Reading Feeds The Soul

Derby continued to smile at the Baroness. He wasn’t exactly sure what she meant by “swabbing”, but was happy enough to be chatting with her. He almost contemplated bringing up the previous challenge, but decided against it. This walk was supposed to make him forget about their loss.

“Boring, lad. They be so simple even an addlepate could do ‘em! I mean, look at that wench Ashley! Ye be somethin’ else if ye be doin’ worse than ‘er.” The Baroness spoke honestly, not afraid to loudly jab at who she currently considered her main rival in the competition. Although most people would not be so boisterous about their disdain for someone, The Baroness didn’t care. In fact, she would probably tell Ashley that to her face.

Derby listened to the Baroness’ answer, admiring her take-no-shit attitude. He wondered to himself, if Ashley was as bad as she was made out to be, what the girl’s motivations were. That was what made a character compelling, right? Maybe if he got to know her better.. even if she didn’t like it. Though that was a venture for another time.

The Baroness simply nodded in agreement when Derby commented on the absurdity of the current challenges. For a show called Total Drama, they weren’t the most dramatic things in the universe, even with the destruction of a multitude of buildings. “Aye lad; I be expectin’ more dramatic things than kissin’ or sleddin’.” The girl paused momentarily.

Ry gestured with his gun down the street for Derby and uttered a curt, “Lead the way, Fanfiction.net; if you can find me a good enough shooting range, then maybe I won’t sic my pranking f—teammate on you.” It wasn’t really a threat on his part, because he wouldn’t have the time or energy to go out and find wherever that bastard was lurking just for him to attack Derby with some relentless pranks.

Derby was never one to lead on adventures - that’d always been his friend’s job - so he understandably felt a little unsure of this proposed expedition. On the other hand, he wasn’t really in the mood to be pranked, and maybe it would be fun to be the leader for once. It was all he wrote about anyway, valiant leaders saving the day. So despite his uncertainty, he decided to run with it. Not literally, of course; walking would do just fine.

As they walked down the road, Ry expected it to go on in an almost serene silence, but he quickly realized that was a misdirection on his part… Of course, he’d be the only one who enjoyed silence as opposed to talking, so when Derby asked him a question, he felt a vague sense of deja vu erupt through him; nobody had really casually talked to him in a long time… The only conversations he’d had were with a pranking ass and his teammates…and none of those encounters could be considered ‘casual.’

Derby took down mental notes about Ry’s interests, considering he didn’t have his notebook for once. He nodded as they continued to walk. “So you’re a sardonic artist,” he proposed with a small smile. “He sounds like he could be an interesting character,” the writer thought. Derby then paused, waiting for Ry to ask him a question in return. When that didn’t happen, he tried to keep their conversation going. 

Ry paused in thought, never truly taking into account what his art style was like. He’d never actually described it before, because nobody really asked about it in the first place. The only one who’d cared didn’t anymore… 

“Hm,” was all Derby could say in response. It sounded interesting, to say the least, if not a bit abnormal. But abnormal certainly wasn’t a bad thing.

Derby continued to smile at the Baroness. He wasn’t exactly sure what she meant by “swabbing”, but was happy enough to be chatting with her. He almost contemplated bringing up the previous challenge, but decided against it. This walk was supposed to make him forget about their loss.

“Boring, lad. They be so simple even an addlepate could do ‘em! I mean, look at that wench Ashley! Ye be somethin’ else if ye be doin’ worse than ‘er.” The Baroness spoke honestly, not afraid to loudly jab at who she currently considered her main rival in the competition. Although most people would not be so boisterous about their disdain for someone, The Baroness didn’t care. In fact, she would probably tell Ashley that to her face.

Derby listened to the Baroness’ answer, admiring her take-no-shit attitude. He wondered to himself, if Ashley was as bad as she was made out to be, what the girl’s motivations were. That was what made a character compelling, right? Maybe if he got to know her better.. even if she didn’t like it. Though that was a venture for another time.

Derby smiled at The Baroness’s hatred of math, wondering if maybe one day they’d start a war on math together. That could be fun. When she explained why she was out, he nodded.

Derby continued to smile at the Baroness. He wasn’t exactly sure what she meant by “swabbing”, but was happy enough to be chatting with her. He almost contemplated bringing up the previous challenge, but decided against it. This walk was supposed to make him forget about their loss.

Ry gestured with his gun down the street for Derby and uttered a curt, “Lead the way, Fanfiction.net; if you can find me a good enough shooting range, then maybe I won’t sic my pranking f—teammate on you.” It wasn’t really a threat on his part, because he wouldn’t have the time or energy to go out and find wherever that bastard was lurking just for him to attack Derby with some relentless pranks.

Derby was never one to lead on adventures - that’d always been his friend’s job - so he understandably felt a little unsure of this proposed expedition. On the other hand, he wasn’t really in the mood to be pranked, and maybe it would be fun to be the leader for once. It was all he wrote about anyway, valiant leaders saving the day. So despite his uncertainty, he decided to run with it. Not literally, of course; walking would do just fine.

As they walked down the road, Ry expected it to go on in an almost serene silence, but he quickly realized that was a misdirection on his part… Of course, he’d be the only one who enjoyed silence as opposed to talking, so when Derby asked him a question, he felt a vague sense of deja vu erupt through him; nobody had really casually talked to him in a long time… The only conversations he’d had were with a pranking ass and his teammates…and none of those encounters could be considered ‘casual.’

Derby took down mental notes about Ry’s interests, considering he didn’t have his notebook for once. He nodded as they continued to walk. “So you’re a sardonic artist,” he proposed with a small smile. “He sounds like he could be an interesting character,” the writer thought. Derby then paused, waiting for Ry to ask him a question in return. When that didn’t happen, he tried to keep their conversation going. 

Ry gestured with his gun down the street for Derby and uttered a curt, “Lead the way, Fanfiction.net; if you can find me a good enough shooting range, then maybe I won’t sic my pranking f—teammate on you.” It wasn’t really a threat on his part, because he wouldn’t have the time or energy to go out and find wherever that bastard was lurking just for him to attack Derby with some relentless pranks.

Derby was never one to lead on adventures - that'd always been his friend's job - so he understandably felt a little unsure of this proposed expedition. On the other hand, he wasn't really in the mood to be pranked, and maybe it would be fun to be the leader for once. It was all he wrote about anyway, valiant leaders saving the day. So despite his uncertainty, he decided to run with it. Not literally, of course; walking would do just fine.

Derby smiled at The Baroness’s hatred of math, wondering if maybe one day they’d start a war on math together. That could be fun. When she explained why she was out, he nodded.

Derby smiled at The Baroness’s hatred of math, wondering if maybe one day they’d start a war on math together. That could be fun. When she explained why she was out, he nodded.

“Death is just a part of life,” Ry had said. What a strange way of thinking; it wasn’t exactly pessimistic, but it certainly wasn’t an optimistic one. 

“I’ve got more self-control,” he told him honestly; the fact that he thought of karma killing people was more mature to him than outright stabbing someone over petty things–like losing or whatever…

Derby wasn’t really sure how threatened he should feel. Ry did just say he wasn’t looking to murder anyone, buuut he still had a gun in his hand.

Ry glanced around the area and realized that he had no idea where he’d gone either in this instant. Honestly, he’d been so caught up in just being away from everyone else, that he completely forgot to mark his path back.

“Death is just a part of life,” Ry had said. What a strange way of thinking; it wasn’t exactly pessimistic, but it certainly wasn’t an optimistic one. 

“I’ve got more self-control,” he told him honestly; the fact that he thought of karma killing people was more mature to him than outright stabbing someone over petty things–like losing or whatever…

Derby wasn’t really sure how threatened he should feel. Ry did just say he wasn’t looking to murder anyone, buuut he still had a gun in his hand.

Ry snorted and jumped down, pulling the gun from his pocket. Twirling it with his finger in the trigger guard, he calmly showed it to Derby. “It wasn’t just lying around; I had to take my idiotic teammate, Dennis, to a theater to retrieve it…” He’d say that night was fun if it weren’t for the fact he’d feel closer to people and risk getting himself hurt there.

Derby half-listened to Ry’s story, while the other half of his focus was keeping an eye on the gun now spinning around Ry’s finger. “That’s.. an intense story,” Derby commented, uncertain of how true the story really was. It was fairly unlikely that Chris had rigged any of the rickety, old buildings.. wasn’t it? The more he thought about it, the more unsure of himself he became.

“It’s not nearly as intense as it sounds,” Ry lied to himself, shooting it down instantly; it was something he did, after all, so it wasn’t anything worth being complimented. “Just me dealing with Dennis and Benny being idiots.”

“It sounds pretty intense..” Derby murmured, determined to write about an evil robot fighting the.. well, he hadn’t decided Ry’s part in his overall story so far. He needed to figure that out soon. 

“If you want to call it that, then fine, but I don’t see it that way…” He mumbled in response, stopping his gun spinning. “But honestly, the most intense thing that happened was that we almost were killed a few times; but death is just a part of life.”

“Death is just a part of life,” Ry had said. What a strange way of thinking; it wasn’t exactly pessimistic, but it certainly wasn’t an optimistic one. 

Ry snorted and jumped down, pulling the gun from his pocket. Twirling it with his finger in the trigger guard, he calmly showed it to Derby. “It wasn’t just lying around; I had to take my idiotic teammate, Dennis, to a theater to retrieve it…” He’d say that night was fun if it weren’t for the fact he’d feel closer to people and risk getting himself hurt there.

Derby half-listened to Ry’s story, while the other half of his focus was keeping an eye on the gun now spinning around Ry’s finger. “That’s.. an intense story,” Derby commented, uncertain of how true the story really was. It was fairly unlikely that Chris had rigged any of the rickety, old buildings.. wasn’t it? The more he thought about it, the more unsure of himself he became.

“It’s not nearly as intense as it sounds,” Ry lied to himself, shooting it down instantly; it was something he did, after all, so it wasn’t anything worth being complimented. “Just me dealing with Dennis and Benny being idiots.”

“It sounds pretty intense..” Derby murmured, determined to write about an evil robot fighting the.. well, he hadn’t decided Ry’s part in his overall story so far. He needed to figure that out soon. 

Ry snorted and jumped down, pulling the gun from his pocket. Twirling it with his finger in the trigger guard, he calmly showed it to Derby. “It wasn’t just lying around; I had to take my idiotic teammate, Dennis, to a theater to retrieve it…” He’d say that night was fun if it weren’t for the fact he’d feel closer to people and risk getting himself hurt there.

Derby half-listened to Ry’s story, while the other half of his focus was keeping an eye on the gun now spinning around Ry’s finger. “That’s.. an intense story,” Derby commented, uncertain of how true the story really was. It was fairly unlikely that Chris had rigged any of the rickety, old buildings.. wasn’t it? The more he thought about it, the more unsure of himself he became.

A Walk On The Brighter Side - Derby's Open RP

The Baroness was still upset at the turn-out of the previous challenge. She was, however, more upset at herself than anything. It was her fault that their team had come in last; had she not suggested making lemon squares, then maybe, just maybe, they would have had a shot at winning this. And maybe then, one of her own wouldn’t had to have walked the metaphoric plank to elimination,

See? She’d already moved past it, there was no sense in simmering in his guilt.

Derby smiled at The Baroness’s hatred of math, wondering if maybe one day they’d start a war on math together. That could be fun. When she explained why she was out, he nodded.

A Walk On The Brighter Side - Derby's Open RP

Finding peace had been so surreal after all the hubbub of the elimination and his sucky ass teammates’ idea of lemons; he really just wanted to get away from all of his teammates now… Whether it be Kiki and her lackluster leading today; Lavender and her obnoxious cries for help at every turn; or Dennis for his stupidity and forcing of Ry to babysit him during the entire challenge to avoid instant elimination. Whether Chris had meant that they would all be eliminated or one person would be didn’t concern Ry anymore; he just needed an escape.

Derby looked around confusedly, wondering where the voice had come from. After looking around cluelessly, he finally looked in front of himself and saw a familiar person’s legs hanging down a few steps in front of him. He glanced back to where he could’ve sworn he saw another contestant, but found that they were gone. Not that he planned on avoiding Ry, no; it was just that their past run-ins had been a bit.. tense? Was that the word? Either way, he shrugged it off, hoping to get on the boy’s good side after remembering that Ry was also in an alliance with the Baroness, and just because he felt he needed more friends on this show. His team first loss after Alexandria made him realize how much he could value more of the contestants. And how intriguing each one was in they’re own way; it would be a shame not to get to know his subjects.

Hearing the voice of the most sane member of the Penguins didn’t stir Ry to sit up and strike up a conversation one bit; he was here to get away–primarily from his team–and just relax for once; and it wouldn’t hurt to grab a few hours of rest before he went to bed, right? It was when the boy asked him what he was doing that made him realize that he wasn’t going to get out of this conversation easily, so…he decided that maybe it was time to actually do something…