WEEK THREE: EXECUTION

[saturations]

EXECUTION: TRIAL BY COMBAT

Sunday morning starts peacefully enough, until around noon, when alarms start going off on your phones. The dreadful noise is accompanied by a reminder of the execution taking place in the Central Node. You can snooze the alarms at first, but they begin to get a little more insistent. If you're being stubborn, you can probably hold out until exactly 1 PM, when an archway opens right in front of you and pulls you in.

Today the Central Node is eerily quiet and empty. There are a few blankets laid out on the grass for those of you who wish to sit instead of standing the whole time. No refreshments have been provided, but the Residents are already there waiting for you.

As the last person enters the node, an enormous archway suddenly opens. This archway once again leads to an area which is pitch black inside, with white and grey dust falling softly like snow. The chilly air feels even colder than before, and you instinctively know you must not approach it. If you try to push through anyway, something is blocking your way. Smaller tears to the same space open in the air, at the very least. You can see what's happening, even if you can't follow.

Because - once the archway is open, Percy and Vax'ildan alone will begin to walk through as though drawn. All you can do now is watch and wait.

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EXECUTION

[saturations]

[daggering]

[ what needs to happen, will happen.

for vax'ildan, when his feet keep moving when the rest of the world stops, it comes with a sense of relief. he walks with his head held high, his expression betraying not an ounce of any of his emotions; dressed in the deathwalker's ward, he doesn't spare a look backwards as he keeps moving.

stepping into the archway, the place is pitch black and cold, like ice. vax turns his head to look at percy, finally, and something appears in his hands - a paintball gun.

familiar, from the last 'combat', maybe. it's almost funny, because of course it's a gun. vax looks down at it, at the unnatural way it feels to hold it, and then up, at the person who invented a weapon like this in exandria, who feared its spread for so long. ]

Percival. [ vax says, voice just loud enough to be heard by the audience.

it's just testing the waters, for now, in this ice cold, black pitch void. standing here with percy, it feels more homelike than it should. ]

PEANUT GALLERY

[saturations]

[ Everyone, your feet are frozen for the time being. You can talk and hold hands or whatnot. This includes your Residents, who seem to be present this time. ]

[petalbursts]

[ this does not come as a surprise, but ruby still hates it! hates it so much!!

she's beside jiuqing, hand holding on tight to hers. ]

...it has to be this way, but...

[ frowns ]

[godcards]

[ just vibing and laughing at nothing. ]

[fleshedout]

[She's not surprised. It reminds me of a duel she saw, once upon a time. it feels like ages ago. Two men, standing against one another, ready to fight to the death. She mutters.]

The "true man's world", huh...

[Her hand clenches into a fist at her side, but relaxes. Her gaze is like steel.]

[countermeasures]

[jiuqing is here, her hand in ruby's, staring straight ahead at the execution. the outfit she's wearing is covered up decently well by the blue coat she's got on, which hangs significantly longer on her than it did on its original owner because he's much taller than she is.]

[meteion]

[ Meteion is here, frowning as she watches on with an anxious look while her long tail feathers swish just as anxiously. she still has on that familiar cozy-looking coat with her hood pulled over.

she seems to frown even more when it's both Percy... and Vax that walk through. ]

[thejkdefense]

[There's November, sunglasses and all, watching with his usual indifference at the pathos of everything. It's time to see if, as he thought, death by combat is truly the kinder alternative to the other executions]

[pura]

[... Well, this is not unexpected.

Nogiku makes sure to take the pressure off her injured leg before they're frozen, and settles down to watch.]

[gogoghostpowers]

[ Well. Danny is here, sitting on the ground with his knees drawn up, purposely facing away from the archway and percy and vax. He stares resolutely ahead in the opposite direction. ]

[allomantic]

[well, it's not like she didn't expect this, but.

she's standing and watching quietly with her arms crossed as percy and vax go to enter, both her posture and expression incredibly tense. her fingers dig into her arms.]

[9mon]

[They said this was how it was gonna be, after all.

He's curled up, head tucked between his knees so he doesn't have to watch.]

[ktiseos]

[there is, maybe, the faintest bit of relief in his expression when it's vax. at least at first. it's very brief, and he's definitely tense as he watches this begin, his arms folded.]

[experimint]

[ oof

thank you percy for not being a coward because she has been extremely curious how the combat option would be. but she's here... frowning... ]

[chevaliered]

[ well, they're here. crow doesn't really react when it's vax that's called up -- he'd have been more surprised if it wasn't. but he doesn't seem pleased by the whole situation, as usual. ]

[theampirequeen]

[ sips a slushie ]

This is going to get weirdly personal without the prism even having to give us a play by play, isn't it.

[ darn it. ]

[aitou]

[YAMS IS HERE, probably holding hands with Kashuu as usual and watching with a serious expression on his face. It shifts into something of a frown when he sees the weapon, but he's quiet and observant overall.]

[disestablishment]

[ It really is time for heartbreak again. As usual Aymeric is here to witness. ]

UPDATE

[saturations]

[ As you all continue to watch, and you take sharp intakes of breath, or gasp out … you’ll notice tendrils of dark smoke that start to seep out of your mouth and nose. I’m sure that’s fine. ]

[disingenuous]

[ Roxana has been viewing this entire execution so far with an expression between placid and still waters, but the moment the memshare happens, she shuts it all down.

She continues to watch with cold impassiveness to see who will rise up. ]

[chevaliered]

[ well, with that final update: ]

... uh.

[brotograph]

[ they have been set free. while the smoke no longer is there, he's getting out of there quickly. making a prompto exit

OR NOT cause they be frozen for whatever is happening to malik. but after that he'll go. ]

[godcards]

[ Well! Wasn't that quite a show. Too bad no one died this time. Malik's been pretty quiet since Roxana shut him up, but something seems... different? ]
H-haha... HAHAHAHA_HAHA^HAHA_HAHA — !!

[ His body is wracked with laughter, convulsing with emotion he just can't contain anymore. It's just so funny? Why is this so funny. Pure, absolute, sheer delight in the wake of pain and tragedy. Tears start to leak from his eyes, which may be an odd sight to see on such a smug jerk, but it certainly isn't going to be the worst thing.

A pair of twisted rainbow horns sprout from the crown of his head, his hair changing to a mulicolored mane. A pair of brightly colored wings burst from his back. His earrings dangle from a pair of floppy, goatlike ears.

It hurts so much. But he's laughing, as grotesque as it is.

The sudden changes warping his body cause him to lose balance, and he stumbles out of his shoes - or grows out of them rather - as his feet have been replaced with bright purple cloven hooves. His nails, too, are a little longer and sharper and the same shade of purple. When all is said and done, his happy, bright new features are not at all dissimilar to this.

His manic, unbridled cackling echoes through the somber atmosphere. He starts to run out of breath, gagging and choking out the last few giggles. His body still trembles as he wheezes, and any sign of joy - no matter how twisted it was - gives way to anguished, ugly sobs.

Please only two or three people respond. ]

UPDATE ... 2!

[saturations]

[ The smoke that was previously leaking out of you is gone, drifted away in the breeze.

but instead, there's a burning at the back of your throat. When you open your mouth, it's full of ... pure liquid color, that dribbles down your face and into your hands if you try and catch it. you feel ill. unsettled, wrong. if you look at the creature malik has become too long, you produce even more of this vibrant, terrible color. ]