The Crowning of Albert Wesker

[gamemakers]

Who| Everyone in the Capitol.
What| The Crowning Ceremony
Where| The Victor's Complex
When| Day of the Crowning
Warnings/Notes| None yet.

The theme of the ceremony is clearly black and red. A crimson carpet stretches out across the room. The long table for feasting seems to be made of a single slab of dark obsidian, something that couldn't possibly be found in this size naturally. The chairs are wrought iron with red cushions, and embers burn under personal barbecues at each seat. Red wine, red juice, slabs of red meat to be cooked (or eaten raw) - the details are all perfected. Even some of the Avoxes have received black tattoos for the occasion, the number '11' permanently marking under their eyes like grotesque twin tears.

For a crowning, the ceremony is rather intimate. Only a handful of guests have been invited: the usual Capitol VIPs, the Mentors of each District, and a few of the stars of the last few Games. Karis Needleteeth, Aunamee, Dr. Alastor Grey, Alpha, Lindsey McDonald and Hyperion Crius each have a seat at the table. A few Peacekeepers sit off to the side, sipping wine. A few of the Mentors are conspicuously missing.

And Wesker's throne sits at the head of the table; it's made of the head of the dragon that destroyed so much of Disneyland and slaughtered so many Tributes. The head has been dried, the tongue replaced with a plush velvet seat and back the color of blood. The eyes have been replaced with glass that stares at each side of the room. The fangs, however, remain intact.

Downstairs, the rest of the Tributes and their Escorts and Stylists can partake in a more Disney-themed affair. Everything is still sleek, and tends to veer more towards Maleficent and Jafar then Cinderella and Ariel, but the punch bowl is Mickey Mouse-shaped. There's a dance floor, and a string quartet, and all sorts of lavish foods on tables with red cloth. It's a night for mingling, at least.

[OOC Note: Part one of this is going up tonight in the first two subthreads. Part two will be edited into the last two subthreads tomorrow evening; you'll see why. Go forth and mingle! Tributes from downstairs can go say hello to the Victor, although they won't get long before the Peacekeepers escort them back down.]

Comments

[battlesleep]

It had been some time since he had last seen Enjolras - the arena itself, to be precise - but then he had not been out and about much himself. Tonight, though, seemed to be a good opportunity to converse, to ensure that tentative connections became perhaps slightly more secure. It was good strategy.

He had found Enjolras interesting, besides. Talking to him would not be a chore, and so Thane made his way over to the man casually, ensuring that it did not look like he had headed specifically for him.

"You do not find the party entertaining?"

[orestes]

Not immediately recognizing the voice, Enjolras looked up with some surprise to find Thane peering at him, with what he could only assume was an inquisitive look. Considering his initial reaction to this man, the realization that the alien's green skin and black eyes now hardly effected him was quite staggering in and of itself. In fact, Enjolras could tentatively even say that, in comparison to most of the people present, he quite preferred Thane's company, appearances be damned.

Politely, but still with a degree of reservation, he smiled back. It wasn't committed enough to be reassuring, but towed admirably the line of appeasing. "Not particularly. I find such events tedious, if we are to be honest. And yourself, Monsieur? How are you enjoying it?"

[battlesleep]

A smile was a good response, and Thane's serenity gained a slightly pleased edge to the corners of his mouth. Enjolras' company so far had proved interesting, and he was inclined to think it would be even more so in a place neither of them need fear death immediately.

"I find them very loud and bright." Things which others might appreciate, but he did not, though it could be read either way in the neutrality of how he delivered it. "Is there not enough conversation for your tastes?"

[orestes]

Bright was certainly a word. While he'd never pursued any sort of scientific study, he had to wonder, somewhat absently, if someone like Thane perceived light in quite the same way he would. Perhaps bright was a significant part of the events to him.

"I would always prefer more conversation, even if I do not always participate. Free and honest discourse is at the heart of enlightenment." The answer was somewhat rhetorical and practiced, but by no means insincere. It's rehearsed quality also permitted Enjolras to add an element of power to it which he might otherwise be lacking after the day's ordeals. Hearing that in his own voice was encouraging enough, and soon he found that his smile was less forced, even though it remained small. "Though I suppose my caveats of free and honest might provoke some degree of discontent here."

[battlesleep]

To grow up with the Hanar, especially for those such as Thane who chose to surgically alter their eyes to better perceive the glows that served as language for them, was to become sensitive to the permutations of light and the way it shifted.

Brightness was not painful, but it was not what he preferred, either. "I suspect they would, for some. I do not think truth is always appreciated here." A slight shake of his head, for a moment. "But not everyone agrees with them."

[orestes]

"Not everyone, but enough that that such remarks would be considered an oddity all the same." The idea of surgically altered eyes would fly over his head entirely, but he was enjoying the conversation with his alien friend all the same. There was something calming about him, now that Enjolras really considered it. A serenity seemed to pervade Thane's action that perhaps was merely the product of his alien behaviors, but Enjolras couldn't find himself dismissing entirely all the same.

"I live in the hope that the more of us speak freely regardless of their opinions, the more the people will be inspired to the same."

[battlesleep]

"Perhaps dangerous." It was said as quietly as anything else he had said, but for a moment there was something more serious in his glance, beyond the calm consideration that he said most things with.

He would be pleased to know that, though. Engaging with people individually was not something he had considered doing much of before he found himself on the Normandy, but he had come to appreciate the conversations he had with his crewmates. To find someone here he enjoyed conversing with was pleasant. He sought to put some of that in how he looked, smiled slightly. "That is a hopeful thought. I think this place would benefit from people's opinions given freely without fear. If such a thing is possible to achieve here."

[orestes]

"The people of the Capitol do not seem so much afraid as they are oblivious." And honestly, he wasn't sure which was more frustrating. Fear he could understand, even at times, relate to. The people of France lived in fear, with harsh laws governing even their most basic rights of association. The people of Panem, however, or rather those of its Capitol seemed to lack any sort of understanding at all for their situation. And, as upsetting as he found their apathy, if they didn't see the problem why should they take steps to change anything?

"They would very likely view this conversation as the idle musings of confused outsiders. A subject for amusement, no doubt."

[battlesleep]

"I think the natives of this place are used to the events within it. They have no indignation. It is only us who finds it unsettling." By us he meant the newcomers in general, those brought into this without warning or preparation. Not all of them, though.

"They seem to view it all as normal."

[orestes]

"Idle musings of confused outsiders who, very likely, do not know their place." The addendum was added dryly, and with a very slight curl to his lips. For as different as this man (if he could be called such) appeared, Enjolras felt a certain kinship with him. They clearly understood each other and it brought him a certain comfort, even as the peculiar way in which his companion blinked, or inclined his head left him somewhat disarmed all the same. "One day I should like to speak to the people we're fighting for. If only to understand their opinion of the system as it stands."

[battlesleep]

"Their next thought will be to teach us our place." Mildly, but there's a certain amount of seriousness to it as he glanced at the guards around the room. They were certainly well guarded for a party.

He was not particularly accustomed to having friends, but talking to Enjolras felt much like his time on the Normandy. He appreciated that. There was a kindness to feeling solidarity with someone. "Do you think it would be possible to gain an audience with them?"

[orestes]

Given his treatment earlier, Enjolras wasn't all too keen on imagining what the Capitol might do to further control their Tributes. In his estimation, poverty and extreme monetary inequality had seemed the underlying cause to most of the problems for the people of Paris. In the Capitol things were less simple. Everyone had everything they could possibly fathom wanting, let alone actually want, so they almost seemed unable to imagine a world in which their wishes were not the mandate. It was an ideological problem less than a practical one and those, unfortunately, were harder to correct. "The Districts? I have been asking my escorts, but all they ever tell me is how dreadful it is there. Still, I should like to know for myself. Perhaps next time I'll tell them I want to see so that I can better motivate myself in their murder games."

[battlesleep]

"Perhaps that could work. At the least, we should be able to visit the District we are supposed to be representing." The Districts seemed like they would be less likely to be filled with - this. Perhaps something more would be able to be learned in a place not quite as dedicated to The Games - somewhere where the people were not all the wealthy elite grouped behind their entertainment. "It is worth the effort. There is not a great deal else that can be done about this situation."

[orestes]

"Perhaps not without proper planning." It was a difficult admission for him, but on a certain level, Thane was entirely right. There wasn't a great deal they could do at the moment, not in their position. Still, Enjolras was nothing if not optimistic about the nature of men. He excelled because while others touted the virtues of human nature publicly and disdained them privately, he believed profoundly every word that he said. Surely somehow this perspective could be used to their favor, to win over the citizens of Panem. Surely somehow they would see that together they were capable of improving even their utopia.

"At any rate, I'm going as again the next time the opportunity presents itself." There was a resoluteness to his voice that left little room for argument. Hopefully he could carry the same gravitas with his escorts.