etrayamemes | TDM 007

Entry tags:

!tdm

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:

You must dance with a partner. This can be an ally, an enemy, or someone you intend on using as a stepping stone to victory. It matters not, as long as you have one hand (or limb) on them at all times.
The longer you last, the better your chances. Endurance is the name of the game, meaning one must pace themselves on the dance floor. While epic twirls and impressive moves will garner more attention, it may also hurt your chances in the long run.
You may sabotage others by throwing them off balance, but keep in mind: everything is televised, and it won't stay secret for long.
The arena adapts to the chaos. Expect sudden obstacles, environmental shifts, and sudden changes in the music's tempo. Gravity may shift, walls may close in, but participants can't let that stop them - they must continue to dance, if they wish to win.

The audience is watching. Who will make the final cut and become Prom King and Queen? Everyone is vying for the titles: it doesn't matter what rank you started at when you joined the Panopticon Prom. Whoever wins becomes a Paragon until their points drop. There aren't many opportunities to sail through the rankings, but this is a sure way to do it. As long as they can keep up.

⏵ 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:

1	You must speak entirely in rhyme.	2	Your body has become unnaturally delicate. The smallest injury hurts like a fatal wound.
3	You must avoid stepping into any sources of light. Doing so causes massive burns to appear on any area of your skin where light has touched.	4	You have been transformed into an animal! You can still think as you had before, but you cannot speak or communicate easily.
5	You have been cursed with supernatural strength, but cannot control it.	6	Time doesn't flow normally for you anymore. Each mistake you make makes you visibly younger, slowly erasing your experiences, skills, or even memories.
7	You can no longer form your own words, but only repeat what others have said to you.	8	You cannot meet another person's gaze.
9	You can no longer turn around, physically or metaphorically. If you try to return where you came from, you'll find that the pathway no longer exists.	10	You are given a specific letter that you must avoid using out loud entirely. "A"? Better hope you know enough words without one.
11	Every time you speak, your words come true - but never in the way you intended. Trying to control this is futile; the monkey's paw curls with every new sentence.	12	Within the casino, you lose the ability to feel anything. No pain, no pleasure, no warmth, and no cold. At first it may feel like a blessing - until you realize you cannot feel hunger, or tell if you're injured.
13	Regardless of if you've drunken anything, you still act inebriated. The effect only gets worse the longer you stay.	14	No one can see you. You are invisible, even if you are still able to reach out and touch or converse with those around you.
15	Any special ability you have is gone. You are reduced down to what an average human being is capable of - regardless of if you are human.	16	Violent impulses become impossible to ignore. You are rage incarnate, and you will be heard.
17	Every time you make a decision - to walk into an area, to start a conversation, anything, a small thread pulls loose from your clothing or your skin. Keep making choices, and you may become entirely undone.	18	You may speak freely, but for every syllable you say, your ability to hear slowly fades. You may want to watch your word count - too many, and you may not be able to hear at all.
19	Perhaps you arrived with a friend, or beside a stranger. It matters not: whoever came in either just before or just after you, you feel a powerful urge to protect them to the point of aggression.	20	Love is in the air - at least it is for you. Every time you meet someone's gaze, you feel the need to try and make them fall in love with you, through whatever means necessary.

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.

⏵ NOTES ⏴

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.

⏵FULL NAVIGATION⏴

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Under any other circumstances, he would think it's cool to actually meet something he had only seen in books and television. Right now he's just wary of everything, but they don't seem to come off as a threat.]

Shadow. [His ears swerve slightly, listening to the patrons in the casino. Someone losing all their money, two at the bar laughing their drunk ass off, a disturbance being reported somewhere. That last one seem promising. He glances in the direction of the voice to see if he can get more details from here.]

[Good thing that Manny doesn’t see anyone as a threat unless they provoke him first. The mammoth also looks towards the direction of the disturbance happening in the casino.]

How much have you been informed when you first arrived here?

...That I was brought here to save my world. [Something he still doesn't understand why he was chosen for the task. He looks suspiciously back up to Manny.] Why are you asking?

[Ah, so only the basic information. Guess that makes it easier.]

Let’s just say that there’s a couple of things to know about Etraya outside of what we’ve been told upon arrival.

[They're right. There are things still left unknown to him, but at the time, he was a bit preoccupied to know what to ask. That aside, he tilts his head.] Why are you helping me?

Because we're all in the same situation as representatives of our worlds. I figured that it's more efficient to cooperate and spread information around, so that we can prepare ourselves for what's next. Besides, there's no telling if any of us are still going to be here by the time the next batch of newcomers has arrived.

[...They have a point, but he didn't ask to be informed. He's adjusted to figuring things out himself and so far he's been fine. Except for the earpiece. He might have been forced to ask for help with that. They did say something interesting.] Are you saying we can get sent back?

[Manny nods in confirmation.]

Basically yes. But we don’t exactly know when it’s going to happen. Some people stay for a year or two, while others only last for a few weeks before they’re gone from Etraya altogether. It’s possible that they can be dragged back into this, but the chances of that are very low.

If this has been going for that long, has there been any proof of progress? [Are the worlds getting saved as Aurora claims? He's a bit skeptical considering he thinks it was a mistake to bring him here.] How long have you been here?

I wish I could tell you, but unfortunately we have no way of contacting Echo for progress. Even Aurora is limited by what Echo tells her about.

[That fact never ceases to frustrate Manny for as long as he’s been in Etraya.]

By now, I’ve been here for more than half a year. The only reason why we’re doing this mission specifically is because some people wanted proof of the “dying worlds” thing.

[More and more fishy. Were one to look around this casino, you wouldn't think there was anything bad going on with this world. Speaking of...he was still listening in for that one detail about a disturbance.

"Was it delivered?"
"About that....we lost track of it"
"What do you mean lost track-"
"Shhh, shh voice down!"
"Where was it last seen then!?"

He looks to where those hush voices were coming from. Two individuals huddle at the bar, a few tables from their right. He's not sure if their discussion is related to the flash drive he's been hearing about, but it's all he has to work with. He takes a step, stopping. The light. And he can't find a spot where he can teleport without bringing attention to himself. Ugh. He checks to see if there's a direct path he could take from here while staying out of the light.]

[Manny also looks towards the two individuals sitting at the bar. Given the kind of conversation they’re in, it would seem like they are either workers of the casino or someone else who’s also gunning for the flash drive. It would be tempting to simply walk over towards them, but that would only encourage them to make a run for it.

Then, the mammoth notices a beer bottle on the floor after it’s been dropped by one of the drunken patrons in the bar. After which, Manny looked up at the lights hanging from the ceiling.]

[Shadow follows their line of sight between the beer bottle and to the lights above.] ...How's your aim?

Pretty decent. I could try to lift up something much heavier if it weren't for the effects of the casino's wheel.

[Ah. The toll they had to pay to enter this place.] The two at the bar. I can get them, but I need a path without going into the light.

Alright, I'll try to make a path through without the light.

[Manny slowly walks over towards the beer bottle on the floor. The mammoth carefully pays attention to the patrons at the bar as to ensure that he doesn't accidentally catch their attention. Even with his strength being handicapped, he's still big enough for others to notice.

It's a blessing that those patrons were too busy getting drunk and bantering with one another that Manny had managed to grab hold of the empty bottle and quickly retreats back to his original spot.]

[He's watching the two at the bar, making sure they won't be moving anytime soon. He has a short window to do this once a path is made.] Wait here once it goes dark. I'll come back with them.

Okay then. I'll also watch to make sure that no one else tries to interfere.

[With that, Manny throws the bottle with as much force as he can muster. Luckily enough, it managed to hit the lights on the ceiling, plunging this particular area into darkness. It's only a matter of time before the casino workers comes in to fix the damage.]

[The bit of light that Manny manages to remove is enough. There's a flash of light where he once stood as he blips out of existence. The two at the bar are startled by the lights suddenly going out, but that's all they have a chance of doing before they're suddenly grabbed from behind and whisked away, drinks left unfinished.

Shadow will reappear once more beside Manny, the two that were sitting at the bar with him, tossed onto the ground between them.

"What the fuck-"
"Who brought the zoo?"]

Where did it go? [The two looked at each other. Where what? Ah, shit-] What was being delivered, where is it? [I ain't telling you! Uh, You even know what we were talking about?] Talk, or I'll have him crush your heads. [He gestures to Manny behind them. He's not expecting Manny to actually do it, just hoping they'll play along until he gets the information out of them.]

[For the most part, Manny would play along until the two patrons starts talking. However, should those two patrons decide to escalate things even further, then the mammoth would have no qualms with going through with the threat.

Even if Manny’s strength has been reduced to that of a human’s, being stepped on would still hurt a lot. Alternatively, he could try to hold them up by their necks with his trunk.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

TDM 007

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