etrayalogs | MISSION 004 WRAP-UP

Entry tags:

MISSION 004 WRAP-UP

WHO: Everyone!
WHEN: August 9th and going forward
WHERE: Returning to Etraya
WHAT: End of Mission 004 Log
NOTES\WARNINGS: N/A

⏵ there's no place like home ⏴
On the morning of August 9th, every Etrayan’s earpiece receives a message from Eos: FAIL or PASS in big, bold letters with no further context. Players are free to choose which response their character gets; if they were able to go through Moorecroft without letting on that they were from Etraya, or another city bubble in general, they will receive a PASS. Those whose identities as Etrayans were spoiled, will get a FAIL. This response has no bearing on whether or not they participated in the midnight breakouts, nor what condition they’ve managed to get themselves into.

It wouldn’t be the first time some kids from Moorecroft tore up the town looking for answers, even if it is the first time in a while they’ve managed to get as far as they had and cause as much damage as they have.

Regardless, any responses sent to Eos will bounce right back to the original sender, with a RECEIVER UNAVAILABLE error: it seems that, shortly after sending through their results, all of those from Etraya have been disconnected from Eos’ network, and reconnected to Aurora’s by the friendly companion bots stepping through another portal in the middle of Moorecroft’s park. They’ll offer waves of their hands, and usher everyone back to Etraya proper. They’ll offer explanations similar to what Aurora would give to newcomers arriving to those who were dropped in with Eos, as well as offer to assist them in getting settled in Etraya.

The companion bots will allow Etrayans to step through the portal with items they can carry, minus the smaller android babies. If they insist, it will be explained to them that, much like the companion bots native to Etraya, these babies are meant to assist newcomers in settling, and they cannot take them from Eos.

Welcome home.

At the very least, everything looks normal on this side.

⏵ whispered secrets of the night ⏴
Or it seems normal enough. While previous excursions outside of Etraya have featured environmental changes, the city bubble now appears exactly as it had before everyone left. Buildings stand as pristine as ever, animals have been fed and cared for, and everyone is invited to return to their homes for a quick rest.

But as you meander through the familiar streets and over bridges, an unsettling stillness clings to the air. The usual sounds of Etraya–the rustling of leaves, the chirping of birds, and the chatter from the companion bots– feel slightly off. Shadows stretch a little too long, lingering in the corners of your vision, and the light, although warm, seems to cast an unnatural tint over everything. It’s as if the city itself had been holding its breath in everyone’s absence.

As days pass, the eerie stillness begins to ebb. The animals gradually resume their usual activities, and companion bots return to their routines, chatting with Etrayans as they wander the city and help set up new facilities.

Yet despite the return of normalcy, a sense of unease lingers. The city feels different as if it’s been touched by something while you were away. There are no curfews on Etraya, unlike Moorecroft, but those who wander in the dark may be unable to help but notice that it almost feels as if something is watching you, waiting for you to let your guard down. Etraya appears to be the same, but something has changed, shifted. And it’s only a matter of time before that change reveals itself.

Those who wander outside at night during their first several days back will feel like they are being watched, but will be unable to find what is watching them, regardless of the method they use to try and discern what it is.

⏵ sea la vie ⏴ The unsettling sensation of being watched gradually fades over the next few days. Etraya begins to feel more like the place you remember: slightly empty, but comfortably so. The weather shifts unpredictably, with cool breezes one day and almost stifling warmth the next.

The companion bots, seemingly oblivious to any lingering unease, appear to be in full vacation mode. They spend a significant amount of time on the two small, sandy islands that are just south of the hospital, setting up for what looks like the perfect beach day. Chairs are arranged in neat rows, colorful towels are spread out across the sand, and a small shack has been built just off the side of the bridge that offers swimsuits and any other beach-related item that they could need - or most of them! The narrow river means surfboards are out of the question; instead, the bots provide massive tube floaties, perfect for lazily drifting down the currents.

⏵ polaroid pandemonium ⏴ Everyone receives an invitation to Corrine’s Cafe, along with a table number. The invitation may arrive via a companion bot delivering it to them physically, or as a direct message from Aurora via their earpiece. The invitation instructs them to meet at the cafe at a specific time and sit at a designated table.

At each table, two envelopes sit in front of two chairs, each containing a collection of photos. These images capture significant moments from your history - events you may have forgotten or ones that have shaped who you are. On the back of each envelope, instructions for the task await: discuss the moment featured in the photo with your partner, and share what it means to you. Whether it’s a memory of a terrible ordeal, or one of your happiest times with your loved ones. The choice to participate is yours; however, Aurora and the companion bots make it clear that your place at the table is pre-reserved whether you show up or not - meaning, your photos may still be viewed by others, even if you decide not to show up.

⏵ NOTES ⏴

This log marks the end of their visit to Moorecroft! Characters return to Etraya on August 9th regardless of what shenanigans they were getting up to within the other city bubble. We'll be following up with the mission: breakout threads, as well as continuing to follow through with NPC threads and provide further information for those still participating in plotting.

For any questions relating to the contents of this log, please use the mod queries thread. All other questions can be directed to the FAQ.

⏵FULL NAVIGATION⏴

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

That's not what I said.

[ Not explicitly, at least. ]

I just don't think I'm going to be a good spokesperson to stand up and talk about the reasons why. Plus, I don't know if I believe this place can do anything to any other worlds. I don't trust it.

No. But I don't, to mine. [Yelena had suggested she try talking to other people, more or less. she's still struggling to find the value in it, when every conversation sets her on edge. mostly the lack of knowing how to respond without escalating into further argument, with her desire to cut through straight to the facts.

but not everything is an interrogation. she doesn't have to aggressively shake information out of everyone she talks to. supposedly it's easier to find some common ground. Ava sighs out at the impossibility of such, boots scuffing at the sidewalk as she walks.]

I'm not interested in spokesmen, or the opinions of people too stupid to take any of this at face value. Just trying to understand what consequences there have been. Or if there's a correlation between... failure to play along and those who vanish.

Couldn't tell you.

[ Which sucks. Because while she doesn't trust this place and it's shit, there's a small part of her that does wonder if what htey're saying is true.

But how the hell do you prove that? ]

I haven't gotten tossed into jail or flogged in the town square for not doing everything they've said. I don't know if that means they're not serious or they're just biding their time.

Suppose if it's meant to be a test... correcting our behavior along the way wouldn't yield results beyond how easily coerced or influenced by punishment somebody is. [not how deserving they and their world are of surviving, by whatever metric that's being measured. interference is meant to be minimized in scientific experiments, or else the results are skewed.

a frustrated sigh. no, she doesn't like having to play by the rules, especially in a situation she never agreed to, but it's even more annoying not knowing where all the lines are drawn.

the only feedback being that she somehow passed the last mission grates at her, and the fact that it bothers her at all is even worse. are they intentionally psychologically manipulating her, or is her paranoia being fueled by her own experience with exploitation?]

So has anybody outright tried to fight back or protest?

Edited 2024-08-21 20:43 (UTC)

Nothing organized that I know of.

[ Not that she's heard of, at least. And if it has happened, she's had her head stuck in the sand and she's missed it. Unfortunate if so. ]

I think most people are just busy dealing with the bullshit. The stupid plushies or arranged marriages and shit.

[she looks unimpressed at that. not that Ava thinks protest would be any amount successful no matter how organized, but at least something might be learned from it.]

Didn't waste my time playing house. [she shared an assigned living space and stayed out of the way as much as possible, because she had no interest in playing family with strangers. it's insulting. her family is long dead.

but at least they didn't make the mistake of trying to house her with any men, she'd have put them right out on the streets, curfew be damned.]

Makes sense to keep us distracted with pointless things. Though whatever we're meant to be doing here, I have no clue.

We're rats in a maze.

[ Put there to be entertainment for whoever might be running this place. It's all shit and it's going to continue to be shit. ]

I don't know what lesson or what living with someone for a short time did to prove anything besides that people can. It's just a way for them to be entertained.

Least they can do is offer some decent cheese for motivation. [she crosses her arms tightly over her chest, hates the feeling of being trapped all over again. even if the cage is less visible, the orders less specific or direct. at least with a handler giving her a debriefing on her performance, she knew the routine. here she feels completely lost, and she hates it because it just exposes her underlying reliance on the thing she hates most.

control. every step forward feels like unknowingly walking right into whatever trap the unknown they have set up. how can she know any choice of her own isn't exactly the one this entire set up is trying to push her into. a glitching version of her face turns to suspiciously glare at Jessica, even as her gaze stays steady ahead.]

They could just watch reruns of The Office like everyone else, if they're that bored. Jesus. I'm sick of everyone trying to make their shitty schemes my problem. I was dealing with enough and the first time in my goddamn life I was going to get a chance to be normal- [Ava immediately cuts herself off with a snarl.]

Whoa.

[ And here Jessica thought she had some pent up issues. Looks like she's not the only one. She eyes the other woman for a moment, waiting to see if the outburst was done before shrugging a shoulder. She doesn't disagree because she's damn tired of people sticking their noses into her life and questioning her choices too.

So, she gets it. She understands. ]

What do you mean, get a chance to be normal?

[she breathes out jaggedly, a bit embarrassed at allowing the cracks in her resolve to show. to a total stranger who has no interest nor responsibility for her wellbeing.] I...

[it's all really fucking unfair, but saying so sounds so childish. nothing has ever been fair, it's not as if she has some unique claim over being traumatized. she just needs to handle it better, fingernails digging sharply into her palms.]

I've been sick for a long time. Finally found people willing to help. Developed a treatment plan... [Scott was supposed to go off an collect her more healing particles from the Quantum Realm, and maybe it's for the best she's oblivious to how that ends. because it'd be further proof that the odds are forever stacked against her.] But now I'm stuck here. [and it's an oversimplification of everything, but admitting that she's a killer struggling to integrate into society that went on a revenge streak against a family in a desperate attempt to save her own life is really just too much to share. she's fine self-isolating from the population here already, she doesn't need to give anyone reason to come after her.]

Are you getting sicker?

[ She's not a doctor, she doesn't know what makes a person sick unless they're being obvious about it so it's not like she can tell. Her eyes narrow as she looks over the other woman.

Doesn't look contagious and isn't snotting it up everywhere so Jessica's gonna take this to mean sick in ways she's not aware of. ]

I'd bet the money that I don't have there's some kind of doctor around here that might help.

[Ava visibly tenses at the mention of doctors. maybe it was a mistake to mention that something is wrong with her. she doesn't need a stranger using it as an excuse to poke and prod at her. and she certainly doesn't need to give anyone leverage over her again.] No. It's not the kind of thing that- it's fine, I have it under control. [she doesn't. she has no idea how long Janet's stabilization will hold out. but apparently the dead don't stay so here, so if it comes to that...]

The point was. I was so close to finally getting to just. Live. Free of other people's bullshit. Do something I wanted with my life. Without having to constantly worry if I messed up or didn't perform correctly-

Well, if you did, you fucked up with a lot of other people.

[ Considering she wasn't alone. They were all here, stuck and trapped, and forced to do whatever this place wanted them to do. ]

So, I don't think it's just you, okay? I don't even know if that's what happened. Could be this place just snatched random people to have fun with.

[she wants to claim she did nothing to deserve this, but she can't manage such a lie. in her heart she knows better. knows that no matter how she justifies all the lives she's taken, that the karmic weight of it would crush her eventually. Ava huffs lightly and glares, she highly doubts this was just random selections.]

Sure. But then what? We just let them kick us around until they get bored and toss us away? [like Yelena's sister, who apparently vanished without so much of a warning. the very thing that gnaws at Ava's anxiety, that she can never seem to escape.]

That's what they'd like to happen.

[ Not that she's certain of that but she has no idea what this place's aim is. She knows what they've been told but that doesn't mean shit to her.

She wants to see concrete evidence of that fact. ]

What else do you wanna do about it? Rise up and rebel?

... [well, yes. yes, she'd like to rebel. years of pent up frustrations to take out, resentment for being lied to and exploited and abused. having her choices taken away, forced into a lifestyle she never wanted.

all these years of desperate survival, and for what? just to be trapped all over again.

but the truth is, she never successfully managed to get away from SHIELD until somebody else destroyed it. because they had ensured she was so dependent upon them to dare leave. but she's promised herself never to fall for such a scheme again.] There's nothing I'd enjoy more than burning it all to the ground.

But. It's a waste of effort without an actual plan. No satisfaction in throwing a tantrum for the sake of it. I don't even know what there is to fight against.

And I don't have a plan. No one else I've talked to seems to have a plan either.

[ But hey, maybe she's been talking to the wrong people. Maybe there was a plan somewhere. She shrugs. ]

If you don't like that, make your own plan.

[an irritated sigh. because the overwhelming sense of impending failure looms over, and yet despite her crushing exhaustion and desire to finally just be done, Ava doesn't like to give up. doesn't like to just give in and have her freedom violated without a proper fight.

but she had put everything she had into her last fight, what was supposed to be the last, one way or another. and this time she's starting at even more of a disadvantage. Ava closes her eyes briefly, steadies herself with a reminder she can cry about it (again) when she's safely alone.]

I was trained to wait. Gather proper intel. Be patient. [Bill isn't here to remind her anymore, but his wisdom lingers. prevents her from giving in to her impulsive instincts. she's a professional, not a rebellious teenager.]

Was just hoping others made mistakes to learn from first. But it's fine. I'm used to doing everything the hard way.

If they've made mistakes, I haven't seen them.

[ Has she been looking? Not too closely which is her own fault. She's been more sulking than anything else especially since she hasn't been able to get herself out of this mess.

It's annoying. It's frustrating. ]

They just seem to like tossing weird shit at us and watching us run in circles.

Failing didn't seem to mean much. Not yet, at least. [if that will have later consequences, that's to be seen. maybe a mark against their universe's survival rating. but for people like her that really don't care about the fate of it...]

I don't know. Once heard if you're tired of going in circles, try walking in a straight line. [a snort. because she's really directionless in her wandering right now. without any specific goal to focus on, she's felt increasingly lost.]

I think I've heard that one before too.

[ Maybe from her mother before everything had happened, maybe from Trish, she's not sure. She hadn't really paid it in any mind. ]

Is that what you're out doing? Walking in a straight line to clear your head? Or you just getting off trying to scare people?

[that type of wisdom might sound good but isn't easy to act upon in any meaningful way, of course.]

Can't sleep. But it's hardly my fault that everyone's so easily spooked by me just existing. [slightly defensive. but she pauses] It is funny when you get a grown man to start pleading to god, though.

You're lucky that it was me you spooked.

[ Though, she would argue that she wasn't spooked. She was fine, thank you. ]

Someone else might have had a weapon. And they might have been a good shot and made your night really terrible.

Edited 2024-08-31 12:11 (UTC)

[lucky is that it's somebody that's been willing to listen to her vent, really. it's been so pent up.

a small snort of amusement.] Wasting their ammo won't hurt my feelings any. Doesn't matter how good their aim is. Can't shoot what's not actually there.

[she vanishes, and reappears directly in front of Jessica.] Hit me.

[ Yeah, the vanishing is a neat trick, isn't it? Thankfully, Jessica doesn't startle when the woman appears right in front of her. She rolls her eyes and then, fine, tries to hit her.

She rears back and throws a punch, silently apologizing for what she was about to do. ]

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