Game 2 - Thistle

[crittersheep]

[A thistle shaped crystal rises from the ground. You instinctively know to touch it for Death's Eye to receive your answer.

You are bound to your flock by a thin thread, making it impossible to separate, but you may still answer individually.]

Comments

DISCUSSION

[crittersheep]

[teams may discuss answers here]

[survivaltricks]

. . .

Oh boy.

[literal_trainwreck]

Normally I enjoy a philosophical debate, but this certainly leaves a foul taste, doesn't it?

PENALTY

[wooliefrand]

[a voice echos from their flower:]

WHO WOULD YOU MOURN?

... One who lived and died solely at the whims of another, unable to see past the misguided loyalty ingrained in their blood.

[One member of the flock will suddenly feel a heavy weight on their backs, as if being stepped on. And then, your arm (of your choice) bends backward horrifically, until the bone is snapped. It will not kill you, but you will shed tears uncontrollably.

A seal appears on your arm. It cannot be healed during the game.]

[survivaltricks]

[well]

[. . . well!!]

[it's the pressure on his back that gets to him the most, the forceful shove that sends him to his knees with a surprised noise. and before he can push himself up again (because of course he does; resisting is a trait that intrinsic to his core), some invisible force yanks his arm back until it snaps]

[he slaps his free hand over his mouth to stifle any kind of pained noise (BECAUSE!! FUCK THAT!!!!) and ducks his head, eyes shut tightly]

PENALTY

[wooliefrand]

[a voice echoes from your flower]

WHO WOULD *YOU* KILL?

... I guess it doesn't really matter anymore since that bastard's already dead, but if he weren't... Yeah, there was someone.

[JOVE and LOKI will suddenly find themselves surrounded by wolf skulls, their jaws lined with fangs. Without warning, they bite down hard, on their arm, torso, OR leg. Blood gushes as they tear out your flesh. However, you won't die from it. . .yet.

A seal appears near your wounds. You cannot be healed during the game*

For Jove specifically, he gets sucked into a nearby sheep body. And THEN he gets mauled. He cannot exit it just yet.]

[literal_trainwreck]

[He tries to fight back against the skulls, which doesn't really help. And because he cannot get a break, he has a huge chunk out of what remains out of his right arm.]

[howls with anger, curses under his breath incoherently before:]

—Why are we being so considerate about what to say when these useless pieces of shit are running their idiot mouths?

PENALTY

[wooliefrand]

[a voice echoes from the flower

WHO WOULD *YOU* KILL?

I'm not kidding myself and answering anything but "anyone" to this, because that would be insulting both of our intelligence. I know well that which I am capable of.

A crystal pair of dice appear.

You instinctively know you must roll to decide who will be the 'anyone' to take the punishment.]

[survivaltricks]

[no thanks]

PENALTY

[wooliefrand]

[a voice echos from the flower:]

WHO WOULD YOU MOURN?

I- would morn those that I know and care for. I know that- that there's a limit to my empathy and I cannot truly mourn those I have not known. E-even if someone's hurt others- but was kind to me- I'd miss them-

[Lupin, Loki, and Jove will suddenly feel as if they are choking, straining for breath. Should someone stare intently, or feel around their throats, they'll find invisible hands made of air strangling them. If they aren't removed or dispersed, they will fall unconscious.]

[survivaltricks]

[well]

[i guess]

[he has a broken arm, a slap mark on his face, and ghost hands trying to strangle him?? it's fine. this is fine. the way today is shaping up to be is perfectly fine!!]

[don't mind him as he grasps at those invisible hands, choking and struggling for a breath]

[shortforever]

[LOOKING AT ALL THE PENALTIES

LOOKING AT THE GROUP.]

Is this a 'at least one group has to answer' kind of thing? Can we skip questions already answered?

[shortforever]

[Actually yeah I'm putting it here. As Lupin answers here, Odin's eyes go wide and he tries to interrupt.]

Wait, don't-

[oops too late.]

WHAT IS THE VALUE OF LIFE

[survivaltricks]

[once all of the questions have been answered by one person (and he has moved past his inexplicable crying fit), Lupin scrubs at his eyes and speaks up again. it's still difficult to talk, but he is trying]

Okay. . . then. . . the value of a life.

We should integrate all of your answers into a single response for that one.

PENALTY

[wooliefrand]

[A voice echoes from the flower:

WHO WOULD *YOU* KILL?

Oh boy, this is a tough one. Well... The life of an adventurer can be pretty dangerous! Sometimes that means running into dangerous people who want to kill you, for reasons. When that happens... I try to avoid it, but I'd kill someone if it was a choice between their life and mine. I've done it before.

And... While I can't really feel bad about killing people anymore, I also don't really feel good about it. So I'd rather not do it unless it's the only option left.

The most dangerous person on your flock (can be decided oocly) will suddenly be impaled with a bone spear. A seal appears: so long as the bone is not pulled out, they will not bleed out and die.

If it is pulled out, the wound cannot be healed during the game.]

QUESTION 1

[crittersheep]

WHO IS DESERVING OF DEATH?

Who deserves to die? The weak and elderly? The young, too pure for this wretched world? A murderer, or his victim, a cruel being? There are many evils in this world, and many who do not deserve its suffering.

Who deserves to die in your eyes?

[shortforever]

It's not really that people deserve to die. No matter what someone does, death will claim them in the end anyway. Our lives all have an end point, but until we reach that point everyone deserves to live.

QUESTION 2

[crittersheep]

WHO WOULD YOU MOURN?

Would you mourn a man who's committed many an evil, but benefitted you? An ailing grandmother, alone in her home, but you have never met and will never think about once in your blessed lives.

There are many in this world a pitiful eye will never see.

Who would you mourn?

[survivaltricks]

[as the designated answerer for this question, Lupin steps up--]

I'd mourn my loved ones, of course. That's probably not surprising.

But. . . I'd also mourn anyone who died in unjust or unfair circumstances, whether they were "evil" or not. I think "evil" is stupidly subjective, anyway-- and the world is full of injustices that go unnoticed or ignored.

[he nods!]

I've decided to live my life giving voice to those injustices, so-- yeah. That's who I'd mourn.

QUESTION 3

[crittersheep]

WOULD YOU JUDGE A LIFE TAKEN WILLINGLY?

Death is a blessing, an escape, for many a mortal. They take their own lives to escape suffering, out of guilt, or a foolish sense of nobility. But in the end, they are no different from a murderer or the murdered. What then, was the point?

Can you see a reason to do it? Would you take your own?

[literal_trainwreck]

[speaking dully, his voice still raspy from having been choked]

If a person should have ownership of anything, it's their own life. It's not anybody else's place to judge if they decide to end it.

QUESTION 4

[crittersheep]

WHO WOULD *YOU* KILL?

You curse death, you fear death, you spit in my eyes. Yet out of anger, out of foolishness, mortals take lives with their own hands. For vengeance, for survival, for love, countless sins are committed by your hands.

So I ask you, what man would you look at and kill yourself?

[survivaltricks]

[with a broken arm, strangulation marks around his neck, a slap mark on his cheek, and tears trickling down his cheeks]

[. . . but also chin lifted, voice deep and commanding, full of conviction]

I'd kill any god or deity who thinks they're better than mortals-- who thinks they can use their divinity to stagnate humanity's progression and growth, or keep them imprisoned with fear and despair.

I'd kill any demon who thinks they're owed a sacrifice, and who treats mortals as nothing but pawns or prisoners, tools for their own selfish desires and not living, feeling, free beings who have the right to live their lives on their own terms.

I've killed gods before-- gods who looked down on humanity because they thought it was a lost cause, completely blind to humanity's pure and untapped potential. And I'd do it it again, if I had to.

. . . and if any of that meant trying to kill you, Death-- then I'd do it.

[it's not a threat. just a promise]

QUESTION 5

[crittersheep]

[You know instinctively, as the final question is asked, that Death's Eye will only take one answer.

You must answer as a group.]

WHAT IS THE VALUE OF LIFE?

[survivaltricks]

[after talking to Odin and Loki, Lupin delivers his answer. it's given quieter than before, but there are still threads of conviction in his words]

The value of life is simply being alive. Having that chance to see the world, to formulate bonds with other people, to experience everything that living has to offer-- that in and of itself is value.