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

[ everything around him matters less, but his attention still placed to his surroundings as he looks at what's on the shelf. he doesn't want to deal with it, and he even rolls his eyes knowing that nothing he can translate without assistance of that damn ear piece. he pulls it back out, holding onto it for a brief moment until he brings the machine to his ear which recalibrates, and identifies shadow as the owner.

he relooks at the white stickers trying to see if anything different will appear, but there's something he immediately notes within the room. energy shifts, a click of his tongue, and while the other shadow is learning to focus that energy within his hand to mimic what he's seen...

lights begin to flash above the other in the shape of spears, they're a faded white as they materialize above the other... then they take the shade of a solid green, chaos energy crackling from them above the younger hedgehog.

the spear in the older hedgehog's hand flickers away, bathing him in darkness to conceal his presence. ]

Don't do anything that you'll regret.

[ it's a threat, but the spears remain hanging overhead much like damocles' sword, others placed at an angle to skewer him if he makes one wrong move. the hedgehog turns around in the direction of where the light illuminates the other, watching him with narrow eyes finding his actions untrustworthy. ]

[He hears them before seeing them. Spears of energy, surrounding him, above him. He glances to where the other was before it went dark. An irritated frown on his face. The spear in his hand, remains, fighting to keep a physical shape. He's close to cracking it. He looks up at the spears threatening to skewer him with a huff. Like a disobedient child, he ignores their warning and presses on. Like dodging shots from GUN, he's not concern about being unable to avoid the other's spears.

The light around his area will brighten for a moment until...he's gripping a properly formed spear in his hand. It's not a perfect form, but it is energy he's holding and with time, he knows he can refine it. For a moment, his expression brightens when he sees his own success. And it's still holding it's shape after all that!! Ah, this is actually kind of cool.]

[ he doesn't know what he's doing, but the fact that he's bringing in so much energy to make a spear is more than enough for shadow to react. this is more than enough of a reason to get rid of him, it's unfortunate that shadow's hatred roots so deeply into himself that this makes so much sense.

a swipe of his hand down to instruct the spears to follow ... ]

Die then.

[ until his ear piece rings in his ears, a low, throaty growl surfaces up past his teeth not knowing who's interrupting him, but the name that comes after gives shadow pause. his concentration halting the movement of the blades around the other shadow, the energy looming overhead still while the other focuses on his own spear.

it would be foolish to ignore the call, but his heart skips even more because the entire issue is that this insolent pest left her alone, and what if maria was hurt. he's quick to pick up the call, his ears twitching and a small, single shake of his tail as he's mostly happy that he's going to hear her voice. ]

Are you safe? [ there's concern in his voice, much different from the budding irritation of what he's said earlier in this room. ] Are you okay? Tell me you're okay.

[ one hand comes to his ear, pressing the piece against the appendage in case he needs to hear clearer. he turns around towards the shelf, his expression softening and his brows furrow with concern. ]

[Maria released the breath she was holding when Shadow answered the call. Her heart had nearly stopped when the spears above the other Shadow's head shifted. He had absolutely been about to..

His open concern disarmed her initial rush of emotion and she was silent a brief moment.]

I'm fine. I'm in the room that the other Shadow secured for me. I'm with Blaze and I'm safe. [Her voice held a tenseness to it. Urgent.] Shadow, I need you to stop what you are doing right now.

[His ears twitch when the others speaks, a chill spreading through his body when he heard the words. Those spears can be dodged, but those words manages to hit him at his core.

He broke protocol again. Thought he could just have a little fun after doing well during the testing. Thought he could just practice what he had learned, nothing that the scientists hadn't seen him do. But he was still doing it outside of jurisdiction, and that isn't allowed.

"He's plotting something."
"Keep the specimen in the tank after testing. We can't risk it turning on us."
"But he hasn't displayed any violence toward us."
"You're letting it's unassuming appearance cloud your judgment, professor."
"It's only a matter of time..."
"It's not human afterall. Who knows what it's thinking."

Why...if he's of no used to anyone, he's undesired. Rejected by everyone except for the few that no longer exist among the living. Sonic...what reason would he accept him after what he had done to Tom? Even the one who shares his face, wanted him dead. The spear in his hand falters and flickers out of existence. He feels the heat of the spears until...they stopped?

He blinks once, twice, given time to snap out of those drowning thoughts. He's still alive? He stares at the spears, surprised their advanced had stopped. The voice from the other. They're talking to someone? He's taking this opportunity to blip out of the danger zone, reappearing by a corner, furthest from the other. There's no way. They stopped just to talk to someone?

...There's only one person who can get him to drop everything.]

...What am I doing?

[ he's in the dark talking on the ear pierce directly to her, he sounds less upset about the situation with hee confirming that she's safe. there's a moment where he grows silent hearing who she's with, remaining neutral, he accepts this outcome.

he's mentioned blaze to maria before, someone from his world that didn't come off as a liability. this gave her value in being brought up in conversations by him.

what he doesn't understand is what is he doing wrong? ]

What I'm doing doesn't matter. As long as someone is with you, that's all that matters.

[ ...

he's not there with her, this individual she trusted so much isn't, but at least someone dependable is there. his heart feels like it's being squeezed tight in his chest, and in his mind... he should have been smarter, he should have known that other version of him wasn't enough.

it makes him so mad that the spears pop in the air, but as they do, he does notice that the younger one is gone.

where? hiding in here to get the jump on him? a game of cat and mouse... shadow takes a step forward, ears twitching as he listens for any movement in the room. ]

I have some business to take care of, then we can talk as much as you want.

It matters to me!

[Maria's voice rose a little. Seeing how those spears crackled. Though she noticed that the other Shadow wasn't beneath them anymore. ]

There are cameras where you two are trapped and me and Blaze can see everything. It randomly came on the tv.

I cannot stand this unprovoked violence towards your other. I swear to you he's no android or hostile entity with your face! He wasn't going to attack you and you were going to to...

No! I won't stand for it!

Don't you see that you both have to work together to get out of there??

[She was trembling but she kept going. ]

Please. I love you. I see how good your heart is deep down. Please I need you to trust me and watch over him, not treat him so horribly! I need you both to come back to me alive.

[ he's not surprised that they're being watched, this whole places works off views and entertainment, but for this to be streamed to them specifically does give him pause.

why?

there's only so much time to think as maria continues, she sounds upset, frustrated, in disbelief, but does she know that he's doing all this for her? it was never unprovoked, this is simply how his life is. ]

I was.

[ if she saw then he has no reason to lie, yes, he was going to make sure that someone died here.

he would have returned to maria with a smile and continued any conversation that she wanted, even answer any questions blaze might have had. though, he already knows what would have happened when he returned. someone would mourn and another would question his actions.

but it's right because what can be trusted about him, shadow has seen the look in his eyes, the unbridled anger deep within the younger one. he knows it well, he's done it, he still does... he can't be trusted, he's dangerous, the only times he's ever saw another him happened to be because of robotnik.

and yet maria trusts him more than shadow's own judgement, but should he be surprised? they're shadow, she would humbly give her affection and love to any one of them. ]

Maria.

[ he returns his attention to the bookshelf, his back turned and his eyes on the white dots as he needs something to distract himself with. his body isn't as tense, but still wary within the darkness as she speaks to him. ]

I — [ as much as he wants to say something about this, he shifts his foot forward hearing water splash against the bottom of the bookcase. it's rising still. his eyes glance over to the bathroom door. ]

I understand... [ as reluctant as the older hedgehog is, they aren't aware why they're here and so it'd be smart to get out with their lives on the line. ] ...the only way out... is to do our part.

[ there's no other choice, even he caught the way she requested they come back to her alive. are their points visible on the screen showing when they dropped? the hedgehog's ears flick as he continues. ] I have unfinished business to attend to, but... [ ... ] Don't fret, think of something else... like can you figure this puzzle out before we can?

[ she's a smart girl, she even said before that there were thinking puzzles she could do.

as soon as that's said, one hand comes to his ear to end the call abruptly.

... ]

[...It doesn't matter. He doesn't hear their conversation, but it all doesn't matter. Maria can intervene all she wants, but nothing will change if the other doesn't share the same sentiment. And he doesn't want Maria to keep needing to do this for his sake. The other wants him dead. That's all that matters.

...

He knows what he has to do once this is over.

His ears twitch, listening to hear when the other would finish their conversation. Sounded like she got the other to get with the program...it doesn't fill him with much relief, having to work with the guy who wants him dead. So he looks around, trying to remember what he had been doing, because yea, he really wants out as soon as possible. Away from them. There's the sloshing of water when he takes a step, making him pause.

Water? Where did- the bathroom door is to his left. Water has been entering this room. A feeling of dread starts to creep up from his stomach. The water hasn't covered his shoes yet...much more slower than when they filled his tank. But it's still unsettling to him. Their time is limited now.]

[ On the shelf, the books are all now easy to read—each of them seems to have something to do with the sciences, though the topics themselves vary greatly depending on where on the shelf he looks. As for the stickers, they appear to be library markers with the books' corresponding dewey decimal placements printed on each one. ]

[ unlike the other, shadow has no issues with the water filling into the room. it's slow, but it's managed to creep its way across the surface of the floor. he kneels down to get a closer look at the white dots that were on the shelf, summoning his chaos spear in his hand to illuminate what's before him.

the issue here is that shadow doesn't like what's being asked of him, but he has no choice knowing that maria is watching. her gaze probably burns at the back of his head when he acts a certain way. ]

...

[ one hand comes down to the stickers, brushing his fingers over each one, but deciding not to peel at them since he doesn't want to mess up anything. ]

This is...

[He can see the other again thanks to that chaos spear. Now he knows where not to be. At the same time, that shelf seems to have new information he had not gleaned earlier, with how thorough the other is checking it.

...

No. He can't bring himself to even take one step closer to them. He looks to the open door to the bathroom instead. His legs start to move him that way. He might as well check the situation in there, if there's even a way to slow down the water from filling the two rooms. Buy the other more time.]

[ On the shelf, Shadow will see a few numbers on each of the library stickers, each in the 600s: 607, 611, 621, 624, 661... There are no books missing from the shelf.

But before the other Shadow leaves the room, a small, thin metallic glint might catch his eye from the candles, resting on the cake with only about a third left of their wax. ]

[ numbers, books, dewey decimal system.... alright. he pushes himself up, returning the chaos energy back into his body which causes him to disappear within the darkness.

... ]

[He noticed a flash of light where the other was.

...Where they were. Great. Where are they going to appear now? Next to him? His body tenses in expectation. He blinks. As he waits, he notices something shining in the darkness? It's not them, it's something on the table where the cake is. The candles are still going, something is poking out beneath the wax. Rather then walk through the water, he teleports himself from the wall to the table in a flash. Ah, the water has reached his ankles. He can still move. It's fine.

He removes the candles from the cake, the flame flickering out. Now in complete darkness with only the dim light from the bathroom peeking in.]

[ He might feel something poke his gloves as he removes them—hidden inside of the wax of the candle is a needle. ]

[ ... ]

[There's a slight poke through the gloves, but he can feel the needle there in his hand.

...What does he do with this??? It be easier to think, if he didn't need to worry about the other and the rising water.

Don't put me in there...Please!

He grits his teeth, glancing at the organic being, still sitting in the chair as if there was no looming threat of drowning. The balloon? Any of the balloons in the corner? The one the creature is holding is the closest, tugging it down and poking it with the needle he was given.]

[ Pop!

The balloon disappears. In its place, a folded paper note is dropping down to the water on the ground. ]

[Shit-! Not a moment wasted as he tries to retrieve the paper from the water. How much as higher is the water now? To his knees? He can't find it...He can't find it!]

[ the younger hedgehog can probably feel the water shifting around his legs, something moving about closer and closer until a hand presses against the table, in the darkness he can probably tell he's there.

silence.

gloves curl onto the surface of the table. ]

You.

[ as shadow normally addresses the other, never by name, it's always never by name but rather he singles the other out. ]

[ When the other hedgehog walks over, the movement causes it to slip right past his hand and under the table, into the dark again. ]

[ The note is still floating away... ]

[He senses that presence, his quills starting to spark. The area brightens as they start to light up.]

Not now! [He quickly turns to throw a punch. Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you! He's no longer waiting for them to make the first move. It's attack on sight.]

[ bright red streaks light up within the darkness like a warning telling shadow he shouldn't have engaged. the punch catches the older hedgehog, right in his muzzle and it's with a sharp turn of his head and sliding back, the water helping him not slide that far away.

the taste of blood pulls into his mouth, and it's with a click of his tongue that the older hedgehog spits saliva into the water. he stands there, pain rushing through his body until he turns his head to face the other. the sound of a growl rumbles from his throat, and there's this spark of anger inside of him.

it's in an instance that he disappears before reappearing in front of the younger hedgehog, his hands grabbing at the other's wrist to force him back on the table they're next to. not to break it, but to pin him there.

the other can probably smell the blood on the older one. ]

What took you so long!?

[ as much as he wouldn't mind responding back, because he does, oh how easy it would be to bring his hands down to the other's throat. he can recall how many times he's done this.

but... please i need you to trust me and watch over him, not treat him so horribly!

and this is what she wanted to trust? shadow could scoff, he could take this as an advantage to break the other. what has shadow given this individual to make the younger hedgehog trust him? nothing. nothing at all, and here he has to put his faith in a young girl and her belief that this one can do no wrong.

blood drips from between his mouth, if onto the other or into the water... it doesn't matter. ]

Stop. It.

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CW: Suicide Ideation

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