Night Tournament Opening Ceremony

[undergroundmods]

Watch on YouTube

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

[falsify]

"Honestly? I wouldn't bet on me. At least not for the combat round." He shrugs a shoulder, not embarrassed about it or anything. That's just how it is. Hell he's pretty sure he saw Evie around here, and he'll give it a decent go but Eames is pretty certain she'd win that fight.

[specifiercity]

"Damn," Arthur says dryly. "There goes at least ten pounds."

Yeah he already placed the bet.

"Give it a shot at least. I'm planning on using the winnings to refill my liquor cabinet."

[falsify]

That gets a decently big laugh out of Eames and he shakes his head down at Arthur.

"I'll give it a go, but I'm also not afraid to tap out if I'm losing." He folds his arms over his chest, "I'll bring you something expensive if you don't win anything. Commiseration for your lost expenses."

[specifiercity]

"I'll hold you to that," he says, finally standing back up, though he doesn't ignore Boxer if he still wants attention. A small part of him wants to get closer to Eames but the rest of him knows what a bad idea that would be so he stays put.

[falsify]

Boxer looks up at Arthur expectantly for another second or so, but when he doesn't come back down to his level, he instead circles Eames and sits at his feet.

"Maybe I'll even try something out there and bring you a gin or something."

[specifiercity]

Arthur's hands slip into his pockets and he laughs. "I'll try anything, and I assume you'll drink anything after going through with all of this."

[falsify]

He nods and takes a deep breath, the kind anyone would take after looking into the abyss, "I honestly can't promise I wouldn't be willing to drink bleach after this."

[specifiercity]

Arthur shakes his head, all dismissive. Eames would probably live through drinking bleach anyway. "You'll be fine. Does anyone actually take this seriously?"

[falsify]

"Not usually, but with everything that's been happening over the last year..." Eames trails off and tips his head in a little shrug, "it might carry a bit more weight."

Plus, he's the Lord of Autumn and fae love tournaments.

[specifiercity]

"You mean London isn't always like this?" Arthur asks dryly. He knows the answer is probably no but he has trouble trying to picture this city at a lower intensity There are moments of quiet but only because everyone's off plotting their next move. He'd sure be interested to see what peace looks like.

[falsify]

"Usually all the spite and scheming's a little better hidden," Eames says, raising an eyebrow, "and I'm not usually being forced to dress like an aristocrat from 1867."

[specifiercity]

"Were you not an aristocrat in 1867?" Arthur asks, partly teasing but also a little curious.

[falsify]

As if Arthur's ever going to get a straight answer about Eames' life. Eames just raises an eyebrow in return, faintly amused when he replies, "I was whatever I needed to be."

[specifiercity]

Arthur just rolls his eyes. He has accepted that he's never going to get a handle on the timeline of Eames' life until now so he's going to drop it, but he'll keep asking whenever the topic comes up.

Regardless, he's highly aware that from an outsider's perspective he's probably stayed the welcome of a friendly acquaintance. With a surreptitious look around he takes half a step closer to Eames.

"How much longer do you think you'll be doing all of this tonight?"

[falsify]

"No idea." Though he says it very much with the tone of a voice who wishes he could leave now.

Eames frowns, looking out over the assembled and then back to Arthur, "you heading off?"

[specifiercity]

"I might find a couple more people to talk to and then I'll probably head home," he says with a shrug.

[falsify]

Eames nods, a little envious that Arthur can just leave like that, but it's fine. Everything's fine.

"Should I text you when I get out of here?"

[specifiercity]

"If you want," Arthur says. He's better at being detached than knowing what people will think when they look at them, so his attitude is decidedly aloof. "I'll talk to you later."

[falsify]

That's fine, Eames just offers a smirk and a "behave yourself," as a goodbye. One followed up with a wink and, "don't do anything I wouldn't do."