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

[mostdangerousbird]

Dick! Hi!

[ Tim, bless him, legitimately brightens at a familiar (ish) face. If he must be subjected to this speedbefriending, it’s less awful to explain his fuck ups to Dick, whose variant already knows them, then it is to face a complete stranger and tell them what a heel you are. Besides, he’s had more time to adjust to the idea of allying with the other universes families. Repeat exposure leads to familiarity and encourages trust. ]

Heh. Yeah, the manor’s never as big as you think it is, but I’m not avoiding anyone.

[ Hereafter, avoiding shall now be known as circumventing. He is circumventing Bruce, even if he’s becoming more receptive to the idea. Dick looks about right. Bruce looks twelve. ]

Actually I did tell Barbara that I’d ask one of you to consider who gets to be Dick and who has to go by something else. She, uh, asked me to record it.

[ We all sufficiently distracted from text breakups? ]

[cohero]

Tim! Heey, again.

[It's so strange to meet a version so different from the one he knows, and from what he hears, there's almost no resembling in personality or skills either. It's a very strange universe switch-up indeed. Still, it makes Dick smile to see his cheery demeanor. ]

Nah, I wouldn't think that you were. I lived there a long time, and there were days I'd go and not see anyone. Okay, maybe I'd have to avoid Alfred, he was pretty good at trying to get me to do my lessons and shit.

[Snickering, Dick shook his head. As far as Dick was concerned, he was treating every person he came across as a stranger to the best of his ability, learning them anew. Yes, comparisons happened, they all made them. Still, he couldn't charge anyone with anything another did. Most of the others didn't exist in his world anyways.

Dick coughed at the next sentiment.]

Uh, can't we both go by Dick? It's okay if we both turn our heads, you get two for one. Double the attention, help and whatever else you need. That or you could call us by our eye color. I've got brown, he's got blue. I'm brown eyed Dick.. He's blue eyed dick..

[mostdangerousbird]

[ The brightness in his eyes dims at the mention of Alfred, but the smile stays fixed in place. Alfred is still sorely missed, and Tim would’ve preferred having a warning before it came up.

(But Dick might not know. Tim’s pretty sure Damian doesn’t.)

So he keeps smiling and minds his verb tenses. ]

Alfred’s usually trying to get me to do more normal things.

[ Everything’s fine. We specialize in fine at Corrine’s Cafe. Fine coffee, fine wine, and fine Robins. ]

You can both go by Dick in conversations like this, but what I need is a nickname that I can call one of you in a conversation with other people. And no, I’m not calling either of you Blank-Eyed Dick. Just no. Be careful who you suggest that to. Jason’ll do it.

[cohero]

[No one wants to mention Alfred, what was it that Damian said. Shit. Dick forgot half of it because of what Damian said after. If it hadn't been for the whole throwing shit in Dick's face that he'd been wildly aware of and horribly jealous about, he might have remembered the fact that Tim lost his Alfred too. Dick lost his only a year prior so it was fresh in his mind as well. He was older, and it felt miles away under the weight of almost losing Bruce, after the deaths of other people he loved as well. He wasn't going to mention the fact that his Tim had died and come back along with Donna Troy. Hank had been with them, but had to sacrifice coming back to life to save them. Death is as much of a bitch as life is. Dick knew that one personally though. He'd been through the Lazarus pit. Oh, there were plenty of differences, but nicknames?]

I imagine he would. You could name the other Dick ... uh, puns? I swear, we're in life or death, and he runs off about ten puns ... meanwhile, I'm cursing.

[Dick shrugs. He shakes his head. He personally thinks of the other one as chipper, and mr. shines a lot, or smiles too much for real life, but hey. that was mainly when this Dick was busy being overly jealous. He's dealing better after their come to jesus moment passed and they both survived.]

I don't want anyone using Dick and eye in the same sentence. My name... and .. no. I knew it was wrong the second it came out of my mouth. Sometimes people gloss over things, other times, they're porn stars in hell. Yes, there's a porn star from hell around here. He had fun with my name.