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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He had a good point, but Lioriley never did like to be so pessimistic. "Someone created that machine, surely. So maybe it is not the Augur itself we should judge, but those that made it. Either way, I like to think it is not so random."
Once again his question threw her off, and she frowned in turn. "Because I do not believe you inclined to cause me harm. I see no benefit in being cruel or leaving you to potentially suffer alone when I am willing and able to aid you." Basically: she was nice, and if she didn't offer she would probably regret it for the rest of her life, even if the situation was not dire.
Tempted as she was to ask him to continue that thought, she decided to focus on the other part of his sentence. "They will not be strangers forever. Unless you planned to hide from all those you were intimate with."
no subject
His eyes open fully this time and his head tilts a little so he can see her better; his gaze is measuring. "I see." Then he scoffs. "Of course I'm not planning to hide from anyone. That's not the same as having history with people from before this place."
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She looked to him and nodded, humming thoughtfully before replying. "Who is to say you must copulate with them? There are plenty of others on the island...surely it is not mandatory."
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Absent her body to rest his hands on, he shifts to pillow his head on them instead, glaring at the ceiling. "It isn't. That's not the problem." Strangely, of all the people he's had sex with so far, his childhood friends are the only ones he hasn't been forced to do it with. Others from Fodlan...well. The less said about them, the better.
"It's just complicated. That's all."
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Lioriley did not know him well, did not know how past, and certainly - so far as she knew - did not know his friends. But some things were obvious even to an outsider; there were feelings there Felix clearly did not want to deal with that were causing him distress, and she could probably guess as to some of them. "Are you worried your relationships with these people might be different after being intimate with them?"
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Felix sits up to tuck himself back into his pants and turn away from her. He tries to run a hand through his hair and scowls at all the tangles he encounters. Great. The room is filled with sex paraphernalia, but he doubts there's a hairbrush. ...unless someone somewhere considers that useful for sex somehow, but he's just not going to think about that.
"I'm not talking about this."
If his relationship with Dimitri had changed after being intimate with him, that would have been preferable. Instead, they both said nothing and changed nothing, until he learned that it's too late after all, and has been for Saints know how long.
As for Seteth and Constance and Edelgard and Sylvain...no way. Nope. He's not discussing this. Not with anyone
other than his cat.no subject
"I apologize for prying where I am not wanted." She said, genuinely apologetic - if not a little saddened by the unfortunate turn their conversation had happened after what was admittedly a rather pleasant roll in the sheets. "But, if you ever do care to speak of it, I am willing to listen. I do not know who these people are - and even if I did, I would not tell them anything you would not wish me to divulge. I am-" a beat. She laughed; mirthless, "I am very good at keeping secrets."
no subject
It's a kneejerk reaction and he knows it. But this place has already made him get physically intimate with people he doesn't even know; he refuses to let it make him emotionally vulnerable with them, too. Or with anyone.
"It's nothing to do with whether or not you'd divulge anything." He half-turns to look back in her general direction. "You sound like you carry quite the burden of secrets of your own."
no subject
"But sometimes a shared burden is lighter than if you were trying to carry it all yourself."
Lioriley let that hang in the air, wondering now if perhaps her being brought here had anything to do with the array of conflicting emotions often roiling inside her. This place sucked.
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He sighs, aggravated, and sits back down. "Fine. It's...the opposite of what you said. We had sex but nothing changed."
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"Did you want it to?"
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Stupid boar and his stupid attractive mostly naked body and his stupid happiness to see Felix...again, apparently, and that's a whole other can of worms he hasn't had a chance to talk to Dimitri about yet, either. Ugh.
"We grew up together. We were inseparable. No one knows him better than I do, even now." Not even Edelgard. Not even close. "But we became...estranged, through death and loss, and...other things. I've tried to rebuild that bridge for myself, and I suppose he's put in some effort as well." A bit grudging, but true. "It's difficult."
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"I—" she almost apologized for him having to suffer that, but recalled their earlier conversation and thought better of it, simply nodding along as he spoke. Eventually making her way back to sit on the edge of the bed, brush in hand, fingers running idly over the bristles. "Such things often are. And I can only imagine how much more difficult it may be when pushed into such intimate situations together.
I take it you have made no mention of your feelings to him?"
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He looks away again before he says any more, knowing his face is getting warmer. "We weren't. Pushed. He thought I was. I didn't bother to correct him. And no, I didn't mention it. At least, not until..." He rubs his face with one hand. "Until he was dying on the battlefield in the fight against those undead creatures. But he survived, and whatever I told him doesn't matter anymore."
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She smiled over at him even as he explained himself, leylines flickering faintly. "I am sure it does, Felix." she assured, aware that she truly could not know that for certain but hoping it would reassure him, even a little bit. "I do not know your friend, but such things can be difficult to process, especially when said in such dire, stressful moments. Give it time." a beat. "Come here, would you?"
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Then he scoffs, something bitter in it. "No, it doesn't. Because it turns out he's been...together with the woman he wanted nothing more than to kill before we came here. She was the enemy. The emperor leading a war on the rest of the continent, who had already occupied most of our country. The one he swore vengeance against to the exclusion of everything else. They're together, and I have no idea how long that's been going on."
He glances up at her face for just a second at the invitation, before moving closer to her and turning around to give her better access to his hair.
no subject
That was a lot to unpack. It also sounded vaguely familiar in some aspects — though war and fierce rulers vying for land was not an uncommon theme in many worlds apparently, including her own. So she could have just been making connections where none truly existed.
"I see." She murmured, her tone hinted with sadness despite valiant attempts to hide it so he did not think she was pitying him. When he drew in closer she urged him to sit and then scooted up behind him, carefully taking some strands of dark hair in her hand and brushing gently through them. "Your feelings are not invalid because he is with someone else. It will hurt, but you will recover — you seem like a very strong man, Felix. You just need to give yourself time."
no subject
"And this isn't the first or even the second time I've been on this island. It's the third, and I don't remember any of it. So if the first two times weren't enough to 'recover' from a lifetime of stupidity, I doubt the third time is any kind of 'charm.'"
no subject
That next part was...odd, to say the least. "You sound as if you have given up before you even try. If you so not recall the past two attempts - this is your chance to start anew. Allow yourself to be happy, to hurt, to heal. There are others around to help you, are there not? People beyond your king?"
no subject
It would be impossible to explain how complicated things are with Dimitri even if he were inclined to, which he isn't.
"And I haven't given up on anything. You and that meddling automaton wanted me to talk about my troubles, so I'm talking. Obviously there are others. I'm not that pathetic. And Seteth has already given me the lecture about distancing myself from my friends, I don't need to hear it again."
no subject
Whatever else she was going to ask or comment on with regards to Felix's feelings was ultimately discarded in the face of his dismissive attitude. Instead she ran her fingers through his hair one last time to check for knots. Finding none, she let her hand fall to the bed. "My apologies, Felix. I only wished to help." Help get them out of the room, and also help him in any other way she could. "The door has been unlocked for a few minutes. I believe we are free to go."
no subject
He opens his mouth to tell her not to apologize, but hearing that last bit has him staring at her instead. "What? And you just let me blubber about my stupid problems all that time? Ugh."
Despite his words, he's in no rush when he turns to hold out his hand for the brush. "Give me that. Your hair's a mess, too. I'll fix it."
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Seeing no point in arguing, she smiled and handed him the brush by the horribly shaped handle and turned around, loosening the half undone braid of her hair as she did so. Feet of long, ivory locks cascaded down her back and onto the disheveled sheets of the bed. "I know it is...a lot." But not terribly knotted. So it should be fine. "Thank you, Felix."
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He ignores the handle dildo, starting at the bottom of her hair with practiced strokes and using his other hand to ensure the brush doesn’t pull at her scalp. The way he works is quick and methodical, but she has so much hair that it will take a little while anyway.
“It’ll just go faster this way, that’s all.”
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"Of course." Might as we just agree to keep from potentially annoying him. "I have asked a lot of questions of you. Were there any you cared to ask me?"
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The end~