etcircenses: (Default)
Panem Events ([personal profile] etcircenses) wrote in [community profile] thecapitol2015-11-20 11:32 am

The Crowning of Cullen Rutherford

Who| Everyone who's anyone.
What| The Crowning of Cullen Rutherford.
Where| The new Rutherford Castle.
When| Friday, late afternoon into the evening.
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| Please warn appropriately in headers.

The crowning ceremony takes place in an approximation of Skyhold, a large fortress with a castle with a sweeping main hall, gardens, and two levels of courtyard. Flags and banners hang everywhere, some with heraldry of the Inquisition, some with the heraldry of the Templar Order, a nod to Cullen's old days as a Templar. And of course, just as prominent everywhere you look is the seal of the Capitol. Just in case anyone forgot where they were.

The medieval fashion (or as close of approximation to medieval as the Capitol as gotten) that had come in with the 13th arena is back in full swing. There's plenty of fake armor to be seen, and foam swords resting on Capitolite hips. Sweeping ballgowns can be spotted as well, and a few more savvy people seem to have come dressed in a strange red and gold uniform. The avoxes do their best to blend in to the environment with drab brown peasant outfits.

In the main hall, tables filled with medieval food have been set up on both sides of the walls, filled with approximations of medieval food--As far as the Capitolites are concerned, that means normal food, but with a tendency for venison and large turkey legs. There are even dainty little cakes for dessert. Along the walls, above the food tables, hang multiple pictures. Featuring in this galley are every native of Thedas that had come to Panem at one point or another, all of them dressed in dour blacks of funeral wear, save the four remaining Thedasians. But of course, there are plenty of pictures of the Victor, starting with Cullen has a chubby blond child, going into him as an awkward young Templar (there's even a picture of him talking to a woman that the title identifies as Warden Amell), going through unfortunate hair cuts, and of course, various pictures of him in Panem, capturing a variety of touching and painful moments.

It all culminates when you get to the end of the hall, where there rests a massive throne just for Cullen. And behind it, the largest picture of them all, a massive portrait of Cullen. Adella stands next to him, holding an infant in her arms. Maxwell and Tabris are, for some reason, also featured in this family portrait, and you have to wonder if the artist in question didn't perhaps ship the ever popular Maxullen, because Maxwell's hand was looking awfully chummy on Cullen's shoulder.

The bottom courtyard has been set up with stalls, where you can buy foam swords and shields, little mabari plushes, and even a lion helmet. There's also little wedding toppers, shaped just like Cullen and Adella, and framed pictures of most of the art that hangs in the main hall. The nearby stables have been stocked with a variety of mounts, from the standard horses to more exotic harts, a strange dragon-like creature, and...no one is really sure what this is, but it...looks interesting?

In the upper courtyard, there's the Herald's Rest, a real, rustic tavern, with a woman playing a guitar and singing various songs. All the songs seem to revolve around how great the Capitol is, which kind of offsets the mood, but it's the thought that counts, right? It doesn't help that the bar has been outfitted to serve all kinds of modern drinks, but who wants plain ale, anyway? Outside of the tavern is a practice ring, where people can put to use their fake swords and shields, either trying to maul each other, or a target. Several peacekeepers offset the aesthetic feel in uncompromising white, carefully watching all participants to make sure that everyone is playing nicely.

If everything is just a little too busy for you, the garden is left in quiet peace. A woman dressed in red and white robes will occasionally begin speaking, extolling the virtues of the Capitol, and President Snow in a lengthy monologue.

There are a few actors wandering around, appearing as various people who have made an impact on Cullen's life. There's the mysterious Warden Amell, a man in full armor, and a woman dressed similarly. These two will wander around, swords in hand, ready to smack anyone with foam swords and accuse them of being blood mages. One actress is dressed like a certain Marian Hawke who had at one time been a tribute. She darts around the fortress, stopping people and regaling them with highly exaggerated tales of things that Cullen has supposedly done. There's even a few creatures running around that people may recognize from the last arena, such as the tastefully almost-nude desire demon that will occasionally try to sidle up to people--usually to be driven off by one of the people in armor.

There's one more addition to the party--dogs! A very specific kind of dog. Several dogs simply wander around Skyhold, trying to steal people's food and begging for attention. Next to the throne are four particularly handsome ones, each one with a collar baring the name of one of the four Thedasians left.

If wandering around Skyhold and competing with swords leaves you dry-mouthed, you're in luck! Dotted around the area are fountains that all pour a strange, bright blue punch. Listen closely, because the fountain seems to be humming a strange tune. If you have a careful eye, you might even find the one that has red punch pouring out if it, humming an oddly sinister tune.

Well, what harm could there be in going ahead and trying it out anyway?
whittlingnickels: ([What the Sam Hill?])

[personal profile] whittlingnickels 2015-12-28 07:04 pm (UTC)(link)
"I can imagine the fallout has been...substantial but I merely ask for the investors that have been more than riled up by the incident in question," Sinclair isn't a man who wants to make people squirm at first sight. He allows them to get comfortable before he grills them, poking at them with a red-hot iron rod.

"Though entertainin' as it was to watch the chaos unfold, what are the plans for the next Arena?" he placed that easy question in there, because there is one that's been bothering him: the lack of carnage. If all those children died in the mess: where are the bodies?
lex_paciferat: (glance)

[personal profile] lex_paciferat 2016-01-05 03:34 am (UTC)(link)
"Of course. If you want more details, the best person to ask would be Gamemaker Klim. Personally, I'd have to go back and read the reports."

He does, in fact, remember quite a bit, but wants to make clear that this problem didn't originate with him. His trust in Sigma wasn't much improved by the incident, either, and he has no qualms about attaching his name to the mess.

"I don't know at this time. That's something else you might be better off asking the Gamemakers. All I can tell you is that I will be in communication with them to ensure that we won't have an incident like this again."
whittlingnickels: ([Walk with me])

[personal profile] whittlingnickels 2016-01-19 05:04 pm (UTC)(link)
Even though Quintus was passing the buck to Dr. Klim, it's no skin off Sinclair's back as he at least has an answer from an authority to quell the worries. But time to ask something a little more accusatory.

"Pray tell, Officer, while this may not be your matter to worry about, and you've done an excellent work here at the Crowning but...what did you do with the Tributes' bodies? Some investors think they might still be alive in some way and perish the thought that half a dozen or more bodies disappeared from under the Capitol's eye."

Though morbid, that particular question struck Gus as odd. And in his world, oddities were not tolerated.
lex_paciferat: (serious)

[personal profile] lex_paciferat 2016-02-06 09:41 pm (UTC)(link)
"I figured that sort of rumor might take off," he remarks, launching carefully into the story he'd prepared for that type of question. "The problem that we encountered with them was that because we weren't able to pick them up straight away, some of the bodies were not only in rigor but had gotten stripped and mutilated by the others. In talking to the Gamemakers about some incidents in past Arenas that didn't go over well, we decided it was best not to let that get on the air. We've cremated most of them and sent the remains back to the families."
whittlingnickels: ([oh really now])

[personal profile] whittlingnickels 2016-03-05 02:52 pm (UTC)(link)
...As brutal as that answer was, it didn't fit. As callous as he was towards the tributes, offworlder or native, Sinclair has been watching the Games since birth. That frenzied behavior was not the norm and even less with the "visiting" tributes. Stripped and mutilated made for good tv and how convenient that it all happened off camera. How timely were the cremations and the lack of that oh so ratings hungry parental response.

Quintus got a suspicious eyebrow raise, and a very deadpan "Goodness how tragic. I can't imagine Caesar being happy to have his content be censored."