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

[thetombkeeper]

Honestly, I don't know why I'm here either but I meant... do you have any siblings?

[onlychildsyndrome]

Nah, it was just me. My parents are gone too and my friends traded me for my shit cousin.

[ No wonder he attached himself to the murder doll. ]

[thetombkeeper]

[Marik frowns.]

Really? With friends like that, who needs enemies...

[He shakes his head.]

Then... you had no one?

[onlychildsyndrome]

I kinda had Chucky for a bit— the doll. And his crazy ass girlfriend, but it all ended pretty soon after.

[thetombkeeper]

[He chuckles softly. Not because of what happened to Junior but rather that he's reminded of when he teamed up with an evil spirit.]

... I wonder how you'd like my Dueling "partner," given your experience with cursed beings.

[onlychildsyndrome]

Depends, is your dueling partner funny and huge on murder?

[ Chucky is an asshole but he's very funny, and Junior welcomed the casual approach to ending lives, mostly because it made him feel less bad. ]

[thetombkeeper]

Not huge but he isn't against it. He's far more of the long game kind of guy.

And he's funny in... the way a cat is. Where it's amusing to watch him get angry about stuff.

[onlychildsyndrome]

Oh, I met one of those in the labyrinth. I told him he looked like a nerd and he started making like, angry cartoon noises.

[thetombkeeper]

Really?

[Says the guy who makes anime or angry cat noises when he's upset.]

He didn't have an insult to return?

[onlychildsyndrome]

He was just super offended. It was pretty funny.

He's one of those elf people? Not the Lord of the Rings kind but similar.

[thetombkeeper]

I think met one of them. Had a similar complexion to me but with an eyepatch. ... He was odd.

[A beat.]

What's Lord of the Rings?

[onlychildsyndrome]

The eyepatch guy! That's the nerd.

[ Junior may have even gotten the guy's name, but he's unfortunately That Elf Nerd in his head now. ]

Some high fantasy books about elves and orcs and whatever.

[thetombkeeper]

[Marik cackles.]

Well, what do you know! He seemed far too happy doing the obstacle course for my liking.

And I wonder if those novels inspired Pegasus with some of his Duel Monster creations.

[onlychildsyndrome]

People can be good at sports and still be nerds. Duel Monsters?

[ That sounds more fun than discussing a nerd. ]

[thetombkeeper]

I know. It means being overly invested in something, right?

[Too bad the game is something equally as nerdy.]

Ah, Duel Monsters is a card game. I used to play it back in my world.

[onlychildsyndrome]

Right, yeah. It's a neutral term, that's why him losing it was so funny.

[ Junior is fine with nerd shit, he's a nerd himself sometimes. ]

Like trading cards? You get a deck, use it against other people who also have a deck?

[thetombkeeper]

People get upset at the strangest things.

[Pot, kettle, black.]

Yes! I actually have mine with me. Mine deck is a control type but I was thinking of maybe scraping it and trying something else.