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

[leewards]

"Hmm."

Ithaqua cranes his neck to peer at the figure, and relaxes when he notes it's just... some young person. Is that a mistake? He doesn't really care. If this boy were a problem, he knows he'll be able to handle it, even with these... trees all around him. It's not like the forest he knows, but it's still a forest.

"If you are trespassing, so am I. But a forest belongs to no one except its guardian." And he doesn't see a guardian here-- yet. Maybe.

[miniroth]

Obviously Sephiroth is small and completely harmless, he can't possibly be a danger to anyone at all.

"I've been told the locations here are placed artificially by robots." There is no such robot around, so that information may be a bit dubious. Maybe. "But no-one seems to be guarding it so far, now that it's here."

Which means it's open for the taking, maybe?

[leewards]

A forest made by an object made by humans? The boy can't see it, but Ithaqua's nose wrinkles in disgust over the revelation. Though the disgust may be noticed in his tone with what he says next.

"I've not seen a single one, and I do hope that's not the case here. It would be a shame to consider a wonder such as this forest as wholly made by bots."

Then he reaches out and taps one of the bamboo trees, hearing the hollow sound his claw makes. It sounds so odd to him, and yet... It sounds good. Trees like this are so fascinating to him.

[miniroth]

"If it helps, it would be made by robots based on some other, natural or human-made location." He doesn't know enough about advanced machinery to know if they might be capable of enough creativity to make a proper wild forest or beautiful garden on their own, or if htey'd just have to constantly follow a template.

It seems a nice enough location to him. Maybe there could be artificiality found somewhere in it, if one looked hard enough. "If no one ever comes for it, and you wish to have it as your own I doubt anyone would make a fuss. There's a lot of land here for how few people there are."

[leewards]

Ithaqua raises his hand. "I need no explanations nor reasons for why this is that, and that is this-- it will not matter eventually."

He knows he'll forget most of this in the future anyway. He might even forget where he came from, or that he was never a native of this place. He doesn't feel any sadness over it, it simply is.

[miniroth]

The boy pauses for a long moment, and then nods. "Very well. Please enjoy your evening." It sounded like dismissal to him, so that's how it's taken.

Sephiroth isn't actually leaving though, he's here to investigate the area and he's going to do just that. There's hours yet before the trolley returns, and a forest, natural OR bot-planted, is .. a lure all its own he doesn't expect. Now that he's found some, apparently unclaimed and unowned, he's reluctant to go anwyhere.

Plus he doesn't recognize the buildings' design style, and it's worth checking out. Maybe Ithaqua will feel inclined to do so as well.