♥ 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

[carbungle]

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.]

[astralera]

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?

[carbungle]

[He blinks at that, pausing for thought.]

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

[astralera]

Pick up my horn for a second.

[carbungle]

[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.]

[astralera]

[ 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.

[carbungle]

[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?

[astralera]

A prosthesis could impede natural regrowth. I need to be careful not to do anything that could cause it to grow malformed, like too much friction or pressure.

[ Especially if she's expediting the healing process using magic. ]

[carbungle]

I think that would depend on how it's designed, but I'm no expert on the subject. What would you be looking for, then?

[astralera]

Something easy to take on and off, avoids the area where my horn is regrowing, and is of equivalent weight.

[ She might ask Tim to come up with something as well, but only after he's recovered himself. ]

I'd rather not need to wear a neck brace to keep my head supported for extended periods of time.

[carbungle]

Yeah, it's heavier than it looks.

[He holds it a bit longer, lifting and lowering it to get a feel for the weight. The twins may know about all of this, but he's pretty clueless himself. Is he really the right person to ask? Not that he minds, but...]

Seemed like it hurt when you had pressure on it, earlier. Is that gonna get better?

[astralera]

It's very impressive, isn't it?

[ If she was a bird she would be preening with pride. Her horns are very heavy, and strong, and the worm just got very lucky by grabbing it at precisely the right angle with an ungodly amount of force. ]

...The bone was cleaved in two, so I believe it will be a couple of weeks at most.

[carbungle]

Definitely durable, if this is the first time it's happened.

[He glances sidelong at her, a question in his gaze. Is it? Though he doesn't know if she'd even remember, it's worth asking.

And two weeks could work... he's starting to formulate ideas. Commissions take time, and whatever he could design requires someone to do metalworking or construction regardless. He draws and paints, he doesn't do fine crafting.]

[astralera]

Kiyo might've broken hers when young, but I don't think it was ever snapped. I think she just tried to make them smaller.

[ She remembers that Ardbert had to keep Kiyo from trying to pull out her scales, so it wouldn't surprise her if she tried damaging her horns at some point as a child.

Either way, it hardly matters now. ]

...It's weird, seeing the patterns from a different angle.

[carbungle]

Definitely weird.

[To be holding someone's 'ear' separate from their body? Yeah, there's no way to look at this without some weirdness aspect.]

Is it okay if I take a picture? For reference, um... [He gestures towards her head, the broken side.] Or you can send me one, when it's healed up more.

[astralera]

[ At least it isn't a gross fleshy ear. It's a magnificent horn that has headbutted many a douchebag. ]

Ah— A picture? [ While a sensible request, it still manages to catch her off guard. She reaches around to pull her hair to the other side of her head, exposing the injury for him to snap a photo. ]

[carbungle]

[He fishes out his communicator, snapping a picture first of the broken horn, then what's left, and then with the piece hovering against her head without touching. Three photos, and then he sets her horn back where it was.]

No promises, but... I'll see what I can do.

[astralera]

[ As soon as he's done she sets her hair back to her other shoulder, meticulously placing loose strands until she feels fractionally less self-conscious. ]

Thanks, Noct.

[ Her tail wags just a little; shy and self-conscious. She's grateful he's willing to help, no matter what the results may be. ]

[carbungle]

No big deal.

[Worst that can happen is she doesn't like it. Still, now that he's thinking about it, he feels a little antsy about the decision- or at least, what he's considering. After sitting in uncertain silence for a long moment, he pushes himself to his feet again.]

I should head back out there. Still lots to do. Thanks for lunch, uh... [He gestures towards the juice box he left behind.] Do whatever you want with that, I guess. I don't have to know about it.

[astralera]

Could you keep an eye out for spare parts while you're out there? The worms are consuming too much of the materials the natives need to repair themselves. [ She's hardly an expert in robotic repairs, but she's learned enough to get most passably functional in a pinch. There's only so much she can do when entire chunks of limbs are missing and there's nothing to replace them with. ] We can heal with rest and magic, but they rely on what the worms are eating.

[ Era's eyes follow the gesture to the juice box. She pauses briefly, then nods. ]

I will let you know now that it is appreciated, and will not go to waste no matter the effects of my illness.

[carbungle]

Yeah, we've had to pull a few bodies out already. [He grimaces at the memory; some of them were still functional, others less so. It's been a gruesome month, even if they don't leave blood and gore behind when consumed.

He dusts himself off, trying to brush those thoughts from his mind.]

It's fine... wasn't mine to waste, anyway. [She'd given it to him originally to enchant; what she does with it now is up to her.] Be careful, and I'll see you around.

[astralera]

Baking soda can help with some of the lingering acid. It isn't quite strong enough, but it helps a little.

[ She crawled through enough worm stomachs to have picked up a few tricks. It's never enough, but any little bit is worth something. ]

You too.