etrayalogs | FEBRUARY MINGLE

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FEBRUARY MINGLE

WHO: Everyone!
WHEN: February 14th - March
WHERE: Etraya
WHAT: The arrival of newcomers, a mini mission, and some new city features!
NOTES\WARNINGS:

⏵ arrival ⏴
Welcome to Etraya!

Arrival goes as expected - characters awaken on hospital beds and are offered an explanation of their situation: that they have arrived in the city of Etraya, and they are their world's only hope. They are welcome to wander the hospital if they would like to - the upper floors are mostly empty, full of pristine hallways and numerous rooms filled with supplies, cots, and things one would expect from a relatively average 21st-century hospital.

In the hospital's lobby are several party tables set out with miscellaneous baked goods: croissants, cookies, breads, cake slices, as well as tea and coffee to accompany them - or hot chocolate, for those who are opposed to the other offerings.

Outside the hospital, the last remnants of snow are melting in the sunlight as the weather begins to warm up. It's still chilly enough one might want to put on a coat, but not so cold a jacket is necessary for wandering around without freezing off one's fingers.

We hope you enjoy your stay.

⏵ heroes return ⏴

As the Quantum Rail train glides to a halt, returning passengers step out onto familiar ground - the train station, right where they had initially begun their mission. When exiting the station, their earpieces vibrate, indicating the automatic download of a detailed map which highlights key locations, transit paths, and notable landmarks. As Aurora promised, she had been working on a few renovations around Etraya! A sleek trolley system now winds through Etraya, following clearly marked pathways through the city bubble to make travel across the city smoother. However, the trolley only moves one way, eternally following the loop Aurora has set it on. And because of this, it takes six hours to complete it's loop all the way around. Don't miss your stop!

Pets and animals have been returned to their usual preferred areas, some awaiting the arrival of their owners, and others keeping to themselves in the forested areas throughout Etraya.

Beyond the small upgrades, things seem relatively unchanged - until one familiar sign catches the eye. One marked by four vertical lines, methodically crossed out one by one: the final slash has now been drawn through. The tally is complete. What it indicates has yet to be made clear, but it has to mean something, right? No one would go through the effort of making an ominous-sounding sign without following through.

⏵ love in the air ⏴

This Valentines Day, Aurora and the companion bots have opted to try something a little different: they have scattered mystery valentines across the city. Hidden within mailboxes, tucked into cafe menus, slipped under doors, on the outside of high windows for those wall-crawlers to spot. There are countless of these little slips of papers, strewn throughout the city. And within each valentine, is a challenge or gesture to complete. Please feel free to make these up yourselves as long as they fit in with the theme!

Some examples include:

Deliver a flower to a stranger.
Write a heartfelt poem for someone.
Share a box of chocolates!
Confess your feelings for another.
Play matchmaker for two people - this can be platonic, or romantic!
Gift a friend with a stuffed animal.
Give five different people a genuine compliment.

While not mandatory, completing five tasks will earn an individual an additional ten points to use towards anything they would like!

Each little Valentine is signed "Your Secret Admirer. ♡", and some of them may even be addressed to specific individuals. Don't be surprised, Eddie, if you see one or two that are specifically addressed to you lurking around your collection of chicken friends!

And while most of these are harmless, some of the valentines cards come with effects for those who come into contact with the paper. Perhaps they thought it was a piece of garbage, or were just kicking it out of the way rather than intending on taking part. It doesn't matter! They get to join in on the fun, too.

Heart Eyes - your pupils literally turn into hearts for a few hours, making it hard to focus on anything other than things (or people) you find attractive.
Love-Struck Stammer - You can only speak in poetic compliments or romantic declarations, regardless of whom you're speaking to.
Chocolate Bliss - Everything feels good. Simple. Easy. As if there's nothing in the world to concern yourself with. You feel happy, without any concerns or worry.
Rose-Tinted Vision - everything looks soft and romantic, as if you're in a romance novel. You know the ones.
Magnetic Attraction - regardless of what you had been doing, you suddenly find yourself unable to leave the side of the person closest to you. Had you been eating chocolates while walking down the street? Well, have fun getting stuck to the guy who'd been out for a jog!
Serenade Syndrome - you find it impossible to resist the urge to sing your words, turning all conversations into love ballads.
Heartstrings - A thread appears, connecting you to someone close by who you share many similarities too. Perhaps you had never met this person before, but the threads tied around your pinky fingers that refuse to let go until you allow yourself to open up to them clearly means you should be a little more familiar with them.

Love is in the air—or maybe just a bit of well-intended chaos! 💕

⏵ NOTES ⏴

Welcome back from the mission, and welcome to Etraya for our newcomers! We've tried to keep this log simple for an easy introduction, as well as some downtime for our mission-goers who worked hard to solve the Quantum Rail mystery.

There is something else going on, but. . . well, no one seems to know what! The computer that had been on the lower floor of the hospital is now missing, and Aurora may seem a little flustered as she flits around Etraya, in search of something.

For all questions relating to this log, please refer to the mod queries comment. All other questions can be directed to the FAQ.

⏵FULL NAVIGATION⏴

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[Oh snap. He didn't know how to handle a pissed off teenager.

He was good at pissing them off.]

.... Because it's a holiday to be with people who care about you and you're sitting here all alone?

[He waved the stuffed squid, hoping that Fabian didn't smell his nervousness like dogs were said to smell fear.]

I would prefer to use "Manfred". [One of the ears of his hood wiggles, and he reaches up to set it straight.]

Not solely because we only just met, but also because I prefer some measure of formality.

[ At least Fabian does know what's up with the random gift giving at this point. And it's no surprise that some people are more practical about it - pretty much everyone is just doing this in order to get points, right?

But despite understanding entirely what the masked person was getting at, Fabian still has to pipe up with: ]

Is this your idea of gift giving?

[ Boy.. Don't you know you shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.. ]

Fabian pretty often comes to the clothing section. Sure, he technically already has enough clothes here to fill up a pretty big wardrobe, but he did just get an even bigger wardrobe, so he might as well fill it up with more clothes. If he's going to be stuck in a place like this, he might as well look good at the same time, he figures.

And it shows. Even as Fabian is idly browsing the racks of clothing here, he very much does look like a modern teenager - and a very fashionable one on top of it. But it's not just the clothes that catch his attention. He does notice Gaia. Well, Gaia, and her clothes. Which obviously are not like most of the clothes one might find here at Roxx.

For a few moments he watches her gather clothes in silence, but then Fabian seems to make up his mind, making his way over towards her.

"Are you looking for anything in particular?" She does seem to have gathered a lot already thus far..

[ .. for a moment Fabian just looks confused when there's a teddy bear suddenly being shoved into his arms. It's not like getting gifts is a foreign concept to him, but it is a little more weird when it's coming from a total stranger. And even more so in this place, where he doesn't exactly have the same reputation as he did back home.

He opens his mouth, but thankfully - before he can say something stupid - he realizes why Shaw might be handing out stuff to random people. ]

Did they tell you to just shove this at someone? [ Fabian still sounds half-puzzled, but at least he's.. slowly getting it.. ]

Anything beyond the hugs and kisses usually happens because people are in the mood to be a little stupid. It’s hardly ever rational thought that drives us forwards, eh?

[He tucks the rat into his leather jacket for safe-keeping.]

All holidays are a little dumb. But what they are is to serve as reminders. You get older and the years just slip right under your nose. Lift your head and it’ll already be summer if you aren’t careful. Gives people an excuse to check in on you.

[He gives her a little smirk. Romance was overwhelming, certainly- and he’d made plenty of mistakes in pursuit.]

…Though I can’t speak to this holiday in particular. It’s new to me- seems a little early for spring fertility rituals and a little late for a winter feast. Maybe it’s just to add a little color to our dreary environs, eh?

[He gestures around them. ]

Well, what’s a holiday you do like?

[ Hmm. ]

Haven't seen you before. [ It's not a joke--it's an acknowledgement, they're on the same page, and Gorgug starts looking low, ground level, though the results are always the same: washing appliances that are never much use, tipped over on their sides. He still considers taking one each other: remembering his own parents' creativity with appliances as a plus. ...unfortunately, it's also a negative.

Then come the broken frames, a high percentage of what makes up the junkyard: portions of building materials, useless after the fact. Still, he picks up some of the more solid pieces of metal--dented in areas, maybe, and not always flat, but that's okay. He can cut them down for body parts, weld them into something new.

Turning carefully, he deposits a chunk of metal into his trailer. Looks up at the other scavenger. ]

They got any rolls of metal wire again?

Cid is still feeling some effects from the Valentines, but that was a problem for sober him- to attempt to recover all of those off the departed trolley and find out what they were to resolve it. For now, he’s still feeling amorous.

“Oh, that? Just a bit of magic,” he says with a bit of surprise. It’s taken some getting used to- everyone not flipping out over magic here, so for someone to catch it piques his interest. “Never seen magic before?”

Cid takes the beer in one hand and lights another for Vander, flicking that flame up again like it was a lighter. He takes a deep inhale, ensures it’s lit, and passes the second one over.

“Cheers,” he takes a swig of beer. “Aye, that we are. Home sweet home, Stonhyrr. Don’t let the lighting overhead, the vicious beasts guarding the gate, and the waves crashing on the other shore fool you, though.”

'Deliver a flower to a stranger' is the instruction on the paper that Caitlyn's holding. She's standing uncomfortably in the street, holding a single carnation and looking around for someone to give it to, when she spots someone she doesn't recognise approaching. Perfect. The smile on her face doesn't reach her eyes — she doesn't go around doing this sort of thing, it's new and unusual and, frankly, more than a little awwkard given that this holiday is apparently meant to be romantic — but it's perfectly sincere.

"I've been tasked with giving a flower to a stranger, and I don't believe we've met."

She holds the carnation out to him.

[Caitlyn comes across Heather as she's looking for someone to give a teddy bear to.]

You don't believe in romantic love?

[It would seem absurd to Caitlyn under normal circumstances, but everything just now feels... soft. Almost as though there's something wrong with her vision. The sunlight is a little bit sparklier than usual, everyone she sees in passing looks a little bit more handsome than she would normally find them, and the whole world seems oddly ripe for romance.

Though the one person Caitlyn would like nothing more than to share a romance with isn't here.

She sits next to Heather.]

With little other traffic going on, he'd been content to be walking right down the middle of the street until he hears an engine. Know what was left entirely out of Sephiroth's education? Not approaching mysterious vans. He's never even seen a van before, the closest he can connect it to anything else is transport trucks, and those are usually pretty identifiable. There's something strangely. Rounded. about this vehicle.

And it's definitely not Shinra's, proximity to a building he knows a couple floors of very well aside. That the van is being driven by a half-orc really doesn't alter the mystery levels, and it's obvious he at least knows what to do about traffic by the way he steps out of the road so it can go by without squishing him.

Being honked at is universal for 'get out of the road' as far as he knows, but the vehicle is slowing .. and then stopping.

Gorgug is at least recognizable, but it takes Sephiroth a moment of long surveying the van before approaching. Sure, it's obvious to HIM but maybe not from inside--

"Your vehicle has parasites."

[Manny doesn’t really mind the formalities as he responds to both names that were used for him.]

If you don’t mind me asking, what exactly are you?

[Caitlyn Kiramman does not know how to write poetry. She's barely even read any poetry, how is she meant to write it? And yet, she's been given the task of writing a heartfelt poem for someone, and she's not going to shirk from a mission. Even one as difficult as this.

She's so engrossed in the scribbles she's jotting down in her notebook that she almost runs directly into Vincent. But, without missing a beat, as though they're already mid-conversation, she says,]

Vincent. I don't suppose you can think of a rhyme for friendship?

[It's immensely touching, to be thought of. Shadowheart isn't sure whether anyone's ever given her a gift before, and for the briefest moment, all she can do is stare before she finds her voice again.]

They're beautiful. Thank you.

[She steps back, to let him inside.]

Come in. They'll need water, of course. And they may be safe for cats, but I'll have to find somewhere to put them that will be safe from her.

[The cat in her arms meows. Scratch, recognizing John, runs up looking to be pet, ruffing softly at their visitor as his tail starts wagging fiercely.]

Though even if she's tempted to knock them over at first, I'm sure they'll grow on her.

[Yes, that's a pun. Yes, she delivers it with the expectant tone of someone who fully believes it's a good joke and deserves a laugh. Yes, she evens laughs a little bit at it herself.]

"...And yet I do, and that's not going to change." Being worried about random strangers, or near-strangers, is weird, and out of sight should have been out of mind. Isn't that how it's supposed to work?

People have strange priorities sometimes, he supposed. "..The one with my name on the door. I don't stay there long."

He's not comfortable in that kind of a place. Might never be. It's too big. Too empty. "No holes in the bathroom? If there's a new one, it'd be a good idea to take someone with you if you choose to go in. Ideally with weapons."

That's fair.

[ Henry hadn't thought about how his earlier actions may have been insulting. ]

What would you have made? [ He turns the bear over in his hands - looking at the stuffed animal in every angle. Like there may be some secret sewn in or on the object; there isn't, but it also, at least, gave him something to do with his hands. ]

The first time they'd encountered each other it had been in less than ideal circumstances, with far too many people around for his tastes, and far too much that's strange. It left him frayed and reactive - and while here there's STILL much that's strange, at least it's far, far fewer people!

They're the only ones on the trolley right now. It made things easier, even as it starts back up and continues on its way, pleasant mindless music playing from the speakers.

That declaration that they're friends draws a long, looong quiet pause as it's considered. Gaia had made a similar declaration. Friendship was still a weakness, and affording one was going to be a challenge, two was asking for trouble. Instead of addressing it he chooses to ignore that bit and contend with it later and see how he feels about it when he has more distance. Popp wasn't .. entirely disagreeable, maybe a bit higher energy than he's used to, but.. "It sounds as if things were lively, at least. Did .. the transformations complete? Did anyone become feral?"

He'd never know personally from experience, but he didn't have to. If everyone else was alright, or feral but still not eating people, then maybe it wasn't so bad. "...And what mines, besides? Did Charlie add a hot spring somewhere or was it like the pond?" Just. Appearing one day!

... What was happening with his pond?

"...No, this place is strange but not disagreeable." Nowhere awful. Not back where he belonged.

[ After a nod of promise, Gaia steps forward. She goes for a safe bet, a part of the leg she can reach. No nose boops here, who knows what that appendage is for!

While she doesn't pet as promised, her fingers do sink in past the guard hair layer for a moment. They won't linger long and she draws her hand away. ]

Oh, that's... well, it's softer than I expected underneath. I suppose you're meant for a winter climate? Do you manage okay here?

[ ...Come to think of it, this is wintery weather still. So Gaia corrects herself with a wry voice. ]

Though I suppose I should ask if there is even seasons beyond just... cold.

[Laura gnaws at her lip for a moment, looking at the sweets in the box. The ones she doesn't like? Having consumed a few boxes already, she's already neck-deep in trouble trying to decide which ones.]

I don't like... this one. [She points to the orange-flavored; she likes that one, actually.] And this one. [Even though she enjoyed the almond one.] And I do not like this, or this one. This row, here. [... She is lying.] You can have those.

... I'll consider it.

[Which is not the best answer, but for someone like Max, it's something. It's honestly a miracle that he's behaving himself and not just wandering off to try and resolve the mission on his own. He can be a valuable team player in... the right hands.

At any rate-]

Anything comes up...

[He taps on his earpiece. Call him. If it's serious.]

"Ha ha ha, so you're doing pretty well out here." Popp has some opinions on where Sephiroth belongs, or at least very strong opinions about where he doesn't belong.

If the trolley's moving, he's sitting down. Well, lounging down, it's not like he is particularly up on his train etiquette and it's not like anyone else is here to object... Seph didn't outright say they were not friends, so he doesn't have to perish internally on the spot, he will take that as a win.

"Oh, nobody did anything crazy after turning into a dragon. Or... nothing I wouldn't have done as a normal human, anyway."

Cough, cough, moving on, they don't have to dwell on Popp's life choices, right?!

"The mines were part of the next town over - still out in the sticks, but a place where actual people live full time instead of an emergency setup. The hot spring, though, I made that myself! Well, Gaia helped out; we blasted a pit out in the hills and cleaned it up."

[ John recognizes that he should probably laugh, but he can't remember the last time he's done that. He doesn't think he remembers how. So all he can do is let the moment slip by as he steps in and bends down to pet Scratch. As a dog owner he recognizes when it's time to pet a dog. ]

Maybe it'll even blossom into love, [ he attempts to counter back in a joking tone, hoping that will suffice. ]

What's your cat's name? [ People generally like talking about their pets and John is bad at conversations. ]

( and that's the kicker, isn't it. can't leave gotham to it's own devices, the city will burn itself down in moments. can't continue on as they have been, because maybe it's them that's kicking up sparks to begin with. but regardless, what they've been doing back home - it's reacting, not preventing. it's dominating their enemies, not helping anyone. bruce hosts countless fundraisers, starts countless non-profits, rehomes families, tries to protect those who need it, and yet still there are so many people out there who suffer. who they can't fix, because they aren't healers, and damian wouldn't wish the lazarus pits onto his worst enemies, let alone gotham's most vulnerable.

it's not even his city. damian wasn't born and raised in gotham, and his sentimental attachments to it are due to bruce's presence. grayson has moved on. drake goes where he needs to. todd and brown are from gotham's seedier areas, but todd doesn't limit himself to gotham, either - albeit less out of choice, and more due to their father's need to strong-arm him out of city borders.

and damian - is just here. a boy who was stubborn enough to stick by my side, this version of his father says, which isn't all that off from their relationship back home. damian has left, broken and torn around the edges, refusing the name of robin because he felt it wasn't something he could have anymore. grayson would never take it from him, but a robin doesn't make the same mistakes damian had. a robin doesn't feel smothered by their father's shadow.

a robin doesn't make the mistakes damian has. )

I felt like I was... finding my place, before. Discovering what it meant to be Robin and Damian Wayne. But I lost it. I failed to protect those who mattered most, and failed again in my efforts to - prevent further losses. I help Batman because someone has to. Someone has to be the light, and Batman cannot be Batman without Robin.

( his head tips, looking up to this bruce who isn't his batman, but is listening where damian's father had refused. )

But what does that make me? What is my purpose, my reason? I thought it was following in Grandfather's footsteps, but it wasn't. I thought it was following Father's, but.. I don't know, anymore. We aren't helping Gotham heal, we are just applying stitches over a wound that continues to get deeper regardless of how hard we work to close it.

That he doesn't get kicked, punched or stabbed in the process is gratifying - and even moreso that he doesn't have to immediately KEEP running with his prize, as the behemoth has stopped below, rumbling its displeasure but not continuing the assault.

And so he lets go immediately; there's a certain space he prefers to keep between himself and others and he'll immediately seek that distance. His attention is still absolutely on the beast and not the beast's master.

"It was not unnecessary. I can't afford risking others' lives on assumptions." The accent is unfamiliar, if his planet has an equivalent he's never heard it. There was someone in the tower with an unfamiliar accent as well, but he'd only caught it on occasion and didn't know who it belonged to. "I apologize for touching you without permission but I would also do it again considering the circumstances."

[ Please don't burn the books. ]

Distantly. She's largely uninvolved in day to day life. You can talk to her if you want but otherwise you'll only hear from her when she posts missions.

Edited 2025-02-20 22:25 (UTC)

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FEBRUARY MINGLE

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stuffed animals

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As if anyone is gonna skip over the middle

chocolate bliss

sitting outside

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love in the air

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