Video Log Of Martin "MarWIN" Winchester, Various Local Times, Cyberspace
"Sup everyone, MarWin here."
Heavy sigh.
"So I know there's been a whole boatload—see what I did there—of stories going 'round about me showing up for a couple announcements and then up and vanishing, and there's a bunch of things I can't say about that. As much as I might want to, believe you me, but I'm pissed off enough without giving SOTF a chance to take my goddamn shirt.
"There's some stuff I can say without breaking confidentiality though, and I've got an internet connection and some shit to get off my chest, so let me just grab my shovel so I can dish out some fucking dirt.
"Okay, first thing's first. I've seen the press release and obviously they're gonna do me dirty with how they explain everything, but that hasn't stopped everyone and their dog having some kind of a hot take on something that they don't know dick about; nice job believing everything you get told on the internet, beeteedubs. So no, I didn't get fired for 'behavioural issues' or whatever the fuck, I quit as a protest over my treatment.
"Cause like, here's the deal, here's the deal alright? I've been working for TV for three seasons and clearly they've had me tapped for mentoring again or they wouldn't have come running to my door as soon as—"
He cuts himself off abruptly, taking a visible second to switch tack.
"—as soon as they needed somebody on short notice, and so first of all, pretty shitty to keep someone on the hook for a job that you're not gonna give them full time. Second of all, really shitty to drop that person the minute you decide you don't need him any more, and then it's all like 'oh, MarWIN, your conduct was unprofessional,' 'MarWIN, we feel like this role isn't the right fit any more.'"
Derisive snort.
"Crap, absolute bullcrap. You put someone in the game, you keep them in the game. Your star player gets injured you don't swap them back in because their knee is feeling better or whatever, especially if the guy who came on is an actual star that you just fucking forgot is your best player for some stupid reason. I did more in two announcements than some mentors—take your pick from the season—managed in the entire fucking game. Fuck, and remember that just cause you talk a whole bunch doesn't mean it's good quality. I'd say some people could stand to chime in less. Hey, you know what doesn't offer strategic benefit? Jumping in on someone else's talk time!"
His eyebrows go up, faux shocked.
"Whoa! Did I say that? Did I say something bad about team slumber party? Gee well, maybe it's cause I actually take myself seriously and this show is something other than an excuse to get myself on TV in a desperate attempt not to be forgotten! Better make sure the viewing public keep in mind that the Jewel Evans show isn't over yet! Better pump up the numbers for the Stephanie Cahill media tour—can't let herself slide into irrelevance just yet, huh? Like, damn, screw me for actually bothering to follow the rules, apparently if you're a winner you can bend talk time as much as you want, cause you're marketable; bet you anything they've got a dozen Ben quote t-shirts already warming up on the presses!"
Heavy, ragged breathing. MarWIN tries to compose himself for a moment, but then gives up.
"The thing that gets me—you know, you know, the thing that gets me is that they come crawling to my door because their pick isn't working out for them, and then just expect me to fucking, to fucking just be totally okay with stepping aside. Never mind I just got all my shit set up, never mind that my team knew that they had me now instead of—instead, instead of their other mentor. No, it's just, okay thanks for SAVING OUR ASSES, MarWIN! Great job! Now go fuck off and play with yourself for the rest of the week, fuck you very much—"
There's a sudden loud, repeated knocking on the door. MarWIN's eyes bug out.
"WHAT!?"
The door opens slightly.
"Oh, Johnny. Fuck do you want!? I'm busy here!"
Somebody speaks from just off frame.
"Mister Winchester? The tech team downstairs have asked if you could keep it down."
MarWin stops dead.
Inhales.
The livestream perfectly cuts the rising screech of MarWIN's indignant scream.
The Flotilla, 9:00 PM Local Time, International Waters
"Good evening to those of you who remain," boomed the cheerful voice of Ritzy Daggers throughout the cruise ship. "You will, perhaps, be pleased to know that there are only ten of you left in that category.
"Yes, after today, you're really in the final stretch. Of course, as the competition dries up, so do the resources... but I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's hit up what went down.
"Bethan Gayle was the first to drop, catching a bullet while walking away from Amy Barrows-Shaw just a little before my last check-in. Well, at least it was a poignant literary sort of moment, right? Oh, and a reminder not to turn your back on anyone.
"After picking up a few kills of his own, Gregory Miller tried to save face by turning on a bigger threat in the form of Fisk Bateman, but oh wow was that a mistake. We've seen some brutal stuff this season, but this... ah well, no skin off my nose.
"Not too long afterwards, Luanne Grasset decided to ignore our various warnings about playing with your collar, and let's just say you won't have to worry about her anymore.
"Amanda Brooks found another way out, taking the plunge from the deck. The Olympic Committee think her form could use some work, but there's not going to be a repeat performance. Solid six point four.
"Elsewhere, Anthony Golden struck again, settling a score with Elliott-Blair Østergaard and in so doing knocking the first full team out of contention.
"Speaking of scores to settle, Kaya Robinson wasn't so happy about what happened to her friend. She managed to track down Amy Barrows-Shaw, and when high noon ended, Kaya was the only one left standing.
"And from there we went right into the threepeat, as Akeno Kudo and Verity Stewart clashed for the final time. It looked like Stewart was down for the count, but when the battle went underwater her experience gave her the edge, and it was Akeno who ultimately sunk.
"Finally, Lucia Valdez got caught in the middle of other people's battles, and it cost her dearly. She made her mark on Fisk Bateman, but a moment of distraction was all it took for him to repay the favor with interest.
"And now, the fortunes of our teams as we head into this final stretch:
"The Crabs have tied the kill record set in Season Sixty-Five—granted, by a team less than half their size, but a tie is a tie—with nineteen marks to their name. But there are only two of them left, putting them solidly in the middle of the pack for survivors.
"The Krakens are gone, wiped out with a final score of thirteen. Of course, the one responsible for the bulk of those is reaping the benefits even now, so it's not a total loss.
"Only two Selkies remain, and the team still has eight collective kills, but losing only one member isn't that bad so late in the game. Chin up, you could still pull it off.
"Having climbed to four kills, the Leviathans are our least lethal remaining team, and like so many others only two of them remain. Can they make a surge in this final, most critical moment?
"The Mariners have been eliminated, ending with a total of three kills, leaving them our least successful complete team by just about every metric. Time to start updating that LinkedIn page...
"Bringing up the rear, only one Buccaneer still stands on the deck. The team kill count is up to five, though with a friendly fire incident can you really call that better than four, or is it worse? Well, whatever the case, you better stay sharp, or you'll be going down with the ship.
"The Sirens have emerged from the masses with a late surge, clawing their way up to a collective ten kills, which makes them the second most violent team left in play. Better still, they're the biggest, as the only team to still have three members alive.
"Finally, as those of you counting along on your fingers have already figured out, we've tragically lost our Loner, who departed with a single kill.
"We're cutting off the Captain's Quarters and the pool to make sure you're all nice and cozy.
"We'll next talk in the morning, or else when there are few enough of you left for a good final showdown. Keep an ear out.
"Until then, over and out."
Weather: 9:00 PM, Day Five, Wednesday, April 21, 2021
The night remains calm and fairly warm, with only a light breeze outside on deck. Inside, the cruise ship is much as it has always been, though many rooms still have their lights on. The ninth announcement will arrive at 9:00 AM on Saturday, April 22, or when only six students remain, if that happens far enough from morning to merit a quicker announcement.
As is tradition for the top ten, the rolls this time will not be revealed to the public until the death deadline has passed. For handlers in the top ten, they may be found here, and once they are publicly accessible this link will also redirect everyone else to the thread.
The final cycle of pre-Endgame deaths have until December 15 to complete.
In the mean time, however, we are sharing information regarding the first three smaller TV versions (tentatively termed Intermissions). These are subject to change with or without notice, but we're pretty steady on their direction at least as far as we're sharing here. The current plan is to begin laying the groundwork for Season 68 soon, with applications opening promptly upon the conclusion of TV3. Intermissions will progress on a quicker timeline, and there may be a measure of overlap in their later stages, though this is very dependent on figuring out a way to make that play nice with continuity.
The following are the current plans:
Season 68: Chop 'Til You Drop
Season 68 will draw its students from the fictional town of Fox Ridge, Oregon, a vaguely coastal community with a population of roughly 40,000, which will be developed partially collaboratively. Students from Forest Glen High in their junior year will be cast, and will be transported to the nearby Creek's Crossing Shopping Center, an older mall about to undergo renovation.
In a notable departure from the TV norm, students will be given only basic daypacks containing a small amount of food and medical equipment, and will not be assigned weapons. Instead, the mall will remain stocked with sundry tools, outfits, and implements of destruction, including an actual weapon store full of swords, knives, and nunchaku, albeit of dubious quality. All weapons available, however, will be melee.
Additionally, this season will have an emphasis on students' connections to their community and to friends and family outside the game. At least once during the game, all surviving students will be allowed to make a call to the outside world through their collars.
We will also be requiring each abbreviated profile to include names and brief descriptions of at least two characters in the same grade or the grades below who are connected to your character. Why? Scroll down to Season 70!
We will be opening the Fox Ridge town creation thread shortly, and will soon provide the template for Season 68, in case handlers want to get a head start on their concepts.
Season 68 is a general project and proof-of-concept for the Intermission versions. Depending on how things work, we may make changes moving forward!
Season 69: Tower Of Doom
Season 69 is a nice departure from the core TV structure in different ways from Season 68. Drawing its students from Cheyenne, Wyoming, it will see the characters transported to a custom-built arena that combines battlefield and maze.
The arena will have only one open floor at a time, each with its own theme—effectively introducing a whole new arena every announcement. Once a certain number of deaths have occurred, the entire floor will become a Danger Zone on an extended timer, with students forced to rush to the next level. There's a catch, however: only a certain number will be allowed entry, and that number will be smaller than the remaining population, with the slowest abandoned to their fates.
Season 69 is primarily the brainchild of the diabolical Yugi.
Season 70: Double Dip
Season 70 challenges what has been one of the unspoken rules of the TV universe: that lightning never strikes the same place twice. Following the conclusion of Season 68, a film crew descends upon Fox Ridge, interviewing families, teachers, and students not chosen for the game. While pitched as a documentary focused on the effects of SOTF on a community, the truth is rather different: it is the work of the SOTF executives, and they're shooting promo materials for Season 70, which will once again pull from the ranks of Forest Glen High.
Handlers will be allowed to play connections to their Season 68 characters as established in the profiles at that time, connections to other handlers' characters from their profiles (with specific permission to do so), or entirely new characters, as they choose. This is a great opportunity to explore sequel characters, bringing siblings, significant others, rivals, and friends into play... or to take on a fish out of water storyline with a newcomer to the district, perhaps even someone whose parents thought it a sure bet for safety.
The arena for Season 70 will again be Creek's Crossing Shopping Center, though now with substantial renovations completed and awaiting reopening; while there will still be items to loot, we're currently planning for a more traditional gear setup, with students assigned weapons and most stores comparatively depleted in anticipation of the grand reopening.
Season 70 is primarily MW's illegal scheme.
Future Intermissions:
There's more in store if these go well! We have other games and concepts already in discussion, though where they fall in comparison to TV4 is still up in the air. We're continuing to accept and review suggestions, and are always down to chat. If you have any questions about the three announced games, feel free to ask them over in the TV planning board (though don't be surprised if the answer is a coy "Stay tuned!".
Once again, we're planning for these versions to be smaller, quicker, and more experimental in some fashions than standard TV versions. They will not feature teams, the ten-kill mechanic, or specifically designed collar flaws (that's not to say escape will be impossible, just that it won't be as heavily designed towards as the core TV versions). More info will be coming soon!
