seasonsrpg | Event #8: Fairytale Gone Live

Event #8: Fairytale Gone Live

Fairytale Gone Live
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Knowledge is Magic

Part 1

Fairies have managed to uncover something in the Amberfall Library. Powerful magic had kept it covered, but with the help of their queen they managed to reveal what was hidden: an entrance to an ancient library. No one has recollection of a library being hidden there, but the fairies claim it feels 'familiar'. They started exploring the library in earnest and identified it as the Magical Library of Knowledge. As it's a magical library, it's completely possible that it teleported itself into safety when Darkness came and found its way here.

This ancient library is known to be good willed in nature. However, it does have some quirks and sometimes pulls pranks on unsuspecting visitors. Fairies are immune to such things, but there's a reason for it: fairies aren't able to pick up the books in the library, not even with their magic. Only those with the ability to touch the books will be affected by the magics that happen in the library.

The books contain important information about the world that has been lost, so a request has been sent to otherworlders to make a trip to the library and find important seeming information. Everyone who volunteers will be given a bag that helps carry any books (will keep the books safe and the bag remains light no matter how many books it has inside - only works on books) and an amulet that has a one-time magic that will teleport someone to safety if necessary.

Of course anyone is also welcome to just bring back books that interest them personally. The bag does have limitless space, after all. It was developed for people who want to loan a lot of books at the same time - good thing the invention will now have other uses!

Part 2

After descending down a long spiral staircase, people will find a huge library that has more books than eyes can see. They're all on shelves, at least, instead of being scattered around. There are various sections and all of them have been put in an alphabetical order by the book's name, as most of them lack the name of an author. The place has three floors, all with various staircases leading up and down.

The ambience in the library is dark, making reading there seem a little bit unpleasant. However, anytime someone opens a book, a small lantern will float above them, making the surrounding perfect for reading a book without disturbing anyone nearby. Once the book closes, the lantern will float away to find someone else to help.

Floating lanterns aren't the only things moving around the library. Occasionally one may notice movement from the corner of their eye and if they turn around they might see an owl sitting on top of a clothes rack or a table. These are library owls - intelligent owls that oversee the library and just live there because they enjoy being there. If someone offers them a snack, they will perch on the person's arm or shoulder.

Even if the library seems extremely organized, the sad truth is that all of the important knowledge containing books have been hidden among normal books. But the library owls will know where the look, as long as someone is nice to them and will give them snacks. Those who are mean to the owls will be guided towards useless places - like the section filled with just empty books or one that has magical traps.

Immersed in Books

Part 1

Some of the sections of the library behave differently than others. There are odd magical effects (like making someone act like they're in love when reading a romance book) or traps that have been made to surprise people (mostly harmless 'chalk dropping from above' or 'water sprouting from a fake flower' type of traps). Some sections even have guardian books that are floating books that will push people out of the section if they're being loud or otherwise disturb others. Attacking one of them will make the books reflect the attack back to the person.

Some of the rooms containing books take being magical to another level. Whoever opens a book will change the whole look of the room. All of the shelves and the surrounding area is replaced with a scenery from the book. If two or more books are opened at the same time, the scenery will be a mix of all of the opened books. Fortunately, none of it is actually real so if someone happens to open an informative books on sharks, they will just get a very realistic illusion of being in an ocean with sharks.

Sometimes these sceneries will also change the clothes of the people to fit the book characters' clothes. Wearing these clothes might make the people talk like the characters do in the books (in accents or elven languages) or act out a dramatic death scene in the middle of the room. Usually this passes after the scene is played out or once the book in question is found and closed.

Part 2

Another weird phenomena happens in the aisles that have books on fairytales. Anyone who opens a book in one of these aisles might find themselves become a fairytale character. The change is visual at least, but some might even go through a complete change. In other words, someone could just look like the Prince from Snow White, but another might even believe they are him. Someone who starts off as just looking like a character might later end up acting like them as well, but not the other way around.

The longer someone 'stays in the fairytale' the more likely it is they will be taken over by the character they've become. It will be harder and harder for them to remember their real name or react to someone calling them by it. They will share the goals of the fairytale character and think they're in a strange trials set up by someone that they need to get out of.

A way to break free of a fairytale is to either receive a kiss (preferably of true love, but just a normal kiss will do) or by having a key item destroyed. The key item will depend on the fairytale character in question (so for a princess it might be a crown or for a fairy godmother it might be their wand). Destroying the book that started it all isn't possible, as the book is 'inside the person' until they snap out of the fairytale.

Part 3
CW/TW: horror, gore, paranoia, murder (attempts)

In the lowest floor of the library exists the horror sections. These aisles are full of different thriller and horror books. Unfortunately, upon escaping the darkness this particular section was partially corrupted. For that reason there's a high change of running into danger here.

The further in you go to these sections, the creepier the ambience becomes. Is that blood on the floor? Is that floating lantern flickering ominously? Some may even start seeing things that aren't even there or just generally feel paranoid.

If someone happens to open a book under these circumstances, they might summon a shadow of a killer from the stories who will attempt to murder the reader to break free. Some might become possessed by character from the books and do their bidding. The fastest way to break any of these is to destroy the book. This is the only time that doing so is encouraged. Other ways include destroying or capturing the shadow or knocking out the person possessed.

Perhaps the safest option is to just open a book and witness a gory scene being laid out on the ground beneath them, just like described in the books. It's not pleasant, but it won't hurt anyone. The scene will disappear once the book is put away.

Destroying books here also helps deal with the partial corruption, as it will slowly disappear and the aisles start feeling a little bit more "normal".

The Cold Case

Part 1

To those not keen on diving into a strange library, there are other things to do. Of course, anyone who went to the library can later also join the events happening in the city.

A public announcement is made that the next big mission would happen in the Winter Segment. More specifically, the Research Center and the four Power Holders are making preparations to tackle the mystery of the Frozen Falls. With the new information gathered from exploring, it's now a known fact that the storm preventing their access is actually the souls of the previous power holders keeping anyone from entering the place. However, with the right preparations, gaining access to and exploring the falls will be made possible.

The first set of preparations happen in the Frostreign District. Anyone is welcome to join the project in one of the big houses near the Sauna Spa area. The place is filled with materials for making winter gear for the mission. There's almost every imaginable colored fabrics, different accessories and even yarn for those who'd rather knit. The main goal is to make gear for themselves, but any extra is also appreciated.

Those who don't feel so confident in making gear can also choose from pre-made ones and edit them with the enhancements needed to keep the cold away. Even the most basic summer clothes can be made to be perfect for the cold weather, as long as the enhancements are made right. People are at least encouraged to enchant any metallic parts of their weapons (or even jewelry!) to prevent them from becoming too cold to handle.

Participants are taught a spell that will let them enhance the gear or clothes of their choosing into ones that resist cold. This spell needs to be chanted in a freezing temperature, which is why the event is held in Frostreign. Once the enchanted item starts glowing in an a warm, orange color, the spell has worked.

The spell has to include 'With the warmth I draw from' and 'I protect this', but otherwise it's up to the person how the spell goes. Popular phrases are 'from within' or 'from the earth'. Saying the spell wrong, such as 'With fire I protect this' will result in a burning item instead. It won't damage the item, but it will be impossible to use unless the fire is put out.

Part 2

Frostreign also offers other ways to prepare for the coming mission. A challenge has been posted on the billboard outside the Sauna Spa area; The Ice Hole Swim Challenge. The goal is to first go into the sauna and then walk through the snow in just their swimwear to the ice hole at the center of the district and dip in. Those brave enough to enter the water will get a reward. After the swim everyone is encouraged to run back into the sauna to warm up.

Another challenge is starting to heat up in the sauna, which isn't really related to withstanding the cold. Some Sauna Fanatics are challenging people to stay in the sauna as long as possible while the heat rises higher. Those who manage to stay inside the longest and in the highest temperature will get a reward! However, those who cheat using seasonal powers will be subjected to the ice bucket challenge, which is basically having a bucket full of ice water dumped on them.

One of the more traditional challenges is the snowball fight where the goal is to hit as many people as possible with a snowball. Those who manage to hit at least ten other players will receive a rewards. Those who don't manage to hit anyone at all will received a star that said 'You tried' with a sad snowflake drawn on it.

The fourth and final challenge is a speed contest that's run on a rink made of ice. No one is allowed to use skates; just normal shoes (or no shoes at all if they prefer). There are multiple races and multiple winners in this contest - as well as a lot of medicine for the pain caused by falls.

But what are all these rewards that someone can earn? It's a choice between various things: one free item from Riki's Rewards (max. 30 comments price), a set of five different gift cards for five different restaurants (of characters' choice), a collection of useful potions (one that fixes any status effect, one that creates a substitute to take damage for the user, a five hour invisibility potion and a potion to revive someone from a fatal hit) or a giant teddy bear that feels like hugging someone the person loves. All rewards can be taken once, but someone can do multiple challenges to get more than one reward.

Just participating in any of the ongoing challenges will get someone a five star gourmet meal in the Frostreign's famous Northern Cuisine Restaurant*. Currently staying in the Sauna Spa hotel rooms is also free for the duration of the events.

* As long as the food is from "somewhere north", like even 'northern part of country in the south', it's likely a dish can be found in this restaurant.

OOC TIPS

• Ask event related questions here.

• In this event, gathering information is the main goal. If you wish to participate, please see this comment for OOC mechanics. The more people participate, the better! All requests are OOCly open until June 9th, 23:59 PST!

• Information gathered may not match the section explored.

• Feel free to come up with new fairytales, use existing ones (with changes, if a character of that fairytale exists in the game) or even use mythologies as fairytale stories. Have fun!

• Any types of books can be found from the library, even those that come from characters' worlds, as long as they're not straight up a manga or diary of someone's life from home. Feel free to come up with the weirdest cookbooks or a "X thing for Dummies".

• Smut is not allowed on the event post, so if your thread is heading that way, please move it to a separate entry (like to your musebox or characters' journal).

• Remember to content and spoiler warn as necessary!

• Reminder to players that this month is Activity Check-in month and check-in ends on May 31st, at 23:59 PST.

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[ Why is it that people only find him at his most embarrassing moments... ]

[ The teleport startles him a bit, that much he'll admit, and he does sit back up properly once there's a stranger in arm's reach. He can't say he necessarily trusts in the kindness of strangers, too often has that sort of thinking backfired on him, but the advice (or command as it were) doesn't involve anything he'd find concerning. ]

I'm afraid my knowledge about birds is in fact limited to doves and pigeons.

[ He takes a bite of the snack though- some dried fish snacks he and Lynette had found and promptly gotten obsessed with- and offers some to the other man. ]

It really is tasty, if you'd like to try some yourself.

No.[Wait that was rude. ] …thank you.

[And just continuing on, ignoring his own awkwardness.]

In the eyes of a bird, that which they cannot have becomes all the more desirable. A keen hunter is like to turn it into a game.

The owl will return to take part in time.

[and at the very least his presence would likely put it at ease. He won’t admit that part though.]

[ Well, this is... unexpected. ]

[ He can't help the itch of curiosity that starts to sink in- the guy sitting near him gives an extremely strong feeling of 'would stand alone in the corner at a party' attitude but he was also willing to step forward and help out Lyney. Perhaps for the owl's sake, but he could have just as easily shooed him off as well. ]

[ ... Curious. ]

So... we just want to make it envious?

[He is absolutely the kind of individual that would stand in a corner at a party, then leave street five minutes. Then say he enjoyed the party to anyone who asked.

Of course Xiao didn’t understand humans enough to even begin to figure out how he might come across… he’s trying though.]

We give it motivation and a target worth hunting.

[ He's absolutely trying, and he's now unfortunately trapped with someone who fronts being a chatty extrovert. ]

A target worth hunting? I'm afraid I left my mice in my other hat. Though I could make these treats fly about if that would be more appealing.

[He shook his head.]

Simple thievery should be enough to make it a decent sport. You just need to sit and act natural.

[Which means… that he’ll have to try and engage in small talk, won’t he? His arch nemesis. Well, he had noticed something mildly interesting on the other’s back when he’d first teleported.]

You are… from Teyvat?

[ Acting is Lyney's forte after all- ]

I can do that.

[ And to his pleasant surprise, his companion presents the next topic, which is a bit of an unexpected one. ]

I am, yes. I assume you saw my Vision then. Are you as well, or perhaps are you associated with someone who is?

[He raises his left hand to show the "vision" on the back of his glove. It was merely a glass bauble, but it was enough to fool the average human. In this case it at least served the purpose of being a marker of their shared homeworld.

Didn't mean Lyney was going to get a complete sentence out of him though. He got enough of those already.]

Liyue.

[ If Lyney knew how rare it really was to get a whole sentence out of Xiao, he'd cherish it all the more. ]

[ As it was, the short responses are all too familiar to him and he has no trouble at all with the interaction. ]

Liyue?? How wonderful, I have hopes to visit there someday! I've heard there are some fantastic storytellers there, and captivating mountain-top views. I've lived in Fontaine for my whole life so I'm rather more used to a water view than a mountain-top one.

[Ah. So this wasn't going to be like Cloud Retainer, where she was able to expertly keep up the entire conversation herself. Well, it was just an information exchange, he could surely do something as simple as that. It would be a completely normal and productive conversation. How hard could it be?]

I see no point in dwelling on the past, the storytellers have never been any concern of mine. My place is among the ancient battlefields where evil gathers.

[Nailed it.]

[Oblivious of Xiao's internal struggle, the own is starting to shift around on the branches- leaning over to get a look at what the pair are doing.]

[ Sir why do you talk like the start of an intensely dramatic Liyue-based play- ]

Then you're the sort of person who looks toward the future instead? I've been told that there are always new lessons to be found by looking back on the past though- oh, though that's to learn, not to linger.

[ Lyney knows all too well that lingering on past mistakes was one of his biggest weaknesses... and one he's still all too prone to doing. ]

But then, if you're not fond of stories, what sort of activities do you enjoy doing in your leisure time?

[Probably because he’s likely the subject of said intensely dramatic Liyue-based play. Tends to happen when you predate half the dirt in Teyvat.]

Humans have a shallow understanding of the past. Your history barely survives a few centuries. History is far less romantic when you have lived to see it.

I pay it no mind because it is past and it is gone. There is nothing to be done about it.

[That and its shades are constantly screaming in his head, and he’s not going to give them the satisfaction of acknowledgement.]

I do not have "leisure". Only my duty.

[Which is a lie but he also likes pretending he doesn't have feelings.]

Edited (One more time because phone tagging is the worst and there was supposed to be more) 2024-05-24 01:12 (UTC)

[ Xiao why are you like this- ]

[ Lyney has to pause and blink and inwardly wonder if this was some sort of regional habit or the other man had a very special set of circumstances that led him to such thoughts. To not even have a thought for leisure surely sounded like a man bound to be a workaholic... ]

[ - Wait, wasn't there a story that this sounded like? A group of beings sworn to duty, while being long-lived- ]

[ Would it be rude to ask? It would probably be rude to ask, at least without some small talk beforehand. ]

Is your duty that time-consuming?

Liyue is the resting place for many fallen gods. The evil brought by their lingering resentment and fury does not so easily find rest, and so neither do I.

[Not that there was always something that needed to be taken care of, but it was unpredictable when it would. Hence his constant vigilance. Being in this place had him somewhat at odds with what to do with himself.

Which was probably why he'd bothered to help some human fledgling chasing birds up trees.]

Ah so something like guard duty, for a danger with an unknown time schedule.

[ It made sense. Lyney could see why there wouldn't really be an ability to schedule in some leisure time... but all the same, it sounded like an absolutely exhausting way to live. A thought he very carefully keeps to himself. ]

[ But he doesn't avoid the awkward question Xiao probably wants him to. ]

Then... what leisurely things are you trying during your forced time here?

I have simply continued my duties here. There is no shortage of evil manifestations to vanquish.

[Said completely matter-of-factly, like it’s the most logical course of action in the world.

Really, Lyney, did you actually think he was going to relax? Silly human.]

[ Please tell Lyney that this man knows how to do something other than vanquish evil- ]

Aha... that is true. There's certainly no lack of troubles in this world if one were to go looking for them.

[ Does he just spend all his time looking for them?? ]

[ Really, Lyney can't help but ask. ]

You don't tire?

[He can make Almond Tofu. Bam.]

No. I have no need to eat or sleep. I only retreat when the darkness threatens to consume me.

[So yes, he’s just been out there killing things since he arrived here.]

[ Cheater- ]

Surely then a break is due, if only to recover.

[ It's not, is it. ]

I do not usually have much of a say in the matter when it comes to that, but yes. I rest until I come to my senses, then I return to my duty.

[Because blacking out counts as resting, right? Of course it does. It’s the same as sleeping, just involuntary.]

[ No it does not! ]

[ But Lyney knows he has no place to lecture a new stranger on healthy living. And his continued reminder of not being human suggests that it is likely he's able to continue on with such a grueling schedule. All the same... ]

[ Using sleight of hand, a playing card appears in his hand, which turns into a small satchet with a flick of his fingers that he holds out to the other. ]

Here, Monsieur. A gift from me.

[Well that threw Xiao off his game. Gifts weren't exactly something he received often, and rarer still by humans. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do in the given situation.]

It's a bag.

[A statement pointing out the GLARINGLY obvious, but there was an implied question behind it. Surely there had to be something he had to do in return, since humans had such an abundance of of odd social rules he never bothered to learn. His surprise and subsequent awkwardness were not well hidden.]

I have nothing to offer in exchange.

[ Sorry Xiao but he can't help laughing at that glaringly obvious statement, motioning for Xiao to hold out his hand already and take said bag. ]

It's a lavender satchet. The scent helps in calming and relaxing the nerves, or so they say. It's worked a bit for me when I've wanted to just clear my mind and focus on something else for a moment, so perhaps it could help you.

And not all gifts require an exchange. Consider this one simply a gift from someone wishing you the best.

[ While Lyney may not be a workaholic to the extent Xiao seemingly was, he did feel a bit of a companion spirit in him after hearing his explanations. ]

[And for that moment, Xiao just stalls, at something of a loss on what to do. It seemed as though this was... something the human used to help himself, so surely he should be the one to keep it? Yet he was offering it, and it would be rude to turn away a gift...

So after opening and closing his mouth a few times, as though he was going to protest or ask something, he tentatively held his hand out.

Even for a moment after accepting he's quiet, looking at the gift in thought.]

I am Adeptus Xiao. If you find yourself in trouble, call my name. I will come to your aid.

[The other had said a return gift was unnecessary, but this felt... like the right thing to offer. To offer a gift was a sort of kindness, and thus... that should be protected? Perhaps?

He was struggling to puzzle it all out in his head, but that's what he was going to go with for now.]

[ Lyney has exactly zero idea just how seriously (and literally) Xiao would be taking those words, smiling brightly in turn at what he views as a kind offer meant for when they were on the same battlefield, or something of the like. Maybe a text?? ]

[ Instead, he's distracted for a moment by the 'aha!' as Xiao introduces himself and the word Adeptus clicks into place. It was just as he'd suspected, but he'd long forgotten the exact word for it since he hadn't had any need to keep the legends and tales of other nations in mind at the moment. Not with everything else swallowing up his attention back in Fontaine. ]

It's my pleasure to meet you, Adeptus Xiao.

[ Did he prefer being called by his full title? Better safe than earn the ire of his newfound friend, even if Xiao himself may not agree with the word 'friend.' ]

On the stages of Fontaine, I am the Great Magician Lyney, buuut here in this tree, just 'Lyney' is more than enough.

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nimblespirit - 2024-06-02 09:24 (UTC) - Expand

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hathasacat - 2024-06-03 00:06 (UTC) - Expand

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Event #8: Fairytale Gone Live

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Xiao here blissfully unaware Lyney's been training his whole life for this

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