DECEMBER MINGLE

[etrayamods]

WHO: Everyone!
WHEN: December 21st - Early January
WHERE: Etraya
WHAT: Newcomers, a surprise gift from Tatianna, and a visitor!
NOTES\WARNINGS:

⏵ arrival ⏴ Welcome to Etraya! Arrival goes as expected - characters awaken on hospital beds and are offered an explanation of their situation: that they have arrived in the city of Etraya, and they are their world's only hope. They are welcome to wander the hospital if they would like to - the upper floors are mostly empty, full of pristine hallways and numerous rooms filled with supplies, cots, and things one would expect from a relatively average 21st-century hospital. The lobby is filled to the brim with tables of freshly baked goods. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" banners are taped to the walls, and several other typical birthday decorations can be found in this area. A few of the baked goods tables are lined with massive cakes covered in unlit candles, just waiting for someone to grab a lighter and sing off-key. Is it anyone's birthday? Who knows! The companion bots seem to believe it's every new arrival's birthday and will greet them as such - with friendly waves and cheers as they make their way to the lobby. A coat rack is situated by the doors leading out of the hospital, covered in warm clothing that fits the new arrivals just right - whether it's to their preferred style or not is something else entirely. Some of them appear normal enough. Others? Well. They can't all be perfect, now can they? Outside the windows, the grass is covered in a couple of inches of loosely packed snow. We hope you enjoy your stay. ⏵ an unexpected gift ⏴ Out by the hospital stands a tall, decorated tree covered in candles and golden pinecones with a handsome, red velveteen tree skirt. In front of it are a few oversized wrapped gifts for show- and atop one of those sits a familiar woman. Or unfamiliar, if this is your first time. It's Tatianna in a slutty Santa outfit with a big ol’ burlap sack. “Hey, I got something for you,” she says, digging into the bag and rummaging for a moment. She produces a painted egg and holds it aloft. “It’s your Winter Solstice Egg! This is the egg holiday, right? Wait, shit. I’m mixing them up, aren’t I? ...Well. It’s a little late to change it. Here you go!” How one treats their egg is fully up to themselves. They can choose to ignore it entirely, or destroy it and leave the yolk and innards to rot on the ground. They can hand it over to someone else or care for it as if it were something precious. No one will prevent them from doing whatever they please with it! ⏵ naughty or nice ⏴However, how they treat the egg will define how the egg treats them in return. Those who keep the egg and tend to it will get the benefit of being able to watch it hatch seven days after they are handed the egg. Eggs that are treated with attention and love may yield a loyal companion, or a weapon of choice that always returns to its owner, while neglected eggs may yield a curious, cursed trinket or an animal who treats its new owner very much the same way its owner had treated it before it was born. Please submit an egg request below for what items you would like your character's eggs to hatch into! Please note that these cannot be things that would be applicable in the game. Those whose eggs are destroyed or forgotten will simply get the gift of... nothing! ⏵ free your spirit ⏴ With the winter chill gripping the air, a mysterious figure makes their presence known in Etraya - a towering, horned creature dragging a massive sack behind them. 𝓐 𝖍𝖔𝖚𝖘𝖊 𝖇𝖚𝖎𝖑𝖙 𝖔𝖓 𝖑𝖎𝖊𝖘 𝖍𝖆𝖘 𝖆 𝖜𝖊𝖆𝓴 𝖋𝖔𝖚𝖓𝖉𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓. Regardless of a character's strengths or weaknesses, they will find that when Krampus raises his massive sack over their head, they are powerless to stop him from catching them. Those capable of great magical feats or other supernatural abilities will sense something... otherworldly about Krampus, but will not be able to place the source of that sensation. Once within Krampus' sack, they are welcome to fight, but escape is impossible. It will feel as if Krampus is dragging them over every rock possible, dragging the sack in through the rivers to the point it soaks through and drenches them - potentially almost drowning them. When the sack opens, they will find themselves in an impossibly dark space. Around them are others who have also been captured and dragged here by Krampus, trapped in small cages hanging from a massive, wiry tree. Krampus will return often, banging clawed hands and birch rods on the walls of the cages and knocking them into one another. 𝕮𝖔𝖓𝖋𝖊𝖘𝖘𝖘𝖘𝖘𝖘𝖘. The whisper resonates through the darkened area, regardless of Krampus' presence. Confess your secrets, and be freed. Otherwise? You'd better hope someone figures out where Krampus has set up base; those who refuse to confess may find themselves stuck here forever. ⏵ NOTES ⏴ Krampus' base is under Etraya! Deep within the catacombs, he has set up multiple cages to capture those who inhabit Etraya to punish them for their naughty habits. Fighting him is possible! Defeating him by means of combat is not, however, possible. Think of it like fighting a god: Krampus creates the rules in the space around him, including who can use what ability. 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

[clavesregni]

[In her rush to be taken seriously, as a leader and as someone who knows what she's doing and doesn't feel overwhelmed and scared and can't quite see where she's going, Caitlyn hadn't even considered that the tunnel might not be stable. There's a visible hitch in her step as she grinds awkwardly to a halt behind Sevika.]

Good.

[Of course, unless there's another escape route, they'll have to chance it, won't they? And Caitlyn is not one to risk another person's life in place of her own, or send anybody to do a task she wouldn't do herself. So, she squares her shoulders, takes a breath, and says,] I'll go first.

[Sevika will need to step aside, though, since she's taking up the entire entrance. Caitlyn might be willing to risk her life in a hypothetical tunnel collapse, but shoving Sevika out of the way is another matter.]

[kidnappered]

"It's only useful when what you need is someone to hit something. You have no idea the kind of headaches he causes. Sometime even just talking to him makes me feel stupid." Again, the words were softened by his tone and he is clearly more animated now compared to how he was speaking earlier. These were not secrets, and compared to near death experiences and faked kidnappings this was a topic that actually meant something to him on an emotional level.

(Even though, in fact, both of the previous topics also had to do with Chu Wenshan.)

Does he even realize any of this? Not really.

"Not that I'm in the habit of speaking poorly of people behind their backs." He totally is though. "But growing up, the only times Chu Wenshan wasn't a nuisance was when he was carrying my books or eating my scallions for me or taking care of me when I'm sick." The rest of the time he totally didn't desperately try to impress him or try to be his friend or anything!

[ascarylady]

[ Oh, Sevika does step aside, though it's so she can watch Caitlyn walk into the tunnel with absolute disbelief. This girl... Well, fine. If Miss Would-be Detective wants to lead, she'll let her. ]

Go right ahead.

[ Click. Sevika flips the lighter back off, plunging them both into complete darkness once more. ]

Be sure to scream real loud if you find a hole.

[leastdramatic]

"It sounds like you two are pretty close though," Jason says. "Not a lot of people can say they have someone willing to do all that for them."

1/2

[kidnappered]

You...

[...look. It wasn't that he thought Chu Wenshan was just taking a random stroll down here. And he's more than aware that Chu Wenshan had been hanging out with him to the point where sometimes it felt like they're attached.

But he hadn't actively thought about the idea that Chu Wenshan had come for him specifically.]

2/2

[kidnappered]

...I won't hold you back.

[wolfish]

"Officially? The usual reasons a church buries innovations. The printing press could lead to people spreading lies about the goddess, this or that could be misused, so forth." Yuri shrugs, the sarcastic edge to his tone suggesting his own feelings on the subject well enough. He absolutely respects Seteth, but he wishes the man wouldn't be so zealous in enforcing the Archbishop's more draconian directives. "My people took a keen interest, so if Aurora can bring those texts in, we've made some progress on determining what was blotted out."

[godsandbats]

Kirk softly scoffs. A religious institution trying to restrict knowledge never leads to good things. It's good to know he and Yuri are on the same page about that.

"It sounds like it would be worth retrieving," he says. "I assume there's quite a lot that was redacted?"

[zauneyete]

That was the entire point.

[ He says it with that sort of slurring fervor of a true believer. ] I always hated him after what he did to me, but I could have let that lie, had he moved. Done something.

Instead, he let us become quiet, and stagnant. Sick. Barely better than we were before.

[ No, Silco certainly had changed things. Not just the undercity, either. He'd done everything he could to move it forward, change it, warp it. They were stronger now, more terrifying, a bogeyman to terrify topside, and he had hoped they could use that.

They almost had. Up until... ]

I was never happy with the status quo. Even when I was a boy. That is the reason it needed to be changed.

[clavesregni]

[Into the tunnel Caitlyn goes, trying terribly hard to hide her nerves, only to have the light snuffed out as soon as she steps in. She stops abruptly, flinging her hands out to either side in search of the walls.

Very slowly, she inches forward, gingerly tapping the ground with her foot as she goes to make sure she doesn't stumble over uneven rocks or put her weight on something that will only give out beneath her. Or — a terrifying scenario that she can't get out of her head now that Sevika's brought it up — step out into nothing and plunge to her death at the bottom of a pit.]

A light would make this easier, [she snits, pointedly.]

[nobraincell]

Good.

[No more stopping, come on! Except he'll still stop whenever Ouyang Duyu needs it. But the point is, off they go! To the outside world! To freedom! On their own two feet!!]

[levelshift]

[So this was someone okay with stagnation and someone wanting change at odds, and their difference in viewpoints coming to a head in the worst way possible. It reminds him of his city's Board of Directors, except the majority of them were happy with the status quo because they profited off of it. He doesn't know if this other person this guy is talking about is in that same situation, or if he was just content with whatever he had.

Regardless, he can see how enraging it'd be for someone who wants change. There are some days he'd love to do nothing more than put the heads of most of the directors through a brick wall. The thing is, though, it's one thing to say you want change.

It's something else to actually do it.]

Okay. [He's replying bluntly, accepting all of that.] So what the hell are you doing to change things?

[zauneyete]

[ He knows what men who ask that question are.

They often ask it after they've already made a monster for their efforts. ]

Hm. To you alone? What about the others that pay for your actions? They are always far-reaching. Communities like this are tight knit, a ripple moves further.

[kidnappered]

His expression did a complicated thing. It's probably too dark here to really see it but his smile fades. "We really weren't." He can't even confess that he used to think Chu Wenshan hated him because with what Jason said, it does seem kind of like a stupid conclusion to have drawn.

But they really hadn't even understood each other until recently.

"He was very hard to communicate with. Still is, really."

[ascarylady]

Would it?

[ And yet, the light doesn't reappear. If Caitlyn is so intent on being the leader here, why would she need Sevika's help? There is the scuff of boots behind her, though, as Sevika steps up close and leans down to speak directly in her ear.

While she can't see in the dark, she's much more used to it, so it's simple enough to do. ]

I don't know. I might consider it if you say the magic word, Kiramman. Well?

[leastdramatic]

[Ripple effects are something else Jason's unfortunately familiar with]

Which is why this stuff is never black and white. Every action or inaction has consequences and you try to pick which ones you're willing to put with.

[leastdramatic]

"Because he's an idiot?" Jason asks, almost deadpan. He wonders if he's striking near a nerve.

[clavesregni]

[Sevika's close enough to tickle the hairs behind Caitlyn's ear, and, with a sudden horrible sinking feeling in her gut, she's reminded that this woman very nearly killed Vi. And Vi — powerful, strong, muscular Vi — is far less killable than Caitlyn, especially unarmed and blind and standing on uneven ground as she currently is.]

The more time we waste, the higher the likelihood of that creature returning. And I doubt either of us want to find out what it would do to us, should it find us here.

[She tries her absolute level best to sound unflinching. Tough. Like she knows what she's doing and cannot be intimidated. And really, there's hardly any fearful quaver in her voice at all.]

[zauneyete]

[ Silco's laugh is sharp. ]

Everything.

[ Or he had been, after all. ]

Establishing our own functional systems, building up our power base. We are given what we are given at the pleasure of topsiders. I aim to change that.

[ he keeps walking, but his voice pitches here, and there. Silco had been tight lipped, but the moment his fight is brought out, it's like that spark is lit, and something new comes forward. Silco doesn't belive in much. He believes in this. ]

We have to make ourselves unprofitable to hold onto. I aim to scare them into letting us go, and we are undoing generations of our lot in life. We are poor, and sick, festering in nothing. [ Silco had made them more, but it comes with a cost. Anything for the cause. ] We have found a way to make them... just wary enough. We're on the verge of finally being let go.

[ Which says... a lot of nothing, but then again, explaining the interplay of shimmer, hextech, and the sister cities of Piltover and Zaun requires a history lesson best not taught in a cave escaping Krampus. ]

[zauneyete]

It shouldn't be, and each person has their own lines, do they not?

[ Silco knew where his line was now.

The same line had killed him. ]

It damns us all, in the end. These choices.

[leastdramatic]

Yeah, everyone has their standards. There are some things a person will never do, no matter what. They’d rather than do it.

Question is, which damnation you would rather go for.

[Jason knows which ones he picked and which one he’d rather have. The two are not mutually exclusive]

[levelshift]

[There are still a lot of questions in Accelerator's mind but he feels like he's starting to get a clearer picture. This society, unlike Academy City, has an underclass seeking independence from the upper class. It's a case of industrial workers seeking to profit off their own labour, instead of it being funnelled away from them towards the wealthy. It sounds like they want a complete and total split. Meanwhile, for the students of Academy City, that's all there is. There's nothing to break away from, only a rotting core that needs to be fixed.

Still, there are similarities. The uphill battle against people with power to upend the status quo, for one. That's something Accelerator has been struggling with, despite the amount of power he wields back home. He can't imagine how difficult his job would be if his status didn't afford him unilateral control over the city.]

.....

[That thought is making his brain circle back around to having more questions. Logistical ones.]

How do you keep the vultures off your back? They've gotta be coming at you from all angles, right? Trying to use all of that instability to improve their own standing.

[ascarylady]

Tch, that didn't sound like a please, princess.

[ Those are the last words to be breathed against her neck in a low, growly voice, and then the flicker of the lighter returns, illuminating the area. Sevika moves, pushing past Caitlyn and taking the lead without further ado. ]

Come on. We want tunnels with an upward slope. If you feel a breeze, say something.

[ Assuming Sevika doesn't notice it first, which is unlikely. She strides ahead in the tunnel with far more confidence than Caitlyn had, very used to the narrow, claustrophobic surroundings. ]

[clavesregni]

[Caitlyn doesn't breathe until Sevika is no longer looming over her shoulder and whispering ominously in her ear. And once the other woman is shoving past her, she scrambles to catch up, only to trip, just barely catch herself, and only avoid scuffing both palms by virtue of the thick leather gloves she's wearing.]

There's no point being so antagonistic when we should be working together to get out of here.

[wolfish]

"Right on the money. There's multiple floors to that library, though how redacted each book is varies widely." Some were mostly redactions, others only ommitted scattered words. "Of course, seeing as everything is penned by hand, sometimes you can make out lines well enough with the right approach."

When motivated, people had ways and means.