etrayalogs | 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

[ ben is feeling confident up until he sees his partner. he should be good at this, he's gotten to know people with less time while having to pretend he knew them already.

unfortunately, this kid seems to hate his guts.

well, he has to try anyway, right? he has no trouble sharing so at least one of them can get points from this. ]

How do you want to do this? I can give you a quick summary.

[ he's going to the fridge and taking everything out. If he sets aside the stuff from his own drink maybe he can guess damian's by process of elimination. ]

I have no need to learn anything about you. We can complete the task at hand, and skip over the pleasantries.

( it's technically completing what has been asked of them. the problem is: hinting at what he likes to drink would include talking about himself, and damian doesn't want to. )

Can we?

[ He's looking into the fridge and realizing it probably won't be as straight-forward as he'd hoped. There's enough ingredients to make several different cocktails. ]

It completes the task, does it not?

( but he will - sit down on the edge of the hospital cot, looking towards the fridge. )

I don't consume alcohol. I keep my body in peak condition.

[ There's water and there's lemon. So he's taking those out. ]

I do consume alcohol, but the past year has been so weird I'm not sure I know what my favorite is anymore.

( brows furrow as he watches ben. . . go about his exploration of the fridge and the contents around it. )

I'm assuming your income is roughly between one hundred and one hundred fifty thousand, when you aren't time-traveling via body jumping. Show me your hands.

You assume correctly.

[ He sets down what he's doing and holds his hands out. ]

I don't know if I'm still getting paid.

Doubtful.

( ben holds out his hands, and damian inspects his palms for a moment without reaching out to touch them. looks for callouses, scarring, any noteworthy marks. )

Just as I doubt your tastes run expensive. Sweet, or sour?

[ He really wants to either complain or ask questions, but mostly he's impressed. He does have callouses but they're all from holding a pencil. He wasn't in his body for the past year so there's none of the scars he acquired while time-traveling. ]

Sour.

( a soft hum under his breath, and damian pulls himself up to his feet. makes his way over to the fridge and sifts through the ingredients. he takes out an egg, lemon juice, a bottle of whiskey, and reaches for the container of sugar.

takes a small glass, and cracks the egg open on the edge of it. he doesn't drop the entirety of the egg inside, just the egg white. )

[ he has no idea of what damian is preparing but he has a very strong suspicion it'll be his new favorite drink. ]

You'd be better at my job than I am.

I know.

( no point in denying it; damian knows he's better than the mass majority of people at--well. everything.

the whiskey, sugar, egg white, and lemon juice are combined into a cocktail shaker. damian twists his wrist to shake it around a bit, opens it up to add in a few pieces of ice, then closes it to shake it again for a moment until pouring it out (leaving the ice behind in the cocktail shaker) into a glass.

offers it over. )

[ ben wonders if damian would be any good at acting. the attitude seems too built-in. ]

You'd have to roleplay though.

[ whiskey sour isn't a drink he's ever tried, but this kid is obviously trained and ben is in the process of learning who he is again, so he reaches for it and takes a sip.

it is, in fact, the best drink he's had in years. ]

Do you get extra points if you guessed a drink I'd never tried before?

( there's a moment where he just. looks to ben. watches him. and the irritated scowl on his face fades, replaced by a genuine smile, bright and easy. it crinkles the corners of his eyes, showing off the white of his teeth. his voice loses the gravely undertone, the haughty, better-than-thou tenor, and brightens to something closer to what one might expect from a child his age. )

Thanks! I worked really hard on it.

[ it's not real. ben knows it's an act, this kid is some kind of superhero spy and he's proving a point.

it looks so genuine, though, it tugs at his heartstrings and he finds himself unable to hold back his own smile. ]

That's impressive.

[ He returns to the lemonade he was preparing. Strongly suspecting he'll be mixing non-alcoholic drinks for hours and at the end the right drink will be a glass of ice water or something equally ridiculous. ]

( the smile lasts the whole two seconds it's needed to prove a point, before his face twists back into it's usual, vaguely irritated but not terribly so expression. )

You're not even close.

I don't have a lot to go on.

[ maybe a glass of chocolate milk. ]

( which is fully intentional. he's not revealing anything about his personal life to this outsider. but. )

Try warmer.

[ would this teenager drink black coffee? he'll try that. if it's not coffee there's probably an infinite amount of teas, and tea is a thing ben is good at. ]

( he's not objecting to the coffee, so.

maybe that's a good sign? or it probably is. because otherwise he'd be telling ben how he's wrong. )

I take it you don't have a sweet tooth?

[ he can't help wondering if damian's likes and dislikes are organic or more things he chose based on what he thought he should like. ]

I don't dislike sweets.

( he does, actually, like them. but admitting to that outright is a little much. )

MISSION 001

mission prep

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