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etrayamemes2025-03-28 09:16 am
etrayamods) wrote in etrayamemes2025-03-28 09:16 am
Entry tags:
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. |
no subject
[Just throwing that out there because he's so helpful. Not that he fully thinks Loki is the cause of this planet dying, but the trickster is admitting that this is far from the first or even second time this happened for him.]
Never thought about vacationing somewhere that isn't dying? [...] But. Yeah. First time off planet Earth.
[He literally just escaped Ohio like two days ago and now he's here. He thought it was a big change going from Ohio to New York, but this is breaking through that record.] Unless you're counting Earth as a dying planet. That would suck.
no subject
[One could argue that Loki is responsible for Ragnarok. Or at least that his sacred timeline variant was. Or even some of his other variants, if some of the mythology from other timelines he’s heard about is anything to go by.]
My experiences with dying worlds were far from vacationing. In fact, I cannot remember the last time I took a vacation. This certainly isn’t the place I would choose if I was though.
First time off of Earth? Well, I am sorry this is your first stop. I have my issues with Etraya, as I’m sure most of us do, but it is far nicer than here. I hope it doesn’t put you off discovering new worlds when you return home.
[Because they all are going to return home. Loki will see to that.]
No, Earth is not dying. At least not in any immediate way. Though it will last longer in versions where certain things are done differently.
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Yeah, I don't think I'll be travelling to other planets back home. Aren't I lucky to experience it here? And no, don't actually answer that, because I don't feel lucky. [...] You mentioned 'other' versions. So, multiple Earths aren't surprising to you either, huh? Learned that piece of information relatively fast.
[It's been like a line of people wanting to tell him that they know a version of him. God.]
no subject
That is a shame to hear. There are some very nice planets to visit. But I suppose seeing new things and experiencing the realms is not for everyone.
[Okay so maybe now Loki is poking some fun at him. He does truly think it’s a shame that someone might not want to see new worlds, but he understands for those whose first experience is rather unpleasant.]
Multiples of all worlds, actually, but no, no surprise. People here are quite excited about it. I suppose I cannot fault them for that. It was definitely a surprising discovery when I first learned it as well.
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[Instead of being on a dying planet and told to survive for who knows how long. That's pretty much soured his view.]
Have people been giving you the whole 'I know a Loki in my universe' too? I mean, I guess I've heard of you before, but it's all just Norse mythology. Don't actually know a guy named Loki back home.
no subject
[Loki shrugs, but he actually means that. Beaches aren’t exactly his favourite, the heat is usually a bit much for him, but he gets the meaning. And considering he hasn’t really had a day off in a few hundred years, he’s willing to entertain any sort of idea.
Maybe he could take Hob on a ski trip one day or something.
But that is a contemplation for another time.]
I have heard that a few times, yes. I even met one of my variants here. They were quite interesting. I’m a little sad they did not seem to stay around. There are more people here that thankfully do not know me though. Even from the myths.
Have you met any of your variants before? It can be quite eye-opening.
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No, and I plan on keeping it that way. [He really doesn't want to meet this other Scott Summers that all of the other mutants seem to know. Reference constantly. Apparently older than him. Stricter. With a kid. No he doesn't want to deal with that thanks.]
Don't need another person telling me crap, especially if it's another version of myself.
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[Loki still feels a little embarrassed by just how awful he was and could be. He’d seen a lot of his old self in a few of the worst of them. It’s more than a little horrifying to see how obnoxious you can be, face to face. He’s still thankful to have also met his older version and the kid. Even that alligator. They were all far better variants than any of those other jerks… or even himself.]
I take it this other version of you is a bit pompous then? Telling you how you are? I could see that being quite obnoxious.
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Wouldn't know, as I said, I haven't met him and don't plan on it. Don't know if he's even here.
[That's probably better?? Don't have to see what all the fuss is about, see what he's like in the future. A potential future.]
no subject
I see. Well then, I hope you don’t have the misfortune then. [Though Loki thinks it might just as well be fortunate as misfortunate. After all, not all of his variants were terrible. The same is likely true of Scott.]
If you do though, ever meet yourself, I will not judge if you need someone to vent about it.
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[Maybe, someday, Scott will actually take Loki's offer. For now, however, it's just unappreciative teenage sass.]
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[Loki isn’t exactly sure what speed dial is, but it doesn’t matter. He picks up on sass quite easily and knows it’s unlikely Scott will contact him any time soon. Not that he plans to stop trying.]