![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
TDM 013: BARING IT ALL
| TDM 013: BARING IT ALL |
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. THROW IN A TOWEL? Erku's new arrivals may be encouraged to seek out the Laid Bare Massage & Spa for some specialized attention and relaxation, but they and long-time inhabitants will also be offered a chance to earn credits. Anyone interested in earning robot wages will be tasked with being the resident towel person! You’ll stand inside of the room while the patrons are receiving their massages, hot scrubs, or relaxing in one of the saunas holding towels for them should any be requested. Or you may be asked to help with the regular cleaning of the Spa, wiping down all of the tasteful nude statues to free them of the grime and filth (or… other things) that builds up over time. You might even be asked to help lovingly clean the murals of nude patrons (that is to say, fellow Islanders) all over the Spa. But this is a job that requires a very specific uniform. Robots will provide you with your very own chiton or toga. The chitons happen to be very short, not covering nearly as much as they reveal, but the togas might be entirely too long. They brush or drag along the floor and what with being barely held together with the thinnest and most fanciful of ropes, who knows how often they might be untucked? Take care, please, or else the robots might pull you into being the next model for their latest mural portrait instead. II. GRIN AND BARE IT Erku’s resident mental health professional, Dr. D. Love of Healthy Body, Healthy Mind Therapy Center, has taken a keen interest in ensuring that the relationships of you Islanders are progressing in a productive, healthy, and open-minded fashion. And to ensure this, he’s tasked his robot staff to pay close attention to anyone who looks like they are having trouble with relationships with other people on the Island. And after months of so few (none) clients, these robots are very motivated to seek out people in need of their therapeutic assistance! Arguing with a friend? Telling someone to stay out of your life? Being a hermit who refuses to come out of your apartment? Accidentally bump into each other on the street? Make a joke at your friend’s expense? Playfully punch someone in the shoulder? Walk by someone you don’t know and not tell them hello? Well clearly all of you need help in repairing whatever may be damaging your relationships! Before you know it, you’ve been bundled off by the robots right to Dr. D. Love’s office and sat down to talk it all out. The fact that you may not even know the other person the robots think you need to work your troubles out with doesn’t matter. Dr. D. Love is here to make sure everyone goes home happy and satisfied. You may have to play along with this confusing farcical situation, even making up wrongs and slights you claim you have done to one another before finally coming together in reconciliation. The more you deny there is anything wrong, the more the good Doctor will insist you need even more help than they first thought. They might even have to send you into one of their Privacy Rooms and work out your frustrations with each other with their wide array of therapeutic sexual devices and supplies. III. BARE NAKED AMUSEMENT TOUR The trolley is making its rounds as usual with announcements echoing from the loudspeakers that it’s Bare It All Week at Six Flagellants Amusement Park and to kick it off there will be a grand concert at the Loudinus Outdoor Amphitheater that lasts all week long! Not sure what that means? Well, come to the concert and enjoy hours and hours of music played by robots who seem to have taken their songs right from the pop rock crazes of old. Whose old? Who knows. The music may not be completely to your taste, but something about it may make you feel energized and overly dressed. You might even feel the need to strip down until you’re not wearing anything at all! But don’t worry, the robots performing on stage will give you new clothes to wear by throwing skimpy, sexy underwear and lingerie right at you! How did they know your size? Don’t ask questions, just give into the urge to put it on while you rock out until it’s time for the trolley to take everyone right to the gates of the amusement park! Anyone dressed in less for this week will receive free entry, rides, and food and might even receive special prizes at various booths of sex toys, candies that act as an aphrodisiac (meant for sharing of course), stuffed animals, or even a free sex doll! Those are super hard to win from the ring toss, so you should really take advantage and enjoy all the perks of baring yourself for everyone’s viewing pleasure. N A V I G A T I O N |
no subject
Ugh, come on!
[ the octopuses are very cuddly, and they seem quite happy to continue to cling onto her the more she fusses with them. those noodly tentacles wrap their way around her, and one of the animals looks like it's just chilling with a very "n_n" type of expression.
warm body!!! warm body from cold sea!! ]
—Huh? [ yukari's pulled back to the present in front of her, brown eyes wide in surprise for a split second. ] Yeah, I'm okay. They haven't bitten me or anything, they're just...
[ let's be tangle buddies, yukari!! n_n ]
... really friendly.
no subject
[ The one wrapped around her thigh is probably...a little too forward for a first meeting. Rude turns his attention to the one gripping her arm. Thankfully, his rugged leather gloves have survived, all the better to grip the sea creature with and try to detach it.
This one probably won't hurt her if he just peels it off, thanks to the protective sweater. Rude grabs Yukari's wrist with one hand and the tip of the tentacle with the other and starts trying to peel it off. ]
This thing's really wrapped around you. [ He flicks a look up at Yukari's face. ] Hell of a welcome.
no subject
[ it was very smart of rude not to go for the one on her leg, but yukari immediately objects to having her wrist grabbed — only to relent seconds later. there's really not much she can do if she wants to be freed, so she begrudgingly lets him get to work detangling the octopus from her wool sweater.
this is humiliating, for more reasons than just the happy critters that have adopted her.
yukari can't meet his look, her face tinged pink. if her voice sounds a little sharp it's just because of embarrassment, something yukari still hasn't gotten used to dealing with. ]
...Please tell me not everything is this grabby.
[ where's mitsuru-senpai when you're in desperate need of executions? ]
no subject
[ Lust-inducing flowers, horny robots, spiked food and drink, lewd outfits...but tentacles? Fortunately not.
His eyes remain down, focused on the job. Holding her wrist is just to brace the limb, though he can understand her objection. The tentacle he had just peeled off immediately tries to loop back around. He gives a frustrated grumble, grabbing it and whipping it off again before it can latch onto her clothing. ]
Little-- [ Okay! That's one tentacle off, not nearly as gentle as Yukari had been trying to be with them. He starts on the next. ] It's not really an ocean for swimming in. People just come out of it.
[ The world had regenerated quite a bit since his arrival, but there was a long, long way to go until they had sunny Costa Del Sol beaches. ]
1/2
[ yukari no. ]
no subject
[ here, for better or worse, there are people.
truth be told, the longer rude holds to her wrist, the more uncomfortable she's getting. yukari hates accepting help from even her closest friends sometimes, so getting it from a complete stranger is a little more than she was prepared to deal with.
so to distract herself, she turns her attention to the robots milling around, watching them fuss over newcomers, offering bracelets and towels before continuing on their business. something about the whole thing leaves a sour note in yukari's mouth, not the least of which being that the last time she was on a beach, s.e.e.s brought home their own "mechanical maiden". ]
What's up with the robots? They seem pretty "friendly" too.
no subject
[ Unfortunately for Yukari, Rude doesn't twig on too quickly to her discomfort. It's a light enough grip that she could yank herself out if need be, but for now, he's focused downwards. The one questing tentacle gets knocked away, then the second. From there, it's easier going - he grips onto the two dangling ones and pulls the octopus off bodily. ]
There. [ His first instinct is to just hurl it back into the sea, but...no, probably not. Not with how much work had gone into repopulating the flora and fauna in this place. He tries not to squish it as he returns it to the water, separating from Yukari (and releasing her as he does). ] All right...second one.
[ As for her question...he thinks about it as he lowers himself to one knee. This fella is suckered onto skin. A whole different ballpark. ]
They're harmless. Run half the businesses in the place, manage upkeep - but they'll pester you to do things and force you along to places, if you're not careful. It's all for the Augur to get what it wants.
no subject
but just as quickly as rude takes to a knee, yukari darts back again, holding up one hand... while the other tugs down her skirt to keep him from getting a glance at anything. ]
Woah, woah, hold on there, bucko. I can handle this one.
no subject
[ The height difference comes in handy. He's nowhere close to actually catching a peek, even kneeling down. Still, her concern is fair enough, and he gives her a nod as he returns to his feet.
In the meantime, he can make himself useful - namely, by retrieving the towel the robots had left behind and shaking out as much of the sand as possible. If those suckers peel off skin, that's gonna sting. ]
no subject
bending at the waist, she sets to work slowly working each sucker off one at a time, hissing a little under her breath whenever the octopus tries to cling back against her. luckily, they've both been out of the water for enough time that the creature has started to rethink its new perch, and it doesn't take much to leverage the arms away one by one.
... it does kinda sting though, but yukari's felt worse. hell, getting blasted with a ziodyne spell hurts worse than this. muttering something under her breath about how she hasn't had takoyaki in a long time, she finally gets the creature fully off, holding it awkwardly in her hands. ]
So... what's the Augur?
[ ah, turns out she was paying attention. ]
no subject
It's what brought you here.
[ How best to explain it...? ]
Some kind of supercomputer, I think. It's trying to revitalise this world. [ He gestures vaguely to everything - the city, the beach, the people. ] Don't know why bringing in people to, uh...
[ He pauses there, unable to find a polite way of phrasing it. Why bringing in random people to fuck is how the world replenishes - but it does. ]
Anyway. All the robots are controlled by it, far as we can tell.
no subject
— oh, but... that pause makes her ears go red. yeah, she heard all about that part, and her silence is thankful, if embarrassed. the less she has to talk about that, the better. ]
Has anyone tried any other way of "revitalizing"?
[ after straightening out the way her collared shirt is set on her frame, yukari bundles her sweater in her hands to try and squeeze out excess sea water. ]
no subject
The flick downwards to check out the body under the sweater is another change he hadn't expected. Thank god for his dark sunglasses making it a bit less obvious where his eyes had wandered. ]
If they have, then I haven't heard it. Augur's pretty set on its path. [ He turns back from the sea and approaches her again. ] There's plenty of gardens, so things are growing, but the power that comes from this...Eros energy is a lot more efficient.
no subject
but all she has is her suspicion, the needs of this nameless isle, and her own mistrustful nature to go on, so it's not like yukari can say anything. she only has that feeling, that uncomfortable "i'm alone with an older guy" feeling that twists in her gut. unless rude does something truly untoward, yukari keeps this distrust to herself. to be fair to rude, even if he hadn't checked her out, yukari would still Suspect. she's just that kind of person.
listening to him continue, she twists out more seawater, for the moment not caring that it's just dropping all over her shoes. they're wet enough already... she'll dry them somewhere else. though she has to wonder, what is it with robots and ... well, okay, aigis wasn't as horny as this place was, but she was still pretty damn obsessed with their leader.
for good reason. but you know. still.
taking a few steps back in the conversation, yukari brings up something rude had said before: ]
So when you say world, d'you mean like... this place here, or the whole planet?
no subject
In this, she's something of an anomaly. Everyone else had been so insistent that his name was a mismatch. That he was so trustworthy and nice. ]
Just here. Go far enough out of the city and everything's covered in fog. If you go into the fog...
[ He turns his hand in a circle. ]
You end up back here. No memory of what happened.
no subject
...Does that happen a lot around here; memory loss?
no subject
[ The pause he leaves suggests that the answer is a firm 'yes'. Although he intends to tell her everything, a thought occurs to him before anything else. She's wet, miserable, her clothes are wrecked and the wind is howling. This isn't the place for it. ]
Let's get you off this beach first. Find somewhere warmer.
[ ...oh, wait. He'd missed one important thing. ]
My name's Rude.
1/2
That figures. They can't leave well enough alone.
no subject
yukari should be nicer... she feels like she's telling herself to be nicer!! because!! he's been helpful!!
but.
she can't help the sarcastic: ]
What, like your apartment?
[ and then she scoffs, wrapping the previously offered towel around her like a cloak. ]
I'm fine out here. ... Wouldn't mind sitting down, though.
no subject
But no. Rude's eyebrows draw together, displeased by the sarcastic barb. He lets it go after a moment, glancing around for somewhere comfortable to take Yukari, muttering a clipped: ]
Suit yourself.
[ A few shacks, meant for starter living, stand near the beach. That should do fine. It's close, relatively weatherproof, and far away from any sand or squid. He gestures with a cock of his head towards them, then sets off in that direction. ]
Should be somewhere in one of those.
no subject
i mean.
yukari will feel bad about snapping so rude(heh)ly later, but right now there's just So Much to take in. she feels off her stride, uncertain, unwilling to completely grasp just... everything all at once.
giving the back of his head a suspicious look, yukari follows him, but stops just short of actually going inside. instead, she takes a seat outside the doorway; the rickety building shelters them from the wind well enough for now. if the chill starts to get to her, she'll head in.
right now, she seems wholly unbothered by it. almost like she has a wind affinity, or something... ]
Okay, what else?
[ how about an introduction??? ]
no subject
At least she wasn't actively trying to kill him. ]
With the memory loss...
[ He thinks a moment. Rude lowers himself to sit next to her, looking out at the sea crashing against the sand. ]
It's more memory manipulation. They can make you think you're in love with someone, or married, or just really... [ What's a polite way to phrase it for Yukari's tender ears? ] Interested.
Everything's here to encourage intimacy. [ A shrug. ] That sums it up.
no subject
where's the shadow she needs to beat up to get out of here??? ]
I can't believe this.
[ her ears are turning red, an embarrassed heat painting itself over her cheeks. ]
no subject
Mm-hm.
[ Even now, he can relate. It's hard enough being fully grown and being here - he can't imagine how the procession of girls her age manage. ]
You don't have to do...everything. Won't go without food or shelter. [ He shoots a sideways glance at her, trying to gauge her expression. ] Might even get lucky and get sent back right away.
no subject
yukari catches rude's look at her from the corner of her eye but she refuses to look back at him. there's a sick feeling at the back of her throat and all she can really do is just... stay quiet and let herself process this.
at least food and shelter would be taken care of. that's one thing she doesn't have to worry too much about... maybe? no, she'll worry about it all anyway until she's certain she's got a steady footing.
the silence stretches on and yukari watches the waves crash upon the shore. her arms wrap around her knees, but otherwise she doesn't let on to her true feelings. instead; ]
Yukari Takeba.
[ it's not the first time she's gone out into a strange world and had to find her way all on her own. she's got this. ]
(no subject)
1/2
(no subject)
(no subject)
1/2
(no subject)
(no subject)
1/2
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)