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

[reallynow]

"Hey, hey. There's a difference between painting for the room and painting for television." He flourishes a hand over his face to illustrate that. "Less isn't more. More is more." And therein lies the ideal way to get Trey onto tangents that don't involve sexy ex-boyfriends, making him opinionated about fashion is the master key of misdirection.

The mention of karaoke, however, draws a long and extensive groan from Trey and he flops back into the couch for the longest moment before changing his tune and hopping up onto his feet quickly. "Sure, if you're that invested in seeing all of the talent the Capitol doesn't have to offer, we can sit around and watch what private schooling doesn't do for terrible vocal ranges." He rolls his eyes, but he continues to smile anyway, seemingly eager to get toward his supplies.

[cigne]

She stands up too, links his arm with hers and lets him lead the way. "It won't be that bad! Think about the ammunition you'll have next time Cyrus or Calendius get uppity!" She fully expects this exercise to be ridiculous and comedic and probably the most fun any of them will have all weekend. "Plus I think it's the only time this weekend that we actually get an open bar. That's got to be a perk."

[reallynow]

Trey, being the gentleman he is, places a hand over Swann's arm when she links with him. He feels a little bit like he's leaving his bad mood on the couch, so he's happy to fall into swing with her cheer as he leads her to the suites they've got them staying in.

"You know me too well, girl. I'd be scared if it didn't mean you make a good escort." After all, there's a certain need for escorts to be intuitive like that. "This is why we're going to fucking win this Arena. I fucking know it." He pushes the change of subject to something they can both relate to, giving Swanna bright eyed smile. "You have no idea how exciting it is to have an escort who does their job."

[cigne]

"I'm really happy to be here." She beams, holds his arm close to her. "And I'm really trying. I want us to be the new One and Two!"

And it's true. Swann is a woman who's had two television shows and wrote a book (that no one published), and she's never worked harder at anything in her life, poured herself into anything like this. This is so important to her.