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

internationalrelations: (024)

[personal profile] internationalrelations 2025-04-25 10:24 pm (UTC)(link)
Alex, who at his heart, is a good boy and, who at his brain, is currently too magically inebriated to really engage in common sense, immediately starts stripping out of his shirt. "You can have mine!"

You get the shirt off his back, Shaan. And a free impromptu strip tease while the First Idiot fumbles with his own buttons.
overconfidently: overconfidently. (pic#15681392)

[personal profile] overconfidently 2025-04-25 10:25 pm (UTC)(link)
( Hands go up, a shrug of his shoulders. )

Hey. Just because you can move things with your mind, doesn't mean you're any good at it.

( It's not like he's seen you do much, bro. Besides the shield. )
fourthwalled: (pic#15467885)

[personal profile] fourthwalled 2025-04-25 10:28 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm... [mumbles under his breath.] fourty-seven.
overconfidently: overconfidently. (pic#15702948)

[personal profile] overconfidently 2025-04-25 10:29 pm (UTC)(link)
Forty-seven?

( Yeah, he's... not mumbling that. At all. Sorry. )
fourthwalled: (unmasked: i have no idea what i'm doing)

[personal profile] fourthwalled 2025-04-25 10:33 pm (UTC)(link)
Yes, Jesus fuck. I'm 47. Happy?! [He's apparently both annoying AND a dirty old man.]
overconfidently: overconfidently. (pic#15681395)

[personal profile] overconfidently 2025-04-25 10:36 pm (UTC)(link)
( Glancing to him, he huffs then and shakes his head. )

Well you don't act like it? ( If that helps, but. He looks ahead again. ) Besides. Not everyone gets the chance to get older.
fourthwalled: (unmasked: yeeeah....)

[personal profile] fourthwalled 2025-04-25 10:46 pm (UTC)(link)
[Wade is about to retort, but he's not a complete fucking idiot as much as he acts like it. There are times when he's remarkably observant. He's not going to ask the obvious question.] No, I guess they don't. I nearly didn't. I should have died nearly eight years ago.

[Given the choice to go back and just let it happen, he's not sure that he'd choose to go through what he endured again to get here. He probably wouldn't.]
sophielicious: (36)

[personal profile] sophielicious 2025-04-25 10:46 pm (UTC)(link)
/Whose fault is that, exactly?/

(Not hers, because a little peck is not making out, Hellion!!! Hopefully, the way she giggles and waves a hand tells him that this is said in good spirits and coated in playfulness. It's not complicated, or nowhere even remotely serious, it's just... Julian's providing, enabling, and she's not going to not take advantage of it.

A fun, brainless escapade when everything feels like utter shit, and he knows how the Cuckoos are, and while Sophie happens to be the most conscious one, she's still a Cuckoo at the end of the day.

Sounds good. She's not going to worry about it.

The club is pretty much how her favorite places tend to be. To her, the indication of good music and good parties is just how silent the minds of the clubgoers get when on the dance floor, no thoughts, shake it only.)


/Drinks first, find a target, go from there?/
overconfidently: overconfidently. (pic#15728269)

[personal profile] overconfidently 2025-04-25 11:03 pm (UTC)(link)
( He's careful in the way he looks over to Wade then. Quiet. Curious. He doesn't have to ask. He's a telepath, but. He's trying to be better with that. )

What do you mean?
vexant: (pic#14770574)

[personal profile] vexant 2025-04-25 11:05 pm (UTC)(link)
( is it winning to get quire to give in to hugs or losing because now julian is stuck in a hug? hell if he knows. he's still counting this as some kind of victory though, so when quentin comes in closer for a hug, julian wraps an arm around his shoulders. because clearly, he isn't a tsundere. this is perfectly normal behavior. )

You're welcome, loser.
vexant: (pic#17694954)

[personal profile] vexant 2025-04-25 11:17 pm (UTC)(link)
( okay, a fair point. but if someone can manage a shield as steady as julian's, they should be able to fly, too.

granted, there's always the cuckoos.

anyway. )


You want to go? Telekinetic to telekinetic.
limiterrings: (pic#17779880)

[personal profile] limiterrings 2025-04-25 11:22 pm (UTC)(link)
...

[ and there are no claws to be found. ]

Then you're capable of changing your appearance?

[ that's what he thinks at first, not unlike what he could do before, but he tries not to think so bad on those time.

it is interesting given what could be deemed "claws" to her. ]
lastofthearmlizards: (3)

[personal profile] lastofthearmlizards 2025-04-25 11:24 pm (UTC)(link)
My name is Baylene. And by the way, I already discussed that with another contester around.

[She'd be even more concerned about hearing that if she hadn’t talked to Maria a while ago.]
shoplifter: (pic#17709773)

[personal profile] shoplifter 2025-04-25 11:25 pm (UTC)(link)
[Huh...?

... Oh.

After a moment of consideration, she holds out her hands in front of herself; there's a snickt sound as adamantium claws snap out from between her knuckles, and she holds them in an X-pose in front of her.]


Sí. A little.
overconfidently: overconfidently. (pic#15681338)

[personal profile] overconfidently 2025-04-25 11:26 pm (UTC)(link)
( At that, he stops — takes a second to look Julian over. Not necessarily sizing him up, but. )

How?
miniroth: (pic#17456823)

[personal profile] miniroth 2025-04-25 11:43 pm (UTC)(link)
No. Anyone.. younger than twenty five or so is likely new here as well.

[It's not a great city, he's less than pleased to be here, and as one of many drones flies past to pursue some interesting looking tangle down the alleyway, he gives it a black look. Cameras. If there was anything he truly hated..

He shakes it off quickly, because there's more important things at hand, like making sure his ratings stay reasonably high. And, as Aerith might not belong in this miserable, dying planet, leaving her high and dry seemed cruel.]


I'm going to rob it. The viewers seem to adore delinquent behavior from teenagers.

[Something unpleasantly bitter enters his tone bit by bit, resentment at such pointless displays just to please an audience.

Aerith is considered for a long moment, blue-green eyes narrowed.]


If you're low on points you can try turning me in. They might like that too, and I don't think any of them are good enough to catch me before I make some kind of flashy escape.
limiterrings: (pic#17779881)

[personal profile] limiterrings 2025-04-25 11:53 pm (UTC)(link)
[ what a fool.

shadow takes another step back, one of the heads looming towards him as a roar clatters out from its throat. the hedgehog appears unimpressed, standing in place to tempt the beast to come to him.

this will give wade some time to get himself together, because due to the dust and debris flying everywhere, one head has a target while the other does not. the one head which watches shadow with interest has acid that slips between its teeth, dropping onto the ground and sizzling what it comes into contact with.

it's tail wags, hitting the ground nearby where wade is before it rests not knowing that the man is even there. visible cords and wires stick out, sparks of electricity visible and seems to be the only spot where there's nothing covering the beast's insides. ]
tson: (☕️ 055)

[personal profile] tson 2025-04-26 12:06 am (UTC)(link)
[ Tseng means to confirm that he is, indeed, far below any ranking that would grant him legitimate access to this building. He catches onto the persistence in Rufus's tone, though, and says nothing of the sort. A quick, almost imperceptible glance toward the ceiling. Half the cameras around here are obvious. He guesses the interior of the elevator is double-paned or two-sided.

Before he can verify those things, the ride stops. After Rufus. In the penthouse, Tseng picks out the signs of comfort and wealth among their limitations in this place. His head turns with his senses toward the soft thud of the coat landing on the chair. Sooner than Tseng can step forward, Rufus steps back in front of him. ]


I was given a generous estimate.

[ Not to worry, his Turks can take care of themselves. And Rufus. By that, Tseng thinks he can speak just a little more freely in here. In the way the other's relaxed, he sees an old—recognizable—shift from public to private. Personal.

Of course, Tseng can't just get comfortable. Rufus wasn't surprised to see him; that tells him two things. One, he's been here long enough to not be surprised, and two, he was expecting someone to find him. ]


Who else is here?

[ And there are things Tseng is looking for. Not hunting for weakness, but parsing context from breath, from posture, from the quiet in-between. Discoloration on pale skin. His gaze lifts deliberately to meet Rufus's. ]

Are you well? [ More important than the previous question. ]
fourthwalled: (Default)

cw: cancer, torture

[personal profile] fourthwalled 2025-04-26 12:41 am (UTC)(link)
I have cancer. I was dying because of it. It was in my liver, lungs, prostate, and brain... there was no stopping it. I was maybe a week from dead when I finally let them experiment on me.

[The idiot fool he is usually slipping for a moment.] Biggest mistake of my entire life. They did things to me that were worse than death.
limiterrings: (pic#17756610)

[personal profile] limiterrings 2025-04-26 12:43 am (UTC)(link)
Hm.

[ his eyes assess what's before him, it's hardly impressive visually, but with the amount of points she gained with just this at her disposal makes the act of working with them to be.

she was able to get through the colosseum with just this, then again, her skills might pair well so there's only so much he can judge on. he'll keep an eye out in the future, he supposes. ]


You must pride yourself in close-quarters combat.
rudelanguage: (pic#17713223)

[personal profile] rudelanguage 2025-04-26 12:55 am (UTC)(link)
Okay, but... [slow down mister i-know-SO-many-species; Knife holds up their hand to interject, then using that same hand to point at their ear where the piece would be.]

Is that all it does? Magic identified?

[as if they're going to put a foreign object THAT close to their brain matter! they weren't born YESTERDAY, y'know!]
overconfidently: overconfidently. (pic#15681393)

[personal profile] overconfidently 2025-04-26 12:59 am (UTC)(link)
( At that, he stops — stares to Wade there. The look he gives him is one that's both soft and empathic and he stares down then for a moment, blue eyes flicking off to the side before they lift their gaze back up to Wade's. )

Your mutation is what saved you?
hauntedsnowfall: (z acadimi TWISTED 13)

[personal profile] hauntedsnowfall 2025-04-26 01:03 am (UTC)(link)
[ Dimitri’s brow is sweating and his form is wracked with convulsions as he keeps his fist in a death grip to his chest. ]

I, ah- [ a heavy exhale ] no, I [ a hitched breath ] don’t- think-

[ He closes his eyes and tries to not hyperventilate through the pain. Composure. Dimitri needs to keep his composure. Oh goddess, but he wants to scream. His eyes are stinging like they may well cry. His body just wants to double over and let his forehead lay on the ground… but hasn’t he caused enough of a scene? He imagines this is what death might feel like—-

Though his mind may be a haze of pain it’s that thought that hits him with the answer- why this is happening to him. ]
fourthwalled: (unmasked: shoot-y time)

[personal profile] fourthwalled 2025-04-26 01:20 am (UTC)(link)
Yes. [He pulls off his mask to meet Nate's gaze eye to eye.] A mutation I got from being tortured over and over again for months. That'd make anyone a little odd.

[The fact that he can function at all is a testament to his stubbornness. He'd refused to let Francis break him entirely.]
overconfidently: overconfidently. (pic#15703288)

[personal profile] overconfidently 2025-04-26 01:27 am (UTC)(link)
( When the mask comes off, he doesn't look away — doesn't avert his gaze or even offer any sort of comment on his appearance. Doesn't even feel uncomfortable with looking at him. Instead, he stares to him — quiet — then takes a few steps there closer to him. There's a softness in the way those bright blue eyes of his look at him and, only after a moment does he let his gaze drop briefly in thought. )

You're not anyone.

( He turns then, since they were heading to the city space and all. )

I'm eighteen.

( Since he never answered that earlier. )