this place is a circus [ruby 93rd oneshots]

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kap
Retired Staff

6,037 POSTS
Pronouns: they/them
last seen Jul 4, 2024 19:59:43 GMT -5

trans rights are human rights <3

this place is a circus [ruby 93rd oneshots] Mar 30, 2023 8:26:36 GMT -5

Post by kap on Mar 30, 2023 8:26:36 GMT -5

93rd Hunger Games
Day One
Post-Bloodbath

-

Things were much less exciting than Ruby had expected when it came to the so-called "bloodbath" at the cornucopia. No one even died, for crying out loud. Then again, many of the Hunger Games in the last several years, or perhaps even the past two decades hadn't had many if any deaths in what was meant to be the bloodbath. It was honestly quite disappointing.

Sure, there was bloodshed and chaos, but not quite enough for Ruby's liking. She drummed her fingers on her desk, thinking about what ideas she should bring to Chanel and Sloane later as suggestions for killing off tributes. After just a moment or two, however, Ruby was interrupted by the ringing of the phone that sat on her desk. Letting out an irritated huff, she waited a moment and then picked up the phone to answer it.

"Racnoss," she snapped out as she answered the phone.

"Yes, Ruby, I know who I'm calling." It was her sister's voice. Ruby rolled her eyes.

"Why are you calling? I'm busy," Ruby shot back, despite being, in reality, not all that busy. Had someone else been calling her, maybe she wouldn't have been as inclined to say she was busy when she wasn't, but her sister Darcy almost only ever called with negative comments or bad news.

"Cafferty is causing problems at the casino," Darcy explained. Ruby sighed. Of course Cafferty was causing problems at the casino. Gambling was involved, and everyone knew what an addiction he'd developed to that. It'd gotten to the point where he'd bet on practically everything and have outbursts if he lost more than he was comfortable with.

Not that he didn't have the money to handle his gambling addiction— he was still plenty wealthy. That just didn't matter to him. Any loss felt detrimental.

"What's he been doing now, then?" Ruby inquired.

"He placed a bet on how many tributes would die in the bloodbath and lost miserably. Ten he started trying to bribe his way into a payout despite the fact he was terribly wrong. I had to get security to remove him." Her explanation just frustrated Ruby further, both because her brother was out of line, and because he was probably going to take it out on her later for not making sure there were actual bloodbath deaths.

Way to go, Cafferty: getting kicked out of the family casino. That's exactly why Ruby had asked Darcy to run it while she was Gamemaking and not him.

"Sounds like it's taken care of, then?" came Ruby's response.

"I suppose so," Darcy sighed.

"Then I don't see why you're calling me." Ruby put the phone back on the receiver, ending the call.

She couldn't be catering to her brother's bets, and realistically, she probably shouldn't even be allowed to know what and who he's betting on. She'd have to tell Darcy and Cafferty later: communication among family would have to be cut during the Games. They'd have to handle their own problems, and Ruby would handle her own.

The next order of business was making sure tributes started dying, and soon.

-

505 words

kap
Retired Staff

6,037 POSTS
Pronouns: they/them
last seen Jul 4, 2024 19:59:43 GMT -5

trans rights are human rights <3

this place is a circus [ruby 93rd oneshots] Mar 31, 2023 21:19:05 GMT -5

Post by kap on Mar 31, 2023 21:19:05 GMT -5

93rd Hunger Games
Day Two

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The first day had ended, and with absolutely no deaths having happened. Not a single boom of a cannon had its chance to rattle the arena full of tributes. That was exactly the problem, too: the arena was full of tributes. Some of them needed to start dying if they wanted a victor in the next several days, and they needed to start dying now, or at least very, very soon.

Day two would need some bloodshed.

Luckily, as it seemed with the way that the tributes were moving through the arena, she and the other Gamemakers wouldn't have to redirect them quite yet. There seemed to be enough tributes in the arena for them to encounter one another by default— in a more natural means.

Two large alliances started to inch toward each other on the map, eventually meeting in the shallow stream for some bloodshed. She sent her beautiful half-woman, half-spider muttation after the other tributes in that area to give them a scare.

Another pair of large alliances began to fight each other at the koi ponds, and more muttations were sent after the other tributes in that area, too. Lastly, the Macrtromantulas were sent after the alliance of tributes who'd thought themselves to be alone when they decided to stay in the Zen Garden.

Ruby directed her Jorogumo to fight Niko and Ivy, who made the decision to team up on the mutt. It was entertainment for her, and she quite enjoyed it.

Watching the other fights off to the side, she saw as tributes cut into one another with words and with weapons, until eventually some of them started to fall. Calamity and Duke were the casualties of the day.

Apparently, Ruby had vastly underestimated how quickly Brennan and Dorothy could take down other tributes. Fatal blows came down on Calamity and Duke to bring them crashing to the ground.

Everyone else had survived their fights, including those fighting mutts. It was somewhat disappointing and kind-of unfortunate in her opinion, but she supposed it was enough for the second day in the arena. There would be plenty more in the days to come.

As the day's bloodshed came to a halt, tributes began running away from one another and patching themselves up. Some searched around them for new items, or received sponsorship if they were well-liked enough by the general public while also being deemed in need of such items. Ruby watched them all carefully, as if studying them.

Well, in a way, she was indeed studying them. She needed to learn their behaviors to learn how to best torment them all in the arena. Jotting down notes on a pad of paper as things unfolded, Ruby enjoyed observing. She enjoyed observing because it meant that later, she would have an upper hand when she actually got involved.

One tribute in particular did something that stood out to her, and she made a quick note on her notepad.

Interesting.

-

482 words

kap
Retired Staff

6,037 POSTS
Pronouns: they/them
last seen Jul 4, 2024 19:59:43 GMT -5

trans rights are human rights <3

this place is a circus [ruby 93rd oneshots] Mar 31, 2023 21:35:28 GMT -5

Post by kap on Mar 31, 2023 21:35:28 GMT -5

93rd Hunger Games
2:00am
The Night After Day Two

-

Ruby's phone starts ringing in the middle of the night. Looking over at the clock on her bedside table, she can see that it's two o'clock in the morning. She supposed it could be something important, so she picks it up. It's Cafferty on the caller ID on her cell phone screen. With a frustrated huff, she answers.

"What could you possibly need right now, Cafferty?" she utters into the phone.

"Hey Ruby, it's Cafferty," her brother's clearly intoxicated voice comes through the phone. He very apparently hadn't listened to a word she just said when she answered the phone, but that was beside the point.

"Yes, I know," she told him. "What do you need?"

"Somewhere to stay," he responds.

"Well, I can't help you with that. I'm staying at the Gamemakers' headquarters right now. You know that. Besides, I probably shouldn't be talking with you too much right now, with all that trouble you caused at the casino the other day."

There's a pause before Cafferty says anything else.

"Ruby, that's the thing," he says, drawing out the last of the words he says to her. "Darcy won't let me stay with her, and Pristilla's kicked me out for the night. Says I crossed a line or something. Lia and Raine... well they never answer their phones, and Trixton is still in the hospital... I have nowhere to go, Ruby."

There's another pause, and Ruby sighs.

"Call Raelynn. Tell her I said it's fine for you to stay at our place with her while I'm gone. You can use the guest room that's on the first floor."

Cafferty starts frantically thanking Ruby for allowing him the offer of staying at her house with her wife while she's away. Ruby has a feeling she'll get complaints from Raelynn about it later, but it has to be done for the time being. She isn't going to force her drunk brother to go find a hotel room, especially when he shouldn't be driving.

"Have her go to pick you up. No driving. I can tell you're too far gone for that," Ruby demands.

"Okay, I promise," Cafferty says quickly.

"Goodnight, Cafferty," Ruby says, hanging up the phone before her brother has the chance to say anything more. Sighing, she lies back down in bed and falls back to sleep almost immediately.

She needs her rest.

There are tributes to kill in the morning.

-

387 words