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

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.

Kai made a thoughtful hum, his fingers flexing a bit idly as he considered the offer. "Nah... Think I'm good. Somebody was hoardin' a lot of the blankets earlier anyway," he said after a moment. There was the answer why Kai hadn't grabbed one for himself in the first place at least.

Lowering his arm, Kai glanced over at him. "I can just share yours?" Since Kai already had one of them, and if Shinji wasn't in a rush to get anywhere then. Y'know. Sharing rather than taking in his absence.

Oh, that explains that. How rude...

On the other hand, that does open up a nice opportunity for ~bonding~, so thanks? mysterious blanket-thief.

That does sound an awful lot like a compromise for him to stay, too, which he will definitely take. This blanket? Completely shareable. "Mmm, all right." That sounds good. Give him just a minute to adjust, get settled in comfortably on his back, so that he can more easily split that blanket real estate between the two of them. No sweat.

What a very comfortable, shareable compromise it was. Kai let out a little sigh after they were all settled in, appreciative of this extra toastyness. He wasn't sure he'd actually fall back asleep or not, since he didn't think he felt sick enough to override his nap quotas, but it was all still nice enough to settle into. Not that this was a surprise-- Shinji was a cozy bedmate, after all.

"Thanks," he breathed out after a moment.

You could easily argue that the nice coziness between them is a practiced thing at this point, but regardless, it is relaxing.

"Mmm," perhaps neither of them are going to quite fall back asleep, but it feels worth it to just kind of lay back, eyes closed and basking in this additional warmth. "Thank you for letting me stay."

"Huh." What a weird thing to thank Kai of all people for. Wasn't it supposed to be the other way around?

"What, you didn't think I was gonna kick you outta bed or something, did you?"

Innocently enough, "I don't know."

He's still trying to figure out what kinds of boundaries exist between Kai and himself. Each time he's met with so little resistance, the chance that he might grow complacent and overstep his bounds grows, he thinks. That kind of gratitude serves as a means of keeping himself in check as much as it is appreciation toward Kai for his patience - he really, really doesn't want to end up bothering him after all he's done.

"Maybe you don't like company when you aren't feeling well."

He's not going to assume his presence is always a good thing!

Kai let out another thoughtful, "Huh," as he took in that answer.

Fair enough, he supposed. Kai didn't know the answer to that either, or even where the rest of his boundaries even were. As far as Kai was concerned, there was that big wide one that everyone else had set up for him but. Kai had already hopped that one himself and just hadn't gone back yet.

"Can't say I mind so far. Haven't had the chance to find out."

H u h.

That's the kind of thought that says a lot, isn't it? Looks like it's Shinji's turn to tuck some information away for safe keeping.

"I'll stay unless you change your mind, then."

Kai chuckled at that. Or, he attempted to, but the feeling rattled his chest in such a way that it sounded more like a series of short coughs. That really wasn't a pleasant transformation there. Rude.

Wheezing a bit, Kai shook his head as if none of that just happened. "I won't. Don't worry about that."

Those rough little coughs give Shinji something else to think about rather than the fact that he still holds some reservations about believing that entirely, at least.

He turns his head to give Kai a concerned little frown, "Are you sure you don't want me to get you some water or anything?"

At least Kai wouldn't have held it against him. That was a smart move after all. As things were now, he just couldn't see it happening unless it was for Shinji's benefit. Which it probably would have been regardless, to be frank.

"'M okay," he protested lightly. He wiggled on to his side under the blankets, taking in a steadying breath before he looked at Shinji. "This is plenty. Just don't tell any really funny jokes."

Ah yes. Shinji Ikari. Known not for his unreal resistance to having a good time, but rather his wicked sense of humor and insatiable jokelust. That Shinji. How could he not take a request like that completely seriously?

"Hmm." Give him just a second to turn that over in his head a couple of times. "I'll do my best, if it's for your sake," he says, while in fact doing just the opposite of that.

Kai just stared blankly at him for a moment.

Then the corner of his mouth quirked a little. The proceeding shift between a full laugh and needing to curl up a bit more because his chest spasmed was very quick, but there it was. One whole second of delight before the wheezing began again.

Was it worth it, Shinji??

"Ahh, sorry, sorry-!"

He quickly rolls over in order to rub at Kaito's back, hoping to soothe some of that wheezing. This was definitely on him, but he hadn't been expecting a reaction quite that big...!

It hadn't even been all that funny, honestly! And yet, here we were. There were a few more cough laughs to follow, because apparently getting that easily bombarded was also funny, but Kai couldn't get himself upset about it. He wouldn't have been able to tell you the last time he actually laughed at something so it was. Something different!

...Even if incredibly poorly timed!

The rubs were soothing though, (un)surprisingly effective at smoothing out the roughness of his wheezes. "It's, ha, fine. S'fine." He grinned behind the hand he had been trying to catch his coughs in. "Thanks for, ha, trying your best."

This was something different indeed. Any of the slight smiles and easy grins and warm chuckles he's received from Kai absolutely pale in comparison to... to this. Even through those coughs, he can tell he's hit something rare with this, and he really doesn't know what to do with it. Under that definite pang of guilt he feels for riling up that cough, his heart's racing at that grin, like something precious was unexpectedly dropped into his lap.

More than that, though, he kind of feels... a little lost, on how he could have prompted such a jovial reaction. His hand freezes for just a fraction of a second as he tries to process this before he continues to rub gentle circles into the other's back.

"Okay..." Right. Okay. "Sorry," he can't help but let another apology tumble out of his mouth. "No more jokes."

No more dry sarcasm, either. E a s y.

Don't make promises you can't keep, Shinji..!

Even with the rarity of the event, it didn't really feel like a big deal to Kai. Unaware of what kind of impact these precious commodities might have had, Kai just kept rolling on. His eyes fluttered shut for a moment as he tried to focus on those rubs and calming his system down. There we go. Mostly.

"Don't be sorry," he murmured as he looked at Shinji again, the brightness of his grin simmering back to typical levels. "You just don't know your own strength."

Looks like that pile of 'feelings to think about later' will be getting a new addition. How long until even pro-feelings-ignorer Shinji can't continue to ignore it...?

Today is not that day, or at least right now isn't the moment. Just focus on getting Kai back to a calm state for now, that's a good goal. He can stew in those emotions later.

"Pretty lousy strength if it's just going to do this to you," he mumbles with a slight huff, somewhere between frustrated and light-hearted, but definitely Not A Joke.

That's looking like a pretty big pile there, buddy.

Definitely, totally Not A Joke. Kai definitely didn't laugh, but his eyes still curved in obvious amusement as if he wanted to. "Guess it depends on the intent." Had you wanted him to laugh? Cause that happened. Had you wanted him to cough a whole bunch? That happened too!

So strong. So powerful.

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