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

[shadowblends]

[he blinks owlishly, head tipping to the side.]

Are these the beings you were talking about at the Halloween party?

[dothelokimotion]

They are.

[ I hate them, I hate looking like them. But that's not quite true anymore. At the very least, Loki has accepted what he is. All facets included. And if he used it to draw out sympathy from Asgard . . . well, why not? ]

I am one of them.

[shadowblends]

Except, you aren't— [blue was what he'd been going for, but kurt stops immediately. he knows better than to assume someone's form; one of his mentor's is a shapeshifter.

who's to say loki isn't one, too?]

So, this [he motions over the god in front of him] isn't what you normally look like?

[dothelokimotion]

I am a shapeshifter.

[ Loki loosely gestures to himself in an offhand manner. ]

This is merely a skin I have put on for myself. It is no less real, but it is not the full truth.

[shadowblends]

That makes better sense.

[his eyes follow loki's hand, a brief glance while he takes another drink to show he's paying attention.] For what reason? [asks the blue boy without thinking, though he's quick on the uptake.] I mean, I know a shapeshifter and she uses it as a form of camouflage and during battle. [among other reasons that he has no business talking about, so he forgoes them.]

Not to mention, a friend of mine magicked up a fancy glamour necklace with a human-like — for lack of a better word — appearance of my own, so ... [take that as you will, loki.]

[dothelokimotion]

[ Loki grimaces slightly. ]

As I said. This is still real to me.

[ It's his true form that Loki never puts on, that is unfamiliar. Like a garment he's never seen. ]

[shadowblends]

[he frowns when loki does, averts his gaze to the beverage in his hand.]

Whatever you do, [kurt begins, squeezing the plastic cup, watching how its blended contents rise and fall.]

As long as you are comfortable and happy with your decision, it doesn't matter what others think.

[dothelokimotion]

Doesn't it?

[ Loki's gaze pins Kurt down. ]

It always matters. Always.

[shadowblends]

[his posture holds strong, wild eyes unflinching when he meets loki's gaze.]

Only if you let it.

[no one can ever say nightcrawler isn't mutant and proud, at least.]

[dothelokimotion]

I was a prince. And I was nothing.

[ A child cast out on a frozen rock. The irony was real. He wonders how many options his fathers cycled through, how they picked the best for a malleable boy. The drink sours in his stomach, a yawning pit. ]

It matters. No one lives freely, bereft of expectations.

[shadowblends]

[well, that's certainly information he hadn't been expecting to get.]

A prince? [he inquires fervently, golden eyes vibrant with enthusiasm. while loki's past is none of his business, he can't help asking-- he's never met a prince before and the sudden revelation is too much to pass up.]

Before Xistentia, I lived freely and my only expectations were studying for school and training in the danger room. Seems like a fair trade for a new home and extraordinary friends.

[dothelokimotion]

[ Loki rolls his eyes. ]

The second prince of Asgard. Not that Asgard exists anymore.

[ He fidgets with his drink, twirling the straw. ]

Is it?

[shadowblends]

What happened? [comes out before he can stop himself. kurt does withdraw, though, raising a hand to cup around his face.]

My apologies. You don't have to answer that if the response isn't something you'd like to share.

[obviously. he briefly averts his attention, blinks at loki's fidgeting then recaptures his company's gaze.] In my opinion, yes. I've met many wonderful people, started bonds that I continue to strengthen day by day. [another flickering glance away, followed by a grin.]

Kind of like I do here.

[dothelokimotion]

It burned.

[ Loki set it aflame. With a scoff, Loki replies. ]

But none stays here for long, do they? Some depart. What difference do these bonds really make?

[shadowblends]

Burned, [he repeats, blinking incredulously.] Okay, but why?

[kurt shrugs, takes another sip of his melting coffee.] Can't say. I haven't been here long enough to figure out how long the average person stays.

[dothelokimotion]

[ Loki's lips press into a thin line. His fingers dig into the cup. ]

The Goddess of Death drew power from the land. It needed to be destroyed so that she could be stopped.

[ His sister. He still regrets that, some days. ]

How long has anyone been here for?

[shadowblends]

[his eyes flick downward, noting the older man's grip before promptly returning to loki's face.]

I see. [another blink, more drawing from the cup.] Someone you knew personally?

[the straw goes dry and kurt sets the cup aside, arms crossing one over the other while he leans to prop them up on his knees.] I'm sure someone has been here since the beginning. [he tips his head, gaze unfaltering.] I haven't the slightest clue where you could start asking around, though.

[dothelokimotion]

My sister. Though I knew her not.

[ She was just another lie, another hidden secret in Odin's past. He often wondered if the same was meant for him. After all, Loki too had been thrown into a dungeon, to be forgotten. ]

Then I will find a way.

[shadowblends]

You had to— [he hesitates, brow furrowing and lips pressing together.] I suppose there isn't much to mourn when you know nothing of someone and they must be stopped.

[what kurt had originally planned to say was "stopped for destroying your home," but it'd suddenly felt inappropriate. had it been her home once before? he would need more details about that; prying into people's business has never been his strong suit.]

If you like, I could pass on any information that comes my way.

[dothelokimotion]

I'd appreciate it.

[ Loki puts a little sugar into his cup. The spoon stirs itself idly as he looks out at the crowds of people. It feels a little claustrophobic. Sakaar had been the same. Full to the brim with people only looking out for themselves. Loki reveled in it at first, easily making the climb to a "trusted" acquaintance of the Grand Master.

But it soured quickly. This place suits you Loki. Looking at Hela had been like looking into a mirror. Loki has never liked what he sees there, but looking at her, overlaid with his own face . . . that had been far worse than anything he had ever imagined. ]

And there was plenty to mourn. She was my sister, all things considered. Whether I knew her or not, I did not take pride in orchestrating her passing.

[shadowblends]

Then I shall do that.

[and kurt watches, for lack of anything better to see. sure, he could look around at the people passing them by, but why do that when he has a perfectly good person keeping him preoccupied? he's also curious about how that spoon is moving by itself-- telekinetic properties like jean, perhaps? or maybe something completely different.

his head shakes after loki speaks again.] I didn't mean for it to sound as if you did. [he bites his tongue before the remainder of his statement can come out. saying no one takes pride in killing would be incorrect, considering some of the people he knows, so he won't comment on it.]

[dothelokimotion]

[ Loki merely hums. Accusing him of a lack of feeling is normal. He's accepted it and there is truth in such statements. What kind of sentiment can Loki muster? Who would care if he was gone, truly? He had no friends, no allies. He was alone. He was alone even when he was with people. ]

No matter. I'm used to it.

[shadowblends]

You shouldn't be, [slips out immediately, causing kurt's brow to furrow. he should have worded that a little better--]

What I meant was that it's not fair for people to make you feel like your emotions aren't valid. [his gaze centers on loki again.] Because they do matter.

[dothelokimotion]

[ Loki doesn't meet Kurt's gaze. It is unfathomable to Loki. Accepting such a statement would go against everything he's done, everything he's suffered. If they mattered, no one seemed to believe it. Until Loki stopped believing it too. Oh, it still hurt but the realness of it is debatable. ]

Perhaps.

[shadowblends]

[the lack of eye contact tells him enough. he sighs then lowers his head, attention focused on something nonspecific in his peripheral, although his lips are slightly curled at the edges.]

If 'perhaps' is as close to consideration as you get, I'll take it.