maximumlegend | Reading

[On the latest feed: a man with combed hair, a clean face, a mismatched suit and a pair of rimless glasses. Video is streaming from an office where one might spot a painting of an anguished man. He closes his eyes and fixes his lenses on his nose, looking away while leaning forward. His preference is for messaging, but today he is showing his face. He inhales in a calm and controlled manner. Facial cues encourage trust. He prefers to remain unobserved, but this should encourage a positive impression.

Unless you’re Batman, apparently.]

Well, that was a terrible couple of weeks.

In any case, my apologies for the intrusion. I was managing the aftermath and hesitant to reach out until today. I have nothing further to add except that I understand you might feel nervous. But if you resist those feelings, you will have to face them again, and when they catch you…

[He swallows his sentence and focuses on his reason for posting, grounding himself in the present moment by inhaling.]

Back home I treat people for support with their mental health. I had excellent resources there but here I can offer nothing but a listening ear. Perhaps you would like to take me up on that? It’s not like you need insurance and sometimes it’s good to talk.

Feel free to contact me. I'm here to help.

rudelanguage posting in

etrayalogs

WHO: Knife (as Antigone/Pending), ota
WHEN: Mid-late Oct
WHERE: Assorted, tagged in prompts
WHAT: the up- and downswings of being overly exposed against one's will while stuck in a bubble zoo
NOTES\WARNINGS: mentions of dissociation & depersonalization, violent/suicidal thoughts, violence (attempted or otherwise), rampant swears/coarse language

( drinky bird filled with vodka aesthetic )

herofhopeless posting in

etrayalogs

WHO: Clive, Sleipnir, & Cloud
WHEN: 10/05, nighttime
WHERE: Sector 5 Church
WHAT: Cloud brings Clive somewhere to find comfort and peace after the loss of his brother.
NOTES\WARNINGS: Discussions of grief, potential for religious iconography, will add as needed

( Read more... )

etrayamods posting in

etraya

CHIRPER
Welcome to our bi-monthly CHIRPER post!

There are a few ways to interact with CHIRPER:

Characters receive a notification to please fill out the form, which is fully optional. There is a character requirement of two characters per answer field. This is to discourage leaving the spaces blank.
When forms are not filled out, they can be filled out by the companion bots of Etraya, or by other characters on behalf of their friends! This includes the Q&A section.
Characters can either like or dislike others' CHIRPER profiles. These responses are public.
This is voluntary on an OOC basis; if the character doesn't have a profile completed by themselves or anyone else, nothing shows up for them on CHIRPER.
For those who do post a top level, CHIRPER profiles are worth five extra points regardless of if they are put up willingly by the character themselves. These five extra points do apply to the 25 maximum per month.

This month there is a special 👻 SPOOKY SEASON 👻 addition: instead of ✓ or ✕ for like or dislike, it's 🎃 and 💀. Whatever the character has the most votes for shows up appended to their username on the network for the next month, as in, un: aurora 💀.

Please feel free to switch out any of the Q&A questions with those listed here!

<lj-raw><div style="display: flex; justify-content: center;">
  <div style="display:grid; grid-template-columns: 1fr, 2fr, 1fr; grid-template-rows: min-content min-content min-content min-content;  font-size: 10pt;">
    <div style="grid-column-start: 2; grid-column-end: 2;">
      <center><big><big><b>USERNAME</b></big></big></center>
      <img src="IMAGE URL" style="width: 245px; border-radius: 15px; border: 1px solid #7F7F7F; box-shadow: #8D8D8D 1px 1px 1px;">
    </div>
    <div style="grid-column-start: 2; grid-column-end: 2;">
      <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; justify-content: space-between;">
        <span style="min-width: 125px"><b>NAME ▷ </b></span>
        <span style="text-align: right">ANSWER</span>
      </div>
      <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; justify-content: space-between;">
        <span style="min-width: 125px"><b>AGE ▷ </b></span>
        <span style="text-align: right">ANSWER</span>
      </div><div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; justify-content: space-between;">
        <span style="min-width: 125px"><b>RESIDENCE ▷ </b></span>
        <span style="text-align: right">ANSWER</span>
      </div>
      <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; justify-content: space-between;">
        <span style="min-width: 125px"><b>TRICK OR TREAT? ▷ </b></span>
        <span style="text-align: right">ANSWER</span>
      </div>
    </div>
    <div style="grid-column-start: 1; grid-column-end: 4; padding-top: 2em;">
      <b>Getting to know you!</b>
      <p><b>Q:</B> If you were to participate in a costume contest, what would your costume be?
      <br><B>A:</B> ANSWER
      <p><b>Q:</B> Pumpkin spice season: yes or no? <I>Try a latte at Corinne's Café!</I>
      <br><B>A:</B> ANSWER
      <p><b>Q:</B> What's one thing that's left on your bucket list of things to do before you die?
      <br><B>A:</B> ANSWER
      <p><b>Q:</B> What would you like your funeral arrangements to be?
      <br><B>A:</B> ANSWER
    </div><div style="grid-column-start: 1; grid-column-end: 4;"><center><span style="font-family: times; font-size:40px; color:#2EB82E;">🎃</span>  <span style="font-family: times; font-size:40px; color:#CC0000;">💀</span>
    </div>
  </div>
</div></lj-raw>

**This is a fixed version of the code, sorry about that!

FULL NAVIGATION

twin_blade posting in

etrayalogs

WHO: Vax'ildan Vessar

twin_blade & Dion Lesage

oblige
WHEN: Post-fog event
WHERE: Charronway
WHAT: It's time to mini-prime.
NOTES\WARNINGS: None.

( Tiny dragons are less scary )

herofhopeless posting in

etrayalogs

WHO: Clive & Vax
WHEN: 10/6, the afternoon after Clive's request for help in finding his brother.
WHERE: Garreg Mach, Joshua's bedroom
WHAT: Going through the things that Joshua left behind.
NOTES\WARNINGS: Themes of grief and loss

( Read more... )

loveandsin posting in

etrayalogs

WHO: Vincent Valentine

loveandsin; Cloud

nimbuster; Toph

fieldtrip; Knife

rudelanguage; Gustave

demainvient; Aliarra

lockdownbuild; Scott

laserguy; Dwayne

will_chase_balls; Quentin

querulous; Hernan

sonofzod; Bossie

nottheboss; Gaia

hammerbearer; Octavia

plangona and OTA option!
WHEN: Immediately post-fog event.
WHERE: Bramble Valley (various)
WHAT: After being transformed into a xenomorph-like-creature during the fog event, the berserkered Vincent Valentine runs loose and must be stopped.
NOTES\WARNINGS: Threads contain graphic violence, language, and horror-related elements/gore.

( How it works! )

oblige posting in

etrayalogs

WHO: Dion Lesage

oblige and Sleeper

definecat
WHEN: Early October
WHERE: An unpopulated area.
WHAT: Sleeper's checking on a sad dragon.
NOTES\WARNINGS: References to death.

( He was always so good at finding reasons to hope. )

demainvient posting in

etrayalogs

WHO: Expedition 33 (Gustave, Maelle, Sciel, Lune)
WHEN: after the fog and throughout October
WHERE: in the apartments/around Etraya
WHAT: Expedition 33 reconvenes after the fog and takes stock.
NOTES\WARNINGS: Standard CO:E33 spoiler warnings apply. Applicable CWs tbd. Rated "P" for puppy pile.

( Read more... )

herofhopeless posting in

etrayalogs

WHO: Clive & Clea
WHEN: 10/5 - Nighttime
WHERE: The Library
WHAT: Two caretakers taking care of each other when they should be taking care of themselves
NOTES\WARNINGS: Descriptions of physical wounds, loss, mentions of previous violence

( Read more... )

herofhopeless posting in

etraya

I haven’t been able to find my brother, Joshua, since the fog came. Has anyone seen a man, a little over 6 feet tall, light brown hair that’s a big longer, blue-green eyes, wears a lot of black and red, has a very formal and convoluted way of speaking? He’s kind, curious, intelligent. He would have done his best to help anyone who may have needed it during the mission.

Please, if anyone has seen him, call me, text me, yell my name from the top of a building, I don’t care. I just need to know that he’s okay.

loveandsin posting in

etrayaooc

Post-fog-event, Vincent is stuck after having involuntarily transformed into a xenomorph version of himself aka Vinomorph.

Original mission plotting post can be found here.

Gustave alerted the network to the situation in this recent network post and is seeking help dealing with Vincent.

Vincent's current state is berserker status. Anyone who tries to make contact with him, verbally or mentally, will only get a response from an unhinged alien creature/monster that is incomprehensible. Anyone who tries to approach him will be attacked without mercy and his intention will be to kill anyone he crosses paths with.

That being said, he needs to be dealt with and taking him down will be a fight.

Finding Vinnie will be handwaved, but if you want to be part of that handwaving assistance, you can comment to Gustave's network post and make it known here.

If you'd like to be involved in the monster-battle log, I'm gauging interest here to decide how to handle the log for this. It will depend on how many people are interested.

demainvient posting in

etraya

[ Sometime after the fog clears, a video appears on the network showing the charred, smoking wreck of what used to be Hannibal Lecter's house. Gustave, looking tired and worn down, is visible on screen, and beyond him Gorgug Thistlespring can be seen poking through the ruins. ]

Hi, everyone.

During the fog, Gorgug, Vincent Valentine, and I came into contact with a large, hostile creature. I'm not certain of its species or origin, but it seemed to be a little over two meters in height with a large, elongated skull and barbed tail.

Sometime during our run-in with it, Vincent somehow... transformed into it? He engaged it in a fight while Gorgug and I — well —

[ He gestures back at the smoldering remains of what had once been a beautiful, if disturbing, residence. ]

— But we lost track of Vincent himself in the chaos. The last time we saw him, he was still in the shape of the creature, and he is currently not responding to attempts to contact him over the network.

Gorgug and I are going out to look for him, and we could use all the help we can get. For everyone else, please be cautious if you find him while he's still in the creature's form. He may be dangerous to others, or even to himself. Thanks.

[ OOC plotting post now up! ]

betenoir posting in

etrayalogs

WHO: Clea + Renoir
WHEN: Post-Mission
WHERE: Cafe Millennia
WHAT: Reactions
WARNINGS: E33 Spoilers

( Je bois mon café )

godsandbats posting in

etrayalogs

WHO: Kirk and whoever he may encounter
WHEN: Immediately post-Mission 11
WHERE: Various locations in Etraya
WHAT: Someone comes back after a vacation of sorts alongside Etraya's pets
NOTES\WARNINGS: Please see here for potential content warnings.

( Read more... )

sophielicious posting in

etraya

running a self-serving survey. if you hate the thought of someone talking to you in your mind, respond to this message with an x.

edit: ugh, fine. if you're OKAY with someone talking in your mind, respond with an y.

(A day later, those who hadn't replied to it with the 'X' but replied with a 'Y' and people she knows will receive a sultry, raspy voice in their brain. There's some static with it, unfortunately, her powers have been glitchy since they returned from The War.)

/Hi. It's Sophie, you know, Cuckoo. Sorry for the brain static, blame Aurora for letting that vent open in the first place, but that aside, if you are hearing me, it's because of that post, and this is important.

I don't trust Aurora, and I'm sure plenty of you don't either; that's why we are talking here. I scanned the whole place from top to bottom. Scylla actually did leave, so that is confirmed. If any of you had contact with Scylla and would be willing to let me take a look at it, please let me know so I can keep a record. I'm also sure he's a telepath like me, so I want to make sure everyone who has met him has their brain in place.

Also, if anyone knows how I can reach him, that'd be fantastic. I'd probably come back with at least something to report. I asked Aurora if she could pass down a message, but again, I don't trust her to do it, or with anything, really.

So, yeah, remember that thing I keep talking about, community being important and stuff? Let's get on that. Also, ugh, do me a favor and pass the word to the cowards who responded with an 'X'. Also, to respond to me, just think, man, start with my name, so I can actually filter you guys. And don't talk out loud. You guys just look weird when you do that./

reincarnesiac posting in

etraya

( Alex looks refreshed. Which does not seem like that should be anyone's present normal, but she had a little help for feeling clear headed and then some, so she's doing better than she would have coming out of the last two weeks. She also waves to the camera, and then holds up a piece of paper with writing on one side. Slowly, she turns it over to show the back side is covered in mathematical equations. )

Hey everyone, it's Alex again. Scylla talked with me briefly right before the fog started clearing up. Mostly I wanted to bring up the journal page he left with me. I can read it out loud for people, just ask, but he said there's a total of nine more of these in Etraya right now. Anyone else get one? What he and Aurora can't talk about directly because of a specific curse on what they're allowed to say can probably be guessed at through these entries.

( Holding that mathematical side closer to the 'camera' such as it is, she adds: )

So who here are our math wizards? He said the mathematics explains what's going on, and his challenge was us looking for a solution to the whole problem. I don't think he actually thinks we will, which kind of makes me want to all the more.

( Another pause. )

If you have questions about what else we talked about, you can ask that too.

cactusy posting in

etrayalogs

WHO: Sameen Shaw
WHEN: post-mission
WHERE: the Library (Alcyone's Wake), the Apartments (Alcyone's Wake), Kwik Trip (Harborport), the trolley and the streets as she shuttles from place to place looking like a hobo
WHAT: life hack. nothing's real
NOTES\WARNINGS: unreality :)

( Read more... )

arora posting in

etraya

I would like to formally apologize for what happened during the mission. I promised that no contaminants from this world other than what I had explained would pass through, which was true.

However, a contaminant from outside of this world has managed to make their way into this universe.

I am not able to manage Scylla nor prevent his presence.

etrayamods posting in

etrayaooc

STATE OF THE GAME
Hello, Etrayans!

Thanks to everyone who responded to our player survey! If you haven't had a chance to fill it out yet, we're still reading responses. It just won't be reflected below. Please also continue to leave mission suggestions on this post or anywhere else to us to your heart's content! We do save these and have used several of them in the past.

Between this and some direct feedback we've gotten from players, we've made some updates to the game:

The Arrival post was updated some time back with information players are welcome to handwave OOCly if they wish.

The FAQ had a gameplay style question added.

Locations page format has been revamped and map has been updated. We've also added world-building comment threads for people to add onto the settings we've made -- we very much encourage collaborative development of the environment this way!

Please also note there were a few structural and name changes as a consequence of this last mission, so take a look and make sure things are where you think they are!

Story Thus Far post has been added, and will be updated going forward with additional details.

Mod contact post now has a list of who we are. We intend to shift to using our character journals for casual communications, and reserve the mod account for official consensus actions or statements. We hope this makes the mod team overall feel more approachable.

Mission plotting posts will now have a comment thread specifically to announce character actions that have a significant impact on the mission outcome or other characters. We heard from several people that it's confusing to figure out how a mission ended, and honestly, it is sometimes for us, too! This should help keep that straightened out.

We will continue having missions rotate genres and styles, but will try to incorporate both open-ended and structured hooks for players for however they wish to engage. Based on the survey, the most popular method for doing this was exploratory leads, so we will be including some of these starting with the very next mission.

Prompt-style side quests and defined roles/tasks were close seconds, though, so we will attempt to include some of those as well where it makes sense for the mission.

There's been a clear widespread desire to move the meta plot forward, and we hope we've achieved that with the leads provided at the conclusion of this last mission. Additional opportunities to receive diary pages are included on the TDM for in-game characters. The scavenger hunt style set up is meant to allow multiple characters to come across important plot evidence, and to encourage IC information-sharing.

Ultimately, so there's no confusion, once they're fully pieced together these pages will provide mathematical evidence that the universe is ending and worlds are in danger for those scientific minded characters who want to see the cold hard numbers.

Please note we will not be coordinating any of the IC information-gathering -- that's up to you all! Feel free to progress the discovery and come to the IC conclusion that it is mathematical proof at whatever rate you like.

A surprisingly popular response was support for building out the setting of Etraya itself! To that end, we've added the world-building threads for players to contribute to for each region in Etraya, and we've themed this TDM to encourage characters to go out and explore. We also have big additional plans here that are coming very soon! 💅✨

We will release player surveys again in the future as a periodic temperature check for what the current player base is interested in. In the meantime, our doors are always open!

We hope you all enjoyed our spooky season event and assure you there will now be some humorous holiday downtime ahead. Thank you also to everyone who chimed in to say they're having a great time here -- it's always lovely to hear that!

And now for some charts.

For those curious, at the time we started the survey we had 85 unique active players and currently have 74. We had 39 total responses. Not bad!

People who indicated they had multiple preferences for single-answer questions had their single point weighted across the responses they indicated.

i can't take another day; i need some change

i need more to put behind my name

Reading

un: ulysses | video

vacillating [OPEN]

To Find Peace [Closed]

Chirper

Is tiny dragon still a dragon? (closed)

To Put a Life in a Box - Closed

Vinomorph battle (closed and ota threads)

[ closed ]

we continue — closed

Two Broken People

CliveRosfield | Text

Vinomorph battle planning

un: GustaveEiffel | video

Tout seul

[Open-ish] So what'd I miss~?

UN: JUSTSOPHIE | TEXT + TELEPATHY

video | un: plushiesidequest (everyone lets talk scylla)

(no subject)

un: aurora | text

October State of the Game