[OP-F24] Valentines Tournament Arc Round 1 - Opening Ceremonies and Observer Thread

[Freyd 0]

"Of course, of course," Freyd said, offering @Morningstar a short bow.

"If you'll excuse me, @Jomei, I was looking for someone specific whom I'd heard was here tonight: a fragile soul with a big heart who puts it on the line far too often for his own good.  He needs people, though he's very unlikely to know it.  Us loners are stupid like that."  Offering quick thanks for the conversation, he made his way through the crowd in search of his original quarry.  

A bit of short snark beneath black hair and slung into a monochromatic track suit caught his ear and his eye as she headed towards the dojo in search of her match.  Orbits met at their corners, briefly, just as other party patrons passed between them and Freyd couldn't help himself.  When next their gazes met his image had shifted to a feminine beauty in white, her hood and outfit like the one from the figure he'd glimpsed at Ariel's place while everyone gathered for the raid.  His curiosity remained unanswered, so he chose to tease and see what it provoked.  Another flash of traffic and Freyd was himself again, turning down a corner and stairs, following sight unseen towards his true goal.  @NIGHThad been baited, but he knew not to what effect.  Time would have to tell.

***

@Hirru's solitude was broken by the subtle splash and rippling waters caused by another bobber besides his own, a second fisherman revealed in the shadows at his side.

"Not where I expected to find you, on two counts."  Voice revealed identity.  They had met before and share marshmallows not long ago.  Much had happened since then.  "You never quite struck me as the party type, or maybe its the other way around," Freyd said, his voice low to accentuate yet keep private the double meaning.  "Yet here you are, at the tourney but also not."  Something pulled at his line, but wasn't quite ready to be hooked.  

"What you did in the raid," he began, sounding like a scolding being cocked and ready to fire, "took a lot of courage."

That was it.  Turning his head, Freyd resumed focus on their common task and waited for fate to toss him something against which to pit his paltry skills.  The rod was an imitation of his grandfather's, and close to him in ways he had never appreciated, until recently.  His mannerisms probably came from the same place, now that he stopped to think about it.

[Astralin 0]

Nari seemed to be a bit on the shy side after all. Astralin simply smiled back at her, before speaking softly as to not seem too intrusive. "I heard from Astreya here that your name is Nari. Mine's Astralin, it's nice to meet you."

@Nari-Lanreth

 

Before Astralin could say anything else, Yona marched right up and...challenged Calrex? Astralin was confused, why was she challenging him? "Yona, what's gotten into you? ...And why are you wording the match as if it were some kind of insult??" Astralin called out. Yona seemed to leave, but her challenge remained in the air...and it was full of taunting and presentation, it even had a finisher. "Oh, gosh...." Astralin sighed. "I just won't be able to fully understand that woman, will I?" She wondered. Astreya, however, seemed excited for the potential fight. "Well, more power to them, I suppose, but I do wonder how she's going to go about this..." Astralin added, in response to the girl's spoken thoughts.

@Yona @Astreya

 

A familiar face then came into view. "Freeeeeeeyd! Heeeeey!" She called out as she waved to him. He would first mix Astralin up for Krysta(Yeah, Astralin had no clue why), then ask how Astralin was doing and if she was able to put the Essence of Steel to good use. "Oh, yeah, Krysta's still keeping her eye out for Dazia. Oddly enough, she helped out when she, Vigilon and I were getting swarmed by Moss covered Wolves over in a strange garden, it was kept and guarded by a dragon named Nemo, I think. I was able to keep the peace between the two girls, and they both ended up discussing the past....and it was all getting into edgy rogue territory..." She explained, sighing at the end, as if things didn't always have to be in such ways, and yet they were. "As for the Essence, I think I've made use for it. Oh, before I forget, can you let me know if you find any handwraps coated in elemental energies? I'll be at the fourth tier soon, so I'll need some fresh equipment to deal with the stronger monsters!" She added as the topic shifted from Player drama to the Essence of Steel.

@Freyd

[Nari-Lanreth 0]

Nari nodded towards Astrelin as the girl greeted her. She felt herself slink slightly out from behind Astreya, her voice soft as she replied to the girl’s greeting. “It’s nice to meet you too, Astralin. I…wish I could say that Astreya has mentioned you…but…well…she hasn’t. Yet. I’m sure you’re awesome though!”

Nari smiled shyly as she finished the words. It had been a brilliant introduction – one of her best, completely. Sighing mentally, she waited for the others to finish talking before slinking away towards a spot a little ways off – just enough that she wasn’t directly in the circle of gathering individuals, but close enough she could still keep an eye out for anyone whom she still wanted to greet. Though, that was a short list.

Staring out over the water, Nari decided that all she could do was wait for the next match – and hope that it went nearly as well as her first. Everyone had seemed so…sure, that this Alkor individual would be difficult. ‘A good fight, then.’

@Astralin

Spoiler

Word Count: 170

 

[Yona 0]

With her challenge issued, Yona had gone off in case the challenged victim Player needed time to think and consider. For the time being, Yona needed to find a spot that wasn't reserved for tournament matches...but still within sight of the viewing area, she wanted to be seen as someone capable of winning, not a common run of the mill loser who couldn't do anything right.

If she was seen as weak, she'd have to fight her way out of a predicament...and that would not end well at all. She needed to prove herself, as well as put the others in their place. Astralin seemed confused, but she would see...they would all see!

All she needed was a place, a place to fight where her duel could be seen whilst not disturbing the actual tournament. Once she had that, she could start asserting dominance towards her "fellow losers", starting with the blue haired player.

[Astreya 0]

As the blue-haired man responded, Calrex, the woman beamed a wide grin at him, excited to see and meet someone else new entirely.  It wasn't often that she got to meet more people like this- but Yona seemed to take his attention almost immediately, seeking out a new foe to battle with.  The young woman's smile turned onto Yona, waving her hand at the young woman as she turned to head back toward the arena.  "Good luck!" she cheered after the brunette, before she turned her gaze to Calrex, who excused himself under the excitement of another battle.  "And good luck to you too!" she called, giving him a smile.

She had just started to lower her arm when Koga's words reached her and she smiled slightly, about to ask just who the heck Bacon was, but the dark look on his features indicated that maybe this wasn't something that she should pop into.  Tha maybe this was actually something serious... even though it was hard to tell with Koga sometimes.  He had a similarity with Freyd where it was a little difficult to tell when he was serious and when he was just teasing, which she intended to learn... she just didn't have that time now.

"No way!  That green dude from like, the glow stick movie," she spoke, tilting her head to the side before lifting one hand.  "Do or do not, there's like, no try," she continued, adding her own twist into the iconic quote.  "So if I win, I'm gonna do it.  Like, look out Alkor!  Oh wait you think if, like, Alkor wins he'd ask me?  Probably not, right?" she continued, looking toward Koga.

That was the barest second before none other than Freyd himself addressed Koga, and the way he spoke, she could tell that what he had told her during their little spar was true- that they had actually reached a point where there had been actual drama between the various members of the raid.  That was odd- she wondered what that might've been.  Maybe she'd know next time if she was able to get in on it, before the man addressed her as well.

"I still owe you for that ass smack, Freyd," the girl spoke, despite the beaming smile on her face.  "But you were a fun opponent!  I'm glad I got to fight with you!" she spoke, and as he bowed, she moved her hands to her leggings, doing an awkward curtsy in response, waving after him as he left, heading to check out some other people.  She arched a brow- she'd want to talk with them later too...

Her thoughts were taken away then as Astralin and Nari began to speak, before Nari mentioned that Astreya hadn't yet made mention of Astralin.  "What??  We played cards together!" the girl exclaimed, gesturing toward them.  "Well wait.  Nari I guess you didn't actually play, like, but we were all still there!" the girl spoke.  "It was like, two months ago!" she called.

Wait, had it really been that long already?  She hated how fast time moved here...

[Freyd 0]

[wibbly-wobbly liquid time applied]

"I still owe you for that ass smack, Freyd!" 

"Promises, promises," he taunted back, blue eyes twinkling with a hefty mien of mischief.  "Pretty sure I was the one who took the whoopin' - and thanks for that, by the way.  Everyone should be so fortunate.  Maybe you should take it out on your next opponent?"  A tilt and wink, combined with a wicked smile, then he was back in motion. 

Even defeat had its privileges, if spun correctly.  Truth was that he was glad to have been beaten, especially after discovering the final prize of the tournament.  Him?  Out on a date?  What sick and sinister mind dreamed that one up?  Stars might tumble out of their orbits from pure shock and horror.  Some things were simply too abhorrent to consider.  It only figured that Persi would stumble him headlong into such a mess.

Blinking the troubling thought away to dismiss it from any realm of potential possibility, Freyd shuddered and headed back to his original path.

A date?  Pfft.  That's just crazy-talk.

@Astreya

[Bismuth 0]

Bismuth stepped out of the arena on less shaky legs, his confidence being boosted by his victory, though he chalked it up almost completely to luck more than to anything else. He wasn't a practiced combatant, even more than that he could barely hold his weapon when it came down to combat. Either way, a win under his belt really meant something for his confidence, and with it he was able to stand a lot taller when he put his slightly curved wooden dagger back on the weapons rack, as he looked through the sea of people.

Bismuth didn't have to wonder for very long about who he would go start up a conversation with when his opponent from the previous battle came up to congratulate him. "Oh, no, that was entirely luck, which I seem to have a lot of." Bismuth smiled back at the shorter woman, it was nice to see that there was no animosity there for his victory. "Now you though, those moves were incredible, I can tell you have immense training and skill, you were truly beautiful on the field out there." Bismuth wanted to praise the frontliner for her skill, because if he hadn't have gotten lucky as much as he did, surely she would have handily beaten him, as he could tell by the bruise forming on his side. "My name is Bismuth, it is a pleasure to meet you." Bismuth extended a hand to the woman before him offering for a shake, smiling warmly.

@Zandra

[Baldur 0]

Thread Complete

Please continue your shenanigans here:

 

[Oji 0]

As Oji had completed his drink, he watched the fighting feverishly. He had enjoyed watching these players fight in a very simple variation of the combat system, and he was truly entertained. He had wished there was some sort of "Betting" System set up, it would have made it interesting and he could have won a bit of col. But, he knew betting wasn't every player's idea of fun, and he wouldn't complain about it, because this entire tournament was in a beautiful location with a lovely host, and he got to enjoy all of this for free.

What more could he want?

After a few moments he realized that the first rounds of combat had finally concluded, and he decided to run to the bathroom quickly while he had a chance. Sake in this game tended to go right through him. It tasted great, but worked like water. He quickly asked one of the people around for the directions, then made his way, the clicking of his geta against the ground was the only thing that could be heard as he walked down the hallways.

[Freyd 0]

Thread Summary:

33319 words / 30 = 1111 x 5 = 5555 per tier.

EXP rewards adjusted to reflect the 3 posts per page requirement.

@Baldur | 29997 EXP | 4500 col | granted with staff gratitude for putting this event together
@Astreya | 9999 EXP
@Jomei | 39996 EXP | 6000 col | additional page credit granted with gratitude for helping run the event
@Koga | 7777 EXP | 1167 col
@NIGHT | 12221 EXP | 1834 col
@Nari-Lanreth | 3333 EXP
@Alkor | 6666 EXP | 1000 col
@Calrex | 22220 EXP | 3333 col
@Oji | 1111 EXP
@Griswold | 7777 EXP | 1167 col
@Yona | 1111 EXP 
@Nisahime | 4444 EXP | 667 col
@Astralin | 6666 EXP | 1000 col
@Hirru | 9999 EXP | 1500 col
@Snow | 3333 EXP | 500 col
@Freyd | 31108 EXP | 4667 col
@Morningstar| 3333 EXP
@Blueberry | 4444 EXP

Regrettably, the following players did not meet the post count minimum required to receive rewards:
@tricolor_mina @Cordelia @Bismuth@Morgenstern @Arabelle @Lessa @Zandra

Notes: 
- Page count col rewards were so small, divided over so many players that they were given to Takumi as tips for his ferry services instead.  He can now buy bread.  Col rewards noted above are based solely on Paragon 5 reward (Laurel Wreath).
- There were a small number of posts that did not meet the 150 word minimum.  Fortunately, they did not impact the EXP award results.  Please ensure that you check your post word counts using wordcounter.net.
- No one appears to have used a slime farm in this thread.  Please enjoy a gentle, consequence-free reminder to clearly state when you do so.  It’s often impossible to tell from template stat blocks.