APRIL MINGLE

[etrayamods]

WHO: Everyone!
WHEN: April 25th - Early May
WHERE: Etraya
WHAT: The arrival of newcomers, spring activities, and feathered friends!
NOTES\WARNINGS:

⏵ arrival ⏴ Welcome to Etraya! Arrival goes as expected - characters awaken on hospital beds and are offered an explanation of their situation: that they have arrived in the city of Etraya, and they are their world's only hope. They are welcome to wander the hospital if they would like to - the upper floors are mostly empty, full of pristine hallways and numerous rooms filled with supplies, cots, and things one would expect from a relatively average 21st-century hospital. However, if they are arriving from Aphaia, it's a little different, though mostly through means and familiarity. They will still show up in the hospital of course, but how can vary. Either through Aurora offering a portal for escape, their own demise (however it might have happened), or even a simple blink of their eyes and they're in the hospital. They had been given the briefest explanation last time they were here, but at least Aurora can better answer their questions now. No time constraints nor rushing them off to a dying world, this time! In the hospital's lobby are several party tables set out with miscellaneous baked goods: croissants, cookies, breads, cake slices, as well as tea and coffee to accompany them - or hot chocolate, for those who are opposed to the other offerings. Outside the hospital, spring is sprung, it is warm and comfortable. Flowers have bloomed, and everything is in a sharp contrast to Aphaia—there is life within the bubble, and even the myriad wildlife seems to be basking in the glow of it all. Almost as if a celebration of that life itself. Bees are buzzing, birds are—warking? ⏵ Birds of a Feather ⏴ Etraya has always had its interesting assortment of critters, but there seems to be a particularly colorful array of birds wandering around. Those familiar would know they are named Chocobos, those less so familiar, well, these are some strange looking ostriches, or whatever large bipedal bird equivalent fits. While the birds all seem to be of the same species, there are certainly some variety in their features. Some with friendlier faces and others looking a bit more eagle-like. They are not particularly congregated in any one spot within Etraya, seeming to stick to groups, while others don't, yet even some are accompanied by newly hatched chicks. The observant might be quick to notice that their colors dictate some level of behavior, or even where their little groups mingle: Colors Behavior and habitat Yellow Can be found just about anywhere in Etraya, they don't necessarily stick to self-made groups, and typically are more likely to be friendly to people. However, if they are in the company of a newly hatched chick, they can become wary, though easily won over with some greens. Green These Chocobos are mostly found in grassy or woodsy areas, almost always in pairs, and sometimes found in the trees themselves. They are more wary than their yellow brethren, though if they see someone struggling or in danger, they are quick to offer assistance in what way they can. Doting like motherhens. Blue Most often found by bodies of water, these Chocobo seem content to keep to themselves. Three to a group, they are not so easy to approach without being noticed. Their skill and love of water is clear, however, and it's not unusual to find them flapping about or swimming. Though they may flee to the water if you spook them. Brown The most skiddish of the Chocobo, they can be found throughout Etraya, though further away from anything occupied by people. They stick to groups of four, though they have a clear leader who sports blue and green feathers, but seemingly is not of the other two types. Should they catch sight or sound of someone approaching they are like to run off, or they might attempt to defend themselves. Red There seems to be only one of these running around. Highly aggressive to anyone who dares to approach it. Best to avoid it. Very likely to hurl comet-like balls of fire your way. Untamable. The birds all favor these strange cabbage looking plants that can be found out and about in the wilds of Etraya. Some proving a little overeager in their voracity to eat the leafy greens. One should be careful, with those large beaks of theirs. ⏵ Gift Hunt ⏴ It isn't only the birds that have shown up out of nowhere. Small to medium sized boxes, wrapped as if they should be under a tree, and maybe not hidden in a tree, have also appeared. For whatever reason (possibly the same reason eggs were given out over winter) there seems to be gifts hidden all over Etraya! Some in more difficult to find locations (in trees, on top of a roof, on snake island), while others look as though whoever "hid" it gave up halfway through and simply dropped it on the ground and put a leaf over it. For those who need a little extra help, well, certainly your fellow Etrayans could lend a hand, however there are also perfectly capable birds about for those still left wanting. Certainly that blue chocobo could assist with crossing the river to obtain that perfectly balanced gift on a rock! Or what about that green chocobo roosting in a tree not too far from that gift stuck in the branches because it has entirely too many ribbons? With that said, there might also be some dangers in trying to take one of the myriad gifts from a chocobo's nest, especially if there's a chick presently sleeping next to it. Perhaps befriending them would be a good idea first, besides, isn't friendship with a big bird the truest gift of all? On the tag of each and every gift box says the same thing: To: You Love: 💋 Each gift has a random assortment within. Some contain candy, others contain alcohol, make-up...maybe even a pair of socks, very perfunctory gifts with very little thought or feeling put into them. However, there is at least one gift that is personally relevant to each character in Etraya. This item will be the equivalent of a 5 point AC reward, and does not have to be found by the person it is intended for. What better way to break the ice than to give someone their gift which you opened! ⏵ NOTES ⏴ Welcome to Etraya newcomers and happy spring to everyone! It appears that someone is trying to correct her previous mistake of handing out eggs during the winter holidays, and now there's a hunt for gifts accompanied by a bunch of lovely birds to help out! Some notes in regard to Chocobos: -Each color can be tamed except for the red one, he's a free spirit. Should someone wish to harm or attack this chocobo, let us mods know. There is only one of him, after all. -The others will just take various amounts of work to win over, however, but they are loving and cute companions for those who are willing to put in the effort! And who knows, maybe more colors could arise with time and patience... -Feel free to pull from all the designs of chocobos throughout the Final Fantasy series. If you fancy FFXII's, for example, there are some that look like that. Variety is the spice of life! Concerning the personal item, be sure to plot out and get permission when finding someone else's item. This is meant to encourage possible new CR and mingling, but the choice of the item should ultimately be within the hands of the player who is receiving it. If you are uncertain if your item is appropriate for the reward cost, feel free to ask here! For all questions relating to this log, please refer to the mod queries comment. All other questions can be directed to the FAQ. ⏵FULL NAVIGATION⏴

Comments

[limiterrings]

...

[ shadow sighs, turning away again at their questions, what an annoying creature. ]

Because those robots, aside from us, are around to help. The less information they have, the better.

[ and they are what went down that path not too long ago. maybe they have certain routes they go down, or maybe that's just in their system, but they're probably information bots to help newcomers acclimate into the world.

as for the extra mouth with him... ]

Local?

[ now he's asking the questions. ]

[rudelanguage]

[what the hell is a robot.

...whatever. surely it'll get sorted. more important thing.

sigh.]

No way. [they risk the few steps to get close to the edge Shadow's standing at.] This ghost town's got nothing to do with me. And if Miss Lead Ghost [Aurora] thinks she can squeeze some use out of me without some consequence, I'll be happy to disappoint.

[beat.]

This place is too open and too easy to rig up with traps.

[limiterrings]

Hmph.

[ and what is that supposed to mean, are they going to be placing the traps or do they believe there are more that they aren't seeing. so far, it seems like a place people live to create their own happiness with the looming threat of their own world to be sacrificed.

thinking it over, the hedgehog wastes no time, jumping over to the next roof with ease, the distance between him and the kitsune a wide berth. ]

And what is your plan?

[ what path have they taken. ]

[rudelanguage]

[boy, if Knife had a nickel for each time a black-and-red gremlin-dog-cat-thing hmphed at them...

they grimace, eyeing the distance between this roof and that. if they pulled boots on and used longstrider, it'd be easy as pie, but Pending's already used the boots once in this guy's presence.

sigh.

while climbing onto the edge, tail and arms out for balance:] Can't plan much without info, so--

[they squat, deliberating, clutching the lip of the concrete, and then commit to launching themself over and catching the other roof at the middle with a puff of air, scrabbling to hold on.]

Ss, so, y'know--guh-- [help? maybe? no? okay. fuckin'...whatever!! they get their elbows up and hoist themself up, doing a little somersault onto their back and lay there to catch their breath.]

So I gotta...figure stuff out. From, from multiple angles.

Can't...take any one source at face value. That's dumb.

[limiterrings]

[ someone is going to have sooooo many nickles, it'll be amazing. ]

Information comes at a price. Keep up and you may be rewarded, falter and you'll be left behind.

[ that's as much help as shadow can give, hence why the gap is something that must be crossed.

watching them throw themselves over to catch the edge, the hedgehog assess their form, grading it low, but they did manage.

that's like half a point.

they sound smart to some degree, don't take everything at face value, and even shadow is trying to decipher what's safe and what's a threat. ]

Name.

[ ...

there are various people shadow has met, some locals, other new to this, and that's why connections are good to have on who's willing to work.

this one? maybe. ]

[rudelanguage]

[boy, if Knife knew what a fortune cookie was...]

Eh? [they sit up, rubbing at their sore elbows.] Oh, uh--

[...]

Antigone.

[Sorry, Antigone. This'll only be a problem if you, like...fuckin' show up here, I guess.]

Who're you?

[limiterrings]

[ he wouldn't like them.

fragile. check. probably can't withstand heavy damages, useless meat-shield. ]

Shadow the Hedgehog.

[ ...

don't ask if "the hedgehog" is a last name. ]

Stand.

[rudelanguage]

["the hedgehog" is probably a title, Knife figures. like "the accountant." or "the bartender."

they dunno what hedging hogs does for a society, but they don't know a lot, so they'll just decide to pay it no mind.

grumpily:] One-word orders your favorite thing? Sheesh. I was gettin' up anyway! [don't tell me what to do! they say, doing what was asked.]

[limiterrings]

[ that's crazy, maybe, but that's his name. they will come to learn that this is an important part of a name when they meet shadow#2.

he's more so the type of hog that doesn't want anyone following him around, but this ... creature is doing just that. shadow has no reason to run from it, so they ignore the unneeded commentary to speak on something else. ]

Where have you been so far?

[ a simple question that isn't a command (but he is commanding them to say where). ]

[rudelanguage]

Let's see...

["Antigone" rolls up on the tip-top of their little feet and peers around, looking for sign of the hospital.

they point at that, then trace the way as they recite:] Following the water around...along there...through couple of those buildings...down to where you yoinked me...

[maybe two, three miles? nothing substantial; they've only just gotten here. they're 0 days old.]

I was gonna go that way? But there's giant freakin' animals around.

[limiterrings]

[ they just got here, new as everyone else, and that means the information they may have is little to none in terms of what he knows. then again, it's worth something, they let even cowards pass through buildings, but the other hardly looks threatening. ]

What about them?

[ the giant chocobos, that's what they must be talking about because what other giant animal is around to give anyone else pause. ]

If you're on the lower end of the food chain, then it's your problem. Learn to fight.

[rudelanguage]

[must not've met the giant cow-thing. he's around, it'll happen.]

There's much better things to do with my energy than fight birds; avoiding them is easier.

You saw that other place, right? [their eyes narrow a bit, trying to parse whether or not they even glimpsed Shadow in Aphasia.] With the scores, the numbers. Those spyglasses, right? [the cameras.] Might be stuff like it around here, you think? Messing with stuff like that seems way more useful than wrestling animals.

[limiterrings]

Do not be a fool, I am not suggesting that you fight them to pass time.

[ but if they're in the way of where the other needs to go, slaughtering them along the way seems easier. perhaps this is common sense to shadow. then again, he's the violent person that people should avoid. ]

Even if so, are you able to extract data from them?

[ now this is where those skills come to the test. ]

[rudelanguage]

[they wave their hand.] It depends, it depends! I can tinker, but until I get my mitts on one, I can't really say I'll have the right expertise right off-the-cuff.

Might be the best I can do is learn to break them easy, might be I can learn to manipulate 'em. Whatever way those chips fall, I'd rather like to know how to spot them in spaces before I agree to laying my head down anywhere.

[free lodging is so, so suspicious, you know!

they pause, then rub at their face.] If this is really a long-term thing...then for sure...I don't want more eyes peering at me so often if I can avoid it. It's a little scary how many people have said "just trust the funny ear pieces and talking specters!" Makes me feel crazy.

[limiterrings]

Hm.

[ the hedgehog stares at the other, turning away again, and walking to the edge of the building. it appears that he's going to jump again, but he doesn't, instead he's surveying over head. ]

What's stopping you from capturing one of those robot and breaking it down?

[ in a way, they could be like cameras, they could have parts the other hasn't seen before, but shadow isn't going to take part in this hunt. it's if the kitsune wishes to do it then he's not stopping them either. he only suggests to take advantage of what's within their grasp because it's there, the companion bots are meant to help anyway.

they could service in that way as well.

... and because this individual isn't the brightest star. ]

They're in the hospital, stationed at various places on the street. You've seen them.

[rudelanguage]

[Yeah, and when I stabbed one, a phalanx of others showed up like a swarm of chickens!

...

Okay, when Pending stabbed one, not Antigone. Fuck.

...

......

Didn't this guy WATCH Pending do the stabbing? Why's it feel like this Shadow guy's in a bazillion places at once?

sheepish, and irritated by being sheepish:] Kinda wanted to see someone else do it first. In case there was some kind of consequence I couldn't handle.

[like getting swarmed!!!]

But I guess nobody lives forever, huh. How nice it'd be of me to be the sacrificial lamb on that one...pah.

[limiterrings]

[ the hedgehog stares then looks off to the side. so they're basically saying they need someone else to do it because they're unable to successfully obtain one of those robots.

alright. ]

You are an idiot.

[ don't worry, he says this about a whole lot of people. ]

Sacrificing yourself early in for little to no data is a waste. There are other ways.

[ antigone's self-loathing... a liability to shadow's work, but he's at least commenting on it. ]

aww. they're friends

[rudelanguage]

[they whip a petulant glare Shadow's way at the remark. you wot, m8?! wanna go?!]

Yeah?! Okay, genius: Gimme something to work with, here! I went out of my way to ask, didn't I?

shadow: *bosses them around* us: friendship is made :)

[limiterrings]

Win.

[ that's all there is to it, there's no need to sacrifice anything when they can just prevail over the creatures here. shadow holds out one hand where a green energy crackles around his hand, and a spear molded out of strange energy appears in his hand. without watching, he tosses it down towards the middle of the alleyway and upon impact with the ground it creates a crater in its place, it has an annoying slope that a normal human would despite having to climb up. ]

Use your brain and capture one. Don't waste my time.

[ it's like a test, but can antigone do it? ]

[rudelanguage]

[Just for that, I'm going to waste your time even harder - only NOT! This isn't a fucking WASTE, you oil-soaked pincushion!

yeah, nah, like hell they'd spit that aloud after seeing that weird sorcery bullshit; Antigone's fur is all fluffed to hell, Max Bristle Mode.]

And, and what? You're gonna stand there and grade me like some book-school teacher? [they cringe, peering downward.]

I don't know floaty spells, and you yoinked me pretty high up, can't you get me down without cratering me, too?

[limiterrings]

[ this is not friendly behavior.

at this point, what can this person do aside from complain, shadow watches them with an annoyed look before looking at the drop below. it's not far, people like him could jump this and survive, so what are you antigone.. a glass cannon?

it should be obvious that he's going to see their worth.

fact of the matter is that shadow did bring them up here, and the hedgehog is pretty grumpy at the prospect that they can't get down. ]

Jump.

[ ... ] If you can't make it, I'll correct it.

[rudelanguage]

[psychology is bullshit. relating to creatures is bullshit. Knife goes to the fucking trouble to try to mold themself to some suitable-ass shape and size to build a useful connection and this is what they get?? garbage.

Of course I can fucking jump it, I could do like six sick backflips on my way down too, but as if I'm gonna show how good I am at shit right at the get-go! Fuck! Who does that? People who want to get roped into doing favors n' shit?! Goddamn.

...besides...would Antigone do six sick backflips? no!!

...maybe one! but not because anyone told her to, okay!

muttering, cautiously hoisting themself over the edge of the roof onto the slope like an old lady:] This must just...be what people do where you're from, huh...bah.

[flavor roll: 20 (13+7) - despite taking the ride down like a kid on a slide would, Knife can't help but draw their feet up near the end and jump the last yard or so and land lightly, dusting off the backside of their coat and trousers while they trot out the remainder of that downward momentum toward the spear in the crater to check it out.

is this thing even sized right? what's going on here.]

[limiterrings]

[ so they made it? why were they so worried about not being able to, there's something strange about this fox, but shadow's always suspicious. jumping down with ease, he drops down on his hands and knees before pushing himself up, and with his arms crossed he watches as the other closes distance between the spear in the middle of the crater. it snaps and pops with unknown energy, almost as if it's going to explode itself until shadow walks over to it to pull it out of the ground. ]

...

[ with a twitch of his ears, he disappears within a moment, appearing outside of the crater. in a flash, the hedgehog seems to have disappeared as one of those companion bots roll through, and once they err on the side of the crate does shadow appear out of thin air, kicking the bot right into the direction of where antigone is.

it's with the spear that the hedgehog jams it right through the body, slicing it to the side. he's hit right in the middle, leaving the head spared, and the next one that comes he'll do the exact same thing but target the head. it'll give the other all sorts of areas to check, and because it's damage to the city and these companion bots are probably programmed to see what it is.

it's target practice as far as shadow is concerned. ]

[rudelanguage]

[a few uncanny dodges and some bit-back cusses later, and Knife finds themself standing before some hacked-and-slashed hunks of buzzing metal.

see? this is way easier than doing all this shit by themself! and it's even cleaner than what Erast would leave behind (a paste) or even Valness (crushed by hooves).]

Nice. [that's about as close a 'thanks' or a thumbs-up as Shadow's gonna get; Knife unbuttons their coat so they can rummage around and procure a fistful of scalpels and tweezers wrapped in a cloth, laying it out as they pop a squat next to one of the bodies.]

Keep an eye out for any of those stupid birds or someone who seems like a killjoy, okay? Lemme see...

[they pick at the bolts with their fingernails, opting to unscrew them with the scalpel and jimmy the panel protecting the guts off.]

Huh. Gnarly. [clockwork this is not; old man Solomon's tutelage won't really translate well here, will it? ah, well. time to poke and pull at some things until both their and Shadow's earpieces start buzzing with naughty notes from Aurora.]

[limiterrings]

[ don't get arrogant, it is shadow who is killing what's coming around. he makes this known when another bot comes too close to knife's body, could have hit them, but was simply an inch off from knocking into them.

his ears twitch at the response from aurora, the chaos spear comes slicing out of one of the companion bots as shadow frowns. another one tumbles into the crater, and shadow rolls his eyes.

stopping, his eyes turn to the other down in the center of the creator that's opening the companion bots. whether they understand what they're looking at is unknown to him, but they aren't as chatty as sonic's fox who would probably run at the mouth about what they see. ]