The Crowning of Enjolras

[etcircenses]

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.

Comments

[crabulous]

"I'm Zoidberg," he replied with the broadest of smiles. Or rather, as broad as he smile could be, what with all the tentacles disguising it. Either way, he seemed altogether too proud of himself as he carried on. "Doctor John A. Zoidberg. And you are?"

[burnedbrighter]

Even his name sounded disgusting on her ears.

Drawing herself up to her most regal she introduced herself.

"I am Azula, mentor for District five. Formerly a victor of the games, before they were watered down of course." As for how that was, she would avoid explaining about people not dying. After all that was half the fun!

[crabulous]

Most of what she had just said meant nothing to Zoidberg. Of course, his situation had been explained to him upon arrival, but he'd retained very little of the information, being a rather dense individual. So as she spoke, he simply responded with the most eager of nods. "Very good, very good. The important thing is, you're getting out of the house. So what is it that you do as a mentor?"

[burnedbrighter]

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."

[crabulous]

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?"

[burnedbrighter]

Azula had to admit, she was impressed. An unflappable doctor despite all appearances?

"I find I enjoy music, and relaxing at the spa." She decided to humor his question. "However I take my job very seriously so I tend to put my hobbies on hold until business is done."

[crabulous]

"That sounds quite stressful!" He was attempting to be helpful, and he had heard a doctor in a commercial say something along those lines once. "Perhaps I could prescribe you some medication to make handling your job a breeze!"

[burnedbrighter]

Despite having some kind of shell, he was soft. She could already imagine him being speared in the next arena.

"While I appreciate your offer, you're not licensed to work in the Capitol." She pointed out "And I already have a doctor. As stressful as my work my be it's nothing I can't handle."

[crabulous]

Zoidberg didn't seemed bothered by any of that, probably because it either hadn't registered fully or because he honestly didn't understand what was happening. Either way, he remained obtuse.

"Not having a license never stopped me before~!" But he seemed content to let the matter drop, for now. "So, what's the big occasion again? Is Calculon giving a free performance?"

[burnedbrighter]

"No." She responded in a short dry denial. "We are celebrating the victory of one of my tributes. He overcame the odds and survived longer then any other tribute in the previous arena." She gestured to the winner sitting at his own table, curly hair and mild look of distress on his features. He was hardly a brave or mighty warrior type.

[crabulous]

"You don't say," the crab replied, craning his thick neck around toward where Azula was gesturing. He took in Enjolras with a long snort, one which spoke volumes of his disapproval. "That little one over there? The one what with the Jheri curl?"

[burnedbrighter]

"Trust me, no one is more surprised then me." She chuckled at the reaction she had gotten out of him.

"His nature flies in the face of everything a Victor is supposed to represent. He has no respect for our system and I just can't imagine what the stylists would do with that mop on his head. But we make due with what we have."

Sometimes her emotions got the best of her. Thankfully this tribute wasn't the most put together...she probably wouldn't have to worry about being honest in her opinion of her fellow victor.

[crabulous]

"How did such a small and highly unmasculine man achieve his victory?" Zoidberg wondered aloud. He was not at all impressed or afraid of the little French thing over yonder. I mean, look at him.

[burnedbrighter]

Now came the time where Azula would have to...begrudgingly, support her fellow victor if only because he was from her district.

"By being faster, better hidden and luckier then the other tributes naturally. In the end sometimes all you need is to outlast the others." She smirked thoughtfully "Though in the end he did take down a much more capable tribute using the element of surprise." That was a moment of particular pride for Azula, especially because the tribute in particular had been Garrus.

[crabulous]

"The Frenchman won by hiding? Color me surprised!" Zoidberg wasn't actually surprised. He didn't know much about the French people and their ways, as the French culture and language had died out centuries before his time, but he knew that they were legendary for their cowardice. "But still, it is a solid strategy. I pity the crab whom he slew in the end. It must have been so embarrassing."

[burnedbrighter]

"Oh horribly embarrassing." Azula chuckled amused with the outcome "He was a trained solider if you believe it. And an experienced mercenary. But still the odds simply weren't in his favor and my Tribute won instead."

My Tribute. Amazing how much pride she could muster in someone she loathed.

[crabulous]

"How proud you must be, as his surrogate mother." Because that clearly was the dynamic of their relationship, right?

Why are all your icons just so glorious <3

[burnedbrighter]

"Eh." She made a face "Let's not go that far. I prefer the term mentor. And as for my pride?" She glanced back in his direction as she tried to find the correct words.

"I'm proud of my district. And I'm pleased with the results, let's go with that."

d'aww (V);,,;(V)

[crabulous]

"You keep using that word. District. What on Earth does it mean?" His imagination wandered to areas of commerce or trade, such as shopping districts. Or meatpacking districts.

[burnedbrighter]

Anything to be away from the idea of being anyone's mother.

"Well on Earth is about right. The twelve Districts are the cities outside of the Capitols that produce everything we enjoy here. The food, the power, the clothes and manufactured goods all are made for us by the hard working Districts, and in turn we protect them, govern them and make sure that the world runs smoothly. I was born in District five which is responsible for most of the power that our world enjoys. Electricity and the like." To make a point she held up her wrist and a small blue tube of a bracelet hung delicately on her pale thin wrist. Inside a bolt of lightning raced around near constantly, glowing enticingly and dangerously.

[crabulous]

His massive eyes seemed to become even larger and his tongue darted out from between his tentacles. He was curious about how that little bracelet might taste. "I see. And which district am I from?"

[burnedbrighter]

Her face fell, while she enjoyed talking about things she understood and knew about it was a sad reminder that this creature was so painfully new.

"Didn't anyone tell you yet?" She could always look him up on her tablet but that was effort when she could be enjoying herself.

[crabulous]

"Probably," he admitted, scratching his head thoughtfully with his claw. "It didn't seem relevant to me at the time."

[burnedbrighter]

She was so glad this one wasn't in her district. Still she smiled warmly and spoke in her most friendly condescending tone.

"I imagine it probably doesn't given how very relaxed and cheerful you are about all this. You're simplicity is a welcome change."

[crabulous]

All of the condescension went right over Zoidberg's head. Instead, he was happy to bask in the compliment. "I am very cheerful! You're such an observant individual!"