THE TOURNAMENT OF THE GODS! (9/9) (CLOSED THOUGH SPECTATORS ARE WELCOME TO WATCH)

Avlynn, someone steps out of the lights and makes their way toward you. It's a short figure in a long, flowy dress who had a mess of light purple hair and milky eyes. "Hello Avlynn, would you mind talking to me for a moment?" They held out a hand, as if to shake hers. "I'm The Narrator, you can call me Penn if you'd like."

(Hnnng I'm doing my best to get this up but circumstance has not been friendly, thanks for not actually moving on without me. Avlynn has some questions lol)

Avlynn had gotten up, casting Charlie one last look before doing so, and shook Penn's hand. "Of course," she said. Of course, she had questions, but it seemed like they had something they wanted to say first, and Avlynn wasn't about to disrespect her patron by not letting them.

"But what does that have to do with us? If I didn't have any hand in this deal or whatever it is that you're referring too, why must I have to suffer the consequences along with these others? Shouldn't it be you and the other gods doing something like this?"

Finn folded their hands together, clearing their throat embarrassingly. "We can't. Once someone with that amount of power brings us into a deal, we can't get through it. Our exact words were 'Hey, wouldn't it be funny if we like… had a tournament like the old days… be we didn't participate?' and the Host just went 'Deal'."

"Well fuck." Sterling muttered under their breath, "This is great, just great, so now I get to die! Yayyyyy." They were furious, but well what could they do about it, "Well uhm is there a reason you came down here? I mean, it's nice to finally meet you and stuff, but it's not really making me feel any better about the fact that I'll be killed first since I'm a goddamn cripple. Not that there's a problem with being a cripple but fighting will be tough to do."

Finn smiled and nodded in understanding. "When I was a mortal, I fought through something like this right after my legs were paralyzed, it's hard, but not impossible." They measured for Sterling's crutch, and when it was given, they muttered a few words as the crutch turned a shade darker. "Protection and extra durability, also, knives." They tapped the crutch on the ground twice and a sharp end pushed out.

Marin opened her eyes and moved to Mag, clasping the cloak around her neck. "It'll give you warmth in cold weather and warm memories in cold times." Was all she said, a smile turning the corners of her lips up. "Oh, and it's also quite resistant to stabbing, just in case."

Magnolia exhaled, stiffening as the cloak came around her. It held the musty scent of chamomile and old books… like her grandmother (May she rest in peace).
She gave a little thumbs up, appreciative of stabbing resistance and warm fuzzies. She glanced down, moving her arms to get her voluminous hair outside of the cloak. Then her arms went to her sides. “Thank you again. Anything else, or may I ask other questions now?”

"Proceed with your questions and I'll try and answer them all before you have to start."
(not mcuh I can do in the ways of non diauloge without giving away too much)

Avlynn, someone steps out of the lights and makes their way toward you. It's a short figure in a long, flowy dress who had a mess of light purple hair and milky eyes. "Hello Avlynn, would you mind talking to me for a moment?" They held out a hand, as if to shake hers. "I'm The Narrator, you can call me Penn if you'd like."

(Hnnng I'm doing my best to get this up but circumstance has not been friendly, thanks for not actually moving on without me. Avlynn has some questions lol)

Avlynn had gotten up, casting Charlie one last look before doing so, and shook Penn's hand. "Of course," she said. Of course, she had questions, but it seemed like they had something they wanted to say first, and Avlynn wasn't about to disrespect her patron by not letting them.

"I firstly want to say that I am really, really, really sorry you got dragged into this. Your story was amazing and I'm so sorry this is fucking it up!" They blurted out, rubbing their arm like they were a student admitting that they cheated on a test and not an age old god.

"Proceed with your questions and I'll try and answer them all before you have to start."
(not mcuh I can do in the ways of non diauloge without giving away too much)

(Yeah yeah)

Magnolia took a shaky breath, taking out her pointer finger. “Did you… did you hear my prayer?”
It was probably a stupid question. But it was one of those that she couldn’t leave unanswered for some nebulous reason. She started tugging nervously at her sleeve again, pulling out a second finger.
“Can I trust anyone, even for a little bit?”
She wanted to at least trust Sterling, and maybe the older woman, but considering the way things had been laid out, her naïveté could be her greatest weakness. She wanted to know where to draw the line, at the very, very least. Her tugging turned into scratching as she revealed a third finger.
“And would you know if there are ghosts here?”
She’d been tempted to see for herself, but a lot had happened since it had first crossed her mind. On the one hand, the assumption could be made that many people have died here before, so at least some remnant of them would remain. On the other, she was literally pulled in here from thin air, so it could simply be a space created by the gods, or something of that sort, and only the living would reasonably be here. Of course, both could be true at the same time, however.
She finally noticed how much she was scratching, and quickly dropped her hands again.

The Exiled tapped a finger onto their chin, clicking their tongue. "Yeah, light a lot of shit on fire and never, and I repeat, never get left in the dark." They looked to the side. "They're going to use your weaknesses against you, so make sure they don't see enough to use against you."

Felix nodded in understanding, a smirk forming on his lips. The little flicker behind his eyes brightened a bit.
"They won't see a damn thing," he agreed, "Not if I have a say in it."
He laughed softly.
"And don't worry, I came well-equipped to set things on fire. I don't want to burn everything to the ground, but if that's what it takes-" Felix's voice broke a bit.
If that's what it took, would he? He feared death something terrible, but if it was his life versus the life of someone like Charlie or Avlynn- people who had others back home depending on them coming back- he didn't know if he would have the guts.
Felix covered his face with one hand.
"How do I find the motivation to forge ahead when things get tough?"
(Does The Exiled have another name too?)

(Yeah, but they won't tell you, force of habit)

"Listen, I might not be very good in the whole… emotions department, but I don't think you'll have to worry about harming those you like, just focus on the ones actively trying to kill you." They smiled. "When things get tough, remind yourself of all the things you haven't done, ones you want to do. Think about meals you haven't eaten or people you haven't met." They turned around before looking back at Felix. "Oh, and what weapon do you know how to use?"

"But what does that have to do with us? If I didn't have any hand in this deal or whatever it is that you're referring too, why must I have to suffer the consequences along with these others? Shouldn't it be you and the other gods doing something like this?"

Finn folded their hands together, clearing their throat embarrassingly. "We can't. Once someone with that amount of power brings us into a deal, we can't get through it. Our exact words were 'Hey, wouldn't it be funny if we like… had a tournament like the old days… be we didn't participate?' and the Host just went 'Deal'."

"Well fuck." Sterling muttered under their breath, "This is great, just great, so now I get to die! Yayyyyy." They were furious, but well what could they do about it, "Well uhm is there a reason you came down here? I mean, it's nice to finally meet you and stuff, but it's not really making me feel any better about the fact that I'll be killed first since I'm a goddamn cripple. Not that there's a problem with being a cripple but fighting will be tough to do."

Finn smiled and nodded in understanding. "When I was a mortal, I fought through something like this right after my legs were paralyzed, it's hard, but not impossible." They measured for Sterling's crutch, and when it was given, they muttered a few words as the crutch turned a shade darker. "Protection and extra durability, also, knives." They tapped the crutch on the ground twice and a sharp end pushed out.

Sterling looked down at it, a grin forming on his face, "Oh my gods, that's so cool!" They were excited now, even though they were going to have to fight at least they were going to be able to protect themself somehow. "Thank you, I really appreciate it."

"Proceed with your questions and I'll try and answer them all before you have to start."
(not mcuh I can do in the ways of non diauloge without giving away too much)

(Yeah yeah)

Magnolia took a shaky breath, taking out her pointer finger. “Did you… did you hear my prayer?”
It was probably a stupid question. But it was one of those that she couldn’t leave unanswered for some nebulous reason. She started tugging nervously at her sleeve again, pulling out a second finger.
“Can I trust anyone, even for a little bit?”
She wanted to at least trust Sterling, and maybe the older woman, but considering the way things had been laid out, her naïveté could be her greatest weakness. She wanted to know where to draw the line, at the very, very least. Her tugging turned into scratching as she revealed a third finger.
“And would you know if there are ghosts here?”
She’d been tempted to see for herself, but a lot had happened since it had first crossed her mind. One the one hand, the assumption could be made that many people have died here before, so at least some remnant of them would remain. On the other, she was literally pulled in here from thin air, so it could simply be a space created by the gods, or something of that sort, and only the living would reasonably be here. Of course, both could be true at the same time, however.
She finally noticed how much she was scratching, and quickly dropped her hands again.

Marin swallowed. "Your prayers…. I heard a few of them. I try and leave mortals to their lives, but that didn't really work." She frowned sadly and closed her eyes. "Ghosts? Yes, there are ghosts. I wouldn't recommend trying anything with them, they're angry. I most take my leave now. Oh, and I suggest at least being on good terms with my spouse's devotee. They'll get mad at me if you don't become friends."

You see a man with a very large, gravity defying scarf that held small screaming, yet silent, faces pressed through the fabric. "Yep, that would be us. All of the gods gathered here because one of them decided it would be a good idea to propose a game a hundred years ago to a bunch of drunk gods and then spring it on them years later." His voice was deadpan and slightly annoyed, though he did life a hand to ruffle your hair.

Juniper grinned as her hair was ruffled. "I like your scarf," she commented, her green eyes gazing at the thing. "It's cool!" The woman continued to draw in the sand, adding detail to the drawings. "I'm gonna win this thing, you know. Then, I can become a god, like you, Overseer! Is there… anything I can call you? Overseer seems somewhat… formal."

"I'm sure you will." The god stood up, smiling as he tossed something to Juniper. It was a knife covered in fabric. "Poison coated, don't eat anything stabbed by it." He turned away and right befor ehe vanished he said: "Call me Ayran."

"But what does that have to do with us? If I didn't have any hand in this deal or whatever it is that you're referring too, why must I have to suffer the consequences along with these others? Shouldn't it be you and the other gods doing something like this?"

Finn folded their hands together, clearing their throat embarrassingly. "We can't. Once someone with that amount of power brings us into a deal, we can't get through it. Our exact words were 'Hey, wouldn't it be funny if we like… had a tournament like the old days… be we didn't participate?' and the Host just went 'Deal'."

"Well fuck." Sterling muttered under their breath, "This is great, just great, so now I get to die! Yayyyyy." They were furious, but well what could they do about it, "Well uhm is there a reason you came down here? I mean, it's nice to finally meet you and stuff, but it's not really making me feel any better about the fact that I'll be killed first since I'm a goddamn cripple. Not that there's a problem with being a cripple but fighting will be tough to do."

Finn smiled and nodded in understanding. "When I was a mortal, I fought through something like this right after my legs were paralyzed, it's hard, but not impossible." They measured for Sterling's crutch, and when it was given, they muttered a few words as the crutch turned a shade darker. "Protection and extra durability, also, knives." They tapped the crutch on the ground twice and a sharp end pushed out.

Sterling looked down at it, a grin forming on his face, "Oh my gods, that's so cool!" They were excited now, even though they were going to have to fight at least they were going to be able to protect themself somehow. "Thank you, I really appreciate it."

"No problem, try and live, alright?" Finn smiled and waved, vanishing.

"I firstly want to say that I am really, really, really sorry you got dragged into this. Your story was amazing and I'm so sorry this is fucking it up!" They blurted out, rubbing their arm like they were a student admitting that they cheated on a test and not an age old god.

Avlynn's eyes widened. That was certainly not what she was expecting. "I…honestly, I'm not sure what to say to that," she admitted, then took a deep breath. "Is–well, this is probably a stupid question, but would it be at all possible that I could go back to my old life after this? Are my only options really win and become a goddess or die?"

Marin swallowed. "Your prayers…. I heard a few of them. I try and leave mortals to their lives, but that didn't really work." She frowned sadly and closed her eyes. "Ghosts? Yes, there are ghosts. I wouldn't recommend trying anything with them, they're angry. I most take my leave now. Oh, and I suggest at least being on good terms with my spouse's devotee. They'll get mad at me if you don't become friends."

Magnolia nodded solemnly. “I see. I tried asking a friendly one for help earlier…” but she was unsure if the ghost would be able to leave his usual haunts. She shook her head. “Never mind. I don’t want to keep you.”
She tried to give Marin a small, grateful smile.

(What the fuck? I leave for a few months and I come back to someone having stolen my god system?)

(I don't know what you're talking about.)

(You. Don't. Know. What. I'm. Talking. About? I'm pretty sure I can recognize my own god system that stemmed from a mixture of my first motw campaign that I played in and the first one I dmed.)

(…)

It's alright y'all.
None of you meant it and I'm flattered that you liked my gods, even if they were being written by someone who wasn't me.
If you'd like to be in an rp with the gods again, I'm in the process of making an rp to test out a story idea with them?

Tbh that sounds really fun, but I'm pretty busy… honestly, this closing came at a good time bc I really need to focus on my school work more, at least for the next couple of weeks

Yeah that sounds cool @Its-Free-Therapy