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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—
HE WHO HAS NOT BARKED, CAST THE FIRST STONE...
[Wait, no, his brain needs to catch up with what is going on here. He knows he hasn't had the best track record psychologically speaking, but there is nothing that batshit out there once you've been in outer space hunting magical balls. Blinking and adjusting his glasses, he sits perched on the top of the counter like some kind of nerdy leather-clad gargoyle. The studying of the situation is as follows: he is seeing this, truly, and therefore it is either an intruder who someone brought as a pet or a new member of the crew who is, in fact, a talking canine.]
Why are you barking at a human first when you know their language? How was I supposed to know, dude! C'mon, you think my earpiece translates bark bark bark?
[He says it all as he finally climbs down from his safety ledge, gesturing dramatically to the tornado of debris Jake has left in his wake.]
And — hold up. Who raised me? You're the one leaving trash everywhere, my guy! I don't care how totally awesome you are, you might as well be a herd of possums in a trenchcoat with all this destruction! Especially my mac and cheese!
no subject
[There's a lot to process here, for both of them. The human had a kid-sized body and a kid-esque face, but. Kinda different, too? Less fresh, maybe. Like the way lettuce gets when you leave it out too long and the sun gets to it.
Not that this guy was lettuce. Lettuce had a distinctly chiller energy.]
And I didn't touch nobody's mac and cheese! [Jake huffs, defensively, like a liar. The proof was smeared across the ground, which he notices exactly one sentence too late.] --And if I did, y'know, my bad I guess but I got extenuating circumstances, man. Y'know, it's not like they feed you in regret orientation!
[Plus all the time spent half-starving, but that wasn't the old kid's business.]
no subject
[Ugh.]
Next time just ask. I would've made you all the macaroni your heart desired!
[He steps closer, recovering pretty quickly from 'horrified' to 'pissy' to 'deeply interested'. You can tell because he adjusts his glasses like a stereotypical nerd.]
Where are you putting all that, anyway? You got multiple stomachs for consumption? Super sensitive glands in there that produces powerfully acidic enzymes? Or is it just a black hole that leads to the seventh circle of hell?
no subject
He could save being a pedantic know-it-all for another time. Now? Now was the time to be an unapologetic show-off.]
Big imagination you got, buddy. Where do you think I'd be keeping all that mess, anyway? I'm a little dog.
[And Jake was a little dog. Emphasis on 'was'. In the space of a moment, Jake starts to grow. Parts rearrange, his face twists, and before too long that little dog is replaced by what could only be described as some sort of hideous amalgam of spikes and a wide toothy maw. When the new creature speaks, he sounds completely unchanged.]
Like, if I looked like this, maybe you'd have a point.
1/2
AAAAH SHIT!
no subject
Hold on, hold on! That's so fucking cool! How're you doing that?
[He's walking around him and looking him over like he's a statue in a museum, all fantastical and scientifically jarring in a way that is totally his arena of ever-expanding expertise.]
Don't just stop there, let me see what else you got! Strike a pose, dude!
1/2
Uh. [Jake doesn't turn -- the room isn't quite big enough for him to do a complete 180 -- but his eyes do follow Newt as he begins to circle him. They float along on top of his flesh like they were being pulled by some sort of current.] Yeah, man, sure.
2/2
[What happens over the course of the next minute is a whirlwind of shapeshifting greatest hits. It starts out with more creatures, their level off detail varying from form to form, before shifting to more intangible objects. One moment, Jake resembles a large ostrich. The next, a fuzzy little car with spinning wheels and what looks like a pretty cozy interior. Next, a decidedly less functional looking plane. Finally, things devolve into pure abstractions. Squares, circles, cubes, a swiss-cheese looking mess of holes and odd textures. Through it all, Jake's little dog face usually finds a good place to rest, staying mostly intact for all but the most outlandish transformations.
As he rotated through his mental rolodex of reliable shapes, Jake actually finds himself forgetting how weirded out he was. Heck, who didn't enjoy a little appreciation now and then?
He closes out with a finale; a rough approximation of the human in front of him. Leather jacket, dumb glasses, they were all represented. The subtlety of the features were still a work in progress, but Jake only just met the guy. Give him a week and it would be flawless. ... If you ignored the fact that it was made out of dogflesh, anyway. Dog-Newt's face twists a little, adjusting for accuracy, before Jake calls it a wash and simply replaces the other man's facial features with his own doggy ones. The glasses, though, they can stay.]
Howzat? [He adjusts his flesh glasses.] Pretty nifty, huh?
no subject
Hell yeah! Dude, are you serious. You're one of the coolest arrivals we've gotten! This is nuts! [He has absolutely learned his lesson on going full scientist with newbies (he's harmless, he swears), so he reels it in a little.] Bet you can't replicate these bad boys, though!
[He whips off that leather jacket to show off the kaiju tattoos on both foreheads, turning them like a showcase and pointing to them with the usual zeal of an ecstatic fan.
— Huh, when did he start loving them again...? It would be a really big relief to realize it, if he weren't so engaged in this silly little scene.]
no subject
Dip, dude. You got a real freaky little picture book cookin'. [He rolls up his "sleeves" in the same manner, flesh depressing in vague replicated shapes. It wasn't even close to an exact proximation; more of an embossed impression. The fine details and colors were lost in translation.] That's gonna have to do, bro. Colors ain't really my strong suit.
[That Newt wanted him to become the monsters was lost on Jake. For the moment, at least. He could tell this guy was a little weirdo, but not how much of one.]
no subject
Not a bad try, though. Being able to replicate colors, it's a pretty specific skillset that would require really specific cells that reflect or scatter pigmentation. Man, this kind of reminds me of scarification; I've always wanted to try it, but it always looked like it'd hurt like crazy.
[Anyway, about the little weirdo thing-]
Would you be able to actually match the creatures in the tattoo, too?
[Heh, tattootoo.]
Or like Godzilla! You ever see Godzilla? Godzilla is one of my all-time favorites.
no subject
The creatures? Heh, yeah, probably. [He focuses on them briefly, flesh twisting until he resembles less the creatures themselves and more their stylized versions. Sort of like a photograph of a photograph.
The Flat Stanley of a kaiju opens its incorrectly placed mouth, humming thoughtfully.]
Anyway, what the heck's a Godzilla?
no subject
[... He's gonna reach out to pet the scale-shaped spots on Jake's arm.
Because he wants to know if he feels like a doggy, bro.]
Godzilla's a giant radioactive, bipedal reptile that breathes atomic heat beams.
Also super awesome. And not as far from the real thing as anyone thought.
[A pause.]
I mean, the real thing being the creatures you're replicating right now.
no subject
Giant radioactive reptiles? Also definitely awesome, in certain context. Movie contexts. The real kind, Jake could take or leave. Sounded like they weren't sympatico on that. ]
So you're a big monster groupie, huh? [ He has to assume. I mean, the guy was covered in these. Jake begins to snap back to his regular form, the twisting flesh could actually be felt under Newt's hand before Jake's sudden smallness takes him out of his range. ] You run a zoo or something?
no subject
Noooo, man. Nothing like that. I mean, I am totally a groupie, but no zoo for me.
[... He scratches behind Jake's ear until the guy is shrunk and away from him; what? If he digs it, then Newt's gonna be polite and keep scratching. Like a real homie.]
It's kinda complicated, but, uh — I grew up loving fictional aliens and monsters! Like, a ton. Godzilla and King Kong, creature from the Black Lagoon, the swamp monster, all the classics. You name 'em, I had a poster at one point.
... Then one day, monsters started coming up out of the ocean, stomping through humanity? And I ended up as one of the scientists who worked in an defense corps dedicated to stopping them from totally wiping us out.
And like, sure, I totally wanted to save the planet and keep people alive! But I also definitely wanted to know as much about them as possible, because they were crazy awesome. Or, you know, would be if they weren't stomping on cities.
[People never really got his appreciation for them.
That, of course, was even before he learned they were just a bunch of pawns in a grander scheme. Sure, he had hoped they were all just mindless creatures who were working on primal instinct, but... The truth was way more hideous.]
no subject
Although in his case, the humans lost a long time ago. Jake's doggy face reforms on the front of the kaiju silhouette, awkward smile stretched across his face. ]
Dangerous things can be beautiful, man. People rock climbs for the view, not because they like exercise. [ Don't try to argue with him on this one. Jake could not be convinced anyone liked exercise. ] I think it's cool. You gotta know your enemy, right? Warrior-chic, bro.
no subject
If anything, me and the kaiju, we've got more in common these days. I totally get 'em. [He tops in his ramble, suddenly far too aware of Jake's lack of knowledge — shit, that totally sounded screwed up, didn't it? He glances over at him and quickly adds:] I mean...! Like, it's not so simple, you know? I'd gotten into their heads and figured out that they were pretty much just pawns by this genocidal group of alien overlords! Hard to blame them for something they were created for. It's not like they had any say, right?
[Pushing up on his glasses, he clears his throat and continues:]
The hivemind that cloned them en mass, they'd just send the kaiju through this big-ass portal to the planets they wanted, and they'd wipe out everything living so they could terraform the land until there was nothing left.
no subject
Dang. [ He blinks. ] That's a whole lotta empathy for somebody trying to kill you, bro.
[ He doesn't mean it to be belittling, though it would be easy to hear it that way. Jake was impressed with it. It took him a long, long time to even start to see things that way, and even now it could be a whole lot of work to look past pride, indignation, and the natural defensiveness that came hand in hand with immaturity. ]
no subject
[After all, he still happily converses with the guy who tried to smother him in his infirmary bed around here. But that's complicated. Way complicated.]
Nothing's black and white, that's really all there is to it. They were cloned, given one purpose, and sent out with the thought that they were doing good things for their creators. How would they know any different, y'know? All they'd known was obedience and violence.
[... The thought kind of takes over, and there's a serious look out of his eyes before he seems to snap back to something more present, more aware that he's getting too far into his own head again. Eesh. He waves a hand.]
That's some serious shit for a new guy. My bad...
[He reaches out to tug on the loose skin on Jake's arm like it's not the weirdest thing in the world; he adapts quickly, and it kind of reminds him of those really wrinkly dogs with five-hundred health problems.]
You're getting a little floppy, dude.
no subject
Eh, it's cool. You should've seen where I was before I got here, bro. Anyway I--oh, dip.
[ The mention of his floppiness steals Jake's focus. He glances at his smooth, detail-free arm, taking the cue to shrink back to his normal doggy form. Well, all of him save the flap of skin Newt was holding, now stretched between them like a comically large elastic tether.
Jake holds there for a moment before clearing his throat. ]
Yo, uh, could I have that back, man?
no subject
My bad.
[He releases the flappy skin, post-haste. But now that we're in that moment of lulled silence, Newton clears his throat, gesturing to the mess Jake has left around the kitchen.]
... You still hungry? I could use a sandwich. I'm starving.
no subject
Not that thinks were awkward. Far from it. Just two guys, standing in the middle of a trashed room, mutually realizing that they could both definitely eat. Jake grins, stretching a one hand towards a farmers loaf and the other toward a bread knife. A nonverbal oh, you're in good hands if ever there was one. ]
Bro. Always.