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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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I did notice your powers have gotten a lot stronger since, uh... [ he ran away? hmmm ] I wouldn't be surprised if they end up reclassified.
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but it's not important right now. julian's busy with other things.
like hooking his other sneaker around the other front leg of the chair, pulling it forward until they're face-to-face. there's still space between them, given - you know, legs need room, but it's not all that much. )
It was the whole mess of crap when we were on Utopia. ( fuck if he remembers all of it, he knows moira was involved and - well. ) I went from having my power level fucked to hell to being able to move things on a molecular level.
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and he can clock all the damage. the remnants of it. part of him wonders if julian will enter the crucible. another part wonders why it hadn't occurred to him to just... seek him out and offer to heal him.
but people aren't really coming to him to heal them all that often these days. ]
Crazy to think there was a time you couldn't even move a paperclip... [ there's a halfway fond smile on his face. ] I wasn't around but I got, like, details here and there. I kept tabs.
[ ....... ]
... I am sorry that I left. I had to, but the way I did was just... awful.
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( and maybe they just - won't agree on that. that josh could have just stuck around. if it was a problem with the original team - julian's started crap with summers and logan before, he'd be more than happy to start another bitchfight with them for being assholes. he thinks back, to how crap had been going before josh had disappeared. they'd all been. . . not great, mentally. there's only so much loss one can take before the begin breaking, and they'd all been through the wringer.
but julian's never been quiet. it's both a curse and a boon: his inability to back down, how he's not afraid to talk back to people who think they're above him when they're acting like idiots. he was a kid, and he still wasn't afraid. isn't now, either. )
You could have stuck with me. You know I wouldn't have let anything happen to you. And through all the bullcrap - look, I'm still here. Didn't even need you piecing me together over the last while to keep me breathing.
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he shakes his head. ]
I should be the one protecting you and keeping you safe.
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( a hand presses down on the chair beside josh's thigh, and julian gets - right in his face, not giving josh any way out of their conversation. )
Look at me. You're a healer, Foley. You've always been a healer. Not a fighter, or a leader. It's not a bad thing to be, but you know you're shit at anything else.
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And you don't have to be everybody's human shield, Julian.
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Do I look like a human shield to you? Because I don't to me.
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[ okay, well, if julian's going to be in his personal space he's going to lift a hand up to touch his shoulder. ]
But I didn't leave because I didn't think you couldn't protect me. I know you would've.
[ i left so you wouldn't get hurt trying to. ]
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Ms. Frost didn't make me squad leader for nothing, you know. ( he's still looking right into josh's eyes, not letting him get out of this. because this? is important, even if this isn't the ideal location for this conversation. ) Just like she didn't take it from me for nothing, either. A leader takes charge, but they also take responsibility. That's where Nori'd get stuck: crap hurts. It weighs on you, especially when you're the one responsible for getting everyone out alive and it doesn't go as planned. But that's a weight I'd choose to take on, time and time again. Because I'd rather be responsible for you than lose you, idiot.
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I'd rather be responsible for you than lose you, idiot.
he doesn't have words for that. no way to cut this into a joke, like he desperately wants to, when julian sounds so damn sincere about it. ]
Julian...
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You remember when we were kids, and you would've followed me anywhere?
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( he is very close. and the grin is back, julian looking all to pleased with himself. josh may have a hand on his shoulder, but julian has him cornered. )
Remember how much you liked me?
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Well... I remember how much you liked me.
[ he remembers being sixteen and desperate for a place to belong and fitting oh so easily into place beside julian, who seemed to be on his wavelength. ]
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( clearly it wasn't the other way around. josh isn't moving away though, so julian figures this is working. )
Did you miss me? After you took off, wherever the hell you went off to.
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And He can’t even bring himself to argue that he’s pretty sure he feeling was mutual because that question hits hard. )
Of course I did.
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( especially when he's right here, mere inches away from josh's face, breathing in the same air as him. )
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( maybe he’ll just, pull that hand back. Lifting his chin and ignoring the way his eyes flick briefly to Julian’s lips before more squarely meeting his gaze. )
If something goes sideways and I leave, you’re all coming with me.
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Because you're mine. Aren't you? Doesn't matter if you've become some kind of god among mutants, you've always been mine.
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[ he feels himself flushing as his eyes go wide, his cheeks taking on a high golden glow. ]
W-what the hell are you talking about, man?
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julian leans in closer still, weight on the balls of his feet and the hand pressing against the seat of josh's chair. he doesn't quite touch josh, but he's close enough to feel his bodyheat. )
You know. You're mine. ( and almost as an afterthought, ) Wanna make out?
1/2
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one, did he have a crush on julian keller back in the day? yes. probably, like, 95 percent sure that's why that friendship breakup felt like a breakup breakup. so, check. that's a positive to the makeout.
two, did he abandon julian to... lose his hands, lose his spleen, and nearly die to the m-pox? double check. that's a negative to the makeout.
three, was he a raging whore to deal with his feelings in the way of the maladjusted x-men before him? yes. yes he was. and honestly if the right offer came along he would be again.
four, is this the right offer? maybe. he's spent the last few years too busy for a decent makeout session, surrounded by people decades older than him. and the ive are more like the weirdest family than lovers, so like, that's not a problem. but... ]
Jules, hey, I'm not - [ his eyes dart to his lips and back up. ] I'm not saying no but since when do you want to make out with me?
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since when did julian want to make out with josh? he'd put the time table at sometime after he sat down but before he'd yanked josh in this close. which, yeah, that's relatively fast to go from friends turned enemies turned two guys who live on the same island to want to make out but to be fair: julian has seen a crapton of x-men move just as if not even faster than that. granted, none of them were julian, who usually prefers to practice the art of pining after the girls he likes for forever and a half waiting for them to do anything about it while he playfully flirts with them. and, you know, they're generally girls.
julian doesn't particularly care what anyone else is into. vic makes out with dudes, cess makes out with girls and dudes, it's whatever. it's just not really a thought he's had. though maybe that's more because julian's been busy, you know, pining. for years. has it been years? definitely years. there was his thing with iara but she's - you know, iara. she does whatever she wants.
but he does know that right now, he does want to make out with josh. more than just that, he wants josh to like him. does he care about the whys? maybe, in the vague sense of this better not be sophie fucking with him - but julian's been around telepaths long enough to know when they're dicking around in his head, and this doesn't feel like that. this feels like he just wants it. )
Does it matter? You've been looking at me like you want to since I grabbed onto your chair.
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cw: makeouts are happening