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

spa

[pawper]

[Blue eyes, untidy dark hair...a passing glance to see who else was already occupying this particular hot bath turns into a double take, wondering if she'd caught a distorted glimpse of her own reflection. Stupidity, of course, pure nonsense—but still preferable to thinking, even for a moment, that her little brother might have wound up here.]

Oh, sorry. [A small smile to contrast his sulking, the expression less embarrassed than it would be if she was stuck in a towel instead of a tacky aloha shirt and breezy waist pants. Barefoot, she walks up to the edge of the bath and sits down, tugging up those pants so as to dip her long legs into the hot water.] Have you been in here long?

[Weirdly enough, she's brought snacks: bagged chocolates in one hand, bottled tea in the other. Because on the rare occasions that Lys allowed herself a luxurious soak, she liked to eat while she did it. Liked to eat while she was doing anything, really.]

[tekkadan]

[ Mikazuki is generally less hackles up around younger girls, likely due to Atra's influence. She'd scold him if he was too mean for no reason, so it's easy for him to fall into neutrality when she speaks to him.

He is sitting in the water naked, obscured by the way he's sitting with his knees curled and his limp arm resting in his lap. He shakes his head at her question. He'd only been in for a short while. ]

They dragged me in here... I decided to stay for a little bit.

[pawper]

[She'd appreciate being thought of as younger than she is—with her height, usually the opposite happens. Hiking up her pant legs a little more, she nods as she listens, surprised by none of it.]

Yeah, that sounds like them. [A sympathetic glance that politely avoids lingering for too long, taking in his face and then flickering back down to her snacks. The baggie is opened; one, then two pieces of chocolate popped into her mouth.] I guess you're new, then? Just walked out of the ocean?

["Guess" really is the operant word. The nameless island has expanded so much since her own arrival that sometimes it feels unrecognizable, full of new and strange faces.]

[tekkadan]

[ So they just behave this way all the time, huh? He isn't surprised. He doesn't understand a lot about robots, but he does realize they all seem to function similarly: That is, they're very pushy and demanding. Annoying. ]

Yeah. I just got here today.

[pawper]

[Another nod as she sips at her bottled tea, carefully munching another piece of chocolate. Then she zips the baggie closed and tosses the rest at him to share, expertly lobbing it to land on the edge of the bath instead of in the water.]

And I guess you haven't had the chance to find somewhere to stay, right? 'Cause I can help with that, if you want. I've been here for months.