EVENT ✨ Tournaments & Trust

[avalonmods]

---

QUICK NAV: LOGS ⚔️️ NETWORK ⚔️️ MEMES ⚔️️ OOC ⚔️️ NAVIGATION

---

This is the event log for IC comments only! Ask OOC questions/plot/view event notes HERE or use the FAQ for general questions. Click here to view top-level comments only.

SUMMARY: King Arthur needs to go meet with Queen Elphame. Celliwig holds a tournament to invite other people to come with during the communication and celebrate their newfound friendship. A temporary barrier was put up so the river is currently mostly impassible. After the departure from Celliwig last month, the people of Celliwig have been working hard to make the area around their town safe again from the angered specters. For now, there are makeshift barriers that are preventing anything from crossing the river, dead or alive, except over the Pure of Heart bridge. It will, at the very least, prevent more from coming over and overwhelming the land surrounding Celliwig again. The city is open and, while the Elphame traders have stuck around to help train people in the proper use and treatment of mounts, the safest way to speak to Elphame is through Celliwig's hall of mirrors. King Arthur, Merlin, and a couple of other members of the royal court entered to speak to Queen Elphame directly in order to find out what information she knew about the Calamity and to begin discussion of what it would take to reclaim Excalibur. With the magics of Avalon having recovered significantly enough to not be at risk of falling apart if some of the otherworlders leave while still maintaining the barrier to keep Avalon safe, they need to begin discussing action. At the same time, in celebration of King Arthur's arrival and a royal wedding within Celliwig, a tournament is underway! Celliwig's tournaments work a little differently, however, and focus on a little more than just combat skills-- a modern tournament for the modern person. (Though there is fighting as well, of course.) Celliwig's Top Talents Tourney hasn't been held in a good many years since it's been closed off, so everyone is invited to participate. Invitations have been sent to all of Camelot's residents. The tournament categories are as follows: Cutthroat Cooking - For the chef's out there! Compete against other chefs to show off who has the best culinary skills. All contestants start with 2,500,000G which will be theirs to lose through the course of the tournament. This money can be used to purchase sabotages to use on other chefs throughout the course of the competition. Vicious Vocals - Singing competition. Anyone may participate, there are no auditions. Each contestant will compete solo first, then have to do a competitive duet with another person who moved onto the second round. The final round involves performing and singing at the same time, so you may want to go find friends to give you tips between each round and help you come up with an awesome set-up that will wow the judges! Speed Sculpting - This one's for the artists! Celliwig is really big on art, in particular sculpture. Any decent sculpture can be sold whether it wins or loses. Sculpture form can be made with anything you want-- glass, sugar, and ice are popular choices in Celliwig because of the city's aesthetic, but any materials are possible-- plants, stones, clay, chocolate, fabric, whatever you want as long as it stands on its own after you're done creating. (You can use your magic to sculpt if that's what you want.) Melee Mania - Fight your fellow competitors one-on-one. Weapons and magic are both allowed. Healers will be paid generously for assisting after combat is finished. Familiar Feud - Let your familiar have a little fun and combat each other! They're the star of the show here and otherworlders are only there in a support role. Mario Party - It's literally a series of Mario Party games. If you win your block, you move onto the next round and so on. 4 max players per game. If you don't rage quit at any point, you get free energy drinks throughout the day because this party isn't stopping. Silent Assassin - This competition will take place throughout the course of the tournament. All competitors are kept confidential, but required to wear a hidden body cam so that the experience can be shared online for audience viewing later. All competitors are given fake weapons (paintball guns, rubber knives, and so on) with sensors in them and have to find and "kill" the other competitors throughout the tournament period. Anyone who shows up to either participate in or watch the tournament will receive 50% off a hotel room and a single (Potion) Counter-curse. How the tournament will be run is a little different from an OOC standpoint. Any characters can participate, but in order to determine a winner, we will need anyone who thinks their characters skill is great enough to win to comment to the name of the tournament they are entering HERE! If your character would have canon advantages in a category, write +1 advantage in your comment. (So if you are from an idol series, you'll have a leg up on singing, or if your character is a skilled assassin in their canon, they could gain a +1. It won't guarantee they win, but it will give them a leg up so we're not ignoring their skill!) If you do not think your character has any chance at winning, please do not comment. (Someone who's never cooked a day in their life isn't going to magically win the cooking competition, you know?) If you think/want your character to lose even if they may have skills, we do not need your information. This is only an RNG for potential winners. We will RNG the winners from those who comment for each competition as linked. ICly, anyone who wants to thread any part of it out, go for it! You can thread out watching, you can thread out participating, interfering, anything you want! Thread out having an intimate moment with a healer after a battle, a tearful failure and hurt/comfort consolation, buying a round of vodka flashes for your fellow losers. Whatever you want! Just have fun. SUMMARY: King Arthur & Co. are still in chambers. A woman shows up and claims they're in danger, argues with Glwelwyd that she saw it despite that those abilities are not possible right now. Players voted to determine the next course of this prompt. (This section may be skipped for prompts now, but is still posted for reference.) The day after the end of the tournament days, all seems well and peaceful as usual within the city of Celliwig. The mirror hall that King Arthur's party had gone into is still closed shut. The Hall is guarded by a 7 foot tall man with a long, scraggly beard and huge rippling muscles named Glewlwyd IV. (You may have seen him around at past events.) None may enter until negotiations are completed, and it is his sacred duty passed down by his ancestors to ensure that none shall pass his guard. Most in Celliwig won't even try, knowing the futility of such an action, which is why it is particularly peculiar that Gwion can be found yelling outside of the halls that they need to be let in. After an argument and a call to action, some other worlders chose to find Gwion and ask questions. "Listen to me, there's something wrong, you need to let someone in there! Look for yourself! I saw it!" "Time is frozen, the future cannot be seen. A dream is but a dream, not a prophecy. Disrespect from the people of Celliwig interrupting a meeting of the fae and King Arthur's party would spell much more certain fate. After one more failed attempt to get past him, the woman stomps off to a nearby bar to blow off some steam, and ends up posting to the AOL Network instead. The King's party is in danger. No one is allowed in or out, but they're going to die if you don't work together to get past Glewlwyd. You can ask how I know, but it's a real long story and we're real short on time, so I'm kind of going out on a limb here. I'll be at Celliwig's bar if anyone wants more details. SUMMARY: A very close battle ensues in front of the Hall of Mirrors, with the doors eventually being forced open to reveal a dark, possessed hall. Reflects prey on characters' deepest insecurities and anyone who falls victim to them are trapped within the reflections. King Arthur and the Pure of Heart and Brave of Soul Mirror used to communicate with Elphame are possessed by angry specters trapped on Celliwig's side after the river barrier was put up. After the drama caused by Gwion's warning, the city of Celliwig is rather unsettled. There's an air of tension thick enough that you could hear a pin drop, and enough people who thought it was more important to protect the integrity and wishes of the fae than to worry about the unlikely chance that a seer had a vision while time was stopped. A large number of people have shown up to stand by Glewlwyd's side and defend the Hall of Mirrors, a show which will not be forgotten by the people of Celliwig... However, the strength in both numbers and battle goes to those wishing to enter the Hall of Mirrors. The battle is strenuous, a mixture of both Celliwig citizens and Camelot's otherworlders, and anyone wishing to play out part of it should put either defense or offense indicators in their prompt title to clearly attract those wishing to play out the fight. Those who manage to break through the line will make it into the Hall of Mirrors. The first and most notable thing once the door is open is that it's as dark as night. Not at all conditions for a meeting. And it's cold, condensation and fog forming at the door where the freezing night of the hall and the summer heat outside. It is not at all like it was the first time visitors were allowed in to place their Pure of Heart and Brave of Soul crystals in the mirror to communicate with Elphame. There is absolutely something going on, and those on either side of the battle may want to redirect their attention to the Hall. None of the party seems to be seen. Those who dare to venture forward into the hall will find themselves rather quickly at a loss for where the door went. There is a dim light still visible from it, highlighting the other people in the room and the edges of glass and mirrors throughout the hall. An eerie blue glow reflects through the number of the mirrors, but it seems to move about as if passing impermenantly. Those who try to chase it will find themselves further lost from the entrance, until they find themselves face to face with a reflection that doesn't seem to follow their own movements. This reflection will begin to speak with the character's voice, then immediately target the character's deepest insecurities. Every bad thought that they've thought of themself is fair game. If the character can remain calm and keep moving forward, then they will not fall victim to the trap. However, should they react with a burst of emotion, argue, or be unable to move forward when faced with their own insecurities, they will find themselves trapped in the mirror, replacing the reflection. Those who manage to pass the mirrors will find themselves at the Pure of Heart and Brave of Soul Mirror. The communication is still open to what appears to be an ornately decorated, natural throne. The Queen is long since gone, having been escorted to safety to keep her safe from the cursed mirrors. Notably, every crystal lining the edge of this mirror seems to have been infected by the blue, almost spectral color. Approached, a chilling laughter echoes from the possessed mirror, but the laughter is finished by King Arthur himself, back turned and facing the mirror. He turns around and wields his sword, ready to defend the mirror, eyes filled with the same blue as the mirror. As more people approach, reflections of Arthur seem to walk out of the mirrors as well to fight more and more people. It's hard to tell which is the real one, so can you really kill him to get him out of the way and get to the mirror? Fight the small army of King Arthurs and gather enough death mages to exorcise the spirits out of the mirror.. or maybe just smash it. Did you think this was the last choice you'd make this week? Please refer to the plotting post for any additional plotting needs and to check added notes for the third prompt. Timeline-wise, the new/third prompt doesn't start until the 23rd. The poll for it is here.

Comments

[kokuryuu]

[Kokuryuu lets out a funny little noise that sounds like a trill. He nods and the little tip of his tail waggles.

Then he goes back to attempting to snuggle JJ. JJ is very warm and smells good!

Souma can't help but find this behavior amusing, and he cracks a smile and then brings his hand up to politely cover it. Kokuryuu's dragon-ish behaviors seem so out of place when a snake does them. It is pretty cute.]

...Thank you. You are a kind person. Moose-sama is lucky.

[ooc: good place to wrap up?]

[mycrosstobear]

Ha, thanks.

[He has made notably more progress, at least. It's not that he needed a pep talk. ...But it didn't hurt.]


((ooc: we can wrap up here but I'd love to play these two off each other again!))

[sulit]

(Apologies for the super delayed response. September and October took me out. If this thread is too old, feel free to ignore; I'm just slowly clearing out my inbox.)

[She is being unnecessarily mean. Her temper is unbearably short from all of her present stress; but if there's a reason for that, she doesn't say. Dealing with someone else's mirror person does afford her a bit more bravery than dealing with her own, though. Are there repercussions to breaking the mirrors? Who knows. But she sees Hijikata's hand twitch for his sword, and she doesn't have the patience to deal with his courage today--let alone these crude remarks.]

[She grabs the hilt of Hijikata's sword herself, pulling it free and swinging it haphazardly at the mirror. She has zero finesse with this sort of weapon, but she doesn't need finesse to smash glass.]

[mayoninofukucho]

Wait--!!

[But the mirror already shatters, effectively shutting the reflection up. He'll have to find a new one to appear in if he wants to continue annoying the two of them. Hijikata's pissiness, though, doesn't seem to be caused by the mirror's destruction so much as by the method. He firmly grabs Klaudia's wrists, holding them in place to keep her from swinging the sword any more.]

Are you nuts?! You can't just grab Muramasha! It's cursed! Let it go!

[He tries to pry it from her grip, and if she gives it up without resistance he'll let go of her right away - if not they'll probably end up in a dangerous kerfuffle.]

[sulit]

[He's more than capable of prying the sword from her hands, since she doesn't have any use for it after the mirror is broken. If anything, Klaudia startles and looks momentarily bewildered at having it taken away, staring at him and then down at her now-empty hands. Cursed?... She thinks she feels okay...?]

Well-- then you should have done it yourself! [She recovers enough to snap back at him, though her thoughts are still a little stilted.] Who just lets their own reflection talk to them like that? Haven't you learned how to grow a spine yet?

[mayoninofukucho]

[He keeps the sword in his hand rather than sheathing it, just in case they'll have to smash more mirrors - much as he'd like to avoid that, given what Gwion said about Merlin being trapped in the Mirror of the Pure of Heart and Brave of Soul.

Luckily the "curse" (the nature of which is unknown to Hijikata since the Lady of the Lake kept it at her discretion) doesn't come into effect since Klaudia only struck glass with it rather than a person, and even in that case the enchantment would only have had one effect: anything that is said after someone has been struck by the sword will be true.]

I was practically done with him when you ran into me!! You gave him all kinds of new ammunition!

[He strides off deeper into the hall, pretty feather-ruffled by all her criticism, not waiting to see if she wants to go with him, but also not hindering her.]

[sulit]

I didn't give him anything! You--

[Klaudia is about to start berating him again, when he's suddenly walking away, leaving her to stare at his retreating back. Her abrasiveness falters, caught off-guard that he would disengage so quickly and that the emptiness of the hall would rush to fill in that space. She scans nervously around the area like she's trying to peer into the shadows, straining to hear any voice of the mirror selves lingering back the way that she came. A tentative half step... And then she hurries after Hijikata.]

H-hey! Don't walk so fast. Your legs are too long.

[mayoninofukucho]

[He lets out an angry snort.]

My spine, my legs, is there anything else that isn't to your taste? Why don't you find another knight to be escorted by or someone else to hassle, huh? I don't have time to argue with you; we're here because King Arthur is in danger!

[To be fair, he did get side-tracked by his own reflection, however briefly... he scans the dark hall, trying to find the right way. God, it's cold in here, and all the mirrors are confusing.]

[sulit]

[There's no immediate response this time, no snappy come back. The words feel frozen in her throat, trapped by too many thoughts. She stares at the ground, watching his feet with her arms crossed tightly over her chest and following in little half-jogging bursts to keep up. With her posture as stiff as that... maybe she's cold? It's hard to say. Her voice comes a little mumbled at first, but improves quickly.]

I don't need an escort. Just slow down a little!

[She has half a mind to grab onto the back of his coat to force him to slow down for her--when another voice echoes in the hall.]

Didn't you hear him? He doesn't have time to bother with a nuisance like you.

[Klaudia freezes--turns and backs away, looking more like she's seen a ghost than during any actual ghost-sightings. A mirror image of herself tilts her head and smiles not at all kindly, swishing her tail back and forth.]

You can't outrun me.

[mayoninofukucho]

[Hijikata slows his stride and turns around just in time to catch Mirror Klaudia's appearance. He was already slightly fuming from the argument, and suddenly having two of her with him is pushing him over the edge. Despite his prior reservations about destroying too many mirror he dashes forwards and shatters it with a violent swing of his sword.]

Piss off!! Stop holding us up, you assholes!

[He moves to grab Klaudia's arm, ready do drag her along, but remembers in time how much she disliked being touched on prior occasions and stops himself, instead just waving for her to follow him as he falls into a run (not too fast, but above a casual jog).]

Come on, we've got no time to lose! These shitheads will keep holding us up!

[As if on command Mirror Hijikata pops back up, quickly moving from mirror to mirror to keep up with his counterpart.]

Whoa, whoa! Don't keep your new love interest from confronting her reflection! You don't know if she doesn't have any dark secrets--

I couldn't care less!! And shut the hell up about the love crap; she hates my guts!

[sulit]

[Klaudia looks visibly startled at the shattering of the mirror, despite having done a similar thing just a few moments ago. It was one thing to be able to attack someone else's mirror image, but she hadn't yet found the courage to do anything but run from her own.]

[The wave for her to follow does get her moving into a run--almost as surprising as the shattered glass. It's a weird sense for her, being included, even after hearing her thoughts laid bare so bluntly a moment ago. But even that small bit of gratitude can't overcome the nauseous feeling that comes from hearing herself be referred to as a "love interest". Just the thought of being seen like that makes her want to claw her own skin off. Facing her mirror image might be more tolerable than this...]

Stop talking about me like I'm not here. [She snaps the words between breaths, trying to push back against that revulsion.] Did I say anything stupid about hating you? No. But if you don't shut up about the fake love garbage, I'm going to gut you both.

[mayoninofukucho]

Why me too?! I'm telling him to cut it out!

Awww, you're already fighting like--

[The reflection is sharply cut off by Muramasha's blade, and Hijikata gets moving again while the shards are still falling.]

Damn it, they keep holding us up like this..!! We've got to ignore them!

[He did register what Klaudia said, though - that she doesn't hate him (it's probably because hate requires a degree of emotional investment, he reasons), and that she loathes being randomly cast as a love interest (who wouldn't, really; it pisses him off too). As they move on he thinks he spots the large Mirror of the Brave of Soul and Pure of Heart in between the many smaller ones, but he quickly gets confused again trying to distinguish the real deal from its reflections in the darkness.]

This shitty maze, I swear..!!

[sulit]

They're your thoughts, aren't they?!

[That was the impression that she got. It was all the little things that got whispered in the back of her head. Did she really think that anyone liked having her around? That they wouldn't want to be rid of her, if they could? A nuisance. A mistake-- It's so hard not to focus on those words, when she's so afraid of hearing them aloud from the next mirror she turns to look at. But the anger at hearing someone else's thoughts helps.]

You're just as responsible for them. I can gut you for them just as much as these stupid mirrors.

[She really should be paying attention to the primary objective here, but... quite frankly she doesn't much care about King Arthur. Not as much as the predicament they're in right now.]

[mayoninofukucho]

They're not my thoughts!!

[Sure, his reflection has been prying on his regrets and insecurities, but his way of doing so is so much meaner and pettier than Hijikata would behave, and since Klaudia's gotten into the picture he's veered onto an even more obnoxious track!! Hijikata does regret the way he left his first love behind, but the alternative still seems like an even worse choice even in hindsight.]

Let's settle this later, okay? Help me figure out how to get to the big mirror!

[He points its reflection out in a smaller one, then turns around to figure out the right direction himself. Unlike Klaudia he cares a lot about King Arthur - which was the first thing his mirror image needled and taunted him about, because what does he know about the man, really? -, so he won't be able to calm down before he knows that he's safe.]

[sulit]

[Klaudia is intensely skeptical at Hijikata's denial, but she's not willing to be too obnoxious, for her own sake. She doesn't want to get left behind--something her mirror self has convinced her will definitely happen if she pushes her luck too much.]

[She says nothing at first, except to look down to her skirt, fumbling in her pocket for something. A knife of her own? Well, she does have that, but it's not what she's looking for. Instead, she pulls out a tube of lipstick and uncaps it.]

Mirror traps like this work because all the surfaces are perfect reflections. Undistorted. If you give them blemishes-- [She draws a large X on the closest mirror with the lipstick, and immediately several of the reflections around them show that same X.] --then you break the illusion. The way forward will be where we don't see the marks because they'll be reflecting either open passages, or mirrors further in that we haven't marked yet.

[mayoninofukucho]

[At first he just observes her in confusion, almost on the verge of getting angry when he thinks she's about to casually apply the lipstick to her lips, but as she instead marks the mirror and explains her reasoning his frown turns into a very brief smirk.]

Good thinking!

[This really helps! He sees the pathway now and quickly moves ahead. As soon as he stops in confusion again Klaudia can aid him with a new mark. Sadly Mirror Hijikata pops up once more to divert their attention, but at least he seems to have given up on the aggravating high-school-esque romance teasing.]

Still trying to save your precious king? You realise he doesn't give a damn about you, right? That's just your desperation and delusion--

Shut up!! You've got it wrong.

[sulit]

[The small bit of praise is... strange, coming from him. Good thinking? Of course it was, but having that acknowledged by someone that she's frequently annoyed with is a jarring experience. She'll just keep marking mirrors as long as they keep moving.]

[When Hijikata's mirror counterpart appears again, Klaudia is just bracing herself for more awfulness. The fact that the comments have nothing to do with her this time is a tremendous relief--enough that she regards the mirror image with a flat expression, closer to boredom than to anything else.]

[But when she glances to Hijikata, her brow furrows with...something. Frustration? Exasperation?]

Are you just going to keep telling it to shut up? Don't you have anything better to say? Does it matter if he cares or not? Most nobility doesn't care about anyone but themselves, so what does it matter if this one isn't any different? If you want to save him, then do it. If you don't, then don't. It's that simple. Stop making it about whether he cares that you're doing him a favor.

[mayoninofukucho]

[He shatters the mirror - he knows he should stop already, that there are people trapped inside that class maze whom they'll need to get out, but there are so many mirrors, and he just wants his loathsome reflection gone for another moment.]

That's what I meant!! He's got it wrong if he thinks I give a damn about all that!

[He doesn't agree with everything she's saying - he does believe that King Arthur cares for his subjects and allies, both native and foreign -, but he's not desperate for the king's approval, and he knows that he can decide on his own which path to take. If he falls fighting for the ruler of Camelot that'll be entirely on him, not something Arthur has to recognise or honour. But of course he has no intention to fall.]

I see the path now!! I'll try to exorcise the king; you steer clear of the fighting!

[He knows he can't expect her to give him cover, so all he can really do is warn her that he won't be able to look out for her anymore from here on out.]