etrayalogs | MISSION 009

Entry tags:

MISSION 009

⏵ CAMP ETRAYA ⏴
On May 16th, Aurora and the companion bots direct those not heading off to Solmara to make their way to Camp Etraya.

Nestled away from everything else in a large clearing full of wildflowers and redwoods, Camp Etraya is a nostalgic summer camp experience put together just for it's residents! Cabins are assigned, scary stories are told around campfires, gossiping happens among friends on the trails surrounding the cabins - and don't be surprised when something goes awry. After all, this is still Etraya.

While the rest of Etraya is still accessible and will not be blocked off, characters are discouraged from venturing far from camp for too long: Aurora will specify that they are on a mission, and that missions do require participation, but she has intentionally left them the freedom to wander. Not sleeping in their assigned cabins, not participating in events, and staying away from Camp Etraya will end with her having to take more extensive security measures, so please be on your best behavior! The last thing she wants to do is start enforcing boundaries, but she will if she has to.

Camp is set up much like your generic summer camp! Each cabin is named, housing is assigned to characters as they arrive, there are camp counselors, and rotating daily tasks and chores. There are also multiple activities that characters are expected to participate in, and each activity is worth points that goes toward their camp graduation score. This score will be visible on their earpiece, and follows the A-F grading system. We are not be monitoring this, and are leaving character scores up to players. We do, however, ask that you please report your characters' camp grade HERE for rewards and demerits to be handed out after the mission itself.

Cabin assignments can be found here, which also has their roles, and chores assigned to that cabin. Those who are participating in Solmara have received an assigned cabin, too, but their absence toward the beginning will not harm the cabin's ability to compete given how spread out their assignments are.

⏵ WELCOME TO CAMP ⏴

Camp life is meant to instill a sense of belonging, connection with nature, encouragement towards the creative, all on top of a firm foundation of responsibility. Upon arriving, campers will be escorted towards a table of white t-shirts and countless buckets of dye!

Each Etrayan will be invited to make three Tie-Dyed shirts- as well as required to wear one as part of their summer uniform. Camp counselors must wear 80s basketball shorts or cut-off jeans. Campers may wear cargo shorts or a skort. For those with physical limitations to what they can wear, accommodations will be provided.

Here, bonding is the camp runners' priority. They will be pushed into various ice-breaker activities, such as trust falls, two truths and a lie, and Never have I Ever. As the sun goes down, there will be weenies roasting over the bonfire, followed by s’mores and a sing-a-long! With the stars well-visible, it’s off to bed with campers.

Each day after will start much the same: with the ringing of the bell and raising of the flag (Aurora, while unfamiliar with flag designs but an understanding of the concept, has chosen a rainbow flag for the camp. Rainbows make people happy, right?), followed by a meal at the Great Hall, morning assembly, activities with counselors, chores, free time, and then an evening winding down by the great fire. An hour after sun down, campers will be escorted back to their cabins for curfew. Camp Counselors are expected to keep track of their campers, and ensure they're all within their cabins for bedtime. This is part of their grade, too! Curfew lifts an hour before the first bell.

⏵ CAMP ACTIVITIES ⏴

As with most summer camps, Camp Etraya offers a wide variety of activities to participate in. While some of these activities may be mandatory, others are optional. We'll be leaving this up to individual player discretion: perhaps Viktor is mandated to report to arts and crafts, whilst it's optional for Silco to show. Silco, on the other hand, may be mandated to report to the archery contest. Characters are encouraged to participate in a minimum of one camp activity per day.

Below is a non-exhaustive list of camp activities.

Three-Legged Race - You and a partner are tied together at your ankles, and you must race others to the finish line. Those with abilities that would give them an advantage will find that the rope that ties them together hinders those abilities from functioning.
Archery - This can be more traditional, magical, or include moving targets! If you're particularly unlucky, your target may even shoot back.
Softball - What instills a sense of camaraderie better than a bit of team sports? Games will be held on Wednesdays, the field is otherwise available for practice.
Dodge Ball - Standing diametrically opposed to Softball is dodge ball, the bully’s sport. This is a great opportunity to claim dominance or be sent to the Nurse’s Office.
Obstacle Course - You are directed into a large maze with multiple obstacles for them to overcome, such as rock climbing walls, ramps, tires, and nets.
Capture the Flag - Small teams are put together in order to take the flag from a particular bot, whose entire goal is to avoid being caught.
Canoe Race - Canoes are placed into the rivers just off of the camp, and characters must race to the finish line.
Chocobo Riding - Learn how to care for and ride these magnificent birds! Newbies will be taken around the corral, whereas more experienced riders can take the trail around the lake.
Arts and Crafts - Make friendship bracelets, bead lizards, paint rocks, learn origami! Or perhaps you're tasked with putting together an enchanted necklace. Don't know how to do enchantments? Now is as good of a time as any to learn.
Campfire stories - Share scary stories amongst yourselves around the campfire late into the night. If you're particularly unlucky, you may just hear the thing you were just warning others about..

⏵ NIGHT TIME ⏴

Once campers have been put to bed, the counselors can still stay up. Unwind with hidden beers and the strumming of a guitar. Don’t get too comfortable, though, since without supervision, no one is keeping the campers in bed.

After dark, should campers evade their counselors, they can go exploring in the dark. Eerie lights glimmer from the lake. There’s rumors of a headless spectre walking from the archery field to the edge of the forest. Should you behave, you still might hear a scratching at your bunk house window.

And on the very last night of camp, there will be a talent show. Show off your hidden talent and bask in the excitement of wowing your fellow campers!

⏵ NOTES ⏴

Welcome to Camp Etraya! Please enjoy the s'mores and campfire songs. :)

Camp will last approximately two weeks, going from May 16th to May 30th.

For all questions relating to this mission, please refer to the plotting post. All other questions can be directed to the FAQ.

⏵FULL NAVIGATION⏴

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

[He kissed Viktor. He did that, and Viktor kissed back. Is he rushing this? Should he have said something instead? All Viktor said was that they both have feelings for each other— he didn’t say it was romantic, or sexual, or… But it has to be, doesn’t it? Unless Viktor was just going along with it because Jayce is touchy, pushy, always getting in his space—]

I...

I don't know?

[He thinks of how it felt so natural to crawl into Viktor’s bed and sleep next to him, or when he fell asleep with his head in Viktor’s lap. The low rumble of Viktor’s voice when he says Jayce’s name, how good he imagined it would sound forming certain other words. The way he wants to push around Viktor’s hair to untangle it with his own fingers. How he would do anything… anything for him. Even things against Viktor’s will, just to be able to stay by his side. Viktor even knows this now, and he still wants to be with Jayce? That can’t be right. What he confessed to wasn’t normal. Maybe Viktor doesn’t realize yet that wasn’t a one-off situation. That Jayce would do that, or similar things, again and again.]

Are you sure?

[Are you sure you want me?]

I don’t think… I can change how I feel about you.

[It’s love; they both know this now. But it doesn’t feel the same way he loves Mel. It’s a kind of love that Jayce would make himself dizzy over; where he feels like the edges of it have grip that’s not afraid to leave clawmarks behind. Viktor should know this, before he agrees.]

[ What would it do? What would it look like? Gorgug looks away as he tries to think, his facial expressions showing the gears struggling to move in his head. ]

...I think animals are cool. I always go for them--my boyfriend complains I make too many birds. [ Mmmm- ] But something that can fly, works good, thinks good... I guess, a partner sounds cool.

[ ...imagine, a smarter, bigger, cooler Cloaca--we mean, Chloe. ]

Something that looks--cool. Reptilian. But made of metal. [ Obviously. ]

[ He thinks about it for a second, and- ] Grab both.

[ Clearly. But while he suggests that, Gorgug gets up himself to help her with obtaining the materials. They'll need plenty because Gorgug thinks so, and he doesn't want them going back and forth.

But sitting back in their allotted space, he drops the parts down, and takes the sketchpad back up. Doodling out three very basic duck drawings, he writes 'REALISTIC, SEMI-REALISTIC, CARTOON' above their heads.

And then taps the paper very professionally. ]

We make the realistic duck completely 3D, the middle one, we glue it onto cardboard or paper, and then the third one we keep as a drawing. That's how you represent the differences in their designs.

[ He sounds so serious, like he's figured out the code. He knows the secret of what the teacher wants from them.

(Or maybe he just did too many classes at once, he's game-ifying a campus arts & craft session....) ]

[ Ugh. Disgusting. Ardyn doesn't want to rule, but he'd wanted someone more... impactful to take charge in the power vacuum. ]

Someone tried to get there before you? In the city itself, or another team from Etraya? [ He figured there was likely some sort of resistance from the people of Solmara, but... Curious. ]

He sounds like a wonderfully pleasant construct though. So glad we'll likely be hearing more from him now. [ s a r c a s m ]

How young are we talking about anyway?

[Not that it’d be too much of an issue. It’s asked out of curiosity]

Edited 2025-06-19 19:48 (UTC)

“Nah. None of the prizes were stuff we asked. Aurora just somehow knew it would line up with our personal tastes,” Jason clarifies. “Her and Echo seem to have files on us.”

It’s a thought that Jason isn’t too comfortable with but it’s not the first time someone built a file on him.

A group from our team broke in before we did later. Security was light for being the place where the AI was, but-- I guess that's because he wasn't doing anything useful.

[ Why guard a place that wasn't even valuable, after all? ]

I don't want to go back there. He sucks.

Oh, I'd never forget time with you. That's definitely one of the good parts of being here.

[ He does work best with a bit of casual flirtation, too.

There is an impractical romanticism to the story though that Ardyn also appreciates. After all, he was an impractical and romantic man... once upon a time. ]

There's always a martyr, [ he notes. ] And it is a shame that women tend to be more quickly condemned. [ Aera, he knows, was under much more scrutiny than he ever had been despite their similar gifts. She was a symbol of hope, supposed to be pure and graceful. And he'd argue she still was better than most, even in her less than best moments. ]

But it is a romantic notion. Damn the consequences in the name of love.

[Her eyes brighten at the offer of cake.

Because she's twelve and of course cake does that to a kid.]

With a candle in the top?

One might think that Loki would be upset at having someone, anyone, laugh at him, but that wouldn’t be anyone who had gotten to know him recently. Still, he narrows his eyes at Hob, pretending to be offended. Though it’s hard to be convincing when he can’t keep the smile from his face. “Come closer and see if you can do any better, why don’t you?” There’s a sparkle of mischief in his eyes as he has every intention of trying to smear some melted chocolate on Hob’s face.

Considering how much time and energy Loki has given to try and make it so no one is forced to do anything (not to mention how much he’s lost) it feels like a personal slight, but in this case, he does have to admit that he’s enjoyed the camping experience thus far. He just doesn't really like anything about this place. Except for Hob, of course. And maybe a few friends he’s met.

Hob’s suggestion of going to the lake halts all of Loki’s thoughts of mischief though. Or at least all his thoughts of chocolate related mischief. “Have I mentioned how much I enjoy how your mind works? If that is an invite, then my answer is a resounding yes.”

[ maybe he is, maybe he isn't. ]

Sure.

[ he has one of those, who knew antigone would give shadow so much freedom to accumulate a "tab". ]

We'll check to see if the distance we can go here matches the distance of the next place we visit.

[ because to him, this doesn't seem like the end. ]

"Not my usual look, I'll admit, but not necessarily a bad one either."

It's a good thing he wouldn't care since while Ardyn can be affable, it isn't usually long before people start to see the cracks in his mask. "A shame," he agrees lightly.

"In my experience, children love at least some contained explosions. No fireworks to set off under someone's chair?"

[ Why take it too seriously? He doesn't even know the man, let alone trusted him in any capacity. It actually seemed the smarter move to set expectations low.

He does take the offered hand though. He pulls himself up with a small groan before stretching out his arms. They come back in to lay on his lower back. ]

That I did. I'm not as spry as I could be, but I like to think I can take a good tumble or two still.

[ Handsy, isn't he? It's a good thing Ardyn doesn't mind. Really, the danger with touching him usually came to the other person. The Scourge doesn't have an outlet here like home, which he's still adjusting to, but old habits die hard. ]

I didn't have any other plans, [ he notes mildly. ] Ghost hunting wasn't on my agenda, but- Why not? As good of a 'mission' as any of the others.

[ He did make some dope paper snowflakes earlier though. ]

Oh, I'm sure there are plenty of...

[ A long pause, he looks down. ] Bugs to bother with.

I'd rather spend my time with better things than insects and spiders. I'm sure you can understand. It isn't my area of expertise.

[ He's just a city guy please... he needs to be in the city... ]

[ Yeah, he knows that kind of dodge. That's the kind of shit he would have done when he was a boy. ]

Becauase I want to know who to blame, obviously.

[ Also. It's information. He needs that. ]

Your name.

Why would I bother caring what Aurora thinks? [ He says their name mockingly, like it's something he couldn't care less about.

He pulls his cigar out, and then the lighter. ]

Do I seem like the type who cares about the rules? [ A beat, he lights the end after a quick clip. ] So is breaking curfew. I suppose we're both criminals in their eyes, hm?

New information.

[ He says, with a roll of his eyes. ]

Like what colors you pick when you color rocks? No thank you. I can find more useful information by watching people in the city itself.

[ Complain, complain, complain. He pulls a flask out from his vest, to take a drink.

Yeah. He's That Guy. ]

We're supposed to be doing something to save our worlds, yes? This is senseless. A waste of time.

I could be doing much more on my own elsewhere. They should learn not to waste our time.

["secret tab" feat acquired without a level-up! sick. Knife doesn't really have it in them to relish the exploit for what it is, juice or no juice. the prospect of going a distance of any length sounds tiring and they honestly just want to sleep a little...but no dice with this company.]

Do you know how far the trees go from this point already?

[ He contemplates this. ]

So you are trained from a young age for combat and related activities. Is 'adventurer' a job with such prestige that they would dedicate schooling to it? Your world must be quite violent. [ Well, that's not always true, he supposes. The Phetyr were desperate to prove their usefulness, after all. One needs not have violence to necessitate it...

It sounds strange when he thinks about it like that. ]

Boom-- [Wade comments, watching his expression, and he puts together his own monstrosity grinning to himself and the demeanor shift of the too serious hedgehog.] Mind blown, right?

[He takes a bite of his own, making a mess of his face and Oreo crumbling all over his shirt. Wade talks with his mouth full. Naturally.] So good. The only way to eat marshmallows, that's for sure. Any other way is dumb and pointless.

Fun, enjoyment - which is pretty close to 'fun' - [ he seemed like he needed that clarified! ] and forming friendships! Speaking of which...

[ she holds out one of the bracelets that she made (it says 'U R COOL!') and offers it up to him! ]

Would you like one?

Aw, thank you!

[ she is BEAMING! and also totally unphased by this line of questioning! ]

Oh, dude, literally all the time. I usually use it as like... a blanket rather than a pillow? If I use it as a pillow I just wake up with fur in my mouth, but as a blanket, it is super cozy. Everybody should have a tail, tails are awesome, highly recommended.

Not in terms of numbers, no, unless you find even numbers really satisfying. I just like where I am in life at twenty, you know? Like, I'm in a better spot than I was when I was eighteen. But hey, twenty-one might be even better!

[ Not just because she'll be legal drinking age, Doreen hasn't given that much thought! ]

"I meant here. Although, I'm not above a five-finger discount." He figures Wenshan won't know what that is, "Stealing it, I mean. But usually I pay."

With blood money.

"I didn't even have to hunt when I was in the military. MREs weren't exactly tasty, though, so maybe I should have tried. Surprising as now I'd do anything to never have to eat that gross Vegetable Omelet MRE ever again."

Affectionately called the 'vomlet.'

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Page 109 of 118

MISSION 009

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

u_u

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject