TDM 010: PARTNER UP, PARTNER

[erkumods]

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

Comments

[halforc]

Lips twitching to stay in a line and slightly failing, he hums a noncommittal agreement. The cucumber slices both come off as he eyes the newcomer making the most of the hot water like his skin might be itching right off. Fjord knows the feeling all too well.

"Fjord of the Mighty Nein, pleasure's all mine."

Oop, there the human goes underwater. Fjord tilts his legs to one side, just. Because. Sharing a nude spa is all well and good these days but he misses the company of his friends to lessen any lingering awkwardness he feels (usually by exacerbating it). When the human pops back up, he curiously asks,

"Is that a Tal'dorei accent?"

Having heard similar a lot more frequently lately.

[gloriouslygood]

"It's Marquesian with a touch of Tal'dorei." Shaun combs both hands through his hair, encountering the occasional tangle that slows him down. Soap, he absolutely needs soap and conditioner for this mess. "I've lived in Emon most of my adult life."

The man looks half-orc but Shaun didn't want to assume. That's rude. Just because someone has green skin didn't mean they were an orc. All sorts of creatures could have them. And tusks. And lovely amber eyes.

"And where are you from? Since you're familiar with my adopted home." He moves to the edge of the bath, completely unashamed of his nudity.

[halforc]

"Emon ..."

He gestures to the little basket of haircare and bathing goodies on the side of the spa, already used up. Fjord unravels the towel on his head, letting it drape around his shoulders as he looks Gilmore over.

"Wildemount. Molly and I have been on this island the longest, our house's most recent arrival was another person from Tal'dorei, the first from the other continent actually. It seems your home is being targeted by the Augur now."

[gloriouslygood]

"Ah, Wildemount. I've heard it's a lovely place." Shaun wanted to expand his business in that direction but there was just so much rebuilding after Thordak he had to focus elsewhere. A shame that.

He searches through the little basket and examines all the products closely. Shaun even takes the time to sniff them and see what scents they have. He picks out the products he likes and steps back into the water to begin cleaning his hair.

"Yes, I met Vax on the beach." And that meeting had been... well, rough to say the least. Shaun aches a little thinking of it but his smile never waivers. "It's good to see him again."

[halforc]

"You know Vax?"

His surprise piques, visibly resettling as Fjord does so against the bath.

"I suppose that makes sense, the Augur like to drag in familiar faces." But more importantly, "How do you know Vax?"

[gloriouslygood]

"Yes, we're quite good friends." His smile softens into something that speaks of more than friendship. "I was patron to his adventuring group, Vox Machina, for many years. We... we were very close."

And there's a distance now that Shaun doesn't understand at all. His last memories of Vax, before the wedding, were good. Fond. They were still friends at the very least and yet now Vax treats him like some sort of stranger.

Shaun shakes his head to clear the memories of the past and all those what-ifs that plagued him. He focuses on combing shampoo through his hair with his fingers. "I'm an enchanter, you see, and they needed quite a few healing potions back in the day."

[halforc]

We were very close. Why does he have to remind himself that it's fine if Vax is close to others? Fjord and Vax's jaunt in the hotel mixed him up a bit, left him a little more possessive than he has any right to be and he knows that, intellectually. The part of him that bred Vax, however, absolutely refuses to listen to reason and he has to clear his throat to stymie a growl.

What the fuck is wrong with him?

Blinking for a moment as he clears the odd fuzz from his head, he hitches a smile back up.

"When you say patron ... ?"

[gloriouslygood]

Shaun chuckles and shakes his head. "Vax and I were never lovers. I wasn't that sort of patron. I provided them goods with a discount and they brought me interesting magical items they found."

No, they'd never gotten to be lovers. A few kisses, lots of incredible conversations, and flirtations but things had never gotten that far. Maybe they would have had things played out differently.

"It was a business arraignment." Though what he and Vax had was very, intensely personal. "I'm glad he's made friends here."

[halforc]

He feels like an absolute shit for being pleased when Gilmore says he and Vax were never lovers, especially given the tellingly expressive way he dismisses it. Shit.

In an effort to overcome his own jackassery, Fjord sits up.

"If you're a friend of Vax's you should stay at the Neinhaus, the wizards recently earned an extension and it's less packed on their half of the building. I'm sure they wouldn't mind, you being a fancy enchanter and all." His lips twitch as he thinks of Essek. "Maybe you can teach them a thing or two."

[gloriouslygood]

"Vax already extended an invitation but I'm glad to have another." He washes the shampoo from his hair and carefully combed out the tangles with his fingers. Oh, it's such a pain having such long, luxurious locks. "I believe I will stay with you all. You seem such a fascinating bunch."

As he picks up some oil to work through the stands he looks over Fjord. "Tell me more of yourself, Fjord. About your friends. I'd love to hear more about them."

And edge away from the complicated issue of Vax. Shaun has no answers for it because he doesn't understand what's going on with Vax right now.

[halforc]

A nod finalises the offer; Fjord is certain the wizards will eject excited heart-shaped light globules from their eyes when they meet this new enchanter.

"Oh, ah. We are the Mighty Nein, as in the Zemnian word, not the number. It's weird, I know."

What else? He's so bad at describing what they do.

"We've been travelling together for over a year, getting into scrapes and ... mischief. You know." With a general handwave, meh. "Dragons and undead, monsters ..."

[gloriouslygood]

Most likely Shaun will adore the other wizards as well. He enjoys few things quite as much as talking about magic and discussing the power that flows through his veins.

"Ah, you're adventurers!" Shaun laughs warmly. "I love adventurers, very steady business and the best stories."

Though, clearly, Fjord is not storyteller. It seems like he's flummoxed by the idea of talking about himself and his friends. "Did you know, I fought a dragon once. It almost killed me but we killed it first."

There's a scar on Shaun's side from the encounter.

[halforc]

"Really? What colour?"

That's certainly interesting, he wonders if it was the same dragon Vax briefly mentioned fighting.

"I fought a blue one and a white one, both of which ... totally perished, obviously."

He did not run away from both. No, sir.

[gloriouslygood]

"Red. Thordak was his name. He utterly destroyed the city, my shop, and claimed it as his lair." There's still some anger in his voice. That bastard had cost Shaun everything, almost his life. That sort of anger didn't fade even after years. "I fought along side Vox Machina and others to kill him. It taught me a very important lesson. I can kill a dragon but I'd rather not fight one again."

Shaun is clearly a lover and not a fighter. He's a businessman. The adventuring business is for other people. He'll keep them supplied but will only fight when push comes to shove.

"At one point, Vax was on his head." He shakes his head, fondly amused and yet, that had been terrifying at the time.

[halforc]

"A red dragon, holy shit. Good work! Wow."

His grin lights up at the mention of a certain halfelf.

"He never told me that, that's incredible! I'm, of course, sorry for everything that was lost and the ... city."

[gloriouslygood]

Fjord's fondness for Vax is obvious and endearing. Of course, Vax has made good friends in his short time here. The only person who couldn't see his own appeal was Vax himself.

Such a strange one, his darling bird.

"Oh, I have a million stories about Vax that he'd probably never tell himself." Shaun twists his hair to work the oil in the stands. Now it would be wavy instead of insanely curly and glossy black. Just how Shaun liked it.

"And his whole group of friends. I'm happy to tell them." He smirks, a bit of mischief in his eyes.

[halforc]

"That would be ..."

He really ought to curb his own interest for a number of reasons, not only Gilmore's obvious investment in their mutual friend.

"That would be wonderful, perhaps you could save those stories for my friends to hear too. I know my boyfriend would love a good story, especially if it's about someone he can tease."

[gloriouslygood]

That little word made Shaun pause a moment. Boyfriend? Fjord was in a committed relationship on an island that encouraged people to have sex for benefits? That... gave him a lot of hope, actually, strangely.

Maybe this is the second chance he's wanted for him and Vax.

But he shouldn't get ahead of himself. That would be madness and he has so much to adjust to.

"Well, once we're both done here why don't you bring me home and introduce me to everyone I haven't met? Like the most lovely stray kitten." He winks at the other man.

[halforc]

That makes him laugh, tossing his head back.

"Why do I feel like he wouldn't want you to call him that to his face?"

[gloriouslygood]

"What? Call Vax a stray kitten?" Shaun raises an eyebrow at Fjord, rather amused. "No, I meant myself. I'm the stray wandering into your home."

Vax was not a kitten. He was full of claws and power and brilliance. Shaun would like to call him a kitten and other such names but well, they weren't there. And depending on Vax's temperament, they might never be.

It's a lovely mess he's landed in.

[halforc]

" ... Right! Of course. Yes."

Trying to steamroll any notion of him attributing petnames to Vax, he starts to rinse out his hair and straightens up, reaching for a fresh towel. Moving on!

"It's easy to find our house, it's a white building surrounded by run down ones and the Mighty Nein crest is beside the front door. Hard to miss! Do you think you'll be able to find your way there if I head out? Ten kore minutes and I'll be a prune."

[gloriouslygood]

Ah, so Fjord is pretty fond of Vax. Well, Shaun can't blame him. There's a little surge of jealousy but he's lived with the feeling for years watching Keyleth and Vax. It's never poisoned him. It's to be expected in this world of sex as currency.

Vax got his own place somehow.

"Yes, of course. I'll be able to handle myself. I may be new but I'm a very quick learner." Since Fjord is getting up to leave, Shaun lets himself sink into the water and soak. Might as well make the best of this spa.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Fjord."

[halforc]

Towel on, he turns back to Gilmore.

"I'll make sure Caduceus sets another place at the dinner table for you, when you find your way to us. Have a nice soak, Gilmore."

With a polite nod, Fjord leaves the man to his relaxing. Lots of questions for Vax bubble up in the back of his mind.