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TDM 008: A WALK IN THE THEME PARK
| TDM 008: A WALK IN THE THEME PARK |
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. SIX FLAGELLANTS Welcome, one and all, to a thrilling new location! Robots have worked tirelessly to build, from the ground up, what can only be recognizable as an amusement park. You are just in time for the grand opening of Six Flagellants: Great Advagtures! The Ferris Wheel routinely stops when lovebirds reach the top, waiting for a kiss - or something more daring! - before it starts up again. Robots warn of the scary Haunted House: a dark building with wall-to-wall creeps, and hot and cold running chills. Flickering ghosts roam the halls, and you may find an eerily realistic Headless Horseman -- who bids you, "Come closer. Give me head," while pointing to yours. Hey, get your mind out of the... Nevermind. The Carousel is a two-story affair. Nude figures with familiar faces lounge about, waiting to be ridden, and closer inspection proves that they have the faces of your fellow islanders. Hop on your favorite person and take them for a spin! There are even Bumper Cars, which have the interesting effect of making one feel more aroused with every bump and impact. (It's randomized each time, so don't try to guess based on car color!) What should be a similar ride, the Teacups, has the robots' madness written all over it instead. They have misunderstood the gentle spin-cycles for dangerous, dizzying loop-the-loops across a wide track. Some would swear that the ride has a supernatural invocation for fear. Others are simply man enough to admit they're afraid. Lastly, the Tunnel of Love is not what you expect. Although flavored lube and guides to cunnilingus are on each fleshy-log-shaped boat, the motion of the ocean is quite soothing, and there's a pleasant floral scent in the air that causes a light intoxication. Don't forget to try the food! Similar to the Street Kiosks, there's a ton of faire food: cotton candy, corn dogs, and the like. Mascot outfits are available and those who wear them will be rewarded generously with credits. II. LIKE A FIREWORK The next morning, you receive a message on your device: You are cordially invited to a celebration of skinship at the House of Worship. Please do not dress for the occasion. If asked about it, the robots will confirm that is not a specific holiday, but a simple joyous event. If you pry, they may even say that the Old Ones often made merry and partook in the pleasures of the flesh - and so too should you. For an hour, there will be food and drink - alcoholic and aphrodisiac. Then, at the designated time, once the sun has gone down, clothes will be shed and a revelry begun. As fireworks explode overhead, the different colors send the naked senses reeling:
A group shower will be provided after the festivities wind down. III. MISTLETOE Many cherub dragons can be found gathering together in the Greenhouse, working together to finish the cultivation of a new plant. They spend an exhaustive night decorating the island with the new greenery, which can soon be identified as mistletoe. You may think it's sweet of them, but don't get caught underneath one of these sprigs! Standing under the dragon's mistletoe will cause sensory deprivation - and of course, the only way to regain what was lost is to indulge in an Auspicious Act. (You may choose whichever sense you like, or even choose to be figurative, such as "the sense of reason" or "a sense of purpose.") N A V I G A T I O N |
Daniel Dickens | Angels of Death
[It sure is a surreal experience going from "potentially dying in a burning building" to "waking up being dragged out of the ocean" by comparison. Waterlogged and irritable, he spends a good amount of time shaking sand out of his hair and trying to smooth out his labcoat, which has turned a very questionable color due to where the ocean had affected the blood stains he had on there recently. (Look, he didn't exactly have an opportunity to change into a less bloody one before he got here, okay.)
Hopefully he will have gotten it cleaned up or at least a new labcoat to wear once he settles in, and give or take a few days, residents of the island may find that one of the previously abandoned apartments is now under new management with a sign that's been plastered outside the door.
"Dr. Daniel Dickens: Specialized Therapist and Doctor of Various Skills
Current Status: AVAILABLE"
... Do you want to take the risk of knocking and seeing who this new doctor is that appears to have set up shop in this place?]
Six Flags (cw: eye trauma)
[... Wow, Danny feels super out of place here. All of these "rides" are sleazy or tacky and quite honestly, he's not sure why he let any of the robots talk him into at least looking into it.
The only place that doesn't seem to be immediately lust-crazed is the haunted house, though even here the doctor seems surprisingly bored and not all that intimidated by the frights being put on display. He's seen much scarier things in his lifetime, really.
Enough to that when the Headless Horsemen tries to intimidate him with demanding for his head, Danny allows a momentary sly grin.]
Sorry, I'm still rather attached to mine for the time being. Would you consider perhaps just an eye, instead?
[And with that, he proceeds to reach a hand up to the right side of his face and pull out his own eye to show off to the horsemen. Thankfully, it's a glass eye and not a real one, but jesus if he was wanting to outdo the tacky haunted house in scares, he may very well have just done so to whoever was unfortunate enough to be stuck accompanying him here...]
Like a Firework
[At least the fireworks don't seem to be so bad to partake in, even if Danny squints a bit at them with his good eye.]
Rather bright, aren't they? I hope no one here thinks to stare at them for too long, it may just end up being damaging to one's eyesight as a result...
[It's at least a better line of thought to think about than trying to pay attention to any couples nearby, whom he sort of raises an eyebrow in distaste if they start being too public with their displays of affection near him. (And no, he hasn't been staring at any Green fireworks for too long for him to feel that way, he's just like that in general, though any green ones he did see probably doesn't help.)
But hey, maybe he can be convinced to change his tune if someone can get him to note any fireworks worth looking at as opposed to having his attention primarily focused on whatever drink he has in his hand instead.]
Wildcard
[Got something else you want to do with Danny here? Feel free to PM me or hit me up at
Arrival
Are you a real doctor?
[He doesn't intend it as in insult, but a clarification. Therapists are not doctors, and he's looking for more of a medical laboratory type.]
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Or at least Danny was not planning on telling anyone and had probably had some kind of professional sounding pitch prepared, but the question has him momentarily forgetting it before he's even got the door fully opened.]
Ah... of course. I'm licensed as both a doctor of physical ailments and as a therapist that helps patients dealing with psychosis and stress.
[... Actually he is only technically licensed in the latter and does the former in a back alley handed manner, but... it's fine, don't worry about it. He offers a pleasant enough smile as he regards Akira at his door here.]
So then, what can I do for you?
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Can you analyze blood?
[It's probably more complicated than general blood analysis, but Akira doesn't know anything about the technicalities or how things like that are done.]
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I can... [Or rather, he knows how to and while he probably doesn't have the proper equipment for that yet, maybe he can talk those robots into getting it for him.] ... though I'd like to ask why you need something like that to be done here first.
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[In case this man thinks he's dying. The explanation is sort of glossed over without much context, because he hadn't actually known what he was going to say here.]
My blood kills people. It was supposed to be a cure, but it's poison too. I want to know if it will do that here, to someone who didn't come from the same place I did.
[If there's any incompatibility in those from other worlds, or dimensions, or the aliens; whomever else may come into contact with it. He doesn't know what chemical structures it specifically targets or neutralizes, and if anyone could naturally have those compounds in their own genetic makeup.]
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Ah. That is a valid reason to want to get an analysis done, in that case.
[Can't say his curiosity isn't peaked now, so after a moment of thought, he steps aside to allow entry.]
I'd rather not be drawing blood out here in the hallway, so it would be best if you come in and sat down.
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What else do you need to know? I don't have all the details on... how it was done.
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It's fine if you don't have all the details in regards to the how or even the why behind it if you don't feel like sharing. For now, the most important thing is knowing if there's anything dangerous I should be expecting here... more than the expected, I mean. Usually, when people say that their blood kills people, it's natural to assume that this is the case if it's ingested or comes in contact with any open wounds or one's eyes... but given where we are...
[He says, with a glare of distaste at the bracelet he's wearing, before he properly looks back up at Akira again.]
... I'd like to make sure that it's not, say, corrosive or something when you say that it kills people in comparison to what I know of toxins in one's blood back home.
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[Akira wants to say his world is 'normal', but that word has no meaning anymore. He doesn't want to accidentally give any false information, so he can only go with the method of contact he's seen and known for certain was a pathway.]
I don't know about open wounds or eyes, but ingestion, yes.
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[Danny seems to have found some gloves so once he's washed his hands in the sink, he gestures for Akira to either sit in one of the chairs or on the "examination" table. Though, Danny does fold his arms in front of him for a moment, frowning as he regards what tools he does have here so far since his arrival in this place.]
So, I do have one other question here before we begin: is there a reason you haven't asked anyone here if they have a means of analyzing your blood for you before now, or did you try already and they weren't able to help?
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Who, the robots? Fuck them.
[He's not going near that hospital.]
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Ha ha, fair enough! I can't exactly fault you for not trusting them with something like this, given my own feelings on the matter with them.
[It's part of the reason why he even wants to put this clinic together as opposed to just working at the hospital himself or something.]
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cw: needles
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fireworks;
There are reasons, of course, for Gray to believe he's mistaken in exactly whom he's come across - it's dark, the lighting is hardly ideal even if it is fairly bright in bursts, this entire experience has just been so goddamn surreal that it's possible he's subconsciously seeking out anyone that might just happen to seem familiar. But the words are a little unmistakable, even if he's fairly sure they aren't aimed at him; the sentiment is still one he's entirely familiar with, and it's one of those things that's so rarely expressed besides...
Danny is a bit difficult to miss, to put it gently.
But while this isn't ideal it's far from not ideal; it's unlikely that much attention will be drawn to them here, while there's a fairly large display (and...rather smaller numerous other displays...) for those nearby to be interested in.]
I'm surprised to see you here, Danny. [The words are even, calmly-spoken - if there are multiple reasons to not expect to see Danny here, it's not as though he's going to make a Thing out of it at this exact moment.] It doesn't seem like your sort of activity.
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I... could say the same about you, Reverend.
[Gray is a bit difficult to miss, to put it gently.
For a moment, that's all Danny can work up the words to say, several different threads of thought weaving and intermingling in a tangled mess. The last time he saw the other man involved... well, dying, really. He waits for the anger, the resentment, the how dare he show his face to me ever again... but it doesn't come. He just feels a sort of confused, wrong-footed notion of wondering if maybe he's more drunk than he thought he was as Danny momentarily glances at his drink with an eye of suspicion, before shaking his head.
And steps closer, because rather than blame the alcohol and simply dismiss this as a hallucination, he wants to actually confirm that it's the real deal. Though, he's not actually doing something as crazy as grabbing the Reverend just yet, but simply coming closer so that it's easier to ignore the rest of their surroundings while they talk.]
I'd ask why you came here, but I assume it might be for the same reason I did.
[Read: not actually having a choice/other alternative as a distraction in this place right now, but hey at least people-watching to give you an idea of what other people here are like
or who has interesting eyes in this placeis better than nothing.]no subject
[The agreement is implicit, but it does seem to be just that - an agreement rather than a correction or simply something he's positing. The lack of direction in this place has proven a bit much; the whole business of being here, really, is a bit much, when compared to the expected circumstance, particularly when the expected circumstance is in fact "dead in a fire, probably."]
Have you been here long...?
[The...place in general, not the fireworks.]
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[The being dead in a fire thing, that we probably should talk about here at some point, but for now is attempting to avoid it for the sake of keeping calm in a public space.]
I've spoken to some people here, and I've been told that there are several here that have been living in this place for quite a long while in comparison.
[They talk as if they've been here for months on end in comparison to what feels like maybe a week and some change for Danny. He's still not sure how he feels about that yet.]
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[He isn't sure what he thinks about any of that - or any of this, just as a whole. The island, the robots, the occasional bursts of color firing off overhead.
Danny is doing an outright admirable job of keeping himself collected. Gray wonders, vaguely, how long he'll be able to manage.]
We don't have to stay, if you would prefer not to.
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There's a yellow firework that bursts at an impressive angle that manages to catch Gray's face in the light, and his first thought is that even now, Gray is still someone that gives him that same feeling of reverence in appearance and demeanor worth following to see just where one might end up at.
... And maybe right now preferably led somewhere other than here to keep standing and talking, because with a side glance Danny notes some people nearby starting to get more naked than before against the backdrop of a green firework and... yeah, no. Definitely not interested in continuing this conversation here of all places as Danny dumps his unfinished drink off to the side of where he's standing.
Which, his aim might be a little off and it may or may not have ended up in a plant. Or some people making out behind the plant in question, but Danny isn't going to stop and look to confirm this.]
Yeah. I'm good with going literally anywhere other than being here right now.
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[He is definitely not going to push to stay here any longer than is really necessary; this had been, after all, an excursion done through a lack of knowing what else to do. Perhaps one of curiosity on his part, wanting to know what passes for worship of the gods around here, and furthermore wanting to get a read on those that would participate in such a thing; there's a sudden streak and burst of red overhead and he finds himself quite agreeing that really, better anywhere but here, because that did things he isn't sure he wants a full explanation for.
(He will want a full explanation later, because this is not his area of expertise but it's fascinating on its own. He will likely not receive an explanation.)
"Literally anywhere but here" seems like a more than fair enough request for now; the beach is likely dead at this time, both due to the hour and due to the cold and due to the fact that the beach, when he'd first arrived, was really rather dismal; it seems as relatively empty a place as any, to say nothing of easily accessed. So that's the eventual destination, though honestly anywhere away from the fireworks seems decent enough should they get sidetracked.]
I imagine you have a fair amount to say.
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They end up at the beach, and sure enough Danny grimaces a fair bit at the memory of waking up wet and paranoid about getting sand in his eyes, among other things. He almost wishes he had seen Gray's own arrival here because then it would be a chance to see the other man out of sorts, before dismissing the thought. Gray probably would manage to somehow make that look graceful, or maybe he just walked straight out of the ocean like some kind of god coming up from the sea.
When they do stop walking, Danny gives a slight smile in acknowledgement. It's one of his more derisive smiles than a friendly one, but at least it's not the crazed kind yet.]
"A fair amount" is a generous way of putting it. Considering that at least one of us should be dead right now after having been betrayed and shot like that.
[Rachel. Gray. Both of them had turned on him in some manner despite his attempts to be useful, and even with the conversation the two men had after before he died, Danny can't help but still feel pretty fucking resentful about that part.
Especially if his afterlife is now apparently spent with robots wanting people to be horny on main here? Probably could have done without that, but unfortunately, here we are.]
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You're more than entitled to your anger; I'm not goingo to do you the insult of discouraging you from it. I will ask, however, what it is you intend to do with it, under the understanding that it would surprise me more if you had no ideas yourself.
[If the game plan is entirely to stab him in the face, he gets it, but, like. Warn a guy.]
cw: healthy ways of dealing with anger involving guns/description of gunshot trauma I'm sorry
How's that for a warning?
However, Danny doesn't immediately try to shoot him despite how this is probably the easiest chance he's ever going to have to do so. It simply hovers there in the space between them, pointed at the other man's face, as if waiting for some sort of cue that will get the trigger pulled.
More than likely, Danny is waiting to see what, if any, change Gray will make in response to this. Will he actually be bothered by the implicit threat being made here, whether that be by actually attempting to stop the gun from going off? Or even showing any potential concern at the thought that he very well might die right here?
When Gray stays unresponsive for perhaps a beat longer than Danny likes, he finally speaks.]
Did you know that when you shoot someone in the head, there's a chance that they won't die right away? They usually collapse and choke on their blood, sure, but for a moment they may still be conscious, feeling the bullet digging into their brain as they convulse on the ground and their eyes dart around looking for some kind of sign of help to make it stop so that they can have a quicker more painless death... what do you think your chances would be if I happened to shoot you here? Do you think that you would die immediately, or still last for another minute or two in such a state?
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Unpleasant business, all of that. Nothing he isn't aware of, but not particularly nice to hear laid out while someone is pointing a gun in one's face.
He closes his eyes, briefly. Breathes.]
Is that the penance you would have me serve, Danny?
[His eyes open again. Refocused on the man and not the gun.]
I would tell you that that isn't going to change or erase what was done to you, but you're already well aware of that. Any action you take now would be solely in the interest of seeking recompense that isn't going to be delivered, simply because it can't be. Not properly, not here. Anything you dispense here - forgiveness and suffering alike - is entirely a futile outcome, given what you've already been through.
The fault is mine for putting you in such a wretched position.
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Yeah. It is your fault.
[It would be so much easier to just shoot him anyway if only for that feeling of satisfaction, however brief it will ultimately be. He can already imagine what kind of sight it might be to see the man finally fall off his mighty pedestal and bleed out in front of him. Maybe then he would finally see something resembling an emotion in those blank eyes of his like so many others that have died because of Danny.]
... Damnit.
[However, instead of going through with it, he swears and lowers his gun because goddamnit, Gray is right, even now. It isn't going to change anything that happened back home even if he does kill Gray here. If anything it'll probably just cause more trouble in the long run if someone comes running from hearing the gun going off somehow despite the fireworks going off in the distance. And then where would that leave him?
He brings his arm up to grip his other one as if needing some kind of support to keep himself standing, or from potentially changing his mind to raise the gun and shooting the other man anyway as he speaks.]
Then... just what am I supposed to do here?
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