The Crowning of Mindy McReady

[etcircenses]

Who| Everyone who's anyone.
What| The Crowning.
Where| A warehouse on the edge of town.
When| Starting from early evening till late into the night.
Warnings/Notes| Be sure to check the linked thread for plot purposes, even if you don't tag into it.

The party is brightly colored.

The theme, subtly, is super heroes. Boldly paints city scapes are splattered across the walls, and hallways are made to look like dingy, potentially crime ridden alleys. From the upper walkways of the warehouse, party goers can get hooked into harnesses and swing out over the dance floor. Above them, tributes and VIPS can find themselves on a clear plastic dance floor levitated above everything, looking like they're hanging in air.

Masks are passed out in plenty, and capes are easy to find, while brightly colored drinks themed around super powers are plentiful. None of them actually work, but many of the Capitol people are happy to pretend, mocking super strength or invisibility with each new beverage.

Under the dance floor a catacomb of tunnels and rooms full of obstacles is splashed with black light receptive colors. Party goers are given vests and laser guns, marked green for villains and red for heros, and set loose to hunt each other in the laser tags playground. The screens in the dance floor keep a running tally of which side is winning, displaying the players on the screens around the room, along with clips from the arenas.

About half way through the night, everyone is gathered to the main stage for a special announcement.

Comments

Johanna - open

[nooneleft]

Johanna stalked straight into the Crowning, and into the middle of the dance floor, She was on a mission to get noticed that night, and reclaim her status as a feared Victor.

Johanna grabbed a drink from one of the Avoxes. She took a sip, grimaced, and looked around for the nearest potted plant to pour it into. Johanna hated Crownings. Every party meant another person to compete against to get her face noticed. And this one - just a kid. Was she the youngest Victor ever? Younger than Finnick?

Johanna smirked to herself. It looked like Pretty Boy was about to lose his shining status. Was she pleased?

Maybe just a bit more than she should be.

She grabbed another drink, and downed it in one. Sod it. She was going to enjoy herself if it killed her.

Re: Johanna - open

[hit_girl_mindy]

Mindy DID notice her. It was hard not to: she was one of the few people who was wearing something that was nothing close to what the theme was. It took balls: she liked that.

Plus, she was drinking, so that was bound to bring up some interesting conversation.

"So I gotta ask: whose YOUR dresser?"

Re: Johanna - open

[nooneleft]

"Like I remember her name." Johanna scoffed. "If you're talking about the dress, though, I chose it."
She eyed Mindy up and down. "All of this. It's just a bit... tacky."

It was nothing against Mindy particularly, Johanna's hostile tone. It was just - there were very few female Victors, and now this child, this bloodthirsty kid was going to steal that limelight off Finnick, and even Katniss, and especially Johanna. And as much as Johanna loathed the Captol, she was determined to keep hold of the fame she had been promised on winning the Games.

Re: Johanna - open

[hit_girl_mindy]

"If you mean how this is done? Yeah. I mean, this shit is all for fashion. It doesn't serve its practical purpose: supposed to disguise you and represent a part of you. It's not supposed to be about fashion."

Which was what all of this was. Fashion. "Cute." No more of a reason but frivolity. Sure, this girl was acting bitchy, but hadn't she said the same shit when Enjor-that French guy had his crowning?

Re: Johanna - open

[nooneleft]

"And you'd know all about that, wouldn't you?" Johanna was quite amused. She knew who Mindy was, and quite frankly, she had been impressed by the girl's performance in the arena as well. But it didn't mean she was going to reveal that to Mindy.

"Have you been watching too much TV? Is that where you learned to fight like that? Anyone you'd think you'd been brought up a Career."

That conclusion made Johanna trust Mindy just a little bit less.

Re: Johanna - open

[hit_girl_mindy]

"I would." Mindy could see where people would certainly think the girl was intimidating. By her nature she could see she was a girl from the OLD games, where you died and stay dead, where children would make sure that you regretted hesitation. She was a tigress moving back and forth, waiting for her move, saying something but saying way more.

"You can't do what I do by watching TV. You have to be able to experience it yourself, come so close to death its calling you. But I don't need to tell you that, you already know. Just like you know I'm not a Career. Not even from Panem."

Re: Johanna - open

[nooneleft]

"I know that." Johanna snapped. Did this child not listen? That was how every single one of the Tributes from Seven who had come after Johanna had ended up dead. People needed to start listening to her more.

"If you were a Career, you wouldn't be fighting in these arenas." Mindy should almost be able to hear the contemptuous 'duh' practically dripping from Johanna's mouth. "So you've learned practically, huh? Trained to fight before you could walk?"

[capitolprivilege]

Stephen, a few drinks in and also on the dance floor, found his head turning to follow the fast-moving newcomer.

Oh.

Oh, damn. Johanna was here. Johanna Mason. Stephen had been an Escort the year she won -- the 71st games, wasn't it? It had been his second year in the job, and he'd been as impressed as anyone else when she stole the victory from under the favorites' noses.

Stephen had never really spoken to her -- he'd been busy enough with his own Tributes in the 72nd, 73rd, and 74th games -- but he'd always admired her cunning, her spirit, her tenacity. If she looked, she'd see him staring, obviously recognizing who she was.

[nooneleft]

Johanna, in her steely surveillance of the function room, of course spotted Stephen staring at her. Now, thanks to her obvious flouting of costume conventions, and possibly because of her reputation for scaring people, quite a few Capitolonians were staring at her. But none were quite as obvious as Stephen.

She had no idea who he was, but that didn't matter. He knew her, and that gave Johanna a boost of confidence, something she'd needed to bolster her apparently flagging reputation in amongst all of these new Tributes.

She approached Stephen with a smirk. "Closing your mouth will stop the flies getting in." She held out a hand. "Johanna Mason - though I think you know that already."

[capitolprivilege]

Stephen can't tell if she doesn't recognize him or just doesn't care who he is. Either way, it's mildly shocking and completely delightful -- how very Johanna. Just like her refusal to adhere to the dress code; Stephen had stuck to it, but in a subdued way. It was just a classy suit and an arc reactor, nothing that would outshine the tributes -- or the victors.

He decides not to kiss her hand, out of fear that she'd hit him, and instead just takes it and shakes it once, firmly. "I do," he says, breaking a grin. "It's so good to finally meet you. Can I get you another drink?"

[nooneleft]

Johanna jerked her hand away as soon as they had shaken once.

"Sure - sure, another drink. Why not? And then, I suppose, you'll want a little video with me to show all of your friends. And perhaps my autograph? On a bit of wood, right? Because, haha, lumber."

She was definitely being sarcastic. As much as she wanted the fame - she had, after all, earned it - she hated playing up to these Capitol idiots.

"I suppose you've been a fan since I started sticking my axe into the Tributes in my arena, yeah? Not before then, though. I bet you were baying for my blood, like everyone else, weren't you?"

Crownings definitely brought a lot of her resentments to the surface.

[capitolprivilege]

Oh, Johanna. So perfectly sassy, so endearingly rude.

"I actually wasn't thinking any further than a drink," he said, laughing and shaking his head. Stephanus Reagan was way too deep in the Games and the group of people involved in them to care about autographs and videos, not when he could usually seek out and speak to anyone he wanted. "Here. I'll go get you one, and then you can decide if you want to talk to me."

He turned around and walked off the dance floor -- he would be back in under a minute with two drinks, looking for Johanna. If she'd disappeared completely, he'd give her up for lost, but if she was still on the dance floor, he'd find her. Stephen held the two brightly-colored drinks out. "What'll it be? Super strength or cryokinesis?"

[nooneleft]

Johanna waited. She didn't really want to wait for some stupid Capitol bloke. Quite frankly, it gave the wrong impression, and several times, she ended up baring her teeth at some curious bystander who looked at her for just a couple of seconds to long. But wait she did. He was rich, that much was obvious, and her damn Tributes needed all the help they could get.

And she was curious as well - what sort of fan just wanted to give her a drink, rather than mither for videos and stuff. So she waited, albeit impatiently, tapping her foot, before pacing about the edge.

When Stephen reappeared, Johanna was over to him immediately, impatiently snatching the nearest drink out of his hand. She didn't know what cryokenesis was but she didn't care either. Rather, she just glared scornfully at Stephen, before saying witheringly,

"They don't actually give you powers." You could almost hear the implied 'idiot' dripping from her tongue.

[earthborn]

Shepard was a big fan of alcohol as a coping method. It helped that she was in possession of a bionic liver that was, literally, to die for. That, coupled with her fresh-off-the-slab metabolic hangover, made short work of her buzz.

Oh well. That's what god made refills for.

Still, it takes a special dedication to the ritualistic middle finger to take one of these fireballs in one go, and Shepard can respect that. She's a woman built with both legs planted solidly on the foundation of 'fuck it all', isn't she?

"That's the spirit," she said, offering another to Joanna, wry as she could make it, "Drink till it hurts. Or stops hurting, one of the two."

[nooneleft]

Johanna raised her empty glass at the woman, before dumping it on the nearest Avox's tray. She did take the proffered drink from Shepard, but didn't even attempt to drink it. She didn't want to be a complete mess and embarrass herself. No - Johanna was here to show that she was in perfect control of herself, her image, and her apparent social standing with all of these new Tributes.

So she snorted a high pitched laugh at Shepard and said, "And what would be the point of that? Is your life just that happy that you have to drink pain into it? You feel pain, attack pain. Embrace it. It's what these vultures -" She gestured at the sponsors crowding the edges of the dancefloor, who instantly pretended that they hadn't been whispering behind their hands, "feed on."

[earthborn]

"The morning after shore leave is a little different from whatever personal problems you're having right now," She didn't turn to follow the sweep of Joanna's hand, "Hey, don't look at the peanut gallery. It's only gonna encourage them, and I'm not allowed to play pinball with their heads just yet."

There is a reason that Shepard had only ever been publicly approached by one fan, and one only since arriving at the Capitol. But that's another story.

"The point is not to be able to remember why you started drinkin' in the first place. At least for a while."

[nooneleft]

Johanna allowed herself a small smile. "These people," She waved her hand deliberately, dismissively, at the citizens staring at both her and Shepard, "are idiots. Disgusting idiots." She narrowed her eyes, glaring at those still openly watching them, before she turned back to Shepard.

"I like the idea but pinball won't work. Tact here has to be a bit more... subtle. You don't want to end up with the peacekeepers now, do you?" She glanced up, eyes flicking to one of the ever-present Peacekeepers in the corner of the room.

"But I'd rather remember. I like to feel it in my blood. I like to let it keep running, keep me... insane." Her glare turned to a grin.

"What's your name?"

[earthborn]

"I'm not really afraid of them."

It's true enough that Shepard wasn't afraid of the Peacekeepers. For one thing, half of them seemed more interested in looking scary than acting it, and she'd fought far worse and come out on top. No, the question of the armed guardsmen wasn't whether or not they'd kill her if it came to a fight. They would, of course, it was only a matter of time and numbers, but most of them had figured out that the first half-dozen or so to go for her would die pretty quickly, and not one of them wanted to be part of that number. When, or if, that fight got started, it would be a long and bloody one, and neither side was eager to get the ball rolling.

They tended, instead, to eye one another over various distances and say nothing, like territorial bulls.

"Shepard," she replied to Johanna, although it was a matter of public record and Joanna probably already knew it, despite the way her hair was artfully gelled into what was undoubtedly meant to be a heroic wave. She liked her outfit, it was more a jump-suit than a leotard and tailored about as close as her Alliance regulars, which was only comforting until she thought about it. Shepard had been avoiding thinking about it, "No argument there. I'd take idiots, or disgusting, but both at the same time is a bit much."

I'm so sorry! I've been out with the flu for ages!

[nooneleft]

"Then you're ignorant." Johanna wasn't scared of the Peacekeepers per se. She'd been pushed around by them before now, and she'd been manhandled and jabbed with the butt of their guns, but that was not the reason why she had developed a healthy, if contemptuous, respect for the Peacekeepers. It was those memories, seared into her mind's eye, of the Peacekeepers taking away her mom, her dad, her best friend, her grandmother. Johanna acted like she was above everyone and everything, but she knew as well what had driven her to such a place, and that was sheer ignorance of the Peacekeepers' powers.

Johanna looked Shepard up and down. She quite liked her look, and especially appreciated her don't care attitude. But she refused to look remotely impressed by her. What did make Johanna smile a tight smile was Shepard's sentiments about the Capitol idiots.

"Yeah, well. Show them in the arena. Make every blow count and get out as soon as you can."

Why can't her Tributes be like Shepard?

[deafscythe]

Justin is either observing the mentor or just kind of spacing out while staring in her general direction. It's kind of hard to tell with him sometimes. But whatever he's doing, he has no intention of stopping. Maybe it will spark an interesting reaction from her.

Maybe she'll just start screaming at him for admitting during the Arena that he has no intention of winning, just wants to kill as many people as he can as many times as he can.

[nooneleft]

Johanna glared at her Tribute every now and again, unsettled that he was staring at her. She had tried to avoid Justin since his return: she found it difficult to deal with his annoying habits and gobby manner. More, it annoyed her that he wasn't at least a little bit wary of her.

After a while, though, she moved her way over. "Put your eyes back in your head and start doing some damage control, Gobs."

[deafscythe]

"Ah, I thought damage control was part of your job." Obviously, it is her job, and obviously she's not doing a very good job if she's asking tributes to do it for her.

Sorry. The flu floored me!

[nooneleft]

"Oh, shut up." Johanna snapped. "You make your mess, you clean it up. I'm your mentor, not your minder. And I don't even want that job." Honestly, he was so obnoxious. Johanna couldn't be blamed for snapping.

totally okay!

[deafscythe]

"You assume that I want to." Justin has no interest in damage control.

thanks hun!

[nooneleft]

"No. I know that you have to. Do you want a single sponsor at all?" Johanna groaned in frustration. "Do it now, or so help me, I will stick my axe in you whilst you snore tonight."