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

twin marks.

[restands]

[ he doesn't remember the details of showing up, but boy, he sure does love the water. the warmth, the beach. it's a lot like costa del sol or even back home in gongaga—when he tries to think of it. but he hasn't been there in a long time, still guilty about it even now. there's currently something far more important on his mind, and that's trying to figure out where he is and why. or how...?

zack's not the thinker in situations like these. he's the doer. and it's best served in finding other people to talk to, in conversing with the locals and getting a feel for what he might be up against. it's also easier than letting his thoughts settle on what had happened before he'd woken up there, on all the things he might have missed and what might have become of cloud. it's better when he gets a smile or a laugh out of a stranger, and that's what he spends a good portion of his time doing, eventually convinced to check out some of the places and what they offer. it becomes apparent that this is not a kids-friendly kind of place. it almost has a very wall market feel to it; not that he ventured into that sector much since he was always on duty.

still, even that doesn't help explain the tattoo at the inside of his wrist or why it's grown steadily hotter since he'd started chatting with everyone. zack had only looked at it once, seeing the familiar petals of a flower marked into his skin. every feeling he'd ever had about flowers and flower girls and promises had threatened to overtake him, but he waves it off in search of a place to just sit and relax. he thinks about the sauna, since he's already only in a towel anyway, but it's when he turns to check out what might be down a different hallway that he sees... well, all that hair. familiar hair, familiar shoulders. he'd gotten quite used to the sight of her from behind, always following along because he just couldn't stay away.

it's like that now despite his own hesitance—mostly because he doesn't have a good excuse about not having written or called. even then, it doesn't stop zack from pursuing her. ]

Aerith – [ it's so low, it might as well be a whisper. he clears his throat and tries again, hoping he doesn't have the wrong person. ] Hey! Aerith!

brb cryin

[florant]

( AERITH.

she hears her name. she hears her name but in that tell tale way only he could say it, under the breath as if hidden beneath his tongue—gods, surely she was losing it. it had to be the stupid tattoo on her arm, releasing her grasp and watching as the blood beneath her flesh swarmed back to the area, ink still glaring and sleek—new, and far from temporary, it appeared. suddenly the idea of being shut into that sauna sounds hellish, far too confined when chest seems to fill with tightening vines. where were her clothes? where was she? where was everyone?

petite fingers lift up to her temple, squeezing her eyes shut as if to will the delusions away, and almost as if a cue of reassurance, her name echos through the beige-stone hall again, and she stops. entirely stops, and when she spins to face the sound, tendrils of hair spilling down to back dimples hidden by the towel, she's stunned to a dizzying silence.

it can't be him. it can't be. too long it's been since she'd heard from him, since he'd left, and so she dwindles it down to the only possible option: the island. having it's way with her, tumbling her onto that sand only to pamper her, slap a bracelet on her wrist and leave her to put the pieces together. first the beach, the machines, the tattoo—she wants to cry, run, something—but all she can manage is a shuddering breath, eyes flitting between each of his in a swell of disbelief. )

Zack? ( how long had it been since she'd said his name? it still feels familiar. like muscle memory. a step forward, hiss drawn between her teeth as that heat sears again, attention stolen just briefly to the mark on her arm, a pained expression meeting his once again. she has to remember to keep her towel up, not even tucked in place, and as desperately as part of her yearns to collapse into him, she's frozen in place. )

How are yo—is it really you?