"Love Fool" Player Plot Log

[oathshackledbird]

Characters: Diarmuid Ua Duibhne and anyone affected by his curse or who wants to get caught up in the chaos!
Setting: March 29th-April 4th. Anywhere in the tower during the beginning of the event, primarily in and around Room 4-16 later in the event.
Format: Any!
Summary: Instead of being mostly inactive, Diarmuid's curse starts being active most of the time and it's affecting both men and women! Chaos ensues! An OOC plotting and sign up post is here.
Warnings: Death, violence, blood, worms (X.x  Kariya...), psychological torture, swearing, shenanigans of a romantic nature, and ANGST! I will update as it is needed!
Notes: Being affected by Diarmuid's curse requires a tag on his permissions post here so please make sure to stop by!  If the log gets too big, I will make a second, overflow log and link it here.  While most sections have dates on them, they are only references for the time of the week that the events are going on and not when the section is available for posting.  All sections are open for posting just as soon as the log goes up and will stay open throughout the event.

Notice:  The log is open!  Have fun everyone and feel free to contact me if you have any questions!


Background Information:

One of Diarmuid's most defining traits is his curse, actually a gift given to him by a spirit of love, beauty, and youth as repayment for something he did for her. Unfortunately, while something like that might be an actual gift to a fellow spirit or god, giving it to a human doesn't work quite so well. Being a honorable man, though, Diarmuid has never taken advantage of those affected by his curse. Instead, he has done his best to let them down gently and guide them through the pain caused by it. Sometimes this has worked and sometimes it hasn't. In either event, he remembers vividly every person he's ever hurt because of it.

That approach works well until the woman who falls in love with him is his Lord's fiancee and a princess who won't take no for an answer. She places a geis on him that forces him to run away with her. Many things end that night and a great many more begin. At least, that's how the legends go.

In the tower, his curse has been weakened somewhat so that it is only rarely active. However, when it activates and for how long is random, and he doesn't know when it is happening until those affected start acting oddly toward him. Those so affected seem to remain that way for a week or two and often have some success controlling their reactions to him if they have a strong will or know that they are under the curse's spell.

Event Information:

During the event instead of activating only once and a while, Diarmuid's curse will almost constantly be active. It will also affect men and women meaning that almost everyone he runs into in the tower has the chance of being affected. He will not know this right away and will continue going about his normal patrol routes, meetings, and so on until he finally realizes what is going on. Once he does, he will start hiding in his room to limit the number of people affected. However, this won't work out so well because with him staying in one place, anyone who is under the curse's spell and trying to find him isn't going to have to look very hard.

Every day he will be spending at least a little time out of his room so that a character can be hit by the curse whenever they wish to be during the event. Anyone is welcome to have their character affected whether or not they actually have CR already with Diarmuid. This is actually a good time to start up CR if you have wanted to, but not been sure how since he will be checking in with people to make sure they are okay once the effects of the curse have passed. New players are also welcome!

How strongly and how long a character is affected by the curse is totally up to that character's mun. And remember, your character doesn't have to be affected by the curse to participate! Do they want to troll Diarmuid by acting like they are affected when they aren't? Do they want to slip him a gift or thank you but have been too shy to until they have the chance to do it under the guise of something else? Might they just be passing by Room 4-16 and get caught up in a fight? Do they have a friend who is affected and are trying to 'help' them out? Anything is possible and creativity is encouraged!

Below I have set up several locations and times to have things going on, but feel free to start something elsewhere if you wish!  Private meetings between characters working together or other similar posts are welcome.  Just be sure to mark what is going on.  In an effort to try and keep everything to one log, I have made sub-headings for his Mailbox and for Network posts should characters wish to use those things as well to show their feelings. Because people are competing for his attention to the point of fighting in some cases, please be aware that I am encouraging threadjacking and sneaky tricks like stealing gifts out of his mailbox or from his room. If you want to make sure that a thread isn't interrupted by others or a gift stolen, please mark the thread's subject line with the word "Locked." Any thread marked in such a way should only have Diarmuid and the thread starter replying in it unless other arrangements have been made. All other threads are considered open for interruption, but please remember to be polite.

Important Note:  To help keep things organized, please make sure to put either "Open" or "Locked" in the subject line of all newly started threads so that people know if it is okay to jump in or not.  It is all right if you decide to change the status later in the thread--just adjust the comment title in the next post.

Diarmuid will not respond to threads that aren't marked until they are marked, and I would ask others not to either since once replied to, comments can't be edited.  Once the thread is marked, it is fair game to be replied to.

During the end of the event players will find it harder to get into Diarmuid's room because the way will be blocked. Master Kariya Matou (vermicompost ) will have ordered his Servant Berserker (chevalier_mal_fet ) to guard the door. Far from what it looks like on the outside, both men aren't trying to help protect their friend from those affected. Instead, they have also been affected and are tying to keep away all other potential suitors! Can anyone say Boss Fight? Will those affected team up to take them down or maybe just sit back and let them take out a few rivals to thin the competition? It's all up to you guys and how nuts you want to get!

Important Note:  When tagging the 'Boss Fight' section, in addition to marking your post "locked" or "open" in the subject line, please also state if your character is meeting Lancelot in his true form--which will mean having to deal with him in some way so your character can get through to the room--or in Diarmuid's form--which will mean he will greet your character and act like Diarmuid in an attempt to lead your character away from the room.  Your character is free to be fooled or see through his deception as the thread progresses. Just be aware that Lancelot's mimic ability is high level and will take either knowing Diarmuid and his quirks well or having a lot of magical knowledge to see through.

Finally, while the tone for the event is mostly fun and humorous, if you want there can be more serious consequences.  If any character is involved in a serious incident or dies because of something related to the event, please make sure you put a comment in this section with your character's name, journal, a quick blurb about what happened and, most importantly, if you want Diarmuid to know what happened. Obviously, because of his nature, he is going to want to contact anyone who is seriously impacted by or killed because of his curse.

That's it! Go forth and cause chaos! If there are questions or problems at any time, please feel free to contact me via pm though Diarmuid's journal (oathshackledbird ) or on Plurk at NekoSandy

IC Event Introducton:

The day starts off like any other for Diarmuid and for that he is glad. After all that had happened at the end of the month in February, quiet and routine days are something he is not going to argue against. Besides, with so many people who are from some version of the world he knows having arrived this month, he would really like them to have a chance to settle in before things get too chaotic again.  There are those he would also like to spend as much time with as possible before anything else happens. So many people, himself included, need as much time as they can get to just sort out the things going on in their heads.

The problem is, will the tower give that time to them?  Diarmuid knows each quiet day is one more step forward so that they can all be prepared for whatever the administrators throw at them next.

A small smile crosses his face as he takes off to make his first patrol of the tower. After that, he will probably have something to eat at the cafeteria, before taking some time to visit friends. Sometime before nightfall, he will make another patrol of the floors before retiring to his room for the night. It's a simple day and considering how quickly things can go bad in the tower when things get too complex, he's not bothered at all by that simplicity.

It's just a shame that he doesn't realize, as he leaves his room, that things won't stay simple for long. Not with his curse suddenly becoming active in a way it never has before...

Section Links:

Diarmuid's Mailbox #0091
Network Posts
Diarmuid's Room (4-16) on Mar 29th-Mar 31st
Outside of Diarmuid's room on Mar 29th-Mar 31st
Anywhere in the Tower on Mar 29th-Mar 31st
Diarmuid's Room (4-16) on April 1st-April 4th
Outside of Diarmuid's room on April 1st-4th
Anywhere in the Tower on April 1st-4th
Boss Encounter with Berserker on April 3rd-April 4th
Serious Incident/Death List

Comments

[oathshackledbird]

"I wouldn't say rescued. Some of my fellow knights and I were on our way back from an encounter when we came across the spirit and her father. We helped them with some tasks that actually turned out to be more tests than tasks," Diarmuid laughs a little self-consciously. "None of us did very well, but something about me must have caught the spirit's eye because when we talked later that night she gave her 'gift' to me. Back then I did not think much of it, but later I began to wonder if it was not another test. Had the gift been given to one of my fellows, good men that they were, I think things would have gone very differently and perhaps not in a better direction."

[swordofzero]

A test... Suzaku blinked. He wondered what such a test was meant to prove, he knew Diarmuid had said that he would do his best to make sure no one caught under his spell would be hurt and so perhaps it was a test of protection, of his kindness.

"What were the other tasks like?"

[oathshackledbird]

"The most important task on its face seemed the simplest. We were asked to take the sheep from the yard and tie it at its stake for the night. However, no matter now we tried, none of us could accomplish the task. The closest any of us came was Goll who managed to wrestle it for a moment before he too was pinned. Once we had all failed, the man ordered his cat to do what we could not. To our shame, the cat had no problem completing his task," Diarmuid smiles, slightly amused. He had not been so back then, but now he can't help but laugh at their foolishness.

"The trick was that neither the sheep nor the cat were what they seemed. The sheep was the strength of the world and the cat was death. The whole thing was meant to remind us that no matter how strong or skilled we were, death would eventually come for us all and there would be no stopping it. No feat of strength and no impressive display of skill would change its course. An important lesson for young, confident knights such as we were."

[swordofzero]

Suzaku listened sitting down slowly as he thought about what Diarmuid was saying.

"That does sound like an important lesson."

[oathshackledbird]

Diarmuid nods, "I thought it was an important one anyway. I don't know if the others took it as seriously as I did. Perhaps that is why she gave me that gift in the end. I was the last of us to talk to her that night." Suddenly, he laughs, "Or perhaps she just wanted the fool men to leave her alone so she could sleep."

[swordofzero]

Suzaku thought about that, "So you spoke to her and she gave you the gift, or curse, or test." Whatever it was.

"Did you ever see her again after that?"

[oathshackledbird]

Diarmuid shakes his head, "No, I did not. That doesn't mean that she didn't perhaps watch me somehow--after all, my father always watched me even when I didn't know he was there--so why not she as well?"

[swordofzero]

"He did?" Suzaku frowned because Diarmuid had mentioned his father before, and it didn't sound like their relationship had been anything near positive.

[oathshackledbird]

"He did. There was only one day he did not watch me and...that was not his fault. He had no reason to believe I was in any danger and he was tired," Diarmuid pauses, his smile fading when he sees the frown on Suzaku's face. For a moment, he seems confused and then an understanding seems to dawn in his eyes.

"I haven't explained that to you fully, have I? The man of whom I speak--who raised me and cared for me--is actually not my father by blood though he is the only man to whom I willing give the name father. The other man--the one who lay with my mother--he is the one who you are thinking of, the one who was responsible for the geis that led to my death. They are two very different people.

"Have people of the modern day come up with a word to describe men like that? Who are responsible for a child's birth, but are not in anyway a parent?"

[swordofzero]

Oh that made more sense, Suzaku guessed that the day his father hadn't watched him was the day he had died, or something else equally painful for Diarmuid to remember.

He understood as well the idea Diarmuid was explaining, father's who were not in anyway a parent. The emperor came to mind.

"Not really, I'm not sure, I think they are just called absent fathers. But I am glad there was someone who was a proper father to you."

[oathshackledbird]

His mouth presses into a thin line, "I had hoped for a phrase that didn't have the word 'father' in it. I hate using that word to describe him at all. He did nothing to earn it. He was a man too lazy and dishonorable to make a name for himself so he looked to me to do it for him." Diarmuid shuts his eyes a moment, pressing back those memories, before opening them again, "You almost sound as if you have experience with an absent father. Is that so?"

[swordofzero]

"I'll look around, in all the worlds that we had represented here there must be a term for what you want without the word father in it." Diarmuid's blood father sounded awful though, and Suzaku frowned.

And then shrugged at the question, "My father was around, just for the most part busy and distracted I guess. He had a very hard job. How did you come to meet the man you now call father?"

[oathshackledbird]

Diarmuid bows his head slightly, "I am sorry you had suffer thought the same thing. Even if he had such an important job, he should have found time for you. It was his duty as a father. I don't understand people who have children if they don't wish to raise them. Of course, in my time there was an option that doesn't seem to be used much anymore--fostering. The man I call my real father, he was actually my foster father. I was sent to him when I was around nine months old and stayed with him until I was old enough to take care of myself. Fostering was often used to tighten the bonds between families, since a person would obviously take better care of a child if their own child was being taken care of by that child's family. It was also an honor and one my father refused. He would not take the child who was offered to him. He merely didn't want to deal with me until i was old enough to be of use to him.

"Tell me, did your father ever get better or did you find someone else who could fill that gap for you?"

[swordofzero]

Suzaku frowned at that but nodded, "We don't have that concept anymore, not in any way of honour and actual child raising. Though the concept of children being given as hostages exists. That is how I came to know Lelouch, he and his sister were sent to Japan as... a promise that Britannia wouldn't invade."

And from what Suzaku had told him not long ago, that had ended well. "I am glad though that it was used in a positive manner in your world."

At the question of his own father Suzaku looked down again, seeming to close himself off. "I had a martial arts teacher, who taught me much and I saw as a father figure though I am not sure if he saw me as a son." He answered eventually.

[oathshackledbird]

"As hostages? But you said that they took you over... What kind of game are they playing? Children should not be treated in such a way!" Diarmuid falls silent for a moment, calming himself. "Sorry. As you can guess, children are a touchy point for me both because of what happened to me but because of how much I loved my own."

He pauses, notices how uncomfortable Suzaku suddenly seems, "I am glad you had someone. If you felt that strongly for him, then I am sure he felt the same for you. Would you rather we talk about something else? I don't wish to push you."

[swordofzero]

"The emperor had a lot of children, from many wives. Lelouch had defied his father after his mothers death and Nunnally was seen as useless because of her injuries. The Japanese government thought the same as you, that sending his children would make Charles think twice about invading, but they underestimated his cruelty." Suzaku wasn't trying to condone the actions, just explain them.

He nodded at the question though, feeling a coward because he knew that if he told Diarmuid the truth then the other man would know what a monster he was, and it would be the last straw, he would send him away.

"You had children of your own?" He asked instead.

[oathshackledbird]

Diarmuid nods, but doesn't say anything. It's obvious this whole thing is a very touchy topic for Suzaku, and Diarmuid fears that if he says much more he might cause the other man to reveal things he wouldn't normally reveal all because of the influence of his curse. Best to take the chance to change topics that Suzaku himself has just provided.

Besides, Diarmuid loves talking about his children.

"Yes," he nods again and smiles, "I had five children. Four boys and a girl. My daughter was very curious and strong-willed. Much like her mother. In fact, for the longest time it really annoyed her brothers because she would get into trouble and they would need to save her. However, after a while they eventually became more proud of her and less annoyed because she was so much stronger than a lot of girls from that time."

[swordofzero]

He hadn't thought about anyone stuck here being parents and having families of their own. But now he thought about it he was not surprised Diarmuid was a father.

"She sounds like a wonderful child, they were lucky to have a father like you."

[oathshackledbird]

"They were all wonderful children. I...miss them terribly," Diarmuid closes his eyes for a moment. At the same time, a sad look crosses his face. "I had to leave them too soon because of my curse. It is so hard. So often people here ask what I miss the most from home. The thing I miss the most is them, yet even if we all go home I will not see them again. They would have been long gone from the world by the time I was summoned back into it."

[swordofzero]

Suzaku felt sad listening to Diarmuid's story, it really wasn't fair that he had been killed when he still had so much to do and people he cared for.

"What were their names?"

Uggg... This list is subject to change. Thank you oral traditions... X.x

[oathshackledbird]

"Donnchad, Eochaid, Connla, Selbsercach, and Druime." As Diarmuid lists off the names, his eyes become distant. It's obvious that he is remembering each of them and the times they had spent together. "I often wonder what happened to them after I died. How they reacted to the news... I hope they did nothing foolish, but I know they would have wanted to avenge me. I just hope it didn't lead to their deaths."

sob

[swordofzero]

"I hope so too." Though he imagined too that they would want to avenge him. He hoped they survived the attempt though.

"Hopefully you instilled some good sense into them."

Now lets see Suzaku try to say those names... LOL!

[oathshackledbird]

"I tried to and as I mentioned, we fostered children in my time so it was not just us who raised them, but others as well. I liked to think they all had good heads on their shoulders by the time I...left," He pauses a moment eyes saddening. "I should look up my own story if I ever get the chance. I would think that their fates would be written there somewhere. And yet, I am almost afraid to. Do I really want to know if things went badly and they were all killed by my lord?"

He's not even attempting it sob

[swordofzero]

"Sometimes it is best not to know." Suzaku looked down, "Was your wife still around?" Because surely she would have kept his children from doing anything foolish.

[oathshackledbird]

Diarmuid closes his eyes a moment. Explaining about Grainne was never easy, "She was, but since she fell in love with me because of my curse, I don't know what happened once I was gone. Did the curse break and finally let her run from something she didn't want? Did it keep her bound to me even in death? Did she wake from it only to find she really did love me and now I was gone?" He shakes his head. "I just don't know. Finding that out is another reason I fear looking into my story."