TDM 009: I'M IN LIKE WITH YOU

[erkumods]

TDM 009: I'M IN LIKE WITH YOU

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. STARGAZER On the first night that new arrivals wash ashore, the moon rises. It's full and beautiful and surrounded by stars. The robots quickly bring old, dusty telescopes out of storage and line them up on the beach to help people get a truly spectacular view. "Look to the heavens! Behold, the chicken, the cat, the owl, the donkey!" It's... the cock, the pussy, the hooters, and the ass. For the rest of the night, characters will become fixated on the specific asset associated with the constellation they've gotten an eyeful of. Whether this leads to some body worship or just casual appreciation is up to you. You can learn about the stars and constellations later this month in some of the rare, non-pornographic books in the library. (More info will go up soon, so please be patient!) ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● II. STIMULATING CONVERSATION An ancient courting ritual has been announced! It involves the give-and-take of candy hearts with slogans printed on them. Of course, since these hearts are being manufactured by robots, their sense of taste is a little... off? Or perhaps off-putting? "You'll do." "5/10." "Acceptable." "Sloppy Seconds." Receiving a negative heart makes one feel insecure, jealous, and submissive. "Be mine." "Nicest ass." "Swell bulge." "They're good lays, Bront." Receiving a positive heart will make one feel confident, boastful, and dominant. Your friendly neighborhood 'bots will give them out to anyone who asks - and maybe even those who don't. ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● III. Eat Or Dare The robots have set up a stall by the beach with a banner that reads: Eat Or Dare. They have procured bigger candy hearts than ever before -- fist-sized and larger -- with actions written on them instead of derogatory slogans. "Take a dive." "Lick me." "Get handsy." The name of the game is to follow the instructions or forfeit the challenge by making the evidence disappear into your mouth. Delicious! Those who eat the candy hearts will feel themselves getting giddy and unreasonably invested in the love affairs of others. They will feel compelled to play matchmaker to spread the cheer. ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● N A V I G A T I O N

Comments

Jaune Arc | RWBY | ota (m/f for shenanigans)

[character_arc]

((OOC: Cross-canon only for the 00s; castmates or cross-canon welcome for I & II))

00a.
"Oh, not good." Jaune is planted on the beach, sprawled face-first in the sand, and as he picks himself up, he's clutching his stomach queasily. His waterlogged jeans cling to his legs, and his hoodie, encrusted in sand and weighing him down, is pulled off and wrung out after only a moment.

"Did anybody... get the number... of that airship?" He's a little disoriented, still; it's all he can manage to keep his nausea under control.

00b.
Toweled off and further up the beach, he's frowning at his Augur bracelet. "What?! No! That's not what I meant to search! Back, back back back..." red-faced and stammering, stabbing his finger on the controls, he's entirely oblivious to anyone approaching him.

00c.
Within an hour or two, he's claimed a tent on the beach, somewhere with a good vantage point so he can scan the shore, looking for familiar faces among new arrivals. He can't have been separated from his team. That's... just not something he's going to allow. So when they turn up, he'll be watching for them...

And he'll keep watching, hour after hour, until long after dark.

I. The Donkey
His first thought had been that commandeering a telescope might make it easier for him to search for his friends. But one glimpse at the constellations changes that, and suddenly, he's paying a lot more attention to the strangers on the beach, gaze wide-eyed, earnest, and lingering.

II. STUD
In the morning, he's received an... unconventional ration... from the robots, and he only spends a short time staring in dismay at the heart reading "STUD" before he eats it. Food is food.

It... cheers him up. It tastes bad, yeah, but Jaune suddenly finds he has energy, and very little hesitation about taking off his shirt and starting his morning stretches. He had to stay in shape, after all. Anyone passing by is flashed a smile and a bright greeting. He still doesn't understand what's going on in this place, and he's not sure how much of what he's heard he believes, but... he can handle this. Nobody's trying to kill him right now, so... he's definitely survived a lot worse.

00c.

[sealingpower]

Being the nerd that she was, of course Zelda had found herself on the beach to look at the stars through the fascinating devices that allowed one to see them closer than she could have even imagined.

Then she spotted another, a man who looked lost and confused. She frowned and made her way over to the tent where he was stationed outside, seemingly searching for something.

"My apologies for the intrusion but, are you searching for something?" She prodded hesitantly.

When Jaune looked to see the owner of the voice he would see a woman with a regal bearing with her hands clasped in front of her, peering curiously. She wasn't too close so as to not crowd him, but looked concerned none the less.

[character_arc]

"I... yeah. For the rest of my team," he says, glancing down a moment before giving the regal young woman a searching look. "A... skinny guy my age, long black hair with a pink streak, wearing green; and a short, red-headed girl who's almost definitely with them. A kid with brown hair and hazel eyes, a few years younger... um, and a silver-haired girl with a thick braid? There are others, but that's a start."

"We were just...we were all together. Not that long ago. I've got to believe they can't be far."

Under the friendliness of his tone is a deep current of worry, doubt, anxiety. He knows it's not that simple... but he's not willing to give up on the idea yet.

[sealingpower]

Zelda's frown deepened, and she bit her lip, averting her eye momentarily. This man was in for a big surprise if he was new. Everything was still really awkward for her.

Still, she could sympathize with wanting to find a familiar face and she really hated to break it to him that the possibility of that was fairly slim.

"I'm sorry, I haven't seen anyone who matches those descriptions as of yet." she shook her head and admitted apologetically.

"Admittedly, I have only been here a short while. Correct me if I'm wrong, but, I assume you've just arrived?"

[character_arc]

"Yeah, I washed up earlier today. I'm... still not sure how seriously to take all this. It could be a weird dream. Or... there are some people who want to get rid of me and my friends... but I'd think I'd be the last one they'd worry about." He frowns, grimaces, shakes his head, then heaves a sigh.

"Anyway. I know most of the people here had something similar happen. I'm not asking you to justify or explain what's going on here when it happened to you, too."

He offers a hesitant smile, steps forward, and offers his hand. "I'm Jaune."

[sealingpower]

She cocked her head to the side curiously, as she momentarily noted the grimace but decided to leave it for the time being.

"I... would not be the best person to explain things anyway," she replied abashedly, but stepped up to return the introduction. She stared at his offered hand a moment before extending her own, palm facing down for him to take in the traditional royal greeting. No one she had encountered so far had actually offered a handshake so she wasn't familiar with the gesture.

Regardless, she gave him a warm smile. "I am Zelda. Please, allow me to formally welcome you to 'The Nameless Island.'" she paused again before continuing, "As I am familiar with how jarring it can be to find oneself in a strange new place, I can offer to help to the best of my abilities."

[character_arc]

"I appreciate it," Jaune answered. "But... right now, I don't really need anything, except to keep an eye out for my friends."

He glances down at her hand, held out to his. It's like something out of a storybook. He thinks abut trying to explain, about guessing what exactly she's expecting, and he feels the same tired distraction he's felt all day, being out here on his own.

Well, there's nobody to laugh at him, at least. Making sure his posture is stable, he bends in a careful bow and brushes his lips across her knuckles, as lightly and briefly as he can without appearing rushed. He's slow to straighten up, because he feels how red his cheeks are. He's not a storybook knight, as nice as that idea might be.

[sealingpower]

Zelda nodded and slowly retracted her hand. It wouldn't be the first time someone had blushed in returning the salutation, which she didn't quite understand as the greeting was completely normal to her. In any case she continued her offer.

"Oh come now, you must be hungry at least?" she hesitated a moment though, maybe they would get lucky and the food that the robots had laid out on the beach wouldn't be laced? Was everything drugged here? She seemed lost in her head, questioning this for a moment but remembered how she had gone so long without food upon her own arrival that she had literally fainted. Had Kara not been there to take her someplace safe, who knows what could have happened? The last thing Zelda wanted was for something to happen to anyone else like that. And Jaune seemed just as stubborn as she was.

"Regardless, you really should eat something... and... perhaps after, you might like to join me for a bit of stargazing, as a sort of welcome?"

It was genuinely an innocent request as she had no idea of any of the possible side effects of simple stargazing. Despite being here for a few weeks, she hadnt' become wise to all of their tricks.

Zelda honestly felt bad for Jaune, and she was the type to legitimately try to cheer others up if they were down, so it was the least she could do to make the attempt. Leading the Champions had made her realize exactly how important keeping morale up was, and in this place, giving in to despair could have dire consequences. If anything, she could be a friendly ally. This place was not kind to loners.

"It is unfortunately getting very dark now, so looking for your friends at this hour probably wouldn't bear much fruit." Not to mention if someone might try to harm Jaune? "But I promise to return in the morning to help you look if you would like? Please, do not neglect your own health though. It will not do you any good to pass out somewhere while searching."

[character_arc]

Before Jaune can answer, his stomach growls, audibly, and he shakes his head, looking down for a moment and laughing at himself. Food... he honestly hadn't even thought about it. But if he doesn't eat, he'll be depleting his Aura.

"I am... honestly, kind of starving," he admits, voice lilting wryly. "Getting something to eat and then stargazing sounds pretty good, actually." He's seen the telescopes getting set up, and if nothing else, he wants a closer look at one to see if it would be worth taking to help him survey, once it's daylight again. "And I won't turn down any help. Thank you."

The gratitude in his voice is raw and vulnerable and sincere.

II

[hello_again]

Pyrrha had come over to the beach knowing this was about when new arrivals began to show up. Ever the helpful person she wanted to look out for those who were new to this place and might need a little direction and a friendly face.

She always knew she could run into someone from her team. After all she had already seen team RWBY. However she wasn't prepared for it, not at all.

At first she didn't even quite recognize Jaune. With his shirt off and the new haircut it wasn't obvious from behind, however when he turned around she knew it was him.

Her eyes opened wide in shock she wasn't sure what to say at first. Her mouth dried up and her mind fogged. She knew he must be from after her death and she could only imagine how it would feel seeing her again after all this time.

However she couldn't remain silent so nervously she said "Hello again," it was the first thing to pop into her head even though it really didn't convey the swirl of emotions inside of her right now.

[character_arc]

He hears her voice first. For a moment he's cold, standing in a twilit park with his eyes fixed on a bouquet of red lilies.

He turns, posture gone in a moment from smooth and confident to locked up and buzz-nerved. There isn't a chalk heart in the whole universe that could prepare him for this.

"No," he breathes. "No way..."

Then, in a flash, his jaw clenches, his brow sets in a fierce frown, and his posture shifts again to one Pyrrha will know all too well - the 'ready' stance she drilled into him, her hands guiding his elbows into proper alignment the first time she showed him, the nervous tremor of his shoulders as he fretted over getting it just right the first twenty times a familiar quirk, even now.

But he has the stance right, now, and it looks far more natural on him than the last time she saw it.

"Whoever you are," he says, voice cracking, "I'm going to give you just one chance. Drop the illusion. Now."

His sword and sheath had been delivered this morning, and his right hand drops to the hilt; his left still held up in a defensive guard.

[hello_again]

For some reason Pyrrha hadn't expected this reaction. Honestly she should have, of course he wouldn't immediately assume that the dead could just appear.

Her expression of surprise had turned into shock and concern.

"No Jaune I- it's me."

Pyrrha's mind races for something. Some memory that only the two of them share. Something from before everything went wrong and there seemed to be enemies everywhere.

"I... I was the one who unlocked your Aura for you. You didn't even know what it was."

She spoke quick hoping to keep him from doing anything rash.

"Do you remember what I said when I did it?"

Pyrrha recited it from memory

"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee."

All she could do was watch and see if that was enough proof.

[character_arc]

"..."

He stares, one shock passing into another, and nerveless fingers slip off the hilt of his sword. He shakes, blinks, and finds tears welling in his eyes.

"It can't be," he says, faintly. "I remember. Of course I remember. But it can't be. You... you're..."

He can't say the words. There's a riging in his ears, and he lets his shoulders fall, dropping out of his stance.

"...Pyrrha?" His voice cracks and trembles, hope breaking through grief in the paroxysm of tangled emotions clenching down on his heart.

[hello_again]

Her expression relaxes some as his aggression fades, but it's not exactly a happy change either. Tears were inevitably with this. Especially with how long she has been gone.

"I know," she says her tone hopefully reassuring. She knew she was dead.

When he called out to her she couldn't hold herself back anymore. She rushed over to him and wrapped her arms around him in a firm embrace. She rested her head against his shoulder.

"I'm sorry I left you." Her own voice cracked now as her tears began to fall against Jaune.

[character_arc]

His arms close around her instinctively, holding tight, probably too tight, hands clinging to her back, one sliding up to stroke her hair. None of it takes any thought. It's just right. How things ought to be.

How he'd been sure they never could be, ever again.

"No," he says, firmly. "You don't... you don't owe me an apology. When you're the only one who has a chance, the only one who might be able to make a difference... of course you do it. A Huntress... a Huntress doesn't have a choice. You had to try. And I just..."

His throat closes up for a moment, and he squeezes even tighter. There's a lot more strength in his arms than there used to be.

"I spent the last two years," he finally manages, "Making sure that the next time there's a moment like that... I'll be ready. I'll be able to keep up."

[hello_again]

The embrace felt good, really good in fact. She clung tighter in turn like he'd vanish on her if she let go.

She lets herself relax in his warm embrace. Just calming down from seeing him again, knowing how much time had passed and at least some of what transpired.

Despite some nervousness about being this direct she leans back to look up at him and brought a hand up to cup his cheek, hoping to soothe him. "I can already tell you've been working so hard. You've gotten a lot stronger Jaune, just like I always knew you would."

[character_arc]

He leans his forehead against hers and chuckles, briefly. "It's been... a busy couple of years. And I had the best training instructor I could ask for, right there on my scroll."

He's not really thinking about the details, the closeness, his shirtlessness, things that might panic him a little if he wasn't in the middle of a day of almost dreamlike strangeness.

"I've got a lot of questions," he admits after a moment. "I guess you probably have a few, too. But they can wait. As long as... well, as long as I'm not about to wake up and find that y- that the island's disappeared."

the donkey

[wanderstars]

It's not being stared at that really gets Kori's attention. She's used to that, and it hardly bothers her, if anything at times she even appreciates it. But this particular gaze lingers more than she's used to as she walks along the beach, and the closer the walks towards him, the more she realizes where his eyes are focused. Not that she's never been ogled before, mind, but not often with such a blatant stare, and with eyes so wide like he's shocked by what he sees. Surely he's seen backsides on other women before.

"Hello," she greets, smiling as she steps up towards him, fiery hair glowing behind her. "We haven't met, have we?"

Of course they haven't, she would remember. It's just an excuse to start conversation.

Re: the donkey

[character_arc]

"We haven't met," Jaune says, voice confident but still a little faint, looking her up and down, unconsciously, in earnest appraisal. "I would... definitely remember that." There's a faint huff of his breath as he nearly laughs at himself, but... wow, she's breathtaking. And taller than he is; that's impressive.

"I'm Jaune," he adds after a belated heartbeat, and holds out a hand. "Sorry, it's just... I've never seen anybody like you before." There's open admiration in his voice, but it's all he can do to keep his gaze above her hips, no matter how hard he tries. That... is a perfect curve. He could write a song about it. Not a good song, but... wow.

[wanderstars]

"As would I," she answers rather pointedly, seeming very pleased with all the attention he's giving her. She kneels beside him, so they're sitting together, and reaching out she takes his hand for a shake. That is how humans greet each other after all, she assumes that's what he's doing.

"That's normal. Most Humans have never met a Tamaranean before," she says with a smile. "I am Kori. It's lovely to meet you, Jaune."

[character_arc]

"And you're lovely to meet," Jaune replies, shaking her hand, grip firm, before he realizes exactly what he just said, and shivers, jolted by a momentary image of just how cheesy that sounds. "Uh, I mean..."

[wanderstars]

Kori chuckles at that remark, hand covering her mouth briefly. She scoots closer to him with no hesitance, hands resting on the ground to lean closer to him.

"You're cute." Yes, she's just going to state that right out. "You are a new arrival, yes?"

[character_arc]

"It's my first day here," he admits. "Or, well, first night anyway." He flushes a little as she leans in, but he doesn't lean back. It's a little easier to keep his eyes focused on her face now that she's sitting down, at least. "There's a whole lot that doesn't make sense to me yet. But... at least the scenery is nice?"

[wanderstars]

"It can be a confusing place at times," she agrees, flicking her hair over her shoulder, then shifting so she's sitting beside Jaune, looking up to the night sky. "Many things are nice. Some are less so. But if you have any questions or if you need anything, I can try to help you."

[character_arc]

"I will definitely keep that in mind," he assures her. "I'm grateful. Um..."

His gaze flicks up and down her as he considers, withot conscious volition at first, until his face heats again.

"Actually, there is one thing. I... can't seem to take my eyes off you." He realizes how that sheepish admission sounds, and raises his hands in defense. "That's not a line! It's literally difficult to look away from your... body," he hedges at the last minute, "and I was wondering if that's a you thing, or something this place is doing, or if I'm just losing it a little bit?"