ercookies | TDM017: SYSTEMS UPGRADE

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TDM017: SYSTEMS UPGRADE

Updating environmental system to version 2.69...

When you blink your eyes open, it is to the glare of blinding overhead lights and the sight of a pair of glassy mechanical eyes boring into your own. The face above yours moves like liquid mercury, forming an approximation of a figure that you recognize and trust implicitly: a friend, a loved one, a caretaker. Perhaps even a god or a goddess. From its lips fall the patterns of a language that is strange and robotic, and yet familiar to you:

Everything is fine.

Welcome to the ̶͓̃N̵̼̈ă̷͙m̴̝͋e̵͕͐l̴͔̋e̷̦͘š̴͙s̵̬̚ ̵̝͌I̴͙͐s̵͖̄l̷̞̓à̴͖n̷̺̏d̵̮͠.̶̼̊<

Darkness overtakes you once again. In the blackness of your dreamless sleep, you are sure you hear a strange chime. You are conscious of a choice:

Yes

Y̶o̶u̶ ̸h̵a̸v̸e̵ ̸c̷h̸o̶s̵e̵n̷ ̶w̶i̶s̵e̴l̷y̸.̷

The Augur thanks you for your loyalty.

I. Orientation

With your support, the Nameless Island will thrive and prosper -- but it may require a little more energy than usual to sustain. Step outside and you will soon see why: the skies are calm, the seas are clear and blue, and the pink sands of the beach have never looked more inviting.

Rome wasn't built in a day, but a facsimile of it certainly was. Enjoy new facades for all of the structures in the Nameless City - everything has been retooled, renewed, and restored to be sleek, shiny, and the absolute height of high tech, eco-friendly luxury, with lush greenery and futuristic architecture blending together seamlessly. You have been transported from the hospital directly to your new residence in either the Apartments or in the House of Worship, sparsely furnished with all the basics and some of your belongings. A friend, partner, or stranger may be there with you. This may be your roommate, but this place isn't hurting for space. No robot will stop them from selecting their own room if they wish.

The Augur calls everyone to the Loudinus Amphitheater, an outdoor stage nestled among the tropical foliage where 'bots put on a play about the purpose of the island, the Auspicious Acts, and the history of the past year, including the all-too-recent attack on the Augur. The robot sex scenes are numerous and explicit, and you may find yourself watching a horribly butchered version of any of your old encounters.

Pick up a free Playbook, a comprehensive list of the dramatis personae with detailed character profiles, and learn a thing or two about your fellow Islanders. No detail is too trivial!

(This play will be streamed to all devices to be viewed remotely, and a digital download of the Playbook is also available.)

II. With Great Power

As a boon for taking on guardianship of the land, characters will find themselves sublimating into the purest form of themselves, embodying a particular trait, quality, or concept to the point where they might as well be revered as its new lawful ruler. That's right: you've become as gods, right down to the development of unique magic powers OR changes to your form which reflect the very core of your being. Enjoy being able to create water, fly with your brand new wings, or even summon geese... among other things.

Of course, with semi-phenomenal, nearly-cosmic power comes semi-phenomenal, nearly-cosmic responsibility! After each expenditure of your new powers, you find yourself becoming weaker, hungrier -- but what you're craving isn't food or rest, it's eros energy. The more outrageous your power or transformation, the more your body will crave the completion of an Auspicious Act. Those who do not gather Eros Energy will be driven mad by this lust, until they begin to lose touch with their sense of self - perhaps even some of their most defining memories.

If the burden proves too great, these powers or changes may be wished away with a request to the Augur and the exchange of one Act.

You have chosen to exist away from the Augur's wisdom and b̷e̴n̸e̵v̵o̵l̶e̴n̵c̴e̸.

Please accept your gracious punishment. Have a p̴l̷e̷a̵s̴a̸n̷t̵ day!

III. Dis-Orientation

You awake outside of city limits, out of sight and out of mind, but with the looming sight of the bright and shiny Nameless City always on the horizon. What surrounds you is not luxury, but instead drab, run-down buildings and despair. Your orientation, an extravagant and sexually explicit play which describes the purpose and recent history of the Island, is remotely streamed to your device. Watch it if you wish. Meanwhile, there are a few 'bots to be seen among the rubble and rundown buildings that surround you -- but are they friend or foe? Ask them questions about what has happened to you, and they will be vague and evasive. You're inside a simulation, they say, and this is all very temporary while the Augur's systems update.

They do have one answer for you: if you want into the Nameless City before that time comes, it will cost you an Auspicious Act... and a visit to the Augur. The 'bots will escort you there, if you wish.

These robots are a far cry from the well-oiled machines of the Nameless City, though they're no less helpful. In a rundown shack, a robot bartender dispenses rations and bootleg moonshine. (You can even check out the bathtub it's brewed in!) The liquor is definitely real, and it can definitely strip the rust right off the robots. Whether it's fit for human consumption remains to be seen. Regardless, it's going to give you the night of your life - drinking the stuff may cause a variety of effects, from normal intoxication, to erections lasting more than four hours, to wild hallucinations.

IV. It's Morphin' Time

Later, the rogue robots bring some scavenged technology: small, pink globes with "PROJECT DAEMON" etched on the side. These globes bond to specific individuals and morph into different creatures based on the emotions that those individuals exhibit: someone feeling brave might find themselves with a bright, roaring lion, while someone scared may find themselves pocketing a small mouse. A singer may find themselves warbling alongside a siren.

They shift often and at will, and they are here to help you survive in this landscape. Need someone to help you catch fish, gather firewood, or find you a partner to complete that Auspicious Act? This little critter has your back!

These creatures can communicate with everyone in simple language, but you'll soon realize they're not just voicing their own thoughts, but the thoughts of the person they've bonded with.

These are temporary creatures who will run out of power by the end of the month, though they can be resurrected with rewards at a later date.

Continue

V. The Doctor's Back In

All of this must be a lot for Islanders to take in and process. A lot of new information, new feelings, and new surroundings to become acquainted with. But they should know they are not alone here. Dr D. Love is still as present as ever to help anyone who may need to work through accepting their new situation. He and his helpers might even be rather insistent on you having a session!

Whether you're in the city or out of it, you may suddenly awaken to find yourself sitting in a comfortable chair in the doctor’s newly remodeled office that is tastefully decorated with finely detailed, “hand” painted posters of beings in positions of pleasure. So many positions. Or you may find yourself in the Immersion Room, an equally tastefully decorated room filled with a large, comfortable bed (perfect for group therapy sessions!) and shelves full of toys and other supplies. For the duration of your session, enjoy access to anything one might need to help relieve the stress of their body and mind on their own - or with a partner, who might have been brought here just as unwittingly as you were.

The Doctor is there to help you work through your feelings and discomfort if needed, please have no fear. He knows some of you may be resistant to his help, but he’s as cheerful and devoted as ever, to the point of not letting you leave the building until you’ve admitted to whatever feelings you are holding back - not just to him, but also to your therapy buddy. What's the diagnosis? The fact is, you must not be receiving enough pleasure. You are too tense, you need to relax and allow yourself to embrace the carnal nature of this world and what it can provide you.

The more you resist, the more the Doctor shall insist. He may even choose to activate your Neural Implant, which all Islanders have been gifted with upon arrival. Said neural implant may cause immediate arousal, sexual attraction to those near you, and even turn various parts of your body into extreme erogenous zones! Once activated, the Implant's effects may kick in at the most random of times.

The Doctor knew all you needed was the right motivation.

OOC Notes:

Welcome to the updated Erku! As this is a setting shift and a re-launch of sorts, this TDM is open to top-levels from both current and prospective players. Feel free to tag around with reckless abandon, and have fun!

Whether you are new or old, it is entirely up to you as to whether your character wakes up in the Nameless City or in the ruinous world of the Simulation. Even characters who acted to attack in the Augur in Event 16 may wake up in the City and vice-versa, according to player preference. This simulation is a temporary run and will last for about two weeks (in other words, the duration of the TDM), at which point all characters will wake in their new Nameless City apartments. Even if you choose "No", you may future-date prompts for the City for this time period.

For now, previously requested safe havens and residences are not currently accessible. They will be made available again in following Simulations, but 'bots are inclined to leave characters in mystery and suspense about this!

Feel free to ask questions below.

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N A V I G A T I O N

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Pft comes an undignified snort. She doesn't know what's funnier: that he had said it in the first place or that he seemed to be serious about it. It's a bit of both, she decides, and at least she's smiling now instead of scowling. ]

Maybe you just haven't been wild enough! [ Well, maybe he has. She's just frustrated though - in all the worst ways - and it's only getting worse by the second. ] But I don't know, you don't look like the sort who would get too wild anyway...

[ A gentle poke, to see what kind of reaction she gets. ]

You're correct. I'm not wild--

[He blinks, bewildered.]

What are you doing? Stop that.

Just making sure you're real. That any of this is, I guess.

[ A considering pause. ]

You just look like you rolled right out of a shounen anime with that style and pullable hair.

Hm. Fair enough, I suppose.

[He's strangely reminded of the time he asked Constance to pinch him, and realizes that this woman sort of reminds him of Constance, actually. He hopes she's not about to laugh like a hyena.

The look he gives her is blank.]

Out of where? I don't see how my hair is easier to pull than yours.

[ Oh.

Oh, no. Are her pop culture references lost on people here? That's, like, a good portion of her personality- What's she going to even do? ] Anime, it's like animated series from- Nevermind. [ Explaining takes the fun out of everything!

At the mention of her hair being pullable, Rose moves it in front of her shoulder and runs fingers through it idly. Hm. She guesses it is but no one's really ever tried- Or has she just not given the opportunity? ]

Is that a challenge?

[He clearly has absolutely no idea what she's talking about, so it's probably best that she decided to abandon her explanation. He probably wouldn't have listened to much more of it anyway.

He arches a skeptical brow when she asks about a challenge, setting a hand on one hip.]

What, a hair-pulling challenge? What kind of measure of skill is that?

[ Maybe she'll be able to, at the least, get him to understand memes. Someday. Maybe? There's a lot of them about sword-fighting he might appreciate. Once she knows that's a thing he's about, anyway.

Oh. Well, hey, she recognizes that power stance. That's the "bring it the fuck on" stance she's gone into many a time when challenged. ]

A lot, actually. Pain tolerance, restraint of your strength for a couple. How well you take care of your hair, maybe? That's totally a skill, it counts.

Hmph. It sounds to me like you’re just coming up with reasons to pull my hair, and I don’t understand why.

Am I?

[ Wait. Is she? Huh.

Actually, you know what- She's just gonna' own it. Why not? ]

I guess I am. And probably because it's some pretty sexy hair you got there, dude. All pulled up and restrained and just begging for someone to get their hands up in it and, y'know- [ insert vague pulling motion here ] I actually refuse to believe no one's done that yet to you in bed.

What?

[Flames, she's not even wrong about that last part...his cheeks redden as he scowls.]

Ugh, just get out of my way. I'm done here.

[He moves to brush past her and stalk off. His hair isn't...'sexy.' That's ridiculous. And who says that to a total stranger?]

[ ... Why is that somehow cute? Normally, she wouldn't bother but it's perhaps the combination of anger mixed with embarrassment that does something for her. Between that and the hair, she's sufficiently interested enough to try and get him to stay.

A vine snakes through the grass and coils up one of his ankles to keep him from taking another step. Along it blooms roses in a light shade of yellow to signify curiosity. ]

Okay, okay, look- That was probably too much. Sorry, I'm just- This place put sex on my brain is all. [ A beat. ] My name's Rose, by the way, since I also realized I never introduced myself before talking about your sexy hair. Awkward.

[Felix is paying no attention whatsoever to the grass, so when something suddenly grabs at his ankle, he stumbles a little and immediately whirls, hand flying to the hilt of his sword. He spots the vine and its yellow rose as she explains herself, and he glares at her.]

Let go of me or I'll cut that vine to ribbons.

[The only reason he doesn't slice through it immediately is because he's not sure whether it's just a vine or some kind of magical part of her body.]

[ Oh, that's... an interesting reaction. Perhaps because it's one that she might have herself. A soldier, perhaps? Someone who has seen violence and learned to respond in kind. Like recognizes like even for the different shapes they may each take.

Sorry, Felix, that doomed you to being harassed by Rose for the foreseeable future. ]

While I'd usually say 'I'd like to see you try,' I don't actually know if it'll hurt or not so I'm not taking the chance. [ They are a part of her, after all, growing from her very skin so she has to assume they might but... Hm. Either way, the vine unwinds itself from his ankle but she's also moving to stand up and follow him if he tries to leave again. ]

[His posture relaxes only after the vine retreats, and then he shakes his head with an exasperated sigh.]

I suppose I can't blame you for this place's influence. I'm Felix. Why are you following me? Do you want something?

[ He's also a seemingly sexually repressed tsundere, which... Look, she likes a challenge. He's only more and more doomed. ]

Yeah, it's stupid. [ Clearly, since she dramatically threw herself to the floor about it. ]

And I just, like. I dunno', man! You seem like you know more about what's going on than me. I wanted some answers.

[Not as sexually repressed as he seems...well, not anymore, at least. But he literally just met her! Like two minutes ago! Give him a break.

'Stupid' isn't quite the word he would have used, but close enough.]

All right. What do you want to know?

[He's apparently just going to...stand right here in the middle of this lawn and chat. The idea of maybe talking over coffee or a drink or something just apparently does not occur to him. If he noticed the desire that drove her to throw her tantrum in the first place, he might suggest going somewhere private, but he hasn't, so he's just. Standing here.]

[ Never! She's obnoxious out of the gate, deal with it Felix. ]

Well, uh. Okay, narrowing it down- Why is being a flower nymph making me stupidly horny? Like, I get using my powers would be tiring or, y'know, corrupt me or something but horny? It's just cruel.

[ Honestly? She doesn't mind. She also apparently doesn't mind just saying this extremely loudly in public. The fuck is shame? Rose doesn't know her. ]

[Felix huffs out an annoyed sigh.]

For the same reason everything else on this Goddess-forsaken island does the same thing. Didn't the automata tell you anything?

[He checks to see whether she's wearing a bracelet; after all, he himself needed to be told these things because he refused to go with the robots, though at least he had people he knew to tell him instead of total strangers. But isn't that always the way around here? Ugh.]

[ ...Did they? It's possible that she was not, in fact, paying attention. Hm. To be fair, she also had a lot of other shit to sort through in her head upon her arrival. ]

Okay, real talk- I am not entirely convinced this isn't just, like, a dream. [ Or some weird purgatory state her mind has conjured up in the seconds leading up to her death. That happens, right? That totally happens sometimes.

There is a bracelet on her wrist, which she hadn't thought much of until she catches him looking for it. ]

But if it isn't, my question remains: Why?

[He frowns deeply. He spent the last month never being entirely sure he wasn't dreaming at any given moment; he's not eager to entertain the idea that he might still need to worry about it. But then he shakes his head.]

If it is a dream, it's not any of ours. There's no possible way I'd have dreamt up any of the nonsense that has happened since I got here.

[Though he will admit that if he were going to have a dream about losing his virginity, the way it happened probably is relatively close to what he'd dream...not on a beach, though. Ugh, let's not think about the boar right now.]

The 'why' is that the machine that runs this place kidnapped us from our worlds and brought us here to restore what it calls 'Eros energy' because apparently this world runs on sex, or something. That bracelet you're wearing should have a card on it that lists...ugh. Things you're supposed to do. With other people. And if you don't do them quickly enough for the automata, they start forcing you into it. Like whatever's going on with your vine powers.

[...only then does he realize that she is probably horny right now. Flames, why...]

[ Okay, well- That's a fair enough point. Dreams are supposed to be of people and places you already know, right? So, it does make sense that this isn't a dream since she doesn't recognize Felix or her surroundings from anywhere before. A seconds before death fugue state though? Still possible. ]

Pft, 'Eros energy?' Real creative. [ God of lust, sex, and sometimes considered love as well since it takes many forms. It checks out.

The woman investigates her bracelet as he talks about it; the roses in her hair and along those vines growing from her turn a pastel shade of orange. Curiosity. Then, they fade into a yellow-orange color as she smiles. ] Wow, okay, really encouraging me to get sexy on main. I'm kind of about it?

[ Kind of. It's still a lot to take in. ]

I guess as far as places I could've ended up, it had the possibility of being way worse. [ Like, you know, h-e-double hockey sticks. ] But man, that's a catch-22 if I ever heard one. 'Hey, here's some awesome divine powers sike you gotta' bone down to sustain them.'

[Felix's brow furrows more the more she talks. Her modern slang is going right over his head.]

I can't understand anything you're saying. Speak normally.

[He watches the roses change colors and wonders what it means. If she really is horny right now from having used her powers, she's hiding it well, he'll give her that.]

Wait, is that why you were throwing a tantrum? Because you used your powers and now you're...excited?

[ She almost quips that this is 'normal,' but- Right. Different worlds and all that, isn't it? He might not be as modern as she is. There's a horrifying moment of realization that all her amazing pop culture references and jokes are going to be useless here.

This place keeps getting worse. ]

Well, when you put it like that it seems silly but- Yeah, I guess! I'm used to being turned on by my own terms not because some automata says I should be. [ Rose is resilient. Sometimes to a fault, honestly, and this is no exception. It isn't the first time she's ignored this sort of desire; it likely won't be the last.

But it is getting more difficult to set aside by the minute. ]

I'm going to guess that getting myself off isn't going to fix things either, right? [ That'd be too easy. ]

That's because it is silly.

[There's no judgment to this, really, just a fact he's stating.]

But I understand. They've done it to me, as well. It's worse than infuriating.

[He sighs. He's going to end up having sex with yet another woman he doesn't know, isn't he? Sure, he could say no, but...ugh, he can't just leave her here like this. That would be cruel.]

Probably not. So let's find somewhere more private than this before you graduate from ruining lawns to destroying property.

[Is that a faint smirk on his face? Maybe.]

[ There's a Hey- on her the tip of her tongue that she manages to restrain. Somehow. Miraculously. And she's glad she did because... Is he?

Is that what's happening here? The blooms on her turn orange again but also contain hints of yellow, lavender, and pink. It's an eclectic mix of emotions reflected in the flowers; however, they're all positive so that should be a good sign. ]

Look, man, I can't say I've broken anything out of lust but there's a first time for everything. [ And, well, she kind of has but not the frustration that came with it, just the passion. She keeps following him tightly but has to ask: ] You sure, dude?

I. Orientation

II. With Great Power

III. Dis-Orientation

IV. It's Morphin' Time

V. The Doctor's Back In

OOC Notes:

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I wish I was I was sorry

jsdkjdfg LMAO

calling you right out felix

oh no she said the C-word LOL

bring it felix

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feel free to stop him XD

oh she will

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