thecapitol | The Crowning Of The Signless

The Crowning Of The Signless

Who| Everyone.
What| The Crowning of The Signless.
Where| An alcove in a nearby mountain.
When| From dusk to dawn, on Thursday.
Warnings/Notes| This event is mandatory for all Tributes to attend. Even if you do not tag in, your character will attend this party. Peacekeepers will be on high alert. There will be no chance to runaway.

Tributes are encouraged to sleep all during the day, before the crowning. The reason for this is revealed when they are roused at sundown and brought to the closest mountain to the city, where they are greeted by an alcove within the moutainside that has been carved into a temple to what may be an illicit faith. The stone alcove is dim-lit by candles arranged along walls and by what appears to be altars set before iron cancer signs, some plain, some inlet with intricate carvings. Bright red drapery hangs about the room, tapestries with the cancer sign and cirles of blending color spectrum. There are also some waist high leggings hung upon one wall. In the center of the room, shackles hang, glowing bright from some sort of internal heat and light. A hole in the ceiling is set on each side of it, to allow the smoke to escape from the great bonfire that roars beneath it. If one takes a seat upon any of large stones and logs aranged around it, they can see both the stars twinkling down and the way the smoke looks as though it is coming off the shackles.

The only windows otherwise are made from stained glass depicting images from the Signless's life, such as his rescue by "Alternia's First Mother" (so described on the metal plate below), "The Recording of His Teachings" depicting The Disciple writing the Signless's words into a book, "A New Follower" showing the Psiioniic joining the Signless, a boat deemed "The First Ship", and "The Execution" which features the death of the Signless before thousands of followers, a fifth troll- resembling Terezi- bearing the shackles as a necklace and another with great brown wings, a single window of Karkat and Kankri Vantas, as well as a sinister depiction of six indistinct shadowy figures of cerulean, blue, indigo, violet, tyrian, and maroon. Cave-style paintings cover the stone walls, styles ranging from simple scribbled etching to circles featuring twelve colors in circle, with bright red at the center, and yet more elaborate shadowy depictions of those in the stained glass, esepcially the Signless himself, both prior and following his execution.

But not all is dedicated to the Signless and his old posse of biblical age trolls. A shrine has been set up for redeemed and then so quickly lost victor, Matthew 'Punchy' O'Conner. Punchy has been painted upon a cave wall like he fits right into the theme. Upon his shrine lay all varieties of bling; Bling-jewelery, a bling goblet, bling boxing gloves, a hoodie, a nun habit, and a stone with a memorial rap engraved atop-- with bling, of course, all shimmering by the spotlights placed before the shrine. Refillable 40 oz bottles are lain out so that sorrowful guests, wishing to pay their respect to the boy so cruelly slain by rebels when he had turned from them, can pour one out in his honor.

Marius is also honored there with a tea light and small framed photograph set upon an empty table with an empty chair, along with souvenir versions of his and Cosette's wedding rings that guests can take home. Beneath all these rings is a photoshopped picture of javert with a single tear running down his manly face.

The only seating besides the stones and logs and Marius's single chair, are those that are sat at a table at the end of the room. Each is draped in a different color, six on each side for each district and each blood hue-- presumably of the Victor's choosing. Between these chairs sits yet one more with a tall back like a flogging jut that got the redesigned at the base to make a throne that some trolls might recognize as belonging to the Empress. The arms of the chair feature open shackles. The throne is decorated in chains of gold and jewels of all colors. The victor is given a crown of gilded flowers and thorns on chain.

Food can be found upon the altars or the victor's table, in surplus. Alternian delicacies are served, featuring insects, flavored or plain, and food made from insects. Guests may find a giant beetle being served upon a spit roast. Even the meats appear to be topped with bugs. The cakes, marshmallows (which can be roasted with stick by the fire!), and orange creamsicles may be the only things truly bug-free. Drink options are water, wine, and soda.

Stylists are encouraged to dress their tributes primarily in black, with a single bit of color put into the design matched according to district (with exception to trolls), or any manner of draping fabrics, cloaks, and costumery reminiscent of religious iconagraphy that one might expect of ancient aliens. Waist high pants and leggings are also in high regard, as well as fake horn, fangs, contacts, and anything to make guests look more trollish. The only rule is for the main colors to match to the blood assignment.

The music playing is the sort one might expect from a church, featuring mournful vocals, soft bells and melodies, and of course, organ music. But for one or two jarring differences. Where this music is coming from remains a mystery but since the space is open and clear, guests have plenty of room for dancing.

Those who don't wish to dance can talk and regale tales around the bonfire, or may instead seek out the book of "scripture" at one of the altars that features nothing more than various parables- with names that Tributes might recognize! Each Tribute has one parable contained within, telling a tale in flourished manner of a part of their life, featuring a pro-capitol moral at the end.

Elsewhere, are models of the flogging just, where guests can put their hands through the oversized cuffs and pretend to writhe in agony, an Alternian bioware helm where guests too can pretend to have their lifeforce and power used a battery for the sake of the Alternian empire, a dress-up station where guests can customize their appearance to match trolls sold into gruelling slavery to seadwellwers, and an area designed to look like a cave with extensive "Alternian" (gibberish) writings of the Signless's words, where guests too can pretend they've lost everyone they love and are carrying on their legacy by writing upon the walls and leaving their own messages of love and mourning. Not to mention, a life-sized drone with realistic piercing claws, for all your picture posing needs.

A sandpit lies just around a corner for children to make castles, dig trenches, and act out games of pretending they've trekked thousands of miles through zombie infested desert just to speak to a couple of people! Guests can also meet a "mutantblood lusus" a four-eyed crab creature with lizardlike structure-- only sized no bigger than the average dog and perhaps about as intelligent. Guests are warned not to put their hand too close, lest the claw pincers manage to pinch them.

Late into the crowning, everyone is brought out to the dark mountainside, well monitored by peacekeepers, and divided into teams. Everyone is given belts with velcro flags attached, colored according to the "blood" they were matched with by district. Those in the eighth, ninth, twelfth, third, tenth, and eleventh districts are deemed the "lowbloods. Those in the first, fourth, second, fifth, sixth, and seventh districts, are deemed the "highbloods". Each team is given a velcro board to attach the flags to. The first team to lose all their flags loses, winners getting tiny necklace copies of the shackles. The last one standing with a flag wins a larger necklace copy and the option to get it redesigned into a symbol of their choosing.

If you failed not to be "culled", fear not! All tributes receive a participation sticker at the end. This sticker features a number. It is not indicative of districts or of age, as will be announced shortly, but of the new scoring. These will be announced for everyone to hear- and pick out targets from.

The crowning officially ends with the coming dawn. And so begins, to everyone's surprise, preparation for the arena. Tributes will be going right from the crowning off to the Tribute launch tubes. Happy Hunger Games!

[Note: This is ICly on Thursday! Just before the arena on Friday!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Ah." Well. That's very different from what he assumed, but it makes no less sense. He of all people can understanding not wanting to see a loved one hurt when it could be avoided.

"I think a possible way to head that off if he does come back and he does react like that is to frame it as a positive rather than a negative; even if he couldn't help you then, he'll be able to in future. Granted I don't know how well that will work on him. In my experience with Captors I've learned that they like to dwell on their perceived personal failings and can be very stubborn about it. I assume he's the same?"

Finally, Feferi gives a little half smile. "Yes, exactly the same. He is really good at finding reasons to stay depressed. I think of ways to make it positive all the time but it doesn't always work."

Giving a little shrug, Feferi shifts in her seat, unconsciously shifting a little closer to him-- closer to the source of warmth. "There is no going back now though. At least if I get the chance again, they'll be too tired of a troll-theme for these parties."

He notices her shifting closer but doesn't comment on it, not wanting to make her feel as though she's being put on the spot. He's well-aware that to most cooler-blooded trolls his warmth is a novel and enticing thing.

"That is a small blessing, yes. Perhaps they'd give you a crowning by the seashore. I'd enjoy that far more than this; I liked the sea." When it wasn't trying to kill him, but he could say that of anywhere he ever spent time on Alternia.

Signless should feel lucky to be so warm! And that she doesn't just crawl right into his lap. That might get a little bit awkward. She keeps at least a small bit of personal space, and his question only helps to halt her progression.

"You've been to the ocean?" She looks up wide-eyed in disbelief. Not that she thinks he's lying, but... "I've never known any other trolls who have seen the ocean! Well, except Gamzee and Eridan but they do not count!"

Of course they count. But the point stands that the ocean always seemed to be a polarizing matter, and while she always wanted for more of her friends to visit her, they rightfully had reason to be cautious.

"Oh, yes! I spent a long time out at sea when I was traveling Alternia. I could have gone around but I felt taking to the water would prove a point."

In retrospect, a lot of the exceptionally dangerous and stupid things he's done he's done to prove a point.

"I wanted to show that the ocean was for everyone, just like every part of Alternia should have been."

Feferi listens, rapt, even for how short his retelling is, and even then, she's silent for a moment in contemplation and wide-eyed admiration. What can she say? Not only has he been to the ocean, but he wanted the exact same thing as her.

When she gets a hold of herself, she nods enthusiastically. "Exactly! That is so true! Oh, and sorry if my lusus ever made a grab at you or anyone you know. It wasn't personal, I promise."

There were many hazards lurking in Alternia's oceans, and Feferi is keenly aware that her lusus would make most top five lists in that regard.

He feels like he should be more surprised than he is when she agrees with him, but he's always got the impression from Feferi that she doesn't share many of the same casteist sentiments as the trolls she might one day have ruled or the Empress she might have overthrown. It's bolstering to see that demonstrated so clearly.

"She never did, though we saw her several times from a distance -- the ends of her appendages, anyway, and even those were impossibly large. I can't imagine what the whole of her must have looked like. But she was practically friendly next to the water itself. Even with a psionic steering our boat there were a lot of near misses. I think living in the desert for so much of my life woefully under-prepared me for what a storm could be like at sea. You can't just get to higher ground and wait it out when there is no ground."

"The rest of her... is really, really, really big! Probably bigger than the whole Capitol." It's the only big thing she can think to compare Glb'golyb to, besides the ocean itself, though she did make up a decent part of Alternia's seas. "If it makes you feel any better, I am pretty sure my lusus and I would both shrivel up in the desert. But I guess a storm would be pretty crazy if you had never seen one before!"

She had seen so many in lifetime, most often from a relatively safe place beneath the waves, though she always worried for Eridan in his hive above water, back when she actually worried about him. "Well, you are a pretty brave troll, either way."

"Thank you," he says, unable to keep a hint of surprise out of his voice. It's pleased surprise, though.

"I met a seadweller in the desert once. Not an heiress -- though that would have been quite a story! -- but still a seadweller. I don't know how she got there and she never told me, but she did look very shriveled by the time we found her. I could tell you the story, if you'd like?"

"Oh, yes please!" Because she really can't imagine any seadweller she's even known in the desert-- she can't even imagine herself in the desert. And a story sounds like it would be an excellent distraction from the rest of this party. Even with her bitterness aside, Capitol parties... well, they're a category all her own. And for someone who never got to experience much of her planet herself, she can't think of a way she's rather bide her time here, until she can leave.

It's strange for Signless, who traveled all over Alternia, to imagine someone who only ever saw a small part of it. He starts speaking, his voice taking on a more measured quality that speaks to a long history of storytelling much like this.

"We found her taking refuge in a cave one morning. She was dehydrated, delirious, not strong enough even to claw or bite (though she tried, believe me). It was a wonder she hadn't fallen prey to daywalkers.

"Now, you must understand that it was dangerous for us to spend any extended time around highbloods. We were a cavern attendant who deserted her post, a runaway slave, a treasonous mutant and his drone-dodging lover; we were all dead trolls walking. If we were to help her it was very likely that she would either cull us outright or report us to the authorities the moment she made it to a town. And yet I thought taking that risk was still preferable to letting her die, and after a lengthy discussion we all agreed that was the case.

"We stayed in that cave with her until she was strong enough to eat and drink and walk on her own. The entire time she only spoke directly to my mother, grudgingly acknowledged the Disciple, and pretended as though the Psiioniic and I were pieces of furniture. And yet all of her posturing and harsh words she never raised a claw against us once she was in her right mind, not even when we escorted her to the nearest village and she might have had all of the highbloods there at her back if she'd wanted. Instead she waited until we had already moved on to tell the local authorities about us and in that way she gave us the precious time we needed to outrun them.

"So, showing kindness does not necessarily change people. It may not get rid of sweeps and sweeps of prejudice. But it can make someone pause, and think, and feel enough respect to give a fighting chance to someone they may otherwise destroy without a second thought. If we had had more time that grudging respect may have become genuine. I find it only takes a small amount of time spent in someone's company to start thinking of them as a person instead of a loose bundle of assumptions"

His voice is so... so nice Feferi listens intently, clearly enthralled, her fins twitching softly, eyes wide and staring at him. Even once he finishes, she sits there silently for a good few seconds as she tries to wrap her mind around it. She almost wants him to keep going, but then she might not want him to stop, and she can't keep him going all night.

"But..." She starts, like she's going to try and make a critical commentary, but no words actually come to her. An intelligent thought must be in there somewhere, but she can't seem to get it out, so she gives up. "Well. That's a nice story, anyway! Have you ever thought about writing your stories down? I would read them all the time if you did!"

It'll come to her in time, sometime down the line when she's half asleep and it pops back into her mind.

"We did, actually -- the Disciple did, and she wrote them down a lot better than I could tell them if we're being honest. I wish I could show you, but I don't think there's any way to get access to it now."

There's a certain sadness to his voice that wasn't there before. His Disciple has been gone for a very long time now but that doesn't stop him missing her -- he doesn't think he'll ever stop.

"I could try to recreate it. I'll have plenty of time now."

"You don't have to..." Which, in teenage girl speak, means she really, really wants him to. "But if you did, I would read them!"

But she'd be lying to herself if she thought he didn't sound a little bit sad. She reaches out and pats his shoulder gently. "But I will understand if you don't feel up to it."

There's not much comfort she can give. She can't rightfully say Disciple will ever show up here, not to mention she wouldn't wish that on anyone. A party isn't a time for sadness, though, so she perks right back up. "I guess I should get back to mingling. There are probably a lot of other people who want to congratulate you, I wouldn't want to hog all your time."

(She most certainly would.)

"You probably should, though if someone was going to hog my time I'd prefer you over most of the people here." At least she understands to some degree what this crowning really means. At least she won't look at the shackles or the flogging jut throne with uncomprehending adoration.

Still, it wouldn't be fair to keep her when she likely has others she wants to see tonight.

"I'll see about writing some of the stories down for you later. In the meantime, enjoy yourself tonight. Someone should."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The Crowning Of The Signless

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AND we can probably call this wrapped!