SOTF Archive/SOTF Classic

Welcome to April's Best Kill and Best Death Awards. Before we begin, the rules:

1. In this thread, you may post as an anonymous guest to select one student to receive the day's Best Kill Award, and one handler to receive the Best Death Award. Prizes will be given out in-character for BKA, consisting of a weapon and food, and out-of-character for BDA, consisting of a quote from their character to be displayed on the board index until the next BDA is awarded.
2. You may only vote while logged out. You can identify yourself in your vote if you want, but you may not claim to be another handler.
3. You may only vote once, and you may not vote for yourself in either category. Staff can see IP addresses, and we will check them if we have reason to suspect shenanigans.
4. You must provide reasoning with your vote for why you think your choices deserve the award. Votes with no reasoning will not be counted.
5. Don't be a jerk. You can explain why some scenes are your favorites without tearing others down.
6. Make sure that your answers are clear; please don't use any formatting that might cause votes to be miscounted or left out.
7. Please be sure to read every kill and death before voting, please vote for your genuine favorites rather than just voting for your friends, and please don't campaign for awards in the chat or otherwise try to influence the vote.

And your Best Kill and Best Death contestants:

BEST KILL AWARD:
Willow O’Neal for killing Sierra Cook
Sakurako Jackson for killing Thomas Buckley
Ace Ortega for killing Myles Roux
Diego Larrosa for killing Camilla Bell
Kelly Nguyen for killing Lucas Abernathy
Abe Watanabe for killing Forrest Quinn

BEST DEATH AWARD:
TheLordofAwesome for the death of Sierra Cook
Catche for the death of Thomas Buckley
Fenris for the death of Ivy Langley
Backslash for the death of Myles Roux
Blizzardeyedwonder for the death of Camilla Bell
TheLordofAwesome for the death of Lucas Abernathy
Deamon for the death of Forrest Quinn
ItzToxie for the death of Emmett Bunnell
Primrosette for the death of Jonathan Meyers

Voting will run for five days. Votes will remain hidden until time is up, and the winners will be declared in the following announcement.

BKA: Abe for Forrest

This is one of the strongest rounds in a while (I feel like I say this a lot lately) but the brief and tragic reunion of Abe and Forrest was a cut above and is at this point one of my kill highlights of the version. A whole lot goes into it, including some good unpredictability (and a solid assist from Zach) leading to a scene that felt as it was rolling out like it could turn any number of ways. But what really pushes it over the edge is the finale, when Abe finally practices that detachment he's been rehearsing so long and hard, just for a second, and then is immediately wrecked by it. He's done some messed up, dark stuff throughout the game, and this is a natural escalation, but at the same time feels entirely different. It's also such a nice counterpoint to any number of drawn out, tragic mercy-kill goodbyes between loved ones in versions past, and one that makes both Forrest and Abe feel more human (side note: Skaurako and Thomas also did a really good exploration of this during this cycle that turned out differently but also really toyed with the cliches, and it deserves some big love too). Forrest hasn't come to terms with it. She's already planning how to work it, how to scramble. And in the end, Abe probably knows that. They're cut from the same cloth (Forrest is probably even the scummier one!) and so he does what he can to protect himself, even at her expense.

I'm not being super coherent here, but it's a really good kill and a really good scene overall--good job y'all.

BDA: Toxie for Emmett

Again, a very difficult call, but I appreciated the surprise here and the push and pull of the scene as a whole. It's this sort of literary oomph beat as two characters who've got beef find themselves in their final struggle and nobody walks away. It's the island version of Holmes and Moriarty going over the Reichenbach Falls, which I've always been pretty partial to, but what sets this scene apart is that the emotional mood and the tone pivot repeatedly in interesting yet believable ways, and that the actual solution/cause of death manages to be out there while also fitting what we've seen and even playing off of events that occurred earlier in the version--there's been a steady escalation of camera "accidents" that aren't actually, justifying a more hair-trigger response... and the use of the warning beeps has been set up as well (going as far back as V5, even!) which buys the time needed for the final reconciliation and peace beat. It's a good closer (in a round where, honestly, at least half the deaths have a strong enough claim I might be voting them in a slightly different mood) and thus I shout it out here.

BKA

Gonna go with Abe this go round--recency bias aside, it may be one of my favorite kills of the version. There's a quote that goes something like "the only thing worth writing about is the human heart in conflict with itself" and I feel like Abe has encapsulated this for a long time. His ugly side is never far from view and always something that he himself is aware of. There is still a pain and vulnerability that comes along with that ugliness that makes him incredibly compelling. The relationship with Forrest was always #itscomplicated, especially after the events of prom and the trip. I spent a large portion of the game wanting for these two to meet--the climax and bitter sweet nature of them finally doing so, definitely hit me. I read people's writing and my favorite feeling to feel on SOTF is jealousy as in: I wish I could do that, I know that I can't. I think Boogie built up to this kill beautifully, I think Deamon was a fantastic teammate and the dynamic between Forrest and Abe super interesting. I foresaw Abe being the one to kill Forrest when she got rolled due to proximity--but the way it went down definitely surprised me in ways few kills have this version. I thought this thread was a masterclass in characterization by both Deamon and Boogie and I felt Zach was a serviceable catalyst to expose Abe's weakness even more than it already had been. Just, a wonderful piece of work and it was the first kill in quite a bit that had me audibly going "holy shit". Gotta love it.

BDA

Gonna go with Blizz for Camilla. While I enjoyed a lot of the deaths this month (special shout out to TomTom and to Forrest, obviously), I think I feel the most comfortable giving this award to this scene. I think that Camilla turned a corner obviously with her yandere heel turn and Blizz had done a good enough job with characterization that it was truly compelling and worthy of a BKA. Coming off that high fresh into getting rolled is a lot of pressure and I feel like she definitely rose to the occasion. A lot has been said about the gardening club and the strange but powerful bond this random chat idea seemed to have. This thread exemplified that bond and benefited from the chemistry between its participants. Mara is a great teammate and Diego is great in this thread, him begging her to stop before administering the final blow was almost cinematic and visceral visual. I think this was a solid thread and a cohesive and good end for Camilla, a character that may be the dictionary definition of 'finishing strong' with how her last threads go. Camilla was someone who was looking for home due to dissatisfaction in her own--the pervasiveness of home in this thread as an idea and what that means to Camilla and in contrast to Diego? Y'all were RPing formal. I definitely appreciated it.

First of all, it's yet another month where you guys knocked it out of the freaking park! You bullies made me cry! I would like to shout you all out for your rudeness and good writing.

My vote for best kill is Abe Watanabe for killing Forrest Quinn because it feels callous, but it isn't? Like, voting for vibes sounds silly, but him just being like oh, I fucked up and I can't deal with it any way but this one freaking owns in my book, especially with how short the exchange is. No promises, no goodbyes, just bullets.

What a dick move, how human.

My vote for best death is Blizzardeyedwonder for the death of Camilla Bell even though I'm mad as heck her story ends here, it's a thematic one. Of course Camilla is killed by someone she loves, of course love is why she started killing in the first place. I'm impressed with how it's such a quality bowtie to her run, that's a tricky thing to pull off. The feeling of completion, closed curtains. I love love stories!

Shhh, the ones with a body count are the best kind.

BKA: Diego Larrosa for killing Camilla Bell and BDA: Blizzardeyedwonder for the death of Camilla Bell

This scene is pretty much the perfect end to the long running gardening club storyline. The roles that Deigo and Camilla played within that arc have shifted both subtly and more explosively during their time together and apart and this feels like the perfect conclusion to that. Deigo has gone off on his own, confronted his actions and feelings and returned and somewhat better and more complete person, meanwhile in his absence Camilla's personality has been twisted. Her formerly caring and understanding personality being warped by her circumstances leading to her mental degradation and shattering of her mind.

Both Mara and Blizz handle all these elements elegantly and with a degree of care and subtly that allows you to really get the feel for the mood of the scene and the stakes it has for these characters. The finale of it all is a short and brutal fight that fulfills it's purpose as the emotional finale to their long-running arcs. I'm interested both in where Diego goes from here and am excited to see what Blizz can do with her V7 experience once V8 rolls around.

Best Kill Award: This month, I'm voting for Ace Ortega for the murder of Myles Roux. It's a great thread and everyone is on their top-game for it. I think the tension between Ace and Myles was really interesting, and the way it all blew up in the worst way, resulting in Ivy's senseless death was really fascinating. The way it plays out so quickly is really fascinating, as it feels like the sort of Battle-Royale-Lighthouse-esque scene where everything goes to shit quickly because one person says or does the wrong thing. I'm really interested in where Ace goes from here, so I hope it's with a new weapon and meal to aid him.

Best Death Award: The best death of this month goes to Deamon for the death of Forrest Quin. The brevity is astounding. That's all I have to say about that.

Went back and forth here a lot because Diego and Abe both had absolutely brilliant kills with big emotional payoffs. Diego faces a betrayal he's expecting for all the wrong reasons and has to put down someone who is even farther gone than he is, while Abe accidentally hurts the only person he still cares about while retraumatizing himself with the circumstances of the last death he failed to prevent both going into and coming out of the kill. Very strong stuff on both ends but then I remembered Diego just ninja looted the last BKA so that boy don't need my help, BKA: Abe for Forrest.

BDA: Deamon for Forrest. I love a tight death sequence. One page that's straight to the point with a death post that's sudden without being rushed. There's not so much as a word of filler in Forrest's death posts, and it feels very appropriate that as soon as she gets what she wants it ends up hurting her.

BKA: Abe Watanabe. The king rat strikes, uh, for the first time. What I love about this is the twist on the mercy kill formula. Abe accidentally shoots Forrest (in itself brilliantly set up as Abe having seen the horrible consequences of not interfering in a fight, trying to do the right thing, having that go totally wrong) in a situation that seems obviously made for another tragic mercy kill, where Abe is forced to put Forrest out of her misery in an emotionally painful scene. But Abe doesn't want, straight up refuses to carry the burden of that kind of scene, and so ends Forrest's life without another word. It's made startlingly clear from his thoughts that nothing about this is a selfless action; he doesn't care what Forrest wants or thinks, despite how much he cares about her. All he cares about is saving himself more pain, and it's wonderfully refreshing to see a character lean this hard into his own worst nature.

BDA: Camilla Bell. This scene also feels like a twist on that formula in a way, with Camilla having forced her "mercy" on Theo and wanting to inflict it on Diego as well. Her love is heartfelt and genuine; it's incredible how easy it is to feel sorry for her when she's actively trying to kill someone because it's so clear she feels she's doing the right thing. And the moment she realizes that she was wrong is the moment she can do nothing but let go. Letting Diego kill her is a mercy too, in a way, with how badly her mental state has deteriorated; she cannot force her last remaining friend to fall to her idea in love, so its only fitting that she's allowed to join her friends herself.

Honorable mentions go to both Forrest and Diego; these two scenes were both so good to me as to be basically tied and I wanted to give them both shouts, but Forrest and Diego are equally worthy of big thumbs up for their parts in them. Also an honorable mention to Sakurako and Thomas; I feel like I sound like I'm ragging on mercy kills a little bit and I don't mean to! This was a genuine and heartfelt scene, and the emotions on display feel very real.

BKA: Kelly Nguyen for killing Lucas Abernathy.

I read this scene and now I want to go back and read all of Kelly. She's someone that really hasn't been on my radar since the Mercy death since I never threaded with her and her exploits were not the subject of much discussion in OOC chat, but now I pop in here and I'm thinking "Holy shit this is great." I liked how this scene felt really gross and grimy and brutal throughout, even before fighting starts and shit really starts to go down. I also believe that overwhelming tone and emotionality really blends well with Cicada's tendency to lean into the surreal. The whole thing felt like a weird, violent, kind of horny fever dream which was kind of perfect. Lucas's contributions also help this along and I think TLoA did a good job of bringing out something animalistic in Lucas to sort of match Kelly, though some elements such of the movie references are used to mixed results. Overall, great stuff and I'm very excited to see where Kelly goes next, considering some of the lingering consequences of the battle

Additional shout out to Abe Watanabe killing Forrest Quinn. Another great scene that was an incredibly strong beat for Abe, imo, but which probably works better in isolation than in aggregate, considering it is the third of three couple mercy kill scenes in this cycle which hampers its ability to stand out to me and I think I'll appreciate it more if/when I go back to read through more of v7.

BDA: Blizzardeyedwonder for the death of Camilla Bell

A strong death among strong deaths. Camilla's contained some elements that I am not always fond of in death scenes such as an abundance of callbacks to a "more peaceful time" in order to draw contrast, which can often have the unintended consequence of removing tension from a given situation that requires a sense of immediacy. However, the specific dynamic between Diego and Camilla made it work, since Diego is actively trying to draw that sense of sentimentality out of Camilla. Both kids played their parts very well (Diego was also a big contender for best kill in my eyes, this was a very strong bunch) and it helped Camilla's big, quiet ending really sing. I thought it was really neat.

bda: ivy. I love the scene's build up of tension, how everything collapses so spectacularly, and i feel ivy really sold the senselessness and panic and fear of the whole situation
bka: abe. i really really like the new spin he brought on mercy kills. Its so profoundly selfish. The writing is heart wrenching too.

BKA: Abe
I really liked a lot about this scene. The writing was really good, everyone worked really well together, and there were a lot of sublet things going on between Forrest and Abe. Besides the technical skill on display, I really liked how Abe's decision was a delicate, subtle soup of horrible things to look at. He just came off of having to deal with Axel's slow, horrible demise and he's faced with a similar situation. At the same time, he's being trying to get his one kill, but he's been too unlucky and frankly, not enough of a killer to get it. He makes all of the calculations, as he said, but he's bad at math. it's great character work from him and Forrest. BIG SHOUT OUT TO DIEGO. Excellent kill as well which tran --


BDA: CAM
--sition. Cam's scene with Diego is heart wrenching in almost exactly the way it needs to be. This is an intimate, lovely fight with the symbolic tool between them that brought them together. I was struck by her last post where she says that despite her love and her intentions, she won't see her garden family again because of her choices. Really nice work.

SHOUT OUTS TO: Thomas whose death was good and very effecting. Kelly who was an interesting and great killer. See you guys next time.

Time's up. Approving votes shortly.