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undergrounds2017-08-06 08:29 pm
undergroundmods) wrote in undergrounds2017-08-06 08:29 pm
Entry tags:
Night Tournament Opening Ceremony
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!]
no subject
There weren't many ways to glam up 'rat shifter' to be something you'd want on a float like this. It had, however, been managed. Someone had, apparently, decided that the best way to make a rat theme look cool was to go for a distinctly Nutcracker-esque approach, with Roddy dressed as the Rat King, complete with mask. He also had a grey and white double breasted doublet, slim fitting black slacks, and tight, darker grey boots that went almost to his knees. And, of course, no rat costume was complete without the tail, which this outfit most definitely had, with special care and attention given to the little hairs sticking out of it and the scaling that gave rat tails their unique texture.
The Nutcracker theme spread out into the float itself, which was decorated with figures of rats devouring nutcracker dolls that looked suspiciously like they had been gnawed on a bit by real rats.
Roddy, of course, wasn't quite sure how to deal with all the glitter and pageantry of the parade. On one hand, he wanted to seem reasonably enthused to be here. On the other hand, he didn't want to mislead people into actually thinking he believed he was going to win. And so he settled for something in between, smiling and waving for the crowds, but not bothering to hide the fact that it was a small, slightly nervous smile.
Mingling
Roddy was a person who had the unfortunate habit of frequently making questionable life choices. Entering the tournament would seem to be one of those things, since Roddy was not the type of person people thought of when they considered people who would be considered a 'combatant'. And they'd be reasonable in not thinking that. He'd been figuring that even if he loses horribly in round one, he'd be great at the cunning portion of the competition, and that maybe the difference between the two would balance things out. And, there was the off chance that he'd actually do well enough to win prize money, and since Roddy was perpetually broke...well...
As he listened to the performers, however, he began to question his life choices. Maybe, just maybe, he should have tried to find out if there was any chance of him getting a slot to perform in one of these acts instead of actually competing. Well, it was too late for that now. For now he'd just enjoy the celebration, the drinks, and try to gauge the competition.
no subject
It doesn't take long before the decoration he's toying around with makes a sharp popping sound, which causes him to immediately snatch his hand back and whirl around to face Roddy. The nutcracker hasn't lost any pieces, but Ghoul still stands in front of it, blocking it from view and grinning widely. "Nice outfit, mighty mouse. Kinda looked like you wanted to barf earlier in the parade, though. You ready for all this shit?"
no subject
"Oh yeah, I'm great. And I'm going to be even better once we're done with the fighting portion of this. I figure I can make up for that by being awesome at the other parts of the tournament."
Of course, that did mean that during the first round of this tournament, his plan involved him getting beaten to a bloody pulp. It was a bad plan.
"But hey, maybe I'll do better than I think. I'm mostly planning on biting and scratching a lot."
no subject
But, he shrugs. "Sounds like you got a good plan, anyway. I mean, that's basically what I'm gonna do." That, and punching. And kicking. And tackling. And stomping.
Yeah, the fighting round is probably going to be the only thing Ghoul is any good at...
no subject
If nothing else, it would let him know how well he could do when he really put his mind to a fight instead of just running away at the first sign of trouble.
no subject
Except that doesn't stop them from hurting in the moment. But that's such a tiny, insignificant detail. "Anyway, we're gonna have to teach you how to fight. After all this, though. Can't make the competition harder on myself."
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He didn't want to risk everything if he was mistaken. As for teaching him how to fight...well, that was a really good idea, actually.
"Yeah, we definitely should. I mean, I went to a 'self defense against vampires' thing once, but I definitely should learn more than that."
Because not all fighting, or even most fighting, was going to be against a vampire. Thankfully.
no subject
It's not the greatest plan he's ever had, if only because Roddy is now Very Extreme Levels Of Tall when Ghoul turns to look at him again. Yikes. His face scrunches up and he waves for Roddy to come the fuck on. "You shoulda kept goin' to it. If you can fight vampires, you can wreck the shit out of anything."
no subject
Roddy followed Ghoul, climbing down from the float like a normal person when he did so.
no subject
"C'mon, fucker." And with that, Ghoul begins to lead the way through the minglers, plowing a path whenever necessary. Delicate Flower Roddy is lucky he knows a bulldozer.
no subject
Roddy followed Ghoul, glad he had Ghoul there to shove people out of the way so he didn't have to try and squeeze through the crowd.