[closed]

[mudbloodhater]

Who| Draco Malfoy and the Peer Review Team (Eva Salazar, Bruce Banner, Daniel Jackson, Sherlock Holmes, and Gretel)
What| once upon a time, Draco applied to become a Capitol citizen.
Where| throughout the tower
When| backdated to the day before Momoko's Crowning Ceremony
Notes| each member of the peer review team will have previously received a letter in regards to the process. Each member may find Draco wherever they choose; he'll have made himself available for them.

Draco had been waiting a little while to see what exactly the Capitol was going to do about his little proposal. It seemed to him like they were almost going to ignore him - hardly a good sign, he thought - until he finally got a letter telling him about a handful of other Tributes (and a Victor, it seemed) who were going to judge him. Seemed like pure laziness to the blond, but if it got him his citizenship, then so be it.

So there he was, hanging around in convenient places around the tower, making himself available to that small handful of people.

Comments

[alldeduction]

Sherlock had rolled his eyes when he found the letter in his room (not least because of the terrible spelling). He considered being petulant and refusing, but he was curious himself. Another way out, hmm? He slipped the letter into his pocket, and, deciding he simply wanted to get it over with, went looking for the blonde youth.

Fifteen minutes later he had found him, just outside the common room in the hall, and he walked up behind him with a smirk.

"Draco."

[mudbloodhater]

Draco had taken to amusing himself with doodling in a notepad he'd found somewhere, drawing absolutely nothing of consequence as he walked along around the tower. When he heard Sherlock's voice behind him, he internally shivered; their last interaction had been enough to set his teeth on edge, and for a brief moment, he regretted that this man was now going to judge if he was fit to live in the Capitol full-time.

But he turned all the same, offering a mild smirk in return, "Sherlock."

[alldeduction]

"Let's cut to the chase, shall we? You want out." For himself, he seemed amused by the prospect, leaning against the wall casually as he smirked.

"And apparently, for whatever reason, they have decided that my opinion about whether or nor you should be removed from the running matters at all."

[mudbloodhater]

"I think you were randomly chosen, for what it's worth," Draco retorted dryly, tucking his hands into his pockets as best he could around the notepad. "But yes. I am indeed trying to get out, and they have chosen you to see if I'm fit for it.

"As I understand it, you've a question or two for me?"

(I'd like Daniel to avoid learning deaths aren't always permanent in the arena if possible)

[hi_there_aliens]

It wasn't often he saw anyone practically hovering near his District 10 suite' he'd met a few people, but not any that would drop by for a social call. It didn't seem like there was any time for it anyway. Most Tributes, he figured, would be in the training center every waking moment, especially as the Arena crawled closer and closer.

He was younger than Daniel, with shockingly blond hair and a proud look to him, the sort that hardened his eyes some and somehow made his face seem much sharper than it actually was. Daniel let the door fall shut behind him as he stepped out into the hallway. There was only one person he could think of that would search him out. Digging the note out from a pocket, he glanced it over, then back at the kid. "Are you Draco Malfoy by any chance?"

no problem o7

[mudbloodhater]

The Training Centre, strangely enough, was basically the last place Draco wanted to. be. He did make a point of going down at least once a week, and usually when it was generally deserted. It was just how he liked it.

But that day, he was making himself purposefully available, for exactly this reason. "I am," he replied, having noticed Daniel from the corner of his eye and turned towards him when he was addressed.

[hi_there_aliens]

If anyone could petition out of the games, Daniel had to wonder why many didn't do it. Or maybe that was the thing, it was little known, like a tax loophole the Capitol preferred you not find out about. Was it too late for the newest Tributes to petition out? Or did they ignore certain people? Daniel silently decided he'd have to find out. Regardless, he couldn't imagine anyone interviewing the kid and giving their two cents that yes, he should be kept within the Tributes that would die soon.

The interview seemed like a formality. Daniel already had a good idea which way he'd try to sway it.

Daniel held out his hand. "Doctor Daniel Jackson. It's nice to meet you. We can do the interview in my room or we can walk outside, if you'd prefer"

[mudbloodhater]

Draco was banking on utilising his charm and wit to sway each of his interviewers to his side. He'd been good at it back at school, and it hadn't been so long that he'd lose that talent. Besides, dying repeatedly hurt, not that he was going to bring that up; it simply wasn't polite conversation.

"Nice to meet you too," he offered, taking Daniel's hand for a firm shake. "Outside seems fine; it's a nice enough day. Better than the rooms - they're a bit stuffy, aren't they?"

[hi_there_aliens]

Good, confident handshake, Daniel noticed absently. But not too hard, like he was trying to prove something and squeeze his fingers right off. He'd run into his share of those before, a few back in the academic community and a number back on base. Colonel Makepeace had been one of those; where Jack didn't exactly scream out "text-book military" most of the time, Makepeace was probably the guy someone had in mind when they did. he had a feeling the marine was testing to see if he'd flinch. Daniel had returned the shake stone-faced and smiled back at him.

He returned this hand shake, then put his own hands in his pockets. "Stuffy and it's way too easy for the stylist pack of bloodhounds to find you. Come on."

Daniel turned, leading the way towards the elevator. "Why don't you tell me a little about yourself. What did you do back home? Anything you miss in particular?"

[mudbloodhater]

He merely sniggered at the comment, tucking his own hands into his pockets as they headed away. He was more than happy to do so, to get away from the Tribute suites. It was sort of funny, in a way: Draco thought to himself that if all this went well, maybe he'd actually get away from them permanently. He'd come back for visits, though.

"I was a student back home. In my sixth year of school," he stated simply, one shoulder shrugging. "Not terribly exciting, I suppose, but it was a life. And not one where I was waiting to be sent off to my death, hm? Not exactly the most pleasant of things to be hanging over your head."

[hi_there_aliens]

He'd give the Capitol one thing. Their elevators didn't take their time getting to the waiting floor. Daniel stepped inside, moving aside to make room for Draco before he reached over and pressed for the ground floor.

Maybe not terribly exciting but school, Daniel felt, was incredibly important, and could lead to opportunities later that could surprise you. "School could be exciting, depending on what you ended up studying....but you're right, it does pale next to a life-or-death scenario. Even boring looks great now."

Hopefully, Daniel could help change that. Draco might not go back to school, but at least he could avoid the arena, if Daniel had anything to say about it." What did you study in?"

[hasacondition]

Getting a letter like that wasn't remotely something he was expecting; he didn't even know this kid, why would he be assigned to interview him? If the capitol only wanted his answers, they could do that themselves; there must be something else at work here, maybe some way of trying to pit them against each other subconsciously, something they wanted to learn about him, too.

...Well, whatever it was, he needed to have an idea about it before he could try and counter against it. He might as well try to help the kid out, anyway.

He smiled awkwardly when he saw a teenager hanging around, holding the letter as he glances around to see if there was anyone else about. "Sorry, you're Draco Malfoy, right? I guess you, ah," and he gestured to his letter-- they must have at least told him, right?

[mudbloodhater]

They had indeed told him - Draco's own letter sat neatly folded into a square in his pocket, and he had begun to wear it out from the way he kept fiddling with it as he meandered around the building - and though he didn't have a face to put to a name in about half the cases, he knew well enough to be nice if he came across someone looking for him.

So the smile Draco returned was slightly put on, but charming almost to a fault; even so, he seemed genuine enough. "Of course they did," he told him, managing to keep the snark from the reply. This way, it seemed almost like they were sharing some kind of private joke. "Charmed, I'm sure."

[hasacondition]

He was more than willing to assume the common ground and interpret it as a quiet little jibe against the ridiculousness of the capital; they were, after all, both still tributes in this mess, and it was easy to assume that everyone was like him, quietly sarcastic but not up for making waves. The kid would obviously be nervous, and that's enough to explain any awkwardness in the smile.

"Likewise. I'm Dr. Banner," he said, nodding instead of offering his hand, which was busy playing idly with the paper. "Let's maybe find a place to sit, see if we can get you out of this."

[mudbloodhater]

That time, his smile did manage to become a bit more genuine; somehow it was easier - when having to rely on people to begin with - when those people were clearly on his side. Now it was just the matter of keeping them there.

"Seems like as good an idea as any. There're plenty of couches strewn about this place anyway." It was actually fairly nice; one could always find a place to sit. "After you?"

[hasacondition]

If that reaction's anything to go by, it looked like he reassured him, at least a bit. Being interviewed by a fellow tribute had to be better than watching what you say to someone from the capital, after all, but that was an oddly generous reason for the capital to set it up this way. He took a moment to appreciate the irony that he'd be the one calming someone down, but took the nearest armchair, fiddling with the legs of his glasses out of habit as he waited for Draco to follow suit.

"I don't know how much they told you about this, but I'm just supposed to ask you a couple questions and give them my opinion," he said, directed more to the letter he was smoothing out in his lap, only glancing up to look at the kid himself by the very end. It was better to be open about the criteria, right? "I've got no idea what they're looking for in particular, but that's not exactly new here."

[mudbloodhater]

After his relatively limited interactions with the Capitol's citizens, especially those higher-ups that typically judged the requests of Tributes, Draco was indeed inclined to say that he preferred being interviewed by other Tributes, even those he'd never met before. It was a fresh slate, and though he would be playing the part of manipulator in hopes of getting what he wanted, he appreciated it all the same.

He followed Bruce easily, dropping himself with a practiced ease into the armchair adjacent, folding his hands in his lap as he made himself comfortable, trying to appear as classy as he could for his mere sixteen years. "Right," Draco replied mildly, knowing that they'd be probably gauging his ability to cope with the drastic change of being more than just a Tribute. "Not at all. The Capitol's fairly known for their ability to keep things vague when they want to.

"I think you just ask me questions, and they'll figure out what to do with the information after the fact."

[hasacondition]

"Well, the first question is why you want to leave the Games, so this is going to be an exercise in the obvious."

He was weary of the question, though, especially given how the Capitol seemed to act towards dissent; hopefully the kid had a good idea of what to say, something convincing while still being aligned with the Capitol's views.

[vissernone]

For an occasion like this, Eva dresses up. It's not for Draco's benefit, really, but more because she wants to celebrate that for once, she's having the opportunity to do something more for a Tribute than dress them up and pat their back before she watches them get eviscerated. She's going to help someone. She's going to get someone out.

As such, she's in an elegant blood-red outfit with striking black and white makeup and hair piled in an artful, messy up-do twisted around a forked branch of cherry tree. She finds Draco in his district's living room, where she planned to, and enters without knocking.

"Mr. Malfoy. A pleasure." Being a Victor, she's accustomed to barging into District suites and helping herself, which she does now. There's wine in a cabinet, and she sets out two glasses for her and her interviewee. "I suppose you got tired of the daily grind in the Arena?"

[mudbloodhater]

Draco was only vaguely surprised when he was suddenly joined by probably the most well-dressed of his interviewers. His pen skittered across the notepad he'd bee doodling on as he looked up, grey eyes slightly wide as he took in Eva's appearance and scooted over to make room for her.

"Charmed, I'm sure," he replied after a second, his brain catching up with everything that was going on. "Erm. Basically, yes. I've always found the Capitol slightly more agreeable too, even from the first day I was here."

[vissernone]

"I did too, when I first arrived here. It almost made having to go die later a little worth it. I'd never seen luxury like that." She takes a seat on his couch, craning her neck to see what it is he's doodling.

"I'm supposed to, of course, ask you what it is that you think you'll be doing to earn that luxury."

[mudbloodhater]

He supposed, after the way she worded the question, that saying he was born into that luxury and deserved it because of that was probably the wrong way to reply.

So instead, Draco merely tipped his paper towards her a little bit - a suggestion that he was open, and friendly, and that she ought to trust him; it wasn't like it was anything of any import anyway - and shrugged one shoulder. "I'm not made for all that killing. I'm hardly entertaining in there. You must've seen me in the Arenas before."

[vissernone]

"Oh? What were you made for, then?" The paper doesn't elucidate her any, though she appreciates the openness. She leans an elbow on the back of the couch and rests her cheek on it, a little too familiar for not living here. She acts a bit as if she owns the place. She takes a sip of her drink. "Just so you know, I fully intend on passing you, so you can be honest with me."

[mudbloodhater]

He hesitated, letting her last comment roll over in his mind. Some of the nervous energy in his body left him at that; he didn't have to convince her, not quite as much as he'd initially thought. It was a bit reassuring, actually.

"I was born into a place like the Capitol. It's that life that I know," he finally murmured, nibbling the inside of his cheek. If he was playing up the innocent youth act at all, he wasn't about to admit to it, but it certainly fit with Draco's MO.

[vissernone]

"So does that mean that you don't learn quickly?" She pulls out a notepad and pen, tapping the latter against her chin, giving Draco a scrutinizing look so serious it's impossible to tell if it's serious or parody.