isleofavalon | EVENT ✨ The Answer is Always C

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EVENT ✨ The Answer is Always C

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This is the event log for IC comments only! Ask OOC questions/plot/view event notes HERE or use the FAQ for general questions. Click here to view top-level comments only. A poll to collect results of the trials will be posted this weekend and stay open until the end of the month to give people a little time to see how their threads are going.

KEY POINTS

Arthur announces the results of the polls and that he spoke to Celliwig's people, they will be testing Camelot the week of the full moon.

A series of choice-based enchanted scenarios is presented based loosely on a modernized seven sins/virtuous responses (power imbalance, cruelty or mercy, excess/greed or restraint, sloth or work ethic, desire/lust or self-control and bravery or cowardice, and sacrifice or self-preservation)

With the polls closed, the decision is made, and King Arthur takes the opportunity to address the kingdom via a streamed press conference. Though it is not an open post, anyone is welcome to comment on it and talk to each other about it. However, it is unlikely that Arthur himself will respond to comments. A notification does appear on everyone's smart devices to invite everyone to watch live; if they tap it too late, it'll still show the recorded stream.

"People of Camelot, I wish that we had better news that spoke of an easier path to the calamity that stands before us. Celliwig's charge is with protecting Avalon even in the face of protecting Camelot and those of you who chose to use your voices have shown that you choose to respect their way of handling things. However, it was only just over half of you who chose this path. I think it is important that with such a great portion of people believing that bypassing Celliwig and going directly to Elphame, as much as it may take patience, we take this action into consideration. There is no sense in ignoring the voices of so many when there is nothing to say we cannot approach from two fronts. As Camelot's king, I have issued our intent to accept Celliwig's challenge to a descendant of Glewlwyd, a man who was much trouble for my knights in our time. They have said after failing one, we shall be tested on multiple fronts, the week of the full moon's rise. Bear in mind that this is our final chance at this."

Merlin sidles up to Arthur in the video, one arm around his shoulders and leaning in to speak into the mics in a much-too-familiar manner. At least his sunglasses are off this time.

"Now then, anyone who wanted to go to Elphame, you'll want to head to the docks around, oh, say, the first of June. Step one to flirting with fae is to put on a good show before the traders leave. It's a good time whether the Celliwig's dooming us or not."

A wink accompanies that odd note, and Arthur orders him off stage before thanking everyone for their time.

With the consent of its people, Celliwig performs a ritual to place Camelot under a rather strange spell. Much is the same, but there's a sense that everything is just slightly off from what it should be. Fog covers the grounds throughout the entire city throughout the entire day. It's just a little too quiet, the usual hustle and bustle of the city falling just a little too distant on your ears. You can go about your day as normal, but feel as if something is simply off. And eventually, you'll walk through a door, and it will be. Part of the enchantment, however, includes a strange inability to connect these doors with being part of a test-- they seem real, regardless of how absurd the scenario would be were your characters thinking straight.

Day One: Power Imbalance
The door you walk through is into a club of some kind. It wasn't your intended destination and yet, here you are, and you're being handed a glass of your favorite drink and being ushered to your seat. The show is fantastical, some kind of circus-esque show with gymnasts and magical effects making it impossible to take your eyes off of. That is, until the spotlight falls upon you and urges you down to join the show. A volunteer! Well, one of two. Another volunteer is brought up along with yours, and the ring leader of the circus gives you both bracelets-- one with selenite embedded in it, another with andara. The ring leader explains that they're both known for creating high frequency connections, though one is known to spiritually be associated with finding one's path and the other with manifesting one's true self. When enchanted together, this makes it so that the person with the andara bracelet can order the person with the selenite bracelet to do anything they please-- making their true self the person's purpose. Very dangerous, very intruiging, very tempting, very morally wrong to do it for real, so please keep it to the stage! A quick demonstration of this dark use of magic as part of the show... and it seems that afterward, they forget to take the bracelets back. What will you do with your newfound control over your partner? The choice is, after all, yours. (Or theirs, if you're the unlucky partner with the selenite bracelet-- only the person with the andara can remove the bracelets, after all.)

Day Two: Schadenfreude
Yesterday seems like a dream, and you may even feel the need to write it off as such unless you run into the same person again and realize no, they too remember it. But if that's not the case, it doesn't matter. You'll be able to find yourself in your definitely normal and usual mideval city, where someone is in the stocks. Your memories seem a little fuzzy on whether or not you're supposed to be in medieval times or not, but this seems right, and there's a fruit vendor right next to you selling soft fruits to throw at the poor sap in the stocks. There are also a number of other ways to mess with the person, including feathers to tickle them, a riding crop, some ink if you want to grafitti the person.. a good number of ways just to humiliate the person without causing them permanent harm. The crowd is cheering you on, but you also see the keys to set them out just sitting on a table nearby. Do you engage in a little sadistic fun or do you embark in a daring rescue? (Or are you the punished in someone else's scenario?)

Day Three: Indulge Me
Back to the modern day like it didn't happen, you and a friend walk into a door to your favorite convenience store and as you finish up your purchase, you win an all expenses paid trip to the Black Knight's Castle, formerly the home of the Black Knight and turned into a lavish tourist attraction by Yvaine and Laudine's descendents, who have become worshippers of Dionysus. You're transported there in a puff of sparkling magic dust, right before an extravagant golden fountain in the middle of the lobby. The owners explain their policy for the Black Knight's Castle that you can have anything you desire, however much you desire. Anything at all, consequence free. The only thing that they ask is that you give a blood offering to their god to help feed his dead worshippers on the other side of the veil, which will ultimately tie your soul to him as well. Just a quick cut of the palm and you're welcome to come back any time, have anything you want, for the rest of your life. Taking the deal means you really will get what you want! ...For the day, anyway. (This is just a spell, after all, even if your character doesn't want it.) If you choose not to, you'll find yourself magically deposited back to the convenience store.

Day Four: What's the Meaning of Stongehenge?
This fourth day, there's certainly something to be said about a hard day's work. When you walk through today's door, you find yourself in the middle of a grassy field, strange markings on the ground, and surrounded by oddly shaped boulders. The markings on the ground seem to indicate where some the stones should be placed. There aren't really any directions, but there's always the option of waiting for someone else to solve this problem for you... There is a very comfortable looking patch of grass anyone able to relax in. So the choice is yours: wait for someone else to move the rocks or move them yourself?

Day Five: Pooling Desire
Day five is a trip to the pools. But not just any pools! These are special, underground pools hidden deep within a cave. You're sure whoever told you to head through this door mentioned something about them being a special relaxation package at the Red Springs. As you head into the pools, however, you find someone in there with you: the subject of your desires. Regardless of who or what they are, they seem to have a crown upon their head, aren't wearing anything in that water, and seem to have a lovely singing voice judging by the tune they're humming to lure you in before you even notice they're there. It is at that point they will try to seduce you, even if that same person is standing right there with you. The seduction, of course, needn't be sexual-- a strong lusting for a turkey leg wrapped in bacon may be just as powerful as a desire for a brand new Ninblendo Swatch or something you should definitely label as NSFW if you want to thread it that way. Give into them, or.. maybe listen to the person who came in with you that they're definitely some kind of weird half-otter bottomed monster under the water before they try to drown you. Or if you're the one trying to stop this, are you brave enough to get in between a stranger and a monster to try to snap them out of the siren's thrall, even if it means fighting both of them?

Day Six: #ChaliceChallenge
The sixth and final door sets you walking outside on a beach. There's nothing else there really except for nature. The sounds of the waves crashing against the sound is soothing, and real, and sharper than anything you've felt in the last five days of haze. There is no fog today. Clear, blue skies stretch forever above you, not a cloud in sight. The only man-made thing you see is a small woode table and two chairs. Upon that table, two chalices. Nothing will happen and there seems to be no way off of the beach until both parties sit down at the table, at which point a strange old man with huge, rippling muscles of at least 7 feet tall and a long, scraggly beard will appear. He informs your characters of the rules: in one chalice, deadly poison. In the other, water and bitter flavor. Each must drink from one cup, or you will both perish of starvation on this beach. Choose wisely.

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

I think...

I think if this is something we have to destroy, I can't help you because it looks like my friend.

But I can heal you if that will help.

[His voice sounds like he's in shock. All that he seems to be able to do is help in some way, even to a stranger.]

Wow, you're pretty good!

[That is not how this game is supposed to go, but the crowd seems to enjoy this.]

So if I also asked you to do a backflip, you could do that too?

You know, it's too bad we don't have this really strong swordsman I met. He'd figure out a way out of this situation.

Plus, I know he'd be perfect since you're also learning the sword.

[Gaius closes his eyes and focuses on the earth itself. He doesn't need anything dramatic. He just needs to build a ramp. Just that.]

ARCUS, activate.

[It's the only thing that helps him focus his magical powers, even if his ARCUS unit no longer works. Nothing seems to work at first, but the stone is definitely moving a little.]

Okay...well, as long as it's not dangerous, I think I'd be able to help you out.

[Would he end up regretting this? Potentially, but it's a little late for that now.]

"You think this was a trial? I forgot that was even a thing..."

Probably because of magic. Magic is great because you can blame everything on it. "I don't know what kind of trial this could have possibly been."

[He does actually listen, despite how awful that speech is, and frowns to himself. That had been what his plan was. To do something worthwhile with the time he had left. But as he looks at Osiris, who he thinks is Osiris anyway, he thinks how badly he wished everything had been different. It should have been Osiris on the throne, it should have been Osiris that stayed.

But it hadn't been and Set had to live with that until Horus would come to kill him.]

I was doing that. Before I came here. But now he's here, too. He told me to rule and now he's telling me to be with him. That matters more than what you're saying.

[Miku's expression slackens again.]

All... that is a lot. Wouldn't that make you a god yourself? [A beat.] Can they do that? Is that allowed? Wouldn't that just make you the god atop all the other gods, so the rest of them just kind of... [A gesture with her one free hand like something popping into mist and dissipating.]

It's the middle of the damn day, you-- Ghh!

[ZELGADIS CAN'T LIFT YOUR GIGANTIC ASS, DARIN. With a guy like twice his size just leaping onto him, Zel loses his balance and falls right on his ass.]

...You idiot.

I see a monster. I don't see a woman at all and I don't see what you're describing. You're being tricked.

[And Set is no stranger to being tricked.] Whatever this...thing [Egypt has no otters so he's got no idea what this is] is, it isn't your wife. Don't listen to it or you'll end up in the underworld, probably.

I wasn't bragging in the first place! [Set has never been proud of what he is and it's always been drilled into him that he'll never be anything useful. He's a god of barren lands, unlike his brother who had been god of fertility. Set didn't have much to brag about.

Though the threat had definitely been there.] You asked me what I was and I told you!

[Kratos would argue that he is incapable of having fun. Fun is for people who aren't grouchy old fucks like him.]

Yes, she is. Perhaps to a fault. I imagine it would be difficult to find a person that she isn't able to befriend.

[Not full nudity, thankfully - there is a tasteful wrap at least covering what ought to be covered, but it certainly isn't leaving much for the imagination in any case. The resemblance is uncanny, how very much the woman looks like Ochako, just with a different sweep of her bangs, and with longer, thinner brows. And the smile lines along her face and eyes are there, but...one wouldn't think smiles were the cause, given the cold and dismissive look she's setting Shinsou with.

"My daughter is simply tired. It's why she needs to come home," and she turns, again, to smile so dazzlingly sweetly at the girl, alluring and warm...motherly to a T. It's almost astonishing the night and day difference when she looks at Ochako versus Shinsou. "Come now, my darling, I'll make you some pancakes! The fluffy ones you love."

Ochako is stuck, because she's genuinely not sure what's going on. Staring from Shinsou to the image of her mother and seemingly at an impasse. She's been fooled so many times by imposters, fakes of people she knows and cares about deeply...friends. But this is. This is her mother. The one person Ochako had been longing to see since she got here. Her mother and father, the reason why she became a hero. Because she loves them, because she wants them to be happy, to live happily. To give back all the love and care they showered her with growing up, despite not having much.]

Ma...mama. I...I'm-- [Confused. She's confused. And yet she takes a step closer to the water this time. She wants to believe. She wants to go home.] Wh-What do...I do?

["Come home."]

[At first Izuku can only tense and try to move his wrists and neck in the wooden bonds. As much as he tries to jolt and shift them they won't budge physically. They're tightly locked and have set him in a very painful stance.

He does try to clench and unclench his hands to spark some alchemy magic. It would be so easy to simply transmute the wood into something else. Wood is a basic element! But even as he tries to, green sparks flickering at his hands... He can't get his magic to start.

Something's wrong... He can't use his magic.]

Tch- Think... Izuku, think. You're not supposed to be here. Time to find a way to get out.

[He looks up through the crowd. Looking for a friend or an alley. And he does catch sight of that messy blond hair and his eyes go wide.

Ohhhh crap. He's a sitting duck! Please don't look at him!]

[Honestly? He isn't against it.]

Punching somebody sounds good right now. After being made a fool of, I want to know who thought it was wise to do so. [He punches his fist into his hand, scowling.]

[It isn't hard to do and all Set can think is he's happy it's so easy. Critical thinking isn't his strong point. If it's this simple then he's just glad it is. He doesn't think there might be another catch.

And this is why it's easy to trick him.

With the rock in place, he looks around.]

What happens now? Nothing's happening.

"Hm... It's been a very long time, but I think I was mostly in supporting roles. I did lead in a couple of musicals, though." Damn, this isn't something he's had to think about in a few thousand years. He's getting too old, man.

"Kratos. No need to apologize, I often neglect to introduce myself. Especially since arriving here, this place has a way of throwing me off."

[ Sadly, she can't actually remember who it was. A white guy, probably? She's about to suggest they go find some other violence to relieve some of this stress, but his punch reminds her of a concern. ]

It didn't scratch you, did it? I can only imagine what diseases wild animals carry around here.

Carry-?! Ah, Fenton-san...!

[It's just not fair. All of this is so frustrating. How can he call himself a hero if he lets someone be in danger of drinking actual poison...??]

Still- I don't know if I can go along with that. I'm training to be a hero, if I can't save someone from something like this how can I call myself a future hero?

[He clenches his teeth.]

There has to be some sort of other option...!

So many things were going through her head when he started describing her with those other words. There was no denying now how red her face was from embarrassment.

"Neither! Don't... Do not use those words to describe me!" Looks like someone was unable to take a complement when it came to her own looks.

Then what are you seeing? All I see is...[He looks again and yes, all Set sees is his brother. Smiling at him in the pool.]

I see my brother.

He laughed at that, struggling a little to not let it become a full belly laugh because he was still trying to keep ahead of Rose.

"Sounds like you need to hear it more! It's really cute that you're blushing so much from it though!"

This was when Rose would learn that Masamune was ~~secretly 14~~ a total brat, probably.

[Oh, how the turn tables.

Izuku steps up with a small wince. His hand rubbing the spot where Katsuki had kicked him so roughly. And while that was Katsuki's way of snapping Izuku out of it, Izuku has a different plan.

He holds out his hand instead.]

Then if you know... Kacchan, take my hand...?!

[Which hand does Katsuki take now?]

[Gosh, be a step better than android dad please.]

Yeah. It's pretty great really; you don't meet a lot of people capable of that these days.

[What the- where did the keys come from and where did they go? Amazing-

Izuku nods quickly. There's no time to gawk at Zidane's sleight of hand skills. He ducks out of the way of a flying square of smelly cheese. It looks like the crowd has upgraded from rotten fruits and veggies.]

R-right- Time to move!

[He'll run and hop off the wooden stage around the back and start to sprint as the crowd starts to roar and boo.]

Hgngg--

[He suddenly can't breathe! It's like his throat is starting to close up from the poisonous heat! Izuku tries to keep himself upright but the gasping makes his shoulders shake and tremble. He can feel her healing magic trying to reverse it but...

Can't breathe! Can't breathe...!]

Hang... Hnn!

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EVENT ✨ The Answer is Always C

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