♥ July 2019 Intro Mingle

[hugtopiamods]

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.

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❥ 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!

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❥ 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.

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❥ 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!

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❥ 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.

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❥ 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:

1. Attach your ribbons to yourself in a clearly visible location.
   
2. Tag and hold someone else for more than 1 minute. You can bear hug them, hold their hands, link arms, anything!
   
3. 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.
   
4. 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.

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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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Comments

[original_is_best]

I would like to know that as well. If I were able to control it, I could use it to our advantage instead of it ravaging our lands and people.

[Perhaps his question had not been forward enough but he wasn't going to forget it.]

What do you mean by 'psychic' type?

[twistedempathy]

It'd be nice to be able to vaccinate people, at least, even if you couldn't figure out how to cure it.....

[He's startled out of the more somber contemplation of a plague like that by the question, floundering a little as he finds himself at a rare loss for words. What does he mean by psychic type? That feels like trying to describe wind, or water, or fire. Any technical explanation he could provide feels like it just..... couldn't capture the essence of the thing.]

That's--it's..... psychic powers.....? You--you use your mind to..... change things. To influence things, in a way that shouldn't be possible without that force.

[original_is_best]

I was in the process of studying it when I ended up here. Though there was much I had learned, there was not yet a cure outside of visiting the Oracle.

But there are far too many people for one Oracle to see.

Though I would have never had the opportunity to see and experience many of the wonders here, it is with deep regret that I leave my work behind. Without even a sample to work with I cannot continue my research.

[His way of expressing himself might be unusual but his remarks were genuine.]

You speak of the sensation that I felt earlier? [Still not a fan.] It has such intelligence?

[twistedempathy]

How does the Oracle heal people? They must be exhausted.....

[The thought that occurs to him really isn't the most encouraging thing in the world, knowing that some mystic power seems to be the only known cure for a supernatural plague.]

.....Maybe it's better you don't have any samples right now. You could probably spread the plague to a few dozen worlds, if anyone here got infected and went home. And what would happen to them, without an Oracle or any cure you discovered?

[He sympathizes, he really does! But that sounds like a terrible idea, even to someone with judgment as poor as his can be.

Judgment as poor as to actually admit to being the culprit here, albeit with a little hesitation. He doesn't want to feel ashamed of what he is, or like he has to hide it..... Thoughts and feelings like those were what had made him let The Masked Man lead him off to begin with, hazy as his memories of those days are.]

.....Right, things like that. It was me, not her--but I'm pretty sure she's at least as smart as I am. Probably smarter. That's one reason most people find Psychic types so hard to train--they just don't know how to deal with Pokémon who might be able to think more critically and strategically than they can, instead of obeying without giving it any more thought.

[original_is_best]

A gift bestowed upon her by the gods which has been passed down through House Fleuret since approximately 2,000 year ago.

[Which was normal for his world. Those nobles and their god-given powers.]

It's perfectly safe if properly contained. My first exposure to it was when I was but a child and a diseased beast was running rampant down the streets. I've been adamant about investigating it since then, though many people feel as you do. Understanding that which we fear is what will free us from it.

[This was why people thought he was crazy back home. But he had worked with it for quite a long time and he wasn't afraid of it.]

Interesting. Can she speak? [Maybe she's the true brains of the operation here.]

[twistedempathy]

Wow..... I'm not sure if I'd call that a blessing or a curse, considering all the expectations that probably come with it. But even if your samples were here, how far could you really get without a lab and all your notes?

[Have a crooked grin at that; if Dr. Expert Epidemiologist Scientist here says it's safe, then he'll trust his judgment. (Unlike most people would or probably should. Maybe she really is the brains of the operation, or at least the common sense.)]

She does, but not to everyone, and not about everything. She's a little picky about it--but I guess that's no surprise, when most people wouldn't think about talking to her to start with.

[original_is_best]

Indeed. Often the gods seem to care little for the plight of man, and in particular the torment that they might put one through. Perhaps they see us as little more than ants. That's why it's better for us to decide our own fates rather than depend on the whims of Astrals.

[Though he tended to speak a little forcefully and eagerly in general, his mouth twisted up into a wry smirk at the suggestion he wouldn't get far without his notes.]

When you've made a project your magnum opus you tend to learn everything about it quite thoroughly. It would merely be a setback.

[That said, he took a step forward to look up at this bird creature of apparently great intelligence. He did wonder, how did an animal of intelligence from an entirely different species view the world? Their thought processes and worldview could be radically different from a human's. With little worry about shame, he addressed her directly.]

Xatu, may I speak with you? I would be interested in hearing your take on this world and your world of origin.

[twistedempathy]

Maybe the gods here can get you some to work with, then? They seem a lot more invested in us than your world's gods, considering the circumstances.....

[The Xatu spirals down towards them, landing lightly on the ground and folding her wings: even standing like that, she's a solid five feet tall. She fixes Verstael with a bright, penetrating gaze, considering--but after a moment, shifts to stand on one leg, extending a talon to him. Mind the claws though, they're sharp--even if she's catering to a human's customs, there's no getting around biology.

Such as the fact that there's no possible way a beak like hers could manage human speech. The voice reaches his mind directly, rather than his ears, soft and feminine.]

My name is Deja, Human.

[original_is_best]

They may be.

[He was polite enough to give Will an answer at least, though he didn't plan on depending on gods more than needed.

His attention shifted to Deja, then. She was quite large for a bird - not nearly the size of a chocobo, though. He wasn't very large himself. Only 5'8", though the armor could make him look a little bigger.

It was alarming when he heard a voice in his mind. He would never care for his mind being vulnerable, but he would tolerate it for the chance to have such a unique conversation.]

Deja, then. It is an honor to speak with you. We have none like yourself where I am from. Nor do our mortal beings possess such an ability.

[twistedempathy]

And I'm Will, by the way.

[He chimes in on the introductions, reaching out to scratch gently under Deja's neck feathers. She settles back into a balanced stance, bobbing her head in gracious agreement.]

And I'm sure your world has marvels of its own I couldn't imagine. What would you like to know?

When you're trying to respond to everything and forget something, oops

[original_is_best]

Will. A pleasure.

[No reason to be rude, Will had been quite helpful, and he would predict that Will had much more he could tell him in the future.]

I'm Research Chief Verstael Besithia. [His gaze turned back towards Deja.] You would be correct. Ancient wonders litter our world. Perhaps I am biased towards something I've never had a chance to witness before.

Here we've been discussing reverse digitization when there is a first person witness right in front of us. What is it like to be transformed into energy and back?

Remembering everything is hard, okok. So is headcanoning stuff the canon refuses to even touch. XD

[twistedempathy]

[A human who somehow had experienced being captured in a Pokéball would probably struggle to describe what it was like. They would stumble over their words, chained down by a language unequipped to define the experience--such a fundamentally phenomenological question isn't an easy matter to answer through language alone.

But Deja isn't a human, and feels no need to limit herself to words she rarely uses to begin with. She simply offers Verstael a memory instead, so completely mundane she doesn't even need to distance it from emotions of any sort, like plucking a flower from a meadow.

It starts in one of the houses here in Havenwell, the view of a living room from being perched on the back of a couch. A Pokéball is held out towards her--him?--, a familiar red light engulfing her. An electric tingle spills over and through her, crackling down nerves and penetrating straight to the core. Theoretically, it should probably hurt, but it doesn't--there's simply a deep awareness of every inch of her body, alive with energy, releasing all its tension at once as she disintegrates and the world around her vanishes.

There's no way to tell time in a Pokéball, save her internal estimation. She floats, weightless and formless, feeling nothing, entirely alone with her thoughts; if Verstael has ever bothered, he might find it something like meditation, or a sensory deprivation chamber. It's peaceful, if dull; she could easily stop thinking altogether, and simply allow time to pass unheeded.

But eventually, there's a spark of something again--a building tension, a fast-rising energy that floods her, the memory of shape and form and substance returning in a rush as she prepares to once again be. The world fades back into view around her as she explodes out, the full weight of physicality settling solidly back in like the jolt of landing after weightless free fall. Every motion is like new, until she settles into herself once again; she flaps and soars, stretching her muscles, looking down to see Will and Verstael's upturned faces.

The memory ends as quickly and cleanly as it starts, a thousand words packed into an instant. Is that explanation satisfactory, Verstael?]

/forces everyone to answer unaddressed points of their canons. Now you know the face of true evil

[original_is_best]

[Verstael was left in awe, practically breathless. There would always be something deeply disquieting about being out of control, but if there was one thing he could do besides asking a massive amount of questions it was acknowledging when he was outmatched in some way.

It was hard for a human to fathom the process of being created into energy. He wondered if this was what the afterlife would be like. For a verbose man such as himself he was quickly trying to ascribe words to each part of the experience. Perhaps this was what it was like to be an infant, experiencing all the sensations of the world with no way to describe them.

That was all right. When something didn't have a word a new one could be created for it. An experience like this deserved its own word.

He had to catch himself when the memory suddenly ended, stepping forward heavily as if he nearly tripped and gasping for air. He had a deep appreciation for the unique, but he was rarely so blown away. His eyes darted around as he ascertained his location. The he righted himself, standing tall with his head held high like he was 7' instead of 5'8".]

That was truly miraculous. [He spoke in earnest, holding back nothing.] Tell me, do you find this method as convenient as the humans do?

GASP you monster

[twistedempathy]

Easy, there. You okay?

[Will reaches for Verstael's arm to steady him: for a moment, the man looked overwhelmed. Deja preened at the admiration, feathers fluffing a bit; it's difficult to tell, given how stiff and inexpressive a bird's face is to human sensibilities, but there's something knowing in her gaze. After all, she heard you talk about your work.]

Humans take it for granted and fear it in equal measure. If they also battled for their livelihood, they might appreciate it the same way I do.

[She doesn't bother to elaborate--but a scientist like Verstael, used to thinking innovatively and working with such a medical catastrophe at home, might understand the implications. A lack of physicality means there's nothing to feel, and nothing to be affected. Pain and exhaustion? Irrelevant. Poison, illness, bleeding? Paused, if nothing else. Critical wounds? Stabilized until treatment could be found.]

[original_is_best]

[Though he wasn't a particularly 'touch-driven' person, he gave no complaint about Will offering his help. Once he was steady he lifted a hand to reassure him that he was fine. He couldn't allow himself to be disoriented for long.]

A stasis, of sorts. Naturally such a thing would revolutionize medicine, but we wouldn't be able to create it without first testing it on living subjects. I had thought about it in passing, of course. I'm sure many have. I had other projects that needed to take priority, however, and would have needed to find a safer way to test it.

You battle?

[She didn't appear ill. Beyond that, he didn't really see a reason for her to fight, but his knowledge of their world was still quite limited.]

[twistedempathy]

It's a sport!

[Deja doesn't look particularly inclined to explain, so Will chimes in, wagging a finger.]

People never fought wars by themselves--Pokémon are so much more powerful than humans, anyone who tried would've just gotten wiped off the map. But not all Pokémon are as smart as Psychic types, either--none of that power means much if you don't understand what to do with it. It was important to be able to come up with strategies and think on your feet.

There's not much real fighting these days, but Pokémon training is still tradition just about everywhere, so now it's mostly just friendly competition. I work for the league my region set up!

[original_is_best]

[He could certainly argue about fighting more powerful forces. After all, he was ready to fashion a way to fell gods, though it did bother him in a way. Mostly because he respected Deja's intelligence, and there were so much more useful things she could be doing with her time.

Then again, perhaps it was more like a hobby.]

I see. Then outside of sports? [His attention turned from will to address Deja again.] I cannot help but think your talents would be invaluable in a lab or research center.

[twistedempathy]

[Isn't it all a hobby, just one they happen to get paid for? Deja tilted her head, thoughtful.]

I'm sure many of my kin lend their help that way already. It simply hasn't been the direction my own life has taken.

[She's not necessarily opposed to the idea, but the labs in Team Rocket..... they weren't somewhere almost anyone would want to spend their time. And where else would there even have been an opportunity?]

[original_is_best]

I see.

[Slightly disappointing. It might be that he was biased. He had only met one of her kind, and she was unlike anything he had ever seen. If there were many more like her, maybe her talents weren't properly appreciated. Perhaps it was so normal that she didn't even see herself as particularly special.]

When I have my lab prepared you will be most welcome anytime, if you so desire.

[Not an 'if'. A 'when'. Because he could only exist so long without a lab of his own.]

It sounds as if there is still much I could learn from both of you outside of a lab. [This time his attention turned back to Will.] Do you have a spare of those contraptions?

[twistedempathy]

[There's no reason to think of herself as special or unique; in Havenwell or Eos, she may be unprecedented, but at home? Xatu aren't common, but they aren't vanishingly rare, either. Plenty of researchers study Psychic types; one Pokémon battling instead of furthering science would hardly be missed.]

I'm sure we'll come to see it, once you've established yourself.

Sorry, I don't. I have plenty at home, but when I woke up here? All I had with me was three of my team. Better than nothing, though! I don't know what I'd do if I none of them managed to make the trip too.

[original_is_best]

I’m pleased to hear that.

[Even if it wasn’t a guarantee of much it was something. Surely she’d see how worthy his research was when she visited.

He frowned slightly at Will.]

A shame. I would like to see the inner workings of one so that I could replicate it. Perhaps in the future.

[So many things here to tear apart and examine the insides. He took a brief glance around, quirking an eyebrow at the chaos.]

Perhaps I should look into some of the technology here first. It would seem there are some flaws that need fixing.

[twistedempathy]

I'll be sure to let you know if I find an empty one! In the meantime, maybe you should start with the virtual reality, or the replicators? I think everyone has been having trouble with those.

[Depending on his research, either of them could well be persuaded to lend a hand. But really, wouldn't it be in his best interest to at least figure out why all the food machines are malfunctioning before trying to do anything else? Those are probably what will help him stock up his future lab, after all.]

[original_is_best]

I would be most appreciative if you did.

Yes. It would appear they're in disrepair. However, I'm not sure what would cause them to malfunction in this way. If I can find a spare one to take apart I may be able to locate the issue.

[Even though he didn't yet know how they worked he was confident in his ability to understand what he saw.]

I'd like to see how they form the matter to begin with as well. Perhaps it's not a "replicator" so much as some sort of "teleportation", moving the objects from one location to another. If proper maintenance wasn't kept up, the incorrect objects would be in the assigned locations. I suppose we'll see.

[Maybe he should get on top of that and see if he could wrangle himself a replicator to tear apart. Though he was having fruitful conversations, he was eager to get his hands on something.]

Will. Deja. Conversing with you both has been quite enlightening. I do plan on speaking with you both again.

[A warning maybe?]

[twistedempathy]

Oh, that would make sense! If that's the case though, you'd have to get into any warehouse the materials are stored in, too, not just fix the machines themselves.

[He's very used to teleportation himself, considering how many of his Pokémon are capable of it. That sounds like his cue to take his leave, though--don't want to get in the way of a scientist doing important work! Is it a warning, a threat, or a promise?]

You can call or text anytime, it's been fun! I'll leave you to it, though; I'm not that handy with technology.

Good luck, Dr. Besithia.

I almost want to start another thread for seeing him at the ribbon event later

[original_is_best]

And I'll leave you to herding. I will keep in mind the offer.

[With a nod of acknowledgement to Will, and another to Deja, he headed out to see what he could find. Hopefully he could get something to work on because there was a lot here that could use his help.]