childrenofbahamutlogs | EVENT #1: FAE FESTIVITIES

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EVENT #1: FAE FESTIVITIES

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.

code

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:

ONLY

DO NOT:

TRADE

OTHER ITEMS TO NOTE:

old woman

GAMES & ENTERTAINMENT

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

GAMES

Battleship! (Fae Style!)

a cup of nectar that refills endlessly, and numbs any pains you may have.

curse

dissipate after a time

Dress Up Darlings!

how

Bobbing For Onions!

Bag of Onions

What's In The Box?

ENTERTAINMENT

Slayd & The Possums!

play

The Crowning of the King of Misrule!

a lottery

King of Misrule

Special Gift

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.

code

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.

code

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

above a 13

Bobbing For Onions

above a 10

⁂ 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 ⁂

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

yes hello Ardyn was MADE for this

What happens if they give their name to the fae.

Could be something. Could be nothing. If you give your true name to a Fae, it means they have some measure of power over you, but to what degree and detail depends on the fae and the person. Ie, if that does happen, contact Owen and we will figure it out together.

It might be fun, I'll put a pin in it if a reasonable opportunity to do something phenominally stupid arises.

he can't grow proper kingly facial hair at this age but this is not stopping me from nominating him anyway

[Arrival]

They'd been invited, and so he went. Sephiroth had been okay more or less with this whole party thing right up until he actually got there and the towering trees gve way to a clearing with huts and flowers and hundreds of fae. It's noisy, it's chaotic, and he's never in his life been around anything like it. It's too much.

The only thing that keeps him there is the certainty that immediately leaving would be offensive, and that would be nebulously Bad. For a while he simply stands where he is slightly off to one side, the rolled up list of Rules clenched in one hand like it's a lifeline, a wreath of blue and white flowers perched on his hair, expression blank. And then he moves off to one side, to settle at the base of one of those massive trees and do nothing at all but watch for a while. Sooner or later the maddening scent of waiting food will force him to his feet again but for now time is going to be spent coming to terms with the overwhelming number of beings here, and the general almost-organized sprawl.

He doesn't make the most approachable figure, solidly black clad from throat to toe, even wearing gloves, and lurking in the shadow of the tree instead of joining in on the cheerful mayhem. But maybe he just needs some encouragement!

[Food]

There's games! Fun! Music!

... Sephiroth's relocated again after venturing into the festival just long enough to acquire what passed for a plate and put on it anything he thought he recognized, almost all some form of meat.

This is his third such 'plate'. The amount of food a teenage boy can put away is nothing short of staggering, and he's been patiently doing his best. It is if nothing else, distracting. But at this point he's tenatively ventured into trying new things, one of which is what looks awfully like small, blue sausages studded with tiny points of faintly blue light stuck to the end of a stick.

It smells like cinnamon. He hasn't gotten the courage just yet to try that one but he's definitely planning to by the way he's eyeing it.

He's got more than one. Want to give it a try too?

[Battleship]

Playing Battleship with the faeries?

He's watching.

Every guess, right or wrong, every minor curse, every triumph. He's just standing there, utterly silent, in the company of a lone pixie that a month before had been a regular instigator of minor games and pranks against him and his poor katana.

He doesn't interrupt, but it may well get uncomfortable just having him stand there and watch every. Single. Move other players make.

[And Away We Go]

He tolerates the noise and chaos as long as he can but sooner or later, the boy goes missing.

The quiet serenity of the forest is its own siren's call. Yes, there's a paper that says don't leave on it, stuffed into a pocket. Stay in the designated areas. Stay safe, stay alert. The designated areas are like sandpaper on raw nerves, too overwhelming to remain nearby, and so he walks until he only hears animals and birdsong and the hum of late-season bugs. The true depths of the forest are a long distance away yet, but for the first time in perhaps hours, he finally feels like he can enjoy the peace and quiet of this place. Watch the trees, study the occasional flower or mushroom.

How long it'll remain peaceful and quiet remains to be seen.

Watch her be more than dismayed to get crowned king of anything fae (even for a night)

For the strange creatures offering tempting trades in the forest, are there any details about how the items are cursed? Do characters know the item is cursed after the trade has been made or is this something they find out later?

[A - Around]

Avan's not hard to find at the festival, or, perhaps to be more accurate, he's hard to miss. Allowing the fae to pick out a costume for him has landed him in a very ruffle-laden clown costume, with his long hair pulled up into pigtails to top it off. Do the pigtails still inexplicably curl up at the ends like his hair usually does? Of course they do. If anything, it's more pronounced this way.

Naturally, Avan shows no signs of shame or embarrassment about all this.

He sticks to the fairgrounds, sampling the food, playing the games, chatting up the local critters like it's the most normal thing in the world, and sampling the food some more for good measure. (He does seem to be avoiding any drinks that seem alcoholic, but that's probably for the best?)

[B - Bobbin']

There are a lot of details that give away Avan's recent victory in bobbing for onions: his face, hair, and the giant ruffled collar of his clown costume are all sopping wet, for one. His hard-won bag of onions is clutched in his left hand, for another. But the most damning and distracting detail that gives it away is the raw onion held in Avan's right hand, which he is regularly taking bites out of.

Is he enjoying this process? Oh, no. Is he determined to see it through anyway? Unfortunately, yes. What else is he supposed to do? Throw away a perfectly good onion???

[C - Choo-choo]

As the end of the evening approaches, Avan starts watching Slayd and his band, though it's not really the music that's got his interest. Not that it isn't interesting! The style is still new to him and he likes the energy of it, but it's not what he's here for. Slayd promised to show him a model train and he is waiting so patiently. Still dressed like a clown, by the way.

Onion

You may encounter Byleth here at the party, having done the first and most important thing outside of partaking of the food of course. Yes, that's right, he wanted those onions. Now his head and upper-body is soaked in onion-water, but he's holding his bag of prize-onions with a sense of... well. It's hard to tell with him, actually. Sense of pride? Indifference? We just don't know from the outside.

Inwardly, he is quite chuffed. If you keep watching, he eventually reaches into the bag, takes out an onion and bites into it like an apple. Eventually, he catches you observing him, and as he takes another bite, he fishes out an additional onion. This one is held out to you in a silent offer. Want one?

We wander away from the party

Ahh, but as Byleth's nature is, he doesn't stay at parties long. No, he decides to take himself on a little walk. Which turns into a big walk. Snacking on his onions as he wanders deeper and deeper into the forest. Thankfully, the man is disinclined to converse with any creature or being he encounters, instead simply meandering the downward slow.

One layer.

Two. Three.

Deeper and darker.

A quiet little observer. He isn't careless, but he isn't afraid as he should be. It's unlike any other place he has ever been. Eventually, he bottoms out. There he finally sits to rest, setting his onions aside for a moment, he moves to one of the still pools to presumably wash the onion smell from himself. What looks back at him however, is not his reflection... no. It's something much different. It moves independently of him. Smiles at him, but not menacing... his reflection looks at him almost with a sense of... sadness. Pity?

His fingers unconsciously touch the surface of the water, and in a dizzying rush, he feels as though he falls through the water. Submerged in... memory. It soaks into him, so rapidly that it steals his breath away. A place of hedonism... but there. He was happy. Dimitri- they were married. That alone piercing through him like a jab. And not only that, there were others he loved. Others he cherished. The ancients. Hades, Themis, Lahabrea, Hythlodaeus. Obsidian. Angeal. Rosie. So many faces he remembers he's seen here. Many more too...

What Elidibus had said to him rings resoundingly clear now. It was all true. All of it. He feels as though he is brought to the peak of joy. It feels blinding in its euphoria.

But everything eventually falls. And the grief of that life overtakes him as well. Wrenching. The further knowledge of what future could await back home for him. The terror of immortality.

When he wakes, he feels... odd. Scraped out. Exhausted. He's lying at the threshold to the forest. Ejected, and now the way is closed to him. He broke the rules, after all. So he's left alone here to contemplate. Everything. To soft through memories that both are and are not his own. Feelings that he isn't sure he owns. It's a lot. More than even he can handle. It was years of joy and grief and love all compressed into what felt like an instant and an eternity all at once.

He lays there in the damp grass for a while. He will find his way back to the town eventually. Just... not yet.

And on top of everything?

He lost his onions.

[ Up on stage, Slayd is playing to his hearts content with his troop of possums and other woodland creatures, now it seems obvious they were fae all long. Still, if you wish to take part and perform with Slayd, he's very good at matching and harmonizing. His little friends can transform into nearly any instrument you desire. The only caveat is that you're all right with having banjo accompaniment.

Otherwise he will play to whoever is dancing, and move through his usual set with contentment. ]

Charlie was pretty clear on how to charge him up - the power of bonds. This means that lurking around like a creepy silent shadow is exactly what not to do, and this means that Popp has a moral duty to be extremely gregarious and bother this guy who he already kind of wants to bother for some reason.

...It's because he reminds him of another quiet cool guy he knows, okay? Popp is all for friendship and justice and all that right down to his core but he's not a saint. He approaches, smiling widely and carrying a plate of rolls which he has been told by a giggling fae are enchanted but not cursed. They're not allowed to lie, right?

"Hey - first of all, my name's Popp. Second, eat one of these. I hear that if you know the secret trick, you can make them any flavor you like."

The secret trick, which Popp does not know, is that the flavor is determined by the first two letters of the last word you say before eating one. For instance, if he ate one right now, it'd be lime or lilac.

It would be a surprise decided by the mods as to what kind of item is received. It is absolutely something they would find out later. Fae are tricksters and if you are accepting a trade, especially deeper in the forest, chances are, you're gonna have a bad time.

[ Popp won't be getting up on that stage but he can be seen dancing a merry reel with Miss Periwinkle. ]

This many people is simply too many people to deal with! The most he's been around at any one time his entire life was perhaps seven or eight at most, this entire noisy crowd of mayhem and confusion is hard! At least he is more or less being left alone--

Or not. Popp, completely unfamiliar, is given a long unblinking stare when he approaches with faintly glowing eyes slit like a snake's - perhaps that's one of the dragon changes going around. Whatever unknowable standard Popp's weighed against, he's apparently designated Not A Threat quickly enough, and Sephiroth's gaze shifts to the plate of rolls, brow furrowing a little.

People just don't give things away.

With the slowness of obvious suspicion, one roll is taken anyway, against his better judgment. On one hand, food is food. On the other hand this grinning stranger could be up to ANYTHING. On the third hand, he is constantly and relentlessly hungry of late, and food is food.

Whatever the mischievous trouble the faeries intended, when the bun is eaten, it's without any kind of flinch or twitch or disgust or pleasure, only ... mild curiosity. He has never had lime in his life, he has no idea what that taste is but it's interesting. Sour but not so much where it suggests poison. "Thank you. Why are you giving them away?"

Edited 2024-11-03 22:36 (UTC)

He even looks kind of cool and mysterious eating a roll, who can do that?! What was the flavor, was it even good? It might not be bad, but it's impossible to read his expression no matter how close he looks! Popp tries one while Sephiroth's talking. Whatever spell or individual fae in control of the buns can't think of anything that starts with a natural 'aw' and turns the flavor to aubergine mid-bite.

The sour to savory is a bit of a shock, but he doesn't hate it. All the boggling and interest and acceptance shows up right on his face as it flows through his brain... He's a little baffled by Sephiroth, to add onto it. How similar is he to Hyunkel, was he also raised by skeletons in a cave, is that why he doesn't know how people act at parties? All very good questions that he's not feeling tactless enough to ask at the moment.

"Why wouldn't I? It's a party; there's not much fun in eating alone."

Aloe? Albacore tuna?

It is while Sephiroth is loading up that third plate that there is suddenly another boy looming over into his personal space in a way that is disconcertingly threatening for someone of Avan's general demeanor and also for someone wearing the ridiculous outfit he is right now.

"Eat some vegetables."

Would he even recognize it as tactlessness? Though Sephiroth was not raised by skeletons in a cave. He was raised by scientists, which is arguably worse. Being offered a bun did not mean free range over the buns in general, and he does not take a second. "I'm not sure I'd call any of this .. 'fun'." There's a thread of uncertainty to it, WAS this supposed to be fun?

Is this what normal people called fun?? He saw people sticking their faces in a barrel to try to bite an onion, that's entertainment?

... Well maybe it is. "Most people don't give things away for free. There's always a price." The temptation is intense. There's more food, right there. Right. There. At least, whoever goes for another one, praline is not a terrible flavor at all..

Sephiroth is not used to people being that close. The only time anyone is, with such a threatening aura, is when they absolutely mean harm. The genuine clown suit doesn't even weigh into it as he immediately uses his own frame to hide the plate of delicious meat variety as if it might be stolen from him, a low, rumbling growl rising.

An actual growl. It's not a metaphor, it's the sound an annoyed animal (or a dragon) might make. "Step. Back."

Vegetables are a perfectly reasonable idea, but first he's going to protect what he has.

Avan does not step back--he is in full-on Lecture Mode and growling is apparently not enough to deter him. He continues looming with a disapproving finger wag.

"No, no! This is your third plate that is almost entirely meat! Meat's all well and good, but you need to eat more balanced meals than that if you want to stay strong and healthy!"

The warning isn't heeded, which is.. unfortunate. Avan's no authority, and has chosen to threaten a stranger. The plate is shifted from left hand to right, freeing up the other, which immediately lashes out to grab wagging finger, Avan and all - and if he catches hold of him, shove backwards with as much force as he determines necessary to get the blue haired teenager out of his personal space and protect his meal.

There is a whisper in the back of his thoughts that suggests resource guarding food is something only hatchlings do, but he ignores it.

Popp eats another one. It's visibly delicious.

"Man, this one's great! But what kind of messed up place are you from? People give each other things and help each other all the time." He'd consider himself more selfish than not if someone asked him to list off all his moral failings, but this is? Food, at a party?

"Think of it as me paying you in snacks to help me figure out how the flavor magic works if it bothers you so much."

It can't be anything other than mushroom. Fae love mushrooms.

Mingling:

Bearing a shimmering flower crown of violet and blue that gently glows under the party lights, Elidibus can be found all over the party. He can be heard introducing himself to fae as being 'known as The Emissary.' It's clear he knows his way around conversations with them, seeing as he confidently speaks with many in attendance with nary a misstep to be found.

The food is as delicious as any party he's been to, and he feels an urging to sample as many varieties as he can. He can be found doing that, or perhaps observing the party from the sidelines.

It is a prime spot to people-watch, as it were.

Still, as much as he appears to be enjoying himself, he's clearly not dropped his guard entirely. His shadow is kept close by his side and he keeps a watchful eye on those he cares for. Should you need his expertise in some manner, he's clearly open to talking - he's spoken to many people, fae and not-fae alike. At present, however, he's watching.

If approached, he will raise a hand in greeting, "Are you enjoying the festivities?"

Games:

Elidibus has set himself up in front of the box game and is looking at it with a discerning eye. It's clear he's been at the games already, if the bag of onions and cup of nectar tucked in his arms is anything to go by. He can and will be convinced to bob for more onions, however, moisture or no. At the moment he does not appear to be cursed in any way, though whether that was due to luck or the curse not being a visible variety is unknown.

Though not unaware of being approached, he's giving too much thought to the prospect of the game in front of him to turn to greet the newcomer.

"I wonder..." he trails off, deliberating.

Entertainment:

The music. At some point while Slayd has started playing, Elidibus had made his way right up to where the band is playing and pulled an entire grand piano from his pocket - or from nowhere at all. It's a sleek mixed black-and-white design, bench and all, and he sits upon it and slots himself into the band with expert grace.

And oh, can he play. Elidibus puts his whole heart and soul into his playing, fingers dancing over the keys at a breakneck pace. A wide grin lights up his face and he's clearly enjoying himself during each set.

But like every musician, he will need breaks.

Putting the piano away temporarily - where it vanishes into nowhere exactly as before - he'll make his way to get himself a drink. Flexing his fingers to give them a nice stretch, he'll turn to whoever is nearby and excitedly start talking.

"Are you enjoying the music? Please, inform me should if you have any requests."

Wildcard:

((OOC: Plotting post is here! Hit me up if you'd like a closed thread or something else other than these prompts, I'm open to most anything.))

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EVENT #1: FAE FESTIVITIES

QUESTIONS & FEEDBACK

THE CROWNING OF THE KING OF MISRULE

ardyn izunia. ffxv.

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Avan de Zinuar III

Smaller Sephiroth - OTA

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Avan de Zinuar III | Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai

Byleth Eisner | Fire Emblem Three Houses

The Band

Arrival

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Food

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Elidibus | Final Fantasy XIV | OTA Will Match Style