♥ 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

[kingkingcxiii]

"Of course! I have stories about all kinds of things I can tell you," he gives her hand a squeeze as he looks for a good place to sit and talk. "Stories about animals and people, history and customs. Anything your heart desires."

Honestly, Regis could share stories all day. He finds it that much fun.

[morality_pet]

"Oooh!" She giggles excitedly, scrambling up beside him when he finds a place to sit.

"Can Rin have a story of your world? Rin can give you one about Lord Sesshoumaru!"

[kingkingcxiii]

"Certainly, and I would love to hear more about your Lord Sesshoumaru," he waits for her to get settled before continuing.

"Would you like to hear about the giant talking octopus that my friends and I had to fight once? Or perhaps you would rather hear about the time friend had to wear cat ears and a tail because he lost a bet?"

[morality_pet]

"Giant talking octopus? Was it a youkai?"

[kingkingcxiii]

"We call them daemons, but I do believe they may have some things in common with your youkai at least in behavior. How do your youkai generally interact with humans?"

[morality_pet]

"Depends." She ponders. "Some of them eat humans. Most of them just want to be left alone."

[kingkingcxiii]

Regis nods in response to her answer, "Then our daemons are like your youkai that attack and eat humans. Not all daemons eat humans, but they all do thirst for ruin and destruction. Part of my job back home is powering a magical wall that helps keep them out of the capital."

[morality_pet]

"Oooh a barrier! Lady Kikyo could do that, and so can the Lord Monk." She nods. "You must be really strong!"

[kingkingcxiii]

"I suppose you could say that," Regis smiles sheepishly for a moment. "It is another part of the power my family was gifted. The wall is the protective part, while the elemental magic I showed you before is the offensive part."

[morality_pet]

Ooooh.

[ she marvels ]

Your family must be a veryimportant one!

[kingkingcxiii]

"We have ruled Lucis for a very long time, something your Lord Sesshoumaru may know a bit about? We call our rulers 'kings' and 'queens,' but I know some places use 'lord' and lady' instead. Does your Lord have a land or people he rules over?"

[morality_pet]

Yeah! Lord Sesshoumaru is the Lord of the Western Lands! He's the most powerful youkai there. But the humans have different lords and generals.

[kingkingcxiii]

Humans are difficult like that. We tend to want to follow leaders of our own kind. Do the human rulers give Lord Sesshoumaru trouble in his lands or do they respect that he rules them?

[morality_pet]

She shakes her head. "Nuh uh. The Youkai don't listen to the humans and the humans don't listen to the youkai. Lady Kaede says the two worlds don't in-ter-sect. Not easily, or safely. So the youkai rule the youkai and the humans rule the humans. That's okay, coz Lord Sesshoumaru doesn't like humans much anyway."

[kingkingcxiii]

"If they don't respect him, I can't say that I blame him," Regis ponders the part of her answer about the two worlds not interesting, wondering if he can get a clearer explanation from one so young or not. In the end, he decides to give it a try. While Rin might not be that old in age, she does seem to have had a great deal of experience.

"If the worlds don't really intersect, then how did you meet him?"

[morality_pet]

"Lord Sesshoumaru saved Rin after the wolves killed her." She shrugs. "He was injured in the woods near Rin's village - Rin found him there and brought him water. Maybe he felt sorry for Rin?"

[kingkingcxiii]

"You're..." Regis' heart stutters to a stop in his chest and it hurts. So much. To think that a child so young has already passed, and yet, it explains so much about...well, everything really, especially her ability to be in a reality that humans usually cannot be in.

"Dear brave, child, I am so sorry," he pauses a moment, expression sad. "Do you mind if I give you a hug?"

They can talk more about how she met her Lord in a moment once Regis has gotten over the shock.

[morality_pet]

She blinks up at him, confused as to what he is upset about. But hey. Hugs!

She beams and nods, reaching up for him.

"Sure!"

[kingkingcxiii]

Regis envelops her in a hug as soon as she gives her permission. Honestly, he's not sure how she can be so cheerful when they are talking about her death. Perhaps it is her youth? Or maybe just the fact the afterlife of her world seems very different from what is spoken of on Eos?

He gives her one last squeeze before ending the hug and hiding away his emotions. If she is not upset about it, he should not allow himself to be so. At least, not where he might bring down her mood.

"It truly sounds as if the two of you finding each other was fate. What do you like best about traveling with him?"

[morality_pet]

Technically, of course, Rin is not dead as she wasn't kidding when she said Sesshoumaru saved her. But she has died twice now, not that Regis knows that?

She curls happily in his hold and hugs back enthusiastically.

"Hm, Lord Sesshoumaru makes Rin feel safe." She explains. "And we get to see lots and lots of different things!"

[kingkingcxiii]

Oh dear. Best if he doesn't realize his misunderstanding only to learn that it happened later. It will just break his heart all over again. If he could see no harm ever came to a child, he would.

Of course, it does sound as if Lord Sesshoumaru is doing his best which helps.

"Both of those are wonderful reasons! And it sounds as if you have met some interesting people as well on your journeys. You've mentioned a couple of them already."

[morality_pet]

#herlife

"Yes!" She beams, still tucked close against him.

"Lord Sesshoumaru is very good to Rin, and Rin has made good friends."

[kingkingcxiii]

Yep.

"Wonderful!" Well, if she is going to stay tucked in close, he'll drop his arm back around her to give her another hug, "I do believe it's my turn now. After all, I did promise you a story from my home. Did you want to hear the story of the talking octopus daemon or would you like a different one? I could tell you more about my family or our gods."

He has no shortage of stories. None at all.

[morality_pet]

Excellent, more hugs!

"Oooh yes, yes please! Can you tell Rin about the talking octopus daemon?"

[kingkingcxiii]

Well, how can he deny such an enthusiastic answer?

"It all began several years ago when daemons started to appear in the city in large numbers during the day. This was alarming for two reasons. One because of the danger it presented to my people, but also because daemons don't usually appear during the day as the sunlight hurts them. My friend, Weskham was already in the city so I left the Citadel in order to meet up with him. We needed to find out what was causing this change in the daemon's behavior and stop it quickly."

He gives her shoulders another squeeze, leaning forward to stress the next words, "It was very difficult fighting my way to him. There were so many daemons in some areas you could hardly see between them."