hugtopia_logs | ♥ October (Lasohm) Event Log

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♥ October (Lasohm) Event Log

a cloudy sky colored in pastel blues and pinks

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.

❥ PROMPT I: In Brightest Day...

seven glowing lights in the dark, each one colour of a rainbow

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

a rock worm emerging from the ground in a cloud of dust

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?

an unmoving robot with flashing blue lights sitting in the dark

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.

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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Some of that is familiar to him, other aspects completely alien. He's no stranger to the critical eyes of society being on him, the expectation of perfection, the fear of failing to meet the demands of a role he never asked for. His father loved and indulged him, but the council was strict, their demands harsh. Had Regis not protected him from all but their grumbling, his life would have been much, much worse. And growing up he'd been in danger from the Niffs, the daemons, occasional covert threats, not (for the most part) his own people. It makes him think of the night that a drunken Lucian had come at him with a broken bottle, cursing the royal family, of Gladio knocking the man down and nearly losing an eye for it. How would he feel, if that had been a threat any time, anywhere? From his people, his family? Scary to think about.

His eyes close, and his voice is quiet as he responds,]

Nobody's perfect. But everybody deserves a family, I think. It isn't supposed to be about you being good enough- that shouldn't be a question at all, for anyone.

[ He's right. She knows this, and yet it's hard not to question if she deserves all of the wonderful things she has. ]

I will keep working on believing it with confidence. It's been more of a struggle since Alphinaud and Alisaie woke up.

[ Which would also explain why she was feeling particularly unsure of herself during Noct's near-death experience. ]

...I'm sorry I couldn't do more for you, Noct. I should have tried to stay there with you for longer.

It's okay. Not like I would've been awake for it, anyway...

[He'd slept for hours and hours; he'd barely been conscious for long enough to get a visit from his father and Ardyn, nevermind anyone else. It'd taken him days to be self-aware enough to look around the room and find clues, or realize he needed to follow-up on those texts he can't recall sending. Hell, there are still days where he struggles with something that used to come easily, or sleeps longer than he ever would (and that's a lot, considering it's him). It's hard to say whether her visit would have done much for him during the worst of his recovery process. He was thinking more about her benefit, than his own. And some visits (he hopes) had helped Pyra, but he can't imagine the two of them would take much comfort from one another.

Speaking of, though...]

Just- next time, don't hide it. Don't ask people to lie about it, either. You thought it was to stop us from worrying, but did you not realize it could make someone believe you didn't care?

[If he hadn't checked in - if he hadn't found the scale - he might not have known. Pyra had been told not to share it. If he'd asked her, she would've had to lie outright, or defy Era's request. So... what? He'd go on believing that he'd sent a request for help and Era had opted to ignore it entirely? He's... really not sure how he'd have followed up on that one. But it would have stung quietly in the background, maybe for a long time.]

I never asked her to lie, just not to tell you. [ She mumbles, glad to be hugging him still as it means he can't see the expression on her face. ] ...I didn't. I was only thinking of what a burden my visit would be to you, if you knew what it did. You were going to have enough on your mind. You didn't need that, too.

C'mon, you know better. Lies of omission are still a thing- I'm enough of an expert to recognize that.

[He does it all the time, he knows it's bad. But he doesn't like it coming between him and his loved ones unnecessarily.]

Just think about it. All of this. It's all I'm asking.

If you'd asked it would have been answering, not telling.

[ When she's particular about words and phrasing she is infuriatingly particular and she is well aware of it.

She also knows that 'lies of ommission' are what have the twins so angry with her... ]

If you almost die again and I arrive to help you I'll let Carbuncle stay until you wake up.

[He rolls his eyes.]

If you blame that on her misinterpreting you, I'm walking out.

[She should know better than that. What a flimsy excuse.]

I will try not to almost die again, though. Getting kinda tired of it. No promises, we all know that would fall flat.

[ She rolls her eyes as well, though she still can't see his face and he can't see hers. ]

What blame on what? I don't know or care what she did or didn't do, and not freely giving information without prompting isn't the same as lying. [ An irritated huff, because she's feeling a bit uncomfortable now, thinking back on the jumble of days and nightmares she can barely remember. ]

...I will do my best to be better, but...no matter what I do or don't do it will never be from a lack of care, alright?

And if I almost die again just make sure to visit Hythlo. [ Speaking of whom, the little chick has long since wandered off to visit more of his friends, leaving Peki to lay his neck and head on the blanket, pointedly ignoring both her and Noct. ] You've no more competition as his favourite since Alisaie slapped his 'Papa' in front of him.

[He exhales heavily and draws back from the hug at that, rubbing at his forehead. Seriously... things still feel too high-strung to start an argument over this, but an agree-to-disagree sentiment is wrong, here. He's not okay with this. Getting weird with semantics doesn't make the dishonesty acceptable, especially when he already knows how Pyra feels about secrets.]

What, does that habit run in the family? I guess he had it coming, though.

[ Era can tell she's said something that aggravates him somehow, but honestly is not in the state of mind to really care at the moment. Especially as he pulls away because, despite it hardly being a sudden gesture, it takes some effort to reorient herself. The reminder of her situation is like a punch to the gut (or a kick to the head). ]

I don't slap people across the face. That's disrespectful. I punch them instead.

[ The slap is still something that angers her, no matter how much Hades was owed one. ]

I... scolded her. She seemed shocked and angry I was upset with her for it. I don't allow violence inside of my house, but told her outside was fine. I don't think she understood me.

[ Era rubs at her face, tired in every sense of the word. She does her best to ignore the pain in her head but it's difficult. She finally shoves her hood down so she can feel less suffocated and takes a deep breath of chilly autumn air. ]

I don't think anything any of us could have told them would have helped the situation, so I just... didn't bother trying.

Or use your tail.

[Pointedly. He shifts his position so he's sitting on the opposite side as before, so she doesn't scrape her busted wound on him by accident. Just in case.]

If you were gonna tell them anything, it would've had to come before they coma'd it up. I dunno if that would've helped any... I think it did for me, with Ardyn, but it's hard to say for sure how universal that could be. Hard to truly hate someone until you experience what they're capable of.

[It's less hard to forgive them after the fact, if you've seen them at their best ahead of time. The twins weren't here for a long time beforehand, like he was.]

If I'd slapped you proper you'd've known it. [ Her tail is far more powerful than her arms, after all. She's quite proud of how well she can control the strength of her favoured appendage. ]

I'd been planning on telling them soon, but they went home before I could. There wasn't much I would have been able to with them, either. Just that Hades was an Ascian.

They're mad I didn't tell them what we all knew, but I wasn't going to burden them with a future they couldn't change. And even I was... I didn't want to have to relive it all again by telling them. I don't think that I could.

[ There are still nightmares more often than she'd care to admit. Ones that leave her cold, shaking, and breathless, desperate for a reminder that what happened was in the past and everyone was safe and sound in the present.

She doesn't think she could be capable of retelling the events of the First to them. Not without that creeping sense of panic. The phantom echoes of indescribable agony. The fear of losing her family.

As much as she likes to believe it was to spare the twins the weight of an inevitable future, Era knows a large part of her silence stems from a selfish desperation to avoid reliving that trauma.

She sighs, resting her forehead on her knees again. ]

...I'm sorry. You've enough on your mind.

[ It was easier to ignore the heaviness of everything when she could still go out saving natives and slaying worms. Being so idle has always been misery for her. In theory she knows she could continue with her magic with relative safety, but that would be unfair to the ones left worrying for her safety and so she keeps herself confined. ]

Have you eaten enough?

You keep changing the subject like that, I'm gonna get whiplash.

[He leans over a bit, bumping her shoulder with his.]

I'm fine. You're worrying about the inconsequential shit again. Don't you have enough on your mind?

Offering a change of subject gives you control over whether or not to continue with it, which makes me feel less anxious during conversation.

[ Since she's being honest and all. In response to the shoulder bump she shifts her tail so it rests against his leg. ]

It's hardly inconsequential when they haven't spoken to me since. I still need to tell them of my injury, but am not sure of the best way to do. They still need distance from me and I don't want this to interfere.

Inconsequential was my eating habits, you dork.

[This is half the reason why communication is so clumsy with them sometimes, isn't it. Neither of them can stick the goddamn landing.]

Send a text? It's a little impersonal but it kinda solves both problems. They get to decide what to do with it.

Eating habits are never inconsequential, you nerd. Just... make sure you eat enough before you go back out, okay? I don't like that I can't help any of you if something happens.

[ In an emergency she knows she could summon something to help — Esteem, Lily, Demi-Primals, or the new magic she has — but there would be a greater risk to herself. And while it hardly matters to her if she's injured helping others, she knows it would upset her loved ones if she was hurt while trying to help them.

So it leaves her antsy, uncomfortable, and a bit more pushy in her desire to help where she's able to. Keep everyone fed, healed, and rested, and hope it helps keep them safe. ]

It would be a text, yes. I'm not sure how to phrase it... They like to have as much information as possible. If I tell them my horn was bit off the other day but I'm okay, they'll be angry at me for not detailing how I can be okay...

But I'm not stupid enough to tell them I'm okay because Hades has been taking care of me. Believe it or not, I do actually value my life sometimes.

[ Given what Noct has been told of and seen of Hades' power, Era assumes he can piece together why having such an accomplished sorcerer monitoring her recovery would be sufficient reassurance in many cases.

It's just the matter of Hades being, y'know. Kind of a villainous asshole back home. And one that her siblings absolutely despise. ]

[He waves a hand dismissively. He's not starving, and he's actually pretty good at keeping up with his diet. When he isn't, someone else in the household is. While the crystal thing did affect his appetite, it's mostly because he's slept through meals, rather than skipping or forgetting them.]

Remember how I said earlier to lead with the fact that it can grow back? Well, think about leading with that this time around. Or at least not letting them panic about it before you explain.

[The fact that it was bitten off is cause enough to worry, especially when it has her unbalanced and no doubt having other issues she hasn't disclosed in full yet. The concern about it being a permanent disability would just be temporary and additional unpleasantness when they already have plenty to be upset about.]

And yeah, I'd leave Hades out of it. You could just be vague about how long it might take, since it's not all that relevant.

They grew up around Auri people, so they would already know we can regrow our horns and tails.

[ So she doesn't need to worry about them worrying about that, at least. ]

They were raised in a nation filled with the best scholars. A... nation of huge nerds, and they were child prodigies. So they're very smart. If not for Hades' tutelage they would likely know more about my race's anatomy than me.

Oh... that's useful then, I guess. Though I don't think it would hurt to remind them, either. Hard to keep your facts straight when you're pissed and upset.

[If he'd known, he's not sure he'd have remembered immediately. Even the smartest kids are still kids, and they kinda are.]

Mm... I'll consider it. I'll send something to them a little later, after a nap.

[ Recoving from a lost horn was physically draining. Who knew? At least it means Ardbert stops by to rest more frequently, so she can safely nap. ]

...Hey, Noct? When things are less crazy, would you design something subtle I could wear on my head as counterbalance?

[He blinks at that, pausing for thought.]

What, like... some sort of weighted jewelry?

Pick up my horn for a second.

[Ooookay. He does just that, albeit somewhat awkwardly and carefully. Picking up someone's ear-equivalent is different from retrieving broken animal horns and such.]

[ She waits for a moment, mildly weirded out to see her horn in someone else's hands. ]

It's hard to hold my head up against the weight of my remaining horn.

[It's weird holding it, so she's not alone there.]

I don't know if this would make it more or less uncomfortable, but have you thought about trying to get some kind of prosthetic made?

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