The Crowning of Mindy McReady

[etcircenses]

Who| Everyone who's anyone.
What| The Crowning.
Where| A warehouse on the edge of town.
When| Starting from early evening till late into the night.
Warnings/Notes| Be sure to check the linked thread for plot purposes, even if you don't tag into it.

The party is brightly colored.

The theme, subtly, is super heroes. Boldly paints city scapes are splattered across the walls, and hallways are made to look like dingy, potentially crime ridden alleys. From the upper walkways of the warehouse, party goers can get hooked into harnesses and swing out over the dance floor. Above them, tributes and VIPS can find themselves on a clear plastic dance floor levitated above everything, looking like they're hanging in air.

Masks are passed out in plenty, and capes are easy to find, while brightly colored drinks themed around super powers are plentiful. None of them actually work, but many of the Capitol people are happy to pretend, mocking super strength or invisibility with each new beverage.

Under the dance floor a catacomb of tunnels and rooms full of obstacles is splashed with black light receptive colors. Party goers are given vests and laser guns, marked green for villains and red for heros, and set loose to hunt each other in the laser tags playground. The screens in the dance floor keep a running tally of which side is winning, displaying the players on the screens around the room, along with clips from the arenas.

About half way through the night, everyone is gathered to the main stage for a special announcement.

Comments

[revvinguptheharley]

Harley sighed and knelt down to meet Elsa at eye level.

"In my professional opinion? You will most certainly without confidence. And since you're such a logical educated young woman, logically you can't see yourself as winning. Which is why we must resort to one of the greatest tools any human has at their disposal."

Reaching forward she placed a finger in the middle of Elsa's forhead.

"Denial. Not only are you not gonna die, you're gonna win this thing and be out of the arenas forever. You'll live here in the Capitol without having to worry about your powers. And you can even help your sister by convincing sponsors to send her items."

"And I'm gonna help ya. I'm going into that arena too you know."

[frozenfractalsallaround]

It all sounded so good when Harley said it like that. She sounded so confident, that it was almost easy to believe that it could be true. But at the same time, she knew the heavy price of winning meant killing people and that wasn't something she could do. If somehow she could do it without killing, that would be one thing. But then it wouldn't be the same kind of competition, would it?

She rubbed the spot on her forehead where Harley poked her, swallowing and trying to make sense of everything. But then Harley continued, and she felt her stomach twist a little. She'd been so caught up in her fear of Anna getting reaped, and then herself, that she hadn't even realized Harley's name was called too.

"You can't!" she said quickly, a forcefulness in her voice that surprised even Elsa. It was the first time since getting reaped that her voice wasn't tiny and afraid. "You can't help me," she said, this time a little calmer. "You can't come anywhere near me in the arena- don't you understand? I could hurt you. If they decide to give me my powers back, there's no telling what might happen- except for one obvious thing."

And that would be Harley's death. Who knew how it would happen? Impaled? A frozen heart? Buried under snow and suffocating? There were so many ways it could happen and each one made Elsa want to preemptively run far, far away.

[revvinguptheharley]

The bubbly blond made a clicking sound with her tongue.

"Tut tut tut, now now Elsa. We're friends! And I'm your therapist. We're never gonna make any progress if you can't have a little confidence in me. After all you refuse to have it in yourself."

She grinned cheekily.

"So believe in me who believes in you. And believe me when I say if your powers get turned on, odds are my powers are gonna get turned on. And I've dodged much faster and much scarier then you and your freeze ray fingers."

She gave a theatrical sneaky look and leaned in. "I've trained with an ageless army of warrior women who were looked over by the gods! I've even gone toe to toe with some gods. Plus I'm just darn lucky. If anything you'll wanna be closer to me to help you keep your...cool."

She winked at the last part. Because puns are totally appropriate in any situation right?

[frozenfractalsallaround]

Harley had a way of being really comforting, and Elsa wasn't sure how she did it. Maybe it was the easy way she had with handling these situations, or the well timed jokes that might offend her coming from anyone else. But even with how comfortable she felt with Harley and the reassurances, it was still something she felt strongly about.

"I know you think you'll be okay," she said, her voice growing quieter, the spark from a second ago dying, as if she had no oxygen to keep it going. "And maybe you even will be. But... I still don't want to hurt you, I don't even want to take a chance hurting you. And besides- don't you want to win, Harley?"

She knew from their conversations that Harley wasn't opposed to getting her hands dirty. Elsa didn't necessarily approve of that at all, but she couldn't judge Harley for it. Her survival instinct was just much stronger than Elsa's. "I would only hold you back."

[revvinguptheharley]

Harley rolled her eyes but kept smirking.

"Elsa, baby. Sweetheart. Let's be real here for a minute. In all of your life have you ever really been around someone fast enough to dodge arrows, strong enough to leap from rooftop to rooftop and lucky enough to date a homicidal maniac for years and still survive?"

Because all things considered, Harley thought herself the perfect partner.

"Besides, you'd be doing me a favor. If I have you around to chat with I won't be lonely. And there's nothing in the world worse then being alone."

She wrapped her arms around herself and gave a shiver.

[frozenfractalsallaround]

As Harley spoke, most of her arguments died. She really hadn't ever been around anyone like that. It didn't entirely ease her worries, but she couldn't really argue after all of that had been said. Especially the last part, which struck her more personally than anything.

Because Harley was right. There really wasn't anything worse than being alone. She had briefly enjoyed it, up in the mountains with her ice castle. But only because she knew- or had thought- it would protect people. But loneliness would've found her eventually. It found her here, during her isolation in her room directly after her first arena.

"How about this... we'll see how it goes. I'm not making any promises, but if we meet up there, then we can stay together," she said. "Will that work?"

[revvinguptheharley]

"Deal!" She took the Queen's hands delicately and gave it a squeeze.

"Trust me, I'm a professional sidekick too. I've worked with some of the best in the business and gotten away without a scratch. Who knows, I may even make it fun for you." She winked.

"We'll sing songs, I bet you have a beautiful voice."

[frozenfractalsallaround]

Elsa gave a halfhearted squeeze back, relieved that a deal had been made and that she hadn't been forced to agree to company in the arena. Maybe if she was lucky, situations wouldn't fall into place to make it happen. She just wanted to avoid Harley and anyone in case she hurt them.

She gave a small chuckle at the last part, though it was a little forced. "I don't know... I guess I do enjoy singing. I've never thought about whether my voice was good or not."

[revvinguptheharley]

"Aw who cares if it's any good?" Harley dismissed with a casual wave. "The important thing about singing is to feel things. I mean if you wanna put on a performance that's one thing but singing just to sing is the best!" She declared happily.

"On the downside it does kinda ruin the whole element of surprise thing in the arena, but depending on how ya sing you could make people worry you've gone crazy. Then they try to avoid you just to be safe."

[frozenfractalsallaround]

Sometimes Elsa really wished that she could be as carefree as Harley. It probably would have made life easier to handle, and she couldn't help but be a little jealous.

Still, she smiled. "You have a very interesting way of thinking," she said, a little amusement in her voice. "It makes sense, but it's... very interesting. You remind me a lot of Anna, sometimes."

[revvinguptheharley]

She grinned brightly and held her arms out for a hug, resisting the urge to dive in but leaning forward giving Elsa only a moment to resist the affection.

"Well I would be lucky to have a sister like you that's for sure. I'd trade my brother for you any day!"