Event Annex - The Senate Room

[pumpkinhollow]

CRY HAVOC, AND LET SLIP THE DOGS OF WAR.

W

elcome, esteemed guests, to the Senate Room.

The rules of the game are simple. You have a word over your head that you cannot see, and the same word written on a piece of paper in an envelope that also contains a key. There is a door out of this room. Each key opens the door for only one person. You can see the words above others' heads, but you cannot say them, nor can you say any direct synonyms that might give it away too easily, nor can you spell the word or its synonyms. You must find other ways to describe it to allow the other person to guess. More abstract. Get creative with it.

If you believe you know the word, speak it aloud and open your envelope to retrieve your key. If you are correct, you can leave without incident. If you are wrong, your organs will immediately fail and you will die.

Here are the words each participant has been assigned. Players can use them to refer to other players' characters to help them guess, and you can use them to check your answers when you guess, but you can also OOCly know your answer provided you don't use it to ICly cheat. Good luck.

Agent Connecticut

Fickle

Agni Azimar

Traitor (there is an additional document contained in this envelope)

Aloy

Obstinate

Ancient Fuelweaver

Ruined

Anzu Menelikov

Deceitful

Artemy Burakh

Tainted

Capochin Bastone

Inadequate

Cassandra de Rolo

Cynical

Dahlia Leeds

Insatiable

Daisy Tonner

Merciless

Elias Coldwood

Discarded

Ethan Winters

Insufficient

Felix Gaeta

Imprudent

Hector Monaque

Covetous

Jonathan Sims

Hubristic

Lev/Lyubov Morgenshtern

Weak

Luo Binghe

Alone

Marik Ishtar

Megalomaniacal

Mr. Ant Tenna

Histrionic

Papyrus

Ineffectual

Sasavachi Chunome

Misanthropic

Shen Qingqiu

Pretentious

Simon

Selfish

Violet Vespertine

Cowardly

✦Return to Event ✦

Comments

[not_a_traitor]

"Um, let me try. It starts with the letter -- "

Well, that's a frakking awful sensation. Gaeta actually feels his throat slam shut, like the syllable itself triggered anaphylaxis. He chokes, makes a tiny strangled noise, and coughs to get the air moving again.

Weakly: "Yeah, that doesn't work." Much as he doesn't want to make a second attempt, he goes on, "Somewhere in the word there's a letter... K? Okay, that works, I guess."

[liesdontfindyou]

They should probably have expected that, but it was worth a shot and at least now they know for sure. (Guess that's what's going for optimism around here, today.) And she still almost reaches out to try and help, before he gets his breathing back under his own control.

"Of course it has to be weird and difficult. K. Christ." She presses her hands against her eyes, rubbing like it will somehow help her think. "Changes opinions... can't make up their mind... with a K..."

She mutters through multiple other options that she knows aren't right, just trying to get her thoughts going. Unstable, hesitant, temperamental, doubtful...

...maybe she's going about this slightly wrong. What does she think Eligos, of all people, would call her true nature? "...does it have any implications about my loyalties?"

[not_a_traitor]

A short pause, as Gaeta works his way around the speaking prohibitions.

"I think," he says, with a careful and exaggerated blandness, "that could be, in some contexts, a reasonable interpretation."

Every other fiber of his body language is trying to convey YES, THIS IS A STRAIGHTFORWARD YES.

[liesdontfindyou]

Right. Okay. Resist the urge to scream into your hands, you have more composure than that (of course he takes a jab at—), just... think through words. Phrases.

It takes another several seconds of thoughtful quiet, "...loyalty is a fickle thing."

[not_a_traitor]

Gaeta's eyebrows shoot upward so fast they're in danger of entering low orbit.

"It really," emphatic, "really is, isn't it."

[liesdontfindyou]

A long, steadying breath is followed by a flat-toned: "...I don't know whether I want to sigh in relief or punch the table."

[not_a_traitor]

"You could do both," suggests Gaeta, just as deadpan. "Maybe in the next room you'll get to punch him in the face. Could be a good warm-up."

His own relief catches up to him, and he sags back in his chair, exhaling. "At least one of us is going to make it out of here."

[liesdontfindyou]

"Sure would be satisfying to actually get to punch one of these bastards," she sighs, knowing that's exactly why it won't happen. She doubts they'll be allowed so close. He clearly disapproves of their plan. "Anyway. We're both going to get out of here. I can help with yours too. It's..."

She pulls a face. "...he definitely hasn't picked common ways to say these things."

[not_a_traitor]

Gaeta grimaces. "You can say that again."

Seriously, looking around the room, he's surprised more people haven't dropped dead of incorrect guesses yet.

"Okay, is it -- something to do with loyalty or betrayal, too?"

[liesdontfindyou]

"Not... directly, I don't think? Though, related, I think, through how you... come to your decisions." She chews the inside of her cheek, a faint touch of gold in her eyes even for all that using her abilities right now is mostly useless. "It's implying you don't really think things through."

[not_a_traitor]

"...Seriously?" He stares, a touch affronted. "When have I not -- "

And stops there.

Disgruntled: "Don't answer that. Um..." He pinches his nose as he thinks. "Hasty? Incautious? Careless?"

[liesdontfindyou]

She doesn't answer that. And whilst she can't just say no— "Weirder. Think even weirder. Like this sounds... archaic, to me. There's uh— a P, in there?"

[not_a_traitor]

Gaeta drums his fingers on the table, like he could pluck at a couple strings if he just tried hard enough. It works exactly as well as CT trying to invoke the Eye.

"Is it a really obvious antonym?" he asks. "Like -- 'inhospitable' and 'hospitable.'"

[liesdontfindyou]

"It's— got that structure, yes." Oh, good, she can say that, apparently. Her mouth twists and she tries to think of just one more clarifying description: "The word that's being modified into a negative also sounds a lot like the same word you'd call someone for being stuck up about, like, sex."

[not_a_traitor]

And there it is: the last piece he needed.

"Oh, for frak's -- " Gaeta drops his face into his hands. "It's 'imprudent,' isn't it?"

[liesdontfindyou]

CT exhales and sits back in her seat. Thank god. "Well, I guess we can add 'good at ridiculous word games' to our list of qualifications. I'm sure that will get us far."

[not_a_traitor]

"It got us out of here," Gaeta points out, before heaving a similar sigh and scrubbing his face. "Worth putting on my resume for that alone."

He opens the envelope. Part of him still expects to explode into a fine mist, right guess be damned, but all that happens is a tiny clink as the key hits the table. He exchanges another glance with CT. "Ready to get out of here?"

[liesdontfindyou]

Only now does CT look back to her own envelope and open it, tipping the key out onto her palm and studying it for a moment like it could tell her something, then closing her hand around it.

"Yeah. I'm ready."