mn. In penance for their uprising, each district shall offer up two tributes between the ages of 12 and 18 at a public “reaping”. These tributes shall be delivered to the custody of the Capitol and then transferred into a public arena where they will fight to the death until a lone victor remains. Henceforth and forevermore this pageant shall be known as The Hunger Games.
The instructions were very clear. There was a certain time and a certain place one had to be or else they were going to be left behind. That wasn’t a flexible time, or a flexible place. But as the time marches further, things become more and more tense.
Nelly is one of the first to arrive at the air craft, which is cold and rather quiet. Only stirring begins rather rather quickly outside of the walls she is air craft. Twig is not much longer behind her, arriving alone but the two give knowing yet nervous smiles to each other as they sit in silence. Swann is the next to arrive, sitting next to Nelly, their hands joined together in comfort.
The screen becomes more clear with what is going to happen inside the Quell. The Tributes are making their way towards the tree which they have wrapped with the wire provided by Silver. Unfortunately, they are not to be found by Peacekeepers, who have begun their patrol for high-suspect individuals, Silver being at the top of their list. This is also when Game Makers begin their combat against those in the Quell.
There’s not much time to argue, Robyn and Silver arrive hand-in-hand, long before the Peackeepers could find them, but their shift has focused, expanding their suspects to DeeZee and Ivory, among many others. Aldera attempts to get Riggs to leave with her, but their aim is to stay behind and watch to make sure Sage is alright. They will provide aid until the last moment. Pista’s sense of urgency pulls her away and the two make their way to the aircraft, unable to locate DeeZee, as much as they’d like to leave with him.
DeeZee and Ivory have their hands full, keeping Peacekeeprs occupied by leaving trails of their whereabouts around. It isn’t until they hear the footsteps of some rapidly approaching that Ivory tells DeeZee to leave, that she’ll happily go down with the rest of this place if it means things will be better. Unfortunately, DeeZee never really listened to instruction much, and if there were any place he’d rather be, it’s making sure Ivory isn’t subject to the Peacekeeps all on her own.
Griffin and Fava find each other shortly after his conversation with Nelly, and Fava immediately brings him up to speed about what happened with Snow. This gives Griffin even more urgency to tell her about making it to the safe place, and for once, Fava actually looks like she's about to do it, the fear of her encounter with Snow getting to her. When Griffin says he'll be hunting for Hudson in the meantime, however, Fava decides to stick with him and find them as well. With little time to argue, the two begin their search together.
It’s Dawn who finds themselves in hot water, getting cornered by a Peacekeeper who begins to question him with hostility. It seems however he answers the question, it’s wrong, and the Peacekeeper doesn’t have much flexibility in their perception of things. Seems they have their mind made up. And just when he’s certain this is his end, Riggs approaches, using the ever-off-kilter personality to distract the Peacekeeper’s focus from Dawn, and put it onto themselves. Whatever words they choose, it’s enough to make the Peacekeeper suspicious, and begins to lead Riggs away for further questioning. As they’re being sent off, they give a crooked smile to Dawn and nod. Not long after that, Dawn stays within close proximity to Slate in the Game room, who is still shaking hands with many other viewers, solidifying money.
Aven finds Heron, who is frantically tending to something which is uncertain. While everyone seems good at pretending that nothing is going on, there’s an undercurrent that feels tense, and violent. Heron says something about a task requests by Plutarch, Aven says it doesn’t matter and it’s time to go. But Heron, who is not used to being in the public so much, and not used to tip-tooeing around a rebellion so much, finds herself causing too much of a stir going back and forth with Aven, who is clearly only trying to help. A fact that seems to cause the attention of a Peacekeeper, who being questioning the interaction between the two women. Before Heron can jump in, Aven confesses to trying to finesse money out of Heron for those left in the Quell. A confession that made the Peacekeeper plenty suspicious, given from whom it came from. Heron, now flushed with panic, watched as Aven is lead off for further questioning. After this, she abandons her task and arrives at the air craft.
After both parties are able to clear themselves of their responsibilities, Dawn and Slate are able to escape onto the aircraft.
Griffin and Fava, still on the hunt for Hudson, finally locates them and frantically begins to usher them away from the Game room and off in the direction of where the air crafts are. Unfortunately, it is at this time that Peacekeeps begin to close in on them. They’re not concerned about Griffin, but they’re making moves to take Fava and Hudson away from his leading hand. He begin to argue with them, forgoing the act of drunk man in order to help Fava and Hudson. There’s a struggle, Fava beginning to shout for hands to be removed from her person, and Hudson who just looked concerned. It’s a bold move, but Griffin makes the urgent choice to reach for one of the batons at the hip of the Peacekeeper.
While his hand wraps around it, he finds that he’s not fast enough, and another Peacekeeper strikes him down across the face with his baton, a move that sends him to the ground, almost immediately filling his sight with the color red. Fava begins to wail in a fit of rage, tearing from grasps but it’s another figure who comes out next, helping bring Griffin to his feet.
Plutarch aims to deescalate the situation, calming the Peacekeepers over the situation and tell them to leave the children alone. Unfortunately, it’s not one that goes over well once the Peacekeepers share they’ve been meant to bring Plutarch in for questioning. In a rush, Plutarch is grasped, given enough time to knock aside the Peacekeeper holding Fava. He is grasped instead, as is Hudson, and the man yells for the other two to run. In an instant lacking thought but only drive, Griffin takes Fava by the hand and drags her away, darting and dashing away from the Peacekeepers. They’re able to distract them, running through different hallways until they’re able to get back to the track of the air craft. They’re the last to arrive. Griffin, pouring blood and Fava screaming in protest, both are sedated, and only minutes later, the air craft has left the Capitol.
When they look around, they take note that Aven, DeeZee, Hudson, Riggs, Emory, Astraea, Virgo, Ivory, Digit, Pearl, Auburn,, and Plutarch, are not around them. They’re back there. There’s a moment of silence and understanding that their sacrifice or their misfortune will not be in vain.
Heron, Bandi, Coco, Emerald, however, sit beside the rest of them, hands clasped tightly around someone that brings them comfort. It’s the end now. Or just the beginning of it.
Just a few hours later, when the rescue mission is performed, there are eager eyes waiting. No one has seen what has happened since they left, some seeing more than others, but no one knows for certain who will be coming up from that lift. As they take turns seeing, they can see the medical beds filled with a handful of bloodied bodies.
Those bodies are Zero, Abe, Harbor, Holly, Wren, and Tilsee.
The sun rises, as it always does. You’re in bed, or maybe you’re not. Maybe there was no moment for sleep for the night before the Quell. Things feel uneasy after the interview, but you have to bring your tributes to the shuttles. It’s there you’ll hug them, kiss their cheeks, whisper any last tips to them when they are then whisked away.
Your hands tremble, you’re not sure what this Quell is going to be, or what to expect. But you’re preparing yourself for great grief. There’s going to be a blood bath, you remind yourself. There’s going to be terrible atrocities you’re going to have to witness as your loved one does, and the loved ones of others. Some of whom will not make it out of that bloodbath.
You all linger in the communal areas, where you can watch, where you can try and get together sponsors for the ones you love. they’ve set out buffets of food but most of you don’t touch it, you’re just counting down the seconds until that alarm goes off, and everything begins.
OOC:
Welcome to Chapter 7, the final chapter, my friends. The moment that we’ve spent the last 14 months leading up to! While it’s not exactly going to be “fun”, I am very excited to get to the end with all of you.
I have kept this short and mostly as a means for OOC information. After this posts, I will post the Bloodbath onto Ceasar’s blog. This is going to be where I’ll post the updates, just to try and keep the main clean with large plot developments.
I am going to try and keep this chapter short and quick. I think we’re all excited to move onto Ablaze, and given that this chapter will be very tough for characters, I don’t want to linger on things for too long. We’ll have a little over six weeks to write this chapter and I would like to keep that date firm.
So while the bloodbath comes first, updates on the Quell will be random, and feature different characters mentioned. In this chapter, it’s more important to focus on crucial connections and plots, and it’s very unlikely threads will be finished because of Quell updates, you might want to move on to new developments. You can start/end/drop/hc threads at any point, and of course, have multiple threads with the same characters.
I plan to post updates every 10-14 days, sometimes with smaller ones sprinkled in. Not every update might cause you to want to pivot threads. Sometimes they might mention characters your’s have nothing to do with. So this chapter will definitely look different for different characters and not everyone will be starting/dropping at the same times, and that’s okay! This chapter is honestly what you make of it.
Also, if it’s something you guys are interested in, I have some elements of the Quell which could be impacted by characters. If folks are interested, we could test some elements listed in the RPG doc you have all recently read. Specifically, we would focus on the “using your stats” portion. However, we would leave out stats for the time being and just try NPC interactions to try and buy sponsors to help save a character, or characters, in a time of need.
If this is something you’re interested in, I can go more into detail at that point. If you’d rather focus on the dash and reacting to what’s happening, that’s a-okay too!
Thank you all for sticking through this with us here, and wanting to see this come to it’s end. I’m so excited to close this portion of our story and begin the road to Thirteen, and peace for our characters.
“Welcome everyone to the 75th Annual Hunger Games!” Ceasar addresses his crowd, friendly and excited as always. The crowd cheers, as if last night’s interview of tenseness had not even occurred. As if everything had been cleared away. But there’s not time. Caesar recites his speech over this harrowing year, and begins off with introducing District One’s tributes onto the stage.
District One
Gold is asked about his dead uncle Tiberius, who was murdered as a means to protect the Capitol. Says some weird shit about following in his footsteps. Looks kind of sweaty and uneasy.
Saffron says nothing important other than laughing with Ceasar about her dress and being a beautiful woman blah blah blah
District Two
Osa talks about her sister. She’s tense and looks a little uncomfortable but she’s too beautiful for Caesar to notice. He ever dares to call her more beautiful which makes her look panicked before praising her sister , saying she’d just like to do the same as her.
Terra doesn’t have much to say, but Caesar brings up her connection to Slate. She says she’s watched him grow into a fine man. Caesar asks if she means that now, knowing he seems to have drifted paths. She reiterates that she is proud of him, even if she worries for him. She is stoic, and her hands still tremble the way they did at the reaping.
District Three
Zero looks like a walking computer, lights like buttons flickering as he breaks down complex theories to Caesar about relativity. Caesar cuts him off to ask if working under Silver was worth it if he might not be able to carry out his research for science. Zero says he never regrets a moment of his life devoted to working under Silver.
Citron has a hard time sitting in their designated chair. There’s long silence as they stair out into the audience. Caesar looks physically uncomfortable until he asks what it’s like to be part of a Game after watching for so long. Cintron says they find it ironic to be in a Game following the previous win. Caesar inquires further, and Cintron confesses they knew Hudson’s parents when they lived in Three. That they ‘ran in the same circles’ until one day they didn’t. They say at least this time they’re happy to die because of an Overgrove.
District Four
Marina exudes bubbly energy, laughing alone with Caesar and playing up the cutsie energy that hadn’t exactly been seen in moments passing on the way to training. She plays up her grief of her broken relationship, saying if she wins, she’d happily take her District Four lover back, and that they can have the most beautiful wedding.
Abe enters the stage and sits straight, while looking uncomfortable in the position. Caesar asks how a ‘big man like him’ has been doing in training. Abe confesses that he spent most of his life training, he was spending a lot of time making friends. The crowd awes, but Caesar laughs, telling him that now is not the time for friends. Abe confesses that he hadn't had more opportunity for friends growing up, becoming a Career in order to feed his brother, now is the perfect opportunity to make up for lost time. The crowd awes, and Caesar says his brother must be proud.
District Five
Nilla confesses she’s not entirely sure why she’s here. A fact that both her and her district-mate have talked about. She says, ‘what is love really? and how does the Capitol know what love is meant to look like if neither her nor Beck have been in the lives of their families for years?’
Beck doesn’t say much else, He follows his own path of silence. What Caesar points out is a contrast tot he songbird that is his sister. He just laughs. The only thing he says is ‘you took what was our’s and walks with his head high from the stage.
District Six
Cabil is morose, looking at his hands. Caesar asks about his girlfriend, his very own mentor Harquin, but Cabil says that he doesn’t want to exploit his love. What they have is pure and special and it’s not meant to be shared with the world. The crowd softens and Caesar relents, asking if he’s had any changes in perspective since training, Cabil says that he thinks love is the only thing keeping people together. That love is expansive. He looks to the camera and says ‘love will keep you fighting’ to which the audience screams with affection, but it’s hard for him to hide the anguish in his face as he walks off.
Tilsee holds herself with strength. She is composed and she is put-together. Caesar compliments her on her composure and Tilsee says she’s used to adversity. Caesar asks what her plan is for the Quell and she says her goal is to do what she’s always done, keep children alive. He asks if she’s been working with her son on this grand plan and she folds her hands together in her lap to say, “My son is brilliant. He’s doing his best to make sure this Quell will not be forgotten.”
District Seven
A peacekeeper helps Nettle to find her seat, wearing a beautiful shimmering gown. Caesar asks how she plans to make do in the Quell. She shrugs and confesses that while her body might not be able to carry her to the end, she will do her best to make do. She looks to the camera and explains that she suffered a tragic accident in her youth, making her unable to stand or walk for long periods of time. Sobs can be heard from the crowd. She’s vying for pity, though there’s not a tear in her eyes. The audience begins to beg for her safety but she’s ushered off before they can continue.
Harbor doesn’t soothe them much more. The crowd is silent as he sits, his hands on the table. There’s no one to interpret his words. Caesar asks what it’s like to be back in the Capitol, Harbor signs ‘Beautiful as always’ but the audience has no idea. Caesar asks if Harbor regrets what he’d done to wind up where he was, Harbor signs, ‘I only regret leaving behind the people I love. And not succeeding.’ Caesar watching his hands carefully before asking if Harbor is ready to die in the Quell as punishment for protesting against the Capitol. All Harbor does is stand, body growing stronger from the last two weeks eating properly again, training every day, and he walks closer to the stage, some begin to lean backwards, as if he repulsed them, others lean forward, captivated in their old muse. He extends an arm, the other placing on his stomach as he takes a grand bow, then turns, and walks off the stage, ending his interview minutes early.
District Eight
Darby speaks of her time as a midwife, helping to deliver hundreds of babies back home in Eight. Almost every tribute that had been picked in the time of her service, was a child that she had delivered. She was a caretaker to many of them after the fact, too. She tells Caesar she’s a caretaker to many of the tributes here. Caesar points out that might not be wise considering there’s only one winner. Darby raises an eyebrow to ask, “Will any of us be winners at the end of this?” Caesar laughs and looks to the audience to say that it doesn’t concern him, he’s not in this fight. She leans in closer and asks, “Are you sure about that?”
Caesar points out that both Darby and Chrysanthe are caretakers back home in Eight. He asks if there’s any correlation to that are the culture back home. Chrysanthe replies that no, there is absolutely no correlation. Everyone is in great pain in his district and Darby and themself do what any rational person would do by supporting them. There are people just like the two of them in all districts. Without letting Caesar continue, Chrysanthe looks to the television screen and says, “I’m hoping by being in this Quell, I can send a message to all the caretakers like myself that we won't have to keep doing this forever.” Caesar laughs, commenting how endearing it is to see someone for worker’s rights.
District Nine
Holly sits in a way that shows off her oiled legs. Caesar brings up her dramatic appearance during the reaping and Holly, ever the cool and flirtatious, tells Caesar she’s not a girl who gets wrapped up in love. That it’s complete bullshit she has to be here fighting because someone else chose to love her. He laughs, calling her a harlequin, but she gives him a flick of her hair and a laugh in return. How does she plan to win the games? She says she doesn’t. Caesar raises his eyebrows, asking her to elaborate. She says she’s met people far more deserving of survival and her plan is to make sure they see it to the end. He asks if she had to pick one person to win, who would it be, and in true theatric fashion, Holly grins, stairs at the camera, and says, “A girl never reveals her secrets.”
Compared to everyone else, Sage looks smaller in the chair, and she looks tired. But Caesar never brings up the elephant in the room. He asks her how she’s doing, she says she’s fine, he asks her what training’s been like, she stairs at her feet and says it’s been good learning many different skills. He asks boring, basic questions, and her energy begins to deplete. It’s an interview to forget. It’s an interview of a girl the Capitol hopes to punish.
District Ten
Bire and Ginger, the siblings-in-law who both don’t give any remarkability. Caesar asks Bire about his husband and the man gives painfully drab answers. When asks about the Quell, Bire states he plans to just keep his head above water. Ginger isn’t much better. She talks about being thankful to come to the Capitol in her lifetime and experience things. She tries her best to make nice with Caesar, which goes well considering many of the other interviews. She says she just wants to go home to see her garden again.
District Eleven
Parsley finds herself tearing up when talking about the legend of her father, one of the very first winners of the Hunger Games. The audience is captivated in her story, but she shares that ultimately, her father’s grief killed him twenty five years ago, sending the audience to dab tears off their face. She looks to all of them and says that she is the last standing figure of his legacy. It’s her own way to plead, don’t do this. Don’t tarnish legacy.
Birch also talks history. Talks about what a positive influence Riggs has been on his life. Caesar laughs directly in his face, finding it hard to believe that Riggs would be a stable figure for anyone. It causes Birch’s jaw to set and he doubles down, saying Riggs is far funnier than Caesar is. It makes the audience burst into laughter, as well as the interviewer, claiming that Birch is a funnier man than his uncle will ever be. Suddenly the interview is over and Birch hadn’t even really gotten a chance to talk about the Quell.
District Twelve
Gage is the first on the stage. His fists are clenched and he’s got bags under his eyes but Caesar comments how handsome he looks. He doesn’t give much response other than a nod of acknowledgement. Caesar wastes no time, he bellows out loud that his wife had given birth since the time of his reaping. The color is his face drains and he’s suddenly glued to the topic at hand. He asks if there’s a photo. Caesar shakes his head and declares only that it’s boy and he has been named Sprig. The man’s face grows red and it’s evident that he’s trying to hold back tears, but one leaks through anyways. Caesar then asks what he’s going to do to make sure he gets home to his new family. A question that is returned with a fired look when he says, “Anything.”
The crowd is met with a roar when Wren steps onto the stage. She is small as ever, wearing a dress that looks to consume her in her smallness. Harbor had gone before, met with no aid in his signing that the crowd is curious if they are to do the same with her. But of course, she wouldn’t be able to hear the words Caesar would say, so they bring someone, sitting beside her, who effortlessly relays his words to her, and echoes her words out to the crowd. Is she excited? She explains that she’s nervous, and wants to go home. The crowd coos. The forget this is a teenage and not some swaddling child but perhaps she was told to use that to her advantage. Caesar tells her if she’s nervous about her lack of hearing. She signs that she has many ears working with her, and she is not along. He says that he’s not surprised, that she’s quite popular. He inquires, how could she kill any of her friends? She answers that she doesn’t plan to hurt anyone in that Quell. The crowd makes sounds of shock, and she continues that she has never planned to hurt another living thing and she doesn’t plan to start now. Suddenly, she looks much older. Suddenly, she no longer appears young and frail. She glances towards the crowd, signing one last time. “I won't let you take from me.” But the interpreter doesn’t speak the words. Caesar gives her a kind smile and she returns, and she walks tall, and firm, back to her family behind the curtain.
One February 21st, 2021, Embers RPG had posted their very first acceptance, with the first event (President Snow’s party celebrating Fava & Hudson’s Victory) posting the following day.
Now we’re here, one year later, and 12 months worth of trauma and angst that we’ve pushed onto our characters. That’s something to celebrate, right?
I think that’s something to celebrate in it’s own right. Truth be told, when I made Embers, it was sort of just a sudden passion project I took on after a semi-drunk evening thinking about an alternate take on the Catching Fire Quarter Quell. Then it just kind of stuck. Which is wild and extremely unexpected. For such a niche little approach, to have folks want to see this story through has been such a creatively enriching time. So thanks for sticking around and wanting to see how this new approach unfolds, and here’s to hoping that we get the opportunity to see what the future brings even outside of the Embers storyline.
Below you’ll find some squishy little messages to read for each of you.
Thanks for all you do and bring to Embers,
Chloe
For Dee,
Easiest to start here because Embers certainly wouldn’t have even happened had it not be for you enabling my little Hunger Games moment. Your ideas and opening up your little noodle with me really helped bring this concept to life. And deciding to take Fava really did bring the strength we need to the table. The girl on fire that everyone follows behind. I would lay down my life for a revolution lead by her passion and strength. Flaws and all. Anyways, love ya, thank you for bullying my to make this happen.
For Jess,
I’m not sure if this is a conscious choice or not, but Jess, I am so thankful for the warmth that you bring to the dash. In the twelve months of character grief and strife, it’s been a pretty common staple that, even with it’s own angst, there has been so much hope and radiance coming from your characters (even with lots of struggle and while Twig might be a leel bit of a weenie, we still love him) and I know that that’s going to continue in the future. Even if we punish them and hurt them even more.
For Roman,
I know that for a Hunger Games group, we don’t actually talk Hunger Games very much. But honestly, the way you, Roman, have taken this world and this plot and helped to flesh things out has been so inspiring. Back when I was still doing the input docs, your ideas were always so good, and I know I had used a couple of them to help with keeping things fresh. It’s helped keep everything alive and keep things interesting and I’m thankful to have had your noodle be part of this journey with us.
For Nik,
I know you gave the idea of doing this lil love letter, but we know there’s so much more that you do here that I’m beyond thankful for. Embers would not be here today without you, without your passion and without your hype for everything. Moments when I had no muse, or exhaustion, or wanted to part ways, talking to you always breathed back life into why I loved this project, and this story. Even now, in the moments when we do talk, I get so excited for what’s coming next, and the new ways we plan to make our characters miserable (for a better future ofc). Truly, you have done so much and I am so thankful to have you as a writer and a collaborator in all of this.
You’re all amazing. I know we’re a little group now but there’s strength in small number or whatever people say. Embers has had it’s ups and downs and there’s been a great deal I’ve learned about myself as a writer, as an admin, and as a person. This isn’t an experience I would trade for another.
I’ve said it many times here, but I’m beyond thankful to have met you all and to be here writing with you as we near the end of our story. And it’s very exciting to me that you guys want to stick around for the next leg of things. Here we go. Viva la revolution!
There is no rest, is there? It seems to be one thing after another, you think, as you begin your next day. The tea party has come and gone and you’re fearful of what things come ahead, but you go along no less.
Perri Honimoore is gone, that’s something you come to hear from whispers, and it seems wherever you turn, there’s a Peacekeeper at your heel. The only place you truly have solace is in your own private you, or a secret spot here or there. But the dinner table now has company, you find. All you can think is her poor child, now stranded and having to go in the Quell, without the comfort of her ow mother to pull her through.
You’re not sure what she could have done to get there, but you’re hoping it was worth it. Whatever it was that brought her demise, you hope it would be for the best.
But there’s no time to dwell, because you’re reminded that today is a busy day. The Quell is in two days. The clock is ticking. Today is your interview, tomorrow is the tributes’. You have to find something good to wear or no one will take you, or your tributes seriously, and you have to prepare for what sorts of curveballs will be thrown at you.
[FOR CHARACTERS ASSOSIATED WITH PLUTARCH]
As you’re trying to get ready, to prepare yourself for being on national tv, there’s a letter that sits beside your bathroom sink. How did this get here? There’s no time for questions, but you make sure the door is locked before opening it to read the contents.
Things are set in place, but it’s not without great loss. We can’t fly any closer to the sun or we’ll all fall. With our fallen friends, the threat is too high and we must keep our heads down. We can only guarantee our safety if we play by their game long enough to think they’re safe. Be ready to take action on a moment’s notice, and make sure the same goes for those you want to be safe.
Be careful who you talk to, & where.
OOC:
WHEW IT’S COMING UP FAST! I did tweak the timeline a little bit because it’s crunch time and we gotta start the Quell soon. Chapter 6 will cover this two-day period, and then chapter 7 will be the Quell, which will be the final chapter for Embers.
If you’re not sure if your character received a note, just ask and I’ll let you know!
For the interview of your characters, there are two options you have which I will list out below, and it’s up to you guys what we’ll do (which there’s an even number of you now so I hope it wont be a tie yikes)
OPTION A: ASK MEMES. In this option, we will conduct the interview like an ‘honesty hour’. Everyone can send each other questions and it will be answered as if they’re coming from Caesar on National TV. The pro to this is it gets us all involved, the con is that we all have to carry our weight to come up with hard-hitting questions.
OPTION B: SELF PARA. This will be something you will collaborate with me on, one-on-one, to brainstorm some absolute fuckery that your character will go through. Pro, it’s a lot easier and more reliable for some juicy shit to go down. Con, you do have a write a whole ass self para and it doesn’t have as much involvement.
Please reply to this post with either A or B, which will also count as me knowing you read this post. These are totally optional but ya kno, it’s fun, and it’s a good way for development.
For the tribute’s interview, I’ll probably write up something myself which will be like a plot update.
Reminder that it’s important what your characters do and say and where they’re doing it. More important now than ever to state where your location is in your starter, and to make clear note if that location changes at any point in the thread.
I’m probably forgetting stuff so please ask if there’s anything you’re confused about.
THE FACTS
Start date: Right now. You have 24 hours to post final hcs for previous threads
There was an announcement to be made. The Peacemakers around made sure to hurdle that labs. Potentially to their slaughter but you can never be so sure. All that’s certain is Manoff stands beside Claudius, for Caesar was much too busy to attend an event such as this.
Claudius, a man of short stature compared to the bulky Manoff, begins to speak first as all attendees find the seats at their tables.
“Everyone, it is such a pleasure to see such lively faces surrounding me at this moment. You are truly a sight to behold.” His hands clasp together. he’s really hamming it up, there’s no doubt about that. “Now, I know that times are tense, my friends. I know that these have been trying, and we thank you for all the support you continue to give the Capitol. Given the recent circumstances of events, we are so happy to announce that we have a surprise for you. And who better to give you this surprise than our newest presenter and personality, Manoff Valey!”
The crowd claps as Manoff thanks Claudius, stepping forward to stake his claim. “Now, we know that there’s been some… falloff, in regards to our stylists. We thought it would simply be unfair to let districts fall short in the most important aspect coming up. We know that the interviews are in just two days, so I found two of my brightest peers to help out in that fact.” His smile is wry. You’re pretty sure the man has never made a genuine smile in his life. But as he extends his hand, he grins wide, as if beckoning a wild animal, or two, into the pit of lambs.
“May I introduce you to a pair I think you will be rather familiar with. Please welcome Crane and Heron Crestfall.”
Everyone around you claps. Some are even so excited, you imagine them to be frothing at the mouth. Some stand. You end up having to do the same just so you can see who is coming to join Manoff where he stands.
Two tall women, with platinum blonde hair, arise from their seats, holding hands, as they join beside Manoff. They only break their connection so they can join him at both sides, wrapping an arm around him. They don’t stop smiling. They make it look so easy, so beautiful. They have their own elegance to them, in a way you recognize doesn’t come easily to most in the Capitol. They seem the representation of what everyone is trying desperately to recreate.
“These two have been such amazing upcoming designers, I know you all love following their journey. It’s not everyday you see an amazing set of twins taking on fashion. And while I would have loved to keep them together so they could use their unmatched brains, we need as much help as possible. Heron will be helping with with District Five’s fashion, and Crane will be working with District Twelve.”
Another round of clapping and unhinged cheers as people begin to unravel with excitement over the glowing twins, effortlessly beautiful and long, waving, blowing kisses, and extending silent gratitude.
You can’t ignore the sickening feeling in the pit of your stomach as the women look across the crowd, as if seizing up their feast.
OOC ----
Oh boy! We’ve got some fresh faces around.
Just as a reminder, you’ve got a week to finish up tea party threads and to get ready for the Chapter 6 drop happening next Monday. I’m posting this early to give you guys some time to potentially hc reactions with others or write up a quick reaction of characters themselves. If you want to plot some bg for these two, just hit me up and we can come up with something! They are now listed in our doc so you can see more deets about them there.
And wanted to give a heads up as well that it is very important to think carefully about where threads are, and the choices being made. I’m going to do my best to keep up with replies and be reading everything, but you never know who might be lurking, what might be bugged, and what consequences your actions might have....
Things have been tense to say the least. No one really knows how to handle things since the wedding reception, and the disappearance of some of their peers. Some have come back. Others... have not.
But while there are whispers, and everyone is uncertain of the future of things in the Capitol, those within power have plans, and they are sure intending to make sure everyone knows exactly what they’re meant to do.
So you wake up to find an envelope on your vanity, or on your plate before breakfast. IT has the beautiful gold symbol for the Capitol and there’s that familiar feeling in your gut as you pluck it from it’s place.
It’s straight to the point. No flowery wording or any special hiding text. It’s a simple invitation to a garden tea party that afternoon. Attendance is not optional. It doesn’t say that, but it goes without implication.
Everyone will be there, the president’s lackeys, those that you have been whispering rebel notions to, and everything in between. You have no idea what to expect, but what is for certain, is that there will be eyes on everyone.
OOC INFORMATION
First off--- WELCOME BACK EVERYONE !!!
Nik and I are so excited to get back into interacting with everyone, and we wanted to make a special event just to do that. So here’s a fun little tea party where everyone can wear pastel and be super uncomfortable eating tiny sandwiches and cookies.
The plan is to keep things a bit simple for this event, I have plans for the end but for now, we’re just getting back into the groove so I don’t really plan to throw any curveballs.
So everything’s pretty simple! I encourage you to make open starters, too, to try and interact with characters that are outside character connections to further try and stir the pot. But the most important part, just stir the pot and try and have fun. We’re keeping it loosy-goosy and we’re up for feedback and suggestions so just go with the flow. I’m going to have end date be tenative as always, and if we feel we need more time, we can certain push it back.
The morning after the wedding is a quiet one. It starts like any other. No one mentions what had happened at the end of the reception, and things might be a bit tense but that’s not stopping anyone from trying to live their lives. Even you know it’s best to keep your head low for the day and keep with what you’re doing.
And training goes on, the tributes gather and alliances are hard at work but it’s hard to tell what any of them do behind those closed doors. Meals are had and it’s like thinks are getting back to normal.
Then it’s the evening and Caesar gets on television. He’s got an announcement to make.
“Stay tuned this week, we’re doing something very special for you Panem residents. Watch as we spend the next few days interviewing your favorite mentors, stylists, and escorts! This Quarter Quell has been unlike any other, and we know you’re chomping at the bit to see what your favorite icons are up to. I certainly know I am. And it all leads up to our interviews with this year’s tributes!” He gives a bellowing laugh and the camera pans out from him, giving the date and time details.
You’re now being forced to go back on television, to present yourself. Right up until you have to send out your tributes to the masses. It’ll be a nightmare.
So you wait for your turn. But as the days go by, you notice that you haven’t seen some people around. Cinna has been missing, as have Silver and Slate. No one has see any of them since the night of the wedding. Most people are too nervous to say anything too loud, so their worried are hushed under whispers or kept behind closed doors. However you feel about it, it’s clear that them not being here is sending a clear message to the rest of you.
No one is safe anymore. No one, no matter where they come from, can be kept from the Capitol’s watchful eye.
But then you wonder... did any of them have anything to do with what happened at the wedding?
OOC ----
Uh oh... some people are in trouble. Whatever will you do!
More information about the interview will come out this weekend (with a poll for when to host it). It will serve as an honesty-day type situation. The only thing is, the answers your characters give will be broadcasted to the entirety of Panem, and the rest of their peers! Meaning secrets can be spilled, or even... sneaky information can be relayed to knowing ears muahah.
I will do a group-wide specific honesty hour question list (I will likely take questions from the first one) if you have suggestions for things you’d like asked, please send them here! While there will be the list of question, specific questions will also be encouraged, to get deep into the nitty-gritty! I’ll be trying to come up with some myself but you can jump into the madness yourself!
Now onto the good stuff.
As I mentioned in a previous statement, the way Embers is structure now will be a little different. There are really only going to 6 chapters total for the game, but chapters will be much longer. Chapter 5 will last around 6 weeks, if not more depending on how thing progress.
A lot will happen within Chapter 5. It’s crucial you are talking to everyone behind the scenes to plot and hc with one another. I can almost guarantee you that no thread will naturally reach a conclusion unless you intend to have an extremely short one. I intend to get a lot of characters wrapped up in some messes in this chapter and you will likely want your threads to stay up to date with developments.
I just ask that you cap your threads off with your hc plan so everyone can see how the thread progressed.
I intend to keep the tribute interview night to be about mid-chapter. It wont be it’s own event but it’ll be an excellent opportunity since it’s everyone in one space together. Plus... who knows what’ll happen.
NPC threads will also function a bit differently now. Basically, I am no longer offering up random NPC threads with folks. NPCs from here on out play a specific and direct purpose to the plot and it’s very likely I will reach you directly to go ‘hey do you want an npc thread with X’ hopefully you say yes and we go from there. There might be a situation where I post a call for a starter with a specific NPC, but I am no longer just writing any NPC. Don’t worry, a lot of your faves will still make it to the dash.
As always, you know what to do with questions. If there’s anything I forget, it’ll go in the Sunday notes.
The reception has been a smash. Everyone has lived, laughed, and fulfilled the joy that it seems the whole of Panem desperately needed. The whole of the Capitol could party until Dawn, and the reception is nearing midnight, but things are still going rather strong.
So while party-goers are still sipping their drinks, dancing innocently to their music, no one notices the sudden shift in things at first. How the volume of the music begins to fade and there’s rustling about over the speakers like a light static. It’s just a few minutes before the sound is completely cut off.
The holograph projection screen turns on, illuminating a dark space, with just the outline of a person. There’s no defining details of it, just a shape that moves as it decides to speak, in a voice that layered with heavy voice filters. Undistinguishable in any regard.
“Citizen of Panem...” It booms into the room, and there’s a startled, or scared scream from the group, from Capitolites who have never been subject to such sudden horrors before.
“Too long we have sat on the sidelines, watching our children and friends die. The horror we endure daily by your tyranny can no longer so on.” The words boom and echo in the banquet hall of the reception, but there’s already peacekeepers flooding in from the doorways.
“So do not rest easy tonight... the rebellion is closer than you think.” There’s even a deep and reverberating chuckle after the words, the pride and security in their own words clearly evident. “We’re coming for y---”
The screen cuts out. In fact, all the lights cut out and everyone in shrouded in darkness apart from the moonlight pouring through the windows. Shrieks begin to come all throughout the room and bodies are starting to move frantically.
It’s only about thirty seconds before the lights come back up, only now, they’re not set to the ambient mood lighting of the wedding. They’re bright and intense fluorescent. The grand time of the party has come to an end.
“ATENDEES OF THE PARTY,” One of the general Peacekeepers boom from the head of the room, “THE RECEPTION HAS NOW ENDED. PLEASE EXIT THE PREMISES IMMEDIATELY.” And just like that, everyone is being heard out of the room, some nudges by the butt of the Keeper’s guns to get them moving faster. Some Keepers are already at work, trying to pick apart the sound system, trying to get to the bottom of their system hijack. there’s urgency and loud clambering voices as they try and speculate what happened, and the fear they feel for their Panem.
The rebels are not a friendly sort, it’s clear then. If they’re planning to make such brash and cocky statements, wont aren’t they willing to do?
OOC: As stated in the discord. You now have 24 hours to finish current threads, you may also post any self paras or hcs of what your character did or how the evening ended for them! Feel free to collab with other members if your characters did anything together. As always, ask questions if you like but a lot of questions might be answered in tomorrow’s CH5 drop, so you might have to hold out another day for answers.
The time has come. The two lovebirds of Panem, Fava and Hudson, are to be wed in the Capitol today. Everyone from the finest of the fine Capitolites, to Victors, to even the Quell tributes, have been invited to this massive event.
The wedding itself was a sight to behold. There were hundreds in the crowd watching as Fava and Hudson exchanged vows. One of the Capitol’s top singers sang an old love song which made many in the front seats cry. Fava and Hudson shared their first kiss as spouses, and doves were released with shots of fireworks into the night sky. Many called it the ceremony of the century.
Now it’s the reception. Food is plenty, a twelve-course meal with an endless bar leaving many patrons of the party toppling over, needing to take that blessed drink you find at every Capitol party to eat more. The dessert is left to the patrons. Hudson and Fava carve themselves the first slice of cake. The two laugh when Hudson smears frosting on the bride’s face. It’s the true image of romance and forever love.
The people are left to mingle, to dance, and to be merry. It’s the best time of the night, where the alcohol and food start to settle and people get far too comfortable. So how will the night play out for you?
OOC INFORMATION
This event is pretty straight forward. Functions very similar to Snow’s end of Victory Tour party. Everyone is there, including tributes.
Lots of things are going to be happening at this event so PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR SUBMISSION BOX IS OPEN! Because I want to keep things spread out over the the course of the weeks and so folks don’t get overwhelmed, if you receive something in your inbox, please post it (with a response or not, up to you of course) within 36 hours of seeing it. If you wont be able to post it within that time frame, that’s totally okay, just let me know. That way I can rework the schedule.
Feel free to post outfits for your charas! I’m going to try and remember to link some outfit templates in the discord so if you want to make edits you can!
REQUIRED TASK FOR EVENT: Suggested by Steph, I am requiring EVERYONE TO HAVE ONE (1) HAPPY THREAD. This def started out as a meme but it’s a good suggestions, especially with how terrible things have been, and with how terrible they will going to be moving further. I have no parameters in which you accomplish this, be is a ship thread or something else, I don’t really care. Everyone is required to have some joy though. I better see some happiness floating in the air of this joyful event! If your happy thread turns sad you will get rediculed and tomato-ed.
This event lasts two and a half weeks, and then we will be jumping right into Chapter Five. The end date of this event could potentially shift, of course, depending on how folks are feeling. But I feel two and a half weeks is a good amount.
Everyone loves in different ways, from partners to friends to family, there’s specific ways we want to see love come in. Be it the way you touch, to the way you listen. No way is better than the other, but one way is the right one for you.
Take the test, find out and see, what’s your hidden language of love?
OOC INFORMATION FOUND BELOW
This idea came from me because I think it’s sweet and really helps you get an understanding of how your character interacts in their deep relationships. Also, this one is pretty simple and light and you can do as much as as little as you want.
There are a ton of free quizzes you can take online, or just read the descriptions and pick which is best for your character. Otherwise, I suggest what is like, most “official”, on the website from the people that have published the concept of the 5 love languages. Plus, the quiz gives you percentages for all the categories so you can see how it divides up, like if you’re neck and neck with another one, or is you’re REALLY not a certain one.
You can find the link to the quizzes here. I recommend the partner one but I haven’t taken the singles one. If you wanna give it a try, go for it.
You can do as much or as little as you’d like for sharing ! You can make a little graphic, or write a little blurb for how it applies. Hell, you could just post a screen shot of your results. This one is definitely meant to be a more laid back task and just get us thinking about how our characters interact in their relationships.
QUICK INFO
Begin date: now
Date of completion: None
Required: No
Tag: emberstask
Please post in the ‘task’ channel on discord after posting
CONGRATS THEO, YOU’VE BEEN ACCEPTED FOR THE ROLE OF KAI BURIE
Be sure to look under the cut for acceptance details.
I am Shocked it took this long to get a pathological liar from the Capitol pool but I love the different flavor Kai brings to the table of Capitolite.
So excited to see what you do and how she molds w the rest!
Welcome to Embers! We’re excited to see you join the story of the uprising.
You have 24 hours to submit your blog to the main. If you don’t believe you can post in that amount of time, you have those 24 hours to reach out to an admin off-anon to ask for an extension. Be sure to check out the checklist page here! A post regarding the discord link, posting follows & intro, and opening times, will be released once acceptances have concluded.
CONGRATS STEPH, YOU’VE BEEN ACCEPTED FOR THE ROLE OF HOLLIS OVERSEE
Be sure to look under the cut for acceptance details.
You’ll do.... I supposed
Welcome to Embers! We’re excited to see you join the story of the uprising.
You have 24 hours to submit your blog to the main. If you don’t believe you can post in that amount of time, you have those 24 hours to reach out to an admin off-anon to ask for an extension. Be sure to check out the checklist page here! A post regarding the discord link, posting follows & intro, and opening times, will be released once acceptances have concluded.
It’s the morning. Technically day four on this train. The third day since the rebels announced taking over. You sit at the breakfast table. It’s hard to eat but considering your stomach has been trembling to get something to digest, you manage to keep down a roll and some eggs.
It’s not late into the morning when the train suddenly lurches forward. An unexpected move to say the least, and those you share the room with trip, stumble, shake, shriek from the sudden move. You watch through the window and the train is in fact going forward, not backward.
But there’s been no notice, what could it be?
It takes all of twenty minutes of movement before the intercom flickers on and a voice echoes all around you. A familiar voice. The dripping baritone of President Snow.
“Dear Capitol citizens, victors, and tributes. You will be happy to be informed that the rebels have been eradicated. Their attempt to disrupt this multi-generational tradition goes unshaken. But it is with my deepest sorrow to report that our very own Tiberius Farlock has perished. A valiant warrior in life and in death, we are presumed to believe that he died defending the train against rebels, and they took his life. He will not be forgotten, and we will seek retribution for our loss.” There’s a pause, and a semblance of a cough is caught from the other end before the com flicks off just for a minute, before clicking back on. “In a matter of just a couple hours, you will arrive in the capitol, and the chariot ceremony will take place. Training will begin in the morning. And remember, citizens.” It feels like his voice drips, as if he’s leaning closer into his device, the words even crackling from being so near. “Panem today. Panem tomorrow. Panem forever.”
And the com clicks off.
Next thing you know, you’re pulling into the Capitol. And it’s time to get ready.
[IF YOU WRITE A CAPITOL ESCORT OR STYLIST, CLICK HERE.]
(( If you don’t, and you like secrets, don’t read it. If you don’t care, feel free to. ))
OOC ----
Everyone is back in one spot right now! You have all been unleashed! Now to get into the absolutely info dump that this ooc will be.
Just to kind of lay out time-frame wise. It’s up to you what you want to do with the Chariot ceremony. I really had zero ideas of how to turn that into something. Otherwise, you can get into the writing of the following morning (the first Full Day) of being in the Capitol. Otherwise, from that, it will just be train days.
Which, I will be doing some tweaking from canon. I believe in the books training is just a single week. I’m turning it into two so we have more time to write in this timeframe before the Quell begins. At this current moment, just work with the first week as your timeframe. I’m not sure if I’ll do another drop for it, but as I eluded to before, a ton of things will drop in the midst of this chapter so safer just to keep everything in the earlier part of the timeframe.
As I said, interact with whoever you want, post opens, too, if you’d like. I mentioned in Sunday’s note that I’m going to try to “randomly” pair characters together who are outside of typical circles in different situations to help encourage other lesser found connections to be involved.
Don’t ever hesitate to want to interact with an npc. I really enjoyed being able to write them and have threads with them. But keep in mind that npcs have stories and their own agendas as well. It might benefit you to interact or try to get to know an npc outside of the ones you’re connected to. If you ever want an npc thread to to plot with an npc, let me know.
Training will begin and of course, no one will be inside that training room other than the tributes. But ally-ship is a very important element to the Games. If you want tributes to try and form ally-ships, plot it out with members and then come to me and let me know. Of course, ultimately it is the tribute’s choice on who to be allies with but you can certain have a thread or we can hc that your character is trying to have that influence.
As a result of the quick time event we had on discord last week, Swann has not been seen since the early morning of the day the train was taken back by the Capitol. She had been gone for the entire duration of that day, missing the chariot ceremony. She was also gone for the first full day of being in the Capitol. She will come back after that. She is gone for approximately 48 hours. I know the chat brought up a rescue mission but there wouldn’t be enough time in the hustle and bustle to be able to try and save her. Del will be releasing a self para sometime this weekend which will share where Swann has been in this time.
From the poll, it seems like you guys would like another form for character directions. I’ll get that up this weekend. So definetly think about things you’d like to see for your muses, things you’d like not to. I will also be added a new question regarding secrets, so think of if you character has any secrets that they know, or that they don’t know that you’d like to play around with.
I will mention again, please make sure your submit is OPEN. For reasons.
Letters. They’re intimate. They’re special. Most importantly, they’re safe from lingering ears. Over the years, letters have become such a personal thing to express your concern and love from those who might not be so close to you.
What are those letters you’ve written? How much did you confess? Or do you whish you’d said more?
OOC INFORMATION FOUND BELOW
We’re starting it off simple yet gut wrenching. I believe someone mentioned this in the most recent feedback for so thank you! And on top of that, you guys had been saying you wanted more chance for flashback threads to solidify previous connections. While I would love that, it might be a while before I can provide that opportunity again. In the meantime, here’s a letters task!
It’s pretty straight forward, it’s just your character writing letters to those important to them. Could be NPCs, could be characters in-game. It’s all loosey-goosey.
This is 100% optional, and there is no dead-line required to finish it. I would just ask you challenge yourself to write letters for multiple characters, and use this as an opportunity to flesh out less developed connections. If you choose to do this, please don’t just write one letter for your closest connection (though we’d love to see it, please try and write in addition to that one)
QUICK INFO
Begin date: now
Date of completion: None
Required: No
Tag: emberstask
Please post in the ‘task’ channel on discord after posting
