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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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Even if being held from behind sparks a different kind of warmth in him, he has to bat down those thoughts. As with many things he does, the affection isn't out of true affection—it only happens to mess with him when he's already out of sorts.]
Isn't it easier for you by yourself...?
[Still, he sidles around the side of the shower to stand where Xue Yang did. Perhaps it's only right for him to help when asked, even if this is all just benefiting Xue Yang further.]
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[ He gives a slight bump backwards of his ass towards Xiao Xingchen, grinning over his shoulder. ]
Like this, you can even stick your fingers in my ass while I clean my front if you want. Do you think you can get me hard?
[ It's hard to tell how much he's teasing and how much he's serious, but Xue Yang soon starts to clean himself off either way.
It feels a little odd to be stroking himself and not getting hard easily, but he's in a good enough mood that he doesn't mind it. ]
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I think that I will allow you a little more rest, for I would not wish to wear you down too much.
[Leaning against Xue Yang's back, his fingers sweep gently over Xue Yang's inner thighs as the water washes over them. Perhaps his usual nature keeps him from being anything close to harsh, but it could also help in not unintentionally arousing him.]
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Even when he's too exhausted to get wound up again, the touch from both of them feels nice. Xue Yang slowly coaxes the excess of fluid from his cock and abdomen, letting Xiao Xingchen take care of his legs somewhat.
He doesn't want to think about any of it too deeply. ]
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In the moments that pass in silence, his thoughts stray towards Xue Yang and the life that he must have lived. From Xue Yang's reaction to the question before, he certainly doesn't want to tell him any more about it, but Xiao Xingchen finds himself curious once again.
Maybe in time, he'll hear more. After all, he's not living with a disguise, but the actual Xue Yang, with less and less to hide.]
Is that clean enough? Most of it didn't end up on you, after all.
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Probably. Is the food ready now? It's nice in here; we should stay until we can eat.
[ Though he's already salivating at the thought of having the breakfast that Xiao Xingchen prepared for the both of them, and the excitement and renewed libido that the aphrodisiac in it is sure to give both of them. ]
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We may need to wait just a little longer. Here, let's do this then.
[Getting a little more clean while they're here can't hurt, even it won't last. After a night like that, he's fairly sure it got into their hair as well.
He takes some of the shampoo in a bottle on a little shelf in the shower and pours some into his hand. With a pleasant, invigorating scent, Xiao Xingchen can only hope that this isn't also full of aphrodisiac. Distributing it between his hands, he reaches up and slips his fingers into Xue Yang's hair, rubbing his scalp lightly as he spreads the light lather.]
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He's never really been attended to like this before, with the calm patience that Xiao Xingchen always has. The closest that he'd had was... back in the Jin sect, maybe? When he'd been forced to look a bit more presentable for one reason or another, and back then the grooming had been met with resistance at every step. Xue Yang has never actually... relaxed like this, for something like this.
Xiao Xingchen's fingers in his hair are gentle, soothing, and he wonders for a moment if he can doze off standing up in the shower. But what happens in the end isn't dozing off at all: little by little his focus slips, until it's as if he's disconnected from the world almost entirely. The feeling of Xiao Xingchen grooming him drown out everything else, even the feeling of the water cascading down the rest of his body. He's experienced something like this once before, but he doesn't realize it, doesn't remember it, and isn't even thinking enough to realize something odd is happening.
All there is is Xiao Xingchen's touch. ]
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Satisfied as the shower washes away the last of the lather, Xiao Xingchen hums a bit as he picks up the shampoo bottle and starts the same process with his own hair. Even if this was his nameless friend, he wouldn't go out of his way to ask for help like this, and especially not after Xue Yang has... "helped" enough already.
As the pitter of the water drops against their skin continues, he's combing through his hair with his fingers when he notices something odd.
He asks with some suspicion:]
... Are you alright?
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Suddenly he blinks, eyes focusing again, and it takes him a moment to regain awareness of his surroundings. He's... in their shower, right, that's not a surprise. Xiao Xingchen is still behind him. But there's a weird, floaty feeling all throughout his body that wasn't there a moment ago, and he doesn't know where it came from or what it is.
He doesn't respond to the question because he didn't even really hear it in the first place. ]
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The last of the shampoo washes out of his hair before he speaks up again.]
Xue Yang?
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[ He turns, all traces of his lingering confusion gone from his face. Xue Yang only barely noticed his own spacing out, so it doesn't seem like the sort of thing Xiao Xingchen would have noticed either.
He does subtly run his thumb across his fingers though, feeling the slight tingle that's almost but not quite like the pricking sensation of circulation returning. The water feels a bit warmer than it did before, too. ]
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[Xue Yang was expending more of the energy throughout the night, Xiao Xingchen supposes. He might have not slept long enough. At least it makes more sense than anything else, so he continues, wiping the last of the shampoo bubbles off of his skin.]
By the time we're dressed, the batter should have rested.
[Though he remembers his search earlier and remembers that he has to ask:]
... Do you even have any other clothes to dress yourself with?
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[ He murmurs it mostly to himself as he steps out of the shower and sets about drying himself off. He's not particularly thorough about it, even leaving his hair alone to air dry. ]
I have two sets of clothes, and those weird robes from the dicks festival if I need something else. Why?
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Might as well tidy him up some more, now that he's started.]
Last night is the only time... anything like that will happen. [He moves around to smooth the towel down the hair by Xue Yang's face.] I also must borrow some clothes of yours. What you gave me yesterday needs to be washed, and I can't walk about in the city like that again, either...
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He's quickly distracted by the declaration though, and drops his gaze to Xiao Xingchen's body. Warmed by the shower as it is, his skin is flushed enough that the marks from the outfit are almost completely gone, but Xue Yang can still imagine what it looked like. ]
I can get you something else from the shop if you'd like. Or you can walk out of here wearing my clothes if you like that better.
[ ... Would it be transformed to match his current form while he's still the nameless friend and Xiao Xingchen is wearing it, or would it change back to match his normal form? He's never really considered that. ]
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He turns to the door to head to the room.]
... The festival robes will trouble you the least, I suppose.
[As he says this, however, the towel loosens and nearly falls off before be catches it.
Hopefully it's not as bad with that fabric. He at least guesses those clothes at least don't rely too much on the form of the individual... though he had only passed through rather than stayed to pay much attention to everything.]
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He's not going to go get the mentioned clothes himself right away, of course. If Xiao Xingchen isn't going out just yet, there's no need for him to get dressed. (Well, there's no need for that anyway, but his face apparently isn't thick enough even after all this time.)
There's a slight odd chill as he steps out of the bathroom, enough that he suppresses a shiver, but it's gone quickly. ]
Daozhang, you should bring your extra clothes back here, since you're going to be living here again.
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Even if he has a slightly clearer mind to think, he still doesn't regret his choice. Living like this won't be that different. It's easier than being alone or causing trouble for anyone else, and he might even prefer a life of having someone to take care of over wandering around aimlessly. He ignores the idea of being taken care of or whatever Xue Yang is more competent at—anything like that has been Xue Yang simply serving himself, surely.
As he's told himself, none of what he does here changes who he really is.
Xue Yang isn't terrible to live with, at least.]
I don't have much to bring.
[He does have a few outfits that he wouldn't use at the cafe, but...
Just as he's about to search through Xue Yang's sparse closet, he remembers something.]
Do you still have what I wore the last time I was here?
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Oh, yeah. I left it where you store your clothes for you.
[ He just hasn't looked there since doing so, and so it had completely slipped his mind. ]
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He's had some time to process it. Even if none of this will ever really make sense, he knew he would have to adjust to change very quickly ever since he left the mountain.]
You were so sure that I could come back here. Or perhaps I should say that you wouldn't take no for an answer.
[He says it with a bit of a huff as he takes off one loose white sheet for another, setting the folded towel aside. Now, how will this stay in place? Without the right texture, it's a lot more precarious than the towel, he finds. It continues to slip out of place before he can even think to move.]
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Of course, daozhang. This is the way things are supposed to be.
[ There's nothing proud or arrogant about how he says it, just as if it's a simple fact. ]
I'm the one who's best for you. No matter what happens, you'll come back here to me.
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Does it not matter to you whether the matter of my returning is either enthusiastic or reluctant?
[He tugs a bit at the fabric to ensure that it's secure, and it won't slip off. When it seems to be the case, he gives Xue Yang a look so they can move towards the kitchen and talk.
At least with showing some reluctance, he'd think that Xue Yang should not expect to get Xiao Xingchen to believe any tricks he might still want to pull. Is this the endgame of Xue Yang's plan with him? Does he want anything more from him than food, sex, and his company? After some time agonizing over what he knows of Xue Yang, Xiao Xingchen isn't as troubled by everything he learns... for now. So asking these questions starts to feel more natural.]
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Should it? Either way you're here.
[ As someone who's never really had to navigate friendships, with his closest aside from Xiao Xingchen being a partner in crime to someone about as terrible as himself, he doesn't really understand the resulting differences between the two options. It doesn't occur to him that things might not be the same when someone comes to him by choice or not. ]
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Maybe it's funny that Xiao Xingchen took so long to figure that out.
He steps into the kitchen and turns the stove back on, glancing over the batter. Everything looks good here, at least. Good and evil have started to feel more and more abstract, the longer he's been here.]
Just wait at the table. This won't take long.
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