The Gamemakers (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
gamemakers) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
thecapitol2013-06-21 12:41 pm
gamemakers) wrote in thecapitol2013-06-21 12:41 pm
Entry tags:
- aunamee,
- cassandra marko,
- commander shepard,
- harley quinn,
- npc: darius,
- sigma klim,
- the grand highblood,
- the signless,
- wyatt earp,
- ✘ alex rider,
- ✘ blaine anderson,
- ✘ callista ming,
- ✘ charlotte "lottie" la bouff,
- ✘ cinna,
- ✘ cuthbert allgood,
- ✘ damian wayne,
- ✘ daniel jackson,
- ✘ donatello,
- ✘ effie trinket,
- ✘ enjolras,
- ✘ howard bassem,
- ✘ ian gallagher,
- ✘ jack atlas,
- ✘ jay,
- ✘ john watson,
- ✘ kate bishop,
- ✘ lady,
- ✘ marius pontmercy,
- ✘ maximus,
- ✘ neffa a reyeth,
- ✘ neophyte redglare,
- ✘ pruna,
- ✘ r,
- ✘ sherlock holmes (bbc),
- ✘ shion,
- ✘ some ovmennet,
- ✘ stephanie brown,
- ✘ tony stark,
- ✘ topher brink
The Execution of a Traitor
Who| Everyone.
What| Ariadne's public execution.
Where| Execution is in the public square, threads in the Districts
When| Mid-morning the day before the new arena.
Warnings/Notes| Within the first cut is an execution with nerve-attacking toxins, as well and gore and gun violence. Everyone is still locked into their districts.
Starting at 9:30, in every bedroom in the training center, an alarm has started. Everyone is to wake up, everyone is to see this, and anyone who hasn't wandered out by 9:45 is awoken by an Avox and escort into the suites common area.
The TV's turn on exactly at 10.
The morning is crisp, cool, even this close to the start of summer. Even being so early there is of course a crowd gathered. A small live audience, all Capitol citizens, all thoroughly checked for security, is shown entering by the cameras, gathering before the empty stage. Peacekeepers can be seen, en mass, around the edges.
Finally Cruentus walks out, barely containing her excitement. She tries to keep on a serious mask, but looks more like a child trying to behave so she isn't take away from the Santa greeting line.
"My father, unfortunately, has business to attend to, and couldn't be here. But as the head of the Tribute program, I am here for you instead. As you all know, on the night of the crowning ceremony, one of our guests tried to assassinate our beloved head Gamemaker, Plutarch Heavensbee." She pauses, giving the crowd time to discuss that, waiting patiently for them to settle.
"Ariadne was one of our guests, one of our victors. She was someone we welcomed here, with open arms. And we will not stand for this disrespect. Her act of rebellion, though sloppy and easy to unwind, was unacceptable!"
Another pause, longer, the crowd working themselves up more.
"We will not stand for this. We will not stand for people we welcome into our city, into our homes, to injure our kin. No more!"
With a quick gesture, she summons the two avoxes, Shepard and Holly, both former mentors themselves, to bring Ariadne out to the center of the stage, bound in chains.
For everything that went wrong, Ariadne is absolutely unapologetic. She knows full well that she got sloppy, and that she shouldn't have trusted Eva as far as she could throw her - that's the only explanation, she thinks; she's blissfully oblivious to Eva's public betrayal, but she knows something went wrong somewhere down the line. She's not sorry that she got caught, nor is she sorry that she's in this position now. She caused a stir; she got things going. That's better than the waiting game that everyone else is playing. She can respect it, but it wasn't for her.
Her back still stings from the shrapnel that hit her during the blast: the way that Shepard and Holly hold her makes it impossible to ignore as she stumbles out to the stage, eyes hardened as she looks up to stare at Cruentus over anyone else. She welcomes whatever punishment she's begotten; she's not afraid.
The crowd goes wild for a long time. Booing, loud, raucous - they seem just barely controlled. Hatred comes off in waves towards Ariadne, the first true target of a growing, seething hatred that still hasn't found its purpose yet.
Cruentus lets it go on, draws it out, encourages it. Then, finally, she holds up another arm.
"For such a vile crime, we have cooked up a special little potion for our traitor. Something any of those feeling a touch rebellious might keep in mind."
Glancing back, she gestures for Penny Hsiang to come forward, flashing the other woman the smile she had been struggling to keep in.
Penny steps forward and pulls a syringe out of her wide sleeves like a magician revealing a rabbit from a hat. She holds it up high, bearing a grin that could make someone queasy if it were aimed in their direction. For a brilliant, brief moment, she is the center of attention, and even the crowd hushes slightly.
"This is a poison fit for a traitor," she announces. "It's rapid-onset, degenerative. It strips away the parts of the brain that take the oomph out of bad memories. Then it disables the part of your brain that dampens pain signals. Then it kills you."
She takes a step towards Ariadne. A Peacekeeper presents Ariadne's vein.
"Special order," Penny says as she leans in and whispers in Ariadne's ear, giggling as if she were a teenager girl discussing cute classmates and not a torturer sinking a needle into Ariadne's arm. "Just for you."
Still, the crowd's response to her makes no difference. Cruentus' words don't make any difference, and Penny's barely concealed venom doesn't either. Ariadne is unflappable in the face of her own execution, for she saw that coming; Cobb's words come back to her in that moment - dying was how you got out of a dream, dying was how he and Mal got out of Limbo - and a strange sort of calm comes to her in waves, counteracting the hatred of the crowd and all of those around her.
Ariadne doesn't even turn when Penny whispers in her ear; she's never been much for gossip or chatting idly about cute classmates. She doesn't blink when the needle sinks into her vein, though it sends a shiver down her spine that she can't control. For a moment, she wonders just how good the Capitol is at capital punishment, and how long it's going to take for this to happen. Ariadne might theoretically have all the time in the world, but that doesn't mean she wants to drag it out.
It hits the moment after her mind goes blank again, after her last thought is fully formed; her mind is forced to go blank, simply because of the level of sheer pain that wracks her body. It comes to her in spasms, in seizing that is only contained by the fact that her hands are still bound, and she's still held by the Avoxes she once knew. She doesn't scream. Instead, Ariadne bites the inside of her cheek, the inside of her lip; her teeth go through the flesh - she tastes blood - and it's still not enough to detract from the poison running through her veins. She seizes violently for all to see, every inch of her body trembling and shaking and contorting in a fashion that would make anyone cringe.
Biology had never been her strong suit, and most of Penny's explanation of it went over her head; still, she can tell when the second part of the poison starts to kick in, when the pain almost fades away, leaving her numb and still shaking where she's held, a trickle of her blood spilling down her chin from where she'd bitten her mouth to shreds. And still, she doesn't scream; still, she doesn't tear her eyes away from Cruentus.
Holly and Shepard hold her high and as still as possible as the toxin causes her to twitch, jerk in their grasp. It looks better on TV, of course, but possibly, somewhere in their reprogramming, it is also a way to give Ariadne her last bit of dignity.
When her body finally stops convulsing, when her head drops to her chest and she goes still, the crowd cheers. And Cruentus smiles, knowing her message was sent loud and clear.
Penny steps back to the corpse. A gun materializes from the wide sleeves into her hands, and she places it straight to Ariadne's cold temple and pulls the trigger. She doesn't flinch when there's a bang, nor when the blood and bits of bone and brain and gunpowder spray over Holly's Avox robes, nor when the crowd celebrates even more uproariously.
"Can never be too sure," she says quietly, then to Holly, "go clean yourself up."
It's the last bit of this particular section of footage in the broadcast.
When the viewing is over, a Peacekeeeper appears to sets a box on a table set up just for this. Opening it, within each box are several wrist cuffs, the names of Tributes carved on the inside, one for each named Tribute, a simple motif relating to the District on the outside. A neat hand-written note from Cruentus sits in the white satin in the middle of the box.
A gift, for those among us who need to remember where they are.
It is clear the Peacekeeper is there for anyone who objects to putting their cuff on. After receiving the cuff, the Tributes are permitted to wander, although those with cuffs are given 'special attention' by their Escorts.
What| Ariadne's public execution.
Where| Execution is in the public square, threads in the Districts
When| Mid-morning the day before the new arena.
Warnings/Notes| Within the first cut is an execution with nerve-attacking toxins, as well and gore and gun violence. Everyone is still locked into their districts.
Starting at 9:30, in every bedroom in the training center, an alarm has started. Everyone is to wake up, everyone is to see this, and anyone who hasn't wandered out by 9:45 is awoken by an Avox and escort into the suites common area.
The TV's turn on exactly at 10.
The morning is crisp, cool, even this close to the start of summer. Even being so early there is of course a crowd gathered. A small live audience, all Capitol citizens, all thoroughly checked for security, is shown entering by the cameras, gathering before the empty stage. Peacekeepers can be seen, en mass, around the edges.
Finally Cruentus walks out, barely containing her excitement. She tries to keep on a serious mask, but looks more like a child trying to behave so she isn't take away from the Santa greeting line.
"My father, unfortunately, has business to attend to, and couldn't be here. But as the head of the Tribute program, I am here for you instead. As you all know, on the night of the crowning ceremony, one of our guests tried to assassinate our beloved head Gamemaker, Plutarch Heavensbee." She pauses, giving the crowd time to discuss that, waiting patiently for them to settle.
"Ariadne was one of our guests, one of our victors. She was someone we welcomed here, with open arms. And we will not stand for this disrespect. Her act of rebellion, though sloppy and easy to unwind, was unacceptable!"
Another pause, longer, the crowd working themselves up more.
"We will not stand for this. We will not stand for people we welcome into our city, into our homes, to injure our kin. No more!"
With a quick gesture, she summons the two avoxes, Shepard and Holly, both former mentors themselves, to bring Ariadne out to the center of the stage, bound in chains.
For everything that went wrong, Ariadne is absolutely unapologetic. She knows full well that she got sloppy, and that she shouldn't have trusted Eva as far as she could throw her - that's the only explanation, she thinks; she's blissfully oblivious to Eva's public betrayal, but she knows something went wrong somewhere down the line. She's not sorry that she got caught, nor is she sorry that she's in this position now. She caused a stir; she got things going. That's better than the waiting game that everyone else is playing. She can respect it, but it wasn't for her.
Her back still stings from the shrapnel that hit her during the blast: the way that Shepard and Holly hold her makes it impossible to ignore as she stumbles out to the stage, eyes hardened as she looks up to stare at Cruentus over anyone else. She welcomes whatever punishment she's begotten; she's not afraid.
The crowd goes wild for a long time. Booing, loud, raucous - they seem just barely controlled. Hatred comes off in waves towards Ariadne, the first true target of a growing, seething hatred that still hasn't found its purpose yet.
Cruentus lets it go on, draws it out, encourages it. Then, finally, she holds up another arm.
"For such a vile crime, we have cooked up a special little potion for our traitor. Something any of those feeling a touch rebellious might keep in mind."
Glancing back, she gestures for Penny Hsiang to come forward, flashing the other woman the smile she had been struggling to keep in.
Penny steps forward and pulls a syringe out of her wide sleeves like a magician revealing a rabbit from a hat. She holds it up high, bearing a grin that could make someone queasy if it were aimed in their direction. For a brilliant, brief moment, she is the center of attention, and even the crowd hushes slightly.
"This is a poison fit for a traitor," she announces. "It's rapid-onset, degenerative. It strips away the parts of the brain that take the oomph out of bad memories. Then it disables the part of your brain that dampens pain signals. Then it kills you."
She takes a step towards Ariadne. A Peacekeeper presents Ariadne's vein.
"Special order," Penny says as she leans in and whispers in Ariadne's ear, giggling as if she were a teenager girl discussing cute classmates and not a torturer sinking a needle into Ariadne's arm. "Just for you."
Still, the crowd's response to her makes no difference. Cruentus' words don't make any difference, and Penny's barely concealed venom doesn't either. Ariadne is unflappable in the face of her own execution, for she saw that coming; Cobb's words come back to her in that moment - dying was how you got out of a dream, dying was how he and Mal got out of Limbo - and a strange sort of calm comes to her in waves, counteracting the hatred of the crowd and all of those around her.
Ariadne doesn't even turn when Penny whispers in her ear; she's never been much for gossip or chatting idly about cute classmates. She doesn't blink when the needle sinks into her vein, though it sends a shiver down her spine that she can't control. For a moment, she wonders just how good the Capitol is at capital punishment, and how long it's going to take for this to happen. Ariadne might theoretically have all the time in the world, but that doesn't mean she wants to drag it out.
It hits the moment after her mind goes blank again, after her last thought is fully formed; her mind is forced to go blank, simply because of the level of sheer pain that wracks her body. It comes to her in spasms, in seizing that is only contained by the fact that her hands are still bound, and she's still held by the Avoxes she once knew. She doesn't scream. Instead, Ariadne bites the inside of her cheek, the inside of her lip; her teeth go through the flesh - she tastes blood - and it's still not enough to detract from the poison running through her veins. She seizes violently for all to see, every inch of her body trembling and shaking and contorting in a fashion that would make anyone cringe.
Biology had never been her strong suit, and most of Penny's explanation of it went over her head; still, she can tell when the second part of the poison starts to kick in, when the pain almost fades away, leaving her numb and still shaking where she's held, a trickle of her blood spilling down her chin from where she'd bitten her mouth to shreds. And still, she doesn't scream; still, she doesn't tear her eyes away from Cruentus.
Holly and Shepard hold her high and as still as possible as the toxin causes her to twitch, jerk in their grasp. It looks better on TV, of course, but possibly, somewhere in their reprogramming, it is also a way to give Ariadne her last bit of dignity.
When her body finally stops convulsing, when her head drops to her chest and she goes still, the crowd cheers. And Cruentus smiles, knowing her message was sent loud and clear.
Penny steps back to the corpse. A gun materializes from the wide sleeves into her hands, and she places it straight to Ariadne's cold temple and pulls the trigger. She doesn't flinch when there's a bang, nor when the blood and bits of bone and brain and gunpowder spray over Holly's Avox robes, nor when the crowd celebrates even more uproariously.
"Can never be too sure," she says quietly, then to Holly, "go clean yourself up."
It's the last bit of this particular section of footage in the broadcast.
When the viewing is over, a Peacekeeeper appears to sets a box on a table set up just for this. Opening it, within each box are several wrist cuffs, the names of Tributes carved on the inside, one for each named Tribute, a simple motif relating to the District on the outside. A neat hand-written note from Cruentus sits in the white satin in the middle of the box.
It is clear the Peacekeeper is there for anyone who objects to putting their cuff on. After receiving the cuff, the Tributes are permitted to wander, although those with cuffs are given 'special attention' by their Escorts.
no subject
no subject
"Considering the trouble they're going through to make sure you wear it, I doubt that's a good idea." If he were in her position, he might have tried the same thing. But if something happened to her, like the woman on television, he might be in trouble for not trying to do something about it. "They'll probably notice."
no subject
She took her wrist in hand once more and with a grunt popped the wrist back into place, stretching and flexing her fingers to make sure they were working properly again, rotating her wrist slowly.
"Ya know, I never thought I'd say this? But I sure with B-man was here." She leaned back in her seat and tucked her hands behind her head. "Or Mister J. Either one of them would have better ideas about how to handle this."
no subject
Sure, it wasn't like they really had a choice. Many of the people here wouldn't be afraid to kill if it meant surviving, but it was still a choice they'd have consciously made. They were killers, that's all there was to it.
no subject
She tucked her hands behind her head "Unfortunately all we get is some Waynes, Wonder Woman without her powers, and lil ole me."
no subject
He couldn't help but shrug. "We really are doomed."
no subject
She gave him her best plastered on grin.
"If I survived this long making the stupid decisions I make every day? Smart kid like you is bound to stay alive long enough for something to change around here."
She leaned back in her seat and gave a stretch like she wasn't worried at all, which was a lie.
"And you know who deals with change best? Kids. Not adults, sharp tongued little brats."
no subject
Still. Things here literally got weirder and weirder and they hadn't even entered the arena yet. Reluctantly, he gave a short nod.
"I guess you're right. And it's like you've said. It's all fun and games."
no subject
"Just remember if you gotta? Play to the cameras. Who knows when a last minute gift from the citizens might be just what you need to keep going. Sure saved my cute patoot last round...well up till I had a suicidal moment of nobility." She shrugged.
no subject
"You died for someone?"
Damian didn't even try to hide the skepticism in his voice.
no subject
"Aw it's no big deal...it was easy. As easy as having your neck snapped actually. And it bought Babs a few more weeks in the arena...which now that i think about it might not count as a good thing."
Yes in fact, there was documented video proof that Harley had attacked Wesker to save Barbara Gordon of all people, only to have her neck snapped. It was interesting how some people in the capitol liked Harley more because of that, and some liked her less.
no subject
"That's awfully noble of you. I'm sure she appreciated the second chance."
no subject
Harley pulled on her own pigtails in frustration. "But even in the end that jerk caught up to her. So not fair."
no subject
"It's a learning experience. If she had made it to the end, she still would have had to kill someone if she wanted to win."
Meaning she'd have to get over that starving and scared attitude unless she wanted this to keep happening.
no subject
After a beat "But being a homicidal sociopath doesn't hurt your odds." She added.
no subject
...considering his situation, it was a thing he'd been thinking a lot about. He couldn't help but frown at her added note, though. "We have enough problems without being surrounded by sociopaths."
no subject
"On the one hand, it's a good thing Bats ain't here. He'd go crazy trying to stop everyone from killing everyone else. On the other hand, I wish Bats were here. He's one of the only people who could probably outsmart the system I think. Him and Mister J anyway."
Which showed just how much faith Harley had in the other tributes to buck the system and bring it all crashing down.
no subject
Damian found it hard to believe that she would be concerned about Batman "going crazy," too, but this was the second time she mentioned him and the Joker in the same vein, so it probably wasn't anything, he decided. "You mean the Joker? How would that be any good for the rest of us?"
no subject
"Plus my Puddin' is a master of chaos. And that would be WAY more then this super structure plan for everything life the higher ups have right now." She gestured upwards as if the people running the games were literally just upstairs.
no subject
The fact that she had logic for this wasn't so much surprising to Damian as it was... well, ridiculous. Yes, the fact that she had logic for why the Joker's presence would be an advantage for them was just plain ridiculous. He shouldn't have expected anything less, though.
"Just because we'll come back from the dead doesn't mean anyone will appreciate being killed by him."
She was probably right about him being a good distraction, though. The chaos wouldn't be a bad thing. But it wouldn't be worth the number of lives he'd be more than happy to take in the process.
no subject
"Well who would you have them bring then? Got any role models?"
no subject
At least that part was entirely true. He wouldn't wish this situation on anyone. ...well, except maybe criminals. He might wish it on them.
no subject
no subject
"If any of them do end up here, I'm blaming you, Quinn."
After all, he wasn't a "badass" normal as far as anyone knew. He was just a normal.
no subject
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)