Given that Shinji was able to open the way back for everyone, it's no surprise that the winning option was Individuality. Never mind that fact that a Galaxy hopping orange Giga Bowser would've been a pretty sweet, and oddly fitting, end to the Rando Tourney.
That said, a return to normality means also a return to the events! So I give to you, Round 1-G!
Event 21: Treasure Hunting
In this world, there are two truths. There are people who have treasure and want to keep it. And there are people who have no treasures, and want to claim the treasures of others. The first kind of person tends to stick their treasures in all sorts of places in the hopes that it will either never be found, or that if found, will prove to be too much trouble for anyone to grab. The second kind of person is the kind that will do well at our competition today, as the one that can find and claim the most hidden treasure will win.
Our first competitor is everyone's favourite Quik-E-Mart vendor, Apu. He has had to face many challenges over his life, and has actually gone on a few adventures. So going out and looking for treasure won't be the strangest thing he's ever done. On the other hand, his competitor has both a huge advantage, and a potentially crippling disadvantage. You see, this competitor is from an RPG world, where treasure is routinely lying around where it can be reached with a modicum of difficulty. In fact, in the world of pokemon, it's often left near patches of tall grass in otherwise unassuming pokeballs. Of course, the disadvantage being faced here is that this hunter isn't really a person, or arguably sentient. Who's that Pokemon? It's Arcanine! Yup, this fire dog may be Officer Jenny's best friend, but can he hunt treasure as well as he hunts crooks? Only this event will tell!
Event 22: Cheating
Despite what the behavioural experts will tell you, we here at the Rando Tourney believe everyone can play fair and make use of the best policy; honesty. But, like all things, fair play and honesty has a time and a place. And that time and place is not here, and not now. That's right, it's time for the cheating contest. This event will involve a gauntlet of challenges, all of which can be done properly, but all of which can also be done faster than that if the contestant cheats. There will also be two sets of judges. The first set of judges will consist of reasonably observant judges who think the challenges are the challenge and who don't know about the second set of judges. Their job is to make sure everyone follows the rules. The second set of judges are some of the most observant people we can find who know what the real challenge is, and they'll be ranking the competitors not only on how fast they get through the gauntlet, but also on how skillfully they cheat, and how well they manage to not get caught by the fake judges.
Our first competitor is no stranger to the shadier side of the law, and is well versed in doing whatever she has to to get what she wants. Dahlia Hawthorne may be best at using patsies to do her job for her, but she's shown that she has a crafty and devious mind, and the willingness to use it. Against her is the humble Koopa Troopa, the standard soldier in Bowser's forces. He hasn't shown much in the way of deceit before, but perhaps it's just been well hidden, as a deceitful nature ought to be.
Event 23: Lawyering (Phoenix Wright Style)
Ah, the courtroom, a place of procedures and protocols. Where boring and staid people make their arguments in a sedate and order... wait... no? You mean this isn't a regular courtroom, but a Pheonix Wright courtroom? Where insane witnesses and surprise evidence of dubious acquisition are the order of the day? And almost anything goes? As always, we're going to have two cases, complete with a really guilty looking, but innocent, defendant, and a twisty path to the truth. And both contestants will take their turn as prosecuter, and as the defense attourney. If someone can win both cases, then they win, if they both take one, then the one to have the fewest penalties wins.
Our first lawyer to be is Marisa Kirisame, who I admittedly know almost nothing about. The little I do know suggests she has a commanding personality, and she probably has a mystical weapon of some sort, so she's gonna fit right in in this zany world. Which is good because her opponent's Objections are backed with NUCLEAR WEAPONS! Fresh from Civ 1 and 5, Ghandi takes to the bench! And while his real life counterpart was actually a lawyer, that may not hold for his over the top fictional national leader self.
Event 24: Finding the Holy Grail
The Object: A cup or chalice, two thousand years old, give or take a few decades. Properties: Purported to have held the blood of Christ on the Cross, after that, if it fits with the general subset of holy powers, this thing's been rumoured to do it. Location: Unknown. But we've got two contenders who're ready to fix that.
First up, we've got the sort of hero that would be right at home in the more creative tellings of the Round Table. Coming from the future of Fire Emblem: Awakening, we have Sumia's daughter, Cynthia searching high and low for the Sa'an Grail. And what she lacks in knowledge and street smarts, she'll be making up for with sheer energy, determination, and pre-battle one liners. Going up against her is a hero who is, in a lot of ways, her polar opposite. Lightning Farron is cynical, insightful, and professional. Oh, and a wanted criminal. But just like Cynthia, she's more than capable of taking care of herself, and will bring a certain amount of dedication to the task.
Team Event 3: Synchronized Swimming
There are few things more graceful that a body flitting through water. One of them is several bodies moving together in water, working as one. That is the core of synchronized swimming, where four competitors have to work together to first make a routine of grace and beauty, fit to make the soul weep. And then to use their week of training time to actually pull it off.
The first team has it's strengths, and some weaknesses. Starting with their strengths, they've got two athletes with their ace being the star player of the Zanarkand Abes himself, Tidus. While the only thing gracefulness probably earns Tidus is more scorn from Jecht, you have to admit, the guy is fast, probably has done a lot of formation drills as a pro-Blitzer, and let's face it, swimming is one of his primary skills. As well, he does have a certain level of showmanship and charisma. Backing him up is his fellow entertainer/athlete Hulk Hogan, who may not specialise in swimming, but who should be good at this anyways. The problem comes with their other two teammates, noted Super Genius Wile E. Coyote, whose plans always fail in the most interesting of ways, and Luna Lovegood, who means well, but whose ideas are a little off the wall. And let's just hope she doesn't distract Tidus from planning with her wild conspiracy theories about things like Zanarkand existing. All we can say is that at least it'll be hard to justify using anything from Acme Corp. for this event.
Against this we have, an, ummm... interesting team. Queen Serenity, as Queen of the Negaverse, is of course a natural leader, graceful in all she does, and a pretty ok planner. Of course, she's paired with a guy called Professor Chaos and Slimer, who is the very antithesis of graceful. That said, she's also paired up with Terry MacGuinness, who as Batman Beyond, has probably trained to be the best at everything in the future; perhaps second only to Bruce Wayne. And let's be honest, while Slimer does cause problems, they're ones that can be managed by a good team, whereas Wile E. Coyote just seems to make problems at an existential level simply by existing.
Quick Vote Form
Event 21: Treasure Hunting
Apu Nahasapeemapetilon (The Simpsons) vs. Arcanine (Pokemon)
Event 22: Cheating
Dahlia Hawthorne (AA: Trials and Tribulations) vs. Koopa Troopa (SMW)
Event 23: Lawyering (Phoenix Wright Style)
Marisa Kirisame (Touhou) vs. Mohandas Ghandi (Civ series)
Event 24: Finding the Holy Grail
Cynthia (FE:Awakening) vs. Lightning Farron (FFXIII)
Team Event 3: Synchronized Swimming
{Wile E. Coyote (Super Genius), Hulk Hogan (Wrestling), Tidus (FFX), Luna Lovegood (Harry Potter)} vs. {Professor Chaos (South Park), Terry MacGuinness (Batman Beyond), Queen Serenity (Sailor Moon), Slimer (Ghostbusters Cartoon)}
