hugtopia_logs | ♥ November Event Log

♥ November Event Log

a gloved hand places a brick in place on a wall

November (Malom) Event Log
The chaos of Lasohm's invasion is still fresh in the mind, but it's over. The ugly scar of the hole in Havenwell's wall is a jarring reminder that this world is dying and nothing goes quietly into that dark night. The phantom is gone as Malom overtakes Lasohm, the weather turning colder and chillier with each passing day. Still, the city of Havenwell has all of you offworlders to thank for its survival, and the fearful citizens make sure you know just how much they appreciate you by stopping you on the street to say their thanks. Your new home still needs your help to recover from their ordeal though, so will you lend them your strength once more?

❥ PROMPT I: Rebuilding Effort

a stone wall with a large collapsed hole in the center

The magic barrier over the hole that unknown monster punched through Havenwell's wall is repaired, stopping the onslaught and encouraging any other nightmares that lurk outside to move on and away, but the hole itself remains. Throughout the month of Malom, robot natives are working tirelessly to gather bricks and stone and patch the breach, but they could use some help. Work together with other offworlders and natives alike to repair the wall and be rewarded with a handsome bump to the Dora in your bank account. They need all sorts of help, from clearing away the dead bodies of the spider-like creatures for cremation, to retrieving and hauling stone for the wall, to actually slotting the heavy blocks into place to cement them back together.

Outside the barrier, now clearly visible through the hole, a storm rages on, obscuring the view of the world beyond it. Gray and black clouds whip against the invisible barrier, and occasional debris slams into it, causing the impact site to light up with silver, pink, blue, or white hues before it fades away again. It seems even without monsters, the world outside is as inhospitable as was rumored.

Work together or take a break along the base of the wall and get to know your fellow offworlders a little better. It's going to take a while before this mess is cleaned up.

❥ PROMPT II: Air Sickness

Those who worked at or were near the breach in the wall for any extended period of time will notice that, over time, it gets harder to breathe. Then they begin to feel feverish, even if they don't have flesh bodies or are immune to disease. Their bodies ache and groan and it gets harder to move about without help. Once the natives notice, they set up a recovery area away from where the breach occurred: a giant tent with cots and pillows, thick rugs and blankets to keep the chill away. Unfortunately, they don't have medicines available to treat flesh bodied people, so they're at a loss of what to do otherwise. The priests gather anyone who is ill and brings them here...which is when a curious thing occurs.

While conventional medicines and healing spells seem to have no effect on the illness, staying in contact with another person alleviates the symptoms. After a period of contact with another person or persons, the fever breaks and it's like you were never sick at all.

Return to the wall, however, and you'll notice your symptoms coming back with a vengeance after a few days. It seems that making regular trips between the wall and this recovery tent is the only way to keep working. At least it's an easy fix so long as you're not a germaphobe.

❥ PROMPT III: A Tasty(?) Reward

a collage of different foods on display: salads, meats, and pasta

Toward the end of the month as the hole in the wall is completely repaired and the risk of illness declines, a message is sent to all the offworlders' communication devices. Those who choose to open it will find a very official looking message from The Havenwell Council that reads:

Greetings, Saviours of Havenwell!
We of the Havenwell Council greet you and wish to express our eternal gratitude for your valiant efforts to keep our wonderful home safe. Without you, we would not have survived this terrible onslaught. As such, we wish to express our gratitude in a more concrete form. Your emissary, Magolor, has been in contact with this venerable Council and has brought to our attention that your greatest concern is for the food available. We apologize that due to our inability to taste we have been unable to supply you with satisfactory meals.

To that end, we invite you to work with our scientists to improve upon the taste of currently available offerings from our replicators. Please come to the Northern Research Tower (map included) at any time this month to sample what our replicators can produce and give us feedback on their flavour and textures. We ask that you be as specific as possible in your criticisms so we may improve upon your general quality of life. Please feel free to bring as many friends as you wish.
May the Gods Protect You,
Havenwell Council, Community Liaisons

Those who take the invitation will arrive at the Northern Research Tower and be taken directly to the 40th floor, where a large banquet hall has been laid out. Five rectangular tables, over 5 meters long each, stretch down the room, creating aisles for people to walk down. At the far end are several high round tables, covered in white cloth, and high round stools for those who wish them. The tables are overflowing with food, much like the welcome dinner, but at each table and scattered throughout the room are scientist robots with arm bands that read "Experiment 73" in that peculiar Aellyn script you saw during your time at the Archives. They invite you to taste the foods - both raw and cooked - and to give your very honest opinions.

Enjoy the food, help them improve the flavours, and walk the room to talk with the others who have come. Those who participate will receive a small synthetic fruit basket to take home with them on their first visit. Feel free to come back as often as you like, however! Each time, they'll be changing and adjusting the food available so your first and last visit may be very different. Perhaps that strawberry actually even tastes sweet, finally.

❥ PROMPT IV: A Virtual Spa

a spa/water park with large open pools, an enclosed building, a bridge, and a water slide in the background

The VR cafes are uncharacteristically quiet while the rebuilding effort goes on, but there are still those who come to plug in to unwind after a day of intensive labor. And what better way to unwind than with a hot bath, right? Since the people of Havenwell can't actually submerge themselves in water, they're doing the next best thing: going to a virtual hot spring. There are several types to choose from and despite being digital, their calming and soothing effects on the body seem very real. Choose from:

The Classic Outdoors: a rock lined hot spring with natural rock floors and steamy mineral infused waters nestled in the mountains. All around you is beautiful greenery like a sweeping pine and low fragrant bushes. The serene air and the calm forest is only occasionally broken by the sound of a wooden pipe thudding hollowly against a rock at a steady interval or the sound of birdsong off in the trees. The relaxing atmosphere is enough to set even the tightest wound nerves at ease.
The Marbled Columns: white and painted marble columns lead to a series of different shaped baths with statues of the gods pouring water into them. Each bath has a different healing property, which is clearly marked with a plaque at the rim of each: good for your circulation, your bones, your aches and pains, even acne and metabolic rate. The columns support a beautiful open ceiling that shows the perfectly blue sky overhead dotted with the occasional cloud.
The Steamy Sauna: though seemingly austere in their white tile and deep blue bath basins, the air here is thick and steamy and the baths are deep with hand-rails leading down steps to help you enter. All around the basins are stone or wooden benches with towels laid down for those who wish to simply sit and let the warm air open their lungs. If you get too hot? Grab a bucketful of cold water from one of the freestanding tubs and douse yourself to get a shock and cool off.
The Milk-and-Honey: a beautifully tiled bath with a large shallow rectangular basin. The surrounding walls and ceilings have blue, white, and gold geometric designs laid out with loving care in pleasant designs that ease the mind. The bath water here is filled with a concoction of milk and honey to soothe and smooth the skin, filling the air with a pleasing sweet scent. The effects of these baths on a person's skin is said to make them glow from the inside out for at least a day after bathing.
The Theme Park: the first thing to greet you is the comically oversized bottle of red wine tipped to pour a continuous stream of red liquid into the large crystalline bath basin. The smell of wine is heavy but pleasant in the air and the crystalline basin is round and shaped like a wine glass. Climb up the glass steps and give yourself a good old soak in the red water. You might even find that taking a dip here gives you a heady happiness that lasts all day. And if it feels like you're a little drunk while there? That has to be your imagination! ...Maybe.

Hot springs are great to experience with friends to deepen that feeling of skinship you have with each other, and several Havenwell natives are doing just that. But what about those who don't have a friend to log in with? Don't worry! The game will randomly select another player from this or another facility and match you together. Isn't that nice? We're sure it is! Who doesn't want to talk to someone else while naked, right?

This event will run from November 14th to the 31st. 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 here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Give him a nice sunbeam to to snooze in to simulate his natural habitat (hot all the time), then.

Until then, water: finished. Cot: as comfortable a place to rest as any. It's not exactly the perfect set up to wait out a fever, but it'll do. He shakes his head a little, he won't ask for anything else.

Does his hair count, its the only sunshine he's got. Unless you count him, the furnace, because that was also an option and one that was readily available.

May the cot shuffle commence. Kai moved a bit, but it was mostly just so Shinji could get as comfortable as the cot would allow. He was still right there, sitting on the edge with him with his hand resting lightly on Shinji's side. There might not have been anything else that Shinji would actually ask for, but it was going to take a long time for Kai to forget that tug on his shirt.

"I'll stay as long as you want me to, 'kay?"

These are both incredibly acceptable alternatives. He will simply bask in Kai's presence in lieu of any actual sunshine. Wonderful.

That hand resting on him feels so nice and warm, he really doesn't want him to leave at all. That'd be a little ridiculous, though, he's sure Kai has other things to be doing. But, if he's sure he'll end up feeling just as bad sooner or later... What's he going to do, tell him to go back to work? Hm.

"If I fall asleep, you don't have to stick around."

Does that sound like a good compromise? It isn't like he's going to be any good for company if he's dozed off.

Yeah, that one was good. That would have been his suggestion if Shinji had protested, so, worked just fine for him. Kai nodded, offering a small hint of a smile for him.

"Sounds good."

Though considering how quickly Shinji had just almost dozed off, Kai figured it probably wouldn't hurt to stay a little longer than that. Just to make sure he was okay. That kind of thing.

He's kind of banking on that fact to not eat up more of Kai's time, but what's he gonna do? Tell him to leave? While he's asleep? Too devious, Kai.

"Okay."

It's a deal, then. Give him another second to make sure he's bundled up as much as he'd like - feel free to ignore the slight shivers he gets while doing so, and... he reaches out slightly from under the blankets to lightly brush his hand against Kai's. Yeah. Yeah, that's good.

Look at him, being so sneaky.

Though not nearly as sneaky as Shinji with this little hand move. It'd be a little harder to slip away, but whatever. Kai went ahead and slipped his hand in Shinji's. It was okay. You could go ahead and rest. He'd figure out what to do with those extra shivers in a moment.

Oh, well, he hadn't quite been aiming for this outcome, it was mostly just a gesture of appreciation on his part, but he's also not going to complain. Kai's hand in his is warm in a way that's become so familiar, maybe in such a way that it can at least take a little bit of the edge off those chills on its own...

He gives that hand a slight squeeze before loosening up his hold once more. Don't worry, with how cozy he's gotten, he definitely isn't going to take too much longer before that dozy state overtakes him once more.

Kai stayed right there, just as promised, as attentive as any good watch dog could be. He had to wait for Shinji's hold to go lack beneath his fingers, until the rise and fall of his chest was as deep and even as this wheezy fever would allow. Both happened in record time, and then Kai stayed right there a bit longer.

Just to be sure.

When he was, the blonde carefully went about extracting himself from the cot. Every care was taken to make sure he didn't jostle anything. Before he went too far, he figured he'd try to get another blanket or two to get those shivers outta here. Those were no good.

But. Ah. It seemed. Someone. Had taken all the good blankets to achieve their dreams of being a sick croissant or something like that. Fuck off? Anyway. Kai considered this new problem.

Solution: Steal a cot, shove it next to Shinji's and join him. Easy! And that was how Kai ended up curled up around him, snoozing quietly.

Again, Just to be Sure.

It's a smart move on Kai's part, for sure, to add that bit of warmth into the situation himself. The blankets only help so much, and while Shinji isn't getting into too deep of a sleep, his drowzy mind is still being left an awful lot of room to reason why he's still so cold, still having trouble talking deep breaths. Having something as warm and real as another person nearby is enough to reel him out of that all too familiar drowning sensation, and into something that's becoming almost as commonplace.

Just... having someone there.

Not really giving the extra presence too much thought, Shinji eventually finds himself turned toward the source, curled up and pressed close into Kai's chest as he continues to doze.

The shuffling around on the cot roused Kai a little bit. He'd only been lightly snoozing at this point. It seemed like maybe Shinji was waking up, so Kai yawned and blinked his eyes open.

Oh. Huh. That was definitely a Shinji curled up against his chest, not a Shinji that was waking up. Kai looked down at the sight of this, considering the way it was making him feel. As much as he might have needed to downplay things to make them easier for him to start dealing with, there was... it was...

Kinda nice, to feel like he was actually needed. There was a part of him that wondered if he should have been the one putting up a buffer here but. Well. He'd meant it, when he said he didn't plan on going anywhere. If this was where he was needed, where else would he go?

Kai wrapped his arm around him then, holding this shivery (though less than before) bundle close and tucking him under Kai's chin. Content with this, Kai let his eyes slip close to get some sleep for real.

Sometimes, desperate times are a plenty good reason to eschew personal boundaries and seek out comfort. A more rested, more vigilant Shinji might be more wary of letting himself get so close without a very good reason for it, but a tired, unwell one won't always hold the same reservations. He may only be very loosely aware that he's even doing it, but it's a brutally honest and incredibly human mentality of 'why bother feeling sick and lonely when there's a solution to at least one of those things right here?' which... it'd probably be completely unsurprising to find out, given how the everything in Havenwell has worked so far, that the gesture is a nice solution to both problems.

As the nap draws on, and the two remain cozied up to each other, breathing becomes easier, those shivers subside, and soon enough, Shinji's fever breaks.

His initial excuses for his condition, though, hadn't been a lie - Shinji really wasn't used to the kind of chill in the air that Havenwell was experiencing. The kind of chill that makes staying in bed under some nice, heavy blankets, curled up with something (or, in this case, someone) warm feel incredibly enticing. It's. Different. But profoundly cozy. Even as the mysterious fever makes its exit, Shinji remains sleeping solidly where he's planted himself.

It really had been getting kind of chilly, hadn't it? Kai hadn't thought too much of it, between being from an place not eternally consumed by summer and the weird fluctuations in Havenwell's weather on a day to day basis. It was a little more noticeable when the evenings came, and he had the mind to pull out the blankets.

It wasn't quite evening, and he hadn't had the mind to grab a blanket for himself. Actually falling asleep hadn't really been the plan at first, but as circumstances would have it, That inevitable sluggishness was creeping up on him. Given their current situation, it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. Already sleeping meant he was missing all the fog and the weariness.

The chills, though. Those were here. It was awful convenient that there was such a warm bundle right here. There were no clear signs of this cuddle train stopping, not with the way Kai seemed to be trying to absorb all this warmth.

It takes a while longer still for Shinji to finally start to come to. Between the cozy blankets and cozy company, the fatigue of recovering from both the mystery illness and the workout he got from all of that heavy lifting, all crammed into one quiet, dreamless nap... who could blame him for sleeping in a little longer?

It can't last forever, unfortunately, and a chance attempt to shift himself around a bit being cut short by Kaito's hold on him is met with a tiny, confused "Nn?" as he lets himself awaken enough to figure out what the heck this is all about.

He remembers... being dragged to the tent, and Kai getting him settled on one of the cots. He also remembers telling him that he didn't have to stay here (>:T!!!) but also... Kai had mentioned maybe not being able to avoid getting sick by then. Is that what's happened here...?

Feeling a bit more alert, Shinji attempts to carefully wiggle some room between the two of them. Not enough to break Kai's hold by any means, but enough that Shinji can look him over to see how he's doing.

Presently there was a little furrow between his brows due to all this wiggling, a quiet grumble in his throat. It all smoothed out shortly, leaving everything else. His face was flushed with color despite how much paler he looked than normal, mouth parted slightly with quick, shallow breaths.

Definitely not the face of someone that was 100%, but hey. Could be? Worse?

That's still! Not great!

But, hey, you know who here has blankets to spare? This guy. He's not sure why Kai wouldn't have grabbed himself one before laying down, but if that's how it is... one of these blankets has got to go. With this extra room he's managed to make, Shinji peels one of them away with as much care as he can to not jostle the cots too much. It's not really the ideal position for him to help Kai achieve proper blanket burrito status, but he can at least get him mostly covered.

One blanket, just for you, Kai, pre-warmed to keep you nice and toasty.

Oh. Wow. This was some serious elevation in cozy levels. Pre-warmed blankets were amazing. They also put into perspective how chilly he actually was though, his body shuddering a bit in response and trying to curl up on itself. The main result of this was pulling Shinji right back in-- sorry, were you wanting some space?

T o o B a d .

"Ah-!"

The exclamation is a soft one - he still doesn't want to wake Kai up if he can help it! But what he set out to do has been accomplished, Kai has been checked on and tended to as much as Shinji can manage from the coziness of the cot, so... what can he do? if not accept this fate?

This is definitely a lot more awkward on Shinji's end now that he's awake, though. There's still some dregs of sleepiness he has yet to shake off completely, so the idea of letting it happen doesn't sound wholly unappealing, but getting pulled in so close... bafflingly, he can't really figure out how to feel about it. Kind of? nice? but still stressful?? Maybe thinking about it too much is a little ridiculous, it isn't like Kai was doing it on purpose.

But. Hey. If he can help fight off those shivers, that's a good enough reason for him to settle back in place. He'll do his best to relax and keep resting while Kai continues to sleep.

At least Shinji wouldn't have to bear this awkward situation alone for too much longer. Even with as cozy as this was and as careful as Shinji had been, Kai's internal nap clock was still ticking away. Sick or not, it was just... about... time....

Kai shifted as he yawned, moving to roll on to his back. He didn't make it very far at all with his arms so full and also? A blanket? Did he have a blanket. Huh. Blearily opening his eyes, Kai blinked and looked down at this warm pile still pulled against him.

Oh. Huh. Blinking again, Kai tried to lift his hand, gently depositing the sleepiest of headpats. There, there. Good job, Shinji.

Okay. Well. That was definitely a little more on purpose. Sleepy or not, it's still a nice, warm, and affectionate gesture that continues keep him at a loss for words.

Maybe still don't think about that too much, Shinji.

"Hey," he mumbles softly. He's going to just put aside those feelings about that gesture, opting to check on Kai instead. "How are you feeling?"

Yeah maybe don't think about that too much. Kaito definitely wasn't, even as he let his arm drop back loosely over Shinji's side.

"Hey," he mumbled back, closing his eyes to sort out that complicated question. How was he feeling. A bit achey, kinda sluggish... "Not as bad as I could be, overall."

That's. Hm. If he were doing okay, he'd say as much, right? 'Not as bad as possible' isn't compelling enough to motivate Shinji to want to leave him to his own devices just yet.

"Hmm." Hmm. "If you want to keep resting, I won't go anywhere."

The cozy train doesn't have to pull into the station just yet.

"Mmm."

That was a nice thought. It still wasn't one that Kai could do much with, though. Actually asking for anything for himself just. Wasn't part of the system. There was no problem at all with reaching out, if it was framed around Shinji's well being. Which was precisely what was happening right now.

Kai looked at him again, his hand making it's way back to Shinji's forehead. Even if it was generally unsurprising, it still managed to surprise Kai a little just how effective this pile on had been. "You're looking a lot better though. How're you feelin'?"

Ah, he did kind of leave room for a non-answer, he supposes. It will be more telling to actually see what his next move is - if he tries to get up himself, or shoo Shinji off. He also meant it when he said he wouldn't go anywhere, so if Kai stays, so will he.

Unsurprising is also Kai moving to check his temperature. He might be a little toasty from these sleepy endeavors, but that's a completely different kind of warm than that fever had been.

"Better," he replies. "Thank you."

"Good."

More aware of his arms and the blanket, Kai rolled himself on his back properly this time. He was still plenty cozied up to the other boy, but now they both had room to stretch out their limbs if they so chose. Kai did as he yawned again, letting his arm plop over his own face afterwards.

"You don't have to hang around in sickville if you're feelin' better," he rumbled from under his arm. While he couldn't ask Shinji to stay, Kai could at least sort of admit that he didn't want to tell Shinji that he should leave. No matter the context, that felt... bad.

Time for those biiig stretches! And then settle right back in to cozytown (station name sickville).

He didn't want Kai to feel like he had to stay earlier, but he had anyway. Even if Shinji wasn't feeling terribly unwell anymore, it only felt fair if he returned the favor. Maybe... he's projecting those desires to not feel lonely a little bit? Maybe he'd feel guilty bailing now. He likes being around Kai regardless, and as long as he's not taking up resources for some other sick offworlder, there shouldn't be any harm in staying, right...?

"Is there anything you want me to get for you?"

Might as well get that much out of the way, first.

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