♥ November Event Log

[hugtopiamods]

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?

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❥ PROMPT I: Rebuilding Effort

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

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

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?

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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.

Comments

[whenyouneedme]

Just like a cat. Kai's sure he's had that thought before, but it's a little more amusing this time around.

"Mm. Pretty sure. It's not even all that bad." It was milder than Shinji's had been, if anyone moved to check it. "Probably 'cuz we both stayed put."

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Y'know, like, nyah.

"Yeah?"

Of course, Shinji hadn't actually been able to tell what his own temperature was at the time, he could really only guess based on how he had felt. He can still move to check, though, and that's just what he does, raising his hand to lightly rest the back of it against Kai's forehead.

Amazing what not doing a bunch of hard work will do when it comes to not exacerbating a fever, huh?

[whenyouneedme]

Let's be honest here: Kai had no idea what his actual temperature was either. But he felt okay. Therefore he had a whole lot of confidence in something that very well could have been burning up. Let's all be pleasantly surprised when it actually worked out in his favor this time. It was indeed just mildly warmer than it should have been.

Warm enough that the feeling of Shinji's hand was pleasantly cool. That was nice. He leaned into it, just a little bit.

"See?" There it was again, the ballsy confidence.

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Still a little warm, though, huh? He lets his hand linger there for a moment when he feels Kaito lean in, go on and soak up some of that coolness.

"Guess so," he won't fight him on this one - as far as Shinji can tell, this could definitely be a much worse fever. Hopefully it won't take too much to kick the last bits of it, in that case. "That's good."

[whenyouneedme]

It was like finding the cool side of the pillow, but just a little bit nicer with that added bonus of touch magic. Kai let out a content little sigh, letting himself sink back after a moment.

"We kicked yours pretty quick," he murmured, following the same train of thought, "so this one should pass real soon."

Though. How long had they even been sleeping? It was truly a mystery. Who knows how long it actually took. At the very least, however, it'd definitely taken less than a whole day. That was pretty amazing all on its own!

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Was it quick? It wasn't exactly easy to tell from the comfort of sleepytime junction, but it didn't feel like a terribly long time... Who knows? Not this guy. Kai was probably awake for more of it, so he'd probably have a better idea, either way.

Might as well settle back and get cozy while they wait out the last of it, then.

"Hmm, I hope so," and, without really giving it much thought, he lightly brushes his hand against the top of Kai's head before drawing it back down. Kind of a faint echo of those casual headpats he himself just received. "Don't make yourself get up too soon if you aren't sure, though."

Even if it seems like it should be a short enough wait, that's no guarantee that it will be. There's no sense in leaving before it's absolutely over.

[whenyouneedme]

That brief little touch made him blink. It was over too soon to really register if that had felt nice. There was a suspicion that it had felt nice. It wasn't anything to linger on, but he kinda wished it'd happen again for just a little longer, just to see.

But it was over, and Kai already moved on, mysteries left untouched and unsolved. There were just the hints of another smile on Kai's face as he nodded against the pillow. "Yeah, yeah. I'll be good. There's no use in cartin' people over here if I'm not going to behave either."

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Maybe Kai will be lucky, and a more substantial headpat will be dished out in the future. Someone has to try it eventually, right?

It might be a little much for Shinji right now, though, and since no attention was called to it, the moment passes without much thought on his end.

"Good." For certain. "I don't think I'd be able to do the same to you if you weren't taking care of yourself."

His stature is, ah, absolutely not suited to physically hauling someone off to a sick tent like that.

[whenyouneedme]

Pshhh as if anyone was ever going to get the idea to pat the dog on the head. How silly.

"Y'could just drop a blanket on me," Kai supplied, amused. "That'd be good enough."

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Not good enough at all!! "I'd find someone else to help get you to a bed before just leaving you outside with a blanket."

If you're not going to have any self-respect, Shinji might just have to have it for you, Kai. What a completely ridiculous notion that would be.

[whenyouneedme]

That's weird, Shinji. What the heck is even self-respect. Does it have anything to do with 'pride' or whatever. Can you eat it.

Kai huffed a little-- not quite a laugh, because that was dangerous, but similar enough to get the point across. "That's a bother. Just roll me off to the side," he mumbled into the pillow.

[hedgehogsdilemma]

It is weird, you're right. It's really not self-respect anymore if you're just projecting it on to someone else, either. Just regular old respect. You're getting respect from him. Wild.

"No way," that is absolutely not how you recover from getting sick, dude. "It's too cold to be sleeping outside, anyway."

[whenyouneedme]

What. Can you eat it?

Well he'd kind of hope you'd roll him over and drop a blanket on him. That was plenty enough. "Hm? Maybe at night, yeah. It's still pretty pleasant when the sun's out though."

[hedgehogsdilemma]

You can accept it into your heart, which I guess is something you get to through your stomach sometimes so




s u r e.

Even the tag-team combo of blanket + rolling doesn't sound sufficient enough to ward off those chills from Shinji's perspective! But... Kai's probably at least a little more suited to the possibility of braving the lower temperatures to catch a nap than Shinji is. That doesn't mean he has to like the idea.

"It's nicer inside, though."

[whenyouneedme]

............................ Okay.

Ah. Shinji was an indoors kid. From all the little things Kai had picked up so far, this checked out. Nothing wrong with that though!

"Y'think? I try not to hang around inside that much."

Mostly since that was considered loitering in most places.

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Sustain yourself on someone else's respect. Delicious.

Not quite, Kai, but Shinji's in no place to refute that if he doesn't say it out loud! "Don't you think you'll get better faster if you're inside where it's warmer, though?"

[whenyouneedme]

"Mm, I mean, I guess," Kai said with a shrug of his shoulder. "Though with the way things have been going here, I bet all you'd have to do is sit on me for a while and it'd be fine."

[hedgehogsdilemma]

He has a point.

"Kind of how it always goes here, huh?"

Getting close and personal has been a good cure-all so far. That's... probably been a big factor for this sickness. That's unsurprising.

"I'd be able to do that much for you, at least."

[whenyouneedme]

Kai smirked at him a little bit. "I appreciate that you're willing to sit on me." There was a wonder about how much of this was divine intervention, but it wasn't one that Kai was willing to have right now.

"I guess that's kinda what's happening right now, too." Just more limbs draped on each other rather than sitting.

[hedgehogsdilemma]

"You know what I mean."

Probably less sitting on and more sitting with, but. You know.

"Much cozier than being on the ground, isn't it?"

And no hauling involved. How terribly convenient.

[whenyouneedme]

He already did the hauling though.

"Mm, I'll give you that. You're cozier than being on the ground."

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Guess he did technically kind of haul himself here along with Shinji.

That's very high praise you're giving him, what a goal for him to reach. He's gotta be good for something, and This is It. He exhales softly - it's only faintly similar to Kai's Not Laughs, but there's still a certain note of amusement in the action. "Glad I can do that much, then."

[whenyouneedme]

That got another chuckle out of Kai. This one was notably unaccompanied by any coughs! Whoa!

"Hey. I actively choose to sit on the ground, you know." This was a fact, actually. "That puts you like way up there."

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Amazing...!!

"I'm sure it helps if it's making you feel better, too."

Comfier. Healthier. Lucrative. How could all of that not be appealing?

[whenyouneedme]

Those were all really cool bonuses, it was true.

"Yeah, yeah." It wasn't even just that though, was it? Even without the bells and whistles, Kai had found it was just kinda... nice. Being able to just quietly exist with someone else was still kind of novel, and even if it was maybe a little dangerous he couldn't help but think he actually liked it.

Wild!

"Good job being a comfy guy, I guess."