Event Log: Party Royale

[hadrielmods]

Who: All characters participating in the event
What: The event log for the Party Royale event
Where: All over the city!
When: September 22nd-29th
Warnings: Paintball, loss of consciousness, and partying!

As is par for the course in Hadriel, at some point throughout the day- waking up, making breakfast, doing laundry- you find an item. This isn't just any item though, it's a tried and true paintball gun, shining and just waiting to be picked up. This gun never runs out of ammunition, never malfunctions, and almost always hits the target that you're aiming at, so say hello to your new best friend for the next week.

Touching or picking up the gun will fill you with a competitive surge, which will likely increase when you find the note that's left with it, saying nothing more than be the last one standing. With instructions like that, how could you lose?

Well, you could lose if someone else shoots you. But never fear, there's a plan for that too! Even if you embrace the throes of unconsciousness, the gods have got your back and will eventually teleport you into a grand party where prizes will be handed out based on how long you survived. Awesome! At this party is also the traditional copious amounts of food and drink, as well as everyone's favorite goddess Delight and everyone's slightly-less-favorite goddess Rage!

Happy paintballing, and may the odds be ever in your favor!

► This log covers September 22nd-29th.
► Feel free to make your own logs as well
► Please tag headers of threads with content warnings where they apply
► Please put your character's name and open/closed in the subject line of your starters!
► If you fall and break your neck or something because you can't die in paintball, please let us know here.

Comments

[puzzlingly]

With magic.

「 Damn Lup... 」

Hmm, definitely, the one I arrived with got a little... messy.

「 Laundry, what's that? As if he were to do that... He might! Just... ughh...

But now that the ice seems to be broken somehow, Atem takes a seat next to the other. 」

Does this happen often? These games?

「 He read the whole thing about the events and the gods and whatnot, but he could hope. 」

[lifetothefullest]

[Ah. That explains it, yeah, the magic issue is fortunately not something he ended up running into. As for Atem's previous jacket, Lance just assumes by that comment that it's irreparable; the clothes he'd been in when he arrived definitely were and had to just be thrown out.

He shakes his head a little at the question.]

This is the first one I've been involved in that was a competition and ultimately harmless, although I've heard that there were some in the past that might've been kind of similar.

[He's thinking of the event that had apparently involved different teams trying to inspire the emotions of the god whose team they were on, but he hadn't been here for that.]

Most of the time they're less fun, though. Did you arrive recently?

[puzzlingly]

「 Atem cannot help but to compare these events to a Shadow Game, a very unfair one, at that (because Shadow Games are not unfair at all, what are you talking about?!). He muses about it for a brief moment before he's asked the question.

He gives a little nod. 」

Yeah, with the last batch. What about you?

[lifetothefullest]

[That makes sense and explains why Atem is unfamiliar; Lance hadn't gone into the arena this month, due to being low on bullets and having been injured the month before. At least winning this event had eliminated the bullet problem, though, and he'll probably go into the arena this month.

He has to think for a moment about the answer to the question, though.]

Five or six months?

[He must be nearing his birthday, he realizes, at least in terms of time experienced. How weird.]

What's your name?

[puzzlingly]

「 Atem hums at the answer, it does seem like a lot of time, and yet, not really.

When he's asked his name, Atem's face brightens a little and yet there is something of a bittersweet nature shadowing his features. To say his name, it still fills him with joy and pride and it will probably never get old, but it is also a reminder, that he is just by himself and himself only. 」

Atem. My name is Atem... Yours?

[lifetothefullest]

[Lance can see the shift in expression, but it's a complicated one and he's not entirely sure how it relates to the topic at hand; still, he makes mental note of both that and the name itself, smiling a little in return.]

It's nice to meet you, Atem. My name is Lance.

[puzzlingly]

「 Atem gives him a amiable nod. Funny enough, taking a little mental note as well, Lance, paintball champion. It should come in handy someday. Who knows? 」

Where are you from, Lance?

[lifetothefullest]

Washington, D.C., although I'm not sure if that will mean anything to you. Some people here don't come from Earth, or are from such drastically different times that nothing is recognizable.

[But if Atem does recognize it, then Lance is curious about his own answer to the same question.]

[puzzlingly]

It actually does. Though it might not even be the same Earth at all. But that's exactly why I asked.

「 Just a bit of... "normality" makes him feel a tad better about the whole not being where he should be thing. He's not exactly alone. Right? There is people that he can relate to, even if a little. 」

Tell me, Lance... 「 He grows serious. 」 Have you ever heard of Duel Monsters?

「 Please say yes, please say yes, please say yes. 」

[lifetothefullest]

[Oh yeah, the 'same Earth' problem is definitely another thing to consider; he's run into a few people who do recognize locations only to have something majorly different in their world, like dragons. Weird.

Also sorry, Atem, but he's about to disappoint you.]

I don't think so, although that doesn't necessarily mean it doesn't exist; what is it?

[puzzlingly]

「 ... Well, thank you for the heartbreak!

At least he's getting used to that answer, and he might not look too disappointed but he just keeps the serious face. 」

Believe me, if it existed in your dimension, you would know it.

「 Kaiba would have made sure of it anyway. Which means Lance is not form where he is from, Earth or not Earth.

He fishes his deck of cards from the case in his belt and offers them to Lance. 」

[lifetothefullest]

[He takes the cards carefully as they're offered, sensing how important they are to Atem and so handling them gently, although he's not sure what he's expecting as he turns the deck to look at the cards.]

Is it a game?

[He's glancing over each card curiously, reading over descriptions and monster types and their attack and defense points; he doesn't know what any of it means, but the cards are definitely pretty neat.]

[puzzlingly]

「 Atem takes his time to notice how Lance treats his cards. It is not like he doesn't usually handles them to other people to at least cut them, but the reaction is by far very different form Trafalgar's, who he tried to impress and failed terribly at. While the pirate simply skimmed through them quickly, Lance is much more careful and thorough with them.

He likes that.

He also congratulates himself for believing in his gut. It was clear that if Lance had won at this game, he'd be one dedicated individual — even if he mistreated his ridiculous trophy. And he was not wrong.

Chill out, Pharaoh, jfc. 」

It is.

「 And as much as he wishes to tell him that such apparently simple game could be much more, he knows it means absolutely nothing in here. He's got no ways to show it. 」

It's quite popular where I come from.

「 From any of them, funny... He leans over a little bit. 」

These are monster cards, trap cards and these are magic cards. 「 He points at each of them as Lance glances over them. 」The objective is simple, if you defeat your opponent, you win the game.

[lifetothefullest]

[It's okay Atem you're in good company in Hadriel, where very few people have any chill at all.

And although a good portion of Lance's care with the cards is due to a combination of his nature and his sensitivity for others, he's also looking for things that might tell him anything useful. Whether some cards are more worn than others, if corners are faded, anything that might give him insight about Atem through the cards themselves.

But he also listens carefully to Atem's explanation of the card types, nodding in genuine interest; just from what he's seen of the different card effects it looks like it'd probably be a really fun game. He'd never gotten into Magic, but he'd always thought it looked interesting and Duel Monsters seem in a similar vein.

He glances sideways at Atem, offering a small smile.]

Somehow I imagine it's a lot more complicated than you're making it sound.

[puzzlingly]

「 What is Magic...? Don't answer that.

Atem gives him a rather aloof and very open to interpretation shrug that goes together with a little smirk. 」

All you have to do is trust your deck. The rest comes naturally.

「 To... him... 」

[lifetothefullest]

[He raises his eyebrows slightly at that, good-naturedly incredulous.]

No need to know the rules or anything?

[puzzlingly]

「 You non believer, he'll change your ways! 」

Well, duh. But they rather easy. Would you want me to explain?

[lifetothefullest]

Sure, if you'd like to.

[He's curious, and more than that it's clear this game is important to Atem and he's happy to give him an excuse to talk about it.]

[puzzlingly]

「Atem is not quite sure if Lance is just humoring him or if he actually wants to know, but you know what? He ain't gonna stop to ask! So he begins this excited explanation about what the cards in his deck can do and how they can be used to surprise their opponent, how they can positioned and how to use that to one's advantage and also how his deck is built in a special way and that others go obviously for other kind of strategy... 」

So if you use Dark Magic Curtain, you can special summon this guy-- but you must be careful with your life points...

「 He gives Lance some examples, temporarily taking the deck form his hand only to shuffle through it and find certain cards, then he gives it back and shows them to him. He just knows an awful amount of the game and it shows, he doesn't miss the opportunity to show it off either, he is the King of Games, why wouldn't he? But he always keeps that affable exterior on him.

And after all that... he finally stops, and smiles.」

Questions?

[lifetothefullest]

[Mission accomplished; he is genuinely interested, although he's more just pleased by how enthusiastic Atem is about his explanations. Lance follows along as much as possible, reading each card that Atem shows him, and considers the question for a moment.]

There are a lot of different cards in total? So people can make completely different types of decks depending on their particular favorite strategies?

[puzzlingly]

Yep, there are many different ways to build a deck. I particularly trust these ones, but there are far too many, I don't even think I know them all.

「Even if he wanted to.」