ercookies | TDM 005: HAPPY SPOOKTEMBER

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TDM 005: HAPPY SPOOKTEMBER

Arrival

This time, you come out of the water, the Nameless Island's own inherent energy drawing people in. It's like being suspended between realities and abruptly pushed from behind through a rift in dimensions. It may make you sick, or that might be the motion of the ocean, lifting you to the surface 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. Feel free to explore the Island, though there isn’t much to see. Most of the buildings are abandoned and in dire need of repair, and beyond the city lingers a thick fog that obscures much of the wilderness from view. Wander too far into this fog, and you will find yourself mysteriously looping back to where you began, your memories of what you were doing and how you got there erased.

With that in mind, it may be wise to stake your claim on a rundown apartment, a tent on the beach, or a bed in the "comfortable" new barracks. Your inventory will be found a day later, wrapped up haphazardly and delivered to each person's makeshift home.

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I. Harvest Hunt

As the daylight grows shorter and the muggy heat of the island’s summer gradually shifts to temperate days and chilly nights, Erku’s accessible wilderness explodes with a colorful collection of tempting fruits, fragrant-smelling herbs, and nuts and seeds plumped and ready for harvest. With warnings to beware of monsters, the robots of Erku encourage Islanders to take advantage of the land’s bounty by distributing basic camping supplies to those who are interested in exploring, hunting, and harvesting. They strongly encourage making the journey with a friend! Any surplus foods that Islanders bring home with them can be exchanged for credits with cafeteria robots! Just be careful out there - some of these fruits have strange effects once consumed.

For extra protection out there in the wilds, the robots have fashioned crowns of flowers or foliage to wear on their adventures. The sweet and herbal smells from the crowns will discourage most Erku-native monsters from approaching, they assure - this is ancient knowledge from the planet’s long-gone civilization, so it can’t be wrong!

What the robots don’t know is that the crowns have a deeper, more ritualistic purpose: after a few hours, the scent of flowers or herbs begins to awaken primal instincts within the wearer. Those who are wearing the foliage crowns feel overwhelmed by an urge to hunt, while those who wear the flower crowns delight in every opportunity to tease, outrun, and outwit the hunters. What happens when the chase ends? Well, that depends on the personalities and the chemistry between the hunters and their prey.

While the robots are very insistent on placing crowns atop the heads of any Islander they see, they aren’t stuck on in any way and they are easy to remove, which can prevent or break the hunting trance.

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II. seeds and sap

Of particularly high credit value, the robots explain, is an elusive flower known as the skull sunflower. It appears exactly as one might imagine: at the center of an otherwise innocuous, towering sunflower is the gruesome visage of an open-mouthed skull. Don’t worry, the flowers are harmless! Even if it’s strange how the empty-socketed eyes seem to follow your every move. And why is it that the teeth - which, on closer inspection, are actually the seeds of the flower - only seem to chatter when your back is turned?

Any Islander who can withstand their heebie-jeebies long enough to collect the petals and seeds from the flowers will fetch a handsome reward in credits upon exchange with the robots. Beware the sticky, blood-red sap that seeps from the eyes of each skull, however. Those who absorb too much through their skin will begin to hallucinate, visions of frightening or emotional events from their past dancing in the shadows. One might even mistakenly imagine that another Islander is someone they recognize from their past, someone who meant something to them - no matter whether that person is alive or dead in the present.

The hallucinogenic effects of the sap can last for hours, or they can be shortened by a dip in the public baths.

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III. Tarot

Night comes, and in the darkness, a robot sets up a table by the beach. A solitary candle sits in the center, illuminating a deck of cards. F̶i̴n̵d̸ ̸y̶o̸u̸r̵ ̵f̵o̸r̷t̵u̶n̶e̷?̴

The robot reveals tarot cards and will do a variety of spreads to tell your fortune. Each fortune can be distilled into one central theme, which characters will find pervades their life for the next 24 hours. There is magic afoot: it can be sensed, and perhaps even dispelled, if luck is on your side.

Though most robots on the island show a capacity for greater-than-average artificial intelligence, this pseudo-psychic 'bot -- M.S. Cl30 -- is less advanced. It only has six interpretations prepared:

Always watch your back. - Characters will be compelled to walk, or even speak, backwards for the duration of the day. Those who mishear it as "wash your back" may spend longer in the shower than usual.
Fake it til you make it. - Characters will feel compelled to act performatively. They will more readily fall into acts for serious or flirtatious roleplay, or try on costumes that reflect a particular persona they're interested in exploring. Faked orgasms will seem quite realistic.
You will receive an affectionate letter from a friend. - Just as it is said, someone will be compelled to engage in correspondence - and whether it turns dirty or not, well, that's up to you! Characters may also quite literally receive an article of clothing with a red letter sewn on the top. What could it stand for?
Hold on tight. - Characters who are given this life advice will start to feel rather clingy. They'll attach themselves to someone's side and refuse to leave, or they may find a "security blanket" item and won't let it go.
You are a generous, giving person. - Characters will feel compelled to do something kind for someone else. Maybe they'll invite someone to the movies, come over and cook, or do that thing their partner is always asking for.
Don't think. Feel. - Even if they weren't before, characters temporarily experience impulsive and hot-headed urges. They will also become very tactile.

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N A V I G A T I O N

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[Jon wants to climb him.

The thought is ridiculous and desperate and he doesn't care if it's actually possible or not, it's what he wants. He needs to be closer, he needs touch, friction, relief. The hand that lingers on his arm isn't enough. It's a tease, and he cannot take the idea that this will somehow not end the way it needs to. The way he needs it to. So he'll just... have to take matters in hand.

Rather than answering, Jon pushes his weight into the taller man in an attempt to pin him against the trees. He presses close, insinuates himself against the other body, as his hands curl in the fabric of his clothes.]

Of all the people who could be manipulated - controlled - this way. Zechs closed his eyes for a moment, expression cold and angry. Approaching calm the best he could. But it was ... a lot. Kidnapped. Drugged. Told, in order to get more than bare rations, that he’d need to ...

He took a deep breath in, and out.

“Nuts. The fruit seemed strange, so I didn’t touch them. Otherwise, I’ve only spoken with the natives here.” His eyes opened, his expression now inscrutable. “So, I should understand nothing is safe.”

[ It was certainly what she wanted, a battle scar to smile at in the mirror later. Catra was confident, sure, but the soft mushy feelings part of their relationship was still fairly new. She thought their first time would consist of a lot more awkward fumbling and nervous laughter instead of... this. There were no complaints, none, this hungry Adora was one she would happily take even if it made her heart skip a beat and become very aware of the heat between her legs.

And it wasn't going anywhere, a soft moan like she had never heard come out of her before escaping as Adora's deft fingers kneaded at nipples that perk up immediately in response. Her ears twitch, low, knowing she was as close to being as red as a beet as she could be. Then it's like the breath was taken out of her, momentary surprised, but her decision was made for her: follow Adora's lead, got it. Let her take charge, absolutely. She was here to be taken.

She's less careful with her claws as she digs fingers into the flesh of Adora's hips so she can crush their bodies together, a desperate grind. She's already half-given up on their kiss, sloppily returning it when she stops focusing on how dumb Adora is making her sound. ]

[ Ah.

So perhaps he did not know what the answer would be. At least, he didn't expect it to arrive on this scale. He will have to revise his judgment of Summer's behavior as extreme.

Jon pushes against him, but the movement is sloppy, and Ozpin pivots sharply. His grip on the man's arm tightens again, then Jon's shoulders hit the bark. Perhaps a bit more firmly than he'd meant.

The kick of cornering prey is abrupt and visceral and deeply unkind, and he bites his tongue against whatever he might want to do next. His eyes have gone sharply narrowed and assessing. The height difference is far more apparent now that he has the smaller man pinned to the tree. ]

I see. [ The gentleness is gone from his voice, now: it is only low and firm. ] I suppose that does answer the question.

Edited 2020-10-01 01:20 (UTC)

[The world spins and Jon gets the air knocked out of him when his back hits the tree. Strong hands grip him and he gains absolutely no ground when he tries to jerk free. The feeling of being held at arm's length is unbearable and the tree is not nearly so yielding or so warm as skin to skin contact.

Gone is the gentle kindness in the other man's voice, replaced by something that sounds almost like a warning.

Jon attempts to free himself from the solid hold, but there is really nothing for it. He is not a strong man, even at the best of times. And this is not the best of times. Agency removed, he is reduced to that unbearable neediness that is sinking its hooks into his mind, tearing away anything rational or coherent.]

Please.

[Willing to plead now that the upper hand has been thoroughly taken from him. This man promised relief, why won't he just give it?]

[ It's rare that BB-8 is out and about on his own these days, not since they've been dragged to yet another new planet that they haven't completely figured out yet — which is proving to be more challenging here than ever, since things literally change from day to day around them sometimes — but there's not that much in between the apartment that they've taken up residence in and the hangar where the x-wing sits, along with a number of other vehicles from various worlds. Today happens to be one of those days where the little spherical droid has gone out ahead, not so far that Poe wouldn't be able to hear any distressed screeching, but currently out of sight.

He comes around a corner almost right on top of a pair of very familiar feet, only just managing to halt abruptly to avoid an outright collision. Possibly not quickly enough to avoid causing some stumbling though. There's a short pause after he reels back, as if the situation is sinking in, and then comes the cascade of excited beeps, probably too fast even for someone very familiar with Binary to possibly catch more than every other word or so.

He's missed Finn! Where has he been? When did he get here? Poe's going to be so excited! Poe's ship is here! Yes, he's going to attempt to catch Finn up on everything before even asking questions, all that matters to him is that it's really him. ]

[ He looks away, making a noise in response to Mashita's answer.

Yashiki is about to open up the argument with him, but stops when the hand comes to rest on his shoulder.

He blinks in surprise before frowning yet again. ]

I'm not stupid. I understand the risks. But their grudge is simply ... [ His expression turns complicated. ] ... it's not simply. The anger and resentment that they feel can't be contained. They don't even have a body anymore... they can never return to their life to fix anything that has happened.

[ Spirits can't be judged like humans anymore. ] If we sympathize with them, we can allow them to pass without anyone dying with them. [ A beat. ] At that time... that girl... she didn't mean to pull me along. She only mistook me for that person.

But... she ... Red Riding Hood... she didn't know what else to do with herself. [ And with his meddling, she stopped haunting that love hotel, right? The matter ended up being settled. ] She's at rest now.

So, I don't know what you're upset about at all!

[ So forgiving me because it's the easiest thing to do? ]

You're a funny girl.

[ He is about to tag her name onto the sentence, before agreeing that they should go back to picking flowers. Then he realizes that he has no idea what it is. His eyes widen a little as he stares at the space over her shoulder -- sweat starts to run down the back of his neck as embarrassment hits him hard.

Oh. Asking a name now? That's probably really weird, isn't it? But if I don't, that'll be worse. ]

Wait, what's your name? I'm Yashiki. Ah, nice to meet you. [ Right, he should do this properly! So he says all of that and holds his hand out to her. ]

Mistaken for someone else or not, you still almost died, Yashiki.

[Like... what on earth about that is making it hard for you to understand here, Yashiki.]

You're lucky I happened to be there to pull you back in through the window. And sure, we can sit here now and say "oh good, I'm sure glad we survived that one and made the ghost happy and shit", but you might not be so lucky in the future. Do you think the rest of us [read: Mashita] are just gonna shrug and go "well damn, too fucking bad Yashiki's dead, but at least we got the job done with that spirit" if that happens?

[The point Mashita is trying to make here is that he cares enough about Yashiki is that he is going to put Yashiki's well-being before the spirits contentment and would, in fact, grieve in some way if and when Yashiki dies someday, but... Mashita is really bad at expressing affection for anyone...]

Edited 2020-10-01 01:48 (UTC)

[Meanwhile, as Ozpin's mind goes practically in circles around this topic, Summer's is blissfully clear. She has her goal in mind, and nothing will keep her from it. One way or another, she will have Oz, and soon. Her mind is mostly focused on what she'll do with him once they reach that point, and what he might do to her. Mental images of moving fingers trailing over skin and forms strong from hunting.

The toxin's power is just that potent.

When they get a look at Oz's home, Summer perks up and looks it over. It's about what she would expect from a new place, technically livable and that's about it. But her own home was in similar shape not long ago.

She pats Oz's arm reassuringly.]

Don't worry, Oz. You'd be surprised how quickly you can patch it up with the help of your card.

[ The cheer reminds him of her, which is of course absurd, because here she is alive again. The whole affair is horrifying and laughable.

He sighs and leads them inside. The furniture is whatever he'd found already present: a rotting table and chairs, a rather questionable bed. Everything here is mildewed with the ocean fog. Livable may be a generous term. He's not opposed to fixing it up the old-fashioned way: he knows how to build a cabin, how to mend wooden furniture, how to live off the land. Or, he did, once. A very long time ago. Difficult to say how long; it all runs together, and the disorientation of trying to pick the threads apart is rarely worth the trouble. ]

All the same, I do apologize for the state of the place. It's not what I'd prefer.

[ But then, nothing about this is what he'd prefer. The door is rotting on rusted hinges, but when it shuts behind them, there is a sense of finality to it. They are now alone somewhere private. ]

Heero regards the taller man carefully. It is a lot to take in at once, which he can see in Zechs's body language. But Zechs is a man who takes control in out-of-control situations, sometimes in ways that Heero doesn't always agree with.

"Some things are safe. There's no way to tell."

Is 'safe' the correct term? It isn't as if they're in immediate danger of injury...

"..it's best to have someone to go to. Someone you trust."

[One of Adora's hands roamed lower, eager to get Catra out of her pants, catching and hooking the hem of her panties and beginning to tug until the garment drops away. Patience was not her strong suit, even on a good day, and the only grew in intensity.

Once Catra was completely bare, she took the hand that wasn't attending to a nipple and pressed it lightly to the core of her partner, reveling in the heat she felt growing there.]

You're wet for me already. Good.

[The voice she offers Catra is low and rough, decidedly eager, and dripping with lust.]

I won't waste time teasing you.

[Her fingertip ran a quick circuit around Catra's lower lips, darting around the sensitive folds before pressing up against them, ready to sink inside.]

Ready?

It's not the place that matters, it's who you share it with.

[That could actually be a very sweet, tender sentiment if Summer weren't currently drugged to the eyeballs with aphrodisiac and meaning a very different definition of "Sharing".

Her removing her cloak and draping it over one of the uncertain chairs would also usually not be worth mentioning, but for the situation.

The way she turns to him, the gleam in those eyes and the way she grins, though, that would probably be nerves-inducing no matter what the situation.]

You and I can make anywhere feel like home, I believe.

“I suppose if the risk were certain, we’d grow too complacent,” Zechs said wryly, wrestling his mask back into place. When he looked back at Heero - it was pretending that he hadn’t seen him vulnerable.

Which was a lie. Watching him admit he was wrong, destroying the core of Libra - was already the most vulnerable he’d been in his life.

“Is that advice, Heero Yuy,” Zechs asked carefully, not breaking eye contact, “or an offer?”

[ She's not sure what kind of response she was expecting but he's caught her off guard. It's not long before she realizes how distracted she's been. She's led him on a bit of a detour to the hangar rather than straight into town. When she's been here so many times it's just where she ends up going on autopilot. ]

This is where I keep my mobile suit.

That—

[ Busted. She's too perceptive. He may be a good diplomat, but lying like this required an entirely separate skill.

Her laughter makes his face color slightly with embarrassment, remembering the disastrous time he and Eustace had had trying to pilot the ship. ]

... It was that obvious, was it?

I understand our bond from what we all went through.

[ How could he think he didn't?! Hiroo, Shou and Banshee all suffered -- he grimaces as he can understand Mashita's concerns that he's acting too dangerously, but -- ]

I don't -- [ He starts and stops. ] -- I don't expect you all to be all right with it. I understand that it'll be hard, but you don't have to be there at all in the first place.

[ That point, too, is important! ] None of you have to sacrifice yourselves for this. The business with spirits-- I didn't want anything to do with it, but I understand it is something that my fami-- no, it's something that I consider my responsibility. [ So, there! ]

And! I told you then! We can't just keep ignoring them and refusing to understand them. There may come a time -- when I die, it may be that the spirits won't have anyone that can sympathize with them after me, but -- until that time, I want to be able to let them rest.

[ Why can't Mashita understand that! He can do it! He can protect everyone, save them from having to do what he's doing, and ensure the spirits no longer harm anyone! He can do it! He did it for a month! He can keep doing it -- he didn't want to before -- he honestly would have rather avoided all of it but after Red Riding Hood, he understands that he can't just turn his back on them. ]

[ Continued in the comm! ]

That may be so, but we set our sights on the hive at the same time. It wouldn't be fair for me to claim it solely for myself.

[ And fairness is, at the end of the day, one of the pillars of knightly code that he could not get rid of. Not in Feendrache, and not here.

He steps forward, surveying the height of the hive. She should be able to reach it, no problem. ]

Hm. Interesting tactic. I don't see why it wouldn't work. [ He's already lowering himself, so that she might have better access to his shoulders. But-- ]

How will you prevent yourself from getting stung when they retaliate? Shall we rely on outrunning them?

Ha. Rock, paper, scissors, yes. I'm familiar with the game, after all.

[ It's a silly notion on which to decide, perhaps they should compare skillsets first, but Siegfried isn't particularly opposed to testing the waters. In fact, a part of him kind of hopes the plant offers resistance to being harvested.

Anything to break up the monotony of being here with no purpose but to have sex. ]

Fine. [ He assumes the pace of the chant is the same as rock, paper, scissors, so: ] Ro— Sham— Bo.

[ He gunna choose scissors. ]

[ That just earns him a dry look, since it's not the people she's talking about with regards to voyeurism. Just these "golems", who are, apparently, here to cheer on and support...........................

It hurts her brain just thinking about it. She promptly stops wrangling with the hows. It simply is, and that means it has to be dealt with. ]

Wild? No, wild is being told we're here to battle to the death and feast on the remains. Rebuilding a city through sex is right out of bad literature. Last I heard, the only thing that much sex got you was a bad reputation if you're female, a fantastic reputation if you're male, and an increase in the population if you're not careful. Which I'm assuming no one is asking for here.

[ the robot can actually answer. it beams down with a smile displayed on a rounded facial display, and starts sing-song listing off the worries she shouldn't have, treasured guest, when engaging in her auspicious acts. no children, no disease, no--she interrupts, addressing the metal construct: ]

No lacking partners?

[ the golem trails off, and gives her what is a robotic equivalent to an apologetic shrug. ]

Practise, [ the robot advises ] increases the probability of mutual satisfaction.

[ she then gives Yuri another flat, unimpressed look. this is what listening is giving her. ]

My expectations are lower than ever.

"What if you don't like reading. Or fiction."

She asked blandly enough, hovering on vaguely annoyed he can't even explain what he liked before he became the body snatcher, and then she makes herself sigh.

"Nevermind, if you can't explain, don't try. It's like me assuming someone knows what I mean when I say Titan." Only she could explain that one, more or less.

[ ... The look of sad betrayal at food reminds her of Sasha, bless her, and her love and appreciation of food as someone who had seen her more than unfair share of starvation. Annie knew that, too, so she reaches up and pats his shoulder again, not thinking about how she could have given a reassuring squeeze of the hand. She's not had much experience with that, personally. More the shoulder thing. ]

Holding hands is on that card thing too, can't it be?

[ Since it is for her, she supposes that's a thing. ]

The things here want to encourage... more. So one thing, [ she says, holding up their hands and finally giving it a squeeze ] leads to another thing, [ she drops her gaze very slowly to his lips, blinking with exaggerated slowness but no actual coyness to her features ] and then anything helping that process is a benefit. In a certain point of view.

So yes. Why not put something in the food, too?

[ Never. Couldn't have possibly. /slowly turns head toward a certain not-present-horse ]

... Former. [ Former soldier, former warrior, but not like either was close to a clean slate. ] Why whales? Aren't those the big beasts in the ocean?

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TDM 005: HAPPY SPOOKTEMBER

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