♥ December (Ranir) Event Log

[hugtopiamods]

December (Ranir) Event Log

As another year winds to a close, the air grows sharp with a wintery chill; the perfect weather for curling up with someone under a cozy blanket with some warm hot cocoa. To contrast the cold weather comes a distinctly festive warmth to the city itself; it's some holiday season, even if the natives still can't quite grasp what. While recovery from the recent worm-based catastrophe is still an ongoing thing, the natives are going through with the festivities as they've learned to celebrate: Decorations strung about the city are a bit haphazard and in all manner of colors both holiday-themed and simply colorful in general, the spirit and enthusiasm are certainly there.

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❥ PROMPT I: See You Next Level

Residents who venture past the wall to the northwest of the arena to visit the fishing pond might find an unusual sight this month: it's frozen over. This is kind of a big deal, because the city hasn't had a substantial amount of open water in- well, no one quite knows how long! It seems to have totally frozen overnight, which is definitely unusual, but hardly the strangest thing to ever happen in Havenwell. Examining the ice will find it sturdy and solid, a good 6 inches thick at minimum. It is safe to walk on, and more importantly...

Excited for a new experience after all the glum and gloom, some local metalworkers are creating skate attachments that can be adjusted for size and connected to the shoes (or the feet, in the case of the local robotic population) of anyone who wants to give skating a try. Visitors to the area will find a booth set up, occasionally manned but mostly left as a trust exercise, with a collection of these devices that are free to use. Please take as many pairs as your party requires and skate to your heart's content! As a courtesy, borrowers are asked to return the skates once they're finished with them, but if you're really itching for a pair, the booth has the equivalent of a QR code you can scan with your communicator and commission a personalized pair.

It seems that part of the city is extra cold this season, because an influx of snow has practically drowned the arena, leaving a thick layer across the entirety and high piles along the sides. Locals have cleared the entrances and done their best to keep it functional, but those wishing to use the facility might find the ground far less sturdy than usual. You can use it as extra training, or maybe just give in to the urge and have fun with it instead. Go sledding, have a snowball fight!

❥ PROMPT II: Fresh or Frozen

Purveyors of the fishing part of the new rink might be unhappy to have lost their hobby, but hey, no one's stopping you from carving a hole in the ice and giving it a go regardless. There's bound to still be something down there, though perhaps not what you'd expect. While you're out at the lake with another person, if you should happen to look into the water through a hole or the ice itself, you might occasionally see a series of dancing lights flitting around beneath you, mysterious but innocuous. Sometimes they disappear if you stare at them too long. Sometimes they follow you. If curiosity gets the better of you, maybe you ought to try dropping a line - or a hand - in to see what it is. If you're feeling really brave and don't mind the cold, you could even take a dive in and see what's going on up close. (Funny: it's not nearly as cold as you'd expect it to be, considering the frigid circumstances.) And there's no reason to worry about the rink, either. Likely through whatever actually turned the pond to ice, any holes carved into the ice somehow manage to freeze again overnight, as though it was never broken in the first place.

Whatever method you choose, these dancing lights will swirl around hook or hands, pulsing gently, until that light bursts and manifests into something familiar. Something you've been wanting, perhaps, or something you once had and have missed dearly. Maybe something you hadn't thought about at all, but would bring you delight. You can pull it from the waters and find it intact and undamaged by the cold or the water, alive if it is a living creature, though it appears to be hibernating. Dry it off, take it home, and check on it in the morning; you will find your gift as whole and well as if you'd plucked it from wherever you'd find it back home. Do with it what you choose, it's yours now. For those who might have the clever idea to try fishing more than once, surprises may await in the form of...a waterlogged old shoe? An empty tin can? A broken fishing lure? The possibilities are as endless as the objects are useless.

For those who may not have any creature or object of note they need or want, it is also possible for fishing to produce a small crystal, faintly glowing with some form of magic. Leaving the crystal by one's bedside overnight will result in a peculiar but pleasant dream; fulfilling one's heartfelt desire. Whether it's wanting to see somewhere back on your homeworld, getting closure with someone not in Havenwell, or hang gliding off of Everest, you will be able to see your desire in a dream and awake comfortable and well-rested in bed the next day.

This is a regain event! One regain is allowed per character, and it can be anything (within reason) that would fit within the Item Regain: Medium (100 point) category on the Activity Rewards page. Like with AC Rewards, regains must be approved by mods prior to regaining them, so please use the form below and comment to the Regain Request thread.

Player:
Character:
Item requested:

<b>Player:</b> <b>Character:</b> <b>Item requested:</b>

❥ PROMPT III: Snow Problems

As the weather shifts to something seasonally chilly, on occasion some small patches of clouds can be seen in Havenwell--specifically, hovering over the heads of offworlders. These localized little clouds find people to stick to and follow them a couple of feet overhead to shower them with a gentle dusting of snow, so hopefully you have an umbrella handy. And while the snow can be just snow and nothing more, to others it might have one (or even several at once) effects to it.

Cheers To You: No matter how much one drinks or how they choose to mix their cocktails, they will find themselves completely impervious to the ill effects of alcohol. No hangover, but also no fun to earn it in the first place.

Hand it Over: Some with their own personal snow clouds may feel nothing odd except for a slight tingle in their dominant hand. Whether one stumbles upon the actual effect or not, it is a very simple change: the power of their unarmed punch becomes superpowered and several times stronger than normal.

Sticks and Stones: Still others may feel completely normal and go about their usual day's business with absolutely no awareness of any change but a persistent snowfall overhead. However, should they meet with anything that might ordinarily hurt, they will find that they have twenty-four hours of complete invulnerability starting from when their snow cloud latched on to them.

Time and Tribulation: Perhaps along with the slight chill comes a sudden awareness that one is a bit shorter than usual. Or taller? It would seem that yet another odd side effect of the little snow clouds is that one has aged an entire decade–in either direction, rendering them either younger or older. Luckily, the changes seem to stop at only physical…at least this time.

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This event will run from December 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

[revolucian]

Oh for sure. The ability to move like that is super impressive- we fought a dragoon back home, and I'm pretty sure she was the strongest person on the Niff's side. I'd never met anyone who could go toe to toe with me in the air until her, and she could do it without magic.

[astralera]

Of all the warriors I know, I'd hazard Estinien to be the strongest in the Three Continents, apart from possibly myself. There's little more ferocious than a highly trained dragoon.

[revolucian]

No argument here. I was glad to eventually have her on our side. And Estinien was no slouch in the fight here.

[He'd been somewhat distracted with keeping himself out of too much trouble at the time, but he'd noticed.]

[astralera]

I wish I could remember more of it... I need to bother him for a spar here, once my horn has regrown enough.

[revolucian]

Don't suppose he'd give you a spar like this.

[She's a little young, sure, but that never stopped anyone from training him...]

[astralera]

[ Oh. That certainly perks her up. ]

He does relent more easily to children... If I were to look sad enough, perhaps he'd give me a little spar.

[revolucian]

Worth a try at least. The worst thing he can say is no... probably.

[He doesn't actually know Estinien well enough to say that with confidence, but he seems a decent enough guy.]

[astralera]

If he says 'no' I can keep bothering him until he changes his mind.

[ A pause. ]

Or he might just run away, but I can fly after him with Peki.

[revolucian]

Sooo... will you give a time and date and let me popcorn it? Or at least record the results, whatever the answer is.

[He would genuinely love to see a fleeing dragoon being chased by a flying chocobo. That sounds way better than a spar, actually.]

[astralera]

[ After a moment of thought, she turns in the direction of her approaching Carbuncle. ]

Hey, go find Estinien.

[revolucian]

[Noctis grins at once, recognizing the intent, and gives a little wave to the Carbuncle. Sorry he looks weird, buddy.]

Don't forget to shed on his boots.

[astralera]

[ Carbuncle will skip over to Noct and shed all over his boots before finally obeying its mistress and trotting off at high speed, presumably toward Estinien. ]

Now to just hope it doesn't get distracted.

[revolucian]

[Noctis can't even be mad. His clothes often have a few stray hairs from the household dogs, and most likely some invisible hairs from his own Carbuncle, so...]

Well, most of us are probably not going anywhere, so you'll get your chance sooner or later.

[astralera]

[ Considering her luck with people not going anywhere... ]

...Hopefully.

[revolucian]

Sorry, sorry. You know what I mean. [He leans over, giving her a nudge with his elbow. He's still here.] If you wanna swing a sword at me for a while instead, you can.

[astralera]

[ She leans into him as he does, rubbing her horn against his arm affectionately. ]

I haven't a sword I can use right now, but I've my knives. [ While she may not recall her skills as a rogue, she can still remember all the techniques Thancred taught her over the years. ] You any good in a knife fight?

[revolucian]

I'm trained with daggers, yeah. [He's not as good as Ignis (who is?) but they've gone toe to toe enough times over the years that he has his own tricks.] Only got the Royal Arms with me though, fair warning.

[Not a problem, especially for a spar, it just means backing off now and then to take a breather and not die.]

[astralera]

[ Oh, don't worry about that, Noct. If there's one thing Era always has on her person it's a copious of weaponry. She reaches into the inside of her cloak and pulls out two sheathed daggers, then pulls one from a boot, and a final one she keeps at the small of her back. ]

[revolucian]

[He can't not smirk as she finds more and more of them.]

Shouldn't even be surprised by that...

[astralera]

I can fit even more when I'm wearing skirts. [ She looks and sounds quite pleased with herself, because she absolutely is. The amount of weaponry she can hide on her person is definitely a point of pride. ] They might be a bit small for you, but they're well balanced.

[revolucian]

They look smaller than my usual, yeah, but I can deal.

[Not like he hasn't used a variety of weapon types. Maybe it'll give him a chance to test his now-older hand-eye coordination. It isn't good for him to only use the Wanderer's daggers, since they're... enormous, frankly.]

[astralera]

Standard knife rules?

[ No stabs, and flat edges only. Saves them from sliced clothing and wounds she can't easily heal. ]

[revolucian]

Yeah. I'd appreciate that.

[Normally he's more lax on that sort of thing when the city is peaceful or they have enough curatives on hand, but he's trying to be more cautious of injuries now that he knows they'll be forced on Pyra when he gets any, so. Unnecessary wounds during spars (except in the case of accidents) are off the table.]

[astralera]

[ She falls into an appropriate fighting stance, but before she can make the first move she's cut off by one of her rocks flinging itself at Noct. It's followed by another that has much less success — it moves only a foot closer to him before falling to the ground and rolling pathetically for a few inches, then coming to a complete stop. ]

Excuse me. [ Era scolds, offended, and not knowing what else to do. She's never dealt with this sort of thing before... ] This is my spar! Bad rocks!

[revolucian]

[Since he'd already had his knives up, Noctis is able to tilt his blade in time (barely) and let the rock ricochet into the air; it goes sailing off around the corner of the nearest building. He sidesteps and rests his foot on the second stone, brows furrowing.]

Why do they keep coming after me!?