ercookies | TDM 002

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TDM 002

TDM 002: IF FOUND PLEASE RETURN TO

( 1 ) Around mid-morning, a message from the Augur appears on bracelets all across the city. "New organisms discovered. Domestication in progress."

The wark of a chocobo rises up from the outskirts of the city. Several more join in, forming a charming chorus. And, strangely, this is when new arrivals begin to show up.

Beamed in one at a time, scanned en masse, they are processed just as the first wave was. There's one major difference: whereas the old guard was given their bracelets and ushered into the City, the new folks are also given... collars.

Buckled, snapped, or otherwise fastened around their necks, a variety of colorful collars with some rather unusual novelty pet tags. (These are just a few suggestions. The typical “If found, please return to ____” is also very much acceptable.)

"You are new organisms. Domestication in progress. Compatible Eros energy will complete domestication."

No matter how hard they try, characters cannot take the collars off by themselves. They need a partner's help - but not just anyone will do. It very well might be the first person they find, or it might take several tries.

The robots grow bolder as the day grows on, targeting characters who aren't new, as well.

"Y̶o̶u̴ ̸a̷r̸e̷ ̵o̵r̵g̶a̴n̷i̷s̶m̸s̶.̶ ̶D̷o̶m̴e̴s̶t̶i̶c̵a̸t̶i̸o̴n̸ ̷i̵n̸ ̴p̸r̶o̵g̷r̵e̷s̵s̷."

Their antics die down by nightfall, but for the next day or two, the occasional malfunctioning 'bot may accost someone in the street, so stay on your toes!

( 2 ) An abandoned racetrack lights up the night. That's right: place your bets, folks, because these birds are about to run around a track while robots sell synthetic, overpriced aphro-popcorn.

...Did you say priced?

That’s right! If you participated in the orgy earlier this month, you'll find you have a stash of credits accessible in your app.

You've fucked money back into the world, so why not waste it?

(Opportunities to earn credits will come up periodically and won't always be sexual in nature, so don't worry if your character wouldn't have any yet.)

And if you don't have credits to bet with, why not get creative?

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N A V I G A T I O N

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Ilia? Your friend who helped back at Haven? [ yang wasn't able to spend much time with her in the aftermath of thwarting salem's plans, but she remembers the chameleon faunus and how highly blake speaks of her. ]

Yeah, [ she confirms, tone suddenly sober. ] Just Clover, and the only other person he mentioned was Uncle Qrow so I don't think any of the other Ace Ops are here. [ a beat. ] Thankfully.

[ yang can handle one member of the squad, but all of them? no way. ]

Yeah, her. [ blake nods. ] And... good. Those guys and their boss are some of the last people I want to deal with. I'm done playing nice and waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Me neither. Everything that happened was so...messed up. It shouldn't have gotten that bad.

[ 'messed up' doesn't even begin to cover what she thinks about the whole affair, and coming up with the words to describe half of what she's feeling right now feels similarly impossible. unpacking all of that will come in time.

for now, she sighs and leans her forehead against blake's, the action helping ground her amidst the torrent of emotions in her chest. ]

At least they don't have the authority to give us orders here. Silver linings, right?

[ blake leans into the embrace, gently bumping yang's forehead. everything else can wait, for now. ]

I'll take what I can get. You just got here too?

Yeah. As soon as I got here, they slapped this dumb thing on me. [ yang removes one of her hands from blake's waist so she can tug at the offending collar. ] Didn't make it easy for them, though.

[ there may or may not be a lot of messed up robots nearby. purely coincidental. ]

Did they get you? [ her eyes drop to blake's neck in search of collar, her tone asking something more along the lines of 'did they hurt you?' ]

[ yeah, no connection at all, blake's sure. she totally didn't put bullets in a few robots who tried it at first, either. ]

I'm okay. [ she got the subtext of that just fine, offering yang a slight smile. but... she unbuckles the neck belt on her coat, uncovering the collar. and the fact that blake definitely shoved the tag underneath it. ]

[ yang smiles back, soft and relieved, before giving the tag a once over. 'return to...' her? the idea of blake being owned by anyone, including yang, makes her skin prickle with discomfort. those robots and the augur? officially on her shit list.

all of a sudden, it hits that her own tag can be read at this distance, but she pushes the embarrassment down even as the back of her neck turns bright red. stay on task, yang. ]

We should get these off, [ she grumbles. ] ...then throw 'em in a pile of rocks. Or something.

[ yeah, blake would be thoroughly embarrassed if she wasn't just angry over what her own tag said. her eyes flicker to yang's collar and blake grins, despite herself. ]

Yeah, people might think you know how to talk to girls. [ yes, she would much rather talk about that than go back and forth about the implications of her own collar. blake belongs to no one, not anymore, and least of all yang. that's not how they work. ]

H-hey! [ her blush deepens and spreads like wildfire to her ears and cheeks. ] I can talk to girls, thank you very much! I talk to you all the time!

[ yang talking to blake includes such highlights as 'i like your bow!' and 'n-no, it's good! great, even!' and both of those moments ended in total disaster. this moment is devolving into yet another disaster, but if this helps pick up blake's spirits, she'll happily take the minute or two of embarrassment. ]

And look how well it works for you, Yang. [ teasing, of course. she lets out a breath, feeling her own face heating up. ] Do you know how we're supposed to get these things off? They said something about... compatible Eros energy...?

[ look, she's read enough cheap smut in her time to have her mind barrel towards a guess there, but... ]

[ teasing or not, yang's answer is immediate and sincere. ] If you're still sticking around as my partner? I'd say it works out pretty great.

[ ah...yeah. the 'eros energy' bit. flipping through the ninjas of love series while recuperating on patch provided some insight on what that means. ] Not really. I was sticking to the "pull it off myself" plan until a better option came along, but that's been a bust.

Maybe we can...try to take them off normally? Like, you take off mine and I take off yours? They might just come off if we're, uh. [ a beat, oh gods, she doesn't know how to put this without making it sound dirty ] Compatible.

[ blake's ears flick back slightly, the blush more than a little obvious. ]

I... maybe. Yeah. [ she really doesn't like having hers on, but... she reaches out, tracing over yang's collar. ] Let me try?

[ yang feels her already high temperature jump up by a few degrees as soon as blake touches her collar. if this were anyone else, she wouldn't care, but--well, this was blake. everything was always a little different when it came to her. to them. whatever they were.

she swallows hard in a vain attempt to dispel her nervousness. ]

Yeah...yeah, that sounds okay. Let me just-- [ yang pulls up her hair in a loose ponytail so blake has an easier time reaching for the clasp, making her deeply flushed ears and neck even more visible than before. ]

Go for it. [ she flashes her partner a tiny smile. ] If this doesn't work, you've got full permission to take Gambol Shroud to it.

[ blake can see how red yang is turning, and... honestly, she thinks it's cute.

this place might make things altogether more complicated, but even so. ]

I'd rather not use my sword like that. [ so close to yang's neck, she means. she slips her hands behind yang's neck and shifts closer to her, fingers tracing over it and ghosting against her skin as she undoes the buckle. ]

[ her blood feels like it's boiling, but goosebumps raise on yang's skin all the same. they touch all the time now, little things like yang putting a hand on blake's shoulder and sitting too close to be considered just friends during long airship rides. they're moments small enough to appear incidental to almost everyone else but them.

this, however, feels purposeful. blake is dragging this just because she wants to, and yang doesn't mind one bit. ]

Hey, I've had some pretty close calls with Jaune's sword during training and I turned out fine, [ she says shakily. ] Besides...I trust you. It'd work out.

[ she keeps her eyes on yang's, finally undoing the collar and letting it fall away. so... they're "compatible", then, according to the things running this place. great. this is definitely different than what they usually do. ]

Yang, [ she finally says that, tone soft, barely above a whisper. she's done the thing she moved close to do, but she doesn't appear interested in moving away. ] how are we gonna...

[ deal with this place. ]

[ yang stays right where she is once the collar falls from her neck, left hand letting go of her hair to grasp the sunflower pop bottle cap that she keeps there at all times. she lets the ridged edges dig into her palm to keep her grounded, steady. this--blake--everything about this moment is too important for yang to mess up now. ]

...I dunno, [ she says just as softly. ] Everything here is a lot more than I anticipated.

[ yang hesitates for a moment before lightly placing her right hand on blake's waist. ] But even if we are compatible, that doesn't mean we have to do anything. There's always a choice. And if--if we decided we wanted to then.... We don't have to rush. We can talk things out as they come up. If that's alright with you?

[ she takes that in, a small shiver running through her as she doesn't pull away. ]

... Yeah. And that's totally okay. But you... know it's not that I don't want... right?

[ smooth. but the point is that she does. so much that it has frightened her before. ]

This is just...

Sudden? Comes with a really specific instruction manual? [ she flashes blake a small, nervous grin before continuing. ]

Yeah, I know. The feeling's, uh. Mutual. [ hell, yang is certain she's wanted this since arriving in atlas, but travelling across remnant on a world saving mission felt like neither the right time nor place for exploring that new avenue of their relationship. ]

So...yeah. [ really smooth. ]

... Yeah. [ blake doesn't look much less nervous, but she nods, gesturing to her own neck. ] Just... give me a hand with this, okay? We can talk about the rest later.

[ yang nods in response, wasting no time working to remove her partner's collar. the clasp is undone in seconds, and after the collar falls to the ground, she simply stands there to revel in the closeness. blake's presence has always been a tether in times of uncertainty. at beacon, in atlus--even during their time apart, just reading some of her favorite books had filled her with a sense of peace.

she traces her fingers along blake's jaw and cups her cheek and a smile, genuine and full of adoration, spreads across her face. things between them will be...different from now on, no question about that, but this feeling won't change. ]

There. You look better this way.

[ she feels her face heat up at yang's touch, and that smile practically makes her heart flutter.

she knows fully well how she feels about her partner, of course. but there hasn't been a good time, and now... well. this, whatever this is, can handle this place. blake turns her head slightly into the contact, pressing her lips to the inside of yang's wrist. ]

What's that supposed to mean? [ if weiss isn't here, someone needs to say it. there's no indignation, just playful amusement. ]

It means, [ yang huffs through a rising blush (brothers, will she ever stop blushing), ] that freedom suits you.

[ she finally steps away then, fighting the strong urge to take hold of blake's hand to keep her close. ]

Didn't know you were working on your Weiss impression, Blake. It sounds good! None of us are gonna be able to tell the difference in a little bit.

[ well, blake has no such compunctions holding her back. touch is how she demonstrates affection best. so she reaches for yang's hand, threading their fingers together. ]

Thanks. But if you start calling me princess, I might have to rethink this whole thing.

[ holding hands, huh? spicy. she glances at their joined hands with a growing look of astonished excitement and the grin she shoots blake is almost blinding. they're doing--this! whatever this is! it's really happening!

her expression switches to one that's a bit more sly before she bows with an over exaggerated flourish, bringing blake's hand up to her mouth as she straightens her posture. ]

Don't forget that you're the one who chose me as your partner, Princess Belladonna. [ yang lightly kisses her knuckles, mischievous smile in place. ] And that means you're pretty much stuck with me. So there.

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TDM 002

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atlus

persona brainrot will forever curse me

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