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etrayamemes2025-03-28 09:16 am
etrayamods) wrote in 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:
 ⏵ 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:
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. 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. |
st★rlight soirée :)
... Aw, c'mon.
I know I'm not that great at dancing, but I think I could get the hang of it.
[DOESN'T MATTER, YOU'RE BOTH MATCHED. Peter doesn't even get his spidey sense set off when an uninvolved observer shoves him from the back; likewise, Sanji gets a playful push, too, so that they're nearly knocked into each other. The orders are pretty wordlessly told: shut up and get to it.
Peter chuckles weakly as the music starts up.]
no subject
he stares at the awkward kid for a few silent moments before he raises his hand. ]
No, thanks.
[ but before he could turn to step away from this terrible match-up, he feels the nudge from behind him, colliding him into the boy. ]
Oi, what the hell is this!? I don't dance with men! [ his eyes peer around, but there doesn't seem to any indication of renouncing this mistake. sanji squints with annoyance before turning back to his partner, frowning, and reaching to grab his wrist — because he's not holding his hand for this. ] Don't embarrass me in front of the ladies, got it?
no subject
... This feels like a mugging more than a dance...
[That's where his webshooters are, man! Easy with the goods. Is this a waltz? Looking at the other dancers, it looks like it's supposed to be some kind of waltz. Or is it a free-for-all? He's panicking a little, because he's immediately too aware that he's gonna embarrass this guy in front of everyone.
The music starts up, and he awkwardly tries to fall into some kind of step that doesn't involve stomping on his dancing partner's feet. Whether or not this works is for luck to decide; how is your luck, Sanji? As horrible as his?]
I'm Peter, by the way. Uh. Nice to meet you?
no subject
truthfully, sanji is actually a pretty good dancer, if only because he's practiced for this kind of thing before. after all, what better way to romance a woman than to engage in a romantic spin on the dance floor? a gentleman always has to come prepared!
unfortunately, sanji's not too enthused about using his techniques under the current predicament. ]
Right. I'm Sanji. [ he sighs (which is more exhaling the cigarette still between his lips), looking the guy over again, studiously. ] Your back's too slouched, Peter. Straighten up. Put your hand on my shoulder but don't get too close. Follow my feet.
no subject
[His thick wrists, that is. Totally a point of shame, nothing else to it. But Sanji's words get him locked in and focused -- he straightens up immediately, putting a hand on Sanji's shoulder. His feet are still terribly clumsy, and Sanji'll probably get his foot stepped on with an earnest sorry, sorry- afterward, but there's progress being made.
(And maybe some part of him is worried Sanji will jab him with his cigarette in the face, if he doesn't try his best.)]
Okay -- I think I'm getting it. Just gotta remember the foot patterns, and you're good, right? [He's slouching a little again, sorry.] My aunt taught me a few moves, but I ended up missing the dance, so I kind of never bothered trying again--
Do you do this a lot?
no subject
Yeah, foot patterns. But don't stare at your feet so much. You're throwing off the posture again. [ and because it's technically the position for this, sanji sets his hand at peter's lower back, giving it a nudge from the heel of his palm to urge him to straight up again.
well, peter's at least trying, he supposes. ]
Not often, but one never knows when you've got to be a gentleman with a lady in need of a partner, so it's a good skill to keep in mind. It's good training for the legs too — helps with rhythmic patterns and memorizing movement. Even something like this can come in handy in a fight.
no subject
Right! Fighting… Yeah… They do that a lot here.
[He’s fought plenty of course, but it’s not like anyone here knows that. Or, uh, most of them don’t know about it. And he prefers to keep it that way! And surely nothing will happen during this dance that will make him look suspiciously capable of surviving harrowing situations.
… Anyway!]
I could probably use the practice. My girlfriend back home didn’t really care much about dancing, either — she liked hanging back and watching everyone else. [Said a bit wistfully; he really misses MJ.] She would have probably said this was all a load of crap.