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.
paidinbeer: (Orc is tired of your bullshit)

Orc

[personal profile] paidinbeer 2013-12-15 12:32 pm (UTC)(link)
Orc felt ridiculous.

He always felt like a dork when he had to wear a suit, and it was worse now that his body was bigger then most adults because it meant everyone could see him in all his splendor.

A purple suit jacket with matching crushed velvet gloves were the first thing anyone would notice after they noticed the hulking rock monster in a suit. They were lined with gold thread that seemed to sparkle whenever he moved.

A forest green vest wast custom tailored around his broad belly, and worst of all the outfit came with a little piece of ruffled fabric around his neck that made him feel completely and indescribably unmanly.

He was told it was called a cravat.

Finally to top off the horrible outfit was a top hat. As if he wasn't tall enough.

All of this was quickly being drowned out by the wine Orc was pouring into his mouth. Drops of it flecked onto his outfit and he felt his lips threaten to tug into a smirk of satisfaction.

This party was too nice for people like him.

But what did Aunamee have to do with any of it?
revvinguptheharley: (Default)

Harley Quinn

[personal profile] revvinguptheharley 2013-12-15 12:51 pm (UTC)(link)
There were alot of deplorable things about the Capitol.

Their sense of fashion usually ranked pretty high on the list.

But as the elegant lady Harleen Quinzel admired herself in the red and black fancy dress she had to admit...this party had some flare.

There were lots of frills and ruffles to this outfit, and the corset and bustle made her feel oddly kinky despite how tight the former was and how silly to walk around in the latter was.

Her golden blond hair was done in a particular french twist that would have taken hours if they had actually sat down to style it.

Satisfied with her sexy self Harley then set out to the snack table to take full advantage of the fact that none of these empty calories would need burning off later. Once her brain was buzzing on fake sugar she'd enjoy some dancing.

Swishing through the crowd she took a moment to appreciate the power and brilliance of the human mind. All of this world around them was a construct of chemicals and imagination. What neurons were currently firing in her brain and how were they effecting those around her?

If she ever became a victor, maybe she could use her status to learn more about this technology. There were endless possibilities for fun with the idea of shared dreams. She wondered to what extent her mind could control things, and to her delight she found inside her purse a pair of glittering diamond earrings.

The food tasted the way the food in the capitol was supposed to. The music was as lovely here as it would be in real life.

Who would ever want to wake from a perfect dream like this?
Edited 2013-12-15 12:55 (UTC)
onlyimmune: (worrying)

Ellie

[personal profile] onlyimmune 2013-12-15 02:02 pm (UTC)(link)
She had fought.

She had fought, and screamed, and kicked, and flailed, and the peacekeepers had shoved her down and held her hard and she had fought and fought and then fighting seemed like way too much work and then--

And then she was here.

She was absolutely, completely, and utterly confused but for some reason it didn't exactly seem to matter. She was wearing a long, poofy-sleeved dress, in a rich reddish-purple, completely embroidered with little swirling birds and butterflies and a couple giraffes prancing with a horse or two. The scene embroidered on her seemed to shift and change as she moved, and a velociraptor seemed to stalk around her skirts and peer out to the crowd, ready to snap and bite.

She was seated beside Venus, way at the front, and had absolutely no idea why she was here, beyond Caesar booming about Enjolras and her head turning to see him just off to her left. She recognized him, of course, it was impossible not to, but it made her gut twist weirdly.

Venus, though. It was nice to see Venus. She slipped a hand under the table to grab for hers, and squeezed it tightly.
Edited 2013-12-15 14:02 (UTC)
gluteus: (downcast)

Maximus

[personal profile] gluteus 2013-12-15 03:25 pm (UTC)(link)
He hadn't resisted.

It was futile, and he knew that if death came for him in the Capitol it would be in the form of their strange weapons known as 'guns'. So he glared as they lay him down but he did not resist, and then eventually he was brought here.

He was dressed in a simple black uniform with silver edging and epaulettes and buttons. On his chest, two embroidered horses to match his ancient armour though those were the only decoration. Save for the medals.

He had one for each arena (four in total) - the third one quite a bit larger with the word Victor etched across the bottom.

It was strange, being in a crowning again, and stranger still to find it in a place like this, where the world seemed to shift every time he wasn't looking straight at it. A dream. A dream, but this was no farm.
the_marshal: (wyattWhat)

Wyatt, OTA

[personal profile] the_marshal 2013-12-15 04:44 pm (UTC)(link)
He didn't resist, at first. He had reservations, of course, but nothing in particular to set off the alarms as he was herded to his room and eased down onto his bed. Nothing, until he saw the needle. Then that slow worm of unease leapt into a hard panic. His long history with the Capitol and their needles working against both him and the escort trying desperately to soothe him.

The peacekeeper, expecting it perhaps, had a hold on him before Wyatt could do much more than curse. The fight he intended to put up melting out of his limbs as he sank and sank and drifted....

And woke again. At the party, surrounded by his fellow tributes.

It was a lot to take in. From the brilliant sky above, to the soft, downy petals brushing across his cheeks and settling on his shoulders like snowflakes, to the clothes - a full suit, complete with tails brushing against the backs of his thighs. As black as midnight, shifting to a deep, dark blue when he moved and the light hit him right. On his chest was a star, as bright and glittering as any one might find in the sky.

Pulling at the buttons, which ran all the way the crisp shirt to his throat, he undid the first two - enough to breath - and looked around for familiar faces.
president_evil: (weskerEdge)

Wesker, OTA

[personal profile] president_evil 2013-12-15 04:52 pm (UTC)(link)
He didn't like it, of course he didn't, but to resist would be reveal how little he trusted them. Would be to give them a reason to distrust him.

Would be to undo all the hard work he'd put in thus far.

So he settled, without a word, and let them work. His only reaction to the needle and the unfamiliar solution sweeping into his vein, a tightening around his jaw.

Finding himself at the party, seemingly mere moments later, he had to give them their due. The technology was truly astounding and he couldn't help but immediately turn the possibilities over in his mind, wondering just how much he would be able to do with something like this....

It was just about the time he was imaging being able to wipe the endless waste of hundreds and hundreds of broken clones from the books that he felt the first stirring. The first hard stab in his throat.

Something moving beneath his skin.

A familiar pain, despite how long it had been.

The virus - his virus - coming to life inside him. Fighting back. Fighting him for control.
orestes: (11;)

Enjolras | OTA

[personal profile] orestes 2013-12-15 05:44 pm (UTC)(link)
The last time he'd been knocked out in preparation for a crowning, Enjolras had woken up with two pieces of metal weighing heavily in his earlobes. For this, and for all the other indiscretions of the Capitol, he'd found it hard to trust the entreaties for the Escorts. But there was nothing left to be taken form him, not really, and so with those dark thoughts swirling in his head, he'd stilled and let them go about their business. If they'd wanted him dead, he'd have been dead. If they wanted to torment him more, there wasn't much he could do about it. Not now, anyway.

It's with a true republican horror that he takes note of the throne. Did they expect him to hold court here? He thinks at first that it must be a mistake, some fever dream, or a paranoid delusion. The colors seem too vivid and every so often he thinks he can a voice unfamiliar and too close to his periphery to be a product of unintentional eavesdropping, or the odd acoustics of the cavernous hall. It makes him strain not to jump in his seat, and to appear taciturn and stony-faced at the center of the hideous tumult.

Three hours, he'd said. Three hours and it would be over.
Edited 2013-12-15 17:44 (UTC)
alldeduction: (rooftop)

Sherlock

[personal profile] alldeduction 2013-12-15 05:58 pm (UTC)(link)
One moment he had been talking with someone at the party, the next he was suddenly alone. He was still at the party - the setting had not changed - but the hall was empty. The ringing sound of people chattering to each other all through the party disappeared. He was alone, and the shadows stretched and twisted in weird ways all around him.

He frowned, taking a step forward, and heard a chuckle behind him. He recognized that voice. He recognized it.

His blood chilled as he turned - just enough to peer behind him - and saw the figure. Tall, dark, and the light wouldn't seem to touch him - bending away before it could illuminate his features, but Sherlock already knew who it was. Knew who held the knife in his hand, knew who laughed before pulling up a finger to his lips and making a low sound. Shhhh.

Knew who it was when the figure turned away to look for prey.

It was him.

"No!" Sherlock called out after the shadow as it slipped away, and he lunged after it. "Stop!"
celebrityskinned: (Happy - Slight Smile)

Re: Ellie

[personal profile] celebrityskinned 2013-12-15 06:24 pm (UTC)(link)
Of everyone here, Venus just might be the least fazed by all this. It's not that it isn't a little bit creepy, but any X-heroine should be familiar with having their brains picked through by all manner of unsavory people (usually supervillains, sometimes just shady government organization). By all accounts, the Capitol only ranks a four on the one-to-ten "freak out about your mental privacy" meter.

She stretches her leg out on the dinosaur rug and plush bean-baggish velvet chair. She's wearing a long gown with a low back and the softest fabric she could imagine as a train (it's a bit anachronistic, but Venus lacks the knowledge to notice). Her hair is in small braids in the dream, creating a classy ridge up her head.

She looks up at Enjolras, at the tension around his eyes as he tries not to freak out. Very real concern turns in her gut. He looks worse and worse every time she sees him, like the face of some Egyptian statue being worn away by sandstorms. She turns away and looks at Ellie.

She knows she shouldn't get attached to people in this line of work - whatever this line of work has become - but she can't deny that at least back in the X-Statix she had a team. There were people she fought both with and alongside, came home with, and died with. Maybe her team was no different than her comrades here.

"Hey, kid." She gives Ellie's hand a squeeze back and shoots the girl an encouraging smile. Venus' nails are painted pearly white. "You look terrified. Here's a hint, when you're snacking no one can tell you don't have a good party face."
gardienne: (go away)

Re: SHARED NIGHTMARE

[personal profile] gardienne 2013-12-15 06:33 pm (UTC)(link)
Eponine had never realised how tight, how restrictive a corset was, and for the first few minutes of sitting uncomfortably in the high seats near Enjolras, she regretted all the time she had wasted wishing for such a dress as this. For Eponine, for once in a way, had got her wish exactly. She ended up dressed in a pretty pale pink silk, with short puffed sleeves and a wide belt that emphasised a waist pulled scarily thin.

But she had been glad of the dress. It meant that her stylists had listened to her again. It meant that things were starting to go her way at long last. At least, until the sky changed and disappeared, along with the majority of the tributes.

Almost immediately, she seems to sink into the earth, or perhaps the stones from the amphitheatre grow up around her, forming a small building around Eponine. A wide doorway forms, but it's barred completely. Eponine soon appears at the door: the room she's trapped in is small, after all, and she clutches at the bars. But gone is her pretty dress: she's in her old rags from Paris now, and her feet are bare, aside from the heavy manacles set with chain. Her right wrist wears a cuff to match the Capitol one still fastened to her left wrist, and another chain dangles between them. Eponine is in jail again.

"Eva? EVA? Monsieur Sigma? Monsieur Aunamee?" She cries out for help, trying to reach her hands through the bars of the door. "Please! Please, he's in here. Let me out. LET ME OUT. Please!"

From deep inside the room, Draco Malfoy hisses profanities and slurs against both Eponine and the men (and Howard) that she loves.
formersurgeon: (no)

Joan

[personal profile] formersurgeon 2013-12-15 06:33 pm (UTC)(link)
Joan had been pulled aside by a scientist a couple days prior, had him look at her arm, at her veins, before walking off without a word. So when she saw the scientist and avoxes and Peacekeeper in her room, it slotted that bizarre data point into place. When they gave her the instruction to lie down and close her eyes, she gave a short incredulous laugh.

"You're joking. Screw the coronation. I am not just lying down and letting you put that in my arm."

She knew they wouldn't just back off when she said no, so she was utterly unsurprised when the Peacekeepers came in and forced her to the bed. She didn't struggle overmuch, since she knew there was nothing that would come of that than some completely useless bruising, but she didn't exactly go willingly either.

When she woke in the coronation, she looked down at her pale pink, poofy sleeved gown, and rolled her eyes, lifting her arms in an exasperated gesture. Then she turned her attention to the party. This was incredible, and very, very dangerous. If they could plant images in their heads, what was stopping them from extracting thoughts from them? She might be able to watch what she says, but how does anyone watch what they think?

She looked around for people she knew.
onlyimmune: (listening)

[personal profile] onlyimmune 2013-12-15 06:33 pm (UTC)(link)
She relaxes a fraction as Venus squeezes back, but she doesn't let go of her hand yet. (It's probably silly, but Ellie doesn't care.)

"I'd be a lot less terrified if I had any fucking clue where I was," She murmured in an undertone while she looked out over the party. "A dream. They can even get into my dreams." She turned her head to meet Venus' eye and looked a little sheepish.

"Only it can't really be my dreams, because I only ever dream of home. This is just... really fucking weird. At least I get to sit with you. You alright? I was looking for you at that party but I couldn't find you."
wantwhatiwant: clasticon (Oh?)

[personal profile] wantwhatiwant 2013-12-15 06:50 pm (UTC)(link)
Ian was high when the avoxes and scientists entered his room. Still he fought, not wanting them to do anything to him. He was easily overpowered though and soon he couldn't move, and the next thing he knew he was dressed ridiculously and at a party.

"What the fuck?" He looked around, the place was beautiful, the outfits were beautiful. A shared dream. Ian looked around, feeling completely out of it, more so than he had done before.

His clothing had far too many ruffs and layers (he was glad he hadn't actually had to put it on) and he snatched the hat off his head.

He grabbed a drink, dream him was far too sober.
alldeduction: (dark rim light)

[personal profile] alldeduction 2013-12-15 06:57 pm (UTC)(link)
Sherlock ran after the shadow, but it had melded into the creeping darkness and he had lost it. He cursed under his breath while he searched, trying to ignore the panic under his skin. Then- suddenly- there, a figure, and he ran towards it with an arm stretched out before he realised that it wasn't him.

"Wesker, Victor," The label slipped out from his lips. "You aren't him." Obvious. "Where is everyone?"
the_marshal: (wyattLook)

[personal profile] the_marshal 2013-12-15 07:07 pm (UTC)(link)
Wyatt was only half-listening to Flickerman as he drifted the through the crowd (was he walking, the movements felt strange, as if moving through water, rather than air). A dream, the man called it, shared by them all.

It seemed impossible, but he no other explanation for it. None that made any more sense.

And he couldn't but suppose, if it was a dream, at least they'd gotten one thing right - there was Max, familiar to him despite the strangeness of the setting, the decidedly un-Max like clothes.

He wasn't sure what to say - what could one say, to something like this - so he merely touched him instead. A hand on his shoulder as he slipped in beside him. An uncertain twist to his mouth as their eyes met.
alldeduction: (streetlights)

[personal profile] alldeduction 2013-12-15 07:11 pm (UTC)(link)
Sherlock had let them do what they wanted. He hadn't whispered a word of complaint - had almost seemed to expect it - and slipped into the dream without a word. He was dressed in a deep navy jacket, black trousers, and a vest of rich purple which shimmered in the light as he moved. His usually unruly hair seemed to fall in perfect curls on his forward, and he looked vaguely unimpressed.

Really, he was concerned. Deeply, deeply concerned. But he kept it from slipping onto his face.

He almost didn't recognize her at first. The pink gown so far from what he expected her to be in that his eyes almost glazed right past her, but then the gear clicked and his eyebrow raised as he stepped over.

"Well. That is a dress." Smooth, Sherlock.
president_evil: (weskerEyes2)

[personal profile] president_evil 2013-12-15 07:15 pm (UTC)(link)
He didn't hear the other voice, not at first, even with his great senses. Too busy fighting within himself. He was hunched, powerful shoulders up as ripples crawled up along his spine, tendrils moving between the muscle and bone, pressing under his skin.

No.

He would not give. This would not happen to him, he would not be like the others. He was better, he was more....

The voice finally sank in, but he didn't respond - not with words at any rate.

He turned, head jerking with an natural crack, movement visible under his jaw. Flaring under his ear, disappearing again as it rolled into his throat. The eyes blazed, a bloody glow, and teeth flashed.
69problems: 8-xenon-8 (xtra | I hope there is  a way)

The Signless

[personal profile] 69problems 2013-12-15 07:17 pm (UTC)(link)
It's perfect, really. Save for when Capitol people had asked him to (or the one time he'd gotten too restless and wandered far enough to bump into Marius) the Signless hadn't left the District 12 rooms. Not having to leave them now and spend hours and hours being fussed over and then even longer putting on a nice face for everyone else is a relief, even if he still has three hours of party to get through. He'll just do his very best to fade into the background.

The outfit he's in isn't doing much to help with that, unfortunately. It's a mess of bright red and white and gold (including gold covers for his new, sharpened horns), and it's not very efficient for hiding from anything in. To compensate he picks a place to sit and firmly resolves to just not move, except for lifting his glass of dark soda occasionally to his lips. At least there's no tiger pit at this crowning. He can do this.
gluteus: (over shoudler)

[personal profile] gluteus 2013-12-15 07:20 pm (UTC)(link)
Maximus turned at the touch and his eyes softened slightly as he realised who it belonged to.

"Wyatt," He murmured through the stones in his throat. "Seems they decided to hold a very different sort of party, this time."

He reached out, brushing fingers over the star on Wyatt's chest, frowning as he wondered what it was. "You're alright?"
the_marshal: (wyattSideeye)

[personal profile] the_marshal 2013-12-15 07:30 pm (UTC)(link)
He swallowed, nodded.

"Seem to be," he said lowly, looking Max over carefully. The Roman appeared to be no worse for wear... besides the rose petals in his hair. Wyatt reached up to gently brush them away, a fall of pink and red. "Never thought I'd find myself preferrin' the other sort."
doc_holi: (blank)

Doc Holiday

[personal profile] doc_holi 2013-12-15 07:37 pm (UTC)(link)
Holiday had gone calmly, though she had been terrified from the moment she saw them in her room. Her area. Her space. They can't hurt her there. But she had gone calmly. She didn't fight. It would have been worse if she fought, she knew.

And so she easily awoke to Caesar's voice. Flickerman. Caesar Flickerman. Not Salazar... Everything was beautiful. She imagined everything felt beautiful, too. Tasted beautiful. Yet, she was terrified, especially after it was revealed that this was in part thanks to Aunamee.

She never did quite get over that first arena.

So, Holiday remained terrified and stayed in her seat, waiting for the time to pass. Something was going to go wrong, surely... Surely...

At length, she would get up, try walking around a little, but not yet. Later... She was too scared of nothing.
doc_holi: (smile)

[personal profile] doc_holi 2013-12-15 07:40 pm (UTC)(link)
Holiday would.

After a few moments of silent panic due to being thrust into a shared-dream state of technology she never even thought possible before, Rebecca figured that she needed to calm down sooner rather than later.

It was on a walk around the area that she found the familiar face. If anyone could bust her through the fear of dreaming, it was probably Harley, so Holiday approached her with a fake smile that showed off bravado that she didn't really have.

"Enjoying yourself?"
casaerotica13: (asshole)

Gabriel

[personal profile] casaerotica13 2013-12-15 08:01 pm (UTC)(link)
This was not the party he expected.

And, yes, he did fight for a few minutes against those guys in his room. Knocked one of them clean out, but after a well-placed punch to the gut, Gabriel was done wrestling. Didn't take much and... he hated that. He hated a lot of things about the place.

The party was nice and fancy, he'd give them that. He didn't like it being in his head, though. He didn't like that they created. That they controlled it. They were humans messing with technology they barely understood.

And he hated it.

After a seething moment of glaring up at the scrawny Victor, he put on a happy face and made a bee-line for the snack table.