Do you accept death?

affiliated with isola

[summersixth]

travis‌:

It’d been a long time coming. I mean, we’re talking YEARS in the making. This new development, this new start… I know you all want an explanation, so I’ll stop building it up! 

Travis Touchdown was standing on the beach. But this time? He had a smile on his face, clothes geared towards having fun in the sun, and, most importantly, no supermodel ghosts of the past trying to bring him down. None. At. All. 

Travis Touchdown had finally let his grudge against the sea and sand go. 

All thanks to the same reason he was trying his best not to perv at all the hot bods on display. 

TO: SummerSixth FROM: Suplex51

[txt]: Thinking of you, Holly! Come on down, when you can!

    Holly had been enjoying a slow, peaceful walk on her way to the festival in a rather risque bikini, high heels, and a sheer bolero. Her phone buzzed in one of her thigh holster pockets, and as soon as she read the message, she smiled.

    TILL: Suplex51     FRÅN: SummerSixth

    [text]: And if I told you I’m already on my way?     [img attachment]

    And with her reply came a selfie with a cute cat-face filter. Naturally it was taken in a way that Travis could see her top, or perhaps her lack thereof would be a better way of wording it. 

[summersixth]

travis:

It was still surreal. All of this. Hearing her voice, feeling her embrace, seeing her just so overjoyed to see him. Especially that. Travis had never imagined Holly to be the “warm lovebug” type. 

It was adorable. Moe, even. 

“I’ve missed you, too…” A lot. Enough so that our otaku hero did things that he might not have been proud of, in hindsight. But enough of that. Travis tried to smile all cool-like, but it came off more nervous and nerdy. “But hey, no need to apologize! Just… Maybe text me something every once in a while. Okay?” 

Now, for the questions. 

“I’ve been fine! Taking care of myself the best a hero like me can!” Which isn’t very much. “Shut up, mun… How about you, Holly?”

    At his confession, Holly smiled and tilted her head to the side, examining his expression. Sincere, and perhaps a bit bashful. “Of course you did, darling.” She stepped to his side, keeping just a single hand entangled in his so that they could walk together. Not that she had any particular destination in mind, Holly just wasn’t keen on staying stagnant any longer than she already had. 

    “And I suppose that is a fair enough request. If you ask nicely, I may even send pictures from time to time as well.” She flashed a quick wink up at him before turning her attention to the city around them. It was nice, on one hand, not to be constantly bombarded by paparazzi and fans. On the other, she missed the attention. But she had Travis, and she enjoyed the way he stared at her as if his eyes were all but glued to her person. 

    “Hmm... is that so? Do I need to start spending nights with you to make sure you aren’t lying to me?” He looked well enough, but... it could just be because his appearance would never really change much. Well, not without sequels at any rate. “I’m doing well, myself. Better now that I get to see you again. You have a certain... something that always seems to lift my spirits. Perhaps it’s your dashing looks, or maybe that boundless, idiotic charm you have.”

[summersixth]

badou:

Well now the teenager’s curious. He cocks a brow at her.

“You planning on just burying the body or decimating it?”

    Oh, she likes this one already. A hand rests on her hip as she laughs softly, an elegant, airy sound.

    “You ask as if I can’t do both. In this case, however, the answer is neither. I am simply looking to rebuild the arsenal I had before being so rudely brought to this city. At the moment, I have no targets and thus no one to use them on, but it never hurts to be prepared.”

[summersixth]

@sanpatron

    After placing her order at the cafe, Holly found herself in quite the predicament. She checked pouch after pouch, but her currency was nowhere to be found. Had she truly been so distracted that she’d left it at home? “Just a moment please, I know it’s here somewhere...” The former model looked over her shoulder and just so happened to make eye contact with a rather handsome stranger. A sad, almost defeated expression turned down elegant features for that short second their gazes met before she returned to searching her pockets. With any luck, he’d step forward and help her. If not, well... “Ah, I believe I must have left my money at home. Apologies for wasting your time.” She bowed her head briefly to the person working the counter before turning and starting to walk away from the counter.

[summersixth]

@baddestdangerboy

    As precious as her current weapon was, an assassin with a toy for an arsenal was hardly an assassin. This wouldn’t do. “Hello, dear.” She approached a red-headed man smoking a cigarette with a smile as pleasant as ever. “Would you happen to know where I might purchase either a shovel or a large quantity of high-grade explosives?”

[summersixth]

@suplex51

    Despite the amount of time she’d spent away from the city, it was impressively easy for her to step back out into public when promised the opportunity to spend time with him. Travis. She’d had plenty of time to adjust to knowing his name, but somehow whenever she said it aloud, she felt like a schoolgirl again.

    Childish thoughts aside, as soon as he approached her, she waved him over and then stepped into his arms for a close embrace.

    “There you are, I’ve missed you so.” She leaned up to press a sweet kiss to his cheek, and even after taking a small step away, Holly continued to hold onto his hands. “Thank you for agreeing to meet me on such short notice, and I’m sorry for not contacting you sooner. Are you doing well? Have you been eating properly? Taking care of yourself?”

[summersixth]

    “Hm... much seems to have changed about this city in the time I’ve spent in my room. I suppose it is time for me to finally do some exploring.”

[summersixth]

    I’ve let my activity slip greatly for a number of reasons, but regardless, I’d like to jump back into writing Holly. Please feel free to like this post for a starter. I’ll place a soft cap at 3, and beyond that I will be selective.

[summersixth]

Bold everything your muse has done:

broken a bone | gotten stitches | had a near-death experience | killed someone | tried and failed to kill someone | invented something | been hungover | kissed someone | slow-danced | been in a long-term relationship | had sex | had sex and regretted it | had a one-night stand | had a threesome | experimented with their sexuality | had a kid | gotten married | self-harmed | traveled to another country | been in a play | received an inheritance | been in a car wreck | lost a loved one | been dumped | dumped someone | smoked | gotten high | been slipped something in their food/drink | won a contest | won an election | joined a sports team | gone skydiving | gone hunting | been in a band | had a job | been fired | been in a wedding party | owned a pet | seen a ghost | skipped class/work | learned an instrument | gotten a noticeable scar | sued someone | been robbed | been mugged | been kidnapped | been sexually assaulted | been brainwashed/hypnotized | gone more than one day without eating | had a recurring nightmare | been bullied | bullied someone | seen someone die | attempted suicide | been tied/chained up | shot someone | stabbed someone | saved someone’s life | cheated on someone | been cheated on | had a stalker | been betrayed | been in a fight | been arrested | been to a funeral | had surgery | broken someone’s trust | gotten a piercing | gotten a tattoo | used a fake name | been tortured | been abused | been blackmailed | had an attempt on their life | gotten away with a crime | gone on a road trip | been in love

[summersixth]

travis:

She was right. In a lot of ways, and especially when it came to Holly, Travis was stupid. He was a mess. He was broken. And, above all else, at this moment, he was pathetic. 

But he’d changed, too. Through all the trials, tribulations, tragedy, and triumphs of his life, through all the times in Santa Destroy and in Hive City… Travis had changed. And now, it was time to prove it. 

All of a sudden, through sheer force of will, the otaku assassin stood tall. At arms-length, he held the woman who’d blessed his sweet dreams, and haunted his dark nightmares. He furiously wiped away his tears, snot, and other bodily fluids on his jacket sleeve. He forced his heavy breathing to take a more dignified pace. 

I mean, his eyes were still puffy, his cheeks were still red, and his nose still ran. But hey, nobody’s perfect.

“I’m a lot of things, Holly,” Travis began, his voice calm like the ocean beside them. “’Sorry’ being just one of them. I’m the man who overcame everything to make it to the top, twice-over. I’m the man who put an end to something that treated fucked-up people like us as disposable tools. I’m the man who’s been slapped in the face by reality more times than I can count, who’s lost more to his own mistakes than anyone should, but keeps on keeping on, regardless.” 

“I’m the Crownless King. I’m the No More Hero. I’m… just an otaku, trying to test his luck.” 

“I’m Travis Touchdown, and I’m finally ready to face you.”

    Once he finished his (admittedly heroic and dashing) monologue, Holly lifted a hand to gently caress his face. Made it to the top - so he had reached number one. Of course he had. The smile on her face went beyond her normal one, this smile reached her eyes. So he’d not only learned his lesson, suffered after her death, and kept her in his memory for four years, but he’d used that pain to overcome what she could only assume were difficult trials. To become the number one rank was no easy feat, but he’d done it twice, it seems.

    He looked like a fool, still snotting and sniffling, but... she had to admit, there was an undeniable charisma about him. 

    “How very inspiring. It seems like you earned your place, and that my death was important, regardless of the hand who dealt it.” She let her hand fall, fingers curling ever so slightly at her sides. Holly wanted to take his hands again. She’d enjoyed their brief embrace, bodily fluids and all. It was ever so rare for someone to hold her for any reason other than popularity or lust. Hm. Had she grown so desperate that she wanted to be close to him of all people?

    “I finally know your name after all that’s happened, but...” A short pause as she stood tall, straightening out after unconsciously leaning toward him. “I don’t know if I can bring myself to say it. I’ve thought of you only as the assassin ranked below me and as a man who has yet to mature. Yet you stand before me as a man, and as the top ranked assassin, no less.” She hesitated a moment, head tilting slightly to the side as she examined him. Everything about this, this coming back to life, this new city, this man she’d fallen for herself in her final moments, it all left Holly feeling rather like she had no control. And oh, how she disliked not having control.

    And so she took a deep breath before whispering a word there was no way he’d hear. Travis. It felt odd to say, but not wrong. “Travis Touchdown. Travis. You are the man who defeated me in combat, and the man who was unable to kill me, despite the assassin way.” Holly took a step closer to him, finally giving in to her urge to take his hands in her own. “You didn’t kill me, but you used my death to push yourself forward. You honored me in that, and so I forgive you.” 

  “You stupid, pathetic man.” A reminder of her confession as she looked into his eyes and smiled.

[summersixth]

travis:

He wasn’t ready. He didn’t deserve her. He wasn’t ready. He didn’t deserve her. Over and over, the words repeated themselves, bounced off the walls of Travis’ skulls, and just tried their best to drown out everything else. 

Emphasis should be put on “tried,” however. For Holly’s pointed words, and soothing actions… They awoke something within Travis. Reignited. Gave rise to a new mental mantra, one that started wrestling the others into submission, granting the otaku strength to move forward.

He wasn’t ready? Who cared? He didn’t deserve her? Who cared?!

Travis didn’t just grab Holly by the hand. He straight-out yanked her into a full-on embrace. Didn’t matter whether or not it was appropriate. Not in this moment. If Holly hated this, she could just stab him. Blow him up. Whatever. Travis would accept it. 

He just needed something to support himself, to keep his shaking body standing.

“… I watched you die, night after night, for four fucking years, Holly…” Travis started, face buried in the supermodel assassin’s shoulder. “No matter how hard I’d fight… Now matter how much I wanted to swipe my beam katana through your neck… I’d always freeze up… always… shame you…” 

Were those hiccups? Was that Travis struggling even more to remain upright? Were those his hands clutching the small of Holly’s back? Were those tears threatening to fall from his closed eyes?

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

“I’m sorry… I’m so f-fucking sorry…”

    It was rare for Holly to so openly show surprise. She wasn’t incapable of emotion, simply that she’d grown so used to her every move being watched by the public eye that she’d trained herself to hide extremes. Conditioned herself both mentally and physically to remain as graceful and attractive as possible. But when Travis grabbed her and forced her into the most sincere, most desperate embrace of her life, Holly Summers’s dark eyes went wide and her lips parted in a soft gasp. If anything, she’d expected him to slap her for her cruelty. For him to yell, spew curses, bite back in retaliation. But he was simply... broken. 

  “You never forgot me...” The way she spoke, it was all but a question. “How...” Naive. Foolish. Childish. Pathetic. Stupid. “Charming.” 

  Her arms moved to wrap around him, one hand settling comfortably on his shoulder blade, the other gently smoothing through his hair. “It’s true, you were pathetic for not killing me back then. You made me feel... lesser, in a sense. Like you didn’t deem me worthy of killing. But you’ve obviously learned your lesson.” It was clear in his shaking voice, in the way Holly had to hold him up. He was a mess, getting multiple bodily fluids all over her shoulder and clothes, but... she sighed gently, then pulled away just enough to look him in the eye. “Look at me. Apologize to my face like a man. And tell me... tell me your name. Prove to me that you are no longer that pathetic little bud. Prove to me that you’ve bloomed, and only then will I forgive you.”

[summersixth]

travis:

Oh, yeah. This wasn’t real. To Travis, that was clear and plain as it could be. No matter what sweet nothings this waking nightmare, this PTSD siren spouted, Travis wouldn’t react. His expression wouldn’t soften. He had better things to do than getting into yet another dialogue with someone long dead. No matter how tempting it was…

Oh, yeah. This wasn’t real. To Travis, that was clear and plain as it could be. 

But, wait: hallucinations couldn’t touch him, right?

… 

Oh, no.

The carefully-built walls within our hero were demolished, knocked down by a cold, hard truth: This was real, clear and plain as it could be. His eyes widened, his breathing quickened… That slender hand was swatted off of Travis’ chest, as the otaku started to back up. Slowly. One step. Two steps. Hands out in front. 

Travis had wondered, for a long, long time - ever since he’d first stepped foot into the Hive, all those months ago - what he’d do when another assassin was apped into this roleplay. When the otaku was finally face-to-face with those who’d plagued his mind, haunted his dreams for years. Especially her. 

Travis thought he’d be ready. 

He wasn’t. 

    Holly’s head tilted to the side, a brow raising in time with smile falling. She was surprised, speechless at the sight of him speechless. Him, the one who’d come back at her with so many witty lines. The one who’d made her final fight feel far more like a date than a battle to the death.

    It was harsh, and oh how she knew it, but the Assassin couldn’t help herself. “You look as though you’ve seen a ghost, my dear.” Carefully, as though she was approaching a scared stray cat rather than a highly capable man, Holly took the smallest of steps forward, leading with her prosthetic. “I suppose I understand your surprise, that look of fear in your eyes, but I assure you that I am no ghost. Whatever beings created this place decided to give me a new body upon arrival. How else would I be able to touch you?” That one step was all she took, though she did opt to hold out a hand to him. Palm up, an invitation for him to take it, as well as a show that she held no ill will.

    “Though, I must admit, I’m disappointed that you aren’t happy to see me. There was something in your eyes I saw the moment before I died, something... perhaps like love. Did you fall for me, my sweet seventh? Did I force you to watch the woman you love die?” Despite her biting words, a smile returned to her expression, Summers was as gentle and soft as ever. “But that hardly matters now. The past is the past, and neither of us can change it. What we are faced with now is the future. And each other, as long as you can manage to keep your eyes on me.”

[summersixth]

elysia:

   Uncertainty, gazing off somewhere for a few moment. It was frustrating to feel like she knew what may have happened. Yet she dare not ask either. Something about this place was strange and left her feeling off. Almost in the same vein of of being sick, maybe even uneasy. 

   Pulling herself from those thoughts, brushing it off like it was nothing, she caught up with someone walk ahead of her. “Hey! Heeey! Excuse me, miss?” 

    It is taking far longer than she’d like to adjust to this new city. It’s nothing at all like Santa Destroy. No one trying to kill her every few seconds, no one snapping photos, asking if she has a partner yet... how odd. This island truly is peaceful.

    Holly hates it.

    The assassin stop in her tracks when someone calls out, turning on instinct under the assumption that it’s either a fan or someone out to kill her. But... this woman seems to be neither. “Yes? Did you need something, dear?”

[summersixth]

travis:

This is the story of how Travis Touchdown ran away from his problems yet again. Or maybe this is the story of how he finally learned to confront them. I don’t know, this is only the starter. 

I’ve probably mentioned this before, but Travis? Oh, he hated the beach. Absolutely despised the lot of them. You couldn’t convince the man to set foot on one. You couldn’t pay him. Hell, you couldn’t even seduce him onto one. Yes, you read that right. 

So now, you’re probably wondering, “Why the grudge towards the sand and surf? And if he hated beaches so much, what was Travis doing on the debris-ridden Radiale coastline? Besides staring at something with exhaustion and… bitterness, I mean.” Well, reader, I’ll be answering those questions in reverse order. Y’know, for the sake of narrative flow. That cool with you? I’m being rhetorical, here. Doing it anyways. 

See, Travis was still hot on the search for his friends / supporting cast. He’d covered most of Spirale, with… mixed results so far. Random results, at that. What with the city being in its current wrecked state, Travis didn’t have many ideas on places his compadres would frequent… Save for the marine-life-loving, astral asskicker: Star Platinum. So, our nerdy hero sucked it up, bit the bullet, and ventured towards our setting.

Now, for why Travis hated beaches? 

Well, that would be the aforementioned “something” he’d been staring at. 

A vision. A ghost from the past. An embodiment of the lengths the Crownless King’s mind would go to mess with him. 

“Fucking gimme a break, already…” 

    Holly was no fan of beaches, herself. Not after her tragic death on her last trip to the shore. But she simply couldn’t help herself. She had a feeling, perhaps from Suda themselves, that something important would happen if she went to the beach. And lo and behold, a familiar voice broke the peaceful lull of waves crashing against sand.

    The assassin turned, hands clasped as elegantly as ever in front of her as grey eyes met blue. “Oh my sweet seventh, it is good to see you too.” A gentle smile found its way to her expression and settled comfortably. “Or perhaps I should be calling you my fearless first, hmm?” 

    “I think I prefer you as my lucky number seven.” Her tone remained sweet as she approached, a single gloved hand raising to rest upon Travis’s strong chest. “Is that selfish of me? To disregard your accomplishments in favor of keeping you as you were? You were so sweet, so naive. My little bud seems to have bloomed in my absence.” 

[summersixth]

  “Ah. It would seem that today is National Kissing Day, if I am not mistaken. Perhaps I should open a booth? Ah, but no... there is only one person I would like to kiss today.”

  “I wonder what my little bud is doing.”

[summersixth]

deckard:

“O-oh!!!” Deckard isn’t sure how he likes being called lonely and pathetic… Plus what would Bee think if he accepts a pity kiss like this? She’s probably be like ‘Deckard!!!! Why didn’t you say you wanted a kiss????’ “Um… no thank you, miss… Do you… want a cookie?”

  “Good, because I was not going to kiss you anyway.” She offers a wink, then reaches for the plate of cookies, taking the smallest one. Holly takes a bite, then looks up, a mixture of surprise and elation on her face.

  “They are quite good, you have surprised me.” And then she takes another bite, making sure not to drop even a single crumb. “And please, call me Holly. Calling me miss is an insult to my accuracy, as well as makes me feel like an old woman.”

[summersixth]

Dracul:

He’s never spoken to so many humans in such long a time. Supposedly this place is where he’s supposed to be living. Clearly a mistake was made when he even decided to come back. 

“You sound like a lucky woman, to have never seen a creature of darkness before now.” his own accent hissed from his lips, voice hoarse and cold. 

He was a disheveled mess, between the circumstances of arrival and trying to get out of the sun in the first place. Earlier he had left this very house while the sky was still dark, moments ago. 

“I have no such luck, therefore I am what I am. I’ve no mind to explain to you anything else. Answer me which room is yours, I shall avoid it.” 

  “I suppose that would depend on your definition.” She took a seat nearby, legs crossed, metal over flesh, as she leans back comfortably. “I have seen more than my share of darkness. Some might even use such a vulgar term to refer to myself.”

  Though she could certainly understand why this man might hesitate to believe her. With her gentle smiles and voice, Holly appeared to be the picture of kindness. All thanks to her years in the public eye. Behind closed doors, she’d killed more humans than she could count. “Hmm... I do not believe that I will tell you which room is mine. I think it would be far more entertaining for you to guess. Or perhaps, once I find the room that belongs to you, I might sneak into it while you sleep and apply a proper fake tan. That sounds fun, does it not?”