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

[There's the sound of the floor being scrapped across, the tub shaking slightly. Shadow does not find himself back inside the tub though, he's got a grip on the other's leg in both his hands. He caught them trying something, just barely, the force behind that kick had pushed him to hit the bathtub behind him. There it is. He really can't let his guard down around this guy.]

Not by choice! [He attempts to toss them aside, trying to put space between them once more.]

Every. Time.

[ it's every time with this hedgehog, every time shadow realizes something is amiss who is the root cause? ]

I said stay with her, I fucking said to stay! Why are you here!?

[ his agitation comes from the lack of information if maria is okay, maria was supposed to be with this one, and look what happened? he's here in some place neither of them recognize, and he's sure if the hedgehog had stayed where he was supposed to be then...

he'll find that pushing aside a hedgehog with anger issues isn't going well, because why would it? he has another leg, but he doesn't use that, instead he grabs the wrist of the hedgehog holding his leg, quick to curl in on himself and he will spin the other right into the wall with him by force. ]

[The room shakes, loose particles falling when they go crashing into the relatively sturdy wall. He doesn't stay laying there in the wall though. He tries to kick the other off like a soccor ball, needing to get out of this position as soon as possible. He can't let up, not until the other stops, if at all. ]

You're wasting time fighting me! [He's aware of what he should be doing. He was. Now he's here, not knowing if Maria was pulled into whatever this was as well, somewhere else out of their view. All he knows is that the other fighting him is pointless. He can't answer that, and the amount of effort they're putting into fighting him could be used to get out of here and confirm Maria's well-being. Idiot.]

Getting rid of you isn't a waste.

[ he should, maybe he should because what is the point if he's unable to do one simple thing. he was supposed to stay by her the entire time!

it makes him even more irritable knowing the other has no answer as to why he's here, only that it's a waste of time. it's true, it is, bit he feels better beating on him just to direct his anger somewhere.

this hedgehog pisses him off.

he relents, jumping back into the center of the room where the light flickers on and off, barely hanging on with that noisy buzzing. ]

If you'd just--

[ in the older hedgehog's ear he'll hear an automated voice: "points deducted by 3.", and as for the younger one? "points deducted by 7." ]

[Yea, you know. He'd like to go on his own terms instead of letting a jerk with his face do that for him. So no, he will deny them that privilege everytime. Just as he gets back on his feet, bracing for whatever else they want to throw at him, he receives the message about his points.

He's not at dangerous levels even after he got Maria the apartment space, but he has to be more self aware of his points for the time being. His eyes are still on the other though. Why did they stop mid sentence?] Do you really want to do this, right now? [Taking his chances, wandering if they got a similiar message about their points. Like they could, they've thoroughly reminded him how much he hates the other, but he's trying really hard to take the high ground. For Maria's sake, they can't keep going at it.]

[ he will kill him, he won't pussy out like sonic, best believe! ]

I don't have time for any of this.

[ these points, nor this room, nor the person with him. it's at that moment he removes the ear piece, no longer willing to listen to the voice say how many points he's missing. ]

I'll deal with you outside.

[ because as far as shadow knows, he only has so many points, and how many kids has he passed that has commented on the territory of shade that he remains in.

he's close to death, anymore taken and he'll disappear, but is that really all bad?

not entirely backing off, instead he's towards the toilet he was next to initially trying to see if anything was left around where he was. with how let go this place appears, he'll take anything that may count as a weapon, not because he can't use his own abilities, but because killing someone with a shard of glass has a low chance of happening compared to using his strength. ]

[You keep thinking that bud.

He rolls his eyes, shaking his head. He has to keep one eye on his violent prone self, while trying to figure out why they're here in the first place. Fine. Whatever. Not much different from when he was on the run.

Despite the worn down appearance of this bathroom, that wall they had slammed into is still relatively intact. As if someone factor in who was going to be put in here. The door is still there, unassuminingly waiting to be tried. Can't be that obvious, right? Or is he just overthinking it? After a glance over to his other, he moves towards the door. Might as well try to open it, then go from there.]

[ When Shadow tries the door, it... swings open effortlessly!

The room it reveals is much darker than the bathroom, the flickering light beginning to illuminate well-worn wooden floor panels ahead. Further in, there seems to be an even softer light source.

> Proceed? ]

[How very ominous and screams do not proceed. But they are not locked in the bathroom as he was expecting. Hm. His ears twitch as he can hear the other rummaging around the bathroom. He'll leave them to it. Any opportunity to get away from the other is going to motivate him to proceed.

He'll only take a few steps into the new room, staring at the floor, making sure it's solid where he steps. His left hand is raised, seeing if he could feel a wall in this room.]

[ The floor feels perfectly solid underneath his feet, if a little creaky when he steps on the wrong board in the doorway. Making his way into the room, the walls seem to spread outwards to the left and right of where the door he's stepped in through is. There's a light switch right next to it, even—but flipping it doesn't appear to have any effect.

Further in, candlelight emanates from somewhere in the center of the room, somewhat obscured by a lumpy shape that's in front of it. If he glances around, some furniture is illuminated by the faint light. Compared to the grimy bathroom, Shadow may have the feeling that this is the main attraction, so to speak. ]

[His ears swerve at every sound. From this room, from the other. His hand finds the light switch, it does nothing. There's a light that lingers in the room though, unlike the others that flicker. Intentional? Trying to lead him to approach?

Well the door didn't do anything when he tried it. He circles around the room, trying to get a better look at where the light was coming from. His hand lands on what looked like a turned over drawer, next to a moth eaten couch, coming into view as he moves.]

[ If he's wandering into a couch, he must be headed to the right side of the room. As he moves further in, he'll be able to make out shapes—to the right, a desk, a chair, some kind of shelf against the far wall. To the left side of the door, an armchair, some hanging decorations that he can't make out the identity of, and a side table next to the chair.

In the center of the room, as he travels to the other side, he'll find that the candlelight is coming from a cake, set on a dining table in the center of the room. The candles to indicate the birthday individual's age, quickly melting, write out '611'. When he's across from it, he'll be able to make out the identity of the shape that had been obscuring the candlelight from the doorway—what looks to be some kind of figure slumped back in its seat in front of the cake, a party hat atop its head and a colourful bib around its neck. It doesn't look quite... human, but it's clearly some kind of bipedal being. ]

[He moves himself around the furniture, not seeing anything that immediately stood out to him. So he continues to move to the center of the room, staring at the cake. Dang that's old. He blinks, seeing the unmoving figure in the the seat, coming into view. A celebration, meant for them?] ... [But why does any of this matter? He glances around the room again, realizing something. Was there only the door to the bathroom and no other visible paths?]

[ There are no other exits that he can see at a glance! Not so much as a window. Only the door that he just came through.

But I did neglect to mention that there are a few sets of balloons floating in each corner of the room, and one set with the string grasped in the slumped over individual's hand. ]

Edited 2025-04-08 19:37 (UTC)

[No visible exits. The point of investigating any of this it seems. The temptation to just blow out the candles, but he leaves them burning for now, noting the number. He cautiously investigates the figure sitting in front of the cake instead. He sees something is tied to their hand, a string attached to a balloon. Tilting his head, he reaches to tug the balloon down.]

[ As he should. Those aren't his candles to blow out! They are about halfway melted by now.

The figure has their eyes wide open, slumped back against the chair with their legs stretched out under the table. There are no signs of decay, and there's no unpleasant smell either, it's as if they're just disconnected from their body.

He tugs the balloon down. Now he has a balloon. What would he like to do with it? ]

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