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etrayamemes2025-03-28 09:16 am
etrayamods) wrote in etrayamemes2025-03-28 09:16 am
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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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[The irony that she'd had a similar conversation with Heather is completely lost on her.]
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However, he does acknowledge the pain in her voice.
He breathes out a small sigh and tips his head down. There was no good in keeping that monster alive; he wasn't even a liability but a creature suffering unending pain and agony. If he hates someone, he wants them to die.
Perhaps, that makes him kinder than Claudia.
Vincent allows himself to offer her a look of sympathy. He won't apologize for his actions; she knew that it had to be done. However, there is one thing he can apologize for: ]
I'm sorry I didn't do it sooner.
[ The room quiets even more. ]
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You...
[But that's all she can say. She hasn't forgotten their conversation about it; it didn't happen that long ago. Even for someone with the Sight, it's difficult to know the passage of time between the Fog World and the Otherworld and the real world, but it still hasn't been that long.
As incomprehensible as his actions had been, are still, Vincent's sympathy towards her childhood had been genuine.]
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[ He lifts his arm up, bending it dramatically, so that he can point to her own arm. The thread is starting to spread, unfortunately.
Breathing out a sigh, he thinks she's hurt herself enough over her father. It'd be best if she stopped doing that, actually. He's dead. That should be enough to put an end to the suffering that she's been through.
And yet --
-- he shakes his head once. ]
There's no point in it.
[ The background noise starts to become a soft hum. ]
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[That's not a dig, though it could certainly be construed as such. It's concern, and Vincent knows her well enough to be able to tell the difference.
Though they've always disagreed on matters of faith, there was a time when they got along quite well.
Still, she looks at what's becoming of her arm, the bloodless injury that's hard to ignore.]
This world's rules are disturbing.
cw: child abuse mention
As fun as it would be for them both have to mime out their responses, he doesn't think it's worth it.
He holds his index finger up, wagging it disapprovingly. Opening his palm up, he gestures to the space that is around them. Not the world's rules. The casino's. He isn't sure if there is a difference, but who would he be if he wasn't a little pedantic?
Crossing his arms, he has to admit that his anger is fading. It always fades with her after a time. Heather may have forgotten how their past, but Vincent will never. The scenes of abuse are burned forever in his mind.
His chin drops as he tilts his head the opposite way. You have all this power and still unable to do anything you want. He can only live vicariously through those that can hurt those he can't. We didn't want the Order to be the same as it was and granted enough power by those before us to build what we wanted.
Ten years of rebuilding everything all to have it ruined by Claudia's insanity. Where did she lose her mind? At what point? They were going fine. They wouldn't have to interact with the world anymore. They could live forever in their fog-covered world through prayer and ritual. With the blood and sacrifices of the pious, Her influence would reach out past the borders anyway.
He breathes harsh through his nose. Why tempt fate! Why drag her back here?! His eyes widen as his arms drop. He starts to shake his head as he comes to a revelation.
You couldn't live without her. You didn't want to live without her being saved, too.
His shoulders drop. Oh, Claudia. Still clinging to those who don't love you. ]
cw: child abuse mention, cult indoctrination
Is there a difference? Perhaps there was at one point.
[But this whole place has become one game after another to be the last person left alive in this wretched world. If only Her influence could spread so far. Even if it could, She wouldn't be able to save this place. This, Claudia knows just from looking around it.
This world doesn't particularly want to be saved, either. It's nothing like the world she knows, filled with tears and bruises and wishing everything would get better. For all her Sight, for all her power, she'd been helpless to stop it. She'd been helpless to stop Alessa from being taken from her.
Dahlia had sworn to her that her powers could be used for good, to help the people of the Order. But it had never been enough.]
What would you know of love, Vincent? You don't love anyone but yourself.
[She's more frustrated than angry.]
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Pausing, he crosses his arms and pinches his chin between two fingers. Rolling his eyes around, he wonders could it have been something like that - that this world can alter the very way a person behaves and force restrictions upon them. Could it be their world's God?
He hums and flicks his finger upward.
Letting his arms drop, he gives up on that theological argument to have another about what he knows about "love." His face scrunches up to indicate that he has little use for such an emotion. He tilts his head to the side and offers a sarcastic smile. While he may not have use, he knows what it is.
Scratching the side of his face, he shrugs his shoulders. Does he love himself? At times. Does he like himself? No. Do these things bring him happiness? Absolutely not. So, what does it matter? ]
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I'd say it matters a great deal.
[This is closer to how it used to be. Before he started trying to prevent the rebirth of God. A part of her misses these spirited arguments. Though, normally, Vincent can't stop talking. This form of argument is actually rather pleasant, as a result.]
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Pointing at her, he believes that it matters a great deal to her, but it doesn't mean anything to him. He holds his hands up in a dismissive manner, flicking his wrists to indicate how little that point is a concern for him.
He gestures to himself then points above his head.
Vincent loves and fears God; that is all that matters. The love Claudia gives to everyone else is self-deprecating and destructive, at best. At worst, it's delusional and obsessive. Actually - he crosses his arms and offers a brief smile - it may very well be all of those things. ]
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[For all his intelligence, Vincent had still fallen for those mad ravings. There had been a reason the Order had allowed him to keep it while he was... imprisoned in Brookhaven. Nobody within the Order would have allowed the madman to have anything truly powerful.
She hadn't realized that Vincent had grown desperate enough to pay Leonard any mind.]
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It wasn't just his ravings but something written down in their ritual books, as well.
Letting his hands drop, he only has them down for a second before he's flinging his hands in the air. The only reason he thought Leonard was allowed to still be alive was Claudia. Regardless of what he may or may not have had, she was enough of a deterrent to keep the Order from killing him.
Which is why he needed Heather in the first place. ]
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[She fails to see how it's relevant. She must be misunderstanding.]
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Clapping his hands together, he holds both hands out toward her before opening them to mime a book. His eyebrows lift as his shoulders rise. Book! Get it! It was in a book!
He decides to start slower this time. ]
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[She repeats flatly.
Off the top of her head, she can't think of which book he's referring to, but there are innumerable ritual books, so it's not surprising.]
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He feels as though he's losing the thread on how angry he should be with her while doing this miming. It may be because of how sorry that he feels for her. Even in death, she wasn't able to change even a little. She still sees faith as a means to receive the love that she will not get from those she most wants it from.
However, as sad as that all is, she completely ruined their organization and drove God insane! Furthermore, people are going to associate this mad woman with him. He isn't sure what's worse! All of that is, but right now - he needs to prove the point that he didn't just believe Leonard's words!
It was also written down! ]
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[She says it slowly.
When did this desperation twist him so?]
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He knows that now.
Slapping the side of his forehead, he irritatingly gestures in her direction. Flinging his arms around, he walks around in a circle around Claudia. His arms continue to flap angrily as his thoughts boil over into a deep, red rage.
Covering his eyes, he drops down to his knees and barely keeps from releasing a scream. His shoulders drop; his posture settles. He shakes his head; he shakes off the anger as he rises up back to stand.
Anger never helps anything. There's no point in being angry.
He breathes out slowly.
His arms rise then lowers. Whatever. ]
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And she hadn't anticipated Vincent's betrayal either.
But she's alive, now. Even though she shouldn't be.]
We're here for the same reason, are we not?
[To look for this "flash drive".
Leonard had forbidden her from becoming familiar with the nonbeliever's technology, but she does understand it has something to do with computers.
It gives her a rough idea of what it must look like.]
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His head tilts slightly at the idea that they're there for the same reason. He wants to destroy their world if there is no saving it from the mad God she created. Will she agree to work with him with those terms? He isn't certain. However, if both of them are dead, the only thing that awaits them is Hell.
Slapping his forehead, he tilts his head up. However, Claudia was fine and willing to burn in Hell for what she's done. She's gone against doctrine. Something he always said she was doing but she denied. It's nice that he was told he was right in the end.
However, there is no Heaven left for the believers or those willing to walk the road, either!
Vincent has come to accept he may be punished for not doing more to stop Claudia. He has all the excuses he could bring about why he failed God, but in the end, he failed Her. His fear and love for her is absolute; he also accepts the fate that awaits him. He'll walk the road until God forgives him.
At least, he hopes that is what awaits.
Sliding his hand off his face, he breathes out slow and looks at her. Flicking the finger between the two of them, he steps forward before holding his hand out. There is no road that awaits you but perhaps, I can convince you to damn yourself another way. ]
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Even now, having been told that she may have doomed the world, she doesn't believe it. Claudia can't believe it; her own father didn't believe her, but he was a fool.]
I have already earned my place in Hell, what could you possibly offer me?
[She isn't entirely interested in whatever he has to offer, but she will at least listen, because it's Vincent. Claudia has always listened to him, even when he's been aggressive with her.]
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Perhaps, not Heaven, but a chance to get somewhere better than where they're both meant to go. ]
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...I'm listening.
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Fantastic.
Scratching the back of his head, he'll have to give up all of his hearing to be able to make his case. Is it worth it? Maria would tell him that he needs to be more careful about his risky investments. However, Claudia is also from their universe and probably will have a say what happens to where they come from. ]
I'm giving up my hearing to tell you this, so you better listen well.
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Very well.
[Aren't they meant to be looting this world? Well, she supposes people who know more about the situation would be the ones to find it. If the people here have already decided they've beyond salvation, there's no reason to risk herself. She may as well hear Vincent out. If there's even a remote chance to redeem herself in the eyes of God...]
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