hugtopia_logs | ♥ July 2019 Intro Mingle

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♥ July 2019 Intro Mingle

July Intro Log
Welcome to Havenwell! The walled city and its robotic inhabitants welcome all of the offworlders to Aellyn. New arrivals are given their tablets and showed to open housing, given tours around the city, and generally helped with settling into their new world. Some robots are more curious than others, more helpful than others, but overall the atmosphere of the city is one of hope and celebration. It is, however, a city that needs some help, and as newcomers wander, they may find that they can do a lot to aid Havenwell in its recovery.

❥ PROMPT I: Temple Jobs

The priests of each temple have a digital bulletin board in front of their temple doors that lists several tasks that each temple is asking of natives and newcomers alike. Havenwell is protected from the worst of the damage outside the walls, but it's still an ancient city and there's always something that needs to be done. Of course, the priests won't ask you to do these things for free, so anyone who wants to join up and complete a task will receive a reward of Dora sent to their bank accounts.

The sudden weather changes sometimes results in localized floods, so businesses and homes are always looking for help cleaning debris and mopping floors. The temples themselves always need a little extra help picking up after the temple animals or cleaning the altars. Some stores need help transporting goods across the city - normally a two person job, pulling carts and wagons. And lately, temples have been asking for help in cleaning up the city square for a "big *wink wink* project" coming soon. The priests won't say more than that, but they will offer payment for anyone willing to keep the square clean. Which may be a little difficult with the influx of new people, maps, and general trash and broken debris everywhere. It may be smart to team up to keep things clean!

❥ PROMPT II: Repli-fails

One thing that new residents might find that needs some help are the food replicators found in each home. They've been unused for so long that issues and trouble were inevitable. People who can fix them are few and far between, however, so until an antiques' maintenance-minded robotic denizen stops by, characters may have to suffer through some glitches. When characters ask for potatoes, they might find blue-flavored toothpaste getting dispensed instead. Or if they ask for 1 carrot, they get 20 hot pink ones instead. Or asking for a drink becomes a never-ending stream of said drink. Or they might not dispense anything that looks like food at all and instead inundate you with vaguely fish-shaped wooden blocks. Good luck, newbies. Even the natives are a little baffled by this one.

❥ PROMPT III: Virtual? Reality?

The VR simulation of the month, Petting Zoo, seems to still be pretty popular. Natives are plugging in to pet animals in record numbers and it's encouraged the proprietors of the VR parlors to keep the game a little longer than normal. New arrivals are encouraged to take the VR headsets for a spin to help proprietors gauge how to better adjust them for non-robotic clientele. That said, they'll still ask characters to pay for the experience, just not at a slightly discounted rate if they answer a survey afterwards. Characters will notice that holding hands with someone else during their VR experience significantly improves the quality of the visuals and audio input.

Unfortunately, as with most things in Havenwell, the VR experience doesn't always go as planned. On occasion in the city, glitches happen while residents are plugged in and suddenly that flock of giant pink sheep they were petting? Yeah, they're now manifested in the real world. In and around the entertainment districts, illogically colored sheep, giant house cats, miniature ponies, and - of course - the dreaded aggro rainbow chickens suddenly start appearing in packs. Their images glitch in and out, fuzzing into static in places, but they're very real and very confused about not being in their happy green pastures. Which means they panic, of course, and start running amok. Help the citizens corral these strange beasts until the glitch ends, run away from the now very real flocks of rainbow chickens that want to dogpile you, or simply stand by and watch the chaos occur. It's up to you how you want to help!

❥ PROMPT IV: The Ribbon Games

A couple weeks after everyone has arrived and had time to mostly settle into the weird weather patterns and machinery muck-ups, a notice is plastered across the network:

The citizens of Havenwell wish you well, offworlders! To show our appreciation for your assistance in saving our world, we cordially invite you to participate in an ancient tradition: The Ribbon Games! In the old days, this festival was held as a celebration of joyous events. You have a week to collect as many ribbons as you can from your temple by completing their Ribbon Task. Then, at the end of the week, we are hosting a party in your honor where you can compete to collect ribbons from the other temples to win fabulous prizes! Please visit your deity's temple to find out more and we hope you will join us for the Ribbon Games Party at the end of the week.

With all our gratitude,
The Citizens of Havenwell

Those who choose to participate and head to their deity's temple will find a priest with a sash and a box of ribbons in the colors of your chosen deity. They point to a digital board at their side that lists the task you'll need to complete in order to earn one of these ribbons, and will allow characters to complete a ribbon challenge once a day until the week is over for a total of 7 ribbons if they come each day. You may only earn the ribbon of your assigned deity, so if you are an adherent of Rawna and go to Ainea's temple, even if you complete Ainea's task, you cannot receive her ribbon. The tasks are:

Rawna: Give comfort to someone or ease someone's pain within Rawna's temple to receive a shimmering silver ribbon.
Ainea: Do an act of kindness or show compassion to someone within Ainea's temple to receive a soft pink and purple ribbon.
Diacht: Reveal an honest truth about yourself within Diacht's temple to receive a bold red and white ribbon.
Ohma: Learn something new about or from someone within Ohma's temple to receive a delicate blue and gold ribbon.

Once a task is completed, the priest will remove a ribbon from their box and affix it to your clothing. Don't let anyone steal your ribbons! Good luck keeping them safe, offworlders.

Outdoor party space with hanging lights and flowers

❥ PROMPT V: The Fanciest of Welcome Parties

At the end of the month, once the city square is clean and the ribbons have been distributed to participating citizens, the newest residents of Havenwell will wake to the sound of music floating over the city. During the night while people slept, the natives decorated the city with streamers, brightly colored lanterns, and strings of beautiful lights that glow no matter the hour of the day. The natives have decorated themselves, too, and provide the offworlders with clothing and decorations to match. Garishly colored sashes, brilliantly (artificially) plumed hats, skirts and tunics, boas and fake flower leis - just about anything you can imagine, they're wearing. In and around the city square there are long tables of oddly colored finger foods - orange-colored grapes, bright pink meats, blue cheeses and the like are provided along with golden chocolates, fuchsia frosted cupcakes with pink cake underneath, and minty green cookies. The foods might look strange, but at least they mostly taste like they're supposed to. The citizens are trying, they promise.

All around the fountain depicting the four gods in the center of the square, pre-recorded music is playing and the natives are dancing in pairs, groups, and lines. Join them for a dance and they'll happily teach you the local customs, or break out your own moves and share your world's best moves to earn some applause and awkward attempts at recreating them.

The big game of the night is shared by the natives and it's announced halfway through the party. The culmination of the Ribbon Games is a contest to try and collect a set of four ribbons - one from each different god's temple. The rules are simple:

Attach your ribbons to yourself in a clearly visible location.
Tag and hold someone else for more than 1 minute. You can bear hug them, hold their hands, link arms, anything!
After sustaining contact, you can take one of their ribbons. If you aren't the character who initiated contact, you can't take a ribbon.
Gather one of each god's ribbon in order to win a prize!

If you successfully manage to get all four ribbons, a little shower of confetti will burst from your ribbons and a nice little chunk of Dora will be transferred to your account. This can only work once unfortunately, but it's a nice little bonus for your first month in Havenwell! The party continues late into the night and the natives are happy to keep the party going as long as any of the offworlders wish to keep dancing.

As a reminder, please post your character to the Taken Character list and your own information to the Player Contact list as soon as possible. It helps us keep track of our player cap!

If you have any other questions, please ask them in the QUESTION thread below. Feel free to use the CR/Intro Meme to do OOC plotting. Otherwise, welcome to Hugtopia's first mingle log!

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[He neither pushed Will away nor brought him closer, simply allowing him to be as he was as Verstael stayed rather steadfast in place. Nor did he show any discontent. He was more intrigued by his actions than anything. He didn't spend much time being physical with others but he wasn't repulsed by being touched.]

I thought much the same. I would like to see the rest of the world. We need to fully understand our situation if we're going to decide the best course of action. Right now we've little more than the word of our hosts to rely on.

[And as much as he might be straightforward and forceful, he wasn't an army. He couldn't simply break out as a single unarmed man on his own. He would need time and resources for that.]

I wish to speak to the gods directly as well. If they brought us here then we deserve an explanation from the source itself. Though, we cannot simply believe anything we are told.

[He was actually impressed Will. Perhaps great minds think alike.

Hopefully Will was enjoying having a solid, albeit not that big, wall to lean on.]

It would probably be for the best that we form alliances among ourselves.

[It's a lovely wall to lean against! You're nice and cozy, Verstael~ ♥ ~~You do realize you're establishing a precedent that he can drape all over you though, right? There may be sprawling in your lap at some point in the future.~~ Hard to believe he's managed to impress a scientist as having a similarly great mind when most people think he's a dumbass, though.....]

Mmhmm! I feel like even our hosts want us to do that, too. Maybe we can convince someone in charge to set up an escort?

Do you think we even could talk to the gods directly? A lot of them in my world are supposed to hide or be asleep most of the time.

[~~It was fortunate that he had a surprisingly high tolerance, particularly for people who had shown him something unique.~~]

Oh? Why do you believe they want us to?

[He hadn't gotten that impression, so he wondered if Will had seen or been told something he wasn't. With the small amount of time that had passed since their arrival it was quite likely.]

In time I could potentially build something that would weather the storms. A modified version of an airship, perhaps. Some recording equipment and a variety of emergency safety features... I would need the materials to be able to start, though, and such a large project would take time.

[Especially if he was working alone. He was good. He didn't have warp speed though.]

In my experience it is possible to see and converse with gods. There are certain people who can understand them. How similar the gods here are, I don't know.

Well..... I mean, doesn't it seem that way to you? We're going to save this world by connecting with each other, apparently. That's something everyone does naturally, at least a little, even without it being a whole god thing. They could just tell us to go get along and leave it at that.

But they're trying to integrate us into their culture and everything! They're even sorting us out into piles and putting us to work in the temples. So we're all in bunches of at least somewhat like-minded people who share at least one important value we can bond over, and we're all in a close space and working together. And these ribbon games even help us not be too isolated in our own groups, either, as long as you participate in them.

Ah, I thought you were speaking about seeing the outside world.

[Something that had definitely been on his mind.]

They certainly seem interested in us having physical contact with each other. [Something that was happening here in spades with the way Will was attempting to become part of his attire. A stunt that wasn't going completely unnoticed as Verstael merely glanced down at him, somehow still keeping his chin up, with a small quirk in his brow. No words were said about it.]

I fail to see how power or change would be generated by such actions. However, it would take further study with access to equipment I don't have at the moment.

Oh, they're probably scared we'd try to run away and get ourselves killed the second they let us outside. Not that I can blame them. I'd be worried about it if I were them, too.

[Will grins playfully up at Verstael in return; he sees your skepticism, sir, and he's absolutely shameless about acknowledging it. He's being a good little helper, see? See, hosts? Look how cooperative he is! ~~Not to mention it's a nice, convenient excuse to get cozy with people.~~]

But you never know~ If I were them, I'd want us to get outside, too? I'd give everyone a settling in period to help cool their heads, sure; it's probably too dangerous to let people run free. But then I'd take everyone out so they'd understand why I was so desperate that I had to bring them here just to beg for their help.

How it all works, though..... That's probably something you'd want to ask the gods.

[What are you doing there? Being in his position - well before that actually - people didn't typically get into close contact with him in this manner. Not a lot of people wanted to hug the guy who was obsessed with researching the plague, oddly enough. Verstael simply wondered "why" he was doing that. He wasn't reciprocal. Wasn't repelled. Just curious.

Perhaps Will was planning on building up some dora. Verstael needed to as well, but he had to admit the method for doing so fell outside his area of expertise. He'd have to find some way to do it that worked for him. Even if he was skeptical he knew he needed to play inside the rules for now.

It was a rather odd game with neither particularly hiding their thoughts in their expressions. And it wasn't bad, if a bit unusual. He could certainly think of worse people to be hanging off of him, and if he could put up with Ardyn's antics for months he could handle Will.]

You're inclined to believe them?

[He was interested in why Will believed what he was told. If there was something he didn't know it was important to find out.]

We can't know for sure yet. I can listen to their stories, but I plan on using empirical data to corroborate or disprove what we've been told. After all, for all we know about this situation we could be in grave danger.

Well, sure! I like giving people the benefit of the doubt. They usually appreciate it! And if I doubted everything I was told, I'd have nowhere to start--don't you need a hypothesis before you can start testing?

[He might not be able to be seen winking, but the playful question certainly suggests it, the way he's falling back on language he thinks Verstael would appreciate to frame his stance.

If Verstael isn't already devastated by this plague that's ravaged his country after years of studying it, then by now, it's probably a pretty safe bet he's as clean as can be. He's certainly building Dora like this, yes, and hopefully currying favor with their generous hosts, with his enthusiastic obedience..... But he's also just enjoying the warmth and peace of a moment nestled against someone, talking companionably without being On or pursuing some end goal. He's kept people at a carefully calculated distance for so long, been who they want (or at least expect) him to be, chased after the goals he Should have.....

He's still hiding behind his mask, but they're not even dancing anymore. Verstael is so unruffled, so non-reactive, so..... just curious and thoughtful. It's calming, in its own way.]

Indeed, there always has to be a starting point. Since we've been told specific claims I can start with those. We haven't been given any explanation of how it works, but I could search for evidence in a multiple of ways. For example, using machines to detect if different kinds of energy are being emitted when people are in physical contact with each other.

[He had some skepticism, but he didn't necessarily believe or disbelieve. He didn't have enough information yet to make that final judgment.]

If actions such as... this [He waved a hand in front of himself, indicating Will.] are creating change, it should be detectable in one form or another.

[Of course he didn't mind having a discussion over the merits of testing, though he probably took it more seriously than Will did. The good thing was he didn't really care whether Will had a mask or not. Mask, no mask. Dramatics or none. He was more interested in the content of his words. No show necessary.

Though he would have to ask for his body back at some point.]

Mmhmm~ Maybe they'll be nice and let you use their equipment and notes! I bet they've researched it already. That's what those really nice buildings are for, right?

[Surely they've been frantically studying this to find a way out of their predicament, right? The real question is whether they'd trust an outsider with it. ~~Fiiiiine, you can have it back eventually.~~]

Perhaps. I will see what I can get my hands on for now. I don't predict that I'll proceed without any obstacles, however.

[Will certainly seemed far more willing to accept their situation as it was, which wasn't going unnoticed.]

You're not keen on getting back to your world?

Oh--I'd love to go home, don't get me wrong! But this kind of thing is such a rare opportunity, don't you think? It seems like a shame to waste it pining for my own world when I could be meeting new people and learning about new places and things! Mostly I just wish the rest of my team had managed to make the trip with me.

[It's questionable whether he belongs more in Ainea's or Ohma's temple, honestly--on the one hand, he's so enthused to get to know people and hear about their worlds that even going home is a second priority for him. On the other hand, would anyone but an Ainea adherent really be this friendly and cuddly so soon after meeting someone?

As much as he'd like to go home, back to the place he'd carved out for himself..... So far, Havenwell is pretty nice, too. And if he has to stay here? At least it means a real fresh start for him. No Team Rocket to look over his shoulder for, no past to hang over his head..... if he needs to remake his life all over again, he'll do his best, and he won't have too many regrets. It's not like anyone back home would probably really miss him, anyway.....]

I'll admit, I'm much of the same mind.

[He had, after all, spent his time thus far trying to learn everything he could and a lot of it had nothing to do with learning how to get home. He just wanted to hear about these different universes and what they had to offer. Wanted to test out technology that was unlike his own. Wanted to see new kinds of magic and hear about different kinds of gods. He couldn't deny being ecstatic about that part.

There was, however, another side for him.]

While there are many opportunities here I would have never had before, I also can't help but remember that the Empire is depending on me back home. [There was some loyalty there. Not just for his work, but he also knew his comrades were still in combat and his homeland was still endangered by the plague - which no one understood as well as he did. He was instrumental to fixing these things and couldn't be replaced.]

Sounds like the stakes are a lot higher for you..... I'm not doing anything that important. They could just hire someone to replace me as easily as they hired me to begin with.

[He's utterly expendable. A few people might even be glad he's gone. As friendly as he is, most of the connections he's made at home are just..... shallow, fragile things, easily broken and forgotten.]

Were you on my world, you would have plenty to do.

[He could only imagine the uses that could come from psychic abilities or an intelligent animal of flight, but they wouldn't go to waste.

It did seem like a pity that these things were underappreciated on Will's world.

Though the fact that Will wasn't desperate to get back implied a lot more things. One didn't drop everything they knew so easily if they had people important to them waiting.]

What of your family?

I'm sure I would! It sounds like you all have your hands full. My team is my family, though.

[Will just laughs lightly at that, offering an airily dismissive wave of his hand. He wishes they'd come with him, of course, but there's not much he can do about that at the moment.

His human family, though..... it's just been too long, and his memories at that age are just too hazy. He wouldn't recognize them if he passed them on the street.

Who wants to think about something like that, though? It's much more interesting to wonder what he might be doing on Eos instead.]

I see.

[No biological family then, whether they had passed or they were detached for some reason. No reason to pressure him about that. It was common enough for people to have lost parents for various reasons back home so it wasn't too shocking, nor did he believe Will would appreciate being pushed.]

I would like to get some refreshments, so you will need adjust yourself somehow.

Most of it seems edible, this time! Still a little weird to look at, though.

[The natives are showing some good improvement! He'll just unwind himself from Verstael and have a good stretch.]

[He was free! Well, that had been interesting. Not bad, there was a certain warmth to it, but unusual.]

I'm unsure yet whether the food on their planet simply came in different colors than my own or if the replications are faulty.

[He 'recovered' quickly, if that was even the right term for it, resuming his usual stride as he didn't hesitate to go to the buffet table. He did shoot a glance Will's way, though.]

You were collecting ribbons?

[It was his guess at Will's reasoning for the dancing.]

Maybe both? Having green Razz Berries is odd enough, but those are supposed to be spicy, not salty.

[He shrugs at that, but meanders along after Verstael to inspect the offerings.]

Mmhmm~ Where there's the opportunity to, anyway!

[If that was the only reason he was dancing, he wouldn't have latched onto a couple of fellow Ainea adherents, but it was a good motivator! He just happens to enjoy dancing, as odd as that may be to someone who has so little human contact.]

It would seem Ohma has the second least 'adherents'. However, I have plenty of ribbons.

[To no one's shock if they had spoken with him for more than five seconds. He plucked off one of the ribbons he had and offered it to Will.]

I've already acquired one of Ainea's ribbons so an exchange won't be necessary.

[Which might seem generous, but he did figure Will was more in the 'ally' category. There didn't seem to be a downside to having less of the same ribbon, so it was better if Will also received some more resources.]

You'd really think Ohma would be more popular with--ah, thank you!

[Will accepts the ribbon graciously, pinning it to his lapel. There, that's two out of three down! No harm in helping an ally get Dora, right? Especially given how likely Will is to share freely if he's asked. Science is expensive work, isn't it? As long as the projects will benefit everyone, he doesn't mind being a patron.

.....Maybe one of the projects can be educating the locals on what food is supposed to be like? Because to be honest, he's never seen food dye that can create such an impressively eye-searing shade of fuchsia. Will picks up one of the cupcakes to sniff cautiously.]

--With us. Isn't he the protector of travelers? We're all pretty far from home right now.

They would appear to be so, according to the natives.

[It was how he saw it as well. Though he didn't expect anything directly in return, he preferred to have more resources on their side as a whole.

He went straight for a drink, ignoring that it was a strange color and taking a quick gulp.]

That one also seems to lack a discernible gender. One male, one female, one with traits of both and one with traits of neither... I suppose that may be associated with the 'balance' they claim to seek.

Oh, is that how it is? I guess that makes sense..... We've got gods that have to stay in balance too, though I don't think anyone talks about their genders.

That is what I've gathered. However, [He raised his glass towards Will with a small smile, in a similar manner to expressing 'cheers'.] we have plenty of time to learn firsthand about the gods here. What of the gods where you're from?

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