Oh, this is the night and the heavens are right on this lovely Bella Notte

[etcircenses]

Who| Everyone who signed up for blind dating!
What| An evening of romance, or disaster, take your pick.
Where| The Swift Cut restaurant
When| 16th June
Warnings/Notes| The course of true love never did run smooth. Remember that if your character was not rolled in arena but you signed up for them to be here, you will need to mark their death on fatality reporting.

The atmosphere at the Swift Cut this evening is bustling. It's clear from the moment one enters the restaurant that they have pulled all the stops out for this televised extravaganza.

Every fire is lit and the air is filled with the scent of the roasting meat on spits over the flames; boar, beef, pork, venison and more. Pots bubble with the smell of hot stew, vegetables are being roasted in ovens and from giant casks around the room beer is being drawn. The staff are in full 'barbarian' getup, consisting of skimpy furs on both the male and the female servers but luckily for you they don't seem to expect a similar dress code from their guests.

Tribute's stylists may have had other ideas, of course.

The giant room has been clearly divided. Tribute's will find themselves directed to one side while trueborn citizens of Panem and petitioned out individuals are brought to the other. It is left up to them to find their table with the number they will be handed upon entering the restaurant. Whether they are the first to arrive at their table is a matter of chance but they can be sure that a cameraman will always be there to capture the moment of realisation on both participants faces when they realise who their date is.

Once everyone is seated the music will begin the play. Minstrels strum lutes and harps, their voices filling the air softly with traditional medieval ballads. There is a space set aside for dancing if anyone is in the mood.

Throughout the evening, and certainly at the end, Tribute's and Capitolites will find themselves sporadically approached by the show host to be asked questions about how they feel the evening is going. It's up to them how honestly they answer, though they should remember the camera's are always watching.

Comments

[conifer]

"I gave up on trying to cheer Jason up a long time ago. He's very anti-fun." She looks across at him sympathetically, knowing it can't be easy for a Stylist to have him as their Escort. As a Mentor it didn't matter either way, she was tied to the District and would have to take whoever the Capitol gave her. At least Cassian didn't feel like a punishment in the same way Jason's allocation had. "He hasn't seen you dress the Tributes yet, though. Once they're all back from the Arena and all the magazines are buzzing about your style, he'll work his hardest to promote you no matter what he thinks himself."

"I have friends," she counters lamely. She tries to think of any who actually were much more than colleagues with whom she had an amiable working relationship and fails, looking a little disappointed with herself. "I've just never been very big on dating. I'm not good at it."

[itscalledfashion]

"You poor soul. You know, I bet lesser people would have been driven right off the edge by having to deal with him. Not even allowed to drink." As if to make his point, he took another sip of his drink. A good dose of alcohol would definitely help. "Oh, Emily, you're the sweetest. It's possible. And I mean...Jason isn't a bad escort. He works hard. Maybe he'd be better off if he worked less hard. Took a vacation, smoked a joint...I don't know. You heard about--Ah." Wait. Public broadcast. He can wait to gossip until after the cameras were turned away. Because as juicy as Linden and Jason's little fight was, it had the audacity to personally effect him.

Ah, well. He'd have to talk to Emily about it anyway, especially if Jason stayed low like Cassian had recommended. Just...not here.

"Well, as for dating...I happen to be the expert on that, my dear. I've left a trail of broken hearts all across the Capitol! And a few broken marriages." At that, he grinned mischievously, and winked. That was...mostly a joke. "And I can tell you, the first step is to be confident! Luckily, you can be confident that you look smoking hot. I can get you that far. The rest, you'll have to find on your own." He nodded deeply, and there were other things that he wanted to tell Emily--That sometimes, if you weren't confidant, acting like it was good enough. That if you faked it long enough that you even fooled yourself, it was just as good as the real thing. But this was a stage, and that wasn't good television.

Instead, he batted his eyelashes at her. "Besides, darling, you only get good at something if you practice."

[conifer]

Emily manages to look impressed, although the idea of leaving that big a romantic trail is something she finds a little distasteful herself, not to mention complicated. The idea of settling down with someone does sound wonderful though, and she's a little surprised at herself at how enamoured she finds herself with the idea. Maybe the Capitol hadn't killed the romantic, idealistic girl in her entirely.

"All right then, what hot tips do you have?"

[itscalledfashion]

"Well, first of all, you got to be smooth. Get to know the person a little. I mean, if it's just a one time thing, it's not too big of a deal, but the last thing you need is to find out that you hooked up with someone who has the personality of soured milk. So, chat them up. I assume you've already managed that part. The next thing to do, is to get them to go places with you." He drummed his fingers on the table, poised and thoughtful. He wasn't just speaking to Emily, after all. He was speaking to everyone that was watching through the cameras.

"Start out with something simple. Ask if they want to go out for coffee, or tell them you found a bakery that sells amazing donuts. This is important to gauge their interest, too. They'll be sending you signals--I can't tell you about that specifically. It's different for everyone. But I'm sure you'll figure it out." Cassian wasn't for the idea of settling down--Not for as long as he could help it. His parents might get around to pressuring him for kids at some point, but that wouldn't be for a long time.

"So, yeah. I can recommend a quiet little cafe that Beck might enjoy, if you want..."

[conifer]

"You make it sound so simple." Apart from the signals, which Emily's not sure she'd be able to read unless they were spelled out for her. The more the Capitol made of her and Beck, the more she wondered whether the Stylist had been giving out signals that Emily had just missed completely and the rest of Panem had picked up. She hopes it's nothing more that gossip, for both their sakes.

She's about to reply that a recommendation isn't necessary, that she has no intention of asking Beck out either way, that any romance with Emily would be a disaster, but then she remembers the cameras on them and thinks how the public approval would shift against her, and consequently her District, if she were to rebuke the speculations entirely live on television. Instead she offers a small, grateful smile. "That would be great. I tend to stick to the same place whenever I go out."

[itscalledfashion]

"It's as simple as you let it be." Cassian replied smoothly, giving a little shrug. "If you make it complicated, it'll be complicated." At least, that's how things were for Cassian. Of course, his life itself was relatively uncomplex. He was rich, popular, pretty, with nearly every privilege in life available to him. It certainly seemed like life was just what you made of it.

He bursts into a grin when Emily agreed, and whips out his notepad. "Here are a few places I absolutely love. A bar would work too, but it's a little more intimate--A good place for a second date, perhaps? Anyway, here." He passes her the notepad with a few addresses on it.

With the way that Jason was combusting and heading into a very public downward downspiral, Emily and Beck's little burgeoning relationship was a blessing. Gossip about them could possibly overshadow Jason's issues--Maybe with a little work. Cassian would do what he could, possibly add some of his own. What a shame he didn't have some cute little scandal going on. Ah, well. Better her than him.

[conifer]

Emily shakes her head, smiling sadly. "I think it's always going to be a little complicated. A relationship between a Capitolite and a Districter wouldn't be a good idea in a lot of people's opinions, and then there's Jason to think of too, he'd probably say I was sabotaging Seven's chances by cozying up to Twelve."

She looks over the list of addresses before tearing off the page from the notepad and tucking it into her purse, finding herself glancing over at Beck - she can just see the back of her head from here, at her table with Jolie - laughing a little in surprise at herself as she feels herself blush. "God you're actually talking me into this, this is crazy."