'Cause we all wanna party when the funeral ends and we all get together when we bury our friends

[etcircenses]

Who| TYP Children and You?
What| TYP Children have the opportunity to look around.
Where| The Tribute Tower main floor.
When| Now through the week leading up to the arena.
Warnings/Notes| TYP children showing up early is not mandatory. This is merely an avenue for those NPC players who were interested.

In part with the President’s wishes, the District children are not training or living in the same building, but rather, a refurbished old Tribute tower as was used in the days before Tributes were offworlders of vast number. Mentors, Escorts, and Stylists alike will need to travel to the new building to work with them, then travel back to see to their offworld Tributes. Public appearances are minimal so long as the Tribute is kept busy with training and private interviews. There is, however, a brief chance to meet a few of them before the arena, should you catch them on a visit to the offworlder’s tower, restricted to the main floor. Through this, the lucky few District children able to show are allowed fleeting glimpses in person of those they will be competing with and possibly even a chance to talk to them in person.

Comments

Char, District 12

[whenirun]

Char had intended to come to the Tribute Tower and blend in. She could use the opportunity to get a sense of her competition, maybe even lay some groundwork for alliances in the arena. After all, the offworlders seemed to like alliances a lot more than the Tributes from the old games, and it would be much better for her to try to get in on one than risk being the only one in the arena without a group to help her.

She vastly underestimated how hard it would be to blend in here. There are people with whiskers growing from their cheeks and rhinestones surgically affixed to their brows. Between the gleaming clothes and colorful makeup and surgical modifications, she stands paralyzed, her eyes darting around and her hands twisting in the legs of her pants.

There's so much here. So much food and wealth and glamour. She feels woozy in the middle of it all, and maybe even angry. She'd always heard that the Capitol had far more than it could eat, but hearing and seeing are different things.

She can't just stand there, though. That makes her look like a weak link. Looking a little more lost than she would like, she wanders towards the bar, trying to look like she has some idea of what she's doing.

"May I just have some water, please?"

[beckstitch]

Beck has been looking for her new charges, trying not to let herself think too hard about what's waiting for them. Sending children to the old Games was bad enough when she was only an assistant. But now she's the Head Stylist for them, and the chances are stacked even more against them.

She finds Char first, seeing her at the bar, and hurries over, putting on her warmest smile. She's dressed, today, in a kind of black bodysuit seamed with gold, with 12's logo detailed in sheer gold mesh over her cleavage. Her heels are a good eight inches, with their platforms full of artificial, glowing coals. She looks very Capitolite, of course, but she's trying to show solidarity.

"Hey." She sits down next to Char, smiling at her, and offers her hand to shake. Her acrylic nails are transparent, delicately filigreed with gold, and long enough to look like claws. "I'm Beck. Your Stylist? You're Char, right?"

[whenirun]

If Beck wanted to put her at ease with the clothes, she failed.

Char swallows and takes Beck's hand to shake. She can't let on that she's afraid. She thinks of her family back home. She has to be strong for them, so she smiles. She's been told to listen to her Stylist, so she'll do that. "Yeah, that's me. It's good to meet you."

She handles the woman's hand very carefully. Those fingernails look like they would be fragile and expensive, and she doesn't want to upset her by breaking them. Honestly, she's not sure what her Stylist can do for her since the parades and the interviews already, but she doesn't want to make her angry. "So... you're going to tell me how to dress?"

She really doesn't understand why it's so important, but people tell her it matters so she'll go along with it. She just really hopes that she doesn't have to put the number 12 on her cleavage or something.

[beckstitch]

"That's part of it," Beck agrees, shaking Char's hand. However fragile her nails may be, her grip is anything but; her handshake is firm and warm, and she clasps Char's hand between both of hers for a second before letting both hands fall back into her lap. "How to dress, what to say, how to act... how to make people want you to win. That's my job. At least, that's the part I get paid for." At that, her smile falters, and she looks at Char with sympathy that's much more genuine. "My job is really the same job we all do, all the staff you'll meet for the District. I'm here to keep you alive. Any way I can."

She's quiet for a moment, her black-lipsticked mouth pursed, and then she smiles again. Her voice is brisk again, businesslike. "You're a beautiful girl. Not entirely to Capitol tastes, but there are a few makeup tricks there. And you already have the advantage that people feel sorry for you, more than for the offworlder Tributes. What we have to do is build you up a presence, and we only have a few days to do it. Do you remember Katniss? She's our quick ticket here. People remember her. I think I remember how to do the hair, and you have the same kind of look. What you have to do, sweetheart, is play the part. Make people remember that Twelve is a winning District. Am I going too fast here?"

[whenirun]

Char doesn't know what to do with the sympathy because she can't tell what's real and fake in the Capitol. It feels like everyone is always trying to make her think they feel one way or want one thing when they really intend on something else entirely. Either way, she's just going to try to play along, because this is one of the people who are supposed to try to keep her alive.

When Beck immediately starts talking about how she looks, she can't keep from blushing a little bit. She knows that Stylists are supposed to think about that kind of thing, but... she just doesn't really think about it much. District 12 doesn't think about it much. "No, I hear what you're saying." She keeps her hands at her sides even though she wants to start fidgeting with them. No signs of weakness. People will be watching. "Is it... good to make myself seem more like Katniss?"

She remembers what Katniss did in the arena. It was amazing, thrilling, but the Peacekeepers became brutal afterwards and she knows that it caused ripples of unease in District 12. She's worried of being seen as a traitor, but if her Stylist says it's okay then she should probably trust her.

[beckstitch]

"Yes and no." Beck frowns, gesturing the bartender over. "Two District Sunsets, okay? One virgin. You'll like this," she adds to Char, as the bartender goes to fill the order. "It's my favourite. My treat." Leaning her elbow on the bar, she looks at Char seriously, the professional smile dropping off her face. "You don't have to be Katniss, sweetheart. You shouldn't be her. All you have to do is spark that memory in people. She was the last Districter to win, after all, and that has to count for something in the public consciousness. Do you know her at all? Have you met her? Oh, thanks." This to the bartender, as he puts two tall glasses of colourful liquid in front of them.