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

[bestswordmaster]

Oh, great. Just what Felix needed on freaky sex island: Dedue. It wasn't enough that things got...sort of weird between him and Dimitri, now Dedue is here to make them even weirder.

He's not expecting the first thing out of Dedue's mouth to be about his clothes, of all things.

"Oh. It's you. That's really the most important thing on your mind right now? My wardrobe?" He sets a hand on one hip, which is a completely normal thing for him to do except that usually, his pants aren't tight enough to perfectly outline the way his buttocks and hips shift with the movement.

"Get a grip. Before you ask, yes, the boar is here. No, I don't know where he is right now."

[donoteattheweeds]

Dedue doesn't see anything that's happening in the general hip region of Felix's anatomy on account of the fact that his eyes are squarely situated at his irritated face. This is likely a blessing, as he could gladly live his life without knowing how obscenely tight his pants are.

"My apologies." Technically, Felix is covered, and beyond that, Dedue has no right to object to what he wears. It is just... jarring, to see him in something that isn't covering his vital regions. His midriff is simply bare, vulnerable to attack.

And then Felix calls His Highness a boar, yet again. Dedue's jaw tightens, and he has to suppress the urge to grab Felix and... toss him into the ocean, probably. They aren't even two minutes into a conversation and already the swordsman is trying his patience.

"I will remind you again not to insult His Highness in my presence," he says, "and I will not do so another time. Since you cannot direct me to him, I will not detain you for any longer. I am sure this pleases the both of us."

He fully intends to take his leave of Felix at that point, but as soon as he turns away from him, the robots return and block his path, insistently telling the both of them that a tour is necessary. Again, Dedue is too polite to simply shove or break any of them, and they still herd him like sheepdogs back towards Felix.

[bestswordmaster]

Honestly, at this point Felix barely considers it an insult; it's just...what he calls Dimitri. It's almost become a sort of affectionate nickname, something between just the two of them. If Dimitri himself still views it as an insult, he's never said so.

But he doesn't feel like explaining that to Dedue, so he just rolls his eyes. "Fine. I don't know where Dimitri is. Probably with Edelgard, I suppose." He folds his arms and makes a disgusted face.

He watches this little exchange between Dedue and the automata, lifting an eyebrow. "There's no need to be polite to a bunch of walking, talking garbage cans. Ugh, very well. We might as well get this over with."

[donoteattheweeds]

"With-- the Empress is here as well?"

That makes things exponentially more alarming. If Edelgard is anywhere within reach, Dimitri will surely be trying to take her head off. Dedue is not opposed to the idea of His Highness relieving her of said head, but he would prefer that he didn't do so without Dedue there as well, to protect him. He is, after all, Dimitri's sword and shield.

And Felix doesn't even know where Dimitri is. Has he been drugged? Ensorcelled? What possible reason could he have for not taking up arms and being in the middle of the fight?

"Why are you here and not fighting with His Highness?"

Instead, he's standing around in his inappropriately fitting clothing like a... a hussy when His Highness could have need of him.

[bestswordmaster]

Felix scoffs, irritated. "They're not fighting. Far from it. He's most likely in her bed." He shakes his head. "They declared a truce between all of us here from Fodlan. There are no hostilities."

[donoteattheweeds]

There is a long pause as Dedue has to digest this piece of information that Felix has bestowed upon his unwary head like a tactical nuke.

Dimitri has not only called off his war against the Empress, but is... on good terms. Involved with her, even. Carnally involved.

This doesn't fit with the fundamentals of the world that Dedue understands. It would have been easier if Felix had told him that Sylvain had sworn a vow of celibacy, or that he himself had given up swordplay and decided to become a street performer.

"If this is some kind of joke," he says, slowly, "it is in immensely poor taste."

[bestswordmaster]

"I don't joke." Which Dedue ought to know by now. "The truce was well-struck. It would only have made things more difficult to continue hostilities in a place like this. Particularly since not everyone remembers the war the same way, or from the same point in time. Dimitri came from a later point than I did, and he tells me that he was already intending to attempt a parley with Edelgard even at home. It's a bold move, but worth it if it ends the war without more bloodshed."

Then he sneers. "But sleeping with her? After dragging us into slaughter after pointless slaughter, getting our troops killed for nothing in the name of his atrocities? Ludicrous."

Not that Felix has a ton of room to talk, given...what happened on the cruise. And in the wrestling pit. But he didn't spend five years ranting about taking her head off in as grisly a fashion as possible.

[donoteattheweeds]

There is... logic to a cease-fire, he supposes, at least in a purely practical sense. Dimitri does not have his armies here, and nor does Edelgard; they are technically the king and empress of nothing for as long as they are in this strange new world. But the idea that Dimitri would set aside his desire for vengeance so easily, and then join her in bed, after they had shed blood and sweat and tears in war against her...

Dedue had nearly died more than once for His Highness, with the understanding that he would fulfill the promises that he had made. Is his blood worth so little to Dimitri, that he could forget such sacrifices for a place in Edelgard's bed?

"This is... you are certain of this? That His Highness is in congress with Edelgard?"

It seems impossible. Like slander, and the kind that Dedue would take up an axe about. But Felix is generally a reliable source and, though Dedue has never been overly fond of him, he is usually right about things and wouldn't go spreading such rumors around if it wasn't credible.

[bestswordmaster]

Felix scoffs, derisive. "Of course I'm certain. You think I want it to be true? To say nothing of Constance's suspicions that it goes beyond mere sex."

And that, that is what really boils Felix's blood. After what Dimitri did that first day Felix was here, after everything they've all been through...if he discovers that Constance is right, he swears to the Goddess he will challenge that bastard to a duel right then and there.

[donoteattheweeds]

Of course Felix doesn't want this to be true; Dedue doesn't want it to be, either. For once in their lives, they are entirely in agreement on something. Of all the things that Dedue thought he would be dealing with when he woke up in a different realm, the possibility that his lord would be a bedwarmer for their enemy never crossed his mind.

Thanks, he hates it.

"Stop. Say no more. I will hear the rest from His Highness."

Because Felix could bet his last coin that Dedue would be speaking to Dimitri about this, once he finds where the man is hiding. Even if it means that he has to drag him out of Edelgard's bed himself.

[bestswordmaster]

Felix rolls his eyes. "Fine. Then we might as well go back to the manor. If he's not home, you can just wait for him there."

Felix would pay money to see Dedue drag Dimitri out of Edelgard's bed.

And then Felix can change into different clothes, too...although honestly, these are growing on him. So maybe not.

He sets off, trudging across the beach in the direction of the house and watching Dedue's armored feet sink deep into the sand with every step.

"If you took your armor off, you would move a lot faster and I wouldn't be stuck walking at your snail's pace."

[donoteattheweeds]

When Dedue arrived he had, of course, been approached by the mechanical creatures that had tried to usher him up towards a building-- the one they claimed was a spa. He had been suspicious from the moment that such services had been offered for no charge, and his suspicions were confirmed when he'd seen someone walk out of the place with nothing but a towel to preserve their modesty. He had taken his leave of the place immediately after, without parting with a single piece of his armor.

Trudging through sand is certainly harder while wearing fifty pounds of steel, and he is chafing a bit in some unfortunate places, but Dedue would sooner deal with the encumbrance than lose possession of it entirely.

"I will be no faster carrying my armor rather than wearing it."

Unless Felix wants to share the burden, which he highly doubts. Once they are off of the beach, anyway, it won't be as much of an issue. Dedue can keep up a decent marching pace once he's on solid ground.

"How did His Highness come to acquire a manor here?"

Since his title has little meaning here, and if he arrived as Dedue did-- with nothing but the armor on his back-- he can't have had much by way of funds.