EVENT ✨ Tournaments & Trust

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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

[patchricide]

Allura finds herself scowling, because she is reasonably sure that 'the art of combat' is an expression of Earthly origin, not Altean. For once, she doesn't have any problems with the odd vernacular — and now it's a human who's picking it apart!

But besides that, it does dig at her pride a little. She had always struggled with the more traditional forms of art, particularly with putting things to paper. It was as if it were abstracted from the way she knew and understood the world, from the tactile reality she thrived in, from form and motion and life...

So, how does she explain combat as an art?

"There's more to combat than hurting people, you know. It requires a deep understanding and control of your own body, and an ability to read others... it requires tactics and instinct in equal measure, and the practice to employ them without hesitation. And even its purpose is not so base and limited. Any weapon can be used to harm, or even kill... but it can also be used to protect and defend."

She's actually making good progress up the building as she talks. All that combat has its merits, both in training her physical strength and in steeling her will. But she's not sure if any of these feelings of hers will land with Izzy, or if it's going to be met with the same sassy attitude as usual.

"It takes more skill to incapacitate an opponent without harming them, after all, than it does to beat on them savagely."

[tantailizing]

If you find one, keep it. Moogles love them. Saw one lift up a huge bell just to get one.

[And then raced past his wife. Whoops...]

Really? What's this 'Midgar' like? Is it that bad because moogles should do fine in cities too...

[lunarchain]

[ A thoughtful sigh, taking a step forward to who knows where presuming he would follow. ]

I figured as much, but even so... I mean there are people I have been unable to read in the past. [ Venti for one... Who was a God and frankly, apparently had ability to hide away his destiny from someone like her. ] It is rare though, even so I do have a fondness for my familiar. Even if, she hangs about my hair like an ornament.

[ Mona lifts her hat just a bit, where her bow as instead had been her Lunar Moth Fae. Seemingly still as if lifeless. However present, and aware. ]

[eightfoldfiend]

I'm sure you won't.

[Yuber is unable to slow himself before he skids on to the ice and his long legs nearly slide out from under him. With some effort he braces himself.]

But you'll also find I'm much harder to kill than a pelican.

[There is an audible pop and he vanishes only to appear a moment later immediately in front of Kratos... It's not where he'd intended to place himself, he'd wanted to be behind his opponent. Oh, well, he'll work with it...

He flicks his wrist, retracting part of his sword up into its hilt until the blade is the length of a dagger, then he thrusts outward for Kratos's gut.]

[eightfoldfiend]

Of course it is.

[He comes to a stop several paces in front of Emet-Selch.]

But don't worry, I'll make this quick. You'll feel no pain.

[And very suddenly he's gone. When he reappears it's half a second later and he's charging Emet-Selch from the side, hoping to use his kinetic magic to take his opponent by surprise.]

[patchricide]

Neither Allura looks impressed, though for different reasons.

The real Allura stopped partway through his speech, and has been looking back with a quirked eyebrow at least from the part about swinging into the side of a truck. She can understand the point he's trying to make, but... still, he sounds far more proud of that than he ought to. There's something about it that reminds her of the humans she's met, in an odd way...

But the mirror Allura's expression is annoyed and unamused. Really, it had all been strategic, trying to make Allura feel powerless by excluding her from the conversation. If the reflection had convinced Darkwing to try making the decision for her, then it would have gotten under the real Allura's skin far worse than anything an illusion could do.

Unfortunately, that stubborn sense of heroism is getting in the way. "I've never heard anything more foolish in my life. I should have guessed... how do the Earthlings put it? 'Birds of a feather stick together'?" Time to look for a new approach.

[cantgetanyworse]

[Though she doesn't know him well enough yet to properly evaluate his reactions to things, there are a few signs Jane doesn't miss. His silence and pauses, for one, which sit strangely around him considering he implied he very much likes to talk. And his hesitance, at odds with his prior enthusiastic chatter.]

In Hades? [She doesn't look perturbed, but more like someone adding to or adjusting their knowledge of a situation.] I'd never considered you a Chthonic god but... no, that makes sense. [Didn't the myth say he lived with his brother, after all?

Jane quiets for a few minutes while she fleshes out the details of his face in her sketch, paying careful attention to his eyes and the particular way his hair curls.]

Do you like your job?

[Another smile as she peeks up at him again. She'd never thought of the Greek underworld having a greeter on the door.]

[juzubeads]

[Nobody else would get that context of that line. Except for Tohru. Not even Machi, also here from home would understand. So it isn't surprising that the other is lost on that particular line there. The rest is probably enough for others to get some idea behind his insecurities otherwise though. As Kyo tenses when he feels someone's hand at his back and glances to see who it is, at the unfamiliar voice. That is not Tohru.]

Keep -- huh?

[Yeah. He's. Understandably kind of distracted with this mirror nonsense right now. Kyo's mellowed out a lot more than he was but even he still has moments where he kind of freaks out. Generally over reminders of what happened to Kyoko. Any reference to his own mother at that. His guilt over them. He's not exactly taking this well.]

[reloves]

At first she's entirely quiet, just listening to Haruka. There's a look about her, almost as if she's anticipating something, but isn't quite sure how to feel about it..

.. until Haruka reaches those last few words, anyway. Those make Minako laugh, with just a hint of relief and nervousness in them.

"Sheesh, I thought you were about to criticize me!" Not that she thinks Haruka seriously would without good reason, it's just-- "It's not as if I've exactly had a whole lot of time to practice, after all!"

[hitokiri]

[ he makes a low sound in his throat that might be a growl. or just a grumble. it's hard to tell. his hands lift just a little from his legs where he'd currently set them, but then he remembers he's not supposed to move, so he resigns himself to staying like he is.

it's true; he could leave any time he wants. he could tough it out until it healed itself naturally, but there are more reasons than just the discomfort to want to be rid of it. he already knows he's weak and human again, no sense in having a glaring reminder. ]

Not 'sir'. Ya ain't gotta call me that... sounds weird.

[ not that he's given her much else to call him, to be honest. he is a lot quieter now compared to how he was yelling, at least. he's silent after that, maybe long enough that it might seem like he intends to stay that way until she's finished. eventually, though, he speaks up again. ]

How come you ain't afraid of nothin'?

[ not that he's at all good at reading people, but she doesn't strike him as the type, unlike other people he knows whose particular personality issues clearly explain their reckless disregard for danger. at the very least, she's a better gambler than he is. ]

[cantgetanyworse]

[She's content for him to stay quiet, though it does throw a certain ominous weight into the air that she isn't keen on. Better that than empty threats though, so she decides against commenting on it.

When he does finally speak again, it startles her enough that he might just feel her hand twitch where she's finishing off the last of the bruises. She glances at him quickly, chuckles, and smiles.]

Oh, don't worry, you're very intimidating.

[But that isn't what he was asking, is it? Avoiding answering a question feels unnatural to her, but she swerves it with an ease that is almost unsettling. Jane frowns to herself and shakes her head, huffing out a sigh.]

I'm afraid of many things, but being afraid doesn't mean I don't face them. [She smiles again, and it's directed at him this time.] I've had some interesting experiences the last year or two that have made me a stronger person. Being afraid of things... it just holds you back, sometimes.

[troubadamsel]

[ ... okay faith is dwindling - ]

... Please tell me you know what you're doing.

[troubadamsel]

... I'm well aware I can be... how it's put... "very negative". I swear, it's not on purpose.

[beefaroni]

... All food looks edible. I will eat anything.

[ He really has no preference! Just a lot of slow blinking, not getting what Zidane expects of him. ]

[beefaroni]

... Quiet. Peaceful. The wind... is cool. I sleep... on the grass. And I sleep... full sleep.

[ It's almost paradise, for a guy who never touched grass or felt wind his entire life. ]

[sos_pilot]

Well, you got to skip diapers and all-night-crying, so I'd say you've lucked out so far. Now you just get to deal with rebelling for the sake of rebelling and being called old when you're not even forty.

[ A bit of joking, eager to get away from the depressing stuff. ]

[peninhand]

Mhm, I've got Technomancy but I haven't tried. [She wasn't tempted to, either. Cheating in multiplayer games wasn't her idea of a fun time... Unless her life or sanity depended on it, of course. Thankfully, that wasn't the case here.] But you're right, unless there's some failsafe in place it feels a bit unfair...

[ Especially since technically with a very advanced level of Technomancy, you could get access to the computational capabilities of your phone or whatever devices you had on hand. It would be like playing chess against a computer... Not a very fair fight. She didn't like cheating in multiplayer games, but you couldn't assume every participants would go for a fair win.

Regardless, she nodded at him. ]

Ready~!

[ Spoilers: she's going to lose. Pathetically, at that. Which means he may just get the lead in the overall game. Thankfully, she's not a sore loser. ]

[peninhand]

It's alright. [She smiled.] Being too negative can be a bad thing, but being too positive is just as bad.

[ So in a way really, they balanced each other out. ]

Honestly, I'm more in the middle usually. I guess this world inspires me, ahaha.

[immortalmarshal]

Cor's a little taken back by how sensitive Felih is right around that area. He suspected that it would be a good place to tease, but he certainly wasn't expecting it to be super effective. Not that it's a bad thing per se... But it's enough to make his hand pause for a moment.

"...too much, too soon?" He quietly inquires, his other hand coming around to gently hold the other male close to him around the upper back.

[morganknight]

That's a little ironic considering this is just an island. [Says Morgan, who has no idea what this is touching on.] But even an island contains a world of wonders. Some of it the singing voices of others.

[inemeraldfaith]

I'll have to keep that in mind. I'd love to get my hands on one.

[She's quiet when she thinks of Midgar. How does she describe it? It's a bit dark and unhappy. People do the best they can, but the people definitely deserve better. But that's what Avalanche is attempting to do. Slowly, but surely...]

I'm not sure I know how to answer that without it getting complicated. It's definitely nothing like Camelot. The lighting down where I live is artificial. I live underneath a plate. Most of the people do, unless they're well off. It's... sort of like a city with levels. There's a bottom level, which is where I'm from. And then there's everything on the top.

[Aerith shakes her head.] Nothing really grows. Most of the people are desolate. But everyone does their best.

[rateup]

[ huffs! ] Just because I aced in a couple of battle royale games doesn't mean I can apply the techniques IRL. Heck, it's even scarier if I come across people like that here.

[ because if they're as aggressive as he is in knockoff apex legends, for example, they'd have taken both of them down by now. they're literally out here being sitting ducks and itaru knows it, so -- ]

Yeah, I can do that. We should also get moving to a better vantage point so that you can snipe 'em one by one.

[ he doesn't know the whole scope of this map though, so he's going to stick close to izumi back to back, aiming his paintgun at anything that moves. ]

[flapsin]

R-right. Exactly. [He nervously adjusts the collar of his shirt.] Who knows what capers he could be condemning somewhere out there as we speak?

[flapsin]

[He looks surprised for a moment, but he quickly feigns regaining his composure.]

...Ah, of course. Pretty smart of you, to have used light magic in a way that not even I have learned!

[He stays where he is for the moment, while he tries to plan his next move.]

Well I'll have you know that I don't plan on giving up anytime soon! The king himself is probably in danger!

[verytired]

[ It's not that he minds her asking questions. Certainly not. But no one's really been that interested in him so he's kind of -- baffled to the point of quiet. Humans can sure be confusing sometimes, and he knows it. But he's always liked them for it. And she's kind and watching him as she draws and he's never felt someone's eyes linger on him for so long unless they were trying to stare him into waking up (which doesn't actually work).

He smiles, none-the-less to reassure that he's unbothered. ]

Yeah. I like it there. My mom, brothers, and best friend are all there. So I guess zero complaints.

[ And he'll answer simply. ]

I like my job a lot, too. I got it because I'm very charming~ A friendly face to see, you know?

[ A small laugh. ]