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

[relished]

It very well could be.

[it certainly annoyed Hannibal that there is no butcher to his liking and the selection of meat is hardly anything he'd pick out normally. he's going to have to begin hunting again, at some point. for both swine and other animals.

he has a habit of leaving his earpiece at home, wrapped in cloth and tucked away in his drawer. he has no reason to use it unless he is checking the network for new information and prefers it stay in one place. if Aurora happened to listen to what he was saying about her half the time, well...]

But, if it were hell, I would think it would be worse. Our lives have been made mostly comfortable here, if not for those 'renovations' that had to take place.

[onlychildsyndrome]

[ Junior shrugs. He did just get killed painfully, but then maybe his hell is this guy's purgatory. The way he dresses this is probably his first time shopping in this kind of store, maybe that's a kind of torture for people like him. ]

I wouldn't call it all that comfortable. [ What with the maze and the dying and the near starvation. ] But anyway, it just started, I guess it'll be easier to tell if it gets better or worse, or like, worse in cycles.

[relished]

I would argue that life was never supposed to be that comfortable to begin with. Here, we are not required to pay for lodging or food. For some, that may be a weight off their shoulders.

[he tilts his head, eying some of the stocked items beside him, then his gaze shifts back to Junior.]

But I don't agree with it. I'd like to go home, same as most of the others here.

[onlychildsyndrome]

Not me. Only way I go home is if there's necromancy involved or I get drafted into the skeleton war.

[ that's a joke coming from a boy who is way more online than he should have been, but there's... something mushy behind it, a weird sadness he's very deliberately ignoring. ]

[relished]

[he did say most, but he can sense that Junior is trying to make light of his own situation in order to avoid it.]

Well, your circumstances are very different.

[there's a pregnant pause as he studies the teen, deep maroon eyes boring into Junior's own.]

If one had a chance to choose to stay alive, why wouldn't he? It's not a choice people are privy to very often.

[onlychildsyndrome]

[ Junior has no problem meeting Hannibal's eyes, at least up until he asks his question. and then he's back in that car, hearing the crash, seeing his mom's body broken, her face through the windshield.

he squeezes his eyes shut, stepping back, much like he'd done then, except this time he doesn't scream, he just freezes. ]

[relished]

[well. Hannibal wasn't planning on stepping on a trip wire per se, but clearly Junior's mental state is more delicate than he wanted Hannibal to believe. he'd been speaking to the boy fairly matter-of-fact, and without a file to base his information off of and Junior's flippant avoidance of his own trauma, he couldn't have known this would happen now.

but it does. and he's used to it. Junior isn't a patient, but there is an immediate shift to his tone of voice and behavior. putting his basket of groceries on the floor, he takes only two strides to stand before the boy, placing a gentle (but solid) hand on his shoulder and leaning down so he's eye level.]

Junior. You're not there any more.

[onlychildsyndrome]

[ No one had reached for him back then, not for a while. There had been an ambulance eventually, a blanket, people talking to him very quietly.

This is different, grounding. He's not there, he's in some convenience store in space, with a guy who's way too well-dressed. He lets out a wet laugh, pressing a hand to his eyes just before the tears spill out. ]

Sorry.

[ He's shaking and crying, there's no stopping it right now, but at least he knows where he is now. ]