hugtopia_logs | ♥ May (Ealom) Event Log

♥ May (Ealom) Event Log

May (Ealom) Event Log
Ainea's power begins to wane as the last of her months begins, but that doesn't mean it's completely gone yet! With all the effort everyone has put in to clearing and reclaiming the new parts of the city, Ainea and the rest of the gods want to show you the fruits of your labors. A fragrant and gentle breeze springs up through the city, winding through its streets. It's strongest near Ainea's temple, but the power seems to flow from the entire city as it sweeps outward through the new areas. As soon as the wind reaches the outskirts of Old Havenwell, it becomes visible - a shimmering semi-opaque swirl of mixed colors that curls along the ruins and streets. Wherever it goes, greenery and life follows, the atmosphere lifting and the city gleaming in its wake. Small, tentative flowers bloom along the path of the wind until it brunts up against the barrier wall, bursting into a shower of sparkles.

Congratulations, Havenwellians and off-worlders alike! You've cleansed the city!

❥ PROMPT I: It's All About the May-bies

an elderly woman looks into a mirror at her younger self

That beautiful breeze brings with it a strange magic as well. When it sweeps through the city, it touches everyone - flesh or metal-bodied alike - giving people a contented, youthful feeling. That feeling eventually subsides, but in its place is a little bit of magic gone haywire. Throughout the month, characters can experience a little bit of rejuvenation themselves as they suddenly find themselves de-aging abruptly. Whether they retain their memories of their adult lives or revert entirely to their previous selves at that age is up to player discretion. Curiously, no one becomes so young that they would be considered younger than a 6 year old human for their species. Characters can either know where they are in Havenwell or be completely surprised by this strange city full of robots and have no idea what they're supposed to do! Returning to their original age is quite simple though - they can either wait until the power snaps them back, or take the initiative and hug it out to see if it helps (it does, surprise!). If characters wait, they might find that it takes a while before the magic can remember what age they were supposed to be. You might snap from 17 to 29, then back to 12 and suddenly to 59 until you finally settle at your regular age.

Not everyone is affected alike, however. Some may find that they never age one way or another, and some may find they age up instead of down. For those who age up, only their physical appearance is affected and they will not gain canon knowledge of their futures. Sure might feel weird for that 12 year old to suddenly become a 25 year old though! But at least you got to skip the horror of puberty. To return to their original age, they just have to do the same as the others - wait until the power snaps them back (hopefully to the right age) or go find someone to hug these growing pains out with.

Please note, for this prompt you are welcome to use journals other than the ones currently registered to the comms, HOWEVER we ask that you post the journal names you intend to use to the Alternate Account thread on the plotting post. This is so we can more easily track comments for AC and AC Rewards at the end of the month. Thanks in advance!

❥ PROMPT II: There Must be Something in the Air

It appears that the offworlders aren't the only ones affected by the sudden influx of youthfulness. During the month, the city council puts out a call for help from those who are able to give it. The Havenwell Zoo and Animal Conservatory has had an unexpected surge of new baby animals born at the beginning of the month. There's so many that they can't keep them all at the zoo's nursery so they need your help! Characters can volunteer and arrive at the zoo to pick up a cuddly baby to take home with them to keep for the remainder of the month. They will be required to give it back once Ealom ends, however, since the natives will (hopefully) be finished with their new habitat expansions by then. As with any baby, characters will need to keep their little fluffy one close and tend to its needs - which may include having two parents. You and a friend (or frenemy, we aren't judging) will need to help this little one grow up enough that it can return to its conservatory home! The zoo will provide the basics that you'll need to keep these babies alive and well. The animals available are:

Clackoos: These rainbow colored chicks resemble chickens, except that the babies are almost a foot tall and when they "chirp" it sounds more like the clacking of wood. They're mostly flightless, but they do enjoy trying to fly and can get a few feet off the ground or glide when they get older. At this stage, they're testing their wings out and are more likely to fall off of high places and bump into people and walls in a manner more akin to flailing falling than actual flight. Keep them warm at night and make sure they eat a variety of seeds, simulated insect mealworms, or fruits.
Sinory Lizard: These feathery lizards look a little like a cross between an iguana and a komodo dragon, being almost 2 feet in length from snout to the tip of their tail. They come in a variety of colors like striped blue and green, yellow and pink, silver and black, etc. They're most notable for the downy feathers on their legs and along their backs. They make a rumbling sound if you pet the down on their back. These lizards are known for their sluggish nature when it's anything less than hot hot hot, so they tend to slither away quickly to seek sources of heat like sunny spots, people, or stoves. You might want to keep them away from stoves. They enjoy eating the simulated meats or kibble provided by the zookeepers, but will also steal whatever food is on the table if it's not guarded.
Lohpeh: This large pink creature resembles a rabbit with long thin ears and powerful hind legs, except that it also sports brown antlers that sprout light blue leaves and pretty yellow flowers. They're about half a foot tall not including the antlers and pink like bubblegum. They eat mostly grasses and vegetables, and will happily munch on anything that even slightly resembles their preferred food - so hair, clothing, anything flowing. Their teeth are pretty sharp though, so be careful of the accidental nip here and there. They don't like to be alone, so they'll follow the largest group of people they can find, chasing after them to rub their antlers against their legs. Apparently it's to mark them as family.
Nirofu: A small black and white giraffe-like creature with gangly legs, a long neck and two little stubs on the top of their heads that look like they're meant to grow into something much longer. As a baby, the creature is extremely awkward looking as it's trying to grow into its long limbs and neck and they vary in height from runts who are barely over 2 feet tall to ones that are nearly 4 foot in height. They like to swing their heads and bash them into things as a form of play and once they start running, it's hard to get them to stop. They're extremely playful, but the zookeepers still haven't pinned down exactly what they like to eat. Feed them a variety of raw foods from meat to vegetables and these nirofu seem to gobble everything down.

Please choose only one animal to foster!

❥ PROMPT III: A Bigger, Better Nursery

a zoo enclosure with greenery decorating it, and an elephant in the center

Remember when the city council said they'd be expanding the zoo? Well, they're going to need all the hands they can get and have asked people willing to help to do so. This job will be paid, of course, with a healthy dose of Dora into your accounts if you don't mind a little bit (or a lot of) physical labor. The habitats for the creatures in the zoo need to be expanded, new paddocks built and populated with vegetation, water, and play areas. The simulated vegetation like trees, grass that feels real but is very much fake, simulated moss and bushes need to be arranged and planted. Water areas need to be cleaned and then filled. The fake wood play areas with ropes and ladders, slides and swings need to be assembled and secured within the enclosures. There's no lack of things to do! For the more construction minded, they can help pour foundations and lay the mortar and stone for building walls in the new enclosures, or help add the glass or build fences to separate the soon-to-be curious zoo-goers from the animals that need protecting. Grab a friend, roll up your sleeves, get to work and earn some Dora!

❥ PROMPT IV: I Can Show You the City

With all the hustle of last month, the VR cafes were rather sparse and this month the owners of those cafes want to make up for the lost time and profit! This month they're offering a new experience that any and all may enjoy. The cafes' decor have been updated to be painted a light sky blue inside with soft diffuse light that resembles sunlight. On the ceilings and walls are holoprojections of very realistic clouds that slide along like they do outside. Hook up into the VR sets and join others in an extremely realistic and detailed flying tour of Havenwell.

Ever wonder what the city looked like from above? Well, wonder no longer! Once you're loaded up in the game, you'll find yourself floating gently in the sky high above the city. There are others here, too, holding hands or linking arms as they zip about, free as birds. You, however? Well...you can't do much more than float or sink closer to the ground! It seems you need to find a partner and keep in contact with them in order to control your flight, so you better hurry before you end up on the ground like some regular ol' walking Joe. Thankfully, everyone is being loaded into the same game experience, so it shouldn't be hard to find a partner!

If you want a little excitement in your game, feel free to load the "Balloon Challenge" mini-game and compete against other teams to catch the most balloons. Once the game starts, you have 2 minutes to maneuver with your partner to fly through virtual obstacles and collect brightly colored balloons. Catch them by the string and hold on because the more balloons you and your partner collect, the higher your score. If you're crowned that Balloon Challenge champion by beating out all the other teams, you can collect a little balloon of your own when you leave the VR cafe. The balloon floats happily along on a little string and never loses its air, no matter how long you keep it.

This event will run from May 14th to 31st. 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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It certainly was... somewhere. The robots hadn't seemed like they were super sure what Japan was all about, which probably should have been a bit concerning, but Kai had already been checking out of that conversation. Oops.

"You really are on a big trip then." Probably! "I've been to Kyushu before a real long time ago and that took foreverrrr. We gotta be closer than there."

"Maybe," he'd like to believe as much, anyway. If the trip home does in fact take foreverrrr, that's a larger window of time for someone to notice he isn't there, and for that to turn into a Big Deal. That! Sounds super bad!

"Do you think we're still in Japan?"

He takes a look around again, as if that's going to give him some obvious answer.

All the more reason to bring a scapegoat home with you, Shinji.

"Hmm... Probably?" They had to be, right? Kai definitely didn't have a passport, so there was no way he could have passed through the port! Obviously!! Sure, this place looked wildly different from the kind of scenery he was used to, but. Hm.

"Maybe we're near Tokyo?"

He probably means Tokyo-2, right? Of course he does, nobody lives in regular old Tokyo anymore, probably not even robots. Maybe cool kids just don't add the number on, that... yeah, that makes sense.

"We might be?" He's never seen any place quite like this, but, again, it's not like he's very well traveled, either. "I didn't think it looked like this..." but! It very well could!

Cool Kids: dropping letters and numbers all the time!

"I heard big cities were wild, but I guess people weren't kidding! Maybe the other wards are more normal."

As long as you get your idea across, then some extra number and letters aren't that important. Shinji gets it, you wouldn't possibly be suggesting they're someplace that's largely submerged underwater. That would be silly. Kai is clearly too cool to make a mistake like that.

"Oh, probably," that would make sense! Or, at least, is a comforting thought. In that case... "It shouldn't be hard to find a way out, then..."

Even if everything is confusing, maybe just going in one direction long enough would work?

You wanna run that submerged underwater thing by him one more time?

"Probably not!" Unless they were already on the opposite edge, oops. Only one way to find out though, and that going in one direction option seemed like a pretty good one. That's what they were (mostly) doing so far anyway. "If we keep going we gotta find something."

Whoops, sorry, he can't, the conversation has moved on. Maybe it'll come up again later, maybe not!

"R-right...!" He can be confident in Kai's confidence! It's way easier putting that trust in someone else, especially after he'd tried so hard on his own only to end up on the verge of tears for it. What a real lifesaver you are, Kaito. Let us continue on! In the straightest line these two kids can manage!

They were gonna do great! They were totally gonna stay straight the whole time!

... At least until they'd been walking down this street for a decent while. It was just getting very... boring. Everything kinda looked the same going this way. Too many white buildings! Not enough obvious exits!!

So really who could blame him if that tuft of greenery peeking out in the relatively-close distance got Kai's attention. It sure did look like it

might be

a tree.

Maybe... they could sort of go. That way.

You know what? It's actually kind of tough to maintain this whole 'totally straight line' business when you're also keeping an eye out for escape routes. If two kids were to start drifting, say, toward a nice patch of greenery with such an appealing looking tree, it would be pretty hard to actually tell.

Kai's lead

is followed without question

and, lo, they reach the tree. And, wouldn't you know it, along the way, it appears to have caught Shinji's attention, too. Imagine that...!

Just imagine...!

It was an extremely impressively sized tree, considering just two months ago there were barely any trees around at all. This particular flavor of Kaito did not know that though. All he saw was a regular sized tree with some low hanging branches that maybe, possibly, was home to some super sneaky r o b o t b u g s .

And so, like many other instances of this interaction thus far, Kai blurted out his intentions without a whole lot of thought. "Hang on. I gotta climb that."

"Oh."

What's a momentary stop to scurry up a tree really going to interrupt in the long run...? After getting the chance to just talk for a while, Shinji's not so wound up about getting out of here immediately that he won't let Kai stop to scratch that itch. He loosens his hold a little, so that Kai can easily slip his hand out of Shinji's when he wants to.

"Okay."

"The robot bugs might be there."

A very important thing to investigate, you see. Instead of letting go of Shinji's hand though, Kai went ahead and pulled him along with him. Come on, he wasn't leaving you behind.

"Have you ever climbed a tree before?"

That's a bit of a surprise! Even so, he lets himself get pulled along with no resistance. offering a bashful little shake of his head at the question.

"No."

Somehow, not entirely surprising. Not that this was a problem, but if it was, hey! A solution was right here!

"An adventure is a good time to give it a go," Kai suggested as they walked underneath the branches. "We might be able to see way more stuff up there too! I'll help, if you wanna try."

Offering it as a tool to help solve their current predicament is a smart thing to do! Even if Shinji may have been gently interested in the first place, that really just seals the deal, doesn't it?

"C-can you show me...?"

Kai may have offered, but it's a little unusual for Shinji to actually ask for that help himself, so it still comes out pretty nervous.

That nervousness was met with a big, toothy grin. "Sure!"

Kai let go of Shinji's hand, since he was going to need both of those. He gave the tree trunk a fond series of pats, peering up at the closest tree branch. "Sometimes you gotta just use your feet, but I think we can jump this one."

Taking a few steps back, Kai suddenly came charging right back. Don't blink, Shinji, cuz whoosh. The aspiring bug catcher sprung up high, grabbing on to the tree branch and planting his feet against the trunk. Gonna. Just. Hoist himself on up there!!

"... And then you can grab the other ones! With less jumping, probably."

There he goes! A tree-scaling master at work! Shinji had told himself to make sure he was watching carefully, but that was an incredibly impressive leap from Kai! Would Shinji even be able to emulate that? That was definitely the work of a seasoned adventurer, which Shinji is absolutely not.

"I... don't know if I can do that."

Still, he approaches the tree, like he's trying to judge how hard that might realistically be. How high would he have to jump to be able to grab that branch? That seems like it's gonna be tough, it'd probably be pretty easy to get hurt if he messes it up. Hm. Hmmm.

"Y'haven't tried yet!"

Kai watched him from high up in his perch, eyes bright with interest. He was a little curious to see what Shinji would do. It was true that Shinji was kinda on the littler side, so maybe the branch was just a little out of reach? Hmmm!

Kai held his hands up in the air, stretching up real high. "Try jumping straight up as high as you can first! We'll see how high you can go."

A good idea! It would at least give him a measure of how tough this will actually be. Yeah... yeah, he can do that much, at least.

"Okay," he nods once, giving the branch another very serious look-over. And then! He bends his knees a bit, crouching down to store up some springing power! Before giving it his best jump!

Hup!!

There go his fingertips! Brushing the underside of that branch!

"Ah!"

Almost!

"Hohh!!"

Look at that jump! Kai beamed down at him excitedly. "That's it! You can totally do it! You just gotta get more oomph in there!"

What a vote of confidence you're giving him! Without that extra encouragement, who's to say he'd be able to find it in himself to give it another shot.

"You think so...?"

Kai had taken a running start, maybe that would help him get that extra dash of ups he needs to get a good hold of that branch! He backs up a little bit, to about where Kai had started. "I'm gonna try again...!"

"Yeah yeah!"

Go for it! He was rooting for you! And also maybe getting himself a little rooted to this tree a bit better, in case Shinji ended up needing a last-second hand. For even more oomph!

"Go for it!"

"Okay...!"

There's still a nervous little waver in his voice, but he is resolved now! He will give it a try! Even so, he still hesitates another moment, like he's still unsure of his own abilities, but... he's still gonna try!

So! Here he goes! With that running start! And once he gets close enough, he throws as much oomph into that jump as he can! The extra momentum gives him a little more height, and he manages to get his hands solidly on the sides of the branch, though it isn't quite high enough to give him a good enough grip to keep himself from slipping back downwards.

"Ah-!!"

"Whoa!!"

Not! So! Fast! That was the last-second hand, and Kai was flopping to grab Shinji's wrist. His arms were still baby noodles, so he wasn't going to be able to pull the other boy all the way up. He just needed a little bit more though, so maybe! A heave and a ho! Would be just enough! For a better grip!

"A little more--!"

♥ May (Ealom) Event Log

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