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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I suppose... I did already start. I could try. And... I'll tell you if I notice anything else strange about it.

[She turns the bottle, examining it from different angles, as if trying to find some sort of identifying information. No such luck, it's just a pretty bottle. So, she pours more into the palm of her hand, and starts rubbing it into her arms.]

You know, if I hadn't, I would invite you to try it first. If it's anything, then it's likely a magical effect, right? As a last resort, I could try siphoning any effects off you...

[Which, not that she's mentioned it before this point, was her last ditch plan to break the thrall.]

I wouldn't let you. Siphoning is what got you all loopy in the forest, I wouldn't want you to take on any of the effects directly.

[He breathes a sigh of relief. Thank goodness it doesn't seem to be bad.]

[She sighs, rubbing the oil in with more vigor.]

I realize it's had some adverse effects, but — that's all the more reason to practice using it, so I can learn to control it better. [Shouldn't Darin of all people know how powerful and useful secondary magic can be?]

Besides, I don't think it normally works like that. When I first tried it, I didn't take on any of the effects of the curses I was absorbing. It hurt, but...

Pain is still not a good sign! You need to be more careful with things like that! Don't you remember what I said in the Fisher King's forest?

If something happened to you, a lot of people would be really heartbroken...

[Does she remember what else he said after that?]

Including you? [So... yes, she does.]

It was an amateur mistake, that's all. Keith had picked up a curse of clumsiness, and was breaking cursed artifacts left and right. And I tried to pull them all off him at once... I didn't realize that there's a limit to how much energy I can store, nor that I had to use up what I had.

How am I going to learn to use this kind of power, if I'm worried about what might go wrong with it?

[He ignores the first part.]

And that's fine but...just...

Use it in controlled circumstances until you know what you're doing. That's what I always did...

And how will I know what I'm truly capable of if I only stick with tried and true techniques?

Would you have saved that man from poisoning if you weren't willing to take some risks upon yourself?

[Yes, she still remembers that, too. Of course she still remembers that.]

... ... ...

I just...

... ... ...

...I don't want to see my new friend get hurt...

[If he were looking — and her back wasn't to him — he would see her smile softly at that.]

... I... can't promise you that. This sort of danger is hardly anything new to me. And if I'm afraid to face it, I won't be able to help anyone — and I could never live with myself knowing that.

[She rubs the oil on her neck, taking her time rubbing up and down the back of it.]

But... at least I'll have you around to heal me, should anything happen.

... ... ...

I don't want to heal you. Because doing so would imply you were hurt. And I don't want to see that.

[He huffs and crosses his arms on the edge of the pool and rests his head on them.]

Let me know when you're done...

[Looks like someone's grumpy.]

I will, I will... [She assures him with a sing-song tone. Truthfully, though, she's thinking of how she might help him understand her feelings. Perhaps she should just be straightforward about it?]

So... what if the alternative was seeing me sad?

I don't want to see you in pain or sad.

[He sighs in frustration.]

Whatever issue you and I had...I was...it was on me. I started this whole thing by yelling at you on the shores of the bay because I thought you had answers for me. After that, it was just stubbornness.

...Now that I know it was you at the masquerade that night...it's gotten...

...Complicated. At first I was mad at you. Then all I wanted was acknowledgement from you, especially after I saved you those times. Then...I just wanted you to like me. And now, after that encounter with the siren...

[There was no way Mako was right. No way.]

I...admit... you get under my skin. Not...in a bad way? I just...don't...

I don't know how to act around you. I mean, we're taking a bath together for the love of the gods above. I mean, nothing is stopping me from leaving. Nothing's stopping you from leaving. So...I mean...

...What do I even say here? What do I do? I mean, it's not like we're going to wash each other's backs..!

[There's no way either of them would want that, right? An opportunity to see more?]

... it was easier when we were simply at odds with each other, wasn't it? It's not merely you who's noticed how much more complicated it's grown since then.

In some ways, you're not different from when we first met. But... now that I understand you better, acting the same would be... callous and cruel. That I've been callous and cruel...

[And that's left a lingering frustration that she's not sure what to do with. As if things didn't really so much resolve, as she had to swallow a bitter, remorseful pill and try to move on. A clean start might have helped, but he himself had said he wasn't ready for it.]

[It left them in a strange, liminal space, and she's not sure how to move them out of it.]

[Still, at the mention of backs...]

... ... ...

That scar of yours, on your back. Does it bother you? I mean, is it uncomfortable?

Hm?

...No, it's not uncomfortable. I've grown used to it. I got it...

I got it the night my father and brother were killed. I...turned and ran and the enemy tried to cut me down. My brother got between us. He...

... ... ...

I...barely survived. The attack went through him but he stopped it enough to save my life. It used to itch like hell when I was a kid but...now I don't even feel it. I kinda wonder if the nerve endings back there are all dead...

I see... I'm sorry to hear that. But perhaps we could try something?

That liquid... rather, that oil doesn't seem to be doing anything unpleasant. In fact... it feels nice, almost refreshing in a way.

[To say nothing of the feel of her skin after it's been applied, and the fragrance.]

Would you like to try some, see how it feels on that scar?

Well...sure but I don't see how I can— ...

W-Wait...are you...going to...?

[She can probably hear the blush.]

Yes...? If you'll allow me. I promise I'll be careful...

You could consider it... a peace offering, perhaps?

You...You don't have to—

...[He stops. She's been trying this whole time to extend some kind of olive branch and he's shut her down every step of the way.]

[With a deep breath, he sighs.]

Um...Y...Yeah. Yeah that...could be nice...

I know that I don't. ... honestly, if you had given me that impression, I would be less inclined to do it.

Are you looking away? Can I turn around?

Y...Yes. Yes, you can. I'm...I haven't looked your way at all...

...Like I promised.

[He might be panicking.]

Of course. I just had to be sure you didn't forget yourself...

[She turns around, and approaches him — and while she tries to keep a small, respectful distance, there's no way to do this without intruding into his personal space. At least it's behind him and out of sight, so it won't be quite as easy for him to tell. Maybe still easy, if his senses are hyperaware of what's happening, or his imagination starts running wild...]

[She pours a generous handful of the oil once again, and then starts to apply it to the surface of the scar. At first, she merely spreads it across the skin with the palm itself, but then switches to massaging it into the tough, smooth tissue with the tips of her fingers. And while it starts more in the center of the gash, as the surface becomes saturated she moves towards the outer edges of the scar to make sure the excess oil doesn't go to waste.]

... well? Are you feeling anything yet?

[Oh, he's feeling something alright. That scar is a lot more sensitive than he thought. Maybe it's the oil or maybe it's the situation he's in, but the nerve endings in that scar light up when she starts to apply the oil.]

[As such, she'll feel him tense. And she'll feel his muscles turn into steel cords beneath her fingertips. He bites his lip to fight back making any sort of sound...but it's likely from the way he's shuddering and the way his words hitch in his throat that he's feeling good.]

[He also shifts his weight a bit. He really hopes she doesn't get any ideas or prolongs this; there's only so much else to focus on in these caverns and he's desperately trying not to think about her delicate hands running up and down his back. Or the proximity of her body to his.]

Y-Yeah...yeah I'm feeling...I-It feels good...

[It really is a good thing he's facing away from her. Though he might have to give the rock wall a bit of distance at this rate.]

[She hears that quaver in his voice, and...]

I'm not being too rough about it, am I? Or... too delicate? [Yes, she thinks that it's him reacting to her touch itself, either out of pain or out of feeling ticklish.]

It's hard to gauge, since you weren't certain you could still feel anything. But as long as you can feel it working, then that's a good sign, isn't it?

[She keeps working, using more of both hands now to really work it into his back. As if she thinks that kneading it harder will help the effects reach deeper into the tissue.]

[But... she also slows again as she reaches the lower end of the scar, as if wary about her hands traveling too far down his backside.]

Almost done...

[Darin sucks in a breath.]

N-No...! No, that's...that's fine. It feels really g-good...

[He wasn't lying. That combination of the heat from the bath, the tingling of the oils, and the softness of her hands felt wonderful.]

[And suddenly being pressed against the rock wall of the pool wasn't really a viable option anymore.]

[Reflexively, Darin inches his hips back towards Allura, arching his back slightly. This meant two things: First, he was slowly closing the gap between them...and second, his lower half was rising out of the water.]

[Allura might mistake it for him just...being Darin, really. After all, she's already seen him nude; back and front. So, maybe he was just...showing off? With a muscular torso like his, it's not out of the realm of possibility. Now that's he's all oiled up and she's had some minutes to really feel just how well-defined he is.]

[I mean... yes. Yes, she has. She's tried to maintain her focus on the scar, to show that she can be mature and professional about this. But it's difficult not to notice his back muscles. Especially when it brings back those plundered memories from his dream, of when he showed off what they can do in battle.]

[Strange that she hasn't seen more of that, actually.]

[But as he shifts back, especially at the hip, she tries to pull herself back to accommodate... while, you know, still keeping her hands on his back. As a result, she finds herself stretching more and more, arching her own back into a less comfortable position...]

[It would be a lot easier if she wasn't so aware of how close their bodies were getting, and trying not to cross a line.]

[She gives a huff, and then he might hear her quietly mutter:]

... what I wouldn't give to be able to shapeshift again...

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