♥ January (Lasra) Event Log

[hugtopiamods]

January (Lasra) Event Log
The new year has dawned and many natives are busy with their VR pilgrimages to the sacred mountain. Others are busy redecorating the town after all the excitement of the last month. With the cold winter days and nights continuing, the occasionally clear blue skies seem all the colder even with Havenwell's nicely temperature controlled environment. The winter has fully set in and so the celebrations continue as natives try to incorporate more of the offworlders' traditions into their own. They know it can't be easy being away from your homes for so long, but they hope adding touches of home to their celebrations might help ease the loneliness some.

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❥ PROMPT I: Festive Flora Festoons

They're trying to keep the holiday spirit going with some greenery among all the cold wintery snowy weather! All around the city, over doorways, strung across roads and walkways, threaded in entryways and hallways alike, people can find colorful wreaths and garlands hung overhead. Prominently displayed among the Rawna-centric ribbons and synthetic greens are real live plants! It seems the natives have picked up on the idea of holiday decorations involving seasonal flora and other decor to brighten the darker winter days. Sadly, it seems they've missed the mark on what kinds of plants are meant to be involved. Here and there, people can find all manner of plant strung up from things that look like ivy to pine-adjacent trees to weird decorations that miss the 'plant' mark entirely. Moreover, it seems these decorations are being tampered with by the gods in a haphazard manner. Some, not all, of these decorations carry a strange field around them, affecting people when they walk beneath them. Watch out, offworlders! While the natives are also getting caught sometimes, you're the most susceptible to this mysterious meddling.

♥ Mistletoe: Some of these plants are actually mistletoe, and for those familiar with the Earth tradition, they carry the same effects. On occasion when you and another person walk under the mistletoe, an invisible force field springs up, trapping you both in a six foot circle beneath the plant. Any attempts to destroy the decoration does nothing to dispel the field and teleportation does nothing but bounce you to the other side of this odd bounded circle. For those in know, they may have an inkling of what needs to happen to escape this little trap: positive physical contact in the form of hugs or kisses! Platonic kisses on the hand and cheek do seem to work for some people, though, so maybe you can both escape this without too much embarrassment? ...Maybe?

♥ Missile...toe??: Some of the plants around town have brightly colored stockings and socks hung in them. The natives seem to think that hanging footwear is an integral part of the offworld winter tradition, so they've carried it over to Lasra. On occasion, when you and another person are caught under these decorations, a cloud will form overhead and begin pelting both of you with tiny foam darts. The cloud moves with you both and will give chase for an indeterminate amount of time. It even seems that it can follow you indoors, which is entirely illogical but so is a cloud blitzing you with foam darts and here we are. It isn't omnipotent though and quick thinking or some fancy moves can throw it off your trail for awhile. The only problem is you and the other person can't seem to get more than six feet apart from one another, so you better come up with an action plan to either dispel the cloud or figure out a way to elude it or you'll be spending your day annoyed at the constant barrage of toys.

♥ Verdant veritas: This is just getting weird now. Some of the garlands have miniaturized versions of entire trees hung upside down from them. These trees range from off-colored pines to what passes for this world's version of plastic palm trees to miscolored birches, oaks, and fruit trees. Most of these trees are plastic, but it can be a little strange to see a scaled down tree hanging into the roadway. Getting caught under one of these with another person when they go haywire will trap you both in an entirely uncomfortably small circle of 3 feet from one another. The only way to widen it is to tell the other person a truth about yourself that they may not know. With each truth you tell, the circle widens by 1 foot until it snaps at some indeterminable point. For some, this might just be 2 truths and you're free. For others it might be 20. The natives tend to get caught by this one the most, so at least you have examples of what needs to happen should you find yourself trapped!

♥ Berries aplenty: Some of the decorations are filled with red and white berries hanging in clusters. These are the most innocuous seeming of all the garlands and, since the berries are small enough, the easiest to miss. They do, however, seem to be causing quite a stir with anyone caught beneath it. When you and another person walk beneath these garlands, you'll find yourselves trapped with one of you suddenly wearing a Santa outfit projected over your normal clothes like an illusion. You cannot escape the six foot circle under the berries unless you sit on Santa's lap and tell them what you really really want for the holidays. You've been a good person/robot/cat/creature this year, right? The gods hope so because only those on the Nice List who say what you want and mean it get to leave the clutches of the berries.

❥ PROMPT II: Ski for Free(dom)

For those of you who frequent the worlds of virtual reality, there's a new game available! In SkiFreezin', you and a friend can enjoy an excursion to a beautiful mountain covered with freshly-fallen snow for a fun ski trip!

But hopefully you're quick to clear the course; every so often innocent skiers looking for a fun time might find themselves in the sights of the mountain's inhabitant; a cranky creature giving chase with stick figure limbs and angry eyebrows. Better get to the finish line quick! If it catches up, you just might find yourself dumped into a pile of snow with a hat placed on your head at a jaunty angle befitting a snowman.

And the chase doesn't end there! The VR network's errors that brought on Havenwell's cube-shaped bee friends is acting up again, bringing the particularly pixelated pursuer to the city's snowy streets to chase around the local inhabitants. And if it catches you...well, Frosty, hope you like snowbanks!

❥ PROMPT III: The Weather Outside (and Inside) is Frightful

To some, the best part of winter is the beautiful snowy landscape and Aellyn is delivering on that this year. All across Havenwell, the snow is drifting down in lazy, cozy piles that turn the city even more picturesque than usual. It's a lovely sight and even the natives are enjoying it by doing things like building snowrobots, snow forts, snow sculptures, and snow fights! Some of the less jolly ones are grumbling about the need to shovel the snow to keep roads and walkways clear, but overall the city seems to be enjoying the weather.

The grumbling might be justified, however, because at random times and in random places all over the city, the gentle drifts of snow suddenly become small localized Snowpocalypse pockets! Small storm clouds will whip up in pocketed areas, dumping feet upon feet of snow all at once before dissipating. These massive snow drops have the potential to trap people inside homes, businesses, in doorways, or even bury them outside. If you're unlucky enough to be caught outside, you'll need to cuddle up to keep warm until you or the locals can dig you out. If you're stuck inside, you better start digging out from your doors or you might be stuck for awhile. The cold of these snow drops seem to seep in through the walls, making even those inside want to cuddle up for warmth before either digging themselves out or awaiting rescue.

The gods must not know the saying, "All things in moderation" when it comes to snow!

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This event will run from 15 January to 31 January. 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. You can also use the Havenwell Status page or the General Plotting Comment to give you other ideas for original prompts!

Comments

[hedgehogsdilemma]

"It wasn't quite that..." This wouldn't be the first time someone assumed 'global warming' was the culprit here, but before he can really go into detail about what actually happened, she launches back into fussing.

"Please keep your coat!" He doesn't want her to freeze in his stead!! Even if she's more accustomed to the cold, surely getting rid of that extra protection is a bad idea, and besides, "I have my own." A nice and serviceable winter coat, and even a scarf and a pair of slick, Rawna-themed gloves as well! He doesn't need to deprive her of that vital warmth.

"I'll be fine, as long as we can get out of here sooner rather than later."

[daikonrose]

There's a sort of pouty edge to her frown, but Kyoko relents. For now. She eyes him though, wondering how long it might take to make him an acceptable hat to keep that poor unadorned head of his cozy. If she starts as soon as she gets home--

Well, in any case, there's no sense thinking about that when they're still trapped out here in the cold. Shinji's got that much right. Kyoko's frown deepens a little, determined.

"Then--I'll just have to bombard you with facts about myself until this thing breaks, or expands to cover the whole city!" Obviously it should be her doing the heavy lifting on this one, right? Obviously. "Okay! Starting now! Um!!"

...

"... Uh!" Coming up with isolated pieces of trivia about yourself on command is... actually a little hard? "Starting... now!" A beat. "Actually, I kinda... can't remember exactly what you do know about me and what you don't."

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Honestly, the back-and-forth they had going was pretty comfortable! Shinji's not sure he wants her to take the full weight of responsibility here, but it would still have been her turn to come up with a surprising new fact. If she's so stumped, though, maybe it's on him to facilitate things a little.

"Then, would it be okay if I asked a question about you?"

Letting them come up with their own pieces of trivia was all well and good, but perhaps there's a slightly easier way to go about this.

[daikonrose]

Maybe it would have been a little easier if they were strangers, and everything about her was fair game, but that's not the case, is it? Shinji certainly doesn't know everything about her, but they've been friends for a while now! They've actually talked about quite a few things, haven't they? But if she stands here and thinks back through all their past conversations, that's--well, it's just gonna take a while.

But oh. Questions. That! Makes sense. Relieved, Kyoko gives a nod. "Please... if you have any."

[hedgehogsdilemma]

He didn't have anything prepared to ask right away, but getting the go-ahead at least sets him up to be in the right mindset to think of something. Up until now, getting to know her more organically had been perfectly fine, and he doesn't mind at all learning more at a natural pace. An opportunity like this should focus more on things that might not come up under normal conditions, so...

"Hmm..." even if he doesn't want to stay stuck out here longer than necessary, give him a second to think this one over. "Do... you have a favorite role that you've played?"

Maybe not something with an inherently concise answer, depending on what she has to say, but hopefully that'll be something she'd like to talk about!

[daikonrose]

Oh. Kyoko blinks, and then a softness washes over her. "I have one," she nods, smiling to herself as much as for Shinji. She pauses, a bit sheepish, but can't resist going on. "It's... probably not what you had in mind--that role was assigned to me as practice, and I only got to play it for a day, but... if it's my favorite, then... it has to be Kuon, for sure."

Dropping a boy's name probably would require some explanation even if they weren't in a spill-truths-to-escape situation, but it's not something Kyoko minds anyway. "Um--so, you see, it's a little complicated, but I'd been complaining about the kinds of roles I was getting offered, and my... my mentor decided I needed a lesson on developing characters. An actor should be ready to tackle any kind of role, no matter how unconventional, you know? Even different genders shouldn't be off the table. So he told me to play his son. Someone I've never met, named Kuon."

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Hearing a boy's name had been somewhat surprising, but this kind of elaboration was what he figured he'd be getting, and he lets her continue on uninterrupted. That sure is one way of expanding your acting skills, although... Shinji's not sure what skill exactly is at play in a situation like that? By playing someone you've never met... huh.

"Did your mentor talk about his son a lot...?"

Was she expected to do research right away for this one-day role of someone's son? Or was she already prepared from hearing all about him? Or... was she expected to craft the role based on bits and pieces of knowledge? It was probably quite the feat feat no matter what, and even just thinking about it, Shinji looks suitably impressed.

[daikonrose]

"... You could say he talks about him a lot, in general," Kyoko was wry for a moment, "but I had only just met my mentor, so it was my first time even hearing he had children. --Ah, I guess I should say, I wasn't being asked to recreate him perfectly, but to bring to life my own convincing version of 'Kuon,' with a few hard facts to keep me in line."

There's a beat. "But you know, when I asked him for just one defining character trait, he suddenly couldn't stop talking.... In the end, he just gave me a lot of unnecessarily confusing information. That guy... I didn't think idiot parents like that really existed until then...."

[hedgehogsdilemma]

"Do parents like that really exist...?" Sounds sketchy, this is probably an exceptional case. One in a billion. Wild.

More importantly, though, "So you had a lot of room for interpretation, huh? But with some constraints to keep in mind." That would be more challenging than having complete free reign, Shinji thinks, but it was still her favorite. Interesting...! "Were you really proud of what you came up with, then?"

[daikonrose]

"I had always thought they were an urban legend," Kyoko nods gravely in understanding. "But I actually encountered one."

His question makes her pause, though, something almost shy creeping into her expression. "I... can't say I wasn't proud, but... if that day had been an audition, I would have been disqualified for sure. I gave my best and went all out, but...." Her head dips just a bit, but she's still smiling. "My mother and I have... never had what you could call a typical relationship, and I never had a father at all." That feels like a lot to suddenly drop in the middle of the story, but, "Because of that, there were all kinds of interactions I didn't have any reference for, feelings I'd never experienced before... I really didn't know what to do."

Her head lifts again, smile almost glowing with warmth. "But I was really happy!"

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Somehow... somehow he didn't expect things to get so heavy for that moment there. It's a familiar kind of weight, which makes it feel all the more unexpected, but... it's something he can handle. As she explains, he gives her a couple of gentle nods, an understanding look crossing his face.

Acting out something you've had no real experience with, especially something that would probably be considered a typical part of growing up, must have been a real challenge. Maybe just the act of trying out something so out of her area of expertise was a valuable moment of growth for her, an opportunity to see how much she could really stretch her wings. This Kuon boy with an overzealous parent. A nice experience, even if she didn't nail the hypothetical audition.

"That's good, then." A good candidate for a favorite role, if her memories of it are so fond. "It must have been a fulfilling lesson."

[daikonrose]

She gives a nod, still beaming bright despite that dip into heavier thoughts. Truly, it isn't something that bothers her, when she has such a sweet new memory to pair it with right now. "It was the first time I got sad, and thought 'no, I don't want it to end yet!' when it was time to leave the role behind. It was like a new part of me was born, even if just a tiny one."

Simmering down a little, she sends Shinji a gentler smile, apologetic. "Ah... you probably didn't think I was going to come out with a strange story like that, when you asked that question, though. Sorry."

[hedgehogsdilemma]

"I didn't know what to expect, honestly."

It was a question with such a huge range of potential answers, he had figured, that truly anything was on the table. With a warm little smile of his own crossing his face, he gives a small shake of his head before continuing, "But you don't have to apologize, I don't think it was strange at all. I asked because I wanted to know, and I got to learn a lot more about you than I expected."

Even if that hadn't been the pragmatic, ultimate goal of asking, learning these kinds of things about her is always a good thing.

"I'm glad you shared such a personal memory with me. Thank you."

[daikonrose]

Kyoko shakes her head lightly at that thanks, smile turning sheepish again. "It was nice, though--getting to talk about it. I was happy you asked me that, so... thanks for listening to it all." Even if it was kind of a lot.

Invigorated by all this good will, she claps her hands together once. "Okay!! Are there more questions? Hit me with anything you want!"

[hedgehogsdilemma]

See, her last answer had a lot of truths to it, which means he's got some catching up to do if this is too be an equal exchange! Even if she said she wanted to carry this responsibility, it really is both of their burdens tho bear. She might not be too eager to ask him anything outright, but maybe if he spins his next question just right...

"I guess I want to know... if there's anything you wanted to ask me."

That! Is his question!

[daikonrose]

What, hey. "That's cheating," she frowns. "Of course I wanna know all about you! Since we're friends!" But she thought she'd already established that she didn't want to make him talk about things he didn't want to? So isn't this sort of a dangerous scenario? It doesn't help that they've already covered a lot of ground on harmless topics like music, either.

But... well, it would be bad if he felt left out. Making this a one-sided interview would end up feeling pretty vain, too. So Kyoko taps her lip and gives it some thought--there has to be something safe, right? "But, in that case... Were you always interested in gardening?" If he's only lived in 1) a summer-all-the-time place and 2) a we-only-got-widespread-vegetation-just-recently place, his relationship to plants is probably a little different than what she's used to!

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Dangerous as many topics may be, even ones that would probably seem harmless at first glance, Shinji trusts that Kyoko wouldn't try and press him for something that would be clearly uncomfortable. The least he can do in return is to be cautious with his answers, though the question she's posed is honestly a pretty tame one, as long as he doesn't scratch too deeply past the answer.

"Not really, actually." Is that surprising, given how much effort he put in to growing those watermelons? Probably, he'd assume. "I didn't even think of it until this last summer, but someone..."

And, for a moment, he looks like he's somehow stumped himself. What... what is the most concise way of relating himself to Kaji without toeing landmine territory? Um... "He was... close with my last guardian?" That's one way to put it. "He had this garden he was tending to in secret, but he brought me to see it one day, and told me that growing something was a really fulfilling experience."

It's an awfully bittersweet memory at this point, but aside from a softer turn of his expression, Shinji does his best not to let his thoughts slide toward anything more depressing. "I guess it really stuck with me, and when I had the chance to pursue it here... I wanted to see if it was true for myself."

[daikonrose]

It's impossible not to be a little curious, with how delicately Shinji goes about defining his relationship to this person, but... if it was something simple, or something he wanted to talk about, he probably wouldn't be so cautious about it, right? So this is just another thing to quietly tuck away into the vague knowledge about Shinji file in her mind--his last (?) guardian, and the mysterious surrounding relationships.

Well. It's not like she can't relate to being in an unusual living situation, anyway.

For the moment, there's at least one easy follow-up question she can lean on. "And is it? Was he right?" She might be able to guess the answer, but maybe it's something Shinji wouldn't mind going into?

[hedgehogsdilemma]

If the goal here is to talk about themselves, then trying to hammer out some of these finer details is only going to serve to keep them out here even longer. Maybe some other time, it's not like he wouldn't satisfy her curiosity under other circumstances, but getting out of this bubble is top priority.

"Honestly, watching those sprouts grow into something larger, and then getting to share the fruits with everyone... it was really satisfying." Even if it was hard work, every step was important, and seeing the first leaves opening up on the vines was just as awe inspiring as watching someone take a bite of the final product.

"He was definitely right. I'm really glad it's something I tried."

[daikonrose]

Ah... it's nice to hear Shinji talk like this. He doesn't really talk much about things like being happy with his accomplishments, even mundane ones like making tasty tamagoyaki. Being glad about something that he did to satisfy himself--even if his friends got to reap the benefits too--it warms her.

Kyoko smiles, beaming that warmth onto him. "... I'm glad too, then. And I'm glad your garden doesn't have to be a secret, either."

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Receiving praise over it would still be awfully tough to swallow, but admitting that he actually enjoyed chasing after a pursuit of his own choosing is... easier than it may have been even just a year ago. Even just realizing that he'd done something of his own volition that wasn't just productive, but enjoyable, had been a very strange feeling at the time, and going over it now evokes the same sense of strangeness. It isn't bad, though, the smile Kyoko's wearing assures him as much.

"I'm sure Kaji-san had his reasons for keeping his under wraps, but I don't think I'd be able to keep something like that to myself, even if I tried." The underlying desire for some kind of validation is far too strong to resist, but mostly, "Getting to share everything at the end was really satisfying, too."

[daikonrose]

That brings a warm little giggle out, as Kyoko agrees, "I can't complain about getting spoiled~"

Which is maybe not exactly true, she is plenty capable of putting up a fuss, but she really was very happy about it! "But I'd be glad even if you only planted things you can't eat, too. Hard work paying off is bound to feel good no matter what, right?"

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Well then, she should prepare to get even more spoiled now that she has the benefit of living at garden central. Surely she'll have her pick of plenty of watermelons next time around, without the caveat of needing to retrieve them or have them brought over. Convenient melons.

"It really does." A nice change of pace, specifically because it's something he chose to do on his own. It's hard to think of it as anything but a rousing success when he has such sunny confidence pointed his way. "You know, even if I end up growing a bunch of flowers too, you'll have your pick of any if you wanted to press them."

[daikonrose]

Convenient melons! What an incredible luxury, goodness. And he's even willing to offer up his flowers, on top of that? Where does the generosity end?

"Ah, really?? I hadn't thought about it until now, but it would be awfully nice to preserve a little piece of your efforts."

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Adventures in flower crafting, between both Kyoko and Kaito, had given Shinji the impression that it was mostly the aesthetics and end result of it that were important. Sure, the dandelion ring getting preserved was important for the memories attached to it, but for things like bracelets and crowns, what mattered was the effort put into crafting the trinkets, rather than growing the flowers, he'd assumed. Having her remark so pointedly aimed at his efforts is, as a result, pretty surprising.

"If... if that's what you'd like to do, then, of course." He's the one who offered, so he can't really argue. "We'll see what kinds of things we end up with when spring rolls around."