♥ February (Nalom) Event Log

[hugtopiamods]

February Event Log
It's the last month devoted to Rawna, and winter is winding down. You'd think that this would matter to them, but none of the priests of Rawna seem to care at all. If asked, they will simply explain that they are "fasting"... not for food, or entertainment, but their capacity to care. The 3rd and final month of the dragonlord emphasizes the apathy aspect of the god's alignment, and followers are encouraged to just chill and not let life bother them for a while.

This doesn't seem to have stopped the rest of the community, however. Seems they've caught wind of there being a particular fluffy holiday taking place in the second month of the year on certain worlds and have decided to adopt it for themselves as something of a test drive. Nalom is usually so boring, after all! And if it helps their unfortunate trapped visitors feel a little more at home, well, they're happy to give back if they can. Thus, there are fresh displays in local businesses, custom shops, and pop-up cafes, offering discounts and deals for people who shop or dine together. You are the only ones who can support the gods in these dark days, and you need a partner to do that! So this month they are celebrating YOU.

Happy Va... Valen... Saint's... happy Nalom!

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❥ PROMPT I: They Call Him Lakemin, King Of Soft Hugs

Once a day, all through the city, there will be a distinct robot wandering through. It's large, looks almost like a marshmallow, and seems to be there just to hug your character. Isn't that sweet? If you find him in inclement weather, he'll happily keep you company, even keep you warm or dry if necessary! Really, though, you can find him anywhere. All hugs are sweet and soft, though those less… hug-inclined… may receive a surprise embrace instead. If you don't like it, he will be very apologetic! They're testing a new technology, you see. What technology, you might ask? Well, let's see how it goes first. Just enjoy the good squishes for now.

When you return home, there's a small weather-proof box by the door. Opening it, there's a small plush of this Marshmallow-bot with a name embroidered on it. Only problem is, it isn't your name. Whoops! Someone must have been in a rush to deliver these and put them in the wrong place. Time to find who this plush belongs to, maybe they'll have yours! Or maybe they can direct you to the right person. Either way, what is there to lose? Nothing, of course! There's just the strange compulsion to see to it that this plush get home and you pass on those warm, cozy, hugs that Marshmallow-bot gave you.

❥ PROMPT II: This is How You Valentine

The information that the residents have received about Valentine's Celebrations might be a little… iffy… or at the very least sporadic, but they're trying a few experiments to see if it'll help get people in the mood. The following changes can be discovered around town, with varying effects:

• Conversation hearts
Found in display bowls at the counter of local businesses, characters who eat these candies find their vision becoming rose-tinted. Quite literally. Colors aren't erased by it but there's a definite effect as if they are seeing the world through some kind of film filter, the shade of which can vary depending on the person. Maybe you see different colors! Maybe you see some bizarre kind of Snapchat filter. Maybe you see dialogue appearing in text bubbles now. The effect can be alleviated/cured (at player's discretion) by leaning against someone for an extended amount of time, which is convenient, because the sudden shift in visuals can make you feel a little dizzy.


• Roses
A few members of the community council are handing out flowers! These aren't naturally grown, of course, as with how delicate a process is it they don't want to jeopardize the botanical gardens by removing an excess of them. However, these are made out of synthetic silks but smell like real ones and have just as soft a feeling without any thorns! Isn't that nice of them?

When your character receives one, they're filled with the gentle, warm sensation of being in love but without falling hard. And they'll want to share it. People who share similar features to your CR, even if it's something subtle like hair color or a piece of clothing, will jump out as someone to share this flower with. This comes with the urge to express some unfortunately cheesy lines about the other person… and while they don't have to be romantic, even the most platonic of lame comments can get you in hot water. Hope the rose is worth it!


• Wines and Fruit Juices
What goes with cheesy compliments better than wine? These are found only in the temples, and with a priest always nearby to ensure no one is drinking the alcoholic drinks underage or becomes too inebriated to be safe. No matter how it looks or smells, these will taste just as your character likes and will always be the perfect temperature! Handy! But boy, after even a small glass, it sure does feel like cuddle weather, doesn't it? Don't worry though, it isn't anything that would make your character get too inappropriate or do anything outside their comfort zone. But boy, wouldn't it be nice to lay your head on someone for a bit?


• Chocolate truffles
Good morning! Every residence will wake up at least one day with a small box of chocolate truffles in a box at their doorstep. Some are plain, some decorated, and the decorations range from simple white chocolate drizzle to fancy elaborate planets or galaxy speckles. No matter what the flavor, there's an urge to share them with someone. That's all! Go and spread that chocolatey delight! It's extra-satisfying to feed it to them yourself, for some reason...

❥ PROMPT III: Kreative Kompetition

No matter what the month, the world still spins, and businesses run, which means that the VR Cafes have been working on new games. This time, the theme is friendly competition! The following games are now available at the local cafes:

• Kart Racing:
Pick a kart and get out there! You'll be provided with everything you need, of course, since even virtual reality observes safety requirements. On the track, you'll be able to pick up comically large and squishy 'weapons' and obstacles. Nothing that will hurt but a cream pie to the face sure does make it hard to keep up! You can race against friends, strangers, or even find yourself in a whole grand prix.


• Kapture the Flag:
You and your opponent are tasked with capturing the other's flag. No holds barred! You can move and hide your own flag, plant traps around it, even carry it around with you! Can you find a way to disguise it? That's an option! Whatever you do, once your opponent gets it, you'll receive a message alerting you that your flag has disappeared. Don't let them get it back to their base!

Once a game has concluded, win or lose, both players will be rewarded with coupons for a free meal for two at one of the local cafes around town. Matching up the coupons gets a bonus dessert! It's not necessary to match them, but why wouldn't you?

❥ PROMPT IV: Gentle Trembling of the Toes

In the last few days of the month, something begins to happen: a very gentle rumble reverberates throughout the city, an earthquake small enough to not cause any damage, but large enough to be felt. The timing of it is sporadic, but it happens once a day. The sensation will typically last for anywhere between 10-30 seconds before dissipating as if it never occurred at all.

Around town, characters may also notice something curious- each time one of those tremors occur, many of the robotic residents in town will immediately stop, find a partner, and link arms while standing back to back with one another, clinking their heads together. They stand that way for a while, even after the tremors subside, until at last they say their farewells and move on. If asked, rather than alarmed, the town natives are tentatively optimistic, even excited in some cases: the quakes are a message, a gentle warning, but of what they don't yet know. It's been so long since a public declaration from their deities was made, due to their diminished presence in the world and the decline of the planet. The priests are especially eager, bustling about in their temples trying to prepare for whatever might happen, but no one seems to know exactly what, or when, the next step will occur. The doors exiting out of town are being reinforced, and the guards have doubled up their patrols and will be especially vigilant about explorers going too close to the walls around the city. Most people at least know this much: do as they do, when the tremors hit, and you'll understand a little better.

Characters that link up for long enough during one of the quakes can receive one of following messages in their heads:
1) "Change is coming." this message is passive, almost like a greeting.
2) "We thank you for all you have done." this message is softer, almost apologetic.
3) "We shall do all we can to keep you safe." this message is gentle, almost parental in its affection.
4) "Share your bounty and your joy." this message is kind and encouraging, tugging you toward people you may not have met yet.
5) "Remember to keep the balance." this message is plaintive, but without urgency.
6) "Do not approach the walls." this message is LOUD, insistent, and the most frequently transmitted.

The voice that conveys these messages is a collective of multiple, speaking in synchronization but at inconsistent volumes. Multiple links (eg. different threads) can receive multiple messages, and characters do not have to hear the same message as their partner.

This occurrence is also ONGOING. The quakes will continue until it is announced in the near future when they end. Stay tuned!

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This event (aside from Prompt IV) will run from February 11th to 25th. 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 on the Plotting Post.

Comments

[daikonrose]

Great!! Good! Yes! [ There's a fistpump. ] I'll go with you!

[ She'll even start off the walk. They are! going!! ]

[hedgehogsdilemma]

[Oh! Okay! Here we go!!]

S-sure. [He takes an extra hasty few steps so as not to fall too far behind Kyoko as she takes the lead. Yeah, that... that makes sense, that she'd probably want to head back inside right away, too.] Unless, you weren't doing anything else before this, were you...?

[You don't have to, like, go out of your way for him or anything!]

[daikonrose]

[ Honestly, when is anyone truly doing something important and urgent in Havenwell? When's the last time that happened? Maybe when they were all repairing that hole in the wall a few months ago? ]

I was going to the temple, but I have changed my mind! After that stunt!

[ She could have gone to the temple anyway for another shouting sesh, but seeing Shinji safely home feels like the better move. ]

[hedgehogsdilemma]

[Not even worth troubling yourself to go in and yell at Rawna, wow! You must be super peeved, Kyoko. She's really left him no room to argue with that kind of insistence, so... all right. Going to Not The Temple it is.]

I... guess I can't really blame you.

[Not like he's planning on wholesale avoiding the temple after this himself - that would be an awfully suspicious shake-up in his regular routine! The kind of thing that may draw concern! And he gets the feeling there's already too much of that being thrown his way right now!!]

[daikonrose]

I mean... [ She huffs, falling into step beside Shinji. ] Getting into our heads is bad enough, there's no need to be passive aggressive on top of it! Like I'm gonna do chores for any of them after that! And to think I liked Rawna because he's the most straight-forward.

[hedgehogsdilemma]

[Oh... Does that mean she's not planning on swinging by the temple at all anymore? He can't help but feel a little extra deflated at the thought, not that he can hold it against her.]

It does feel kind of especially unfair in that case. [If they were truly being passive aggressive about it - but, again, she seems convinced, and would clearly have a better read on the message she got than he would.] I don't know if I'll stop, but... I see why you'd want to. [He gets it. No judgement.]

[daikonrose]

[ Kyoko was ready to huff and grumble some more, but at this point she can't really miss how low Shinji's spirits seem to be. Ah... he's not the type to get into griping and commiserating, is he? This is probably not the correct way to get his mind off being shaken, even if it kinda works for her. ]

I mean, [ There's one last huff, that sort of dissolves into a sigh. ] it's not like that place wasn't doing fine before I got here, right? But you've already been a staple there for a while, haven't you? The dragons would probably get sad if you skipped out.

[hedgehogsdilemma]

[It isn't like he's the only one who keeps the place nice and tidy, but he'd also hate to think of leaving that extra work and loneliness on Kaito's shoulders. That's really not a point worth arguing, even hypothetically. The dragons have probably had more experience without all of them milling around than with them, and who knows if they'd actually miss anyone if they were all to vanish suddenly? Ah, still,]

You do know how to give the place an extra shine. [She probably took the chores more seriously than anyone else, after all! But, again, not trying to make her feel guilty,] You could probably take that kind of work ethic to whatever else you wanted to do, though.

[daikonrose]

[ She'd been trying to build Shinji up a little, there--he would be missed if he didn't show up!--but ah, maybe it was too subtle? She's still trying to come up with a retort that would work better towards that goal when he adds that second remark.

Ah... work ethic, huh? Whatever else she wants to do....

Kyoko's gaze flickers down. ]

... I guess there's still the library system to conquer.

[hedgehogsdilemma]

[But, you see, even conquering the library sounds like a noble use of time, by comparison! But, ah, her tone doesn't seem to indicate that she's super jazzed about this noble pursuit. Hmm...]

There's bound to be plenty of time for it. [That is assuming nothing goes horribly wrong anytime soon. Which. You know. So maybe not 'bound to be'.] Or... there's probably a lot to do there, anyway.

[daikonrose]

Yes... that's the point of doing it. I just desperately wanted homework, or something like that.

[ She lets out a long sigh, trying to lose some of the gloom settling over her. ]

Come to think of it, I mostly only run into you at the temple, but it's not like you live there.... What kinds of things do you do the rest of the time?

[hedgehogsdilemma]

[So ambitious, Kyoko!]

Nothing important, really... [Nothing like seeking out your own academic enhancement, no matter how much of a chore it may or may not seem. He sits on the question for another moment, though, to come up with a somewhat less bleak sounding answer.] I guess... I've been trying to get back into music a little bit.

[daikonrose]

[ A bit belatedly, Kyoko had wondered if that was kind of a rude thing to ask--she didn't want to be intrusive! She'd just been slipping dangerously close to wallowing again, and focusing on Shinji had felt like the best move.

But oh! That makes her look up again, face clearing over in favor of curiosity. She really doesn't know too much about Shinji, now that she thinks about it. ]

Music, huh? Like going to concerts? Can you play any instruments?

[hedgehogsdilemma]

[Well, at least that's a conversation thread to follow that will put a pause on this game of who-to-focus-on hot potato. This is a nice and easy topic to settle on.]

Really just playing. I'd been learning cello for a while before I got here, and it just... showed up a little while back. [Some kind of divine message to get a hobby, perhaps.]

[daikonrose]

Cello?!

[ It's surprising mostly because that's just not an instrument she usually thinks about at all, but even as she lets out that exclamation, it strikes her that it does somehow feel Shinji-ish. Aren't cellos supposed to be huge, though? Is Shinji actually tall enough to-- ]

I've never met a cello player before! --A cellist? [ She beams at him. ] I guess cellos materializing here is less concerning than whole living people.... Do you think it was just luck?

[hedgehogsdilemma]

[That is! a touch more enthusiasm than he was expecting! Oh, gosh, he really hopes he isn't giving her the wrong impression of his own skills. It's tempting to try and pass the attention back off him with that, but, no, this should still be nice and easy.]

It's probably not as impressive as you think, [And here, he gives a small wave of his hand, as if to try and dispel any awe that might still be lingering in the air,] I'm not sure that I'm lucky enough for it to be that, either. It feels more like... a coincidence.

[Familiar things showing up isn't unheard of, after all. This wouldn't even be the first thing of his that found its way to the temple! Surely it's some kind of inevitability, and they'll all get a turn or two for it.]

[daikonrose]

But a coincidence that works out in your favor is the definition of luck, right? [ She wags her finger and gives him a little smile. There, this already feels better. ] Let me listen to you play sometime!

[hedgehogsdilemma]

[Is it...? He doesn't seem so sure, but he's not going to try and argue right now, not when she seems to be in better spirits already.]

Yeah, I can do that. [It wouldn't be the first time he's played for someone here!] Probably... not right away. I'm not sure it'd be any good right now.

[Still too rattled, still too much swimming around in his mind. Generally not in good condition to pluck out anything decent.]

[daikonrose]

[ A win! Kyoko flaps a hand, still smiling lightly. ]

Don't worry, I wasn't trying to invite myself over out of nowhere. But you know, I've never listened to a cello in person before--I'm kinda excited~

[hedgehogsdilemma]

[At least that gives him the impression that her expectations might not be too lofty, but he's still worried about possibly letting her down... he really would have to get some practice in.

Making future plans, though, huh? He'll have to assess that a little deeper when he's on his own, for now, he's kind of feeling The Pressure of being the focus.]

Do you know how to play any instruments, or anything like that...?

[daikonrose]

Not me! I've always just been a listener. [ They're edging dangerously close to Things She Doesn't Super Wanna Talk About, but it's still a harmless topic, so she keeps her tone light. ] I wouldn't even be able to pick one to learn if I had the chance, I'm pretty sure. But I always thought that kind of talent is really cool!

[hedgehogsdilemma]

[Well, is there any better time to pick something up? With all of this free time everyone has now? But, something about that answer, she sounded pretty sure of herself, so maybe not the kind of reminder that's worth bringing up. It's not like she wouldn't have realized that much by now either way. That thought will remain unsaid.

But! If she does want to listen sometime! And assuming that sometime will roll around sooner or later! He'd like to know,] What kind of music do you like to listen to...? [A cello certainly lends itself to a certain kind of music rather than others, but it might help to know what she's in to, just in case it's something he can manage regardless.]

[daikonrose]

What kind? [ Kyoko looks up, frowning thoughtfully. That is an obvious question now that she's hearing it, but somehow she's just not prepared with an answer. ] I guess can't say I have a favorite genre, in particular.... There isn't even anyone I'm a big "fan" of right now, if I think about it.

[ Perhaps this is a side affect of spending most of her life deeply obsessed with just one (1) specific musician, who is now the enemy and therefore intolerable. Could her actual personal tastes stand some development now? It's possible! ]

I guess my favorites are always ~fun~ and ~lovely~ songs! [ what does that mean ] What about you?

[hedgehogsdilemma]

[That is, at least, a vibe he can keep in mind. Surely, with enough thought and practice, he could be able to polish up something in his repertoire that's jaunty enough to meet the criteria of '~fun~' and '~lovely~'.

Shinji is, similarly, not exactly expecting the question to be turned back to him, and doesn't have a very solid answer for her off the top of his head. It mostly comes from a place of, from his perspective, not being very particular about his choices in the first place.] Hm, right before I got here, I'd been appreciating classical music a little more? [Which, you know, cello, and all. But he sounds just the tiniest bit melancholy about it, so he continues from there,] But anything catchy is good.

[daikonrose]

[ Huh, he doesn't sound super enthused about that? But then, Kyoko's not sure she's ever heard Shinji express anything in a way she could call super enthused. It does make her wonder.

Regardless, she gives him a little grin. ]

Classical is lovely for sure~! Even if I only know things like the Nutcracker Suite. I guess that's pretty catchy, though? [ She tips her head, sheepish. ] Not that that would work for a cello solo. You'll have to teach me about the best songs!