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

[aimsforknees]

[ John listens to the whole of it. Just listens. Mulls it over. He knows what honesty sounds like, one of his most valuable skills in the CIA was his ability to judge what honesty sounds like, he's good at making that call. Krouse sounds honest. It's in his voice, in his body language. He's telling the truth now. ]

I'll give you a gun safety lesson, if you want. See if there's any gaps from your self study that need to be filled.

[ He doesn't need to know why Krouse got the weapon. Krouse has said he doesn't want to misuse it and that's the important part. That's the part of owning a gun that really matters: what you do with it. Whether or not you respect it for what it is. Krouse clearly does. That's important to John. ]

[equivo]

[ That wasn't where Krouse thought John would land. His eyes jerk up from his removed mask to John's still half-masked face, wide and instinctively wary. ]

You'd do that?

[ It's a stupid blurted question. John's offering, isn't he? As they were just discussing, it's just practical to make sure anyone with a gun knows how to use it. ]

Yeah. I'd appreciate it. That'd be - [ he presses his thumb against the edge of the mask ] - thanks.

[ Krouse finds it hard not to ask what John wants for it, which will be nothing. Like a goddamn dork, he thinks he really is an Aragorn guy, just to cap off his astonishing success at navigating a party without fucking it up. The corner of his mouth twitches up, either nervous or wry, or just both. ]

[aimsforknees]

You said you didn't want to fuck up, so let's make sure you don't.

[ It's as simple as that. Krouse doesn't want to hurt someone, and John doesn't want Krouse to hurt someone, so their interests align here. They can't undo this revelation that Krouse lied about the gun, but they can move forward. ]

Is the gun meant for a purpose, or just insurance?

[equivo]

[ Something elusive flits across Krouse's face at let's make sure you don't that looks like a kind of relief it's probably inappropriate to have for such a simple offer delivered so unemotively.

He just really doesn't want to fuck up any more, is the thing. So he nods, quick and terse, to seal the offer. Gun safety lesson slash review. They'll do that. ]

Insurance.

[ That's true too, now and then. And if John's not asking what the insurance was about then, that's fine. Getting caught in one lie is embarrassing enough. ]

It came in handy during the labyrinth. Teleportation is a great trick until you don't have anywhere to teleport to.

[ He's a flight guy, not a fight guy. ]

[aimsforknees]

[ John catches the look and feels... good about it. He likes that Krouse values that so much. John is aware that there's a slippery slope at being Krouse's age and feeling trapped into making these lies. He doesn't know Krouse's situation, he had alluded to it being "complicated" but John thinks, given what he's seen so far, that Krouse probably doesn't want to lie. But he does it anyways. He hopes one day Krouse will decide he doesn't have to lie to John. ]

Do you keep it on you or did you have a chance to grab it before going into the labyrinth?

[ He's curious about both possible answers. ]