isleofavalon | EVENT ✨ The Answer is Always C

Entry tags:

EVENT ✨ The Answer is Always C

QUICK NAV: LOGS ⚔️️ NETWORK ⚔️️ MEMES ⚔️️ OOC ⚔️️ NAVIGATION

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

That just made her feel even more puzzled, because what in the world did age have to do with it? While it was true that becoming a master usually took a long while, why would his rightful title make him feel old?

Still, it was probably one of those things that wasn't worth questioning. just tried to shake it off, finally feeling herself fully calm down when she spoke.

"Perhaps it is for the best if we leave this place for now. There must be a way back to Camelot, right?"

That's...

[He's absolutely gobsmacked. Because, while the nomenclature might differ, everything she just said was basically his own story.]

Where...Where I come from...hair like mine is considered a brand. A mark of tainted blood. It usually indicates that someone in my ancestry is demonkin or beastkin.

But...in my case...it's because I'm the reincarnation of an Archfiend. The lord of all Archfiends. Prophesied to destroy my world.

My mother died giving birth to me and my twin brother and...I've spent my life being told I was cursed. When I lost my father and brother, no one wanted me because they were afraid I'd bring death to their household.

[He would normally never divulge this much but...her story sounded so much like his...]

All your life...did you grow up just wanting to...to find a place where you could be...

...well, yourself...? To not be afraid any more...?

"I would not know. I just want to see what it does, all right?" At that point she was very, very grumpy, not to mention putting her all into pushing the damn rock towards where it needed to go. At least there wasn't an incline, but the biggest issue was getting it moving again.

"I..." NEHRA it was hard to speak while trying to push the stupid boulder! "I would appreciate it if you would stop mocking me if you have no intention of helping!"

Edited 2021-05-28 06:20 (UTC)

[Darin closed his eyes as well. He grit his teeth and waited for the flash of pain. And while it did come, the pain wasn't as visceral as he thought it would be.]

[The blade struck true and pierced what was likely the heart of the monster. It also suck a few inches deep into Darin's own chest, stopping just at the ribs. He bites back a roar of pain...not that it would have been heard over the roar of the transforming beast he'd just been forced out of embracing.]

[The wild thrashing of the siren causes the wound on Darin's chest to open further, both his and the beast's blood pouring into and chumming the water beneath Allura.]

[Blood in the water...well, that gives him an idea.]

[He grits his teeth and starts to channel his magic. Instead of using the blood from his open wound, he focuses on the blood in the pool. Slowly, tendrils of water and blood rise and begin to snake about the creature. The water churns violently and the ends of the blood water tendrils become razor sharp. In an instant, they spiral in and constrict, impaling the siren from a dozen different angles.]

[The corpse is released and Darin dives to narrowly escape the creature's falling body.]

[Allura is likely baffled by what just transpired. She likely didn't know about Darin'd blood magic and now his body is nowhere to be found.]

[That is until he surfaces near the edge off the pool, where the water is still relatively blue.]

Gods above that's draining...

[He places a hand to his chest and starts to heal the wound slowly, having exhausted most of his energy on that little display...]

Dogs...?

[Baldr's eyebrows lift, and he casts a glance of his own over his shoulder back at the monstrous creature.]

Is that what it looks like to you?

[That would certainly explain this man's behavior towards it, if nothing else...]

"Yeah...good point."

Darin stands and looks around. He grabs two cloaks from the store room they're in and tosses one to Adela, tying one about his frame and drawing the hood to hide his hair.

"By the way...when we're safe and you're ready...I have some questions about all of that stuff about demons you mentioned before."

What?

[What kind of messed up dream thing did Zidane experience??]

For the show? Which did you have?

[Perfect.]

[As the crowd erupts into chaos, Zidane can open the stocks with little attention paid towards him. The individual in the stock is stunned and doesn't move, but Zidane'll pick them up and disappear into the crowd just seconds before at least a few people realize the object of their humiliation is gone.]

[There's a call for the guards, but if it's for Zidane or the crowd, he's not waiting to find out.]

[Okay, now he looks back at him more fully.]

What else would it be? [Said with a voice and look that says, "Have you never seen a dog before? Are you blind?"]

That's true, but he would have born that with a grin!

"Is it?" He ran a hand through his hair and shook out whatever was in it with a disgusted face. "What was the test?"

Adela did the same, seeming to have no trouble with the cloak given and raising the hood from there. She paused at that, feeling a little put on the spot, but she eventually did answer.

"I... I do not think I know a lot of it, but I will try to answer what I can."

This was going to be a hard day, harder than it had been already. But after already having disclosed so much, there really was no point in hiding anymore. And Darin was probably the only person in all of Avalon who knew what she was going through, at least in some capacity.

[Oh, she's entirely lost on what's happening. After the siren started thrashing, she was thrown back, her glaive following with her. And then... it was as if the water itself attacked the monster. No, more than the monster. The whole pool surrounding it appeared to become a whirlpool of blades, and she can see shredded scraps of flower petals scattering throughout the blood-stained water...]

[So yes, when Darin doesn't surface? She assumes the worst.]

Darin!!

[And she's already running across the water, robe thoroughly askew at this point, bloody water splattered across her legs. Her head swivels about, looking for any sign of a body other than the siren's.]

[And then she hears his voice, and turns to see him pulling himself out.]

Darin! You're alive...! [She dashes towards him instinctively, even though he can do more help for himself than anything she can do.] What was that attack?!

[Nobunaga seems to ignore the rocks at first, just focuses on the best way to slice the stockade open and indeed, no worries Zelgadius isn't in any danger, Nobunaga is just irritated with this whole thing.]

Be careful when you throw stones. [And just pummels the rocks throwers -- but at least with the hilt and pommel of his sword, nothing lethal!] The someone who could get hurt is you.

[He clings to the edge of the pool, keeping himself mostly submerged but also using the stones to steady himself. He's a little too focused on healing to be looking her way at the moment.]

Blood magic. About all I can do offensively right now and it requires a lot of blood. Luckily, it doesn't have to be mine...

[But they were alive. That's what counted.]

...Thanks. Couldn't have done it without you.

[He glances her way. After all, she still had a lot to answer for.]

[No no, he totally picked it up from the video.]

Yeah, let's go. I have no intention to slaughter samurai needlessly. [Though he clearly is ready and willing to throw down. So Jean should go first so Nobunaga can bring up the rear.]

Me? I had the... control one. Didn't do much with it though, but they left it on us afterwards so we took them off.

Oh wow, yeah, sounds like the ultimate pro and con. But maybe that's best? I can't recount all the dumb crap we'd get into after drinking - some things it kinda defeated the point of drinking to forget.

[He grins.]

[OOC: So, am I writing a poisoned monkey boy in a bit or did we wanna roll something?]

It takes him a moment to also affirm the fact that he is just standing there utterly alive, "I see, Is there perhaps a delay on the poison?"

The Fairy looks at him with a 'youre a dumb ass' look. Giving the Knight of sun exactly what he needs to discern the answer. Turning to the other he looks at the man with a seemingly apologetic smile, "I may have mistakenly drank the wrong glass."

What like— [ Cloud grunts as he prepares to tap back into his Kinetic magic again, letting the boulder go as it stays put with his power alone. ] —wind magic or something?

[ Because casting ice just meant it'd be slippery. Maybe that'd work better if he were pushing downhill. Fire? Lightning? That's just asking to blow them up. ajdfkhls ]

Oh, I happen to like the sound of that however...

[ Aren't they being watched over? Mona draws a peculiar look upon her face looking toward Venti. ]

What do you have in mind?

A monster-- a rather unpleasant looking one. Something tells me it isn't here to make friends...

[Well, maybe it is, but he's pretty sure he doesn't want to be the one to take a chance on finding out. That hand hasn't moved from the hilt of his sword, and there's a subtle tension to his body, like a snake coiled to strike if necessary.]

Blood magic... that's your secondary, then? Was this your plan all along?

[She catches herself smiling. There's almost something funny about it, how such a dire situation actually gave him the upper hand.]

[But, seeing that he seems to be in no danger of bleeding out... she changes her trajectory, and heads to the edge of the pool several feet away from Darin. There, she sets down to rest, putting her weight on the handle as if it were a cane.]

... I'm just thankful that you were able to snap out of it, in the end. For a moment, I wasn't certain that you would...

I'll be honest...I was kinda making it up as I went along. I wasn't sure if you'd catch my drift.

Had to keep my desires focused otherwise that thing would have known something was up.

[He sighs.]

It's a good thing you got my intent hidden by my words. And, honestly, I almost fell for the thing's trap.

...It's when it threatened to hurt you that I snapped out of it.

Careful--!

[Rather startled that things have escalated so quickly, Hendrik follows Darkwing to the edge of the pool. The bunny-eared model still looks rather annoyed by all of this, but she seems to have calmed now that someone is in the water.

She moves with alarming speed from the center of the pool, disappearing from view as waves rise up.

Below the water, Darkwing may get an unpleasant eyeful of an otter's tail approaching at high speed as the siren goes right at him.]

[She lifts her head at the last part, surprised. By the time she had caught on, he had long since been free of the thrall. So no, it hadn't occurred to her what may have triggered it...]

... but... why? Weren't you still mad about me lying to you?

[She looks back towards the pool. Towards the truly impressive mess they've left behind.]

That's not to say that I expected you to attack me, but... I didn't think it would actually bother you.

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Page 90 of 220

EVENT ✨ The Answer is Always C

no subject

no subject

no subject

CW: BLOOD

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

IM TOTALLY OK With enabling gawains dumb ass himboism

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject