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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 |
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[For obliging in...Whatever mutual punishment this is going to turn into. It's going to hurt them both, and Tachibana full knows this, but maybe that's just what they deserve. That's without even dipping into the whole matter of actual feelings, but--
what he knows in this moment is solid. He doesn't hate Oda. He resents him deeply, feels bile rising even now as they hold hands and he can't bear to let his drop free, but there's no hate. Maybe this is a weakness, a shortcoming, and maybe he will regret it later. It's not as though they're new to making mistakes together, or because of each other; he clasps Oda's hand with both of his, gentle at first, then tugging him upright with a soft huff. The tears can dry in place; this is his first act of discipline, after all. See what you have done, Jun, and let that guilt twist a little more.]
Here, in this place...I won't keep you beholden to poverty. You can sleep with whoever you want, however you please, to improve the standard of living or whatever the end line is with these 'bingo cards'. [Might as well address this particular tusk of the elephant in the room, though. Important to rip the bandaid off early, especially when it's Tachibana who comes out as vulnerable in the exchange.] ...I might be asking too much of you to ask your assistance with mine, but I don't want to ask anyone else. [Not yet.] If it troubles you, I could always give you a raise.
[TERRIBLE JOKE. ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE. Worst part is that his eyes don't quite carry the smile, nor do they meet Oda's just yet. But the fact remains; the thought of anyone else seeing what he's really like...Is a dangerous, unpleasant one.]
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(What does he need a raise for, when he's dead, and has no need of money? Also, why's it sound like he's being bought like a corner girl??) Oda hastily clears his throat. This is some whiplash to go to. Can they maybe go back to talking about Tachibana killing him sometime in the future, possibly? No mercy, as expected, and while Oda isn't a coward there are things he swore he'd never take advantage of. His boss, and his feelings for his boss.
He's so fucked. ]
Pay's not an issue and you know it never has been. You know I would've worked for free since day one and that hasn't changed. [ He's a loyal, devoted dog like that. ] But. Uh, you're sure, boss? Flattered and all, really, but you deserve better. I mean, someone here's gotta have the hots for the whole one-armed thing...
[ They are just full of bad jokes. Thank god he's from the 80s and doesn't understand what an amputee fetish is. But Oda suddenly pauses as he looks at Tachibana's right arm. The pitch black glove over the fake hand is gone. It looks like... a real hand. In fact he remembers seeing it stretched out over the railing, fingers wriggling, and Oda has a moment where there is an absence of thought, only muscle movement. His attention is on that specific hand. The coloration is pale, light, just like the rest of Tachibana, but his fingers are slender and soft, he's warm to the touch.
His head lifts up in shock. ]
It's fine?
[ A stupid question to ask seeing as he was literally brought back from the dead but, this isn't about him, it's about the man before him, whole in a manner that he hasn't seen in years.
What the hell kind of power does this place have? ]
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[There's disbelief in his voice, certainly, but it's tempered by unwillingly strong amusement. Oh Oda. To pull off betrayal and sneak around so well, and yet completely miss little things like this? It's hard to believe that this man had any bad will in his body at all.]
Which is why you're technically free of having to be my nurse. I haven't required dialysis thus far. My hand is back. So you can at least stop beating yourself up over that. You also don't have to feel guilty about your discomfort over the idea of sleeping with me, of course. I'm not insulted.
[He is, but less so than he'd thought he would be. And he had been planning on working out their Issues in that manner, if allowed, but Tachibana refuses to stretch Oda's feelings thinner than they must already be; he'll simply figure out another way to visit the agreed-upon punishment, one that doesn't echo what Makoto went through. He inhales deeply, head tipping to one side, and lets his hands fall away.] I'll find ways around the issue. And I won't smear your reputation with what I know; I truly want you to make the best of this second chance, almost more than I want to hurt you.
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It's strange, losing the boss' touch. He almost wants to take his hand back but that'd be a stupid thing to do. He's barely able to wrap his mind around the fact that he's being given permission to sleep with him, what makes Oda believe he's got free reign to do something like... hold his hand... he's hopeless. This is all insane. There's a heavy sigh as Oda wishes he still had that cigarette. ]
How many privileges have I lost? I'm not a nurse, no point in being your right hand man when you've got your hand back. Tachibana Real Estate's null and void around here so I'm not much of an employee anymore.
[ What purpose does he have other than keeping an eye on a man who's no longer crippled? Even that's pointless. His only calling here is... well. Waiting to be snuffed out, ground into the dirt, for his betrayal and the pain he's caused. As he waits in the meantime all that's left is the bingo cards.
That's all there is, isn't there? ]
So that leaves me as... what? Your woman?
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Then he recoils as if he's been hit at those last two words. Sure, the offer of sex had been...Ungainly, awkward, something he'd thought too much for Oda's plate right now at least, and then he gets hit with that, as though it had been aimed for him instead of a dose of self-derision.
Fury bubbles back up his oesophagus and dances sourly on his tongue, but he doesn't move bar clenching his fists at his sides. It's...It's hard.
It's hard for both of them, trying to sort things out now, and not even Tachibana knows what he wants them to be or what his feelings truly are and whether this will work at all, but that...Stings, somehow.] I had assumed that we could at least operate under the label of friends, partners, something more equal than employee or caretaker.
...As we used to be. Or were you my woman then and I was simply blind to the fact? [A low blow, perhaps, but he figures that staying verbal has to be better than lashing out after coming this far.]
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He exhales deep and heavy through his nose.
'I would've been whatever you wanted me to be.'
His eyes shut for a moment. Deep breath. ]
I'm sorry, I... that was uncalled for.
[ Oda descends, bends in a prompt bow, eyes to the ground where he sees that cigarette continuing to burn idly. He should stomp it out, but he wants it to keep burning, longer and longer, as long as it can, until it snuffs out in time. Just like him. As long as he can, for as long as he can let this drag out, until whatever light Tachibana sees in him fades away... that's what he wants. ]
Please, allow me to be your friend. One more time— [ The word "boss" nearly rolls off of his tongue but he knows there's no point. It doesn't make any sense, not when they're not holding onto those titles, not right now. The way things used to be. Slowly, his lips form around the syllables, like his first spoken word. ]
Tachibana.
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Not now. Instead, Tachibana thinks that this is the least he should do, and it will suffice for now.]
It's alright. Should we leave Sotenbori behind for now, and find somewhere to stay? I might not need help with my prosthesis, but I would still rather not show anyone my back except for you.
[At least he trusts that Oda won't strike directly at his weak spots, and until he can get his stamina back up, regain what he once was, that's all he needs from a roomie. Besides, who else knows the story to almost every scar? Who else wouldn't ask about them and would simply remember being there for it, side by side?]
And while we walk, you can tell me 'your type'. I can try to find you some new partners or friends, so that you don't come to resent me for being your only choice. It seems like fun, doesn't it? Mingling into a new social scene where no one cares what we are. [Another barb, and the worst part is that he's also genuine in his offer even as he knows it'll likely sting. It might do them both some good, to remember exactly what's good about each other and tell it to other people.]
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Your choice, really, but I've got to say I haven't been much in the mood for nostalgic sight-seeing.
[ Which means getting out of this man-made illusion, whatever you're supposed to call it, would suit him just fine. The sooner they get to finding a dependable roof over their heads the better. Of course Oda can't stop himself from having qualms about living in a place together with Tachibana but he needs to stop second-guessing the trust he's being given and just... shove it with his concerns. His guilt isn't going to get them anywhere. If this is how Tachibana wants to handle things then he'll have to go along for the ride. Just like things used to be. He's always been the brains for a reason.
There's a moment of pause as he stiffens, then gives a huff, shrugging his shoulders. ]
Once you get the reins you really don't stop, huh? Alright, get us out of here so you can start playing matchmaker.
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[Time to get the fuck outta this VR bullshit. Thankfully the room is deceptively small, and the door's marked by an off-colour patch in the bridge's siding; once it's stepped through, they're back into reality and the distinct lack of warm, hazy sunset.
But it's reality all the same, and they are still together. Tachibana pauses, looks at Oda, and reaches out to touch his shoulder. Just lightly, more of a glancing brush of the fingers, but enough to confirm that he's real.] ...Sorry. I had to be--
Sure. I had to be sure that you were real, just in case. [VR is the stuff of sci-fi, after all; the fear that Oda had been a very convincing simulacrum all along needed shaking. A beat, wherein he's unable to make eye contact, before:] Sorry if I am being overbearing, too. Old habits. You don't actually have to listen to me, let alone humour me like this. [Yes, he knows Oda likely will all the same. But he can't expect to harp on about freedom and all that shit without acknowledging the way he's lapsing into authority out of habit.] You're quite capable of finding your own partners; this is really just...To keep me busy, I suppose. It feels productive, to focus on you.