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

[vexant]

( he isn't a kid.

or, he is, but he isn't. over the last twenty something years julian has been around, he's been through countless wars. he's been mutilated, ripped to shreds, abandoned, tossed from one battlefield to the next, intentionally left cyclops' side to get himself and his friends out of the war zone only to be dragged right back into it - up until krakoa. he's a battle-hardened soldier, another victim of mutant hate crimes, an x-man. one who recognizes scott summers well enough.

which is why he's staying right where he's at, brow raised. )

So. . . what's up, Mr. Summers? Just felt like putting out the call, or?

[redvisor]

( Mr. Summers. Right. So there's familiarity there then... just not on his side. A gaze down, he looks back up. )

Wanted to see who might be around.

( If anyone he knows— if anyone he had met here was still around. )

I take it this is going to be one of those you know some version of me sort of things. From the sounds of it anyways, since I don't really have a clue who you are.

[vexant]

( he kind of figured that. not the lack of recognition, but the different timelines. which. not all too surprising; there were two scotts waltzing around julian's own timeline for a while, and with all the temporary altered places they've been stuck in for a while -

he gives an irritated little huff at the inconvenience, but offers a metal prosthetic hand out regardless. )

Julian Keller. Or Hellion. Alpha level telekinetic.

[redvisor]

( A glance to the hand, he takes it in his own — firm and confident in the way he shakes it as is expected of Scott Summers. )

Telekinesis, huh? Just that?

( Jean possessed both telekinesis and telepathy after all, so he makes it a point to ask. Secondary mutations were not unheard of to possess, after all. )

[vexant]

Says the guy with eyebeams.

( eyes roll, and julian shoves his thumbs into the beltloops of his. . . skin tight suit that definitely doesn't need belt loops. it's for a belt. for snacks. )

I can manipulate things down to a molecular level. Saved a girl who was actively exploding once by separating the hot firey atoms from hers.

[redvisor]

( Hasn't heard that one before.

Hand dropping away, his other holds tight to the strap of his bag there against his shoulder — a slow glance around them before he's looking back to Julian there. )

Sounds useful on the field. I can see why Echo would bring you in here.

[vexant]

I am part of the X-Men.

( julian's ability to be useful has never been questioned. his listening capabilities, on the other hand - part of the problem with putting teens into squads and assigning them leaders is that sometimes those kids take that role to heart. and julian has never been one to blindly follow the path set out before him. )

But I'm not one of yours. ( krakoa is different. they aren't broken up into sides, but all working together for a place where all of mutantkind can feel safe. but this isn't krakoa, and neither is etraya. ) Nor are the kids we've got around, so I'd leave them out of your tactics planning if I were you.

[redvisor]

( And there it is.

The sound he makes is similar enough to a huff, amusement just barely there within it. A shake of his head, he adjusts the strap there on his shoulder a little more as he turns some, intending to keep going. )

Not like this is the war room.

( He almost intends to leave it at that because he really has no plans of putting together any sort of tactics while here, but. It’s always easier being Cyclops than it is Scott Summers. Especially as of late. )

And for the record, you don’t have to be one of mine ( X-Men or not ) to be one of ours.

( Not his. He hasn’t led the team in awhile now. But theirs. )

[vexant]

Yeah, obviously.

( because despite all the infighting, all the wars and battlegrounds they've been through, mutants stick together when it really matters. they always do. what do they have, if they don't have one another to rely on? nothing. despite scott telling them to leave if they had a problem with following him, and then immediately following it up with i'd haul you back here and chew you out for abandoning your own species, then the threats of actually benching julian - it's complicated. but regardless of alternate universes, of mismatched memories, they're a team first and foremost, even when they've splintered off.

scott starts moving, and julian does, too. despite his whole i'm not yours speech, he stays about half a step behind scott, watching his back. )

I just mean, you're not my squad leader, and I'm not going to let you lead Icarus or Laura into a mess.

[redvisor]

( Family is always complicated. Little does he know, the Grey-Summers family in particular is quite complicated.

He doesn't need to look over his shoulder to know Julian's decided to follow him. Scott's spatial awareness has always been something uncanny about him and has helped him more times than he can count when temporarily blinded or on the field. )

In case you couldn't tell, there's really not much in the way of teams here.

( Or at least, there wasn't last he was here. Then again, it was really just him, Jean, Laura, and Storm... Logan for a hot second, but. )

[vexant]

You say that now, but there's always teams.

( and there's always dragging everyone else into their wars. julian knows. he's been through it. but he's following regardless, because they're both here, so. may as well figure out what's up with this scott summers. )

And there's always pulling the brats into it. Which we're not doing this time around.

[redvisor]

Well now you're just sounding like Logan.

( Referring to the kids as brats and all. )

From my experience here, you don't really get much of a say in whether or not you want to be pulled into anything that happens. Best you can do is look out for one another. Which is all I have so far in terms of a plan if you must know.

[vexant]

I was one of Emma Frost's students, ( is as good of a way to start this out as any. granted, emma's also fucked off and left him to suffer a couple times on her own, too, but he knows that it's - complicated. ) but when Summers started using the kids battle fodder, I followed Logan.

( as did the rest of the hellions who were still alive. nori stuck with utopia, as did alleyne, which - was a shit decision as far as julian was concerned, and he was proven right, but it's irrelevant. getting into all the bullcrap they've gone through back in julian's universe would take forever and a half, and he doesn't have the time for that. )

But you're still new. You'll come up with something stupid. You always do.

[redvisor]

Then why are you here?

( At that he comes to stop — turns around to face him. )

I didn't ask you to come along with me. You chose to.

[vexant]

I'm still an X-Man.

( sometimes that means throwing himself into a fight he's not sure if he wants to be involved in. sometimes it means telling off every other mutant because they're wrong.

sometimes, it means following scott summers through aphaia. )

[redvisor]

So then act like one.

( It's said as he stares a little longer at Julian there before he's turning around and starting through Aphaia again, fingers still gripping to the strap of his bag. )

How long have you been here and what's the general ETA on getting back to Etraya? Or was that little detail left out with all of this?

[vexant]

She said four weeks to us, before sending us out here.

( he'd bitch to scott about the then act like one comment, but it's not going to get him anywhere. instead, julian just scowls, looking more irritated than anything else. )

And I've been here about two. Showed up in Etraya about a month before we were shoved here.

[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?

[vexant]

There's some asshole going around calling mutants some - religious term I can't remember, but he's basically calling us all scum of the earth. Some kinda super soldier.

( scott'll be able to figure it out when they're back, or even just through sifting through the network. julian started a fight with him as soon as he popped his head up when he'd been bitching about the school. )

I took care of it.