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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. |
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[Of course she'll help Aurora, because that is clearly what God wants of her.]
...Very well. If that's what you wish.
[The wording makes it sound dismissive, but she is being genuine. She isn't certain what "atoning" means, in this context. But for Alessa? She'll do it.]
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( as she stood there, anger seeming to fume from every inch of her being, she began to think a bit more rationally. how would vincent approach this situation?
as much as she hated to admit it, since their arrival here the two had slowly begun to break from their roles and ease into getting along well enough. he seemed to care enough about her to suggest she strive for happiness here and while she didn't trust him....
even a broken clock was right once in a while. )
That means....that means Echo and Aurora are watching us all the time. They see everything we do and say and judge us based on that. If you....if you misbehave Claudia...
They can do far worse things to you than I ever could.
( was she lying? not outright, given she had yet to 'test' that theory but if it meant she could somehow manipulate and control claudia to an extent—
the question was, was this heather thinking this? or alessa? )
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I have no reason to "misbehave".
[It's said carefully. She already fears God; the idea of being watched further is... troubling. She must show her sincerity to the cause.]
As it is, the situation is quite serious.
[She doesn't plan on squandering the new life granted to her.]
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what would they think if they saw her violently lash out like this?
could heather even bring herself to care? yet if she did anything to claudia, she would have to explain her whole story...her life. could she? could she tell people that this woman was responsible for her death?
no, she couldn't do that but she could do this— after a soft sigh, heather curled her right hand into a fist and brought up to claudia's face, gearing to punch her but instead she gave her a light tap as if to scare her. )
It is serious, you need to keep up your points to live but that doesn't change anything. I hate you so much....you took him from me. The one adult who didn't let me down, who took care of me and loved me....
I will never forgive you Claudia.
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She does, however, finally react to something when Heather brings a hand up to her, flinching like the small, frightened child she was. That she still is, in many ways. She holds at her head like she'd honestly been anticipating being struck, and doesn't look at Heather.]
I don't expect your forgiveness.
[She doesn't, not at all.]
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yet if anyone else were in heather's shoes, they'd understand just how much claudia had done to drive her to this point. the build up, the destruction, the manipulations―
heather was more than justified in her rage. )
You....you...
( unfortunately for them both, claudia's attitude and words just made her more enraged. no true apologies, no reasonings as to why the things she did were wrong it was all just meaningless words attempted to placate heather. )
Stay out of my way here you got it? Don't try and use me again for your bullshit, and don't meddle in my life. Behave, and I won't beat you down when we return to Etraya.
I'll make sure...my father's death wasn't in vain somehow and you won't stop me.
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All of that rage and anger, for doing what Alessa wanted to bring about Paradise on Earth, is something she can't understand, and it shows on her face. It's muted, incredibly muted, but her gaze falls.]
I won't trouble you.
[She doesn't want to stay out of her way, of course. It doesn't matter to her that this is Alessa reborn, because this is still her dear friend. So it's so very painful to agree to such a thing.
That the thread on her hand catches at this choice isn't something Claudia notices.]
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so in a brief moment where things came to a standstill, heather pulled out her device and sent off a quick message. it was only when she put away her device and looked up, that she saw what looked like a thread rising up on claudia's hand.
she took a step back, letting out a loud gasp and placed her hand over her mouth. )
Claudia? What the hell is that?
( she lifted up her free hand, index finger immediately pointing out at it. she shouldn't really care about her well being but even heather was shocked by the sight before her. )
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[She looks at the thread with morbid curiosity. It hadn't moved when she'd first noticed it, but now it has. The seam is split open. Under normal circumstances, something like that should bleed, and quite badly. But it isn't bleeding.]
It appeared on me after I spun the roulette wheel. The number I landed on was something bout making decisions.
[At the time, she had thought it to be an unusual form of fortune-telling, not so... literal.]
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now the question was, should she take advantage and force claudia to literally come undone? or should she just walk off and allow her to figure out this mess on her own? )
So you made a decision? Which was what? That you won't trouble me?
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That was the decision I made, yes.
[Unless Alessa changes her mind? That would be preferable, for Claudia, but she won't push it.]
going to start wrapping up this one soon ♥
( with a wave of her hand she ultimately decided to let claudia deal with this mess all on her own. she had become someone people could turn to here and confide in her their pains and troubles—
if her father were still alive and could see how much she's grown and developed as a person, he would be proud but claudia stole that from them both. so now she couldn't bring herself to do the same for the woman, at least not yet.
so she huffed and sighed, kicking a piece of debris on the ground before she began to walk away, only turning to look at claudia. )
I can only hope that one day you grow and mature as well. Can you believe it? Vincent and I....I don't hate him but you? I can't stand you.....
I can't wait to see where this goes
[It's not clear which statement she's responding to. A specific one, one in particular? Whichever one, she doesn't elaborate. She doesn't seem entirely surprised by Heather's thoughts on Vincent. Though that might be because, despite everything, Claudia holds no ill will towards the man whatsoever. His death hadn't even happened because he'd tried to stop her, but because he'd tried to kill her. And Alessa too.]
...as I said, I will leave you be.