etrayalogs | 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⏴

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ That is a terrible answer. ]

How old are you? Have you taken a gun safety course?

[ These questions are related and also very pressing. ]

Fifteen and no, I learned on my own.

[Like those Director assholes would provide a child they're using to murder people the chance to attend safety courses, pffft.]

[ John is so glad he's composed. Fifteen, has a gun, hasn't taken a gun safety course. That's actually terrifying. And messed up. ]

Okay, well the next time you have free time, let me know and I will give you gun safety training. Until then, don't use your gun.

[???

????????????????????????????????

????????????????????????????????????????????

That about sums up Accelerator's expression. Why does this guy care?]

What? Are you fucking joking?

[ Kids. ]

No. Guns are dangerous and you shouldn't use one unless you know how to do it safely. Look, if you're free, then I'm free, and we can go do this right now.

[ John has never been more serious in his life. ]

[Accelerator's eye twitches. He knows how to use a gun (mostly) safely. He's probably better than most adults when it comes to stuff like accuracy!

He seriously debates walking away, but for all he knows this guy is going to be here long term, and the rational part of his brain is aware that getting angry and throwing a tantrum isn't going to make him look like anything but a petulant teenager. Long term, that's a dumb move.]

.............. Fine. Is this going to involve firing it? [If so he'll need to get some more ammo from the bots.]

[ Well. Genuinely a step in the right direction! ]

Preferably, but not necessary. I know ammo is hard to come by here.

[He looks like he wants to punch someone, but it's definitely a step forward.]

It's fine. The robots are giving shit away, right? That's how you got those embarrassing radios?

[He waves his free hand at the pink and blue walkie talkies, before moving to grab a rock off the ground.]

[ This kid is such a kid. This will be a test of John's patience, but he has so much of that. He has enough. Probably. "Embarrassing radios" indeed. John is old enough that doesn't actually care what they look like as long as they work. He's a professional. ]

If you show them a trick you'll get a treat.

[ He says this in his absolutely nicest tone of voice. ]

Okay. Sounds about right.

[Since this whole setup is Halloween-themed and all, it makes sense that his trick was the gun disassembly and reassembly.

Accelerator turns and snaps at a nearby companion bot to get its attention. Then, reaching up, he hits the switch on the small device attached to the choker around his neck. The light on it changes from green to red.

His trick is a simple one, peak laziness for the #1 Level 5, because he knows it'll look flashy regardless of the minimal effort he's putting in. Sticking his hand in the air, he balances the pebble between his thumb and index finger, like he's going to flick it. And he does.

It rockets straight into the air, the sheer force and friction against the air causing it to glow prettily like a meteor. It's vaporized harmlessly before it reaches the barrier.

Then Accelerator switches his choker back to normal mode, informs the bot he'd like ammo for his handgun, and turns back to John with a flat look.]

My gun's back at my apartment. I'll be right back.

[Then he just turns and heads back towards the apartment block.]

[ John has enough composure not to do anything more than just watch this trick. It seems like maybe he can't do it freely, like there's some sort of on/off switch, but it is impressive. Certainly it would be deadly enough that he wouldn't really need a gun, so there must be some catch that makes the gun necessary. Or maybe he's just smart and has backup options. Not that kids should be getting into guns in the first place, but these are extenuating circumstances.

John just waits around for the kid to come back. He's patient, relaxed. He doesn't mind waiting but he hopes he hasn't been artfully dodged. ]

[Accelerator won't take too long. He'd like to get this over with as quick as possible, though he's getting stopped on the way back to the apartment by more bots for some encores. He does, so by the time he returns with his gun (stuck in his belt loop since he doesn't have a holster), he's also got several boxes of ammo under one arm.]

I hope you use 9 mm, because I've got extra.

[Want some free bullets, John. He has so much.]

[ John will never turn down free ammo. Especially when he thinks he'll have to use it— which he does. So far just about everyone has warned him that this place is dangerous in ways that will involve him needing to use his gun. He already has, defending Harold from those shadow creatures. ]

If you're offering I won't say no. [ John looks around where they are. Not a good place to shoot a gun. ] I don't suppose there's a firing range here?

[Shifting the boxes in his arms, he'll shove one of them into John's hands. Have fun with your new bullets, bro.]

There's a new one, yeah. [That he asked for, but details. He turns to head in its direction.] It's this way.

[It won't take them too long to get to the building, what looks like a slightly intimidating cement bunker. The interior is about what one would expect of a shooting range, though there's some additional technology such as monitors at every booth, that make it clear it's more than a standard range.]

OCTOBER MINGLE

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It's still in line for processing but I'm going to assume the range has been added for this!