♥ December Event Log

[hugtopiamods]

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...

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

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

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.

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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.

Comments

Magolor | Kirby

[begguiling]

II

[He was doomed from the start. Magolor, 1, has something of a sweet tooth; 2, he's still craving literally anything that tastes good even if the food situation on this planet is improving; and, 3, he's a bit weak to the cold, and always eager to warm up. What was he going to do, not drink the drinks?

He also has something of bad taste in food, honestly—for all that he complains about the menu here—and his first thought was to combine the apple cider and the gingerbread latte. It's the best of all worlds! Caffeine, apples, and sugary goodness! The three food groups!

And that excellent decision is why he's now shamelessly barreling over to cling onto anyone who looks like they won't murder him for it, and probably some people who do. Hello, would you like your own personal barnacle? He's even more noticeable than usual with his streaming tail of long golden feathers, which he's had to modify his robe to make a hole for . . . that's so annoying, geez. But that's a problem for Later Magolor. Current Magolor's problem is imparting this cuddle fever to anyone he can.

If your character has animal parts of their own, and ears in particular, he's even more likely to approach them.

tl;dr enjoy your new burning hot living feather plushie.]


III

[Heads up! That snowball is coming right for you! It might be your face, your back, a knee, or it might even just be a warning shot flying wide to get your attention. But either way, the culprit behind it is not making a secret of the fact that he's nearby, in sight, and laughing it up.]

Hehehe! You should've seen your face! Encoooore, let's see it again~!

[He does in fact have another snowball in his hand, ready to make good on his threat.

The VR used to be so boring and stupid, but between last month and this? Maybe he's finally coming around to it.]


IV

[And here he is. Here you both are, in the dead of night.

Magolor doesn't like any part of this—he doesn't like dragons much. He doesn't like honesty. He super duper especially doesn't like the feeling of mental compulsion. But it had happened so seamlessly; he was elsewhere, and then he was here, as if it were his own decision, before he could fight back against it. And now that he isn't alone . . .

No, it's still tempting to just teleport away, but he doesn't do that. Not yet. Compulsion on this planet always means something, and he trusts himself (perhaps against all evidence) to judge whether that something is worth abiding by or not.

Still—he's in the shadows next to the altar, lurking to see what happens. When he sees he has company, he crushes down every bit of discomfort he can get his hands around to ring out cheerily in the dark:]

Woooow, do you come here often in the middle of the night like this~?

[But he can't entirely mask his anxiety over whatever's happening here.]



(( Hello friends, here I am late! Feel free to pick from the above, wildcard me, and/or check out my ooc comment here! As a note, I'm totally open to ginger and honey tea/truth effect for II, just drop me a line and it can come up in the thread! And as another note, I'm probably going to be slow until the weekend! But my body is ready. ))

III

[thekingsshield]

[Let's face it, Goofy makes a darn good target. And when that snowball hits, he doesn't just go down - he goes down HARD, sliding down a hill! He dizzily sits up, and you'd swear you almost sweet little birdies circling around his head.]

... Someone get the plate off of that truck?

[begguiling]

[He almost feels bad about this. Almost! But it's Goofy, and he really just kind of invites it. At least Magolor doesn't swoop in with a second snowball just yet; he spins over, laughing, to make sure that wasn't actually serious after all.]

That was truly spectacular! I don't whether to be more proud of you or myself for that one!

[thekingsshield]

[Goofy shakes his head, trying to get rid of all the snow that's on his face like a Santa beard.]

Huh... oh, Hiya, Magolor! Are you havin' fun?

[It's hard to tell whether he knows Magolor beaned him or not.]

[begguiling]

[Either way, he's not going to own up to it unless called on it. It's saying something that he would even own up to it if he were. For now he lands next to Goofy with another giggle.]

You bet I am! Finally a VR game I can get behind. I'd offer you a match, but you look like you might already be tapped out!

II

[iustaegis]

[ Aaaaand Magolor has wedged himself between her two tall, brick-red bunny ears atop her head. She stumbles forward a bit with the sudden, added extra weight, reaching up to feel.. feathers-- and see them as well, for the golden plumes are long enough to drape over her shoulder. Raising her hand up further to distinctly shape out plush and egg-shaped addition, she stops but a few seconds later.

This shape could only be one person. ]

Oh? What's ruffled your feathers today?

[begguiling]

[Bunny ears! More like excellent handlebars as he adjusts himself on her head; he's big for this, but light, and it's easier when he doesn't have to worry about keeping his balance or anything. Thanks once again, magic. And thanks bunny ears! They're so cute!

Once he's settled, he leans down a little to peek at her, giggling.]

Hehehe, not bad. Not bad at all! I see your new and improved ears are picking up on all kinds of wordplay! Like antennae . . . puntennae~?

[iustaegis]

[ Having bunny ears is both incredibly strange and delightfully fascinating.

She could have taken on any form, monstrous, animal, or human-like; yet here she is in the construct of a woman. Now she has animal appendages. Fun. ]

You've always been eloquent, but puntennae? Sir Magolor, [ YUP, still calling him "sir". ] that's a hare-raising joke.

[begguiling]

[Oh dang, that was a bad one. And by bad I mean a good one, as is the way of puns—the worse they are, the better they are. He can appreciate that. It's enough to get a less giggly laugh out of him, in his surprise.]

—Hahaha! What can I say? Everyone loves a good bun!

[His gloved hands pats her between the ears.]

So, what do you think? I've always thought you humans got the short end of the ear stick.

II

[daikonrose]

[ Since she sorta has no friends and usually gives a wide berth to fleshy strangers who might want to rope her into doing her duty to the gods of this world, Kyoko's managed to avoid noticing most of the drinks' side effects until caving to that seasonal latte temptation today. Sure, there have been a lot of people walking around with animal parts, but she'd been told on her very first day here not to be shocked by that kind of thing!

So the squirrel ears poking up through her mop of dyed hair were not super anticipated. It's kind of a lot to deal with, even without this weird feathered animal?? but no it's not really an animal though?? getting up in her space. ]

--What?! There really was a mascot for this place!

[begguiling]

[Ohhh, cute! Squirrel ears! Magolor isn't great at identifying the ears of a lot of Earth animals, but he does know cute when he sees it; he moves up to hang off of her shoulder and pet one of those ears curiously. At least he's not very heavy, and he's even less so when he's not putting his full weight on her, which he's not. Sorry, newbie, or at least new-to-him-bie.

He also doesn't miss a beat in agreeing.]

That's right, nice to meet you!

[daikonrose]

[ It's good that he's not too heavy, because that would probably mean extra strain on her neck as she swivels and jerks around, arms reaching up hesitantly. Should... she swat...?? ]

So you're--it was--he said--Megasomething--no--mag--Magneto--Maggotman?? So you were real?!

[begguiling]

I'm one hundred percent real, and I have some seriously mixed feelings about what you just called me! It's Magolor, by the way.

[Maggotman?! But the fact that he was mentioned by name by someone at all is extremely flattering! It might have been last month's announcement, but it sounds equally likely it wasn't. And even maggotman publicity is good publicity! Probably.

He stays right where he is unless she does swat him away, though he stops touching the squirrel ear after that tweak.]

iv

[whenyouneedme]

[There they were.

It's dark, and it's quiet, and the chill of a winter night was creeping through the air. That was hardly an issue for the temple's usual night populace. Being a little more susceptible to Ranir's nippy breezes, Kai had snuck out a few blankets from the resting rooms to wrap around his shoulders as he sat. He'd already been here, but he'd felt the quite, restless compulsion to stay.

It'd crossed his mind to wonder if this was a sight that Rawna was used to seeing. Small forms huddled with him through the dark of his month, seeking the clarity that only came in the cold.

Somehow, it didn't surprise Kai to hear the voice of someone else. Somehow, it surprised him even less to recognize its soft jingling. Kai leaned back, all his hints of gold flickering in the candlight as he glanced over at Magolor. There was a hint of a smile there that hadn't been there before.]

... I should be asking you that, dontcha think?

[That being said, Kai didn't wait to hold his arm out, creating a welcoming cave of blanket right there beside him. If you were wandering in from the cold, there wasn't going to be a warmer spot in the temple right now.]

[begguiling]

[Ah . . . a certain warmth goes through him once he realizes who this is, and receives that silent invitation. It's still a little unexpected. Should it be, by now? Aren't they always ending up in these ridiculous, unnerving situations together? And isn't it somehow always more comforting with Kai than it would be with most people? Maybe that's a self-fulfilling prophecy. It's a matter of simple practice. You get the practice in with one person and it gets easier, so you get more in, and it gets easier still . . .

Magolor thinks these things quickly and half-formed, in the background of his head noise. Mostly he's scooting over to burrow in under that blanket. It's dark and cold and eerie in here tonight, and he loves and hates it, the way he loves and hates many things at the same time. They feed into one another.]

I'll give you that one. This is your temple, not mine. Don't tell me you really do sit alone here at night in the cold? Take care of your immune system, geez.

[whenyouneedme]

Excuse you, that's what blankets are for.

[Blankets and warm, egg-shaped friends. The absolute perfect shape for filling that empty spot. Kai waited for him to get mostly settled before he properly wrapped his arm around Magolor, drawing him in closer to Kai's side. Cold as it might have been in the temple, Kai usually ran hot even without magic cinnamon drinks. This little pocket under the blanket was nice and cozy.

There hadn't been a denial over his night time activities though. Just a small shrug of his shoulder that could have just been chalked up to getting comfortable, and a thoughtful glance towards the dragon's beckoning hands.]

It's a lot cozier here than some other haunts.

[begguiling]

You've got a bed, you know. Er, I assume you do. For all I know, you swapped it out for a scientific lab, and now this is your only shelter.

[Get dunked on (behind your back and without naming names), Verstael!

Magolor himself runs warmer than a human, so this is going to be a very cozy little blanketpile. He presses himself perfectly right into that space and heaves a comfortable sigh. After all this time here, he's getting used to the contact thing, but it's still very rarely Nice. This . . . is Nice.

But he can still feel that tension in the air—he's here for some other reason, and he knows it. It's there sitting inside of him like a stone, no matter how comfortable he is.]

IV

[hedgehogsdilemma]

[Nighttime visits to the temple sure are becoming a little more common for everyone toward the end of the month, huh? Shinji's pretty surprised to see Magolor here, but that surprise only lasts for a short moment. Different faces swinging in to Rawna's temple isn't too unusual by this point, but that attempt to deflect any awkwardness is pretty telling for how he might actually feel, having been drawn in the way so many others have recently.

He will, at least, not turn that comment back around on him - they're both here in the middle of the night! But no need to call attention to it!!]

Someone's gotta keep the temple tidy if its open late.

[Shinji, for his part, has been hanging around and keeping the floors swept up, but putting that on hold for company isn't a big deal. He waves slightly toward himself, as if to coax Magolor out of lurking.]

[begguiling]

[So it's him there in the semi-dark . . . well, all right. Not a bad option. Magolor drifts closer, gaze darting back and forth, but it sure is quiet tonight. There's no one to see lurking in the shadows. And he isn't an anxious or paranoid type anyway—but there's something about the compulsion here that has him more on edge than usual.

Still, Shinji's presence loosens a little of that tense knot inside of him. Magolor needed the company, and he needed for it to be company he feels relatively comfortable with.]

Are we supposed to be doing that . . . ? Geez, I hope Diacht isn't bearing a grudge against me.

[He's never helped out at the temple!]

[hedgehogsdilemma]

[Shinji offers a thoughtful hum as Magolor drifts closer, leaning slightly against the broom in his hands as he does.]

I'm sure Diacht would be happy enough with your emissary duties. [It's a lighthearted enough comment, a small attempt to help unwind some of the nervous energy in the air.] This is about all I'm good for in a place like this.

[begguiling]

You're as good for anything as any of us, you know? Geez, making me be kind and honest to you like that! You're so shameless! I can't believe you forced me to say you don't give yourself enough credit.

[He laughs; it helps with his own tension, even if it's still a little strained. And he comes up close to hang off of Shinji's arm and blink up at him with a smile. As if he didn't just say those things completely of his own accord. As if!]

II

[meridio]

[Somnus boasts neither ears nor other animal parts of which to speak; he is, however, a recognizable face, if nothing else. This barnacle makes for a strange, albeit not unusual, sight around these parts. He looks down, noting the heat at their point of contact.]

Hail, Magolor.

[begguiling]

Hail me~!

[Yeah, a promising start. He gets a kick out of it, giggling as he shifts to latch on properly.]

You were just looking a little chilly. I thought you might appreciate being warmed up! You know me, I live to serve!

[meridio]

[Magolor is much hotter to the touch than the warmth that radiates from Pyra. The scientists' drinks really are potent.]

I do not need to be warmed.

[But that he doesn't pull away from Magolor speaks for his indifference where personal barnacles are concerned. As far as he's concerned, this is what the gods want.]

[begguiling]

I don't know about thaaaat. You're just being polite, I can sense it!

[Is any of this true? No. He knows very well it isn't. But he says it anyway, squirming to get comfortable and then settling. He is at least well suited to being a barnacle without being too obtrusive.]

Tried any of the drinks yet?