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

Coffee Break

[onlychildsyndrome]

[ Junior slides into the seat across from him, his own tag reads "Hi, I'm Junior, I'm an orphan!" ]

S'up?

[ He's clean, uninjured and seemingly in good spirits. A very different picture than the last time Marik saw him. ]

[thetombkeeper]

[Marik immediately perks up when Junior joins him. His jaw hangs open for a moment and he reaches across the table to...

Well, he's not sure what he was going to do so his hand just kind of hangs there.]

Ah...! H-Hey! How are you feeling?

[onlychildsyndrome]

[ Junior isn't sure what to do with that hand either, but he stretches his own out and gives it a little awkward squeeze. ]

I'm good. Didn't run into anything too bad after I... reanimated or whatever.

[thetombkeeper]

[That works. Marik returns the squeeze before withdrawing his hand.]

That's good... I'm sure you saw I left you with some supplies. I didn't feel right taking your knife either, which worked out since I found one later on.

[An awkward pause.]

... I'm grateful for... what you did back there.

[onlychildsyndrome]

I didn't wanna kill you. Like, no matter which one of us made it it'd have been way worse, right?

[ Even if they'd decided not to move and had died together, that wouldn't have been better. ]

It's fine. I'm pretty sure I died before so it's not like I lost anything.

[thetombkeeper]

Still. You came to that decision so quickly.

[Like when Bakura attempted to help him against his other self.

But the thing that catches his attention...]

Is that... how you arrived here initially?

[onlychildsyndrome]

[ Junior shrugs at the first comment. He did but it also wasn't like they had a ton of time.

He fold his arms before answering. ]

Yeah. Evil doll killed me.

[thetombkeeper]

I see.

[His expression falls slightly. He could have easily wound up arriving here similarly.

He's not going to apologize as most people would, as Junior's first death has nothing to do with him.]

I'm guessing you've become a bit numb to it.

[onlychildsyndrome]

I haven't... I mean, I don't know. It's kinda weird to think about. I died and then I was here, so not much time to think about it.

[ He shrugs, not currently bothered. ]

[thetombkeeper]

Might be... best not to.

[That's how he deals with problems.]

I'm glad you're back though -- and that we're all out of that crazy place.

[onlychildsyndrome]

Yeah, I hated it in there.

How did the rest of it go for you?

[ The maze sucked but he's curious about any other stupid traps he missed. ]

[thetombkeeper]

[He's not able to tell Junior about how he lost a riddle to a Sphinx and got chased around while being carried by Sandalphon or how he nearly died to the sirens and a strange demon god rescued him and infected him with body controlling parasites in order to keep him alive.

Marik sips his tea and stares off into nothing as he replies:]

... Like hell.

[onlychildsyndrome]

[ That checks out. Shit sucked in there. ]

Sorry to hear it. Hopefully they won't sling any shit at us again for a while.

[thetombkeeper]

[He had hoped that was vague enough to make his point known that he'd rather not talk about it.]

Gods, I hope not... Or at least give us something less hands-on or detrimental to our lives.

I would have thought getting whisked away to another world meant I wouldn't be dealing with something akin to Shadow Games...

[onlychildsyndrome]

Shadow Games?

[ That sounds like something out of a horror movies. Like those Saw traps. ]

[thetombkeeper]

Er...

[He's getting sloppy. But no point in hiding what they are to Junior. The boy's gone through enough himself to understand what the concept is.]

Cursed games my people used to play in ancient times. The Pharaohs used them to hone their skills as well as defeat their enemies.

As long as you hold a special relic, you can set the rules of the Game yourself.

[onlychildsyndrome]

[ That sounds intriguing, he'd have liked the concept more before being inside the maze, but he's into it anyway. ]

So there's no reward? You played cursed games just because?

[thetombkeeper]

There's a reward of your choosing. It depends on the rules of the game and what's offered. Only the relic holder can declare it a Shadow Game. If the relic holder loses though then the relic becomes the winner's to wield instead, along with whatever else they offered. Does that make sense?

[onlychildsyndrome]

Yeah, kinda.

Can you force whoever you want to play?

[thetombkeeper]

As long as you have a relic, yes.

[... He misses having the Millennium Rod but it was never truly his to begin with. He didn't rightfully win it from his father. He simply took it and it obeyed.

Marik drums his fingers against his cup of tea.]

The more extreme Games put your life and soul on the line.

[onlychildsyndrome]

... that sounds pretty fun if you're the one with the relic. Super shitty if someone with a relic has a grudge against you.

[thetombkeeper]

[There's a small pause from Marik.

From what little the two interacted, it's safe to say Junior is not like your average kid. Given he was "mentored" by a psychopathic spirit inhabiting a doll and doesn't seem entirely bothering by death, whether it be his own or otherwise...

Perhaps he can show him a bit under the mask.]

It's quite fun.

And in the case of grudges, well...

[Marik smirks, a glint of excitement to his hollow looking eyes.]

... Best to be careful who you tick off, right?

[onlychildsyndrome]

You had a relic.

[ Junior likes this guy. They seem to have similar outlooks, though Marik clearly has a much healthier sense of self-preservation. Junior just doesn't care much. ]

Did the people you fucked with deserve it?

[ It doesn't actually matter whether they did or not, Junior's just curious about how Marik picked them. ]

[thetombkeeper]

I did.

[Another casual sip of his tea.]

They did. I didn't allow failure in my organization -- and my enemies deserved no mercy.

In the end, it was all to get back at the man who ruined my life.

[Always the victim, never his fault, even after getting his ass kicked.

Perhaps someday he'll realize his life isn't as bad as he makes it out to be.]

[onlychildsyndrome]

[ He's got one of those too; someone who ruined his life. ]

And did you?

[ Junior hadn't. Mostly because he didn't get the chance to. ]