etrayalogs | MISSION 001

Entry tags:

MISSION 001

WHO: Everyone!
WHEN: March 29th-April 20th
WHERE: Everywhere on Etraya
WHAT: Mission 001!
NOTES\WARNINGS: Potential violence, death.

⏵ mission prep ⏴
On the morning of the 29th, characters will receive a notification from Aurora to come to the hospital’s ground floor to prepare for their first mission. On this floor, pairs will be given slips of paper with matching numbers. If characters have chosen their partners, they too will receive small slips of paper with matching numbers, as these numbers match the room assignment they will be asked to please step inside.

The rooms themselves are bare. There’s a cot, two chairs pushed up against a small table, a miniature fridge set up below a sink, and a television that only plays static. On the table is a note, which simply reads:

Welcome. To prepare you for your first mission, we are giving you time to get to know your partner. You have a twelve-hour time limit to discuss your lives together. We recommend talking about moments throughout your life that have defined the person you have become. In addition, we have included several ingredients inside the miniature refrigerator. You must, without telling your partner specifically what it is, create their favorite drink using the ingredients within and above the refrigerator.

Do not attempt to cheat. Do not make your own drink.

If you pass, you will both be given two points and the door will unlock. If you fail, you may try again with the same partner or a new partner may be reassigned to you.

Good luck.

Within the mini fridge will be numerous ingredients - these ingredients could be anything, from Bantha milk to dragon fruit - whatever their favorite drinks are, they will find all the correct ingredients to make them. There will also be numerous extra ingredients. Maybe a character’s favorite drink is a nice cup of peppermint tea. The kettle, and the tea bags, will be present on top of the mini fridge, but there may also be soda bottles inside the fridge and various milk substitutes. Cheating by making their own drink will result in the game being reset, and a new partner being assigned or no partner at all being assigned and they will simply be removed from this part of the exercise.

⏵ the secret's out⏴
Numerous notes can be found throughout Etraya’s populated areas - falling from the sky, taped to doors, slid under them, or perhaps being handed out by a few of the companion bots who will eagerly note how these are meant to help, but a quick read may show that they’re not things anyone wants to be given out so freely.

After all, on the notes are secrets, untold truths, things that were never meant to be shared nor wanted out in the open. Some of these aren’t notes at all, but small packages that are not addressed to anyone in particular, or addressed to the incorrect party. Inside the packages are items that may be associated with a particular event: a knife that had been used to betray a friend still stained with blood, a mask meant to conceal identity, a picture featuring a moment in time that had best been left forgotten.

The goal of the game becomes clear by the notes written on the back or thin slips within the packages: match the secret to the person. You could simply ignore them, but the note also includes an addendum: more notes will continue to be sent until the person is matched to their secret.

⏵ cracked reflection ⏴

Every person is an intricate mosaic, composed of numerous facets that shape what makes them - themselves.

After all, one person is not simply one picture, but rather, a puzzle comprised of myriad pieces. These pieces may shape their strengths, their sense of humor, the influences of their upbringing, and who they admired in their formative years. Together, these fragments coalesce into a singular form: you.

But what if those pieces were rearranged? What if the fundamental aspects that define who you are simply… didn’t exist? What if, rather than being a courageous hero, you were cast as a formidable villain? What if, instead of pursuing the path that led you to greatness, you veered in a different direction?

A new dawn breaks over Etraya. The artificial sun rises over the horizon, accompanied by the melodic chirping of birds. As the denizens of Etraya awaken, they sense... a shift in the air - a feeling of dissonance, as if a piece of themselves has suddenly gone missing. Because it has.

Doubles of every current inhabitant of Etraya roam the corridors of the apartment building and the surrounding facilities. They let themselves into Roxx to get a few new outfits, get themselves a meal at the hospital cafeteria, or maybe they’re raiding the snack shelves at Kwik Trip. They may bear a striking resemblance to their counterpart and act very similarly, but there is something off about them. A quality that sets them apart. Remember that step you took, that led you to your current career? The step you’ve kept secret for so long, that has defined your actions ever since? They didn’t take it. They went down a different path, something darker, or perhaps something lighter. They took the path you most feared, the one you knew would turn out terribly. And they in turn - turned out for the worst.

Characters will find they are facing one of their worst fears: themselves, but their worst selves. The version of them that they fought so hard not to become, that they strove against rather than towards. And the mission? They need to take out their worst selves.

But there’s a twist: interaction with their doubles isn’t possible. Both halves are cognizant of each other’s existence, yet they are incapable of verbally or physically interacting with each other. And while the double understands what they are, the original? Well… how do you truly know you are who you’re supposed to be? What if you were the double all along? What if you are your own worst self?

There is one way to be sure: the color of the copies’ blood is slightly darker than what it should be. Running closer to a red-black than the red you would anticipate. Or for some, perhaps their blood is red where it should be running black. While they feel and look real, driving a unique blade straight through where their heart would be will cause doubles to dissipate into nothing once the knife penetrates deep enough. As for the genuine articles, well, the blade is sharp—and it’s going to hurt.

A blade is provided for every authentic copy. Those who were sleeping through the night will find it beside them upon awakening. As for those who remain vigilant throughout the night, the blade will manifest beside them in the early hours of April 2nd.

Guess someone is going to have to kill your double.

⏵ quicksilver has no sense of tact ⏴

Aurora’s announcement left out several crucial details: the existence of the doubles, for one. But also the looming deadline to take care of the mess that has been dropped onto Etraya. Inside the characters’ wrists, they will discover a timer gradually counting down. The timers are only visible for the person who dons it, as is the amount of time given. Every person is given an individual time limit, but it cannot be longer than two weeks. As the numbers dwindle, more black marks appear going up the inside of their arms toward the inside of their elbow. And what are the black marks?

With each additional black mark, they begin to feel… less like themselves, and more like their doppelgangers. In the beginning, maybe they barely notice the change. Maybe it’s a favorite food they loved that they now hate, or perhaps it’s an event that has shifted: something small but important - a decision to save a life changed to taking one. Maybe they’ll feel like a piece of themselves is no longer the same, replaced with another feeling or sensation. Where something would have usually made them empathetic to another's blight, now they find their suffering funny. Regardless, the longer their doubles are around, the longer they slowly begin to become their doubles - and their doubles begin to become just like them.

If their doppelganger is not taken out at the end of their provided time, it will simply dissipate and the original will remain changed. The only way to return to normal is to kill the original. After death, the character will remain dead for twenty-four hours before returning to their normal selves as if the death had never occurred. While killing them to return them to normal is information Aurora will readily share, no one will inform them that they will simply return to normal by April 20th.

⏵ OOC ⏴
Welcome to the first mission! For any questions relating to this mission please reply below. All other questions can be directed to the FAQ.

Please note that while ICly, characters are not given a choice, players can choose which missions they wish for their characters to participate in. They may have missed receiving room assignments, or their secrets may not have been dropped, or a copy may not have shown up for them. This may not always be an option in future missions!

⏵FULL NAVIGATION⏴

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

( being left out of the lore drops isn't really an egregious undermining of their friendship. not like she's had the opportunity to sit on a rooftop and just unload all her facts and flaws to rita either, but not that long ago it'd felt like they'd come close to a complete understanding of one another. just to have the world flip on it's head then dissolve and reform into arguably better set dressings, sure but like. finding out new information about one held so closely to her heart is enlightening and unnerving all at once.

clarke shifts on the lunch bench, scooting forward and setting her elbows on the tabletop. her hands fiddle and fidget over themselves and the slip of paper between her fingers for a second, and her gaze is stuck on rita. brow furrowed, head tilted; picturesque concern and curiosity. )

You didn't have any friends before that? Not even ones you just... grew apart from?

[That fidgeting doesn't escape Rita's notice, and again, she feels like there's something else going on here, but--at Clarke's questions, her wondering is superceded by a mildly indignant huff. Why do people keep harping on that, anyway? Surely it's not that weird! Or so she thinks...

She waves a dismissive hand as she replies.]

No, and it's not that big a deal! Besides--even Estelle said... [The irritation in her voice fades to something--fond, maybe, understanding, because-] ...that she'd never made any, either. So, you know, that's why she was so excited...

( rita, babe. people keep harping on that because socialization in early childhood is actually a deeply important thing when it comes to emotional development. kids need to play with other kids; kids need to form decent relationships independent of their family structures, even if they melt away over time, in which case they then get to learn how to grieve early. as early as infancy, children can learn how to pick up on social cues from each other, they navigate their first conflicts over sharing toys, they learn to take turns, and as they grow come to understand the consequences of their actions and words among their peers —

oh.

...you know what, this actually makes a lot of sense when clarke looks back on all the times she'd witnessed rita clash with others. when she thinks of all the times she was on the receiving end of the other girl's general inability to mind her tongue. just because it sheds light on a situation doesn't mean it isn't mostly just sad to dwell on, but those are thoughts she can chew over on her own time. right now she should — )

Well, I'm glad you made one eventually. You deserve that, Rita.

( and finally, finally slapping her hand down to slide the note across the table and ultimately release it into the space between them: )

So, when did it become... more?

[Turns out a city that's basically a whole big research facility full of poorly-socialized nerds doesn't exactly do wonders for the handful of children who grow up there! So while proper socialization is still a work in progress, she's certainly grown to prefer having people around that she can trust. Like Clarke.

Even if she has to say everything with such an...embarrassing familiarity. You deserve that--Rita's face is already flushing even before Clarke slides the paper over for Rita to read. She hears more, and at first thinks: more friends, because Estelle being the first opened the way for others, but then she reads the word crush, and suddenly her face goes beet-red.]

H--how long have you- [Since she read the note, obviously, but still!! Rita looks at her, then back to the note.] It--it never was anything more, it was just--I liked her, okay? You would too, if you met her!

( wow, the city of nerds really needs some social reconstruction, thinks the baby of a utilitarian era, who'd spent her first sixteen years resigning herself to being just another blip in a transitional generation in deep space. there are no real stones to throw, which is good because they both seem to be cased in glass houses. at least at the end of the day they'd managed to find each other in the midst of a waterlogged hell, through trial and spat and tribulation.

now moving on to what is currently causing rita's blood to spike and flush up into her face —

yeah, clarke's known for a couple of hours. and there were no easy ways to break this news, so this abrupt drop seemed best. judging by how her friend flusters, maybe not though? but too late to track it back, they're just going to exist in this awkward limbo together. )

I mean, maybe? There's no guarantee of that. Sounds like she's lovely but all I know about her is the doll's likeness. And she seems a little... young for me?

( clarke griffin has multiple types, and that's what's being referred to right now, yeah? )

[Is it any wonder they all latched onto one Jade Curtiss as their chosen trusted adult? Unconventional childhoods, meet unconventional parental figure.

Anyway, despite all that blood rushing to her face, there's something about Clarke's reply that's just...a little amusing, actually. Rita doesn't quite smile, but some of the fluster fades (though she's still very red, to be sure), a hint of fondness in the crinkle of her eyes.]

Well, she's pretty sheltered, to be sure, but...I'm pretty sure she's about your age, actually. Presuming the same amount of time has passed for her, she'd be twenty now...

[You know, she hasn't thought much about what her friends back home might be doing. She decided to believe in herself--the her on Terca Lumireis--to find a way to save both Estelle and the world. And maybe time doesn't mean much when one is completely removed from their universe, but she does wonder, now...

But. More importantly, Rita likes her, and obviously she has great taste, so what's there to argue about, Clarke??]

( true, in the end rita's romantic tastes are impeccable — they both adore natsuno yuuki after all, don't they? but don't sit across from clarke griffin, worst friend on any planet and rita's only other one here, and silently ask her to assume those tastes are impeccable. like, seriously girl, look at the last two years of your life, look at your choices. )

Oh. I guess I'm probably about twenty now, too.

( look at the last two years of your life, clarke griffin, look at your choices. damn, time certainly flies when you're not really paying attention to it, huh...

but this is not pointed sadness o'clock. clarke veers herself sharply away from that line of thinking, doesn't linger on what her nineteen-twenty year old self may be doing languishing out in an apocalyptic wasteland, doesn't focus on how her youth has been wasted in wars of varying degrees. lets all of it roll off her shoulders and sighs a little before buttoning her face back up into amicable openness. the hint of a smile. )

I'm sure she's lovely, Rita. I just... I never knew you like girls too. ( too as in as well or too as in like me. maybe both? )

See? I'm right, usual.

[Same age, as she suspected. Which is such a mild and easy deduction that there's nothing triumphant about it...but she can be slightly pleased all the same. Now, if only she can get Clarke to understand that she herself is seventeen!!

But anyway, yeah, that too certainly does have multiple potential meanings there! Though first and foremost, Rita huffs.]

You don't need to make it sound so... I mean, it's not just any girl or anything--I don't think I could ever be into you, even if I'm your type. No offense, but gross.

[Just judging by what Clarke said about her taste in guys, anyway!]

( yeah, yeah, don't gloat, it's unbecoming on anyone especially a short-stack eleven year old.

clarke is prepared for this conversation to go a number of different ways. ready to be preemptively told off (don't try to steal my girl! if she ever gets here!) or for the aforementioned gloating to continue, or maybe to be let in a little more — told what exactly caught rita's attention when it came to estelle, or regaled with stories of their shared past. anything really, other than that sharp left turn into forbidden thought territory.

forbidden because it's actually so, SO gross to consider, and when rita just barely broaches the topic, clarke's already got her lips pulled back over her teeth in the most offended sneer. ew, yuck, why would you say that buddy? )

I beg your absolute pardon? You think you'd be my type?

[Hey look, she agreed the idea was gross! But look-]

Hey, don't think I've forgotten--you said smart, confident, passionate, and reasonable. That sure sounds like me, if I didn't know any better.

[The only reason she can even make this joke so casually is because--thankfully!--there's no chance of their relationship actually going that way. If their friends descriptor moves to something more, that something more is family.]

( oh, were they not already family 🥹 the pillowfight, rita, remember the pillowfight.

but back in the moment currently at hand, clarke's little ew just smelled something foul sneer turns into fish out of water, silently drowning on air gaping of the mouth. this is ridiculous. this conversation is so mortifying that it's almost comical, she her stomach twists into approximately the same knot it had over a year ago when rita mordio's idea of making amends was drunkenly texting i want to make out with you. what is life right now? why can't a sink hole open up in the ground right this very second and spare them both this mortifying experience? )

I — that's — ( she is floundering for a good way to explain herself here, because okay yeah, she'd listed all those traits sure. but never, ever drew the line between the likes of lexa and finn and niylah and pal — all the way back to rita. it's ridiculous. also she's dating clarke's best friend, and no way in hell she's ever knowingly playing homewrecker again. )

That's mostly just when it comes to boys. And you are a lot of things, Rita, most of them great. But reasonable isn't even in the top twenty.

[C'mon Clarke she's undersocialized! She doesn't recognize it for what it is yet! Even if the feelings are there. (She won the pillowfight, of course.)

And naturally, the ew factor means Rita isn't actually trying to convince Clarke to fall for her, even if the other girl's stunned reaction is almost as perplexing as it is amusing. But then--a bit of an indignant flush overtakes her face.]

Hey, what's that supposed to mean?! You should know by now that I excel at reasoning!

[Like she's too busy commenting on this particular detail just yet to get back around to the just boys part!!]

( (whatever helps you sleep at night, babe. sleep peacefully atop pillows that may one day be utilized for round two...!)

the other girl insists she's great at reasoning and clarke just flashes back to the multiple months it took for an acknowledgement of ghosts upon a ghost ship to come out of her mouth; of the way she'd aggravated rights in the lobby of the labyrinth that lead them all to personalized torture, of having to set her broken nose after a stupid fight with darcy, and like. girl. )

Rita....

( she loves you, but be so fucking for real right now... )

How many arguments have you gotten into with complete strangers since we got here?

[(Whereupon she will remain the undefeated champion, naturally!!)

But anyway, Rita's not so self-unaware that she doesn't get what Clarke's getting at, though she still automatically bristles at the accusation.]

I--I'll have you know they were perfectly reasonable ones, okay?!

[In other words, the number isn't zero.]

Edited 2024-04-18 22:29 (UTC)

( (girl, please )

also — girl!, please! )

And who started these "perfectly reasonable" arguments? Them or you?

They did, obviously!

[It's definitely convincing when her defensive reply comes immediately, right? Right?! But maybe anticipating that this isn't likely to go her way (really, they should have a better opinion of her!!), she opts for diversion.]

How did we get on this topic, anyway?! This is supposed to be about you and your picky tastes.

[That's definitely what they were talking about, right.]

Maybe you should give me their names. I can fact check and then try to smooth over the issue. ( we all know she's great at peacetalks, nothing ever goes awry when clarke tries to plead her people's cases... but this is mostly just a joke. a little piling on, her eyes crinkling in the corner with poorly concealed humor. this conversation is terrible, but it's also pretty light. )

I'm not picky, I'm just not attracted to you, Rita. Which you shouldn't even be getting defensive about, you are dating my best friend — can you imagine how weird it'd be if I was?

( sworn off love relatively recently, but sworn off love triangles and homewrecking years prior. it's such a headache, and clarke bodily shudders at the mere idea. ugh. a not so quiet inside thought accidentally trickling out of her mouth: )

And — you can't even use a sword.

Edited 2024-04-22 04:38 (UTC)

[Rita huffs, but the change in topic is totally successful. Even if she could've protested that she didn't get each and every person's name.]

I'm not defensive--it's not like I'm trying to convince you to be into me--I said that was gross, didn't I? I'm just saying your standards don't-

[Hang on. Rita pauses in her increasingly-not-defensive arguing, brows furrowing in confusion. Palamedes didn't use a sword either, to her knowledge??]

What does that have to do with anything? [Even she doesn't think Clarke's suddenly trying to change the topic to getting her to use physical weapons again, but still-] I'll have you know I can use bladed whips just fine, actually!

And that's really cool, but it isn't... the same?

( the tabletop looks really inviting to just slam her head against if a mild concussion would mean escaping this conversation, not having to outright spell it out. but rita is inquiring and persistent — a bulldog with a bone between her teeth when she wanted to be — so she probably would have dredged this conversation up bedside in a hospital room if clarke injured herself enough to escape this moment. and that means this has to happen, doesn't it? )

I — look. I like boys and girls too. Just like you, it's not just any boy or girl, it's more about the person themselves. But sometimes there's just coincidental patterns, like book-smarts and swordplay respectively. And none of that's even important anymore because I've sworn off love, and you're dating Natsuno.

( an after-thought occurs. )

Unless...

( clarke's eyes drop from rita's face to the doll in her possession, and she sort of has to wonder. )

If she was here too, would that change how you felt about him?

Oh?

[Clarke finally makes an admission here, and Rita's almost as perplexed as she is interested. Because of course it's about the individual person--she doesn't just like any girl, or any guy, it's specific people who are important to her--but also, why didn't Clarke just tell her that earlier?!

But she's distracted from any questions when Clarke drops that particular one. Maybe it's a valid question, but a spike of hot anger fills her chest, and her answer is immedate:]

Hell no! Just what do you take me for?!

[Yeah, Clarke has a vested interest in asking, since Natsuno's her best friend, but still, Rita's no traitor-! Given a moment, though, she's likely to calm down and voice her stance less angrily.]

( the admission hadn't come earlier because it had been rita's affections they'd been discussing here! at least until the other girl pivoted sharply and they'd gotten thrown off course, much to clarke's kneejerk offense. but they'd managed to right themselves it seems. at least until the offensiveness is aimed towards rita, and met with a satisfactory amount of outrage.

she weathers rita's surge of anger and waits out that calm down moment before speaking again. )

Okay, good. That's what I thought, but just checking.

[But obviously Clarke should've given her all the juicy details ages ago...! Or not, on second thought, considering the way all Clarke's relationships with guys have turned out...

Rita huffs and sits back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest after the plushie is settled in her lap.]

Just checking? Hmph...

[Another calm down moment later, and her scowl fades. She gets they both have a vested interest in wanting the best for Natsuno, after all.]

Look...Estelle's always gonna be important to me. But asking me if I'd dump him the second she shows back up again? [Okay so that's not actually what Clarke said but anyway-] Our relationship means way too much for that! And...obviously, so does he.

( once upon a time she used to take personal offense to being on the receiving end of rita's sass and temper, then came all the subsequent times where she'd learned to brush it off. and now there's this, a moment where she feels entirely comfortable and safe being the target of rita's anger because she also knows the other girl would never escalate it to violence, and somewhere along her way in life that had become a rare concept.

clarke can't help it, she smiles a little. warm and entirely accepting of rita's answer, despite the fact she and pal'd had a slightly different unspoken arrangement when it came to the likes of dulcinea septimus or lexa kom trikru had ever shown up; same as they held for the likes of bellamy blake or camilla hect when it came to confidant of choice. in the end, she understands what it means when rita says estelle would always be important to her, and respects her ability to still move past that and find a fuller type of love.

she could literally never, anymore. but she loves that for her friends.

also the vibe of you just gonna dump him? is incredibly accurate, that was what she meant. but satisfied and settled, with an understanding between them that natsuno means a lot to clarke as well, all she has to say is: )

As it should. But like I said, just checking.

( ... )

I just really like the two of you together. Something about it just clicks, and I like seeing both of you happy.

[Another little huff, this one edging closer to mild exasperation compared to the outright offense from earlier.]

Please, have a little more faith in me than that.

[Rita doesn't know that Clarke's viewpoint in her own relationships has been different, so she is kind of assuming they share that same sort of loyalty. Any discussions regarding it are waylaid before Rita can even think to begin them, though, as Clarke's next comment brings a flush to Rita's face. Sincerity just does that!

But she is quite happy with their relationship, so:]

Yeah, well...we do make a pretty cute pair.

Anyway, back to what you were saying before--something about girls and swords?

[Because actually she hasn't forgotten that!]

( she actually has a lot of faith in you, rita mordio — more than can be said for most people still inhabiting her earth, let alone anyone still languishing on the serena eterna nor setting up a sense of life upon etraya. faith just sometimes needs to be questioned, to reaffirm the belief. and after the fact she can, if not happily, carry on knowing that at least the building blocks in her life (horrors, pain, suffering, natsuno and rita being adorable in the interim, etc) are solid and unchanging.

her conversational footing is easily shaken, however, and when rita inevitably drags them back to "girls with swords", clarke chokes on her own spit. manages to pass it off as a deep clearing of her throat. and, after a beat, puts her hands on the edge of the table and scoots to extricate herself. )

— actually, I'm pretty hungry. And should probably grab a lunch tray before they clear all of this out.

( does the mealtime buffer in the hospital cafeteria ever actually run out and get cleared? who knows! clarke's never checked! but windjammer had certainly never run dry in normal times, so this excuse to push back and stand up from the table so abruptly is so far outside the norm that it's noticable. )

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