before the day is done, my prince is gonna come

Day 1, Afternoon. private unless you have a real good reason to be here

The pier is a rickety-looking wooden construction that extends out into the bay. It has somehow managed to stay standing despite its ominous swaying whenever there are high winds. There are wooden railings in place, although these have rotten away in places so it isn’t advisable to put too much weight on them.
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dmboogie
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before the day is done, my prince is gonna come

#1

Post by dmboogie »

((The rickety wood of the pier creaked under Chris's feet as she walked further into the bay.))

There was no real reason for her to be out there - the area had a few interesting structures, but it was clear that the pier was currently desolate. No one her group cared about (or didn't care about) would be there; and wasn't that their current reason for wandering? Then again, no people meant no danger, either. Maybe she just needed a small break from all the walking they'd been doing. Lean on a stable-looking railing, look at the water for a bit.

She'd never learned to swim. Her parents had never gotten around to signing her up for classes when she was a kid, and even when she was older she'd never really felt the need. Always figured there'd be time "eventually", assuming she got struck by a bolt of divine motivation. It was the little things that got to her. Easier to process something concrete like missing her favorite brand of cereal than the thought that soon everything was just gonna. Stop.

In theory, of course. In reality, Chris was indestructible and would live forever. She'd half-jokingly believed that her entire life - why stop now? There was a nice, warm breeze; and it put her in a whimsical mood. She cupped her hands and shouted at the sea - "I am the strongest woman alive!" Best case scenario: a mer-woman would slither up onto the pier to challenge her to arm-wrestling or something. Worst case: she'd just boosted her self-esteem a bit.

Oliver and Diego milled about somewhere behind her. Their conversations had been short, scattered, awkward. Oliver didn't seem like he was particularly thrilled with their company, but at least he hadn't told them to shove off yet.
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Skraal
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#2

Post by Skraal »

((Oliver Lacroix continued from Love & Money))

Well, it looked like he was more popular than he thought he'd be. It was a little bit of a surprise to have not one, but two people decide to throw their luck in with him, especially considering they had no idea what he was packing. Perhaps it was his charm, or his rugged good looks, or perhaps it was simply because he was the only person in that group who seemed to have any idea what the hell they were doing.

If it really was his leadership that inspired them, they were probably about to be disappointed. Oliver wasn't exactly what you could call a "team player", and he definitely wasn't about to sacrifice himself to protect these kids. Not that they were bad people or anything, no, he definitely felt more than a little sympathy for them. They were all in the same situation, after all. It was just that, if there was one thing that life had taught him, was that the most important person to look after, was number one.

Shaking the someone depressing thoughts out of his head, he followed Chris up the pier, the half-rotted wood creaking under his feet as he approached the edge. He reached it just as the girl shouted out across the waves, her voice echoing in the salty air. He couldn't help but chuckle at the unexpected exclamation. Flashing a smile, he turned to her and spoke in a jaunty tone.

"Well, that definitely was an interesting choice of words. Was kind of expecting the whole "king of the world" thing, but I guess that works too."
[+] Survival of the Fittest Version 5
Characters:
Timothy Abrams
Weapon: Replica Flamethrower
Current Status: Deceased
Kyle Fitzpatrick
Weapon: Bulletproof Vest
Current Status: Deceased
Eliza Patton (Adopted from laZardo)
Weapon: M-1 Garand
Current Status: Deceased
[+] Survival of the Fittest Version 7
Characters:
Oliver Lacroix Current Status: Deceased
William "Bill" Dover Current Status: Deceased
Salvatore "Sal" Bonaventura (Adopted by Ohm) Current Status: Alive
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Maraoone
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#3

Post by Maraoone »

((Diego Larrosa continues from Love & Money))

Diego and the ocean hadn't been apart for long, thankfully. The group had been wandering about the island in a meandering, meaningless manner, which left him annoyed, but hey, not like there was anything else to do. And, truth be told, this is probably what he would've done anyways, now that he'd put some more thought into it.

One of the idle thought experiments Diego liked to occupy himself with when waiting for something was what he would do in situations like this. What would he do if he were stranded on an island? What would he do stranded on an island with his classmates? What would he do stranded on an island with his classmates, weapons, and explosive collars? And the answer he always arrived to is that he would always explore the island. Lack of money in the Larrosa household meant that vacations to anywhere out of Tennessee were unheard of, and Diego was the type of person to go straight home after school. Home was familiar, home was comfort. He hadn't even fully explored Chattanooga yet, and he never would have. Even without the island, he was supposed to move to the Philippines after graduation.

There were 7,107 islands in the Philippines. This could be one of them. It felt like it, anyways, with the relentless heat and the sticky air and the salty wind. It felt like what his mother had told him, at least. He didn't know, and he never would. There was plenty to be said of the irony of it all, of the idea of being brought to his homeland in this manner, but it was best not dwelt upon.

Christine shouted to the ocean, and it replied with the clap of water against rocks, as if applauding her for her audacity. Whether that applause was genuine or sarcastic, Diego couldn't tell. It felt almost like tempting fate, really, and he wanted to tell her not to say such stuff, but they all were scared of enough as was. Adding superstitions to that didn't help matters. So, he simply replied to her audacity with a smile in the background, a half-chuckle, as had been par for the course in his dealing with Christine and her group of friends. An acknowledgment of her statement that was simple but not flashy, Diego meaning without saying 'Yes, I heard you.'

He stepped onto the pier with the others, heading straight towards the very edge. He stopped well before then, however, about the halfway point, when he felt a stickiness in the soles of his shoes. Like stepping on soda spilled on the floor and left for an hour or so, but worse. He looked down and saw a pool of red below his feet.

"Oh my go-"

He jumped back, missed the landing, fell flat on his back on the pier.

"Fuckfuckfuck-"

He looked down at his hands, they weren't bloody, thank god, he pushed himself back from the puddle of blood once, twice, thrice, setting as much distance between himself and the puddle as possible. He thrust a finger towards it, not looking at anyone else.

"Y'all, oh my god. Look."
[+] the youfs
[+] V7
V7:
Dead:
B083 - Diego Larrosa - Palayain mo na ako. - He didn't want this. say goodnight to the bad guy [10/159]
Current Theme Music: Devil Town (v1) - cavetown
Weapon: Tactical Combat Shovel
Previous Threads: Love & Money - before the day is done, my prince is gonna come - How Far I'll Go - Gimme, Gimme Shelter or I'm Gonna Fade Away - no one round here's good at keeping their eyes closed - Still Waiting - Hell is Other People - RICH_BOY_LIKES_IT_ROUGH.MP4 - I Don't Wanna Be Myself - The Bell Tolls For Our Funeral - The Gang Goes Out For Breakfast - Untrust Us - Crimewaves - Love itself is just as innocent as roses in May - Will All Be Forgiven? - black eyes looking up from below - Silent Key - it's ok we're just scared - life's alright in devil town - Beyond Human (Barely Human) - And Now Those Days Are Over and We Are All Ghosts - The Ultimate Test of Cerebral Fitness - Ang Pagbibinata ni Diego Larrosa - perverse verdict - Madness in the Method - park the car, drop that phone, sleep on the floor, dream about me
Memories: Hiya sa Timog

G013 - Yuka Hayashibara (adopted from Ryuki!) - Does it spark joy? - She fixed up her look in one of a kind [46/159]
Current Theme Music: Play With Me - DDLC OST
Weapon: Bug-A-Salt Camofly 2.0 Insect Eradication Gun
Previous Threads: Quintessential Thinking - I Pray to the Lord You Reveal what His Truth is - all of our heroes fading - now i can't stand to be alone - Incredible Adventures - there's a pale imitation burnt in my eyes - Red Of Tooth And Claw - The Fifth Announcement - Low Times - Party Like It's 1999 - Hell and You - We're All Excited, We Don't Know Why, Maybe It's 'Cause, We're Gonna Die - Ron Gets a Bath As Well, Whether He Wants To or Not - No Exit
Pregame: In Vino Veritas - Shake It Out
Memories: Hayashibara Heart to Heart
Prom: Fear and Delight
Trip: Room 832: Welcome to the Witching Hour

G052 - Joanne Coleman (adopted from Cicada!) - I've got a thick skin and an elastic heart. - She tried to do something in Sleep Is The Cousin Of Death [116/159]
Current Theme Music: When You Die - MGMT
Weapon: George Hunter High School mascot costume
Previous Threads: hold on to this lullaby - Don't Stray Off The Path - D.R.E.A.M. - I'm Not That Nice, I'm Mean and I'm Evil - we keep these promises, write it in a letter
Pregame: You did not break me. I'm still fighting for peace. - Desperate Times - Heavy is the Head That Wears the Crown - Do You Have The Time - i'm so 3008
Memories: I'm alright. I'm just fine. And you're a tool, so. - Make A New Cult Every Day

G075 - Aditi Sharma (adopted from Brackie! and somer!) - She failed in Yellow Light [88/159]
Weapon: Browning Hi Power 9mm
Previous Threads: Pandorama - Antisocial Darwinism - My Lucifer Is Lonely - They Couldn't Buy A Fucking Toaster. They're Broke, John.
[+] V6
V6 Characters:
G062 - Olivia Fischer prayed a thousand prayers in Ye Not [37/107]
Previous Threads: Sæglópur - Until all our yesterdays are lighted fools... - the way to dusty death - a concrete cave - I'd Say That I've Had Worse Days, but Then I'd Be Lying - Get Me Away From Here, I'm Dying - Until Then, You Are Free - Cast in the Name of God
Memories: Sometimes when we reach for the stars...
Weapon: Lobotomy pick.
[+] V5
Dead:
B045 - Juhan Levandi - An Estonian wanna-be journalist with a fear of the dark who wanted to bring them all down in Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien [18/152]
Weapon: Party Bag (contains a noisemaker, party hat, two single-serving bags of candy, and a Hotwheels car)
Pre-Game Threads: Wiping All Out - Quixotic
Previous V5 Threads: Despair - The Real Folk Blues - The two people in the distance were Paulo and Becca - Mischief Managed - Sleeper Cell - Tell No Tales - So, How Was Your Day? - And I'm Not Sleeping Now - Intermission - Glass - A Manic Depressive Named Laughing Boy
G067 - Carmina Maliksi - A Filipina car junkie with a /slight/ obsession with Korea and Japan who has finished things up (somewhat) in Red as Blood [139/152]
Weapon: Non-Functional Flamethrower (left in the Clubhouse)
Previous V5 Threads: Finding Center - Wish I Could Breathe - The Visionary
Memories: Offended?
B054 - Oscar Trig (adopted from Greg the Anti-Viking) - An artist who desperately needs a pencil, paper and a cigar and thought with his heart in Fumble [76/152]
Weapon: Binoculars
Pregame Threads: Taking it to the Streets
Previous V5 Threads: Waking Up at the Beginning of Time - Steadier Footing - Handoff
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Yugikun
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#4

Post by Yugikun »

Things had progressively become less and less okay with each step Jonathan had taken out of the woods.

((continued from “Sing us a song of the century...”))

Because when the undeniable fact that you were going to be dead in less than a day hung over your head like the Sword of Damocles it turned out that having something to distract you really helped to make that totally shitty thing seem like a maybe more ignorable totally shitty thing. Trying to find a way out of the woods (not even knowing where in the woods you are and hoping you didn’t just randomly pick a direction that took you further into the woods) only having yourself for company really helped those thoughts bounce around, helped that sword get closer to the top of his head. There were people- had been people in his old internet chats that always talked about how you should go for a walk to cool yourself down whenever your emotions were high but going through the forest had told Jonathan that hahaha oh god that was the exact opposite. Things felt far worse when he only had his thoughts for company. Things went very crazy when the only thing he could really think about was whether he’d be able to do anything before his head blew off.

But here he was. Literally out of the woods. He could see the ocean, the jetty in the distance. He could see the sun in the sky, its position east or west of him a mystery.

And that reminded him of something. A book he read — maybe before Jiji, maybe after. It was about a ton of things, really, but at the end it was about a guy who found out he only had a day left before he effectively died. When he finally found that out, finally had time to do things for himself, he had... he just kinda had a fairly regular day. He rented an expensive car, took a girl he’d fucked earlier out on a date at a fancy restaurant, fell asleep with her on a couch, and when that final day became a final hour he left the girl and took his car out to the bay, spent the final moments before his eyes closed forever feeling the warmth of sunrise, watched gold fill what used to be the night sky.

And that was... a semi-nice thought to have, as he moved from the woods edge to the jetty. Wasn’t really like he could rent a car or fuck a girl in this place, but... watching the sunrise, spending time with someone semi-decent. It...

It seemed like a good enough programme for the rest of his life.

He closed the gap, started walking across the jetty. There were three people at the edge and while they weren’t people he really knew from this distance they were maybe people he could get to know, see if they were... cool enough to hang with for the next while. The last while. He let his footsteps be loud as he walked over to them. He let the antlers in his hands scrape the ground as he got closer.

“Hey guys, I-” He stopped right behind Diego, looked down at what was probably, hopefully not blood. “Oh, I...”

It was the type of sentence that obviously needed a followup, but he... didn’t really have one. Didn’t think he really needed one. What was there spoke for itself.
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Shiola
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#5

Post by Shiola »

After spending most of the day walking the island non-stop, every step taken onto the soft sand felt more and more exhausting. The way it moved beneath one's feet meant it took just a bit more effort than walking anywhere else, save perhaps the thickest parts of the jungle. Still, it was hard not to feel put at ease by the natural beauty of the island's coast.

((Tyrell Lahti continued from The Shores of Hell))

Taking a moment to catch his breath, Tyrell could hear what was being said ahead on the Pier. The path towards this group had been frought with self-doubt over what he'd say to these people, and which parts of the truth he'd have to bend to solicit their help. Now that he was closer, he recognized at least two of the four; Oliver Lacroix and Chris Bright.

Alright, this isn't going to be so hard.

Oliver was kind of an asshole, but an entertaining one. A regular fixture at parties, Ty figured he could always be relied upon to do something stupid. That wasn't necessarily a positive quality in this circumstance, but it did mean that he might entertain more risky ideas than the rest of them.

Can't really trust him, but I can trust him to be himself if nothing else.

Ty was genuinely happy to see Christine there. He didn't really know her, but knew she was a fixture of Erika's Dungeons and Dragons group, and he'd been told a few stories about the exploits of her Paladin. Chris would have to have at least some personal investment in helping Ty find her.

Apparently she's the strongest woman alive, too. That's one hell of a positive attitude.

The other two didn't really ring any bells for him, but if their reaction to the blood on the Pier was any indication, they weren't exactly looking to spill any more. That was good enough. It finally gave Ty an idea of what he was actually going to open with. He wiped the sweat on his forehead away, the small cuts on his face reminding him of their existence with a shallow stinging sensation.

Approaching the Pier with his hands visible, he motioned towards the puddle of blood. The crowbar was sticking out of his bag slightly. Close enough to grab, but not in his hands.

"'Afternoon. Not sure if this makes you feel better, but that blood is Dante's. Violet shot him in the leg. Far as I know he's still alive, I patched him up as best as I could a few hours ago, left him in the village. You guys see anyone else on the way here? I'm lookin' for my girlfriend."

Ty's eyes scanned between each member of the group, watching for a reaction. Hopefully Chris would start to connect the dots and offer whatever assistance she and her group could.
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dmboogie
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#6

Post by dmboogie »

"That's 'cause I'm not the king yet," Chris said, mirroring Oliver's easy grin. "There's a big-ass tournament every five years to figure out the line of succession, and I'm obviously gonna crush it, 'cause I've got determination on my side." She exuberantly finger-gunned in his direction before Diego's discovery put a tragic stop to their banter. It'd felt like they'd been connecting, comical as the conversation was.

She'd quickly accepted the reality of their situation, but only on a theoretical level - all she'd really done was have a nice walk on a nice day with some nice people. She hadn't chosen to walk the path of fervent denial, but at least that honeyed lie had still been available to her. Now, though, any ludicrous pretense that they'd been whisked away on a surprise island vacation was dashed away by the all-too-fresh blood that was dripping through the cracks of the pier.

There was no reason for her to look at the blood. There was nothing to accomplish, nothing to gain, they weren't going to crowd around the puddle like CSI detectives and figure out whodunnit - but she felt compelled to, nevertheless. Did she have a moral obligation not to shield her eyes from reality? Was it just morbid, novel curiosity? She was overthinking it, and that wouldn't help anyone, either.

The blood looked like blood. She wasn't sure what she had expected. The remnant of violence past, of a person who may already be in the past tense - nothing good had happened here. She couldn't tell if it was a lot of blood, or a lethal amount of blood - any amount of blood outside of your body, congealing in a dark pool on the ground, that was too much blood. There was no body (that they could see) at least. At least that was something.

Chris was pulled out of her brief blood trance by their new arrival. Jonathan wasn't a friend, but he was one of the people from their school that was fighting the good fight. He was obviously appalled by the blood, but he looked intact otherwise. Another small mercy. "Hey," was all she said, because lighthearted chit-chat would have felt blasphemous.

Before she could get enough of a grip to try and say something substantial, they were joined by a fifth - and this one hadn't been spared the island's attention. Tyrell was battle-scarred and obviously weary, and he came bearing harsh answers and a question of his own. In school Ty had honestly seemed like kind of a dick, but Erika was cool, so he was probably alright.

"Haven't seen her, sorry," She said, shaking her head. She hoped he could find the one he loved - there wasn't much time for reunions (for the people who had someone to unite with in the first place). That concerned her far less than the rest of his story, though. She liked Dante, and having a friendly face to associate with the blood made her stomach churn a bit. He was a flirt, but the kind who took 'I'm gay' as a rejection and not a challenge, and she knew he volunteered at an animal shelter; which seemed fitting because he was very friendly-dog-adjacent himself. She couldn't imagine him doing anything that'd warrant getting shot.

"But you gotta start over for a second - which Violet was it? Why'd she shoot him? What did you do with her? And, like, you didn't just leave Dante there, right? Like, he was with other people? Good people?"
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Shiola
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#7

Post by Shiola »

Chris approached and didn’t seem to hold any malice towards him. Much as he wanted to rejoice in finding a group of people who hadn’t managed to start attacking one another, frustration overwhelmed him as Chris began to pepper him with questions. He’d come here with one goal in mind, and answering questions about a stain wasn’t it. Still, he needed the help.

Ty sighed, obliging her request to start over.

“Violet Schmidt. I have no idea what happened, he’d been lit up when I got here. Accident, I think. I showed up to deal with Lorenzo, and was about to finish it when she decided to start shooting. At him, I have to imagine. Lorenzo got away, and she went after him. I…”

Ty’s focus had been elsewhere as he recounted the events earlier in the day, but as he looked to Chris he couldn’t help but detect an air of judgement from her. Why would he have helped Dante only to leave him somewhere to die? If he was actually that callous, they would’ve been staring down at a dried-out corpse on the Pier right now, instead of a puddle of blood.

Couldn’t she just believe he’d done the right thing?

“Who the hell do you think I am? I’m not gonna waste my time walking his ass into the center of the island alone. Blaise and Camila were with him, they asked for my help. They wanted to risk the village, I didn’t. So yeah, I left them there.”

He snorted, shaking his head. Maybe it was the heat or the lingering full-body ache that plagued him, but he couldn’t help but indulge his urge to pick apart the obvious naiveté he was witnessing.

“As to whether or not they were good people-“ he laughed, “-probably not! You think there are good people in this place? Look, there’s a point when a person has to stop trying to do the right thing and just do what’s necessary to survive. This situation…”

Ty tapped his collar, and offered a shrug.

“It’s probably way the fuck past that point.”
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#8

Post by decoy73 »

((Stephanie McDonald continued from Love & Money))

One of the things that Stephanie was rapidly becoming acquainted with was the fact that "thin" and "athletic" were two different things. She'd had to stop twice to catch her breath and she was still winded. As she approached the pier that everyone was meeting at, she recognized Chris and Oliver, as well as the other guy that Jessica helped out. There were two others there, but as she approached she noted the black clothing, and the height that meant that of the six people there, Jessica wasn't there. So of course, she was quite pissed at this. Given her British sense of understatement, this meant that she said a cuss word under her breath. This was compounded by the fact that the taller of the newcomers had blood all over him.

He claimed it was due to someone else having shot a guy - Dante or something. This was something that Stephanie wasn't completely convinced about - the guy could be simply claiming that Violet could have shot whomever to get away with it. After all, the guy almost literally had blood on his hands. Then Christine started asking more questions, and that just pissed off Blood Boy.

"... You think there are good people in this place? Look, there’s a point when a person has to stop trying to do the right thing and just do what’s necessary to survive. This situation… It’s probably way the fuck past that point."

That was what was disconcerting to Stephanie.
Survivor: UCONN - Seriously, it's awesome!

Version 8
Kaede Tsurumi: "Eeep! I-I'm so sorry! I-I'll try not to get in your w-way next time!"
Morgan Whitney
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[+] Version 7
Male Student #65: Manuel Figueroa; Status: ACTIVE 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Female Student #63: Christina "Renz" Rennes; Status: ACTIVE 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
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dmboogie
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#9

Post by dmboogie »

Chris hadn't meant to start anything. She tried to absorb the information as it came - it was the nice witchy Violet that had the gun, not the other nice Violet, the one that came out a few years back, but she hadn't shot Dante on purpose, probably, but Lorenzo had done something to deserve getting shot at - but all of a sudden Ty was acting like she'd purposefully thrown dirt onto his honor. She hadn't been intentionally accusatory; she'd just been worried about Dante. After Ty confirmed that the guy would (probably) be alright she was prepared to smile and exhale and just let the matter drop, but he just kept going, and it turned out he had deserved the doubt all along.

She hadn't meant to start anything. This wasn't helpful. This wasn't productive. Ty had already been through hell. Ty was probably just tired. Ty was still spouting some serious fucking bullshit.

Her heart was filled with a familiar passion, a familiar anger, sweeping her away. She'd never been good at keeping her mouth shut.

"You're right! There's no such thing as a good person! Period! There's just the people who're gonna wake up every day in this shitty, shitty place and still make the decision to care about other people! Maybe it'll get them killed! Who knows! Maybe we'll all get rescued in a week and everyone who went full beast mode is gonna feel like a real asshole!" Too loud. Everything was going red, going off-kilter. Too late to stop. "I know what I'm going to do," her right hand curled into a fist and she pounded her chest once for emphasis, "I'm gonna try! None of us deserve this fucking place, so I'm gonna protect anyone I can! If I die, so what? There's way worse fucking ways to go, in my book!"

Heavy breaths. Flushed face. Chris took a moment to collect herself, then took a step closer to Ty. "You wanna know a secret, dude?" She pointed at him, finger inches away from his face. "You can do the same thing. Every single one of us can. We can all try. You don't gotta give up. You don't gotta act like they want you to. Just think about Erika, right? Who would she want you to be?"

Shaking. Fist curled so hard her nails were digging into her skin. But still. She legitimately wanted Ty to do better. Wanted everyone to do better. Hell, wanted herself to do better. Her first oath had been sworn on a fish, and thus really hadn't meant much. But this promise had been an ideological declaration of war against despair. This had a target, had witnesses. This was how she'd commit to living the rest of her life.
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Shiola
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#10

Post by Shiola »

On some level he'd meant to get under her skin, but he didn't expect she'd bite back so readily. Speaking the truth had clearly touched a nerve for her, and Ty stood his ground as she began her tirade. On the surface she was making sense. He'd always thought people were more defined by their decisions than some kind of abstract morality. There were good and bad choices, and the debt between the two was what he'd always judged others on.

That said, making the choice to try and protect more than one person in a zero-sum game like this was objectively a poor one. Hanging onto the false hope that more than one person was making it out of here was just another way of playing by their rules. The presence of hope made an already dire situation even worse - that was the kind of thing those bastards probably got off on. Danya counted on people like Chris to twist the knife for him, so to speak.

At least he'd made the choice as to who that person was already. Everyone else would eventually have to if they wanted to be remembered fondly, or have even the slightest chance of leaving. Chris could make whatever wild claims about selflessness she wanted to - the only thing that anyone was going to remember was the moment she made her choice, whatever that ended up being.

Ty's expression froze in contempt as she closed the distance between them, the dull edge of her words suddenly cutting deeper than she had any right to. Rage welled up within him. He hadn't done what they had wanted - he had tried to kill himself the moment he'd realized where he was! All he'd wanted was to do from the beginning was defy them. To act out of something other than self-interest. Danya wanted them to turn on each other, and Ty had been determined to prove him wrong. To prove everyone wrong. All he'd wanted was to help Erika, ever since Claude had pulled him down from the noose.

Chris knew nothing about him, but ran her mouth anyways. Running on the same lazy assumptions he'd tried desperately to convince himself no one actually believed. She had the hubris to try and convince him of something he'd long since resolved to do.

Ty knew he couldn't leave her breathtaking arrogance unanswered. He took a step towards Chris, such that her hand was almost touching his face.

"You're so fucking naive. If I'd been acting like they wanted me to, you'd already be dead right now."
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Yugikun
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#11

Post by Yugikun »

Jonathan was still just kinda trying to process the first thing Ty had said.

"What?"
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dmboogie
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#12

Post by dmboogie »

If Chris had been thinking clearly, she would've seen where this was going. Nowhere good. Nothing her companions deserved to get dragged into. Alas, the currents of determination running through her bloodstream had already carried her past the point of no return. Her too-strong will had been sharpened and turned against herself.

Ty was close. Too close. She wasn't used to people towering over her, and she didn't like it. Didn't like how he was sneering at her ideals, even though she knew that by getting this upset, she was already failing to live up to them. Everyone was worthy of her protection. Everyone deserved the benefit of the doubt. That's what she wanted to believe.

But this mighty colossus in front of her had issued an unspoken challenge through his threat. He seriously thought he could kill her. Chris, the immortal. The strongest woman in the world. He wanted her to give up. Admit defeat. Admit that no, she couldn't protect anyone. That if Ty really wanted to, he could go on an unchecked rampage. Four more puddles of blood on the pier. Despite his furious denials, he was still playing along with the game.

Well. She would never back down in the face of evil.

"Cool!" She chirped brightly, flashing a strained grin for just an instant before her face turned hard as her heart. "Fuck off!!" She yelled, shoving him back as hard as she could.

Chris didn't want Ty to stumble off the edge and take a nice swim, but, well, it'd probably make her feel better.
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Shiola
Posts: 769
Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2018 9:29 pm

#13

Post by Shiola »

If Ty had been thinking clearly, he would’ve seen past his desire to push someone’s buttons, to pick at whatever falsehoods or slivers of hypocrisy he could find. As things stood, his exhaustion and frustration made every instance of weakness or apparent delusion on her part all the more intolerable. There was no way for him to back down and not despise himself for it.

Of course she couldn’t help herself; people wanted to see another path out of this, and they’d gravitate to any sort of optimism or plan no matter how futile. It probably felt rewarding for her, to lead people on like this. She’d feed them lines of try-hard bullshit that they’d eat up just to not have to address the harsh reality in front of them.

Maybe that was how she coped. Ignored what was in front of her in favor of idealistic, pleasant-sounding lies. It disgusted Ty. She would lead these people to their deaths with a bright smile, and they’d thank her for it before it was all over. It was hard for Ty to think of anything more insipid and evil than to torment someone with false hope. It was why he’d done so himself - it had seemed like the best way to hurt a man who entirely deserved torment.

Thankfully, she’d given him an excuse to use more than words. A reason to make his point in a way that she might actually understand. Chris probably loved to think she could punch above her weight. From what little he knew of her, she was practically defined by high ideals with little follow-through. Back home that might’ve persisted for years. Here, there was a very obvious way to snap her back to reality.

He hadn’t expected the shove, but there was only so much she could do to try and move him, given the huge difference in size. The duffle bag that had hung from his shoulder fell to the ground, and he made no effort to retrieve it or the crowbar.

Taking a half-second to adjust his stance, Ty stepped to and shot back at Chris, aiming a jab at her face. Something that would send her sprawling, maybe bleeding a bit. Not enough torsion to knock her unconscious, but enough force to hurt. Enough to teach her a lesson.

To his shock, he caught nothing but air. Very suddenly he found himself off balance, his legs shot out from under him and his head slammed into the wooden planks below. His attempts to roll away and escape were all but entirely in vain. An abrupt realization struck Ty harder than the fall ever could have.

Oh, fuck no.

The way she moved evoked dim memories of failure in the ground fighting class he'd sat in on at his gym, what seemed like a lifetime ago. This lesson in hubris and hypocrisy had quickly become an extremely dangerous situation.

For me.
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dmboogie
Posts: 1202
Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2018 5:39 pm
Location: the bottom of a made-up ocean

#14

Post by dmboogie »

Chris hadn't needed to start a fight, but maybe she wanted to. Maybe she'd been dying to clobber someone who deserved it from the moment she'd woken up. Maybe she'd been secretly glad to finally be in a position where her problems really were simple enough to be solved with a punch in the face. Maybe this was why she'd wanted to become everyone's shield - just so she'd get every possible chance to gleefully rush into combat.

Maybe, but probably not. Rest assured, if Chris'd had any time to think, she'd still be flagellating herself with plenty of thorned whips of self-doubt along those lines.

As it was, she barely had time to realize how much she'd escalated the situation before Ty's fist was flying towards her face, and she reacted on instinct. He was a boxer and a marble statue of brute physicality to boot - one clean hit from him would probably floor her.

His training versus her training. Too bad for him that boxers weren't allowed to go for the legs. She toppled him, then went in for the pin, trying to get him to just calm the fuck down and stop moving, struggling-

kshhhhhhhhhhh. this isn't gonna be dramatic or romantic, so let's cut to static for a bit, yeah? one last favor. a sweet little lie. just for her. something for the pain that will come, a metaphorical anesthetic

picture a sunny arena. it's the day of the tournament. the strongest knights from all across the land have gathered to test their might against each other in glorious ritual combat. to the victor, the honor of being appointed to the prince's personal guard

chris had long traveled the land as a gallant paladin, rescuing fair maidens and vanquishing villains. her name was known in every village as a shining beacon, everyone's hero. she played the part well, never staying too long in one place, never knowing anyone too deeply. it was a good life. still

she found that she wanted someone to be devoted to. someone to protect and serve with all her heart. for too long she had shared her love with the world. for the first time in her life, she wanted to be selfish with her selflessness

so on that day, chris lined up for the opening ceremony with all the other hopeful servants, and looked up at the sun sitting on the throne, the son of the king, her potential liege, and saw

a dignified face, with a soft grace in his eyes - or shall we say her eyes, for the prince was actually the princess, who had secretly taken her dead brother's place after a tragic assassination. for politics and such. you know how it goes. chris saw through the ruse in an instant, because this was a fantasy, and she fell in love

and she fought with passion through all the day's events. jousting, archery, fisticuffs - her heart was soaring, and in every bout she won with ease. every so often she would secretly glance at the prince, to see if she was impressed, but her face was stoic as it was fair, and chris adored her even more

until finally, the final match. a pure sword fight against a towering brute in obsidian armor, one who had coasted on pure strength without a trace of technique or nobility. he was not an evil man, but he was mean and coarse, and motivated by pride alone. chris knew that he was undeserving to serve the woman she already thought of as her prince

the tournament official shouted that the match had begun, and at an instant, chris and her foe were at each other's throats, the clash of metal overpowering even the cheers of the crowd as their blades met, and met, and met again, and though chris was mighty indeed, with each of the black knight's blows she blocked, she could feel her arms rattle and ache, and she knew she could not win through callous attrition

so she threw her sword to the side and rushed her enemy, tackling him before he could even raise his blade to use her momentum as a weapon, and together they crashed, because while there were rules no one had thought to prohibit wrestling

both on the ground, both struggling to pin the other for honor and glory, but chris alone had love on her side, so she knew she would win, knew she would earn her righteous place by her prince's side

kshhhhhhhhhhh
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Skraal
Posts: 324
Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2018 3:08 am

#15

Post by Skraal »

((GMing Approved))

What the hell just happened? One moment, they were standing there, laughing and telling shitty jokes, and the next moment Chris was locked in mortal combat with a guy who just showed up. Oliver had seen fights start up pretty quickly before, of course, but never between two sober classmates, and especially not while trapped on murder-death island. This whole situations was a million flavours of messed up.

He stood there for what felt like years as he stared at the two combatants writhing on the ground, his heart pounding in his chest. Most people would probably just book it, and put as much distance as he could between him and these two crazy motherfuckers before someone ended up dead. Neither of them were his friends, and he didn't owe anyone here any favours. Few people would blame him for making the smart choice here.

However, it was also true that few people would call Oliver a smart young man. He knew Chris wouldn't just stand there any watch him get his face beaten in, and it just wouldn't be fair at all for the reverse to happen. Hell, time to finally to something selfless for once in his life.

Taking a deep breath, he rushed forward into the fray, placing his hands on Ty's shoulders and doing his best to pull the mountain of muscle away from his traveling companion.
[+] Survival of the Fittest Version 5
Characters:
Timothy Abrams
Weapon: Replica Flamethrower
Current Status: Deceased
Kyle Fitzpatrick
Weapon: Bulletproof Vest
Current Status: Deceased
Eliza Patton (Adopted from laZardo)
Weapon: M-1 Garand
Current Status: Deceased
[+] Survival of the Fittest Version 7
Characters:
Oliver Lacroix Current Status: Deceased
William "Bill" Dover Current Status: Deceased
Salvatore "Sal" Bonaventura (Adopted by Ohm) Current Status: Alive
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