BATTLE ROYALE EVENT: SHIP

[sailmods]

[fortunately, not signing up for the shore excursion doesn't mean the passengers still on board don't get to have a little fun. on the contrary: they'll get to have some of the most fun of all!

about an hour after the tender leaves, at about 9AM, every screen on the ship, from the cabin TVs to the one above the pool, begins playing a live feed of the events on the island, starting with Friday's introduction video and transitioning to the passengers leaving the bunker. from then on, the camera (?) seems to always know where the action is, bringing close-up views of each fight, each death. when little action occurs, highlight reels play. there is no audio, however, outside of the droning, inane muzak of the stream and the kitschy sound effects of the reels; time to brush up on your lip-reading if you want the hot goss on scene!

in the atrium, near Friday's desk, is a large piece of construction paper, titled "PLACE YOUR BETS," showing a table with the names (some true, some not) of each competitor, with a space to write down your name next to who you think will win. the captain has already made his choice! what are you betting? don't worry about it.

the screens will play the game 24 hours a day. destroying the screens wholly will buy you only momentary respite. so, sit back, and enjoy.]

Comments

[skaikru]

( it really is some weird sort of insult-to-injury, to watch her own image twitching silently while a pool of blood spills over natsuno yuuki's legs and the ground beneath them, and then to mark the exact moment her extremities still and that last bit of human light fades from her eyes. there's a closeup and everything. and yet here's clarke, oddly seeking out every single television screen she comes across, and unable to tear her gaze away.

the second insult comes from dead infamy. effie is the first person to jump out of their chair and bustle into clarke's personal space, but this doesn't feel like the last time she'd have to acknowledge what the screens were showing. she flinches a bit, as the woman draws near, but resists any urge to take a step backwards. despite the pulse, the heartache, the nausea, and the sensation of cold air pushing through her wet hair... is she really alive? )

That was me. ( the past tense feels important. she'd died. and now in a valiant attempt to squish down the horrendous pain in her lungs, clarke swallows heavily. looks effie right in the eye and tries to mask how each repeat viewing is like having her whole arm cut off again. )

I — who else have you seen? I haven't watched the whole thing yet, I just keep seeing —

( her own death, mostly. and color clarke jaded, but that doesn't seem coincidental. )

[baubled]

[ Effie doesn't understand what it's like to fight for your life like that, but the look in Clarke's eyes is familiar. victors always come back different and this girl didn't win. so it must be worse.

she shakes her head at Clarke's question. ]

You're the first I've noticed, but I haven't been looking. [ why would she assume they were anything but actually dead? ] I think most of us have been trying to avoid all of it as much as we can.

[ her voice softens. ] Perhaps we should get you away from televisions? [ they're everywhere but some spots you can get away with listening and not watching. ]

[skaikru]

( there's something to be dissected here about inappropriate trauma responses. the other woman's been nothing but kind in the thirty seconds they've been talking, but the second she suggests something clarke staunchly disagrees with, it's like they're on opposite sides of the issues. instant enemies. and the second effie's voice softens, hitting on something gentle that reminds her too much of her mother, clarke's exterior hardens.

if effie tries to touch her, physically herd her away from the screens, clarke flinches first — then would smack at her hands secondly. )

No. I need to see them —

( she wants to see what's happened to her friends, wants to make sure they're still alive. and if the cost of that is watching her own death rattle over and over again, well... that was a payment she could manage. )

[baubled]

[ aaaand yep, she gets swatted the moment she tries to put a comforting hand on Clarke's shoulder. she yanks her hand back and takes a swift step back out of slapping radius.

instead of looking rattled or surprised, Effie scoffs loudly - clearly annoyed. there's no need to be rude simply because you've experienced a little trauma. and Effie, in this one instance, has absolutely nothing to do with the horrible situation at all! she does her best to conceal her annoyance and is mostly unsuccessful. she does manage a tight smile. ]

If you're here now, surely they'll come back? You're only going to see things you wish you hadn't if you keep watching.

[skaikru]

( a little?

a little trauma?!?

that's honestly an internal thought best kept to yourself effie, at least until the initial sting of death fades from the general population here. it's just a little too raw, and speaking of raw meat — someone just got viciously cut on screen, and clarke's forcibly dragging her gaze over to the woman fuming over nothing in front of her with some misplaced contempt. )

If they have to live it, the least I can do is watch it.

( gotta know how and where things broke, so she can pick up the pieces for her friends when this is all over. )

[baubled]

[ she supposes she can understand that logic, even if she doesn't necessarily agree with it. Effie feels very suspicious about it being televised. this isn't Panem, so what is all this? a threat? ]

Your friends aren't the ones who want you to watch it. The people who put you there, they want you to see it. They're taking bets on all of you. It's a game to them.

[ sure, trying to destroy or turn off the televisions has thus far been entirely impossible but that doesn't mean they should all just play along. Effie may not be rebel material but she fears things will only get worse from here. ]

Are you going to let them win?

[skaikru]

( arguably, nothing the woman in front of her says is inaccurate. reasonably, clarke should be able to understand that.

but take logic and put it up against horrors relived every time you closed your eyes, or that suffocating blanket of uselessness when forced to stand by and watch horrible things you can't prevent; put logos against pathos, put the head urging caution against the heart screaming for action...

it's never much of a competition. not in the moment. clarke's voice climbs a few ladder rungs of volume as she pours a fraction of her frustration out on this undeserving woman, hands jerking between the people collected to stare at the screens, the screens themselves, and her own chest. )

Does this look like a game anyone has a chance at winning? The Captain's already got the better of us, and now he's just making us watch so we don't forget it!

Him, it's a him. One person doing this to us all, and he's had decades of practice at making people suffer.

[baubled]

[ Effie takes another step back, shrinking a bit as Clarke shouts. the outburst isn't entirely undeserved but it's more than she expected.

she's about to try and get a word in when Clarke mentions him and the girl's words sink in cold. the death match, the betting, the highly dramatic televised production - it's all too close to home. it feels like a weight is pressing heavy into her chest.

no no no no no, they can't be having this conversation here, not with so many people around. not where anyone could hear them. Clarke's going to get everyone killed making accusations like that. ]

Stop it! [ Effie snaps back at Clarke but it's immediately obvious that she isn't angry. she's afraid. ] You can't talk like that! Stop it right now!

[skaikru]

( sometimes clarke griffin has the capacity to be the paragon of empathy and comfort. sometimes she ends up mothering entire populations, and she's been known to sing to the dying. sometimes she embodies self sacrificial and duty, and squishes down her own needs in favor of the needs of others, but...

but this is not one of those times. this moment is more on par with the desire to weep and break something overlapping, manifesting as an absolutely useless nervous energy that isn't going to accomplish anything in the long run.

and effie's blatant fear doesn't get a second thought. )

I can do anything I want here — except die, or do anything remotely useful! Do you think he cares what we talk about? He didn't care about dumping me in a bed full of my own blood!

[baubled]

[ Effie gasps, having been unprepared for that visual imagery. maybe she should have expected it. it certainly sends a message. ]

People like him are always listening. [ she's a little glassy-eyed now but managing to keep the tears at bay. ] And something like that is sending a message.

[ she has the distinct sense that she is not getting through to this girl, that she has no idea how to help or if she can even be helped. it all feels out of control, the situation somehow much larger and more terrible than it was before and Effie's only ever learned to fall in line and not draw the wrong kind of attention. ]

We've all got to be very careful now.

[ she's a coward. what else is new? ]

[skaikru]

( cowardice isn't always a negative quality. that's like saying fear had no place in humanities drive to survive, when actually it was the most powerful motivator to stay alive. running and hiding, or freezing and fawning were perfectly acceptable responses to a threat.

...sometimes a person has just died too recently — and is too absolutely furious to listen to normal bodily warnings — and can't give an inch for sympathy or a foot for logic.

effie may be on the brink of dissociating, but clarke has no desire to grab her by the hand and haul her back from the edge. nor gently guide her through all the reasons why this time? this time they needed to fight. )

You be careful, then. I'm going to go do something about this.

( and with a wet swirl of hair, clarke's turning on her heel and marching out of the establishment. there are other screens she can glue herself to, in order to watch her own death over and over again, and watch how mizuki and natsuno suffer in her absence. and more importantly, there are life boats for her to try to commandeer in a desperate attempt to get back to the island and put a stop to all this. )