Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Welcome to Survival of the Fittest, a RPing board loosely based off of Koshun Takami's Battle Royale, with its own unique plot and spin on the 'deadly game'. We've been around quite a while, and are now in our thirteenth year, so don't worry about us going anywhere any time soon!

If you're a newcomer and interested in joining, then please make sure you check out the rules. You may also want to read the FAQ, introduce yourself and stop by the chat to meet some of our members. If you're still not quite sure where to start, then we have a great New Member's Guide with a lot of useful information about getting going. Don't hesitate to PM a member of staff (they have purple usernames) if you have any questions about SOTF and how to get started!

Let the games begin!

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
All I Need
Topic Started: Apr 5 2009, 02:30 AM (573 Views)
landlocked
Member Avatar
Supreme Ruler Of All Video Land
[ *  *  * ]
...and so Hawthorne uses a natural setting to symbolize freedom from the oppressive atmosphere of the town Hester-

"All right guys, put your pens down, please, the bell is about to ring."

Fuck. That wasn't where he wanted to end the essay at all... but oh well, no choice anymore. Eric hastily scribbled a few more words, turning the sentence into a finishing thought - it made the wording pretty awkward, but what could he do? He sighed a bit as he passed the test up and began packing his bag, shuffling things around more than necessary to give himself some extra time. It didn't take quite as long as he'd hoped, and he sat in his desk not moving at all for a few moments before letting out an even longer sigh.

Well, there wasn't anything else left to do now, was there...

He really had chosen a bad time to do this. Maybe he'd feel a little bit less tense if they hadn't had an English midterm that day - he had to worry about that on top of everything else? But he knew that if this didn't get done now, it more than likely never would. He couldn't stop thinking about it even while he had been studying the night before - it gave him a sick, twisted feeling in the pit of his stomach. Was this what it was supposed to feel like when you liked someone? It felt more like some kind of a breakdown. But then again, it was pretty similar to the way he had felt about Madeleine.

Urgh. Madeleine. Now he was dwelling on that again. This wasn't the time to be thinking about failure - god knows Derek and the others had gotten sick enough of hearing him complain about it, and he was just starting to get over it, too. Hell, she hadn't even been that mean about it, what right did he have to complain in the first place? But in spite of the fact that even Eric himself knew he was being melodramatic, he just couldn't help himself. He had gotten so used to feeling that way about things, girls in particular, that he got a strange sort of comfort from it. It was much easier for him to wallow in his own self-pity than actually try to do something about it, after all.

But this time, this time was going to be different. He'd practiced in front of a mirror. He had the wording figured out exactly in his head. Hell, he'd even talked to his dad about it, asking for advice! Eric had talked so little about girls to his father since the Madeleine incident that he must've thought he was gay, for fuck's sake!

He took another deep breath, shaking just a bit, and turned around in his seat, staring at the girl a few rows back. Nope, she hadn't left yet, either. She wouldn't consider it weird if he just went up to her now, right? It wasn't like he'd never talked to her before - Eric had made it a point to start talking to Violetta Lindsberg more often once he realized his crush on her, although it had been difficult to do at first. But hey, if he could work up the courage to talk to her regularly, asking her out was the next logical step, right? This would be easy. Eeeeeasy...

He stood up. His legs shook as he shuffled over to her desk. Fuck...

"Hiya," he said to her breathlessly, "You do all right?"
"Standing there in the middle between life and death gave me a delirious, almost evil sense of joy." --Max Beckmann
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Tythanin
Member Avatar
Time to Spare
[ *  *  * ]
No matter what anyone said or what anyone did, midterms would always be one of those things she would never like to do. Or attempt multiple times. If only school was easier. Like instead of midterms, they had interactive board games and fun prizes. She'd be more than happy to take midterms if they did that. Still, Violetta guessed that it couldn't be that bad. There were worse things that could happen.

"All right guys, put your pens down, please, the bell is about to ring."

Just like that. She looked dumbly at her last sentence and realized it made no sense. Something about how the analysis of some random paragraph meant that the story was focused on how the human spirit would persevere through all sorts of hardships. She definitely hoped it was true...she'd have her own hardships to go through the moment the results of the midterm were released.

With a sigh, she packed away her pencil and eraser and handed the test to the student in front of her. She sighed again and lay her head on the desk, brooding. Midterms were always such a bee in her bonnet...speaking of bonnets, maybe she should try wearing one someday. 'Maybe Cyrille will be free later and we can hang out. God knows I need something to cheer me up.'

"Hiya, you do all right?"

Violetta turned her head to peer up at the speaker. It was Eric. Nice enough guy, she guessed. Spent a lot of time talking with her...which was kinda cool. Not all that bad looking either. Not much else she could say about him, though. She just raised a hand in greeting and sat up. "No way. I hate writing essays...my thoughts wander too much and stuff. I mean, first I started writing about the characters and then suddenly it was all about the setting and then how everything relates to the human spirit and...I think I ran out of time there."

"Anyway, now that that's over, what do you wanna do? I was gonna see if Cyrille was free."
"Oh god dammit, I lost my sense of humor around here. Someone help me find it."

---

Approved V5 Pre-Game Characters:

Faria Young - Generals of Elysium (The Waterfront)
Annabelle Summers - Where Is My Muse? (Lunch Room)

"And who the hell came up with this play?! "Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet" ...Dude, THEY ALL DIE!"

Cosmosphere - Now Serving as a Crappy Writing Blog
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
landlocked
Member Avatar
Supreme Ruler Of All Video Land
[ *  *  * ]
Eric laughed a little more nervously than he would've liked in response to Violetta's ramble about the test. He wasn't exactly sure what was funny about what she was saying, but laughing just seemed like the safest response to him. It gave him time to think of something non-idiotic to say, anyway.

"Well I mean... that sort of sounds like the kind of thing the story was getting at? I dunno. Um, I mean, I totally ran out of time, too, my last sentence got cut off... My sentence was castrated."

He laughed nervously again before he realized that his joke had sounded much more funny and less creepy in his head than out loud. Not to mention bringing up penises at all around the girl he liked, that couldn't be a good idea... especially castrated ones. Ew... god, he'd probably weirded her out so badly. That wasn't funny at all! What the hell was he thinking?! Before he could correct what he thought was a grievous error, however, Violetta interrupted his train of thought and asked him what he wanted to do now that the midterm was done.

Wait.

What?

Was... was she asking him to hang out? Seriously? Had all of his talking to her finally paid off?! In his excitement, Eric hastily chopped off the end of Violetta's thought with one of his own, just missing her mention of Cyrille. "I-I dunno! I mean, I was just gonna go home and maybe play some Animal Crossing or something, but uh... um, did you want to hang out? You know, uh, we could get some ice cream or something. To celebrate being done with The Scarlet Letter for the rest of our lives."

Did he just ask her on a date? It definitely sounded like he did. Shit. Well... well, it probably didn't count as a date-date until Violetta knew he liked her, right? Assuming he hadn't made it obvious already... But... shit... he was supposed to tell her he liked her BEFORE he asked her out... Dammit, this wasn't how he had rehearsed it at all!!

Okay, calm down. You can get this back on track. Just wait to see what she says and... just... work your way from there... somehow. 'Oh yeah, and on another note, I like you!' FUCK, I'm an idiot...

"I mean, you know, if you want to, if you're not too busy or whatever."
"Standing there in the middle between life and death gave me a delirious, almost evil sense of joy." --Max Beckmann
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Tythanin
Member Avatar
Time to Spare
[ *  *  * ]
A curved smile came to her face as Eric said how his last sentence got castrated. It was the totally inappropriate word but in a way, it was kind of amusing. The way he acted all nervous when talking to her was funny. Perhaps it was mean spirited to think of it that way, but she was glad he was her friend. Why, without him she could have instead been spending time sleeping or being bored, neither of which were great prospects.

"Ice cream, huh?" She tapped her chin thoughtfully, wondering if she should really go. Cyrille had told her to lay off the sweets and that they would make her fat, not like Violetta cared. She briefly wondered what it would be like to be fat for a while, but she immediately banished that thought. Maybe later she could make it a project. Maybe write a book on it. 'My Life as a Fat Person.' It'd probably be a best seller.

She wondered why he was so nervous instead. Well, he usually was kind of nervous but not anywhere this bad. She shrugged mentally. It'd all come out in the end. "Sure, why not?"
"Oh god dammit, I lost my sense of humor around here. Someone help me find it."

---

Approved V5 Pre-Game Characters:

Faria Young - Generals of Elysium (The Waterfront)
Annabelle Summers - Where Is My Muse? (Lunch Room)

"And who the hell came up with this play?! "Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet" ...Dude, THEY ALL DIE!"

Cosmosphere - Now Serving as a Crappy Writing Blog
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
landlocked
Member Avatar
Supreme Ruler Of All Video Land
[ *  *  * ]
((Hey, sorry about the wait, Tyth. Finals are in a week, so I'm in panic mode. Will be back to posting regularly after May 7th, promise.))

Those had to be the three best words Eric had ever heard. Sure, he'd heard them before, in various contexts, but this time was definitely the best. He almost didn't want to continue talking to her. "Awesome," Eric responded, almost hopping with excitement before stopping himself. Could he just screencap this moment so that he'd always have it, and not have to worry about messing it up?

...No, he had to tell her. He'd promised himself he would, and just because the easy part was done, that didn't excuse him from that promise. Besides, if he didn't say it now, while he still had the resolve, when would he? Just burst out in the middle of their ice cream, 'I HAVE A MASSIVE CRUSH ON YOU'? Well... actually maybe that could work. Spring it on her. Yeah, he didn't have to worry about it now. Just roll with it while things are going well, there's no need to mess it up. Yeah. Yeah...

"Um, so I guess... let's go? We can swing by the Friendly's a couple blocks away."

Eric turned to leave and was about to begin the shuffle out of the classroom and into his first real date... but... wait...

...No. No, he had to tell her. He couldn't just put it off, or he'd never stop. She'd never know. She HAD to know. This was... well, maybe it wasn't love, but fuck if it wasn't one of the strongest feelings he'd had in a long time. Just tell her quick. Like pulling off a bandaid, just do the difficult part as fast as you can.

He whirled back around. "So, listen. Um. ...Um, I really like you. I have a crush on you. I... I thought you should know, and I'd like to date, like... frequently. As in, go out... with you. Like this."

It wasn't quite the way he'd planned to say it - he hadn't enunciated very well, for one thing - but the statement was clear and direct, just like Dad had said he should be. That made it simple for her, too. 'Yes' or 'no'. To call the brief moment of silence after his confession uncomfortable for Eric would be an understatement like no other. Couldn't he go back to that other moment now?

His legs shook again.
"Standing there in the middle between life and death gave me a delirious, almost evil sense of joy." --Max Beckmann
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Tythanin
Member Avatar
Time to Spare
[ *  *  * ]
(OOC: Haw haw I am lazy and late. Sorry.)

Violetta was all set to go and her mind was already working on what combination of flavors she should get when Eric began talking again. Brief irritation turned into surprise when Eric gave out his extremely nervous confession. Immediately her decision to have chocolate pecan nut cinnamon ice cream was tossed out the window and the brightly-painted gears in her head started working out a good response to his proposal.

'I thought he knew that I had a girlfriend. You know, Cyrille. That girl that always comes with me when we hang out. Maybe we should have amped up the PDA or something. He might have realized that I was totally unavailable or something. And I sure as hell am not going to get a boyfriend and a girlfriend at the same time. That would just be awkward. Well I guess it would be any guy's wet dream or something, but I'm not going to do something like that. I have my own sexual fantasies to worry about, thank you very much.'

She blinked a couple of times and shook her head. 'Okay, that was off topic. Enough about sexual fantasies and back to destroying Eric's hopes and dreams. Maybe I shouldn't think of it that way. Maybe I could consider it...uh, broadening his horizons? Instead of focusing on one fish, namely me, he could go crazy and fish up a bunch of girls? But that doesn't make sense. Hmmm...Wouldn't that hurt? Getting fished out of the sea? Maybe I should find out what that-'

Now Violetta slapped her cheeks, trying to get her thought processes back on track. 'Okay, the best thing would be to just tell him bluntly so that he won't keep hoping. And the most blunt form of rejection is 'No.' So if I tell him 'No', everything should be fine, right? Should I say sorry? Hmmm...no, better to crush his hopes right now. I think...man, this sucks. Saying no sucks. Why can't there be a yes version of no? I could totally go for that. Okay, I think I've spent enough time thinking about this. I have to tell him before his legs shake themselves limp.'

"Uh...no, I already have a girlfriend."

'WHOA THAT CAME OUT BAD.' Violetta thought to herself. But at least she had said it. And that's really what mattered, right? She decided to not think about this. Spinning on her feet, she ran off with her hair and backpack flying behind her. There were just some experiences she never wanted to have and that undoubtedly had to be one of them.
"Oh god dammit, I lost my sense of humor around here. Someone help me find it."

---

Approved V5 Pre-Game Characters:

Faria Young - Generals of Elysium (The Waterfront)
Annabelle Summers - Where Is My Muse? (Lunch Room)

"And who the hell came up with this play?! "Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet" ...Dude, THEY ALL DIE!"

Cosmosphere - Now Serving as a Crappy Writing Blog
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
landlocked
Member Avatar
Supreme Ruler Of All Video Land
[ *  *  * ]
Okay. Okay, things were going all right. She looked like she was considering it. That... that was good, right? If she was going to just flat-out reject him, she wouldn't take the time to think about it, would she? So there was a chance! Yeah, and she did kind of look... well okay, she looked pretty taken aback. And now she was... smacking herself on the cheek? Um. Okay, then. Oh shit, she's about to say it.

...

...Oh. She...

She's running away?!

...


...


Why?

Was what she said even true? Could she not even bear the sight of him after he'd said that to her? Did he just completely disgust her? SHIT! Why wouldn't his LEGS stop shaking? It was OVER, goddammit, she'd RUN OFF, why wouldn't it STOP? Anger began welling up behind Eric's eyes, making his face hot. His breath became ragged... No. No, calm down. Don't do this, don't break down, what was it Dad had said if she said no? Um. it was... it was, don't be too hard on yourself, this means it'll be easier next time.

...Right. Thanks for that, Dad. Just like this was easier than Madeleine? If anything it was going to be fucking impossible next time, because at this rate every fucking girl he asked out was going to turn him down. Fuck this shit. Fuck next time. There wasn't going to be a fucking next time, because girls didn't want HIM, they wanted jocks and meatheads and guys that did nothing but drink and party, or fuck, just date another GIRL, anything's better than going out with ERIC FUCKING COOPER-

"Fuck this... FUCK!!"

With a scream that was about as eloquent as anything else Eric had found himself saying that day, he furiously kicked over the closest desk. The loud thud that echoed through the tiny classroom didn't provide the relief he'd hoped it would, however. All it made him want to do was keep kicking at shit until he couldn't feel his foot anymore.

It must've been a strange sight, a kid standing there shaking in silence for a minute or so before suddenly exploding in profanity, and it certainly was for the TA, hovering at the other end of the room waiting for the last two students to leave before she could lock up. She'd done her best to make sure her presence wasn't known - it seemed like kind of an awkward moment to interrupt and tell the two students they had to get out, but when the scrawny boy turned and kicked the desk over, she cleared her throat loudly, more to show the kid she was there than in disapproval.

Eric's head jerked upwards. Someone SAW that? ...SHIT it was the teacher!

"...S-sorry," he mumbled. As he hastily turned the desk back over, his face became hot again. Shame, confusion, anger, and heartbreak all fought for dominance in his mind until he wasn't sure how he felt about anything anymore besides generally shitty. But he couldn't cry. Not here. Guys don't cry in public. He didn't say a word, he didn't so much as lift his head as he left the classroom, left the school, walked the couple of blocks back home, pushed the door open. There was Dad, just home from work and watching TV, waiting for him.

"So? How'd it go?"

A few tears finally escaped, blurring his vision briefly, but no more came after that. After all that time, Eric had expected that he'd never get them to stop, but... that was all there was.

"...Bad."
"Standing there in the middle between life and death gave me a delirious, almost evil sense of joy." --Max Beckmann
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
« Previous Topic · Memories from the Past · Next Topic »
Add Reply