ercookies | TDM 007: ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED? (Sorry, No Refunds)

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TDM 007: ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED? (Sorry, No Refunds)

TDM 007: ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?

00. 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. Entertainment District

Old and new arrivals alike have likely been enjoying(?) the Island’s one day of sunshine per week - and so have the robots! The energy they are able to harness from the sun has increased their productivity exponentially, and a colorful multi-level entertainment district has sprung up to surround a few of the city’s familiar locations. Here you will find the forge, the clothing shop, the Full Moon(ty) Theater, as well as a freshly upgraded Ticket to Ride: an all-purpose arcade where tickets won from skeeball and Whack-a-Woody can be exchanged for sexy, colorful prizes!

Admission is free, and the robots especially encourage islanders to check out the following arcade additions:

Lurid Laser Tag: Slip into a full-body laser tag suit and arm yourself with a robot-provided laser gun before you go into this spooky and maze-like laser tag arena, which has been designed in the fashion of an abandoned, post-apocalyptic city overrun with creeping, squirming, and sometimes grabbing plants (which may look and feel very familiar to the earliest residents of the Nameless Island). Avoid these obstacles and try to spot the enemy before they spot you! The laser guns issued by the ‘bots have three graduated settings, chosen by the shooter, to alert you when you are hit: 1. vibration, 2. sweet caress, and 3. deep massage. Any part of your laser tag suit may activate, depending on where you are hit.

Islanders may choose to play 1-on-1 with a friend, or can be randomly assigned to an opponent or team.

VR Rooms: Pull on a shiny new headset and enjoy an immersive virtual reality experience like none other available on the Island thus far! The technology is still somewhat limited, however, in that the rooms can only replicate settings and environments from the current users’ memories. Whether you’re looking to train your battle skills on your old stomping grounds or simply want to share the experience of your favorite hometown noodle shop with a friend, these new VR rooms will literally open up new worlds of entertainment to you. VR Rooms can be enjoyed alone or in pairs, and they are fully private.

GundamPods: A scaled-down version of the newly installed mobile suit simulation cockpits which can be accessed in the hangar at the outskirts of the city, these side-by-side pods allow users to recreate the experience of piloting any mobile suit that has been brought onto the island, in PVP format. Scant and form-fitting clothing is recommended for the most seamlessly realistic piloting experience, as this allows the technology to interface with your sensory system. Wear a bikini and you’ll feel it right down to the G’s!

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II. Sexscape Room

Looking for the latest opportunity to earn credits? Look no further! The robots are researching the problem-solving capabilities of organic lifeforms, and they are seeking the Islanders’ help. The offered reward is very generous, and the ‘bots say the time commitment is no more than two hours. No manual labor required! Participants will only be given a puzzle to solve within that time limit.

Those who agree will be led to a spacious, if dark, room... but not alone. When the lights turn on, two volunteers find themselves trapped together in an escape room! Written clues lead participants through a series of steps to find the trick that will unlock the doors that hold them captive. However, what kind of room they find themselves in is entirely luck of the draw. Some rooms are perfectly normal, with almost absurdly easy puzzles to solve - a tip of a bookcase or a key hidden beneath a pillow might just be the ticket out. Others may be outrageously difficult, with clues taking the form of cryptic riddles and assigned tasks requiring partnership and teamwork to complete.

What kind of tasks, you may ask? Well, for some rooms it’s fairly obvious what volunteers are expected to do in order to earn their escape. That riding crop says it all, does it not? Those who fail to solve the escape room within two hours will be released without incident, the promised credits loaded to their devices. Islanders who successfully escape the room will be additionally rewarded with a goody bag of cute and colorful BDSM gear!

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III. Speed Dating at the Limp Noodle

So many renovations have occurred thanks to the efforts of those on the Island and the robots have decided a grand opening of the new Limp Noodle Shop!

This robot-run shop has three small tables and a long counter for serving customers. It caters to various noodle foods and soups from any world and their menu changes regularly, but Wednesday is All You Can Eat Ramen Day. Try the Special Spicy Fishcakes to get a free drink, but they might make your noodle anything but limp and you'll need some help to calm it down. Effects can last up to three hours.

But that’s not all. To promote the grand opening of the Limp Noodle the robots have added more seating and opened up the week for Swap Meet Speed Dating. That’s right, speed dating. Anyone who takes part in the 10 minute rounds of looking for your next Auspicious Act partner will receive all-you-can-eat snacks. Couples who hit it off will receive a free meal at a small two-seat table in a more secluded area.

Questions are provided on note cards with a fine print reminder: “Eye contact supports sexual intrigue, please maintain at all times.”

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N A V I G A T I O N

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Caleb has to wonder, not for the first time today, how the Augur selects what they're allowed to keep versus what they have to earn. The amulet is a powerful magical item, and Fjord had been allowed to hold onto it. It's to their benefit, but still. ]

I think there is merit in shielding him from prying eyes. [ Anyone who might want to find Lucien rather than Molly isn't someone Caleb wants looking in on them. ] Neither of us can scry, so it wouldn't hinder us in finding him, should we need to.

I agree. It may pose a problem, putting it to him ... Any dancing around the subject of Lucien makes him freeze up, he absolutely hates it.

[ Not for the first time, he's immensely glad Caleb is here to talk about these things with. It's as if some of the responsibility is lightening from Fjord's shoulders. Not because he doesn't want it, but because he knows Caleb cares too. ]

He has nightmares. We shared dreams about a week ago, don't ask me how because fuck if I know. He saw me dying and I saw him ... crushing us in Lucien's palm as Molly drowned in ... blood.

[ Gods, he's been so stressed with this shit!! ]

Perhaps we could explain our reasoning together.

[ It's his turn to touch Fjord's arm now, a reassuring pat pat against his bicep. ]

Or that could prove too overwhelming. It must be painful for him, I am sure. But protecting him in this way will help all of us.

[ Damn. Those are some serious stress dreams. Frowning, Caleb thinks for a long moment before speaking. ]

I have read about a spell that allows the caster to shape the target's dreams to their specifications. Was this a wide-spread event, or did it effect only the two of you?

It happened to a few people.

[ He appreciates the touch to his arm, it's nice to have someone else on the island that he can trust not to be constantly in a state of heat or flirting. ]

Do you think the rest of our group will show up here? I wouldn't wish any of this on them, it just ... feels better with you around. [ Their little family always works best together, they are provenly far safer that way. ] This place reminds me a bit of Vokodo's island.

[ A larger area of effect. Not the magic he was thinking of, then. Whatever is going on here, the ones behind it are more powerful than any caster he's ever known--or it's something else entirely. One sounds as bad as the other when there are so many unknowns. ]

I can see why. That island was fucky, too. [ There's a hint of a smirk. ] Though not so literally.

[ Beyond teasing, it is easy to see similarities. The picturesque beach and lush jungle hiding something strange and sinister. Caleb has only been here for a day, and seeing Fjord had lifted a massive weight from his shoulders. He can only imagine how Fjord must feel after a month. ]

You are here, and so is Mollymauk, and so am I. I think that is good enough evidence that those involved with the Nein are being drawn in. We may see more of our friends in the coming months. [ It's easy to reason as much out loud, but the reality of it makes him feel torn. He sighs, rubbing idly at one forearm as he talks. ] We have been able to survive everything we've faced because we were together. I would not want any of them to have to deal with this, but being split up makes me nervous.

[ Man, he's never wanted to hug Caleb this often in one day before. It's definitely a stress-related thing, he suspects. It's not as if Fjord has been away from the Nein for so long before, not since before they all met; he wasn't even with the Shepherds this long. ]

We have a loose routine, if that helps reassure you. Sharing the same room to sleep in, barricading the door at night, and we always come back to the house each evening. If the other person isn't home before dawn, shit's gone down.

[ Even a high Molly respects the logic there, although Fjord may have had to partially carry him home after a particularly wild party at Klaus's. ]

[ Routines definitely help. If they're going to do their own thing during the day, it helps to know when to reconvene, and what constitutes an emergency. ]

Sounds good. If I am able to cast the dome, it should be large enough to encompass a bedroom.

[ Because this means something, and because they will have to take care of one another here more than ever before, Caleb looks at Fjord squarely as they walk, blue eyes finding orcish yellow. His voice lowers just a little, though there is no one else around. ]

You know that I always have your back, Fjord.

[ The dome! Nostalgia abounds. Molly will love it, especially if Caleb does that trick where he creates images on the walls ...

He holds that steady gaze and a smile curls up. ]

I know you do. You don't have to say it anymore, but thank you. And, same.

[ ... Breaking up the tender moment with, ]

Wait until you see the cold-cupboard!

[ After this long, he knows Fjord doesn't need to hear it out loud. But it does something for him to say it, and he's glad to have that accepted and reciprocated.

Also glad to have the moment pass quickly, though. It's nice to share these things with Fjord, but it's even better to know that bond is present without having to linger on it. ]

...cold-cupboard?

[ All right, he's intrigued. ]

It's a cupboard in the kitchen that stays cold constantly, I put all our meat inside and it barely ever spoils.

[ Barely. ]

The house is a wreck on the third-floor but the other two levels have indoor plumbing with warm water, and there's some kind of fancy chamberpot upstairs that flushes the mess away. It might look abandoned now but whoever lived there before us must have been rolling in gold. Uh, credits.

[ Either Fjord is really talking this place up, or they've accidentally stumbled on the former abode of some high-ranking government official or genius arcanist. ]

No kidding? That is impressive.

[ Who just abandons a house that's tricked out like that? Wild that they were able to just move right in. It occurs to him only after some more extensive thought that this sort of thing might be...normal? Here?

It feels almost like being greedy to ask after everything Fjord's just told him, but he's curious. ]

Is there a tub for bathing also?

Yeah, it drains out the dirty water through the pipes. I've been heating up hotter water over a fire-pit in the backyard, Molly's in a better mood if he can boil himself alive. It's fine warm, though. Oh! And the beds ...

[ The last leg of the journey to the three-storey-but-actually-two-storey townhouse is filled with Fjord taking a respite from moodier topics by regaling Caleb with trite stories. Plush bedding and pillows, some stolen from other abandoned houses, radiators that warm the rooms ... it's far from the worst place to be staying.

As the house rises up before them in the middle of the street he lapses into a thoughtful pause. ]

I think he stayed inside this morning. [ Glancing at Caleb, he feels the weight of everything start to bear back down on them. ] You ready?

[ The light chatter is good, and Caleb characteristically listens more than he responds. He commits the path to memory as they walk, confident that he'll be able to travel from the house to the beach alone with ease, should he need to.

The actual building looks worse for wear from the outside, with the third floor in shambles, but that matters very little. What matters is what is inside.

He glances sidelong back at Fjord. ]

Sure. As much as I can be.

[ He hopes, in this moment, that Fjord is right. That it really is Mollymauk, without any further complications. Just their friend miraculously returned to them.

He walks alongside Fjord up to the front door, but waves the half-orc forward when they reach it. Better for him to say something first, probably. ]

[ He doesn't know why he's nervous, he's been here for a month with Molly. It's just, a lot. All the time. Can't they fast-forward to a plan to get back home with Molly and just escape? That's the dream.

Fjord heads in first, calling up the stairs directly ahead. ]

Molly! There's someone here to see you.

[ He paces into the living room where they will have enough space for a reunion, hand on a hip. ]

[ Molly's found on the lumpy couch, half-buried in a blanket and dealing with the hangover he had earned from yesterday. When Fjord comes in, looking all cheery, the tiefling sits up and rubs his face a bit. ]

Huh? I'm not looking for company today, I still can't feel my gums from the stuff I took yesterday.

[ His red eyes have deep, dark circles under them both from his overindulging and lack of sleep, and he generally looks pretty haggard. ]

[ Caleb takes a half-step forward, then pauses in the threshold, not quite entering the living room. The sound of Molly's voice stops him. It's so familiar, the cadence and the lilt and the words themselves. It's incredibly nostalgic.

Also impossible not to compare to the man he'd so recently conversed with in this very same body. But the two are distinctly different.

Well, he can't put this off. With a steady breath he steps into the room properly, hands clutching nervously at the purple coat he still holds draped over one arm. ]

Hallo, Mollymauk.

[ He manages a thin smile, tempering tentative hope and joy with more realistic wariness. Looking at Molly now, it is impossible not to overlay that face in his mind with one he had seen more recently, identical and yet with a different range of expressions. ]

I hope you will permit just one unannounced visitor.

[ He only needs to hear the 'hallo' before he's up on his feet, tails swishing with excitement and the tired face blooming into a wide smile.

A very Molly smile, with no shame, care or hidden falsehoods. Only joy. ]

Caleb! You're here, too?

[ His colorful coat is bright and not stained with mud, half-off his shoulders and sliding further down when he hurries over and stops to stand in front of the human. Caleb... Caleb looked a lot different from what he remembered. He always imagined the wizard would clean up well, but this was impressive.

Grinning, he opens his arms for a hug, forgetting all about the arguments he had with Fjord when they arrived, and that they only knew Lucien these days. ]

Your hair is longer. You look so good.

[ It takes him a moment to assess Molly's appearance, to register the clean and perfectly intact coat, the openness of his posture, the easy happiness in his smile. If this is a ruse, it is a very, very good one. Lucien, from what Caleb had gleaned about the man, did not seem interested in knowing anything about Mollymauk Tealeaf. How could he ever understand him well enough to emulate him so well?

Caleb's shoulders drop slightly as he releases some of the tension from his body. He understands now what Fjord had been saying. Contrary to all reason, this does seem to be Molly just as he was when they knew him. ]

I, ah--yes. Thank you?

[ He remembers how overwhelming Molly's presence could be. But remembering is quite different from experiencing. Under Fjord's watchful eye, Caleb takes a stilted step forward into Molly's open arms and allows himself to be embraced, curling an arm around the tiefling's back in return. That he so readily accepts a hug at all is a significant change from the Caleb Widogast Molly had been familiar with. ]

I am-- [ And this is where it really hits him: whatever else may be true, this is his friend back from the dead. Almost certainly. He breathes a soft, baffled-sounding laugh. ] --so, so glad to see you, circus man.

[ As soon as Caleb even hints at moving in his direction, Molly's hugging him with all the panache and excitement of said circus man- even his tail wraps around an ankle. It is quite different for the wizard to actually be accepting his offer for a hug (not that he always offers), so the tiefling's beaming.

New hair, new clothes, new strength in his eyes. Molly's both so proud and sad that he's missed seeing this amazing change in the previously very broken man. ]

I'm happy to see you, as well... is everything alright back home? You're safe?

[ It takes him a while to pull back from the hug and Molly still keeps a hand on the wizard's shoulder when he does, as if those gleaming red eyes just can't get enough of him. ]

[ Caleb is patient. He lets Molly decide how long the hug will last and doesn't draw back even afterward. In fact, he enjoys the warmth of it, though the tail curled around his ankle definitely registers as different. ]

You know how it is. We would not be the Nein if we were not involved in something stupid and dangerous.

[ He cracks a smile, all sardonic humor. He is definitely not safe back home, and things are far from all right. But isn't that the usual state of things?

Looking at Molly like this face to face is surreal. There is the urge to sit down and talk about nothing and everything, as one would when catching up with a friend after a long time apart. Reduced to its most basic parts, he supposes that is exactly what this is. ]

That's fair.

[ Really, 'safe' was mostly 'alive' with the Nein, and it's kind of nice to hear they're still chaotic.

Molly grins at Caleb's smile, absolutely loving how much the wizard has changed. Fjord's changes had been a bit jarring with the new accent and the new bulk (and the new self-acceptance), but this was more like a sudden (for him) blooming. It makes something soft in his chest that he wants to joke away. ]

You look like you've seen a ghost, so I'm assuming you and Fjord are from the same time?

[ The Nein's acceptance has clearly done something amazing for Caleb. The shadows of the past are long and he feels their presence constantly, especially after their recent time in Rexxentrum, but the Nein know the absolute worst of him and still love him. He feels deeply unworthy, but selfishly, he can't give it up. All he can do to repay this undue kindness is show his friends how much he cares for them in return by keeping them safe and happy.

That particular joke is pretty on the nose, though of course Molly is aware of that. Caleb's smile fades, turning rueful. ]

Ah--ja, we are.

[ It seems so, anyway, given their conversation so far. ]

I know that Fjord has told you what happens. [ He swallows hard. This is something he must say. His hands find Molly's, holding them in a tight grip between his own. ] I am sorry. I was there. But I was not strong enough to help you.

[ Molly pauses a bit and then sighs as Caleb confirms it. The tail falls and curls at his feet, even if his smile stays up. He's a liar, after all, and damn if he's going to completely show Caleb how messed up he is about it. The wizard already knows, obviously, but Molly's stubborn.

Instead he focuses on that sudden proclamation of guilt, turning their hands so he can stroke a thumb over the backs with a softer, more honest look on his face. ]

You're not allowed to be sorry. It just happened. Knowing I died for a good cause makes it worth it. [ It's terrible and frightening and oh-so-unfair but it's still him. He got to die as himself rather than just fading into nothing. ]

I'm more concerned about... about this other bastard wearing my tattoos. I hope he hates them.

[ Molly tenses a bit, expecting the 'you're the same person' starting again. Fjord had been adamant about it and it was grating badly on the purple tiefling's soul. ]

That...is complicated. I could explain as much as I understand, but there isn't much that we know for certain yet.

[ Caleb feels compelled to say something at least somewhat informative, though. Molly should know what they know about this. ]

As he describes it, his soul was sundered, scattered with magic, and you were what was left behind. [ A small, wry smile. ] Must have been the best part, because the rest seems pretty shitty. He wants nothing to do with you in much the same way you wanted nothing to do with him. I'm sure he hates your tattoos.

[ This has certainly been reassuring for him, at least. He's ninety-nine percent certain that Lucien has nothing to do with the man in front of him, which is a massive relief. Now he just has to worry about keeping it that way. ]

[ Molly listens, trying his best to not fall apart when Caleb explains what he knows. Fjord was kind of right, then, and he as part of Lucien; that they are technically are the same person. He's a fragment of someone. That crack in him just feels larger at every word, despite his swift rush of glee at 'winning' over Lucien, knowing that he put his art all over that body and the bastard had to live with it.

He couldn't be forgotten or ignored so easily.

The tiefling sighs and gently squeezes those freckled hands again. ]

We should drag another mattress into the bedroom. Unfortunately I don't think we can all fit to cuddle on the bed.

[ Divert, distract. Don't fall apart. ]

00. Arrival

I. Entertainment District

II. Sexscape Room

III. Speed Dating at the Limp Noodle

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