WAYPOINT SHRIL, PT.2

[onemind]

CHARACTERS: All (New Hosts may tag anything from their arrival date on Waypoint Shril forward.)
WHERE: WAYPOINT SHRIL
WHEN: Day :033 - :038
SUMMARY: Come one, come all, to the most amazing show you will ever see! Catch-all for the all ABA! Events, excluding the Demolition Man Derby and Awards Ceremony on day :039.
WARNINGS: N/A, will update as necessary.

I hope you’re all absolutely zazzled and ready to kick things off with a bang! As always, I’m Jaymez St. Jaymez St. Jaymez and I’ll be laying it all down for you as we head into this exciting and definitely deadly five day extravaganza! I’m positively passionate about bringing you all the hottest goss straight from the barrangar’s mouth, breaking down all the most important events that happen on Waypoint Shril for this entire Aurora Blue Arena!! I hope you’re ready, but we all know you’re not! Let’s get it going then!

     ABA! DAY I. THE OPENING CEREMONIES
You’ll forgive me if I scream, won’t you? Have you ever seen anything so zane in your entire life? I know you haven’t, but don’t worry, I’m here to help you process.

So we all know what happened at the big opening, right? Talk about flashy, and did our judges look great or what? I heard from a reliable source that Talius spent the whole night about neck deep in Surellian Smoke Brandy, but you almost couldn’t tell, they managed to keep all their feet on the platform at all times. Anyway, everyone in the stands had a chance to enjoy the show - and the announcements, of course! I have to say, for as long as I’ve been doing this, these sound like some of the best challenges we’ve ever seen. And last time around we had the Great Galactic Cookoff!

Of course, we all enjoyed the show. How could we not? It’s the afterparty that everyone was looking forward to though. Did you catch sight of all the competitors up in the front? The camera loves them, but close up or no you couldn’t get half as close as the people here taking part in the action. After the show wrapped up there was an exclusive meet-and-greet. Sorry, did I say exclusive? Just about anyone with a piece of paper that said ‘press’ on it got into the party. They say it’s business, but you know, it’s funny? I saw a lot more drinks in hand than holo-pads and cam-wires. In my own hand, too, if you know what I’m saying.

Of course, not all the competitors stuck around. Plenty of others ended up drifting off to the more- lets say colorful sectors of Waypoint Shril. Police reported a small brawl down by the SOMEWHERE SOMEWHERE SOMEWHERE, no less than five people had to be taken to the nearby medic station and an entire pop-up artisanal sugar glass stand was destroyed. TUH-RAGIC.


     ABA! DAY II. LIP SYNC FOR YOUR LIFE
I know we all saw it, but hold on to your glitter gloss and pull up your grav-control shorts, because just talking about it is enough to give me the vapors. I can hardly believe what I just witnessed. Did anyone expect that raggedy bunch of Team 010 to turn around such a hot performance? I didn't know Calridians knew left from right, much less up from down but the next time I meet one in a bar I might just have to ask for a demonstration. But of course that wasn't all (PLEASE). If you're anyone who knows anyone, I'm sure you'll be hearing all about the big backstage blowup between those two teams - wow I sure do hope everyone recovers in time for tomorrow events - and who could forget when the stage tilted over and that poor sweet doll from Team Sparkle Ribbon went sliding off that terrible drop and got sliced to, well, ribbons by the laser light show (RIP. YOU WERE FABULOUS AND WAY TO SCORE SOME MAJOR POINTS FOR YOUR TEAM ON THE WAY OUT). Of course, nothing stands up to the entire stagebeing lit on fire - unless, of course, we're talking Miss Mystery's absolutely stunning display of, uhhhh… Well, that dress sure was something, wasn't it? ( *∵* )

OMS [tn: oh my sequins]! So, basically it was completely off the runway. What else can you say? I can barely wait to see what the ones who lived through that bring to the stage tomorrow. Still, I mean I know what you’re saying. You’re all 'Jaymez St. Jaymez St. Jaymez we didn’t come to you to hear what we all saw, even if we do love your dazzling and completely fresh take on the whole sitch.' No no, I know, you want to know what you couldn’t see on your holos. Ok so, you know Baranay Bartrold and his partner Aarara Ang? The pair who were disqualified in round three at the last ABA!!? Well, they’re back again, only this time they weren’t here for the competition. Rumor has it they’ve been taking cash and cred in exchange for SarSarSeven. You know, that completely wrong, oh-so-right concoction that’s said to give absolutely anyone an edge like no other? Of course everything’s got a price, and SarSar goes beyond the hefty price tag. They say that if you take too much of it, you’ll go completely off the rack (gag) and end end up, like, totally changed. Which may explain the attacks we’ve seen. Several groups of people have been found in various states of like, not so good, and people have reported seeing hairy, misshapen shapes in the shadows clinging to the buildings and lurking in the ventilation. It’s totally creep-central……. unless that’s your thing. I’m not about to yuck your yums sweet things.

Oh, and there was that tramp Garzield. I’ve been told I have to tell you that he held some tacky little off the books game show in some sketchy back lot just after the competition ended and gave away, like, some paltry thousands of Shen to any old rando that drifted in off the streets. Oh sure, he had like a wheel, some doors, and some bright lights but I think we can all agree that they just washed him out. Ugh. No one should wear that shade of chartreuse.

     ABA! DAY III. WAYPOINT WROBO WRESTLING FEDERATION
Get me a sparkling sizza water, because I’m burning up! You think things can’t get any bigger, any better, any bloodier, and then the competition begins! I’m still trying to process and I’m sure all you at home are too. But don’t you worry your sweet little heads, because I’m here to help you get your heads back on straight or sideways or any which way they’re supposed to go. I think we all knew this event was going to be big. I mean, 400 feet is nothing to sneeze at, but did we know it was going to be this big? I mean, first off, you had the fourth place finishers from last year who got in a hee-yooge blowout over whether their wrestler GARBAN THE FEARSOME was, like, an ex-con or an ex-cop? Everyone knows that’s not what it was really about - ahem- Still, you’d think that the way they were trying to fight themselves would make them an easy team to beat, but the team they were up against had a shrevil of a time figuring out how to fight someone who can’t be predicted at all. Then you had PARADA and GUCICI. Sure, they started out normal enough with a fairly rote ‘you stole the love of my life’ storyline, but the twist ending, where they were re-incarnated lovers? Gorgeous! I couldn’t take my eyes off the stage when their half-nelson turned into a full on full grope-sesh. I’ve never been more glad to be posted under the Aircon. And then there were the two teams that kept trying to out-heel each other. I mean, how many orphanages (yes, actual orphanges) did they each burn down? You’ll have to start making more orphans at this rate! Still, it made for a good show, and they really did know how to work the ropes, which you all know Jaymez appreciates.

Of course that's not all. During the day's matches, I hear there was QUITE the upset on Platform Alfa. Apparently some giant ship decided they didn't want to follow the rules and opted to jump the line to park and crashed straight into the platform (R-U-D-E). I won't bore you with the details (fire, explosions, the tragic death of the occasional bystander probably), but I can happily report that that particular ship won't be crashing into anyone else any time soon. The crew's been arrested, expecting of course the captain. Apparently the dastardly drog managed to escape into the crowd and confusion and make his way onto Waypoint Shril. So keep your eyes peeled for any shady looking Roanotian with a cut temple and a scorched jacket. He's probably trouble. >:(

In more RIDICULOUSLY EXCITING news (I know, I know - 'Jaymez St. Jaymez St. Jaymez, what could be more exciting than everything I've witnessed today?' but hold on and regulate your breathing, because this is going to give you an absolute fit), a little lilran told me today that if you hurry right along you might just catch the Late Night Hour with none other than THE Scrilliax Shann, the winner of the ABA! four years ago. Oh my glord, if she isn't just the definition of glamorous and everyone knows her parties are the pinnacle of stellarnomenal. GUH, I'm breaking a sweat just thinking about what it's going to be like. Of course, now this party is going to be exclusive, so I sure hope you have an invite. Apparently only the wildly spectacular (cough), the radically famous, or the stunningly gorgeous are going to have any hope of getting through the doors. But I promise, it'll be worth it. Sure, the last time I saw a holo of Scrilliax she had about five different beings following on their hands and tentacles after her but honestly - not a bad way to live.

     ABA! DAY IV-V. CATCH YOUR BREATH
[Just a clearly heavily staged (and digitally '~*~enhanced~*~') video of Jaymez St. Jaymez St. Jaymez fanning themselves. It's on loop. There is quite a lot of product placement for a five second clip.]

     ABA! DAY VI. LEGENDS OF THE BEAST NINJA GLADIATOR WARRIOR MASTER
I’m- I’m sorry. I just need a second. Flob, my mascara is running, I must look like a total mess. But can you blame me? I am just - floored. Overwhelmed. Like, completely blasted. It feels like I’ve been blasted by the solar winds on Plezas Twelve. This. Was. Incredible. Like, these are the times you think like, wow, I’m so like lucky to be here. To be as fabulous as I am so that I had a chance to stand here and witness some of the most impressive feats of strength and skill and - let's be honest - pure friendship we saw here today. I don’t know if I’ve ever cried harder than I did when Shivarana was hanging from that cage by her one slender clawed feeding arm while Garavan, who had already fallen into the slip-mud earlier in the round finally admitted that she loved her. An incredible upset. And then there was the temple fun-run, where one of the trailing teams managed to successfully guess the correct door seven times in a row before being grabbed by one of the guardians. My head is absolutely spinning. And then there was the team challenge, where one team ended up stuck halfway through their passage and had to make the tough call to cut half of their team off - literally. I’m still not sure how they broke the chain, but it was fully legal. Still, going into the finale at half-strength… Well, I don’t envy them. We lost so many great teams in this challenge. Fargarvaragarvarava will never be able to afford her surgery now. It’s just so heartbreaking. But that pain only makes the victories sweeter, right? And let me tell you, we’ll be popping bottles of sugar water tonight.

Now, if you're like me then you might need some time to recover before you face tomorrow (I am. NOT. READY.). Luckily, that should be totally doable thanks to the ABA!s brave security force. What's that? You don't know what happened? Oh my darlings, I hate to break the news but during the competition there was an unprecedented threat against the Judges lives and all our happiness. Apparently in the middle of today's event, an assassin attempted to get a line on our beloved trendsetters. If you thought for a moment that Saldo Saldo's amazingly mysterious shape looked momentarily unnerved, why it wasn't your imagination. Luckily, the assassin was foiled before anything terrible could occur. Which, like, thank the stars. I don't know what I'd do without them.

But I DO know I certainly wouldn't be caught dead room sharing with a bunch of defunct competitors. Did you know that when you get ejected from the competition, you lose your room and board? Which means that a bunch of shambles of teams are looking for places to crash for the rest of the week. Eughk. Get a job, losers.

KISS KISS, MY LITTLE SAINTS. I can't wait to see what tomorrow has in store for us. We’ll be heading into the last and final event - and we’ll get to meet this year’s victors. Stay with me! I’ve been, am, and will be Jaymez St. Jaymez St. Jaymez, reporting from Waypoint Shril, for this Aurora Blue Arena!!

---

((OOC NOTES: This log is the catch-all for all ABA! Events, excluding the Demolition Man Derby and Awards Ceremony on Day :039. You'll notice the structure of this is… atypical. Feel free to glom on to absolutely any of the above hooks and prompts and go absolutely wild with them. No drama is too minor, no explosion too large. However feel free to also create your own logs concurrent to these happenings if nothing catches your eye. That said, please don't log or thread anything beyond Day :039 - you never know when things might wrap up with an unexpected bang. For full details of the events, please see the WAYPOINT SHRIL, PT.2 post. If you have any additional questions, don't hesitate to drop us a note on the Mod Contact page.

'Wait, can I NPC this character?' When it doubt, the answer is probably yes. Use your best judgement, but we encourage you to go wild. Should you desire mod input or for us to bounce into a thread, feel free to reach out to us and we'll be happy to accommodate. We may also be threadjacking some of these threads, however don't feel compelled to wait for us to do so. Have fun and don't get killed!))

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Comments

[lilies]

I. RISE & SHINE

[ things gladio is not fond of: waking up in unfamiliar places.

things gladio is even less fond of: the rush of garbled nonsense that fills his mind as something uncomfortably pulls itself from the nape of his neck. his hand flies up instantly to the skin there and what peace he might have had seconds ago is suddenly melting away. what adrenaline had sloughed off of him moments prior is starting to build again, heart racing, elbow hitting the side of the coffin-like pod that he instantly sits up in.

his head just glances off the top and he curses softly, glowering up at the offending barrier before looking at the ladder that's begging to be used and the stack of his belongings beside it along with a set of neatly-folded white clothing. while his own clothes aren't worse for the wear, per se, they could do with a wash after the last fight but--haha fuck that.

taking his belongings, he grabs onto the ladder and takes a couple of steps down before sliding he rest of the way down. he eyeballs a couple of the emptied pods, and others that look like they either haven't been touched are are waiting. something in his mind tenses, unsure as he passes a hand over the back of his neck. ]

We're past the point of 'pinch me I'm dreaming' right? [ he asks, casting a sideways glance toward whomever might be nearby. the irritatingly empty feeling is starting to bother him, like he's had holes poked through him and he can't seem to find what exactly will fill those gaps just yet. ] Not that I'd call this a good dream. [ if it were a good dream it'd have more cup noodles. or campfires. or maybe a good book. ]

II. NEVER MIND, I REGRET GETTING UP

[ this place is loud, all bright colors and flashing--he's not unfamiliar with crowded cities, but everything towers maybe too high and people seem far more on top of each other going this way or that (let's not get into the extra appendages, varying textures and shapes, the number of eyeballs someone has to the left of him, a few of which are on stalks and definitely touching him....... eugh????).

he hears mutterings of people getting out of here and others just flying in from this or that sector or planet or station and it takes gladiolus a moment to process just about everything he's hearing.

unfortunately, the alien with... multiple eyes is starting to really, really creep the hell out of him.

like. an eyeball being shoved up on his cheek creepy and another that's definitely trying to get even further up into his personal space, and another and listen.

he's had to deal with a lot of bullshit monsters in his (short) lifetime. he doesn't need this right now. ]

Sorry, you're not my type, [ he grunts, giving one stalk a very thorough shove backwards. another he smacks off with the back of his hand, and by the time he gets to the third one, he's a little less than kind, plucking it by the end of its long tendril and nudging it away. he tries to be a little gentle, but his irritation makes him pinch the stalk a little harder than he normally might (what is normal?) regardless, please Do Not. gladio scans the crowd for about ten seconds tops before-- ] Oi, I've been looking for you! [--and maybe slinging an arm around your shoulder (if that's cool, buddy), a little weighty but definitely steering away from strange eyeball alien with a wave. truth: he has not been looking for you, but seriously, walk faster with him away from incredibly invasive alien. ]

III. NO FOR REAL. I REGRET BEING BORN

[ regret regret reeeegreeeeet.

he definitely regrets following the strange, large shadow that'd been stalking him just a little earlier, but when you feel like you've got an unsettling set of eyes on you, following you, you're going to want to investigate to make sure you get whatever it is that's trying to get you first. regardless, if you're walking by a kind of sketch-looking alley, you might want to be carefully of the suddenly flying equivalent of a garbage can hurtling at a high velocity out of it.

folks don't really seem too bothered, or maybe they're walking much faster than usual. and sweating a little more nervously. or running and screaming. i mean, you've heard the whole "sarsarseven" debacle right? so this is great. perfect. wonderful.

investigate a little further and surprise, there's gladio ready to throw yet another garbage can at this thing that's got him pinned to the end of the alley. unfortunately, his sword is kind of laying a little too far for him to reach, so he's working with what he can okay, and apparently that's garbage.

give a guy a hand? ]

II

[somnifacient]

[It's a strange sensation, being able to tell when parts of the Nest had become more whole. Like a vacuum filling, and suddenly what was once a void is now threaded with a familiarity of emotion that wasn't his own. New hosts, waking up. Like he had, not all that long ago.

Something else brings him here, something more than a feeling of mere familiarity. Camaraderie, maybe, though he cannot hope to imagine why; all Noctis knows is that his feet move on their own, following the figurative trail. There are images flickering at the edges of his cognition -- the weight of a greatsword, the sheen of a shield. Scars and strength and metal. Duty, more than anything else, feels the heaviest in his chest.

Could it be...?

Oi, I've been looking for you! comes a voice, and Noctis feels the heft of someone leaning onto his shoulder. Someone taller than he was, someone stronger. The flash of tattooed feathers register in his peripheral and everything about the young king tenses in nigh disbelief. Coiling up, afraid to feel anything but anxiety, because what if he's wrong?

His feet move forward automatically, walking with the man without thinking. Noctis shifts his gaze, over and up.

He's not wrong.]

Gladio?

wow who's this loser

[lilies]

[ when gladio said that he'd been looking for someone.

he hadn't actually meant to find someone he'd been looking for the most (some shadow of sensation, the briefest flutter of familiarity upon waking that had rushed up to the surface and died with it during his acclimation aboard the station.

now it rises up again and gladio feels it like a crashing wave, too much and not enough all the same because the face that's glancing up at him, while it looks like it's been carved out of older stuff, it's still familiar. those are his eyes and that's his voice and while his hair is a little longer, gladio knows him anywhere.

footsteps aiming to escape the previously very offensive alien stop dead and gladio feels a part of him fill like a cold glass of water in the heat of summer. ]

Noct--

[ his voice ends there, jaw hanging just a little slack. ]

You're here. [ said with disbelief, though he avoids rubbing his eyes, pinching himself, looking away because he's half unsure if this is just a dream from some weird alien juice that rubbed off on him when that stupid thing was shoving itself all up in his face.

what's walking when you can stare someone you haven't seen in months in the eyes. ]

wow your face is a loser

[somnifacient]

[The momentum stops, with Noctis halting the same time that Gladio does. The crowd continues to rush past, but suddenly he's not cognizant of the movement at all. Only the Shield of the King, standing before him, clear as day. He sets his jaw, swallowing, his last memory of seeing the man rushing through his head. Upon the steps of the Citadel, walk tall, duty and hope in the bleak of night.

Noctis straightens, eyes searching Gladio. He sees a man ten years younger (ten years less of surviving in the dark, of keeping the daemons at bay) than what he remembers, and this realization brings forth a wave of confusion that intermingles with the pure relief of seeing him. Only half a weight lifting from his shoulders, leaving raw emotion.

Gladio can probably feel it — gladness, the sharp spike of nostalgia, something sorrowful but simultaneously hopeful.]

Could say the same for you.

[And despite everything, his expression cracks into a tired grin.]

You've been making me wait. [The irony behind those words is real.]

everyone knows that tho

[lilies]

[ gladio doesn't intend to break like a dam. he can feel it there, a gut punch that hurts, but in the best way. he shifts his arm so that he can place both hands on noctis' shoulders without missing a beat, facing him head on. he's solid and real, and while he doesn't flood, parts of him become much more palpable mentally than before.

the relief more than anything, clawing up at the surface, the excitement of recognition. his hands bear down, squeeze like he isn't sure what he's holding onto is tangible. ]

So you grew some shitty facial hair to pass the time? How bored did you get without me?

[ a laugh, it shakes on the tail end. gladio smiles and it's past his eyes, breaking open faster than he can collect it up. months. noctis has been gone months back home, no doubt that much he can feel in gladio's desperation as he grabs a fistful of fabric as his shoulder and bodily pulls him into a fast embrace.

fast in that he tries not to hold on for too long.

he has an image, okay.

it's still somewhat bruising. ]

[somnifacient]

[Hands tight on his shoulders, the excitement lances over to Noct as well. For a ridiculous moment, he feels utterly relieved and nothing more to see a familiar face looking down at him. And unlike Gladio, Noct lets this flood outwards, not proficient enough to stop it, and not particularly caring right now.

He laughs, drawn into the embrace. Hand patting at Gladio's back, because by the Six, he is real and solid. He forces himself to sound indignant at the remark, though there's no way to hide the humor in his tone.]

Shitty? You're just jealous that I'm more handsome than you now.

[With a huff of a laugh, he steps back, looking at him. It does bring up the question of how Gladio seems different than what he remembers, and despite everything, he has to bring himself to ask.]

This is gonna be a weird question, but what's the last thing you remember?

[lilies]

[ the rush is good. it's...

strange, but it's good, the kind he wants to wrap an emotional fist around it as noctis departs from the embrace with a pat to his back. he lets out a breath as the crowd pushes past the both of them, sweeping by them in the natural current of wherever everyone is headed.

he drops the facial hair for now with just a very skeptically cocked brow. the expression says it all yeah right. hair aside now, gladio rakes a hand through his, eyeing noctis steadily. the last thing he remembers? ]

I was fighting a daemon.

[ that's it. ]

Prompto and Ignis, we'd split up.

[ another beat, something gladio holds, and there it is, like a stone in your stomach, sinking down, down, down, an ache you don't get to rub out, the kind of laceration you don't get to stitch up again. ] You'd been gone... a few months. Everything's... it kind of went to shit.

[ "kind of" is the understatement of the century. the first thing that happens is that it gets dark, it gets bleak, and it's just the three of them and the open road feeling more open and more lonely that it's ever been before. nothing's the same, they're trying not to splinter and it's easy at first and--

gladio's brow pinches. ]

How long have you been here?

[somnifacient]

[The daemon revelation makes him frown, because while he's sure this is nothing new for an Eos swathed in dark, the thought of Gladio having to fend such terrible things off on his own still worries him.

But yeah, he knows. That they had been split up, he had been told that soon after his awakening. They had only formed their group once more because of his return, and something tugs at him when he thinks back upon it -- nostalgia and sorrow and loss, in equal measure.

He has a lot to tell Gladio. He's from ahead of him, if only slightly, but a lot had happened. Their battle with Ifrit, Ardyn's defeat. His ascension to the throne, to give his own life for the sake of his world.

He could tell him now. But he's presented with a distraction in the form of a question, and Noctis latches onto it.]

Not very long. A week, maybe, at the most. [Time flows awkwardly, out here in space.] I'm just as fresh as you.

I had already... woken up, when I was brought here. I guess that's obvious.

[decommission]

Not the worst dream either. [ The voice comes from another Host, short and with the look of a personified rumpled, grey cloud wearing the same white pajamas and a bundle of personal items under one arm. His mouth is fever dry, damp hair pressed against his forehead. He's disoriented, but it doesn't seem to have much to do with the fact that he crawled out of an alien pod - or, it does, but not the way it does for the rest of the folks waking up.

In any case, his mental shields snapped into place the minute he found himself back on the Station, leaving his mind a quiet space within the chamber. ]

This - it's your first time waking up, right? [ He's got a need to double check the facts, uncertainty playing across his features.

It's not that he's realizing he has no idea what day it is. Or how long he's been out. ]

[lilies]

Yeah? Here, anyways. [ gladio takes his time looking over the newcomer briefly. there's a quiet that accompanies him, which is honestly something that takes the edge off of the constantly jostling noise that's filling up most of his head space. still, he's unsettled, the sensation of being somewhere totally unknown prickling down his usually grounded footing. ]

Last time I had an alien abduction dream though, it went sour pretty fast. [ that's what this feels like anyway, okay? ] You been here before?

III

[sistershoggoth]

[ She really actually doesn't have time for this. She's performing later in the day and she's trying to get the last of the bullshit together for this ridiculous assembly. But, well. The trash can comes clinking out into her way and she can tell there's another host there. Honestly, she's not the most reassuring presence herself. Due to the nature of what she is beneath the appearance of human, she too gives off a sense of a monster: stalking, watching, smiling. Lucky for Gladio, she doesn't really try to reach out for him telepathically.

She's a small woman, easily mistaken for little more than a teenage girl until you really look at her up close and see the wear of her years. All the same, this small pale blur comes barreling down the alleyway towards them, swinging her bag of supplies with a force that makes the thing fly apart in her hands when it makes contact. ]

Aw shit, I need that crap...

Ilde Option

[erbier]

[ There is a young woman waiting for the ship when they arrive at the Waypoint. A pretty blonde with solemn eyes and sullen lips. She gives away very little telepathically, she has a careful and pointed chill around her, which belies the polite greetings she provides. ]

Hello. What is your name?