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avalaughs2022-03-17 02:25 am
EVENT ✨ Nightmare on Elph Street
QUICK NAV: LOGS ⚔️️ NETWORK ⚔️️ MEMES ⚔️️ OOC ⚔️️ NAVIGATION This is the event log for IC comments only! Ask questions in response to this comment HERE or use the FAQ for general questions. Click here to view top-level comments only. |
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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: --
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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. |
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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:
 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. |
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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. 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.
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Suddenly the hall echoes with the sound of low, menacing chuckling. Steph grabs the staff from her belt and presses the button that extends it to full length. The sound the mechanism makes is accompanied by a second sound: a gun being cocked.
"Two pretty girlies," taunts a slightly rasping, masculine voice that seems to come from everywhere.
"It must be my lucky day."
Steph freezes, every muscle in her body tensing at once. She grips the staff so tightly her knuckles turn white. Only her eyes move, still searching for any sign of the enemy.
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Her reaction is hard to read though. Sure, Steph looks shocked, but who wouldn't be in this situation? Regardless of whether or not you'd actually recognize that voice.
So Minako also turns to look around them, trying to find the source. She contemplates things for a moment, but then decides to just speak up.
What's the use in keeping quiet if they've already been found anyway?
"What do you want?"
Nothing good, she bets, and so Minako frowns as she's voicing that question out loud.
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"Don't let your guard down," Steph advises in all but a whisper while the enemy is distracted by talking. Her tone is as steady and neutral as her expression. Later she might recognize fear, hate, overwhelming rage. Right now she only knows instinct.
"Well, there's plenty of time to teach you both manners," the voice goes on. From behind one column steps a man with a head like a charred, blackened skull. On further inspection it seems that beneath his suit and gloves is a boney, mummified body. He doesn't give them time to inspect, though, shooting the space directly between the two as soon as he takes his second step into the open.
Steph, reacting on a hair trigger to the sound of that first step, shoves Minako out of the way just fast enough to avoid getting shot herself before darting at Black Mask.
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But the man's appearance.. Now that's something else. Minako has fought a lot of things, but she can't quite recall ever facing anything that looks quite like him, more skeleton than human. Like a rotting corpse that's somehow still walking.
She's ready to sidestep the shot when she hears it, but then there's suddenly something pushing against her side, momentarily breaking her concentration by total accident. It takes a moment to regain it - just long enough for Minako to just stand there while Steph is already rushing at whoever this person is.
Minako raises a hand, tempted to use her refound powers, only to realise she's definitely going to get the other girl caught up in the blast like this too - and that's no good.
Instead Minako draws the sword that's hanging in the sheath at her side, running closer to try and assist the other girl.
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It doesn't seem to bother him. He grabs hold of the end of the staff as Steph hits the ground, and turns to face Minako.
"Aren't you going to introduce me to your pretty friend?"
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He can't be a good guy if he's going around beating up random girls.
"If you wanted to talk, you shouldn't have started fighting instead!"
It's all Minako says before she runs at the person, making sure to zigzag as she goes too in case he might shoot again, and attempts to swing her sword at him when she gets close enough.
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The shot that would have been aimed at Minako goes wide, and Steph grabs his wrist to slam the arm viciously down on her knee. This doesn't seem to bother him much either, but she's able to take the gun from his hand. Out of habit she empties the mag, turns on the safety and flings the weapon across the hall. She would have liked to use the thing herself, but it's too late for that now.
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And while Minako still has about ten thousand questions, she also realises this so isn't the time for it.
First beating up this guy, then she can ask what's even going on here.
Which means that she keeps swinging her sword. She's well aware that he's probably going to keep blocking it with the staff, but that suits Minako just fine. After all, every moment he's spending here with his attention focused on her gives Steph another moment to try and attack.
cw: sexist insults
"The bimbo has learned some new tricks," he delightedly notes, keeping the staff between him and Minako's sword while he kicks backwards, hitting Steph in the stomach hard enough to knock her off her feet.
"But you just tossed away another chance to win. I guess you need another lesson."
That at least gets a reaction out of Steph, even if it's only a flash of anger. Her attacks were already brutal and unforgiving.
At the same time as he addesses Steph he presses forward to keep slashing at Minako's blade. It's clear he's trying to keep her occupied and push her back rather than make any solid hits. He's faster and stronger than a non-mummified human of his size too, and puts all that strength into the staff.
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.. but then again, she knows that just keeping each other in this stalemate is not going to work, especially when this guy is just going to make disgusting insults the entire time.
So Minako frowns. A sign lights up on her forehead, and at the same the sword she's holding starts glowing with a golden light.
"Venus Wink Chain Sword!"
And this time when she slashes with the sword, it actually fires off a huge beam of light at the man - strong enough to make any regular person fly backwards to the other side of a room, if not worse.
After all, Minako's powers aren't quite in her control right now, which means they're coming out stronger than intended.
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"Oho," he laughs, "Girlie's got a magic sword! Isn't that sweet-" Steph doesn't give him the chance to finish talking. She's only seconds behind him, hitting with an uppercut to his jaw that if nothing else, does shut him up for a moment. Her other hand grabs tight hold of her staff.
In the next moment Black Mask's hand is on her throat and Steph's is on his hand, searching for a nerve with enough flesh to dig her fingers into.
"Is this any way to treat an old friend?" he growls into her face.
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Even though the situation is still worrisome, considering how he has that hand on her neck. If Minako can distract him just a little, maybe it'll give Steph enough time to get the upper hand..
"You two are definitely not friends," she says, hoping the catch the man's attention with that. Trying to get Black Mask to ramble, and focus more on that than the fight itself.
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"Why don't you tell her, sweetie?" He croons mockingly to Steph. "Once you wake up, anyway." If he had lips he would certainly be grinning.
Fed up, Steph lets the staff go. With every ounce of strength in her oxygen-starved body, she pulls back her fist and slams it directly into Black Mask's face. Her vision is starting to blur when she pulls her fist back again, but before she can strike he tosses her carelessly to the ground.
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Apparently that wasn't enough of a distraction, now was it. And the moment the other girl hits the ground like that, Minako is already making sure to move between the man and Steph's body as well as she can. It didn't seem like he was planning on doing more with the way he just let her drop to the ground, but you never know.
And Minako is never letting anything up to uncertain factors when it comes to a friend.
"Why don't you shut up?!" She says, raising her hands as light starts gathering around them once more. "Venus Crescent Beam Shower!"
The light builds, and then seems to erupt from her hands into a bunch of laser-beam-like strikes of light magic, all heading towards him at once.
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Ah, there it is. She's afraid. Terrified, even. She knows exactly what Black Mask will do to them if they lose, if he doesn't just kill them outright. She never wants to go through that again, and she certainly doesn't want anyone else to have to. But more than that, she's furious. This disgusting monster has crawled his way out of nightmares she's almost stopped having, frightened her, mocked her, hurt her, and now he's doing his best to do the same things to her friend.
If she gets the chance, she won't hesitate this time.
Black Mask has her weapon, but he hasn't trained to use it like Steph has. He had already been raising it to hit Steph, so when Minako steps in front of her he swings it down on her instead, aiming all his strength onto the spot where shoulder meets neck. From that range he can't dodge, but that's not important to him. He's thrown into the wall again, and this time he actually grunts from the blows.
"Not the sharpest tool in the shed, now are we?" His voice is a little rougher than before, but still confidently mocking. The wall limits his movements, but he swings the staff at her like someone might a club.
As soon as her breath is back Steph steps forward to re-enter the fray, standing off to Minako's right.
"Get him away from the wall," she recommends, hatred and rage now seeping into her tone.
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Which she imagines he will. After all, he seems to carry some personal grudge against the other girl, and Steph is the weaker one after having been thrown around like that.
Still, the least Minako knows she can do is follow up on the other's advice. So after dodging the staff a few times, she extends her hand, calling out:
"Venus Love-Me Chain!"
A chain of light forms this time, wrapping itself around the staff. And since Minako is still holding onto her end of that chain of light, she can start pulling, leaving the man no choice but to either abandon his position at the wall or abandon the staff itself.
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Black Mask, again, simply laughs. He lets the staff go, putting up his hands in an exaggerated shrug.
"All yours, pet."
Steph tenses, ready for his move. He makes it, pulling another gun out of nowhere in that way that dreams have. He fires at Minako, no doubt thinking the staff will delay her long enough for a hit. Steph hesitates only a second, giving Mina the chance to act without getting in her way.
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Still, it's not like she has much time to question it. Not when a shot is being fired at her. Minako only barely manages to dodge it due to her experience, but the fact she's dealing with the chain and the staff do cause it to be a bare, bare dodge, which means the bullet still scrapes against her arm, leaving behind a thin trail of blood.
And it also means she can't quite react to Black Mask yet for another moment, giving him a chance to focus on Steph again, despite the other being weaker now.
"Does this guy never give up?!"
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"I missed you too, lovie," he jokes as she forces his wrist down with one hand and holds the slide with the other. With her on the right side of his right arm, he can't get his other arm around fast enough to grab her. She twists and throws him over her hip into the ground. A shot goes off in the process, but only hits the floor. The now-jammed weapon still in her grip, Steph viciously kicks Black Mask's head until he lets go.
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But even though she's ready to fire, she doesn't quite yet, like she's waiting to get an advantageous moment to fire it at him where Steph won't be caught into the blast as well.
Besides, there's one important thing she has to know here, considering most people already would have died from everything she fired off at this guy--
"What does it take to beat him?!"
How do they end this?
I'm learning so much about firearms for this thread...
Steph gives the man another solid kick before he can finish that thought. He tries to grab her foot, but he's just a second too slow.
"I have an idea," Steph notes, her voice dark and dripping with hatred as she takes the magazine from the gun and clears the jammed cartridge. She takes a step back, giving herself room in case he gets up fast enough to try to stop her. He rolls over to struggle to his feet for exactly that purpose.
things rp can be surprisingly good for!
Minako isn't too sure whether her own mind is jumping to conclusions too quickly here, but she feels like she's got an idea what Steph is thinking here.
But regardless of whether or not she's right about this one, she decided to not interfere. Instead she just lets the other girl go right ahead with her plan, figuring that whatever the other's got on her mind has got to be the best possible thing to do in this situation.
Instead Minako just moves up to the man, slamming her foot down on his chest to try and pin him to the ground for a few moments more while Steph is working out the weapon.
volumes of totally random knowledge...
"Ready to stop playing hero?" He asks her with a pitying tone. "Turn your back on all the Bat's precious teachings you were so ready to die for?"
She smiles grimly at him, aiming the gun at his head.
"No," she admits quietly. "I'm just pissed the hell off."
He opens his mouth to retort, and she shoots him square in the forehead.
She lowers the weapon, but for a time she just stands there looking down at the body, no real expression on her face at all.
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It's why she doesn't let her gaze linger on the man's body for long. She just stares for long enough to make sure that the gunshot really did get him, considering how strange everything had been up to this point.
But when she's sure Black Mask isn't moving again, Minako takes her foot off him, instead staring at the other girl. Studying Steph's lack of any reaction, and kind of worried about what it could mean.
It's why it's Minako who speaks up first, interrupting the silence.
"Are.. you okay..?"
She may not have flinched at someone getting shot, but that doesn't mean she can't be capable of being worried over a friend.
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"I... don't know," she answers after some thought. She feels a little shaky.
"I think I need to sit down for a bit." She takes a few steps to the nearest column and slides down it, landing on the floor harder than she intended. At the moment she mostly feels exhausted. A large part of her is relieved, but the rest is a fight between guilt over having killed someone and pride over her victory.
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