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.

[AWK...WARD...

He's bad at this, so after an uncomfortable pause he lifts his free hand to wave it dismissively, visibly disapproving.]

Well- whatever, their loss, then! You're awesome without 'em.

[How dare they, honestly! He doesn't roll with any scrubs, his friends are incredibly dateable.]

[ Awesome... without.... them...?

Hol' up. ]

I--... I think we're having a misunderstanding here.

[ She laughs. ]

[His brows furrow, confused now.]

What?

I... confessed love to two people.

[ How embarrassing! ]

Two strangers, not romantic love.

[ This... kind of admits that she holds love for many, anyone and everyone. But she is fine if Noctis knows this. ]

[....

Pyra...

Okay, now he can't help smiling, trying not to laugh. It's not! At her misfortune! But seriously...]

No wonder you keep asking me about it. It comes that easily to you, huh?

[ Her fingers twitch in his hand. But without missing a beat: ]

Loving others, yes.

[ Telling them? The truth had to be forced from her. ]

I can see why somebody would be put off by that, yeah.

[As someone who can't even spit it out when the hones-tea's got its grip on him... yeah, that's pretty weird.]

I'm sure it'll be fine if you talk it out with them later, though.

[ Then, of course, she will not say it to Noctis either. Not yet. He has others who may say that they love him, adore him, want the world for him, to him. Compared to hers, their words may mean so much more than if she said them. She would only diminish their value.

And so, she shifts the subject. ]

Has anyone told you here, that they love you as well?

Edited 2019-12-14 07:21 (UTC)

Here? Nah.

[He lifts his shoulders in a slight shrug, not especially bothered by it.]

Be kind of weird to just say it out of the blue, I figure.

[ She glances at him, curiously. ] Because... [ She starts slowly, as if trying to decipher his thoughts. ]

You would not believe it?

No, nothing like that. [A beat, and then-] Well, maybe. Depends on the who and the why.

[If Prompto tried seriously confessing his love he'd wonder what potion the poor guy'd been fed. Or Somnus. Gods, Somnus, yeah. That'd be a strange one.

Under the right circumstances, though... maybe a few.]

I guess it's that I don't need to hear it. Don't actions matter more, or something like that?

[ Actions speak louder than words. She had learned this from Somnus, actually: the importance of showing rather than just telling, more so than just the old adage. Just recently, Pyra had conveyed some of her sentiments via action to him, so she knows what Noctis here is trying to say, the impact it can have. ]

Noctis.... It took you all this time just to embrace three people. [ She says this half chiding, half jokingly. He's not good at conveying his love in that sense, either. Unless he means protecting them, but that's another matter. ]

I understand it can be difficult, but words, too, may be important. [ While there is still time. ]

[That's... okay, fair, and it forces him to look down, hastily avoiding her gaze. Even if she's partly teasing him, the scolding hits home. These, too, are important words of which he occasionally needs reminding.]

I... I know that. But it's not something I can just fix overnight, either.

[He's pretty aware of his failings, but he also knows where they came from. Accepting an outstretched hand is one thing. Offering it first? That's a different kind of courage, and it's always running away from him.]

Believe it or not, I'm trying...

[ She's noted, at least, that she is always the one to initiate contact between them... But on this she will not relent, so long as he is willing. The stakes are too high to ignore the reason they've been supposedly called to this world.

But she will say this once more, softly: ]

Those who have your love are very lucky, I think. [ To hear those words from him, or to feel his arms around them in an embrace would probably motivate them for years to come. Such is the impact of love. ] This... might not be what you want to hear, but they may not be here for you to love them anymore, when they vanish from this city.

[ The network is rife with missing-person posts. ]

[That... he closes his eyes as she says it, like he can see it coming before the words are spoken. He's noticed, of course. People on the network asking for their friends, if anyone has seen them anywhere, if they know what might happen. He thinks of Prompto, missing Kaname since she vanished, someone he very well may never see again because she doesn't exist in their world. Their time here is not infinite. He very well may end up with his share of unfortunate regrets by the time they go back to where they came from.]

...I know. I've... been thinking about that, too.

[ Of course he's been thinking about it-- or should be, since his own deceased father is here. ]

Your father, Prompto, Ignis... [ Who else does she know from his world that is here? ] Luna, Cor. ...Somnus.

There was talk of changing the future on the network, recently. [ Who among them will vanish, if the future will be changed? Clearly, not all are from the same point in time. ] While I do not know what that entails... You all have a present together in this world. [ She's glad that he has so many of his loved ones and family here, truly. (Privately, she is also glad that none of her own world are here.) ] Please let me know if there is any way to help you connect with them.

[ A pause, then a smile before she says lightly, ] Besides assigning you "homework" to hug them.

Edited 2019-12-15 03:45 (UTC)

...R-right. Will do.

[He has some serious thinking to do- for them, for himself. And as a favour to her as well, so perhaps she'll stop worrying or fussing over him so much. If it benefits everyone, then why is he being such a coward about it? It's... not like he expects them to reject him. The responsibilities of home that led to any of that - intentional or otherwise - are nowhere present in this place. This world is free for them.

The mention of Cor's offer on the network has him looking uncertain again, though, and his gaze lifts to focus on her for a moment before averting again.]

About that... Cor was offering to talk about what happens in our future. He's from the furthest in, I think, so he knows a lot. [He hesitates, and then,] I asked not to know, but... I can't decide if that's the right decision or not.

[ She wonders how much Noctis had read on that post, or if he only focused on his own conversation with Cor. From her own conversation with Cor, it seems the man had been upset with how much those he loved sacrifice for the world.

Cor clearly loves and clearly gives. But t her it seems he had been entirely too willing to sacrifice the rest of others' futures just to save his chosen few. Without knowing that Cor may have also discussed with those he wished to save that he has their consent to try to change the future, she is also under the impression that he will alter fate regardless of their wishes. ]

Tell me what you know so far... Just, ah, ...bringing the light to the world, correct? Having that crystal "crown" you, yes? Anything else?

That's about it, yeah. Luna used to read to me this old book, the Cosmogony, that told the lore about our world: how everything started, the Astrals, the Crystal, the ring. It said that the Astrals gave both to my family in the time Somnus was alive, and said to guard them until the chosen king can "purge the world of the scourge". It doesn't say what that means, but it isn't hard to read between the lines.

[Prophecies are complicated, he knows that much. But those words had to have been chosen on purpose, and they've survived for thousands of years that way.]

I mean, there's lots of other passages about the Astrals and stuff, but that's what I remember about the Crystal itself. You'd probably be better off asking Luna or Aera if you want more details.

[ "To purge the world of the scourge".

A bit of a headtilt there. ]

...So it is not just... dispelling the darkness?

[ Or is this one in the same. She needs a little more information here, before she may give any opinion. She wonders if it has anything to do upon that "scar" of the light within him... ]

It is. I mean, it's the same thing.

[How does one even begin to explain the absolute mess their world is in? He's not a scientist, he doesn't know all the mechanics of it. He should point her in the direction of someone who knows better, eventually.]

Back home there's a disease called the Starscourge. Uncurable, deadly, and spread by daemons. The only way to treat it is with the Oracle, but it's all over the world and there's only one of her, so humans have been fighting a losing battle for years. There's legends of the Founder King ridding the world of it somehow, but then it came back, or it's something new now... I don't know. There's still a lot we don't understand about it. What we do know is the nights are getting longer, which means more darkness, and that means more daemons, and that means more scourge...

[A cycle with no foreseeable end, in other words. And not good prospects for the people trying to live there.]

[ So when he says he has to purge it... does that include himself....

Or-- No, that can't be. What he has, or rather what she gathered from his scar was that it was inert within him.

...Then again, she wonders if it's anything like varicella and can reactivate later on in his life when he's weakened, immunocompromised, or otherwise hurt. If so, that puts this starscourge disease back into the dangerous category, spreadable by the very person whose is supposedly destined to bring light. It's got to go.

As her thoughts continue, she delays with another idle question, looking at him. ]

What does Somnus say?

He's cryptic as ever about it.

[Noctis tries not to look annoyed; it's not the man's fault, it's just how he is, apparently. Grim and vague and probably carrying thousands of years worth of memories, something he and Ardyn share and neither likely deserve. Their experiences may be different and their circumstances complicated, but they share an existence that's lasted unfairly long, and likely to their detriment. No one's meant to live that long, and not alone, either.]

I'm sure he knows, but he won't tell me- it isn't him I should hear it from.

[ With that said--

She wants to be absolutely certain on what question she's being asked, why she's being asked this, before she says anything. ]

...Are you asking me for... advice on whether or not you should know your own future? [ More than that, he would be seeking it from those other than Somnus, his ancestor. More than likely, it would be Cor. ]

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