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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. |
— CLOSED <3 Ardyn
she makes a quick sweep around the room and when her eyes catch Ardyn's, she knows he'll be her next partner. it's perfect, really. he knows how to make a scene surely? someone to make a show with certainly. without a second thought, she makes her way to him.]
Be my partner? You don't even have to get me a drink.
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It probably helps too that the Colosseum being a bloodbath or ballroom doesn't matter; he could adapt and adjust to either, but he is glad it's the latter when he sees Maria. Their eyes meet and he smiles brightly in response. Whoever he was talking to before loses his attention abruptly so that he doesn't keep her waiting. ]
Of course, [ he answers, already raising a hand to take one of hers with ease. ] You beat me to asking you first, I admit, but I'm glad you did ask. [ Did she, actually? Probably not, but it sounds better to say so. ] Dancing and then drinks though, perhaps? I have to thank you somehow.
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and if she wasn't in such low spirits, she might try to remind herself Ardyn is all talk. that this doesn't mean anything. but no, Maria feels sad. abandoned. Ardyn's words work for her. somebody who wants to dance with her? yes.]
I think it's a whiskey night. [she gets into position, moving close to him.]
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He also seems to have a knack for knowing the right time to sweep a woman off her feet. While he is oblivious to her woes, actually, reading between the lines is something he's become quite practiced in thanks to politics. So the mention of whiskey does tell him a couple of things about where she's potentially at, but he doesn't do anything more than perk up a little.
He's interested by that. Mildly curious, he asks: ] Oh, is it? And what's the occasion? [ He steps right in too, leading her into the first moves of the dance as they discuss. ]
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and there are other people for this but she's feeling less than good. more willing to be vulnerable and if it's someone like Ardyn? the temptation isn't there as much.]
Someone from my world showed up. We didn't part on good terms, I guess you could say. [putting it lightly. her hands are on his shoulders as she moves with him.] You mean are infuriating. [okay, she can tease a little.]
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There's a few people from home I wouldn't want to see again either, so- You're not alone.
[ Still, he doesn't like seeing her like this. Upset. (At least, not when it isn't potentially his fault.) Would Ardyn be willing to kill a man he knows nothing about beyond that that he seemingly made Maria sad? Absolutely. Should he say that? Well, no- Probably not. He at least has the sense to keep the violent, intrusive instinct for blood where it belongs firmly locked in his head. For now. ]
What did this scoundrel do, though? Since we men can be scoundrels, I know, but even I can't imagine wanting to leave a lady like you on bad terms.
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but then he asks her what happened and she tries to tell herself to remember she thinks this man is probably all charm and nice words. what more is there? but well, she's been lacking in those, both of those, for a long time.
why the hell not indulge?]
It's in bad taste to talk about exes with the man you're dancing with so we will just say he blamed me for something that was his fault in the first place. [how else does she explain she ran into the man who killed her? and even if he hadn't killed her in the end, he had condemned her to a death. not without ever thinking about what his actions did to her.
her fingers flex into the fabric of his clothes.] I shouldn't be surprised. It's kind of his status quo anyway.
cw: casual thoughts of m u r d e r
[ There is that brief moment where she clutches onto him so that he almost pulls out his dagger, shadow steps to wherever this man is, and stabs him seventy-eight times. Almost, is the keyword there. If he isn't just superficial charm and talk, he doesn't think the reality that he is generally .03 seconds away from throwing a violent tantrum would be more attractive. ]
Well, as a man, I can unfortunately confirm: that is the modus operandi of many a men. And while you may not be surprised, you can still be upset with him.
I will be, too. Best hope he doesn't cross me anytime soon. [ A watered down version of his actual awful considerations, but still! A turn in the dance, the steps feeling natural and fluid. ] Though if he does, I'd be happy to show you an even better time to throw right in his face.
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but that's why she was here with him right now. she wanted the platitudes, real or not. and when he makes her that offer, she does begin to feel better. at least there are people willing to charm her. a man who wants to show James up.
too bad she doesn't know his more violent thoughts. she'd take those far more seriously and smile at him more genuinely because of it.]
What a gentleman. If we see him, I'll point him out and you can even duel for my honor. [a simple joke. she is trying not to be too sad because who wants that? Maria assumes not a man like Ardyn.] But in case that doesn't happen, how else will you show me a good time?
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Usually. ]
And what an honor it would be to fight in your name, [ he easily adds. ] Though in thinking about what other ways to entertain, I admit: I can be an adventurous sort. I like seeing what there is to out there but it's much more enjoyable with someone to see it with. If there's anywhere you've been dying to go, just say the word.
I'll do what I can to make it happen.
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I was never able to be very adventurous. Kinda got stuck where I came from. [that's putting it lightly.] So you can be a wonderful influence on me. [there's just enough sarcasm to tell Ardyn that she knows the complete opposite will be true. this man is not a good influence. she may not know him but she thinks she knows enough to make that judgment (she does not).]
You talked about fields before, right? Found anywhere like that in Etraya?
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[ He isn't. She's right, but- It's all in good fun (for now), he's fairly certain.
He traveled when young but then spent far too locked in a hole in the earth. Now, he travels just because he can and it's fun to throw into the face of those who'd rather see him still chained. ]
Bramble Valley, actually, has some nice spots. There's a little place called Leaf Valley outside of Nova City too I've been meaning to look into. [ The irony of it being akin to a 'retirement home' and sounding appealing isn't lost on this old man either. ]
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and a lot of things could be lies.
but it didn't matter. she was with him for the illusion he could give her. he was already making her feel better.] Can you see the stars? I've never seen them.
[usually because she was either dead or underground by the time night rolled around. she never got to see them.]