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

[riskfalling]

[ Dick laughs, setting his own cup of coffee down. ]

Oh, you know. I do okay.

[ It's been a long time since either of them have been that daring young man, but he bets the other Dick remembers it just as clearly as he does. He hopes the guy loves it the way he does, too. ]

We're good. Babs is taking it easy for a little while... being in that labyrinth for so long was tough on her back. She'll be Barbara 'Wheels' Gordon for a bit. So don't worry if you see her in the chair, she'll be up and round-housing goons again in no time.

So, the Manor, huh? Nice. I hope it works out for you. I've gotta check in with Bruce sometime soon, myself.

[cohero]

[Can never forget it, and he does. His first part of the labyrinth was swinging across the damn thing, climbing platforms with an 8ft furry, and then zip-lining all the way back across to the entrance where they got a chest full of food from hell, literally (not good for humans, but please don't ask Dick what it did to him.)

There's a small concerned look on his face when it comes to Babs, he hasn't talked to her yet, but plans on it. They have to make up for his idiocy before he left. ]

When she told me about the neural implant, and how worried she was about it malfunctioning I admit it left me worried. Then her and I had a...okay, I had an idiot moment, and she called me out on it, and was ... rude, and I was rude back and walked away. It was all, not so good on my part. I'm gonna apologize when I see her. I started it because I didn't want to tell her that the Jim Gordon in my world is gone, not right before the labyrinth, you know? She keeps poking. The worst...

[He smiles at the last part, because he knows that Grayson understands him. ]

[riskfalling]

[ Dick leans back in his chair, listening, even as a faint frown crawls over his forehead and narrows his eyes. ]

She said she's worried about it malfunctioning?

[ The rest of it he absorbs, sipping thoughtfully at his coffee before he shifts forward again and sets the mug down so he can cross his arms on the tabletop. When he meets his double's brown eyes, his own blue ones are steady. ]

Having been in about a million fights with Barbara Gordon — this Barbara Gordon — let me give you a little... context, maybe. Call it advice if you want.

First, the back thing... look, you and me, and everyone else who knows her and cares about her, we're all always gonna worry, right? Just like we'll worry about each other — you included, by the way. But Babs is built different. She's got more grit than anyone I've ever known, and I know a lot of heroes. Even if that thing malfunctioned, she'd have found a way out. I'd keep anything she told you about the implant to myself, though. It's not her favorite topic in the world.

Second...

[ He toys with his mug for a minute, trying to figure out how to put all this into words. ]

You guys barely know each other. We barely know each other, and we have the same name and at least some of the same background, you know? Take it easy on yourself. We've all gotta build up some trust, get to know each other.

And Babs... she'll be the best and most loyal ally you could ever want when you get there, but she won't ever hesitate to knock your head against a wall if she thinks you need it. She doesn't wear kid gloves, no matter how nice she can be. Believe me, I've been on the receiving end, too.

[cohero]

[Leaning forward, Dick fiddles with his mug listening to everything that the other Dick wants to say. He's got a lot too, and this Dick is really thankful for it. He's felt a lot lately, and it's been hard.

They keep a lot to themselves in his family, he imagines the rest of it too. The circles that he and Bruce have been going through are very much epic. It feels very real, and strange all at once. Everything about Dick being a part of this group does.

He's trying to fit in, but fucking up all over and he knows it.]

Yeah, I know the part about her not pulling punches already. I know we are all strangers, and I'm lucky she opened up to me. I am. I'm lucky you did too. I didn't deserve it. Gotta admit, being your .... namesake is a fucking lonely thing. They all know you and look at me like I'm a bit of a sideshow freak sometimes. I feel like it too. Being alone here is hard.

That's.... I guess that's why I'm trying hard. I don't like... before I left, my family split. They all...went their different ways. I went back to Gotham alone.

[Taking a sip of the coffee, Dick lifts his hands after and worries over his fingers then looks across the table.]

Did I mention that Bruce killed joker in my world? He did, and then he tried to kill himself. I had to try and save the world right after from another Trigon thing, and then I went back to Gotham alone. I mean, Jason was there as Red Hood, we get alone, he's only been doing it for a year. He's a good kid.

But, I do what Bruce did, mostly. He's too unstable and ...I'm alone. Now here, there's all these people, and I was very alone. So I pushed too hard. I'm trying it different, but I probably think too much.

[riskfalling]

[ He talks about Bruce and Trigon and Joker and Red Hood and Dick absorbs it, files it away in a mental drawer marked yikes! and to be discussed more later before he lifts a hand and rubs a thumb over his left temple, then focuses back on the core of what the other guy is saying. ]

You're not my namesake, man. You're Dick Grayson; you're your own man, just like I am. And I know it probably feels weird that a bunch of us know each other, but nobody's looking at you like you're a freak. They're looking at you like they don't know you yet, 'cause they don't.

[ He shakes his head at the other guy, though the look in his eyes is sympathetic. ]

And you're not alone. You might not be best friends with me, or Babs, or Tim, or any of the others yet, but you're still one of us. Didn't you just say you moved into the Manor? That's a great start.

It's not your fault we're kind of a tough bunch to get to know. We'll get there, I promise. And in the meantime, nobody's gonna abandon you. Just take a beat, don't push so hard. You're not jumping without a safety net, here.

[cohero]

[Dick does listen, he does. What he shared was hard to say. He's been working on trying to be honest with people here, be open. Doing the opposite always really fucked things up for him back home and ever since things went so wrong with Jason, Dick has attempted to make some sort of stride forward.

It's been slow. He is alone, but that's alright. They are all strangers, and that's okay too. Dick moved into the manor where the people who lived there have told him in different ways and words that he doesn't belong. Bruce doesn't think he does either-- but he's also feeling the weight of being the only Bruce around.

It's all strange. Dick's happy that he can have a place away from the apartments to live, and he occasionally gets to hang with Titus. Dick always wanted a pet. ]

It's okay, I don't have to be a part of everything. I'm saying how it is. I'm saying why I pushed. I'm mentioning how I feel. I don't do good with talking about shit. Then when I don't, I fuck things up. So, I don't know. I figure I should get to know you so I feel better about some things.

I'm working on making other friends too. I don't have to have the same batch of people you do. At home, I don't, so that's fine.

[riskfalling]

Yeah, and I hear you, dude. But I don't think you're hearing me. All I'm saying is it takes a little time. It's not so black and white as you might feel like it is, you know?

If you want my two cents — and I get it if you don't — if you're getting frustrated with sharing your own shit, maybe take a breath, take a step back, ask about the other person, instead. I know we Graysons love a spotlight, but it can be a lot of pressure when you feel like you're under it all the time.

[ The other guy's getting defensive, so Dick takes a sip of coffee, shifts gears. Deliberately relaxes his shoulders and wrists and expression into something mild and curious. ]

Yeah? That's great, man. Who're you getting to know? What are they like?

[cohero]

I know. I've been listening a lot too, and I get that ... I'm sorry.

[See, great at fucking things up he thinks. He didn't mean to jump ahead too much. Then he did. It's like one second he doesn't say enough and gets in an frustrated discussion, then he says too much. He thinks the better part is probably not to say anything. It's easier. ]

Oh, let's see. I had a great meeting with Clark Kent the first bit after we got here, but I haven't caught him since then, sadly. We got along really well. I went into the maze with Angel, for a guy from hell, he's pretty great. We had to really rely on one another and he's pretty trustworthy there, even if he's got no survival instinct.

[Dick laughs, and begins to relax again.]

Met some girls at this coffee thing, how about you? Making friends?

[riskfalling]

[ Growing pains. They all get them, and Dick's confident they'll all be able to get past these, too. It's clear the other man's been through plenty, with a different Bruce than the one Dick grew up with.

At some point, maybe, he thinks it might help for him to tell the other man about "Ric," about feeling out of step and out of joint with everyone who kept saying they knew him... but not right now. They'll get there.

Right now, he's much more interested in what the other guy's saying: ]

Yeah, a few. Plenty of interesting people here...

[ And he likes talking to them, getting to know them; he likes people. But for the moment, he zeroes in on the other thing the guy says: ]

... but girls, huh?

[ He's grinning now; Clark and the guy from hell, they can circle back to. Right now, he just wants to have a minute where they can both feel like normal guys, talking about girls over a cup of coffee. ]

Any cute ones?

[cohero]

[The past several years have been nothing but growing pains it seems. Trials upon trials. Then suddenly life got too quiet and it was rather alarming. Maybe that's why Dick ended up here.

Honestly, the girls didn't interest Dick all that much. Although, if he was going to talk about either of them, he'd have to go with the one that he felt the most kinship with-- although they both had interesting things about them. ]

They were both okay, but Kate was fun. She's from a rich family, and was raised more by staff than her parents. She gets the boring parties and stupid charity functions. We laughed about doing things to get out of them as kids.

[He paused, and tapped the table a few times.]

You know they both admitted to being... super.. of some sort? The first girl... um, Bobbi, she has super strength, and can drink whatever and not get drunk. Then I don't know what Kate does, but she helps out. They don't hide who they are. I thought it was interesting.