hugtopia_logs | ♥ September Intro Mingle Log

♥ September Intro Mingle Log

a park scene in autumn with a lake, trees, a bench, leaves on the ground

September Intro Mingle Log
Welcome to Hugtopia, and to the city of Havenwell. This mingle is meant for new arrivals to get settled and meet the other inhabitants. New characters should be the only top-levels but everyone should feel free to tag around and make new friends. Who knows, you may find that Perfect Hug in here. You can use the prompts here, or create a wildcard of your own.

ICly, this takes place from the 2nd to the 16th and then we'll have a shiny new event post up for you all soon after that date range. The prompts below are optional, but are a way to get you started if you wish. To help you create your own prompts, please take a look through our Settings and FAQ. 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.

❥ PROMPT I: Awakening

When you awaken, you're in the last outfit you remember wearing, three of your belongings laid nearby or your animal friend curled up by you, waking as you do. It's not the most comfortable place to sleep, a stone slab, but once you're awake, a humanoid-looking robot comes in and explains you're in Havenwell and leads you out of the room and into the main portion of the temple where a welcoming committee of similarly humanoid-looking robots hand over a clear smartphone-sized tablet, some starting funds, and explain their dilemma. Then they release you into Havenwell to pick your new home from free housing in the city and give you the chance to settle. It might be a bit disorienting, but thankfully there seem to be a lot of robots and even some non-robots around. Maybe ask them for help?

❥ PROMPT II: Buddy System

two fingers together with smiling faces drawn on

With all the changes going on, it might be hard to be a new arrival to Havenwell. The natives understand! Sort of. When some new arrivals begin to appear at the temples, receive the welcome speech, get their communicators and the simple map of the city, they get taken to the front of the temple by a helpful robotic priest. Rather than turn the newcomers loose right away, they pull someone seemingly at random off the street and push the two people together with a cheerful, "Here's your guide to Havenwell! It's dangerous to go alone, so be buddies!" before going back inside.

They try to place a new arrival with one of those who previously arrived, but who can keep track of all that, right? Characters may find themselves thrown together with an actual veteran or with another new arrival who only came here a day or even just an hour before them! Good luck helping each other out, offworlders, and don't lose your buddy!

❥ PROMPT III: Weather Wildcard

a vertical slice of several different weather conditions, from sunny to storms

Havenwell's weather is generally so well controlled, with beautiful blue skies and temperate climes that it's hard to remember that there's a whole world out there that might not be so nice. Every so often, however, the controls break and something not so nice and temperate comes through. Pockets of unpleasant weather happens all over the city at random intervals and new arrivals might find themselves and others caught without warning. Is that a snowstorm with green snow? Sure is. A windstorm that only seems to affect three streets? Yup. Did a deluge of rain just pour the equivalent of an Olympic sized swimming pool of water on you? Uh-huh, sure did. A deep cold fog that suddenly rolls in and blankets your entire area? Yeeaaah... hopefully there's someone around to help you get about and find shelter or just dry off and get away from it all. Good luck, offworlder.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

She wonders why he's sputtering. That makes no sense. She watches him for a moment. "Well, yes. Even out on the Rim, we heard of Luke Skywalker, though, I suppose it's Master Skywalker now. The rumors we receive state he's thinking of reinstituting the order. You're from the Core, surely you know more than me?"

If he doesn't maybe he's just from another part of the Rim. That would be disappointing. But he's dressed like the people she sees on the holonet. Well, sort of anyway.

She wonders why he's acting so shocked though. The Rebellion - Republic now - is well known, even on the Rim worlds.

"Ah. I'm not from the Core, miss Misa, or the Rim," he says. "But I am familiar with the Jedi Order."

This is like finding out that the Steel Samurai is real. If Jedi are real, maybe the Steel Samurai is real, and not Larry oh my God he is still so mad about that. "I'm familiar with the adventures of Master Skywalker, as well."

Just don't talk to him about midichlorians.

Edited 2019-09-09 02:26 (UTC)

She cocks her head to the side, studying him. He's not lying. But... He's unusual. And not just for the way he's dressed. There's something fundamental that she's missing.

"If you're not from the Core or the Rim, then how...?" Her dark eyes go wide. "Are you... are you a Jedi sir?" She asks in a whisper. Because if he is, here she's been sullying his reputation and she should leave!

It takes almost every ounce of restraint in his body not to lie and say 'yes'. The remaining restraint is being used to not giggle nervously. This can't be happening. Right? Right. He definitely didn't take ibuprofen for his headache, it was something else reacting with his brain chemistry and making him hallucinate. Definitely.

'Cause otherwise, what.

"I'm afraid not, Misa," he says, offering her a rare genuine smile. "I'd say I'm from a galaxy far, far away."

Okay. He couldn't help himself on that one.

She frowns, not getting the joke. "Does that mean you're from out past the Rim? But there's supposed to be nothing but dead space out there." She doesn't understand. In some ways, she's very sheltered, but in others... well, just look at her clothing.

She shakes her head. "I'm sorry, sir, but you've lost me. I'm not as familiar with systems as I probably should be." She admits, softly. "I've neglected that part of my education for other things."

"Don't worry about it, Misa," he says. "It's a little joke with myself. But it seems that we all come from different worlds. And different galaxies, come to that."

Astronomy in her universe must be fascinating - were there no other galaxies that could be seen at all? No other clusters? No superclusters? Surely they could see them, if his own world's technology could. Then again, her education...like she'd said. "That's hardly your fault," he says, a little more brusquely than he means to. "Education is vital, but it's on those adults around you to teach you, it's not incumbent upon you to teach yourself."

"Oh the Mistress is rather strict about me continuing my education, but she allows me to choose my own pace." She explains. "Freema teaches me things about running the house, while the Mistress teaches me what I need to know to help clients. Oh, and Jocko teaches me self-defense. Everything else, I must learn on my own." And she does! She just slacks at some of it, because that's what droids are for.

"That's not that unusual. We get a lot of different types on Canto Bight." She explains, thinking she's helping. "Every once in a while, we get a politician, but they generally stay at the Governor's Mansion, unless he brings them to the house for entertainment."

"Running a house and 'helping clients' are hardly appropriate topics for a child," he says, though he's not admonishing her; rather, the tight control in his voice is so he doesn't say something he regrets. She seems to be proud of what she does, but if it's all she's known...

Kay had been proud of being the Yatagarasu, but that was worlds different than...this. The girl had chosen to become a thief. Misa hadn't chosen this life. Her childhood had been stolen.

"Self-defense, however, is a valuable skill that everyone ought to learn. Tell me, Misa," he says, his voice gentle, "what other subjects do you know? Math? Science? Literature?" He'd grown up with a thirst for knowledge, and even if Gregory Edgeworth hadn't encouraged his spirit and Manfred von Karma hadn't enforced it, he would have studied everything he could. Had her natural curiosity been quashed in favor of what she was 'supposed' to learn?

She cocks her head to the side, studying him. "Running a house for anyone is a good thing to know. How to manage money, how to manage workers, how to manage interpersonal relationships, these are all valuable skills for an adult to have, don't you agree?"

See, she's learning valuable things by being a courtesan!

"Well, accounting is something the Mistress and I work on every day. Freema handles me learning how the kitchen runs. Hurog and Nia handle the anatomy lessons that I take. The Mistress gives me a reading list of things that I should read and I work through at my own pace." She shrugs. "I learn a lot of things from many of the other courtesans, depending on what is needed."

"My apologies. Yes, those are useful skills - I thought you meant something else." He could certainly use a class or two in interpersonal relationships.

He looks up sharply when she mentions 'anatomy lessons' though. "What sort of anatomy lessons are these?" he says, trying to remain cool. Perhaps it's simply general alien biology. Yes. It had better not be anything else.

She wraps her arms around her knees, watching him. "Well, sex is more than just intercourse." She speaks matter-of-factly. "There are applications of pain or pleasure that hit certain points on the body and need to be learned so that damage does not occur. To the courtesan or the client." She shrugs.

"And there's a lot of species out there. Hurog is a Twi'lek and Nia is human. There are many races to learn about. And not all have human appendages that means extra knowledge is needed." She's actually quite happy to be talking about it.

He'll take your word for that, Misa.

"I was hoping you meant more in terms of first aid and biology," he said, grasping his left forearm tightly. The tic's unconscious; it's something he hasn't done since the truth about his life since he was eight years old had come out. A lie - all of it, a lie, manipulation, transforming him into a man that his father would have hated. And yet, this was worse. This was unfathomably worse.

Who would do this sort of thing to a child?

"Misa." There was that tight control back in his voice. "You are thirteen. You shouldn't be taught these kinds of things."

She nods. "Oh, first aid and basic biology for medical reasons are included." She assures him. "Basic medical knowledge is needed, after all, in case something happens in the house, or one of the courtesans give birth." The last is said softly. She remembers attending the birth of a child of one of the courtesans. It had been horrible. Her gut twists and her hands clench into her skirt, but she swallows, and forces herself to go on.

"My mother started the training, sir. My father refused to train me to be a trader, what else should she have done?" She asks, openly and honestly. "Being a courtesan is a worthy profession. I'm not a streetwalker." She spits the word out with all the contempt her tiny body can contain.

There's a roaring sound in Edgeworth's ears. His vision's greying at the edges. He rarely gets this angry. He can count on one hand the number of times in his life that he's been this angry.

Using basic logic, the information he's put together is as follows:

Misa was auctioned off at age five.

Misa's mother began her courtesan training.

Therefore...

He slams his fist down on the step they're sitting on. His hand hurts; he's definitely bruised it at least, but he doesn't care. "Your own mother?!" he says, trying not to yell; it comes out in a horrified whisper instead, and his throat hurts from forcing the shout down.

She blinks at him, one hand sliding toward a knife. But he's not doing anything. Not yet. "My mother was mistress to a trader. She started as a courtesan though." She explains. "When he refused to train me as a trader, or even a pilot, she started my training to become a courtesan. I was..." She frowns. "Three? Two? Something like that." She shrugs.

"What else should she have done? Let me grow up and become a burden to my father? Being a courtesan allows me some freedom and means that I can make my own way." She's very matter of fact. This is her life. It is what it is, and she's comfortable with that fact.

His head is spinning. The roaring is still in his ears; he can feel his heart pounding; his vision is still greying out. This information...she's so matter-of-fact about it, because of course she is, she's known nothing else, and--

He holds up a hand in the universal 'hold on one moment' gesture, puts his head between his knees, and digs his fingers into his hair. He's going to treat this like an anxiety attack to get himself to calm down.

Because aside from the young girl in front of him and all of the horror she'd gone through - horror that she thought was perfectly fine and dandy - he was thinking about something else. He'd met Franziska when she was about three years old, and the very idea of anyone doing that to his sister, especially her own parent...!

Manfred von Karma had committed many sins, but that had never been one of them.

He takes a few deep breaths and lifts his head. He can see again, but his own heartbeat is still thundering in his ears. "Misa," he says quietly, "I hope you realize that my reaction means that this isn't...normal, for someone your age. You should be going to school. Your parents shouldn't have..." Abused. "...failed you like they did."

And if they were in my district, I would prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law, and then some.

It isn't horror to her, or to most of the other courtesans in the house. It is as it is. She will never admit to anyone that she wants something more. This is what she is being raised to.

She can feel his anger. She can feel the rage simmering under the surface. Sometimes, she can calm people down. Sometimes, she can help them. This isn't one of those times, and she knows it.

"Sir, you're wrong." She says softly. "My life is pretty typical on Canto Bight. Like I said before, not everyone gets chosen to be the next Mistress. Usually it's after years of work and politics and clawing and scratching your way there." She braces her chin on one shaking hand. She's scared that he's going to have a heart attack or something. "I have a good life, sir. Better than most."

Edgeworth closes his eyes and takes a few deep breaths. Perhaps it's for the best that she's not scarred by it, that she thinks she has a good life, but it's still wrong.

"Yes - and that life is reasonably typical in many places back where I'm from, to a degree," he says. "But just as earlier, when you thought I was from the Core - it's not normal there, correct? It's not normal in most places where I'm from, either. A girl your age would ideally be in school, making friends, thinking about normal things for a teenager, not being groomed to become the next Mistress of a courtesan house."

'Normal teenager things' include taking the bar exam, right? Okay. Just checking.

She cocks her head to the side. "Actually most of the Core, if the holonews and the histories are to be believed, isn't any different. There's the Junior Senate, that takes young, promising children of politicians and puts them in politically charged situations. Then, there's the Jedi." She shrugs. "It's my understanding that the Jedi used to take infants from their families, to train them."

She watches him as he no longer rages, and it stops making her own nerves jangle.

"Really, the only difference is Canto Bight is honest about what it is." That is something she's repeating from the adults that she's heard. But everything she's seen? Lends credence to that.

The part about the Junior Senate, now that hits close to home. He hadn't been forced into his career, and neither had Franziska, but at least for his sister there had never been another option considered. She was going to be a prosecutor, and that was that. And now look at her, the prodigy.

"I don't condone that, either," he said. "Nobody should be taken away from their family, or forced into a life they may not want." He'd wanted to be a defense attorney, once, until...well. 'Being taken away from his family' was a nice, sanitized way to describe it.

"However, my point stands. Everyone has the right to choose the path they want to take in life." And if she's listening for it, she may even hear a little bit of understanding in his voice.

Edited 2019-09-15 01:02 (UTC)

She is watching him with intense dark eyes framed by obviously false lashes. She looks older than she is, but she doesn't mind. No one will touch her for another three years. That's the important part.

"Jedi don't really have the choice though, do they? The Force chooses as it does." She shrugs. She wants to just talk with a Jedi. It would be fascinating to listen to them. Honestly, she knows that she'll never have their power, but to be one, to have that kind of freedom? She tells no one because it's ridiculous to think that a lowly courtesan's apprentice could even have such power. But she thinks about it, from time to time.

"That's not always true." She says softly. "Sometimes, the path is chosen for us."

"We don't have Jedi where I'm from," he says, and tries very hard not to think about how mad the entire concept of midichlorians makes him. The Force should be some kind of mystical, well, force, not biology--anyway.

"And you can always break away from that path, if you want. It's difficult. It can take years, especially if your entire life has been forced onto that path. But sometimes you just need someone to show you that you can change. Someone who believes that you can." Like that man did. There is definitely understanding in his tone now.

She watches him, with those dark eyes, wondering. "Is it my training that makes you uncomfortable or that you believe someone has touched me?" She asks with innocent insight.

He keeps going on and on about how her path can change. But she's looking forward to being Mistress. She wants to take care of the house, and change how things are done. She wants to look at Nia and Hurog, and let them choose if they're going to stay or go. She wants to have Freema have a little bit more freedom with her ingredients. She wants a lot of things, even if they only revolve around the house.

The question surprises him, but someone's decided to stop dancing around the issue. And thank God it was her, because it was probably never going to be him.

"Both," he said. "It's nothing to do with you, Misa, truly. But this concerns me. I have a sister, and I remember when she was your age. I remember when she was the age your mother--" He can't even finish saying it. "Even if I didn't, this entire situation you're describing disturbs me."

Misa smiles, glad that she can tell him something that will make him happy. Or so she thinks. "Well, you needn't worry. No one's ever touched me sexually." She says, firmly. "The Mistress and Jocko do not allow it. While I often spend time in the common room with the clients, none have the right to have sex with me yet. The Mistress says that I need to be sixteen before that happens."

Look, she's looking forward to that. She's already picked out the color for her dress, if not the style. They change so rapidly, she doesn't want to pick out something that may not be in style when she finally turns sixteen. It would be an embarrassment to the house and she doesn't want that.

♥ September Intro Mingle Log

She's a Jedi fangirl. Secretly

bitch him too the fuck. i can't believe that's canon

She's going to be so confused. Don't talk about fiction! She's not ready for that.

he wouldn't, but he's about to lose his mind. on the inside.

This is going well

Could be going worse

Yeah, she could be 16 and about to be auctioned off again.

nnnnooooo

Well, her second auction is very, very exclusive. Edgey wouldn't be invited

on principle that's offensive. He's very high-class you know

He wouldn't like it anyway. 16yo being auctioned off

he'd set her free. also just using this icon makes his sad theme play in my head

Now now, Edgey. Don't be ridiculous

he will never take that advice

Oh Edgey. Stop.

NO THIS IS HORRIBLE

OF COURSE ITS HORRIBLE ITS ME

he's not about to have a heart attack, misa, he's about to go super saiyan

This would not go over well, and she would cry. You don't want to make her cry do you?

no but he's not even part saiyan so the point is moot

Too bad. I spend three episodes watching him "power up"

if i spend more than three seconds on google i bet i can find fanart of this

I need it

the franchise has been around almost 20 years, it's been crossed over with everything

This is true

this is sort of helping, misa

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don't kill him misa, he's two steps from a heart attack already

Re: don't kill him misa, he's two steps from a heart attack already

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