MAY MINGLE

[etrayamods]

WHO: Everyone!
WHEN: May 17th-31st
WHERE: On Etraya
WHAT: A mingle log!
NOTES\WARNINGS: N/A, please note any needed warnings in threads.

⏵ a hero's return ⏴ As champions exit the Labyrinth, they’ll find that their environment has gone through some fairly drastic changes. Where there used to be larger bodies of water is now thinner rivers going through land; the amount of bridges connecting landmasses has decreased, given what had been individual islands are now much more connected. In addition, Etraya is significantly more green; flowers bloom, birds chirp cheerfully, and there are numerous additional species of insects, mammals, and aquatic creatures throughout the lands. Baby foxes roam through forested areas, bees pollinate the flowers to spread them more thoroughly around the inhabited areas, and it feels brighter. Or perhaps that’s just in comparison to how the Labyrinth had been. There are more areas to explore, new facilities, animals, and Etraya feels significantly more settled than it had before. Aurora’s promise of renovations had been true. And if one looks up, they may notice a city bubble visible on the closest planet that hadn't been visible before. ⏵ coffee break ⏴ After hearing Clarke’s suggestion, Aurora sets up a new cafe close to the apartment complex, and sends out notices to individuals with mandatory coffee hour times listed for them to come to Corrine's Cafe and make a few friends. While the note does state that it is mandatory, there will be no follow-up from Aurora nor the companion bots to ensure those who receive notes do show. Given this is Aurora trying to take suggestions in mind and see how successful they are among the citizens of Etraya, however, following directives may not be a terrible idea. It's up like a modern-day, smaller cafe. One walks in through the front door, and is greeted by a companion bot behind the counter who offers a wave of their hand and a friendly “Welcome! Let me know when you’re ready to order”. The menu offers lattes, mochas, espresso, black coffee, several different kinds of teas, and a few drinks that are a little odd to find in a cafe; ale, canned sodas and coffees, numerous bottles of wine, but only pinot noir. Soft music plays in the background, impossible to place but it sounds as if it may be based on tracks that were popular in the early 90s. Tables and booths are set up to seat two to four, with packets of sugar and small containers of creamer set out towards the middle. There are charging stations set up at every table, which may seem strange considering phones and laptops aren’t widely available, but Aurora’s doing her best. There are also a few bookshelves full of the classics, a few historical fiction, and several written by H.P. Lovecraft. Each seat has a placard in front of it, with a name, and a ‘fun fact’. One might say “Hello! My name is Joe, and I like to paint!” Another may say “Hi, I’m Jill! My sister died tragically in front of me and I’ve never gotten over it.” ⏵ new horizons ⏴ Several of the new bridges found in Etraya now have signs posted just outside of them, and on those signs is a QR code that the earpiece’s HUD can scan. Scanning this with the HUD will bring up a scavenger hunt, listing several items and circling areas where they can be found. Some of these objects will be obvious: find Corrine at Corrine’s Cafe - the companion bot who runs the counter, find a delicious meal at Bangsan Market, break into S.T.A.R Labs, or find room 87 at Point Blanc Academy. Some will be less obvious, like locating a bat, becoming friends with an archer, find a pink shirt, open bagged milk without making a mess, or get a drink at the mutant-friendly pub. Please feel free to make up your own items to find around Etraya! ⏵ NOTES ⏴ Welcome to our mid-month mingle! Please feel free to use this to explore Etraya, put up wildcard prompts (you don't need to use the above!), or use the open prompts to assist in jumpstarting cr. This mingle covers the period from May 17th to May 31st. Our next mission (and next mod log) will not go up until June 7th. ⏵FULL NAVIGATION⏴

Comments

Hayan Park | Unholy Blood

[thorncrown]

[I] COFFEE BREAK;

[Hayan might not need much more than blood to fuel her but the sound of a mandatory coffee hour makes her think it might be in her best interest to go anyhow. You know, after a shower since she more or less just stumbled out of the labyrinth.

Once she's at the cafe she looks only mildly surprised. Her friend group in college liked to meet up at places like this when not indulging at a bar or food place. Quickly her shoulders relax out as she steps further into the shop and up to the companion bot itself for a drink.

She apparently didn't expect the choice of wines.]

So what's the difference between pinot noir and other wines?

[Not that the companion bot has an answer of course.]

[II] NEW HORIZONS;

[The QR code is what gets her attention first. Scanning it though and seeing one of the objects to be found -- well, she freezes in place there.]

... Bangsan Market?

[And here she thought nothing from home could possibly follow her.]

[III] WILDCARD;

[When not at Corrine's Cafe for the mandatory coffee hour Hayan can be found through the rest of May and the beginning of June:

* At Bishop Publishing taking advantage of the hangout. She's not a superhero and maybe at 20 she's outgrown being a teenager but the training room is too tempting to turn down. Particularly when it comes to getting more practice on the proper way to punch / kick / block. She does her best to keep her strength on check so she doesn't destroy anything.

* At the Bangsan Market looking very somber indeed. Particularly when it comes to the Rabbit Hold Street Food store inside.

* Harry's Hideaway Pub attracts a lot of her interest too, mostly for the Canadian and German beers. She'll likely ask for recommendations to try to anyone who seems familiar with them.

* The Sector 5 Church is another place she'll frequent, sometimes settled in a pew or now and then enjoying the lilies. Even if she didn't know the church before now it nostalgically reminds her of Father Michael and somewhere she considered 'home'.

Feel free to hit me up at goodluckstarfighter or Discord (goodluckstarfighter) for any plotting!]

iii. wildcard at harry's

[agoddessonce]

[ Ororo is somewhat of a regular sight at Harry's. She doesn't go there to drink, but she does help the companion bots with the clean up, sometimes, and has a penchant for sitting at a specific table by a window alcove facing the street. She doesn't order the beer too often, opting for water or some kind of wine, but today - she hears when someone is asking about the beer in stock.

Ororo heads over to the bar with a little smile. ]

Did you want something specific, my dear?

[thorncrown]

[Hayan's gaze is quick to turn Ororo's way where she's equally quick to give a smile as well.]

Just suggestions really. I like trying different types of liquor but I've mostly drank Korean brands of beer. Might as well broaden my horizons!

[agoddessonce]

That's a refreshingly optimistic take on things.

[ She takes the barstool next to hers and asks the companion bot for a German brew, something in a very dark bottle. ]

Are you originally from Korea, then? How have you been finding this place?

[thorncrown]

[It doesn't take much for Hayan to follow suit. Frankly she was just looking for a starting point given she'd happily come back to try others eventually.]

Besides the trials you mean?

[How did she really find this place? She tilts her head a moment.]

Well ... I have some business to settle back home so I'd like to go back for that. Otherwise I really like it honestly.

[She gives a somewhat sheepish little grin.]

It's nice to meet so many different people. There's all sorts of worlds and people with different abilities or who look different ... and most of them are pretty friendly.

[And goodness knew what Hayan wanted most of all besides that business at home finished was friends.]

[agoddessonce]

I think we all have business of some kind in our own homes. Or people to return to, perhaps? [ They get their beers, and Ororo passes one bottle along to her new friend. ]

It is why we're meant to... 'save', our own worlds, apparently. Through some arbitary tests and whatnot. I'm not sure I believe what they say, but they give us quite the motivation, do they not? [ Everyone here wants to save their own worlds. Probably? Probably.

She lifts her bottle to tap it against hers. ]

But, here's to new and different friends. My name is Ororo.

[thorncrown]

[Ororo clinking her bottle against Hayan's rouses up a big smile. Friends! Hayan thought she was somewhat over that urge of hers to make friends after the months spent chasing Yohan but she guessed old habits -- and wishes -- died very hard.]

I'm Hayan.

[Her smile doesn't retreat but it does simmer down a little as she talks, popping the cap off of bottle with one of those long black nails of hers.]

I guess it is pretty good motivation. Personally I was trying to clean things up at home so I guess if by being here I can help out even more I definitely don't mind.

[agoddessonce]

[ Ororo appreciates a good manicure, so she spares Hayan's nails a second look - just to admire, of course! She hasn't had time to get hers done professionally here. If there was even a nail salon anywhere. ]

I hope it is not a faux pas to ask after what it is that needs cleaning up in your home? Not a typical sort of spill, I assume?

[thorncrown]

... I guess maybe 'cleaning' is a mild way of putting it. There's sort of this endemic of vampires at the moment and I'm trying to chase the one who started it down and -- yeah.

[She smiles faintly before trying out her drink. The taste is nice so she studies the label a moment with interest.]

I guess not saving the world would get rid of them too but ...

[Her expression dims a little. Yeah, that's not an opinion she likes. The detective, his sister, her own adopted brother and sister, all her college friends -- she doesn't want them hurt.]

[agoddessonce]

[ Ororo frowns slightly at the mention of vampires. Maybe it's not an extreme reaction as it should be? They're still a bother that she doesn't like thinking of. ]

Dealing with vampires is always tricky business. Their kind are quite dramatic, aren't they?

What do you mean by endemic, however? Were they spreading indiscriminately in your world?

[thorncrown]

Some of them definitely can be! All show and glitz and very little substance.

[She's mostly thinking of a select few vampires she's had to deal with.]

Pretty much. It's definitely not an isolated thing -- well, mostly to Korea but it's nearly all of Korea now.

[She pauses in her idle picking.]

Sorry, you've probably got a lot going on too. I've been kind of going between being worried about what was going on at home and actually enjoying myself here. It sort of doesn't feel far to have fun here in a way.

[agoddessonce]

Ah. I hope you can contain it. In my world, they are a race of beings who have been around... for a very, very long time. They are not easy to deal with. [ -- said with the air of someone who's dealt with them or something similar to them for... a long time! or too many times. Ororo really didn't like dealing with vampires. ]

So, there is no need to apologize. We all have 'a lot going on' - we mustn't compare how we feel about it, or how we choose to cope. [ She gives her a little smile. ] Some of us drink, some of us try to find the fun and good in what we have. Both are fine, so long as we do it in moderation, without hurting ourselves or anyone else.

[thorncrown]

[Hayan looks curious at that.]

So you have actual vampires in your world then? Most everyone I've talked to here either doesn't know them or they're more mythical than real.

[As for a race of beings who have been around for a long time, well. At home she was never so blunt but here she's been trying to be forthright about it. No one has reacted badly yet so...]

Mm, my parents were alive for a long time I think. They never went into detail about it but I got the impression they had been. The world I'm from -- there are vampires like my parents and me, purebloods. And then there are ones who were human and were turned.

[agoddessonce]

Oh, yes. I believe they have been in the world in some form for a great many years, but have become more prominent of late - largely just as you describe. [ She doesn't sound too bothered, even giving Hayan a kind smile. ]

I hope you don't mind if I am a little friendly - I know you may expect a different reaction? But a dear friend of mine was turned, and spent a few years as one. She's since gotten returned to being... well, not a vampire. You could say I had become a little used to her needs.

church!

[anciently]

[ Aerith isn't exactly living here - frankly, it can get cold, what with all the holes in the roof, and...everywhere - but she does frequent it. The florist enters the front doors today, like all other days, and - also like most days, lately - sees somewher else within.

Back home, she'd really been the only one to spend any time in the place (more or less). Here? Since its arrival, more than a few of the other residents have wandered in, and it never fails to cheer her up. ]

They're growing well, aren't they? [ She speaks up as she approaches where Hayan is settled in, near the flowers. ] I wasn't sure if they'd survive the...journey, I guess, from back home.

[ Somehow, the whole place had been exactly transported, or else copied so completely that she couldn't distinguish this from the original if she tried. ]

[thorncrown]

[The front doors opening garners Hayan's attention first. She'd only just come across this church a few days ago and had yet to run into anyone else while she was here. Poor timing probably! Now she seems pleased to see someone else, a ready smile rising on her lips.]

They're very ... um, lively? Colorful? Healthy!

[How do you describe flowers looking well beyond them looking well? That seemed an awfully plain way to put it though.]

Is this from your world then?

[She'd already heard the talk of places from 'home' cropping up here during that first month here. This much be somewhere from this woman's world them, so she assumed.]

[anciently]

[ The response makes her brighten even more, and she nods affirmingly. ]

They get all the light and water they need, usually. [ At which point she glances up to indicate the massive hole in the roof, located just above the flowers. ] Pretty convenient, right?

[ At the question, there's another nod, and her smile softens with fondness, and...maybe some nostalgia, too. ]

Mm-hmm. I heard something like this might be possible, but I was still surprised. It's really nice to have it. [ Especially since, if she can't do her job, the real thing back home may not exist for much longer.

There's a pause, then: ] I'm Aerith, by the way.

[thorncrown]

Hayan.

[She tilts her head back some to look at the hole in the roof. She had noticed it before of course and maybe connected it to the flowers there but she hadn't really looked at it too in-depth. Now she huffs out a laugh.]

I guess it is. The hole in the building is a shame but I guess if it led to the flowers it's not as bad.

[Beauty in destruction or something like that?]

[anciently]

Nice to meet you, Hayan. [ Aerith follows her gaze, and as she does, she grins. This isn't the first question, or comment, about the hole in the roof, and it won't be the last. ]

It does help the flowers out. [ She concedes, dropping her gaze again, linking her hands behind her back. ] But it wasn't intentional. Two people - at different times, actually - fell through the roof and landed right here!

[ There's a gesture to the ground around the flowers, where the sunbeams tend to fall. ]

I could never have it patched up or anything, though. Even if it didn't offer convenient plant care, it's too good a memory to erase how it all happened.

[thorncrown]

... That's an awfully big coincidence, isn't it?

[Yeah she can't help but looked surprised. Who would think two different people at two different times would go through the same spot? Hayan's went through her share of ceilings and walls and floors and it never seems to happen quite that conveniently.]

[anciently]

Sure is. [ Hayan isn't the first person to make that observation, and she won't be the last. ] Guess I should put a big cushion right here in the middle for the next time, huh?

[ There won't be a next time back home, but maybe here someone would find a way to follow in Zack and Cloud's footsteps? ]

[thorncrown]

It would certainly make the landing a little easier!

[The surprise on her face gives way to a grin.]

Or maybe a net? So they don't crush the flowers?

[anciently]

[ Aerith grins back when Hayan voices the idea, glancing upward to where an imaginary net might hang. ]

Even better! Wow, can't believe I haven't tried that yet. [ There's a pause, then a laugh. ] What's the saying...? "Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me"... But what about three times?

[ 'Three times: you'd better have a net?' ]

[thorncrown]

Three times and I probably should have known better? At least for me anyhow. Not that that's stopped me before though.

[Or maybe it's more like she's never had the choice to stop.]

[anciently]

I think that's what happens at "two times." [ There's a laugh and a helpless shrug. ] But, what're you gonna do? I'm just glad they land safely. Somehow...

[ SOLDIERs are tough, and all that. ]

The net would help, though. I'll have to look into that.