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

[pyromance]

[ i would risk it all for tifa's bathwater While Tifa makes herself presentable, Diluc unceremoniously shrugs on his own clothes on the opposite side of the curtain, simultaneously guarding her privacy in case anyone decides to disturb her while she dresses. It's a good thing he's learned to dress quickly and efficiently—he barely manages to pull his vest over his head when he hears the rustle of the curtain parting behind him.

Being caught putting on clothes shouldn't be half as embarrassing as being seen in only a towel, and yet he feels another pang of unease, and promptly tugs the rest of his top over his midriff. (It's a bit rumpled, and his tie is undone. By his standards, he must look like a slovenly misfit.)

As for Tifa... He catches himself staring at her (yet again), and forces himself to blink away as quickly as he can manage, without drawing attention to the fact that he is doing so. (Her outfit is exactly nothing like he'd imagined, hugging her generous figure and accentuating her toned physique.)

...Has his brain been steamed for too long? This is ridiculous. His gaze drifts back to her face, and stubbornly stays there when she addresses him. (Focus, Diluc.)

Right. His jacket. ] You really needn't go so far, you know. But if you insist, I'll leave it in your care.

[ He won't try to argue with her sensibilities—if anything he appreciates the courtesy. Just because they've both been stranded on this lawless rock doesn't mean they should act uncivilized!!

As for the bar, ] ...I believe I know the one.

[ He pauses, because here the proper thing to do would be to offer to escort her back home (who knows what other island dangers are out there), but also he doesn't want to insinuate she isn't able to take care of herself, when it's obvious that she is. ]

If you have need of me before then, we can use these devices to get in touch.

[ He gestures to his bracelet, not at all realizing that his earnest offer could be easily interpreted as a booty call. ]

[omnistriker]

[ Ah yes, the devices. She keeps forgetting the bracelet is for communication, rendering her cell phone all but defunct. It's just another new fact she'll have to adjust herself towards, though she's collecting more information here than she knows what to do -and nothing really telling her anything about how she'd be able to get home again.

The sinking feeling she'd harbored upon her arrival on this island is back, but she's doing her best to ignore it. Focusing on better things. Drinks with a kind and handsome stranger. That's something more amenable than every other new event erupting around them, and Tifa could use a bit of a distraction at the moment. Anything to avoid thinking about all the familiar faces she's already starting to miss. ]

Good. I'll set up a meeting then, and you better answer. Don't go off the grid on me without warning.

[ She's had enough grief and stress trying to contact Cloud on multiple occasions. It'd be nice if she knew she wasn't sending messages out to the void more often. ]

Until then, will you be all right? Is there someone waiting for you?

[ She's trying not to make her prying too obvious, but she would feel awkward if she was inviting a married man out to drink. Not that she had anything but friendly intentions-!! But it might not seem that way to his partner, and she doesn't want to land him in trouble.

Although, if he were single... -nope, she's not going there. She hasn't given herself any leeway to hope in a long time, and she's not going to start now. They're veritable strangers on an island in another dimension. That's already a complicated start. Neither of them know when or if they'll return, and Tifa hasn't even given much thought to the A5 card of the super computer's demands. It's easier to simply pretend this is just a small vacation. That she'll eventually wake up tomorrow and be back inside the truck, trying to escape death. ]

[pyromance]

[ While Diluc may also be a broody warrior with an oversized sword and incredibly dry sense of humor, he is at least a public figure where he comes from, someone used to handling constant correspondences and making himself available in both a professional and personal capacity.

...He has no idea what a "grid" is, probably, given that Teyvat still runs on snailmail, but the gist of the Tifa's firm expectations are loud and clear. He appreciates her efficient and cordial candidness, and it shows through with another small smile. ]

I wouldn't dream of it.

[ The friendly attraction is mutual, even if Diluc has the propensity to hold himself from meaningful relationships with a ten-foot pole. But in this case... it couldn't hurt, could it? If he's to be stranded here for an indefinite period of time, then it would be prudent to seek pleasant company.

Also, he's so used to being identified as Mondstadt's Richest Bachelor that he forgets (again) his relationship status isn't common knowledge here. He blinks for a moment, not quite catching the full meaning of her words. ]

There isn't. I arrived here alone. Yourself?

[ (Arrived alone... with a metric tonne of baggage he chooses not to acknowledge... But at least it means he isn't about to inflict said baggage on an innocent bystander...)

Anyway, point is, he doesn't have anything that would get in the way of a round of drinks. ]

[omnistriker]

[ Who didn't come here with an overwhelming amount of metaphorical baggage? Tifa isn't even going to acknowledge hers in a public space, which is why she shakes her head, but the worry might still worm its way onto her features against her better wishes. Why had she woken up here alone when she'd been surrounded by the others just before opening her eyes on the island? ]

Somehow, they managed to only grab me. I'm not sure why, to be honest.

[ She doesn't think she's particularly fit for the requested tasks, considering what little experience she has in that area. Dating while running a bar and being an eco-terrorist is a tall order she's never given herself opportunity to fill, let alone even thinking about casual one-night stands. ]

I'd like to think it may have been random, but maybe...

[ Maybe it's a punishment for the things she'd done to get Jessie and the others killed. The plate in Sector 7- she knows she's far from innocent for that too, and this is probably what she deserves. But she's trying desperately not to let that thought sink in any further either. ]

I'm probably over-thinking it. I'll shoot you a message then. Do you have an account yet?

[ Does he even know what an account is? It's difficult to really place is acuity with technology, and the outfit doesn't tell her a lot about his world and time period. ]