AUGUST MINGLE.

[etrayamods]

WHO: Everyone!
WHEN: Late August into September
WHERE: Etraya
WHAT: August's arrival log + a crash.
NOTES\WARNINGS: Clown horror, potential graphic violence, & psychological trauma. Please add additional warnings as needed within threads.

⏵ arrival ⏴ Your arrival to Etraya may have unfolded just as anticipated. Aurora, ever the gracious host, greets her new citizens with a welcoming smile and a straightforward introduction to this strange new world they've found themselves in–assuming, of course, that they're courteous in return. Those less inclined to use their manners will find their reception cut short. Aurora dislikes not being listened to and treated unjustly, and this will disappear the moment she receives any backtalk from newcomers. In the hospital's lobby, long tables are arranged with various crockpots filled with steaming soups and chillis. Bread bowls are neatly stacked to the side, and a selection of sides to compliment the meal is spread across one of the tables. Perhaps this isn't the place they had anticipated waking up in. Still, Aurora and her companion bots are attempting to make others feel welcome in the unfamiliar place they'll now be calling their home. Or perhaps, your initial touchdown into the world was on a space station. Individuals who had been exploring the station, lending a hand, or causing shenanigans of their own - find themselves in an entirely different predicament. Without warning, they'll no longer find solid ground under their feet but be plunged into the icy depths of Etraya's rivers. One moment they're wandering sterile corridors of the station–the next, they're drowing, pulled into dark and seemingly bottomless waters. Fish of all shapes and sizes swim around them - some of them even glow a multitude of different colors - swim around them curiously, but offer no assistance. After all, they're only fish. Those sinking will need to try to struggle their way towards the surface themselves. If they reach the surface successfully, they'll find themselves in the southeast of Etraya: in front of them lies an island that looks almost entirely dead and devoid of life. If they cannot reach the surface by themselves, they'll find a new horror: inky black tentacles slither through the water, wrapping around their limbs. They grab hold tight, but don't pull them down further: instead, the creature seems intent on getting them up to the surface. It drags them upwards until their heads surface above water. Before anyone can fully comprehend what has happened, the tentacles vanish, leaving no trace of their existence - save for the cold, clinging terror left behind in their wake. It almost feels as if those who had come into contact with them were touched by a living nightmare: the cold sensation will linger on their skin where tentacles had touched for one week before the feeling will dissipate. On the dead island, many companion bots linger at the edges of the water, eager to help their new arrivals out and wrap them in warm, cozy towels. They'll do their best to calm them down and offer an abbreviated explanation of their situation: the space station is crashing down, but they could pull those meant to safely land in Etraya out before they were in any real danger. Unfortunately, Aurora couldn't control where they landed. Welcome to your new home. ⏵ impact ⏴ It happens shortly after the new arrivals arrive: The space station, while previously far enough away from Etraya to be impossible to spot from the skies, becomes visible in the skyline. Torn from the black hole's orbit and suddenly deposited elsewhere, it spirals towards the islands below. While all assistance in keeping it from entirely crushing the city below it is welcome and much appreciated, no one can prevent its fall entirely. The space station manages to find itself redirected just enough that it falls through the southwest corner of the barrier protecting the city. While it's meant to keep all things out, everyone within Etraya will notice the way the barrier bends under the weight of the station, cracks appearing in the soft, barely visible sphere that surrounds them. Instead of breaking under the weight, it bends and shifts until it allows in part of the space station. Covered in a thick, almost slimy substance, the space station crashes through, barely avoiding Beviin-Vasur Farm and S.T.A.R Labs and covering the island that sits between them. The crash sends shockwaves through the city, leaving the ground trembling and the ground rattling. When the dust begins to settle, the scale of how badly it has damaged Etraya becomes clear: reflective pieces have spread across the islands, much further than they rightfully should have. These shards, remnants from the House of Mirrors, glint menacingly in the sunlight, reflecting distorted images of Etraya and anyone walking past them. While the barrier managed to hold, the crash has left it weakened. Aurora sends a quick message along that anything coming close to the barrier from the outside might cause irreversible damage and asks Etrayans to please refrain from toying with it until she can make repairs. Companion bots rush to assess the damage and remove the bits of the ship around the edges of the barrier. ⏵ shattered remnants ⏴ But it's not damage to the barrier that the citizens of Etraya should be concerned about: it's those shards of mirrors scattered throughout their islands and in their rivers. During the day, it's their distorted images and harshly worded whispers coming from the pieces that they have to concern themselves with: they'll try to coax characters to cut themselves with the mirror shards, to let them in. Anyone who is cut with the glass will immediately enter a near-catatonic state - at least, as far as anyone can see. While their bodies remain empty, their hearts are locked away within the mirrors themselves. They'll see a young boy, sitting among several clown dolls, sobbing uncontrollably. Closer inspections of the boy will show that he looks just as fractured as the mirror pieces: there are breaks along his skin, cracks going over his cheeks, his arms, that threaten to break even worse. The boy does not respond to their words, seemingly unaware of their presence entirely. Those stuck in the mirror universe will be trapped until a solution is found. During the night, the clowns come out of the mirrors in pieces themselves. An arm will escape from one mirror, a leg from another, a head from a separate piece of mirror, and they'll work to try and pull their pieces together so that they can take out any living creature nearby. They seem oblivious to the presence of the mirrors and will not react to others picking them up or moving them. ⏵ decay's howl ⏴With the barrier being in a weakened state and a steep drop where the ship had collided into the barrier, it appears that another living creature has made itself's presence known: wolves now lurk in the forest areas of Etraya. Most of them are as friendly as one would expect an average wolf to be: fine from a distance but may get a little more grumpy if someone tries to approach them. Others - have a black, tarry substance dripping off of them, and will attack anyone on site. The infected wolves linger around dead trees and plants, and do not move all that far away from them unless coaxed. But it does seem like there are several more rotting, dead trees and patches among the grass that weren't there before. . . ⏵ clean up duty ⏴ On September 2nd, Aurora sends a message: Hello, Citizens of Etraya, I apologize for the interruption. As I am sure you have been made aware, we have a significant amount of debris scattered throughout our home. I am requesting your assistance with gathering all of the debris, and delivering it to the hospital. There will be a large bin set outside in which the debris can be safely disposed of. I will be awarding an additional ten points to anyone who assists in cleaning up Etraya. Thank you, Aurora ⏵ NOTES ⏴ Despite how many individuals there were on the space station, there are no bodies found in the rubble. Pieces of the space station are inside and outside the barrier. The pieces of the space station inside the barrier seem to be from the first quadrant. Solving the issue of the mirror pieces and the boy is up to the players. We encourage you to work together and use your characters' talents to try and either break out or break in to the mirrorverse. Feel free to use the OOC comm to put up a post for plotting between players if it will be helpful, and please use the plotting comment below to ask mods for help or to see if your idea for resolving this will work. We'll work with you and give hints if we think it will help! If this does start to cut into the time set aside for the next mission, we'll post up a resolution for getting characters out of the mirror verse. You won't be missing out on any fun missions! Wolves can now be found within Etraya! At this time, there are only three of the infected wolves. Any links involving clean up can be posted to Activity Check to get the promised ten points. 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⏴

Comments

decay's howl

[relished]

[the crash erupted new energy through Etraya's earth, creating a rippled effect. he catches the smell of rot through the wind and decides to investigate on his own, when the sun is setting. he's in more comfortable clothes, all black: a lightweight, cashmere turtleneck with a nice pair of pants and shoes. not quite outdoorsy, but outdoorsy enough.

in one hand he holds a crossbow. he's only somewhat moonlighting as someone hunting, because he often finds himself out checking traps he and Vanessa had set a few days prior around the planet. he much prefers the meat he catches over what's sold in the one sorry place called a store here. he's a better butcher.

a soft breeze is what gives Carpenter away. damp, a mixture of thick oil and unwashed skin. fresh water. he stops in his tracks before she decides to make herself known. hand, once a relaxed grip on the crossbow, tightens. he returns what she assumes is a favor with a tight twitch of a smile. one look at her and he can see that she's favoring one of her legs. he's the something in the woods that she should be concerned about.]

You're injured. [the wolf howls, but he doesn't move, doesn't seem concerned about what lurks in the darkness.] Would you like an escort back?

[sruth]

[ Carpenter's gaze immediately flicks to the crossbow, which she stares at for several moments before she meets the stranger's eyes. For a second, her gaze slides to a spot behind him, in the trees, but finding nothing, Carpenter goes back to staring at the trouble before her.

He holds the crossbow like he knows how to use it. That's impressive, given that he's dressed like someone right out of the Saint's central leadership. That alone makes Carpenter skeptical of him, although she'd be skeptical of just about anyone.

At the offer of an escort, Carpenter purses her lips. Everyone here seems to be obsessed with leading her back to the apartments. That alone is suspicious - is there something she's not supposed to see? ]

Oh, the leg? [ Carpenter genuinely doesn't sound bothered by it. ] That's an old injury. I'm fine.

[ She is. There's no army chasing her down, even. ]

Most people don't go hunting in expensive shoes. [ Not real hunting, at least. Carpenter eyes the crossbow again. ] That a new toy?

[relished]

[a slight tip of his chin, his expression is inscrutable aside from the flicker of amusement in his maroon eyes. he has a superior air about him, even if she had (supposedly) caught him off-guard. somehow, he looks as if he could adapt to anything, belong anywhere.]

The wolves will disagree should you need to run.

[his tone is hard to interpret, too. it's unclear what he could be warning her about, but it's still light, almost friendly.]

New here, perhaps. Whether Aurora replicated it or transferred it from my world has yet to be determined. I was searching the area for traps I've set for rabbits.

[a half-truth.]

[sruth]

I've handled worse than wolves.

[ That's where her limp is from, in fact. This person is being reasonable - even Carpenter can tell - but his smugness means she's not too keen on listening to him.

A wolf howls again. Carpenter flicks the lighter off, plunging the two of them into darkness. Better that they're not as easily detectable. But she doesn't limp away just yet. This stranger has just brought up something actually interesting. ]

What'd you give her for it?

[ As far as Carpenter can tell, Aurora is a god of this place - and a god must feed. ]

And I personally wouldn't check my traps in the dark, but what do I know.

[ Odds are, Carpenter thinks, he's not trapping rabbits. If he's anything like her old Nana, she'd rather figure that out sooner instead of later. ]

[relished]

[light or no light, the wolves can catch their scents easily. they aren't normally aggressive, but nothing on Etraya has proven to be normal.]

We're forced to participate in these occurrences. They happen around the same time, monthly. [a pointed look before he takes a few steps forward to continue on, seemingly aloof as he avoids a few branches. he's insinuating now is one of those times. shoes crunch softly over fallen leaves.] We're rewarded if we meet expectations.

[he can hear rustling a few meters away, yet his focus is kept on both Carpenter and what's ahead of him. another glance at her when she makes that remark, as if to say you don't.]

[sruth]

[ A sensible person would turn around. This man is armed, and he seems competent enough, and even if he wasn't, whether he lives or dies is frankly not Carpenter's problem.

But: it's extremely clear he thinks she doesn't measure up. That pisses her off enough to get her curious about what's in these traps, and whether or not this man can handle himself. The only thing that's changed is that she doesn't feel like rescuing him from danger. ]

Well. Congratulations on your gold star crossbow.

[ Carpenter does not sound impressed. Her head perks up at the rustling, which is enough to get her to flick her lighter back on. The dim light illuminates a large, hulking shadow, and once it flashes its teeth, it's clear that they've got a predator in their mist. ]

Shit.

[ Carpenter whispers, as she takes a step back. Which is a sensible thing to do, since as she does so, the wolf itself lunges forwards, some kind of ooze dripping from its teeth as its jaws snap. ]

cw animal death

[relished]

[her sarcasm isn't acknowledged. his derisive smile is hidden in the dark, yet his tone betrays his view of her: gentle and proud. he waited much too long for a weapon that requires more skill than a simple, impersonal gun. he always has his knives, but they're not as suited for hunting.]

Thank you.

[she's following a monster into his territory, wolves or no wolves. he can smell it, has been smelling it. his reaction to the approaching animal isn't one of caution, but of expertise. just one, two steps to both enter a better stance and partially shield Carpenter before bringing the crossbow up and adjusting his aim.

a soft click when the trigger is pulled, then the swish of the arrow. no hesitation, just one shot: straight between the eyes. the wolf staggers, large paws digging into dirt before it falls to the forest floor. its mouth hangs open, pink tongue drooping over teeth and grazing its lips.

Hannibal doesn't move quite yet. instead, he glances over his shoulder to Carpenter, brow arching. he's proving his point.]

cw animal death, gore

[sruth]

[ When the stranger steps in front of Carpenter, she steps to the side, then flicks her lighter back on. She wants to see, albeit in this weak light, what he's capable of.

What she learns is that he's a good shot. But she also knows he has an ego the size of a small city, so Carpenter doesn't nod, or murmur, or do anything else that might indicate that she's impressed. Instead, once he lowers his bow, she limps forward, places a foot on the wolf's bowed neck, and yanks, twisting its head until the neck snaps. Blood sprays across her jacket, and she does not bother to wipe it off.

Given the black ooze, it's probably the angel of the god of this woods, so Carpenter doesn't trust that an arrow will finish it off. A broken spine gives them a pretty decent shot, though, so once she's satisfied with her work, Carpenter pulls the arrow out of the beast's head and offers it to the stranger, one eyebrow raised expectantly. ]

You're welcome.

[relished]

[his head shifts, eyes narrowing, a small smile tugging at his lips. an eerie silence falls between them. he could kill her, too - leave her in the dark to be found by passerby's. but it's too easy. no one's death is final, he has to make sure the ones he does pick are worth it. without a word, he steps forward to pry the arrow from the wolf's skull, a harsh crunching sound as he does; cracks against bone and tearing flesh.]

Shame it's infected by something, or I'd take it back with me.

[he crouches down by the poor animal's head, using the arrow to lift its lips, inspecting the teeth and mouth. whatever was infecting it drips off, puddling into the ground.]

Do you have a plastic bag on you?