TDM 016 & 4th WALL EVENT: NO WALLS BETWEEN US

[erkumods]

TDM 016 & 4th WALL EVENT: NO WALLS BETWEEN US

00. An Arrival and a Broken Wall?! You should be coming 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 should be greeted by robots who welcome them with towels and bracelet devices. The A5 card already loaded up, and if you don’t manage to get away from them quickly enough, they should 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 should be given a complimentary towel to leave with if needed! Should. That’s how things are for newbies - and maybe today, some newbies will arrive the usual way. Others might be surprised to hear that there is another "you"... already here! If and when you finally meet this other "you," there's simply no way to agree on who the so-called real version is. Your histories may be the same or they may be wildly divergent, but those little differences don't change the fact that you are who you say you are. Some islanders might even find themselves running into a much older or younger version of themselves. Duplicates and doppelgangers, you say? People who look and sound familiar but are just a little bit off? What strange anomalies have washed up from the ocean! On the other hand, maybe you’re not new here at all, or so you think. You’ve definitely been on this Island for months already. You can't exactly remember what you were doing here before, but you have the modest home and personal effects to prove that you existed. You’ve always been someone who greets new arrivals at the shore. You know very well how things work on the island, and how many of the buildings are abandoned and in dire need of repair. You know that 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. You know all of this. You’ve already claimed 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. You’re a veteran at this by now. Aren’t you? ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● I. A WHOLE NEW YOU The fog has thickened off the shores of the Island and in the areas that have still been obscured. So thick that it looks not unlike the heavy clouds of the recent storm. But late into the night and early into the morning, the fog seems to encroach on the Nameless City even more, blinding and catching Islanders traveling through in areas normally free of its effects. Anyone who gets caught in the especially heavy mist might find themselves suffering from more than just the usual amnesia. The fog no longer only takes memories, but can also alter your memories... and you. You may forget your time on the Island. You may forget your life before. But you’ll remember something else. You’ll remember a life entirely different as if you lived it yourself: you are a merperson who has always lived here, in the waters around the Island. Those grand underwater cities look like ancient ruins to others, but to you? You still see them as beautiful and palatial as the day they were built. You are a Native whose memories are fuzzy, but you certainly remember living your entire life here in great happiness and luxury. And once you step out of the mist, you might even find yourself physically changed to match what you recall, with fins or tentacles and gills to allow you breathe beneath the waves. You might be completely transformed, or just enough to make life underwater as easy as it's ever been. Someone else attempting to free you of these delusions will find that the more they try to force you to remember your true life, the more real and convincing your undersea life begins to feel. You must embrace this new (old?) life, embrace this new you in all ways and live it to its fullest. Completing Auspicious Acts will help bring out glimpses, hints, flashes of memory and recognition that perhaps this is not who you once were, and allow you to return to your former self. But the longer you take to embrace this, the harder it might be to let go. Some of these changes could become permanent. ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● II. LET XXX BE YOUR GUIDE Things have been strange, not just for the people of the Island, but the robots as well. The typically welcoming robots that offer their assistance in guiding new arrivals or encouraging Islanders to visit the various locations seem to be scarce. There are fewer of them running around the entertainment district and other establishments. To ensure that new arrivals continue to have a pleasant Island experience, robots will be recruiting Islanders as mentors and guides: mentor guides, if you will! Volunteers will lead other Islanders around the Island as a means of helping them become better acquainted with the locations available here for your fun and entertainment, and they will be rewarded with credits for their hard work. Guides and sightseers alike could be someone fresh and new to the Island, someone who insists they’ve been here for years, or even someone that a robot randomly dragged off the street. Mentor guides will all receive a very form-fitting and revealing uniform - no two are the same! - and, of course, a glossy paper map of all of the available sights on the Island. The pictures are big and detailed, and cute sex toy icons point out various key sights such as the recreation center, the bath house, and the library. There are even suggestions for which Auspicious Acts are the best for each location! Strangely, none of the maps list the same suggestions, so each map encourages its own unique experience. Mentees will also find that their mentor’s voice is very appealing. So appealing that just listening to them speak is enough to get you feeling some kind of way. The more they talk, the more of a reaction you have. Your body begins to burn or itch and it’s very hard to pay attention to their words when thoughts about all the things you could be doing to them instead keep coming to your mind. The only way to relieve these thoughts might be to make your mentor stop talking altogether, or follow through with some of those helpful map suggestions. Maybe you need them to mentor you in more ways than one? ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● III. SITCHES GET GLITCHES You’re walking down the road, or in your own home, or visiting a friend and suddenly something happens out of the corner of your eye. There’s a soft pfzzzzzzt and the feel of static on the skin. You turn and realize that the wall is suddenly gone. Or, maybe the glass in a store window disappeared. Perhaps someone’s clothes just vanished off of them in the middle of the street, or the chair you were sitting in at the cafe suddenly poofs right from under you. It’s as if the world around them is malfunctioning - little glitches that can last for seconds, hours, or even days before returning to normal on their own. Nothing that could seriously harm someone, but enough to be quite inconvenient. At least completing an Auspicious Act in the affected area or with the affected person seems to put it to rights immediately. Unfortunately, this doesn’t stop these glitches from happening again. You may be concerned, and the robots understand, but if asked they will insist it’s just the world adjusting as the Augur welcomes so many new people! Nothing to be worried about, obviously. It will take time for fluctuating energy levels to adjust, that’s all. Some robots might even say it’s the perfect time to enjoy having so few barriers between you. Embrace the open nature of the Island and share yourself and your home with others. Walls are only meant for keeping out what you could be letting in! ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● OOC Notes: Enjoy a mini Fourth Wall event, Islanders! As such, this test drive meme is open for anyone to create top levels, not just prospective players. Current player characters, characters you want to play in the setting but can't app full-time, drive-by castmates, duplicates, canon AUs, characters that normally would not be allowed such as fandom AUs and genderswaps (not including characters under 15), formerly dropped characters, etc. are all encouraged to come in and play! As all other test drive memes, this one will be game canon. Characters who fourth wall but do not app will disappear after a few days to a week, along with their home (if applicable) and all of their possessions. Please label your top levels as to whether you are test driving [TDM] or fourth walling [4W]. (Of course, you are allowed to change your mind! But our rules regarding appable characters will still apply.) Since auspicious acts are an integral part of this event, potential and current players can swap one Auspicious Act on their card for one of their choosing, if needed for any of the prompts. As usual, prospective players can use an Act and swap it onto their card if they choose to app into the game. If you have any questions, please ask them below. ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● N A V I G A T I O N

Comments

[scramordie]

It would be wrong.

[ He would not allow his Xie to face-plant into the sand. Though, now? He did not look vicious in the least bit. ]

You have been mine for some time.

[thescorpionking]

I've never heard of a merman being claimed by a land dweller! {He laughs and observes Kexing with narrowed eyes. Then he nuzzles their lips together, his skin tasting of saltwater and something darker and sweeter.

There are two sides to the man in his arms and he wants to coax out the one that Kexing hides.}

I'll agree to it if you either swim with me or lay with me in the sand.

[scramordie]

[ There is no laughter to those words. No matter what form was given to this man, Xie was his.

A soft kiss and possibly laughter. The Ghost Lord stays hidden for a reason. ]

I will swim with you. I will not lay in the sand.

[thescorpionking]

{Challenges are fun for the merman. He likes digging his nails into cracks and prying them open.

The answer thrills him and he places another kiss on Kexing's jawline.}

Help me to the tide?

[scramordie]

[ Some cracks are better left unopened. Left to close up with the coming weather. ]

You managed this and can't return?

[ He shakes his head, amusement clear, as he carries him towards the tide. ]

[thescorpionking]

{Xie purses his lips at the taunt. His placement had shocked him too! He usually isn't so far from deep water.}

I can't explain how I traveled so far.

{His arms hold onto Kexing around his shoulders and his heart pounds. No, he doesn't want to let this man go.}

Mmm much better. {Xie takes to the water gleefully, ducking his head under the waves and surfacing completely drenched.}

[scramordie]

I'm sure you can't.

[ He doesn't let go until the other is in the water. The only problem now? His fan. This was still Xie, so outer robes are removed and fan hidden inside, then he slips into the water. ]

[thescorpionking]

{He waits for Kexing to join him and then eagerly swims to his side, circling around him like an enthusiastic shark. But he doesn't bite or claw. Instead he ends up pressing his lips to Kexing's ear:}

You've been hurt and used. I can help you leave that life behind.

[scramordie]

[ He watches the way he swings, like a predator circling its prey. He was no one's prey.

He hears those words and shakes his head. ]

There is no life I would leave behind.

[thescorpionking]

Yes, there is. {He traces a finger down Kexing's chest, smiling slowly.} You want part of you to die.

[scramordie]

[ He feels those fingers trace down his chest and trails fingers lightly over Xie's arm ]

No. I have my A-Xu and I have you. There is no part of me that needs to die.

[ He has tasted death before, never again. ]

[thescorpionking]

{He ignores how his heart aches. It feels...distant. Almost as distant as that voice in his mind.

None of it matters, of course.}

You keep him chained, don't you. I wouldn't~ I would let him out.

[scramordie]

[ This was not a conversation he was willing to have. ]

This is not a topic I will venture into, A-Xie.

[ The Ghost Lord would stay chained. ]

[thescorpionking]

{A sick shiver runs through his body and Xie grabs onto Kexing's shoulders, his vision swimming.}

Let's not talk at all. I said I wanted you.

{And so he kisses the man again, drowning his confusion with passion.}

[scramordie]

Not talking works for me.

[ The Ghost Lord could stay gone forever. He does, however, kiss the other back. Even goes as far as deepening the kiss. ]

[thescorpionking]

{His mouth is hot and eager; his lips part and he licks at Kexing's mouth in "revenge". The ache in his chest eases - as does the sick feeling in his stomach. He rubs their bodies together seductively, but he isn't even sure how merman anatomy works.

Shouldn't he know? He makes an irritated sound in his throat.}

[scramordie]

[ He laughs at the "revenge" and bites down lightly on Xie's lower lip.

He allows the other's body to press to his own, pressing back. There's almost a hint of amusement in those eyes. ]

Problems, A-Xie?

[thescorpionking]

{Groaning deeply, he grazes Kexing's tongue with his little fangs.

But then he discovers a problem. Breaking the kiss, he runs his hands down his body and instead of finding the usual...ah...protrusion, he finds a slit instead.}

How...

[scramordie]

[ There's a taste of blood when those fangs graze his tongue. Though, he's mildly amused at the 'How' question. ]

You're the merman, not me.

[thescorpionking]

{Of course that makes sense. He is the merman. However his memory isn't helping him and his brow furrows as he tries to understand...}

Maybe - {Xie slips a finger into the slit and his eyes widen. Grinning suddenly, he throws his arms around Kexing again.}

I found it.

[scramordie]

[ What was there to understand? Xie was human and not a merman. He wraps arms around him, kissing him and letting that kiss deepen. He needed his A-Xie to come back to him. ]

Did you?

[thescorpionking]

{He can't help moaning, memories of a soft bed and strong hands following that kiss. His cheeks are red when they part and he stares at Kexing fixedly.}

I've never left the sea... I've never laid on a human bed...

[scramordie]

[ Instead of dignifying that statement in any way, he presses as close as he can. Even as he does he lets his hands wander and the kiss deepen, those hands pulling the merman as close as possible. ]

[thescorpionking]

{And Xie can do nothing but melt. The scales begin to fade at his waist, glittering for a moment before his skin takes their place. He has no concept of it, however; he is much too busy kissing Kexing until his head spins. Xie's fingers bury themselves in his lover's hair and when his tail has become legs again, he shudders from the chill of the water.}

A-Ah...

[scramordie]

[ When his hands wander he feels those scales recede. The kiss, itself, is passion and heated. Kexing deepening it until they need to breathe. ]

There's my A-Xie.

[ He loves the feel of those fingers in his hair and gives a soft smile, pressing close to that naked body. ]

Cold, A-Xie?