gamemakers: (Default)
The Gamemakers ([personal profile] gamemakers) wrote in [community profile] thecapitol2013-09-02 11:22 am

The Crowning of Maximus Decimus Meridius

Who| Everyone
What| Maximus' crowning
Where| Victory Hall
When| Today
Warnings| Violence.


Prior to the Crowning, the Stylists and Escorts were given information: the color scheme for the Crowning is brown and gold, the theme is fire, and for Tributes, Games Staff and Victors in the Capitol alike, attendance is mandatory. No exceptions.

The Victory Hall has been completely refitted to the theme. Great brownstone pillars reach up from the floor, now made of polished marble. Rose petals and dying embers flutter from the ceiling like confetti, and long panels of fabrics embroidered with Maximus' kills pour down the walls. Rather than tables, Tributes are given wooden chairs to sit around fire pits in groups of four, where pigs and sheep are roasting whole, tended by attentive Avoxes. The smell of charring flesh and rosemary wafts through the hall.

In the center of the hall is a pit, fifteen feet deep, ringed with brick and filled with sand. Torches line the inside wall, casting light in every direction. A circular screen up above lets those not close to the edge view the contents of the pit in real-time video.

Maximus' private table has a theme of anachronisms; Tributes from 'less-developed' timelines and worlds are seated around a long table, facing the gladiatorial ring where, at the moment, a full-grown, well-fed Bengal tiger paces. Compared to the muttations of the Arena, it may seem positively demure, up until it bares its fangs and reveals that it's been modified to have saber teeth gilded in gold. Occasionally an Avox will dangle something into the pit and jerk it away if the tiger looks bored and lays down.

Occasionally, with fanfare of music pumped in to announce it, a challenger enters the tiger ring - a hologram of one of the Tributes who were cuffed and marked by the Capitol. The hologram must be affixed with smell, too, as the tiger takes note and attacks like a kitten following a laser pointer, making dramatic roars as it does. The holograms put up valiant fights, and their deaths are brutal, illusory blood flying and the sounds of death rattles and bones cracking coming from speakers embedded in every table.

"A speech," Maximus' Escort says to Maximus. "The General must give a speech."

Tributes who attended Wesker's Crowning ceremony should notice a remarkable increase in security. Visibly armed Peacekeepers lurk behind the panels of fabric, and bulbous, obvious cameras dot the ceiling. Even the Avoxes seem shiftier than usual, and are equipped with discrete tape recorders pinned to their rough-hewn tunics.
69problems: <user name="always-procrastinating" site="tumblr.com"> (xtra | 'Cause this is his body)

[personal profile] 69problems 2013-09-03 03:33 am (UTC)(link)
"You were right," the Signless repeats, staring very hard at the fire. "I should have kept quiet. It wasn't worth the consequences."

He'd just stupidly expected he was the only one who might get hurt because of his own actions. Looking back on it, he can't believe he was so naive.
pythianjudgment: ([o] does not bode well)

[personal profile] pythianjudgment 2013-09-03 03:52 am (UTC)(link)
Terezi still isn't sure where this change of pace came from. She seems more confused than anything when she takes a quick sniff around. She notices Karkat, but doesn't pay him any mind. No one else seems to be paying attention.

"...What do you mean? What consequences?" He doesn't seem hurt or mangled to her--which was the entire reason she was trying so hard to keep him out of trouble.
69problems: <user name="rumminov" site="tumblr.com"> (xtra | Drinking it in)

[personal profile] 69problems 2013-09-03 04:21 am (UTC)(link)
"They've brought in someone I care for very much, and it's too soon to be a coincidence. Now I'm going to have to watch her die and there's nothing I can do about it." The line of his mouth is hard and thin. "I honestly would have preferred torture."
pythianjudgment: ([d] scent of despair)

[personal profile] pythianjudgment 2013-09-03 04:26 am (UTC)(link)
"Oh." Honestly, she hadn't considered that as a possibility. It doesn't sit well with her because apparently it means they felt the need to take an action at all. It worries her, even if she tries not to let it show.

"Who?"
69problems: <user name="paperseverywhere" site="tumblr.com"> (xtra | Keep you near)

[personal profile] 69problems 2013-09-13 02:33 am (UTC)(link)
"My Disciple." He gestures in the direction of the other troll, somewhere across the room, talking to Karkat (he's glad they're getting along, at least, his quadrantmates). "One of the few people who stayed with me, and traveled with me, instead of just listening and forgetting once I'd left."
pythianjudgment: ([i] bring down the law)

[personal profile] pythianjudgment 2013-09-13 01:25 pm (UTC)(link)
Terezi sniffs in the direction that Signless gestures. What she smells is a very large Nepeta, and she's pretty sure that she knows exactly who that is. The coincidences are too strange, and she has to wonder if it's really a coincidence at all. She's not quite sure if it's specifically as a punishment for Signless, though.

Still, she hums in acknowledgment... then shrugs. "Maybe you'll keep your head down from now on, then. Where it belongs."
69problems: zorrin @ deviantart (xtra | This is as good a place to fall)

[personal profile] 69problems 2013-10-04 04:24 pm (UTC)(link)
"I've resolved at least to try. I may need you to remind me, if I forget again."

She's one of the few trolls here who questions him not because of hatred for his blood or message and wants to believe he's wrong about everything (he's pretty sure) but just because she honestly doesn't think he's right. He can respect that, if nothing else. And being told to shut up is infinitely preferable to getting someone else hurt.
pythianjudgment: ([d] i walk a lonely road)

[personal profile] pythianjudgment 2013-10-04 04:49 pm (UTC)(link)
That gets him a funny look. She tilts her head a little, furrowing her brow at him. Is he asking her to tell him to shut up? Honestly, it's the first time that she's honestly thought he might actually get it. At the same time, she's suspicious that there's some other strange logic going on here.

"I'm not going to be your censor. It's not my responsibility. You're going to have to learn what not to say and when not to say it. Hopefully, before you get someone killed for good in the process!" Like someone she cares about. She turns to pick at the meat on the spit in front of them, frowning at it.

"But I'll keep a rope handy, just in case."