etrayamods: (Default)
∎ ETRAYA MODS ∎ ([personal profile] etrayamods) wrote in [community profile] etrayamemes2025-03-28 09:16 am
Entry tags:

TDM 007

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

fourthwalled: (insert witty icon keyword here)

[personal profile] fourthwalled 2025-04-25 08:18 pm (UTC)(link)
Please. That bitch carries a fanny pack. He's been dying for a meet cute.

[Maybe not. But Wade's got a way of cutting through the thick layers of stoic prickly types. Probably because he's so goddamn relentless.]
overconfidently: overconfidently. (pic#15703057)

[personal profile] overconfidently 2025-04-25 08:24 pm (UTC)(link)
Don't call him that.

( That's rude, Wade. )

He can be annoying, sure, but he saved my life and probably yours at least once.
fourthwalled: (lil' stabby)

[personal profile] fourthwalled 2025-04-25 08:31 pm (UTC)(link)
It's a term of endearment?

[Wade can't help himself sometimes. Yet he does look surprisingly chided. Cause well--] He did save my life. Used his last charge on his time travel watch to do it too.
overconfidently: overconfidently. (pic#15728267)

[personal profile] overconfidently 2025-04-25 08:39 pm (UTC)(link)
( Falling quiet at that, his gaze drops — recalls the way Cable had argued with his companion how he was going to save Nate and not destroy him like he was told to. He was the abomination, not Cable, according to his companion. But Cable had allowed his hold against the virus to slip some to reach for him within his broken mind — pull him back from whatever shattered pieces of his mind he was falling into. So he's not all that surprised to hear he would sacrifice some part of him for someone else. Someone he could empathize with to some extent. )

Yeah. Sounds like something he'd do.

( Arms dropping to his sides, he eyes Wade. )

He's my brother. So watch what you say.
fourthwalled: (unmasked: yeeeah....)

[personal profile] fourthwalled 2025-04-25 08:51 pm (UTC)(link)
And you're both named Nate.

Zero points for creativity on that one. [Wade doesn't look at all worried about the inherent warning in those words. He just smiles.] I'm not very good at watching what I say. Not a strong suit. Still, I'll do my best?

[His best is terrible, but about as good as you'll get.]
hasitsthorns: I don't know. Ask your dad. (Do you have the fastest tongue?)

[personal profile] hasitsthorns 2025-04-25 08:53 pm (UTC)(link)
the dog I adopted!
the chicken just liked my singing? it belonged to someone else, originally, but then there were too many so I took in one
and the octopus hatched from an egg we got over the holidays

and you have no idea
Misto is a little escape artist
overconfidently: overconfidently. (pic#15681322)

[personal profile] overconfidently 2025-04-25 08:56 pm (UTC)(link)
It's complicated.

( To say the least. But with that, he starts off towards the city space he can feel close by. )

You mentioned Peter earlier. Did you mean Peter Parker?
hasitsthorns: I don't know. Ask your dad. (Do you have the fastest tongue?)

[personal profile] hasitsthorns 2025-04-25 09:02 pm (UTC)(link)
[ She had settled into domestic uniformity better than she expected to. That might be interesting to remember since she seems so at ease and naturally part of this reality too. ]

I think... Wow, almost a year now? Getting close to that, at least. It doesn't feel like it sometimes!

[ Thankfully, she doesn't mind divulging her Etrayan status to someone else that's navigating just arriving. They are supposed to 'blend in,' sure, but if it helps? She'd rather be honest with him. ]

Especially not with fun missions like these.
fourthwalled: (somethings not right)

[personal profile] fourthwalled 2025-04-25 09:07 pm (UTC)(link)
Nah. Not Parker-- but that would be cool. [Spidey-Pool!]

He's just Peter. You'd understand if you met him. He's pretty great. And a damn master at selling reasonably priced minivans.
overconfidently: overconfidently. (pic#15681395)

[personal profile] overconfidently 2025-04-25 09:13 pm (UTC)(link)
And what are you a master of?

( He glances back to him as he goes. You know. Expecting him to follow and all. )
fourthwalled: (lil' stabby)

[personal profile] fourthwalled 2025-04-25 09:16 pm (UTC)(link)
Uh. [Wade is definitely following, but the question leaves him stumped.]</small. I'm a master of... shooting people? Also stabbing them, I'm pretty good at that too. I also saved my universe, so maybe that means I'm the master of the universe too? He-man's got nothing on me.
hyphanated: (hmmmm)

[personal profile] hyphanated 2025-04-25 09:16 pm (UTC)(link)
[Oh! He's happy! An Zhe doesn't quite understand why the man is happy, but happy is good, right? Maybe he just really likes teaching? The idea of him being unable to find anyone to dance with doesn't even cross An Zhe's mind as he follows the man's finger to observe the couple he'd pointed to, then gives a determined, if still somewhat clueless, nod.]

All right. I don't really have any strength at all, so...I hope I don't cause you any trouble. [Because clearly if he brought up strength then it must be a requirement for dancing, right?]

{noooo if anyone hurts him he can just grow a new self! don't worry about it!!}
querulus: (wca - heh)

[personal profile] querulus 2025-04-25 09:19 pm (UTC)(link)
[How fast can he go? Fuck if Quentin knows. That's the funny thing about having limitless potential and atypical control over your powers. When you only use them intentionally, it's paradoxically harder to know what you actually can do. Quentin hasn't hit many walls whenever he's tried stuff, but, well. Relatively speaking he hasn't tried all that much. Mostly just a bunch of weird shit like self-sustaining telepathic subroutines. Or psychic hover boards. Look, he's an insatiable contrarian (oops) and until pretty recently was a bit of a chronic underachiever (more oops). It's a whole thing. His teen years were rough.

That said, Nate's exuberance is infectious, and Quentin's practically beaming by the time he gets to "cool trick". Nate's right, of course. It is a cool trick. A highly detailed, cyberpunk-inspired hoverboard, complete with an Omega symbol accent in a brighter shade of pink, designed entirely in Quentin's mind, produced as a physical object with psionic energy, and fueled by concentrated brainpower? Damn right it's a "cool trick."

He transfers a set of coordinates to Nate. It's a random rooftop, nothing too exciting, but races need goals, and this is as good as any. It's also a different direction that Nate is heading and coincidentally closer to Quentin. It's not cheating if you're the one making the rules, right? He yells out to Nate, adding in a telepathic echo just in case he's moving too fast to hear, and swerves toward his marker.]


If you can beat me, maybe I'll tell you how I do it!

[There, now he's covered in case he loses (which he very well may). Not that he isn't going to give it a good college try, though! Quentin zooms off, leaving a trail of pink "smoke" in his wake.]
overconfidently: overconfidently. (pic#15681320)

[personal profile] overconfidently 2025-04-25 09:21 pm (UTC)(link)
You?

( That... absolutely came off more judgmental than he meant it to, but. )

If you saved your universe, why are you here then? Shouldn't you be all good?

( Why did Echo pull him in to save his world if he had... already done that? )
maximumlegend: (Default)

[personal profile] maximumlegend 2025-04-25 09:33 pm (UTC)(link)
Look, Izuku, some of us need constant validation! It's very normal! Don't think too hard about it! (It's absolutely not normal whatsoever, really.)

But at least the other saying all of this is enough for Fabian, since he doesn't make much more of a big deal about this. Instead all he says is: "Just follow my steps!"

Which.. might not exactly be the easiest instructions. Especially when Fabian seems to dance so naturally. But it's not the only thing the half-elf is doing for Izuku here. He reaches out to touch the other's shoulder with one hand, adding: "I believe in you!"

And just those words will seem to do something to Izuku. There's a power moving into him. Not something that takes him over, but it's.. warm. Inspiring, one might say. It's like Izuku's self confidence just got a huge boost out of nowhere, making Izuku feel like he truly can do this.
maximumlegend: (and run me all that shit)

[personal profile] maximumlegend 2025-04-25 09:34 pm (UTC)(link)
[ The young man raises a hand up to his own face, starting to pinch the bridge of his nose - making it kind of look like he's trying to ward off an oncoming headache as he's listening to all of this. ]

So you understand what down on their luck means. [ He's speaking so slowly. Like he's laying this out as clearly as possible. ] But you don't know what it means to kick someone when they're down? Dude, they're both sayings!

[ Is this important? Not at all.

But Fabian would not be Fabian if he wasn't latching onto something that actually wasn't all that important in the long run. ]
maximumlegend: (laughing because)

[personal profile] maximumlegend 2025-04-25 09:34 pm (UTC)(link)
Hmm, sort of.

[ It's said in that 'close enough' sort of way. It's not like he's the perfect person to explain the details and nuances of being an Oracle to a kid, after all. That's something for Adaine to do, if she ever shows up back here.

So-- fortune teller it is for now. Sorry, Adaine. ]


My friend is the Oracle though, not me. But I'm her champion. I helped defend her in a dance-off. [ Clearly a very normal thing to say. Hey, Fabian thinks it's normal, and he also doesn't think the kid is going to question him on that one very hard - especially as he's pulling her onto the dance floor now he's seeing an opening, starting to dance with an instinctive ease. ] Which makes me the Oracool of Dance!
maximumlegend: (will be different for me)

[personal profile] maximumlegend 2025-04-25 09:34 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Ah.

Definitely not from Spyre then. The fact that said realization is hitting Fabian in the moment is practically written all over the half-elf's face. ]


Different world, more like.

[ So Knife is like Shadowheart, he imagines. From a world that's more similar than most, but still different. ]

For the record, if you put on the earpiece they gave you, you will be able to understand anyone here. Even if they're not speaking Common. Most people here come from strange, strange worlds, you know? They don't even have half-elves or half-orcs there! [ Yes, he's still utterly convinced by the other's appearance, apparently, considering Fabian is very specifically using his own race and what he perceives to be the other's as examples here.. ] Only humans, apparently!
vexant: (Ku8m36H)

[personal profile] vexant 2025-04-25 10:00 pm (UTC)(link)
( there's a slight red tint to the tips of his ears, as sophie's tongue drags along julian's own. she pulls back, and he looks visibly flustered for a moment before julian covers it with another grin of his own, playful and mischievous. )

/You're the one who bitched about me calling the kiss earlier making out./

( so how's this for making out?

but he's - not anticipating this going much of anywhere. sophie's just toying with him, and she's far from the first. julian nuzzles into the hand at his cheek, then pulls her up to her feet and walks them towards the door leading into the club.

the bouncer grunts in their direction, but it's not as if they're here to check ids or stupid shit like that. julian and sophie are attention grabbing enough, so they're ushered right inside to the noisy club. )
levindicated: (101)

[personal profile] levindicated 2025-04-25 10:05 pm (UTC)(link)
Should I have?

[He huffs his laugh as Dion stiffly places a hand on him. It was as he expected, though even stiffer than anticipated. Well. He wouldn’t judge too soon. Her at least let him start dancing before he made any jokes. ]

Good. Me neither. Let us show them what a proper Dominant is made of. [up close Cid smells like wine, smoke, and sweat. Obviously there’s no one making him wear deodorant, so why should he?]

Five, six, seven, eight-
fourthwalled: (trainee)

[personal profile] fourthwalled 2025-04-25 10:05 pm (UTC)(link)
Yes, me! And Logan. But mostly me.

[He sighs at the question, clearly it's a touchy subject.]

I saved it from the TVA and then Cassandra Nova's crazy ass. This Echo thing is something else. Marvel Jesus's job is never done, it seems! I'll save it again and do it in style. And I don't need Wolverine around to be oiled up and shirtless to do it this time! I'll do it on my own merit!
overconfidently: overconfidently. (pic#15728269)

[personal profile] overconfidently 2025-04-25 10:07 pm (UTC)(link)
Wait.

( Please hold. )

You need someone to be oiled up and shirtless to get you to save the world?
fourthwalled: (crossed arms)

[personal profile] fourthwalled 2025-04-25 10:10 pm (UTC)(link)
I don't need it, didn't you hear what I just said?

[He pauses, looking Nate over for a moment.] Why? Are you offering? Although-- wait. How old are you?
overconfidently: overconfidently. (pic#15702941)

[personal profile] overconfidently 2025-04-25 10:17 pm (UTC)(link)
( Cue the eyebrow raise. )

How old are you?
vexant: (pic#17745064)

[personal profile] vexant 2025-04-25 10:22 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm a telekinetic.

( and in case that isn't clear enough - )

Of course I can fly.