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

Oh--I wouldn't trouble you like that. Hopefully I can figure out something for her on my own.

I would not offer if I thought it troublesome, Ardyn. Believe it or not, there are things I enjoy doing that do not involve combat directly.

Well...if you're certain, I could try to come up with something like that.

If a piece of jewelry is what you'd like to get her, but you aren't sure of the design...

A necklace, earrings, circlet, bracelet, or ring? Consider what would be most convenient to her lifestyle.

Which precious metal is her favourite, or best suits her? Does she have a gemstone she favours?

If I recall correctly you said once that she enjoys flowers. If she has a favourite flower I can create something with that shape.

Consider these things if you do decide upon a gift of jewelry, then let me know the answers. It should take no more than five days to finish any request you bring to me.

[It occurred to Ardyn that he wasn't sure if Aera even liked that sort of thing--sure, she often wore that circlet, but he couldn't remember much else of her taste. That was...a little troubling.]

You're very thoughtful to suggest it. Either way, you have my gratitude.

[ Receiving earnest gratitude is still... odd to her, leaving her mildly flustered. She brushes it aside. ]

As I have said before, you are my friend. And I enjoy making jewelry, just don't often have the opportunity to. The chance to make something for your betrothed one day would bring me no small amount of joy.

It would be endlessly kind of you, all the same.

[ She gives a tiny shrug, and finished disentangling the last of the fairy lights. ]

Kindness begets kindness, and you are long overdue to receive your share of it.

[ And a gesture to the lights that need to be put up. ]

If you would still like to help me with these, I would be grateful in turn.

I would. Please, forgive me for earlier; of course I will help as you wish.

[ Era shakes her head firmly. ]

You did nothing wrong. You've had far longer than I to carve your perceptions, and even with my limited time... It is difficult to change the perception you have of yourself.

Even so, please allow me to offer an apology. It is...difficult, to see myself as anything other than a monster or some kind of threat. But I think that I would like to make an effort where I can.

So long as you are willing to try, then I suppose I can accept your apology.

[ Era says it lightheartedly, though an unspoken weight still lingers in her tone.

She pulls out a roll of deep red satin ribbon, and another roll of golden lace ribbon. A pair of scissors are pulled from the depths of... somewhere, and Era begins cutting equal lengths to turn into bows. ]

...I have made the comparison numerous times before, without truly seeing or understanding the Starscourge you spoke of.

[ Her fingers stumble over the bow she ties, but the action does much to hide the way they begin to quiver again. It is frustrating, though Era has grown more aware that trauma is not something so easily brushed aside. ]

But now I can say with certainty that it is a near identical experience to the corrupting Light.

[He paused only briefly in hanging the lights, trying not to show how such a statement unsettled him.]

...But you didn’t turn. Though you say you harbor so much light as to feel confident it can destroy me, your body remains mortal rather than...whatever it was you called the light equivalent of daemons.

I didn't, because the hero of the First saved me from that fate.

[ She puts the lopsided bow aside and moves on to another. When she speaks again it's clear she is set to tell him a story. Perhaps this might make up for her Echo invading his privacy so thoroughly. ]

I contained perhaps... Five percent? Of the entire world's corrupted Light. I could contain a smaller amount without issue, but then suddenly it was too much for my soul. It began to... crack. [ The breath that escapes her is one of remembered agony. ]

A dear friend of mine was able to keep my soul from shattering, and so I maintained my mind and form. But the night sky I had fought so hard to return to the world was once again blanketed by Light, and I was the source.

I was a danger to all those around me. I was liable to turn into the most powerful of Sin Eaters at any given moment. I could not... I couldn't risk my loved ones.

Emet-Selch had told me to seek him out in the Tempest, so I could turn into a monster with as much dignity as one could have in such circumstances. He had kidnapped the Exarch, so of course I needed to follow him regardless, but...

[ Era chews on her lip, anxious; uncomfortable. Carbuncle presses itself more firmly against her side. ]

My family found me as I was trying to leave, and they pleaded with me to let the help. I relented. I could never... I can't deny them anything. [ Her breath catches, wet with emotion as she remembers that moment. ] I would do anything for my little siblings. Anything to make that look upon Alphinaud's face disappear and the tears in Alisaie's eyes to dry.

Even on the cusp of losing my humanity I could still offer them hope and purpose.

We went to the deepest depths of the Tempest and found the ruins of Amaurot. Emet-Selch made us live through the city's final hours, and once we did... Standing high above a world falling to ruin...

My soul could take no more, and Emet-Selch prevented my family from saving me. Oh, how he gloated. What a disappointment I turned out to be! How could there have been any hope for such a malformed soul to contain all that Light?

So much Light, my body could not contain it any more than my soul could. At the feet of my enemy I cried tears of Light. My lungs were drowning in it. Glowing white ooze splattered upon the ground as the sound of my soul shattering rang through the deepest parts of me...

And then when I was all but consumed, my consciousness in a realm of white, there he stood. The hero of the First, looking down upon me with steely determination.

Ardbert. [ His name slips between her lips like a sigh. Such fondness, affection, love, and sorrow. ] The spirit that haunted my steps from nearly the beginning of my journey on the First. A kindred spirit, you could say. He... Better than anyone else, Ardbert understood. He offered me such comfort. I did not need to be strong in front of him, because he knew.

He lived for one-hundred years as an unseen spirit, unable to interact with the world around him in any way. He watched this world he tried to save fall to the Light not just in spite of, but because of his efforts.

He watched he and his dearest friends shift in memory from heroes to villains. They stole the night from the world. They were the cause of all this.

Even after sacrificing their lives to seek aid from my World... They failed. The spirits of his friends sacrificed themselves to halt the flood of Light and save what they could, but Ardbert was told he still had his part to play.

So for one hundred years of solitude he waited.

[ Era pauses, brushing away tears she hadn't realized she was shedding. She has never had the chance to mourn his life and his death. ]

He waited and waited, growing detached and fading away, until finally I arrived. He spoke and I heard him. He moved and I saw him. He was so... Ardyn, he was so happy, for someone to finally acknowledge his existence. To remind him that he was real.

I learned more and more about him as I tried to save his world, not just from his company but from the stories I heard, or memories the Echo gave me. He was very different from me — a vibrant, playful, fun-loving young man... And yet our hearts were the same. Identical.

Ardbert had realized it long before I ever did. In retrospect it was so obvious, but I am not known for my intellect. It was only in that moment, clinging to my humanity by a fraying thread, when Ardbert reached his hand out to me that I knew.

He was not a kindred spirit, Ardyn, but a kindred fragment of Hemera's soul.

He gave me the piece of his soul, and it pieced mine back together. Eight times Rejoined I was not strong enough to contain the Light, but nine...

Nine times Rejoined we could control it, and so we did.

The only reason I didn't turn was because Ardbert gave me his soul.

[Long moments passed with no answer, Ardyn very still and quiet with his back to Era. He’d been witness to the destruction of Amaurot himself, even if only in a dream, and as that thought passed through his mind amidst the rest of Era’s words he began to recognize a stirring feeling that he didn’t like at all.]

[Jealousy.]

[He envied Era her family even merely trying to help as her body and soul broke apart under the strain. Envied that someone, anyone, even a wayward spirit, could but reach out their hand and fix such a thing.]

[This wasn’t right. He should have felt sympathy—he did feel sympathy, but if was tainted by that horrible resentment that twisted the shadows in his heart and mind.]

...It’s my fault, you know. [He heard his own voice speak without thought, felt his shoulders tremble as something dark burned behind his eyes.] You can deny it all you wish—I’m a daemon. I turned long ago, in body and soul if not in will. Our world...it’s already fallen to darkness, or will in my future. And it’s because of me, because I was let out of Angelgard.

[His voice cracked on the mere name of the miserable island.]

I can’t...understand. I only wanted to help, I did all I thought was asked of me, I did everything right! Why was it not enough? Why did my own family care so little, if he knew any of what I was becoming?

[Ardyn quickly shook his head, pressing both hands to a face bearing blackened tears.]

I’m sorry. I’m sorry—it isn’t fair. None of this is fair or right at all.

[ Era appreciates that his back is turned, as it gives her the opportunity to not only dry her tears but to press a hand to her throat, pushing healing aether into her flesh to give life to her voice again. ]

The fault lies in what brought the Starscourge to your earth, and in the Astrals for offering you no guidance. [ She rises to her feet and crosses the distance between them, quiet enough not to disturb, but loud enough not to cause a start. She does not reach out to touch him, leaving enough space to be polite, but still she is close enough to be felt in presence.

That soul of hers she speaks of, while not as profound as Hades', is still weighty all its own compared to the average mortal. ]

But you played a part, unwilling as it was. Just as I stole the night, a version of you will still the day. And then, many generations later... I imagine your great grand-nephew will play a part in restoring the balance, won't he?

[ Tentatively, Era places the flat of her palm against the flat of his trembling back. ]

Ardyn Lucis Caelum, you are not the first to be tricked by gods and you will not be the last. I don't know why it wasn't enough. As for your brother... I don't know why, but I think I have an inkling as to the reason he acts the way he does. It is— It's...

...To explain would be difficult for me, but I would be willing to try if you would like.

[ She applies more weight to her hand and begins to move it in small, comforting circles. ]

Life is unfair. It is misery and pain and cruelty. Life is filled with horrible, unspeakable things... But life is also filled with unparalleled beauty and kindness despite it all, and this goodness is what I give all of myself to protect. For all that you are a 'daemon' — and until my dying breath I will argue that you are not. If you need to be a monster then you are something far grander than a mindless daemon, little shadow — you are still a beautiful person.

[Ardyn was tense under her hand, as he often was; this time shaken and uncertain as he quickly rubbed a hand over his eyes. Perhaps something vanished in a few wisps of black smoke, or perhaps it was never there at all.]

I tried, Era. I tried to protect all of that and I failed. Now it's all going to fall to ruin because of me.

[ She does not remove her hand, nor falter in the motions she makes. Best to keep it as consistent as she can, though she can't help the way her aether presses against his skin, ever seeking to soothe and comfort. ]

You were given an impossible task, Ardyn. You failed in it, yes, but I do not believe you failed to protect what mattered most in the long term. I believe it would have happened either way — infection is made to spread. What you did was...

Ardyn, I believe what you have done with the Scourge is similar to what Ardbert and his companions did to the Flood of Light, and what I did with the Lightwardens' aether.

By containing so much of it within you, you are giving many more people the opportunity to live on than if the disease was left to run rampant. Eventually, someone will come and destroy the Scourge within you.

Whatever horrors may come to pass, it would have been worse without you.

You saw the Sin Eaters, in my nightmare. How they ran rampant, swarming those people and turning them... Pretend for a moment that they were instead daemons, and that was the entirety of your planet. Imagine no safe refuge, no places to hide.

It is unspeakably cruel to burden you with such a fate, but... You have given them the chance, Ardyn, and that is not a failing.

...

[He knew that was true, logically. Knew that no matter what became of the whole attempt that there was always one, ten, one hundred that would otherwise have died. That had often been comfort enough when he was at his most worn down, when the corruption burned in his blood and tormented his every waking moment. It was worth something, he'd told himself. If even one person could be saved, that was worth something.]

[But it was harder to see now, having come out on the other side of so much misery with yet more to come. Knowing that so many descendants of descendants walked Eos because he had worked without rest, and none of them would ever know it...not that he desired recognition, merely not to be forgotten.]

Does it...truly still matter, if the world should still be overtaken by darkness so long after?

[ She pauses, hand going still. ]

Please ask that again, little shadow, because I think I misheard you. It sounded as if you were asking if numerous generations — countless lives — truly matter.

That's not...that isn't what I mean.

[Ardyn shook his head, trying to rephrase his thoughts. Of course that mattered, it wasn't that he ever truly doubted as much. The only thing he doubted at the moment was himself.]

If all I did was stall the inevitable--or worse, leave it to be dealt with as someone else's responsibility generations down the line, is that not simply failure?

Edited 2019-12-13 22:42 (UTC)

[ Era gives a small pat to his back and withdraws her hand with a small, fond sigh. ]

Sit down for a moment, please. You are too tall for this conversation.

[That earned an odd look over Ardyn's shoulder, but...he turned around and sat down as asked.]

[ Pleased with his acquiescence, Era steps close to him and reaches out with her hands using slow, careful movements to hold his face in a feather-light touch. Never has her face been so close to his, largely due to the difference in their height, but there is no such limitation here.

This is important, she thinks. That he look her in the eye, properly, as she speaks. ]

You gave countless people the chance to help, to build, to invent, to create, and grow stronger. The chance fall in love and the chance to bear children. The chance for those children to laugh and grow, to find love and bear children of their own. The chance to learn and prepare.

Even if they should fall to the Dark a thousand lifetimes later, those thousand lifetimes will not have been spent in idleness.

My dear friend... You gave them a chance, and you cannot discount the worth of that.

[As he processed what she was saying, Ardyn slowly started to relax; it was't something he could argue even if he wanted to.]

You're...you're right. I only wish I had been able to do more.

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BIG 5.0 SPOILERS LOL

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