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 not this crowded, or this loud. And it lacks the whole, show off or die element.

( well. there's still the show off or your world dies one, but that's slightly different. she'll get it. and walking? walking is good. walking is low effort yet time consuming; it'll take them a while to get places, but it also means that they can take that time to just - cope with everything else. quietly. )

When half the population seems to be those weirdo bots, guess that makes sense. It's going to be a really, really weird time for the telepaths, I can tell you that.

(Their entire experience in life is being stuck in an overcrowded room, no matter where they go. Murmurs, whispers, worries, celebrations, secrets, all at once, from every side. Thousands, millions. It's busy for her, imagine for the ones with longer ranges.)

I did see the school, though.

Mm.

( he hadn't thought too much about that, but that's because - well. noisy heads aren't really something julian has to be concerned about. he supposes it would be nice, wouldn't it, to not have all that noise when one is accustomed to it.

once they're out of the building, he leans in a little closer, lips twisting into a pleasant smile.

for the show. )

School's alright. Jay and I have been taking care of it.

(No, Julian, it's horrible!! Like being in a room with everyone doing tests, you hear them, but it's the silence is uncomfortable.

Naturally, she catches that smile, knows the drill, and she tiptoes to press her lips to his cheek right at the moment she sees someone holding a camera their way.

You know. For the show.)

You're living in it?

( pda for the show of it is fine. this, julian's plenty comfortable with. she leans in, and the grin playing at the corners of his lips grows wider, intentionally not looking towards the camera. as if he doesn't notice it. as if it doesn't matter any. )

Yeah. It's that or the apartment building, and that's crowded enough. There's a few other places around that'd work for living in, but they've mostly got other people in them.

(Ah, the complication of feelings that she feels right now. There's no doubt she could ask to move in, and she sees no reason why that would ever be denied. Being around familiar people and things would help, certainly, with the loneliness she's not going to escape anytime soon — but, also?

Last time she was there? Kaput. Is she still buried there? Ugh, that is bound to give her a billion weird feelings. Is it better than being alone? Probably.

But, ugh. Okay, not thinking about that right now. Instead, give Julian the most endearing smile she can muster, ignoring the flash she can see with her peripheral vision. The show proceeds.)

Just you and Jay in that whole place, though?

Jean's around, too, but she's been keeping mostly to herself.

( a loose lift of his shoulders, because - she is there somewhere, but she's been keeping to the teacher's side of the institute, leaving jay and julian to their own devices. which, good. as she should be. julian had enough to worry about with bird boy. )

We'll need to figure out where the hell to put you, Quire, Foley, and Grey. ( just off the top of his head. ) Jay's been taking up Brian's half of my old room. I'm betting he'll probably want to move to Foley's room.

( so he's not alone alone but he also doesn't have julian keller in his space constantly. jay's fine with him, usually, but his tolerance for julian is minimal, and josh is significantly less likely to get up in someone's face about anything. )

With all the telekinetics we have, remodeling should be a breeze.

(So she doesn't have to ask for it, so that's great. It'll just be a little awkward for the first few days, she can do this, she knows she can— is this list just men? And Jean? Is she stuck with breathing testosterone 24/7? Unexpectedly, her death and the weirdness that it will unquestionably bring become the second top concern she has.

Also, Julian and Quentin? Ah, the upcoming headache she feels for things that haven't even happened yet. However, in more important news that Julian might not be aware, someone is lacking from that list.)

Add one more. There's a teen angst version of Scott Summers from a different universe, who just got his powers like, two days ago, so I think he should be around us.

(Pet project, if you will, but that's her business.)

Good luck to you guys, I don't think you want someone who's glitching half the time and whose TK is underdeveloped to be handling construction.

Seriously?

( it's not a seriously against summers, just one against apparently having to raise him up from the very beginning. don't they have enough summers' problems with the one they have back home? why are they adding another one of them into this?

julian prefers the littler laura over tiny scott summers. probably mostly because she isn't a murder machine for. . . reasons he hasn't figured out yet, that's a later julian problem. but you know. that. )

You're fine. There's no better time to learn than now, is there?

The alternative is to leave him to wander unsupervised, and then it'll just catch up to us later— It'll be fine, that one I can deal with.

(Trust, it's fine. She thinks, or at least, she's highly confident that it can be.

Also, goddamnit, Julian. She just didn't wanna play construction, but she can't undig the hole she dug herself into, so she just nods in concealed resignation.)

Great point. I can mostly lift a few items, stop bullets, the usual, but I haven't tried anything more than that, anyway.

You're trying to get out of it, aren't you.

( the playful grin on his lips says he doesn't really care all that much, to be fair. julian's pulled the same shit countless times. nobody wants to be on the clean up crew. )

Come on, Soph. How are you going to get any better with your TK if you don't try? At least it's not playing Jenga.

Guilty as charged, babe.

(To say she's not enjoying the show herself is a BIG FAT LIE, because at that smile, she rests her hand on his cheek in a quick caress. It's finally not so doomy and gloomy, and she laughs as she opens the door for them to get out of the building.)

TK Jenga. With the three of you? Absolutely not, remodelling won by a billion. Maybe you can show me a few tricks.

Jean'd have us playing during class, way back when. ( you know. before sophie died. ) When we had an extreme lack of telekinetics around and my everything was fucked up, Beast'd have me trying to move paperclips.

( because he, you know, couldn't. not without fucking up everything else around him, after emma'd removed the blockers in his head that kept him from reaching his full potential. then there was the further training after his hands had been decimated, remastering fine control and trying to remap his brain to use the prosthetics like they were second nature, only to have his head fucked with again and just - knowing how to. you know. normal mutant things.

the door opens, and julian pulls her outside before wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her in close, gently bumping their foreheads together. )

But luckily for you, you've got me. I'm way more fun than that.

Holy shit, this talk is making me really glad we found out we had it not too long ago. We always were better with telepathy, anyway — even the diamond thing is something we usually don't go for.

(Usually, keyword. They're more than fully capable of shifting and Koolaid Womaning a wall, but you know. It just happens to not be their cup of tea.

Sophie herself hasn't ever been truly in the field, save for a catastrophe or two that she happened to be pulled in for. Being brought back, dying again, rinse and repeat, and at least half of her deaths were by Esme's hand, no less. The Strongest Cuckoo also happens to be the one with the least experience.

... Not that she is going to mind at all any lessons Julian might be willing to give her, he has already racked up so many points with her, and the way she feels weirdly protected in the embrace earns him some more. It's just so easy to drape her arms around his shoulders, coming closer herself. )

How much fun are we talking?

( it's showing off, but intentional, playful showing off. his arm rests gently around her waist, pulling her in close as a drone flies by and this? almost feels close to normal. or at least, the kind of normal that julian would expect from - when they're not getting fucked to hell and back. it feels closer to their stupid, high school bullshit he and his friends used to get up to - you know, when there was a high school.

considering sophie's deal, it's probably the same shit she's just wholly missed out on. well. she can have it now at least. )

You ever try picking pockets with TK? Quire's got pockets stacked full of snacks and hair care crap.

(It does feel like she's sucked back into a time she didn't get to enjoy too much. Some things are oddly familiar: being annoyed at Quentin, ranking the guys she's into (formerly They), enjoying simple things, eyes on her as her God-given right.

Her powers are not nearly as stable as they were before their crisis, but she does hear someone's thought of getting 'the latest X-Men romance' on camera behind her, which means they might need to switch positioning real quick. She won't talk into his brain, God forbid her powers regressing, but she does a quick look to the side that she hopes he'll get what she means, even if it was probably a little too quick.

Sophie's isn't used to having to signal things secretly, okay, so she is here, having a moment of like, if he doesn't get it, do eyebrows gotta raise? How do people communicate non-verbally? Does she whisper — wait, nevermind, this is much more interesting. She'll just kiss Julian when the flash starts to flicker, but most importantly,)

Nope, never had to.

(She just... Telepaths it out.)

Okay, I'm pretty much won. Extra points if he doesn't notice?

( if anything, julian only looks more confused when sophie looks off to the side like that means something. his eyes follow hers for a moment, brow quicking up in question but it clearly doesn't matter much because she's leaning in and yep, that's a kiss. julian keeps it chaste and quick if only because he's relatively certain this is just part of the show and like, girls have yanked him in closer for kissing to piss off other people before, being used for something isn't all that odd.

the playful grin doesn't fade any, either. julian keeps his arm wrapped around her, but raises it up so it's around her shoulders rather than her waist, so they can keep walking on. )

Hell yeah. Whoever gets the most crap out of him wins, but they have to do it without him noticing.

(Hopefully the flash that followed it made it at least clear what she was doing, similarly quick and lacking sentimentality, and yet, natural enough that it certainly made for a good picture. Once they're back walking, she gives out a little sigh.

This game is kiiiinda rigged, but you know? Sure. Hopefully she and Quentin are in a less... Weird place. If they'll ever be in a less weird place. When it happens.

Ignore the fact that they'll be daydrinking post-yelling the next day, but alas.)

Pretty sure that's kinda impossible, but fine. I like a challenge. By the way, sorry, some guy thought too loud, I took the opportunity.

I figured.

( not at the moment, but he's got it now which is good enough. his arm rests loosely around her, not resting weight against her, but just - being there, keeping her close. )

's fine. At least you're not making out with me just to piss someone else off. ( thanks nori. or, well. ) Not directly anyway.

( this is their fuck with quentin while also win plan, he'll take winning as an excuse over quire. )

And we've got at least a handful of people we can throw at Quire as a distraction, it's not impossible.

That doesn't count as making out, Hellion. When I decide to make out with you, trust me, it's going to be much more interesting than that.

(Did anyone notice the 'when'? No? Good.

The arm is always a nice touch. He's doing a great job of making her feel safe, so she'll allow her head to rest on his shoulder as they walk.

Pretty lovely, actually.)

That's cheating, but alright, deal. Can't wait to get my bragging rights over the master telekinetic.

Fine, kissing.

( he says it in an almost exasperated tone, but there's still that playful little lilt to his voice that says he doesn't care all that much, actually. julian knows the difference between a kiss and makeouts, okay, he just prefers to shorthand it rather than - well. this. )

You can hold it over Quire's head, too. That's always more fun.

Better, much, much better.

(At least she's also playful, or else it would be awkward.

And this kinda reminds her that Julian probably doesn't know that they have, well, a complicated background to untangle before it feels normal to hold something normal over him instead of a brick of past issues.

Right. Better just tell him.)

For that, I guess we gotta wait till we're no longer in the weirdest terms ever. It might take 400 years or never happen, so until then, I will hold it over you.

I'm not even going to ask.

( they can just take that and put it somewhere else entirely. messy relationships are par the course with - any of them, really, but unless it's something that's going to fuck them all up somehow (which let's be fair, it's quire, so chances are relatively high) it's none of his business.

except it is quire. and now that he's trying to stick with the it's none of my business thing, julian's realizing, it unfortunately is his business. their numbers have dwindled and they're going to be stuck in a very small place, together, so he just - )

You died during his whole thing, didn't you?

( he's asking. )

(Didn't he just say he wasn't going to ask? Conflicting information, Julian!!

But if she had doubts about whether he knew which dead Cuckoo she was, at least those are cleared now. Yep, that's she. Heroine of Open Day.)

That dumb riot, yeah. That's me.

That sucks.

( is the least one can say about that whole thing. damn. imagine the inconvenience of missing a good half a decade on one's hivemind. julian can't relate, considering he hasn't managed to die yet. but. )

But you do have me now so it's not all shit.

Edited 2025-04-21 03:31 (UTC)

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject