FEBRUARY MINGLE

[etrayamods]

WHO: Everyone!
WHEN: February 14th - March
WHERE: Etraya
WHAT: The arrival of newcomers, a mini mission, and some new city features!
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. In the hospital's lobby are several party tables set out with miscellaneous baked goods: croissants, cookies, breads, cake slices, as well as tea and coffee to accompany them - or hot chocolate, for those who are opposed to the other offerings. Outside the hospital, the last remnants of snow are melting in the sunlight as the weather begins to warm up. It's still chilly enough one might want to put on a coat, but not so cold a jacket is necessary for wandering around without freezing off one's fingers. We hope you enjoy your stay. ⏵ heroes return ⏴ As the Quantum Rail train glides to a halt, returning passengers step out onto familiar ground - the train station, right where they had initially begun their mission. When exiting the station, their earpieces vibrate, indicating the automatic download of a detailed map which highlights key locations, transit paths, and notable landmarks. As Aurora promised, she had been working on a few renovations around Etraya! A sleek trolley system now winds through Etraya, following clearly marked pathways through the city bubble to make travel across the city smoother. However, the trolley only moves one way, eternally following the loop Aurora has set it on. And because of this, it takes six hours to complete it's loop all the way around. Don't miss your stop! Pets and animals have been returned to their usual preferred areas, some awaiting the arrival of their owners, and others keeping to themselves in the forested areas throughout Etraya. Beyond the small upgrades, things seem relatively unchanged - until one familiar sign catches the eye. One marked by four vertical lines, methodically crossed out one by one: the final slash has now been drawn through. The tally is complete. What it indicates has yet to be made clear, but it has to mean something, right? No one would go through the effort of making an ominous-sounding sign without following through. ⏵ love in the air ⏴ This Valentines Day, Aurora and the companion bots have opted to try something a little different: they have scattered mystery valentines across the city. Hidden within mailboxes, tucked into cafe menus, slipped under doors, on the outside of high windows for those wall-crawlers to spot. There are countless of these little slips of papers, strewn throughout the city. And within each valentine, is a challenge or gesture to complete. Please feel free to make these up yourselves as long as they fit in with the theme! Some examples include: Deliver a flower to a stranger. Write a heartfelt poem for someone. Share a box of chocolates! Confess your feelings for another. Play matchmaker for two people - this can be platonic, or romantic! Gift a friend with a stuffed animal. Give five different people a genuine compliment. While not mandatory, completing five tasks will earn an individual an additional ten points to use towards anything they would like! Each little Valentine is signed "Your Secret Admirer. ♡", and some of them may even be addressed to specific individuals. Don't be surprised, Eddie, if you see one or two that are specifically addressed to you lurking around your collection of chicken friends! And while most of these are harmless, some of the valentines cards come with effects for those who come into contact with the paper. Perhaps they thought it was a piece of garbage, or were just kicking it out of the way rather than intending on taking part. It doesn't matter! They get to join in on the fun, too. Heart Eyes - your pupils literally turn into hearts for a few hours, making it hard to focus on anything other than things (or people) you find attractive. Love-Struck Stammer - You can only speak in poetic compliments or romantic declarations, regardless of whom you're speaking to. Chocolate Bliss - Everything feels good. Simple. Easy. As if there's nothing in the world to concern yourself with. You feel happy, without any concerns or worry. Rose-Tinted Vision - everything looks soft and romantic, as if you're in a romance novel. You know the ones. Magnetic Attraction - regardless of what you had been doing, you suddenly find yourself unable to leave the side of the person closest to you. Had you been eating chocolates while walking down the street? Well, have fun getting stuck to the guy who'd been out for a jog! Serenade Syndrome - you find it impossible to resist the urge to sing your words, turning all conversations into love ballads. Heartstrings - A thread appears, connecting you to someone close by who you share many similarities too. Perhaps you had never met this person before, but the threads tied around your pinky fingers that refuse to let go until you allow yourself to open up to them clearly means you should be a little more familiar with them. Love is in the air—or maybe just a bit of well-intended chaos! 💕 ⏵ NOTES ⏴ Welcome back from the mission, and welcome to Etraya for our newcomers! We've tried to keep this log simple for an easy introduction, as well as some downtime for our mission-goers who worked hard to solve the Quantum Rail mystery. There is something else going on, but. . . well, no one seems to know what! The computer that had been on the lower floor of the hospital is now missing, and Aurora may seem a little flustered as she flits around Etraya, in search of something. 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

[levindicated]

“Take more than this to ruin my stride,” he manages between a few thrusts. Cid’s clean hand twists in Vander’s hair- his messier one he wipes on his thigh before cradling Vander’s broad jaw with it.

Now Cid was just in for the ride, and he was more than happy to just take it, like he was at the mercy of the ocean waves tossing him about. Cid’s cock gets trapped between their bodies as Cid rides this broad beast of a man. It’s intense, the heat between them and inside of him is unbearable, incredible- The thrust of Vander’s sizable cock is all he can focus on, the stretch, the friction, and every spot it hits from the moment it enters him.

His hands move, comes around to grab Vander’s broad back, short nails digging in best they can as the hot coil of his arousal winds with each thrust. His back arches as every muscle in his body begins to tighten and flex, sweat pricks his skin as he flushes from his neck to his belly. He bites Vander’s neck just to muffle all the deep, sordid noises that the other man pulls from him for a moment. Cid thrusts in tandem with him, trying to get a little more pressure on his own cock.

He catches his breath, just barely. “Come on, is that all you’ve got?”

Cid does not know what tree he’s barking up here, he’s barely holding it together as it is with Vander’s pace. He drags his nails down his back, making a choked noise into Vander’s neck.

[fortitudosalutis]

[ Would have been. But wasn’t? Carver hums a little, taking another drink. He supposes it doesn’t matter that he’s letting John these things. Who else would he talk about it with? ]

She died after I went to Korengal. My grandma, too. And that was just that.

[theroadwarrior]

[Note to self: make sure she lets him check on that later.

A soft hum follows.]

Hospital like the old world.

[Even the hospitals he knew a long time ago weren't this clean. It's really something, to bare witness to a city so clean and maintained. Not only that, but...]

Everything's 'free' here. Food, supplies. Places to stay.

[He's very skeptical that it's a charitable, kind thing. Echo wants them to 'save universes', prove their worth in order to spare their lives. He's not sure how much Furiosa had learned from her very short time here so far, so -- best to try to keep her up to date. There's just... so much. He nods toward the road behind her.]

... Lots of green, too.

[aimsforknees]

[ John takes a drink, thinks about how to say the next thing. ]

Makes it easier to come back a stranger.

[ He's glad his parents didn't see him become who he is today. ]

[fortitudosalutis]

[ He shrugs at that. Just is what it is. ]

Wasn’t much point in coming back. Couldn’t be in the Army after that. Couldn’t be a civilian either. My sister got tired of bailing me out of the drunk tank. Said she’d take me with on the private jobs she was pulling with the commander, but only if I sobered up. I owe them a lot for that.

[ornithologist]

[ Harold would be a little emotional, honestly, if he realized Maria already thought so well of him. As it is, he only looks at her sympathetically. Whatever his feelings for Vincent, it's enormously difficult to handle someone dying for you, and he might not understand about James but he understands enough to know that he's important to Maria. Yet he also understands how difficult it is to address these things out loud. The middle of the sweets aisle is definitely not the place. ]

Let's, [ he agrees, before adding wryly, ] but please don't thank me too much. It might give me a rash.

[ This is a mild joke regarding how much she's caught onto the fact that Harold doesn't like to be acknowledged for how kind he is. ]

Perhaps we could find somewhere more secluded to sit? That way if the chocolates have any ill effects, we'll at least only be embarrassing ourselves in front of one another.

[ornithologist]

[ What, is he now feeling challenged? Harold wasn't going to make anything out of it, but...

He casts John a mild glance over the rim of his glasses. ] Is that so? Who do you have in mind for confessing feelings to, then?

[ He really can't help ribbing him as he nudges the two piles of single slips of paper together into one singular pile of two. ]

[aimsforknees]

I'll tell Shaw I like her driving.

[ Easy, safe, Shaw will say something snarky back, that'll be the end of it. It won't become complicated. ]

What about you?

[miniroth]

He can't match it for power, that's at least a decade away yet, and he really shouldn't be taunting something that could fit his entire body in its mouth with room to spare.

One mistake and even he's going to pay for it.

The temporary change in tactics from the usual bumbling fury he expects of a monster forces Sephiroth to retreat out of the closeness he'd wanted to keep in a sudden backwards leap, the sweep of the massive spiked tail much, much too close for comfort. He has no fear of falling, gravity tended to not work the way it should on him, but being hit with that kind of force...

Unfortunately it puts him out in the open again, and as soon as he has his footing he begins a retreat, not towards the reasonable safety of the rest of Etraya but towards the fortress he really should probably leave alone and drawing on what magic he did have access to without the vast enhancement of materia. Blizzard is a small and weak spell on its own, but cast at the ground instead of the monster, to hopefully make his immediate vicinity terribly slick and a bit jagged, little more than annoying thorns to something a behemoth's size.

[heavensnight]

Oh, then I will thank you just the right amount. [which is more than he will like but it's what he deserves. Maria doesn't know why Harold doesn't like to hear it but that probably means he should hear it all the more.]

Good idea, though. I've heard people singing and well, let's not embarrass ourselves more than we have to. [she hasn't quite gotten that unlucky, though. no whammies hopefully! last thing they both need right now is her singing about this whole thing.

she leads them out and luckily finds a bench far enough away that nobody would come out this far. probably meant to be enjoyed in solitude probably. it gives them some privacy and even if they aren't about to sing, she's sure they're going to need it. she doesn't want to tell Harold everything but nobody needs to overhear her discussing her bestie blowing up, now do they?]

First of all, thank you for offering us your room. [she's getting straight to it!] I do really appreciate what you did for Heather and me, Harold. It was nice of you. After Vincent...left us, well...I needed all the help I could get, I guess you could say. Thank you. And John. I've never really talked to him so pass that on to him. I know you ended up staying with him, right?

cw: alcoholism and suicidal ideation

[aimsforknees]

[ He gets the drinking. All too well. It wasn't that many years ago he was drinking himself to death on the streets of New York. Now he's careful with his drinks, doesn't let himself get that way anymore. He has a purpose, Harold's purpose, to carry him onwards. He can manage to make it through his dark moments knowing there will be a number in the morning. ]

I never went back to being a civilian. Went straight to the CIA.

[ Now that is a casual drop of information for Carver. John is pretty sure he hasn't mentioned that before. ]

[cactusy]

High-strung, sure, but definitely not as uptight as he looks.

[Which, admittedly, is very uptight. But Shaw knows that she herself comes off as a humorless hardass to a great many people, so she knows not to judge a book completely by its cover.]

[imperatour]

[ Furiosa shares his skepticism. She's never come across anything for free. She's always earned her keep one way or another, certainly hasn't come out of it with clean hands. She wonders what this cost will be, her mouth forming a tight, serious expression with a little nod to show her agreement.

Green though... the idea makes something in her mood shift, makes something adjacent to a little smile tugs at her lips, turning to follow his gaze. ]

You checked it out yet?

[cactusy]

-- Oh.

[Shaw exhales, the wind having been let out of her sails a little.]

The people on the train, though - they definitely didn't have a clue who we were. But they also weren't surprised by us just showing up; it was weird.

[badlydisarmed]

[ He could argue with this guy, but somehow he doubts that'd take him anywhere. Maybe it's easier to live like he does, super imposing the reality he knows over the observable one. ]

Looking into it.

Why were you following me?

[ Is this man like a lost hound? Does he need orders? Robert know how to give orders. ]

[aimsforknees]

[ John gets that, he's interacted with Carver enough to know there's a person buried under all that paranoia. ]

I'm trying to get him to realize he doesn't have to be completely miserable here. He can eat some food and have a drink. That sort of thing.

[badlydisarmed]

You gotta earn it, don't you? You can't just walk up to her and ask.

[Hence his handing out compliments.]

... maybe that's how we fix the vacuum cleaner.

[Connor. Connor is the vacuum cleaner.

Clearly Robert isn't keeping their mission as his first priority.]

[odinpusrex]

What is he supposed to do with that? It's words he did not want to hear, and yet there is an ease that washes over the ache of his heart that almost hurts more for it. Still his eyes do not find Cidolfus, cast out to the passing scenery as they are. He can feel the magnetic pull lessen itself—that confession counted—and yet he does not move to push Cid away.

This has not gone the way he expected it to. Nor the way he wanted. Perhaps he would have been better off letting Cid come to him after all. He might have avoided...this.

How much longer before the next stop? Not that it is one that either of them want nor need, but it is a marker for this little scheme that seems pointless now. So, he chooses to just...enjoy the silence and the company in the limited capacity he can, though it doesn't spare him from the pain of old wounds being picked at.

[bootyshortsforoldmen]

Not upset, Connor. [Lips pursed as his eyes dart over to the next stupid card.] You really gonna make me do this shit, huh?

[Hank throws his head back in annoyance. Snapping the card from under the cushion.

Blinking down at the next task:] “Give your partner a piggyback around the room.” Yeah, see — no. Told ya Aurora’s trying to kill me.

[instabilitatem]

I could give you the piggyback, lieutenant. I'm stronger than I appear.

[Even with the damage done to his plates. It will most certainly hurt Connor, but he doesn't include that information.]

[cactusy]

Uh-huh.

[She says it dryly; sorry, buddy, but she's not sure she thinks you're the most reliable narrator around right now.]

Good thing you're here to save the world, then, huh. And who knows, maybe you'll even end up getting laid. Learn a little about what you're missing.

[bootyshortsforoldmen]

[Hank gives Connor a very “what the fuck” expression. Eyes squinting.]

Why are you so determined to play this goddamn — okay, you know what? [Throwing up his hands in defeat.] Give me a piggyback ride, Connor.

[thecodexabides]

What does that mean, 'looking into it'?

[When your own reality is the result of decades of hypno-indoctrination, that superimposes the Emperor's will over everything you see, it's easy to transfer to other things as well.]

I was not....[Shut up, Gadriel.]

I...do not know.

[instabilitatem]

[Connor nods and then kneels down on one knee with his back to Hank.]

[fortitudosalutis]

[ It's nice to have some confirmation. Carver inclines his head slightly. ]

Kinda figured, way you talked. Way you move.

[ Training like that bleeds through. And there aren't many places to get it. ]

We probably ran in some of the same circles.