Staffer's Retreat

[whatisay]

WHO| Every Escort, Stylist and Mentor. Any Capitolites or Peacekeepers who might have reason to oversee or visit.
WHAT| A professional retreat for the overworked, underpaid, and super underappreciated Tribute Care Teams.
WHERE| A chalet in District One, easily accessible by train.
WHEN| Before the next death roll.
WARNINGS| Typical Capitolites being entitled asshats.
NOTES| I've put up some subthreads for various activities, if you want to add more just do so under the appropriate day subheader!

Staffer's Retreat. Mandatory. The teams for each District are given a handful of days to prepare for the weekend, which, they're told, is going to be scheduled for a weekend with no big shake-ups in the Arena and perfect weather for outdoor activities. On Friday morning, they're taken by train to a small chalet tucked into a mountainside. A few inches of snow covers the ground but the sky is clear, reflected in the beautiful lake at the base of the mountain.

Until Sunday evening, their days will be packed with "professional development". The schedule looks something like this:

Friday:
Icebreakers
Trust Falls
Hypothetical Scenarios: How to Be the First Person Chosen for a Bomb Shelter
Three-Legged Race
Self-Care Hour: Mandatory Yoga
Dinner
Breaking Down Stereotypes Workshop

Saturday:
Mandatory Mentor Group Therapy: PTSD is Not An Excuse
Mandatory Escort/Stylist Workshop: Building Trust with Your Tributes
Mandatory Sexual Harassment Training: Focus on Tribute/Mentor and Tribute/Escort Relationships
Lunch
Capture-the-Flag
Group Lego-Building
Dinner
12am Karaoke

Sunday:
5:30am Continental Breakfast
Compliment Circle
Journal Hour
Farewells

Comments

[conifer]

She stares at Jessica for a long moment, feeling nervous and nauseous at hearing this, and worrying that they might be in trouble for discussing it at length. "None of that got back to the Districts. At least, not Seven. We were just told that the Capitol had to wipe Three out to keep the rest of Panem safe, because they wouldn't accept their help when the virus hit." She should have known there was more going on.

[confidentially]

Jessica shrugged. She couldn't bear to let herself slump any further. It might break her heart to do so. "That's what the officials said. But no one's offered any evidence of that. But then again, no one besides me if stupid enough to ask. What do I have to lose by rattling the cage? They already killed my family."

[conifer]

Emily's not entirely sure what to say to that. She has a point - with her family dead and her Tributes off-worlders, there isn't really much for her to tie herself to. She's fairly certain that she'd be the same if Seven had been destroyed. But she also knows that it's a dangerous path to walk, and one that could have consequences for all the past Victors if Jessica were to start something.

"You still have your own life. And you can do far more alive than by rattling the cage so much that they take that from you. And your Tributes, they're relying on you."

[confidentially]

That earned a hearty laugh. "Ha! My tributes? They can rot for all I care. They're canon fodder. There's no prize for them. There's no one to fight for. And anyways, they've repaid me for all the work I put in by getting themselves arrested over and over again, getting branded, getting their money and belongings confiscated, getting me in trouble."

Jessica's entire body seemed to shake, and she hadn't quite realized she was yelling until a few other faces turned around to look at them. She didn't care, not for herself, but for Emily's sake, she dropped her voice. "Between you and me, the only reason my Tributes aren't not in worse trouble is that I slept with Buddy Glass. Let that sink in, Emily. I have nothing anymore. I'm reduced to sleeping with the head Peacekeeper to keep them out of jail. I don't owe my tributes anything more."

Of course, she hadn't slept with Buddy for her tributes. She did it because she'd felt like it, because she was lonely and craved the attention. But that didn't really matter. She may as well have done it to save Eponine or Albert or the others.