Willy
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Post by Willy on Feb 17, 2016 4:24:18 GMT -5
Allen grabbed the box of keys from the closet and turned back to the newest resident of the dormitory he was in charge of. He cursed as he fumbled around with the keys, even dropping a few of them onto the grey stone tiles on the floor.
"You're on the fourth floor. Room 403. If you need anything else, don't bother me. I just hand out the keys."
Allen was short, kind of chubby, and it was doubtful he was ever anything other than irritated. Which didn't make much sense, as he seemed to have a pretty good setup here: his room was clearly separated from the rest of the rooms in the dorms. It also looked like it had its own bathroom, carpeted floors, and plenty of space. At least, what you could see through his door, which Allen was in the process of slamming shut. He left the slime girl to make her way up the stone steps on her own.
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Post by Blahsadfeguie on Feb 17, 2016 5:23:47 GMT -5
"Okay, thank you!" Candy cheerily responded, leaning to smile at the keymaster through her rapidly shrinking window. Despite the rather dark, grubby, and otherwise unwelcoming atmosphere of the building, the 18-year-old slime girl was highly enthusiastic about getting her own place and meeting new people. She looked down at the key in her translucent, yellow hand as though it were a piece of jewelry. With a giddy smile, she squeezed the key until it poked through and into her hand - better than trusting her own slippery fingers not to drop it. And with that, she skipped off toward the stairs, leaving small slightly sticky puddles in her wake.
Aside from her hair and skin being made out of congealed yellow slime, Candy had the appearance of a typical young woman entering adulthood. In lieu of clothing that would be practical for a being of definitely solid flesh, she wore a one-piece white jumpsuit that covered her whole torso and halfway down her limbs. It was the closest thing she could find to an outfit that would consistently fit her dynamic form.
The stairs creaked under Candy's feet with a brisk rhythm. By the time she reached the fourth floor, she was only mildly exhausted. When she spotted room 403 a couple doors down, she approached it slowly and anxiously. She paused in front of it, soaking up the anticipation. What was her new room like? Was her roommate already here? What was he like? It might as well have been the entrance to a newly discovered ancient ruin with all the mystery and suspense. Taking a deep breath, she pressed her hand against the keyhole, worked the key into it, and twisted it.
Click! The lock opened, and Candy turned the knob. "Hellooo?" she called as she rode the door open, a silly grin decorating her shining face.
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Willy
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Post by Willy on Feb 17, 2016 21:57:18 GMT -5
Inside the room a guy, a few years older than Candy, was laying down on a bare mattress, tossing a ball into the air and catching it repeatedly.
"Keep it down, wouldya? I'd rather not draw attention to myself at the moment. Your stuffs on your dresser. Goodluck with that."
The room was small, and rectangular. The floors were tile, chipped away in places, and the walls were bare, save for some holes where nails had previously been. Opposite the door, there was a single desk with a chair, and then on either side there was a bed and a small dresser with three large drawers each. It appeared as though the guy tossing the ball had already claimed the left side of the room. On the right dresser there were what appeared to be 10 tickets that said "MEAL" on them in large letters with a barcode on the back.
There was also what looked like a watch with two screens on it. The first screen had a number: 1.293.409
The second screen read, "Reminder: You must complete your next battle within 3 Days."
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Post by Blahsadfeguie on Feb 17, 2016 23:32:44 GMT -5
Candy took a moment to take in the sights of her new room. To say it wasn't much to look at was an understatement, but somehow, knowing that this was "home" was enough for her to appreciate it. She did like the idea of having "stuff" after all.
"Awesome," exclaimed Candy, apparently oblivious to the first request of her new roommate. With a running start, she dove onto the open bed, resulting in a sound not unlike a large, fresh fish being dropped onto a table. She got a couple of decent bounces off of it before settling down and pawing at the watch on the dresser. She picked it up and stared at the screens for a couple of seconds before remembering what she was a little more excited about.
She looked across the room at the other guy. "So my name's Candy," she introduced. "My 18th birthday was last week, so now I'm officially on my own!" She raised her arms and let herself fall on her back to further drive home her enthusiasm.
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Willy
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Post by Willy on Feb 18, 2016 0:09:31 GMT -5
The guy on the bed pulled down the hood of his sweatshirt to reveal his dark, disheveled hair. "Oh how great for you. Finally going out into the world to live in a crowded dormitory for an eternity. Better get used to these four walls, Candy. You're gonna be lookin' at them for a loooong time."
He went back to throwing his ball, almost mechanically throwing and catching it in a mesmerizing pattern of arm movements. He managed this entirely with his right arm, leaving his left arm laying on the bed, his watch face showing the number 1.293.410 and a similar message about a battle deadline. The same exact one as Candy's watch.
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Post by Blahsadfeguie on Feb 18, 2016 0:52:10 GMT -5
Candy sat up at the man's words, but her reply was momentarily distracted by the ball. She smiled, giggling softly to herself. "Well it's not like I can't go out from time to time." She casually slipped the watch over her left wrist, comparing it to her roommate's. "And I do plan on fighting a lot. I didn't train all my life to be a deadbeat pacifist!"
She looked back up at the guy, not one to let a downer attitude drag down her own. "So what's your name?" she asked, leaning against the wall. "You do have one of those, right? How about a life story? What's your fighting style?" She poked idly at her watch. It'd take a while before she got used to wearing it. "Or I could go first, if you don't feel like it. It's okay to be a little shy."
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Willy
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Post by Willy on Feb 18, 2016 23:09:42 GMT -5
"My name is Monty," he began, "and my fighting style is irrelevant because I'm not fighting anyone. Nor do I plan to."
Monty began throwing the ball higher, bouncing it off of the ceiling before catching it each time. He really was trying his hardest to keep to himself.
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Post by Blahsadfeguie on Feb 18, 2016 23:38:09 GMT -5
"Oh." Candy frowned a little. Clearly this Monty wasn't quite as enthusiastic as she was about sharing personal details with a, for all intents and purposes, complete stranger. But she was determined to get through to him somehow.
Searching for ideas, she glanced down at her watch again. She had seen nearly every adult in the city wearing one, but never had the chance to ask about it. Either that or the person just thought she was being rude.
"Sooo what's the deal with these watches anyway, Monty?" she asked. "1.293.409 doesn't sound like a time."
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Willy
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Post by Willy on Feb 19, 2016 0:14:58 GMT -5
Monty rolled his eyes and sat up, his sandals clicking as he placed his feet on the floor. 18 and she didn't know about the watches? Where had she been her whole life? "It's your ranking. It supposedly shows how good of a combatant you are compared to everyone else. You win, your number gets smaller. You lose? Well... Your ranking can't really get WORSE at this point. You're new so they've placed you at the lowest ranking possible."
Monty indicated the second screen on his own watch. "Now, the bottom screen is your objective and your deadline. Lately they've been assigning each person one battle every three days, but it will change here and there. Sometimes they'll require more than one battle for a given objective. Other times they'll give you more time to relax, or give you even shorter deadlines. Point is, you don't complete the fight, you'll get a penalty. For example, I haven't completed an objective in the last two weeks." Monty then pointed one of his thin fingers at his ranking "That's why my ranking is lower than even yours. It's also why I don't have any meal tickets. They don't really like people who don't play by the rules."
"So there you go. Enjoy fighting your way up the ranks, oh brave warrior." Monty offered sarcastically.
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Post by Blahsadfeguie on Feb 19, 2016 0:55:30 GMT -5
Candy blinked, leaning into Monty's watch perhaps just a little too closely. It all made so much sense now! But then again, it didn't. In a world where fighting was the only way to live, and in a position where you have nothing to lose, why wouldn't you fight? "Hmm," she uttered thoughtfully. "If you get penalized for not fighting... why don't you want to fight? How do you survive?" She leaned forward. "Do you know how to fight...?"
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Willy
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Post by Willy on Feb 19, 2016 1:12:39 GMT -5
"Ha, of COURSE I know how to fight. I've just decided I don't want to is all." Monty looked away as he said this, avoiding eye contact. "Anyway, I don't care about ranking. I think this whole system is... pretty dumb honestly."
"Anyway, if you really want to fight, it isn't really fair of me to drag you into my own ideologies." He bounced back, trying to change the subject. "There's an open lot near here where people often meet to find a good fight. I could show you where it is so you can get a good look at some of the competition around here if you want."
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Post by Blahsadfeguie on Feb 19, 2016 1:55:17 GMT -5
Monty's dodgy response drew forth some curiosity from the slime girl, but before she could pry any further, he changed the subject. Fortunately for the both of them, it was another subject that Candy was eager to delve into. "Ooh, yes, that sounds like fun!" she exclaimed, launching off of the bed and making a wobbly landing. She then stuck her foot out in a highly exaggerated march toward the door. "I'm ready as I'll ever b--"
She stopped in her tracks, remembering something. "Oh yeah." She turned to the dresser, where her "MEAL tickets" still sat, untouched. Those were probably important. Candy scrambled to them, gathering them into an awkward stack. "What should I do... with these...?" She picked up the stack, fanning the tickets out a bit. "Do I keep them ON me, or... can I like... leave them here?" She flipped them over and was promptly mesmerized by the barcodes.
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Willy
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Post by Willy on Feb 21, 2016 4:50:23 GMT -5
Monty shrugged, "They're basically money. So, I dunno. However you wanna keep them safe? They're SUPPOSED to be used to claim food from places around town, but most people will use them the same as cash. If you think they're safe here then leave them here."
He stood up, now obviously swimming in his too-baggy sweatshirt. He made his way over to the door and waited for Candy. "Whatever you decide to do, make it quick. We should try to get down there while there's still a good crowd. It's not too far." He pulled his hood back up. Like the rest of the sweatshirt it was far too big for Monty and made it difficult to see his face.
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Post by Blahsadfeguie on Feb 21, 2016 5:16:13 GMT -5
Candy nodded. More information to file away. "However I want to keep them safe," she repeated. "I gotcha. Naturally, they're safest with me."
Candy's jumpsuit didn't have pockets, but in a way, that only made things simpler. She took the stack of tickets... and shoved them into her mouth, where they passed visibly through her neck and disappeared behind her clothing. Just a few moments later, the amusing realization hit her. "Heheh, get it?" she asked, giggling. "Meal tickets. Ironic, huh?"
The overly proud girl smiled a very satisfied smile, blissfully unaware of the fact that it was actually coincidence and not irony, and went to join Monty by the door.
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Willy
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Post by Willy on Feb 29, 2016 1:19:01 GMT -5
Monty responded with an eye-roll and nothing else, opting to simply walk out the door and leave Candy to follow.
He lead her down the flights of stairs, past the door to Allen's room, through the small lobby area that mainly just consisted of a few tattered and suspiciously stained couches set around a coffee table that had seen better days, and out the heavy glass door to the outside world.
It was a chilly day in late fall. Most of the trees were already completely bare, and dull grey clouds covered the sky. Monty shoved his hands deep into his pockets to keep them from getting too cold as he briskly walked down the cracked sidewalks of what used to be some kind of campus for... some kind of school? Whatever it was, it sure wasn't anymore. And it was definitely small. There were a few others walking around as well, all of them wearing the bracelet with a ranking and a deadline on its screens.
Only a couple blocks away in what looked to be a park was a large group, maybe 300 people, all gathered around into a central group, the park divided into 5 circles, each outlined with some kind of paint. And in 3 of those circles, people seemed to be squaring off. But from this distance it was hard to make out much about any of the fights. Still, Monty stopped in his tracks, refusing to go any farther.
"Alright, there you go. As promised, people are fighting here. Whatever you're going to do, don't let me stop you."
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