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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[ Annie stares at Mikasa for an extended beat, then looked away to the side, lifting a hand. One she clearly was coughing into. (No. She's laughing. It makes no sense, worshiping feet, and so she's laughing.)

She almost, almost feels like being enough of an ass to say Mikasa's welcome to massage her feet anytime, but no. Given what her own card lists, it's more they all end up with strange, incomprehensible, and downright odd things. ]

... Oh. [ ... It's an effort in goodwill, but she offers one of the weirder ones back as well. ] There's one called electricity. I don't want to know what would be involved with that.

[ For all she's at least got electricity as a concept, that's... sounding.......................... very stupid and dangerous, regardless of being a Titan shifter. ]

What are the chances of them making things up and sitting back to see if people can figure out how to make them work?

He wasn’t sure why she was laughing, and when she started leaning back he quickly turned around to avert his gaze. Really, he should have left, but, it was too late for that.

“It was other gods that did it. Their children.”

Seeing her lay those options out ... made him look at his companion in a new light. Zechs looked at her with a different expression, new. One of honest respect.

“When said so baldly?” Zechs’ tone was quiet. “I can’t help but agree. I’m ... long through fighting. I will do it as long as I’m required, to remind those of the foolishness of war. But I would rather humanity remembers the lessons of the past, and be content with peace.”

He looked out to the distant shoreline. “Wherever you’re from, it doesn’t sound too unlike where I’ve been taken. On the balance. You’re entirely right. I have no grounds to complain, save for what my absence might mean.”

Edited 2020-10-02 00:17 (UTC)

[ It's fortunate that Jim doesn't really mention that last part, because Finn is weirdly confident right now. It helps that he knew first-hand how James felt, so he doesn't think too terribly hard about it.

At least, not right now and not in that way. Maybe part of it is that he doesn't want to ruin this tonight, wants just this all to himself. Being a little selfish and all that.

Finn doesn't say anything. He wraps his arms around James, one hand resting on the back of his neck, and he just tries to... stay as much in this moment as possible. Maybe it will be difficult for Finn to sleep tonight, after all.

~~It won't be.~~ ]

[ Most people do tend to trust Jim eventually, but still he doesn't expect it, and he certainly doesn't count on it happening after just one meeting. He does hope to be able to prove himself with time, though, and maybe Peter will eventually trust him enough to let him take the wheel— so to speak.

He lets out an airy little laugh when Peter leans in to tease him back, eyes bright and grin wide. ]

Oh, really? Well, now you've left me even more curious. Are you going to show me, or... just building the mystery a little longer?

[ The sudden increase in contact sends his heart racing even faster, skin prickling at the sudden feel of her pressed up against him. His free hand loops around her waist to keep her in place, though it doesn't seem as though she'll be leaving any time soon.

Still, better safe than sorry.

He leans further down, eyelids closing briefly as he savors the touch of her tongue against his skin, and the low hum in her throat, strangely arousing despite its simplicity. It compels him to move, to dip his head lower despite the fingers wrapped in his hair and press his mouth against the curve of her jaw, teeth grazing lightly against skin. His fingers slide up the hem of her shirt, tracing small circles on her back. ]

[ THE TENT IS FINE STOP JUDGING HIS TENT!!! ]

Don't be coy. You know your body will warm to the act.

[ like many things, he feels that the drawing of a bow is a act that the body remembers better than the mind. a skilled archer may draw once and tremble at the memory, but the second draw will be steady again; that's what he sees in Claude, who blames the time he's gone without his own weapon for his 'rusted skill' and in whom Vaati sees nothing awry. the way that they draw differs, however. the movement has the same technical elements, but if Vaati were to compare the way they stand and the way they pull the string across themselves, he'd find artifacts of their training and their experience in every step of the way.

so, with Claude's obvious skill in his mind's eye, he reaches into his tent and draws out the quiver as well. it's a far more rudimentary thing, worn leather and brass metal, but there's plenty of arrows of different make and model. looks like he either scavenges them, or makes them himself. ]

It's called the Oathbow, and is meant to kill my chosen target swiftly. It won't work like that for you, since it only obeys one master at a time.

Edited 2020-10-02 01:31 (UTC)

[ The moment he lets her go she has to turn away. She'll let him admire the mobile suit while she composes herself and ultimately decides to climb the stairs to her cockpit to grab some water from her personal stash. If he wants to see inside she won't object to him following. She takes a bottle for herself and tilts her head back to drink, spilling some down her chin. Speaking of thirsty... Maybe she can dilute whatever it is that's affecting her, but chances are she'll just have to wait it out. There's plenty more where that came from so she offers one to Char as well. ]

Would you like some?

_{[ Klaus isn't the smartest in his dysfunctional family, arguably the one with the least amount of brain cell, but he could tell when someone was upset or sad. He clicks his tongue and stops, steadying his hands on Peter's shoulders and rubbing in comforting way. Klaus takes his own shaky breath too. ]}

You never judged me for that.. how messed up I am. You're too perfect for me and you shouldn't be with me, but you wanted to be.

_{[ He arms his arms around Peter, giving him a nice, warm hug. ]}

I don't know what's happening to me right now, but you feel so real, so I just want to take it in so much right now.. cause I just know it won't last forever, and I'll be alone and pathetic again.

_{[ A beat, and then: ]}

You never should have enlisted.

[That struck him as a little unusual, even for someone he just met. So Char just waves off the offer, stepping up to join her and assessing her with a concerned eye—or at least the appearance of it. She seemed almost feverish, a little too hot under the collar for comfort. He had a certain effect on women but that might have been going a bit far.]

Are you alright...?

[Don't think Mashita didn't just catch you almost saying that about your family, Yashiki. Mashita's mouth tightens further into a grimace at his words, even if... Yashiki isn't wrong about some of what he says.]

Do you really think that any of us would let you go deal with this sort of shit alone either? We're not sacrificing ourselves for you, it's... ugh, it's supposed to be teamwork or whatever the fuck the kids call it that has us being there with you.

[He says the word like it's somehow disgusting, but you know, that's Mashita for you.]

My point is that sometimes there's gotta be a god damn limit to your sympathy if it means your life is in danger, Yashiki. Or at the very least don't go fucking running head first into spirits alone anymore.

Yes! Because I didn't want to hurt you. Or, y'know, make your first time less than great.

[Adora doesn't need more encouragement. She drives her finger upwards, pressing it against Catra's slit and inside, slowly claiming more and more of her girlfriend. She's careful about it, but she's not going to keep her waiting any longer after hearing that.

She stops just short of the first joint in her finger, giving Catra a look.]

...I love you.

[Why say that? Mostly to drive home the point as she finishes moving her finger, all the way up to her knuckle, stopping as she reaches the apex of the motion to give Catra a moment.]

I'd like to think so. We share tea every so often, I've fought alongside her once or twice, and we've had quite a few nice talks.

[And... done a few things that would probably make Catra annoyed with her, but Summer doesn't need to address that topic right now.]

We both showed up at the start of all this, and we've been looking out for each other since.

That's the one. Ro- Sham- Bo.

[ roshambo. rock, paper, scissors. paper, boulder, shears. he's heard all names from all angles. it's the far more "fun" way to decide who's going to dive into the midst of the skull-faced floral arrangement down below, rather than picking over one another's skills and abilities. sometimes, it doesn't matter how much you can do, or how well you can do it - just how lucky you get.

and so, he picks rock. ]

Are you a two-out-of-three fellow, or do you take your losses gracefully?

"It would be," she said, moving to stand. "Of course it would be. Did anyone steal anyone else's powers before locking them away under an ocean?"

[ i mean, twenty percent of his hobo tent is still a decent amount of space for her. she's like, tiny.

they shake on it, which means he's beholden to this little deal. it's almost ( almost ) like giving his word to her, in which case he really will do his best to provide her with twenty percent of whatever he gets in trade - and his best to actually make whatever he asks for a little more worthwhile than hobo tent supplies. she takes the haunches before he can suggest it, leaving him to heft the front legs up and over his shoulders, wearing the floppy head of the boar-like creature like a hat.

it does make the weight a little more manageable, as it doesn't drag across the ground this way. ]

And the amateur wouldn't care to comment as such. What do you spend your time out here looking for, then?

[ the benefit of being small: fitting in pockets no one else can curl up in.

she doesn't have long legs to match fast paces, but under the burden of the boar-like creature, she manages to keep whatever pace he sets without comment or complaint.

her answer to his question comes at a delay, no particular reason beyond feeling no rush to reply. easy conversation has been a joke of her arriving here: that or she's catching up on four years of silence, so willing to fall into small talk like she ever understood its purpose. ]

Smaller game. [ hunting it, she says, having omitted the action. she wasn't sasha; her hunting lacked that finesse, was more of opportunity. meat's never been a big part of her diet, and the big prizes aren't worth the hassle on her own. ] Fruits, edible roots. Some have the same problems as the rations, most don't.

[ its a learning curve. which also makes her sound like she's out here for food, and she is; but she collects what she can for trade in value, just less of the large an unwieldy. she's well aware she's short, and overburdening just makes her a target.

she'd say she's familiarizing the area, but... it changes. it doesn't behave like an established place, too malleable, and that's unsettling. ]

Anything other than the hunting keeping your interest?

You lordly types, springing for violence so quickly when faced with a little foul play.

[ he practically hums the words, hand still tight around Percival's wrist while the other man shoves him back, putting a measure of distance between them once more. he doesn't fight that, but there's a sharpness to his expression and his tone that betrays his darker, deeper fathoms. ]

It's all play.

[ if Vaati hopes for that to be reassuring, perhaps he ought to not bare his teeth in a facsimile of a smile. the sharp canines and the curl of his obscenely too-wide jaw draw forth the ideal of a serpent, some tightly-wound beast that's already coiled itself around parts of Percival that are softer, more delicate and aren't keen on releasing without a fight. ]

Come on, princeling -- play with me a little, and I'll let go. No harm.

[ the pace he sets is generous enough; he appears to be capable of putting thought into how he steps, where he picks a gentler slope so that she's not forced to haul backwards on its weight and he's not forced to fall forward without her keeping pace. there were smaller members of the last group he was a part of, slight of frame or slim of muscle and it had taken him some time to relearn patience. to adapt to moderation and pacing, where he had once forged lone paths for himself. ]

The fog.

[ like her, he slips into fragile conversation. staccato and brief, when not actively working to solicit her aid. ]

Not too long ago, I was in a world bordered by mist and fog. You couldn't travel through it either. I'm wondering if I'm back there.

[ he curves around a patch of gnarled roots, and can see where the treeline begins to thin out. ]

Or if I ever left, in the end.

[ he makes it easy to stay in step; she appreciates that. nevermind that she'd been hauling packs heavier and larger than herself since before she was nine. it makes it easier to appreciate.

what he speaks on, however, that's more to think about. unhappy thoughts, because yes, she'd wanted away from the war, had wanted nothing to do with the concept of heroics. let her die with her peace and her monstrosities, not trapped on another island.

she sighs, not hiding it. at the very least the demands here are ridiculous but easier to swallow. not having to kill anyone, not having to judge her every relationship on a timeline of how long before one or the other of us has to see the other dead to survive, that's a kind of peace too. ]

That place, did it ask for the same things?

[ gazing past the body and the thinning trees, wondering if it'll ever feel fully freeing to wander past that boundary and not wonder at what was waiting on either side. ]

"Zeus may have eaten one of them and gained her wisdom?" or something. He thinks he read something about that once. Somewhere.

Now that he thought about it, completely unrelated to actual myth and legend, there was a manhua out there that had put greek gods and heavenly immortals together. What an odd combination.

She gathered her bracelet, keeping his conversation easy to understand, along with the towel she wrapped around herself. Padding past, she only pauses to kneel down behind him, reaching out to flick at an ear, talking low for his ears only.

"That's the thing about Titans, Shen Qingqiu. Even their children want to eat."

His ear flinches in that way cat's ears do and he does manage to look mildly startled that she's so close to him now. But, he focused on what was said and didn't really get it.

"Don't most people want to eat...?"

She planted her hand on the floor, bracelet clinking against stone, or whatever the surface was made of. Leaning in just a touch, pressing the point of invading his space without actually touching, since she had no interest in it.

"Not every appetite can be sated. Even here."

Then, with a pat on his bare shoulder, she pushed back up to her feet without exposing any more skin than the towel already didn't cover, and headed out to the changing room.

No, and yes.

[ as they break the edge of the forest, he warns her before he twists under its weight and hoists it up - hard. it lets him take the brunt of the weight on the way down the embankment, the rocks threatening a twisted ankle at the least. she can guide and steer, his feet are nimble and light despite the shaky terrain. it also means she can get clear, if anything slides underfoot suddenly. how thoughtful! ]

It was a miserable place, lorded over by a dangerous beast of a man. It wanted to make miserable, warped things out of those who wandered in.

[ unlucky for Barovia, that Vaati was already twisted enough to threaten its lord in return. ]

Is there someone who rules this place? I'd say kill them, it'll sort all problems out.

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TDM 005: HAPPY SPOOKTEMBER

oh no i snorted out loud

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