thecapitol | (no subject)

(no subject)

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

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There was someone who was clearly not someone Sigma would really want to talk to or see. He was across the way, looking out at the waves as well, a cup of tea in his hands. Of course people no doubt were watching them, both him and Sigma. However, Don was blissfully unaware that the man who'd maimed him was nearby. Instead, he just assumed people were just looking at him because they usually did.

It was fairly difficult to miss a large, mutant green turtle at a party, even if he was at a distance. As Sigma noticed him he scowled, but it dawned on him that he no longer considered him an enemy. His pain from watching Kyle's death was still raw, but killing Don had made dealing with it easier. In the end, he'd done what he wished: Donatello no longer stood in Kyle's way, nor would he Akane's. At least one of them would not win, and whoever killed them would gain Sigma's hatred the same way Don had. The goalposts kept moving...

Sigma downed the rest of his drink quickly - he felt he'd need it - and after depositing the empty glass on a waiter's tray, he made his way to Donatello's side. Before he was close, Sigma began speaking.

"There is an interesting sculpture of the two of us, you know, in the pool. I must say it captures our likeness well." He speaks partly with anger- how sick he's grown of dying!- but also with amusement.

There was a definite tenseness in Don's body language when his mind processed who was speaking to him. Sigma? Really? Of all people?

"Yeah," he responded, clearly wary. Sure, he didn't have a javelin on him, but that didn't mean he wasn't dangerous. "They couldn't find my arm though. Just like in real life."

There's nothing funny about that at all, but Sigma can't help but laugh. Joking around was his coping mechanism of choice, and until things were truly at their darkest Sigma could always find cheer in any joke, however distasteful.

Once he recovers from his bout of the giggles, Dr. Klim composes himself. "Hm. If it helps at all, that was an honest mistake," he confesses. "I was intending to break your neck, and it didn't go so well."

Dear god. This was insanely awkward. Who jokes that way about killing someone - mainly towards the person who you tried to kill? Shell, what was wrong with this guy?

"I...I see."

He can see why Donatello might not find the situation something to laugh about, but then again, the girls never appreciated his sense of humour either. Perhaps he chooses the wrong sort to strike up conversations with.

Sobering somewhat, Sigma frowns. "I was serious. Do not forget you weren't the only one who died," he scolds. "I should still be there right now." He turns towards the lake, his expression heavy.

Of course he knew that. He wasn't the only dead one. But...

"...Why?" He stared at Sigma, so very confused. "If you target people who have killed in the past...and...try to kill them...wouldn't that mean that you'd have to kill...more people?"

What in the world was this guy's thing?

Don just wasn't putting two and two together. Sigma knew he hadn't made it easy for him, but he found himself disappointed regardless. After all that... Dr. Klim sighed, and with his arms folded on the railing, lowered his head onto them as if he'd take a nap standing up. But he opened his eyes and watched the waves.

"You're the only person I've killed in the last two Arenas," he stated factually. "What was your life like at home?" He asked suddenly, as if to change the topic.

Sigma. You ripped his arm off.

"My..." For the love of - what was this guy's deal with changing the subject!? Or...not...making any sense in general!? ~~Was he missing something? He had to be missing something. Though Don could concede that which 'he' it was that was missing something was clearly up for debate at this point!~~ "I lived in the sewers of New York with my brothers and sensei. It was all right. It wasn't anything like the Capitol, but...it didn't really have to be."

Sigma shifted his position to look in another direction, but still looking away from Donatello. "And what would you do if your brothers were brought here?" he wondered. He made it sound like an absent thought, trying to make conversation. He wasn't quite sure if he did want to explain himself to Don, as the consequences could be grave, but he had a couple drinks in him and thought he at least owed the man a shot at it.

"Of course, I'd..." Stare. "...I'd do what it took to keep them safe. To protect them. To even make sure that they don't even arrive here."

At that, Sigma finally turns to look at Don, his eyebrow raised incredulously. "And how would you prevent their arrival? You don't control the Capitol." Perhaps Donatello knew something he didn't?

"No. I don't control it." Don shook his head, turning away. "But...my actions can affect whether anyone else from my world is brought in."

"You mean to say acting violently?" Sigma wondered, his stare hardening. Perhaps Donatello was on to something.

There's a sigh. How to put this in a vague-to-on-but-obvious-to-another way.

"Not playing the game has definite, known, consequences. Negative incentives that the Capitol has no problem utilizing. Playing the game can stave off the Capitol even considering them. Regardless of whether you enjoy it or not, since one has to play it, one should try to play it smart."

Sigma's hands began to squeeze at the railing, as though he were choking the life from it. So it was his fault his family was here. "Purposefully taking a life is the most atrocious sin one can commit," Sigma asserted quickly. "But if we refuse, they will also kill our loved ones. What can be done?"

He'd tried to play the game by killing Donatello and he hated himself for it. So why bother continuing to kill? What else could they take from him now? They already had his whole world. In the end, he answers against his own emotions. "I've always believed it is better to sacrifice a few than to kill many."

"'If peace can only come through killing someone...'" Don murmured before pausing for a moment. "It goes against everything I've been taught. But the truth is...if they kill our loved ones...if the threat is there...then all you have left is to protect your loved ones. Even if it means killing someone to do it."

Edited 2013-05-14 19:35 (UTC)

Sigma looked Donatello dead in the eye. He felt a soft crunch under his fingers, and realized he'd dented the railing with his grip. Ah, well. If someone noticed, he'd apologize to their host.

"...Yes. I suppose that is true."

It seemed the two of them were at a stalemate. They'd both had the same reasons all along, and neither of them could be blamed. The other man had the advantage that his family was not yet being slaughtered... but Sigma was the one who had brought them here in the first place, by not killing all along.

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