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

[chemistrysgoodbabe]

"Like two days ago!" Veth retorts. OBVIOUSLY Beau should be caught up on this. "Why don't you remember?"

[flurry_of_beaus]

"Oh, shit, okay." Beau breathes a little easier, pressing her hand to her chest like it'll steady her heart. For some reason, the fact that this is a recent development makes it easier to accept.

"It's a weird time twisty Happy Fun Ball thing," Beau tries to explain, by explaining badly.

"We're in another dimension or plane or something and everybody's from different times. Okay? Last thing I remember is releasing Yasha from Obann and killing the fucker. Fjord and Caleb remember like months more."

[chemistrysgoodbabe]

"What -- hang on, hang on, what?--"

She shoves her wet bangs out of her face, makes an annoyed noise, and finally snatches both towel and bracelet from the robot. "SHOO. SCAT."

She rubs her face dry and then squints at Beau accusingly. "You don't remember Traveler Con?"

Okay, so maybe she exaggerated on it having been "like two days" since she got changed back, but look, whatever, sometimes things FEEL true even though they are technically a mistake on the part of the writer extremely inaccurate.

"What about the hag? You don't remember the hag?"

[flurry_of_beaus]

"No," Beau says, annoyed at the question. What had she just said, Veth? And, what's more, why rub it in?

"No, I don't remember any of this. I mean, people have told me things, but I don't remember any of it." There's a difference, for example, between Caleb telling her Veth got her halfling form back and seeing it, real and alive and yelling at her.

Frankly it makes her feel more than a little bit left out, so the less said about it the better.

"Come on, let's get you to the house. Maybe we can find something for you to wear that's not soaked."

[chemistrysgoodbabe]

"Oh, shit," Veth says, her expression going from suspicious to concerned. "Okay. I see."

That means that Beau -- this Beau -- doesn't know what they know about her family, doesn't know what they know about Jester and the Traveler, doesn't even know what they know about the war. And that's a lot.

Okay. Less said the better, indeed. She can drop it, at least for now.

"Ugh, I'd like to be dry, yeah." She shakes her head hard -- a gesture that's more akin to how she carried herself as a goblin than a halfling. Some things, it seems, linger. "Which house?"

[flurry_of_beaus]

Some things do linger, and they're amusing to see. Not like Beau's going to laugh out loud at Veth trying to shake herself dry, but she does smirk at it.

"A big one," she answers as she directs them towards one of the paths with a gesture.

"The guys got it. Molly and Fjord have been here a while, Caleb a month before me. Then Essek and I rolled in." She keeps her tone careful around the name Essek.

"I've got the top floor. Second floor is the guys. Molly and Fjord in one room and Essek and Caleb in the other."

[chemistrysgoodbabe]

"Oh, nice, like in Xhorhas?"

Except Essek and Caleb are rooming together. Hm. That tracks but also, awkward.

"--Mollymauk. Is rooming with Fjord."

[flurry_of_beaus]

Beau nods solemnly.

"You know how most people have roosters to wake you up in the morning with their screeching?

We have Molly and Fjord."

She shrugs.

"Mostly Molly."

[chemistrysgoodbabe]

"Doing what? Besides being alive?"

She did not roll well on her Intelligence check.

[flurry_of_beaus]

Oh, right. Imagine a quick rewind through the conversation as Beau realizes she skipped over that.

"Yeah, he's alive." And, because she can't help it, she smiles.

"It's weird but it's cool. And Fjord's uh, apparently real happy about this development."

[chemistrysgoodbabe]

A beat.

"Waaaaait.

"They're fuckin'.

"Are they fuckin'?"

[flurry_of_beaus]

Beau just lifts her brows and gives her a series of emphatic nods.

"They're making the most of it, that's for damn sure."

[chemistrysgoodbabe]

"Well shit!"

She is still confused about a lot of stuff but that's great!

"You think they were doing that in all those taverns where they were roommates?"

oh my god they were roommates

[flurry_of_beaus]

Beau frowns as she thinks about that.

"You know, didn't ask. But I didn't pick up on anything then. I think... Well, I dunno."

It's one thing to hypothesize about various situations and people that the Nein have met. It's another thing, Beau's realizing, to do it to your friends.

"Have to ask them, I guess."

[chemistrysgoodbabe]

"Hmmmm."

Beau, are you really going to leave her alone with this burning curiosity?? You're not the nosy asshole she thought you were!

"So, wait, how long have you been here?" She frowns. "How'd we all end up here, anyways? From different times?"

[flurry_of_beaus]

Look, just because Beau would ask doesn't mean she would share. Even with Veth.

Maybe especially with Veth because she knows it'll piss her off.

"I've been here about a month. Caleb and Essek--" Yup, there's a tone with which he says his name, subtle but there "--before me, Fjord and Molly before them. Dunno how it works. Some god is apparently in charge, but details are thin on the ground."

[chemistrysgoodbabe]

INSIGHT CHECK, what kinda tone???

"Hmm. Cool god or evil god?" she asks, suspicious.

[flurry_of_beaus]

The kind of tone that says Essek is a betraying betrayer who betrays and I'm watching him like a hawk around Caleb. But, you know, low key.

"I mean, it's pulled us from our dimensions to this island and wants us to do sex things to get stuff to survive. So, evil god. But it's only asking us for sex things as opposed to like, making blood sacrifices or killing us outright. So there's a cool point or two?"

[chemistrysgoodbabe]

Veth pulls a "yikes" face.

"What happens if we don't do the sex stuff? Seems like that could really tip the balance here."

[flurry_of_beaus]

Beau shrugs. As far as her investigations have gone, there doesn't seem to be any kind of punishment, in the traditional sense, for not getting it on.

"You might starve," she says. "In theory. I think that was an issue for the people who first got here. But you've got the Nein to take care of you, and the island's trying to band together to make things easier on newcomers. You know, get a farm going, that kind of thing. So you can... do or not do."

[chemistrysgoodbabe]

"Or ... try? Is there try?"

She shakes her head. The yikes face isn't going anywhere. "Eesh. Okay. Could be worse, I guess."

Could be stealing everyone's memories and turning them into weird pod-people cultists!

[flurry_of_beaus]

"Yeah, it could be," Beau agrees, hedging a little. She just said as much, she knows, but it's still hard to keep consistent when her own feelings on the matter slide this way and that according to the hour.

"I dunno. I'm still looking for a god or an asshole with too much magic on his hands to punch in the face."