♥ September Intro Mingle Log

[hugtopiamods]

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.

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❥ 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

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

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.

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Comments

[scourgingstars]

...If I'm able to. What is it you need?

[this_loser]

Your height!

[He starts backing to the entrance, camera materializing in his hand.]

Do you know what a camera is?

[scourgingstars]

Vaguely, yes. What of it?

[this_loser]

[Dude. Follow.]

Cool. There's a thing up too high for me to get a good shot. But you might be tall enough to see it, right?

[scourgingstars]

I...I could try, I suppose. What are we talking about specifically?

[this_loser]

[Okay. Secret time: he doesn't actually know. It just seemed like a good idea to change the subject, and maybe get the guy to do something other than brood.

Prompto casts his eyes upward and then points to a cluster of carved flowers crawling up one of the columns.]

There. Can't get a good angle without climbing on something, and I don't want to do that. Wanna try?

[He offers the camera.]

[scourgingstars]

[prompto, honey. you're a good noodle.]

I can make an effort, if you show me how your camera works. I'm afraid I've never used one.

[this_loser]

No probs.

[He fires up the camera, flips through a few settings, and hands it over.]

All you have to do is point it at what you want a picture of.

[He points to the button on the top.]

Press here, and wait for the click.

[scourgingstars]

That's all?

[He took the camera carefully, like he was afraid it would shatter.]

...It seems like it should be more complicated than that.

[this_loser]

A good machine should be easy to use.

[Though yes, please be careful. That camera has been through a lot, but it's not invincible.]

Give it a shot!

[scourgingstars]

[Clearly still a little uncertain, Ardyn awkwardly pointed the camera and took a shot once he was reasonably sure he had a good view.]

How's that? [He handed the camera back, with a faintly awkward smile.]

[this_loser]

[He gives the picture a look-see, and nods, satisfied.]

Looks good! Thanks!

[Whether it does or not isn't what's important.]

But I think now I need to teach the most important of camera techniques.

[scourgingstars]

And...that would be?

[Ardyn tilted his head just a bit, genuinely sounding curious.]

[this_loser]

[He scoots in closer, so they're pretty much side-by side. He'd feel more comfortable if he could stand where Ardyn isn't at his back, but Ardyn is a freaking giant, so that won't work. Thankfully, there are camera angles. He turns the camera to face them both.]

The selfie! Smile!

[Ready or not, he pushes the button.]

[scourgingstars]

[Smiling was not exactly Ardyn's greatest skill these days, but at the very least he made an effort.]

Oh--that's right, Noctis was mentioning to me that you might have pictures of the capital. Do you think you could show me?

[this_loser]

[The pic is okay. He's not expecting much from a first-timer.]

Noct did, huh? [He wasn't aware they'd been talking.] Yeah. Give me a sec and I can find some for you. They're way at the beginning.

[If he were more organized, it might be easier to find what he's looking for. As it is, he needs to scroll back through some 2.5+ years of material.]

[scourgingstars]

You...don't have to, if it's any trouble. I was merely curious.

[this_loser]

No trouble! I'm not a pro or anything, but I like sharing what I've seen.

[Magically, he reaches the portion of photos he's seeking.]

Here we are.

[It's been a while since he looked back on pictures of home. It was too painful after the city fell. He's shown a few people since. Time and distance made it a little easier. He turns the view screen to Ardyn.]

You can see the Citadel in this one.

[scourgingstars]

Oh-

[He brought a hand to his mouth in equal parts surprise and interest, leaning a little closer.]

So a structure like that likely stands where the castle once was...It's hard to imagine that is even the same world at all.

[this_loser]

I guess it would be.

[He lets Ardyn see some others - the street by his house, the high school, a mall, a park with the cityscape behind it. Dogs.]

It was probably a lot less crowded, huh?

[scourgingstars]

It was--the capital was really just the castle itself back then. Towns and settlements were a bit farther out.

[this_loser]

Huh. Things are more scattered outside the wall, but I can't imagine Insomnia being anything like that.