King of the Hill Wargames fin

Interacting: -
Mentioning: @everyone

English | Mandarin | French | Quotes

And so it had begun.

Ming stood on the sides of the Dueling Room as Professor Orion gave the signal to start. The Chinese boy had struggled with choosing what to wear for the day – Dueling, as a sport, was an amalgam of refined etiquette and social expectation with the sheer brutality that was magical combat. His more ‘sporty’ clothes had felt disrespectful, but formal attire hardly seemed appropriate either. In the end, he had decided to stick to his school uniform. Or….well. Most of his school uniform. He had done away with the green-trimmed robe and the tie, in an attempt to distance himself from House loyalties and signal his neutrality in this event.

Ming would allow himself to bask in satisfaction for the fleeting moments before the chaos inevitably took hold. For all that he was determined to dislike the magical world and all its inherent oddities, it had surprised him how easy it had all been. His Defence Professor and the school nurse had both been reasonable, supportive even. Even Miss Decipio offered her help when she found out about this little project!

He had not lied when he had told Professor Orion that he wanted the first years prepared and able to defend themselves – Hogwarts was a deathtrap, rampaging geese and all, and no one would be able to convince him otherwise – and he thought it would be useful to assess and train his peers under the guise of ‘fun’ and ‘sport’.

That it would allow him to observe them in a stressful situation, and let him know which of his classmates he could rely upon when push invariable came to shove was only a fortunate by-product.

It had come as a general surprise to him that the sign-ups had been so limited, and mainly from familiar faces. He had expected more interest in the freedom to go crazy with spells. Gryffindors were supposed to be drawn to that sort of thing, but only two of them had signed up. And Donovan had not even turned up!

Still, he could not say that he was overly distressed with the lack of popularity of his event. This was a start. Not the best start perhaps, but a start nonetheless.


Now all he had to do was watch, and see.

@Liana Kerr | @Avery Chen | @Maggie Hawkins | @Hildegard Schneider | @Matthew Gray

Action: Dancing Feet Spell at Liana Kerr

Mentions: @Avery Chen | @Hildegard Schneider

Humming contentedly to himself as he made his way to his spot on the platform, Matt stopped at the appointed place, folded his hands behind his back, and tilted his head to listen as the professor spoke. He wasn't particularly excited about this whole thing, but he also wasn't overly horrified. Signing up had been an internal back-and-forth on whether or not to do it, but the more he became acquainted with this place the more he realized there was something nefarious going on. Just a couple days prior he could've sworn he'd overheard some older years whispering about a boy returned from the dead. In his own common room to top it off.

Though he'd narrowly missed the event, who knew when something equally insane would happen? Since he had a fondness for saving his own skin, he knew he had to fight like with like (loathe as he was to embrace a world of magic). It had been that that'd pushed his hand more than anything else - practicing with these spells they were being taught in class suddenly seemed much more prudent than it had when he'd first received the letter.

Considering himself the shining beacon of mediocrity, he didn't expect nor want to win. He definitely wasn't looking forward to being hit with a spell that could potentially be painful, but the nurse's presence was reassuring and every experience would provide a lesson in and of itself nonetheless. Spells that hit him would give him an idea of which to use later if he knew how they felt.

Other than that, this event didn't seem hard or complex. The innate politicking of who to attack next was fun, even, though currently he didn't even need to think about his target. A glance at his dormmate with a wry smile was all he needed to confirm that their plan was on, and as soon as word was given he dropped into a quick bow, flourished his hand to send wand from sleeve to palm, and straightened up already saying the spell as he pointed at one of his fellow theatre club members. "Flipendo."

ACTION: Cast Flipendo at Hildegard Schneider

The day of chaos had finally come. It would have been a lie to say that Liana wasn't feeling jittery with excitement, her eyes scanning the other participants carefully as she listened to Professor Rion's speech. Her gaze went to him as well, noting how tired he seemed, an observation that the young DADA prodigy had already made several times before; could it be just the pressure from educating hundreds of young witches and wizards? That was a difficult task, admittedly, but it didn't seem quite right - there had to be another reason for someone as tough as him to be suffering insomnia, if that's what this was. Could it be- No, not now. The first-year cut the speculation off before it could be fully formed - now was not the time to try and unravel the mystery that her favourite professor was. She forcefully shifted her focus back towards the other participants of the Wargames instead.

Everyone here had weaknesses that could be exploited, and strengths that should be taken into consideration. Some of them the redhead knew better than others, though. Maggie with her lithe agility was probably someone who would be hard to hit, even when standing on a platform that somewhat restricted her movements, but was she really good at casting spells herself? Hildegard probably knew more charms and jinxes than anyone else in the circle, perhaps even in the whole first-year, but her impaired leg made her an easy target. Matthew was... well, he was something. The girl still couldn't read him, which made her wary. What did she know of him? Intelligent yet distractible, and good at spellcasting from what she'd seen in their classes. That wasn't much. She wished she could have mapped out his personality and skills better but the boy was somehow difficult to locate after classes, even after having invited her to the Ball. Well, she supposed she will learn something of him today. Moving on; Avery seemed somewhat more durable than most of them, judging from his brave stance against the geese last month, but she hadn't seem him using that many spells with exceptional success. Della... was a Gryffindor. The extent of Liana's knowledge ended there, and only guesswork was left. Had the pale lioness performed well in classes, learned many spells? Probably... not? Otherwise a certain competitive snake would have taken note of her. Did she have a good aim, could she cast powerful spells? That was uncertain. A yet another person to figure out.

As everyone was taking their place, Liana gripped her wand tighter in her hand. Would they be required to bow to each other? That was the right etiquette in one-on-one duels, but here nobody seemed to be doing any bowing, and so neither did she. Instead, the ginger Slytherin raised her wand, not yet aiming at anyone in particular but ready to do so once they were given leave to attack. She glanced at Avery for a brief moment when he jokingly uttered his request, caught his grin, and answered it with a curt nod. An indication that she would do as they'd strategized. After all, it made all the sense in the world to first take out the one who could do the most damage yet would fall easily if focused by enough people.

When the six-way duel ensued, the redhead was startled to notice from the corner of her eye that the Gryffindor was aiming at her. The first impulse in response to that was to dodge, to cast her own spell, to do something in retaliation. Alas, her word was her bond, even if it meant getting hit with an offensive spell. All she could do was grit her teeth at the anticipated impact while leveling her wand at Hildegard and drawing a check-mark with a hook at the end with the tip of her wand.

''Flipendo!''

Action: Casting Flipendo at Hildegard.

─────When Maggie had been approached and asked about a cycle of games, a sort of battle, against other students, she had been initially skeptical about the very notion. She wasn't really that interested in battle scenarios when it truly came down to it. Sure, she enjoyed getting into spats, but those were mostly verbal spars, nothing physical. The exact reason she hadn't joined dueling; the idea of getting up close and personal and fighting when she wasn't even all that good at spells and all that. She did her best, honest.

Compared to the likes of Liana Kerr and Hildegard Schneider, already established and skilled spell casters, though, Maggie figured she didn't stand a chance.

Still, though, in the end, instinct won out. She'd do it for her friend, no other reason. Plus, an excuse to try and blast someone clear to the other side of the room was always welcome. Give her a little something to laugh about.

As she stepped up onto her platform, Maggie looked side to side, examining her surroundings and taking in who she was up against. Strategy, right. Yes. She had to consider who would be the best for her to target first. Liana, maybe, except what if she targeted Liana and then Liana got all frustrated and went after her next? No, Hildegard was much more likely to go down early.

Admittedly, Maggie felt a bit bad for Hildegard, who was being targeted right off the bat. Hildegard likely wouldn't hold a grudge, though, try and get back at her like that. So, with a little inhale, Maggie pointed her wand at Hildegard Schneider.

Swish and flick. "Wingardium Leviosa!" She called, wand pointed straight at Hildegard.

OPEN TO INTERACTION

───Interactions─── [font=century gothic]@Orion Lécuyer @Kelsey Brumby[/font]

OUTFIT Reducio Zimmerman Fall 2021 Collection

────Mentions──── [font=century gothic]@Hui Ming @everyone[/font]

When her underclassman, the young Mister Hui, had made mention of the wargames, Evelynn had been a touch surprised. Not because of the nature of the games themselves, however. That was fairly standard. As tended to be the case when magic and underage children with too much time and energy and not enough supervision co-existed, the risk of danger was nothing short of standard. Hardly any activity on Hogwarts' grounds was without that chance of injury. Quidditch, duelling, spell practice... everything had some level of innate risk to the participants. These games didn't sound so different from the dorm battles so popular among Slytherin House, nor the SWAG games initiated by Notresvace and carried on by Vanes. No, it wasn't the activity itself.

It was the fact that Hui had been the one to bring them up. She hardly knew much about him still, but from their brief interactions over the summer camp, the boy had seemed more than a little reticent about the entirety of the wizarding world. So much, that he almost seemed to regard magic with disdain. Evelynn had expected him to steer quite clear of anything more demanding of his time and attention than class would be already. And every time she had cautioned him about any of the darker aspects of the school, he seemed to withdraw into his thoughts. On some levels, that he would seek to expose himself and others to potential needless hurt and injury seemed contrary.

Then again... perhaps part of what she'd said had stuck. Perhaps this was his way of seeking additional training, so to speak. A manner in which to prepare himself, and others, for the lurking shadows in a safe environment. Either way, she approved. The notion of these games were very much akin to SWAG's, and they would accomplish the same results. Familiarity with spells, practice with incantation in a stressful environment, improvement of situational awareness, exposure to others' skills and knowledge, and experience with pain. Temporary discomfort would yield improved long-term survival rates.

Thus, little thought was given to her offer to assist. For a multitude of reasons, the foremost being that she could aid in her role as prefect to ensure rules were followed, and someone could intervene should the game get out of hand. Of course, she'd later learned that the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor would be in attendance for that as well. Regardless, it would also allow her a chance to interact with and get to know the incoming year of new students; as well as observe for her own studies strategies used in any given battle-like situation. A good review of spells.

On this occasion, given that she would once again be in the company of a larger number of individuals with whom first impressions were yet to be made, Evelynn had selected a tasteful blouse and skirt from the Fall 2021 Zimmerman Collection. Really, it was remarkable just how easy this fashion transformation had become. While she couldn't quite magic herself quality accessories and accoutrements--yet--her closet of outfits had seen a complete revival. A little flick of the wand and a specific vision, and she could--and did--wear the latest and greatest ready-to-wear trends right of the latest runways. And this one in particular left her with the impression of snitches flitting through the air against a canvas of fluffy clouds above a canopy of autumn hued leaves. The puff sleeves, reminiscent of the late Victorian era, were even practical, obscuring a wand sheath strapped to her forearm.

She had made her way to the duelling club at the appointed time on October first. Along with the rest, she listened to the brief introduction distributed by Professor Lécuyer, and at its conclusion, retreated to the perimeter of the ring at a short distance behind him. "Good afternoon, Professor," she intoned with a smile, and bowing her head politely. "And to you, Mister Brumby."

Settling into a position next to the professor, she turned to face the platform, back straight, hands lowered to rest one over the other to hang against her lap, eyes steady and observant. Wanting to miss nothing, gray eyes slipped from one student to the next as they climbed onto the platform and readied themselves. Style of dress, mannerism, accessorisation, form of carry--nothing was left unacknowledged, and it quickly became clear that this group of first years was unlike those that preceded them. With a few exceptions, nearly every one of them had spared the bother of any small talk. Silence had been held during the introduction, and silence carried forward before them like a somber promise of that which was to come as they made their brief preparations. It seemed they even knew how to listen, as well. In unison, they bowed, and immediately the game sprang to life as incantations flew from the lips of eager participants.

"Interesting..." A smirk played at the corner of Evelynn's lips as more than one of the spells were directed towards one individual in particular. And just like that, that one, the girl with the dark mousy hair and a notable limp, became the one to watch. Inclining her head towards the professor while keeping her attention on the game, she inquired to the other two, "Any notions of who might be the favoured to be crowned?"

━━━━ INFORMATION ━━━━

1. You have until Wednesday (13th Oct) 23.59 GMT to write your posts (200 words min).
2. In the same time period, send both moderators your actions per owl. If you hint at your actions in your post, other players may take that into consideration for their own actions and strategies.
3. If you fail to post in the allotted time, your action will be void.
4. Your Stats, Abilities, and Spells have been locked to what they are now for the duration of this contest.
5. If you have any questions or notice something odd about the mod post, don't hesitate to owl one of the moderators
6. Good luck, and have fun!

Interacting: @Evelynn Decipio
Mentioning: @Orion Lécuyer | @Kelsey Brumby | @everyone

The first round started with exactly the kind of explosive spell casting he had been expecting, though through some ill-luck or preplanning, almost the entirety of the Slytherin cadre let loose against Schneider, and the hobbled girl struggled to evade the volley.

Avery’s foresight and initiative here surprised him, as the subtle gestures before the start indicated that he was the mastermind behind this opening volley. His jovial best friend had been in a black mood with Schneider lately, and this appeared to be the result. Ming could honestly say that he was impressed.

Another standout was the white-haired Gryffindor girl he had shared a boat ride with. She had proven herself as selfless before, and her decision to attack the Defense prodigy marked her as gutsy. Another one to watch out for, even if she used normal spells, instead of the advanced ones favoured by the snakes.

Every member among the sign-ups had something making them interesting, and he should perhaps laud them for how far ahead they were in terms of spellcasting from the rest of the first years. Perhaps he was not the only one who had realized the inherent dangers of this school?

Ming turned his attention away from his peers and to the spectators, making his way over to them. A small nod to each of his seniors as he approached “Professor. Mister Brumby. Miss Decipio.” The Slytherin boy unknowing echoed the older girl.

The last name was said with a hint of suppressed amusement. The Gryffindor prefect had chosen attire that promoted her sport, even as she supported him in promoting the major competing sport.

“I want to thank all of you again, for all this.”

@Liana Kerr | @Avery Chen | @Hildegard Schneider | @Matthew Gray | @Maggie Hawkins