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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Eventually, Yelena finds herself at the aquarium, wandering by tank after tank of sea creatures on display, some look familiar to what she'd find on Earth, but others are even more fascinating in their unfamiliarity.

She turns the corner into the next hallway and pauses when she notices the man paused in the middle of the walkway, staring inside, watching the oddly patterned octopus swirl by. She can't be sure from this distance, but she thinks... maybe he's crying? And there's something so... pure about that, somehow.

"They are pretty cool," she says, taking her time to wander slowly down the hallway, mostly in the guise of giving him time to pull himself together- men, in her experience, don't love being seen as emotional. She doesn't either, if she's honest about it, and she'd appreciate someone giving her that second or two, so she gives it to him, too.

Though she has fallen into something of an easy routine with her shifts at the bar, Yelena doesn't really know what to do with herself on the days she is not scheduled to work. Sometimes, she wanders and explores the town, or tries to follow the strange little task lists they're given. But other times... she just doesn't know how to spend quite so much down time.

Given all that, when a knock comes to the front door, she immediately pops off the couch where she'd been sat watching some soap opera she doesn't know anything about to rush and answer it.

"Hiii," she draws the word out with a slight wave of one hand, and then after a second she recognizes her from when she was discussing sparring lessons with people. "Chrissy, right?" she grins and then her eyes land on her little basket of goodies, "What are these?"

Same. With all these screams and scratches I heard from inside, I though there'll be something, but the robots are just patrolling and cleaning stuff up.

[It's annoying. What's the point of being a monster whose every sense is meant for hunting if you can't find the other horrors prowling the night?]

[Spider-Man pokes his head over the edge of the window, but doesn't try to break in further, now that he sees the owner of the house.]

Umm...! Hi. I'm Spider-Man.

[His voice is low, as if he's trying not to wake up the residence.]

Didn't mean to wake you up. Uh.

There are some robots trying to kill me; can I come in for a little bit?

[He's a little battered and scraped up. Nothin' he can't handle!]

Hey, Dr. Octavius! Sorry to interrupt your eight hours.

[Agh, the actuators are such a jumpscare to a Spider-Man.

But he'll get used to them being cooler than they used to be!

Looking a little sheepish, Peter limps into the living room and yanks the mask off his face, revealing the scrapes and bruises of a guy who has definitely been duking it out with something out there in the dark.]

The bots that patrol outside — pretty much go into murder-mode if you don't comply the first time they take you home. [Breathlessly, he adds:] I would not mess with those guys; never seen robots armed with so many ways to kill someone.

[If Gorgug had noticed her wiping her eyes, she would have offered him a half-truth rather than a full one.]

What are the books about?

[When he asks her a question, Nuvia looks a little thrown off guard.]

Was it that obvious?

[Nuvia’s eyes sparkled with amusement at the pun, a soft giggle escaping her.]

I guess you could say I have a bit of a ‘cheerful’ strength!

[She flexed her arms slightly, the muscles even more visible thanks to her cheerleading uniform's short sleeves.]

Farming has always been a big part of my life. I loved helping my mother with all the heavy lifting. It made me feel really useful.

[With a nod of encouragement, Nuvia stepped back and began her routine. She performed a series of flips and jumps, seamlessly integrating her powers to control her weight and enhance the fluidity of her movements. Her performance was smooth and impressive, each motion precise and graceful.]

Ready for more?

[Her smile reflecting her enjoyment in showing off her skills.]

[Holding a hand out to retake the computer, he glares.]

I don't usually have to consider other people when it comes to this shit.

Can you provide any details about the screams you heard?

[Might as well start there.]

Sí, gracias.

[Laura is the one that opens the door to her home.

She is also proceeding to reach out, stone-faced, and try and take the whole case of milk from Dick.

Zero hesitation.

Think fast, Grayson!]

[You never know what or who you're going to be running into out here, in the expanse of a dangerous nighttime suburbia. As he's on look-out, it's easy to see her from his vantage point: a scrappy-looking child walking down the street, a worn green backpack on her shoulders and her expression unfazed as she scans the area around her carefully. The bots are apparently dangerous — but she doesn't seem to care too much.

Not when there are people trying to tell her what to do, how to live. She's a terribly defiant child when there's a force attempting to keep her caged in anywhere, let alone a bedroom in a foreign city bubble.

The bots are not too far from her, though.

Haven't noticed her, but certainly might.]

Cookie-cutter is definitely the word I'd use. It's... too samey. It's like it came out of a movie or picture book.

[ She scoffs, face turning into a frown. ]

It'd be easy to just pretend everything's fine, but I've had enough of doing that. There's something off and I'm not gonna sit around and wait for it to sneak up on me.

[ She makes a little noise. ]

I am gonna take advantage, though.

Nonsense. Come sit down.

[Otto has no real idea if Peter knew he was living here, or if it was happenstance, but either way he's going to take care of this as much as he can. He's got a good sense of how quickly his universe's Peter could heal, but he's less sure of this one.]

What were you doing out there? Just checking it out?

[Hm. If she looked older, he might be willing to wait and see before interfering. There's people around here with all sorts of strange abilities, after all. Even a kid seems likely to have them - but that doesn't mean he should just stand back and watch. Otto descends carefully from the roof, silently and slower than he could go. He doesn't want to be the one to set those robots off.]

[ He's not going to laugh. She'd think the joke was on her, and there's not much Krouse wants less than that coming out of this conversation. He does smile, quick and sharp and bright, like a stray bolt of light glinting off polished armour. ]

Not at all.

[ She shouldn't want to be his friend any more than anyone else should, but telling her that would be like laughing. She wouldn't get it. Lately, he's been working on not making everything about himself. It'd be a shame to fuck that up when it counts. ]

You've got baggage. Who doesn't? [ He shrugs, light and loose. ] I'm really not seeing what's supposed to be so horrible about you, to be honest.

They should be done in a couple of days. What sort did you want? Shirts? Jackets? Coats? All of the above? I know fashion is not really important given our circumstances in Etraya, but you might as well be comfortable.

[ Hob knows a few good garments has also done wonders for his own self and how he feels, too. ]

Yeah, that sounds good! You can tell me if there's anything that seems off about the weather station.

[ Weather has everything to do with geography, right? If there's anything to be learned about their location, or something that they might be hiding, it would be there. But for once, Riz allows himself to stop ruminating over every little mystery nagging at him to instead learn a little more about the woman he's sharing a house with.

He doesn't know her well yet, after all -- just that she seems very kind. ]

No, of course not! Just anyone you'd consider your kids. I know some families can look pretty different. [ He can't help think of the some of the very complicated families around him, from getting adopted at sixteen to Gorgug's endless search for his biological parents. ]

[ Krouse has the minimal grace to look mildly rueful in a wry, self-deprecating sort of way. ]

It's a display stand for criminals. Dead criminals. Suspended in mid-air. [ Hence the reasonable enough concern about some overlap in terminoloy. ] Fortunately a relic of the ancient past relative to the invention of high school.

[ Maybe Spyre skipped their equivalent historical period's grisly innovations, if that's even where people first came up with the concept. Or maybe Gorgug just never went through a Horrible Histories series phase. Krouse isn't sure the Scholastic book fair tours a lot of other universes. ]

Although that would be a hell of a way to deter academic misconduct. Get your homework in on time, or else...

Why is your baby purple? I do not think that is healthy...? Not that I know much about them either. But at least my "children" are, like, half-grown already. Who are they, the other adults in the house? Have you met any of them before this? I luckily at least vaguely know all of my housemates. ...a fake one, I guess.

[That last one burns a little- she can't help it, all of this is dragging all of that back up from where she'd buried it.]

Shirts, yes...a coat would be nice. Maybe a longer one like this.

[Even now Otto's slightly more layered than the weather seems to really call for. It's fine and nothing to do with any past horrific electrical burns!]

[ Asuka hands it back with a little shake of her head. ]

Well, now you do. So you better start using that big head of yours.

[They’ve only just met and Loki can’t help but like Hob. There’s just something so charming about him, Loki finds himself wanting to get to know him better. And perhaps it is meant to be, since he’s randomly come across Hob for the second time now.

Loki takes the coffee with a smile and a nod of thanks.]

Yes, I imagine you are quite good with customers. And with an eye for style as well. [He motions to what Hob is wearing.]

I am currently a museum curator. I also have not done such a job before, but it really is quite fascinating. I have always enjoyed museums, so at least I have a taste for it.

[ Under the cover of his visor, Fett's eyes track the strange mechanical appendage hovering over the man's shoulder. Some kind of assistive device, perhaps? ]

Yes. [ He holds out the hammer to the man, gesturing towards it with a curt nod. ] Seemed like a useful enough gift.

Yeah. Seeing what happens after. How it made the people you left behind feel.

[That was the worst part, what made him decide he'll try to find value in an undead existenxe. He couldn't bear to see the anger and grief in everyone's faces.]

... To be honest, I've just been calling her 'Baby'.

[Oh jesus. Like calling a cat 'Kitty'.]

The household is totally working on it, though. [He winces rubbing a hand over his face.] That is so weird to say out loud. This household thing, it's all super weird, isn't it? The AI in charge of how this place works is nuts to force everyone into weird little family bubbles.

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MISSION 004 (part 1)

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baking for neighbors;

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a. got milk

iv. neighborhood watch

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