before this, not that he doesn't think she looks good, both within their mindscape and without. He's just... He hasn't been ready to move on, from a lot of things, until recently. And one of those things was moving on from his body, accepting that he was going to live in his holon for the rest of his life.

And just look at how that turned out. He's back in it, not even days past letting go. There's a lot changing up for him, and fast, so he's just trying to roll with what feels good and natural. Stressing the logistics or dealing with the struggles this'll pose can come later. ]

Yeah, I'll dig up what I can later. I think it can wait right now.

[ He'd rather stay talking to her than go file hunting, for the time being. He knows enough about Union activity to have been aware of some of their tactics, they ways they went at Russia, though the sense of longing for clear skies is a distant and hazy memory to him all the same. ]

I don't know how it worked out that you went two months here since nothing's changed back home. We'd have missed you if you were gone to us... [ Nope, someone else would need to figure this out, Chase does not have that kinda brainpower. He's kinda wondering if anyone will notice him gone now, too. ] Has the sky gotten any better since you got here?

[videnije]

Strange. It has definitely been close to two months. I know you would have missed me were I gone that long.

[ she takes a moment to think about it. a day or so, perhaps, they could believe she'd slipped off to do something on her own. but chase is right; as part of a top secret military program she wouldn't have gone missing and unnoticed for two months.

she spares a thought for an impostor but... she saw what happened to the fake sinclair. an impostor couldn't fake gen:LOCK compatibility.

eventually she sighs, shrugs. ]

Perhaps it is something like the mindscape.

[ entire conversations, discussions happening in less than a second in reality because it was their brains communicating and not their bodies. ]

And - we had some sun, for a little bit. There were...

[ she purses her lips. she looks so unsure of what she's about to tell him, because it sounds like a bad movie, even if she lived it. ]

Zombies.

Zombies made out of driftwood and the only thing that killed them was fire and sunlight.

[torso]

[ He might have been up to discussing the possibility of this being similar to a mindscape, but, no, he is completely derailed. ]

Zombies. Made out of driftwood.

Were they walking around groaning for brains or... leaves? [ What is the tree equivalent of brains? Chase doesn't know. He can only hope they weren't asking for anything sexy, that'd be a little much. Or, no, a lot much. ]

Actually, that's not important. They only tried to bite, right? And not in any kinda... fun way.

[videnije]

I know.

[ her tone just says it all; yes, she knows it sounds ridiculous, but here she is, reporting that it actually happened. as for what they did, she lets him get his joke out before she speaks up again. ]

Actually, they were ... not interested in us, although we made it our business. They were more focused on destroying the robots and the machine inside the hospital - the Augur.

It went offline after the attack, although the robots are still active and say it is still fine. Which is concerning, considering that it is whom you talk to about requests and boons, and is normally the first thing you speak to when you wake up.

[torso]

[ Who said that was a joke? This is apparently quite a sex-driven place, and even though Chase was hoping it wasn't the case, he doesn't know what monsters created here are gonna try and get up to.

He doesn't like the idea of Valentina being involved in that kind of event without someone having her back, either way he looks at it. ]

Maybe that's why they decided not to keep me in the hospital. Something to do with the Augur being... damaged? Or offline, however it's actually going down.

[videnije]

[ wait until she tells him about the tentacle plants. and the needle plants. just avoid the plants that aren't in the greenhouse in general.

if he doesn't like the idea of her being involved, him being involved worries her more. though, at least, if he's mixing in, he won't be in any direct danger (as far as she knows).

she makes a thoughtful noise. ]

That's a fair point. Though I wouldn't want you to stay in there either, even if it was online.

[ a little admittance; she'd rather have him nearby so she can keep an eye on him .]

But people arriving in the ocean rather than through the hospital is, as I said, concerning. At least it proves one thing: the Augur does not bring us here by choice.

[ it had told her that before, but she didn't believe it until now. ]

[torso]

[ He'll admit that the thought of being in any kind of home environment instead of a lab or hospital of a sort is... hard to imagine, after so long without. Even before the fall of New York, he'd been living in military bunking for years instead of anything more personal. He's glad she wants to take him, but the reality of it hasn't fully hit yet, appreciative as he is of the offer.

He listens, nodding to let her know he's following along, and although he understands as best he can given what little context he has of the island so far, he finds he's got nothing. Chase is quiet for a moment, but eventually shrugs his shoulders, looking only a little apologetic. ]

...I'd probably have to be here longer before I'd have anything to add to that. Guess I don't much see the difference, 'cause either way you shake it, someone or something brought us here and left us no way out.

[videnije]

No, you're right. The nature of who is bringing us here does not matter when we cannot get home.

[ and the robots have been no help on that front, so she shakes her head slightly, giving a sigh. ]

I apologize for my musings. It is a lot to think about, no? A place like this.

[torso]

Don't worry about it. I feel like I've done a years worth of thinking since I got here, and it's been nowhere near two months.

[ Oops, he'd meant for that to carry the edge of a joke, but it fell a little bit heavier than intended. No point in backpedaling (which he has never been a fan of anyhow), not for Valentina, nor any of his absent teammates, since he's... Well, he's trying to be better about letting them in, no matter how recent that development.

If she looks to him for anything further he just offers another shrug, some of his self-inflicted discomfort evident but not taking the initiative to say more. ]

[videnije]

[ concern and curiosity abound, and after a moment she turns, putting her back against his tank and leaning on the side, looking at his projection. ]

What have you been thinking about?

[ she asks it plainly, making sure to keep any hint of pity out of her tone. she's sure she has some ideas, but she'd rather listen to julian. ]

[torso]

[ He doesn't even try to give an answer before finding somewhere to sit down — on the nearby foot of his holon. It leaves him space to gesture at the tank behind her as a part of the explanation of whats been on his mind even if it feels like just the tip of the iceberg. ]

I guess it's just...

[ He shakes his head, scrubbing his fingers through his hair with a noise of frustration. Though he speaks quietly at first, he gets more steady in his words, though the tension of them is reflected in the line of his shoulders and anxious bounce of his knee, which is silent despite the way his foot keeps hitting the Chaser model. From the other side of the tank, there's a few warning pings that his BP has peaked above optimal levels, and that's the loudest thing around for a moment. ] I'm confused? But I'm also kinda relieved, and just as pissed off.

Like, look. Last time I somehow made it back into my body it wasn't really me. Whose to say that hasn't happened again, right? [ He wants to believe that Weller was telling the truth, that no extra duplicates were made on their end, but the possibility of it has been nagging at him for a very specific reason. ] Whose to say that someone — maybe this Augur didn't clean rip the most recent me right out of the brain housing and upload just another copy?

[ of a copy, of a copy, of a copy, of a copy... ]

[videnije]

[ she watches him carefully, not prompting him to go faster. she's content to wait and listen, and it pays off as he finds his words, even if anxiety runs through every form of his body - both bodies, as a matter of fact.

she was half right, at the very least. after a moment she pushes herself up, moving to crouch in front of his projection sitting at the foot of chaser. ]

I know all that is a very real possibility that we can never discount ... but I do not believe that is true. Mechanically, if I have been gone two months you would have noticed; I had no Holon to be copied from at the time. I remember coming here in my body. There must be some time disparity to explain that.

But in the end? You are the Chase who is here with me now, and I want to take care of you. Even if for some reason you are a copy, that does not make you any less of a person, in my view.

[ without thinking, she reaches out, trying to take one of his hands in hers. ]

[torso]

[ His locks his jaw, wanting to hear Valentina out as much as he's tempted to fight the point. There's more of him out there, he's sure of it, even if it's an entirely different branch. He can't help but go down the rabbit hole of believing that if there's more that came from Nemesis, they'd be as much of Chase as he is.

As he's starting to let those ideas run, he swears he feels pressure as her fingers close around his, and the surprise of it grounds him back from the wandering thought like a slap to the face, unable to help the gasp he lets loose.

When he looks down for proof he sees the way he's clipped through, digital artifacts glowing over the bracelet there. Because of course they are. Even with the unexpected illusion of touch lost, Chase runs his thumb over her knuckles affectionately, carefully, so as to not go through them as he often does when he tries to mimic such actions that have been long-lost to him. ]

I don't... I think Nemesis messed with my head, left some impressions beihnd that I gotta figure out. I'm not saying I don't believe you. I do. It's just— between that and coming here and getting back into my body, there's been one hell of a wrench thrown into things, yeah?

[videnije]

[ for a moment, she swears she can feel the contact of skin. but whether that's true or just her brain trying to parse touching someone that's not actually there, the illusion breaks when her fingers pass through his hand.

she murmurs an apology even as he "brushes" his thumb over the back of her knuckles, listening to him speak. ]

It is a lot to take in. [ she agrees; not just for him, although that's the person she's worried most about, but for herself as well. realizing chase had given up his body to save them, then to find him here, still in it, had her reeling a little as well. ]

These things take time, and time is something we have not had much of.

[ it had been one thing after another; weller's death, believing they'd lost the anvil, the revelations at RTASA and then dealing with nemesis, capped off with arriving here. she's not sure she's even had time to process it all - and she didn't know many of the people lost. ]

Even if it is just me here, though, I will honor our promise. That you won't be alone.

[torso]

[ He doesn't pull back from the attempted touch even after the apology, though he does look up and away from it, causing his hand to slip back through as his eyes meet Valentina's. ]

'Bout to get a whole lot more time now, right?

[ A little bit of the genuine spark has come back to him, still a little heavy with his worries but reassured that he's not going through this alone. They've clearly both got a lot on their plates, and somehow even knowing that is a help to him. It's just another thing they two share now. ]

I was worried when I first got here, but you came around quick enough without even knowing. You got nothing to prove for me to believe you there.

[videnije]

[ when he says they'll have more time, she chuckles gently, her shoulders shaking with it as she meets his gaze. it eases something in her to have him here; something that was slipping back into the person she was before gen:LOCK. ]

Nothing but, for the time being.

[ perhaps it's not a bad thing to have a break. regardless, when he says that, she feels her cheeks flush just slightly. ]

In a way, I was looking - just in case someone did show up. This is where my Holon was stored, so I assumed the same would happen with any others. And it seems I was right.

[torso]

[ While he thinks Valentina may have been some crazy kind of fun to be around before joining up with the ESU, he'd be glad to know how him being around means she's not setting her sights on partying herself into the ground. He likes the person he knows now, respects the way they've changed and dedicated to helping through gen:LOCK, even if he knows the two of them won't always see completely eye-to-eye on their ideals. ]

Smart way to check for it. Hopefully no one comes here without.

[ Honestly, that sounds like it would suck. He's hardly ever been long without his holon. ]

...Hey, speaking of. You haven't been able to tap into GL since coming here, have you?

[ With no Caliban, no techs, no other team-mates, he can't imagine she was about to give it a blind try even if she could figure out how to get through the overrides blocking people from uploading themselves. He's suddenly a little worried it might not even be possible to upload, the tech damaged in whatever transfer brought them here. ]

[videnije]

[ at his question, she shakes her head, a serious expression crossing over her face. while they'd all been shown the basics of uploading and downloading, just in case something happened, it was not something she would have felt comfortable attempting on her own - especially since it still required an external operator due to those blocks. ]

No, I have not. It was just me, [ which explains most of it honestly ], and I have not had the chance to speak to someone else about it. I know some people have retrofitted robots at the request of the Augur, but I have had more pressing matters to use my requests for.

[torso]

Then let me put in a request of my own for a knock-off Caliban.

[ He'd be able to ask Valentina to operate the controls on his behalf, but he wouldn't ask that of her until he'd have the means to return the favour. That'd be too unfair to ask of his friend. Chase would be all too happy to prioritise the two of them being able to upload onto the network together, given how important he thinks it would be for them both. ]

... Y'know. If-or-when I actually have the means to ask for anything.

[ Shrugs! He knows he has no ground to stand on in talking about what he can request but he won't treat it like a complete impossibility. ]

[videnije]

Heh. He won't be quite the same, I'm sure.

[ the reason why is obvious, yawning between them in a weller-shaped hole, but they don't address it. when chase mentions the means, valentina feels a flirty smile slip back into place easily. ]

A handsome lad like yourself? I am sure you'll have no shortage of takers.

[ themselves included, she hopes that is made clear. she'd like to make sure chase has what he needs, if nothing else. ]

Including those willing to put on a show for you.

[torso]

Nothing'd be the same as Cal himself.

[ Or Weller, but that goes without saying; that's a loss he's still processing, though it's a slow-going affair.

He leans back on the foot of his holon, stretched out and smiling easily at the words, pleased at the compliment. The pose might be a little showy (draw him like one of your french pilots), but it's not like the two of them aren't both show-offs in their own ways. ]

Hey now. Careful, or I might get more than my recommended dose of ego stroking, and then where would we be?

[videnije]

[ she follows the threads of teasing more than the threads of sadness, for the moment. they've had enough - let them have this, something silly and only as serious as if they end up considering it.

she laughs gently, placing a hand on her hip. ]

Well, we wouldn't want your ego to get too big, would we? Not when there's other things people would be interested in stroking.

[ even if... his body is currently lacking those parts, as far as she knows. ]

[torso]

[ There's a long moment where Chase doesn't say anything, looking like he's trying real hard to come up with something good. Eventually he breaks with a laugh, clearly flustered, and scrubs a hand over the tattoo adorning the side of his head. ]

Ohh, man, I am so not on my game.

[ In his defense, he's been out of it for four or so years. Getting back in might require more than just a day's time. ]

Can I go back to "hey"? I've got lots of practise with that one.

[videnije]

[ valentina's smile turns from flirty to amused on a dime, giving a small chuckle as she walks back over to chase. ]

Well, you know who to ask for advice if you need it.

[ she offers a wink instead. ]

But we can start from hey instead.