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

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!tdm

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?

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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.

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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?

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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!

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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.

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N A V I G A T I O N

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"You aren't, and thank you." She thought so too, though that wasn't about to stop her from pursuing it for the reasons the Augur had laid out for them. Her years as a professor had been, by and large, a failure in regards to finding a relationship... and she hadn't a clue what she'd be doing when she returned to Fodlan, if she ever returned to Fodlan. People disappearing at least made it seem possible.

Taking the robe before quickly clasping the cloak shut again, Manuela waited a moment before clearing her throat. "If you could turn around, Ferdinand?" Though he'd already had the opportunity to get a view of her unclothed earlier, there was a difference between when rushing to her aid and giving her the opportunity to change.

There was something incredibly embarrassing about having Manuela, of all people, in his room. He kept it clean and tidy enough, at least when he wasn't polishing what little of his armor had made the voyage to the island with him. But there was still the fact that he was a young man, and she was her. It was hard not to feel a little nervous about it, just like when he'd finally had the chance to share some of his poetry with her. ...Goddess, would she even remember that if he brought it up? He could never tell any time someone from Fódlan appeared.

He didn't have long for his thoughts to drift before she snapped him back to reality, however. "A-Ah, of course," he stammered, growing visibly flustered. "Please forgive me. In fact, I should grant you even more privacy than that." With that, he gave her a very polite, respectful bow before turning and heading for the door. Without another word, he quickly opened it, stepped on the other side, and closed it behind him, leaving her alone in his room as he waited outside.

...It wouldn't take her long to put on the robe, honestly. But he tended to err on the side of caution, especially these days. He'd gotten into quite a few situations on account of certain people showing him more skin than they'd perhaps intended, and it inevitably made for awkward conversations.

Manuela of all people was hardly about to judge anybody for any lack of cleanliness, though she was well-aware of why he might be nervous. That conversation, at least, she'd had with him, albeit without any need for a nigh-omnipresent tactician to keep them close; simply being his teacher had, eventually, built up their closeness.

While curiosity meant that she saw the advantage she might have with Ferdinand absent, there was nothing Manuela felt she couldn't examine in the strange room with him present. So it was only a few moments later that she opened the door for him, now wearing his bathrobe. With the effect the humidity of the island had on her hair, she could almost be mistaken for having emerged from his bath and taken the garment for herself-if not for the fact that Manuela was holding out his cloak for him to take as well. "Thank you-you can come back in."

Ferdinand wasn't sure what he was doing, standing guard outside of his own room like that. Nobody was going to interrupt Manuela. The only other people who came by here were Edelgard and Constance, sometimes Flayn if she came to visit... which wasn't often, given how things were still understandably awkward between her and the emperor who had fought to overthrow the Church she'd dedicated her life to, of course. It wasn't as if someone was going to demand entrance to his room. Perhaps he was just being too uptight.

He relaxed visibly when the door opened, and he turned to accept his cloak. ...It was an interesting look, and Manuela would no doubt be able to recognize the slight delay in Ferdinand's reaction before he even responded to what she had said. "O-Of course," he stammered, smiling politely as he accepted his cloak. "If you have need of anything else, you need only ask."

Well, besides a stiff drink. Ferdinand didn't have any of that, but right now, he almost felt like he could use one himself to settle his nerves.

Unfortunately, what else would she ask for?

"Does that include something to drink? Or any suggestions on how I could get it?" If this wasn't a dream-and Manuela was becoming more and more certain it wasn't, considering how long it had gone on-she was going to need alcohol. Hell, she needed it most days back at the monastery, let alone here of all places.

Without even waiting for a proper response, Manuela went to the kitchenette, noticing the strange tap that appeared to not be in, well, anything. Bending over slightly to get a closer look, she waited for his response while eyeing it up hopefully.

"Well, I would be honored to make you some tea, but for anything stronger than that, you would need to visit one of the bars," he suggested with a gesture of his hand, allowing his desire to be helpful to keep him focused. "Ah, but that reminds me. This technology is something that I feel would strongly benefit all of Fódlan, if only we could replicate it there."

He stepped to a cabinet and brought down a glass, then held it beneath the tap in front of her and turned on the faucet. "By turning the handle in one direction or another, I can get cold water or hot water. There is no magic necessary. There are simply pipes running the water throughout the building, and when water needs to be heated, it is stored in a tank for that purpose. It is quite clever, really, and it makes bathing much more convenient."

Leave it to Ferdinand von Aegir to get distracted from his pervasive thoughts by discussing the merits of indoor plumbing.

"That does sound useful." And explained the lack of chamber pot, though now Manuela was more thinking about the bars. And what she was wearing. "I know this place is... 'odd,' but do you think it's appropriate to show up to a bar in this? Or should I try and find something nicer to wear first?"

Nevermind the fact that she'd have to find a way to pay for the drinks. Ugh, this was going to be a headache, and fast. At least the water looked nice and clean from the faucet. "Is it safe to drink?"

"Oh, yes, the water is quite safe to drink when it comes from this particular faucet," he noted with a nod, and with that, set the glass down for her. "I use it to make tea quite often, and I have had no complaints." He didn't know the specifics, but there was some sort of filtration, and his water had been mostly aphrodisiac-free. That, or the act of brewing tea with it simply boiled out any of the additives that the Augur had put in to try to enhance the mood.

"Unfortunately, I do not think a woman of your elegance would be well-suited wearing just a robe out in public," he mused out loud, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Given the atmosphere here, some people are likely to get the wrong idea, and you may end up attracting some... unwelcome attention." Or maybe it was welcome. Ferdinand wasn't one to judge, and it would have been hypocritical of him to do so anyway, given everything that he'd done under the Augur's influence or even without it.

Manuela wasn't desperate for that attention-not yet, at least-but she did take the glass and enjoy a long sip before sighing with satisfaction. "So clothing first. Then a drink. And then a place to live-I assume you're about to offer me one," she held up a hand as if to cut him off- "which I appreciate, but I wouldn't be comfortable with that until I've spoken with Edelgard first." And depending on how that conversation went, she might not be comfortable with it at all... but it was impossible to say beforehand.

Ferdinand was about to offer, if not a room of her own, assistance in finding one elsewhere, but he was pre-empted by Manuela. Of course she knew him well enough to correctly assume his next course of action. But she was right: it wouldn't be fair of him to make an offer without discussing it with Edelgard and Constance first, and he definitely didn't want to cause a situation where tempers flared. Sure, the Manuela he remembered was one of Edelgard's most trusted allies and a valued confidant, but he already knew that she remembered things a bit differently than he did.

"Perhaps not the exact order I would choose, but yes," he agreed, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "There are places where we can find clothing, so long as it hasn't all disappeared. Here, allow me—"

He reached out for the faucet to shut it off so as not to waste water, but as his hand neared it, there was a faint crackle, and then the faucet simply faded from existence. The water that had been flowing into it began to spray out from the new hole in the kitchenette's sink.

"—Oh, rats."

Just when they'd more or less solved one glitch, another occurred. Of course. Things couldn't be simple with the Augur, could they?

"Here, I-" Downing the rest of her water quickly, she tried to use it to cover the hole-but no amount of bailing the water was going to keep it from flowing, and while she could perhaps hold the glass in place to redirect the flow, there was certainly going to be plenty of water wasted in the meantime.

"Is there some other way you can make it stop?" Manuela assumed that this water wasn't exactly unlimited, considering Ferdinand just didn't have it running at all times. And of course, she knew of one way to fix it, but she was hoping she wouldn't be forced to give up on avoiding intimacy with her students so soon (even if, admittedly, there could've been few better-suited for such an eventuality than Ferdinand.)

Ferdinand was utterly determined not to impose upon Manuela within mere hours of meeting her on the island. Sadly, he didn't have the best grasp of how the plumbing in this building actually worked, so it took him a second or two to realize that he couldn't just cover the hole with his hand. The water pressure caused it to jet out into his face and chest, drenching him in a most undignified manner. "I-I have it all under control! Everything is fine!" he sputtered, taking his hand away so at least the water wouldn't spray up any more.

Remembering something, he ducked down and opened the cabinet, and sure enough, there was a shut-off valve. Before the sink could make too much more of a mess, he managed to turn it off, and the flow of water slowed to a halt within a few seconds.

"...I suppose I will be going down the hall to make tea for the time being," he lamented, taking a seat on the floor and draping his arms on his knees. His upper half was soaked, but at least they'd kept the room from flooding.

"You've got somebody you can 'fix' it with, haven't you?" He and Edelgard had survived here-thrived, even, if what he said about this building was true-and while fixing some plumbing wasn't necessarily the best reason to have sex, surely, he had some sort of established partners?

"And in the meantime, can I get you a towel or something? In the closet?" Considering just how defeated he looked, she was already moving to the closet where he'd gotten the bathrobe out. Manuela herself had gotten a bit of water on her, but nowhere near as much as Ferdinand.

"Ah, there's a towel hanging in the bathroom, behind that door, but..." he began, turning his head to look at her with a quizzical expression on his face. Sure, Ferdinand had understood that Manuela's disappearing clothing would probably get fixed by the performing of an 'Auspicious Act,' but he hadn't really considered that approach for his own problem. "—Oh. Er, yes, in time, I should be able to... fix this."

He became quite red-faced at that, as it essentially meant he was admitting to having sex. To Manuela. She probably had already figured it out, but for some reason, the very idea of her knowing it and starting to put names and faces to it was embarrassing. What did that say about him?

If Manuela were asked, she would say it made him a gentleman, albeit perhaps a prudish one. Nonetheless, she entered the remaining door and gathered a towel, shaking her head slightly at the sight of that tub. Typical enough of their hosts-and when she returned, she offered him a hand-up from the floor.

"There's no reason to be embarrassed about it, Ferdinand. Least of all now that we're here, instead of back home." In a monastery or at war or any number of places all less... 'encouraging' of intimacy than this strange island.

"I am glad to hear you say that," he confessed, managing a grateful smile as he took her hand. He rose to his feet, averting his gaze and accepting the towel once it was offered. "You know, a few months ago, many of us who came from Fódlan all came together and played a drinking game. 'Never Have I Ever,' I believe it was called."

As he spoke, he dabbed his face dry with the towel, though it did little to take care of his soaked dress shirt and jacket. "The idea was that one person would say 'Never have I ever...' and then say something inappropriate. Anyone in the room who did such a thing would then take a drink. You can imagine my embarrassment when I ended up drinking the most out of anyone in the room."

"It sounds like you should've waited until I arrived. Do you want a new shirt?" Manuela imagined that she'd have been by far the one drinking the most-though perhaps she underestimated just how much they'd done together on this island. It also probably would depend a lot on how much of it was sexual versus simply inappropriate in general; while she wasn't certain she'd done more 'auspicious acts' in her life than Ferdinand, the songstress was quite certain that she had him beat in most other categories. He was a noble, afterall, and a quite upstanding one at that.

"Ah, yes, please," he responded, smiling sheepishly. "I have a clean one hanging in the closet." That shirt wasn't one like he typically wore in Fódlan. Instead, it was a plain, white dress shirt, though impeccably pressed, as all things he wore were. More importantly, it was dry.

As he began unbuttoning his jacket, he started thinking about how much more eventful that evening would have been had Manuela been there. She certainly would have made quite the impact on the festivities, and since everyone was placed under an effect where they were compelled to tell the truth, it might have given him some intriguing insight. But then, he remembered how someone had stated never have I ever fantasized about one of the professors, thus prompting him to take a drink, and he realized that he was probably alright with her missing that particular class reunion.

Considering she would have had to have taken a drink for that particular round, well, it might have embarrassed Manuela as well-but the past was the past, and unless they played another such game again, Ferdinand would have to do without that particular insight. Gathering up the clean-and dry-shirt, Manuela draped it carefully over the countertop, well away from any remaining wet spots.

"This reminds me of something we might wear in the theater. Not quite as intricate as what I've normally seen you in, but easy to spot, and still nice." Really, standing out was the goal of such a piece of clothing, at least in her mind-while it was plain, there was no way not to be seen while wearing it, and it allowed a performer to stand out on the stage. "Are there any here-theaters? Or any other performance spaces?"

He nodded at her question, shrugging his way out of the jacket. "Those machines put on a performance at the amphitheater a few months ago, if you can even call it a performance," he noted, his tone making it clear he gave no ringing endorsement. "Everyone was invited to attend, but I found it so boring and lifeless that I left before the first intermission. It certainly did make me miss seeing you on the stage, but it honestly could not even compare to a true opera." There was also the issue with the concessions having a strong aphrodisiac effect, but that was another matter entirely.

He set his jacket on the counter for the time being and began to undo the cufflinks on his shirt. If she were of a mind to peek, she'd see that it was thoroughly soaked through, the damp fabric clinging to his form. Despite the relative tranquility of the island compared to Fódlan, he had maintained his strict training regimen, and it showed.

Manuela allowed herself a short peak-not for any reason beyond mere professional curiosity, of course, he was her student-before averting her gaze once more, turning her attention instead back towards the door, imagining the world outside. "If they are keen to perform, perhaps that's one way I could get what I need besides... the obvious. Teaching them to perform better."

If their production was truly so bad that Ferdinand had been compelled to leave before intermission, well-as much as Manuela might have enjoyed thinking herself the sole reason for him not missing a single one of her own shows for five years, if Ferdinand was not an enjoyer of the art surely he'd not have been nearly so attentive.

"That's a wonderful idea," he stated in response, his eyes lighting up at the idea. "Or perhaps you could even organize your own group of performers. This island is full of people who have not had the privilege of hearing the Divine Songstress herself perform." He stood there for a second, still wearing his drenched shirt and holding the clean one in his hands, smiling broadly before realizing that he wasn't moving.

"...Ah, pardon me," he quickly blurted out before turning and heading for the bathroom door and slipping past it. "I am still listening!" He figured it only polite that he spare her the sight of him disrobing, even if it was just his shirt, though he was leaving the door open just a bit so that they could continue their conversation. He began prying that wet shirt off of his body, though the wetness of it made it cling rather stubbornly to his chest and shoulders.

Considering the Augur had given Ferdinand a chance for a view of Manuela, it was only fair that it had given her the same, certainly. Though that was hardly an appropriate thought-it was one that, finally, gave her an opportunity to blush again for the first time since donning his robe. Nonetheless she averted her gaze while he entered the bathroom, only to continue the conversation once he had.

"Perhaps you would even like to-perform, that is. Or at the very least write, if acting doesn't appeal. You always have had a way with words." A talent that Manuela herself lacked-for all she could recognize good writing when she saw it, and take another's text from the page to the hearts and minds of her audience, writing wasn't exactly her forte.

AFter a bit of a struggle, Ferdinand managed to pry the soaked shirt off over his shoulders. If Manuela stole a peek through the open door, she would certainly get an eyeful. He was in peak physical condition, his chest broad and muscular despite his lean build. There were a few minor scars here and there, earned from minor cuts and wounds earned during the course of the war, but nothing that hadn't healed properly.

He grabbed the dry shirt and began to put it on, distracted somewhat by her praise. He felt the tickle of a blush on his cheeks, and he couldn't help but smile. "From the very first moment I first saw you at the Mittelfrank Opera Company, I dreamed of being on that stage with you," he confessed, starting to close the buttons on his shirt one by one. "I dare not pretend to be even close to your level, but performing alongside you... it would be a dream come true."

"I can't necessarily speak for your singing voice-but acting, at least, is a talent that I promise can be entirely learned. With the right tutelage, you would surely belong by my side." Manuela's singing had been a gift from the Goddess herself, and while that had been her key to joining Mittlefrank, the rest of her craft needed learned.

Having successfully resisted the temptation to peek-despite what a grand temptation it was-Manuela had seated herself on whatever furniture was available by the time Ferdinand re-emerged. "It's decided, then. So long as I'm here, away from a continent about to be torn apart by war, I'll make it my goal to teach the people-and even the strange creations-to perform."

00. An Arrival and a Broken Wall?!

I. A WHOLE NEW YOU

II. LET XXX BE YOUR GUIDE

III. SITCHES GET GLITCHES

OOC Notes:

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