The shocking and thrilling adventures!

[gamemakers]

Who| Everyone
What| The Capitols oh so exclusive interviews~!
Where| Primarily the common areas, but the interviews would be on every TV everywhere.
When| This evening, at 6 pm sharp
Notes| Use this post to ICly react to the interviews (if you don't make plans of your own!)

The advertisements hit hard today. Tune in at 6 o'clock, you won't want to miss this special! Everywhere a person could look, it was there, and the city was clearly excited for whatever this mystery event was.

As if that wasn't enough, escorts were encouraging Tributes to be in the commons, and a small feast of finger foods was laid out along one wall, extra avoxes available for drinks.

And, as promised, at 6 pm sharp, all the TVs flickered to the ever flashy Caesar, on an equally flashy tabloid-tastick reality style "interview" of the tributes. All the TVs in the common area light up with it, as well as the Districts suites, even if the TV had been off before.

Hope you all enjoy your dose of fame!

Comments

lounge? open!

[orestes]

It's unfailing disconcerting the way the televisions turn themselves on when the Capitol decides it's time for an important broadcast. Naturally, they'd probably be disconcerting to him all the same, but the lack of a decision to actually pay attention is what Enjolras finds vexing. Nevertheless, the figures moving across the screen are still novel to him and he can't help but be distracted from his book.

By five minutes into the interviews, he's read the same paragraph at least six times with no memory of what it contains. Thus far there's nothing about them which seems sincere, but once he's made the decision to close the book and look up, he's trapped all the same. The advertisements are fast and rough and cut rapid fire across the screen with their bright colors. One even features images of him and some of his typical rhetoric paraphrased in a way that makes him suspicious of context, understanding and intent. Nevertheless, it's all he can do to study the screen with a rapt fascination until the program reaches its completion.

When it finally does and Wesker's pale face and hair fade from the screen, he physically feels less intelligent.

[goaskaliss]

There's a number of things that draw Aliss to the lounge this evening, but admittedly the primary one is to watch the reaction of the Tributes to the interviews. Undoubtedly the Capitol had altered many of their snippets to portray the Tributes in the way they wished to -- particularly the fact that the trolls seemed to be fond of human flesh. Hm. She'd have to ask one of them about that later.

She can spot someone who hasn't seen much TV out of a crowd by now, and the fact that the young man is holding a book doesn't hurt much in Aliss' deciding to go over and speak to him. She raises an eyebrow, curious.

"You'll eventually learn to tune it out, but I wouldn't recommend it." She lowers herself into a seat near to him and folds her hands in her lap, studying him. "It's more beneficial to know as much about the people you're facing as possible."

[orestes]

Her appearance would probably be frightening were it not for his growing familiarity with other not quite human creatures. Since meeting Thane, and since finding one of the so-called Trolls to be among his Districtmates, Enjolras has made a conscious effort not to show any of his not-insubstantial apprehension around such physically different people. And truly, as he discovered with Thane, they are mere physical differences. Albeit, frightening differences at times.

"I would prefer to know them first hand. If we are to be honest, there does not appear to be much in that... video," he still stumbles slightly over the word, "worthy of my trust."

Jaw setting resolutely (stubbornly), he raises his chin in what might normally appear to be a prideful or disdainful expression. As it is, he's still mulling over the information both presented in the program and implied by it. His air is more stunned, contemplative, and perhaps a little standoffish.

[goaskaliss]

"Ah, but that is where you are wrong. You can learn much from those broadcasts, so long as you know where to look." Not necessarily about the other Tributes, but what the Capitol deems important -- and how to play to the audience, when necessary, if that is something that he might like to do. She's glad to see that he doesn't shrink away from her, though, even if he does appear to have his mind elsewhere.

"...although you seem to be thinking hard about something, so that's always a start. I don't believe we've met before," or at least, not while Enjolras was conscious, "I'm Nurse Indigo." Giving out her first name to a Tribute so quickly was ... ill-advised, she was sure.

[orestes]

"Enjolras," he answers easily, politely. "It's a pleasure."

He turns is attention briefly back to the now dark television, almost as if thinking about it determinedly enough will cause it to turn back on and replay for him the points of the video which still hold his interest. "I should like to know why the Capitol finds them necessary."

[goaskaliss]

"They want to keep their citizens fully informed about the status of the Tributes, of course." The words feel stale in her mouth, but she tries to cover that up a little. "To make the Games more entertaining for them."

To let peoples' imaginations run wild with all of the things that the Capitol is keeping to themselves, juicy secrets and many other sordid tales. Sometimes it's what isn't shown at all that tells the most. "And, of course, to put your faces out there for sponsors." Even if it wasn't in the best of lights.

[orestes]

"The keep the citizens informed by promoting misinformation. It's entertainment with no intellectual merit at best, malicious propaganda at worst." There's a darkness that finally reaches Enjolras' eyes at the mention of sponsors. He recalled Timaeus, that dreadfully uniformed man who seemed so enthusiastic about The Games. Is this where his information came from? No wonder they could hardly have a conversation without Enjolras finding something inherently, factually, emperically wrong.

There isn't, however, anything he can do about that issue here and now. Without a printing press or ties to any journalists, he's limited in his ability to promote the truth about himself and his fellow Tributes. Moreover, Enjolras heavily suspects that any attempts, overt or subtle, to offset the Capitol's lies would end poorly for all involved. To one so dogmatically tied to pure logic and right as himself it comes as an odd sensation to find himself willing to compromise on this. He can say his piece as necessary on an individual basis and the public can believe what they will. It's not an easy strategy to stomach, but it is something, perhaps.

"Forgive me, Nurse, but you seem to be quite knowledgeable about all of this." He turns back to her, the initial shock of her appearance having worn off rather quickly. There's something soothing about the almost water-color like spectrums in her skin. Perhaps that's why someone in the medical professor would choose to augment herself in such a way.

Re: lounge? open!

[hi_there_aliens]

Daniel wandered over in a daze. What the hell was that? So the media could and would change things around, and certainly, history itself was written by the victors, but granted, this wasn't entirely the same thing here per se- this was so blatant that he was astounded anyone actually took it at face value. And chances were, there were people who did, namely the audience.

He had to shake it off. Watching that all the way through had the same effect as numbing his brain, and judging from Enjolras' face, he wasn't the only one.

"So. I don't think my IQ's going to recover from that anytime soon," Daniel said.

[orestes]

The term means little to him on its own, but Enjolras thinks that he, very possibly, understands the man's statement all the same. He nods once, brows beginning to furrow and expression shifting from near stupefied apprehension to some strange mix of resignation and indignation. There's nothing they can do about the things being said about them, about their faces and words and images being abused like that. That reality doesn't make actively seeing it happen any less insulting, however.

"The tragedy is that the people here are so desperate for information about us that they will be willing to believe anything." His tone is level, reflecting the resignation in his expression as opposed to his pathological need to represent the right and the true.

[hi_there_aliens]

Daniel watched the emotions playing out on his face, and considering everything, Enjolras was taking it a lot better than most of the people here. After everything that went on the Arena, this was just another slap in their faces. Something as simple as their own words had been turned against them, and with it, another bit of power taken from them all.

"We're a mystery waiting to get uncovered to them. Back home, they have something called tabloids; 'literature' or media that digs up anything it can about the "big celebrities". People consume it like crazy," Daniel folded his arms around his chest. "Except most people don't take it as word of God."

[orestes]

"There are newspapers and pamphlets which serve more or less the same purpose." As well as those more seditiously inclined, the overlap of which was more common than Enjolras really cared to admit. Still, the idea of a tabloid, even one which had become so overblown as the so-called "interviews" had been was relatively easy for him to understand. He nodded his agreement, golden curls bouncing around his ears ever so slightly. "They seem to accept everything the Capitol says without question, regardless of its plausibility."

For example, that a group of people all of whom were from very difficult walks of life would suddenly and immediately be taken over by such bloodlust, and that they would so cheerfully become that way. "It does, however, make me curious regarding the people who invent all of these fictions about us."

[hi_there_aliens]

"Seems like you can't escape people's need for gossip and 'excitement', no matter the world or time," Daniel found that mildly depressing, personally, even if it showed that some things were all but universal for humans."The best place is at the top; I can see why they would buy into it or not think twice if they were raised into it. The other Districts, on the other hand..."

He trailed off, left that hanging. If the Capitol had eyes and ears all over the Arena, privacy probably wasn't a right in the city itself. Maybe other languages were safer, but he wasn't sure how many Enjolras knew or what would fly under the radar. Or worse, if they had technology to translate just about anything.

Daniel glanced at the screens, which were playing the highlights of the reel. There went the Victor's face again. "I'd say they've been doing this for awhile. It probably wasn't even an effort to twist everything."

[orestes]

"No," his voice remained level, almost casual. There was absolutely nothing for getting upset now. Everything was said and done, regardless of its truth, and the important thing now was to move forward. "It seems that they are remarkably quick-witted in that regard."

He crossed his arms, studying the recap with a degree of detached interest. The colors and bold fonts swirling across the screen were each fascinatingly offensive in their own way. He'd be captivated by them even were it not for the content, but Enjolras supposed that had more to do with their novelty than anything else.

"There's no need for you to convince me of your intentions, Monsieur. I am not so impressionable as to formulate my opinions based on their representation of you." He turned back toward Daniel suddenly, but with a far more friendly expression with rested somewhere between amusement and pity. If they'd made Enjolras look blustery and full of himself, this man had seemed cold hearted and bloodthirsty. Neither were particularly flattering, but of the two, Enjolras supposed Daniel had landed himself in the more vulnerable position.

[saisamour]

Marius freezes and snaps to attention only at the sound of his own voice blasts from the speakers, and he stares in horror as his short clip is aired. The idea that he has just been on-screen, watched by both the tributes and hundreds, if not thousands, of Capitol citizens, makes him want to escape from the room and the people and everything. That had not even been the question he had given that answer for!

And he does make a move to scurry away, but then he spots Enjolras and... well, he does have the option of not making his presence known to him, too. But before he never shows his face for a considerable length of time (yet again) to the leader of the Les Amis, he has to know whether it's safer to lock himself up in his room and refuse to be moved anywhere else until the Games begin.

So he strides towards Enjolras and clears his throat in an attempt to compose himself, but the flush on his cheeks is still evident when he asks, "Is this to be expected often?"

[orestes]

Enjolras' stupefied expression has shifted slightly into one of resigned agitation. It's drawn, but not unlike other of his expressions with which Marius is doubtlessly familiar. Enjolras had the same reaction to manipulation and misinformation here as he had back in Paris, which is, rather, that it should be expected but certainly not appreciated in the slightest.

He glances up distractedly, meeting Marius' eyes with his own fierce gaze. "So long as it is entertaining to them, yes. I should think so. Surely you've noticed the matter of your celebrity here, Marius."

[saisamour]

"I have not."

Marius says this before a part of him advises, a little too late, that maybe it isn't best to admit out loud, especially when Enjolras is wearing that expression. He's never been the most observant, and apparently he has completely failed to notice that part of being a tribute. But it's too late now, and he averts his eyes in embarrassment and mild horror.

So is that why he had caught people staring at him during his brief moments of lucidity whenever he wanders around the Capitol? He had always assumed that they had simply found him bizarre, or pitiful, or even comical.

[orestes]

It is far, far too late. Enjolras' eyes drop again, derisively this time. While he has little appreciation for the social status his role as a Tribute buys him, he cannot deny its realities, or in fact, its advantages. Still, that answer is so very Marius that he cannot help but shake his head. "Well then, my friend, I suggest you open your eyes the next time you decide to take a walk."

Despite his vexation at Marius' impressively stubborn obliviousness, Enjolras' voice remains level. There's a period of adjustment here that should not discounted, nor should Enjolras push Marius before he's ready. Even if it's extraordinarily tempting to do so.

[saisamour]

He casts a glance at Enjolras then. "Perhaps it is best if I stay inside the Center instead."

Because truthfully? After having the news of his celebrity status thrust upon him all of a sudden, he doesn't think he'll be taking a walk in public anytime soon. He's all the more thankful for meeting Eva, for she had been the one to introduce him to the small, quiet garden for the tributes, which is now where he resolves to spend his upcoming days.

[orestes]

"Hide from them, if you will." It's becoming increasingly difficult to keep a level tone because as much as he'd like to argue the contrary, Enjolras' patience is quite finite and Marius had, in a very short amount of time, developed a keen sense of exactly how to play on it. "It will hardly prevent them from doing this again and you will be less knowledgeable as to exactly where you stand."

[undercoverprincess]

Oh look, it was her friend with the revolutionary ideas, but who spoke so passionately about them that she didn't care too much that what they talked about could be considered bad here in the Capitol. She found the whole interview thing pretty hilarious, actually. Cindy wasn't really in the interview part as much, which made sense, given she was pretty new, but she did get her own mini commercial there. At least she looked good during it?

She took a seat near him, giving him a grin. "So, I was definitely not responsible for the car accident I was in, and I'm looking for a lawyer to fight for my rights..."

[orestes]

It took him a minute to make sense of the joke. The use of the word car in this context was still of some vague and ill-defined notion to him, and lawyers fighting for rights in relation to them was something he couldn't quite parse. Then he recalled the imagery featured in his... Well, that was another thing the word for which he didn't quite know, but he recalled it all the same and her teasing abruptly made sense.

"How fortunate it is, then, that I have made an extensive study of the law under Charles X and His Majesty Louis Philippe, King of the French." He did nothing to hide the sarcasm in his tone. His intimate understanding of French law regarding the rights of citizens, businesses, and the government would serve no purpose here. As a point of fact, Enjolras questioned whether or not Panem had laws for such things at all, or whether perhaps justice was rendered on an entirely arbitrary basis. Either scenario seemed equally likely to him.

[undercoverprincess]

They probably didn't have laws like that. Or maybe they did; it wasn't like any of that was part of Cindy's expertise. If pressed, she could probably give a vague list of all of the Fabletown compact laws, but since some of her dealings went against a few of the laws (but in a way that helped them, if that at all made sense), she didn't think too much about them. Most places, she'd found, had laws in place, if only because lawyers needed jobs, too.

But he was right: none of the laws he knew would have any bearing here. "Looks like I'm saved, then! Glad to know you've got the law on your side, here." Cindy didn't think she could go for sarcasm because she was having a hard enough time not laughing out loud.

"But hey, at least you looked good while they took away whatever it was that you said. That's what this place is about, right? All talk and no substance."

[orestes]

Raising a hand to his chest, he gave her a small, curt bow, nodding his head in a gesture that probably would have been more flamboyant and complimented her tone better were he not in such dour spirits. "Appearances seem to take priority here over many things. Intent being the least of them, I suppose."

It was tempting to ask her what on God's Earth a Burger King was, and why it gave away toys along with meals, but Enjolras checked the impulse. It was possible, after all, given the way they'd manipulated him into talking about car accidents, which he certainly had no first hand experience with, that she had no idea what the so-called Burger King was either.

"Have you been well in the Capitol?" He settled on finally. A politely innocuous question from which he could shift the conversation away from the fiasco that was this latest development.

[undercoverprincess]

"Well, as just from an appearance stand point, you did look good while giving a speech about whatever it was you were really talking about," Cindy smiled. She was tempted to do a curtsey in response, but she was a sophisticated New York woman. Not a fairytale princess. Technically, not anymore, but still. Day and age. She had to keep them all separate.

"I have, actually." She would have been fine talking about all this, but she was happy with not talking about it as well. "I've met most of the other guests in my district, got in a few workouts. Been a little bored, though, with all the parties. I can't pull off that party girl thing much longer." She paused.

"How about you?"

[orestes]

"I was never much for social gatherings." It was a noncommittal response, but it was true enough all the same. There'd be a law making the gathering of more than twenty persons illegal, so as to avoid political clubs from cropping up. It had been an extraordinarily ineffective law, but all the same, Enjolras felt odd in groups much larger than that. To say nothing of the lack of cohesion and utter superfluousness to be found within the parties of the Capitol.

"Their library is quite extensive," though there had been the matter of the government's blatant censorship and seeing Aunamee stabbed. She didn't need to hear about either of those things. "And there's a park not far from our lodgings that I'm becoming quite fond of."