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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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Did I shock you? Speechlessness becomes nobody.
[ He says again. They seem... confused. Mind, if he were a new arrival and coming into this, then he would as well. He would also be like a feral beast, especially arriving after that feeling of sharp pain, of fading slowly, finally being forced to let go of the life he'd wrested into submission for so long.
His hands are behind his back, and he lifts an eyebrow. One eyebrow. The other remained inert, covered in makeup and a drawn-in brow. The scar can't hide the eye though. It practically bores into them. Hm.
He tipped his head, curious. Ah, he wonders...
He tapped his own ear, pointing at the piece there. Don't tell him his words were wasted on them! ]
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there it is.
once it's placed:] So. You're part of "we." What do you want.
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I'm not a part of anything.
[ Firmly. Sharply. ]
You were the one speaking. If you're going to complain about everyone not speaking correctly, you should use the tools provided.
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they turn their head and spit before fixing their glower back down on him.
pointing to their own earpiece:] Club membership. You're part.
Congrats.
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[ Silco's smile is blasé, and inauthentic. He looks up at them with that bored, almost self-satisfied smile. ]
And you are also a part of said club now, aren't you? Whether you like it or not, and I do understand not liking it.
Nevertheless, it is not something you can change. At least not at the present. Congratulations for joining our very exclusive little team.
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Knife wrinkles their nose while he jaws on.]
Uh. Thanks. Can you...be helpful now? [...] Please?
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He's the. Worst. ]
Oh, I suppose if you ask nicely, I'd be happy to.
[ So. No. ]
Why don't you tell me what you want? How can I help?
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they look at Silco like they smell like shit. or might be stupid.]
Looking for someone. [they hold their hand out near Silco, lowering it a bit, palm down.] About that tall. Yellow hair. [the hand retracts and traces down each of their cheeks.] Markings. Talks fancy.
Seen 'im?
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Apologies. I've never seen anyone like that in my life.
[ a little shrug, for good measure. ]
Someone from your home, I gather? Good luck, I hear that can often be a roll of the dice, to whether people from your home show up or not.
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alas, the strength their shape exudes is farce.]
Hear from who?
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Truly, a tragedy.
Silco smiles and waves a hand. A small, dismissive gesture. ]
From others. I have not been looking for people from mine.
[ Because they found him but you know. ]
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[what are you. a useless!?! what is Knife expected to do, help him instead of the other way around? no thank you!
wait, pump the brakes:] Or...different ones. Who's "others"?
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[ A quirk of his lips. Man, he could be more helpful, but why would he? ]
There are plenty of others from Etraya here, if you leave in your earpiece. You may even meet some of them. They might have seen the people you're looking for around. Although it's quite possible you're alone, as well.
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What's the catch?
[because that shit is too convenient to not be full of strings and nonsense - maybe even fey nonsense.
hell, this guy may be fey, for all the annoying, roundabout talk n shit.]
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[ Honestly? Not an unreasonable assumption for them to make, actually. I mean, the guy could be fey. ]
The catch is, you have to hear all of us.
So either be understood and understand in return, or hear every stray thought some people enjoy sharing over the little network they have going on here.
Or you can simply take it in and out as you please. I'm hardly your keeper.
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they will keep that to themself, though, since this guy seems annoying and likely to share weaknesses with people.
putting up a gruff front:] Anything else?
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It's... not a kind motion. A touch mocking. ]
Anything else? Do you want a Guide Book? I'm afraid I have nothing else for you. Only a tip, as a favor. To a newcomer.
[ He spreads his hands, as if he's being magnanimous, instead of obnoxious. ]
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...okay, they have like a very chaotic history of sometimes clocking people right or being completely off-base, but this guy? seems pretty straightforward in the sliminess.]
If it's a favor, no payment. Yes? [yes. good.
they're leaving now.]
no subject
Have fun looking for your... companions here.
[ No well wishes, no hope for them to find them. Nothing like that. Just that usual slimy snark. ]