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

arrival.

[unstable]

[ if you were to try to spot the difference between Azula and a drenched cat, you would have a difficult time. her dark hair is plastered to her face, her throat, covering her golden eyes that are half-squinted in anger as she's tended to-- with little fight except from what very well could be a hiss. the only thing keeping her from exploding was the nausea that nearly overwhelmed her, any robots safe from her clutches. for now.

Azula drags her hand through her hair in an attempt to free her gaze from the partial obstruction, only managing to encourage the tangles and make more of a mess. she has to swallow, a disgusting mixture of sea salt and sand that almost encourages her illness, but she keeps it down if only to spit the rest out at the last robot on her stop off the hell beach.

Korra's warm voice forces her to still, hands falling loosely to her sides as she's given up her endeavor to look presentable. after what seemed like an eternity with tiny, metal hands, she didn't know whether or not she wanted to kill or kiss the first real human person she could kind of lay eyes on. because of the hair problem. ]

I believe I have achieved a level of soaked so dense that my bones will not dry out until I've reached old age.

[bearcat]

[ something about this woman seems... familiar? those gold eyes and her sharp, commanding voice — it twists something in korra's chest and she can't quite put her finger on what's bothering her. without azula's signature impeccable hairstyle and fire nation crown, she looks like any other firebender korra would have come across in republic city. she looks nothing like the old pictures that firelord zuko had shared with her when korra was a child. ]

That's a little dramatic, don't you think? [ she smirks a little, stepping forward once the robots finish their task. ] Obviously you've never jumped in the ocean before.

[ reaching a hand out to direct her energy, korra pulls the water from both of the woman's sleeves, letting them ball up in her palms before they splash into the sand at her feet. ]

[unstable]

I much prefer dry land. [ dramatic? would it be wise to start her world-hopping adventure with a bit of violence? maybe, if her stomach wasn't consistently reminding her how much of an awful idea it would be. Azula was entirely in her right to be perturbed. ] Although, I suppose a waterbender wouldn't understand such distaste.

[ her hands return to her hair, slender fingers combing through knots until she can scoop it from her eyes and try to tame it. she recognized the swift movement of Korra's hand and the accompanying loss of water immediately, curiosity taking over merely because she had only expected strangers and not someone even mildly familiar in the loosest sense of the word. ]

[bearcat]

[ hah! korra's blue eyes flash brightly when the woman says that shared word, and an excited grin splits her face.

someone from home! maybe not someone korra had ever met, but that's not surprising — the world was huge. however, the fact that she didn't seem to recognize korra herself gave her a split-second's pause before she shrugged it off. hey, she was extremely sheltered as a child, who is she to judge others for not being on the up-and-up? ]

I prefer fire, [ korra explains, cocky; but fire won't get this new friend dry, so waterbending it is! korra steps around her back, drawing more water from azula's clothing, the fabric billowing with manipulated energy. ] Or air, if I'm in a rush.

[unstable]

[ Korra's relief was calming, knowing that she was unrecognized if her welcome continued to be so warm. a good thing she hadn't tried to burn her face off, for once. of course, it's all forgotten as Azula furrows her brows, watching Korra circle around her like a circus monkey showing off all their tricks. ]

Excuse me? [ Korra's train had seemingly jumped from the track and Azula had yet to figure out how to follow it. what if the only person from her world was an absolute idiot? she didn't deserve such a cruel punishment, but at least now she was dry. er. ]

[bearcat]

[ "mmhm! mm'hm, mm'hm, mm'hm, i'm very confused right now" is the only thing that rings in korra's ears, that comment from bolin so long ago. while she's started to separate herself from the title of the avatar and learn who she is as a person, it's still a piece of her identity that she clings to, and it's still something she likes to brag about.

sometimes. not often. but she can't let this opportunity slip by. ]

I said, [ a rush of air goes up azula's spine and through her hair to dry it out, and korra relaxes back with arms crossed, ] air's a good back-up element.

[unstable]

[ the princess doesn't remember a time where she was actually at a loss for words. if someone else could bend more than one element, she would definitely know about it. 100% would know about it. the confidence is just oozing off of Korra, an open invitation almost threatening Azula to ask or question.

her tongue grazes over reddened lips, golden eyes actually sizing the multi-bender up now that Korra is unable to be written off as some loony peasant. she scoops her wild, yet dry (woohoo, Korra the lifesaver, if anything!!), hair over one shoulder as she herself tries not to look like a fool, realizing that she was probably gawking at the stranger like she was some exotic creature. ]

Do you want to introduce yourself or were you just waiting for me to swoon and gush first? [ please, just introduce yourself so she doesn't have to figure out another way to solve this NEW CONFUSION that she didn't need on top of, you know, all of Erku. ]

[bearcat]

[ korra might be a bit of a peacock but she's not an idiot; she doesn't ignore azula's annoyance, and wisely drops her cocky act.

so instead she delivers, matter-of-fact behind that signature, lop-sided avatar grin: ]

My name's Korra. [ her blue eyes remain bright, unable to contain her relief for something (someone) familiar, even if they're still, technically, strangers. ] I'm the Avatar.

[unstable]

[ a strange chortled laugh escapes her before she can stop it, mostly out of disbelief. whatever shenanigans were afoot needed to cease immediately, it was hard enough to comprehend and the added headache only made the bubbles in her stomach feel worse.

Azula wants to make a joke about how little the Avatar was, but she vaguely recalled him maybe having an inch on her the last time she saw him. besides, she literally just saw Korra airbend-- not something that could be faked. she was familiar enough with the reincarnations that she knew this wasn't some bizarre history encounter, so all it really left her with was a big fat pile of confusion. did it even matter now if Korra knew who she was? should she just be thankful there was someone from her world seemingly powerful enough to help her escape this one?

she hates how Korra is looking at her, like she was expecting her to have some grand reaction. instead Azula is just staring at her with the blankest of expressions while she presses her palm against her temple in an effort to stop the throbbing. ] Of course I'm trapped in sex city with the Avatar. Do you have any plucky sidekicks with you or do we get to try to return home on our own?

trips and falls back into this

[bearcat]

[ for being so socially isolated most of her life, korra is surprisingly empathetic, and this woman's reaction to the whole thing just makes korra feel ... not necessarily sorry for her, but a little protective. ]

Don't worry, [ and she's all business now, reaching forward to rest a hand on azula's shoulder in a comforting manner, ] we'll find a way out of here together. Who better to be trapped with than the master of all four elements?

[ that last part is said a little light-hearted, but you know... she can't help herself. ]

I'll do everything I can to help you out of here.

[unstable]

[ it's surprisingly intoxicating, the anonymity. she doesn't remember the last time she could slip about unnoticed, the mask and cloak she adorned back in the Fire Nation had not just been for show. there's a possibility that Azula could say her name and the Avatar would have no knowledge of her, but that would be a blessing she probably didn't deserve. her luck had run out significantly, her arrival here had proven that much.

the princess glances to Korra's hand, letting out a sigh as she realizes it'd be better to not lie about her identity. a first. would that hand move to strangle her instead when she found at? ]

You're going to have your hands full if you start offering help to every stranger you come across. I suppose I should have expected as much, but I'm sure your bending will provide little relief to the problems of the city.

[ Azula finally shrugs off Korra's hand, moving to wrap her arms around herself. ]