TDM 006

[etrayamods]

⏵ arrival ⏴ Arrival is absolutely not normal this month. Instead of a hospital bed, you wake in a tunnel with a large group of other people. These are the residents. A woman’s voice in an earpiece hurriedly clues you in with an apology. I apologize; I had not planned to introduce you this way, but we are low on time. Please proceed down the hallway. An image of a shattered pearl pops up on your personal HUD and rotates. I am Aurora. You are joining many others on Etraya in order to save your world from destruction by completing missions. Your current mission is to find the pieces of this object that have become scattered in the library ahead of you. For everyone else, coming in is much the same. The instruction goes out to head to designated areas immediately, where companion bots will escort the residents of Etraya down into the depths, the area beneath where much the same is explained. ⏵ disrobing ⏴ The tunnel eventually opens directly into the foreroom of an expansive library, painted in marvelous hues and patterns with skylights far above. There are wizards milling about, bearded and holding tomes, quietly chatting amongst themselves. The reception area of the library has tall ceilings with equally tall doors Before you get too caught up in the scenery, a voice directs you forward. A gentleman, hunched and bespeckled craws out. "Make a line! Make a line, everyone! You cannot enter the library dressed as you are... Come forward and give me your name." The receptionist asks your given name and then hands over a box from underneath his counter. You can give him any name you want, he doesn’t seem to mind. It is tied with a tagged ribbon- labeling it accordingly. “The _____ robe of _______.” (First Letter of Given Name) (Last Letter of Given Name) A Controlling N Helpful A Melodies N Light B Glimmering O Floating B Discretion O Mind-Reading C Wet P Handsome C Growth P Climbing D Gruesome Q Gullible D Grasping Q Jumping E Observant R Ratty E Flying R Hurting F Powerful S Adhesive F Reading S Guiding G Psychedelic T Sweltering G Dancing T Bug-Speaking H Swift U Cheerful H Shouting U Exploding I Voracious V Anxious I Extracting V Complaining J Soft W Likeable J Punishing W Dividing K Keen X Ruthless K Creeping X Slapping L Fabulous Y Dramatic L Walking Y Charming M Fair Z Demonic M Listening Z Combustion As you read what the contents of the box may be, they form inside- Looking and behaving as your character expects them to. After all, magic is all in the wielder’s mind. Don your robes and enter the library. ⏵ unfamiliar familiars ⏴ For those without a familiar (like one hatched from an egg not too long ago) you may borrow one from the library counter. They all have strengths and weaknesses, but they will all assist in the very important mission. As you roam the library, they will make little indications that you are closer or further from finding a piece of the pearl. Pro • Hardworking • Gives correct directions 75% of time • Won’t run away from you • Very affectionate • Gives correct directions only when paired with another rat, toad, or personal pet. • Gives correct directions 90% of the time Con • Must feed bookworms • Will run away if too close to a cat • Does not care for you • Sleepy • Will run ahead • Gets distracted by rats ⏵ the task at hand ⏴ With robes donned and creature in hand, you must now complete your mission. Find the pieces of the shattered pearl. As you enter the library, you may notice that it’s all very dim. There’s oil lamps around the place that may be moved with you to assist in your journey if your robes do not already emit light. Break off and search the library. There is a directory at the front to point guests to all the different sections. Wings of the Library A General Works B Music C Philosophy, Religion D Fine Arts E History, Auxiliary Sciences F Language and Literature G Magic, General H Science J Geography, Anthopology K Medicine M Agriculture N Hobbies, Recreation P Social Science Q Military R Political Science S Practical Arts T Law W People X Education Y Spiders Each section looks enough like the last, though the books within have immense power. Pick up the wrong book, and you might conjure a dragon or a historical figure! You must persist and avoid making too much noise or breaking too many things. Or else the Librarian, a tall mass of knotted fabric will confiscate your robe and usher you back outside. Your name will be struck from the list, and you must pick a new one to re-enter the library to continue the search. You can try to fight back against him- he may be set alight with the lamp. But should you be starting fires in here? ⏵ NOTES ⏴ Any thread with 15 comments between you and another may be submitted to find a piece of the pearl. There are 20 pieces altogether, and we will determine if the mission was successful by March 28th. A post will go live on the OOC comm for this! This mission occurs out of time, similar to how the spaceship had. Meaning, those currently in game can experience these events any time between now, and March 14th. Please direct all questions to our mod queries comment! ⏵FULL NAVIGATION⏴

Comments

[batsymbol]

( He knows there's an eyeroll. He can feel it. )

Like I didn't need anyone. That I could do it all myself. Sometimes I still do.

( He stops then. Takes a moment to look around before he leads them down a more narrow tunnel, hand still holding the strap of his bag resting against his shoulder. )

I was angry — scarred, like the city I'm here to protect. I've come to see those scars can destroy us, even after the physical ones have been healed. But if we survive them, they can transform us... give us the power to endure... strength to fight. That goes with the people we meet along the way, too.

[copsormasks]

[Jason listens, but it's with a firmly set jaw, a stubbornness written into his body language.]

Fuck all those people. Fuck 'em. Nobody ever helped me. Nobody cared.

[And then he goes quiet, bristly as he shuts up.]

[batsymbol]

( There are times he’s felt like that himself. Felt like he was the only one who gave a damn about Gotham and the people within it. That there was no one else. No one who cared. No one who was willing to give up as much as he had to try and change things for the better. It made him angry. Made him frustrated. Made him push himself to the point where nothing and no one else mattered to him. But being here, having Damian at his side and Dick around to fill the silence with his yammering… there’s still hope. Something he hasn’t felt in a long time. )

That’s how I felt when my parents were murdered.

( He stops again and pushes open a door to lead them out of the tunnels and outside. )

But sometimes you meet people in unexpected places that make it a little easier. Even in a place like this. Doesn't make those scars go away. Not sure anything ever will when you've been hurt like that. ( Like how the kid describes his own anger and pain. ) But it helps a bit sometimes.

( Hand on the door, he waits for him to head out first. )

[copsormasks]

[Jason slows when he hears the weird clown mention his parents were murdered. He takes a good look, tries to see through the eyeblack for something familiar.]

Yeah, well I haven't. So will you can it with the funky camp counselor bullshit?

[Jason steps through the door. All he has are the clothes on him, so there's nothing to bring along.]

[batsymbol]

You just got here.

( Therefore, he doesn’t expect him to have, but. After stepping through the door, he follows out, making sure it’s closed behind them before he reaches inside his backpack and pulls out a bottle of water along with an energy bar, tossing them both to the kid. )

I’m not much of a cook, so that’ll have to do.

[copsormasks]

[Jason catches both and stares over at the stranger.]

Who are you? Why the fuck do you care?

[batsymbol]

Because I’ve gone too long not.

( I don’t care what happens to me, he’d said to Alfred with such bitter conviction and while that sometimes still remains true, he’d also come to realize how much he’d kept himself from caring about others at the same time. By no means has he mastered it in a healthy way, but. He sees now. He can’t just be vengeance. He needs to be more. For himself and for others. People need someone. Need to know someone is out there for them. They need hope, no matter how small it may be.

Removing his hat, he cards fingers through his dark strands of hair before he puts it back on and nods behind the kid. )

Apartments are that way. It’s typically where the new arrivals end up for a place to stay. ( A tilt of his head off to the side. ) I’m that way. There’s a diner and convenience store among other things around.

[copsormasks]

I can't afford an apartment. And I've lived on the streets long enough that they're more of a home than anywhere else.

[Jason crosses his arms, trying to figure out just who the hell this guy is.]

[batsymbol]

They don’t cost anything. Nothing does here. Money isn’t something people can steal or hoard or sit on while others suffer. Everything here is meant to be familiar but it doesn’t matter. Only the missions do and you’ll get thrown into one soon enough.

( Backpack adjusted, he starts to make his way down the road then. )

If you really don’t want the apartments, you might find something somewhere. Places are always popping up randomly.

[copsormasks]

[Jason presses his lips into a line as he regards the dark-eyed stranger.]

That doesn't make any fucking sense. Of course people will steal or horde money. To think they won't is stupid.

[batsymbol]

( At that, he stops. Turns himself around to face the kid with both hands now shoved in his jacket pockets. )

You’re not listening. Money isn’t a thing here. Food, clothes, a place to stay. None of it costs money. The only sort of currency around here is from interacting with others and doing the missions. You can use that to ask our gracious hosts for things.

[copsormasks]

What, so this place hasn't heard of capitalism? That sounds more stupid than your face paint.

[And when he looks up into the stranger's face, there's something that clicks into place. The eyeblack. The posturing. The groovy counselor shtick.]

You're some kind of cape, aren't you?

[batsymbol]

( Now there's a term for it he can't exactly say he's heard before. He stands there — unfazed — hands still in his jacket pockets. )

Just letting you know how things are around here.

[copsormasks]

You're Grayson, aren't you. [Jason's voice drops but only barely.] Some older, weird hobo version.

[batsymbol]

( He knows the name. Only does because of his being here as long as he has in Etraya. Whether or not he'll become familiar with the name personally back in his own Gotham is left to be determined. How much that happens to the other versions of himself versus what is to happen to him is still not anything he can confidently say will happen regardless. Things he thinks about when he's alone, etc. )

Was never part of the circus.

( At that, he turns to keep heading down the road he was going. )

[copsormasks]

[If not Grayson then--

Jason's heart stops in his chest. It can't be. But it could, couldn't it? If there could be an older Grayson, then there could be a younger--]

Bruce.

[That one word pins Jason to the spot.]

[batsymbol]

( At that single word — at that very name — he stops. Slow. Stands there in silence and stares ahead of him down the road that eventually leads to Wayne Tower. The namedrop of Grayson is enough for him to have figured he's from Gotham, even without the clown comments, but. Which one he isn't sure. He figures this must be someone close to the family — someone who maybe works alongside whatever Bruce Wayne he knows if the accusation of being some kind of cape was made. It would mean he knows Bruce Wayne is Batman... which would mean there's the potential for being another one he takes under his wing. Some version of him does, anyways.

So he stands there. Silent. Staring to the ground as he mulls over this for a moment before he finally turns to look to the kid and just stares at him with those blue eyes. Because it's always the eyes that seem to be the same regardless of Gotham. )

[copsormasks]

Fuck. [The way Bruce(???) stops is enough of an answer. Jason stiffens, his jaw clenched tight as he looks at the former stranger again. This must be some younger version, one that doesn't even know Jason. Doesn't give a shit until Jason boosts the hubcaps off the Batmbobile.

The one who strips Jason of the Robin title, of who he is, of everything Jason has ever wanted in his life.]

You... fuck you. [Jason tosses the energy bar and drink before he's sick of looking at Bruce's face and turns to walk back the way they came. Fuck this. Fuck Bruce. Fuck all of this.]

[batsymbol]

( Right. An unexpected reaction to have with the realization of who he is, but. In the time he's spent here, he's come to learn the names Bruce Wayne and The Batman seem to hold a great deal of weight, legacy, and emotion to them for anyone who knows some version of them.

He stands there still, huff on his lips, and he licks over his lips before he calls after the kid. )

Whatever your issue is with him, you should take it up with him. Not me. You don't even know me.

[copsormasks]

Fuck off. You don't know me either. [Which is really to Jason's advantage, but he isn't thinking about things like that. There are too many emotions choking his ability to logic, to think. The further he gets away from Bruce, the better.]

[batsymbol]

( Despite the time he's spent here in Etraya and having Damian at his side along with a few of the others popping in and out, he still hasn't mastered the ability to be more than who he currently is both as Bruce Wayne and Batman. He's trying, but he still has his own limits, his own temper, and so he scoffs with a shake of his head as he turns to head the other way. )

Suit yourself. Don't say I didn't try.

( Could have gone worse, he figures. )

[copsormasks]

[Jason turns back and all but growls,] What were you gonna do? Tell me I can't be Robin again? Tell me I'm a mistake? Come back around for round two so you can remind me of how much of a fuck up I'm being?

[All that emotion is pouring right out of him.]

[batsymbol]

( Again, there's the sudden emotional outburst and, again, he stops to look back in the direction of the kid. His own anger usually comes out when he wears the mask — when he's out on the streets of Gotham and face to face with some of the scum that slithers through the night. When he's more himself and less restrained as he is when he's Bruce Wayne. It's why it feels familiar. As if he's fully aware of how he's been and how he sometimes still is.

There's confusion there on his face — a quick cataloging of everything he says; the contacts he wears also record it all for later. He quickly goes down the list of Robins that Damian has told him about and in what order they came to be. Given the current knowledge he has of a Tim his older self had stripped the title of Robin off of, he wonders for a moment, but. The fuck up comment doesn't sound as if it would pertain to Tim, so... )

Jason.

[copsormasks]

[When he's identified, Jason finally pulls back his black hood. Beyond the obvious of being relatively short for a bat, the severity of his anger is written into his face. He's carrying around a grudge the size of the manor on his shoulders.]

In the flesh.

[He straightens up and releases a breath through his nose.]

But don't worry, I'm not on that Wayne teet any more. I'll make tracks. You don't have to fucking worry about me.

[batsymbol]

( It's... startling. To think there's... two of them here now. Granted, there's an older — much older — version of himself here as well, but. He hadn't thought it was so common of a thing to happen here. Then again, so much of what he didn't think was common or even possible seems to be just that here in Etraya.

He takes a moment — mulls over those words thrown at him and licks over his lips as he stands there, staring to the kid. To [a] Jason. )

Because you can take care of yourself.