ercookies | TDM 005: HAPPY SPOOKTEMBER

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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[Pyrrha lets out a brief gasp, surprised by the sudden hug. She felt those tears too, but she wasn't about to say anything about it.

Instead after her surprise she hugs Weiss in turn, all her focus on consoling her friend. She strokes the shorter girl's back just letting her get it all out.]

It's alright, I'm here now.

[Granted 'here' was the only place she could be, but they didn't need to get into that right this second. She wanted Weiss to enjoy this reunion.]

I'm happy to see you too. You can fill me in on everything I've missed, that is if you want to.

[It all feels fresh and raw, that loss, that utter demolition of their daily life, and the tenuous peace that Remnant had enjoyed... but, now, it was all okay. The peace might not return - not without a long, concerted effort - but it felt like she'd reclaimed some small measure of what they'd lost.

But... had she?

Weiss pulled back slightly; she wasn't letting go, but she wanted to at least look Pyrrha in the eye.]

Well, yeah, of course I will... there's been so much. We've learned so much! But-

[Some of the relief fades from her expression, replaced by a cautious sort of concern.]

-that's my line, too. What... what happened? Where have you been all this time? I mean, it's been two years, Pyrrha! We all-

[She pauses, afraid of the question she had to ask... but there was no getting around it.]

Ruby said... she saw Cinder kill you! [Weiss' voice cracks slightly, as she struggles to regain her composure.] So how did you get away?!

[When Weiss asked her question Pyrrha's face fell. Of course if she was new she'd assume that she must have escaped somehow. It was the msot logical conclusion.

Pyrrha shut her eyes and gripped Weiss's sides a little tighter.]

I... didn't.

[She knew that needed more explanation. Pyrrha took a breath and looked down at Weiss.]

This place... doesn't just take people from different places, but different times too. The last thing I remember was fighting Cinder. I've only been here a couple months, but you and Yang are obviously older than me now.

[Her expression is strained now, she was holding back tears of her own.]

I only found out what happened to me from the others here.

[For a moment, Weiss is silent; there's so much contained in and implied by that response, it's almost overwhelming. She'd sort of gathered, by this point, that she less 'ended up' on the island and was more 'brought to' it, but... time travel? Not to mention that the surging hope in her chest - the wonder at Pyrrha having survived her fateful encounter with the usurper of Fall - had turned to a cold lump of horror at the thought that the inevitable had only been delayed. That this was some brief, sick reprieve, a deep breath before a long fall.

...but she couldn't. She couldn't let herself give in to that horror. Pyrrha's face said it all, didn't it? That she was near to breaking, herself. And, so, Weiss tamped down her fear and frustration, took a deep breath, and spoke, calmly and quietly.]

...I don't understand how this is possible. I don't understand a lot about this island, actually. But-

[Her arms unwound from the taller girl's neck, letting her hands move to Pyrrha's cheeks, gripping her gently, comfortingly. She tried her best at a soft smile; it mostly worked.]

-but, listen to me, Pyrrha. Just because that's what we remember... that doesn't mean that's going to happen to you. I - we - won't let it. I mean... look at you! You're here, now, alive, right in front of me!

[She brings her face even closer to the amazon's, until their noses are nearly touching.]

Nothing is going to change that. Nothing.

[The sudden action caught her by surprise, she'd been so wrapped up in her thoughts that the next thing she knew her face was incredibly close to her friend's.]

W-Weiss...

[She was so conflicted, she didn't want to hope. How could they change things? and if they did what would that mean for everyone who remembered her dying?

Weiss was right about one thing that wasn't so complicated at least]

That's right, I'm right here right now.

[She gives a small smile, glad Weiss was here to comfort her.]

Thank you.

[Though now that things were settling down she was noticing the situation around them. Naked, incredibly close. Her cheeks warmed, but she didn't want to be the one to move away.]

[Maybe it was irresponsible to get Pyrrha's hopes up, even cruel. Maybe she should find an answer before she starts promising the world. But... honestly? Weiss said all those things for herself as much as for her friend. She needed to believe that this could and would work out, that she could make it work out, or it would've been too much to bear... so she made her groundless promises, backed by nothing but gumption.

For a moment, Weiss is silent, and just strokes Pyrrha's cheeks soothingly (or so she hopes); eventually, though, she pulls her head back, a gentle smile on her face... along with a fairly luminous blush. The situation had caught up to her, too.]

I... guess there are probably better places to do this, huh?

[Depends on what exactly she means. Have a serious talk? Yes.
Cuddle naked? Debatable, but this is high-tier, for sure.

Weiss knows she should let go, but... not yet. Not quite yet.]

...sorry. Just a little longer.

Perhaps,

[She said with a bit of amusement mixed with her embarrassment.

When Weiss asked for them to do this just a little longer Pyrrha smiled warmly and hugged her a bit tighter.]

Of course.

[After a pause to think she says,]

Though it's not like we have to part ways. In fact if you're not staying anywhere else you're welcome to stay with me until you're on your feet. None of my team is here.

[and given the present situation she wasn't sure if Weiss would want to stay in the same apartment as Blake and Yang.]

TDM 005: HAPPY SPOOKTEMBER

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