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.
No
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
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no subject
Felix takes a little longer to fall asleep, but once he does he sleeps more deeply than he has in a while - it's blessedly free of any dreams about the ocean or being a fishman or hearing eerie singing from the depths. If he dreams at all, he doesn't remember it, and that's a hell of an improvement.
So when he blinks awake in the morning in an unfamiliar place, he feels well-rested for the first time in weeks. It takes him a few seconds to remember where he is. It takes him a few more seconds to realize that he feels much too warm.
And then he realizes that he feels warm because there's someone pressed up against him from behind with strong arms holding him close. There's the sharp pang of vague panic and the simmering of rage - this wouldn't be the first time he woke next to a stranger in bed - but it doesn't take long for him to recognize those muscular arms, or the bright red curls that he can see splayed out on the pillow if he looks up and back, or - and he'd never admit this aloud - the familiar scent of the man curled up against him.
Sylvain is cuddling him. And not in a 'huddle together for warmth' kind of way, but in a 'we probably had sex last night let me make you breakfast' kind of way. Suddenly his pulse is racing and he's not sure what to do. Pretend to be asleep until Sylvain wakes up and lets go? (This appeals to the part of him that's blushing furiously and basking in this nonsense. Which is exactly why he decides not to do it.) Extricate himself and almost certainly wake Sylvain up in the process? Wake him up on purpose and tell him to back off?
None of his options seem any better than the others, so he just picks one and goes with it, speaking quietly but keeping still. (You learn after five years and change of war not to startle someone awake if you don't want to possibly end up impaled. Felix, at least, sleeps with his sword within arm's reach at all times.)]
...Sylvain. Wake up.
no subject
... But this can't actually be Felix. He's woken up this close to him before but it was usually while they were wearing heavy winter gear and it was well below freezing out.
This... this is just nice.
He still hasn't opened his eyes, the memories from the day before seem too bizarre to be real but, as he cracks his eyes open and sees the room he remembers, they're seeming a little more likely. The room. The bed. And Felix.]
Morning. [His thoughts are racing nearly as fast as his heart but he manages to make it sound like he thinks waking up like this is totally normal. No big deal.] Do we have to get up yet? [It felt like a 'normal' thing to ask but of course he's wondering what that would really mean. Would Felix just lie around with him? Was this okay? Could he get away with whatever this was?]
no subject
What do you mean, 'do we have to get up yet'? What are you doing?
[He doesn't make any move to get up, though, despite telling himself he really should. And he's glad Sylvain's behind him because his face reddens to think about the 'we' in that sentence.]
no subject
I mean... [What did he mean? Well, what did he mean aside from that they didn't have to get up yet, which seemed pretty self explanatory.] It's kind of nice. The bed's comfortable. I could totally use another ten minutes.
[The 'what are you doing' definitely gets his attention though and he frowns a little into Felix's hair, shifting slightly to give him a little more room. They're still close, very close, he's just not quite as entangled with him.] I'm not doing anything, Fe. [And to prove it, he stretches a little and stifles a small yawn. See, just lounging around innocently, half asleep.]
no subject
And Goddess help him, he doesn't want it to stop.
But he can't say that.]
Yes, you are. ...but fine. Ten minutes. No more.
[He's got to preserve at least a little plausible deniability, here.]
no subject
He is ridiculously careful not to move though, or even breathe too deeply, nervous that any perceived additional touch might be enough for Felix to get fed up with him. The whole bed smells like him though, his hair, his skin, even here he still smells like whatever he uses on his blades. It seems to cling to the blankets and pillows. Ten minutes is such a short amount of time. He definitely should've said fifteen.]
no subject
[Does this argument mean anything at all? No. Does Felix intend to win it anyway? Yes.
It has been much, much longer since Felix let anyone do anything like this with him in a comfortable bed. Not since before Glenn died. One of those people was Sylvain, so he tries to tell himself this isn't as weird as it seems. Except the last time they did this, Felix was twelve years old, so he's not convinced.
Still, he tries to relax and enjoy this while it lasts. Sylvain probably had a dream about some girl and cuddled up to Felix in his sleep, thinking he was her. And now Sylvain's half-asleep and stupid, so his insistence on continuing this is probably something he'll laugh off later. And tonight he'll probably ask the robots to bring in a second bed or get him his own room or something. And then that will be that.
Felix fully intends to stay here for more than ten minutes.]
no subject
He's certain that Felix is timing him. Positive. Absolutely sure.
Except it feels like ten minutes pass and then it definitely feels like quite a bit of time has passed, surely more than ten minutes. Felix hasn't moved, hasn't even made a peep.
So, he cautiously lets himself relax against him, breaths slow and steady against Felix's back. He's not quite brave enough to fully shift positions yet but he does move his hand into a more comfortable position, resting it lightly on Felix's hip.
It feels like he should say something. But he really has no idea what. It also feels like speaking might somehow break the spell Felix was under.]
no subject
They're at almost 17 minutes when Sylvain shifts just a little; from the way he's breathing and the way he seems to relax further, Felix assumes he fell back asleep. Felix himself is wide awake, but he doesn't move or speak; maybe later he can claim he went back to sleep, too, and that's why he missed the ten minute mark. ...by a lot. Even though he's usually an early riser.
After a few minutes more, Felix feels like he really, really should ask Sylvain what the hell he thinks he's doing. Or maybe word it a little nicer than that. Maybe. But he wants to keep the man from realizing what he's really doing for as long as possible. Selfish of him, probably. He doesn't care.]
no subject
[Not just relax, but rest. The last few years, Goddess, the future, it all weighed heavily on him regardless of how he liked to act about it.
He can't stop his thoughts from drifting to a darker place. Like, what if he was dead? What if this was some strange postmortem plane of existence. He hadn't run up against any of the sex and aphro yet. With all that in the picture, this place really didn't seem as much like a weird afterlife. At the moment though, the possibility was still something he could entertain.
His fingers curl a little firmer around Felix's hip, like he might slip away if he didn't.]
no subject
But then Sylvain's actual words catch up with him and ah, of course. When they were children. He still looks at Felix the same way he did then, no doubt. This has nothing to do with...with intimacy of any kind. Sylvain's just feeling nostalgic.
Felix almost pushes him off right then and there. He doesn't want to be part of anyone's nostalgia. The past is gone and it's not coming back, and he has no desire to wallow in it the way Dimitri does. Nor does he want Sylvain or anyone else to keep thinking of him the way he was then.
He can't quite bring himself to do it, though, when he feels those fingers clutching at him. It could almost be a reaction to his thoughts, if he didn't know any better.
So he still doesn't move anywhere or turn to glance over his shoulder. He speaks quietly, but not much softer than his usual.]
Pointless. Besides, if you think you'll get much 'rest' here, think again.
no subject
Yeah, this definitely felt like rest in comparison.
With thoughts like this jumbled in his head, it's difficult to care about silly things like embarrassment and reservations. He'd had the same feeling after a few drinks with Felix that cold, snowy night when they'd been patrolling the borders of their family's territories, looking for signs of... anything really after the news of Dimitri's execution. Naturally, both of them sort of pretended that tipsy kiss hadn't happened but Sylvain certainly hadn't forgotten.
He realizes his fingers are digging in a little and forces himself to relax. Exhaling with a soft huff, he decides to let his arm fall to drape loosely around Felix's waist. Why not? He could just laugh it off and tell Felix he was just teasing if he reacted poorly.]
no subject
[Which is all Felix can think of to say that isn't an argument. He hates it when Sylvain gets morbid like this, teasing tone or not, but this does feel like rest. Like a rare opportunity, the kind war never affords them. Not only that, but it's the first time since he's gotten to this infernal place that any sort of intimacy was completely voluntary on both of their parts. No worrying that the other person is only here because they were coerced or because they think he's been coerced. No concerns about what the other person may or may not have done before, or how far they might have to go before they can escape a horrible situation. Sylvain just wants to hold him, apparently, and you know what?
That's fine.]
...all right. Rest, then.
[Sylvain shifts again and Felix is sick of trying to figure out what this all means or doesn't mean, so he stops bothering to try. He's comfortable and warm and Sylvain is here, that's good enough for now. He didn't realize just how much he'd missed the idiot until he showed up with his dumb sunny grin and his stupid handsome face.
Of course, he's never going to say so.
Felix isn't one to go back to sleep once he's up, but today he makes an exception. His eyes slip closed before he knows it and he drifts off soon enough.]