Staff Survivor II Game Topic

[Hahli Husky]

As the rest of the team worked on a dry place to live, I worked to ensure that we'd all get to stay at least one more week. As soon as Tufi's message arrived, I'd scrambled to find good sketching material. The sand was too loose and it was a lot harder to pull tree bark off of a healthy log than it looked. Finally, I settled back on the materials I constantly relied on in this adventure: the junk we had won in the first challenge. I ripped a page out of a book and opened a can of shoe polish. At first, it seemed like finger-painting would work just fine, but the page ripped and my nerves were going wild whenever the polish got under my nails. I glared around the forming campsite, which by this time looked more like a fort. Grabbing up a stick, I frayed the end to make a horrible excuse for a paintbrush. But it worked. I settled into "painting". When Arpy and Bfa got back with a huge Lava Ape, Makaru started adding a tower and the ape dug a moat. I growled quietly and revised the drawing as best as I could. Sumiki had actually found berries that didn't explode and mashed them up, so that color could be added and (hopefully) make the drawing more distinctive. When it was done, I sneered at it. It wasn't just right. It needed some fancy additions. Like driftwood. Which I proceeded to find and nail the drawing to, even though there weren't any nails around so how even did that happen. Also I'm not sure where the Terminator Two font came from, but I can say that Kakaru didn't inherit his MS Paint Powers from his father. I blinked at the finished product. Tears came to my eyes, but I wasn't sure if they were from pain or ironically non-ironic joy. If all else failed, I could sell it on Etsy, anyway.

Edited August 22, 2013 by Hahli Husky

[Ta-metru_defender]

I have seen some weird things in my life. There was that one incident the night before this whole Voya Nui adventure began but comes to mind. But I must say, seeing xccj's ANIMATED and FULL COLOR depiction of the building our nektann were building was probably the most amazing. Look at the way the sand shifted, man! "Nice work with the power stone," I told xccj. In retrospect, that grave marker I'd been strapping together from broken nektann probably should be thrown away. Or recycled. Into armored nektann or something. "This is why I decided to let you head out without me weighing you down." I got a Matoran Plushie to my head for that. So I gave it to Junkbot. The nektann seized it gleefully and began skittering around camp on its hind legs. I'm really not sure what to make of that.

[Sumiki]

I looked at HH's drawing, and HH's drawing looked at me. "It's .... beautiful," I managed to choke out after a long pause. It really was one of the best pieces of art I'd ever come across. It ... spoke to me, somehow, on an inherently deeper level than just mere shoe polish on an old book. I just wanted to take it and hang it somewhere where more people would admire it.

 

There was only one problem, one which I did not want to mentally approach: the font. Terminator Two. Somewhere, deep in the back of my mind, I could not help but think that it should have been in Comic Sans.

 

Ah well. I suppose having too much of a good thing would have been bad. Universe-exploding bad. Better to keep the universe intact, generally speaking.

[Tufi Piyufi]

Stomp, stomp, stomp.Ophelia walked through Camp I'd Settle For That, oblivious to the stares of its inhabitants, scanning the ground. There it was: behind a tree, almost forgotten, was the Immunity Idol."I'll be taking that back," she said as she picked it up. Turning around to face her observers and the way back, she added "You guys were supposed to meet us there, you know. You're just lucky Tufi has all those fancy admin powers to watch you."Ophelia left.Later, Tufi walked into the lair of the Clikit Supertramps. "Hey, everybody! Get over here!" she shouted. In her hands was the wooden Tohu.Everybody gathered around HH, Sumiki, and the picture they were gazing adoringly at. HH looked up at Tufi, who held out the Tohu to HH. "We're out of gold stars. Congratulations, you're not losers."HH took the Immunity Idol, and Tufi took her leave. "Don't screw it up, guys."

[Eeko]

I gazed at the glory of the Tohu Idol. It was the most beautiful thing I'd seen since that painting HH made back at the top of the page.I set straight away to building a mantle in our fort for the Idol to sit on.Man, being not losers is the best thing ever.

[Hahli Husky]

The powers of desperation and irony had paid off in more than just berry-stained hands (and clothes, ugh.) We set the Immunity idol on Eeko's shelf, along with the artwork. It made Camp Tramp look that much homier. But we'd have to keep working to ensure the new piece of decor would stick around longer than a week. "Guys, guys!" Arpy called us to the upper level of the fort. "I think it's time everyone officially met our new friend, Ludo!" Oh, yeah. There was a giant animal in our new home that most of us had not acknowledged yet.

Edited August 22, 2013 by Hahli Husky

[Bfahome]

 

I immediately prostrated myself in front of the sacred totem, mumbling nonsense words because I was pretty sure that's what you do with sacred totems. And idols and such.

 

Although, come to think of it, the idol wasn't really so sacred in that sense. But at least it meant we didn't have to lose another team member this week.

 

I guess I'd settle for that.

[Sumiki]

I stood up to the totem, basking in its glory. I really didn't do all that much work in order to revel in its aura - if anyone deserved it, it was HH - but I was still part of the winning team and I didn't have to get all worked up about some elimination junk. Sisen will live on forever in our hearts and minds, I thought. Somewhat random and slightly dark. Better move on. Bfa was mumbling nonsense, prostrated on the ground. Wait ... was he doing Bane's chant from The Dark Knight Rises? Whatever made him happy, I suppose. It was quite the something.

[xccj]

"Aw man, that contest was totally rigged," I complained. "Tufi just chose whichever she liked better!""That was actually the parameter for how the challenge was judged," Janus pointed out. “And the Empress is never wrong.”“Oh, right, I guess I missed that part,” I said. “Maybe we should carve out a giant gold puffin next time.”Now came the worst part; waiting to see who would be taken away from us. But if we could finish the distillery first, then at least they could leave with a good toast.

[Makaru]

Tufi descended from the heavens. She presented the immunity idol and walked out like a rockstar. What a boss.

I ran over to HH. I raised my arm to high-five her. She got all super excited. She wound back and---

DOOF

We nailed each other square in the face.

Bogus.

Edited August 5, 2013 by Makaru

[Tufi Piyufi]

"Everybody, gather round!"With no other warning, Tufi rode into the I'd Settle For That camp, getting a Vahkiback ride from Ophelia. In Tufi's hand was a sheet of paper: the time had come."Okay, so, turns out we've got a tie again..." Tufi checked the paper. "The tie's between Spink and DeeVee-""I volunteer!"Tufi blinked as Spink pushed his way to the front of the tribe. "Beg your pardon?""I volunteer to be voted out," Spink elaborated.Tufi and Ophelia glanced at each other. "You're not exactly signing up for revolution... more like a sweet months-long boat cruise, honestly," Tufi confessed."And I volunteer for it." Somehow, that only made Spink more insistent. Tufi shrugged and dismounted."Alright, then. Hop up on Ophelia and we'll get out of here." Spink climbed aboard the puffin-Vahki, itching for a hot meal and a shower, the latter of which would probably help with the itching. The three left camp with as little fanfare as when they'd arrived.

[xccj]

Team I'd Settle For That somberly gathered around and raised a toast to the lost Spink.Xccj took a swig and gagged. "Wait, this is alcohol? I thought we were making milkshakes?"The rest ignored him, and he hastily ran off into the bushes.They drank some more. Some of them got up to go get refills. After a while, they started to look around."Wait, where did xccj go?""Yeah, this is his post, shouldn't he be back by now?""And when did he start using the third person in his writing?"Curious, the teammates rose and searched into the forest. They found him naught but a hundred feet away. He was slumped down in the sand, with strange grooves cut in the ground around him. His green Hau hung limply on his head, stained with scarlet blood. A hastily made dagger was buried in his chest.He was dead.Everybody on Team I'd Settle For That gasped. One of their own (albeit not one they cared much about) had been murdered... but by WHOM?DUN DUN DUN!

[Bfahome]

 

I sat on the ground, just sort of drifting in thought. I figured that right about now, someone from the other team was being hauled away, voted off by the mysterious forces that ruled our lives. I felt relieved that we were spared the loss this time around, though I didn't feel like gloating; in another week we just might be back on the other side of the coin. We'd already lost Sisen, too.

 

I shook my head. What was I getting so worried about? Getting voted off wasn't the end of the world. Our teams would diminish, sure, but it was still a game. The evictees would be safe, or at least safer than us. Any lost teammates would be waiting on our return. Besides, "survivor" wasn't really literal. No one was going to get killed as part of the game. Everyone would be fine in the end.

 

I consoled myself in the knowledge that there was absolutely no dramatic irony in this train of thought.

[Kakaru]

You know that feeling when you murder someone and then a cop passes you and you make the "I totally didn't murder that guy" face and you try to walk by casually but you trip over yourself and fall headfirst into the nearest open manhole? That's basically exactly what I didn't do when we found xccj's corpse, due to my subtlety, charisma, and great hair.I very casually pointed out that xccj was missing, then pointed out the body hidden behind some leaves that would have been impossible to find without previous knowledge of certain unsavory events, and then suggested that we should try to get a fire going. For reasons.I wiped my hands on my red shorts. Red shorts are a good thing to have in situations like this."Did I mention that I didn't kill him? I feel like I should mention how much I didn't kill him. Those ritual sacrifice runes were probably drawn by a wild animal with an inherent psychic ability to make poor representations of things in paint. Wild animals just do things like that."

[Ta-metru_defender]

Well, the brewery was working and the first batch of Schizo Kaita's Miracle Cactus Brew was... Well. See, there's store-brand beer from a Belgian minimart or plum-wine left our for a couple weeks and then there's a draft in Madrid or a fine port. Schizo Kaita's Miracle Cactus Brew fell in neither extremes, though if I had to say, it was closer to the minimart quality. That said, rule number seven of life was, if I may quote the wise sage Columbus, enjoy the little things. And we enjoyed the little things. Until we found xccj's corpse. Our firemaker was dead. The programmer-of-nektann-until-we-had-junkbot-do-it-for-us. The guy-I-called-boyscout-though-I'm-still-not-sure-if-he-really-is-one-oh-well-too-late-to-care-now. Dead. But who was behind it? I looked around, trying to find clues. A knife fashioned from a nektann in his chest, sacrificial runes drawn around him, blood on his Hau, Kakaru in red shorts, and a teammate just voted off... Of course. I fell to my knees and bellowed out into the jungle:

"SPIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINK!"

[dviddy]

I had been pretty busy working on the distillery, trying to get things up and running for a good chunk of time. Having faith in my teammates, I had left the map-making to them, and continued with the distillery. Apparently we lost? I was so busy working I hadn't heard the results nor had I paid much attention to the final parts until Spink volunteered himself to leave. I guess we tied? Something about that seemed fishy, but whatevs. Hakuna Matata and all that jazz.

 

I went back to work on the distillery, when TMD poured himself a glass of our not-finished brew from one of the sections undergoing cleaning. Literally he drank soap beer. But it was okay, he kind of liked it, it seemed. I debated putting that on the list. I mean hey, if we'll drink it, maybe we could figure out a way to start selling it to the other team.

 

Perhaps even with poison....

 

Nah.

[Arpy]

'twas the middle of the week, and all through the camp,Some fine people were living la vie Supertramp.The large ape was placed in a tower with care,In hopes that fruit targets would soon end up thereSurvivors were snuggling under some leavesWhile occasional raindrops fell from the eavesAnd Tohu sat immunizing us on a shelfAlong with a picture that seemed drawn by an elf.You didn't have a lawn, just tall grass and rocksAnd a DIY windvane you'd made from your socks.The foot-warmers fluttered and flapped in the breezeAnd your drawbridge protected you from any bees.Your material needs seemed altogether well metYou had water, friendly berries, and even a pet.It was almost too easy, you thought with a start.You'd expected a challenge more harder than art.As you lay ruminating on your flat rocky bedSome fear and foreboding settled into your head.You hadn't heard anything from the other teamAnd you struggled to think what this silence could mean.Were they jealous of art? Did they have a big plan?Were they building a bomb? Were they just down a man?All this waiting made you anxious. You were ready to spy.Things had to be bad if you were versing on the fly.So you crept from your leaf like a ninja in bootsAnd you negated that stealth with some loud whistled toots."Listen up, Supertramps", you proclaimed like a prince,"I'm done sitting around--let's do reconnaissance!"

[Eeko]

"I'm in." I proclaimed in response to Arpy's poetic proposition.Reconnaissance is always the next step after fort building. It'd be like Treasure Island, but without the getting shot at part.Hopefully.

[Emzee]

I had spent my time working alongside DeeVee in what would become our landmark achievement. There had been so much to do that unfortunately there wasn't enough time for me to really give much input on the map besides "go for it". At any rate, the big time sink had passed, and I was confident that such a blunder would not happen again. Seeing progress on the distillery moving steadily along, I decided to head to the beach where the rest of my tribe was. I hoped to arrive just in time to see which unlucky (or lucky?) contestant would be going home. Instead, I had arrived just in time to see TMD and Kakaru standing over someone's corpse, solemn looks resting behind their masks. "Who is dead in the White House on this island?" I demanded of one of my teammates, "xccj," was his answer; "he was killed by an assassin" Unbelievable, my thoughts exclaimed. A murderer! Among us though? Weren't we all pacifists? That's when a terrible dark possibility hit me like a bullet. Not anymore. This island of doom had changed us, and we have now taken a direction that we can never back track from. Something had to be done. Justice had to be made. This had be a job for no other than... I turned on my heel and retreated deep into the jungle, leaving a puzzle Kakaru and TMD on the beach. Edited August 7, 2013 by Emzee

[Janus]

It didn't take us long to find the corpse. I mean the drinks weren't ready and a bunch of sweaty men (it is HOT on TROPICAL islands, OKAY?) aren't able to party for that long. So there it was, the first one dead. Instantly my mind started writhing with panic and dark thoughts bubbled up in me.

 

"It was the boy" I thought, looking at my all-too-innocent son wiping his hands on his suspiciously red shorts. "He's following in his mother's footsteps" this thought was too terrible for me to consider--I thought that being in a fictional universe several thousand miles from any inhabited land would allow me to escape the trail of bodies that my wife had left--clearly this wasn't the case.

 

As soon as the thoughts erupted other thoughts began to take their place. "My family would never hurt anyone" I thought as I looked at my adorable young lad, shining like a beacon of innocence. "After all, Hahli Husky was once a coldhearted murderer--but that changed when she met me" this comforting thought was quickly followed by a dark "Or did she" (The dun, dun, dun was silent though)

 

After forcing a horrible rictus grin on my face (Because nothing could be wrong, RIGHT? MY FAMILY WAS INNOCENT RIGHT??) I made a startling discovery. Though somewhat out of place I couldn't stop myself from shouting.

 

"Hey! Where's my gosh-danged shoe?!"

[Bfahome]

Even if Arpy's proposition had come in crayon-scrawled Comic Sans, I would have leapt to join him in a heartbeat anyway. The thought of scaling trees, peering through the forest, bow at the ready, seemed really cool. Because that's what recon is all about, right? Climbing trees and being cool. And being cool while climbing trees. Okay, maybe I wasn't the best person to be stuck with on a visciously hostile island, because all I really wanted to do was have fun. Either way, I went to stand beside my recon buddies and waited to see if anyone else decided to join. Edited August 8, 2013 by Bfahome

[Sumiki]

"RECON!" I exclaimed. "I'm totally in. I'm getting a little tired of staying in the same spot for a while. Let's just hope Tufi doesn't spring some sort of surprise on us while we're out ..."

[Hahli Husky]

The stealth mission sounded interesting, but after all the noise and work of building, not to mention my face hurting, I was ready for a break. With a tired smile, I shook my head at my teammates. "I think I'll stay here, actually. It would suck if the other team came in and stole everything while we were out, or burned the place to the ground. Oh, but if another challenge starts and we need to be together, I'll catch up with you guys." I helped them prepare for their outing, packing light and camouflaging as much as possible. It would be nice to have some quiet for a day or two. But mostly, I needed them out of the way.

Edited August 22, 2013 by Hahli Husky

[Arpy]

"Okay," you said to your merry band of spies travailing travelers, "Bonus points if anyone finds some rubber trees on the way. I'd love to vulcanize the stuff and carve some Supertramp stamps to mark all our stuff with berry inkjuice. The privacy of private property should be shouted from the rooftops, so to speak."Sumiki raised a hand. "Wouldn't shouting be counter-productive?""Don't you talk to me about grammar...!!!" you quoted. Because it was a quote, everybody accepted that its relation to the train of conversation was tangential at best and didn't question it. They could tell you'd done theater and were desperate to force lines into everyday conversation even when they didn't come from plays.Bfahome raised a hand. The hand was Eeko's, with whom he was skipping through the woods in a flurry of fun, but it was definitely a hand. "What do we do if they catch us? I'm worried about them harshing my funtimes."Eeko raised a hand. "Harshing my funtimes? Does anyone actually talk like that?""Wait your turn," you told him. "Besides, he plainly just did. If anyone catches us, we'll say we came to make a deal. Who knows, now that we don't have to worry about getting Ludo back to camp, we might even see about making one. I bet they'd settle for something ridiculous. Anyway, I'd like to see these Nektann for myself and see what else they're up to.""So lots of seeing, basically," Sumiki said."Exactly," you replied. "And you didn't raise your hand."

[Makaru]

NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE

Shoulda called us the RICKETY RACKET SUPERSONICS for all the ruckus these jokers were making. No wait, that's a dumb idea. No dumb names for us. We ain't no an cool dudes.

I took point. Anyone who knows me I move silently. Like a leaf on the wind, as it were. I broke through the foliage and saw them. Some of them were gathered around a body. Janus poked at it with a stick.

I recognized the corpse.

I ran back to my teammates who were still doing their best impression of something that makes a lot of noise. I proclaimed my discovery.

"SOMEONE KILLED XKCD!!"

[Tufi Piyufi]

Speaking of noise, there came one that could be heard all over the island:Both tribes must make their way to the landing area tomorrow for the next Immunity Challenge. Failure to show up means an automatic loss. Loss may be redefined to mean something worse than usual. That is all.

[Janus]

My missing shoe frustration was interrupted by the booming and fear-inducing voice of the empress, and with a quick glance at my fellow (still leaving) teammates I took off for the landing area. My Kakama may not have actually worked, but the way I zoomed off it sure seemed like it.Naturally I grabbed my boy in a loving (and immobilizing) headlock before heading off. Anything else would just be poor parenting.

[Hahli Husky]

Before I could start anything not even remotely devious at all, the call sounded. I tried to lock up on my way out, but since we didn't have any thing close to a lock, shutting the door in a way that made it look like it was locked would have to do. I also put a small sign on the door before heading down to the water.

Edited August 22, 2013 by Hahli Husky

[Arpy]

 

You choked on your gum at the sheer surprise of it all, or you would have, if you'd had any gum. "Foiled again," you murmured. Your plans trashed, you dashed off to the landing area, thanking Mata-Nui that you hadn't actually choked, let alone choked to death. The last thing this island needed was another dead person. Then again, maybe it didn't have any. Your understanding of biology was imperfect and relied a lot on medical dramas, but it was possible that xccr was only mostly dead...and mostly dead meant slightly alive. What a fortunate son.

[Emzee]

There was really no reason for be to duck out into the jungle. It's not like I had the skill required to fashion an entire costume from leaves and twigs. However, I did have the power to conjure a theme song for myself, and that would do... for now. In the eyes of a Ranger, the unsuspecting strangerHad better know the truth of wrong from right'Cause the eyes of the Ranger are upon youAny wrong you do, he's gonna see.When you're in Texas on Voya Nui look behind you'Cause that's where the Ranger's gonna be! I also had the power to give myself a new name. I would call myself Walker. ---- I walked slowly to the landing area, the beach that had started all of this. A cold, hard grimace rested on my face, and I eagerly awaited the next set of instructions. However whatever shenanigans took place here, I would resume my Ranger duties and catch xccj's killer. Edited August 8, 2013 by Emzee

[Ta-metru_defender]

 

"You were the greatest man I ever knew! You will be avenged!" I swore to the corpse on the ground, "You will be avenged! I will get the Avengers, and you will be avenged!"

 

Then The Call of The Puffin sounded around the island. Without the time to give the Dearly Departed a proper funeral (or to pursue the perpetrator for his departation of the departed) I hastily scribbled "DO NOT DISTURB (OR EAT)" on a rock and placed it by xccj's head.

 

And then headed to the landing area with the others.

[Makaru]

My goshly goodness. In all the madness, I had forgotten to scribe the dwindling numbers. I took out GAFNAXE, and the sharp stone I had used for that other guy.

XCDR

I didn't get a good look at the numbers, so I would have to wait before I found out if he was the one voted out, or if some other lucky scamp got out first.

I hustled to the beach.

[Eeko]

I escaped from Bfa's grasp to book it toward the landing site.I'd be darned if we were gonna lose another challenge on my account.

[Sumiki]

Lots of things seemed to be happening at once. Our recon plan was foiled by Tufi's call, and apparently someone had killed xfdm. Or xcpl. Whatever he called himself, he was dead now. Suddenly the game seemed a lot more real now. A murderer was amongst us. Oh well. Might as well just continue on. Safety in numbers and all that. I trooped along after the raggedy band of Supertramps that were making their way towards the landing site. No way we were going to lose this challenge; we already had an advantage over the I'd Settle For Thats and I was determined to keep it that way. Edited August 8, 2013 by Sumiki

[dviddy]

 

The voice of the Empress came out, booming as it is wont to do, and so I headed to the landing area. Along the way I ran into Emzee, who was doing a delightful Walker, Texas Ranger impersonation. Of all of us here, he was certainly the most qualified fort his maneuver. I asked him what the occasion was, and he informed me that our teammate was dead.

 

"Which one?"

 

"xccj"

 

"Wait, X-Zibit is dead? Who is going to pimp our ride now???"

 

I shook my head, saddened by the lack of ride pimping that would be happening. I'd hoped we'd get those Nektanns equipped with some big rims and maybe a mobile home theater. Sigh.

 

Oh well, all of this would have to wait.

 

We were on the beach.

[Tufi Piyufi]

Tufi walked up tot he tribes, carrying a bunch of sticks in her arms. "Congratulations on following basic instructions, guys..." She stopped and did a headcount. "Where's xccj?"Emzee moved to take off his hat before realizing he didn't have one. "I'm afraid he's been murdered.""Dead?" Tufi swore. "Is it really so much to ask for one Survivor where nobody dies? Gah. We'll take care of that later." She spread the sticks out in a line on the beach. "Challenge time.""Here's the rules:There are 25 sticks in the game.You will play in turns.Each tribe will take either 1 or 2 sticks per turn.Include the updated total in your post.You cannot have the same person play for your tribe twice in a row.The tribe that takes the last stick loses.Simple stuff. Because you lost the last challenge, I'd Settle For That goes first."

[Emzee]

At first, no one moved. I personally was expecting some sort of hidden surprise, and not the good kind, and that made me a bit cautious. Then, I remembered that I could not be cautious anymore. I was Walker now. Walker fears nothing, and the sooner we get this challenge done, the sooner I can get back to the xccj case. I reached down a took one of the sticks off the beach, and held it in my grasp.Remaining total: 24

Edited August 9, 2013 by Emzee

[Bfahome]

 

"GUYS I'M ALL OVER THIS!" I bellowed, running over to the stick pile. Emzee had just taken one, leaving the total at 24.

 

I grabbed two. Because escalation.

 

The remaining total was now 22.

[Janus]

Welp that sure was a challenge wasn't it. (No, a challenge is trying to prevent your insane wife and son from killing everyone on the island. Not that I have an insane wife and son trying to kill everyone, that would just be crazy)

 

I saw that the total was now 22 and moving swiftly I snatched up two more sticks and promptly started doing wicked cool martial arts move. As an intimidation factor. And also because I was bored.

 

WHA-CHA.

 

(Total Sticks Remaining: 20)

[Hahli Husky]

Brooding, I took one stick and started sharpening it idly, studying each of my fellow players in turn.Who could have landed a kill already?Hopefully someone I could be proud of. I didn't need any more potential rivals.19 sticks were left.

Edited August 22, 2013 by Hahli Husky