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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 starts to say that he would never accept anything else, but... he's found comfort in the arms of other men and women since his arrival to the island, so he decides to keep his mouth shut on that one. he keeps his cheek pressed into shaun's shoulder, trying hard not to focus on that beautiful skin underneath him. he's wanted shaun like this for so long, and here he is, naked and clean and all smiles. he could ask shaun to take him to bed, and he would.
his blood runs cold at the thought.
"i am happy," he admits, turning his head up to shaun with a small smile that distracts from the nagging thoughts in the back of his mind. "i've been given a second shot at a life, and it's... been a lot to take in. i'm just glad you're here now."
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The best moments with Vax in his memory are ones like these where they would sit together or walk and simply talk. Vax would tell him of his adventures, his friends, his sister, and Shaun would talk about his work, what was happening in Emon, and sometimes they touch on heavier things.
The warmth that always blooms in his heart around Vax is back warming his gaze and softening his smile. "I'm glad to be here as well even though in the back of my mind I am terrified of what will happen to my business and, well, I'm worried there's something wrong with my magic."
Things he would only confess to Vax.
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he hears the concern in shaun's voice when he mentions his magic, so vax looks up to him, trying to catch his eye. "shaun," he says, his tone serious, "that's.. that's a big deal."
without thinking, or realizing, vax's hand trails down to shaun's chest, pressing against his skin to reassure him that he's there, and right now, he isn't going anywhere. he wants to be here for shaun, if he can. he wants to try. "are you alright? can i help?"
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He holds out a hand and casts a very simple prestidigitation. It works flawlessly. Magenta and gold sparks glitter down from his fingertips into the water. "Cantrips I have no problems with. But the higher level spells..."
Flawlessly he fast dimension door again but nothing happens. The magic rises up from within but falls immediately short. The spell does not cast. "They fail me... I don't know why."
And it scares him. Vax would be able to hear that in his voice and here in privacy of the bath Shaun could admit that to himself as well.
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"i... i think it's part of the, uh, the augur's effect on this island. i think you're gonna have to earn them back."
he hates saying it, because he knows shaun would stop at nothing to get his spells back, and that very thought sets his soul on fire. the thought of shaun being with anyone else is not, in the slightest, what he wants to know about. and he'll have all the evidence of it in front of his eyes when it finally happens, won't he? when shaun can cast again, when shaun has somewhere to go that isn't with vax'ildan. he'll know.
fuck.
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And to earn it back with sex just to feed whatever power used to rule this place. Shaun almost wants to scream from the unfairness of it all. It held hostage the one thing it knew he would stop at nothing to get back.
He groans softly, sinks deeper under the water, and lays his head back against the edge staring up at the ceiling. "You are absolutely the best thing about this island, darling. I might have gone mad without you here to anchor me."
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vax leaves a kiss to shaun's forehead, giving him a reassuring smile.
"now you know how i've felt. i've made friends, but... it's not the same as you, or my sister. or. anyone else." he avoids keyleth's name, but moves on quickly. "but i'm here now, and so are you. and i'm not dead, at least not here, so."
so, what? vax lingers above shaun, and he realizes too late that they're sharing the same breaths. they sit so close to each other that vax could just lean down, kiss those perfect lips, help him relax the only way he knows how. he doesn't move down to meet him, but he doesn't pull away either, trapped in his beautiful hair spread out behind him, in those dark eyes, in those full lips he could kiss over and over again.
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The only one missing... was Vax.
He reaches up and gently trails his knuckles against Vax's cheek. Shaun would figure something out to regain his powers. He trusted he'd make friends like Vax had. After all, who could resist his charm? But when he needed someone to truly talk to Vax would be there.
"Here I am moping about lost magic when I should be celebrating. You're alive. If I had a bottle of champagne I would pop it and toast to your revival." He was truly happy for that.
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before he can expand on that, shaun is touching his cheek, and vax's eyes flutter closed in defeat. he's always got vax wrapped around his finger, even now. even after all of this time.
"i wouldn't call it revival," he replies, smiling, his eyes still closed. "i left the wedding with every intention of returning to eternal slumber and here i am, having sex on an island powered by it." his voice sounds deadpan, unamused, annoyed. "i'd much rather be back in tal'dorei, if i'm going to be forced to revive. i made a deal, and right now i'm not keeping up my end of it."
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"I don't think the Raven Queen will blame you for getting kidnapped," Shaun muses as he lets his hand drift just a little down Vax's neck before he slowly pulls his hand away lest he be tempted to touch more.
Places he's only dreamed of touching.
"You didn't choose to come here to escape the deal you made. She's not unreasonable." Even if Shaun never quite warmed up to the Goddess. He was more a Moonweaver man himself.
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he sighs when shaun pulls his hand away. that isn't what vax'ildan was hoping for, so he reaches down for his hand and pulls it back up again, resting his fingertips where they had been on his neck.
"shaun."
they're never going to get anywhere if they keep beating around the bush like this.
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They had always loved each other. Even when Vax chose Keyleth. It was their way to love and care about each other but never be more than close friends. That would always be enough for Shaun even if the want of him never truly went away.
He can't imagine what Vax wants to say though. He had been so difficult to read since Shaun walked out of the ocean. Once upon a time, Shaun could have read him like a book.
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“shaun...”
how can he keep pretending like he doesn’t feel the same anymore? even after keyleth, he still loved shaun, and he knew he always would. even now.
especially now.
“can i kiss you?”
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He doesn't know why Vax asks. It's odd but if that's what Vax needs to feel comfortable that's fine. Shaun has always kept their relationship at Vax's pace.
Resisting the temptation for more would be tricky. Naked in a bath with the man he cares for gave Shaun ideas of what else they could do. Yet, so far, Vax has made it rather clear their relationship isn't changing.
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he keeps it chaste, parting without opening his mouth into the kiss. as much as he wants to, he understands the temptation thing-- it'd probably just be a little much, right now.
"was that okay?"
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He sighs softly when Vax draws away and runs his hand along his arm. "Lovely, my little bird."
Shaun sits up a little more in the water. No use moping, it's unseemly for him. He can fret and worry about his struggling magic later when he's not in good company.