etrayalogs | FEBRUARY MINGLE

Entry tags:

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

I have two hands, whereas you clearly lack the dexterity to repair it with your one. Do you want help, or not?

( he doesn't need to help. could have just not offered, too, and yet here he is. )

My dexterity with my one hand is just fine, thanks.

[ This little shit...

Although something is different about him. She eyes him for a second or two. Did he get taller? And should she even care? ]

Besides, even if I did want help? I'm not handing this over to anyone who offers. Tell me what you know about hydraulics first.

[ Because hydraulics are what he would be removing if she agreed, ones made small enough to work within a chemtech arm. Thankfully, the fluid it uses was drained by the fact that it got ripped in two. Her own patch job on the casing is good, although the faintest seams can still be spotted by a keen eye. ]

( there's a dramatic roll of his eyes, but - you know what, fine, he can break down the basics. )

Hydraulics use pressurized fluid to generate force and movement. For a prosthetic arm, I would imagine yours was created to mimic human muscles and joints, despite it looking like - ( well. ) that. It relies on Pascal's Principle: fluid pressure distributed evenly through a closed system, so when pressure increases at one point in the fluid, it also increases the same amount at every other point. Yours should rely on myoelectric sensors - sensors meant to register electrical signals from the muscles in your arm, thus registering the movement you are intending to make, so that the prosthetic can follow through. Hydraulics isn't a terrible choice for prosthetics - given they can generate more force than an electronic motor and they often prove to be very durable, I imagine it works well for you. The disadvantage for most is the weight as well as the external pump - but given your build, I doubt the weight slows you down much, if at all.

Edited 2025-02-26 23:17 (UTC)

[ Kid, she has no clue who Pascal or his principle are. Please. Regardless, he does seem to know his stuff, but it strikes her as a very textbook response, apart from the assumptions being made. Those are definitely his alone. ]

What I should be using doesn't matter. I'm not asking for an opinion.

[ Chemtech doesn't do delicate. As Robin said, it opts to be durable instead. ]

It actually isn't all that much heavier than my real arm. It has about two pounds on it, and that's more than manageable for me. [ Yes, Sevika, we know. You have muscles. ] Alright, so you have an idea and your fancy little tool kit. Nearly half the kids between Zaun and Piltover think they're aces at engineering, so that's not special. Why do you want to help?

[ Which is the same thing she wishes she could figure out about Talis, who has even less of a reason to help her. It's too much of a departure from what she's used to; doing a favor meant a favor in return, which meant she assumed the kid had an angle, but maybe not. This place was bizarre with all its "helpful" people. ]

I don't think I am anything. ( regardless of whatever half the kids "between zaun and piltover" think. doesn't make any difference to damian regardless. ) I am an adequate engineer. Better than average, and capable of handling repairs and modifications, but I wouldn't consider myself among the best.

( maybe he could mod the batmobile to both turn into a boat and a plane by the time he was ten, but they're not talking about that. )

We're meant to work together, are we not? You would be more useful with a functional prosthetic.

[ That he calls himself adequate instead of arguing he's great does a lot of legwork there. Maybe he isn't a total snot. Maybe. ]

Considering we've yet to work together, you're making a pretty big assumption there. Could be I'm useless even with two working arms.

[ She isn't. She also isn't entirely sure if Young Mr. Wayne and this little bird are one and the same, so she can't rightly claim they have worked together. The growth spurt has certainly thrown that into doubt. ]

That's irrelevant. I know a fighter when I see one.

( it doesn't matter what he has and hasn't seen sevika do. damian's intuition is rarely wrong, even if it's occasionally misguided. and he doesn't feel as if that's the case, here. she hasn't shown any reason to be concerned about her presence here, and she has helped. )

My assistance doesn't come at a cost. Reject it if you feel that strongly opposed, the only one between us who will be at a further disadvantage is you.

[ She doesn't like accepting help, which is funny since she's certainly offered enough of it already. Or, more like, she's helped regardless of being asked. It's simpler to just do something and then leave before anyone can be grateful, which she also hates.

Sevika gives him a look that continues to be an annoyed one, but there's resignation written across her face at this point. These people... ]

Fine. I need to strip all the connections out from within the forearm. I'm getting them reforged since you and Talis have the whole not taking no as an answer in common.

[ But first?

She turns the arm over on the table and presses down on some extra part hidden in the hand. There's a snck sound, and a sword unfurls. With it extended, it's easier to pop the mod off manually, which she does. That done, she holds it up and does something with it again, a flick of her wrist, and it collapses back into its hidden state. ]

...so you don't lose your eye.

( talis.

his nose scrunches up in response to the name, but from the little he has personally witnessed of talis, he does know things. whether it's useful to fixing an arm is something else entirely, but. again: sevika does seem very capable, and while she may not know she was working alongside robin before, he knows.

but the sword gets his attention, and pulls it away from the idiot named jayce talis. there's a snck, and damian's eyes widen behind the domino mask. not because he's surprised there's a sword, but because that's a nice looking one. he has his own that extends out, mildly similar but not quite the same. )

Are you any good with that, or did they take your sword arm?

[ It'll be something Sevika will find out. Whether or not Piltover's golden boy can forge parts for a chemtech arm is yet to be seen, but he swears he can, and so...

But the sword is a far more appealing topic than her swallowing her damn pride. ]

"Good" is relative. Not a lot of people with swords in Zaun or Piltover, so they don't expect it, meaning I don't have to be particularly great with it. I am left-handed, though, so, yeah, I'm sure I'd be even worse trying to use it right-handed.

( robin's eyes follow the sword for a moment, before he - diverts his attention to gutting the arm, as requested. he'll repair anything he can with minimal supplies while he's at it, but given the intention is to redo most of it, he assumes most of the parts are going to be recycled anyway. )

We'll work on it. I've needed someone capable to spar with, so I may as well teach you how to utilize your tools correctly while we're at it.

[ Sevika sets the collapsed sword mod aside for now, although it remains closer to her side of the table. From there on, all she can do is settle in and watch Robin like a hawk as he starts removing parts from the arm. ]

Are you just looking for any excuse to fight me at this point...?

[ He had wanted to fight before, too, with that whole 'it isn't hard to fight with one arm' crap. ]

If I wanted a fight, I would start one.

( a talent he did not even have to try to become efficient in: knowing just the right buttons to press to set someone off into a fit of rage is something damian has excelled in since a young age. but not something he's intentionally using right now. not when his hands are busy removing bolts, setting aside older parts onto the table after they're removed to get them out of his way, but still in clear view of sevika. just in case she disagrees with how useless any of it is. )

Sparring is more of a conversation. One that has a tendency to get boring when repeated with the same people over and over again.

[ At some point, Sevika's convinced enough that he does know what he's doing that she can settle on watching him directly instead of the arm. She can't figure it out. Who taught this kid to be like this? She's used to her fair share of youngsters being capable, but it's out of necessity, and nothing about him tells her he's been through that kind of hardship.

So what is it? And why the costumes? Is it a family thing where they're all weirdos who excel at everything? Could be she needs to see if that... what was it? Nightwing? That guy is the same.

She isn't sure that won't just give her more questions, though. ]

Now, there's a sentiment I don't hear often.

[ It reminds her of Vander, if only briefly, but while that tarnishes the thought, it doesn't repel her from it. However, it does spur her to fish a cigarette from a pocket as a distraction, followed by that gaudy gold lighter of hers. ]

Fine. I'm interested in seeing if you're all talk, anyway.

Ha ha.

( another piece gets put to the side, and damian raises his glove up to his mouth, uses his teeth to yank it off so he can get a better grip on one of the bolts he's working to remove. )

I've barely spoken a word of my capabilities. But I am far from all talk. My entire life has been spent being tutored by the world's best. Professors, mercenaries, swordsmen, martial artists, scientists, engineers - if it was considered useful, I was tasked to master it.

Yeah?

[ "Entire life spent being tutored..."

"Had a tutor work with me, beginning when I was very young..."

Both are short, self-assured brats with black hair. Damian, come on. Sevika lights her cigarette and takes a drag off of it, considering. It's still possible there are two of them because, again, this one looks a little taller now. ]

Your mom must have been a real bitch to fuck up your childhood like that.

[ It's bait to dangle, said as she breathed out the cigarette smoke and then moved to tap off the beginning ash at its tip, right into the ashtray that all the pub tables sport. ]

( it was only a matter of time. there are only so many dark-haired pre-teens and teens around etraya, and he and drake account for most of them. there's laura, too, but she's - laura. difficult to mistake for anyone else. damian looks up from the part he's currently dissecting, eyes narrowed, then turns back to his work. )

My mother raised me to thrive in a world where most struggle to survive. ( did it involve also shoving generational trauma down his throat? yes. would damian call it that or put any blame on her? no. he recognizes the areas in which talia did her best to protect him, but is also well-aware of how she fucked up his childhood, as sevika has put it. )

Given you don't know her, I would refrain from further insulting her.

[ It was, and Sevika had already been suspicious. The question of why remains, however. She doesn't get why he'd need two identities in a place like this, where it's inevitably unfeasible. ]

Given how many tutors you claim to have had, I don't think you would have struggled much to survive off of mommy's fat bank account.

[ Though it's said without ire. She merely points it out as though stating the sky is blue, the sun is hot, and the wind is cold in the winter. ]

So. Why pretend on the train? There's no way you didn't know what to do when we copied that key over.

( mommy's fat bank account, as she puts it, belonged less to talia than it did to ra's. and the demon's blood money comes with certain expectations. but he doesn't feel it's necessary to explain the complex relationship between his family members, especially given ra's al ghul's recent death and failure to return to the world of the living, as far as damian has been made aware. )

Given the restraints of the roles we had been assigned, I opted to not wear the mask. And while competency is still expected, being able to use prison methods of key copying is not a talent someone of my social standing should have.

Don't see how social standing matters when it's just us.

[ As in other people from Etraya. It's easy to leave the topic of rich parents behind because she would agree. It isn't necessary. ]

Everyone stuck here is more or less equal, and the lack of crowds makes the whole disguise thing a little weird, doesn't it? It's not as if you and Whateverwing can disappear when you take your little masks off.

Nightwing.

( but the arm has been gutted well enough for what sevika was asking for. damian flips the multitool shut, before shoving it back into his utility belt. )

It may not matter as much here, yet, but there are countless enemies I can't have tying my civilian identity to... Robin.

Civilian...

[ Excuse? ]

Okay, you're gonna have to explain that one to me. I get you probably make enemies based on personality alone, but why would you have countless? Obviously, you and Nightwing aren't some military setup. Is this a gang?

[ Like the Firelights? Wearing outfits, disguising their identities? ]

No.

( they all come from different words. laura comes from one where many heroes are dead and gone. damian from one where they are constantly dying, but they usually get back up. this woman just comes from one where she doesn't understand the value of a mask. it's fine. damian thinks the masks are stupid also. )

We're vigilantes.

[ Right, so, yes. Like the Firelights. That isn't ideal.

Sevika sits smoking while she eyes the now stripped arm, all the parts set aside. He certainly did do that faster than she could, but she's turning the thought of a whole band of masked would-be heroes lurking in the shadows instead of searching for breaks in the parts.

She also has no plans to hide her criminal past. There's no way Damian hasn't figured out some of that already due to the whole key thing. ]

Hm.

[ She'll take the cigarette from between her lips and crush it out in the ashtray. ]

Suppose sorting out who's a criminal and who's a vigilante doesn't matter much in a place without laws, but I'm not exactly pretending to be an upstanding citizen of Runeterra. Is that going to be a problem?

Edited 2025-03-06 23:01 (UTC)

Fortunately for you, I've never heard of Runeterra.

( but he does turn to look toward sevika, eyes focused on hers behind white starlite lenses. )

I don't care what you do, as long as you are not causing harm to those who do not deserve it. My father's definition of crime is a little more - stringent. But I was raised by the League of Assassins.

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