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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[ Maybe dying had a few perks as well. ]

Such as?

It gave me plenty of time to plan.

[Cruel honesty indeed.]

[ It's better than lies, Garma tells himself, even as he goes quiet for a moment because ouch. ]

Not a perk from where I'm standing.

[ As if that wasn't incredibly obvious. ]

So I'm not leaving you to your thoughts again.

[That just earns a dark little a-ha-ha.]

Really? Seems like you might struggle a bit with enforcement, sir.

[ It's a nice fantasy, though, to occupy Char's thoughts, to pay him back in kind. Don't dash it so soon. ]

Death changes people. Who knows, you might yet end up surprised.

[ He doesn't believe this banter himself, it's nothing but posturing, but that he even has the fortitude to still posture is something to be proud of right now. What a sad state of affairs. ]

But it didn't change you.

[It's not even being mean, not really. Just as blunt as ever.]

Consider it a lasting reminder of who you always were and who you will always be.

It's only been an hour since you re-met me. Please don't be so presumptuous.

[ He is a very changed man!!

And in some ways, maybe that is not entirely untrue. There are a great many things about Garma that will never be quite the same. He certainly doesn't know if he'll ever sleep peacefully again. Trusting others might be harder. He's angrier, maybe, entertaining violent thoughts he'd never even been able to imagine before.

But then, in most other ways, Char is right. Garma will always be Garma, a hopeless romantic yearning for worlds out of his reach. ]

[And thus Char cracks the first honest smile of the day. Or as close as he'll ever come to it.]

Don't worry, Garma. There's a special place in hell reserved for people like me.

[ Garma thinks about what Angelo told him, about how young Char would die, and he feels nothing but hollow at the thought. Hell is not a satisfying punishment for someone like Char. Too distant, too lonely. ]

I should send you there myself, for all you've done.

[ But he won't. ]

Was there more you needed to know about this Island?

They say that the deepest circle was meant for traitors and betrayers.

[A stark reminder aimed just as much at Garma and his twisted siblings as it was at himself. Strangely accountable with not even a whiff of denial; Char knows exactly what he has done and exactly what awaits him at the end of his perilous road. Arguably he has always known, which somehow makes it even more tragic.]

And I can't say I particularly care about it. I don't have time to play stupid games for stupid prizes, so I'll simply be on my way as soon as possible.

[...he sounds distinctly annoyed, another chip in that flawless mask.]

[ Garma still believes in these twisted siblings, even now. The murder of Zeon Zum Deikun is a conspiracy, it isn't proven, and as long as it's not proven, he doesn't have to acknowledge it as real. Now that he knows his family will perish so soon after him, he is even less willing to turn on them even in the depth of his mind. Loving them and honoring them seems to be about all he can do for them after all.

But that is not a conversation to have with Char, ever. ]

And here I thought assessing your situation was a fundamental part of escaping it.

I did assess it.

[Icily:]

And I'm already done with it. There's too much at stake to screw around.

[ That's fair enough, Garma can't blame him, just... ]

So your plan is... what exactly?

Well, I'm still not entirely convinced this isn't some fever dream or Federation plot, so...

[So much for accountability. The brilliant Red Comet was halfway to mad, after all.]

[ ... ]

You think the Federation is interested in... what? Making an adult feature film of you?

[ I mean, who knows, but. ]

I wouldn't put that past our side, to be totally frank.

[Look, the brilliant Red Comet was no stranger to lucrative movie deals. He's a cultural icon, don't be jealous.]

Our side would at least have a use for it.

[ Motivate the troops with your booty!!

What are the Feds going to do with it? Having their army fall in love with Char seems counterproductive. ]

Half your staff had a use for it.

[Oof.]

The redhead was particularly cute. What was her name again, uh...

[Double oof.]

[ And there we go, now he can't even look you in the eyes anymore as he mentally goes through every single woman he's ever had employed!! WOW!! He's also going bright red, there is only so much resistance his month in Erku has built up. ]

A-and you have the nerve to call anyone else a slut?!

Hey, I can't help it. I have a certain effect on women.

[That was barely even an excuse...!]

Besides, it's called "leave" for a reason, right? So I can just do whatever I want, right?

[ Not just women and that's the whole trouble here. ]

I'm not saying you can't, I'm--

[ Alright, deep breath. Do not imagine Char with the redhead ensign who you've unfortunately remembered by now. Do not. ]

Either way, the point is, this is real, even if my presence might feel like evidence to the contrary.

[Wait, hold on. Someone just got the scent of blood over here.]

...are you jealous?

[ABORT, ABORT, ABORT.]

[ ......... ]

Don't ask such stupid questions.

[ ........... ]

It's a little late for plausible deniability, don't you think?

[Woe be to Garma Zabi, crushing on his super hot killer who also happens to be super shrewd.]

I'm not going to shove you in a locker, Garma. You're still allowed to feel things.

I don't need your permission!!

[ That's snapped a little too harshly to be conversational, yet part of his anger is directed at himself. How could he still be so easy to play, responding to Char's every bait with foolish honesty? How could he still be exactly as jealous as Char has accused him of being? It's insane, he's going to run just as insane as Char already is, trying to grab a hold of him. ]

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