♥ November (Malom) Event Log

[hugtopiamods]

November (Malom) Event Log

With most of Havenwell left in varying degrees of shambles from the prior month's catastrophe, the city seems just a little bit more quiet and stony in ways not just owed to the chill of oncoming winter. However, the gray mood doesn't need to last; the offworlders and locals alike might just be able to band together to pick up the scattered pieces before long.

Unlike previous years, winter is approaching at a slower pace than usual. Whether this is believed as coincidence or the gods opting to give the city more pleasant weather while the reconstruction is ongoing is entirely up to each individual. Nevertheless, the sun is out and there is work to be done.

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❥ PROMPT I: Fetch Quest Frenzy

With the widespread damage of the previous month still a large issue, offworlders may find the marking-based powers of that incident manifesting again in different, passive forms. Regardless of the color one's ability takes, a little bit of trial and error will lead the markings' bearers to understand the powers are now geared towards helping rebuild or rehabilitate the city in various ways; examples being manifesting as telekinesis to move heavy objects around, or a magical compass to help locate something lost in the chaos. Some may find themselves inexplicably filled with knowledge previously unknown, Matrix-style: characters who have never picked up a hammer before will suddenly possess the skills needed to rebuild furniture or repair structural damage, weld parts together, or get really good at organizing search parties. Feel free to get creative with it, but these abilities are meant to build, not destroy like last month, so destructive powers are not likely to manifest unless for good reason.

There's no shortage of work to be done either; from dismantling petrified worms to running errands for the surviving locals, offworlders may find themselves lucky to have the supernatural assistance of the markings and their powers. With time and effort, taking up such tasks to aid the locals and fellow offworlders alike might just go a long way towards healing Havenwell on both physical and emotional fronts.

❥ PROMPT II: Fruits Basket

In places where the worms were slain before their fellows were petrified, their massive corpses have been reclaimed by the ground--specifically, they've turned to surprisingly fertile soil. So fertile that it would appear trees are already sprouting where they fell, bearing an arrangement of oddly-shaped fruits. With how delicious they look, one would surely be forgiven for daring to try them, but the result might be just a bit surprising...

-Eating a round fruit will make one have a sudden desire to cuddle up to someone else; the more of the fruit they've consumed, the more insistent the desire. Just take a bite? Maybe you could do with a light shoulder touch, but eat the whole thing and you'll realize you might be suddenly looking for some big hugs with anyone receptive to the idea.
-The square shaped fruits have a somewhat more subtle effect. The more one eats of a square fruit, they gain a steadily more obvious gentle glow and warmth to their bodies. With enough of one, someone could easily turn into a combination nightlight and comfortably warm space heater.
-Being curious enough to eat a spiky fruit will end up with one having some trouble keeping their footing; this fruit leads one to find no traction underfoot, sending them slip n' sliding around. Be careful, you might just skate right into someone's arms!
-Eating a star-shaped fruit may cause a gradual drowsiness, where residents will feel the urge to lay down and have a nap. Seems the aftermath of the worm attack left some lingering magic. (A small percentage may alternatively find themselves transformed into sheep. Weird.) Being held or gently cuddled, whether on the spot or while being carried home, will reverse the effects.

❥ PROMPT III: Corporate Concessions

You might recall that the research towers were awfully unhelpful during the attacks, preferring instead to seal themselves up in protective shielding and leave the rest of the city to fend for themselves. Now that the danger has passed, there have been some understandably divisive responses to this decision from their fellows. Many of the tower workers have pleaded ignorance for this choice, openly (or quietly, to avoid disciplinary action) blaming the higher-ups for creating company-wide lockdowns and not allowing anyone in- or out. Many were helpless to assist in relocating friends or family, and some have quit their positions over this stance. Those in charge of the decision-making are unapologetic for the most part, stating that due to previous security breaches, their priority was to protect their research and their employees, for the greater good of the world.

They are aware that doing this was not by any means a good look, so as an olive branch, they have released the research materials confirmed as stolen in the previous security breach to the public network, as they have been unable to track down those materials and would rather control its distribution themselves. Damage done, after all; those who know could pass it on as they please. Additionally, they are reallocating some tower resources to helping with restoration and rebuilding the surrounding areas and public buildings, and have donated a substantial amount of dora to the city budget for whatever purpose the council deems appropriate. Whether you think the released data is true or if their efforts are sufficient is up to you, really.

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This event will run from November 15-30. 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

[daikonrose]

Kyoko freezes, and then averts her gaze a bit. The ground sure does look interesting five feet to the left of where they're standing, huh.

"... It just looks very delicious," she says lamely after a moment. Not even gonna lie.

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Oh... Kyoko......

Here, let him humor her a bit, stepping in a bit just to get a closer look at the fruit she's holding. Yes, it is just as alluring as all of the other ones, and just as risky, as far as Shinji's concerned. He looks back up at her, a mildly worried look still on his face as he does.

"Are you hungry...?" There are? Other options? Aren't there?

[daikonrose]

"A little bit," she admits, feeling about six years old. "But I thought I could bear with it and wait until dinner until I saw these."

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Well, well.

"Do you... think it would be a good idea?" Though he's wary enough of the fruits to not give in to that temptation, his tone is one that is purely inquisitive, rather than skeptical. Does she think it's a good idea, actually? Sometimes Kyoko can make some awfully silly decisions, but he feels like he can generally count on her to keep her head on straight about things like this.

[daikonrose]

"No," she admits easily, shamefaced even though Shinji is not actually shaming her. "Eating an unknown food that suddenly appears is a tried and true method for getting something weird to happen to you. All experience, context, and common sense point to this being a bad idea."

And yet.

[hedgehogsdilemma]

And yet that fruit still sits so tantalizingly close by.

At least she does still have the sense to not blindly trust something so weird, though. Thank you for that, Kyoko. Shinji turns his attention back to the fruit for a moment, like he's trying to see what about it could possibly get close to overtaking those survival instincts. To be fair to Havenwell, he's not sure there have been any real instances of random food being dangerous, per se, just kind of annoying and inconvenient. Sometimes they haven't even been wierd at all - the chocolate rain didn't do anything regular chocolate would have done, after all, and the plants that Shinji's been growing haven't been strange for using Havenwell soil. Hm. Hmmm.

"Did... you want to try a bite anyway?"

[daikonrose]

Unable to take this torment (it is not torment) any longer, Kyoko let out a low wail, her hands going to her head. "Shinji! Have you never been tempted by forbidden fruit? Never even once?!!"

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Whoa, whoa-!! Was he really putting her through so much agony? Sorry, Kyoko!

"I didn't think you were that serious!" Maybe just entertaining a notion! Maybe just wondering deeply! He didn't think that she was instead, maybe, looking for a justification. "I mean... if they were poisonous or something, someone would have figured that out right away, right?" Current uncharitable opinions about the research towers aside, they'd probably be on that information fast. "So, if you really want to, I won't stop you?"

[daikonrose]

No, the only person putting Kyoko through any agony was Kyoko. Shinji was just unfortunately here to bounce her self-torture off.

"But what if it does something weird!! What if I have hallucinations! Shinji!! What if I grow rodent ears!"

[hedgehogsdilemma]

There's basically no doubt in his mind that something weird would happen! Even if things aren't generally dangerous, they're almost consistently strange! He's not sure that he wants to say as much, though, at the risk of riling Kyoko up even more, but he can at least address those other issues.

"You don't have to eat it if you're that worried!" But if the temptation is truly that great, then, "If you really want to, at least I'll be here to help you if something weird happens."

[daikonrose]

"Shinji..." Is she actually tearing up a little? "You shouldn't have to go that far for me...! My bad decisions aren't your fault!"

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Please, save your tears for something less silly than fruits!

"Wouldn't you rather have someone you know around to help out rather than rely on a stranger?" Something about, like, underage drinking at a friends house instead of sneaking around or doing it in public.

[daikonrose]

Her tears are for Shinji and his beautiful acts of friendship!!

"... Yes. But that's still not fair to you! I don't want to abuse your hand-holding!"

[hedgehogsdilemma]

That's probably even sillier!

"I really don't mind." You aren't taking him away from anything important. "And it's not like I can only spend so much time on hand-holding."

Skinship is an infinite resource.

[daikonrose]

"Shinji..." she says again, still in the throes of conflicted desire, but softening up and simmering down. She really was not expecting him to enable her, here. How should she feel about that? "You're too soft on me."

[hedgehogsdilemma]

He is, in the end, Soft.

"Like I said, only if you want." If that temptation doesn't go away, might as well make it as safe as possible. "Even if you end up with rodent ears, I'll make sure you get home before anyone else can see."

[daikonrose]

"Shinjiiiii," oh look, more tears pricking at her eyes. "You'd even go so far to protect my womanly dignity! What a good boy!"

[hedgehogsdilemma]

After last month's worm nonsense, dignity is not a tricky thing to protect.

"Of course I would," you're being silly again, Kyoko! "I'm not gonna just watch you suffer if there's something I can do to help!"

[daikonrose]

He just keeps being so good! It's too much!

Kyoko rubs at her face, though there really isn't much in the way of tears to clean up. "You're always so nice to me... I don't want to be a burden, but after all this, I kinda feel like I should try a bite."

[hedgehogsdilemma]

"Like I said, only if you really want to!" Don't make it sound like he's coercing her to do this or something! Gosh. "I'm curious about them, too," not curious enough to try a bite, but still, "so if you do, just let me know how it tastes. We can deal with any side effects after that."

[daikonrose]

She didn't mean to say he was forcing her or anything! Maybe just a gentle enabling. But it would feel like a waste to not at least give it a try after Shinji went to all that trouble reassuring her.

So Kyoko gives a little nod, giving the star fruit another look over before she brings it up close to her face. "Just one bite," she decides, and then it is time for a tentative cronch.

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Cronch monch

As she takes that bite, Shinji's mind reacts to remember any particularly strange side effects that Havenwell inflicted on those who consumed something in the past. Rodent ears were an actual possibility, but so were things like becoming too hot or cold, which would be a little less obvious at a glance. Something like a personal snow flurry would be easy to spot, too, but whatever happens, if it's something that Shinji can see, he will spot it right away...!

First, he's gotta give her time to finish that bite. Once she does, he has to ask, "How's it taste...?"

[daikonrose]

Cronch cronch. Cronch? ... Cronch!

"It's good!" Maybe not the heights of fairy tale fruit bliss her mind had built it up to be, but you know what? It's really quite tasty! "Nicely sweet, and a little tart, and there's some sort of..." She sinks her teeth in for another bite, chewing thoughtfully. "Mm! Mmhm! There's a kind of floral note to it, I think!"

Kyoko you are past your one allotted bite already, what gives.

[hedgehogsdilemma]

That was more bites than he thought she'd wanna take! To be fair, would there really even be a difference in side-effects between one bite and many bites? At least it's not terrible, no spitting it out in disgust or anything, but what if that's just to lure people into eating more...?

Shinji squints a little, like he's trying extra hard to scrutinize for any noticeable changes as she chomps her way through that second bite.

"Yeah?" Hm...! "It doesn't look like anything's happening yet, either."

[daikonrose]

Once she had finished the report, Kyoko had automatically gone in for another bite without thinking--until Shinji reminds her that she should be waiting for something to happen. Oh. Oh... no!

She freezes, but already being most of the way through crunching up that bite, ends up swallowing it automatically. "Y-you're sure?" She reaches up to pat through her hair, but no strange ears seem to be emerging, at least not yet.