etrayalogs | MISSION 001

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MISSION 001

WHO: Everyone!
WHEN: March 29th-April 20th
WHERE: Everywhere on Etraya
WHAT: Mission 001!
NOTES\WARNINGS: Potential violence, death.

⏵ mission prep ⏴
On the morning of the 29th, characters will receive a notification from Aurora to come to the hospital’s ground floor to prepare for their first mission. On this floor, pairs will be given slips of paper with matching numbers. If characters have chosen their partners, they too will receive small slips of paper with matching numbers, as these numbers match the room assignment they will be asked to please step inside.

The rooms themselves are bare. There’s a cot, two chairs pushed up against a small table, a miniature fridge set up below a sink, and a television that only plays static. On the table is a note, which simply reads:

Welcome. To prepare you for your first mission, we are giving you time to get to know your partner. You have a twelve-hour time limit to discuss your lives together. We recommend talking about moments throughout your life that have defined the person you have become. In addition, we have included several ingredients inside the miniature refrigerator. You must, without telling your partner specifically what it is, create their favorite drink using the ingredients within and above the refrigerator.

Do not attempt to cheat. Do not make your own drink.

If you pass, you will both be given two points and the door will unlock. If you fail, you may try again with the same partner or a new partner may be reassigned to you.

Good luck.

Within the mini fridge will be numerous ingredients - these ingredients could be anything, from Bantha milk to dragon fruit - whatever their favorite drinks are, they will find all the correct ingredients to make them. There will also be numerous extra ingredients. Maybe a character’s favorite drink is a nice cup of peppermint tea. The kettle, and the tea bags, will be present on top of the mini fridge, but there may also be soda bottles inside the fridge and various milk substitutes. Cheating by making their own drink will result in the game being reset, and a new partner being assigned or no partner at all being assigned and they will simply be removed from this part of the exercise.

⏵ the secret's out⏴
Numerous notes can be found throughout Etraya’s populated areas - falling from the sky, taped to doors, slid under them, or perhaps being handed out by a few of the companion bots who will eagerly note how these are meant to help, but a quick read may show that they’re not things anyone wants to be given out so freely.

After all, on the notes are secrets, untold truths, things that were never meant to be shared nor wanted out in the open. Some of these aren’t notes at all, but small packages that are not addressed to anyone in particular, or addressed to the incorrect party. Inside the packages are items that may be associated with a particular event: a knife that had been used to betray a friend still stained with blood, a mask meant to conceal identity, a picture featuring a moment in time that had best been left forgotten.

The goal of the game becomes clear by the notes written on the back or thin slips within the packages: match the secret to the person. You could simply ignore them, but the note also includes an addendum: more notes will continue to be sent until the person is matched to their secret.

⏵ cracked reflection ⏴

Every person is an intricate mosaic, composed of numerous facets that shape what makes them - themselves.

After all, one person is not simply one picture, but rather, a puzzle comprised of myriad pieces. These pieces may shape their strengths, their sense of humor, the influences of their upbringing, and who they admired in their formative years. Together, these fragments coalesce into a singular form: you.

But what if those pieces were rearranged? What if the fundamental aspects that define who you are simply… didn’t exist? What if, rather than being a courageous hero, you were cast as a formidable villain? What if, instead of pursuing the path that led you to greatness, you veered in a different direction?

A new dawn breaks over Etraya. The artificial sun rises over the horizon, accompanied by the melodic chirping of birds. As the denizens of Etraya awaken, they sense... a shift in the air - a feeling of dissonance, as if a piece of themselves has suddenly gone missing. Because it has.

Doubles of every current inhabitant of Etraya roam the corridors of the apartment building and the surrounding facilities. They let themselves into Roxx to get a few new outfits, get themselves a meal at the hospital cafeteria, or maybe they’re raiding the snack shelves at Kwik Trip. They may bear a striking resemblance to their counterpart and act very similarly, but there is something off about them. A quality that sets them apart. Remember that step you took, that led you to your current career? The step you’ve kept secret for so long, that has defined your actions ever since? They didn’t take it. They went down a different path, something darker, or perhaps something lighter. They took the path you most feared, the one you knew would turn out terribly. And they in turn - turned out for the worst.

Characters will find they are facing one of their worst fears: themselves, but their worst selves. The version of them that they fought so hard not to become, that they strove against rather than towards. And the mission? They need to take out their worst selves.

But there’s a twist: interaction with their doubles isn’t possible. Both halves are cognizant of each other’s existence, yet they are incapable of verbally or physically interacting with each other. And while the double understands what they are, the original? Well… how do you truly know you are who you’re supposed to be? What if you were the double all along? What if you are your own worst self?

There is one way to be sure: the color of the copies’ blood is slightly darker than what it should be. Running closer to a red-black than the red you would anticipate. Or for some, perhaps their blood is red where it should be running black. While they feel and look real, driving a unique blade straight through where their heart would be will cause doubles to dissipate into nothing once the knife penetrates deep enough. As for the genuine articles, well, the blade is sharp—and it’s going to hurt.

A blade is provided for every authentic copy. Those who were sleeping through the night will find it beside them upon awakening. As for those who remain vigilant throughout the night, the blade will manifest beside them in the early hours of April 2nd.

Guess someone is going to have to kill your double.

⏵ quicksilver has no sense of tact ⏴

Aurora’s announcement left out several crucial details: the existence of the doubles, for one. But also the looming deadline to take care of the mess that has been dropped onto Etraya. Inside the characters’ wrists, they will discover a timer gradually counting down. The timers are only visible for the person who dons it, as is the amount of time given. Every person is given an individual time limit, but it cannot be longer than two weeks. As the numbers dwindle, more black marks appear going up the inside of their arms toward the inside of their elbow. And what are the black marks?

With each additional black mark, they begin to feel… less like themselves, and more like their doppelgangers. In the beginning, maybe they barely notice the change. Maybe it’s a favorite food they loved that they now hate, or perhaps it’s an event that has shifted: something small but important - a decision to save a life changed to taking one. Maybe they’ll feel like a piece of themselves is no longer the same, replaced with another feeling or sensation. Where something would have usually made them empathetic to another's blight, now they find their suffering funny. Regardless, the longer their doubles are around, the longer they slowly begin to become their doubles - and their doubles begin to become just like them.

If their doppelganger is not taken out at the end of their provided time, it will simply dissipate and the original will remain changed. The only way to return to normal is to kill the original. After death, the character will remain dead for twenty-four hours before returning to their normal selves as if the death had never occurred. While killing them to return them to normal is information Aurora will readily share, no one will inform them that they will simply return to normal by April 20th.

⏵ OOC ⏴
Welcome to the first mission! For any questions relating to this mission please reply below. All other questions can be directed to the FAQ.

Please note that while ICly, characters are not given a choice, players can choose which missions they wish for their characters to participate in. They may have missed receiving room assignments, or their secrets may not have been dropped, or a copy may not have shown up for them. This may not always be an option in future missions!

⏵FULL NAVIGATION⏴

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

[So anyway, here's saintly Rufus Shinra, a man who has never done anything wrong in his life, minding his own business shooting pool in the rec room when out of nowhere some psychopath starts making Gun Noises™ in his immediate vicinity.

A lot of things happen in the span of an instant. The first is that Tseng isn't here — his Turks are out of position — this is a problem he's going to have to handle himself. The second is placing the location of the noise — far side of the room — no D to order, if it comes down to a gunfight he'll be without a barrier — pool table for cover, drop one of his smoke cartridges, obscure line of sight, roll clear, headshot. There's no maneuverability in a room this comparatively small. He'll either have to end it fast or move an extended fight somewhere else.

He's already got one of his coins palmed by the time he places the source of the sound, and when he does, a second wave of things all happen in the span of another instant:

One: it's some girl.
Two: if she's gearing up for Gun Violence™, she's doing a really bad job of it.
Three: that's his father's gun.

The fact that he hasn't seen it in some time doesn't mean he wouldn't still know it anywhere. Hard to miss, when like all property of the Shinra Corporation it's got their logo embossed on the grip, when it's as gold and ostentatious as the statue of the old man that presides over the Shinra museum. (He should really get rid of that thing.) And given the discarded package wrapping paper near the girl, it isn't difficult to put together just what might have happened to bring this result about.

That box is meant for him, more likely than not. Someone's brought him his father's gun. And this rando's got it in her grubby little hands.]

That's not a toy.

[He says, affecting calm when in fact he's anything but, keeping the pool table between himself and where she's sitting as he regards the spectacle she makes. He smiles, slight and diplomatic, and it doesn't reach his eyes.]

Or have I just found myself in a hostage situation?

I don't know, purple does go with everything. Sunglasses just don't go with the mask. Maybe you should get some different clothing?

[Is she going to regret suggesting that? Nah.]

[ And this is precisely why Jason wears a fully enclosed helmet instead of the domino he wore as Robin. There's too much he can't hide. Too many emotions that give him away can mean the difference between life and death as 'Red Hood.' But 'Jason'? Most people he interacts with don't tend to pull a gun on him or extort him. There's always exceptions.

His muscles tense, not quite sure of his play here. Play it off as a prank? Pretend it doesn't matter? Too late for that. Barter? How does he salvage this slip-up? He already pegged the suit as someone born to money. That's always hard to hide. But was he like Bruce or Black Mask? ]

Edited 2024-03-31 17:33 (UTC)

Well, I'm not doing it for free.

[Why is it so hard to cut a deal with people in this place? Daddy would be so disappointed in her, so she needs to get something. ]

Fine. What have you got to offer? Cash is always acceptable.

[ Then, he's handed the book — no strings attached — and Jason is once more thrown off his game. Blue eyes sweep over the man, searching for any hidden knives. Calm down, Jason. He doesn't know you as Red Hood. ]

[ Calmly, he reaches for the book, opens the first page, and smiles fondly when he spots one of the smudged letters. He held onto the page for too long one day, distorting the ink with the oils of his hands before he knew how to take care of older books.

He slowly relaxes, smiling to himself, his thoughts on another place. Days spent in a plush library. Alfred finding him reading in all sorts of odd places, there to remind him about dinner time like clockwork. Closing the book, Jason looks back at his companion, that sentiment from long ago lingering in his eyes. ]

Finish it first.

[ He hands it back to him. ]

You can give it back to me when you're done.

[ His sentiment isn't in the written word but that feeling of home. Of Alfred. A brief moment in time when he was happy before he became... before he died. ]

Edited 2024-03-31 17:21 (UTC)

Do as you say, not as you do? Excellent advice. You're catching onto this quickly.

( not a great time to delve into his usual my education had been far more advanced than yours by the time i was four bit, or the my first memories are bloodstained one either.

bruce starts, and damian falls into line with him - one step back and to his right. this isn't his father, he's not allowing him to wander around his home unsupervised. )

MISSION PREP (closed to Natsuno)

When she gets the notification, Rin is prepared for it, thanks to the announcement made on the communication device. It doesn't actually make her any less pissed off about the whole thing. Whatever's happening here smells extremely fishy, and Rin is about 90% sure Aurora's not telling them the whole truth. And now she's supposed to be grateful for a head's up? That's about the least Aurora could do.

Still, Rin's going to play along. What else is there to do, really? Sure, she could stake out into the unknown on her own -- and before Kaga, before Manji's imprisonment, she might've done that. Now she recognizes how ill-advised it is. Better to see if there's anyone here she can ally herself with.

When she's assigned a partner and they have gone to their room, she opens the door and peers in curiously. She takes in the sparse furnishings which do not look particularly inviting. But hey, they've got everything they need. At least for the most part. "Guess if we are tired, we're going to have to take turns in the bed."

THE SECRET'S OUT

Usually, Rin's not much of a secret-keeper. Really, she's kind of an open book and will give information about herself when asked, or when it comes up. Still, there are some things in her life that bring up painful memories, and she truly doesn't need that to be out in the open for everyone to see.

There are two items somewhere that relate to Rin's story: one is a painting of a koi, with a note in beautiful Japanese calligraphy that reads: "A samurai must be strong and resilient like the koi."

The other is a kitsune mask with elaborate designs painted on it. Those who are knowledgeable about such things may, upon closer inspection, see that it's been painted with blood.

CRACKED REFLECTION

At first, Rin doesn't notice anything strange. Or anything stranger than usual, at any rate, because this whole place has her askew. It's a lot to ask someone from a pre-industrialization world to suddenly deal with holograms and robots. Rin understands enough to know that they are not alive, but they react sort of like people regardless, so Rin interacts with them as such.

But there are so many things that may seem less spectacular to others, but are about equally strange to Rin. Bathrooms, refrigerators, electric lights. So when she wakes up with a shiny new dagger lying at her backside, she is definitely wary and has about a thousand questions racing through her head, but she pockets it, grateful for anything she might have to defend herself. Never mind she's technically already armed to the teeth, still carrying her throwing knives strapped to all four limbs and her sword at her hip.

Even with all the confusion, though, she makes it a point to make her rounds every day, and every day, she tries to explore something new. Today, she's going to tackle the clothing store, which has overwhelmed her at first with its veritable sea of racks and fluorescent lights. But she's still running around in the torn clothes she ran around with, and while they cover everything important, they're still quite beyond repair at this point, and she just knows she'd feel much better if she had clothes that are intact and clean.

For the most part, she keeps her head down, away from the bright lights, sometimes even shielding her eyes from them. So she's looking through the racks when a voice hits her ears -- a voice that she doesn't recognize, but there's something familiar about the cadence, the expressions used, the style of speech. She looks up and gasps when she finds herself looking at a girl who looks exactly like herself.

"Hah?"

(OOC: I'm doing a thing where I'm trying to write more prose tags, but I'm happy to match style! Please view Rin's plotting post comment and/or info post for content warnings and topics that might come up in conversation, and feel free to shoot me a note if you would like to opt out of anything. You can also hit me up for plotting at

honeyfoot or on discord under the same name.)

You might've told me that before I took my bookmark out.

[But it's a complaint that comes couched in amusement, with all the offense of one longtime friend calling another an asshole over some irrelevant slight.

It's odd, though, to see the way that Jason looks at the book in that first moment he gets his hands on it, when he's both aware that it's his and has it back in his control. He greets it like it's an old friend, almost. Like the count and his story preserved in its pages were the only companionship he had, back when he first read it and aligned himself with Team Dantes.

It's projecting, maybe, to feel that sentiment resonate. Jason regards the book in a way that reminds him of how he'd felt when they'd first placed D in his arms, when they'd told him she was to be his personal guard animal, her entire reason for existing to keep him safe — and all he could think was how he'd never been loved like that before, loved by something that would never abandon him.

It speaks volumes, pun intended, that Jason is willing to relinquish it again so easily, and to an apparent stranger. He doubts he would be so generous, himself, if given back something of his under similar circumstances.]

How will I find you again, when I'm done?

No.

( but he will lower the sunglasses, so they're resting over his mask and eyes. see? he can wear both at once. this looks fine.

and then he's reaching to take them off and offer them over. )

I've yet to find anything as durable offered at the clothing store.

Supposedly, instructions for the task are within the room.

( his chin jerks to the side, gesturing off in the direction of the room corresponding to the number on their paper. )

Krouse nods at 'fucking ugly', even though up until just now he'd thought it was one of the nicer shades of purple. He can give her that much for free.

She's giving him an out for free. It seems like the least he can do. Krouse fishes in his hoodie pocket for the thin slip of paper he found in the package and extends it to her held between two fingers, not standing up.

"See for yourself," he says, quietly, and then he tips his head at the bench next to him, a silent second invitation to sit down. When she reads the note telling her that these care packages are going to continue until the secret comes out, he thinks she might want to.

( slowly, he glances to the side of him. sees the way the kid follows him and looks back ahead. quiet. distant. focusing more on heading to a certain part of the manor. one which he’s curious to see still remains locked like it does in his gotham. )

I don’t need a tour guide.

( he… has an idea of the layout. roughly. again, some things differ, but. it still feels familiar to him. as if he’s merely being guided throughout the place on instinct. intuition. whatever one wants to calls it. )

No.

( it's his knife, and he'll hold it if he wants to. damian keeps up the pressure with the blade against todd's beads but drops his other hand down. grabs onto a birdarang and keeps it in hand as he moves to shove it down into todd's thigh. )

[ Krouse looks at the girl who isn't Kate with his hands tucked into the pockets of his long, ugly, unseasonal plastic shelled coat, his head cocked to the side and eyes indeterminably dark.

He should've just kept walking. ]

Want me to see if I can track down a manager?

[ The question is quiet, almost serious. ]

I'm aware.

( no clarification provided. this could be a trick, or a trap. he's not going to be responsible for needlessly giving this man information, or for exposing them. but damian still follows behind bruce. )

[He gets a laugh out of her for the sunglasses over mask combo. It's with a smile that she takes them from him before putting them on. ]

Sure, but you don't have to run about in your costume all the time. What do you wear when you're washing it?

[Please tell her you are washing your costume and not wearing it every day without doing so, Robin.]

[ Feeling in control again, Jason leans back on the chair, hands folded behind his head as if in thought. ]

No one told you to take it out.

[ He grins from his position, amused by his plight. It's easy for him to slip into the back-and-forth banter between guys. Easy to hand over the book when he's already assessed the pedigree of the guy. He knows he can take care of valuable things. Knows he won't harm it unless he wants to, and seeing how interested he is in the story, he doubts that will happen. It's a gamble, but then, his entire life is a gamble.

There's no guarantees in life.

More than that, it might be addressed to him, but the words written on those pages aren't his. They belong to anyone interested in reading them. The memories of Alfred treating him like a person of value, not some waste from Crime Alley, that belongs to him.

Maybe that's the difference between them. He's never had the luxury of keeping the things that meant something to him. He's been abandoned, forgotten, replaced. It's easy to let go of things when he's had so much practice. ]

Edited 2024-03-31 18:27 (UTC)

That's easy.

[ He leans forward, heavy boots hitting the ground, and plants his elbows on the table exactly how Alfred told him not to do while in a formal setting. ]

You got a name?

This guy seems different, more present. Natsuno notes it the way he files everything in this new place, trying to figure out the limits and his fellow - allies? rivals? Too soon to tell - but assumes it's the shock of arrival wearing off.

He watches Krouse's reaction to the note - not what he expected? But still nothing good.

"That's the point of this 'exercise', right?" He takes the package and places the lid back. Once closed, Natsuno doesn't spare it another glance, but there's gentleness in the way he carries it. It's not exactly a dark secret, certainly nothing he's ashamed of, but Tohru-chan's memory is his.

"Someone put these by my window, a long time ago."

[As Hayan is snooping around, she comes across Natsuno, sitting on one of the bridges with his legs dangling in the air. There's an open box in his lap, and he rolls a dried flower between his fingers.

He's lost in thought, but Hayan's scent is so distinct, it snaps him out of his stupor. Oh, her. Pureblood vampire. She seemed... okay.]

...hi.

[Maybe a fellow vampire would be a good place to start asking?]

[This one's not a bad secret, then. That's a relief, though Natsuno wonders why bother with something harmless. Maybe that also counts as bonding.]

In an orange crate in the store. People's stuff appear all over the place, probably to get us to "bond."

[Katherine lowers her black sunglasses just enough that Krouse can see the eyeroll she gives his question. Seriously?]

Do I look like my name is Karen? Managers are for sorting out the nobodies. If you want anything done right, always go to the owner.

Doesn't everyone? Dantes had four.

[The abrupt lack of formality earns a smile, though — a little surprising, maybe, from someone who gives off the appearance of being as posh and polished as he is, but that's precisely the point. There's a time for formality and there's a time for discarding it, and people willing to crack the veneer are always interesting.]

But I stick with one. Rufus Shinra.

"I doubt we're supposed to sleep it away."

It's a neutral statement. Similarly suspicious of the game, Natsuno won't try to coax her into anything she's unwilling to talk about, but he might as well take the chance to find potential allies... or obstacles.

He opens the mini-fridge. He recognizes the ingredients for a mocha latte, and hers... tea leaves?

"So where do you want to start?"

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MISSION 001

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