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OCTOBER + NOVEMBER TDM.
● ● ● T D M . 0 4
… What are you willing to do to erase your regret from existence?
These are the words that ring in your ears, as a slowly growing red glow surrounds you in this dreamspace, filling you with an acute sense of dread — and whatever it is that you’ve just agreed to might have changed everything forever.
It is this sense of dream that startles you awake, and as it fades, and your heart begins to slow into something resembling your normal tempo, you'll notice something you should have picked up on immediately: you are not in your bed.
1.0 White walls, clinical yet clean, sparsely-furnished rooms. You may wake in one of three rooms: a room with only one bed, a room with two beds, or a room with four beds. Those waking up in rooms with more than one bed notice that they are not alone. Perhaps the other occupants of the room are still sleeping, dreaming the same dream as you just did, or a regular one after returning to the station just barely a week ago … or perhaps you wake up to the other person in the room watching you.
What you do is entirely up to you: yelping in surprise when you wake to someone staring at you is always an option. Or maybe you’ll try to sneak away before anyone notices you...
2.0 Those with life-threatening injuries will find themselves waking up in the infirmary, in a regular hospital bed. Most of their injuries have been treated, and any lingering illnesses or conditions will have designated medicine bottles on the table next to the bed.
White curtains surround the bed on both sides, providing an illusion of privacy. But is that a rustling sound you hear? A set of footsteps? Perhaps you’re not the only one in need of some medical attention.
In fact if you’re very badly off, you might want to hold out hope for some company - you can’t stay in the infirmary forever. You'll have to make your way through the hallways of the station to the living quarters, and claim a room and a bed there.
Once upright, you might notice something in your ear: an earpiece that, when you become aware of it, quickly runs you through the instructions for how to use the network, a recorded message by a female voice that explains exactly why you’re here… and leaves you with a map of the station.
So what else is there to do but to explore, right? Best get to know your way around your new home.
3.0 When trying to decide where you go, you might find your way to the armory, where you can make attempts to work the machine and create a weapon for yourself — maybe replace the one that didn’t come with you to the station ... or maybe you decide to prepare something for the future. Any recently-returned team members will surely recommend having a functional weapon with you.
And speaking of weapons: why not put them to the test and head over to the training room, where the entire purpose of this space is to provide you with opportunities to spar and train to your heart’s content!
4.0 After you’ve exhausted yourself from training, your stomach will prompt you for something to eat. For that you should head to the kitchens and the mess hall, which is equipped with all the basic appliances you might need, along with some more unusual ones (including an ... interesting-looking waffle maker and popcorn machine), as well as ingredients for most generic Earth-based dishes. For some reason, there are also some bags of now-cold popcorn left abandoned over the counters.
5.0 A welcome reprieve to the cold, dark space that surrounds you can be found in the sunlight room. A skillful illusion builds up around anyone who steps inside the room: you can hear the trilling of birds, feel a light breeze caress your skin as you walk through a grass field. The illusion has been programmed to reflect the seasons — the leaves in the trees are currently bright with all the colours of autumn: orange and red and yellow; and the air is crisp and clean. If you follow the path, you'll be led to a bridge rising over a sparkling, babbling brook, a few fallen leaves floating on the water and falling around you like very bright raindrops.
Here, it's easy to forget (for a moment, anyway) that you are in space at all. Maybe that gives you comfort, or maybe it just makes you miss the real thing all that much more.
6.0 If you’d rather choose tinkering with objects over wandering through nature, the lab is guaranteed to provide you with some entertainment. Glass vials and jars of chemicals sit on shelves in a surprisingly beautiful display of colour on one side of the room, while the other side of the room contains stacks of boxes filled with assorted equipment: cords, bolts, panels, buttons, gears, gadgets, gizmos, and thingamabobs. The downside is that the parts available seem to have no apparent method to their sorting. So get digging and you may just find exactly what you need to make what you’ve always wanted to!
7.0 Some time after your arrival, the earpiece alerts you to a new message. If it’s items you’re lacking, you may just be in luck.
Indeed, the platform located near the personal quarters is still whirring with power, and new items form neat piles on top of it. There are clothes, shoes, dishware, skincare, books ... and in one pile, a varied collection of what seems to be Halloween decorations and costumes. So, sort through the piles and grab what you want before someone else does! (But don't forget: sharing is caring.)
Whether you’re a quick study and you’ve become settled into life on the station, or you want to get the full lay of the land (in a manner of speaking) first, if you decide to explore the hall past the control room, you’ll eventually come across the simulation room. It’s been equipped with a new simulation to show you the drill where the missions are concerned, so step in and see what it has in store for you!
8.0 The moment the doors slide shut behind you, the space goes dark and then quickly lights up again, but instead of the blank empty walls you initially walked into, you’re surrounded by colour and lights, the sound of music and chatter, and the smells of deep-fried foods and overly sweet beverages. Someone calls, ‘Step right up, step right up!’ while another voice from somewhere starts to cheer as an electrical sound of a buzzer goes off, announcing its winner for prizes.
It seems that you’ve entered the Carnival simulation, so come on in and have a little fun.
There are booths spread out across these simulated grounds, each one offering food, drink or games. As you wander past you’ll notice that there is a touch of macabre to everything — the colours are black and orange and violet and red, the drinks offered have strange names, some you recognize like ‘Witch’s Brew’ and ‘Eye of Newt’, and some you might not, like ‘Viole(n)t Breeze’ and ‘Undead Essence’. It’s as though all of the things strange and wonderful find themselves spread across the entire universe to unite here.
Once you’ve had your fill of food and games, you can make your way past the little market area to a brightly glittering ferris wheel with carts rotating in a cycle, enticing you to try it out. Or if you’d rather be spooked, there is a hokey little ‘haunted mansion’ to your left that won’t take more than a handful of minutes to move through. Creatures and ghosts will pop out at you when you least expect it, their masked faces exaggerated with paint and some fairly realistic prosthetics to get the adrenaline pumping. Take a friend with you, or go it alone — just try to keep your cool through it all.
9.0 Eventually, once you’ve had your fill of the festivities, you may notice a wooden sign pointing you past the haunted mansion. Pressed on it is a round mark, and you remember that this is simulating a mission — you’re not here to just have fun, but to try and retrieve a simulated orb.
As you follow the path, you’ll find the hustle and bustle of the carnival growing quieter. All around you, there is nothing but woods — and hold on, where did all that mist come from? It surrounds you slowly, the ground seeming slightly damp as you keep walking… and arrive at a graveyard.
So the orb… it’s there, hidden in one of the graves? There’s nothing else to do but to start walking and looking at the gravestones — but when you do, you’ll be shocked to find some of the names are terribly, terribly familiar.
They might be names of your loved ones, people who were still in perfect health back home; and yet here those stones bear their names, along with an epitaph that brings tears to your eyes. And if you move closer… you may experience a flash of colour and light, and a memory suddenly plays out in front of you: the death of your loved one, whoever that may be.
Or perhaps the name you see on a gravestone is something else even more familiar to you: your own. But ... how, right? Reluctantly, your heart pounding, you approach with tentative steps, and yes — the name does not change. It's yours right there ... and it's your own death that you witness when the grave’s spell binds you.
● ● ●
N O T E: The deaths witnessed are intended to be non-canon deaths, so feel free to go wild inventing them -- this also goes for characters who are canonically dead. These are “alternate universe deaths”, not canon.
Additionally, there are three personal tasks provided to each character as they enter the simulation. In-game, each character will be given one task. For the purposes of the test drive, we’re leaving it to players to pick a task for their character and run with it.
A Find the grave of a teammate and witness their death.
B Team up with a fellow Orber win in one of the Carnival games.
C Scare a teammate in the haunted house.
F Y I
• This TDM covers both October and November, so there will be no new TDM for November.
• TDM threads can be used as samples for apps. In fact, we encourage it!
• Reserves are currently open!
• Apps open October 27 and will remain open until November 30.
• For any questions regarding TDM, please direct them here. For questions about the game, please refer to the FAQ.
FOR SOME FUN:
Have a clue for your upcoming mission:
“I’m going to bed, where I may die.”
no subject
Yet it's a different reason this time and her chest tightens as she catches his face, sees those cracks breaking across it. That half step closer to him, before there's that glance around, as if remembering where they are, and realizing. It's been longer for him, and perhaps it hasn't quite hit her as hard as it will. The knowledge and understanding, the actual comprehension of what it all means... Her squeeze on his fingers is harder, speaking in actions compared to words, keeping in step with him as he tugs her into movement. Body brushing and bumping against his, keeping close without hindering, she nods.]
I would like that.
no subject
The moment doesn't last, but it's all good, they get each other and when they finally move, they move as one, close and with an objective. Gamora is solid and real by his side, he will be fine, eventually. Once they make it to the Southwestern wing, Peter holds the door open for her. It's a two-person room with the appropriate number of beds, a small bedside table, closets for clothes and a safe for personal items, a small table, and a couple of armchairs. The place is lived in but not overly so, they only returned from the mission a few weeks ago, but there are a few Halloween decorations here and there in the room. ]
There... [ Peter points to a white door at the other end of the room as he closes the door. ] ...is the bathroom. It has a shower, In case you want to get refreshed.
[ Any other time he would make some sort of joke, suggesting that they take a shower together, but he's not in the right spirits for it. Peter just wants to lie down and curl up next to her, but he cares about Gamora being comfortable first. ]
no subject
Following the sweep of his hand, she lingers there for a moment. How long has it been...? It feels like an eternity since Knowhere, since she has been in Thanos control, defying him in those small ways that she could. Small, perhaps petty, but Gamora hadn't wanted anything from him. There's a shake of her head as she steps into him, a hand settling on his chest as she leans forward, forehead resting near his collarbone. There's that light thump beneath her palm, the beat of his heart, alive and here.]
Later...
[Later, because she doesn't know whether this will all just poof away in a puff of smoke, another theatrical jape at her expense. Whether or not it is, she will take it greedily, cling to it for as long as she can as a long breath exhales, tension eases, that free hand circling around his waist.]
no subject
As Gamora looks around the room, Peter hovers behind, as if worried about her disapproval, or for her to leave him alone and move to the bathroom. He's still nervous, stupidly so. He's just as afraid as her that this could be some sort of dream that will vanish soon or turn into another of his nightmares.
When Gamora's hand becomes a solid, warm weight against his chest, Peter shudders out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. It doesn't take him more than a couple of seconds to wrap his arms around her, now with a small smile gracing his lips. ]
Later. [ Leaning in, he nuzzles her affectionately and takes a few moments to just be with the love of his life. To hold her in his embrace, knowing no one else will interrupt them or take Gamora away from him. He still worries that her hurt might be more than just emotional, though, and after a little while, Peter slowly moves them both towards the bed to make her lie down. ] Let me take care of you.
[ There's an unsaid 'please' at the end of the sentence, and he kneels by the bed, in front of her, working on unfastening her right boot. They don't have to get naked, but Gamora would be more comfortable lying down without shoes or leather jackets on. ]
no subject
There is a mild protest, and for a moment she braces, not wanting him to move, before yielding with his words. That's not exactly her strong suit, relying on others, although it's also not something that Thanos nurtured. Just the opposite. It's only with meeting Peter that she's come to take those baby steps, and while the words to start to arise that she is alright, she holds off. Let's them go into nothingness.
Not that she doesn't feel a little foolish as she settles down, usually one who needs to not be idle. Gamora can kick off her own boots, but it is the expression on Peter's face that holds her back as well. Her own shifts into something deeper, knowing how hard he must have taken the news of her death. Could she have spared him that pain... Her fingers brush reverently across his cheek as she switches to the next boot. He is still her Peter.]
no subject
A soft humming sound of reassurance escapes him when Gamora is reticent to move, and gives her waist a squeeze. Peter gets it, really, he doesn't want to move much either but they will be comfier on the bed, and he's glad that she eventually allows him to look after her. He will make it quick, aware that Gamora doesn't handle this sort of situations well, but he's still careful with the boots, leaving them by the side of the bed neatly. He runs a hand up her calf and closes his eyes briefly at the touches to his face, smiling softly and turning his face to kiss her palm.
Then peter moves, hands sliding up her thighs to unfasten the belt that usually holds her sword, and later further up to take off her jacket. He folds it carefully on the bedside table, and places the belt on top of the jacket. Peter's own blaster holders join the rest of her clothes before he kicks off his own boots with a little less grace and moves to sit on the bed next to her. He pauses briefly, as if stopping himself from taking off his shirt out of habit. ]
no subject
And she understands, knows that her life has been all the better because of him.
There's a soft exasperated chuckle, leaning a little to help with the belt, and these things would not have bothered her in the grand scheme of things. But she appreciates the gesture regardless, moving to slip her arms free as he works at the jacket, and it's good enough. She's felt naked without Godslayer at her side anyway, still antsy with the ordeal that she has been through, naked without the other Guardians close by. They may not always be together, but they had usually not been far apart.]
I've missed you.
[That rawness within her voice as her gaze rises to his.]
no subject
He smiles at that chuckle and murmurs a soft thanks when Gamora helps him to get rid of the belts and jacket but lets her do things at her own pace. And then...
I've missed you.
It breaks his heart to hear those words and he's pretty sure it shows in his face. For weeks, Peter had been raging on the inside at the injustice of it all, not just that they got separated, but that she had to die alone with that monster when all she wanted in her life was to be free of him. It pained him in a way Peter couldn't put in words, and that more often than not things ended with him kicking and shooting things in the station's training room at random hours of the night.
Now, one arm sneaks around her even before he realizes what he's doing. The other lifts and Peter tugs a strand of hair behind her ear, caressing her face. ]
I've missed you too, love. I didn't think I'd get to see you again. [ Peter pulls her close, and they can now lie down more comfortably, his back against the door as if he's trying to be a shield between her and the rest of the world. She's stronger than him, far more resilient than a simple human and he knows that, but it won't stop Peter from trying. ] I've got you. We're safe here.
no subject
She may have scoffed once had someone told her where her life would lead her, falling for a Terran. Let alone one that could be so bright and vibrant, who could sometimes come up with the most outlandish of sayings and who could still confuse her. Drax may have said she isn't a dancer, but for Peter, she could be. Willingly.
The play of emotions across his face is there again, but it is the honest truth from her. She had. There may have been thoughts of trying to escape, of getting Nebula free, and up until that certain point on Vormir, those had still been possibilities. He is one that can get under her defences, and she doesn't mind that as his arm snakes around, that all too known embrace as they go down. It's a slight adjustment, leg hooking between his two, scooting until there is little space between them. Only then does she dip her head to bury against his chest, the familiarness soothing as she breathes in deeply, hand curling into his shirt, murmuring.]
Thank you... for keeping your word.
no subject
Sometimes, Peter can't believe either the turn his life had taken. There had been plenty of terrible experiences, losing his mother, Yondu, Ego...he thought himself unlovable for a long time. Why would anyone bother with a mess of a man like him? They had their ups and down but Gamora believes he's worth keeping. Worth loving. It's more than Peter ever dreamed of. ]
I made you a promise. [ Peter mumbles, and it leaves unsaid that fulfilling it would have killed him on the inside too. He sees it often, in his nightmares, Knowhere all over again. Gamora's beautiful face, expression torn between sorrow and resignation, asking him to keep his promise. His weapon doesn't malfunction in the dream, the blaster bolt doesn't turn into bubbles by Thanos' hand, and Peter wakes up screaming.
Those bad dreams are ignored now, his focus on the way Gamora fits against him, like two puzzle pieces broke in ways that match each other. He tilts his head down to rest it on hers and something in his chest eases at the familiarity of it all. ]
I will get better from now on, I promise. I mean, we reached rock bottom, now the only way is up, right? We can do this, together.
no subject
It's intimate and recognizable as his chin rests against the top of her head, fitted up against him as she exhales softly, breathing slowing. Safe. Even after everything, he is her safe place. It still does feel surreal as she watches the rise and fall of his chest beneath her hooded lashes, feels the beat of his heart against her hand, his own breath tickling along her scalp.
Slower and slower, easing in as her breathing settles, that soft murmur as she nestles, lulled by his presence. Whatever may lay ahead, they have already passed through fire, together and apart, and she would not let him do it alone again.]
I can't think of anyone else I would rather go through this with.
It's a wrap ❤
All peter wants to think about now is Gamora's presence, her warm breath against his skin, the strong body pressing close to his own. He smiles at her words, humming in response to make it clear that he heard her, and he feels the same. His body relaxes too, but he will remain awake still for another long hour, making sure she's not having any nightmares, and being reassured that she's not going to disappear. They will have more time to talk from now on. ]