etrayalogs | October Mingle

October Mingle

❬ ARRIVAL ❭

Welcome to Etraya!

Arrival goes as expected - characters awaken on hospital beds and are offered an explanation of their situation: that they have arrived in the city of Etraya, and they are their world's only hope. They are welcome to wander the hospital if they would like to - the upper floors are mostly empty, full of pristine hallways and numerous rooms filled with supplies, cots, and things one would expect from a relatively average 21st-century hospital.

In the hospital's lobby are several party tables set out with miscellaneous baked goods: pumpkin bread slices, Halloween themed cookies, breads, mini pumpkin pies. To drink, there is mulled tea and iced pumpkin spice flavored coffee to accompany them - as well as some apple cider (non-alcoholic), for those who are opposed to the other offerings.

Outside of the hospital continues to carry the autumn theme, and not merely the weather itself. The decor of the buildings and the immediate surrounding area of the hospital has been influenced by the spirit of Halloween. For those unfamiliar with the Earth holiday, it looks like whoever is in charge of decorating really loves cartoonish depictions of pumpkins, ghosts, skeletons, spiders, and bats. Not to mention the orange and purple lights, which wrap around various trees and outline the tops of some buildings and overhangs.

Even the Companion Bots themselves seem in on the festivities. Some dressed in ridiculous costumes, and while there are those more dedicated to their costuming craft, others might simply be wearing cat ears, or something of a more inflatable distinction.

If one is likewise feeling festive and in want of a costume of their own, there is a building not far from the hospital just for that: 8 Grandage Place. This abandoned apartment building is decorated in a particularly spooky fashion, with a particular sign draped across the front of the building. This is where the companion bots themselves acquired their costumes, and where Etrayans may find their own as well! Though with the reach of the multiverse at play here, the selection is more extensive than a standard Spirit Halloween.

The quality is about the same, though.

❬ TRICK OR MEET ❭

Upon the first morning of the new arrivals, the current residents of Etraya will find right outside their door (or tent) that they have been bequeathed a small plastic cauldron full of an assortment of individually wrapped candies. These candies are from across the multiverse, some familiar, some less so. Do you know what a Reese's is? What about a Moonburst? The names don't really matter, they're all little candies made of sugary or chocolaty goodness, much to delight of children and to the dismay of teeth everywhere. However, they are not the only thing within the bounds of the cauldron.

With them is a single note:

Treats to gift the new
With a trick's paid due
Five new faces met
Five less points of debt
Should one disregard this note and eat all the candy, they will find that each new day the candy will be restored. Whether that be achieved through another cauldron being delivered at their doorstep, or it simply being refilled while they sleep. Whichever the case may be, this will continue until the rhyme is followed, or until the 31st.

As for the newcomers of Etraya, they will be given their own little card with instructions. Either a companion bot will offer one to them upon their exit of the hospital, or after they pick a costume for themselves at the Spirit Halloween. The companion bots will be persistent in this endeavor, until at least one card is taken from them.

Upon the card, it instructs in rhyme:

With ghoulish guise picked
Seek those to be tricked
To their homes you flap
Find them on your map!
Simple enough instructions, though the task itself may prove otherwise when there are some lingering effects from the previous mission. Some such effects that could very well impact the functionality of the ear pieces and the maps within them, among myriad other inconvenient things.

❬ FARMING FOR FEAR ❭

On the night of October 31st, Etrayans will find signs and posters plastered all over various buildings advertising a haunted barn over on Ramsey Farm. Directions will send characters to the barn on property. The theme? The barn has been decorated in the style of a traditional Shinto Shrine that apparently leads to the Underworld. Some characters who are familiar with this concept may be reminded of the Buddhist Osorezan Bodaiji Temple in Japan.

Partway onto the property of the farm jack-o'-lanterns (courtesy of Jon Kent) in a variety of designs line a path, getting spookier closer to the barn. Out in front is a large stone torii gate made by Toph Bei Fong that has been painted red, as well as a table where Vivi will take payment to enter the haunted barn. That's right folks, this isn't free: every entrant requires payment in the form of candy (good candy, no cheap suckers or gum allowed) or baked goods. Accelerator is hanging around with Vivi to make sure there aren't any problems. Anyone who tries sneaking in will likely be kicked out by John Reese, whom they've recruited as security for the night.

The interior of the barn has been converted into a dark maze pulling from a mishmash of cultures. Speakers are hidden throughout and blare ominous drumming, the sounds of cackling demons and crackling fire, and horrific screams. Fog billows in from machines scrounged from the junk yard and fixed up, and the occasional strobe light flickering makes walking through disorienting. Somehow, they've even managed to pump the smell of sulfur into the building. As characters twist and turn their way through the maze they'll come across elaborate red-lit dioramas made from stone and scrap material of demons (some looking like oni, some like they're straight from the Bible) torturing people. If that isn't scary enough, fairly impressive demon and skeleton puppets have been rigged to pop out from behind corners and dark spots to provide jumpscares. And if that isn't enough, then chances are Damian, who is lurking throughout the barn, will ambush characters when they least expect it to ensure that everyone gets scared.

❬ NEW HOME BEFORE THE HARVEST ❭

A different type of newcomer...
Early in the morning of the 1st, there will be a post made to the network from someone with the username Tatianna. Some might recognize the name, while for others this will be their first interaction with her. Well, if one could call this an interaction, for she seems to have little interest in responding to anyone who actually replies to the post.

"Long time, no see, Etrayans. Seems like you haven’t failed yet, and your city still stands. Happy for you. No, really. I’m super glad. You’re definitely all super worth it.

"Anyway, we have some folks that weren’t so lucky. I’ve got them posted up at the hospital for now while they recover, so give them some space, got it? They were all half dead when we got them, and they all need their shots, and you probably need yours.

"You can thank Dylan for that, by the way. Went on some little mission for Aurora, came back with more than just himself! You can ask him about the details, but if you want the chance to talk to them, maybe you should actually try to make them feel welcome first. Unlike how I was treated.

"Let’s see if the rest of you can do a single redeeming activity. I wanna see a gift basket from every one of you. Take your time, think about it. And if you put together a nice enough basket and drop it off in front of the hospital with me then maybe- Maybe if you collectively do a passable job, I’ll let you speak to them when they’re feeling better."

While Tatianna will not be answering anyone on the network, she will be available around the hospital to receive whatever gestures of welcome and hospitality people have to offer for these mysterious and new refugees.

❬ NOTES ❭

📌 — Happy Halloween and welcome newcomers to the game! A note on the costumes that can be found in the Spirit Halloween: anything related to worlds from the characters present in game is allowed, though it might be best to check with someone first before grabbing something specific about their character. Otherwise, the sky is mostly the limit for silly costume shenanigans!

📌 — As for the little trick or treat task that has been given: characters who complete it will earn 5 extra points. These points do count towards the 25 point monthly maximum! If the character is not new they need 5 interactions (not separate threads, there can be multiple people in a single thread) with new characters where they give them candy to earn the extra 5 points.

New characters need to "trick or treat" while in costume and get candy from 5 different characters, potentially visiting their homes to do so. One can check the locations' page to get the lay of the land and where people might be, but if the exchange happens out in the wild, that also works. Once they get 5 pieces of candy from 5 people, they also get 5 points!

📌 — Feel free to play with some of the lingering effects from the TDM for the mingle, the residual impact on the land and people are still very much around. Powers may act a little funny, unfortunate incidents might occur. Have fun with it! And feel free to keep working on your bingo cards -- threads from this post will count towards them, and we'll draw prizes prior to the next mission! We've reduced the comment requirement to 5 instead of 7 to make bingo squares easier to complete.

📌 — As for the new refugees, they will be properly introduced at a later time. The effort put into these welcoming gifts and gestures by Etrayans as a whole will impact how they view them, and will flavor future interactions!

📌 — For all questions relating to the this mingle specifically, please use the MOD QUERIES comment below. Other questions can be directed to the FAQ.

🔵FULL NAVIGATION🔵

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Zagreus' answering smile is just as warm, and maybe just a tiny bit smitten. "We are. He's always frightfully busy, of course, and these days or nights I suppose I am as well, but we make time, and we cherish it."

His head tilts. "And you say you know him, too? Who are you, then?"

Is there anything more endearing than seeing a young god in love? Zagreus' reminiscing brings forth bittersweet memories of Hyacinthus, but even that pain is dulled by the warmth of Zag's smile.

At the question, Apollo's cheeks go pink. "I, uh. Well." He coughs. "I don't normally look like this, you see. My father cast me down from Olympus in a mortal body as a punishment, and..."

He doesn't completely understand why he suddenly feels like he has to justify being stuck in the mortal body of Lester Papadopoulos. Truthfully, he'd come to grow fond of this form; Yet he can't help but offer an embarrassed smile as he answers:

"I'm Apollo."

Zagreus blinks, startled. "Apollo? As in, my cousin Apollo? Artemis' twin brother, god of music and archery and all that, that Apollo?" Then he grins. "Well then, it's a pleasure to finally meet you. Your sister has been a much-welcomed source of aid and companionship for me. I did wonder why you yourself never reached out, and now I suppose I know the answer."

He frowns. "I have heard that Lord Uncle Zeus has quite the free hand with punishments of one sort or another. Much like my father, in that way at least. May I ask what you did that angered him so?"

"The very same." Apollo's embarrassed smile softens into a genuine one as Zagreus talks about Artemis. "I do worry about her sometimes. She's not much for socializing; It's good to hear she's found a friend in you."

He suspects that Zag's Artemis may not be the one he knows, given the nature of Alternate Worlds that are so common on Etraya, but knowing any Artemis has managed such a friendship still fills him with warmth.

But the question gives him pause. There are plenty of reasons Apollo believes he deserves this punishment. He had been complicit in so much of his father's abusive behavior. He had perpetuated it; He'd displaced his own rage toward his father, taking it out on those who couldn't fight back. He'd turned a blind eye to so much suffering. He'd caused so much suffering.

Of course, Father had cited none of those reasons when casting Apollo from Olympus. To call out those actions as punishable would mean Zeus had to admit to his own wrongdoing, and of course we couldn't have that.

"Allegedly," Apollo says, unable to hide the bitterness in his voice, "it's because a mortal descendant of mine had attempted to start a brutal war in my name; One that would have left Olympus... unstable, had he succeeded. I had let him flatter me, and encouraged him in his rise to power. Had I known what he'd do once he got there..."

He shakes his head. Another failure to add to his list; Not the war itself, but failing to stop the Triumvirate dripping poison into Octavian's ears for far too long. Had he stepped in sooner, would his legacy have been so bloodthirsty?

"But Father's held his throne for or thousands of years. With every power struggle, every attempted coup, his drive to maintain his title has consumed him more and more. I believe he wanted to set an example for all the gods, show them what might happen if they step out of line. I happened to be a perfect target."

"She certainly has," Zagreus agrees. "Of all my Olympian relatives that I've met so far, I find her to be the easiest to talk to. Well, aside from you, now."

Zagreus frowns as he listens to Apollo's story. "Sounds more or less like the uncle I know, though I myself have managed to avoid landing on his bad side so far. But if there's trouble brewing, doesn't it weaken Olympus to banish its best archer to the mortal realm? It's not as though this coup was your idea, and you stopped it when you found out, didn't you? I understand that's often the way things work on Olympus - not always fair, but necessary or fated, perhaps, nonetheless - but surely, you could do more good up there than down here?"

"Unfortunately, it's not that simple. The war would have been between our Greek and Roman camps; It wouldn't have simply divided Olympus, but the Olympians themselves."

Apollo himself was more or less safe from that struggle, which he's sure didn't make him look any less guilty.

"With two aspects of the same gods unable to reconcile, our ability to defend Olympus is greatly diminished."

The look Zagreus gives him is somewhat blank.

"Er...I don't quite understand. You had one army stationed in Greece and the other roaming about, is that right? What sort of ideology divided them that was disruptive enough to cause such splintering?"

The look Apollo gives Zagreus is equally blank. "No, not roaming. The—The Romans. The people of Rome?"

Come to think of it, has Zagreus mentioned anything modern at all, outside of what he's encountered in Etraya? His brow furrows as he glances down, deep in thought. He needs to establish a time frame here. What's something tied to Rome that a Son of Hades might recognize?

"Aeneas," Apollo starts, meeting Zagreus' gaze once more. "As far as you can remember, has Aeneas come to visit the Underworld yet? He would have brought a golden bough as a gift to his hosts."

Oh. A people. Well, Zagreus doesn't know anything about any people other than the Greeks anyway, so he easily could have simply chalked it up to that, but then Apollo asks about someone called Aeneas.

"A golden bough? Not that I recall, no. I believe Achilles may have mentioned the name once or twice in his many tales of war, but otherwise I haven't heard of him."

...Okay, so the mention of Achilles is annoying, but useful. If Zagreus has interacted with Achilles but not Aeneas, that establishes a relatively narrow time frame from which Zagreus hails.

Gods, that was millennia ago.

"So, there is something about Etraya that may not have been explained to you yet," Apollo says carefully. "Sometimes, people are pulled from various moments in... history. For example, another relative of mine is here, and he remembers me regaining my divinity. But I, on the other hand, have not yet experienced it."

He pauses, wondering if perhaps he should put on Back to the Future as a primer to introduce him to Time Travel.

"Do you understand?"

Edited 2025-11-19 06:46 (UTC)

Zagreus puts a hand to his chin, pondering for a moment. "I believe so, yes. It's not so different from shades arriving in the Underworld and meeting those of mortals who died before them. They remember all the same surface history up to the point when the first mortal died, and then their memories stop but the other shade remembers more."

He perks up. "Another relative? Surely, that makes them a relative of mine, as well?"

"Yes!" Apollo's smile stretches across his face. "Nico Di Angelo. A cousin of mine. I think you'll like him."

He pauses, then looks thoughtful again. "The reason I brought up the time displacement is because from the events you're describing, it seems that you're from a time long past. Nico ahead of me by a few months, whereas I'm ahead of you by..."

He pauses to run some rough numbers in his head, and grimaces.

"Around three... thousand years."

"I look forward to meeting him, then. Just how many relatives do we have here, anyway? When they said everyone was from different worlds, I assumed I'd be on my own."

Zagreus blinks. "Three thousand years? Huh." A pause, as he thinks about that. "Well, it sounds like an awfully long time. I'm afraid I don't have much of a grasp on quite how long. Time's passage has always been difficult to track in the Underworld. Never even know whether it's day or night, down there."

"Just the three of us, I believe. If there's any others, I've not yet met them."

He looks surprised, then relieved. "I suppose that would be the case, wouldn't it? Perhaps I'm only so aware of the passing of time since the sun became my responsibility."

Zagreus chuckles, though it sounds just a bit like it wants to be a scoff. "Imagine the surprise on everyone's faces back home when they find out I'm the Underworld's representative trying to save our world. They'll all be properly stunned, I'm sure."

Then again, maybe he was just the one whose job was the least important and therefore the easiest to be spared.

"That's certainly a good reason to keep track! But hang on, 'became'? Whose responsibility was it before?"

"Helios." Apollo tenses a bit as he says it, but tries not to think too hard about it. "He was the driver of the sun chariot. But as time went on, more and more of our worshippers started associating me with the Sun, that eventually it became my responsibility."

Zagreus is so young and new; It would be a terrible thing to bring up the possibility of fading when he's already dealing with so much at once. Even if he's taking it all remarkably well.

"Oh, I see." Zagreus considers this. "In my time, Helios is still spoken of as the sun's charioteer, even while you are also associated with the sun. I never asked after any further details than that, mostly because I assumed I would never even see the sun, let alone meet any of the gods responsible for it. Also, my father was never keen on talking much about our relatives, so asking about them was usually a surefire way to attract his ire."

Not that Zagreus sounds all that intimidated by such a thing. More annoyed than anything.

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October Mingle

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RP time is silly and stretchy sometimes. Both threads can be true even if they're contradictory.

yeah time is fake anyway!

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