Round 1 - Preparation Stage

[gameannouncer]

Introduction
There was a drum roll and as you entered into this world. You are surrounded by cheering crowds, bright lights and cameras. You have just been announced as a tribute for a specific district and this begins your adventure into the Games Arena.

There is a lot to do before the Arena opens. The audience must be informed of all your vital stats so they can place their bets. Are you going to win because you're the strongest? Are you going to win because you're sneaky and smart? You won't see any of that however. The next few weeks are going to be filled with the following:

[Please thread below in any or all of the locations. It would help if the subject of the top level comment could list where the tribute is just so it makes it easier for other characters to tag in.]

Training Arena
There is everything that you could ever need in the training area. There are teachers around 24/7 who will be more than happy to teach you the skills needed in the Arena.

Such as: hunting, wilderness survival, tying knots, camouflage, botany, weapons use, general fitness experts and anything else you believe may be required.

It might save your life to go to at least one of these tutorials. There are also gyms and equipment which will help you focus on specific skills such as climbing, swimming and anything you may think of. 

In this Training Arena, you will have access to any weapons your character may have back home in canon. They will only be available in the training arena so you must leave them behind when you leave here and when you make your way to the arena. 

There are also public and private training facilities so you can choose whether you want to show everyone your skills or hide everything until the arena stage.

Rule: Any tributes that physically attack each other before entering the arena will be punished upon the games beginning. This is announced to the tributes as they are released to their own devices.

Publicity Shoots
It is up to your prep team to make sure the public love you. That's what they get paid for. As Battle Royale is school themed, you will be taking lots of school based photo shoots in the following uniform:


Look familiar? Well, in this game it doesn't matter whether you're in the white or black uniform so take your pick at whatever you think will look nicer. These will be the uniforms that you enter the arena in. This may be your last chance to look pretty and your last chance to be remembered.

Private Dorms
At the end of each day, you have your own room to retire back to. Each district has an entire floor to themselves and each floor has two giant dorm rooms.

There is room service for each dorm room and you can order whatever you want. Really, anything. You're about to go to your death so you might as well enjoy the remainder of your life. You are free to go to each other's rooms if you want to visit. Make friends, make enemies, or scout out your competition.

These rooms are state of the art. You have a large shower where it feels like the water is coming from multiple directions and a range of fancy soaps, shampoos etc. You can even choose to have a bubble bath if you want.  The bed is large and covered with the blankets and sheets your character most adores. There is also a giant wardrobe with any outfit you would like to wear available at a touch of a button.

Each tribute will also have 2 avoxes following them around when they are in the private dorm area to get them whatever they need and clean up after them.

Private Social Area
There is a living space with games, other hobbies and an eatery for people who don't want to eat in the solitude of their dorms. But why aren't you in the training hall trying to make sure you stay alive in the arena? This is where you'll find out the gossip of where you are, what's going on. You can speak to your prep team to learn about why you're here, what your role is and the fact that you're probably going to be dead in a month. And probably at the hands of the person eating at the next table and smiling innocently at you.

Other
You are welcome to create anywhere else you want to be. Want to watch a movie? Go ahead. Want to visit a library? Yeah sure. The Game Creation team have designed a little city for you to play in before you enter the Arena so if you are certain that an extra day in the training facility won't make you live much longer anyway? Might as well go out and enjoy yourself. It's on me.

Note: Wherever you are or whatever you're doing, there is a chance that your actions will probably get broadcasted to the public on TV.  

Comments

Private Dorms

[dancermai]

[At the end of each day, she finds herself back in her dorm room, alone and on the bed. Her legs pulled up to her chest, with her chin resting on her knees and trying her best not to cry. How did she get herself into this mess and why was Micchy here with her? He's always there. Always. But this wasn't where she wanted anybody from her home to be.

And the people she's met around the arena and other parts of the facility. A lot of them are so nice ... she...there had to be a way for them to escape right? To go back home...]

[grapeeater]

[Micchy knocks on the door, curling his hand unconsciously around where his Driver should be. Being without it... it's odd.]

... Mai-san? Is it... all right if I come in?

[dancermai]

[The knock on the door startled her for a moment and she takes a moment to wipe her eyes and try to compose herself. She glances quickly at a small mirror by her bedside table, it was obviously she's been crying but it was the best she could do to appear normal. With a click of another button nearby, the door unlocks and opens slightly so Micchy can enter as he pleases.]

Micchy....

[Her voice is soft but with a small note that she's trying to force herself to be upbeat and happy with seeing her friend.]

[grapeeater]

[He lets the door close behind him and hesitates, before crossing the room to sit in a chair. He doesn't want to get too close...]

It's okay if you don't... want to smile. This thing... is terrible. But I'll protect you...

[dancermai]

[She turns so that she's watching him now, her cheek resting on her knees as she bites down on her lower lip. Protect her would mean...]

You can't protect me Micchy...I don't want you to. You need to survive...and go back home.

[She wouldn't ever want somebody to die for her sake. Actually, trying to get Micchy through the arena alive was one of the things that she wanted to do.]

Tell everybody what happened...

[She paused for a moment and then taps on the bed signalling for him to come closer.]

[grapeeater]

... Mai-san...

[He hesitates, and then gets up to go sit on the very edge of her bed, turning to look at her.]

No. You're important. You can't die. You shouldn't. I...

['I deserve it', he wants to say, but doesn't.]

[dancermai]

[She definitely feels more comfortable just with his presence closer by. There is a small sigh as she turns her head now, staring towards the blanket on her bed rather than watching Micchy directly.]

No.

[Her voice was quite determined now when she speaks.]

You're going to stay alive, Micchy. I'm going to make sure...

[She was the new sub leader for Team Gaim and it was her job to make sure her team stays safe. That's what he would have wanted.]

[grapeeater]

Mai-san... that's my job.

[Something... doesn't feel right.]

I'm the one who's left... so it's my job to protect people.

[dancermai]

Left...?

[She lifts her head to look up at him, there was a large amount of confusion in her eyes.]

No..we...we were looking for Yuya. When did you...leave, Micchy...?

[She reaches out now and grabs onto the bottom of his top, searching desperately for the answer.]

[grapeeater]

[His eyes widen and his blood runs cold. No. She doesn't know. He's about to get up and leave but she grabs onto him and he swallows hard.]

That was... a long time ago, Mai-san. Yuuya...

[Should he tell her? It would hurt her, but... hiding it from her had only made things worse.]

Yuuya-san turned into an Inves. The... thing that Kouta-san first killed. I'm sorry. Kouta-san didn't know... and Yuuya-san was no longer himself.

[dancermai]

[There was a chill straight down her spine as she hears each word and time feels like it's slowing down. Her eyes widen as she stares towards Micchy, speechless for a moment.]

No...Yuya just...he...

He....

[Her voice cracked with the pain she felt and she shuffled closer to Micchy, now leaning into his back and clinging so tightly to his shirt that her knuckles turned white.]

Is....

[She forces herself to talk even though it's barely a whisper.]

Is Kouta ....okay?

[grapeeater]

[He sighs and leans into her a bit, stomach clenching.]

You and Kouta-san are both... alive. Safe.

[Better she doesn't know that much, at least. How is he even supposed to start explaining the Golden Fruit?]

Things changed... a lot. I'm not... entirely who I led you to believe I am, either.

[dancermai]

[She shook her head just slightly, the motion nudging into his back as she sniffed a few times and tried desperately to stop further tears from falling.]

Micchy is Micchy...I'll always believe in you...

[She took a slow shuddering breath before she spoke again.]

And...we'll get you home.

[tornaway]

[it's been a whirlwind of events since Elizabeth had first arrived. she's no stranger to brutality or even murder, but to have been brought here for the sole purpose of killing other innocents for the amusement of others? despicable. she'd tried to keep herself from getting attached to the other tributes, but... after a day or two of trying to be stoic, she can't stay silent anymore. they're all in this together, aren't they?

she should start with the person she shares the district she'd been assigned to; it's easy, for that reason, for them to run into each other a lot. as Mai comes around, Elizabeth quietly dismisses the avoxes following her—not with malice, but with sympathy...maybe even empathy—and approaches the other girl as she's on her way back to her room.]

Hi. Long day?

[dancermai]

[Upon hearing Elizabeth, she startles just slightly. Not really out of surprise that someone was talking to her but just in general as she was quietly thinking about the circumstances of their being gathered again. She musters up a smile and turns towards the other girl.]

Hi! ...Elizabeth, right?

[The one that had been summoned onto the stage right after her.]

I think just about every day has been long.

[She tries for a laugh but it comes out sounding rather hollow and forced.]

How are you holding up?

[tornaway]

That's the name, Mai.

[she gives the other girl a similarly fatigued smile; she knows what she's probably thinking. she's always had a knack for matching names to faces, even if she hasn't interacted with anyone all that much since arriving. at Mai's question, she glances away; she's not entirely sure how to answer the question. but she guesses speaking honestly wouldn't hurt.]

As well as any of us are, to be honest. Which is to say, well, not all that great. But I'm managing.

[she makes no mention whatsoever about their circumstances, even though she's more than aware of it hanging over their heads. how could it not?]

[dancermai]

[It appears that everybody was doing the same. Just take it day by day and hope that they make it through just that little bit further. Really, she was close to breaking down but with the help of a few others in the training arena, Mai was still managing to pull through.]

It's the best that we can hope for in this situation, I think.

[There was a short pause as she gathered her thoughts for a moment.]

Do you know any of the other...tributes?

[tornaway]

I don't. No one else from my world, and I haven't tried to get to know any of the others.

[she shifts a little uncomfortably. here she is, an adult (even if she doesn't always feel like it), facing off against people who are actual children? whether or not they're actually forced to fight in this twisted "game"... she's at a loss for what to do. but she'd rather not think about it now; still with her gaze off in the distance, she continues:]

I don't think I'd want anyone I knew here, anyway.

[is it bitterness in her voice, or melancholy? maybe it's a little bit of both.]

[dancermai]

[There is another soft and almost awkward kind of laughter. Really, there was a point in both of those answers really. Do you really want to make friends? And...why would you want to put anybody else that you love through this?

Not that Mai had a choice in the latter.]

You're probably right. It's hard when you're here with somebody from home. Knowing what's about...to happen.

[Her voice catches just for a moment as her thoughts stray to Micchy and how she has made a quiet promise to herself to keep him alive.]

I'm glad that you're talking to me, though. It's nice to have friends here, even if it's just for a short while.

[tornaway]

Friends...

[what a weird thing to say, she thinks. could one really become friends with people they might have to kill in less than a week? she ruminates on the word for a bit, before giving Mai a weak smile in return.]

Yeah. It's the least I could do. I haven't had very many friends before. I just wish the circumstances could have been... well, you know.

["not as morbid as they are" is what goes unsaid, basically.]

[dancermai]

[There was light laughter in response and she nods. She's said those very words recently to another tribute in the arena in fact. So many of the people here are so kind that she wondered for a moment as to whether or not the horrible makers of this show would get what they were looking for.]

I've spoken to quite a few of the other tributes and they're quite friendly so...I'm sure you could talk to any number of us before we...

[..get pushed into that arena. She can't bring herself to say it. She sighs quietly and shakes her head a moment.]

Some of them are really young. There's gotta be a way for us all to get home. Maybe a secret way that lets all of us to win together.

[tornaway]

[when Mai mentions that last bit, Elizabeth's attitude changes. it's not directed toward the other girl, of course, but there's a bitterness, a slow-building rage in her voice now.]

The fact that whoever's in charge of this farce would drag children into this is despicable.

[she says that well aware that those very people are probably listening into their conversation right now, but she doesn't care. let them know how she really feels about all this. it might come back to bite her in the ass when the games begin, but...

"a secret way" causes her to flash back to how she'd inadvertently opened that tear back in the training arena; she brings her hand up to stare at her palm. if she could figure out how to control those temporal anomalies again, could she figure out a way to have them all escape...?

... it probably wouldn't be that easy, not at all—for all she knows, the gamemakers might have their own equivalent of a Siphon to power her down—but it's an idea to keep in the back of her head. she closes her hand into a fist, shaking her head.]

[dancermai]

It's really strange, the way they all talk here. Like...this is a sport that everybody enjoys.

[She almost shudders at how excited some of them felt to be working towards their rankings. The scores which help people figure out which tribute will die first.]

I don't..think they understand anymore that some of us don't want to be a part of this.

[She wasn't excusing her prep team or anybody else that is a part of the games. Merely thinking about what they were like. Mai was actually beginning to like the members of her prep team. They were genuinely nice for her and wanted her to survive. Meanwhile, she slowly leads the way back to their dorms and pushes the door open now to her own room. She waves a hand at Elizabeth, inviting her in.

There was a moment where she watches the other girl curiously. Like she could almost see something click in her mind but as she doesn't say anything about what she's thinking, Mai doesn't probe any further.]

[tornaway]

[Elizabeth was about to respond coldly, to criticize the entire city for their attitudes toward the impending games. she'd like to feel sympathy for those involved in the games, like the prep teams, but there's just something wrong about the senseless bloodshed being... accepted, even admired, on what's basically a societal level. she's not exactly a stranger to the harsh reality created by fanatics like this, but... just what kind of world had they all been dragged into?

that line of thought is interrupted, however, by Mai's welcoming. the other girl's friendliness is such a stark contrast from the atmosphere of the situation before them that it actually takes Elizabeth by surprise. it almost reminds her of how she used to be, before she'd been exposed to the violent world outside her tower.]

You're all right with me coming in?

[dancermai]

Of course!

[She pauses for a moment, a little confused by that question.]

That's if...you want to keep talking to me and you'd like to come in. We can order some food if you want. It's been a long day, I think.

[The food was probably one of the great things here. Anything you want at a push of a button and somehow it's delivered so quickly. It's not much of a consolation prize for what's about to happen but at least it's something to look forward to.]