Action - Second Arena

[actually112]

Who: Aang and YOU
Broadcast: No
Action: Iskaulit
When: During the drift

[Aang has spent the last three weeks or so on 24/7 alert, hiding out in the desert and then hiding out in the trees and air ducts of the Iskaulit, waiting for some catastrophe that hasn't happened. It's driving him nuts. Is that what the Capitol is trying to do? Make him go crazy from paranoia?

Well, he knows the Capitol. He knows how to provoke them. If he does something really crazy, they'll retaliate, and at least he won't have to put up with this tension anymore. If there's no retaliation, then maybe, just maybe, the Capitol isn't as involved in this as he thinks.

He picks a lovely spot on the Iskaulit--out of the way, separate from the hustle and bustle of the most frequented areas, but still public and accessible. He carries out paint, rollers, brushes, and sets himself up like he's going to paint the walls.

Which is exactly what he does. He paints down a white undercoat in record time with the help of waterbending and airbending. Then he has a pencil, and he starts sketching out the bare bones of what he will paint. He blocks out the twelve different sections he wants to make, and then he starts writing.

He writes names. Name after name after name in each section, so many that Aang needs to balance on a ball of churning air to write them at the top of this planned mural. Each name is carefully, lovingly written, given the amount of respect and grace it deserves.

There are exactly 1,747 names. They are the names he memorized for his televised rebellion against the Capitol. They are the names of all of the Districter children who died in the Hunger Games.

Aang is tense as he writes, constantly aware of who is around him and what might happen, but his expression is stern and his mouth is fixed in grim determination. Come at him, Capitol.]

[OOC: Since The Games had lots of people AU'd in from other canons, feel free to assume that a name from your canon is up there if you like.]

Comments

[poisontippedcure]

[Rose nods, as she gets to work on the District 2 section of the wall. The name she writes isn't terribly fancy, but it looks nice, and she does work to add a few extra flourishes.]

There do seem to be a lot of names here. Which should I write next?

[The first part isn't directly a question, but it might as well be. Rose is curious, among other things, and more information from Aang couldn't hurt at this point.]

[actually112]

Next one is Rust Gallowbrand.

[Aang keeps his eyes on his work. It's hard for him to talk about this kind of stuff, but if she's going to help, she might as well know what she's helping with.]

All of these names belonged to Districter kids who lost the Hunger Games. They're all dead.

[poisontippedcure]

The Hunger Games? That doesn't sound pleasant.

[Especially if it involved children being murdered.]

[actually112]

No, it doesn't. They'd pick twenty-four kids from the Districts and then they'd put them in a big arena where they'd have to survive to kill each other. Last one alive was the Victor.

[And Aang got to watch all the archived footage.]

[poisontippedcure]

[What does she say to that? She's seen people die before, but mostly they were adventurers who accepted the risk when they joined the Scions. Not children.]

I see. That must have been very painful.

[actually112]

It was for most of the Districts. But for the Capitol, it was just... fun, I think.

[It's something Aang never really understood. Between being accosted by 'fans' on the street and hearing the reminiscences of the 'old Games' and watching the footage, it's clear that the vast majority of the Capitol has fun watching children die, like they're watching a play. Aang sometimes wanted to shake them and ask if they realized that this was real, that these were real people going through real suffering, but of course everyone knew it was real. It was just that so many of them didn't see why they should care.]

[poisontippedcure]

I suppose that's the case everywhere, isn't it? Governments that oppress their citizens. Governments that are blind to their suffering.

[It's a weird stance for her to take, but Aang's words make her feel guilt. Growing up, she was raised to avoid the conflict, regardless of who might be suffering. And now, even despite being a "hero," she still fought for very selfish reasons. Were it not for the people she cared for being at stake, it's likely that she wouldn't fight at all.]

[actually112]

Not everywhere. I've seen governments ignore the suffering of their people before, but it was nothing like this. Their suffering is just the Capitol's entertainment.

[He remembers Ba Sing Se and how the upper echelons of the Earth Kingdom left their rural citizens basically on their own unless they could draft them for the war, to the point where the Emperor didn't even know there was a war going on. But it's different in the Capitol. Where certain Earth officials were power-hungry, all the citizens of the Capitol actively reveled in the blood of unfortunate children for generations. It is horrifying to behold.]