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

[ it's that incessant buzzing of a faulty light above him that stirs him from his rest, but that's probably not what he can call it. his ears twitch partnered with his head hurting so bad that he can't even think about where he is, or what he's doing. it's a prolonged pain that only gets worse as his eyes adjust to the light and his surroundings. his arms crossed along the seat of the toilet, one hand brought to his forehead, and it's such a state that he shakes his head with a growl.

this is not where he's supposed to be, shouldn't he be within the casino searching... it doesn't matter, now his main focus is whatever this place is. he hasn't really gotten a good look as he slowly pushes himself up with another shake of his head, quills bouncing as he does so and he looks up to see what's across from him which is a dirty bathroom wall.

his ears twitch again, looking off to the side, and what else he sees only manages a grimace from the older hog.

how annoying.

ever since he's come into contact with the other, nothing good has came from anything, and part of him wonders if this is still a curse from the casino. maybe nothing is real. unfortunately for him, maria's touch was real not too long ago so...

it's with a click of his tongue that he turns his head, looking towards the door finding that in an unknown location with no information that the door is the last thing that'll take them anywhere. rather than acknowledge the other, he'd rather just get out since this is a waste of his mind, but that constant pain in his head feels worse with every step. it'll fade away soon enough. ]

[ it's hard to find good snacks to go along with a tea party in a desolate and dying city such as this, but blaze has made an attempt nevertheless. with some rather weak tea—more like hot water in this place—and a plate of crackers between them, blaze has taken it upon herself to check on maria.

the problem is that, just as they settle down to share these pitiful excuses for snacks... the channel on the tv turns to static—and then, it cuts to what seems to be cctv positioned in the upper corner of a grimy bathroom. ]

Maria, did you...?

[ blaze spares a glance to the young girl, though she doesn't quite believe that's what's happening herself. after all, if one comes closer to the screen, they can begin to make out two red and black hedgehogs slowly beginning to look around their surroundings. ]

[Maria had been safely hanging out in the room that had been secured for her by the other Shadow while her own Shadow had gone to the Casino to search for the flash drive. Eventually, the other Shadow had gone, and she had managed to get a little bit of fitful sleep. So when Blaze had reached out to contact her, Maria was only too happy for the company.

The room was simple enough. With a bed, bedside table and TV. With a small table and a couple of chairs. There was a small kitchenette and a bathroom too, the latter in which Maria had washed up earlier and also tried to wash her stained clothes. The main room had a small window, which currently had the blinds pulled down over it.

Maria was sitting at the table where Blaze had put the tea and plate of crackers. She was wearing one of the outfits that Shadow had gotten her. A nightgown to sleep in along with warm fuzzy socks. She was nibbling at one of the crackers when Blaze spoke up.]

Hm? What is it? [She looked over curiously. Though her eyes caught the movement on the tv across the room and she lowered the cracker squinting. Wait.] That's....that's Shadow! Both of them! [She sounded more quietly surprised than anything. Concern soon followed as she wondered what was going on.]

[ it's a comfortable room, and perfectly par the course for a world that's in such a sorry state. despite blaze being... admittedly used to better, she knows better than to complain about the generosity of others to have been invited here. in fact, she finds herself rather impressed at maria's cozy outfit—a start contrast to her own, typical clothing.

as for what they see on the screen... ]

...Did they join some sort of program together?

[ though she wouldn't expect them to do so, with the impression she'd had of their first meeting, it feels like the only explanation for why they might be on the television together right now. as she watches, they slowly begin to pull themselves to their feet, seemingly giving one another ample space. it doesn't seem like the sort of behaviour they would demonstrate as a voluntary team. ]

[Maria frowned in thought before she shook her head.] I'm not sure! The last time I saw my Shadow, he was going to the Casino to continue the search for some kind of flash drive. The other Shadow...the one that's in the tub there, he stayed with me for a little while and we came here. He's the one who got me this room.

I didn't think they'd want to do anything together like this. [Considering how her Shadow treated the other one at least.]

I see. [ that explains their relationship, she supposes. ]

I didn't think so either. It didn't sound like their first meeting was very friendly...

[ to say the least. and while she can understand while the shadow she'd known before might jump to violent conclusions, she doesn't understand why he's doing so now—the screen showing him trying to kick the younger one across the room. ]

[Maria straightened at the sudden burst of violence on the screen. Then she got up and hurried to the TV and stamped her foot, clenching her fists. ]

Stop it! Stop fighting! Just what is your problem! [She cried, frustrated. Especially knowing they couldn't hear her. Why was her Shadow being like this to the other Shadow??] Ugh! Don't they see they need to work together?

Those idiots...

[ to be honest, blaze was frowning herself, but she didn't expect such an outburst from the girl next to her. watching stunned for a moment, she rises to her own feet and makes her way over so that she can place her hand on maria's. ]

Calm down Maria, there's no use in getting worked up when they can't hear you anyway.

[ though she can't bring herself to be anymore pleased at what the screen is showing them herself... at least the two seem to be separating once more, bringing an end to the violence when the younger kicks the elder hedgehog away like a soccer ball. sure. goal! what matters is that they stand apart now, staring at one another like they're facing off. ]

[Maria felt the touch to her hand and she quivered in quiet anger before she seemed to deflate with a low sigh.]

I know. I'm just so frustrated and I had to say something anyway. I have no idea why Shadow insists on treating the other like that. He's done nothing that deserves that violence and hostility.

[She turned to sit on the end of the bed. ]

[ following maria as she moves, blaze stands next to her, arms crossed as the tv continues to play out their situation—a new room revealed on the screen as one shadow opens the door. she can only shake her head, really. ]

I couldn't tell you either. I don't remember him being this difficult to work with...

[ if only because they share a common goal in his world. ]

At first, I thought he must have mistaken the other for an android. An... [ remembering maria's last name. pause. ] An adversary of ours created weapons that mimicked his appearance before, but that doesn't explain why he would still be hostile now.

I don't recall him being this violent and angry either. [Maria's voice was tinged with worry as she looked down at her hands clenched in her lap.] So quick to...to hurt others. Or worse. [She went on to tell Blaze how she first met Shadow in this world. How he had went off the rails thinking she was being harmed. She understood why he did it, but it still was a deep shock.]

And with this other Shadow - he attacks him before any provocation. Even when I'm safe with him. That other Shadow was kind to me. He even shared a dance with me to cheer me up. [She saw on the tv, that her Shadow was in the bathroom looking like he was searching it, while the other was in another room. Blaze's words did cause her to frown slightly.]

Androids that looked like Shadow? Hm...I can see why he'd distrust anyone that looks like him. But...I even tried asking him to stop. I even stood between him and the other to stop him. I may have to be firmer about it. [She clearly didn't want to, but this was getting to be too much.

She had seen him remove his ear piece, which prevented her from giving him an earful directly.]

Perhaps we can find another way to reach him, or...

[ it's a weak attempt to comfort her, but blaze feels her own hands clench into fists out of frustration with the situation. while she doesn't doubt that the other shadow won't go down so easily, it's still difficult to see maria in such distress, her worry for not one, but both of them audible in her voice.

she gives a sigh. be realistic. she shouldn't promise things she can't see through. ]

For now, they seem to be giving one another space. Let's hope that Shadow will honour your request and not continue his violent streak when they inevitably cross one another's paths again in there.

[ she can already see the older hedgehog being smoked out of the bathroom so to speak, water beginning to pool in the tub and the sink when they look back to the screen. ]

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you guys just keep doing your own thing over there

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