![[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
Well. Whatever passes for morning here. Time passes oddly on the station. [he answers mildly, before continuing right along--
Or, he would have, had Sherlock not looked up at him.
He doesn't really look, or sound, like Sholmes at all. Dark hair aside, the construction of his face isn't quite there either, minus a similarly shaped nose. But the resemblance strikes deepest in Sherlock's eyes, tired and rimmed with red as they are. They could be brothers, this man and Yujin's partner. But Herlock Sholmes has only got the one brother, and-- and these things are known to happen, on the Ximilia-- but to him?]
That--
[Or maybe he's just being crazy and projecting onto this poor newcomer. Unfortunately, the recognition has already showed on his face, but he can at least shove it down until he gets a real answer here. Yujin sets his coffee on a nearby counter (when did he start gripping onto the cup that hard?) and continues carefully.]
That I have. My name is Yujin Mikotoba: I awoke here, just as you did, a little over a year ago.
[He almost doesn't want to ask, but:] And you are?
no subject
[ He tries the name on his tongue. He has no recollection of the name, spoken, heard, or written. There is something oddly familiar about Mikotoba, and if he's not mistaken, he feels similarly about him.
He inhales, exhales and faces Mikotoba. ]
I'm Sherlock Holmes.
[ Although, he doesn't know how that name would be familiar to him if the reverse isn't true. ]
Tell me why you were gripping your cup so tightly. I'd rather hold all the facts before I make my deductions, and there's much I don't know.
no subject
I suppose it's no use, trying to hide anything from you. [he says, resigned. With a sigh he pulls a chair nearer to the bed, takes a seat in it, and gestures for Holmes to take a seat as well.]
What I'm about to tell you might sound unbelievable, Mr. Holmes, but I promise that it is the truth.
[He pauses to take a breath. When he speaks again, his tone's wistful.]
More than sixteen years ago now, I arrived in London and took up rooms with a young consulting detective. I accompanied him on his cases as a partner, recording notes on our adventures all the while.
[And now for the kicker:] That man, the greatest friend I shall ever know... is named Herlock Sholmes.
no subject
I... Sixteen years ago I would have been seven. I wasn't yet a consulting detective.
[ That is something he can put into place easily. His father passed away a year earlier. Jon was with him. His mother... and Mycroft probably realized everything was beginning to fall apart. ]
I took up diggings just last year with Doctor John Watson. I keep my own notes, but I think he's been taking some of his own in hopes of writing a story based on this case.
[ His grey eyes go wide when he realizes he's left the good doctor alone in a cultist lair in the Louisiana Bayou. Thankfully, Watson has a shotgun and can help Arneson if he finds him still alive. ]
Arsène Lupin addressed the letter he left with "Herlock Sholmes." I thought he was either misspelling my name, possibly as an attempted taunt. It's never been my name or anything anyone has called me.
[ Somehow, putting the pieces together into some kind of order doesn't put him at ease. He grabs his battered casebook and starts writing down notes, the need to do something instead of lingering in nebulous state is too strong. This really is too much like when he first met Watson, seeing and hearing the ghost of Jon at the same time. ]
no subject
Yujin pinches the bridge of the nose as Sherlock begins to jot down his notes.]
I cannot pretend that I understand this, but the orbs are capable of strange, magnificent things. They pull us from any number of worlds and timelines with ease. Why not worlds and timelines that are nearer than most?
[He shakes his head. Even he's feeling a little mad, acknowledging this.]
By my best guess, that is what has occurred here. I am from the future of a world similar to, though not entirely like, your own. It'd account for all the differences. Wilson-- not Watson-- was a character created to represent me; it seems he truly is me, or someone like me, where you're from.
And you aren't what I remember of a younger Sholmes, either. [Maybe levity will help? This whole situation is so bizarre, it's all Yujin can think of to cope with it. He goes on, slightly wry:] He's blonde, for one.
no subject
Blond? I suppose you are going to tell me next that his older brother isn't Mycroft Holmes but something like Yorcroft Sholmes.
[ That sounded like a joke Jon would have made. Sherlock puts his face in his hands, feeling pain lance through his temples. If he's making jokes like him, then he's lost his mind. Why must he ]
Orbs? Do you mean the Old Ones?
[ Give him a little grace. The vision was very similar to ones he's been having. ]
no subject
[Yujin waves his hands in front of him in a placating gesture, but, also: he's also only met him once or twice. What if he's forgotten and the elder Sholmes really is Yorcroft...?]
I've never heard of any kind of "old one", I'm afraid. Just the orbs that called us here. [The thought that they exist by another name crosses Yujin's mind, but he really doesn't want to think about an orb showing up in his own world, and what sort of chaos might ensue from it.]
You had a dream before you awoke, didn't you? Do you need me to explain it again? I'd be happy to clarify anything for you, Sh- [Oops.] Holmes.
no subject
[ Sherlock jumps off from the bed and paces with a buzzing energy. He must have hit his head in that cave, or there was a gas in the air that put him to sleep. The things he saw and did were impossible, illogical. A dream, or more like nightmare, explains it all...
Woe betide those who take it.
He stills and looks back to the bed. The glance betrays his thoughts as his eyes focus on the occult book. A dream does not explain how he got that in his hands. ]
Please, Dr. Mikotoba. I would appreciate the explanation. If your Sholmes and I are truly alike, then you should know my methods and be able to apply them.
[ If he avoids talking about what he saw, then he can avoid admitting his concerns aloud or saying something he will regret later. ]
no subject
And that nervous energy with which Holmes paces? It's so nostalgic, he can't help but to smile a little.]
I'd be happy to.
We have been called from disparate worlds to collect strange entities called "orbs". They are incredibly dangerous and hold great power: with them, we may change some moment or event in our lives that we regret. But these orbs thrive off chaos, which, of course, is why we're tasked to collect them before they cause any more trouble to the universe.
[He pauses, watching to make sure Holmes is following him, then continues.]
If we take their deal, the worlds from which we came continue on without us, as if we'd simply disappeared, and we are placed intact in new ones, along with the changes we wished for.
Miss Viveca or the station's captain, Degar, could explain it better than I, really. They were summoned as we all were, but they've been here longer than everyone else.
no subject
He paces a bit more until he settles again at the bed, leaning against it instead of taking a seat this time. ]
That seems rather excessive if these orbs are as powerful as they claim. Another new world just for one? Or, since we've established that there are others like me, do these orbs take the me from that world and place him in my spot? Somehow mix the two of us together like clay?
[ All of this should sound unbelievable, so why then does he not have trouble believing in it? ]
I was in the middle of an important case with Watson. I would much rather not leave the good doctor alone in the Louisiana Bayou.
[ Even if Watson could take care of himself. He is, as he's said before, unfailingly dependable. ]
no subject
[He raises a brow at the mention of the Bayou. He and Sholmes had never gone to America at all, nor had Iris ever written her 'Wilson' there. Curious.]
You can choose to leave at any time. It's entirely up to you. But it will mean forfeiting the possibility of the deal.
[Okay: he'll bite.] What sort of case were the two of you pursuing?
no subject
It's an organized mass abduction, upwards of fifty maybe even hundreds. Watson first brought the case to my attention, although we had no idea at the time just how big it was. We started in London, but the trail took us to the Black Edelweiss Institute in Switzerland and then New Orleans, Louisiana. Others investigating the disappearances have already paid with their lives, and if Watson and I can't solve this, I fear the missing will be lost forever.
[ His voice gains a tremor that wasn't there before. Try as he might, he can't disguise it as something else because he can see it too clearly. Hear the chants the Edelweiss Institute had the missing learn and recite.
Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn! ]
A large cult following is responsible for the abductions, but we haven't worked out why they are doing all this. I may have our next lead if I can make out what it says.
[ He motions to the occult book beside him on the bed. Given that Mikotoba is a doctor, he'll likely be able to tell the cover is made from human skin. The book is also strangely warm. ]
no subject
[The sort he'd have joined Sholmes for in a heartbeat, if only to ensure he wasn't embarking on that journey alone. He listens to Holmes' explanation with rapt attention, concern furrowing his brow at its vast scope, and that note of anxiety in the younger man's voice. A case overreaching enough to rival the Professor case in its complexity? Perhaps even greater?
He gets to his feet, approaches the bed, and extends a curious hand towards the odd book and its unsettling leathery cover. While Yujin's picked up on some of Sholmes' codebreaking abilities, he's nowhere near the level of the master.]
Perhaps I might have a l-- [Touching it confirms things. He's seen enough preserved samples to recognize the texture, to say nothing of its warmth.] Ah! [He recoils his hand, eyes wide in alarm and disgust.]
H-human skin? What the devil is this?
no subject
[ He's been in dangerous situations, but he's never taken such a dangerous case before. ]
I can't explain it. I only know that it has an intimate connection to the cult.
[ He can't even tell what language the book is in, but still, he has to try. They have no lead after New Orleans, and there is no motive.
"Wretched mortal! Do not fear what is to come. Let him rupture our world anew."
Sherlock puts a hand to his head. That can't be a motive. That's a madman's motive. ]
no subject
Afraid I can't make anything of it either.
[If only they could come back home with their memories. Maybe then, he'd be able to help work out this mystery. As is, there's not much he can do... though if he's anything like Sholmes, Holmes will be poring over this book anyway.]
But now, I think you should rest. Forgive me for saying so, but you look like you need it.
no subject
That's is something Watson would tell me. I suppose I no longer have the same time constraint as I did.
[ Sherlock knows that he won't be able to sleep, but he acts like he'll consider Mikotoba's advice all the same. He is more likely to get dressed and start exploring the first opportunity he gets. ]
no subject
Then I'll leave you to it. There's only so much time before our next mission, after all.
[Yujin sets the book aside, and, with a final conflicted glance at Sherlock Holmes, gets back to work elsewhere in the infirmary. This is a problem for later, when Sherlock's settled in.]