Once Upon a Time

[Espi]

((Riley Parker’s story continues from Summer Bitch VS Cherry Boy]]

After leaving the aqua-museum (seriously who the fuck came up with that shit?) Riley had a lot of places to go, but the inclination to go to none of them. She’d run around all fucking day, she was cold and tired, and what’s more is that she was being really fucking stupid at this so far. Spazzing out, trying to stab people, sneaking around and getting caught and running all over the goddamned resort. She needed to find a place, calm down and think logically for a bit to get her head around the situation.

She needed a plan, and fast, or she’d die faceless and nameless. Dying in general was not a good goal, and if Riley wanted to make a name of herself it was going to have to take some effort and some big plays, not just being fucking schizo all day every day. She wasn't focused or clearly thinking, and those were critical to being a smart player at this point.

She'd love a joint right about now, except she had none. She could manage for now though. Most people did after all.

So looking at her map Riley made a decision. She was, for now at least, going to camp out an area and catch some poor bastard by surprise. Then she could rob them or whatever, take their shit. Stab them if she had to? Maybe. That wasn't a good goal for now though. Killing people early got you killed, right? Most winners weren't early threats, since they got heat put on them faster and harder, which meant people targeted them first when player-hunting. So logically killing someone early was a bad plan.

Riley didn't want to consider it, but she knew it'd come up eventually.

The Sunshine Tower sounded like an old video game dungeon or something, but it might work for now. Tall buildings were easy to collapse and if some bastard got dynamite the whole thing could come down. Climbing it would be dumb, but sticking around the entrance and jumping out? That might work for now. There weren't really any other places that'd have lots of hiding spots, so it'd have to do.

Riley sat in the entrance, heart pounding in her chest. She'd been pretty clever about this whole thing; the entrance was in her vision from her spot behind the open door of the stairwell, but she was mostly concealed behind the door itself, peeking through the space between the frame and the actual door. If this worked, and someone tried to go through up the stairs, they'd be in for a shock.

Riley was thinking, in the meanwhile, while she sat knees huddled to her chest, knife clutched in her hands held to her chest. Could she really do this? Were all those hours spent sitting online, on the couch, poring over every strategy and tactic and idea in the show's rich history and trying to calculate their effectiveness, were they worth it? Could she apply them to her own game and bet her life on her brains and cunning? Was she smart and strong enough to do what needed to be done to keep herself alive?

Did she have a shot at winning this game? Could Riley Parker become a winner of SOTF and go home again? Did she have what it took? So many questions, so much faith she needed to have to try and win, in herself especially. Riley had never considered how much mental tax this game took on you. It was just an instant and constant weight on you, just knowing you could die and how probable it was that you'd be murdered. But Riley needed to have faith, that belief that she could do it and survive.

Could Riley Parker win?

God, she certainly hoped so.

[Laurels]

((Taylor DeVasher continued from Prepare to Gag on My Eleganza))

Taylor continued to grin as he made his way from the day care center towards the monolithic tower. He saw it shortly after leaving the center, and he immediately made his way over there. As he once heard, when you're at the bottom, the only way to go from there was up. If this was the start of his everlasting career as a rock star and fashion entrepreneur, then up was the way to go.

He continued to skip as he made his way to the tower, the skirt of his dress swaying with each step. He could admit that it was a little chilly outside, and having bare legs was probably not the best way to go in such an environment, but he didn't care. As he saw it, the feeling of coldness was temporary. He could get inside and rub his legs together if he needed the warmth.

Taylor got close to the tower and looked up, stopping to gaze at the massive structure.

"Alright," he said aloud, "let's see how long it takes me to get to the top. I can imagine that the fine folks at this resort have a great view waiting for me up there."

Taylor clapped his hands together before pointing to the very top of the tower.

"Let's go!"

Taylor hurried over to the entrance to the tower. He continued to chuckle as he reached the door and pushed it open. It was going to be a tough climb, but he was ready for it. He was at least glad the skirt only reached his legs. He'd need all the free movement if he was going to climb all the way to the top.

[Espi]

Holy fucking shit.

Some asshole walked in wearing a goddamned frilly dress and Riley wasn't sure if she should laugh or cover her eyes. But she didn't make a sound, because that'd ruin the purpose of the whole 'hide behind a door to jump out at the first person' tactic. So she waited silently and with a degree of confusion as she watched the guy's actions.

Taylor (that was his name right? He was some artsy fuck) was wandering around and making a jackass of himself. Well, Riley had kiiiind of done that earlier but showboating was good when done in restraint and he was just being stupid and over-the-top. It was silly, especially actually wearing a goddamned dress? It was probably his fanservice outfit too, which was even dumber.

He was probably pretty hindered in that dress, though. That could give her an advantage.

As Taylor moved closer and closer, Riley's chest nearly burst. It was working, and damn near perfectly. If Riley struck in just a few moments should he climb the stairs, she could probably catch him out. But was it better to do that? He might-no, he might see her, and he had no weapon in his hands so now was the time if there ever was one.

So she waited for him to walk past and silently tried to ready herself and listened to his footsteps in the otherwise silent building, running possible things that could go wrong in her mind. Nobody else was there since Riley had come in so it was unlikely anyone would help Taylor. He didn't have a visible weapon with him so he was unlikely to be able to fight back. Riley had the lower ground so she could easily trap him if need be.

So it all looked to be in her favor. Riley readied herself to speak.

[Laurels]

Taylor eyed the stairs before him. The tower had to be at least a mile or so high, if his poor estimation skills were working properly.

"Well, time to get crackin'," he muttered.

Taylor stretched his arms over his head. He was still chuckling under his breath. There was something he found humorous about making such a climb so dramatic. But, then again, he had a character to make for the viewers at home. They needed to see their lolita SOTF star make it to the top in one peace.

Taylor made his way over to the steps and began to walk up them. He started to hum "Stairway to Heaven" as he made his way further up. He could do this.

[Latin For Dragula]

((Vahka Basayev continued from Somewhere Between Motivated and Cold))

Damn.

The tower looked like a decent place to hole up and catch a breather for awhile. There was a chance someone was already up there, and if they were he could be in for some trouble, but he was willing to take it. Better than just about anywhere else he could see on the map.

Still didn't stop him from being amazed at how goddamn huge it was. Nothing to do but climb it, though. He strolled toward the lobby and paused as he noticed movement at the entrance.

Was that a dress?

[Shangela*]

Oh mighty river
The Mississippi
Turbulent Waters
Lull me to sleep

Please take my hand
I will go gently
Your arms around me
You’ll be my --

Was that boy wearing a frilly black dress? What on God’s green earth?

((Diana "Dee" Dixon continued from Kal-El))

Dee immediately stopped the muted song she hummed to herself as she walked. Dee didn’t have a musical bone in her body, but it was better than the alternative to cussing up a storm. It was as cold as a witch’s tit in a brass bra outside. Oklahoma didn’t ever get this cold. Oh, and the whole “she was alone without a weapon amongst a whole roster of huge kids from this other school” thing. She was showing a lot of restraint by not calling the situation what it was. Fucking shitty.

Dee briefly considered climbing up the tower as she was approaching it. It was an immediate straight shot from the bowling alley. From that height, she could see everything coming at her. It’d be a nice lick of irony. Finally being the tallest one around.

And then that honor got taken away by yet another face, Vahka. She only knew how the name was spelled on paper. Not a damned idea how to say it out loud. Especially when her accent got all up in the way.  

Wait, that wasn’t the cotton picking point. This tower was starting to get all flavors of crowded. Frilly dress boy wandered in and Dee could hear another voice up and yell at him. Then Vack-huh with his beast of a frame entered the fray too.

Dealing with those two guys earlier was as far as Dee thought she could extend her luck. This was already turning into such a confounded mess.

((Diana "Dee" Dixon continued in The Tides Of March))

[Espi]

This was not looking good.

Riley didn't move a muscle as Taylor started up the stairs. She didn't make a sound, because a huge tattooed guy walked in, and Riley was smart enough to know that huge tattooed guys were not something to be trifled with if you were a tiny girl armed with basically a large picket knife. Riley wanted nothing to do with that guy, to be sure.

While her vision of the situation wasn't perfect, Riley was pretty damn sure she was outnumbered which was a terrible situation on SOTF. The numbers game was key and right now Riley was down 2 points. Coming out of her hiding spot could put her at serious risk, and Riley didn't want to take any risks anymore, at least if there was no benefit. What was she going to do, kill them both?

Not only was that unlikely to work and extremely nasty but it'd make her a huge target and that would be bad to say the least. Overall this was an insanely dangerous situation and, as usual, her clever plans seemed to be backfiring horribly yet again.

So she sat perfectly still and hoped to god they didn't find her.

[Laurels]

Taylor would have kept going further up the stairs, would have kept humming "Stairway to Heaven," would have minded his task, but he heard the door open. He turned and saw a burly man walking in. Taylor raised an eyebrow. He didn't recognize the guy. He was probably from the same school as that Marcus kid. Taylor wanted to study this guy. He was probably an athlete judging by how huge he was. The bandage on his shoulder suggested he had already been in a scuffle.

Taylor smiled. It looked like this guy was someone very interesting. Too bad their bandannas weren't the same color.

Taylor stopped and waved at the boy.

"Hello, there," he said, grinning. "How are you doing today?"

Taylor slipped his hand into his jacket pocket as he waved with the other. He grasped the grenade he had in the pocket. It was smart to keep the jacket on, even if it clashed with the lolita fashion. It gave a real "sugar and spice" look to Taylor, but also kept his weapon close.  

[Latin For Dragula]

Crazy came in a few varieties. There was the sort of crazy that'd hole up in a shack and gun down anyone who came knocking. There was the sort of crazy that'd jump through the back window anyway. And then there was the sort that'd put on their Sunday best and dance around outside just to see what'd happen.

The guy in front of him seemed to be of the last variety, and that made things interesting. Vahka could play ball on this one.

"I'm doin' just dandy," he grinned back, "Never been better. How's it treatin' you, sunshine?"

[Espi]

Riley didn't move an inch.

Moving now would be suicidal; if she'd been around earlier, visible, she might not be endangered by violence, just a scared and seemingly-helpless victim of circumstance like everyone else. But in this situation, hiding made her one of a few things; smart or sneaky or dangerous or a combination, and all those things were potentially huge targets.

Riley didn't want to be a target, especially not so early.

There wasn't much she could do, honestly. Moving out of her spot meant she'd be revealed and even unarmed they could kill her if all she had was a dinky little knife. Any offensive would be avoided, and evasive action too risky, and attempt to run or fight futile. There was no way she'd make it out if they discovered her and the element of surprise wouldn't guarantee escape.

No way out. Best to just stay still and quiet and hope nobody spotted her.

So Riley sat and waited.

[Laurels]

"Oh, I'm doing just great. Never felt better," he said to the guy.

Taylor looked up the stairs. It didn't look like this guy was going to be an issue, so he might as well keep going.

"Anyways, I'm trying to get to the top of this tower. It's a long walk, so I think I should get moving."

Taylor turned to go up the stairs. Just then, a thought came to him. Was he sure this guy was a threat? There had to be a way to know. He turned back to the guy.

"So, how about you? What are you doing?"

[Latin For Dragula]

This guy was playing things real close to the chest. His enthusiasm seemed to have burned out into caution already. Bad act, man. Gotta keep shit consistent.

He gave a slight shrug before answering. "The usual. Catchin' up with old friends, doin' a little dancin', enjoyin' the weather...figured I'd be up for a little sight seein' at this point."

A heavy foot came down on the bottom of the stairs. "I was gonna climb on and rest a spell up there. Gonna bother you too much?"

Sunshine could make a move for him, or he could have somebody waiting in the wings. Vahka kept sharp and tense while he waited for the reply. He wasn't in the mood for a surprise.

[Laurels]

((Permission to skip granted by Espi))

"Nah, you won't bother me too much. Although..."

Taylor began to giggle. He had a really weird idea, and he was going to go for it. This was the big leagues, and he'd need to try anything he could to gain more love from the viewers.

"...I bet I get there first!"

Taylor turned and bolted up the stairs, laughing loudly as he ran up. The tower was pretty tall, but Taylor was sure he could get to the top without issue. The skirt of the dress was loose and open, so he couldn't stumble over it. As long as he didn't slip on a step or trip on them, he would be fine.

Then again, if I get to the very top, slip, and then tumble all the way down, that'd probably make a highlight reel or something.

Taylor continued to laugh as he ran up the steps. He had no idea if the big guy was following, but part of him hoped he would.

[Latin For Dragula]

((Same.))

The crazy was rolling with full force as Sunshine giddily sprung up the tower steps. At this point, Vahka was having trouble deciding whether it was a front or he was dealing with someone one hundred percent, grade A batshit.

This train of thought was de-railed, however, as the breeze from Sunshine's exuberant steps blew his dress up.

Well ain't that somethin'?

Grade A batshit it was. That left him with an interesting proposition: Chase up after him, or just bail the fuck out? Neither suited him too well, or seemed to fit the performance firmly.

Option C, then. A heavy finger drifted up to tap at his collar as he cleared his throat.

"Hey there. Vahka Basayev from team..." He glanced down at his bandanna to confirm. "...whatever this blue is, checkin' in. Told there's supposed to be somebody to talk to every once in awhile? I got a giddy commando in a dress tryin' to get me to chase him up some stairs in this big ol' tower, and I ain't too sure how to proceed."

[MurderWeasel]

A voice echoes quietly from Vahka's collar.

"Hello, Vahka. My name is Dr. Warren. It's important, I believe, to consider not only the dynamics of an individual interaction, but also the context in which they occur. You've been displaying tunnel-vision in all your encounters so far. I want you to think about what's around you, your environment, and use what you find there to better inform your decision."