ximiliugh | AUGUST TDM.

Entry tags:

! test drive

AUGUST TDM.

● ● ● T D M . 0 3

// PART I. all that glitters  

… 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.

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// PART II. the new staycation  

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.

// VIVECA.AI

Hi everyone, just letting you know there’s a new supply drop. It should be a little more… well, organised than before. If you made requests for items earlier, you should find them in a separate pile near the platform.

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!

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// PART III. bright young things  

(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.

“Hello, there. Care for a drink? I’m afraid you won’t be allowed to continue until you do, and I assure you this is entirely safe. All effects you might experience remain only so long as you participate in this simulation.

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.

“One thing you should know: there is an orb within this club. This drink will aid in your ultimate retrieval of the orb. To better blend in with our patrons, you may experience temporary changes within your body. Good luck.”

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.

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F Y I

• TDM threads can be considered game canon so long as all parties involved agree to it.
• 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.

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FOR SOME FUN:

Have a listen for some clues about the second mission.
(Hint: there are four clues in total.)

▶ NAV

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ ooc note: default to brackets, but if you prefer prose, feel free to tag in with prose and I'll match format <3 ]

❖ // PART I. All That Glitters

[ Eleven is young still, and obviously so. Her face has started losing the roundness of childhood, but still has that telltale softness of a young teen. For anyone with an eye for such things, guessing her within the realm of 14 years isn't hard. She wakes quietly, wide brown eyes panicked, but hardening with a wariness about her surroundings all too quick. She glares after the robot with a face that looks like it teeters towards a poor life choice - and is saved from that only when she notices another person nearby, caution immediately making her tense as she faces them.

For anyone versed in more or less modern Earth fashion, her shirt is a hideous yellow and black travesty ripped straight from the 80s, the pants are baggy and inoffensive, and her feet are curiously bare. She wears a blue hair tie around her left wrist. Perhaps those things stand out. Perhaps it's the fact that her clothes are slightly damp, and she looks on the verge of shivering. Perhaps it's the day old bruising on her neck - like large hands closed around it and squeezed, hard. Perhaps it's the fact that blood is running from her nose, slowly darkening and drying on her upper lip. Eleven doesn't appear to be concerned about either.

If the other person is on the ground, she will cautiously approach, crouching down and putting a small hand on their shoulder, quietly asking with a slightly stilted pause between the words: ]

Are you. Dead?

[ If the other person however is already awake and just happens uppon Eleven in the hallways, she will shift her weight from one foot to the other, fingers stretching by her side and then relaxing, eyes locked onto the person with obvious distrust. Her greeting is to the point, voice soft: ]

Hi...

❖ // PART II. The New Staycation

[ Sunlight Room.
Eleven's tentative exploration has led her here, a quiet and curious presence as she takes her new surroundings in. She's wiped the blood from her nose by now, but there's little hiding the bruising around her thin neck. She shivers occasionally. The station isn't cool, but her clothes and hair are slightly damp, and her feet are bare. Perhaps it's that chill settling into her that leads her quiet steps into the sunlight room eventually. She enters - and immediately backs out again.

Then, tentatively, she steps inside once more, eyes scanning up towards the sky with some curiousity. Here, her face slowly relaxes into something much more childlike, wonder settling into her eyes, nose crinkling and lips curling with soft delight at the delicate petals of the flower garden, at the winding paths and babbling waters. It's all so very pretty, and when someone else happens upon her, she glances at them, not why, and wariness for the time being replaced by curiosity. ]

Are we outside?

[ Mess Hall/Kitchen.
By the time Eleven finds the kitchen, her clothes are mostly dry, and her hair has settled into a poorly cut mop upon her head. Uncertainty is gnawing at her, a feeling she's learned to identify as homesickness that settles deep in her belly like an ache.

There's very little that food can't cure, though - at least for the time being. And when Eleven finds the leftover feast in the kitchen, her eyes go wide.

Still, she shows some restraint - and ventures towards the fridge first, frowning at the contents within. There's a disappointing lack of eggos. Lips pressed together in momentary judgmental dissatisfaction, Eleven turns back towards the leftovers, and it doesn't take long until someone might find her, cheeks full - a half-eaten brownie in one hand, and a half-eaten slice of pizza in the other.

She looks sheepish for a moment, and around her bite of food manages a stilted and defensive: ]

It's good.

[ It's also entirely possible she's currently chewing on a mixture of brownie and pizza. ]

[ Common Room.
She's there when Viveca's announcement comes through the network. The truth is that Eleven didn't immediately realize what the earpiece was, thought the small, mean robot was talking to her. But here, with no such robot in sight, the voice comes right in her head, and Eleven is unable to hold it together, breath coming in a sharp gasp. She ducks, shakes her head as if trying to dispell the voice, muttering a broken 'get out of my head, get out of my head'. Eventually, she cowers, fear of the Mindflayer gripping her and making her small as she sinks to the floor. Anyone passing by the area might hear the distinct sound of an earpiece clattering across the ground once Eleven finally identifies the source of the disembodied voice in her head, followed by the soft, wrecked sound of a child crying.

Eleven can be found under one of the tables, legs drawn to her chest, hands covering her ears, and eyes squeezed firmly shut. The table trembles, sometimes - perhaps because Eleven's tucked under it. Certainly it's not trembling on its own - right? ]

❖ // PART III. Bright Young Things

[ Now who exactly failed to teach a 14 year old child not to accept strange drinks from strangers? Though really, Eleven makes her own rules, and even though she very visibly does not belong in an environment like this, she's here.

Her skin changes, reflecting the hues of her surroundings like a chameleon. It's not a perfect blend - she doesn't become near invisibile. But for a while her skin shows the distinct black and yellow pattern of her painfully 80's shirt, and sometimes it shifts to the distinct colors and patterns of the walls, the carpet, the tablecloth. Mostly it helps her move through the room without drawing too much attention.

That is, until someone has the bright idea to lift the child up onto the stage. Does she bite the well-meaning, jovial patron's arm to free herself? Yes. Does she still end up standing in the spotlight, eyes wide as saucers and staring into the crowd while the poor man slinks off to nurse his - literal - wound? Also yes. Does she sing, as some audience members are calling for her to do?

Absolutely not. Not even the chameleon-esque change to her skin can hide the way her face flushes red, wide eyes settling on the nearest person she may have seen on the station earlier, mouthing a very insistent 'HELP'.

You're not going to leave a child hanging - right? ]

❖ // WILDCARD

[ If you'd rather do a different prompt, feel free to hit me up. I'm available for plotting via PM, on inkcharm or Discord inkcharm#4573. ]

[Daisy's been coming in here a lot the last few days in an attempt to relax, and sometimes she gets close to that peace she yearns for. Especially when she closes her eyes, it's almost enough to fool her. But then all of those dark thoughts pull her back to the her current situation.

Entering the room, Daisy's about to take her spot on the ground when they speak up and she looks over to see that they're a literal child.

Her stomach sinks and she takes a few seconds to answer.]

No. Not really anyway, but it feels like it. Right?

[She does a terrible job of hiding her concern that someone so young was here.]

[ Eleven isn't the best at picking up on social cues. She lacks the experience and socialisation - not that she'd be able to put it in terms like that. The concern, therefore, flies over herhead. She just notes the woman seems some kind of sad.

She frowns at the explanation though, looks up, and finally back down. Judgment creeps into her features - either dissatisfied with the explanation, or unimpressed otherwise. ]

There's a sky.

[Daisy smiles in amusement at her response. She's not wrong and it does look extremely real. Squinting up at the sun, Daisy speaks up again.]

Yeah, but it's just an illusion.

[Looking over at her again, Daisy smiles gently at her.]

I'm Daisy.

● ● ● T D M . 0 3

F Y I

Eleven | Stranger Things | OTA

❖ // PART I. All That Glitters

❖ // PART II. The New Staycation

❖ // PART III. Bright Young Things

❖ // WILDCARD

Sunlight Room

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i. here you go, suffer his curse

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Sunlight Room

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part i.

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Sunlight room

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mess hall/kitchen

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bright young things ;

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❖ // PART I.

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common room

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