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.
acroodawakening: (017)

[personal profile] acroodawakening 2014-01-22 01:53 am (UTC)(link)
Guy wasn't sure what to make of that. At all.

But he was a smart fellow and those claws actually looked kind of sharp.

"You know what? I think we are friends."

In that the lobster guy was terrifying but seemed a mostly harmless, good natured sort even if he seemed slightly insane. No point in any hostility, right?

"And do you know what friends do?"
crabulous: (pondering)

[personal profile] crabulous 2014-01-22 04:06 am (UTC)(link)
He scratched his chin with his claw, obviously deep in thought. "They certainly don't eat each other... did I get it right? Is that the answer?"
acroodawakening: (011)

[personal profile] acroodawakening 2014-01-22 04:10 am (UTC)(link)
"Exactly. They also don't kill each other in battles to the death."

Guy leaned in, threw his arm around Zoidberg's shoulders, and tried to ignore the smell.

"Look, I'm pretty good at killing things, those claws make me think you're pretty good at killing things - but I'd really rather just be friends. And I'm good to my friends in the arena. I'm used to surviving so I can help you find food and extra water. I like to share, you know?"

And true to his word, he actually would.

"So can we be friends? This has been a very interesting few minutes that I've been talking to you and I'd like to keep the magic going but that would be hard to do if we eventually tried to murder each other, so let's just not."
crabulous: (eager)

[personal profile] crabulous 2014-01-22 07:00 pm (UTC)(link)
Zoidberg perked up visibly, nodding eagerly to everything that Guy had to say.

"I've always wanted a friend of my very own!" He exclaimed, tentacles dangling into a cheerful smile. "You can do the killing bits, and I'll do the healing bits, as I am a fully trained and highly capable medical professional!"

An exaggeration? Perhaps, a small one. But the important thing was, he was meeting new people!
acroodawakening: (006)

[personal profile] acroodawakening 2014-01-30 08:24 am (UTC)(link)
"Well, now you've got one and I will absolutely do that."

He was absolutely going to someone like Hawkeye or Bashir but Zoidberg didn't need to know that.

"You just leave as much of the killing to me as possible, okay? No need for you to get your claws messy and that way you won't risk injuring one in case you need to do some kind of risky, ah, doctoring."
crabulous: (Default)

[personal profile] crabulous 2014-01-30 05:43 pm (UTC)(link)
"Precisely!" He cooed, hardly believing his luck at making such a capable and understanding friend. Truly, this would be the beginning of something magical in his life. Yes, things were finally looking up for ol' Johnny-Boy. "But how will I find you, friend? What if we get lost?"
acroodawakening: (030)

[personal profile] acroodawakening 2014-01-30 09:18 pm (UTC)(link)
"Don't worry, I'll find you. I tend to stay pretty mobile, but that way I can get the lay of the land and find food. I'll keep checking in with you and see what I can bring for you, okay?"

There was something terribly sad about the lobster-thing's eagerness for a friend, and something just as sincerely well-meaning, that Guy found himself wondering if this might wind up a lot more sincere than just an arrangement that prevented his head from getting snipped off.
crabulous: (i'm so into you)

[personal profile] crabulous 2014-01-31 05:05 am (UTC)(link)
He nodded at every single syllable, reaching out to gentle take Guy's hand in his claw.

"Yes, yes! Very good! You and I will be an unstoppable team! Team Zoidberg! Hoorah!"
acroodawakening: (100)

wanna wrap it here?

[personal profile] acroodawakening 2014-02-01 01:34 am (UTC)(link)
It made Guy a little bit nervous until he realized how gently the lobster man was doing it and then he said, "Yeah. Yeah, unstoppable team."

For a slightly deranged weird, he was strangely endearing. Enough that maybe 'friend' might wind up the more appropriate word than 'ally.'
crabulous: (dancing)

sounds great!!

[personal profile] crabulous 2014-02-01 04:05 am (UTC)(link)
Cooing brilliantly, Zoidberg did a happy twirl. He was so pleased with this turn of events! Whoever would have thought that he would be the popular one?

Perhaps things really were looking up for him!