etrayalogs | FEBRUARY MINGLE

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FEBRUARY MINGLE

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⏴

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

That’s not what I mean. [Hank crosses his arms.] If something is true, or you think it’s true — you tell me.

[Which probably sounds contradictory. It’s just not the truth — or what Connor sees as the truth — that Hank wants to hear.]

Makes sense. [Following Connor into the kitchen now. Sitting at the small table, which feels weird — just letting Connor putter around the kitchen, making him food — but Hank is tired. Exhausted.] The old Connor did something to my earpiece — made it so he could track me. Not that he ever got to use it, but…

You’d really let me go and just track you whenever?

You could possibly reverse the signal so you could track me as well.

[Connor pulls a pan out from under the counter and makes a mental note that pots and pans are available in Etraya.]

I say that I know I'll have to leave, but I don't want to. Not really. You're supportive of me deviating and... I hope that you'll be able to help me with that.

We’ll get you there, Connor. At the end of the day it’s gonna be you who has to do it, obviously. But I’m here. Always — [Hank leans over the table, head in his hands; mumbling] — always gonna be here.

[He imagines himself sitting at this very table, all alone. Connor gone, back to Solmara. Taking everyone else with him.

Maybe that’s what Hank deserves.]

We can do your little tracking thing. Can go ahead and make it mutual. I’m not worth anything, but you deserve for this shit to be fair.

[Connor sets the pan on the stove and the patty inside. He starts pushing it around with a spatula for a few minutes before turning back toward Hank.]

I'm... afraid the efforts will not be enough or fast enough. Or I may not be ready enough.

[It's a lot of pressure on Connor to find the right moment before he's triggered to complete the mission.]

Tracking will allow you to try and stop me.

I know. Christ, I know.

[Hank sucks in a deep breath through his nose. Out through his mouth.]

I know you’re trying. Even offering the tracking thing — just mentioning it — shows that. But like I said, at the end of the day... it’s you, Connor.

[The food smells good: something for Hank to focus on other than the panic. The pain that gnaws at him... everywhere. His head. His stomach. His heart.]

But you said you’d take everyone with you, if... you know. So, not that bad, right? You could deviate on Solmara, too. I mean, you don’t need...

[Me. But Hank isn’t going to say that. He just groans, tossing his head back.]

I'm not sure I could deviate in Solmara. [The way Hank trails off catches Connor's attention.] I would need you with me.

[Connor flips the patty in the pan before adding both of the buns face down.]

[That takes Hank off-guard, and god if there isn’t a crick in his neck now from how fast his head snaps up.]

Don’t say that, Connor. [But then remembering before, about Connor offering to sugarcoat the truth:] I mean, don’t say it if it isn’t the absolute truth as you goddamn know it.

Hank. [Connor shakes his head and pauses cooking.] I'm saying it because it is the truth. I'm here because I haven't been able to deviate.

[Despite dying twice.]

I was kicked off a building and I didn't deviate.

Doesn’t mean you need me. Just... something.

[Hank isn’t sure when he decided, but he isn’t leaving Etraya — not like this. All that hemming and hawing about “fuck Etraya” this, “fuck Aurora” that. Connor either deviates and he stays — they stay together — or Connor doesn’t deviate, and he leaves. With everyone.

Except Hank. Because that is what he deserves: for everything, but especially for failing Connor.

So Hank can’t accept what Connor is saying. Can’t wrap his head around the fact that he might have some sort of power after all, and he can’t just let Connor go back to a Solmara knowing that he couldn't deviate.

Because that can’t be the truth. It can’t.]

Finally getting to the truth behind all that stairs bullshit, huh?

[Hank has his fist clenched atop the table now.]

You gonna tell me who did that to you? Or are they dead, so I don’t gotta worry?

[There's something in Connor that deflates when Hank denies his importance again. Connor turns back to preparing the burger.]

Still alive. Not here. Never punished for it.

Well, fuck. And whoever’s in charge of all this bullshit just expects you to go back? To that?

[Not that Aurora has given a fuck about all the things that have happened to Hank here, but this is Connor.]

Sorry. [Fuck his back! Fuck it!! Hank pushes his chair away from the table. Leaning forward, putting his head between his knees so he can just breathe. All that “focus on your breathing” shit has never helped him. Not much has, in truth. But this, at least, is enough to dizzy his spiraling thoughts about Connor, about losing him. Again.]

Not trying to... make things more difficult.

[And if they do end up separated, this isn’t how Hank wants Connor to remember him.]

[The moment Connor detects a change in Hank's breathing, he turns off the heat and is at Hank's side.]

Hank? Can you listen to my voice? Can you focus on it? I'm going to slow your breathing with a count.

[He's not sure if Hank will pay any attention to him, but Connor is determined to try.]

Inhale. 1-2-3-4. Hold. 1-2-3-4. Exhale. 1-2-3-4. Hold. 1-2-3-4.

[Hank’s first thought is “no, you are not going to fucking ‘slow down my breathing with a goddamn count,’” but he doesn’t say it. Because he’s tired, and this is Connor.]

I’m listening, yeah. [A mumble.] Focusing, sure.

[And he tries the count thing, but it’s just pissing him off more, making his breaths heavier because he sucks at all this. After a while, he manages to calm himself enough to ask:]

Can you just... talk? About anything.

[And the counting doesn't help. Connor takes it in stride.]

I miss Detroit. I'm not supposed to want things, but getting to know you did make me want. I wanted to get a chance to see Sumo again. The Chicken Feed. We were leaving Kamski's when I arrived in Solmara.

[Connor quietly sighs.] I've missed you quite a bit, Hank.

[Hank wants to be a contrary little shit, because he’s old and he’s been through hell, but — Connor’s been through worse hell. And Connor is still going through that hell.

...And Hank is making it worse.]

You miss Detroit, huh? [He sucks in a breath, and it’s starting to finally feel like actual air in his lungs. Not some heavy bullshit trying to suffocate him.] I missed you too, Connor.

[He wouldn’t be here on the cusp of hyperventilating if he didn’t. And Hank can’t help but laugh shakily now: at how pathetic he is. How he’s wasting his time, their time, when he could be — at the very least — holding himself together. For Connor.

Hank slowly starts to sit up. Turning to Connor: clenching the front of his shirt now, mindful of where he’s hurt. Hank may be distressed, but he remembers that.]

You really are here, aren’t you?

I'm really here, Hank. Etraya may not be perfect, but it allows me to see you-- and Sumo-- again.

[Connor stares into Hank's eyes, earnest as he can be.]

Y’know, when I first met that other Connor, the one that was here before, I thought he was some kind of projection. Accused him, even.

[It still feels weird to tell Connor about his past selves, even though this is different. The last Connor didn’t die. But he still got zapped out of existence — out of Hank’s life — so it hurts. Will always hurt, deep down.

And Hank hasn’t died here, but he could. And like Connor, he’d just keep coming back and back.

Unlike Cole. Hank can’t have his son back, and for a while he thought he could have Connor. But then Connor was gone again, and now he’s here, saying over and over that he’s going to leave, too.

There’s just a spiral of leaving, ad nauseum. What makes this time any different? Why should it be? What has Hank done to deserve that?]

Thank you. For being here. If I were you — hell, I dunno. [Hank lets go of Connor’s shirt. Drumming his fingers along the table to hide the way his hand shakes.] Would have fucked right off when I saw me, maybe.

[Despite being let go, Connor doesn't move back. He remains in Hank's space.]

We're family, Hank. [Connor mentally notes not to mention his potential leaving again.] I've never had that before.

[He might be close with his co-conspirators, but Hank is family.]

We’re family. [Hank nods slowly.] And you never forget that, okay? No matter what happens.

I never got to say it before — to the last Connor, or any Connor. But I’m sorry for how I treated you back home. Doesn’t matter what I was going through, or what shitty justification I had in my head. And I’m not tryna absolve myself, or whatever.

[Hank clears his throat.]

Just wanted you to know.

Your actions were understandable and not at all unique. People hate androids.

[But things are different now. Now they're family.]

Are you feeling up to eat anything? We can talk more after dinner.

Don’t try to excuse my bullshit, Connor. If I had treated you better...

[How might things be different now? Would Connor have deviated earlier?

Regardless, Hank’s stomach rumbles.]

Yeah, I could go for some food. Didn’t mean to interrupt your cooking. You ever see me freak out again, you can just — [Hank gestures vaguely with his hand] — ignore it.

Anyway. Yeah. Talking would be... good. After.

[Especially if Hank can let himself forget for five minutes that the world sucks and they are on the precipice of disaster.]

[Connor lingers for a moment before nodding. He stands up an heads back to the stove to turn the heat back on. The buns come off quick and then the patty not long after.]

You prefer cheese, ketchup, mustard, and onion on your burgers, correct?

Now we’re in fuckin’ business.

[Hank hasn’t bothered to fluff up any of his meals in ages. When Vincent came over, even that was just steak — and wine, but just a steak cooked in some oil.]

Smother that burger with onions, Connor. And cheese.

Will do. [Connor smiles as he looks over at Hank and then back to the meal at hand. He briefly sautés the onions in the same pan as the patty and then assembles it all, ducking into the refrigerator for the cheese and other condiments. By the time he's finished, the burger looks like a primetime cooking show result rather than a run of the mill burger.

He serves it up to Hank and then goes back to the fridge for some carrots and a glass of cold water.]

Now, wouldja look at that? [Hank whistles.] Thanks, Con.

[The burger tastes even better than it looks with the sauteed onions, the cheese ever so slightly melting over the patty.

But, more importantly:]

Did you enjoy that? [Which sounds like a weird question to just toss out.] Cooking, I mean.

[Hank’s still wanting Connor to find things he enjoys.]

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cn: panic attack 😭

cn: panic attack 😭

Re: cn: panic attack 😭

cn: panic attack 😭

Re: cn: panic attack 😭

cn: panic attack 😭

cn: panic attack + mention of Cole

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