I'LL BE THE BAD GUY.

he remembers this —— remembers the agony of the wait , the world dulled to a hush around him , only the drone of machinery and his own rapid - fire heartbeat in his ears to convince him that time hasn’t stopped entirely .  twenty years since beetee sat outside the capitol’s subterranean tribute hospital , swallowing memories of his own time here like sand as he fidgets ; twenty years since his district has had a victor .  since a tribute has come back .  when a nurse emerges at last , he’s on his feet in an instant , his heart in his throat as she wordlessly gestures —— but , much as he wants to bolt into the room and embrace the girl who’s waiting for him , he knows better than anyone to allow her space .  instead , he stops in the doorway and knocks softly on the cold metal to announce himself , a gentle smile appearing on his lips .  “ hi , clarke .  it’s good to see you . ”

⤿ @wnhdas liked for a starter !

     This wasn’t ever the plan.  She wasn’t meant to walk away,  and yet here she is,  the lone survivor ;  bringer of death,  bathed in the blood of children who only wanted to survive.  This place has her on edge  --  how the air feels heavier in a way only found deep below the earth ;  the constant low hum of machinery that makes her feel like she’s still trapped in what should have been her tomb.  Her skin still burns,  marred with scars of radiation she knows the Capitol will erase,  but she can barely feel the pain beyond the ache in her chest and the churning in her stomach  --  the guilt and darkness and fear that threaten to swallow her whole.  She wants to scream with the weight of it all,  wants the sound to drown out the memory of them ;  the people she burned alive and the sound of their screams that flooded the metal hallways and won’t stop echoing around her mind.  They are demons she never thought she would have to bear ;  ghosts she selfishly thought she could escape by taking her own life alongside theirs.  She should’ve known peace never comes that easily to enemies of the state.

clarke is the 17 year old victor of the 72nd games and hails from district 3. her arena is based on the idea of mount weather, a secure sealed military base built into a mountain, surrounded by deadly radiation to prevent any escape rather than the traditional forcefield. clarke wins by flooding the bunker with that radiation, intending to kill herself in the process, although that plan doesn’t quite work in her favour (more info below)...

clarke’s mother is a gifted doctor and her father a talented engineer. their minds are considered wasted in the slums of district 3 and the capitol demands they put their skills to use where it truly matters. as such, jake was recruited as an engineer for the games while abby was summoned to join the team of doctors for tributes and victors. this led to clarke spending (very limited and restricted) time in the capitol during previous games seasons.

in the months leading up to the 72nd games, her father is arrested and executed for treason after attempting to feed security information and system details regarding the arenas to the rebels. clarke reacts explosively to his execution and decides (very openly) to finish his work herself. as she is still ‘a reckless, naive child’, she is simply warned against her actions, however it is no coincidence that her name is called in the next reaping.

thanks to jake’s work in building the arenas, abby is aware of what may be in store during the 72nd games. there is talk of a ‘nuclear apocalypse’ type theme, with a sealed off bunker and radiation clouds being used to drive tributes into fights or wipe them out entirely. desperate for her daughter to win, she hatches a plan to give clarke an edge, injecting her with a serum that will slow the effects of radiation she may encounter in the arena in the hopes it will buy her enough time if exposed.

still heartbroken and furious, clarke hatches a plan of her own. unaware of the serum now in her blood, she uses her vague knowledge of the arena to attempt to break the games and punish the capitol, flooding the bunker with the radiation to ensure no victor will emerge, including herself. despite her best intentions, thanks to abby’s serum and interference from the capitol who are always two steps ahead, clarke herself becomes the unwilling victor. her failure and the deaths she caused weigh heavily upon her.

“and i can’t live with myself knowing i let an innocent life die. i came to make sure my people were settled.  and if i’m to make it, i need to leave, “ her words strike a cord in the commander’s chest. she had told them to follow indra in her stead, and indra expressly. but she hadn’t been prepared for clarke; though she knew she should’ve been. isn’t one of the things she treasured most about her that determination? “ if you die? what then? “ she says softly. she can’t stop aden && his desire to follow her. but she’d sent him on hours ago, when it was definitely safe. to hide in a safe place. “  i know you’ll be SAFE here.  following me could prove fatal.”