TDM 007

[etrayamods]

content warnings for this TDM include: violence, potential death, body horror, physical transformation, loss of senses, loss of autonomy ⏵ arrival⏴ Arrival does not happen as Aurora usually plans for it. New characters are introduced to the AI, then informed of a mission that they are required to participate in before they can return to their home base of Etraya. A world called Aphaia is falling apart, and while there is nothing they can do to resolve this broken world, they can participate in the Gamerunner's Stratagem. Their mission is simple: step through the glowing purple portal that Aurora creates once they've had time to listen to her, and survive until a similar portal reopens in front of them, allowing them to return to Etraya. The Gamerunner's Stratagem is something they have been working on building for quite some time. She informs all newcomers that they will not be present on this world that long: their exit will appear to them exactly when it's meant to, allowing them to meet the others who have been recruited to save their worlds. She provides each and every arrival with an earpiece, allowing them to communicate with the other Etrayans. Aurora suggests taking a bag full of supplies along with them, which she will fill with a few generic items as well as any specific items they may need: synthetic blood for vampires, protein bars for those who may burn through calories faster, medication for anyone who requires it. ⏵ aphaia ⏴ Aphaia is a neon-lit, chaotic planet. Cameras are everywhere, every action and inaction is judged by the 'audience'. Towering holograms advertise upcoming events while flashing leader boards track the most "popular" players. Contestants are thrown into challenges, many of which are games of skill, survival, and deception all to keep the viewers entertained. Not participating is an option! However, avoiding playing along and not putting on a show will quickly cause participants' score to go down, and scores that reach zero? Well. Unfortunately, there are only so many resources left on Aphaia. Their wildlife has died off, their planet is falling apart, and most others in this galaxy were either destroyed from the inside out, or warring planets trying to gain control of remaining resources destroyed them to avoid others getting involved. Their natural resources are depleted, and only those who manage to keep their scores up are given the luxury of having any supplies. As soon as one steps foot on Aphaia, as soon as they breathe, they intake nanotechnology which tracks their oxygen consumption, their food, everything they do or need. As soon as their scores reach zero? They disappear. There one moment, and completely gone the next. Their communicators go offline, and while everything they were carrying will be left behind, no one will be able to find them. They are simply--gone, erased from existence. This is a death and counts as a death as outlined in the game FAQ! Please keep this in mind. "Points" that go towards their total score will be assigned to contestants from the moment they drop down on planet. This will be visible using the HUD on their earpiece, and will be randomized at the beginning. For the sake of the TDM, we ask that no one be assigned Paragon initially, but you're free to use other ranks! The possible rankings are: 100: PARAGON 99-80: LUMINARY 79-70: CHAMPION 69-50: CONTENDER 49-30: UNDERLING 30-0: SHADE Ranks may change daily, or even hourly depending on the kind of situation one has found themselves in. Are they having a very public break up in which it comes out that they wronged their ex? They may go from a Champion to a Shade before they can even blink. Did they save a defenseless reporter from the big bad villain of the week? They may find themselves quickly elevated up to Luminary and given all the benefits that comes with being upper class. The world is their oyster, they only need to figure out how they'd like to utilize it! Aphaia is broken up into four districts. The Colosseum is a dynamic battle arena where combatants fight for entertainment, with shifting environments controlled by the audience. Victories earn points, while losses depend on performance. The Symposium is a lavish social hub for top contestants, where alliances and betrayals are made under the audience’s watchful eye. The Agora is the public center of Aphaia, where contestants engage with the audience through polls, interviews, and challenges to maintain popularity. It also houses the contestants in high-rise apartments. And Backalleys provide hidden spaces with intentional blind spots for secret dealings, though the Gamerunner is always aware of what happens there. ⏵ st★rlight soirée ⏴ Something special is happening in the Colosseum. Lights flicker as the arena shifts, rearranging itself into a grand, glittering ballroom - if a ballroom had stadium seating, paparazzi drones, and an ever-changing floor plan designed to disorient those within it. Silver chandeliers pulse with artificial starlight, their glow refracted through the crystalline floors. Music swells, but it sounds - unnatural. It thrums through your veins, setting your blood alight with the urge to dance. Why is the ballroom designed as if intentionally put together to throw off one's balance? Well, it's time for the Panopticon Prom, of course! The Panopticon Prom isn't just an adventure in dancing and impressing your most recent crush. It's a test of endurance, cunning, grace, and charm. The floor beneath your feet moves as if it has a mind of it's own, shifting to the beat like a living creature all of it's own. It tilts, undulates, even vanishing in sections to keep dancers on edge. After all, it's difficult to keep up one's pace if they're falling through a hole in the floor to the foam pit below. Drones zip through the air, catching every stumble, every misstep, and every attempt to throw off others on the dance floor. This is a competition, after all; and what fun is a dance battle without having the freedom to thwart someone else on their road to victory? The rules are simple: You must dance with a partner. This can be an ally, an enemy, or someone you intend on using as a stepping stone to victory. It matters not, as long as you have one hand (or limb) on them at all times. The longer you last, the better your chances. Endurance is the name of the game, meaning one must pace themselves on the dance floor. While epic twirls and impressive moves will garner more attention, it may also hurt your chances in the long run. You may sabotage others by throwing them off balance, but keep in mind: everything is televised, and it won't stay secret for long. The arena adapts to the chaos. Expect sudden obstacles, environmental shifts, and sudden changes in the music's tempo. Gravity may shift, walls may close in, but participants can't let that stop them - they must continue to dance, if they wish to win. The audience is watching. Who will make the final cut and become Prom King and Queen? Everyone is vying for the titles: it doesn't matter what rank you started at when you joined the Panopticon Prom. Whoever wins becomes a Paragon until their points drop. There aren't many opportunities to sail through the rankings, but this is a sure way to do it. As long as they can keep up. ⏵ casino royale ⏴ Out in the Agora, another popular quarterly event is being set up! The Casino Royale has been destroyed countless times, but it seems as if the Gamerunner just can't let it go - every time it gets knocked down, it gets rebuilt. There is one rule. One must take a turn at the revolving wheel just inside the door as their entry fee, and whatever the wheel lands on, they must maintain until they exit the building for the night. Sometimes, this is easier: an effect they have no control over and cannot undo even if they wanted to. Sometimes, this is more difficult: an assigned task they must complete. Failure to abide by the wheel once means receiving a penalty. Twice? Certain death if caught by any employee. The wheel's effects are as follows: 1 You must speak entirely in rhyme. 2 Your body has become unnaturally delicate. The smallest injury hurts like a fatal wound. 3 You must avoid stepping into any sources of light. Doing so causes massive burns to appear on any area of your skin where light has touched. 4 You have been transformed into an animal! You can still think as you had before, but you cannot speak or communicate easily. 5 You have been cursed with supernatural strength, but cannot control it. 6 Time doesn't flow normally for you anymore. Each mistake you make makes you visibly younger, slowly erasing your experiences, skills, or even memories. 7 You can no longer form your own words, but only repeat what others have said to you. 8 You cannot meet another person's gaze. 9 You can no longer turn around, physically or metaphorically. If you try to return where you came from, you'll find that the pathway no longer exists. 10 You are given a specific letter that you must avoid using out loud entirely. "A"? Better hope you know enough words without one. 11 Every time you speak, your words come true - but never in the way you intended. Trying to control this is futile; the monkey's paw curls with every new sentence. 12 Within the casino, you lose the ability to feel anything. No pain, no pleasure, no warmth, and no cold. At first it may feel like a blessing - until you realize you cannot feel hunger, or tell if you're injured. 13 Regardless of if you've drunken anything, you still act inebriated. The effect only gets worse the longer you stay. 14 No one can see you. You are invisible, even if you are still able to reach out and touch or converse with those around you. 15 Any special ability you have is gone. You are reduced down to what an average human being is capable of - regardless of if you are human. 16 Violent impulses become impossible to ignore. You are rage incarnate, and you will be heard. 17 Every time you make a decision - to walk into an area, to start a conversation, anything, a small thread pulls loose from your clothing or your skin. Keep making choices, and you may become entirely undone. 18 You may speak freely, but for every syllable you say, your ability to hear slowly fades. You may want to watch your word count - too many, and you may not be able to hear at all. 19 Perhaps you arrived with a friend, or beside a stranger. It matters not: whoever came in either just before or just after you, you feel a powerful urge to protect them to the point of aggression. 20 Love is in the air - at least it is for you. Every time you meet someone's gaze, you feel the need to try and make them fall in love with you, through whatever means necessary. The casino is alive with the hum of conversation, the clink of glasses, and the steady whirl of the roulette wheels. Golden chandeliers cast a warm glow over velvet-lined tables, where fortunes are made and lost with the flick of a wrist. But something feels. . . off. The dealers never blink. The cards never seem random. And the house always wins - always. Maybe it's just paranoia, or maybe this casino is something more than just a den of chance. Tonight, you're not here just to play; you're here on a mission. You've arrived dressed to kill, blending into the sea of bodies filling the casino's floors. But you're not here to win points or boost your social standing - you're here to win intel. Somewhere in this casino is a single flash drive containing information on just how Aphaia maintains their system. The only problem? The House knows someone is coming for it. After all, they're well-aware of the game: whoever retrieves the flash drive will obtain information on how to flip the script, to change the rules of the game to fit their wants and needs, rather than following the current Gamerunner. After all, this is the Gamerunner's Stratagem that Aurora has sent them out on! Many apply for 'employment' within the Casino Royale in hopes of getting insider information on where the flash drive is hidden and what it looks like. However, it seems that even the employees have no clue where it has been hidden. ⏵ NOTES ⏴ This is an extension of our Aphaia Mission! We have included enough information in this post that catching up to current in game logs isn't necessary to play with it, but you are welcome to use any part of the Aphaia setting in your prompts as you'd like. Current players are also welcome to bring the events from this TDM into their in-game threads. This mission can happen outside of time as needed! Incoming characters will find themselves introduced to Aphaia as they arrive. Current characters may find Aurora calling on them to visit Aphaia after the current mission for the Gamerunner's Stratagem. Characters already in game are welcome to post to the TDM, too! Please mark them as current characters in your header. Threads can be kept as game canon as long as both characters get into the game! Please direct all questions relating to this log to our mod queries comment! All other questions can be directed to our FAQ. ⏵FULL NAVIGATION⏴

Comments

[querulus]

[Success...? Okay, honestly, Quentin was 50/50 that Julian would just keep walking away and not even bother. It didn't seem to upset him that much that Quentin lied, for whatever reason. Quentin could've just left we'll enough alone and not ever had to talk about this whole mess.

But here's the thing he's realized: he wants to talk about it. At least, some small part of him does. A lot of him doesn't. Emotions run high when talking anything Krakoa back home, understandably so, and this place offers a rare opportunity to talk about what he experienced with someone who doesn't (yet) have a mountain of their own trauma related to the Fall. Everything he had doubts about, choices he wasn't happy about but doesn't know if he regrets. Would Julian have been his first—or second (or third)— choice for that conversation? Nope. But thanks to a certain blonde beauty queen, that ship has sailed. And since Quentin has no intention of telling anyone else, Julian's who he'll have to make do with.

... Unless the guy completely obliterates him first. He sure is moving awfully fast... And not... slowing down...]

Oh—

[Quentin pulls up enough of a TK shield around his body to tank it when Julian hits him, though the back of his skull still smacks the wall uncomfortably, and he makes the ungraceful "guhh" noise of someone getting the wind knocked out of him. Quentin barks out a humorless breathy laugh and wheezes a reply that sounds way, way more cocky than he actually feels.]

Guess you decided.

[God. Why did he invite this again? Oh right, because he's mentally unstable. That.]

[querulus]

you are a child

cyclops at home obviously. context-specific "making it weird." he's always weird.

[shadowsincryo]

[The change is noted. He looks at him then out at all the lights. Then back at him.] Why don’t we talk about this instead. I’ve made you unhappy.

I understand it has to do with my asking for a shift. What about that is upsetting to you? And what do you specifically want out of the bargain we’ve made. It will help me understand so I don’t hurt you again.

[querulus]

bruh you replied to my roll call

are you actually a mutant or just a tire kicker?

[rudelanguage]

It won't matter if you get results. [they step around them, taking a few paces before looking over their shoulder.] This way still?

[shadowsincryo]

It does matter. [He hasn’t moved. The serious expression hasn’t left his face.]

It will always matter. Please, tell me what caused you to diminish so.

[querulus]

really, ororo? [Yes, "Ororo." Because he's a pain. Sorry, Storm.] no tiger king? carole baskin?

sigh. my pop culture references are wasted on like half of you people.

[rudelanguage]

[they turn their head forward and roll their eyes, walking on regardless of being followed. as if it would matter. it's never mattered to anyone unless it impacted results, save for Soliton. maybe the others, but only if Knife behaved according to what those others wanted.

who cares. who cares, who cares! no one. no one here. just Soliton.

they scratch at the ear housing the earpiece, fighting a want to pick it out. focus time. focus on whatever the fuck matters here. numbers. amusement. someone else's dancing pony.

fucking fine. they square their shoulders and lift their chin, defiant to the concept even while settling into it.]

[shadowsincryo]

[But Kaeya doesn’t follow.

Results mean something but not if it creates that look in someone’s eyes. He doesn’t know what it is about but it happened. If Knife continues on, ignoring Kaeya then he sighs and says,] So be it. When you feel like saying it. I’ll be around.

[He will turn to walk away, putting the feelings of a partner ahead of results and saving worlds. Soft. But it is how he is.]

[futuremessiah]

Whatever.

He doesn't make it weird, but he does make it difficult. He's such an annoying hard ass, and that says something considering my dad.

[sophielicious]

(She's processing it, too. It's an inescapable cycle she finds herself in with Quentin. Dead, not by his hand, but through the hot, fully-loaded gun he can become. Brought back. Betrayed. Every corner she looks at in her life, he's also there. She hasn't lived enough, it was taken from her.

Esme, with all her flaws, Sophie can forgive. Phoebe, she can forgive. They're always going to be all she has, no matter how close, or how separated. They're parts of her that she doesn't know how to live without, but Esme didn't kill her just the once, and Sophie even went as far as sacrificing herself for her. She keeps trying, and trying, and trying, even when she's freaking dead. Fucking Esme.

Fucking Quentin, too. For the smartest kid she knows, he's an Omega-level dumbass. Of course, she is mad at him; how could she not be? Does it not occur to him that the issue had never just been that absurd riot? And why would Phoebe, who had the complete facts of it, tell him? She'd lose her upper hand, make him think of a time when she was not in the picture, probably — that would be stupid. Cuckoos are anything but dumb, they're cunning, manipulative, and all things in between.

The thing that makes her turn around is not the words, but the sound of glass. It startles her enough to look back at him with goggled eyes, concern overriding the pettiness of not letting glance at her expression. Worry is definitely a worse look in her book than anger, but she can't help it. They can go back to yelling at each other in a second. Right now, her TK opens a drawer to bring a little box of supplies to her hand as she walks carefully to not step on anything on her way towards him.

No ceremonies, she's going to check his hand for injury because if she used her TK to break things, she'd have a billion scars, but of course, he has none.

Of course.

Once she realizes he needs no patching, the box is carefully settled on the nearest surface. At least her kinder nature has her way less fired up now that it moved through the motions of anger to some care.)

I know you didn't know, and Phoebe would gain nothing from telling you.

[vexant]

( quentin pads out his own landing, which saves julian from having to do it. good. he'd just hate to offer a cushion when he's busy doing - this. still, he's careful. there's enough pressure with julian's forearm against quentin's collar to bruise, but not nearly enough to break anything. same with the telekinetic force julian uses to hold quentin up, not that he necessarily needs it. this is a show of force, of power, which julian has every intention of coming out in top of. )

Yeah, I did. ( avoidance isn't getting him anywhere. not doing what quentin wants isn't, even if his frustration at julian's unwillingness to bend was hilarious. but it wasn't solving anything, just putting them straight back into where they'd been in the library: biting at each other's throats in a back and forth cycle that solved nothing. so, now? julian's leaning right into quentin, putting his weight on that forearm he's got shoved right up against him, pushing his way into quentin's space until their faces are so close, he can feel quentin breathing. )

Because I am sick of your attitude. You're too busy projecting all of your own problems onto everyone else that you can't fucking see what's right in front of you. You think I'm pissed at you, for not telling me about our goddamn home getting decimated, again? I get it, idiot. You think I would have done any different, if our positions had been reversed?

( julian lets that sit. not long enough for quentin to bark out a response, just long enough for him to have a moment to really think about it. )

For someone who claims to be a genius, you spend an awful lot of time proving you're the most exhausting person in every room. And I. Don't. Have the time or energy to bother with it. ( his arm shoves into quentin even harder, as julian takes another step closer. there's no space between them, no room for quentin to breathe without julian feeling the rise and fall of his chest. ) I don't get pissed at you for basic bullshit. I get pissed at you for being the stupidest, most self-destructive asshole on the block. Hell, Quire. If you were half as smart as you think you are, you might've been dangerous. Instead, you're just a self-absorbed, would-be punk.

[fourthwalled]

[Wade is in his forties, but he's sure as shit not going to act like it. Please. And it's not his age catching up with him that's the reason that he doesn't dodge the acid bullets in time. It's that he's careless.

He's just about to leap with the intent to crawl up the metal monster in front of him when a bullet imbeds right into his shoulder.] Ah, fuck me sideways!

[He can feel the bullet corroding his insides, but his healing factor is already regenerating what the acid is trying to eat away. It hurts like a son of a bitch.

And against his usual lack of judgment, he slides to the ground to avoid the continued spray.] That's just cheating! I didn't even get a gun! And these things get acid machine gun mouths? This is totally rigged!

[He rolls, nearly slipping and falling on his face from the oil slicking the ground. Scrambling, he grins over at Shadow, and slams his weapons hard onto a rock surrounded by the oil. He takes another bullet through the leg, with mercifully exits to explode in acid at his feet rather than inside him. Cursing, he keeps going, sparks starting to fly off the blade and rock at contact. Until finally-- FOOSH!

Wade only has moments to get out of the way, leaping away as the monster is engulfed in flames.]

[phaseflex]

[she gets spun as they grab her, and this finally gets her to take it slightly seriously as she uses the momentum to swing her leg around in a roundhouse kick.]

Not my favourite jacket!

[the crease! oh, if it's torn she might actually break this guy's nose. now she's more on the offensive as after she swings her leg around, amara follows it with a proper, solid swing at their face.]

[fourthwalled]

So angry... yet so adorable. [Good thing he's started to walk away, as Wade's fighting the temptation to pat the top of his head again. He calls after him.] Is there something you're looking for in particular?

Maybe I could help you find it?

[sophielicious]

(At least that goes as planned. The screaming, the makeup, the shorts, the boots, the over-the-topness of it all, an effortless look that took considerable effort. 15 minutes, on the dot, she's letting herself in again.

Met with the fact that, just like her, he could be wearing a curtain, and it'd still look ridiculously pleasing. God, they do look good together from the outside.

This is worth spending her hard-worked, carefully crafted points for.)

Looking nice. Let's go?

[fourthwalled]

I haven't even gotten started, hot stuff. [Now, yes, he's flirting with the imaginary dinosaur. What? Let him live!] Or would it be cold stuff? Are you cold-blooded? I wasn't the dino obsessed weird kid, growing up, so I don't know.

I was the trains and Hot Wheels obsessed kid!

[He'd created so many train and car crashes. His childhood was littered with nearly as many figurine and doll bodies and the real ones he left behind now! He watches her real up and then pancake the fratboy in front of her, and Wade screams in some mix of horror and delight.] Oh, shit. You're real!?! Also that was the coolest shit I've ever seen! Do it again!

[And he's off, running at one of the other frat boys, easily disarming them with his ax. Yes, literally disARMing them.]

iii. as the fates have chosen

[sanji]

[ finding some little item like a flash drive (whatever it even is) would have seemed like a fairly simple enough task if he hadn't been thrown one of the silliest challenges in the middle of it. because what does it mean, when the wheel spins for him, that he can't meet another person's gaze, when he just so happens to be in a room filled to the brim with an endlessly growing crowd. even worse is the fact that there's so many cute girls in his midst, and he knows, he'd be drawn to meet their eyes in any instant if allowed enough time.

of course, that means he ultimately has to resort to the sure guaranteed method of meeting no gazes — simply having his eyes closed. moving around gracefully remains fairly effortlessly, thanks to the assistance of his haki keeping him ever aware of the presences of the surrounding bodies, though it doesn't escape him how this strategy puts a blunder in the hunt for that flash drive.

brainstorming for his next strategy, as he taps his finger against the scruff at his chin, letting the smoke simply float from the tip of his cigarette, gets interrupted when a voice speaks to him.

a most adorable voice speaking in rhyme. ]

Oh, yes, lovely mademoiselle~? ♡ [ his body spins in place, giddily in her direction, the eyes remaining closed even as the energy he radiates seems to almost glow at the full awareness that he's speaking to some attractive young lady, despite not having a clue as to what she looks like. ] If there's anything you need, your faithful servant, Sanji, is here to provide anything you need~ A cocktail from the bar? Some casino chips? Someone to take your hand and guide you through the casino? I can do it all!

[ can he? ]

pfft

[badfengshui]

[ He appreciates that the man just is giving him commands instead of making him make a choice. It makes things much easier. ]

Henry. Henry Townshend.

[ Yup. Henry would normally drop his eye down to stare at the floor or allow his gaze to unfocus, but those seem like choices so he remains with keeping eye contact. ]

[devota]

[Claudia doesn't entirely smile, as a result of the conversation, but her features do soften.]

I suppose so.

I'm not sure how much I can help, but I'll do what I can.

[badfengshui]

[ That sounds familiar.

Henry thinks to himself; he thinks it sounds famous. His eyes round as it takes him a second before he realizes that it comes from a movie. Was Marilyn Monroe in it? If an incorrect buzzer could go off in his head, it would. He feels that's wrong. Gone with the Wind? That sounds more right, but he thinks that isn't right. My Fair Lady?

He does realize he's playing trivia by himself in his own head and waiting for his senses to tell him if he's right or wrong, when he doesn't know if he's right or wrong. So far, his neck feels hot and he is sure that all his answers are not right. ]

I'm glad... and that sounds like something I heard before... I'm not sure where, though.

[ He offers her a hesitant, nervous smile. Apologetic that she's offering a joke and he dissociated for a second to try to figure out where he hard it before. ]

I don't think it is? So, yeah, you're lucky. [ A beat. ] I guess you have good luck.

[overconfidently]

( At that, he gets to his feet — shakily — hand coming up to touch at his head and it's then that he sees the floating junk and debris around them. A result of his being emotionally unstable. Sigh on his lips, blue eyes fall shut and he drops his hand down from his head — holds it out before him and tries to focus. After a moment, he drops it all down to the ground, eyes coming to open then and looking... tired. )

I don't know what's happening. Everything feels strange. My TK's been wigging out the moment I stepped here.

( More than it usually does. )

[laserguy]

[He's actually surprised to hear the healing bit. Honestly, he thought Jay's mutation was having cool wings, but he's got a bonus healing factor? That's neat.]

Oh, so they'd actually hurt themselves even if they tried to show off their powers? [Scott frowns, he didn't even think about that before. Guess in that case...]

Okay, I admit, that's really rough. [He thought uncontrollable optic blasts were a pain, but at least they don't hurt him. He just has to be careful at all times or risk hurting people. Not really fun either. Although, he might still prefer getting hurt than always having to worry about blasting people.

Guess it really depends.]

[deviced]

"I'm pretty sure I would have noticed an alien invasion," he says, considering the irony as it is not remotely lost on him. "I think you might be thinking of another planet."

A pause. He frowns.

"...I suppose I do live quite far out in the mountains. But we are not without internet."

[laserguy]

[He can see that smile slowly growing on her. Small, but he notices! Probably because he likes seeing his Jean smile at home, something that didn't take long after they 'started over' from their initial encounter. Yeah, they became fast friends after that, just chatting and bonding and Scott finally feeling comfortable at the school. Like he actually belonged somewhere.

And now he's on an entirely different planet with a different Jean. Not even the future version of the girl he knows, but a parallel universe. Still, he can't help but want her to smile like the girl he knows too.]

You did tell me that we've been good friends for a long time. It's pretty encouraging to hear. [...] And... um, the Jean I know, she was pretty happy that I took her out to the mall with Kurt and Jubliee.

[No longer cooped up in the mansion. Fresh air and all that, even if the open space around the mansion is huge. It makes a difference to actually be off school grounds.]