thecapitol | The Crowning Of Tom Cassidy

The Crowning Of Tom Cassidy

Who| Everyone who's anyone. (Tributes, Staff, Capitolites, and anyone else in Capitol.)
What| The Crowning of Black Tom Cassidy.
Where| The New Cassidy Keep of the Capitol!
When| From noon to the late evening, Friday.
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, so no funny business.
WARNINGS| Blatent irish stereotyping. Remember to put any relevant warnings in headers!

The dress code for this crowning is certainly a strange one. Greenery, burlap sacks, and "Irish" themed outfits which many a confused Capitolites has take as to simply be the color green. Among them can be found the sorts of ridiculous bright costumes as could be found in a 1970's comic book-- not that the 1970's are even a real time period. Spandex, V-necks, and popped collars are going to be a common sight tonight.

Guests are brought out to the stunning blue-green bay. There's a new feature there, a great big replica of Cassidy Keep. And it's been built upon a rock. How it stays up is a mystery, but it's no doubt a stunning site as guests are brought in on boats to a grand staircase that leads to even bigger doors.

Guests enter into a beautiful castle and garden both. Trees grow through the stones, vines climb over the stair railings, flowers bloom on the walls, and in some place the castle gives way purely to nature with small ponds set in. Like an internal rainforest (though the temperature is comfortable and cool) there's greenery everywhere soaking up the light that shines through the high windows. Statues stand tall of Black Tom Cassidy, Molotov Cocktease, and Arya Stark, sometimes all of them together. Then are more of an imposing man named Unstoppable Thuggernaut, a young girl named Theresa, the same girl older with the plaque deeming her to be "Siren", and statues of the the three of them together, both as a family and posing to fight. And of course, one can't forget that grand paintings of infamous arena scenes featuring Black Tom. Paths are set around to help guide guests, the main path leading into the biggest room of the keep.

Sponsored by Below Timberline, a temporary dining area has been set up within the castle-- high above the ground! All along the treetops that shoot up to the ceiling are the vine and wood woven nests for guests to be seated in. Waiters, waitresses, and Avoxes make their way along thick branches and rope bridges. But despite appearances, there's no chance of falling! Forcefields have been put up around the whole area to prevent such a tragedy from occurring to guests, waiters, and waitresses.

There are Avox operated lifts to help guests up to the tree tops, and though this might be an eyesore for some, they've all been dressed pleasant green, some with little hats. All the better to match the theme and blend into it!

That's not all that's gained the Irish theme. The menu consists all of foods that would be found in this mysterious off-world residence. Corned beef and cabbage, Irish stew, colcannon, black pudding, crubeens, shepherd's pie, champ, boxty, shelfish, Blaa, Goody, and Barmbrack despite it being out of season. There is even a cereal dish of what may very well be Lucky Charms. Drinks include "Irish" Whiskey, ales, porter, coffee and cream, and cider both alcoholic and not (for the kids). There is significantly more whiskey with Tom's face upon it than not and much of the drinks are served in large mug glasses.

Down below the dining area are two clear spaces for dancing, one for the professionals giving performance, and one for those seeking to try on their own. The show isn't just an entertaining watch, it's dancers bring more to the music as well, tapping out a beat. Mixed in to shake up the river dancing, Irish-styled folk songs play, generally regaling tales of Black Tom Cassidy and his exploits, but occasionally playing a song or two about other Tributes.

In between floors is a stand where cotton candy makers craft giant colorful flowers. On the far end of the room, set up high, sits Tom's throne. Torches crown the top of the wooden throne, vines woven over the arm rests, a strange metal meant to visually mirror that of vibranium, shines in elegant swirling detail over and around the whole chair. A soft black material is stretched over the back and seat of the throne, marked in red on the back with Tom's symbol. Tom's crown features flowers and shining rubies set in the wood.

Set up in another room is a shillelagh game of shooting water out of the staff at the targets and winning a prize. Prizes include real "authentic" Shillelaghs, and ones that light up and show fire at the end thanks to an internal projection mechanism. And it's perfectly harmless!

Another room winds and twists through a dark torch lit tunnel in a guided tour through a replica portion of Cassidy keep that's been filled with amazing info about Panem's new Victor! Pictures of his life, his youth, his loves, and his adventures. There are replica vibranium pieces, models featuring Tom's many outfits, a pretend prison for guests to have their picture taken inside of, and on-wall descriptions of his villainous escapades. Both those and the tour guide tend to loop back to how he's found redemption here in Panem, now a model citizen.

A third room has been cleared for allowing a giant game of cops and robbers, which Tom has exemplified in present and past respectively. Those brought in to play are dressed in villain's outfits for the "robbers" and all Peacekeeper white for the "cops".

One door leads out to a bridge, connecting the island to the chasm edge across from it. There's a section of rolling hills there where guests are encouraged to seek out four leaf clovers and have them exchanged for engraved gold and bronze rings, flower bouquets, a free meal courtesy of Below Timberline, or even Limited Edition Black Tom Cassidy memorabilia. The white bridge across is lit underneath like that of the ha'penny bridge in the exotic offworld Ireland, but unlike ha'penny, the bridge's lights form beautiful moving pictures of various arena scenes, particularly the finale.

Saddened these scenes are out of sight? Fear not! The wide bridge has a second function: bungee jumping! Overseen by an attendant, with the proper equipment fitting, you too can take a dive into a chasm. Like Black Tom did, only on purpose and absolutely injury-free! The bungee is perfectly secure and safe with more attendants waiting below to pick up those... at the end of their rope. Boats waiting along the far edges pick up the guests again to bring them back around to the Cassidy Keep party. And what a party it is.

But it's not all fun and games at this crowning. Come evening, the dance floor is cleared and a stage and podium are swiftly set up. All the guests are sat. Tributes are sat up front, Capitolites and other guests in the back. Peacekeepers line in rows on the back and sides of the stage. Those still on duty situate between the Tributes and guests. Dead-center, with the rows of Tributes on either side, are two Peacekeepers that some might recognize as being one of the more heavily afflicted Peacekeepers on the day of the Medieval Games-watching Party. Though the offworld "sickness" vanished shortly after the first arrest was made, these two still don't look so hot, one nursing what might be a headache, and the other just plain looking ill.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I haven't, but I'll remember that. There must be so much beauty out there that I'm missing.

Much as she'd like to gush out the compliments, she finds herself limited by the need to always, always, always ensure she's not inadvertently expressing discontent with the Capitol.

She parts her lips in an O at hearing the story.

What a bold move! I imagine I would be terrified. How has the writing been so far? I'm not a writer at all, but I do enjoy reading.

If you get the chance, go see it. I know it's bias but it really is worth the trip.

And really, I do gossip columns right now which is fun but ultimately not my dream. I hope to write a book sometime in the future. Once I have my name out. I think it'd be a romance so it'd be right in line with my readers, I hope.

She has a lot of dreams really but that's the easiest one to bring up. Writing is something she'd done for almost a decade, from stories about friends to imagined worlds. All kept tightly under wraps for one reason or another.

Though she dismisses most gossip as littering but with words, China makes a note to curry favor with this woman. Sometimes there are grains of truth and she could be useful.

Is it such a shift from gossip columns to romances? I imagine you're collecting quite a bit of material right now, unless that isn't the kind of romance you want to write.

Something sweeter, maybe? Not all public romances linger too long in that realm before diving into the sordid.

Oh no not really! I mean, that it's such a change. I do enjoy my job right now, it gives me such opportunities to meet people and make connections and that's important! But I don't know if I want to write the sort of romance that would end up in papers. Something quieter.

Something softer, something with subtlety. It's a tall order really, writing a romance with subtlety, but she has years of practice to fall back on. It's just a matter of finding someone to read it.

To some of China's ilk, that kind of gossip rag relationship is all they know or even all they aspire to. She wonders if this is more typical of Districters--though Leo sounded much more cynical when he spoke of love.

Something more placid, perhaps? I have noticed that what's in the magazines could give one whiplash.

Meulin laughs. Not usually by the design of those in the relationship, though it happens on occasion. A few notable exceptions seemed to make their articles simply existing and being in a relationship.

Hmn! Yes more placid I suppose. You don't always need a lot of conflict in a relationship to make it interesting. A slow build and a satisfying ending is my preference, but I suppose that might not interest Capitol audiences.

You may be right, but I'm sure you could find a niche. Personally, such a story sounds intriguing to me.

She looks up from the notepad, smiling encouragingly. Far be it from her to let an artist downplay themselves.

What makes an ending satisfying? Thinking of a romance in terms of its end may seem a little pessimistic, though I suppose we do all die...

Meulin shakes her head hard, pulling the notepad close eagerly. This reply takes some time as she writes out thoughtfully.

Not the romance, the book. A book with a satisfying ending is one where they earned the ending! It might not be the best ending, I suppose. Reading about roses and sweethearts that have nothing bad happen to them wouldn't be very much fun.

But most of the books I've read are about class differences, within the Capitol or between the Districts and the Capitol. The conflict comes from their positions and circumstances while I find conflicts between people to be far more interesting. Whether within the relationship or an outside source.

Of course, I've read books here with satisfying endings, but they're always the more tragic ones. Died thinking of each other, one sacrificed for the other, they end up happy but scarred. That sort of thing.

She leans forward, eyes quickly bouncing from side to side. Her writing, when she starts, is as deliberate as always, but her smile sparkles with new interest.

Fascinating. People do have so many rough edges with which to bump each other, don't they? And my grandmother always said it is those closest to you who will wear you down the most. If that's true, I imagine you may have found a wonderful conflict for romances.

She laughs, nodding a little as she reads. Perhaps not the exact scenario she had in mind but she runs with the idea.

People often get in their own way or so I've noticed. And personalities that clash at some places are always interesting. I just like the idea of a personal sort of conflict fueling the story. Romance is interesting enough without having to set it in a bad environment. Or perhaps being from the Districts has just granted me a unique perspective.

Things would be frightfully dull without some unique stories. Please remember to tell me when you do start your book--I'll be eager to see it.

Unique views in general are exciting, so long as they don't verge on sedition.

I shall. Give me a few months purrhaps though. I have more research to do into this market. And the Capitol to be honest. I'm not sure of the setting I want, but I know next to nothing about the other districts so it's home or here.

She has a vague outline in one of her many notebooks but it's nothing she would show off and it's tucked in her desk either way.

She raises an eyebrow at 'purrhaps' but doesn't ask. At least, not right now.

I have quite a few Capitol-written books in my library, if you require any assistance. I would truly love to help, if you need it.

It's not so often a writer comes to her little library, which has become more of a hobby than a profession lately.

It slipped through, despite her best efforts to act professional. She doesn't catch it on her reread either so it remains blissfully uncommented on. Her eyes light up when she notices the word library and she looks up quickly.

"Oh really?"

In her excitement, she forgets to write and the pen is left dangling in her hand as she gestures with the other.

"I've only really been to bookstores, I've never seen or read from a personal collection. What sorts of books do you keep?"

The poor pen is still held in her hand and notebook on her lap. This is not at all conducive to letting China reply.

Excitement is just what China had hoped for—her library is one of the few areas in which she actually likes to share.

"Your enthusiasm is charming." She looks the woman full in the face when she speaks, just in case she has any gift for lip-reading.

Nearly giggling, she reaches for the notebook.

Meulin has no particular talent for lip reading, only being able to guess with any accuracy when she has the ability to listen to something over and over and the volume turned up on her headphones. She doesn't really need it with the amusement plain on China's face.

Heat flushes her cheeks in her sudden realization of how silly she had acted. She bumps her hands against China's as she tries to hand back the paper and pen as the woman reaches for it.

"I...Sorry! I get distracted."

The corners of her eyes turn up again in amusement once more, even as she shakes her head. It really is something nice to see.

Eager, she takes the pen and starts writing more.

Don't apologize at all. Truthfully, I'm happy to see how glad you seemed to be.

I try to fill my shelves with all sorts. I have quite a few rows of fiction--including romance--and then all types of instructional texts. Many more than I can read at once, of course, so I allow others to use them.

This time, she writes back if only to keep her enthusiasm from infecting her voice again. It seeps into her text. Her words dig into the paper a little more, the loops in her letter not connecting and the dots above the 'i's more like dashes.

It sounds amazing! I've never quite gotten into nonfiction but I'd be more than willing to try. What sort of instructional texts? I suspect if it's about machines or something like that, it would be lost on me

Her smile is genuine still, as few people express this kind of endearing interest. And so plainly! Despite being someone who keeps her emotions sheathed like weapons, there's something she enjoys about honesty and openness.

Not machines at all, thank goodness. Well, a few. But I have a few on fencing techniques, some on crafting, some on mapping family trees... I wish I could say the topics were endless, but I will settle for them being quite close.

Well I'd be happy to read whatever you have at hand. One can't be too well versed in a subject! And it might come in handy. I'm not a crafter but a character I write might be.

It opens her world a little, the idea of practically endless topics to choose from. Mapping family trees sounds like a very Capitol thing to be concerned with but interesting nonetheless. She doubts she'd find a book not worth the time to read.

It's exciting and her smile refuses to quit.

That's a perspective I haven't often heard. It's a wise thing to gather knowledge when and where you can.

She tucks the pen in the notebook for a moment while her free hand swoops into a hidden pocket. She offers the business card she retrieves--the address of her library prominently featured--to Meulin.

For all your research needs.

She takes the business card rather reverently, noting the address and practically memorizing it on the spot. Time is taken to carefully put in a pocket of her purse and set that back on the ground beside her before she gathers the notebook and pen close to reply.

Thank you! Is there a time that's best to come by?

And really, the story would be so boring if everyone was just interested and did the things I know how to do. Better to get some ideas.

A woman after China's cold, dead heart. Meulin's careful movements are carefully noted and tip the scales in China's head to the more favorable side. China doesn't consider herself to be a person who makes friends, but she does have tolerable people and a respect for books is a definite plus.

With my Escort work, I have spent less time there recently. However, I always leave it open to visitors in the capable hands of my assistant.

Very sensible of you. Variety is the spice of life.

Thank you! I suspected as much, the Tower keeps you all busy nowadays. I'm glad I won't be intruding.

Meulin sighs happily again at the idea of a full library, a wealth of knowledge. There was always a thirst for the act of knowing and the act of reading and searching.

Are they available to borrow or is it best to schedule out of a large block of time to read there?

Nonsense. A fellow book-lover would never intrude.

That open, giving hands get slapped is one of China's core beliefs. But, like with most things, her heart is a little softer when it comes to the world of books...

You may take a few out at once--more, if you prove yourself to be as reliable a patron as you sound.

The Crowning Of Tom Cassidy

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