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TDM 010: PARTNER UP, PARTNER
| TDM 010: PARTNER UP, PARTNER |
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” barracks. Your inventory will be found a day later, wrapped up haphazardly and delivered to each person's makeshift home. I. Laid Bare Basics There is a new addition to the scenery at the beach, and everyone is welcome! Especially new arrivals, who will be ushered to the recently-established Laid Bare Spa, where (provided they don't slip away from the bots' helpful grasp) their uncomfortably wet, sandy clothing will be stripped away and they will be lovingly pampered by the cold metal hands of the resident robots. Long-time Islanders and newbies alike are welcome to enjoy such amenities as hot and cold baths, sauna rooms, scrub-downs, thorough whippings with birch brooms, skin treatments, massage and energy work, and more! All rooms are thoughtfully decorated with tasteful murals of naked and disrobing bodies. Maybe you'll see someone you recognize?! (Maybe you'll see... you?) Islanders who happen to find their clothing mysteriously missing are welcome to borrow a Laid Bare branded towel to cover up with on their way home. II. Tattoo to You, Too The Augur understands that sometimes, it's difficult to find a partner to indulge you in those favorite Auspicious Acts - especially for new arrivals, but surely even long-time residents could benefit from a little assistance now and then. That is why ever-benevolent entity has gifted Her precious Islanders with tattoos which feature their most secret, urgent, and/or shameful of desires! (Even if that desire is to simply complete a Bingo.) The tattoo may be a picture or a word, and it can appear anywhere on the body. At first it is pleasantly warm to the touch, like a soft glow of light on your skin. It soon becomes apparent - through either robot advice or a notification on your communication device - that your task is to find a match for your tattoo and complete the depicted act with that person. The longer one goes without completing the act, the more the tattoo seems to heat up, until it feels like it is burning into your skin. Take too long, and the tattoo may become permanent. Otherwise, the tattoo will fade within hours of completing the Auspicious Act. [ For TDMers: feel free to select any favorite kink for this prompt! If you complete a kink that doesn't appear on your card, you may switch one square for the completed kink. For current players: by participating on (tagging into) this TDM, you may switch one kink into your card (it must be the kink in the toplevel prompt you responded to). ] III. Creepy Crawly Caterpillar Crawl Are you on the hunt for credits? Then have the robots got a task for you! The 'bots of the Nameless Island are recruiting Islanders to go bug collecting in the caves, crevices, and hollowed-out logs of the wilderness. The quarry? The (shudder - literally, the robots will shudder) doom-summoning harbinger bug. They describe these creepy creatures as fat, fuzzy, and rainbow-colored, with long, fluffy antennae that look like rabbit's ears. The robots describe these critters as so dangerous that Islanders should only hunt them in pairs. Should your team return successful, you both will be rewarded very handsomely for every caterpillar caught! The bugs are typically very docile and seem to enjoy soft pets, judging by the cooing and squeaking noises they make (especially to scritches behind their "ears"). Poke or disturb them however, and they may bite! Body parts bitten by angry caterpillars will swell up cartoonishly, and can only be treated by having someone else suck the venom out. Good thing you're traveling with a partner! The 'bots strongly recommend against keeping these little buggies as pets, but they're not your dad. N A V I G A T I O N |
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He folded his hands behind his back and mindfully gave Vax space. "I can find somewhere else if you'd rather," he offered. "There seem to be plenty of places around here."
There were buildings in the distance. Not the best condition but well, a roof over his head was more important. He had started with nothing, after all. This was just another chance to be glorious and be brilliant and find a better place to stay.
"Or we could go through a walk. Show me around town?" Anything to hopefully put Vax at ease. Unless this was a trick then Shaun would gleefully destroy this imitation.
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vax keeps his eyes anywhere but on the sorcerer, his wings stretching and folding from his cloak in all manner of ways, a display of his stress and irritability. but what's new. shaun has seen vax'ildan at his worst and at his best, and he wishes he could be more supportive right now. he knows this is new and confusing and hard for him, and yet...
"let's get you into something dry. i don't know if my clothes will fit you, but. i have. something."
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"Unless you have something very loose I can wrap around myself I doubt it'll fit well. But I only need to wear it while my robes dry out," he says with a little shrug.
Vax is considerably slimmer than he is. It's not easy for him to wear Vax's clothes though it is easier the other way around. Since Vax doesn't seem inclined to talk much he contents himself with looking around, trying to get a feel for the place.
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so he's going to try.
"so," he starts, "this is uh, the island. it doesn't have a name. the automatons, they make stuff for us, but we have to earn it." he decides to bridge the gap he's dug by reaching for shaun's hand, guiding it to vax's wrist where he taps twice, and reveals his card.
"if i do these things, i get rewarded for them. a home. clothes. food. and i don't know how i got here, but i met a bunch of people from wildemount, and ..." he trails off, not really sure where to go from there. a lot has happened, and shaun has been occupying his thoughts for the majority of his time here. what is he supposed to do now?
"your turn. i don't want to talk about me anymore."
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As Shaun reads the card his eyebrows rise. It's hard to miss the fact they're all sexual acts. Sex in exchange for basic needs seems very... manipulative. He also wonders why the ruling forces of the island would insist on such a thing. There's power in sexual energy, is that what they're after?
A mystery for another time. "Ah, some people from home. Close to home. Would you introduce me to them?"
He slowly draws his hand away since it seemed that Vax is closing in on himself again. "I cast dimension door and instead of arriving in my cellar like I wanted I was dropped into the ocean. Then you found me." There's a real fondness to the way he says the last part. He is glad Vax found him. How could he not be?
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"yeah, i'll.. have to. i live with them, now. they're really nice," he's quick to add, "and really welcoming. just. different than vox machina."
shaun tells his story and vax just listens, and by the time he's smiling, telling vax that he found him, he feels worse than ever. shaun was so excited to see him, and vax treated him badly, as usual.
vax'ildan comes to an abrupt stop in the sand as his wings finally fold, and vanish into the cloak. "it's been so long, shaun."
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"No one is like Vox Machina," Shaun says with even more fondness and amusement. Oh, they really are his dear friends.
The statement makes him raise an eyebrow. "Perhaps for you. I saw you just recently at your sister's wedding." Where he had been reassured Vax loved him. Those words meant more to him than any of Vox Machina could possibly know. Where he saw his long lost love cloaked in death and yet still the prettiest thing Shaun had ever seen.
His smile is soft. "But you're right. We hadn't talked much before that."
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"shaun," he breathes, exhaling his tension in a deep breath, "shaun, i'm sorry. i wasn't expecting to see you. i've changed a lot, and i'm sure you have too. i was hoping you'd never come to a place like this. it isn't fair to you."
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He stumbles back a step as Vax's slight weight crashes into him. There's the welcome he was expecting, just a bit delayed it seemed. Shaun smiles softly and wraps his arms around Vax.
He hugged him tightly and pressed a gentle kiss to the side of his head. "I do like to make a dramatic entrance, you know. That hasn't changed. I'm sure with you here nothing terrible will happen to me."
Never mind the siege of Emon and what happened there. That's a different time and place.
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when vax finally pulls away, those small hands hold shaun's for another moment or two. the urge to kiss him is powerful, just as strong as it's always been, but like every moment before, he resists. the time isn't right. this isn't right. shaun shouldn't even be here.
so vax tears his eyes away and keeps walking, taking shaun down the beach, closer and closer to the house he and the others are calling home.
"until you can... earn your own room, you can sleep in mine. it's big enough, and i'm. i don't want you sharing space with a stranger."
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He lets him go as soon as his darling bird also starts to draw away. Once again, Vax seems to need his space. Such a temperamental thing. That hasn't changed since they last met.
"You don't want to help me earn my own place?" his tone is teasing in a terribly friendly way. Not to brag but Shaun is certain he could earn a room fairly quickly. A little flirtation could go a far way.
"Thank you, Vax, I do appreciate your help."
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"no."
it's the only thing he's been thinking about since he arrived.
"not like this, shaun. if you and i have." why is this so hard. "have sex. i want it to be because we want to. not because we have to to survive." his voice has dropped to just above a whisper when he admits his truth. "we haven't even-- we haven't had sex before. why should our first time be because the robots say so? that's stupid."
vax returns to walking, leading shaun through trees and walkways until they approach a tall, wide home that's surrounded on both sides by dilapidated, abandoned buildings. a smaller offshoot, still connected to the home, is where vax leads shaun, stopping outside the door.
"i don't think anyone's home. but this is it."
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Shaun realizes his mistake the moment Vax explains his reasoning. No, they had never gotten that far in their relationship before Vax moved on even though Shaun had wished it. Oh, how he wished it.
"I'm sorry," he says softly and very sincerely. "That was unthinking and unkind of me. You're very right. I hope you can forgive me for being so glib."
That's not to say he wouldn't have sex with Vax the moment he asked. That was how their relationship had always moved, at Vax's pace. Shaun would continue to respect that, no matter how much he loved the other man.
The house seems much nicer than the homes that surrounded it. Yes, it's little but it's nice. "It's lovely."