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

[brat]

( he's not going to through the door for novelty's sake. he'll use the door when he isn't in uniform, not when he's robin. barbara moves to sit herself up a little, and damian - notices her discomfort, but opts not to comment on it even if he does wince a little in sympathy. his spine had been shot through, but replaced quickly enough he hadn't had to concern himself over it for long at all. even if the week after the procedure had been excruciating. )

Afternoon, Gordon.

( let no one say he hasn't learned his manners. he walks through the living area, idly noting any differences from the last time he'd come around to find grayson. )

I'm assuming you know why I'm here.

[her_own_rules]

[ Because you're offended about being saved, she doesn't say. She doesn't let it shift her expression from a serious pensiveness. The weeks of exhaustion, the pain, the immobility restlessness, and the lack of being able to sleep after she knew were not the best cocktail. But at least she can martial it to the space inside her head.

She stares at Damian. For a moment, the bleary-eyed boy in the cave in his Nightwing hoodie overlays the rigid boy in her living room, adorned in Robin bright, cheery colors, looking just as ready for a fight as ever. A moment away from the spitting acid ever at the ready behind his tongue, too. A defense as easily hidden behind as seen through.

But Barbara's soreness about the subject knows she could be similarly judged.

She says it simply. A fact. Not a question. ]


What happened in the labyrinth.

[brat]

( so she knows. it's smart of grayson to have shared it with her. they're living together, cohabitating, and he knows well that damian will not let what happened slide. that he would come by and confront barbara about what happened, and inform her of it to ensure it never happened again. not that damian expects this to help any, really, but it's just -

he has to do something. she watches him closely, and damian returns the look with one of his own. the domino mask hides his eyes, hides how emotionally exhausted he is behind it because it leaves only his mouth visible, and damian - is great at hiding his emotions behind a scowl. )

It cannot happen again. ( his words are quiet but stern. damian doesn't sit but stays standing just across from barbara. sitting on the couch beside her would be too close, kneeling on the ground would put him too low; this feels like as close of a decent alternative as he's going to get, currently. ) I understand you two have rebuilt your. . . courtship. ( the word sounds sour, but that's more damian being damian than anything else. gross. ) As his partner, keeping watch over him is your duty.

( especially given damian now intends to avoid him forever to stop anything like that from happening again. )

[her_own_rules]

[ It's not really a detente, with Damian standing across the space from her.

Barbara isn't surprised to be told by Damian that it was her job to make sure it didn't happen in the first place and that is her job in the future to make sure it didn't happen again. As though she hasn't spent enough of her life already with the clue of both what it would be like to live in a world where Dick Grayson was dead or one where he was alive but beyond reach even two feet away.

She doesn't disagree. She wasn't there. She didn't know until after. That's her job. To be the voice that solves the problems is the extra eyes in situations those who are in that can't solve. She can be unsettled, she can stare Dick down until he's partly abashed, but she can't yell at him. Can't even tell him what he did—why he did—it was wrong. And that's where the words that come from her mouth have to source themselves. She has to hold on to that for both of them. Even if it's emotionally gutting. ]

Do you think any of us would have made a different choice, if it replayed now?

If it was you or one of us? Dick, or me, or even Bruce?

[ She doesn't have to say that she saw them. But she did.
Bruce, with Damian asleep, cradled in his arms.
If she had doubts, they're far smaller now.


(The bigger problem, the one that kept her up equally as troubled all night, wasn't just Dick. It was how many people in their family would easily fall on a sword for someone else, if they knew without a doubt they'd be able to get up from it on the otherside. Their family rode that edge so hard already, even without a get-out-of-death-free card.

Because, of course, she's already there.

She's the one who is supposed to know before anyone needs to.
And she knows them. Loves them all—and knows them so very, tragically well.) ]

[brat]

It's not supposed to happen like that!

( he can't yell at grayson for saving him. he can't yell at bruce for being frustrated, because this bruce is still so young, so new, still adjusting to damian as it is. he could take it out on drake, who he knows would get it, but drake's brush with death is still fresh for him. todd is always an option, but one who is a little more difficult to get to. he would understand, better than most. damian knows that, yet here he is, raising his voice at gordon. )

It should have been me! I can handle it! My death wouldn't have slowed him down any, I would have gotten back up, I'm an al Ghul, death is -

( he still remembers his grandfather telling him damian was born to be spare parts for him. remembers the desperation in his voice when he came to the cave and found drake. the fight that happened after that. death is meant to be impossible to overcome, but damian has done it before. he would do it again with minimal consequences. what's a few nightmares if it spares grayson from the same? damian cuts off his own sentence, restarts. )

I would have been fine. Sacrificing himself was not the logical path to take.

[her_own_rules]

[ It's not a thing Damian does with her. At least not often. He snaps at everyone. He doesn't yell. At her. But it's pouring out of him, and as much as he tries to hide everything behind the veneer of his mask and suit, it's there. All the cracks. In his voice. In the anger that she doesn't—can't allow herself to—agree with. It's pain—fear, helplessness—masquerading as rage because anger is controllable. Anger can be weaponized.

How well does Barbara know that choice? ]

Damian. [ There's still seriousness as much as honest weariness in how she says his name while she's wondering how it's turned out she has to play this side. Devil's advocate of her own heart. Her own fear. ] Dicks loves you.

[ The way she loves Cass—and Steph. But Cass and Damian, specifically. They fall into a different category. One that can so rarely be named or explained. Something that blurs sibling, and fallible savior, and legacy, and somewhat like unexpected, inescapable parenthood. ] There was no way he would have ever let you die for him if he could stop and take it on himself. There will never be a day when sacrificing you for himself will be an acceptable option for him.

[ And Damian is wrong, in something she's not sure she can point out more clearly. Because Damian's death on Dick's hands would do so much worse than slow Dick down. So much worse than the memories and nightmares that choice, and dying, and waking up again, will leave him with. ]

cw: gore mentions

[brat]

( his temper runs too hot. it burns brightly below the surface, often difficult to ignore even though he knows, has been trained not to let it best him. getting angry won't resolve anything, it won't fix won't happen, yelling won't make anything better, it won't even make him feel better. there's nothing he can hit or punch that will make what happened go away. barbara says dick loves you, and damian clenches his jaw tight, hard enough the muscle strains against skin.

because he knows. he knows how much grayson cares for him. how hard he tried to work with him, how close he was to losing his mind over damian's temperament numerous times during their early days as batman and robin. damian was never an easy child, born and bred to take over two empires and his tutors, trainers, his mother - they had never let him forget it. his confident, haughty attitude was built up by being told, repetitively, that he needed to be the best, he needed to win every battle, best every challenger, show his mother he was more than competent, that no one else would be able to stand up to the legacy of damian al ghul. the adjustment to damian wayne had been - a lot. it'd been hard for him to learn to temper his training, but damian had wanted it regardless. he wanted to be better. to be more than a weapon. it was grayson who'd patiently worked with him even when damian knew he was driving the man up the wall. who had taught him their rules, hadn't seen a mistake as something to throw him out the door for but something to improve.

it's why he hates this so much. because damian couldn't be that. there is only one dick grayson, and they need him significantly more than they need damian. damian needs him. and he's sucking in a breath through his nose, chest raising with the effort of it.

remembers the sick sound of the drill digging through flesh, grayson's scream as it impaled itself deep enough there was no chance of pulling him back together. his mouth twists into a shaky scowl, and damian - raises a hand to grab onto the hood of his cloak, hastily shoves it down over his head. )

Tell Grayson to stay away from me. I will not be coming back here.

( he can't stop him from making idiotic choices that put damian's life over his own, but he can remove himself from the equation. which is what he's doing: quickly making his way back over to the balcony door to let himself out of it. )

Goodbye, Gordon.