undergrounds | Night Tournament Opening Ceremony

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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!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Cole's attitude is entirely foreign to Mogget. It's hard to even begin to fathom his response.

He shakes his head. "You have strange priorities. Most people would find a hobby."

Even if the hobbies available to a ghost are limited he could watch television or people or sports, or take to haunting people on misty moors or something more appropriately ghost-like.

"I haunt an alleyway." It's said like that answers Mogget's questions. Of course he doesn't have a hobby. What sort of hobbies can someone have when they're stuck in an alleyway half the time?

"Besides, I help. That might be a hobby."

Well, of course he haunts an alleyway. Ghosts always haunt somewhere. It's a perfectly respectable use of a ghost's time. The helping thing though, he's mentioned that before and it's still a foreign concept to Mogget. If he had any choice about it, Mogget would at least be selective about who he helps and what that involves. Cole seems to have some ill-defined idea of helping that could apply to just about anything, with no real passion for any particular cause. At least, not any that he's discerned yet.

"So you're branching out," he comments. "Well, I suppose it helps to stay positive after one's death. Do you have the skill for it?"

In other words: is Cole going to be serious competition?

"I don't know," Cole responds, with a frown. He still doesn't know so much about himself, despite the fact that he's been dead for over five years. Can he fight? Does he have skills for this sort of thing? Hell if Cole knows.

"I'm going to try my hardest, however."

He doesn't know if he'll be any good but he'll try his hardest. A+ preparation there Cole, excellent work. Mogget doesn't roll his eyes but he looks like he wants to.

"I see." He didn't think this through before volunteering, did he? "What could possibly go wrong?"

"I fail?" No matter if that was supposed to be a rhetorical question or not, Cole's answering it like it isn't. "Or I get banished but I don't think there are any witches or fae here who would do that."

He straight up did not think this through before volunteering.

It was rhetorical, but there you go. The boy seems rather poor at picking up cues.

Mogget is happy to contradict him. "There is a witch in the competition who is training to become a medium. You may wish to ask him nicely not to exorcise you."

That's Desmond, of course.

"Oh! That's Desmond," he says, as if Mogget has absolutely no idea who Desmond is or what he can do. "I don't need to worry about him. We're friends."

A small ghost of a smile briefly plays on Cole's face. Friends. He liked that. It was nice having a friend and it was even nicer saying it.

"We help each other."

Considering that Mogget has suggested that Desmond exorcise Cole before... Well, it's safe to say that they know each other.

"Friends as in he's your anchor friends?" he asks, suspiciously.

Entirely oblivious to any suspicion, Cole shakes his head. "No. I still don't know how to have an anchor."

Rhys did all the work last time. He was the one who explained everything, an explanation that's been slowly leaving Cole's mind as he feels himself becoming less. He needs to learn and he needs to learn quickly. Desmond's been helping him calm down, helping him feel more whole, but Cole knows that it still won't be enough.

"We're just friends."

"...It's another word for friend." Well, maybe he's simplifying. But it isn't much more than that. Ghosts, being the formless parasitic undead creatures that they are, need an emotional tie to the world to maintain a sense of connection or presence, and what better way to do that than being that one friend who drains all your emotional energy? Well, maybe he's being cynical. But he's seen what happens when ghosts get clingy. It gets weird. "Did you imagine there was some sort of arcane ritual?"

Fun fact: Cole is terrible at being a ghost. Anchors are just friends? Then that's good. Then he should be able to convince someone to be his anchor in the first place. Cole already had a few friends, he could easily ask one of them.

Though, at Mogget's question, Cole just tilts his head down a bit, hiding his expression behind his hat.

"Rhys did all the work last time," he admits, with a frown. He definitely thought there was something that Rhys had done, because the bonds slid into place and he felt whole. Cole was just friendly, he talked, he was caring.

He really does seem clueless. "What happened to him?"

Did Cole accidentally kill him? Or did Rhys get tired of his ghost 'friend'? Mogget doesn't much like not being able to see Cole's eyes, and he drops into a crouch to get a better look at the ghost's expression. Maybe somewhere behind those eyes is the soul of a murderer.

...Maybe he's getting cranky.

Night Tournament Opening Ceremony

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