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

I've never been accustomed to it, and I must admit I've... little desire to be. Though I am happy to aid in whatever other ways I can.

[ She says it plainly as she leads G'raha to the door. Carbuncle yips once, eager and demanding. As soon as the door is opened it bursts through and, despite knowing full well that Emet-Selch is not there, begins sniffing whatever trail the man left behind before finally settling on the couch he favours and moping.

Era rolls her eyes at its antics. ]

You're as dramatic as he is. Go run after him if you miss him so much.

[ For its part, Carbuncle does seem to consider this for a moment. In the end it sprawls out languidly across the couch, taking up far too much space. Era sighs, and returns her attention to her guest, offering a small smile and seeming far more at ease in her own space. ]

That all said, I'm also more than happy to offer you company and conversation whenever you wish it.

[ She gestures to the living area. ] Feel free to make yourself at home.

[As closed off as she is with him here and now in her body language alone, he wouldn't blame her. Distantly, he wonders - worries, in truth - what had happened to her to draw away as she did. The Warrior he knew had been guarded to many, but reluctantly open with a trusted few. They had been newly reopening those doors between them, he and that man, though the locks were more on the Exarch's side than the Warrior's, but he was careful not to paint her in that same memory. Warrior of Light and of Darkness that they both were, each in their own worlds, it was painfully obvious that they were not the same person.]

[Nor, to her, was he the same Exarch. He couldn't help wonder just how close to hers he had come.]

[He nodded, tapping the toes of his sandals against the porch outside of her front door to knock the sands from them before entering, and then watches as her Carbuncle explores the abode in search of someone, by Era's words. Another Carbuncle, perhaps? A roommate? This world was, after all, notorious for wanting and needing to put its inhabitants in close proximity to one another. Another smile lit his lips to her gracious offer, but he doesn't take to a seat immediately. Instead, he ambles closer to the center of the room, gaze turning this way and that. It wasn't what he had been able to offer at the Crystarium, but it was what it would be.]

Thank you, my friend. How are you liking these living arrangements? Your Carbuncle seems to like it quite well, and I must agree. It looks warm, comfortable.

[ Era lets out a soft hummed note as she considers his question; absentminded, lilting, and melodic. She wanders to the kitchen and sees not a kettle of boiled water but a tray with fully prepared tea and a selection of dried fruits and nuts to complement it in lieu of biscuits. It brings a smile to her face as she picks it up, carrying it to the living room. ]

My living arrangements are agreeable enough. It will never be home, but it's... safe, and provides comforts. [ She shoves Carbuncle with her tail, making room for herself beside it as she places the tray down and seats herself. ] I imagine Carbuncle would be happy in the streets if it still had the company of our roommate — it is quite taken with him.

I've been under the impression that all of the free housing is identical. Is yours not similar?

In arrangement and style, yes. Much of the housing in the Crystarium was built with nearly identical floor plans as these have been here.

[He neglected to mention that the ones in the Crystarium had been built with a little more space in mind as a creature comfort to those who had been torn from everything they'd ever known and loved, out of gratitude for a roof over his head and privacy at all. He also neglected to mention that his privacy was, for now, absolute - he kept no roommate for the time being.]

[Instead of offering these confessions, the Exarch settled himself in a seat companionably close on a different couch near the table and refreshments, hands settled upon his lap in a habit far too proper to be casual between old friends.]

Far better than finding shelter among trees or along the streets, at any rate. The people of this world have been exceedingly generous with us, considering the nature of their physical forms and what they provide to their guests regardless. Of course, I shall be speaking with them soon to see what they recall of the events that led all of us here and of their deities' predicament, but for now, we should rest.

[He considered the tea and the fruits and nuts on the tray, remembering that such things did not easily grow in this world any longer.]

Is that... a product of the replicators that have been described to me?

[ There isn't much that Era can say as of yet that is complimentary regarding their current 'hosts', and so she offers a small nod in agreement to his first point — she does much prefer a place with a shower over taking shelter in trees (however few they may be) or alleyways. ]

I wish you luck in your querying. They don't seem altogether fond of sating curiosity. [ Era picks up a dried bit of apple and tries not to feel irritated by the threats of jail she's already encountered. ]

It is, yes. I can't say I wholly trust them, but it is preferable to starvation.

[He nodded a polite thanks, considering her.]

Faced with the alternative, what choice do we really have? ["We," he says, only because he doesn't know what will happen to him now that the Tower is not here to keep him hale and whole. Allowing his health to decline won't help anyone, least of all Era.]

It stands to reason if they want our help, it would be in their best interest to keep us alive, but time will tell. [Who better, he thought to himself, to stand between the people of the city and harm's way than a fabled warrior and a man who had helped to raise a city from dirt and refugees to prosperity? He wasn't eager to jump into a fray of any kind, never had been, but by now he knew more than enough to know it might well come to that. Their worlds were different, but still beyond those walls, a threat lingered.]

[Rather than continue the thought, too close to home now for both of them, he reached out and took one of what looked like a nut of some kind from the tray and brought it closer to his face, turning it this way and that to examine it.]

And this was... created of thin air, within this replicator?

Edited 2019-10-14 16:40 (UTC)

Then it would also stand to reason that they would provide the supplies needed for us to take care of our medical needs, and yet we've not even the most basic of antibiotics. If I'd a garden I could create some basic remedies... [ She trails off, giving a small shake of the head as if to rid herself of the thought. There isn't any use dwelling on what she could do with things she does not have. ]

I know little of how such things work, but it would not be able to create things out of nothing. They likely use particles of energy that are then formed into the requested structures, not dissimilar to how one can create things from aether if one knows how.

[Even in light of her frustrations, he can't help a sense of nostalgia, a sense of knowing without knowing what it was that he knew, or felt he knew. Perhaps he was seeing shades of his own Warrior in her, or perhaps he thought he saw a kinship in a fellow sentience given to helping others as he was.]

If this technology is able to manipulate this world's aether, or what passes for that here, then it might be used in some way to create the medicines and what we would need. My magic and yours will draw on our own aether, although that, regrettably, is in limited supply.

[Is, and would be for quite some time, until they found a way to get around it. He set the nut upon his tongue and chewed thoughtfully, mind drawn inward to a predicament that had no imminent threat to any of them, but that he would rather have found a solution to before one ever challenged them.]

I imagine some small measure of Garlean methodology might come in handy in a place like this, loathe as I am to consider the methods of a culture that would take for its own anything that it could.

[ That is certainly a thought to consider, and consider it Era does. ]

Aether can be replenished, much like blood. If we were able to use it to create and stockpile what we needed over a period of time it would be feasible. My natural aether stores are... quite vast, and would likely be a boon. Yet immeasurable as they are, I need to be cautious with how much I expend.

[ She occupies herself with her tea, frowning against the rim of her cup. The injuries she gained during her time on the First may be healed on the surface, but she knows some scars of Light remain within, and not just the ones in her eyes. ]

Whatever else they are, the Garleans are ingenious at innovation. I would say at the moment there are few who can match up to it. It's unfortunate that their leader's ideals are so at odds with our own.

[He won't say he hadn't thought on it himself, but the look from him at her suggestion hides no small measure of concern and alarm. As much as he had been made to ask of his own Warrior and the Scions of late, he is loathe to place another burden on any Warrior's shoulders, even if that might soon become a necessity for them both.]

[He is only all too aware of how needs care not for wants. As much as it pains him again, he can't and won't tell her not to consider it herself.]

It had not been my intention to suggest we should begin the process of creating for this world what it cannot for eventualities out of caution. Better to be prepared against what we cannot predict than to be left wanting in a dire moment. If at all possible, I would use what we can of this world's technologies to create that means for us and preserve what aether and strength in ourselves that we can, should we find that in greater demand.

[He can only hope that it won't turn that way, but in a world so unpredictable where they know little and less of what they should to arm themselves against its dangers, they might need to consider any options.]

That, they were. I have ever wondered from time to time what might be accomplished had our nations on the Source - Garlean included - been more amenable to cooperation than to conflict.

[ She lifts her head to look at him, concerned frown still in place, and gives a shake of her head. ]

All life of the First and the Source have the same origin, and thus our immune systems would be able to provide some protection against the diseases of both. We have no such assurances here. A simple cut could fester and kill any of us, and without medicines we would have no recourse. Antiseptics can do nothing for an illness once it finds its way beneath the skin.

It would be ideal to use the technologies here to prepare for such a thing, yet our 'hosts' are not so willing to share the necessary resources with us. First, we must earn their trust, but how long will that take? I have seen children here, G'raha, and there is only so much I am capable of healing with raw magic alone.

[Further concerns voiced, he remembers the clinics in the Crystarium long before the city even had proper walls, families in Kholusia who could barely raise crops enough for food let alone medicines, the soil darkened by Black Rose on the Source that would never again sustain life. He remembers all of these things and will not speak of them again, heart sharing a pain that many carried on in their worlds even now, and that though everything seemed calm in this world, could just as easily rise again at the blink of an eye.]

[Tragedy always struck so quickly, always when it was least expected.]

[Crimson gaze diverted, lingering on the tray between them without seeing it.]

As have I. I would sooner see them not have to carry around ailments, young or old. I would suggest working toward preparations on both fronts, then. While we win over our hosts, we should seek out alternate means of building stores of what medicines we might create. Others must have means by which they treat injury or illness, and I should like to speak with them on the matter as well.

I could leave some synthetic food to grow rot, and see if I can culture some rudimentary penicillin from it. I'm afraid I won't be winning our hosts over in the near future — what I learned of advanced medicine over the past few months will likely be the most I can offer.

[ She speaks as though it isn't much, and to her it truly isn't — there is so much that she hasn't yet learned, and thus cannot yet offer. The standards she holds herself to are much too high, and yet how could she possibly lower them when countless people of numerous nations look up to her as the vaunted Warrior of Light? Someone who is legend, not mortal. ]

In the meantime I will continue to hope that we all remain in good health.

I am certain those of us here share your sentiment in that. I, for one, would sooner see our luck continue. But as we cannot rely on luck alone, I will do all I can to aid you and the others.

[They might not be from the same world, but he is no less giving of himself to the greater good here than he was in his own world - or perhaps in hers. What he is, what he has, what he can do, it is what he will offer.]

[Starting with a gentle quirk of a smile, something of a ghost of G'raha Tia within it.]

Including, if you so wish, assisting you with growing this penicillin.

[ Era offers a small smile in return, tired and grateful. ]

The growing of penicillin is not the difficult part, but the identification and isolation of it, and then refining it into something safe for use. Other, safer things to use in an emergency are not in ready supply here either, such as garlic or honey...

[ It would be so much easier if she had a garden, and the appropriate seeds to grow medicinal plants from. ]

I could see about sending some medical texts to your communicator, if you'd like.

[He nods and bows his head in thought. This was work certainly better left to the chirurgeons in the Spagyrics and the botanists in the Hortorium. These places he had visited frequently in his time as the city's concerned leader, but had learned little and less about, trusting the heads of their stations to know best about what was needed, what was done. His was a role better suited to seeing that needs were met all around, not to stick his nose in the gears and micromanage things that were not his expertise.]

I have much to learn, I see, though for the moment, we appear to have time to allow for my inexperience to dwindle. I would very much appreciate any help you could provide me in learning about these resources and how to help you create them. Thank you.

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♥ September Intro Mingle Log

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