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

[it's probably not easy for James. having Maria there staring him down and then how she had tossed that mug away, so angry and voice filled with venom. how it hurts to see his own wife's name brokenly staring up from the ground.

she didn't feel bad, though. not for James.]

Maybe it's a test to see if I can control my anger. Answer is apparently not. [she folds her arms around her and finally looks away. she should shoo him along, but she asks:]

How are you holding up?

[damn it.]

[It isn't easy, but he doesn't expect her to soften any figurative blows in his direction. James wouldn't ask for her to; he doesn't think he deserves any real kindness, anyway. It's generous enough that she bothers to ask how he's doing, and he knows even that much must be difficult for her.]

I'm fine.

["Fine."

He finally stands, still holding onto the mug — or the pieces of it, if she managed to break it in the snow.]

Everything's been so crazy, it feels like life's been non-stop since I returned to Silent Hill. This place is just a different brand of surreal. Nothing's really had time to sink in, not since-

[Not since the truth had really sunken in, deep into his bones, as deep as his car when it sunk to the bottom of Toluca Lake. But ironically, even that feels like he's had to swallow it down and process it on his own time, what with being stolen away to a new universe under fantastical circumstances.]

Well, you know. ...What about you?

[Finding Maria trying to smash a mug labeled "Mary" in the snow isn't promising.]

[part of her hates James because of how they left off. but it's so much a part of her that she can't help but still want to be near him. it's conflicting and the whole thing feels wildly unfair.

she looks at the mug he's holding and part of her wonders if he's going to want to put it back together or something. will he just toss it away?

she can understand him and nods, quietly accepting it. Silent Hill had been so unnerving in its own way and while more dangerous, there was something just as unnerving here. it made her uncomfortable and part of her couldn't help but wonder if that 'Mary' mug had been meant to purposely antagonize her.]

Yeah. I understand. It's been the same. First I'm getting broken up with [that is NOT what happened but she's exaggerating for an attempt at humor] and then I'm here. [she sighs and looks around.]

And not like we can tell anybody anything.

[Giving her a cup that says "Mary" tracks with something Silent Hill would do, he thinks. Maybe that's him just being cynical, though.

As for the mug itself, it's hard to say what he plans to do with it, since he makes no move to dispose of it right now. He just stands there, carrying on the conversation, the sharp pieces held gently in his hands.]

You were broken up with, huh.

[If she's going to hedge humor into it, so will he, spoken not-quite-sarcastically but definitely unexpressive.]

What do you mean, though? [That they can't tell anyone anything? Not that James was going to spill the details of either of their lives to passing strangers, but he wants her take on it.]

[she smiles, shrugging. he was allowed to joke with her if she was going to joke with him as well.

her eyes look at the broken mug as she answers.] People have been kind to me. Downright helpful. If people knew me [what she was] then would they be able to look at me the same? I doubt it.

[she steps up closer and looks up at him.] If people knew you, would they still act the same? Look at you like you're just some shy and quiet man.

You and I both know our scores.

[Would they? How well do first impressions and acts of politeness, even kindness, hold up to the ugly reality? The rotten core? The truth is always unflattering, but is the truth something he should keep from others?

Hiding who he is—what he's done—feels like taking two steps back against whatever "progress" he's supposed to have made after his stint in Silent Hill. His situation is far different than Maria's, though; does she really feel that way about herself, too?]

That sounds a little self-hating, Maria.

[That's his thing, girl.

But at that, she loses his gaze. James finds his eyes moving to look at some nondescript spot in the snow, his fingers tightening around the shards of the mug. Ah. Sharp.]

I don't know if hiding who I am is any better.

[it's kind of hard not to be self-hating after everything. when she couldn't even be herself. didn't know what herself was supposed to be.

she shrugs in response to his comment, a smile that says she doesn't really know what else to do. and this is before he's even telling her about just what happened to them. what he knows about her that he hasn't told her yet. really, though, she'd had one meaning to her existence and he'd told her no. it was hard not to feel some kind of way.]

Do you think you will tell people? Everything, that is. [she sees that he might be beginning to hurt himself, wants to reach forward, but stops herself. the last thing he'd want is her touching him.]

[That town really did chew them both up and spit them out — deservedly so for James, but certainly not for Maria.

His gaze flicks back up at her, brief, brows shadowed and uncertainty in his eyes.]

I don't know.

[He could lie and say yes, of course he'd tell anyone who asked about his past, what happened to Mary, but even now, the thought of it makes him sick to his stomach. He's accepted what he's done, but it's still a great shame to bear, feels like it's going to crush him to death on some days. He deserves to be judged for it, but to open himself up like that to a stranger feels utterly untenable right now.

Maybe he hasn't changed much after all.]

I don't know yet.

[Maria still feels like an idiot for having any pity for him. it isn't like he wanted her pity. but he had never even really talked to her like this before either.

and it's why she doesn't see if he'll talk about what happened. he'd said they'd talk later but she doesn't want that later to be now. James will certainly tell her something that will ruin this odd sort of truce they have.

she sighs and despite herself, finally reaches forward to touch his fingers.] Don't hurt yourself. [a reminder. both about the mug pieces and about here. James had already been through hell in Silent Hill. this place would be its own torture but James didn't need to beat himself up more.]

I won't tell anybody about you. [her own way of comforting him even if she's not sure he really deserves it.] About any of it. If anybody knows we know each other, we'll just say you came into Heaven's Night once when I was working. You got drunk and I listened. Simple.

[Don’t hurt yourself, she says, and it’s only then—coupled with the brush of her fingers—when James actually registers the bite of the porcelain edges against his palm. He hisses a little in surprise, unfolding his grip so it’s lighter than before. It wasn’t enough to cut, but it’ll leave a welting red mark for a while.

He moves his hands away from her fingertips accordingly — not out of disdain, but mere instinct. There’s nothing sharp or sudden about the gesture, though; this conversation has made it feel like he’s moving through water.]

…Okay.

[That’s… surprisingly generous of her. More than James expected or deserves. He gutters out a sigh.]

Just… for now. Until I can sort things out in my head. Or even… for the both of us, to give us some breathing room.

[Breathing room between themselves and the truth and how other people might see them because of it. If he frames it like an advantage to Maria, as well, then maybe it won’t feel as selfish as it does.]

[it doesn't surprise her when he moves from her touch. it was not the same as before, though. but still, her touch was not wanted. duly noted. she takes a step back and listens to him, running it over.]

Sounds fair. [sounds like he's kind of taking advantage of what she had just been saying, her own implication about her own fears about people knowing her. but she doesn't feel anger. everything about James, being with him, was just exhausting. though she was sure that James would say the same about her.]

I said before we could ignore each other. Offer's still on the table. [though it seems silly to say that now when they're both here, when James has gone up to her again. part of her thinks maybe she just wants to hear he doesn't want to ignore her.]

[That really is the mood between them both: exhausted and exhausting. For differing reasons, yes, but it all revolves around the same core. James wishes it didn't have to be that way — especially here, where it's unspoken that he will be running into Maria now and again.

Well. Not so unspoken now.]

You know I can't do that.

[Ignore her completely.]

And I know you don't think I'm... that great of a guy. [And he's not! Very fair!] But I'm not going to be cruel to you, Maria. I don't want to see you struggle here.

[that is very infuriating to hear. he didn't want to be cruel to her? what did he think turning her away had been? what did he think was going to happen to her when he said he didn't need her? he wouldn't let her struggle here but Silent Hill was fine?

she takes a deep breath and lets it out. as if trying to calm herself down.]

You make it hard, James. You make it very, very hard. [she doesn't make it easy, though, either. not that she'll admit that as easily as he can.]

But we'll keep an eye out for each other. Won't we?

...Yeah.

[He agrees to it, but it's a distracted kind of "yeah", because her anger is all but palpable for a man like James Sunderland, who can read her all too well.

He'd argue that rejecting her was not being cruel, it was simply refusing to live in delusion any longer. But that's probably not where this conversation should go... today. (They have a lot of conversations they need to have that should happen Not Today.) Instead, James distantly realizes that he's been making a lot of decisions in this conversation and offers, uncertain:]

This goes both ways, you know. If you need your space, just say as much, and I'll give it to you.

[she laughs. she can't help it.]

Our problem was never really you never giving me space, now was it? Somehow I don't see you being desperate for my attention. [she's honestly surprised he's talking to her right now.]

But I get it. And thanks. [there's so much she wants to say to him and ask him...but it isn't the right time. everything about James' body language is saying as such.] Might as well get along. We're supposedly on the same team.

[He lets out a sigh — he's trying his best here, he just doesn't know what to do. No balance, it seems, will give her what she wants. His full attention, as though she was his world. His love. James simply cannot offer her that. Maybe still trying to offer companionship that falls short is only doing more harm than good.

But what else is he supposed to do? Ignore her? She'd hate that, too.]

I know. Just... trying to give you the option.

[He fusses with the shards in his hands, unsure what to do with them.]

Anyway [now that that was very awkwardly cleared up!!], do we want to find you a mug with your actual name on it?

Edited 2024-11-26 21:33 (UTC)

[it was difficult for Maria. she wants his attention, all of it, and she also does not. part of her is still furious at him for turning her down. her entire being had been created just for him.

still being here did almost clear her mind up. make her look at things differently. and really, they hadn't been here for that long. there was still room for change.

her smile is nicer, not nearly as sarcastic, and she nods.] I heard there's shops around here. Apartments, too. All free. Makes you wonder what the catch is, huh? [probably that they were all stuck here.] Maybe we can find some glue to fix that mug you're so keen on keeping. Want me to put it in the coat pocket?

[Blandly-]

The catch is that we've all been kidnapped, with threat of our homes being destroyed unless we can prove our worth.

[Yeah, their thoughts run parallel.

James pauses, looking down at the mug's fragments, then lifts his eyes again to look at her. He shakes his head.]

No, I won't be keeping them.

[It feels wrong to glue together a broken "Mary." It feels wrong to throw one away, too. At least with the latter option, he doesn't have to look at it; god, Silent Hill really did mess with his mind.]

We'll find a shop. I'll toss these out in the nearest bin I find in the meanwhile.

[they did seem to think of the same things and she smiles in response before she starts moving on towards the shops.]

Well, let me know if you want a mug. I'm the connection for that apparently. [she was very sure this would not be the last time she was called 'Mary' from these stupid bots. being from Silent Hill, part of her wondered if it wasn't on purpose either.]

Maybe you can get a new wardrobe. That green jacket has seen enough action.

What's wrong with my jacket?

[Because clearly that's the main takeaway here.]

It's shabby.

[she is not holding back.]

[This jacket has been through so much, how dare she.]

It's comfortable.

[it has too much experience, seen too much. time to let it go!]

You can look nice and comfortable. Can't you? [the implication is he doesn't look nice.]

[Nnnoooo 😭]

...

Are you saying I look sloppy in general, Maria?

[not the way he's suddenly catching strays in this conversation]

[she's got nobody to impress anymore so yeah. might as well give him feedback. consider it advice!]

Not any worse than some of the guys in the bar.

[so he doesn't look worse than a drunk creep.

but she's quickly laughing.] I'm only teasing. But why not try something new?

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