V8 BKA/BDA Voting: July 2023

[Ruggahissy]

Hello esteemed writers,


Welcome to the Best Kill and Best Death Awards for July. Before we begin, the rules:

1. In this thread, you may post as an anonymous guest to select one student to receive the day's Best Kill Award, and one handler to receive the Best Death Award. Prizes will be given out in-character for BKA, consisting of a weapon and food, and out-of-character for BDA, consisting of a quote from their character to be displayed on the board index until the next BDA is awarded.
2. You may only vote while logged out. You can identify yourself in your vote if you want, but you may not claim to be another handler.
3. You may only vote once, and you may not vote for yourself in either category. Staff can see IP addresses, and we will check them if we have reason to suspect shenanigans.
4. You must provide reasoning with your vote for why you think your choices deserve the award. Votes with no reasoning will not be counted.
5. Don't be a jerk. You can explain why some scenes are your favorites without tearing others down.
6. Make sure that your answers are clear; please don't use any formatting that might cause votes to be miscounted or left out.
7. Please be sure to read every kill and death before voting, please vote for your genuine favorites rather than just voting for your friends, and please don't campaign for awards in the chat or otherwise try to influence the vote.

And your Best Kill and Best Death contestants:

BEST KILL AWARD:
Katelyn Graves for killing Ashlyn Graves
Salem Fox for killing Greg Craig
Evie McKown for killing DeMarcus Miller
Richard Buster Jr. for killing Iris Waite
Victor Grail for killing Karen Nguyen

BEST DEATH AWARD:
Gundham for the death of Ashlyn Graves
Kermit for the death of Greg Craig
Applesintime for the death of Madeleine Molliqaj
Ruggahissy for the death of Joshua James
Outfoxd for the death of DeMarcus Miller
backslash for the death of Iris Waite
Ryuki for the death of Karen Nguyen

Voting will run for five days. Votes will remain hidden until time is up, and the winners will be declared in the following announcement.

[Some fuckin' gonk]

Best Kill: Salem Fox shooting Greg Craig

I kinda didn't want to vote for Salem again after he's already won two of these, but like... Damn son. This one was ice cold and I kinda loved how brutally simple it was. I have a big soft spot for quick "Oh Shit" deaths. No dying speeches, or dramatic flailing about. Just point, click, BAM. Gone. Extra shout-out to Jacob's heart-breaking follow-up post, and the inclusion of spin the bottle to determine who got shot was a nice touch.

Best Death: Ashlyn Graves

I mean... Yeah. Jesus wept, this one was twisted. Gundham and Volt really went all out here, making this easily the most emotionally intense death this go around. Damn good scene, this.


Special shout-out to Madeleine and Joshua's mutual kill as well, which was a fitting end for both characters involved.

[Sad little life Jane]

It was really tempting to double shot this vote but I've decided to go with two different routes to spotlight two fantastic threads and deaths. Overall a really difficult death cycle to decide on the winners, with so many big hitters dying or being involved in the deaths.

For the BKA I'd like to vote for Katelyn Graves killing Ashlyn Graves. Fratricide is a pretty difficult concept to make believable, but huge shoutout to VoltTurtle and Gundham for this incredible scene. From start to finish it was a really difficult thread to read. I'm so glad the two handlers were able to really dive into the sisters backstory and Ashlyn's dismissive attitude and refusal to give time of day to Katelyn's concerns was a really unique and interesting way of managing what was going to be their final time together. The fast pace of the thread helped to keep us wrapped up in the story of the Graves sisters and the final few posts were excruciating to read, to the point where I ended up feeling really sad for Katelyn which considering her body count is pretty surprising. She's such a big character in V8 and having this whole thread, leading up to Ashlyn's death, able to explore their backstory so much was a really memorable and special part of the version so far. I liked that they kept you on your toes as to how it was going to happen. Obviously as the thread started we figured it was only going to end one way, but Ashlyn accepting her fate and effectively forcing Katelyn to kill her, whilst championing her and wanting her to kill to win and to go home was really strong.


For BDA I'm going with Ruggahissy and the death of Joshua James. It feels harsh to vote for one of the two as both Rugga and Apples wrote a brilliant thread which ended with both Josh and Madeleine dying. It was another example of a brilliant thread this cycle that was gripping from start to finish. Madeleine having the upper hand to begin with and forcing Josh to take off his coat was a great start, but of course our favourite intense scary boy had other ideas and in the face of death he was still able to gun her down and outlast her. What made this death more special, in a grotesque and creepy way which is exactly what I wanted from the end of Josh's story arc, was the last things he said and did. Knowing how Madeleine felt about him but her succumbing to his psychopathy is actually really upsetting, and sentences like "You’re so pretty, I want to rip you to shreds," he whispered. "I want us to hurt each other over and over again." do a really good at putting the hairs stand up on the back of my neck. There's nothing quite as less satisfying as a villain who desperately deserved to get what was coming to him somehow ending with the view that he had won. It's so realistic and in character yet is actually making my skin crawl even thinking about it. Really strong end for an incredibly memorable and impactful character. Well done to both handlers!

[John Nintendo]

Best Kill Award: Katelyn Graves for killing Ashlyn Graves. It's a bit of a stretch to say that I enjoyed this thread technically, but I found it compelling. It's unpleasant in a real way, like a lot of the things that grab me most in SOTF. Nobody is in the right, nobody comes out looking better. We get a good, intimate look into some of the reasons why Kitty has gotten so messed up, and it's hard to get through but also hard to look away. Kitty's reaction drives home how this is one of the last lines she had yet to cross even with all her kills, and it's probably all downhill from here for her, so at least give her a cheeseburger for the road.

Best Death Award: Ruggahissy for the death of Joshua James. This guy. This guy died thrilled that he made someone hate him enough to want to kill him, because it meant that they cared in some kind of way. It's so twisted and so perfectly reaches right to the core of Josh's character as someone who wanted attention and power. He loses everything and gets his comeuppance and still dies satisfied, and it's just the perfect sort of love-to-hate end for a villain that I... well, loved to hate.

Props to Ashlyn and Madeleine for carrying the other half of both those scenes, and to DeMarcus for having a short and nasty death post in a way that I enjoyed.

[VoltTurtle]

Three and a half days left for votes!

[b.k. whoppenheimer]

We are so back

BKA: It's gotta be Salem Fox killing Creg Graigh. It sells a wonderful level of casual callousness that contrasts beautifully with the norm: not that I dislike the emotional melodrama we've seen a lot of, I just really appreciate the contrast and how well it's achieved.

BDA: Feels odd not to be doing the doubler for such a strong scene, but still, it's Gundham for Ashlyn Graves. Going to your death on purpose is, well, not an easy thing to write but it's a thing that's easy to envision a character doing in a lot of ways. Throwing yourself on a grenade, in front of a bullet, in front of a dangerous person to buy time for other people, very grokkable heroics. But dying on purpose to antagonise someone else into carrying on the fight, arguably carrying on as a villain? That's a pretty difficult needle to thread and I think Gundham did very, very well with it.

[ElDuque420intheUK]

BKA

Salem killing Greg. I think Salem under Zarina has been one of the more interesting and expertly done adoptions in recent memory and perhaps ever, especially with how much momentum and how active he has been in this collective island narrative thus far. This is Salem at his best, meme-ing and wisecracking while hiding a sinister and cold, callous demeanor. The kill itself is sudden, twisted and profound enough in its simplicity that it plays into Greg's overall thematic and tone and allows for Kermit to play more with the flashbacks used throughout. The consistency of his characterization and the clarity, concision and tone of the entire scene as a whole make this a clear winner for me. Good job! Can't wait to see what game the murderous Mr. Fox decides to play next.

BDA

Ruggahissy for Joshua James. Josh to me is one of the strongest characters we had in terms of thematics, consistency and clarity of vision and execution. His commentary on gendered power dynamics and his exploration on identity and ego tied to manhood and psychosexual discovery were expertly done and filled with poetic and literary echoes that continued even in his death. I am reminded a bit of Tony Soprano in Josh's ending, the audience doesn't get to see the devil get his comeuppance and the ambiguity ends up providing more answers than explicitness could ever. This was another scene that was cleanly written, had very little fat to trim and once more, had consistency in thematics that Madeline played with and built upon as well. Expertly done, a great capstone to a great V8 run.

[VoltTurtle]

Little over two days left for votes!

[WormandWife]

BKA: Richard Buster Jr. for killing Iris Waite. I love some tragedy in my SOTF. But yeah, I think it’s well structured, you get an introduction showing his mental state being worn down by the constant death, a slight breather when everyone tries to sleep, and then you get the payoff where his panic is brought back when he shoots first. His trouble accepting it after also seems appropriate for a panicked high schooler.

BDA: Kermit for the death of Greg Craig. Stupid name aside, I really did enjoy Greg’s posts. They really communicate his introversion and how his bland outside conceals his rich inner life. I enjoyed how he was too distracted by his own memories, shown in the post, that it ruined his chances of survival in the thread.

[VoltTurtle]

A bit over 24 hours left for votes!

[Medic]

Best Kill Award I’m going to give to Richard Buster Jr.

Though there were some close ones, I’m picking this one for how previous threads have lead into it, for the tragedy of misunderstanding from everyone involved. I love me a tragedy. How the past of the two enforces that, how Richard’s tendency to be a little careless with the gun – particularly when it comes to asserting leadership – helps feed into how quickly he pulls the trigger. (And how his reasoning is similar to that first time he was ridiculous with the gun - ‘they just need to know he has it.’ And (on the parts of everyone) I like the pile of errors stacking up into such a lethal mistake. June screaming, Iris responding, Richard responding. And Richard not having any good last words or comforts for her because this is just so out of what he knows, and what he knows is all he has.

BDA goes to Gundham for the death of Ashlyn Graves.

Similar reasons for voting it in. The past coming back to haunt in a strong way. Ashlyn has been a very unsympathetic character in a lot of ways, but she manages to be both incredibly sympathetic and still incredibly cruel in her last moments. Driving Kitty to kill her in what’s a very warped expression of love. It’s so well done and a huge payoff of all the backstory between the two, and promises a big impact on the killer in question.

(I’ll be real and could have swapped BKA and BDA around to their respective kills because it’s very much a team effort on both sides, but hey Kitty has a grenade launcher already. xD)

Honorable mention goes to both Madeleine and Joshua for their respective kills and deaths, because those were also great. Madeleine achieving her goal, and yet Joshua being so weirdly happy about it, was such a messed up way for both of them to go out.

[FractalFratricide]

Best Kill Award

There were some really strong contenders this time around, but I am ultimately going to throw a nod to Richard Buster for killing Iris Waite. The complex circumstances that lead up to this kill are interesting, but Dick's reaction to the kill and his emotions after the fact shine through here brilliantly, and this comes off as an incredibly profound and devastating moment for him. I'm excited to see what Dick does next as a result of this, and what paths it might take him down.

I do want to give an honorable mention to Victor Grail for killing Karen Nguyen. This was one of the strongest scenes we've seen from Victor yet, and I think that his revulsion at what Karen was asking him to do was well-realized. It could have been drawn out a bit more and given some stronger focus, but overall there were some great bones to the scene and I think that they're a really positive development. I'm excited to see how Victor deals with this moving forward.

Best Death Award

Hoo boy.

I really wish I could give this to both participants, because a mutual death always feels like it ought to be a celebration of both handlers. I think they both deserve so much share in this, but I will be giving it to Ruggahissy as Josh James. Josh is a fantastic character, and his death manages to be earned but still unsatisfying, and I think that that's... a good thing. I think that Josh raises a lot of really problematic issues and teases them out in a way that's horrifying specifically because of how plausible his existence feels. This thread was an incredible display of talent and emotion from both writers, and I cannot praise it enough.

[tren]

I have grumpy onions a lot of the time but I really really mean it when I said this round is strong. I enjoyed every scene I read for this read, yall did great. Anyways that being said, here are my votes

BDA: Josh James

I have so so so many feelings about this scene but I guess to sum it up, it's insanely impressive to me that Josh is at his scariest, most menacing, most malevolent, while he's dying. He has outdone himself, and that's with an insanely high bar already set for himself. I have not had a scene give me the heebie jeebies like that......ever, I think.

(Also kudos to Madeleine. It takes two to tango, and apples help up his part really well too)

BKA: Kitty Graves

So first of all I think it'd be funny and mean to give it to her for killing her sister.

But also this scene really captured a sick sort of dynamic you see around autistic people, who have to be coddled and disregarded and disrespected by all the well meaning people around them. And also, how well meaning those people are, and all the worries and fears they have for their neurodivergent loved ones, and the harm they inflict because of those fears.

This is a dynamic I'm familiar with, but one I haven't seen as well captured as in this scene. This scene also made me feel deeply unpleasant but in a good (????) way, so I had to give this scene my kudos somehow. And I love how the kill comes with some catharsis, but not enough, because there wouldn't ever be enough catharsis for a scene like that.

Bravo also to Gundham for his half of the scene and for turning in a nuanced but still undoubtedly villainous performance

[Nomi Malone]

Hello hi

This was a pretty hard vote this month. I went back and forth on both categories but I think this is where I've landed.

BKA: Richard Buster Jr.

This was so tough. I ended up giving it to Dick because I like the scene a lot, it's well organized and each participant does their job well with a good sense of flow, but I also wanted to spotlight the really nice work Buko does in the thread with regards to just writing. There's a really nice lyrical quality to a lot of the writing he does here, which is a bit of a Buko staple coming from his rap and poetic influences. Reoccurring motifs like week/weak and the matching construction of things like

The problem was that every day out here felt like a month and Richard hadn’t eaten or slept properly in a week.

The problem was that he wanted to stay awake and the only thing he seemed to stay was weak.

give the writing a really pleasing, almost pretty quality. That aside, I thought the emotion of the tragedy and Richard's sense of failure at having killed one of his oldest friends when he set himself up as a protector were really well done. I liked this a lot.


BDA: Creig Kreag

I really liked this entire scene as well so a big shout out to Salem and Jacob for their parts as well as their wrap up after Greg's death. The scene has this really cinematic quality to it that I really like from the sort of media res start of the thread to Greg's flashbacks, to Jacob's entrance (and nice line during the fight). But I really just like the characterization provided to Greg in these flashbacks (though they have been a constant motif for him). It's subtle but expressive and makes me feel for him. There is also a really horrifying quality to the spin the bottle and a wonderful (?) description from Kermit when Greg just suddenly is shot and hits the back of the chair. I really like this one, so Imma give it to him.

SPECIAL HONORABLE MENTION: To DeMarcus's death! I really liked the edge of menace that Outfoxd gives him as he walks up on the scene and I feel in my heart that his death post is the best reaction to a gun shot the board has ever seen. It's so brutal and gross but feels realistic. I loved it.

[Buko]

Last call for votes, around 2.5 hours left!