♥ July (Lasdia) Event Log

[hugtopiamods]

July (Lasdia) Event Log
Offworlders, did you know? It's been a year since you and your peers began to arrive here! Some of you have been around this entire time, others have only just arrived, and many more fall in between. Whatever length of time you've spent here, the locals are very grateful for your time and effort. Even if it's been given without your consent, they want to make sure you know that your contributions are appreciated and, of course, have come to bear much fruit. Sometimes literally!

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❥ PROMPT I: National Telegraphic

As Lasdia is in full-swing and whispers of anniversary are in the air, the entertainment district is beginning to capitalize on the general mood in town. Camera crews and journalists are seen more frequently, particularly in the residential areas where the majority of offworlders have settled, and have taken to following a few people on more than one occasion. Some are more subtle than others. And some are very obvious, maybe even going so far as to narrate what they observe. Even if what they see characters doing is mundane and not especially exciting, they'll do their best to hype it up. "Watch as the human stalks his prey, teeth bared and hungry, trying to decide which angle to strike... and he's got it! The human has chosen the strawberry danish as his meal. ...Oh no, we've been spotted! His teeth are bared towards us... loyal viewers, this could be the end for us...!"

It's... mostly harmless, and when caught in the act most of them will dramatically flee the area and attempt to film in a more subtle manner. Their attention can be short-lived if they spot another offworlder wandering by doing something more interesting and switch targets. Some will try and create drama or conflict, either between residents and offworlders (such as knocking over a store display and vanishing, leaving someone with an irritated shopkeep) or between the offworlders themselves, and generally they won't break any laws to get a scoop... but you may want to keep your curtains closed. A clever offworlder or two could probably get some annoying crew arrested for causing too much trouble, as many locals are likely to grow exasperated with it as well.

Shops to an extent are on board with capitalizing on the offworlders' popularity, however, which becomes apparent as characters might find something odd while shopping around: merchandise, representative of either yourselves or your neighbours. Perhaps some collectable figures of the great warriors of Havenwell can be spotted at the check-out counter. Or keychains showing a recognizable symbol someone wears are for sale at repair shops. Clothing of the offworlders become a popular style that transition well into the shawls and scarves that the robots wear. Trading cards with information blurbs (which may be accurate or entirely fictional), buttons... you name it, there could be at least one of it out there of you! Do you object, find a seller to yell at? Do you buy out the stock and hope they disappear? Or do you collect your friends for a laugh?

Just... maybe do yourself a favour and don't check the network for offworlder fanfiction. Even if the names have been changed, some of it is far too obvious and probably not meant for public consumption.

❥ PROMPT II: Calling Doctor Jones

Over the past year, and the past several months in particular, the locals have heard a number of requests for a more organized health care system within town, as the population of flesh-and-blood residents remains steady. While each temple has had recovery rooms built to provide aid to those who get sick or injured, it isn't their focus, so despite their best efforts they have come to recognize the need to do better.

Therefore to fill the void, this month's changes include the soft opening of the Havenwellness Clinic! Run by a local researcher of biology and a former veterinarian, Dr. Rojir, it exists not to replace the temple recovery rooms, but to give residents a more clinical and less religious location to recover from whatever ails them, as well as centralize supplies, medicine, and direct research on non-robotic species without being too invasive.

Doctor Rojir is a quiet and polite automoton with padded metal fingers designed to sense subtle differences in texture, temperature, and damage across surfaces, particularly skin. It can't feel, exactly, but complex mechanics within have been specially programmed to aid in detecting what sort of ailments might be affecting the patients. He's done a fair bit of research into the medical techniques of the past, as well as what is known thus far about the species inhabiting the world - humans especially, as there are a number of you! - but much of the information available is incomplete, since they don't have years of study to fall back on, or even a proper subject to examine, living or otherwise.

This is where you come in! There will be a sign-up thread down below for appointments, and Dr. Rojir will have a toplevel on the event post. What he's also going to do to assist in his research is pair characters up with someone unlike themselves in some way. That person is going to be your temporary research partner! You will be asked to sit down with the other person and teach one another about your status, your general health, anything that might be considered unique about who or what you are. This prompt is all about world-sharing and swapping questions with another person, and may be a great way to make some new CR, good or bad! You can request a specific partner, or have it randomized by a mod. We will try our best to link up characters who aren't in the same exact situation, physically.

If Dr. Rojir's solo appointment requests are too popular, we may schedule dates for when said appointments will occur, to avoid mod overload. You will be given a date if your appointment is going to occur later on during the event, or afterwards. We ask that you respond to the Sign-Up thread before tagging the NPC toplevel, so we can gauge interest and schedule accordingly.

Additionally, characters who are a) already volunteering at the existing temple clinics or b) medically trained in some way are welcome to volunteer to work at the clinic with Rojir. There will be a salary awarded to those willing and qualified, so it can count as a job in-town to help with whatever your monthly dora reward won't pay for. Please let us know if you're interested and qualified, and you can be added to the staff once we have the clinic added to the game information pages.

❥ PROMPT III: So Very Glamour-ous

It's been a year since Havenwell officially began pulling people in from another world. Crazy, is it not? The locals can hardly believe the changes and how well things are progressing. It may not seem like much, but to them, who have seen no positive changes for centuries, it's something worth celebrating for certain. Therefore, close to month's end, they're throwing a party for everyone!

Much like the food festival half a year ago, the party will occur in one of the towers in town, on a floor large and open enough for such gatherings. It's been decorated to the nines, each corner devoted to one of the gods and their respective colour combinations (iridescent silver, pink and purple, red and white, blue and gold), with the central zone focused on Havenwell itself, a spread of tables with food galore, and an elaborate showcase of events and instances where the newcomers have helped the city, all displayed through edible arrangements: sad fork robots saved by the arrival of sliced-meat and fruits in the shape of people; tiny grape spiders breaking through a wall of cheese and crackers, fought off by celery-soldiers; a handful of cookie-people cuddling and sitting cozy or kissing. It's all very fancy and delicious enough that they've clearly put the work in to show their appreciation. They will of course urge everyone to eat and enjoy, no matter how fancy it looks. It would be terrible if it all rotted and went to waste. Once a sufficiency of food has been consumed, the tables easily move aside to make room for a dance floor, if people feel so inclined. There is a band of local talent playing a curious blend of synth and orchestral music, their style shifting suitably between fast and slow dances, so there should be a little something for everyone in attendance.

What is the dresscode for such an event, you might ask? Well, on paper the locals have stated that anything is fine, since it's your party, but the gods (not without their own sense of humour) have other ideas. Plenty of their accomplishments this year was fueled by you, but they also brought you here... thus, a few days before the party, you might find a package on your doorstep, seemingly delivered by one of the animal familiars of your god of choice. Inside the package you'll find one curious thing: the equivalent of a glamour prism, a curious bauble that could easily fit into your pocket and that alters whatever you're wearing into a single outfit that the glamour is programmed to display on you.

What outfit it is... well, that's your choice! There is no universal style. The only stipulation is that it is not a style of this world, and it is not dangerous/magical beyond the glamour's effect. The outfit feels real, and can wiggle/move/flow in the breeze as it normally would, provided the glamour is active- so rock that cat-eared beanie, roll with that floor-length cape. It can be an outfit from the character's home closet, a style of your world or another's, a fancy suit, or something silly like a dragon kigurumi. If you're not sure if what you can acquire is allowed or would require modification, please ask in the question thread below.

If your character ends up with an outfit they wouldn't wear to the dance, never fear- you can still wear whatever you like! But those gods and their critters can either be easily offended or love a good gag, so the glamour might find itself on your person in some way during the party, inexplicably active. You can deactivate it, throw it away, whatever- somehow, it just keeps finding its way back to you. Might be best to just roll with what you're given.

EXTRA: Characters who first arrived in this world last year might remember the Ribbon Games that were occurring in the month of their arrival, and this tradition has been brought back once again- both the temple portion, and the challenge at the party. Feel free to play with this in your prompts if you wish, though it is entirely optional!

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This event will run from July 15th to 30th. 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.

Comments

[hedgehogsdilemma]

That's very true, even if it feels like they're being even more pesky than before.

"I wonder if there's something that's suddenly made them more interested than before." It couldn't possibly be just because it's been a whole year, right...? They've had more than enough time to get most of their curiosity out, but maybe the anniversary of everything really stoked them to redouble their interest. Hmmm...

"I just don't remember them being this persistent even when we first showed up."

[whenyouneedme]

"S'true, they weren't this into it," Kai agreed.

It did seem a little silly for something as small as an anniversary to rile folks up so much but... well, what did he know? Before now he never really had a reason to think about anniversaries for anything. Thinking about it, maybe he could sort of get it. Part of it, anyway.

"But I guess they were, y'know, just as skeptical about whether or not we'd be able to do anything as we were."

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Kind of the same principle as birthdays, huh? Not a huge deal unless someone else makes it one. This wasn't something Shinji normally would have thought to really celebrate, but on the other hand, what the robots are doing isn't exactly festive. The party a the end of the month, yes, but all of this...?

"Have they been following you, too?"

It seems like no one's truly safe, but, ah, maybe after that outburst earlier, they might reconsider tailing him for a while.

[whenyouneedme]

Yeah it wasn't exactly festive. Kind of more like somewhere along the way someone had decided that wow everyone is actually kind of a celebrity and wow let's run with that really hard. Or something. Shit was weird.

"Yeah, now and again. Maybe they won't for a little while now."

[hedgehogsdilemma]

"Maybe."

Hopefully they weren't bothering him too much, but if they back off for a bit from him, too, that wouldn't be so bad, he thinks. Leave them with some peace and quiet for a while.

"Thank you, though," he says, offering a small squeeze to Kai's hand. "They were getting kind of tough to shake off, so that... really helped."

He's been trying not to let them stress him out too much with fairly mixed success, but even then, his own bark is only so convincing.

[whenyouneedme]

Ah, he'd actually been helpful. That was good. That made it worth any potential ire, frankly. He smiled a little. "I'm glad."

"If they get to be too much again, just shoot me a text, ok? I'll come get you."

They could zip off together on the bike and leave 'em all behind. A scenario that in all likelihood already existed in those scandalous fanfics. Goodness.

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Make those fanfic dreams come true...! In all likelihood, though, there are probably at least a couple pieces of writing out there simply depicting things that have already happened - perhaps a legally distinct version of this very scenario! How wild would that be. Let's maybe not think about it too hard for now.

"I wouldn't want to interrupt you if you're busy." That bustling courier business is obviously more important than something like avoiding the paparazzi. "Just... hopefully whatever has them so worked up cools off soon."

[whenyouneedme]

Gosh they couldn't even deny that this wasn't the first time Kai had whisked Shinji away to somewhere more private with such determination. Dangerous lives to be living, boys.

That response, however, got a sharp click of Kai's tongue. "Hopefully, but don't think of it as interrupting anything. I'd wanna do it. Escape routes are what I'm good at."

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Who knows, there could be prying eyes who weren't part of the crowd issued the 'back off' memo who could be looking to get some extra material right now. Who! knows!

Not Shinji. He's plenty preoccupied with the person in front of him, far from any thoughts of sneaky spies listening in. "You make it awfully tough to argue with you," Shinji could probably, in all honesty, find at least a little more stubbornness to meet that rebuttal with, but... it isn't like the offer is unappealing, either.

"If it gets bad," he concedes, "But if you're in the middle of something, I won't be upset if I have to wait for you. You should take care of your own business first."

[whenyouneedme]

Tough to argue with, huh. Kai snorted softly at that. Maybe that was true.

"Fine, fine," he said, as if this was something he needed to give in to. Kai shot him a grin though. "I'm sure you'd be able to hold 'em off for a while, so just think of it as hopping in the queue." The queue that he would absolutely re-prioritize.

"You can just come cruise around for a while."

[hedgehogsdilemma]

If he's going to be treated like a customer, then guess who would be getting extra dora slid into his account later for it?

"You know I'd never say no to that." Nosy robots as a convenient excuse or otherwise - getting to spend some time just zipping around on Kai's bike has, in fact, become something incredibly relaxing. The breeze, the sights, the company, just thinking abut it is honestly enough to pull the idea of going to Kai for a quick getaway from 'maybe if it gets unbearable' to 'a viable alternative to simply dealing with this nonsense'.

"I really do appreciate it, you know? How much it feels like you're looking after me."

[whenyouneedme]

Don't you do it.

Knowing he'd gotten Shinji thoroughly on board with spontaneous rides got a little chuckle out of Kai. Good. Mutual escapism was the best.

"Well, I mean, I am? So it's good it feels that way." That fierce need to protect was a bit different from those intense feelings that had sent Kai running after him last month. It was something different, something that had been there a lot longer, even if all of it kind of ended up tied together anyway. Kai didn't really know what it all was, but it was important, and that made Shinji important. (He'd already been important.)

"You can totally take care of yourself, I just... wanna know you're good."

[hedgehogsdilemma]

He's gonna, just you watch.

He gets it, though, he does. It's been a while since things have been Truly Bad, but it's definitely not an impossibility - having that extra bit of assurance that he has that escape route, that there's someone else here who honestly has his best interests in mind, is profoundly comforting.

"It feels... easier with you around." Not a perfect improvement to his disposition on the whole, but even now, most of the stress of being followed and badgered has tapered off, thanks to the present company. Just like that, easier. It's nice. "I'm glad it's you, Kai."

[whenyouneedme]

Guess he'll just have to buy Shinji cake with it.

One would think he would have gotten used to that name by now. In a way he already had. There wasn't anymore surprise or stutter to his thoughts, no need to look over at Shinji to confirm that this was what he had meant to say. There was still that new feeling though, the kind of warm and giddy that made it really hard not to smile.

"Then I'm doin' something right." He was glad it was him too.

Finally letting go of Shinji's arm, Kai went ahead and slung his arm around Shinji's shoulders instead. Maybe they could find a spot to hunker down for a little while until the paparazzis cooled off or found more interesting people to look at. Pick a bench and chill or something? Don't look, shipbots.

"Just don't get the idea that you owe me or anything, alright?

[hedgehogsdilemma]

You could be spending your hard earned dora on something better but it's not like he'll be able to stop your cake dreams any more than you'll be able to stop his payments coming through.

Even if Shinji doesn't get to enjoy the novelty that surprise brought with it any more, it's still nice to see Kai's expression brighten up with just the use of that nickname. How could he possibly resist sliding it out there, as a nice, easy way to lift his spirits a little? Especially after the tension from earlier. No more barking, only cheerful doggos to be found here. Cheerful doggos that he's more than happy to take on walks, possibly to somewhere quieter. Splendid plan.

"Hmm," he hums softly, thoughtfully, while letting his hand come up to a gentle rest at Kai's back. Wouldn't he owe him? Doesn't he owe him? Like, an awful lot? Probably more than he could conceivably return, at the rate they've been going? That's a thought he will keep quietly to himself, though, at least for whatever seriousness it may hold. "You should at least let me take care of the dishes an extra night in return for something like a quick escape."

[whenyouneedme]

"Nope," he immediately chirped back. "You're just gonna have to live with it being something I want to do."

Because that was exactly what it was!

[hedgehogsdilemma]

There! That's what Shinji meant when he said Kai's difficult to argue with! That kind of attitude, right there!

"Then I should be able to do favors for you when I want to."

That's only fair, right? As if he hasn't been doing whatever he can to try and repay all the kindnesses Kai's given him anyway. He can't do anything big and sweeping like whisking Kai away from distress for a relaxing motorcycle trip, so at least let him take care of those small inconveniences.

[whenyouneedme]

Haha whoops.

By Kai's own logic though, that assertion was... completely fair. Huh. How about that. Truly the way to argue with him was to use his own ploys against him. The whole reason the nickname felt so nice was because it made him feel like he was actually wanted. Wasn't this the same kind of thing, if Shinji wanted to? Wild.

"Mmm, guess you got me there."

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Amazing, it's almost like... Shinji wants him around, and wants him to be well taken care of and happy. Imagine that. So wild.

"Good." It's a deal, then. "If you can live with that, then so can I."

A mutual agreement to make each other's lives a little easier, just because they want to. As if they haven't already been doing that a bunch.

[whenyouneedme]

This is in fact something that Kai had been attempting to imagine more often than not. It is in fact So Wild. Extremely wild, and a little easier to accept everyday.

"Ha. I can definitely make an exception for you, sure." He'd just have to behave and actually let Shinji get away with whatever a favor would entail.

Leading them off to quieter places, Kai made a little motion towards a bench. "Wanna chill for a bit?"

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Take a load off while the heat dies down? That sounds perfect. Hopefully that doesn't just attract more onlookers hungry for a scoop.

"As long as I'm not pulling you away from anything," though he's got the distinct feeling that, even if he was, he'd probably never actually hear about it. Another thing to learn to live with, he supposes? Just as long as it's no real inconvenience to anyone. "I'd like that."

[whenyouneedme]

Nothing a little bit more barking couldn't fix, probably.

"Nice." To the bench they went. "I was probably gonna just laze around somewhere and scroll the tablet a while," Kai admitted with a shrug. Nothing important, and something he could still do! Right now! Cozied up with someone else.

Even if he had something going on, favors weren't the only thing Kai would make exceptions for Shinji over. Really, all the other boy had to do at this point was ask. Maybe it'd help if he knew. "You'd be welcome to tag along though, if there'd been somethin'."

[hedgehogsdilemma]

You know what Shinji's found out he enjoys a great deal, thanks to Kai's company? Chill, low-stakes hangouts where they can just enjoy each other's presence, even if occupied by something else. Mindless scrolling would be a perfectly relaxing task in this case.

First, let's get settled on that bench!

"I'll keep it in mind." He can't reasonably expect to not be in the way 100% of the time, but that's probably a judgement call for whatever potential future Shinji actually goes through with the offer of squeezing his way into the courier queue. For now, it truly seems like he has Kai to himself for a bit, and that's always nice. "Just as long as you want the extra company on whatever adventure you're on."

[whenyouneedme]

That's right, Shinji, he was all yours and ready to laze. It worked out really nicely in Kai's favor that Shinji was so down for low-stakes hangs, because once you took the bike away, Kai's hobbies were... None. So. Good.

Kai plopped himself down as casually as he would their own couch, maintaining that just as casual drape of his arm across the other boy's shoulders. Nice and settled.

"'Course. Somebody's gotta keep me in line, or something like that."

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Lovely. A perfect position for Shinji to just cozy himself right up in to Kai's side, coming to an easy rest there.

"Should I be worried about you getting too far out of line when I'm not around?"

How ridiculous. What's he going to do? Go yell at some gods because he's upset? At least he's not getting thrown into time-out for it, but even then, it's not like Shinji would begrudge him for it.

"But, if that's an excuse to hang out, I guess I can't argue that, either."