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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 |
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The one thing Nao wants the least is for Taichi to hate him. ]
Whenever you finish doing any of these acts, the squares get marked off.
[ He's not looking away, instead stares at that stupid circle that makes his stomach churn. ]
Taichi...
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-- he's pulling away from him, the sharp hurt of betrayal cutting deep and sudden. ]
You marked this off with someone else.
[ someone who isn't him. in that moment, all taichi can think of is him and that mystery person -- whoever he or she is, who gets to hear his breathless voice, the sweetest whines, who gets to be teased and wanted. who isn't him. ]
Nao, what the hell --
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In both scenarios, Taichi was always on his mind. He still is. Taichi has every right to be upset but Nao doesn't want them to break up again after being separated for this long. ]
I didn't want to. [ He's trying to keep his composure even as he turns to look at Taichi's in the eyes this time. Of course he doesn't last, tears already at the corners of his eyes. ] Something happened to my body where...there was an aphrodisiac in something I ate.
I tried to wait it out, even touched myself. [ I thought of you. ] But...it wasn't going away after a few hours and it really started to hurt. A friend called me to check on me and talked me through it...it worked, but it didn't mean anything. [ He cannot emphasize that enough, despite how it sounds. ]
He was just trying to help.
[ God, he can barely wrap his head around it himself. Imagining Taichi touching alone wasn't enough, but listening to Ignis telling him how Taichi would ahve touched him if he was there did the trick? ]
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how does he react to this, what is he supposed to say? he's smart enough to realise that the rules are different here, even if he hates it, but his chest is tight and taichi is stricken, sickened by the revelation. ]
Talked you through it? He helped you come?
[ that nao clearly hadn't been willing is something that taichi recognises, too, but oh, he needs some time to think about this, all of this. ]
sorry for word vomit :x
Taichi.
[ Nao scoots to close the distance between them again, but if other moves away...well, he supposes he deserves it. If he hadn't eaten that cookie then they wouldn't even be having this conversation. Taichi's back and his own oversight hurt him. ] I'm not going to ask you to stop being mad at me. [ After what Taichi went through with his family? The circumstances that led up to his parents' divorce? No, Nao doesn't expect forgiveness this time, painful as it is. That's two people in Taichi's life that let him down and Nao just had to be the other one. ]
I told him I didn't want him or anyone over, but...it hurt a lot, so he helped me by...getting me to talk about you. That worked, somehow. [ As he says this, cheeks hot from embarrassment even more from guilt, he sounds just as confused as the other might be at the sound of that, but he is being truthful.
Nao doesn't hesitate to grasp for Taichi's hand with both of his this time. He's been looking at his ring more often than he ever as and still has it kept on. ]
...I know everything sounds stupid, especially me. I'm still trying to make sense of it all. [ The next words are spoken with a lot more certainty. ] But you were always always on my mind since I got here. I don't think there's anyone I've talked to that doesn't know I have someone I already love. He knows too. [ He told Ignis a good amount about his life, probably more than he should have? But he trusts that man and still does. He needed to talk it out anyway. For Taichi it may have been seconds ago but for Nao, it still has been almost a month of being apart. The thought of that barely processes his mind just now, as his vision starts to get wet and blurry. ]
I'm sorry. [ The only thing really keeping Nao from sobbing is his own anger towards himself. They've said and done really hurtful things to each other but this is the worst Nao has ever felt. Even he starts to feel like he's talking to much. ]
I really messed up and I know you're hurt because of me. Y-you don't have to forgive me but please believe me when I say that I've never stopped thinking about you.
asdkjhf i love this T_T
he takes a deep breath, parsing the information he's received and fighting the urge to simply rage, to take it all out on something, anything, because nao is in pain and it's clear that he's wretchedly, painfully lonely. that nao has been talking about him to everyone he knows on this fucked up island is a small comfort, and the fact that somehow he had phone sex by talking about him is the only reason why taichi isn't out that door right now.
he has to listen. they're in a weird, weird world, and nao is only trying to survive. he looks down at the a5, his own and nao's, and takes another deep breath.
calm. he has to stay calm. he shifts then, and after a few more moments, reaches out towards him. he's always hated seeing nao like this, and after the many times he had left him heartbroken and wrecked, taichi knows he doesn't want to do it again. ]
Okay.
[ he says finally. ] I believe you.
[ and he does, because how can he not? it's just... all of this is weird. ] This world... it's really messed up. All of these things -- [ he gestures to the apartment around them, something clicking into place, the realisation that this could be bigger than the both of them. ] If you hadn't done it, would you still be out there in the cold? I saw some of those shitty houses.
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Y-yeah, you said it. [ The way how the island operates and how it seems to be able to do so much and yet be incredibly unhelpful at the same time is mind boggling. Just thinking about the list of things he's learned is exhausting him already. He'd very much rather focus on what matters and it's the man in front of him. ]
This place was up for grabs from the start. It didn't look any different from those houses but I had some help with the clean up, and they did supply us with the bare necessities. [ That reminds him...his stomach nearly sinks again but this definitely isn't as devastating as what they just talked about. ] One of the residents was nice enough to get some amenities for everyone and I needed soap so, I had to kiss him on the cheek. But that's all! It's because I didn't have anything to give him in return. [ He hasn't even asked for a reward for the square he has completed because he's been avoiding to look at the A5 until now. ]
The folks who've done a lot more live in nicer places. Some of them even offered to let me stay with them but I told them no. [ Not because he thinks they'd try anything on him, far from that. He's just not one to freeload at that level. It's not like stealing a French fry from your boyfriend's plate, for one. ]
...what's the point in having a nice place if you're not with me, anyways?
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nao had been lonely without him, even though taichi had been with him up until he ended up here. nao, by some bizarre, unnerving timeloop, had clearly been here for as long as he said he had, and the knowledge of that haunts him, as is the fact that he knows so much about this place.
taichi wraps his arms around him after a moment, pressing his face into the crook of his neck with a quiet sigh as he quells his own wild, wild jealousy. he never wants anyone else to touch him, to hold him the way he does. but what he wants and what is clearly happening here are two different things.
it occurs to him, too, that there is a chance that either one of them might be stuck on this island one day, with the other gone. ]
...I want you to be happy. [ he says quietly, finally. that's all it is -- he loves nao so much, so very much. he looks over at the a5, frowning. ] We can do all this for better stuff, right? You need to be in a better house than this.
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I'm happy now that you're here. [ As if he can't cling to Taichi any harder to prove it. The smell of salty ocean air aside, he's already feeling lighter than he's ever been in his arms like this. He pulls away with a smile he's managed to put on. Taichi's always thinking about him and his happiness... ]
Mmm! I don't think my place is that bad! I mean, it's better than most bachelor pads right? Well, not yours...
- anyway...! [ He leans his body weight to push Taichi down. Hard to pull off the sexy look when he just about near bawl his eyes out but he's trying. ] I don't care about the A5 stuff right now. I just want you.
[ He starts to push the shirt off him. knows he just gave Taichi the clothes but now he wants them off...! ]
At first I thought it sucked that you didn't know what we did at the love hotel...or the hot springs. [ It still kind of does, but it does inspire some creativity. He leans over to kiss him way more hungrily than he's ever been, wanting that shirt off right now. ]
Want me to show you?
[ See, Taichi's smart. Taichi's already thinking of the possibility of one of them leaving and the other staying, while that hasn't crossed Nao's tunnel vision mind at all. ]