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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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instead, she finds that her body returns to how she remembers it—to how it should be, the moment she's off the premises. looking at her hands, clenched into fists, she zips through the perimeter, searching for a certain red and black hedgehog. it takes some time, but blaze is relentless in her search, and before long she catches him in her sights: ]
Shadow the Hedgehog!
[ a bullet of perfectly controlled fire is speeding right at him. ]
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another one.
he's ready to dodge the flurry of fire heading his way, thinking to dodge to the side, but instead of doing that. shadow kicks off in the direction opposite of where that burst is coming from. in this speed, he doesn't take a detour, letting that bullet pierce through to catch up to him side by side. ]
Hmph. Haven't learned your les—
[ quick to close his mouth, crimson eyes look at the individual running at his side with movement that doesn't trip in any capacity despite wearing heels. ]
...
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tripping is the last thing on her mind. rather, it's a single-minded determination and rage as she looks to her side, where shadow skates on those shoes of his. ]
I will teach you a lesson if you do not return the emerald!
[ he gets one chance. ]
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[ he looks to the familiar girl by him, still skating forward as she doesn't look anything like the one he already seen. ]
Do you have an emerald on you as well?
[ as well, he may not have the full picture here, but that means if he takes whatever one she has, then five more to go. ]
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I am Blaze the Cat! You will pay, Shadow, for stealing one of the Sol Emeralds from their guardian.
[ she doesn't seem any less angry as he questions her identity. in fact, she emphasizes her words with an elegant turn of her heel, delivering a kick with her other leg—engulfed in flames and aimed directly at shadow's chest. ]
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[ he jumps up, his air shoes giving him the advantage to miss her kick, and instead he grabs the ankle covered in fire. the flames burning at his gloves as he pulls the feline up to meet him in the air before returning the same sentiment. he swipes his own foot towards her direction right into blaze's chest. ]
I'm tired of you imposters.
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flames burst from her hands, the force of them pushing her out of the way of his strike.
in retaliation, she uses the same trick to swing her body around—using shadow's own grip on her leg to manoeuvre herself as she attempts to bring her other foot down on his head with striking force. ]
I am no imposter.
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Hmph.
[ not an imposter? that's all he's seen here so far, but he won't continue meaningless acts if she's able to prove that. ]
What makes you so sure?
[ even while he asks, he keeps himself focused on her in case she goes to strike again. ]
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I do not have the patience for games.
[ the only thing that gives her pause is what he says. ]
What do you mean by imposters? Why are you acting like this now?
[ it doesn't make sense, not after their interaction earlier; unpleasant, but largely harmless. ]
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[ as if he'd explain, but he does pull out that sol emerald that he had taken before. it's color shining underneath the light of where shadow stands.
it all started with this. ]
Sloppy, uncoordinated, a pathetic sight to behold.
[ he tilts his head towards the casino. ]
I didn't trust the face.
[ but shadow doesn't trust anyone. ]
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I can assure you, I'm real.
[ if it was her sloppiness that had made him so suspicious of her, she should more than be able to prove herself now. it isn't her fault that her skills had deteriorated with her age. ]
You didn't read the other payments for entry.
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[ the way he looks at her hand shows that he isn't impressed, as far as he's concerned, anyone could say something as easy as that. yet, it's her unwavering determination that puts him into the mind of another.
this feeling is quickly dismissed as he tosses the emerald over in her direction. ]
None were of particular interest to me.
[ it was a forced payment. ]
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now, she's far more focused on the emerald. ]
Thank you.
[ catching it deftly as shadow tosses it in her direction, blaze holds it in the palm of her hand for only a moment before it's engulfed in flames, returned to the place it belongs. then, she turns her attention to the hedgehog before her. ]
Before we part ways, I have a question for you, Shadow.
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her voice breaks the silence, and he's already turning away with his arms crossed. it seems he doesn't care to keep conversation, nor does he feel the need to follow up with where his mistakes here.
shadow's learned enough, this time he will prepare to not be tricked by the changes of this world. ]
Make it quick.
[ he can give this. ]
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[ since shadow is in a rush as always—to what in particular, blaze couldn't say, but she can respect that he, much like herself, prefers to act independently where possible.
so she won't keep him for long, getting straight to the point: ]
You remember the last time we crossed paths, yes? In your own world.
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[ it's a rhetorical question that doesn't do anything for him, there's also nothing to gain. her asking him this specific thing is strange, why wouldn't he remember? he takes another step forward, leaving the young princess behind. ]
I've returned the favor already.
[ no longer wanting to continue the conversation, he wraps it up with one last comment. ]
By removing those fake emeralds, I spared you from death's embrace; I need nothing from you, and you need nothing else from me.
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You're right—that is all I needed to know.
[ she offers that alone as he moves to leave her behind, making no effort to stop him. in fact, she feels relieved to be to herself again.
she has a lot to think about, after all. ]