ENDGAME

[kentucky_mcgiygas]

[A wall panel in the green room slides out of view, revealing an elevator. Get in it and it will take you down to the hotel (description here), where your fellow contestants - alive and ghostly - await.

You may spend as long as you want here, ordering up as much room service as you like, but when you're read to go home, you'll find that one floor (new to the current hotel occupants) has nothing but doors with your names on them. Exit, and you'll show up exactly where you were when you left.]

((THANK YOU FOR PLAYING EVERYONE. Ghosts, feel free to materialize and talk to people. You may now speak about your prizes.))

Comments

[scribbly]

[Mary doesn't have it in her to let anger bubble up when she hears Santa. Anger burns hot and fierce, and the past short while has given Mary enough of that.

She's just around a corner not so far away, pressed against the wall, hoping Santa will not find her.]

[jinglebros]

Mary, I'm sorry.

I shouldn't have done what I did and now you've paid for my mistakes.

[scribbly]

[Silence from her hiding spot.

An apology doesn't make a difference. She's dead. She'll never see beaches or parks or schools or cities. She'll never see her best friend again.

She closes her eyes tight and hopes he goes away.]

[jinglebros]

You can kick me in the nuts if you want.

I'll let you.

[ santa what ]

[scribbly]

[Not even 24 hours ago this would have been the best offer Mary had ever been given ever in her life, probably, but—she still doesn't move. It isn't enough to coax her out to see him.

Anger burns hot and fierce. It burns.

She has had quite enough of burning.]

[jinglebros]

I'm sorry.

[ With that, he goes and leaves. ]

[bluescreenofdeath]

Boooooo, pathetic! No points!

[jinglebros]

Then help me! Help me figure out what to do!

[bluescreenofdeath]

No. You failed. You broke your promise. You let a kid die and you let me die for nothing. You have to live with that. But seeing how excited you were a moment ago about winning your great prize, I don't think you'll lose much sleep over it.

[jinglebros]

I'm going to lose sleep every night. I don't know when I'll sleep again.

I'll live with them and I'll love them but it'll be forever poisoned by the things I've done.

[bluescreenofdeath]

Awwww, you poor thing! Well then I instantly forgive you!

[jinglebros]

What do you want me to do here? You want me to hurt myself? I can do that.

[bluescreenofdeath]

What would that solve!? I don't want you to hurt yourself, I want you to care!

[jinglebros]

I do fucking care! I care a hell of a lot!

[bluescreenofdeath]

Oh really, I couldn't tell over all the jumping for joy and excited yelling.

[jinglebros]

You know what? Fucking shut up and leave me the hell alone.

[bluescreenofdeath]

Oh what? Do you care up until it's inconvenient for you? Does your apology only count if I accept it? You promised you'd protect those kids. I died believing in that promise. And you not only left them to die, you blatantly refused to help them and told them to look out for themselves. How did you think I'd react?

[jinglebros]

[ He shoves his hands in his pockets and tries to walk away. ]

[bluescreenofdeath]

[UNFORTUNATELY FOR SANTA ENE IS SUPER OBNOXIOUS, floating after him.] Ah, I see, I'm being unreasonable. I'm taking this all so personally, aren't I? You should definitely be the one annoyed with me here.

[jinglebros]

I'm walking away because we're not going to solve this! There's no ending to this fucking argument!

[bluescreenofdeath]

No, there's not. But I'm mad. I'm hurt. Mary's hurt. And you don't get to walk away from that. If you're really so sorry, if you really ever cared at all, sit down and accept my feelings.

[jinglebros]

....

[ He stops and sits down right there on the floor. ]

[digiteyesed]

[Sits down across from him, crossing her legs.] I really thought we were friends. I thought I could trust you. This isn't the first time I've died. I was murdered two years ago. My best friend found out, because it was her dad that was planning to kill me. And she died trying to save my life. She died all alone with no help, and it was too late because I was already dead. I didn't want to fight alone, or leave you thinking there was more you could have done for me. But that just turned into how you felt about it. How much it hurt you to have to deal with this. How it was so unfair of me to ask this of you. And yeah, maybe it was. But I wanted to plan it better. I didn't want to die alone again. You didn't ever even ask me if I was scared. That should have been my first clue. How much did you actually concern yourself with me other than being an inconvenience?

[jinglebros]

I thought about you all the time. How much it must have hurt you, how scared you must have been. But I suck at communication, so I didn't say any of it. That's on me. That's me being a shithead. I should have said it all. Maybe it'd have helped you live.

[ He shakes his head. ]

I don't expect you to believe me, not now. But I did think about those things.

[bluescreenofdeath]

Thinking about it isn't enough. You think and you think and you never take action. You never told me. You're suspicious of everyone around you and you lash out and hurt them before they can hurt you, even if they were never planning on it. Whether I believe it or not, I died thinking you didn't give a shit about me and valued your own feelings over my death. If I wasn't here as a ghost right now, you'd never get to tell me any different. Is this how you're going to keep going?