hugtopia_logs | ♥ June (Dianir) Event Log

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♥ June (Dianir) Event Log

an expanse of blue space with a dim light shining down

June (Dianir) Event Log

There's a lot going on this month, plenty of work to be done. But as they say, many hands make light the work! And to make up for the grim and grey atmosphere awaiting those who decide to venture outside the barrier, the weather within the city limits is clean and clear, that perfect spot resting between hot and cold. The middle of Dianir brings to Havenwell the start of perfect summer weather. Be sure to give yourself a lovely break when you need to get away from the endless storm outside.

❥ PROMPT I: Corridor of Lights

a park pathway lined by benches at night, lit by a line of streetlights '

Compared to how the weather and world beyond the barrier was a few years ago, the wilds these days appear far less harsh. While the constant storm of dust and debris appears to maintain its viciousness further out, and it is yet strong enough to obscure whatever source of light there is beyond the atmosphere, its tumultuous gusts are noticeably less harsh closer to the city itself. And, in fact, there even appears to be patches of green just outside the barrier, although the growth rapidly stops at a certain near-distance from the city. All together, this prompts those of the researchers to make an announcement: that they are allowing– no, they are asking the off-worlders for help in Phase I of repairing the mysterious train station to the south. What do they want the non-locals to do? To make a corridor meter by meter or even inch by inch if necessary, by placing the charged up crystal-conduits of last month on poles either side of a path, stringing them together with reinforced cable.

As mentioned above, characters will be setting off beyond the barrier. The further characters trek as they set up the corridor, the more hazardous and darker the environment becomes. Further away from the city, even before reaching the train station ruins, light is scarce, and the world is cold, dry, and with winds as harsh as sandpaper. At some point, one's only source of light may be the flashlight attached to the exosuit front or the dim glow of the conduits themselves. Safe travels.

Characters will all be given exosuits to wear beyond the barrier, which are custom-fitted to their body, as well as a conduit. While researchers encourage characters to continue engaging in touch as they march into the open, it isn't necessary to participate.They will also all be given a flare to use in case of emergency.

Despite the improved quality of air beyond the barrier, staying out too long can still result in contracting a mysterious illness that involves chills, fever, malaise, and fatigue. The locals know of this illness as being borne from a mysterious miasma that permeates both air and ground outside. Touch alleviates the symptoms, but it takes time. If one is exposed while still beyond the barrier, characters can use their flare to signal for (player-discretion) NPC support to bring them back to the city. Tents will be set up by the locals to take in any injured or ill characters.

Once the corridor is fully finished with the conduits strung together by poles and cables, the makeshift highway will come to life by a dim, golden light reminiscent that of the barrier. Starting with the conduits nearest to the city, a shimmering, semi-translucent shield appears to dome over each section of the path until finally spanning its entire length, seemingly dispelling any miasma within. Just in case, though, the locals suggest to not remove one's exosuits just yet. This golden-lit corridor has an ethereal quality to it, muting the howling wind outside, as well as providing a sense of safety and warmth. A few local helpers can be seen standing in awe of this grand accomplishment, holding hands or linking arms as they marvel at the replicated barrier, walking down the path slowly. Some of them may even come up and thank the characters for their hard work. If they hadn't been made of metal, they are sure they would be shedding tears of joy.

❥ PROMPT II: Chaining the Supply

a video game screenshot of two people attempting to capture a giant lizard in a jungle

With the highway finally established, the researchers are calling for the initiation of Phase II, involving more sets of volunteers (they know, they know, they're needy; but don't worry, they promise they'll compensate you with dora!).

Help with Supplies: Become a runner of supplies from point A to point B on the corridor, passing off items, cords, metal, electronics, to the next volunteer.
Help with Charging the Conduits: Regrettably, the consistency of the barrier surrounding the corridor is patchy in some areas. The locals are asking for help: simply engage in any form touch with someone next to a dimmer-looking conduit. They have even provided plush couches for characters to relax upon. What do you mean, that's not comfy? No worries, they'll also provide a privacy curtain for you. Alternatively, these couches can be used as a resting station for characters in need of a break.
Protect the Corridor: The light of the corridor is bound to attract a few curious and hostile wildlife to its source of light. Those who are brave enough may depart the safety of the corridor's barrier to combat or capture the creatures that would threaten its integrity. Please see below for list of potential wildlife encounters, and note that any engagement with these creatures generates a big risk of exposure to the miasma that may make a character severely ill and lethargic. Working with a partner is encouraged.

For those who opt to attempt to capture some of the infected creatures, specialized nets will be provided to allow for safe catch-and-transport without making contact with the poison they exude. There will be an area designated for the captured creatures until they can be transported to one of the research labs. Some of the crystals have been moved to clear the area, and while they are held there, offworlders are encouraged to attempt a new experiment: can the crystals also purify the poison inside living creatures, as well as the air itself? If offworlders make contact within the creature's and the crystal's vicinity, can they be saved?

If your character ends up capturing one of the creatures, please comment to this comment here noting which ones and how many.

These are the creatures that can be encountered on a character's path. Next to their names are the frequency with which they can be found and level of hostility. Characters can encounter either untainted or poisoned renditions of these creatures, if a regular version exists.

"The Apparitions" (uncommon - very hostile): a creature new to those both native and offworld, these ghost-like creatures can take any form, humanoid, robotic, animal. They are translucent and mostly featureless/faceless, floating from place to place and trying to stay out of sight. They prefer to perform sneak attacks, and should they make contact with someone's bare flesh or (if you're unlucky) phase through your suit, they are able to stun most people, capturing and preventing your escape as they begin to steal your thoughts. Whatever fleeting thing might pass through your mind as you make contact with them is devoured, whatever you're feeling is consumed. This effect can be halted by another person interfering and forcing the apparition to break contact, but they can only be harmed by those who have formed a physical connection with one another. Basically: don't be caught alone by one, or there will be no escape unless someone comes to your rescue. (Apparitions cannot be captured, only slain or driven away.)
Inky Black Spiders (common - hostile): These relatively small, black spider-like creatures have very basic melee attacks, using their fangs and their sharp legs to bite and claw at people. Those who were around in October when the wall broke will recognize them as the most common enemy back then. Their exoskeletons are hard and when they die, they smash into a black goo. They tend to travel in packs, using sheer numbers to overwhelm their prey.
One-Eyed Lizard (uncommon - docile): An iridescent scaly purple and green lizard approximately 8 to 10cm in length from tip to tail. It has a single eye at the top of its head that can rotate to see 360 degrees around it. This creature's main defenses are its tough hide and a spine on the tip of its tail which it whips at predators to dissuade them from eating it. It's more likely to run than fight, however, and can usually be found sunbathing on exposed rock with its eye closed.
"Bone Giraffe" (extremely rare - hostile): A nearly 20-foot tall, long-necked skeleton of a four-legged creature long dead with a single curved horn protruding from its skull and a sharp snout. It's usually found lying in a heap, as if it laid down and died that way. A black seven-petaled flower sometimes (but not always) grows from the skull and beneath the skeleton is an oily black film. Touching the oil slick activates the creature, which draws the oil up into the skeletal cage. Its main attacks are brute force, using its bony legs and neck to kick and slam against its prey, and its acid breath. It breathes a black fume that sizzles and burns anything it touches.
Rive Talon (rare - hostile - medium): In the past these creatures may have been canines of some form, now they seem to have melded with the detritus of the fallen buildings and creatures of the landscape. Extra spikes, ridges, and protrusions extend from its body at odd angles. Many of them are metal or stone, rather than bone. And some of the bones clearly were not originally its own.
Outskirts Hare (uncommon - docile): A shy creature, roughly the size and shape of an earth hare, covered in fuzzy-looking, curly pink hair and cat-like whiskers. Normally quite timid, this creature's poor eyesight causes it to flee when it feels threatened, and relies largely on a sense of touch to navigate its surroundings. Contact with this creature's fur is markedly pleasant, but its skin discharges an oil that causes mild skin irritation on contact when it's nervous. Active mostly at night time.
Ansaurini (rare - annoying): a bipedal feathered bird with sharp claws and teeth good for chomping; some possess flight capabilities, but the majority are prone to a lazy waddle. Mostly harmless and deceptively unassuming until you turn your back- and suddenly it's run off with something it stole off your person! They are excellent at escaping, though they can be traced back to their hoard, and if their collection is raided they will make a lot of noise in protest. Just watch your back- they will try again until you leave their territory. Truly, a horrible thing.

❥ PROMPT III: Pop-Up Mouse Café

a line of five cartoon maid girls with mouse ears and tails

This month, the clergy of Ainea's temple are excited to announce a pop-up café for which people are free to volunteer or attend as guests. Whether a character decides to serve others or be served, the staff of the pop-up offers a headband with metallic mouse-ears on top for all to wear. They come in a variety of different hues of pinks and purples, colors that characters may recognize as being associated with Ainea. These headbands are wired to shift and turn with the moods of whoever is wearing them. The rest of the uniform, which includes formal black-and-white attire complete with frilled aprons, is optional. Featured items on the menu include teas and hot chocolates as well as a variety of (synthetic) artisan cheeses. Volunteers who decide to don the mouse-ears of the café will also be encouraged to serve snacks and drinks within the recovery tents set up for the workers who venture outside the barrier. Feeling ambitious? Those who manage to serve tea or cocoa to over five people in the recovery tents will be awarded a golden pin of a mouse they can proudly display on their uniform! Look your cutest, and get out there! You can also keep those ears.

At the end of the day, the staff will gather the group to take a photo together, local and off-worlder crew alike, to hang up on the temple wall. Supporting each other, coming together, and community through difficult times is a cornerstone of Ainea's teachings.

This event will run from June 15th to June 30th. 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

"You've already put it through a lot today!!" There was a hearty pout accompanied by pink cheeks. "There are consequences for being that cute, you know!"

Look at how much she'd survived! Surely her heart was stronger than ever.

Strong enough to contend with a wiggle of his hips? Time to find out with the swoosh of his skirt. "There are? That so."

"There are!" And yet he kept doing cute things! Stop!! "I--I'll tell Shinji!"

"Oh no," he said in a very normal voice. "Don't tell Shinji."

"I--I'll do it!" Take her seriously!!! Kyoko scrabbled through the pile of towels to find her tablet. "I'll send him that picture, too! I really will!"

"Are those the only consequences?"

Because he was getting closer. Swoosh swoosh went that skirt.

She was gonna do it! Here was her tablet! He couldn't stop her!

Except... that it clearly did not matter... ah, as expected, something like this wouldn't work on a guy like Kaito.

Kyoko dropped the tablet back into the towels, and then also slumped down into them face-first herself. "... I already apologized, so just tell me what else I have to do."

What. Aww.

Kai's smile softened as he came to a stop next to her, easily reaching over to brush his hand over her hair. "I thought I was the one getting threatened," he said with a soft laugh.

"I'm not your boss, I'm here to help."

"I can do laundry by myself," came muffled from the towels, but there was no resistance to that touch. "You're supposed to be waiting tables right now, right?"

"They didn't really specify what I should be doing," he admitted. "So I'm electing to do laundry so I don't goof on customer service."

Kyoko peeked up just enough to give him a sullen look. "You're electing to do laundry so I can't escape my punishment. But you won't just get it over with... what a merciless guy... and after I already apologized and almost died giving you pictures..."

"I appreciate the pictures," he said with a little smile, but that soon gave way to his confusion. "But I uh, just want to get this straight. Is me in a dress a punishment or are you expecting something else?"

"You coming here to bully me is the punishment," clearly. She pouted. "I'm saying you should just let me atone for being unreasonable, and get it over with. You're the one being unreasonable now!"

What.

"I guess you better atone then?" He said, unclear as to what that meant. "I thought that's what the pictures were? But since I'm bullying you."

Was this foreplay???

"I thought the pictures were gonna be enough for you!" Truly, she had hoped that would be the end of all this, and she could just slink away to recover! "But if they're not, just tell me what you want me to do already! Since I can't win!"

It was foreplay only if he wanted it to be foreplay.

"Um..."

This felt like it was less playfully scandalous and more of an actual problem. "You... know I'm actually not here to bully or punish you, right?"

"Then why are you here?" She gave him another sullen look. "Why are you bullying me, if that's not your purpose?"

"I didn't know this was going to be bullying," he admitted. "I was gonna see if I could help cuz I made you drop everything in the first place."

"You didn't make me." Kyoko drooped again, face hiding in the towels again. "I was the one who suddenly got too embarrassed when I saw you. You don't get bothered by that kind of thing, so it's not something you can understand... but it's not your fault."

"No... I get getting embarassed." Sure it took specific circumstances, but Kai wasn't immune to the emotion. Having a heart-to-heart while dressed up as a maid and his girlfriend was burying herself in towels was not one of those specific circumstances.

"'M sorry if I pushed you too much. I guess I kinda didn't think more clothes would be worse than... well. Y'know." Less clothes.

Did he though? Did he really get it?? That sounded kinda fake! Sure, scenarios in which he could be embarrassed existed, but that wasn't the same as living under the constant threat of fluster.

"Kaito..." Kyoko looked up again, a little exasperated this time. "For most guys, wearing a maid uniform and mouse ears would be one of the top humiliation experiences of their lives. But you're fine, while I got all worked up and ran away over something most girls would probably handle with just a little blushing and a," delivered in the flattest voice, "'~kyaa, but it looks weird~'" Huff. "Everything about this interaction is just proof that you're too cool and confident, while I'm silly." Pretending the gap between them wasn't there did not make her feel better!!

But then, after a beat, "Wait--are you saying taking off clothes was a consideration?"

Between that look and that explanation, Kai had to laugh a little bit. Saying he just never had a reason to give a shit probably didn't help his case, huh? Oh no, too cool to care or something like that. It was really gonna be hard for her to believe that he was truly only willing to get doled up cuz she already had been, huh.

The last part probably needed addressing first though. "Huh? No, no," he waved a hand in front of his chest. "Unless you-- No, I just meant, y'know." She did not know. "I thought I've made you deal with more embarrassing already, so more coverage would be more confidence or... something..."

Okay, at least that was settled: he knew better than to strip down in public for her benefit. But jeez, he really just kept revealing how foreign the idea of self-consciousness was to him. How innocent, how sweet. Kyoko snorted.

"If I was embarrassed wearing it, then it's not gonna be less embarrassing on you." But, well. That wasn't really all of it. "... Mostly it's just the combo of your ultra-cuteness and knowing you can handle something I can't that are destroying me as we speak, though."

"So..." He said slowly, as if he were finally piecing together all the parts of a difficult puzzle. "I've done absolutely nothin' for you besides make everything worse." This was the conclusion he was supposed to take away from this, yes?

"And you think I'm ultra-cute."

"Ultra-cute," she confirmed, leaving the other question unaddressed. He got it now, that was enough. "Really, really cute. It's almost hard to look at you."

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