etrayamemes | TDM 002

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!tdm

TDM 002

⏵ arrival⏴
Arrival goes as anticipated. Characters awaken in the pristine, new hospital, greeted by Aurora and potentially getting a rundown of what's happening depending on their approach to being dropped somewhere new. The door to their room opens, and new arrivals are left free to explore their new environment.

When the first round of citizens arrived, Aurora and the companion bots had been largely unprepared. This time? They made sure to put up welcome banners, even if the sentiment isn't quite right. There are cupcakes and cookies set out in the hospital's lobbies, and a digital map has been placed just in front of the entrance of the hospital, telling others how to reach the various locations throughout Etraya. Companion bots wander throughout the city, some carrying construction equipment to half-built facilities while others act as nurses, servers, or sales associates throughout the constructed buildings.

⏵ rainy awakenings ⏴

Many concepts are new to Aurora, including rain. She is familiar with how it functions, and its purpose, but rain has never been present on the lands of Etraya. Given how new it is, that may not be all too surprising - but the method of how it’s being introduced is… a little much. Rainfall commences in the early days of April, a persistent downpour that waxes and wanes in intensity but never ceases entirely.

Most nights in Etraya are characterized by a soothing patter of rain against rooftops. Yet, some nights leave the grounds flooded come morning. Rivers begin to swell, the current much too strong to justify trying to go for a swim. These showers also bring a new assortment of plants blooming across the green lands: bright blossoms whose petals spread wide when the yellow sun shines down on them, while numerous cherry blossom trees have grown out of nowhere, flourishing despite the rainfall. Clover carpets the grassy expanses of the islands, weaving a beautiful tapestry of color across the grounds.

⏵ Getting drenched by the rain can trigger a surge, followed by a slump. Initially, individuals will feel giddy, excited, full of energy, and ready to take on the world. However, in the subsequent days, they’ll find themselves feeling depressed, lacking the energy and motivation to move forward. Aurora advises that these effects are only temporary and should fade within the week, but they can be resolved more quickly by embracing a stranger. Attempting to hug anyone they already know well will not produce the same effect.

⏵ With the rain comes a significant increase in the greenery around Etraya that isn’t fake. Most of these plants will resemble ones originally found in the characters' universes.

⏵ A couple of these plants contain magical properties:

The Emberloom is a bright red, fiery flower that only inhabits smaller land masses. Those exposed to its pollen will experience heightened aggression and impulsivity.

Shadowbloom resemble tulips during the day, but during the night the petals open and it looks more like the night sky: dark petals with specs of white throughout them. Growing too close to the apartment building for comfort, those who look at the petals after nightfall will fall into a deep sleep. Worse yet: the dreams they find themselves in are not their own, but are the dreams of other residents. Ones who had not looked into the Shadowbloom, but had drifted off to sleep elsewhere on the planet. The one who looked into the Shadowbloom will find they cannot awaken until the person whose dream they have entered does.

These flowers will continue to bloom through April, after which the companion bots will search for and remove them from the atmosphere bubble.

⏵ If there is a specific, unique plant that those in game (or those accepted during the next round!) would like to add, please comment to the LOCATIONS page! We’ll add mentions of these to the Outskirts section.

Along with the botanical resurgence, numerous new animals appear: glowing fish swim freely through the waters. In the canopy above, new species of birds and critters flit among the branches. Some diligently construct new nests in anticipation of the coming spring, while others seek refuge in the shelter of trees, retreating from the weather.

Not all the creatures are so small, or so peaceful.

⏵ Small critters make themselves comfortable in the forested area around Etraya, staying mostly out of the way. There are the occasional visitors that will let themselves in through windows for a quick visit, or maybe a snack, but they’re mostly harmless.

⏵ Several larger beasts make their way into the city to try and find land that’s more habitable for them. Giraffes navigate gracefully through the areas designated for new arrivals, using their elongated necks to reach for the foliage near the hospital when they aren’t finding new places to make themselves comfortable. An eclectic array of cats, ranging in all sizes and breeds, brazenly saunter into buildings they don’t belong. Hopefully, the lioness lounging in the apartment complex's common area does not prevent residents from reaching their rooms, because she has no intention of yielding.

⏵ The leopard adorned with a rattlesnake tail in the hospital's cafeteria may be difficult to ignore, given his determination to devour everything in sight and attack anyone in his way.

⏵ Cat scratches and bites pose a significant risk of infection. In the event a character is injured, individuals can expect the companion bots to quickly seek them out and approach them with a special antibiotic cream developed specifically for these cats. Refusal of treatment may result in severe symptoms, including high fevers and itching. In extreme cases, individuals may begin to exhibit cat-like characteristics, ranging from physical alterations to changes in mental traits.

⏵ Numerous other creatures of all shapes and sizes will be coming and going through the city. You may play with this as you wish!

While the uproar caused by these guests doesn’t particularly bother Aurora, she does send out a message to everyone wearing an earpiece to request their assistance in capturing the larger animals that her companion bots may not be able to handle themselves. She has converted an island to the East into a temporary holding area until the companion bots can set them up with something a little more permanent.

⏵ network ⏴

Welcome to Etraya! Upon your arrival, Aurora provided an earpiece, a device to make communication with others stuck in the same situation more simple. The device connects to an internal network, which is accessible by everyone else currently residing on planet. Whether you’re looking for guidance, camaraderie, or want to see if there are any familiar faces around, this is the perfect place to do it! Please feel free to post any questions, offer your name, ask for assistance, or maybe complain to the powers that be about how you’ve got better things to be doing than sitting around here completing their missions. Maybe they’re listening. Maybe they’re not.

⏵ NOTES⏴

⏵ During April, Etraya’s getting a little wet! Those who spend too long in the rain may experience a few unfortunate effects.

⏵ The rain brings in new flora, including a couple that may cause characters to experience aggression and impulsivity, or take a stroll through others’ dreams.

⏵ New animals also appear! While many of them are friendly, others… are less so. The cats specifically seem to be a little grumpy. Characters scratched or bitten by these cats may find themselves becoming just as catty.

For any questions relating to the contents of this log, please reply below. All other questions can be directed to the FAQ. The TDM is game canon, meaning everything happening above is occurring within the game properly. Those who apply to join in the April application round may keep their TDM threads as game canon.

⏵FULL NAVIGATION⏴

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

arrival; diner

He keeps his eyes shut for almost five minutes upon waking up. Five minutes, because he can tell this is somewhere medical that he doesn't know how he ended up in, and his heart rate jumps but he stays quiet and takes in as much as he can from his other senses. It's only when he decides that he's almost certainly alone that he opens his eyes. The appearance of the woman is startling - he didn't hear her enter - and when he reflexively strikes at her, nothing happens. She just smiles. And she talks.

He doesn't believe her, obviously. Not at first. Her explanation is completely mad, like something out of a sci-fi film. But once he gets out of the building, he starts exploring, and exploring starts to make him feel like she might've been right after all. For starters, the companion bots are beyond anything he's ever seen. Even more convincing is that - after dropping into Roxx and picking up some items for a little hike that he'd expected to shoplift but turned out to be completely free and unguarded - once he's gotten far enough outside, he's running into seriously ridiculous animals, things that look like what you'd get if an alien was trying to make Earth animals but didn't quite understand what they were supposed to look like.

The burst of energy from the rain keeps him looking well past dark before he finally starts to feel exhausted and makes his way back to what could loosely be called civilization. He ends up in the diner sometime around midnight, dripping wet, and ends up ordering a burger and a soda that apparently costs the same amount of nothing as the clothes on his back, looking and feeling exhausted. Now would probably be a good time to hug a stranger, if only someone would tell him that's an option.

shadowbloom (tw: nightmare involving torture of a minor)

Eventually, it occurs to him to check out the apartment building that turns out to have apartments free for the taking. (This either really is another world or the world's biggest and weirdest commune.) He doesn't get to sleep until late, sprawled across a bed that isn't really his own, and when he dreams, he doesn't dream alone.

(He's tied to a chair, in an empty room. It's freezing, water raining down on him even though it's inside, and a loud, distorted sound that rattles through his bones. His head hurts; there's blood dripping off it and mixing with the rain, creating an ever-expanding pool at his feet. Someone enters - he can hear a door somehow, beyond the heavy metal music, even though there's no visible wall, and a man with a scar on his cheek all dressed in black enters, a gun in his hand. He speaks, but it's hard to hear him over the noise. It sounds like he said something about scorpion.)

In the morning, the boy from the dream can be found in the recreation room, eyeing the roller rink with a look on his face that can only be described as are you fucking kidding me.

network; text, id: K7

so does anyone else have any theories about where we are, or are we thinking we're really on another world trying to save our universe from destruction?

It could be the afterlife even though I definitely don't remember dying.

Perhaps a VR simulation then?

I'm not aware of any tech advanced enough for a VR simulation this realistic.

I'm guessing your world doesn't have Kaiba Corp technology? I don't know a great deal about all of his gadgets but I've heard rumors his stuff has gotten that advanced.

never heard of it. what do they make?

He makes a lot but he's mostly known for his Duel Disk accessory for the card game Duel Monsters.

he makes accessories for card games and that puts him in the business for realistic VR?

The accessory uses holographic technology to make the monsters on the card appear real.

I'm not good at explaining this sort of stuff though. As much as I can't stand the guy, the stuff he makes is impressive...

I've never heard of it, but we've had a games company that did a very realistic demo version of their game. Suppose it might not be that far off.

Alex Rider | Alex Rider

network; text; id: platinumjackal

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