etrayamods: (Default)
∎ ETRAYA MODS ∎ ([personal profile] etrayamods) wrote in [community profile] etrayalogs2025-09-19 08:20 am

MISSION 011

WHO: Everyone.
WHEN: September 19th - October 3rd
WHERE: Etraya
WHAT: Mission 011
NOTES\WARNINGS: Psychological horror, hallucinations, paranoia, body horror, violence, death imagery, loss of autonomy, existential horror. Threads may have their own individual warnings.

CONTENT WARNINGS: Psychological horror, hallucinations, paranoia, body horror, violence, death imagery, loss of autonomy, existential horror.





❬ Ashen Veil ❭


Aurora had issued a warning: the nebula's particles were coming, whether or not they were wanted.
Through multiple conversations, she had made her limitations clear: she could let them know what was coming, but provide no assistance in finding the vent to end it, nor offer safe haven outside of the already established mechanisms for skipping missions. This was a puzzle they would have to solve regardless of how much they hated the idea of participating, and solving that puzzle means being an active participant: it mean searching through the particles to find the vent, physically closing off the thing allowing them inside their city.

Yet some allowances have been made: on September 18th, she gathers up all the animals she can convince to come along with her, ushering them into the same dome that those with mission passes will find themselves within. People are welcome to bring her their pets, too, to ensure they do not experience the same horrors they will - all will be kept safe and fed, cared for by the companion bots and Aurora herself until the vent is closed and the particles are fully filtered out. They are not participants, and she would hate to have them suffer through a mission when they can be protected elsewhere.

The night of the 18th goes by quietly, companion bots ushering animals out of the way while Aurora herself offers a hand clearing the way. And once they've all been herded in, the vent opens, allowing the nebula's particles to slowly begin making their way through Etraya's atmosphere.

It doesn't take long at all for the small bits of dust to accumulate in the protective barrier's atmosphere. Thick fog enshrouds everything, it makes it's way through the cracks in windows, the space under doors, through the very fabric that makes up every piece of Etraya. And with the spread of the Fog comes the horrors it brings.

Everything becomes hazy.

While Etraya is green, brimming with life and bright colors - the Fog dims everything. What was once light and beautiful now looks drained, color leeched out and left as nothing more than a husk of what it once was. Every flower and leaf appears to wilt in moments under the heavy weight of the Fog's touch. The air itself grows heavy, tasting of metal and rot, seeping into the lungs of those under it's influence like a slow suffocation. Sound itself dulls - footsteps echo strangely, or perhaps even sound duplicated, the steady taptaptap making it feel as if one is being followed. Then again, considering how difficult it is to see mere feet in front of them - perhaps they are.

Shapes stir in the haze. Some may be tricks of the eye: distortions among the thickened air, but others linger a little too long, watching with patience in a way that feels wrong. Eerie. A shadow may linger where no one should be, only to dissolve when approached. Or worse - it does not dissolve at all but turns as if it look at those who approach it.

Yet the Fog also remembers things it should not. It bends itself into shapes familiar to those within it, taking the outline of loved ones and enemies alike, whispering in voices that should not be present. But it's whispers, it's movements, are all wrong. There are cracks, clear distortions of what may have been a happy memory now turned menacing. Perhaps a friend appears to offer comfort, before their features distort and their comfort curdles into ill wishes.

And through all of this, the vent breathes unseen. The nebula's particles continue to seep their way into the city, digging deep into every possible surface, clawing it's way through skin to settle deep. There is no safe space left upon the surface of Etraya - as soon as the Fog has been given leave to spread, it has entered not only the atmosphere but those within it. It lingers behind eyes, under skin, whispering that it will never leave.

You belong here now, under its veil.





❬ broken symmetry ❭


The street below doesn't feel stable - it shifts and sways, shifts from stretching out into the Fog to folding in on itself, leaving those on it at unfamiliar crossroads. Yet one will find that they are not the only one who has arrived here: a stranger, or a friend, stands opposite, but something does not quite feel right: they look distorted, not quite as they should, but it's almost impossible to tell what has changed. And yet both individuals will feel the same pull: that this person in front of them isn't as they should be, and something needs to be done.

Perhaps their hair is too long and needs to be cut, and one feels the intense need to take out a pair of shears to trim. Perhaps it is their clothing, somehow wrong in how it hangs off them. Or perhaps it's something - a little more dire. The shape of their nose, the color of their eyes. Regardless, it needs to be fixed. Repaired.

Yet the one being judged may feel as if everything is completely normal, and the person opposing them just happens to be calling out the thing that causes them the most insecurity: the shape of their nose, the weight of their hair, their clothing. But the feeling of something wrong goes both ways.

Perhaps what is truly needed here isn't to change, but to accept.





❬ that which burrows ❭


Something pricks against the skin - sharp, fleeting, similar to a mosquito bite or perhaps a bee sting. But by the time one reacts, whatever it had been that had touched them has already slipped beneath the surface where no hand can reach. Yet it was no insect that had touched them, nor was it anything real in any sense one could understand.

It gnaws at the edge of thought, settling in one's gut and swelling into a panic. A worry that perhaps they had once dismissed, or perhaps had never stopped to truly be concerned over, blooms into something monstrous and all encompassing. It fills every corner of their mind, until breathing becomes near-impossible. Reason fractures, and the thought writhes, burrowing deeper, until there is nothing left.

Maybe they should have never been born. Maybe their existence is a blight upon those around them. Perhaps they truly are the disappointment their companions have assured them they are not. Maybe a mistake made eons ago resurfaces, until they are left sobbing with regrets and begging for forgiveness that has long-since been earned and yet they cannot accept it. Perhaps they are choking on regret, heart pounding as bile rises in their throat and nothing seems to successfully swallow back that sensation, the gut-feeling that their regrets were truly their fault.

For those familiar with panic attacks, many of the same techniques that help to manage can help push back the thought, but cannot circumvent it - physical contact being the most effective way to reduce cortisol, grounding the mind if only for a fleeting moment. Still, the presence remains, thrumming beneath the skin like a parasite of unease. One can muffle it, console it, distract it, but never banish it.





❬ hollowing road ❭


A narrow trail winds through the forestry of Etraya, murmuring to them that this is the way, this is where the vent lies.

If one follows, the Fog rewards each step with a loss. At first, it's nearly impossible to perceive what has been lost - perhaps it was a favorite color, a memory of where one had left a friend, or the taste of a favored meal. Small things, gone before one even notices their absence.

But as they continue down the path, they will find that the loss increases. Memories unravel like a thread being pulled from it's spool, leaving behind remnants from memories lost. Objects may become buried in the foliage behind them on the trail - a piece of fabric from a favored dress, a key that once opened the door to their childhood home, a picture of a family lost. Each pulses faintly with the echo of the memory they belong to, begging to be picked up and held close - or perhaps buried deep in the forest to never be found again.

Eventually, the truth will become impossible to ignore: those on the path will no longer remember why they came, nor what waits at the end. Turning around, they may find evidence of what was left behind in their wake, leaving them to gather the pieces that once made them whole. Each item will dissolve once pressed close to it's owners chest, sharing the memory itself with anyone who happens to be close enough to get a taste.


❬ MISSION NOTES ❭


📌 — The above prompts are just there to get you started. Feel free to play with the setting and concept beyond what we've suggested here!

📌 — For all questions relating to this mission, please refer to mission plotting. All other questions can be directed to the FAQ.

📌 — Custom scenario prompts can be threaded here or anywhere else, as you like. Mod-driven threads will be posted here.



copsormasks: (065)

[personal profile] copsormasks 2025-10-31 01:10 am (UTC)(link)
Whatever. [Jason remains on the ground, shaking his head.]
theknightshift: (123)

[personal profile] theknightshift 2025-10-31 01:30 am (UTC)(link)
I'm not going to leave you here. Get up.

[ The sooner they find the other Bruce, the sooner this one will be on his way. ]
copsormasks: (038)

[personal profile] copsormasks 2025-10-31 01:32 am (UTC)(link)
You know what, no. Fuck off!

[Jason is fine with dwelling in his grief.]
theknightshift: (017)

[personal profile] theknightshift 2025-10-31 01:42 am (UTC)(link)
[ Bruce doesn't bother hiding that he's sending a message. ]

Come get your Robin.
copsormasks: (094)

[personal profile] copsormasks 2025-10-31 01:46 am (UTC)(link)
[Jason rolls his eyes, staring at the pale figure in the fog. He’s pissed, but he just doesn’t have the spirit to keep fighting.]

Just go away.
theknightshift: (135)

[personal profile] theknightshift 2025-10-31 02:09 am (UTC)(link)
When he gets here.
copsormasks: (040)

[personal profile] copsormasks 2025-10-31 02:10 am (UTC)(link)
[Jason climbed to his feet, gave Bruce the midddle finger, and then darted off into the fog.]
theknightshift: (006)

[personal profile] theknightshift 2025-11-03 02:37 am (UTC)(link)
[ Part of him regrets not simply subduing him and waiting for the other Bruce to come collect him. The rest grapples with the idea that he has to chase after him, to push himself into a place he's not wanted. It's not ideal. He needs to find Damian.

In the end he follows. He said he would stay with the boy until he got somewhere safe and he'd at least keep his word. ]
copsormasks: (023)

[personal profile] copsormasks 2025-11-03 08:18 pm (UTC)(link)
[Jason pushes through the fog, running as fast he can manage in the fog. He runs right into the figure of Deathstroke, armored up and well-armed.]

Fuck. Fuck.
theknightshift: (157)

Want Deathstroke to be a monster or smth?

[personal profile] theknightshift 2025-11-11 05:17 am (UTC)(link)
[ Despite wanting to keep his distance, Bruce is well aware there is real danger lurking in the fog. Danger wearing the faces of their loved ones.

Or in Jason's case, Deathstroke. Bruce dropped from his perch up high, putting himself between the boy and the hallucination. ]


Go. Now!
copsormasks: (053)

Monster sounds good!

[personal profile] copsormasks 2025-11-13 11:42 pm (UTC)(link)
[Jason's chest fills with fear at the sight of Deathstroke. He remembers all too well how their last encounter ended with him being dropped off a building.

Jason freezes for a beat or two before he surges forward, trying to duck beneath Bruce's side to go at Deathstroke swinging.
]
theknightshift: (166)

[personal profile] theknightshift 2025-11-18 05:54 am (UTC)(link)
[ The thing is, this isn’t Deathstroke. Not the man himself at least. And when he feels Jason pushing past him, Bruce reacts, fingers reaching for him to catch him by the shirt and yank him back.

Deathstroke, or the creature wearing his face, swings and the strike lands hard against his gauntlet. ]


I told you to get out of here!
copsormasks: (014)

[personal profile] copsormasks 2025-11-20 01:51 am (UTC)(link)
No!

[Jason feels Bruce scruff him and pull him back with a force that sends him spinning down to his knees. He looks up as Deathstroke swings down at Bruce and is on his feet again. He slips into Deathstroke's blind spot and buries a knife into his side.]
theknightshift: (004)

[personal profile] theknightshift 2025-11-26 06:35 am (UTC)(link)
[ Dammit. Dammit. Jason never listens. Not in the desert. Not here when his arm's in a sling and Deathstroke is bearing down on him. The creature shrieks as Jason's knife buries into its gut. Bruce is torn, seeing the knife bite deep and wanting to yell at Jason to stop. That they do not kill. But he has to remember that this is not person. Just another horror dragged out by the fog.

The weight of it shifts and Bruce doesn't feel like he's being driven into the ground anymore. His fingers slip into his belt to find pellets that expel ice when they detonate to slip into the wound Jason created. ]
copsormasks: (053)

[personal profile] copsormasks 2025-12-14 05:06 pm (UTC)(link)
[Jason drags the knife an inch or two before he pulls the blade out, just in time for Bruce to send pellets of ice toward the wound. It's messy, it's a dirty fight, but that's how Jason operates. He can be precise when needed, but not when he's down an arm.]

Hey what the fuck, man?
theknightshift: (169)

[personal profile] theknightshift 2026-01-01 04:01 am (UTC)(link)
[ Bruce is angry.

It’s eating away at him underneath all of the adrenaline and desire to protect his wayward son.

The pellets detonate, one by one, spearing the creature with thousands of shards of ice that must feel like glass. When it puts distance between them, Bruce wedges himself further between it and Jason and keeps his gaze steady, hand in his belt ready for the next item. ]


I told you to get out. Now! Go now!
copsormasks: (089)

[personal profile] copsormasks 2026-01-01 05:37 am (UTC)(link)
[The creature shrieks and Jason is pushed further back. His knife comes away dark with blood— darker than it should be— Jason seems to finally see through the illusion. The trappings of Deathstroke fall away and Jason takes a few more steps back, eyes wide.

There’s no time for a quip as the creature slashes down at Bruce.
]

Look out!
theknightshift: (137)

[personal profile] theknightshift 2026-01-14 06:51 am (UTC)(link)
[ he sees it, the creature shifting to strike him and there's enough time to shift out of the way of the arc of the blow. In the wake of it, he sticks as many explosives on the creature as he could manage. ]

For once, listen to me, Jason! Get out of here!