etrayamods: (Default)
∎ ETRAYA MODS ∎ ([personal profile] etrayamods) wrote in [community profile] etrayalogs2025-05-16 08:18 am

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

ornithologist: (pic#17489349)

[personal profile] ornithologist 2025-06-07 11:19 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Jayce sounds excited... and Harold frowns slightly, already foreseeing a dozen possible ethical problems with what he's talking about. Technology unbridled can do so much damage. And technology responding to thoughts alone -- he worries. ]

I think you should focus on immediate problems that need solving, [ he cuts in. ] There's no need for a technological revolution in Etraya, even if it were possible.
hexcope: (pic#17895435)

[personal profile] hexcope 2025-06-08 08:38 am (UTC)(link)
This is part of an immediate problem that needs solving. There are people here with disabilities or illnesses that can't be helped by normal medical means. If I could learn how to code, program some nanotechnology to undertake certain tasks in their bodies... I haven't laid out all the details yet, but the idea is possible, isn't it?

[He's confident, maybe too confident, that Harold would know this.]
ornithologist: (pic#17489339)

[personal profile] ornithologist 2025-06-09 12:53 am (UTC)(link)
[ As one of those people here with a disability, and an obvious one -- though Jayce hasn't seen him walk much yet, has he? so maybe he doesn't realize -- Harold inwardly bristles. He'd always refused medical treatment before and he absolutely would refuse it if it came in that form, an untested technology that might react to his very thoughts.

Outwardly, he grows more poised, stiff in his response. Sarcastically, ]
At least ask them first before you decide they would benefit from your help. Whether it's possible or not, I couldn't say.

[ He really couldn't. Harold was being sincere when he said he had no experience with nanomachines apart from conceptually in science fiction. ]
hexcope: (pic#17567493)

[personal profile] hexcope 2025-06-09 01:18 am (UTC)(link)
[He doesn't know what exactly he's said to make Harold grow colder, but he clearly said something wrong. Jayce swallows his dejection at disappointing someone he respected with a minor adjustment of his jaw, and holds out his hand to take his journal back.]

Thanks for the reminder about consent. I'll take your response to mean you don't have an interest in helping.
Edited 2025-06-09 01:18 (UTC)
ornithologist: (064)

[personal profile] ornithologist 2025-06-09 01:40 am (UTC)(link)
That is not actually what I said.

[ He huffs, mildly irritated, and hands back the journal. Thanks for the reminder about consent... honestly. Now he feels like he shouldn't let him out on his own -- and he does appreciate the real potential to do good here, he just gets leery of that much enthusiasm. ]

I am interested in helping if you're willing to listen to an old man's cautionary words.
hexcope: (pic#17669553)

[personal profile] hexcope 2025-06-09 02:13 am (UTC)(link)
[Considering Jayce's current relationship with "consent" and "mad scientific experiments," these are exactly things Harold should be worried about, whether he knows it or not.

But Harold manages to say the right thing to send Jayce down familiar paths of regret and nostalgia. A slight lopsided smile tugs at his lips.
]

How is it that you manage to sound exactly like my former professor so often?
ornithologist: (195)

[personal profile] ornithologist 2025-06-09 04:39 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Harold has caused an impressive level of fallout from his scientific advancements, but he's never used actual human subjects. It's a whole different realm and one he's extremely cautious of.

Dourly, ]
I'm forced to admit I have, in fact, spent the past few years as a professor. Of applied ethics in technology.

[ He's aware of the irony. ]
hexcope: (pic#17568269)

[personal profile] hexcope 2025-06-09 04:48 pm (UTC)(link)
I knew it!

[Jayce laughs, and it's like all the tension drops from his shoulders at this honestly trivial revelation.]

God, you are just like Professor Heimerdinger. Except, not three feet tall. Or a Yordle.

[With his hands on his hips, Jayce sighs, and shakes his head. Maybe it's the following guilt he feels now that he's made this association, but he relents. Just a little.]

Yeah, okay. I'm listening.
ornithologist: (154)

[personal profile] ornithologist 2025-06-09 05:06 pm (UTC)(link)
[ It is funny as a revelation given their prior conversation. Harold actually smiles a tiny bit despite himself, dry self-awareness tempering it. ]

I trust this is a positive association? [ It seems like it from Jayce's reaction, but he just has to needle him a little. ]

I recommend we start with Dr. Romano's arm as a discrete problem and focus there. Once we have proof of concept, we can consider where else the resulting techniques can be utilized.

[ That is an actual person with a specific request he'd like to have fulfilled, so Harold feels safe picking that to focus on. It's always the generalizations that cause the trouble... helping individuals, well. He's dedicated his life to that for a reason. Losing sight of that in favor of big, grand ideas has always been his chief concern. ]
hexcope: (pic#17578737)

cw: talk of death via science gone wrong

[personal profile] hexcope 2025-06-09 05:24 pm (UTC)(link)
He...

[The smile grows a little sad.]

Did his best with me. I was a difficult student for him.

[That's putting it lightly. And Jayce realizes now, a little too revealing on how he's going to be with Harold, too. Not on purpose, not trying to replicate the past, but despite his fondness for Heimerdinger, Caution and Progress just don't mix. One of them will need to bend, if he's not careful.]

I already have plans for the arm drawn up. He wants it to run on electrical battery power, which is fine, not everyone's comfortable with having a magically-charged power source.

I'm still going to need human trials for the nanomachines. Which is why I'm going to use myself. Worst case: I die, and Aurora brings me back without them, and we try again.

[And in a real foot-in-mouth moment, this is maybe a little too honest a conversation than he should be springing right now.]
ornithologist: (026)

[personal profile] ornithologist 2025-06-09 05:29 pm (UTC)(link)
[ There's quite a few things Harold is about to say here, and they all get erased by Jayce's last comment. He stares at him, aghast. Difficult student, was it? Harold is someone who, with great caution, changed the entire world. He doesn't think they're incompatible at all. ]

Mr. Tallis, [ he says sternly, ] do not inject yourself with anything that has been programmed with code written on paper.

[ He lets that stand for a solid second as an absolute Jayce needs to internalize. ]

I don't object to using yourself as a test subject, but we will not approach it with death as an acceptable outcome. [ That's also an absolute for Harold, even in this case. Death means losing a memory here, which is uniquely horrifying to him. ]
hexcope: (pic#17666623)

[personal profile] hexcope 2025-06-09 05:37 pm (UTC)(link)
I wasn't going to use that code! That was for making tables organizing coin flip probability!

[He's rolling his eyes now, teenage-like.]

I said worst case for a reason. I'm not trying to die.

[But this is at least an acceptable response from Harold, so it's a win in his book.]
ornithologist: (pic#11629772)

[personal profile] ornithologist 2025-06-09 05:41 pm (UTC)(link)
You didn't even realize there was a word processing application on your device, [ he retorts in vehement exasperation. Harold is not taking that excuse. He was writing code on paper at all -- that's cute when it's a beginner doing it, but not a sign he should be doing serious work. ]

Including it as worst case includes it as a possible outcome, which we will not be doing. If you can't test it safely then you aren't prepared for testing. Rushing ahead is not just dangerous but shoddy.

[ It's unethical and also bad practice. How's that for reasoning? ]
hexcope: (pic#17567018)

[personal profile] hexcope 2025-06-10 07:33 am (UTC)(link)
Blaming a caveman for only recently learning about fire, Harold. We don't even have phones where I'm from. Why would I assume a device that goes in my ear has a built-in place to write code?

[He thought he was doing pretty well acclimating, all things considered.]

At some point we'll need human trials, and at some point we're going to encounter issues we won't know will work unless it's already in a person. There's always going to be a risk, and it will always be a possible outcome, no matter what we do. Maybe I don't adapt to the nanotech, maybe I get a brain aneurysm. Better me than someone else.
ornithologist: (099)

[personal profile] ornithologist 2025-06-11 05:25 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm not criticizing your skill acquisition rate, [ he snipes back dryly, ] just your judgment.

[ It's fine to be new at or unfamiliar with something, but that doesn't mean you experiment on yourself with it.

Harold's eyes narrow slightly from behind his glasses as he listens to this. ]
You've made several significant assumptions in those statements for someone who was just looking for reassurance on whether or not it was even possible. Are you in the habit of predetermining your results, Mr. Talis?

[ That's basically fighting words for a scientist. ]
hexcope: (pic#17900891)

[personal profile] hexcope 2025-06-11 05:50 pm (UTC)(link)
[And it hits like a punch to the gut, Jayce staring back, mouth agape in offense.]

Sorry for my assumptions based in the realities of real and tangible scientific breakthroughs? Failure is literally a guarantee at some point in any endeavor, especially one with this high a risk. I was letting you know I'm prepared to handle the worst of it myself, since you were so concerned with where the end result is going.

When we get to human trials, which will happen after animal testing, which will happen after practical demonstration, which will happen after theoretical construction. I'm not throwing caution to the wind, Professor Finch, and I'm not letting anyone else be put in a dangerous position. I don't know how much more cautious you're expecting me to be, other than having some fantasy this concept dies in the blueprint stage.

[And after that little outburst, he finds himself breathing heavier from how fast he said all of that.]
Edited 2025-06-11 17:52 (UTC)
ornithologist: (069)

[personal profile] ornithologist 2025-06-11 07:45 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Harold maintains his composure through all of this, implacable. He can be sarcastic, direct, even critical, but he doesn't raise his voice and he doesn't escalate an argument. It's obvious his point has been made. ]

You seem to be laboring under the misapprehension that I find your death or injury more acceptable than anyone else's, [ Harold answers with vague annoyance, refusing to be drawn in. ] I assure you that I do not.
hexcope: (pic#17649668)

[personal profile] hexcope 2025-06-11 09:24 pm (UTC)(link)
[That stops Jayce's building frustration cold in it's tracks. He looks at Harold with a lasting wince, and then breaks eye contact, choosing instead a discolored plank of wood that makes up the floor to focus on. He forgets, sometimes, how strange his own perception of self can come across to others.]

Sorry.

[...]

I should let you, uh. Keep unpacking. Got my answer, after all.
Edited 2025-06-11 21:25 (UTC)
ornithologist: (pic#17489335)

[personal profile] ornithologist 2025-06-11 09:58 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Jayce genuinely seems to be a good person, just one who is overly enthusiastic about the potential his skills represent. Harold can empathize, deeply and painfully. They're not the same person by a long margin, but he sees similarities. He understands what it's like to believe you can help others and pursue it no matter the personal cost.

He understands that intimately. Which is why he's worried.

He's not sure what Jayce actually took out of this conversation, so he raises his eyebrows, saying, ]
Did you?

[ But he doesn't wait for an answer, just hobbles away to the set of bunk beds he's claimed -- the limp obvious and heavy, no question that he experiences serious mobility impairments -- and continues speaking as he sets his bag down and opens it. ]

Speaking of consent, I do not consent to someone else being harmed on my behalf for a hypothetical cure. Speaking as a potential future beneficiary of nanomachines, of course.
hexcope: (pic#17664944)

[personal profile] hexcope 2025-06-11 10:15 pm (UTC)(link)
[Jayce remains quiet, watching Harold and now, only now, noticing that limp. He gets a few more silent answers from that, and tucks his journal into his inner breast pocket. He doesn't argue the point anymore- every counterargument would only further emphasize how little he regards his own safety, and that would be a fight he'd lose.]

I didn't know. About your...

[He doesn't elaborate, just lets the sentence trail off.]
ornithologist: (047)

[personal profile] ornithologist 2025-06-11 10:22 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Harold doesn't seem offended -- not anymore, anyway; he's gotten over his initial reaction and has reached equanimity, pulling some unspecified bits of technical equipment out of his bag, as well as a few worn paper library books. ]

That's the thing, isn't it? [ Not just that you don't know what any given person could be dealing with, but... ]

Individuals are so different from hypotheticals. It's not about caution; it's about respect.
hexcope: (pic#17649667)

[personal profile] hexcope 2025-06-11 10:38 pm (UTC)(link)
[Respect. Something he disregards, regularly. His own self-respect, often flung far out the window. His respect for other people's wishes... jettisoned, into space.

He thinks of Viktor, comatose, on a form of arcane-tinged life-support he didn't want.
]

Yeah.

[He's not going to try to go against Harold's wishes, but... There is the here and now, and the future is unknowable.]
ornithologist: (096)

[personal profile] ornithologist 2025-06-11 10:49 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Meanwhile, Harold is made of respect. It's his primary and paramount concern. If there's no integrity built into the process for the people affected, isn't it just autocracy?

He can tell there's something more behind Jayce's response or rather lack thereof, and he isn't going to pry. He doesn't as a general rule, but he absolutely won't here, in this absurdist pastiche of a summer camp. Jayce is genuinely trying to help people; he just needs some tempering. ]


As I said before, Dr. Romano is an individual who has specifically requested assistance in this area, [ he says instead, somehow both mild and pointed. ] Let's start there and afterwards we can see where we can take it next.

Without any grandiose assumptions.
hexcope: (pic#17615128)

[personal profile] hexcope 2025-06-12 04:04 pm (UTC)(link)
[How he craves to be honest about his intentions, the truth of what he wants to do this whole project for. Robert is a factor, yes, but in the same way you credit what strikes inspiration as opposed to the motivator.

The truth wants to be told, but it's in conflict with a lesson he's learned time and time again: no one will understand. No one but Viktor. But even now he doesn't know if Viktor would, if he told him the full truth of what he's done, what he had to do.

He tried once to talk a little more about his own past mistakes to Accelerator, and all it did was enforce further everything he's already learned from the world: don't tell them the truth, or you'll be ostracized.

Jayce runs a hand through his hair, disrupting the perfect curves he had already established via hair product. Harold hasn't chased any answer Jayce didn't provide willingly. He's grateful for that, at least.

With a deep exhale, Jayce manages to make eye contact with Harold again, forcing a smile and faking some bravado.
]

We'll be lucky if he even gives us a thanks afterward, knowing him.
Edited 2025-06-12 16:05 (UTC)
ornithologist: (098)

[personal profile] ornithologist 2025-06-12 08:25 pm (UTC)(link)
[ This awkward delay, how he has to seemingly gear himself up to answer, makes Harold more convinced than ever that there's something Jayce isn't telling him. It makes him suspicious, but that's a familiar state. Being closer to the project would be for the best, so he can keep an eye on it. Who knows what Jayce would get up to unsupervised?

Maybe he is starting to empathize with his old professor after all.

Harold doesn't chase answers because he prefers to dig more discreetly than that. ]
Fortunately, receiving thanks is not a condition for my assistance, [ he answers mildly. He's not trying to chastise Jayce with that one, just reflecting on how rarely he even personally met the people he'd helped, much less stuck around for thanks. ]

Now, shall I show you how to access the word processor? I've also been putting together rudimentary coding exercises for Mr. Gukgak, if you'd like those.

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