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

[matermali]

[ She supposed she ought to agree on that matter, but in a way, clarity comes more easily with such a focused goal. Perhaps she has become too accustomed to fighting for her life. Too much idleness feels unbearable.

But, there is strength in gathering intel on her fellow prisoners, so she can appreciate that much.

And the novels, of course. ]

Did the lady Darkstar accompany you in the trial? She appears rather formidable.

[unionized]

I didn't leave her in the "care" of Aurora, if that's what you mean.

[He doesn't have to make the air quotes with his fingers; his tone does it all on its own.]

But I'm sure you noticed that nothing in that labyrinth was conducive to long-term accompaniment. She and I were separated as much and as often as I was with my human counterparts.

[A pause.]

Though she was never left to her own devices altogether. Fortunately for the other inhabitants of the labyrinth.

[matermali]

[ Perhaps she isn't the only one here who remembers that they have all been taken against their will. She certainly doesn't think kindly of Aurora—or Echo, whatever they are. She can't blame anyone for mocking what Aurora might consider "care".

But then, she isn't gunning to be a hero, like so many others seem to be.

Resting her hands in her lap, Vanessa's posture remains pristine as she considers his answer and what it might have been like to have happened upon Darkstare in the labyrinth. Would the beast have assumed her an enemy or ally? It was so very much designed to turn everyone around, or even on one another.

But if he claims the encounters to have been fortunate, then Darkstar must have known better. She might have been quite an asset before Vanessa happened upon Dream and Ben. ]

I have a feeling that future experiments will be no different in that regard. The last city I was brought to had similar occurrences, where company could be fleeting no matter the intent.

[unionized]

[Oh, well. Now that's worthy of a little piqued interest — mostly because he didn't miss the use of the term "brought to".]

Something like this has gone on in your own home circumstances, then? How curious.

[matermali]

[ It's a strange topic to broach, but ever so relevant, under the circumstances. With legs crossed, she leans back and glances toward the robot barista behind the counter with open suspicion. Her voice carries low and quiet as usual, but she suspects they can hear as much as they want. ]

Not home. There was another city in another world—like this one, yet not. It had no name. There was no one to speak to there. No one to inform us of our supposed purpose, no one offering services, and no other signs of life. Not even a single ant. At least, so it was in the beginning.

[ Her shrug is slight, but her distaste is less subtle. ]

For nearly a year, there seemed no rhyme or reason to the horrific events that occurred. Even when certain truths were revealed, only more questions arose. Once finally finding escape, I ought to have known that it would not lead to freedom.

[ If 'freedom' could truly be applied to anything in her life back in England. ]

On awakening here, I had initially assumed it to be the most recent iteration of the last city, but enough has changed to leave me with doubt.

[unionized]

Now that's a twisted game if I've ever heard one.

[It's the futility of it that stands out, the way she describes it. A city with no name, no life, no information, and seemingly no purpose. What, then, could possibly be the point of something so barren and sterile? Etraya seems positively luxurious by comparison, even as sparsely-populated as it is.]

"Recent iteration"? As though it repeated, somehow?

[matermali]

[ There was a purpose, it just took far too long to learn what it was, and even then, Vanessa struggled to wrap her mind around it. In this case, it seemed to have more to do with time travel than anything else... ]

Many times. Some of us had even existed in former iterations—alternate versions of ourselves in what they called a computer simulation. It was a grand experiment that seemed to have gained a life of its own beyond the initial existences of its creators. Every iteration ended in catastrophe—mass death. Then it would begin anew with different challenges.

[ Her smile is wry. Her initial guess on it being some sort of Eden had not been entirely off. ]

We were meant to be humanity's last hope. To create a new world that could survive any cataclysm. An impossible task, no matter how the...program strived to condition us.

[unionized]

And I gather your participation in this experiment was, shall we say, involuntary.

[Given the way she's referring to it, that's an easy assumption to make. The descriptions of the horrors, the references to being "brought", the lack of explanation — it adds up. It's not dissimilar to Aurora, either.]

So how did you escape?