Survival Of The Fittest

Hello all. I will be returning properly for V9 after only having a brief cameo in V8, and bringing in a cast of 2 characters - at this time named [static noises] and Woodrow Ritter. Part of what I want to do in this version is try some different modes of interfacing with the game, or to be precise, how one plans and communicates their part in the multiple year long writing project that we will all be collaborating on. As such, I'll be taking the opposite approaches to planning with both of them.

[static noises] is going to be much more unplanned, so I’m just going to throw him into open threads and see what happens.

Woodrow's draft profile [will be linked here], and what I want to do is not just plan, but to make all my plans public during the draft stage so that folks can take a look ahead of time and identify opportunities where the vibes/thematic elements/etc. line up with what they'd hoped to do with their own character. This will mean the sacrifice of any element of surprise/shock for the general audience, but I think that will be for the long term benefit of the story, and hopefully for my co-authors.

[+] Mandatory Disclaimer on Plans and Planning

This will be changed. I do not expect all of my plans to happen - as said this is effectively my attempt to make the sort of internal google doc I would keep public. I expect to ad-lib at the last moment when I need to fit the scene, and I don’t expect to be able to do all the things I want to. As you can see at this point, there’s even points where I’m still trying to figure out direction myself.

Character Blurb
Woodrow Ritter is an athlete, first and foremost. Leading receiver on the football team, and college football hopeful - though still awaiting an offer he’s willing to commit to. He’ll likely have 1-2 other sports he plays but doesn’t focus on much where he leans on his natural athleticism - possibly soccer/baseball? Tall (6’2), strong (190 lbs) and traditionally attractive, he has an easy charisma that he actively cultivates. He is also confident and quick to compliment, making him easy to like, even if he doesn’t keep close friends outside of the sports cliques he’s invested in. Those who do wind up spending lots of time with him find him to be pleasant, but a little distant and transactional behind the facade of joviality, with his ambitious streak being the most apparent part of his personality.

In terms of pregame plans, I’m pretty game for many things, I have no clear arc in mind or any canon events I want to play out prior to the island. So let me know if my boy can be of use to you.

[+] Island Story Brief

Woodrow's story is intended to serve as a sort-of morality tale, but in the mold of The Classics, where the protagonist demonstrates to the audience the immorality formed from their belief systems and how it harms them. The focus of this is on criticizing the cultural problems I see within some of the various online spaces I inhabit outside of SOTF, which are typically full of (bluntly) bitter young men. The specific things I am looking to highlight as crux points over the course of the story are:

Mercy is not weakness.
(Something I am struggling to put across pithily, but the sort of ‘main character syndrome’ which people use to justify their own cruelty - that greatness is not worth your humanity, maybe? IDK. I will figure it out.)
Do not love the Grind.

Key Story Beats

Scene 1
"Hot Open" onto Woodrow stealing something from a character (a weapon/food/etc.). Following confrontation leads to damage his right eye [opposite eye to Odin] and ideally leaving him floating in the ocean or otherwise in immediate peril.

Scene 2
Woodrow is found by a group in said perilous condition and rescued - presumably looking like a victim. During this, he will be mumbling sentence fragments, but otherwise effectively serves as a prop for the group to play off of.

How lucid do I make his experience here/lean on minimalism for a thread?

Scene 3
During the first night, Woodrow refuses to sleep, having become afraid that doing so will lead to him not waking up - a mix of post-concussion advice and trauma from having nearly died earlier. As his lucidity reforms, he starts to 'understand' the things he heard earlier. The core piece of 'knowledge' he gains from the sacrifice of his eye is simple - He will, for the first time in his life, not be able to win. He is going to die on the island.

As a result, he has a crisis, not knowing how to proceed - and decides to run away from the group. Maybe another of the members of the group is on watch and sees this happen? How can this be maneuvered to not block the whole group from posting? (do I prep it as a pre-written one-shot/two-shot?)

Is this too much of a nothing thread?

Scene 4
In the early hours of the morning, WR comes across someone who he feels deserves to forfeit their right to win - ideally someone who has committed an accidental kill, or a kill in self-defence, or hasn’t killed at all and is just covered in blood from a fight - before the announcements clarify, and attacks them. As with all acts of aggression, this results in Woodrow taking an injury (what would be thematically appropriate?). Kill/no-kill agnostic.

Serves as a clear turning scene where WR becomes an antagonist. Partially justified, but reinforced in that when the announcement clarifies the circumstances, WR does not repent or regret his actions.

Scene 5
[Downtime Scene - please come back later when I have devoted more braincell]

Scene 6
‘Pinnacle’ scene where WR is at the ‘peak’ of his powers/delusions. Kill of some description, undecided on if it should be reflective of his stated goal or a perversion of it. Content to keep details fuzzy to work with whatever other storylines present.

WR leaves with an injury to his leg(?), removing one of his last key strengths.

Scene 7
Scene which establishes that he is now seen as a monster (rightly) for his actions - maybe he tries to reach out to help someone in a parallel to Scene 2 only for them to recoil/run away in fear? WR then makes peace with this, seeing it as a necessary sacrifice to do what is ‘right’ [EXTREMELY INCORRECT BUZZER SOUND].

Scene 8
WR then runs into a member of the group who originally rescued him (likely shattered by events unrelated to him already), and - reasoning that the mercy they showed him is weakness that will only lead to them being exploited by someone else if he doesn’t, attacks them.

This leads to WRs right hand being injured, and is the death knell for the character.

Scene 8.5
Clear any loose ends with the character if required

Scene 9
WR finally sleeps. He is then found by a trio of people with connections of each of his previous victims, and is attacked and killed. His death should be pathetic and highlight that the control he had taken over the situation was illusory and wrong.

I have a kid who would benefit from Woodrow. Also spoilers for my island plans.

[+] Explanation of child

Alright, so, Londyn Mackred. For the sake of brevity I’ll give the tl:dr; Londyn is a wannabe social media star who is dealing with a lot of personal issues, namely, the death of their mother. Also they regularly daydream about hurting others due to spite over their lack of popularity/friends. Also also is They/Them non binary, but that’s not as important.

Londyn, being shorter (5’6), smaller (like 120 lb range) and going into the game with their dominant (left) hand in one of those thick plaster casts, on top of being a known problem causer at school, I don’t think there would be a more tempting target than Londyn, which is why I offer them for scene 1.

Londyn, regardless of their actual draw, technically has a built in weapon in the form of their arm cast (however painful it would be to use) and that weapon would be great for crushing specifically the right eye socket. Woodrow trying to rob Londyn would also be the perfect way to kickstart the arc I have planned (Londyn losing it and treating the game like it’s their own personal livestream).

I hope I’ve explained myself well enough for you to consider this. Take care.

Hi, I'm Survival Chances, and I think Woodrow Ritter would go well with my character, Chester Mullivan since both are on the football team. The only problem is that Chester is known for his "outbursts" but other than that the two could be friends.