♥ September (Ohnir) Event Log

[hugtopiamods]

September (Ohnir) Event Log
The month of Ohnir brings with it a slow but steady relief from the heat, as summer gives way to autumn and the city begins to change with it. Plants are slowly deflowering, leaves are starting to fade and fall, and while the season is not yet in full swing, all the signs are there if you know where to look. The city is abuzz with new energy as the residents realize that for the first time in centuries, they have some actual nature clean-up ahead of them: raking leaves, pruning branches, protecting young wildlife and fresh plants from the incoming chills of winter. Such work used to be relegated to those who cared for the botanical gardens and zoos, but now everyone who's been enjoying this year's garden harvest has to learn how to future-proof their treasured flowers. Offworlders are encouraged to do the same, lest all of the growth be lost over the winter.

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❥ PROMPT I: A Clean Getaway

With all of the work to be done, it's no surprise that some are looking for new ways to refresh themselves and relax, and what better time would there be to open up the Public Baths! All the volunteer work cleaning the place has paid off, and the facilities are officially open and available for use. It is technically free to use, as a public facility, but those visiting are encouraged to tithe a small donation once in a while to pay for upkeep and freshen up the place, provide new soaps, etc. No judgment if you can't! It'll just make everything that much nicer in the long run.

The baths are separated into a few sections: oil baths for the native residents, and water baths for the offworlders. For obvious reasons, offworlders are encouraged not to enter the robot-residential sections! Though they are not strictly forbidden... it would be quite messy and bad for your health.

The offworlder half has additional separated sections that may interest characters when they visit:

1) Hot Springs Style - Clothed or Unclothed: there are 3 available rooms for each, one for separate presented genders, and a shared bath for those comfortable with the concept or don't wish to use either male or female. Each room has one larger pool and a few smaller sets, so you can sit by yourself or with others as you please.

2) Pool: a shared public pool! The water is nice and cool, which should be a comfort to those still struggling with the lingering summer heat. There is some water game equipment available for open use if people want to play and get their sports on.

3) Sauna: similar to the springs, once again, there are 3 rooms for gender splits so everyone can enjoy the place at their own comfort level.

It all seems very nice and relaxing for everyone, but this wouldn't be a proper event without some shenanigans now, would it? There are a few effects that may occur within the baths, and these effects are somewhat random. Some characters may experience them to a powerful degree, while others feel nothing at all. Players can decide for themselves who and where these will affect, so feel free to mix, match, and go wild. The effects are:

• The spring water is so relaxing that you feel free and more willing to talk about yourself, or share your feelings more openly.


• The swimming pool is cool and energizing, making you want to horse around and play with others nearby. You may also feel inclined to drape yourself onto others, like a cool, comfy pillow.


• The sauna has you dishing up spicy hot takes, releasing negative emotions or complaints, and makes you a little more inclined to gossip.

All effects can either be nullified or emphasized according to player discretion by physical contact. For some characters, holding hands or something will stop the effects, but for others it'll intensify them - it should keep characters guessing!

❥ PROMPT II: REM Stands for Realistic Emotional Memory in These Parts

Characters who were around last year might remember a bout of strange and sporadic dreams that plagued the town around this season, along with the sensation that they were being followed. This year, dreams once more enter uninvited to one's mind, but this time, it occurs as a random daydream while they are awake, and it is very different from person to person- instead encouraging you to do the following. All visions start out hazy, like a grainy old movie where details and figures are difficult to make out, but there is something both familiar and alien about it. It feels like a memory… but it is not your memory. Over time, the visual begins to clear the more often the dream repeats, until slowly the images grow more distinct, offering clearer faces, the addition of voices, discernable quotes or expressions. The memory will provide hints as to who it might belong to, though the subtlety of those hints will likely vary. Before too long, if you have not found a way to rid yourself of the dream, you will experience an entire memory of another person in town as if you were witnessing it from their perspective!

Now, how does one rid themselves of these strange visions? You could wait it out, if you're patient enough and not inclined to seek the answer, but those who've been here long enough can wager a guess: you must find the source of that memory and "send" it back to them through physical interaction of some kind. Some memories may take longer to transfer than others, and it may depend on the person, the memory itself, how clear the memory has become in the time you carried it… no two experiences are likely to be the same.

There are a few specifics about these memories that are worth noting:

• the memory should be of a single event, not a series of events that span a long period of time. For example, you could witness the stretch of someone's day at a wedding or long party (sped up to skip insignificant moments so it doesn't play in real time), but not a memory of an entire war that goes for months. How long the memory goes for is up to the player that the memory belongs to, as long as it falls within these guidelines.


• you are not limited to a single memory from a single person. Once you have solved one vision, after a certain amount of time, you may find yourself plagued with another.


• you will not necessarily end up having the same memory partner! You won't always have the memory of the person who has your memory. Characters are encouraged to pair up and try to piece together clues that might lead you to your intended partner. Help each other out and guide one another in the right direction if you can.


• those whose memory has been borrowed may find it difficult to recall it; it can seem fuzzy and indistinct, missing entirely or simply missing choice details. Through physical contact, that memory will fully return to them and both participants can experience it together.


• you can find your partner accidentally! If you're still searching for clues and happen to touch your partner through other circumstances - such as shake their hand at first meeting, or hug a friend - you may find both of you are suddenly experiencing a memory together as it is transferred! Aren't you lucky, to have found your partner so easily?

!!! IMPORTANT !!! The contents of the memory shared is up to you, but please be mindful of harmful subjects and tag/mark your comments and toplevels accordingly! Triggering memories should be noted with content warnings. Be kind to your fellow players! If someone asks you to tag something and you have not done so, please correct it as soon as possible. Untagged comments that aren't adjusted and are reported to us may be subject to mod screening until the issue is resolved.

❥ PROMPT III: I Shall Fight With My Bear Hands

Closer to the tail end of the month, one of the research facilities distributes a "Help Wanted" advertisement through the network, requesting the aid of offworlders. The advertisement reads:

"Calling all offworlders! Havenwell Research and Development is seeking volunteers for both physical prowess and supernatural ability testing. All are welcome! Even if you have no combat skills and feel only a desire to learn, we have a job for you. Those who already possess some form of self-defense or combative powers will be partnered and asked to "spar" in a partially digitized facility, or proceed with a simulation that will gauge destructive capabilities. And for those who possess neither, don't worry! Our program is specially designed to help you discover just where your talents lie.

No harm should come to any volunteers, as this is strictly simulation-based, similar to the virtual reality technology already widely used throughout the city. However, in case of any accidents, medical staff is on site to treat injuries as needed. Additionally, there is no need for you to wear any of the VR headgear typically required in our cafes, so if these devices cause you discomfort, this may be a simulation that better meets your needs.

Please contact us ASAP if you are willing and able to help. A monetary commission will be awarded upon completion of each session."

Any volunteers or inquiries will be provided with more information, and invited to one of the research towers located in town. They are guided to a floor that is abuzz with activity, partnered with whoever happens to be scheduled at the same time or a partner they themselves opted to bring with them, and taken to a room akin to Star Trek's holodeck. There, they can input "powers" or "no powers", and a simulation will be created for them based on their selected guidelines.

With Powers:
The console invites characters to select one of two options- their own abilities, or temporarily gain access to the elemental powers offered via AC Rewards (point levels 50, 100, and 200). They are able to choose a particular power level for the duration of the simulation, which can either dampen their natural abilities to a more fair level for the test you're undertaking, or remain normal. While in the simulation room, rather than actually using any real abilities, the room will materialize whatever ability you choose without causing true damage to either the room or your opponent. Science, or magic? It's probably both. Feel free to go wild and have fun, maybe try some powers you've never experienced before or vent your frustrations on being stuck here!

Without Powers:
The console invites characters to select a type of weapon and skill level, and said weapon will materialize in a basic form; while held inside the room it moves and feels real, but it cannot be removed from the facility. Those who are skilled in utilizing said weapon are free to wield it as if it were the genuine article in their chosen simulation. Those without much or any skill will be walked through a tutorial on basic techniques from a variety of styles, old or new, most unfamiliar but well suited to the body type of the person using the program. It's quite intuitive, though it is by no means perfect, so characters might end up being guided through a stranger workout than intended.

For versus mode, each participant has an HP bar displayed above their heads, and everyone has the same HP unless both players select an unbalanced mode, and the goal is to force your opponent to hit zero HP. Characters can also choose how realistic the simulated violence is and how the process feels: in low realism, it's similar to laser tag, where characters flash a colour when hit and take damage without feeling anything more than some uncomfortable vibration. In high realism, pain is genuine to a certain degree depending on how high a level they choose, though it is artificial and will fade as soon as the program ends. Hitting zero HP will not result in a knock-out, but characters will feel dizzy and be forced to sit down, unable to rise again until they surrender. All effects wear off as soon as the simulation ends.

For demonstration mode, participants are given a selection of virtual targets to practice on using whatever method of combat they've chosen. It could be moving targets, such as creatures that have invaded the barrier previously (via the Wild Wild prompt), or simulations of the more dangerous beasts in the museum/zoo areas of town. It could be simple targets built to take a beating without providing much challenge in return. It could be a collection of buildings that characters can break or explode as they please. This mode is designed to gauge just how strong a person's destructive potential is, either with their own powers or with powers granted to those who have been blessed by their patron god.

Characters are welcome to volunteer as many times as there are available partners and/or slots! So feel free to try a few times using different options.

❥ PROMPT IV: A Bonus Trip Down Memory Lane

Last year, some offworlders might remember the tradition of sharing stories in the temple of Ohma, to offer small tributes to the god on their first month of devotion. It is that time of the year again, and everyone is welcome to return and share more stories, or perhaps retell an old favourite to a new audience. Here is the event as described previously:

Ohma's temple is particularly lively during Ohnir and the priests are busy cleaning and sweeping, decorating it with rolls of parchment and digital inkwells and quills that write as if they were actually fountain pens. The natives, especially adherents of Ohma, start to make pilgrimages to the temple in little processions, some playing music, others flying banners.

Anyone who chooses to follow can observe the natives going up to the altar and sharing stories with one another. They talk about things they did over the past year or things that are far, far in their past. Some of the stories are happy and result in the procession laughing and some are...well, not everyone returns safely from certain disasters that befall the city throughout the year. The priests diligently write every story down on those parchment rolls and deposit them onto the waiting altar, where they're summarily lit on fire to the cheers of those present. The more emotional the story it seems, the brighter and bluer the flame that it emits and the louder the procession cheers.

As the file out, they notice you watching and urge you to go up with someone else in the temple to clear your heart and offer up your own stories. They can be stories of home, information about your worlds, or stories about your life.

---

This event will run from September 14th 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

[scourgingstars]

i'm sorry, i hope it's not been too much trouble for you

anywhere is fine--affurgato as per usual, or is there somewhere better?

[shroudedsecrets]

It is not your fault that this has come to me. However I wish for you to be... prepared for the contents. As much as you can be.

Anywhere better would be your own suggestion, of course. I only ask that you choose for your own comfort; travel is no difficulty for me.

[scourgingstars]

that terrible? you're only making me feel the need to apologize again, i'm afraid. i know most of the memories i am aware of are

not ones i would wish upon others, i think that is how i would phrase it.

i will be there shortly.

[shroudedsecrets]

...it is. I knew you would try to apologize for it, as much as you had apologized for witnessing something of mine. though I admit I feel guilt for having to return it to you at all, more than anything else.

Take whatever time you need to prepare. I will be waiting for you.

[scourgingstars]

[There was certainly no small amount of guilt on Ardyn's side, particularly not knowing what she'd seen. Gods, he hoped it wasn't Angelgard. That was...probably the worst thing he could think of? Then again, if the memory itself was elsewhere at the moment, he wouldn't exactly know it to be alarmed about it.]

[...This city made no sense sometimes.]

[All the same, he collected himself as best he could and made his way over to Affurgato. The odds were pretty good that nowhere would be all that comfortable for this, but that was the best he could think of.]

[shroudedsecrets]

[ The cafe is quiet, no visitors today, though the door was open for him alone and closed after, though Honerva is seated with one of the cats, waiting as promised, though her expression is grave as the vision weaves it's way in again. ]

[scourgingstars]

I'm sorry to keep you waiting. [He approached quietly, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. Whatever it was--he could handle it, if he'd done so once already.]

Let me take that back for you. [Ardyn held out a hand, trying to look less nervous than he still felt.]

[shroudedsecrets]

[ Separating his voice from vision, she lifts her gaze to see him, then lets her gaze shift to the open space on the couch, though she does not yet take his hand. ]

... you will, but please, sit down first. Steady yourself. To deliver the true nature of the contents over text seemed... inappropriate, but you deserve more warning than to suddenly find yourself there again.

[ Not that she could shield him any more from it than the person who tried and failed to in the vision. ]

[scourgingstars]

Ah--you're right, that would be a better idea. I've not embarrassed myself so badly to collapse just yet, but it's been a near thing a time or two.

[Another shaky attempt at a smile, settling to sit down beside her.]

[shroudedsecrets]

I would also remind you... that you are with a friend.

[ She would like to smile to reassure him, though that too is difficult. Words would have to be enough for the moment. As well as her company. ]

You must understand... that the details of this memory involve your brother. He... called you forth into a trap, and drew his weapons upon you.

[scourgingstars]

[cool! he hates it!]

...Everything will be alright. I am in your trustworthy hands, and ultimately...it is naught but a memory.

[True as that was, it wasn't terribly reassuring. But he paused only a moment or two longer to collect himself and stay as grounded in reality as he was capable, gently taking her hand.]

['The gods have spoken, and I, Somnus Lucis Caelum, am king!']

[It almost seemed impossible to have forgotten it at all, however briefly. How many times had that night played over and over in his head, amidst a haze of regrets and burning hatred? He squeezed Honerva's hand lightly in the silence that followed, the other pressing against his head as if to either hide his face or struggle to keep himself calm and collected.]

...I...am sorry you had to see such a dismal thing. Please try not to...think too poorly of him. The matter was a complicated one.

[shroudedsecrets]

... Do not worry. I am no stranger to such complexities.

[ She'd had her own complicated family baggage to bear, which he knew all too well, having held her through that memory.

Gently, she places her free hand down to cover where his clasps hers. ]

My concern is for you, at present.

[scourgingstars]

I...am alright. Well enough. [He looked deathly pale as he lowered his hand, but still human--no sign of black corruption or anything that marked him as a monster.]

...She was here, briefly. I don't know if you met her or not.

[shroudedsecrets]

...Here?

[ Was here. Oh. She feels the implications of that, sharply. To lose her before, and then again, like this? His memories might be where they belonged but the emotions were still close. ]

... So that is why I thought I had seen her before. I had not been aware of her connection to you until now. Ardyn... I am sorry.

[scourgingstars]

It's no fault of yours--I should be the one to apologize, for you having to see such a disastrous ordeal.

[What a mess this was.]

...her name was Aera Mirus Fleuret. She was an archaeologist, and the first Oracle to the gods.

[shroudedsecrets]

She was far more than that, to you.

[ Those were just titles, positions, for a woman that clearly would have given her all to save him from this. ]

[scourgingstars]

...of course.

[It didn't need to be said and he knew it.]

The three of us grew up together, or so I think I can recall. She was our friend, and eventually my betrothed.

[shroudedsecrets]

And to see her again, here... I can't even imagine how that must have been.

[ After all this, watching that light fade from Aera's eyes. So haunting. To have to lose her all over again with the return of memory... was there truly no end to the cycle of cruelty?

She does not know what comfort she could even hope to provide him beyond what he'd tried to offer her himself. ]

May I... sit closer?

[scourgingstars]

I...would like that, if you would be so kind.

[please hug the depressed undead hobo.]

[shroudedsecrets]

Of course. Here...

[ Honerva shifts her position to do just that, gently moving to his side, their hands still together, but slipping her other arm carefully around him. She has not seen the scars but she is cognizant of where they are to avoid the worst of them while trying to give some measure of comfort. ]

[scourgingstars]

[Despite how calm he was trying to look, his shoulders hitched for just a moment under her touch--as if for a moment he wasn't fully certain what to make of the whole thing.]

I'm...sorry. I wouldn't have wished anyone to have to see me at my worst. You must think I'm something terrible.

[shroudedsecrets]

What I find terrible is the situation you've had to endure and now experience once more. Not yourself. You do... well know that.

Though... I understand why it may be hard to believe in this moment.

[scourgingstars]

You’re—you’re right. I know, it’s...merely difficult to remember.

[He shook his head slightly, trying and failing to clear a long list of unpleasant thoughts from it.]

...They were both here, for a brief time. My brother isn’t—wasn’t as terrible as he no doubt seemed.

[shroudedsecrets]

I had spoken to him before. He seemed... a very focused individual, said very little of himself or his intention. However, when he learned of our attempt to survey beyond the walls he was very insistent that he be informed if such attempts were to take place again.

I had not expected to see him as he had appeared here, but I know full well to which extremes people can change, whether it is by their will or otherwise.

[scourgingstars]

Focused is certainly one word for it. He believed wholeheartedly in doing what was right for the benefit of the people, even if his methods were...

[Unforgivable, horrendous, careless-]

...questionable.

[Let’s go with that.]

I never did manage to forgive him, I doubt I could if I wanted to. But I can’t...hate him for it anymore.