"I..."
Great. This was just fucking great. Way to put her between a rock and a hard place. Raina knew that this was the kind of question she had to consider carefully; she couldn't contradict the plan of nonviolence they had been espousing, and of course wouldn't just stand there and do nothing so she couldn't say that (even though she had abandoned Jasper and Audrey, a voice in the back of her mind rudely reminded her before she quashed it). She couldn't just say she didn't know, or she would be as much of a wild card as Penelope and they needed stability right now.
"Well..." She forced a smile. Worth a shot. "I'd beat them up with my huge, bulging muscles, of course. You know I wouldn't let someone just run around hurting my friends." If Johnny had ever had a halfway intelligent thought in his life, it would be that he ought to keep his mouth shut about the encounter in the therapy rooms too. "I'd... yeah, I'd incapacitate them and... tie them up or something. Take them out of the picture until we have a better way to deal with things."
She crouched down near Penelope, hand still resting on her shoulder. "You trust me, right? So trust that I wouldn't let someone get away with it - but we can still figure out a way to make sure as few people get seriously hurt as possible."
Hyphaema
Day 7 morning; open
"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."
Ben now sat outside the library, chair leg in hand, listening to the girls and Johnny talk. They were having a moment, reassuring and helping each other. The reasonable and heartless part of him told him to go back inside, smash a window and get the glass shard he needed, damn their moment.
But he couldn't do that to them. They were good people. Ben had almost forgotten they existed.
He looked up at the sky. It was cloudless, timeless almost. He had other things to prepare, he could get the shard later.
(Benjamin Lichter continues in Z3 ROADSTER FOR SALE)
But he couldn't do that to them. They were good people. Ben had almost forgotten they existed.
He looked up at the sky. It was cloudless, timeless almost. He had other things to prepare, he could get the shard later.
(Benjamin Lichter continues in Z3 ROADSTER FOR SALE)
V6 Character:
Benjamin "Squirrel" Lichter [ ~ / + / + / + / + / + / + / + / + / + / + / + / + / + / + / + / + / + / + / > ] - You'll find him in the clouds.
V7 Characters:
Chloe Bruges [ - ] - You'll find her doing math.
Joseph "Joey" Quintero - You'll find him writing speaches.
Keith Rogers - You'll find him out with his gang.
Benjamin "Squirrel" Lichter [ ~ / + / + / + / + / + / + / + / + / + / + / + / + / + / + / + / + / + / + / > ] - You'll find him in the clouds.
V7 Characters:
Chloe Bruges [ - ] - You'll find her doing math.
Joseph "Joey" Quintero - You'll find him writing speaches.
Keith Rogers - You'll find him out with his gang.
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VoltTurtle
- Posts: 801
- Joined: Fri Aug 10, 2018 4:10 pm
- Location: Dreamland
Penelope smiled softly as Raina spoke, taking comfort in her friend's solidarity.
"Yeah, of course I trust you." She said, her voice slightly calmer. "I've got no reason not to."
She was satisfied with Raina's answer to her question. Even if it was probably a bit too idealistic of an answer, it at least made her feel a little bit better about what would happen to Raina after her inevitable death.
But... what would Penelope do if Raina, or any of her allies for that matter, got hurt first? What if she just got lucky and managed to avoid death while everyone around her got torn to pieces by the churning current of death that permeated the island?
"If... if someone were to hurt you I'd... I'd..."
Her hands shook slightly as her thoughts drifted back to her boyfriend's killer. What if he ended up hurting one of her allies? If he was enough of a raging psychopath to hurt Sam, there was no way he would have any problem hurting people who didn't even want to fight back. No doubt all he cared about at this point was going home, and he probably wouldn't even leave a piece of himself behind to die here with everyone else. A monstrous being like him wouldn't care about friends or family or common decency, just himself and nothing more.
If a freak like him hurt her friends, she would make sure they get proper justice. She would... she would...
"I'd..."
No.
Even if someone came along and took everyone she loved away from her, she still wouldn't be able to bring herself to hurt them.
They deserved to face justice, but there would be no way for her to bring that justice about herself.
She slumped, all of her energy torn away from her.
"I... I still don't know what I'd do..."
"Yeah, of course I trust you." She said, her voice slightly calmer. "I've got no reason not to."
She was satisfied with Raina's answer to her question. Even if it was probably a bit too idealistic of an answer, it at least made her feel a little bit better about what would happen to Raina after her inevitable death.
But... what would Penelope do if Raina, or any of her allies for that matter, got hurt first? What if she just got lucky and managed to avoid death while everyone around her got torn to pieces by the churning current of death that permeated the island?
"If... if someone were to hurt you I'd... I'd..."
Her hands shook slightly as her thoughts drifted back to her boyfriend's killer. What if he ended up hurting one of her allies? If he was enough of a raging psychopath to hurt Sam, there was no way he would have any problem hurting people who didn't even want to fight back. No doubt all he cared about at this point was going home, and he probably wouldn't even leave a piece of himself behind to die here with everyone else. A monstrous being like him wouldn't care about friends or family or common decency, just himself and nothing more.
If a freak like him hurt her friends, she would make sure they get proper justice. She would... she would...
"I'd..."
No.
Even if someone came along and took everyone she loved away from her, she still wouldn't be able to bring herself to hurt them.
They deserved to face justice, but there would be no way for her to bring that justice about herself.
She slumped, all of her energy torn away from her.
"I... I still don't know what I'd do..."
((Skipping with permission from Riki))
"You don't have to know right now," Raina said, squeezing Penelope's shoulders. And if all went according to plan, none of them would ever have to figure it out. She would make sure of it.
She straightened back up and looked around. Ben had made himself scarce, which was fine. They needed the other Ben anyway. "So Johnny, want to join our pacifism party that we've got going on? We ran into Lili again and she had Kiziah with her. We're going to make some posters and stuff, attract people who want to just stick together and not cause trouble." Maybe the intensity of her gaze would clue him in on the fact that she was planning something else. Maybe not.
Raina shuffled through some more debris with her foot and picked up another book that wasn't quite on the verge of disintegrating, stowing it away with the first one. They'd have to hit up the asylum library after this. The fire here had given her ideas, but hadn't left much material for her to work with.
"You don't have to know right now," Raina said, squeezing Penelope's shoulders. And if all went according to plan, none of them would ever have to figure it out. She would make sure of it.
She straightened back up and looked around. Ben had made himself scarce, which was fine. They needed the other Ben anyway. "So Johnny, want to join our pacifism party that we've got going on? We ran into Lili again and she had Kiziah with her. We're going to make some posters and stuff, attract people who want to just stick together and not cause trouble." Maybe the intensity of her gaze would clue him in on the fact that she was planning something else. Maybe not.
Raina shuffled through some more debris with her foot and picked up another book that wasn't quite on the verge of disintegrating, stowing it away with the first one. They'd have to hit up the asylum library after this. The fire here had given her ideas, but hadn't left much material for her to work with.
"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."
Why'd have to be it in moments like those. Those moments when Johnny felt some vague sort of happiness. Not a deal of peace or stability, but a bout of success - perhaps unwarranted or maybe not - that he'd had to be hit with questions like that.
He didn't know, of course, because it was a meaningless idea to ponder in the first place. All Johnny was left with was a sense of things being 'unfair' or 'annoying', but he knew he'd have no outlet to deal with them. Not in a place like he was in now.
"Well, gotta fill my big to-do-list now that I got ya, huh?"
Finding Raina turned out to be a hassle although Johnny guessed he couldn't claim ignorance. There was some greater sort of ideas playing around, and Raina wanted him to follow along. Speak now, stay silent then. Ah, way too much - way too much to think on and to act on and all Johnny wanted was to live the rest of his days in peace.
He shrugged. The world's final sign for hearty apathy.
He didn't know, of course, because it was a meaningless idea to ponder in the first place. All Johnny was left with was a sense of things being 'unfair' or 'annoying', but he knew he'd have no outlet to deal with them. Not in a place like he was in now.
"Well, gotta fill my big to-do-list now that I got ya, huh?"
Finding Raina turned out to be a hassle although Johnny guessed he couldn't claim ignorance. There was some greater sort of ideas playing around, and Raina wanted him to follow along. Speak now, stay silent then. Ah, way too much - way too much to think on and to act on and all Johnny wanted was to live the rest of his days in peace.
He shrugged. The world's final sign for hearty apathy.
Gervais Frans Lambotte 
Blue Jeans and Bloody Tears Martini-Henry Rifle MkIV Pattern
||Selection|Clicks|Lonely|
Blue Jeans and Bloody Tears Martini-Henry Rifle MkIV Pattern||Selection|Clicks|Lonely|
-
VoltTurtle
- Posts: 801
- Joined: Fri Aug 10, 2018 4:10 pm
- Location: Dreamland
Penelope took a deep breath to calm herself, rubbing her puffy eyes.
She sighed and looked Johnny up and down, finally taking the time to examine him. She felt it would be best to introduce herself to him properly, but it seemed that Raina and Johnny had catching up to do, and she had interrupted them long enough as it stood.
Penelope stared up at the sky, averting her gaze from the ashen ruins that had once been a library. No matter how hard she tried to focus on and think of anything else, whenever she looked up she couldn't help but remember the oft clear skies of her home. The place where her family still was, terrified out of their minds for her safety. Her sisters would have to spend the rest of their lives without their older sister there with them. Her parents would never forgive themselves for letting her go on the trip when they knew that the terrorists were still out there.
Her family would be shattered by her forthcoming death, and they would just be one family of nearly a hundred.
And all of that said nothing about what she thought of the whole situation. The thought of her own death scared her to no end. Try as she might to imagine it, she simply couldn't comprehend the idea of not existing. Not feeling or thinking anything, not being able to remember that she was even once alive. She had compared it to an eternal, dreamless sleep, but that description failed to truly do it justice. It was an oblivion that could never be taken back, never acknowledged, never experienced. She would be gone, and the world would move on as if she never even existed in the first place. All she would be, in the end, is a number. One that would be quickly forgotten, along with everything she managed to do in her short life.
Her ears picked up on a lull in the conversation between Johnny and Raina, and she turned her attention back over to them, pulling herself out of her spiral.
"Hey, could we... could we get out of here if that's... if that's alright?" She said, timidly, not wanting to upset Raina. "It doesn't seem like there's anything of use here and it's... bringing up a lot of bad feelings on my end. Plus uh... Kizi and Lili are probably waiting for us back at the asylum."
She picked herself up, not caring to dust off the ash now staining her entire lower body. She forced a smile as she hoisted her bag over her shoulder, in an effort to pretend that the island wasn't getting to her.
"I'll just... wait nearby, for you two to finish up."
((Penelope Fitzgerald continued in Minus Something))
She sighed and looked Johnny up and down, finally taking the time to examine him. She felt it would be best to introduce herself to him properly, but it seemed that Raina and Johnny had catching up to do, and she had interrupted them long enough as it stood.
Penelope stared up at the sky, averting her gaze from the ashen ruins that had once been a library. No matter how hard she tried to focus on and think of anything else, whenever she looked up she couldn't help but remember the oft clear skies of her home. The place where her family still was, terrified out of their minds for her safety. Her sisters would have to spend the rest of their lives without their older sister there with them. Her parents would never forgive themselves for letting her go on the trip when they knew that the terrorists were still out there.
Her family would be shattered by her forthcoming death, and they would just be one family of nearly a hundred.
And all of that said nothing about what she thought of the whole situation. The thought of her own death scared her to no end. Try as she might to imagine it, she simply couldn't comprehend the idea of not existing. Not feeling or thinking anything, not being able to remember that she was even once alive. She had compared it to an eternal, dreamless sleep, but that description failed to truly do it justice. It was an oblivion that could never be taken back, never acknowledged, never experienced. She would be gone, and the world would move on as if she never even existed in the first place. All she would be, in the end, is a number. One that would be quickly forgotten, along with everything she managed to do in her short life.
Her ears picked up on a lull in the conversation between Johnny and Raina, and she turned her attention back over to them, pulling herself out of her spiral.
"Hey, could we... could we get out of here if that's... if that's alright?" She said, timidly, not wanting to upset Raina. "It doesn't seem like there's anything of use here and it's... bringing up a lot of bad feelings on my end. Plus uh... Kizi and Lili are probably waiting for us back at the asylum."
She picked herself up, not caring to dust off the ash now staining her entire lower body. She forced a smile as she hoisted her bag over her shoulder, in an effort to pretend that the island wasn't getting to her.
"I'll just... wait nearby, for you two to finish up."
((Penelope Fitzgerald continued in Minus Something))
Raina sighed, part resignation, part sympathy, part psyching herself up for the next bit of walking they would have to do. "Yeah," she said to both Johnny and Penelope. "I think we've found everything we're going to find here. Let's get moving."
They could regroup with Lili and Kiziah, snag their Ben from wherever he was hanging out, and then make a detour to the asylum's library. Raina glanced around one last time at the burnt shell of the library and closed her eyes for just a moment, imagining who might have seen the column of smoke swirling upwards and away from it.
She bent and grabbed the last more-or-less intact book she could spot and dropped it in her bag. Not much, but it would do.
Raina's endgame would be more than the sum of its parts.
((Raina Rose continued in Minus Something))
They could regroup with Lili and Kiziah, snag their Ben from wherever he was hanging out, and then make a detour to the asylum's library. Raina glanced around one last time at the burnt shell of the library and closed her eyes for just a moment, imagining who might have seen the column of smoke swirling upwards and away from it.
She bent and grabbed the last more-or-less intact book she could spot and dropped it in her bag. Not much, but it would do.
Raina's endgame would be more than the sum of its parts.
((Raina Rose continued in Minus Something))
"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."
So when he just arrived they'd leave again. Well, that was alright with him. Whether he moved or not wasn't really that important. Not too Johnny at least. Now that he got what he wanted, definitely.
Penelope asked the both of them - Johnny and Raina - to catch up. Gave them the opportunity to do so, at least. Raina took her belongings and went on her way too, though. Johnny dared to flash a smile. It felt foul, to show his teeth like that.
[[Johnny McKay, continued elsewhere]]
Penelope asked the both of them - Johnny and Raina - to catch up. Gave them the opportunity to do so, at least. Raina took her belongings and went on her way too, though. Johnny dared to flash a smile. It felt foul, to show his teeth like that.
[[Johnny McKay, continued elsewhere]]
Gervais Frans Lambotte Blue Jeans and Bloody Tears Martini-Henry Rifle MkIV Pattern
||Selection|Clicks|Lonely|
Blue Jeans and Bloody Tears Martini-Henry Rifle MkIV Pattern||Selection|Clicks|Lonely|