MISSION 009

[etrayamods]

⏵ 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⏴

Comments

[hexcope]

I never met Eos.

[But if he's remembering correctly, they weren't mentioned in a positive light.]

But to have those kind of developments are a feat. I wonder if we could talk with him freely like we do Aurora...

But that's enough about that. How are you holding up?

[levelshift]

[Aurora had told him her own communications were depending on the planetary orbit but beyond that... maybe? Then again, who would want to talk to Borealis? What a jerk.

Anyways, he sighs.]

I'm fine. Not looking forward to doing any of this camp shit.

[hexcope]

What do you mean? This is the fun part. The mission's basically a vacation compared to the past ones. Out of the people here, it's something you should be doing more than most.

[You know, since Summer Camp is for Kids.]

[levelshift]

[From an objective standpoint, Jayce isn't wrong. This is the kind of mission that should be perfect for kids - nothing dangerous, just activities to promote physical, social and mental wellbeing, with plenty of supervision.

Accelerator still looks offended anyways.]

Fuck no, do I look like someone who'd enjoy kayaking or playing capture the flag? I can't even do that shit without using my ability.

[Plus he's never done much in the way of group activities, so it feels awkward and uncomfortable to start right now.]

[hexcope]

You can kayak. Anyone who has arms can.

[You may be a weak baby, but he knows you can do that much.]

Even then, there's arts and crafts, exploring the grounds, roasting marshmallows; plenty of things you can do here.

[levelshift]

[He very nearly flips Jayce off, instead choosing the far more mature reaction of clicking his tongue in irritation.

........ There's no way he has the upper body strength to kayak, he'd just embarrass himself.........]

Is that what you've been doing? Aside from making this - [He waves his free hand at the note board they're in front of.] - thing?

[hexcope]

[Two person kayaking is a thing, Ace!]

This "thing" is a required responsibility of my cabin. Once you get to your cabin, you'll see there's ones for you too.

I also started rock climbing. Not as fun as people make it out to be, if I'm honest.

[levelshift]

[They can kayak together and Jayce can do all the work --]

Aren't you injured? [He saw those bandages when they were in the forge, they were kind of hard to miss given Jayce's habit of removing his shirt when forging.] That'd make an activity that strenuous harder to do.

[hexcope]

[Wouldn't be the first time.]

Uh.

[He's taken a little off-guard, it's been a few weeks and he forgot Accelerator would know that.]

It's almost healed up at this point, and I have antibiotics from Robert now.

[levelshift]

[Jayce you fool, do you really expect Accelerator to forget anything? And - not that he'd admit it - but he likes Jayce, so even though he could just leave it at that he doesn't really want to. He's curious.]

What the hell happened, anyways? That looked pretty bad.

cw: suicidal ideation, mention of child death

[hexcope]

[Jayce inhales a deep breath and sighs, putting his fingers over his lips and tapping as he decides if he even wants to talk about this. Accelerator knows the beginning of the story, but there's a chance he'll just be told he deserved what happened. And... he did. He did deserve it. There's a part of him that thinks it would have been better if he died that day, or one of the thousands of days before then.

But if that's the worst Accelerator could say, then it's not something he hasn't already thought himself. Might as well tell him.]

That... kid...

[He doesn't elaborate on which kid.]

His mother wanted revenge.

cw: suicidal ideation, mention of child death

[levelshift]

[Ah, shit. He doesn't need to elaborate on who he's talking about, Accelerator can tell from only those few words. His eyes widen in shock before he glances away, going silent.

It... isn't really that surprising that a mother would want to kill the person who killed her child. He can't blame her, and he has a hard time believing Jayce does, too. It just sucks that it was Jayce, and not some psychopathic bastard the world would be better off without.

He frowns, reluctantly glancing back over.]

Did she actually kill you?

[He's aware that some people here have died back home, so it seems like a logical (albeit horrific) question to ask.]

[hexcope]

No. It was close. At least a dozen enforcers died in the attack. One died protecting me.

[More guilt. He didn't even know that guy's name.]

Maybe you think I'm old enough I should be able to handle this better.

[levelshift]

[It sounds like she went on an entire rampage. As sad as it is, he can understand how she must have felt.

At the question, he gives a slow nod.]

When you do something horrific, even if it wasn't deliberate, you need to be prepared for the worst possible consequences.

[You can even go one step further by embracing them. Or you can do what he did, and actively strategize and plot to ensure the worst consequence occurred.]

What're you planning to do next? When you go back.

[hexcope]

I don't know.

[Which is the opposite of planning and being prepared.]

I know what's going to happen, but once I was there, I didn't remember any of it. Nothing from here came with me. I knew that was a possibility but it's even more frustrating to know I could have done something different. Just a few more seconds of awareness before the bomb went off, I could have saved...

[His hands have curled into useless fists, his gaze boring a hole in the ground. He eventually catches himself silently falling into a riptide of emotions.]

We shouldn't get into this.

[levelshift]

[Accelerator watches as the frustration builds in Jayce's body, quietly realizing that, much like that mother, he thinks he understands his feelings too. That helpless frustration towards his role in the death of so many Sisters still invades his dreams, no matter how far he feels like he's come.

He exhales slowly, easing up a bit.]

No, we shouldn't. Dwelling on what you could or couldn't have done is only gonna drive you nuts. [He knows what that's like, and he doesn't want to see Jayce have to go through that.] You can't change the past, you can only try to do the right thing going forward.

1/3

[hexcope]

But that's just it, isn't it? I can't do the right thing going forward- I can't change anything. If I'm already in the middle of doing the wrong thing in Piltover, then the second I go back, I keep doing it. The only way I could stop it is if I made a time machine.

[hexcope]

Which...

[He's getting a look on his face.]

[hexcope]

Maybe I shouldn't write off...

1/3

[levelshift]

............

[levelshift]

[Godddd, why does he have to be the adult.]

3/3

[levelshift]

[He takes an abrupt step towards Jayce, aggressively reaching up to grab the front of his shirt so that he can yank him down to his eye level.]

Don't even think about fucking around with the space-time continuum, bastard. As someone who's an expert in physics I guarantee you don't have the knowledge or skillset to do that and not screw it up.

[hexcope]

[He's expecting that at this point; Accelerator's predictable like this. Jayce lets himself be tugged downward, but even a scolding like this doesn't seem like it's striking much fear in him. In fact, he's acting like this is just part of a normal conversation.]

Have you done it before?

[levelshift]

[There's a narrowing of his eyes at the calm reaction he's receiving. Is Jayce taking him seriously? He isn't sure and he doesn't like it, it's worrying. He does let go of his shirt, curling his fingers tighter in the fabric.]

No.

[Time is a scalar measurement, yes, but it exists in vector space and could therefore theoretically be manipulated using his ability somehow. To be honest, he has no clue if he could do it, but that isn't the point.]

There are a lot of theories and uncertainty around time travel. I won't potentially screw up my home out of a remote chance to improve things and a selfish desire to make my own life easier.

[hexcope]

Relax, Ace.

[Jayce holds up both hands now, passively.]

It's just an idea. There's the width of an ocean between idea and execution.

[And I can do it without you, if I need to.]