o14 ♔ video

[pratentious]

[ Today's video finds two faces (familiar to some) sat beside each other at the corner of the kitchen table in the New Camelot household, Arthur's hands folded comfortably across the wooden surface. He's done this a million times before, though it's been awhile since his last formal address. ]

Travellers to Asgard - friends, allies, and strangers alike - a good day to you all. It has been some time since we first stepped foot on Asgard's soil, and given the recent ... changes, in population, I feel an introduction may be in order. [ A smile, cordial. ] I am Arthur Pendragon, King of Camelot, and to my right is my idiot manservant -

[Merlin leans in toward the screen, temporarily blocking Arthur from sight.] Friend. He meant to say "friend."

[ And Arthur shoves him right back into place with a hand to his face, still smiling. ] - my completely imbecilic and utterly useless manservant, Merlin. Recent times have found us in a rare period of relative peace within the city walls, giving us time enough to find our bearings and breathe a moment's tranquility.

[Arthur gets a jab to his side for his troubles, Merlin smiling all the while.] That's why we thought this might be a good time for us to hold a tournament. Well, two, actually. One for magic and one for non-magical combat. According to Arthur, the knights back in Camelot would use the tournaments to hone their abilities and keep their senses sharp - I think it's all just an excuse to bash each other around - when they aren't waging war. And, well, since we'll be expected to fight when the Giants recover...we could probably use the practice.

[ Arthur inhales deeply through his nose, shaking his head just a little, smile gone tight. He mutters something about 'should've written a damn script' before knocking Merlin's knee with his own beneath the table and grinning charitably once more. ]

Which makes it my distinct pleasure to announce the Tournament of Worlds, your opportunity to stand amongst your peers and let your abilities shine to their fullest. The tourney will commence on Day Two-Hundred and Nineteen; you have until the day beforehand to register your name for combat. Further information can be found attached at the end of this message.

Oh! And-- [He'll just be nudging Arthur out of the way again, thank you very much.] There'll be a festival of sorts outside the Arena the day before the tournament starts. The Natives are going to be setting up some booths again, and you're all welcome to join in, too.

[ ffs this time, Arthur's just going to grab Merlin's head and shove it under his arm, driving his knuckle into his scalp while grinning at the feed. ] So! Give us your best, Asgard. We hope to see the whole lot of you there.

[ And somewhere amidst Merlin's flailing and Arthur's noogeying, the bracelet gets knocked off the table to show their feet kicking at each other until they both fall out of their seats, still wrestling with each other, and the feed ends. ]

attachments: tourney.doc; tourney2.doc

[ ooc; yay, tourney announcement! mod post is here, and sign-ups are at the linked posts. blue is Merlin, responses may come from either or both of us as we're available. cheers! ♥ ]

Comments

[video] 1/2

[ex_outofcontrol435]

[Das gay.]

[video] 2/2

[ex_outofcontrol435]

Okay - so -

- no, I can't. Oswin, are you watching this? This is exactly what me and Bobby aren't. Take notes.

Video

[tradingsecrets]

Well that looks fun, can I join in Arthur?

Video

[pratentious]

But of course. I expect you to be among the first on the field.

video;

[burping]

This is a brilliant idea.

video;

[pratentious]

My thoughts precisely. Though I should've known better than to involve Merlin in the proceedings.

[ s i g h ]

[video]

[asgardsstrength]

[ He's picking at his ear.... ]

I approve of this message.

[video]

[pratentious]

[ Smirking! He's excited. ]

Thought you might. It's been a long time coming.

audio;

[occulthymns]

Tournaments...? They sound interesting!

[Video]

[dragonspeak]

You like it, Euri? Were you thinking about participating?

video

[magnifique]

You two are just like Angleterre and I...

[ just this face at first, until he perks up a bit -- ]

But a tournament, you say? Oui, that sounds fabulous! I'll be sure to participate!

video

[pratentious]

I'm not sure if that's meant to be a good thing.

[ Any comparison to England is both a compliment and extremely rude. ]

Excellent. I think I should very much like to see your skills in action.

[video]

[whatagoodgirl]

You two!

[She's trying so hard to sound firm, but there's laughter edging her voice.]

Stop that!

[video]

[pratentious]

He started it.

[ King of Camelot, gais. ]

[burningcreator]

[He knew both those faces, although one more recently the other. He'd been neglecting his swordsmanship training as of late, so he wasn't even going to reply at all, lest he get scolded.]

[He watched the exchange, took in the information and just... couldn't quite tell what to make of it.]

Er... [He wanted to ask, but didn't know if Arthur was the jealous type, so he'd leave it for now.] ...so 's there gonna be... prizes? [He'll ask Karu to read him the attached posts later.]

[pratentious]

[ the ... jealous ... type omgladlabkad sob. As it is, Arthur's just glad to see Shou's okay. ]

There will, indeed, though precisely what they are will be announced at the victors' celebrations.

[Filtered Text > For the Tracker array]

[key_illusion]

[???'s interested, although not enough that he'd be willing to sign up (he wouldn't be able to fill in a name or anything, really) and expose himself to the public that much. Especially for the magic tournament. Outing himself as a high level Telepath would not be fun.]

For the magic tournament, how are you going to monitor the opponents with such a big area?

[Filtered Video]

[pratentious]

[ Curious - but Arthur will keep the filter up. There's clearly a reason for it. ]

We'd entertained the idea of employing a few trustworthy friends to stand and monitor the field at various positions.

[ But he scrunches his nose, even at their own suggestion. There's a lot that could go wronwitted this set-up. ]

video;

[verybigpheasants]

[ It's a dignified King that Gwaine serves, truly. So regal. So professional.

Never change, you crazy kids. ]

May your tournaments be less eventful and more pleasantly surprising than the ones in Camelot. [ Really, the fewer disguised murderers and impossible guests, the better. If perhaps not quite so interesting. ]

[Video]

[dragonspeak]

[They are the most dignified people, what are you talking about.]

Well, now you've gone and jinxed it. And not all the matches in Camelot had bad surprises.

[Yeah, there was the time with Valiant. And that thing with the wraith. Then that one with the assassin. Oh and those two thugs from the bar with the crystals. And also Gilli...okay, so Gwaine might have a point.

Merlin bites his lip, suddenly looking unsure.]

We'll just have to keep an eye out.

[video]

[hollowchild]

[yep, she sure did turn on her video just to laugh at you two]

[Video]

[dragonspeak]

[Merlin makes a waving gesture with a hand that basically translates to "go on and laugh".]

I'm almost afraid to ask what you're laughing at.

( not here )

[veneficus]

[ She takes the whole thing in, Arthur and Merlin being...well, themselves, the talk of a tourney of magic and it's so much like home and at the same time so unlike it that it suffocates her.

There is a distant pull of something - sadness, envy, longing, loneliness but no. No. She brushes it aside, the usual comment she'd make, light and witty, something about Arthur and Merlin and the way they act, something about how she could beat Arthur if he'd let her compete, the pull of her lips into a smile and the ribbon she'd give to Arthur (to Merlin?) as a lady's favor, all of them belong to some other time and some other place and to another girl who looked like Morgana.

But not to her.

She doesn't comment, throws the bracelet across the room. A moment later she flings a glass at the wall too and wishes she could cast away her heart in the same way. ]

video;

[duckduckswan]

[Someone's calmed down a bit. This is a feat! And she's really not one for festivals or anything (maybe, maybe on occasion) and she certainly isn't a fighter, but there is something here that's perking her interest.]

King.. Arthur. Of Camelot. [w o w] Really?

[Video]

[dragonspeak]

[uh oh, legend knowledge alert.]

Yeah...that's right. King Arthur of Camelot.

video;

[badwolf]

[Here's a bit of a laugh. Because w o w you two are children. It's like watching Jack and Mickey go at it not that way.]

Quite the pair, you two seem t'be. Alright, I can get around a tournament. Sounds like fun.

[Video]

[dragonspeak]

Fun? I guess it depends on which one you're entering.

[Punishment by noogie? Not very effective, it seems.]

Text

[alternia_strength]

D --> This will be a tournament to determine the STRONGEST amongst us
D --> A wonderful idea
D --> I will be in attendance
D --> I must demonstrate for all the grandiose POWER of my rippling musculature

[Sorry, Arthur... he was bound to show.]

Text

[pratentious]

[ ffffff and ofc, as far as Arthur's aware, there's one person in the universe who types like that. Arthur doesn't typically respond in text but he might just do in all of his interactions with Equius if only to hide his bewilderment. I mean - seriously? Rippling musculature?

He's not entirely convinced someone isn't playing an elaborate prank on him. ]

The perfect display of individual prowess, yes. I look forward to your performance, Equius.

Audio w/ Private

[samantha_grey]

You two are a pair, you know that? Not that I've got much room to comment.

...

I'm in. I'll consent to using my powers openly. My misgivings are fading slowly, and since we're all agreeing to this thing, then it isn't as much an issue for me.

Private to Merlin

To keep this fair, though, I'm going to be giving you something during the fights, Merlin. I trust you to take care of it.

[ video ]

[pratentious]

What does that mean, "a pair?" You're about the third to say as much.

[ He's not sure he likes it. Clearly this is Merlin's fault. GDI, Merlin. ]

I'm glad to hear that, at any rate. This is entirely meant to be an exercise in free combat, a bit of sport and nothing more.

video;

[extraordinarymuse]

[Kate's trying really hard not to laugh at you two right now, but it's not really working.]

This wouldn't be one of those 'battles to the death' kind of tournaments, would it?

video;

[pratentious]

Not in this instance, no. Though those are arguably more exciting, that's not the sort of entertainment I want held in this city.

[ Emphasis on 'entertainment' for sardonic jest. Battles to the death are not exactly fun, you see. ]

[ video ]

[clearwater]

...Uh, if you need any healers, just let me know.

[seth isn't a fighter in his human form, but he sure can patch up a wound!]

[Video]

[dragonspeak]

We could always use more. I'm the only one really assigned to help now, since I'm not participating.

Seth, right?

[video]

[superissues]

Yeah, the word you wanted was totally friend.

[Video]

[dragonspeak]

[Kon, you've just gained a friend.]

At least someone agrees with me.

video;

[gymnast]

You guys act more like brothers than king and manservant. [ She looks amused by it, too. ] Has anyone ever told you that?

video;

[pratentious]

We've been called a pair.

[ So exasperated ! ]

video; nope not late to this c:

[starktomboy]

A tournament to test our skills? You mean like jousting and sword fighting and things?

[You know Robb and Jon will have a cow if she does this :D]

video; no such thing <33

[pratentious]

The very same, though I can't say we've any jousting this time about.

[ They can have their cow and eat it too!!! ]

[Video]

[comeonthensexy]

[ Aww, this is kind of sweet. ]

You two okay there?

[Video]

[pratentious]

Perfectly all right, Doctor.

[ If not a bit flustered and ruffled up a bit from their wrestling and the ensuing embarrassment. ]

[Video]

[foodshortage]

[ W...hat... ]

Arthur, what is this?

[ Why are you wrestling with your manservant in public. ]

[Video]

[pratentious]

[ Oh, bugger. ]

It's - [ a cough, and he lifts his head a bit. ] - a tournament, Father. We - I've had the idea floating about for some time now, and we reckoned now is the most appropriate moment for such a thing, and -

[ That is most definitely not what he's asking about, so Arthur's just going to kind of ... trail ... off at the end there. ]