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

Zelgadis Greywords | Slayers

[heartlessswordsman]

Speed Sculpting

[He hadn't actually meant to sign up for Speed Sculpting, but here we are. Zelgadis might not be the most interesting contestant, but then how the hell do you make something like speed sculpting exciting? He kind of tries to spice it up a bit with his elemental magic, which actually really comes in handy while shaping his clay. He's got his little dragon familiar chilling on his workspace and he seems to just be making a sculpture of it. It's whatever man, he's just winging it out here.]

Arthurses

[Zel had started off on the defense side of things, but once it became apparent that the offence was winning, he'd decided that this just wasn't worth the trouble and immediately just flipped sides. Fuck it, might as well see what was actually going on since trying to keep people out wasn't going to happen. Ah well.

The reflection in the mirror doesn't really bother him, at first he figures it's just some sort of illusory spell or something to that effect designed to distract people. As a death mage though, he's able to work out that there's something else going on here. Spirits of some sort? Reaching the Arthur Zone only serves to confirm this suspicion, there's definitely some kind of possession going on here.

Of course, there's not much that he can do with this information once all these Arthurs start attacking. He readies his blade, but this is going to be a tricky battle.]

Be careful! We can't just kill them, any one of these could be the real Arthur.

[Way to state the obvious there, Zel.]

Wildcard

[Where shit gets wild, hit me with whatever you've got!!]

Arthurses

[crimsongirl]

[Homura had taken a while to get here, the mirrors causing her lots of grief as she tried to save people. Cursed and forced to see herself die again and again by familiar faces, she was in such a mood to punch someone. Seemed like she got her wish, nearly drawing her swords when she saw multiple King Arthurs. Clearly fakes and ripe for an ass-kicking!

Though as Zelgradis spoke, she frowned, nearly about to counter until she tried to sense them. Even her blood magic couldn't help differentiate them. Maybe it was the curse, maybe it was the strong magic of the mirror, she didn't know the answer. She growled.]

Pain in the ass... Fine, but I'm still hitting them!

[Needed to relieve the anger somehow, and she wasn't so bloodthirsty to kill at the moment; Arthur himself would have to do something awful to warrant a blade in the chest. Swords went back to the sheathe, and her hands formed two sticks made out of ice. Dashing forward, she was already smacking a few of the clones, using wind magic to dash around and strike their necks and backs.]

[heartlessswordsman]

[WOWwww that's kind of a nasty mirror trip she had there. Maybe Zelgadis could have been a little more observant about the people he passed on the way here, but ahhhhh yeah he wasn't, sorry. Either way, there are more pressing concerns at the moment.]

Knock them out if you have to, just try not to kill them!

[He's at least somewhat skilled at hand to hand combat, so his sword is also returned to it's sheath. He'll going to rely more on his elemental magic than his fists, though, blasting Arthurs away with gusts of wind and attempting to trap them in place by ensnaring their legs in ice. It's not a terrible strategy, he's got a few Arthurs stuck and more vulnerable to being knocked the fuck out.]

[crimsongirl]

Don't worry, I've gotten better at doing that!

[She wasn't going to let these clones suffer the same fate as former comrades gone berserk. Though she was still hardly gentle, figuring the king was made of tough stuff with each blow to the back and stomach. Without her swords, she had to rely on closing the distance and striking the right point faster than he could move. Seemed easy, but the risk was always being surrounded, and that never ended well for most people, especially when they were all powered down to use just this magic. Not helped when she had to expend quite a bit to even get here; stupid mirrors.

Least the weird dude was helpful, trapping a few that came from her blind spot. Rushing over to them, she struck them in quick succession, their swords dropping as they were defeated. Homura glanced back at Zelgadis as she clashed with another Arthur, blade locked with her ice sticks.]

So quick question, how long do you think it's gonna take them to exorcise the stupid mirror?

[heartlessswordsman]

[Implying that at one point she wasn't good at doing that. Ah well, that's not really Zel's business, and he's a little busy with all these Arthurs anyway. At least sticking them in place seems to be working out, so he's going to continue to do that for now.]

I couldn't say. I'm a death mage myself, but I haven't been able to get over there to help because of all these guys.

Speed Sculpting

[whirlwindthrust]

[ A lot of these activities are sort of... Interesting. Xiao doesn't really understand everything that's going on or what the purpose of it all is.

He does, however, recognize the person working here. Xiao is not a participant but - ]

What is it that you are attempting to create?

Re: Speed Sculpting

[heartlessswordsman]

[Zelgadis looks up from his sculpture, and upon recognizing the person talking to him, he offers a small smile.]

Hey, I haven't seen you in a while. What I'm trying to do is make a sculpture of my familiar. It's not really coming out quite right, though.

[His little dragon familiar is sitting on the table that he's working on, trying to strike a cool pose. The blob of clay that Zel is working with is kind of taking the right shape, but it's pretty clear that he's no professional.]

[whirlwindthrust]

[ Well it looks similar enough? Xiao can- ]

I can sort of see it, I suppose. In order to do so, I need to tilt my head just so...

[ He demonstrates! ]

[heartlessswordsman]

That bad, huh?

[He's not actually offended, sculpting isn't exactly his best skill after all.]

That's fine, I guess. I'm not really in it to win it.

[whirlwindthrust]

I would not say it is bad. Not exactly.

[ At least it does hold a recognizable form. ]

What purpose is there if it is not for victory?

[heartlessswordsman]

[Zelgadis is going to call that a win,. Hooray it's vaguely dragon shaped!]

I dunno, for fun, I guess. I meant to sign up for something else anyway, so I don't really care if I don't win.

[whirlwindthrust]

Is it?

[ Fun, that is. Xiao doesn't quite understand the meaning of the word. Not really. ]

[heartlessswordsman]

Um. Y-- sure?

[It's such an odd question, now Zelgadis is actually questing whether or not he does find this fun. Is it fun?]

I mean, I suppose I'm enjoying myself?

[whirlwindthrust]

You suppose? Then you are not sure as to whether or not you are getting some enjoyment from this activity?

[ Just asking! ]

[heartlessswordsman]

Well, I thought I was until I started having this conversation, but now I'm starting to think that I could be doing something much more useful with my time.

[Fair question, but now Zel is questioning like all of his life choices.]

Speed Sculpting

[colchismagecraft]

[As Caster took a break from her own sculpture- a detailed diorama of the temple she'd once called home- she took a look around to see what the other people in this contest were making.

That was someone she recognised. She'd argued with him over Darin's release, hadn't she?]

...Oh. It's you.

Re: Speed Sculpting

[heartlessswordsman]

Hm.

[He focuses on his kind of lopsided little dragon for a moment before turning his attention to Caster.]

You seem to be considerably more stable. Manage to kill the guy that you were after?

tw Caster's sadistic tendencies

[colchismagecraft]

Hmph...

[Well, could have been a worse reaction, she supposed.]

...I stabbed him in the back, if you must know. Hearing him scream was certainly satisfying.

But no, he got away before I could finish him off.

[That's what Caster's going to call 'playing dead and then sneaking away whilst her back is turned', okay?]

[heartlessswordsman]

[Unlike some fuckheads that he used to travel with, Zelgadis is capable of being civil when the situation calls for it. He's not about to start shit in the middle of a contest that hundreds of eyes were on.

At least not physically. He's perfectly fine with talking shit.]

So it was all for nothing, huh? Was pissing off half of Camelot worth it?

[colchismagecraft]

As if I care what the rest of Camelot thinks of me...none of that matters, really.

But it wasn't for nothing. I made him suffer, that was what I cared about most of all.

[heartlessswordsman]

Is he still suffering, or was it all pretty short lived? I mean, if you're satisfied, then whatever, but was dragging an innocent simpleton like Darin into it worth it?

tw Caster's sadistic tendencies

[colchismagecraft]

I like to think he's still suffering...but I haven't quite brewed a potion that makes wounds continue hurting long after they've healed, yet.

But as for Darin, he was easy to manipulate, I needed bait and I was proving a point. That's all.

...Did you go after him in the end?

cw weird blood shit

[heartlessswordsman]

Yeah, I went after him.

[He'd been pretty nonchalant up until this point, but now he's starting to sound annoyed.]

We fought for a while, and then he stabbed me with my own blood, and I almost died. I imagine that because of what you did to him, he hurt other people as well. And for some reason, the idiot isn't even angry at you about it.

[colchismagecraft]

[A small, humourless smirk as he mentioned what happened. That sounded about right.]

Yes...he doesn't seem to be holding a grudge. Perhaps he blames himself for what he did whilst his Familiar Fusion was affecting him.

...He proved better at running interference than I expected.

[heartlessswordsman]

He probably does, because he's a moron.

But yeah, credit where it's due, I guess. He did do a great job of kicking a bunch of people's asses.