isleofavalon | EVENT ✨ Tournaments & Trust

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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.

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Once the two were out the domain of tiny Medea, the sorceress breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't let her guard down entirely, but for a moment let herself think that at least that part of this trial was over...

Until she heard Morgan's voice- cutting in again, and again-

And Medea's eyes grew cold as she all but latched onto his arm, giving the reflections a truly vicious glare... and then her eyes met that strange, perfect Morgan's. Was that Stormborn-

No, now wasn't the time to ask.

Her grip tightened- "...Morgan. I don't know if you'll believe it from a woman like me, but I'm not using you. You know that, don't you?"

Edited 2021-08-01 18:26 (UTC)

"Oh. Hey," Morgan said, his voice entirely too casual thanks to solid effort. He turned a wan but genuine smile on her. "I know you're not, considering I'm basically forcing my help on you every step of the way--"

And know perfectly well you'll never get anything back from it, said a mirror.

"And my subconscious is just stupid. I really do know better."

Don't smash the mirror. Don't smash the mirror.

It got a pointed glare, she could at least do that without risking getting cursed, before turning her attention back to the real Morgan. Hopefully he wouldn't want his arm back anytime soon.

But part of her understood the implication. Medea wasn't completely naive. And that was why she didn't ask what he wanted from her- because she knew that right now, she'd never be able to give him it.

"You must have some doubts. But listen...I don't intend to abandon you- and if anyone does treat you that way, do tell me so I can drive Rule Breaker into their backs. As many times as I need to."

...Only she would try and comfort someone with threats of violence.

"I wouldn't seek out your company if I didn't enjoy it, you know."

"I know. But I did promise to send you home to where you belonged, didn't I? And I meant that."

No, he won't be telling her about the people who had done that to him. That was history, over and done with.

"And what about you? Once all this is over and done with, what will you do with yourself?"

That was a key point, in her mind. She wanted him to be happy as well.

"Go back home, get back to work, probably?" He hadn't really thought about it -- his direction was always forward, after all.

That...sounded like a non-answer. One of the sorts of non-answers she gave when she spoke about her own future.

"...Do you have someone to go back to?"

"Friends and family. I'm presently single, if you're trying to inquire." He winked at her, making light of the topic.

"That is not what I asked!" She was glad she had her hood back up, to hide the blush. "Honestly for all of- you couldn't possibly understand how complicated this all is!"

There was no way Morgan could understand her grief, after all, right? It just made everything so fractured and complicated-

Ah.

Morgan folded his arms, though he didn't stop leaning on her, very gently.

"I don't generally just come out and lead off with this, but I'm a widower, as it happens. I understand a little better than you'd think."

Oh...oh. Caster stopped dead in her tracks as Morgan said that, whatever she was going to vent next just getting lost in her throat.

...If he was receptive, she'd move in to hug him. A horrible, sickening thought, that'd he'd had to suffer a pain like that too.

"I'm- I had no idea-...I'm sorry."

"I just told you I don't just say that out of nowhere, so don't apologize! Of course you had no way of knowing!"

Unfolding his arms, he went right back to hugging her in turn. Snuggle up and get comfy.

"But it's fine. I'm at peace with it. I just have a general feeling for what you're going through."

There were so many questions running through her mind- too many, too fast- Who was she? How long ago? What happened? Are you alright? Does the pain ever stop? How is finding peace even possible?

But none of them quite found their way out. Instead, she just hugged him tight, before finally she blurted out the only thing that really seemed to stick:

"...I can't stand it- I can't stand that you've been hurt that way-!!"

"It's life. It's how it goes. And it's a part of who I am today. I wouldn't be the same me if it hadn't happened. I had a time of absolute happiness, so what do I have to complain about?" He shrugged slightly, the motion more obvious in how it felt through the hug rather than any visual cue.

"That's what I learned from it, too. To enjoy what I have, and to accept when it's gone."

"How can you accept that...having your happiness taken from you-?! How can you be at peace with that?!"

But he'd already answered that question, hadn't he? Even if she couldn't accept that response. The thought of coming to terms with that sort of pain- the idea of that hurt ever easing- wasn't something she could make any sense of right now.

...But that wasn't Morgan's fault, was it?

"...I'm sorry. Are- are you alight?"

"Because it's life." He shifted, the better to turn and look at her directly and seriously. "No matter how good the food is, you'll get hungry again. No matter how nice the moment is, time will pass. Someday we will die, and someday we will be forgotten. And a lot of people, hearing that, will think... 'well, nothing matters, then.'

"But it means the opposite. Everything matters. When something good comes your way, you enjoy it to the fullest. Care unconditionally, love fiercely, embrace without hesitation. Never let the knowledge of loss spoil how good it is, and never let the inevitability of loss taint how good it was."

Is he all right? Well, maybe. That's up to individual opinion, after all.

She listened carefully, tired eyes meeting his own from underneath the hood of her cloak. He was right, of course- someday, even her legend would be forgotten in time, wouldn't it?

"...I don't know if I can ever be someone like that- caring about others so freely and easily, knowing they could disappear or betray me. I'm...far too mired in spite for that."

A tentative sigh. "You deserve better than what fate's handed you."

"Why? In balance, I have it absolutely terrific. For a while I might have agreed with you, but I haven't a single complaint right now. You're the one whose pendulum needs to swing!"

Stupid mirror comments notwithstanding.

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EVENT ✨ Tournaments & Trust

Mirror Hell Continues

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