etrayalogs | 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

Only if we want to.

[ Tim scratches his head and considers that. He could ask if he should take questions and answer them openly, but he doesn't want to do that here, even if it would maybe tip to Clark that there's more to discuss.

He'll leave it. Someone else is bound to explain who Tim is in relation to Batman. ]

Is there a lot you don't normally get to do? You can watch the earthrise any time you want.

[ clark cocks his head, considering this. the answer comes easily though. ]

Team sports. I can swim with whales, fly anywhere I want. But I always thought there was something really . . . fun about team sports. I like to go to games and cheer for them. It feels communal.

Yeah, team sports are fun, but they wouldn't be if there weren't people in the stands watching. You'd lose most of the community - the fans outnumber the team.

[ He takes another sip of coffee and tips the cup to Superman. ]

Besides, I think you just haven't found the right sport and team combination. You can be the strongest guy on the bowling alley, and it won't give your team any advantage.

It's possible.

Back then, it was just too much of a risk to take.

I guess that happens when you're the first. You have to write the rules for everyone else.

[ Because Clark and Bruce invented the rules for how to handle secret identities. As much as everyone jokes that Bruce is paranoid, the Kents used to be quite protective of their identities. Clark is probably still there - none of this openly wearing the identity that he and Jon do nowadays. ]

[ he blinks, a bit taken aback. ]

The first?

[ Tim watches Clark for a few seconds and then nods. ]

You are the first Super in your world, aren't you?

The first . . . known one, I suppose.

[ there was that woman who fought alongside bruce and clark. but he never got to know more about her. ]

There's a lot of superheroes in my world. I think there's easily been hundreds. Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman and Robin... sometimes I get into arguments with my friend Connell about who's the best.

[ Tim uses a real name - Connell - but slushes up the pronunciation, so there's no telling how many Ns are in the name, whether that's a K or C. Most people would hear Connell, or Connor if they missed that last consonant.

If one was so inclined, they could hear a break in between the two syllable, splitting the name after the N sound. ]

He always wins, of course.

[ hm. clark mulls over that. hundreds of heroes. is that a good thing? he's not sure. perhaps having more around would have made his transition easier.

but in the end . . . it probably wouldn't change anything. ]

That's nice to hear. It's not the norm where I'm from.

That's more of a shame than you know.

[ He's tried all his hints and isn't comfortable saying anything more direct. Maintaining a secret identity while respecting the illusion of someone else's secret is a difficult dance. Tim starts to get to his feet. ]

I won't take up any more of your time. I'm sure other people are excited to meet you.

[ again. he blinks. ]

Are they?

More fans I have no idea about?

They might be?

[ Tim gives him a half shrug. He won't commit anyone else to the same universe (and more importantly, to having a discussion with Superman about their little corner of the multiverse. Particularly since he's making a deliberate choice to assume that this Superman is from a world where he's on the side of the good and true. ]

I'm surprised you don't know yet. You must be from before... almost all of it, if you don't know how popular you are.

MAY MINGLE

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Sorry - twas on vacation