thecapitol | (no subject)

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(no subject)

WHO| Any Victors, and every tribute as they are removed from the arena.
WHAT| The Capitol would like to pick your brain.
WHEN| Each person is approached separately, so you can specify when and where they came from.
WHERE| A government office building
WARNING/NOTES| This is mandatory IC. If for some reason OOC you cannot tag in (hiatus, etc) talk to a mod and we can handwave thing.

Much like the Victors who were currently missing, each victor or tribute was approached by a pair in sleek, all black suits, with friendly smiles, who none the less were quite firm in leading their targets away.

It was, from there, a short trip to a very nondescript looking Capitol building, in cars so heavily tinted it would be hard even for those familiar with the city to know where they ended up. From there they are lead to an elevator, which goes down, deep, and out into a white hall way. The first door slid open to a room, as blank as everything else, where a small, slightly pudgy woman with blood red a-line hair gave a wide smile.

"Please, have a seat!"

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Only a few days since Momoko had...left the Arena and it already seemed like a far-off dream. Or rather a nightmare she was never going to go through again, if she had any say in it, which is why she smiles back at the woman, as charming and sweet as she can force it, and sits down gracefully.

The woman had to press her lips together to keep from smiling. Those in the capitol look ridiculous, but this girl looked like a little doll.

"Can I get you anything my dear? Water, or a smoothie?"

"A smoothie would be lovely. Strawberry is my favorite," says Momoko sweetly. She crosses her ankles and smooths her skirt, only half-faking the slight nervous expression as she does so. "Um....I'm not in any trouble, am I?"

Edited 2012-07-03 07:18 (UTC)

"No, no, of course not dear."

She crossed to the wall and after a short silence, a panel slid open to reveal a frilly looking pink drink. The woman carefully lifted it over to the table and gave Momoko one of her toothy grins.

"We just want to get to know our Tributes. Keep track of your educations of your new home."

"Oh, that's good," says Momoko, sounding relieved. "This is something like a guidance counselor visit then." She takes the drink gratefully. "I love the food in the Capitol. It's all so good and I never have any difficulty finding my favorites," she adds casually.

"Exactly."

She smiles, delighted. And the next answer only delights her more.

"So besides the food, how else are you liking it here?"

"It's amazing," gushes Momoko, putting down her drink so she can clasp her hands together for extra effect. She knows an important person when she sees one. "I always imagined living in such a place as a child, a city full of the most wonderful people, dedicating their days to pleasure and beauty. The Capitol is just...amazing," she says again, then pauses, then adds, more quietly. "Yes, I quite like the...Capitol." It's the other place she's been recently she didn't so enjoy, she hopes to imply.

Well, that was perfect. The woman beamed at her, almost proud.

"And what about the Districts? Has you mentor told you anything about them?"

"Some," says Momoko vaguely. Possibly it was a little more than some but she couldn't bring herself to pay much attention to subjects that didn't involve going home or not dying horrible. "I mine has trees..." She wracks her brain for more information, remembers the conversation she had what seems like a lifetime ago. Which is technically true, actually. "Eliot's is electronics, I don't remember what number it was, and Ariadne has transportation, I think. They all have specialties like that, right?"

"Yes, yes they do."

Well, at least she had the basic idea right. And that was generally what she had expected from this girl.

"Is that all you know about them?"

"Yes, I think so. Why? Are they important?" She's genuinely curious now, mostly on the hope that they're some untapped resource.

"Well, yes, of course. They support the Capitol, provide us with supplies. In return, we keep the well oiled machine that is Panem running smoothly."

She sat back, studying Momoko, trying to make sure she didn't say anything too important.

"Each district supplies something specific. They have their own focuses."

"That's very organized," said Momoko carefully. "I don't quite understand what they have to do with the Games. The tributes used to come from the Districts, I remember that, but now they come from other places...somehow."

"Yes. Now the tributes are symbolic."

She didn't expect Momoko to understand, or care, about that kind of symbolism, propaganda. But it was the easiest answer.

"Oh, I see," said Momoko, carefully not letting the disdain show on her face. If the Tributes were no longer people known personally to the Districts than what was the point? If they were simply strangers being repeatedly slaughtered on live television, why should they care?

She didn't voice any of this, instead simply commenting, "It's tradition. Tradition is very important."

"Yes. Very important."

And that was what Momoko needed to know.

"Have you learned of the treaty of the treason?"

"No, should I have?" said Momoko, genuine in her confusion. She hadn't hear the phrase before at all, though to be fair she tended to tune out when people started trying to justify their reasons for doing this to her.

She slid a copy of the Treaty over to Momoko, giving her plenty of time to absorb it.

Momoko examined the woman's face, trying and failing to read into the expression something that would explain this strange meeting, then looked down at the treaty, frowning slightly in thought.

After a long moment she slid it back. "I have no idea what this says."

ooc: going with the 'written languages aren't magically translated' concept. if i'm wrong poke me and i'll delete/rewrite!

"What? Why not?"

Foreign languages were a, well...foreign concept to the woman.

OOC-let's roll with it.

"I'm Japanese," said Momoko, speaking slowly and carefully, since the woman apparently couldn't grasp such a simple fact. "I can only read Japanese." Well, and a little bit of French, but somehow Momoko doubted that high school French lessons would help her in deciphering some sort of political document.

She waved a hand at the paper. "That's in English, I think, and whatever you do so I can understand what everyone is speaking doesn't work on writing." She widened her eyes and innocently inquired, "Didn't they tell you how it worked?"

"I don't bother too much with those details."

She frowned, not really wanting to go over the details of the treaty with this girl. Then again, she really doubted it would mean much to her.

"Don't worry your head too much about it."

Momoko frowned, glancing back at the paper. Now she was curious. "I thought you said it was important? Is it something to do with the Games?"

"The politics of our country. That created the games. The Games are...a stand in for much worse things." She said, smiling sweetly. Trying to keep it simple.

She raised her eyebrows. "Really," she said doubtfully. Worse than televised fights to the death of kidnapped outsiders--or children, as it had once been? "Wouldn't it be easier to simply not have the Games or the...much worse things? Instead of all of this elaborate pageantry?"