etrayalogs | MISSION 004 (part 1)

MISSION 004 (part 1)

WHO: Everyone!
WHEN: July 19th-July 27th.
WHERE: Moorecroft Village
WHAT: Enjoy life in your new suburban neighborhood!
NOTES\WARNINGS: Potential death.

⏵ welcome home ⏴
Welcome to Moorecroft Village, where the sun casts a gentle glow through soft white clouds. Pavement paths wind around the village, adorned with wildflowers in every hue. Birds sing a soothing melody, while a few content cats lounge in sunspots or on benches along the streets. Cars hum by, ferrying residents to work, the store, or back home after a busy day.

It looks almost perfect. The ideal little village, occupied by individuals from all over. Orcs, elves, faeries, werewolves, vampires, and dhampirs coexist harmoniously, each contributing to their quaint little town. Despite their varied backgrounds, they appear to embrace this place as their own. They take their baby carriages out during the day for a stroll, chatting with friends and neighbors about current happenings, discussing their most recent mission (a ‘game’ of Whodunit, in which one of theirs, Theo, was tasked with killing one of their own each day and they all had to figure out who had killed them before they could come back to life) and the difficulties therein, new job assignments, weird things the teens in their houses are getting up to... generic, neighborly conversations.

The village is full of life. There are numerous facilities to wander and things to do! The library houses a vast collection of books spanning history from countless other worlds and whimsical children's tales. Teens gather at the ice skating rink, while the movie theater screens films spanning generations. An aquarium full of wonders: glowing rainbow fish, miniature great white sharks, a colorful octopus with patterns running over it that almost look like ivy, and numerous others.

In the daytime, everyone can explore clothing stores, indulge in gourmet cakes from the grocers, and partake in leisurely pursuits without financial concerns; just like on Etraya, money does not exist here.

⏵ help wanted ⏴
Moorecroft surpasses Etraya in its development, offering attractions and activities to engage its inhabitants throughout the day. But with these advancements come additional responsibilities. By day, at least one adult from every household is expected to fulfill their shifts at 'day jobs', lasting anywhere from four to eight hours. Meanwhile, the youth are expected to go to school, absorbing knowledge in various disciplines.

Each job duty requires different skillsets, but whether or not those required skillsets are matched to those who are expected to work them... well. They’ll have plenty of time for training, won’t they? Or perhaps they’ll get dropped right into their job and be expected to figure it out all on their own.

For the younger residents, education is structured into two main institutions: "Sandalwood Lower" for those twelve and under, and "Maplewood Upper" for older students. These schools offer a broad curriculum encompassing Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Physical Education, Technology, Fine Arts, and a diverse array of Foreign Languages. Electives range widely, from specific sports to Survival Training, Creative Writing, Journalism, and Sociology.

At lunchtime, the school cafeteria presents an array of choices. Options range from standard fare like school pizza to other offerings such as vampire's blood, brains, and hearts—just in case an unexpected guest should drop in. After all, one never knows who might show up in Moorecroft.

⏵ honey do's ⏴
But life extends beyond work and school. A structured routine of what is expected of each household is kept on digital calendars, and installed on the wall in the kitchen of each house. These calendars update daily with smaller tasks, and weekly with larger ones, detailing what is expected of those residing within its walls.

Typical tasks include simple activities such as:

Take the child(ren) for a walk outdoors.
Visit the local park.
Bake a pie for the neighbors.
Tell your spouse(s) how important they are to you.
Share a secret.
Shop with your child(ren).
Mow the lawn.
Don’t forget to attend your child’s school’s PTA meeting!
Help with homework.
Take family photos.
Go on a date.

More complex tasks are found under weekly checklists, and may involve:

Host a neighborhood barbeque competition.
Volunteer at the hospital.
Teach your child a sport.
Start a soccer league.
Create a garage band.
Get a part time job.
Join a club.

Eos will check off each task as it is completed. At the bottom of each calendar, a tally records the completion of tasks, providing a visual measure of productivity and community involvement.

⏵ night watch ⏴
As the sun lowers over the horizon, everything shifts. Every long-term resident understands the consequences of curfew and the threats within. They retreat to their homes, urging those unfamiliar to them who may not understand the rules just yet that they, too, need to return indoors for the night.

Within the confines of their houses, life continues under a fragile veil of normalcy. A peek into some of the homes of long-term residents will find them playing board games with their family units, completing homework or work assignments they were unable to finish during the day, watching a few family-friendly shows on their couches, or enjoying a late dinner. Eventually, they’ll return to their beds and wait for the sound of their alarms.

In Moorecroft, no friendly companion bots roam the streets during the day. In their place, highly advanced robots emerge to enforce curfew once the time comes. They silently make their way through the streets, sweeping away anything that isn’t part of Eos’ design: trash left out on the street, bugs left by suspicious men wearing cowls that have ears on them, graffiti, new decor that Eos decides she doesn’t like. No winds shake the trees, there are no cars on the road, but noises can be heard coming from outside that don't sound... normal by any means. Croaks, whispers, scratches against doors and walls alike.

Those who defy curfew will be asked, once, to return to their homes. If they opt not to listen, they are met with force: physically restrained, subdued, and dragged back to their homes. If they decide to fight, the bots are not above killing them and dropping their limp bodies just inside the front door of their houses. They will revive after 48 hours but not without cost. Each return carries an absence—a missing memory, a lost skill, or a fragment of their very essence, stolen away in the process of their revival.

Even those who manage to evade capture will awaken in their beds with no recollection of their death or what they may have witnessed before dying. They will instead have a vague feeling that something horrifying happened.

⏵ NOTES ⏴

Daily and weekly tasks can be chosen by players! We won't be listing these out for each household, but relying on players to choose what's most fun for them to play with within their households.

As noted on Mission Plotting, we're open to one group successfully staying out past curfew, but would like to keep this to one thread.

We have a separate log for NPC interactions for this mission!

For any questions relating to the contents of this log, mod queries thread on the initial plotting post to assist us in keeping all mission-related information in one place. All other questions can be directed to the FAQ.
⏵FULL NAVIGATION⏴

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Breakfast Clu -- I mean, Detention

[As much as Accelerator would prefer sleeping through this mission he is, eventually, forced to attend school. Unsurprisingly, it sucks. The social mores of a Western-style school are beyond him, made even worse by the fact that there were only a few years of his life when he had actual classmates, and that was back when he was an incredibly young child. None of that applies to teenagers, so combine that with his lack of friends his own age and his general antisocial demeanour and he's having a bad time. A real bad time. It's about an hour into school before he feels like wanting to die.

Worst of all is the curriculum. A typical Western suburban school's course load is going to be several decades behind even the dingiest school in Academy City, and Accelerator is the city's top honour student. He's managed to get out of having to take phys ed., which is nice, but the rest of the crap being taught in all his classes are things he learned years and years ago. He's feeling fed up with everything, and he's bored, and he's tired, so it's no wonder that he ends up taking a nap during one class.

He doesn't even remember which one it was, but it doesn't matter. He isn't subtle about it, so it's inevitable that the teacher notices and thus he winds up in detention with the other delinquents. Fun stuff!

When he arrives at the room he's scowling, as per usual, irritated that he's having to waste his time doing more inane school shit. It's all kind of laughable, given back home he was both in prison and running an entire nation. This shouldn't bother him as much as it does.

With a huff he drops down into a desk near the door, removing his arm from his crutch before digging around in his bag to pull out a lukewarm can of coffee. Then, tilting his chair back, he puts his feet up on his desk and proceeds to start scrolling through a smartphone that is definitely not the kind Eos has provided them.]

Public Library.

[Accelerator can be found at the public library relatively often, shocking given his lack of desire to do anything with this mission. On the other hand, libraries allow him to indulge in his one real hobby, reading, and he could use something to do in between attending school and sleeping.

Even more shocking is that he gravitates towards the children's section, specifically the stacks containing YA novels and comics. He can be found flipping through a comic with a sci-fi-esque cover, looking a little interested in it. Or maybe for those scientifically-minded, you can catch him over in nonfiction with books on spatial data analysis, geomorphology and earth sciences under his arm.

There are times when he's there without any intentions of taking out books. Back in the children's section, he and a girl of about eight or nine have commandeered a table, with her math homework spread out over the surface. Upon arriving he had been assigned a part-time job tutoring, and it's one of the few things around here that doesn't actively annoy him. She looks a lot less interested in it than he is, and she spends the majority of their hour needling him instead of being productive. Still, he doesn't look bothered, and he patiently persists, eventually getting her to work through the equations that have been assigned.

Or maybe he's just a pushover, who knows. When their hour is up and some parental figure arrives (her mother? Again, who knows), she scoops up all her stuff into her backpack, grinning and waving at him before running off. He sits back in his chair and yawns.]

Wildcard.

((Happy to write up a personalized starter or do something else! I'm available at

cryptophyta and cryptophyta on Discord!))

[Connor is an over-achiever at everything he does, even if it's being assigned as a teacher at school. he enjoys teaching people (not) surprisingly. he could have been placed into subject and easily helped anyone learn. he did have a small adjustment period of simplifying his vocabulary, but computers -- and their language -- are a walk in the park. he won't outwardly admit it, but he does like having something so human to do. it's allowing him to integrate with society in a new way.

he's still as nosy as ever, naturally, and finds himself peeking into classrooms after the bell has rung. Accelerator is easy to spot. instead of disturbing the class, he sends him a message from the hallway.]

Why are you in detention?

[It's probably Connor is a teacher and not a student, because over-achievers never go over well with classmates. Accelerator has mostly been staying under the radar with the brilliant strategy of not interacting with his classmates at all.

He isn't expecting a text. He only occasionally sends out texts - so far, only to a couple of kids in Etraya to basically just make sure they're doing okay - and he certainly isn't expecting to receive any messages. People don't text him. Why would they? Why would anyone in their right mind want to talk to him --

Oh, right, it's Connor.

Accelerator's first instinct is to text back a blunt 'fuck you' but even he realizes how unnecessarily mean that is. Shit, school is stressing him out worse than he realized.

Sighing, he's formulate a proper response through his earpiece, still scrolling through his smartphone.]

Class was so fucking boring that I took a nap. Turns out they don't like that around here.

[Connor clocked it, how stressed Accelerator is. he noted it in his expression, is even able to see the annoyance as he looks at the message Connor sent him. is school really that terrible, or is Accelerator struggling in some other way? or does he not want to talk to him?

all things he's willing to wait to find out.]

All schools don't like that. I can excuse you from this classroom, though. It would mean going to mine, but it's better than here, I think.

[he doesn't think Accelerator deserves being in detention, anyway. there are more important things to worry about.]

[Accelerator raises an eyebrow at the offer. It's tempting to take, but would Connor get into trouble for it? If he's a teacher then probably not, right? It's not like he's letting him leave detention, he'd just be shifting classrooms. No one can have a problem with that.

.............. He isn't really sure since he isn't sure what kinds of procedures teachers have for detention, but he supposes it can't hurt to accept.]

Fine.

[It's good timing, because the teacher supervising detention is coming in, and upon seeing Accelerator with his feet up on the desk and his phone in his hand, proceeds to give him a whole lecture on his behaviour. Accelerator's scowl mostly remains in place as he's silent through the entire thing, though his blood pressure is rising and every so often his eye twitches.]

[the other teacher breezes by him as if Connor doesn't exist, too focused on tunnel visioning the classroom (and Accelerator). he doesn't allow it to go on for very long, excusing himself and taking a few long perfect strides to whisper in the teacher's ear. it's not clear what's said, but it's enough to have them back off. face still set in disapproval, his eyes fall on Accelerator.]

You're with me. Would you please gather your things?

[easy enough. he waits for him, then leads the two of them out of the quiet classroom, back toward his own.]

Is it wrong of me to assume you may have a problem with authority? Your blood pressure was rising back there. You were holding back on saying something, weren't you?

[While Accelerator is fully prepared to sit there and tolerate the entire lecture, he's inwardly glad that Connor stepping in means he doesn't have to put up with it. He doesn't complain, remaining silent as he gathers his belongings and follows Connor out of the classroom. Once they're out of there his blood pressure starts to drop, and he sips on his coffee.]

I didn't see any point in starting an argument, I would've just been given more detention. [And he doesn't want to spend any more time in school than he has to.] Any authority I have back home doesn't supersede the authority a teacher has here and now.

[The idea of using his status for something that should be insignificant makes him uncomfortable. He knows how teachers work, it's usually easier to simply shut up and go along with what they want than do anything that'd cause him more problems.

He glances over at Connor, looking a little curious.]

What the hell did you say to him?

[Connor relies on scanning humans for hints of behavior or health. some are better at hiding their expressions than others - he sees anger a lot - but vitals never lie.]

That was wise of you.

[showing self control impresses him, but mostly because he's seen how reactive Accelerator can be outside of a classroom. he glances down at him as they wind a corner and reach his classroom.]

I said that you missed an assignment and I'd like to give you the chance to finish it.

[he lied! with a small smile, he opens the door for Accelerator and heads in behind him. with just barely looking at one of the computers, Connor boots it up should he decide to use it.]

[Accelerator just gives a small shrug in response. He knows how important it is for someone like him to have a lot of self-control, so he's willing to exercise that skill when he needs to.]

I guess that works, as long as that teacher isn't planning on seeing if I've actually done an assignment.

[Do teachers check for that kind of thing? Normal ones wouldn't, he imagines, but it's not like he knows much about how teachers function beyond working with students.

He follows Connor into the computer lab, just thinking Yomikawa would know the answer to that.]

... You know, before I went to prison my legal guardian was both law enforcement and a teacher. [Since she's on his mind now, and all.] Anti-Skill was made up of teacher volunteers instead of being a dedicated police force. I know that's not how it works outside of that piece of shit city, so I didn't expect to see that kind of thing here. Is there any actual skill overlap between wrangling brats and solving crimes, or are you having to bullshit your way through teaching?

[He's going to go ahead and drop into the chair in front of the booted up computer.]

They won't.

[it's (another) new environment for Connor, but he's picked up the patterns of the other staff members and they kept to themselves. no one checked up on other assignments unless they were brought to them or if they asked. he could easily make a mock-up finished assignment if it came to that.

he takes a familiar position, one he took too many times in the department, leaning against the desk with his hands loosely gripping the edge.]

I've never taught before, but I'm equipped with enough knowledge to understand how to. It's pretty straightforward for me. I think the most challenging is understanding that everyone learns a bit differently, but I'm enjoying it. My students like coming to class, too. I can see why some may choose this profession - it's fulfilling.

[At least one person is enjoying this. That's got to be a good thing, Accelerator can imagine how tough a mission focused on fitting into society would be for someone who's only had full agency for a couple of months.

.... But then, maybe his bias is showing. It would, given how much he dislikes being back in school.

Ugh, whatever. He absently rubs his crutch arm.]

If you're finding it fulfilling then the kids must be getting something out of it, too. Adults in positions of authority of kids always rub off on them, for better or for worse. [He knows this from personal experience!]

Accelerator | A Certain Magical Index | OTA

detention! kinda

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

detention (✿◡‿◡)

no subject

no subject

no subject

breakfast club

prison buds lol

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject