etrayalogs | OCTOBER MINGLE

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OCTOBER MINGLE

WHO: Everyone!
WHEN: October 25th - Early November
WHERE: Etraya
WHAT: The arrival of newcomers, and some holiday fun!
NOTES\WARNINGS: Supernatural elements, temporary physical alterations, mild horror and jump scares, spooky scary skeleton robots, mild suggestion of compulsion or loss of control, mild body horror.

⏵ arrival ⏴
Welcome to Etraya! Everything is fine now. 😊

Arrival goes expected - or it does for the most part. Aurora greets newcomers in the hospital as they awaken, offers a brief explanation and gives them their earpiece so they can communicate with one another.

Around the hospital and outside of it, Companion Bots are hard at work decorating the city for Halloween—complete with festive touches like pumpkins, cobwebs, and glowing ghost decorations. The atmosphere is fun, light-hearted, and maybe just a little spooky. 🎃👻

Some carry buckets of candy, and offer those they come across a trick or treat. Except both options are, in fact, treats. 🍬 Tricks are treats specifically wrapped in a green wrapper that very clearly declares that they are tricks. Treats are wrapped in orange, and labeled with treat! Companion bots will recommend that those who do want to take a trick take them when they're beside their friends. There won't be any permanent effects from these, nor will they be terrible tricks - just fun ones! All effects last roughly 24 hours.

Giggle Drops cause uncontrollable giggling that bubbles up randomly, even during serious conversations.
Beasty Bites cause characters to grow small fangs, and they will begin craving red foods - apples, cherries, etc.
Bat Gummies cause small, bat-like shadows to follow characters around wherever they wander. These shadows are harmless, and super cute.
Pumpkin Puff is a cotton-candy-like treat, that causes their voices to change dramatically. Either becoming significantly deeper or perhaps very high-pitched, as if they've recently inhaled helium.
Floating Fudge gives characters the ability to float in the air! Just a few feet off the ground, but it's still fun. Right?

⏵ getting spooky! ⏴
Etraya is embracing the season - and maybe even going a little overboard.

Around the hospital, a few small pop-up shops are manned by festively dressed companion bots. They offer samples to everyone - although sampling isn't really necessary. After all, everything here is free!

Candy Shops: Perfect for stocking up on sweets and treats for the upcoming trick-or-treating event. These will not stock the tricks the companion bots offer around Etraya, but instead only carry harmless sweets. They do take custom requests, too, and are happy to create the treats others want!

Costume Shops: Find the perfect costume for Halloween! But beware... rumor has it, if you wear a costume, you might become whatever you dressed up as for a few hours. Those who put on vampire costumes may find themselves suddenly craving blood and growing fangs - those with werewolf costumes may find themselves feeling a little wolfish. These effects may last a few hours, up to a few days.

⏵ masquerade ⏴

In the spirit of mystery, Etraya will be hosting a Masquerade Ball outside the hospital through the nights of October 26th and 27th. Dance anonymously with other attendees and make new friends under the cover of your disguise. Everyone receives a single rose they can exchange with someone else throughout the evening. At the stroke of midnight, the roses will reveal the true identities of your masked dance partners. 🌹

⏵ all hallow's eve ⏴

On October 31st, multiple companion bots set up shop along one of the walkways through the larger island towards the center. With chairs and small booths set up, they offer candies out to trick-or-treaters who wander around through the first part of the night. Some of them will request trick-or-treaters to do a trick for them, to earn a bigger treat! They may ask characters to dance, sing, or show a talent unique to them. Can your character bend themselves into a pretzel? They want to see it, and will offer them a nice bracelet in exchange! Can they whistle super loud? Maybe they'll get a nice piece of kevlar armor after showing off. This can be anything within reason - bike parts, small weaponry, armor pieces, toys, canvases for painting. Please request these items HERE.

Not everything is as light-hearted as it seems, however. Aurora issues a warning to the citizens of Etraya: Do not stay outside after midnight. Strange happenings have been reported, and those who disobey may start seeing visions of past loved ones. The visions are compelling—guiding people away from the safety of the buildings and into the mysterious mist surrounding the outskirts.

But be careful, these spirits may not be as friendly as they seem.

If you come into contact with these ghosts, you’ll feel a chilling cold, leading to hypothermia-like symptoms. The longer you’re exposed, the worse it gets. Treatment? You’ll need to be warmed up quickly.

⏵ skellys! ⏴

The Companion Bots wanted to join in on the fun, so they painted themselves with glow-in-the-dark paint to look like skeletons. But in the dead of night, for those already suffering from the chilling touch of the ghosts, seeing glowing skeletons approach from the darkness might not be the most comforting sight. 🤖💀

Stay safe, warm up, and enjoy the festivities!

⏵ NOTES ⏴

For all questions relating to this log, please refer to the mod queries comment. All other questions can be directed to the FAQ.

⏵FULL NAVIGATION⏴

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"Yeah!" He answers, attention still on the variety of costumes on display. Which one would be cooler? He was trying to figure it out. But that meant he was new enough to not really know what kind of trouble could be found here, just naive enough to not be wary of any of the things around him.

He decides to ask the opinion of this apparent stranger, only to falter when he turns around. "Shanks?!" It's part disbelief and part elated excitement. It doesn't matter that this isn't his Shanks, not that he'd be bothered to notice or remember the difference anyway. Shanks was Shanks, not matter where he came from as far as Luffy was concerned. He almost has to laugh, finding him here of all places. "You've been here awhile? Sounds like you aren't new..."

Yeah.

[ it's an easy answer to give. ]

He wasn't— [ he shrugs. ] he wasn't evil or anything, he was just kind of a dick, and he was drunk, and the doll kept telling me shit.

[ trauma, grief, lack of support. the doll made it sound like it was the way out of it. ]

[ He really doesn't know what to do with that. He saw the footage. He saw Krypton's destruction. There was no way anyone else could have made it. He's never given much thought to alternate timelines or multiverses. That was Kirk's wheelhouse. ]

This Superman, what is his name?

[ castiel gives a considering nod. ]

Fathers are complicated.

Sometimes it's better not to have one.

[ sometimes he wishes he didn't have one, either. ]

[It's a risk to lie in front of a Kryptonian given how they can listen to heartbeats but Jason doesn't know yet how different this Superman is to Clark. So for now he'll have to play dumb]

Not a clue. The guy maintains a secret identity.

Krouse will do some teleporting magic tricks he invented to hone his skills. He'd like a piece of body armour for his torso, like a Kevlar vest, but compressed to be thin enough to conceal under a hoodie like his old supervillain costume used to be. Still thick enough to be visible under a t-shirt, though.

[ Of course he realizes Jason is lying. But that isn't the part that is of immediate interest. It's the secret identity part. When he laughs it's a cross between his genuine laughter and the candy induced giggle, starting at his normal register and lilting up. ]

Why?

[Jason shrugs, still trying to play dumb]

Protecting his loved ones? So he could have some breaks when he doesn't want to be Superman? Seems like he tries to pick and choose when he wants to be public.

★ Giggle Drops & Beasty Bites

Katsuki goes for a run every afternoon. It's part of the routine he's fallen into in this place, with much less to do here than he'd had at home on any given day, he's formulated a routine to keep himself in shape and not go soft while he's not either on active duty or in constant training at UA. He's still doing training with Izuku in the mornings, because thankfully the person who's here is the one who poses him the biggest challenge.

But after that, and lunch, it's time for his run, which takes him around the Hospital every day, just in case someone arrives that he might know and see hanging around there. He slows down from a jog, his breath quick and heavy from exertion, when he sees the bots all in an uproar decorating and carrying around little buckets of candy. Might as well look around and see if there's any newbies that need the whole spiel. It might not be his strong point, but it's probably better than nothing.

Walking up toward the hospital doors to hang out for a few minutes, he idly digs his hand into one of the candy buckets and picks a couple, not waiting for the bot's explanation about them. Which is probably a stupid oversight, but he's not thinking as he unwraps one of the candies and pops it into his mouth. Candy isn't usually his thing, but hey, why not? He could use a snack.

It's only after he chews and swallows that he pays attention to the insistent bot that explains that the candies are "tricks and treats" and he looks at the crumpled green wrapper in his hand. It's then that he feels a laugh well up, and he tries to choke it down but can't. It's coming out, a raucous laugh, hoarse from disuse.]

"DAMMIT!!"

★ Masquerade

Katsuki has no idea why he said yes when Izuku casually suggested they go to this masquerade thing, but he'd gone and put on a vest and button up and tie and slacks and decent shoes, and gone to meet Izuku at his place so they can go together. Somehow, it feels less awkward now that they've had their ill-advised date, and he can just tell himself they're going as plain old friends.

Not something he probably would've thought, a few months ago, but now it seems...easier to think that way. Especially with being stuck with Izuku in this place, with no Kirishima or anything, no other real friends, at least yet.

After they've put on their masks and gotten lost in the crowd, Katsuki manages to find his way to the edge of it, and leans up against a lightpost idly twirling his rose in his fingers, watching people mingling and dancing. This really isn't his...scene. Parties and outings and get-togethers where there's dancing and a lot of mingling and being friendly are usually things he avoids at all costs, unless they're one-on-one with someone he can stand for longer than a few minutes. And that isn't a lot of people.

But eventually he figures he has to participate in case this thing has something to do with saving their home worlds or whatever, like the missions do. So he steps away from the lightpost and looks around until he spots someone who's not dancing - male or female doesn't matter to him, he just holds a hand out.

"Hey. Dance with me." he says, voice a little gruff.

★ All Hallow's Eve

After seeing how badly things went when they last had a curfew, Katsuki is a little hesitant when he hears the warning not to go out after midnight. It's not like he's usually out after midnight, no. He goes to bed early, gets up early, that's how he's always been. But he can't help but wonder what Aurora is hiding after midnight, after finding out what that other AI was hiding in the other city.

So he leaves the apartments after midnight, wandering around a little bit between buildings, checking around to see if there's anything untoward and stifling a yawn here and there. It's about an hour into his exploration that he sees his first ghost - Miss Midnight, who he immediately follows.

"Miss Midnight?" he asks, feeling that rush of shock and adrenaline, and he starts off at a run. She moves faster than him, seeming to glide, and dammit, he knows something is off here, but he follows her anyway. Wants to know what it is that's going on, why he's seeing her, what makes this place tick.

It's only when she stops still, abruptly, and he doesn't quite stop on time, runs through her, that he realizes he's not entirely sure where he is. Just somewhere in the woods, from what he can tell, though he's pretty sure he can see the lights of civilization through the trees. The 'ghost' though? That's nowhere to be found.

"Dammit." he curses, and heads back towards those lights. Pointless. Waste of time. He shoves his hands into the pockets of his sweats and hunches his shoulders as he's walking back into town. He's freezing, out of nowhere, and by the time he makes it back to the apartment building and into the lobby, he's shivering violently and he can tell this is only going to get worse, because the heat in the lobby is not sinking in and there's cold in his bones.

"Dammit. Dammit. Dammit!" he says, his voice rising in volume the more 'dammits' he gets out, shivering violently in the lobby of the apartment building.

★ Wildcard

Want a different starter? Feel free to shoot me your own random starter, or just hit me up by PM, on plurk at onlilypads, or onlilypads at Discord and we can plot and I'll write you something custom! Oh and I also write brackets-style, so if you prefer that just reply with them and I'll follow suit! ♥

Edited 2024-10-27 23:08 (UTC)

[ Honestly Hernan could not fathom not being Superman. It's so interconnected to his identity it's nearly interchangeable with his government name. It is who he is. ]

Your Superman sounds shy. Thankfully I am not.

[ Though Harold himself does not enjoy being armed, typically fights with words and generous donations and blackmail at the worst, he isn't so naive as to think he can live a life totally without violence. It's capability and propensity, or rather lack thereof, that prevents him from taking action directly. If pressed, to and beyond his limit, he could. ]

I'll tell him to contact you, then, [ he declares. ] His name is John Reese. [ Just so he knows and doesn't speak on behalf of anyone else, potentially.

Harold adjusts his glasses. ] I am most interested in your desktop computer. I would be glad to trade knowledge or skills for its use, or for ammunition for Mr. Reese. I am an accomplished programmer.

[ This is a drastic understatement, but he still isn't about to come fully clean with a stranger. Even so, he would much rather be a compatriot than a charity chase, though Harold isn't too proud to be the latter. ]

Yeah? Does anyone bother with secret identities back home or you're just being brave?

[Jason's curiosity on what makes this Superman different remains and it shows in his tone. So far the biggest thing Jason's noting is that the man has a lot of confidence in himself]

[ He doesn't perk at the guy's credentials, his expression not changing from the awkward, somewhat uncomfortable place that it's in. Slow still to talk, to digest what's being saidP; it's probably good to focus on what's possibly important from all that. ]

What do you want to use it for?

[ That's about as much as Gorgug can figure to be important right now. Easier to think about than what he could want, or what the guy's simply offering in his straight-forward manner. ]

Harold swears he can feel his pulse increase in his blood vessels, his heart rate picking up speed, panicked.

"Mr. Reese-- John," he says frantically, recognizing this lack of protocol as John fully bought into whatever life he's trying to save. "Please, please exercise caution. We know so little about this place, it seems likely it must be a trap."

There's a moment of silence before he thinks to add, desperately, "Over," and clicks off.

[ Very confident. Some might even call it arrogance. ]

Why would we? I'd rather everyone know exactly who I am.

[ He's considered already what front he's putting on here, what identity, and determined a compromise between total paranoid stonewalling and laughably free truthful information. He has to give something away, or he'll be deemed useless or, even worse, uncooperative in a survival situation. ]

I'm quite dissatisfied with the security options for our available remote communications. I'd like to devise a second, more secure network, that allows for private open lines rather than only message delivery.

[ A beat of silence. ]

You'd be welcome to such devices as repayment, of course. [ There's no of course, but he's hoping it'll help convince him. Harold isn't at all embarrassed to be negotiating with what may be a depressed (?) nerdy (?) teenager. Who has the resources makes the rules. ]

I guess it's saves a lot of trouble when you got everything out in the open. You got other superheroes back home too?

[He's particularly interested in learning if there's a Batman. If there's a Gotham, then the chances of some version of him being around are high]

[ A network. That gets something of a reaction, since a second network--that's not the first that's come up, has it? But it's meant to be private, or...something. Gorgug never got into it because he figured he could rely on Riz to hear anything that came up, but he's also never asked if it's still operational...

Still, he sucks a little on the inside of his cheek, before: ] You should, uh, try asking around about that. A second network? There was someone... there was talk about it. I don't know a lot about it--I don't... it's not my thing.

[ Is he doing something bad by even mentioning it out loud? He's at least trying to sound helpful, or--encouraging. Trying being the key word against the sheepishness he ends with. ]

[ There used to be more than three of them, if you counted the Forever People. But they were dead. Or in a coma. ]

On Earth? There is just me and Wonder Woman and Batman.

There's some part in his mind that's starting to process what Harold is saying, the logic behind it. He hasn't trusted anything here, had gone outside tonight with his gun drawn, hasn't eaten any offered food or drink-- but a bigger part of him wants to believe. Wants to have a second chance at Jessica. He kept her waiting, he betrayed her trust--

The mist is quite thick now, they've gone far, but he's almost caught up and realizes that he doesn't have a free hand to grab her with. He has to choose which to put away: gun or walkie-talkie. He choses his gun, and then reaches out to grab her upper arm, bring her to a halt.

John's hand goes right through her.

He stumbles to a halt and she stops as well, finally turning to face him. John searches her face, her shape, but she still just... looks like Jessica. He closes the distance and raises a trembling hand to her face. It goes right through, as if she's just made of smoke, and then she's gone, the edges of her curling away into the mist until there's nothing left but him, alone in the dark.

John just stands there. He's not sure how long for, but he just feels. Cold. So cold. He shivers, and is not sure if it's because of the cold or because he feels hollowed out. Or if the cold is because he feels so empty. He brings the walkie-talkie up.

"You were right, Harold. She wasn't real." His voice feels far away and flat, he can't engineer any emotion into it. He's too distant to remember that this isn't their open line and just lets go of the button.

[Huh. A much smaller Justice League than the one back home. Is their world more peaceful or do they just have more work to do?]

That Batman also from Gotham? We got one back in my Gotham.

Yeah, Kirk is from Gotham. Does your Batman have a secret identity too?

Edited (removed formatting cause why did i even do that lmao) 2024-10-27 23:47 (UTC)

[There's just the smallest pause as Jason takes in that a Kirk from Gotham is Batman in another world. Is it Kirk Langstrom or is Jason thinking too hard about this?]

Yeah, he does. Most of the superheroes in my world do.

[At that statement, there's no signs of lying at all from Jason]

That is something I will never understand. What are your heroes so afraid of? Don't they put an end to threats?

[ you know, like permanently. ]

[It's not a card Dazai would've played with an ordinary partygoer, at least not off the bat. But John is someone who doesn't trust this party, and his reaction only confirms Dazai's decision to play it. If he'd kept conversation casual and light, he gets the sense they would've simply danced around each other the whole time until one or the other made their move. Dazai presses his advantage:]

Why not, indeed? That's the million-dollar question here, after all. If you were looking to test the character and values of a person, would you find it more effective to do so while that person was aware they're being judged, second and third-guessing every one of their choices, or while their guard is down, with a layer of anonymity to further obscure their actions, thin as it might be?

[He's still smiling, though, with no change in his tone. As though they are really just chatting, after all.]

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OCTOBER MINGLE

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katsuki bakugo ★ mha ★ ota

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