Austin woke with a yawn that spread slowly across his face, widening in away that was familiar, turning a lopsided and lumpy makeshift bed into something comfortable, easy, and familiar --
And then he woke all at once with the realization that yawning like that didn't hurt, that the constant dull throb of his jaw, occasionally punctuated by something sharper and more penetrating, had faded out to nothing but a memory, a whisper. He was a well enough informed young man: he knew that healing a broken jaw should have been a process involving pins and wires, should have taken weeks.
Instead, hours later, he felt more like his old self.
He could have taken this as a sign of something being horribly wrong, but rising to take his shower and layer back into his rough sweaters...Austin felt good. He thought it was an auspicious sign.
The first good thing in a while. Today was going to be better.
Dark crept in, his mood bolstered, hands in his pockets as he surveyed the crowd, toying with the odd little compass he'd found scavenging the day before. And then lights, exploding the sky above him, loud enough that he [and several others, he thought] about hit the ground, fearful of more lobbed grenades and furious raiders.
Fireworks, instead, and Austin tipped his head back to gape at them, wonderment turning to delight. If there was that much power out there, and someone willing to spend it on a light display, surely there was hope for the future.
He took off to explore what might be found, scrambling over rubble and debris to make his way through those doors into a new world.
OOC
Character's name: Austin Character's faction: University Character's journal link:Here Character's survival stats: Austin ElswoodView BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF MY CHARACTERHERE.
Austin's slim and a bit taller than average at 5'10' with sandy hair shorn short on the sides, longer and curly on the top. His eyes, behind a pair of thin wire thick plastic frames with the wrong prescription, are faded green and usually amused; his skin is fair, freckling in sun unless he's careful; his mouth is just a little too full, in a way that appeals to most people.
Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2015 9:43 am
...and it was vegas. Austin had been more than once, in his short life, venturing down across the border with a bunch of friends to blow money at one of the casinos, to take in the shows, to get the full experience at a place like no other on earth. Assaulted by noise, light and movement, some actual color in a world that had felt relatively flat by the end of scavenging, Austin could just about have broken down and cried.
Instead he drew in a deep breath and let his shoulders slump, grinning as someone handed him 25 coins and contemplating his next move. Slot machines seemed a sucker's bet, where poor people sat and milked the house for all the free drinks they could get. Poker seemed populated by men with shark-eyes -- and besides, he'd had a bad experience with poker once when he was 19, that had resulted in an actual knife being drawn. In the real world, perhaps, he'd go for that. But in this apocalypse...
His eyes settled on the blackjack and he moved toward the crowd carelessly to get to it.
Coins: 50
OOC
Character's name: Austin Character's faction: University Character's journal link:Here Character's survival stats: Austin ElswoodView BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF MY CHARACTERHERE.
Austin's slim and a bit taller than average at 5'10' with sandy hair shorn short on the sides, longer and curly on the top. His eyes, behind a pair of thin wire thick plastic frames with the wrong prescription, are faded green and usually amused; his skin is fair, freckling in sun unless he's careful; his mouth is just a little too full, in a way that appeals to most people.
Your character selects to play Blackjack! They seat themselves at an empty table with a dealer. Make a new post in your [ Casino solo ] thread. Roll 2d12 (2 12-sided dice). If your character gets anywhere between 15 - 20 for their number they win 5 casino coins! You can only play this once. Write your RP reaction to what you have done/ experience with it.
Make sure in this post you include your usual OOC segment [ AND LOG THE AMOUNT OF CASINO COINS YOU HAVE ]. You should have a base of 25 to start!
Austin sat gracelessly, with a thud and a beam to the dealer -- and then he hit the table meaningfully in front of him, stack of coins settled to his right. Maybe, maybe the dealer's expression was sharklike as well, dangerous and challenging. If so, Austin missed it, just hit the table again with a cheerful, "hit me."
He wasn't bad at Blackjack, that was for sure. He watched the card, his head cocked to the side and eyes narrowed, and played the game as best he could. In the end, he came up on top, and that was what mattered.
Coins: 55
OOC
Character's name: Austin Character's faction: University Character's journal link:Here Character's survival stats: Austin ElswoodView BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF MY CHARACTERHERE.
Austin's slim and a bit taller than average at 5'10' with sandy hair shorn short on the sides, longer and curly on the top. His eyes, behind a pair of thin wire thick plastic frames with the wrong prescription, are faded green and usually amused; his skin is fair, freckling in sun unless he's careful; his mouth is just a little too full, in a way that appeals to most people.
Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2015 9:56 am
The games moved on, and as they did, Austin became more and more focused on winning, despite the fact he seemed to be regularly breaking even. It meant he missed the start of the dizziness, passed it off as lingering bad vibes from the previous area, had no idea he was anywhere close to passing out --
And when he woke up tied to a chair, everything crashed around him.
Fear came first, but only for a moment: a breath of it, until he realized he was surrounded by others, that his situation wasn't unique or strange, that everyone's tone was jovial and excited. Fury took over then, because this was at his expense, and while he couldn't turn, perhaps everyone else could: perhaps they were all laughing at him.
And, in the end, it settled into something else, instead, a low determination. This was a game, and he was usually good at games. This was just a game that meant his life -- and wasn't that just something else? It brought with it a spike of excitement, as if games like this were what made the world worth living in again.
It was like hunting down infected and beating the s**t out of them. You got nothing without risk.
Coins: 55
OOC
Character's name: Austin Character's faction: University Character's journal link:Here Character's survival stats: Austin ElswoodView BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF MY CHARACTERHERE.
Austin's slim and a bit taller than average at 5'10' with sandy hair shorn short on the sides, longer and curly on the top. His eyes, behind a pair of thin wire thick plastic frames with the wrong prescription, are faded green and usually amused; his skin is fair, freckling in sun unless he's careful; his mouth is just a little too full, in a way that appeals to most people.
As the man came to a pause, Austin opened his mouth to ask a question, to ask if the dinner lottery meant that they ate people in this area [and then, maybe, to ask what that tasted like], but before he could, he was cut off and hauled to yet another room, plopped down in front of two more chairs and put to another decision. To him, it seemed like a trick, the answer too obvious: why would anyone go for a whining teenager when they could have the great beauty? And so he mulled on it for a long, uncertain moment, eyebrows pulled together --
He nodded to the woman, at last. ******** it. In for a penny, in for a pound.
And just like that, the young man's life was forfeit. Should he have been surprised? He wasn't: that had, after all, been the deal. Austin raised an eyebrow, watching as they lead the young man away into another room, but he had enough sense not to ask where he was going.
Instead he was untied. He washed himself up, lingering to look at how much better his jaw looked, to psych himself up in the mirror.
The door opened, and he looked up at his escorts with a grin that now bordered on manic. They didn't need to drag him out, as they had the girl: Austin went more than willingly enough.
Coins: 55
OOC
Character's name: Austin Character's faction: University Character's journal link:Here Character's survival stats: Austin ElswoodView BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF MY CHARACTERHERE.
Austin's slim and a bit taller than average at 5'10' with sandy hair shorn short on the sides, longer and curly on the top. His eyes, behind a pair of thin wire thick plastic frames with the wrong prescription, are faded green and usually amused; his skin is fair, freckling in sun unless he's careful; his mouth is just a little too full, in a way that appeals to most people.
Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2015 10:11 am
A new room, and two attendants settled in front of him: one of them was a big guy, the enforcer, Austin imagined, and so he was immediately discounted. The other, though, tall and shapely with a bit of a big nose but an otherwise pretty face -- that was a different story. To her, he smiled, raised his eyebrows suggestively, and went along willingly enough as she assessed him:
"Twenty years old, make a note; both arms, both legs, both eyes." She plucked the glasses off his nose, put them on her own, and considered. "Eyes defective, but he's got'em, there's no discount for this kind of damage."
Pointedly, she put Austin's glasses back on his nose and continued.
"Full head of hair, healthy weight, even still, and --"
The brawn handed her his bag, and slowly, emptied his belongings out onto the counter, to mark them out.
"Nine items. --"
But Austin made a sound, raised his eyebrows and nodded to the kinder egg. "That one's for you, sugar."
The woman gave him a flat look, but took the kinder egg, tucking it into her pocket. She was not, it seemed, immune to bribes. "Eight items. One of them a radio."
And with that, the collar went around his neck. The number 130 blinked in clear light, and Austin couldn't even be upset. It seemed a pretty decent amount to him.
Coins: 55
OOC
MY CHARACTER'S TOTAL VALUE IS 130 COINS
(( To calculate your character's value, add up the following:
gaia_star If your character is between the ages of 15 - 30, add +50 coins gaia_star If your character has ALL their limbs add +10 coins gaia_star If your character has ALL their eyes add +5 coins gaia_star If your character has MOST OF their hair add +5 coins gaia_star If your character is considered healthy for their age and height, add +10 coins gaia_star For [ EACH ITEM ] your character is carrying. Cannot give to another player to "hold", or that player is stuck with them and must calculate it in their stead. Cannot give to GMs to "hold". You may "pre-discard" items if you wish. Items stuck in trade to Junkyard also count. +40 coins gaia_star If your character owns a radio: +10 coins
___
TALLY UP TOTAL TO SEE HOW MANY COINS YOUR CHARACTER IS WORTH, AD IT TO THE RED FONT ABOVE ))
Austin emerged into the casino with that grin still on his face -- which would, probably, make the angry only angrier. But confidence drove him forward, into the fray, more than ready to fight for his life. The adrenaline was welcome; the fear and the excitement reassuring. It was like it made him human again.
