etcircenses: (Default)
Panem Events ([personal profile] etcircenses) wrote in [community profile] thecapitol2013-12-15 06:36 am

The Crowning of Enjolras

WHO| All Tributes and Victor, plus a few Capitol guests
WHAT| The Crowning of Enjolras
WHERE| The Tribute Center
WHEN| A few weeks after the end of the Arena
WARNINGS| Forced medical experimentation, needles.

The atmosphere surrounding the Crowning is both tense and secretive. The style teams flutter around listlessly, having received no information from which to draft their designs. Newspapers take bets on when it will be announced where the Crowning is being held, descending into grousing when no press release is given. Peacekeepers pour in and out of the Tribute Center, accompanied by scientists who occasionally pull Tributes aside and look at the veins in their elbows. Even the Avoxes seem jumpier than usual.

Aside from the Tribute Center's new giant marble statute of a nude Enjolras, posed like the famed David, one could almost forget the party is supposed to be celebratory.

When the day arrives, the Escorts and their assistants don't lead the Tributes to their style teams to be gussied instead. Instead, they hush the Tributes and bring them to their bedrooms, where a Peacekeeper, a white-coated citizen and several Avoxes await them. The Escorts instruct the Tributes to lay down in their bed and close their eyes, and a needle is inserted into their arms that the Escorts insist will 'take them to the party'. It's soon followed by a series of sensors taped to the forehead.

Just relax, the Escorts say, and they do their very best to make sure their Tributes feel minimal anxiety. If the Tributes resist too much, more Peacekeepers are called in, and the Tributes are forced into submission.

The first effect is a sort of paralysis - not the terrifying inability to move, but a signal to the brain that says why move? Moving is so much effort. It's quickly followed by drowsiness, and then a chill that radiates from the needle into the body, and finally, unconsciousness.

And that is when the party begins. The Tributes, now dressed in luxurious 1830's French clothing of a quality beyond even what their Stylists could manage, wake up in the front row of a large stone theater setting reminiscent of, simultaneously, Greek and French architecture. The floor of the theater is filled with buffets of every imaginable sort of food. Rose petals fall from the sky, which displays a sunset worthy of award-winning photography.

For his part, Enjolras sits in a throne made of books on the ring of the amphitheater, flanked by Marius, Cosette, Eponine, and bizarrely enough Venus Dee Milo and Ellie, seated on lush pillows and carpets made of dinosaur skin (with the heads comically attached and eyes lolling).

"Welcome, welcome, our Tributes and Mentors, to the first ever somnofestival, sponsored by Hypnogogia!" Caesar Flickerman, noted talkshow host and Games presenter, appears in a fabulous sequined toga in the center of the amphitheater. He doesn't need a microphone; the acoustics here are flawless. "And congratulations to our Victor! Let us hear it for Enjolras!"

He awaits applause.

"As you may have noticed, you're inside a shared dream, due to the just fantastic technology from the Capitol and certain, ah, biological contributions from our dear favorite Aunamee." He holds a hand out and gestures to Aunamee, anticipating wild applause. "We thought that for our most philosophical Victor yet, we should celebrate in a way that's a little bit…cerebral."

Caesar laughs and gestures at all the food, then puts a cheeky finger to his lips. "By all means, enjoy yourselves. Even the most indulgent desserts here won't show up on your hips tomorrow. The party only last three hours, so you might as well get started!"

He vanishes into thin air, leaving the Tributes to celebrate. Occasionally, the Tributes will hear voices in their heads - chatter from the Peacekeeper and scientist and Escort still in their room, in the waking world. Otherwise, this is a party like any other, if somewhat surreal in nature.

-/-

The party begins the same way for all the Tributes. For an unlucky few, however, it soon diverges as they come under an unfortunate glitch in the system.

They'll look around and find only a handful of their fellow Tributes around them. The sky, rather than being a magnificent splay of color, is now blank white, and yet the lighting in the theater seems dim. A sense of panic, detached from any conscious thoughts, surges forth in them like the tide.

For them, this isn't a shared dream. This is a shared nightmare.
burnedbrighter: (feh)

[personal profile] burnedbrighter 2014-01-05 06:05 pm (UTC)(link)
"See...you say that." Azula sighed for a moment of genuine disappointment, but up until the Capitol changed things all the players were as green and inexperienced as you. And all of our winners...myself included, were against the same sort of odds. Now that people have multiple chances...well it just doesn't have the same sort of bite to it does it?" She mused longingly.

After all, she was more special now that victors like herself were a thing of the past.

"Be thankful you came when you did." She concluded. "This is a warmer, fluffier Capitol that gives second chances."
burnedbrighter: (may I take your order?)

[personal profile] burnedbrighter 2014-01-05 06:16 pm (UTC)(link)
Well he wasn't wrong, that was a start.

"It's my responsibility to ensure the tributes of my district are as prepared as possible to enter the arena and achieve victory by killing all the other tributes."

And then a pause and added "Including you."
revvinguptheharley: (Thumbs up!)

[personal profile] revvinguptheharley 2014-01-05 06:54 pm (UTC)(link)
"Ooo, now there's an idea you would never wanna give up." Harley burst out with laughter. Joan was every bit as silly as she was.

The woman had real potential as an insane super villain.
brother2dragons: (Default)

Re: I'm still doing our other log, I'm very sorry about the lateness!

[personal profile] brother2dragons 2014-01-05 07:09 pm (UTC)(link)

"I suppose they wanted to keep the illusion that you were still well guarded?" Dan suggested, smiling just a bit at the sight of her. He said it in such a way that implied that he thought it was about protection, rather than the sense that Tributes needed to be monitored.

setfires: (sitting)

[personal profile] setfires 2014-01-05 07:26 pm (UTC)(link)
Cinna did just that. He carefully bent his body and folded up his legs so that he could get comfortable.

"Which ones?" he asked, looking over at the bowl that Guy had gathered. "I might be able to help with that."
setfires: (blue)

[personal profile] setfires 2014-01-05 07:27 pm (UTC)(link)
Cinna frowned a bit and looked over the crowd, trying to find Sandy's blond hair. "I can't find her either..." he said, then he had a sinking feeling in his stomach. "Perhaps... she'll arrive later?"
knifewithnoname: (But I don't want that)

[personal profile] knifewithnoname 2014-01-05 07:57 pm (UTC)(link)
"But they did be taking her at the same time as me." Pruna frowned as she looked around, "No one has been seeing her at all."
knifewithnoname: (smiles)

[personal profile] knifewithnoname 2014-01-05 07:59 pm (UTC)(link)
Pruna nodded, scanning the crowd again for Sandy. "I do be being sure you will be managing to be impressing them." She would be watching, she still hadn't decided whether Mindy would be a useful ally or an exciting target.
asklepian: (pic#7155022)

[personal profile] asklepian 2014-01-05 08:24 pm (UTC)(link)
"Alright, then. We'll have to decide on a time to meet--sooner rather than later would probably serve best." It seemed the sort of situation where they couldn't be sure of exactly when something would happen, after all.

"Only a couple of weeks. I seem to have arrived rather late." Lasting to the end probably didn't count for much, when he'd only been there for such a short time.
mediumdrip: (could i be the "new kid" you mentioned?)

[personal profile] mediumdrip 2014-01-05 09:46 pm (UTC)(link)
Blaine looked up and smiled a bit when he saw Enjolras. "I think in this place, we can have them sound like anything we want," he said. "And congratulations on your win."
mediumdrip: (oh no more please)

[personal profile] mediumdrip 2014-01-05 09:48 pm (UTC)(link)
"We'll have to quiz each other when we get up, just to make sure we are both really here."
mediumdrip: (oh holy fuck eyebrows)

[personal profile] mediumdrip 2014-01-05 09:50 pm (UTC)(link)
"Yeah, I'm just not sure where it is. Dreams take place in your head. If this is in all of our heads... That just sounds like an opening for something dangerous."
mediumdrip: (could i be the "new kid" you mentioned?)

[personal profile] mediumdrip 2014-01-05 09:51 pm (UTC)(link)
Blaine didn't seem to mind if she wasn't very talented. He fell easily into leading her, and enjoyed the movement as well.

"Well, if I find someone capable of the first, I'll let you know," he said, teasing her by making fun of himself, just a bit.
Edited 2014-01-05 21:51 (UTC)
wantwhatiwant: clasticon (smiling)

[personal profile] wantwhatiwant 2014-01-05 10:23 pm (UTC)(link)
"Yeah, make sure our brains didn't get scrambled or some shit." He grinned.
dividedgirlofmine: that i'm a stranger (sultry | the place where i)

Re: Susannah | OTA

[personal profile] dividedgirlofmine 2014-01-05 10:24 pm (UTC)(link)
She shakes her head. "When I was younger I--" (well, Detta) "--used to sneak off to the roadhouses to go dancing--" (and play a dangerous game cockteasing the whiteboys) "--but it's been years." She looks at their entwined hands, then back up at Harley. "You want to see if I still remember?"

Though the music's not really the sort of stuff you'd hear at a roadhouse. She'd have to fix it.

A few seconds later, a down and dirty blues riff hits the air around them.
crabulous: (innocent little zoidberg)

[personal profile] crabulous 2014-01-05 10:49 pm (UTC)(link)
Believe it or not, a smile lit up the lobster's disgusting face. Yes, he seemed utterly delighted by the remark.

"What a compliment!" Zoidberg enthused proudly. "Thank you, my friend!"
crabulous: (pondering)

[personal profile] crabulous 2014-01-05 10:52 pm (UTC)(link)
At that, Zoidberg was unsure whether or not he should be afraid. His life had been threatened so many times before, it was practically a non-event for him. But of course there was the off chance that this lady meant business. In that case, he figured he ought to be very afraid. However, the niggling of doubt still sat settled in his mind. Most likely, she was making an attempt at humor and could safely be ignored! "And what are your hobbies?"
mannersmatter: (oh shit/upset)

<3

[personal profile] mannersmatter 2014-01-05 11:21 pm (UTC)(link)
Her dress was almost instantly weighed down, the many layers of fabrics quickly becoming soggy in the heavy rain. It was hard to move, suffocating, and Effie had to take deep breaths to stop from panicking.

She hesitated a moment, before tearing at the heavy skirts and layers. Luckily, the under things were decent and decorative enough it would still be quite fashionable. Perhaps she could even just recreate it with her mind.

But now was not the time. She stepped out of the layers carefully, before moving towards the sound. When she heard Sandy approaching, she felt relief flood up.

"Sandy!"
celebrityskinned: (Basic - You Kidding?)

[personal profile] celebrityskinned 2014-01-05 11:45 pm (UTC)(link)
"What, not betraying people?" She raises an eyebrow and then puts a finger to her lips in a shushing gesture. "I won't tell anyone, but you probably shouldn't advertise that."
fire_punk: (pic#4342734)

[personal profile] fire_punk 2014-01-06 12:12 am (UTC)(link)
"What do you mean? It's just dreaming."
orestes: (11;)

[personal profile] orestes 2014-01-06 12:20 am (UTC)(link)
"And an implicit agreement to a barbaric system which prizes cruelty and deprives men of their humanity." Well spoken, perhaps, but his skills would do no good whatsoever unless he developed at least a minimal filter. Still the prospect of influencing things within the Arena while not actually having to dirty his own hands was appealing.

"I do not know if this will be possible for me, Azula." He smiled at her, though it was hardly a true smile. It was too bitter to really count. "Perhaps it would be better if they killed me now. I may end up doing more harm than good."
orestes: (pic#7217260)

[personal profile] orestes 2014-01-06 12:32 am (UTC)(link)
He nodded, acquiescing a little bit to his new acquaintances perceived expectations. Whatever his feelings on the Games were, everyone in the Arena could use a bit of luck. "I wish every Tribute luck, and I wish every person in Panem luck in finding a way out of this oppressive system. We all sorely need it."

Although luck alone would be insufficient to effect any true progress, it could be a start. Something would be done, and now that he was no longer at the beck and call of the Arenas every few months, perhaps something could be done.

"You should enjoy the party, Monsieur Wilder." Enjolras lifted his glass, waving ever so slightly to the rest of the frivolity around them. "Before I wrench all enthusiasm for the afternoon from you."
iselldrugstothecommunity: (Basic - For Real?)

[personal profile] iselldrugstothecommunity 2014-01-06 02:38 am (UTC)(link)
"Well, we got lots of time around here, unless they decide to kidnap us to another party. They mostly let us run wild."

As wild as someone can be while in captivity, but Howard doesn't really mind that so much.

"I came in halfway through my first Arena too. It's rough."
alonelikeme: (Default)

[personal profile] alonelikeme 2014-01-06 04:04 am (UTC)(link)
Cosette turned toward the voice of the gentleman and smiled slightly. "Merci.... It is something close to home."

She glanced around at how elaborate everything was, how everyone was dressed in clothing so close to what she remembered. "As Monsieur Enjolras is from the same time as myself and a few others, I believe the Capitol has determined to make his gala something from home..."
swill: poppyapples.dw (Default)

[personal profile] swill 2014-01-06 04:17 am (UTC)(link)
'No'.

Shot down over the Sea of Japan.

Things didn't have to make sense- they just happened.

He bites back an animalistic, frustrated noise. He fights back making a grab for his hair and tugging. He only scratches at one arm with his hand, at the crook of the elbow. Sure, he was jealous now. He wouldn't be as much when the drugs wore off and the world came back into focus, when he would understand things in the most vague and basic way and Guy wouldn't. War made progress. Nobody denied that.

"Yeah, great," he says, flat and dismissing. He'd apologize to the fella for real, one day. He didn't deserve the cold shoulder. Hawkeye knew that. He bent down and picked a stone- didn't know where it had come from when the rest of the path was dirt- and chucked it. And it skipped, as it would on the water and sank, and Hawkeye could swear he saw a splash, too. "I think it'll run its course," he answers, fixated on the shift of the world, subtle as it had been. He scratched at his arm again, and let his hand fall calmly to his side. "It can't last forever. I thought we'd find the- something. By now. There's nothing ahead and I'm not going back."

As he says that, a wall rises behind the two. They couldn't step back if they tried. Funny, that.