((Mandy Gross continued from Bury Me Deep In Love))
It was strange how things changed. When Mandy last departed the captain's quarters, she did so with every intention to never return. It had seemed so inevitable that the bathroom would be where she died, and escaping that fate had left her quite content not to tempt fate. But that was back when Seo-yun was still here with her, when Mandy could just follow her friend around and do what she had to without really making any hard decisions herself.
Now, she was almost as lost as she'd been at the start of this, and so her feet traced similar paths, taking her once again to the topmost chambers of the ship. Of course, there was a vague idea propelling her in this direction in particular: she figured if she had to step up and commit violence of her own, the best way to start off would be killing Ashanti.
There was every likelihood Ashanti wasn't here anymore, but it was a better place to start than most. The girl had camped out here for a long time completely undisturbed, as Mandy was well aware. With Seo-yun out of the picture, others wouldn't be aware of Ashanti's history with the hideout. She'd come back here after the firefight, too—the announcements had made clear that something else had passed between her and Matias, and Matias had fallen in these rooms. Plus, it was a decent spot to fortify, if the girl could get over her history with it.
All of this had Mandy clutching Seo-yun's shotgun tight, her steps light and her respiration a hair quicker than strictly healthy. She'd reequipped herself after her message to Seo-yun, and felt better prepared now, though that was a low bar to clear. The pistol was hidden away inside the onesie. At first she'd tried to tuck it into the band of her swimsuit, but that hadn't worked at all, so instead she'd torn a thick strip from the unburned part of her sundress and fashioned it into a sort of sling, which was awkward but better. She had made very sure to put the safety on, and the gun rubbed uncomfortably against the skin of her side as she walked, but it would be really hard for anyone to get the weapon away from her, and they probably wouldn't even know she had it unless they searched her carefully.
Of course, all that would be moot if Ashanti just shot her first. Ashanti probably had the revolver, and Mandy wanted it back, more than a little, just on principle. That was one of many reasons she told herself that this would be the easiest way to begin her new life of violence. It sure didn't hurt that she'd been locked up and left for dead, either, and even if there was that little piece of doubt that nagged at her, the part of her mind that reminded her Ashanti could've shot her but hadn't, well, Mandy could always disarm Ashanti and march her right into that same bathroom if she decided a shooting was too cruel, right?
But really, she was trying to get into the mindset of doing what she had to. She wanted it to be quick, reflexive, Ashanti jumping out and Mandy pulling the trigger and that being that, as if that was even a tiny bit like what her reflexes had led her to do at any point in her life.
The room looked worse every time she came here. Matias was still there, but something awful had happened to him since last time, not that Mandy let herself look much. There was blood everywhere, and junk strewn across the floor, drawers and books and shattered glass, and she stepped carefully because she'd somehow not totally torn her feet up yet and wanted to keep the streak going.
She'd planned to check every room carefully except for the bathroom, but the state of the place brought that plan to a screeching halt. Her gaze was instead instantly drawn to a little pile of material by the door to the balcony, which lay open, a gentle breeze carry the smell of salt and death towards her. She should've turned around and walked right back out, but instead she took a step forward, trying to figure what she was looking at. Was that a dead rat? Were there even rats on this boat?
Bring the gun up and shoot. That was what Mandy had to remember. Didn't matter if it was Ashanti, even. Whoever came, if they were at all dangerous, or even not, really, Mandy just had to snap the shotgun up and let rip. She was pretty sure it was ready. She'd loaded it. Just snap it up and fire. Easy.
The pile was bloody and hairy, and Mandy leaned over and realized that was because it was somebody's hair, and also what had to be most of the rest of their face, and all of a sudden her impromptu barber session didn't feel like that big a deal after all. Her stomach got tight, and her breathing fast, and she tasted half-digested squid in the back of her throat and stumbled out past the shredded flesh and onto the balcony, trying to force as much air into her lungs as possible because she was out of clothes and couldn't puke on this set unless she wanted to spend the rest of her life either in a swimsuit or covered in barf, and the fresh air helped a little but a glance down revealed a rusty red smear on the roof below.
This was like a horror movie. Mandy's eyes were watering, but she didn't wipe them. She shouldn't have come here. She should've just left. Someone was gonna pop out and kill her.
Shotgun up, shoot. First sign of movement. She told herself again and again, and then realized she might as well raise the shotgun now and skip a step, as she turned to make her way back across the room.
Take The Curve At 95
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MurderWeasel
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“Hey teddy bear.” The racking of a machine gun interrupted the voice. “Arms where I can see them; pretty please.”
Catche thinks my squirrel is Fisk so here's my daily reminder that he is not.
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MurderWeasel
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Shotgun up, shoot. That's what Mandy had been telling herself, again and again. A simple solution to any problem. Don't think. Work entirely on reflex. One quick blast, and it'd be over.
She'd turned to scan the room, shotgun already up, but she didn't see the boy off to the side, the boy with his own big gun, until he spoke. And when he did, Mandy reacted on reflex.
She yelped. She jumped. And she followed through on her plan, sort of.
Raise the gun, shoot. Hands where they were visible. But the gun was already up, and it all tangled together in her mind, and what she actually ended up doing was jerking the gun, and her hands, upwards, grip loose and weak, and suddenly she wasn't holding anything at all.
It took her a split second to realize that she'd just tossed Seo-yun's shotgun over her shoulder and off the balcony.
She'd turned to scan the room, shotgun already up, but she didn't see the boy off to the side, the boy with his own big gun, until he spoke. And when he did, Mandy reacted on reflex.
She yelped. She jumped. And she followed through on her plan, sort of.
Raise the gun, shoot. Hands where they were visible. But the gun was already up, and it all tangled together in her mind, and what she actually ended up doing was jerking the gun, and her hands, upwards, grip loose and weak, and suddenly she wasn't holding anything at all.
It took her a split second to realize that she'd just tossed Seo-yun's shotgun over her shoulder and off the balcony.
Fisk was resting in the captain’s chair, legs stretched out and ankles crossed, feet resting on the coffee table. One arm was wrapped around the back of the chair, the other chicken winging a Chicago typewriter, pointed directly at Mandy of course. From the doorway entering the quarters, he was hidden in the corner out of sight. From the doorway entering the balcony, he was front and center.
A smirk formed on his face as the shotgun tumbled over the side. It took all his energy to resist saying ‘are you fucking serious’ out loud, as first impressions were everything. Fisk was probably making a decent one, what with the face on the ground, and the casually relaxed form he took, but unfortunately for the other party, what with the teddy bear suit and the clumsiness, Fisk couldn’t say the same for her.
Getting a glimpse at her face didn’t help much either. He could recognize the features, sort of, but he didn’t know of any bald girls that went to his school, unless someone was wearing a weave without his knowledge. He began to ask- then noticed the blue bandanna that matched Fisk’s- then decided to continue because honestly he still couldn’t put a name to the familiar but not face he was looking at.
“Excuse me? I don’t think we met...”
“You the last Siren?”
A smirk formed on his face as the shotgun tumbled over the side. It took all his energy to resist saying ‘are you fucking serious’ out loud, as first impressions were everything. Fisk was probably making a decent one, what with the face on the ground, and the casually relaxed form he took, but unfortunately for the other party, what with the teddy bear suit and the clumsiness, Fisk couldn’t say the same for her.
Getting a glimpse at her face didn’t help much either. He could recognize the features, sort of, but he didn’t know of any bald girls that went to his school, unless someone was wearing a weave without his knowledge. He began to ask- then noticed the blue bandanna that matched Fisk’s- then decided to continue because honestly he still couldn’t put a name to the familiar but not face he was looking at.
“Excuse me? I don’t think we met...”
“You the last Siren?”
Catche thinks my squirrel is Fisk so here's my daily reminder that he is not.
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MurderWeasel
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"Oh," Mandy said, and the combination of confusion and relief and consternation that washed over her left her sort of dazed for a second, not able to really come up with more.
It was Fisk, who was of course pretty obvious and sort of intimidating even outside of the current lethal context, and who had been on the announcements a few times. He was sprawled out like it was any day, even though his face was bruised and even though there was most of someone else's on the floor. The gun looked pretty natural in his hands.
That would've normally been terrifying enough to either send Mandy into a panicked frenzy or else to make her freeze entirely and just let whatever was going to happen go ahead and happen, but in this particular case things were complicated—in a positive way, for once—because Fisk had the same color bandanna as Mandy did, so all those horrible things she could imagine him doing went from terrifying to heartening, because they'd presumably be directed everywhere but at her. But then, that was a lot of trust to put in someone, especially someone who didn't even recognize her.
"It's me," Mandy finally found the nerve to say. She'd brought her hands up when directed, but figured since she was now dealing with a presumed ally she could maybe afford a little more movement. And so she brought her right hand to the hood and pulled it all the way back, revealing the patchy mess that was her scalp.
"Mandy," she added, because maybe she might still not be recognizable right away, especially with the panda onesie, even if it actually was the sort of thing she'd wear to school on PJ Day. "My hair and clothes got kinda burned.
"...I'm a junior," she volunteered a second or two later.
It could've really easily descended into silence right there as Mandy melted through the floor, but she managed to rally because there was one other little detail in what Fisk had said for her to grasp onto.
"And, and I guess I'm a Siren too, yeah," she said. "I kinda forgot the name though. I'm really glad to see you."
It was important to work that in, the reminder that there was no need for anyone else to lose skin here.
"But there's one more based on what they said." Her stomach sunk a little and she looked at the hair again. "Unless you know something about that."
It was Fisk, who was of course pretty obvious and sort of intimidating even outside of the current lethal context, and who had been on the announcements a few times. He was sprawled out like it was any day, even though his face was bruised and even though there was most of someone else's on the floor. The gun looked pretty natural in his hands.
That would've normally been terrifying enough to either send Mandy into a panicked frenzy or else to make her freeze entirely and just let whatever was going to happen go ahead and happen, but in this particular case things were complicated—in a positive way, for once—because Fisk had the same color bandanna as Mandy did, so all those horrible things she could imagine him doing went from terrifying to heartening, because they'd presumably be directed everywhere but at her. But then, that was a lot of trust to put in someone, especially someone who didn't even recognize her.
"It's me," Mandy finally found the nerve to say. She'd brought her hands up when directed, but figured since she was now dealing with a presumed ally she could maybe afford a little more movement. And so she brought her right hand to the hood and pulled it all the way back, revealing the patchy mess that was her scalp.
"Mandy," she added, because maybe she might still not be recognizable right away, especially with the panda onesie, even if it actually was the sort of thing she'd wear to school on PJ Day. "My hair and clothes got kinda burned.
"...I'm a junior," she volunteered a second or two later.
It could've really easily descended into silence right there as Mandy melted through the floor, but she managed to rally because there was one other little detail in what Fisk had said for her to grasp onto.
"And, and I guess I'm a Siren too, yeah," she said. "I kinda forgot the name though. I'm really glad to see you."
It was important to work that in, the reminder that there was no need for anyone else to lose skin here.
"But there's one more based on what they said." Her stomach sunk a little and she looked at the hair again. "Unless you know something about that."
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Wham Yubeesling
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“Not quite...”
Fisk replied to Verity’s entrance. He opened his mouth to speak, then stopped, rethinking his next phrase. “Getting ahead of myself again, aren’t I?”
Fisk pointed in the air as if thinking, before pulling his legs back from the counter and leaning forward in his chair. “Mandy...” He drummed his finger in the air. “Yeah! Yeah... I remember you, Mary’s party. I think I seen you a couple of times at the mall too, come to think of it.”
“My... you look like you’ve been through the ringer since this game started, huh? Bad news is it’s probably not going to get any easier for you, buuuut... good news is at least you’ll make it out of here, provided you stick with us.”
“Before we go any further though, I got to ask, how’d you get so far? I doubt our ‘fearless mentor’ helped you here if our experiences are any similar...”
Fisk replied to Verity’s entrance. He opened his mouth to speak, then stopped, rethinking his next phrase. “Getting ahead of myself again, aren’t I?”
Fisk pointed in the air as if thinking, before pulling his legs back from the counter and leaning forward in his chair. “Mandy...” He drummed his finger in the air. “Yeah! Yeah... I remember you, Mary’s party. I think I seen you a couple of times at the mall too, come to think of it.”
“My... you look like you’ve been through the ringer since this game started, huh? Bad news is it’s probably not going to get any easier for you, buuuut... good news is at least you’ll make it out of here, provided you stick with us.”
“Before we go any further though, I got to ask, how’d you get so far? I doubt our ‘fearless mentor’ helped you here if our experiences are any similar...”
Catche thinks my squirrel is Fisk so here's my daily reminder that he is not.
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MurderWeasel
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When the voice came from Mandy's other side, she jumped just a little, but there was nothing else in her hands to throw and it only took a few moments of looking at Verity to figure out what was happening. Verity was, well, Verity was sort of weird and not really the type of girl who Mandy hung around even if she was a senior, and also Verity had been the very first person to kill anyone and that hadn't been a one-off, but all of those things were now perks rather than detriments.
Mandy was still kind of scared despite herself. Her breath was slower than it could be but faster than it should, and she blinked a lot as she turned her head back and forth between the two killers, but she told herself that she was really looking between her two teammates. She just wasn't used to that yet, but it would come in time. She should be elated, and on some level she was. This was it. The plan. It had worked perfectly, once again defying all her expectations.
And speaking of, there Fisk went wondering what the catch was.
If her teammates were other people, Mandy might've lied to downplay just what it was she'd been up to. As it was, though, she felt very conspicuous in her status as the least dangerous person here, and if things were going to continue to work out well it was important she prove herself, and also Amy, Ashanti, and Mary numbered among the few remaining survivors so it was likely to come out at some point anyways.
Mandy took a deep breath and then the plunge.
"No," she said, "he—I mean, I...
"I'm Seo-yun's partner."
As soon as the words were out, a big smile spread across her face and a little giggle slipped out, like she'd just spilled someone else's crush.
"We met up right at the start and were together most of the game. We're friends, and she wasn't on my team, so one of us had to get ten if we were both gonna make it and she got the first, so it was her."
That was a little bit of a fib by omission, or maybe simplification, but if there was ever a time to pad her resume this was it.
"We met one of my teammates and the collar guy wanted me to go with him instead, but Seo-yun shot him and then I didn't get any more calls after that."
Was that how it went down? She was pretty sure the details were more or less in the right order.
"We were together most of the time, and I helped her with all except two. There was this fight, and Ashanti grabbed me, and she locked me in the bathroom for like a whole day."
Mandy gestured vaguely with her head towards the dreaded door, the drawers and books still strewn around nearby.
"If you go in, there's my hair in the trash, so you know I'm not lying. Then Seo-yun came and got me free, and then she got ten, and the plan was I'd look for you and get to the end. And I figured, if, if I had to kill someone, why not Ashanti? So I was looking for her too."
Mandy was still kind of scared despite herself. Her breath was slower than it could be but faster than it should, and she blinked a lot as she turned her head back and forth between the two killers, but she told herself that she was really looking between her two teammates. She just wasn't used to that yet, but it would come in time. She should be elated, and on some level she was. This was it. The plan. It had worked perfectly, once again defying all her expectations.
And speaking of, there Fisk went wondering what the catch was.
If her teammates were other people, Mandy might've lied to downplay just what it was she'd been up to. As it was, though, she felt very conspicuous in her status as the least dangerous person here, and if things were going to continue to work out well it was important she prove herself, and also Amy, Ashanti, and Mary numbered among the few remaining survivors so it was likely to come out at some point anyways.
Mandy took a deep breath and then the plunge.
"No," she said, "he—I mean, I...
"I'm Seo-yun's partner."
As soon as the words were out, a big smile spread across her face and a little giggle slipped out, like she'd just spilled someone else's crush.
"We met up right at the start and were together most of the game. We're friends, and she wasn't on my team, so one of us had to get ten if we were both gonna make it and she got the first, so it was her."
That was a little bit of a fib by omission, or maybe simplification, but if there was ever a time to pad her resume this was it.
"We met one of my teammates and the collar guy wanted me to go with him instead, but Seo-yun shot him and then I didn't get any more calls after that."
Was that how it went down? She was pretty sure the details were more or less in the right order.
"We were together most of the time, and I helped her with all except two. There was this fight, and Ashanti grabbed me, and she locked me in the bathroom for like a whole day."
Mandy gestured vaguely with her head towards the dreaded door, the drawers and books still strewn around nearby.
"If you go in, there's my hair in the trash, so you know I'm not lying. Then Seo-yun came and got me free, and then she got ten, and the plan was I'd look for you and get to the end. And I figured, if, if I had to kill someone, why not Ashanti? So I was looking for her too."
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Wham Yubeesling
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A breath.
A breath.
...A breath. Longer this time. Verity stepped forward, placed herself roughly to Mandy's front-right, between her and Fisk. She paused a bit. Looked the latter in the face.
"She has... experience. I think we could use that."
A breath.
...A breath. Longer this time. Verity stepped forward, placed herself roughly to Mandy's front-right, between her and Fisk. She paused a bit. Looked the latter in the face.
"She has... experience. I think we could use that."
Fisk rested his machine gun to the side of the chair as he crossed his arms. Mandy had trouble starting to speak, but when she got going...
Wow.
Fisk couldn't help but grin ecstatically, teeth barred in a mostly non-malicious manner for the first time since... well since his friends were alive. Mandy had helped Seo fucking Yun get to ten kills, and not only that, helped get Sirens wasted. Sirens that none of the trio had any use for. Mandy's very existence right now had validated Fisk's attempts. He wasn't crazy, he knew what he was doing was right. And now, someone finally got it, and she proved it was possible. That there was someone else out there, some one like him, someone who understood this gave Fisk hope. Maybe this wasn't a dead end. Maybe it wasn't in vain, even when he got out. This game could be beaten of their own terms...
Of course, there was the high possibility that Mandy had also blundered her way here, with the whole shotgun juggling. Were he Ashanti, she'd be dead, but Fisk could work with that. Not to speak ill of the dead, let alone dead friends, but he had a couple in his group like that, he didn't blame them. He glanced at Verity. She said they could use the 'experience' Mandy had.
Fuck that. Mandy had something more.
Fisk began clapping. Started slow and increased in pace. He laughed and stood up! "Bravo! Di-fucking-molto! I fucking love that! No, really, everyone else acts all up-tight about that sort of shit, l-l-like, we're supposed to compromise? 'Screw your friends, these fucking nobodies deserve your effort to go home, you're betraying us, it's unethical' like they expect me to choose them over the people I care about! I'm happy for you, I really am..."
Fisk's face took a sombre turn. "I tried the same thing. Fuck my team, didn't know them, didn't care about them. I was going to get my friends home. Gonna kill our way to the end, prove a point. All six of us. Was just going to be us at the end. Turned into eight by the time everything was said and done. Could've been nine, but..." Fisk motioned his hand at the 'halloween mask' on the ground. "Someone got hyped up by their mentor that he could take us, and chose morality after playing the game himself. Didn't end well for him."
"But yeah, 'Our team' versus the game. We would've won it too..." Fisk pointed at the camera watching them. "But those motherfuckers... they didn't like that. Our first target had some relations to these fucking guys. We fucked him up, show we meant business. Didn't bother the open his neck because he was basically dead, still is I guess from the look of him."
"This LUCKY motherfucker got help not from some classmates, but the fucking producers and the mentors! They were feeding him information, and not only that, feeding other people in the game near us information about us! Our locations, who we were, who we were working with, everything. Now it's just me and Verity. We were too dangerous to be allowed to win, so those fuckers CHEATED us!" Fisk punched his hand.
"I'm surprised they didn't do the same to you. Trust me, you guys got off lucky. Maybe because it was just two of you. Maybe it was that your first target wasn't so... important. Doesn't matter now though, Seo Yun's on the way home, and you want to live to see her again, right?"
Fisk extended his arm out into a handshake. "Won't lie to you. It's not going to be easy. All the cards are stacked against us, but we made it this far, and you made it this far. At this point all you got between you and victory is Ashanti and all the other useless fodder idiots that lived long past their expiration date. Join us; join the Respects, and you'll have the producers and their 'pet' vying for your blood. But we all win? ...And we will; You'll see Seo Yun again, and we'll make fools of everyone running this trash. Biggest fucking victory in the game's history. Not only will we fought our class and won, we'll have fought the game and won."
"You a siren, or are you a Respect?"
Wow.
Fisk couldn't help but grin ecstatically, teeth barred in a mostly non-malicious manner for the first time since... well since his friends were alive. Mandy had helped Seo fucking Yun get to ten kills, and not only that, helped get Sirens wasted. Sirens that none of the trio had any use for. Mandy's very existence right now had validated Fisk's attempts. He wasn't crazy, he knew what he was doing was right. And now, someone finally got it, and she proved it was possible. That there was someone else out there, some one like him, someone who understood this gave Fisk hope. Maybe this wasn't a dead end. Maybe it wasn't in vain, even when he got out. This game could be beaten of their own terms...
Of course, there was the high possibility that Mandy had also blundered her way here, with the whole shotgun juggling. Were he Ashanti, she'd be dead, but Fisk could work with that. Not to speak ill of the dead, let alone dead friends, but he had a couple in his group like that, he didn't blame them. He glanced at Verity. She said they could use the 'experience' Mandy had.
Fuck that. Mandy had something more.
Fisk began clapping. Started slow and increased in pace. He laughed and stood up! "Bravo! Di-fucking-molto! I fucking love that! No, really, everyone else acts all up-tight about that sort of shit, l-l-like, we're supposed to compromise? 'Screw your friends, these fucking nobodies deserve your effort to go home, you're betraying us, it's unethical' like they expect me to choose them over the people I care about! I'm happy for you, I really am..."
Fisk's face took a sombre turn. "I tried the same thing. Fuck my team, didn't know them, didn't care about them. I was going to get my friends home. Gonna kill our way to the end, prove a point. All six of us. Was just going to be us at the end. Turned into eight by the time everything was said and done. Could've been nine, but..." Fisk motioned his hand at the 'halloween mask' on the ground. "Someone got hyped up by their mentor that he could take us, and chose morality after playing the game himself. Didn't end well for him."
"But yeah, 'Our team' versus the game. We would've won it too..." Fisk pointed at the camera watching them. "But those motherfuckers... they didn't like that. Our first target had some relations to these fucking guys. We fucked him up, show we meant business. Didn't bother the open his neck because he was basically dead, still is I guess from the look of him."
"This LUCKY motherfucker got help not from some classmates, but the fucking producers and the mentors! They were feeding him information, and not only that, feeding other people in the game near us information about us! Our locations, who we were, who we were working with, everything. Now it's just me and Verity. We were too dangerous to be allowed to win, so those fuckers CHEATED us!" Fisk punched his hand.
"I'm surprised they didn't do the same to you. Trust me, you guys got off lucky. Maybe because it was just two of you. Maybe it was that your first target wasn't so... important. Doesn't matter now though, Seo Yun's on the way home, and you want to live to see her again, right?"
Fisk extended his arm out into a handshake. "Won't lie to you. It's not going to be easy. All the cards are stacked against us, but we made it this far, and you made it this far. At this point all you got between you and victory is Ashanti and all the other useless fodder idiots that lived long past their expiration date. Join us; join the Respects, and you'll have the producers and their 'pet' vying for your blood. But we all win? ...And we will; You'll see Seo Yun again, and we'll make fools of everyone running this trash. Biggest fucking victory in the game's history. Not only will we fought our class and won, we'll have fought the game and won."
"You a siren, or are you a Respect?"
Catche thinks my squirrel is Fisk so here's my daily reminder that he is not.
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MurderWeasel
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Mandy hesitated for only a moment before she took Fisk's hand.
"I'm in."
Of course, her decision wasn't just about Fisk's pitch. The simple truth was that there were three people left on the Blue Team, and if the two who weren't Mandy wanted to rage against the people running this, then it only made sense for her to be okay with that too. Whatever obstacles were put in their path because of this new allegiance, there was no way they'd be a bigger barrier than having to go it alone—especially if Fisk took as much issue with negative responses as the heap of skin suggested he might've. And again, there was literally nothing Mandy had to gain from alienating Fisk and Verity. There was nobody else to cozy up to, no better option waiting to carry her further. The choice was either partner with two of the most proven, scariest people left, people with absolutely no reason to cause her harm, or don't and get nothing. You didn't have to be as good at math as Mandy was to figure that one out.
"I'm sorry about your friends," she added, and she meant it. That had been one of the only places she and Seo-yun didn't quite see eye to eye, after all, what to do about friends. Mandy had wanted them left alone as much as possible, and it had kind of worked, hadn't it? Mary and Amy were still out there. And okay, they had to die now, but that was different than before, because of how late it was. It would feel different than luring Lark to her death.
It was just easy for Mandy to imagine how it felt watching someone you cared about die and not being able to do anything. That was it.
"I don't think they messed with us, besides the one time, but I dunno. Gabriela and Elliott-Blair caught us at the end, and Seo-yun got hurt real bad—I mean, not only there, she got stabbed in the eye—I mean, but that could've just been luck?"
Mandy's grip was as firm as she could make it but she felt like her hand was absolutely tiny, even though Fisk's wasn't that big. She'd held the shake too long, but now she slipped her fingers free again.
"But yeah. I'll do my best. I can help. I know how to help."
Both hands loose again, Mandy now she grabbedd the righthand sleeve of her onesie with her left hand and pulled her right arm out and into the inside, like a turtle withdrawing its limb. She reached around to her side, found what she was looking for, and struggled to extract it from the makeshift sling, an awkward process that set it bumping against her bare side and made her just a little nervous about the safety. But after a few seconds of awkward fumbling around hidden beneath her clothes, her hand came back out of the sleeve, with the pistol now held tight, pointed safely at the floor.
"I've still got this."
"I'm in."
Of course, her decision wasn't just about Fisk's pitch. The simple truth was that there were three people left on the Blue Team, and if the two who weren't Mandy wanted to rage against the people running this, then it only made sense for her to be okay with that too. Whatever obstacles were put in their path because of this new allegiance, there was no way they'd be a bigger barrier than having to go it alone—especially if Fisk took as much issue with negative responses as the heap of skin suggested he might've. And again, there was literally nothing Mandy had to gain from alienating Fisk and Verity. There was nobody else to cozy up to, no better option waiting to carry her further. The choice was either partner with two of the most proven, scariest people left, people with absolutely no reason to cause her harm, or don't and get nothing. You didn't have to be as good at math as Mandy was to figure that one out.
"I'm sorry about your friends," she added, and she meant it. That had been one of the only places she and Seo-yun didn't quite see eye to eye, after all, what to do about friends. Mandy had wanted them left alone as much as possible, and it had kind of worked, hadn't it? Mary and Amy were still out there. And okay, they had to die now, but that was different than before, because of how late it was. It would feel different than luring Lark to her death.
It was just easy for Mandy to imagine how it felt watching someone you cared about die and not being able to do anything. That was it.
"I don't think they messed with us, besides the one time, but I dunno. Gabriela and Elliott-Blair caught us at the end, and Seo-yun got hurt real bad—I mean, not only there, she got stabbed in the eye—I mean, but that could've just been luck?"
Mandy's grip was as firm as she could make it but she felt like her hand was absolutely tiny, even though Fisk's wasn't that big. She'd held the shake too long, but now she slipped her fingers free again.
"But yeah. I'll do my best. I can help. I know how to help."
Both hands loose again, Mandy now she grabbedd the righthand sleeve of her onesie with her left hand and pulled her right arm out and into the inside, like a turtle withdrawing its limb. She reached around to her side, found what she was looking for, and struggled to extract it from the makeshift sling, an awkward process that set it bumping against her bare side and made her just a little nervous about the safety. But after a few seconds of awkward fumbling around hidden beneath her clothes, her hand came back out of the sleeve, with the pistol now held tight, pointed safely at the floor.
"I've still got this."
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Wham Yubeesling
- Posts: 1256
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- Location: there is a man standing behind you
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Okay. Cool. Fisk was into teamwork. He wasn’t going to shoot a gift horse in the fucking face. That was a relief and also a bit of an embarrassment. She’d stepped up and gotten in the way for nothing.
Whatever. She hadn't really needed to be in this scene anyway.
“Okay,” she said, stepping back to where she was before, and placing her attention on Mandy. “Sweet.”
Whatever. She hadn't really needed to be in this scene anyway.
“Okay,” she said, stepping back to where she was before, and placing her attention on Mandy. “Sweet.”
“Glad to hear it.”
Despite the misstep, Mandy was still armed. All of them were. That meant they could do this. They just needed to plan this out. Did they even have time for it though?
“Ivan’s going to be expecting us.” Fisk eyed the balcony. He didn’t know if they were still down there or what. If they wanted to come to him, they had more than enough time to do so.
Maybe Fisk’s ‘warning’ put the fear into those fools they’ve gone on so long without. Maybe they’re afraid. Demoralized. They should be.
“He’s got friends, but I think we could take them.” He felt his heart pounding through his vest. Could this be it? All the suffering he’s endured, all the losses, all the defeats, will this be the turning point of it all?
Maybe...
Maybe so. It has to end eventually, and it’s not going to until one of them is wiped out, rest of the game be damned. Might be more dramatic to save them for the end, pick off the fodder first, but it wasn’t as smart.
Get rid of Ivan, and Fisk won. That was that. Would he really win though? He’d suppose he’d have to find out when he got there, but at the very least, his friends wouldn’t have been taken from him in vain.
“Yeah... okay...” He said to himself, as if confirming what the next move was. He picked up his machine gun.
“If Ivan was strong enough to take us, he’d have gotten here before Mandy. For one reason or another, he’s scared, he’s weak. He ‘might’ have numbers on us, but I don’t think it matters. We hit him hard, we hit him fast, wipe his crew out, and the game is ours.”
“Maybe then you’ll see Seo-Yun again, and we might get some fucking closure. At the very least we can hit him hard with a sucker punch of a bushwhack, make him hurt for what he did.” He looked between Mandy and Verity.
“Any better ideas?”
Despite the misstep, Mandy was still armed. All of them were. That meant they could do this. They just needed to plan this out. Did they even have time for it though?
“Ivan’s going to be expecting us.” Fisk eyed the balcony. He didn’t know if they were still down there or what. If they wanted to come to him, they had more than enough time to do so.
Maybe Fisk’s ‘warning’ put the fear into those fools they’ve gone on so long without. Maybe they’re afraid. Demoralized. They should be.
“He’s got friends, but I think we could take them.” He felt his heart pounding through his vest. Could this be it? All the suffering he’s endured, all the losses, all the defeats, will this be the turning point of it all?
Maybe...
Maybe so. It has to end eventually, and it’s not going to until one of them is wiped out, rest of the game be damned. Might be more dramatic to save them for the end, pick off the fodder first, but it wasn’t as smart.
Get rid of Ivan, and Fisk won. That was that. Would he really win though? He’d suppose he’d have to find out when he got there, but at the very least, his friends wouldn’t have been taken from him in vain.
“Yeah... okay...” He said to himself, as if confirming what the next move was. He picked up his machine gun.
“If Ivan was strong enough to take us, he’d have gotten here before Mandy. For one reason or another, he’s scared, he’s weak. He ‘might’ have numbers on us, but I don’t think it matters. We hit him hard, we hit him fast, wipe his crew out, and the game is ours.”
“Maybe then you’ll see Seo-Yun again, and we might get some fucking closure. At the very least we can hit him hard with a sucker punch of a bushwhack, make him hurt for what he did.” He looked between Mandy and Verity.
“Any better ideas?”
Catche thinks my squirrel is Fisk so here's my daily reminder that he is not.
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MurderWeasel
- Posts: 3432
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"Nope," Mandy said.
She'd picked up a little more information from that speech right then and was recalibrating as quickly as she could. Apparently the big obstacle was Ivan, which she felt kind of bad about. She didn't particularly count Ivan as a close friend or anything, in fact he was sort of standoffish and intimidating and seemed mature even for the seniors, but she'd won twenty dollars in his trivia game and had used that to buy a few pairs of colorful socks, and that was something. Also, perhaps more pertinently, Ivan knew everything about everything about SOTF, and had killed lots of people himself, including people Mandy knew were pretty close to Fisk. So this would be a dangerous mission.
But that still didn't change anything. Fisk and Verity would go after Ivan one way or another, and however Mandy felt about him, she'd have to reckon with him sooner or later unless someone else got him, which seemed less likely as time went on. Better to do it together, now, with a bigger chance of success. If it was Seo-yun proposing this, she would've already been trying to figure out all the angles.
"I mean, maybe an addition?" she offered. "But, um, but what about you?"
That one was directed to Verity. After all, she was the one with the longest running experience in killing people here.
She'd picked up a little more information from that speech right then and was recalibrating as quickly as she could. Apparently the big obstacle was Ivan, which she felt kind of bad about. She didn't particularly count Ivan as a close friend or anything, in fact he was sort of standoffish and intimidating and seemed mature even for the seniors, but she'd won twenty dollars in his trivia game and had used that to buy a few pairs of colorful socks, and that was something. Also, perhaps more pertinently, Ivan knew everything about everything about SOTF, and had killed lots of people himself, including people Mandy knew were pretty close to Fisk. So this would be a dangerous mission.
But that still didn't change anything. Fisk and Verity would go after Ivan one way or another, and however Mandy felt about him, she'd have to reckon with him sooner or later unless someone else got him, which seemed less likely as time went on. Better to do it together, now, with a bigger chance of success. If it was Seo-yun proposing this, she would've already been trying to figure out all the angles.
"I mean, maybe an addition?" she offered. "But, um, but what about you?"
That one was directed to Verity. After all, she was the one with the longest running experience in killing people here.
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Wham Yubeesling
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Verity, frankly, wanted to answer Mandy’s question with another question. Ask why exactly this question was being directed her way.
Because it wasn’t like her perspective here really meant something. She’d never led the charge in any big fights. She’d only been in a couple, even before now, and wasn’t like she’d been in any of them for an extended point of time. The only thing that really felt like a big fight was the kerfuffle with Akeno — Bacchia had simply been Verity defending herself and Alyssa, and she’d stayed outside the whole time when it came to taking down Stokes — and in the end everybody on top of that ferry had been able to walk away. Even when her actions had caused the end of someone’s life, it wasn’t like she’d been fighting for her own life at the same time: Timothy and Keegan were halfway there when she’d decided to get herself involved, and Junji and Gregory had been taken out of commission the moment she’d made a move. Alyssa… was a different story altogether, but that hadn’t been a fight either. None of them had.
So it was interesting that Mandy really wanted Verity’s perspective on how they were going to approach this inevitable confrontation. Like her opinion mattered. Like she had any insight. Like all her kills had been…
…
It was funny, in a way. Less than an hour after waking up, before this game had even begun, her first inclination had been to take another life. That… had serious implications, but nobody here had picked up on them. The intended reaction was for people to lose trust in her, to consider her one of the enemy, to force her into a cycle of violence where the only possible way out was to keep digging downward. In reality… nobody had really cared. Whether they were themselves killers, or whether they were on a level of mindset where they didn’t really care that she’d killed someone immediately. Alyssa did — she’d leapt back and held her weapon up and demanded to know why she’d killed Timothy — but she’d been an exception. The only one to really consider that Verity had killed people.
Well, until now. Finally, people were reacting to her like they were supposed to.
“We just need to take them on. Get the jump, take them down before the fight even begins.”
And if Mandy thought Verity was just like the killers she’d assisted before, then...
“When we do that… it doesn’t really matter. Ivan, Akeno, whoever else is with them, we take them out.”
Then whatever. She could play that role.
“No mercy.”
She'd more than met the requirements, at this point.
((Verity Stewart, continued elsewhere))
Because it wasn’t like her perspective here really meant something. She’d never led the charge in any big fights. She’d only been in a couple, even before now, and wasn’t like she’d been in any of them for an extended point of time. The only thing that really felt like a big fight was the kerfuffle with Akeno — Bacchia had simply been Verity defending herself and Alyssa, and she’d stayed outside the whole time when it came to taking down Stokes — and in the end everybody on top of that ferry had been able to walk away. Even when her actions had caused the end of someone’s life, it wasn’t like she’d been fighting for her own life at the same time: Timothy and Keegan were halfway there when she’d decided to get herself involved, and Junji and Gregory had been taken out of commission the moment she’d made a move. Alyssa… was a different story altogether, but that hadn’t been a fight either. None of them had.
So it was interesting that Mandy really wanted Verity’s perspective on how they were going to approach this inevitable confrontation. Like her opinion mattered. Like she had any insight. Like all her kills had been…
…
It was funny, in a way. Less than an hour after waking up, before this game had even begun, her first inclination had been to take another life. That… had serious implications, but nobody here had picked up on them. The intended reaction was for people to lose trust in her, to consider her one of the enemy, to force her into a cycle of violence where the only possible way out was to keep digging downward. In reality… nobody had really cared. Whether they were themselves killers, or whether they were on a level of mindset where they didn’t really care that she’d killed someone immediately. Alyssa did — she’d leapt back and held her weapon up and demanded to know why she’d killed Timothy — but she’d been an exception. The only one to really consider that Verity had killed people.
Well, until now. Finally, people were reacting to her like they were supposed to.
“We just need to take them on. Get the jump, take them down before the fight even begins.”
And if Mandy thought Verity was just like the killers she’d assisted before, then...
“When we do that… it doesn’t really matter. Ivan, Akeno, whoever else is with them, we take them out.”
Then whatever. She could play that role.
“No mercy.”
She'd more than met the requirements, at this point.
((Verity Stewart, continued elsewhere))