winter games, y11

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beatnik competition
Rumors had begun to circulate throughout Amaryllis, whispering promises of a grand competition that would soon be gracing the lands. It was a break from their often calamity and chaos – and though it would still spark the competitive nature that many of the peninsula’s inhabitants already possessed, this would be more-so the healthy kind. At least they hoped.

A trio had found their way here, unannounced and slipping, at first, within the comfort of the shadows. They were cross-country scouts, some would say, with a pulse for adrenaline and a wanton desire to find the most skilled and formidable trade masters among them. They had traversed many territories, seen many lands – and now, their next stop had brought them to Amaryllis, curious to see who would rise to the top. Not to mention that the winning team - the one who would prove themselves to have a strong and diverse arsenal of members to partake in these competitions - would get some of the best bragging rights of all time.

Let the games begin.

If nothing else, the lion figured that the thrashing of the ocean would serve as a good backdrop for the rest of the afternoon and the competition that would be starting shortly. Much to his relief, the snow here was a little more melted than the rest of the lands, likely thanks to the rise and fall of the tides, and he noted the small patches of black sand poking through the blanket of white, almost as it begging for release for winter, like the rest of them were. At this point, however, who knew how long that was going to take.

Nearing the tidepools, the man opted to give them a wayward glance — just enough to make an absent note that there were a handful of indistinguishable items, or creatures, sitting within them. Unfortunately he did not care enough to investigate further, and instead turned his attention back towards the mainland and the task at hand. With his back to the waves, the tradesman let out another deep summons, hoping that it would be loud enough to not be drowned out by the ocean. “Beatniks, who’s feeling lucky today?” A rhetorical question, perhaps, but despite the lax nature of their skillset, they would all still need to prove their aptitude, abilities, and perhaps a little charm to take home the medal.



rules & instructions

This is the thread for the beatnik trade competition. Your character must have this as their master or sub-master trade, and their team is based on their usergroup (pride, band, rogue). The goal is for your team to amass the most amount of points and win the competition. Read all of the information here.

Sign-ups for this competition are open until December 12; you must post here before then to participate. On December 13, the competition will start and the first round of match-ups will be posted.

• Only post your character here if they intend to participate. There are no observers to the competitions.
• Your character must be at least 1 year old. There are separate events for cubs.
  
• You can post 1 character PER team to participate.
• If you have 2 lions in Caladan Cove that want to participate in the Ranger Competition, you can only post 1. If you have 1 lion in Caladan Cove and 1 lion in Firnen Rainforest that want to participate, you can post them both.
• Every round will feature and play off of a different, associated trade task.

Round 1 Match-Up: On December 13, every participant will be randomly matched with someone else and the NPC will explain the first task. An NPC will be used if there are uneven participant numbers.

You have one week to post again to your match-up. In your reply, respond to the prompt and insert the following dice roll at the bottom of your post. Whoever rolls the highest number out of each pair will win that round and move onto the next.

Code:

[roll=1d20]

Round 1 Match-Up Results: On December 20, the winners of the Round 1 Match-Up will be re-matched and the cycle will continue every week, with the new match-ups being posted on Wednesday.

Failure to post to a given round on time will result in disqualification.

In the case of a tie being rolled between match-ups, Staff will do a tie-breaker.

You can earn the following points towards the Winter Games in this thread. Make sure to submit your points via Discord or DM to @Squid!

• +1 - Participate in a posted trade competition (claimable once per thread, per character)
• +1 - Win a match-up in a posted trade competition (claimable for each match-ups that won)
• +3 - Be one of the last ones standing in a posted trade competition (win the final round match-up, results posted on January 10)

there weren’t anything quite like late-spring flurries on the coast, now, were there?

she traipses with careful stride – conscientious of each footfall in hopes of avoiding contact with the stray grains of sand, seeping from beneath a blanket of snow. despite her tedious efforts, still, blackened granules lodge in the crevices between her toes in a manner most aggravating. quick to wear her grievances, olive’s countenance contort with an open-mouthed, petulant scowl; and yet, she persists in her pursuit of this unknown (and very demanding) caller.

his appearance were equally as loud as his bellowing mouth, and a quick once-over assesses his features as she encroaches further upon his proximities. the vivid carmine of his coat were familiar enough to garner a grim, firm press of her lips, but the plains queen does not allow his similarities to other men to taint first impressions. he had already done enough of that on his own. “the hell did you just call me?” she queries, tones stuck somewhere between offended and amused.

Oh come on, enough with the sand. He'd finally gotten away with it thanks to the move from the Oasis to the Hollow, but now this guy wanted them to come out to the beach for this particular challenge. If it wasn't who could nap the longest in a sunbeam he was going to be very disappointed.

Despite his usual laziness, he was the second to approach (though maybe that made sense given the laid back nature of their trade), and he noted the woman seemed less than pleased. I think he called you... a strong, independent woman? You know, I had a pickup line ready to go, but you’re so hot it just left my mind, he said with a shit-eating grin.

@Olive

A flash of red fur had beckoned Rainer once more towards the grating sound of the waves, the smell of salt keeping his nose wrinkled above lips already stretched in a wide smirk. He'd already told Astarte that the ocean spray is terrible for a woman's skin, hadn't he? Who could fault him if he dragged her back to the shelter of the cliffs to help her...'dry off' properly. Alas, though the feline currently demanding to be the center of attention is certainly red, tailless, and maneless it only takes a single unobstructed glance to ascertain that the striped lion was most definitely not his wife. But would he like to be? He was just one small alteration away from being 'close enough' to a lioness proper. With a snicker, Rainer begins to turn away, pausing only when his icy gaze caught upon an earthen shape that seemed vaguely familiar, summoning a distant memory of what it was like to stand at the top of the world - long before he'd learned how it truly felt to fall. Little sparrow. The sight of @Olive returns his smirk to his scarred face, expression twitching in place even as his functional eye threatened to roll out of his skull in reactionary suicide to the words he'd been unlucky enough to overhear from @Angelo. "Is zis how ve are tryink our luck today? I'll bite, zen." He snorts, settling himself oddly close to the woman he only barely knew with a distinct lack of shame as he turned his toothy grin upon her. "Don't you know how many seasons I've vaited for you to fall for me?" Does she remember, he wonders? The thrill of standing at the precipice? Maybe not. But at least the thought keeps him entertained while they wait for the crimson male to spit out whatever nonsense he was so clearly holding in.

Code by Shaz | Art by Moogle

MAKE PEACE WITH

YOUR BROKEN PIECES

The little elfin woman was so out of place amongst these other individuals. She arrived quietly, like a little mouse, and all of their personalities were certainly much louder than hers. She was meek, and a little timid. But her own curiosity is what had drawn her forward. Bea wasn't necessarily sure that she felt "lucky" by any means but she was still determined to see this through. She would move to take her place next to @Rainer, her long ears flicking forward curiously as she finally took a seat, waiting to see just exactly what this red stranger wanted from them.

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+1 - Participate in a posted trade competition (claimable once per thread, per character/Wolfbron Bluffs)

code by flea, art by rabbit

Dayin had taken to lingering along the shorelines for a solid chunk of time now. The black sand was as warm as it came as far as sunning spots, and shorebirds had provided a rather tasty and relatively easy source of food if caught on their nests.

While he had honestly hoped to be comfortably settled into a pride by now, the events which occurred shortly after his arrival had disillusioned the young lion a bit towards the local structured prides and so he remained freewheeling for now. Even though that meant a lot more work had to go into survival and comfort.

'BEATNIKS, WHO’S FEELING LUCKY TODAY?'

Alright...he would bite! Although this meant he had to get up from his present sunbathing spot near the treeline - Dayin's curiosity out weighted his wish to sun himself by a sliver and the huge youth padded towards the small gathering. Luck was a funny thing, sometimes good, sometimes bad, always tempting!
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+1 - Participate in a posted trade competition (claimable once per thread, per character/Rogue)

code by corvus

He hears the call and part of him… wants to ignore it. He wants to ignore the sheer audacity of someone calling out for him, but there’s a part of him that can’t. With a groan and a grumble, Adalrik makes his way across Amaryllis to the tide pools. Upon arrival he discovers a small crowd, enough to entertain a minor competition. He doesn’t speak just yet, but instead raises a brow at the two bickering.

He remains silent, simply observing, eager to see what all of the commotion and fuss has been about that had dragged him so far out of his own bed._{BG — ART — CODE}

O-ho, look who it was again.

The elven foreigner sure did make his way around, didn't he? The shore wasn't all that close to the bloodstained arena at the peninsula's heart. Had Roussel been any farther away himself, he doubts he would have bothered answering the summons. But since he was already here, fruitless trying to eke out a bit more of the sun's warmth atop the sandy snowy beaches...Well, he might as well see if anything interesting was happening.

He had been starting to grow restless again anyway.

He makes his way delicately over the melting trails of snow, weaving a careful path around the tidepools that seemed to serve no purpose beyond being a tripping hazard to careless lions. It wouldn't do if he fell on his face before he even got to hear about the game they were playing today.

code by scorpixia ♡︎ art by irish

winter games, y11

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beatnik competition
“I think you heard me.” He replied simply to the first woman to arrive, matching her energy with only the slight tilt of his chin, before others began to appear on the scene. And they, too, garnered something from their gracious host, who found himself unable to quite hold onto his tongue today. “I doubt she needs wooing – being an independent woman and all.” He offered friendly advice freely and, though his tone teetered somewhere close to humorous, his expression did not give much away – other than perhaps the curious glint in his eyes as he wondered absently how this odd trio knew each other, if at all.

Enough of that, he thought to himself next, opting to allow the Amaryllians to mingle and engage in whatever sort of relations that they were used to. He was but a temporary visitor, after all, and was here with a purpose all his own – to find the best of the best, and weed out the weak. Once it became clear that no others would be joining them today (a reflection of the trade itself, most likely), the crimson-clad brute would recline slowly back onto his haunches as he began to speak, addressing the group in its entirety. “My partners and I are looking for not only the best tradesmen and women of these lands, but also the strongest and most able pride. Glory and recognition will come to those that succeed in today’s competition, and once we’re finished with all of our tests – we will see which pride or band stands above the rest. Unless the rogues outmatch them all, that is. I won’t give away all of our secrets, but I assure you, winning is the best option.”

“Beatniks – I’m looking to see which one of you embodies your trade the most and can outlast the others. In rounds, I will be pairing you off with another to compete head-to-head with in a test of my choosing. The one out of the pair that succeeds or impresses me the most will move onto the next round, and we will keep going until a winner, or winners, are evident.” The monologue would then undergo a brief pause, his eyes searching around for any confused or inquiring faces, before continuing. “Your first task today is not complicated - I want you to make a bet with your partner, and make sure that you’re the one to win it. That should be easy enough, no?” His teeth flashed absently as a grin lingered on the outskirts of his features, raising a paw and gesturing the pairs together for their first bout of competition. “Go to your pair, make your bet, and good luck.”



match-ups & instructions

@Olive vs. @Rainer @Adalrik vs. @npc @Bea vs. @Dayin @Roussel vs. @Angelo

• Round 1 Match-Up: Your character has been randomly matched with someone else and the NPC has explained the first task. An NPC will be used if there are uneven participant numbers.
• You have until December 20 to post again to your match-up. In your reply, respond to the prompt and insert the following dice roll at the bottom of your post. Whoever rolls the highest number out of each pair will win that round and move onto the next.
Code:
[roll=1d20]


• Round 1 Match-Up Results: On December 20, the winners of the Round 1 Match-Up (the ones out of each pair with the highest roll) will be re-matched and the cycle will continue every week, with new match-ups being posted on Wednesdays.
• Failure to post to a given round on time will result in disqualification.
• In the case of a tie being rolled between match-ups, Staff will do a tie-breaker.

You can earn the following points towards the Winter Games in this thread. Make sure to submit your points via Discord or DM to @Squid!

• +1 - Participate in a posted trade competition (claimable once per thread, per character)
• +1 - Win a match-up in a posted trade competition (claimable for each match-up that’s won)
• +3 - Be one of the last ones standing in a posted trade competition (win the final round match-up, results posted on January 10)

winter games, y11

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NPC Dice Rolls for Trade Competition

Because of an uneven number of characters in this trade competition match-up, some characters were assigned an NPC for their pairing. The following dice rolls are to be used as the baseline for determining if your character wins or loses their match-up – reminder: the character that rolls the number out of each pair wins.

If you have been matched with an NPC, feel free to PP them as desired in your own reply. Make sure to include your own dice roll ([*roll=1d20]) at the bottom of your post. Failure to post in time will result in disqualification from the competition and the next round of match-ups.

NPC 1 vs @Adalrik:

Rolling 1d20: 5