Who| Howard, Alpha, R, Julie, John Watson, Tim Drake-Wayne (?)
What| Howard's last days in the Arena.
Where| Both Arenas.
When| Last few weeks.
Warnings| Zombification and gore in the thread with R and Julie.

( I've climbed so high I have no place left to climb. )

Who| Alpha and Blaine
What| Blaine wants to die, Alpha wants to kill, it's a match made in heaven.
Where| Adventureland
When| After the fireworks
Warnings/Notes| Alpha, death, suicidal intentions.

Alpha squatted near the river, close enough to see his reflection, not so close that something could leap out and take a bite. He stroked a hand over his face speculatively, lingering over the still shiny burn scars, streaked across the right side of his face, low enough to avoid taking out an eye but still plenty noticeable below it.

A Sponsor had helpfully sent medicine to stave off infection and pain, but aside from that and a knife he held in his other hand, gifts had been far and few between this Arena. Alpha had a suspicion his new face had something to do with it. "Shallow," he murmured, tilting his head side to side. "What is the world coming to."

The last few hours before the Arena have a strangely stifled quality, as if half the people they interact with are trying very hard not to laugh. Maybe it's the costumes, the fancy gowns and velvet tunics, the short capes. Or maybe it's their destination.

The round courtyard to which the tubes bring them could not be more different from the last arena. Though outside the circle of pedestals, disrepair and neglect has taken over the roads and buildings, the garden inside the circle could not be more perfectly sculpted. Every hedge is a smooth, rounded shape. Flowers bloom brightly in concentric circles of insane color. The Cornucopia sits gleaming and golden, and just in front of its mouth, a bronze statue of a man and a mouse stands amid the heap of supplies.


Aside from it, there is a hush. No flies in the flowers, no wind in the trees. It is a cool day, with the comfortable chill of early spring and noon's short shadows.



Outside the circle, behind the tributes on the northern side, a castle looms. Through its wide gate, devastation everywhere, but it, itself, is shining clean, glowing pink and blue. Opaque windows look down from the heights of it, as uncaring as every hidden camera the veterans know is there.



Music starts as the countdown nears the bottom, a whimsical, dramatic tune.




And with the final note, the gong rang out, and a firework shot into the sky from the castle's peak, bright enough to burst redly across the sky above them all. Let the Games begin.



((OOC NOTES: IF YOUR CHARACTER HAS POWERS THE CAPITOL HAS NERFED, make sure you are on this list.

And everyone really should review the arena post. Because there's a little more to play with than you might think.

And please remember to add your character's tag to each post they're in.))

Who| Alpha and Howard [Closed]
What| Betrayal and death.
Where| Alpha and Howard's base camp.
When| Mid-week four
Warnings| Death, violence, all the standard warnings that come with Alpha.

Things were winding down, Alpha can feel it. There were still a decent amount of Tributes left, but by now it would be mostly whittled down to the extremely strong or the extremely lucky, and luck could only hold out so long. He creeps towards his and Howard's little hideaway, as silent as he could manage more by habit than design, and wonders if it might be time to cut away the dead weight and finally work on winning this damn thing. Alpha is destined for greatness and the Arena is an unacceptable drain on his time.

WHO| Alpha and Howard
WHAT| Howard blames Draco's death on bears.
WHEN| Second Week
WHERE| In an ice cave along the glacier.
WARNINGS/NOTES| Talk about death and murder, Alpha being a bastard.

( But I'd die for the truth in my secret life. )