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Toshihiko Two rolled 1 4-sided dice:
1
Total: 1 (1-4)
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 Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2015 6:06 pm
Ras found the parts of his day that he had to himself were lacking.
They were okay. The same as before, really. Walls, floor, food. Except less food. The hunger was almost something he enjoyed. Being full made him forget. The gnawing hunger, the parched throat, they flavored being sustained more than any sugar or seasoning could have.
He didn't have much energy to burn. But he scrounged, and tried to keep fit in the meanwhile. Not for himself. But in case someone might have need of him.
Nobody had ever told him how to stretch, but he had watched some of the others, and mimicked it as part of the routine. He had spent more time in the library than in the gym. The motions didn't mean much to him.
When it hurt, he wasn't sure if it was how it was supposed to feel. The pain was something, anyway. It was almost good.
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Toshihiko Two rolled 1 20-sided dice:
13
Total: 13 (1-20)
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Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2015 6:10 pm
Then, Ras ran.
He didn't have any training in this either, but he went as far and fast as he was able along the looped track. This, he liked. This, his long limbs were built for. They carried him okay. There wasn't much science to it, he didn't have to memorize a list of muscles to attend to.
But he should, he reminded himself. He should know. And next time, he'd do better. Not just to get to know himself better, but...
By the time he was done, he was drenched in sweat and he knew there wasn't much water. He sucked on his own shirt to keep the inside of his mouth wet. He knew it wasn't wise. They washed the shirts with the regular water. He concentrated on his breathing, on how his limbs still hummed with adrenaline.
He had time for some chores today. Those, he might take some pleasure in.
+2 bars
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Toshihiko Two rolled 3 4-sided dice:
1, 1, 1
Total: 3 (3-12)
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Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2015 6:24 pm
It depended.
He washed his hands first, before running them over Gilda's soft and delicate clothes. She said he hadn't been ready to clean them, so he'd decided to practice on his own.
He had never had his own washing machine. He washed his stuff in the sink. They had to pay a dollar to use the washing machines, and he'd never had a job. Nobody from home sent him money. So he used the sink.
The Doctor, of course, had her own home and machines.
He was a bit intimidated by the machine's at first. They looked a lot bigger than a wash basin. He tried to measure the soap in sink-to-machine ratio, and it turned out about how he should have expected.
Red faced and tight lipped, he scrubbed up and got rid of the foamy bubble hazard that he had turned the laundry room into. His knuckles were white as he gripped the mop. Next time, he promised himself, next time.
+1 bars
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Toshihiko Two rolled 1 4-sided dice:
2
Total: 2 (1-4)
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Posted: Sat Sep 19, 2015 1:06 pm
The next day, he was almost looking forward to the run.
He was more careful about the first part. He didn't pull until it hurt, although it was a near thing. There was a certain kind of acceptable pain that came with it. A strrretching.
This time, he moved to get the feeling experimentally in other places, and did so until everything didn't have that mild pain and instead had a pleasant, relaxed feeling. He looked at the course.
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Toshihiko Two rolled 1 20-sided dice:
6
Total: 6 (1-20)
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Posted: Sat Sep 19, 2015 1:15 pm
He burst off an imaginary line in the yard. It was the same as the day before, good, but without the additional burning of an injury.
The pain was older, and less fresh.
Somehow, he didn't run quite as far and fast. Took the adrenaline a little longer, maybe. But at the end, his hair and shirt were as wet as before, and he had a little incentive from the exercise program.
+2 bars
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Toshihiko Two rolled 6 6-sided dice:
3, 3, 4, 6, 3, 4
Total: 23 (6-36)
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Posted: Sat Sep 19, 2015 2:35 pm
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Toshihiko Two rolled 6 6-sided dice:
2, 6, 1, 6, 3, 1
Total: 19 (6-36)
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Posted: Sat Sep 19, 2015 2:43 pm
Ras shuffled the butt of the paintball rifle up against his shoulder. There wasn't any kickback, the tiny pellets barely responding to the puff of pressure it took to squeeze them onto the targets.
As the first cut out flared to life, blood oozed between its teeth and half its head was gone, pale face twisted into a horrifying grimace. Easy. The paintball joined the other marks on the well-used piece of cardboard. He wondered how they cleaned and replaced the lovingly-drawn game. After a while, the only thing they'd be shooting was a Jackson Pollock.
The next one was vomiting, its eyes marked out with green. Ras "killed" it with another puff and click. He knew the prison had guns, somewhere, but he'd never been allowed to touch the inside of the armory. He didn't even know if there was armor left. He still wore the cuffs, like a pair of twin bracelets, around his wrist. Like it meant something. Like they were better than him because a cop had never looked their way and pulled up a monitor with a check mark on it.
At the end of the world, the lines were more arbitrary than ever.
Still, when a smiling, sunny-faced blonde girl showed up, he didn't shoot. Maybe it was the blonde. He hadn't cared about hair color before, it was just... The cutout clutched her skirt and a checkered backpack. Family. Things were different now, though. Maybe everywhere was like this. And it wouldn't be safe for kids, or for...anybody to have kids.
They didn't have any here at the prison. He doubted there were any left. The next one was a cop. Ras smiled sheepishly at whoever was watching, but didn't shoot. The cop cutout had more shot marks on it than the little girl. ...It even had more shoot marks than some of the zombies. Prisoners had always outnumbered staff, and it surprised him that members of the staff had been able to...stay as safe as they had. Or that the Warden had been the one able to seize control. A lot of things relied on outside authority, and all that was gone. But Ras liked him okay. He wasn't going to start a coup. And for separate reasons, he was glad that it was the staff that was in charge. And that certain members of the staff were safe.
Next was a prisoner, slackjawed, eyes glowing an ominous green. It was clear what faction had commissioned the cutouts, anyway. This one, Ras didn't shoot either. This time his smile was a little more nervous.
The last one, a cheery man in a business suit, he also didn't shoot. Although he wanted to. A contributing member of society. Okay, maybe there were a few other reasons not to shoot. Maybe, one day...if he kept his chin shaved, got a nice tie, found somewhere that didn't ask about prior convictions. Even if he couldn't find a job, he'd settle with being a house husband. A husband for...
He lowered the gun, the game over. Maybe another time.
z - z - h - h - z - h
x - x - o - o - o - o
+5 bars
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Posted: Sun Sep 20, 2015 7:26 pm
Ras looked at the psychologist, tight-lipped. He had refused to work with any other psychologist since Dr. Farrel, and resented it now. He knew it was only a routine test. But he had never been good at tests, and he knew he was going to give the wrong answer. It was always like that. Wrong answer, wrong place, wrong time.
"Come on now," the psychologist coaxed, "I know that, in the past you've refused these kinds of tests. But this is only routine. The Boss just wants to assess who we're working with."
"He shouldn't have access to patient's medical and psychological records." These were the first words Ras had spoken to another psychologist in a long time.
The psychologist sighs. "I misspoke. I will be evaluating you. This session is, of course, private. Just try, if you please."
Ras sat a while, tight-lipped, with his fingernails digging into his knees while he stared at the card on the table. Finally, he forced out, "a dog."
"Anything else? See if you can use the other shapes, or turning the image..."
Ras shook his head.
The psychologist sighed, then put the card back into the deck. "Let's try answering a question then, okay?"
Ras's brow furrowed, but he did not answer in the affirmative.
"Alright. How about this. Your past records have been washed away. This is a brand new start for everyone here. How does this make you feel?"
Washed...? Ras thought. That was a lie. Everywhere wasn't like this. They still have his fingerprints, his information. This man didn't have the power to pardon him. It would't stay like this. It was not a new start. It was a waiting period.
"Like a new man," he said, with a twitchy, tight, and forced smile.
+2 Bars
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Toshihiko Two rolled 1 4-sided dice:
1
Total: 1 (1-4)
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Posted: Sun Sep 20, 2015 7:27 pm
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Toshihiko Two rolled 1 20-sided dice:
12
Total: 12 (1-20)
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Posted: Sun Sep 20, 2015 7:28 pm
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Toshihiko Two rolled 3 4-sided dice:
1, 3, 2
Total: 6 (3-12)
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Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2015 8:55 pm
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Toshihiko Two rolled 6 6-sided dice:
1, 5, 4, 4, 4, 2
Total: 20 (6-36)
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Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2015 8:57 pm
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Toshihiko Two rolled 6 6-sided dice:
4, 6, 2, 5, 4, 4
Total: 25 (6-36)
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Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2015 8:58 pm
z, z, h, h, h, h
x, x, x, x, x, x
feeling trigger happy, shooting everybody
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Toshihiko Two rolled 1 4-sided dice:
1
Total: 1 (1-4)
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Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2015 7:41 pm
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Toshihiko Two rolled 1 20-sided dice:
5
Total: 5 (1-20)
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Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2015 7:44 pm
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