Funny story how I left you hanging for three days right at the Bloodbath...
Obviously, that was not my intent. What happened was two days ago I straight up got hit by a car (I was in my car waiting at an intersection, so I was stationary, and the other guy turned from a crossroad and didn't see me in time. It was a very slow collision and I just have a big dent. But it took a while to get info and stuff). Then yesterday I had to go to bed at 7 because today I got up at 3 and filmed a bunch of Marines doing a day-long grueling training event. But TODAY I finally got to write! LOL sorry for the unintended suspense. Guess I should have left off at the Capitol last session!
Thunderous Copper- District Twelve male
Osiris and I moved at the same time, merging toward each other as we advanced on the Cornucopia. Daffodil was also going for the bow, and she was a lot closer. All right, I'll improvise, I thought. In such a melee, a short-range weapon might be more practical anyway.
Osiris and I kept our backs to each other as we hastily grabbed weapons from the table. I took a spiked mace. Osiris slung a quiver of arrows over his shoulder and grabbed a hunting knife, both to defend himself and probably to make a bow later.
"Let's go!" I yelled, and we ran for it. Most of our allies were headed for the forest, so we went that way. We were side-by-side as we fled. Osiris looked over his shoulder and at his expression, I looked, too. Siobhan was running after us, carrying a sword.
I looked again, and he was almost on us. I could hear Osiris' labored breath as we tried to sprint faster. Then there was a wet, deep pain in my leg. I've been shot! I thought, and I looked for Daffodil's arrow. Instead, I saw Osiris' hunting knife. When I looked back one last time, I saw Siobhan's sword coming straight at my eye.
Daffodil Starshine- District Eleven female
I'm just going to use it to hunt.
This was a forested Arena. There would be things to shoot- things that weren't people. I kept repeating it as I picked up the almost weightless silver bow. I picked out an arrow from the quiver and held it by my side in case someone attacked me in the confines around the Cornucopia.
In all the chaos, it was hard to even tell what was going on. People seemed to blur as they ran every which way. Then Royce was in crystal focus, standing over Quinoa, his sword glittering against the horizon.
In archery, you have to fire before you think. I felt only the slightest pull from my fingers letting go, and the arrow was gone. Royce fell sideways, and Quinoa bolted away after looking at me with indiscriminate fear.
The cacophony of the Bloodbath was split by a furious shriek. I felt the impact before the cut of Vera's axe. I hit the ground hard on my stomach and was dead before I turned over, but not before I saw Quinoa slipping to safety.
Royce Triatho- District One male
I had my sword in hand. Vera and I were ready to go after our biggest threat: Faust. I ran out ahead of her when I spotted him trying to flank around and get to the weapons behind us.
I didn't even see Quinoa. We smashed into each other full speed as she tried to flee across the ring of platforms toward the big hill. I knocked her flat and she yelped in pain.
"Sorry, are you okay?" I asked. I was putting out a hand to help her up when the arrow found me. It was strange how I had enough time between it hitting my skin and my brain to realize that it came from behind me, and to hope that Vera was all right.
Edison Westbrook- District Five male
I darted in and grabbed the hatchet. I slipped on the grass, sliding a little past the hatchet. I pushed off the ground and ran back out toward the edge of the ring of platforms, toward the woods.
Behind me, there was a furious-sounding scream. Whoever it was, I wouldn't want to be who they were mad at. Besides that, there were less-violent screams and sounds of panic and terror. A throwing star flew past my head close enough for me to hear the him. I ducked, even though lowering my head wouldn't stop Faust from aiming at my back.
My foot came down awkwardly in a little dip in the ground. I fell forward, landing on my knees. I thought with horror of all the stories of people fleeing monsters and falling, and how they always broke their ankle, but mine were fine. I pushed off my knee to stand.
As sharp as the sword was, I guess it's just hard to stab through an entire person, even if you hit off to the side and between the ribs. The blow pushed me forward flat on my face, and the tip of the sword hadn't punched through me when Cormac pulled it back. As I rolled over, I saw the tiny bit of guilt as he looked at Siobhan, who nodded in support.
No one ever thinks they're going to be the Bloodbath. In each of the seconds before I died, life seemed to stretch out and seem more valuable. I wanted to grab it and hold it in place, but it slipped away from me.
Tuilelaith Gladstone- District Four female
Running was undignified. It was part of the Games and I would live with it, but I was aware of how unkempt I looked hauling toward the Cornucopia. I didn't have energy to notice how silly everyone else looked, at least, because I only had eyes for the case of poisons. A few others reached the Cornucopia ahead of me, but I was the only one going for that. Or maybe the others would take it just for practicality, but in any case, I was about to reach it first.
I bent a knee and reached out a hand for the case. As my arm was still extending, there was a flash of metal and a high-pitched whistle. Pressure turned to pain and I stared shocked at my hand lying in the grass, and the stump that was left. I looked up to see Faust about to swing again.
"Not today, Poisonteeth," he said. I could feel my heart beat along with the pulsing blood as I noted with bitter relief that he was aiming at my chest. A headless corpse would have been most unbecoming.
Siobhan Harrigan- District Two female
As Vera kicked Daffodil, tears of frustration and grief on her face, I took the bow from the girl's limp hand. It was wet with Daffodil's blood, making the sleek metal slippery. It didn't affect my aim, though.
I held my arrows back for a moment, sweeping the area to find the best target. A surprising amount of threats were already taken out. I couldn't see Faust, so I looked for a secondary target as I guarded Cormac's blind spot.
Right after Cormac killed Edison, I found my mark. He was close by, and not running as fast as some of the others. I was skilled, but I wasn't proud enough to waste an arrow trying to show how difficult a shot I could make. I lined up and took my prey.
Barnaby Mercator- District Three male
The bag of potatoes slowed me down, but only a little. It was more awkward than it was heavy, since it wasn't that large a bag. Ahead of me, I could see the forest. The trees were leafy and close together. Just a few feet in, and the trunks and foliage would shield me.
When I reached the safety of the tree line, I looked back at the Cornucopia. The Careers were still fighting, both each other and anyone slow or foolish enough to still be there. I noticed three bodies lying stretched across the ground. I hadn't known there was so much blood in a person. The rings of red around them looked like shadows.
Mico Samson- District Seven male
I was going to see my mother soon. I watched the clouds roll by, my fingers curled around the arrow I'd pulled from my back. It lay across my chest now, and I fingered it absently.
The air grew cold around me. I felt lighter, and then weightless.
Mico, I heard my mother say.
"Mama?" I asked.
My body flashed hot, and something seemed to yank me down. Something angry and hateful was gripping me, trying to pull me down into the grass and beneath it. It screamed unspeakable thoughts in my head. But something else took hold of me, pulling the other way. The two forces fought for a moment. With a last blast of blackness, the weight left me. Warmth and peace flooded me as I drifted back upwards. My mother's face took shape above me, holding out her arms.
Vera Triatho- District One female
I kicked Daffodil's body, trying to put into it all my frothing anger and frustration at losing my first and best friend. Killing Daffodil wouldn't bring him back, and I hated her for cheating me even of that closure. I yanked the axe from her back and turned away. The Bloodbath wasn't going to stop for my feelings.
Killing Daffodil didn't bring Royce back. But it made me feel better for a second. For that instant, I didn't hurt. I wanted that back. I would do anything for it.
I raised the axe and sprinted out of the Cornucopia, looking for anyone I could catch. The first person I saw was Faust. I ran at him from behind, bringing my axe back for a killing blow.
He must have heard the sound of my footsteps, because he turned before I struck. He put out an arm, hitting the handle of my axe and knocking the blow sideways. I curved around his arm and shoved the axe toward his side. With so little momentum, it wasn't a serious blow, but I was happy to see it still drew blood. He shoved me in the chest, knocking me back a step. As I stepped back, he hopped backwards. Before I started back at him, he swung his chain at my leg. When it wrapped around, he yanked, pulling my foot out from under me so I fell flat on my back. He brought up a knee and fell onto it, landing with all his weight on my throat. Bone and cartilage crumpled. I gasped, but no air came. Sharp bits dug into me as I clutched at my throat, dribbling blood from my mouth as I struggled for air.
It must have taken minutes for me to die. Faust fled as soon as he made the killing blow. The other Careers were busy hunting their own quarries, and didn't even notice me rolling on the ground. I struggled to my knees and started to crawl, I don't know towards what. My mouth gaped open and my fingers dug into it as I fell into panic and frenzy, trying to scoop air into my mouth and push it down my throat. When my limbs starte to go weak, I knew with desperate clarity that it was over. I crawled on my hands, then my elbows, and finally my face fell into the dirt. The grass tickled my tongue as I tried for the last time to breathe.
Royce. Royce, come help me. I need you again. I'll always need you…
Lulu Chilcott- District Three mentor
Penelope and I hid behind a tree a few feet into the woods, holding hands as we peeked out from behind it.
Brocade was the first to appear. I leaned out and waved, and he curved toward us. When he reached us, we moved back to a larger tree.
"Did you see any of the others?" I asked.
"Just Faust. He's okay, of course," Brocade said. He was holding a rolled-up plastic bag, which would go along with the backpack Penelope had grabbed.
"There's Osiris!" Penelope yelled. He was running toward the forest, but far off in another direction. "Hey! Osiris!" she yelled. He flinched, looked around wildly, then saw us and started over.
"Faust should be coming soon, I think. He'd already killed a couple of people," he said, adding a quiver of arrows to our loot.
A minute later, Faust appeared. He wasn't moving as fast, since he had far fewer people to be afraid of. His chain-and-sickle was strapped to a huge backpack that shielded him from Siobhan's arrows, hence the slow pace. He looked around and saw that almost everyone was there.
Everyone was silent as we waited. We strained our eyes at the distant Cornucopia, trying to see our one remaining ally.
"Did anyone see him?" I asked.
"No," Penelope and Brocade said almost at the same time.
"I didn't see him," Osiris said.
"I didn't think he was one of them…" Faust said, and we didn't ask. Seconds dragged into minutes. The cannons started.
One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Seven Tributes dead, plus Rachel. No one wanted to say it.
"One of those was him, wasn't it?" Penelope asked. No one argued.
The deaths will seem a little jumbled since they mostly will occur by order of votes. While the POVs were written in the order that flowed best, the Tributes will take longer or shorter to bleed to death, etc, depending on their number of votes.
23rd place: Royce Triatho- Shot by Daffodil
I don't know why Royce was first. No one seemed to particularly hate him. I suspect it was mostly practicality and trying to remove a threat. Funny enough, his form said he didn't have it in him to kill. So I had to go the comedy of errors route and have him bump into Quinoa (who did NOT go for the Cornucopia, btw- she was just running across to get to Laurel and the hill). He was actually just trying to see if he was okay, but Daffodil went and jumped the gun. RIP Royce, who volunteered to be with his best friend and was a pretty good guy, both to her and in general. Thanks Monkeypower for an unconventional Career and the kind of friend we should all be for someone.
I'll list the final votes for everyone for poops and giggles. Royce died from having -6 votes.
22nd place: Daffodil Starshine- Axed by Vera
Daffodil is another funny story. She was actually submitted as an ultimate Mary Sue. Her form was literally my "Mary Sue" form from Cordelia Weave's Writing Tips with a different name added. When I got that, it was honestly pretty impressive. I couldn't NOT use that. Her creator wanted to be anonymous because she (*cough* Americanpi) rightly feared that if people knew it was her, they'd smell a rat because she usually sends good Tributes. Her challenge was for me to write a Mary Sue well enough that people liked her. Well, she died second, but I think it was still successful. No one seemed to dislike her, they just voted for her because she was really strong and a definite threat. I took much joy in writing the saccharine ramblings of a wanna Saint Francis of Assisi who had no flaws and only ever thought about nice things. So thanks Americanpi for the Suest of Marys.
Daffodil had -5 votes. She fluctuated more than Royce, vacillating between -3 to like -8 net votes.
21st place: Edison Westbrook- Stabbed by Cormac
I think people picked Edison because they had to vote for someone. No one seemed to hate him. I guess he got lost in the shuffle and no one particularly LIKED him, so he didn't get any life votes to cancel his death ones. Edison was practical and hardworking. He might have seemed dull to some people, but he was just living life steadily and day-by-day. Thanks ItsaCatsWorld for another down-to-earth, likeable normal guy.
Edison had -4 votes. He went back and forth from slightly negative to positive, then took a nosedive at the end.
20th place: Vera Triatho- Throat crushed by Faust
Most people don't like non-volunteer Careers, so that probably did Vera and Royce in. She wasn't in this to kill, but her form noted that if she outlived Royce, she would go crazy. That she did, and Faust was just stronger. Vera had pretty much a terrible life, so at least it's not terrible anymore I guess. Can't have a terrible life if you're dead. It's nice she got to meet a guy like Royce. Thanks Annabanana for someone who had a terrible past but didn't whine about it all the time like a lot of characters.
Vera was controversial. She got death votes right away, and at some points was far more negative than Royce. In the end she settled at -4
19th place: Tuilelaith Gladstone- Axed by Faust
Faust hadn't found his preferred weapons yet, since it was a way better image to have her hand get chopped off with an axe. I was going for the poetic angle, like "oh the irony she used her hands to poison people and then they were cut off!". Tuilelaith was voted for, I'm sure, because of the heavy danger of a poison user. That, along with her cold personality, meant her allies as well as outliers probably voted for her. Pity, because she would have done a lot of damage. That's the danger of submitting a good character to a voting Games. Thanks bulletproofreed for a character that got hindered by the format.
Death votes starting pouring in for Tuilelaith immediately. She had like -9 at one point. At the end she got a sudden second wind, dying with only -3 net votes.
18th place: Thunderous Copper- Stabbed by Siobhan
It actually worked way better to have Faust do it, but I changed it upon remembering they were allies. Not that that stopped that no-good dirty-rotten pig-stealing Osiris. Thunderous was pretty obviously voted for because he was a jerk. Fair enough. He was sent with the knowledge he'd probably die quickly, so here we are. Thanks LordShiro for not being afraid to actually send a mean guy.
Thunderous had -2 votes. On the bright side, one person did vote for him to live. On the sad side, that was his submitter.
17th place: Mico Samson- Shot by Siobhan
I suppose he got voted for because he was creepy and wouldn't have been a popular Victor. Mico is what happens when people send in Tributes that have to do with the occult. I went all-out expressing my great dislike of the type of things he did. It's not often your death scene is Heaven and Hell fighting for your soul. Through it all, though, he was a child, and therefore automatically goes to Heaven (the Bible actually doesn't say much on that subject but what it does say is very hopeful). Thanks Ace for Mico, who may have been hella creepy, but that's what happens when you accidentally get yourself haunted by a demon.
Mico had -2 votes. The votes were separated enough that I set the threshold at anything negative, making a bigger Bloodbath because I'm so bad at having mine be tiny.
Votes are open every chapter from now on. You don't have to write in if they stay the same from one chapter to the next, especially in chapters when no one dies. I assume votes stay the same unless someone obvious happens like a character kills your character or someone you voted for to live dies.
It's FOUR life votes and four death votes now, since eight people are already gone!
A few retcons and goofs:
I retconned the outfit upon realizing how stupid I was not to have them wearing plaid kilts instead of plaid pants. Each of their kilts also comes with a plaid dark green tam o' shanter with a little green pompom.
I had Barnaby mention allies when the ABC chapter was just three unrelated characters, not allies.
