etrayalogs | MAY MINGLE

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

Oof—

[ He goes down like a sack of potatoes, Damian's weight collapsing his knees and sending him to the floor. Dick goes limp at first contact, then lets himself fall, rolling to keep from hurting either himself or Damian.

Not that Damian is likely to get hurt. He's got the upper hand— at least, for the moment. Dick twists, trying to get away more than trying to grapple, and, barring that, trying to keep from getting so tied up he can't move. (Again. Like in the brand new set of nightmares he's developed. ]

Well, I'm glad it was you and not Goliath.

( he's trying to pin grayson without really pinning him which is - easier said than done. he falls easily under damian's weight, and damian immediately realizes he's doing it on purpose which only angers him more. dick twists under him, and damian moves to shove a knee up against his shoulder. he's not holding onto grayson's hands, isn't forcing him to stay down, he has plenty of room to roll over and free himself if he wants to, it's not as if damian weighs much and aside from digging his knee into dick's shoulder and sitting on him, he isn't - reaching to pin him.

it's the point of the action rather than the action itself. )

I wouldn't send Goliath to do my work for me. ( not for this anyway. although he had considered sending titus to tell dick off. ) I told you to stay away.

Yeah. And here I am.

[ Here he is, and he's— letting Damian pin him. It's not his favorite thing — the last time he was flat on his back like this on the ground, he was waking up from being dead — but he relaxes, once he realizes Damian's not in this for a real fight.

He could be. It would be more than understandable. This is, after all, the second time lately that he's done exactly the opposite of what Damian told him to do. ]

I'm not staying away, Damian. If you want to be mad at me, be mad at me. But I'm not going.

( he wants to fight. to shove his fist into dick's face, to make sure he remembers why he should do what damian says rather than ignore his words entirely. it'd be so easy, especially given how grayson has - stopped struggling entirely. has given in.

damian wants to, but he doesn't. doesn't even raise a fist towards him even though he has ample opportunity to. instead, he wrinkles his nose. makes a sour face. )

I don't want you.

( don't leave me alone. )

I want you to go away. Go stay with your new partner.

( don't get hurt for me. )

[ He stays where he is and listens to Damian lie, watches the way Damian's face scrunches up, and considers a quick roll, a scuffle, a light sparring match: anything to get Damian out of his head for a moment.

But Damian might need to be in his head, right now. This stuff isn't going anywhere, and there's no use in avoiding it.

Dick's own brow scrunches in a moment of confusion, before his whole expression turns lightly exasperated. ]

I'm not replacing you with Babs. Or anyone.

[ You'll always be my Robin. He's said it before, he'll say it a million times if he has to. ]

It's not like you're replacing me with Bruce, right?

I wasn't the one who left.

( it's harsh, but - intentionally so. and it's true; damian never left the manor, dick is the one who moved on to blüdhaven while damian stayed behind to be robin to bruce's batman. it had been difficult at first; bruce had doubted their ability to work together, damian doubted bruce's ability to believe in him, but - it's not as if damian regrets any of it.

that's not what this is about. nor is it truly about dick and barbara's relationship. it's about dick's scream as the drill shoved its way through his skin. the weight of his body as damian pulled him out of the chair and laid his cloak over him. the blood that had stained his hands, his uniform, as he cried over him. )

We are not having a repeat of what happened in the Labyrinth. I will not listen to you die again. Given your inability to follow directives, banishing you from my presence is my only option.

[ It's true: he had left. Hadn't known how to be in the manor, in Gotham, when he came back from his time in Spyral and started the long, hard work of fixing what he'd broken. On Bruce's orders, yes, but Damian's right— he had been the one to leave. First with a faked death, then because he couldn't figure out a way to fit back into the world he'd left behind.

And he knows Damian had missed him, remembers perfectly well how Damian had shown up in Blüdhaven to throw a tantrum. It's all just as clear as his memory of the other day, when Damian showed up at the apartment and clung to him like a koala to a tree. ]

My inability to follow directives? I'm responsible for you, not the other way around. You'd have skewered yourself in a second if I'd let you.

I thought we were partners.

( equally responsible for another. damian puts more of his weight onto his knee for a moment, before he pulls himself up to his feet and gets off dick.

this isn't the first time dick has 'died'. it is the first time it was on damian - or is as far as damian is concerned. it was hard enough the first time. this time? he doesn't know how else to handle it aside from the obvious, )

Fine. You have the manor. I'll go elsewhere.

We're partners. But you're my little brother.

[ And he's more than that, isn't he? Part brother. Almost son. His relationships with Jason and Tim have had their ups and downs, and he's glad to mostly exist in a state of mutual affection and respect with them, but Damian's... Damian. His Robin. The person he most regretted leaving behind.

And so as Damian gets up to leave him the manor, as if he gives a single damn about this hollow shell of what used to be his home if Damian isn't here, Dick flips himself up to his feet and springs for him in a flat dive. ]

Stop trying to get rid of me!

( he's trying to walk away. damian should have known to be prepared to be tackled down to the ground, but he - isn't. grayson goes flying towards him and rams into his back, and damian goes down to the ground under him with a soft oof.

takes a moment to pull himself together before he tries to squirm his way out from under him. )

Stop getting yourself killed for me and I will!

( but for now he's going to try and twist himself around so he can shove a hand against dick's shoulder to try to push him off. these aren't the effective defensive moves as taught to him by any of his tutors or trainers, this is a little brother kicking and shoving at the ass who isn't leaving him alone. )

I'm not planning on getting myself killed again, for you or anyone else!

[ Damian is squirming and lashing out, but Dick can take that. If anyone were to wander past, they'd see what was once a semi-familiar sight in the halls of the original manor: two brothers wrestling on the ground, one trying to get away, the other hanging grimly on.

And Dick is bigger, heavier; all he really has to do is lie on top of Damian. He might be older now, but he still remembers the arguments at Titans Tower that turned into headlocks and rug burn, and it all comes right back. He wrestles Damian down, still wriggling, while the next words feel like he's stabbing himself in the chest all over again. ]

I can't— lose you. I couldn't. And I won't now, either.

( damian could try harder to get out from under him. he could get a knee between them, push hard to force him off. not that it would help all that much, given grayson is significantly larger than him and knows every move damian is willing to use against him.

instead, he goes limp under dick's weight. presses his cheek down into the floor. )

I can't lose you either. Not like that. Not ever.

( his chest still hurts, the sound of dick's scream playing on repeat in his head, the sight of him with his chest ripped open lingering behind closed eyes. damian has witnessed worse before, but it wasn't grayson. )

[ Damian goes limp, and Dick waits until he's sure his little brother isn't going to make a break for it, then shifts up onto his hip, taking Damian by the arm and pulling him up, too, until they're both sitting on the rug here in the empty hallway.

So much of trying to be Batman had been so hard. He'd very nearly hated it, but he'd done it, because someone had to, and he was the best option. But taking on the cowl and the mystique and the rogue's gallery weren't the only times he had to try to be Bruce, to be better than Bruce, if he could manage it.

It was in moments like this, too. Saying things that have always come so much more naturally to him than they ever did to Bruce. Trying to be the best version of himself for the boy who fought him every inch of the way, just like he did again now. ]

Damian, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I did that to you.

( he'd gone limp, knowing grayson would eventually think he'd given up, that he'd pick them both off of the ground, and knew the moment he did damian could easily push himself to his feet and run for it.

which.

damian almost, almost doesn't do. dick apologizes, and damian's still exhausted, tired. he'd gone to barbara and argued with her, a loud one. fought with bruce even if damian hadn't originally - intended to. he'd been trying so hard with this one, this younger version of his father who--seems to be trying just as hard with damian as damian is with him. but he'd gotten upset, raised his voice, admitted to more than he'd planned on and now he's here, on the ground with grayson, after telling barbara to make sure he stayed far away from him. i'm so sorry i did that to you, he says, because dick knows the weight of surviving. )

No. ( whether it's a rejection of dick's apology, or denying what he did is unclear. damian goes from sitting there beside dick without struggling to shoving up onto the balls of his feet to try and take off at a run in moments flat. the manor is big enough, if he can just get far enough away there are countless places he can hide until grayson gives up. )

Damn it... Damian!

[ He's up in the next heartbeat, sprinting after Damian, vaulting over the bottom of the stair rail to gain a little momentum, to close the distance. Damian's quick, but Dick has longer legs, and — more pertinently — a longer reach. He's stretching like a racehorse, grabbing for the back of Damian's shirt.

It's very like trying to wrangle an annoyed cat, but he knows from experience that scruffing works as well for one as the other. ]

Quit it! Will you just talk to me?

( grayson has longer legs, a longer reach, and the knowledge on his side that if damian really, really wanted to get far away from him, he wouldn't be doing something as childish as running away from him. not like this. fingers grab onto the back of his shirt and damian hisses between his teeth like - like an angry cat, one hand moving back to grab onto dick's forearm to yank on him. there are numerous pressure points on one's wrist, between their fingers, that he can press on, force dick's grip to loosen, cause pain to shoot up through this arm into his shoulder joint, but damian reaches for none of them. he's pushing and shoving for the sake of it, not with the intention of winning. )

I heard you die! I heard your screams until you couldn't any longer, I felt the fight go out of your body and I could do nothing, nothing to stop it! ( now he's yelling, and - intentionally dropping himself down onto the ground, hard. makes dead weight of himself, because it's about as much struggle as he has left in him. ) I knew you would come back but it didn't make any of it better! ( his hand leaves dick's arm quickly enough, instead raising so he's got both of his own around his head, covering his face. the yelling doesn't stop, but his voice gets more shaky. ) I mourned for you. I hate you for making me do that again, there will not be a third time. I--

( can't hold back the tears any longer. damian gives a choked sob, shoulders raising up to his ears as he tries to stifle himself under his arms. )

[ Damian hisses and bats at him like an angry cat, grabbing and yanking and slashing, but despite the very real anger behind it, none of it is designed for either release or harm, even though Dick knows how easily Damian could manage both, even scruffed by the back of his shirt.

He holds on, and lets Damian's waves of rage buffet him while Damian's yells echo through the strange empty halls of this copy of the Manor. (His wails back in the Labyrinth and Dick's own screams, the ones Damian's shouting about now, hadn't been enough to drown out the sickening crunch of the drill against bone, the way the metal shrieked; even now, he can hear it.)

And then he drops, like a puppet with cut strings, and Dick has to drop with him or risk tearing the shirt, while Damian's fury transforms, turns watery and unsteady until his baby brother is curled there, arms around his head like he's bracing for impact, sobbing without any respite from the broken heart that he, Dick, inflicted on him.

He can't take it. He couldn't take Damian dying — again, again — and he can't take this, either, and Dick's on his knees in the next moment, gathering his brother in his arms and pulling him tight to his chest, letting him cry or thrash or yell however he needs to. Dick just— drags him close, winds around him, presses his cheek, his own dark hair to Damian's head, to the arms he has locked around himself, offering what little comfort he can to this child who he's hurt so badly. ]

I know. Hate me for it, it's okay. I'm sorry, Damian. I promised I'd be here with you and I broke that promise. I made you go through all that.

[ His arms tighten; he's shaking, too. ]

I never want to leave you. I'm sorry.

( dick drops with him, and damian has the option of either turning around and hitting him or keeping his head covered, hiding his face where grayson can't see it even if damian knows his tears aren't subtle even if they're hidden. it's the noise, and he hates, hates that he's being like this. hates the lack of control. because once he starts, damian can't get himself to stop and it's - awful. terrible. dick starts dragging him and damian remembers the batarang he has tucked into his belt, considers reaching for it for a moment, but that'd mean taking his hands away from his face and he doesn't want to hurt him, he's just--hurt.

he's still deadweight when dick pulls him over and winds around him, stays slack until he feels a few strands of dick's hair against his ears, until he hears i never want to leave you and damian is instead twisting so he's pressed into dick, face against his collar where he's still much too close for dick to see his face and - lowers his arms to wrap them tight around his brother. )

You promised. ( his voice is quiet, hoarse, muffled where he presses his mouth in against dick's shirt to try and hide tear tracks. if he were feeling more vindictive, he'd bring up this isn't the first time they were supposed to stay together and dick left. abandoned him. but he's more angry at himself for not getting dick out soon enough. for failing him. for allowing him to be a reckless idiot because they all know he would do it again in a heartbeat if circumstances repeated.

instead, damian is stuck with the guilt of having failed the first person who'd chosen him, despite knowing all of his shortcomings. instead, he's here, wrapped tight around his brother with fingers clutching hard enough he wouldn't be surprised if there were bruises later.

this isn't the robin who knows how to kill effortlessly from this position in dozens of different ways. it's the tight grip of a child with terrible emotional regulation who is--tired of losing people. )

I did.

[ Damian has had— so much of exactly this, of people making promises to him and breaking them and leaving him behind. Dick knows, he remembers Damian showing up in Blüdhaven, furious and sad. And Dick might never want to leave him, but that doesn't mean he hasn't, doesn't. After Bruce came back, after Batman, Incorporated and Spyral, he hadn't known how to be in Gotham anymore. He'd left the city, but in doing so, he'd left Damian, too.

And even now, he's not living in the Manor. He comes by sometimes, but he isn't here all the time. His choices, Damian's choices, it means they aren't ever going to be like they once were: Batman and Robin, Dick and Damian, and if he thinks about it too hard it'll break his heart.

Damian shoves into him, his face wet against Dick's neck and collar and Dick wraps around him even more, a hand spread over the back of Damian's head, an arm tight around his body, all but bodily dragging his baby brother into his lap. He never wants to let go. He never wants to. ]

I promised to watch out for you, too. I had to watch out for you, Damian, I had to, I —

[ His own eyes sting, and he closes them into a tight frown, pressing his head harder against Damian's. ]

I don't want to be in a world that doesn't have you in it. But I did the same thing to you.

[ And now they're here, clinging to each other, and Dick doesn't know how to fix this, but he can't regret it, either, because Damian's heart is beating against his chest and Damian's breath is shaky and tear-filled but he's breathing, he's warm and solid in Dick's arms. ]

I can't promise not to do everything I can, anything I can, to keep you safe. But I hear you. No third time.

I can't.

( be in a world without dick grayson. he has, once, when he faked his death and everything else had begun falling apart around them. but it wasn't a good time, and it's certainly nothing damian wishes to repeat again any time soon. without damian wayne, the world goes on. he knows his death would hurt their family, knows how it affected his father, but it's nothing in comparison to the thousands who would grieve the loss of nightwing. blüdhaven would fall apart worse, his father wouldn't be able to cope, and no one but dick grayson can shove his father out of his depressive episodes when the need arises. dick states he doesn't want to be in a world without him, but damian doesn't see the world going on if dick were to never come back.

but he doesn't specify, doesn't dig further into it, because it's irrelevant, and damian doesn't want to deal with the argument that might come from pressing further. instead, he lets dick drag him where he wants him, lets him hold damian close, because damian needs it just as much as dick does.

a shudder runs through his spine on an exhale, body loosening a little as it leans against dick's own. he could pull away, but he doesn't. the sudden outburst of tears is - lessening, even if it isn't stopping entirely. damian needs another moment to pull himself together, but instead he's smearing the mess of tears over dick's shirt, leaning heavily into him. )

Father said I should stay with you.

( an easier mess to focus on. less weighty than knowing it hadn't been all that long ago that there was a crater in dick's chest where damian's pressing hard against. )

You can, if you want.

[ And if it were really just about what Damian wants, it would be an easy call to make, but it's never that simple with Bruce. Any version of Bruce. ]

Why did he say that?

[ There could be any number of reasons: he might have decided he didn't want the company, he might have decided it's better for Damian, he might simply be working on something he doesn't want anyone else to see yet... there are dozens of reasons, and Dick learned long ago not to make assumptions when it comes to Bruce's seeming whims.

Besides that, he knows how Damian feels about this younger, raw-edged version on his father; Damian stays here for reasons greater than wanting or not wanting to. Even if Dick agreed, offered to find a place where he and Babs and Damian could all stay together, he doesn't think his brother would take him up on it.

So he leans his head against Damian's and feels the way his damp shirt starts sticking to his shoulder and neck, the way Damian slowly, slowly starts to relax. ]

I don't want to stay with you and your. . . lover. ( he says it like it's a bad thing. not because it's gordon, damian has a significant amount of respect for the woman herself. but them, together? especially in the same house as him, with minimal walls separating them? ick. it'd be fine if they were all in the manor. there's enough wings they could all have plenty of space, and damian would be able to avoid ever seeing them being gross together. but he knows dick prefers more open floor plans here, that likely means smaller spaces, which means damian would be out of ways to avoid it.

his head turns, cheek pressing against dick's shirt instead so damian can raise a hand and shove his palm against his eyes. his grip with the hand still holding onto grayson loosens significantly, even if it doesn't let go. he's not getting up. not yet. )

He was trying to help. ( damian knows what he was aiming for. but it doesn't matter, because damian's point stands: he can't live without his stupid, idiotic older brother. ) I upset him.

[ There's a distinct shake in Dick's chest again, but it isn't upset, this time, it's... a chuckle.

Lover. He can just see Babs' face at that. ]

Well, we could work something out.

[ For example: he (and Babs) could spend more time here, at the Manor. There are plenty of reasons why Dick hadn't opted to take room or rooms here to begin with — not least that the other Dick is staying here and Dick would prefer not to step on his toes while the guy's trying to find the ways he fits in with their strange little family — but it's possible.

For now, he loosens his arms as Damian shifts, without letting go, letting his brother curl against him. ]

Then I'm sure he didn't mean it.

[ And if he did... well, Dick's been meaning to check in with the resident Batman, anyway. ]

What did you do to upset him?

( the chuckle has damian curling one of his hands into a fist, tempted to shove it down against grayson's chest, but he manages to stifle the urge before hitting him. instead, he leaves it pressed against him just under damian's chin - a threat, even if it's not one he intends to follow through on.

yet.

he isn't usually one for physical affection, especially not something like this. damian hasn't needed such childish comforts - ever as far as he can remember. but maybe that's part of why he's leaning so heavily onto dick now: why he's listening to the beat of his heart, feeling the way his chest expands as he breathes. )

I told him I couldn't live in a world where you were dead, especially when it's my fault. I tried to explain why I couldn't, that I was--your Robin, Father hadn't wanted me to take on the mantle. He did not have the patience for me. But you tried. ( he's not going to cry again. he's not going to get stuck on what he could have lost if it wasn't for how this place worked. ) If I lost you, especially like that, I don't know what would become of me.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

MAY MINGLE

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