Raina raised her eyebrows in confusion at Aiden's spiel about leaving. "Yeah, we saw the way out, but we want to sit and plan for a bit before heading anywhere else. Just running around here blind without any idea of what you're doing isn't a great idea, Beaks."
Beaks seemed off, somehow. Nervous, like he was really trying to convince them of something without having actually made an argument. For a fleeting moment, Raina's mind flew back to the trashed room again and wondered if maybe he didn't know more about that than he was letting on. But no, that was ridiculous. Beaks and Scarlett were both tiny and neither one looked like they'd been in a fight. So what was going on here?
"We do have an idea of what's going on here," she said slowly, trying to gauge Aiden's reaction. "We were all there, remember? There's not too many different ways to interpret this." Even bringing up the memory of the sick orientation they'd gone through made a knot form in Raina's stomach. Surely Beaks couldn't be in denial about their situation, not after what every one of them had seen and heard.
Needles and Pins
Semi-Private
"Art enriches the community, Steve, no less than a pulsing fire hose, or a fireman beating down a blazing door. So what if we're drawing a nude man? So what if all we ever draw is a nude man, or the same nude man over and over in all sorts of provocative positions? Context, not content! Process, not subject! Don't be so gauche, Steve, it's beneath you."
There was eczema on Johnny's throat. He scratched at it with ragged, dirty fingernails.
He was nervous.
Johnny wasn't a tactician of any stripe, bu he knew this place was no good. They weren't exactly hidden or fortified here, and they were certainly a fucksight far from safe. Beaks was a chirpy little bird a the best of times, and his voice echoed in the large, quiet space.
He imagined the sound, bouncing through the corridors of the hospital, bouncing off the ears of everyone and everybody who wished them ill. Johnny imagined knife and gun-wielding hordes advancing on them, their footsteps obscured by Aiden's incessant chatter.
Johnny swallowed, and took a step closer to his friend.
"The fuck're ya on about, Beaks? Unless there's something I've missed, like... I mean everyone's pretty much on the same fucking page about this situation, right? Like the predicament we're like... inside of A.T.M. is pretty fucking explicit, no?"
He waved his arm in a wide arc, meant to indicate... everything.
"Bad guys, guns, splodey new jewellery, hundred kids enter, one kid leaves. You know something we don't?"
He was nervous.
Johnny wasn't a tactician of any stripe, bu he knew this place was no good. They weren't exactly hidden or fortified here, and they were certainly a fucksight far from safe. Beaks was a chirpy little bird a the best of times, and his voice echoed in the large, quiet space.
He imagined the sound, bouncing through the corridors of the hospital, bouncing off the ears of everyone and everybody who wished them ill. Johnny imagined knife and gun-wielding hordes advancing on them, their footsteps obscured by Aiden's incessant chatter.
Johnny swallowed, and took a step closer to his friend.
"The fuck're ya on about, Beaks? Unless there's something I've missed, like... I mean everyone's pretty much on the same fucking page about this situation, right? Like the predicament we're like... inside of A.T.M. is pretty fucking explicit, no?"
He waved his arm in a wide arc, meant to indicate... everything.
"Bad guys, guns, splodey new jewellery, hundred kids enter, one kid leaves. You know something we don't?"
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They kept dancing around the issue, and it was driving Alice nuts. Everyone here knew it, but nobody wanted to start anything. Well, someone had to point to the elephant in the room.
"I uh, I think he means he doesn't think it's real."
Still, Alice surprised herself, really, speaking up. She was almost at the base of the stairwell when she spoke, and had to raise her voice a bit to be heard properly. She hated yelling, but she did have a pretty quiet voice and being misheard was a good way to cause trouble. Alice definitely wanted to avoid trouble.
"Aiden, right?" She felt bad, really. She understood denial; he might not have had time to process it, or he might just be too afraid to admit it. But, even if the truth was scary, it had to be known if you wanted to overcome it. Overcoming the truth here would be hard, but without trying, you were going to die. That was probably going to happen anyway, but it was worth a try to avoid it.
"It really is an island. I came into this place from further away, I think to the south of here. There was a church and everything, and I saw the ocean when I came in here." She paused. How far did she need to go? It wasn't like she wanted to break him. She just wanted to break it to him. But where was the line?
"I know it's scary and I understand. But it's real. And the sooner you accept it, the sooner we can do something about it." Alice didn't realize it, but she was on her back foot, ready to bolt. Instinct.
"I uh, I think he means he doesn't think it's real."
Still, Alice surprised herself, really, speaking up. She was almost at the base of the stairwell when she spoke, and had to raise her voice a bit to be heard properly. She hated yelling, but she did have a pretty quiet voice and being misheard was a good way to cause trouble. Alice definitely wanted to avoid trouble.
"Aiden, right?" She felt bad, really. She understood denial; he might not have had time to process it, or he might just be too afraid to admit it. But, even if the truth was scary, it had to be known if you wanted to overcome it. Overcoming the truth here would be hard, but without trying, you were going to die. That was probably going to happen anyway, but it was worth a try to avoid it.
"It really is an island. I came into this place from further away, I think to the south of here. There was a church and everything, and I saw the ocean when I came in here." She paused. How far did she need to go? It wasn't like she wanted to break him. She just wanted to break it to him. But where was the line?
"I know it's scary and I understand. But it's real. And the sooner you accept it, the sooner we can do something about it." Alice didn't realize it, but she was on her back foot, ready to bolt. Instinct.
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Primrosette
- Posts: 1033
- Joined: Tue Aug 14, 2018 9:58 am
- Location: In the Dark Abyss
Scarlett had stayed where she was and she listened to the others speaking to Aiden. She didn't know if Aiden would- Hold on a second. Alice had just spoken up. Scarlett turned to face Alice, feeling a bit surprised that she was talking without bolting off on them. Scarlett was actually somewhat proud that Alice was trying to talk some sense into Aiden.
Scarlett risked a glance back at Aiden. Did he even believe what Alice was saying to him? She hoped so. Even though she badly wished that all of this wasn't real herself.
"Aiden...."
Scarlett shut her mouth without saying anything more than just his name. What could she even say to him? All she would really do is wait and see how he would react.
Scarlett risked a glance back at Aiden. Did he even believe what Alice was saying to him? She hoped so. Even though she badly wished that all of this wasn't real herself.
"Aiden...."
Scarlett shut her mouth without saying anything more than just his name. What could she even say to him? All she would really do is wait and see how he would react.
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Rorick Skyve†
- Posts: 246
- Joined: Thu Nov 15, 2018 5:26 pm
Aiden suddenly felt cramped, like all the walls had moved closer at once, like he was about to get smothered and smoshed by all those words directed at him. He couldn't even see where Alice had gone off too and still he felt like she was directly next to him, pushing into a fucking corner.
He heard Scarlett say his name and instinctively turned to look at her, but there was nothing else coming from her. She was just lookin' at him, starin' like he was crazy or something like that. No, not just her. Aiden looked back at Johnny and Raina, they had that same thing on their faces, sorta. They all thought he was being crazy.
He took a step back, put a hand to his forehead, tried to get some words out, say any-fucking-thing, just- fuck. He didn't know what to say to them, didn't even know what to think anymore. This was just gettin' surreal, beyond fucking scary, like. He couldn't be wrong, he just couldn't, why the flippin' fuck would he have been wrong? All this shit, it was just; there was no way- like, seriously, what was he even...?
"I don't know, I don't fucking know..."
He wasn't looking at Johnny or Raina or Scarlett or anyone, just sayin' that and staring at nothing. Didn't even know what question he was answering, it was just all that went through his goddamn head; just way too fucking much to handle, like-
He put his other hand to his face as well, covering it with both of them, his palms firmly pressed over his eyes and cheeks.
It couldn't be real. They all thought it was and they were really fucking sure as shit about it and they were all much fucking smarter than him and stuff, but no, no way. It couldn't be, it wasn't supposed to, all of that was just complete bullshit, he couldn't understand it! Why did nothing make sense anymore?
"Guys, please-" His voice felt so fucking heavy, dried out, like some rock was stuck down his throat. He was gettin' all choked up, could feel that fucking itch in his eyes, tears on their way. Why couldn't it just be a prank? Why the fuck not, why'd it have to be real?
Aiden removed both hands from his face, eyes still burnin', he was going to fucking cry. He saw Johnny and Raina in front of him, of course they were there, they hadn't fucking moved. "Please just tell me you guys are fuckin' with me; c'mon, I can't handle this, why can't y'all stop?"
He was shaking. For the love of that asshole that called himself god, couldn't it just be a frickin' majorly effed up dream?
Aiden covered his ears with his hands. "Please just stop." He shook his head, his voice getting even quieter than before.
He was fucked, he was completely fucked, so he was.
He heard Scarlett say his name and instinctively turned to look at her, but there was nothing else coming from her. She was just lookin' at him, starin' like he was crazy or something like that. No, not just her. Aiden looked back at Johnny and Raina, they had that same thing on their faces, sorta. They all thought he was being crazy.
He took a step back, put a hand to his forehead, tried to get some words out, say any-fucking-thing, just- fuck. He didn't know what to say to them, didn't even know what to think anymore. This was just gettin' surreal, beyond fucking scary, like. He couldn't be wrong, he just couldn't, why the flippin' fuck would he have been wrong? All this shit, it was just; there was no way- like, seriously, what was he even...?
"I don't know, I don't fucking know..."
He wasn't looking at Johnny or Raina or Scarlett or anyone, just sayin' that and staring at nothing. Didn't even know what question he was answering, it was just all that went through his goddamn head; just way too fucking much to handle, like-
He put his other hand to his face as well, covering it with both of them, his palms firmly pressed over his eyes and cheeks.
It couldn't be real. They all thought it was and they were really fucking sure as shit about it and they were all much fucking smarter than him and stuff, but no, no way. It couldn't be, it wasn't supposed to, all of that was just complete bullshit, he couldn't understand it! Why did nothing make sense anymore?
"Guys, please-" His voice felt so fucking heavy, dried out, like some rock was stuck down his throat. He was gettin' all choked up, could feel that fucking itch in his eyes, tears on their way. Why couldn't it just be a prank? Why the fuck not, why'd it have to be real?
Aiden removed both hands from his face, eyes still burnin', he was going to fucking cry. He saw Johnny and Raina in front of him, of course they were there, they hadn't fucking moved. "Please just tell me you guys are fuckin' with me; c'mon, I can't handle this, why can't y'all stop?"
He was shaking. For the love of that asshole that called himself god, couldn't it just be a frickin' majorly effed up dream?
Aiden covered his ears with his hands. "Please just stop." He shook his head, his voice getting even quieter than before.
He was fucked, he was completely fucked, so he was.
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Well, this had all gone downhill faster than expected.
Raina bit her lip while she watched Beaks freak out, torn between backing away and stepping forward to... comfort him? Shake him and tell him to get a grip? She didn't know how he'd react to either of those things, if he'd lash out, and cold realization settled in her stomach that she might never be able to really anticipate how someone would react and whether it would be dangerous to her again.
As soon as that intrusive thought surfaced, Raina shoved it down again. Of course she would. Not now, not in this situation, but she wouldn't be here forever. She wouldn't let herself, her story, end in this place.
With that thought as her armor and her weapon, she stepped forward and crouched by Beaks, resting her elbows on her knees. It put her lower than him, nonthreatening. It also put her at the perfect level to punch him in the crotch if he freaked out on her harder.
"Beaks, listen," she started, trying to keep her voice gentle. He uncovered his ears and met her eyes for just a moment before dropping his gaze to the floor again. "We're not messing with you, you know we're not assholes like that. This is... super fucked up, I know. But we're all in the same boat here, yeah? We can figure something out, but we have to be smart about it, and that means acknowledging what's going on here."
Raina took a deep breath. "It's Survival of the Fittest. You know that. You're not dumb or delusional." And maybe some of Aiden's grades could contest that, and maybe the second part could be qualified with a "yet", and oh god she'd said it and made it real. But she had to. She had to.
You can't fix anything if you try to live in a fantasy world where nothing is wrong. Hadn't she been saying as much to her classmates on this issue or that for years?
Raina bit her lip while she watched Beaks freak out, torn between backing away and stepping forward to... comfort him? Shake him and tell him to get a grip? She didn't know how he'd react to either of those things, if he'd lash out, and cold realization settled in her stomach that she might never be able to really anticipate how someone would react and whether it would be dangerous to her again.
As soon as that intrusive thought surfaced, Raina shoved it down again. Of course she would. Not now, not in this situation, but she wouldn't be here forever. She wouldn't let herself, her story, end in this place.
With that thought as her armor and her weapon, she stepped forward and crouched by Beaks, resting her elbows on her knees. It put her lower than him, nonthreatening. It also put her at the perfect level to punch him in the crotch if he freaked out on her harder.
"Beaks, listen," she started, trying to keep her voice gentle. He uncovered his ears and met her eyes for just a moment before dropping his gaze to the floor again. "We're not messing with you, you know we're not assholes like that. This is... super fucked up, I know. But we're all in the same boat here, yeah? We can figure something out, but we have to be smart about it, and that means acknowledging what's going on here."
Raina took a deep breath. "It's Survival of the Fittest. You know that. You're not dumb or delusional." And maybe some of Aiden's grades could contest that, and maybe the second part could be qualified with a "yet", and oh god she'd said it and made it real. But she had to. She had to.
You can't fix anything if you try to live in a fantasy world where nothing is wrong. Hadn't she been saying as much to her classmates on this issue or that for years?
"Art enriches the community, Steve, no less than a pulsing fire hose, or a fireman beating down a blazing door. So what if we're drawing a nude man? So what if all we ever draw is a nude man, or the same nude man over and over in all sorts of provocative positions? Context, not content! Process, not subject! Don't be so gauche, Steve, it's beneath you."
Johnny stepped back, turning away.
The shit was shameful. It sucked, sure, but Aiden was a fucking adult and the last thing Johnny wanted to be seeing was him weeping like a little girl. He'd feel better not having that image in his head, and he was sure Aiden'd feel better not having cried in front of another man.
There wasn't anything to be got from wailing. There wasn't anything to be got from anything, most likely, but at least looking for a way out was a damn sight less fucking embarrassing. When this aired, when Darren saw this, at least he'd see Johnny dry eyed and proactive.
On the wall in front of Johnny was a camera, and as Aiden humiliated himself behind him, Johnny met the camera's glass gaze. He didn't blink.
The shit was shameful. It sucked, sure, but Aiden was a fucking adult and the last thing Johnny wanted to be seeing was him weeping like a little girl. He'd feel better not having that image in his head, and he was sure Aiden'd feel better not having cried in front of another man.
There wasn't anything to be got from wailing. There wasn't anything to be got from anything, most likely, but at least looking for a way out was a damn sight less fucking embarrassing. When this aired, when Darren saw this, at least he'd see Johnny dry eyed and proactive.
On the wall in front of Johnny was a camera, and as Aiden humiliated himself behind him, Johnny met the camera's glass gaze. He didn't blink.
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Still standing at the bottom of the stairs, Alice contemplated the morality of her actions.
Was she right to force him to confront this so...bluntly? She didn't like to think of herself as an especially blunt person. She thought tact was the way to go when it came to breaking hard news. But somehow, she'd gotten it into her head that she had to tell the guy, for his 'own good' that he was going to die. Perhaps the truth did need to come out, and maybe now had been the right time.
But it wasn't necessarily Alice's job to bring poor Aiden crashing down.
Seeing him breaking down into tears, covering his ears, Alice felt guilt rise up in her gut and strangle her from inside. She stepped back gingerly, further down the stairs. She watched Johnny, stoic and stony, heard Raina speaking softly to the distraught man. She still felt she didn't belong among this group. And now she felt like she'd only made things worse by being around them.
Emotions clashed inside her. She'd acted out of turn, upsetting an ally's close friend and causing a great big scene about the poor guy who just wanted it all to turn out okay. She couldn't imagine being in denial like that herself, but she could understand it nonetheless. She felt ashamed of opening her mouth and causing this scene. Her cheeks burned. She wanted to get away.
Alice took off down the stairs, bolting out of the building as fast as she could.
((Alice Baker continued elsewhere))
Was she right to force him to confront this so...bluntly? She didn't like to think of herself as an especially blunt person. She thought tact was the way to go when it came to breaking hard news. But somehow, she'd gotten it into her head that she had to tell the guy, for his 'own good' that he was going to die. Perhaps the truth did need to come out, and maybe now had been the right time.
But it wasn't necessarily Alice's job to bring poor Aiden crashing down.
Seeing him breaking down into tears, covering his ears, Alice felt guilt rise up in her gut and strangle her from inside. She stepped back gingerly, further down the stairs. She watched Johnny, stoic and stony, heard Raina speaking softly to the distraught man. She still felt she didn't belong among this group. And now she felt like she'd only made things worse by being around them.
Emotions clashed inside her. She'd acted out of turn, upsetting an ally's close friend and causing a great big scene about the poor guy who just wanted it all to turn out okay. She couldn't imagine being in denial like that herself, but she could understand it nonetheless. She felt ashamed of opening her mouth and causing this scene. Her cheeks burned. She wanted to get away.
Alice took off down the stairs, bolting out of the building as fast as she could.
((Alice Baker continued elsewhere))
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Rorick Skyve†
- Posts: 246
- Joined: Thu Nov 15, 2018 5:26 pm
He was starin' at the floor again. God, fuckin' goddammit. He wanted to look up, try to look at Raina, face her like - a man? Fuck, he didn't feel like man right then, he didn't even want to be one! If only he could have been some snotty ass toddler again, just spending all day doing whatever, being held by Mom and Dad and sis, no fuckin' worry in the world. Why'd he have to be here instead? Fucking why?
Aiden clenched his fist, shaking his head, slowly at first, then with increasing force. No, no, this had to be bull, it had to be, it goddamn had to be, there was no way - His meds, he needed a load of his stupid ass meds, but they were gone and he had nothing he could do and -
He got up from his crouching position, slowly, keeping his eyes closed like he was afraid of just glimpsing at Raina. Fuck, fuck, he was fuckin' embarrassing, a pathetic little chump. He couldn't handle this, couldn't handle anything, couldn't get anything right. Why'd this have to happen? He just wanted to go home. This shit wasn't fair, just wasn't!
Still breathing in and out very audibly and heavily, he turned himself away from Raina, took a step backwards, until his back hit a wall. Aiden leaned his against it, closing his eyes again. Now was the moment for him to wake up. All of this cracked horseshit, it would just be gone once he opened his eyes again, nightmare over, status fucking quo restored. God, please-
He opened his eyes. He was still there. Of course he was, of course it was no dream. He was still there, with Raina and Scarlett and Johnny and - no, wait, wasn't Alice there just a minute ago? Maybe he really was startin' to go nuts, little monkey in his head startin' to take over. Either way, he was fuckin' screwed.
It hurt to even open his mouth and speak up, his throat felt all torn up and ripped open or something. All of the muscles in his face were so fucking heavy, how long until the rest of his body would be like that too? He glanced around, from one of the people around him to the other.
"I'm...I'm so sorry, so fucking sorry, but I can't-" Aiden took another breath, put his hand on his chest. "I can't do this, just, I can't, no fucking way in hell. I'll just-" Another sharp breath, he grit his teeth this time. "I can't handle this. I'm not fucking made for it, true as truth. I hear ya and - I wanna believe you guys, really want to, I want to try but I just can't. If I do, then - then that means I'm fucking dead, okay? How am I just supposed to fucking accept that?"
He felt his lower lip shaking and quivering, but he wanted to say more, he fucking needed to say more. "But like - I'll just, I don't wanna be a burden to you guys either, okay? I'll do what you'll say, follow you, go away, whatever. Just - let me hold on to my fucking belief, yeah? It's all I got right now."
Talk about fucking timing. Just as he finished talking, he suddenly heard some loud ass ring fill out all the space in his ears. That a goddamn bell?
Aiden clenched his fist, shaking his head, slowly at first, then with increasing force. No, no, this had to be bull, it had to be, it goddamn had to be, there was no way - His meds, he needed a load of his stupid ass meds, but they were gone and he had nothing he could do and -
He got up from his crouching position, slowly, keeping his eyes closed like he was afraid of just glimpsing at Raina. Fuck, fuck, he was fuckin' embarrassing, a pathetic little chump. He couldn't handle this, couldn't handle anything, couldn't get anything right. Why'd this have to happen? He just wanted to go home. This shit wasn't fair, just wasn't!
Still breathing in and out very audibly and heavily, he turned himself away from Raina, took a step backwards, until his back hit a wall. Aiden leaned his against it, closing his eyes again. Now was the moment for him to wake up. All of this cracked horseshit, it would just be gone once he opened his eyes again, nightmare over, status fucking quo restored. God, please-
He opened his eyes. He was still there. Of course he was, of course it was no dream. He was still there, with Raina and Scarlett and Johnny and - no, wait, wasn't Alice there just a minute ago? Maybe he really was startin' to go nuts, little monkey in his head startin' to take over. Either way, he was fuckin' screwed.
It hurt to even open his mouth and speak up, his throat felt all torn up and ripped open or something. All of the muscles in his face were so fucking heavy, how long until the rest of his body would be like that too? He glanced around, from one of the people around him to the other.
"I'm...I'm so sorry, so fucking sorry, but I can't-" Aiden took another breath, put his hand on his chest. "I can't do this, just, I can't, no fucking way in hell. I'll just-" Another sharp breath, he grit his teeth this time. "I can't handle this. I'm not fucking made for it, true as truth. I hear ya and - I wanna believe you guys, really want to, I want to try but I just can't. If I do, then - then that means I'm fucking dead, okay? How am I just supposed to fucking accept that?"
He felt his lower lip shaking and quivering, but he wanted to say more, he fucking needed to say more. "But like - I'll just, I don't wanna be a burden to you guys either, okay? I'll do what you'll say, follow you, go away, whatever. Just - let me hold on to my fucking belief, yeah? It's all I got right now."
Talk about fucking timing. Just as he finished talking, he suddenly heard some loud ass ring fill out all the space in his ears. That a goddamn bell?
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Raina had to stop herself from biting her lip again. Honestly, what had she expected? They'd kick down the walls of Aiden's little fantasy land and he'd just accept it? Of course not, people never did. In here or out in the real world, people couldn't change that much.
Poor Beaks. He was completely crushed by this whole thing, practically given up already. No wonder he didn't want to hear what they were saying. Raina had just started to formulate her response when sudden movement behind her made her whirl to see what was happening, heart suddenly leaping into her throat. She managed to just catch a glimpse of Alice bolting down the stairs and out of view.
"Damn it all..." Raina muttered. First beaks had a breakdown and now Alice had jumped ship, probably because of said breakdown and her role in it. Sometimes you just had to fight your way through the awkwardness, girl. Raina would be sure to tell Alice that if - when - they bumped into her again.
She stayed awkwardly crouched there for a moment, trying to figure out what to do. Scarlett and Johnny were offering no help, and Beaks was a wreck, so like usual it fell to her to be the voice of reason.
"Aiden," she began, using his real name instead of his nickname for once. "Aiden, look. You're not dead yet. Nobody is. We're not going to die here." And saying it out loud sounded so small and laughable in this dark and terrible place, but she meant it. Goddamn it, she meant it more than she'd ever meant anything in her life. "We'll think of something." Her words, her rock in the storm. Arthur C. Clarke's words, actually, but they were hers now. Screw intellectual property law, this was an emergency.
Raina touched Aiden's wrist lightly, trying to be reassuring. "Okay? We'll think of something."
The bell rang out and reverberated through them, as if to punctuate her statement.
Poor Beaks. He was completely crushed by this whole thing, practically given up already. No wonder he didn't want to hear what they were saying. Raina had just started to formulate her response when sudden movement behind her made her whirl to see what was happening, heart suddenly leaping into her throat. She managed to just catch a glimpse of Alice bolting down the stairs and out of view.
"Damn it all..." Raina muttered. First beaks had a breakdown and now Alice had jumped ship, probably because of said breakdown and her role in it. Sometimes you just had to fight your way through the awkwardness, girl. Raina would be sure to tell Alice that if - when - they bumped into her again.
She stayed awkwardly crouched there for a moment, trying to figure out what to do. Scarlett and Johnny were offering no help, and Beaks was a wreck, so like usual it fell to her to be the voice of reason.
"Aiden," she began, using his real name instead of his nickname for once. "Aiden, look. You're not dead yet. Nobody is. We're not going to die here." And saying it out loud sounded so small and laughable in this dark and terrible place, but she meant it. Goddamn it, she meant it more than she'd ever meant anything in her life. "We'll think of something." Her words, her rock in the storm. Arthur C. Clarke's words, actually, but they were hers now. Screw intellectual property law, this was an emergency.
Raina touched Aiden's wrist lightly, trying to be reassuring. "Okay? We'll think of something."
The bell rang out and reverberated through them, as if to punctuate her statement.
"Art enriches the community, Steve, no less than a pulsing fire hose, or a fireman beating down a blazing door. So what if we're drawing a nude man? So what if all we ever draw is a nude man, or the same nude man over and over in all sorts of provocative positions? Context, not content! Process, not subject! Don't be so gauche, Steve, it's beneath you."
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Primrosette
- Posts: 1033
- Joined: Tue Aug 14, 2018 9:58 am
- Location: In the Dark Abyss
Scarlett couldn't do anything when Aiden broke down. The truth was that she had wanted to cry herself. But she didn't want to show how scared and fearful she was. She could only stand by and watch in silence as Raina was trying to calm Aiden now. Scarlett wasn't sure what they could plan to survive. Sooner or later there was a chance that they would die. But Scarlett didn't say anything. It would have broke her heart to see Aiden in a worse state. They had to try something. But what could they-
Scarlett's thought was disturbed by the sound of something ringing. Scarlett turned her head slightly and she looked slightly puzzled. Was that a bell? Could it be someone trying to call allies? What if they could group up and try to plan an escape? What if it would work?
"That sounds like a bell! We should at least try to see if we can find it. We could make more allies and then maybe we can try to find a better way to survive this. I'm going ahead to check it out, Aiden!"
Scarlett smiled at Aiden cheerfully before she bolted away from the group. Hoping that things will get better for them all.
((Scarlett McAfee continued in This is Fine ((This Is Fine))
Scarlett's thought was disturbed by the sound of something ringing. Scarlett turned her head slightly and she looked slightly puzzled. Was that a bell? Could it be someone trying to call allies? What if they could group up and try to plan an escape? What if it would work?
"That sounds like a bell! We should at least try to see if we can find it. We could make more allies and then maybe we can try to find a better way to survive this. I'm going ahead to check it out, Aiden!"
Scarlett smiled at Aiden cheerfully before she bolted away from the group. Hoping that things will get better for them all.
((Scarlett McAfee continued in This is Fine ((This Is Fine))
-
Rorick Skyve†
- Posts: 246
- Joined: Thu Nov 15, 2018 5:26 pm
Aiden bit his lip. Raina coming in close again. Johnny just kinda...standing there, being all chill, like always. Why couldn't he be like that? Be a bastion of calm or whatever they called it, solid as a fuckin' rock. No, he wasn't just wasn't, he was just a goddamn useless little sissy, that was all he was. Fuck it all.
He tried his best to calm down though or tried to not be a fucking liability to the others any more than he was already, at least. He was still breathing funny, heart still hurting the way it went, but he had to fucking get a grip, like asap.
He didn't look away as Raina talked to him. Yeah, like, she was right and all. Nobody was dead. And fuck, nobody was going to be, it was all gonna turn out like he had thought, like- Whoa, unexpected, her touching him like that. He winced slightly, but let it happen. It was kinda helping, physical contact always kinda helped with making him all calm.
Raina kept talking and Aiden nodded. He didn't even think about why, he just nodded, compliant and shit, it made him feel better and would prolly them as well. Whatever helped. He had to at least try. Even though it was just - fuck, this was too much, just was, but he couldn't lose it, not again. Had to try and -
And then everything went way too fast for him. Scarlett spoke up, out of the blue, said things, something about them finding allies, about the bell - and then she just ran off. Fucking Christ, what the hell had gotten into her, this wasn't how it was supposed to be!
He pushed himself off the wall, made sure to push Raina gently though, just enough for her to step out of his way. Goddammit, why the fuck?
"Ey, Scarls! What are you doing, come back here! You can't just-"
He shouted after her, but all he got in response was the echo of her footsteps dying down and then fading away. Shit man, fuckin' shit on a stick with sprinkles. This was totally not cool, all of it was shitty and fucked up enough already, but why did this have to happen too now?
Like, he couldn't just let her run off, could he? He had been leading her all the way up to here, she had followed him and shit, put her trust into him. He had been supposed to protect her, before he went all nervous and broke down and shit like a fuckin' loser. And now he was just letting this happen to? Like, not like he was really believing all that shit about peeps starting to kill each other but- he couldn't let her run off by herself either. He had promised Scarls it was going to be okay. He had to make sure it would be. He had to go after her.
Aiden turned around towards Johnny and Raina. Fuck, they had tried to help him, made such an effort and now he was just gonna leave 'em like this. Just made him feel like such a piece of shit, but he had to do it. "Look guys. I like - I appreciate what you're doing, okay? Really, I prolly look like an ungrateful fuck, but I mean it! Just, I have to go after her, okay? Just-"
They had each other. They'd be okay. Raina was smart, Johnny knew what he was doing. And why was he even worried? All was gonna be fine. He'd meet up with them later, it was fine. It was fine.
"I'll - I'll see you later, okay? We're gonna meet up again somewhere here, maybe not go away too far or something. Or just do whatever, like, gonna be fine either way and-"
Goddamnit, he was wastin' time now. Scarley Scarls was prolly already a mile ahead of him.
"See ya!"
His heart still pounding like a madman, and his bag thrown over his shoulder, Aiden started running.
((Aiden Slattery continued in これでいい。 ))
He tried his best to calm down though or tried to not be a fucking liability to the others any more than he was already, at least. He was still breathing funny, heart still hurting the way it went, but he had to fucking get a grip, like asap.
He didn't look away as Raina talked to him. Yeah, like, she was right and all. Nobody was dead. And fuck, nobody was going to be, it was all gonna turn out like he had thought, like- Whoa, unexpected, her touching him like that. He winced slightly, but let it happen. It was kinda helping, physical contact always kinda helped with making him all calm.
Raina kept talking and Aiden nodded. He didn't even think about why, he just nodded, compliant and shit, it made him feel better and would prolly them as well. Whatever helped. He had to at least try. Even though it was just - fuck, this was too much, just was, but he couldn't lose it, not again. Had to try and -
And then everything went way too fast for him. Scarlett spoke up, out of the blue, said things, something about them finding allies, about the bell - and then she just ran off. Fucking Christ, what the hell had gotten into her, this wasn't how it was supposed to be!
He pushed himself off the wall, made sure to push Raina gently though, just enough for her to step out of his way. Goddammit, why the fuck?
"Ey, Scarls! What are you doing, come back here! You can't just-"
He shouted after her, but all he got in response was the echo of her footsteps dying down and then fading away. Shit man, fuckin' shit on a stick with sprinkles. This was totally not cool, all of it was shitty and fucked up enough already, but why did this have to happen too now?
Like, he couldn't just let her run off, could he? He had been leading her all the way up to here, she had followed him and shit, put her trust into him. He had been supposed to protect her, before he went all nervous and broke down and shit like a fuckin' loser. And now he was just letting this happen to? Like, not like he was really believing all that shit about peeps starting to kill each other but- he couldn't let her run off by herself either. He had promised Scarls it was going to be okay. He had to make sure it would be. He had to go after her.
Aiden turned around towards Johnny and Raina. Fuck, they had tried to help him, made such an effort and now he was just gonna leave 'em like this. Just made him feel like such a piece of shit, but he had to do it. "Look guys. I like - I appreciate what you're doing, okay? Really, I prolly look like an ungrateful fuck, but I mean it! Just, I have to go after her, okay? Just-"
They had each other. They'd be okay. Raina was smart, Johnny knew what he was doing. And why was he even worried? All was gonna be fine. He'd meet up with them later, it was fine. It was fine.
"I'll - I'll see you later, okay? We're gonna meet up again somewhere here, maybe not go away too far or something. Or just do whatever, like, gonna be fine either way and-"
Goddamnit, he was wastin' time now. Scarley Scarls was prolly already a mile ahead of him.
"See ya!"
His heart still pounding like a madman, and his bag thrown over his shoulder, Aiden started running.
((Aiden Slattery continued in これでいい。 ))
This is an archival account used by staff to port posts belonging to the handler Rorick Skyve. While this handler hasn't been around in quite a while, should they return and wish to take custody of this account and/or its posts, they are welcome to do so by contacting staff.
The remains of Johnny's cigarette skittered across the floor as he tossed it aside.
It wasn't littering, not really. This whole place was basically trash anyway, it wasn't like it could even be dirtied. Really, by adding newer, more current trash he was basically modernizing the place, bringing it into the 21st century, and Johnny took a strange and utterly unwarranted degree of pride in that.
You're welcome, terrorist fucks. Johnny Ray McKay, interior designer extraordinaire, at your fucking service.
He took a step and kicked the stub of the cigarette sending orange sparks flying as the echoes of Aiden and Scarlett's feet faded in their ears.
What they were doing was a mistake.
Nobody smart split up in horror movies, and nobody with half a brain just ran off by themselves without waiting. It was a fucking bell for fuck's sake, it wasn't like it was going anywhere, and just bolting off like that seemed particularly fucking dense to Johnny. Insofar as he knew basically nothing about the girl, Scarlet had always struck him as kinda smart, in the way that he assumed most of the quiet kids were kind smart. Now, he wondered if she'd just been quiet because she was too dumb to string a sentence together.
He didn't like her running off, he was finding he didn't like her generally, and he certainly didn't like Aiden chasing after the girl like a lovesick little puppy.
Aiden was nice and he was funny, and Johnny counted him as a friend, but the kid'd always been a few feathers short of a wing and since he'd got to the island it seemed like he'd done some pretty serious molting. Him having a raging boner for Scarlett was clear as day of course, and Johnny was hardly in a position to be critical about him following her if you looked at it like that, but at least in his case Raina wasn't completely fucking retarded.
Johnny turned to her, pinching his nose.
"Okay so... I guess we're just running off like fucking headless chickens now, are we?"
He waved a hand toward the corridor that the two had disappeared down.
"Look, Beaks is a good guy and he's a friend, but he's clearly living in fantasyland, and with his nose two feet up the ass of Pavlov's bell-chasing bitch there to boot, and blondie? I mean shit, she seemed fine and all, yeah, but you know if someone farted too loud she'd faint and to be honest I'm floored she stuck around as long as she did before scarpering."
Johnny ran his hand up his jawline, his fingers brushing over the few sparse bristles he'd managed to cultivate. They were blonde, lighter than his hair, and basically invisible to the naked eye, but he was pleased with them anyhow. He'd always wanted to grow a beard, but it seemed now like this'd be the closest he'd get to it.
It was a pity.
"My point is, Ray, an' I don't wanna be a dickhead or anything, but do we follow any of them? Nothing against any one of them, yeah, an' I'd give them all the biggest hugs ever if I could, but if we're looking for like, safety in numbers or whatever... well, they're not the fuckin' A Team, are they? Or like..." he racked his brain for a more science-y analogy, that might get his point across better "...the fucking Avengers, yeah?"
Johnny stepped closer to her, putting a hand on her arm.
"Look, you're the team leader here or whatever, you know all this kinda shit, yeah? You're our... Toby Stark, yeah Ray? It seems to be like runnin' through this fucking place willy-nilly because a bell... what, exists somewhere? To me that doesn't exactly seem like tactical genius, but the fuck do I know, right? If you say that's the smart play then let's do that, Ray, but if it's as fucking stupid as I'm thinking it might be, then..." he let go of her and scratched the back of his head "...then maybe we need to have a chat about the extent to which we wanna be babysitting, and the extend we wanna be looking out for ourselves, yeah?"
It wasn't littering, not really. This whole place was basically trash anyway, it wasn't like it could even be dirtied. Really, by adding newer, more current trash he was basically modernizing the place, bringing it into the 21st century, and Johnny took a strange and utterly unwarranted degree of pride in that.
You're welcome, terrorist fucks. Johnny Ray McKay, interior designer extraordinaire, at your fucking service.
He took a step and kicked the stub of the cigarette sending orange sparks flying as the echoes of Aiden and Scarlett's feet faded in their ears.
What they were doing was a mistake.
Nobody smart split up in horror movies, and nobody with half a brain just ran off by themselves without waiting. It was a fucking bell for fuck's sake, it wasn't like it was going anywhere, and just bolting off like that seemed particularly fucking dense to Johnny. Insofar as he knew basically nothing about the girl, Scarlet had always struck him as kinda smart, in the way that he assumed most of the quiet kids were kind smart. Now, he wondered if she'd just been quiet because she was too dumb to string a sentence together.
He didn't like her running off, he was finding he didn't like her generally, and he certainly didn't like Aiden chasing after the girl like a lovesick little puppy.
Aiden was nice and he was funny, and Johnny counted him as a friend, but the kid'd always been a few feathers short of a wing and since he'd got to the island it seemed like he'd done some pretty serious molting. Him having a raging boner for Scarlett was clear as day of course, and Johnny was hardly in a position to be critical about him following her if you looked at it like that, but at least in his case Raina wasn't completely fucking retarded.
Johnny turned to her, pinching his nose.
"Okay so... I guess we're just running off like fucking headless chickens now, are we?"
He waved a hand toward the corridor that the two had disappeared down.
"Look, Beaks is a good guy and he's a friend, but he's clearly living in fantasyland, and with his nose two feet up the ass of Pavlov's bell-chasing bitch there to boot, and blondie? I mean shit, she seemed fine and all, yeah, but you know if someone farted too loud she'd faint and to be honest I'm floored she stuck around as long as she did before scarpering."
Johnny ran his hand up his jawline, his fingers brushing over the few sparse bristles he'd managed to cultivate. They were blonde, lighter than his hair, and basically invisible to the naked eye, but he was pleased with them anyhow. He'd always wanted to grow a beard, but it seemed now like this'd be the closest he'd get to it.
It was a pity.
"My point is, Ray, an' I don't wanna be a dickhead or anything, but do we follow any of them? Nothing against any one of them, yeah, an' I'd give them all the biggest hugs ever if I could, but if we're looking for like, safety in numbers or whatever... well, they're not the fuckin' A Team, are they? Or like..." he racked his brain for a more science-y analogy, that might get his point across better "...the fucking Avengers, yeah?"
Johnny stepped closer to her, putting a hand on her arm.
"Look, you're the team leader here or whatever, you know all this kinda shit, yeah? You're our... Toby Stark, yeah Ray? It seems to be like runnin' through this fucking place willy-nilly because a bell... what, exists somewhere? To me that doesn't exactly seem like tactical genius, but the fuck do I know, right? If you say that's the smart play then let's do that, Ray, but if it's as fucking stupid as I'm thinking it might be, then..." he let go of her and scratched the back of his head "...then maybe we need to have a chat about the extent to which we wanna be babysitting, and the extend we wanna be looking out for ourselves, yeah?"
This is an archival account used by staff to port posts belonging to the handler frogue. While this handler hasn't been around in quite a while, should they return and wish to take custody of this account and/or its posts, they are welcome to do so by contacting staff.
If Raina had cared enough, she'd have reminded Johnny that the superhero genre wasn't the subset of science fiction that she was into. She didn't care right now, though. They'd just been deserted by every halfway friendly face they'd encountered so far, and she was somewhere between worried and seething.
Alice, okay, sure. Raina had more or less expected her to run off sooner rather than later, or at least insist on staying wherever it was they holed up while she and Johnny got to work on whatever they were going to work on, when they had a plan.
Beaks was teetering on the edge, that much was obvious, but Raina had thought - hoped - that they would be able to bring him around. He could be annoying, and he wasn't the brightest crayon in the box, but even then she hadn't thought that he was just go charging off into the unknown after Scarlett.
Speaking of which: what the hell was up with Scarlett? Running around like the proverbial headless chicken, like Johnny had said, because a bell rang? All the bell meant was that a church or a chapel or something was standing somewhere nearby, and somebody there knew how to pull a rope. Maybe the stress had been getting to her just like Beaks and she'd just been keeping a lid on it better until the bell. Raina didn't know.
She hardly knew anything now, and she detested not knowing.
She let out a heavy sigh, crossing her arms as she looked down the hall where Aiden and Scarlett disappeared. "No," she said finally. "We shouldn't be running all over the place. I'd say we should stay away from the bell, actually. People will be going to check it out and see what's going on, and too much of a crowd will get out of control quickly." Raina had been in enough group arguments to be familiar with that peculiar quality of human intelligence where it was exponentially diminished the more people there were involved. If there was some kind of mob descending on the bell tower, she wanted no part of that.
After another moment of consideration, she turned to face Johnny. "Is there anyone in particular you want to see? Because if not, we should just focus on the people we come across on a case-by-case basis. That's easier." Less baggage. Fewer distractions.
Raina glanced back over her shoulder down the hall again. "I know Beaks is your friend and all... we can follow for now and tell the two of them to stop acting like idiots when we catch up with them, but if they can't get it together, we need to move on."
And that was cold. Maybe it was heartless. But this wasn't the kind of place where you could get bogged down on the details, not unless those details were going to solve the problem they all shared of the collars and the cameras and the fact that nobody knew where they were or what had happened to them. This wasn't the kind of place where Raina could insist on nobody being left behind, especially if the people she was trying to help out decided to go running off at the slightest unexpected happening. Everyone was entitled to help if they needed it, yes, but you couldn't help someone unwilling to help themselves.
Alice, okay, sure. Raina had more or less expected her to run off sooner rather than later, or at least insist on staying wherever it was they holed up while she and Johnny got to work on whatever they were going to work on, when they had a plan.
Beaks was teetering on the edge, that much was obvious, but Raina had thought - hoped - that they would be able to bring him around. He could be annoying, and he wasn't the brightest crayon in the box, but even then she hadn't thought that he was just go charging off into the unknown after Scarlett.
Speaking of which: what the hell was up with Scarlett? Running around like the proverbial headless chicken, like Johnny had said, because a bell rang? All the bell meant was that a church or a chapel or something was standing somewhere nearby, and somebody there knew how to pull a rope. Maybe the stress had been getting to her just like Beaks and she'd just been keeping a lid on it better until the bell. Raina didn't know.
She hardly knew anything now, and she detested not knowing.
She let out a heavy sigh, crossing her arms as she looked down the hall where Aiden and Scarlett disappeared. "No," she said finally. "We shouldn't be running all over the place. I'd say we should stay away from the bell, actually. People will be going to check it out and see what's going on, and too much of a crowd will get out of control quickly." Raina had been in enough group arguments to be familiar with that peculiar quality of human intelligence where it was exponentially diminished the more people there were involved. If there was some kind of mob descending on the bell tower, she wanted no part of that.
After another moment of consideration, she turned to face Johnny. "Is there anyone in particular you want to see? Because if not, we should just focus on the people we come across on a case-by-case basis. That's easier." Less baggage. Fewer distractions.
Raina glanced back over her shoulder down the hall again. "I know Beaks is your friend and all... we can follow for now and tell the two of them to stop acting like idiots when we catch up with them, but if they can't get it together, we need to move on."
And that was cold. Maybe it was heartless. But this wasn't the kind of place where you could get bogged down on the details, not unless those details were going to solve the problem they all shared of the collars and the cameras and the fact that nobody knew where they were or what had happened to them. This wasn't the kind of place where Raina could insist on nobody being left behind, especially if the people she was trying to help out decided to go running off at the slightest unexpected happening. Everyone was entitled to help if they needed it, yes, but you couldn't help someone unwilling to help themselves.
"Art enriches the community, Steve, no less than a pulsing fire hose, or a fireman beating down a blazing door. So what if we're drawing a nude man? So what if all we ever draw is a nude man, or the same nude man over and over in all sorts of provocative positions? Context, not content! Process, not subject! Don't be so gauche, Steve, it's beneath you."
"Darren, I guess? My brother, not some like... I mean, if there's some kid here named Darren, not him."
Johnny ran his tongue across his front teeth, feeling the jagged peaks and valleys, never to be orthodontically corrected. He'd always thought about getting braces one day, maybe working some union job with dental long enough to get the company to pay for it, but Johnny supposed now it was never to be.
It was a pity he thought, to go to heaven ugly, and he thought too, then, of his brother. Darren had always had perfect teeth.
"As far as people here... shit, I dunno. I've got friends on this trip, sure, same as you, right? Any of them I'd like to see, but I dunno if it makes sense to go out huntin' for them, y'know?"
Johnny gave a shrug and put his hands into his pockets, elbows straight and shoulders high. He looked into Raina's face, his two brown eyes meeting her one. There was something unfamiliar about her features, but what this new expression was, Johnny couldn't tell.
"Look, I'm not being humble or self deprecatin' or whatever here, an' I'm not fishin' for compliments or like... fuckin' encouragement or whatever, okay? This is just some straight up fact, coming up."
He paused, waiting for her to protest. She didn't.
"You're smarter than me, Ray, and it makes no fuckin' sense to be conductin' this as a democracy, yeah? My vote shouldn't count for as much as yours, not for half as much, and I'm not saying that as a compliment or 'cause I have low self esteem or what the fuck ever, I'm saying that because I wanna fucking live, okay? I'll back you up a hundred percent, but for us to get through this, you have to take charge here, yeah?"
Johnny rubbed the back of his neck, feeling awkward. The speech had been encouraging inside his head, but to his ears it had just sounded corny, like something some Hollywood coach says in the locker room before the big game against Rival High.
"I mean, in saying all that my vote is no, we don't chase them. If the bell is friendly friends waiting to give them hugs then great, they're safe, and if the bell's some fuckin'... nightmare deathtrap monster machine, then at least we aren't fucked too yeah? My vote is... my vote is we let them go."
Johnny ran his tongue across his front teeth, feeling the jagged peaks and valleys, never to be orthodontically corrected. He'd always thought about getting braces one day, maybe working some union job with dental long enough to get the company to pay for it, but Johnny supposed now it was never to be.
It was a pity he thought, to go to heaven ugly, and he thought too, then, of his brother. Darren had always had perfect teeth.
"As far as people here... shit, I dunno. I've got friends on this trip, sure, same as you, right? Any of them I'd like to see, but I dunno if it makes sense to go out huntin' for them, y'know?"
Johnny gave a shrug and put his hands into his pockets, elbows straight and shoulders high. He looked into Raina's face, his two brown eyes meeting her one. There was something unfamiliar about her features, but what this new expression was, Johnny couldn't tell.
"Look, I'm not being humble or self deprecatin' or whatever here, an' I'm not fishin' for compliments or like... fuckin' encouragement or whatever, okay? This is just some straight up fact, coming up."
He paused, waiting for her to protest. She didn't.
"You're smarter than me, Ray, and it makes no fuckin' sense to be conductin' this as a democracy, yeah? My vote shouldn't count for as much as yours, not for half as much, and I'm not saying that as a compliment or 'cause I have low self esteem or what the fuck ever, I'm saying that because I wanna fucking live, okay? I'll back you up a hundred percent, but for us to get through this, you have to take charge here, yeah?"
Johnny rubbed the back of his neck, feeling awkward. The speech had been encouraging inside his head, but to his ears it had just sounded corny, like something some Hollywood coach says in the locker room before the big game against Rival High.
"I mean, in saying all that my vote is no, we don't chase them. If the bell is friendly friends waiting to give them hugs then great, they're safe, and if the bell's some fuckin'... nightmare deathtrap monster machine, then at least we aren't fucked too yeah? My vote is... my vote is we let them go."
This is an archival account used by staff to port posts belonging to the handler frogue. While this handler hasn't been around in quite a while, should they return and wish to take custody of this account and/or its posts, they are welcome to do so by contacting staff.