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.
wronglychosen: ≫ manga (fancy meeting you here)

[personal profile] wronglychosen 2013-12-27 07:24 am (UTC)(link)
Zelos raised both eyebrows. "Wow, if it's that easy to look over someone disappearing, I'd hate to know what counts as an emergency around here."
doc_holi: (warm smile)

[personal profile] doc_holi 2013-12-28 02:19 am (UTC)(link)
She smiled to him, almost actually enjoying their little conversation now. "Well, the Capital was attacked by some strange monsters a few months ago. I think they considered that more of an emergency than anything."
wronglychosen: ≫ manga (o_o)

[personal profile] wronglychosen 2013-12-29 09:05 am (UTC)(link)
"Whoa, monsters, here?" Zelos said, somewhat surprised. And here he'd thought the only monsters here would be of the human variety. But that begged the question of how the city wasn't completely totaled, seeing as there was no hint of mana or Exspheres here. "How did they fight them off?"
doc_holi: (sneaky smile)

[personal profile] doc_holi 2013-12-30 01:17 am (UTC)(link)
"Well, there are some man made monsters that the Gamemakers throw into the arena with us pretty often, but I haven't seen something like these before. I think it was a new thing since everyone was generally scared of them."

Fight them off? She smirked. "They used the tributes. Some people here have powers and other abilities, plus more than a few of us know how to fight. Taking part in protecting the city was voluntary, at least."
wronglychosen: ≫ manga (oh hey there)

[personal profile] wronglychosen 2013-12-31 02:47 am (UTC)(link)
"Powers?"

Zelos raised a hand and waved it around meaninglessly, as if to show the extreme lack of powers/abilities he was feeling.
doc_holi: (oh... WOOPS)

[personal profile] doc_holi 2013-12-31 04:53 am (UTC)(link)
Ah. "Some people here are... gifted. I'm not, but some people can do different things. Don't worry. They hardly ever allow it in the arena."
wronglychosen: ≫ game (heh)

[personal profile] wronglychosen 2013-12-31 07:54 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, if only she knew.

"Whew, that's a relief," he lied. "Can't say I'd know what to do, fighting against people who have powers."
doc_holi: (worried)

[personal profile] doc_holi 2014-01-01 07:54 am (UTC)(link)
"It's not very fun."

Not that she's done so in the Capitol, but it's sort of a common thing back in her home.
wronglychosen: ≫ manga (you trust me huh?)

[personal profile] wronglychosen 2014-01-03 04:03 am (UTC)(link)
"Here's to not having to, if we're lucky!" he said cheekily, raising his glass.

Zelos had mixed feelings about this power thing that he couldn't very well express in front of his to-be opponents. On one hand, being able to use magic and boost his sword fighting would be awesome. On the other, he wouldn't be surprised if this place ever decided to let him have his powers, that they decided to give it a twist and give him his Cruxis Crystal instead of his Exsphere.

The difference was more in his mindset than anything, but that was a can of worms he wasn't prepared to open up.

For now, best to just play dumb and stick with the ordinary human shtick. No need to make others wary of him before he even has the advantage.
doc_holi: (warm smile)

[personal profile] doc_holi 2014-01-04 01:28 am (UTC)(link)
It was a very good tactic, to be completely frank. Then again, Holiday wasn't someone to be fooled easily, not that she expected anything of Zelos particularly. It just took a lot for her to trust anyone within the arena or to underestimate them.

Still, he was doing good so far.

"If we're lucky, yes. Luck isn't really something a tribute has, except for the bad kind."
wronglychosen: ≫ manga (go look up there)

[personal profile] wronglychosen 2014-01-05 09:43 am (UTC)(link)
"Hunny, if we had good luck, we wouldn't be tributes," Zelos pointed out humorously. "Might as well make the most of what we have now!"
doc_holi: (excuse you)

[personal profile] doc_holi 2014-01-05 03:23 pm (UTC)(link)
Hunny?

... Whatever.

"The most of it... Well, you go right on ahead. I'm fine so long as they keep me with a steady supply of alcohol and food."