TDM 005: HAPPY SPOOKTEMBER

[erkumods]

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

Comments

[recordingends]

[Being touched at all seals his fate. There is no backing out of this, no escape, and no relief without the man who is now guiding him away from the darts and toward a copse of trees. It takes every shred of control he has left not to just lean into the man who is... almost a foot taller than him, he realizes.

Any thought of how badly this could go is forgotten. Jon doesn't care. He can't focus beyond the warmth of the hand on his arm and the promise of relief that keeps him moving. Heat burns in his face; he's dizzy with it.

Later, he will be grateful for the relative privacy of the grove.

Unthinking, he leans close and nuzzles against the other man's shoulder. It wouldn't be to difficult to push him down, would it? Jon's pulse is pounding through him and he bites back a quiet, miserable sound.]

[clocktowers]

[ As a man who easily hits 6'6" and favors a dark suit in all situations, Oz is aware of his tendency to loom. His new companion tucks himself neatly against Oz's shoulder, nuzzling up close, and the raw vulnerability of it kicks him low in the chest. There is an undeniable thrill in this, cruel as it would be to take advantage. He does not know the man's name, but the power he has over him is clear.

There is a certain satisfaction in letting the world narrow this way: thinking on nothing more complex than this one moment, this one task, the control entrusted to him. The forest smells rich and green, and Jon is warm and slight against him, all narrow shoulders and skinny arms. Oz steers them into the grove and up against a forked pair of trees, the bark forming a narrow wall of wood at their side. Even as he draws away to put a shred more distance between them, his touch lingers on the man's arm.

At least he's better-behaved than Summer had been. Ozpin hadn't much appreciated being tackled. ]

Good. [ His voice has gone low and warm and steady, soothing. ] How are you feeling?

[ He knows the sort of answer he will get. But he needs to hear him say it. ]

[recordingends]

[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.]

[clocktowers]

[ 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.

[recordingends]

[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?]

[clocktowers]

[ Continued in the comm! ]