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

[skaikru]

( she gives a thoughtful hum of acknowledgement before picking up the jug, just to express that she'd heard him. there is the age old saying that curiosity killed the cat, and while clarke griffin would do a lot of really unsavory things to get close to anything magic... that no feels necessary. but it still peaks her interest, and she spends a long moment squinting at the dark liquid contents of the bottle, and sniffing it before taking an eventual sip.

just a baby sip, just to test. and oh, does that go down easy. fruited and a little tangy, but as smooth as water — in sharp contrast to the burn of the moonshine, this almost soothes the points in her throat she'd scalded. a weird sort of pleasant surprise washes over her face; nothing detrimental happens, and if all wine was like this, she might like wine. there is the temptation to take another swig, but clarke acknowledges she's got a whole bar to choose from and natsuno only has this. so she directly hands it back. )

Not bad.

( ... )

It's weird, right? Going from somewhere that was piloted entirely by magic, to here? Which seems like it runs off technology that just feels like magic?

[neverleave]

Very weird. And even weirder that it's thought out. The bots actually build foundations.

[The trees aren't hollow inside, the buildings have wiring. He actually managed to disassemble a neon sign and plug it elsewhere. It's still something of a novelty, and makes certain things easier, but Natsuno isn't sure he likes it. The fact that their previous captor was as childish as he was powerful only added insult to injury, and he supposes "champion" sounds better than "battery," but...

Natsuno frowns, realizing he's dancing around what really bothers him.]

This place is personal. [He takes another swing, longer this time, and slams the jug on the counter.] I hate it.

[skaikru]

( be it a mark of friendship, or the line of thinking that they'd always shared that allowed them to become such immediate and close friends but. clarke understand immediately what he means. in both ways.

in terms of the solid foundations in the buildings here, the intricacies of everything. the facade is better, the plants are real, with root systems. there's animals. but a childish, uncreative captor was easier to overthrow than a thoughtful, careful, plotting mystery.

and also in the personalized nature of this place. she thinks of her kidney floating in the jar of preservatives, the hoard they'd run from — because zombies could have been done without the mounted head preamble — and then the simpler stuff. she'd called them all lab rats in the woods with krouse, only to turn around and find herself a rat in an actual maze of someone else's design. she'd sought an alternative to the labyrinth, and the whole city had been saddled with a mandatory coffee hour for her efforts. this place is personal and growing, and in clarke's paranoid little brain she's afraid to misstep. because what if next time it's like the string? it should also probably mean something that they're sitting in the bar seats that once upon a time could have belonged to another etraya resident, or their missing friends. )

...Me too.

( she pours another shot, but fiddles with the glass shooter more than she nurses it. )

I mean, it's better than sitting in jail or being put up for auction. But... for how long? For missions that supposedly prioritize bonding and teamwork, they sure are ugly tasks. And I can't help but think it's just going to get worse.

Again.

( like last time. like always.

and then, because she hadn't eaten and the moonshine be hitting — )

No one here can fuck Echo into compassionate compliance if he never shows his face.

[neverleave]

Of course it's going to get worse. Some universe's gotta be weeded out, right? Everyone here, that new city - they're competition, right? Only a matter of time until the battle royale.

[He scowls. This is getting depressing. Natsuno tilts his head back to take a long sip, deciding that the mental image of Skulduggery Pleasant fucking the captain is marginally better than battle royale flashbacks.]

ALso, you're gross. Considering how the LAST time went, maybe we should be grateful Echo's hiding.

[Natsuno pauses to put the jug back on the counter, but his hand stops midway because the magical wine also be hitting.]

Aurora's got a private channel. Think someone's already hitting on her? Get the construct on our side with the power of love.

[skaikru]

( is it, though? is it really? because clarke thinks she might actually prefer having the memories of getting her eye plucked out on halloween than to ever consider how a shadow and a skeleton have sex. would rather exsanguinate all over again than sit and fixate over which particular scrap of suffering was twisted into magically manifesting a strap-o —

yeah, okay, imagination too vivid. she shrugs a little in response to being called gross, the accusation rolling off her shoulders because come on, were we not all thinking it anyways? if natsuno hadn't been, he sure catches on quickly. )

Someone as good as hit on her in her very first post. ( sorta? kinda? she hadn't been paying much attention to that part, but krouse said it, so. ) And people are out here already giving her nicknames. ( which is somehow worse, the power of friendship truly conquers all. clarke makes a face like she'd just taken another shot on moonshine despite not having brought the glass to her lips. )

And of course that other planet's got to be housing the competition, there's no other reason for Aurora to be secretive about them. I just — I want to know how long they've been there. Can they see any other cities from where they are? Has she told them anything we haven't figured out how to ask about yet?

( the list is truly endless. )