[storage for dars]
Apr 9, 2021 16:47:14 GMT -5
Post by umber vivuus 12a 🥀 [dars] on Apr 9, 2021 16:47:14 GMT -5
H A D E S L O C H L A N
Like called to like. It took seeing him in the flesh to be sure, but from the moment Gunner Azarova walked into the room, Hades knew exactly the boy he was. He wasn't exactly trying to hide it, choosing a gun as his weapon of choice and a dozen white doves as foes, but it wasn't really the type of thing people knew how to pick up unless they were looking for it. Hades looked for it inherently: a fire burning within, a potential for greatness that could potentially rival his own, just so he could enjoy the thrilling sounds of extinguishing it. It just so happened that greatness like that, true passion, often came in the form of some hopelessly misguided youth, often from the Districts. Someone like Gunner, thinking he'd topple the entire Capitol from the crosshairs of his pistol.
Hades still remembered Nowles Adroxis in the 90th, and the warnings she was given and did not take. He also remembered the exact moment Kiibo struck her down and she didn't get back up. Some lessons were learned the hard way.
"Astrid, Darling, I think our next vacation should be to Seven during pheasant season. That looked like fun!" Hades called, turning to face Astrid at the junior table behind them.
"Ah. I love a room soaked in blood. I'll admit, I'd prefer it to be the blood of a district citizen, but at least he's shown a willingness to kill. A ruthlessness," Maryn said, chewing on the last few words like they were dessert.
"Did we put guns in the arena's weaponry? Now that was entertaining! It reminded me of the western movies I used to… or sometimes still do watch! The audience will like this one, we should score him high. Give them someone to get excited about." Ivan responded excitedly.
Hades spoke clearly: "Anyway, the little brat's symbolism isn't lost on me, I just happen to agree with it: peace cannot exist in a place like Panem. Not while people like Gunner Azarova continue to exist. Good thing we plan on rectifying that soon. Still, he's a good shot."
"I agree with you, Hades. It'll be exciting to watch him realize that he's the prey now, and we're the ones with the gun," Maryn delighted.
And there wouldn't be a forcefield blocking the way when they were the ones firing.
"A 9 for him, then?"
H A D E S L O C H L A N
Something about the Forrester family triggered Hades Lochlan's fight or flight instinct. (For him, it was always fight- he couldn't even recall the last problem he didn't solve by facing it head on.) For Hades, a hammer, every problem was a nail. And the Forrester family's devout nature held unbearable similarities to his own pious mother. For Agatha Lochlan, a believer, every problem was a sin. Those could only be solved through prayer.
He groaned audibly as Vali spoke, the ritualistic nature of her actions making this feel like some ceremony he'd been unwillingly dragged along for. When the wolf bit back, he found himself smiling with relief. The truth of good and evil is that it did exist. Some other, more important concepts which also existed: the living and the dead, the stupid and the smart, and the winners and the losers. Vali Forrester pulled a wolf's heart out and showed it to them like they wanted to bear witness to her attempted ascension- or descension- to godhood. She was begging for blessings when the only ones who could afford them to her were sitting at this very table.
"I don't want to feel as if I'm at some boring ceremony," Maryn sulked, fixing the strap on her red dress. Vali squeezed the heart, painting herself in viscera. And then without speaking again, stood and left the room.
"You're going to have to turn up the beast mode on your mutts for this one Hades. Not one wince from the animal's bite…" Ivan said.
"Not reacting to pain is different than being good enough to avoid the bite in the first place, Ivan, and it doesn't make her impervious to the results. Speaking of: She'll need a rabies shot."
Without much negotiation, he inputted a 7 next to her name.
"She can slaughter as many wolves as she wants, she is still just another sheep set for the guillotine. We don't need her blessing. We don't need to hear about her gods. We need her to be as vicious to the other tributes as she was today, and that's it."
Maryn came to his defense, her eyes unmoving from the closed doors Vali had just disappeared through, "Again, Ivan, Hades is correct and you're missing the point. What do we care about her gods? What can her blessing provide us that we can't assure ourselves? In all her brief, little life, we're the closest thing to gods she will ever see."
"I will be honest and say she creeps me out. Has anyone ever investigated the Forresters? There's something not quite right in Seven…" Ivan decided. On that much, they agreed.
A 7 it was.
H A D E S L O C H L A N
Hades had to admit, other than the two forgettable performances by Hugo and Lionel, nothing so far today had been so particularly egregious of a performance that it made him want to kill a tribute more quickly. The girls from One were a flattering balance of glitter and grit, the girl from Two was surprisingly dexterous, the Three's were deliciously unhinged, the Four's both seasoned professionals. But those were the upper districts, some of the Capitol's most favored. Everything that came after had half the resources, and half the chance. Hades watched, unimpressed, as the first of the District Five tributes exits his session. He hoped this wasn't going to start a trend for what was to come for the rest of the day.
Azure Delphine was next- Hades studied her file while she made her way into the room. Physically, she was certainly one of the tougher-looking tributes, but as he scrolled through the different tabs of information they'd gathered on her, Hades didn't see too much that would indicate she knew how to use her body in such violent ways. Good grades, no recorded acts of rebellion. District five wasn't really known for being strong, though- they were known for being survivors. Made to suffer the whole way through, sure, but much like rats, or cockroaches, they'd be among the last things crawling around on the surface of the earth when it was all said and done.
She confirmed his suspicions when she kicked everything off by informing the gamemakers that she had an impressive memory. She proved this by running along a course of platforms- the tributes didn't know it but this obstacle course had been designed. to help get them used to jumping from one floating piece of ice to another. She finished it in decent time, announced she wasn't finished. He was starting to get bored but then Hades quirked an eyebrow when she covered her eyes. She retraced her steps without ever lifting it. Good memory.
"It's a unique skill she's showing off, but I can't say how useful a sharp memory will be," Maryn said under her breath.
Ivan chuckled, "A shame we could just change parts of the arena… how is she going memorize the patterns then?"
While Azure began scrapping with one of the trainers, Maryn finished her thought: ""All that being said, I'm intrigued to see how this serves her in the arena."
"At least this one took her time. And we could see her the entire session. Still, I see what you mean: even if her plan is to blindly hop across the arena until everyone else is dead, well... It isn't the strongest plan."
He considered for a moment.
"But you can't kill what you can't catch."
He submitted a 7, the others agreeing.
H A D E S L O C H L A N
Tensions ran high after Charlotte Royce's performance. The gamemakers took a quick break to allow the avoxes time to clean up the blood, and while they waited, Hades combed through the next person on their list: Inga Vanas. 17 years old, a career, a notable relative in the games recently named Willem, whom Hades could not recall. He was still only half-paying attention when the cleaning crew finished their job and the young tribute entered the room, reading up a bit more on her past while she seemed to busy herself with some light wood carving. It wasn't until he heard the thunderous THUD of something sinking into the plastic flesh of the dummies that he finally looked up for good. Two spears jutted out of two separate dummy chests, the spears still teetering from the force of their entry.
The girl herself was gone.
Hades first looked to the exit doors, which were still open. That meant she was still somewhere in the room, but where? He hadn't been paying enough attention to see which direction she sloped off to. Subtley he tried to see where Maryn and Ivan were looking, but they both looked as equally confused as Hades. He sighed, pressing a few buttons and inputting some coding before the invisible forcefield which separated the gamemakers from the tributes began to slightly glimmer as it transitioned to thermal vision mode. Ah. There shew was. He found her hiding behind a stack of mats just moments before she sent a new set of freshly-made spears sailing into the open. Two more connections.
Hades smirked.
"I'll admire skill, but tell me: what's the point of putting a rat in a cage if it doesn't allow itself to be seen?" Maryn asked, venom dripping from her chin. Inga left shortly after, the doors sliding shut the instant she was through them.
"The cameras will miss her if she keeps that up in the arena. The District Four team need to remind her this is a television show, she can't hide her talent if she wants to survive!" Ivan agreed.
"Her talents mean nothing if she goes to such lengths to hide them." Maryn finalized. Both turned to hear from Hades.
"I'm excited to see her kill," he said simply, still looking at the still-closed doors she'd just gone through. He had a feeling about this one.
"Or see her at all, for that matter."
Maryn rolled her eyes, but Hades could tell she was already coming around to understanding the skill involved in Inga's performance.
"I'd say a 9 for her. She shows real promise."
No one disagreed, so that's what was submitted.
H A D E S L O C H L A N
Rita left the room with a strange sense of... confusion. But the day was still early and he still had faith that he'd get some good old fashioned career performances before it was all said and done.
Xylia Fray looked decidedly less like a Fray than Rita: dark hair, full brows, eyes with a thousand different colors mixed into them as she stared up at the table. He wondered if she was directly related to any of the others who'd come before her, or if the name was just fairly common back in District One.
Just as quickly as she entered the room, the girl went to work on computing a specialized training dummy for herself. It didn't dawn of Hades until she was turned and walking in another direction that she'd designed the thing to look exactly like Justice. Curiosity peaked, he scrolled through the pages of her file until he found her familial relations. "Her uncle," he explained quietly to Maryn and Ivan.
Xylia hefted a sword into her dominant hand and a dagger into the other. With a frown, and about as quickly as she could manage, she swung both. A moment later, the dummy's head was clattering onto the ground. And then, like then she was gone: a moment in time that had already passed. Was Xylia eager to become a memory?
"How brief," he retorted indignantly.
"After Rita's…demonstration, I am glad at least one of the careers knows how to kill something," Ivan replied.
"It takes some strength to cleave a head off the shoulders, but... the execution leaves a little to be desired. It should have been more drawn out, more action." Maryn argued.
"I agree, someone her size demonstrating such strength is impressive... but here's hoping the other careers have a more thoughtful approach."
"Let's see how she handles a real target that won't allow her to make the first move," Maryn chided.
Collectively, the group entered an 8 for the Fray girl.
H A D E S L O C H L A N
The day did not start the way he had anticipated, to say the least. He sat squarely in the middle of the table, Maryn to his left and Ivan to his right. Astrid was minding the little Fenwick somewhere behind them, explaining to her how the process of scoring worked while she pulled up the first file for the Gamemakers to see on the devices in front of them.
A picture of a blonde girl with full cheeks and blue eyes appeared on the screen. To look at her, Hades would have assumed she was the Fray of the two District One tributes- she looked practically identical to some of the more recent ones Hades could recall seeing, but the name below her picture read Rita Jakov.
The girl walked into the room, a slight little thing, and immediately greeted each of them warmly. The whole entertainment industry thing from One was really starting to have an effect on the children there- everything, even this, even the Hunger Games became an audition. The world: a stage. She said her words as if they'd been written on a script for her and she'd studied them all her life. He looked through the notes about her while she talked: seventeen years old, no recent relatives in the Games, and most interestingly, classified as a career.
"I... did not need to see this," Maryn grumbled, watching Rita go to work on giving a trainer a makeover, "Oh, wow, she can make other people look beautiful. Can she, I don't know, kill them? We'll see how offering makeovers to her enemies will work out for her in the end."
Ivan chose that moment to pipe up: ""At least she'll look good when she's getting killed. Those poor stylists, she'll put them out of a job.""
"At least her manners are good," Maryn relented.
To us, Hades thought, her manners are good to us. Imagine being the woman deemed ugly enough to get a live makeover from a teenager. At last, he cleared his throat: "The demonstration was out of touch and bordering on being plain rude. But it did enlighten me to something: Rita is aware that this is a show at the end of the day." They already knew she was a career. If she came in here and demonstrated something traditional, it only opened the door for them to decide whether or not she was a good career. Doing this instead showcased an awareness of the irony of the situation: it was all about how things were presented. Rita would play ball, in other words.
He snorted. Like she had a choice.
"A 7?" The others nodded in agreement.