TDM 014: A DAY AT THE FAIR

[erkumods]

TDM 014: A DAY AT THE FAIR

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. HAY FEVER A new mode of transportation has made an appearance! From one end of the fairgrounds to the other, and even sometimes off the beaten path and into the wilds, robot-horse-drawn hay wagons shake, rattle, and roll. And, of course, what are hay wagons great for? Anyone fancy a roll in the hay? Anyone who is taking a hay ride will see their A5 card flash - and they will be given the option to trade one square for the vehicles square. (New players engaging in this prompt can call it a freebie.) But beware! The wagons roll at all hours of the day and night. At night, the spooks come out to play! Rides will be "haunted" by frightful spooks played by machines and your local Islanders. The 'bots will hire anyone interested to don their favorite slasher costume or ghostly garb. After all, everyone knows that fear and adrenaline are related to attraction, right? Just another thoughtful service provided by your generous benefactors. ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● II. Acute Beef Poisoning How about an eating contest? Multiple competitions are held throughout the fair: hot dogs, hot dogs, pies -- just use your imagination! Of course, there's always the chance that you've been recruited to be "eaten"... So sit back and enjoy the ride. For those of you with an exhibitionist streak, all contests are held in front of an audience. Be careful, ye who eat here, because the pies in particular have been known to have the following effects (with a two-hour duration): Meat - A simple aphro pie; a character finds themselves craving a very different kind of meat. Apple - Temporary amnesia befalls those who've tried the apple pie. The effects can be as great as forgetting your entire identity or as minor as forgetting what you've had for breakfast. Cherry - Look upon the very face of innocence! All guile falls away from this character, making it impossible for them to lie. Strawberry - The compulsion to follow orders may be strong sometimes, but the strawberry pie comes with the compulsion to give orders instead. Blueberry - Oh no! You're looking a bit... off-color? The blueberry pie turns a character's skin blue for the next two hours. ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● III. BRODEO Last but not least, try the mechanical contraptions of various sizes - equipped with equipment of various sizes as well! The objective of this game is to last as long as you can. Thirteen Hand Sam is the smallest of the mechanical horses. It has no attachments, but instead vibrates until the rider orgasms. Mechanic Mike is the second mechanical horse. With a modest six-inch dildo, it bucks its rider around until orgasm. For those who like a real challenge, the mechanical bull -- the Bonine -- is a two-person contraption that straps each rider in with their own dildo. They sit face-to-face on the thrashing machine, within touching range, able to encourage each other to come (and to lose) more quickly. Ride like you've never ridden before, or comfort someone in the aftermath of a job well done. ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● N A V I G A T I O N

Comments

[todobetter]

Kadan. The word goes straight to Dorian's heart. And the way Bull says it makes him forget about the whole world. It's just the two of them in the chaos around them.

"Absolutely not." He has no interest in watching strangers ride fake cocks on fake bulls. "Is there somewhere we can go to... talk? Just us."

Because he wants to know what Bull's been up to. He has a strange twisting feeling in his gut with a touch of jealousy and fear. Very messy things.

[aban_aqun]

"Yeah. I've got a place."

His hand brushes tenderly over Dorian's back as he guides the mage in the direction they need to go. He points a few things out as they walk, but for the most part the Bull keeps talk light while they're out in public.

The home he's managed to carve out for himself is a few rooms on the first story of a restored building. It's clean, a bit sparse, but over all it looks... comfortable. As soon as they're behind closed doors, Bull gathers Dorian into another kiss, lingering this time. He's missed everything about this man. The last time he'd seen Dorian in person, he'd been going off to Tevinter.

[todobetter]

In the privacy of Bull's home Dorian wraps his arms around him and kisses him back. He's missed him too. There are so few people he can trust in Tevinter and there's no one he can be with like this, no one he wants to be with but Bull.

He laughs when he draws away and rests his head against his chest. "Amatus."

Dorian finally leans back to look at him. "The last time I talked to you, you were not here. You and the Chargers were in the Free Marches."

[aban_aqun]

He wraps his arms around the other man as Dorian rests against his chest. He strokes his fingers through the mage's dark hair, and he feels his chest tighten when he catches the achingly familiar scent of Dorian's pomade.

"Last time I talked to you, you were in Minrathous," he says quietly. Those sending crystals were a lifeline, a way to hear his lover's voice, and a way for Bull to offer support and affection in return.

Bull leans down to gently bump his head against Dorian's. A faint smile quirks his mouth.

"You were saying something about Maevaris." He lifts his head and cups Dorian's face, thumb stroking over his cheek.

[todobetter]

Again, he leans into the touch with a faint sigh. "Mmm. We're planning some new legislation."

So, they were close in time but he knew from Krem that Bull had been here for awhile longer than the Charger.

"How long have you been here?" He asks softly, trying not to sound nervous about the answer. He is. A bit. Bull might have found someone else... oh Dorian hates that idea. He hates that so much. It makes his heart hurt.

[aban_aqun]

"Hm. Six months, give or take a week or two."

Bull moves and gently tugs Dorian along with him to a big couch. He settles down and stretches his left leg out with a quiet sigh.

"Krem's been here... a month? Something like that."

He hasn't been tracking time as closely as he could be. Counting days is a way to make sense of things, but it was also sort of... depressing, for a while. Realizing how long it's been since he's seen anyone or anything familiar. Feeling how long he's been more or less alone. Wondering if time really had stopped back in Thedas, or if it was marching on without him.

[todobetter]

"We have not been out of communication for six months." Dorian sits down next to Bull and without really thinking about it he puts his hand on Bull's knee with a bit of ice magic in his palm to help numb any ache. He's done it many times before at home. "I talked with you just a week ago."

So, that answers that question. Bull's time here did not reflect time back home. It's a fascinating problem to pick apart another time.

"And I'm certain you were with Krem then as well. You made some comment about him and a tavern girl."

[aban_aqun]

Bull sighs quietly as the cold sinks into his knee. He drapes an arm along the back of the couch behind Dorian, giving him the option to sit as close as he'd like. He huffs a laugh.

"Yeah, been watching that romance and wondering if it was gonna blossom," he says fondly. He'd been happy to see Krem. Frustrated that someone he cares about is trapped here, but. Ultimately grateful for a familiar face. Someone that knows him.

"There's people here with theories about how the magic or energy or whatever works, how time works. Most of it goes over my head."

That's probably somewhat uncharitable. Bull has listened to Dorian talking to himself about theory dozens of times, and he can follow the gist of most of it. But it's far from his specialty. And, mostly, he just likes listening to Dorian talk.

[todobetter]

Dorian sits close enough that his hip presses against Bull's. He'll cuddle up to his side in a moment when he's certain he's eased the pain in his leg enough that Bull can relax.

"I'm sure I'll have wonderful conversations with them about it later." Dorian will have a lot of fun arguing those theories back and forth. Who knew time magic better than him? No one.

He massages his chilled fingers against Bull's knee. "I bet you've been popular here," he says, lightly, trying to play it casually as he asks his lover about if he's slept with other people. He must have. It's been six months.

[aban_aqun]

Dorian might be trying to bring it up off-hand, but Bull sees through that in a heartbeat. He shifts, bending his leg as he turns more so that he can face Dorian rather than looking at him side-long.

"I've been noticed," he says. He's the only person here of his size; although Caduceus is as tall as he is, the firbolg is a string bean. Though Gatt always liked to say that Hissrad meant liar, Bull very rarely engages in actual lies. And he isn't about to start now.

"There's been a few." That's going to hurt Dorian, he knows. But Bull can't begin to reassure his lover without offering honesty first. "Sometimes this place doesn't give us much of a choice."

[todobetter]

Oh, it hurts. It cuts him deep to know Bull's been with other people. There's an ugly flash of anger that makes him look away. There's even jealousy, of course there is. The worst part is the hurt. He hates how much it hurts.

"Yes, I was warned about the food and drink." Dorian clears his throat and tries to adopt that wonderful arrogance that's protected him for so long. "And the games this place can play."

But he can't look at Bull right now. He hates the idea of someone else having his lover. His Bull.

[aban_aqun]

Bull lets Dorian be upset. He's grateful that the mage doesn't fully retreat, even if he does look away. He waits a moment, then gently takes one of Dorian's hands. He's never really had to navigate something like this before. Dorian is his first intimate relationship with someone he loves. For most of his life, sex and love have been entirely separate matters. Before Dorian, he never worried about those things crossing.

He runs his thumb over the back of his lover's hand. For all of his ability to be articulate, cunning, sharp... he's at a loss for words here. He isn't sure how to soothe Dorian's hurt. Everything that passes through his head seems like it wouldn't help.

"You're the one I love, Dorian," he says at last, quiet and tender. Whatever else has happened, that is one thing that hasn't wavered or changed.

[todobetter]

That spiteful, angry part of him wants to yank his hand away from Bull but it's a testament to their relationship that he doesn't. Dorian knows sex and love are separate things. He's had plenty of sex without love. Most of his life has been sex without love.

What he has Bull is both. It's more. It's so much more.

"I'm trying very hard not to say the first thing that comes to mind," he admits and finally glances back at Bull. "Because I don't mean most of them. And I love you."

He's said that to so few people in his life and he's never meant it the way he means it with Bull. "And I knew what your answer would be when Krem told me about how this place works. I just... hate the idea of someone else getting to enjoy your talents. Even if it's just... business for you."

[aban_aqun]

"I appreciate that." He knows exactly how sharp Dorian can be, especially when he's hurt. And Bull knows better than to take that sharpness at face value, but he is grateful to be spared all the same.

Bull wants to assure Dorian that it's probably not as bad as he thinks it is, but he isn't sure that would be as helpful as he'd like it to be.

"It's been few and far between," he says after a moment, still trying to navigate this without a map, only a direction. He doesn't think Dorian would appreciate hearing that he's felt sort of like a tamassran more than a lover. Someone that people come to with specific needs. They don't stay.

Dorian's the only one who's ever done that.

"You're the one I've missed every day."

[todobetter]

And now, irrationally, he's furious that people have made Bull feel so lonely. That is so very stupid. He doesn't want Bull to have other lovers but he doesn't want Bull to spend six months lonely either.

Dorian huffs out and breath and gives up on his anger. He turns and curls against Bull. "I hate being without you. I can't imagine six months without even hearing your voice."

The sending crystals kept him same. He could hear Bull and feel that little spark of connection. Bull had none of that.

"But I can't share you. I can't, Bull." He's had casual lovers. He's had married lovers. He doesn't want that any more. He wants to be Bull's only lover. His only love.