WEEK FOUR: EXECUTION

[gatonina]

EXECUTION

▽ FULL NAVIGATION ▽ LOCATIONS ▽ STATUSES ▽ IC PROFILES ▽ IC RULEBOOK ▽ MURDER PROPOSALS ▽ PCS ▽ CURFEW ▽ AUDIENCES ▽ CAMP STORE ▽ REPORTING

POPULATION: 25 Good morning, Camp Gatonina. The weather is, uh, out to fucking murder you. Hail falls from the sky, pelting down on anyone who dares be outside. Seems like it's a good idea to find something to shield yourself with sooner, rather than later. At 9AM, two hours after the bugle call for breakfast, you will be drawn to the bonfire. Your body will move of its own volition, giving you little to no time to pick up any sort of protection. As you approach the bonfire, you will find that you are not the only one. The Camp Directors and Yasusada seem to be marching to the same rhythm as the rest of you, their movements stiff as they approach from the direction of the Isolation Cabin. In light of the weather, it looks like the directors have acquired... ice umbrellas? Yes, ice umbrellas to shield themselves with. Once everyone has gathered in the same location, you will hear a voice that is recognized by none. "Two in a row? Meh. It's nothing to write home about. Zeeeeeero points for effort this time. Yamatonokami Yasusada, get over here." Yasusada will be forced to approach the fire, as everyone else takes several steps back to form something of an impromptu fighting ring around the bonfire. "As for your opponent... Oh, right. A certain someone forgot how to fucking pace themselves, didn't they? Losing limbs is sooooo cliche, but here's a fun and sexy idea. Flayn, why don't you join your new best friend? Loose lips sink ships!" Similarly to Yasusada, Flayn will be forced to approach the fire. Those in the audience will find themselves rooted to the spot, and the participants of the execution will hit an invisible barrier three feet away from the rest of the group if they try to escape. In her dominant hand, Flayn will find a 20-sided dice... though three of the sides are now blank. But that's not all. All numbers above 9 glow pink. For whatever reason, there is something about the sight that will fill all those who lay their eyes upon it with a deep sense of dread. You're all old pros at this. It goes without saying that it's time for the execution to begin.

Comments

[overruns]

[ why.

dimitri's eyes snap open wide at the sound of her name, his shoulders trembling. the mallet just makes it all seem more like some stupid, fever dream, and his voice comes out hoarse. ]

Flayn...?

[ruffboi]

Dimitri.

[He knows how Dimitri feels all too well, so he'll just say, serious.]

She can do it. [He doesn't know that he believes that, but.] It's cruel, but maybe also this is something important for her, too.

[overruns]

[ she can. she absolutely can. he believes in flayn's strength more than anything, and magnus's words are right, all of it is true but he is so far beyond listening.

ogata, shinobu, giyuu, c-3po, minako, yin yu—and now flayn? it's a joke. to hell with this place. flayn promises a fair fight, and he could spit on honor right now.

he glares ahead, shock flaring into anger. his voice is a rasp, hand tightened to a vice around his spear. ]

She'll manage.

[ruffboi]

Yeah. She will.

[He knows all too well. He knows Dimitri has lost a lot, and he knows he can't take losing Flayn, too, right now.

He doesn't want Flayn to take the offer for a fair fight, either. He just wants her to live. But he of all people isn't about to start saying that.]

He took somebody important away from her. I don't think Flayn's gonna take that lying down.

[overruns]

She won't.

[ he says firmly, seething, but even if he's seen her fight countless times, flayn is so gentle and kind, and yasusada is a warrior through and through. ]

...She should have her chance to avenge them. [ it doesn't sound like that's really what he wants. ]

[ruffboi]

Yeah. Let's root for her the best we can.

[He doesn't put a hand on his shoulder like he wants to, though. If he could send Dimitri that confidence in feelings instead of words, he would. But he's too afraid himself.]

[overruns]

[ emotion share's been exhausting this entire time, but flayn gets her victory. yasusada... looked like he could've kept going—he's not a weak man at all, injured or not.

so why...?

in any case, he makes the mistake of feeling a little relief. ]

Is... is it over?

[wowcool]

[He looks over at Dimitri, nervous, before glancing back to the fight.]

[Why all the island people...why this...]

[overruns]

[ why this? why them? he's been grieving it for weeks, and now it just ignites in rage and frustration.

will it just be them left, after this? ]

Anaido... [ it's just one word, but he sounds—devastated. what can he even say? ]

[wowcool]

...

[They were just talking about how few of them there yesterday, and...]

Brother...let's hope for the best.

[He murmurs, looking unsure if he wants to watch or not.]

[overruns]

[ he tries. is there any hope left to even grasp at? his arm trembles all the way down to his fingers now, spear still held at his side. ]

...Yes.

[ he'll try. ]

Flayn swore to me that she'd do all she could to survive this.

[ so she has to try, too. ]

[wowcool]

I believe in her. She's very strong.

[Stronger than most people think. He nods, glancing at the spear...]

[And tries to reach out to gently touch Dimitri's shoulder. Nervousness, worry, but..an attempt to reassure, too, to comfort.]

Take a deep breath.

[overruns]

[ she's strong. flayn's seen more battle than half the people here. anaido's reassurance and timid feelings do still him for a moment, but then there's a rush of fear in return, especially when she hits the ground. he practically lurches in place to try and throw himself forward, but there's no point.

yasusada is moving. and all that overwhelming fury and grief in him coalesces to a point, a tight knot of loathing. ]

Flayn!

[coastal]

[sometime

after she's done contemplating the merits of sawing off her own feet to get to flayn

she looks to dimitri, concerned, breathless - ]

Dimitri, I...

[she wishes she'd never said anything to flayn, if it meant the possibility existed that she could be stolen from him.]

[overruns]

[ he's not even listening, really. people keep talking and it's largely nonsense. logic and reason and honor in an absurd situation—who cares? they're all so noisy. shut up.

at least with lili he's not going to push her away, but his eyes are firmly forward, watching flayn dodge about with his heart pounding on his ribs. ]

Why can't I ever... [ whenever flayn needs him, here he is. trying to pull his feet forward and nothing happens. ] Flayn, please.

[coastal]

[ . . . she watches the fight with him, and she can't promise anything. she can't promise that flayn will be okay - not when yasusada has a promise riding on this too, and a loyalty to someone already gone.

she has no idea what to say to him.

instead she'll reach out so the back of her hand brushes against his - anger, worry, fury, fear.

loyalty. you aren't alone in this.]

[overruns]

[ in return, lili gets—

fury, mostly. anger at the circumstances, the execution, this whole stupid game, the fact that it's flayn. it's vicious and bright, flamelike and thrashing, anguished and violent. tangled in it is the very keen loss of so many people, like he hasn't healed from any of them, and the fear of losing another—there's the desperate drive for revenge he's carried for longer than the weeks they've been here. there's grief so palpable it sits like a stone in his throat. worst of it is... so much fear. his care for flayn only makes all of it worse, vivid in its intensity, and everything about his emotions are already so weighted. it all wakes up at once. things he's choked down for weeks, and it's all there in the brush of a hand.

there isn't room for yasusada's promises, not beside his own. if she's not taking flayn's side in this, it's not loyalty, it's lip service. he doesn't know what to say to that, so he says nothing at all. ]

[coastal]

[against everything lili knows and understands - there is a rush of defensiveness. of objection. of how dare you ever assume I would choose a guilty party over our innocent friend. even if she cannot promise any particular outcome, doesn't want to give dimitri an idealized future that might not exist, it does not change what she wants is for flayn to live.

. . . . the rest of it she feels, and maybe dimitri will pull away. maybe he doesn't want her help in this anymore, as much as she wants his. but she swore she wouldn't leave him.

and so she continues to let her hand rest against his. he doesn't have to sit in his emotions alone, not when they seem at the risk of consuming him. even if her own feelings are chaotic, she tries to offer a tendril of hope (one that gets stronger when she notices flayn trying to disarm yasusada, in recognition of what yin yu has given them).

otherwise, she will sit in his anger with him. for as much as he'll allow.]

[overruns]

[ it doesn't matter. if that's her stance, he's not going to chase her away, but the feelings he has only mount, swirling brighter, fear running rampant as flayn chokes out her words. it's too much. no matter how many people he can share his emotions with, it's still a torrent.

he yells before he realizes it, raw and horrified. ]

FLAYN!

[disreguarded]

[ she really tries to catch his gaze from wherever she is. probably not far, if anaido is close by. ]

It's gonna be okay, Dimitri.

[overruns]

[ that's never been true in the history of his entire life. why would it be true now? he's always tried to be optimistic anyway, and he's doing his best to put his faith in flayn, but the dread eats at him anyway. ]

It has to be.

[ for a second, he wishes he could borrow her calm again. ]

[disreguarded]

No matter what happens, it will be. [ she says, firmly. ]

No matter what happens, come find me after this. Okay?

[overruns]

[ flayn is doing well, which isn't surprising but doesn't really relieve him any. he doesn't believe what beau's saying, either, so he'll just keep watching the fight. a little distantly, ]

Fine.

[disreguarded]

[ binch don't fine your older sister she's going to kick your ass ]

[slobjection]

[ im at work but phoenix is here being supportive ]