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May. 1st, 2017 11:08 amIn the early 20th century, gang warfare between the supernatural and the non-supernatural underworld communities escalated. Murder and kidnappings were frequent occurrences and revenge was served bloody.
As the body count on both sides rose, a shadowy figure, Caracalla a witch, rose from the shadows and drew the supernatural creatures to him, either through promises or bribery, or, for the majority of the gangs, all out war. Through his powerful dark magic, he suppressed the gangs that sought to fought them, and kept them repressed through means of his 'Peacekeepers'. For his help in ending the turf wars, the American government gave Caracalla immunity from prosecution, allowing him to continue his criminal enterprises without fear of repercussion. Because of this, American authorities, already intent on getting rid of the supernatural trouble causers that haunted America, became a lot more focused on the other magical gangs scattered through the country. So Caracalla imposed more laws that 'benefitted' the rival gangs: all activity and money were to be processed through his core gang in Nevada, and in return for his protection from hostile forces, the gangs were to pay him in deference and in money each year.
Years passed, and Caracalla's control was firmly established. Any uprisings were quickly crushed, and gangs, once united through brotherhood and loyalty, began to fall apart. Kept together by force, suspicion of one another was high and any disrespect shown about Caracalla was swiftly and brutally punished.
In 1940, coinciding with World War 2, a war within 'Panem' was declared, with all but a couple of gangs, or districts as they were now called, rising up to rebel against Caracalla and become free again. The rebellions were soon crushed, and those Districts that had truly sought to overthrow him were met with devastation, both financially and in terms of their freedom. Caracalla tightened his grip so the Districts were caught in an iron grip. He began to lay down laws restricting their freedom; vampires were not allowed to create more without permission, werewolves were not allowed to activate their young, witches had their casting abilities restricted. The most devastating of all the laws, though, was the introduction of the Hunger Games. Every year, each district was required to sacrifice two of their children to fight to the death in an arena. The winner would receive glory, housing, food, and privileges for their district.
Fastforward 71 years, and Caracalla was long dead, replaced by a man called Snow. The Districts were completely separated now, and travel between areas was banned for all but those residing in the Capitol, Snow's inherited base in Nevada. The Hunger Games had continued, of course.
This year's crop was the usual mixture of 'Careers', children who had been sent to elite training academies from the favoured Districts of 1,2 and 4, and a rag-tag of foolhardy volunteers or scared children selected by lot from their District. Among them was an under grown girl of around 16 from District 7. Her name was Johanna Mason, and to the frustration of about everybody there, she hadn't stopped crying yet. What boring television. Stripped naked, it soon became evident that Johanna, like most of her District, was a natural born werewolf, though her curse had not been activated.
In the arena, as in training, Johanna cried, and chose to flee the brutal war that raged between the other Tributes. She stayed hidden in the undergrowth for days, listening as the boom of cannons indicated the other Tributes' deaths. And she counted.
When there were only five Tributes left, including herself, Johanna made her move. She tracked one Tribute to their riverside base, and stole an axe from them. Sensing the movement, the other Tribute awoke, and engaged in a violent fight with Johanna, which finished with her plunging the axe into the Tribute's chest, killing them. Stood splattered with blood, Johanna could feel her curse activating.
Grinning with delight in the TV control room at the unexpected turn of events, the Game Makers quickly created a full moon, forcing Johanna and her fellow District 7 comrade to transform. The murders then were in quick succession, before Johanna was forced into a showdown with Alex, the other werewolf. She was bitten. Part of her ear was ripped off. But eventually, Alex succumbed to her ferociousness. She managed to bite his next, severing the jugular and Alex died. Johanna had managed to win the Hunger Games.
Back in 'The Capitol', Snow had Johanna fixed up and granted her access to moonlight jewellery. She was taken on a grand tour of the Districts, and experienced luxuries that she had never experienced before.
However, after 6 months of niceties, Snow made clear his plan for her. As a winner of the Hunger Games, she was a powerful commodity. She was obviously strong, determined, resourceful… all the things that made her an asset to a criminal enterprise. But she was also attractive. And all combined, she could be used to court sponsors and attract business from other parts of the globe. Essentially, she would be a prostitute for Snow.
Johanna refused. Snow tried to reason with her, tried threats. Nothing. So Snow had her family brought to The Capitol too, and executed whilst Johanna was forced to watch. With her family gone, and essentially nothing to lose as far as she was concerned, Johanna still refused. As a punishment, she was stripped of her moonlight jewellery and banished from the Capitol to District 7.
The people there, though, were wary of her. The Capitol had been sure to make public her dissent, had twisted her parent's execution to blame it on Johanna. And, of course, her ferocious nature and her activated curse made people frightened to approach. At seventeen years old. Johanna was completely alone in the world.
The Hunger Games continued, and each year, in a show of sympathy and forgiveness, Johanna was forced to the Capitol. There, she met other Victors and became close friends with Finnick of District 4. He was a favourite of the Capitol. Johanna knew what that meant, but she knew as well, the hold that Snow had over Finnick. She vowed to harden her heart so he could never make her do anything she didn't want to do.
After watching the 74th Hunger Games, which Katniss and Peeta won, Johanna became embroiled in a secret plot to overthrow Snow and grant freedom to the Districts. She, along with Finnick and the others, were reaped for the Quarter Quell Hunger Games. For Snow, it was a way to get rid of the Victors that caused him trouble, Johanna included. For the viewers, it was like the Superbowl of the Hunger Games. And for the Districts, it was a reminder that nobody was safe.
She entered the arena again, and begrudgingly joined forced with Katniss and Peeta. Although she didn't know or understand the full extent of Beetee's plan to escape the arena, she knew enough to help. She laid out some copper wiring along with Katniss, before knocking the girl out, and cutting the tracker out of her arm. And then she ran. With the plan collapsing around their ears, Johanna knew she would have to be saved, or killed. Being caught by the Capitol was not an option: she knew too much and she would be tortured until she gave it up. So Johanna ran.
Unfortunately, though, in an arena, there weren't too many places to escape. Johanna was picked up, and taken to the Capitol, where she was tortured with electric shocks in an attempt to make her talk. Johanna refused, and the torture continued. She was helpless to escape.
Months later, she was rescued by her allies, emaciated and bald, and deathly afraid of water. Her recovery took place in District 13, a long forgotten gang located in the far North of America. She became addicted to pain killers and regained her strength. She trained in combat, but die to her fear of water, was unable to fight against Snow in the Capitol.
After Snow was captured, and the Districts essentially freed, Johanna made the decision to start over. She decided to head for London.
As the body count on both sides rose, a shadowy figure, Caracalla a witch, rose from the shadows and drew the supernatural creatures to him, either through promises or bribery, or, for the majority of the gangs, all out war. Through his powerful dark magic, he suppressed the gangs that sought to fought them, and kept them repressed through means of his 'Peacekeepers'. For his help in ending the turf wars, the American government gave Caracalla immunity from prosecution, allowing him to continue his criminal enterprises without fear of repercussion. Because of this, American authorities, already intent on getting rid of the supernatural trouble causers that haunted America, became a lot more focused on the other magical gangs scattered through the country. So Caracalla imposed more laws that 'benefitted' the rival gangs: all activity and money were to be processed through his core gang in Nevada, and in return for his protection from hostile forces, the gangs were to pay him in deference and in money each year.
Years passed, and Caracalla's control was firmly established. Any uprisings were quickly crushed, and gangs, once united through brotherhood and loyalty, began to fall apart. Kept together by force, suspicion of one another was high and any disrespect shown about Caracalla was swiftly and brutally punished.
In 1940, coinciding with World War 2, a war within 'Panem' was declared, with all but a couple of gangs, or districts as they were now called, rising up to rebel against Caracalla and become free again. The rebellions were soon crushed, and those Districts that had truly sought to overthrow him were met with devastation, both financially and in terms of their freedom. Caracalla tightened his grip so the Districts were caught in an iron grip. He began to lay down laws restricting their freedom; vampires were not allowed to create more without permission, werewolves were not allowed to activate their young, witches had their casting abilities restricted. The most devastating of all the laws, though, was the introduction of the Hunger Games. Every year, each district was required to sacrifice two of their children to fight to the death in an arena. The winner would receive glory, housing, food, and privileges for their district.
Fastforward 71 years, and Caracalla was long dead, replaced by a man called Snow. The Districts were completely separated now, and travel between areas was banned for all but those residing in the Capitol, Snow's inherited base in Nevada. The Hunger Games had continued, of course.
This year's crop was the usual mixture of 'Careers', children who had been sent to elite training academies from the favoured Districts of 1,2 and 4, and a rag-tag of foolhardy volunteers or scared children selected by lot from their District. Among them was an under grown girl of around 16 from District 7. Her name was Johanna Mason, and to the frustration of about everybody there, she hadn't stopped crying yet. What boring television. Stripped naked, it soon became evident that Johanna, like most of her District, was a natural born werewolf, though her curse had not been activated.
In the arena, as in training, Johanna cried, and chose to flee the brutal war that raged between the other Tributes. She stayed hidden in the undergrowth for days, listening as the boom of cannons indicated the other Tributes' deaths. And she counted.
When there were only five Tributes left, including herself, Johanna made her move. She tracked one Tribute to their riverside base, and stole an axe from them. Sensing the movement, the other Tribute awoke, and engaged in a violent fight with Johanna, which finished with her plunging the axe into the Tribute's chest, killing them. Stood splattered with blood, Johanna could feel her curse activating.
Grinning with delight in the TV control room at the unexpected turn of events, the Game Makers quickly created a full moon, forcing Johanna and her fellow District 7 comrade to transform. The murders then were in quick succession, before Johanna was forced into a showdown with Alex, the other werewolf. She was bitten. Part of her ear was ripped off. But eventually, Alex succumbed to her ferociousness. She managed to bite his next, severing the jugular and Alex died. Johanna had managed to win the Hunger Games.
Back in 'The Capitol', Snow had Johanna fixed up and granted her access to moonlight jewellery. She was taken on a grand tour of the Districts, and experienced luxuries that she had never experienced before.
However, after 6 months of niceties, Snow made clear his plan for her. As a winner of the Hunger Games, she was a powerful commodity. She was obviously strong, determined, resourceful… all the things that made her an asset to a criminal enterprise. But she was also attractive. And all combined, she could be used to court sponsors and attract business from other parts of the globe. Essentially, she would be a prostitute for Snow.
Johanna refused. Snow tried to reason with her, tried threats. Nothing. So Snow had her family brought to The Capitol too, and executed whilst Johanna was forced to watch. With her family gone, and essentially nothing to lose as far as she was concerned, Johanna still refused. As a punishment, she was stripped of her moonlight jewellery and banished from the Capitol to District 7.
The people there, though, were wary of her. The Capitol had been sure to make public her dissent, had twisted her parent's execution to blame it on Johanna. And, of course, her ferocious nature and her activated curse made people frightened to approach. At seventeen years old. Johanna was completely alone in the world.
The Hunger Games continued, and each year, in a show of sympathy and forgiveness, Johanna was forced to the Capitol. There, she met other Victors and became close friends with Finnick of District 4. He was a favourite of the Capitol. Johanna knew what that meant, but she knew as well, the hold that Snow had over Finnick. She vowed to harden her heart so he could never make her do anything she didn't want to do.
After watching the 74th Hunger Games, which Katniss and Peeta won, Johanna became embroiled in a secret plot to overthrow Snow and grant freedom to the Districts. She, along with Finnick and the others, were reaped for the Quarter Quell Hunger Games. For Snow, it was a way to get rid of the Victors that caused him trouble, Johanna included. For the viewers, it was like the Superbowl of the Hunger Games. And for the Districts, it was a reminder that nobody was safe.
She entered the arena again, and begrudgingly joined forced with Katniss and Peeta. Although she didn't know or understand the full extent of Beetee's plan to escape the arena, she knew enough to help. She laid out some copper wiring along with Katniss, before knocking the girl out, and cutting the tracker out of her arm. And then she ran. With the plan collapsing around their ears, Johanna knew she would have to be saved, or killed. Being caught by the Capitol was not an option: she knew too much and she would be tortured until she gave it up. So Johanna ran.
Unfortunately, though, in an arena, there weren't too many places to escape. Johanna was picked up, and taken to the Capitol, where she was tortured with electric shocks in an attempt to make her talk. Johanna refused, and the torture continued. She was helpless to escape.
Months later, she was rescued by her allies, emaciated and bald, and deathly afraid of water. Her recovery took place in District 13, a long forgotten gang located in the far North of America. She became addicted to pain killers and regained her strength. She trained in combat, but die to her fear of water, was unable to fight against Snow in the Capitol.
After Snow was captured, and the Districts essentially freed, Johanna made the decision to start over. She decided to head for London.
