ercookies | TDM 020: FROSTED FLAKES

TDM 020: FROSTED FLAKES

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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:

Everything is fine.

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 ~~victim~~ new friend gives someone a kiss. It's not unusual for a mistletoe bot to take a real shine to one Islander in particular, following them all day long.

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.

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N A V I G A T I O N

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Now wasn't expecting such a gung-ho response from a guy who immediately gave him the impression that he's a bit of a stiff. (It's why he chucked a snowball at him in the first place, sorry! ...he's not sorry.) ]

Heheh~! You're a pretty interesting guy! [ Nao says this with a grim, rolling up another snowball in his hands, appearing as innocent as he can be. ] Are you Japanese? It's always nice to meet another local no matter what world you're from! [ That sentence makes ZERO sense but hopefully the other has been here long enough that it actually does make sense for him. ]

I'm Hisami, but please just call me Naoto! What about you?

Are you?

[ To be honest he had assumed he was, even if his clothes were a bit, different. He just assumed it was some new western trend he was unfamiliar with because the magazines didn't know about it yet. They were speaking Japanese after all, right? Hisami was also a Japanese name. ]

Tamamori. You can call me Tamamori.

[ It wasn't his real name, but it was the name he had everyone call him, so it was basically his name, right? ]

TDM 020: FROSTED FLAKES

canonblind but this dude seems cute!!

He's fun! I highly recommend his game Hashishime of the Old Book Town.