The End of the Line Meme (TW)

[yohko]

The End of the Line Meme

Humanity spends way more time than is strictly healthy contemplating death. But right now, for our characters, it's really the most pertinent topic on hand. For one reason or another, your character is going to die relatively soon, and they know it. Face to face with their own mortality, characters are liable to do any number of things. So have at it!



How this works:
→ Leave a comment with the usual information in the subject line: character name, fandom. Any preferences, including what you don't want, should be included as well.
→ Tag around.
→ Feel free to roll RNG (1-7) if you cannot come up with scenarios of your own.
→ Have fun, and be excellent to each other!


1: ☠Terminal Illness☠ Cancer, smallpox, TB, plague, cholera, pick your favorite life threatening disease, and lose against it. You character has been wasting away, they're past the point of being helped, and soon they will no longer be with us. Perhaps the other players is a loved one, a friend, a doctor, or maybe a fellow patient, (terminal or not), who's there to see the doomed party to their end.

2: ☠Elaborate Plot☠ The spike walls are slowly closing in, or the pit is filling with water, the air is running out in your sealed box, the counter on that bomb is ticking away, the poison has hit your bloodstream, the sharks are closing in, etc. Somehow you've found yourself trapped or cornered, most likely at the hands of some nefarious foe, but not necessarily. Either way, try as hard as you can to escape, you can't. When do you give up, or do you fight until the end? For this one the characters can either be trapped together, or one could be out of harm's way trying to save the other, or gloating and savoring their imminent demise.

3: ☠So Much Bleeding☠ Wow that hurts. Like, a lot. Or...or maybe not? Y'know it's starting to feel kind of light and floaty, and it'd sure be nice to just close your eyes and drift off... For some reason your character suffered a grievous injury. Maybe it was in an epic battle with their nemesis, maybe they sacrificed themselves for player two, or maybe they're just really really klutzy and were running with a pair of scissors. No matter how it went, the point is that now they're bleeding out and have not long left in this mortal coil.

4: ☠Old as Balls☠ Even your wrinkles have wrinkles. You've been alive for like...ever. But hey, all good things must end, and now you feel that you're reaching the end of your rope. Are you a bitter, angry old geezer, or are you content with your life? Heavy with regret, or proud of your accomplishments? Are you saying a tearful goodbye to your friends and family, or maybe flipping the bird to an old enemy one last time? Maybe you're even reconciling with that enemy. Go nuts.

5: ☠To the Gallows at Dawn☠ Innocent or guilty, you are scheduled to hang/firing squad/lethal injection/be drawn and quartered/be decapitated. It is your last night. Chat with your cell mate? Try to escape? Bribe/seduce the guard? Tell your life story to anyone who passes you in the stocks? This one needs a bit more tweaking to properly be an engaging two person thread, but I have faith in your creativity.

6: ☠Final Curtain Call☠ This time, it's not just about you. The entire effing country/planet/universe/dimension is about to go up in smoke and everyone knows it. Break out the condoms and fried cheese, because this is gonna be one wild night.

7: ☠Overdue☠ Waaaait a second, you're already dead! Who would've guessed that? Well anyway, welcome to the afterlife. Maybe you're in some kind of celestial paradise, a torture dimension, or perhaps you're being a clingy fart and hanging around on your previous plane of residence. Finish up your business, or chill out and creep the bejeezus out of people. Your choice.

 

Original meme posted here, on memebells.

Comments

[violentrondo]

[When Brady hears those words, he looks like he's been physically stricken, eyes wide in shock and hurt betrayal. Don't bother?]

... how... how can ya just... [He chokes on his voice for a moment, swallowing hard once, twice, then lets out a broken-sounding sob that shakes his entire frame. The staff drops from loose fingers, and Brady's arms reach out, wrapping around Inigo in a desperate attempt to deny the inevitable. As if by folding himself over the other, he could keep Inigo from death itself.] Y-y-ya can't j-just say t-that kinda th-thing to me - [Another sob cuts him off, breath hiccuping from his crying, but he pushes on.] I ain't j-just gonna s-sit here and watch ya die!! I'm supposed to p-play for yer dances, remember? Y-ya can't do this to us!!

[And then quieter, but no less anguished:]

Damn it, you can't do this to me.

[manhandled]

[There's a moment where all Inigo can hear is the sound of Brady sobbing. The wind, the other soldiers -- the life of the battlefield, has trickled to muted whisperings; the once too-loud pounding of his own heart is barely heard within his ears.

Barely felt within his barely-rising chest.]

Sorry to... deviate from...the script...

[His head collapses forward, buried somewhere against Brady's collar, staining it with his tears and blood. He barely musters the strength to return the frantic embrace, one arm barely coming around the priest; the hand remains there, fondly, against Brady's cheek.

Inigo hums. It's nice there, safe and warm while everywhere else is cold and unforgiving. He thinks he wouldn't mind resting there. Just a bit. At least until his mother comes to get him... That'll be nice.]

Sorry. 'm sorry...so sorry...

[violentrondo]

[It's futile. He can hear it in Inigo's voice, how tired he is. He can feel the blood on his hand and face, almost burning against his skin. Even if he put everything he had into healing Inigo now, gave himself up to force that injury to mend, it's likely Inigo would still have too little blood left in him to keep going for long. And with all the chaos on the field...

It's the worst defeat of all. Healing is all Brady has, and here he is, failing in even that. Inigo's going to die, and Brady's going to somehow have to go back to the others and tell them he failed. It'll hit them all hard, he knows it; Inigo's a big part of the spirit of their group with his smiles and constant upbeat personality, a big part of what manages to keep them moving forward day to day in this hellish world they've been gifted. They'll manage to pick themselves up, somehow... but it's going to be much, much harder after this.

It's going to be much emptier with Inigo gone.

Brady hears the apologies muttered against his robes, and he swallows the lump in his throat. If he can't save Inigo, the least he can do is stay with him until he's gone. And maybe, if Grima's magic doesn't take the body, he can even make sure Inigo gets a proper burial somewhere. He still remembers the rites, despite never having performed them before. For now, though, he works on trying to rein in his crying somewhat, shaking his head as one hand moves up, threading through Inigo's hair.]

It's - [He's lost for a way to continue that, because it's obvious that this situation isn't okay in the least, but he doesn't want Inigo to go feeling distressed for leaving all of them behind. He swallows another sob that threatens to well up, takes a shaking breath.] ... g-get some rest, 'kay? You... you did a good job. ... your m-ma's gonna be real proud of you.

[He buries his face in Inigo's hair, holds him close as he can without hurting him further. Another shaking breath is taken before he starts humming, the tune a little broken from the sobs he's holding back. It's a song he's been working on whenever possible on his mother's old violin, something he was planning to use for the day when he and Inigo could fulfill their mother's dreams. Between losing Maribelle and Inigo, it'll be a wonder if he ever touches the thing again.]