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

Chrissy Cunningham | Stranger Things | Current Character

[bubblegumheart]

st★rlight soirée

In terms of challenges, this is definitely more Chrissy's speed. Even the pretty blue dress they've convinced her to wear isn't so bad, even if it's not something she would have chosen for herself. And sure, while she's not particularly in the mood to deal with a prom that Vance isn't here to share with her, she does realize that cooperation is the name of the game.

Competition is also the name of the game, though, and she's hoping that whoever they've decided to pair her up with for this is willing to be a good sport about it, at the very least. And so, she turns to smile at the next person to approach.

"Shall we?"

casino royale

Chrissy's not entirely sure what a zip drive is but she's seen enough movies to recognize a casino heist when she spots one. And while it's not something she ever would have guessed she'd be taking part in, there's a small part of her that wants to prove she's capable enough to do this.

Still wearing the dress from before, she considers the wheel at the entrance for a long moment before finally relenting. It seems like such a small price to pay in comparison, and she figures that nothing terrible is likely to happen at this stage of the game.

Later, she can be found mingling or chatting up people she knows, as well as casually trying to scope out any possible leads. They are here on a mission after all.

choose your own

As always, catch me @ cornyflake on plurk or discord to work out something specific or just toss something at me. I'll be rolling a d20 for any casino threads that crop up. ♡

[limiterrings]

[ he may be a little irritable, but that's because there's something in this room. if she's giving the toy a seat, and taking one herself, then he understands what she's trying to get at here. with his legs crossed where he sits, shadow looks forward at the wall before them.

the fact he doesn't see anything is fine, but he's sure that there's an unknown element here at play with how cold the room is starting to be for him. blaze probably doesn't notice considering her element, but shadow glances at the toy on the chair before redirecting his attention back to the feline. ]

What's this to prove?

[ who are they supposedly sitting with? ]

[ingestion]

( whatever manipulations he might have or any intents on getting closer to her, for now all heather saw was a nice and polite man. someone who might actually be able to help her in one of her goals here-

which is why she nodded at his words and began to change the subject just a little bit. )

You're right, I am and it's because that I am, I've actually been working hard to educate myself further. Kinda got plucked from my world right before graduating high school you know? So that brings me to my next question...

( she leaned back and placed her hands on her hips, figuring out how to spring this on a stranger. )

You said you're a researcher right? I know I'm kinda imposing here but if you're ever painfully bored....do you think you could give me some stuff to research and study? I'm trying to educate myself during my time here....even if it doesn't matter in the end.

[heartofthedream]

[ Jean considers the answer, and those possibly listening, since people are always listening in this place. It's truly is disturbingly so much like Mojoverse. ]

As capable as ever, if not as trained. She's about 11 years old.
Four or five years earlier than our own appeared.

[laserguy]

You might have to tap the username thing first and a keyboard should pop up.

[OR however it works when characters decide to put a username in. Scott will lead by example at least, tapping his own username of 'shades' and showing that he can change it even now, which kind of neat. If he ever gets bored or wants to choose something that's cooler, then he has the option.

Obviously, he'll think of something in the future.] Then you put your name in.

[shoplifter]

[Three sword style...?

Is that what people say when they use three at once, then? She doesn't want to look foolish in front of someone who must be some kind of expert in swordsmanship, so she confidently replies:]

I use — six sword style.

[Nailed it.]

[laserguy]

Well, why don't you go hang out with him then.

[NEH NEH. Although shit, is she really serious about the whole different universe and different timeline thing? He just got his powers a couple of days ago, got brought to some alien universe, and now he's being told that the multiverse exists.

It's a lot and he doesn't want to admit it.]

What, the same thing applies to you! You also could've picked your own username.

[her_own_rules]

"It's a good start."

The music starts simply enough—deceptively simple and normal. That it's happening at all makes Barbara feel even more keyed to trying to figure out where the first glitch will come from. As they turn, she makes herself an even clearer eidetic memory collection of how near and far everything is: the walls, the columns, the tables, and other dancers. It might be helpful for noticing the smallest changes when they start.

Logan | Marvel 616 | new character

[snikthatch]

APHAIA / BACKALLEYS — cw: violence

[ So far, the only positive thing about this whole mess is that nobody's asked him to do anything nasty to any kittens. Otherwise it all seems pretty familiar, just a different name and a different planet and no goddamn swords. Even the Colosseum isn't anything new, thanks to every two bit battleworld and half-assed Arcade dimension he's been dragged to over the years. Logan's mostly just hoping he stands a chance at winning this time.

He ignores most of the clamour and the glitz, heading out into the streets instead. It doesn't take long for him to find what he's looking for, the kind of thing that always turns up in places like this -- a seedy little alley between a fast food restaurant and a laundromat with a switchback that opens up into a courtyard big enough to hold a crowd and a makeshift fighting ring.

Apparently the audience are as fond as bareknuckle fighting as they are gladiatorial combat. Logan's dispatched a handful of combatants and is waiting for the next one, wondering if he ought to get out before the ringleader decides to get rid of him rather than pay out, when he catches someone watching from the crowd. He's shirtless, bloodied. He turns his head and spits onto the wet ground. ]

You just gonna look?

CASINO ROYALE — cw: body horror, loss of autonomy

[ The prom holds no interest for Logan. As soon as he hears about it, he heads straight for the casino, certain it will at least provide some entertainment if nothing else. He doesn't give the wheel at the door more than a glance, watching it land on number 13 with a shrug. Whatever the hell it means, he can deal with it.

It starts slow. Dressed in his Patch finest, he spends some time at the tables, tossing back drinks and keeping an eye out for the tells of the staff, monitoring the rhythms of the place, checking exits and doors -- all the tricks of the trade he's used to infiltrate countless outfits like this. But the house keeps winning, the drinks keep flowing, and everything feels -- off.

Getting up from the craps table, he stumbles. The room tilts around him. Grabbing at the edge of the table, he rubs his numb face. ]

Shit. Feels like.. I've had a case of Everclear -- [ At least, that's the only time he gets to feel this way. His healing factor should be more than capable of dealing with the cocktails he's thrown back. Pushing off the table, he staggers into the crowd, trying to focus. ]

Gotta find the goddamn.. the goddamn thing, fuck.

WILDCARD

[ OOC: Here for most anything, including inbox/text tags! Current canon point is roughly post-fall of Krakoa, sometime around Storm #3. ]

[devilblooded]

( Now where has he seen and heard this kind of behavior before? Really making him think of his twin brother. But hey. He knows how to work with that kind of personality. Therefore? This should be a walk in the park.

Swaying to rest his weight on his one foot, he tilts his head some and raises a brow at his buddy here. )

You're a bit of a stick in the mud, aren't ya?

( A glance back to the wheel, he gestures to it. )

C'mon. You scared you won't be able to spin the thing? I'll help if you want. Teamwork makes the dreamwork, right?

[devilblooded]

( Well there's a sight you don't see every day and he sees a lot of things people don't normally see.

Craning his neck some, he smiles up to her. )

Like lookin' in a mirror, am I right?

[laserguy]

[Mouth parting, the only thing Scott can really manage is a small, but clear shake of his head. The multiverse? No, that's stuff he's only heard about from movies and comic books. Regular books. So, that's what's happening right now? That's. Okay. ...What??

Honestly, he was still getting used to the idea that he can shoot uncontrollable optic blasts from his eyes before all this was thrown at him. Like that's not enough on its own somehow.

He still isn't sure if he wants to back away from her, or step closer. Part of him feels so overwhelmed, maybe a little angry, defensive about everything that's been happening and changing around him, but Jean, even if she is older and different from the girl he just took out to the mall, is someone at least a little familiar. He can't help but attach himself to it, somewhat, voice quieter but more open to listening to her.]

No? I don't think so. [So putting things together...] I. I um, just met you a day ago. A version of you.

[...] You thought I was an asshole. At first.

[WHY did he say that.]

[sophielicious]

(Okay. Laura is... A force of nature back home, but the thing is, she is a grown force of nature. A woman, not a gremlin, and she already files this as a potential thing she might have to deal with long-term.

A little trip through her mind, she definitely doesn't come from the same verse as Sophie, or some of the others that inhabit Etraya now.

Actual Laura, she can deal with, she even has to thank her, and even apologized to her. That's a huge thing, but small goblin version of Laura? To be seen if she can deal. She's not really going to interrupt, but she will plant a very nice idea that the blonde across the room could help to bloom in Laura's mind.

Get here, child.)

[sophielicious]

Hang? With Cyclops? What part of 'has a kid' tells you he's of hang-out age?

(NEH, NEH.

Welcome to the life of a mutant, Scott. It gets worse from there.)

Yeah, but I'm a a whole brand. Say Cuckoo to the other mutants, see what the others say.

APHAIA

[futuremessiah]

[It’s the red hair isn’t it? That along with the green eyes and low level scent that comes from someone connected to the Phoenix.

Hope knows the moment he turns to look at her. It’s not the look she’s gotten used to from Logan. Then again, he’s not around Utopia now so that might be part of it.]

You looked like you were having fun. Didn’t want to get in the way.

[Besides, she’s a fan of BFGs like her dad.]

Audio; un:summers

[futuremessiah]

It’s not the worst place I’ve been. But yeah, sucks covers it.

[redvisor]

No doubt about that.

( She's Logan's daughter and Logan... is quite capable himself. He stops to take another look around. Sighs. )

But that's the thing about being an X-Man. We always look out for each other.

( He knows she'll think she's not one of them — that she's not part of the team and maybe she's too young to be, but. She's still one of them. Through Logan, through simply being a mutant even, and he intends to keep an eye on her best he can. )

CASINO ROYALE

[heartofthedream]

[ Jean makes her way down the list of places to stop today, on this newest circuit of what has already become a tedious length of time playing these games for this world, feeling there's an undercurrent of pointlessness under it. No world to save this time. Only the mission to "survive" the experience.

This one seems innocuous enough. But so many of them do.
She spins the wheel at the door; 6, Time doesn't flow right.

There's a brief crinkle of brows at the words. Time is chancy enough with her.
Being here, it still rankles her that there's a limitation on time and space already.

She's thinking about this, weaving deftly through the crowd of tables and cheering gamblers, until suddenly someone (shorter, and dense as a brick house) slams--or more like staggers into her left arm and shoulder. She pulls back, surprised, and caught between concern and (and a flare of pain's) annoyance, when it all abruptly vanishes. ]

Logan?!

[redvisor]

How was it back there?

( He just barely looks over his shoulder to Julian. )

I know you haven't been there long, but anything going on I should know about?

[redvisor]

Was talking more about all of this going on right now.

( He stops to take a look around, holding to his bag still. )

I already know the spiel about proving our worlds are worth saving. But this world... it's not good and apparently not a damn thing we can do about it.

[futuremessiah]

[Hope doesn’t have a good grasp of what eleven looks like. They didn’t exactly keep up with time while bouncing through time trying to stay ahead of Bishop. That said, she can still imagine a tiny feral version of the Laura she knows.]

Depending on who you ask, her not being trained may be in her favor. Or it could get her killed.

casino royale

[vexant]

( at this point, he's wholly unsurprised by the appearance of more x-men. at least logan is - logan. the guy might call julian out for being a jerk, but it's not as if he's wrong. sometimes the callout is helpful.

sometimes, logan being the kind of guy who isn't afraid to call others out means he also gets the benefit of julian shoving his way under logan's arm to help keep him upright as he stumbles along the floor. )

Don't tell me you're about to hurl. Gross.

[thelightshines]

[Man I don't know, but Shadow isn't going to try and say what he wants out loud. That's silly and stupid. And embarassing. He will at least try to see if he can get something written down first and sure enough, a keyboard does appear. Now...what does he put?] Don't look. [He might need a moment to try some ideas. It can be changed at another time, sure, but he wants to be happy with the first one. Eventually he lands on something, something that gives him a small bit of assurance when he's feeling lost.

thelightshines accepted.

The network is now opens to him. Flashes of current events, something displaying a bunch of different subjects, public messages from other people here. A list of words on the side that would take him to other menus if selected. It is a wealth of information suddenly thrown at him. How does one choose to focus on anything like this?]

[limiterrings]

[ he offers a dismissive scoff to the comment, it's not the first time he's heard someone say that about him. even though his particular personality is nothing to be desired, this person still wants to assist him in some way. this hedgehog doesn't reach the max height to turn the wheel, so unfortunately he's too short for this ride.

luckily... ]

Hmph. Do whatever you want.

[ it's confirmation that shadow doesn't care if the other rolls for him, he doesn't even dare to look at the other misfortunes labeled on the wheel. leaving his fate to someone else's hand by one spin of the wheel should be intimidating, but shadow's confident that he can easily handle this.

hence why he appears impatient as he stares at the door. ]

Just don't get in my way after you spin.

[abit_ofboth]

[Not really so much god of mischief anymore, but no one here really knows that yet, even if some do know what he’s been doing before being kidnapped.]

It is easy to tell from your tone that you do not believe it, though I’m guessing you’re also not the type to just sit back and die so I suppose you will find out the truth no matter what.

[Of course, he has no way to tell if that’s true, but anyone sounding that stubborn and annoyed is also the type, Loki thinks, to fight back, and take action. Those weren’t the sorts around here who didn’t survive.]