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

querulus: (wca - ...)

[personal profile] querulus 2025-03-31 03:19 am (UTC)(link)
[The lack of actual talking is probably also not great for their "points." But like hell is Quentin about to have this conversation in front of an audience of unknown off-brand-Mojoworld freaks, so his and Sophie's scores will have to take the hit.

"You can check," she says. Quentin hesitates briefly, but he does take her up on that. She's a fellow telepath, and even with her powers bugged he can tell she's still fully capable of guiding him to what she wants him to see. So... he sits down next to her, and he looks.

Seeing Phoebe—because he can tell, he can always tell—for the first time since he was brought back to life, even if it's through Sophie's eyes, is... strange. Raw. But seeing her working with Empath of all people? Trying to regain the glory of Krakoa through some kind of publicized terrorism stunt? That just... Well, it hurts. He can't put into words why it hurts, but it does. No, that's wrong. He doesn't want to put into words why. He gets why Sophie cut them off and... kinda respects her for it? Not that he didn't respect her before, but... Whatever, it's complicated.

And then there's everything with Julian: his role as the supervillain-slash-blunt-force-instrument and—yeesh—everything Sophie pulled out of his skull before he kicked her out, and Quentin is immediately compartmentalizing all of that because he already gets way too much trauma-dumping from Keller himself. No thanks, not opening that can of worms. Good to know he didn't kill anyone, though? "Welcome to die" is very funny and cringe. He'll keep those two things for future reference. Everything else is going into the "deal with it later" bin.

Quentin is silent for a long moment. His mind has been more or less an open book to Sophie up until now, but this? He wants to digest this for a sec before letting her hear all his thoughts again.]


/So you and your sisters—Phoebe—you... were partners with de la Rocha?/
thelightshines: (Can the child within my heart)

un: Default

[personal profile] thelightshines 2025-03-31 03:24 am (UTC)(link)
[Considering their username hasn't been change at all yet, cause they have pushed one too many buttons and skipped over that step by accident, an old guy might be the more plausible assumption. He stares as text as appears instead of voice or a video. There's a setting for that somewhere.]

So it's working. [Not even bothered by the other's remark. He's just doing a mental note of what he did to get to this point...] Still going?
dreamsofearth: (All Smiles)

[personal profile] dreamsofearth 2025-03-31 03:25 am (UTC)(link)
Accelerator. That was an odd name. It sounded like a code name of sorts rather than a birth one. She didn't ask about it, rather she tilted her head as she listened to him speak about get out of mission free cards. It sounded like he'd been around Etraya for a while and wasn't a fresh arrival like her.

"I was told to 'survive', but surely there must be more to it than that." Maria mused. "I mean, she said that I was brought to Etraya to have a chance to save my world from being destroyed, but this one is already on its path to destruction. Why would Aurora bother sending us here?" Though she was the type of person to believe that everyone should have a chance to live and be happy. She just wasn't sure about all this mission business.

"I'm still trying to figure all this out." She admitted with a small smile. "And why I would even be summoned." She looked over to Accelerator. "Have you been in Etraya long? I get the impression you aren't a fresh arrival like me."
banworthy: (pic#17599695)

[personal profile] banworthy 2025-03-31 03:34 am (UTC)(link)
[ Vincent gives her an exasperated look.

Clapping his hands together, he holds both hands out toward her before opening them to mime a book. His eyebrows lift as his shoulders rise. Book! Get it! It was in a book!

He decides to start slower this time. ]
dreamsofearth: (Default)

[personal profile] dreamsofearth 2025-03-31 03:36 am (UTC)(link)
[Maria tensed automatically when Shadow burst into motion and jumped into the air. But it only took her a moment to relax again in his arms. Completely trusting. She felt his hand on her head and she tucked her face against his fur, knowing she wouldn't be dropped and that he'd find a place for them to regroup.

She was mostly quiet as she was aware of them moving quickly, and only spoke up once they slowed.]


Did Aurora just recently summon you to Etraya too?
agoddessonce: (retail therapy)

[personal profile] agoddessonce 2025-03-31 03:43 am (UTC)(link)
I'll come to the Agora. On foot - so a location pin would be helpful please. I imagine it's wiser to keep a low profile.

[ She'd vastly prefer to fly, of course, but - well. Ororo tended to be the opposite of low-key that way. ]
limiterrings: (pic#17723506)

[personal profile] limiterrings 2025-03-31 03:46 am (UTC)(link)
Yes.

[ it's a quick answer, he recounts the brief explanation given to him by her and how his mission was split between saving his own world, learning about this one while being told they wouldn't be here so long.

his speed is a modest pace, making sure not to go too fast to worry her. how much has he done wrong to make her fret... ]


As well as another from our world.

[ which concludes that it's not just him and her who were unlucky. ]

...Do you believe what was told to you by her?
dreamsofearth: (Overjoyed)

[personal profile] dreamsofearth 2025-03-31 03:49 am (UTC)(link)
[Maria nodded, stepping back a bit. She could hear the pounding music from out here, and she started to sway a little to the melody and hum a little. Spreading her hands, she did a little twirl and smiled as she continued to hum along. The melody was pretty catchy.]
agoddessonce: (don't miss)

[personal profile] agoddessonce 2025-03-31 03:59 am (UTC)(link)
How have those been? The missions?

[ Assuming he has been here a while already, which the message sort of sounds like. Because missions here are very different from a typical X-Men mission. ]
sonatinas: (pic#17535635)

casino royale

[personal profile] sonatinas 2025-03-31 04:01 am (UTC)(link)
[The space is loud, sounds going off, and it's made her very antsy since the moment she stepped into the whirling place. Francesca hadn't noticed the man coming in behind her, but it took her some time to muster up the courage to play anything at all. It's all a bit heavy for her, and but there's another feeling like something else is happening.

It's when she scans the room that she seems the man already half dressed, clothes coming undone that she steps up. Her mouth is open for a second, but she understands the nature of being mortified and thinks he might logically be that way as well. It feels more like a duty, like she must stand up for him, to attempt to block his modesty.]


--sir? [Whether he's titled or not, she approaches and keeps her head up.] Are you alright?

[Her dress is dated, but she does have a small shawl she can attempt to lend him. Out of pure concern and not at all attempting to gaze at his chest. That would be unbecoming of a lady.]
agoddessonce: (reorienting)

[personal profile] agoddessonce 2025-03-31 04:01 am (UTC)(link)
A barcade... [ She likes bars. She doesn't like arcades. She frowns as she tries to imagine it. ]

Well, I will stop by for drinks. Perhaps some bar fare.
fireboost: (pic#17753540)

[personal profile] fireboost 2025-03-31 04:02 am (UTC)(link)
I should hope not.

[ blaze says the words firmly, almost challengingly in contrast to his nonchalant suggestion. she isn't fond of this place so far, admittedly, but wishing to expedite the end of its existence goes a bit beyond her feelings. ]
fireboost: (pic#17737927)

[personal profile] fireboost 2025-03-31 04:06 am (UTC)(link)
It's a pleasure to meet you, Maria.

[ blaze repeats the name after her, committing it to memory before she turns to survey their surroundings. this area is always bustling, it seems, and she can spy some cameras panning across the crowds—others directed straight at them.

the girl seems a bit overwhelmed with the situation, but she can hardly be blamed for that. if it's up to blaze to decide what they should do: ]


Why don't we go somewhere quieter, first?

[ it could help her clear her head. ]
devota: (⚖ but now we’ve come too far)

[personal profile] devota 2025-03-31 04:18 am (UTC)(link)
A book.

[She repeats flatly.

Off the top of her head, she can't think of which book he's referring to, but there are innumerable ritual books, so it's not surprising.]
dreamsofearth: (Worried)

[personal profile] dreamsofearth 2025-03-31 04:27 am (UTC)(link)
[Maria flinches a little when he jerks his hand back. Not out of fear though, just the suddenness of the movement. It was clear just by the look in her eyes as she regarded him, that she didn't fear him. She shook her head a little at his words.]

Shadow? He won't. I'll just tell him. I've always been able to confide in him, just as he can with me. And that also extends to you. [The invitation would always be there, whenever he was ready to, she'd be there for him. Always.] He can't tell me who I can and can't be friends with. Just like I'd never do that to him.
banworthy: (pic#17599774)

[personal profile] banworthy 2025-03-31 04:28 am (UTC)(link)
[ Vincent dips his head down in a quick nod.

He feels as though he's losing the thread on how angry he should be with her while doing this miming. It may be because of how sorry that he feels for her. Even in death, she wasn't able to change even a little. She still sees faith as a means to receive the love that she will not get from those she most wants it from.

However, as sad as that all is, she completely ruined their organization and drove God insane! Furthermore, people are going to associate this mad woman with him. He isn't sure what's worse! All of that is, but right now - he needs to prove the point that he didn't just believe Leonard's words!

It was also written down! ]
leastdramatic: ([RH] Check on)

[personal profile] leastdramatic 2025-03-31 04:30 am (UTC)(link)
Meaning there are other Bats and Birds around here. The family's probably bigger than you think.

[Jason wants to see how his younger self takes to that news first before he tries to explain more of who he is]
thelightshines: (Because you lit up my world)

[personal profile] thelightshines 2025-03-31 04:48 am (UTC)(link)
[She makes it sound so simple, but this feels more than just "making friends". It's two Shadows, with Marias who are both precious to them. He just has a feeling things won't go that smoothly if the other sees something they don't like.]

If you really want to be friends, fine, but...none of that. [He gestures to her lingering hand.] Not until after you talk to him. [A compromise that she would understand hopefully. But also, he doesn't want to get so close. Her attempts of affection only keeps dredging up those memories. Memories that still hurt him, feel like it was only yesterday he was with her, happy.]
devota: (⚖ stranger the places)

[personal profile] devota 2025-03-31 04:54 am (UTC)(link)
Vincent, whatever you were looking for... my father never had it.

[She says it slowly.

When did this desperation twist him so?]
sabigoe: (⚙ 15)

[personal profile] sabigoe 2025-03-31 04:58 am (UTC)(link)
[ This isn't going how Fio wants. He didn't even give a name in return! Her smile falters into a little pout. She knows she isn't foolish. Maybe he just doesn't understand yet, how much better it is to be together with others. She considers asking for his reasons—

But Fio pauses, caught off guard by "Pigtails". This may be the first that she's ever received a nickname. She ponders, staring at his back as he walks past, watching as he slowly gets further away. His fur is mostly black... ]


...Darkie. [ She's smiling again. Not the most original-sounding name like a whole lot of her other nicknames, but she's pleased how it sounds regardless.

It might sound like she's decided to stop following. Only for a few seconds. Here comes the sound of a pair of little footsteps, tottering behind the hedgehog to catch up. ]


Darkie! [ She calls out. ] Where are you headed to next?
shoplifter: (pic#11324638)

wildcardish! (if he doesn't have his swords, i can whip up something else!)

[personal profile] shoplifter 2025-03-31 05:34 am (UTC)(link)
[Laura had spent her night reuniting with mutants and generally trying her best to avoid any actual dancing — frankly, she's never danced a day in her young but terribly fraught life — so she can at least share a mutual dislike of being here. Mostly. She wanders right up to Zoro without any concern for social formalities, donning a fancy green dress, her jean jacket marked with small tears and faint bloodstains that were clearly attempted to be washed out. It's fine.

She looks at him intently. Or rather, at the holstered swords.]


¿Tienes tres? Those are katanas, sí?
dreamsofearth: (Surprised)

[personal profile] dreamsofearth 2025-03-31 05:35 am (UTC)(link)
Oh? Is it Grandfather? [There was a hint of hope in Maria's tones. How wonderful would it be if Grandfather were here? It was strange being here without him.

She was quiet a moment at Shadow's question, thinking on it. Holding on tightly as they moved.]
Everything happened so fast I just...hm. It's just so unbelievable. At least at first. She told me that I was brought to Etraya to save our world. That I would be...tested. To see if our world was worthy to save. I can see why you would be picked, but I don't know why I would be.

Aurora seemed rather nice though. I didn't get any bad impressions from her. She seemed genuine. Odd though. I'm not sure what to believe since I'm still processing it all. But if she had meant to harm us I believe she would have done so right when we woke up.
shoplifter: (pic#11246646)

arrival

[personal profile] shoplifter 2025-03-31 05:40 am (UTC)(link)
[Laura stares at him the entire time he's bitching, licking an ice cream cone she'd taken from the big, fancy building that only the best of the best players could go — chocolate with caramel, if you're wondering. This guy must be pretty new, if he's complaining already. Or maybe he's just a complainer.

Either way, he's entertaining to watch. Or maybe more than that, his scent is strange.

She can't quite put her finger on it yet, but it's a work in progress.

Excuse her while she says nothing the entire time he's looking through his bag for anything delicious.

Like pizza. Or maybe ice cream.

Usually made from cow milk, you know.]
dreamsofearth: (Give Them a Chance)

[personal profile] dreamsofearth 2025-03-31 05:48 am (UTC)(link)
[Maria looked down at her hand, then him, eyes softening a little as she nodded with understanding. Maybe a little sad too. Despite knowing he wasn't 'her' Shadow, she still wanted to comfort him. She folded her hands in her lap, looking down at them. She unconsciously swayed a little to the rhythm of the music thumping from inside the colosseum.]

It's strange to me that there was another me. [She found herself saying with a small smile. Though finding out that there was multiple universes was pretty fascinating too. She was a Robotnik, she'd always nerd out about the sciences.] What was she like? Did she have fun things she liked to do? [In hindsight, she realized that he might not want to talk about her, she hoped her curiousity wouldn't ruin the tentative beginning to a (hopefully) friendship that they may have.]
dreamsofearth: (All Smiles)

[personal profile] dreamsofearth 2025-03-31 05:59 am (UTC)(link)
[Maria smiled, finding herself liking Blaze already. There was something regal about her. She seemed like the type to know what to do. The girl nodded at the suggestion.]

That's a great idea. I'm still not used to having all these floating cameras following everyone around. It's what I was running from earlier. I was in the square and there were announcers and all these creatures were crowding in on me. I was trying to get away from all that.