don't be afraid,

[shitglasses]

COMPROMISE OR DIE

CIRCLE is a 2015 film about 50 people waking up in a room with no memory of how they got there. Slowly they realize they have to choose who lives and who dies if anyone is to escape. Only one can walk away.

Fifty people is too many for a thread, so how about two?

SUDDENLY, you wake up in a strange dark room with another person. Maybe you know them; maybe they're a total stranger. There's no way to escape and only one way to survive. You find nothing of use, no doors and no windows, just a note etched into the wall: DECIDE WHO LIVES. IF NO DECISION CAN BE MADE, BOTH DIE. YOU HAVE ONE HOUR.

Ready, set, go.

Comments

john constantine | dc comics / vertigo | ota.

[strewth]

[have fun with this selfish coward.]

selfish coward deserves another selfish coward!

[helluvaboss]

[Blitzø would kill most people without a second thought - which is probably why he got tossed in here with this guy instead, and thrown in without any of his weapons on him. Rubbing his head with a groan, he's still coming to before he sees someone else coming to in the room.]

Fuck, you're kinda ugly for one of my one-night stands.

[But, once he sees what's scrawled on the wall--]

Oh fuck that!

daryl dixon | twd | ota.

[pigsfeet]

Ashley Cromwell | Werewolf the Apocolypse | OTA

[professionalriot]

get the tissues

[naturaldisasster]

So... This is it.

we are assholes

[professionalriot]

Giving up so easy?

Shota Aizawa | MHA | OTA

[eyerasure]

[timidlyblooming]

[The young girl stared at the message on the wall for quite some time, confused, reading it and rereading it, hoping it would suddenly say something else. That couldn't be it, could it?]

... i—... is this some kind of prank?

[In a low voice:] It's not very funny.

[Surely, there must be another way out?]

[eyerasure]

A deception, maybe. To see what we do.

[Shota wasn't any happier on seeing the message. There was nothing to indicate if the threat was genuine or not, but he had to operate under the assumption it was. Yet he wasn't about to share that concern with the young girl stuck there alongside him.

Dropping into a crouch beside her, he looked into her eyes calmly.] Don't worry about what it says. We need to look around and see if there's a way out. Can you do that?

[They seemingly had an hour to find another option and he intended to use it.]

[timidlyblooming]

I will.

[She nodded, a sharp and clear look in her eyes. She gathered her hair into a high ponytail to keep it out of her way.]

... do you mind if I send out my Pokemon? Alolan Vulpix are adept at hunting for prey under earth and snow, so I think if there was some sort of tunnel or hollow space under the walls or floors, Snowy should be able to sense it.

[eyerasure]

[She wasn't panicking, which was good; with the given time limit, he didn't have time to calm her down and search for an escape. And her efforts might be even more useful in that search than he'd assumed.]

...sure. Go ahead.

[Whatever animal she intended to send out, it couldn't hurt to try. It might find something the pair of them missed that could get them out of there. Anything was worth a shot while they had the time for it.

Shota kept an eye on her to see this pet as he began to search their surroundings himself, pacing slowly along the walls, hands trailing over them.]

[timidlyblooming]

[Partner, not pet! But Shota probably doesn't know what a Pokemon even is, so it's understandable.
Lillie won't panic, she's been in tense situations before! It would be easier if she had a watch, to keep track of the time, but she only had her father's Z-Ring... oh, but that could be much more useful if they find a weak spot in the walls.

Lillie threw out a red-white sphere, but she messed up the aim a little bit and the ball richocheted off the wall, oops! ... she normally kept Snowy out all of the time, you see.

In a flash of white light, a very fluffy, arctic fox-like creature emerged, with crystalline blue eyes and six large, curled tails. Its fur overall was very dense and curly.

Lillie bent down and pet Snowy.]

It's alright, we'll figure a way out together. That man is helping us, he's the voice you heard before.

[The pet nodded, listening carefully, before beginning her search, clearly intelligent and sentient.]

[eyerasure]

[Blinking as she tossed a ball at the wall, Shota followed its path until there was a flash, and the animal in question appeared. He'd seen a not-dissimilar Quirk before - at least as far as the compression went, so it was easy enough to assume that this was her power. Or perhaps the fox creature itself in some way. Whatever the specifics, it wasn't as important as finding a way out.]

How well can it communicate if it finds anything?

[He didn't want them to run out their time trying to decipher what the creature had found if there was an exit to be had. Which there had to be - they'd gotten in there somehow; there was a way out. He wasn't having any luck finding it himself, but maybe the creature - Snowy - would. There was something else he could try too if those avenues proved fruitless, but they needed to approach the problem methodically and exhaust each option before trying something new.]

[sorry for the delay, Ramadan started + had a hospital and dentist's visit too, aha...]

[timidlyblooming]

Well, Pokemon don't talk like humans do, but with time, you start to understand each other better... besides, sometimes, they mimic the rythym of our speech and make up a word that's close enough to one of ours. We meet each other halfway, like that.

[Snowy stopped at a certain wall and barked a few times, scratching at it with her paws.]

So quick... good job, Snowy!

[Snowy's fox-like "kon" cry turned into some sort of approximation of a word: 'kon-kokko!' = ka-rappo?]
... 'emp-ty'? I think Snowy's saying it's hollow here, sir.

Nothing to apologise for! Hope all is well now

[eyerasure]

[Smarter than the average animal then. It definitely sounded like something Quirk-related. Humming in understanding, Shota watched the fox-like creature stop by part of the wall, clearly having picked something up. The young girl further demonstrated her answer as she quickly worked out what the creature was trying to communicate.

He nodded and stepped over to the patch of wall to examine it.] Good work. This must be how we were brought in.

[Running his hands over the wall, he searched for the edges of what had to be the door. It was well-fitted, almost seamless but there was a faint line he could feel. Now it was just a matter of figuring out a way to get it open before they ran out of time. He was also counting on them not being monitored by someone who might interfere to stop them escaping. There was little he could do about the latter possibility so he kept the thought to himself.

As he examined the area, Shota offered to her-] You can call me Eraserhead. I'm a professional hero.

Professor Mordin Solus | Mass Effect | OTA

[heal_or_execute]

[You've been abducted alongside an alien. A talkative one, who doesn't seem particularly fazed by the situation.]

Ah. Ethical dilemma. Would be interesting thought experiment if not for abduction.

[He starts pacing around the outside of the room, examining it minutely, still chattering, not looking at the other person.]

Obviously, best if we escape. But, have to assume captors planned carefully. Time limited, options likewise.

[Pause. Inhale. Looking over his shoulder.]

Need to consider all possibilities.

[lottabones]

[A strange creature is in the room with Mordin, though at this point, the question about his species isn't what's most shocking. For all of her years pondering how she'll meet her end, Triffany never expected "Captured to partake in a deadly social experiment". But that's life, and she's ready to accept that her entire life is over right now.

But she can't die without using her final hour to learn as much as she can.]

Alright, but before we decide... [She folds her hands politely.] Could ya tell me who you are, exactly?

[heal_or_execute]

Hm?

[Oh, right. He skipped that step. Mordin halts his exploration and turns around with a smile on his lipless mouth.]

Yes. Apologies, was preoccupied. Professor Mordin Solus - doctor, scientist, occasional tactical expert. And you are?

[lottabones]

Triffany Lottablog. Professor of archaeology. Got some pretty good papers done during my tenure, but I'm not sure if there's much else I regret.

[She folds her hands and speeds through the list of academic accomplishments that she's already had.]

...Apart from not sayin' goodby to my husband.

[heal_or_execute]

Archaeology? Fascinating field.

[Mordin brightens up and looks ready to steamroll her with excited science chatter. Then she drops the part about her husband, and his face falls with sympathy.]

...I see. Personal regrets - unfinished business. Understandable. Common topic when contemplating mortality.

[lottabones]

Personal things don't really matter much once you're dust and bones. [She gives him a heavy shrug.] I think my office will be fine without me, but my husband...

[Triffany takes a deep breath, and exhales. Now's not the time to get beaten up about family. She still has an hour left. Mordin sees her swiftly switch her expression into a cheerful one, her paws held before her chest.]

Anywho, I believe you were an army doctor? That's what I'm guessin'.

[heal_or_execute]

Not quite. 'Special Tactics Group' - more of an intelligence unit. Sabotage, reconnaissance, occasional assassination.

[He rattles it off like a grocery list, pacing a bit back and forth, his long three-fingered hands gesturing.]

Retired now. Operate a clinic. Still get... consulted, sometimes.

[lottabones]

Ah. You don't see many doctors involved in that. [There's no judgement in her voice. People are different.]

And you take on those...non-medical jobs, too? Just wonderin' if you got somethin' important waitin' for you back home.

Nothing | OC, superhero/supervillain | OTA

[eighth_incarnation]

[Character info in journal. Likely to be willing to volunteer himself for death, since he 100% knows reincarnation is a thing.]

Kino | Kino's Journey | OTA

[restlesswings]

[Kino's going to look at that message on the wall and whistle.]

Wow. A whole hour, Hermes. They're being generous.

[A voice responded from her motorcycle:] Yep. You can even call it overconfidence. So, what are you going to do, Kino?

I don't think they consider you alive, Hermes, so they probably mean us...