CITRINE

[dramatispersonae]

[You are standing in an amphitheatre constructed of off-white marble with several rows of seats surrounding you on all sides; in the performance space at the bottom is another banquet table, with fourteen different crowns placed upon it. They are, in no particular order:

A jeweled tiara lined with diamonds
A crown of wheat
A faded kokoshnik
A coronet with its jewels missing
A gold diadem
A civic crown made out of oak leaves
A mural crown
A naval crown missing a sail
A hoop crown missing the top insignia
A crown of thorns
A striped nemes
A crown of dandelions
A plain modius
A coronation crown with beading on the side falling off]

Comments

PART ONE

[dramatispersonae]

[Mr. Right's voice echoes quietly off the amphitheatre walls, sounding closer than normal.]

Ladies and jellybeans, it's my pleasure to inform you that you've all been chosen as potential heirs to the throne of your own little kingdom. Isn't that something? Ah, but there's only room for one at the top, so you'll have to make sure you impress me enough to earn that title. We'll find out later on how much potential is really in you. Now I know most of you don't got experience with this sort of thing, so I'll guide you through the process. Think hard about what kinda ruler you'd like to be. King, queen, prince, princess, duke, duchess, marquis, marquise--pick whichever title suits you. I'm fond of "emperor" myself. Regardless, every monarch's gotta have a mark of their autonomy, so your first task is to pick a crown--any crown. Make sure it's one you can hold onto, though--once it's on your head, it won't be easy to keep it. And if you do, make sure you're prepared to carry its weight.

((Each team member present picks a crown from the pile to wear; one team member per crown, please. ONCE YOUR CHARACTER HAS DECIDED ON A CROWN, IT WILL NOT COME OFF. If you arrive past part one, make sure whatever crown you choose is not one that's already been chosen by your teammates.))

DISCUSSION

[dramatispersonae]

Re: DISCUSSION

[mythlology]

[ picks up the naval crown ]

Re: DISCUSSION

[virtuallyroyalty]

Why that one?

Re: DISCUSSION

[hunting]

More role-playing, you think?

Re: DISCUSSION

[virtuallyroyalty]

Woah... not bad at all!

[ Picking up the hoop crown without a second thought ]

Re: DISCUSSION

[scratched]

Sweet bling.

Re: DISCUSSION

[hunting]

[Another random knight!]

... Crowns?

DECISION

[dramatispersonae]

Re: DECISION

[mythlology]

[ naval ]

Re: DECISION

[virtuallyroyalty]

[ Hoop! ]

Re: DECISION

[scratched]

[ coronet ]

Re: DECISION

[hunting]

[Civic]

PART TWO

[dramatispersonae]

[Mr. Right's voice comes echoing through again, sounding amused]

Ain't you all looking fancy. But good looks and a winning smile aren't enough--trust me, I know. Question is, do you think you deserve that kind of title? Regal-looking or not, you've got to walk the walk and talk the talk. And a ruler's just a nobody if they can't reach deep into the hearts of their subjects. What makes you so special? You got to think about what being a leader really means to you, and how you'd handle it in particular. The first thing every ruler needs to address is what kinda rules they're laying down. So here's your second task: figure out how you'd pluck the heartstrings of your vassals--in this case, your teammates--and play me a sweet tune.

Sounds pretty open-ended, right? Well, like everything in life, there's a catch: those crowns aren't just shiny little decorations. They've been worn before, and inherited certain... traits from all those past generations. And there's one piece of advice all those old dead guys can agree on: if you want to avoid being usurped, you'd better live up to your predecessors.

[If you chose the jeweled tiara, your trait is: HATEFUL.
If you chose the crown of wheat, your trait is: SORROWFUL.
If you chose the kokoshnik, your trait is: LYING.
If you chose the coronet, your trait is: CHARISMATIC.
If you chose the diadem, your trait is: PESSIMISTIC.
If you chose the civic crown, your trait is: OPTIMISTIC.
If you chose the mural crown, your trait is: BRAVE.
If you chose the naval crown, your trait is: MOURNFUL.
If you chose the hoop crown, your trait is: FLIRTATIOUS.
If you chose the crown of thorns, your trait is: RECKLESS.
If you chose the nemes, your trait is: ANXIOUS.
If you chose the crown of dandelions, your trait is: WHIMSICAL.
If you chose the modius, your trait is: SERIOUS.
If you chose the coronation crown, your trait is: IGNORANT.

((The second task is a speech! Your character must perform as a monarch giving orders with the trait listed to their chosen crown. Their purpose is to address rules and regulations with your teammates as your subjects, but feel free to interpret this however you like! You can go full-on monologue or soliloquy, or do a simple list, or whatever. Be ~creative~! If you arrive late, please specify which crown you're wearing in your comment.))

DISCUSSION

[dramatispersonae]

Re: DISCUSSION

[mythlology]

-- why do ships make people sad?

Re: DISCUSSION

[hunting]

[Um. No.]

Re: DISCUSSION

[virtuallyroyalty]

Oh, this I can do~ Flirtatious though, seriously?

Re: DISCUSSION

[scratched]

Huh, lucky me, already got that Charismatic shit down in spades.

SPEECHES

[dramatispersonae]

Re: SPEECHES

[mythlology]

[ okay. Focusing on BAD SHIT to gear up for this ]

So I don’t know all of you super well. Some of you’ve been here ages; I think the rest of you are pretty new, as far as Aather goes. But I know you’ve all been here long enough to see people show up and disappear. I mean… it hits you in the gut, right? You basically grow up with these people, ‘cause you get more and more memories and all, and then one day they’re in a book, or kidnapped, or stuck in the darkest pit in the world. And there’s nothing you can do about it except playing more games and hoping Beauty will give ‘em back. And…

[ Fumbling here. Pausing to find something more to say and – crown? Boats? Oh, ocean. ]

People here go in and out like waves. Every time a new person-wave rolls in, and your friend’s person-wave rolls out, it’s like the beach got washed smooth. Your friendship sandcastle gets knocked down and your footprints get washed away, the works.

[ Unclasps his key-necklace, which has small Citrine-orange beads with Sharpied designs on them – one with bacon, with two human legs, with a –v– mark, with a roller blade, with a rose, with a cinnamon stick crossed over a leaf, with a smiling sun, with a key, with a god-tier sun, and one with a T ]

So when the Personae take the person away and your sandcastle gets carried out to sea, it’s up to us to remember the people we lost and the stuff we built up with them. Everything you did together is still worth it that way.

So, this is supposed to be about a rule. We've all forgot a lot, but the rule is, don’t forget your friends.

Thanks.

Re: SPEECHES

[virtuallyroyalty]

Before I start, I have to give respect where it's due. Though I might not talk to any of you often, you're still worth to me more than you know. You are the ones who grant me the strength-- the wisdom and the ability to sustain our Aather. Even if we disagree, your endeavors will never go unappreciated by me, and the knowledge of your support me makes me spend all the more effort in creating a united front, to benefit us all. I'll never consider any of you below me... though, it's not a terrible image, and I know some of you might have complaints otherwise... but I prefer you all as my equals by my side.

With that said, I challenge you! It's easy to get caught up in our fear of the unknown, the fear of the darkness! To deny those who need help, or to get caught up in the past! But we should not fear the darkness, and we should not fear those more powerful than us! After all, sometimes darkness makes the mood. And even the powerful have hearts. That's why... I have faith in you. I am here because I trust you. And I will defend you, and lay my own body down for you, if that's what it takes to help you.

So, when it comes down to it, I want to make a law. And that law is for everyone to look out for one another, and comfort one another, even... especially when life is at its darkest. You've been here by my side, in your own way. It's the least I can do to be by yours.

[ ... he might be blushing a bit at the end there. ]

Re: SPEECHES

[scratched]

Listen up, I'm the Sultan of Swing, The Price of Pop, Lord Regent of Radical, the Duke of Nuke, back from the grave of development hell and raised from the ashes of your burnt out husk of a soul. They say I'm just a kid who doesn't know shit, but I'll tell you one thing: I'm a master of laying down the law and passing out the pain, you'd be tripping hard on your own inflated ego to deny I've got the mouth and brains to run this town. I'm here to lay it on the line like all my damn dirty laundry and level with you: you know I'm pretty damn rude. They say if I got more ill-mannered it'd cause a whole debutante ball to get into a weave-ripping fist fight for the fainting couch, but I'm not here to prove that wrong or right.

Just know I'm here for you, ready to inflict the harshest of sickest nasty burns towards anyone who dares to fucking step between me and my subjects. You stick with me, and you've got yourself one hell of a nasty mutt on a chain, because I work for you now - day and night like a damn animal. Don't give a shit whether you've got gray skin or tentacles or don't like Electro House Pop, we're all equal out in the jungle and that ain't a pig talking out his snout about revolution. Believe me when I say the words coming out of my mouth be pure and true, like angelic trumpeting hailing out the sky, and if you're willing to let verbal transgressions and aggressions be past, consider this my magnum opus apology while I place that promise ring on your finger and whisper softly: I'm yours, bitches.

They told me to get up here and talk about rules, but that's the thing about cool, you start labeling it - writing it on the wall for the whole farmyard - you start getting the rulebreakers. Told me on Reading Rainbow once that charisma is a divine gift, so what you've got is a duty to use your god given shit to follow these couple of creeds: kick ass, take names, stay frosty.

Questions?

Re: SPEECHES

[hunting]

[Yeah, not even going to try to fake a smile for this. Will just think about... Citrine... things.]

I'll say this. It's fairly obvious everyone here can be strong when it's necessary and wants to do the right thing. The problem is that the right thing isn't always clear and bad decisions seem to come easily. But this doesn't have to be the case. It can be changed.

I honestly think that if people focus on what matters to them and to those they care about, they can figure out where their priorities should be. And once they have those down, there really isn't a bad decision. Because it's a decision you are sure of. It's something to remember when faced with situations that have no easy solution, no good solution. There doesn't have to be one so long as it's something you can stand by, you can know that in that moment you did all you could. And people will understand that, even if they don't agree.

Differences are part of us, like everything else. Understanding how to best use those differences is the key. And one anyone can manage, if they want it badly enough. That applies to everyone here. So instead of worrying about how not to mess things up among each other, we need to think about how we can use all our aspects, even the difficult ones, to make things better. It's not impossible.

PART THREE...?

[dramatispersonae]

[Mr. Right's voice can be heard, low and reverberating as though coming from inside your own chest--but he only laughs... and then, abruptly, the crowns you are all wearing trigger an effect.

If you are wearing the tiara or the crown of wheat, you are suddenly overcome with the urge to cry.
If you are wearing the kokoshnik or the coronet, you lose your voice completely.
If you are wearing the diadem or the civic crown, you are suddenly overcome with lust.
If you are wearing the mural crown or the naval crown, you suddenly feel incredibly clingy or in need of physical affection.
If you are wearing the hoop crown or the crown of thorns, you suddenly recall your worst memory and are unable to put it out of your mind.
If you are wearing the nemes or the crown of dandelions, you are suddenly overcome with violent urges.
If you are wearing the modius or the coronation crown, you are suddenly overcome with the urge to scream.

Mr. Right speaks, sounding darkly amused.]

I told you, didn't I? A crown's a weighty thing. Too bad--guess I'll have to keep looking for someone better.

[With a sudden jerk, you are brought back to the Ring.]