hugtopia_logs | ♥ December Event Log

♥ December Event Log

December (Ranir) Event Log
The city of Havenwell is recovering very well thanks to your efforts, offworlders. The hole in the wall is sealed up and, while maybe not looking like new, it certainly looks sturdy and safe. The city itself has removed much of the rubble from the battles you fought, and the people are back to their regularly scheduled lives. They're eternally grateful that you continue to put in the time to rebuild this final bastion of civilization and are pleased to see that you enjoyed their festivals so far. As the weather of Ranir turns colder and the nights longer, some may even see snow dust the cobblestone and paved streets in the morning. The time of Rawna has come and with it...

❥ PROMPT I: At Least It's Not a Sweater

a pair of hands holding each other with a red ribbon tied around their wrists

Normally when a new season belonging to a god rolls around, the temple priests gear up and start with temple festivities. Seeing how this is Rawna's month, however, nothing much of the sort seems to be happening. In fact, it's almost as if Rawna's priests don't even care that their god's season has started. Rawna is, after all, chiefly the god of Apathy, so is it all that surprising?

What might be surprising is the sight of Ainea's priests in pairs out around the city in their stead. Each pair carries with them a single bright silver sash and they alternatively stand in broad daylight or hide in the shadows of the buildings. Walk by on your own and you'll be left alone, but when the priests spot two people walking even remotely near each other, they spring into action.

The two robotic priests zip around you and another person with surprising speed, tying the sash off around you - either around your wrists, your waists, your legs, whatever it takes to tie you to another person. With a triumphant buzz of excitement, they declare "Happy Ranir! Kindness comes in many forms!" and depart to find a new pair of ~~victims~~ patrons. As they leave, one of the pair calls out an additional clue for you: "Be kind to unwind!"

Good luck, everyone, you're now stuck with this other person. You can either wait until the sash naturally falls off in a few hours, or you can take the direction of the priests and be kind to the other person to encourage the magical knot to come undone. Each compliment, word of encouragement, or other act of kindness directed at your new partner seems to loosen the sash a little each time, so get to winning the Niceness War.

Oh, and in case you were thinking of blasting, teleporting, or cutting your way out? No amount of magic or physical force seems capable of cutting or removing the sash. Hopefully you went to the bathroom before they got you.

❥ PROMPT II: A Delicious Delight

After a long hard day of dodging Ainea's priests or just slogging through the colder weather around the city, what could be better than imbibing a seasonally festive drink? Well, the scientists in charge of Experiment 73 certainly think so! They've added a limited edition drink selection to all of the replicators and have some delightfully festive booths spread about the city staffed by a few robots wearing Rawna's colors in their sashes and hats. There are five drinks in total to choose from and you should certainly try them! They're only here until the end of the month and then the scientists say they'll be gone! The best things in life are fleeting, aren't they? The best things in life are also surprises, so when you take a sip of these exquisitely delicious (honest! For once they're good) beverages, prepare yourself for a little trick with your treat.

Ginger and Honey Tea: A hot, thoroughly warming drink with the bite of ginger and the sweetness of honey. Drink this and you'll be shored up against the cold, but also feel compelled to tell or blurt out the truth. Whether you're asked a question or trying to tell a little white lie, you find you can't say anything but the truth. This effect lasts for up to an hour after drinking the tea.
Strawberry Shortcake Smoothie: A cold sweet treat of vanilla smoothie topped with sweet strawberry pieces and whipped cream. At the bottom, you'll find a layer of sweet sponge cake cut up into pieces. Drink this with its own special thick straw and enjoy the taste of cake; and the effect of a personal miniature snow cloud that appears over your head. The cloud dusts you and your immediate area within a foot of you with beautiful multicolored snow - and that snow leaves splotches of color behind that last for up to an hour after drinking the smoothie.
Hot Cinnamon Apple Cider: A deliciously steamy beverage that tastes of apple and cinnamon and comes with a cinnamon stick stirrer for effect. This beverage smells as delicious as it tastes and the aroma wafts around the area more strongly than the others. Drink this penultimate holiday drink and you'll find yourself heating up so much that you'll want to stay cold by giving your heat away via holding someone else. You'll want to be everyone's personal heater for up to an hour after drinking the cider.
Gingerbread Latte: A nice piping hot latte with the hint of gingerbread threaded through the coffee, topped with whipped cream and dusted with gingerbread spice. Served in a tall red cup that seems to transfer the heat uncannily well through its thin walls, sip this and you'll find yourself painlessly sprouting an animal's appendage at random. You can have one functioning or non-functioning, cosmetic animal appendage like a cat's ears, a dog's tail, a duck's beak or whatever else you can think of for up to an hour after drinking the latte. They can replace your original body part (e.g. your ears become cat ears) or grow superfluously (e.g. you have regular ears AND cat ears). You can move the appendages or talk with them as if they are your own, but they don't confer any special magical powers with them. So you can fly with those griffin wings, sure, but you're going to need to put the effort into it.
Hot Mulled Wine (alcoholic): This one isn't for children - and in fact, under 18 people might find it hard (but not impossible, be industrious, little ones!) to get their hands on this drink. Red wine is heated with spices and citrus fruit over low heat for several hours - or it would if it wasn't all synthetically created. The effect is the same though, a delicious adult beverage that's a nice way to spend an evening with someone special. And you'll want them to be someone special because drinking the hot wine makes you inclined to get a little steamy with people. Kisses, both chaste and passionate, seem to alleviate the urge which you'll be under for up to an hour after drinking the wine.

❥ PROMPT III: Winter (VR) Wonderland

a wooden lodge at night, blanketed in snow

There isn't quite enough snow on the ground to allow it in reality, but in the VR Cafes anything is possible. This month, the VR Cafes are decorated with snowflakes in odd patterns and designs - holograms, naturally - that spin and change shape and color in a timed routine. Plug into the games and you'll find a new selection among the usual offerings: Winter Wonderland.

There are two modes to Winter Wonderland and each are fun in their own ways.

Snow Fight! Head out into the powdery snow where fantastic snow forts await and battle it out with snowballs to claim the most territory or just see who can hit the other side the most. You can choose Team Battle, Solo 1vs1, or Battle Royale. All magic, skills, and cunning are at your disposal. While the snow might not be falling outside, it's definitely going to be raining down on you here, so bundle up and have some fun. You earned it!

Ski Lodge But maybe you don't want to go flinging snow down someone's shirt and would rather cuddle up on a couch in front of a big warm fire, huh? Sure, we understand that. Welcome to the Ski Lodge, a cozy getaway up in the mountains where you can relax with a hot chocolate (or cider, or glass of wine even) and curl up on the couches and experience a lazy afternoon in thick fluffy sweaters. It's even better with a friend, they say, so why not create this private little getaway for the two (or three or four, we're not judging) of you? For people wanting a romantic lean, you can always slip out the back (and out of your clothes if you prefer) into the private jacuzzi on the wooden deck, too.

For people who want to have some fun tearing it up on the mountain-side though, we suggest trying Ski-venture! A year-round game that lets you ski or snowboard your way down the mountain.

❥ PROMPT IV: A Mysterious Gift [REGAIN EVENT]

Toward the end of the month starting from the 20th and on, some people may find themselves drawn to Rawna's temple late at night, when most of the priests are offline or elsewhere. The only native creatures you can see here are the fledgling rainbow dragons which watch you from their various perches all around the sanctum. As you approach the temple's altar, you realize someone else has been drawn here as well. In the quiet, dim lighting, the barest of candles still burning and the watchful eyes of the dragons, you feel compelled to unburden yourself to the other person. Tell your tale of woe or sorrow, relieve yourself of a secret you've kept hidden for too long, and listen to your companion as well. They say a burden shared is a burden halved after all.

Once you've both shared something, a pair of dragonlings crawl up into the altar's clawed hands. They wind around each other until an iridescent light shines from their scales. The light is blinding and you must look away as it reaches its pinnacle and releases a burst of rainbow light. When you look back, the dragonlings are slithering away and in their places are two objects - one familiar to you and one to your partner - so long as both of you have shared. It seems your tithe has been rewarded with something from home.

OOC: These items from home must be approved by a mod. They cannot exceed the Medium Item regain limit. It cannot be a power or other ability. It cannot be something your character did not own or have knowledge of in their canon or their CRAU. Please post your regain request in the Regain Request thread before threading out the receipt of the item.

This event will run from December 6th to December 31st. Click on each prompt's title to see the text. You are welcome to use this log, or create entries of your own! If you have any questions, feel free to direct them to the FAQ or to the Mod Question thread.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[It is indeed very nearly his usual place. Hello, Pyra.]

I've hardly felt the need, considering that I'm entirely capable of doing such without them.

[Levitating is a bit of a strain, now, with his limited aether, but it still remains within his abilities.]

And have you experimented much with this latest offering, my dear?

Not enough to be granted wings like yours.... and not all of those drinks, either.

[ She's embarrassed herself with the tea enough, though. But thinking of those beverages--

She can only imagine how the ones she hadn't tried honor the gods in other ways, what with the tea encouraging honesty for Diacht and the cloth encouraging compassion for Ainea. It would behoove the locals to use their resources and encourage more touch by whatever means. Which could mean that they're simply not giving enough.

She approaches him. ] And yourself?

I find the coffees and the cold drinks to be the most to my taste in their effects; the cider itself is fine, but I find the heat it causes most unbearable.

[No mention of the wine, though exactly why that is will be left to question. He flutters the wings faintly, the feathers fluffing against the cold.]

The coffee causes one to gain some temporary animal traits such as these, though I've more commonly seen ears or tails. The smoothie grants a personal snow cloud, which seems largely an amusement.

An amusement to you or the gods? [ ...Or the scientists that passed out the drinks, she supposes. ] Or both?

[ >implying he takes delight in rainbow snow ~~and seeing others suffer from it~~ ]

I would hardly claim to know what this world's gods think of such things.

[A shrug, complete with another flutter of wings as his hands spread wide.]

But it does not seem to serve any particular purpose beyond entertainment.

[ Oh Titans his wings are even moving with his gestures.

A moment later, her eyes return to his face. ]

Goodness, your wingspan must be at least... Twice your size. It's as if they were perfectly suited for you. [ If she had first met him today, she would have never guessed them out of the ordinary on him. ]

Oh, yes. I rather don't dare spread them fully in the street.

[Because they will probably knock someone over. He flutters them slightly before folding them back in.]

Fortunately, I have a bit of practice with the concept of wings.

[On someone who had worn less of a variety of mortal forms, they would no doubt be far more awkward.]

If you'd care to try the roulette for yourself, there's such a refreshment stand over there.

[ She glances at the drinks...but gives him a polite shake of her head.

Turning her gaze back to him, she inquires further. ]

Practice with wings before, though?

[ Well, that sounds interesting. You can't just drop that bit at random and expect someone not to ask about it!! ]

I've lived in a great many bodies, some of which did possess flight, yes, though none with wings quite like these. The sylphs are plantlike; the Ixal once had wings, but have lost them in the last thousand years.

[He sips at his drink.]

There are the dragons, as well, but I've never been one of those. Their lives are more alike to ours, stretching centuries if not longer. I would be tied up there far too long.

[ So. He has been in many forms. This is a topic that does interest her, for it piques her curiosity, her own circumstance. She could have awakened in any form, human-like or not, monstrous or not, animal or not, with a different name, a different personality, and not even ascribing to the same sex or gender. But she wears the one she does now, and has only done so for the past five centuries.

This cannot be compared to what he describes and how many forms he has taken. ]

...May I take a seat with you, and lean on you as we did when we first met?

[ For if they're going to talk, might as well engage in touch. Whether or not he permits this, she continues with her next question, curiosity dancing in her eyes. ] Someone had mentioned to me, that no matter what form they took... they were still themselves. Has that been the case with you?

[ ~~did each of his forms have a white streak crowning his hair or scales or furn or feathers~~ ]

[He smiles, and gestures her to the nearest bench, following after to settle into a seat.]

It is rather more complicated for myself and others of my kind. One might say that the price of our survival was our flesh; properly, I have no body at all, and must make use of those born to other races or created by other means.

[A brisk gesture at his own chest, as he settles in. There is no stiffening, but he is well aware that one as innocent as Pyra may recoil from the idea.]

This one is a cloned reproduction created by my grandson. To answer your question, I cannot be anything but myself, regardless of form, for my soul has become separated from the usual order of things. but of what I have seen of others... I would say, yes. That whatever form the flesh, there is much about the soul that remains the same from lifetime to lifetime.

[ And once they settle, she leans against him just as they did before. Comfortable with his presence, she relaxes beside him.

Cloning, though. And taking different forms. She listens carefully, and responds in the same manner. ]

Yet, your soul is not... exactly the same as when you first came into existence. [ What with the god born of his heart being-- intertwined? Taking from him? Something of the sort.

Another thought occurs to her. ] Have you kept your name this entire time the same? [ Names, she has heard, are important-- but just then, yet another thought follows. Quickly, she adds politely: ] You, ah, don't need to answer that, if you are not comfortable.

[It is harmless enough curiosity in which he can indulge. The subject of names is, after all, one of some complexity for him.]

I have and have not - the name of my birth remains close to my heart, but as I live among mortals, so do I use a mortal name and identity. A name from Amaurot would not fit among the vast majority of cultures that exist today, after all.

[When you wish to live among mortals without being remarked upon - when indeed your very plans hinge upon it - you change your feathers to match, so to speak.

The wing on her side folds loosely around her shoulders, as it is rather difficult to position it in any other way on the bench. He drapes the other over the armrest and out to the side.]

Lest you wonder, 'Emet-Selch' is something more akin to a title of office. Including those here, there are less than a dozen living who know my proper name.

[ The inquiry of names seems to be important to her as well, indeed; hence, her asking. She has already met another who had given both his title in the present and his name from long ago, although he seems entirely divorced from for what his name had once been, revealing it because he is no longer attached.

Emet-Selch is a title, he says, but gives no further name. Therefore, she will inquire no more of it. It is his to remain attached. That strikes her as very human. ] So, it's very precious to you... [ She speaks with a smile, as if regarding this as wonderful that he keeps secrets. ]

[ Settling against his arm and feeling the drape of his feathers about her shoulder, she glances side-long at him. ] ...If you don't mind me asking something... slightly different-- have you ever erased one of your names from history?

[He is nothing if not human. Though the word means something different to residents of the Source in modern times - more a cultural grouping than anything else - he is old enough that it once meant something more similar to what someone from a world with only one race might think, and he remembers.

In response to her question, he hums.]

I've never felt the need, but bear in mind: I prefer the role of facilitator. With a particular recent exception, I do not lead empires, but build them. To stay in the background, relatively unrecorded, is my personal preference. Many of my lifetimes have done nothing of historical import at all, and they have merely been for the sake of the experience.

[Their plans are endless, yes, but those plans take time to bear fruit, and "downtime" for an Ascian can last centuries. No reason, then, why every one of his innumerable lives must serve to that goal.]

[ He has never felt the need.... even as facilitator of building empires. ]

...Then, how would you, if you did wish a name to be forgotten? Such as, if others had buried you with items of great importance, could you ensure that your tomb for that lifetime would never be found again?

Hmm... In that specific case, I'd likely Create a wall of stone over the entire thing. That would do little to erase the historical presence - that becomes more impossible the more significant one is - but it would prevent access to the tomb for at the very least some centuries.

Of course, if it is the objects that were the problem, I'd simply drop them into the bottom of the ocean. Even the sahagin don't dive below a certain depth. If I thought I might have any need again, I'd leave such things on the moon with Elidibus.

[Just throw out that you have a friend on the moon, it's fine.

He's quiet for a moment, then regards her with more seriousness.]

I will not pry, but from the specificity, I can tell this is not exactly 'asking for a friend.'

[ He regards her more seriously after entertaining an answer to her question. Mentioning an ocean is curious; this is what had happened in her own world. Mentioning the moon even moreso-- yes, space would have been better, but the humans in her world had not the means.

Wanting to know how to erase the historical presence of someone is what he had been most curious about, but then--

"I can tell this is not exactly 'asking for a friend.'"

She shakes her head, only to meet his gaze evenly. ] With all of the... incredible people summoned here... don't you know of someone else, who would rather remain unknown? Your knowledge would help them, too.

Perhaps so; but there are hardly other people who might be hearing this discussion, no?

[He makes almost a show of glancing around - they are very nearly alone, only a few of the natives outside of easy listening range.]

You may keep your secrets, Pyra. But I am more ancient than even I myself can at times comprehend; do not pretend that you do not keep them, for it makes us both look foolish.

[ There is a bit of a breath. ]

...You think I am foolish.

Only in a way that is understandable for a young woman who must bear her weight alone. You will be neither the first nor the last.

[ ... ]

...Do you speak from experience?

I've seen many young people crumple under such weight. There is a boy who Elidibus... Well, it hardly matters now.

[He looks away from her, eyes slightly unfocused, in his own memory.]

As for myself... Yes, I do believe there was such a foolish thing I did, once, a very long time ago.

[ Unless that young boy is also immortal, then his tale has little relevance to her.

Emet-Selch is, however, ancient— this she knows from what he’s said of himself so far, from how he had been one of those creators of the first gods of his world, and the many lives he’s lived. While the label of being foolish has pushed her away, she will listen further. They are still in contact, and her offense matters little when it comes to helping the world.

Pyra raises her head, looking out towards the temple atrium. ]

Were there any consequences?

[ Of bearing a burden alone, that is, of that supposed foolishness. She allows doubt to weave into her voice: he lives multiple lives; whether in one life he is foolish and the other he is wise, whether he is alone in one and not the other, those around him eventually perish regardless. Does it truly matter for those like them? ]

♥ December Event Log

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gonna call this one about good, I think