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!

♥ back to navigation

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Will, of course, had his undivided attention, even as he took a sip. Will really was a very helpful individual. Perhaps once he had an area set up he could invite him over to discuss his world in more detail, when Verstael could better take notes and they could delve into every area rather than scrape the surface.]

Another world of many gods. Are you able to see and interact with your gods? I have found people from world who aren't even certain gods exist, and others where anyone can speak with their gods.

Well, I've never seen them. But there are plenty of people who've caught glimpses, sure. I don't know about talking to them, but that assumes they stay put long enough for a conversation, and most of them apparently like to roam.

[The chattiest helper~ As long as you're not interested in him, he's more than happy to gossip about his world.]

Are there certain territories they reside in or do they roam the entire world? And are the "three beasts" a separate entity from the "three birds"?

[He sipped leisurely at his drink, which had a decent enough flavor to it.]

Many of your creatures are far different than our own. Perhaps you would be able to draw them for me sometime?

I mean..... I'm not exactly a great artist or anything. But I could try to draw what people think they look like? There's art and eye witness accounts, but people haven't exactly managed to take pictures of the gods.

Those guys have Johto and Kanto as their home range, but nothing's stopping them from wandering around outside those regions, either. But both of those trios are totally different--Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres are elemental powerhouses that could destroy the world if they came into conflict.

And the beasts--they were supposedly just three totally ordinary Pokémon that Ho-oh befriended, that were killed in an accident. Nobody is really sure what they used to be, but when Ho-oh resurrected them, that power transformed them and filled them with godlike power themselves. So they became what they are now--Suicune, Raikou, and Entei.

Even a crude drawing would be helpful.

I've found there's often truth in legends, even if not everything is factually correct. It's good to know even if it's but a story.

I've heard Johto and Kanto. What are some of the other places?

Oh, I've visited a lot of regions! Let's see.....

[Will doesn't talk at too much length about the places he's been, just because he's so widely traveled, but he does try to give some sense of what they're like. Hoenn is a wild, beautiful land of dramatic extremes--looming rugged mountains and endless ocean, lush jungles and forests and scorching desert dunes. Unova is metropolitan to the extreme, a sleek and bustling place full of culture and commerce and cutting edge technology. Sinnoh is rich in history and culture, and houses some of the oldest ruins known to exist, a place some people regard with religious significance as the birthplace of humanity and Pokémon alike--possibly even of the world itself. Kalos is a charming, exotic jewel of a region, full of fine cuisine, high fashion, and breathtaking architecture. Alola is a tropical paradise and a tourist magnet, with Pokémon that have evolved to be far different from their mainland counterparts, and big plans to join the other regions in building a League of its own.....

It's entirely possible he even talks about Galar, or spin-off areas like the Ranger states, Orre, and Ferrum. Who knows where the hell this guy has been during his globe trotting years?]

[He stayed quiet as Will spoke, dutifully making some notes for himself. It was only when Will had finished that he finally spoke up.]

You are quite well-traveled, Will. I'm impressed.

Well, I did devote a few years to doing nothing but traveling and training..... You have to really dig in deep if you want to master something, right?

I figured if I really wanted to install myself as an Elite, I'd better participate in all the Leagues I could find. It took a little while, but I did pull it off.

[That's..... mostly the truth. Sort of. At first, he'd traveled just to travel, to be hard to track and experience things as much as he could..... Once he'd thought up that goal, though? That had really tied everything together. Studying and testing himself against different Leagues had made it easy to finagle his way in.]

What about you? Have you strayed far from home, Havenwell aside?

Yes. I have visited Taelpar Crag in the Cleigne region. According to legend the guardian of the Founder King, the Blademaster, guarded the gorge along with his dragon at his side. When our expedition landed there they were reportedly attacked by a dragon, which certainly brought the rumors to mind. Though I visited the region briefly, much of the precarious parts are left to teams under me. However, given the number of expeditions, I have visited the area a few times in person.

I have also been to Tenebrae, where the Oracle stays. The area around Fenestala Manor has been under Imperial control for hundreds of years. However, the Oracle maintains a close relationship with the King of Lucis, making it important for us to keep a diligent watch. There is a train route between Gralea - our capital - and Tenebrae, so it isn't difficult to reach.
The manor is quite a sight, connected to the crags around it via lengthy bridges. By all appearances it looks as if it is floating in the air. I think you would quite like it.

I have also traveled to Angelgard. I found information that the Lucians were keeping a monstrous power locked up there. If the Lucians were afraid of it then I wanted to see it myself. Angelgard is a two-pronged island near the coast of Galdin Quay, long rumored to be a gathering spot of the gods.

I believe you would have preferred Galdin Quay, though. It's a small resort fishing village, known for it's food and leisurely activities.

There is also Accordo, where Altissia is located. That has been under Imperial control for over 100 years, but like Tenebrae is mostly autonomous. I have visited there for mainly political purposes. It's full of canals, where you can ride on gondolas to visit different parts of the city. It is a lovely sight in itself. It isn't hard to imagine why the Empire chose to allow them to retain their culture and government even after they were annexed.

I have visited what ancient tombs we have been able to discover as well as other sites of significance. If you would like to hear about them I could always explain in more detail. There are a number of fascinating sites on our world. Should you ever have the opportunity to visit you could certainly accompany me on some of our explorations.

However, I have spent much of my time in the arctic outlands in Niflheim. It has been necessary for conducting my research without interference.

Wow.....

[His mind is swimming with half-shaped ideas and images, trying to visualize the places Verstael is describing. A manor that practically floats in thin air like some kind of fairy tale castle, an elegant city full of canals, mysterious ancient tombs, a frozen wilderness, a quaint and colorful fishing village..... it all sounds pretty incredible, like nothing he's ever encountered on his own travels He can't help but want to explore it all; up until only recently, travel had been his lifeblood for quite a few years, after all.]

I don't know if I'd ever get the chance to visit, but I'd love to see some of those places if I do! You really have to go all the way to arctic outlands just to get enough peace and quiet to do your research?

[The Empire must be an incredibly busy, chaotic place, if he has to go so far just for the sake of no interruptions. Isn't it inconvenient to get supplies back and forth like that?]

Not everyone understands what I do. I've been working diligently to replace our troops with robotic counterparts so that we will no longer need to put human troops on the front lines. There are those higher-up who scoff at my ideas, though. Working with disease and digging through burial grounds for information has also given them a certain view of me.

However, I have proven myself and the Emperor has given me leeway to do my work. It's preferable to stay out of the way of generals and politicians who might interfere.

If your world doesn't appreciate your talents, I would be more than happy to have you on ours.

Oh--like drones? You'd think everyone would be happy to save lives like that. It's not like soldiers would lose their jobs if they controlled those remotely, either.....

[He gets why working on plagues and digging through burial sites would earn an unsavory reputation. That's kind of unavoidable. But why are people so opposed to the idea of curing illness and sparing soldiers the battlefield?

That comment, though--Will waves a hand, laughing lightly. He is appreciated, just--not for the same talents Verstael would appreciate.]

Oh, they do! I'm one of the highest ranking trainers in my region. I'm part of the gauntlet aspiring Champions need to fight through to earn their title.

Yes, much like that. I believe some of the generals see my research as an affront to their profession.

Are you satisfied with your role?

[Because he was recruiting. Will certainly had seemed all right being in a new place and he wouldn't overlook new talent. He had a good position in the Empire and more than enough ability to offer a respectable position.]

It's just a new tool to do the job they've always done, though.....

[Is he satisfied with his role? That's..... that's a loaded question.

He wants to be good at what he does--the best of the best. He just also knows enough to realize that aiming straight for the top is a little less straightforward than most people make it out to be--the Champion of a League is a hotly contested role. If they're not careful, they can end up just a flash in the pan, uprooted from their throne in a matter of months or weeks--even days, if they're particularly unfortunate. The Champion may be the strongest at any given moment, but they're not guaranteed to have staying power. They won't be the wall everyone will dream of surmounting, year after year.

It's far better to sacrifice a little glory for a lot more long-term influence. And that? That, he's extremely satisfied with. He's proud of how hard he worked, and how far he's come. Battling is what he's always done, and he's always been damn good at it.

.....It does hurt, though. It always has. When you learn to be so in tune with your partner that you can practically act as one, you feel each and every blow. Every loss is agony, and every win is grueling--and while each of his Pokémon only fights once round of a match, he has to stand firm for them all. He knows how to endure it now, how to rise above the pain--he's undeniably proven his strength and talent, pushed to realize his full potential just as he's always been pushed to. But is he satisfied with leaving it at that? With standing at the peak, gritting his teeth, and digging in his heels to hold his ground, year after year?

He doesn't really know. Honestly, he hadn't thought that far ahead. What do you do when you don't know what you should be trying to achieve anymore? Maybe it's telling just how uncharacteristically quiet he is for once, as he considers the question.]

Well..... I'm enjoying it so far? I don't know if I want to do it the rest of my life, though.....

[Verstael might not have the benefit of psychic abilities as Will did, but he could put pieces together and be quick to take advantage of any opportunity that arose. He wouldn't hesitate to get Will on his side, even if he was pushy about it. The difference from Will's previous 'employer' and Verstael was that he preferred people to be there willingly. What point was there in recruiting someone who would want to turn on you?

And though he didn't necessarily look down on Will for doing what he was doing, he also didn't see the point. To him, it was like having the top neurosurgeon in the world decide to play video games instead. The Pokémon tournaments were sport, so besides improving some skills what was actually accomplished in the end? He thought Will could do and be so much more. Saving lives was entirely in his purview.]

Some are resistant to change. They think leaving things the way they are, how 'they worked before', is better. Particularly if they don't understand how it works. [He had no doubt the generals weren't nearly as tech savvy. Verstael was practically threatening to put them out of a job if he succeeded, and their pride mattered too much for them to accept that.]

Sometimes we have to expand our horizons to see what we're truly capable of. [Was he talking about them or you, Will?] I find my work most satisfying when it has an impact on the world.

I guess it must be pretty threatening, hearing someone say you're not good enough at what you've done your entire life..... Nobody wants to be expendable, or think all their hard work has been for nothing.

[They are still talking about the generals, right.....? He knows there's no shame in battling as a trainer--is proud of it, even though he's not sure he has the words to explain to someone from another world why it's so important to them, why training means so much.....

But it isn't an integral part of the world here, where there's no Pokémon, no League, not even any other trainers. It doesn't make a difference here. It doesn't make this world a better place, or save lives, or even make people happy. He hasn't even battled in weeks--there's just nobody to challenge. It strips the sense of purpose from battling, when you take it out of its proper context.]

I bet once you perfect it, though, and show them how it works--they'll probably be a lot happier about it when they understand what they can do now.

[He's in this picture and he doesn't like it, Facebook, stop showing this ad.]

How could your work not have an impact on the world, though? You're saving people, aren't you? Or--you will, once you get that far.

[He doubted it. Some of the old-timers were more interested in keeping things the way they were, how they were comfortable. Those types were too set in their ways.

But he cared less about what the generals thought right now and more about Will.]

I have. [Stated firmly. He saw no reason to be modest about his success.] Food production has saved many from starvation, due to my cloning techniques.

[Which was the start of how he got his status. As he successfully progressed in his work he was making a mark on the Empire and people were hearing his name. There was good reason he became known as a hero despite staying in a remote area and being generally distant.]

And I will save more in the future. [But that was besides the point. He didn't need to convince himself to do anything. It was Will that he wanted.]

You could, as well.

[Will shakes his head a little, spreading his hands and smiling sheepishly. Him, a hero like that? He's had a hard enough time just escaping being a villain. All he knows how to do is fight--it's just his good fortune that there's a benign use for that skill set, too.]

I don't know the first thing about science, there's no way I could figure out things like that. Even if I did, people just..... don't need saving in my world the same way they do in yours? Things are mostly pretty peaceful.

[You know, except for the various cataclysmic adventures involving gods and Ultra Beasts and ancient energy weapons the protagonists get to go on, which he's not privy to. Whoops?]

I wouldn't mind teaching you, but you have an entirely separate area of expertise. Different, but it could be equally as important.

[And if someone like Verstael was leading, he could help Will use his abilities for good. Or what he considers good. The potential he had was outstanding.]

There's no war?

Not recently, at least. That's why training turned into a sport--nobody wanted to give up their ancient traditions, but they were..... violent in practice, even if they're about respect and harmony at heart. So to help take the teeth out of it and provide a way to settle conflicts without bloodshed, we made it more symbolic and started regulating it.

If we really had to defend ourselves, a huge chunk of the trainer population could probably fight if it got right down to it. A lot of them could even make decent officers. But that's not exactly helping anyone, let alone anything scientific.....

[A peaceful, friendly world that had ritualized the fact that like 90% of people trained in the art of warfare as children. Good thing it was used to promote friendship, right? He just doesn't see how knowing how to do that could measure up to curing plagues.....]

It's hard to imagine.

[His world had been at war far, far longer than he'd been alive, after all. Picturing a world where no one was fighting left him wondering what they did with their time. In a way he realized that was a regrettable thing. Fighting had consumed their lives.]

In a more urgent situation, your talents could easily be used to save soldiers. Forewarning of attacks, discovery of enemy locations... These things can often be the difference between life and death.

[He was less concerned about Will's actual fighting abilities. More with his ability to communicate with his Pokemon, as well the psychic abilities that were at his disposal.]

Information is the most crucial tool in war.

I guess that's true..... Heh, it's probably even harder to imagine for you than it is to try and picture the situation in your world.

[He wonders if he could even stomach that sort of thing. Battles are all well and good, but war--actually killing people..... The thought turns his stomach. He's not sure he wants to find out what he might be capable of, in more..... urgent situations.]

..... You know..... they say Xatu can see the past and the future at the same time. People used to worship them as emissaries from another world. I've never asked if they could see things like that, though.

Perhaps. We have been at war far longer than I have been alive. I would like to end the war, but what our world will look like after war... I do not know for sure.

I've heard of such things as visions. The Oracle might experience them, I cannot be certain. Has Deja had any visions about this world?

[He was more than willing to listen. It could always provide valuable information.]

Edited 2019-08-21 01:46 (UTC)

It'll probably need a lot of clean up and rebuilding, but after that? Who knows!

[It could look like anything they want it to, if they work hard and come together. Hopefully it'll look better and brighter, one way or another! His smile fades a little at the question, though.]

I don't know. I don't..... really ask about the big stuff anymore. It seems kind of pointless, since neither of them are ever willing to talk about it.

[A beat, before Will realizes he should probably explain.]

Oh--I have two Xatu, I don't think I mentioned that before? Vu didn't show up here with me, though, so she's probably still at home.

I see. Perhaps you will see her again in the future.

It sounds as if they have some sort of rules about it. A shame. It could be quite helpful right now.

♥ July 2019 Intro Mingle

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/glosses over this shit or else we'd be here forever

/always apologizing

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Sorry this is so long

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This is pretty old now! Wrap up?