etrayalogs | 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

Meh. Not really, as far as I can tell. I know a couple of them.

[ She seems pretty dismissive of the whole thing, honestly. She folds her arms and sighs. ]

It's not gonna be a problem.

Alright.

[Just making sure. He trusts that she'll say something if any problems come up.]

You know, I think this is worse than Etraya having copies of buildings from people's universes. The complete uniformity everywhere is creepy.

[Or maybe he's just reminded of how uniformity was enforced with the Sisters until very recently... who knows.]

it's definitely a little creepy. Feels a little too "perfect little town" for me. Like the U.S. before Second Impact or something.

[ She's only seen pictures. ]

I guess it makes it easier for them to see when something stands out.

[ Cynical as ever. ]

Doesn't mean I'm gonna stick to it, though.

Good point.

[It wouldn't surprise him if the uniformity helped in identifying anomalies. Which... could be good or bad, depending.]

Oh? What are you planning on doing?

I don't have a plan yet. I'm just not gonna play along.

[ Look, she's playing this by ear. ]

Uh huh. [You do you, Asuka.

He sighs, looking away for a few moments. It's fine, he'll just keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn't get into too much trouble. Though, in the interest of being at his most efficient, he should tell her about the back-up computer Aurora provided.]

I need to talk to you somewhere more private. Come on.

[He's turning and heading back to his house.]

Huh? Hey - wait!

[ She follows, curious. She doesn't quite know what this is about, but she does want to know more. At least no one is going to question why she's going next door... so far. ]

What the heck is it?

[He doesn't answer, because he's like that, and just heads inside and up the stairs to the room he has designated his temporary bedroom. Inside, he grabs the bag he had brought along with himself, dropping down onto the bed and pulling a small hand-sized computer out.]

Aurora gave me a computer for this thing. [He waves a hand at his choker] As a back-up, in case I need it.

[ Asuka puts up with it with a roll of her eyes. Once they're in "his" room, she finds somewhere to perch herself - probably stealing his chair. ]

...oh, right. For your... choker thing. [ She frowns. ]

Wait, does that mean it's not getting power or whatever?

No, it's fine right now.

[Thanks to Eos letting him hook up to her network, specifically.]

But if anything happens to the current connection, this thing needs to be turned on so my choker can connect to it.

[He's holding the computer out for Asuka to take a look.]

...huh.

[ She reaches out to take it, turning it over in her hand as she examines it. ]

And you want me to be the one who turns it on, just in case?

... Yeah.

[He's a little reluctant to ask her, which is why he looks a bit awkward, but she's one of the few people around here who knows the deal with his choker. More importantly, he trusts her.]

I know it's a pain in the ass.

...yeah, well, someone has to make sure you don't die, right?

[ She snorts. ]

Typical.

[ She waves the little device around. ]

I just power it on, right?

[He nods and sighs a little.]

Be careful with it.

Will you give me some kinda signal or am I just supposed to guess?

I figure since we're neighbours it'll probably be pretty obvious. Someone will be freaking out, or something.

[And not that he wants to say it out loud, but they hang around in each other's vicinity often enough that if the connection gets cut she'll be one of the first to know.]

[ Asuka rolls her eyes with a low sigh. ]

And what if you're halfway across town or something? You've gotta have a better plan than hope I realize something's wrong!

[ She's... honestly secretly pleased he's putting trust in her like this. But she's gonna point out the flaws she sees. ]

[He sighs exasperatedly, even though she's got a good point. He's just lazy.]

I'll look into getting something set up that texts your earpiece automatically if the connection is broken, alright?