♥ October (Lasohm) Event Log

[hugtopiamods]

October (Lasohm) Event Log

Lasohm brings with it a familiar chill and a dash of increased precipitation, as the city prepares itself for the coming winter season. Best practice is to go out with a jacket or sweater to avoid those goosebumps! Or don't and be cold, we won't judge. The wind carried over from last month doesn't help matters any, though at least the rest of the city is quiet and placid for the most part, as if entering an electronic hibernation. That peace is sure to last, right? Not like anything bad ever happens in Lasohm.

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❥ PROMPT I: In Brightest Day...

As the month carries on, residents of Havenwell may wake up one morning to find that if they possess any superhuman abilities or powers, these have become notably difficult to access or control for a while. However, with this odd fluctuation comes markings on one's hand, wrist, or arm in one of five colors. Though the color may change (as often or as rarely as player discretion dictates), it's always one color at a time. These markings glow when focused upon, giving one the ability to manifest powers made of light in a matching color. Cast projectiles, form hardlight weapons, the only limit appears to be one's imagination. (...And reason. Probably no orbital cannons.)

However, they come with the usual condition; the power granted is more easily used when in physical contact with another, and specific colors also have further complications...

♥ Red markings can be found on those that may feel particular frustration at the time or are predisposed to anger. Red energy is wild and difficult to control, risky to use unless the marked character talks through something that may be upsetting them while in physical contact with another.

♥ Yellow markings appear on the nervous or fearful, and the energy refuses to function as if afraid to emerge itself. Similar to red, it will only begin to work if the affected character admits to something they fear (no matter how big or small) while engaging in contact.

♥ Blue markings at first seem to have no correlation with the disposition of who they appear upon, and it may seem to anyone keeping track that they manifest completely at random. Utilizing blue energy may seem weak at first; projectiles may fizzle out, manifested weapons might be too small or even break, but it soon becomes clear that its strength is directly proportionate to how optimistic the marked character may feel at the time. Anyone with a blue marking might do well to seek out those that make them feel hopeful, if they want to use it at full strength.

♥ Indigo markings tend towards individuals with compassion in their hearts; while the power functions with little difficulty, it is only slightly more usable than blue energy at its weakest. Though this may seem inefficient and even useless, it will quickly be discovered that indigo energy becomes immensely powerful specifically when used to protect, aid, or otherwise benefit someone other than the user themselves.

♥ Violet markings, similarly, seem weak at first glance; however, they become stronger when the marked character is in proximity to someone they love. Whether familial, platonic, romantic--the specific kind of love is irrelevant. And perhaps as expected, it reaches its full power when the marked individual is in contact with their friend/family/significant other.

❥ PROMPT II: Rumble in the Bronze

Rumble rumble rumble.

What is that? An earthquake? Construction? A hungry neighbor with a megaphone?

Whatever it is, you'll hear and feel that periodically over the first couple weeks. At first it's mild and starts around the mineshaft and forge, like a subway train passing under you, but as the days go by, it grows in intensity until midway through the month.

That's when the first of them bursts up through the ground. Worms. They vary in size and shape but not in diet. They come up through the rocks and it's clear, when investigated, that these were not dug into. There's a distinct marking through them to show that these were chewed through. At first, they only seem to be eating a lot of rocks, even stone buildings might have a good bite or two taken out of them. Peeking in might find some of the massive worms all curled up inside. They might also being curled around the buildings, twisting and gnawing, the sound of them chewing like gravel scraping over stone.

Eventually though, the minerals in stone aren't quite enough for these greedy grubs. Metals also share some mineral traces with stone, and vice versa. A few unfortunate natives were in a few of the buildings that were completely devoured before they could evacuate and the taste of them was like a fine seasoning. Or dessert. And even monstrous worms aren't immune to wanting dessert over a proper meal…

Now might be a good time to try out those new powers everyone seems to be getting. For some reason, they're more effective against the worms than any abilities otherwise available, though residents are welcome to fight in whichever way they feel comfortable.

❥ PROMPT III: A Little Help Here?

With the chaotic arrival of the worms comes another troubling development. The priests and pious adherents who have been glitching out over the past few weeks suddenly and abruptly break down completely as the worms take over the city. The lights in their casings flicker on occasion, but they stop moving of their own volition and are completely unresponsive when interacted with. Other natives will be desperately trying to escape the worms themselves, so they just may not have the bandwidth or ability to fight off the worms to save the unfortunate robots. This is where you can come in, offworlders!

For those who cannot or would not fight the worms, they can still help out by directing these lost souls to safety. When pushed or pulled, the inert natives will begin moving, but as soon as any outside direction is lost, they stop again. Moving the natives out of harm's way and making sure that they aren't all gathered into one spot (after all, that's just like setting up a buffet invite for the voracious worms!) may just be a full time job while the siege is underway. On occasion, if a worm finds its way to these pockets of defenseless natives, people can try to fight them off or call on others for help.

The only place that won't help? The research towers. Once the worms invaded the city, they seem to have decided it's a problem for everyone else and have completely locked down their towers with the null shield seen previously during the tower assault. Even the worms don't seem to be able to penetrate the barrier, try as they might. And so long as the shields are up, no one gets in or out.

Finding safe shelter may be difficult, too, as the worms destroy roads and buildings everywhere, so those who can't direct natives may find it more helpful to clear roads of debris or patch up buildings so they can survive this onslaught. There's no telling how long this will last...

❥ PROMPT IV: How It Ends Depends on You

The city is breaking, the research towers have abandoned the pious to the whims of their gods, and those gods don't seem to be responding to the cries of Havenwell's people. The natives are distraught and, despite the offworlders' best efforts, there's no end in sight to the worms pouring out of the earth. ...or is there?

How the event concludes will depend on you! That's right, you! Those characters who feel like they have a deeper or stronger connection to their assigned gods will feel a vague sense of desperation in the back of their minds, like a weak tug crying for attention. Whether they listen or not is up to them, of course, and if the call is ignored, it fades away and does not return. Those who do listen, however, will get a sense that they need to start gathering people, natives (both active and inactive) and offworlders alike, in a single location: the Town Square. It may be dangerous to have everyone out in the open like that, but the strong impression of a mass of people in the square is what comes through before the feeling fades entirely.

Does your character listen? Do they obey the message and work to direct people to the square? Would your character follow the directions and gather themselves and others? Let us know down below in the comments here. Responses will be collected until October 14th at 11:59:59PM EST. If your character has not responded by then, it will be assumed that they ignored the message and/or did not follow the directions.

For those who gather in the square, feel free to discuss on this post what your characters would do in there. Please keep any major discussion of what your characters would do in the square here so that everyone in the game can see it. A discussion toplevel has been posted HERE.

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This event will run from October 15-31. 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!

Comments

[hedgehogsdilemma]

He's going to trust that she's fine, they probably wouldn't be able to run so vigorously in the first place if either of them were too terribly injured anyway.

But as he keeps his attention outward, he's wound so tightly that even that little brush to his hand sends a shock through him, jolting back in surprise as though there's some chance that it was one of those worms that snuck up on him instead of Kyoko. Jeez, Shinji, get it together...!

"I'm sure you're right," he says, a sigh riding through on one of those steadying breaths. "I just... I don't know that I can relax, just yet."

[daikonrose]

When he jumps, she quickly draws her hand away, biting her lip. Ah, what should she do at a time like this? It's not like she can expect him to relax, after all. She can't even promise to protect him, no matter how much she'd like to.

"Kaito," is what she finds herself saying softly. "I--I'm going to message him."

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Kaito...! That's not a bad idea - maybe if he has a spare moment, he can help cart these robots off to safety while they go off in search for more, if Kyoko wants. He's sure that he wouldn't blame her if she wanted to ride off with him to whatever safe destination there is to be found, though. Maybe that's her plan...? We'll see, we'll see.

"Alright," he answers, distant rumbling setting every last one of his muscles on edge once more. "I'll keep an eye out."

[daikonrose]

Certainly, it would be nice to have Kaito's help with robot transportation, but Kyoko is thinking at least as much of how good it would surely be for Shinji to see him right now. Not to mention, she's been anxious to make sure he's okay, with all of this worm chaos going on.

So Kyoko nods, and pulls out her tablet to tap out a message. "... Should I tell him something from you, too?" she pipes up softly.

[hedgehogsdilemma]

He glances back over his shoulder for a moment, like he wasn't expecting the question and wanted to make sure he'd heard her correctly. Ah... what to say to him?

He takes a second to think it over, memories of how Kaito was acting during the last creepy-crawly invasion flashing through his head. Hopefully he wouldn't be putting himself in any danger if he could help it at this point, but...

"Tell him... to drive safe, and not do anything reckless."

[daikonrose]

"I'll tell him," she nods, fingers scurrying.

Where are you right now?? I'm with Shinji and some priests in that park with the nice tree we sat under. Can you make it here very soon?

Shinji says to drive safe and not do anything reckless, and you should definitely listen to him!

After sending the message off, Kyoko sighs a little, worrying her lip as she glances up at Shinji again. "I wonder if he'll actually see it anytime soon, though."

[hedgehogsdilemma]

"I hope so..." There's no reason to think he wouldn't have his communicator on him, but if he's busy trying to contend with something harrowing... Ugh, no, he's going to try and not think about that too hard right now, there's not a whole lot more Shinji can really handle at the moment with everything they're already dealing with. All he can do is hope that Kai can make it to them with no trouble.

Rumble rumble

"I don't want to have to move from here before he sees it." No reason to send him on some kind of chase for them if they have to scram and don't have time to send a follow-up message.

[whenyouneedme]

Not that that would have been a problem. The dog in question would willingly scour the entire city if he had to.

There was another small rumble, but this one was localized to Kyoko's hand.

omw

[daikonrose]

The suddenness of that very tiny rumble made her jump, letting out a small "oh!" Quickly, she sent Shinji a look--had she startled him? Holding up the tablet briefly, she nodded. "That's him! Thank goodness--"

There was a tiny easing of her shoulders as she read the message, but then she frowned. "He's coming, but that guy--tch. He didn't even answer my question about where he is. What if we do have to move before he gets here, you know?"

[hedgehogsdilemma]

That was fast! The 'Oh!' doesn't startle him too much, even with how tense he is otherwise. He sends a quick glance back over his shoulder before returning is focus to their surroundings. "Good... that's good."

Maybe a little less good, when she mentions that he didn't give them that sort of important information, but that's not terrible, either. "Maybe he didn't want to spend too much time typing it out?" If he wants to get here fast, a short message is best! Don't text and drive, Kai!! "We'll just have to hold down here for as long as we can."

Easy, right? Just as long as no worms spot their poor, defenseless robot companions and decide to slither in for a snack.

[daikonrose]

"Maybe, but..." Kyoko's frown deepens a little, turning to look towards the trees. "I asked him for a reason, you know?" It's important information! The possibility of their needing to move was just one potential situation that would necessitate knowing where he was coming from--and what if the reason he hadn't given her more than three letters was because he was actively dealing with worms right now? That would be understandable! But there's no way of knowing! This really sucks, wow!

"He'd better hurry up," she grumbles, but there's no bite in it at all. "So I can scold him."

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Don't scold him too hard, Kyoko, not that Shinji's too worried about her being seriously upset with how toothless that threat was.

"Yeah, he should get here quickly." Shinji has no plans to scold him if Kyoko has it covered, but the sooner Kai gets here, the better. Especially if those rumbles keep up. "We'll just have to do our best and make sure we won't have to run, either."

Shinji, at least, will do whatever he needs to... it would be so much easier to feel confident about that if he could figure out the secret to getting those powers to behave for him again. Another flex of his hand, so woefully empty, as he continues to scan the immediate area for any threats.

[daikonrose]

"Mm." It's quiet for another moment or two, and when Kyoko is satisfied that there are no worms on the immediate horizon, she soon returns her gaze to Shinji. Her frown softens, and she hesitates a moment, before carefully piping up.

"I... it sounds silly when I say it out loud, but I kinda wonder if maybe this is another situation that calls for touching, somehow or other."

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Touching... seems like it might be kind of a hinderance in this situation, doesn't it? Running around and fighting with their hands linked would just be dangerous for both of them, but... but maybe. It wouldn't be the weirdest thing thrown at them in Havenwell, or even about the present situation.

"We can try," he answers, his voice softer with the consideration. It's a good idea, Kyoko. Sorry he's been so distracted, but he does appreciate her input. His hand gets one more antsy squeeze before he turns his attention back toward Kyoko and reaches out toward her. "As long as you're okay with it."

[daikonrose]

If she knew his thoughts, Kyoko would have to agree--it sounds silly and inconvenient to her even now. But that hasn't stopped it from being the solution before. That's the reasoning Kyoko is sticking to, so she doesn't hope too hard that it might also offer a moment or two of reassurance for either of them.

Nodding, she stands up before slipping her hand into his. "As long as we have a quiet moment or two, we should at least try and see if it should be ruled out, right?"

[hedgehogsdilemma]

How nice would that be, if they were to take some extra solace from it? Imagine.

Or maybe they don't need to imagine. Kyoko's hand in Shinji's has come to bring him a gentle feeling of reassurance, and he holds on to it firmly as if letting her slip away is going to cause everything else to crumble around them.

It also happens to help in... some kind of more 'magical' way, giving Shinji a heightened feeling of something, though mostly like a something that doesn't actually have an outlet. But, no, patience is usually the key with touch magic, right?

"We'll be fine here," he comments, as much an assurance to himself as it is to her.

[daikonrose]

Holding Shinji's hand has been easy and pleasant for a while now, and there really is something soothing about it in this moment. If it sparks up anything extra inside her today, she doesn't notice--she's almost forgotten about the yellow light glowing on her hand, in the midst of all this chaos.

"Mm," she nods slightly, though she knows they can't rely on that to be true. "They probably can't sneak up on us, I would think."

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Probably.

But what if they did, he can't help but think. What if one of those worms slithered right up behind them to take advantage of that easy robo-snack they've left partially vulnerable? Maybe quietly? Maybe under the cover of other rumbles? What if one of them just comes up from behind them so fast they don't have time to react when they realize it?

He takes a deep, steadying breath as he tries to shoo all of those thoughts from his head, letting it out in a shaky exhale. Don't be ridiculous, Shinji, is this really any more frightening that things you've dealt with before? Never mind that he's completely unequipped to face this kind of threat, what's important is that he manages to keep his head on as straight as possible, since there are other people at risk here. He's done it before. This shouldn't be any problem.

"Right," he says eventually, giving her hand a firm squeeze as he does. Nobody's sneaking up on them today, probably. "And... we can get these guys to safety quickly with Kai's help."

Nice and reassuring, right?

[daikonrose]

It's true, there's no way of really knowing what else might go wrong. Maybe the worms have stealth abilities they haven't noticed yet. Maybe there are other monsters lurking, waiting to pop up. There's really nothing to do except deal with what's already at hand, though.

"Mm," she nods. "He'll be able to get them somewhere else better than we can, and then--and then we can deal with the worms together, without worrying about them." That's not true really, the worry won't go away. But the thought of Kaito having his bike to speed away on is the most comforting thing Kyoko has to cling to right now.

[hedgehogsdilemma]

"You want to deal with them together?"

He had been kind of attached to the idea of her wanting to zip away to safety with the rest of the haul sitting behind them, or at the very least sending her off with Kai so that she could stay safe with him. She couldn't possibly want to go on the offensive with these worms still causing havoc, could she...?

"You don't have to, you can go off to safety with the others."

[daikonrose]

"Huh?" Shinji... does he really think she'd be okay with just leaving him alone at a time like this? Does he think Kaito would be fine with that? Kyoko frowns.

"I mean, obviously we're both gonna run to safety and avoid those things wherever they pop up." Any kind of 'dealing with' beyond that, though a possibility they can't ignore, is a last resort as far as Kyoko's concerned. "But there's no way I can get on Kaito's bike while you're still on the ground, you know?"

[hedgehogsdilemma]

He's trying to be pragmatic! Wouldn't it be smarter to leave the actual Dealing With part of this plan to someone who has some kind of experience with Big Monster Dealings? While those who don't ferry others to safety?

"You've seen the kinds of things that were in my world," he counters, brows furrowing and voice low as if speaking about it too loudly would summon something of that magnitude, or even just one of the worms. There's another squeeze of her hand, perhaps not an entirely intentional move, as his nerves pull taut once more. "I can't be totally helpless in this situation. If you want to take the ride to safety, you should."

[daikonrose]

Kyoko's frown deepens even as he eyes soften. "Shinji..."

She has had a glimpse of the kind of things he'd had to deal with in his world, and it's all the more reason to stay with him now. Squeezing his hand tighter in return, she dips her head a bit, making sure he meets her eyes fully, at least for a moment. "It's not that I think you're helpless... but I just can't stand the thought of leaving you alone with monsters. I won't do it."

[whenyouneedme]

No one liked the idea of leaving anyone alone with monsters. Nobody at all, and there were bound to be some more words about that soon enough.

But first, another rumble. This one was almost soft in comparison to all the others. Nearly gentle, possibly familiar, and approaching swiftly. It wasn't long before the first real hint of it that familiar streaks of black and gold were closing in. The big dummy was there, flying over. No sooner had Kai halted the bike than he had jumped from it.

Here he came, swiftly descending upon them to pull them both into a hug.

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Whoa-!! Here comes One Boy, shocking the Other Boy while scooping him and The Girl up in a hug.

"Kai-!" There you are! Finally!! There's still a switch in Shinji's head that can't quite flip into finding much solace with this hug, other than the relief of knowing that Kai's still largely unhurt. He's still too keyed up, and only returns the hug as far as bringing his free hand up to rest lightly at Kai's back. "Are you okay? You're not hurt at all, are you?"