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

Ah, that would be a little more sensible, but... still. Not sure he'd put it past him to keep a blanket on him in a more casual setting, just in case.

Anyway, thank you for those wags, it gives Shinji the impression that he's not pushing any boundaries too far while trying to navigate this particular interpersonal relationship. Getting warm again is definitely well and good, but there's also a growing degree of niceness in just... being in close contact with someone else. It's good to know that he hasn't overstayed his welcome yet.

"Hmm," Kai, aren't you a warmer sleep accessory than any blanket could possibly be? "I guess I won't stop you, if that's what you want to do."

Well, maybe. Let that idea simmer in his brain for a while, and you might be surprised by the results.

The current results might be just as surprising, when placed out as plainly as Kai was laying them down. "Well, yeah," he rumbled, as if this were a completely obvious thing of him to do, "I don't want you to get cold, y'know?" Specifically you, Shinji.

His own function as a very toasty pillow was vaguely noted, but he wasn't going to make any assumptions that Shinji wanted to get all his warmth from Kai's chest or anything. It'd made him feel a little pleasantly funny back in the tent, but feeling sick was a hell of a ride?

Surprising indeed!

Kai might be able to notice a very slight coloring to Shinji's cheeks, but that could very easily be from the cold starting to nip at his face. The smoothie is momentarily set aside on the bench so that he can cozy up his scarf a little more without relinquishing his hold on Kai.

"I... appreciate that." Even if he's not having sleep issues nearly as extreme as the ones leading up to the wall breach, but having that avenue open to him, having that guaranteed peaceful place to end up, is very comforting.

"Mmm."

There were only so many reasons for the color dusting Shinji's cheeks. They'd already ruled out that it wasn't a fever, and Kai felt pretty confident that Shinji hadn't come down with something else while they were talking. He wasn't over heating anymore either! Watching that faint redness intently, Kai could only conclude that it was definitely the cold.

Maybe carrying a blanket around really was going to be a good idea!

"You doing okay right now though?"

Definitely Just the Cold.

"Hm? Ah, yeah," he may also not be totally aware of the color that's risen to his face, but that's Fine Too. "It's... kind of weird going from cold to warm to cold again, but sitting with you like this is nice."

Going right back to Warm again.

Very Warm.

Very...Wiggly. Those thumps seemed like they were just here to stay at this point, nearly swishing against Shinji's hand. Here and there he might have gotten a hint of soft.

Kai chuckled a little, a little relieved and a little because he didn't know what else to do when part of him was having a rave. "I bet. I'm glad I can help regulate stuff a bit."

Soft!

There's definitely a part of him that would like to just sort of reach out and touch that fluffy tail, probably the same part of him that had that headpat to offer earlier, but that... that would be weird, right? Like, really weird. He's not gonna just give in to that impulse with no warning!

"Um..." It's tempting enough to at least get him to ask about it first, though. "Sorry if this is weird, but, is it okay if I touch it? The tail."

"Hah?" Kai blinked at him. Maybe this was something he should have expected, what with all the commotion that was going on back there. It made some amount of sense though, right? Dog tails were for petting. Or something.

Not really thinking too much else about it, Kai shrugged. "If you want? Sure. Go wild."

Come on down to F l u f f y T o w n.

One ticket to Fluffy Town: scored.

Time to glance back again - with how wiggly that tail's being, it's probably a good idea to at least try and track it before going in for the pat. No accidental butt-touches are going to happen here! Just a hand, reaching down, and running gently across the length of that curly tail. Time to marvel this time at the

S O F T

Amazing...!

You know, even though he was well aware that this tail was kinda firmly attached to him, Kai hadn't actually thought about it as an actual extension of his body or anything. It was just kinda something that was there, doing its weird waggy thing. No big deal.

It was in this moment that Kai discovered that this a grave error.

All it took was Shinji's gentle hand brushing across all that luxurious fluff. Kai's eyes went a touch wide as a shiver shot right up his spine, punctuated by the soft, sharp breath he sucked in. Just one moment more and that shiver bled out into a pleasant buzz.

There was one (1) single tap of his heel.

He gets approximately one (1) pat deep into this endeavor when that small gasp reaches his ears.

Ah, damn it, he knew it was going to be weird. It was definitely nice enough on his end, that fur was ridiculously soft and pleasant to the touch, but if it's going to make Kai uncomfortable, he can forgo a second pass at it.

"Sorry," he offers softly. "That was probably pretty strange."

It was kind of weird. What was also kind of weird was that the tail that had been so set on thumping into oblivion had now drooped a little bit. The weirdest part was that Kai did not actually want this to stop just yet. Whatever the fuck that meant.

"Kinda surprising," he admitted. It was his turn for a tinge of color to sneak up on his face as he glanced over at Shinji reassuringly. "But, uh, you don't gotta stop? It didn't feel bad."

As he glances back up at Kai, he catches that spot of color. That... could just be the cold, but Shinji gets the impression that it probably isn't. As much as he'd like an outright confirmation that it had actually been good, and that Kai was more than just okay with it continuing, what we have here is an exercise in reading between the lines.

He studies Kai's face for a fraction of a second longer, but ultimately comes to the conclusion that it might be more embarrassing for the other if Shinji makes him ask for it outright.

"All right."

Don't be sad for too much longer, tail, here comes Pat Number Two: The Sequel.

The sequel was somehow even better than the first one. They got to skip most of that initial surprise and get right down to the Feels Good.

And it did, weirdly, feel really good. Like all the nice sensations that had crept up on him when Shinji had brushed his fingers through his hair, but in overdrive. Like an extremely concentrated feeling of an itch getting a very good scratch at long last. Kai's eyes drooped shut for a bit, and there was a warm little hum in the back of his throat.

The tail, much easier to read than Kai was, waved happily under Shinji's hand.

> Continue ?

That relaxation and contentment is plenty of confirmation that this was the right choice to make. Soft and fluffy feedback might be nice enough on his part, but knowing that Kai's enjoying it well enough as well is definitely preferable.

> Y

Let's make this sequel into a trilogy. Maybe even a whole cinematic universe worth of pats. Skritch skritch skritch!

If you're aiming that high, better get them all in now. The clock was still ticking.

That was not a thought on Kai's mind. In fact most thoughts seemed to have vanished, leaving only the pleasant buzz stirred up by Shinji's hand. His head dipped towards Shinji's shoulder, more of that color burning a trail across his cheeks.

No one told it to, but his knee started to bounce a bit in time with Shinji's skritches.

Shinji is, likewise, pretty much unaware of the time limit on the tail time, and therefore continuing to dish out those pets without much regard for how long it might really be viable for.

That reaction is quite a bit bigger than he was anticipating, though. But... at least it's a good kind of big reaction? And so very doggish, too - was that a side-effect of the appendage, or perhaps a justification for it...? Very fitting, either way. Shinji shifts a little bit so that Kai's head can come to rest should he want it, warmth similarly rising to both his chest and face in a way he's far more aware of this time around.

Still... Still, he continues to run his hand through that soft fluff.

At least someone was fully aware of themselves. Kai was, sort of, enough to conclude that he didn't mind how this was going. Would he have rested his head on Shinji's shoulder without the pettening? Sure, probably. They'd been closer than this already. Even if this was a bit. Different?

... Was it? Maybe not.

That knee was still going. The low, rumbling hums of contentment were that much closer to Shinji's ear as Kai cozied up with him. So too were the hushed murmurs of his name and how that felt nice.

Super normal stuff!

You know. The kinds of things you murmur in your bro's ear in public.

The shoulder pillow is one thing - Shinji pretty much invited that upon himself, so even if he's sure it's a bit different, it was a welcome action. Those warm little mumbles, on the other hand? He is now doing his Very Best to not think about them too much, or call attention to how awkward this is absolutely going to be for at least him (possibly? both of them? Who can say for sure) once it's over. Definitely going to ignore the fact that it's making his heart race a little faster.

It might... be a safe idea to migrate his hand back upwards. A few more strokes are made through that soft soft fur before he lets his hand slide up Kai's back once more. Yeah... yeah, okay.

Uh, yeah. Totally, bro.

No more pets meant no more knee jiggles, so those petered out as Kai let out a content little sigh. The steady presence of Shini's hand, even if it was just on his back, was enough to at least keep the tail swishing away. At least up until it wagged itself right out of existence-- the time had come, so it was probably for the best that Shinji was able to say goodbye first.

Most of that pleasant thrumming left with it, letting clarity settle back over Kai's thoughts. "Oh," he said, opening his eyes as his head stayed on Shinji's shoulder. "Guess that's done now."

Thank you for not pulling away just yet, giving Shinji that extra time to try and talk that color into leaving his cheeks.

It's easy enough to tell when that swishing stops, and a short glance back reveals no tail, only butt. Farewell, pupper part, perhaps our paths will cross again someday. "Guess so." And, similarly, no effort is made on Shinji's part to separate himself from this undeniably cozy position they've ended up in. He wants the opportunity to recover a bit, of course, but otherwise... this is just really nice. Why not indulge in it a little longer?

Only Butt.

Basking in this indulgence seemed to be what Kai was angling at with this too. It was just a quiet moment, but something about it was just a little bit different from all the rest. It was just nice to be nice. There were no not-so-great circumstances involved. No bad dreams, no fevers, no heavy thoughts about not!dead friends.

It was just the kind of no-strings-attached moment that helped it settle in that maybe... maybe he didn't have to brace so hard for the day Shinji stopped dropping by. That was a dangerous thought right there. Kai knew better than that.

For once he kind of hoped he was wrong though.

Let's not overstay our welcome though. Eventually Kai lifted his head when he realized that oh, it was getting? Quite a bit of snow on it? Huh. The tail might have vanished, but it appeared the pupper was just reality as Kai gave his head a very pupper-esque shake, sending little bits of colored snow all over.

Shinji's not about to push him away, at the very least not in this particular instance. Go back in time and tell a freshly-arrived Shinji that he'd be not just tolerating, but enjoying a casual cozy encounter like this, and he'd undoubtedly think that's absolutely ridiculous, and yet... here we are. Low stakes hangouts were, in fact, a nice thing, and a nice change of pace from more dire reasons for hangouts. Something, perhaps, to keep in mind.

Also - pupper-head-shakes. Something to keep in mind.

"Whoa-!" There goes all that snow! Just, everywhere! Here, let him help with this particular problem, reaching up to brush away any of the snow that's collected on his shoulders. "Sorry, the snow's probably because of the drink." So that'd make it... his fault!

No, that'd make it the drink's fault, Shinji.

"Probably," Kai said, chuckling as Shinji tried to rid Kai of his snowy burdens. "S'all good though. Sides, you're the one stuck with it." Directly overhead even. That only meant that Shinji was also collecting snow, which meant that Kai had every reason to reach up and ruffle his hair. Gotta brush that snow out of there! Thoroughly.

Thoroughly.

You lookin' for squeaks? Cause you get squeaks for that. "Ah-!" But how else are you gonna get all that snow out of his hair? Truly the only course of action here.

"I mean... at least it got rid of all that heat," but for how long is the snow going to be worth it? Probably not long, if he had to guess.

♥ December Event Log

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