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

[ascarylady]

[ Family. Sure, that has Sevika scrunching her nose at the thought, but she won't disagree. In a way, she, Jinx, and Silco are a family. Unfortunately, that includes Vander, which lays the problem; he's an unwanted addition, and he's adamantly against two of the three. ]

You're beginning to sound like Talis.

[ Which she knows will irk him. Sorry, Jayce. ]

He told me the same thing, except he realized after that we were already paying that price, at least in Zaun. No one's born healthy down there. If shimmer has long-term ramifications for those benefits? It's still better than what we're already getting, but as it stands, I've yet to see any.

[ Abuse, misuse, overuse, yes, but those were a personal problem. ]

If that makes you suspicious of it, that's fair, but I don't see much use in lying about what it can do.

[ As for the rest, she shrugs and fishes out a new cigarette from a pocket. ]

And I bring it up because Vander will move against me and the old man no matter what we do. We could open a fucking bakery and he'd try to get people on his side to shut us down.

[brat]

( he'll add reach out to vander to his to-do list of things to work on later. for now, his attention remains fully on sevika herself. on the insult to his character that the you sound like talis comment was. his nose wrinkles in disgust, but damian lets it go without comment. )

Do you have the ability to get a sample of Shimmer?

[ascarylady]

[ Wow, Damian, don't do her dirty like that. Vander's a dick. ]

I'm sure I can, but that doesn't mean I'm going to hand it out.

[ She'll need some for the arm. It's inevitable. ]

I'm only making my best guess as to what might go on, where your people might decide to go after mine. Could be we do nothing at all. In some ways, that'd be preferable.

[brat]

If you can, I would recommend giving a sample to me. It may or may not save you trouble later.

( no promises, because he would need to dig into what makes shimmer function to truly decide whether or not his family would allow it to continue existing here. todd is more. . . sensitive to drug use than others, but something that functions as sevika has explained it? can't go without cost either. )

[ascarylady]

[ looks directly at singed i'm not sure even he knows how it functions little man ]

We'll see.

[ It's a vague answer, promising nothing. It's not as though it'd be difficult to get his hands on a sample if they brought an actual refinery here, but for now, the stuff was in short supply, and she wasn't too keen on handing it out provided she got her hands on it. ]

As it is, I couldn't convince them to give me my broken-ass arm and the shimmer needed to run it, so we're both out of luck for now.

[brat]

I'd recommend getting a better arm rather than relying on this one.

( but he's pulling himself up to his feet, grabbing onto one of the gears he'd pulled from the arm. it's one of two; the other has been tucked, stealthily, into one of the pockets of his utility belt. just in case she decides to object. )

Souvenir.

[ascarylady]

You're sure recommending a lot of things today, tiny.

[ She says after lighting the new cigarette up and blowing some smoke out away, off to the side. She has just enough respect for the kid not to blow smoke in his face, so there's that. Her eyes do follow the motion of grabbing the gear; she doesn't look too happy about it, but... ]

Just don't take any of the hydraulic pieces. We'll likely need to melt all of them down for the metal.

[ She doesn't even question it. It isn't as though she doesn't take souvenirs herself; the golden lighter with the fancy curly F on either side is proof enough of that. ]

[brat]

Get better materials.

( he realizes they're running on limited supplies here, but they aren't that desperate. damian - pulls out a batarang, flipping it over his fingers for a moment before he wraps his fingers around the center of it and shoves the sharp bladed part of it into the table. )

Custom steel alloy. I doubt Talis will figure out how to mimic it, but if his plan is to melt down metal for new parts, I would use this for parts you need reinforced.

[ascarylady]

[ That earns a raised eyebrow from Sevika. Other than that, there's no surprised noise or motion when he straight up stabs the stable with the oddest throwing knife she's ever seen. She gives the batarang a curious look, a faint tilt of her head, before balancing her cigarette on the edge of the ashtray and pulling it free.

Naturally, she'll balance it on her fingers first, judging its weight. ]

...huh, not bad.

[ Talis is going to hurt himself with this immediately by playing with his, but, well, Sevika will ultimately understand the draw of that since she pushes her chair out and turns as she stands. She already knows where the pub's dart board is, and with a swift motion, she flings the batarang right at it.

Thunk. Almost dead center. Only almost. ]

Tch. [ Could have been a better throw. ] I don't know. I'm half tempted to keep it, but you're right. I'm sure my arm will need the reinforcement.

[brat]

( she throws the batarang, attention fully on the new toy damian has dropped onto her lap, and he takes the opportunity to - quietly, stealthily, duck away and take off.

because he's batman robin, and his job here is done. there's no need to stick around any longer. )