camp '22 Summer Duelling Extravaganza, Match: 3

@Elsa Veronica Bennett

Summer duelling, it felt like all the work he had put in during the last school year was finally leading to something, to this. All of those non-stop practice sessions with Rose during the school year. Strategies discussed ahead of time, and learning how to get into sync, Alec had never done better. Which was the surprising thing, considering his rather dishonerable sportsmanship at play in quite a few. Moments and memories came in flashes, his little mid-duel disagreement with Henry Knight. Alec internally cringed. It was a bad look, for both of them. Alec still couldn't believe the other had felt he had some sort of say on morality and sportsmanship. Not when he was the one who used physical violence, not when he was the one who had used a spell outside of duelling with an intent to cause harm. Talk about morality, none of this sat right with Alec. It was also distracting him, and not an important focus.

He was duelling today. Now if ever was a time to be in the moment and focus. Alec glanced towards his duelling partner. “How are feeling? No before duel nervous jitters?” Alec asked. His teammate was Elsa... not Rose. Was it bad to admit he'd become slightly attached to Rose over the last school year? He knew him and Elsa would do great. She was amazing to work with. Adorable. She caught his eye after the whole birthday party incident, taking a piggy-back ride to her next class. It was so insane it was funny. Having something like that to look back on made things easier. The two could do this, they would be just as in sync.

As they got into position he nodded towards his teammate, gripping his wand he exuded a sort of confidence that was new to the Gryffindor. He'd always been trying to the fake it till you made it thing, while he'd made it. Confidence made a person and this go around it would be genuine. “You ready? Let's win,” he'd settle for second but he knew they were great enough to make it to first place. It was time to show what they were made of. Alec hollered a “good luck!” both of the other teams were going to need it.

Reducio

When Santario called, Dealla hopped onto the field with all of her usual confidence and none of the trepidation one might expect considering she was facing someone who had already beaten her in duels twice before. It didn't mean anything, after all. Today was a new day, and oh, the things she'd learned in the past year!

She was partnered with Robert today, who had been on her duelling team since the very start, but the two had never been partnered for a duel before. She liked the kid, though. He was kind of awkward, but they had trained together often enough that she knew and respected his skill.

It was her first time facing students from another school, though, since last year Slytherin had snatched the opportunity from right out under their noses, and Dee was honestly curious about their skill. Would they have learned different things from what Hogwarts taught in their schools? She doubted there was some internationally standardised magic school curriculum, but then, there was usually a reason to which spells they learned and when. Perhaps the other schools would be similar.

She would give a friendly wave when the two international students approached, scanning them for estimated threat level. Both of them looked young, short and slender, although Dee wasn't going to dismiss anyone for their age. "Welcome to London!" she called over to them, grinning. "Looking forward to hexing you!"

Now in position, Dee turned to Alec, a Gryffindor she had loved to hate after their last duelling encounter, and cocked an eyebrow at him. "So, Alec, have you learned any more spells by now or can we expect only blindfolds and knockback jinxes again?"

@Alec Mason | @Robert Toukmond | Manu Macedo (@Aly Salinger) | Elliot Bexley (@Leonard Oaksworth)

Manuela Macedo / @Aly Salinger | @Dealla Prince

THE Bex was here and there was everything to fear. Of course, the Bex in question never quite looked like a force of terror, instead having been cursed by an off-brand Baba Yaga to perpetually present himself as a stereotypical dweeb that had the worst of both worlds when it came to muggle fashion and magical musclebuilding that couldn’t come with the mere wave of a wand. Still, to fake it until one made it was a personal philosophy filled with the indisputable wisdom of an American teenager and his personal collection of slightly problematic romantic comedies, and during the probably-fateful summer of 2022, Elliot Arthur Bexley was doing a pretty good job of reassuring himself that his upcoming duel would be a source of humiliation for Hogwarts for centuries to come. It wasn’t just his duel, obviously, and the lions and ravens (because if was named after a raven and looked like a raven, how in the world was it an eagle?) couldn't be underestimated in their potential to take first and second places over to a certain warty hog. Which, by the way, totally had to be unfair in some way that he’d argue about with the managers if he was literate and nice enough to articulate his concerns in a manner that wouldn’t ban him from all activities other than peeling potatoes in the school-castle’s weird medieval dungeon.

Whatever, he was way too cool to peel potatoes. He’d fake it until he made it, and until he got any better at faking it, he’d have a whole lot of fun with his new opponents and the fantasy of enjoying mystical french fries after a spectacular victory. Whether or not the Castelobruxo girl would call him an opponent of her own by day’s end depended on how they performed, and unless she was massively charmed by his obnoxious flavour of charisma, he was resigned to the simple fact that some people were unable to like him. He liked himself, though, and he made that just as known as the confidence he had in their pair’s future triumph.

“Yo, look at the crowd I’ve got!” Elliot made a wild swing with his unwanded arm, attempting to elbow his fellow international student with playful grace. It wasn’t exactly the best show of coordination, but he disregarded for the simple fact that his subconscious had thought, yep, she’s totally kicking my ass if the game’s rigged against us and we somehow don’t get to blast We Are the Champions at the end of this. “I’m sure that, like, at least three of them are here for you, though.”

Considering that he was an avid user of the internet and bore witness to many a Brazilian comment section, the boy probably should’ve figured to use a number way bigger than three for his estimate of Manuela Macedo’s fanbase. He also still counted using his fingers and toes when any calculation required the use of digits until twenty, so that wasn’t the worst he could do. No, the worst would be saved for British people. Duh.

“Get ready to have your Downton Abbey rocked, Prince!” He very visibly expected a high five for the comeback, though from whom was a mystery even to him. He should’ve been thankful that he’d visited the school enough to, really, and he was pretty sure that the rolling, rioting sounds of any Scottish brogue would psychically damage him enough to knock him straight out of the match. In any case, it was time to make his academy of the arcane arts begrudgingly cheer him on and prove his abilities to a bunch of strangers who would hereafter hail him as the pioneer of comedic relief and calling upon the all-powerful forces of weird words and a stick.

Reducio

Notes:
I'm so sorry for Elliot's dialogue colour I promise it'll get better eventually

Robert was especially excited for this duel, for a multitude of reasons. Firstly, a three way duel was sure to throw a wrench in traditional strategy, and he was interested to see how it would play out. Secondly, he’d been eagerly anticipating this specific duel ever since he learned about the different individuals which would be involved. He was happy to see San again as his moderator, and he gave her a friendly wave as he walked into the piste. He was also excited for a rematch with Nicky, who he also greeted with an enthusiastic smile. Even if he’d lost their previous duel, he still remembered it as quite the fun experience. “Good luck guys!” he said to the Gryffindors.

He’d also been eagerly anticipating his first international duel since he realized the implications of Ravenclaw’s success this past year. In preparation for summer camp, he’d spent his time after exams learning a few words in each language, specifically “yes”, “no”, “thank you”, and “sorry, I don’t actually speak this language”. In other words, the most important phrases outside of “where’s the bathroom”. In honor of the duel, he also made sure to learn one final phrase. “Good luck to you as well, e boa sorte!” he called over to the third team with a happy grin.

With these formalities out of the way, Robert looked over to his new dueling partner, a person he’d looked up to from afar for the past two years. From her self-confidence and wit to her obvious skill and leadership, Dee embodied many of the traits he found important. Ironically, lack of self-confidence was a major reason for why he’d never really interacted with her yet outside of practice. However, he had high hopes that the bonding experience of a partner duel would change this for him. With a smile, he settled into his dueling stance, glancing over at Dee one more time. “Let’s do this.”

“What is mine is not to be divided, what is mine I will not share.”
—Madalena, by Elis Regina

Manu Macedo was a kind person. She stood up for what was right, fought for her beliefs, and refused to let anyone (cough cough - a certain pair of brothers) tell her, or anyone, what to do or believe. She was independent, tough, but most of all, sweet to those who deserved it.

Except on the duelling ground. Then all bets were off.

The lone female duellist from Castelobruxo strode purposefully onto the field just before the event, twirling her cypress wand over her slender fingers with a practiced hand. This wand had stuck by her for three years of spats and duels and classes at her beloved school in Brazil, and before that, it had stuck by her mother for twenty-five years, and before that, eight other women in her maternal family line, dating all the way back to Argentine independence heroine María Morales. The polished cypress wood and temperamental thunderbird tail-feather core had always made for a strong match, just like Manu Macedo made for a strong opponent. And she was about to show these Brits just how strong she was today.

Well, the Brits... and one American, apparently. She'd been paired with someone named Elliot Bexley for all this, which was ridiculous, because she would've loved to have someone from Castelobruxo by her side - someone who knew her tricks and strategies, who could read her face and cast a jointly and doubly powerful spell by it moments later. And there was another Brazilian duellist here! But no, here she was, with the American.

It will be fine, she reassured herself. He can't be that bad.

The American proved her wrong no less than two seconds later as he swung out his arm, elbowing her in the side in a less-than-graceful manner as he joked about everyone in the crowd being there for him. Manu made a sound that was halfway between a snarl and a yelp, moving away from him as her side began to lightly smart. "Merda!" "Shit!" she cursed, rubbing her side. "Are you-" Having forgotten that the American likely couldn't speak Portuguese, she remembered quickly to switch to tired, accented English. "Are you trying to kill me before we even begin to duel?"

He is right, though, a little voice in her head whispered softly, angrily. Look around. How many of the audience is here for you? One person? Two? Mãe mother said you'd have the time of your life here, and here you are, friendless, facing off against Brits with an American of all people by your side-

"Cala a boca," "Shut up," Manu muttered under her breath to herself. Glancing into the stands, it was true for a moment she couldn't find anyone, but then she spotted her own name painted in half-neat, half-sloppy green letters on what appeared to be a bedsheet of some kind, decorated with what had to be an entire leprechaun's worth of glitter, and some tell-tale flowers. There was another name on there, too, in blue - Dee - likely one of her opponents. Manu's eyes dropped to the person holding the banner, though with the flowers, she needn't have even looked. It was her bunkmate, Aly - another Brit, though one of the kinder ones Manu had met here in London - who was wearing a usual crown of flowers and a large grin. Manu waved, feeling brightened slightly by the fact that at least one person in the crowd was cheering for her, and took her place next to Bex as she prepared to duel.

Before the duel was to start, one of the Brits in blue shouted out "good luck" to Manu in Portuguese. Minorly taken aback, Manu allowed him a brief - if more focused than sincere - smile. "Boa sorte good luck to you as well," she shouted back, to both of the blue ones, seeing as how the girl - probably the Dee from Aly's sign - had also yelled something to them in English, though Manu hadn't heard exactly what. Then she gave Bex a sideways look, trying to communicate with him with no words.

They may not have been from around here, but Manu would be damned if she was about to let herself lose.

Action: as strategised

	@Robert Toukmond
|| Interacting with: ||	@Leonard Oaksworth (as Elliot Bexley)
	@Dealla Prince
	@Aly Salinger (...me) (I'm going to post in the spectator thread as well)

Thank you for the courtesy notice, Santario! Much appreciated!

ROUND 1

Two versus two was interesting enough to watch, but three versus three brought many more strategic possibilities, and Santario was thrilled to witness this duel. She was jealous that she wasn’t in their place, but she supposed other people deserved to win every now and again. Her eyes scanned over the duellists as they took their positions and wished one another luck with the minor verbal jab thrown across the space. She took a deep breath reveling in the electric charge that always filled the air before a duel started. It felt like electricity danced over her skin; she lived for it.

Then, without hesitation, the air exploded with the release of energy. Manuela and Elliot may have been from different schools, but they seemed to be on the same page. Roaring flames blasted in both directions across the battlefield. Manuella engulfed Alec in an impressive show of flames that bit at his skin and started to burn through his clothes. When the initial blast was through, he would find that his clothes were still burning. Elliot went after Dealla, one of the captains of the Ravenclaw team, and she was for a good reason. Elliot would not be as lucky as she managed to evade his spell easily.

Alec and Elsa had a similar mindset as the guests, both calling for the same spell. However, only one gust of wind would billow across the field. Alec could have sworn he said the incantation correctly and had been precise in his wand movement. White energy built at the tip of his wand before flickering out into nothing. It would seem his wand was not willing to cooperate this time. Elsa’s cast was phenomenal as her Windstream almost immediately split one, going for Elliot and the other finding a target in Robert. Elliot had no intentions of being caught up in her windstorm and sidestepped the gusts. Unfortunately, Robert would not be as lucky, and the winds would thrash around him.

Dealla had done something most impressive, and something Santario had not known she could do. She split her spell purposefully, sending raging winds at Manuela and Elsa. Manuela had absolutely zero intention of being a target evading the gale effortlessly. Elsa, however, would not be as lucky, getting impacted by the whole force. Robert took aim at Alec, adding insult to injury as a black cloth shot from his wand. Just as Alec would realize his peril from the flames, his world would go dark.

OOC Info

1| You have 96 hours (4 days) from my timestamp to post a minimum of 50 words and owl me, Santario Martin, your actions. It is inadvisable to describe your actions until after the mod post.
2| Deadline Date: Tuesday, August 02nd, 2022 EST. If you do not post or owl actions in the allotted time frame, your action is void.
3| Good luck, everyone and have fun! If you have any questions or see any mistakes, please do not hesitate to reach out via owl or discord: Santario#3981.

Duelling Spells

Duelling System

Newest Patch

Spectator Thread

@Elsa Veronica Bennett@Dealla Prince@Robert Toukmond@Aly Salinger

Flames, fire the nasty little bugger, Alec scowled hissing out in pain as the spell-casting had begun and he was immediately engulfed in the flames. He had critique for the caster feeling incendio wasn't really the spell you use to start a duel, incendio served no tactical purpose other than damaging, nothing else to make the game a little easier for you? Whatever, it wasn't Alec's problem, he certainly wasn't going to be offering his opponents duelling advice. Taking his own shot at a spell, spell-casting wasn't going as great as he had planned. Ventus would have done phenomenally for their first round, that was, if Alec had be able to cast the spell to begin with. His wand didn't seem to want to cooperate and he was going to find his was being much more finicky than he had intended to work with today. It was a shame magic gave everything it's own mind in a way, making it somewhat sentient strangely enough.

The disappointment tugged at him, he blamed that for what had him off, unable to dodge the oncoming obscuro coming his way from the Ravenclaw team. “Wow what a change in strategy from the one the was literally just criticized by-” Alec cut himself off, rolling his eyes under his blindfold. Folding his arms across his chest while once again gripping his wand as tight as he could. “The hypocrisy!” Alec muttered under his breath.

Even with his minor bit of outrage he was playing up for the sake of receiving spectator glances, Alec had the time to check up on his teammate. He couldn't do much to check up on her with his blindfold on. Bad start to the duel, bad start to duel. “How are you doing Elsa?” Alec whispered, unsure if a spell had hit her. He grimaced as the flames would try to bite at his skin. “Damn it,” he muttered under his breath, he knew they could do this, he needed to focus, get his head in the game. Come on, he needed to win this, he hadn't worked hard all year for nothing.

Reducio

Ignore me, I had such fun with a gif for the first duel post I decided I may as well continue it.