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.

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Firo'd beg to differ on that count, considering how he was prepared to react until Roland suggested they split. But the apology's out there, so he doesn't voice that.

He nods and assumes his stance. Given that his experience is mostly street-fighting, that entails merely tilting his body to the side to reduce the target presented and holding up his leading arm to be ready. Realizing that it might look like he's just fooling around, he shrugs and offers, "Most guys don't really give you a chance to get ready, so... Go ahead."

Poor, innocent Firo, never having warning of a fight about to start save for the preceding few minutes that he probably spent baiting the attacker.

Roland's eyes flicker over Firo and his posture, and if this were a serious fight he might act differently. But it's not, so he doesn't. His hand moves toward Firo's shoulder, maybe fast but not nearly so fast as it could. He wants to see how Firo moves, how fast he might grab for Roland's arm and what he decides to do once he's got it.

That speed takes him by surprise, much like Maiza's did when Firo first squared off against him. He ducks to the side more quickly than he might in a typical spar--indeed, much faster than he would have to when dealing with the run-of-the-mill thugs. His arm goes out to Roland's elbow, intending to use friction to rip down to his wrist in a grip that could lead into a throw. He doesn't think he'll get that far, but moving is better than nothing.

Even before Roland notes Firo's speed his left hand twists around, trying to grip the elbow of the arm Firo's got on his, and he shifts his weight to his front foot, darting his other hand out to try and grab Firo's shoulder.

Wary of being hemmed in on both sides, Firo opts for a shift in strategy. He can't avoid the grab to his elbow, but he drops with the force of his full weight when he sees the other hand coming for him. There may not be all that much of it, but he's hoping that Roland either won't be prepared to or won't care to catch him. If that's the case, then his next planned move is to swing his non-supporting leg at Roland's front leg for a sweep.

"You're pretty fast, huh?"

Roland doesn't bother replying. What he's focusing on instead is reaching out for Firo as he falls, wanting to grab the material at Firo's waist and shoulder and pull, ultimately trying to roll Firo over and get on top of him to pin him. During fight, words can be a weapon like any other - and he isn't about to get distracted using them at the wrong time.

It's a weapon indeed, though Firo doesn't always consciously realize he uses it that way. The next move, though, is enough to shut his mouth for the moment.

He growls in dismay and frustration as Roland pulls him around. Mr. Yagu did a lot of grappling with him, but it's always better not to let the guy get you on the floor in the first place. He thrusts his elbow up to try and get Roland uncomfortable enough to let go--he aims for the tender spot around the collarbone, but, really, he'll take a hit anywhere.

Roland grunts and twitches, but it would take more than that to make him let go. He doesn't flatten himself over Firo, though, does not try to pin Firo's arms to his body to keep him from moving. What he does is keep his body off Firo's, trying to slide his hands up to Firo's wrists. If he does grab them he'll try and keep him pinned from there, but if things go as Roland expects he may not get that far.

The space is something of a surprise to Firo, but it's welcome and he doesn't want to waste it. He tries to throw himself onto his side, this time thrusting up with something as close to a knee as he can manage from this angle. It's not very elegant and--being aimed only around the torso--probably won't do much even if it hits. But it's getting the room to get back on his feet completely that he's looking for, nothing more.

The hit does land, and Roland raises his eyebrows at Firo once it does. He does not move any further away, but his grip on Firo's wrists does loosen noticeably.

The raised eyebrow makes Firo wonder if he's wandered into some trap. "What's that look for?"

With the grip less restricting, he decides to go for it without even waiting for an answer. Using all of his weight, he slams up on a diagonal at Roland, trying to roll the guy over so he can get on top. If it works, he'll lean his hands on Roland's shoulders to try and hold him down.

The look, as it happens, had meant: try harder. But there's no time to say so even if Roland would have, which again is a good example of words as a weapon. If he'd been the sort to get distracted in talking - well it doesn't matter anyway whether he was distracted or not, does it, because Firo's move works. Which doesn't mean Roland is defenseless. He tries to move his legs out from Firo's, wanting to get his feet flat on the ground, even as he takes advantage of the fact that the way Firo is holding Roland down gives Roland's arms room to move.

What he reaches for is Firo's left hand - the wrist in one hand gets squeezed and the first couple of fingers get poked at hard in hopes they'll release their grip and become grabbable, and therefore easier for Roland to bend backward. Not so much that it'll really injure the boy, of course, but he intends to bend them enough to make his message clear. A very simple message, and one this time Firo will probably need no words to understand.

Firo focuses on keeping his weight all together rather than spreading it out; Roland's not all that huge, but Firo isn't either, and he thinks he'll have a better shot of trying to keep him down this way. At least, until Roland pries his fingers off and holds them.

Were this a mental puzzle, Firo'd be inclined to ask right away to be shown how to get out of it. Maybe not right now, considering how he wants to ensure Roland doesn't have a low opinion of the people his Family turns out. Still, the best he'd muster in that case would probably be stubborn sulking.

But this isn't cerebral and therefore not hopeless. First, he leans with Roland's force, trying to feel any weak angle he can use to wriggle out of it.

The thing about Firo's weight, though, is that there's a chance Roland won't have to find a way out of it. There's a chance he can get Firo himself to move it off him, and that's exactly what he tries. He pulls at Firo's wrist, changes the direction he's pulling at Firo's finger in an effort to get him to move with it, hoping Firo will lean sideways to try and get the pressure off and give Roland an opening to get on top. There's something interesting here too, although Roland will not test it to its full capacity - Firo's pain tolerance. He's still staying well clear of causing actual damage, but there's a little he can do before things get to that point. That weak angle might be there, though, it might - if Firo can find it.

Edited 2015-09-08 22:12 (UTC)

He pulls in the wrong direction first, feeling his wrist creak in a decidedly unpleasant way. But for all his complaints about comparatively minor issues, Firo finally shuts his mouth when it comes to things like pain.

Or, well, finally stops complaining in favor of talking about other things. He laughs. "I'd try punchin' you in the face to make you let go, but somehow I don't think that's gonna save me a whole lotta trouble."

Firo knows he isn't close to the expert in grabs that his teacher is, but he has been taught to go with the force of the attacker's pull--the way out is usually where it's the easiest to go. The pitfall of many comes when they try to fight it too much. So, next, he does follow Roland's directing, even as it causes him to lessen the weight he's leaning down on the man. He then rotates his wrist, trying to push towards Roland and twist out of it.

Roland's been given a little and he uses it, trying to roll the two of them onto their sides. It isn't ideal, but it isn't bad. "I think neither of us will give in," he points out, speaking for the first time since they started. "We ought to set some rules next time."

Finally. Firo'd been wondering if he'd have to start just talking to himself.

Finding himself rolled onto his side from his former position isn't nearly as pleasing. Firo knows he has to move more quickly now, pushing his hand now towards Roland's side and twisting again--he wants to figure this out, damn it.

He nods, smiling just a little. "Sorry, but I've got no plans for givin' in."

"We can try makin' up some now."

"Suggestions? Losing conditions?" Roland watches Firo's efforts, and Firo may or may not figure out a solution but there's a moment - when Firo'd come across him Roland hadn't caught that ball, because those two mechanical fingers been ever so slightly slower than he'd expected. There's a moment now when their grip on Firo's wrist falters. Not for long, and it doesn't entirely loose. But it falters.

Firo manages to shrug a shoulder even from their position. "I'm assumin' you're too busy to go until one of us can't move?" That, and Firo suddenly fears that that person would be him and that'd just be embarrassing.

It's not fair, of course, that the metal fingers can't keep up with the flesh and bone ones. But Firo's not much one for fair anyway, so he wrenches and twists in the direction of the loosened grip. If he can get out of the hold, he'll already be trying to roll away to get some space. If he's that lucky.

Roland grunts and all at once gives up on that particular battle, releasing his grip altogether and shoving at Firo, meaning to try and push the boy away, roll away himself, and roll right back onto his feet. "Or until one of us is pinned for a certain number of seconds," he says, once he's still enough one way or the other to say so. "What do you say? Is ten too long?"

This time, Firo's more than happy to go with the flow. He rolls with the shove, springing to his feet as soon as there's enough space between them. Rather than keeping his weight low as if he's braced to weather a hit, he stays light on his feet; his aim is going to be to stay away from the ground, if he can.

"Sounds fine to me." He nods, first serious, then grins just a little. It's difficult to keep his eager inner child from showing at times like this. "...You've gotta show me how you did that grab, too." Well, he doesn't have to. But saying please is overrated.

Roland's eyebrows rise. Will he? "You try it yourself," he invites, "and we'll see how well you've got it." He's taking the posture Firo hasn't - braced to keep his balance, at least, if not to weather a blow, because he doesn't really expect Firo to attack with force. And Roland does plan for Firo to attack. He'll be watching Firo, wary and circling away if he moves close, until that attack comes.

Firo grins and shrugs. "Works for me." The hands-on teaching approach is one he can appreciate.

First he feints high, then he whips around with his other hand to try to grab one of Roland's hands; if the man brings one up to block, that's what he'll go for. The first attempt with the grab is dexterous but untrained--if he even gets close enough, he'll fumble before he gets the finer points.

Roland's one hand is now in Firo's grasp. He does not attempt to distract Firo with his other hand, although he is ready to do it. He only moves his wrist much as Firo had earlier, testing the boy's grip.

At the resistance, Firo redoubles his grip, though he can feel that it won't take much more for Roland to break out. He considers using his other hand to hang on, but that would be dangerous--he doesn't want to leave himself open.

So, instead, he tries using his free hand to take a swing right at Roland's shoulder.

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