#ilwd2k21updates

[inlovewithdisaster]

The lights go down. The music starts to play. A single spotlight opens up onstage, on Ursula in a skimpy crystal bikini, one that looks as though it’s about to burst at the seams of her fake chest and ass…although, given the kind of news she wants to spill, how she managed to stand still long enough for the rest of her to be painted in gold-and-silver glitter is a mystery. She struts forward and swings her hips, as though about to start performing. The Poké Balls clipped to the infinitesimally thin string of each side of her bikini jiggle with her.

And then……

“Cut! Cut!”

She means to say ‘cut the music,’ but in her rage, that’s all that comes out. Meanwhile, Tobias and Zoey come on from backstage, Tobias in a fresh martial arts suit, Zoey in a new figure skate outfit--this time masculine rather than feminine.

“What’s going on?” Zoey says. “Aren’t we doing the closing show?”

“We will,” Ursula says. “Just as soon as I make this announcement!”

Zoey looks at Tobias. Something isn’t right here.

“Ursula, you can announce it after the performance,” he says. “I don’t know what it is, but it can’t be that important.”

“It is that important,” she insists.

“Well, what the heck is it that’s soooooooo important that you want to interrupt your own show like this?” Tobias asks.

“Just let me finish!” she screams.

Zoey shoots her a look, like a mother looking at her disobedient child. “No, Ursula. Get back in your place. It’s not too late to do this over.  Please, step back to center stage and we’ll go right back to where we’re supposed to be.”

“OH YEAH? WAIT UNTIL YOU FUCKING SEE THIS!!!”

THE DISASTER TO END ALL DISASTERS CONTINUES HERE!

@imbicilite@aquaviolent@caelumsaltator@kalosian-writer@yellraiser@invictarre@151seen@drkvoids@thelittlestdemon@cosmacy@aeshmedai@a-hell-of-a-lot-of-muses@corvidmagicae @dragonskxn​ @necromagicae@twinleaf-royalty@raysofpokemuse @fallenxspirit

[inlovewithdisaster]

“so! i’ll start,” zoey says, trying to ignore the still-sobbing ursula in the background. “i think you all will find it no surprise that my judge’s choice award goes to LEON. your performance perfectly encapsulated everything that this contest was supposed to stand for--reconciliation, forgiveness, moving on, and of course, since this is valentine’s day, unbreakable bonds. while i did have some minor criticisms, that doesn’t take away from the fact that your performance is quite easily the most memorable and uplifting of the night. you couldn’t have picked a better time to send this message, and it’s one i’m sure will resonate with your fans for many years to come. well done!”

the audience applauds in approval. tobias is next, but he’s taking his sweet time waiting for the applause to die down. with leon netting that +15 bonus, he’s pretty far ahead--so the real contest, he supposes, would be for second and third, and if he’s to achieve maximum saltiness from ursula, he really has only three choices: birdy, jules or fabien. well, 15 points isn’t enough to put jules in the running, so she’s out…hm, which would piss ursula off more? birdy being lifted to second place? or fabien being lifted to the top 4, a scenario in which both appeals aimed at ursula would receive awards? choices, choices……

as soon as the applause dies down, though, he seems to have made up his mind.

“an excellent assessment there, and i’d give my bonus to leon as well, but i want to give some love to a performance that’s been rather underappreciated,” he says. “one that clearly drew its attention to the past events of this contest, the tangled history of the sweet love soiree. one that leaped to new heights in its defiance and daring, representing a victory not only moral but personal over the abuse rained down by an uncaring world. i was truly moved by the performance of which i speak, and i can tell it’s one that the audience will never forget. and so, it’s my great pleasure and honor to award my judge’s choice bonus to FABIEN!”

“HUH?????” ursula yells. “are you trying to screw me over again?”

“name the first time i tried to screw you over,” tobias says airily.

“well--that’s--” when you made a fucking group chat just to hate on me, she wants to say, but she’s barely managing to save that exposé for when the time is right. “who cares? you obviously only picked fabien just to piss me off. just like you only gave him a good score because he tried to piss me off!”

“excuse me?” tobias says, flawlessly feigning offendedness. “that sounds like the sort of shoddy judging you would do, ursula. don’t drag me down because you think i’m just as bad.”

“well, i don’t believe you,” ursula snaps. “if you get to pick someone just to piss off another judge, i get to do that too! and so, my judge’s choice award goes to TOBIAS!”

“what?!” lobias looks more confused than angry.

“’cause he’s not your friend anymore. how’d you like that?” she says smugly.

“well, if you were looking to make a supereffective hit, let’s just say i’m actually immune,” he grumbles. but no. he’s so not immune. he can’t stand the thought of an ex-friend getting those precious fifteen points.

“ursula, please reconsider,” zoey says, rubbing her forehead. “why don’t you give those points to wallace? or spirit? or kamui? you really seemed to like those three…”

“NO. TOBIAS. ONLY TOBIAS,” ursula huffs.

“ursula, stop being unprofessional,” lobias says. as if he’s any better.

“well, if we wanna talk professionalism, what about the fact that three people did performances just to upset me in the first place? isn’t taking out your grudges on a judge the most unprofessional as you can be?”

“i’ve already commented on how i think that’s wrong. but that doesn’t give you license to do the exact same right back,” zoey sighs. 

“UUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” she groans. “you know what, if you’re gonna be like that, i’m going to go backstage and i won’t come back out for the ending until you let me keep my score!” and with that, she runs offstage.

“wait! ursula! come back!” zoey cries, running after her and leaving lobias alone at the table.

“there’ll be no convincing her, clearly, so i guess that settles it,” he says with a shrug.

Congratulations to Leon / @invictarre​, Fabien / @imbicilite​ and Tobias / @drkvoids​!

[inlovewithdisaster]

the performances are in the order that i have read and/or judged them, with a couple of exceptions. these exceptions are that whitley/imbicilite has asked to go last, and then there’s UG’s shylow, who is currently receiving medical attention. which means…

@drkvoids​ / tobias

@thelittlestdemon / shylow

@kalosian-writer / jules

@aquaviolent / wallace

@yellraiser / piers

INTERMISSION

leon / @invictarre 

spirit / @fallenxspirit 

birdy / @cosmacy, red / @151seen OR kamui / @caelumsaltator 

same as above

same as above

fabien / @imbicilite 

EMERGENCY BREAK

shylow / @thelittlestdemon 

[inlovewithdisaster]

"Tobias…?"

She’s backstage, and twenty minutes have passed. She drank her water. She threw up what she needed. And she's feeling (somewhat) better, though not all the way…

Is it time?

"The fuck do you want?" he huffs.

"Tobias, I……I just wanted to tell you something." 

"Oh, are you here to say sorry to me for flirting with me and touching me even though I have a girlfriend?"

"Yes. I'm very sorry for that. But Ijus…Ijuswanted to say…" She fiddles with her fingers. "I feel like…things haven't been thsame since you…sinceyou saved me frommy dad. I felt…" A pause as she sways, and then sits down in a nearby seat. "I felt…we could be friends. Likewhenwewere……dated. Likewhen…you saved me. Liwen…you said sorry…for telling me to die. You saved me…whyyou save me? You like me…why save me if not?"

[READ THE WHOLE DISASTER INTERMISSION HERE!!!]

@imbicilite@aquaviolent@caelumsaltator@kalosian-writer@yellraiser@invictarre@151seen@drkvoids@thelittlestdemon@cosmacy@aeshmedai@a-hell-of-a-lot-of-muses@corvidmagicae @dragonskxn​ @necromagicae@twinleaf-royalty@raysofpokemuse​ @fallenxspirit​

[inlovewithdisaster]

[Warning: Very suggestive content during Ursula’s performance. No, she’s not naked, but she almost is, and her dance moves don’t make it any better. If you want to skip that, Ctrl + F the timestamp [1:55], which should take you to Zoey’s part.]

Because I forgot to post this before I posted the performances, since it happens before the Themes and Freestyles. Pre show………GO!

@imbicilite@aquaviolent@caelumsaltator@kalosian-writer@yellraiser@invictarre@151seen@drkvoids@thelittlestdemon@cosmacy@aeshmedai@a-hell-of-a-lot-of-muses@corvidmagicae @dragonskxn​ @necromagicae@twinleaf-royalty@raysofpokemuse​ @fallenxspirit​

[inlovewithdisaster]

@imbicilite@aquaviolent@caelumsaltator@kalosian-writer@yellraiser@invictarre@151seen@drkvoids@thelittlestdemon@cosmacy@aeshmedai@a-hell-of-a-lot-of-muses@corvidmagicae @dragonskxn​ @necromagicae@twinleaf-royalty@raysofpokemuse​ @fallenxspirit​ 

so, usually before the performances in my contests, there’s a party with a buffet where all the coordinators and spectators can come together. however, unfortunately, i’ll be largely unavailable for that because quite frankly today is going to suck. one, i’m applying to law school, and taking care of that stuff is probably going to take all morning. then in the afternoon, right after lunch, my family is dragging me on a small trip to a place that’s about an hour away from here, making for a 2-hour round trip. honest to god, i only get one day off and it seems that every time it rolls around it either goes by too fast or i have a shitton of things i don’t want to do that starts clogging it up. but it has to be done.

i will try to create a sentence starters meme on my lunch break, but no guarantees. this is because my days off are the most comfortable time to do all my judging, and i will probably use any free time i have today to pre-judge the three newest appeals that are going to be released tomorrow. (this is especially since i won’t have computer-with-internet access for most of today.) lowkey, if anyone would like to do a sentence starters meme for me or help me make one, please go ahead i will thank you forever.

for event details: it will take place in a ballroom and feature the finest food from the immigrant community around mendelssohn park--draconid, romani, jewish, german, turkish. there will be a lot of fine dining and dancing, and a lot of press people there to do interviews of both the VIP spectators and contestants. the party is invite-only, meaning that it is restricted to the contestants, the VIP spectators, and anyone that they want to invite such as friends or family. have fun!

[inlovewithdisaster]

@imbicilite@aquaviolent@diamontha@caelumsaltator@kalosian-writer@yellraiser@invictarre@151seen@drkvoids@thelittlestdemon@cosmacy​ @fallenxspirit

for those of you who have already finished their appeals and turned them in to me, feel free to disregard this announcement. this is for those who have not finished yet.

we are very close to the deadline. there are now 4 days left, and multiple people have told me that they have not even started their appeals. to help you guys out and also to help me stagger the appeals, i am now offering an extension until february 21 to six people. for the most part, this is first come first serve, although those who did not start their appeals as of february 1 will be given priority.

please reply to me in this post or in the server if you would like the extension!

[inlovewithdisaster]

……your performances will be due! (that is, if you signed up before january 30.) how is everybody doing on their performances? 

i do want to say, if any of you want to finish it early, please send it to me privately as soon as possible so i can write up the judging beforehand. three people have turned in their themes/freestyles already, and i have pre-written the judgings for all three; i figure the more i can pre-judge, the more evenly spread out my work is, and the faster i can wrap this contest up when it comes time. this would help me greatly, since my irl job is pretty hard on me and i would be better able to handle a steady stream of performances rather than having to do them all at once. don’t rush yourself just for me if you can’t, however--this is only for people who feel they are able to both finish early and produce something that they can be proud of.

i can’t wait to see what you all come up with!!!

@imbicilite@aquaviolent@diamontha@caelumsaltator@kalosian-writer@yellraiser@invictarre@151seen@drkvoids@thelittlestdemon@cosmacy​ @fallenxspirit

[inlovewithdisaster]

@imbicilite @aquaviolent @diamontha @caelumsaltator @kalosian-writer @yellraiser @invictarre @151seen @drkvoids @thelittlestdemon @cosmacy @aeshmedai @a-hell-of-a-lot-of-muses @corvidmagicae @dragonskxn​ @necromagicae @twinleaf-royalty @raysofpokemuse

we’re almost at the signup deadline, folks--and we’ve got plenty of people interested, so i’m gonna post these updates before i forget (again)! adding some new rules to the rules page for our new contestants to keep in mind:

If you signed up on January 30 or later, your deadline will be 14 days after the normal deadline--which means you will turn your Appeal in by the end of February 28 in your timezone. This is to give the later sign-ups a longer timespan to finish their performances, and also to give me some more time to judge everything given the rigors of my job. 

Note that there will be occasional NSFW in the plots, and also in the Appeals. This is not an NSFW-geared event, so it will not dominate the plot, but it is allowed to happen. You are not obligated to take part in any NSFW plots, or read any NSFW appeals, all of which I expect to be properly tagged. 

a note on that first rule: this does not mean i am granting extensions to people whose regular deadline was february 14. why? because then, it wouldn’t solve the problem of me potentially not being able to finish everyone’s judgings in a timely manner. i am expecting most people to turn in their appeals very close to february 14, and if the deadline is extended to february 28, i would also expect most people to finish around then since i’ve noticed that in the past the most appeal turn-ins tend to happen at the very beginning and close to the deadline. so, if i gave everyone a february 28 extension option, it would actually create an even bigger problem because then i might still take two whole additional weeks to finish the judging, extending the contest until mid-march. thank you for understanding! <3

lastly, i have updated the prizes page to reflect the plot with cresselia/twinleaf-royalty that his palmer would provide some shiny prizes for the contest. but to test ursula’s gratefulness, they’re not the standard shiny milotic or gyarados that most people would give out……why don’t you go take a look?

stay hype,

天

[inlovewithdisaster]

VIP Spectator slots are now CLOSED! We’ve only got two entrant spots remaining in the Contest, so grab ‘em while they’re hot!

[inlovewithdisaster]

THE IN-UNIVERSE EXPLANATION FOR PLOT-RELATED SPECTATORS: VIP SPECTATORS

@imbicilite @aquaviolent @orresnatcher @diamontha @caelumsaltator @kalosian-writer @pokepolemis @yellraiser @invictarre @151seen @drkvoids @aeshmedai @a-hell-of-a-lot-of-muses @corvidmagicae @dragonskxn @necromagicae @twinleaf-royalty @raysofpokemuse 

so, i’ve been thinking……there will undoubtedly be hundreds of nameless spectators at the event, and a lot of actual muses watching too, but in-universe, what makes the ones who registered OOC-ly distinct from the others? i was thinking that the 10 people are VIPs. one VIP slot went to ghetsis of course, because he’s the king, and another went to palmer/twinleaf-royalty because he’s a co-sponsor. but the other 8 were open to the public and issued by lottery with an entry payment--and all of the proceeds would be donated to charity. the perks of being a VIP spectator include:

entry into the official sweet love soiree group chat, where they can mingle with contestants and judges.

entry into the official sweet love soiree opening gala (the coordinator meet-and-greet).

room and board in the finest hotel rooms that opelucid has to offer, starting one week before the contest. (more penthouse suites? maybe……i’ll think about it :3)

front row center seats to the performance itself, with free in-house catering. (literally, the front row seats of the mendelssohn auditorium are freaking dining tables where you can get served food during a performance. and some of that food is from the family’s very own farm & garden.)

the opportunity to meet the judges and performers while they are preparing, plus backstage after the showcase is done for an exclusive look behind the scenes.

free autographs from the judges and performers!

[inlovewithdisaster]

NEW MECHANIC: THE JUDGE’S CHOICE POINT BONUS!

@imbicilite @aquaviolent @orresnatcher @diamontha @caelumsaltator @kalosian-writer @pokepolemis @yellraiser @invictarre @aeshmedai @a-hell-of-a-lot-of-muses @corvidmagicae @dragonskxn @necromagicae here comes the first announcement of the contest! this is how it works. every judge is now going to get a JUDGE’S CHOICE +15 bonus that they can give out to their single favorite performance. essentially, this is a mechanic in lieu of voting. the judges’ votes will be given out after all the performances are over. so if you think you did badly, or if you’re missing out on a top 3 spot by just a few points, not all hope is lost: catching the attention of a judge could be a real game-changer!

of course, since this is in love with disaster, two of the three point bonuses MIGHT NOT be given based on merit. tobias is a spiteful little bastard, after all, and he might just throw his 15 free points at a performance simply because ursula hates it. as for ursula’s part, she’s equally spiteful, so she might aim to piss off tobias with her choice as well--and what’s more, if you reeeeeaaaaaallllly work on buttering her up, she could be persuaded to look more kindly toward your performance too. so yeah, it could be a real game-changer……in the best or the worst possible way. hope you all enjoy >:3

[inlovewithdisaster]

Just realized I need to edit Ursula’s Judge Profile. Will do in a couple of days at most.

[inlovewithdisaster]

i just tallied up the participants in the entrant and spectator categories. currently we have 6/15 entrants and 4/10 spectators, putting us at a total of 10/25 total participants! we are 40% of the way full, you guys. thank you to everyone who entered, and to those of you considering entering--be sure to sign up soon!!!

[inlovewithdisaster]

pokémon prizes are going to be changed. hang tight while i get my stuff together!

[inlovewithdisaster]

@aquaviolent​​ @imbicilite​​ @orresnatcher​​ @diamontha​​ @Captain Momo

      “all right. we’ve got five contestants so far, so it’s time to start picking rooms! here are a few of opelucid’s finest that i’ve had my eye on:

      “for the minimalist, there’s this room in the shades of grey luxury suites:

      “for any scifi lovers among you, the cosmic expedition hotel has a wonderful outer space-themed room for your enjoyment:

      “and then there’s a taste of shanghai, run by the city’s proudest shanghainese, whose penthouse even has its own pool:

      “but if you want something a little more classical, there’s this suite in the grand european:

      “and, lastly, my favorite: the famous ‘purple room’ in opelucid’s house of royal reveries!”

      “these rooms are first come, first serve. no matter what you choose, i hope you enjoy your stay~!”