Night Tournament Opening Ceremony

[undergroundmods]

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Every four years the Night Tournament is held in London as a celebration of the physical, mental and magical prowess of its supernatural inhabitants. Over three weeks the chosen competitors will take on various challenges in an effort to be crowned Champions of their species. Tonight, the grand opening ceremony is taking place at the Redbright Institute, where guests can expect a spectacle of magical wonders and of course the parade of this year's competitors.

The ceremony takes place from 8pm-11pm Sunday 6th August. It is being hosted by the school's Chancellor, Sylvia Redbright, accompanied by event organisers Alexandrie Belrose, the Dean, and Yasmine Merad. Guests must have purchased a ticket in order to attend the event, unless of course you are one of the competitors or someone involved in organising the tournament.

Rules of entry
• No weapons. Any weapons or objects that could be used as weapons will be confiscated.
• No drugs or alcohol except that provided at the event. Don't try to sneak any in.
• No violence.

There is security present on the grounds during the event. The school itself is shut. (In fact, if your character is a member of the Redbright Institute, you could have them acting as security if you want.) They will respond to and put a stop to any trouble.

Order of events
The entirety of tonight's ceremony takes place outside in the grounds, namely the football field. There are stands around the field where the audience can watch the show. A number of stewards (student volunteers) will check tickets and direct guests over to the right place. They are also selling a variety of drinks and snacks to cater for all supernatural tastes. Vampires without daylight jewellery are directed through to the "shade zone": a section of the stand which is completely shielded from the sun.

8pm-8.30pm: Redbright Choir
Led by the Head of Music Ms Sandra Ng, the Redbright Choir is comprised of a variety of students representing all supernatural beings coming together to sing in harmony. They are accompanied by a live band.

8.30-9.30pm: Welcome to the Night (nb. sunset is at 8.45pm)
Settle in for one hell of a show. The hour's entertainment, proudly organised and performed by students at the Redbright Institute, features a showpiece from every supernatural type, from witches performing a spectacular light show of magic, meta humans showing off their powers, to werewolves and shapeshifters dancing in fur costumes. The theme again is harmony: the show ends with all performers joining hands in a giant circle on the pitch before performing their final dance.

9.30-9.45pm: Sylvia's Welcome Speech
As the host and sponsor of the Night Tournament, Sylvia will then step up to a podium to say a few words. She talks about (you guessed it) peace and harmony and coming together to celebrate supernatural diversity. She speaks proudly of the Redbright Institute's record of welcoming and teaching any supernatural student, no matter their background. The one thing that does get all the journalists scribbling furiously, however, is a brief mention of the Night Council's new President. Though she doesn't mention him by name, she does say that she welcomes the President's stance on promoting peace and unity.

9.45-10.15pm: The Parade
At last the 16 competitors are introduced one by one. Dressed in spectacular costumes, each competitor gets their own float which makes one round of the field before they all meet in the centre of the pitch. The parade is accompanied by inspiring music and showers of glitter (or is it pixie dust?). Smile and wave, everyone. Smile and wave.

10.15-11pm: General Mingling
Finally, the audience are allowed to invade the pitch where they can mingle with the competitors as they please. Stewards walk around serving more drinks, and there is a live band playing until the end of the event. Stick around to catch some gossip, place a bet on your preferred competitor, or offer support to your favourites.

[OOC: Please see the information post for more details on this event and to ask any questions!]

Comments

[trickofthelight]

"My coven," Desmond says, with a gloomy resignation that's at least a distraction from his paranoia. If Ghoul didn't already assume he was Circle Daybreak before, the introductions gave that much away. He lets his gaze focus back to Ghoul, rubbing absently at the tattoo wrapped around his forearm in a vain attempt to get the glitter off. The gilding does a fairly good job of covering the scars on him, but the witch who cast the glamour wasn't very good at it, so the faint lines still show through.

"At least we won't be competing wearing these." Maybe. hopefully.

[ghoulaid]

"You're in a coven of dicks." Ghoul's face screws up bitterly. It's hard to expect much else from Daybreak at this point, but still. Nobody deserves this. "I almost feel bad for givin' you shit. Your friends probably don't need any help."

Does that mean he's going to stop, though? Not necessarily. Better luck next time.

Ghoul doesn't think much of Desmond's antsy behavior until a dark smudge beneath all the glitter catches his eye. "What's that?" He hadn't bothered looking Desmond over very closely before, because he's wearing basically nothing and that's weird. But that looks like a tattoo. He likes tattoos. He only has about eighty million of them himself, so of course he leans up and in to get a better view.

[trickofthelight]

"It's the price I pay for free education and rent," Desmond quips back, only to look at Ghoul with some mild alarm as he suddenly finds himself the focus of attention. That's something he finds uncomfortable under most circumstances to begin with but doubly so when it's coming from someone who tackled you on your first meeting.

"It's a tattoo," he says, stating the obvious and holding his arm up so Ghoul can get a better look without having to invade his personal space any further or (heaven forbid) grab it. He's not sure why it's drawn his interest, given that what little he's seen of Ghoul seems to suggest he's much more extreme than Desmond's single piddling arm tattoo.

[ghoulaid]

Ah. Free rent. Ghoul, too, has put up with some obnoxious shit in the name of free rent. Glimmery gold body paint has got to be some kind of human rights violation, though.

And while Ghoul might stretch in a little close, Desmond is safe from any actual physical contact. He's the mean half of the Annoying Wolf Duo, not the touchy-feely-for-fun one. Now that he's got a better view, he tilts his head and settles back down, putting the space back between them again. "Neat." Who the fuck even says neat anymore?

"A bird?" Sort of a bird... It kind of looks like a face too. Is it supposed to look like a bird-face?

[trickofthelight]

Desmond doesn't quite exhale in relief, but he relaxes a little more when Ghoul settles back.

"Yeah," is what he says, shrugging slightly. "It's just some flash I picked out and had the artist tweak a little. First tattoo, you know?" Does Ghoul know? This kind of thing must be old hat for him, with how many he's got.

"How long did it take you to get all of yours?" He's got enough tattoos that Desmond wonders if he might just have a very frequently drunk tattoo-happy friend with access to a tattoo machine.

[ghoulaid]

Ghoul grins. Oh, sure, he may be well on his way to covering every available inch of skin, but everyone remembers their first. "You couldn't have gone for somethin' small and easy? Fuckin' Christ." He sounds as kind as usual, but at least this time it's nothing more than some good natured ass-busting. Desmond's is actually fairly impressive for a starter. Ghoul's was much simpler.

He hums thoughtfully and glances down at his arms, looking over what little skin is exposed with a shrug. This shit has been a work in progress for... ever. "I dunno, a while. I started on 'em when I was like sixteen or seventeen." Without parental permission, of course. Bless those My-Friend's-Cousin-Knows-A-Guy troopers and their scuzzy basements.