Prison World #3: Panultima (tw violence, torture, coercion)

[spoofer]

Characters: Ensemble Cast, maybe even you!
Summary: The third prison world in Xistentia is a terrifying subdimension where sentient people exploit each other in order to run technology that will fend off D.E.S.T.I.N.Y. The 'ruling' class, Primus, are bound to a system of coupling (see: fake dating!), legacy and nepotism, whereas the Servus are put through an elaborate media circus (see: Hunger Games). You're here to study this world. And perhaps even to free those captured.
Date(s): February 8-20
Warnings/Notes: Violence, torture, coercion

Panultima

You cursed your gods and died

The Primus Life

If you thought Earth was a tough neighborhood, welcome to Panultima. Here, life is sweet. At least, as long as you're one of the Primus class.

It's a sprawling city of wicked spires and elaborate canals, covered in a luminous, translucent shield. Rather than a circular planet resting in orbit, instead, it's a flat plane of matter suspended in space, the foundations of the buildings rooted in only a hundred feet of stone and unknown technology. But the vast majority of citizens care little for that. After all, the city has every amenity and experience one might desire.

Restaurants line the streets. Theater is at an apex in development, with a particular focus on integration of moral philosophical themes. Gondolas run the canals, whereas a railway races over the winding laser-track in the air. Fashion is diverse, colorful, characterized by wild shapes, patterns, and accessories. Food imported from worlds both thriving and dying across the multiverse. At the numerous colleges and institutes, premier technology and opera are under constant invention and reinvention.

COUPLE STUFF

Primus culture emphasizes couples. Trios. Larger groups of lovers than that, even. After all, with romantic love and loyalty to care for, and survival hanging on it... who has the time or energy to care about justice for all?

Not these guys!

In this world, the mission and pleasure roll together well. The implant picks up information, so your main job is to explore. Perhaps you and your partner might enjoy yourself a glow-in-the-dark cocktail in a smoky bar where a two-headed singer is providing the music, a tour of the massive shield generators in the sparkling complex. Or pick fruit from one of the hundreds of bonding trees in the city's central park— so named, because it requires successful completion of questions to "the newlywed game" for each before one of the luscious, sweet fruits is released from a vine.

THE SERVUS LIFE

But for the little guy, life is considerably shittier. Welcome to the arena, the fully manipulable bubble reality set up to torture the slave class. The emotions of pain, fear, anguish, and wild, adrenal victory.

Most days, it looks like a forest— incidentally, very much like Xistentia. There are dozens of hybrid creatures in it, most of which are edible, others toxic, several very dangerous. However, the ground below can change at any moment, turning into mud or belching acid baths. Or you might find yourself abruptly attacked by a bear with biological armor growing from its huge shoulders. The control room, operated by Primus, is concealed from view. Its role is to keep the environment challenging for those competing, shifting the settings of the place to advantage some and cripple others.

But the arena's programming isn't the only threat.

Instead, you have a motley host of macabre killers, other Servus locked up in here just like you. Some have survived in here for years, earning favor from audiences thanks to the amount of pure horror they squeezed out of their victims. Some of the better-known brands are the Bantam Butcher, a fallen angel whose first kills were those who took his wings, and now thrives on torture. The trapmaster seems to have control over environmental factors that rivals the control room. And the baker trio will eat the flesh from your bones if they catch you.

For infiltrators, the challenge is worse. Not only might you need to kill, survive, and explore the arena with your implant— but if you want to save the very same people who are out to murder you, how are you going to do that?

Breakout!

Several days into the mission, and that's when it happens-- the control room shuts down, under attack. And suddenly, there's pandemonium. Within the arena, some of the servus know immediately what this means— and they're willing to make a break for it, cutting each other down, crippling each other if it means that the Primus might have slower-moving people to contend with and allow them to escape. Others seem to have long since given up, failing to respond as the trees suddenly go dark and motionless, the birdsong dying into silence. After all, where is there to go? It's either D.E.S.T.I.N.Y., or to join the system that hates them, isn't it?

Are you inside the arena, or out? Are you there to help the fleeing Servus, or are you merely ready to scramble on home yourself and save your own skin?

Footnotes

1. Please ensure that threads are marked with appropriate content warnings!
2. The plotting post for this event can be found here, and the original announcement with some other details is here.

Comments

[mordacita]

[ Rafa stares at him. What is happening here? His eyes flick carefully around the room, seeking any signs of the guards. They wouldn't need much of an excuse to put Rafa to the sword now anyway, but there is still the larger mission to think of. And there's the fact that if they suspect Ignacio of treachery, his own position would be in great danger.

Rafa lowers his voice, quietening it below the level that a human could discern. ]

You know why. What are you doing? If they catch you, if they suspect you...

It is not even safe for us to talk.They will be listening.

[sadico]

[ Ignacio's mouth opened, but then he heeded Rafa's serious look. He attempted to calm down, something which was nearly impossible given his current state, but he managed to focus and his voice was now in Rafa's mind. ]

They will not hear us now. I do not understand, I do not know why! You should be Primus, you even have the husbands. Why would you be Servus? Did someone betray you?

[mordacita]

[ Rafa starts, shoulders tensing. It takes a moment to grow used to the feeling of Ignacio's words in his mind, and to understand that's what's happening. His own thoughts come with a spike of anxiety entirely unrelated to the arena. Rafa greatly values the control he has over his words. He is always careful with them. He cannot do the same with his thoughts.

Which will not stop him from trying. Still, the emotions colouring them are impossible to hide; anger, frustration, desperation, but fear most of all. ]

No, no no. No. It was my choice, my decision. I fit here, I thought I would fit here, I am used to it I have lived it before it was natural. I did not think twice but I should have, Shane tried to warn me, I am sorry it is difficult to talk like this.

[ Still trying to be aware of his surroundings, Rafa carefully leans back against the wall. ]

You should tell me what you want from me. [ He says aloud. This conversation is for the benefit of anyone listening. ] If you ask nicely, they will find you someone unburned.

[sadico]

[ Ignacio made no attempt to dig into Rafa's emotions, those were his to keep private, but his unguarded mind practically thrust them into Ignacio's and he had to close his eyes to refocus himself. They were powerful, he wasn't surprised, but they were also raw and threatened to sweep him up. ]

You do not belong here. [ He said, loud and clear. ] You will be released to me. We will leave at once and you will not resist me.

Please, come with me. Let us leave this dismal place.

[mordacita]

[ They are raw. They're as raw as the burns on Rafa's skin, seared into him by this arena. He's been like this before, of course, but it's been a long time. The last time was when Shane was trapped in Fae. Before that was the time he'd killed his father. That's the mood he's in now.

Compared to that turmoil, his outer calm is a startling contrast. ]

Oh, I will not? [ He pushes off the wall. ] I have resisted everyone else. I am going nowhere.

[ But inside, it's a different story. ]

I cannot! Ignacio, you do not understand, I cannot leave him. If you would take one of us then take him instead, take Hunter so that they cannot make me hurt him again. Please! I do not care what happens to me.

[sadico]

[ Pain briefly shot through Ignacio's mind as Rafa continued to assault him with his emotions. He was certain that Rafa had never communicated this way before, or that he was so distressed that he didn't care what he was expelling. The ache was ignored, for his concern for Rafa was greater than his own feelings. ]

You are in no position to deny me. You will accept and I will acquire you, along with another, to return home with. You will walk quietly with me and understand that this as your fate.

[ His voice was smooth, practiced, but had a stern edge which warned that he wouldn't be trifled with- the voice he used in his court. His expression a mask of calm while his mind's voice remained sympathetic. ]

Hunter is here as well? We will not leave him. I care what happens to you, and I am certain he does as well. Please, Rafa, listen to me. We will all leave this place.

[mordacita]

[ Rafa sees that wince, and forcibly tries to reign himself in. He doesn't know how to avoid transmitting what he feels except by somehow feeling less, and so he tries to be calm. There's a falseness to it, though. The tumult is still there beneath it all.

Now, though, a wave of sadness comes with it. ]

He is the one they made me fight. Ignacio, if you care about me then save him. He will keep risking himself for me. If there is a way for you to take us both, then I will come and be grateful to you, but if you can take only one then you must take him. Please. Promise me.

[ Honestly, he's not even sure how easy that will be. Can the Primus just take their pick of the Servus? Maybe they can, maybe that's within their gift. The Servus are slaves, after all. The thought of that is another angry surge through Rafa's mind. Outwardly, his jaw tenses. ]

And will you take me now, while the guards look on and watch me leave? Ask them if I am the obedient slave you seek, since I am no such thing.

[sadico]

[ His eyes closed again, so he could hide the extreme feeling of sorrow which threatened to buckle him. Who knew, that in all his centuries of life it would be a vampire who was inexperienced with mindspeak who would make him weep? He could feel it, the pain of having to fight the one you love, to fear for them, for a moment his knees felt weak.

He swallowed as he spoke carefully, gently. ]

I care deeply for you. I would promise you anything. I will promise you, I will take care of him if it comes to that, but it will not. I will use every power that I possess to set you both free, protected in my home until this nightmare is over.

I do not desire obedience, I desire strength. You, as well as the one you fought with, will be trained further under my care, in my facilities. Accept this now and I will make the necessary arrangements.

[ His green eyes opened, his look briefly tormented before it steeled. His voice rose louder. ]

Say that you accept this!

[mordacita]

[ Rafa's eyes are fixed on Ignacio's. He sees his own pain reflected in the older vampire's eyes, and understands what he's doing to him. He closes his eyes and looks away, trying to clamp down on his own worry. He doesn't want to see Ignacio looking like that.

Then Ignacio says he'll help him, and Rafa's shoulders lose their tension. He's quickly aware of it, and hopes the guards will see it as a sign of defeat. He takes a breath. ]

Thank you. I cannot tell you what it means. But I think that you can feel it, so perhaps that...I am sorry for that, this is difficult to control and I do not mean to hurt you. I want to brush it away.

[ He imagines touching Ignacio's cheek, stroking it, thanking him the way he wants to thank him. He doesn't do it, but he does hope the image can be sent as easily as his words, or his feelings.

He's not sure that Ignacio can do this. He's not sure it won't put all of them in far more danger. But he has to take the chance, doesn't he? Because he has to get Hunter out of here, and Ignacio is the first person who's thought of a way to do it. He has to try. He has to hope that it works, that Ignacio is somehow as influential as he thinks he is. ]

If they accept, how can I refuse? I will go, my Lord.

[ He bows with a flourish, lifting Ignacio's hand at the same time. The gesture seems dramatic and forced, especially compared with Rafa's sardonic tone. He uses it to cover the kiss he touches to Ignacio's fingers. ]

[sadico]

I can feel it, your mind is unguarded. I will teach you how to protect yourself at another time.

[ Not now, he could barely keep up appearances for the guards even now. He wanted to tear them apart and carve a bloody path to where they kept Hunter, destroying everyone associated with Rafa's pain. But Ignacio had spent thousands of years reining in such deadly instincts, it's why he lived as long as he had, and he needed to stay strong so that Hunter wouldn't come to any harm. He made a promise.

One tear rolled down his cheek unbidden as Rafa kissed his fingers, it fell off his jaw and into the suit he wore to disappear. He didn't want to leave him but he promised- he had to release Hunter first or Rafa would never leave. His palm upturned to briefly caress Rafa's lips before he took a step away, towards the door, one of the hardest steps of his entire existence. ]

Very well. I will return to collect you once I have the other.

[ He slammed his fist against the door twice to signal his exit, his strength kept in check but it still managed to leave a dent. When the door opened he addressed the captors cooly. ]

See that no harm comes to my property. Do not disturb him, for I will return shortly. If a single hair is out of place I will have your families tortured for the amusement of myself and my powerful friends, of which you will have a front row seat. Do you understand?

[ He ignored the reactions of the guard in favor of speaking to Rafa's mind once more, allowing the warmth of his affection to convey with it. ]

Wait for us, we will not leave without you.

[ With that, he left. ]