dovbt

[dovbt]

“ i  seriously  hope  i'm  wrong  about  a  lot  of  things. ”  the  worst  of  the  worst  theories  had  crossed  her  mind,  a  semi-permanent  unsettling  feeling  making  a  home  for  itself  in  the  pit  of  her  stomach  as  though  it  was  welcome  to  stay.  ryan  liked  to  think  it  was  simply  reading  too  much  that  had  rewired  her  brain  to  assume  the  darkest  worst-case  scenarios.  did  everyone  here  look  like  they'd  done  something  bad  ?  not  really.  “ it's  hard  planning  for  something  you  don't  know,  yeah  ?  i'm  starting  to  think  the  same  thing  but  i  feel  like  if  i  go  around  saying  it,  they'll  exile  me  so  i  don't  ruin  the  vibes. ”

“punishment  ?”  he  repeated,  slightly  taken  aback  by  her  question.  he  may  know  some  people  around  here,  whether  by  being  close  to  them  in  the  past  or  by  hearing  about  them,  but  he  didn't  know  everyone  that  well.  he  didn't  think  everyone  here  was  a  bad  person.  at  least  it  didn't  seem  that  way,  so  why  would  there  be  a  need  for  punishment?  “i  seriously  hope  you're  wrong  about  that.”  there  was  a  shake  of  his  head  and  a  sigh,  before  shoving  his  hands  in  the  pocket  of  his  jeans.  “at  first,  i've  been  trying  to  help  out  and  do  what  i  can,  but  i'm  beginning  to  think  we'll  be  here  a  lot  longer  than  any  of  us  want  to  be.”

[dovbt]

a  laugh  escaped  past  ryan's  lips,  welcoming  the  humorous  distraction  softening  their  new  reality.  everything  sounded  somehow  less  damning  rolling  off  iona's  tongue.  “ god,  i'm  so  relieved  i'm  not  the  only  one  convinced  it  is.  like,  there's  just  no  other  explanation.  and  YOU'RE  RIGHT,  i  can  only  imagine.  someone's  definitely  getting  the  villain  edit  though, it's just a matter of time before we find out who. ”  as  much  as  ryan  pretended  not  to  care  what  other  people  thought  of  her  (  to  some  extent,  she  truly  didn't  ),  a  small  part  of  her  did  not  want  to  be  perceived  by  others  for  fear  of  being  seen.  it  made  her  skin  crawl  just  thinking  about  it.  a  bump  to  the  shoulder  pulled  her  out  of  her  thoughts,  warm  hues  shifting  to  focus  on  the  blonde.  there  it  was  –  the  question  ryan  always  felt  like  had  teeth.  “ how  are  you  handling  all  of  this  ? ”

" love island unhinged? erm, more like love island: no way out of home. written and directed by the same guy who did spiderman, true story." iona joked, though the accidental groan that slipped out of her half shaped laugh clearly showed how distraught she felt about the situation. she had seen what was outside of new ham, or at least, the lack thereof, and there was no way in hell anyone could produce something as haunting as a road that literally leads to nowhere. " on the bright side, if this is a social experiment, which by the way, it totally is, the tiktok edits are gonna go crazy. " denial is a river and it sure feels better to lounge around in the water than to think of their new reality. " are you, like, okay, though? i know this is all weirder than weird al yankovic in a gorilla suit— but, we're gonna get through this, yeah?" she smiles, more sincerely this time, before gently bumping shoulders with the girl in an attempt at cheering her up.

[dovbt]

she  considers  the  other's  theory  for  a  second,  lips  pressed  into  a  line  as  she  nods  along  to  her  words.  without  warning,  her  hands  reach  out  to  pinch  mickey's  arms  before  retreating.  “ nope  !  don't  know  about  you,  but  that  felt  pretty  real  to  me. ”  she  says  innocently,  completely  oblivious  as  to  what  she's  just  done.  “ i  mean…  yeah,  sure,  why  not  ?  who's  gonna  stop  us  if  we  turn  this  place  into  a  party  every  day  ? west ham can be whatever we want it to be. ”

"worst case scenario?" mickey shrugs, "we're all already dead and this is hell. that's like the most basic theory of every tv show ever: LOST, ed edd and eddy, rugrats. but i dunno about you, but i feel pretty alive so pretty sure that's not the case for us." they had no idea what happened but mickey's mind was racing with some actual theories about what happened, but she would need more evidence and research before anything became clear. mickey was optimistic at the best of times, and at the worst? some would call it delusional. she looked back at ryan when she changed the subject to their freedom. she supposed she hadn't thought of that, it was just them here. "what, like a party or something?" classic teen movie antics. she really needed to stop thinking in pop culture references.

[dovbt]

she  paused  for  a  beat,  eyes  drifting  as  though  she  was  giving  it  serious  thought.  ryan  wouldn't  be  opposed  to  a  process  of  elimination  in  their  new  world.  she  even  thought  she  could  thrive  here  so  long  as  she  had  a  say  in  who  made  the  cut  –  like  she  was  making  up  her  own  ideal  world.  except  if  it  were  ideal,  truly  ideal,  enzo  wouldn't  be  stuck  in  it  with  her.  with  her  brother  absent,  she  was  unsure  of  who'd  play  the  role  of  their  buffer.  “ you  really  think  you'd  make  it  longer  than  mark  ? ”  she  questioned with a roll of her eyes,  a  hint  of  a  challenge  in  her  tone  as  she  spoke.  she  couldn't  imagine  enzo  in  a  messed  up  love  island  scenario.  “ islanders  choice  ?  you'd  be  packing  right  now. ”  a  blatant  lie  because  if  this  were  televised,  ryan  knew  enzo  would  be  the  fan  favorite  –  charming  (  she'd  heard  others  say  it  ),  well-timed  jokes  ( again,  others..  ),  always  deflecting  at  the  right  moment  and  causing  as  little  ripples  as  possible.  “ god,  you  say  that  like  you  wouldn't  give  up  your  spot  for  him  out  of  pity  or  something. ”  eyebrows  arched,  daring  him  to  contradict  her  words.  “ poor  mark…  shunned  for  smelling  like  gouda.  if  i  were  responsible  for  rations,  i'd  slip  him  a  little  extra  soap,  just  saying. ” 

       enzo  couldn't  even  begin  to  know  what  was  going  on  in  this  town.  nothing  about  it  was  𝐍𝐎𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐋  or  𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐀𝐋.  then  again,  the  thought  of  some  weird  love  island  ,  lord  of  the  flies  experiment  going  on  wasn't  actually  a  thought  that  had  crossed  his  mind  just  yet.           ❝     if  that's  the  case,  who  do  you  think  the  first  kicked  of  the  island  would  be ?     ❞           sure,  the  girl  genuinely   seemed  concerned  and  if  there  was  anyone  that  could  be  great  to  vent  to,            (      enzo  could  definitely,  at  the  very  least  place  for  that  reward.     )        but  to  stay  at  least  semi - sane...  he  felt  he  had  to  bury  his  head  in  the  sand  and  thrown  in  a  little  joke  or  two.  𝐒𝐔𝐄  𝐇𝐈𝐌.        ❝     personally,  i  don't  see  my  guy  mark  making  it  very  far.  great  guy,  pretty  sure  we  went  to  high  school  together  but  i  passed  the  guy  near  the  cafe  earlier  and  he's  got  this  cheesy  smell  going  on.  who's  gonna  wanna  couple  up  with  the  cheese  guy ?     ❞         dramatically  raising  his  shoulders  up  and  down,  enzo  let  out  a  sigh.        ❝     unfortunate.     ❞        it  could've  been  a  weak  attempt  at  a  distraction  but  it  was  worth  a  shot.

[dovbt]

“ when  has  that  ever,  like,  stopped  anyone  ? ”  ryan  rolls  her  eyes,  annoyance  filling  her  in  a  ‘ i  wanna  go  home ’  kind  of  way.  except  she  isn't  able  to,  none  of  them  are.  not  the  home  she  knew,  anyway.  ryan  was  not  surprised  yuri  ended  up  among  the  people  here,  they  seemed  to  always  be  forced  together  –  yet  she  could  not  deny  the  strange  sense  of  comfort  she  felt  at  seeing  a  familiar  face.  “ well,  do  you  read  your  terms  and  conditions  ?  you  never  know.  i  thought  you'd  be  happy  about  that  part…  like  you  do  know  the  internet's  going  to  be  flooded  with  this,  right  ?  surely,  we  didn't  just  disappear  and  no  one's  looking  for  us, yuri. ”

“ wouldn't that be, like, illegal ? ” the brunette counters, wide eyes unable to pry themselves away from ryan, “ i don't know about you, but i definitely didn't sign up to be apart of any social experiments. especially not one involving being cut off from my life. like, what are my followers going to think ? what if i become another story on a fucked up true crime podcast ? ” 

[dovbt]

“  no,  it's  actually  kind  of  brilliant.  i  would  watch  it,  maybe  even  enjoy  it,  if  i  weren't  living  IT.  ”  maybe  in  another  world  –  ryan  would  be  comfortable  on  her  couch  with  a  mouth  full  of  popcorn,  shit-talking  all  the  ‘  contestants  ’  and  offering  up  her  thoughts  like  they  actually  mattered.  ryan  nodded,  tilting  her  head  slightly  as  she  let  the  words  sink  in.  establishing  some  order  felt  like  giving  into  the  idea  that  they  were  stuck  here,  something  ryan  was  having  a  hard  time  doing.  “maybe  we  should  have  you  as  mayor. i would trust you, at least.”

hazel  realized  that  not  everyone  was  optimistic.  or  was  willing  to  be  when  they  had  found  themselves  in  a  situation  such  as  this  one.  it  wasn't  something  easy  to  navigate.  assuming  the  worst  is  a  natural  instinct.  telling  herself  that  this  wouldn't  have  lasted  for  as  long  as  it  had.   "it  would  be  a  horrible  reality  show,  if  that  was  the  case.  don't  you  think  ?"  the  more  she  thought  about  it...  there  was  no  way  that  could  end  or  work  out  well.   "what  happens  now  ?  that's  a  good  question.  i  may  not  be  in  the  position  of  one  of  the  mayors,  but  i  feel  like  we  have  to  start  establishing  some  sort  of  order  here.  get  things  figured  out  properly."

[dovbt]

“  and  worst  case  scenario  ?  ”  ryan  questioned,  a  jolt  of  panic  running  through  her  at  the  thought.  she  couldn't  stop  her  brain  from  defaulting  there  – call  it  preparation  or  pessimism.  never  one  to  live  for  the  hope  of  it  all  but  maybe  it  wasn't  too  late  to  change.  “the  longer  we're  stuck  here,  the  more  inevitable  the  latter  becomes.  it's  just  a  matter  of  time  so…”  she  let  out  a  sigh,  eyes  shutting  for  a  few  seconds  as  though  to  drown  out  her  thoughts.  “we  hope.  or,  you  can  hope  and  i  can  remain  in  the  sweet,  warm  embrace  of  denial.”  she  had  a  feeling  it  would  catch  up  to  her  eventually.  she  straightened,  a  mischievous  glint  in  her  eyes  as  a  realization  set  in.  “we've  totally  got  free  reign  here,  have  we  acknowledged  that  yet  ?  first  order  of  business  ?”

mickey shrugged her shoulders at ryan's words. they all had to hope that this was just some bad dream, that they would all wake up and be back home like this never happened. but what that didn't happen? what if they were stuck here? it made her head spin. "let's just hope it's like a bad episode of the twilight zone. everything will go back to normal and there will be some netflix documentary about us. the best thing is to make sure we all stay calm and keep the chaos to a minimum."

[dovbt]

“oh,  definitely,  are  you  kidding  ?”  she  scoffs,  rolling  her  eyes  at  the  thought  of  everyone  gone  watching  and  mocking  them  as  they  run  around  in  confusion.  “they're  having  a  DAY  with  this.  do  you  think  this  is  some  sort  of  punishment  ?”  she  quickly  scans  their  surroundings,  as  though  the  people  left  around  are a  lineup  of  deviants being forced to be on their best behavior to survive.  “what  did  you  do  lately  ?”

truthfully,  tristan  didn't  know  how  to  handle  this  situation.  part  of  him  wanted  to  bury  himself  underneath  the  comfort  of  his  blankets  in  his  bedroom  and  pretend  as  if  this  wasn't  happening,  but  knew  that  wasn't  going  to  much.  especially  when  he  agreed  that  everyone  needed  to  work  together,  figure  out  what's  going  on,  and  do  the  best  they  can  while  surviving.  they  needed  each  other,  as  much  as  he  preferred  being  alone  recently.  “if  it's  a  social  experiment,  who  do  you  think  is  in  control  ?  do  you  think  everyone  gone  would  be  in  on  this  ?”

[dovbt]

hopeful,  optimistic,  positive.  –  all  words  contradicting  everything  in  ryan's  nature.  her  first  instinct  was  to  assume  the  worst  and  yet  in  their  new  reality,  she  seemed  to  be  holding  onto  the  hope  of  this  turning  out  to  be  anything  but  what  it  was  already  shaping  up  to  be.  only  because  if  she  let  herself  assume  the  worst,  she  would  lose  all  control.  “well,  if  this  is  some  sick  reality  show,  i'd  heavily  suggest  we  cut  the  cameras  and  call  it  before  someone  loses  their  mind.”  she  spoke  louder  as  though  a  hidden  camera  was  capturing  her  words  –  what  a  ridiculous  thought.  “what  happens  now  ?”

the  frustation  was  valid.  for  everyone.  it  was  odd.  an  odd  experience.  "no  but  you're  RIGHT.  because  what  in  the  world  is  this  ?"  she  was  still  in  disbelief.  who  could  believe  that  they  would  be  experiencing  something  as  wild  as  this.  "i'm  trying  to  remain  hopeful,  optimistic,  positive.  all  of  the  above.  but  it's  hard."  arms  were  now  crossing  over  her  chest  to  express  the  frustration  she'd  felt.  "a  chaotic  version  of  love  island?  the  last  thing  we  need  is  a  reality  show  of  this  when  we  live  in  the  reality."

[dovbt]

“god,  don't  even  make  me  THINK  about  it  !”  ryan  winced,  the  thought  of  chaos  ensuing  was  on  her  mind  and  yet,  it  had  never  occurred  to  her  that  they  could  be  stuck  long  enough  for  babies  to  start  coming  out.  “i  will  personally  ration  the  condoms  myself  if  that's  what  it  takes  to  keep  everyone  in  check.  –  besides,  surely  we'll  be  out  of  here  before  then..  ?”

it seemed like everyone was still in the denial stage of this new fucked up world they woke up in, which, fair. what the hell was going on? it was a lot to wrap their heads around. "if this is a fucked up love island, i really hope there's still condoms in this place. the last thing we need is a bunch of babies when we have no real doctors and shit."

[dovbt]

“or  something  like  that.”  this  is  definitely  far  from  the  show.  for  one,  love  island  never felt  so  ominous.  ryan  watches  as  they  scan  the  crowd  for  the  people  they  long  to  see  most,  the  same  sinking  feeling  settling  at  the  realization  that  they're  nowhere  to  be  found.  “when  the  time  comes,  i'm  not  holding  you  back.”  she  hates  the  confusion,  the  looming  feeling  of  impending  chaos  and  worst  of  all,  the  lack  of  certainty.  “how  long,  you  think,  before  we  start  tearing  each  other  apart  ?”

" YOU THINK WE'RE ON LOVE ISLAND ." the words are repeated with deadpan delivery that kind of speaks for itself , wyatt's brows twitching down briefly before they arch them to add , "well if this is some kind of shit social experiment then whoever's in charge of it is getting their teeth kicked in ." a clench of their jaw as they move to crane their neck to search the crowd , a sinking feeling in their stomach as they look for a familiar face they still can't seem to find . " because you're right about one thing : this is some fucking bullshit ."

[dovbt]

“never  a  better  time,  don't  you  think  ?”  she  chuckled,  shaking  her  head  at  the  ridiculous  thought.  if  ryan  let  herself  adapt  to  their  new  reality,  she  would  also  have  to  adapt  to  a  life  without  her  brother.  –  the  worst  part  ?  she  wasn't  sure  for  how  long  and  it  was  that  uncertainty  that  had  her  running  around  attempting  to  make  sense  of  their  new  world.  “well,  we  already  know  our  phones  don't  connect  to  anyone  outside  town  limits,  right  ?”  the  thirteen  failed  calls  to  her  brother  from  this  morning  confirming  what  she  feared  to  be  true.  “but if i were documenting this, i'd want my subjects to feel immersed. i'm not sure how we prove this, though. got any ideas  ?”

Evan  didn't  mean  to  chuckle.  If  anything,  it  almost  annoyed  him  that  he  did.  He  found  that  unprecedented  situations  of  various  kind  reflected  in  his  demeanour  via  a  smile,  a  chuckle,  a  laugh...on  occasion.  And  if  anything  he'd  ever  experienced  had  been unprecedented  in  its  entirety;  it  was  this.  "Sure."  he'd  said,  taking  a  seat  across  from  her  as  a  bamboo  straw  helped  him  mix  up  the  ice  in  his  tall  cup  off  flavoured  coffee.  "This  a  good  time  to  uh,  pull  you  for  a  chat?"  the  Love  Island  reference  did  not  help  the  upturned  corners  of  his  lips  either.  "Say  you're  right;  how  would  you  go  about  proving  that  hypothesis?"

[dovbt]

“you  and  me  both…  i'll  take  anywhere  else.”  she echoed his own words, nodding softly. ryan  couldn't  allow  herself  to  think  this  was  anything  but  temporary.  –  how  could  it  not  be  ?  she  was  sure  they  were  going  to  wake  up  any  minute  from  whatever  nightmare  this  was.  she  had  a  funny  image  of  someone  watching  them  from  a  control  room,  relishing  in  their  misery.  “how  long  do  you  think  we're  going  to  be  here  for  ?” 

"  you  and  me  both.  "  he  spoke,  eyebrows  raised  in  somewhat  disbelief.  he  was  glad  he  wasn't  the  only  one  here  who  was  struggling  to  grasp  what  was  going  on.  "  this  might  actually  be  worse  than  love  island,  i  think  i'd  rather  be  there  right  now  other  than  in  whatever  type  of  hell  we're  currently  stuck  in.  "

[dovbt]

OPEN STARTER ! @societystarters

“   no  ,  i  call  absolute  BULLSHIT,   ”   ryan  shakes  her  head,  a  scoff  escaping  past  her  lips  as  she  eyes  the  other.  “   this  is  some  sort  of  sick  &  twisted  documented  social  experiment.  like,  fucking  love  island  unhinged  !   ” 

[dovbt]

⊹ (MELISSA COLLAZO, SHE/HER, CIS WOMAN, TWENTY-FIVE.) did you see RYAN RIVERA around west ham lately? whenever i think of them, i can’t help but picture mediterranean tiles, a wall of gold picture frames, summer fruit, disco balls, butterfly bookends and mismatched fridge magnets. i’ve heard that they’ve taken up a role in this “new world” as a NEWSLETTER WRITER. people say they’re RESOURCEFUL, AMBITIOUS AND ASSERTIVE but can also come across as CYNICAL, BRUSQUE, AND STUBBORN if i had to pick an anthem for them, it’s probably BRUTAL BY OLIVIA RODRIGO. as for where they’d be staying, you could probably found them at HOUSE 4 in my opinion, they’re probably THE TRAILBLAZER. intriguing, right? don’t count on this being the last you see or hear from them…

𐔌 . ⋮ BASIC STATS .ᐟ ֹ ₊ ꒱

full name: ryan rivera.

age: twenty-five

pronouns: she/her.

gender: cisfemale.

orientation: pansexual.

hometown: west ham, connecticut.

label: the trailblazer.

positive: resourceful, ambitious & assertive.

negative: cynical, brusque & stubborn.

𐔌 . ⋮ HISTORY .ᐟ ֹ ₊ ꒱

tw: parental death, car accident, grief.

ryan grew up feeling like an afterthought in her own home; noise fading into the background of everyone's lives. – her very existence felt incidental.

she would watch the way her mother poured love and attention into her older brother, holding her to his standards and measuring her worth in his achievements.

though her mother's words often sliced through her like daggers, she could find some kind of solace in the way her father kept her from falling apart in his own quiet way. an unspoken understanding settling between them.

despite hating the way her brother seemed to excel at everything, he was still ryan's best friend. they shared secrets, inside jokes and it absolutely enraged her mother. as though ryan was a disease he would contract if he got too close.

the screaming matches began when ryan started throwing her mother's words right back at her, with no regard to how hard they would hit.

ryan was patient, yet constantly anticipating the day she could finally leave and stop shrinking herself to fit in the rivera household.

what she didn't except was to find her world crumbling overnight and no matter how hard she tried, ryan could never forget the look on her brother's face when he woke her up to break the news. the details were fuzzy but she strung the words together pretty quickly – three a.m, dad, hospital, car crash, critical condition. each one hit her in a sequence.

the grief hit in ways ryan did not expect; always seeing herself as unshakeable and yet she could not bring herself out of it.

she could only remember the relief she felt at her brother announcing he would be taking her with him to his new apartment, removing her from an increasingly toxic place with their mother.

𐔌 . ⋮ PERSONALITY & HCs .ᐟ ֹ ₊ ꒱

absolutely will not take anyone's shit anymore, she's done it plenty growing up

not afraid to speak her mind either, sometimes a little TOO honest and opinionated.

it takes her a really long time to trust people just because of how she's been burnt in the past.

very very stubborn and even if her idea is stupid and not at all practical, she will still want to see it through.

she definitely puts up an icy front but it falls apart in 2 seconds the minute she sees her brother and/or her closest friends

so basically she can be very difficult to get close to but once you're in? LOCKED IN

her dream is to be a writer but she's always deemed herself as too stupid to actually succeed at it and so she's kind of always written in secret.

had the BIGGEST fight with her brother and said some really mean things and now she's stuck in this new ham without him...

signed up to be a newsletter writer so she can get all the news before everyone else and plans on doing the bare minimum

𐔌 . ⋮ WANTED CONNECTIONS .ᐟ ֹ ₊ ꒱

childhood best friends

forced family friends

rivals / frenemies

ride or die

partner in crime

brother's best friend turned unlikely friends after the events

exes on bad terms (because her favorite thing to hold is a grudge)

ex friends on bad terms (because ^)

past summer fling

fwbs / ewbs

[dovbt]

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER

2.03 | School Hard

[dovbt]

MELISSA COLLAZO as CAITLYN TORRES

Motorheads (2025—)