EVENT #1: FAE FESTIVITIES

[diceofthegods]

INTO THE WOODS

Click Clock Wood (Spring) by Grant Kirkhope

2:05 / 4:59

▶︎

Click here to listen.

Grant Kirkhope is a Scottish composer and voice actor for video games and film. Some of his notable works include GoldenEye 007, Banjo-Kazooie, Donkey Kong 64, and Perfect Dark, among many others.

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After making your way through the tiny farming town of Ich and out towards the rim of a massive raised crater, you will find yourself being led through a narrow split in the canyon wall. Inside, glow worms cling to the ceiling and create the illusion of a thousand twinkling stars above the moistened rocks.

When you finally emerge, it is into an impossibly lush landscape of massive, redwood-sized tangling trees and a soft moss carpet. Life abounds here. It feels like an oasis of birdsong and animal activity.

A short walk leads you to the prepared party-grounds. A large clearing with quaint huts all around decorated with strange flowers for partygoers to rest or otherwise entertain themselves.

There appear to be several games and stalls set up, the sweet and savory scents of delicious food fills the air, and so do the patrons of the forest. Seemingly hundreds of Fae folk zip around and greet the newcomers excitedly by placing garlands of vines and crowns of flowers atop their heads.

Glowing flowers and toadstools light your way here. It also seems that even the animals get in on the festivities! Really, just about everything talks here. Almost everything, anyways! Talking to a tree stump might not yield many results but you're welcome to try.

Each entrant is also provided upon arrival a copy of The Rules. A rolled parchment that resists water or any other damage. It also prevents you from writing on it so you can't just do what you want.

The rules read as follows:

DO:
⁂ Accept gifts from the Fae.
⁂ Sample the food provided at the party ONLY.
⁂ Play games with the Fae.
⁂ Feel at ease to rest in the provided huts.
⁂ Keep tabs on your shadow lest it wander.
DO NOT:
⁂ Make a TRADE with the Fae.
⁂ Provide any personal items as gifts or otherwise to the Fae.
⁂ Provide your true name to the Fae.
⁂ Wander away from the designated party area.
⁂ Ascend any staircases you find in the woods.
OTHER ITEMS TO NOTE:
⁂ If you see an old woman hiking through the area, feel free to stop her and lie to her. The more brazen and obvious the lie the better. She appreciates this!

GAMES & ENTERTAINMENT

Amongst the games and attractions are a variety of fun possibilities!

GAMES

⁂ Battleship! (Fae Style!) A number of Fae will be hiding on a large grid of flowers. You guess the locations and if you are correct then you will win a small prize! It is a cup of nectar that refills endlessly, and numbs any pains you may have. This works even outside of the forest and can be taken home.

Every time you miss though, you receive a small 'curse.' Nothing harmful! Maybe you’re just rotating in place for the next hour, your ears become daisies, or you grow a tree out of your head? (Feel free to come up with your own silly ideas!) All of the curses will dissipate after a time or upon leaving the forest and none will do any harm or cause pain. The Fae are all about fun tricks, not hurting anyone!

⁂ Dress Up Darlings! You enter a booth and allow the Fae to decide your outfit! Upon the agreement that you'll wear it the rest of the party, of course, no matter how silly or ridiculous it is.

⁂ Bobbing For Onions! Yes, you read that right. Bobbing for onions. There are onions floating around... in water. You have to catch them with your teeth. The prize for success is a Bag of Onions. This bag never runs out of onions. They are always fresh and always onions. Not always the same kind of onion, but always onions nonetheless. This bag works outside of the forest and can be taken home.

⁂ What's In The Box? There is a box. There is something in it. Maybe it's frogs. Maybe it's slugs. Possibly bugs? Maybe apples. We don’t know. Stick your hand in the box and take a guess at what you’re touching! If you’re right, you win the contents of the box!

We'll let players decide via coin flip, rolls, or however they want if their guess is correct! Any items won though will be common, every day items like mentioned and nothing especially exciting. Unless you're really into frogs. Then it's your lucky day, apparently!

ENTERTAINMENT

⁂ Slayd & The Possums! Slayd is here and he’s throwing down the banjo tunes with his possum pals. Feel free to join him if you are musically inclined! The Fae will provide any instrument your heart desires! They can't grant you the ability to play it though if you don't know how.

⁂ The Crowning of the King of Misrule! Randomly chosen by the Fae, enter a lottery to be chosen as the King of Misrule for the evening. You will be dressed in a stupid outfit and granted Fae wings for the night! You also have the insatiable urge to play harmless pranks on people. The Fae will also give you a "Special Gift" at the end of the party...

FOR THE FOOLISH

Ahh, but there are rule breakers amongst us aren't there? If you choose to sneak away from the party, chances are nobody will stop you; however, you are now on your own in the Talahee Forest.

FIRST LAYER

Rak'tika Greatwood Theme ( Civilizations ) by Masayoshi Soken

4:34 / 5:15

▶︎

Click here to listen.

"Civilizations" prominently features a female vocalist. The lyrics are in the Ronkan language, and has not been officially translated.

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The first layer of the forest is very much similar to what you have already seen. Everything is coated in a thick mat of moss and trees wind away like a massive birds nest to form the canopy above. The faint sounds of animals can still be heard. Up here, you may encounter Fae who did not attend the party. They'll ask you your name and other personal details.

Best that you lie.

SECOND LAYER

Click Clock Wood (Autumn) by Grant Kirkhope

1:12 / 4:11

▶︎

Click here to listen.

Grant Kirkhope is a Scottish composer and voice actor for video games and film. Some of his notable works include GoldenEye 007, Banjo-Kazooie, Donkey Kong 64, and Perfect Dark, among many others.

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The further in that you head, the darker the forest gets. It seems you are following a downward slope. The trees get bigger here, as do the insects and toadstools. Bioluminescence rules down here it seems. You may encounter stranger creatures here. Ones that will try to make very tempting trades for your personal belongings. Things that will seem like an amazing deal to you. They offer magical items of great power, or even personal effects from home.

Don't be fooled though. These objects are cursed, and are not at all what they seem. You have the distinct feeling of being watched at all times here.

⁂ Possible Encounters: Owlbear, Displacer Beast, Giant Badger

THIRD LAYER

Saint Mocianne's Arboretum (Hard) by Masayoshi Soken

2:50 / 5:10

▶︎

Click here to listen.

...hordes of aggressive plant life exposed to the strange substance stand between you and the information you seek.

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Are you getting smaller or is everything else getting bigger? Were Slayd here, he would have told you about the concept of Deep Forest Gigantism. The deeper you go - just like the ocean - the larger that the flora and fauna get.

You are dwarfed by the mushrooms here in the pitch darkness and only guided by the latent glow of the creatures and fungi that dwell here. Bugs the size of house-cats skitter in your wake. Are you sure you want to be here? Should you encounter anything larger, you’d best stay silent. Or run!

⁂ Possible Encounters: Giant predatory Elk (RUN), Rodents of Unusual Size, Extra Large Bugs

FOURTH LAYER

Poison Tree by Grouper

0:30 / 3:16

▶︎

Click here to listen.

'Poison Tree' is a meditation on the complexities of anger and the internal conflict it causes. It draws inspiration from William Blake's poem of the same name.

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The trees seem to clear out here as you reach the bottom of the forest. There is no light here so hope you brought a match. The landscape down here is a blanket of moss dotted with countless shallow pools. Looking into one of these pools, you will see your reflection... though it may look different in some way.

You will feel extremely compelled to reach down and touch the reflection in the water. Should you give in, you feel as though your world is turning upside down. You could receive memories not quite your own. Memories of a different version of you, even! (CRAU, Canon Update, or Canon AU!)

Yet, you will be experiencing them as your own. A long time could pass in your mind while only seconds have only elapsed in reality. Upon waking, you will find that you have been ejected from the party and the forest entirely. You find yourself at the entrance to the crater. Disoriented, and compelled not to re-enter, you have only yourself to blame as you must shamble your way home with this burdensome knowledge.

Notes

⁂ For the game prizes, we're using the honor system here! So long as you clear the roll then you can receive a prize with no mod permission needed.

- Battleship: If you roll a d20 above a 13, you can receive one of the nectar cups.
- Bobbing For Onions: If you roll a d20 above a 10, you can receive one of the bag of onions. En...joy...?

⁂ To sign up for The Crowning of the King of Misrule, comment here! We'll RNG the winner likely within a few days to a week to give folks time to participate if they want!

⁂ The plotting post for this event/November is up!

⁂ Additionally, we have a state of the game post available to people read about updates, clarifications, and a poll to participate in!

⁂ If you have any further questions or feedback about this event specifically, please comment here!

⁂ Full Navigation ⁂

Comments

D. for get Danced with idiot

[rhapscdos]

Oh, it's not the sort of music Genesis would ever suggest. But that doesn't mean it isn't familiar. Painfully so. If it's the only music they have, though, then fine. He can't miss the opportunity, especially with those pretty blue flowers crowning Angeal's dark hair, and just how perfect he looks all aglow in fae light and merriment. Be still, his infinitely besotted heart.

It's so beautifully easy to fall in step with his husband, gliding right along his arm to practically purr in his ear. He's all in red, of course, but with a few marigolds some excitable fae have braided into his hair.

"Remind you of home, beloved? You'd never catch the Midgar socialites dancing to this, after all."

[firsteditionbfs]

"Yeah, they never did have any good taste," Angeal says with zero hesitation. He never did get on to the city like Genesis did, the kind of guy who could be terribly stubborn when he decide don something. He's always been much too homesick for that sort of thing.

And this isn't home, exactly. But it's enough like home, with the song and the thick forests and Genesis at his arm, that it soothes something that he thinks has been aching for a long time.

It'll probably never stop aching, really. Banora is all ashes. But it's a bit of a balm, and he'll take it.

Taking Genesis in hand, he's already twisting around with him. "Man, remember when we were little kids, and you actually had the night free from your studies for one of the festivals?" All his homework mysteriously went missing, for some reason.

[rhapscdos]

Genesis laughs, bright as a flame, when Angeal immediately brings him into step. There's not a single beat missed, Genesis coiling with him like it's perfectly natural to fall so easily into another's rhythm. It should be, he thinks, they're one and the same after all.

"How I could I forget? Surely it was a wonderful coincidence of fate, and not, oh say, the resident village thief fleecing my textbooks or anything of the sort." No, never. It certainly never happened again on a few other convenient occasions either. Birthdays and anniversaries just happened to line up with odd timing was all. If he didn't know any better, Genesis probably would have waxed poetic about the stars aligning. Actually, he did that anyway, just to sell the bit once or twice.

"I thought mother was going to slam the door in your face when you came to pick me up." Despite what he says, there's a fondness there. Of hearing his mother's terse reminder to 'have him back before midnight, or there will be consequences, young master Hewley.'

[firsteditionbfs]

"Now, that's a grave accusation there," Angeal draws, even as his eyes are bright. "I never done stole them. Just fixed ta put 'em elsewhere, outta the way, all helpful-like. Now, if they couldn't find 'em, that's just a bit of a pity."

Him, making them purposefully difficult to find? Never! He is a good and honest soul... pinky promise.

Even if he's still laughing as they recall everything, and he swings Genesis around so hard that his feet leave the earth for a second. "But she never did!" he crows, reliving the silly little victories of his youth. "Never a point in it, now, was there?" And maybe he'd just break Genesis out through the window, who knows!

[rhapscdos]

Grave, and yet Angeal is laughing. In fact, Genesis is laughing too. Against his shoulder as he's suddenly spun, and lands back on his heels with a little bounce to his step. One that makes it only natural to come right back into line with his mate and his ridiculous drawling.

"The most helpful man that ever was," Genesis crows, rolling his eyes. Really, though, there's no complaint. Sneaking out through the window of a second story house was not exactly the easiest thing to do in a town where everyone knew you as the fancy kid that lived on the big hill. People would have loved to tattle, so having the diplomatic excuse to have his dearest friend simply walk him out the front door was nice. Even if he knows damn well Angeal would have climbed right up to help him to the ground.

"But she never did!" He parrots, like they toast to a hard won childhood victory. "And are they really accusations, when we both know you'd have found the will and the way to do it regardless? The truth is the truth, you wonderful, awful man."

[firsteditionbfs]

"Now ain't you like rain on a sunny day, all contradictin'." Angeal ducks in and kisses his cheek in one more spin before pulling back a little. Easier to dance that way. "Would you have me any other way?"

Anything else than that poor teenager with his hair done up nice as he could get it, eyes bright from the lights inside the Rhapsodos house and some of the dirt which stuck to his pants being from the area right outside Genesis's window?

Angeal would hope not. Especially since he wouldn't want anything else than that burning star which would leap down the stairs to come and meet him, their arms latching onto one another as they stumbled down the hill to the bright lights of a little small town festival.

Whatever song is playing isn't one that Angeal recognizes properly, but, well, he knows this kind of song. Knows enough of it to realize when to look up. "Aw, looks like it's coming to an end soon."

And he knows better than to tempt fate by dragging Genesis into another dance.... immediately. Maybe after a couple more songs.

[rhapscdos]

"Not in the slightest," Genesis says with that easy resolution that's as natural as breathing. No, he wouldn't change a thing about Angeal. Not his stupid, thick accent, jaunty with the terrible music. Not his ridiculous dancing, his charming kisses, his unending love. He's perfect, and Genesis is laughing as he's spun again.

"Only a song, love. We've all night," Genesis says as it winds down. And while he'll deny it all the way to the steps of death's door, maybe a bit of his own Banoran accent slips into the edges of a few distinct syllables. Far more proper than Angeal's, but no less giving away he's not the city boy he loves to claim. Thankfully, with as close as they are, only Angeal could really hear it anyway.

"Besides, when has an outro ever stopped you? We danced to the morning all our own, many a festival." That part, he purrs lower. Danced may have meant a few things for a pair of fated teenagers in love in a sleepy, backwater town. That said, Genesis leans up to return the earlier cheek kiss, and adds another against his mate's lips, smiling all the while.

[firsteditionbfs]

A smile for a smile, met in a kiss, and Angeal's eyes glitter as he looks down at his beloved husband. "Well, some of those were more private dances than things like this," he hums right back, squeezing Genesis even closer. Even if the song is ending, he doesn't mind swaying back and forth with him as they drift to the edges of the dance floor.

"Do you want to slip away for just a little bit?" Because there's plenty of little buildings for them to duck into...

[rhapscdos]

"Oh, you're asking instead of just sweeping me away? How very gentlemanly of you." Genesis' gaze follows Angeal's to the decorated, fanciful sort of tents all around. They do look rather inviting, don't they?

When his gaze flicks back to Angeal, it's brimming with delighted mischief. There's only a split second warning before he bounces on the balls of his feet to hop into Angeal's hold. His forearms rest over his mate's broad shoulders, and his powerful thighs wrap around his middle. Leaning over him with the now slight height advantage, he kisses amidst Angeal's hair, and purrs a low, "shall we, darling?"

[firsteditionbfs]

Really. Genesis is lucky that they're soulmates, and that Angeal is built like a military tank. He knows exactly what is on his husband's mind when he looks at him like that, and so there's only a small huff of amusement when he's suddenly leapt upon.

"I know you like it when I pretend to have a little bit of class," he says, stepping off the dance floor entirely. No need to accidentally smack someone with his new carry-on.

"But it's fine. I'll be getting rid of all that class in a minute anyway."

And he disappears into one of the tents with his lips already along his husband's jaw.

This is probably about to get NSFW...

[rhapscdos]

"Sometimes even you can be an A-list actor," Genesis teases right back, a throaty purr starting up in earnest instead of just chasing his drawl. Something Angeal will be able to feel while he's at his mate's jawline, if not for the way it rumbles through his whole body. "But only for a single act, clearly."

Genesis curls his hands, the early hints of his draconic claws raking along the curve of Angeal's shoulder blades. Much as he purrs like a strange cat, he also arches those claws to dig and knead into thick muscle, nimbly avoiding the more sensitive spots like where his wings emerge.

When he actually sees the inside of the tent, it's met mostly with approval. Certainly better than the leaf-mold of the forests surrounding Banora, even if they were fond memories shared a moment ago.

"Oh lovely, there's pillows and cushions. I won't have to pick twigs from my hair this time you've carried me off."

[firsteditionbfs]

Angeal's kisses curve into a smile. "An A-list actor for the one scene that matters," he teases, even as he tugs the tent flaps closed behind him. This isn't the simulation anymore; no need to give anyone a show for what they're about to do.

Even if it's tame, just for the moment, as Angeal guides Genesis along, kissing and marking along his neck.

"I always thought you looked cutest when you've had a little bit of foliage fashion," he says, pushing Genesis down towards the pile of cushions. May as well make themselves comfortable, right? "Made a guy feel pretty special, knowing I was allowed to get your nice lil' refined self all messy." Leaning over Genesis, he grins up against his lips again for another kiss. "Aren't I allowed?"