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SPRING TDM.
● ● ● T D M . 0 8
The words ring in your ears as in the darkness of your dream, a teal glow pulses, slowly enveloping you. It is not a feeling of comfort that surrounds you, though — as a distorted voice whispers in your ear, you feel it: cold dread, and a sudden certainty that everything is about to be irrevocably changed.
It is to this daunting realization that you wake, and as your heart slows into something resembling a normal tempo, you notice something you should have noticed 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 very much 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 a few days ago … or perhaps you wake to the other person in the room watching you.
What you do is entirely up to you: yell in surprise when you wake to someone staring at you? Or maybe you’ll try to sneak away before anyone notices you...
2.0 Those with life-threatening injuries find themselves awakening 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, giving an illusion of privacy. But is that a rustling sound you hear? Some footsteps? Perhaps you’re not the only one in need of some medical attention... or you've attracted the attention of those with experience in medical aid, and they rush to your bedside, surprised about this sudden new patient.
It is not just for your injuries that you may want some company, but also for leaving the infirmary — you can’t stay there forever, after all, and will have to make your way through the hallways of the station to the living quarters, and claim a room and a bed there.
Once you’re up, you may notice there’s 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? Best get to know what is now your new home.
3.0 When trying to decide where yo go, you may find your way to the armory, where you can try to work the machine there to make yourself a weapon — perhaps to replace one that didn’t come with you to the station… or maybe you want to be prepared for the future. The recently-returned team members will surely recommend having a functional weapon with you.
4.0 After you’ve exhausted yourself training, it’s time to grab a bite. For that, you should head to the kitchen, which is equipped with all the basic appliances you might need, and ingredients for most regular dishes.
5.0 A welcome reprieve to the cold, dark space that surrounds the characters can be found in the sunlight room. A skillful illusion surrounds 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. It seems that the illusion reflects the season — the leaves have fallen, a layer of white covers the ground, and the air is crisp and clean. If you follow the path, it leads to where a bridge rises over a brook that has now iced over — but maybe don't try your luck walking on it, as the ice may crack underneath your feet and you'll find yourself plunging into the freezing water.
With an illusion so authentic it may leave you longing for some hot chocolate, it is easy to forget you are in space at all. Perhaps that gives you comfort, or just makes you miss the real nature all the more.
6.0 If you’d rather choose tinkering over 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 containing 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 make!
7.0 As you wander back towards the common areas, you may notice a room off to the side. The room takes up a chunk of the common area, and on its unassuming door is a little plaque that reads, 'The Ximusic room'. Should you enter, you will find a sound-proofed practice room that contains — yes, you guessed it, band equipment that even the most musically inclined should be satisfied with. So pick up an instrument, saunter up to the microphone to belt out your favourite tunes, or take a seat at the side of the room and enjoy others' playing.
8.0 If it’s items you’re lacking, though, some time after your arrival, the earpiece alerts you to a new message.
As you make your way to the platform, you'll see there is nothing amiss in the neat piles of items on it. There’s clothes, shoes, dishware, skincare, books… even a couple of CDs, and a few cute stuffed animals. So sort through what there is and grab what you want, before someone else does!
(CW: POTENTIAL BODY MODIFICATION)
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.
Step past the threshold and the doors will slide shut with a quiet woosh. Nothing suspicious; nothing to worry about. But before you can really get a sense of your environment (a grey, large-ish empty room, no furniture, no discernable objects to provide markers), the room goes dark, and then … there’s really no other way to describe it: the room transforms.
You find yourself in a club. The music is upbeat, loud, but not too loud. Down a short flight of steps flanking the bar and seating is the open floor with more tables and booths bathed in a warm, dim glow of light, and at the very end of the room is a stage with its bright spotlight showcasing its performers — though, at the moment, the stage is empty.
9.0 When you take a step forward, you’ll feel a presence gently push at your chest or your shoulder — a tall and jovial man resembling a well-dressed bartender from the top up (the rest of him appears to move along wheels) approaches with a tall flute glass in hand. Its contents are sparkly and blue.
Will you proceed? Please respond ‘Yes’ or ‘No’.”
There’s something a little strange about his voice, a cadence that doesn’t sound quite natural even when the simulation is so realistic otherwise. Once you’ve given your consent, the bartender continues.
10.0 It seems the bartender wasn’t lying. Once you’ve allowed the drink (tasty, sweet-but-not-too-sweet, effervescent, with light notes of your fondest childhood memory) to settle in your stomach you might experience a myriad of effects on your body, ranging from a change in skin colour (pink? green? blue with spots?), an additional limb or two (or three), a tail or wings, or cybernetic parts such as lie-detecting eyes or a tongue that can uncover truths and lies in others. If you happen to find another Orber within the room and both of you have consumed the offered drink, you might find yourself experiencing a full bodyswap.
None of the changes are painful; if anything, they might not even be noticeable until you look into a mirror, look down at your limb-in-question, or your companion points it out.
11.0 The moment you approach the stage, a performer will appear as if out of thin air and begin to sing, her voice strong and smoky and melodic. Her enthralling performance could put you into a trance, but you have an orb to find and a personal task to accomplish, so it’s time to put your best foot forward and do a little investigating.
Talking to some of the patrons might prove fruitful as some of them are convinced that the stage has never sounded or looked so good, like there’s something giving performers that extra oomph that no one can explain. It might be wise to wait until that last performance before you sneak up there — or maybe you want to do a little snooping around now, you know, while everyone’s distracted. Strategize with your fellow Orbers and uncover the location of this hidden orb.
● ● ●
N O T E: The effects of the drink and the level of changes your character experiences is entirely up to you. Patrons of this fine club won’t bat an eye if you look a little like them.
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 Say the opposite of what you mean during the simulation.
B Create a scene with an unsuspecting teammate.
C Get up on stage and put on a performance during the simulation.
F Y I
• TDM threads can be used as samples for apps. In fact, we encourage it!
• Reserves open February 19!
• Apps open February 24.
• 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 about the upcoming mission—
no subject
and yet that answer isn't the one he expects either. that's an ironic though, given that months ago cal would have thought the very same thing after years of hiding it, suppressing it all. but they've survived, they're survivors, and it can't be in vain.
he won't let trilla's death be in vain. ]
But it's who you are. [ they can't hide from the force, from what the jedi were meant to do. he knows that now. ] We can't keep hiding.
[ and maybe that's a conversation better for the world they left behind, not the station they're on but youth makes one foolish and bold. ]
no subject
If it was who they were, if their teachings were meant to endure all manner of hardship, to be everlasting and strong and true, why was it so easy for one of them to be turned, and then to turn on all of his people in kind?
Obi-Wan doesn't cow to the spirited statements, and truthfully he wishes he still thought the same. And he had — once. He'd fought for so long, and fought so hard, and he had mourned the death of his padawan — his friend, his brother — through that time too. None of it mattered in the end if he didn't keep his promises to protect the children.
And now, if what Third Sister says is true ... Anakin was still alive. He hadn't died that day on Mustafar.
He's still trying to absorb this. ]
When are you from? And for that matter, what is your name?
no subject
it hurts too, makes him realize how little time has passed and how it feels like a lifetime ago all the same. half a decade since the start of the purge, since going on the run after fraying his connection to the force. he's only rebuilt it recently, woven the threads back together on his own. it's been days since mustafar and little longer since his trials on ilium within it's frozen jedi temple.
cal swallows, shoulders squaring as he fights against the confusion. he is still a boy, barely a man and barely a jedi knight thanks to cere. ] I'm Cal. Cal Kestis.
[ that's a simple answer. there's no need to hide his full name from obi-wan kenobi. the second is harder, always sparks memories that cal's only recently been willing to truly face. ] It's been five years since the start of the Purge.
no subject
That would explain the fire that still burns in this young man's heart, the same fire he had once felt too (and might still see glimpses of when he checks in on young Luke).
But how this station can pull people from the same world in from different points in time is still something he can't quite figure out, and furthermore: if there's a reason to it.
Was he meant to meet this Jedi, Cal Kestis for some greater purpose? Or was he just a reminder of the tragedy that would await him for five years more?
Master, he speaks silently into his thoughts of Qui-Gon Jinn, I don't know what to think ... ]
It's been ten years for me.
no subject
[ he doesn't think that master kenobi -- it's too hard to think of him as 'ben' still -- is lying. there is no sign of it, nothing in the force that would tell him anything at all. he's not sure that it would, given that he is barely a jedi knight and obi-wan kenobi is a master.
how can they be from different times, drawn here in different galaxies. what does it mean for them, for the missions ahead of them. if cal changes the course of events five years ago, if he saves second sister, what does it mean in another five years. does it mean anything at all? ]
no subject
[ And were this at the start of the Purge, hell, even five years into it, he might still say something like, Trust in the Force by way of reassurance, but right now the words stick to his tongue, bitter and hopeless. ]
no subject
he wonders what happens, then. if he and cere never find more force-sensitive children, no more survivors. if the dream of rebuilding the order never comes to pass. it makes him wary, makes the tendrils of hopelessness start to bloom before he shakes his head. ] What could be at work here? If not the Force?
no subject
[ And for all he knows, maybe it is some working through the Force, but he's never known any practice that involved undoing an action made. The repercussions seem too great if changes can be made like that.
But Obi-Wan firmly believes that undoing his regret would save countless others that never deserved the sort of fate they were dealt. This, as it so happens, includes young Cal. ]
But anything that has the power to undo a regret is one we shouldn't underestimate.
no subject
the inquisitors claim to be doing good work after all.
and if obi-wan kenobi is wary of the task at hand, of the power, cal wonders why he risked it all anyway. ]
no subject
[ Cal's instincts, at least, align with his own.
It isn't an outright distrust of the dreams and this place offering him something he has certainly thought about on many an occasion, but he's cautious and wary of it, of whether such grand things can really be granted by any entity when the Force should be one and all of it.
The years of paranoia and anxiety built up since Order 66, and one can say even since his Master had been slain, don't help either. ]
no subject
the paranoia hasn't left him; but neither has the reminder that he survived, that he's not wearing a black mask and training under darth vader's tutelage. that reminder kicks off another and cal squares his shoulders. ] But if there's a chance, it's worth risking it.
no subject
Like he did.
(Or like he attempted to, anyway.)
Truthfully he isn't even sure where he stands now, aside from undoing this regret of his and making it back to be sure that Leia and Luke are ensured a safe world to grow up in, maybe even with each other. Wouldn't that be something?
He looks at Cal now and the breath he lets out isn't so much a sigh of defeat but it might as well be a begrudging, Well, here we go again. ]
Don't be so obvious about it, and perhaps we'll uncover these mysteries with time.
no subject
so it's a headache best avoided.
that begrudging sound feels like a victory, a spark of something akin to the reconnection to the force. it's a victory hard won, though there's a long battle still ahead.
but not a victory that lasts long. the idea of not being obvious, of hiding again does rub him the wrong way and cal frowns again. somehow sympathy is easier to give to merrin, alone in the halls her sisters once roamed, than a jedi master who's given up. ] About what?
no subject
[ About who they are. About who he is.
Third Sister's taunt still rings in his ears, slow and threatening: You didn't know. He's alive, Obi-Wan. Anakin Skywalker is alive. And he's been looking for you for a long time. ]
The Empire is looking for both of us. We cannot let them find us.
no subject
for some reason, he hadn't consider that the inquisitors could follow them here. trilla's dead, yes, but darth vader knows who cal kestis is and obi-wan kenobi is one of the most famous jedi of all. on top of simply being what they are, it's who they are that puts those around them in danger.
brows knit together, cal backs down. his stance grows less confident and for a moment he's back on nur before he shakes his head and shakes himself out of it; it's somehow a worse memory now than that frantic attempt to escape the clones, the droids on the last federation ship he stepped foot on. ] You're right, Master Kenobi.
[ then, he sighs. ] Ben.
They-- The Empire is still looking. I'll be careful. [ but for all that he understands the danger, for the fact he nods, cal's not sure that laying low the way he intends to is what obi-wan necessarily wants. ] We need to find out if this is even a galaxy they can follow us.
[ if they do, well, cal needs to know how to prepare and what they'll have at their disposal to be ready. ]
no subject
And given that he had only recently been reconnected to the Force not entirely by his own will, certainly not by his design, he is sure that it has only made it easier for someone in the Inquisitorius to sniff him out.
And having two Jedi together ... well, that would certainly be some prize. Would Vader make an example of the boy to get at Obi-Wan? He can't even think it. ]
Yes, we do. And once we do, we'll be able to make our next moves. [ Even if that means helping the people here get somewhere safe, lead them away from the danger they never even asked for. ] We must think carefully and smartly.
But if you need me — [ Obi-Wan hesitates, not wanting to be involved warring with his instinct to protect, and to do the right thing. ] You can reach out to me. I have no intentions on leaving; I'm determined to see undoing my regret through.
🎀
cal can make his own plans, figure things out as they hang low if ultimately obi-wan chooses to keep his head ducked a little longer. it feels wrong to keep standing still, to do nothing. but--- but there is sense in being smart about it before the danger finds them. it's only a matter of time before it does. ] Right. Carefully.
[ cal thinks to the way the crypt on zeffo collapsed around him, who he'd had to run for his life in the wake of the discoveries he made. careful, right.
the thought makes him miss bd-1, who jumped from crumbling rock to rock and stuck by his side through the peril. beedee probably scold the jedi master before him and for that, cal wishes beedee were here. he'd be on cal's side. but logic and the part of him that's no longer that scared young man lashing out at anyone who wishes to drag him from the known safety of remaining hidden, can see that this isn't him against obi-wan kenobi. they're on the same side, here to undo something.
hiding for a little longer to keep people safe from the ghosts that chase them. ]
I'll be here until the end of it. [ cal has no intention of giving up on changing his one regret; he's saved the children from a future of being hunted but he couldn't save trilla in the end. that feels less fair than the fact that cal escaped vader's grasp only because his own master did not survive. ] Thank you.