gamemakers: (Default)
The Gamemakers ([personal profile] gamemakers) wrote in [community profile] thearena2013-06-22 02:42 pm

Oh my love, I know you are the Candy Man

Although the mood in the Capitol is...taut, once the Tributes are in the transportation craft, things seem to lighten. The peacekeepers almost seem jovial - as jovial as peacekeepers ever seem. About half the Tributes are checked over and given an injection into their tracking device.

In the underground room, the stylists have all their prep teams running busy, dressing up the tributes in bright costumes, chatting with each other, clearly excited to have so much freedom over what their Tributes are wearing in. Each one is dressed in a personalized costume, elaborate, and entirely soft.

Finally the Tributes are placed on their pedestals and sent on up, all gussied up.

25 - 24 - 23

The light is blinding for a moment, before the candy-colored world around them comes into focus. And it's not just candy-colored - it is actually candy. Some Tributes might be reminded of the game Candy Land, if it was something in their home world. Music plays, scarily cute animals roam, and every thing just looks so gosh-darn happy.

20 - 19 - 18 - 17 - 16

The Cornucopia sits, candy-striped itself, and over-flowing with a generous bounty of food, weapons, and supplies. Even these all reflect the nature of the arena, brightly-colored, and cheerful-looking, just begging to be gathered up.

11- 10 - 9 - 8

They've all been warned not to step off their pedestal early. But as the final number ticks off, those Tributes that had their tracking devices adjusted in the transport suddenly feel a sting starting in their arms. A slightly diluted version of what Ariadne was given the day before is dumped in their veins.

The dilution doesn't help them, of course; it just causes the poison to take effect more slowly.

5 - 4

3

2

1

Go.

The burning is starting for half of them, spreading through their body, lighting their nerves on fire. Within 10 minutes it's effecting their motor skills, causing them to stagger, twitch, to move against their will.

Those who are small fall faster, barely lasting 15 minutes in the bloodbath. The stronger and bigger among them might make it 30 minutes at most.

By the time the bloodbath is over, the Cornucopia is surrounded by corpses. Half of the Tributes have fallen without even a single competitor having to touch them.


[OOC: Don't forget the OOC Arena post, especially those of you running for the Cornucopia. Every Tribute must post to this post. There will be a Cornucopia thread, and anyone else feel free to post as you will. Please add a tag with your character's name.

Those who were poisoned are anyone in group 2. You will have a second post up shortly.]
69problems: <user name="rumminov" site="tumblr.com"> (xtra | Drinking it in)

[personal profile] 69problems 2013-06-23 10:42 pm (UTC)(link)
He doesn't immediately notice she's there -- all of his mental strength is focused on continuing to move forward -- and so he discovers her by twitching sideways and stumbling into her. For a moment he's terrified this is it and she's another tribute come to kill him before he notices her face. Even under the wrong horns and obscured by shades, he knows that face.

It's harder now than ever to separate her in his mind from his Disciple. There were too many near misses, too many times he had to wait all day for days in a cave for her hoping she wasn't dead, too many times she'd come staggering back bruised and bloody and fiercely insisting the other guy looked worse, too many times he'd wake with a start and have to check to be sure she was still breathing before he could sleep again.

"Meu--" He shakes his head violently (which doesn't help his dizziness much). "Nepeta. You can lean on me."
whoseesbynight: (I ... don't think that's how it works)

[personal profile] whoseesbynight 2013-06-24 11:38 pm (UTC)(link)
She should have expected the offer, really. She doesn't really know much about him, but she's heard what Karkat has to say, and it's not hard to get from 'doesn't want to fight' to this. All the same, she can't - doesn't want to - rely solely on him when it's clear that he's just as badly off, if not more so.

It hurts too, to see him like this. It's only the red of his eyes and the added height that keeps her from entirely mistaking him for Karkat, and it's far too easy to imagine Karkat in his place, stumbling and yet still trying to prove that he's good enough to be the leader.

"Are you sure?" She's not much taller than he is, but she doesn't want to end up dragging him down more than the poison already is. She's not sure her heart could take it.
Edited 2013-06-24 23:39 (UTC)
69problems: <user name="conniiption" site="tumblr.com"> (xtra | This is his blood)

[personal profile] 69problems 2013-07-16 09:40 pm (UTC)(link)
"I'm sure." He holds out a hand, concentrating as hard as possible just to keep it steady. If they lean on each other, he thinks, they're less likely to fall. There's something poetic in there about equality and compassion but he's too sick to really puzzle it out right now.
whoseesbynight: (Default)

[personal profile] whoseesbynight 2013-07-18 03:25 am (UTC)(link)
Nepeta doesn't nod, although she wants to. Honestly, she's not sure that she wouldn't fall over entirely if she nodded, so she simply takes Signless' hand with perhaps a little too much haste. Just because she's doing fine - for a given value of fine - doesn't mean that he isn't doing so. Besides, the idea of leaning on each other for stability is very tempting just now.

(It is, of course, more so to imagine Karkat in his place, but she can't spend as much time imagining that. The poison running through her veins sees to that much.)

"Alright."
69problems: <user name="debonairbear" site="tumblr.com"> (xtra | Spilled milk tears)

[personal profile] 69problems 2013-07-20 06:57 am (UTC)(link)
He shifts closer to her, allowing their shoulders to touch in an attempt to steady the both of them. His hand grips hers maybe a little tighter than he means it to, but he's got so little control over his motor abilities by this point that the fact he can hold her hand at all is what matters.

Once they're set up, he starts walking again. They need to get out of here. He needs to get her out of here, because he can't watch her die, even if she's not the right oliveblood.
whoseesbynight: (a tail of much woe)

[personal profile] whoseesbynight 2013-07-23 12:48 am (UTC)(link)
His grip is a little tighter than would be strictly comfortable, yes, but honestly, Nepeta is so used to Equius (who is alway so, so careful but doesn't always get it quite right) that it being a little tight doesn't actually bother her. On the contrary, it's something to focus on between the pain and the fact that she knows that he's dying too.

It's not necessarily the most coordinated of things, once they start walking, but she's holding his hand as if it along can save her from the pain and the inevitability of all that will be. The farther away they can get from the crowd, the better it will be. No one needs to be a witness to this spectacle.