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

"Nothing like here," he replies. "I certainly have never seen anything like... whatever one calls the natives here, before today." Not to mention the ten thousand other things, including the weather, the strange device he was handed, the architecture, the clothes...

But this person doesn't seem like he came from Jinghuan's China. Perhaps his experience was less jarring. "Was it very different for you?"

"Oh--you mean robots?" So..... very different. Probably a lot less advanced, if he's never even heard of robots before. He'll just..... assume extremely traditional, rustic, rural Johto as a baseline, a place completely isolated from pop culture and modern technology. It's probably a more accurate guess than he realizes, even if there are crucial differences. Then again, by now he's learned to account for people's worlds not including Pokémon, hasn't he?

Will makes a fluttery little 'so-so' gesture. "It's sort of different! Definitely more advanced than I'm used to, and there's a lot less nature and wildlife. We don't have a bunch of robots walking around, either. But enough of it is familiar that I'm not totally lost. It sounds like you have a lot to learn about here, though."

Jinghuan would certainly argue with rustic and rural, considering he comes from the capital city. But aside from that, it probably isn't a bad comparison.

"It would seem so," he agrees, perhaps a bit bitterly. He wonders why the gods of this place chose to bring him here, when there seem to be plenty of other people for whom it all makes more sense.

"Awww, don't worry about it too much! You'll be just fine." Will's smile brightens reassuringly; he reaches out to give Jinhuan an encouraging shoulder clasp. Once he gets past the culture shock and learns the basics of how to use the technology here, maybe he'll find it interesting just how different everything is? Hopefully so!

Either way, Will's here to keep him from being too down on himself, or completely lost and alone. "I'm not the most technology savvy person around, but I at least know enough to show you how things work around here. You can ask me about anything you want, I don't mind."

Maybe he will, in time. Jinghuan is both enterprising and curious in the right mindset. Right now, all he can think is that this man must be one of those people who seems perpetually optimistic, like Marquis Yan's son. He's not sure whether to find that reassuring or annoying at the moment. But he'll take the offer of information.

"I had been hoping to find decent clothing. Do you know if any stores sell such a thing?" So far, it would seem not, but perhaps he's missed something.

"Let's see, decent clothing..... Hehehe, that depends on what you think of as 'decent', doesn't it?" Perpetually optimistic and cheerful? That's pretty on the nose, honestly. He makes an effort to be bright, energetic company, to leave people in higher spirits than he'd found them. And if he happens to be annoying in the process..... well, that clearly just means he needs to spend more time with them, until they find it charming instead. Right?

"There aren't many clothing stores, since the locals don't really wear it most of the time, but there are a few. If you don't like the styles they have on hand, there are tailors, though--you should be able to commission whatever you want, as long as you can draw or describe it."

A beat, as he realizes he should probably mention the obvious, just in case. The money situation isn't something the priests seem to prioritize explaining without prompting. "And as long as you have the Dora, of course. That's what they call the money here."

That bit about commissioning clothing sounds promising, though he frowns when it's followed with, yes, the obvious.

"It's impossible to get much without money, no matter where you are." Unless, perhaps, you have something else of value to exchange. But as of right here and now, he happens to be poor in all regards. "I have been told that touch is rewarded, but I have yet to grasp precisely what that means for practical purposes."

"Here." Will reaches out to put a hand on Jinghuan's shoulder again--this time, it's a very deliberate gesture, touch warm and lingering.

"I'm sure they explained why they need us to stay in contact to help save their world. But they pay us to do that, too. You can touch people to earn Dora just as easily as you can work to earn it. Maybe even easier!"

He understands the concept, strange as it is; it's the specifics that elude him. And as someone who in his previous life would never accept this sort of contact from some stranger off the street, it feels a little jarring. But he won't argue with it, for now.

(This is what he's been reduced to, he thinks ruefully. A warm body for a stranger to make money off of. It's actually quite clever, when he thinks of it that way, that Will is so friendly to new arrivals.)

He has questions, so he asks, with a gesture toward the hand on his shoulder. "But how much does something like this earn? And when and how is it received? Am I paid if all I do is allow it?"

It is clever, isn't it? This place rewards warmth and human connection. Someone who isn't afraid of that--who thrives on it, even--can do quite well for themselves here. It literally pays to be friendly. Just because Will would do it anyway doesn't mean he hasn't leaned into the concept. He withdraws his hand to reach for his tablet--then hesitates as he thinks better of it. These things may be water resistant, but a downpour like this? He'd rather not risk it.

"I can show you where the money is sent once we're somewhere a little drier, but you get it almost immediately. You don't have to initiate it to get paid though, don't worry! I'm not sure of the exact numbers, but it's a respectable wage. Probably about the same amount you'd get while working a decent job, maybe a little more?" He just doesn't pay enough attention to the specifics of this stuff to know everything Jinghuan is curious about. They can figure it out together though, right?

Jinghuan has little concept of what "a decent job" is supposed to be. While it would be incorrect to say he did no work in his role as prince, he has never had to rely on wages. He supposes he'll figure it out once he's able to see the specifics.

"How long do you expect this rain will last?"

"These showers don't usually last too long. Maybe half an hour, most of the time? Still, you probably don't want to wait it out if you don't have to, now that it's getting cooler."

Will reaches for his umbrella again. Better to show him how to work a tablet on a nice cozy couch than huddled against a shop, right? "We can probably both fit under this if we're careful. Have you picked a place to stay yet?"

He watches Will pull out the umbrella. In another situation, he might decline that offer, but as it stands, he's already wet and stands to earn money by huddling.

He shakes his head at the question. "I truly have only just arrived. I have yet to even see the available housing."

"If this shower is anything like the usual kind, it's small enough that we'll be out of it by the time we get to the residential district. There should still be empty houses if you want one by yourself, or you could go looking for roommates! I'm living in a full house, myself."

Will pops open the umbrella, making an inviting gesture. These things are almost always localized, after all; they shouldn't have to walk more than a few blocks before the rain stops.

The idea of living in a residential district is, itself, a bit foreign to Jinghuan. He's always had a palace, and while there were other people there constantly, they were all under his command. He's a bit unsure what to do with the idea of a roommate, or with the idea of living entirely alone. But he can sort that out later.

He simply nods and steps closer, settling his shoulder against Will's as he gets as much under the umbrella as possible.

It's a tight fit, but they manage pretty well regardless; Will makes an effort to tilt the umbrella to shield Jinghuan as much as possible, just in case. After all, his house is well-stocked by now. All he has to do is go home and get changed. Jinghuan will have to take care of his clothing situation the hard way, at least until he finds a few outfits to start with.

He may as well start explaining along the way. Then by the time they get there, they'll be ready for the demonstration, right? "You know that thing they gave you--the one that looks like a little pane of glass? You're going to use that all the time. That's where your money goes. It also can show you maps of the area, and you can use it to communicate with everyone else who came here the way we did."

He notices the tilt of the umbrella in his favor. He can appreciate the gesture, even though it only does so much good walking through rain this heavy.

"How strange that such a thing can do all that." Under any other circumstances, he wouldn't even believe it, But he's seen more than his fair share of unbelievable things today.

"It's a pretty slick piece of technology! Even my Pokégear back home doesn't work this seamlessly. Once you learn the basics of how to use your tablet, I bet you'll like it a lot."

He won't fall back on any sort of 'magic mirror' explanation unless he learns just how bereft of technology Jinghuan's China is, but..... well, it is a convenient trope that the man would probably understand more. Until then, though, he's just assuming that they have the basics. "The camera on it is also really good, if you like photography."

"I'll keep that in mind," he mutters, though truthfully he doesn't even remotely recognize the important words in that lady sentence. His tone may indicate he's lost, if Will is inclined to pick up on it, but Jinghuan is beginning to be a bit self-conscious about just how little he understands. It seems that everyone he has met so far has a smaller bill to climb in terms of relating to how things work in this place. He assumes that Will will show him this "camera" when he shows him everything else about how the device works. Maybe he'll understand then.

Oh..... He doesn't have to be a psychic to realize he's losing Jinghuan here. Maybe this really is a more dire case than he'd thought. Are they going to need a crash course in all modern technology? Does he have to even worry about things like light switches? He doesn't know much about the history of inventions, but he thinks cameras must have come before electricity.

Indoor plumbing is a thing though, right? Hopefully he won't have to explain even things like running water. Explaining the purpose of a bathroom to a big robot alien was weird enough. He's silent for a minute as he mulls that over, before remembering that he should probably warn the man about the..... interesting way the replicators work.

"Oh--the locals here don't need to eat anymore, since they're robots, so we also have to get all our ingredients from special machines. They're..... a little broken, you might say? The food can come out in strange colors, or not taste the way it's supposed to. Or it might just give you something completely different than what you asked for. It'll probably be frustrating, but we just have to do our best with what they give us until they can be fixed."

He frowns. He didn't even think about just what food would be like here. He's also having trouble wrapping his head around the idea that food can be produced from a machine, though something that makes food magically appear would perhaps not be the strangest thing he's run into today.

"I suppose that's tolerable so long as they produce things that can be eaten safely."

"Oh, it's all safe, it's just not always good. You might get surprises like..... green, salty wine, for example? Or a piece of fruit that tastes like fish? Things like that. It makes meal times interesting, like you're gambling!" Will laughs at that; clearly, he speaks from experience.

"I have no desire to gamble with what I'm eating," he replies with obvious distaste, imagining those examples. Then he sighs. "But I suppose there isn't a choice, if that's the only source of food."

"It's the only one I know of, anyway. If you figure out another one though, I bet everyone would declare you a hero!"

He knows he would, at least! Everyone seems to be getting tired of the Green Steak Plague, so to speak. He can already see the edge of the heavy clouds hanging overhead too, even past the thick curtain of rain. They'll definitely be able to afford to wander around at their leisure to inspect the houses.

That earns a small laugh. "Unless there is a source of seeds and someone here has an ambition to become a farmer, I doubt I have any ideas that would be useful. But I suppose I can consider it!"

It seems like they may be getting near the end of the downpour, which he will be grateful for. Walking huddled close to Will under the umbrella has not been unpleasant, but it's not entirely comfortable, either.

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