etrayalogs | November Mingle

November Mingle

WHO: Everyone!
WHEN: November 22nd - Early December
WHERE: Etraya
WHAT: The arrival of newcomers, and an unexpected guest!
NOTES\WARNINGS: N/A, please note any needed warnings in threads.

⏵ arrival ⏴
Welcome to Etraya!

Arrival goes as expected - or it would, except it is not just Aurora that greets the newcomers as they arrive. Certainly they receive their earpiece so they can communicate with one another as those before them have, however there is what seems to be a woman waiting for them that is of a more flesh and blood persuasion as they leave the hospital. She carries an air about her that isn't quite like the newcomers themselves, but she is decidedly not one of the companion bots, nor Aurora.

She has bone-straight blonde hair reaching past her shoulders, with a straight-cut fringe hanging above her eyes. The black dress that ends just before her mid-thighs also has a rather revealing neckline, though the sleeves which cover her arms almost feel like a mockery of modesty considering the rest. She is also wearing black stockings and black pumps, and the red of her lipstick is striking against the extreme contrast in shades she otherwise holds.

As each newcomer independently files out of the hospital, she makes certain to garner their individual attention, either with a wave of her hand, a wiggle of her fingers, or directly calling them over. She is persistent, and with being so new, it is wise to heed her. Not that anyone can force one to, if they choose to walk away, nor does she seem interested in trying to, but she has her means for those proving stubborn.

However, those who aren't...

“Hey! I know you’re not just walking past me. I’ve got- you know, plot relevant, written all over me. I picked this dress out just for you, you know?’

“C’mere, listen up. Mama’s got a little bit of homework for you, but it’s gonna help you, too, okay? I need you to go find the hot goss, the piping hot tea on the street for me. Find out what everyone’s saying about the people we’re stuck with, okay? People are a lot more relaxed and honest when they talk about others, right? This is about efficiency.

Efficiency, honey.

Don’t worry, I’ll be in the trenches, too. But make sure you come find me again. I’ll be around here, okay? I know you’re as confused as I am. Well no. I’m much less confused than you are. But if you can tell me about the people here, I’ll tell you more about where you are and what this is about.”

For those who ignored her, or those not newly arrived, they will receive a message through their earpiece:

“Girl. Hey. Listen. I’m kind of in a pinch, okay? I need like… a little favor. But its a fun favor! I need you to get your girl some info. I need the word on the street, honey. I need the tea piping hot- I need you to go talk to your friends, enemies, frenemies, butt buddies, cousins, and have them tell you about anyone they know. I need straight facts and good gossip on everyone here. And then get back to me. Kisses.

And this isn’t something for nothing. If you bring me some good goss, you’ll get some good info in turn about your whole situation. Cause that’s what you’re missing most besides home, right? Context.”

⏵ spill the tea ⏴

Tatianna having now tasked everyone (new and old) with finding out more about their fellow inhabitants—if not for their sake, for her curiosity—and in exchange she will give them valuable information that may aid them with acclimating here, or something far more valuable depending on how hot the goss is! However, she will not just hand out her secrets so easily, and so she will need one piece of gossip about each inhabitant. So she expects everyone to get mingling and talking, she isn't a charity here!

To assist in this, the companion bots have set up cozy little wicker daybeds around the main hub of the city. All of which are suspiciously cozy and warm once you have sat down on them, but especially so with the accompanying aroma of the tea wafting from the kettle which rests on the center table, accompanied by sweetmeats. The tea itself also stays warm despite the cool autumn air, and so long as you stay within the daybeds, the biting chill won't reach you either.

However, the tea is not only perpetually the right temperature, but it seems to have a way of loosening one's tongue. Especially the more one imbibes it. Did you mean to share that secret that might not have been yours to begin with? Or that personal detail about your best friend that wasn't meant to be known by anyone but who they themselves have told? Probably not, but the cat is out of the bag now, isn't it? Well, hopefully word won't get around...after all, it isn't likely who you are talking is going to tell everyone else, right? Right?

Adding to the oddity of it all, the tea one drinks might not be the same tea that their companion is drinking, despite it pouring from the same kettle. What might be one person's earl grey, is another's pumpkin spice chai. Whatever it may be that pours out, it certainly seems to be to one's liking, or its closest approximation. There's probably some deeper meaning in that, some sort of symbolism one might surmise from the nature of sharing gossip and it being tainted by personal bias, but who cares about navel gazing about such a thing?

After all, this is meant to be an enjoyable endeavor! Getting to know your fellow inhabitant should feel as comfortable as catching up with an old friend. What better way than to do it by sharing tea you both will enjoy? ☕

⏵ close knit ⏴

As the tail end of November draws nearer, people will have already begun to see the first flakes of snow. It grows colder, and while there isn't quite a blizzard or a snow storm happening, the snow does not seem to let up with its descent. It doesn't quite get so cold that it is untenable, of course, but it would be advisable to bundle up! In fact, the companion bots seem to be on the case with assisting in just that!

Around the city people will find groups of companion bots busily knitting sweaters, scarves, gloves, hats, and so forth. In fact, the moment they see someone they clock as not quite bundled enough, they will insist on supplying them with whatever they deem as being without. Are you already wearing a scarf? Well, clearly you need two of them! How about the gloves? Couldn't hurt to have several pairs!

However, that isn't all that's available to people, after all there are cafes out and about where one might get a hot beverage to help fight off the cold, but for those less inclined for such establishments, the companion bots are here to serve! There is at least one companion bot per knitting group that seems to have hot cocoa on hand. If they see someone who is looking particularly cold (almost everyone is, the companion bots aren't particularly keen on the signs of successful temperature regulation), they will have a paper cup of hot cocoa imposed upon them that has their name on the side.

Or, sort of. It is at least a close approximation of their name, or maybe it is an alternate spelling? Really, who can blame the bots for getting confused, there are so many of you!

⏵ snow more games ⏴

The snow is here to stay, but that doesn't mean that it has to be a bad thing! With everyone well supplied in their winter garb, the companion bots have set up spots for fun activities! Perhaps the inhabitants would enjoy a fun snowball fight, or some sledding? Some of the waters have frozen over, so ice skating is always a possibility too. Though one might want to be careful if they are to venture past what the companion bots have marked as safe.

Some of the companion bots are trying their best at making a snowman, but all their efforts seem to come out rather...square. They're trying their best, but maybe they can learn by following the inhabitant's examples. There are others that will offer gold star stickers to those who seem to dominate in the snowball fights, but unfortunately the stickers don't stick too well with all the snow. Well, they tried!

People will still find bots out and about with nice warm beverages available to fight off the cold, too. That service will continue to be available for the foreseeable future. Similarly, if someone comes out who is a little too under-dressed for the weather, the bots might have to pick up those knitting needles again, so be sure to put on your winter clothes..!

⏵ NOTES ⏴

To report information to Tatianna, do so here! She will only give each person their rewarded information once she has a bit of information on each character in the game. Each bit of gossip does not require a thread to count though it should be IC knowledge gained through IC means. Try to check what gossip has been given to her already, because doubling up will not yield results! Good luck!

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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"Don't look at me like that! I'm not going to take it out of your hand or nothing." He was just asking.

You were giving me a look first, [ Ed says, because he is a certified older brother and he can bicker like one if it comes down to it. ] You can't share this place with someone in need?

[ That... that is a kid who is definitely not dressed for the weather. Doreen tries not to judge, or be too pushy when it comes to helping people (okay, maybe not so much the latter), but she also has absolutely no poker face, and can't hide her concerned look. ]

You sure? We're getting a lot of snow here, you might want something just in case you start getting cold. The robots are offering up plenty.

[It speaks to a lot of things that this has come up in conversation, and that it's only partially the tea: that he's lived a very isolated life and doesn't have anyone outside his crew - outside his family - to talk about problems in the crew, so someone else's insight is welcome if they're from a similar situation. That killing is a topic of casual conversation, because it always has been, including with both parents, since the crew has to do it all the time. (Plus, his one dad helped commit genocide, and his grandma is one of the galaxy's most infamous assassins even, and it's just like...a thing nobody cares about.)]

[It speaks to the fact that he's not even sure what a normal conversation with a stranger entails anymore because he's used to most strangers shooting at him and also you lose all sense of it when three years of very important social development were done inside a cell, occasionally hissing at your captors, and the most common topic of conversation was "my father is going to find me and kill you."]

[(And 60 more years were lived so painfully alone that he didn't get socialized then at all.)]

[No one has ever really told him that he should consider getting used to it as a thing that could hurt him. No one's ever pointed out how it could make him numb or cold.]

[And it could. It could make him into the kind of man Avocato had been, enough of a stone-cold killer a dictator could look at him and see promise in building an empire. A master of death.]

[He's capable of coldness and he's certainly capable of hate. The time directly after his father's death had been...bad. His thirst for revenge had been extreme. It'd been Gary that drew him out of it, Gary who could empathize with the sudden loss of a parent. And Quinn asking for help in saving the Earth, making it clear she saw him as someone that could help save something, not just end someone.]

[Sure, he'd killed a ton of corrupt Infinity Guardsman, but at least it was for a reason, at least it was because they were trying to save billions of people, and at least it was a situation where they were shooting first.]

Is it a weird thing in your world for killing to be normal? I was making up fake secrets with someone else to share with that gossip lady to get intel out of her and the secret he made up was that he killed someone.

Like it was a big, dramatic thing that'd work good as fake gossip.

Is it a big, dramatic thing in other places? Is it that way in your world?

[Jason was on the money about what the "bad stuff" was.]

Edited 2024-12-03 08:50 (UTC)

What look?! I gave no look! I just used my eyeballs to look in a direction!

[There's risk here for this to turn into fullscale bickering. Little Cato tries to disarm it a little.]

I was actually going to ask if you met the tea lady who wanted goss - which I'm pretty sure is a singular gossip - or heard her message over the comms.

I'm working with people to coordinate fake secrets to give her, and I figure we can all share any info we get from her.

[Hikaru smiles a little more taking a seat. The little area around her does warm up a bit, Hikaru giving off a bit of a space heater aura around her for Heather.]

Probably! That would've been worse, I think.

Nice to meet you, Heather! I'm Hikaru, I think I haven't seen you around. Are you new?

That's really weird.

Maybe it means something else?

[But what if though.

All the same, Hikaru looks at where Maria gestures then back up to her.] Not really. My magic came with me so it's keeping me plenty warm I think. But I think I heard somewhere that moving helps keep you warm in weather like this, so maybe- um. I can get one of the robots to bring you something warm?

"It must be really good, then," Hikaru smiles gently. "I think that's probably the same for most of us."

She points at a bit of empty seat. "Do you mind if I sit? I'd like to try it."

I saw! That's really sweet of them, but I promise I'm fine.

[And if nothing else, she certainly looks fine. No shivering or anything. Doreen does look concerned though, so Hikaru takes a second to hold up her hand and produce a small flame.]

See? All fine.

You are not incorrect. If there is a need, I can step up if you ask me.

(he's not going out advertising sermons, but if it's a request, he might as well do it - that's mostly what he means.)

Not seven? Then, how much of what we people know is wrong?

If you are going against Echo, how it will not serve me? I wish to stomp on it.

(... sir, you're about to freeze your feet. are you aware that you are freezing your feet?)

... I'm sure there are remedies for that sort of stuff.

(have you tried to talk to the bots, Eddie?????? are you okay up in the head?????? are you in need of medical assistance??????)

A few. Quite a colorful lot, we are.

(humans, angels, cultists, orcs? he thinks? but he can find a place to sit nearby to watch the bots and the kid for the time being.)

You should ask them to teach you how to knit.

How would a kid be important to a cult?

(it's more to himself rather than her, a moment in which he thinks aloud. even chrollo himself has a child in his organization - kalluto is much younger than heather, but the kid is extremely skillful, obedient, and proficient. he wouldn't have enlisted a child otherwise, so he assumes there are things she can do that no other can if she's being fought for.

mhm.)

... No.

(because he opened the book. he opened it, and there's a page missing. a page that is dear to him, that should not be gone, could not be gone.)

A comrade of mine at home is dead.

[He just… keeps giving her these emotional sucker punches. It’s almost hard to breathe. He does it so easily. Just… offers to protect her, offers to come to her aid should she need it. A complete stranger. And it’s been years. It’s been years since someone had cared. And she doesn’t know what to do with it. There’s a snarl of complicated emotions knotted in her chest. She wants… she wants to. Believe him. Trust him. Let him.

Let herself

Let herself reach out to him, should she need to. She doesn’t… she doesn’t know if she can. She hasn’t been able to in a long time. Hasn’t been able to let her guard down. Even here. Yelena had been the first to manage it. But maybe. Maybe she can. Maybe she can let herself. There’s a complicated expression on her face. More of that surprise, and wondering, with a scared sort of hope mixed up with them. Longing.

But he’s given her his name. The least she can do is give hers in turn.]

I’m Cassandra. De Rolo. [A last name that she doesn’t want, a last name that doesn’t matter, here, but she gives it all the same. Even if it’s almost immediately followed with] Just Cassandra.

Thank you, Mr. Reese. I… [A soft, unsteady inhalation.] I will. I’ll try.

[ Oh no. Explaining things?? Gorgug makes a few grimacing faces... ]

...if you don't know what it is, you probably won't need them, so-- it's okay. It's okay.

You don't come from a world with cars or-- circuit breakers?

[ You've always gotta check! You gotta check, unless they try and make you explain electricity!! ]

"O-okay," Gorgug says, but is he doubting? A little. "The bots are handing them out-- you can ask for one instead of another scarf. They might get distracted. Unless you want more? I bet they'd give you more."

There's a chance! Especially if Gorgug remembers what Ed can do with his powers.

"Rooftop races?" Gorgug repeats-- maybe first trying to imagine cars, but, "--motorbikes?"

There may be a question of safety here. Gorgug does not seem alarmed, but only curious about how this comes together. Because he's totally talking about motorbike races on roofs, right.

Cars...we have carriages. Is that what you mean?

[Please explain electricity!!]

[ Again, he's nodding a little quickly, reassuringly. ]

I absolutely do not have a death wish.

[ Scout's honour! If he were a scout. But fortunately, the cluster of buildings they're walking to are now in better sight, enough for Gorgug to look out. ]

Oh, there-- [ he points. ] The two in front, those are... the one on our right's a convenience store, and the other is a burger joint. But it's pretty weird to go in when it's so empty. [ Save for some companion bots, now and then... ] The clothes shop's at the back.

I don't know why they built them so far back. Everything's spaced out.

[ .. well, that sure is a term to use.

Though the reason it's attracting the attention of a teenager like Fabian may not be what one guesses. He's not here to point out how weird the other's way of talking is. No, instead there's something else about the word that draws him over - very noticably not holding any cup of tea the way most other people are doing around here - and lets him peer at Shelley with his one eye. ]

Are you a sailor?

[ Why else would Shelley be saying scuttlebutt, right? ]

[No tea, but perhaps with tea anyway. Shelley regarded the kid, and offered a shrug.]

Private investigator, but I find my peace in the outdoors.

[He sat up a little straighter and gestured for the kid to join him. ]

In another time or place, I'd probably have ended up some kinda warden or ranger.

You a sailor?

[ Sure, technically Fabian should appreciate Lois' flair for the dramatic. It's the same thing he's working with, most of the time.

But maybe it's the particular subject she's using it for, or the thing she's suddenly pulling out, but Fabian is instead squinting his eye with suspicion, like he's trying to scrutinize her in this moment. ]

What is this about?

[ It could have to do with the message they got, but.. then why the recorder! This feels awfully suspicious, Lois! ]

Oh. I am not going against her - not really. I'm not a lunatic who isn't looking out for himself. She set the stage herself for her involvement. If we fail to prove our universe is worth saving, that's it for our universe.

[ Armageddon and divine intervention sometimes look very much the same. God has to die; it may mean that his whole universe may have to die with her. ]

So, like I said, it really doesn't concern you unless you're willing to destroy what you love to save it, too?

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November Mingle

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cw: child kidnapping

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spill the tea

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spill the tea

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