isleofavalon | EVENT ✨ Wolf's Moon

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EVENT ✨ Wolf's Moon

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This is the event log. If you have questions about y event, reply to this comment HERE. Click here to view top-level comments only.

The Fairy Queen sends out an invitation for all otherworlders to an eccentric party with ulterior motives that aren't necessarily bad.. after all, they're protecting players from a ritualistic curse cast by escaped convicts from the Elphame prison. But that doesn't mean it's the party's entirely safe either.

CONTENT WARNINGS:

1st Prompt: Mild elements of body horror in the fairy queen's description (paragraph starting with "Opening the message"); this paragraph is description only and may be skipped without loss of content.
2nd Prompt: Ball prompts include reference to drugs, alcohol, smooching, and fake murder.
3rd Prompt: May have potential for mild body horror depending on player preference, as it features cynanthropy/lycanthropy.

The night before the full moon, a message is sent out to all the otherworlders in the land. In each person's inbox, the message sender reads simply "ELPHAME" and appears to have a verified account, despite that looking into it doesn't seem to reveal much content. The profile pic is simply a picture of a mushroom. Opening the message will reveal a video recording. For the first full minute, a woman simply stares into the video through one pure white eye and one wholly black eye. Her hair is white and fair and longer than can be seen in the video of her torso. Her skin is sallow, gray more than any other color, and her décolleté is peppered with what seems to be shells of mushrooms growing out of her flesh like they would on a tree, patches of bleeding tooth mushroom creeping down the side of her neck.
Atop her head, a headpiece made of platinum formed into the tiniest branches, filled with leaves of precious stones- diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and moldavite trailing down in long chains that keep her hair out of her face. Her lips are just slightly parted, painted in what seems to be an enchanted design that shifts patterns as she moves, as if they were a green screened galaxy in real life. There is a stud in the bow of her lips, and the top of her clothing appears to be colorful, but is only visible toward the top of her frame, as her top is low-cut to account for the fungi. A number of small stitched scars are visible, but largely healed. She tilts her head slightly. Even though it's only a video recording, it feels as though she is looking directly at your character. "You are busy bees..." A soft voice speaks, almost as if the wind itself is whispering in your ear and not from a recorded video. "Busy bees could barely bother, but bother is basically all you do. I bequeath you busy bees a bidding. Bother blithely, busy bees, in Elphame as bristling beauties are bound to do. A ball before you, beneath the Wolf's Moon big and bright, betwixt burgeoning fae blooms. Do not baa, do not bray, bruin nor boar will keep big bad wolf at bay. Bop and bounce, ballet you may, or brawl your basest behaviors in my ballroom before break of day. Broadcast not your boorish bumf, though, or busy bees will be broken brisker than bats banished from Beelzebub's borders and bound. Bless my bestowal and with bated breath I shall bade you betokened truth, if truth be told." Whether or not your character understood what was actually said or their brain shut down in the middle of those barely benign instructions, they may additionally notice fairy circles made of tiny mushrooms start to crop up regardless of where they are in Avalon.
	Once night falls, if a character dances in them they will be transported to a costume party within the ballroom of the fairy queen in Nicnevin. Costumes will be magically applied upon arrival, based on a favorite childhood fantasy. (Did they want to be an astronaut? A dinosaur? A cowboy? A cat? That's what they'll appear as.) You can choose from any age of childhood for your character, depending on whether you want to go funny or more serious about their later childhood dreams. Whatever your character chooses to do as part of the party, the following party happenings should be noted:
1. If your character or anyone they know uses your character's name or reveals enough information about themself, they will become unable to disobey the fairy queen in future events. They've technically been warned about this in the fairy queen's message, even if it wasn't easy to understand. B. Alternately, you can have your character's name be captured by a more mischievous party guest fae and play with that as you will. You can be released either by someone else killing your captured fae for you, or the fae saying your name backward. So if your character's name is Stevie, they would have to trick the fairy into saying Eivets. This option to NPC your own fae captor is endable on your own terms, but 1a will be on the fae queen's terms down the line. 2. The party itself is a protected area; refusal to attend or leaving the party before sunset will subject characters to the Wolf's Moon, which has been put under a ritual by a prisoner group released from the fae prison during the previous dark web quest, Banyanished. This ball is being held as a gift to otherworlders to protect them from the second part of this event. (See below for details.) Characters will be told that they are in a protective area if they try to leave and to trust the fairy queen, but will not be forced to stay against their will by the fae. The only people who may try to stop your character from leaving beyond telling them this information are other player characters. 3. Dancing, food (fairy food), psychedelics and drink will be provided to those of age who want them throughout the night. If the partygoers don't seem to be having a good time or the party grows dull, the fairy queen (dressed in the award-winning submission to the Elphame Trader's contest some time ago) will make a demand participation in a party game*. If your character is standing around and not participating in the general activities, they may be coerced to participate. Anyone may join willingly as well, of course. The following party games will be played throughout the night:

a bottle on the floor

Spin the Bottle, Elphame Rules:

Fairies are quite randy creatures at times, and the first game played is none other than spin the bottle. The rules are as such: when it is your turn, you are blinded by fairy magic and must spin the bottle. Once the bottle stops spinning, the person the bottle lands on will kiss them. The person who is kissed must guess who from the circle kissed them; a correct guess will mean they stay in and the blindness spell will be lifted. An incorrect guess will eject them from the circle and they will wander around blind for the duration of the game until a winner is declared. Feel free to play out gameplay or your character needing assistance after being ejected from the game circle.

Truth or Dare:

The standard game of truth or dare. Don't forget to be very careful, as certain truths may have dire consequences. (See point 1, be very careful.) You can play issuing and completing dares or asking and answering truths with other player characters or receive dares from NPC'd fairies, which may escalate to dangerous and magical lengths. The only solid rule is that no dares are permitted to require exiting the party to complete, and lying during a truth gives permission to fairies to steal your tongue from you if they discover your lie at any point, even after the party is over.

a woman gasping dramatically with subs that say "Escandalo!"

a woman threatening a balloon with a knife

Balloon Game:
Everyone loves a good murder game! Everyone is outfitted with a single balloon. You may secure the balloon to yourself for 2 minutes before the start of the game. In the center of the game circle is a pile of close-range weapons varying in usefulness from binoculars and pots to knives, slingshots, axes and more. Magic is also permitted. If your balloon "pops" you are "dead" and will float to the ceiling to fly around until the end of the game, out of harm's way. Do not commit any actual murder or the balloon of the deceased will immediately wrap around you in a full rubber bodysuit and imprison you until the fairy queen can deal judgment. (If this happens, notify a mod so we can discuss Queen Elphame's judgment with you OOC.)

Helping to empower otherworlders to improve their chances of saving the world is the kind of task that can be a little.. subjective. A little questionable when it comes to consent, at times. After all, no one is here with their consent and no one was bonded with their familiar or given magic with their consent. What's a little more empowerment? Certainly, a group of imprisoned lycanthrope wizards seem to think they have something of a solution to increasing other worlders' potentials: a ritual using the Wolf Moon of January's full moon cycle to transform unprotected otherworlders into fellow cynanthropes or, in layman's terms, werewolves and other types of weredogs. Anyone not protected (at the party) will be affected by the curse ritual.

dog in front of full moon

Cynanthropes in Avalon have the following characteristics:

Character is now able to transform into a humanoid dog or wolf form to the extent the player chooses (go ears/tail or full-furry)
Experiences enhanced strength, enhanced sense of smell, night vision, blood lust, and characteristics similar to the character's dog or wolf breed.
These effects are only applicable the day before, the day of, and the day after the full moon from sundown to sunrise on each day.
Note that new weredogs/wolves do not have control over their instincts for the first few months of transformations and will behave aggressively. If in an emotional state, they can lose control of their transformed form regardless of how long they have been cursed.
Though characters can be killed by normal means throughout the month, they can only be killed by silver bullets during the 3-day full moon cycle
Full-time side effects include cravings for meat, animal mages having mild influence over them, being able to eat food from Elphame without being bound to the land, and the occasional hair ball.
It is up to players how painful they want the transformation to be/not to be; you can play this how you want and chalk it up to ritual reaction variation.

Cynanthrope ritual curses are particularly strong and require at least two siphoners working together to break the curse, a counter-curse potion (only available through events), or a deal with a powerful being such as the fairy queen or Morganna.

If your character did not attend the party, left the fairy queen's party, or wasn't at the Red Springs (protected by the mysterious crystals that turn it red during the full moon-- conveniently for your excuse not to participate in either prompt if you want to opt out!) they will become a werewolf or weredog.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

If you're sure...

[ He keeps his hand extended for a bit longer, like he's trying to push past Izō's fussiness. ]

[ no, the fussiness will persist but he accepts the hand anyway. it's easier than trying to prove a point and failing because as much as he hates to admit it, he's not sure of anything anymore — even if he's determined. falling over like this is an embarrassment he might never recover from. ]

What's that look? Don't gimme that look...

It's nothing. I'm just glad you're alright.

[ Ryouma squeezes his hand gently and starts off toward the detective agency. At least it's on the outskirts of town and it's early enough that most people won't be awake to see this walk of shame.

As always, the interior is warm and welcoming, a couple of the lamps still on from last night. Their living quarters are upstairs, which is likely not a fun proposition for Izō at the moment. Slowly, carefully, Ryouma leads him up to the bathroom. ]

If you know where your lost your clothes, I'll go get them while you clean up, alright? I'll leave some clothes for you to change into... [ A thought occurs to him. ] Unless you don't want to be alone right now.

[ by the time they get back and especially once they've gone upstairs, izō has moved beyond caring about needing to occasionally lean on ryouma. the cold made an uncomfortable situation worse and there was really nothing for that but to get out of it. ]

Think I might mess up yer nice place if somethin' happens?

[ he means it as a joke, but also can't deny that it's not impossible either since he still has no idea why it even happened in the first place. ]

... Since I can't promise ya that nothin' will 'cause I really dunno. Ain't the same like it was before, like endin' up with a tail or somethin' I didn't ask for. Or bein' sick that time...

[ he looks down at his hands and wishes he could just quit thinking about this for a while, because the more he does the more bad things come to mind. ]

If there's somethin' wrong with me, aren't ya worried I gave it t' ya?

I ain't worried none at all. [ Now that they're alone, he slips back into his more familiar accent. ] We'll figure out what's goin' on an' how t' handle it together. I ain't lettin' ya struggle through this alone.

[ All he wants to do is hug Izō and tell him it'll all be okay. He can't promise that and saying it at all feels empty. Ryouma does hug him and kisses his temple. ]

If ya did...Well, I guess we'll see what happens. I'm alright right now and yer alright for now, too. Let's worry 'bout that if and when it happens. For now, jus' focus on yerself for a li'l bit. Go get in the shower and I'll bring ya some clean clothes.

[ It feels so self-indulgent to ask, but... ]

...D'ya want some help washin' up?

[ it's almost too much. izō takes slow, deep breaths and waits for the tight feeling in his throat to pass. it's difficult, right here with the evidence of what he'd done right in front of him. ]

Y' liked this shirt...

[ and now it was ruined. and beyond that, it was too close. what if he'd hit something vital? too close. of all the reasons he's worried about — disinterest, betrayals, finally pushing him away with his attitude — this sure wasn't one of them. focus on himself? how is he supposed to think about anything else? ]

Jus' stay...

[ he says it so quietly he's not even sure ryouma could hear it, but izō tentatively puts his arms around him and leans his head against ryouma's shoulder, which should ideally do just as well.

yes, his things are probably out there where he'd left them and he'd like them back — swords and phone in particular — but right now, they can wait. ]

[ Ryouma just holds him close for now, no judgement here. It must have been terrifying to change into a monster like that against his will and have no control. The least Ryouma can do is offer him some comfort. Part of him expects to feel tears against his shoulder where Izō has his face pressed and that'd be fine. Whatever Izō needed to do to get it out is fine. ]

I ain't goin' nowhere, don't worry 'bout that.

[ He strokes Izō's hair as he holds him, reluctant to back away. ]

Lemme get ya some clothes and I'll be right back.

[ ryouma isn't wrong; it's only a matter of time before the tears break through despite his attempts to hold them back. he's wrestled with this particular issue for too long and it's taken different shapes, but the heart of it remains the same. his shoulders shake and his grip tightens, the struggle to keep himself (almost) silent is enough to make his whole body tense.

his hold remains even when he starts to settle again, but at the mention of the clothes he lets that ease off too. izō covers his face with one hand as he backs off, knowing he's made ryouma's shirt even more of a mess in an obvious way, but that doesn't mean he wants ryouma to look him right in the face and see it. ]

Mm... jus' gonna start then, while y' do...

[ he's not helpless, at least. ]

[ Ryouma squeezes Izō's bicep gently before he backs away. As much as he wants to wipe his tears away, it's clear that Izō would rather he ignore them. Izō's comfort is most important here. Ryouma settles on a gentle forehead kiss instead. ]

I'll be back in a moment.

[ Ryouma returns a short time later with a clean t-shirt, fresh underwear, and a pair of lounge pants for Izō to change into. ]

I'm right out here if ya need anythin'.

[ He waits patiently outside the bathroom for him like a loyal dog. ]

[ it's the little kisses and the soft affection that make him want to hide. they might seem like small gestures, but he feels conflicted over every one of them and it makes all that emotion he's failing to hold back rise up again.

he turns the water on, letting it get good and hot before he takes the jacket off and sets it down with more care than he he might've with his own clothes. he probably can't make it worse than it is now, but still. he hisses a little under his breath when he steps in and the water hits him, making all the scratches and scrapes he has sting worse than the rest of him does just because the water's so hot. he stands there for a while, until the spray hitting his back doesn't hurt anymore and his skin's gotten red from the heat.

izō lifts his head when ryouma calls from outside and pushes the wet hair out of his face. ]

Y' don't gotta stand around out there y' know. Nothin' ya ain't already seen...

[ and it's a lot less obvious that he's been ugly crying like this too. ]

[ It's not like he doesn't need to clean up, too. There's still blood on his skin and he's a bit of a mess from running away. The thought of taking care of himself before finding Izō again hadn't occurred to him.

Ryouma quietly enters and sets the spare clothing on the counter before he strips off himself. It feels rude to just invite himself into the shower, but...he can be a little bit selfish right now. ]

...Will ya let me take care'a those for ya?

[ The scratches and scrapes would be trivial for him to heal and allow him some more close contact with Izō, as selfish as it feels. He wants to shower Izō in any amount of care and affection he'll allow. ]

Even if I said no, y' probably wouldn't listen anyway.

[ and there's really no good reason at all to say no because that's just more uncomfortable for him anyway. he doesn't mind ryouma getting in since he'd already assumed that was the plan when he'd told ryouma to come in in the first place. ]

Unless it's gonna take somethin' outta ya. Y' even sleep..?

[ there's the guilt again. izō should just get used to that until he sorts this out one way or another.

most of the superficial little wounds look new, probably having gotten them this morning when he'd woken up somewhere and started heading back.

notably, even with the help of the healing, the wound he'd gotten from the sword probably should've had further to go before it could be considered healed completely. instead, only the thin line of a scar remains. there are also a few other marks that he hadn't had before — all similarly scarred over. one benefit to all this, it seems. ]

I couldn't sleep knowin' ya were out there like that...We can rest together after I take care'a ya, alright?

[ His fingers find the mark left behind by his sword, not nearly as bad as he'd left it...Interesting. He tends to the other small wounds instead, using a simple healing spell on them. This is also an excuse to look Izō over for any other injuries or wounds -- nothing major, at least. ]

There, good as new. [ Ryouma can't help but embrace him, even as they are now. ]
...I'm jus' happy yer alright.

Stupid... look out for yer own self more next time...

[ not that he intends for there to be a next time as far as ever being in that particular situation ever again, but inevitably there will be some sort of trouble at some point — look who he's dealing with — and wants to hope ryouma will at least make the effort of taking care of himself if he's not around. izō doesn't want to think too hard about how ryouma must've been in that time to not only be kept awake, but not bothering to do anything else either — even change clothes. it seems so... unnecessary? izō doesn't think highly enough of himself to see a reason why anyone should go so far out of their way for him, even if they're friends. even if he knows for a fact he would be just as restless if their situations were reversed.

but he did say more. small progress? at least in that he's realised the futility of trying to convince ryouma to prioritise himself entirely. but he could do more. ]

Don't go dyin' for nothin'. Yer too important.

[ he pauses, mostly because however he wanted to word that, it wasn't what he ended up saying. ]

... Y'know, 'cause yer better at this.

[ saved himself. maybe. probably(?). ]

Restin's fine, yeah. I'll jus' be sure t' get outta yer hair by sundown.

[ it's just a guess, but better safe than sorry. he hasn't felt anything unusual since he woke up, but there's no telling what'll happen once the sun sets.

he pulls back a little because, admittedly, he's curious. ryouma had healed himself in a hurry and didn't have whatever inhuman advantage let his own wounds heal so quickly. ryouma shouldn't have to carry around permanent evidence of izō's failure, but if he is he's going to have to face that eventually.. ]

Ya ain't gotta worry 'bout me dyin'...I jus' wanted t' make sure ya were alright. I didn't wanna hurt ya like I did an' I'm sorry for that.

[ His shoulder and chest are still marred by bite marks, healed over enough to be scabby and no longer bleeding, but not healed to the extent Izō's wound is. Ryouma doesn't seem too bothered by them; they still hurt, yes, but it could be worse. If he keeps healing them, there will be nothing left soon enough.

That might be for the better. ]

Jus'...Come back here, please. Or I'll go lookin' for ya again. [ He laughs quietly. ] Ya ain't gonna get rid'a me that easily...

'Course I gotta worry! Look at this! Look what happened! What if I got ya bad enough that y' couldn't heal yer self? Wasn't like I could go an' find help...

[ izō can't help but end up raising his voice, because it's all that's been on his mind. it's the last thing he thought of before he'd lost control again. ]

I got exactly what I deserved. No point in apologisin' for it.

[ they're apparently always going to disagree on this one issue, but it's particularly frustrating because izō can't make sense of why ryouma bothers. he isn't useful nor pleasant and at any given time is probably drunk or broke or both. just a drain on everyone's time and energy.

but fine. if that's the priority... ]

Y' wanna make it up t' me? Then do what I said. Lookin' out for ya is all I'm good for 'round here.

[ he expects ryouma to object and doesn't really want to spoil this time with more yelling and carrying on, so he leaves it at that. he also picks up a bottle of shampoo and squeezes some into his hand. ]

Where else am I gonna go? I'll come back when it's safe, so... don't wait up.

[ the shampoo he has? izō reaches up and plops it right down on ryouma's head. if he wanted to appear serious about this, he's already failing because he can't quite avoid not looking amused. ]

Ain't gettin' in bed with ya if y' don't clean up first, though..

[ He doesn't want to argue with Izō anymore. It's obvious this incident upset him and rightfully so. Ryouma has no place to tell him how he should feel nor any right to tell him his feelings aren't valid. Ryouma simply goes quiet and gives into him. He lowers his head so Izō can reach easier.]

Same goes for ya. Ya better be nice'n clean before ya get into my bed.

[ Washing each other like this is familiar and comforting, something they both need right now.]

[ he's content with the fact that ryouma doesn't argue back. maybe he'll listen this time..? izō can hope. it's to ryouma's benefit, after all.

it is comforting to do this, even if it's just a small thing. he's sure it doesn't make up for anything, but it's still something he can do. that's probably why he looks like he's concentrating hard, because he'd like to do it well and he's not sure his hands are gentle enough for this. ]

How's that?

[ it's all soapy now! and he definitely didn't make any of it stick up or anything. ]

Feels real good...

[ Izō’s touch is pleasant and relaxing, enough to get Ryouma to close his eyes. Once his hair is rinsed, he returns the favor for Izō. He exercises the same care as Izō did, even pausing to kiss his neck as a quiet thank you. The night before may have been frightening, but now he's never felt safer with anyone. ]

Lemme brush yer hair when we're done, too, yeah?

[ Ryouma has a special fondness for these kinds of intimate acts. ]

[ the gentle attention eases more of the stress out of him and, at least for the moment, izō can manage not to worry about his usual fears. it's so easy to imagine nothing will change like this — which some part of him realises historically has come back to bite him — but that's a thought that he can push out of mind right now. ]

Oh? Figured that out, didja?

[ it's easy to make the little jab, especially since there's no judgement. izō doesn't even own a brush. what's the point if your fingers work just fine for your needs? ]

But since y' asked... s'pose I can let ya.

[ izō is new to these experiences, so he had no opinion other than his usual aversion to being close to anyone, but he can't complain about any of it right now. ]

[ Once Izō's hair has been washed, Ryouma grabs a washcloth and some soap so.he can properly wash Izō, too. It gives him the chance to look Izō over for any other wounds he may have gotten during the night. ]

Looks like yer in pretty good shape after all'a that.

[ Ryoima can't resist the urge to hug him now, to feel Izō against him. He's warm, he's safe, and he's right here. Ryouma expects him to get fussy about it and that's okay -- it's welcome, even, because of its familiarity. ]

'Course I am. I'm still me! ... Even if I ain't? I dunno...

[ he's unclear on how it works exactly. missing time makes it difficult to understand what was happening.

he looks like he must've gotten into something with an animal or another werecreature, but all the bites and scratches continue to improve just like the one on his shoulder, even now.

when ryouma hugs him he flails a little, even if ultimately he enjoys the hug. it feels like every part of him that can blush is, but maybe that'll just look like the heat did it. ]

Clean enough then? Better not complain...

[ it's not a very convincing pout either. ]

Yer clean, yer clean!

[ Ryouma laughs good-naturedly as he finishes rinsing them both off. Another hug and a kiss and then he shuts the water off before stepping out to get them both a towel. Izō gets pulled into another hug, this one with a purpose to dry him off. ]

No matter what happens, ya got a place with me, Izō...I mean it.

[ it's nice to hear ryouma laugh. izō had worried for a bit that things would always be awkward or that ryouma might actually be afraid of him, which wouldn't be unreasonable given the circumstances. not so much a judgment of what he's become as much as how unreliable he is. ]

Ain'tcha worried about sayin' shit like that?

[ he lowers his voice after that and submits to letting himself be dried off. it's nice to finally feel clean after all the blood and whatever else. ]

'Cause.. y' know I'll hold ya to it...

Nah, I'm not worried at all.

[ He dries off Izō's hair and lets the towel rest on his shoulders. Ryouma then leans into give him a lingering kiss, embracing him once more. ]

I want ya t' hold me to it. Make me keep my promises, alright?

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