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

arrival; reality-wrecked.

[ He falls asleep in a wonderfully authentic hammock, the crackle of a warm hearth glinting golden across the room Caleb made for him, and wakes up choking on fucking seawater, because of course he does. Fjord gasps and gags as he breaches the surface in a panic, trying to cast Underwater Breathing on himself and failing, subsequently panicking about that in turn, before swimming for a shore he doesn't recognise.

He collapses half in-out the surf, an exhausted heap for a long minute as he vomits up the briny water, wheezing. ]

It's okay, you're okay, this isn't real ... this isn't happening again. What the fuck.

[ Mumbling to himself as his hair hangs in sodden clumps, he rakes it back and gets shakily to his feet to survey the island. There's no wreckage of a ship on the horizon behind or across the beach. Slapping himself proves he's awake. ]

... Wildmother? Wildmother!

[ Yelling as loud as he can, he turns around and starts calling each name of the Nein, stumbling forward across the sands. His friends have to be here somewhere. ]

hunt; mid-crisis.

[ He can't summon the Star Razor, the talking machines are weird as hell, and he isn't loving the promise of monsters out in the wilderness. Fjord tries to distance himself from everyone and everything, sitting on a log by one of the fires on the beach, head in a hand as he stares at his empty palm pointed at some nearby driftwood; no Eldritch Blast comes. Again. He is wearing a flower-crown in an insane dimension where he's lost his magic. Again.

The device strapped to his wrist is honestly all that's stopping him have a full-on meltdown (as well as the flowercrown, hibiscus and sea lavender; it feels good to have connection to Melora, since Commune didn't goddamn work earlier). It's incredibly advanced, far beyond anything he's ever seen or used, with the ability to contact others at a distance even without the use of a spell. The A5 app has him burning up a blush but he can't look away as he reads the (gods help him) kink bingo. ]

This cannot be real. [ Maybe he should try contact people on that crazy bracelet. Later, when he's not afraid and holding it together by a thread. ] Where the hell did your magic mansion send me, Caleb ...

[ Molly is confused. That's an understatement of his feelings, of course, but confusion is the main thing. Nothing of this makes sense; not the sea, not the automatons (and so unlike the one in Hupperdook!) and the mechanical thing with sex things(?) on it. So far all he can gather is that Lorenzo or one of his team had tossed some kind of confusion spell, or maybe banishment...

It's what he's going to go with, to not panic more than he is.

He's not too surprised to see Fjord, because of course their missing friends would be what the Iron Shepherds would have put in there. The tiefling walks up, reaching out a hand to put on 'Fjord's' shoulder. Better to talk with the illusions and maybe find out their weakness rather than just stare and feel sick about it. ]

Hey.

[ He jumps first from the touch, then twice over when he finds himself staring at Molly. Tripping to his feet, Fjord skids a few feet away in the sand. ]

 Fuck! Fuck, who —!

[ Glancing around wildly for an explanation, he holds up a hand to keep whatever that is away from him, in lieu of being able to summon a weapon and point it. Anger wells up, riding the undercurrent of fear he's been nursing since his arrival in the sea. ]

I don't know what the hell you think you're playing at but you can drop the Mollymauk illusion right now!

[ Molly jumps back, arms up in a 'whoa' gesture. At first, he thinks he just surprised 'Fjord', but then... ]

What are you talking about? You're the illusion!?

[ This was far too complicated for him, and he really hopes Caleb was somehow fixing this mess, because they couldn't fight the Shepherds like this ].

Which one of you bastards did this?

I'm not an illusion, [ that's rich as hell, what, ] you fuckers stole my spells and now you're — what? What is this!

[ Gesturing at the illusion of Molly, he finds his footing (literally and otherwise) and stands his ground, still breathing hard.

Caleb really needs to fix his mansion. ]

You're part of this other plane, aren't you? What do you think the sight of Molly is going to do, placate me?

Me? You don't even sound like Fjord!

[ It seems a shitty oversight, really. Where was the drawl? This posh shit isn't like the half-orc at all, so the illusion wasn't even that good. ]

This is not going to stop us for coming after them, assholes!

[ He hollers to the ether. ]

[ What. ]

What? [ !! Ignoring the yelling at the sky, he points at the fake Molly and smirks. ] Oh, oh, that's clever. Because he never heard me drop that accent, right? Aha!

[ They really think they're clever here, wow. Not today, ~~Satan~~ Asmodeus! ]

You see, you can't fool me! Now I know you're in my head!

This is bullshit. How do they even... fuck.

[ Maybe they had tortured information out of their friends. Maybe they were using them somehow to fuel this shit.

It just... didn't fully make sense why the fuck it would be a weird place, sex technology and Fjord accusing him of being the illusion. All at once.

(Honestly, the sex bingo was really ruining the chance of him believing whatever mindfuckery this was. ]

We're getting them back, you bastard.

[ They had a plan, everything would work out as soon as they woke up from this shit. ]

[ Glaring in frustration doesn't accomplish much so he tries to think sensibly, tries to find some reason, tries to ... be like his friends. He takes stock of the situation with a deep breath; neither of them are armed, which is the most important thing, and the Mollymauk illusion is insisting it's real instead of attacking which is a damn relief considering the damage it could be doing, even without blades.

Fjord rubs his face and takes another deep breath, shakily letting it out. ]

This isn't real. I should go back — go back into the sea, it'll be fine. I'll wake up vomiting salt-water again but it'll be fine.

He should stop doing that, it makes the room smell like fish.

[ Molly mutters, crossing his arms. He's on the same level as Fjord, trying to think sensibly and acknowledging the fact that this illusion isn't attacking him or aggressively trying to prove it's all real. Still fucking weird, though.

Weaponless, confused and far too many questions. He was not the smart one in the group, that's the humans. Molly made a thing about not knowing shit, after all. He probably should walk away, but he doubts an illusion is going to leave him alone, and maybe he could learn something. Somehow. ]

Where are you hiding our friends?

I was so paranoid about that, stop reading my mind. Shit.

[ He turns toward the sea, now a dark line at the end of the beach, and shivers. The ocean doesn't feel as welcoming here; it doesn't feel like it has Her touch at all. ]

Please stop pretending to be him.

[ Please. Why please? ]

You're not making any fucking sense. If you were Fjord, you should know I have a beauty mark on my ass.

[ He doesn't. That's the point. Does this illusion world know them that well? ]

[ The face he throws over a shoulder could be best described as a collection of question-marks made real.

Flatly, out of morbid curiosity, he asks, ] What the bloody hell kind of illusion are you?

Edited 2020-10-06 21:51 (UTC)

A really frustrated one!

[ He snaps, glaring at the half-orc. ]

I'm not an illusion, and you've seen my ass enough times to know be familiar with it.

[ His eyes fly wide as he splutters. ]

Stop yelling about your ass! [ Shit. ] About Molly's ass! I never looked at him like that, we were friends. Friends! He trusted me and I wouldn't perv on him, fucking hell.

Fuck you, you ... you sex illusion.

[ Molly barks a laugh at that, somewhere between amusement and frustration. ]

'Sex illusion'. I like it, it should be my new stage name.

[ The vehement protests of being a gentleman and that he would never 'perv' on him hurts a little, though, because that was just how awkward and dumb real Fjord was. His lies had a lot less to do with sexiness than the fact that Molly slept naked like the worst roommate ever, and he knows that he half-orc's had an accidental eyeful or three. ]

I'll yell about my own ass, thank you every much. It's a good one, it won an award in Yrrosa!

[ Might hurt Molly's pride to know every accidental eyeful was very consciously wiped from memory in those days. ]

Oh, gods. I'm either inside Caleb's messed-up spell or Uk'otoa wants me to suffer even more.

[ He'd be stricken! Free view of his perfect butt and it's been erased? Terrible!

Talking about messed-up spells from Caleb would probably send Nott into a tizzy, but the Uko-thing was new. ]

Who?

Uk'o — [ He does a double-take, lips pressing into a line, then walks over the illusion. ] You're very convincing but this won't work, he can't possibly be real. I suggest you stop putting so much effort into this charade.

You're less convincing by the moment. I don't know what kind of bullshit this is, but take it from a professional - at least get some of it right.

[ Molly crosses his arms, eyes narrowing. ]

Where's Yasha and Jester?

[ Nothing bad on Fjord, he was a great roommate and a fun friend, but if they wanted to fuck with him, it should have been those two. ]

My details are right!

[ ... That sounds weird out loud. ]

Clearly they're not here. [ Kicking some sand to the side. Fuck this beach. ] We're all probably trapped in Caleb's spell, everyone's room was soaked in magic. I don't know why I'm surprised something went wrong.

Yasha's probably with Beau and ... I don't know about Jester, she went looking for the cat servants.

You're not making any sense!

[ Molly groans and brushes back his hair, curls getting trapped behind his horns. ]

You can stop this now! I know it isn't real!

[ Please stop, weird-ass illusion place. It's starting to hurt a bit - he was already worried about them, and now this? ]

Of course I'm not making any sense to you, Molly wasn't with us! You're just a ... a projection of my memory of him.

[ He sits down heavily on a log by the fire, pulling his cloak around himself for extra warmth and adjusting the Wildmother's pin. ]

[ Since he has nowhere else to go, Molly sits down on the other side, trying to figure out of how get out of this. If Lorenzo's people had these powerful spells, maybe the plan wasn't going to work.

Maybe Keg was wrong about him being a melee fighter?

'Memory of him' makes no sense either. It had only been a day, but... maybe this was an illusion of a Fjord where the rets of them never came. Just to shame them even more. ]

We're not just going to be a memory. We have a plan, it will be okay.

[ Why is he trying to appease an illusion? He doesn't know. ]

A plan for what?

[ Faux!Molly can't possibly mean all this, aka the illusory prison they're in. Fjord squints across at him, trying not to feel sorry for something that isn't really his friend even though his heart aches at the sight of him equally dispirited.

He's been guessing the illusion is picking and choosing what it knows of reality, but maybe ...

Curiosity gets the better of him. ]

What's the last thing you remember?

fjord, critical role

hunt; mid-crisis

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject