etrayamods: (Default)
∎ ETRAYA MODS ∎ ([personal profile] etrayamods) wrote in [community profile] etrayalogs2025-10-24 03:02 pm

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.



aimsforknees: (180)

[personal profile] aimsforknees 2025-11-13 04:49 am (UTC)(link)
[ He's not about to confess to his CIA years, but there's no harm in saying how long he was in the Army. ]

Thirteen years in the Army.
badlydisarmed: (005)

[personal profile] badlydisarmed 2025-11-13 05:24 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you for your service.

[ It's perfunctory, the thing to say to veterans. He must've served in the 90's, he supposes they could confirm if they're from the same world if the wars matched. ]

Iraq?

[ He remembers that one, those ones, there were several. ]
aimsforknees: (182)

[personal profile] aimsforknees 2025-11-13 05:47 am (UTC)(link)
And Afghanistan.

[ If he's asking about Iraq it seems reasonable they're from similar Earths. Or even the same one. No one knows about the Machine so there's no way to confirm their worlds are the same. ]
badlydisarmed: (010)

[personal profile] badlydisarmed 2025-11-14 03:32 am (UTC)(link)
That one's recent for me. I'm from 2003.
aimsforknees: (174)

[personal profile] aimsforknees 2025-11-14 07:30 pm (UTC)(link)
[ 2003? That's long enough ago that he wasn't in the CIA yet. ]

I'm from 2015. Any questions about the future?
badlydisarmed: (Default)

[personal profile] badlydisarmed 2025-11-14 08:06 pm (UTC)(link)
Not really. I died back home, so whatever's going on won't be my problem.

[ It's not like he left any loved ones behind either, other than Lizzie, maybe. But he doubts she will mourn him for long if she mourns him at all. ]
aimsforknees: (184)

[personal profile] aimsforknees 2025-11-14 08:12 pm (UTC)(link)
[ The way Romano speaks of his death so casually throws John for a second. It's not something he's made complete peace with yet, but for the sake of the conversation he can pretend he has. ]

You wouldn't remember it if you could go home. Everything about Etraya goes away if you leave.
badlydisarmed: (006)

[personal profile] badlydisarmed 2025-11-14 08:14 pm (UTC)(link)
People have gone home and come back?

[ Perhaps he should be more interested in the mechanics, but he figures this place is it for him. This or other similar— probably worse bubble cities. ]
aimsforknees: (150)

[personal profile] aimsforknees 2025-11-14 08:17 pm (UTC)(link)
[ It doesn't get discussed on the network very much, so it's reasonable he wouldn't have heard of it. ]

I went home for two years. No time in Etraya had passed.
Edited 2025-11-14 20:18 (UTC)
badlydisarmed: (Default)

[personal profile] badlydisarmed 2025-11-15 11:45 pm (UTC)(link)
Huh. Any official explanation for it?

[ Someone who cared more than he does would try to figure out how that fits with the saving the world theory. ]
aimsforknees: (225)

[personal profile] aimsforknees 2025-11-16 12:11 am (UTC)(link)
[ That person wasn't John. ]

I didn't ask, was busy getting used to this place again.
badlydisarmed: (010)

[personal profile] badlydisarmed 2025-11-16 12:43 am (UTC)(link)
Fair enough. I wouldn't bother looking into it either.

[ It doesn't really matter anyway. At the end of the day they're still stuck here. ]
aimsforknees: (174)

[personal profile] aimsforknees 2025-11-16 01:17 am (UTC)(link)
[ There's plenty of mysteries in Etraya, and if John had to bet he would say most of them will go unsolved. ]

If Aurora knows I don't think she'd say why.
badlydisarmed: (010)

[personal profile] badlydisarmed 2025-11-16 01:20 am (UTC)(link)
She might say it's a glitch or something.
aimsforknees: (180)

[personal profile] aimsforknees 2025-11-16 01:33 am (UTC)(link)
Might be right. Some people come back without any memories of Etraya.

[ He's glad that wasn't the case for either him nor Harold.