goneawayworld | Corona [OPEN]

Who: The New Hires and Planker
What: Fun
Where: The Gym
When: Post-plot.
Warnings/Notes: Foul language from Planker.

The first warning the New Hires have is that some of them quietly get pulled aside by various members of the staff before training even starts. Not only does this mean that some of the personnel had to wake up extra early, already a warning sign, but they don't mention why. They just take a few key people aside.

The second warning is when Planker walks in, whistling a cheerful tune and wearing a smile like a man with a three foot erection. "All right, you miserable fucking reprobates! Big Daddy Planker has heard your complaints about his training methods. Pity the Princess got transferred out, she could feel the love today." He paces in front of the assembled crew, doing his best to show off every little tooth. "And, believe you me, that's the only love that exists for you little shits! God doesn't love you, He's dead! I killed Him! He came upon me in His divine glory while I was showering and didn't duck fast enough when I turned around to face Him! And if you anorchous shit-stuffers don't want to be buried in the same fucking hole, you'll straighten those fucking backs and pay attention!"

He snaps his fingers, directing everyone's attentions to a series of chambers. Clear material forms the walls and the rest promises an obstacle course. "This is your obstacle course! And you are mine! I have permission to keep you here until I get bored! And if that means you blowzy copremetics will all get through this course." He slams his hand against one of the walls, then jabs a finger at the first person to catch his attention. "That means you, filth! Mount that wall, put some effort into it, and go! You! Join them!"

The course is an exercise in sadism, as only Planker could imagine. There are seven chambers.

The first room seems simple enough, you simply have to run across. But the floor moves, like treadmills, and each segment is in an opposite direction. When the participant hits the floor an ear-piercing siren starts blaring, increasing in volume with every fall and not ceasing until the course is completed.
The second room is a mud crawl under rows of concertina wire that snags and catches at the clothing, with stinging insects there to hurry people along. If the poor unfortunate is too slow, tear gas starts to fill the room.
The third room has a set of irregular monkey bars, but they've been greased. It's set above a three foot pit filled with mouse traps straining to go off.
The fourth room has, dangling from strings, chattering stun guns at various heights. There are sparking hurdles, as well, wrapped in barbed wire to snag at any clothing and drag people in to the electrified bars. Three double-sided cattle prods rotate like ceiling fans, threatening anyone who gets too close. To add to the stupidity, the floor is covered in tires.
The fifth room brings them to a ball pit! But some of the balls are electroshock grenades. Some are glue bombs. And some of them are flashbangs. Both are set to go off on contact.
The penultimate room has air rams that go off as the participant drags a dummy (or their partner. Or the previous, possibly unconscious, runner.) through, blasting powerfully enough to knock a man off of his feet. To make things worse, giant strips of fly paper stretch across the room, snaring anyone unfortunate enough to get caught.
The seventh, and final, room has something different. Carrying a tool box, the participant has to dash up a spiraling ramp that has alternating barrels and greased ball bearings dropping down at regular intervals. At the end, they have to solve a puzzle and disarm a bomb. If they fail to do it in time, the 'bomb' goes off. Unfortunately for them, Planker isn't allowed to use a real bomb. Instead, the box underneath the bomb springs open, revealing an enraged skunk.

After about the third person starts to go through, Planker will press a button. At that point, the chambers will rise up, revealing wheels, and start to move about the gym in swift circles, controlled via his remote, designed to throw the people inside off-balance and remove any illusion of stable footing. To add salt to the wound, there are cameras in every chamber, capturing every possible humiliation for editing and presenting to whoever Planker sees fit later on.

[[Obviously you don't have to participate. Your character was taken aside for some reason. Otherwise, you can either have your characters run through, react to, or simply have them talk about being forced to undergo this new, improved obstacle course later.]]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"It's not like you to give up," Adora responds, still basically dragging Catra forward with grim determination. She might not be making good time, but she's not leaving Catra behind. Not now, not ever again. Not if she can help it.

"You can do this Catra. I'm right here with you."

"I'm not giving up, Adora," Catra hisses. She forces herself over one hurdle, then the next. Her foot catches, scraping open her shin on steel and barbed wire and a sharp shock encouraging her to move onwards. She thinks there's blood matting in her fur.

"I mean I could but it would make Planker happy and fuck that." She ducks under one of the swinging prods and finally comes up to the door to the next room, panting for breath. So close. Yet so far.

Adora's breathing heavily as well - along with coughing. This obstacle course is Hell and she hates it. She hates everything about it. More than that, she hates that Catra looks like she might be getting to the end of her rope. She waits for a few heartbeats, hoping that Catra will be able to catch her breath. Then she keeps moving.

"Ready?"

As if they'll ever be.

"I don't know." Catra grits her teeth. The first time through had been bad enough, she'd hauled a dummy across her back, practically on all fours. This time, she doesn't know if her limbs have the strength for it. Not, of course, that it will stop her from doing her damndest. She moves to grab a dummy and begins to haul it across the room without wait, only to be knocked flat by a blast from an air cannon.

Fuck.

"Catra-!" Adora has to brace herself against the wall to avoid being bowled over herself. She watches Catra get knocked flat and then she darts forward and stoops down to lift her as best she can.

"Come on. I'm carrying you."

"You don't have to--" Catra protests, kicking and squirming before her exhaustion seems to take hold and she simply goes limp, clinging awkwardly to Adora as she's carried onwards. Her cheeks flush--this is embarrassing. And stupid. She shouldn't let herself think about Adora anyway. Not like it'd ever happen, even if Adora is carrying her so carefully and gently--

Shut up Catra.

"...I hate this," she says in a small, angry voice.

"I know, Catra," Adora grits her teeth and grinds out a response, "But just let someone help you for once in your life. You don't have to like me, you don't have to like this, but let me help!"

There's a blast and Adora staggers, almost going to the floor with Catra in tow. Then she's back on her feet and pushing on, face a mask of determination. She will not let this be the end of her and Catra.

Not that she thinks they'll kill them. But it helps to focus on the endgoal.

"What's the point?" Catra growls, but she's too tired to do much besides complain. She grits her teeth, humiliated and angry as she's bodily dragged along with Adora, each step seeming to take an age. She doesn't like it--she doesn't think the trouble over her is worth it, really. But Adora will be Adora.

"Just being the hero again, I guess."

"The point is getting through this. The point is I'm not going to just leave you behind!" Adora shouts back at her over the rush of another air ram. She has to brace and almost oes over again.

"This was never about being the hero-!" Sort of. If she can't protect people, what good is she? If she can't protect Catra, does she really have worth?

"Sure, sure!" Catra says spitefully. She's clinging to Adora, humiliated, exhausted, and angry. She doesn't know that she has the energy to argue about this again. She just wants to get finished with this and go clean herself before she sleeps for a thousand years.

"Let's just get this over with."

Right. No time to argue. Adora grits her teeth and pushes forward. Every step is a battle, every push makes her muscles scream, but they're doing it. She has to drop flat at one point and crawl, tugging Catra along with her to avoid being toppled by the winds and sent flying backward. The fact that the room likes to tilt at random angles doesn't help, either. She finally snags onto a handhold near the exit and pauses to try and breathe.

"OK... OK. Here we go."

Catra clings tight, wincing ever time Adora rocks from the blasts of air. Thankfully, they aren't blown too far off course and even manage to make it into the next room in a shape that isn't terrible. Catra, of course, is still dead tired by this point, though she tries to make herself go on.

"The hard part here is the stupid puzzle. There's some animal in a box that sprays you if you get it wrong or run out of time. It's why I stink," she says with a grimace.

"Great. Puzzles. I'm not good at puzzles..." Adora groans and slumps against the doorjamb to catch her breath.

"Just - give me a second. Then we can go. Sound good?"

"Yeah. No argument from me." Catra groans and leans up against the wall. Everything hurts, and yet... she has to keep going. It's the only way this nightmare is ever going to end. She swallows, closes her eyes and tries to focus.

She's not very good at it.

Corona [OPEN]

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