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

[kidnappered]

Ouyang Duyu sighed. "That's unfortunate."

He stared for a moment. He was cold and miserable and he'd be surprised if he doesn't start running a fever at some point. Which is to say, Ouyang Duyu feels like a drowned chicken and as such the answer he wants to give would have been a sarcastic one.

But what he does is shrug. "I'm not dying." There's really not much else to say.

[leastdramatic]

He sighs and taps on one of the bars. It would be nice if there was a physical weak point to break through.

"Merry Christmas from Etraya I guess," He says.

[kidnappered]

"I don't know what that means." Says the person dressed like he walked out of a period Chinese drama. Albeit one that had fallen in a river.

He'd already settled himself as comfortably as he could against the bars. But he does rub his hands together in an attempt to warm them up a little. "Is it related to the eggs that were being given out?"

[leastdramatic]

“Sort of,” Jason says, frowning. He’s left his egg in his apartment away from Wayne Manor. He’s still not sure what to do with it.

“Eggs are associated with a different holiday though. Not Christmas.”

[kidnappered]

Ouyang Duyu also wasn't certain but though he denies it he's soft-hearted deep down to the point where when Chu Wenshan also came back with an egg and asked to cook it he had vetoed the idea immediately and now is co-parenting a pair of eggs together.

"Ah." He said. "What do you do for Christmas then?" He's genuinely curious and really, this is better than whatever they're supposed to be confessing to. "I know what we do for Winter Solstice but I'm not sure it'd be the same thing."

[leastdramatic]

"Well, for modern Christmas, you exchange gifts," Jason replies. "Supposed to be a time to be together with family and friends too."

Given the hardships Jason had in his earlier years, the holiday season was a mixed bag for him. Nowadays that he gets along with his family much better and has friends.

[kidnappered]

Holidays had been a mixed bag for years for Ouyang Duyu as well. It wasn't all that long ago that he preferred to just spend them alone. This was the first time where 'together with family' didn't bring with it a sense of loss.

So he perked up a little and sounded noticeably more excited when he said, "What kind of--" But then Ouyang Duyu stopped. Then cleared his throat. "Nevermind." If he asked what kind of gifts he may have to bring up who he wanted to get them for. Besides, he thought to himself, Chu Wenshan was an idiot as well as abnormal. It wasn't as if normal gifts would be fitting anyway!

He'll just figure it out himself.

"What kind of thing are we supposed to confess anyway?" Is he changing the subject because he's embarrassed to have been caught being excited about something? Yes, yes he is.

[leastdramatic]

Jason's going to pretend he didn't hear Ouyang Duyu backtracking his first question for now. It's more important that they get out of Krampus's cage first.

"No idea. This is a first for me too," he says. "Krampy here didn't give details so maybe there's a loophole."

[kidnappered]

"Hm..." He considered that. A loophole, of some sort...?

He tilted his head, resting the side of it against the bar for a moment. "'A house built on lies has a weak foundation'...wasn't that what Krampy said, right?" No, he has no idea what Krampus is so he assumes Krampy is what it's called. "Maybe we can start with confessing inconsequential lies?" He doesn't particularly like he thinks it would work but even if it doesn't work, it'd be a point of reference.

"I faked my own kidnapping before." Because as far as he's concerned that's an inconsequential lie in the grand scheme of all the lies he'd told. He waits and...nothing happens.

[leastdramatic]

Well that's a hell of a start already. Jason raises an eyebrow in surprise and in interest at that confession. The funny thing is that it's not the first time he's heard of someone faking their kidnapping. Gotham and his whole family are just weird like that.

"Wow. Why?" He asks.

[kidnappered]

Ouyang Duyu avoids eye contact for a moment. In retrospect, it was a bad plan. At the time it had made so much sense but given what he's found out since then he's actually a little embarrassed by how stupid it was.

Finally, he shrugged. "It was a poorly thought out revenge plot." He really is embarrassed but also he sounds...weirdly fond talking about it. It's a complicated way to feel about it. "Thankfully it's no longer needed."

[leastdramatic]

"It'd be probably kinda bad if you did," Jason says.

Ah revenge plots. Always a messy time. Jason takes a moment to think about what small thing can he confess.

"I regularly take my dad's gears without his permission just for fun."

[kidnappered]

"...probably." Chu Wenshan, it turns out, had become even more illogically strong since childhood. When he thinks about what happened in the Red Moon Sect he realizes that if Chu Wenshan hadn't gotten amnesia when he did things could have gone downhill very quickly.

But also, now that he knew what actually happened back then his revenge could be a lot simpler. He can just stab them people actually responsible.

"Isn't that something most children have done at some point?" Well, Ouyang Duyu never did but he was also in a weird sort of situation.

[leastdramatic]

"Yeah but I still do it because it's fun," Jason smirks shamelessly.

Really, Bruce should be grateful that it's Jason testing out his safehouses' security systems than some rogue.

[kidnappered]

He has no idea what sort of gear is being referred to here but it probably didn't matter.

"Then I suppose it wouldn't make any difference if your father were to get you your own set."

If he were being honest, that sort of behaviour is something he had only heard of and seen in others. He had never felt secure enough in his place in his family to attempt anything like that. Ouyang Duyu was a child abandoned at the Chu Family's door, the adopted second child that nearly everyone gossiped about. So maybe there was just a little something wistful to how he said it.

He drew one one of his knees up and rested his arm on it, propping his head on his palm.

"I guess it was too much to hope for that inconsequential confessions would do it." After all, it's a lot of effort to kidnap people just to hear some gossip.

[leastdramatic]

Jason furrows his brow, thinking. There are plenty of other things he could confess but wanting to say any of them is another matter, especially to someone he just met.

"Yeah, it figures," he says. "You got something else then?"

Sorry for the late reply. I was horribly sick for a while there.

[kidnappered]

There were definitely many confessions possible, some of which Ouyang Duyu wasn't ready to admit to himself let alone to someone else.

So he sat there for a moment, thinking.

Perhaps something less well known...?

"I was pushed off a cliff as child. I nearly died."

When that didn't earn his freedom he kicked the bars a little. It's a half-hearted effort but it made him feel a little bit better.

No worries! Glad you're feeling better

[leastdramatic]

Well that's another confession that would be dramatic for most people.

"How'd you survive?" Jason asks, curious.

Sure, he comes from a world full of people with superpowers but the feat is still unusual enough.

[kidnappered]

"My shifu saved me." Even though at the time he hadn't been his teacher yet. "He forced the cold energy out of my body. There were consequences but at least I lived."

He didn't particularly want to elaborate on those consequences. Who wanted to admit that their health was frail, that they couldn't properly practise martial arts or anything like that?

Well, there was one that didn't matter so much.

"That's when my hair turned white."

He glared at the bars in front of him. Still nothing. He let out a quiet 'tch' and kicked the bars again.

[leastdramatic]

Jason furrows his brow and guesses now it's his turn to share. It's tough though as even on a good day with friends and family, he's not one to share everything with them. With strangers it's even more unlikely. But what Ouyang Duyu shared does sound personal so Jason will have to dig a little deep.

"I spent several years as a teenager learning from assassins, traffickers, and a lot of other fucked-up people," he says. "I wanted to know how they work."

[kidnappered]

As a person who studied medicine with the understanding the philosophy that medicine is three parts poison, he sort of understood.

Whether the study was for nefarious purposes or for understanding, knowledge was always advantageous.

"Did you get what you needed out of the experience?"

[leastdramatic]

"Yeah," Jason admits. "Got a hell of a lot better at fighting and making counter plans from that."

Those were dark years and he never wants to be in that mental space again. But he knows he would be the kind of vigilante he is now if it weren't for that.

[kidnappered]

He nodded, a little absentmindedly.

"Knowing the enemy is key to victory."

After all, that was why he had studied everything he could about Chu Wenshan in those years when vengeance had been the goal.

This wasn't working and if they keep going like this they're going to spill too many secrets and then what would even be the point? And so, the thought of Chu Wenshan suddenly made him think: what would that idiot do?

Then, without really meaning to, he let out a short laugh--that then turned into a short coughing fit. Damn his delicate constitution!

"Excuse me." Was a rather raspy attempt at salvaging his dignity.

[leastdramatic]

Jason arches an eyebrow. That... was random.

"You alright there?" he asks.

[kidnappered]

"Yes. I'm fine."

But he realizes as well how weird that was. In an effort to explain himself so he didn't seem like he'd lost it, he said, "I was just thinking of what an idiot I know would do. The last time we were stuck behind bars he said bending metal with his barehands wasn't something a human could do. Then he just pulled the whole thing out of the foundation as if that was anymore normal."

He said it with a roll of his eyes, the words are judgmental but his tone is noticeably fond. "That idiot probably would have done something outrageous like that."