Mindcrack Survivor: Diffeithdir (Chapter 6)
Monday, March 7th, 2016 09:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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mindcrackloveWith the teams at 4-3, bonds beginning to grow stronger than ever before, what will possibly happen? And what happens when Dadbee throws a shocking twist at the remaining castaways? Find out right now!
Chapter 1: http://mindcracklove.dreamwidth.org/941637.html
Chapter 2: http://mindcracklove.dreamwidth.org/944301.html#cutid1
Chapter 3: http://mindcracklove.dreamwidth.org/947626.html
Chapter 4: http://mindcracklove.dreamwidth.org/971941.html
Chapter 5: http://mindcracklove.dreamwidth.org/990222.html
Previously on Mindcrack Survivor Diffeithdir…
BdoubleO continued to work his charm, and attempted to get closer to Kurt, which did nothing but infuriate Zisteau…
At Immunity, Cambria continued their streak, winning a second challenge in a row, and sending Elenyd back to Tribal Council…
And although Nebris attempted to manipulate Guude and Baj into flipping on Pause and Beef, Guude was deadlocked on voting out his Purple-Eyed teammate…
In the end, Nebris was the 5th Player voted off of Mindcrack Survivor Diffeithdir, in a vote of 4-1…
~Elenyd Night 15~
The four remaining Elenyd members hiked back into their campground, their fire had notably died down to small embers, no longer able to provide warmth or heat, only a small amount of orange light that illuminated the ashes and gray rocks surrounding it.
“Fire’s out again…” the oldest member of the Elenyd tribe, Baj, noted. Under normal circumstances they’d send a pair of them to go collect more dried out wood and start work on rebuilding the fire, however it was late, and they were exhausted from a long night at tribal council. The four men agreed to leave it alone for the night, all without exchanging a word. They went and sat down in their makeshift shelter, the sun had set and the temperatures had dropped.
It was far too cold to care about their pride or how they'd be perceived on TV, so the four of them decided to cuddle up together in the shelter to keep each other warm.
“I'm letting you all know now that I like women, and if you try anything I will have to break your arm” Baj said in his monotone British accent, looking at Pause directly while speaking.
“Whoa man, as much as I love your mustache, you don't have to worry about me making a move on you” Pause added in a joking way, Baj simply rolling his eyes in response.
Pause cuddled up closer to Beef, rubbing his head into the other man’s chest. Beef lips curved upwards, his smile was unknown by anyone but himself, but that was fine. Beef hugged Pause closer, whispering into his ear.
“você é muito bom em manter-me quente” Beef’s quiet and foreign voice sent shivers down Pause’s spine, which only had him move in closer.
Baj:
Beef and Pause are becoming very close, very quickly… That's dangerous for my game, but I can't go around trying to break them up, not yet at least. Come final 5 or 6, though, I’d betya there’ll only be 3 of us Elenyd’s left, and I’m certainly not leaving anytime soon
~Cambria Day 16~
The sun had risen for the Cambrian Trio, and it was greeted with all of their smiling faces. Zisteau was carrying large amounts of firewood back to their campground, while Kurt was carefully attending to the rice that was being cooked by their fire. BdoubleO was the last of the three to get up, stretching and cracking his back loudly, he faced the day wearing a look of cheer and confidence.
“Good morning Kurt! Need any help with anything?” BdoubleO asked with a genuine smile, heading towards Kurt and kneeling down next to his teammate. He placed his right hand on Kurt’s shoulder, causing Kurt to jump slightly, but he didn't bother to shake it off.
“Oh, uh, good morning Bdubs! No, I think I’m fine here as far as work goes, not too much thought goes into cooking rice after all” Kurt snickered a bit at his own comment, and BdoubleO laughed as well. “But if you want to do something, I think Zisteau could use some help getting firewood, maybe?” Kurt noticed as BdoubleO’s expression shifted for just a second, the smile on his face turning to something darker at the mention of Zisteau. Before Kurt could comprehend it, BdoubleO was back to smiling like he was prior.
“Sure thing! I'd love to help Z out, after all we haven't exactly bonded much during this game” BdoubleO added with a tone of care, leaping to his feet and marching over to Zisteau.
Kurt:
There's something kinda… Off, about BdoubleO. Though, I can't quite tell what it is. I know he's been flirting with everyone, but that's just who he is as a person, right? At least, he seems genuine…
As Zisteau walked back with large prices of wood balances on his shoulders, he noticed BdoubleO coming towards him. Sighing, he kept walking, hoping BdoubleO would simply March right past him, unfortunately he wasn't that lucky.
“Hey there Big Z! Kurt asked me to come see if you needed any help with the firewood. I'm sure even for a masculine man like yourself, lugging around all that heavy wood can get tiring!” BdoubleO moved forward to grab some of the firewood from Zisteau, but he was stopped.
“No I'm fine, thanks for asking” Zisteau responded, his expression contrasting BdoubleO’s cheerful one. “Everyone else may be falling for your flirty scheme, but not me. I know we’re all here to win a million dollars, and I'm not gonna let someone like you win it” Zisteau’s words surprisingly remained quiet and smooth, however they had a hint of poison behind them.
“What do you mean by ‘someone like you’? I'm just trying to make acquaintance… If I knew you were just gonna verbally assault me I might have thought twice before wanting to befriend you” BdoubleO looked saddened and even more offended, but Zisteau didn't care. He rolled his eyes and stomped right past BdoubleO.
Zisteau:
If BdoubleO wins the million dollars, I’d be sick to my stomach. However, that said, I’m kinda glad he’s here, this game was getting a bit boring. Now that I have someone to fight against, it becomes a whole lot more interesting.
BdoubleO:
I respect Zisteau as a person, I really do, but he is not good for my game at all, so next chance I get, he has got to be eliminated!
~Challenge Day 17~
“Come on in!” Dadbee hollered out, as the two teams walked towards the challenge area, stepping onto their colored mats. Dadbee was wearing his usual attire of a button up green shirt and khaki pants. Dadbee’s snow white beard was finely braided, and as per usual nobody questioned it. In addition to his normal attire, he also wore a sun hat to protect him from the heat.
The dry air was especially notable on this day, all of their mouths turning dry quickly, regardless of how much water they drank. The desert heat was beating down on the back of their necks, and they could already feel the sunburns beginning to form.
“How's the heat treating my survivors on this very, very hot day?” Dadbee asked, receiving a fair amount of groans in response. A smile grew on his face as he saw the castaways burn in the sun.
“Guude, what do you think the most difficult part about this game has been so far?” Dadbee questioned.
“Well, if I gotta say just one, it's gotta be having to sleep in our trashy shelter every night. I come from the south, and I used to go camping all the time as a kid, so I thought sleeping outside would be easy. Nope! Sleeping out for 2 weeks will kick your ass!” Guude responded, his southern accent more apparent than usual. Dadbee nodded, as if he had also been sleeping outside for 2 weeks, but from how clean his skin was it was obvious he wasn't.
“BdoubleO, tell me what the strategy is like out here. You've been going for 17 days, and you 7 have managed to outlast 5 others, you're almost halfway thru the game, clearly you must be doing something right” Dadbee asked once more.
“Well Dadbee, I can't speak for anyone else, but I know what's gotten me this far are the genuine relationships I've been building with the others on my tribe, and I know even after this game that I'll have made some life long friends” as BdoubleO spoke, Zisteau rolled his eyes, unseen by anyone but the cameramen.
“Beef, on a scale from 1 to 10, how hard would you say this game has been?” Beef jumped slightly when he was called upon, but quickly regained his composure.
“How hard? Well… I'd probably say, like a 7?” Beef sounded unsure, and from the slight frown on Dadbee’s lips it was obvious he wasn't happy with the answer.
“Well, if this game is already a 7 on difficulty, then you better be afraid, because it's about to get a whole lot harder” As Dadbee spoke the survivors eyes began to widen, ideas going through their heads of what he could possibly mean. Dadbee smirked as he saw their faces.
Suddenly, walking in over a hill were a group of 5 familiar faces. The first 5 eliminated contestants of Mindcrack Survivor were all walking side by side, still covered in filth and wearing the same clothes they did when they were eliminated.
BdoubleO:
Ugh, I voted out more than half of these people, and now they have to just show up again? Whateva’s happenin’, it can’t be good.
“What are they doing here?” BdoubleO spurted out as he saw them walk closer.
Nebris smirked at his former tribe, and Guude glared at him. Guude then crossed him arms and turned towards Dadbee, voicing everyone’s opinions of “what the hell is going on?”
“Glad you asked Guude!” Dadbee responded with a Cheshire grin on his face. “The first 5 eliminated contestants of Mindcrack Survivor Diffiethdir are… Competing for a chance to re-enter the game!”
The 7 remaining contestants gasped in surprise, and some of them even began swearing under their breath about the unforeseen turn of events.
“Wait, so you mean this competition is gonna take even longer?” Pause asked exasperated.
“Yessiree!” Dadbee beamed, Pause groaned. Beef patted him on the back comfortingly. “Now then,” Dadbee continued, “on to the challenge!”
Dadbee turned to the 5 eliminated contestants who were now standing on a third mat that was behind Dadbee, this one’s color being black. “You 5 contestants will all compete in a grueling 4-part race, where at the end of each part 1 of you will be eliminated until only to remain, where they will compete head-on in the fourth and final round!”
The eliminated contestants clapped and cheered, smiles dawned on all of their faces.
“For the first part, you 5 will all be digging through the rough sand, looking for a key. Once you find your key you will run over the sand dunes and up to a box. Once you insert your key into the box and turn it a flag will rise. There are only 4 flags, so whoever doesn't get one will be eliminated! Everyone understand?”
The former castaways all nodded.
“Alright then, let's get to it!”
The group were all divided into 5 pre-made lanes, each have a large circle marked off by rope to designate where they should dig for the key.
“Former Survivors ready, set… Go!” Dadbee called out loudly, the 5 men all quickly digging through the rough sand in front of them, throwing the sand everywhere.
As Nebris was digging, he made sure to throw his sand in the direction to his left, where Doc was digging, as to mildly inconvenience him if nothing else. The sand was rough, brittle and had many small, sharp rocks in them. The men’s hands quickly became sore, dirty, and some of them even gaining cuts.
Etho pulled a key out of the sand and immediately bolted towards the boxes where the keys were to be placed, hurdling the sand dunes with little to no trouble whatsoever. He reached the boxes and inserted his key into one. A cyan color flag popped up from the back, vertically reading “SAFE”.
“Etho is the first to reach the boxes with a key and is moving onto the next round!” Dadbee yelled. Nebris gritted his teeth and began digging even more furiously, the underneath of his nails beginning to bleed, in addition the gritty sand was beginning to work its way into cuts on his palms. He felt a small metal object poking out of an area and yanked it out, revealing a key.
Just as he Nebris began running, Doc too pulled out a metal key and began running, quickly catching up to Nebris due to being a faster runner. Both men inserted their keys into boxes and the flags shot into the air.
“With that only 1 flag left! Pakratt and JustDefy are still digging and searching for this keys!” Dadbee called out. Several minutes passed and both men were still digging, both of their designated circles now having significantly less sand than at first, but neither could find their key.
At last, Pakratt felt a hard object that was wedged behind a small rock that he hadn't bothered moving yet. He grabbed the key and scurried out of his sand pit, tripping on the way out before regaining his balance and beginning to run.
JustDefy didn't even notice, and continued to dig at the same pace as before. Pakratt ran up to the final box and shakily inserted the key, smiling widely as a red flag popped up with the word “SAFE”.
“And with that, JustDefy is out of the return challenge!” Dadbee shouted, causing JustDefy to look up from his hole for the first time since the challenge began. He sighed and stood up, before kicking at the sand beneath his feet angrily. JustDefy walked away, and Dadbee began to explain the next part of the race.
“For this next part, you 4 will all be stationed behind this wooden fence” Dadbee put his hand on the wooden fence he was standing next to, it was about 7 feet tall and was designed almost like a makeshift prison wall, with holes just big enough for an arm to fit through. “You have to use the collection of sticks and rope we have given you in order to make a much longer and stronger stick. Your stick will need to be long enough for you to reach through this gate and grab one of those keys” Dadbee motioned to 3 small wooden fence posts about 10 feet out from the fence, each one having a nail in the front of it with a key hanging from it. “Your stick must be long enough to hook it, and strong enough to pull it back through the fence. Once you have a key you open up one of the three doors in the fence, and then run up to one of those colors mats. Last person to get a key is eliminated from the return competition!”
The redemption-seeking survivors nodded their heads, signaling they understood.
“Ready…” the 4 got into a pose, as if getting ready to start immediately, “set…” Pakratt’s fingers twitched, anxious waiting for the signal to be allowed to start working on the sticks and rope, “GO!”
All 4 men immediately started working on tying sticks together with their ropes. Pakratt was working slower than the rest, appearing to tie several pieces of rope around each stick to make them sturdier. Doc quickly tied sticks together, creating an extremely long pole quickly. He picked it up and held it through the fence, reaching out to grab a key.
“Doc already going for a key!” Dadbee announced, watching as Doc’s stick pulled the key off of the post. Doc began pulling the stick back quickly, but the key only got about a foot before his set of sticks broke, and the key fell to the sand. “Ooh, looks like Doc’s pole wasn't sturdy enough!”
Nebris saw the key which was now on the ground, and made his move, using his shorter set of sticks to reach through the fence. The sticks reached just enough to be able to slowly drag the key back to him. When key was only within a few feet of the fence, Nebris reached through and grabbed it, before unlocking a door and striding through it confidently, a smug expression on his face.
Pakratt was still working on his pole when Etho made an attempt. He held out his stick which was just barely long enough to hook the key, and he then began slowly pulling it back. Doc made another attempt to hook the final key, however his set of sticks weren't long enough this time. Etho finally managed to pull his stick back enough for him to grab the key hanging on the end of it, and unlock his gate.
“Etho’s stick just enough to be able to grab a key, and with that Etho is on to the next round as well!” Dadbee exclaimed with a smile.
Pakratt finally goes to make his first attempt, holding up a long set of sticks, tied together with many pieces of rope. He quickly held the stick out to pole, and hooked it without much struggle. Doc looked up as he was making his third pole just in time to see Pakratt yank the key through the fence and then open up a gate.
“And Pakratt moves on to the next round!” Doc sighed and stood up, he was about to walk away when Pakratt called out to him.
“Ay, Doc!” Doc turned around, expecting to hear a smug remark, but instead he saw Pakratt holding out his hand. Doc paused for a moment, looking at Pakratt as if it were some of trick before taking his hand and shaking it. “Better luck next time man”
“Yeah, good luck to you” Doc said “sorry about being so rude to you in the game, it was extremely uncalled for, no hard feelings?”
“No hard feelings” Pakratt reiterated with a smile. Doc returned the smile, before walking away.
“The third part of this challenge”, Dadbee began, “is a classic puzzle! This puzzle has 50 pieces that are all different shapes and sizes, and is very difficult! Not much else to say about this, the first two to finish move on to the final round. Understand?”
The three nodded, and Dadbee signaled them to start with a “Ready, set, GO!”
All three men were making quick work of the puzzle, Etho and Nebris beginning to get stuck towards the middle of the puzzle. This gave Pakratt the opportunity to take the lead. Pakratt slid in the last piece and threw his hands into the air.
“Dadbee! Done! Done!” Pakratt called, Dadbee jogged up to Pakratt’s puzzle board and saw it was complete.
“Pakratt first to finish and moving onto the final round!” Dadbee confirmed. Pakratt yelled in joy.
Nebris peered over at Pakratt’s finished puzzle in an attempt to get a better understanding of it, and then began to put pieces into place quickly. Etho had the same idea and peered at Pakratt’s finished puzzle, putting in pieces quickly as well.
“Nebris and Etho both with just a few pieces left!” Dadbee announced. Both frantically slid in puzzle pieces before 1 of the 2 pushed their final piece in and called out for Dadbee to check his completed puzzle.
“The puzzle is correct, meaning… Etho is moving onto the final round!” Dadbee announced, Nebris slammed his bloodied fist onto the nearly completed puzzle board.
“All this sand and blood for nothing” Nebris commented bitterly.
“Come on man, don't be like that” Etho said, holding out his hand for a handshake. Nebris rejected it and simply turned to Etho.
“Etho, you better win this return challenge, and then this entire game, you hear me?” Nebris commented. Etho looked shocked to hear Nebris, someone he hardly had interacted with, utter those words. Nebris then held up his chin and marched away confidently.
“Well that was dramatic” Dadbee muttered under his breath. “Anyways, Pakratt and Etho! 2 former Elenyd’s, now competing against each other for a spot back in the game! For your final return challenge, you 2 will face off on a 1 on 1 challenge, where you will both race across a series of winding balance beams and ladders, until you reach a large fence with a single key at the top. Whoever gets to and grabs that key first wins re-entry into the game! If you fall off the balance beams, you must start all over! Understand?”
Both men nodded, and then turned to each other.
“Good luck Pak!” Etho said cheerfully.
“G’luck to y’too E” Pakratt responded, wounding much more nervous than Etho.
“For a spot back in the game… Ready… Set… GO!”
Both Etho and Pakratt began moving across the winding balance beams, Pakratt immediately falling off and having to restart. Etho was practically dashing across them, climbing up a ladder and then down another, racing towards the fence where the key was escalated. Pakratt was still near the beginning of the winding balance beams, trying to go slowly to keep his balance.
Etho reached the fence with absolutely no trouble, before scaling it quickly and snatching the key. Holding it up in the air and cheering. Pakratt sighed and jumped off the balance beam he was standing on.
“And Etho wins re-entry into the game!” Dadbee yelled loudly. The 7 remaining contestants clapped politely, some chattering quietly amongst themselves.
“Etho, you may go stand with the others” Dadbee said, and Etho gleefully strode over to where the others stood. “As for you Pakratt, I'm sorry, but you have to leave”
Pakratt nodded and waved to the other survivors before walking off. Dadbee turned to the now 8 remaining survivors.
“Once again a huge congratulations to Etho!” Dadbee announced, there was once more applause, this time much more than before. BdoubleO in specific was clapping very loud and whistling louder.
Etho:
Yes, yes, yes, YES! I am so excited, gah! I worked so hard to stay, and now to return! I just can't wait to get back into the swing of this game, and this time to make sure I'm the one with the alliance, so I can stay to till the end and win it all, baby!
“So, uh, Dadbee, which team am on?” Etho asked, turning to Dadbee.
“It's funny you mention that, because…”
“Oh god” Guude whispered.
“Drop your buffs!” Dadbee announced loudly, “we are now merged! Cambria and Elenyd are no more, from now on, you 8 will all be competing as individuals!” There was some applause after this as well, though also quite a few nervous faces.
Baj:
Merge? Well, it's about time. I've been preparing for the merge phase of the game since the beginning, and now that it's here, I'm even more focused on the money.
Zisteau:
Merge! I'm so ready to compete solo, and not have to worry about a team! Just have to worry about myself! And… Maybe Kurt… Probably Kurt…
“Alright then, it's been a long day, more information to come on the merge tomorrow, but as for tonight, there is no tribal council! You 8 can all head back to the Ex-Elenyd camp now!” Dadbee finalized. The group of 8 then began walking back to the former Elenyd camp, the Ex-Cambria castaways following Guude, who led the way.
~Merged Tribe Night 17~
Kurt:
It's kinda weird having so many people staying in a single camp, we’re definitely gonna have to extend the shelter tomorrow. Tonight I think we’re all going to have to be cramped up in a shelter that comfortably fits 6, and I’m not really looking forward to that..
“So, not really sure how sleeping’s going to work with so many of us here…” Guude began speaking, looking at the shelter that would now have to house 8 grown men.
“Well, I'm just gonna warn you now, Baj is quite the cuddler!” Pause exclaimed, elbowing said man slightly.
“Well, I'd suggest we all take a buddy that's okay with us getting close to ‘em, that way we can conserve space in the shelter for tonight” BdoubleO said, before putting his arm around Guude’s shoulder. “I'll take Guude”
“The fuck you will” Guude said with a hint of a smile, shrugging BdoubleO’s arm off his shoulder. BdoubleO gave a pouty face and Guude tried his best to hide his smile as he rolled his eyes.
“If you guys want,” Etho began, “I can just sleep outside the shelter. There doesn't seem to be any sign of rain, and I'm fine with sleeping on the sand”
“Thanks Etho, that'd actually be really cool of you” Pause claimed.
“Hey, no problem, you guys just squeeze together and I'll take the sand. That sound good?” Etho asked, everyone seemed to be okay with the idea, so he walked out to a softer part of the sand, gathered some leaves in a pile to use as a makeshift pillow, and then laid down.
Etho:
Volunteering to sleep outside was all strategy, I need to take this game way more seriously now if I want to win! If that means I have to sleep on the sand in order to build some relationships, I’m willing to do it!”
Baj:
I'm not really sure what Etho was thinking here… Sleeping outside is going to put him at a huge social disadvantage, as he won't be able to talk to anyone during the night, and get to know people. Especially since he just returned, definitely not a smart move.
The moon rose, the castaways slept, and for once, it was peaceful. In the morning the scheming would continue, but until then, everyone slept.
Chapter 1: http://mindcracklove.dreamwidth.org/941637.html
Chapter 2: http://mindcracklove.dreamwidth.org/944301.html#cutid1
Chapter 3: http://mindcracklove.dreamwidth.org/947626.html
Chapter 4: http://mindcracklove.dreamwidth.org/971941.html
Chapter 5: http://mindcracklove.dreamwidth.org/990222.html
Previously on Mindcrack Survivor Diffeithdir…
BdoubleO continued to work his charm, and attempted to get closer to Kurt, which did nothing but infuriate Zisteau…
At Immunity, Cambria continued their streak, winning a second challenge in a row, and sending Elenyd back to Tribal Council…
And although Nebris attempted to manipulate Guude and Baj into flipping on Pause and Beef, Guude was deadlocked on voting out his Purple-Eyed teammate…
In the end, Nebris was the 5th Player voted off of Mindcrack Survivor Diffeithdir, in a vote of 4-1…
~Elenyd Night 15~
The four remaining Elenyd members hiked back into their campground, their fire had notably died down to small embers, no longer able to provide warmth or heat, only a small amount of orange light that illuminated the ashes and gray rocks surrounding it.
“Fire’s out again…” the oldest member of the Elenyd tribe, Baj, noted. Under normal circumstances they’d send a pair of them to go collect more dried out wood and start work on rebuilding the fire, however it was late, and they were exhausted from a long night at tribal council. The four men agreed to leave it alone for the night, all without exchanging a word. They went and sat down in their makeshift shelter, the sun had set and the temperatures had dropped.
It was far too cold to care about their pride or how they'd be perceived on TV, so the four of them decided to cuddle up together in the shelter to keep each other warm.
“I'm letting you all know now that I like women, and if you try anything I will have to break your arm” Baj said in his monotone British accent, looking at Pause directly while speaking.
“Whoa man, as much as I love your mustache, you don't have to worry about me making a move on you” Pause added in a joking way, Baj simply rolling his eyes in response.
Pause cuddled up closer to Beef, rubbing his head into the other man’s chest. Beef lips curved upwards, his smile was unknown by anyone but himself, but that was fine. Beef hugged Pause closer, whispering into his ear.
“você é muito bom em manter-me quente” Beef’s quiet and foreign voice sent shivers down Pause’s spine, which only had him move in closer.
Baj:
Beef and Pause are becoming very close, very quickly… That's dangerous for my game, but I can't go around trying to break them up, not yet at least. Come final 5 or 6, though, I’d betya there’ll only be 3 of us Elenyd’s left, and I’m certainly not leaving anytime soon
~Cambria Day 16~
The sun had risen for the Cambrian Trio, and it was greeted with all of their smiling faces. Zisteau was carrying large amounts of firewood back to their campground, while Kurt was carefully attending to the rice that was being cooked by their fire. BdoubleO was the last of the three to get up, stretching and cracking his back loudly, he faced the day wearing a look of cheer and confidence.
“Good morning Kurt! Need any help with anything?” BdoubleO asked with a genuine smile, heading towards Kurt and kneeling down next to his teammate. He placed his right hand on Kurt’s shoulder, causing Kurt to jump slightly, but he didn't bother to shake it off.
“Oh, uh, good morning Bdubs! No, I think I’m fine here as far as work goes, not too much thought goes into cooking rice after all” Kurt snickered a bit at his own comment, and BdoubleO laughed as well. “But if you want to do something, I think Zisteau could use some help getting firewood, maybe?” Kurt noticed as BdoubleO’s expression shifted for just a second, the smile on his face turning to something darker at the mention of Zisteau. Before Kurt could comprehend it, BdoubleO was back to smiling like he was prior.
“Sure thing! I'd love to help Z out, after all we haven't exactly bonded much during this game” BdoubleO added with a tone of care, leaping to his feet and marching over to Zisteau.
Kurt:
There's something kinda… Off, about BdoubleO. Though, I can't quite tell what it is. I know he's been flirting with everyone, but that's just who he is as a person, right? At least, he seems genuine…
As Zisteau walked back with large prices of wood balances on his shoulders, he noticed BdoubleO coming towards him. Sighing, he kept walking, hoping BdoubleO would simply March right past him, unfortunately he wasn't that lucky.
“Hey there Big Z! Kurt asked me to come see if you needed any help with the firewood. I'm sure even for a masculine man like yourself, lugging around all that heavy wood can get tiring!” BdoubleO moved forward to grab some of the firewood from Zisteau, but he was stopped.
“No I'm fine, thanks for asking” Zisteau responded, his expression contrasting BdoubleO’s cheerful one. “Everyone else may be falling for your flirty scheme, but not me. I know we’re all here to win a million dollars, and I'm not gonna let someone like you win it” Zisteau’s words surprisingly remained quiet and smooth, however they had a hint of poison behind them.
“What do you mean by ‘someone like you’? I'm just trying to make acquaintance… If I knew you were just gonna verbally assault me I might have thought twice before wanting to befriend you” BdoubleO looked saddened and even more offended, but Zisteau didn't care. He rolled his eyes and stomped right past BdoubleO.
Zisteau:
If BdoubleO wins the million dollars, I’d be sick to my stomach. However, that said, I’m kinda glad he’s here, this game was getting a bit boring. Now that I have someone to fight against, it becomes a whole lot more interesting.
BdoubleO:
I respect Zisteau as a person, I really do, but he is not good for my game at all, so next chance I get, he has got to be eliminated!
~Challenge Day 17~
“Come on in!” Dadbee hollered out, as the two teams walked towards the challenge area, stepping onto their colored mats. Dadbee was wearing his usual attire of a button up green shirt and khaki pants. Dadbee’s snow white beard was finely braided, and as per usual nobody questioned it. In addition to his normal attire, he also wore a sun hat to protect him from the heat.
The dry air was especially notable on this day, all of their mouths turning dry quickly, regardless of how much water they drank. The desert heat was beating down on the back of their necks, and they could already feel the sunburns beginning to form.
“How's the heat treating my survivors on this very, very hot day?” Dadbee asked, receiving a fair amount of groans in response. A smile grew on his face as he saw the castaways burn in the sun.
“Guude, what do you think the most difficult part about this game has been so far?” Dadbee questioned.
“Well, if I gotta say just one, it's gotta be having to sleep in our trashy shelter every night. I come from the south, and I used to go camping all the time as a kid, so I thought sleeping outside would be easy. Nope! Sleeping out for 2 weeks will kick your ass!” Guude responded, his southern accent more apparent than usual. Dadbee nodded, as if he had also been sleeping outside for 2 weeks, but from how clean his skin was it was obvious he wasn't.
“BdoubleO, tell me what the strategy is like out here. You've been going for 17 days, and you 7 have managed to outlast 5 others, you're almost halfway thru the game, clearly you must be doing something right” Dadbee asked once more.
“Well Dadbee, I can't speak for anyone else, but I know what's gotten me this far are the genuine relationships I've been building with the others on my tribe, and I know even after this game that I'll have made some life long friends” as BdoubleO spoke, Zisteau rolled his eyes, unseen by anyone but the cameramen.
“Beef, on a scale from 1 to 10, how hard would you say this game has been?” Beef jumped slightly when he was called upon, but quickly regained his composure.
“How hard? Well… I'd probably say, like a 7?” Beef sounded unsure, and from the slight frown on Dadbee’s lips it was obvious he wasn't happy with the answer.
“Well, if this game is already a 7 on difficulty, then you better be afraid, because it's about to get a whole lot harder” As Dadbee spoke the survivors eyes began to widen, ideas going through their heads of what he could possibly mean. Dadbee smirked as he saw their faces.
Suddenly, walking in over a hill were a group of 5 familiar faces. The first 5 eliminated contestants of Mindcrack Survivor were all walking side by side, still covered in filth and wearing the same clothes they did when they were eliminated.
BdoubleO:
Ugh, I voted out more than half of these people, and now they have to just show up again? Whateva’s happenin’, it can’t be good.
“What are they doing here?” BdoubleO spurted out as he saw them walk closer.
Nebris smirked at his former tribe, and Guude glared at him. Guude then crossed him arms and turned towards Dadbee, voicing everyone’s opinions of “what the hell is going on?”
“Glad you asked Guude!” Dadbee responded with a Cheshire grin on his face. “The first 5 eliminated contestants of Mindcrack Survivor Diffiethdir are… Competing for a chance to re-enter the game!”
The 7 remaining contestants gasped in surprise, and some of them even began swearing under their breath about the unforeseen turn of events.
“Wait, so you mean this competition is gonna take even longer?” Pause asked exasperated.
“Yessiree!” Dadbee beamed, Pause groaned. Beef patted him on the back comfortingly. “Now then,” Dadbee continued, “on to the challenge!”
Dadbee turned to the 5 eliminated contestants who were now standing on a third mat that was behind Dadbee, this one’s color being black. “You 5 contestants will all compete in a grueling 4-part race, where at the end of each part 1 of you will be eliminated until only to remain, where they will compete head-on in the fourth and final round!”
The eliminated contestants clapped and cheered, smiles dawned on all of their faces.
“For the first part, you 5 will all be digging through the rough sand, looking for a key. Once you find your key you will run over the sand dunes and up to a box. Once you insert your key into the box and turn it a flag will rise. There are only 4 flags, so whoever doesn't get one will be eliminated! Everyone understand?”
The former castaways all nodded.
“Alright then, let's get to it!”
The group were all divided into 5 pre-made lanes, each have a large circle marked off by rope to designate where they should dig for the key.
“Former Survivors ready, set… Go!” Dadbee called out loudly, the 5 men all quickly digging through the rough sand in front of them, throwing the sand everywhere.
As Nebris was digging, he made sure to throw his sand in the direction to his left, where Doc was digging, as to mildly inconvenience him if nothing else. The sand was rough, brittle and had many small, sharp rocks in them. The men’s hands quickly became sore, dirty, and some of them even gaining cuts.
Etho pulled a key out of the sand and immediately bolted towards the boxes where the keys were to be placed, hurdling the sand dunes with little to no trouble whatsoever. He reached the boxes and inserted his key into one. A cyan color flag popped up from the back, vertically reading “SAFE”.
“Etho is the first to reach the boxes with a key and is moving onto the next round!” Dadbee yelled. Nebris gritted his teeth and began digging even more furiously, the underneath of his nails beginning to bleed, in addition the gritty sand was beginning to work its way into cuts on his palms. He felt a small metal object poking out of an area and yanked it out, revealing a key.
Just as he Nebris began running, Doc too pulled out a metal key and began running, quickly catching up to Nebris due to being a faster runner. Both men inserted their keys into boxes and the flags shot into the air.
“With that only 1 flag left! Pakratt and JustDefy are still digging and searching for this keys!” Dadbee called out. Several minutes passed and both men were still digging, both of their designated circles now having significantly less sand than at first, but neither could find their key.
At last, Pakratt felt a hard object that was wedged behind a small rock that he hadn't bothered moving yet. He grabbed the key and scurried out of his sand pit, tripping on the way out before regaining his balance and beginning to run.
JustDefy didn't even notice, and continued to dig at the same pace as before. Pakratt ran up to the final box and shakily inserted the key, smiling widely as a red flag popped up with the word “SAFE”.
“And with that, JustDefy is out of the return challenge!” Dadbee shouted, causing JustDefy to look up from his hole for the first time since the challenge began. He sighed and stood up, before kicking at the sand beneath his feet angrily. JustDefy walked away, and Dadbee began to explain the next part of the race.
“For this next part, you 4 will all be stationed behind this wooden fence” Dadbee put his hand on the wooden fence he was standing next to, it was about 7 feet tall and was designed almost like a makeshift prison wall, with holes just big enough for an arm to fit through. “You have to use the collection of sticks and rope we have given you in order to make a much longer and stronger stick. Your stick will need to be long enough for you to reach through this gate and grab one of those keys” Dadbee motioned to 3 small wooden fence posts about 10 feet out from the fence, each one having a nail in the front of it with a key hanging from it. “Your stick must be long enough to hook it, and strong enough to pull it back through the fence. Once you have a key you open up one of the three doors in the fence, and then run up to one of those colors mats. Last person to get a key is eliminated from the return competition!”
The redemption-seeking survivors nodded their heads, signaling they understood.
“Ready…” the 4 got into a pose, as if getting ready to start immediately, “set…” Pakratt’s fingers twitched, anxious waiting for the signal to be allowed to start working on the sticks and rope, “GO!”
All 4 men immediately started working on tying sticks together with their ropes. Pakratt was working slower than the rest, appearing to tie several pieces of rope around each stick to make them sturdier. Doc quickly tied sticks together, creating an extremely long pole quickly. He picked it up and held it through the fence, reaching out to grab a key.
“Doc already going for a key!” Dadbee announced, watching as Doc’s stick pulled the key off of the post. Doc began pulling the stick back quickly, but the key only got about a foot before his set of sticks broke, and the key fell to the sand. “Ooh, looks like Doc’s pole wasn't sturdy enough!”
Nebris saw the key which was now on the ground, and made his move, using his shorter set of sticks to reach through the fence. The sticks reached just enough to be able to slowly drag the key back to him. When key was only within a few feet of the fence, Nebris reached through and grabbed it, before unlocking a door and striding through it confidently, a smug expression on his face.
Pakratt was still working on his pole when Etho made an attempt. He held out his stick which was just barely long enough to hook the key, and he then began slowly pulling it back. Doc made another attempt to hook the final key, however his set of sticks weren't long enough this time. Etho finally managed to pull his stick back enough for him to grab the key hanging on the end of it, and unlock his gate.
“Etho’s stick just enough to be able to grab a key, and with that Etho is on to the next round as well!” Dadbee exclaimed with a smile.
Pakratt finally goes to make his first attempt, holding up a long set of sticks, tied together with many pieces of rope. He quickly held the stick out to pole, and hooked it without much struggle. Doc looked up as he was making his third pole just in time to see Pakratt yank the key through the fence and then open up a gate.
“And Pakratt moves on to the next round!” Doc sighed and stood up, he was about to walk away when Pakratt called out to him.
“Ay, Doc!” Doc turned around, expecting to hear a smug remark, but instead he saw Pakratt holding out his hand. Doc paused for a moment, looking at Pakratt as if it were some of trick before taking his hand and shaking it. “Better luck next time man”
“Yeah, good luck to you” Doc said “sorry about being so rude to you in the game, it was extremely uncalled for, no hard feelings?”
“No hard feelings” Pakratt reiterated with a smile. Doc returned the smile, before walking away.
“The third part of this challenge”, Dadbee began, “is a classic puzzle! This puzzle has 50 pieces that are all different shapes and sizes, and is very difficult! Not much else to say about this, the first two to finish move on to the final round. Understand?”
The three nodded, and Dadbee signaled them to start with a “Ready, set, GO!”
All three men were making quick work of the puzzle, Etho and Nebris beginning to get stuck towards the middle of the puzzle. This gave Pakratt the opportunity to take the lead. Pakratt slid in the last piece and threw his hands into the air.
“Dadbee! Done! Done!” Pakratt called, Dadbee jogged up to Pakratt’s puzzle board and saw it was complete.
“Pakratt first to finish and moving onto the final round!” Dadbee confirmed. Pakratt yelled in joy.
Nebris peered over at Pakratt’s finished puzzle in an attempt to get a better understanding of it, and then began to put pieces into place quickly. Etho had the same idea and peered at Pakratt’s finished puzzle, putting in pieces quickly as well.
“Nebris and Etho both with just a few pieces left!” Dadbee announced. Both frantically slid in puzzle pieces before 1 of the 2 pushed their final piece in and called out for Dadbee to check his completed puzzle.
“The puzzle is correct, meaning… Etho is moving onto the final round!” Dadbee announced, Nebris slammed his bloodied fist onto the nearly completed puzzle board.
“All this sand and blood for nothing” Nebris commented bitterly.
“Come on man, don't be like that” Etho said, holding out his hand for a handshake. Nebris rejected it and simply turned to Etho.
“Etho, you better win this return challenge, and then this entire game, you hear me?” Nebris commented. Etho looked shocked to hear Nebris, someone he hardly had interacted with, utter those words. Nebris then held up his chin and marched away confidently.
“Well that was dramatic” Dadbee muttered under his breath. “Anyways, Pakratt and Etho! 2 former Elenyd’s, now competing against each other for a spot back in the game! For your final return challenge, you 2 will face off on a 1 on 1 challenge, where you will both race across a series of winding balance beams and ladders, until you reach a large fence with a single key at the top. Whoever gets to and grabs that key first wins re-entry into the game! If you fall off the balance beams, you must start all over! Understand?”
Both men nodded, and then turned to each other.
“Good luck Pak!” Etho said cheerfully.
“G’luck to y’too E” Pakratt responded, wounding much more nervous than Etho.
“For a spot back in the game… Ready… Set… GO!”
Both Etho and Pakratt began moving across the winding balance beams, Pakratt immediately falling off and having to restart. Etho was practically dashing across them, climbing up a ladder and then down another, racing towards the fence where the key was escalated. Pakratt was still near the beginning of the winding balance beams, trying to go slowly to keep his balance.
Etho reached the fence with absolutely no trouble, before scaling it quickly and snatching the key. Holding it up in the air and cheering. Pakratt sighed and jumped off the balance beam he was standing on.
“And Etho wins re-entry into the game!” Dadbee yelled loudly. The 7 remaining contestants clapped politely, some chattering quietly amongst themselves.
“Etho, you may go stand with the others” Dadbee said, and Etho gleefully strode over to where the others stood. “As for you Pakratt, I'm sorry, but you have to leave”
Pakratt nodded and waved to the other survivors before walking off. Dadbee turned to the now 8 remaining survivors.
“Once again a huge congratulations to Etho!” Dadbee announced, there was once more applause, this time much more than before. BdoubleO in specific was clapping very loud and whistling louder.
Etho:
Yes, yes, yes, YES! I am so excited, gah! I worked so hard to stay, and now to return! I just can't wait to get back into the swing of this game, and this time to make sure I'm the one with the alliance, so I can stay to till the end and win it all, baby!
“So, uh, Dadbee, which team am on?” Etho asked, turning to Dadbee.
“It's funny you mention that, because…”
“Oh god” Guude whispered.
“Drop your buffs!” Dadbee announced loudly, “we are now merged! Cambria and Elenyd are no more, from now on, you 8 will all be competing as individuals!” There was some applause after this as well, though also quite a few nervous faces.
Baj:
Merge? Well, it's about time. I've been preparing for the merge phase of the game since the beginning, and now that it's here, I'm even more focused on the money.
Zisteau:
Merge! I'm so ready to compete solo, and not have to worry about a team! Just have to worry about myself! And… Maybe Kurt… Probably Kurt…
“Alright then, it's been a long day, more information to come on the merge tomorrow, but as for tonight, there is no tribal council! You 8 can all head back to the Ex-Elenyd camp now!” Dadbee finalized. The group of 8 then began walking back to the former Elenyd camp, the Ex-Cambria castaways following Guude, who led the way.
~Merged Tribe Night 17~
Kurt:
It's kinda weird having so many people staying in a single camp, we’re definitely gonna have to extend the shelter tomorrow. Tonight I think we’re all going to have to be cramped up in a shelter that comfortably fits 6, and I’m not really looking forward to that..
“So, not really sure how sleeping’s going to work with so many of us here…” Guude began speaking, looking at the shelter that would now have to house 8 grown men.
“Well, I'm just gonna warn you now, Baj is quite the cuddler!” Pause exclaimed, elbowing said man slightly.
“Well, I'd suggest we all take a buddy that's okay with us getting close to ‘em, that way we can conserve space in the shelter for tonight” BdoubleO said, before putting his arm around Guude’s shoulder. “I'll take Guude”
“The fuck you will” Guude said with a hint of a smile, shrugging BdoubleO’s arm off his shoulder. BdoubleO gave a pouty face and Guude tried his best to hide his smile as he rolled his eyes.
“If you guys want,” Etho began, “I can just sleep outside the shelter. There doesn't seem to be any sign of rain, and I'm fine with sleeping on the sand”
“Thanks Etho, that'd actually be really cool of you” Pause claimed.
“Hey, no problem, you guys just squeeze together and I'll take the sand. That sound good?” Etho asked, everyone seemed to be okay with the idea, so he walked out to a softer part of the sand, gathered some leaves in a pile to use as a makeshift pillow, and then laid down.
Etho:
Volunteering to sleep outside was all strategy, I need to take this game way more seriously now if I want to win! If that means I have to sleep on the sand in order to build some relationships, I’m willing to do it!”
Baj:
I'm not really sure what Etho was thinking here… Sleeping outside is going to put him at a huge social disadvantage, as he won't be able to talk to anyone during the night, and get to know people. Especially since he just returned, definitely not a smart move.
The moon rose, the castaways slept, and for once, it was peaceful. In the morning the scheming would continue, but until then, everyone slept.
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Date: Tuesday, March 8th, 2016 02:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Tuesday, March 8th, 2016 02:48 am (UTC)no subject
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Date: Tuesday, March 8th, 2016 05:36 am (UTC)-Observing Anon
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Date: Tuesday, March 8th, 2016 11:15 am (UTC)You should do your homework, don't make bad decisions! ^^
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Date: Tuesday, March 8th, 2016 02:07 pm (UTC)Agree with Observing Anon your story is now unintentionally tied to Surviving Mindcrack Island :)
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Date: Tuesday, March 8th, 2016 10:09 am (UTC)-the lurkiest lurker
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Date: Tuesday, March 8th, 2016 11:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Tuesday, March 8th, 2016 12:32 pm (UTC)I'm kinda glad I don't watch the show, because the twists are genuinely surprising me. Great job, and the merge mechanics should be interesting!
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Date: Tuesday, March 8th, 2016 03:33 pm (UTC)They're there- but normally not done by a single competition.
Glad you're enjoying it though! :)