hugtopia_logs | ♥ January (Lasra) Event Log

♥ January (Lasra) Event Log

a winter scene showing a line of houses, each a different colour, and a church in the background

January (Lasra) Event Log
Are you feeling free of last year's burdens, offworlders? The natives certainly are after spending the final month of the year at Rawna's temples. Now it's time for a new beginning even as the cold deepens, leaving snow drifts piled along Havenwell's streets. Industrious robots are hard at work keeping the city clean and removing any ice from the stone roads, leaving only beautiful winter scenery behind. The city sparkles under the snow and the silvery white decor brings out of their temples the priests not only for Rawna, but all of the gods.

❥ PROMPT I: The Temple Celebrations

lights decoring trees in front of a church

As noted in the Intro Log, the residents of Havenwell have been invited to help with the decorations in order to incorporate your worlds' cultures with their own, and to assist in celebrating the new year's coming. Residents are encouraged to visit any temple at their convenience or pleasure and join in the design process. There are craft tables, ranging from basic (for the younger or less skilled, such as kites or papercraft) to intricate and advanced designs (like glass lanterns or embroidery). Those less creatively-inclined are welcome to use their various skills, magics, or just ladder-balancing talents to help with the decoration installations around town. Many hands make light the work, after all.

Each temple has music playing and all of them have their associated animals not inside the temple like normal, but spread all over the temple grounds and surrounding areas. They aren't lost for once, but seem to be beckoning people toward their respective homes which are bedecked with holograms of dark green leafy boughs, ribbons, and ornaments all in the temple's colors. Diacht has red and white striped ornaments, Ohma has blue and gold, and Ainea is bringing up the cute factor with pink and purple. But Rawna is looking especially resplendent with rainbow sheened silver ornaments hung in the air, mixed in with real ones that are suspended from wires so thin they look as if they're hanging in midair. The dragonlings fly through the air, trailing silver ribbons behind them that make the temple really seem to shine this month. At each temple, simply by showing up, you can receive a small gift from the priests regardless of whether or not you're an adherent. And they invite you to play the temple games or dance along to the festive music playing from speakers. Each temple has something different to offer, so grab a friend and make your first visit of the year a special one!

Ainea:

Rawna:

Ohma:

Diacht:

❥ PROMPT II: Your Yearly (Mis)Fortunes

a hand pulling a fortune in front of a set of temple drawers

At each temple along all the other celebrations and games, you can also find a separate booth that has a strange and unreadable Aellyn script on it. The robot sitting behind the booth has their face covered with a strip of fabric that obscures it completely, but it calls out to you when you walk by. It offers you an ancient-looking wooden container with a single small hole at the top. If you take it, it mimes shaking the container and tipping it over. Do as they say and a wooden stick pops out of the top with that same strange script on it. The robot takes a look at what you got and takes the container back, passing you a single strip of paper with reverence. "Keep your fortune close or learn to let it go," it says, and then looks to find another patron. Turn your paper over and discover what your fortune holds for you.

Big Luck:

Medium Luck:

Small Luck:

Bad Luck:

Terrible Luck:

OOC: If you wish to roll for a random fortune, leave an comment with your character's name in the Request Thread. The mods will randomize for you and give you your fortune. Your character can only claim 1 fortune, no matter how many times they attempt the fortune-teller's game. Feel free to choose your own fortune instead, if you would prefer a set result.

❥ PROMPT III: Memories of the Sun (VR)

This seasonal VR simulation is especially popular with the natives for the fact that it lets them see their world as it used to be. Load into the simulation "Memories of the Sun" and you'll be transported along with all others who are currently logged in to make a pilgrimage up Aellyn's most sacred mountain. Although its peak is rocky and somewhat barren, it has a serene beauty as it reaches up through the cloud layer and you climb upwards through the dark. The path is clearly lit by small lamps embedded into the ground, but you might find it easier to take the climb if you hang onto someone else. Once you reach the peak, whether you're alone or with someone else, you'll be treated to the sight of a gorgeous sunrise peeking over the thinning clouds. It's a sight to remember, and a sight that brings memories. As you watch you're overcome with a very real vision of your home, a place you remember, or people you know. This vision is typically of a better time in your life, something to bring you hope and peace as the new year dawns - but not always. Is this a vision of your past? Your future? Of your present? If you came here with someone else, they can also choose to share in your vision and you in theirs. Are you brave enough to face what the mountain has to show you?

❥ PROMPT IV: All the Ups and Downs

And while the celebrations continue, there seems to be something a little awry with Havenwell. Here and there throughout the month, gravity has gone utterly haywire. You can be walking from temple to temple or going about your everyday life when suddenly you feel yourself lifted off the ground or heavier than you have any right to be. Havenwell's natives aren't immune to this effect either, and you might see a robot go shooting up into the sky suddenly to hover a good five to ten feet in the air. Or they might take a step and suddenly fall flat on their faces, their gears whirring with the strain as they try to pick themselves up. Thankfully the other natives are quick to jump up and grab their companions if they're flying overhead or pull their friends out of the well if they're stuck to the ground. If you find yourself caught up in these gravity wells, you'll need someone's help to do the same. Be sure to pay it forward because you'll never know when it could be you in this awkward position.

This event will run from January 15 to January 31. Click on each prompt's title to see the text. If you have any questions, feel free to direct them to the FAQ or to the Mod Question thread below.

This post is meant to act as a catch-all for convenience, but feel free to make your own posts if you prefer!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It wasn't like Kyoko had forgotten she was lonely; it was the constant, throbbing background noise of her life here, and it had been like that often enough before that she could pretty much cope. There was no reason to get worked up over it.

But that gentle touch to her back made something suddenly wrench fiercely in her chest, and then ease just as quickly--and look, there were those tears again. They felt a little different this time, though. Softer, lighter, like a pressure valve had been released somewhere inside her.

"You know the truth now." A short, weak laugh forced its way up out of her lungs. "I've always been a real crybaby." Her head dipped, but the image of her younger self lingered a few moments longer in the corners of her eyes--just her, sobbing by herself in her raincoat, something clutched to her chest. Had she really been so pathetic, in the end?

His touch stayed right there, gradually shifting to a small, rubbing circle. He'd gotten in a bit of practice with that kind of soothing motion since coming to Havenwell, so it wasn't as clumsy as it could have been. Just a little bit. It did its best to fill the space though, as Kai lingered on what he wanted to say.

"S'kinda admirable," he said after a long few moments. "Being able to be that honest, I mean. If you're brave enough to put your feelings out there... maybe it's not always a good thing, but it's not a bad thing either."

"Sometimes you just gotta cry."

Wasn't that a nice spin to put on it? Kyoko immediately knew she couldn't bear to lie about it--because she was an honest person, to a fault, most of the time.

Shaking her head fervently, she lifted it with a sniffle to blink teary eyes at the stream again; it was deserted now, the peaceful scene she'd always remembered it as. "That's not it. That place--it was my secret, you know? Meeting him at all, letting him see me like that--it was all an accident. It never--" oh, a hiccup, "had anything to do with honesty or bravery, or anything like that." She had just been lucky enough to stumble into one person it was okay to spill her heart in front of, for a little while.

So why did it feel like she wasn't really doing wrong by Kaito now, letting him deal with her when she was like this? There had only ever been one person besides Corn to give her such a kind touch and steadying words when she cried, before. Was she just that greedy for them, after going without for so long?

No, it was just Kaito himself, wasn't it? He'd already seen her as the mess she was on her first day, and now this, and none of it had been too much for him. Maybe that alone was enough to make it okay.

It was a lot, sure. A little uncomfortable even, because he really didn't know what to do with this kind of outpouring of feeling. He could weather it though. It seemed like that was what she needed, so it was the least he could do.

"Even if it started with an accident, letting someone in takes a lot, y'know? Still seems pretty brave in my book." Kids weren't free from the knowledge that opening up could leave them hurt, after all.

His gaze trailed over the steady flow of the stream. It wasn't his, but there was enough there to remind him of his own childhood haunts. It had reminded him even more of it when the smaller Kyoko had been laughing or crying at its banks-- Kai was starting to suspect that he was just going to associate every little girl ever with his memories of Eri, but he couldn't really help it. The images of Kyoko especially had been just around the right age.

Even if he was watching it, Kai didn't quite notice when the sunlight filtering through the trees began to change. It didn't seem like anything all that different than some clouds floating past, even if the leaves were gently swaying, shifting into shapes more familiar to him. For the moment he was more focused on keeping his touch steady, his gaze trailing back to her.

"Think I might be an accident too, but I'll make sure to keep it under wraps."

Had it been bravery? Kyoko couldn't truly remember anymore, whether she had hesitated to go back to that secret spot again after she first met Corn, but she doubted it. That had been long before she'd learned to squash down her hopes and hold back her trusting nature.

But somehow, she couldn't bring herself to shoot down Kaito's suggestion. That might make it sound like he was an accident that she regretted. And while she still couldn't let herself off the hook for piling so much on him, well... maybe it was okay if he forgave her for it.

She only half-registered the way the water seemed to be thinning out, the stream quietly shrinking to more of a trickle, as she met his eyes. Wiping at her cheeks again, Kyoko felt herself smile. "... Thank you. Not just for that."

There was the slightest knit of his brow at that, the only indication that appreciation was still... a thing. Bit by bit it'd been getting easier, but it still didn't feel quite right. Still, he'd at least learned that moments like this were the ones to quietly accept. It didn't feel like he'd done anything worth it still, but it was undoubtedly nice to see her smile after all that.

A slight one of his own echoed hers. "S'what I'm here for."

The faint sound of indiscernible chatter somewhere beyond them drew his attention. Kai had kind of assumed it was going to be Kyoko and her blonde friend again. There was a slight hitch in his throat when he realized that it was a very different little girl. She was toddling after two other boys, one carrying a plastic cage and the other carrying a big night across his shoulder. That one's face was a little obscured by his wide brimmed hat, but the little smiley face pin on its rim was a striking identifier.

There they went, wandering right past Kai and Kyoko as they wandered off through the summer trees.

Kyoko did catch that brief little crease in his brow, but it was overshadowed by the smile that followed, small as it was. What a perplexing expression. She was filing it away to maybe think about later when the nose--children's voices, again?--made her eyes widen, and her head swivel to search for the source.

Honestly, she had been sort of expecting more of her own memories too--maybe with Shotaro? Now there was a mixed feeling--but no. Even if that little girl had looked more like her, and even if she could have remembered a time when she was actually in a group, neither of those boys matched the two (2) playmates she'd had in her entire life.

And she was pretty sure she'd never gone bug hunting, too. What else could that net have been for?

Eyes still wide, she turned them back to Kaito. He'd made a noise just now, hadn't he?

"This... this isn't mine."

The touch at her back had stilled as Kai watched the kids wander off in the trees. It stayed right there though, the warmth of another person a nice reminder to have. The kids weren't gone for long, the scene morphing a bit like Kyoko's had done, a modge podge of different afternoons.

"No," he said, voice quiet as he probably confirmed some assumptions there. "No, it's not."

The little girl was sniffling a bit as she sat on the path. The boy with his big hat was crouched with her, inspecting her scraped knee. When he looked up it was with striking gold eyes and a grin as he reached over to pat her on he head. There came Kei with the bandage. Kai blinked, and there the boys were, carefully creeping up on a beetle hanging out on a log.

Now Kyoko was finding herself in the boat Kai had been in earlier, not sure where to look or what to do or even think. She could guess which of the kids was probably Kai, but something about that easy, open grin made her stomach twist, particularly when she stole a glance at the boy standing beside her. It wasn't that she never saw Kaito smile, but.... Something was different.

For a moment, she wondered if she should ask if he wanted to just call this whole thing quits. They could take off their helmets whenever they wanted, right? But it hadn't occurred to her to want that, and Kaito's gaze was fixed in a way that told her it was better not to interrupt, at least not yet.

So, rather than say anything, she silently edged a half-step closer to him--not enough to shift his hand much, hopefully not enough to crowd him; just a wordless suggestion that she was here for him, if he wanted that kind of thing from her.

It hadn't occurred to him to put a stop to it. Even if it had, he wouldn't suggest it now. Fair was fair. There was nothing here that was so deep or awful that'd be terrible for her to have to see-- his own discomfort or lack thereof needn't apply.

There wasn't really anything to be upset about anyway. It'd been a nice summer, after all. Despite whatever claims he might make that he didn't remember it well, there it was. Small successes, good-humored failures, cheerful chatter beneath the trees. The chatter that turned into ecstatic delight as they pointed up at a tree that seemed to stretch up forever, a huge prize of a beetle shining proudly on its trunk.

Kai let out a soft breath, lowering his gaze a bit towards her. "It was a nice summer," he commented idly. Clearly there wasn't any cause for worry. If he sounded a little bittersweet, well. Maybe a little.

"... Mmhm." Kyoko met his eyes carefully, searching. He might not be a mess like she was, but Kaito was a different person, after all. And if these were really only simple, happy memories for him... shouldn't he smile a little? That hint of melancholy in his voice didn't strike her as just nostalgia.

But she was already being shown more than she had any right to see, and without his permission. It wouldn't be fair to ask questions on top of that. "A nice summer, with nice company. Right?" She kept her voice soft enough that Kai could probably pretend not to hear it, if he wanted.

If she was looking for a smile, there it was. It was more of a ghost compared to the already small one he'd offered her just a few moments before, haunting just the corners of his mouth for a moment. "That's right."

The tree stayed the same. It was always that one, wasn't it? The one neither of them had been able to truly shake the memory of. Maybe it meant something, that it had taken such strong roots that they still knew exactly where it was. Things would have gone differently otherwise, huh?

It was just the smaller Kai there now though, perched amongst its roots as he stared off through the leaves, bug net clutched tightly against his shoulder like a lifeline. Eri was there, nervous and hesitant as she tried to call out to him. It was a little fuzzy, but Kai could remember knowing just how much she didn't want to be the one to tell him. Kai kind of wished someone had caught her before she found him. She hadn't needed to tell him, he already knew.

The tears weren't as volatile as Kyoko's, but they were there all the same. He'd tried his best to quell his quivering lip into a tight line, but there was no stopping the steady evidence of his quiet despair once they trailed down his cheeks.

Kaito watched the teary-eyed little boy with dry eyes of his own. It was... weird to look at. He wasn't quite sure what the feeling in his chest was. Something not quite an ache, somewhere beyond a kind of acceptance. Something was Different about the way it felt now. Enough so that he could only give her back a small pat, as if all of this was still one of her memories.

It was hard to know for sure the real story to what was playing out in front of her, but the themes came through all the same, hitting notes familiar to her very core. Or maybe she was projecting too much? Kyoko couldn't say she knew what kinds of things would make Kaito cry. She didn't know if this was actually the end of his nice summer with nice company.

But this was something that had stuck out enough for him to remember years later, at least. Whatever the finer points were, it had to be important. And Kyoko didn't know what to do for him.

A hand twitched with the instinct to reach out to him, but then that pat to her back came, and she stilled. Was he really soothing her at a moment like this? Or was that his way of pushing her away, telling her not to worry about any of this? Was she that useless?

"--Sorry." It was almost inaudible, under her breath, as she dipped her head. She could at least stop watching, and let him have that much space.

There wasn't that much else to see after that anyway, so she wasn't missing much. "It's fine," he said after a moment. Her apology hadn't quite been heard, but he had turned his sights back on her. The sight of her was telling enough, and Kai frowned just a little.

"I don't mind." Any of it, really. It was fine that she saw it, as much as it was fine that it happened at all.

"Summers have to end at some point, is all."

"I know... I know that, but...." Were Kaito's memories of that summer as pure and sweet as Kyoko's were of hers? However much she had cried in them, she'd always been able to soothe herself with the thought of those days; there had been a time, however brief, when she could freely share all her joys and sorrows with someone who cared, and nothing could take that away. But that wasn't quite the sense she got from Kaito.

"Yours... should have lasted a little longer. For sure."

It was a sweet sentiment. Kai appreciated it, knowing it was coming from a good place. It probably would have been nice had it worked out that way. Though maybe it would have just hurt more for it all to go away if he'd gotten used to basking in all that sunlight more than he had. The only thing he knew for sure was that the cards were never stacked in their favor.

"... Thanks." He shook his head a little. "I was lucky to get that one, y'know?"

Luck for him, and an accident for her--but weren't those things kind of the same anyway? Kyoko shook her head. In any case, listening to Kaito talk about it in such a resigned way just didn't sit right with her. "I don't really know anything... so I probably shouldn't talk like this, but...."

Lifting her head, she spoke up clearer, turning a suddenly bright, indignant stare on him. "You're actually supposed to get lots of summers, you know!"

Up went his brows a little, taken back for just a moment by this turnaround. Then again, maybe he shouldn't have been. This was Kyoko after all.

"Figured as much," he muttered. It wasn't like he hadn't seen everyone else have lots of summers. He even sort of had other ones! It was fine! Maybe they weren't all so wholesome and maybe they had been a bit hollowing but... he couldn't really do anything about it now, could he? Not about the ones he missed, at least.

"I'll just look forward to this one."

So you can be mad about it! was almost the fiery followup; because she had learned to let herself be mad about all the happy memories she never got, and the ones that had been ruined. Kaito had the right to be mad too!

But that little mutter told her it wasn't quite as simple as Kai needing to know it was okay to be angry on his own behalf. He knew he'd been missing out. She didn't have to tell him that.

Luckily, she'd had more to say after that point anyway, so she gave an aggressive nod. "So will I! Kaito!" Turning in towards him sharply, she thrust a fist towards him, pinky extended. "Let's find lots of bugs, and maybe another mountain or two!"

The idea of getting mad about it was also kind of just a nice thought. It wasn't like he Never got mad about it, but he had a pretty strong feeling that anger would have just made things a whole lot worse for him. Those were just his circumstances though.

He blinked at her continued outburst, actually leaning back a bit as she threw a fist out at him to-- oh, to not punch him. That little finger got a somewhat stunned look for a moment. In theory, he knew what this was but...

His expression softened a little, his pinky hooking gently around hers.

"Yeah. That'd be good. I'm looking forward to bugs' big comeback."

"Then it's a promise!" There was another decisive nod, and a tiny pinky squeeze, and then she let her hand fall away. As the fire faded from her eyes, Kyoko gave him a more tentative look. "I wanted more summers too, so... I'll look forward to it, for sure."

A beat. "You'll have to be my teacher as far as bug hunting goes, though."

It was a promise, wasn't it. Kai watched their link for as long as it lasted. Promises were tricky business sometimes, but this one felt like a good one. He wanted to at least try to see it through. She deserved at least that much.

He let out a small breath of laughter, giving her back another small pat. "Sure. Think you'll take to it pretty easy though, s'not that much different from watching dragons."

That little hint of laughter was enough to finally loosen the knot in her chest some; it was going to be okay, probably. Maybe this experience wouldn't make things too weird between them. Kyoko didn't know if she and Kaito were officially friends or not, but the thought of him avoiding her was still a lonely one.

"It's not? --Oh, do you mean I should prepare offerings for them, too?"

He might have bottled his visible emotions up more than she did, but he really didn't mind that she saw. One secret for the other, and all that. They'd come this far, it was probably going to have to take a more direct request for him to stay away to really get him to go anywhere at this point.

Friends though. Kai couldn't say he was the one that could really make that call.

"You could. They'd be more like a lure... Might depend on the bug though. S'more in the patience and looking in places you wouldn't expect."

"Hohh, expert advice from the master already. I'll be relying on that kind of wisdom." She was mostly in earnest, but there was a hint of a smile in her voice, one that showed up on her face a moment later as she turned her gaze back to the horizon. It was just a pretty mountain now, as far as she could tell, the sunrise slowly melting into the blue of day.

"Well, I don't know where we'll find a real mountain, though."

♥ January (Lasra) Event Log

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