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

overconfidently: overconfidently. (pic#15681366)

[personal profile] overconfidently 2025-04-07 09:39 pm (UTC)(link)
( Brow raising, the arms fold there in front of his chest. )

And what exactly do you think are cool powers to have?

( Please enlighten him. )
levelshift: <user name=patch-robots site=livejournal.com> (neutralish)

[personal profile] levelshift 2025-04-07 09:39 pm (UTC)(link)
[It's a reasonable question, especially for someone new. He hadn't known the exact details of how this came up or why, he had just answered the poll Gorgug had put up.]

We don't know. Aurora is only able to give us minimal information, so we're all fucking blind about what we can get out of this mission.

[In between having to perform for points and all the cameras in their face all the time Accelerator kind of feels like this is a crapshoot. He's hoping someone else gets something out of it.]

If there's any information to be gained from being here, though, then this damn mission is worthwhile.
shadowsincryo: (pic#14906586)

[personal profile] shadowsincryo 2025-04-07 09:40 pm (UTC)(link)
[He hops to Henry's shoulders with the lightness of foot to not disturb the suit too much. He settles in a good spot and meows once. He got the system.

But he still uses the little inkwell to write.]


'Sounds good. If you need me to make a scene, just say Kaeya, go.'
fourthwalled: (that kinda stung)

[personal profile] fourthwalled 2025-04-07 09:41 pm (UTC)(link)
Begin? We aren't already there?! I must be losing my touch! [Wade laughs out loud just as he takes in the mecha-lizards. Wade is practically buzzing with excitement with the sight in front of him. This. Is. AWESOME.]

Focus. Right. That's definitely a thing I'm good at. [He gives a sage nod.

Was that at all convincing?]


Oooh, you made the metal dinosaurs maaaad. [He makes a little squeak sounds when half of the lizards snap to look at him and start to advance. Shit.] This stupid ax isn't going to do much against these guys.

Ah well.

[Wade shrugs and rushes forward in a battle cry. Self-preservation is not a strong suit.]

shadowsincryo: (they'll hurt you till your heart melts)

[personal profile] shadowsincryo 2025-04-07 09:45 pm (UTC)(link)
[His casual smile softens into something gentler. He's been having a time of it here but he has the tools to survive it. Reminds him a bit of what the Father had to say. What an enlightening conversation that ass dial was.]

It is shocking and quite upsetting. I wish I could say something comforting, but the fact is, we're all in for it here. I've been investigating to make sure what Aurora says is true. If we're going to be thrust into a terrible situation, it better be real.

...what's the thing you want to know most right now. Sometimes it helps to focus on that first. [It's a start. Even if it's a sucky start.]
fourthwalled: (being a badass)

[personal profile] fourthwalled 2025-04-07 09:49 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, shit. That's a good question! Let me think. [He looks off in the distance, tapping his chin.] Shapeshifting is pretty cool, controlling lightning, telekinesis-- [Wade gestures to Nate. Cause, how else had he brained him with a rock?] Flight? I'd kill to be able to fly. Teleportation. Control of elements like water, ice, wind... oh! The ability to take other people's powers? That's a good one...

[He's going to keep going it seems.]
overconfidently: overconfidently. (pic#15681393)

[personal profile] overconfidently 2025-04-07 09:58 pm (UTC)(link)
( He knows a few people with those abilities that this guy just... keeps listing. )

What about reading other people's minds?
internationalrelations: (Default)

[personal profile] internationalrelations 2025-04-07 10:03 pm (UTC)(link)
[The problem with Alex and his undiagnosed and untreated ADHD and the way his brain and his anxiety generally worked is that he wants to know everything. Immediately. All of the information is important so how exactly is he supposed to figure out where to begin when he's drowning in questions with no answers. But this guy is right. He's got to start somewhere. So he tries to think and comes up with:]

Is everyone gonna be okay back home? Like obviously not if the universe gets destroyed but I mean while I'm here... they're generally okay, right? Are they going to notice I'm gone? Because like. That's gonna be the sort of problem that turns into a fucking international issue if they are.
vexant: (pic#17694952)

[personal profile] vexant 2025-04-07 10:04 pm (UTC)(link)




( oh. well that's. not ideal. what the hell am i is not a question julian keller ever expected to have to answer to logan. but okay. fine. they've all been through worse. )

You're a mutant. The Wolverine. One of the most well-known X-Men out there.

( better to just get it out and over with than put it off, isn't it. delaying the inevitable won't help anything. )
heavensnight: (That only I feel that way)

[personal profile] heavensnight 2025-04-07 10:07 pm (UTC)(link)
They say a lot of things I'm not entirely sure I believe.

[Maria still wasn't positive there was any chance to save their own universes but she wouldn't worry this new person just yet.]

Hopefully I'm right and it's not too late.
fourthwalled: (insert witty icon keyword here)

[personal profile] fourthwalled 2025-04-07 10:09 pm (UTC)(link)
Nah-- [He waves his hand away at that idea.] Sure, it sounds nice. But I don't even want to be in my own head, let alone anyone else's.

[That sounds like a nightmare.]
lordfuckleroy: ij @ saveface (pic#17552896)

[personal profile] lordfuckleroy 2025-04-07 10:12 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh Alex was so drunk, in fact words could not describe how drunk he was. But no matter Henry would go along with the drunk person because he rather thought that it may get him into trouble if he did not.

"We need to get you water first, then we can look for whatever it is." he'd forgotten about any mission he was supposed to be on it, evidentally focus was an emotion too. "Now, dare I say-- lead on?"

Hopefully though Alex would do the sensible thing and hold onto him.
lordfuckleroy: ij @ saveface (pic#17552898)

[personal profile] lordfuckleroy 2025-04-07 10:20 pm (UTC)(link)
Wow.

[ That came out only a little bit acerbic, which was all thanks to Henry's spectacular sense of self-control when it came to Alex, it rather was unfortunate that he thought this man was very hot, very very regrettable.

Having to juggle a very clingy Alex however was a serious strain on any grace that he thought perhaps he had. Because as he stepped, he felt his heel touch.. nothing.. air.. what?

And it was too late to over-correct and he found himself scrambling to hold onto Alex as he started the process backwards in what appeared to be miraculously slow motion. ]
overconfidently: overconfidently. (pic#15703057)

[personal profile] overconfidently 2025-04-07 10:22 pm (UTC)(link)
( Brow raised again, he glances off. )

Can't imagine why.

( Just a bit of sass before he's looking back to him. )

So why do you want to fly so much?
fourthwalled: (trainee)

[personal profile] fourthwalled 2025-04-07 10:28 pm (UTC)(link)
What?! How can you possibly become the Paragon of this game without some Welch's Fruit Snacks™? [He pulls out a bag, giving a look to the nearest camera like he's doing a commercial or something before tossing them to Shadow.] They're made with 'Real, Whole Fruit.' I never leave home without them.
ornithologist: (226)

[personal profile] ornithologist 2025-04-07 10:29 pm (UTC)(link)
It happens routinely, but not constantly, [ Harold clarifies, because of course he's noticed the patterns in the arrivals.

He has no compunction whatsoever about letting Inara lead, and nods her ahead. Harold is often the last one through a door, metaphorically and literally; he's not a combatant of any kind and really has no ego to the idea that he should be going first, or ahead of a woman. ]


Please do. [ Harold rests his hand lightly on her arm in the reverse of tradition, more than willing to swap etiquette gender roles. ]
fourthwalled: (pic#15467909)

[personal profile] fourthwalled 2025-04-07 10:32 pm (UTC)(link)
So I can feel the wind in my hair. [Heh.]

Also, it'd be so freeing! Like you're a bird and nothing else around you matters! Plus, there's the amount you'd save on airfare. Have you seen ticket prices lately?
fatedfinality: I YELL WHEN I'M NERVOUS (.. Aɴᴅ ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ᴍɪɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ʏᴇʟʟɪɴɢ)

[personal profile] fatedfinality 2025-04-07 10:36 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Perhaps like recognizes like, in that regard. He'd be quick to point out there's nothing wrong with seeking out the familiar. (It's just that most people wouldn't want for Ardyn to be their familiar.)

He also seems to have a knack for knowing the right time to sweep a woman off her feet. While he is oblivious to her woes, actually, reading between the lines is something he's become quite practiced in thanks to politics. So the mention of whiskey does tell him a couple of things about where she's potentially at, but he doesn't do anything more than perk up a little.

He's interested by that. Mildly curious, he asks:
] Oh, is it? And what's the occasion? [ He steps right in too, leading her into the first moves of the dance as they discuss. ]
fatedfinality: ɪᴛ's ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ᴘᴏᴡᴇʀ. (Iᴛ's ɴᴏᴛ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴜʀᴇ)

soiree.

[personal profile] fatedfinality 2025-04-07 10:36 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Although Ardyn enjoys a bit of blood beneath his nails as much as the next man, he is far more suited these days to a good bit of dancing. It's been especially helpful for gathering information on potential opponents. Or, in this case, meeting a new (to him) face. ]

We shall, [ he agrees. He did have a drink, actually, but it's easily set aside to take her offered hand. It's not as though he can't grab another eventually. ]

Oh, will you? I'd ask how, but honestly- People here are delightfully surprising. Let me guess: You can fly?
fourthwalled: (pic#15467885)

[personal profile] fourthwalled 2025-04-07 10:36 pm (UTC)(link)
Damn. You're even more of a sour puss than usual. Did someone shit in your cigars?

[It probably wasn't him...]

We could help each other! Come on, please! [He's begging now, Logan. Careful, he might even start pouting!]
hasitsthorns: where the good lord split ya. (Don't let the door hit ya)

network. @wild.flower

[personal profile] hasitsthorns 2025-04-07 10:44 pm (UTC)(link)
omg
hey girl!!!
welcome back
(it's rosie)

I'd be happy to catch you up
well, once we're back in Etraya
you can meet all my new pets!!
overconfidently: overconfidently. (pic#15681317)

[personal profile] overconfidently 2025-04-07 10:48 pm (UTC)(link)
( He can't say that he has, but. With that in mind, he glances up to the air for a moment before he goes and lifts a hand... and lifts Wade up in the process. Gently. Floating him off the ground and up into the air a little. While doing so, his left eye glows again for a moment and he watches him — keeps his hand out. )
hasitsthorns: I don't know. Ask your dad. (Do you have the fastest tongue?)

soiree. baby boy!!!

[personal profile] hasitsthorns 2025-04-07 10:49 pm (UTC)(link)
[ He looks more than passable, she'd say, even if a bit too young for her. There's no harm in a friendly dance though, is there? Something about him seems a bit familiar, actually... The blonde can't quite put a finger on it just yet but maybe she'll figure it out as they dance. ]

Hello, sir, [ she greets, taking that offered hand easily. The woman herself is dressed in shades of pastel pink with flowers of a similar hue and vines intertwined in her own golden locks. They're braided through her hair in a 'crown.' The flower angle is one she leaned in to her with her name of Rosie and people enjoying that. Seeing her bloom has been fun for those watching her more closely. ]

I'd be happy to have this dance if you are.
fourthwalled: (Default)

[personal profile] fourthwalled 2025-04-07 11:01 pm (UTC)(link)
Some of the same resources, anyway. [Wade answers a bit under his breath. Not everyone they'd be fighting could heal every injury, for one thing. He peruses the weapons, frowning with there were no explosives. Damn.

He grabs two swords. They aren't quite the same weight as his katanas, but they'd do just fine. He tests them out, giving them a few test swings.]
These will do, I guess. Would have preferred the grenades.... [Wade glances over at one of the fight runners.] Just a suggestion for next time? I'm sure the fans would love it. Just sayin'.
fourthwalled: (hhmmm)

[personal profile] fourthwalled 2025-04-07 11:05 pm (UTC)(link)
Fuck--!

[At first there's shock as his body starts going airborne, flailing arms and legs. Eventually, when he finally settles and realizes what's happening, he's laughing like an excited toddler as he floats, straining himself upward as though he could will himself to move upward.] Higher! Higher!