“It’s probably stupid, but fuck it, I think my favorite was Karishma. I know she wasn’t very useful in challenges and stuff, but after the shit Missy and her group pulled with Kellee, and just being a bitch to Karishma, it felt good seeing her get voted out. Schadenfreude, I think.”
[[Joel Foster continued from Say It Three Times In A Row]]
Time had passed. A lot. Joel and Kennedy walked and talked. Mainly about Survivor, but sometimes about the situation at hand. She asked him about who he’d seen, and didn’t seem interested in the three he hadn’t mentioned before when talking about Orion. He asked her about who she’d seen, and she hadn’t seen anything of the people he was looking for. Joel didn’t feel good about it, but he didn’t say anything. One person not seeing five people out of how many people were here? And in the desert?
It was fine. They would be fine. If Astrid could kill, Astrid could defend herself. Toma wasn’t the smartest, but he would win in a fight. Lily was probably not handling this situation the best, but she could make illusions that could keep her safe. Tristan was young, but heaven help any idiot that gets in biting range that tries to kill him. Melodie may not be the easiest to get along with, but those meat tumor things she grows might be useful if grown in the right places.
They would all be fine.
And that’s why they talked about Survivor. It was silly and maybe a bit conceited, talking about something so inconsequential when people were told to kill each other. But they were teenagers. Fuck, they were human beings. If they focused on all the bad shit all the time, they’d go insane.
So…Survivor.
As hesitant as Joel had been to go in the building, the heat was starting to get to him. They did their best to avoid the bad shit-the bugs. He wasn’t necessarily afraid of bugs, but after hearing what happened yesterday, he didn’t want to take chances.
The basement area they were in was dark, but Orion’s flashlight helped fix that. The room was connected to another one through a window, an operating room. They could see through it, but anyone in it couldn’t see them. Seemed like a good choice for a hideout.
Joel looked back to Kennedy.
“What about you? Who was your favorite?”
Took Some Clay & Made You Pottery
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"Mine's always been Sandra. I don't know what it is about her, but...I guess, it's just that she doesn't seem like someone who would be a two-time winner? But she is? She can just, like, breeze into any conversation and come out great on the other side. Plus she's just so quotable. I love her. My mom does too."
[[Kennedy Jackson continued from Say It Three Times In A Row]]
Time passed hard here. Kennedy had already gotten past the hardest thing she'd have to do, just by surviving the first night, but as that second night came up, she could feel the dread reach within her. If it was anything like the first, it was going to be cold again, especially down here. Kennedy wasn't sure she could survive that.
Especially since she knew she wasn't going to survive at all.
Every conversation she'd had with Joel all day had been some of the best of her life. Conversely, every conversation with Joel had drained the life from within her just a little bit more. When they talked about favourite seasons, favourite players, favourite crossovers (a subject which only Kennedy had experience with, since Joel had never seen The Amazing Race or The Challenge), it was some of the best conversations she'd had with another human being. She'd never geeked out this hard in real life about something she loved, at any level. Sure, she'd typed passionate creeds into Discord servers and on forums with bright green backgrounds and problematic people, but nothing with her voice.
"But I love Karishma, a lot. I really wish she'd won, or at least gotten as far as Janet did. Maybe even with Janet. But I guess it was during that time where you weren't allowed to win Survivor if you weren't a man, no matter what you did."
Kennedy hadn't shown her sadness, though. Why should she? What reason did she have to be sad? These were great conversations with Joel. He'd shown an interest in something she'd talked about, for nearly the entire day, literally when had that ever happened in her life? The only time that had ever happened back at school...
Her smile faltered for a moment, but returned just as immediately.
It had been a long day, and Kennedy was somehow more tired than yesterday. After she and Joel had linked up, they'd made it to the end of the road again, where Kennedy had, once again, checked the fence. And yet, after hearing about Cyrus and Kincaid dying on the other side, she'd felt no worse than she had yesterday in the same place with no confirmation. No stumbling off into the desert for Kennedy.
They'd stayed together. Kept talking, kept healthy, kept stable. Pretty much every conversation had been about Survivor, which was weird considering that by the time they'd reached the end of the road, they'd probably talked more than they had back in real life. It didn't stave off the sadness any more.
"Oh! I've got one - favourite idol play?"
She kept the smile on, though.
[[Kennedy Jackson continued from Say It Three Times In A Row]]
Time passed hard here. Kennedy had already gotten past the hardest thing she'd have to do, just by surviving the first night, but as that second night came up, she could feel the dread reach within her. If it was anything like the first, it was going to be cold again, especially down here. Kennedy wasn't sure she could survive that.
Especially since she knew she wasn't going to survive at all.
Every conversation she'd had with Joel all day had been some of the best of her life. Conversely, every conversation with Joel had drained the life from within her just a little bit more. When they talked about favourite seasons, favourite players, favourite crossovers (a subject which only Kennedy had experience with, since Joel had never seen The Amazing Race or The Challenge), it was some of the best conversations she'd had with another human being. She'd never geeked out this hard in real life about something she loved, at any level. Sure, she'd typed passionate creeds into Discord servers and on forums with bright green backgrounds and problematic people, but nothing with her voice.
"But I love Karishma, a lot. I really wish she'd won, or at least gotten as far as Janet did. Maybe even with Janet. But I guess it was during that time where you weren't allowed to win Survivor if you weren't a man, no matter what you did."
Kennedy hadn't shown her sadness, though. Why should she? What reason did she have to be sad? These were great conversations with Joel. He'd shown an interest in something she'd talked about, for nearly the entire day, literally when had that ever happened in her life? The only time that had ever happened back at school...
Her smile faltered for a moment, but returned just as immediately.
It had been a long day, and Kennedy was somehow more tired than yesterday. After she and Joel had linked up, they'd made it to the end of the road again, where Kennedy had, once again, checked the fence. And yet, after hearing about Cyrus and Kincaid dying on the other side, she'd felt no worse than she had yesterday in the same place with no confirmation. No stumbling off into the desert for Kennedy.
They'd stayed together. Kept talking, kept healthy, kept stable. Pretty much every conversation had been about Survivor, which was weird considering that by the time they'd reached the end of the road, they'd probably talked more than they had back in real life. It didn't stave off the sadness any more.
"Oh! I've got one - favourite idol play?"
She kept the smile on, though.
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"Fair, I kinda wanted to say her too, Karishma just kinda won out for me."
Joel had never really talked with anyone about Survivor before, now that he thought about it. Hell, he didn't even watch it with his family, mainly due to all of their differing interests. Getting to talk about it...it made him feel weirdly giddy. Like Sasha probably did whenever she went on and on about LÅMP to him. A part of him felt really happy about it, because it was nice. Why wouldn't he feel happy about, well, feeling happy?
But...when he really thought about it...did he ever feel like this before? This kind of...child like joy? Over just talking about shit? Shooting the breeze or whatever? He's always focused on other people and his responsibilities, and when he's not he's drunk as a skunk and being generally pathetic all by himself.
And thinking about that...that's fucking sad as hell, isn't it?
Wait, fuck, fuck, overthinking again, that is something to unwrap in therapy once you get home Joel, for now focus on the question your friend just asked so you don't look like some jackass who can't pay attention for two seconds.
"I think..."
He does have to think for a moment, staring at the ceiling as the potential answers come up. Two battle for the title, but in the end, he's forced to admit it.
"I think it's a tie for me. There were that just really hit for me, you know? On one hand, Russel Hantz is an asshole, we can all agree to that, but seeing him play that idol for Parvati was really impressive, I can't lie, especially considering it could've really bit him in the ass if he weren't so lucky. On the other hand, Kelley from Cambodia? Taking out nine votes for her and getting rid of her biggest enemy with the three votes her alliance had?"
"I don't think I can blame the other three for voting her out when she lost the final immunity, you know she would've won it all if she was in the final three."
Tempting as it was to throw the question back at Kennedy, he had another idea for a question.
"How about favorite villain?"
Joel had never really talked with anyone about Survivor before, now that he thought about it. Hell, he didn't even watch it with his family, mainly due to all of their differing interests. Getting to talk about it...it made him feel weirdly giddy. Like Sasha probably did whenever she went on and on about LÅMP to him. A part of him felt really happy about it, because it was nice. Why wouldn't he feel happy about, well, feeling happy?
But...when he really thought about it...did he ever feel like this before? This kind of...child like joy? Over just talking about shit? Shooting the breeze or whatever? He's always focused on other people and his responsibilities, and when he's not he's drunk as a skunk and being generally pathetic all by himself.
And thinking about that...that's fucking sad as hell, isn't it?
Wait, fuck, fuck, overthinking again, that is something to unwrap in therapy once you get home Joel, for now focus on the question your friend just asked so you don't look like some jackass who can't pay attention for two seconds.
"I think..."
He does have to think for a moment, staring at the ceiling as the potential answers come up. Two battle for the title, but in the end, he's forced to admit it.
"I think it's a tie for me. There were that just really hit for me, you know? On one hand, Russel Hantz is an asshole, we can all agree to that, but seeing him play that idol for Parvati was really impressive, I can't lie, especially considering it could've really bit him in the ass if he weren't so lucky. On the other hand, Kelley from Cambodia? Taking out nine votes for her and getting rid of her biggest enemy with the three votes her alliance had?"
"I don't think I can blame the other three for voting her out when she lost the final immunity, you know she would've won it all if she was in the final three."
Tempting as it was to throw the question back at Kennedy, he had another idea for a question.
"How about favorite villain?"
Kennedy was impulsively about to go off on her own tangent about her conspiracy theory that production rigged the entire Russell idol play with promised returnee slots for everyone involved, which would then lead to both Rob and Tyson winning a future season and Coach almost winning his future season if not for Sophie, but the conversation changed track quickly. Which was fair, she supposed, since Kennedy didn't want to get too bogged down. She could gush about Amanda's idol play another time.
"I gotta say Abi-Maria. I dunno, I've watched a lot of Survivor, and some other stuff, and there's just something so refreshing about the main bad guy of the season not being someone who's setting out to be the meanest person ever or do a pro-wrestling thing, but just like...a really combustible person who just has no self-awareness whatsoever. Plus, like, aside from Kelley, she was basically the only thing worth watching in Cambodia."
Kennedy paused for a moment as the darkness swarmed in and blackened her stomach, before she let out a short, silent breath, disappating it once again.
"She's like...the kind of person who you probably know, somewhere in real life, but just shows her worst parts on the show?"
God, that was funny to think about, wasn't it? At some point, everyone on Survivor was just somebody someone knew.
"Can you imagine some of our class on Survivor? Like, how do you think Jenelle would have done? Or, Isabella? Like, remember that time she connected to an ant colony and then tried to crawl into that anthill?"
"I gotta say Abi-Maria. I dunno, I've watched a lot of Survivor, and some other stuff, and there's just something so refreshing about the main bad guy of the season not being someone who's setting out to be the meanest person ever or do a pro-wrestling thing, but just like...a really combustible person who just has no self-awareness whatsoever. Plus, like, aside from Kelley, she was basically the only thing worth watching in Cambodia."
Kennedy paused for a moment as the darkness swarmed in and blackened her stomach, before she let out a short, silent breath, disappating it once again.
"She's like...the kind of person who you probably know, somewhere in real life, but just shows her worst parts on the show?"
God, that was funny to think about, wasn't it? At some point, everyone on Survivor was just somebody someone knew.
"Can you imagine some of our class on Survivor? Like, how do you think Jenelle would have done? Or, Isabella? Like, remember that time she connected to an ant colony and then tried to crawl into that anthill?"
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Joel nodded along to Kennedy's answer, fully paying attention this time. He liked the answer, because when he thought about it, it was pretty interesting. Someone that wasn't the villain because they wanted to be, playing it up like an old Disney movie villain, but because the show managed to get them to reveal some of their worst parts. It was something he never really thought about, thanks to how often he watched Survivor drunk.
He felt a little sad at the mention of Jenelle, but hearing about Isabella and that story, he couldn't help but laugh, though he restrained it to just a few laughs rather than all out bursting into laughter.
"Right, right. She was pretty much destroying the whole hill until somebody stopped her and snapped her out of it." He let out a bit more of a chuckle thinking about it. "I kinda feel bad for not helping, but it was just so surreal, like...watching a dog sit at a table and start eating cereal with a spoon."
The smile on Joel's face was a lot bigger than it usually was, and he wasn't used to it, but he wasn't about to stop any time soon.
"I bet she'd do surprisingly good though. Getting all the bugs on the island on her side, that'd probably be pretty useful for normal island life, and maybe the challenges if she could get creative about it."
He felt a little sad at the mention of Jenelle, but hearing about Isabella and that story, he couldn't help but laugh, though he restrained it to just a few laughs rather than all out bursting into laughter.
"Right, right. She was pretty much destroying the whole hill until somebody stopped her and snapped her out of it." He let out a bit more of a chuckle thinking about it. "I kinda feel bad for not helping, but it was just so surreal, like...watching a dog sit at a table and start eating cereal with a spoon."
The smile on Joel's face was a lot bigger than it usually was, and he wasn't used to it, but he wasn't about to stop any time soon.
"I bet she'd do surprisingly good though. Getting all the bugs on the island on her side, that'd probably be pretty useful for normal island life, and maybe the challenges if she could get creative about it."
Kennedy's smile stayed on her face for the entire memory - god, that was such a time. It went without saying she wished she could go back, because it meant she would be anywhere but here.
"I think they have rules about that sort of stuff, there's a whole thing. Nobody who's still contracted to other networks, nobody who's been in adult movies, and nobody who has gifts that can dramatically help or hinder them. But yeah, she could be..."
Kennedy trailed off at the end there, because there really was no other way to disguise the fact that she knew absolutely nothing about Isabella as a person. At least, not enough to know how she'd do on Survivor. In fact, she didn't know enough about anybody, not even Joel who she'd spent the entire day with. One of the drawbacks of having never had any close relationship with anyone in her class, she supposed, was being left out of these memories.
As the trailed silence grew, Kennedy's smile slowly left her face, and she felt the darkness return to her stomach. She adjusted her back against the wall from where she sat, before turning back to Joel.
"Joel?"
She had never been this direct before.
"Why were you nice to me back at school?"
"I think they have rules about that sort of stuff, there's a whole thing. Nobody who's still contracted to other networks, nobody who's been in adult movies, and nobody who has gifts that can dramatically help or hinder them. But yeah, she could be..."
Kennedy trailed off at the end there, because there really was no other way to disguise the fact that she knew absolutely nothing about Isabella as a person. At least, not enough to know how she'd do on Survivor. In fact, she didn't know enough about anybody, not even Joel who she'd spent the entire day with. One of the drawbacks of having never had any close relationship with anyone in her class, she supposed, was being left out of these memories.
As the trailed silence grew, Kennedy's smile slowly left her face, and she felt the darkness return to her stomach. She adjusted her back against the wall from where she sat, before turning back to Joel.
"Joel?"
She had never been this direct before.
"Why were you nice to me back at school?"
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Riiiiiiiiiiight, he forgot about that rule. His nod is a bit more exaggerated as he thinks back to one scandal the show had. Some guy named Will lied about his job and his gift. Said he was a mail carrier and that he could communicate with horses, but really he was a lawyer that could psychically set his toe nails on fire. It was a good thing he got voted out quick for being a jerk, otherwise he might've been a big problem.
When Kennedy trailed off from her sentence, he looked up at her. Something was wrong. He'd dealt with his siblings long enough to know when someone had something bad on their mind. Like when Sasha tried to hide the time she broke a plate and couldn't look him in the eyes for an hour. He didn't know what was wrong at that time, but it was obvious something was.
But was wrong? Everything was going fine for once. No insect interruptions, no tension over threats from their captors, not even any problems about Orion! Things should be good! Why can't they just be good?
Joel's throat felt dry for a moment, and he was about to break the silence when Kennedy beat him to it, addressing him and asking him a question.
The directness of the question made him pause. Really think about his reasoning behind why he helped and was nice to Kennedy. Though he could really only think of one reason for why he did what he did.
"I think...I just...wanted to help, really?"
It felt weird to say. He swallowed down some saliva that was building up before continuing.
"It sounds sappy, but...even if I'm not the most social person, and there's people I genuinely don't like...I think everyone deserves to be treated well and have good lives, you know? Like..."
He sighed, knowing this was about to get heavy, but couldn't think of any other ways to go about it.
"I didn't like Jenelle. Never did and don't think I ever will. But she deserved better than this place. She deserved to live a nice long life instead of getting her neck blown off, and at this point, I can only hope Austin didn't have to see any of what happened to her, and that she can rest in peace."
Joel let some air out of his nose, feeling the tension leave his body as quickly as it entered.
"And that went for you too. Still does. You're a perfectly fine, good person. You didn't deserve people giving you shit, and so I tried to help when I could."
He looked Kennedy in the eyes.
"That answer your question?"
When Kennedy trailed off from her sentence, he looked up at her. Something was wrong. He'd dealt with his siblings long enough to know when someone had something bad on their mind. Like when Sasha tried to hide the time she broke a plate and couldn't look him in the eyes for an hour. He didn't know what was wrong at that time, but it was obvious something was.
But was wrong? Everything was going fine for once. No insect interruptions, no tension over threats from their captors, not even any problems about Orion! Things should be good! Why can't they just be good?
Joel's throat felt dry for a moment, and he was about to break the silence when Kennedy beat him to it, addressing him and asking him a question.
The directness of the question made him pause. Really think about his reasoning behind why he helped and was nice to Kennedy. Though he could really only think of one reason for why he did what he did.
"I think...I just...wanted to help, really?"
It felt weird to say. He swallowed down some saliva that was building up before continuing.
"It sounds sappy, but...even if I'm not the most social person, and there's people I genuinely don't like...I think everyone deserves to be treated well and have good lives, you know? Like..."
He sighed, knowing this was about to get heavy, but couldn't think of any other ways to go about it.
"I didn't like Jenelle. Never did and don't think I ever will. But she deserved better than this place. She deserved to live a nice long life instead of getting her neck blown off, and at this point, I can only hope Austin didn't have to see any of what happened to her, and that she can rest in peace."
Joel let some air out of his nose, feeling the tension leave his body as quickly as it entered.
"And that went for you too. Still does. You're a perfectly fine, good person. You didn't deserve people giving you shit, and so I tried to help when I could."
He looked Kennedy in the eyes.
"That answer your question?"
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Far above Kennedy and Joel, an explosion abruptly rocked the Compound.
There was a rumble, and then the ceiling above Kennedy, a particularly worn patch of cracked concrete and rusted steel, gave way under the stress.
She didn't have time to respond before the falling debris crushed her to death.
S023 - KENNEDY JACKSON: DECEASED
There was a rumble, and then the ceiling above Kennedy, a particularly worn patch of cracked concrete and rusted steel, gave way under the stress.
She didn't have time to respond before the falling debris crushed her to death.
S023 - KENNEDY JACKSON: DECEASED
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One second Joel is talking to a friend, discussing their past, hoping that things can work out and they can maybe start talking about plans to get out the next morning.
The next second, Joel thinks it's all over. An explosion from above, rumbling the entire room, feeling like everything was about to come down, and it seemed that his last thoughts would be 'Wait, please, not yet-'
And the third second? The third second, Joel finds himself looking at...nothing. Where once sat Kennedy Jackson, a girl he probably should've talked with and generally interacted with more and maybe have been actual friends with, there was just...rubble. Debris. Stone and cement and other things made to create the building they were in.
"K...Ken...?"
He's never heard his voice so fragile before. So...light. Quiet. Even with his siblings, it was never this...small.
"K-Kennedy?!"
It was frantic now. Panic. Fucking terrified. That didn't...it couldn't...how would...
"KENNEDY!"
Joel surged forward, not caring about anything else in that moment. He dug, and dug, and dug as much as he could. Every brick and patch of cement, anything that was in the way, he was moving it. It didn't matter how much effort it took, how dirty his hands got, how he started to feel cuts open on his fingers and arms from every sharp edge. He didn't care a single bit. He needed to do it. He had to do it.
If there was any chance, he had to take it.
"KENNEDY! Kennedy, I'm here! I'm okay and digging! I'm gonna get you, so hang in there okay?! I'm not-I'm not gonna leave you! I'm gonna save you, so please-please please just hang in there! Please just...please..."
His movement stalled as he finally saw it. The blood. All the blood. Flesh, ripped and torn and never to be healed. Bone, splintered and fractured, some even visible to the human eye. And...her. What remained of Kennedy. The crushed gore that once was the girl he talked with. A girl he could've been friends with. A girl that wasn't the most social, but deserved far greater than what this world had given her.
He squeaked, feeling smaller than he ever did before as the tears flowed down his cheeks.
"K-Ken..."
And he couldn't handle it. The memory of that competition came back, and this was a million times worse.
Joel turned his head and emptied his stomach on the the floor. It wasn't much, but it kept coming. He couldn't handle it. He was retching. He couldn't even stand. He was on his hands and knees. His body tried to eject what wasn't even there anymore. His eyes watered. Bile dripped from his chin. Mucus was trailing down his nostrils and onto his upper lip.
It was like he was a child again, and he hated it with all his being.
"Please...no..."
[[He cried into the night]]
The next second, Joel thinks it's all over. An explosion from above, rumbling the entire room, feeling like everything was about to come down, and it seemed that his last thoughts would be 'Wait, please, not yet-'
And the third second? The third second, Joel finds himself looking at...nothing. Where once sat Kennedy Jackson, a girl he probably should've talked with and generally interacted with more and maybe have been actual friends with, there was just...rubble. Debris. Stone and cement and other things made to create the building they were in.
"K...Ken...?"
He's never heard his voice so fragile before. So...light. Quiet. Even with his siblings, it was never this...small.
"K-Kennedy?!"
It was frantic now. Panic. Fucking terrified. That didn't...it couldn't...how would...
"KENNEDY!"
Joel surged forward, not caring about anything else in that moment. He dug, and dug, and dug as much as he could. Every brick and patch of cement, anything that was in the way, he was moving it. It didn't matter how much effort it took, how dirty his hands got, how he started to feel cuts open on his fingers and arms from every sharp edge. He didn't care a single bit. He needed to do it. He had to do it.
If there was any chance, he had to take it.
"KENNEDY! Kennedy, I'm here! I'm okay and digging! I'm gonna get you, so hang in there okay?! I'm not-I'm not gonna leave you! I'm gonna save you, so please-please please just hang in there! Please just...please..."
His movement stalled as he finally saw it. The blood. All the blood. Flesh, ripped and torn and never to be healed. Bone, splintered and fractured, some even visible to the human eye. And...her. What remained of Kennedy. The crushed gore that once was the girl he talked with. A girl he could've been friends with. A girl that wasn't the most social, but deserved far greater than what this world had given her.
He squeaked, feeling smaller than he ever did before as the tears flowed down his cheeks.
"K-Ken..."
And he couldn't handle it. The memory of that competition came back, and this was a million times worse.
Joel turned his head and emptied his stomach on the the floor. It wasn't much, but it kept coming. He couldn't handle it. He was retching. He couldn't even stand. He was on his hands and knees. His body tried to eject what wasn't even there anymore. His eyes watered. Bile dripped from his chin. Mucus was trailing down his nostrils and onto his upper lip.
It was like he was a child again, and he hated it with all his being.
"Please...no..."
[[He cried into the night]]