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⏴

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

1. WHERE ROADS DIVERGE ( ARRIVAL + CLOSE KNIT )

[ Overwhelmed is a word that the Teenager™️ regrettably knows all too well. There wasn't a lot of things on his "plans list" besides finishing the Witches Road and finding his brother... As it seemed, one would happen before the other, and in a far different way than he could have imagined. Not that he had imagined it, exactly? Hoped, wished for. But that settles its own problems in his mind that was already full of too many other different issues he was working through (please don't ask). ]

[ So that when he fully steps out into the world of Etraya proper it's with his hood low and his.... feet very cold. Because he has no shoes and suddenly the ground is both cold and snowy (please don't ask). In truth, even his clothes are dirty and grimy - the hand knit sweater half hiding a little-too-recent stab wound and really between the no shoes thing and the fact he looks like his outfit is barely holding itself together it's no wonder the companion bots swarm him with their handmade goods. At first he accepts the booties offered gratefully... and then the second pair. The third pair gets to be a little too much, but it doesn't matter because now there's a new scarf and - ]

[ He doesn't know how to get out of this, so if some stranger starts to pass that he can barely make eye contact with or a well-meaning stranger comes up he'll be quick to ask: ]

Please. Help. How do I get them to stop?

[ At this rate he's going to have an entire closet of handknit boots that really aren't good for the snow at all. ]

2. SPILL THE TEA

[ He hadn't missed the lady at the hospital, but she hadn't been as important as the... fiasco he is hoping no one else witnessed. Thankfully, he's now a little less covered in well-meaning knit objects and has acquired a pair of shoes, but it's curiosity that has him exploring and a desire for his own answers that has him sit down at one of the wicker daybeds. At first, his hands fold over the other and he just watches. Eventually he may grab some of the tea, mostly to keep his hands warm, but he'll wave to someone who passes and offer an encouraging smile. Should they choose to sit with him he'll gesture encouragingly with a "Please, come sit" vibe.

And he'll helpfully wait a solid five seconds before asking: ]

So did the strange but somehow intimidating lady from an early 2000s movie stop you, too? Is that normal around here?

[ Who said the gossip couldn't be about Tatianna - ]

3. WILDCARD

( Feel free to make your own prompt or hit me up for plotting in PM/discord/plurk!! He'll definitely spend some time exploring, so he can be found in other locations! If I come up with anymore TL ideas I'll add as comments.

[there are many words that could be used to describe the companion bots that flutter around etraya, completing their various and sundry tasks. helpful is one, enthusiastic is another — but both, often, are underestimates; often, the best word is overbearing. with a side of well-meaning, of course, but overbearing all the same.

just outside of the hospital, wanda spots the latest target (victim) of their well-meaning, overbearing swarming: a boy, no older than about sixteen by appearances, being showered with more knit boots and scarves than any one person could reasonably ever need.

pivoting on her heel, she heads in that direction with a purpose, her original intent of being out here all but forgotten. when she approaches, she flashes a strained, sympathetic smile at the boy's question. then, addressing the bots:]

He has plenty. Thank you. [she takes care to sound kind, to soften her smile so that it softens the blow.] You've done great work. I can take it from here.

[the bots linger for a moment, more knit monstrosities at the ready. wanda smiles again, and nods, as if to say, yes, i'm sure, yes, i really mean it.

eventually, they flutter away, off to find the next person in knit-less distress.

once they're gone, she takes a beat of silence to concentrate, lifting her hand, just slightly, until wisps of red light emerge from her fingers — with a pair of snow boots appearing on the ground just a moment later. she picks them up, holding them out to offer in the boy's direction.]

These should actually help.

[ Magick, as it so often does, has a way of doing what it wants, or in this case: How is it one of the first people he comes across is one of the last people he expected to see? Wanda Maximoff is a public figure and when you grow up in the town right next to her former hostages... you most certainly know the name and face. More so if you've spent the past three years researching witchcraft and said anomaly. The teenager is momentarily glad for the distraction of the robots as his heart freezes in his chest. ]

[ The woman smiles fleetingly at him and her attention is gone soon enough that he can only hope that she doesn't see he doesn't return it - he doesn't do much of anything, finding that steady stillness as he turns a lock in his own heart. Turns his head to glance at the robots, giving a short encouraging nod before they dispersed. He feels silly with his newfound arm load of boots and other assorted knitted wear and he continues to try and look anywhere but at her - Attention only shooting towards the woman when he sees the red color from the corner of his eyes. Magick. ]

[ He doesn't move even if part of him wants to take a step back, especially when she offers a pair of actual boots in his direction. And it wouldn't be strange to think the worried look that passes his features is because of said unobstructed use of magick. And, yet, it's somehow the least strange thing he's seen all day. He tries to offer a grateful smile, to appear normal, but the gesture feels like pulling at overly stretched strings. Loose and false. He moves to take the shoes, because he's startled not stupid (his feet are cold). ]

Thank you. They don't seem to understand no matter how many times you tell them knit boots really don't work in snow.

[ He tries for humor, he tries. And fails. Because he breathes out with that same stillness that always seems to envelope him as his mouth moves before his brain can stop it: ]

You're Wanda Maximoff.

[ He's very good at this. ]

[she should've known that something like this would come, sooner rather than later. the name wanda maximoff has a face that's well known, and it leaves a trail behind it, one that will never be washed away or forgiven, even if she manages to save an entire universe; to live as wanda maximoff, in whatever form she's living, will mean forever carrying around not only her own pain, but also the knowledge that she's dealt out just as much. that she's dealt out more than that.

any last traces of her smile fade with his fleeting attempts at humor. she watches everything play out on his face that she doesn't have to enter his mind to read: some parts uncertainty, but mostly fear. that will always be the shadow that lurks behind her name.

fear.

her chest tightens; the breath she inhales is shaky. but she wills it to steady, because this boy who looks at her and sees fear doesn't owe her any sympathy.]

I am.

[the least she owes him is to be honest. just that, though, isn't enough.

she shifts on her feet, rocking back and forth, crossing her arms over her chest against the cold. briefly, she contemplates fixing her gaze on the snow, but it's also a coward's way out. once, she'd been taught that when you make an apology, you look that person in the eye as you do it.

so she does just that, even if she can't stop her voice from sounding small.]

I'm sorry for what happened in Westview. And for everything I've caused.

[ If it fear he feels? Fear the keeps him rooted where he stood, not even to put on the shoes? Not in the way she's thinking, but it's there. He's heard plenty about Wanda Maximoff to be afraid, but this is a much more indistinguishable fear. Wanda Maximoff is dead, he should not be able to meet her. It's not the fear of the dead, but the living and what it means. With her. With him. A shock, like a lightning strike to the heart with no discernable logic. And yet, he does not move, he cannot move because something in him does not want to. ]

[ He watches her with that continued stillness, curious and cautious. His mouth drying as he works to clear his mind, but not from fear of what she might see (because admittedly he doesn't even think about how she might also read his mind as he does others). Perhaps, it's because he does not know what to expect. Perhaps, it's because he doesn't know what he should do: stay or run? Then she looks at him, really looks, and speaks and the muscles of his mouth move as he gave a slight shake of his head: ]

How -

[ Of all the conclusions she could come to, how did she immediately know Westview was the thing that hit closest to home? ]

- I'm from Eastview. I'm not the one who deserves an apology about Westview.

[ Even if in his mind there's those flashes of memories. No, that's not right. The Teen can't even remember those precious few moments before the Anomaly was taken down - only the moment he'd died and come back. Only a name. Only that the spell broken in Westview was cause for it all. This time, he doesn't look away. He keeps his eyes steadily with hers. Alert, inquisitive, and serious all at once. ]

Why did you do it?

[ The question he is sure so many people have asked, but it's not the question he wants he really wants to ask. Or maybe it is, mixed in with all of the rest. Why? Why? It had been a constant the last three years and perhaps this once he's not ready to admit that Agatha's words had gotten to him: "why choose a town full of strangers over your own flesh and wires"? No, that can't be it. ]

Edited 2024-11-23 14:28 (UTC)

drama is written into the family genes

wundagores - 2024-11-23 15:19 (UTC) - Expand

William Kaplan | MCU | OTA (spoilers possible)

arrival + close knit

sorry mom 😭

what a happy family reunion lmao 😭

they're maximoffs drama is guaranteed

Close Knit

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arrival + close knit

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spill the tea

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