o1 ♐ video

[effective]

[There’s a girl staring at the screen with a look that’d seem almost dead if not for the intensity in her eyes. Katniss is really fucking unhappy, and it shows] It was supposed to be over. [She’s addressing the screen, but it sounds almost like she’s talking to herself.] It was supposed to be over, and they were supposed to leave me be.

[Her fingers twine around each other, drawing attention to the way her hands are scarred with burns and stretched, pale skin where it was grafted on. Observant people might note similar marks crawling up the side of her neck] They told me this emperor knows everything, but that just sounds like another word for president to me. I won’t play this game again, not ever. [Her fingers form a fist and she tears her eyes away from the screen to stare at it. She’s silent for so long, it seems almost as though she’s forgotten she was recording]

Where’s Peeta? [It doesn’t seem to have occurred to her that he might not be here.] No more games.

Comments

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[insecrets]

Hey there, girl on fire. [She's a lot worse off than he is at this moment, that's clearly obvious.]

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[effective]

[Her eyes widen, the colour draining from her face. She throws herself away from the computer with enough force that the chair almost topples over] Not real. [She shakes her head] Not real, you're not real.

[notdreaming]

I haven't heard the name Peeta here. [ And she hears basically everything, which means either he's going by a codename or he isn't here. ]

I'm sorry. But it's quiet here. [ If that helps. ]

[effective]

[She frowns like she doesn't quite understand that] Everyone knows who he is. [She's had the whole in between Life and death thing explained to her, but it doesn't appear that she was paying all that much attention. That, and her survival has depended on certain things being fact for so long, that it's hard to let go of them]

...What do you mean, quiet?

[wholenewstory]

You're safe.

[Her voice is gentle and firm as she stares into the girl's eyes.] This place is - different. Than where you were.

[...But then she frowns, brow furrowing.] We're - I think we're being...used. But - not like weapons.

[She holds out out her own hands, torn and calloused and scorched. The old scars climb up her wrists, disappearing up her sleeves.]

This place is...better. Promise.

[effective]

No place is that different.

[But there's something about the way the other girl speaks that makes her listen. She doesn't know if she resents the implication that this person knows what Katniss has been through, or if she feels a certain kinship. She rubs her scars again before tugging her hands inside her sleeves, hiding them]

Not like weapons. [She needs to repeat it, sound it out to make sure it's real] No one's making us fight?

[magicalpadawan]

It's not a game, I don't think. [Molly is looking back at her with a gaze that echos Katniss', a little bit wary and unfocused. The camera abruptly fizzles into static for a moment, but it comes back on quickly, and she continues.]

It's just a place.

[effective]

No place is just a place. [She shakes her head] They took us here for a reason. They always do. Even if they just want some entertainment. [a beat] Especially then.

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[zerotoawesome]

You're used to this kind of thing happening?

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[effective]

Being dragged from my home against my will and thrown into strange and hideous circumstances?

Yes.

[video | encrypted 85%]

[tendnottoweep]

The emperor doesn't know everything. She knows plenty she's not telling us, and she is trying to use us, but she's not all-powerful. She doesn't control us.

[ She tilts her head a little, studying the girl on the screen with an expression almost as blank as Katniss'. ] What's your name? I'm Natasha.

[video | encrypted 85%]

[effective]

Saying she doesn't control you doesn't mean she doesn't control you. It's just words.

[She seems bewildered that she's being asked] Girl on fire. She doesn't usually introduce herself like that, but the phrase is at the forefront of her mind after Finnick used it. Her scarred fingers tap against her knee] My name is Katniss Everdeen.

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[wintershepherd]

Are... you okay?

[ You look hurt even if the injuries seem old, and Jack doesn't like it. ]

((OOC: Jack's permissions post re: whether Katniss can see/hear this reply.))

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[effective]

[Her expression twists into outright confusion. She can't see anything] Who's there?

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[grimreaping]

There's little here that would seem to qualify as a game, miss.

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[effective]

[He gets a sardonic grin with little to no humour in it] That depends on the game. Believe me.

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[agentdork]

[ Oh, boy. York's watching her carefully, his heart sinking at her reaction to this. The games weren't exactly great, he got that much, but her reaction leads him to believe it's worse than he thought. ]

I know it probably doesn't mean much comin' from someone here you don't know, but far as any of us can tell, it's not a game.

[ And he's not as scarred up as her, but he's got his fair share - one right across his left eye, rendering it unable to be used and milky white- her own make him wonder if it's an accident or battle. ]

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[effective]

[She rubs a hand over her face. It's weird, but his scars make him a little less intimidating to Katniss] You're right. it doesn't mean much. [Once upon a time she might have said 'thanks anyway', but she doesn't bother now]

Are we seriously on a turtle. [She looks like she wants to stab something for even having to ask.]

→ video; encrypted 80%

[controlledvariable]

[It takes her a moment to pinpoint what it is about Katniss that draws Steph's attention, but she realizes that the girl reminds her of Cass, between the scars and the intensity.]

I'll keep an eye out for someone called Peeta. [Since it seems important.]

As for games... The Emperor's the one pulling the strings, but you might wanna watch out for Evandau. He's the head of the police, and the one that decided conscription was a good idea.

[she still hasn't forgiven that, and isn't likely to, despite the fact she would have gone out to help anyway]

→ video; encrypted 80%

[effective]

[She's the first person that's actually offered, and something in Katniss' demeanour relaxes very slightly.] He's not - well. [Or entirely sane]

[And the tension is back] Conscription? What do you mean, conscription?

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[demon_brat]

I don't believe they ever leave anyone be, not really.

What did the president do, that you hate them so much?

[effective]

[She stares at him for a long time, and then softly, begins to laugh]

I don't even know where to start in answering that.

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[iron_ego]

Presidents get elected, sweetheart. [Tony coughs and waves his hand dismissively at the very idea that the democracy as America knows it.] What we've got here is more of an oppressive monarchy.

[effective]

Only the latest one. We're trying out...democracy. It hasn't been seen in Panem in a long time. [She snorts] Oppressive sounds about right.

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[inshiningarmor]

[ He frowns, looking concerned. There's something off about her manner. ]

I assure thee, this is no game.

[effective]

[She just scowls back at him] Why should I trust you?