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

Do you think I've had a lot of chances to braid hair? I've tied plenty of knots but this is supposed to look nice, not utilitarian.

[ He reaches for the bag of thread and moves it to the side of the table closest to her. ]

But if you could do a better job, why don't you show me?

Learn by doing, John.

[She sits herself right down across from him, elbows on the table as she leans across it. With one finger, she pushes the thread several inches back in his direction.]

But I wanna watch. Are you going to wear it when it's finished?

[ Yeah, sounds about right. Of course she'd find a way to wiggle out of it. Coward.

But John wants a good grade at camp, so he stops looking at her and goes back to the instructions, trying to mimic what's shown with the thread in front of him. ]

Isn't the point of friendship bracelets to give them to other people?

[Shaw, for her part, just picks up a stray piece of thread and fiddles with it, wrapping and unwrapping it around her index finger.]

Do I look like someone who knows the point of friendship bracelets?

[ No. ]

I'm not going to make it a bracelet, I'm just going to leave it flat.

[ He's not going to admit that he's giving this one to Harold unless she forces him to. Which she probably will. But she's going to have to put that effort in. ]

[Luckily for John, she does not. Yet. Maybe after unwittingly eliciting a few more clues.]

Are you going to make me a bracelet?

[ If he can figure this out, yes. ]

Why? Do you need a certain color palette?

Is that a serious question?

[What color are all her clothes, John?]

What about Harold, are you going to make one for him?

[ No, it wasn't a serious question, so he doesn't bother responding. ]

Do you think Harold is a friendship bracelet kind of guy?

[ John doesn't think so, but he's doing it anyway. Actively. Right now. ]

[Not really, and yet... Shaw squints, her mouth twisting in thought.]

Out of all of us, I'd say he's the most likely to go for that kind of thing, yeah.

[ John thinks Root would be the most likely, but... she's not here anymore. John keeps hoping she'll show up, for Shaw's sake if nothing else, but he'd like to spend more time with her if he could. Get to know her better. He'd make her a friendship bracelet. ]

Guess I'd better make him one.

[ As if this one isn't for Harold already. ]

Neutral colors and earth tones.

[She reaches for a roll of brown thread, sliding it towards him.]

He wears all those suits.

[ That shakes the confession out of him. He holds up the five strands of thread, four somewhere on the tan spectrum and the last a charcoal grey. All tied together and ready to braid. He doesn't think he needs to say anything more than that for her to get the point. ]

[Ha. She knew it! With a smug look, she tosses the brown away... only to push a darker black spool towards him instead.]

For mine next.

I don't think you're supposed to demand friendship bracelets.

[ But he takes the thread anyways. He was always planning on making her one. ]

I don't think people like us are supposed to make friendship bracelets, but here we are. Earn those points, John.

[This all said while she's sitting here doing shit-all, mind.]

[ Yeah, he notices that. ]

I'm expanding my horizons. Adjusting to life here. I notice you're not doing anything.

[ He says it flippantly, but it's true. He has to adjust. This is where he is, forever. It's this or death. But that's a sobering thought and he'd rather not dwell on it, so he moves on from that line of thinking. ]

I was fighting bandits a few days ago; I've earned the right to sit out arts and crafts.

How did that go?

[ He hasn't heard the report on Solmara, so he wants to hear what went down. ]

Killed Alrys.

[... Well.]

Not me personally. But we got the job done. We talked Borealis into being less of a wuss, too.

[ Sometimes that's necessary. ]

Alrys couldn't be reasoned with?

[Shaw shrugs, fiddling with a stray piece of thread.]

Guess not. Too bad, I guess, but I'm not losing any sleep over it; she was a despot.

Hopefully Solmara can move on from her.

[ John isn't losing any sleep over it either. ]

Did you get a chance to talk to Borealis? What's he like?

Weird.

[She pick, pick, picks at the thread.]

Nothing like the Machine. It was like... talking to an actual kid; one who had way too much power.

[ John hardly even notices her fidgeting. Shaw just does things like that sometimes. ]

He didn't have Finch to teach him. But Aurora doesn't seem that way. I wonder if they were created differently?

[ With most strangers he uses Harold's last name out of respect for his privacy. Now he mostly calls him Harold in private, but it's easy to fall back in that old habit from back home with Shaw. He doesn't even notice it himself. ]

MISSION 009

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