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

balanced: (pic#17461044)

[personal profile] balanced 2025-04-05 12:25 am (UTC)(link)
I see.

[ it is perhaps not a grand reaction, but 6 is yet unsure of what this may mean for the man who walks beside him. perhaps it depends on the person that he is—or perhaps it makes no difference at all. the dim alley is shielded from much of the bustle of the streets, and despite the shadows that lurk in the corners, neither is it something that 6 appears to be fazed by.

instead, he only meets his friend's eyes. ]


Very well. If that is the path that you have chosen, you should follow it until the end.
overconfidently: overconfidently. (pic#15681397)

[personal profile] overconfidently 2025-04-05 12:27 am (UTC)(link)
I mean... he looks old enough to be a father.

( Just a bit of a brotherly dig. No big deal there. Although, that gets him to look around curiously then. )

I don't... I would know if he was here.

( They'd both be suffering a migraine or two. )
sodark: made by me (pic#17443378)

Colosseum

[personal profile] sodark 2025-04-05 12:29 am (UTC)(link)
[In stark contrast to Wade's exuberant performance, Cable looks mortified and like he wishes the axe was in him. Just a little bit, though.

Even if he looks utterly distracted by Wade, he can sense someone trying to get the jump on him and doesn't turn to look at them before mercilessly thudding a heavy shield down on their head.]


Have you ever had a thought you didn't have to say out loud?

[He's actually not entirely disappointed that Wade is here. Wade is a known issue, a tolerable one. Could be worse.]
bookofpowers: (47)

[personal profile] bookofpowers 2025-04-05 12:31 am (UTC)(link)
(... He missed Six.

Not consciously, because he doesn't even understand that feeling the way a person whose brain has not been frozen through horrors do, but there's some relief that he can't really explain.

It does show, though, in the small smile that curls the corners of his lips.)


There had never been doubts in my head about it. I was going to tell you once I knew enough about my surroundings, but then you were gone. Would you like to know who I am, or would you prefer to be in the dark? I believe you should control that decision, but if only informed, it is unpleasant.
futuremessiah: (hope13)

[personal profile] futuremessiah 2025-04-05 12:38 am (UTC)(link)
If he was, he wouldn't be my dad. Not my exact one since... He's dead.

[Hope never imagined a life without him in it. He'd protected her since the day she was born, and completed his mission by returning her to the X-Men once she was ready to face the future. He wasn't supposed to leave her.

She's past crying.
]
fourthwalled: (insert witty icon keyword here)

cw: child abuse vague implication/joke (deadpool shit)

[personal profile] fourthwalled 2025-04-05 12:38 am (UTC)(link)
Ow, fuck! [He flinches as the rock hits him, rubbing the spot, but it doesn't seem to deter him too much. It never does.]

Who knows what I'm talking about? Why do you expect the guy with brain damage to make sense, that's the real question. [Wade looks around, trying to spot any signs of life outside the two of them, coming up empty. Where the fuck were they supposed to go?] Would have been nice if Aurora had given me a map. At least Scoutmaster Kevin had given me a slap on the ass and a compass before dumping me out in the wilderness.
fireboost: (pic#17773395)

[personal profile] fireboost 2025-04-05 12:42 am (UTC)(link)
[ what an odd thing to say...

blaze continues to stare at him for a long moment in silence, only shaking her head with a sigh as she turns her attention back in front of her. she has no doubts that there is more she's yet to learn about shadow—she won't claim to know him so closely as to scold him for what he's saying, but as she gazes down at the sun that rests in her hand... ]


Regardless of my thoughts, do not insult me again, or you will learn of them.

[ it's one thing if she's earned it, but this isn't something she has a high degree of tolerance for. and despite it all, she does hold shadow in high regard as things are now. she only hopes that for all his brusqueness, he can maintain that respect that she has for him. ]

Now, let's continue, shall we?

[ she'll give the sun a squeeze, lighting up the room once more. ]
overconfidently: overconfidently. (pic#15681320)

[personal profile] overconfidently 2025-04-05 12:44 am (UTC)(link)
( Again, he just... what? Staring at him, brow raised, he looks away then, arms still crossed in front of his chest. Of all the people he could run into here, he gets this guy. Sigh on his lips, he shakes his head, turning. )

You don't make a whole lot of sense. You know that, right?

( Taking a few steps, he lets his arms drop down and takes a second to look around. He wants to reach out with his telepathy — wants to see if he can pick up on anyone here that might even just barely be familiar to him, but. After what had just happened, he's not so sure. )

This planet is broken. I can feel it dying and instead of trying to save it, they bring us here for some sort of game.
futuremessiah: (hope9)

[personal profile] futuremessiah 2025-04-05 12:46 am (UTC)(link)
[Two well armed people, one a somewhat idiot on a good day and the other a seventeen-year-old that has no idea how a seventeen-year-old should act, walking through a casino looking for a flash drive while under the influence of whatever controls said casino? The countdown for things to go sideways went off as soon as they walked in the door.]

Maybe you shouldn't talk. Save the rhymes for when you really need to break them out.

[She's just doing her duty to protect him from harm. Or is she?]
fireboost: (pic#17677810)

arrival...

[personal profile] fireboost 2025-04-05 01:00 am (UTC)(link)
[ and one individual he happens to find is not necessarily human, but a small purple cat...

as far as blaze is concerned, she glances that standard bag that he seems to be carrying before looking at his face... mask. what a curious thing to wear. ]


The Colosseum. Are you any good at physical competition?

[ she seems kind of doubtful as she looks up at him, but she's willing to give him a chance. ]
fourthwalled: (just another mask photo)

[personal profile] fourthwalled 2025-04-05 01:03 am (UTC)(link)
[Some of these people they are fighting are just as stuck in this place as they are, but Wade is very actively not thinking about that. Or the amount of blood on him that doesn't belong to him. Add it to the bucket of heinous shit he's done that he's never going to deal with, thank you very much.]

Well, I was going to say that I'd also like for him to smash me in the extra fun way, too. Balls deep. But I didn't say that out loud, did I? [He nods at Cable thoughtfully.] That's what they call growth.

[Wade's grateful that Cable is here too, beyond thrilled, really. He's moving closer to him as the ground shifts and alters to ready the arena for their next fight] Have I mentioned how much I missed you? Wolverine is fun and all, but you've always been my favorite comic foil/Will they, won't they...
fourthwalled: (that kinda stung)

[personal profile] fourthwalled 2025-04-05 01:12 am (UTC)(link)
I know. When I do start making sense is when you should start to worry.

[For himself, for everyone.]

So this place is like Secret Wars, but less cool. [Wade surmises, starting to walk in a direction, expecting Nate to follow. Hopefully he does, or Wade's just going to be talking to himself.] I'm guessing the games aren't going to be Monopoly or Snakes & Ladders. Really wishing I'd shown up with my guns about now. Thank god, I at least have my cocaine.
levelshift: <user name=sakurouji site=tumblr.com> (hrm)

[personal profile] levelshift 2025-04-05 01:17 am (UTC)(link)
[It can't be that easy, can it? Accelerator would almost expect some big complicated statement that explains how he's taking back the earlier clown one rather than something so simplistic. But then, Occam's Razor. If it works it works, he isn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

He shifts his weight from foot to foot to test the squeakiness of his shoes, and hey! No squeaking! That's one big step forward.]


Hm.

[He pulls his phone out again, using the camera to check his hair. After a minute or two the red disappears, and the blue is starting to fade. That's a huge relief, though he keeps that feeling to himself.]

That worked. [Back into his pocket goes his phone.] 'Artificial esper' is pretty specific, normally we just use 'esper' on its own. I wasn't sure if that would have been enough, though.

[So there are still some unknowns with this power, which isn't great.]
fourthwalled: (pic#15467904)

[personal profile] fourthwalled 2025-04-05 01:31 am (UTC)(link)
[Wade snorts at the suggestion, shaking his head moving further into the casino, eying the clientele as they go.] I'm the Merc with the Mouth, if I can't talk my brand's going south! I can't not being talking, like most people need to be walking.

[This is getting old quick, huh. But he's committing to bit, dammit!]
overconfidently: overconfidently. (pic#15703284)

[personal profile] overconfidently 2025-04-05 01:37 am (UTC)(link)
( The look he gives Wade is one of disbelief. The things he says— the incessant chatter... he's almost afraid to see what it's like inside his head. Then again, maybe there isn't all that much to see or hear. Regardless, he follows after him, keeping an eye on their surroundings as they go. )

Cocaine's bad for you.

( He rolls his eyes. )

What's with the suit?

( It's very... X-Men and Avengers. )
dreamsofearth: (Worried)

[personal profile] dreamsofearth 2025-04-05 01:41 am (UTC)(link)
[Maria didn't move away when she felt Shadow's head rest against hers. She of course leaned into him in return, though her eyes were on her Shadow standing before her. There was a long pause where she wasn't sure if he'd even take her hand and her fingers trembled a little. When his hand reached out to gently take hers, she shuddered with an exhale; gripping his hand tight enough to cause her knuckles to turn white. She could feel the other Shadow holding her other hand and feel his warmth at her side. Grounding her. She shivered as if cold beneath his arm.

Biting her lip, she gives her Shadow's hand a tug, trying to bring him in closer.]


I....I know you want to leave. [She whispered, blue eyes bright as tears slid down her cheeks.] But...I'm just afraid that if you do...I-I'll never see you again. [It was an irrational fear, surely. She knew he lived to protect her and cared for her wellbeing despite his reserved nature. And...all the changes she'd seen in him.] At least let me hold you a little b-before you do.
oblige: (Default)

[personal profile] oblige 2025-04-05 01:42 am (UTC)(link)
It will be.

[ Dion's calm, measured strides bring him closer to the remaining attackers. Quick assessment tells him none of their eyes are guarded. The civilians had already fled. Good. He draws upon the power of his Eikon, focuses it, and lifts his hands, arms bent at the elbow. Then he claps his hands together.

Blazingly bright white light washes over their surroundings, so bright and intense that it could render one's vision blank. Dion had discovered this trick as a child quite by accident. Far from lethal, but effective in disorienting hostiles, interfering with their sight for minutes or hours depending on one's luck.

The light's gone in the next moment. Judging from the way the aliens stumble and rub at their eyes in an attempt to right their vision, it appears to work just as well on them as it does those of his own world. Satisfied that this gives the two of them an opening to retreat, Dion gestures for his new companion to lead the way. ]
Edited 2025-04-05 01:45 (UTC)
copsormasks: (032)

it's not gonna be etraya lmao

[personal profile] copsormasks 2025-04-05 01:52 am (UTC)(link)
[Jason leads her out onto the floor and starts his two-step. Maybe he doesn't have great moves, but he's trying his best.]

Thanks. I'm Jason, by the way.
copsormasks: (037)

[personal profile] copsormasks 2025-04-05 01:53 am (UTC)(link)
All of us? [Frowning.]
copsormasks: (Default)

[personal profile] copsormasks 2025-04-05 01:54 am (UTC)(link)
Are you serious? [Jason frowns at Red Hood.] You worked for him, too?
oblige: (consider)

[personal profile] oblige 2025-04-05 01:56 am (UTC)(link)
[ Dion takes similar comfort in the thought that he isn't some unique, unforrunate straggler in this situation. He will adapt as he must, but there's something to be said for having others share his circumstances. ]

It's kind of you to offer. [ Considerate, for that matter. Where survival is concerned, not everyone so readily thinks of others. ] I believe I'm starting on stable ground, but this is a contest of sorts, brutal as it is.

[ Survival based on performance for entertainment is a form of cruelty that isn't unheard of, yet applied to a general population? This is new territory for Dion. ]

I'm concerned for those who have begun with less.
fireboost: (pic#17773411)

[personal profile] fireboost 2025-04-05 01:56 am (UTC)(link)
[ thankfully, he accepts her proposition, and blaze finds herself feeling a little relieved after her earlier attempts had not gone so well. perhaps because she isn't jumping straight to 'friends', but offering only a practical suggestion. sonic makes this look so easy... but as for the security room: ]

I have an idea. Grab me one of those cameras, would you?

[ she would do it herself, but the fact is that most things here are hanging around at a height meant for humans, not for cats. ]

Everyone in this place seems to agree on one thing: entertaining others for points. If we enter as a part of a performance, perhaps they will play along and let us through.

[ and while she's not much of a performer, she's willing to give it a try—or at least get through the doors and go from there using a method like this. ]
limiterrings: (pic#17684462)

[personal profile] limiterrings 2025-04-05 02:08 am (UTC)(link)
[ is it that easy between them, they can both tell that once in shadow's life that he wants to disappear into the darkness again. it's very rarely that he feels like this, he doesn't know if staying is the right choice. even if there's a spot next to maria for him to be, he doesn't know if he should.

he doesn't need the affection right now, he doesn't need anything other than time to himself. but he doesn't want to hurt maria, she's been upset with everything he's done so far so what if he ruins this too. ]


....It could be better that way.

[ that she never has to see him again, he doesn't even care if the other is right next to her and will probably get upset for her. it's not that he's doing this to be cruel to her, but how many times can shadow make a mistake in hurting her. there's only so many times until he feels like he's lost how to handle the situation with her, maybe this is his punishment to be without her.

but he kneels down beside her despite his words betraying his actions.

her tight hold onto his hand wanting to keep him here, he can feel it, she probably doesn't want to go anywhere else. how she yearns for them both to be here but shadow doesn't think of himself as a good person to be here. isn't the other hedgehog the one who needs this more than him.

shadow's silent now, his eyes now staring at the ground between them as he's grown disappointed in himself. even his tail droops against the surface with no energy to be seen. ]


Do what it is that makes you happy. That's all that matters to me.
thelightshines: (Well who am I)

[personal profile] thelightshines 2025-04-05 02:08 am (UTC)(link)
...Vectors? [They've lost him and it doesn't sound as cool.]
levelshift: https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/38182551 (absently)

[personal profile] levelshift 2025-04-05 02:11 am (UTC)(link)
A vector is a mathematical quantity in physics that consists of both magnitude and direction. Light and heat transfer are things that have vector.