EVENT ✨ Nightmare on Elph Street

[avalonmods]

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The ritual-wiping ritual wasn't the best news for Avalon and magic has been wacky for everyone since it was performed. However, if there was a time for it to happen, it happening before the Spring Equinox was just about the best time it could happen. The Spring Equinox, after all, is a time of renewal and rebirth. It's what you'd call a silver lining. As long as enough people participate in the Spring Equinox rituals, it should be fine... right?

CONTENT WARNINGS:

• 1st Prompt: --
• 2nd Prompt: --
  
• 3rd Prompt: --

This part of the event takes place on March 20th.

Though there is no Spring Masquerade this year as there had bene the last, there is a much smaller token of appreciation from the castle of Camelot to all of those who live within its borders: a gift basket with a salad of edible flowers, eggs, breakfast sausages, and a small bottle of champagne (or sparkling seltzer for those underage) and a bottle of orange juice to make mimosas with. Those of the vegetarian through vegan persuasions will receive vegan white chocolate eggs filled with coconut cream frosting and a mango puree 'yolk' and Avalon's best plant-based sausages. It's not quite a feast, but no one should go hungry on this day of celebration! Brownies will help to deliver these overnight, so you'll find them on your doorstep in the morning with a special spell to keep everything fresh through most of the early afternoon. Since there is no party this time, everyone will have the chance to see Avalon's plants begin to overgrow at a rapid pace within the city.
Those who saw it last year or locals who are normally residents of Avalon will tell you not to fear, this happens every spring. The plants grow around and not through structures, the buildings still safe and sound beneath large vines and leaves and pools and flowers. Most notably, huge beds of vines, open seed pools, and giantic flowers large enough to take a bath in have started cropping up around town, and they all seem to be filled with a vibrant, glowing liquid of some kind.  Each of these floral wonders, locals will tell you, is called a vernal soul pool. Upon entering one, you'll enter a lucid sleep state that connects you to everyone else in Avalon and the island itself. Doing so will cause your magic to be amplified and grow and stabilize, but also allow you to be cleansed and refreshed as a person. How much detail the person you're talking to gives is up to you (in case your characters would back off of it if they had the following details but you still want to experience it). Once someone enters, they will immediately feel as if they are at home and the pod will close over them gently, leaving them in a pool of that mysterious glowing substance-- vines grow further to encase, the pool closes, flowers close into buds instead of open blossoms.  Under normal circumstances, the pools would remain closed and in this state until the witching hour and slowly and gently awaken those within. However, even the magics of the spring aren't stable right now, and what ends up happening is the pools suddenly spill open before anyone's dream sharing can truly get underway, dumping their passengers out onto the ground into a state of jarring awakeness. With them, they will find they are unable to access their Avalon magics but instead have one of the following: Unstable, uncontrolled access to their canon powers. They may start shooting off random magic, they may be unable to shut down a normally passive ability gone into overdrive, or when they try to use their abilities, it goes outright wrong-- "Accio Excalibur" in an attempt to save the multiverse might result in all figurines of Excaliburs within 10 miles to come hurdling toward you, for example. Access to the beginner, untrained level of canon powers of someone whose shared consciousness you entered. Even if you don't have canon powers of your own, you will be able to access someone else's with this option.   This part of the event takes place late night on March 20th through slightly past midnight on March 21st.
	The fairy queen's envoy, Princess Bluebell, sends out a panicked emergency message (complete with the obnoxious alarm that sets off phones even on silent) after a couple of hours of this, and casts a mirror-travel spell to Nicnevin so that any may quickly arrive just outside of its borders, next to the river. The message states that the dream world and reality have melted together due to the majority of magic being funneled into the time freeze spell or the equinox ritual, which uses Queen Mab as a vessel through which the vernal soul pools channel everyone's magic. The Spring Equinox renewal did NOT go as planned, needless to say. Otherworlders must head to Mab's Cavern to locate Queen Mab and absorb some of her energy by touching her to stabilize their magics and drain the spring equinox's out of her before even bigger disaster strikes!
Mab's Cavern is typically a place forbidden to enter under normal circumstances. It is the world of dreams and nightmares takes from our subconscious what we most desire and what we most fear and our memories and turns them into reality. This is what your character will have to face without their Avalonian magic and the above either unstable or beginner-level powers. Mab normally goes into a slumber and connects herself to the whole of Avalon during the Spring Equinox to allow the vernal soul pools to utilize her magic, so she cannot let everyone in or help anyone navigate her realm. Mab's Cavern looks like a normal mountain from the outside, covered from head to toe in pink cherry and plum blossoms trees, shrouded in a fog that's pink itself from reflecting the petals. The entrance to the inside of the cavern is an ancient door, carved from white marble and enchanted to be impassible without an offering and engraved says: "Offer me your most secret dream and enter this forbidden realm. Dream with me for eternity." The offering, in this case, is simple: speak your most secret dream out loud for the door. The open door will allow one person to pass through per offering, and leads into a hall entirely coated in flowers of a variety of colors. These flowers speak, and will ask you how you are, warn you to turn back, tell you and whoever you're walking with that you make a cute couple, sing the national anthem of their people, whatever. They seem to get more and more chatterbox-y as you head inward and the lights grow dimmer until there is no light left. Even if you light one, it seems as if you are in a black space where nothing exists but you and whoever you walk with (if anyone), and voices.

This portion of the event contains a FOURTH WALL EVENT element and takes place on March 21st.
 

That is, until you hear a new voice and the chatterbox flowers hush. Anyone from any canon can appear and team up with you within Mab's Cavern as this is a fourth wall event. Guest characters will have access to their canon abilities, but cannot leave Mab's Cavern or affect the environment outside of it. Your new party member can accompany you through Mab's Cavern, which takes the form of a location from in-game characters' memories. Within it, their darkest fear will turn into a physical enemy and attempt to hunt them down. (How you interpret this is up to you as a player-- please create your own monsters based on your character's fears, even if they are more conceptual than physical.) Within it, their deepest desires may find fulfillment (we leave this to player
interpretation again, but be sure to ask permission if it involves another character who is in the game or a part of the fourth wall) and their new party member may need to convince them to leave instead of staying in the dream world forever. Characters who are able to get past both desires and fears will find themselves able to see a door that wasn't within their memory before. Upon going through it, they will be able to find Queen Mab, asleep in the center of what appears to be a glowing, underwater pond with stones that raise above the surface that lead to her bed some hundred feet in. Beneath the surface, more of the talking flowers start to cry about their woes-- unveiling that they failed against their fears and desires, and those who do will find themselves turned into flowers within Queen Mab's cavern, only able to escape if they are able to touch another living person!  If you've trusted the flowers, you'll find yourself in trouble. These are actually souls who crossed Queen Mab and attempted to steal their desires away from her cavern and bring them into reality. Their curse? They can escape if they trade another soul for theirs. Now would be a good time for a partner to help pull you out because as soon as you touch one of the flowers, they will turn into vines and attempt to wrap around you to pull you under the water and drown you! The "water" itself is the same liquid used within the vernal soul pools, so you'll find your life literally flashing before your eyes as this happens, making it very difficult to escape without someone else's help. If you die in the water, the flowers who did it will transform back into their original selves and flee, and you will be transformed into a talking flower yourself. If you make it to Queen Mab, you'll need to place a hand on her and all dreams and reality will sort themselves out within you-- that is, your broken powers will disappear and your Avalonian magics will return. As you head out again, the guest character brought in to help you will begin to fade away slowly enough that you can say your goodbye before they are gone. There is no way to stop this. All memories of fourth wall visitors will be retained as part of game canon. After enough people have come to take Mab's powers enough to deplete the effects of the Vernal Pools, the Fairy Queen herself will come to Mab and run a strange-looking dagger through her heart. All of the Spring Equinox magic that was being filtered through her will be released into the land and stabilize magic for everyone, and a flower will blossom out of Mab's heart around the dagger. Within the center of the bud glows a small child version of Mab, and anyone still in the cavern will find themself just wandering around in a dark cave. The Fairy Queen glows in the dark and will lead them out with little magic glow bubbles that try to make them follow if they get separated from her vicinity, but is still not speaking to anyone. She will also transport anyone who has been turned into a talking flower out of the cave via some kind of levitation spell and give them to someone they know-- whether they know them in a positive or negative light is up to you, she can only register connection on sight with magic, not emotion. A little research will reveal the following solutions to restoring your character: Siphoners and countercurse potions can remove the curse to get them back to 100% normal. Animal mages can transform them back into their original species (but they will still smell like flowers for the rest of their life). Green mages can use their magic to cultivate them into flower people-- who look like themselves, but now require sunlight and water to survive instead of food and occasionally sprout a flower or two in their hair.

Comments

Jean Kirstein | Attack on Titan | OTA

[rustyhonesty]

Door of Dreams

[Jean isn't too thrilled to enter this place. A place normally forbidden, now something they have to get in to correct things? It just felt risky... but of course he wanted to fix the situation so they could go back to normal.

Thought in front of the door he has a problem.]

... most dreams I have aren't very 'secret'. [If you know him well enough, at least. It's not a big secret he wants to live a normal and happy life with Mikasa by his side.]


4th wall: Trost District

A; calm before the storm

[Jean found himself walking on very familiar streets. This was ... his home. Trost District. It wasn't in the condition he remembered it was as a child... nor was it in the current condition, where people had started rebuilding. No, this was the day of their graduation. The day when Colossal Titan broke the outer wall.

There were titans in the distance and he had no right equipment to fight them. Just the sword he had forged in Avalon and no abilities to get where he needed to cut the titans' nape. He definitely needed to avoid fighting at all costs. At least from where he was he could see where they were going and go in the opposing direction.

The atmosphere was definitely the same as that day. Jean could feel the despair. The feeling of not being able to win. It definitely didn't help that he was basically a civilian at this point.

Jean noticed someone else there and called out.]

Hey! We need to get out of here. It's dangerous without the right equipment.


B; nightmare
CW: zombie-like imagery, gore

[Run run run - don't stop don't stop - RUN. Jean has been running for a good while now. It's not titans he's running from, even if they're around the place. He couldn't run from titans. Normally, he wouldn't be able to run from what chasing him either, but somehow he's barely making it.

He has cuts in several places. On his arms, on his face. He's gradually losing energy since he hasn't had any proper moments of rest.

Jean takes a wrong turn and runs straight into a deadend. It's too late to turn back. His nightmare has already caught up and is blocking his only exit. He attempts to climb on abandoned boxes to somehow get to roof, but the box collapses underneath him and he falls on the ground.

It's over for him.

The figure that had been chasing him approaches. Jean can't look at her. He can't look at Mikasa. Not when her face has been half-eaten, the left side of her body a mess. She's holding the blades of their gears from home. The blades are covered in Jean's blood from where she's cut him.

And now she's next to him, pointing the blade at his throat. He can't look at her. Instead he keeps his eyes closed.

It's over for him.]


Wildcard

Invite him over to your characters' space, approach Queen Mebh together or anything else. You can PM me for plotting or comment here.

B

[blazeoflife]

Trismegistus!!

[A shot would ring out, blue light filling that darkened alleyway, before a red and gold figure would shoot forward in a blaze of fire--

And slash the head off the woman threatening Jean, causing it to slam against the wall with a sickening sound. The golden red figure would fade, leaving a young man standing there, gasping for air and pale-- like he was going to be sick.

Junpei was genre saavy enough to know a zombie goes down with a head shot, but...

That doesn't make what he just did feel any better.]

O-oh, man... I-I'm gonna hurl...

[But, focus, focus! Gotta focus... Junpei holstered his evoker, taking a cautious step towards the fallen man.]

Y-you okay, dude?

[rustyhonesty]

[Jean's lucky he doesn't open his eyes until after Junpei's attack. He doesn't see the head fly and instead just sees the monster that looked like Mikasa in two halves, both covered in steam like someone had just killed a titan. That for the best, because he doesn't need even more trauma from this.

He eventually turns to look at the guy who came to his rescue, eyes still wide from shock and sort of dead.

He's tired. He should be grateful he's a live, but instead a desperate thought lingers.]

... she had every right to kill me. If I failed to protect her, it's what I would have deserved.

[It made no sense he ran from her. It made sense when he started running but somehow now it didn't.]

[blazeoflife]

[Oh.

Well, he's still feeling queasy, but those words hit a lot harder than he expected. Resting his hand on the wall, hunched over slightly, he eyed the other man as the body ...steamed? That's weird...]

...Y-yeah... I know, the feeling.

[Memories of Chidori filled his mind, and he had to clench his eyes shut a moment to try and block it out.]

...Think we got enough time to at least cover her with something? I know it's not much, but...

[...Wait a second.]

Uh. Actually, where are we?

[Because this was definitely not Iwatodai, and Junpei didn't recognize this guy. He'd just seen someone running like crazy, and then SOMETHING following him that looked... terrifying, and well...]

[rustyhonesty]

[Jean finally properly looks at the steaming body before shakily nodding and taking off his jacket, while trying to remain calm enough to explain. His voice sounds mechanical though, all things considered.]

We're supposed to be in Avalon and... I guess we still are and this is a nightmare of mine.

[A nightmare indeed. Which he would very much like to wake up from. He knew coming to this cave was a fucking mistake.]

Can you help me up? I'm running low on energy.

[blazeoflife]

Avalon?

[ Give him a second to think about that name. He's heard it before, he's sure-- ]

Oh, like, from King Arthur stuff?

[ He's watched enough anime and read enough manga for it to ring a bell at least. But, stuck in the dude's nightmare... ]

O-oh, yeah, sure.

[ Junpei reached out, grabbing Jean's arm and helping him pull the guy up to his feet, acting like a crutch if he needed it. ]

So, wait, we're in a nightmare, in Avalon?

[ He... still didn't get it, but at least this wasn't a real person he just... K-killed--

Urgk. No, don't think about that. Do not think about it-- ]

wildcard

[faithfuldreams]

[Soooooo, guess who showed up to help his best friend through all of those Mikasas and also helped him out of there after that and now they're about to... Hopefully see something much more peaceful and better?? Something calm would be nice after that. Though there's really no harm in still being careful just in case there's one more scary surprise about to jump at them from anywhere.

Anyway, Marco laughs sheepishly at Jean.]

I know you always told me, that Mikasa's one hell of a woman but that was --- a bit much.

[... a bit is a huge understatement, but maybe it's not too early for half jokes.]

So, what do you want to do now??

[rustyhonesty]

[Jean couldn't have believed his eyes when Marco first showed up. He knew this was still a dream. Dreams didn't last. But he felt at peace seeing Marco (in one piece) again.

That had made fighting the various zombie versions of Mikasa easier. It still hurt everytime, but Marco was able to anchor him and reassure him they were just nightmares. Mikasa was alright somewhere and needed him to survive. Together they made it through Trost.

Like they should have made it on that day.

Jean unwillingly snorts at what Marco says.]

Very funny.

[He hits his side with his elbow, not too roughly but not exactly gently either.]

Honestly, I don't know. We should find a way out.

[Around the corner there seems to be a door. It doesn't fit the building it's attached to, but Jean recognizes the door straight away. He approaches and open the door.

It lead to where Jean thought it would. The farm house he and Mikasa lived in in Verens. The place where their happiness has started and where his heart desires to return to.]

I can't believe it.

[faithfuldreams]

[Surely she's fine somewhere and wondering where everyone else are! Unless she's also in trouble somewhere else but he'll distract Jean from thinking about that. Mikasa's totally fine somewhere!

Buuuuuuuuuut yeah, it makes fighting those nightmare versions of her easier but fighting against friends still hurts (ahahah, let's not think about his last memories from home either...)

He's just glad they get through all of that though!]

Wasn't it? Surprised you didn't say it yourself.

[Maybe it was too early or maybe he wouldn't joke about her. He doesn't mind the elbow anyway, he totally deserves that.]

Yeah, we should. [Nod nod.] So, lead the way!

[Because Jean's obviously the leader here considering this is his nightmare and somehow Marco ended up here too?? Well, he is rather here than facing whatever's going to happen to him soon back home... Nooooooooooot the thing he wants to think about, so he's glad Jean seems to find something and Marco follows him without any hesitation even since Jean seems to be so sure about whatever he sees there.

Oh, that's a really nice and cozy -- house, that they suddenly step into. What?? Feels like someone's home too but Marco sure has never seen this before. Do they have houses like this somewhere in their world??]

Wow, this is looks amazing!

[And when Jean says he can't believe it, well, neither can Marco after that nightmare just before this.]

. . . Where are we?

[rustyhonesty]

[First of all, suddenly being in his house in Verens is wild. But he fully expected Marco to be gone by the time they entered a new area. Instead there he still was and Jean felt fresh tears in the corners of his eyes that he quickly wiped away with the sleeve of his partially bloody shirt.]

Uh... before Avalon, I was in a place called Verens with Mikasa. This is the house we shared. It looks exactly the same.

[Mikasa may not be here, but he can feel her presence in the air, as well as see all sorts of things that she's left in the living room. Dog toys and a cat's scratching post are also here and there. None of them may not be here, but this is truly the scenario of Jean's dreams.

Especially since in another room, later, they could likely find clothes for children.]

If we could choose... we'd go back there and continue living our lives happy there.

[faithfuldreams]

[... Oh no, why is he crying? Maybe it's the house and all of those zombies from before. (you so sure about that, Marco???)

But gosh, that sounds like his dream life, and considering how last thing was his worst nightmares, guess that's what this literally is. Dork, still dreaming of the same girl.

... Wait, what?]

W-Wait. You lived with Mikasa somewhere else and you two wouldn't go back to fighting against Titans??

[ W H A T ????? ]

A

[judgementor]

[There's something not right here. He can feel it the moment he walks into this place. It's not just the unfamiliarity of the place but something in the air. A kind of heavy weight that makes every breath feel stiffled.

But with a lack of knowing exactly how he's going to get out, he's somewhat relieved when he hears Jean call out and the tips of his long ears prick up when he looks over and finds the voice belongs to someone he recognises.]

You know where we are, then. [And he moves over to the young man, his hand resting on the pommel of his sabre but not drawing it.] I'll follow your lead, then, if you know where to go.

[rustyhonesty]

[Now that Jean has a closer look, he recognizes Red Wine in return. At least he now had a skillful ally... even if fighting titans with what they had (a sabre and a sword) wouldn't get the very far.]

It's the place I grew up in, even if it's seen better days.

[The titans and wrecked buildings definitely weren't part of normal scenery.]

We need to either get to the wall and out of the hole that's been created there... or into that large gray building. Both routes are likely dangerous as titans likely gather in both place. Especially if the building has any people inside.

[judgementor]

Ah...

[He might have guessed as much with how familiar Jean seemed to be, but there's both a comfort and wariness inspired by how the young man chooses to reply. This... does not feel like a place that he really wants to be.

Though at least he has some combat experience on his side, and Jean is no slouch in a fight either.]

Don't look at me to make a decision. [Red Wine arches one eyebrow slightly.] Which way do you think would be best for us?

[rustyhonesty]

[Of course the decision falls on him. He expected that, but said the options out loud anyway.

Jean looks at the way the titans are walking towards the mentioned building. It's safe to say there are people there and as much as he'd love to go and help them... that's not really an option.]

The wall. The titans are distracted, we should be able to pass through there.

[judgementor]

[In an ideal world he might have liked to have seen more of this city. As it stands, he has a feeling he's going to see a good deal more of something he might not necessarily enjoy experiencing.

Red Wine presses his lips together for a moment and then nods, gesturing for Jean to lead the way but making sure to follow close behind.]

Titans. You've mentioned them before. [While they were training. He hadn't pressed too much on the topic.] What are they, exactly?

4th wall, a /fingerguns

[blitzcheer]

[ What was even going on.

Any part of this, really. From the buildings, the figures in the distance - the very, very large human figures, no way was that normal - Tidus had been shuffling without an idea of where to go, how to even begin to process the events around him.

But when he hears the call, he turns around instantly, surprise turning quickly into relief to see another person. He jogs on over, pausing, but figuring they'll be moving soon. ]

Lead the way, man! I've got nothing to take out that!

[ He doesn't even have a sword! But there's no way a sword's going to handle one of those things - they're bigger than Iron Giants! ]

omg hello

[rustyhonesty]

[There's certainly a pause when he notices who he called out to. Not that he would assume he was the same person he met in Verens, so it's just a though that passes. Besides, there's a lot more to worry about here.]

Neither do I, I just have a sword and that's not going to help with these.

[Stupid three dimensional gear not manifesting with the nightmare. ... well he supposes that would defeat the nightmare too easy.]

The gray, tall building in the horizon likely has the gear we would need... or we can try to escape this place completely since the titans seem distracted.

it has been ten thousand years

[blitzcheer]

[ Gray, tall building? Tidus will look for it if Jean's gaze goes to its direction, then he'll look at the rest of this town, this community. ]

If the gear'll help, let's go! [ He'll wave a hand, gesturing in the direction of the building. ] We can't leave this town to get destroyed. Come on, I'll help you!

[ To start this gear up, or whatever they need to do. He doesn't really get what's going on, but that doesn't mean he's going to leave a town to save his own hide - not if there's a solution nearby.

Does he need a name, any more answers than that? No - there's a job to do. ]

it really has been. this was a fun surprise ❤

[rustyhonesty]

[Of course he would want to do that. Of course Jean doesn't want to leave anyone in trouble either, really, but this place wasn't even real so he was ... doubtful.]

You need years of training to even use the gear. Besides, most of the civilians have evacuated already.

[Or they've been eaten.]

[blitzcheer]

Well, what do you want to do?

[ Since this guy brought up the gear in the first place. Even with what he's saying - ] You wanna try or not? We can't hang around, and if you're willing to go up there - [ again, he motions towards the building, the tower ] - then I'll come with you.

But I need you to decide, 'cause I don't know what we're looking for!

[ Tidus wants to try, sure, but he can't really do this alone; and he figures there must be something the guy is concerned about that's making him bring up these reasons not to try. Fear? Maybe. But Tidus realises they need to make a decision quick. 'Big looming threats' don't really do the whole 'keep damage to a minimum' thing well. ]

Wildcard - A flower for you

[corpsewarblade]

[Ah. There was someone with a connection- that would do just nicely. Jean would find that on the way past, The Fairy Queen would be handing him a flower with a freckled face. One that wore a sheepishly embarrassed expression.

At the very least though, the flower brightened up a little on seeing him.]

U-um... hey.

[rustyhonesty]

[Seeing the Fairy Queen up so close is unnerving... but also confusing since she just hands him a flower and continues on her way. A flower with freckles on its face. Kinda cute--

Huh...?]

Mukuro...?

[corpsewarblade]

Yeah...it's me.

[The leaves on the flower almost seem to curl up in embarrassment.]

...I ran into trouble with the flowers in the cavern, and, uh...

[rustyhonesty]

You tried to help the flowers... and ended up as one.

[He's guessing.]

We'll be able to figure out a way to turn you back.