Ametkhan was surprised that she had actually beat that kid. That kid was surprisingly talented. She actually for the first time in forever felt intimidated by someone. How could someone that little do that? She just shook the thought off and said, "great job! Thanks for being a worthy opponent."
With that she moved to the next stage. Unsure of who she might meet next. That was when she noticed what looked like a page seated at her next match.
She smiled and was ready to get down to it! "Good luck!" She extended a hand for shaking. She knew these were the rounds to the finals. So who knew if they'd shake back, but either way she was okay with it. After all she just wanted the match to start too.
Fight or flight, Ymir kept telling himself. That was the only explanation.
The Squire known as Connie was bubbly and talkative. She looked kind, sounded kind, but Ymir had met too many of the same who turned out to be anything but behind closed doors. She might be putting on an act, playing it up around other people. Ymir kept his eyes averted from her, too, barely even nodded to the things she said, and offered no answers to her questions.
Her arm went down. Ymir had won again.
He slipped away before she could ramble more, neglecting to murmur his own thanks. He went back to Surtur and frowned over Surtur’s praise. Ymir refused to answer him, too riddled with anxiety even to toss him another glare. He picked at his nails while he waited for the next round, standing close enough to Surtur that they were almost touching but hardly interacting with him beyond that.
Ymir took a deep breath when the next round came along. He had to fight his instincts. He had to calm down and let himself lose. That was what he wanted. It was what he’d wanted since the first round.
Ymir swallowed and held up his arm for a senshi in a flame colored outfit. Perhaps there was something to be said about a match between fire and ice. In his anxiety, it was lost on Ymir.
"Wet kitten? I een't no wet kitten, luv!" Puck was building up quite the head of steam, completely misunderstanding that it was Farbauti being referred to as a wet kitten, until the tiny little voice of reason that he usually ignored in lieu of having a good time piped up and demanded he pay attention to what Grieve was saying. Grieve of Grieve… That struck a note of remembrance with the irate Eternal, and he stopped mid-rant and gave the tall yellow alien a good once-over. Not likely to forget someone who looked like Marge Simpson as a cast member of Hazbin Hotel… This must be one of those wossname, past life thingummies, yeah! He must have known her (and apparently Farbauti as well) in the Silver Millennium!
Well then, that was very different!
He started laughing. "Why ******** about with perfection? Even the Cauldron knows better than to do that, Grieve!" The more he laughed, the more familiar Grieve seemed. "Farbauti of Rage, is it?" he said, looking at the apparently once-epic Senshi. "Yeah, prolly a good idea to not use your magic on this one, mate, not if you want to keep your ears attached– hang on a mo."
Turning to watch the arm wrestling, Puck let out a loud whoop. "GO TJILAKI, YOU GOT THIS! OLE OLEOLE– AWWW," he shouted, then wilted. "OH WELL, AT LEAST YOU LOST TO A PRINCESS no disrespect meant, Ganymede!"
He grinned and waved at the competitors, then went back to Grieve and Farbauti. "Well, that was a bit of a letdown. ANYWAY. I'm still sorting all this rememberin' crap out, but I reckon we must have had a grand ol' time back in the day, yeah? Either that or we hated each other's dirt-eating guts, but I kind of doubt that. Heh. We'll have to go out for a pint or three once we're done here, to catch up like. I'll treat even!"
xdeathxbyxlovex
for Tjilaki!
lizbot
for Grieve!
amorremanet
for Farbauti!
Sunshine Alouette
mention of Ganymede!
Posted: Thu Feb 22, 2024 7:01 pm
The tournament had started with 50 people coming together to match strength against each other. Now, it was down to only six. Cybele smiled at each competitor as she read off the final list.
"Ganymede vs Erytheia"
As the facilitator of these games, Cybele shouldn't show favoritism, but of course internally she was proud of her sister for making it this far. Of course, she wasn't surprised. Ganymede was the strongest person she knew, and only a bit of that had to do with the Princess magic. She was faced off against a Transcended Cosmos Knight, Erytheia. Cybele had seen him around, and heard of his endeavors on his wonder. He would be a worthy opponent.
"Kaifeng vs Ymir"
Cybele didn't know either of these men personally, but she still found their dynamic fascinating. Kaifeng, in the dark, somewhat gloomy colors of Saturn wore a smile. Ymir, in his shimmering snowy whits, looked like he'd rather be anywhere else in the world. Cybele was curious to see who would come out on top.
"Reims vs Eupheme"
The most interesting competitor was the young girl, Eupheme, who had somehow crushed every opponent in her path to this point. She was matched up against a Ganymede Page, Reims, which caught Cybele's interest. The moon Ganymede was truly representing itself in this match.
Quote:
We've made it to the final round! This will last until February 24 at 10PM at which point I will post a soft close!
………That sentence was kinda weird, even just thinking about it. A good weird, but weird nevertheless. Yes, Hayden had been dutifully nagging Liánlí about strength training and eating properly and overall taking better care of himself ever since that whole “getting stabbed by a Negaverse General, whoops” thing? But all the same, Kaifeng didn’t normally think of himself as someone who was good at this sort of activity?
All the same, he’d made it. Before heading over to meet his final opponent, he threw another smile and blew another kiss in Helene’s direction. (Maybe that blush-worthy hand-kiss that Helene had given him had been a good luck charm. Maybe it was the power of love. Realistically, that idea probably didn’t have any basis in reality, but Kaifeng was okay with ignoring that.)
Meeting his opponent at the stone table, Kaifeng greeted the very sparkly senshi with a warm smile. Being decent toward an opponent felt even more necessary than usual, given how ill-at-ease Super Ymir had seemed. If he was a dark horse competitor too—a possibility that seemed worth considering, since he looked rather thin—then maybe Super Ymir also hadn’t expected to make it this far and didn’t know how to feel about it? Or maybe something else was going on for him entirely. Either way, it didn’t hurt to just……be nice.
“Pleasure to meet you,” Kaifeng said warmly, but trying not to come on too strong about it. Still smiling, he readied his arm for his opponent. “Here’s to a good match.”
Ganymede greeted her last opponent with a warm, friendly smile.
“I’m Ganymede,” she returned his greeting. “It’s nice to meet you.”
A part of her was surprised to have gotten to the final round. Magic certainly offered a boost in strength, but she was only at Eternal for the tournament, which limited her true potential. Maybe it didn’t matter. She tried not to be too humble about her victories regardless, lest it come across as false modesty. She tried not to be too confident or arrogant about it either. Maybe it was luck. Maybe it was strength. Maybe it was skill. Maybe it was none of that or all of it. Whatever the case, she was here now.
Ganymede set down her elbow and gripped Erytheia’s hand.
“Ready when you are,” she said.
The match ended with her victory. Though she couldn’t help but be pleased to have won, she made sure not to appear too happy about it. Her smile was kind. Her gaze was supportive. She held out her hand again for a friendly shake. Quiet laughter tumbled from her lips due to the heckling crowd. It was nice, for once, to get away from the troubles of Earth for a while simply to have fun.
The final match certainly wasn’t where Ymir wanted to find himself, but at least it would be final. If he lost, this whole ordeal would finally be over. If by some fluke he won, it would still be over. There would be no more opponents to face. He would not have to interact with anyone. He could go find some shadowy patch of forest to hide in and curse Surtur for coaxing him here in the first place.
Like Ymir’s previous opponents, Kaifeng seemed kind and welcoming enough. Also like his previous opponents, this did nothing to settle Ymir. He avoided eye contact. He offered no response but a curt nod. He readied his arm and gripped Kaifeng’s hand loosely.
When he finally lost, Ymir breathed a sigh of relief.
He mumbled something that might have been a “thank you” before darting away.
"GO...FRIEND OF THE UNICORN!" Immediately mortified, he turned to Mechelen and Almere and hissed in explanation. "I don't know his name ok?" How did he always manage to look like an idiot in front of Mechelen every time they were together?
Although he didn’t have much time to talk to her. Or at all. Reims appreciated Ametkhan’s friendly smile. He was already frazzled over everything, and kind of wished he could just go home and hide for a while. Well, he supposed if Dering wanted to talk after, that was fine. He’d actually like that a lot. But Dering had already been singled out as someone others were apparently very interested in.
His next opponent was--
Oh great… another child. Not just any child, but the one who’d knocked him into the water during the obstacle course. The one who was hanging out with Ganymede. He seemed to recall her name being Eupheme.
The hair on the back of his neck bristled, but only for a moment. Then his shoulders slumped a bit as he took his place for the final match. Him, a teenager and athlete, against a little girl who couldn’t even touch the ground with her feet when she sat in the chair.
He could already hear it now. Sure, he could probably beat this kid in an arm wrestling match, but then what? There was no prestige in winning something like this. If anything, he was happier to keep his head down and out of trouble. He liked not having to get into trouble.
If it meant being someone who blended into the crowd or shadows, he would take that over being known as the guy who wasn’t even a little lenient with small children.
Eupheme waved goodbye to the last competitor she’d faced and skipped over to the next table.
Oh. Oh!
“Sorry about earlier!” she winced as she sat across from the page. “I’m still getting used to my magic, you know?”
Probably not, since knights didn’t have magic like Senshi did.
But she was excited anyway! She was pretty sure more of her competition was being easy on her, but she hoped they were still having fun! And she was trying her best! She would have to rest her arm after all of this.
She could hear people cheering for her and she grinned and waved. Her mom-- er… who she wasn’t supposed to be telling anyone was her mom-- was doing good as well! It even looks like she won her match!
“Okay, ready when you are!” she grinned at the teenager across from her, gripping onto his hand as she kicked her feet under the table in excitement. Oh oops, she might have kicked him a little, but that was okay. She wasn’t trying to distract him!
But whatever she did must have worked, because after a bit of a fight, she managed to get his hand down on the table.
“I did it!” she gasped with joy and jumped up from her chair to run over to Ganymede. “I won, I won! You won!” She couldn’t wait to tell her twin!
Emain Ablach didn't say anything to him or even wave back, but Promethei didn't miss the way that Emain Ablach got up and moved a bit closer. The briefest of a softer smile crossed his face, but that expression quickly morphed as he tried to locate where Imhotep went. For one, to figure out if he had just completely removed himself from the area. For another, to make sure that if he was nearby, he wasn't missing being given a look or anything like that...
No sign of him. Hm.
He'd ask Emain Ablach, but he was fairly sure the man closer to him didn't know where Imhotep had gone. He just lost, perhaps intentionally with how he had looked over in their direction of the stands, and walked away.
Promethei felt a strange mix of guilt in his gut for something he wondered if he should have been more conscious of, and excitement at watching the arm wrestling competitions in front of him. Perhaps he wasn't looking as excited as he should have with the way he kept glancing around, but it came in waves because the nearby heckling was enough to bring him out of looking around for Imhotep.
Imhotep would be fine. He probably went to go get food or something, right? That was what he wanted to tell himself.
There were even a few moments that brought some laughter from him, and he kept glancing over at Emain Ablach if knight of the randy table earned similar laughter from him. If his mood hadn't been so mixed, he might've joined in the jeering, but he was glad someone was doing it.
There was a part of himself that wanted to say this distance was ridiculous and just get up and move the rest of the way to Emain Ablach. He also heard Tobias in his mind telling him it was time to get over it. The other part of him knew that if Imhotep came back and spotted them closer, he'd probably be exhausted. To that end, Promethei stayed where he was, but he did keep glancing at Emain Ablach's reactions.
When they met eyes, he coughed and looked back at the wrestling.
Amasis
Posted: Sat Feb 24, 2024 7:30 pm
Within less than a minute, the three final victors had emerged.
As Cybele walked away from the boards, her smile was wider than it had been all day as she looked over at Eupheme, Kaifeng, and Ganymede. She was proud of her sister, but she was also proud of all of them. She was proud of the ones who had come out on top, and the ones who hadn't made it past the first round.
It was hard work, keeping the forces of darkness at bay. All of this was only a little about proving strength. What she really hoped was that everyone had gotten a moment to laugh, and to cheer, and to take their minds off of things.
The winners would walk away with bragging rights, though, and she reached out a hand to each of them for a congratulatory shake.
"Congratulations," she said, sincerely, too all of them. "You've shown great strength."
In Eupheme's case, it might have had more to do with her charming demeanor and cherub cheeks, but Cybele didn't take back her statement. That was its own sort of advantage.
She then turned to the crowd. "And thank you all for coming out. I hope that you had as much fun as I did. We have a jackalope hunt coming up next if you're interested, and I hope to see you all at the closing ceremonies."
Quote:
This serves as a soft close for the arm wrestling event! However, you can keep posting in this thread if you would like to make wordcount or simply interact.
I would also OOCly like to thank everyone for playing!
Then, with the announcements done, Cybele stretched out her arms behind her back. She let out a sigh, deeper than any breaths that she'd taken over the last half hour or so, and when she straightened, she held herself a bit easier, a bit more like herself.
"Well, that happened," she said to Ganymede in a softer voice. "I was going to ask, before you went and won, if you wanted to finish up with a final match, full strength."
Princess to Princess, the way that all the other ranks had been matched up against each other.
"It wouldn't count for anything, of course. You'd still get the crown. Although I understand if you don't want to risk your perfect record, all the same."
A moment passed, and she decided to be honest, saying, "Watching everyone has made me want to try, though."
In victory, Kaifeng did his best to be gracious about it rather than arrogant and insufferable. Part of him wanted to ask if Ymir was alright before Ymir scampered off, but……if he wanted to not be around people so much, then it seemed only right to respect that. Cybele seemed like an incredibly safe place, overall, so hopefully, Ymir wouldn’t get hurt or anything. Idly, Kaifeng also hoped that Ymir had come with a friend or two, someone who could check up on him without upsetting him further.
Behaving himself for Princess Cybele’s closing announcement took considerably more effort. Likewise, Kaifeng gave his earnest, eager congratulations to the other victors, Eternal Ganymede looking radiant in a very fancy fuku and Chibi Eupheme looking both adorable and fierce. He didn’t hang around very long, though. Both of them seemed like wonderful ladies, as did their host, but Kaifeng had somebody waiting for him: over by the sidelines, in his braids, and his sunset-colored fuku, and his full, un-glamoured beauty.
(Someone else was also on the sidelines—Grieve! Kaifeng recognized her—hard not to, really; she had a very distinctive look—and she’d called out to cheer for him. He’d need to thank her, he thought. Maybe offer to treat her to a home-cooked dinner instead of buying it for her? But he had something else to handle, first.)
“Helene!” Kaifeng called out to his man, beaming with delight and waving.
Although he didn’t quite have the same hang of heels and skirts as Muri did, Kaifeng had been learning how to navigate his own outfit. So, the only lack of grace going on as he ran over to Helene only came from Kaifeng being too eager to restrain himself. When he got close enough to Helene, letting impulse drive him to it, Kaifeng leapt up into Helene’s arms and threw his own arms around Helene’s shoulders. Maybe making out with Helene right here wouldn’t have been the best idea—there were, after all, quite a few chibi senshi around, and Kaifeng knew that he and Helene might get too risqué without thinking—so Kaifeng channeled that energy into a fierce hug and delighted laughter instead.
Noir Songbird
emotion_bigheart
Sunshine Alouette
Gany and Ymir mentions!
Guine
Eupheme mention!
stari_maga
Cybele mention! Maybe Kaifeng will come see her later, after he's had his moment with Helene!
Although Helene had been knocked out quite quickly--such was simply the way of things--his Kaifeng had, it seemed, done quite well for himself. Helene had quietly observed his matches--not cheering enthusiastically, but present and always catching Kaifeng's eyes to give him a smile and a nod. It was with a certain pride for his partner that he watched Kaifeng make his way through the bracket, defeating every opponent placed before him.
Kaifeng's accomplishments were not his, certainly; it would be silly to suggest such. But there was something lovely in sharing in them; in getting to watch Kaifeng show off, even in this silly little friendly competition. Yes, his Squire was handsome and talented and clever; Helene was practically glowing with pride by the time winners were announced.
So, when Kaifeng came flying to him, he was ready; arms extended to scoop him up and into a tight embrace, and a brief spin, and then nuzzled their noses together, shifting to hold Lianli in a princess carry. Let everyone see them celebrate; let everyone know that he was the proud partner of a victor in Cybele's tournament.
"Well done, zhiyin," he said, all warmth and fondness. "You were amazing. Demonstrated excellent skill and sportsmanship." And Helene was lucky enough to get to be with him, to take pride in him, and to hold him like this.
He wasn't sure if he would have been able to do that, when he had first arrived on Earth. That he could now was a point of pride for himself.
