hugtopia_logs | ♥ June (Dianir) Event Log

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♥ June (Dianir) Event Log

a line of rounded streetlights with colorful flowering plants hanging from them

June (Dianir) Event Log
Ainea's time has ended and now Diacht's months have arrived. Dianir marks the beginning of the hot summer months with a rise in temperature as well as humidity. With each passing day, spring gives way to summer, and the natives of Havenwell are enjoying the blue skies along with the newly expanded barrier. With the most dangerous of the beasts gone thanks to offworlder help last month, researchers and conservationists head out on occasion into the newly opened areas to continue the work of cataloguing and preserving what they can find. Some take time to study the barrier and some just seem to enjoy being outside the walls for the first time in centuries. Meanwhile, the city within seems to have calmed from Ealom's excitement, settling into its usual routine with only a few…"hiccups."

❥ PROMPT I: Hana-hack-i

drawing of a girl sitting on the floor, covered in scattered flowers and flower petals

With the turning of the seasons, the weather warms up and Diacht's influence grows in strength. 'Tis the season to be honest with one another, because if you aren't, you may begin to feel a tickle in the back of your throat…

For those who have feelings repressed, secrets unaddressed, or maybe just won't confide in a friend when they're feeling depressed, the gods work in mysterious ways. Specifically, in the fact that the offworlders may find themselves coughing up flower petals. Whether petals of plantlife from Havenwell itself or another world entirely, the longer one goes without confessing their troubles or sentiments the more insistent their condition until they might even have trouble getting through a whole sentence without finding a corsage's worth stuck in their mouth. Speaking minor truths will lessen the effect a little at a time, while larger or more impactful ones will work to cure it completely.

While not painful or otherwise physically harmful, the affliction does feel awkward and very likely doesn't taste all that great. Not to mention it's going to be difficult to keep secrets when everyone can see you have a mouthful of flower.

❥ PROMPT II: Uproot of the Spirit

hearts made of different colors of yarn laid out on a wooden table

Those offworlders that have been present in Havenwell since the previous June may remember an outbreak of traits and desires not necessarily their own, reflecting the dominion of their associated god instead. With the return of the early summer season, so too do such urges begin to resurface--but not quite in the same fashion.

This time around, things are a bit different--adherents to one god may find themselves with any other god or gods' traits, with one or more applying at once, one and then another on different days, any multitude of combinations apart from those of the deity to which they belong. For example, one under Diacht may have the effects of Rawna one day and Ainea the next, or perhaps Ainea and Ohma both at once, but never contend with Diacht's influence. And while the previous year seemed to deal with the gods' animal natures, it seems this time things are a little different as people begin manifesting extreme versions of their gods' emotional domains.

Ohma: As the god of wisdom, Ohma's influence becomes a desperate and insistent need to exchange knowledge. The affected may ask friends and strangers all manner of questions, ranging from 'where did you get that shirt' to 'how do you like your eggs' and everything in between. In exchange, the affected also wish to share their own information on just about everything they know, whether the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow or the entire plot of a book they read that one time. They simply have to give and seek knowledge to and from whoever they can find.

Ainea: The influence of the god of compassion leads the affected to be almost aggressively kind. Complimenting every little thing those around them might say, do, wear--if it can be spoken kindly about, those under Ainea's influence will do so excessively and well past the point of obnoxious. So too might they feel a compulsion to give gifts to others--specifically, giving away the affected's own possessions. Once the effect wears off, one might even have to track down their new and old friends to get their more important things back...

Diacht: Honor and honesty being Diacht's domain, those affected by them will be incapable of lying. They will be compelled to not only speak the truth, but do so out of obligation no matter how awkward for them or the other party. Even if it means speaking a brutally honest opinion or divulging a carefully hidden secret, so long as the words are true to the affected speaker they will have the urge to share it. To tell a lie or general untruth will make them feel suddenly ill, dispelled only by speaking something truthful instead.

Rawna: Rawna's reasoning takes the forefront of their influence; anyone under their affect will be insistent upon hearing and soothing the emotional hurts of others. They are certain they need to be a listening ear or comforting shoulder to the absolute best of their abilities and beyond--that is to say, they will not only go out of their way to find others' problems, but potentially assume ones exist where they do not. Some dear friends haven't spoken in an entire day? Clearly they had a terrible fight, and it's up to Rawna's affected to fix it.

❥ PROMPT III: 'Cause I'd Get A Thousand Hugs

a painting of trees backlit by a full moon and covered in small lights

Yet another indication that the world is recovering is the reappearance of the Fairy Lights. As the weather turns warmer, these beautiful little insects take to the air for their mating dances at night, dimly and softly glowing like Earth's fireflies or lightning bugs. These tiny little bugs float through the air, flitting about as their bodies pulse with light. The Fairy Lights come in a multitude of colors from red to purple, turning the night into soft rainbows of light. They make their triumphant reappearance in two locations: the botanical gardens and the green belt that grew up where the old wall used to be. Their beautiful displays start once the sun goes down and stop at sunrise, and natives are delighting in their return by taking walks among them.

If offworlders follow suit, they'll notice that the Fairy Lights are attracted to those who come in pairs or more, especially those who engage in sustained positive contact with each other while among them. The Fairy Lights seem to enjoy it when people are touching and will land upon them, one of each color until a rainbow has formed - usually in a crown around the head. Once the rainbow crown of Fairy Lights is complete, that character will feel a pleasant calmness and a feeling of peace and happiness wash over them. For as long as you and your partner(s) are in contact, the Fairy Lights will stay and so will the peace they confer. Once contact is broken, one by one the little insects will fly away, off to find a new perch.

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

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"You--" Another fit brought more of those same red petals tumbling out of her mouth. Kyoko shook her head, shakily drawing back even as she kept searching the ground. Already this was absurd, but it was exactly as she'd feared. Which was why he needed to leave!

Even with the steady progression of this strange illness over the past couple weeks, it wasn't until very recently that the thought of actually spilling anything started to press on her mind. If it was just a cough and a mess, she could have managed, but now she was dangerous.

"Please--it's not--"

"It's important."

Overwhelmingly so, if she was choosing to stay and search instead of fleeing the scene. Kai kept his focus trained on the puddles of red as he carefully sifted through them, but it was hard not to notice the onslaught beside him. It was swiftly becoming more and more obvious that the anxiety moving on to his limbs was correctly placed after all.

He just didn't know what he did this time. (And honestly, he still didn't know what he had done any of the other times.)

So he was going to help with at least this much. Maybe it'd be better if he just got up and left right then and there, but he selfishly wanted to fix one problem he'd caused. Kai kept sifting through the soft petals until his fingertips brushed against something that was too smooth to belong there. He scooped the whole handful up, sitting back on his heels as he brushed the petals away.

It's not your fault, she had meant to say. Not his responsibility, and not something she wanted him to worry over, not ever.

But she couldn't say any of it, even as the coughing fit petered out. Something seemed to be stuck in her throat, but not flowers this time. All she could do was bite her lip and stare with watery eyes as Kaito sorted through the mess to find her treasure.

And there it was after all. There wasn't enough light to catch all the nuances of its deep blue, but Kyoko knew the shape and the glint of it immediately.

Her head dipped, a shaky breath easing out of her, along with one last petal. "... Thank you."

It was a pretty stone. At this angle, he could see the faint, swaying reflections of the fairy lights dancing on its surface like light on a deep, calm stream. Maybe he was just remembering the stream though, and how treasured this little guy had been then too.

Kai didn't say anything as he shuffled next to her. There was just the warmth of his hand as he reached out for hers. He gingerly drew it up, ever so carefully placing the stone in her hand and curling her fingers around it. There it was, safe and sound.

Reaching out and snatching it from his hand would have felt too mean, but this option left her quivering. Once her hand was closed around the stone, she paused a moment--just a small one--before drawing that fist back to her chest.

"Thank you," she said again, because she needed to make sure he heard it, and because those were the only words that felt safe right now. But Kaito deserved more than that, so after a moment, she shifted awkwardly, and tried.

"I'm sorry." Honest words that came out easily. "I think... I've kinda been a pain lately."

Kai had scooted back a bit to let her have her space after that, assuming a rather delinquent crouch so he could bail the moment she told him to get lost. That's sort of what he was expecting? So when it was just more thanks and apologies he was just a whole different kind of lost again.

"... Wouldn't call it a pain," Kai said as he rubbed the back of his head. The rubbing came to a slow and he sighed, making a vague flick of a gesture towards the sea of red strewn across the grass.

"How long has it been this bad?"

"I don't know," Kyoko admitted, before realizing he was talking about the flower situation and not the cause of it. Of course. Jeez, she was already slipping up this much, and they'd barely started talking. What was she gonna do if she couldn't bring herself to tell him to leave?

Pulling her knees back up to her chest, Kyoko half hid her face behind them, arms wrapping around her legs again. "It'll probably end pretty soon, though. It's already been this long, right?"

"Kyoko..."

Neither of those were good answers! Kai's brows furrowed as he watched her close herself off. Why was this always so hard. All he wanted to do was take away some of her hurt, but he never knew what would actually work.

"You're supposed to let me help if things go too bad, remember?"

"Th-that's not fair! I didn't disappear!" Kyoko protested, squeezing her legs as she lifted her head a bit. She was sweating, but hopefully that wouldn't be easy to see in the dim light. "I made sure! So you don't have to worry this much! Besides, can't I come home a little late once in a while?"

Was he really gonna say she'd broken her promise over an instance like this? She didn't wanna hurt him, but come on! She'd tried so hard!

"That part's fine. You can do whatever but... C'mon, Kyoko, you can't say this hasn't gotten kinda extreme."

Staying out late wasn't the problem. Grieving alone and producing an entire florist shop when there were probably better options was the problem. Maybe she hadn't disappeared, but that didn't mean she was present either.

"It's been way longer than a day, hasn't it?"

"They're just flowers," was the easiest counter. How could flowers be extreme? Truly this was not a big deal! Nobody was dying! Definitely not worth divulging secrets that would wreck a perfectly good situation, and possibly become hated!

"I could take another month or six or sev--" Urk, hang on, gotta cough up some more roses.

Kai winced slightly before he just gave her a very pointed Look. Expunging flowers from your lungs wasn't normal, Kyoko. It was not a Good Thing. Did she know for 100% fact that no one was dying? It certainly sounded like a wretched affair either way.

"Why do that when you could just talk to me?"

"I am talking to you," she wheezed. Just a couple more petals, there. "I've been talking about all kinds of things for weeks. It can't be helped if that wasn't enough."

It was true, she'd done an awful lot of oversharing on many topics lately. You'd think it would be enough! Why couldn't she keep just this one thing to herself!

"Some things just have to stay a secret no matter what, and that's it!"

"You know that's not how it works."

It could for a little while, sure. It obviously had done enough to keep whatever was lurking inside her at bay for a while. When it came down to it though, things like having a job in a chicken suit weren't the kinds of emotional bonds Havenwell liked to try and coax out of people. The things she'd been saying were not the things that would drive her out at night to cry alone under the fairy lights.

"I'm not... I'm not gonna make you do anything, y'know. I just.." Kai shrugged, driving an anxious hand through his hair. He hated this. The only good thing about having always been on his own before was that he'd never had to deal with these new puzzles of emotions he just couldn't put together. What was he even supposed to do here. He really wanted to hold her. The thought made his fingers curl that much tighter in his hair.

"Hate knowing you're hurting like this."

"I'm--" not hurting was what she was supposed to say, but there was such a fiercely anxious opposition from the pit of her stomach all the way out to her trembling fingers, that she had to stop. She could almost feel more flower petals tickling the back of her throat.

And anyway, she knew it was useless after all, didn't she? Kaito might not have her figured out exactly, but he did understand her. Flimsy little lies wouldn't be any good here.

"I'm sorry," was what she managed to get out after a moment, and then quickly, very softly, "you weren't supposed to know at all."

He'd expected a little bit more push back then that. Just being told he was right didn't feel good when this was the thing he was right about. There wasn't any validation here, just a whole lot more ache in his chest.

"You shouldn't have to keep that from me," Kai muttered quietly, staring down at all the evidence of just how much it'd been tucked away, whatever it might have been. This was something he would have wanted to know? So he could try... something?? He was the one that should have been apologizing, probably? For whatever it was he'd done to shake he trust they'd had. The fact that he couldn't trace it back to anything that seemed like a problem was baffling.

She shouldn't have had to keep it secret, but she tried anyway. Maybe she just didn't trust him in the first place. That seemed.. wrong, but he was grasping at straws.

Kai took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "So. What do you want me to do now?"

He could listen. He could leave. There were a lot of things he could be doing, but it all came down to her.

What did she want Kaito to do?

Tell him to leave the reasonable part of her, the part that still believed she could salvage everything if she just lasted through this flower nonsense, urged. But the nagging wish to tell him what was in her heart, that had driven her all the way out here in the first place, was screaming.

What did she want Kaito to do?

Be happy, be hers, forget about her, hold her--

"--Just forgive me."

Oh. That came out really abruptly, huh.

"I... said something mean to Shinji earlier. I'll make it up to him, but... it's better if you just think about him right now."

Pushing him away again, huh.

"He thinks he did something to upset you." Kai rocked himself up on to his feet. "And you think you said something mean. I was already looking for you, but he asked me to come check on you."

If anyone could have gotten what was wrong out of her, Kai had been sure it would have been Shinji. That obviously hadn't worked. Of course Kai was worried about him too, he knew how things got sometimes. They were both worried about Kyoko tho, so getting at least some kind of headway with that was bound to help everything...??

That was his hope as Kai moved to crouch right in front of her, leveling that earnest golden stare at her.

"You're already forgiven, Kyoko."

Kyoko blinked, eyes going wide with those revelations, and then even wider when Kaito moved in close. Oh no. She'd thought he would leave after that, but this was something different altogether.

Her heart sure had some nerve, kicking up into high gear even at a time like this.

Without her permission, Kyoko's mouth opened--she held her breath, desperate to block the words that wanted to flood out. Change the subject, she told herself weakly, deflect, redirect, think of something else, anything--

But with those bright eyes so near, so steady and intent on hers, there could be nothing else.

"I--"

She slammed her head down into her knees, hard.

Her knees?

Or... his hands?

While it was comforting to know his reaction time was still pretty good, this had not been the kind of scenario Kai was expecting to test it in! He'd lunged forward before he fully processed what was happening, narrowly sliding in there and

wow. If those hurt, imagine what her head would have felt like. "Hey!"

"Uah!"

There would have been some natural recoil even if she'd just managed to concuss herself--not that that had been an actual goal, but she would have welcomed it in hindsight--but Kaito's hands in her face sent her even further back, unfurling until her back hit the tree. After a moment, her head clunked gently against it too.

"Wah," she gasped after another stunned moment, "what--what the heck! Don't do that!"

"That's my line!" He shot back fiercely, but it was all worry in his bark.

"The hell are you trying to hurt yourself for?!"

"I wasn't trying to! It was a reflex, a reflex!!" At least she could string all these sentences together without any adverse effects. "I panicked!"

More importantly, your hands, Kaito! Rolling forward into a kneel, Kyoko jammed her stone into her pocket, and grabbed at his wrists. "Aaah, could I have broken them with that?!"

Kyoko that was an absolutely abysmal reflex. He'd know. The fact that she was that panicked in the first place made him a bit sick to his stomach.

Here he'd been drawing his hands back to himself so no one had to add any more complicated touching feelings into the mix, but she caught him instead. "No," he said, even though the possibility was real. Adrenaline was doing its thing, so he really couldn't tell just yet.

"They'll just be ugly tomorrow, its fine."

Too occupied--finally--to worry about touch or all the danger running rampant right now, Kyoko stared down at Kaito's hands with a sharp frown, though her eyes were still wide with worry.

"It's not fine! Can you move them? Does it hurt too much? Wiggle every finger!"

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