etrayalogs | MAY MINGLE

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⏴

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Storm has seen that look on enough young adults (and, fine, older adults too) to know that nothing good was being planned there. She follows her gaze and shakes her head as she speaks up from her own table. ]

That outlet is active. If you want to test it, it's best not to do so with a fork.

[Rita seems to ignore Storm at first, continuing her curious look towards the outlet with the air of someone who doesn't even realize they're being talked to, until she hears the bit about the fork and it registers-]

Huh? You mean me?

[She blinks, questioning, then glances to the slots again. "Outlet", huh...that would imply it discharges something.]

What would you test it with, then? A different metal?

[It's not that she's completely ignorant to the way electricity works--it's just not the standard power source in her world.]

A plug. [ Were this someone from home, that would sound very much like it should be followed up with a Duh. But she recognizes now that 1) Many residents here were not actually familiar with electrical appliances?, and 2) This was someone young. Young-ish?

Ororo looks around and spies a floor lamp across the floor, something that matches the casual aesthetic of the coffeeshop. ]

Would you like a demonstration?

Plug?

[In contrast, Rita echoes the term with full, skeptical contempt. Instead of considering that her unfamiliarity with Earth terms might be causing her to make unnecessary assumptions, she immediately starts wondering--why plug something that seems to function for discharge? Why are all these discharge outlets even here, and are they hazardous if left unplugged? What do they discharge, anyway?

She barely registers the offer for a demonstration, already too busy waving a hand in the woman's direction as she leans towards the outlet with her fork.]

I'll just investigate it myself. I should be able to take it apa-

[And then there's a zap, which is about all she registers--it feels like it's going right through her brain--before she finds herself sitting on the floor a moment later.

She thinks something smells singed, though she's not sure what, yet.]

Pa...

[ Ororo is up and over to her in a few steps. She's still speaking, so it doesn't seem to be a life-threatening emergency, but... her concern is clear in the look on her face, even if the tone of her voice remains reproachful. ]

I did warn you.

[ She crouches down to be (hopefully!) eye-level with the younger girl, taking that fork and hand far away from the socket, checking for any burns, the source of that singed smell, and if she's still coherent at all. ]

Can you hear me? What's your name, please?

[Luckily, the acrid smell is coming from the pastry crumbs still stuck to the end of the fork, though the reddening burn on her hand is probably matched by the one on the ball of her foot, where the current exited. Rita tries to shake her hand out, grimacing at the tingling, but her focus is rapidly returning after the intial shock (both literal and figurative).]

R...Rita. My brain wasn't--scrambled, you know.

[She squints an accusing glare towards the electrical outlet, like it's the thing at fault and not her for messing with it. Who puts something like that right there where people are eating?!]

Are you sure? Typical effects of an electrocution can include headaches, spasms, difficulty in breathing... [ Which she's checking for, by the way her eyes keep flicking over her body. Poor girl, so reckless, and for what! She clucks her tongue, frowning in concern. ]

It seems the current has passed, but does anything hurt? Are you burned anywhere? [ Is that why she's shaking her hand? Ororo takes it into both of hers so she can examine it quickly. ]

Electrocution, huh...

[So she was struck with lightning through the outlet, she thinks. She's probably lucky it didn't go through her heart, or they likely wouldn't be having this conversation at all. She seems to be breathing alright, some mild muscle spasms accompanying the tingling in her arm and leg. Her face reddens slightly, mixed annoyance and embarrassment that comes with being fussed over by a stranger, but she lets Ororo take her hand--where she will find blistered skin.]

Probably...my foot, too. It must have exited there.

[Her voice is a mumble, and she glances away, looking around the wider room instead.]

Who the hell just puts lightning outlets all over the place, anyway?

They are commonplace where I am from. Every person should have a suitable home that allows them to live comfortably and humanely. Ready access to power and electricity has become part of that - so... they are, indeed, everywhere.

[ She gives her a patient look, guiding her to sit back on whatever chair is the nearest. The blisters are easy to treat for the moment, since Ororo can take a table napkin from somewhere, dip it into her own glass water and chill it with a quick flash of her own, glowing eyes. Some abilities don't need spellcasting. ]

Because they are so common, people are taught from an early age not to play with or touch outlets with just anything. What happened here was clearly an accident - but one I hope we can keep from happening again. You're probably not the only one who is unfamiliar with electric outlets. [ They'll need to put little plastic caps on the outlets, won't they? Maybe the companion bots will have some.

Anyway, they could figure that out later. Ororo wraps her chilled table napkin around the younger girl's blisters carefully. ] What is your name, by the way? I'm sorry this is how we've officially met. I am Ororo.

That's how Earth powers all their machines and devices? They really need to be more careful with something so strong.

[Despite all her grumbling, she moves to the chair obediently, brows knitting as she becomes more aware of the hot pain where the burns were incurred. Now that she's realized what the outlets are for, she does recall what she's heard about electricity use on Earth--she just didn't expect those unassuming outlets to be how it was delivered.

She's in the process of shucking off her shoe when the flash draws her curiosity. It's enough to distract her from any protests about how she can handle a couple burns herself--besides, she can't deny the relief that accompanies the cool touch against her burned hand.]

...Rita. So...well, thanks. [She clears her throat, then moves right along.] I understand the science behind electrical conductivity, but it's not widely used like that in my world. Other non-Earth worlds might be the same, too.

MAY MINGLE

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