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

[walthari]

[ The anticipation and frustration both put him on edge in a way he doesn't really want to be put on edge right now. That anticipation heightens when he remembers the way Vaati had touched him before, in that brazen way that could only be deliberate. ]

I don't need you to guide me. I am a knight, and I've trained for over a decade. [ With his battle senses, something like this should be no difficult feat. Percival relaxes himself, focusing on the tactile stimuli he's getting against the skin. ]

... Hips.

[unforgivable]

A prince and a knight, I see.

[ Said with a tone that implies he's more amused, than impressed.

Wordlessly, he presses his hands to Percival's hips, dragging them forward without missing a beat to press his thigh along the other man's. He aligns them like that, slid smooth and taunt as a bowstring against one another while his hands steady upon the redhead's hips. His mouth hasn't left the vicinity of Percival's ear as he laughs. ]

It wasn't a jab at your skill, princeling. I just want to feel you anticipate me.

[walthari]

[ With his vision obscured, he doesn't quite expect the sudden press of contact over the curves of his thighs, letting out a surprised sound as he's pulled close. Now they're pressed so close together he can feel the contours of the other man's body through the silk fabric of his pants. It has his heart racing again, and the breath lingering by his sensitive ear does him no favours. All that proximity has him in a fluster, but he works hard at controlling his reaction, wanting to put on a tough and calm front. ]

Such degenerate hobbies you have. Fitting for a classless animal. [ Being felt up so intimately is stirring up within him a rather physiological reaction, and Percival knows that well. He feels a bit more urgency now, wanting to get this over with as quickly as possible just in case the exercise makes him too worked up. Reaching down, he brushes Vaati's hands off of his hips. ]

Get on with it. The less time I have to spend with you the better.

[unforgivable]

I suppose they are.

[ There's a lack of pride in him, when he's called awful things. He doesn't fight against them, doesn't deny them or denounce them for inaccuracies; at best, he is a degenerate, he is a fallen thing, a hedonist and cruel beast that enjoys toying with his mark the way a cat might toy with prey until it is alive and in pieces. One more time, he hovers his hands around a point on Percival's body, and laughs. This time, he's no longer breathing along the man's neck, but perhaps standing before him. Nearly nose-to-nose as he waits for the redhead's guess. ]

Your aid has been greatly appreciated, Percival of Wales. One last guess, are you up for it?

[ The way he says it is a hum, a purr. ]

[walthari]

[ His posturing answer comes before his brain can really catch up. ]

Of course I am. [ Percival can sense the change in Vaati's position from the other man's breath that tickled at the hairs by his neck, and has since moved to the front of his cheek. He knows there's proximity, give the heat he can feel radiating off Vaati's body, and there's a part of him that starts to caution him. It might be dangerous right now for someone to be so close and touching him. The anticipation, adrenaline and teasing touches he's been dealt have come together to force his body to betray him.

One last guess, and he can finally return to normalcy. That motivates him to concentrate, nerves firing up in a bid to focus on where the heat may be more concentrated. Given Vaati's track record so far, however, the next guess is a fairly obvious one to make. The other man seems to be riling him up on purpose, targeting the more sensitive areas on his body. Percival hesitates, stricken with embarrassment at even the thought. ]

M-My ... rear. [ Proper knights can't say 'butt' or 'ass'. ]

[unforgivable]

[ How cute. ]

Such a dutiful knight, to see a task through to the end.

[ It's not praise, not from Vaati. Percival is right, though - his hands find the curve of the man's ass through those silk pants, setting one finger at a time to them until he can cup, lift and drag Percival against him all in one swift motion. Mouth finding the length of his neck, he sets the edge of his teeth to his pulse and glides his tongue over the skin there, hot and damp and without mercy. ]

Really though, thank you for taking the lead on this one. I never would have known where you wanted to be touched most, without your guidance.

[ The last bit, he whispers meanly into Percival's ears, gives his throat a nice bite --

and slips away into the night. ]