TDM 002

[erkumods]

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? ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● N A V I G A T I O N

Comments

[softheartedshizun]

You have done more than anyone else.

[It was overly important to him at this moment to reassure this Binghe before him. This one that could rip his arms off at any moment. This one that had been wronged and tortured, been forced to suffer. He was not wrong in his hatred.

It's just... he was not the cause of that pain, that man already suffered his fate.]

This Shizun is thankful to this disciple and his care.

[Though he knows what transpired was not particularly genuine, his affections still... he could not deny their existence.]

[heavenly_pillar]

[ He ducks his head slightly and presses it to Shen Qingqiu's chest. Almost as if he's that much smaller disciple again, seeking comfort from the master that he looks up to so much. ]

Don't speak of things you don't know of.

[ His voice comes out strong, commanding. Entirely at odds with his current position, especially as he shifts slightly closer.

But then... it weakens. The presence of the stallion protagonist is noticeably absent when he speaks again, his voice little more than a murmur. ]

I hate you, Shizun.

[ And it's true. He hates him more than anyone else.

And yet... ]

[softheartedshizun]

[He can't help but continue to pet him, to hold him close. Such a familiar thing to do, and yet, an unfamiliar situation.

Binghe, always, was Binghe.

He should have thought more about how to deal with things in the past.]

This master knows and accepts. But, this master here, will not hate you.

[How could he? It was impossible.]

[heavenly_pillar]

[ How could Shen Qingqiu expect him to believe a lie like that? It was impossible.

Even if this Shen Qingqiu made some different choices, the other Luo Binghe was still thrown into the Endless Abyss after he awoke. How could a man do that without hatred? ]

I truly learned to honey words from the best, Shizun.

[ Because he doesn't believe it. He can't.

And yet he continues to press against him. ]

[softheartedshizun]

These words are not sweetened.

[They were sad, and hard to say in a way. Words he shouldn't be saying but were still true. Words that wouldn't be believed.

Still, he continued to pet his head with tenderness.]

They are the true heartfelt feelings of this master.

[heavenly_pillar]

A liar to your very core. Go to sleep, Shizun.

[ Because he doesn't want to keep hearing this.

If it's true, it just makes his jealousy of the other Luo Binghe all the more potent.

It hurts less to curl up against Shen Qingqiu and think it's all a farce, because then he's allowed to have been faking it the whole time as well. ]

[softheartedshizun]

[He didn't feel like arguing. He had said what was true, Bing-ge had no reason to believe him, and more reason to suspect him. So, like a criminal e let himself doze, next to someone he had no right to be next to, holding him tight.]