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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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Moments of fear, he can usually try to mask it with another emotion, but this is out in the open. The way his ears visibly fall against his head. His body shakes, eyes unfocused, pulled somewhere else. He doesn't want to go back to that dark place again. Never again.]
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that dangerous threat from before with hatred in his eyes, the one that yearned to die is now afraid. shadow looks down at where they have to go, the door behind them still holding back a good amount of water, but they don't want to push their luck.
the other one is crippled by some sort of fright. ]
You.
[ he draws attention to just him, taking a step closer to inspect their path. this is... not maria, so any gentle touch or comforting words are lost upon him. what can he even say? people are watching, they're noting his fright.
the spear still shines showing their path they must take. ]
Do you remember what I said?
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He gives them an irritated glance as they present him with a question. Not really? Why would he remember what they said when most of the time they have been insults? He stares at the chaos spear...that was more than just a light source, he's realizing.] How you want me dead most times you open your mouth? [He knows that's what they meant.] What? Gettiing it together?
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[ be more perceptive.
yes, he's judging him because of their situation at hand right now. the water is still rising whether the other likes it or not, and it's with every second they stand here and waste that they'll be pressed for time.
shadow clicks his tongue. ]
I said we would drown together.
[ not reassuring words, but they're as much as he can give at the moment. ]
Hmph... I'll be behind you. You have to go.
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He is concern that the other is ready to commit, when they had someone waiting for them. Not for the other's sake, but for Maria's. He wanted to argue that they should be the one to go first, but he feels it's pointless and to late, to try and reason at this juncture. So he looks to the door before him. There is an exit on the otherside. If he thinks about it like that...all right, time is short and he needs to move. He takes a deep breath, holding it as pushes himself to go through the door.
It's dark, in freezing cold water, but he can feel along the walls to navigate his way forward, upward. As long as he keeps moving, the memories will remain at bay. There are no other side paths to confuse whomever is coming through at least. Just a straight shoot until eventually, water meets the air. He gasps as he breaks the surface, quick to get himself out of the water, out of that dark place. There are steps that will take them the rest of way, but Shadow remains, shaking his fur to get some of the water off him, waiting. He's expecting the other to appear without issue.]
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a thought comes over him wondering if this is what was desired of him, it doesn't feel correct, but he doesn't like it all the same. to be asked what does he want as though he doesn't follow the wishes of certain individuals, and his own isn't as filled with life as everyone else's tend to be. he doesn't have that youth, that look of curiosity and wonder, or anything like that so thinking about what he wants comes to a dead end.
what he knows is that he'll do what keeps problem at bay.
letting the other run around like a ticking time bomb is the last thing he wants if that other hedgehog is like him. on the weaker side, hardly intimidating, too emotional and is unable to keep his feelings from leaking. his skin isn't as tough as the older hedgehog's who stews in anger, he utilizes it to his advantage, that makes sure he's three steps ahead. that one lives in the moment.
reckless child.
shadow submerges himself underneath the water as the door swings open, liquid filling the room even more, and he follows the path that's a straight shoot. his hand rests against the side of whatever solid surface that he touches, then moves towards the bottom to make sure that no body is floating within the water. from what it seems like, the other must have made it through without any problems at all, but shadow takes it slow to make sure the other didn't actually drown in the underwater path.
...
the younger hedgehog will find that he's dripping wet in the backalley somewhere, at least he gets a moment of peace? ]
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He can't stay. He doesn't want to stay. He doesn't want to see anyone, couldn't take another round with the other with his face. They don't want him alive. He's only still breathing, because of her. She shouldn't have intervened. He didn't want to see the other Maria have to strain herself for his sake, again. His entire existence is really just trouble for everyone, isn't he...? He stares at where he had come from. The other still has not surfaced.
Leave.
One word keeps repeating in the back of his mind. Leave while he has the opportunity. He stumbles back onto his feet. The last thing he wants is the other to see him like this. In a flash, he was gone from the spot, reappearing on the rooftop of a nearby building. Still able to see when the other appears, a headstart to get out once he confirms they made it out. He be shocked if they didn't.]
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he checked properly, everything is fine because he wasn't down there. however, he isn't up here either. to come out some unknown location and into the backalley gives shadow some pause, his eyes narrow to the left and then to the right, and ears twitch trying to hear if anyone's around.
nothing, only the sound of crumpled paper rolling about and click of cans, but nothing gives sign of a living creature. he must have left, he doubts anyone would have swiped him up with ease. the state he's in, he believes the other would react and there'd be a body on the ground if so.
where did he go? well. ]
Don't die out there.
[ the only demand that he has outside of the room they were trapped in. this isn't specifically a request from maria as she stated she wanted them to work together and get out the place, which has happened.
with every step, water drips on the ground reminding him how empty this location is without any other noise. he stops one more time, weighing his options, but this about him and knowing nothing will change, he begins to take his leave. ]