November Mingle

[etrayamods]

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⏴

Comments

[leastdramatic]

[Jason frowns as he tries to think about how to answer Cato without giving away too much of what he and his family do. He hasn't realized yet the tea is giving him a strange urge to do so]

Yeah. It is. There are people who are used to killing but it's not like that for most people. And the people who are used to killing aren't the nicest people you would wanna meet.

[Jason knows how ruthless and brutal he was when he was a crime lord. He knows how cold he was. He always told himself that the ends justify the means. But after enough time, it's easy to say that to everything, even when trying to kill one's own relatives.

These days, Jason's usually confident in his self-restraint and his ability to not fire his guns to kill. But then there are other times, when the darker part of him creeps back up, especially if he's witnessed darkness from others. From the scum who continue to hurt innocent people for their ruthless desires]

[furtitude]

[Little Cato looks thoughtful, trying to wrap his head around the idea of worlds where it's mostly bad people that do the killing and only a few good people.]

[In his world there's a lot who are defending themselves from attack while trying to get by.]

[Or people like his crew, who are trying to do good and facing off against a lot of people trying to kill them to stop them.]

[It's hard for him to. It's hard when was the world junior champion of a sport that involved scoring points by dismembering your opponent. It's hard when he saw people exploded in the streets by Lord Commander's security forces just for not having their identification on hand - and everyone just treated it like it was normal. It's hard when he's from a world where people were willing to kill their own kids to show their loyalty to someone else.]

[And it's especially hard when people try to kill his crew basically all the time. Not even just the people that tried to kill them when they were trying to fix something and they resisted. Sometimes outright chasing after them like the DeWinters or Todd Watson.]

I don't know if I can change it even though I want to. And I do want to. I've been thinking about it a lot. I had a friend who taught me some stuff about how there were others ways to be.

[Had a friend. Had.]

But it's hard because people are always trying to kill us. That's the way my universe kinda just is? [He shrugs a shoulder.] Everybody's killing somebody. You could even be trying to live the most peaceful life ever and Lord Commander could still roll up on your world and bomb it from orbit.

[The tea makes him drop a thing he's tried to avoid saying around the humans, knowing they might find it kind of sad and existential.]

Like we fought really hard but we couldn't save the Earth. Humans in the colonies and on other planets survived, but...

[He trails off.]

It's hard to see how it'd be possible to be anything else.

[And that is the tragedy. He can't not fight for his life alongside his crew or he'll die or they'll die. They can't not fight the fight they're fighting or the universe will die - and even with them fighting, they're probably going to lose, especially now that Invictus broke into the universe. The scale is overwhelming, the stakes are too important, the odds are nearly impossible.]

It sounds nice. Places where it's different there.

[leastdramatic]

[Jason isn’t repelled by Cato. He’s sympathetic to Cato’s plight. It sounds like a larger scale version of how he had to survive his childhood. No child should have had to make their first kill and yet he had to. It was damn or be damned]

There’s nothing wrong with trying to defend yourself. Kill or not kill isn’t as easy of a choice as people make it out to be. Sometimes you have to do it to survive.

There’s a quote from my world. “He who fights with monsters should be careful lest he thereby become a monster. And if thou gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will also gaze into thee.”

Meaning you have to be careful that whatever you’re fighting doesn’t warp you and turn you into the thing you’re trying to fight.

[furtitude]

"I've already kinda seen the abyss."

He imagines the giant floating eye-like void that was Invictus. A black hole from which nothing could escape. Nothing in all of existence.

An all-consuming abyss of hatred.

"Hard pass."

[leastdramatic]

Jason wonders if Cato means he's seen a literal abyss or things really did get that metaphorically dark for him.

"That's a good sign then," He says. "Some would take a swan dive into it because they don't care anymore."