etrayalogs | MAY MINGLE

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

[Ah, shit, the reverse uno card.

Peter straightens up, pointing at himself and looking a little caught off-guard.]

Uhhh! Myself? Me?

[This is... not something he apparently expected at a cafe where the goal is to mingle.]

[ He laughs, seemingly unbothered by the other's weird surprise at being thrown into the limelight. ]

Yeah, you! [ It still means that Peter isn't escaping this though. Not so easily, anyway.. ] Who else is here to talk about themselves?

[ Fabian shakes his head briefly, and then adds: ] I want to get to know more about you! That's why we're here right now, isn't it?

[Ah, yeah, that's...]

You're right, sure. A coffee AMA... thing.

[And yet, he still looks like his brain is scrambling for something to say. What is there, anyway? Other than Spider-Man, what does Peter Parker have going for him? He squirms at the idea, because it feels more and more lately like the guy under the mask is inconsequential right now.

That's not a right way to be about yourself, though. Is it?

He clears his throat, and says:]

Well... I like building things. Any kind of thing. Little figures or robots or anything like that. Or taking broken stuff and making them work again. Some of the stuff people throw out — like, they really don't know the kind treasure they're tossing. [A pause.] I really like math and science. The, uh. Nerdy stuff.

[ Thankfully Fabian does seem to be patiently waiting for Peter to think up a fun fact about himself.. even though that might also put more pressure on the entire thing, because-- you know. The guy is just sitting there and waiting for him. Staring at him. The entire time.

Another upside of that though is that he seems to receive the fact with an easy smile and enthusiasm, even though building things might not exactly be Fabian's thing. ]

Oh-- Wow! It's a real shame my friend Gorgug is not here, because it sounds like you two would get along incredibly well. He's into all the same things you are!

[ Well, he doesn't know if Gorgug likes math.

But the other does it anyway in order to be able to make the stuff he does, so. It works, right. ]

Do your little robots do anything special? Are you making some sort of little helpers out of them?

[Easy smiles and enthusiasm is appreciated, man. It makes his heart hurt a little, because it's easy to think about Ned and his similarly boundless energy for questions and giddy grins. Not for the first time, that kind of person gets Peter to not turn into a wallflower and actually speak up for himself, huh? He'd like to think he's gotten a lot better about that since his days of getting shoved into lockers.]

I guess it kind of depends on what you're building... We used to make little battlebots for fun, in robotics? Like, you make these little armored fighting robots, and face off against everyone else's. But I've also made one that does a bunch of different old dance moves once.

[Basically: he makes them for shits and giggles. High school was fun sometimes!]

Dance robot?

[ Oh, Peter. Now you're speaking his language. Fabian is definitely grinning, and not even in the sort of way that makes fun of Peter and his hobbies! No, this is an excited grin, because he sure likes the sound of that. ]

What kind of dances were you making it do? I mean.. I'm not quite sure which dances are considered 'old' where you come from, you see. Even though we seem to be around the same age, that could mean anything! [ Especially when Peter is human.

He could definitely be from one of those weird all-human worlds that Fabian has heard about. Who the hell even knows what sort of dancing they're doing there! ]

I guess just about any dance you can think of, it can be programmed. I kind of lost track of all of the different things we made it do. The macarena, the Stanky Leg, the Soulja Boy thing? Y'know, a bunch of super old dances like that.

[... That does not help Fabian even a little with the time differences, does it.]

[ Fabian looks like he's thinking really hard for a moment.

But-- Nope, none of that sounds remotely familiar, actually. ]

How old are those?

[ Because if Fabian hasn't heard of them, they must be super old. Especially since Fabian is still into old internet terminology. The problem is that he's into old fantasy internet terminology, so of course he wouldn't recognize these.. ]

Man, that just means you should make a new one here! I could teach it all sorts of dances. [ He makes a 'peace of cake' kind of half-dismissive hand gesture. ] I'm a bard, you see? That's the best kind of expert you could get for a matter like this!

[ Would there be a point in making a dance robot here?

.. Not really. But it'd be fun! ]

... I think I was a little kid when they came out?

[So. Not remotely as old as he's letting on. Peter is just being rude and young. But dash that! Save that for later! He's too busy zeroing in on a particular part of his response, like a terminator does its victims. (Or, uh, something less grisly.)]

Wait — for real? You're a really real bard?

With a little guitar and the whole nine yards?

Yes, of course I'm a real bard!

[ He definitely sounds a little pompous as he's saying it. Not like he's looking down on Peter, but more like he's truly trying to praise himself into high heavens here.

Especially since it sounds like Peter might actually find him being a bard kind of interesting. Perhaps even.. cool, if Fabian is allowed to dream. ]

Not with an instrument though! Truly, it is a stereotype that's rather hard to get rid of that all bards perform using only music! You see, I inspire others using the power.. [ He pauses, dramatically putting a hand over his heart and all. ] .. of dance. And dance alone!

[Wow... Peter would absolutely clap in this moment if it wasn't absolutely ridiculous. Just know that he is tickled by this new dorky information Fabian is giving him — especially because Pete doesn't think it's dorky at all! If anything, Fabian sounds like a totally cool, majestic kind of guy.]

That's so awesome, dude, seriously.

[He almost says 'I bet you're so fun in your D&D party'.

A little to on the nose, right?]

But... if you're a dancer, who performs your music for you? Do you have a bard band?

[ Thank you, Peter. Fabian does think he is totally cool and majestic. The grin on his face at the moment sure seems to suggest as much, anyway. He's receiving the other's compliments like he's standing in front of a huge crowd in a theater. ]

Hey, I hope you are aware that it is entirely possible to dance even without music! Especially if you are a skilled dancer-- which, of course, I am!

[ Don't underestimate him, Peter!

Not that Fabian seems all that offended. More like he just wants to make sure and clarify, just so Peter knows just how awesome Fabian is. It's a good thing that Fabian seems to like talking about him here so much that he's letting Peter get away with not having to talk much about himself or confess to his own secrets, huh..

Especially since he just keeps rambling, adding-- ]

But there is a bard in our party who does use an instrument, yes. That's Fig, my friend and-- well, also my stepsister now, I suppose. She plays electric guitar. [ Maybe kind of a modern D&D party, then.. ]

What a coincidence, 'cus it always looks like I'm being forced to dance without music.

[He is. A terrible dancer. The worse, really.

Spider-Man is much more majestic in the air than Peter Parker is on a dance floor.]

So — wait. You really have a full adventuring party?

Of course!

[ Said so easily. Like it's natural to him. ]

I mean, I would not be allowed to graduate the academy I study at unless I had a full adventuring party. That's how it works. [ Obviously, Peter! Sure, Fabian has learned it's not how it works everywhere, apparently, but it's still so natural to him that he can't help but speak of it in this confident, obvious way. ] All six of us have to be alive and part of the party.

[ But since that's obvious and natural to him, he can't help but move on to the part that's way more interesting to him, which is-- ]

Would you like to learn some dancing?

[ Because clearly the first thing Peter says meant he just wants to learn how to dance, right. Fabian seems to assume so. ]

[Man, distracting him from how cool all of that is... with dancing lessons?

The laugh he offers is so self-conscious.]

Noooo, no no... no. I'm so bad. I think that'd be a lost cause kinda thing.

Aww, come on! [ It doesn't sound like Fabian is willing to let go of it so easily. Which may be a little pushy, no matter how well intentioned he is - the latter evident from the encouraging smile on his face. ]

No one out there is a lost cause! You are not a lost cause unless you decide to give up! [ .. on dancing?

Apparently dancing is just this serious. ]

And you aren't just the type to give up, are you?

[Oh, man, don't use the magic words on him, Fabian...

After a moment of obvious internal struggle, he sighs a deep, defeated sigh.

What can ya' do?]

I guess giving up would be super uncool.

[ Fabian grins like a cat that just caught a mouse.

.. just, you know, in a slightly more friendly way. Just a bit. ]

Great!

[ He even sounds victorious, casually stretching. ] So, when do you want to start?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

MAY MINGLE

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