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

[ Well. That's a new one. Carver frowns, watching John intently, but he can't clock any tells of an obvious liar. This is just crazy town, apparently. ]

Why? As a threat, or to make us more compliant?

[ To John's knowledge, he's not lying. And he believes it, having seen the Library. He looked for certain markers he knows, scratches and scuffs. They're all there. ]

No clue. If I had to guess, given how helpful the bots seem to be, it's more the latter. Make us feel more welcome. Can't say why that would matter, though.

Carrot versus stick. Maybe.

[ But that doesn't quite fit, either. This place defies easy answers, a fact that has Carver wanting to pace, to seek the logic out with his own two hands. It's never that easy, though.

His fingers twitch. He forces himself to hold still. ]

Then it's long term. Whatever this thing is. Cooperative's easier to deal wth.

[ John has a piece of information he thinks Carver would want to know, about previous attempts at rebellion, and now would be the time to share it. But he won't. To do so would put Krouse in Carver's path and John won't expose him like that. ~~He likes him too much.~~ ]

I don't think anything here is playing the short game. I don't have any proof, but that's my feeling.

Mhmm-hmm. A feeling, huh?

[ Someone like John doesn't act on whims. If he's got a feeling, it's based on training, observation, and that little nagging voice in the back of his unconscious that speaks to threats before the rest of him even registers the threat. It's how you tell a good operator from a lucky one.

Carver watches him close. Always, always watching. ]

But I guess these things happen.

[ Something the commander liked to say, over and over again across the years. These things happen. You cannot stop them, you can only control your reaction. And Carver means to survive this place, as best he can. He owes the dead and Shaw and Pope's memory. He owes them a decent burial. ]

[ There's a certain pressure to being watched like this, to have every word and every blink of his eyes scrutinized. But he's been here before, doesn't sweat it. He's very much in control of himself; makes sure he blinks steadily, keeps his face and voice neutral. It's a tell in and of itself but it's something Carver probably expects from him anyways. ]

If you believe that we're really here to fight for our right to survive then the fastest way would be direct competition. All out battle, or some game where you can gain an advantage. But they haven't done that. They made us build cars to race but told us we were only being judged on our teamwork. There was a prize for winning, but it wasn't the point.

Never said that, did I?

[ He adds a drawl to his tone, purposefully flippant. Sometimes it’s useful to pull masks, play the idiot grunt. It provides openings. People let their assumptions run.

Not this one, he has a feeling. John’s not being on emoting, plays his cards close. A careful soldier, taking the long view. He’ll be dangerous. ]

Sounds more like they’re testing how good we take orders. Small stakes at first. But these things, they got a tendency to build, don’t they?

[ Is that experience talking? Has Carver been there before, had those orders that add up slowly, been asked to do things that slowly push his boundaries? John didn't have that slow buildup, the CIA dropped him right into the deep end. Kara made it clear real fast that it was sink or swim. He wonders what Carver has been asked to do, the things he's been pushed for, because John's pretty sure people don't get this tightly wound just from the day to day. Not even from being to the Valley of Death and back. ]

Could be. They keep bringing new people in, so everyone is at a different level of experience. Either you apply the same thing across the board which is a poor way of measuring, or you do it based on time spent here which allows information to leak.

[ John's not saying he doesn't agree, but he is presenting countering logic. He doesn't know what they're here for, but so far he thinks it's not what Carver is insinuating. ]

Not everybody stays, though.

[ That's the part that stuck out the most to Carver. The obvious answer would be the ones who didn't last were killed, either for stepping out of line or failing in some way. Thus: new meat. But on the other hand, this place doesn't seem to operate on the obvious rules, or the rules from back home. There's a new game at play and Carver admits he doesn't understand the scheme. He can't see the whole of it just yet.

Carver gives John a long, narrow look. Always, always watching. The moment you let your guard down is the moment the enemy tries to get you on the ground. And if that happens, son, you'll deserve what's done to you. The commander's lessons were always simple like that. And maybe, sometimes, his voice echoes in the back of Carver's skull.

His fingers twitch. ]

It's hard to control a big group like this. Takes planning. Resources - a lot of resources. So far, they're playing nice. It won't last.

[ John catches that twitch again. Carver seems like the kind of guy who sees action regularly, but also someone who needs it. John himself feels restless here so he can sympathize, but the man standing in front of him feels like he's about to get in a fight at any moment. That's dangerous, and frankly, John doesn't want anything to do with it. He has Harold to think about and can't be making allies that might jeopardize Harold. It's a shame, he wants to like Carver, but there's just something... disconcerting about him. He hopes they stay neutral, it would be in his (and Harold's) best interest. ]

You sound like you have some experience.

Mhmm. I've been around.

[ He grins. Are they going down memory lane? Is this what they're doing now, swapping war stories, blood stories? No, he thinks, no, nothing that easy. More likely John's just doing what he was trained to. Offering just enough attention and interest to keep the conversation flowing so he can pick the useful bits of information out of it, one by one. Carver's own interrogation training started like that.

Thing is, people want to talk about themselves. It's human nature. You just have to find the right prompts to get them started and then keep them going. Only time or training ever show a person otherwise. John's stoic as they come. Not quite flat, no, but calm in a telling way. Focused, conserving energy, no excess motion or sound. He's going to be a threat eventually, the way all people are, but he'll be more dangerous than most.

Pope would've liked hunting this one. A proper challenge. Shaw wouldn't have bothered playing. She'd just end it. And maybe that's the difference between them. Spectacle versus practicality. Carver serves Pope's ghost and whatever's left of Shaw now. Regardless, she isn't here. But the challenge, and the lessons, remain. ]

What about you, hmm? Are we bonding yet? Making friends while we swap war stories? I'm getting positively tingly.

[ His smile flashes teeth, purposefully big. A good old mask. But his stance remains steady, weight evenly spread, just in case. ]

[ Carver didn't say much, but he said enough for John to get something out of that exchange. His body is more telling, certainly. John has observed enough dangerous people, interrogated them even, to feel that Carver is putting that smile on. He wouldn't say it's a hard fact, but his experience has shown that he's usually right about these things. That was part of what made him so valuable to the CIA; his instinct is rarely wrong.

How to play this? John don't think he'll really get anything out of Carver even if he offers up his own honesty, so he's not going to. This is the kind of conversation he'd rather walk away from right now; he's made his judgment on Carver and continuing this conversation only gives him more opportunities to say the wrong thing. John doesn't believe there's a "right" thing he could say that would get past Carver's walls. ]

I've offered you information without asking for much in return. If you want to let me get back to my book I won't say no.

[ He has been rather forthcoming with information and it feels productive to remind Carver of that fact. ]

I like you, John, [ Carver observes. Everything about him speaks to familiar training—not entirely the same, he thinks, but close enough that there’s some comfort in proximity. Some distant calm stirring between the noise that rattles constantly through Carver’s skull. They won’t be brothers but he knows men like this, how they fight, how they kill each other, sometimes even how they die. And that’s more than he knows about much of this place right now. God’s granted him a kindness, Carver thinks. He’ll have to kill that sentimental part of himself that does want to share war stories, to find more common ground, some sense among the senselessness of this place.

It cannot stand. The commander would never allow it.

He smiles. He doesn’t salute, sarcastic or otherwise, but he inclines his head ever so slightly and doesn’t escalate. And that’s strange, isn’t it? Leaving someone like this, regardless of the threat.

It’s a new world here. ]

We’re probably in Hell, [ he adds, conversationally. ] But I’ll see you around.

Edited (Spelling ) 2024-12-05 21:55 (UTC)

[ Maybe he does like John. John thinks that was an honest statement. John also thinks Carver isn't the kind of person to let sentimentality bog him down. He knows what it's like to cut out pieces of yourself like that, to make those decisions that will hurt. That's what makes Carver dangerous, makes him unfit to be a dependable ally, though this place is somewhat short on those in the first place.

John decides to take a risk here. He raises his book back up and turns his attention away from Carver and to it. A little vulnerability. Showing that he doesn't think Carver is a threat to him (in this moment). ]

Nice meeting you. Good luck settling in.

[ That's deliberate. Someone with that much training wouldn't turn their back on a potential threat without some assurance of survival. Maybe he thinks Carver wouldn't really go for him. Maybe he thinks he could handle it regardless. Probably the latter.

Or maybe it's just deescalation. An end to the moment, one way or another.

Carver just hums in vague acknowledgment. His gaze flicks briefly to the book, and then he's just gone. ]

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November Mingle

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