It was unevenly silent. Quiet on both sides of the ambiance surrounding each ear, but the hollow ring of nonexistence seemed to drift in stereo.
((SB05 continued from You Think You Know How the Game is Played, Until You're in it))
(Steph could’ve been less totally passive-aggro. That was what Lucille had eventually settled on as her opinion about the quality girl talks they’d yet shared so mutually, so one-sidedly.)
(First off. Not even her own parents used the Maria part of her name- was Steph that white that she didn’t realize it was just an honorific god-fearing folk tacked on like a church visit on Sundays before a weekend trolling Macau’s red light district?)
(Lucille hadn’t answered Steph yet, she'd realized in the dead air between yesterday and today. Somehow that had been the most productive part of their back-and-forth, like… the silence had spoken for itself. Which Lucille realized, just now, was an oxymoron in the actual sense of the word, so good on her for finally understanding that particular figure of speech almost two decades into her life career. Lucille didn’t know, she guessed, why precisely people being on SOTF TV was a good thing. It wasn’t a bad thing either, was it? It just happened. Sometimes Lucille watched people die on a TV screen through the flesh-colored spaces between her fingers. Sometimes Lucille was the one dying.)
(Painfully normal.)
SB05 had reacted with a seemly, perhaps inappropriate neutrality to the exposed bits of skull and brain that were her former friend BC06. A briefly nauseous expression, and then an even-handed eulogy worthy of a generic print obituary. It was unclear how that particular monologue fit into the grander narrative set of SB05 broadly rejecting joining the escape group as ES10 had proposed prior. In her own words
("You just end up overthinking it. Never was that kind of girl, y'know?")
and it was as unclear whether she or her ally bought into her logic. But they had drifted on, regardless.
(Lucille had gotten along with people who were too self-conscious... sometimes. A lot of people were like that, obviously, even when they never outright said or showed it. She didn't think it translated much into an SOTF setting, to be second guessing yourself. Take someone like Junji, for example. Inevitably a success story because he had a one track mind. Same with Seo-yun, in a way kind of the same with Anthony. The less complex and thorough one's world view, the better. That was totally a meaningful statistic, three people. Who had like, between them, triple that amount on body count.)
(She was still thinking a lot, and by her own consciously held metrics that meant she was thinking too much. It was like she was waiting for something, but she just didn't know what.)
A voice drifted along in her wake. Familiar, but it wasn't actually saying anything.
SB05 felt the mental drain of continued awareness. There was a price to be paid for going through the motions, for treating each and every noise that washed over the perpetual goosebumps on her skin like it was one aimed for her. Similar to her degree of self-regard as a fixture of her former school's social circuit, actually. Sometimes other's regard wasn't directly for her. It just so happened to have her flesh-and-bone body in the way.
(She almost didn't want to respond, actually, when she realized she was close to another person. Too much effort. Leave her alone.)
Why SB05 had felt the need to split up from her ally was an inscrutable decision. A tactical error, all things considered.
"Shit. Hey dude... Been a while."
(He still looked embarrassingly attractive. In his own weird kinda way. Hell of a thing to be fixating on when she had no idea where she was all of a sudden. No obvious escape routes, save into blindly cracking her skull open running into a wall in the labyrinth of blind corners and darkness behind her.)
Good thing she'd dressed up for the occasion. Always a good call when meeting a friend. Remember, folks: Theyyyyyy'rrrrre grrrrrrrreat!
disappointingly a ‘luckier’ fish
private - time to write a death thread honey yes dear etc
disappointingly a ‘luckier’ fish
Upcoming:
Second Chances V3 (deconreconfirmed):
Relations Thread!
Olivia Fischer (original handler, Maraoone)
Memories: 1 Pregame: 1
Faith Marshal-Mackenzie (original handler, Frozen Smoke)
Memories: 1 Pregame: 1
Sayuna Lewis (original handler, Cicada)
Princess McQuillan (original handler, Cicada)
Pregame: 1
Second Chances V3 (deconreconfirmed):
Relations Thread!
Olivia Fischer (original handler, Maraoone)
Memories: 1 Pregame: 1
Faith Marshal-Mackenzie (original handler, Frozen Smoke)
Memories: 1 Pregame: 1
Sayuna Lewis (original handler, Cicada)
Princess McQuillan (original handler, Cicada)
Pregame: 1
The gun was pointed right at her from the start, the moment her mouth closed.
“Lucille.”
… “oh.”
His pupil dilated a fraction of an inch, behind the contact lens. He was all too aware of how he came off to her, really, and that made everything worse. To know that not only did he choose to make an enemy out of a dear friend, but that the feeling was most likely not reciprocated.
“I missed you, but… you’re not supposed to be here, Lucille.”
She knew the ins and the outs of this game like nobody else could, sometimes. Not exactly the technical rules, but also the spirit of them. Lucille saw the game as a lifestyle, and it was, in a way, with how he lived and breathed and consumed it even before he truly experienced it. To acknowledge that they’re just kids who are in the same spot as those on the screen. And now she's SB05 and he's MM01 and everything they knew and learned and figured out with each other would be used against the person in front of them.
Maybe that’s why he didn’t just shoot her- comradery.
The gun lowered.
“They’ll kill you.”
Um.
Ok. He’s going to do this. He didn’t want to kill Lucille- he did, but he also didn’t.
“I’m sorry, but you have to leave. Right now. I’m sorry. I know it’s… a horrible way to start off the reunion and shit, but, just- it’s not safe here for you.”
He fidgeted at his sleeve. Looked to the side, almost bashfully, and then back to the girl. The cameras kept whirling. They won’t stop. Why won’t they just stop?
“Lucille.”
… “oh.”
His pupil dilated a fraction of an inch, behind the contact lens. He was all too aware of how he came off to her, really, and that made everything worse. To know that not only did he choose to make an enemy out of a dear friend, but that the feeling was most likely not reciprocated.
“I missed you, but… you’re not supposed to be here, Lucille.”
She knew the ins and the outs of this game like nobody else could, sometimes. Not exactly the technical rules, but also the spirit of them. Lucille saw the game as a lifestyle, and it was, in a way, with how he lived and breathed and consumed it even before he truly experienced it. To acknowledge that they’re just kids who are in the same spot as those on the screen. And now she's SB05 and he's MM01 and everything they knew and learned and figured out with each other would be used against the person in front of them.
Maybe that’s why he didn’t just shoot her- comradery.
The gun lowered.
“They’ll kill you.”
Um.
Ok. He’s going to do this. He didn’t want to kill Lucille- he did, but he also didn’t.
“I’m sorry, but you have to leave. Right now. I’m sorry. I know it’s… a horrible way to start off the reunion and shit, but, just- it’s not safe here for you.”
He fidgeted at his sleeve. Looked to the side, almost bashfully, and then back to the girl. The cameras kept whirling. They won’t stop. Why won’t they just stop?
(The fuck was up with attractive people pointing guns at her? Was Bethan going to pop up with an AK and a wildly out-of-character disposition?)
(Out of character as far as she knew. Lucille- the one what watched TV shows, and didn't participate directly in them- knew that one of the classic draws of watching TV was watching the change, the spectacle of someone turning into something they were not.)
(Like a superfan turning into an awkward wimp.)
"They'll kill me, yeah. And you won't?"
SB05 sighed in the shape of a smile and shrugged.
"We both know how this is supposed to go." Her voice swished around the word 'supposed'. Gargled, spit.
(The words coming out of her mouth sounded scripted. She was listening to them in the third person, and she felt the springs coiled up in both her ankles tense. Same way she'd felt ready to fight Sylvain, right? But she hadn't, and she was here now. On the wrong side of not owning a gun.)
SB05 could hear other voices. Whisperings of a situation about to go completely south, in a hundred other flavors of voices. Allies, enemies. Friends, former. Converging on the abstract space that represented a classic SOTF-TV scene: two friends, two enemies, a weapon as their reunion.
(She was too engrossed to be scared, weird. She could feel the tension like adrenaline, but knew at the same time that not one drop of that fuel would be burned on her own behalf. It was like chips plus a marathon rerun of old TV seasons- so much energy, so much waste.)
The voices got closer, and materialized from the darkness.
(Out of character as far as she knew. Lucille- the one what watched TV shows, and didn't participate directly in them- knew that one of the classic draws of watching TV was watching the change, the spectacle of someone turning into something they were not.)
(Like a superfan turning into an awkward wimp.)
"They'll kill me, yeah. And you won't?"
SB05 sighed in the shape of a smile and shrugged.
"We both know how this is supposed to go." Her voice swished around the word 'supposed'. Gargled, spit.
(The words coming out of her mouth sounded scripted. She was listening to them in the third person, and she felt the springs coiled up in both her ankles tense. Same way she'd felt ready to fight Sylvain, right? But she hadn't, and she was here now. On the wrong side of not owning a gun.)
SB05 could hear other voices. Whisperings of a situation about to go completely south, in a hundred other flavors of voices. Allies, enemies. Friends, former. Converging on the abstract space that represented a classic SOTF-TV scene: two friends, two enemies, a weapon as their reunion.
(She was too engrossed to be scared, weird. She could feel the tension like adrenaline, but knew at the same time that not one drop of that fuel would be burned on her own behalf. It was like chips plus a marathon rerun of old TV seasons- so much energy, so much waste.)
The voices got closer, and materialized from the darkness.
Upcoming:
Second Chances V3 (deconreconfirmed):
Relations Thread!
Olivia Fischer (original handler, Maraoone)
Memories: 1 Pregame: 1
Faith Marshal-Mackenzie (original handler, Frozen Smoke)
Memories: 1 Pregame: 1
Sayuna Lewis (original handler, Cicada)
Princess McQuillan (original handler, Cicada)
Pregame: 1
Second Chances V3 (deconreconfirmed):
Relations Thread!
Olivia Fischer (original handler, Maraoone)
Memories: 1 Pregame: 1
Faith Marshal-Mackenzie (original handler, Frozen Smoke)
Memories: 1 Pregame: 1
Sayuna Lewis (original handler, Cicada)
Princess McQuillan (original handler, Cicada)
Pregame: 1
Maxine’s body was right where she left it.
Akeno wasn’t sure why she was surprised by this fact, but she was. Of course it was still there, the body of the person she’d killed, it’s not like anyone was going to move it; the evidence of her act hadn’t been swept away in reality like she had swept it away in her mind, putting it in the past where it belonged so she could focus on what came next. A part of her was still having trouble believing that she’d done something like this, but even if she wanted to put it behind her these kinds of things didn’t stop existing just because she’d washed the blood off of her hands.
It had left marks.
ES10: AKENO KUDO CONTINUED FROM You Think You Know How the Game is Played, Until You’re in it
Even now, looking down at her body, Akeno couldn’t muster much guilt over what she’d done. A death was necessarily; not Maxine’s specifically, but a death was needed at the time. Akeno’s first step on a road that she wasn’t going to see the end of now; not when people like Seo-Yun were already far ahead of her. Despite what the announcement had implied, it had never been personal for her. She wondered what that said about her, that she could move on so easily.
There were other bodies on the ferry now too, these ones not of her own making. She thought they might have been Seo-Yun’s handiwork, but she couldn’t remember the specifics of the announcements enough to say for sure; it could have been a lot of people, the list of names to watch out for increased with every announcement, too many to keep track of now. Her own name was barely on that list anymore and even though she’d decided not to aim for that goal anymore that fact still bothered her; because she hadn’t done anything since she was last here, on the ferry. She’d made no progress, just floundering; Akeno was spinning her wheels, and the people who did that on this show died if they couldn’t get moving.
She wasn’t hopeful about escaping, despite proposing the idea to Lucille, but it was still something to aim for; a direction to move in, which was what they both needed, she thought. Lucille had shot that idea down though, even before the announcement had thrown a wrench in things and made it so they didn’t know where the escape group was going to be anymore. Lucille was stuck too.
Where had she wandered off to anyway?
Akeno went looking for her, picking her way between the shells of old cars as she moved towards the back of the ferry. She found her wayward friend easily enough, but they weren’t alone; even from this distance it was easily to tell who she’d found by the pastel coloured hair.
“Hey.” Akeno quickened her pace. Vasily, Fisk, James, Keegan, Bacchia. It was still a theory that Vasily was involved with the others, Ivan hadn’t confirmed it, but the chance of involvement was enough. “Lucille.” If the others might be here then they needed to leave. As much as she wanted to believe they could take them, as much as her inadequacy against this particular enemy still burned, they couldn’t stay here; not if they were unarmed, not if they were outnumbered. She started running. “Lucille!”
Akeno wasn’t sure why she was surprised by this fact, but she was. Of course it was still there, the body of the person she’d killed, it’s not like anyone was going to move it; the evidence of her act hadn’t been swept away in reality like she had swept it away in her mind, putting it in the past where it belonged so she could focus on what came next. A part of her was still having trouble believing that she’d done something like this, but even if she wanted to put it behind her these kinds of things didn’t stop existing just because she’d washed the blood off of her hands.
It had left marks.
ES10: AKENO KUDO CONTINUED FROM You Think You Know How the Game is Played, Until You’re in it
Even now, looking down at her body, Akeno couldn’t muster much guilt over what she’d done. A death was necessarily; not Maxine’s specifically, but a death was needed at the time. Akeno’s first step on a road that she wasn’t going to see the end of now; not when people like Seo-Yun were already far ahead of her. Despite what the announcement had implied, it had never been personal for her. She wondered what that said about her, that she could move on so easily.
There were other bodies on the ferry now too, these ones not of her own making. She thought they might have been Seo-Yun’s handiwork, but she couldn’t remember the specifics of the announcements enough to say for sure; it could have been a lot of people, the list of names to watch out for increased with every announcement, too many to keep track of now. Her own name was barely on that list anymore and even though she’d decided not to aim for that goal anymore that fact still bothered her; because she hadn’t done anything since she was last here, on the ferry. She’d made no progress, just floundering; Akeno was spinning her wheels, and the people who did that on this show died if they couldn’t get moving.
She wasn’t hopeful about escaping, despite proposing the idea to Lucille, but it was still something to aim for; a direction to move in, which was what they both needed, she thought. Lucille had shot that idea down though, even before the announcement had thrown a wrench in things and made it so they didn’t know where the escape group was going to be anymore. Lucille was stuck too.
Where had she wandered off to anyway?
Akeno went looking for her, picking her way between the shells of old cars as she moved towards the back of the ferry. She found her wayward friend easily enough, but they weren’t alone; even from this distance it was easily to tell who she’d found by the pastel coloured hair.
“Hey.” Akeno quickened her pace. Vasily, Fisk, James, Keegan, Bacchia. It was still a theory that Vasily was involved with the others, Ivan hadn’t confirmed it, but the chance of involvement was enough. “Lucille.” If the others might be here then they needed to leave. As much as she wanted to believe they could take them, as much as her inadequacy against this particular enemy still burned, they couldn’t stay here; not if they were unarmed, not if they were outnumbered. She started running. “Lucille!”
''Yeah, yeah true. But... they don't want a clean kill, don't they? It's a lot better to- to play it, at least. That kinda tension that comes with-''
He walked towards Lucille and pointed the gun at her, again, barrel almost touching her torso-
''-This?''
He was toying with her, he vaguely realized. It somehow became a game again.
But when he looked at Lucille's smile and he matched it he knew that it was for the best. Wasn't it? It should be.
'"I mean, SOTF was never about the death. It was about the... the emotions that the threat of dying draws out. If I shoot you and I don't cry and I get on with it, do you think they're gonna like this? If they don't know how we felt about each other before this, the whole see-friends-turn-on-each-other thing or whatever?"
He's slipped into that headspace again.
...
He did, didn't he? He needed to stop doing that.
Closer.
The barrel was almost, almost touching-
He heard Akeno. Looked towards her, keeping Lucille still in his admittedly narrow line of vision. Turned the gun on her, the nearly-friendly vibe he gave for Lucille still sticking to him.
"Hey, Akeno."
...They're friends too, aren't they?
Weren't they?
There was that spark in Akeno that he found similar to Lucia. Just like Lucille. But Lucille hadn't tried to kill his friends, and his friends hadn't tried to kill Lucille, and Vasily would rather keep it that way.
As counterintuitive as it sounds, given the circumstances.
"Akeno, please. I'm... I'm having A TIme."
Not really. Not really he wasn't. This didn't hurt as much as the last few days hurt him. Keegan's death stung like a fresh wound. Akeno was a stranger caught up in the wrong game, and Ivan was somebody who chose to use his last days to go after them instead of licking his wounds and staying away.
And none of them were worse than him.
"You know what? I'm nicer than the others, so-"
Finger on the trigger.
"Just go before I change my mind. I know you don't want you or Lucille to die- and I don't, either, so...
Get out."
He walked towards Lucille and pointed the gun at her, again, barrel almost touching her torso-
''-This?''
He was toying with her, he vaguely realized. It somehow became a game again.
But when he looked at Lucille's smile and he matched it he knew that it was for the best. Wasn't it? It should be.
'"I mean, SOTF was never about the death. It was about the... the emotions that the threat of dying draws out. If I shoot you and I don't cry and I get on with it, do you think they're gonna like this? If they don't know how we felt about each other before this, the whole see-friends-turn-on-each-other thing or whatever?"
He's slipped into that headspace again.
...
He did, didn't he? He needed to stop doing that.
Closer.
The barrel was almost, almost touching-
He heard Akeno. Looked towards her, keeping Lucille still in his admittedly narrow line of vision. Turned the gun on her, the nearly-friendly vibe he gave for Lucille still sticking to him.
"Hey, Akeno."
...They're friends too, aren't they?
Weren't they?
There was that spark in Akeno that he found similar to Lucia. Just like Lucille. But Lucille hadn't tried to kill his friends, and his friends hadn't tried to kill Lucille, and Vasily would rather keep it that way.
As counterintuitive as it sounds, given the circumstances.
"Akeno, please. I'm... I'm having A TIme."
Not really. Not really he wasn't. This didn't hurt as much as the last few days hurt him. Keegan's death stung like a fresh wound. Akeno was a stranger caught up in the wrong game, and Ivan was somebody who chose to use his last days to go after them instead of licking his wounds and staying away.
And none of them were worse than him.
"You know what? I'm nicer than the others, so-"
Finger on the trigger.
"Just go before I change my mind. I know you don't want you or Lucille to die- and I don't, either, so...
Get out."
(She'd kept her smile at that. It had grown, if anything. Just like old times.)
("This kind of scene? Speaking for myself I'd think it was a pretty dumb looking one. Especially if the one with the gun-")
(Akeno's voice. More startling than the weight of the loaded, explosive piece of metal so close to her flesh it was already stealing her body heat in advance. Just a bit.)
(Idle thoughts: outside looking in, this one'd be a cool looking scene, wouldn't it? Maybe a bit overly verbose for her tastes, but Lucille might have appreciated the intense monochrome, the shadowy figures barely visible among the stoic silhouettes of cars on all sides.)
(Putting herself into Akeno's shoes, seeing Lucille staring down a gun barrel with the softest and most vital bits of her body might've been a bit distressing? Probably. It was likely one of those things that looked mundane when it was anything but.)
(Hearing Vasily call himself nice was an eye-popper of a novelty. Ripping them right out of the socket, that one. Wherever that moribund imagery was coming from, it had her face as the death mask, and she couldn't be bothered to be bothered? She was still observing herself in the third person for whatever reason. Out of body, out of sight, out of mind.)
("Nicer? That's a shocker," she remarked.)
(Simply. Bit of a leer on that one, the overly intimate sort where she'd casually friendzone anybody made of lesser stuff with the fey shape of her cackle. Her gently, awkwardly manic expression- not a thing her face was used to doing, it kind of hurt like walking after leg day- finally lapsed.)
(SB05 didn't budge.)
"Akeno." Louder. "I think you should get-"
("This kind of scene? Speaking for myself I'd think it was a pretty dumb looking one. Especially if the one with the gun-")
(Akeno's voice. More startling than the weight of the loaded, explosive piece of metal so close to her flesh it was already stealing her body heat in advance. Just a bit.)
(Idle thoughts: outside looking in, this one'd be a cool looking scene, wouldn't it? Maybe a bit overly verbose for her tastes, but Lucille might have appreciated the intense monochrome, the shadowy figures barely visible among the stoic silhouettes of cars on all sides.)
(Putting herself into Akeno's shoes, seeing Lucille staring down a gun barrel with the softest and most vital bits of her body might've been a bit distressing? Probably. It was likely one of those things that looked mundane when it was anything but.)
(Hearing Vasily call himself nice was an eye-popper of a novelty. Ripping them right out of the socket, that one. Wherever that moribund imagery was coming from, it had her face as the death mask, and she couldn't be bothered to be bothered? She was still observing herself in the third person for whatever reason. Out of body, out of sight, out of mind.)
("Nicer? That's a shocker," she remarked.)
(Simply. Bit of a leer on that one, the overly intimate sort where she'd casually friendzone anybody made of lesser stuff with the fey shape of her cackle. Her gently, awkwardly manic expression- not a thing her face was used to doing, it kind of hurt like walking after leg day- finally lapsed.)
(SB05 didn't budge.)
"Akeno." Louder. "I think you should get-"
Upcoming:
Second Chances V3 (deconreconfirmed):
Relations Thread!
Olivia Fischer (original handler, Maraoone)
Memories: 1 Pregame: 1
Faith Marshal-Mackenzie (original handler, Frozen Smoke)
Memories: 1 Pregame: 1
Sayuna Lewis (original handler, Cicada)
Princess McQuillan (original handler, Cicada)
Pregame: 1
Second Chances V3 (deconreconfirmed):
Relations Thread!
Olivia Fischer (original handler, Maraoone)
Memories: 1 Pregame: 1
Faith Marshal-Mackenzie (original handler, Frozen Smoke)
Memories: 1 Pregame: 1
Sayuna Lewis (original handler, Cicada)
Princess McQuillan (original handler, Cicada)
Pregame: 1
The clank of steel heels interrupted. The boy those shoes belonged to hadn’t even bothered with the mask. From his eyes alone he was unamused.
((Fisk Bateman continued from a real bad day. ))
“You should listen to her Akeno. Wouldn’t want to make a habit of watching your friends die would we?”
He was not in the mood for this trash. Way too fucking early in the morning. He barely had slept since Keegan, instead just volunteering to take extra watch for that night.
When he heard Vasily talking to Lucille, he had wanted to offer her the chance to join the darkside, didn’t want to make Vas kill his own friend after all, but of course, of fucking course, she had to be with Akeno, their group’s third biggest threat.
Obviously if they were hanging together, that wouldn’t fly. Fisk made some dumb decisions but the dumbest of them would be befriending someone in contact with someone who wants nothing more than your deaths.
Yet Verity was still here...
“I’m feeling generous today. Very generous for my current circumstances. If you leave now, you get to hold on life just a bit longer, and you might even die quickly the next time we meet!”
Fisk drummed his hands on the car he was next to. The same car with all the scrounged utensils meant for Ivan next time they got him. The scrounged utensils that could just as easily work on someone else as a warning to him.
“If you keep fucking around though, you’re gonna get it bad. Crucifixion or blood eagle bad. Don’t think a historically accurate one of those been televised before?”
He reached an arm behind his back. Of course, this was Akeno he was talking to. She wouldn’t be easy, not one bit. He’d rather just get her attention so Vas could shoot her in the back and be done with it. A fight with her would suck.
“Leave. Now.”
Gripped his shiv.
((Fisk Bateman continued from a real bad day. ))
“You should listen to her Akeno. Wouldn’t want to make a habit of watching your friends die would we?”
He was not in the mood for this trash. Way too fucking early in the morning. He barely had slept since Keegan, instead just volunteering to take extra watch for that night.
When he heard Vasily talking to Lucille, he had wanted to offer her the chance to join the darkside, didn’t want to make Vas kill his own friend after all, but of course, of fucking course, she had to be with Akeno, their group’s third biggest threat.
Obviously if they were hanging together, that wouldn’t fly. Fisk made some dumb decisions but the dumbest of them would be befriending someone in contact with someone who wants nothing more than your deaths.
Yet Verity was still here...
“I’m feeling generous today. Very generous for my current circumstances. If you leave now, you get to hold on life just a bit longer, and you might even die quickly the next time we meet!”
Fisk drummed his hands on the car he was next to. The same car with all the scrounged utensils meant for Ivan next time they got him. The scrounged utensils that could just as easily work on someone else as a warning to him.
“If you keep fucking around though, you’re gonna get it bad. Crucifixion or blood eagle bad. Don’t think a historically accurate one of those been televised before?”
He reached an arm behind his back. Of course, this was Akeno he was talking to. She wouldn’t be easy, not one bit. He’d rather just get her attention so Vas could shoot her in the back and be done with it. A fight with her would suck.
“Leave. Now.”
Gripped his shiv.
Catche thinks my squirrel is Fisk so here's my daily reminder that he is not.
Vasily was talking. Lucille was talking. Fisk was talking.
Akeno didn’t stop running.
As soon as Fisk appeared the chances of this not turning into a fight became zero. If it was just Vasily they were dealing with then maybe she would have taken the offer to leave, dragging Lucille with her if she had to, but she couldn’t trust Fisk not to shoot them in the back if they left now. She wasn’t sure if she could trust Vasily either anymore, but that question could wait until Akeno had dealt with the main instigator.
Fisk was apparently unarmed, the hook he had stolen from Jasper nowhere to be seen, but she couldn’t assume he didn’t have something hidden away; something like the shivs he and the others had used before. A glass shard digging into the side of Jasper’s neck as she looked on, wilfully helpless and unable to do anything to stop it. She clenched her jaw and ran in a straight line towards him, the narrow corridor of vehicles not allowing for anything else, and leapt off the ground once she was close enough. The was no room for her to spin through the air this time, so instead she just flicked a foot out in a front kick that caught Fisk in the chest, then following up with the same from the other leg to hit his shoulder.
He was pushed back from her but Akeno turned away before she could see if he fell or not. Lucille and Vasily were behind her now that she’d sprinted past them to get to Fisk, she pointed an arm at the gun in Vasily's hands. “Grab him!”
This would be a short fight if Vasily decided to shoot her in the back while she was distracted; Akeno trusted that Lucille wouldn’t let that happen as she turned her attention back to her opponent.
Akeno didn’t stop running.
As soon as Fisk appeared the chances of this not turning into a fight became zero. If it was just Vasily they were dealing with then maybe she would have taken the offer to leave, dragging Lucille with her if she had to, but she couldn’t trust Fisk not to shoot them in the back if they left now. She wasn’t sure if she could trust Vasily either anymore, but that question could wait until Akeno had dealt with the main instigator.
Fisk was apparently unarmed, the hook he had stolen from Jasper nowhere to be seen, but she couldn’t assume he didn’t have something hidden away; something like the shivs he and the others had used before. A glass shard digging into the side of Jasper’s neck as she looked on, wilfully helpless and unable to do anything to stop it. She clenched her jaw and ran in a straight line towards him, the narrow corridor of vehicles not allowing for anything else, and leapt off the ground once she was close enough. The was no room for her to spin through the air this time, so instead she just flicked a foot out in a front kick that caught Fisk in the chest, then following up with the same from the other leg to hit his shoulder.
He was pushed back from her but Akeno turned away before she could see if he fell or not. Lucille and Vasily were behind her now that she’d sprinted past them to get to Fisk, she pointed an arm at the gun in Vasily's hands. “Grab him!”
This would be a short fight if Vasily decided to shoot her in the back while she was distracted; Akeno trusted that Lucille wouldn’t let that happen as she turned her attention back to her opponent.
Fisk slammed into the ground with a wheeze as the shiv slid away from him. He felt like he'd hack out a lung as he looked up towards Akeno who was still getting closer. He was too far from his shiv.
He began to crawl backwards with his feet and elbows, keeping his hands in front of him in a pleading motion as he could do nothing but cough. Were he able to speak, he'd be saying,
Vasily! Shoot her! Fucking shoot her! Shoot her, shoot her godammit!
He began to crawl backwards with his feet and elbows, keeping his hands in front of him in a pleading motion as he could do nothing but cough. Were he able to speak, he'd be saying,
Vasily! Shoot her! Fucking shoot her! Shoot her, shoot her godammit!
Catche thinks my squirrel is Fisk so here's my daily reminder that he is not.
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Wham Yubeesling
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Vasily, however, was not the one to shoot her. All noise drowned out of the room as fifteen bullets hit the ground in front of Akeno’s feet. As the ground between her and Fisk splintered and exploded.
There was no followup. Nothing but the ringing that had come with the initial explosion. Follow that, though, and you’d find the stairs. Find, hidden a bit by the shade, the girl with the gun. The girl whose hair was covered by the hood of her jacket. The girl whose face was covered by electric blue fabric covering her nose and mouth.
The girl still wearing the exact same clothes Akeno had seen her in when the game had started all those days ago.
((Verity Stewart, continued from Violet Hill))
There was no followup. Nothing but the ringing that had come with the initial explosion. Follow that, though, and you’d find the stairs. Find, hidden a bit by the shade, the girl with the gun. The girl whose hair was covered by the hood of her jacket. The girl whose face was covered by electric blue fabric covering her nose and mouth.
The girl still wearing the exact same clothes Akeno had seen her in when the game had started all those days ago.
((Verity Stewart, continued from Violet Hill))
There went the shiv he was hiding, sliding across the deck as it went flying out of Fisk’s hands. There went Fisk, scurrying away in a panic while he tried to placate her and plead for his life. All of his confidence and his threats and his bravado just evaporating away as soon as things took even the slightest turn in her favour.
Pathetic.
It was almost infuriating how much of a coward he was being. Insulting, that this was the person who’d made himself her enemy; threatened her, taunted her, killed Jasper and tried to act like it was anything more than dumb luck. Her fault, her mistake, not his achievement.
She squeezed her fists tight enough that her arms began to shake. It would be easier if he stood and put up a fight; like this it was too clear that Fisk wasn’t a threat. Never had been; only his numbers were, his group, their weapons. Numbers that she could have helped equalise had she gotten involved, if she had helped instead of hiding and watching until it was too late. She was as bad as he was. She was a-
“Coward.”
Akeno closed the distance between her and Fisk, this time with nothing to stop her. No last minute save from Vasily or any of his allies this time, she-
The first bullet struck the deck, then the second and the third. Akeno ducked behind a car, pressing herself against the rusted side panel and hoping she was hidden from whoever was shooting at her as more and more bullets rained down. Then they stopped and for long seconds there was no sound and no movement from any of them. Akeno risked peeking through the window of the car beside her, towards the stairs leading up to the second deck and saw the gunman there.
Or gunwoman, as it turned out. Akeno recognised those clothes, that build, even if she had put a mask on since she’d last seen her down in the bowels of the cruise ship. Of course Verity would be here too. Of course she’d save Fisk at the last minute. She’d been hounding Akeno all game, even before the two had first met each other, so it made sense.
Akeno sprang up, vaulting and sliding over the hood of the old car as she ran towards Verity. Between that gun and Fisk, the mask wearing girl was the more dangerous of the two by far. Besides, it was becoming increasingly obvious that the more she went after Fisk the more people were going to keep getting in her way; if that was the case then she would just have to take them out one by one.
ES10: AKENO KUDO CONTINUED IN Mortal Kombat
Pathetic.
It was almost infuriating how much of a coward he was being. Insulting, that this was the person who’d made himself her enemy; threatened her, taunted her, killed Jasper and tried to act like it was anything more than dumb luck. Her fault, her mistake, not his achievement.
She squeezed her fists tight enough that her arms began to shake. It would be easier if he stood and put up a fight; like this it was too clear that Fisk wasn’t a threat. Never had been; only his numbers were, his group, their weapons. Numbers that she could have helped equalise had she gotten involved, if she had helped instead of hiding and watching until it was too late. She was as bad as he was. She was a-
“Coward.”
Akeno closed the distance between her and Fisk, this time with nothing to stop her. No last minute save from Vasily or any of his allies this time, she-
The first bullet struck the deck, then the second and the third. Akeno ducked behind a car, pressing herself against the rusted side panel and hoping she was hidden from whoever was shooting at her as more and more bullets rained down. Then they stopped and for long seconds there was no sound and no movement from any of them. Akeno risked peeking through the window of the car beside her, towards the stairs leading up to the second deck and saw the gunman there.
Or gunwoman, as it turned out. Akeno recognised those clothes, that build, even if she had put a mask on since she’d last seen her down in the bowels of the cruise ship. Of course Verity would be here too. Of course she’d save Fisk at the last minute. She’d been hounding Akeno all game, even before the two had first met each other, so it made sense.
Akeno sprang up, vaulting and sliding over the hood of the old car as she ran towards Verity. Between that gun and Fisk, the mask wearing girl was the more dangerous of the two by far. Besides, it was becoming increasingly obvious that the more she went after Fisk the more people were going to keep getting in her way; if that was the case then she would just have to take them out one by one.
ES10: AKENO KUDO CONTINUED IN Mortal Kombat
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Wham Yubeesling
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Verity hadn’t quite thought about what would happen if the person she shot at didn’t die. Neither had she thought about what her plan was if they started rushing for her.
Neither, in fact, did she consider how much ammo she’d used until she fired again and nothing came out.
Didn’t take long to think of a plan, though. She just turned around. Fucking booked it. Went up the stairs-
Neither, in fact, did she consider how much ammo she’d used until she fired again and nothing came out.
Didn’t take long to think of a plan, though. She just turned around. Fucking booked it. Went up the stairs-
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DerArknight
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((Sofia Kowalski continues from Hi Friend!/Bye Friend!))
Sofia leaned on the railing, looking out at the sea. Not too much in the distance she could make out the house boat. A place currently closed to them unless they were a fan of having their collars blown. The same was true for a growing number of other places in the arena. Studying the map, she had realized that most of the current Danger Zones were at the rim of the Flotilla. Her small knowledge about SOTF told her that at a certain point, the Danger Zones would become permanent to further round the contestants up. Maybe that was why the current zones were at the rim. Maybe the roundup was starting.
And despite after making it that far into the game, what had Sofia to show for?
Well, she was with James now. Okay, this actually brought her a lot more problems, since they were on different teams, but right now Sofia didn't care about that. Just having him near and knowing he was currently not being brutally murdered was a big plus. Then she had some other allies. It weren't the allies she might have preferred, but they had much more experience in the game than Sofia did.
One of her new "friends", Fisk, had approached her last night when her weird shift with Vasily ended. After a short greeting, he had given her something quite important.
"This belonged to Keegan. Please take care of it." He had said while offering her the knife made out of glass. Then his expression had gotten even more serious. "I am not gonna pressure you, but I think it would be good if you prove your abilities by the next opportunity. We need to know how reliable you are in battle and how much you have our backs."
While he hadn't gone into detail, Sofia had understood the message: "Kill someone to be accepted as one of us!"
Now she had a shiv. Her first real weapon in this nightmare. She was conflicted on how to feel about that. Should she be glad that she had now more of a fighting chance? Or terrified of the things she might end up doing with this thing?
As if to answer her question, a barrage of gunfire echoed from somewhere else on the ferry.
Sofia snapped out of her inner musings. Whoever it was, she had to go and-
Or maybe I should go get James and tell him to use the distraction of the battle to run away together?
For a short moment, she entertained this thought. But then she remembered that James was on the upper deck right now. Close to where the shooter had to be.
Abandoning all thoughts of escape, she started running.
Sofia leaned on the railing, looking out at the sea. Not too much in the distance she could make out the house boat. A place currently closed to them unless they were a fan of having their collars blown. The same was true for a growing number of other places in the arena. Studying the map, she had realized that most of the current Danger Zones were at the rim of the Flotilla. Her small knowledge about SOTF told her that at a certain point, the Danger Zones would become permanent to further round the contestants up. Maybe that was why the current zones were at the rim. Maybe the roundup was starting.
And despite after making it that far into the game, what had Sofia to show for?
Well, she was with James now. Okay, this actually brought her a lot more problems, since they were on different teams, but right now Sofia didn't care about that. Just having him near and knowing he was currently not being brutally murdered was a big plus. Then she had some other allies. It weren't the allies she might have preferred, but they had much more experience in the game than Sofia did.
One of her new "friends", Fisk, had approached her last night when her weird shift with Vasily ended. After a short greeting, he had given her something quite important.
"This belonged to Keegan. Please take care of it." He had said while offering her the knife made out of glass. Then his expression had gotten even more serious. "I am not gonna pressure you, but I think it would be good if you prove your abilities by the next opportunity. We need to know how reliable you are in battle and how much you have our backs."
While he hadn't gone into detail, Sofia had understood the message: "Kill someone to be accepted as one of us!"
Now she had a shiv. Her first real weapon in this nightmare. She was conflicted on how to feel about that. Should she be glad that she had now more of a fighting chance? Or terrified of the things she might end up doing with this thing?
As if to answer her question, a barrage of gunfire echoed from somewhere else on the ferry.
Sofia snapped out of her inner musings. Whoever it was, she had to go and-
Or maybe I should go get James and tell him to use the distraction of the battle to run away together?
For a short moment, she entertained this thought. But then she remembered that James was on the upper deck right now. Close to where the shooter had to be.
Abandoning all thoughts of escape, she started running.
The rounds blowing through the deck and cars made Fisk curl up and lie low. They were a LOT closer than the first time they had to deal with Akeno's bullshit. He peeked up and saw Akeno taking cover, and took his chance to grab his shiv and relocate, maybe he could ambush her. Once the bullets stopped, he peeked around a van to find her already running after the shooter.
It wasn't Vas.
Verity saved him? What the fuck, that's new. Very well then, he supposed he owed her some backup. Didn't help that James was up there too...
Fisk strode over to behind the car he'd put his "collection" in. Opening the trunk, it didn't take much riffing around of nails, rope, and wood to find what he was looking for. Jasper's hook. He was gonna need some reach for this one, after all. The other stuff can wait until he's done. Then they'll have all the time in the world for Fisk to make due on his promise.
Regaining his composure, he pocketed his shiv in the belt loop, and carried the cane along his shoulders, and began moving towards the stairs at a brisk pace. "Bitch wants it slow, bitch gets it slow..." He spoke to no one in particular.
He turned towards Vasily and Lucille, with Sofia hot on their trail.
"Vas! Do what you got to do, and do it fast! We got a problem child to deal with..."
He made his way up the stairs.
It wasn't Vas.
Verity saved him? What the fuck, that's new. Very well then, he supposed he owed her some backup. Didn't help that James was up there too...
Fisk strode over to behind the car he'd put his "collection" in. Opening the trunk, it didn't take much riffing around of nails, rope, and wood to find what he was looking for. Jasper's hook. He was gonna need some reach for this one, after all. The other stuff can wait until he's done. Then they'll have all the time in the world for Fisk to make due on his promise.
Regaining his composure, he pocketed his shiv in the belt loop, and carried the cane along his shoulders, and began moving towards the stairs at a brisk pace. "Bitch wants it slow, bitch gets it slow..." He spoke to no one in particular.
He turned towards Vasily and Lucille, with Sofia hot on their trail.
"Vas! Do what you got to do, and do it fast! We got a problem child to deal with..."
He made his way up the stairs.
Catche thinks my squirrel is Fisk so here's my daily reminder that he is not.
(Like... hah, actually. Lucille had indeed been planning on telling Akeno to run. It'd kind of gone the way she'd hoped.)
(She'd missed out on a lot of it though. A lot of blur. A lot of sweat sticky and fresh on her palms. All she could feel.)
(All she could see was Vasily's face. She hadn't turned around. Something about not needing or wanting to see it? Maybe. She couldn't hear her own thoughts over the rush of adrenaline.)
"..."
(She had heard the last thing Fisk had called out though. Him among all those faces. Weird ass crew he'd assembled, Vasily, and a bunch of no names inclusive of himself.)
"What do you have to do? Vasily? Pull the trigger?"
Her voice echoed, muffled but loudly so, through the thump thump of her heart pounding against the insides of her skull.
(She'd missed out on a lot of it though. A lot of blur. A lot of sweat sticky and fresh on her palms. All she could feel.)
(All she could see was Vasily's face. She hadn't turned around. Something about not needing or wanting to see it? Maybe. She couldn't hear her own thoughts over the rush of adrenaline.)
"..."
(She had heard the last thing Fisk had called out though. Him among all those faces. Weird ass crew he'd assembled, Vasily, and a bunch of no names inclusive of himself.)
"What do you have to do? Vasily? Pull the trigger?"
Her voice echoed, muffled but loudly so, through the thump thump of her heart pounding against the insides of her skull.
Upcoming:
Second Chances V3 (deconreconfirmed):
Relations Thread!
Olivia Fischer (original handler, Maraoone)
Memories: 1 Pregame: 1
Faith Marshal-Mackenzie (original handler, Frozen Smoke)
Memories: 1 Pregame: 1
Sayuna Lewis (original handler, Cicada)
Princess McQuillan (original handler, Cicada)
Pregame: 1
Second Chances V3 (deconreconfirmed):
Relations Thread!
Olivia Fischer (original handler, Maraoone)
Memories: 1 Pregame: 1
Faith Marshal-Mackenzie (original handler, Frozen Smoke)
Memories: 1 Pregame: 1
Sayuna Lewis (original handler, Cicada)
Princess McQuillan (original handler, Cicada)
Pregame: 1