etrayalogs | MISSION 004 (part 1)

MISSION 004 (part 1)

WHO: Everyone!
WHEN: July 19th-July 27th.
WHERE: Moorecroft Village
WHAT: Enjoy life in your new suburban neighborhood!
NOTES\WARNINGS: Potential death.

⏵ welcome home ⏴
Welcome to Moorecroft Village, where the sun casts a gentle glow through soft white clouds. Pavement paths wind around the village, adorned with wildflowers in every hue. Birds sing a soothing melody, while a few content cats lounge in sunspots or on benches along the streets. Cars hum by, ferrying residents to work, the store, or back home after a busy day.

It looks almost perfect. The ideal little village, occupied by individuals from all over. Orcs, elves, faeries, werewolves, vampires, and dhampirs coexist harmoniously, each contributing to their quaint little town. Despite their varied backgrounds, they appear to embrace this place as their own. They take their baby carriages out during the day for a stroll, chatting with friends and neighbors about current happenings, discussing their most recent mission (a ‘game’ of Whodunit, in which one of theirs, Theo, was tasked with killing one of their own each day and they all had to figure out who had killed them before they could come back to life) and the difficulties therein, new job assignments, weird things the teens in their houses are getting up to... generic, neighborly conversations.

The village is full of life. There are numerous facilities to wander and things to do! The library houses a vast collection of books spanning history from countless other worlds and whimsical children's tales. Teens gather at the ice skating rink, while the movie theater screens films spanning generations. An aquarium full of wonders: glowing rainbow fish, miniature great white sharks, a colorful octopus with patterns running over it that almost look like ivy, and numerous others.

In the daytime, everyone can explore clothing stores, indulge in gourmet cakes from the grocers, and partake in leisurely pursuits without financial concerns; just like on Etraya, money does not exist here.

⏵ help wanted ⏴
Moorecroft surpasses Etraya in its development, offering attractions and activities to engage its inhabitants throughout the day. But with these advancements come additional responsibilities. By day, at least one adult from every household is expected to fulfill their shifts at 'day jobs', lasting anywhere from four to eight hours. Meanwhile, the youth are expected to go to school, absorbing knowledge in various disciplines.

Each job duty requires different skillsets, but whether or not those required skillsets are matched to those who are expected to work them... well. They’ll have plenty of time for training, won’t they? Or perhaps they’ll get dropped right into their job and be expected to figure it out all on their own.

For the younger residents, education is structured into two main institutions: "Sandalwood Lower" for those twelve and under, and "Maplewood Upper" for older students. These schools offer a broad curriculum encompassing Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Physical Education, Technology, Fine Arts, and a diverse array of Foreign Languages. Electives range widely, from specific sports to Survival Training, Creative Writing, Journalism, and Sociology.

At lunchtime, the school cafeteria presents an array of choices. Options range from standard fare like school pizza to other offerings such as vampire's blood, brains, and hearts—just in case an unexpected guest should drop in. After all, one never knows who might show up in Moorecroft.

⏵ honey do's ⏴
But life extends beyond work and school. A structured routine of what is expected of each household is kept on digital calendars, and installed on the wall in the kitchen of each house. These calendars update daily with smaller tasks, and weekly with larger ones, detailing what is expected of those residing within its walls.

Typical tasks include simple activities such as:

Take the child(ren) for a walk outdoors.
Visit the local park.
Bake a pie for the neighbors.
Tell your spouse(s) how important they are to you.
Share a secret.
Shop with your child(ren).
Mow the lawn.
Don’t forget to attend your child’s school’s PTA meeting!
Help with homework.
Take family photos.
Go on a date.

More complex tasks are found under weekly checklists, and may involve:

Host a neighborhood barbeque competition.
Volunteer at the hospital.
Teach your child a sport.
Start a soccer league.
Create a garage band.
Get a part time job.
Join a club.

Eos will check off each task as it is completed. At the bottom of each calendar, a tally records the completion of tasks, providing a visual measure of productivity and community involvement.

⏵ night watch ⏴
As the sun lowers over the horizon, everything shifts. Every long-term resident understands the consequences of curfew and the threats within. They retreat to their homes, urging those unfamiliar to them who may not understand the rules just yet that they, too, need to return indoors for the night.

Within the confines of their houses, life continues under a fragile veil of normalcy. A peek into some of the homes of long-term residents will find them playing board games with their family units, completing homework or work assignments they were unable to finish during the day, watching a few family-friendly shows on their couches, or enjoying a late dinner. Eventually, they’ll return to their beds and wait for the sound of their alarms.

In Moorecroft, no friendly companion bots roam the streets during the day. In their place, highly advanced robots emerge to enforce curfew once the time comes. They silently make their way through the streets, sweeping away anything that isn’t part of Eos’ design: trash left out on the street, bugs left by suspicious men wearing cowls that have ears on them, graffiti, new decor that Eos decides she doesn’t like. No winds shake the trees, there are no cars on the road, but noises can be heard coming from outside that don't sound... normal by any means. Croaks, whispers, scratches against doors and walls alike.

Those who defy curfew will be asked, once, to return to their homes. If they opt not to listen, they are met with force: physically restrained, subdued, and dragged back to their homes. If they decide to fight, the bots are not above killing them and dropping their limp bodies just inside the front door of their houses. They will revive after 48 hours but not without cost. Each return carries an absence—a missing memory, a lost skill, or a fragment of their very essence, stolen away in the process of their revival.

Even those who manage to evade capture will awaken in their beds with no recollection of their death or what they may have witnessed before dying. They will instead have a vague feeling that something horrifying happened.

⏵ NOTES ⏴

Daily and weekly tasks can be chosen by players! We won't be listing these out for each household, but relying on players to choose what's most fun for them to play with within their households.

As noted on Mission Plotting, we're open to one group successfully staying out past curfew, but would like to keep this to one thread.

We have a separate log for NPC interactions for this mission!

For any questions relating to the contents of this log, mod queries thread on the initial plotting post to assist us in keeping all mission-related information in one place. All other questions can be directed to the FAQ.
⏵FULL NAVIGATION⏴

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[ Ororo hears the sudden wail of a baby and winces a little before the door opens. She knows what that means. So when Daisy opens the door, she has the casserolle in hand, yes, but she's also wearing an apologetic smile. ]

I'm sorry to disturb you, and the little one's nap. I was just, ah, doing my neighborly part. [ She lifts the dish. It's in a take-out container, but at least it looks fancy. ] Bringing a neighbor some casserole.

[ They’ve been talking all the while, and the rest of the house remains still. No harm in some cheerful baiting as he leads them up the kitchen stairs. Whenever he hears Sam getting closer, he takes a double-quick step.

(There was a grander staircase in the foyer. Two sets of stairs, and not an old house with servants stairs. You don’t see that too often.)

The back-and-forth keeps it from being boring. The house seems like a house. Almost stereotypical in its aggressively tidy blandness. ]

But you didn’t.

[ Tim and his family don’t have the exclusive rights to parkour tricks. ]

I thought you liked showing off. You couldn’t wait to show me your knife skills.

I don't wanna break the house.

( but since they're taking a trip into the kitchen anyway, sam opts to take a detour to the fridge. swings open the door and - takes stock of what's currently in there: eggs, milk, cheese, juice, water.. the basics. the pack of cheese gets removed from the drawer, and sam tears it open. takes out a piece, and shoves it into his mouth before he gets back to following after tim. )

I'll show off outside.

Going from kidnapped from their universe to playing creepy happy families with randomly-assigned adults has been an Adjustment, even if Alex has more experience than Kyra with a) going to a regular(ish) school and b) pretending to be someone else's child. (Not that it's really a secret that Bobbi and Clint aren't his real parents.)

It's pretty obvious that there's something new stressing her out today, and he's immediately on the alert even before she asks to talk. At least she can't be in danger, can she? This place is weird and creepy and very suspicious at night, but probably safe during the day. Unless her assigned parents are hurting her, in which case they're about to have a very bad day.

"Yeah. You all right?"

[ Tim’s already cleared the hall bathroom when Sam gets to the second floor and is at the far end of the hall, opening the double doors of the master bedroom. Two more doors are unopened.

If he wasn’t trying to pay attention to everything around him, because he can almost taste the jumpscare behind every corner in this too normal house, he’d be giving Sam the look he deserves right now. ]

You can bring down a house, and your go-to party trick is a blood knife. If it’s true, I’m docking you two points for thinking I’m that easy to impress, but I think you’re stalling.

I. Traffic laws? What are those, can you eat them?

There are a lot of things Cloud doesn't like about this mission, but the fact that there are motorcycles here and he can have one sure ain't one of them. Even if this place apparently has "noise pollution" laws dictating when and where he can and can't ride it. It has laws about speed limits and wearing a helmet, too, and a bunch of other tedious shit that he really cannot be assed to care about when he's driving by himself. (With passengers, he's...marginally more careful. If anything did happen, though, he would absolutely not let them get hurt, so it's fine! ~~shut up deku~~)

Anyone can rely on him to give them a ride home if they're stranded, drunk, or too far away to walk there before the sun goes down. Once it becomes clear that groups are going out at night to try finding out what's up with the curfew, he'll start riding around town at sunset looking for people who need help escaping robots and taking them home.

Otherwise, his fellow Etrayans can run into him getting pulled over and being So Over It, or perhaps spot him rolling up to the school to pick up one or both so-called 'kids' (and secretly feeling pleased that all the teens think he's a Cool Dad for doing that).

II. Shopping. Why did it have to be shopping?

One of the things Cloud doesn't like is the amount of shopping he apparently has to do. Buying new clothes for Yuffie and Deku, shopping for food, going to the hardware store so he can fix shit around the house - why is there even shit to fix? they just moved in! - being expected to buy gifts for the family, the neighbors, the kids' teachers, the milkman, the postman...it just goes on and on. And Cloud loathes it. Especially because every time he tries to just go into a store, buy the things he needs, and leave, inevitably someone stops him to talk to him or ask him questions about the grocery store's selection of flowers or whatever, and he ends up spending way longer there than he wanted to having conversations he didn't want to have and didn't enjoy. All because Eos expects him to participate instead of just bailing when people become annoying.

Find him standing in a long checkout line and hating everything, looking blankly at a selection of things he knows nothing about, or stuck in an endless conversation with someone who's babbling on at him and obviously dissociating like mad. He could use a rescue! Or someone to make things worse.

III. On the job

Wondering why the local flower shop is called Oopsie Daisies?

Yeah, so is Cloud. Except this is, apparently, his shop. So says Eos, anyway.

So please, come in and have a look around! Ask Cloud many questions he absolutely does not know the answers to. Please excuse him if he has to go call his fake wife real quick to ask her those questions because she's the actual florist. Ask him to recommend flowers for the most romantic bouquet of all time, or suggest flowers with particular meanings. Enjoy seeing him in an apron trying to figure out how much water is appropriate for each type of plant, or hastily reviewing a library book that identifies flowers with photos. He has no idea what he's doing, but dammit, he's gonna do it right.

III. Little tasks

Some of the tasks on the household list aren't so bad. Some of them are things he'd have done anyway.

Some of them he would love to just refuse to do, if it didn't mean possibly condemning his world to destruction.

The list so far...
- Teach something to someone else's child
- Participate in community theater
- Supervise/chaperone a class of kids on some kind of trip or at an event
- Coach a sport
- PDA of some kind with members of your family
- Attend a neighbor's party or hosted event

[Feel free to just throw a starter at me for any of these or whatever you come up with, I'm down for mostly anything!]

[ Krouse isn't sure what a 'scam house' is, but it doesn't seem like a priority in light of the look on her face. He straightens up slightly and puts his back against the wall, his hands loose and obvious at his sides. ]

I'm sorry.

[ He's not a sensitive person, as a rule, but he doesn't have to be to acknowledge something that bad. Especially not when she's this obviously afraid of how he'll take it. ]

No one deserves that. [ He shakes his head, not lifting his eyes from hers. ] And if you're worried it'll bother me, don't be. As far as I care, you're just another person here. We're all in the same boat.

(aka Cloud's Nightmare)

It's on the list, so they're doing it. Even though Cloud hates parties and has no idea how to host one. Even though neither of them really knows how to prepare proper party food, so they make it a potluck instead. Even though Cloud thinks Yuffie is practically guaranteed to be an absolute menace and Deku's probably going to be almost as awkward as he is.

It's happening anyway.

So come on down to the Gainsborough-Strife residence, bring your favorite dish/treat/drink/whatever, and do whatever it is people do at parties. Cloud has no idea, because all he usually does at a party is stand in a corner and wait for it to end, and that's when he can't get away with ditching it altogether. But this time, he's a host, so that's not gonna fly. He's...doing his best.

Find him at the food spread making himself a plate, standing around awkwardly, answering the door awkwardly, trying to avoid talking to people, or in the family room playing the piano - something he isn't doing awkwardly, for once! He's pretty darn good, too.

It's only when Izuku's voice stutters out and he goes bright pink that Katsuki realizes he may have made a mistake thinking Izuku was the right person to ask if 'not make a big deal out of it' was part of his criteria. Stupid! Since when had Izuku ever not made a big deal out of anything?

When Izuku wheezes out that question, Katsuki gives him a solid thump on the back as if that'll help clear his lungs, and then follows up with a light cuff against the back of Izuku's head with the palm of his hand.

"You didn't hear me wrong, nerd." he says, "I said go on a date with me."

Katsuki plants his feet on the seat of the chair next to Izuku, rests his elbow on his knee, and his cheek in his hand, head tilted as he looks at the other boy, red eyes slightly narrowed. As nonchalant as he's being, Katsuki feels a little like his stomach is in knots, and he's not entirely sure why. It shouldn't be. He's been bullying Izuku since they were kids, he's been acting like he hates Izuku since they were kids. Deep down, of course, he knows that he doesn't hate Izuku, that Izuku is someone he's known for as long as he can remember, that Izuku is his rival. Someone important. Someone whose opinion matters.

So, despite the way he leans back with his hands on the table and body swayed back, not looking at Izuku, he can feel his heart pounding as he waits for an answer.

I don't like scaring people.

( it's honest, even if it's not the whole truth. his shoulders lift in a small shrug, before sam shoves another piece of cheese into his mouth. keeps following after tim, because he may as well. )

There's nothing else alive in here. Nothing's moving, nothing smells off. I'm no seer, but I'm not usually wrong when a place feels relatively safeish.

[First, almost automatically:] Don't use my first name.

[Sorry Krouse, he hates his first name and one must level up to unlock this privelge. With that out the way, his reaction to Rita's continued outburst is one of tired acquiescence - a frown followed by a quiet huff, hands in pockets.

It'll take a lot to stop Rita when she's like this and Natsuno is in no mood to play referee. He can only hope she gets a satisfying revenge, OR gets her ass handed to her so thoroughly he can talk sense into her later.

It takes five seconds before Natsuno has to go back on his decision to stays out of it, because Rita raises her hand and he's pretty sure she's about to say "Oh flickering blaze, burn."]

Hey - [He grabs her shoulder.] You really gonna use fire? Do you want the entire "faculty" and whoever they forced into playing firemen here?

In cities too.

[He steps off the bike to allow Rita a better view. He's a little surprised nothing similar exists in her world. He'd think it would be useful to have some technology that isn't depending on aer and blastia.]

Wanna give it a go?

[ Krouse throws up one hand in the semi-universal language of my bad at Natsuno's correction. If not for his pending doom, he'd voice his understanding of the position. Solidarity, and all that.

The fire is a slightly more pressing concern. ]

And think of the collateral damage. The bleachers didn't do anything to you.

[ He points out, reasonably enough, letting his hand hang for a second before he drops it. ]

As for what I have to say for myself? [ He smiles, ever so slightly, his eyes dark and sharp. ] I tend to think apologies come across as more sincere when there isn't a threat of gruesome bodily harm involved. Is that possibility on the table? Just curious.

Edited 2024-07-24 08:35 (UTC)

Cassandra doesn’t take well to the limitations of… whatever this mission is. The pretend families (and she is trying very hard NOT to think about the complicated snarl of emotions in her chest that has sat there since the mission had begun), the rules and forced roles. So she strikes a balance between playing the part, not necessarily bothering to hold her tongue (she’s a de Rolo, the smart mouth is in her blood), but pretending to be well-behaved near flawlessly in public.

All the while she’s mapping the place out and making note of everything.

The curfew irks her most of all. She’s going to break it. She’s planning to break it. But planning is the key word. She’s not going to just rush headlong into things. But she does… press it, a little. Lingers right on the cusp of breaking it.

She’s distracted, attention focused on mapping and observing, until she realises that it’s VERY NEARLY curfew time. She’s not ready, her plan isn’t ready. Her projects aren’t finished. So Cassandra gracefully and easily slips in through a nearby window before the bots start being a nuisance. Right under the wire, as everything locks down behind her.

Well. Looks like she’s not going anywhere for a while. Hope whoever’s house this is doesn’t mind.

Okay, okay-- cool. Thanks.

[ A name was given, noted, though Gorgug doesn't interrupt the guy--Tim, Tim Drake--as he speaks, turns his attentions onto the companion bot that seems satisfied by the exchange and turns around with any notice: job done, child handed over, it goes onto its next task.

Gorgug looks back to see it go, half-nervous about it sticking around. But when it's clear it's not, when they're free of it, does more of that anxiety leave him. He turns back to Tim and gives him a grimace, awkward. ]

I read what we were told, but I didn't know it'd be like--that.

[ Ugh!!! ]

--Thanks, [ he gives again, because he feels it's deserved, when he's not feeling Pressured by a bot--a delivery made, not different from a parcel that needed signed for. ]

[ It's still the general store, the camera in Ororo's hand, when-- ]

--Hey.

[ --there's a voice, the tone of recognition, and Ororo may recognise it, or find it close enough to turn and see the source: and find one Gorgug standing there, his own attention not turned on the shades swivel stand beside him, nor the (rather useless) postcards that all show different parts of Moorecroft.

No, his attention, and his coming this way, solely has to do with Ororo, with whom he gives an awkward, small smile when she looks at him. Hi. Hey. ]

Weird, uh-- place we're in, huh?

[ Smooth!! Not calling it a mission out in public!! ]

[ SCALE PEOPLE IN PINK SWEATERS??--

No, there's no recognition here, except in the guy spoken to, an offer that's taken as Gorgug, with a 'sure' as he carefully--slower than necessarily, but not comedically so--places himself into a seat. ]

As long as there's still good games. [ Right?, is implied, that neither their system really matters more than that; but probably speaks of familiarity before Gorgug continues. ] But, not really-- I play games on my crystal, and I used to go to the arcades, but-- but not in a long time.

[ Which does make him pause, figure to share, since there's an interst there for the other: ]

A lot of the game cases at the arcade-- it looks a lot like the arcade in Elmville. It doesn't look that different. [ His lips pinch, a flash of something awkward--or just entirely Gorgug--as he adds, ] But I didn't hang around.

[ An aversion, almost sheepish, but acting like nothing. ]

[ Oh look, there's Gorgug's friend Fabian out on the street, carrying a lump.

Did he see which house he came out of? Which direction he came from? None of that actually matters, more than the way that Fabian--the longer that Gorgug watches him--seems far more erratic than his usual self. Fabian is all movement, all the time, but this--

Well, who knows if Fabian does see him before Gorgug manages to speak, but still, because Fabian is acting very un-Fabian like (well, sorta of): ]

Fabian?

[ Gorgug is calling out to get a bro's attention. Fabian, you're the bro. Gorgug is here on the sidewalk, watching you. ]

[ Jean brightens at Scott's voice, interrupting her internal debate about what popcorn flavors to pick up for Laura. She turns toward the direction it came from, basket hanging from one hand, and Felicia settled on her opposite hip, sleeping soundly. Red tufted hair askew, and little blue eyes fast closed (a small, steady drool making a dark splotch on the edge of Jean's dress). Her gaze sweeps Scott's face in a quick rotation, and she could say that has to do with making sure he's fine, but with the swell her heart gives at his voice, at just seeing him—at how her mouth puckishly draws into a fond, almost crooked smile at the dashes of forgotten oil on his cheek—she knows it's not. (It never is.) ]

It's almost as though that's the point.

[ Then. ] It's good to see you.

[ Hayan may have gotten stuck with a toddler, but it seems that Fabian's got something that's just a little younger enough to not be able to walk on its own. So although he is also with a fake AI baby out in the park, he doesn't have his own on the harness he spots Hayan walking her own "child" with. Instead he's wearing one of those baby carriers that allows him to carry the AI baby on his back, the little head peeking over his shoulder to look at Hayan when Fabian approaches her. ]

Hey..!

[ It's almost like there's a little hint of relief in his eyes, though the guy would never admit to that. Not explicitly, anyway. ]

So.. they also gave you a child, huh?

( there’s something about seeing jean with an infant there at her hip that has him feel some sort of way. something he maybe could have had one day. something he would have liked to have had. but now… )

See you got one of those, too, huh?

( a nod to the infant, shifting his basket over to his other hand. )

[ Fabian's jaw drops the moment Natsuno makes that suggestion.

It's not even like he himself hasn't advocated for wanton violence before. Hell, he's pretty sure that his father was alive and in this place, he would likely have suggested the very same thing. But there's something about this entire situation that makes Fabian feel sick to his stomach at the idea of smashing it.

Not that he can put it into words though. He hardly even consciously realises it himself. So rather than giving any intelligent answer, he just says: ]

W-What?

[ Like he just didn't hear Natsuno over the wailing of the baby.

To be fair, it is screeching pretty loudly, even now. ]

I-- I have! [ Fabian protests, almost sounding defensive. Like there's something about the implication of him not taking good care of this fake baby is really getting to him for some reason.

Or maybe he's just worked up already from this entire situation, and from the fact that the baby just doesn't stop crying.

Even now it's crying in his arms, making Fabian look more panicked with each passing moment he stands on Dean's doorstep. ]

Nothing I'm doing is making it stop..!

[ O-Oh no. Not only is Aerith getting closer, she's also using the friends word here. It's almost starting to feel like Fabian isn't able to stop what's about to come, even though he desperately wants to do so. ]

W-What do you mean, Aerith? In what way have I not seemed okay?

[ He is holding onto the door for dear life, like he's worried she's just going to shove her way inside somehow. ]

I'm just-- you know, me! Good old Fabian! I'm perfectly okay! [ It's like he truly believes that if he just denies his disheveled state out loud for long enough, it'll somehow magically become the truth. Or at least that other people will magically start to believe it. ]

Man, I didn't murder anyone!

[ He sounds.. almost kind of offended?

Not even that Krouse would think Fabian would murder someone. That's very factually correct. He's just kind of offended that Krouse thinks Fabian would bother to cover something like that up, when clearly any murder he commits would be justified and something worth bragging about.

Unfortunately his offense also means he accidentally loosens his grip on the door a little, revealing that Fabian's entire shirt is covered in what seems like.. vomit, maybe? It looks gross, at least.

The boy realises just a moment too late that he's in full view like this, quickly pulling the door back to that tiny crack like that way it'll be like Krouse never saw anything in the first place. ]

Also, cool it with the c-o-p thing, okay? I don't like it either..! [ He seems flustered, but in a weirdly fatigued way. Something about the way he speaks lacks his full usual energy. ]

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Page 12 of 67

MISSION 004 (part 1)

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d + some c action

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honey dos, a

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taking the baby for a walk!

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