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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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hedgehog-manperson dismissing him as he turns away leaves Dimitri hesitating on what to do. If the other wanted to be left alone he doesn’t wish to bother him, but he’s also not sure that’s the case either.When the question comes Dimitri is a mix of relief and slight bafflement, both of which evident on his face. Insomuch he speaks before thinking. ]
Interesting how you would ask that rather than wondering about my trustworthiness. But to answer your question…
[ He goes silent a moment giving the query serious consideration before properly responding. The twisted events that have occurred these last few months within his world should give Dimitri enough pause when it comes to trusting someone. But… ]
To be honest I currently have none. However, if I can gather any meaning from our short exchange, I’d wager you to not be the type to stab in the back. I would think if any stabbing needed done you would do so from the front.
I don’t know about you, but personally I would prefer someone like the latter rather than the former.
[ The other’s attitude reminds Dimitri of a once close friend. Grouchy and rude, but steadfast and forward. He also seems to expect people not to trust him which is curious. ]
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however, the man's answer isn't what he expected. it gains no smile or sound of confirmation from the hedgehog man, but all it warrants are crimson eyes staring at him unimpressed as before. he's not wrong in shadow's way of handling things, as to what reason he's even capable to coming to such a conclusion causes his gaze to sharpen, assessing the other up and down before he grunts in dissatisfaction.
as he opens his muzzle, the creature scoffs at him which gives the impression he's not interested. ]
Sit.
[ he doesn't ask again.
next to them is a table with only two seats, taking up the area means there's no one else to come over to where they are in the far off corner. the hedgehog pulls himself up, sitting down with a cross of his legs. ]
I'm not going to repeat myself, so you better listen carefully.
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Dimitri continues to carefully note how the other’s behavior doesn’t necessarily align with his words. He has to wonder at why the other seems so intent on scaring others away.
Regardless of the reason Dimitri takes the attitude in stride. He supposes he’s been treated worse by someone closer to him, so this is merely a drop in the water.
Easier to take in and focus on the brusque attitude than the situation Dimitri finds himself in.
When he takes his seat at the table for two he inclines his head to the
hedgehog manman?hedgehog?—Dimitri really needs to figure out how to respectfully refer to this gentleman. ]Please, consider me all ears.
[ He would say the other has his full attention, but what with his own vulnerable state Dimitri is keeping a wary eye out and thusly it would be a lie. ]
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[ initially this person called it a "flashing drive" which he's correct, but incorrect at the same time. there are some that flash when plugged in, but who is to know if a "flash drive" here is the same as what he knows it to be. ]
Normally, it's a small device that you can fit in the palm of your hand with information saved onto it.
[ shadow's not going to open his palm to show, but he can give dimitri the basic information of what he should be looking for. everyone is possibly on the same wavelength when it comes to what "flash drive" they should be looking for. it's one of those times that he wishes rouge were here, or even that annoying two-tailed fox, he'd be able to download the data within this place and go through it with ease.
however, it's not the case, and this aurora is sending out various people in search of something so small.
then again, this is only for shadow's own curiosity, he's not going to do something requested to him by someone who ushers him into a new world. as many times as he's been used, he'd rather avoid that and handle it his own way. ]
No employee here is quite sure where it could or appear to be.
[ he has the same information everyone else has. which isn't an advantage at all, it only places him at the same pace which... the less idiots, the better. ]
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It also makes sense to Dimitri that the employees here don’t know where it is. The thing holds information to the Gamerunner’s point system. Surely they would want to get their hands on it as well. ]
Hmm… Do we know if there are any specific visual signifiers? Such as its color, or perhaps its shape?
[ After all, Aurora made it sound like there are more than one, and she needs the specific one. ]
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[ it could be anything to a casino chip or even a table, he doesn't know how this place works. he's able to fill in the gaps what this idiot doesn't have in terms of modern information, everything else will put him where they're all at. lacking information.
shadow grows quiet, keeping to himself as crimson eyes stare at the table. the only thing keeping him here is information, and it seems like the other doesn't have much on the subject either that he could have heard just by chance. ]
I'd say use the tools prevented before you.
[ and here he counts on his fingers. ]
The entry wheel where you pay a "fee", an understanding of how a casino works, and listening in on players in case they saw something.
[ as for anything else, he's pretty much aware the cameras are duds unless rolling back the tape, but no one knows how far to roll back. ]
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Admittedly, I have not been in a great many gambling dens, so perhaps my knowledge here is limited… However, there are several things I find rather odd.
The wheel is meant to be a form of entertainment for watchers, yes? The whole point is “entertainment”. Yet it seems as if no one is beating the card sharks in their games. That can’t be entertaining, can it? Doesn’t the thrill lay in the chance to beat difficult odds?
And the card sharks themselves [ He’s talking about the dealers. ] I don’t think any of them have blinked since I arrived. Is this a combined tactic to weed out the folk who aren’t here to rob them? I certainly wouldn’t want to play an unwinable game, much less watch it.
So, if the entertainment doesn’t lay there, where does it? What is the house playing at?
[ A lot of this place does not make sense to Dimitri in the slightest. Yes, the sorcery used to capture electricity within glass is a wonder beyond his understanding, but that’s superficial. Dimitri was raised to rule a kingdom and he cannot fathom how any of the governing done here is in the best interests of the people.
Dimitri isn’t expecting answers to the questions he is posing, but he does feel it is important to ask them. To wonder, pick at, and find holes. ]
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there are some things that has stood out to him as well, but there are routes he hasn't taken part in. others, general players have always lost as though this is all repetition to them. in this world, either it's already generated the playstyles of those here, or they're cheating every time. ]
....Hmph.
[ he has a point, or they enjoy watching the struggle, the color that drains from players faces once they lose everything in their bet. ]
If there was a way to blind them.
[ unless their eyes isn't the only way that they see, but that would mean cheating to have that means of success. or... sabotaging them as they switch shifts which... do they even do that? ]
Have you seen the host at a table swap with another while you've been here?
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[ Some shifts can last 10 to 12 hours, so Dimitri not seeing them change didn’t strike him as odd… The not blinking, however, that is down right eerie. ]
With everyone losing and those workers not blinking it almost feels… fake? Like a performance or a pantomime. Do you know if this gambling den is always like this, or is this special treatment for tonight?
[ Because that would make a large difference. If it is a normal all other nights outside of this heist night… well, that would mean the house is prepared to receive them. All of this could be a farce. ]
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[ if they're an animatronic it would make sense why they don't blink, why they never lose because they've probably seen all these movies before and are able to cheat and win. shadow suggests this only for the other to follow up on if he decides to try.
as for if gambling dens are always like this, the hedgehog glances off to the side before closing his eyes. it's like he's ignoring the other, but the thing about this is that even if it's fake, it could be real to the players here. ]
Nothing's changed.
[ hence why he asked if the dealers have ever swapped out, it'd give them a bit more life, but from what the hedgehog has seen. nothing. ]
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[ Dimitri’s voice snaps out louder than he intends to. The hedgehog-man can’t be serious, can he? Senseless slaughter- and for what? Solving a mystery one could use a number of different approaches to answer? Why immediately jump to bloodshed?
He continues speaking in a more hushed volume. ]
I was suggesting this gambling hall may be laying a trap to lure in the would-be thieves. If the regular gamblers found themselves continually losing, unlike regular nights, they would leave. Only the ones intent on other things would remain.
If I got word of a group intent on taking valuable intelligence from my home, or fort, I could could raise security and call it done. Or I could feint ignorance and prepare a snare.
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clearly the hedgehog doesn't care. ]
You're sure they have nights where they win?
[ shadow never looked into that, then again, some others may have been here longer than he has. it's nothing he can confirm, all he can do is glance around then allow his eyes to fall back on the individual in front of him.
his fort, right, okay. he is dated so examples will be too, shadow grows quiet now, adding nothing else as he thinks over all the areas where they're busiest. ]
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The fact the other isn’t commenting upon it, nor clarifying… not great. ]
No, honestly, I’m not. I just don’t know what would draw others here were it not the case. It could be they are relying on previous iterations of this gambling den’s reputations.
[ He knocks his knuckles against the table in thought. Should he continue this conversation? Dimitri isn’t exactly feeling inclined to continue speaking with the other, yet they were willing to talk with him despite him being a stranger. ]
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they must stumble or be lucky. ]
This world is dying, this could be the only place where they feel alive.
[ by making themselves spectacles, or taking part to witness them in real time.
maybe dimitri's right, maybe it's all a ploy, but one thing is for certain that they'll all die out soon. maybe they don't care, they never seem afraid, and no matter how much they cause trouble for them, they return to their stations. ]
If you can find the person in control, they might have more answers.