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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[ Gorgug does move the drink lower when he sees her hands come for it--it's okay, he's used to shorter people! But what's more important is the flutter of victory that Gorgug feels when she accepts it. Is this a silly reaction to have to a mild criticism? Perhaps.

But he's so proud of himself, okay...!! He did good! He got her to take the drink! ]

Gorgug, [ he replies, with a somewhat demanding tone still in his voice. ] Thistlespring. Um, but you can call me Gorgug. Also, you don't want to make a square snowman?

[ Okay, so less demanding, and maybe just excitable... ]

... I hadn't considered that actually.

[Hm. She turns back to the snowman now, drink in hand and free hand on her hip.]

I guess you'd have to shape it after you rolled up the snowballs and stacked them?

[ He's finally taking tiny sips of his drink....tiny sips that are plentiful, mind. ]

It could be fun, [ he reasons, inbetween sipping. ] We could give it a triangle head. It won't match.

[ And in his mild tone, that's a very funny result, right? ]

[Somehow it feels like just the thing Jimmy would say. A little quirky, a little out there but something that makes her grin.]

Hey, may as well try! I've never seen one with any shape other than round.

[Gorgug is obviously a gentleman with his tiny sips. Lois throws her own purloined cup back like she's swaggered up to a bar and is downing a shot. She lets out a long breath after, tosses the now empty cup to the nearest trash receptacle -- or a robot possibly? -- and then cracks her knuckles.]

Alright then, let's see what we can put together here.

[ He's a gentleman to an extent, and that extent is watching Lois down her drink with a look like awe, dumbstruck for a moment as she's already gearing herself up for the task at hand.

And Gorgug takes one look at his drink and downs it the same, as if a permission has been granted to drink without mercy. He then crushes the cup, then tries to roll it into a ball, to hurry and throw it the same as her before nodding with an excited energy. Look, maybe he has an issue with following others' energies... or 'commands'.

But it's going to be useful for this snowman building when a 6'6" figure gets into a good spot on his knees, and swings out his arms to scoop inward the snow next to its square-shaped friend. His lanky frame is useful to a degree for this job, and also the fact Gorgug isn't thinking about if he looks stupid or not. She said they have to make a snowman, and so he's doing it??

(She also said to grow a spine, but, look--maybe he does want to be doing this, okay?)

He does fall quiet at first, in this endeavour. Gathering the snow together into a dedicated spot, and then building it onto itself to start figuring out the body's width. Lois agreed to a square, and so he's tenderly patting out where the sides will be, even when there's still more snow required to make it taller.

And that he does, pausing so he can ask: ] Do we want it to be as big?

[ There's some maths to that... and some difficult if they try to give it a really long, "thin" torso....especially if they're hand-sculpting it! ]

[Hey as long as he wants to that's good enough for her! She's not about to question him on what he does or doesn't want to do only that he wants to do it.

She pauses a moment in her efforts to roll snow over to him to add to the base, standing up to dust her gloved hands off on one another and consider what they've got going here so far. He's thinking in math and width, sensible things when it came to building something. Lois is going off of, well, feelings more or less.]

You think it would look weird if it was as tall as theirs?

[Glancing to the square snowman again it's not heinously tall but she's say it was at least over five foot. It's taller than her anyhow.]

[ As someone who is 6'6" tall here, and who thinks a square snowman is fine and dandy... ]

Would it? I'd just think-- it'd looked like another one. [ But- ] We can make it smaller too.

[ But he's also looking at her to decide than making any decision himself. Unless she forces him to!! ]

I guess it would fit in considering they're all square too.

[Frankly Lois realizes it was a stupid thought the moment it fell out of her mouth. Who cared if a snowman looked odd? Heck who cared if a person did either.

So she finishes rolling snow his way, helping pack it around the base and now she seems to be thinking in dimensions.]

So, you think this is wide enough. Or should it be taller?

[ Gorgug tilts his head. ] I think... this is fine, if we put some more snow on top. Just up to here. [ He makes a motion, showing a few more inches. ] Then the head should come out around here.

[ He signals with both hands a good size for the head to be. Not hard to imagine, with their square snowman already next to them. ] I think... I think we might have problems making the head as square, but we'll give it a go. We'll do it.

[ He's championing their cause, having that backbone she reminded him to have for their snowy pal...!! But as they're doing this, with Gorgug being careful about adding more snow to the top (ah, keeping it from just brushing off or chipping off the parts already added...always the hard part!!), Gorgug does hit by a thought, and another curiosity to ask: ]

How long have you been here for, by the way?

[A few more inches, easy enough with little snowballs plopped on top of the growing mound and then smoothed out. Honestly it's a lot easier to shape snow into a square than she thought it would be!

She's so focused on it in fact that Gorug's question catches her off guard at first. She did tell him to have a backbone but she's also the reporter here who is usually asking questions so the reversal is interesting.]

A little over a week I think?

[She's being casual here because says, 'Exactly ten days.' would sound waaaay too weird. Kind of sad maybe? Then again...]

What about you?

[ Huh, ten days. That surprises Gorgug, but only a little, since, would he be making a square snowman after ten days here? ...and he thinks yeah, he would. If a woman told him to, like happened now.

But what actually distracts Gorgug completely from the snowman is the question returned, since-- he's squinting. He's thinking.

Slowly: ] I think... maybe... five months now...? I think it's five. Around. [ He's still squinting a little upon landing on that, but it's eased some. ]

I don't keep good track, but... it's been a while. It feels like a long time. But I guess it hasn't been that long.

[ Right? Not really. ]

I don't know, five months is a decent amount of time. Think about it, you've been here almost half of a year.

[She's doesn't say it like it's a terrible thing though. It's more surprised than anything.]

I can't quite imagine being here that long myself but I guess it's inevitably going to happen.

[Her work on the snowman slows a little. She looks more distant now and when she speaks again it's mulled, a little less cheerful.]

You miss where your from? Your world?

[She doesn't use the word 'home' because not everyone has one of those they can think back to. Heck until the last few years neither did she. Metropolis is home now but it hasn't always been.]

[ He might notice her slow, but doesn't think anything of it. The subject that she brings up slows him too, since-- he does have an answer, but it's complicated, too. Made complicated, by where they are. ]

Yeah, but I guess, I'm more worried. If it's okay, if people are getting taken from there. I don't know if the story they tell us is true, but, if it isn't, this [ he gestures between them ] is still dangerous.

[ So what does missing home or his world mean when there's a bigger problem that might affect it? ]

I don't want nothing being done about it. Not that I know a lot...

[ Kinda the problem, too, regardless of how he feels. ]

Sounds like you know plenty to me.

[There's a softness to her tone that might be affection if she knew him better. As it is she's thinking very slightly -- or a whole lot if she's honest -- about another guy who she could totally buy saying the exact same things.]

Maybe not about this place or what is or isn't true but about your feelings. And as I've come to understand feelings matter a whole lot.

[ He looks at her, an expression that turns curious as Lois speaks. ]

Yeah? Did something big happen to you?

[ It's not exactly prying, or not expecting to be, Gorgug's tone casual when he asks it. But it sounds like she came to some kind of revelation recently, and something like that, maybe it wasn't personal, but a big thing.

Or maybe there's more she can elaborate on, than any specific event. ]

[Lois pauses once again in her snow packing with a thoughtful furrow to her brow. Now how does she explain this without giving away too much. It dawns on her that she's never talked about the last few months of her life to someone who wasn't there in some way.]

You could say that. It was ... mmm, well.

[Hm.]

Have you ever been afraid of being left behind? Or just not being good enough for someone else?

[ Wow, huh, that definitely went somewhere deeper than Gorgug was thinking it might. He thinks about it, though slowly, as he does: ]

I've definitely felt the second... I've screwed up in my relationships sometimes. [ That he knows. ] And I guess... in a way, I've felt the first, too. Yeah. Academically, and, in general.

[ Spiritually, maybe. ]

[Lois nods to that. Yeah this was diving off the deep end real quick but Lois isn't the sort of pull punches or gently wade into any topic.]

Well that was all things I've figured out about myself recently. I thought I had a good grip on my own emotions at the very least but guess what? I didn't. I thought I knew what I wanted too but it took a lot of big things to make me see what I really wanted.

[She softens a few edges on their square snowman.]

Soooo you already knowing what you want here? You already know a whole lot.

[ Whoa. This is deep. If his position hadn't been the one he'd given to her, Gorgug might be reconsidering if he truly is that decided and all-knowing about himself. Actually--he does, a little. But being stuck in this place doesn't matter to him with its potential threats to people he cares about, so it's probably the one and only thing Gorgug can be sure in.

Still, it does slow his patting on the squareman. Compacting that snow in well and neat, trying to carefully keep the top part from falling apart and destroying their hard work so far. ]

...I feel very smart, when you describe it. [ And then he looks at her, completely sincere. About the fact she makes him sound smart but, you know... ]

I'm actually an adventurer, so I go out and face big world-threatening challenges, so it's not a problem for me. But that's not everyone here--I think it's a situation for other people. And some don't even want to save the worlds they're from.

[ So that's also a thing. It's a complicated, messy situation. ]

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November Mingle

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