hugtopia_logs | ♥ May (Ealom) Event Log

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♥ May (Ealom) Event Log

a blue and red gradient sky filled with clouds

May (Ealom) Event Log
Ealom has arrived and with it comes its typical beautiful weather. The days and nights are pleasantly warm and the city's flora is in full bloom. The greenery from last year has integrated fully into Havenwell's daily life, and pots of flowers can be found on native windowsills and in shops, usually decorated with pink and purple ribbons to celebrate the final month of Ainea. This time last year, a refreshing wind blew through the city, rejuvenating the landscape and this year a new type of change has come on the winds. Look to the skies, offworlders...

❥ PROMPT I: RISE to the Occasion

a jungle scene with large beasts traveling through it

The city has expanded again… but only the magic barrier, strangely. The walls have remained stationary as a flourish of energy rushes through the city, spreading outwards, and the sky above begins to warp and shift, like a rainbow soap bubble wobbling in the breeze. It lasts for about an hour on May 16th, so perhaps you might wish to stay indoors if you are susceptible to dizzy spells. By the time it has passed, the city looks and feels bigger, even if nothing has technically changed within the walls at ground level. Those who venture further, however, will find a much different situation.

Before too long, after some investigation has been done about what just happened, a public announcement is made: due to the barrier expansion, a large section of the outer city limits has been reclaimed, and a rejuvenation of nature has once more occurred, thanks to the efforts of the handholding visitors. Beyond the new wall is a wealth of growth and nature, similar to the burst of life that occurred one year ago. They do advise, however, that this new region has not been mapped or explored thoroughly in some time; scouts can only know so much due to the harsh environment it used to exist in, and clearly the terraforming has changed things. Anyone looking to venture beyond the walls should do so carefully.

Offworlders will find a veritable jungle out there. The land has well and truly been reclaimed by nature, now that it has been allowed to grow once more, and the storms that once raged outside have left far fewer signs that society used to exist outside of Havenwell's walls. Trees, bushes, vines and other various forms of greenery have grown and consumed the old structures, leaving patchwork pieces that are mostly unrecognizable. Exploring buildings won't net you much beyond broken walls and rusty household objects, but bring such items back could earn you some dora from private collectors of old world goods, or the good faith of the museum curators if you choose to donate.

Among that literal urban jungle, however, you will find all manner of fauna crawling, hunting, and living their renewed lives. The types of known animals that can be found are listed in the Bestiary, but there are also ones that no offworlder has laid eyes upon before and ones that the conservationists are itching to get their robotic hands on for the first time. New creatures that can be found are:

Silicamorpha

An undeniably-magical creature that closely resembles a shark in shape, though it appears to be comprised entirely of transparent crystal. It floats in the air, propelled forward by its tail, and like its aquatic counterparts, has difficulty turning around sometimes. Waves of aerial energy follow in its wake, occasionally taking the shape of remora, though if the wake manifests actual creatures is yet unknown. Despite a fearsome appearance, the silicamorpha is docile and will usually not attack, mostly because it is extremely fragile, liable to crack or even shatter into pieces, leaving a strange, mystical sand behind that carry traces of energy. Though they prefer to live peacefully, one whose family is being threatened may sacrifice itself by ramming into its foe, buying time for its mate and/or young to flee. Handle with care!

Lily Spider

A spindly red blossom with four green insect-like legs in place of a stem. It travels mostly in groups of three or four, and avoids direct sunlight. Roughly baseball-sized and an insectivore by nature, they will often remain very still at ground level for hours at a time, resembling harmless flowers. Smaller insects who brush up against its bright red petals will be paralyzed by its poison and swiftly eaten, though if touched by a human it will do little more than irritate their skin before the lily spider runs away to hunt elsewhere.

Dusema

A desert dwelling 10 tentacled creature that burrows into sand and rock to make its home. The dusema is approximately 6 feet in diameter from tip to tip of its tentacles and has a bulbous boneless head in the middle. It is a dusty, speckled brown, but has the ability to mimic its environment to camouflage itself as it moves. While typically a homebody, the dusema will travel up to 5 miles from its home, creeping along the ground or climbing up into trees and buildings, in order to find food. A carnivorous creature, the dusema has a single rotating eye at the top of its head and another located at the center of its tentacles on its belly next to its razor sharp beak. Making eye contact with a dusema is paralyzing, causing prey's muscles to go stiff and joints to lock. Once paralyzed, the dusema will creep over, maintaining eye contact, and begin devouring its prey. A dusema must maintain eye contact without blinking in order to maintain the paralysis, and anything that causes it or its prey to blink (such as being jostled or hit), will break the spell.

Baursa

A hulking bipedal creature with two small three-fingered arms and hands and large powerful back legs, the baursa has a thick stabilizing tail that it uses to prop itself up. It resembles a bear only in general shape, and has a massive head that sports two gigantic, sharp looking mandibles and a pair of antenna. The mandibles resemble those of a trap ant, but are thicker than a full grown man's bicep. When released, the mandibles are capable of moving an incredible speeds, are strong enough to crush rocks, and the snap of them creates a miniature sonic boom that can deafen foes. Despite it's horrifying appearance and immense size - often growing well over 6 feet tall at their smallest - the baursa are docile creatures that will only deploy their mandibles in defense to deafen a predator before running away. Their powerful jaws are used to crush rock, which they consume in great quantities, making them ideal creatures for construction, a task they were often employed to do back in ancient times. Domesticated baursa were quite a common sight before technology took over, and they apparently made good pets so long as the owner kept them well trained and fed on a diet of building materials.

Here's the thing: the appearance of such strange and wondrous creatures is proof that the world is improving, bit by bit. Unlike the last expansion, most of them don't appear to be deadly beasts or monsters that need to be culled to spare the mortals within the city limits. Still, they are technically within the city, which means that for the preservation of both the creatures and the residents alike, a number of them should be captured and studied to ensure that they won't be killed off by whatever else lurks beyond the walls should another breach occur. That's right, folks, this time it's a proper Monster Hunter event. ~~we swear this was in the works before the new one came out~~

A handful of these fresh specimens seem to be taken over by a strange poisonous goo (familiar to some of the veterans of town), causing them to mutate and become extremely hostile, even if that isn't their nature. The affected animals' eyes turn black and have black vein-like markings all across their bodies. For some, this goo has even replaced their blood, and at times it even seeps from their eyes like gruesome tears. Skin contact or ingestion of the goo can make a person incredibly sick and it is corrosive when it comes into contact with the native's robotic bodies, apparently reacting to their unique metal composition. These poor things cannot be saved, and as such, will need to be put down before they either attack the city, the offworlders, or even the other animals. Any affected flora will have similar black markings and leech the color out of things around them, driving any creatures in their vicinity into a rage. Destroying the plant seems to release whatever hold it had on them, however, and unless the animal is naturally hostile, it will return to its docile state and wander away, none the wiser.

There will be some instances where a creature not affected by the poisonous goo is killed; accidents can happen during capture, and sometimes it is kill or be killed. The locals would much rather their offworlder heroes survive over a dangerous beast, so unless it was confirmed to be intentional and unnecessary, characters will face no backlash.

If such unfortunate deaths occur, the locals request the following be submitted to the research towers for tracking purposes:

What the beast was (a description or picture will do!)
Where and why it was killed
What, if anything, was harvested from it (waste not!)

If possible, the research division would be very happy if you could bring back a part of the creature for the purpose of studying. As players, you can respond to the Mod Thread below (LINK) if you wish, to let us know this information.

❥ PROMPT II: Everything Has Its Place

a microscope and a collection of beakers and tubes filled with colourful liquid

The influx of flora, fauna, and minerals gathered from outside the walls has the Research Tower assistants running ragged trying to categorize and label everything in time. Some of the materials are time sensitive - such as the living animals and plants - and some are simply sensitive - such as dirt samples that may contain live bacteria. Even with all hands on deck, there just simply aren't enough people at the towers to do all the work when so many scientists are also trying to head outside the walls themselves to take the samples alongside the offworlders. This where you can come in!

The Research Towers will be constantly recruiting those less inclined to foray over the walls to help with simple tasks at their labs. They need people to type up the labels, to stick them to the test tubes or name placards to be put on the cages, to move samples from one room to another, to feed and clean the cages of the animals, to water or feed the flora, basically all the daily grunt work that an unpaid intern would do at a science laboratory. It isn't glamorous work, but it is paid! The Towers will pay anyone willing to work for them doing this menial labor a moderate Dora fee, and they encourage you to bring friends and talk amongst yourselves to help pass the time a little quicker. You can even cuddle the animals (that are safe to do so) if you like. They're in need of a little TLC sometimes after having been captured.

So bring your friends, grab a labeler, and set to work, offworlders! You don't have to be on the frontlines in order to contribute to scientific progress!

❥ PROMPT III: A Little Kindness Goes a Long Way

one pair of hands offering a large red heart to another

While a lot seems to be going on outside the walls this month, the Ainean priests are making sure that the end of their deity's reign is celebrated in the best way possible. They've decided to have a little event of their own, and are encouraging people - offworlders and natives alike - to act as Ainea herself would and be kind to one another. But not just any kindness, of course, but a "pay it forward" style of kindness. By doing favors for other characters or by finishing one of the tasks the priests ask of you, the temple priests will pray for Ainea to bless your character for the upcoming day. The favors other characters ask of yours can be decided between two players so long as it isn't a monetary exchange and it's something that could be considered kind (e.g. no "give me all your money" requests or "punch so-and-so as hard as you can for me" requests). To advertise a favor your character wants done, highlight it in your top-level with the label: Favor Requested. For those who want to do the priest provided tasks, please see the following:

Priest provided tasks: A Happy Talk, A Happy Tummy, A Happy Laugh

A Happy Talk: Talk to someone or multiple someones and ask them about a happy memory they have. Either write down or record their account on your communicator (with their permission, naturally!) to bring it to the Ainean priests. Always get permission from the people involved before recording or writing down their experiences though. Remember, the gods and priests are all about consent! The goal here is to help them relive a happy time in their life. Everyone likes to think back on the happy days, right? The priests sure hope so.
A Happy Tummy: Cook a meal for someone from replicator scratch - meaning you replicate all of the ingredients and then cook the meal itself, rather than just using one of the replicator settings to create a ready-made meal. Snap photos using your communicator to show your process and prove it's from scratch, then eat it with your friend and take a photo together to show you shared it. Bring your photos to the Ainean priests. A meal can be a single plate or multiple plates, but it should be large enough to be considered a meal and not a snack - meaning you can't just give someone a rice ball or an apple, that's not enough! But a stack of pancakes for breakfast or a filling sandwich for lunch and that would be pretty kind of you, or so says the priests.
A Happy Laugh: Record a video of yourself and some other offworlders (with their permission of course!) where you tell each other jokes and make each other laugh. Some old text somewhere said that laughter is the best medicine, so getting those good ol' guffaws out can only help you, right? Right! Bring your best comedy talents to the Ainean priests and show them how you all enjoyed yourselves to get their prayers for your blessing. No mean pranks or derogatory jokes may apply though. The priests want to see everyone laughing and enjoying themselves as Ainea would like.

Should you complete a favor for another character or a task for the priests, those blessings the priests prayed for turn out to be real! If you do as they ask, one of the following random blessings will find its way to you:

Choose one blessing per task/favor completed!

When you walk into a native-run store, you suddenly get showered with virtual confetti and a virtual banner swirls around you announcing with jarringly loud music that you've been randomly selected for a store gift. Congratulations! You can get a free gift of a small item from the shops or get a discount on your purchase for that day. Gifts can be things like free hair gel, a hair accessory to go with your outfit, a fun pen to go with your art supplies, a musical kazoo that also does a mini light show when you play it, etc. Have fun! If you're not sure if the gift you want to write is acceptable, please ask in the Mod Question thread below.
When you go to get something to eat or drink from your replicator, you'll hear a buzzing noise and suddenly get something completely different - and absolutely delicious! That food you've been missing from home? That drink you've been craving but haven't been able to get in ages? That's what pops out instead of your 100th plate of spaghetti. It tastes and looks just like you remember, and it's not something your replicator can normally produce on its own. How did this weirdly fortuitous mix-up happen? Who knows... The food or drink produced won't have any magical effects, and trying to get the food to come out again during the same blessing won't work. It seems like each incident is an isolated one.
The morning after you complete a task, you hear tiny squeaks and scratches at your door (bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, front door? it could be anything really!). Open it up to find a little gaggle of pink and purple mice there at your feet, looking up at you expectantly. These are the Ainean temple mice and once they're sure they have your attention, whether they have to squeak louder, tap on your toes, or tug on your shoelaces, they'll skitter off back to the temple and leave a little gift in their wake. These gifts are items found within Havenwell, but always seem to be just the right gift to fit your character. Are they fashion minded? Then they find a piece of pretty jewelry. Are they scientific geniuses? Have a little gasket or a scrap of metal that you've been needing for your latest project. A cook? Well, maybe you'll want to disinfect it first, but the Aellyn Remys have brought you a spice or a utensil you need for your kitchen. None of these items can be from home and must be able to be found within the city already.
Until your blessing ends, your house (or business, or just wherever you happen to go throughout the day) turns into the latest, greatest, cutest hotspot for local wildlife to hang. Enjoy the chittering of birds or the slitherings of the one-eyed lizards. Have fun watching the Diachtian crows hop about in your yard, turning over rocks and shiny objects, or pet some of those Ohman cats that never let you touch them before. See the lohpeh hop around in the street outside, and sun themselves on the cobblestones! The only creatures that seem immune to this are the Rawna dragonlings, who remain at their temple like always, and the wild ones outside the city walls. Once the blessing ends, the animals will go back from where they came. Trying to trap or capture them will end the blessing immediately, causing all of the animals to scatter. Just enjoy the view and live your D*sney princess life in harmony.

You can only have one blessing at a time. These blessings can't stack (i.e. no having Blessing 1 and Blessing 3 simultaneously) or compound (i.e. no getting 15 stores to give you things on the same day by doing 15 tasks), but you can do more than one task or favor and get different blessings on different days. Each blessing lasts for a minimum of 24 hours or a maximum of 48 hours after you finish the favor or task. You can choose the same blessing multiple times.

The priests are genuinely happy when they hear that their prayers have been heard, although the types of blessings that come are...unexpected to say the least. Still, they will encourage people to continue doing more and more tasks and favors to help Ainea through to the end of her calendar reign.

This event will run from May 15 to May 31. 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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

1

Lotor had always been an explorer, and when he realized that the immediate environment had changed so significantly, he couldn't help the surge of excitement that he knew he likely shouldn't be feeling.

The changes had caused the surroundings to become green and lush in ways he'd rarely seen, and the array of flora and fauna was enough to make him extremely happy.

But exploring was not all he could do. When the creatures became overtaken and turned to aggression, his sword was at the ready. Unfortunately, his hands did come into contact several times with the hides of such creatures...

If anyone would like to explore with him, or need some help defending against the creatures, he's happy to help.

2

The lab was the natural choice for Lotor, though he still made the time to explore and defend over the walls as well.

Still, his time cataloging was spent happily. Organizing information had always been something he'd been fond of.

Sickness

Due to his multiple contacts with the creatures, Lotor found himself feeling rather ill several times. As there were no healing pods in Havenwell, he was rather miserable, but pushed himself to continue to act as protector to the city and to the inhabitants within.

He can be found either at home with a high fever and other symptoms, or either unconscious in the jungle or stumbling through the undergrowth attempting to find safety.

When he'd set out to look for more spindly flower spiders, Kaito was prepared to run into a few surprises. Maybe he'd have to run away from definitely-not-a-bear. Maybe there'd be some poisonous goop he'd have to give a wide berth lest his friends beat him up for being reckless. Maybe, just maybe, he'd trip over a whole-ass person.

Somehow that last one was the least expected one, and yet! Here we were! Tripping over a whole-ass person!

"Whoa!" He exclaimed as he stumbled a bit, only to exclaim again more emphatically when he looked down at exactly what-- no, who he had stumbled over. "Whoa hey." Quickly shifting gears, Kaito dropped down next to the guy to press his palm carefully against his back.

"Hey, can you hear me?"

Lotor felt the pressure on his back and groaned. His ears were ringing, but he did hear the words...at least partially.

Rolling a bit to the side so he could be heard, he cleared his throat as best he could.

"I recommend you not get close - I am uncertain as to what this contagion may be."

What was that? Not get too close? No touchie?

The fact that he could roll over and speak was a good sign at least. "Phew." Kaito was going to promptly disregard the recommendation though, peering closely at him. Unfortunately, Kaito had to admit he was not completely sure if the purple and yellow were healthy shades or not. That just meant the fellow was going to get a palm carefully pressed against his forehead.

"You don't look goo'ed up though. Did you get into anything gooey?"

"I do not know what "goo" is."

It wasn't unpleasant, though a little short due to how terrible he felt.

"If you are asking whether the creatures touched me, I am unsure. But I always wear gloves and full armor..."

Honerva has been in need of distractions this month, but part of her incurring good will with some of the scientists for other projects involves agreeing to assist to some of the requested work, at least with labeling plants, minerals and florae and using their databases to determine if they've already been recorded in some way so that proper labeling can continue.

And it's nice, to be able to work on something at this sort of mild level in the scheme of things, with Lotor having an interest in working with her, it helps her be in a better mood despite her worries, plus there's something refreshing about uncovering the little details that make up an unknown world.

Although if Lotor is showing any signs of being unwell due to his adventuring, she'll be attentive to that first.

He was indeed showing signs of illness, though he was doing his best to hide them. He'd gotten rather good at that over the course of his life, and worrying Honerva and the others at the lab wasn't an idea he was terribly fond of.

Still, he felt well enough to be at the lab for several hours at least. Still, he was a bit slower than usual, and needed to keep asking Honerva for her assistance with labelling.

"I do apologize for bothering you, but...for which category would I label this?"

He was unable to tell if it was some sort of insect or a rather ornate species of plant.

Edited 2021-05-25 00:51 (UTC)

"You are never a disturbance to me."

As many times as she must say that when he does have a question, though she supposes she must at least look busy, for the screens of databases she has up before her to assist them in this endeavor.

She takes a look at the container he brings. Whatever is inside is unfamiliar, so it's hard to know where to begin the search.

"Is it living? We could search the database to see if there are any matching descriptions."

"Give it time; your opinion on that point may change rapidly."

It was said lightly and with a smile, though his attempts at humor were awkward as ever.

Upon examining the specimen again, he frowned slightly.

"I am uncertain, as it may well be living still if it is a type of flora. If it is a creature of any sort, it has not moved since being placed in the container during collection. When I found it, it was also in this state. I found the colors to be of interest."

He was rambling, he realized belatedly. Though he did his best to hide it, Lotor couldn't help but stumble a little as he moved to place the container within her reach.

"Those colors should be quite helpful as a description."

She focuses on the positive part of what he says instead of drawing attention to the more upsetting humor.

"If it does not appear within the plant database, we could broaden it to others. As much as there is a chance that it might be something new and yet uncategorized, due to the state of the world."

She glances back toward him as he moves to place the container, this time noticing the stumble, and her gaze turns concerned, ears shifting. Whatever work they were doing here was not more important than his well-being, in her opinion.

He was beginning to feel a bit woozy, but nodded at her intial statement anyway.

"Yes. Purples and blues on verdant green..."

He stopped abruptly when he remembered that she could easily see the colors for herself. She was looking at him in concern, and while he wanted to assure her that all was well he couldn't find it in himself to lie.

"Do forgive me, but I believe I may need to sit down if there is a stool available."

She inputs part of the description, but does not move to work further once he admits he needs to sit.

Finding a stool that would suffice would be another matter; the robots had little requirement of them, and it wasn't too often that they had otherworlders working in their labs to understand break requirements that some might seek.

"The ones here are not likely to be too comfortable." More like to have to use a large empty metal or plastic case to improvise. "If you are unwell, then this all can wait."

"It matters not. I simply do not wish to potentially fall and cause havoc."

It was terribly hard for him to admit - his father's empire had made a mockery and an example of weakness, and this was a prime example of something he'd have been executed for. But his head was spinning and he couldn't think...

They were a long way for the Empire and it's ways of handling perceived failures, how much they thrived on pushing on and outlasting, though such things only usually occurred to make a point.

Still, all of that was far from Honerva's mind. She'd been ill enough in this place to know the sort of toll something untreated could take, especially when someone was more inclined to hide it, whatever the reason. It was a lot for Lotor to even ask, but her priority was his well-being. She glances around, until finally spotting a set of sturdy, unused crates that might serve as a temporary seat.

"Here... lean upon me if you have a need. We'll get over to those crates by the wall."

"No."

The reply was quick and sharp, and though he was fighting waves of intense fatigue he shook his head.

"I apologize. I meant nothing personal. I simply do not know what this may be and I do not wish to risk infecting you should it be a contagion. Please keep a bit of distance. I shall manage."

Well. There were tables along the way he could lean against, at the least.

"I had thought myself capable of some work. I do not wish to worry you."

She does flinch at his refusal, ever mindful of his potential boundaries, though she yet remains within arm's reach as he moves to navigate himself toward the seats, should he sway regardless.

"... It would not be my first encounter with an illness of this world. If it is an illness from dealing with contagions from beyond the walls, contact usually is the best method to recovering, as much as the necessary rest, or an antidote to help ease symptoms. It is not something you need bear alone, in this place. The work does not matter so much."

He managed to notice her flinch despite his currently blurry vision, and felt even more awful.

"Hmm. Though that may be so, we cannot know how an unknown contagion spreads. I am not opposed to a steadying hand if you might be so kind, just... perhaps over my arm so as to lessen the chance of spread. Making you ill with me is not my goal."

But yeah, he was definitely swaying and needed it.

That seems a more reasonable compromise. She doesn't want him to worry about her, but she would be remiss if she simply stood by and did nothing while he was in such a state.

"We will take it one step at a time. First, ensuring that you are seated, so that we might assess more of the nature of this. Although I would rather prioritize that we go somewhere you can get proper rest in a quick and safe matter."

Which there were options for; fastest and her most preferred would be for her to ask Lup to help. She also didn't quite know where Lotor lived, or if he would be comfortable sharing that information. One step at a time, though; as soon as he gives permission for her to take his arm, she moves to take it, to help steady him.

"The room I occupy is in the Southern Marshes, though I fear I will not be able to walk it. I am content to rest here, however."

It wouldn't exactly be comfortable, but he'd experieced far worse. Still, Honerva's hand on his arm was comforting, though he was quite a bit taller than she was.

He gave it his best effort, but the vertigo and fatigue made him stop before they'd reached their goal. He had to fight the overwhelming urge to sleep as he spoke again, feeling light-headed and unable to connect his thoughts.

"I am so tired, Mother. I will rest here..."

Lotor | OTA

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