![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
FINAL TDM.
● ● ● T D M . 10
The words ring in your ears as in the darkness of your dream, a copper 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. 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.
With an illusion so authentic it may leave you longing for a nice glass of ice-cold lemonade, 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!
Maybe you have taken the warning to be ready seriously, or maybe you’ve heard someone mention the simulation room and want to see what the fuss is all about — whatever the reason for your walking into the room, the first few moments don’t seem too exciting. It isn’t until there’s another person in the room with you that the door suddenly slides shut, and the scenery starts to change.
7.0 Simulation on the Fritz: However, what it changes to is not one of the simulated missions. Instead, the room draws on its occupants. A little flash of memory here, a familiar scene there — the room molds itself after what one (or both) of the people in it know, perhaps a place they’re familiar with: the university library you used to spend hours and hours in studying, or the castle you’ve been trying all your life to conquer.
Or perhaps the room is torn between which person’s memories to draw on, and it ends up producing a strange mix of both: a busy street surrounded by lush forest instead of buildings, or a spaceship sailing on open sea.
As there is no simulated mission, there is no completing it to get out… so look for the little things that are not quite right in the simulation: a shimmer in the air, a grey brick in a red wall — a token of sorts. Finding it will make the simulation die down around you as the room goes dark again.
8.0 Mission — An Open Door: As the simulation starts, the scene that unfolds around you is a gilded hallway. It stretches on and on behind you and in front of you; along its sides, there are countless doors. Some are lavishly decorated, some made of pure gold, some of wood; some are decayed, looking like they might fall apart by mere touch; after a heavily reinforced door comes a door made of frosted glass… and so on.
But the longer you stand in place, the more you start to feel a sense of urgency: you must keep moving… you must find it. The orb. It’s there, behind one of the doors. All you have to do is choose which one to open.
Oh, you can open as many as you want, but be careful: you never know what is lurking behind them. It may be that you open one and step into a room that is nothing but air; it may be you unleash a horde of hungry monsters. Or perhaps you luck out and get a room that is just a room, with lavish couches and plush pillows, and maybe some grapes and apples set in a bowl in the middle of a gold-decorated table.
It’s not just the orb that you need to find, though... because just like in real missions, you receive a message that tells you your task — one that you have to complete, if you want the orb to help you in your quest to undo your regret.
● ● ●
N O T E: 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 Tell someone what you are most ashamed of.
B Let a teammate get injured during the mission.
C Steal something from one of the rooms.
F Y I
• TDM threads can be used as samples for apps. In fact, we encourage it!
• Reserves are now open!
• Apps open September 26.
• For any questions regarding TDM, please direct them here. For questions about the game, please refer to the FAQ.
Have a clue about the upcoming mission—
no subject
eyes narrow, watching cain for a moment before he's lowering the gun down and setting it down on the countertop nearby. cain's not a threat, he looks like he's barely holding himself up as-is. )
From the looks of you, the recoil'd take you out faster than whatever the hell you're planning on shooting at would.
( it's not a no, it's an are you stupid? )
no subject
I'm not planning to shoot anything. [Maybe he's too paranoid, because there has been no threat since he woke up in the infirmary. Supposedly they're all in this together.] Just... want it for self-defense. Can you blame me? Bet you're in here for the same reason.
[Hobbling to the wall of pistols, Cain gingerly picks one up and examines it.]
... You know how to use one of these?
no subject
cain approaches, and jason lets him. doesn't step closer, doesn't move to shove him away, just--watches as he picks up one of the guns, and raises a brow as he asks if he knows how to use it. he's got a good idea now, after having disassembled one. but they're not weapons he's that familiar with. )
You wanna take off out of here, in a hospital gown, wrapped in bandages, with a gun you don't even know how to use?
( he realizes how dumb he sounds right now, right. )
no subject
[Short-tempered on the best of days, his ability to handle this conversation erodes only further as he's confronted with the ludicrous picture he makes. It's not like he doesn't know. He doesn't need some stranger to tell him, least of all one like this—haughty, unyielding and unhelpful, armed to the teeth. It reminds him of being in a room with another Fighter, someone he doesn't already know, looking to tear into his throat unless he proves himself. Or worse, one of the commanders themselves.]
I woke up somewhere I shouldn't be, who fucking knows how far from where I should, told I have to save worlds to undo the shit I already got myself into... and yeah, so I was in the med bay. I'm fine. They did surgery. [He lets his arm hang at his side, gun in his fingers with the barrel carefully pointed down. He may not know how to operate this futuristic pistol, but he knows basic safety.] Just want to be prepared in case this is all a sick joke.
no subject
granted, jason wouldn't be much better if their situations were reversed. if he'd woken up in the med bay, without any of his shit, his first instinct would be to go and find things he could arm himself with on the off chance things go south. hell, the first thing he did when he woke up was make sure he was armed.
admitting to any of that wouldn't be ideal. instead, jason's rolling his eyes, and looks cain over. whether he finds what he's looking for isn't clear; he raises a hand up to press his palm against the side of his neck. rubs at it. )
You got a name?
no subject
Sure. Cain. [He doesn't see why there's a reason to stop using it.] You got a name?
[Cain tries to lean against the wall casually only to agitate his stitches, a hand clapping onto his side with a hiss.]
no subject
( he's already used it, jason may as well be consistent with his fake names. the space station is big enough but not big enough to avoid mixing crowds, so he'd rather avoid needing to. )
Stop slouching, you're just gonna fuck yourself up worse. ( says the guy who slouches whenever he gets the chance to let his guard down even a smidge, but jason isn't the one full of holes. currently. ) How's your hand-eye coordination? Shoulder alright?
no subject
I don't know. [He sounds annoyed that he didn't even think about it, but—] ... Never been shot before. Uh, in the flesh.
[He's been shot at plenty of times, but it was in space, on a ship, protected by the hull of a starfighter and all of its mechanisms. For all his past, petty crimes, he's avoided this particular injury by some miracle alone. Reluctantly Cain straightens, flexing his hand, lifting the other one that still holds the gun.]
Shoulder feels fine. They had good tech. Is there a practice range here? Or a simulation room? [...] Fuck, I need clothes.
no subject
he still looks annoyed, when jason raises a hand to beckon cain in closer. a better move would have been to just leave him here, tell him good luck, and take off with the gun he's already looked over. unfortunately for jason, he has a habit of finding reckless idiots pulling stupid moves and just. . . keeps them around. which--look at cain: running around near-nude and full of holes because he feels the need to have something he can shoot at people in case of an emergency.
a reckless idiot pulling stupid moves. )
C'mere.
no subject
And Cain is good at following orders. So he steps closer like a wary cat, watching John's hands as if he's expecting a hit.]
What?
no subject
Take it from me, an' I'll make sure you know how to shoot it before you run off with it.
( he can always get more shiny guns, but at least these ones, jason knows like the backs of his hands. and he'd rather work with someone who isn't useless. )
no subject
You're giving me one of your guns? [Genuinely, this shocks him.] ... Why? What's the catch?
[Already, the expression on Cain's face is mentally calculating whatever he's going to have to do or provide in return.]
no subject
( and he's still holding it out, barrel towards cain. less a threat than it is a test. it's easy to disarm someone with a gun when you're in close enough, but jason's also been around the block enough to know damn near every way someone could grab onto it to try and yank it out of his hands. doesn't mean he intends on going hard on this guy, but it does mean he's watching carefully to see what he does decide to pull. )
Second - I've got a sword, another gun, an' a lot of other shit. I don't need this one, but it's a hell of a lot less complicated than the one you're toying with. Safety off, aim, pull the trigger. It packs a punch.
no subject
Thanks. [Wariness even more diminished, he flashes a proud smirk.] I am good with guns. Been shooting since I was a kid, just not... whatever the hell these are. [Cain sets the stranger pistol back on the wall, where it was originally held.] You go around carrying a sword?
[Bro...]
That's badass. [Never mind.] Never used one of those before either. Pretty hard to get, uh, where I'm from. Kinda like a novelty since there's nothing to kill with a sword that a gun couldn't do better.
no subject
with his hand emptied, he reaches it back for the katana strapped to the back of his sleeveless jacket. pulls it out of it's sheath, and tosses it up before catching it by the hilt in his palm. )
It's not always about killing. Nor can you always use a gun. ( with a brow raised, ) There's a lot of shit you can't do with a gun that you can do with a knife, or a sword. Never hurts to have a back up plan.
no subject
Okay, so... what, are you military? [His brow furrows.] 'Cause it's bugging me. How they choose who gets brought in here. And what about everyone else?
[There's really only one person on his mind.]
You gonna do what they say?
no subject
( he's got combat boots, cargo pants, a tight fitting kevlar tee. not exactly a uniform someone in the military would wear. jason knows looking at him, he's--a little intense. big, well-muscled, he handles himself like he could be in the military.
but it's a little more complicated than just that. jason puts the sword back into it's scabbard; he's shown off enough, there's no need to swing it around like it's a toy. even if it is one. )
I've got training. Can handle myself in the field just fine, so if you're looking to see if the connection is whether or not someone can fight, they didn't pick wrong with me.
no subject
Dunno. Could be ex-military or something... but I get the point. [He makes a gesture, as if wanting to tuck the gun into his waistband—only to remember he's not wearing pants. With a frown, he folds it under his arm protectively instead.] Once I'm healed up, I'll find you again.
[To return the gun, and also to test that statement. He's itching for it already, the combat training that kept fighters sharp even against each other, especially against each other.]
... Can you teach me how to use a sword? [🥺] I don't even know what the hell we're fighting here.
no subject
( he already handed off one of his guns to cain, what's offering to teach him how to swing shit around effectively? not like jason has anything better to do during downtime around here. his right shoulder rolls up, left hand coming to press against it for a moment before jason's taking a few steps forward and--raises his hand, in an attempt to drop his hand down on top of cain's head.
to ruffle his hair. )
Go get some pants on.
( that hospital gown can't be cozy. )
no subject
Hey. [Grumpy... it's been a rough day.] Watch it, asshole. We're on good terms for now.
[With a huff of annoyance, he whips around to head out the door.] I'll find you later. [Once he acquires a sword, or when he's ready to return John's gun, whichever happens first. But first — pants.]