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TDM 004: WASHED ASHORE
| 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 |
no subject
A stick. Yes. Something he takes but only because it would be poor decorum not to when it's offered by an upstanding lady of nobility. Though he's certainly doubting just how far the "upstanding" part of that goes. Taking it doesn't mean he has any intention of eating it, however. Something made clear by the way he holds it away from himself as though he might be infected by the very lewdness of the idea if he allows it too close.]
Taken against our will and now you mean to imply the residents do not intend to even offer the basic hospitality of serving meals? Surely, you must be mistaken.
no subject
At least, she'll drop the first bomb so nobody else has to: ]
There's little difference between commoners and nobility here, actually. Everyone's expected to... [ ahem ] participate in the same activities to survive...
[ She'll let that settle for a bit, and in the meantime, help herself to some food. (She at least has the decency to turn away from Lorenz before putting the offensive object anywhere near her mouth. ...The gelatin(?) snack looks decidedly worse after she's taken a bite out of it.) ]
Ugh, this flavor again? [ She's getting tired of all the imitation crab... ]
no subject
S-surely they do not -can not- expect us to subject ourselves to such... inappropriate activities like some irresponsible teens with no concept of the consequences of their actions.
[He trusts that she will know precisely what he means by consequences. Not only the scandal of such a thing but, even if they mean to abolish the value of crests, there is still no excuse for muddling the bloodlines with such indiscretions.]
I understand the resources are greatly limited, there is little room for acknowledging such differences of status in regards to goods or living conditions but-
[Oh Goddess, don't mind him if he just... gets utterly derailed by the horror of that monstrosity on a stick, nose wrinkling immediately. If she's going to complain about what she has then he's just going to hold out the chocolate... thing she'd given him instead. Go on Hilda, he's certainly not putting that anywhere near his face.]
no subject
But none of those concerns exist here, or at least, no biological consequences to any intimate interactions. ]
Ah... you don't need to worry about such things here, Lorenz. [ Well, he does, sort of, she doesn't mean he should throw himself into a sea of strangers (nor can she imagine it), but as far as she's aware, there's no risk of unintentionally siring illegitimate heirs.
Anyhow. She would take the food he offers her, but she has a feeling he'll need it more than she does. She shakes her head and—gently—nudges his hand back toward him. ]
That's very sweet of you, but you eat it. You'll need the energy.
[ (For what, she certainly doesn't say!!!) But she feels the need to reassure him, ]
...It'll be okay. Claude and I have managed so far. You know he's here too, right?
no subject
How can she possibly believe that, especially after everything Those who Slither have dipped their twisted little fingers into. Who's to say this isn't more of the same?]
Hilda, I am not going to eat... that.
[Please take it away so he doesn't have to look at it anymore. That's hideous. Though as soon as she mentions Claude he perks up a little, surprised and- no, definitely not relieved of course. Maybe simply more confident in their ability to work out the intricacies of this place with their clever leader around.]
I did not but it is good to know there are others. Perhaps we'll be able to work out some method of returning, then. We can hardly leave things in their current state.
no subject
Lorenz...
[ She's growing mildly exasperated, but it's rooted in genuine concern. He is not going to survive very long on this island if he doesn't put food in his body. While she can understand his reservations, she can't believe he would possibly jeopardize his health simply because he doesn't like how the food looks. ]
What are you going to eat, then?
[ There isn't anything here at this festival that isn't shaped like genitalia... He will either have to engage in illicit activities, or resort to begging—surely the alternatives can't be better for him? (She isn't going to force feed him either, but it's an increasingly tempting thought... She has the strength stat...) ]
no subject
I will make due just fine, Hilda. There must be options that are not quite so... obscene. Nor would require such indignity in the presence of a lady.
[He huffs a little scoff. If he's going to be subjected to such a thing he is certainly not going to do so in public. There must be something he can do to find himself a set of utensils as well. It would be far less horrific if he could remove the stick aspect of the whole nonsense.]
Never mind that the chocolate is beginning to melt.
[That face again, as though the little confection has personally offended him. Though, with how particular he is about his sweets maybe it has. Clearly the quality of the chocolate is not up to his standards if it's so poorly tempered that it can't retain it's shine. It's not that hot.]
no subject
(—Huh, that is a banana inside...! Finally. Not crab-flavored.) ]
Don't be silly! There's going to be far worse here.
[ She says, after dabbing at her mouth in the most uncouth manner with the back of her hand. (She's a little embarrassed at herself, honestly, face flushing a little, but somehow she has to make a point, doesn't she?) ]
There. Was that so bad?
[ (It probably was. Sorry, Lorenz.........) ]
no subject
Lorenz snatches the tail end of the gauzy fabric draped over his shoulder and abruptly steps in even closer to Hilda, arm raised to offer her something of a curtain, to at least keep others from witnessing this. It puts them far too close to be proper but really of boundaries crossed that is the least of his concerns.
He also has his head turned away from, very pointedly not looking at her. It gives her something of a little cavern of violet, his hair draping down on one side and the delicate material on the other. And Lorenz' face absolutely crimson.]
If you're going to insist on eating these things at least do so where no one with less noble intentions might get... ideas about your virtue, Hilda.
[Stiff and uncomfortable, peeking one eye open to take a hesitant side long glance at her. If she's going to eat the damnable thing he's just going to have to stay here and defend her honor, isn't he?]
no subject
And let the chocolate drip everywhere in the meantime? No way.
[ She giggles a little, good-naturedly, and because she really can't resist she holds up the half-bitten banana to him. He is literally right there, how can she not. ]
Are you sure you don't want to try some...? I promise it won't poison you. And I doubt anyone here will think anything of it.
[ ...She realizes she's nowhere tall enough to shield him in turn, but least she's already done enough damage to the confection that much of the context is lost... ]
no subject
He ducks his head a little more, rolling his shoulder so that he's at least mostly tucked behind the shield of his own arm, frowning at her but the outright frustration has shifted toward exasperation now. It's tiring arguing with her about the same thing for so long and gaining absolutely no ground.]
If I... agree to this unreasonable request will you leave it be?
[He's not sure what's worse, the fact that he'd be eating off a stick, (which he has never done and pointedly avoids the dining hall when nothing but skewers are on the menu for an evening) or the fact that he'd be eating something she's already taken a bite of. Either way it's enough to make him wrinkle his nose again but... he's actually considering it. Which is more leeway than he's allowed thus far.]