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

RIP fefe

[backstreetbard]

Of course, Dorothea isn't actually looking at him at this juncture. In fact, she can't see him at all. She's neck-deep in the mud now; a robot is busy applying some kind of cream mask to her face and laying cucumber slices over her closed eyes. She doesn't seem bothered in the slightest.

"Not interested? In the mud, or... Oh! You mean you aren't interested in me because I'm a vapid gold-digger? Isn't that right? Well, don't worry your pretty little head about it for even one second, Felix. You're easy enough on the eyes, but even the Goddess herself couldn't persuade me to marry a man that shushes me like an animal or calls me a nuisance." That's right, she hasn't forgotten that. "I just wasn't going to get into the mud wearing a robe. That kind of defeats the purpose, don't you think?"

Her voice is pleasant enough, as if they were discussing the weather, or the best way to care for your weapons, but she obviously doesn't intend to play nice if he's going to yell at her.

"Now, you were the one who followed me in here saying you wanted to talk even after I told you I was going to be getting into a bath, so either sit down and talk or leave."

Re: RIP fefe

[swordthot]

Oh. Right. The words are certainly cutting, and he's not sure what's worse. Getting laid into like that or the fact that Dorothea is totally naked five feet away from him. He did say those things, though. Not that he was the kind or person to mince words when he assumed he was right. He realizes though, this does put him at her mercy a little.

He keeps a hand over his eyes and edges his way over to the stool at the opposite wall.

"Okay..." He does sound quite a bit more humbled, although really it isn't hard right now, given the state he's in. "So.. you uh. Have been here for some time then, I take it?" Goddess this is awkward. Maybe he should just leave her be... his need for answers keeps him there though, looking pointedly away. "You're just so casual about this. You're not bothered at all? Being held against your will?"

[backstreetbard]

It's honestly incredibly satisfying to hear the change in Felix's tone, especially since she's unable to see his expression. Funny how a level playing field will do that. Or... no, she supposes she does have the advantage for the moment, given she's been here long enough to adjust slightly.

"Not as long as you might think. I've been here... not quite a moon. There are some who've been here a good deal longer." She sighs, drumming her fingers on the rim of the tub. "And it's not so bad here. Better than fighting in a war where you get to watch your friends die for no reason. There are no causes here to fight or kill for. Food and shelter are easy enough to find; no one is going to starve to death in the streets. And they seem to have some advanced kinds of medicine, so illness isn't a concern. People can do what they want without being judged for it. Crest or no crest, title or no title, nobody gives a damn."

As strange as this place can be, it's leaps and bounds better than Fodlan, if she were to speak frankly, but she can hardly expect a person like Felix to understand how she feels. He's a noble with a crest, after all.

"Sure, we've been kidnapped, but plenty of people have tried to kidnap me before. This is by far the least insidious thing any of my kidnappers ever planned to do with me. Of course I'm bothered they didn't ask, but I'm here now, so I'm going to make the best of it. I'd recommend you consider that as well."

[swordthot]

Felix busies himself with scooting the stool around to face away from her, regaining his composure a little. He doesn't respond right away, it's clear, even without seeing the expression on his face, that he's giving it some thought.

"That's not too bad a thought, actually." Really, the only thing wrong with this place, truly wrong, when he considers those factors, would be that Sylvain isn't here. He would have appreciated the inherent nature of things here sure, but more so, the idea of being free of the expectations of governance and nobility and all of that utterly stupid drivel that Felix only tolerated. He wasn't foolish enough to not realize the reasons behind Sylvain's acting out. Even if he hated it.

"Maybe you're not as frivolous as I thought." Felix thinks better of adding anything to that for the moment before he speaks again. "So really the only downside is that not everyone is here to enjoy the peace-" Oh right, "And the whole. Creepy perverted stuff."