(no subject)

[neclectus]

Who| Timaeus Nadir and all his guests. If you are in the Capitol, you've been invited!
What| A spectacular Viewing Party and opportunity for tributes to get sponsorship
Where| The Victoria Ascendant, on the lake
When| After the most recent death roll!
Warnings/Notes| Probable skeeviness of the Nice Guy variety.

Welcome to the Victoria Ascendant, latest in the Ascendant line of luxury yachts as built by the Nadir company. Tonight, the Victoria Ascendant is the stage set for a spectacular party, also paid for by the company and specifically designed and organised by a team of event specialists overseen by your host for this evening, Timaeus Nadir- wealthy eligible bachelor, melodramatic heir apparent to the company chair, frequent sponsor of the Games. The Victoria Ascendant is fully equipped with every obscenely luxurious item imaginable, and practically drips opulence.

When first welcomed aboard you will be assured that your every need will be seen to, your every desire catered for. Staff are on hand to answer any questions you might have or guide you to various areas of the ship, provide you with food, drink, or suggestions of how best to take advantage of the Victoria Ascendant's many amenities- they are here as hosts, but also as salespeople for those of the guests with money to burn- this party is serving more than one purpose. Tributes who responded to their invite will also receive a delicate, hand-written note in a golden envelope as they board- the content of which will be posted as a reply to their response to this post.(I'll do this once your character turns up.)





Although the Victoria Ascendant has a magnificent dining room for formal, sit-down occasions, the food for the party will be circulating the various lounge areas and decks. There is also a buffet table, for those of you who prefer to help yourselves, and a fully stocked bar. Provided are a baffling variety of foods and beverages, seemingly unconnected- but each tribute will find that if at any point during their stay in the Capitol they have requested a particular food or drink item, it is available here. Or, at least, the closest approximation the catering staff could conjure up. Seating is provided in intimate groupings around tables for the most part, though there are large, sprawling couches against the walls. Central to the dining area is a magnificent aquarium filled with brightly coloured fish. Anyone looking closely enough will recognise them- varieties of piranha- but don't worry, they've been more than adequately fed and the glass is thick.

While there are various screens displaying the Games throughout the ship, Viewing is also taking place on an enormous screen, set up in a seperate lounge area with full floor-to-ceiling windows all along one side. Here, staff wait to take bets or help organise the giving of sponsor gifts. Large, comfortable couches line the room, and the central table overflows with a spectacular arrangement of edible flowers and fruit.





Later in the evening, you will be told that the firework display is about to begin, and invited to go up onto the main deck to watch. The fireworks themselves will be launched from smaller boats across the lake, and the display is set to be truly spectacular. It will be set to some music that Tributes may find familiar- various melodies pulled from the most recent Arena. The large swimming pool on the deck is open, but it is too early in the year to be comfortable to use. Instead, it is being used as an unusual centrepiece for the evening. Floating in the illuminated water is a gigantic iceberg, sculpted into a stylised model of the current arena and populated with frozen figures. Eagle-eyed Tributes may be able to spot themselves depicted in ice- more often than not, the moment of their deaths are the pose of choice, if a little tweaked for the sake of a more dramatic scene.


Enjoy!

Adachi · Ariadne · Asha · Atticus · Beck · Blaine · Calico · Callista · Chris · Diana · Don · Eddie · Eponine · Eva · Gaila · Glinda · Harley · Howard · Julie · Kurt · Marty · Maximus · Momoko · Neffa · Parker · Peeta · Phil · Pruna · R · Sigma · Some · Thane · Timaeus · Topher

Comments

Eva | OTA

[vissernone]

Of course, once Eva ferreted out information about the theme of the party, she had to take the concept to a slightly more uncomfortable extreme. She arrives at the party in a light grey tiered, structured dress, which would look outright drab by Capitol standards if not for the red splattered stain that covers the majority of the torso, and is continued up her face and neck with well-applied makeup. A trick to the eye, it gives her the effect of having been splashed in blood that's gone a few hours to pot. Her earrings are a dark red chain of rubies falling down each side of her face.

If she'd wanted to go for costumeish, she'd have painted her face to look dead, but instead she looks very much alive. Her face keeps cracking open into a wide smile as she wanders around the party, nibbling at an edible lily and eying the bar.

Re: Eva | OTA

[shambler]

Red splashed against grey. It pings R on some instinctive level: a quick visual cue, important if you're half-blinded and you're not able to pick up that negative Dead scent if, say, you don't have a nose anymore. It happens. Sometimes they fall right off. Usually red on gray equals another zombie to bump shoulders with, a zombie who just ate and might be willing to share. With the perfume reeking off his outfit, R can't smell anything and all he has is this feeling like someone shoved plugs up his nose. His Escort even made sure to give him a "safety spritz" of Tide's Sigh before she turned him loose and went back to chatting up another sponsor.

R reaches up to paw at his nose and almost shoves the muzzle straight into his skull. Good going, idiot! Annoyed, R drops his hand and goes back to wandering, bumping shoulders with sponsors and Mentors equally. He registers them as bright flashes of color, saturation overboard, a lot of sparkles and furs and weird clothes. It's the red on gray that suddenly stands out, looking almost drab compared to everyone else.

Eventually he shambles close enough to see it's not another Dead. It's Eva. the woman he tried to learn nooses from. Feeling better, the zombie staggers up to her and he's comfortable enough to groan out a "hello" while he's at it.

"Hi," R says.

Re: Eva | OTA

[vissernone]

"Hello, R." She greets him with a smile. It's easier for her to be peppy when she's a little boozy, but she also likes him well enough. She watched him in the Arena, saw that sending him a knife was of no use whatsoever, and decides that next time she'll send something to Julie in his stead. She knows he's combating the urge to do violence - to eat, she reminds herself - and some kind of humane instinct that led him to befriend an injured teenager, to try to find help for his living female friend. She empathizes with that.

So she smiles, because she likes him. "I'm sorry that we don't really have anything in your dietary ballpark today. I tried to request some long pig but I think they assumed I meant I wanted actual pork here."

She reaches out and pats his shoulder, trying not to let her nose wrinkle with the overwhelming, noxious mixture of detergent and decomposition.

Re: Eva | OTA

[shambler]

He manages a wobbly smile back behind the muzzle. The muzzle's so sparkly that it hides the worst of his teeth and gums. "Didn't...think they would. They...probably...draw a...line at..."

The zombie trails off, instead giving a limp-wristed gesture at Eva and her Livingness. At eating humans, real people like her. R still can't get that one. They're totally fine watching people murder each other on screen but the second it's off screen, and suddenly it's a no-no. In the meanwhile, R thinks he can gnaw away at some of the meats here, once he figures out how to shovel them through the muzzle's fake shark teeth. For now, though, he's good. He doesn't want to splash Eva anyway while he's trying to eat. It's rude.

Then R remembers something. It a slow-burn in his pocket, another letter he knows he can't read. Eva's cool. He trusts her. Even if the outfit she has on is distracting in that instinctive way that keeps making him want to sidle up and bump shoulders with her, maybe sway in a corner.

"Could you...do me...a favor?"

Re: Eva | OTA

[vissernone]

"They might draw a line at it now, but give them a few years. Someone will try and be shocking and wear a dress of human skin soon enough." She fondles the chain of one of her earrings. "Possibly me. I like making them wince."

In her defense, they've made her do more than wince in the past. Engaging in fashion has allowed her to cloak her dissent in the guise of being 'avant garde'. It's a safe place to play with all that hate she has burbling up under the surface. It's possibly the only safe place.

"Well, that depends on what the favor is." She waves a finger. "Never agree to a favor before you know what's being asked of you. That's how you get trapped."

[knifewithnoname]

Pruna was still attempting to sneak through the crowd, though it was proving an impossibility in the dress she couldn't really move properly in. The woman in grey and red caught her eye, mostly because it wasn't like the other dresses in the room, and also because it looked like she had been stabbed, or stabbed someone else.

It took the girl a few moments to work out it was just a costume and makeup. She didn't quite draw close but if Eva was alert she would probably get the feeling she was being watched, and it wouldn't take long to spot the little girl trying to remain hidden staring at her.

[vissernone]

Eva has a soft spot for children. She can't not, even when they're out of her district. As it is, she notices the girl long before the girl notices her, but just doesn't approach.

She waits, looking preoccupied, lets Pruna watch for a while, so that Pruna won't feel constantly watched. Finally, she gestures for her to come over to the couch.

[knifewithnoname]

She blinked when she was beckoned towards the woman, embarrassed that she had been caught. She went over warily and tried to look confident.

[vissernone]

Eva's slightly tipsy, and as such her expression is a little too warm. "You're Pruna, aren't you?"

Re: Eva | OTA

[riptheseams]

Calico spends a little time posing for cameras and then simply exploring and loading up on food before she comes to find Eva. But find her she does. Dressed in a demure (for Calico) sailor suit dress, she almost dances over to her old friend, cursing people who cause the plate she balances on her upturned hand high in the air to wobble. Calico's missed her old friend, and for once her smile is completely genuine.

Once over at Eva, Calico plops down, one leg crossed over the other, with her plate of food balanced on her knees. Eva will see now (and probably smell) the eyewateringly spicy food that fills Calico's plate.

"Man, I've missed the heat! How're you doin', Evie? Missed me?" Calico cackles before beginning to eat. "WOW WHEESH this stuff is HOT!"

Re: Eva | OTA

[vissernone]

"I did!" Eva leans in to give her old friend a light hug. "I saw what you were up to. Sorry we couldn't be tearing up the town together."

None of Eva's benders have wound up with her in rehab. Yet. She nibbles at her candy flower and takes a drink of wine.

"Trying to burn your tongue off, dear?"

Re: Eva | OTA

[riptheseams]

"Yeah." Cal rolls her eyes - but then remembers and grins. But her happy expression doesn't quite reflect in her eyes. "Morphling addic', righ'?"

She carries on eating, munching on the hot food. "Yeah. Bi' of flavour, you know? I ain' had flavour for months an' months! So what's the deal here then? Some other big shot? How're my lot shapin' up in the Games?"

Re: Eva | OTA

[vissernone]

"I've never known you to try morphling, but you know how most of us Mentors are. At least they stuck with one of the drugs of choice instead of something more exotic."

Eva reaches over to pick something off Cal's plate. "Oh, I don't know. I don't really watch for your Tributes. Now, District 3's..."

She glances over at Maximus and leers, then winks at Calico.

[electriccandlelight]

"Someone's enjoying themselves," remarked Valeria, coming up to walk beside Eva with a couple of glasses. She'd gone more simply nautical in her adherence to theme, a very tight dress evoking an old-fashioned sailor's uniform, navy blue, and gold braid, all the works. "Drink, darling?"

[vissernone]

"Always," Eva says, taking the glass from Valeria. She looks Valeria up and down. She doesn't much like the Stylists, but hers was kind to her so many years ago, and it's made her somewhat sympathetic. "Thank you. You look very fitting."

She leans against the rail of the yacht. "I hear we have a Tribute in mutual interest, Valeria."

[electriccandlelight]

"Woman after my own heart," said Valeria, taking her own position against the rail, positioned so she could still keep an eye out for anyone interesting who might pass by. "Do we? Which one do you mean?"

[vissernone]

"Eponine? The French girl? She's one of yours, isn't she?" Eva fiddles with a ruffle on the skirt of her dress. "I don't want to imply you don't know how to do your job, not at all, you clearly know what you're doing, but she and I were speaking and there's a design idea I wondered if you'd be interested in for her."

Re: Eva | OTA

[andproper]

If Prim had recognized Eva as a capitol citizen, she'd have never come over - after all, it was the tributes she worried about. Those were the ones she felt a little responsible for.

That dress, though, fooled Prim - if only for a moment - and she was quick to hurry toward the older woman's side. "Are you okay?" she asked, a little faint as she looked at the dress.

wait. Was that...?

Re: Eva | OTA

[vissernone]

"Makeup," Eva says with a wave of her hand, taking a look at the girl - and she is just a girl. After a moment her name bubbles up in Eva's mind to match the face. "Primrose Everdeen? You're in the Capitol?"

Re: Eva | OTA

[acro_bat_ic]

She needs to work on not being found out, it seems. Nothing for it but to bob a little nod, though. "I'm happy to be near Katniss."

Re: Eva | OTA

[vissernone]

"It's not too overwhelming? All the drama?"

[shinyisfalse]

He had a little crowd following him. It was the same crowd that had split him and Katniss, and he really hoped she was okay wherever she was. But for right now, he suddenly found himself without a group around him. That meant only one thing:

Food and drink. He made his way to the bar, brushing past a beautiful woman in a very interesting dress. He really liked it, and found it so pleasing to his artistic eye.

"It must have taken awhile to get that prepared. Your outfit and make up, I mean. It's very beautiful," Peeta offered.

[vissernone]

"Thank you. I was going a bit more for thought-provoking, but I'll take 'beautiful' where I can get it." She holds a hand out to shake. "I'm Eva Salazar, Victor of the 37th Games."

Long before Peeta's time - he could be her grandson. The thought makes her chest hurt; her own son would be 38 now. It strikes her how quickly time passes, and somehow fundamentally unfair that people don't really remember Victors. She's been swept to the side year after year for the new entrants in the Games.

Her face twitches to the side in a smirk. "Funny, I could swear I've seen your face before."

[shinyisfalse]

"It's thought provoking as well, beautiful was just the first word that came to mind," Peeta said with a start, taking her hand and giving it a firm shake. Victor of the 37th Games. She didn't look that old, but you couldn't come out and say that. Especially to a woman.

"It's nice to meet you, Ms. Salazar," He's truly pleased to meet her, and her comment made him laugh just a little bit. "I think I just have one of those faces, I've had a lot of people tell that to me tonight."

[vissernone]

The Capitol keeps her looking relatively young - not too young, because she's managed to avoid a few of the Sponsors who would subject her to endless surgeries.

Her smirks transforms into a full grin. "I know, it's almost as if they've seen you on the television! How has life been treating you since your victory?"