We're Back In The Swamp

[Applesintime]

Ivan told Beau to get control of him. He, the murderer, told Beau that he needed to control him. It took all of his self control not to march out onto that ladder, whack Ivan in the head and watch him flail and drown in the water below. But no, he wasn't going to. Because he couldn't tell if he would be really dead for sure then, and then he might pop up and murder another one of his friends. Who would be dead next? Kurt? Jasper, Leo? Which one of his friends would be ripped out of his life next, the only thing remaining of them their body?

He hoped they would go to Heaven. Even if they didn't believe, even if before all of this they had done shitty things, they deserved some kind of peace after this. And to those who had murdered them, he'd send them straight to fucking Hell.

Lucille said something, a jab at him. He wasn't listening. He didn't care what a fan of this show had to say. If she was on the other side of the cameras observing them, she'd be cheering with glee at the murders of her friends and enemies. She'd be eagerly discussing which murderer she wanted to win, and there'd probably be some kind of circlejerk about how he was the most evil person because he didn't want to have people be murdered on live television. God forbid you let children go to school.

"Control yourself, you fohking-" He was about to snap back at Ivan, but Beau had moved to stand besides him, and said his name. That got his attention. Beau said he'd help. He'd help kill Ivan, Eric, Seo-yun, the lot of them. Yet, he spoke of letting this murderer rest. He spoke of trying to do this non-violently. Where had all that fucking bravado gone?

"Help him? Help him, Beau? He murdered my fohking friend! 'E fohking murdered 'er! I'm not gonna-" He paused, just to take a breath. Seal the Cockney accent back so Beau could actually understand him. Idly, he wondered what Beau's other Cockney friend would be doing right now. Probably jerking himself off to murder or some shit. Honestly, it did seem like some of the really big fans had a thing for watching people murder one another. It didn't matter, though.

It wasn't going to matter.

"I'm not going to fucking help him, Beau! He killed my goddamn friend and I'm, I'm going to fucking kill him back! I don't give a shit why he did it! For all I care, she was just- She was hanging around with that fucking player group sure, but she wasn't going to do anything! She wouldn't have done anything!" Was that a lie? Was he just looking for something to vent his anger out on? No. No, it was true. Giselle wouldn't have goddamn hurt anyone! She hated this show, just like him, so she must have been with the group to sabotage them. To stop them from killing.

And Ivan helped them by getting rid of her. They must he fucking rubbing their hands together in glee, and the idea of that, of Vasily and Fisk and who else did Ivan say? Keegan, James and Bacchia doing just that sent a new, fresher wave of anger coursing through his body.

"What would you do if Eric was as fucked up as this, huh? What would you do if he was right in front of you and you could get justice for your dead friend, but I was at your side saying no, you shouldn't? What would you do, Beau? Because if you're saying that you'd listen, that you'd just let him get away to murder more people, then you're a fucking liar."

Turning away from Beau, Anthony fixed his eyes on Ivan, glaring at him. He didn't think it was possible to feel such... hate for someone. But he did.

"You're with me or you're against me, Beau."

[The Honeless Beard]

"This is gonna make a great meme compilation," Ivan said, "you saying that shit with the curb your enthusiasm music over top."

He watched Anthony rant for a moment, shifting slightly and keeping his balance on the railing. The air felt nice. He lifted his arms in a T-pose, an airplane cruising on the undercurrent. The F didn't throb as hotly when he was up here.

"It took you less than two days," Ivan continued, "to have a massive psychotic break. Did you listen to the announcements? How it was hard to blame me for ganking your best buddy in the whole world who carved my shit up, broke my ribs, deafened me and stole my wallet? Think Giselle is totally incapable?"

He shrugged.

"Listen, Tony, I ain't here for you, got no intention of fighting you. Your temper tantrum or... whatever, ain't my business. I'm not playing, just getting mine."

He tipped dangerously to one side, righted himself. He wondered if he could fly, given the right motivation.

[Tapey]

((Hannah Choi continued from YOO, GUYS! I TOTALLY GOT SHOT ON TV!! NOT CLICKBAIT, NOT CLICKBAIT!!))

Hannah sat patiently on the stairs as she leaned against the railings, staring aimlessly towards the bottom of the staircase as she was looking out for any other threats. She felt that she would have a difficult time trying to fit in into the conversation the group on the upper deck was currently having.

Speaking of conversation, what were they talking about? All she could hear were some yelling, something about a friend getting murdered... Somehow, she felt a slight relief for not being involved in the altercation.

Though judging by the amount of yelling up there, she had a feeling that this would not end well.

Carefully, she climbed up the top of the staircase, near the entrance towards where the others were. She took a short peek towards the others, while maybeeeeee eavesdrop on the conversation. She did not want to be a part of whatever was going on right there, but updating on the situation wouldn't hurt her, right?

[Cicadan]

Speaking of meme compilations and that clip-worthy, already iconic one liner from Anthony.

Steph wasn't going to reply, looked like. Kinda sucked! Lucille had thought that the two of them had already had a gal-pal dynamic teed up, because like, only Lucille's closest friends got to call her out the way Steph had last night. Much like, y'know, only Lucille's closest friends got to be ignored the exact way Lucille was choosing to ignore Steph's criticisms. Lucille could hear the echo of what had been said, but did she really understand it? Blah blah blah was the sum total of that one-off 'btw bitch being unironically into SOTF and wanting to die on camera is kind of fucked up', y'know, anyways she'd heard it all before hadn't she?

Still, it did echo. Like there was a bunch of room up in that skull of hers. Lucille guessed she wouldn't have accused herself of having a lot of deep and meaningful thoughts to otherwise take up the space?

(SB05 glanced at MM10 as the latter poked her head out of hiding. No reaction)

Honestly it was kind of like Lucille was still in her own living room watching this scene happen as it did. Spooky kind of feeling, like mystery itch caused by a specific shirt but without any particularly visible reason.

Shit, was reality kind of lower definition than her own television? She swore everything looked duller and less colorful up this close and personal. If it'd been herself and the gang watching this playback on an after school afternoon- probably changing to a different feed after shit talking Anthony a bit- she would have definitely been able to see the individual detail on Ivan's pores as he monologued. Fortunately, and somehow, it was a bit harder to be that easily distracted in real life.

[Primrosette]

Beau felt like his head was buzzing as Anthony went on and on with his angry rant and he honestly felt like slapping Anthony. But no, he wasn't going to put his hands on Anthony as that was not going to solve anything and defusing the situation was more important. Beau wondered why things always went to hell when he was around Anthony and he was feeling more frustrated by Anthony's mindset. Should he just bail and go off with Hannah to find his other friends or teammates once more? Or should he stay and just do whatever he can to make things less intense?

"Anthony, that's fucked up and you know it." His voice was trying to stay at a normal tone but it was a bit shaky and he was shifting slightly on his feet, feeling a bit antsy. He knew why Anthony was angry at well, everything. But anger wasn't going to solve anything. Beau knew that they all needed to have a clearer head and being hurtful wasn't helping anything. "You can't just ask me to choose sides like that. I'm upset too, sure, sure! But...."

His words felt like they were trapped on his tongue. He felt lost over what he was supposed to do.

"You can't just say how I'm supposed to feel about Eric. Heck, even I don't know what I will do if I ever saw him." Beau paused and he pinched the bridge of his own nose, wincing a little. Okay, okay. Definitely not some screwed-up dream that he was having. "Not everyone thinks the same way as you do, Anthony. Please understand that. I can't tell you to chill the hell out as that would only make you more mad. Right?"

He gazed back at Ivan and he took in everything that just looked terrible. It didn't seem like Ivan was lying. Sure, Ivan was a jerk and all, but if Giselle and the others had almost beaten Ivan to death. God, that was a scary thought.

"Ivan, can you hold on for a bit? Sorry, I just need to check something."

Beau bit his lower lip slightly. God, he was gonna hate this.

"Anthony. You're only angry at Ivan because Giselle isn't here to take your anger. Isn't that the truth?"

God, he's just gonna get punched or something now.

"Because she did the unthinkable. She betrayed your trust to team up with a group of killers and she hurt you so badly. Right?" He was speaking in a more quieter, calmer tone of voice as he knew that yelling would just make anyone feel more irritated at him. God, he really hated when he was forced into being serious for something like this. "She and the others had wanted to kill Ivan but they messed that up like a bunch of complete idiots. Giselle died because she...."

He was really risking getting punched now.

"She made her choice of choosing her other friends over you. She wanted that path and it's nobody's fault but her own."

Harsh, but the truth as far as he could see from an outsider's point of view.

[Applesintime]

Anthony wasn't listening to Beau. The only thing he could focus on was Ivan, just balancing atop the railing like he was above them all. It was infuriating. Beau's words were infuriating. It was all just infuriating.

Out of nowhere, he raised the wooden plank, and ran at Ivan. He was going to... he wasn't sure what, but it wouldn't be peaceful.

That he was sure of.

[The Honeless Beard]

As Anthony rushed forward, Ivan stepped to his left, into open sky.

Nobody probably even saw his two finger salute as he pencil-dived into the water below.

((Continued here))

[Applesintime]

"FUCK!" Anthony raged, watching Ivan plummet to the ocean below. He hadn't broken his neck, which was quite the fucking shame. Fucking septic couldn't face any kind of justice, so he jumped, ran, swam away like a coward. He was gonna kick him in the fucking bollocks when he got the bloody chance. For now, though, there was nothing he could do, but hunt. And Ivan had mentioned more names in that playger group. Bacchia - that had to be the girl with the really fucking weird name. Dickenbachia or something. Keegan and James. Keegan was weird, he hadn't seemed like the kind of kid to turn into a murderer. But then again, that's what society shoved into their faces.

It didn't matter. He walked a few more steps forwards, and then remembered that right, Beau and Lucille and Hannah had watched that whole thing. Watched him go at Ivan like some kinda barbarian, board raised high above his head, ready to beat the crap out of him. It was out of character, but what the hell was he supposed to do? Just let him get away?

"Beau," He called out, pausing for a second. "Safe, man." He raised his hand, and was halfway through turning around when it dawned on him that Beau, having never stepped foot in London, would have absolutely no fucking idea what that meant. Well, he could probably get an idea but- ah, fuck it.

"Stay safe. Don't let them merk you." With that, he turned his back, his shoes slapping against the metal of the catwalk. Ivan had came from here, and he wanted to figure out if he had just been sleeping there, if he had left anything behind, or what. Maybe it was just an excuse for him to run away. From Beau. From everything. Partnering with Beau would have been nice. But he wasn't going for pacifism. Not anymore.

“Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image." Genesis 9:6. And that's what he was doing, wasn't it? These people had shed the blood of man, and now he would be shedding their blood. He had never understood that line before today; why would God, who said that thou shalt not murder, have so many lines in His book about shedding the blood of the wicked? But now, he realised that was fitting, especially in this arena of horrors. Someone had to kill the wicked, to make sure they didn't kill the innocent, and while he wasn't the best man for the job, someone had to do it.

Live by the sword, and you will die by the sword. But did that apply to those who were doing what was right, even if they had to draw the sword themselves, to live by it?

It didn't matter. He was at the houseboat. Stepping aboard, he could easily see where Ivan had been; a nest in a closet. The door was slightly ajar, and bending down to open it, Anthony noted the blood and bandages lying around the cramped interior. Had Ivan been sleeping here all night? There was literally a bed downstairs. Well, there was probably a bed downstairs, or at least somewhere slightly more comfortable than what, a cramped closet?

It didn't matter. What did matter, however, was the collection of food scattered around the closet. Getting down on his knees, Anthony collected it all up, wiping any blood splattered on the packaging off on a spare bit of bandage that had been left relatively unbloodied. He didn't have to worry about food now, and Ivan had to worry. That was good. That was tactics. He wondered where Giselle's body was. If she still had her weapon, her food, something he could use in his quest.

He stood back up, and sighed. No. That didn't matter. What mattered now, was revenge.

((Anthony Golden continued in ))

[Cicadan]

SB05 saluted right on back, with the tiniest flick of her right hand.

"Huh. Well Anthony made the choice for the both of you."

(See she'd have been most excited about the pivot in his character outside looking in, right? It was like, he was a pretty good looking dude outside of the context of his personality being ass, so she could definitely imagine that she would have been a bit more favorable towards him, as of his turning player hunter at this exact moment on the TV broadcast. Like, if his dialogue wasn't a total bore, but obviously she'd never know that for sure as a player. Not unless she'd one day get to watch the tapes again. But yeah, it would've been a character defining moment for the yung Anti-SOTF wanker. Shared in and between excitedly talking with her friends about where Ivan would surface after having pulled the surprisingly well-played dodge of a threat... well, maybe he should have stayed. They would've argued that for sure)

"Write him off and find a better ally. Just my thoughts."

The bag slung around one shoulder settled into place as she started to move.

"And say hi to Hannah for me, Beau. I hope she's doing alright."

She went away the way she came.

(Back with the corpses down there for a brief moment in time. But she didn't mind them, she guessed. They were terrifyingly broken-looking in death)

(But she knew well, she could just start to remember now, how much more horrific it looked when they were as broken)

(But still alive)

((Lucille Mendoza continued in You Think You Know How the Game is Played, Until You’re in it))

[Primrosette]

WELL.

That all happened.

And all Beau could do was stand there with his mouth gaping a little. He need about a minute to even process everything that had gone on. Ivan diving in the water like he was some fricking badass while he looked like hell. Anthony doing some sports thing or whatever and then walking off like it was gonna be their last farewell. And Lucille just going on her merry way after that complete shitshow. And it seemed like Hannah had seen all of that going down because of Lucille talking about.

"Maaaannnnn, what the fuck was that?!" He said a bit loudly in frustration and then he let out a small laugh at the craziness of it all. "Gosh, you better not get killed out there, Anthony. I won't forgive you if you do."

He knew that Anthony was gone already and that he shouldn't care about the guy. But he did and he wasn't going to change that. He also hoped that Anthony wouldn't let the game break him. He hoped that he would be strong enough to get through it. God, what the heck was he supposed to do now?

He turned back to see that Hannah was on the top of the stairs and he rushed over to her, laughing a bit awkwardly. "Well, that would have been worse. Sorry that you had to see that, Hannah. Oh, oh, oh! And Lucille also says hi. I guess she knows you or something like that. I dunno!" He shrugged his shoulders slightly and he was glad that it didn't make his arm ache with clear agony.

He wished he could have done better. He had failed again with stopping a fight. Ugh. He wasn't good at trying to defuse bad conflicts.

"Anyway, I think we should get outta here before. Maybe find other people elsewhere. Yeah? Yeah!!"

He needed a less serious situation. He didn't know how much longer he could deal with it.

((Beau Lively continued in TOTES COOL AND ALL THOSE JAMS! WITH BEAU AND HANNAH!))

[Tapey]

...Hannah wasn't the best stealth master, was she?

She continued to hide near the entrance as she watched everything unfolded, from the whole conflict to the dissemble of the group. She was pretty sure Lucille noticed her a few times when she glanced over her throughout the whole conversation, though she was lucky that she never got called out though.

That aside, the conversation didn't seem like it's going to end on a good note. Best not to ask for more details about it.

She casually waited for Beau to meet up with her after Lucille left the scene. From what she saw, he seemed pretty upset towards the entire confrontation...

...

*Beau met up with her and was about to leave the Deck*

...Ahh so she did notice her after all...

It was kinda embarrassing getting caught eavesdropping, to be honest, but curiosity got the best of her, and she just could not hold herself from witnessing the whole drama.

Anyways, for someone with who she did not communicate much, Hannah was surprised that Lucille remembered her name.

"She did? Huh..." Hannah gave a short reply, in a somewhat abashed tone, "Ehh it's fine. I... don't think I was supposed to hear all that anyways..."

"Ahh, so we're leaving? I mean, yea, why not?" Hannah quickly followed Beau as they stepped out from the deck area.

((Hannah Choi continued elsewhere))