The Crowning of Maximus Decimus Meridius

[gamemakers]

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.

Comments

[savedbyasong]

Shion barely recognises himself, he forced himself to look at the tiger as it pulled apart another hologram. "It's teeth have been changed." He told him, still looking. "They are usually not gold."

[shambler]

"Nothing...else?" R prompts. He can see the teeth are gold. They flash and gleam even through the spray of fake blood, blood that doesn't ping R on an instinctive level like it normally should. "Look."

Again. R wants to stab a finger at that tail and go that's wrong, that's totally wrong to Shion.

[savedbyasong]

He's looking, he's looking. "What am I looking at R?" What do you want him to see, want him to explain. It's just a tiger, a beautiful trapped creature used to instill fear and obedience.

[shambler]

R's mouth works silently through It's the tail. See? Am I right or am I right? (Or...he's wrong. Which is probably likely because half the time R can't tell the difference between fragments of his own memories or memories of books and movies and other people's stories).

The zombie grunts, "Tail? Don't...ti-gers...bounce?"

[savedbyasong]

"Bounce? Tigers don't bounce, they are far too heavy... they can pounce though, and jump but bouncing suggests a repeated motion." Shion frowned, "At least they don't bounce in my world, do they in yours? They must be a much smaller breed."

[shambler]

R was stumped. "How...would I...know? Can't-can't...remember."

He hated to admit it to Shion, but he'd been banking on confirmation from the human, not more questions. What if tigers were different between their worlds? R's groan sounded slightly put-out, as if he'd been expecting more. R watched the tiger pace right under them, the orange-black coat rippling with the muscles bunching underneath. For a moment those weird alien eyes looked up at the two of them.

[savedbyasong]

Shion met the tigers eyes, and reached out to take R's hand and squeeze it. "This one doesn't bounce, it's too big see," He pointed at it, "Maybe if there was a smaller species, it would be capable of bouncing. But this one definitely cannot bounce, unless they have added springs to it's feet or something."

[shambler]

R's hand was the usual: cold and stiff to the touch. His fingers twitched against Shion's as he leaned forward - probably a little too far forward - over the edge of the pit. The tiger was definitely big.

"So...other...species," R got to what mattered. The tiger yawned, revealing those huge teeth, and stretched. So this was a bounceless tiger. R decided to give up on the mechanics of a bouncing maneater, swaying as he turned to face Shion. "You...talk to...Vic-tor?"

He gave a dull nod toward where Maximus was stuck fending off congratulations. Too bad Shion hadn't met Maximus when R did - he probably would've lasted longer in the Arena with a zombie baby-sitting pro at the wheel.

[savedbyasong]

Shion's hand tightened around R's, in case he leaned too far. He shook his head at the question, "I don't know him... I saw him though..." Saw him fight, and kill. He seemed kind, but terrifying all at the same time. "You know him, right?"

[shambler]

Good thing Shion had his back - R really did almost tip right over the side there on that last drunken sway. "Sort...of. We're...not friends. Got...along?"

If you could call Max killing Tributes and feeding them to him "getting along". R couldn't even say they were allies in the Arena; allies implied they each pulled their own weight. R leaned back from the pit's edge, his foot shuffling back and almost trampling all over Shion's.

[savedbyasong]

Shion nodded, he had seen what Max had done. Shion danced backwards to avoid being trampled on by the taller boy, not letting go of his hand, in case he stumbled the other way and fell.

"It's good that he helped you." Even if it meant killing others, but he was a victor, he was going to kill anyways...

It didn't make Shion feel less sad about it though.

[shambler]

R didn't seem to mind being tugged back from the pit. He was a follower like that, terrible leader material.

"Yeah. Didn't...have to," and didn't want to, but he'd still straight up murdered people to feed to a zombie. R didn't care what planet you came from - that was impressive. "Maybe...talk to him? Ask...tips."

[savedbyasong]

"Ask tips..." About helping Zombie friends, or killing, or both. Shion nodded, "I might... but..." He waved his hand trying to explain, Maximus terrified him, and would probably think Shion weak and not worth talking to.

[shambler]

R didn't seem to pick up on it at first. What? If Maximus could find it in himself to babysit a corpse, he'd probably think a Living guy like Shion would be an upgrade, right? After a long moment staring at Shion and through him, he eventually realized where his District 4 teammate was going with this.

"Selling....self short," R grunted.

[savedbyasong]

Shion blushed and looked down. "He's just... really powerful and I'm not really a fighter, I mean I'm never going to last more than a few days..."

[shambler]

R thought about it, feeling it traveling through his dusty brain folds. He had the mental image of rubbing at them with his fingers, coaxing the thought through. "Not...have to ...fight him?"

Maximus won, right? So that put him out of the running Arena-wise. R thought he had that one down.

[savedbyasong]

"I know... I just mean... if he gave me tips, they'd be wasted." Shion shrugged.

[shambler]

"Room to..." Improve? Nope, that's not the word R's casting around for, blundering in the dark trying to cheer up a human. His face creased over with a slow frown. "...Can't...hurt to...listen."

It sounded lame even in groan-form. Look, even he could tell looking at Shion that he wasn't hardcore survivor material here.

[savedbyasong]

"I guess..." He gave a tiny smile, "I can only try." Even if he ultimately failed. Which he probably would.

[shambler]

R reached out and gave Shion a pat on the shoulder, probably a little harder than he intended to. Zombies weren't known for being the most subtle things out there. "Good. Hope...one day...you win?"

No hard feelings if Shion had to kill him to do it.

[savedbyasong]

Shion shook his head, "I don't want to, but maybe you could. One day."

[shambler]

That dry croaking sound, like he's dying all over again, is R's pathetic attempt at a laugh. "When...pigs...fly!"

(They don't fly, right? R's already unsure about tigers and bouncing, so it can't hurt to double-check).

[savedbyasong]

Shion blinked, the idiom going right over his head. "Pigs flying... I think your world is very different than mine..."

[shambler]

Shion, you're totally not helping here. Shion gives the human a blank stare. "Think...they don't. Do...they?"

Now R's doubting himself all over again.

[savedbyasong]

"Not in my world..." Bouncing tigers, flying pigs. Shion was pretty sure R couldn't read so where was he getting these ideas from.