♥ September Event Log

[hugtopiamods]

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...

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❥ PROMPT I: Robot Crossing

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:

1. 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.
   
2. 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.
   
3. 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

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.

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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!

Comments

I - game time owo

[somakemelaugh]

[He had been in the cafe for a bit of tea - really, when would he ever turn down something like that? - but finds himself distracted by Aqua and her want to play a game.]

I may be. Whatever is it that you're playing?

eeeee <3

[betheirwayfinder]

[She just smiles for the stranger and glances over at the list of available games for the season. There are a few, it reminds her a little of other worlds she visited, but none jump out immediately.]

Hm, this months games don't look too bad but I can't pick. And if you don't mind joining me, it's only fair if you chose. Right?

[Seems fair to her, anyway.]

[somakemelaugh]

[By contrast, he has never truly played games of this nature before, so his experience with them is next to none. They simply never interested him, and might even have baffled him to the point where he just set the controller aside and let someone else take over while he retreated to a couch and a book and something that made sense, even if he understands now how many things work.]

Oh, my dear, I don't think that'd be fair to you at all. I have no idea what it is I'm meant to do with these things. You're speaking with someone whose greatest pastime is reading things called books where one needs to turn a thing called a page over to read the next part of the story. Why not let's flip a coin instead and see how far we get?

[betheirwayfinder]

[She stares for a moment then laughs softly. Not in humor though, more in delight.]

Oh! You would have loved my home world than. The Land of Departure had the biggest library I've ever seen. I lived there most of my life and I barely ever put a dent in it. I'm sure my Master hadn't been able to either.

[At the mention of flipping a coin though, she pats at her pockets for a moment before tugging on out.]

Hm, three games though. Flip for the fist two then flip for the 'winner' and last one?

[somakemelaugh]

[The laughing, he likes. He's always a fan of that, but he's more a fan of the conversation at the moment.]

A shame that didn't come over here with you. I've seen the library this place supplies and it's a rather sad collection, if I do say so myself. But at least it's a keeper of knowledge and information, as anything by that name should be.

[Really though, he's surprised to see she has an actual coin on her person at all. The currency here seems to be electronic along with the rest of what used to be written down to his knowing.]

Fair enough. That a coin from your own world?

[betheirwayfinder]

I wish it could have. I haven't seen it in... a long time, but I know it's safe and intact, at the very least. Maybe with enough work, I can pray to Ainea and see if I can't get some part of it back.

[It's a long shot, and it wouldn't be going in her house. She doesn't want to take up any extra space that could possibly go to another kid they bring along.]

And, kind of. We used munny back home, at least for moogles- they looked more like crystals- but I found this in the Realm of Darkness and kept hold of it.

[Probably a bad idea, in hindsight, but oh well.] Heads, harvesting, and tails for the slingshot game?

[somakemelaugh]

If you like. I'm not so sure these gods can be trusted, but seeing as they're all supposedly feeling a bit under the weather, I suppose I can forgive them somewhere. So long as it's not in prayer. Not my thing, you see.

[For all of his understanding of new technology and all from his time in the Fleet, some of this is still going right over his head. But instead of asking her about every little thing, he lets it slide past for now and focuses on the coin in her hand.]

We'll go with that.

random.org says 1/heads

[betheirwayfinder]

I don't know either. As far as I ever learned, we don't have gods where I come from. Well- some worlds do, but overall, not any I know of. [she grins.] I'm sure they won't mind that. Or I hope anyway.

[She flips the coin and covers it with her hand for a moment after it lands, giving a little peek after a moment.]

Harvesting. Should we flip again between that one and the pumpkin game or just harvest? I'm sure either will be fun.

[somakemelaugh]

[He shrugs lightly, raising his hands into the gesture.]

Every world is different, I've found. Some of them might, some of them might not have such things. Cellular phones, pen and ink, motor vehicles, horse and carriage. It's all so different, but all the same, really. I've stopped trying to keep up with it all.

[Really, he's tired of the game. He has one piece of his family left and all he wants now is to see the Earl happy and safe. But he won't voice that. They have a game to play, after all!]

Oh? Why not let's give fate a chance and see what the harvesting game is like? Come, show me how to use this.

[betheirwayfinder]

I don't think I've ever been on a world long enough to find out how they travel or communicate with each other. This is the first time I've really settled anywhere but the Land of Departure.

[That works for her! So she'll pocket the coin and then look a bit awkward for a moment.]

It's not to hard. We slip on the headsets and it'll immerse us into the game but- [And here she reaches out to lightly touch his hand in invitation.]- the game can be kind of blurry unless you're touching someone. I think this part chases some people off.

[somakemelaugh]

[What she means is nothing he understands, but he's used to that being a thing across the many worlds he has seen and the many people from other worlds still beyond those. There are just going to be things that go over his head no matter how hard he tries to understand, so he just doesn't care.]

Believe me, it's a lot to keep up with in any world. You're better off wondering and worrying about this one unless someone decides they want to talk, or unless you ask.

[It might chase some people off, but by the way he turns his hand over to accept her invitation, he isn't one of them.]

My dear, I was nearly blind for almost six hundred years, but you do surprise me, reaching out to an old man like me even for just a little game. But it is what the gods here want, isn't it?

[betheirwayfinder]

She hopes he expected her surprise because she is. Oh, is she ever. For a moment, she's event lost for words, but she keeps her hand holding onto his. In the back of her mind, she does wonder about how his nails could possibly be comfortable but that's a question for another day.]

Six hundred? Really? [Except for the color of his hair-] You're joking, right?

[He has to be! Even Yen Sid, she thinks, isn't that old, but he at least looks it.] Besides, the gods do want it but I don't mind the contact so much. It certainly helps to meet new people, needing to touch.

[somakemelaugh]

[Oh, the reactions he sometimes gets when he tells people that. He does love them so, as amusing as they all are. Too bad he couldn't do the same in England. The laughter might never end.]

Oh, the look on your face. That never gets old! [There might be a giggle to accompany his humor.] I wish I was. Doesn't seem right for a person to live so long, does it? But tell that to our friends here, the locals. I might seem young to someone like them.

[He turns then, looking over the game... is it a console? controller? in front of them.]

So what are we to do about this, then?

[betheirwayfinder]

[His laughter just makes her blush in embarrassment but there is a little smile. At least it hasn't made things tense between them! Or so she hopes.]

It seems impossible. I guess that's silly to say though, huh? [Oh, he might definitely seem young to them. That would make Aqua practically a child in comparison. What a thought!]

It's pretty easy once your get into it, kind of like you're in the game yourself but you can still kind of feel yourself holding hands. I'll let you hit start there [A little point with her occupied hand] whenever you're ready to hop in.

I never played any sort of games, not like this, back home. So it's a bit hard to explain for me. Sorry.