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TDM 020: FROSTED FLAKES
TDM 020: FROSTED FLAKES |
Uploading user data to environmental systems. . . please wait. ![]() Augmentations c̴̦͋o̷͓̺̘̓m̸̮̈̾́p̸̻̃l̵̠̱̤̅e̷̢̧̺͐̃̽t̸͈̓ḙ̴͙̓͘. Proceed . . .? Y/N > Y ![]() Your eyes blink open to the blinding glare of 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: Welcome to the N̵̩̈́̓ä̶͇́͂͘m̸̠͒e̴̞̻̾ͅl̷̹̄͝ḙ̷̺͗s̵̳͊̀ṣ̵̱̚ͅ ̶̧͒̄Í̴͔s̵̡̛̺̍̓ļ̵̥͖̄͛͌ḁ̸̳̟̒́n̵̻͑́͗d̴̩͕̰̂̊̔ Darkness overtakes you once again. I. Arrival ![]() When you awake, you find you have washed up on the otherworldly pink sands of an impossibly beautiful beach, the tropical scenery spoiled only slightly by your seasickness. New arrivals, waterlogged and covered in sand, will be greeted by robots who welcome them with towels and bracelet devices. The A5 card is already loaded up. If you don’t manage to get away from them quickly enough, they may even 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 will be given a complimentary towel to leave with if needed! Feel free to explore the Island, all is available for your use. Stake your claim on a place to live in the now, whether an apartment in the City, a shack on the beach, or a bigger space at the House of Worship with friends. Your inventory will be found a day later, wrapped up haphazardly and delivered to each arrival's home. II. Tropical Snow ![]() The Augur hasn't forgotten your festive needs, Islanders! Though the Island weather remains sunny and tropical, a powdery snow has begun to fall from blue skies, collecting into pristine piles overnight. Fortunately, unlike some other snowstorms Islanders might have experienced, this one won't freeze you. In fact, the temperature of the powder is perfectly pleasant, even though everything else about it is exactly as one might remember from white holidays past. It even sticks together nicely, making it absolutely perfect for snowballs, forts, and sculptures, and the 'bots encourage Islanders to enjoy this little treat from the Augur for the limited time that it will last. Even robots pelted by snowballs will chirp cheery encouragements. It is, however, a little slippery… and a bit tacky. And sweet? Catching snowflakes on your tongue has never been so rewarding. III. It Came From Above ![]() In addition to the Island's traditional cherub dragon helpers, Islanders may notice a newcomer to the skies above: these zippy little drones, which flit about playfully and broadcast festive songs from Islander memories whilst they assist the dragonets in decorating the hospital and other public buildings in wintery colors and charming strings of lights. Make sure you mind your head, because the more mischievous of the drones have minds of their own when it comes to decorating sometimes! If you're looking a little dour, you might become the next surface wrapped up in lights and tinsel. Maybe even with someone else, for pleasant company of course! Oh, and those mistletoe bots? They seem to pick targets at will, locking on and hovering overhead until their If asked for assistance with a drone, Island robots will helpfully inform you that the drones make excellent pets! Just be sure to pick one that doesn't bite. IV. Sticky Circumstances ![]() The robots may have made a veeerryy slight miscalculation. As time passes, the mysteriously room-temperature snow that blankets the Island begins to… well, melt. Except, it doesn't melt into water. What results instead from this well-meaning experiment is a slippery, sticky, sweet substance just like icing sugar… but everywhere. On the sidewalks, on the buildings, sliding in globs off the leaves of every palm tree. While it may taste good, and pests like ants are never a problem in paradise, it's quite a nuisance! Robots will offer credits for assistance in clean-up, rewarding especially handsomely as the mess seems to gunk up their joints. With enough help from Islanders and drones, the mess could be cleaned up within the week! If an Islander would rather just enjoy their Island-wide slip and slide, however? The 'bots won't fault them. N A V I G A T I O N |
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The words afterwards thoroughly distract him from the idea.]
"Home".
[He repeats the word, voice flat and empty. With Xue Yang's lack of shame and constant insistence, Xiao Xingchen feels his patience tested, but he continues to tamp down on every urge to lash out and deny him his reaction.
Though... doubt crept up in his mind in these past weeks, when they were apart once more, now with the storm of emotions finally calmer. He had to wonder if this is fully an act, and Xue Yang now might be more straightforward than Xiao Xingchen thought. The reaction to the idea of love helped added evidence in favor of this interpretation.
Now that he knows Xue Yang's approach to acting, will Xiao Xingchen have a better chance to divine the truth?
At least they should bring this inside. He takes the plate with the tips of his fingers, careful to not get the frosting on himself. Regardless of the circumstances - even if he was in the throes of vengeful rage towards Xue Yang - he won't let any food go to waste, no matter how easily the Augur can procure some. Better let him finish it.
Glancing over his shoulder as the only other invitation Xue Yang will get, he turns away to step inside. Here or outside doesn't matter too much, the weather as pleasant as always, but the interior of the cafe also matches the new outfit. He sets down the plate on a table by a window, the "snow" gently falling just outside. As they could not fit in his newfound compartment, he reaches behind the front counter for some utensils, which he then nudges by the plate.]
I must ask what home truly means to you, Xue Yang.
[As much as he should address his weird logic, Xiao Xingchen can't help as he thinks over Xue Yang using such a word.]
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It's not his usual table but he doesn't mind it too much; the scenery from outside matches the aesthetic inside so maybe that's part of the point. Instead he takes the utensils without thinking about it and resumes eating the cake.
After all, none of this is particularly unexpected, right?
The question Xiao Xingchen asks is, though. Xue Yang looks up in confusion and at least takes a moment to swallow his new mouthful of cake before answering. ]
Home, like where we live? That place in the large building that the Augur gave us after it made our house disappear.
[ Which admittedly he's way less than thrilled about, having to live in the same building as lots of other people even if the building itself is one of those unreasonably large ones. It's so tall that if this had been soon after Xue Yang had arrived here he would have sworn they'd all collapse, but up to now none of them had so he grudgingly believed that they weren't likely too even if it was still really strange. ]
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It must be more than just where someone lives.
[When he returned to the mountain the second time, breaking his word that he would never return, he had a different sense of what "home" is. He had thought he had done away with the idea of the mountain as his home as he set off into the unknown world... only when he came to it again and could not stay did he realize what it used to mean to him—what it still meant to him. Now that the life with his nameless friend had been upended, he agonized over his feelings for those idyllic times these past weeks.
Though he supposes it's possible that Xue Yang doesn't think of the ideas as very different. Perhaps the man never gave much thought to it, as a delinquent with no known family, from what Xiao Xingchen could investigate those years ago. Does the idea of belonging somewhere really trouble someone who carves out whatever he wants from life?
His mind turns to something more easy to handle for the moment.]
One moment. I will bring you your tea.
[At least it's easier to keep himself distracted with the conventions of this place, if night hunting can only do so much.]
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Home is exactly that: a place to stay, and if you're one of the luckier ones, it even has a roof and four walls.
When Xiao Xingchen brings the tea back Xue Yang doesn't go for it right away, instead waiting to see if Xiao Xingchen is going to put sugar in it again for him this time. He should. After all he already gave Xue Yang a whole cake; what's a bit of sugar in his tea on top of that. ]
Alright, daozhang. You don't like my answer, so what's yours?
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In any case, Xue Yang is a customer here, and the conceit of the Mei Mei Maid Cafe is to cater to the customer's desires. He takes the dainty sugar spoon between his fingers and stirs in a generous amount of sugar without looking at the man.]
Should it not be a place one wishes to return to? If your generous gifts were meant to be an invitation, it's a simple matter to... partake in that in any other location on this island.
[He moves to sit across from Xue Yang.]
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[ Sounds a little too sappy for his tastes. Has he ever even had a place like that? Sure the fierce corpse experimentation grounds were fun and he'd spent plenty of time in them, but he couldn't say he was sad that he couldn't go back to them anymore. Yi City? He didn't exactly have a strong connection to the place, not really. If it hadn't been for Xiao Xingchen he'd probably have killed the lot of them and left years ago. Even in this place, what attachment did he have to their house? He didn't care if they decided to pick up and move somewhere else. If he never went back, he wouldn't be upset. At worst he'd have to ask the Augur for a decent bed for the two of them again.
Maybe in Xiao Xingchen's eyes Xue Yang has never had a "home". It doesn't really matter anyway, and he leaves that aside. ]
They're supposed to remind you.
[ Satisfied that Xiao Xingchen is preparing his tea properly, Xue Yang goes to cut himself another slice of cake. Xiao Xingchen might not be sitting next to him but he immediately presses his leg against the other's anyway. ]
I'm the one who's best for you, daozhang. You've definitely done it more with me than you have with anyone else. I know you best and I can make you feel better than anyone else can. That's why you're mine. When you come back then we'll spend a lot more time together, and it'll be better for both of us. You don't have to keep staying around here all the time without me around.
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He's heard this before. It is true that Xue Yang has given him pleasure unlike he has ever known. Does Xue Yang think, however, it will make him forget the pain of years ago? Pain that Xue Yang hasn't even bothered trying to answer for?
For a moment, Xiao Xingchen considers asking just that. Yet he knows it will not achieve anything—Xue Yang seems incapable of even fathoming why Xiao Xingchen would even be upset. The idea is likely irrelevant to him, the man's actions dominated by what he wants in that very moment with the rhyme and reason of the world bending to his desires.
As long as both still live, they're to meet on a narrow bridge. Neither of them will stay dead here. What he can do, what he should do, and what he wants have all shifted with the rules of this strange world.
He takes the other cup of tea and sips it, quiet for a beat, not moving his leg away.]
Do you truly believe it can be that simple?
[All signs appear to be pointing that way, but he feels curious enough about Xue Yang's strange thought process to ask.]
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[ He takes a long, slow sip of his tea. For some reason it's as if it tastes better when Xiao Xingchen makes it. ]
Nothing has to change, daozhang. You still want to make tasty food for me; I still want to look out for your needs.
You enjoyed the gifts, right?
[ Or at least enjoyed reminiscing on what they each represented. ]
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... Indeed, I have.
[There's no point in lying or even answering with silence, just as there's no point in throwing them away when they've already fucked again since the truth came to light for the both of them. Both the efforts of Xue Yang and the Augur have made it difficult for him to resist any source of pleasure this way.
Now a bit flustered, the urge to be more blunt rises up in him. None of that means that Xue Yang can also command his heart.]
However, I wanted to make food for the man I thought you were. You are... not him.
[The words lose some of their conviction at the end, all of the similarities he noticed through their time together with the different identities now surfacing as if to refute his claim.]
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[ The grin on Xue Yang's face widens slightly. ]
But daozhang, aren't I the one you picked up off the side of the road and nursed back to health? Aren't I the one who helped you out with chores and then went with you on night-hunts? Aren't I the one who's lived with you for years? Aren't I the one who helped you adjust to life in this place? Those were all me. Those are all still me. What's different between me and "him"?
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Even taking on this appearance now must be some attempt from Xue Yang to combine both identities into one, now that the idea would be beneficial to his goals rather than in the way.
He cannot ignore Xue Yang's point, however. That man without a name did have one after all: Xue Yang. Even if he chose to not speak of it, he still had a past, meaning all of this separate identity is based off of omission rather than anything fabricated. All except the different voice and later, the face. Xue Yang did want to think of him as a different person... but he didn't have to try too hard, apparently. Everything he did really was still him, acting kind and helpful for some reason he isn't sure if he should care to discern, though he might as well if Xue Yang is this determined to stay rooted in Xiao Xingchen's life for the time being. Whatever it is, it's likely not out of gratefulness of being saved.
After all of the time spent combing all of their interactions and what he thought he knew of "that man" and Xue Yang, trying to piece together what the cohesive image of the one same identity, there's one part he decided that he's curious about enough after all.
Quiet as he thinks, he keeps his gaze fixed to Xue Yang's expression now.]
... What you told us, back then. Were you truly cheated out of those pastries?
[Was it a story he made up as a part of that identity, to endear him to Xiao Xingchen some more? If he's really looking now - not so easy to deceive - could he figure if Xue Yang is telling the truth?]
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There was one lie to that story, daozhang. What that man did to that child, it wasn't as nice as just beating him up more.
[ Abruptly he pushes the cake and tea to the side as he stands up, leans across the table, and tries to drag Xiao Xingchen into a kiss. He can feel the rage and the urge for violence building up again, so he's going to handle it the way he knows best here. ]
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Pulled in close by the delicate outfit, he hears something rip but can't guess what it looks like now. The shock must have made his jaw slack; while he does nothing to return the kiss, he doesn't pull away or put up any resistance other than the tension that's taken hold. Xue Yang's mouth on his stifles a quiet, muffled noise from his own.
His mind races with Xue Yang's answer, but he can barely think like this...]
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He presses his tongue into Xiao Xingchen's mouth, the taste of the icing still lingering from a moment ago. The sweetness seems to disorient him for a moment and he bites at Xiao Xingchen's lip, but not too hard, not enough to break skin. His fingers clench tighter on Xiao Xingchen's outfit to the sound of more threads snapping. The sound that comes out of his throat is a half-moan, half-snarl.
Reciprocate. ]
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He can tell that Xue Yang feels impatient, though this is very sudden, even by Xue Yang's standards. Without any aphrodisiac, just what could have caused this? If he won't let him turn away, however, then Xiao Xingchen can at least make this easier.
With the cake and the tea aside, he braces himself onto the table and pushes himself up onto it, all without pulling away or breaking the kiss. Knees folded under him, his hands hold him steady as he leans forward. He's just a little above Xue Yang like this now, even with his shorter stature in this form.]
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He doesn't want to think too hard on it.
His aggression ebbs little by little. His grip on Xiao Xingchen's shoulders loosens a bit, and his kissing gets less insistent. He still holds Xiao Xingchen in place, but after a time he even manages to pull back enough to murmur, ]
Daozhang...
[ before resuming.
Why can't it be this simple? Why does it need to be anything more? ]
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Finding a way to excise Xue Yang from his life entirely would surely be more wise, but he would have to give up everything else he's managed here so far, possibly just to be found again. There would be no point.
Whether he wants to or not is a matter he needs not address, if he thinks of it like that.
Soon enough he pulls back for air, still close enough for their noses to touch, less tense now that whatever strange mood has passed. But through the haze of their kiss, he now has a sense that... he should not let this go ignored. After something so sudden, Xue Yang can't expect that to not be commented on.]
Why did you...?
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[ Though his voice is light when he says it there's a sharpness to his gaze that makes it through.
As if perhaps to distract, or maybe just because it's in the direction his mind is going anyway, he starts to nudge Xiao Xingchen to come forwards. He doesn't pull him off the table, not yet, but Xue Yang still wants Xiao Xingchen to come over to where he's situated. Even in the confined space of the cafe seating, the two of them are used to making space for them to sit against each other.
Whether he's actually missed Xiao Xingchen is the sort of thought that Xue Yang doesn't let himself consider. He most certainly doesn't have feelings like that, so it's not worth dwelling on at all. ]
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His head feeling light - memories of their past encounters enough to spark arousal with the slightest attention - he grasps for what else he remembers to put together some details of this opaque and contradictory man. Now that he thinks of it, he has seen Xue Yang in a foul mood before. It was that day the disguise finally slipped—a day he still almost wishes he can forget entirely, despite how little sense it makes to want to be fooled. His expression wasn't turned to Xiao Xingchen like this, but he surely would have tried to run the metal puppets through if Xiao Xingchen hadn't stopped him. Xiao Xingchen didn't worry about the things that merely emulated life; he just knew he should discourage that aggression.
Bringing back a detail of that story did something to make Xue Yang aggressive like that again. He's not quick to assume that Xue Yang is telling the truth just yet, given how he can put on an act well enough, but his response still makes him question even more. Is there more to this story that Xue Yang has yet to tell? Was this sudden kiss... related to that same idea Xiao Xingchen had from before?
So lost in thought he is that he responds to the nudging without realizing his actions. He moves his legs out from under him, so he sits with the backs of his thighs on the table, parted just enough for the silk tulle of the skirt to dip between them. From there, he pushes himself forward to place his knees on either side of Xue Yang's legs—]
W-Wait, right here?
[He finally responds, snapping to awareness. Why hasn't he controlled himself better?]
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It doesn't have to be right here, daozhang. There's lots of places we could go instead. We could even go back home.
[ His hands slide up Xiao Xingchen's legs to lift the skirt up enough that it's out of the way and no longer between them. Almost like they're back on the boat he holds Xiao Xingchen's thighs, keeping him against Xue Yang's body and pressing the two of them together. There may not be any penetration (yet) but the resemblance to the position is unmistakable. ]
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Though... Xue Yang still wants to bring him "home". The thought makes him narrow his eyes and let out another light huff, even with the flush turning deeper and the arousal in his eyes and softened shape of his mouth.]
Redeem another card and we shall go to any place you like... f-for the day.
[A date shouldn't be any longer than that.]
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Daozhang...
[ He opens his mouth slightly as if he's going to say something else, but then seems to change his mind. Instead he goes for his device, and after a bit of poking, he shows the rewards app on his device.
Sure enough, he has another card that is completely filled up, helpfully displaying that it can be redeemed for a date. ]
How about it, then? Come with me again today.
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Of course he knew that Xue Yang has plenty of those cards, only sparing a quick glance to the screen before looking back to Xue Yang, the conviction in them just slightly lessened. Xiao Xingchen hoped Xue Yang would run out of these, yet now he isn't sure if his physical desires will keep letting him resist like he planned to.
He has a strange feeling about today that it won't be as simple as an exchange like this...]
Where do you wish for us to go today, Master?
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[ The reply comes immediately. ]
We have to bring my cake back.
[ Because even if it's definitely his and no one else will eat it unless he agrees, he doesn't want to leave it here. It's much better if it comes with him, and if Xiao Xingchen does too.
If there's somewhere else he decides he wants to go, he can think about that later.
But he doesn't seem to be in any hurry to leave here. Xue Yang places his hands back on Xiao Xingchen's hips, then leans in to connect their lips in another slow but deep kiss. It's just because this is what he enjoys. There's no deeper meaning to it than that. ]
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He could leave every other time Xue Yang has tried to insist about this to Xiao Xingchen, so what reason does he have to worry? Now, with nothing really having high stakes here and him spending enough time to figure out some of Xue Yang's quirks and habits, Xiao Xingchen surely knows how to navigate his time with him, if not control him (all the time, anyway). Still, he can guess it won't be nearly as simple as he hopes it to be.
Breaking the kiss as he turns his head away, he averts his gaze, which settles on the counter by the dessert display case. Thankfully, no one else is here—their position already looks like they're fucking on the table.
At least this time he's definitely not going to let Xue Yang carry him back while on his cock.]
Then allow me to retrieve a box for you, so we can go...
[His voice trails off before he can insist on saying "your home". Whether he's simply no good at wielding words that way for long, or... some other reason, he figures Xue Yang at least has the idea to let him go already.]
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