TDM 012: SLINGING IN THE RAIN

[erkumods]

TDM 012: SLINGING IN THE RAIN

00. Arrival 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. If you don’t manage to get away from them quickly enough, they may even usher you toward the Laid Bare Spa, where new arrivals will be offered free massages, a sauna, hairstyling, and their clothing may come up permanently missing. But you will be given a complimentary towel to leave with if needed! Feel free to explore the Island, though there isn’t much to see beyond what arrivals before you have helped to rebuild. 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 place to live in the now, whether a rundown apartment in the City, a tent on the beach, a bed in the barracks, or your own space at the House of Worship. Your inventory will be found a day later, wrapped up haphazardly and delivered to each person's makeshift home. ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● I. THUNDERBOLTS AND LIGHTNING Erku's new arrivals may not be the only residents left dripping wet. Although the weather on the Island is almost always dreary, clouds begin to multiply and darken over the days before that first arrival, turning ominous shades of purple and blue which may look familiar to Islanders who have been around since Erku's beginnings. Perhaps robots will advise Islanders to fortify their shelters and get ready to accept refugees, and they hope their charges take the warnings to heart! When the rain finally falls, it is a non-stop torrent. Even though the weather is warm, the rain itself chills to the bone. Shacks and beach tents won't stand up to the downpour for long, and the shabby apartments may leak and flood. New arrivals who aren't handy enough to make quick repairs may be forced to take shelter in the homes of current Island residents, or else huddle together in the 12 rooms of the barracks for the full week that rain falls on the Island. Cats, dogs, and little dragons will also be begging Islanders for a warm place to stay! Beware of lightning strikes, too, because the skies rumble with thunder throughout the storm. Buildings and residences are frequently damaged by strikes. They say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and that's very true on Erku - Islanders who are struck by the lightning might find themselves temporarily blessed with god-like super strength. Such power might not always be a good thing for those who aren't used to wielding it, so please be careful not to damage your friends or property! Islanders may choose to keep their new powers, but a bingo square can be used to wish them away. ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● II. A TASTE OF ERKU In need of shelter and credits? Then the robots have a task for you! Erku's robot population has taken note of how much Islanders seem to love the humble potato, and they want to contribute! Ready as always to please, the robots have filled the hospital cafeteria with mountains of potatoes in every imaginable variety and color: russet, red, gold, purple, chartreuse, sweet, savory, spicy, and so many more! But wait, there's more: they have provided knives, cutting boards, and peelers too, and are eager to see Islanders work their magic in their open cafeteria kitchen! Robots will monitor every dish produced, as they are eager to improve their food replication repertoire. No worries if you aren't culinarily skilled, however. Islanders will be rewarded in credits for whatever they can contribute, whether it's a gourmet meal or simply a basket of peeled potatoes. Robot-provided potato preparations are also freely available to snack on while you work, though as always, they're liable to be spiked with something to encourage Islanders to get more "friendly" with one another. Of particular note is an invention the 'bots are quite proud of, sure to delight your organic tastebuds: the potato cocktail, which packs quite a punch and - strangely enough - tastes just like a hearty steak dinner? ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● III. NOSTALGIA FOODS Seeking a bit of refuge and some comforting food to warm you up? Signs and flyers are out informing residents of the Straight From Home Special going on right now at the Flashbang diner! Come In For All The House Favorites! For the next few days anyone can walk in and receive a free meal (or two if you’re really nice) from the robot cooks behind the counter! And it just so happens that they know exactly what you want. You will be served a meal of your favorite foods from home just the way you like them. Did you tell them? No. How did they know? Don’t bother asking, they’ll just say that the Cook Always Knows. The robot waitresses will make sure your drinks are topped up and you have everything you need, just like any hometown diner or pub you may have heard of. Eating any of the foods will bring out such nostalgia. Feelings of fondness, sadness, longing, anything when you think about the memories of your past and even of recent events. You won’t be able to stop yourself from sharing those thoughts and feelings with those around you. You’ll want to talk about your life, your opinions on the weather, the sex you just had last night and in great detail. The waitresses are listening and so is everyone else nearby. When you leave the diner you might just have to keep on sharing your thoughts about anything that comes to mind. Walk by someone you think is attractive? You’ll have to tell them. Don’t like someone’s outfit? Definitely have to tell them. Suddenly remembering having sex on the beach? Maybe the person next to you on the trolley won’t mind hearing all about it! The effects of the nostalgia will last for half a day or until the completion of an auspicious act. ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● N A V I G A T I O N

Comments

[tinymonstah]

Oh Percy. That is the best news. And her String Bean too, well. She could almost cry from happiness. Almost. "Can we go see them?"

What comes from her mouth next, well, it's not her fault, and she'll just have to hope that it never gets mentioned again, once...whatever this is wears off. "Hmm. Do you think Percy might want to have sex with me here?" Where was this even coming from!

Well, she knew, of course. But the buried place was usually so good at keeping it buried.

[gloriouslygood]

"Yes, yes of course." Shaun offers her his arm to escort her to the collection of houses they have claimed. He imagined the others, the Nein, would be happy to meet another of their crew.

At her question Shaun laughed. "You would have to ask him, my dear. I don't know how he plans to handle sex with others here."

He studies her again, closer this time. "You seem very loose lipped today. Something you ate, I imagine."

[tinymonstah]

Pike takes his arm, lets herself be led off, content with this. Her forehead wrinkles almost imperceptibly, because of course Shaun wouldn't know. Why would he. "Oh, of course," she says easily, nods. Even under the influence of the whatever this is she's nothing if not good natured. "I've wanted him to for awhile, he just didn't--" cuts herself off. "well, no, I've loved him, but sex comes with love." she nods, satisfied. "He doesn't know!"

She's quiet a second, thinking about it. "It was the strangest thing. They had food from home--food my grandfather made? And it tasted just like home, it was so good I wanted to cry. And then all of a sudden I just wanted to talk about...well, everything." Suddenly she feels very anxious about it. "Shaun, I need to go lay down, I think."

[gloriouslygood]

"Why, Pike, I never knew you were a romantic!" Shaun's delighted even though she is talking about sleeping with a married man. Though in her time Percy is not yet married it seemed like. It was hard to say with so few details. "That's terribly sweet of you."

And she had eaten the food. This result was much better than the aphrodisiac food that was more common on the island. Confessing desires was one thing. Acting on them another.

"Well, I think that food is responsible. This place likes to put things in the food that influence people to do things they wouldn't normally do." There's a note of regret in his voice. "I'm sorry I didn't find you sooner to warn you."

But he would keep everything she said right now in strictest confidence.

[tinymonstah]

"I guess I am." She was usually so busy helping everyone that it just stayed way down in the buried place, and, well. Everything else. But the buried place was up on the surface today, and it seemed like there was very little she could do to control it, even if she had known he was married. Where she came from, he wasn't, but was all the same off limits to her in some way. "Is it?" she wondered, then: "I guess so. I know it isn't always. But it's nice to think about it."

She considered the implications of this, and nodded. "I should've known. It was my own fault." She made a mental note to herself: don't eat the food again unless you know who prepared it. "I'm sure it'll be fine."

[gloriouslygood]

"This island its economy is based on sex," Shaun explained because he might as well get the strangest details of this place out of the way. "To say get a house or a room somewhere, you have sex and turn it in to the force than runs this place, the Augur."

He gestured to the bracelet on his wrist. "I have a little card in here that tells me what type of sex I should have to get things." He rolled his eyes at the ridiculousness of it all. Gods, explaining it never made it make any more sense.

"But you shouldn't worry about that now. We've got a house for a safe place to stay and some more folks from Exandria to meet. You'll like them."