♥ 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

[carbungle]

That's... weird.

[There's not really another way of putting it. For them both to have the same kind of dream, on the same night? There really is something going around, it seems.]

Is that why you were hiding when we showed up?

[pinkmin]

[Vianca looked away, giving a slower, embarrassed nod.]

With the fog I thought that you were them. I'm sorry.

[carbungle]

You don't have to apologize, I get it. I mean, look at us.

[He glances down at his attire - all black as usual - and at Umbra, just as dark-furred. He can definitely understand how it might have appeared to an already-frightened mind.]

[pinkmin]

But you're not scary.

[Or you, very good dog, getting a tiny scratch under Umbra's ear. It felt important to make that point, in case he started to think maybe he frightened her now. That was a really broad assumption to make, but it was a worry all the same. She hadn't gotten him any books yet, and he was nice, and. Well.

She gave a shake of her head.]

Did the dream wake you, or are you usually up this early?

[carbungle]

Definitely the dream... mornings and me don't really get along.

[He'd much rather be back at the house sleeping, but there's no way that's happening.]

I thought a walk could get me tired enough that I'd be able to sleep, but no luck so far.

[pinkmin]

[Aha. A rare morning Noctis.]

I see.

[Thinking about it a moment, Vianca peeked up at him.]

Would... you like to walk with me? I should make my way back to the temple, and people have been telling stories. Maybe someone will have a sleepy one.

[carbungle]

Yeah, may as well. No sense in staying alone in my own head.

[Certainly not with the way his head's behaving today, at least. He stands up and offers a hand out to her, to help her up.]

[pinkmin]

Okay.

[She easily took his hand, easing herself up on her feet.

Once she was up though, Vianca delicately curled her fingers around his instead of letting go. The fog had already caused one issue, and Vianca didn't know if Noctis had ever been to Ohma's temple. And if they had both had the feeling of something following them, then. It was just better like this.

She gingerly began leading him and Umbra away from the fountain.]

This way.

[carbungle]

[He's surprised momentarily when she holds fast to his hand, but he doesn't pull away, and when Umbra bumps up against the back of his knee he starts walking with her. The dog walks with them, scampering ahead and then falling behind- at first it might seem random, but as the pattern continues it becomes more clear that he's scouting their perimeter protectively.]

Which temple is it? I hadn't heard about stories getting shared.

[pinkmin]

[Vianca curiously watched the doggo go as they went. Oh. A very good doggo, indeed. The careful nature of it reminded her of Blake, and Vianca was sure she must have mistook the Mightyena for a Grim once too.]

Dr. Ohma's temple. It seems like it's a tradition for their followers to come and share things during this month.

[carbungle]

Doctor Ohma?

[That's... one he hasn't heard before. Is that official? Can gods be doctors??]

[pinkmin]

[Gods were gods, Noctis, of course they can be doctors.]

Um, the doctorate kind. Like a professor. Ib called Miss Ainea a 'miss', but I don't think that works for Ohma. A god of knowledge would probably make a good professor though, if they wanted to.

[carbungle]

[He doesn't really have an argument for that one. He does chuckle, though.]

Guess that's true. Think they've got a degree?

[pinkmin]

If anyone would, I think it would be them. I have not asked them yet.

Though I am not sure I would get a reply.

[carbungle]

You don't lose anything by trying, though, so you might as well.

[pinkmin]

That is true. Perhaps once the stories are over. They might keep them busy for a while.

[carbungle]

Maybe. I hope they've got a bench in there to sit down, if they go on for hours.

[For sitting, or sleeping... preferably for sleeping.]

[pinkmin]

[Vianca glanced up at him.]

There are benches, yes.

[For sitting. And also for sleeping.]

[carbungle]

[All benches are good for sleeping to Noct, let's be real.]

You told any stories there yourself? Or just been listening?

[pinkmin]

[The naps always find a way.]

Not yet. Everyone else's have been more interesting.

[carbungle]

Huh... you should share something from one of your books, maybe. I bet they'd get a kick out of that.

[pinkmin]

Oh. Maybe. Most of them have been personal stories.

[This was something to consider as they walked.]

I might have a few.

[carbungle]

I mean, obviously it's up to you. But with how things seem to work around here, you might get something out of it that'd make it worth your while.

[He hasn't been here that long, but it's long enough to start noticing a few patterns.]

[pinkmin]

That might be true. They do seem to encourage this.

I hope they would not mind if it is not told very well.

[carbungle]

With how the world is, they probably haven't heard any new stories for hundreds of years. However you tell it, I'm sure it'd be fine. Though you are pretty quiet...

[He thinks for a moment.]

Maybe we could get you a microphone? They've gotta have something like that.