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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. |
no subject
He has no doubt the others wouldn't approve, besides. ]
Yeah, you can. They gave me a high score coming here, so we can make use of it.
[ Fio doesn't have to worry about having a roof over her head or where her next meal is coming from. They may as well take advantage of him being a Luminary. His time here has kept his point total steady enough — they can focus on shaping hers up.
Before that, though— ]
You hungry?
no subject
Fio rustles through the supply bag and pulls out a partially eaten protein bar. ]
Miss Aurora let me have this! [ Smiling. ] It's all crumbly and kind of tasty.
[ Not quite a meal, but it's something...? Not going to admit it would be satisfiying if she could have more to eat. Being far too accustomed to living a poor life in the past where her struggling family can afford very little, she always disliked asking for much more. ]
no subject
[ Something is better than nothing. His own opportunistic eating habits can be traced directly back to the uninspiring nature of military rations. Such things could fill a belly just enough, but they aren't exactly enjoyable. They don't quite satisfy. ]
My rank gets us free meals though.
[ The word "us" comes with slight emphasis — Fio's one of his comrades from the Cage, of course she should benefit from his good fortune. ]
So if you want to see what they've got here, you can save the rest of that. I can tell you how it's been since I was summoned.
[ He suggests, pointing to the protein bar for emphasis. An army marches on its stomach, and a good meal might boost her morale. ]
no subject
Free?
[ The word is met with a look of disbelief. "Really? For real?" She wonders what kind of meal would be free. If Lars is in a high rank, she wonders if the meals are similar to what a Noble would have. The sort of food she would only see in pretty illustrations inside of books and dreams. ]
Um... okay. I wanna see. And... I wanna know more about what's going on here. I'll be able to be more helpful if I learn more!
[ And she'll do her best to understand. Back in the Cage, sometimes Mama and Carrier's explanations would get a little confusing... ]
no subject
[ Lars has been in Etraya long enough to go digging through the network, so at the least, he can save Fio some time with what he's gleaned about the whole thing.
First thing's first though: free food. He points in the direction he'd come from. ]
It's back this way. [ A pause, as he gives Fio an assessing glance. ] Are you good to walk?
[ That crumbly food brick (half of it) didn't seem like enough. ]
no subject
[ A small frown. Just giving a basic rundown of what she knows (and understands) so far. Looking down, she gives her supply bag a quick examination, then gives him a nod. She'll start to follow once Lars is ready to head off. ]
I'm good. Don't worry.
[ Fio is the type to insist she's "fine" even if she's clearly struggling to walk. Fortunately, she does look to be in good enough health to move on her own! It feels like the half-eaten crumbly bar is enough to get by on for now. She thinks. Perhaps until she discovers the "free" meal is real and not a dream... ]
no subject
He's no better, is he?
Whatever the case is, he offers her a hand. ]
It gets crowded in places, so stick by me, alright?
no subject
Yet, when Lars offers his hand, she doesn't turn it down. Just one curious look, then there's a tiny hand eagerly closing around his. Fio smiles big. The last person that she's walked around holding hands with is—probably her parents, during a time when her family wasn't so broken. ]
'Kay! I'll stay close!
no subject
[ Lars has come a long way from trying to drag a blind kid along only to realize she can't see anything. His strides are ones he thinks Fio can easily keep up with, bearing in mind the differences in their heights, as he retraces his path from where free food awaits.
If anyone questions him sharing the benefits of his rank, he'll just fight them.
...Look he doesn't have to come a long way in every regard. ]
no subject
She's able to keep up easily. Although there might be a few halting steps as they make their little journey to the land of free food. Occasionally her steps slow as she takes in the colorful lights, towering spires, and holograms. She's trying to soak in the sights—trying to remember, so it can be a memory that she can speak of later.
When it seems like Fio's unable to keep up with the walk, she picks up her pace again, sometimes doing a small skip. ]
Lars? After we protect all the worlds and everything... you'll have to go back to the Cage, won't you? Then I'll go far away, to Earth. [ Like she was meaning to. She was already preparing for tough times ahead, to become possibly one of the only two beings left on the planet. She'll have to say goodbye a second time. ]
I didn't get to talk to you much back then... [ But she treasured those moments together, nonetheless. ] I'll have to make sure to make a bunch of good memories with you here.
no subject
That's more than nothing. ]
We've got time. When we're not on missions, it's pretty peaceful, usually.
[ Lars doesn't know whether he's the best at making good memories, but he'll try. They all owe Fio for her part in ensuring the Cage survived, and with it, all those who remained. ]
They've got a trolley you can ride to see the whole place.
no subject
[ She sounds puzzled by the word. From the sound of it, she assumes it's some form of transportation. She's more familiar with getting around on wagons and carriages pulled by horses—and the contraptions that teleported them around the Cage. Oh yeah, and elevators. ]
Is Etraya different from this place? I didn't really get to see outside of the room I woke up in. Miss Aurora explained some things and then I went into the glowy portal... and then I found myself here.
no subject
[ Almost like the Cage in a way, save that it's not all stacked up om itself and isn't digital. A world built of bits and pieces of peoples' homes is pretty decent, if at time disorienting too. ]
The trolley's almost like a train [ Did Fio's era have trains...? Come to think of it, Lars doesn't know that much about how their points of origin really compare. ] or if you chained wagons together and they could move along a set path without needing horses to pull them along.
[ ...Nailed it? He hopes so, as he spots the building where free food awaits. ]
no subject
[ Nailed it. Now Fio's trying to decide if she should begin imagining a long rickety wooden wagon or something like a princess carriage from her picture books. Minus the horses. She'll just have to wait and see whenever they return. Most of all, she's looking forward to riding the trolley together!
She walks along, watching the building come into view. Is this the buffet... ]
Parts of other worlds, huh. [ That does sound similar to where they came from. ] Did you see anything familiar?
no subject
Nothing from the Cage or my story.
[ Not that he's familiar with, at least. Once they reach the doors, he uses his free hand to hold one open so Fio can step inside first. ]
From what I hear, we earn some kind of points and can trade those to Aurora to add things that look like what we know.
no subject
Really? So there's "points" too in Etraya...
[ A thoughtful hum, already brainstorming a couple of ideas. If she could, she might enjoy having her "secret place" around. An abandoned ruin, a choice that would probably puzzle many Etrayans with how old and dirty it is. Or maybe the big spiral staircase from the Cage... dancing on the steps was fun. ]
If you could bring anything from home, what would you bring?
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[ Lars is quick to follow her inside, unwilling to risk anyone giving Fio trouble for being there. What immediately greets them is the mingled aromas of many foods, some familiar and others extremely foreign.
Just as it was when he first came by, it seems as though the supply is ample, tables lined with plates and platters bearing heaps of various dishes. ]
Maybe a town I visited. They had cannons set up to shoot water over their sunflower fields.
[ He'd already told people he wanted to plant some of those. ]
no subject
A sunflower field? I bet that must be really pretty to see in person. I read in a book that sunflowers can grow up to fifteen feet tall—
[ Suddenly something on one of the tables catches her eye. She reaches for Lars, tugging eagerly at his sleeve. Of all the food that she's happiest to see with her own eyes, it's a strawberries and cream cake. It's her second time seeing a real cake. It's probably a bad idea for sugar to be the first part of a meal, but she can't help feel a little too excited... ]
Lars, look! A cake! A real cake!
no subject
For now, though, he sticks close to Fio and follows her eager indication to what is a picture perfect cake. He hadn't paid it much mind before, but the last time he'd seen anything like it was when he was a small child. ]
We'll get you some. [ He assures, scanning the area. ] But let's save it for dessert, alright? You need more than cake to stay strong.
[ Strong, he says, like he isn't talking to a petite little girl. Still, it's true that she needs to eat properly to avoid fatigue and stay alert. This place is a warzone of its own, and in absence of others, Lars needs to look out for her safety. ]