etcircenses: (Default)
Panem Events ([personal profile] etcircenses) wrote in [community profile] thecapitol2015-01-20 10:58 pm

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!]
voiceinthephone: hollow-art ([Checking in])

[personal profile] voiceinthephone 2015-04-04 08:34 am (UTC)(link)
The emphasis on booze made the older of the two roll his eyes at that: it was almost as if this was Gary's first time drinking. That overt eagerness to get wasted, it would've set off a big glowing sign over the District 11 Tribute that read, "Card Me Please!"

Speaking of, the guard chuckled, "I'm gonna hold out on spending my money...I-I wanna find something worth my while." A good coat? A phone? Or just a bottle of whiskey? Hard to tell.
a_minute_younger: (I like where this is going)

[personal profile] a_minute_younger 2015-04-08 08:01 pm (UTC)(link)
Gary threw his head back and laughed, abruptly and loud and short like a bark. It's so odd to him, that someone who wants to enjoy himself would be so ridiculously reserved! Surely, if he wanted to have some fun, he'd go all the way, right? It seemed only natural to him.

"Why?" he asked on recovery. "I don't even think these things run out! I mean, I haven't had a problem buying shit, and I've been here for months."
voiceinthephone: hollow-art ([Huh that was interesting])

[personal profile] voiceinthephone 2015-04-10 04:54 am (UTC)(link)
"You never know, there isn't a credit tree here I can just kick and get more, Gary," Phil took a scolding position on that. He was that used to $4.25 an hour, not exactly swimming in money and barely rent, let alone buying food that wasn't at the restaurant. So yeah, he's going to save up what he had.

Except there was a way to earn money, but it had to be in the Arena, that alien concept for a man whose enemies were robotic rather than human.
a_minute_younger: (huffy child)

[personal profile] a_minute_younger 2015-04-17 04:26 pm (UTC)(link)
"'Cause you don't need it," Gary insists. The scolding tone goes completely over his head; Aunt Debbie had tried to get him some part-time jobs in his upperclassmen years of high school, but he never held them long enough to appreciate living without an allowance, and save a few attempts at running away from his old home, he's never thought of the ills of living on his own. He doesn't understand. At the rate the Capitol is spoiling him, there's a chance he'll never understand.

Hopefully Phil remains optimistic. Gary certainly is! He aims to give Phil an encouraging pat on the shoulder. "Relax, man. We're celebrities! They've given us literally the swankiest apartments in town, and you're worried about credit?"
voiceinthephone: ([Snowy smile])

[personal profile] voiceinthephone 2015-04-18 08:15 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh the wonders of youth and lack of care for the world. At least Gary wasn't that obnoxious about it, not like some of the clients Phil had at the restaurant under the pretense of being "ironic".

"It's a change from what I lived in,really," the suite was something the former Phone Guy could only dream about, especially considering that his hometown wasn't in the best shape, economically speaking. But the thought alone that he was famous was daunting for a man who practically lived behind the scenes.

"You sure are enjoying the benefits of being a celebrity, that's for damn sure," he remarked with no real bite. His was a cautious sort of optimism, okay?
Edited 2015-04-18 20:15 (UTC)
a_minute_younger: (*WONK*)

[personal profile] a_minute_younger 2015-04-30 10:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Gary accepts Phil's cautious optimism and raises it tenfold, with a grin and a sharp, eager laugh. "As you should!" he declares. "'S not every day you wake up with all of this just kind of thrown in your lap. I'm gonna milk it for all it's worth." Gary aims another encouraging nudge. "I mean, I'm sure as hell not gonna stop them from giving me more if they want to, you know?"
voiceinthephone: hollow-art ([See you on the flipside])

[personal profile] voiceinthephone 2015-05-03 08:27 pm (UTC)(link)
"Yeah...it really isn't," Phil did his best to be as cheerful as Gary but there was something so disturbingly off about everything, as if there was vein of poison running beneath their feet, and one false step, they were all dead.

He offered Gary a glass off one of the Avoxes while taking one for himself. If the young man was so eager to drink the metaphorical Kool-Aid, why can't he? "To fame and fortune."
a_minute_younger: (*WONK*)

Wrapping this up?

[personal profile] a_minute_younger 2015-05-11 06:42 pm (UTC)(link)
If it's poison under their feet, Gary seems more than happy to tread those waters in stride. Or at least deny that they exist for as long as possible. It's worked well for him so far!

"'Nuff said," Gary laughs, raising his glass. He doesn't wait long for Phil to return the gesture before he kicks back his drink in several large gulps. It's a bit much. Gary comes back for air looking a little dazed. "You're all right, you know that? We should do this again sometime. Make a couple passes of downtown, pop into a few clubs..."
voiceinthephone: http://nuv0le-rapide.livejournal.com/14427.html ([Chilling on day shift])

Yep!

[personal profile] voiceinthephone 2015-05-12 03:27 am (UTC)(link)
"And you don't get carded for being a rambunctious Tribute," Phil said before tipping his glass and then his head to the strange young man. "I'll hold you to it if you survive the Arena, Gary Epps."

This was a most interesting Crowning, even with the hell that awaited them all.