etrayalogs | MISSION 009

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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⏴

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[ Bullets, beams, why not both? Gorgug is actually thinking out the troubles of doing both and the possibility; but when Heather scoots by him, Gorgug looks between her and the doodle. ]

I can bring it to life. [ In a sense. But he pauses, looks across to the materials available. Paper, glue, wooden sticks... ] ...but we have to make it a concept. I-- I don't think I can make a functional duck gun out of wood. [ ?

Can he??? He wants to sound more unsure than he does, while already not sounding certain. But is it possible?

Could he be the person to find the magical formula?

(unlikely) ]

Well we could build a model replica you know? The prototype to showcase to our 'investors' and then use funds to build the real thing.

( all of her words are followed by air quotes from her hands, a playful tone in her voice. it's very obvious she's just joking here― because really who would even fund such an idea, but playing pretend and being silly was the perfect distraction she needed.

anything to keep her subdued rage towards claudia at bay. )

What if the duck like you know, the real thing, squeezed out the gun from its mouth when we squished its back. Like you know make a fist and 'squish'.

( of course she's being ridiculously silly now. )

I want an investor.

[ She's joking, and he knows that she's joking, but the idea of having an investor--is pretty cool, okay. Still, he's listening as Heather does go on. Looking at his sketch pad (or doodling pad, for now), before grabbing one of the images of a duck to sit on top of it.

He points to the duck's back, going up the neck. ]

So the gun is stored in the belly, and when we squish it, it goes up the throat. [ ...He's staring at the image of the duck... ] ...do ducks have a-- can you scruff a duck?

[ Isn't that what this sounds like? ]

Scruff a duck? Like....

( and don't mind her pondering this for a second because while to an outsider this might sound downright questionable, she kinda understood what he meant.

kinda. )

The way mother cats bite kittens on the neck to pick them up right? I'm not entirely sure, I don't think their necks work that way unless you made a really round and neckless duck like those rubber ducks you know?

( still the logistics about it are questionable— and to drive her own point home, she began to rip a page from her notebook and began to doodle a simple, yet fat and squishy looking duck. )

See how it doesn't have a neck? Because if we're talking about a duck with a normal and long neck, it might be too 'skinny' to truly scruff.

[ He's squinting as he looks at Heather's drawing, but in the same way he squints at anything and everything. ]

Yeah... [ Hmmm. He's staring, and then draws a vaguely oblong shape, then sticks quick wings on the sides. ] Maybe if we-- have a part on the stomach under the wings we grab, that can activate the gun. Then it's easier to hold its neck and take aim.

[ Sitting his pencil and paper on his knees, Gorgug tries to mimic the hold he's imagining: an upright claw shape for one hand where the belly of the duck would be, and then his other hand in front to hold the neck of the duck like a shotgun barrel. ]

Unless... we make it like one of those guns-- a gatling gun?

[ Have you ever thought about the perfect duck gun before, Heather. ]

( in retrospect, heather will probably return back to her cabin and laugh at the absurdity of their conversation. in the 'real world', outside of etraya they could have probably gone somewhere real with this idea, even attracting an angel investor or two. not that she wasn't having fun by any means— but clearly this was a silly idea that was going to come to fruition for the sake of running with the joke.

still she gave gorgug all of her attention and watched closely, eyes full of happiness as she smiled at him. it was nice to see her friend enjoying something like this and being able to help him was equally enjoyable. )

You know at this rate? We're going to end up with a weird robotic duck. We should make one that looks like a real duck, and then a silver one, and a gold edition duck with the handle under its stomach.

( he's probably going to take her seriously here but she's laughing with each word. )

[ It's nice to hear Heather laugh. Truthfully, Gorgug is taking this seriously, enough that he was considering throwing it on as a project in his workshop. But when Heather seems so happy about it, Gorgug looking at her, and a small smile growing on his own lips--

He wasn't sure about where to get the gold, but he figures he could ask about that. Maybe the bots know where some leftover gold is. So Heather can have her golden duck. ]

Okay. [ So--it's an Okay. ] ...Does the realistic duck still have a handle too?

[ He jots down, '3 ducks' for the meantime. He's got to see Heather's full vision here! ]

Hey, you can do whatever you want with the realistic duck really.

( yes it was true she wasn't as serious about this as gorgug might have been, but weren't they the ones making up all the rules here? if he wanted a realistic duck with a real handle then so be it.

despite that though that didn't mean she didn't want to see some iteration of the duck come to life. after all, they needed a distraction in between missions didn't they? )

You're really going to make three ducks? ( she said, eyes immediately peeping down at the paper he was writing on. ) How about we focus on one prototype for now?

[ Gorgug blinks, looking back at Heather curiously. ]

Are you sure? We don't have to make them the same. If we make them in different media, that can represent that they're different from each other, and how they're different. B-but, I guess that's a lot of work.

[ Mmmhr, maybe that is too much? He's looking down at the pad, not exactly at anything in particular, but he's--thinking!

Without fully explaining his own ideas... ]

Oh I mean well....I just don't want you to get overwhelmed you know?

(oh no now she feels bad. waving her hands a bit, she placed one on his shoulder to gently comfort him. she was never the kind of person to bring down someone's dreams and ambitions, far from it really. so she simply smiled, trying to uplift him once more. )

Because I'm not good at these things you know? And it would be a lot of work for you so...you know?

( don't make her explain further gorgug, buddy. )

[ He continues to look disheartened, but in the same way that Heather's encouraging him, Gorgug does want to encourage her back when she says she's not so good at these things...! ]

Are you shy about drawing? I thought-- we can't make real bots, not with paper and sticks, but we just need to make prototypes, right? I want you to have fun, too...

[ He looks over in the direction where the other supplies are, then looks back at Heather. ]

Do you like any crafts?

I'm not shy about drawing, and sure I like crafts like anyone else.

( she has some very light questionable trauma about her own art back when she was alessa, but gorgug didn't really need to know any of that. no instead she'll take the initiative and walk off towards where the supplies were. from there, she turned her head towards him and waved him. )

How about I build a duck out of popsicle sticks? Unless you think I should make him out of those fuzzy pipe cleaner things....

[ 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....) ]

Grabbing both, got it.

( like a good soldier following orders, she gave him a playful and teasing salute before she scooped up the items and turned to face him when he finally approached. with a light laugh, she followed him back to their space and set things to the side as she remained in the background. for now she leaned over the table, watching curiously as he began to draw away at the ducks—

and when he was finished, she couldn't help but lean her elbow on the table as she lazily sat about and heard him speak. he was getting rather invested in this silly idea of theirs, and while she had initially not taken this seriously at all, now she was becoming more and more invested. mainly because she didn't want to bring the mood down again. )

And how exactly are we making the realistic duck 3D? By using the pipe cleaners? And if the third one is going to be a drawing, can I draw it shooting the lasers out of its eyes?

If you don't, it won't have lasers coming out of its eyes. [ And clearly, that's wrong, Heather! But after that point: ] And I can use pipe cleaners and the popsicle sticks. Or just pipe cleaners? It wouldn't take too long...

[ Especially since he's used to making small nonsense wire animals in 3D shapes. But with that said, he's leaning towards doing the 3D one, and with Heather asking about lasers from the duck's eyes-- ]

Do you want to draw the duck, then? I can do the 3D duck, and then we can work on the middle one together. [ ... ] I can even write up the report.

[ Nobody asked for a report. ]

Naturally.

( there's just a soft hint of sarcasm in her response, but she's still smiling at him and keeping a light tone as she moved about, organizing her setup and pulling a sheet of paper and pencil towards her direction. )

Sure sounds like a plan, hopefully my drawings can live up to your expectations—

( snorting a bit, she began to doodle around with the pencil, bringing to the paper as she got comfortable in her seat. it wasn't until he mentioned report that she turned to look at him, giving him a bit of a side eye. )

Report? What exactly is going on that report?

[ He needs to get the sticks and more pipe cleaners! And so he's stood up, about to get some until Heather asks about the report. Gorgug pauses, looking back at her with a perplexed look in his expression. ]

...about how we worked together to come up with an idea for the prompt we were given and the process put into it. Like a report.

[ A school report. ]

( it took her a moment to truly wrap her mind around what exactly he was saying, what he might be referring to—

and when it finally hit her, she gave him a rather perplexed and even downright confused expression. she was under the impression gorgug was cool, suave, even hip, but this? this sounded like— )

Dude.

( she lifted a hand up, a few pipes in her hand as she raised an eyebrow. )

I was joking about the investors, why do we need a report? Whose going to read it? It sounds like a school report.

[ His confusion continues, deepens, and it turns to something lost as he looks at the crafts, his brain attempting to process what's been said. No... report? ]

Then... do we just draw a duck and leave?

[ Is that it?

Is that all they're supposed to do?? ]

Um....

( he truly has put her in a tricky and questionable position it seemed. so much so that she's left wondering just how to avoid hurting his feelings. he's done so much for her, surely she can indulge him in one report right? a single little document she's sure is going to end up multiple pages.

so after an amused roll of her eyes, she shrugged her shoulders and relented. )

Fine, report it is. You need something to read while you actually build the real things right? You...you are actually going to make these aren't you?

[ His expression still looks like his brain needs to catch up as Heather gives in, but when she follows it up with the question she does, You are actually going to make these, aren't you?, he might take it a way that she doesn't mean to imply.

He said he would, right? And he can't let Heather down, can he? ]

--I will, [ he promises, nodding his head. ] I'll include everything, so-- they're the best ducks. You'll see them around the boat. They're gonna be cool. They're gonna be our ducks.

[ If he lets Heather down he might die. ]

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MISSION 009

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