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.
the_marshal: (wyattAngry3)

[personal profile] the_marshal 2013-09-07 07:12 pm (UTC)(link)
"'Cause while a man can pretend all he wants, he can't hide what he is, not forever."

His eyes returned to Bert, an icy blue. A chill weight. Not a drop of warmth or connection to be found. It didn't matter to him that they were from similar worlds. Even in his own he had known men like Bert, and he hadn't cared for them any either.

It was strength of character, the men and women that they were, that bonded Wyatt to his friends. Not where and when they happened to live.

"An' You've already shown me yer colors."

tis_allgood: (Default)

[personal profile] tis_allgood 2013-09-29 02:57 am (UTC)(link)
"Strange that our worlds could be so similar and our conclusions so different. Where I'm from a Gunslinger is expected to kill, and whether he enjoys the business or not is between him and his gun. My colors are just as they should be."

That blue is both familiar and chilling to him, but Cuthbert isn't about to back down to this challenge. He worked hard to be the man he was and he wasn't going to give up the man he had become to please anyone.

His outfit took away from the effect a bit but he still stood tall and proud. It wouldn't be wise to start a fight, but if one comes to him, he's ready.
the_marshal: (wyattStar)

[personal profile] the_marshal 2013-09-29 03:09 am (UTC)(link)
"An' in my world, when they do, men like me are there to make sure they pay the price."

Wyatt was no more moved by the way Cuthbert puffed up like a belligerent popinjay, than he was by the speech. The man might be trying to save face by holding his ground, but he'd already long lost whatever respect Wyatt might have shown him.

He tolerated him now only because he forced to.

"No one's above the law."