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hugtopia_logs2020-11-17 10:50 am
hugtopiamods) wrote in hugtopia_logs2020-11-17 10:50 am
♥ November Event Log
November (Malom) Event Log
The flurry of Lasohm turns into the quiet chill of Malom, and fall at last begins to give way to winter. A chill wind runs through the air, and small, sporadic snowfalls begin to occur in the latter half of the month. Clean-up from the chaos of the events from the previous month is in full swing; abandoned communicators are collected, and for the souls who remain, are traded out for more advanced models, along with their belongings. There is undoubtedly a wave of disappointment in town, as there had been an obvious buzz of excitement to see so many extra bodies populating the city. For those who remember, at least… those who had forgotten are left only with a lingering sadness they don't understand, as loved ones from the past vanish from this world and from their lives once more.
Still, life must go on. And for those who remain, there's plenty to be done.
❥ PROMPT I: Get on the Hydra's Back
Construction has been in full swing at the arena for some time now in the background, mostly underground, though it's been busy recently as the work in other areas of the city settles down enough that they can focus on one more slice of their old history. If you've been in the area and have wanted to lend a hand, the residents are very grateful! There's been lots of crumbling old pillars to dismantle and move aside, steps and seats to re-pave and clean, electricity to be wired. Progress has been fairly slow but steady, mostly due to it being a low priority overall. Still, they're proud of what they've gradually been able to accomplish.
Finally, around halfway through the month, it is announced that the arena has at least been partially opened to the public, and offworlders are invited to come and try out the mechanisms that the locals have unearthed from the deeper sections of the basement that had been sealed by degradation and some very poorly labeled blueprints. Most of the new construction has been to clear pathways, open up the field, and set up observation areas that are out of the way enough to make it secure for patrons, while still offering a decent view. The arena is still pretty rough around the edges, and not all sections of it are back to 100% working order, but it's functional and safe enough that the locals would like to know what sort of interest it garners as-is, and in the future will budget city resources accordingly. (In other words: if you like it, use it, and they'll make it fancier over time!)
A particular machine beneath the arena has been unearthed and repaired, and the workers have discovered its crown jewel: an enormous collective of nanomachines, tiny interconnecting robots that can be linked via computer to form temporary 3D models of all shapes and sizes. In the past, the primary purpose of these machines was for mental and physical training, and while combat is hardly a common requirement in town, the locals have recognized that many of the residents have a tendency to feel… well, restless. Or bored. Perhaps a relaxed lifestyle ill suits the otherworldy visitors, which they don't understand, but they can understand that it might be frustrating to be dragged from a more adventurous world and trapped in such a silly bubble. Not to mention that certain emergencies (such as the walls breaking or expanding) have made combat necessary a couple of times, so a place to hone one's skill might come in handy later. Thus, the revival of the arena has been on the to-do list for the last few months, but they've run into some bumps along the way, namely getting the darn machinery to function with their modern technology. The nanomachines are astonishingly advanced, but the rest… not so much. They also needed more of the factory to be up and running before they could utilize what the arena had to offer.
What might that be, you ask? Well, in short: the sky and your creativity is (mostly) the limit! Remember the experimental holodeck technology from a few months back? (Bear Hands!) Well, that was the stepping stone to how the nanomachines might work. The holo VR was able to use your requests, both described and imagined, to create all sorts of challenges - monsters to fight, buildings to destroy, etc - but such challenges were mostly digital, and the rooms were too small to really make the most of this technology. The arena is under no such limitations however. Want to fight a stomping Magitek mecha? Or a host of shambling zombies? Or a line of Goombas? Nanomachines have got you covered. They have an impressive level of AI, so while they might not behave like real thinking, breathing creatures, they can still put up an impressive fight. For some beasts, they might even be more challenging than the real thing. Computers can think awfully fast, after all.
If you're not the combative type, you still have options to play around with and exercise your brain. How about a changing labyrinth to solve? A giant Rubix cube? A life-size game of Monopoly to ruin friendships with? The biggest jigsaw puzzle you can imagine…
The locals running the arena only have one request: please do not use magic or weapons that will completely obliterate/vaporize the nanomachines! They are durable little critters, and can take many a heavy hit, and they are designed to collect their fallen comrades, either to repair one another or take them to the re-assembly facility for recycling. However, they can't fix or recycle what no longer exists. So remember the three R's: recycle, reuse, reassemble! Don't reduce into unrecognizable molecules.
Finally, around halfway through the month, it is announced that the arena has at least been partially opened to the public, and offworlders are invited to come and try out the mechanisms that the locals have unearthed from the deeper sections of the basement that had been sealed by degradation and some very poorly labeled blueprints. Most of the new construction has been to clear pathways, open up the field, and set up observation areas that are out of the way enough to make it secure for patrons, while still offering a decent view. The arena is still pretty rough around the edges, and not all sections of it are back to 100% working order, but it's functional and safe enough that the locals would like to know what sort of interest it garners as-is, and in the future will budget city resources accordingly. (In other words: if you like it, use it, and they'll make it fancier over time!)
A particular machine beneath the arena has been unearthed and repaired, and the workers have discovered its crown jewel: an enormous collective of nanomachines, tiny interconnecting robots that can be linked via computer to form temporary 3D models of all shapes and sizes. In the past, the primary purpose of these machines was for mental and physical training, and while combat is hardly a common requirement in town, the locals have recognized that many of the residents have a tendency to feel… well, restless. Or bored. Perhaps a relaxed lifestyle ill suits the otherworldy visitors, which they don't understand, but they can understand that it might be frustrating to be dragged from a more adventurous world and trapped in such a silly bubble. Not to mention that certain emergencies (such as the walls breaking or expanding) have made combat necessary a couple of times, so a place to hone one's skill might come in handy later. Thus, the revival of the arena has been on the to-do list for the last few months, but they've run into some bumps along the way, namely getting the darn machinery to function with their modern technology. The nanomachines are astonishingly advanced, but the rest… not so much. They also needed more of the factory to be up and running before they could utilize what the arena had to offer.
What might that be, you ask? Well, in short: the sky and your creativity is (mostly) the limit! Remember the experimental holodeck technology from a few months back? (Bear Hands!) Well, that was the stepping stone to how the nanomachines might work. The holo VR was able to use your requests, both described and imagined, to create all sorts of challenges - monsters to fight, buildings to destroy, etc - but such challenges were mostly digital, and the rooms were too small to really make the most of this technology. The arena is under no such limitations however. Want to fight a stomping Magitek mecha? Or a host of shambling zombies? Or a line of Goombas? Nanomachines have got you covered. They have an impressive level of AI, so while they might not behave like real thinking, breathing creatures, they can still put up an impressive fight. For some beasts, they might even be more challenging than the real thing. Computers can think awfully fast, after all.
If you're not the combative type, you still have options to play around with and exercise your brain. How about a changing labyrinth to solve? A giant Rubix cube? A life-size game of Monopoly to ruin friendships with? The biggest jigsaw puzzle you can imagine…
The locals running the arena only have one request: please do not use magic or weapons that will completely obliterate/vaporize the nanomachines! They are durable little critters, and can take many a heavy hit, and they are designed to collect their fallen comrades, either to repair one another or take them to the re-assembly facility for recycling. However, they can't fix or recycle what no longer exists. So remember the three R's: recycle, reuse, reassemble! Don't reduce into unrecognizable molecules.
❥ PROMPT II: This Might As Well Haven
Things have been very weird around here lately, that much is certainly undeniable. The residents are eager to get everyone back on track and focused on what matters: healing the world and working towards an eventual peaceful existence once more. Restoring the arena has been the latest step in achieving those goals, and in the process has gained the locals access to buried historical records of how it was used in the past, long forgotten festivals and Olympic-style contests, all of which has been food for thought for the governing body of Havenwell who are often trying to come up with new ways to liven the place up and make life a little more bearable for their reluctantly abducted guests.
One of those festivals is announced to occur this month: the Feast of the Winged Lord. Technically it's meant to be a summer festival, but Havenwell already has a handful of seasonal celebrations that they hold near and dear to their synthetic hearts, so instead they've opted to integrate it into an end-of-fall festival to coincide with the re-opening of the arena. Many of the restored architecture heavily features a creature that, if asked, the locals can't quite give a name to; some renditions show it to be a gryphon-like animal, others an enormous dragon that dwarfs any imagery of Rawna, a few show a giant bird clad in flames. The general consensus is that a Winged Lord does feature in certain old texts, but the truth of said tales has become muddled over the centuries. Some cite him to be the creator of all things at their origin point, others dub him a usurper of undeserved power. Most people honestly can't remember anything about him, so they're having a ball making up a bunch of nonsense that may or may not have an ounce of truth to it.
What does the Feast itself entail, you ask? For the most part, it is self-explanatory: there's a lot of food. Decorative display carts are set up in lines along the sides of the arena, in and out, though the majority is outside to avoid interfering with whatever folks happen to be doing with the nanomachines. Meat skewers and fried dumplings, cream-filled pastries, dipped fruits- the food is all manner of strange and spicy finger food recipes uncovered from the old days, measured precisely and quite delicious. A year of trial and error (and lots of feedback, good or bad) has given the locals plenty of experience in how to cook again, despite lacking the ability to eat it themselves. The entire street smells amazing and enticing.
Offworlders who have been around the block long enough may feel wary about eating the food here to avoid strange or uncomfortable effects, but they might be surprised to discover that there are no side effects from the food.
Throughout the Feast, everyone can enjoy several forms of entertainment like...
A Daily Parade
At the end of every festival day, the native robots parade from temple to temple, playing music and carrying holo-images of the different deities - now including the Winged Lord in its various interpretations. The parading robots themselves are dressed up, swapping parts for things like mechanical wings or cat tails or adorning themselves with rainbow sashes or synthetic feathers. Some robots have taken it a step further though and have decided to dress up as some of the offworlders. They would love it if the offworlders themselves would join along with the procession and some might be a little more insistent than others in trying to get characters to dance and follow along with them.
Winged Delights(?)
As the festival ramps up, people might see some of the natives walking about with wings sprouting out of their backs. The wings range from mechanical to animalistic in nature and seem to grow directly out of the metal chassis quite naturally. When asked, the robots will direct people to one of several booths that have large wings projected onto them, and a sign with an amount of Dora. Every booth seems to have different prices from expensive to relatively cheap. Go up to the booths and the owners will offer (for a fee) to give characters a nanotech patch. The patch, when worn against the skin, causes small wings to sprout from their own backs. The wings can be of any design of your choosing, so long as the size is adjusted to be small. These wings remain on and move like a natural part of the body so long as the patch is on, or for 24 hours, after which the nanobots retreat into the patch and go dormant. The patches can be recycled at the booths for recharging and a new patch can be bought at that time.
For the native robots, these wings seem to be nothing more than an interesting decoration, but for the offworlders, there's another unforeseen perk: flight. So long as characters are in contact with another person, the wings are capable of short-range flight! Aerodynamics be damned, these small wings can help you and your partner soar the skies for an hour, graceful (or graceless, we don't know your style) as a bird. After an hour, the wings will gently guide you back to the ground, whereupon the nanobots retreat into their patch, the wings melt away, and you'll need to buy another patch to get them back again.
Or...do you? For some offworlders, it seems the pull of the Winged Lord is too strong, and they naturally grow a pair of small wings even without wearing the patch. These naturally grown wings are also capable of flight for one hour when you are in contact with another character, and come in the same wide variety of styles. These wings, however, do not melt away after flight, but remain behind, albeit as inert appendages until the next day. The wings can either molt off after 24 hours and return at any time, or remain continuously throughout the event at player discretion.
Silly Games, Silly Prizes
What festival is complete without at least one thematic game? The Feast of the Winged Lord is no exception and these game booths can be found scattered all over the festival area. The booth consists of a small stall decorated with prizes that range from silly whistles with wings on them to scale models of representations of the Winged Lord to "Mystery Coupons." Behind the stall is a cylindrical glass chamber filled with flying VR-realistic miniatures of the Winged Lord. The gryphon-like animals are mixed with dragons and flaming birds, all flitting around the chamber in erratic patterns.
Pay the Dora fee and grab a partner because this game needs more than one to participate! The gamerunner will take your fee and hand you and your partner(s) a multicolored length of ribbon before explaining the rules and opening the glass door to the chamber. Once inside, your team will have a set amount of time to work together and loop the ribbon around as many of the flying creatures as you can. The different versions of the Winged Lord all have different point values and the more creatures you wrangle, the better your points! At the end of the time limit, the booth owner will count up your points and hand you a prize that corresponds to it. ...You think? The prizes and points seem to be set to a system only the booth owner understands, while quality control on the prizes seems to vary booth to booth. The whistles might be made of cheap plastic at one booth, but made of gold at another; or the Mystery Coupons could be an IOU for a back rub by a random robot, or for a free meal at a cafe in town. Feel free to make up your own silly prizes if you feel like it!
Tasty Pursuits
A feast needs imbibement and merriment in turn, and this festival delivers! For adults who are of drinking age in their respective worlds, offworlders can pay a fee and make their own personalized bottle of wine at the winery booth. Choose and sample the different varieties of Alcosynth (a newly developed synthetic alcohol with all the flavor and none of the drunkeness) and full alcohol wines, both red and white, then mix and match them together to create your own personal bottle to take home with you. The flavours of wines range from things like a basic red merlot to stranger things like sour green apple or toothpaste. The natives aren't quite sure what kind of things you offworlders like to drink, so they decided to make it in every flavour available. Luckily, every bottle flavour is clearly labeled so there isn't too much danger of accidentally adding a splash of limeade to your rose. Each bottle will be laser printed with your name and a design of your choice before being handed over with your concoction inside, along with a notice for a secondary event.
A friendly showcase of the created wines is being held concurrently, and people are asked to donate their bottles to a tasting event at the end of every day. Donations receive the fee they paid to participate back in exchange. Those who are of age can come by and try everyone's wines, including those that some of the natives tried their hands at making despite not having the ability to taste them. Those who come by the showcase can vote on the best tasting wines of the day and winners receive a small Dora prize. Every day might have a different winner and different wines to try, so come by and enter often!
For those who aren't of age or simply lean more toward sweets than drinks, candy making is a newer pursuit to take hold in Havenwell, and it's a roaring one! Characters can come by the candy booths, pay a small fee, and spin sugar into their own designs using every color under the sun. The flavours here also have the same wide variety as the wines, from things like licorice to cola to fruit flavours, to downright strange ones like taco meat. But maybe you really need that particular shade of brown in your special treat? The reason why you may be so particular is there's a candy-making competition to see who can make the best representation of the Winged Lord out of confectionary delights! Since there's no real set image of this particular god, everyone is going all out on what they imagine the "real" Winged Lord must have looked like. Characters can donate their candy representations to the booth, and at the end of every day a winner is judged by a rotating panel of priests, citizens, and researchers. Losers get their candies delivered to their doors that night, while the winner has their candy displayed in the town center for the next day before being similarly returned when a new winner is chosen.
Build Your Own Booth
For the entrepreneurs among you, there are many open booths that characters can sign up and take for their own uses. If your character is interested, please sign up below to create your own festival delights! Do you have a business you want to advertise? A ware you'd like to sell? Maybe you want unwitting test subjects to try a maze of your own design or to drink your latest potion so you can record the results? The festival is for everyone so post below with this form and people can visit your booths!
Booth Name: The name of your booth!
Owner(s): Who is running the booth?
Purpose: Are your advertising? Selling? Buying? Researching? Playing games? Keep this short and sweet.
Description: Include a description of your booth and what it is doing or what it looks like, a menu of things offered, etc. Go crazy here, but please keep descriptions within reason lengthwise (300 words or less preferably).
Link: LINK (a link to your event comment if you have one)
One of those festivals is announced to occur this month: the Feast of the Winged Lord. Technically it's meant to be a summer festival, but Havenwell already has a handful of seasonal celebrations that they hold near and dear to their synthetic hearts, so instead they've opted to integrate it into an end-of-fall festival to coincide with the re-opening of the arena. Many of the restored architecture heavily features a creature that, if asked, the locals can't quite give a name to; some renditions show it to be a gryphon-like animal, others an enormous dragon that dwarfs any imagery of Rawna, a few show a giant bird clad in flames. The general consensus is that a Winged Lord does feature in certain old texts, but the truth of said tales has become muddled over the centuries. Some cite him to be the creator of all things at their origin point, others dub him a usurper of undeserved power. Most people honestly can't remember anything about him, so they're having a ball making up a bunch of nonsense that may or may not have an ounce of truth to it.
What does the Feast itself entail, you ask? For the most part, it is self-explanatory: there's a lot of food. Decorative display carts are set up in lines along the sides of the arena, in and out, though the majority is outside to avoid interfering with whatever folks happen to be doing with the nanomachines. Meat skewers and fried dumplings, cream-filled pastries, dipped fruits- the food is all manner of strange and spicy finger food recipes uncovered from the old days, measured precisely and quite delicious. A year of trial and error (and lots of feedback, good or bad) has given the locals plenty of experience in how to cook again, despite lacking the ability to eat it themselves. The entire street smells amazing and enticing.
Offworlders who have been around the block long enough may feel wary about eating the food here to avoid strange or uncomfortable effects, but they might be surprised to discover that there are no side effects from the food.
Throughout the Feast, everyone can enjoy several forms of entertainment like...
A Daily Parade
At the end of every festival day, the native robots parade from temple to temple, playing music and carrying holo-images of the different deities - now including the Winged Lord in its various interpretations. The parading robots themselves are dressed up, swapping parts for things like mechanical wings or cat tails or adorning themselves with rainbow sashes or synthetic feathers. Some robots have taken it a step further though and have decided to dress up as some of the offworlders. They would love it if the offworlders themselves would join along with the procession and some might be a little more insistent than others in trying to get characters to dance and follow along with them.
Winged Delights(?)
As the festival ramps up, people might see some of the natives walking about with wings sprouting out of their backs. The wings range from mechanical to animalistic in nature and seem to grow directly out of the metal chassis quite naturally. When asked, the robots will direct people to one of several booths that have large wings projected onto them, and a sign with an amount of Dora. Every booth seems to have different prices from expensive to relatively cheap. Go up to the booths and the owners will offer (for a fee) to give characters a nanotech patch. The patch, when worn against the skin, causes small wings to sprout from their own backs. The wings can be of any design of your choosing, so long as the size is adjusted to be small. These wings remain on and move like a natural part of the body so long as the patch is on, or for 24 hours, after which the nanobots retreat into the patch and go dormant. The patches can be recycled at the booths for recharging and a new patch can be bought at that time.
For the native robots, these wings seem to be nothing more than an interesting decoration, but for the offworlders, there's another unforeseen perk: flight. So long as characters are in contact with another person, the wings are capable of short-range flight! Aerodynamics be damned, these small wings can help you and your partner soar the skies for an hour, graceful (or graceless, we don't know your style) as a bird. After an hour, the wings will gently guide you back to the ground, whereupon the nanobots retreat into their patch, the wings melt away, and you'll need to buy another patch to get them back again.
Or...do you? For some offworlders, it seems the pull of the Winged Lord is too strong, and they naturally grow a pair of small wings even without wearing the patch. These naturally grown wings are also capable of flight for one hour when you are in contact with another character, and come in the same wide variety of styles. These wings, however, do not melt away after flight, but remain behind, albeit as inert appendages until the next day. The wings can either molt off after 24 hours and return at any time, or remain continuously throughout the event at player discretion.
Silly Games, Silly Prizes
What festival is complete without at least one thematic game? The Feast of the Winged Lord is no exception and these game booths can be found scattered all over the festival area. The booth consists of a small stall decorated with prizes that range from silly whistles with wings on them to scale models of representations of the Winged Lord to "Mystery Coupons." Behind the stall is a cylindrical glass chamber filled with flying VR-realistic miniatures of the Winged Lord. The gryphon-like animals are mixed with dragons and flaming birds, all flitting around the chamber in erratic patterns.
Pay the Dora fee and grab a partner because this game needs more than one to participate! The gamerunner will take your fee and hand you and your partner(s) a multicolored length of ribbon before explaining the rules and opening the glass door to the chamber. Once inside, your team will have a set amount of time to work together and loop the ribbon around as many of the flying creatures as you can. The different versions of the Winged Lord all have different point values and the more creatures you wrangle, the better your points! At the end of the time limit, the booth owner will count up your points and hand you a prize that corresponds to it. ...You think? The prizes and points seem to be set to a system only the booth owner understands, while quality control on the prizes seems to vary booth to booth. The whistles might be made of cheap plastic at one booth, but made of gold at another; or the Mystery Coupons could be an IOU for a back rub by a random robot, or for a free meal at a cafe in town. Feel free to make up your own silly prizes if you feel like it!
Tasty Pursuits
A feast needs imbibement and merriment in turn, and this festival delivers! For adults who are of drinking age in their respective worlds, offworlders can pay a fee and make their own personalized bottle of wine at the winery booth. Choose and sample the different varieties of Alcosynth (a newly developed synthetic alcohol with all the flavor and none of the drunkeness) and full alcohol wines, both red and white, then mix and match them together to create your own personal bottle to take home with you. The flavours of wines range from things like a basic red merlot to stranger things like sour green apple or toothpaste. The natives aren't quite sure what kind of things you offworlders like to drink, so they decided to make it in every flavour available. Luckily, every bottle flavour is clearly labeled so there isn't too much danger of accidentally adding a splash of limeade to your rose. Each bottle will be laser printed with your name and a design of your choice before being handed over with your concoction inside, along with a notice for a secondary event.
A friendly showcase of the created wines is being held concurrently, and people are asked to donate their bottles to a tasting event at the end of every day. Donations receive the fee they paid to participate back in exchange. Those who are of age can come by and try everyone's wines, including those that some of the natives tried their hands at making despite not having the ability to taste them. Those who come by the showcase can vote on the best tasting wines of the day and winners receive a small Dora prize. Every day might have a different winner and different wines to try, so come by and enter often!
For those who aren't of age or simply lean more toward sweets than drinks, candy making is a newer pursuit to take hold in Havenwell, and it's a roaring one! Characters can come by the candy booths, pay a small fee, and spin sugar into their own designs using every color under the sun. The flavours here also have the same wide variety as the wines, from things like licorice to cola to fruit flavours, to downright strange ones like taco meat. But maybe you really need that particular shade of brown in your special treat? The reason why you may be so particular is there's a candy-making competition to see who can make the best representation of the Winged Lord out of confectionary delights! Since there's no real set image of this particular god, everyone is going all out on what they imagine the "real" Winged Lord must have looked like. Characters can donate their candy representations to the booth, and at the end of every day a winner is judged by a rotating panel of priests, citizens, and researchers. Losers get their candies delivered to their doors that night, while the winner has their candy displayed in the town center for the next day before being similarly returned when a new winner is chosen.
Build Your Own Booth
For the entrepreneurs among you, there are many open booths that characters can sign up and take for their own uses. If your character is interested, please sign up below to create your own festival delights! Do you have a business you want to advertise? A ware you'd like to sell? Maybe you want unwitting test subjects to try a maze of your own design or to drink your latest potion so you can record the results? The festival is for everyone so post below with this form and people can visit your booths!
Booth Name: The name of your booth!
Owner(s): Who is running the booth?
Purpose: Are your advertising? Selling? Buying? Researching? Playing games? Keep this short and sweet.
Description: Include a description of your booth and what it is doing or what it looks like, a menu of things offered, etc. Go crazy here, but please keep descriptions within reason lengthwise (300 words or less preferably).
Link: LINK (a link to your event comment if you have one)
❥ PROMPT III: They're in My Eyes, My Eyes, Oh No
Good news, all you VR lovers! The seasonal Robot Crossing VR game has added a new minigame: beekeeping! Create your own little honey heaven, make friends with your new buzzing buddies, and collect as much honey as you can before the timer runs out. It's all very cute and oddly relaxing, despite the time limit. Perhaps it's the ambiance.
What isn't so relaxing is the fact that through upgrading the game, a fragment of the VR network has gone slightly haywire, sending the code out of the cafes… and into the arena. The result is that a bunch of the nanomachines have assembled into a collection of shoebox-sized bees that are programmed to search for their hives and aggressively defend them. And since the arena has no hives, the nanobees split off and populate the city in search of anything that might resemble either a hive or a bee's natural habitat- such as the household yards, the botanical gardens, any greenery… maybe some really colourful hair…
A giant robot bee invasion is understandably troublesome to the local population, especially when some of them start trying to tear apart whatever greenery still exists in the tail end of fall, trying to cross-pollinate in accordance with their borrowed AI programming. The locals would very much not appreciate their gardens being destroyed by a bit of accidental hacking, thank you! And you might not like it happening to your property, either. Thus, the city urgently requests that if anyone happens to come across a nanobee, please contain it and bring it back to the arena for de-programming as soon as possible!
How you choose to get the bee back is up to you. Maybe convince it to follow you through bright colours, flowers, or a hive disguise. Maybe trap it in something you think might be nanomachine-proof. Heck, maybe keep it and end up with the world's most annoying disobedient pet. We're not here to tell you what to do. Just try not to make them angry! A few of them might come with taser stingers.
What isn't so relaxing is the fact that through upgrading the game, a fragment of the VR network has gone slightly haywire, sending the code out of the cafes… and into the arena. The result is that a bunch of the nanomachines have assembled into a collection of shoebox-sized bees that are programmed to search for their hives and aggressively defend them. And since the arena has no hives, the nanobees split off and populate the city in search of anything that might resemble either a hive or a bee's natural habitat- such as the household yards, the botanical gardens, any greenery… maybe some really colourful hair…
A giant robot bee invasion is understandably troublesome to the local population, especially when some of them start trying to tear apart whatever greenery still exists in the tail end of fall, trying to cross-pollinate in accordance with their borrowed AI programming. The locals would very much not appreciate their gardens being destroyed by a bit of accidental hacking, thank you! And you might not like it happening to your property, either. Thus, the city urgently requests that if anyone happens to come across a nanobee, please contain it and bring it back to the arena for de-programming as soon as possible!
How you choose to get the bee back is up to you. Maybe convince it to follow you through bright colours, flowers, or a hive disguise. Maybe trap it in something you think might be nanomachine-proof. Heck, maybe keep it and end up with the world's most annoying disobedient pet. We're not here to tell you what to do. Just try not to make them angry! A few of them might come with taser stingers.
This event will run from November 16th 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.
no subject
[ The things that were offered as guarantees don't seem to be. Things that shouldn't happen, do. Is that because of the imbalance?
On the bright side, he is at least hovering in place now instead of attempting to escape like a loose helium balloon. ]
no subject
[ Seems he's unlocked another exposition, sorry kid. At least she's learned to inflect more of her tone, given the amount of times she's discussed the subject. Informing is... important, even if it's usually to those who ask unless she otherwise has something to present. ]
Or so we have been allowed to know, in any case. We can't be certain that they tell us all they know, since our safety seems their priority. However, the state of the world itself is rather... clear, given the rate of decline. Outside the barrier are powerful storms and toxins, though when this barrier expanded, some of the immediate areas were able to be cleansed.
no subject
A world that doesn't understand itself.
[ That both....explains the presence of the inexplicable and is faintly worrying, because if there's one thing Ken refuses to relent on, it's
being responsible for every goddamn disaster in the universethat each and every action has significance!On that topic, though - Ken swallows, and focuses. His wings beat more slowly. He begins to lower to the ground. ]
I think - I can control them. Thanks.
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[ They'd only "heard" them the once, and even that was questionable.
She watches him lower, tilting her head. ]
Are you certain? I am not opposed to seeing you safely to your residence, given the unpredictable nature of these wings.
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[ She's right that he should probably head back, though. If these wings keep acting...the way they are....
He nods at hers, though. ] Yours haven't lifted you?
[ don't look now, but ken is thinking a thing he rarely thinks:
why him ]
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[ In fact, it is a very good distraction, being able to discuss some theories and moving them about. Though his question is one she hadn't given much thought to, and her ears give a thoughtful flicker-- she was more inclined to notice others than her own situation. Her wings flutter lightly, certainly sensitive but not nearly seeming as intense as Ken's style of wings. ]
And no, they have not reacted in a way that yours have... though I suppose I haven't given them much thought beyond their emerging without warning, beyond the new weight of them.
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Do you mind if I look?
[ He's not sure whether he'll notice anything useful, or even what he's looking for. But if all they've got is mysteries, maybe he should set to solving them.
That nice detective, Goro Akechi-san, surely has lots of work he can accomplish here. ]
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... you may.
[ If anything what might be more noticeable is that her long-sleeved tunic like blouse seems to have been altered in a way to accommodate them, her long white hair braided in the back so as not to get caught on them. Still, they seem fluffy enough. ]
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Everyone's are completely different. [ Can he fly on his because they're larger...? But aerodynamics should be working against him. It can't just be a physical flight if that's the case...
...Oh. She's done things to accommodate for them. Which implies. ]
Have you - had them long?
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[ At least, she'd seen some people wandering to that booth, though Ken's predicament was more immediate. ]
Though that does not explain why it is happening of it's own accord, and the citizens seem more buoyed by that fact than anything else. Although perhaps the variety might be due to some personal attribute, whether we're aware of it or not.
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[ Thoughtful hand to his chin. Slight flutter of wings, but he stays here, for the time being. ]
If they're permanent, that will be troublesome.
[ He does expect that at some point, he'll return to his world, and giant dragonfly wings will be difficult to disguise at school.
Would Wormmon be happy to fly alongside Ken or sad Ken doesn't have to fly on him, now...?
Perhaps he's getting ahead of himself. ]
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[ Though there is evidence of "touch" not having anything to do with their appearance or disappearance, it likely has some other effect. In this case, it felt more as a punishment for not willingly participating in the celebrations, but why did they seem so real? Her wings give a few flaps from her own internalized annoyance. ]
The last time 'additions' appeared it had to do with the food being prepared by the citizens. However, I have not eaten anything from their offerings, so it is not caused by that.
[ Though she might reluctantly take some back to the house so she and Lup and see what they might be "competing with" whenever they were up to reopening their cafe. ]
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Ken's hands curl into fists as he looks down, processing the implications. If....if things work the same here, which there's no guarantee they do, but, without proof to the contrary, can they afford....
He mutters to himself the sort of thing perfectly typical twelve-year-old boys mutter. ]
We have to hurry and save this world.
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[ Because all of the calls for "saving" at this point seem to be putting a bandaid on the problem. Pulling in otherworlders to generate energy as the cure-all for their solution? And then how would that go? Some feathers seem to have come loose from her winged agitation. ]
There are deeper problems beyond our awareness.
[ Though, frankly, she also has other concerns, such as not getting tossed back to her reality as soon as the world's decided it's had it's fill of her anyway. Her distractions are far deeper, for the moment. ]
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Ken who won't achieve anything by blaming himself, so let's adjust and continue. ]
That's surely true. Even the gods aren't thinking of everything.
[ If they only just learned another numbers among them....What else don't they know? Okay. Ken can't take what he was told at arrival as completely accurate, then, though at least he doubts it was from malice.
Plus - he's still getting used to saying how he feels, but this one merits it. She'd kept a clear head. He's still worked up. Time and time again, she saves him. ]
You're amazing.
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What isn't understandable is the way he suddenly turns all this around by complimenting the woman he's been having a conversation with, genuine surprise, even, in the slight widening of eyes, flicker of ears and even wings stop flapping to give an alert sort of wiggle.
Or perhaps it's because she's felt a sort of responsibility toward him, even if she did not put herself in the position of his voluntary caretaker. ]
... That is kind of you to say.
[ Because of course it is. ]
No single one of us can always be thinking of... everything, as much as we may try. I too, have my moments of becoming too focused on certain aspects. You have a bright mind. Keep notes on what you discover, what you notice, what you experience--and don't go it alone. We can learn much more as long as comparisons can be made.
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[ Notes are a good idea. Maybe he can find a small book, somewhere. If he keeps a physical reminder it won't get jumbled in his head. He can focus on just facts.
...Is it that obvious he tries to do things on his own, though?
...Probably is. That's okay. Ken feels like he should say something more, but he isn't sure what, so he just looks up at Honerva with a bright, earnest smile. He can go step by step. He can do this!
And if he keeps needing to be reminded of that, well, he can just keep trying until that's no longer the case. ]
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Still, there's something endearing about his earnestness. ]
Then perhaps we can investigate a little more before heading back.
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[ The wings have to be Winged Lord-related, after all. Ken had declined to attend the busier areas, not being interested in large parties, but now that he's thinking of it in terms of an investigation, he feels differently.
....This is sort of....well...he can't say "fun", but it feels right. ]
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[ But robots could accomplish a lot when they were focused, not really having a need for breaks due to tiredness or eating, so it wasn't a surprise to see how it had changed since then. ]
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[ So progress IS being made, that's so good! Ken's wings flutter at the thought, but he doesn't lift off.
He almost bumps into Honerva with them, though, so he takes a sidestep. Sorry. Let's - look around, and he'll be careful.
What new things are there to see? ]
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[ Funny, how this (small) child is slightly taller than her, perhaps it is his features that are youthful - but she is careful to adjust to avoid the larger wingspan.
This area itself is a bit rough in general, outside of the arena. Some of the ruins have been partially cleared but it's clearer where the work has been done and what is still being considered. Though the areas for the festival itself seem much neater.
Meanwhile Honerva's also taken out a small tablet that she seems to be scanning, though it doesn't quite look like the communicator she's shown him before. ]
Now where have you gone...
[ She's not talking to him directly, given the softer questioning tone, though it's probably not clear what this could be about. ]
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Did you misplace something?
[ That'll be difficult. Depending on when it'd been mislaid, there might be a whole festival in the way... ]
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[ Which hadn't really been a problem before, but now the arena had those little nanomachines about, and not everyone was familiar with her scout. ]
But I have received the coordinates, so it is not too far.
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[ She has something with her. From her world, or from this one? He doesn't have Wormmon....
--No, he's done comparing himself to others. Ken can accept that he misses Wormmon, and that might make him uncharitable sometimes, but he also is sure there are many aspects of this situation he doesn't yet understand. ] It's good you can keep track of it.
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