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

[masking]

[kaeya certainly does not need to speak, no—but quiet provides an opportunity to think? which kaeya does not want to do, in this moment, because as diluc presses closer, kaeya, too, finds memories swimming to the surface. general things, really. the simple knowledge that they were once so, so close; the more complicated knowledge that he was the one to drive a wedge between them—and it was necessary, of course. of course. better then than later.

and yet diluc's current stiffness, as though touching kaeya is an affront to his very being—it stings, in a sense, shouldn't? kaeya's had years to come to terms with the current state of them, to take responsibility for it; he is well aware that what they were, they will likely never be again, but it's—well. once, such an embrace would have felt warm; now it chills him to the bone, the sole solace being the fact that, since diluc can't catch of a glimpse of his expression, he's free to let his ever-present smirk slip as he continues watching his arm. still glowing... ah...

...ah. he hums, a quiet, thoughtful noise as he forcibly shifts his mind back to the (near) present. was the pain sharper while he was nursing his glass of wine, or is he simply imagining things? wishful thinking?]

Oh, I think silence would be worse.

[his tone is as easy as ever, but—there is a hint of seriousness? an edge, of sorts, which kaeya tells himself he does not hear as he rolls his arm back into place, loosely hooking his fingers into the fabric of diluc's coat. he could stand to straighten back up, to pull his chin from diluc's shoulder; maybe that's precisely why he remains as he is.]

Your mark?

[how is it, bud. surely they can at least talk about this.]

[pyromance]

[ Diluc has to agree, though he'll not admit Kaeya is right—silence would be unbearable, too much space in which to imagine and idealize, to get lost in fruitless nostalgia.

(Though it's too late, because once sent drifting it's difficult even for Diluc to come to a full stop, to reel himself back to the present.)

He can feel the gentle nudge of Kaeya's chin over his shoulder, tempting himself to do the same, to relieve his weight on him and with it his burdens.

He ought to be comfortable with silence, having spent the last however many years seeking and stewing in it, and still there's a solace in Kaeya's voice he doesn't dare give name to. (This is his heart's desire, after all. A reconciliation he can never fully offer him, a return to their shared past they can never enact.) Even the superficial pain can't mask the deep ache of loneliness underneath it, and he finds himself reining in a tremor.

...Kaeya asks after his tattoo, and Diluc shifts his other arm around him so he can see it. ]

Unpleasant. ...Yours?

[ The sensation is significantly more bearable now, however, and the relief makes the tension drain from his shoulders. His body slumps forward a fraction, as if sighing, the side of his head brushing against his companion's. He's still frowning darkly through it, expression inordinately sullen. ]

[masking]

[kaeya thinks, for a moment, that diluc will go for silence, just to be contrary—but diluc goes for two whole words, instead. relaxes, even, albeit to such a small degree that it's hardly worth noting. diluc growing tired of standing in one spot, perhaps, but it's still... progress. of a sort. it's something kaeya should be pleased by, on some level, and yet the feeling of diluc's hair grazing his cheek is...

...something within him pulls taut? another thing so small it's hardly worth noting, but it sends him angling away, chuckling as he glances back out over the empty street.]

Unpleasant.

[sharp pain giving way to a dull ache. yes, diluc had the right of it; this is well and truly unpleasant, for many reasons, but—well. it could be worse, couldn't it? better to deal with the known than face the unknown, even if kaeya wonders, briefly, if diluc would prefer to hug a complete stranger.]

But improving, [he adds, just barely tightening his arms about diluc's waist.] How lucky, to be in your care.

[that mildly mocking edge is back, though at whose expense?]

[pyromance]

[ The gesture could hardly be qualified as a squeeze, but for Diluc, who has gone for years without allowing such familiar touch, it may as well crush the air out of his lungs. It's a good thing Kaeya can't see his expression faltering, though perhaps he might hear the slightest change in the rhythm of his breathing, feel the stillness of his chest as he holds in an exhale for a little too long.

'How lucky...'

Yes, in a way they are fortunate, stranded on foreign shores but not entirely alone. But in every other way, Diluc can only interpret this as some sort of penance. Kaeya should've been the obstacle he'd left behind, but instead he is the one ever looming in front of him. A reminder that's more than just a flower etched over his forearm. An omen.

The captain (lightly) mocks his so-called hospitality, and there are too many ways to respond to that, fair and unfair. (Diluc has spent the past four years burning away his anger, yet somehow there's always kindling left. A flicker of it stews inside him even now, both vicious and hurt, and he lets it pass.)

And eventually, he lets go of Kaeya too, when his arm no longer stings, when he feels the pieces of his mask have been reconstructed. He levels him with a flat stare as he steps back, neatly rolling his sleeve down. ]

I'll be on my way, then.

[ There's no need for goodbyes, when it's inevitable they'll run into each other again. ]

...Try to stay out of trouble.