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AUGUST TDM.
● ● ● T D M . 0 3
… What are you willing to do to erase your regret from existence?
The words, when they die out, leave you in emptiness — despairing, all-consuming, the kind that invites only the worst thoughts. What have you done? What have you agreed to do?
But then, from the emptiness, a golden light shines, and as you reach for it —
you wake up.
1.0 Perhaps it was less the golden light in your dream and more the insistent feeling of something metallic poking your side repeatedly, making beeping noises… wait, beeping noises?
When you look down, you’ll see a small robot staring at you and looking less than happy (maybe it has something to do with your disheveled state, maybe it's still mad about having to clean up after a certain pizza-induced mess). When you get up, it unleashes a series of beeps — and then furiously starts to scrub the floor.
Yes, the floor — instead of waking up in a bed, you find yourself lying on a hallway, white walls and white floor surrounding you. You don’t have long to stare at the minimalistic look of everything around you before the little bot starts poking you again, the word MOVE blinking across its visor.
So better get out of its way! Perhaps you’re on the hallway on your own and leave on your own… or perhaps there’s someone else, sleeping near you. Maybe do them the courtesy of waking them up before this little angry bot does! Or perhaps you’re the poor soul still sleeping and needing a rescue before the beeps make it to you.
2.0 If you need a visit to the infirmary, the situation may be more dire — perhaps there’s blood on the wall that you wake up against, your clothes may be dirty or ragged… whatever it is that has happened to you before waking here and has left you injured, it sure doesn’t create a reassuring sight. Best get to the infirmary as soon as possible.... with some assistance, perhaps.
Once upright, 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 The most pressing question that you might ask yourself is: but where will I stay? The question is answered once you walk through the winding white corridors to the common area. Behind it, there are three types of rooms: those with one bed, two beds and four beds. The rooms are clinical yet clean, and sparsely-furnished — and most importantly, most are occupied. So be prepared to get some roomies!
4.0 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.
And speaking of weapons: to put it to good use, head to the training room, where the entire purpose is to provide you with a space to spar and train to your heart’s content!
5.0 After you’ve exhausted yourself training, it’s time to grab a bite. For that, you should head to the kitchen, which… seems to be filled with a lot of leftovers: takeout boxes with an assorted collection of pizza slices, kung pao chicken, lamb curry... not to mention the entire tray of chocolate brownies. Feel free to eat your fill — or if takeout isn’t your cup of tea, open one of the large fridges to pick fresh ingredients and make your own lunch.
6.0 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. A new addition is a flower garden where there once was a meadow — now, roses, camellias, lilies and dozens of other flowers sway in the wind, all varieties in their own flower beds, with a winding path of stones leading through them. The path leads to where a bridge rises over a sparkling, babbling brook.
Here, 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.
7.0 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!
8.0 If it’s items you’re lacking, though, some time after your arrival, the earpiece alerts you to a new message.
Indeed, the platform near the personal quarters is still whirring with power, and new items form neat piles 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 If you’ve been given a particular body change that might aid you in this mission, do not use it to your advantage.
B Team up with a fellow Orber to uncover the hidden location.
C Get up on stage and put on a performance during the simulation. Your song choice will determine the outcome of success in your investigation.
F Y I
• TDM threads can be used as samples for apps. In fact, we encourage it!
• Reserves are currently open!
• Apps open August 27.
• For any questions regarding TDM, please direct them here. For questions about the game, please refer to the FAQ.
FOR SOME FUN:
Have a listen for some clues about the second mission.
(Hint: there are four clues in total.)
5.0
Sure, they may have all agreed to come here, but from experience, that doesn't dull the blow all that much.
The few people he stumbles across as he makes his way back out of the sunlight room are given the answers they ask for. Or at least as much as he's able to give. But with a certain bottle still tucked away in the back of one of the freezers, he has a different plan in mind for the rest of the afternoon.
Or at least he did, right until he ends up coming to an abrupt stop at the entrance to the mess hall. When he catches sight of the man sat eating his fill of pizza.
Steve.
For the longest moment he doesn't know what to do. What to say. He's half convinced this is just his mind playing tricks on him again, and half prepared to turn around and pretend none of this is happening. But ultimately, he knows he wouldn't be Bucky Barnes if he could just up and walk away from Steve Rogers like that. Looks like that end of the line has been extended a little further.]
Some asshole decided to put pineapple on pizza. You never warned me.
i'm not even sorry
But, somehow, none of his imaginings had involved him nearly choking on a slice pizza the moment he catches sight of his oldest friend. He also hadn't counted on their first conversation being about the creation of Hawaiian pizza.
...It's infinitely better than their last big reunion.
He clears his throat, dropping the slice of pizza back onto his plate, and gives Bucky his complete focus.]
When was I supposed to do that? While you were on the run from me or during the time I was on the run from everyone else? [Ah, remember the days before either of them were wanted fugitives? Simpler times.]
There are just some things I can't prepare you for.
[It's surprisingly easy to fall back into their banter. Easier than it is for him to sort through the myriad of emotions he's feeling.]
such a great friend
Of course, he had Sam; someone he knows he wouldn't have lasted this long without. Court mandated therapy and a weekly lunch date with the father of a man he killed were not all that conductive toward building a life for himself. But in those final hours with Steve, he'd all but lied to the man about being both willing and capable of doing just that. He needed to. For Steve.
And now, here he is.]
Coulda let me know when you came to Wakanda. Feels like pretty important information.
['Hi Bucky. Thanos is coming. Pineapple pizza is a thing. Sorry.'
The grin that slips onto his face is likely proof enough of the fact that he's picturing that meeting. Wondering just how the others would've reacted if that'd been one of the first sentences out of his mouth. The Wakandans probably wouldn't have bat an eyelid at it, putting it down to yet another one of his weird quirks. But it would've been worth it to see how Natasha and Sam would have reacted. Another small reminder that he isn't the same person that fought them back on that bridge.
Or on the helicarriers.
Or Berlin.
And that's not counting the fights only Steve was a witness to.]
There's food in the kitchen for people like us, by the way. Comes in on every supply drop.
[High calorie meals for people with metabolisms like theirs. Of course, that thought alone isn't enough to keep him from grabbing one of Steve's slices of pizza when he finally crossing the room to drop into a seat opposite him. Something he wastes no time in taking a huge bite of. He's not about to put good food to waste. Especially when it comes alongside good company.]
no subject
But he let's that line of thought go as Bucky takes the seat across from him, swiping up a slice of pizza. It's the first good look he's had of his friend in years, and now that the initial surprise and relief of seeing him is fading he notices the differences. The hair is the most obvious; the short cut reminding Steve of the past. Of the war.]
You've been around long enough to get a hair cut, I see. Decided not to grow it out more? You could have given Thor a run for his money.
[He returns to his meal slowly. Something about sitting here having a casual conversation over pizza seems surreal. But then again, they're in space. Everything about this is surreal. But it's also...nice. Nice in a way he hasn't experienced in a long time.]
Really? So there are others like us here? Other super soldiers.
[He feels a little bad now that he's taken so much food. But it's not like it's going to waste. He'll just be sure to grab the right food next time.]
no subject
The question is, how long before?]
Don't know if there are other supersoldiers. But first drop, they sent in more food catered to me than I could get through in a month.
[Never mind that he doesn't exactly eat as much as he probably should. Of course, that all came in handy when the next drop was missed. When one meal catered to one of them could feed half a dozen regular people, it was easy to decide which way the rations were split out.]
I've gotta ask. Before you came here, what's the last thing you remember?
[Might as well just get it out in the open and deal with it head on.]
no subject
[It's been years since he was last on rations, but he figures it might be like riding a bike. As long as there's enough to split down the middle they shouldn't have a problem. And it would be obvious to tell who was eating their portion and who wasn't. Not that...Steve is worried about that. Yet.
He pauses mid-bite at Bucky's question and lowers the slice of pizza in his hand. He stares straight ahead, not looking at Bucky so much as through him, and tries to will away the images that his question has brought forth. When he finally speaks it seems like it takes a huge effort on his part to force the words out.]
Fighting Thanos. You and Sam and...everyone came back. And then Tony...Tony...[He sucks in a sharp breath.] Why are you asking me this?
no subject
Steve is from before.
This is a Steve who hasn't gone back in time yet. Who hasn't made that decision. Or at least, not enough to have brought it up with him yet.
This is a Steve who hasn't reached the end of the line yet.]
...that was almost eight months ago. [Well, eleven, if he counts Ximilia.] Just been me and Sam for the last two.