OCTOBER MINGLE

[etrayamods]

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⏴

Comments

[abstractly]

It is a shot, but I have yet to figure out the feet of how far this shot goes.

( 37 confirms, accepting the pat on her head as she continues forward. the world is cold, it makes itself known once she offers the lantern to him. the air feels thicker, there's something about their surroundings that makes it hard to breathe when she places distance between her and hyrilis.

swallowiing down the saliva stuck in her throat, she turns to make sure he's there then facing forward. )

I want to know how far out this places goes. If there's an invisible wall that stops us, or...

( if this world is formatted, created by another being then she wants to know how far their creation methods go. it's pretty specific, she doesn't know how to explain it properly because it's not something she's experienced before, but she wants to know and she wants to learn. bringing him along is probably not the best choice either, but she will protect him as much as she can — even as her breath turns cold before her face due to the temperature dropping.

it remains fine around her companion, the lantern doing its best to protect the holder.

and then there's a small little voice in 37's ear, one that makes her eyes widen as she looks to the side. nothing will be visible to hyrilis at all, almost as if 37 must be seeing things, but she does raise one hand to push a few strands of hair behind her ear. )

Did you say something?

[counterkills]

[This doesn't seem like a good idea at all, but now that he has the lantern, he isn't experiencing any of the things he had been before. It was a brief respite, to be honest, and he feels relieved that he isn't being haunted by his own wife. Her appearance usually (always) bringing joy to him, but the previous encounter with her "ghost" was just eerie. Still, he isn't going to focus on it much, and his eyes turn toward her to watch her carefully.

He didn't want her to be haunted either, so he tries his best not to be too close but close enough to where he can keep his eyes on her. Not for too long, as he needs to also focus on walking without falling over in the fog. He knows his dumbass would probably trip, and he isn't in the business of falling over in front of people. That would just be dumb.

Although, there is a pause as she speaks, and he simply shakes his head. Hyrilis stopping in his tracks, and curving his lips into a soft frown. Unsure whether or not she just heard something, or if these hauntings were happening again. After all, she was fine with the lantern.]

Nope. Butttt, I think the smart thing to do would be to turn back. I don't want anything to happen to you, okay?

[His words are spoken firmly, but not in a rude way. The last thing he wants is to her to be hurt because they decided to wander too far. He doesn't even know where the apartments are anymore since they wandered a bit deeper than they should have, but he can't help but huff a bit.]

Besides, aren't you getting cold? I was freezing earlier, but it's not so bad right now, so take my jacket.

[With that, he shrugs off his jacket, and places it over her shoulders to keep her warm. Which was a bit odd now, considering how cold it was before she gave him the lantern.]

[abstractly]

Cold...

( before she hadn't realized she wasn't cold with the lantern, but now without it, she is left to this threatening weather that causes a shiver to roll down her spine. she accepts his jacket with a confused look in her eyes, she blinks slow wondering if she's really allowed this. the difference in using this jacket is that the jacket fits him perfectly, but for 37, it's way too big. it hands dangerously close to the ground as she uses it to warm herself up.

maybe he's right that they should turn away, but she wants to know how far this darkness stretches and what could be found. it's probably nothing, this is probably a weirdly designed death sentence which she doesn't believe in, but nothing about this world feels safe; the unknown typically isn't. )

Which way do we go?

( she looks to him now, but their surroundings are thick with fog, there's no identifying signs that tells them if left is back or right is left.

no matter which choice that they talk, it'll be arduous, there's always something waiting, someone laughing though they're unable to be seen. the lantern may keep them from coming close to hyrilis doesn't mean it has blocked out the sounds of their voices completely. there's something out there.

whatever is out there, it seems to be biding its time. )