[training log] we are the champions

[onemind]

CHARACTERS: All
WHERE: Station 72
WHEN: Day :44
SUMMARY: 1988 Crystal Light National Aerobic Championship.
WARNINGS: Will update as necessary. Need a warning added? PM this account please!

DAY 44 begins without ceremony, the station quiet and still, the murmur of host's minds distant. Even with all of the current new hosts returned from their mission the station is too large to ever really feel lived in. It is almost peaceful, when the call comes.

The voice is nothing like Cathaway's, who is so often in the young Host's minds, but then again Prince was rarely so warm or inviting, and in the days he has had to recover from the Station's recent jumps he has returned to his more stable state, his tone perfectly matched to his speech, seeming as near as if he is speaking just over their shoulders.

'Good morning. I would like to encourage all hosts, most especially those fresh to the station, to join us today in the Training Wing. This resource is not to be underestimated, as it will not be available to you when you are on assignment. Attendance is recommended.'

With that simple message he is again gone from their minds, leaving them alone with their own thoughts- and anyone else who shares them. Left behind is the impression of how to reach the Training Wing, in case anyone is unaware.




FOR THOSE WHO CHOSE to follow the call and make their way to the Training wing, they will find Prince, once again adorned in his traditional uniform. He has beside him a small stack of charcoal grey jumpsuits identical to it beside him, for any host who had not previously made their way to the wing.

For those who are familiar with the space he simply nods to them and leaves them to their own devices, unless they should chose to approach him for more than simple encouragement. For those who are new, he will direct them to the lockers and give them the honeycomb textured jumpsuits, which will fit them perfectly. He will also give a brief explanation of Iota and Rho symbiotic types for those who need it ((as outlined in the setting)) and go into the basics of the specialized abilities all hosts develop. He will not divulge the exact ability that a host possesses at that time, but may be persuaded to with some difficulty. He will then suggest that they set their mind to learning what they can aboard the station, and let each host know that he only teaches the willing.

After that, the space is theirs.

---

((OOC Notes: Welcome to the second training log! Below you will find some information from the first log, which is now also available in the setting section!

The Training Wing is large- bigger than the biggest gym, and it contains a number of specialized spaces for Host’s use. What follows is an (incomplete) list of amenities. Have an idea for another space? Drop us a line in the questions section of the most recent calendar post! The training wing itself is a central hub-type area with a number of hallways that branch out in a vaguely spiraling fashion spanning multiple levels. Below are a list of locations key to this log:

• Lockers - Featuring rows of open cubbies, shower spaces, a bathroom, towels, and sets of shoes for those of you without proper footwear. Hosts visiting the lockers for the first time will receive their station-standard charcoal grey suits, which are tailor fit to their exact measurements. These suits are flexible, strong, and surprisingly breathable, and are comfortable enough to wear all day.

• Track - Centrally located there is a large running track that is multiple lanes wide, the ground of which is coated in some sort of slightly rubbery, gripping substance.

• Gym - Located not far from the lockers is an almost traditional gym space, with a number of pieces of exercise equipment, some of which is familiar and some of which is not. There are instructions that will read in a pleasant voice if you seem lost. You will find both strength and cardio equipment arranged in a somewhat sensible manner.

• Training Hall - A large open space with a number of pads on the floors and walls and a wide variety of dummies and protective gear. This is the space where you will find melee practice weapons ranging from swords and pikes to slightly more exotic weaponry- all blunted or dulled- as well as room for most forms of martial arts.

• Range - Lying closest to the Flight Hangar, this room features a number of targets and projectile training weapons. Here you will find everything from bows and arrows to laser guns. Nothing is capable of doing real damage, but it feels and reacts in a way that’s very real. Handy readouts will tell you exactly how accurate (or inaccurate) you are.

• Pool - It’s a pool, there are lanes, so swim free. Please don’t drown. There is no sauna. There are two styles of suits available, a simple charcoal one-piece with white piping, and an equally simple charcoal swim briefs with matching white piping.

We're in control, body and soul,
We push ourselves to the maximum!!))

NAVIGATION • SETTING • FAQ • MOD CONTACT • GLOSSARY

( CODE BY WHAMBAM )

Comments

[adamance]

[The withdrawal of his emotions does enough to temper the flare of hers, at least for the moment. Lexa is still seemingly unaware of this shift in temperament, as there's nothing to show for it. Of course, she's currently having a bout of willing lack of self-awareness. She refuses to frame this as being about Bellamy, about losing someone important to her—and in that, she almost forces herself to be oblivious.

(Deep down, she knows. But that's where willful ignorance comes from. It comes from knowing and not wanting to know.)]

Not everything is about sentiment. Murphy and I understand that. Why don't you?

[In fact, that's the only thing she thinks that she and Murphy agree upon. That's where she thinks Bellamy is blind, even if she's also guilty of that claim and is acting as if she's not.]

ugh i hit delete on mobile instead of edit i'm a dumb dumb

[deployed]

This is about sentiment.

[ It's more than that too, but Bellamy can't pretend that emotions aren't at play. His are, at the very least. ]

I'm not leaving here without you or Murphy and I'm not leaving before the job is done. If I compromise on those things, what's the point?

[ They're sentimental sticking points, maybe, but Bellamy can't budge on them. It's about more than just knowing that Clarke would have hated him for leaving Lexa behind. It's about the attachment that's formed between them and Bellamy's attempts to honor that.

Even if Lexa is working his last nerve, the way was she is now. Bellamy can fell her anger sparking his own, and when he steps forward it's almost an aggressive action. Bellamy can't manage to completely quell that impulse. ]

[adamance]

[It's the aggression that brings her to finally steeling herself, driving down her emotions to become nothing more than a cold statue. At least for a moment. Her eyes peer out at him through heavy lids, and she waits, albeit for a few seconds longer, to consider his words. Just as she would with Murphy, she finds herself divided her, like she's at an impasse that needs to be crossed.

If she knew it was her time in the Nest that wore away at her, she might have rejected it more fully. Some part of it isn't that, however; the longer she's away from the role she has to play as the Commander of her people, the more likely she is to find herself willing to give in to emotions, to sentiment, to the very thing she's accusing Bellamy of at this time. It's not as if she's been a stranger to it. She spoke of how Clarke was special. She swore fealty to her.

Everything had begun there, and everything ends there. Lexa's acceptance of her faults had led to her trying to be on equal ground with Bellamy in spite of everything he had done. Ahsoka's anger in finding out about General Hux and Lexa's even-handed take on it had led her to examine her own actions. These steps don't exist in a vacuum, one taken after another as if there's no chance of them affecting one another.

So, some of it is knowing Bellamy for as long as she has, for being a part of a situation where no matter what walls she drives up between her and others, she can't drive away the very thing she had been trained to believe would make her weak. As a Commander, she had been trained to believe that the love for her people would lead all of her actions. And she had trained her novitiates in the same way, because nothing is as simple as just strength. Strength comes from different sources.

Lexa swallows, because there's a glimmer of emotions within her that threaten to rear their head even if she's trying to put on a different face. More than that, she knows that she's been thinking, that she's been silent because of the mercurial nature in which she feels at the moment, and it's written all over her. She knows that her silence is less purposeful, and more a measure of trying to contain herself.]

Sentiment should never be the point. There should be a greater purpose to your actions. [The words are stiff, robotic, because there's a clear sense that while she might believe them on some level, she doesn't entirely. Going to her knees before Clarke—and proceeding to owe that loyalty to Bellamy—had been sentimental. It had been done in private, just as she had acted in private to ask her novitiates to care for Clarke in her absence.

She's a fool to say otherwise, and yet she already has.]

[deployed]

[ The conflict passing through Lexa's mind is hazy. Bellamy could make it out clearly if he pressed closer, but he suppresses the urge to hook tendrils of thought further into her mind than he already has. Privacy is a delicate thing in the Nest, and Bellamy tries to preserve that for her where he can.

But he understands that on some level, they're trying to reconcile fundamental differences in their viewpoints. As much as Bellamy pushes against the notions she's trying to introduce to him, he isn't sure how much he can get her to budge. There's give between both of them. The lines are slowly blurring, mingling morals and perspectives. It's not just Lexa in his head. It's the Darkling and Clint and Shiro, remnants of Bruce and Rey. Sheer stubbornness is what allows him to hold so tightly to this particular conviction, even in the face of the pull of Lexa's emotions. ]

Keeping the people I love safe is more than sentiment. [ That's always been the point. The pool of people has just expanded since he got here. ] Keeping everyone safe is the purpose.

[ Maybe that's too limited. He can't anticipate Lexa's response. ]

And grieving when they're gone.

[ Or sleeping, which might as well be the same thing. ]

[adamance]

[Love is weakness. But it's also why she has kept herself so concealed from others in the Nest. She's barely acknowledged the blushes that other women have offered her. She's refrained from allowing herself to wonder about the romantic connotations of other people's reactions to each other. The only place where she's gotten close to that had been with Bellamy, and that's because they loved the same person. There's nothing that can be done about that.]

Have you ever thought that perhaps the issue is that you love too easily, Bellamy? [That had been at the heart of what he just said to her, another layer for her to expose to the best of her ability. Her chin remains lifted, proud.

Then again, the problem may be that she's too afraid to care for people, lest she end up driven in a way that's not unlike him. Lexa thinks she might have done that once, when Costia was still alive, when her purpose wasn't just being a Commander but loving the handmaiden who braided her hair every morning. That version of herself feels like nothing more than a hazy memory.]

[deployed]

[ Maybe not love, exactly. The circle of people he loves is smaller than Lexa might suspect. But the people he cares and would sacrifice for comes to the same thing she's questioning: too many people who too easily receive his affections. Bellamy doesn't regret it. He has plenty of things that he does, but not the way he cares for others. He doesn't flinch from Lexa's gaze. ]

No.

[ There'd been a point maybe, when he'd wished he could stop feeling anything at all. He'd been furious with Clarke and eaten up by grief over all the lives he'd sacrificed, and he's wished he could stop it all. But he's come a long way since then. ]<

None of this would matter if I didn't.

[ What would push him to fight then? Bellamy had never known any other motivation. ]

[adamance]

[Did she expect any other response? Lexa's prideful stance relents, at least somewhat, the emotional tension of the situation all but fading away into nothingness. It's not completely gone—Lexa always has that sense of rigidness even in her lighter moments—but for the most part, she lets it go. She even smiles, looking at Bellamy and then away from him.]

Perhaps it's a good thing that you have the two of us. We can keep that from hurting you.

[Or they can try. They might agree upon absolutely nothing, but at least they're pragmatic.]

[deployed]

[ Her reaction is unexpected. Bellamy had expected her to press him further, but the way her expression softens into a smile catches him completely off guard. It's disarming. Maybe that's the point, but he lets the urge to second guess her intentions pass. ]

Maybe.

[ After everything they've said, it's a little ridiculous to balk at expressing gratitude for her presence. But quiet acceptance flows between them. ]

I didn't think that would be your answer.

[ There's no point in not admitting it. His surprise had been palpable. ]

[adamance]

I know better than to spend all my time trying to change you, Bellamy. [In truth, she knew that before they entered this conversation. They've been here long enough that there's nothing that can alter his perception on things. Even if he respects her views and her opinions, he is still the man that Clarke believed would be able to enter Mount Weather—and the man who succeeded.

He's just also the man who acts on his pain as much as his happiness. It's a difficult balance for someone like her to grapple with, but it would be a lie to say that she isn't accustomed to it.]

[deployed]

[ This conversation is a mark of the progress they've made. Bellamy considers that for a long moment before the tension ebbs away, and he returns her smile. ]

Just some of your time.

[ And likely time during their next mission. Bellamy's prepared for whatever issues arise when they try to reconcile their different approaches. ]

Do you want to take a turn on the mat with me?

[ Aka knock him down. ]

[adamance]

Someone needs to temper you. [And Clarke isn't here to be the balancing force. Lexa knows that she's an extreme of Clarke in a lot of ways, which is why they've had a hard time coming to this point. In general, even if she can be just as prickly, Clarke is more accepting and understanding of other people and who they are than she'll ever be.

It's part of why Lexa loves her.]

Though any spar will lead to some humiliation on your part. Are you ready for that, Bellamy?

wrap it y/n?

[deployed]

I think I'll be able to survive it.

[ And it lead to improvement. That's the most crucial factor, and whatever fleeting embarrassment Bellamy had felt over being so deeply outclassed evaporated as soon as he'd realized that. He tips his head towards the mats. ]

After you.