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

[lavelly]

Shields. [His face softens.] Shiro mentioned shields, too. Is... that something I can learn? To keep other people's voices out?

[Please say it's something he can learn. He's not even going to comment on Sam's "ability" if he can't at least have that.]

[sizeofyourbaggage]

[ There's a flicker of a smile and a brief warmth in his eyes at the mention of Shiro's name, but whatever emotion he's feeling stays behind his walls.

Then it's gone, though his smile stays, as he focuses his attention on shielding. ]

Hell yeah. I've helped a couple of people make their stronger; I can walk you through the basics if you want.

[lavelly]

[At Sam's words, Lavellan is torn between hope and suspicion. Self-preservation means suspicion wins out, and he takes a half step back from Sam, his eyes narrowing. The increased strength in Sam's shield doesn't help, though it's more subtle; already, Lavellan's become accustomed to the psychic white noise that comes with the symbiote, and its absence is jarring.]

What exactly does that involve?

[sizeofyourbaggage]

[ Sam holds up his hands, palm out, and makes no move to step back in closer. Instead he gives a one shouldered shrug. ]

What it involves is up to you, man, I don't wanna be in your head any more than you want me there. That's why figuring out shielding was the first thing I did, why I'm still working on it. I can talk you through how I make mine, or I can lower my shields a little and show you.

[lavelly]

[Lavellan stops and forces himself to take a deep breath. He needs to stop biting at people who are just trying to help him, but it's hard to keep his hackles down in circumstances as bizarre as this. The fact that everyone else seems to be taking it in stride, even the other new arrivals, isn't helping his nerves any.

He pinches the bridge of his nose and tries to force the agitation out of his voice.]

Sorry. I've been a bit on edge. I would... appreciate you showing me how to shield. If you don't mind. [He can understand if Sam doesn't want to anymore, considering how rude he's been.]

[sizeofyourbaggage]

[ Sam puts his hands down, relaxing a little as he shakes his head. ]

I get it. I sniped at the first person I saw until he pretty much ran away from me, so, you know. You're doing better than me.

[ Of course the first person Sam'd found was Bucky, who came with his own brand of complications and irritations, but that's beside the point. The point is that anyone would be on edge after all of this, and Sam doesn't take it personally. ]

Yeah, I'll show you. You're gonna feel a little more from my side, but I'll make it quick. [ And now he opens up his side of the connection more, enough for the visualization of his own shields to become apparent - a rolling cloud layer, pinks and golds gleaming off fluffy white, giving way to dark grey and heavy purple, and back again. He lets his shielding fade, focuses on the way it feels as the cloud layer thins, as patches of sunlight or lightning streak through and Sam's mental presence becomes stronger. Then he concentrates on building it back up, taking care to focus on each step in the process as he pulls his clouds back around his mind, until his presence disappears behind them. ]

The visualization is the most important part - go with something that works for you. If you've had experience with telepathy or magic or anything where you've had to guard your mind or let go of thoughts you're fixating on, it'll come easier if you tap into that and adapt it.

[lavelly]

[Lavellan inhales sharply when Sam lets through the cracks in his shields, briefly overwhelmed by even that mild contact--he hadn't been quite aware of how shielded everyone else he's met had been, and he has to wonder what kind of effect he's been having on them.

Then he shores up, and imagines a shield of his own. It's shimmering, iridescent, blue-white; an imitation of the barriers he can conjure for the physical form. It's as good as anything.

As unfocused as he is, it's not effective, but it affects something. The connection between them dims further, and he can feel the ambient voices soften.

Even even if it's slight, it's progress.]

I... Like that?

[But there was something else, when Sam let his shields weaken; a kind of tendril, reaching through the cracks. He's felt it before, both from the normal people around him and the other hosts, and until now he'd never made the connection between that and their actual thoughts.

He's wary enough not to reach out to it. But he's also curious.]

[sizeofyourbaggage]

[ A couple of times in the past, this would be where Sam offered to go into the guy's mind and help him shore up his shields, guide him in planting down the roots and strengthening his barriers. But Lavellan is freaked out enough, and Sam isn't looking to unsettle him even more.

Instead he lowers his own shields back down, letting them dissolve even further this time so he can get a feel for how Lavellan's are shaping up.

He brushes against the shimmering barrier that he can feel surrounding Lavellan's mind - not enough to actually try to break through it, just enough to confirm it's there. ]

Exactly like that. You done something like this before?

[lavelly]

[Eyes still closed, Lavellan shies instinctively away from Sam's mental touch, but with the background noise dimmed he's less on edge than he was. He makes an effort to relax back into it, to reassure Sam that he knows Sam doesn't mean any harm, to acknowledge the trust he knows Sam is showing him here. He still can't quite let go all the way, but hey, it's still more than he was doing before.

It would be easier to communicate with Sam mentally, like this, but something in Lavellan still isn't willing to go that far.]

Sort of. There's a lot of visualization involved in magic, or at least the conjuring part of it.

[But something is still bothering him--he can intuitively understand the "language" of the link, for the most part, but the tendrils or whatever they are are still a mystery. When he brushes against them there's something like an electric shock of a totally alien sensation.

It's something he thinks Sam might have mentioned. Maybe he can't sense them. Lavellan's heard something about additional abilities given by the symbiote--maybe this is one of them.

What the hell, then. He doesn't doesn't shy away this time--so far this all has been safe enough, if disturbing. He reaches out, takes one, and yanks.]

[sizeofyourbaggage]

[ Honestly, Sam doesn't expect him to let go all the way. Hell, Sam wouldn't let go all the way, not with someone he just met.

Lavellan's comment about magic catches his interest, but before he can ask anything about it - something changes, something about their connection twists, until it settles comfortably among brood. He can still feel the empty aches of the places where Sam Alexander and Giorno should be, the cold distance of the atrophied link between him and Parker, and he knows Lavellan hasn't replaced any of them, just... added to them.

His shields don't so much slip as they do shift, a little. His cloud layer thins as more patches appear, as a quiet, steady sense of belonging hums under their surface. Sam's connection with his brood is strong - he'd known that, sure, known that his shields don't work as well around Bucky and Katie, especially Bucky, but it's different knowing that with two people he's already familiar with and feeling it with a new broodmate.

Because there's no denying that's what Lavellan is right now. Just like there's no denying the way his shields don't hold up when his mind was drawn to their lack of functioning around Bucky, the way the flashes of memory and emotion drift across their brood bond. The cold grey gaze of the Soldier, blood and pain and gunfire and Sam's steadfast determination, an echo of the promise he made - whatever it takes, I'll kill you myself if I have to.

Shit. ]

[lavelly]

[While Sam might be equipped for the idea, already being used to this, Lavellan is not--he hasn't actually met any of his broodmates in person yet, hasn't yet felt a connection this strong from a person this close, and the purpose of this exercise had been to shut out intrusions, not let someone deeper into his mind. He mentally backpedals, panicking, trying to keep Sam from getting any further--he knows this is because of what he did, not Sam, but that doesn't change that he still doesn't want to let Sam in.

The problem is, whatever's happening right now--he's confusing Sam's thoughts with his own, and trying not to think about something only does the exact opposite.

I'll kill you myself if I have to--

His mind goes to Cole. The Fade. S--

No--

Solas--

Pain and fury, pain in his arm and in his chest and a howling grief he doesn't understand, doesn't even want to acknowledge he has, can't show even people he trusts let alone this stranger--

A stranger that would kill a friend--shut up that's not how it was you know it and you would do worse--

The faster the images flow, the more agitated he gets, and the less he can control his thoughts, the more it becomes overwhelming. His thoughts blur between Bucky and Cole and Solas and Bucky and whatever it takes and]

( get out get out make it stop get it OUT SAM GET OUT )

[sizeofyourbaggage]

[ Sam feels Lavellan's panic as if it was his own, feels the loss of an arm in a way that echoes the disconcerting phantom feeling he already gets from another broodmate -

Feels the empty ache of a hollow grief, ever present but unacknowledged because he can't -

- he has to, you promised -

Faces flash across his mind and Sam doesn't recognize either of them except he does, except he knows them, he -

The active defenses of his mind flare up, but the only time he's gotten this much bleedover of pain from a broodmate has been when he was trying to defend both of them from something that doesn't belong there. It's what his shields do now, without conscious thought. Lavellan screams at him to make it stop and Sam tries, wings wrapping around both of their minds to try to block out everything that isn't them.

The noise of the rest of the Nest quiets, and Sam curls his hand around the coin in his pocket, focusing on the familiar pattern of the etched words under his fingers to ground himself in what's real, not in his head. To ground them both.

But it's only for a moment, before Sam catches himself. He falls back, wings unfurling with a snap of red plumage and a rush of wind. He refocuses, tucking them back in on himself until his mind disappears with a final note of confusion and a faint hint of apology, like the brush of a feather. ]

What the hell, that's never happened before.

[lavelly]

[It helps, quieting the rest of the Nest. There's less noise to overwhelm him, less to distract him from gathering his composure again. He's able to shakily make the rest of the way toward--something resembling stability. But his pulse still hammers in his throat. Like wingbeats.

He's panting, sweating, leaning back against the wall, not entirely in the here and now but better than he was before. I'll kill you myself if I have to still pounds in his head in time with the fervor of his own breathing, like a fading nightmare. But he can feel the friction of the brick against his back and can see Sam's face in front of him when before it had been a swirl of foreign images.

It's all still there, the connection is still strong and he can feel that whirlpool of thought still tugging at the edges of his mind, can feel Sam's confusion and concern almost as if it were his own, but if he digs his fingertips into the gravel behind him he can keep it all apart, just barely.

The rational part of his mind takes over, like clockwork, putting his thoughts in order, analyzing what just happened, even as his own frantic breathing makes him lightheaded.]

What just happened? What did I do?

[Because he did do something. He has enough awareness to tell that, at least.]

[sizeofyourbaggage]

[ Sam's trying to hold himself back, keep himself behind his shields - but it's already a harder thing to do with broodmates, and he's off balance here. It's easy with Parker, when she cuts herself off as much as possible, easy with Bucky, when they just don't really have any shields with each other any more. Pretty much all of his focus normally goes to keeping Katie out - he isn't prepared for a new broodmate, for the way it feels like he can breathe a little easier now that his connection to Lavellan is a little stronger.

You don't get new broodmates. Your brood is what it is once it's full, and when you lose members you don't ever get that feeling again - Sam's learned that, he's learning to deal with it. But this? He doesn't know what this is.

Except that it's hard to focus on keeping his shields up when he wants to explore, when he wants to tug at their brood bond and see where it slots in among the others. And he knows that feeling probably makes its way across their link - but he doesn't, he keeps his shields as strong as he can. ]

I don't know. But if you don't either, I'm guessing it's got something to do with your symbiote ability.

[lavelly]

[Lavellan shies back from the idea as soon as he senses it from Sam--this whole situation is disturbing enough, and he can't possibly imagine wanting to deepen this connection.

But he's grateful to Sam for not pushing, and he lets that bleed out, at least. As much as he can without flooding them both all over again.]

My symbiote ability.

[He scoffs, dry and humorless.]

Just my luck, I suppose. I couldn't have asked for a worse one.'

[Well, at least now he knows. And he'll never use it again.]

[sizeofyourbaggage]

[ He used to think that, too, when he first arrived; he'd rebelled against the brood idea and the fact that he felt so much connected to people he didn't give a shit about and didn't want to give a shit about. There's a reason why most of his closest connections are people outside his brood. But then most of them had been teenagers, and it was hard not to care about those kids. And there'd been Bucky, who - well, it's complicated.

Parker can still go to hell, though.

There's a soft huff, something that could almost be a chuckle if it weren't equally dry and humorless. ]

Yeah. It's always something, man, with mine I couldn't touch anyone for the first month or so. You can learn control it, though.