capitolprivilege: (and everything is fine)
Stephanus "Stephen" Reagan ([personal profile] capitolprivilege) wrote in [community profile] thecapitol2015-04-27 11:04 pm

I get dizzy when I think of all the ways we try to hide our maladies [OPEN]

Who| Stephen and anyone who isn't actively participating in the break-in!
What| A big, big party to celebrate the soccer match, and also to celebrate Stephen being much less of a disgrace than he was. This is the party that made it into Celebrus, people. The Capitol elite is invited, and so is anyone involved with the Games! ...except for the people Cyrus crossed off the guest list behind Stephen's back.
Where| An event hall in the Capitol
When| Backdated to the Binding plot, the night of the break-in.
Warnings/Notes| Capitol gilding-over of atrocious things. Disney-ified portrayals of the Districts. Avoxes being used as furniture. And what you bring with you.

For having such a short time to plan it, Stephen and Porrim have really outdone themselves. The event hall is round, with a hallway leading to a large, circular, central room and smaller rooms ringing the outside. The main area is half ballroom, half dining area: the dance floor is off to one side, large enough to accommodate anyone who wants to dance, but with the lights low enough to make it feel intimate and un-intimidating even if only a few feel like dancing. The translucent mist that whirls around the area helps with the intimate atmosphere without impeding visibility badly enough to make dancing difficult. The other half of the room is round tables, kept clean and refreshed with food by wait staff who will bring the guests just about anything they ask for. The wait staff are all perfectly groomed, polite, and in possession of their tongues.

The decor is soccer-themed, but soccer as it would have been imagined by the ancient Greeks. Marble statues of athletes (clothed or half-clothed or with strategically carved folds of cloth) are tastefully placed around the low-lit room. The Greco-Roman aesthetic characterizes the whole room: carved pillars hold up the sound system and the tables, embossed vases whose figures are animated adorn the tables as centerpieces, and the wait staff is dressed in sporty chitons and peploses. It's Classically classy, but the sports imagery and the popular dance music that's muted enough in the dining area to allow people to talk make it informal enough to be comfortable.

At even intervals around the center room are twelve doors. Each one has a Roman numeral on it. Step through any one of them and it will take you to a recreation of the corresponding District that's both full of real props and holographic images. The technology isn't as good as Gamemaker illusions and certainly doesn't feel as real as the dream tech, but it can be interacted with, even if it doesn't "feel" real. You can "pick up" a dandelion in District 12 and blow its seeds away. You can run a hand through the water of a District 4 beach and pier and watch the ripples spread. Each District room has comfortable seating, themed food, and appropriately-dressed wait staff; there are even cast members re-enacting District life around the dining areas, giving each room a sense of authenticity. It looks, sounds, smells, and tastes like the District it's imitating, just -- better. Cleaner.

Oh, also, those who participated in the soccer game and won will be given laurel crowns made of solid gold.

District One is a balcony of a manor house, overlooking a perfect view of manicured gardens. You're not outdoors, but it sure feels like it. The tableware is sparkling gold, the chairs made of silky fabric that is a joy to touch but doesn't seem to stain, and being there will make you feel like a prince or princess.

District Two is clearly built into the inside of a mountain. There are broad, open windows, of course, letting in plenty of fresh air, and the walls and floor and ceiling are impeccably carved, but it's all made of natural stone. Outside, down in the valley, you can see Careers and Peacekeepers training.

District Three is a charred husk no, not at all, that would be tasteless. Three looks like Tron: Legacy. Glowing LED lines run through the walls and furniture, and it all looks so clean and spotless it can't be entirely real. The tables are angular, unnatural, and around the dining area are color-changing glow pools.

District Four is a broad pier that juts out from a beach into the ocean. The sand is real, but the water is not -- don't worry, you won't ruin your clothes if you fall in! The sun is setting, painting the sky beautiful colors, and there's no mistaking that sea-salt smell. Off to the side, attractive fishermen and fisherwomen work to bring in the seafood the Capitol enjoys so much. Rough-hewn but splinterless wooden tables and comfortable canvas chairs are on the pier, with an awning above to keep the sun off. Part of the pier is made of glass, so you can look down and watch the tiny fish as they swim around.

District Five is a power plant, but an elegant one. Lightning crackles across the walls and ceiling, leaping between metal rods in a dazzling display. But don't worry: it's not real. You can touch it if you want. It'll cling to your fingers for a few seconds before sparking out. The hum it makes is quiet and unobtrusive white noise.

District Six is lovely, if Stephen does say so himself. It's a series of luxuriously-furnished train cars, with realistic-looking, picturesque scenery rushing past that reflects the geography of all twelve Districts. The floor hums gently; it feels like you're really moving. In one of the train cars can be found one District 6 Mentor, Linden Lockhearst -- usually. He's been part of the party's marketing: he has promised to, at this party, disprove fortune-telling completely. Come talk to him! You'll be surprised at what he can tell you about you. ♥

District Seven is a tree house! It's about a hundred feet up in the crisp, pine-fresh air, affording a gorgeous view of the surrounding forest. Birds sing, deer frolic below, and stunningly attractive lumberjacks can be seen going past, hard at work. They're also very attractive. Look, Stephen and Porrim planned this party -- what did you expect? Go watch the lumberjacks. It's worth it.

District Eight is artistic. It's divided into sections, almost mazelike, with walls made of cloth, but it's kept from feeling claustrophobic by the fact that the ceiling -- also made of cloth -- looks like the sky. No, really. Clouds are scudding across it, blown in the same direction as the light breeze that flows through the room, keeping it from feeling stuffy. The cloth walls are similarly illusory: touch them and they feel real, but projected onto them are broad plains with great lakes not too far distant. The chairs and tables are all cloth and wooden frames.

District Nine is grain. It's hard to make grain interesting, but Stephen's given it his best shot. This is the room with the most open-air feel. Grain, amber waves of it, as far as the eye can see. There's a trick to this room: walk out into the grain, and you won't hit a wall. You're on a moving sidewalk that responds to you, and the holograms will bend to give the illusion of distance between you and the tables in the crop circle in the center of the room. D9's bigger on the inside.

District Ten doesn't have real farm animals. Goodness, no. Too unpredictable, and the smell would detract from the Old West charm of this room. The door leads out onto the expansive porch of a ranch house, where the tables are. It overlooks paddocks of horses and fields of gentle cows. Two or three playful but impeccably trained herding dogs are the only real animals here: they are impeccably clean and will only approach if you call them over. Their handlers in cowboy hats and jeans aren't far away, keeping a watchful eye. Somewhere, Wyatt Earp wants to die.

District Eleven is an idyllic orchard. The apples can be picked and eaten. You won't be punished for stealing food, because you're from the Capitol! Ha, ha. The wait staff is dressed as sexy farmers, with straw hats and coverall-shorts and plaid shirts artistically tied up, talking in easygoing drawls. It's all very charming, like it's right out of Song of the Goddamn South. This is some unfortunate fucking shit.

District Twelve is probably the most ordinary out of all the rooms. The feel is of small-town Appalachia. Coal miners with impressive arms can be seen going to and from work along dirt tracks that wind between the little houses, a man plays a banjo and sings a little ways off, and pine-covered mountains rise in the distance. The food is rustic but delicious: warm baked bread, goat cheese and strawberries, roast goose with herbs -- you wish you lived in this dystopia.

Oh, and one more thing... In the main room, there are statues that are dressed more classically. Togas, chitons, flowy robes, bangles, sandals -- they're holding trays of food, trays of drinks, baskets of bread and fruit, all classically beautiful, all with -- very realistic-looking hair and eyes, now that you're thinking about it -- oh god they're moving. Cyrus Reagan has been involved in the planning of this party from the start, and he's BUTTED IN put a few of his own touches on it without talking it over with Stephen. Hand-picking Avoxes for their looks, dressing them up, and commanding them to stand perfectly still so they can be the tables, he felt, fit the theme perfectly.
conifer: (031)

[personal profile] conifer 2015-07-26 08:32 pm (UTC)(link)
Emily looks equal parts enchanted and bewildered. It's never occurred to her that there could be anything else out there, other lands beyond the sea, places in her own world where people might live quite happily out of the reach of the Capitol, oblivious that Panem even exists. She suddenly feels very small, the sheer magnitude of the world is just occurring to her for the first time.

"Wouldn't it be wonderful to go and find out?"
lex_paciferat: (glance)

[personal profile] lex_paciferat 2015-08-02 03:24 am (UTC)(link)
He wonders, briefly, whether there's any sort of law on the books that would forbid one from just taking off out of the country. Nothing comes to mind--probably because no one's pulled together the resources to try it, he figures.

"Could be an adventure. Probably an expensive one, since you'd have to pack for all kinds of contingencies."
conifer: (030)

[personal profile] conifer 2015-08-02 12:17 pm (UTC)(link)
Emily hadn't been planning on any expenses, simply to start walking and see how far she could go before she was caught or died of exhaustion. She couldn't very well explain that to him though, so instead she just nods reluctantly. "I suppose so."
lex_paciferat: (smirk)

[personal profile] lex_paciferat 2015-08-02 07:16 pm (UTC)(link)
"Sorry if I crushed your dreams a little, there. Too many years marching through the districts; too many supply shortages." He gives her a consoling pat on the back.
conifer: (006)

[personal profile] conifer 2015-08-02 08:04 pm (UTC)(link)
"It doesn't matter. It's not like I could leave anyway." She looks around, glancing through a couple of doors to the 'Districts'. "And who would want to when there's all this paradise around us?"
lex_paciferat: (serious)

[personal profile] lex_paciferat 2015-08-08 08:16 pm (UTC)(link)
"Not the people that get to enjoy it, that's for sure."

The music slows to a stop, and for a second he remains holding her, reflecting on her sadness, that pained sarcasm that he's often heard from his own mouth. When he breaks away, he takes her hand again, directing her towards one of the rooms.

"Here, come have a look at Four's."
conifer: (031)

[personal profile] conifer 2015-08-09 10:52 pm (UTC)(link)
Her hand feels very small and light compared to his, and she feels a little nervous as she follows him toward Four's door, preparing herself for disappointment at the idea of the wonders of the ocean but also reflecting that they must look quite the couple like this.

As he pushes open the door and leads her into what passes for District Four, however, her eyes widen in absolute wonder.
lex_paciferat: (smile)

[personal profile] lex_paciferat 2015-08-13 03:49 am (UTC)(link)
He has the sense to drop her hand as he walks out onto the pier, silhouetted against the artificial sun, turning his head and smiling back at her.

"I've got no idea how they pull this off, but it's pretty stunning." He crouches down, his hand gliding ghost-like through the waves, then finds his gaze drawn by the glass section nearby. "Oh, I didn't notice that before. They even did the fish."
conifer: (034)

[personal profile] conifer 2015-08-16 02:41 pm (UTC)(link)
Looking around, it's easy for Emily to forget that they're still in the heart of the Capitol. She can even smell the salt in the air, that enchanting scent in the wind tugging at something deep inside her, some long forgotten impulse maybe bred into everyone, to be drawn along with the pull of the waves and bob along in the ocean forever. She feels ridiculous when she looks around at the partygoers in their finery among the fishermen, and more than a little disappointed.

It ... it feels perfect."
lex_paciferat: (glance)

[personal profile] lex_paciferat 2015-08-24 03:06 am (UTC)(link)
"The reality's better. The water's nice and cool and the sand sort of cakes when it's wet. Feels great when you walk around barefoot on it."

He strolls back to her side. "Kind of wish I could take you there."
conifer: (036)

[personal profile] conifer 2015-08-28 01:04 am (UTC)(link)
Emily smiles sadly, knowing that the reality of a place like this will be forever out of her reach. "I doubt the Capitol would give me leave to go to their vacation resorts in the outskirts of Four, but it's a nice thought."
lex_paciferat: (friendly)

[personal profile] lex_paciferat 2015-09-07 06:43 pm (UTC)(link)
"I don't know. Get a couple more years in and frame it as something about inter-district relations and they might," he quips. "Though then you might have to deal with a camera crew following you around."
conifer: (017)

[personal profile] conifer 2015-09-09 05:18 pm (UTC)(link)
She can't help but snort a little of the idea. "That sounds like the very opposite of a relaxing vacation."
lex_paciferat: (smirk)

[personal profile] lex_paciferat 2015-09-19 09:45 pm (UTC)(link)
"Yeah, though it could be fun. I remember one time in Six there was a crew filming the factories for something and me and a couple of friends kept trying to get into their shots. Took a good fifteen minutes and one of us dancing in the background for them to notice."
conifer: (006)

[personal profile] conifer 2015-09-21 08:40 pm (UTC)(link)
Emily just shakes her head. "I have to deal with being filmed enough of the time already. It doesn't really sound like my idea of fun."
lex_paciferat: (glance)

[personal profile] lex_paciferat 2015-10-11 05:29 pm (UTC)(link)
"You've got a point," he says. "Out of curiosity, does it bother you a lot to be under surveillance, or is it easy to forget about the cameras when you're not actually seeing them around? I'm always wondering what the people in the Center think that aren't ranting and raving about them."
conifer: (022)

[personal profile] conifer 2015-10-14 06:29 pm (UTC)(link)
"It took some getting used to, when I first game back to the Capitol," she admits. "But in Seven there are enough Peacekeepers around - I suppose there have to be, with us all working with axes." Not to mention how security had been stepped up in the wake of the riots a few years back. "I certainly prefer cameras to an armed man every few feet."
lex_paciferat: (serious)

[personal profile] lex_paciferat 2015-10-19 09:37 pm (UTC)(link)
"Interesting to hear you say that." He looks out across the water, recalling when he was one of those guards, watching the lumbermen go by with axes in hand. The memory makes his stomach turn, and he promptly ushers it away.

"The cameras are going to catch way more than a bunch of guards will. But I can get how that immediate reminder's more compelling than the eyes you don't have to look at."
conifer: (006)

[personal profile] conifer 2015-10-27 08:33 pm (UTC)(link)
"Plus the cameras can't shoot us if they get paranoid," she adds dryly. "...At least I really hope they can't."
lex_paciferat: (smirk)

[personal profile] lex_paciferat 2015-11-15 08:24 pm (UTC)(link)
"You know, that is actually an idea I've heard proposed now that our facial recognition tech's gotten more accurate, but there's too many liability issues with it. If one of them shot down an innocent Capitolite by mistake it'd be a media circus." He snorts and gives a brisk shake of his head at the thought. "So no, don't worry. We won't be investing in that."
conifer: (013)

[personal profile] conifer 2015-11-19 06:22 pm (UTC)(link)
Emily's lip curls in distaste that the idea has actually been considered. The Capitol could at least try to maintain the image of a fair trial for those in its own city, even if justice was nonexistent in the Districts. "That's a relief. I can just imagine the chaos if someone with the wrong intentions got control of them."
lex_paciferat: (thoughtful)

[personal profile] lex_paciferat 2015-11-27 07:18 pm (UTC)(link)
"Also something we've considered," he declares. "Or I know I considered, at least. There's no such thing as an unbreachable system. Whether through straight-up breaking the encryption or working somebody over for a way in, there's always that risk. All we can do is make both the risk and consequences as insignificant as possible."

He shrugs a shoulder. "That's the sort of thing that keeps me up at night. My line of work's full of uncertainties. I knew that going in and it's still hard to make my peace with it."
conifer: (035)

[personal profile] conifer 2015-12-15 07:39 pm (UTC)(link)
She's not sure what to say to that. Any honest reply is one that would surely get her arrested. To make peace with it, you have to become the monster you serve.

Instead she just offers a pallid smile. "I hope it doesn't keep you up too late. Panem needs your vigilance now more than ever."
lex_paciferat: (neutral)

[personal profile] lex_paciferat 2015-12-19 09:46 pm (UTC)(link)
"It needs more than mine, that's for sure," he says. There's so much Panem needs from so many people--more than his efforts can possibly cover, no matter how hard he tries. It's a sobering thought, one that makes him feel stranded if he reflects on it too long, like a lone ship bobbing on an indifferent sea.

"I just hope I'm doing enough."