The Masques of Fate

[Fenrir]

A voice calls to you in the market. It's the Salesman. He sells specialty merchandise to specific individuals, and has a reputation for refusing customers who don't match his requirements. "You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?" He waves to his pack, where there are several masks hanging from it's sides. "Here, let me offer you a special deal. these are only available to a lucky few, and I have a limited supply." He pulls from his pack 5 masks, each one a different pokemon, and a different expression. "Tell you what, I'll even give you a discount. Think of it as a present, an incentive to peruse my merchandise again..."

The Masks are as follows:

The First mask looks like a Seedot, it's somber eyes looking at you like deep pits of sadness. It's an ornate mask, but not anything you'd expect at a masquerade.

The Second mask looks like a Machop with it's eyes crossed. With it's tongue sticking out, it looks like it's confused, or maybe disturbed, you can't tell which.

(TAKEN) The Third mask looks like a Vaporeon, a stern yet noble look on it's face. It has a strange bit of darker shading around the edge, almost like it's been set in some water face-up and the edges have rotted a bit.

(TAKEN) The Fourth mask looks like...you're not sure. It has a strange golden helmet-like structure, with a crescent on the forehead. it's eyes stare into your soul like black pits, the face giving nothing back.

(TAKEN) The Fifth mask looks like a Sableye, a blank expression on it's face. It almost looks like a regular mask compared to the others, but something tells you this one is just like the other four: something is just off about it.

Well? Which one will you choose?

Rules: First come first serve. There are only five masks, and only one of each. When you choose one mask, you will post in this thread which mask your character chooses, and end the post with that character trying the mask on. The admin (Fenrir) will then post what happens. Each character will start in their own home market (wherever that may be) but once the mask is put on, all five will arrive in the same place, and will be able to see each other. What you do in that place, with or too each other, is entirely up to the RPers, so long as you obey the site rules.

Have fun

[Justice]

       Justice looks around at all of the various booths and shops strewn across this street called the market. Hardly the word for such a place, at least in this prince's eyes. All Justice sees  are the various inadequacies, the many useless items being sold as precious keepsakes, the countless theives posing as entrepreneurs. Justice sees the corruption, and that's about all he wishes to see.

       Justice turns to leave, not wishing to bear any more of the torture that is watching all of these poor people being taken advantage of by hoodlems. Justice's attention, however, is caught when a flash of color catches his gaze. Justice turns to the sight that couldn't have possibly captured him in one glance. Before Justice, several feet away, stands a man, with nothing but a  bag and five masks in hand.

       So few people are listening, it is almost laughable watching the man try to endorse his product. Justice realizes, however, that no one is listening but himself. Not a soul is listening, but the man is speaking. Justice finally realizes that the man is speaking to the only person listening: the purple haired boy in black.

       Justice wasn't paying too much attention to the man, as Justice was doing what he often does in crowds. He listens to everyone at once and logs their conversation patterns, their mannerisms, their overall aura as a person. Justice logs all of this in his mind and he memorizes it all to the best of his ability so that he can analyze each one. This is all in order to find the right person for his slowly, if at all, growing rebellion. While Justice would accept any and all as members, only a select few can be chosen as members of status: that is why Justice listens.

       Now, however, none of that matters. Justice's mind has been whetted, and his intrigue has been piqued. Something about this man and his masks attracts Justice, and the young forgotten prince wishes to know why. 

       Justices steps over toward the man and looks at his strange collection of masks. Each mask looks different, and yet, something about them tells Justice that each mask is connected to the other in their own right. Justice looks over each mask carefully, trying to decide which he should choose. Justice ponders each mask and their unique, yet not so subtle, differences. Justice sees a story behind each mask. Just how behind every face he sees a purpose, so does Justice see these masks.

       After a minute or so of contemplation, Justice believes he has everything figured out. Justice wonders if the man before him is even a man, or if he is even real. Justice thinks to the not so distant memories he continues to relive from that eerie night. Regardless of that, regardless of his stong belief in the strange, in the ethereal, in the unknown, regardless  of his inkling that these masks fit one of those categories, regardless  of his predispositions, Justice grabs a mask, allowing  what he believes  be his heart  to guide him to the right choice. Why is the young man making such an inward ordeal over this small happening? Maybe it is merely because there is little Justice regards as small anyway.

Realizing that he had closed his eyes while picking, Justice opens his eyes while raising the mask up to his face, all the while wondering if Camellia feels the same way every morning, when she puts on the mask far to heavy for any normal human to bear. Normal..Justice inwardly chuckles as he wonders what "normal" is. Justice realizes that he hasn't even  said a word to the salesman, perhaps Justice truly was entranced. No matter, the mask is already covering Justice's face,  the purple color covering Justice's expression. 

[Fenrir]

link to the other thread: please post response there. IF YOU HAVE NOT TAKEN A MASK, POST HERE PLEASE

As Justice put the mask on, he felt...well that was the point. He didn't feel. It was like his analytical powers had expanded throughout his mind and overwritten his ability to feel. He wasn't happy, he wasn't sad, he wasn't disturbed by this sudden change in mood, he simply was. And all that expanded analytical power was focused on him, telling him something was different. Something was not as it should be. First of all, the mask was missing. Where there had been a mask a second ago, now there was simply his face. Except his face was off too. Justice was...unmoved...by the knowledge that the mask had not become his face, but it still did not explain what had happened, what had changed.

Looking around, Justice can see that he is no longer in the market he left. Instead he is in the town square of some unfamiliar city, which is currently having a festival. Around him are torches and festival stalls of all shapes and sizes. Overlooking the square is a giant clocktower, and above it floats, or rather falls, a giant moon. This giant moon had a face, which grinned as it loomed ever closer to the city, which continued to ignore the steady fall of the lunar monstrosity. Justice can tell that it's falling at such a speed that it will probably crash into the town in about 3 hours. While this change of location is...unexpected...It is not the only thing that is different. On one of the stalls sits a mirror, and as Justice scans his surroundings, aided by his enhanced intellect, he realizes he's not in the reflection. On closer inspection, the truth becomes clear: As he looks in the mirror, the visage of Camellia looks back at him. Despite knowing that normally this would not be a pleasant realization, Justice finds he continues to be possessed by this abnormal apathy...

under the clock-tower is sitting a man with a tall top hat that screams of 'Mayor', down a side street across the festival from Justice lies what appears to be a large gate, perhaps leading out of the town, if he can reach if through the throng of people in between him and his goal. The woman running the stall with the mirror looks at Justice and smiles warmly. "Hello, deary. You look like you've just seen a ghost! Is there anything I can help you with?"

What do you do?

[Kane Rafferty]

The Market. This was a boring day. Not much was happening. So Kane decided to go into the market. Not really his kind of thing and he didn't do it very often, but today seemed like a good day in the Diamond Kingdom. Which was not very often. So he took his leave of the queen and left the castle quietly. Trying to keep his missing presence unknown. Which wasn't hard seeing as he was usually very anti-social when it came to slow days. He would often be found sitting in a library reading a book or writing something down in his study. If not he would be with the queen talking to her about whatever she wished to talk about. 

This time it was sunny out and it was going to be a good day. If Kane could really have good days that is. Normally he wouldn't bother caring. He had just been stuck in that castle for about 3 months now. He needed to get out and do something different with his time. Just this once. He peered around the market as he walked around with the other people. He had put on a very plain cloak to keep himself from being noticed by creeping eyes and he kept himself simple. His crimson eyes drifted from one booth to the next. Perhaps he would buy the queen something? He knew it wasn't going to be the most expensive thing or the most beautiful, but he wondered if she might appreciate something to represent her people. Or at least she would pretend to appreciate it. He rolled his eyes. What a show and display his queen was. Why she did that to herself he had no idea, but for some reason this was the very thing that intrigued him about her the most. 

But whatever. His mind and feelings could be dealt with on a later date. Right now he wanted to "enjoy" himself as if he could. So he looked around the Market some more. It was then he heard a voice cry out to him. That voice so clear and so noticeable that Kane just had to turn around to see who it was. Problem number one. You let the voice get the best of you. Problem number two. You continue to let the voice get the best of you. It was here that Kane became sucked in. 

It looked to be just a regular salesman selling his regular products. But something about the way he spoke pulled Kane in and he noticed it. He also became aware of the sudden drop in sound around him as if everything was calming to allow the man to speak but the way everything seemed to continue on with life wasn't following suit. Everything seemed distant. Not good. He became very aware of the man who was speaking to him and he took the moment to draw closer ever so slowly and distrustingly. Kane hated surprises. Didn't mind them sometimes. But when he didn't know something he hated it. This was not known and he could sense some serious magic going on. 

When he came up to the man he looked at the merchandise. Masks. Beautiful masks. They all looked different and interesting in their own way. But it was only one that caught his full on attention. There was only one that held his ever moving gaze. A blue one with vaporeon on it. It was beautiful and proud. Forget about buying the queen a gift. He was going to get one for himself. "Can I see this one? I just want to look at it." When the merchant gave his consent and set the mask in his hands he could feel his eyes staring at it. What was it? 

Slowly he lifted the mask. At first he was hesitant about trying it on, but finally he decided to just go with it and slipped it onto his face.

[Loki Leiffson]

He was outside the prison. It was a rare occurrence for the young warden. He preferred the confined, dark, damp space over the busy streets of cities and towns. Why he was out was a complete mystery to even him. He just felt like going out, shopping a little. Who didn't like shopping? Oh, well, he wasn't particularly fond of it... Eh, he will make up an excuse at some other time. For now, he should be focused on what was going on around him. There were plenty of stalls over and plenty of vendors shouting out to the potential customers. His rather short attention span didn't allow him to be at one stall for too long as he was soon distracted by some other shiny trinket or soft fabric. His favorite stalls had all the food on them, and, had it not been for a certain someone nagging at him in the back of his head, he would have bled himself completely dry of money.

The blond hummed to himself, gazing over one of the stalls that had various necklaces and rings. He may not be a girl, but anything that shined was interesting to him. He sometimes caught himself staring at his precious scythe for what seemed like hours after he sharpened and polished it. His senses dulled for once as he found himself enchanted by one of the necklaces. The only being that could bring him out of his trance shouted at him from within his own mind. Kid. Kid. Kid! For the love of Giratina and all that is unholy-- Loki blinked, shaking his head. He straightened up, looking around, momentarily forgetting that the voice came from within. Having fun there? Oh, right! Heyyy~! Idiot... Loki grinned to himself, waving goodbye to the woman at the stall before turning on his heels. He marched along, glancing around some more before the voice spoke up again.

Stop what you're doing. Turn around and go to the guy with the backpack that should break his back. Confused and intrigued, Loki did as he was told. The man turned to the left, emerald eyes searching over the sea of people. They locked on the man the beast had described, and his feet starting working on autopilot, sending the warden over to the man without much consent. Why this man? He called to you while you were goofing off, you bumbling idiot. Oh? You should have told me earlier! I tried. Waving the voice off, Loki glanced over at the man. Sheesh, he was creepy, but discounted masks sounded like a great idea to him! He set to looking over at the masks, finding a few strange looking ones. The one that caught his attention first was a golden helmet-like mask. He didn't really know what it was supposed to be, but it was interesting.

"May I see this one, sir?" His question should have been presented more as a statement because he didn't bother to wait for an answer. He was already unhooking the strange mask from the bag as he was speaking, running his fingers over the carvings. It was so strange, yet he found himself admiring it. You have weird tastes, kid.

[Natu]

She was walking down through the desert market, she was really really sad... Why was she sad? Well... She could not even tell her, she only knew she was sad... She felt something was wrong, and it just made her sad. She noticed a man standing in the market with a heavy pack, she really did not say anything to him, just walked on by.. That was until he asked "You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?" She gave a nod, he seemingly held a suspicious smile as he waved to his pack. "Here, let me offer you a special deal. these are only available to a lucky few, and I have a limited supply." She went wide eyed like he had done some sort of magic trick as showing off his pack. He reached out from the bag and pulled 5 masks. He pulls from his pack 5 masks, each one a different pokemon, and a different expression. "Tell you what, I'll even give you a discount. Think of it as a present, an incentive to peruse my merchandise again..." She looked wide eyed at the choices she had, all were so pretty, ugly, and just amazing.

Her sniffles went away as she looked at this man, "Thank you..." Saying those words she felt ten times better and gave a smile, she felt a sudden urge of energy as the joy overwhelmed her. She picked up on random the vaporeon mask. "Look at all this! Did you make this yourself? They are so amazing!" She placed it back down and picked another mask, this time the seedot. "This detail is absolutely amazing!" She rubbed every edge and looking at it closely, she wished she could make things like this... If only. She set the seedot down and looked at them... "I can only have one... but... but.. which one... This one is so sad... This one is so creepy.. This one looks lost... "

Suddenly the girl turned around and began to walk off without a word... She was lost in thought... She did not know which to pick.. She got pretty far down the desert marketplace, before suddenly came running back. "I want the machop! He looks so silly! Haha I wonder what was going through the creator's mind!

She picked the mask and gave a smile, she gave a nod of thanks, walked a tad bit.. She felt so happy at her gift, she decided to put on the mask. Behind the mask she made a silly face and began to walk ahead..

[Alexius Geminus]

The market was not a place he usually visited. It was expected of a Maiden to make appearances, of course, and as the Maiden of Health he was even one of the more active sisters- he didn't support battling, of course, but his abilities were often needed around the Grand Arena, and his- well, hers- was a well-known face for those who followed the careers of the Somniis gladiators. Even so, he made a point of avoiding public places, even people in general. For one with a secret such as his, it was a necessity, a habit now carved deeply into his subconscious. But, well, there were exceptions to every rule. The Temple provided many necessities, but he couldn't very well live as a hermit his whole life, now could he? There were some things that were nice to have that the people didn't exactly want their donations going to, and those he needed to buy for himself. Er, well, hypothetically. He really wasn't interested in jewelry or anything of  the sort, though that was his official excuse. It was really just nice to get some fresh air, to see his people.

He'd only really been wandering, giving polite hello's to those who recognized him, slowing to chat a bit with those he knew on a name to name basis. More than once, he was asked to send a quick prayer to Cresselia, usually for a friend to recover from a cold or a family member's wound to heal cleanly. It was definitely one of his favorite parts of his job, so needless to say, he was paying the actual wares very little attention. He was a holy person, and though they didn't live in squalor, material goods were still frowned upon. But when the high, harsh voice pierces the din of the market, he can't help but turn to look.

He knows the Salesman's reputation, of course. It's another something he's always frowned upon- that's a large part of his job description, frowning down upon various things- but what the man is selling does not seem dangerous. It's simply a mask. Judging by the empty stall, there must have been others recently, though this seems to be the only one remaining. And for some reason, Alexius doesn't care. He knows that it's only a mask, but its wide, sorrowful eyes tug painfully at his heartstrings. Sarra- his Gardevoir, the other bit of his soul- makes a small noise of alarm, flowing forward in that graceful way of hers to tug at his sleeve. But it's too late, he's already touched it, and though he knows it may be wrong to spend money so selfishly he knows he absolutely must have it. "It's beautiful." He states simply in his soft, unassuming way, such a contrast to the loudness of the various merchants harping their wares. The physical contact seems to alarm his psychic Pokemon even more, as she speaks up for the first time- "Lex, I do not think that is wise-" but once again it's too late. The sorrow sings to him, and impulsively- so unlike his usual self- he pulls the artwork upward and settles it upon his face.

[Ginger]

All the Masks have been Claimed. Event is now over.

[Fenrir]

Admin willing, those already in the event will continue until they escape.

[Ginger]

Yes they may, just this thread is done and over with.

[Stryker]

What a strange human. What's he doing at the border between the city and the forest? Is it that gathering there? And why is he approaching me? Stryker thought as he watched from behind a tree. Listening to the odd person, the scyther laughed. I'm already being hunted by bad luck. What difference does it make? he thought looking at the odd masks. I'll humor him anyways. he thought as he looked over the remaining masks. The depressing seedot jumped out at him, making him smile. It's like it has secrets. And it has seen to many things, for an object. he thought picking it up carefully. Note to self, don't wander near people again. he thought, moving away, as if he had never been there.