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

[Daisy notices the cup of tea he’s holding out for her to take, but she opts to sit in the chair in the corner instead. Regrets swarm her thoughts and she finds it difficult to keep standing. Normally she’d be too embarrassed to cry in front of someone, but she can’t stop the sob that breaks through.

She had been prepared, as best she could, to lose him when they were leaving Ximilia. But this? It’s like the wind has been knocked out of her.]

[Hannibal blinks at her silent dismissal of the tea he offered her, standing silently for half a second before he places it delicately on the counter beside him. he had hoped giving her time to compose herself in the restroom would calm her down, but it seems she's far past that. she's grieving, he doesn't blame her. water can be reboiled.

he does glance back to his own cup of tea, but decides instead to step back and lean himself against the counter, offering her some space between them. he doesn't say anything, letting silence and her soft cries settle as he watches her rather gently. plenty of patients have cried before him, it's best to let them have their moment.

a few long minutes go by. he decides he will wait for her to speak when she is ready.]

[With how quiet he is, it's easy enough to forget that he's there until she lifts her face away from her hand and finds him leaning against the counter.]

I'm sorry. I shouldn't have--

[Bothered him? Cried in front of him?

She had been so desperate to find Joric, despite knowing that deep down he had been taken from her.]

No apology necessary. You're in mourning.

[albeit inconveniently. he doesn't consider Daisy a friend, the two of them are hardly close enough for that. acquaintance at best, closer to what he would consider a patient at worst. however, turning away a distraught woman would have been terribly discourteous.]

You were close. Had you arrived here together?

[Mourning. The word hits her like a punch to the gut and she closes her eyes as she tries to calm her breathing. He's gone.

He's gone and she's never going to see him again. Never touch him again.]

We were.

[Past tense. Her voice gets caught in her throat, and after a moment she opens her eyes again.]

We're not from the same universe. We met somewhere else.

[he sees her crumbling, nearly frail-looking in the chair. he's offered her his form of comfort already -- the tea -- which she declined. now all he offers her is silence and open ears. the energy between them is strictly professional; he is granting her his time. all he can do is walk her through it.

the mention of meeting in another universe piques some interest. Daisy had briefly talked about it to him in the labyrinth.]

The same place you agreed to be taken to in order to correct something in your past? [the fact she mentioned that may have saved her. it's the only interesting thing right now that's keeping her alive, aside from her abilities.] It's possible he returned to his home world. A hard pill to swallow.

[Daisy nods when he asks for confirmation on where they had met. She knows it's possible he went back home, just as possible as it is that he--

It's hard not to spiral, especially right now when she's so mentally and physically exhausted.]

We don't know for sure what happens when we--

When they're done with us here.

We don't. You might have to have a little faith.

[he's debating on offering her a sedative. if she weren't so upset, he'd be a little more pragmatic. she should be able to mourn, should be able to process the emotions she's feeling. he just didn't expect it to be done in his kitchen.]

Are you able to do that?

[Daisy laughs bitterly at his suggestion that she have faith. Bringing her hand up, she wipes roughly at her cheeks. Even as the tears continue to fall.]

I haven’t had faith in most things in a long time.

You had faith that your regret would be taken care of all that time ago.

[he pauses, watching as tears pool and trickle down her cheeks.]

You should have faith in your friend being safe. There's little you can control about this situation aside from your feelings about it and what you do here. Don't let this place take that away from you.

[He’s not wrong, deep down she knows that, but she can’t help the negative thoughts that seep in.]

It just took away one of the few things that matter to me.

[Daisy says sharply, and while her aggression wasn’t meant to be directed at him she doesn’t apologize for it either.]

[he may be able to manipulate this situation for his own benefit. the quiet between them after her snappy response is loud. he ponders snapping her neck.]

It did.

[a soft inhale as he considers-]

What are you going to do about it?

[If he was someone she trusted, she might confide in him. But as it stands, all she can think is he’s trying to psychoanalyze her, and her walls immediately go back up.]

I didn’t come here for a therapy session.

[Despite how much she’s spiraling, she gets to her feet.]

Edited 2024-06-22 16:14 (UTC)

No, and I'd argue that you're not sure what you came here for. Comfort, possibly, which is what I've been trying to offer you.

[a placid jab at her to entice guilt for being defensive. he doesn't make a move as she stands, gaze following her movements. the tea is cold.]

That, and a solution, but I understand if you don't want one right now. Is there someone else you can talk to, if you're not comfortable speaking with me?

[Daisy’s jaw goes tight when he makes assumptions about her, and maybe it wouldn’t have bothered her as much if some of it wasn’t true. Even if she wasn’t consciously aware of it.]

Don’t do that.

[Does she need to explain what she means by that to him? She doubts it.]

No. I don’t trust anyone else here.

[Him included.]

[eyes narrow slightly at her defiance, but his expression is next to unreadable aside from a smile that can only be interpreted as complacent.]

I suggest you start.

Do you trust everyone you've just met?

[Because she doubts he does. Most people don't.]

MAY MINGLE

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