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

I'm not talking about a business transaction, soldier.

[Rufus is close enough to Cloud to hear that little gasp, smirking with pleasure to get that small noise from him. It will be fun to reveal his identity and of course, he will never let Cloud forget this night.

He decides to let Cloud to take the lead for a bit, a challenge to see just what Cloud is capable of as time approaches midnight. He wants to see if Cloud has some big finish as the music swells and he knows that their time is ticking down bit by bit.]

I think you may have earned yourself a rose tonight.

[Because of course Rufus was giving Cloud his rose, just to enjoy his reaction.]

[Huh? Then what is he talking about?

Cloud dismisses it - doesn't matter, they've got a dance to finish. The other guy switches things up and gives Cloud the lead, which he accepts without missing a beat.]

No holding back.

[And he sure doesn't. As the intensity of the music mounts, so too does the intensity of their steps and the energy crackling between them. Cloud's careful to keep the turning and twirling mostly in just one direction, so his partner doesn't have to rely too much on the foot he's favoring, but other than that he's pulling out all the stops.]

A what?--oh, right.

[Cloud figures he might as well exchange the roses both ways. Not like he's got anyone else in mind, and this guy is good enough - and competitive enough, and...okay, provocative enough - that yeah, he'd kind of like to see who he's dealing with.

Finally, the end of the song approaches, and despite the fact that the other guy is almost a head taller, Cloud sets them up for a finisher that will require him to support most if not all of his partner's weight. He pushes the guy away with a controlled spin, and then holds out his hand for his partner to grab to begin that final sequence.]

Come on. All or nothin', let's do this.

[Rufus had started this mostly to mess with Cloud and get him flustered but he can't deny he's actually enjoying this, especially the moment when Cloud doesn't seem to pick up on Rufus's attempt to flirt with him and that small gasp.

Something he will also not let Cloud forget.

When Cloud pulls him around, Rufus's laugh is genuine as he allows Cloud to spin him with a flourish as dramatic as possible since these are the last few moments when they had met as strangers.

This is a moment when he will have to trust Cloud not to drop him but there is no hesitation to take Cloud's hand once more.]

Let's finish this then, soldier.

Here is your rose, Cloud Strife.

[Cloud's self-satisfied little smirk is more than just competitive, this time - he's pleased. This is...fun. He swore to himself that he wouldn't dance tonight, but now he's glad he did. Not that he'd admit that out loud.

The guy grabs his hand, as Cloud knew he would. Right as the music's coming to an end, he pulls his partner back toward him in another spin, this one tight and fast. And just as they're about to collide, Cloud pivots and swings him around into a dramatic dip, holding his full weight up in position with no real effort at all.

For a long moment, he holds that pose, catching his breath and staring into the other man's eyes with something like triumph.

And then the guy lets go with one hand to pull a rose out of his jacket, and...oh no.

Oh shit.]

Rufus?

[In his shock, Cloud manages to drop the president onto the floor from a foot or so of height. He stares for a moment, face flushing hot under his mask, and then just as abruptly moves to offer him a hand up as he realizes what a dick move that was.]

Sorry--

[But seriously?]

Cloud.

[It takes him a moment to re-orient himself as Cloud dips him that final time, catching his breath.

He has no regrets about how he got caught up in enjoying the dance and flirting shamelessly with Cloud - it had ended up being more enjoyable than he had anticipated.

But he didn't expect Cloud to drop him to the floor, landing with an undignified oof but that doesn't prevent him from looking so satisfied with himself.

He takes Cloud's hand as he gets up but doesn't let go right away as he leans in once on his feet.]

We're going to have to do that again sometime since I know you enjoyed that just as much as I did.

[Only then does he let go of Cloud's hand to straighten his coat a bit, his face a bit still flushed.]

Now, are you going to get me a drink?

[Rufus leans in and for just a second, Cloud thinks the man is insane enough to try to kiss him. But no, turns out he's just being smug.]

Thought you said this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

[It's a grumble, as Cloud makes a point of taking a step back and folds his arms. No, he did not enjoy it! Except he really did. Ugh.]

No.

OCTOBER MINGLE

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