Arena 09

[etcircenses]

Arena 09
Code Name: Le Musée
Size: Half a square mile, but seven stories tall
Special Areas: The Wax Museum, The IMAX Theater, The Gift Shop
Opening Date: January 18th

Basement: The Tributes are raised on their platforms into a dimly-lit parking lot, largely, but not entirely, devoid of cars. The ceiling hangs low, and despite the vast open space and the perfect temperature, the lot feels claustrophobic. White and yellow lines are painted not to mark parking spaces, but instead to give each Tribute a 'lane' for the two hundred-meter dash towards the Cornucopia at the center. Some Tributes are unfortunate enough to have a cement pillar in their lane, and may suffer from diminished visibility of the prize.

On the far north and the far south end, three elevators each are set underneath bright red 'EXIT' signs. There are stairwells at each of the four corners of the lot, too, but the doors to them are all locked. It would take superhuman strength or serious skill with lock-picking to open them up.

There are six cars scattered around the periphery of the parking lot. The cars are locked; however, once inside a Tribute might find a key in the glove compartment, as well as the tank already filled with gas.

The Cornucopia sits in the center, spilling with both weapons and supplies. Once the Tributes get into an elevator, they're given the options for several floors.

First Floor: The first floor opens up to a gigantic mezzanine, with empty cattle-stall lines in front of an unpopulated ticket desk. Stairs lead to a lowered center of the floor, where a meteor the size of a car sits atop a pedestal. Standing posters around the floor describe various scientific truths about outer space, from describing the role of the sun in creating gravity to detailing the unsolved mysteries of black holes.

A bronze statue of Theodore Roosevelt sits on one of the benches around the meteor. A faded pair of painted footprints a few feet away indicate the ideal position to take a souvenir photograph. A plaque on the bench states that this is the Theodorus Roosevelar Natural History Museum.

A small cafe sits near the meteor. An exploration behind the counter will reveal plenty of ground coffee, approximately a hundred pastries, boxes of tiny creamers, and more packets of aspartame than anyone could hope to use.

Like most of the museum, the first floor is not well lit. While there are large windows that allow for natural light, they are dirty and the curtains are drawn low. There is a smattering of dust on every surface in the building, although not enough to be too much of a problem to those without allergies. At the end of each day, a voice over the intercom announces a thirty minute, ten minute and five minute warning that the museum is closing. While some electronic functions in the museum work, the lights in general do not, nor do any phones or computers the Tributes may stumble across.

Second Floor:

Over a hundred dioramas of ancient cultures and wild animals populate the second floor. Life-size wax and plastic figures of people, taxidermied animals and painted backdrops create little spaces meant to replicate far-off places and cultures. Bear cubs climb a tree; an ancient Korean family made of wax launder their clothes; a blue whale battles to the death with a giant squid; plastic Visigoth warriors polish their weapons. The plants in these dioramas are edible, as long as they aren't poisonous in their native environment. The marble eyes of the taxidermied animals seem to follow the Tributes.

In addition to dioramas, wall displays show off ancient weaponry, jewelry and textiles behind fragile glass cases, and a little button next to each descriptive plaque sets off an auditory tour. Examples of artwork from around the world decorate the walls, and a massive carved canoe from a Northwest Pacific Native American tribe hangs from the ceiling. The floor is organized by continent, excluding Antarctica. No information here seems up-to-date past the year 2010 A.D., but a keen eye might notice that the plaques have names of famous people and events changed to have a more Panemian flair (for example, Attilus the Hun instead of Attila).

The second floor is also home to the gift shop, themed after the Tributes. Here one could find, for example, collectible troll figurines, t-shirts declaring TEAM WESKIMUS and TEAM WAXIMUS, Starfleet and les Amis d'ABC pins, or stuffed dolls of Donatello and Orc, if they were to look for them. A coin-press machine stamps pennies with an image of President Snow. The gift shop is equipped with a motion-sensitive security system that sends off blaring alarms if the shop is entered after the museum's closing time each night.



Third Floor:

The hall of human evolution begins here. Fossils of humanity's ancestors are propped up in cases, and various interactive exhibits about evolution are still working. A painting of man's progress from amorphous microscopic blob to homo sapiens takes up a good chunk of the wall opposite the north elevators.

This floor features a replication of both a tarpit (featuring real tar!) and of a volcano, about twenty feet tall, in the largest chamber of the floor. A child-oriented display next to the volcano describes famous eruptions of volcanoes around the world, but assures the reader not to worry, because the Theodorus Roosevelar volcano is dormant!

The gem hall, a dark and bizarrely-shaped nook in the corner of the level, is also located here. Pitch black except for the lights that shine within each glass case on thousands of gems and precious stones, the room may seem an ideal place to hide and rest. The floor here is uneven, and carpet-covered pillars with dead TV screens that once displayed films about jade and amethyst rise up to the ceiling. Each room in the gem hall has at least two, if not three uncovered entrances, however, and as tantalizing as the layout is it would be impossible to fortify.

One of the televisions in the gem hall is still working. A dry voice narrates the history of the American gold rush; however, every few hours, if watched closely, the film will briefly switch to a map of each floor of the museum, with little red dots indicating where other Tributes are hiding in the museum.

The cafeteria is right next to the elevator on this floor, rather than a cafe. Specializing in overpriced sandwiches and soups, it contains no shortage of bread, pasta and dairy, and a working refrigerator and freezer populated by meats, frozen vegetables and ice cream. All cooking ware is in working order, but Tributes will need to start their own fire to get the gas stove to light.

Fourth Floor:

The fourth floor houses every kid's favorite part of the museum: the fossil hall of dinosaurs and prehistoric mammals. Huge dinosaur skeletons tower over Tributes. Plenty of the former Arena's most popular muttations, including Disneyland's dragon (head not included), also have skeletons on this floor too, with child-friendly displays lauding the creativity and expertise of the Capitol's genetic engineers. A keen, educated eye may be able to glean some useful information from the descriptions here.

During the day, a large movie screen on this floor is stuck perpetually displaying a video about the difference between a genus and a species. When the museum is 'closed', the screen shows footage of the Tributes in the Capitol having private conversations, some of which are quite incriminating.



Fifth Floor:

The crown jewels of the museum, the Planetarium and IMAX theaters, are located on the fifth floor. The Planetarium, vast and dark, not only has a telescope that can view up into space, but has an interactive computer system that can display and highlight constellations from any given year. Currently, the system is down, but the hardware is still lying about for any resourceful, tech-savvy Tribute.

The IMAX theater has a variety of movies, ranging from films about earthquakes to documentaries about the deep sea and outer space, and a random one begins every hour that the museum is 'open'. In front of the theater entrance, a digital number, starting at 50, counts down as each film finishes.

There is a display about bioluminescence on this level inside the IMAX theater. At night the floor will glow with natural sources of light, from rocks to jellyfish, encased in glass right under the Tributes' feet.

Sixth Floor:

The sixth floor is by far the best lit, as it receives natural light through the huge skylights, which make the ceiling look almost as if it's one large window.

The sixth floor is home to a sprawling wax museum, featuring perfect replicas of Tributes who've fallen and never gotten back up in the Never-Ending Quell. Neeshka, Asha Greyjoy, Javert, Draco Malfoy, Orphaner Dualscar, Riddick; all of them stand at attention, dressed in the last Tribute outfit they ever wore. With glass eyes they stare into space in their exhibits, sidled by little plaques that serve as both a brief synopsis of their time at the Games and an obituary.

Occasionally, if one's mind wanders, they might look up and see that the wax statues seemed to have moved ever so slightly.

The sixth floor also ha a small, one-story stairwell that leads to the roof. Unlike the roof at the Tribute Center, there's no forcefield here to protect you if you were to fall off the edge. Furthermore, the skylights are sturdy but not indestructible, and too much weight could send someone crashing down through the glass.


Survival Information
Cornucopia:
Available Fresh Water Sources: All tap and fountain water is potable. Most floors have multiple drinking fountains.
Available Natural Food Sources: The contents of the deserted cafeteria and cafes for as long as the food is good before spoiling, most of the plants in the exhibits. Each floor has a cafe, and the cafeteria is on the third floor.

Cornucopia Items: Supplies

26 Unmarked Watertight Bags; contents unknown
10 vials of neurotoxin
6 tents
12 fire-starting kits
8 folding knives
4 Swiss army knives
6 sleeping bags
2 lengths of rope
10 first-aid kits
2 crossbows with ten bolts each in a quiver
2 boxes of forty .38 bullets





Immediate Hazards:

The Elevators: While the elevators themselves won't kill you, the ding whenever they reach a new floor will announce your presence to anyone on the current level. Furthermore, given that there are only six of them and that awkward small talk may very well end with a knife in your throat, you may need to start figuring out better ways to get from floor to floor without risking running into your enemies.

The Masks: Any of the masks in the culture exhibits can be removed from their case and placed on your head, which activates potent - and unsettling - Capitol technology. For approximately ten minutes, wearers who had superpowers before coming to Panem will find themselves with their abilities returned; those who entered as 'normals' will have their natural speed and strength multiplied many times over, and gain the ability to see in the dark. Unfortunately, after the ten minutes are up, hooks hidden inside the face of the mask will attach to the Tribute's face, rendering removal both painful and physically scarring. And if you use the masks too often, you may find yourself having a few extreme problems with impulse control and anger management...

The Fire Alarm: Sensitive to even the slightest whiff of smoke, the fire alarm has a tendency to go off seemingly at a whim. Aside from being a noisy, flashy nuisance, it sets off the sprinklers, which release not water but liquid nitrogen that can leave a Tribute with horrible, potentially fatal, cold burns.

The Intercom: Aside from announcing when the museum opens and closes and which Tributes are dead, the intercom has the nasty habit of telling everybody who killed which Tribute and the gory details of how - and of not checking the facts first. Announcements occur thirty minutes after closing each day.

The Fossils: Something's not quite right in the prehistoric mammal section of the fossil hall; so far it's just been strange beeping noises, but who knows what the Capitol is up to?

Attire: Tributes are dressed in extremely comfortable pajamas and bare feet. Men are placed in a two-piece, while women enjoy the snug warmth of a onesie.


Out Of Character
Cornucopia Thread: have at it!
Game Plotting Thread: here
Ask A Mod: here
Additional Information:

Rather than being delivered via parachute, in this Arena Sponsor items can be found in the elevators with a note designating the intended recipient. The ding for a regulator elevator use and the ding for a Sponsor gift are different. Similarly, rather than showing a face in the sky, the deaths of each Tribute are announced via intercom.

The Mentors are not competing in this Arena.

Comments

Initiate - PLEASE READ FOR THINGS THAT MAY BE RELEVANT TO YOUR CHARACTER!!

[carnagecarnival]

Wowee where to begin.

Initiate is absolutely going to try on the masks, at first just because they look cool and then hello powers. He will be very quickly nabbing tons more on a frequent basis, getting them stuck to his face and wearing them around, then self-destructively tearing them off and putting on new ones whenever he feels the need.

So what can he do?

Initiate's powers are really, really, really comprehensive over a variety of things. The base core of them is fear, and further, nightmares and dreaming. Through this, he can create intense feelings of fear in/for things there originally wasn't and he can intensify fears that are already, from just simple unease and discomfort, panic attacks of various severity, to such high degrees he can cause vivid hallucinations and even eventual insanity, breaking down of the mind. (After affects of this tend to be long term). Dreams are basically his playground and he can do just about anything in the unconscious planes, manipulating aspects of the dream/"world" itself to his will.

Also through this fear, he can control and manipulate other people. This can be as simple as psychic suggestion (i.e 'don't go down that hall' influenced by a fear of following through with that route. Or 'You have to get this specific item and bring it to this spot' with a fear enforcing that compulsion strong enough the person has no choice but to follow through). He can do this to high degrees where the individual does not even recall being manipulated, only a loss of memory (through creation of memory blocks by the fear) and a distinct feeling of discomfort, fear/anxiety, and confusion (also slight sickness depending on the individual).

So yes, mind control is a thing. He cannot read minds per se, but he can feel fear and sort of root out the sources in vague senses and feeling (which is another thing, he can feel all this fear and sense where people are by that).

That last thing; he can speak, using this power, directly into people's minds. So he could convey any number of messages this way without the capitol knowing any of it at all. (It would just have a slight side affect of fear+discomfort+nightmares left over from it.)

What does this mean for your character?

Well, it could mean any number of hellish things for them. Missed a chance on the nightmare plot? Got you covered. Want a general feeling of fear to make them fuck up something or other? Done and done. Want your character to be mind controlled into something awful? Just say the word. Full on insanity/break down? I'm here for you (though in some cases, he'll had to have been severly agitated into it). The only limit is the time limit, my friends.

Alternately, if Initiate can deem your character 1) will not stab him in the back, 2) wants capitol to go down, 3) is smart enough not to be vocal or careless about this, and 4) can handle a little fear/discomfort without losing it, he may be able to supply your character (yes, yours!) with super special information such as the fact District 13 exists, it is a rebel base, and the rebels were responsible for unleashing the Aliens way back when! Wouldn't you like you character to get in on rebellion? Of course you would! And it only comes at the price of winning this jerk over and a little fear. :')

So everyone, speak up now if you want in on aaaaaany of the services he has to offer. (I will likely put up a full log for people who wish to play out general nightmares/fear/hallucinations on their own.)

In the meantime, what will Initiate be doing?

Currently there are vague plans for him to hang around with Sigma, then Shepard, mercy-killing Kankri, and eventually getting killed by the Disciple. He will also be overusing his own power and getting double whammy side-effects of the mask ruining his already poor anger-impulse control and his voodoo giving him a bumped up case of cracks in the sanity, yup. Nothing is 100% concrete at this time except the killings and who's doing them, but other things are being worked out. Feel free to chime in.

[deafscythe]

YES FEAR AND INSANITY

[carnagecarnival]

Good, good. ouo

I guess we shall figure out what we're doing as we go along, play it by ear, unless you've got specific plans you'd like to hash out, like where you want the insanity to go exactly and how Initiate should get to the point of deciding LET'S BREAK THE GUILLOTINE unless of course Justin is easily susceptible to psychic clowns OR he shows up later once Initiate impulse control is completely shot and then woops! (Or Justin could just piss him off that bad.)

[deafscythe]

Justin's life is being susceptible to psychic clown fear crazy.

Actually what if he gets hit pretty early on and then just snaps completely for the rest of the Arena that might be fun. But it would require Initiate not killing him, which depending on things might be difficult.

[lessthanelementary]

YO so would you be up for having Initiate give Neffa a healthy dose of fear fairly early on?? I've been hoping to up Neffa's general sense of desperation this Arena, and this plot is just. really, really cool.

...if Neffa got information from it, it would have to be by accident, because he doesn't really want to know - but I'd be up for that, too, if it's a side-effect the Initiate would spring on him! (though if that's not feasible, I'm fine leaving that alone, too.)

[carnagecarnival]

Spreading information, unfortunately, would have to be deliberate. ; ; He can certainly wreck someone by accident, but little details as that, the speaking thing, don't slip so easy.

That said, the rest is absolutely feasible! Neffa could even just be very unfortunately near by when Initiate slams on his first mask and the fear just blasts him. The Neffa can have lingering paranoia effects and guaranteed nightmares.

:o)

[knifewithnoname]

Pruna is all of those four things, could she have special information!

Also team ups also

[carnagecarnival]

Perfecttttt. He would be more than happy to share things with Pruna! This should fall in great! :oD

THIS TIME. THIS TIME THE TEAM UPS WILL HAPPEN.

Re: Initiate - PLEASE READ FOR THINGS THAT MAY BE RELEVANT TO YOUR CHARACTER!!

[celebrityskinned]

Hey, so, I would love to do a fight scene between Initiate and Venus. With masks on. Venus can teleport, shoot lasers and perform minor healing, so they could crash through the whole museum.

Also, Venus is terrified of insects and has a lot of repressed memories of being traumatized as a little girl, if Initiate wants to play with that.

[carnagecarnival]

Late reply is late, but yes this would be lovely. I would definitely be in favor of a brawl at some point (we may need to hash details when that comes but nevertheless). He will have zero problem preying upon such fears (bonus, trolls are technically kind of insects...).

Re: Initiate - PLEASE READ FOR THINGS THAT MAY BE RELEVANT TO YOUR CHARACTER!!

[iflipmyhair]

Ohohohoho. Don wouldn't mind info on District 13, though of course he may or may not still owe Initiate for his horn even if Initiate killed him. So....Don might be willing to trade info for info, yes? Since he's also got some juicy Rebellion-related tidbits of his own and is of rebellious mind! Which Initiate could probably pick up pretty quickly.

Also Homura would be used to random crazy things speaking to her mind. And Initiate's not a Kyuubey so she won't be scared or anything like that. XD

[saisamour]

Marius won't stab him in the back and totally wants the Capitol to go down? I don't think he's been very vocal about it too because he LMFAO just got married but yes.

I don't know what Initiate's impression of him is so not sure if this can work though? :3

[carnagecarnival]

He hasn't got much of any insight on Marius to know what he would or would not do, but he decidely doesn't loathe the guy so as long as Initiate can easily pick out a decent fear of capitol (like "what might they do to loved ones, me, etc.") he can pin Marius as an option. THOUGH, because of not knowing him and what he might do, Initiate might also supplant some fear into him as well just to be extra sure he doesn't speak up. He could also erase Marius's knowledge of where this info came from exactly, to cover his tracks, but I would want your okay on that first.

That said and done, the log is up here for whenever you want in.

Be weary of the consequences, even the kindest of voodoo-ing has nasty side effects.

Re: Initiate - PLEASE READ FOR THINGS THAT MAY BE RELEVANT TO YOUR CHARACTER!!

[fire_punk]

Eliot fits all 4 of said qualifications for winning him over. And has his own secret he can exchange. ( I think? Since it somehow never got played out.)

Re: Initiate - PLEASE READ FOR THINGS THAT MAY BE RELEVANT TO YOUR CHARACTER!!

[carnagecarnival]

Like Marius, Initiate has no idea whether this guy falls in with such qualifications. This will mean he will need to be won over in a way. As long as Initiate can easily pick out a decent fear of capitol (like "what might they do to loved ones, me, etc.") he can pin Kevin as an option for info sharing. Kevin would have to be careful in how he shares his own information as Initiate cannot actually mindread and they're in a place where they're being very closely watched, but he could perhaps suggest he has something to share once the arena's over (so, we'd have to log something out in the future).

Because of not knowing him and what he might do, Initiate might also supplant some fear into him as well just to be extra sure he doesn't speak up or sell him out, but at least in this case he will consider the info a fair trade to leave Kevin's memory intact.

That said and done, the log is up here for whenever you want in.

Be weary of the consequences, even the kindest of voodoo-ing has nasty side effects.

[youbarium]

Oooh hello. Carlos has 3/4 of the ally points covered. The only complication is that he hasn't been here long enough to fully realize how not okay this fucked up system is and actively want it to go down. He can definitely handle fear, though, and is used to being under heavy surveillance. He's also really uneasy about this kill-or-be-killed thing and would definitely not stab an ally in the back, ever.

Still I think there's potential there? Once Carlos figures out that this place follows more rules than Night Vale does and it's completely mundane douchebaggery, he'll be on the revolution train.

[carnagecarnival]

Hmm. This makes things tricky. Carlos would have to do something significant to win him over (maybe tell him his name, considering Initiate's real name is Kurloz. Haha /bad joke. Anyway). The thing is Initiate has no idea who Carlos is and without a legitimate fear of capitol to dig out (like "what might they do to loved ones, me, etc." something that would inspire a desire to see Capitol go down) Initiate won't know if Carlos is a viable option. :c

If Carlos can win him over though (and is careful enough so that Initiate doesn't just kill him, because he's a murderclown) Initiate will share with him. He will very likely supplant an extra fear to keep quiet and not sell him out for anything though. And depending on how you want it, he could also erase Carlos' memory on where exactly the info came from so the Initiate's own tracks are covered- but this would only be with an "okay" on your part.

If this can be worked out, the log is up here for whenever you want in.

(Be weary of the consequences, even the kindest of voodoo-ing has nasty side effects.)

Re: Initiate - PLEASE READ FOR THINGS THAT MAY BE RELEVANT TO YOUR CHARACTER!!

[googledox]

Ooh might you be interested in him and Brainy engaging in a battle of wills? Canonically Brainy is mostly immune to forms of telepathy and mental interference because his brain has 12 tracks of consciousness and is so squirelly and yet controlled at the same time that telepaths/mindmessing people can't mess with it. The only mind-tweaking person to ever mess with him was Universo who was powerful enough to enslave whole planets at the time.

But it's not something automatic either. To resist he'd have to fight. So we could turn it into some crazy hallucinatory brain battle. (I think it'd probs end in a draw or he might just run out the clock with the mask and book it.)

[carnagecarnival]

Ooooh. Hm! This sounds interesting. I could try and work that in I think. Initiate could easily take Brainy's resistance as a challenge and try and force things on until the clock runs. If we've gotta hash out a fight, we can do that.

The log is up here for whenever you want in. I believe in this case you'd be going for Option 2.

[earthborn]

Oh very exciting.

Can I play what shall we do oh no I'm excited!

[carnagecarnival]

You are very welcome to play, my friend. You got a particular Option in mind? I feel like Initiate wouldn't be against sharing info with her but I also wonder if she wouldn't be against punching him in the face for directly going in her head.

There's also option 1 of course, if you wish.

[dragoon_pride]

OH HI! I just came across this from the post and realized this would be a lot of fun to throw Kain at. He's incredibly susceptible to mind control, so this would be a lot of fun to mess with.

Amusingly enough, his worst fear is exactly that: losing his mind/willpower, being controlled, anything along those lines. He also doesn't really like confined spaces, not that he's fearful, but it's just not the best for fighting in... but I could see the confinement of the setting also maybe being thrown to phobia levels in something like this.

Re: Initiate - PLEASE READ FOR THINGS THAT MAY BE RELEVANT TO YOUR CHARACTER!!

[clarityinchaos]

Yooooooo a bit late but you got my attention with the phrase 'mind control' earlier. This paranoid fuck needs to snap, but it may be a bit early yet. Though I suppose it could be a minor dose first then a bigger one later if he happens to be closer to him.

[carnagecarnival]

Not too late at all! I've got the log pinned up as happening whenever people wish it too over the course of the arena, wibbly wobbly timey wimey or however that goes. You are more than welcome to pop in later (maybe put a note like "It's the __ week and Armin ____" haha). Or you can go for the double hit, either is game.

Re: Initiate - PLEASE READ FOR THINGS THAT MAY BE RELEVANT TO YOUR CHARACTER!!

[sleeplessinalternia]

We already talked about this, but I'm putting it down here so we have a record OOC: even though it's an accidental fucking with, please do use Gamzee to hurt and scare the fuck out of Karkat. Maybe even make him a little paranoid. (And if somehow Fraysong notices this is going on in time to get the dirt on the Karkat<>Gamzee situation, that would be great too.)