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

"I don't think I'd fit into that, you're a twig, all laced in there. But remind me to teach you a spell to make your shoes as comfortable as your trainers. It makes long nights in 6 inches like nothing."

Oh gosh, now Lydia is going to go and doubt herself. Nancy softens and reaches a hand out to touch her shoulder comfortingly. "No- no, Lyds, It'll be fun. I'm cheering for you the whole way- and y'know what? So is Cesare. Better his girlfriend than Islington vampires, in his eyes, right?" She tries to look as encouraging as possible.

Nancy's right: Lydia is definitely thuggish. Truth be told, she's envious of Nancy's figure, but what's a girl to do? It's not turned Cesare off anyway!

"There's a spell for that?' Lydia brightens. "God, I need that. I've never worn shoes like this in my life, not for this long. Lizzie would tease me rotten if she saw them. But - you really think Ces will choose me over the vampires? I didn't ask him, you know? About... well, you remember." She glances awkwardly over her shoulder towards Samantha. "I don't think he would anyway. He wants to drink my blood."

Her curves were a blessing and a curse.

"Of course there is, there's a spell for a lot of things." Maybe she didn't do a lot of big shows of magic, but she was quite happy using it for mundane things, like making shoes comfortable or charming flasks so they were able to fit a full bottle.

She presses her lips together and nods. "Wait- I thought you'd already let him drink from you." This gives Nancy pause. Then again, for her and Cesare, the two went hand-in-hand, it was hard to see him having one without the other.

"I am actually going to study, you know?" Lydia actually manages to sound enthusiastic. "It's going to be so good - well, I think it'll be a bit of a pain, actually, but it'll be worth it. I am going to get so good at magic that Samantha will actually be scared of me, and not send cats after me to chase me away from Cesare."

She grins, and drops her voice to a whisper. "And I'm going to cast a spell on Cesare too, to make him satisfied with just me."

"Good! You're going to be absolutely amazing! A better witch than any've been, I'll bet." Nancy smiles warmly.

The smile quickly disappears though when Lydia reveals her hand. In an instant, Nancy practically pounces. She grabs Lydia's wrist and holds it, looking into her eyes. "No. Don't mess with love spells."

Lydia knows that Nancy's just saying those kind words because she's her friend, but she kinda loves it anyway. Until Nancy gets serious at least.

"Oh come on," she laughs. "It's just a love spell. It's nothing serious. What's the worst that could happen?"

"No, that's kind of the definition of a love spell." More or less. As for the worst that could happen...

"You do know that it's not fair to the other person, right? If he finds out, he'd be furious. Never speak to you again."

Well, she doesn't want that.

She shakes her head. "I just want him to be satisfied. With me. just me. Is that stupid?"

With Cesare, that is stupid. She knows it. Nancy surely knows it. But hey, a girl can dream, can't she?

Nancy presses her lips together. "He's not the type to ever be satisfied. With anything. I know him well enough to say that now."

"He's sleeping with a load of other women, Nance. He told me. He doesn't even care. I think he thinks it's great."

She shakes her head. "I can't even tell my sisters. Lizzie will laugh, and then kill him. They all will. I don't know what to do. He said he needs to to feed. He's an actual bastard, isn't he?"

She sighs deeply. "Damn him being so damn hot."

"That's what he does- you know I used to be one of them." She says it affectionately, to try to explain how yeah, she knows how he is.

"But you can tell me. That's the price of a high-stakes relationship. That's what you agreed to, when you started dating him." Lydia has to know that now.

"He's not. He's just very... particular. About everything. If the world doesn't revolve around him, it shouldn't be revolving. But he does need to feed. Feeding from different people is always best for them." Cooper drank bottled blood.

"You -what?" Lydia's eyes widen in astonishment. "You were with Cesare? That's how you know? Are you fucking kidding me?"

She's not usually crass, but seriously. Cesare's slept with her best mate, and neither of them thought to tell her? Serious betrayal, guys.

"You'd finished with him before... before I slept with him, right?" Come on, Nancy. Say the right thing.

She sighs. "We never dated. We just fucked, that was it. I haven't been with him in over a year now." Okay, so she was being generous, it hadn't been a full year yet, but it was coming close. September, she was pretty sure. When everything went to hell last year.

"Don't worry. There was never anything romantic about it. Just business." No. Literally. Business. "I should have told you sooner, I'm sorry."

"But... but..." Suddenly, her dress feels too tight, and her hat feels like it's choking her.
"I told you... I was... and you already... Nancy, are you fucking kidding me? Is this a joke?"

Lydia turns away. She feels... sick. Stunned, maybe? Kind of like she's been kneed, really hard, in the stomach.

"Nancy, if this is true, I need you to leave. Like, right now. Like, I can't... My fucking God, Nancy! I need to think about this."

Nancy presses her lips together. Shit shit shit, she's gone and opened her mouth and said what she shouldn't have, and now Lydia is clearly upset with him. Shit.

"I should have said something immediately, I'm so sorry. I thought he would have mentioned it- it was never serious, I swear to you." But Lydia's right. She should go.

"I'll leave. But I'm rooting for you, alright?"

It'd be easier, maybe, if she just told her why. But she couldn't take that risk. Not right now. Not when things were messy with Cooper and Dodger and she needed a friend. Damn it.

Night Tournament Opening Ceremony

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Angelica Voice:

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