ercookies | TDM 005: HAPPY SPOOKTEMBER

Entry tags:

!tdm

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.

● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

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.

● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

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.

● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

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.

● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

N A V I G A T I O N

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I don't want to lead anything or anyone.

[Probably a disappointing remark, but it was the pure and honest truth. From the mouth of a man who would someday become an even bigger legend.]

And I don't want to be anything or anyone but the man that bests Amuro Ray. At least for now, that's all that matters to me.

[His father was dead. His dreams were dead too. And his own mind had been lost, just as long ago, by his seventh birthday. He was not loved and would never be. Lalah was a tool, a means to an end, a rescued runaway. All he felt was rage. All he could think about was besting Amuro and beating the Gundam and tearing down Zeon in the waning days of the war.

He doesn't care about the collective will. He doesn't care about this illustrious Captain. He doesn't care about Angelo, beyond his usefulness. He has lost his mind and lost his capacity as a human being. It's hard to act with so few cards left to play. But maybe that was exactly what he wanted, and at least he could pretend. At least for now, that's all that matters.

As he has done all his life, Char looks away from his responsibilities and stares at the peeling paint on the wall.]

Federation or Zeon, Newtype or Oldtype... we're all consigned to the same exact fate.

[Extinction.]

[ angelo gives him a withering look. ]

How childish!

[ "the man that bests Amuro Ray". well. not to be an asshole, but he will not, and there is a reason that gundams progress as much as they do after the war. the man was a trigger whether he likes it or not, and while the red comet held himself admirably against him -- angelo knew his history well enough, as to what came after that.

but the idea that char could be somebody else, not wanting to lead anyone -- there is a future waiting for them. angelo will not have it; this is not the kind of resolve he was expecting from char aznable. but at the same time .... he doesn't have to do anything. he doesn't have to stop char aznable, because char aznable does what he wants and they were only there to follow him, to whichever grave the red comet will lead them to. palau. dakar. or out in the edges of space. he doesn't know now, but he will, inevitably. eventually.

how ridiculously misguided everyone had been when they claimed that they remembered char best. the only people who knew him are dead. therefore, it stands to reason that whatever his captain say should've been authoritative. but everyone clung to char aznable like hope, insidious and poisonous to the most desperate of minds, when he himself, right here, is saying that he doesn't want anything else other than to beat amuro ray. that he knows only extinction awaits him.

spitefully, angelo thinks to himself, soon you will wish you were granted that favour. ]

You sound like a gambler. Profiting off the war for your own selfish, emotional reasons, only that you are the Red Comet and therefore thinks you can make do with a losing hand by yourself. [ angelo scoffs as he repeats to him -- ] "I only want to beat a Gundam." Certainly that's a noble goal. But there is a future in which you will be a part of, already are, whether you like it or not, Char Aznable.

And the more you seek power, the more it becomes inevitable. You cannot avoid who you are. Years and years later .... you still have that same streak in you. [ this is more personal, than anything else, but angelo is thinking of the unicorn, fighting the sinanju, and the tone of his captain's voice when he saw the unicorn, once more: ah. we meet again. like an old friend, the worst kind of enemy, and angelo resents it. ]

But I suppose it's nice to be hopeful. [ a snake, angelo smiles at him in an ugly manner, taught to him by someone who also doesn't care beyond the will that occupies a vessel painted in red. taunting char to hold on to such ideals, to see how long can char hold onto them like they were the only childhood he ever knew. angelo was no strategist, certainly, but the captain who held him was beyond humanity. ] Here, at least, you have truly become no-one, not leading anything or anyone.

[ and hey, that's a goal achieved, right? box ticked. roll snare, curtain call. it's good that he renounced the rank of captain to him. angelo feels, more and more, that he does not deserve it. ]

And shackling your own hopes and ambitions onto someone else? What would you call that, then?

[Congratulations, Angelo, you have his attention. He didn't mind being called out as a coward; he didn't mind suffering through another speech, cradled in the bosom of Zeon. But he did mind imposition, presumption, and someone attempting to assert themselves as an authority figure. Because he may not want to lead anyone or be anything, but one thing he was not...]

Because to me, that just sounds like slavery.

[...was a slave.]

[ alright, time to double down on the rhetoric. ]

To be given a reason to exist? To know your purpose? To toil towards a future and a will? That is not slavery. That is devotion. Do you know how that feels? Or have you completely lost it in your Zaku, or to the Zabis?

More than that, can you genuinely say that you are free of this Gundam? That anytime you choose to, you can walk away from this fight? [ good. if he has his attention, angelo will court it with the arrogance of a beast. he tucks a curl behind his ear and leans back against the rather flat pillows of his bed, lazily, regarding him with such indifference. ] You think too highly of yourself for someone who will never know freedom, not unless you are in a mobile suit and fighting.

[ angelo smiles serenely, the only reason that he is able to being that he is not entirely looking at char. not at all. ] You may think whatever you think it is that you want. I will be here, Captain. I will take care of you, as always, once you realize where your search for freedom will take you. I will wait.

[ angelo has always belonged to the ghost of char, the second coming of the red comet, the king of the dispossessed. char doesn't know it yet, but he will. this snake is here to coil around him, to remind him of his bad traits and habits, to encourage them and make them even worse. and perhaps, the most tragic of them all: that angelo accepts all of those faults, forgives them, loves them besides. the most terrible lalah nobody asked for. and yet. ]

[So much for docile and demure.

What was even the point of this argument? Did Angelo really and truly believe that Char Aznable, a man he had just met for the first time, was going to heed a goddamn thing he said? He couldn't possibly be that stupid. He couldn't possibly be so naive, thinking that a boy who grew up under the greatest mind of their time wouldn't be able to see right through that rhetoric.

It makes him mad. Worse than that, it forces him to confront his own feelings. Char whips around like a cornered cat and in one swift move, pins Angelo the same pillows he was lounging upon. Try being indifferent, facing down the Red Comet at point blank range. And for all those fluent words, Char offers just one, accompanied by the unmistakable pressure of a Newtype.]

Don't.

[At least there was no one around to look. No one but dead men and shackled slaves.]

[ ah. but angelo knows this overwhelming pressure and bows to it, because it's the only form of authority he ever understood, was shaped by, brought into being. so yes, he does look at him point blank, facing the red comet at such a bruising range. calling to that violence that not even full frontal can fully contain, but perhaps because of that, allows it to flourish by his side. ]

If you want me to stop then command me, Char Aznable. Don't deny yourself.

[ full frontal understood that had he not been worth his admiration he would've killed him for it. angelo was not going to follow one who hesitates over destiny with such cowardice. only one who has forsaken themselves for a future indifferent to their existence -- and that rage. that rage, that even his captain heeds, listens to, most intently. that rage, which is more like a prayer than anything else.

how beautiful he is. ]

[...wait a minute.]

Are you doing this on purpose?

[Talk about courting death. Or touching fire, which amounted to the same thing and the same stupidity. That just manages to trigger a fresh bout of irritation; he didn't like being treated like a slave and he also didn't like being played for a fool. When you were accustomed to having the upper hand, getting the tables turned... well, it was an undeniably unpleasant experience.

Char narrows those murderous eyes. Beautiful like a tiger, just prior to the pounce.]

You really want me to pull rank? Here and now, just because you begged for it?

[Why, yes. That was an accusation.]

Don't be silly. If that's all it took, I wouldn't have bothered.

[ there are benefits to having his attention, angelo decides. one is that he gets to see the side of him that most people don't have a claim to, which is interesting. the other is that char is doing a good job of separating himself from his captain.

which, fine by angelo, but he supposes if he can help steer him to somewhere where he needs him to be in order for full frontal to be a reality, well. so much the better.

he decides he likes this char. a man could really learn to like such a dangerous beast. ]

Don't dictate to me again.

[Not an attempt to pull rank, then, just a means of making himself quite clear. He wasn't mad enough to attack on a whim but could and would lash out at anything and anyone that wanted to threaten his aims. Be it a Zabi, a Gundam, or some other opponent, Char Aznable was a hunter through and through. And telling him how to hunt was a great way to get eaten.

Char eases off, though only slightly. And only warily.]

Understood.

[ the smile that he gives him isn't quite genuine but it is rather pleased. like he was a starving beast and he was given, ever so slightly, blood to liven up the spirits and remind him of what he is. it doesn't do to be so complacent, after all. it freezes in the bottom of the pit and renders a soul heavy like lead.

at least char has an idea of what angelo is. not a schemer, or a leader of men, but worse still. and here he was, momentarily sated by that flash of violence, handing him his proverbial leash obediently and watching him keenly, to see what he'll do with it. ]

[Pretty purple-haired boys are seriously the worst. Good thing he won't have to deal another round of that!

All the hot air goes out of him at once, like a lead balloon, which has Char flopping onto his side with a heavy sigh. Somewhere along the way, his boots just sort of slide off and he just shuts his eyes and does his damnedest to envision himself at home and at the controls and ready to fire on the fiercest foe he has ever faced in the cold, unforgiving depths of space.

Though right now, that foe felt a lot like impending exhaustion.]

Can I order you to suffocate me with a pillow? Put me out of my misery?

[Damn, Char. That was dark.]

I will not. You are ridiculous, Char.

[ it's too soon, anyway.

and true to his word, as angelo said, he does take care of him. he'll give him the pillow, he'll help pull off his coat if he'll let him so he can be more comfortable, otherwise he'll leave him alone. he fixes his boots on the side, setting them neatly on the corner for later. ] In any case, you are notoriously difficult to kill.

[ he doubts a pillow would be enough. ] Maybe one of the Gundam pilots would be nice enough to step on you, if you asked nicely.

[ hah. ]

[Char disrobes with all the grace of a drunken person. Which he wasn't, unfortunately, but there's not a lot of room for grace when your head still hurts and you still wished you never woke up this morning. That sort of suicidal sentiment plagues him more than he would ever admit.]

Need a lot more scotch for that.

[Well, he didn't deny it... god, what to do with this man, though? A fussy manservant who would mouth off at a moment's notice.]

But since I don't trust you with idle hands, I'll give you an assignment. I guess.

[ angelo gives a soft hum, like the sound of a man who has won a bet or something. ] I always knew you were a functional alcoholic.

[ he gave such vibes. his captain wouldn't drink, probably just for appearances since full frontal doesn't really have much of a use for such things, but maybe this isn't surprising for char aznable. anyway, scotch, angelo puts down in his mental to-do list for char aznable, which is increasingly becoming very complicated. angelo hangs up his jacket, dismayed at the lack of amenities in the barracks that would prevent it from getting even more wrinkly, but hung to dry, at least he'll be able to wear it again later on. ]

Let's hear this assignment of yours.

[ angelo sits on the edge of the bed, crossing his legs as he looks down at him, no younger or older than he is, flopped on the bed. like this, he could've just been any other soldier. probably wishes that he was, and angelo gets a kick out of knowing that he won't be. because he can't. ]

Guess my other crippling addiction never made it into the press.

[...the lack of specificity may have been the most disturbing part.

Right, an assignment. Something he was totally, absolutely, definitely not devising on the fly so Angelo didn't blow up half of the planet while he was asleep. Which he might do anyway, he's admittedly a little unnerved now, but he really did seem the sort to fare poorly without a particular angle. Which he could empathize, because he was exactly the same way.]

I'm pretty good, but even I can't take out multiple Gundams at once. I need a better assessment of what we're dealing with.

[The best of both worlds, truly: play on Angelo's apparent hatred for Gundams and get him out and about.]

Prepare a report. And make your case for which one will die first.

[ rather amused, ] Aren't you just a trove of bad decisions.

[ anyway. for that assignment. ]

In terms of Gundams? In terms of ourselves?

I can guarantee you that it'll be you, in that Gelgoog, as the flashiest distraction we have; unless you borrow Garma Zabi's Dopp Fighter first, in which case I'll give us twenty four hours to spare, on top of our D-Day.

The Rozen Zulu can take out one or two but it will be severely under-utilized in this battle considering the type of Gundam it was originally set up for.

Aren't you known for your charms and affairs? You and Garma Zabi can make your way to several A5s and incapacitate them emotionally too. [ slut. ]

Anyway. I am taking this seriously. It is an ongoing analysis considering the Augur's predilection for Gundam pilots. It will be done. [ a pause. ] Know that I'm scheduling it in between other things, however. I won't let you be idle here.

I didn't request an estimation of our own forces, I requested an estimation of the enemy.

[Stupid sassy lieutenant and his stupid sassy questions, what kind of inhuman construct could ever placate this petty creature? At least he agreed to it, so that would save him some aggravation, but... hold on, emotional incapacitation? Alternative scheduling? How did he turn that around on me?!]

I'm... I'm not some slutty secret agent! It doesn't even work that way!

[Oh, no. He can already feel himself halfway to harangued.]

Both are important, [ angelo says primly, ] and to that end, I have already said I will do it.

[ angelo rummages through his drawers, trying to see if the augur had seen fit to give him something else. of course it hasn't, so angelo takes out a comb from his jacket, and starts attacking his matted hair. at least he's gentle with it? anyway -- ]

The rumour is that you have as many affairs as you have kill counts in battle. I am merely suggesting you utilize your skills.

H-hey, you can't just...

[Okay, never mind, he's doing it. This was happening, this was his life now. He was getting groomed like an irate cub with its doting mother. So caught off by it, Char doesn't even think to resist or protest further, just staring wide-eyed at Angelo. And trying and failing to defend his own habits.]

Look, I have a certain effect on women. It's not my fault.

[It's absolutely your fault, Char.]

That's what they always say.

[ angelo does a good job sweeping his hair back and making him look less of a madman. he might even pass as handsome, now. he looks pleased with this development. ]

I'm glad my Captain doesn't have anything for the press to revel at.

[ then again, as far as public figures go, full frontal is rather boring. it's not a detriment to himself, angelo thinks. boring is safe. ]

[What was that even supposed to mean?! Did this Captain just maintain a beautiful harem, or... actually, now he might be a bit jealous.

Of course it was hard to overlook the fact that, despite his professed preference for women, he was in bed with a man. A very insistent, very irritable sort of man, not exactly a man that catered to his own tastes. But he has to wonder why Angelo lingers, even if he said it was because of a need to protect a certain legacy or to safeguard the image of someone he loved.

He almost seemed sort of lonely, at least without his Captain. And maybe he knew that because he was lonely too.]

You don't need to nanny me, Angelo.

[What a half-hearted complaint. Fine, he'll just push at a stray hairs on his head! Take that!]

Don't seek death, and maybe we'll come to a compromise.

[ very funny. but it's true, he doesn't need to give him the same kind of attentiveness as much as he does full frontal, which the captain allows despite everything else. he's finished, more or less, and char's gesture just gives him a raised eyebrow. more than anything else, angelo cleans up after -- not that there's a lot to do so, after -- and settles easily beside him again.

it has been rather lonely, not having a red comet, even if the one he has isn't exactly what he needs. if nothing else, angelo is just surprised at his ability to fully function even without his captain's presence, even before this particular red comet arrived. he's rather proud of himself because of that, but functional is an entirely different thing for angelo than it is for most.

mostly that he's doing a good job subsuming all of his relentless energy to sex and .... pointless work. and mostly sex. ]

Though I have the unfortunate advantage of knowing your future. [ he shrugs. ] In any case, I am glad you aren't as agitated as before.

[ things were in place, and then they weren't. it's enough to drive a man insane, especially one that thrives under an established order. a zealot without his god is an unfortunate man. ]

[Char has very little desire to ask after that future. Not because he isn't curious, of course, as any man would be, but because there was no point. He was going to die. He was going to go mad. He knew both of these things to be true, and arguably, madness had already set in. He recognized it. He embraced it. It was necessary for his goals and surely Angelo would agree. In fact, he suspects Angelo would agree with anything that involved a violent or vicious edge. Far from intimidated, it was more like an animal, respecting its kin and giving a wide berth.

Except Angelo didn't. Not in a literal sense. Char glances over at him, slightly uncertain—why don't you want to leave?]

I can't promise the pleasure of my company.

[Man, what a pair. The hissy Lieutenant and the antisocial Red Comet, roaming the waste. He almost laughs.]

Or that you won't come to despise me. Spend too long in my presence, it tends to happen.

I'm sure we'll find ourselves at odds with each other soon enough.

[ angelo's expecting it, and he's expecting char to reach his limits first in terms of being social and indulging given he doubts he's ever dealt with someone like himself. the stories about char aznable at this age always mentions him as a singular figure but well-respected among peers.

well, angelo remembers working with those adults who have their own memories of everything after the one year war and all the wars that followed it. he's not exactly impressed with them and they have differences where the cause is concerned.

more than that, he's not exactly pleasant company, either. even when he was with cuaron, or sergi, both of them treated him as a peer but were very much aware of what and who he was to the cause. that didn't really stop outside of the office or while in the company of his friends, angelo couldn't turn off that part of himself if he wanted to. too much of it was, as char had said before, shackled to a man who was barely even himself. the connection with his captain is too much and too overwhelming to be away from it; angelo craves it like a drug. it really is his only terrible vice. the kind of man who would indulge such loyalty, such dedication, is the type who always takes his strength from such a display of devotion. ]

You're wrong, however. I won't despise you. [ angelo looks at him with the quiet observation of a snake in the shadows. ] Not that I'm incapable of it, I've plenty enough emotion for both of us.

But not for you. [ and not for who he will become. the most unfortunate thing between the two of them is that for all that char will do in the future, angelo has already forgiven him despite his flaws and despite the ruin it will bring him. all of it, he understands to be necessary and important. if he only understood this devotion as something close to love, whatever passes for it, maybe angelo will act differently and give him the wider berth an animal would give to its fellow violent kin. but that's not where he is. the minor betrayals that full frontal has suffered, angelo remembers, doesn't forgive, and without his influence char gets the brunt of his attentions. not his captain, but as a man. ]

[Char considers informing Angelo that he can't feel much of anything anymore, other than rage, but that might be a little too melodramatic. Even for this warped excuse for a conversation.

So rather than resist or offer any kind of retort, Char shrugs his shoulders with a lopsided smile as if to say alright, you win for now. Whatever his faults may have been, Angelo had a clear vision of what the world should and shouldn't be—and that world seemed to include his Captain in every shot. Will he meet the man someday? Char almost would prefer to avoid it, because it would only invite even more comparison that he was already starting to despise. Whoever he may have been, Angelo needed a tight leash, a strong hand to prevent any similar outbursts.

Burrowing in the sheets, making a nest of the pillows, he doesn't look like the Red Comet at all. Not even a murderer. Just a tired boy with a handsome face and dangerous eyes.]

So I'm special, huh.

[Special all his damn life. Wonderful.]

Yet another burden for the glorious Red Comet... some handful of a Lieutenant who doesn't know when to quit.

(no subject)

apodictic - 2020-09-20 20:30 (UTC) - Expand

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only