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

[franciscoramon]

If you say so.

[ Cisco disagrees about the usefulness of self-deprecation, but he doesn't know her well enough to argue. Besides, he's got no room to judge. He's not a poster boy for being understanding to himself. ]

How d'you figure that?

[ She says it so plainly, as if he'll immediately understand, but he doesn't have enough context to do so. Sure, he has been here long enough to know that a lot of people here were alienated and isolated in their own worlds. But that could happen for any number of reasons, and besides, having powers doesn't automatically equal isolation. Far from it. ]

What, the one with all the camo and the baby boomer squad? Yeah, he's going real hard...

[igotusout]

*Lauren was in no way ready to share the full story, the true story, of what got her feeling so out of place she ended up wishing to be anywhere but where she was. But she didn't lie.*

I've been on the run from the government for weeks? Because I'm not human, I don't get to have any human rights. I love my powers, being a mutant, but... people suck.

*It's weird how she both realized so keenly that this world is a lot more safe for her, but forgets not everyone understands the feeling of being hunted and treated as less than a person because you're more than human.*

I wouldn't feel bad to be eliminated by someone like him, there's no way he's new to this. Then again, that's true for like everyone out there.

[franciscoramon]

Damn. Got it. That some real fugitive shit.

[ Even as vague as she is on the details, Cisco gets the point. He's met enough mutants here to know that, depending where and when you lived, it could be a serious danger. Laura had been experimented on, and she was just a kid. Things hadn't been that bad for Billy, but even so...

Cisco's glad, then, that things aren't that bad for metahumans back home. At least, not yet. And if they ever got to be, well... he just hoped they wouldn't, but it didn't matter for his own life, since he has no plans on returning. ]

Yeah, the people who sign up for a paintball battle in the forest tend to be the kinda folks who are into that sort of thing.

[ Cisco gives a little shrug, pursing his lips in a way that seems to make it even clearer that he is not one of those people. Sure, he liked laser tag, now and then, but that happened in short games of ten or fifteen minutes, indoors, and without anything even resembling actual guns. He's not into running around through actual mud and getting hit by pellets that he's sure hurt, even if they don't injure. ]

[igotusout]

I'm more or less lucky? I can control my powers, and I look human.

*Her brother tore down a building when his powers manifested. Some mutants look different enough they can't even pass as children like Clarice.*

I wanted some practice blocking things that were a little easier than bullets. Plus it was fun to use my powers without someone's life being in danger. I'm guessing you weren't out there?

[franciscoramon]

[ Cisco feels a brief flicker of envy when she says she can control her powers. That is lucky. He's getting closer to being able to control his, a little, but he still has a ways to go, and it hasn't been easy for him. Still, she's only a kid. He's glad, that she has the comfort of being in control, at least. ]

Are there a lot of mutants who look different? Where I'm from, all the people with powers - we call 'em metas, not mutants - look the same as anybody else. You'd never know if you were talking to one or not, just by looking.

[ For example: himself. But he isn't about to say that. He's not quite at the "tell random strangers" stage of accepting his powers. Getting closer to it, maybe, but not yet. ]

Naw, not really my scene. I was doing the commentary. Kind of supposed to still be doing it, but I needed a break.

[ And, well, he tries to avoid giving too much unsolicited advice to strangers, but he can't help mentioning: ]

You know there's probably loads of people here you could practice with. Get a solid training montage going.

[igotusout]

It's fairly common as a secondary mutation. Skin markings, hair or eye colors, things like that. They look pretty cool, there's a girl with blue markings on her that look really pretty.

*A shame she's probably been picked on by everyone she's ever met for them.*

That's got to make people a bit paranoid, anyone could have 'dangerous powers' and you can't even tell? My world goes nuts about us with actual signs to see who has powers.

*Not that all mutants had powers strong enough to be a threat, most were fairly harmless on their own. Lauren and her brother were fairly obvious exceptions to this. Which is why they needed her at home.*

Part of my hopes being on the Guard. Working on what I can do, push myself. I did have to build a ramp for an eighteen wheeler before, back home. That was... terrifying, actually.

*She's only bragging a little, but it was impressive.*

[franciscoramon]

You'd think that, but it kinda doesn't? I mean, sure, there's a couple blowhards talking about metahumans being dangerous, but they're typically the fluoride-in-the-water, tinfoil hat types.

[ Cisco's had various theories about why that is, and how it might change in the future, but to talk about it any more seems tacky considering from the sound of it this girl come from a pretty hellish world. It would just seem like bragging, to talk about how comparatively humane things are where he comes from. ]

Hey, I'm sure you'll get the hang of it. And I'm sure working with the Guard is gonna help - especially if you make yourself a bitchin' playlist.

[ His advice is very practical, okay. ]

[igotusout]

Huh.

*Sadly, disbelief is where her mind goes before hope, or envy. Before she was a mutant, she didn't hate mutants. She just feared them. Not... individuals, the kids at her school that were deemed safe for the community were just kinda pathetic and transferred out due to the bullying pretty fast.*

*At the same time, she was barely a teenager, and feared alley cats brought bad luck, and that bats always carried diseases. So she didn't really carry any guilt on her past views.*

Right, I get to actually have music again. First thing that happened when we went on the run was I had to stomp my phone. I'm guessing I'd need to make a new spotify account here...