hugtopia_logs | ♥ September Event Log

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♥ September Event Log

a wide green pasture at dusk with a red-leafed tree in the foreground

September (Ohnir) Event Log
Ohnir is in full swing now and the weather, while still boasting hot days, is starting to cool slightly at night. The residents are recovering after the lightning storms from the previous month and, curiously, most of the robots that had been damaged in the storms are back. They don't look the same as before, but they seem to act the same, still happy, still thankful that the offworlders are here. A few even thank those who carried their bodies to the temples with small gifts of painted stones. Havenwell continues as it always has and welcomes their new arrivals with a few rather odd changes...

❥ PROMPT I: Robot Crossing

a farmer holding a bountiful box of vegetables

Now that all the new and old arrivals have mingled and met, the robotic natives start pointing everyone toward the VR cafes. The bright lights and cozy insides have been decorated with fake leaves and carved and painted plaster approximations of fruits and vegetables in odd colors. When an offworlder comes in, they explain that back when they were still in their flesh bodies, the month of Ohnir was one for harvest and celebrations of the summer bounties. Now, without any real farms or need to eat, they've translated the Harvest Festival into a game, so why not play?

Logging in with another character will net you a little farm and a variety of games to choose from:

Pick and harvest as many Aellyn vegetables and fruits as you can before the timer runs out! The more you pick, the better your score. Work together with your partner to clear the field in any way you can. Strangely, once you finish clearing a tree or a field row of their bounty, they seem to magically refill when you turn your back. Oh well, at least you won't run out before the timer hits zero and with the sheer number of levels and combinations of trees and fields with obstacles in your way to make harvesting a little more challenging with each new level, you certainly won't be running out of things to do.
With a partner, use the giant slingshot to launch comically large fruits into a garden patch of other colored fruits. Match a line of 3 or more similarly shaped fruits to clear it from the field. The more fruits you can clear, the higher your score - aka welcome to Fruit Crush. Stack lines of 6 or more to get shining clear diamond fruits that clear the entire row and snag yourself some bonus points.
You and your partner(s) are given a magical golden pumpkin and it's your job to grow it into the largest pumpkin possible. Why? There's a county fair of course and the largest pumpkin wins! But how do you grow this pumpkin? Well, there are a lot of methods! You could gather up materials and work together to stick it to the pumpkin until it absorbs them and grows. You could do a song and dance routine together to encourage the pumpkin's soul to grow big and bright. You could hold hands and share stories and entertain the pumpkin until it feels encouraged enough to grow on its own. The possibilities are endless, so get to work making the best pumpkin that (digital) fair has ever seen!

As always, when playing the game, the picture and quality seems to increase as long as you're in contact with another person. Once the games are over and your scores tallied, the cafe attendant walks over and asks to see your communicators. To the winners, he or she attaches a little floating charm in the shape of one of Aellyn's weirder fruits. It looks like a cross between a blue rambutan and the hala aka puhala fruit, and it's called the sikheen fruit here. The sikheen are extremely rare nowadays, but their appearance is so unique that Havenwell residents still like to remember it for the Harvest Festival. Enjoy your prize!

❥ PROMPT II: Paint by Number

The new arrivals get to enjoy Havenwell in all its glory for about a week before suddenly, one day everyone wakes up to find the entire city has gone gray. And not a natural, nice gray either, but a strange dull, lifeless gray. Everything from the sky to the houses to the grass to the native people have all turned the exact same shade of graphite gray. Even the natives are confused and the devout flock to the temples while the science-minded head to the labs to study this new phenomenon. The only ones who seem spared from this strange color drain are the offworlders and the statues of the gods in the center of town. Or, well, at least most of the offworlders are spared. A few people might notice that their colors aren't as bright as they once were, or that parts of them are starting to turn gray as well. Those offworlders unlucky enough to lose some of their own can touch another player character to regain what was lost easily enough. Overall though, no one seems harmed by this sudden loss of color, but they're certainly perplexed.

A few days later and round silver platforms start showing up around the city, dragged out of storage by the natives. The first arrivals might remember these as the fireworks platforms that are activated by people standing and holding hands on them. The temple priests and scientists encourage the offworlders to stand on the platforms again and to hold hands or engage in some other sort of physical contact on them and wait.

When characters do as asked, the platforms shoot fireworks like they did before - in brilliant colors instead of the dull gray everywhere. And wherever the sparks fall, color starts returning to the world in splotches. The natives are overjoyed and move the platforms all across the city, asking the offworlders to find and use them wherever possible to return the color to their town.

❥ PROMPT III: Sharing is Caring

a book open with images and words popping out

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. It would probably be far more impressive if the colors weren't still so gray and splotchy, but they're trying their best.

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 came back from the lightning storms. 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. It seems the more personal the story, the brighter the flame though and the more Dora that will mysteriously show up in your account at a later date. If the priests are asked about this donation later, they're just as perplexed. No one they know would have paid anyone for an offering to Ohma, so where could it have come from....?

❥ PROMPT IV: Sleep Sweet

With Ainea's temple familiars finally back where they belong, quiet returns to the city at night. We're sure that first long uninterrupted sleep felt heavenly, right? Although there may not be color in the city, the world of dreams at least is fully technicolor and safe. Which might be weird for some characters in case they don't normally dream or remember their dreams because now everyone is dreaming at night. Most of the dreams are the usual variety that your character always has, but every so often in the midst of a pleasant dream about home or a funky one about flying pizza (whatever it is you usually dream about, we don't judge), there's a glitch.

Out of the corner of your eye or just on the edge of your vision, a person appears. Their face can't be seen and their arms are longer than they have any right to be, but they appear and stand there, watching. Trying to focus on this person causes them to flit away and it's easy enough to dismiss as a random event, until it keeps happening. And it keeps happening, and it keeps happening, and every time you see this person, they get closer and even less distinct. Waking up and talking to or holding someone might help calm that disquiet in your heart, offworlder, so hopefully there's someone around to help you.

This event will run from September 16th to September 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 on the OOC Entry.

Feel free to also use the OOC Plotting Post for planning what your character is up to!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Yep.

It was... taking Shinji over to the cot to sit him right down on it. Get on the bed, Shinji.

"I don't know if you know," Kai drawled while doing this, "but you've nearly toppled over like twice today alone. Seems like grounds for a nap, to me."

Caught entirely by surprise at having his condition called out like that, and as exhausted as he is, Shinji offers little resistance as he's led. Little physical resistance, anyway.

"I - I really don't think this is necessary?" He's not hopping on that train to sleepy time junction so easily, buddy. "I mean, I could just go back for the day..."

Doesn't mean he'd actually sleep at his Havenwell assigned housing any more than he has been, but it sure would get him out of this wildly uncomfortable situation.

That got Shinji a look.

"To not sleep at home either, right."

busted

He's gonna just... go ahead and take his hand back now.

"It's not like I haven't been trying," which is, to an extent, an honest reply.

The look softened a little, and Kai let him slip his hand away. "Yeah, I know." He wasn't a complete husk, after all.

"You're not staying with anyone, right?" This was.... mostly just a wild guess, but there were a few little things here and there that led him to it.

Both hands free, he clasps them tightly together in front of himself.

How Kai may have come to that conclusion is, to him, a fairly curious matter. It's one, however, Shinji doesn't really want to devote a lot of time to thinking too much about at the moment.

"Yeah, it's only me right now."

He... well, it might not be right to say he doesn't mind the situation, his feelings about it are pretty complicated. He doesn't sound too upset by it, though, sort of like he's made his peace with it by now.

To be honest, there was a little bit of projection there in his detective work.

He really wouldn't have minded being wrong. It would have been kind of relieving, in its own way. That he was correct wasn't too much of a surprise. Kai hummed a little in the back of his throat, casually dropping down to a squat. Mostly just for the conversation, but a little unconsciously to make himself smaller as if Shinji were in league with skittish dragons and mice.

"Me too. Mostly."

He had a stray, but she was just as hard to help out as Shinji was. He was going to have to track her down too, he was sure.

"Doesn't make getting much sleep any easier."

That 'mostly' doesn't escape his notice, but he doesn't think it's something worth chasing down an answer for right now. Maybe later? Maybe. He does find himself a little surprised that Kai's (mostly?) on his own as well, though not for any reason he can really put his finger on. Probably something to do with how easily and naturally Kai seemed to fall into spending time with him - it's only natural to think he's just the kind of person who gets along well with others, and why wouldn't someone like that have a roommate or two?

But, no. It seems he was wrong about that. Huh.

"I'm not sure it's actually making it any harder, either."

His troubles, as far as he's concerned, are rooted in something quite different than not having someone else around to help quell squeaking mice or disperse pesky thought-clouds.

That uh. Sounded like somebody that might have already had some issues??

"Y'don't think new problems on top of old ones make it harder?" Just a question. Kai sounded more curious than anything else. "I think it kinda blows everything up."

It isn't like he was in tip top shape before being swept away here!

But, hmm. He stops for a second to seriously consider that. He can't deny that Kai has a point, but if he weighs it against the stresses of actually cohabitating with other people... his experiences are very probably (absolutely) not universal, but it makes him wary none the less.

He sighs. "I don't know, maybe." He has to concede at least that much. It's just frustrating. Exhausting.

"Maybe, huh..."

Sure. Maybe. There are too many mysteries to really say one way or another. Maybe problems stacked, maybe they didn't. Kai was suspecting that his previous theories that Shinji had some Stuff going on were truer than he'd like, but then again, maybe not. Only Shinji could say.

"Either way," Kai continued, "that means no cool roomie benefits for either of us, so who knows if they actually work."

Edited 2019-09-21 21:35 (UTC)

It sure is a real bummer that there isn't any easy way for them to remedy this and/or actually test it out. Just a damn shame.

"I guess not."

Unless that was part of the plan right now, but Shinji isn't about to assume as much. For all he knows, Kai could be planning on simply leaving him here alone for a few hours and assuming he'd actually catch some sleep in that time. Who knows?

Gosh golly gee. If only they had a convenient cot. If only...

Shinji seems like a smart kid, so Kai's pretty sure he's already figured things out at at least a base level. So it's real casual when he tosses out the confirmation of, "So let's try it out. It'd be mutually beneficial if it worked."

Of course, that was probably going to go over real well, so he was also already holding his hands up a little as if to say he was unarmed. As if. It were not the mere concept of touch that was a weapon here.

"I won't ask what else is keepin' you up or anything like that," he promised.

Oh whoa what's that? It's almost as if Rawna himself is here to provide for them! There is, shockingly, already a cot! In this very room! How unexpected.

Again with that hook, very smart. When he slips that phrase out, 'mutually beneficial', Shinji stirs it over in his mind. It would be nice to feel like he's actually doing something helpful, rather than trying to convince himself that the drop-in-the-cosmic-bucket-that-is-holding-hands-to-save-the-world is doing anything tangible, something that he's not even doing very well in the first place. It's definitely a smaller scale sort of help, but that does make it easier to believe.

He squeezes his hands together a little tighter as he thinks it over, before finally eking out, "If you're sure." Like it wasn't his suggestion in the first place??? "Okay."

He will. Give this a try.

It was right there. Right under your bum, Shinji. No wonder you missed it, it was like the sunglasses you lost on the top of your head all those years ago.

"Okay." Kai smiled a touch. "Can't say I've done this ever, but I'm down for trying to have at least one good nap after so many garbage ones." If making it seem like this was actually for Kai's own benefit that worked, he'd roll with that. It would be nice to have a good nap, even if his primary concern was making sure Shinji got one.

Heaving himself back up to his feet, Kai didn't spend a lot of time between waving Shinji to scoot over a little and scooting he way on to the cot himself.

Is that where they were the whole time?? Incredible! We're just discovering things left and right here!

This is probably going to be a bit of a squeeze, the cots they've set aside in these rooms aren't particularly spacious, after all. Still, he's fairly small, so he doesn't have much trouble making room for Kai. Time to get ~cozy~

"I've... shared rooms with people before, but this..." He can't actually say he's never done something like this, even if it was only something brief, and something he wasn't really anticipating at the time, but no reason to dwell on that for too long. "It's pretty different." Yeah. There we go.

Kai's not exactly big by any definition either, so this was definitely doable. Extreme coziness was inevitable though, and it was much easier to fit on here if they were both on their sides so... W e l l. Kai settled in at Shinji's back, figuring that not actually having to look at each other would bring the other guy at least once small comfort.

Become Small Spoon.

"I'd wager so," Kai chuckled. "My only room share experience was kinda wild, but I don't think it'd ever end up like this."

Maximum coze, ready to be achieved.

No this is definitely still really, really awkward. He agreed to this bed, though, so now he has to lie in it. And, now that he is lying in it, he's already starting to feel a little bit of tension ease off. Perhaps he can relax long enough to catch at least a few minutes of sleep. We'll see how long he can get this to last.

Maybe... placing his attention elsewhere will help mitigate the remaining awkwardness of it all.

"Wild...?" How so?

Meanwhile, Kai was trying to figure out where to put his arm. On his side felt too foreign from what he was accustomed to, and inbetween Shinji and himself was just. Weird. He eventually just casually draped it over Shinji's side instead with a mumbled "'scuse me," keeping it real loose.

"Mmm. Mostly a bunch of jerks," Kai answered in softer, low tones. He didn't mind if this became question hour. He'd kind of backed the kid into this whole deal, so it was the least he could do really. "They kept ganging up on a guy so I got into a few fights with 'em."

It will probably end up being less 'question hour' and more 'question maybe like ten minutes or so until fatigue overtakes him', and he probably won't find it in himself to prod too deeply into anything odd sounding in that time. It does occur to him that he knows very little about Kai outside of what he's picked up the times they've hung out and chased animals, which isn't really a bad thing, but does leave him with a mounting curiosity. What kinds of things do they, or even just their worlds, have in common? What all is different? There's plenty of interesting stuff to be learned in Havenwell, even from his fellow offworlders.

Either way: better than drawing attention! to how awkward this continues to be!

Kai being the kind of person to get into fights isn't surprising. For how patient he's been with Shinji thus far, he sure does style himself as a tough looking person. Not for nothing, it seems.

"Sounds like it must have been rough," the kind of this he's sure he wouldn't miss.

It's a really potent situation they're in, even with the blanket of awkwardness. Kai wasn't sure if it was just the... this was snuggling, huh? Well. Huh. He wasn't sure if it was just the snuggling itself, or if things were amped up since they were in the temple, but he could admit it was kinda. Nice. Relaxing, he thought? Maybe. But it was going to be a little harder to make sure he stayed awake to make sure Shinji fell asleep than he initially bargained for.

Weird!

"Heh, s'bout all my hard head's good for," Kai hummed. "Can't stand unfair fights."

We shall see... who can outlast whom. in this battle for naps.

I mean, for Shinji's part, he's definitely starting to sound a lot more like he's succumbing to the allure of rest simply through being horizontal and on a moderately comfy surface, but it could still be anyone's race.

"Even if that is the case," that his 'hard head's only good for fighting', "That's a pretty noble way of going about it."

Kind of... admirable? Even if he's very averse to the idea of fights and fighting in the first place.

For a moment there, it seemed like maybe Kai had been the one to lose out after all with the quiet that followed that.

He wasn't sure what it was about people here that made them say half the stuff they said. That a respite could be more than that. That he should have pride in the kind of person he was. That the way he did things were somehow noble in any way. He couldn't really blame them for not knowing what kind of person he was, but he really didn't understand what they were seeing.

That was weird too.

Quietly, Kai spoke up again with a little chuckle. "There's nothin' noble about being an idiot."

The dip in conversation that comes after his comment is enough to convince Shinji that question time is over, and that much is enough to let the hazy fog of sleepiness roll over his mind.

But then Kai speaks up again, and he's grounded in the waking world for just a little longer.

A more awake, alert Shinji would likely handle that remark differently. Maybe he'd try to argue it, or maybe he'd simply let Kai have his thoughts and opinions on himself. Having a stubbornly low self-image is something he can relate to, after all, that's the kind of thing that a handful of nice words thrown at you isn't going to change. Either way, in his sleepy state, it's particularly difficult to summon up much effort into keeping the conversation moving.

His reply comes with a noncommittal, though mostly exhausted sounding hum, and reaching up slightly with one of his hands to brush his fingers gently against Kai's arm in a gesture of... comfort? Solidarity? Ask him later and he won't be sure, he's probably not sure what he's aiming for even now, just that the urge to be the one to reach out this time, just a little, is too strong for him to resist.

Either way, the gesture was unexpected.

He's not really sure what to think about it, so he stopped thinking about it. Just let it happen, subtly holding Shinji a fraction closer. Somewhere he could admit that it was nice, to have someone reach out simply to reach out. It was a little easier to understand than misplaced praise, at least. It was something he didn't want to scare away just yet if he could help it.

So he didn't say anything else, letting a low hum of his own echo Shinji's. It sounded like he was already drifting, so it was time to to let that happen. It gave Kai something else to focus on. He started to count the seconds between the slow ins and outs of breaths, the rise and fall of his own chest against Shinji's back slowing to match.

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