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

Not a matter of can or can't, want or not want, it's something he has to do. Hasn't Izuku thought this many times? Izuku is very still and calm now, unlike his more casual conversations.

"I felt the same way whenever someone needed saving. It seems bad to say, but it didn't matter what happened to me. I'd ask you if it was worth it, but... I think you just answered that."

If Izuku can save even one life, it's worth it. When his loved ones brought their concerns to him about this, he was forced to think more about ensuring he had a future. He wants to tell Accelerator that he's not alone here, but he's not sure how.

There's a creeping dread that's crawling up Accelerator's spine, and Izuku's next words confirm it. The other boy is acting so calm and asking him questions without even a rise in his voice....

Yeah, it's empathy. He's insane enough to be empathizing with a monster such as himself. Sure, he's been trying to move past that label, but with all the killing he's done in Etraya he isn't sure how successful he's been. The point is, Izuku shouldn't be trying to relate to him.

"You're obviously a good person," he replies bluntly. "You should care about your own wellbeing, if only because the people who care about you would get worried if you end up hurting yourself."

And clearly Izuku's the kind of kid who must have people who care about him, family or friends or whatever.

"When it comes to the people who worry about me, I think my only concern is if you're going to break my leg again. That's not happening, so it's fine."

Izuku is crazy. His friends (Katsuki in particular) have established this. Izuku believes that even a monster can try to redeem themselves, but all the while he doesn't look after himself nearly as much as he should.

"But speaking of... If word gets out that you beat me in a fight, I think my friend might come after you. N-not for revenge, don't worry! He's my rival, so if he wins against someone who beat me, it's like... he's winning against me... or something." Izuku understands how Katsuki's mind works on an emotional level, but trying to explain it aloud with words is always awkward.

"Anyway, sorry in advance if that happens, and please try not to break his limbs. He's my friend, and I care about him a lot."

Oh, God. Accelerator feels confident in his assessment of Izuku (even going as far as to think this kid really needs to work on his own wellbeing), but this friend of his sounds like something else. Something, unfortunately, very familiar to him.

His mouth twists and he resists the overwhelming urge to curse Izuku out. It isn't his fault his friend is like all those other assholes back home, so there wouldn't be any point. Instead he sighs, displaying an indifference that isn't actually there. "I'm used to that kind of thing, so I don't care."

Fighting (well, more like slaughtering) people who want to fight and kill him because he's the strongest has been his life for years. It's ridiculous to think he could get away from that.

"I can't make any promises, though," he adds. "If he fights me however he ends up will be his own problem, not mine."

Until now, Izuku had either been in an all-out fight with Accelerator, or holding a sensitive conversation with him about feelings. A third secret thing emerges, something quiet and made of steel. The artlessness in his honesty leaves no room for mollification now.

"That's different from our fight. Practicing restraint and keeping it to a friendly spar is your problem. If you can't do that with your power, just refuse to fight him, and he can deal with it."

The old Katsuki would throw a tantrum about it, but ultimately there was nothing he could do. New and improved Katsuki, for all his usual bluster, has his priorities in a different context. And he has more self-preservation than Izuku, which isn't saying much, but it's something.

Izuku holds up his right hand, showing Accelerator the scars on it. "I have to be careful with my arms because of past injuries. I won't let either of you get permanently injured like this over something stupid. I'm sure he'll understand."

Accelerator is silent for several moments. Being able to restrain his powers hasn't been an issue for him in years, so that isn't something he's concerned about. Nor is he concerned about getting injured.

Nah, he's worried about the other guy. With his past experiences, he's holding exactly zero hopes that he'll be a pleasant person.

"You seriously don't need to worry about me getting permanently injured. Is he the kind of person who'd accept a refusal?" He asks, his tone serious. He's perfectly fine with refusing. Lord knows he has enough experience attempting it, the problem is that it always fell on deaf ears until it got to the point where he just... didn't bother. Why put in the effort when it isn't going to work? If someone wants to fight him they're going to do it, whether he wants to fight back or not.

Katsuki is deeply not a pleasant person. He has all the bedside manner of a brick to the head. Izuku twists his mouth dubiously, and it's in these moments that he seems less the Hero who had to grow up too fast and more the teenager still in training.

"Hm... Not really, but he's not interested in getting permanently injured either. And there's not much he can do if you just don't want to fight. If your heart's not in it, then there's no way it could be a real fight like he'd want."

This could all just be a non-starter, but Izuku has to look out for his friend.

"This may sound weird, and it's hard for me to explain, but he has his own sense of conviction. It's not just hunger for power. He's dear to me, someone I admire. A good Hero, and a good friend."

MISSION 004 (part 1)

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deku really did just say 'skill issue'

haha he did

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