etrayalogs | 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⏴

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Honestly after everything, it feels like the latter. But without any clear evidence of intent, it's all conjecture at this time.

He looks up to Wade, considering. His eyes clearly show that he does want to learn and try one himself, but...a glance in the direction of the campfire. There's not a whole lot of people hanging around there right now.] I...suppose.

Edited 2025-06-08 23:06 (UTC)

[Wade is just along for the ride right now. He cares about his Universe, so he'll do whatever needed to be done, but he's also very much a 'go with the flow' type person, so he'll play whatever games he needs to and have fun while he does. He's capable of getting serious when it's really necessary, but it's a fleeting thing.]

Nice! Here, follow me, I'll show you what to do! [He's grinning as he makes way toward the campfire, grabbing them both some sticks and s'mores supplies. The basics for Shadow and the absurd ones for himself.]

[Don't get too excited or he's going to reconsider. After watchubf Wade skip off to gather materials for a moment, he'll slowly follow along and join him at the campfire. Now, he has an idea of how it is made, but he's hasn't done it himself. ]

What comes first? [Is it to roast the marshmallow, and for how long?]

[He shows Shadow his own skewer, piercing a large marshmallow on it.] You start with sticking this into the fire, near the coals. But you gotta keep it far enough away that it doesn't burn. Although burnt ones aren't so bad either. If you like charcoal with your sweat treats, anyway.

Like so- [He slides his closer to the burning red coals off to the side of the crackling fire, slowly turning it.] Once all the sides are golden brown, it's ready. It won't take more than a few minutes.

[He settles by the campfire, quietly listening to Wade's instructions. All right, nothing he hasn't already seen demonstrated in a movie. Though when he moves the marshmallow toward the fire, he brows raise with surprise. He wasn't expecting the heat of the flames to cook the cream puff as quickly as it did. Turn the marshmallow, remember to turn it before one side practically melts off.]

Good, good, oop! That's a slippery one! [Wade adds his color commentary as Shadow turns his marshmallow. When it seems brown enough, he gestures to the graham crackers.] Grab one of those and break it in two. Then you pull that out of the fire and slide the gooey goodness on the cracker. And then chocolate pieces on top, close it with the other side of the graham cracker. Ta-da! S'mores!

[It is very easy. And very easy to eat far too many. Which Wade probably will.]

[He does notice if the marshmallow gets hot too quickly that it starts to slip a little on the stick. So he has to worry about not burning the marshmallow, and not letting it fall off the stick. The movies made this look so much simpler.

He could smell them before seeing the brown squares that were the graham crackers. A sweet scent.

...How does he break crackers without dropping stick? His ears twitch as he gets an idea. He grips the stick in his mouth so he can grab the crackers, breaking them with his hands. No he doesn't need help obviously, since he didn't ask. Next step, get marshmallow onto cracker. Stacking the crackers on top of each other, he can grab the stick and put the marshmallow onto the top cracker first. This whole time he such a focused expression, far too serious over making s'mores.]

[Him being so fucking serious about this makes it's all the more adorable, honestly. Wade half wishes he had a camera handy for posterity! Wade would have offered to help, but he knows Shadow at least well enough to know how that offer would be met.

Wade keeps an eye on him while getting his ridiculous S'more together, getting out the Reese's cup and Oreos before getting to browning his own marshmallow.] Let me know what you think. It's going to be messy when you eat it, fair warning, but that's part of the charm.

[The camera would have been smashed up the instant he brings it out, so might be for the best he doesn't have one. After adding a piece of chocolate, it and the marshmallow are properly sandwiched between the graham crackers. Practically a picture perfect s'more. His expression becomes a little less grim, satisfied with his first attempt.

His ears twitch as Wade tells him it's gonna be messy eating it. He watches the chocolate slowly melt into the marshmallow, the symphony of different sweet smells coming together. After a hum, he tries to take a bite. Try, because the cracker is breaking unevenly, and it feels like things are slipping and the marhsmallow is still hot! And stretching! He might have made a sound in surprise, but he isn't going to let go!

He manages to bite down a mouthful, graham crumbs and gooey marshmallow sticking to his muzzle. But he isn't paying attention to that. The taste, it's all new to him. How the chocolate melts into the creamy marshmallow. The graham crackers giving it some crunch to it.]

Hm. [...Well, he's not spitting it out, so he must like it. He's going for a second bite.]

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.

[His fur bristles when Wade suddenly goes "Boom". There's a loud SNAP! as the graham crackers crumble when he squeezed his s'mores abruptly. He glares at Wade while his s'mores falls apart. Really?]

It was. [There's...he can still eat what he made, even if it's mostly chocolate and marshmallow now. Great.]

[Oops.

He'd not meant for that to happen. Wade grimaces over the top of his s'more.] Sorry? I was just excited...

...[Honestly, he hadn't expected to react the way he did. Something about the sound and abruptness of it...it triggered his fight or flight reflex for a moment. Closing his eyes, he takes a deep breath.

He then looks to Wade's monstrousity of a s'more and then proceeds to grab hold of it and breaks it.] We're even now.

Whu-hey! [Wade stares down, watching as his s'more crumbles in his hands, a splat of marshmallow hitting his shoe.] It was an accident!

[He pouts, eating the rest of his crumbled mess. At least it still tastes good. There might also be a little smirk there, because this situation is kind of funny.]

MISSION 009

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