ercookies | TDM 012: SLINGING IN THE RAIN

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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.

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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.

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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?

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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.

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N A V I G A T I O N

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

A. Arrival -> Thunderbolts

The Coffin-Sealing ceremony is over. His work is finished. Nie Huaisang can relax now. Or at least, that's what he thinks.

The seashore he wakes up on, still clad in his robes of office, is familiar. He'd once hunted for treasure here, to decorate the barren walls of the home he'd wished into existence here. It hadn't ended well as decaying monsters rose out of the sea to reclaim his findings. After the moment of disorientation passes, Huaisang simply holds out his wrist to the robots, waving off their attempts to beguile him off to whatever erotic-themed activity they have in mind for him. There'll be plenty of time to explore such things later.

For now, Huaisang simply sets off in the direction of the Unclean Realm. Of course, he has things on his mind and many things to process, laying his enemy and his brother to rest behind a seal had left him thoroughly drained. All he wants to do now is go straight home, get a bubblebath, and rest. Even if it's not his home in Qinghe, it's still his home here.

The gates are locked when Huaisang arrives so he simply starts kicking and banging on them while wailing at the top of his lungs like a distressed feline stuck in a tree.

"Hey! Let me in! It looks like it's going to storm and I don't want to get any wetter than I already am! I'm soaked and covered in sand! I want a bath!"

Is there more effective way for Sect Leader Nie to announce his return than with immediate whining?

B. Nostalgia Foods

Huaisang never had gotten around to visiting the diner, he thinks. He'd been far too preoccupied with his own affairs in the Unclean Realm and fortifying his home against future invasions or attacks by strange, giant statues. Presently, he's lounging in one of the booths with a platter of braised pork and chestnuts covered in soy sauce sitting before him. A second platter of steamed meat buns sits beside there, too. Honestly, it's far more food than Huaisang ever eats on his own and what he doesn't finish here, he intends to take home with him. After all, how often has he gotten to eaten the deliciously salty dishes of his beloved Qinghe here?

Nevermind that Huaisang just had some not too long ago during his return home. It's still good here.

"The cook always knows, huh? Well, tell them that I'm grateful! This dish is perfect. It reminds me of dinner with my big brother. That was such a long time ago now though... Ten years. He couldn't really eat when I saw him last. I tried but dinner just wasn't the same anymore and we had someplace really important to be."

It seems like whatever is in the food is loosening Huaisang's tight lips quite effectively. Or maybe he's just drunk. It seems like the robots served him some red wine to go with his meal. Unless he's enjoying his victory lap. Or it could just be a combination of all of the above.

But at least, Sect Leader Nie seems to be in a jovial enough mood, aside from the bittersweet smile on his lips and faint hint of sorrow in his eyes.

C. Wildcard!

[Decided to change his canonpoint so tossing him up again!]

Jin Guangyao was about to settle in for the night when he heard the banging on the outer doors. He groaned, he had work early the next morning and wanted to look fresh-faced for the customers at his new job.

After a few minutes, he groaned and got up, tieing his underrobes over himself and rushing outside. It was probably one of his housemates or their guests in any case, and it did look like it was going to rain soon.

If he was more together he would have recognized that voice, but he could barely hear anything but the banging over the howling wind.

He opened the gates up with a yawn, rubbing at his eyes.

He blinked once.

Then twice.

Fuck.

"Huaisang?!"

Oh, look. It's the last face Huaisang hoped to see. Though the last time he'd seen it here, it'd been shortly after Daffodil had deposited him at his feet like a prize game bird he'd caught for his master. Huaisang had offered him lodgings shortly after, more to keep his prey close until he could find an opportunity to close in for the kill than out of any real sympathy for the man's plight.

However, returning home had changed things. A decisive victory over his opponent had that effect. With his filial duty fulfilled, his brother and enemy sealed away in a coffin for the next hundred years, Huaisang had freedom to think about other things and pursue other matters for the first time in a decade. Letting him go now is less an act of mercy on Huaisang's part, much of his capacity for that had withered away some time ago, and more of one of self-interest. He fought this the man alone for ten years in the shadows; the last thing wants at this point is a rematch.

"Good evening, San Ge," he greets, tone calm and neutral, too worn out to waste energy on feigned smiles and helplessness at this point as he breezes past him with a stride eerily reminiscent of his brother's. "I trust that you've settled into your quarters well by now. Judging from from the change in weather, it's been a season or two since I saw you last. The snowfall was quite heavy then."

Huaisang stops just as he reaches the courtyard, turning to look over his shoulder at Jin Guangyao.

"Do you know the whereabouts of Master Shen? I should probably let him know of my return."

He spoke evenly, his mind tumbling through hoops. Still, there was no point in pretending. With how certain he was being he must have been the one who had built this place, to begin with.

"Huaisang, the last I saw you was when... The temple.

I have only arrived here three weeks ago. I have never seen you in Palau before, though I am to make the assumption that you were the sect leader Nie that Master Shen had talked about.

He should be in his rooms, he's usually there it is a bit late for him to be in the gardens."

"The temple... I see. That was a long, trying night for all of us. The last time I saw you - outside this place, of course - you were a corpse."

If it was anyone else, Huaisang might hide such knowledge or soften his words. But the man who had taken his brother from him and ruined his own life doesn't deserve such tenderness or compassion from him. Or at least, at this point, he's unwilling to give it, not until he's had time to process everything pent up over the past decade.

His expression remains impassive, dark eyes fixed on the other man in a stare so piercing, it might leave one feeling as if their soul is bare.

"Yes, I am acquainted with Master Shen and the others I offered to shelter here. You are standing in my home in these lands. I take it that Master Shen offered you a place to stay?"

At this point, his tone turns conversational, almost cordial. And strangely enough, Huaisang's posture seems to relax.

Alright, perhaps he had deserved that. He knew that Huaisang had many years of unfiltered resentment to deal with. He wasn't even that mad about his own death really. He was sad the A-Su had to have been a casualty though, and the loss of his mother's bones. He wondered if that could be something he could request the Auger for. She deserved better than that.

He shrugged it off.

"So I was. Now I'm not. I would like to stay this way if I can help it."

In a way, it was good to see this. Huaisang's true face, the face of the man that had killed him, that he had orphaned. It felt as if he looked in a mirror. He met his gaze, gold eyes unwavering. Now that that was done they can be honest.

It took so much effort to lie. It was a relief.

"I'm aware. And yes. He was kind enough to offer me residency as long as I can help with the care of it. You may notice a few acres have been added to the west side, however. There are still a great many things that may be in need of repair. However, I imagine we can speak of that later."

After a few beats.

"You look exhausted Huaisang. Have you eaten?"

"Not since this morning. I was very busy today with an important rite I needed to conduct."

For his brother. For himself. So Huaisang could finally have closure and move on from the obsessive work that had consumed a decade of his life that he'll never get back. The boost it had done to his reputation had simply been a bonus. With enough hard work and dedication, Huaisang should be able to restore the Qinghe Nie sect to its former greatness in the eyes of the cultivation world now that the need to hide his strength has passed.

Huaisang starts walking deeper into the Unclean Realm, heading toward the audience hall and the private residences beyond. The kitchens should still be in the northwestern corner unless more things have changed in his absence.

"There is much I need to catch up on here," he admits with a sigh. "There was a fearsome snowstorm when this world lost its grip on me."

Or whatever strangeness had occurred that allowed him to return home. It sounds a little more impressive what phrased this way, though, as if Nie Huaisang is a force of nature this world couldn't contain. He is a politician, after all. Then he sobers a moment.

"Our previous matter is finished. I have no intention of harming you as long as you do not bring harm to others, particularly those who live under protection here. Many of those who lived beyond here spat on my generosity and treated me as a tyrant and enemy when I merely offered aid. I have less interest in their well-being."

He followed alongside him, almost falling into the steps he would have taken back when he would have offered his assistance to him before. It was different now. They were different too. Who knew what their relationship will look like now that their masks were off.

"I'm certain in the morning after you are well-rested, we can have an audience with Master Shen and catch you up. There is nothing dire happening at the moment. It has been peaceful for the most part, asides from waking up in a different body but I've been told strange things happen here often.

I see. It seems not even the world can contain you if you have a plan. How formidable." He shook his head there was no real malice in his words.

"Look Huaisang, I am very tired. Aren't you? I am tired of the games and politics and working around public opinion. I am tired of looking behind my back for a dagger that may come from anywhere.

I want safety. And if I have a new life, I certainly do not wish to squander it, making the same mistakes I had before. What did all of that effort even get me? If I can regain what is mine on my back rather than with blood then so be it.

I have no wish nor reason to harm anyone here. If anything the people who reside here have been kind to me. I want to repay that.

Really? What kind of tyrant would have been? Did you force them into mass fan painting?"

Huaisang listens as he walks. In a way, it almost feels like old times, back before things had gone sour. There'd been a time where he'd spoken freely and honestly with Jin Guangyao, when he'd thought of him as his best friend. His feelings had once been far softer and warmer toward the man than they had eventually become. As the present, he's still not sure how he feels about the man but the hatred and rage is gone, sealed away in a coffin along with the corpses of him and his brother.

"I don't know who they saw when they looked at me. Perhaps they were haunted by ghosts from their pasts. Either way, they are neither my concern or my responsibility. They are not my people and I owe them nothing."

They'd hurt Huaisang's feelings deeply at the time, the way he'd been villified and falsely accused of hungering for power. Most of his words had fallen on deaf ears, the prejudice against him far too great. While a handful of outsiders had proven their worth to him, others will have to work hard to dispel the mistrust he has for them.

"But you are correct. I would prefer not to engage in politics here. Not with them and not with you. I wish only to live in peace. And for those who reside within our lands to be able to live safe and secure lives. Your blood debt to my family and sect has been paid. I see no reason for us to continue to fight under present circumstances."

Huaisang speaks softly, the weariness evident in his tone. He really should have eaten more today. He's starting to sway a little on his feet as he walks. Thankfuly, the kitchen is just ahead and he enters it.

And sighs heavily at sight of goose feathers still embedded into the ceiling and cabinets.

"I see the feathers are still exactly where they were when I left," he mutters beneath his breath.

The fear he had once felt was gone, much like Huaisang's rage. He was in a world that didn't put him down for who he was, acting like he was something filthy. It was the opposite. Sex was celebrated in a way he didn't know how to deal with.

"Well, then there is certainly no point in worrying about it." trust never came naturally to Jin Gunagyao who had been destroyed by every person he had given his trust to. He could understand that sentiment.

"I do have a question, You have been in these lands for a while. correct?" he looked down, but he had to ask him. He was still a filial son after all and there was only one thing he cared about. He wanted to bury her in the Peony gardens so she could finally be where she should have been from the start.

"Are my mother's bones something I can trade a square for from the Augur? As she is she won't reincarnate. And I already have so many sins on my hands. I want that closure for her."

He looked up at the goose feathers as well.

"I had questions about that. Do I want to know?

Goodness Huaisang, please sit. I made dinner earlier and there are still plenty of leftovers from it." He didn't want the man to faint and hit his head on the stone, that will just lead to more trouble.

"Here, let me heat up food for you, would you like some hot tea first?"

Huaisang takes a seat at the table, rubbing his face.

"Put the water in the kettle first then heat up the food. Both should be done around the same time and you can serve them both at once. It'd be most efficent."

One might question the wisdom of allowing the man whose murder he arranged to prepare food and drink for him but right now, Huaisang's simply too tired to care. And maybe on some level, it's a low-key gesture of good faith on his part.

"Your mother's bones should be requestable, as far as I know. The Augur seems to be capable of a great deal. It managed to produce this replica of my home somehow. And her bones are intact and hidden in a secure location. If the living can be transported, I see no reason why the dead would not."

He did spend a substantial length of time here though he'd never been able to figure out just how long given the lack of a calendar. Huaisang gestures vaguely toward the ceiling.

"As for the feathers, I believe it began with a disagreement between Maiden Annie, one of the residents here, and geese stealing her socks. I'm not quite sure how but I believe Master Shen became involved in the matter and this feathery mess was the result."

Edited 2021-04-26 10:03 (UTC)

"Alright." He might as well get something to eat himself, it didn't seem like sleep was going to happen for him for a while. He worked quickly and efficiently, heating up the chicken soup that he had made earlier along with the vegetable and rice dishes he had made to accompany it.

"That is a relief to know. Thank you Huaisang."

Sure enough by the time the kettle boiled the food was ready and he worked on serving it to both of them as he spoke.

"I managed to get some of Koi Tower, that is why there are extra acres of land to the west. The gardens and courtyards are there but the buildings are empty. I'm currently working on getting those taken care of."

He laughs as he finished serving him and then himself, sitting with his food.

"That sounds like an utterly ridiculous situation."

"The Nameless City can be a ridiculous place. The Unclean Realm, too, is not without its lighthearted aspects."

Such as a lazy sect leader who organized a small militia as part of a ploy to bring the most appealing outsiders to his doorstep so he and his friends didn't have to do any legwork. His scheme had failed in the end but the idea had been sound. Huaisang cracks a small smile.

"Contributions to our home are welcome. It is difficult to maintain without sufficient manpower."

It'd been a frequent concern of his in the past. Did Huaisang have enough men to keep up its upkeep or defend it during an attack? But if this world is less dangerous now, that suits Huaisang just fine. He's always preferred to focus on quieter, more peaceful pursuits anyhow. Like a calm meal with an old friend, even if their circumstances had resulted in painful and unfortunate outcomes for both of them.

As his habit, Huaisang picks at the food a little first before finally settling in to eat. He really hasn't been the best at taking care of himself during the past few years. Admittedly, he'd gotten a little better here, mostly due to regularly taking his meals with Shi Qingxuan but fell back a bit on bad habits during his time back home.

"It sounds as if you've already found work to do here. I'm surprised that you already managed to barter a deed of that magnitude in only a few weeks. It took longer for me and some of the others to adjust to this place, I believe. But you did say you were determined to recover what you lost."

Fortunately for both of them, Huaisang has better things to do with his life now than interfere.

00. Arrival

I. THUNDERBOLTS AND LIGHTNING

II. A TASTE OF ERKU

III. NOSTALGIA FOODS

Nie Huaisang | Mo Dao Zu Shi | OTA

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B! Nostalgia Food sounds deliciously ironic, eh?

sorry for making a scene, dage lol

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