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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.)
4
She glances at the girl when she speaks and makes a face.]
Just glass? Why? It can shatter. If you don’t like metal, try G-10 or maybe carbon fiber.
no subject
[The Lord Ruler had ensured things had pretty much remained the same technology wise for so long. They hadn't even had the likes of guns yet. So there's probably a lot of different options that Vin is unaware of for alternatives for metal weapons that weren't available to her back home.]
no subject
Good carbon fiber can be better than steel. Strong, but light weight, and it won’t set off metal detectors. G-10 is a kind of fiberglass. On Earth it is usually used in the grips of knives and guns, but it can be sharpened to a blade, too.
no subject
[Being able to Push or Pull at metals, one had to be cautious in the possible consequences. It's why she only has the bare necessities of a coin pouch, her vials of metals and her earring. She reaches with one hand and fidgets with it, and it probably looks odd, just having only one ear pierced like that.]
no subject
[She approaches the control panel and starts experimenting with commands. Going through and making various choices about what she wants out of the weapon. Small knife, carbon fiber, etc.
She’s not looking for anything huge or magical, so after a few minutes of tinkering a small boot knife appears on the platform.]
There. You can see how you like it.
[She starts poking at the control panel again, to make another one. She could use a good boot knife herself, come to think of it.]
I’ve never heard of an Allomancer.
[She adds this as she works at the control panel. She took note of the word before, but focused on her task first. She’s curious, though.]
no subject
[Well, it probably is when one is more used to the likes of blacksmithing or such. Vin's going to take a while to get used to all of this, the technology and everything. Suffice to say. She picks it up, eyes briefly narrowing as she holds it, turning away from Yelena and striking a couple of times to figure the feel and weight of it.]
Not bad. Ah, that's. I'm Vin. I'm an Allomancer myself. A Mistborn. That is -- well. Most back home know about us but. We can sort of, 'burn' small vials of metals inside us and different metals grant us different abilities. Essentially. Most people can only Mistings, meaning they only burn one particular metal. I can burn all of them, as a Mistborn. Metals can increase our senses, help us to Pull or Push against metal, we can use it to increase our physical abilities or influence someone's emotions. For some examples.
no subject
[She's not sure she completely understands what the young woman is describing. "Pushing" and "pulling" in this context makes minimal sense to her, honestly. But she gets the gist of it. Special powers granted by metals. Some of which are more unsettling than others. Yelena is more than a little uncomfortable with the idea of someone having the ability to influence her emotions.]
no subject
[But she knew enough. Enough to have used it instinctively, without even realizing that she was soothing someone's emotions. At least, not in realizing she was burning that metal to do so.]
no subject
Where I’m from, that would be considered superpowers.
no subject
[And rightly so. Vin was basically considered akin to an army because of it in spite of being just one tiny young woman that otherwise if one didn't know her capabilities would be very easy to underestimate and brush off.]
What sort of powers do people have back home where you're from then?
no subject
[She has the most experience with super soldiers, since her dad was one. Or at least, the man she thought of as her dad. Other powers she mostly knows about through reading or watching TV.]
There’s also someone who can crawl up buildings like a spider. I think he has super strength, too. And a god from space who can make thunder. There are some magic users, too, I think. I know less about them.
no subject
[She is less familiar with the idea of Thor or Spider-Man though. Vin isn't as sure what to make of that. And she isn't sure what magic users are referred to to be sure on what to make of that. Of their abilities. She pockets the new dagger to train with it and practice with it later. It was at least good to have a backup in case something happened to her glass one.]
A....thunder god?
no subject
[It's honestly weird. To some extent she’s used to it, because her own life hasn’t exactly been normal and she was witnessing all these outlandish things as they were happening. But she’s very aware that it’s weird.]
no subject
[The way the skaa had rallied and founded such a religion. The Church of the Survivor in worship of Kelsier. In looking to her as the leader otherwise as his heir, his successor he had trained as a Mistborn. Vin has never been comfortable with it.]