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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. 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! 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! 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.” N A V I G A T I O N |
no subject
Zero.
[ Alluding to the fact that he doesn't really mind throwing Suzaku under the bus by using that alias, depending on whatever nefarious misdeeds he's committed while in disguise. It shouldn't be an issue anymore, however, since Suzaku has since relinquished that aspect of himself over. ]
Discovering clues, solving puzzles, and accomplishing tasks within a set time frame are typical to an escape room. Given what you've told me, I can draw a conclusion: you simply haven't resolved your game yet, while your partners have. You've likely incurred a penalty of some sort.
[ It helps to come after the game has already began if given an inherent advantage; he's played enough matches against the nobility to operate within both favorable and unfavorable constraints. He stands, glancing about the room. ]
Suppose this is a prison cell. Were attempting to make an earnest break for it, what might you attempt first?
[ The air vents, the plumbing, the door? Knowing which places Kurusu has and hasn't searched will make it easier to decide where a clue may have gone overlooked. ]
no subject
Everything Lelouch is saying makes sense. They're conclusions Akira himself had arrived at, save for that last bit. A penalty? He hadn't so much as considered it.
He supposes there is no harm in cluing Lelouch in on what he has and hasn't tried in his efforts to secure his escape. Gesturing towards the panels that line the walls, he begins there.]
Those panels rotate, but only when acted on by an outside force. They don't budge when pushed from this side.
[And he'll go on to tell Lelouch about the door, which doesn't open and won't yield even when massive black dildos are used as battering rams on it. The vents are too small to crawl through, there are no hidden doors under the bed, the walls themselves are all too thick to be destroyed.]
...so that's where I'm at. The others were permitted by the robots to go after a round of sex, but not me.
no subject
Why is it that they've set something like a simple board game here to begin with? The card only suggested a simple sex act, but if you're looking for the way out, you ought to do some searching first.
[ From where they're set out, Lelouch rattles what passes for the white king to ascertain any clinking within. ]
Check if any of these are hollow.
[ Is there one piece in the batch that aren't like the others? But Lelouch, deftly flipping the chess board itself over, finds the answer. Emblazoned in the center of it is a poem:
Many queens exist,
one pale, one somber, one pure,
but only one key. ]
... There's a third queen, Kurusu. [ The answer to Kurusu's salvation, that is. The key to his locked door. He'd best take both queens with him for now, but as Lelouch glances about, he directs onto him a question. ] How would you define purity?
[ Is there anything in this room that can be counted as such? ]
no subject
Akira eyes the poem– ...one pure. Pale and somber are clearly referring to white and black, so pure is what stands out within that particular grouping. For the time being, he'll pocket those queens, though he's fairly certain he won't need them.]
Purity... [That's it, isn't it? The key. A smile sprawls along his lips.] ...there's one thing missing from this room– mirrors. I would've thought there'd be one on the ceiling, or at least in the bathroom, but there isn't a single reflective surface in this room.
[Had he a mirror to gaze into, Akira would have found the truth staring back at him, but it's only the absense of them that served as his distraction. The key is himself.]
Nothing in this world is entirely pure... but some people get pretty close. "Purity" is remaining true to your values in a world full of lies. Stomaching all the corruption and greed in the world and coming out no worse for wear is what keeps a person pure.
no subject
Lelouch smiles broadly, however unseen beneath his mask. ]
There is one mirror in plain sight.
[ His helmet, all dark and ominous glass, still reflects Kurusu in his entirety. ]
And... three people, was it? That's how it goes in fairytales. What number am I, then?
[ The first, the second, the third to pass this place? Or the fourth? Since Joker's failed to snatch up the queens in time, Lelouch will. Noting the odd weight, he snaps them both together so the opposing polarities cling to one another. ]
There's plenty you can pick up with a strong enough magnet. [ A lock deemed unbreakable, a door without a key... and a mirror that doesn't appear to be a mirror at all as he wanders about the room for the one place in full view of the bed and sticks the queen-shaped magnet onto the wall. It remains planted there, as if rooted to the spot. ] I see. So that was the trick?
[ And then, abruptly, he rips the wallpaper and flat metal sheet underneath it, revealing the floor-length mirror concealed within. He doesn't turn, even as he speaks. ]
Surely I don't need to explain it to you, but...
[ This was why Kurusu couldn't leave. Every single one of his partners made direct eye contact with the "mirror", and after completing the allotted task, allowed to depart. But none of them could reflect him. And he hadn't thought to search for his own mirror, even when it was here all along, simply waiting to be found.
Perhaps Lelouch arrived here as a pittance, wearing something that would reflect Kurusu's purity no matter what. Or perhaps he was merely the next mirror. ]
... you've been able to leave since the very instant I arrived.
[ Sexual depravity with multiple partners should be more than enough payment. But Lelouch is trapped here, at least until someone has mercy on him. ]
no subject
Reflected back in Zero's mask, Akira can see the grin on his lips. What number does that make Lelouch? Well...]
Four.
[The number of death. What an unlucky man, this Zero fellow... but just as likely is the possibility that Akira is similarly cursed. Perhaps it's fate that brought them together. That, or Lelouch is an ominous premonition that Akira shouldn't take lightly.
Taking hold of that "mirror," Akira presses his forehead to it. Looks deeply into the eyes veiled and hidden some ways beneath that mysterious mask.]
You're cursed, "Zero." I can't save you from your fate, but I can at least get us both out of here. What do you say we begin?
no subject
That's where you're mistaken. As it were, Kurusu...
[ If his steps are the hesitation that lingers between one breath than the other, then surely this forcefulness is the end of all doubts. He really should rip off that mask, if only to better memorize his face, but he only presses a palm against the soft and yielding curve of his cheek. ]
I'm the kind of person that entraps others.
[ Just attempt to kiss this gum ball Daft Punk mask, he'll find it entirely ineffective at getting the point across. Ergo, no need to rescue him. He'll rescue himself, as shown when he gently pushed Kurusu to the bed so he topples onto the duvet. ]
Will you humor me?
[ Someone with so much experience in one sitting should clearly know when to roll over and admit defeat. Lelouch is, after all, the one who solved this puzzle. Go on them, Kurusu. Demonstrate how best to save others. ]
no subject
Another time, Cue Ball. Another time. Allowing gravity to do the honors, Akira lands on the bed with a soft huff and drops a heel on Lelouch's shoulder. Come hither, spider. If they've the solution in their grasps, there's no need to delay.]
If you insist.
[And Lelouch certainly seems the type to insist. Akira hardly minds being served, drawing a bottle of lube out of his pocket and tossing it to Lelouch. Have at it, Pompous Man in Cape.]
You really should do something about that mask. I bet you're much cuter without it.
no subject
[ Says the spider to the spider. ]
I hide my face because I'm horribly disfigured, as you're now perfectly aware.
[ Disfigured in spirit, morals, ethics. Quite a nasty, incorrigible boy, who must then compensate in unholy ways, such as wearing a giant 8-ball on his head and overcompensating by wearing a suit the exact same shade as a grape. Suzaku rues the sartorial choice, but one does what one must for fashion. ]
You're quite catching.
[ That mask conceals nothing, and Lelouch gently pushes it up some, only to leave it as-is. Catching that bottle of lube, he gestures to Kurusu's state of dress, still perfectly immaculate in his Phantom Thief costume. ]
You'll need to get your pants off before I can do anything to you.
[ You know, as Lelouch decides ripping off his gloves would be too inconvenient and henceforth uncaps the bottle to dribble a finger in lube.
Wow. ]