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.

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[OH GOOD they can finally escape.]

I can't believe I had to convince you to run from an angry mob twice. Do you have absolutely no sense of self preservation, or what?

I see. You reported them.

[Uh oh.]

We could have sacked the bastard right there and then, you know? But you just had to bail! Do you have any idea how long those suckers held me at the station?! You owe me big time!

[What are you going to do, Zelgadis? A) Appease Hijikata by reminding him of how you helped him sort out his magic, B) Promise to repay him (monetarily or otherwise), C) Bail again, D) ???]

[ She has no idea what a 'tsundere' is, but she's assuming it's a video game thing and choosing not to ask.

She twists her mouth into an expression between a grimace and a wry smile, looking down at her hand again just to have somewhere to look. That was work, and none of it the effort to muster some kind of power. It left her tired and depressed, even having come up with some happy thoughts. Did she realize how stressed she's been hanging around in Fantasy Land doing basically nothing? ]

There's definitely something there...

[ Maybe she needs practice. Can you practice happy thoughts? ]

Oh god, somebody's going to piss me off and I'm going to accidentally stab them with light, aren't I.

[Farewell, muscle wizard. Your arms were so, so big.

The trial is over, hurrah! But there's still this dead body to deal with. On the plus side, wherever they'd been returned to is conveniently nowhere near any other people for now, so Zelgadis doesn't have to panic just yet.]

Okay... okay, this is fine. I can figure this out. I have death magic, so I should be able to communicate with the dead, right?

[Why yes, he is just working all of this out out loud.]

Uh, h-hey, kid! Or uh, kid's ghost...? Ugh, I have no idea how this works...

[Aw fuck wrong answer, he should have said he killed them. Maybe? Either way, it's too late now. Zel raises his hands up defensively and takes a couple steps back. Hijikata's no Lina, but he still doesn't want to risk pissing him off even more. Thus, no bailing this time.]

N-no, you're right! That was-- I'm sorry. That all just got really out of hand. I do owe you.

[ So is Zidane going to play the part of a ghost? Spook and confuse the people around him?

Well Xiao can do the same he supposes. By tapping his spear on the ground. Creating additional noise. ]

[Honestly, that would probably have satisfied Hijikata, if only because the pyromaniac's attitude pissed him off beyond belief (isn't he truly a model cop?). But Zelgadis' answer is enough to make him simmer down. He lets out a satisfied snort.]

Damn right. The next time I need back-up on some shady-ass quest, I'm going to call you.

[So now their plans of questing together again one of these days took a turn for the sketchier. Really, should a policeman be doing this? Isn't this blackmail? But then Zelgadis is an arsonist, so they're two rotten peas in a pod.]

Hm. You have a good point.

[As things are now, this is just a shitty game of chance. Joke's on you, universe, Kratos hates himself too much to be tempted to try to prolong his horrible existence by playing along!]

Very well, then we'll delay. It makes no difference to me.

[Lizzie won't argue that it was terrible experience. If anything, it being an illusion like this makes it worse. It's like a slap in the face, almost.]

Now that you mention it, Arthur was quite vague on what constituted as passing or failing. I suspect the fae weren't clear to him about it, either.

Maybe you were meant to persevere, and I had to prove my mettle?

[Momo is...amazing. Truly amazing. She's so smart, so strong, and always so adaptable. Ochako genuinely believe that she could be anything she wanted to be, if she really set her mind to it. The girl is an inspiration, and it's no wonder why she's the Vice Class Rep and so admired by their fellow female classmates. She just radiates an aura of reliability and capability. Ochako watches Momo work as she sips the (truly delicious, holy smokes) cup of tea that was made up for her, and takes a few cleansing breaths. It helps settle her stomach, and the tension headache that sometimes comes with her nausea.]

Ehehe, thank you, Momo-chan, but you--ooooh!!

[Her eyes immediately start to bug out as Ochako watches the huge slab of rock be transformed into a light, bubbly material instead - styrofoam!! Th-That's such a neat trick!! And makes the heavy lifting not nearly as heavy as before. Were she not still holding her cup of tea, Ochako would have burst from her seat, arms up in the air with a rowdy cheer for her friend, but she's still kicking her feet like an excited child, heeling tapping on the dirt in her excitement.]

Momo-chan, th-that was amazing!! You're incredible!!! I-I-I didn't know your magic could do so-something like that! [That's so COOL??]

[Kratos only knows how to let it keep sucking.]

Humph.

[It's not so much a dismissive 'humph' as it is a thoughtful one. Truthfully, he's glad that Colette's making friends around here, who care so much about her wellbeing. Lloyd would be glad to hear it, he's sure.]

The things that I shared with her were likely incredibly jarring. It would be difficult for anyone in her position to cope with. ...In my experience, she has a bit of a history of downplaying her suffering. I wouldn't press her too hard, but be aware that there's likely more troubling her than she's letting on.

[He's passing this information on mostly because Kratos is sure that he'd just fuck it up if he tried to be comforting for Colette in any way. He's really bad at people, ok.]

You have not subjected me to anything I did not permit. I am the one that chose to accept the terms of the contract, knowing full well the cost.

[ And THAT has nothing to do with THIS. Not treat him as Rex Lapis? How absurd. No matter what, Zhongli is Morax - Rex Lapis - to Xiao. Geo Archon or not, this is who he will always be to the Yaksha since that is how they had come to cross paths in the first place.

His motivation has little to do with reverence for the man's position in Teyvat. It has everything to do with the position he holds in Xiao's life. ]

There are many times I would do as you ask. In this, however, I cannot.

No, he cheated! We were supposed to drink it at the same time! I— I wanted the poison!

[ "He cheated..." The old man overseeing them shakes his head at that, insisting in a tougher voice that Zuko just drink from the damn cup. Meantime Zuko's still clutching Sokka's shoulders, a furious look on his face, distraught. He hesitates for what feels like a long time, but in fact is only a moment, staring wildly between the two men, mind running a mile a minute, before snatching the goblet from his side of the table, spilling some on its way to his lips. He moves as if it's defiantly even though he's doing exactly as he's been told to. And indeed... he doesn't die. He makes a face at the bitter taste, always a highly sensitive boy, but there's more bitterness in what he feels than what he tastes, and it's written all over his face. ]

[It's working, isn't it?]

[It's made people at least stop heckling the individual in the stockade. And if Xiao would continue, Zidane would be able to slip them out without being noticed.]

[It's fine, man. If Kratos cracks his head on the ground, he probably deserves it.

Eventually, Kratos stirs, his eyes blinking open while his brain tries to catch up with whatever the hell is going on now. He sits up with a start, but instantly regrets it as the poison that's still in his system makes his head spin.]

What-- what happened?

[Zelgadis huffs a small sigh of relief, lowering his hands. Man, this guy is way easier to appease than Lina. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.]

Yeah, sure. I'll look forward to it.

[That was only half sarcastic. Shady-ass quests are kind of his jam, okay.]

[No response, be it from Chara's body or their ghost.

Give it a few more minutes though, maybe something will happen! Like the "poison" wearing off and the whole fake death thing being done with, so once enough time has passed? Well Chara will totally wake up and say in the most disappointed tone of voice;]

Well, that was anti-climatic.

[Stooop grandpa...]

I thought as much. She'd probably benefit learning to even scream into a pillow sometimes, but it's almost like she doesn't have an angry bone in her body either.

[If Zidane knew what therapy was, he'd suggest that.]

[Aw man, and here Zelgadis was drawing a makeshift ouija board in the dirt to try to communicate with Chara's spirit. This is fine too, though! Just, y'know, life in general is preferable to death? In post cases at least.

Anyway, Zelgadis is caught so off guard by Chara suddenly being Not Dead that he stumbles backwards and falls on his ass, and makes an unflattering almost-but-not-quite-a-scream noise. Very cool, Zelgadis.]

Wh-what the hell!? Are you alive or a zombie!? Did I make a zombie!?

[He pats him on the shoulder as they finally exit the grottos, looking like the cat that got the cream for once.]

That's the spirit. Well, I'll get going... you be wary of any other friends from home. If you didn't see them drop in the bay on the first of the month it's a sham.

[He's not even going to question him about his relationship with Amelia, apparently, or comfort him a little over how his hopes of being reunited with her were cruelly dashed. Then again maybe it's his way of leaving him his dignity, like Zelgadis did for him when his precious Mayorins went poof.]

[DON'T GIVE THEM IDEAS, ZEL.

The reaction from him is hilarious, and it takes all of Chara's willpower to not bust out laughing. It's very hard and their expression shows that boy they are trying to not laugh.

Willpower loses out as they giggle a bit, before giving an answer.]

I don't want to eat your brains, so I'm guessing not a zombie.

[And they totally notice that ouija board that was being drawn, and turn their attention to that instead.]

You do know those things don't work, right?

[ Their familiars don't even need to eat, but Weiss owes the chocobo a lot of snacks now!

She wishes what happened didn't. That Cloud wouldn't be as troubled as he is now. It was scary, and heartbreaking, especially when her fears would catch up to her and she would feel so betrayed. All she wants to do now is to look into Cloud's eyes, do things with him and spend all the time in the world with him. Make better memories so that bad ones like these can be washed away.

When the chocobo disappears after Cloud gives it a pat on the end, she tugs on her boyfriend's hand. ]

And me?

[ Her reward!! A headpat!! ]

[Whatever Hijikata's reasoning is, Zelgadis is more than happy with not being asked about any of that shit that just happened. He's just going to chuckle awkwardly and wave as Hijikata heads off, and then head off in the other direction, happy to never talk about or think about any of this ever again for as long as he lives.]

[Zelgadis looks relieved and annoyed at the same time. Thank god, he hadn't actually let a kid poison themself to death and then raised them as a zombie.]

New world, new rules. Maybe they do work here.

[Can't stop won't stop!!!]

She's an incredibly kind person, so much so that it's detrimental to her wellbeing. I imagine her upbringing may have contributed to the way she is as well.

[Yo does Camelot even have therapists because half the idiots here could probably use one.]

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EVENT ✨ The Answer is Always C

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