forum Those that survive hell don't do so kindly. || probably oxo || mature || closed

Started January 03, 2021 by @croccin-champagne

tune

Temps and then a starter after all that I’d say.

^^

perfect! i'd make a pm for notes and everything, but honestly we can just do that in our existing one after these basic ones that'll precede the starter. also again, if any of you have any ideas for scenes or plot points that you want to add, pm me and i'd love to work them out!

notes coming, along with temp

questions important to the temp:

age range?

does magic/scientifically based 'powers' exist or should this stick to the constraints of our current understanding of physics?

I do love magic. But I think this would be better without it.

okay so as mentioned, i do have a good bit of this planned or at least in my head. enough that i'm hoping i can build around major plot points to keep this going. some notes are:

the man in charge of this supermarket hell goes by the name 'chris', is absolutely definitely insane, and does have motives but i'm keeping them ~secret~

as per the dream this idea came from(im too lazy to change much), 'chris' is creepy towards all of the characters(if you'd like to write interactions with him when he's giving a name, feel free, this is just a note to let you know he comes off very unhinged) but has a strange fascination/obsession with the character i'll be playing, due to her ruthlessness' when it comes to killing.

the setting, as mentioned, is literally like a huge department store and supermarket mashed together. food restocks itself somehow(it's done via really fancy technology. that's how 'chris' appears as well), there are various hygiene products at 'stations' around the building, and there are no doors or windows. absolutely no visible exits.

things like insulin and meds arent available, nor are epipens, because there's no pharmacy stop points. this could be used as a motivator for your character getting out, if you'd like!

the survivors have formed cliques and get really pissed if one of their own is killed. they won't retaliate through murder, but may corner the killer and leave them with an injury to make it harder for them to survive their own attack, or just do their best to scare/steal from said person.

each person was kidnapped and left in the clothing they were in. the building does have a very small selection of clothes, but it's nothing fancy. think jeans and a couple t-shirts, socks, and tennis shoes. underwear as well. none in any brand recognizable. during the snatching process any possible obvious weapons were taken.

but on that topic, there are knives available in kitchen sets, various kitchen appliances, and any other things you can come up with being sold at a department store. don't hesitate to be creative.

no animals. yet.

for the purposes of hygiene i'm saying someone figured out how to get a couple washing machines hooked up and working and now there's a small group of like three people who run a mini laundromat

---

Name:

Age(range 19+):

Gender:

Sexuality:

Down for romance/willing to consider/nah fam:

Affiliations(enemies, groups, etc):

Appearance:

Hair Color/Cut:

Eye Color/Shape:

Complexion:

Height:

Build:

Scars/Identifying Marks:

Tattoos and Piercings:

Imprisonment outfit(what they wear regularly, be it substitutions from the sketchy in store brand, a whole outfit from that, or what they were kidnapped in):

Backstory(only what you want to share. secrets are fun):

Particular skills they might have that could be of use:

Other:

Name:
Tango Varela

Age:
21

Gender:
Female

Sexuality:
"Who's asking?"

Down for romance/willing to consider/nah fam:
Down for romance babeyyy

Affiliations:
She's generally very good at networking, so even though she doesn't actually have a group, she's kept herself on okay terms with most everyone. Has a pal on the laundry crew, and has a weird respect-hate relationship with an old lady who hangs out around the couch section of the store. Definitely would throw down with the creeps in the electronics section.

Appearance:

Hair Color/Cut:
Warm brown hair with well done highlights, cut to a bit below her shoulders. It's naturally wavy and often tied in a high ponytail using her favorite yellow bandana.

Eye Color/Shape:
Almond eyes, a warm brown with little bits of green and gold.

Complexion:
Golden, honey-toned skin. Smoooth.

Height:
5'7

Build:
Athletic muscle from cheerleading. She's light, with just enough power to pack a decent force behind her kicks or a punch.

Scars/Identifying Marks:
Abdomen scars from knives–she wont answer questions about them. Other various nicks and scars on her arms and legs, including the tear from a bullet just catching her shoulder. One of her ears has a chunk of cartilage missing from a piercing being torn out.

Tattoos and Piercings:
A snake jaw with a carnation in the open mouth, and words in Spanish wrapping through.

Piercings include navel, ear lobes, and a cartilage.

Imprisonment outfit:
Her bandana, as she had her hair up when kidnapped. She was at school(college), wearing athletic shorts and her varsity jacket(both blue and yellow) and a blue bandeau top. School spirit babey. A pair of black sneakers, and a hair tie on her wrist with a compartment. I can vouch for their existence.

Backstory:
A very many secret, but I will say she's now the sole guardian of her little sister, who's in the hospital with cancer in her lung.

Particular skills they might have that could be of use:
While she's no A+ student, she can get by with some hard work, and is used to putting that work into the rest of her life as well. Definitely much smarter people and street wise, with a strong interest in psychology. Can pick locks, fire a gun, and fight well, evidenced by her lack of issue with the 'tasks'. Definitely more brawn than academic.

Other:
Really likes muffins.

Name: Silas Lee

Age(range 19+): 19

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Who knows.

Down for romance/willing to consider/nah fam: We’ll see.

Affiliations(enemies, groups, etc): Anyone who’s not trying to kill him is a potential ally unless they have bad vibes to him. Doesn’t have many who would consider him a friend, and even less that’s he thinks of as such. But he has a handful or two of “understandings” that he’s relatively polite and occasionally helpful to.

Appearance: Korean.

Hair Color/Cut: Dark hair that used to hang a bit low on his face but is now a badly done crew cut, done with some kiddie scissors he found in a back to school section.

Eye Color/Shape: Almond shaped eyes so dark they look black. Sometimes glinting with the lack of mercy.

Complexion: Pale.

Height: Barely under six feet.

Build: Thin and not well muscled.

Scars/Identifying Marks: The top of his forearms are covered in small scars, twice as many on the right.

Tattoos and Piercings: One in his right ear. Barely noticeable with nothing in it.

Imprisonment outfit(what they wear regularly, be it substitutions from the sketchy in store brand, a whole outfit from that, or what they were kidnapped in): Black jeans, white tee, covered by a thin navy sweatshirt.

Backstory(only what you want to share. secrets are fun): Rumors say that if given a name, he will kill without hesitation. Less trustworthy is the tale that he has a sibling outside.

Particular skills they might have that could be of use: Intimate knowledge of the human body, and pain.

Other: Rather good at reading people.

he and tango are either going to be best friends or that rivals-willing-to-kill-eachother-but-also-kill-for-eachother trope and i love it

also i forgot to mention, but i'm glad you picked up on it:

be creative! name parts of the store on your own, give them nicknames the captives might call them, and make up groups! you can even name the groups, just have fun because this is the kind of world best built by everyone involved!

1. bandeau ?
2. I insist they know each other, but have never officially met.
3. I agree. But it’s definitely because she’s just a good ally not like she’s actually my friend or even less Romantic Tension reasons. (He’s ace btw.)

one of these babies.

oh boy could i pm you to talk about that? figure out how they'd know each other?

they both understand the other would probably kill them if it was necessary but they also know they're pretty valuable to each other as allies

Name: Jukka Lavr Yurivich

Age(range 19+): 25

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Pansexual

Down for romance/willing to consider/nah fam: _{I mean…} I, the player of this character am down for it; if it happens, it happens.

Affiliations(enemies, groups, etc): He’s kind of the guy you might see hanging around in the distance, not really doing much. If you talk to him, he’ll respond, sure - can’t guarantee you’ll enjoy your response, though. Essentially, he’s not particularly close with any groups, nor has he made major enemies - surprisingly. Though, if it counts - a small group of three young adults have decided he’s either the most intimidating figure they’ve ever seen, or one of the nicest people they’ve ever met. No in between. Sure wonder where that impression came from. The group of three individuals calls themselves the ‘Starlings’, with their reasoning behind the name being unknown. Aside from that, Jukka has never bothered to branch out. He’s been noticed, sure, but not much can be said about his impression on others.

Appearance:

Hair Color/Cut: Chestnut brown hair. Longer towards the back, but it doesn’t even reach the base of his neck. He keeps it out of his face; it just manages to go below his ears.

Eye Color/Shape: Dark blue eyes with a green inner iris. Upturned.

Complexion: Pale ivory skin.

Height: A couple inches over 6ft, about 6’2” if we were to take a guess.

Build: Some muscle on him due to his lifestyle and habits. He’s got a lankier build though. Could be closest described as a ‘swimmers body.’

Scars/Identifying Marks: Two notable scars on his neck. The first is fainter and more off to the side. It’s also smaller. Looks to be a bullet scar. The second is less faint and easier to see should he show his neck; unlike the bullet scar, it’s towards the front of his neck. It’s a horizontal cut, almost perfectly centred. Smaller, fainter scar above his right eye from an accident when he was younger.
Burn scar on his upper left arm, and the underside of his lower left arm.
Severe scarring on his lower jaw. He refuses to say anything about how he got it, though he’s more than happy to speak about the rest of his wounds and the stories behind them.
Central heterochromia in both eyes. The insides are green; the outside are blue.

Tattoos and Piercings: Tattoo of a viper on his back. The tattoo looks to be the work of a professional. Must’ve taken a while to get that tattoo.
The viper itself closely resembles a Matilda Horned Viper, the scales of the viper coloured yellow and black, with the eyes being red. The fangs are displayed, as though the viper were moving in for attack. It’s a larger tattoo; the edge of the tail slightly curves around to the front of his torso, but not by much.

Imprisonment outfit(what they wear regularly, be it substitutions from the sketchy in store brand, a whole outfit from that, or what they were kidnapped in): His clothing isn’t too notable in terms of colour. Mostly shades of dark green or grey; his boots are rather heavy, almost like the types you’d see labour workers wearing, though he carries himself well enough in it. Commonly spotted sporting a lighter jacket that looks to be some sort of hybrid between a duster or a parka. His pants are similar to cargo pants. He’s also picked himself up a large fur coat - one of his only picks from the store - though he doesn’t always wear it, nor will he lug it everywhere with him.
He can usually be spotted sporting a shawl, which he manages to fold into a mask to cover his lower face, and occasionally pull over his head.

Backstory(only what you want to share. secrets are fun): Born in Russia to his mother, who was from Finland, and his father. An only child - according to himself, he led a particularly average childhood, even if his parents weren’t the best they could’ve been.
Again, as worded by Jukka, his late teen years and adulthood also led a life of questionable experiences. And questionable, as in, “I’ve come very close to being put in prison but I never have because I keep throwing money into the pockets of the law” sort of thing. That doesn’t really work forever, though. And though he himself never went to prison, some of his fellow people who also made questionable choices did, and Jukka thought, “well, maybe I should get far away from here.”
Moving away never stopped him from continuing with his lifestyle, though.

Particular skills they might have that could be of use: Highly flexible. He knows how to fight - combined with his ‘acrobatic’ skills, it makes for an interesting combination. Of course, rarely does he prefer to fight with his hands, preferring to actually hold a weapon. He’s good with certain knives, and he can handle a gun. He can also track. But tracking people down in giant stores is a bit different than in the wild, rendering that skill basically useless.

Other: he drinks maple syrup straight from the bottle.

Ahh nice. So we see her scars!

Sure if you want. I was just thinking ~reputation~. But if you have a better idea…

Definitely. Unless that changed later maybe. Thinking ahead? Yes.

snake tat bros. and criminal bros.

if mox has a matching character we could just straight up have a gang of morally questionable 'probably criminal' heroes

Oh I could definitely do that

I have a few questions (also sorry for being so late).
Is there alcohol in the store?
Is this kind of like Costco? This store is giving me Costco vibes, minus the pharmacy
Would our characters have already formed an alliance/gang of sorts or will we write that happening?

1. yeah probably

2. Costco-Ikea, yes

3. some of our characters could have already met/formed tentative alliances, but the actual group forming will be written as happening, yeah!

Oh I’m glad Mox is joining.

Also I too got those vibes.

Name: Evelyn James

Age(range 19+): 21

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Pansexual

Down for romance/willing to consider/nah fam: Yeah man

Affiliations(enemies, groups, etc): She's can be pretty cocky, so when she tried to make friends with the people in the bakery, it did not last long and they turned on her. She's healing from a black eye from that encounter. She is on good terms with the people who took over the clothing section, though she doesn't like them very much and tries not to hang out with them for too long.

Appearance:

Hair Color/Cut: Her hair is naturally brown but she dyes/bleaches it to look dirty blonde. Goes just past her shoulders and is kind of wavy/scraggly (even when she's not kidnapped and forced to survive in a weird store by a weird man)

Eye Color/Shape: Brown, almond shaped

Complexion: Medium skin tone

Height: 5'8

Build: Pretty thin. A little too thin

Scars/Identifying Marks: She has a thin, one inch, vertical scar on her jaw/chin. She also has freckles.

Tattoos and Piercings: Her left arm is sleeved in tattoos, from her mid-forearm to her shoulder. There a couple of knives, lightning bolts, and cigarettes in various stages. There is a woman, hunched over and crying, and a skull with some flowers around it. There is also a camera and a ballon. None of the tattoos are colored. She also has a bunch of tattoos on her right leg that goes from her mid-thigh to her calf. There are a couple of round smiley faces that look like stickers you would give to children. There is a mountain, some butterflies, a bottle in a paper bag, a scythe and two skeletal hands crossed over each other. One has a butterfly resting on the tips of its fingers, and the other grips a knife. She also has two piercings in each of her ears and a septum piercing.

Imprisonment outfit(what they wear regularly, be it substitutions from the sketchy in store brand, a whole outfit from that, or what they were kidnapped in): She was kidnapped in a black t-shirt, slightly baggy green pants that she keeps up with a belt, a green and blue flannel, a faded camo jacket, a beanie, and combat boots. She mostly wears this and sometimes switches out her pants with black pants that she found in the store, and will wear other shirts and flannels that she found in the store. She also found a pack of bandanas that she wears sometimes.

Backstory(only what you want to share. secrets are fun): Her parents are both dead. She was raised in England with her grandparents, who were really abusive. She's an alcoholic. I'll leave it at that for now.

Particular skills they might have that could be of use: She's pretty knowledgeable about medical stuff. Like she can bandage a wound and keep it clean, she can make a good splint, and a good tourniquet and she knows CPR, the Heimlich, and can tell when someone is concussed, plus a few other things. She's also never had any formal fighting training, but she can hold her own.

Other: Grew up in England, so she has a British accent. She had been sober for about a week before she got kidnapped. When she found out what was going on, she promptly started drinking again. She would also love to smoke but she hasn't found any cigarettes.

((no i don't know how math works please don't ask me questions about my understanding of basic subtraction))

Six days.

It had been six days since Tango had woken up in what could only be classified as some sort of living hell. It had been six days since she'd been taken from her college campus, taken out in the middle of a phone call with her best friend.

Six days of not knowing if she would ever actually make it out of this building.

The building in question was an almost exceedingly large store. Literally. Completely stocked and likely the size of an Ikea and Costco put together, the place wasn't missing the almost liminal atmosphere. An atmosphere made worse, at night, by the knowledge of what was likely happening at that exact moment.

They had started with sixty people. In just six days, that number had dropped by twenty. Forty of them left. It was a sick game, but one the captives couldn't choose not to play. Nobody wanted to risk the consequences. Everyone wanted out.

Each night, a handful of names were given up to other captives. Sometimes you got the name of a captive you knew. Sometimes you didn't even know they'd been imprisoned with you. But the photo was the worst part. To Tango, it was a sick reminder. Mocking, the way they appeared back in her small stash of belongings no matter how many times she tried to throw them out. Now, she kept them in a neat stack in the bag she carried. Like a memorial. She wouldn't let Chris win.

Unable to sleep, she had taken to wandering. She wasn't the only one. Of the five group 'camps' that had been formed, three were mostly up and about, the captives that were awake gathered together and talking quietly. Here and there, she spotted the 'Stranded' sleeping on furniture, no groups to keep them company. She was one of them.

Of course, not everyone was accounted for. They had been lucky to be 'gifted' with working public bathrooms, and nature called at all hours of the night. But be it in the bathroom, or a secluded corner of the store, at least one person was receiving a name. Tango was just hoping she wouldn't be given one of the next hits.

For a while, things were quiet. Nothing but the faint sound of chatter and snoring to accompany as she made her rounds.

As she approached the more populated part of the store though, that changed.

Where the bakery section met the start of the furniture sections, some sort of commotion had begun. As she got closer, one hand itching to grab the baseball bat affixed to her back pack, things started to piece together. At the center of the conflict stood two people, a tall man with what might have been blood on his shirt, and another man–shorter–who seemed to have the largest issue.

"–you killed her! She was a kid! Where the hell is your remorse, you–"

"That's what happens when you get a name, Marvin. You know that. Nothing's changed since we got stuck here, n matter how much you want to believe it."

Do you not have remorse for your sins?

What trails behind you?

What you’ve left behind?

Your sins will not go unpunished.

As unbothered as one could be in this situation, Jukka lay, on the rather large, tall shelves that were used to store various items. His eyes were closed and with now still he was, one could almost assume he were asleep. But he wasn’t, no. Just resting, remaining alert. He was confident, but not overconfident. Occasionally he would open his eyes if he were to hear something shift in the background, but it would always be quite a distance away from him, never directly on the shelves that he’d so claimed as his favourite spot in the store.
The shelves - Jukka hadn’t cleared them off, not completely. He had realized a tactical advantage with them, that being not many were willing to make the effort to climb the shelves, though he was aware that someone could probably get furniture to help make the climb. At least Jukka never settled down anywhere for too long, opting to stay a different spot each time he slept, if he did even sleep that day.

Along with the height advantage came the hiding advantage. You’d need to look up to even have a chance to see him, even then, the boxes that were resting on the shelves hid him pretty well. One of the only risks he could consider was how falling, especially from this height, would be bad. Really, really bad. Jukka had realized that when he climbed up for the first time, looking down at the hard, cold floor.
’Yeah, if I fall down there, I might die depending where I fall.’ That summed up his first thoughts. At the very least, injury, which would be a bit harder to treat.
Which was why he’d taken to laying in between the boxes already on the shelves. They’d shield him from sight, and serve as barriers, in case. But he wasn’t here to peacefully drift into his thoughts.

The killings. The killings definitely caught Jukka off guard, when he’d first heard of them. Some of the people he’d seen here didn’t even look like they could kill at first. Sometimes the most unexpected things happen. People had begun to drop like flies. It was less than a week, and Jukka could already observe the numbers had dropped significantly. Jukka could say he contributed to that.
Because he’d already gotten one name. Only one name, but it was still a name, a person he had to find. He was quick with it, the longest part of the job was finding the person to begin with. When he killed, he killed - never slowly, occasionally messy but that only had to do with what weapon he had on him at the time. Jukka would only ever make someone’s death slow if he truly hated them. Which he rarely had a person he hated, and he was sure that any of his ‘enemies’ weren’t apart of this thing. He was sure. He was sure that he’d known already if they were here. They would’ve already made their presence known to him, wouldn’t they?

Jukka stretched briefly, opening his eyes again to the next shelf that was above him. That was right. He couldn’t look at the sky, couldn’t see it anymore. Parts of him hadn’t noticed it. Parts of him did notice, and somewhat missed seeing the stars, the moon in the sky. The weather.
He sat up, lifting his hands in front of his face and cracking his knuckles. It was about time to get moving, do some things. See who recently died, or find out. He wondered if it was any of the Starlings - the three young adults, who had taken to becoming wanderers of the store, not quite settling in one place, ever. He wondered if the Starlings copied him. He didn’t care.
That was the other con - getting up was faster than getting down. Jukka was careful not to slip when he moved through the boxes and worked at getting down, jumping on the lower shelf to the next shelf and so on, until he either reached a good distance to jump or just completely went to the bottom.

When he’d finally made it, he brushed the dust from his clothing - or what dust he could, and strolled onwards. It’s time to find out who died. Someone always died, after all. He was sure that he wasn’t the only person killing that night a few days ago. Just because he couldn’t see it didn’t mean it wasn’t happening.
But maybe he’d find something to eat first.