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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. |
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(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.
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( 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.
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(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.
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( 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. )
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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.
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( 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.
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She has little nuggets of information she took from the Hivemind from when she was dead, because how could she not, but it's not everything. She had more important things to do, like actually living.)
You've been saying that, so you better do good, I got high expectations.
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( how is julian any good? well. he's an asshole but not a complete jackass, which is a point in his favor. he's used to the cuckoos and their bullshit, which - half a point for him, he thinks. )
You could've been stuck here with Glob. Or just Quire.
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What have I ever done to you? Don't jinx it.
(Please, Aurora, don't send Julian home.)
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( what are they going to do, send just julian back? yeah, no. but the little punch has a dumb little smirk growing on his lips, and instead of shoving back, he just pulls her in closer. )
I wouldn't leave you.
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It's actually because she wants to, resting her head against his chest for a second.)
You better, Keller. You better.
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So? Club, arcade, or do you want to fuck with the locals?
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(Not like they have been on a rollercoaster of emotions and activities for the past who knows how long. This is life with her nearby, so she just looks up a little bit, tilting her head a little on the direction of the nearest club.)
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( club it is, then. sophie directs, and julian follows her lead. because he's not going to not do as she says, that'd just be stupid. )
We aiming for subtle but noticeable, loud, or somewhere in between?
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(At least he did promise her fun, and the rest of the night is sounding promising. Point #109238 to Julian, as she moves towards the bright lights and the noise. Her powers are, thankfully, starting to come back gradually, so that makes her even more interested in what they might end up doing.)
Loud. On God, loud. Don't you want to blow off some steam?
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( easy enough. but she did call him baby, which clearly deserves attention on it's own. they're close to the club's front door, now, which julian opts to take advantage of by dipping her down a little and leaning in for another chaste kiss, right in front of the bouncer at the door. and of course, another set of cameras catching who's going in and out. )
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The cameras would blind her if she hadn't had her eyes closed, but honestly, this time, she is not even doing it for the publicity entirely. It's just because she wants to.)
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well. okay. this isn't exactly what he'd been planning on, but it's not like he's opposed to kissing sophie cuckoo. she wraps her arms around him, and julian bends his knees a little more for stability and keeps an arm wrapped around the back of her shoulders to keep as steady as possible. julian follows her lead; lets her decide how far this goes and when to push this a little further. it's her party, he's just here to take part in it. or - something like that. )
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That said, it doesn't escalate too much aside from a gentle waltzing of tongues; she ends it with a lingering kiss to the bottom of his lip and a caress to his cheekbone with her thumb.
This poor bouncer never asked for all this PDA, but alas.)
/You can kiss me all you want later, let's go in./
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/You're the one who bitched about me calling the kiss earlier making out./
( so how's this for making out?
but he's - not anticipating this going much of anywhere. sophie's just toying with him, and she's far from the first. julian nuzzles into the hand at his cheek, then pulls her up to her feet and walks them towards the door leading into the club.
the bouncer grunts in their direction, but it's not as if they're here to check ids or stupid shit like that. julian and sophie are attention grabbing enough, so they're ushered right inside to the noisy club. )
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(Not hers, because a little peck is not making out, Hellion!!! Hopefully, the way she giggles and waves a hand tells him that this is said in good spirits and coated in playfulness. It's not complicated, or nowhere even remotely serious, it's just... Julian's providing, enabling, and she's not going to not take advantage of it.
A fun, brainless escapade when everything feels like utter shit, and he knows how the Cuckoos are, and while Sophie happens to be the most conscious one, she's still a Cuckoo at the end of the day.
Sounds good. She's not going to worry about it.
The club is pretty much how her favorite places tend to be. To her, the indication of good music and good parties is just how silent the minds of the clubgoers get when on the dance floor, no thoughts, shake it only.)
/Drinks first, find a target, go from there?/