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

no problem at all!

[keepitgoing]

[He nods eagerly.]

Yeah! And my hands, too. Most of me, though nobody wants to hear about my butt sticking to walls.

[Not a soul in the world wants to look out a window and see Spider-Man's butt on the glass.]

What about you? Got any particular talents?

♥

[myagic]

Did you have to put it that way?

[Oh, she definitely doesn't want to hear about his sticky butt, as her ghastly expression immediately says.

While she's curiously about the exact mechanism by which he sticks, at the moment, she'll take any topic change from butt sticking, so she readily answers his question after a little huff, flipping her short hair back.]

Obviously. [It's definitely obvious, right? Right?] I'm a mage, so I can use magic, and I was an expert on magically-powered devices back home.

[keepitgoing]

[Oh my word.]

No way. Are you a sorcerer? I knew a sorcerer back home! Like, he was crazy good with magic and spells and things like that. He totally helped save half of all life in the universe with it.

[Peter may have a fanboy thing for Iron Man, but Dr. Strange?

Pretty awesome guy, too.]

[myagic]

[Oh, he's excited? Maybe he has a decently appraising eye, then. Okay, yeah, she's just going to preen a little here.]

"Mage" is the term my world uses, but I suppose you could say I'm a sorceror, if that's what you're familiar with. [They both just mean someone who uses magic, right??] Anyway, magic certainly is impressive in the hands of the right genius like me. Or that other guy you're talking about.

[Whoever the other guy is, she doesn't really care all that much unless he's also in Etraya. But she does think more people should believe in the beauty and versatility of magic!]

[keepitgoing]

That's super cool...

[He is a little jealous, because magic is so super neat. He's a scientist deep in his heart and soul, first and foremost, but he would absolutely love to have a little magic on the side!]

What kinds of magic do you use?

[myagic]

[Alright, she might be a little endeared to him, costume aside, since he is showing exactly the right amount of respect and appreciation for magic! It is, after all, very cool.]

Elemental magic, basically.

[She raises a hand, and a small flame flickers in the air above her palm. She might not have much magic in this place, but a little demonstration like this is fine.]

Whether it's the elements in their purest form, like this, or combining them to generate more complex effects.

By the way, since you said it's not magic that lets you stick to things like that... What is the basis?

[As it turns out, Rita's also a scientist at heart--to her, magic is a science, after all, full of equations and bound by natural laws. Or, at least, the laws of her own universe. And she can't completely stifle her curiosity towards his not-sticky sticking, seeing as he's still "standing" horizontal before her.]

[keepitgoing]

[Whooooa...

Literally, you can hear an audible whoooa when the flame flickers in. He's seen Dr. Strange light a fire before, but something about it just hanging out in her hands is extra cool.

He is distracted away from the coolness for a moment by her own line of questioning.]

Who, me?

[Duh, Pete.]

Honestly, I don't totally understand the basis as much as I'd like to, but... I was bit by a spider that gave me the abilities I have. One day I was a normal guy, the next — well, I was accidentally sticking to stuff and breaking things. Totally got that down now, though!

[myagic]

[As much as his admiration over such a simple magic display is boosting her ego, she can't go wasting all her magic being a human torchlight, so she allows the flame to dissipate, hand dropping back to her side.]

Oh, a spider, huh? So that's why you're called...

...Huh? Oh...

[And then her face proceeds to go through a weird little journey, from understanding, to a surprised double-take, just as quickly to resignation. Rita's a natural skeptic, but--she's been kidnapped to an alternate dimension, she's been possessed by a ghost before, and she's dating a vampire. Contagious spider powers might as well be a thing, too.

...There is just one thing she can't quite wrap her head around, though.]

Wait, so--a spider is one thing, with such little mass spread out over eight legs, but--your whole mass sticking just through two feet?

[keepitgoing]

I can do it with way smaller areas than my feet!

I can hang off stuff with just two fingers, too.

[He holds up his index fingers, in case Rita forgot what fingers are, and wiggles them.]

I've got super strength, so it doesn't bother me. Some of my powers definitely aren't normal Spider gifts, but... the spider that bit me definitely wasn't a normal spider.

[myagic]

Fingers?

[She sure does know what they are! But she can't help but repeat it back to him. The very idea of someone suspending all their weight just off of their fingers is clearly kind of mind-boggling to her. She quickly clears her throat and sighs.]

"Not normal"...seems to be putting it kind of mildly, if you ask me...

[Ah, whatever. She's resigned to this apparently just being A Thing.]

--Hey, that still doesn't explain the underwear-suit. Did the spider give you weird taste in clothes, too?

[keepitgoing]

Fingers!

[He's used to being referred to as 'not normal' and worse, so he's cool with it.

But-!]

Man, why is everyone so caught up on the hero suit?

Don't you think it'd be bad to wear normal clothes when you're swinging around, flipping in the air, fighting bad guys? I'd end up with my shirt all tangled up on my face...