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

Desmond had caught sight of Cole during the parade earlier, and needless to say, he's completely baffled as to what a ghost is doing competing in something like this, of all things. He's also a little confused by cole's comment, and he glances down at himself before he realizes what he must be talking about.

"Wasn't my idea. Don't worry, though, I don't think any real leopards were harmed making this costume." Just a stuffed one, probably.

There's a long pause.

"Oh."

That makes a lot of sense, doesn't it. Of course it would be fake. There weren't any leopards in London, after all. He should have known that. Good job, Cole.

"Well, it still looks nice."

"Thanks." There's a bit of a pause on Desmond's end too. The sort that says 'if you were actually wearing anything different, I'd probably say the same thing to you, except you're wearing exactly the same thing you always are so that would obviously be a lie and that feels weird and dishonest even if you probably don't care.'

Instead, he says, "So ... why'd you sign up for this, anyway?"

"Because I wanted to." It's said as if it's the most obvious answer in the history of creation. Why else would he sign up for this? He's not like Desmond or Ghoul, there's nobody to make him do something like this. But it was interesting and there were people so Cole decided to sign up.

"Why'd you sign up for this?"

Because I'm a pushover, Desmond thinks.

"Because my coven asked me to," he says, out loud. "And because I didn't realize it was going to be like... this."

Desmond's feelings are...odd. Just being by him is enough for Cole to pick up on them, probably more than Desmond wants. He doesn't say anything, frowning slightly as he looks at the man as he tries to piece out just what exactly Desmond is feeling.

"There's nothing to be ashamed of." Because that's what he's feeling. Ashamed that he got dragged into this. Ashamed that everybody's seeing him in something slightly embarrassing. "You're going to be great."

"I'm not ashamed," Desmond answers automatically, straightening up as if that will prove his point (it really won't). He remembers that ghost empathy thing a little too late, realizes Cole must be picking off whatever he's throwing off, and tries to concentrate on pushing that feeling down, instead of rising to the surface.

"I'm just not used to being the center of attention." There's a tinge of fear there, something he can't pull back in time. Being hidden means being safe. Where Cole spends all his time trying to be seen, Desmond's spent too long trying to be invisible, forgettable as possible.

But he is ashamed. Ashamed and...scared? Scared of what? He mentioned he's not used to being the center of attention, maybe it's that?

"Why don't you want to be seen?" It's an honest question, one that makes Cole frown slightly as he asks it.

Being asked that makes Desmond frown too, something in his expression -- and in his emotions -- shuttering, put away farther at the back of his mind despite the way it keeps trying to push forward.

"It didn't work out well for me the last time," is all he'll say, shortly. That should be a good enough answer for anyone.

Cole wants to keep pushing, keep asking, find out why and what happened and how. But he can feel Desmond close his emotions and keep things quiet and shuttered. It's harder to see how he feels and Cole can't help but pout for a brief moment before he continues talking.

"Is this the same time as the last time?" It might not have worked out well for Desmond the last time, but this is now. This is different. Who knows, it might work out now.

"No," Desmond admits. "That doesn't make it any easier." In his head, he knows that. He knows none of this is the same. But paranoia is so rarely rational.

"I'll be fine. I just need to get over myself."

"You know I can help," Cole responds, a bit insistently. Desmond helps him, Desmond helps keep him whole and calm in a way that's almost like what Rhys did. Cole wants to help in return.

"I just need to know." He can only get fractions of things right now with hie empathy. Desmond's angry at himself, Desmond's scared someone will find him, there's probably other things as well but Cole just can't access them and it's far too annoying.

Night Tournament Opening Ceremony

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