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

[equivo]

[ Krouse twists his mouth in commiseration as Riz goes off about the burden of organization, lifting his fingers in a desultory ripple to encompass the hassle.

And then his eyes widen slightly as Riz connects dots that he should have already. He shifts up in his seat a little, mouth parting as if there's something he wants to flick off the tip of his tongue, but he hesitates. ]

I don't know if I'm good at it.

[ The legs of his chair squeak as he leans forward, one heel rising off the floor under the table. His knee bounces as he pauses, working his way through that unfinished thought. ]

It's like you said. Sometimes you just end up in charge because you're the one with an idea. But honestly - [ he cuts himself off again, face softening into ruefulness, and he plants the sole of his foot back on the ground ] - and you were talking about my immense personal charm, not my leadership capabilities. Right.

[ How could Riz even have an opinion on something he's never seen, and ideally, never will? ]

Sorry. I guess it's been on my mind, with everyone breaking off into factions. I don't know if most of them would call them that, but you know what I mean.

[stresstokens]

I dunno, I think I've got a pretty good eye for that sort of thing.

[ The thing about not being very charismatic is that it's easy to tell when someone else is -- a certain openness in the way Krouse carries himself, conversational and congenial even over text, the way that he can keep a conversation going and flash a smile at the right time every now and then. It probably doesn't seem like much to an ordinary person, but to someone like Riz, it's a skill he's had to cultivate rather than one that comes naturally to him, and even that cultivation's been a little rough. It's hard, connecting with people. But it's been easy during this conversation, even for him, so that's gotta mean something.

(The fact that he could just be connecting organically with someone -- that's not quite there.) ]

By factions, d'you mean like -- people who all know each other, or who're from similar worlds clustering together? [ Should he be worried about different factions? Wait, do he and the Bad Kids count as one? ] I guess that's to be expected, though it kinda sucks for anyone who's flying solo from their own world. [ He pauses. ] Their own variety of world.

[ All you Earthlings...! ]

[equivo]

[ He still wants to push back against the observation, and all that catches him up is the question of why. Isn't that how he wants to come across? What's been the point of years of building up a persona if he kicks the legs out from under himself as soon as he's actually pulling it off?

It's just that with Riz, it's been easy. Easy enough he can't feel like he earned it, because he's been enjoying himself, everything clicking into place without the friction that underlies so many other conversations. Usually his fault.

He realizes, with a small, acid curl of self-loathing, he thinks Riz is someone he'd probably have liked to have as a friend. It's no wonder he wants to set the record straight. And he can know that, but still not feel bad enough about it to stop. ]

The latter.

[ He smooths out the wrinkles of thought from his forehead by raising his eyebrows high before bringing them down, like flicking a sheet out so it settles evenly. He hopes it passes for arch knowing. ]

Not even similar worlds, precisely. Similar status in similar worlds. The way a group of heroes tackle a problem is going to be different than how a group of villains do it. That kind of thing.

So far, it seems like the heroes are doing what they usually do - ignoring potential collateral damage so they can pat themselves on the back for sticking to their moral principles. I'm sure you know the type.

[stresstokens]

[ Whatever's going on in Krouse's head, Riz is cheerfully none the wiser, still underneath the distinct impression that they're talking shop and getting along famously -- and honestly, seeing as Riz sees no reason for the guy to lie. He hadn't expected this when he stumbled across these dumb cards set out at every table, but he's relieved for it; this conversation has been perfectly nice, and he lucked out with one of the few people around who weren't immediately scared off by wanton violence.

Still, he can't help but wince at his next words. ]

Yeahhhh... as much as I'd like to just agree with you there - [ it would make him look a lot cooler, a lot more mature ] - I don't feel like I can talk? We've caused, like, a lot of collateral damage. And we basically never stick around to help clean it up.

But! [ He brightens. ] At least we don't call ourselves heroes while we do that. Honestly, that seems kind of presumptuous to me?

[ Sure, Riz thinks of himself as one of the good guys, and everyone he kills as one of the bad guys. That's natural. But trotting around calling yourself a hero is something else entirely. He leans forward, chin rested in his cupped hand. ]

...but it makes sense that the people who do all band together. There's a lot of really fancy looking buildings that keep popping up.

[ Training centres, mansions, clubhouses; this place seems to favour people of status, wealth, and influence as far as he's been able to tell. It's not like anyone would be impressed by Strongtower Luxury Apartments popping up overnight. ]

[equivo]

[ Krouse snorts lightly before he thinks of how he should best adjust his fellow feeling. It's not something he takes lightly, collateral damage, but - you can't take it too hard, either, or where does that leave you? Windows don't unbreak, city streets don't repave. The bodies in the morgues don't get back up.

The only respect he can pay is not pretending it's all for a good cause. It's for his cause, or it was, and he owns his selfishness. ]

That's the thing, though. Everyone leaves behind collateral damage, even if it's only in small ways. It's acting like it's righteous that makes you a dick. In my opinion.

[ As if he'd bother to express anyone else's opinion for them, unless it served his. ]

Especially when you're getting rewarded for it. [ He flicks his hand towards the window, where the silhouettes of some of those fancy buildings can be seen. ] You get the money, the nice headquarters, the PR agents, the positive media coverage, your face on a lunchbox, and no one cares that you dropped a building on some poor schmucks moonlighting for the villain of the week.

I'll take someone honest about what they're doing over someone who acts like that doesn't matter any day of the week.

[stresstokens]

[ It's reasonable to have these concerns. It's reasonable as any citizen living in the world Krouse lives in to worry about these sorts of things, to hold grudges, even if hearing Krouse talk about it as though he's talking to an ally makes his chest twinge a little with guilt, with the idea that he's presenting a false face.

He's the one who leaves behind collateral damage, and gets rewarded for it. One day, it's going to be his career. He intends to get rich doing it, if he can -- buy his Mom a nice new place, a new car, be financially stable, be comfortable, everyone who's hurt in the crossfire be damned. And he can do it all saying that he's one of the good guys, if not a hero, because they're helping save the world. They own it, sure. But maybe not as much as they could.

It's food for thought, even if it makes him feel uncomfortable, uncomfortable in the same way he'd felt when his Mom sat him down and frankly told him that she was thinking about leaving the force, that the job he'd idolized as a kid was doing more harm than good to the people of Elmville.

Those are thoughts to be cradled on his own, in private. There's the second part of the mystery that's presented itself here, and that's Krouse himself, speaking with a sort of passion that comes from experience. He could just be a really socially aware guy. These things are probably common points of discourse here and there. But... ]

...you sound kind of like you're talking from experience, [ he says slowly. ] Did your street get demolished by one of these heroes, or something? From the sounds of it, the chances of getting wrapped up in this kind of thing are pretty high, especially if most of this happens in urban areas instead of, say -- a nightmare forest, or whatever.

[ Or whatever. He's not looking forward to getting back to all that. ]

[equivo]

[ There's a deflection there. He recognizes it, but he isn't sure of how to identify it. That makes a difference in how he'd turn it around, push this new question back across the table without touching on it himself.

Maybe Riz broke something he feels particularly sorry for. Maybe it's the accumulation over time. Maybe, certainly, it's not currently any of his business.

But it's something to hold onto, filed away in another section of his expanding catalogue. If only, he can tell himself, to put up some polite caution tape around the topic for Riz's future comfort. ]

No. Nothing like that, really.

[ He lies, lightly, picking up his coffee to sip its cooling contents. ]

I'd say I'm talking more experience adjacent. And [ he smiles into his coffee mug, eyes shaded unhappily amused ] from an absence of experience, I guess.

I'm not too proud to admit it. I'd be less cynical about the whole thing if anyone came swooping out of the sky to save my ass when I needed it, but - well, you get it, right? You're not exactly in the prime rescue material bracket yourself.

[stresstokens]

So... less personal, more political. I bet there are lobbying groups against them, only, most people don't wanna go publicly against someone who could totally stomp you out like that.

[ At least there's that. At least his whole adventuring deal won't be lumped in with Krouse's childhood home being crushed, or his dog dying, or whatever the hell else happens when you get superpowered people running around urban neighbourhoods. It's a selfish relief. Riz is underneath no illusions about the limits of his own morality, about the people he's killed, but he's never been in a situation where he was meant to feel sorry for it.

Maybe he should have, seeing Penelope and Dayne labouring in Hell. They'd just been kids, manipulated by greater forces. But Riz and the Bad Kids had just been kids too, and so any remorse he might have felt quickly curdled in his chest. Still. Maybe feeling no remorse is worse, actually.

There's still something there. Something personal. Someone Krouse knows, or a friend of a friend, or something. He doesn't mean for it to be an uncharitable reading of Krouse, but frankly, people tend not to give a shit until it happens to them, or someone they care about. Disliking people who the government calls heroes and regularly swoop in to save ordinary civilians just isn't natural, even if they do do an awful lot of damage.

He tucks it away for later. He doesn't have a file on Krouse, exactly, it's just... he likes to know people like that. Know them more thoroughly. Understand them on paper to make for the way he can't seem to understand them as organically as everyone else can. Professional gamer, moved away from home early, worried about disappointing his Mom, fatherless, smoker, dislikes superheroes, eager to dive into conspiracy theories, little facts that he can stack up and up and up until he can make sense of the whole. ]

We all need assists sometimes. Even Adventurers. It's just one of those things where a good action doesn't overwrite a bad one. [ He lifts both hands, as though he himself is a scale of justice. ] You just gotta hope that the good outweighs the bad in the end. [ Whoof. This is too serious. Dial it back, Gukgak. ]

Or I guess you could just get really chill with the idea of going to Hell really quickly. It's not that bad.