Player Plot: Paint Ball Battle

[worldsaway]

who: Open to All
what: The Annual Paintball War.
when: 17/01
where: The Jungle + The Hot Springs
warnings: Violence, Swearing and Nudity. The Tarantino Experience.

The Game It’s a chilly morning when the competitors gather in the jungle for the competition, there are still thin layers of ice and snow on the rocks and leaves and the air is cool and crisp. All competitors are outfitted with a full set of equipment, including a paintball gun, a battle pack (a set of 5 colours, 10 of each colour except for three, glittery pods), protective eyewear, a face mask (in a variety of colours and patterns) and camouflage clothing. Players are transported in groups (but not teams) of five into different sections of the jungle. The Perimeter guards monitor the outskirts and the boundaries are marked with flags. Each team is told the general rules of play, which are as follows: You are given a set of 5 colours, 10 of each and 3 glitter bombs Each colour has a different effect on its target, summed up with one word. You need to be hit with 3 different colours or one glitter bomb to be “killed” Use glitter bombs wisely, you only get three. Each coloured pod has a word written on it, in its designated colour. The colours, words and effects are as follows: Red- “Over-confidence” Being hit with red makes you irrational, your decisions are stupid and poorly thought out. This makes you an easy target. Blue- “Rhythm” You are compelled to sing and dance. Every step you take is jazzy, you can’t stop trying to move to the music in your mind. You’re compelled to rhyme or sing every thought you have, to a maddening degree. Purple- “Flirtatious” You are now feeling flirtatious. Your mind is off the prize and on your teammates and enemies. They become your focus instead. Pink- “Ditzy” You’re feeling distracted. Your focus is shot and you can’t stop spacing out. Your imagination is running wild and you see things out of the corner of your eye. You also can’t stop yourself from chattering away. Glitter: Glitter’s effects are long term. The glitter stays on you for weeks after, in your hair and faintly sparkling on your skin. It’s also an instant out, meaning you must leave the game once you’ve been hit with one. The winner is the one who makes it out without being hit by three different colours or a glitter bomb.

The Hot Springs After the war is over, paintballers can retreat to the hot springs. For characters over 18, there are washrooms set up before you enter, there are two segregated by gender (but not heavily monitored either way), with a third for those who don’t identify as either gender or for those who don’t care who they see or who sees them naked. Assisting one another in a scrub down is encouraged, since there will be paint where your arms can’t reach. There are stools to sit on with scrubbing brushes, clothes and a wide variety of delicious smelling soaps to help wipe away the paint. The glitter will not come off. Once you’re clean, you’re welcome to soak in the warm waters of the spring. There is a nude spring (over 18s only) and a clothed spring for younger characters. There are soft, fuzzy bathrobes and towels for modesty outside of the spring.

The Lounge There is a buffet of delicious, wintery foods to warm you up. Hot soups, curry, roasted meats and vegetables as well as finger foods such as cold meats and cheeses, crackers and breads. Fresh fruits, steamed and fresh vegetables and a variety of dips. On the dessert table there are mini pies, tarts and cakes to choose from for dessert. In the lounge is a hot chocolate bar with a variety of different chocolates, marshmallows, creams, sprinkles and alcohols for the adults who need an extra kick. The tables are set indoors, in a small but cozy lodge. There is a large fire that warms the room well and dozens of couches, lazy boys, hammocks and beanbags to settle into. The room is filled with lanterns and candles and it’s the perfect time to regale one another with stories of victory and tragedy from the war. The lounge is open from the beginning of the game, large TV screens will play shots of the game with commentary from a number of people. Those who are unwilling or uninterested in participating can stay in the lounge as long as they like. This means that they can enjoy the thrill of the competition from the comfort of a nice, warm chair. The winners are posted here.

Comments

cassian andor | ota

[evasives]

the game.

[actual (former) assassin and sniper cassian andor is strangely ready to go for this. it's very odd to be using his skills for less lethal shots, but at the same time it's... fun? refreshing? he doesn't really know how to describe it, but he's enjoying himself. it's familiar without being traumatizing! it's natural to slip into perfect position whether it's high or low. he gets really into it.]

[he tends to climb up into trees and shoot from high above; it's what he's good at. below in the underbrush, jyn swoops in and steals stock from fallen players, and they are a very good combination while she takes out others nearby. team work makes the dream work; they cover each other as they move through the jungle. if he misses you, expect a second shot to come within seconds from the same direction, because he's fucking determined ok.]

[the less people remaining, the less likely he is to be high. but he's a spy. he's very quiet moving through the trees no matter when it happens, and his aim is very sure even at closer distances. he moves like a soldier. not even friends are safe, though maybe he will offer apologetic fake smiles if caught in the act.]

the lounge.

[cassian is covered in glitter. it's all over the left side of his face, sparkling in his hair, and twinkling down his neck. someone very much got him at close range. he slipped into the hot springs alone, but it didn't take him very long to wash down, and there's no sign he's been hit with other colored paints, though whether that's because he's cleaned or because he avoided it remains a Mystery.mp3. he's wearing jeans and a sweatshirt when he comes out, vaguely at ease.]

[he picks over the food and snags some curry, sampling at the finger foods idly too. he's drinking hot chocolate with a ton of marshmallows, and despite the glitter catching reflections from the fire, he seems lighter than usual and uncaring about having lost. less closed off. eventually he'll even take a seat in a single chair, but there are two others nearby. maybe he did more climbing than usual and maybe he needs to take a quick rest, who knows.]

loungin'

[realists]

[ right as he's about to take a seat, jyn grabs his arm and tugs him toward two weirdly comfortable looking bean bag chairs. they're next to the fire, which is the point, jyn wants to be by the fire always. ]

I suppose I should apologize.

[ she should. but she is not going to. ]

[evasives]

[he wants to protest that he needs a chair, specifically because he needs the support, but the bean bags look oddly supportive?? and very comfortable. he doesn't fight it when she pulls him towards them.]

Like you were ever going to.

[especially because she ended up winning. that's never going to happen now.]

[he squeezes her arm very briefly when they reach them, a quiet question for her to let him sit first, in case he needs to grab her.]

[realists]

I could surprise you.

[ but she won't, it's decided, as she steps forward so whatever help he does or does not need is disguised by their closeness. there's nothing to be ashamed of, it's not that, but they've both lived a life where weakness, even perceived weakness, could be dangerous.

that isn't unlearned overnight. ]

[evasives]

You could. But you would never, with this.

[he Knows you jyn. there is no actual way she'd apologize for taking him out, especially when she won.]

[he likes the closeness as a cover, because he'd rather that be what people see than a sore spine. cassian takes a seat in the bean bag chair, only grabbing her hand very briefly on the way down.]

I suppose I should give you congratulations. [but she'll have to drag it out of him!]

[realists]

You should, [ jyn agrees, leaving it at that and dropping into her own bean bag once she maneuvers it closer. she hides her little smile behind her mug of cocoa, but it's still obvious. ]

You're still glittery.

[evasives]

[well he's still not gonna!!!] Maybe. [her glittery mouth might be hidden, but he can tell from the rest of her face that she's smiling and he finds himself fighting off one of his own. and before he can overthink his instinctual response, it spills out:] So are you.

[he immediately takes a sip of his own cocoa, because that might be the first time either of them even distantly acknowledged... certain kinds of affection.] Apparently it doesn't wash off.

[realists]

[ how??? dare?? he acknowledge jyn's completely platonic show of affection??? FULL OFFENCE. she is not here for this. jyn's eyes widen a tiny bit before she squashes all her wayward surprise and emotions down, feeling suddenly like a skittish loth cat.

she drags the back of her hand across her lips, scrubbing at her mouth with the edge of her sleeve. ] It can't last forever.

[evasives]

[she's... surprised, and he's not sure? if it's good or bad?? she's not mad, just weirdly... shy. she even tries to wipe the glitter off again, but he doesn't really regret acknowledging anything. it feels nice.]

[but he won't point it out again, at least while she's so skittish. he will look weirdly at ease though, and kind of happy.] It probably just has to wear away. Like hair dye.

[realists]

How do you know about hair dye?

[ a functioning brain and basic reason?

meanwhile, she's turned to trying to drag the glitter off with her teeth, which does nothing more than make her lips look slightly darker than usual underneath the glitter. never let it be said that jyn doesn't put in solid effort to roll back the physical evidence that she might have a single feeling. gross.

at least cassian's beard disguises the lack of glitter from where jyn's lips had touched his cheek. in the completely platonic smooch. no one will know if she can just... get... this... glitter off! ]

[evasives]

[he makes a face at her. jyn pls.] Why wouldn't I? It's not like it is a rare commodity.

[there's about three seconds where his eyes drop down to her mouth to watch her futile attempt to remove the glitter, one of which is spent in distraction, before he swirls the mug and swallows another large gulp of cocoa. it's fine.] Still not working.

[realists]

Stop watching, [ jyn hisses, as if cassian looking at her is what is making it stay. (if so, good fucking luck getting it off either of them.) she returns to the original attempt at simply scrubbing it off with her sleeve. her lips are going to be very exfoliated when she is done, but still glittery. ]

Do you dye your hair, Captain?

[ she is sticking to this conversation because Everything is Normal. ]

[evasives]

[he huffs and stiffens, like he was caught doing something wrong, but easily turns it into an eyeroll to brush it all aside.] I'm not watching. You are right in front of me, I'm going to look in your direction.

[not because he wants to look at her or anything, god.]

[totally completely normal.] Not regularly, no, but I have in the past.

[realists]

Really? [ she perks up a little, pausing in her aggressive lip exfoliation to look at cassian with unabashed curiosity. ] What color? Lavender like Amilyn's?

[ her nose crinkles, she's not sure the color would flatter him. ]

[evasives]

No. It was never anything too unusual. My job is subtly, Jyn. [for the second time in like a minute, jyn pls.] Black once or twice, sometimes something more sandy colored.

I've probably kept it at more varied lengths than I have worn different colors.

[realists]

[ some idiot probably couldn't tell the difference between black and cassian's dark hair when clearly it is a dark chocolatey, mohogany that gets lighter down at the soft hair at the back of his neck. not to mention the smattering of single grey hairs threaded through all the dark. not that she has ever noticed. ]

You've had long hair? I wish I had the holos of proof.

[ after she says it she realizes she does actually wish there was evidence of either of their pasts beyond scars and trauma. ]

[evasives]

[wow jyn it's almost like you have actually noticed, way more than even he did. he probably hasn't noticed the grey hairs himself yet, or he'd be having some sort of new existential crisis.]

To my shoulders. I don't like it that long.

[there's no holos of anything related to them, really, is there? especially for him, he knows it wouldn't do well to have his face documented often.]

[realists]

[ jyn can't quite imagine it and briefly she wishes taako were around to do some magical absurdity and let her see. ]

Longer or shorter than mine? [ the braid over her shoulder is no longer leaving a wet splotch on her sweater, but just barely rests over her shoulder. it's longer than it was in prison, though still not much further past her shoulders than the braid. ]

[evasives]

[as if he doesn't already know how long her hair is, he glances at the braid and finds himself fighting off a grin? for what reason???? grumps internally but still looks happy.]

Shorter. [he gestures at the top of his shoulders.] It never got much below here. [a beat.] Though yours is getting longer lately. [NOT THAT HE'S NOTICED.]

[realists]

Hair does that. Grows over time. [ she's teasing, eyes sparkling with mirth no longer hidden by the mug since he has successfully distracted her from scrubbing off the glitter. for now. ]

It used to be longer, but. Codo pulled me down to the ground once by my hair so I had Saw cut it off.

[ ever since then she had braided her short hair into a bun, unconsciously affecting the style of her father in lah'mu. codo couldn't grab on to it anymore and she successfully dragged him to the ground next time. she was eleven. ]

[evasives]

[he rolls his eyes, even if it's a little teasing too. the easy back and forth they slip into is familiar and probably one of his favorite things.] I am aware of how hair works. You just - wear it more loosely lately, I suppose.

[it was tied up in that bun for a long time, but now it varies. not that he's complaining, not that he cares. he likes the braid she has now, so what?] Who is Codo? One of Saw's men?

[realists]

His best fighter. He was there, on Tamsye Prime, must've been the only reason Saw survived. [ her mouth twists into a brief frown, but she forces it away. ] He had a crush on Maia, he used to splash her every time they were in the grotto.

[ jyn was too young to realize it was a crush at the time, but she remembered how upset he was after maia died. hindsight is 20/20. ]

[evasives]

You should tell me about them all one day. When you want to.

[he wants to know because it's jyn's story, her life, not because he needs to know their information and stats. he just want to know more about jyn.]

[he pauses.] Not that you have to. I'm not - you know I am not fishing, right? I'm just... curious.

[realists]

I know, [ she assures him easily. ] They're all dead anyway, it would be useless intel.

[ harsh but true. maia died when she was a teenager and codo wasn't one jedha so she knows he died sometime between tamsye prime and jedha. saw himself was dead, a fact that hits her hard. she forces those emotions down. ]

[evasives]

[harsh, but weirdly it doesn't seem to sour the mood like it might have once upon a time. any of their stories are going to be full of dead people. they're dead themselves, it all fits in.]

We seem to know a lot of those. [the dead, obvs.] But I would still like to hear more.