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

[the_hit_list]

Looking up at this new person, Tim's eyes widened slightly in recognition. Peeta Mellark was half of the reasoning behind the things he'd said in the original version of the interview. He wasn't a movie executive, but he knew that he didn't want to be part of a regurgitated plotline. They never went over as well. He should have realized that executives still cranked them out, because nobody cared what the critics said when money was at stake.

It wasn't that he thought Peeta was somehow to blame for his frustration - far from it. Tim knew that the majority of Tributes weren't volunteers, so he doesn't know where it fits in with the honor pageantry of it if half of them aren't clamoring to be involved. Being reaped absolved most of winners from disdain, in his eyes.

He'd heard about that stunt that they pulled off in the 74th Arena. Ballsy maneuver. Tim thinks they were stupid, but he can respect that kind of nerve.

"I'll let her know you think so," Tim said softly. He wasn't sure if he could hit amiable right now, but polite was easy. He stood up and held out a hand to shake. "I'm Tim. Do you shake hands, here? The last person that I saw try it was actually shaking her hand."

He'll never reveal who, though. Tribute solidarity. Even if the rest of them don't have it.

[shinyisfalse]

Oh no. That's what this place was all about, really. As much as people in the Capitol touted out how much they wanted originality, in the end, they always wanted the tried and true, the things that they already knew. They just wanted it in a slightly different flavor. Love was something that never got old, so long as they could portray it in a slightly different light, like how they were now doing it with the "guests".

'It was so cute! Oh look, they had love back home, too! Oh, isn't that Tim guy so stoic, isn't Stephanie so bubbly, didn't they complement each other so well? They were so adorable together, and good looking on their own to boot.' Peeta could hear it all now. But at the very least, his own star-crossed lover deal had been something he'd started. Katniss had agreed, eventually, but Peeta felt like he was in control of it, even if it was only a little bit.

Taking Tim's hand, he gave it a firm shake. "I shake hands, here, but maybe that's something I carried with me from District Twelve," Peeta smiled. "I'm Peeta. It's nice to meet you." He let go of his hand after the shake, letting it fall to his side.

"It's a little shocking, isn't it, to see your face on TV? Hear your words on it? We spend so much time watching it that we never really expect to ever watch us. I know the first time I saw myself on the screen, I couldn't believe it. It felt so different, what I said and what I did, in my head, versus what I saw on the screen." Ah, double talk. It gave him a headache, but it was getting so much easier, over time.

[the_hit_list]

"The pleasure's mine." He was curious about District Twelve. Tim was incredibly curious about all the districts, really. After all, they split up the tributes into honorary districts, but, aside from the former victors, he hadn't met anyone who was actually from them. Subjugation on a level so strict that the Capitol didn't even seem to be bringing in the best and the brightest from the other states. All the while, they dumbed down their own population with as much mindless drivel as possible. Television wasn't popular here - it was inescapable. "District 12... you're on of the mentors for my father."

That had to be... interesting. Tim could imagine how much of an idiot Bruce was pretending to be. Oh, if only they knew.

He glanced at the tv. The truth was, he'd seen himself on TV before. He'd been in this exact situation not too long ago, where the press had gotten a whiff of a relationship and run with it. But to say so would be to admit that he had a playbook. "It's a little unsettling. You see yourself on the screen, and it's like... do I really look like that? Is that really how my voice sounds? It's funny how you always sound different to your own ears while you're speaking. I think I sound younger, somehow, on a recording."

[shinyisfalse]

"Am I? I was away from the Capitol for awhile, I'm getting back into the swing of things, so I'm sorry if I don't remember his name right now." Peeta wasn't sure if anyone had said they had children. Was it someone Katniss forgot to mention? Oh, no, she had told him! It must be that Tony Stark guy, they looked like they could be related.

But what was the best and brightest? Only the Victors. The Capitol didn't measure with anything else. "Very different to your own ears," Peeta agreed. "I didn't think you sounded that young, though. You sort of fit what people expect with their tributes, or, I mean, expected with them. Probably one of the reasons why they focused on you."

[the_hit_list]

"Bruce Wayne is my adoptive father," Tim explained softly. It wasn't a secret, but Peeta seemed nice enough. If he got in his graces, perhaps some of the good will would spread to Bruce. Mentors did more than just train the Tributes, and Tim was well aware of this. "Actually, there's even more of my family here. Bruce's son - my brother - Damian is here, but he's not in District 7 either. I don't know why they couldn't put us all together."

He knew exactly why, because Bruce had already demonstrated the lengths that they would go to to keep one another safe. If Steph hadn't talked him out of it, he would have dove right back into that canal for Bruce.

The best and the brightest went far beyond the Victors. There should have been at least one person he'd met in the Capitol, who had brains or exceptional talent that had made his way there without killing his way through a horde of children. People had wanderlust - companies imported talent. But not in Panem. It was wrong.

Almost as wrong as Tim being the ideal Tribute. He glanced down at himself, considering his build. He was one of the more fit Tributes, yes, but by no means the biggest or the most muscular. But, he was young and that was the real thing. Tim had thought he'd said to someone, he couldn't remember who, that he didn't understand why older people had been brought - ah, yes. He'd told Sherlock that older Tributes made no sense. He was surprised that any of them got sponsored - they were so radically different from the engrained image of the youth offered in sacrifice.

But still, he refused to accept it gracefully. "I think they focused on me because Stephanie's beautiful."

[shinyisfalse]

"Oh. Okay, Bruce Wayne. I'll keep that in mind," Peeta nodded, looking thoughtful. "It must be weird, to have so much family here. Weirder then everything else." He gave a small, slightly sad smile to it.

"I don't know why they did that, either. I honestly don't know what the system is, for who goes into what District. It obviously wasn't anything we had back when I was in the games." At that, Peeta looked around, finally able to spot Stephanie in the crowd. "She is really beautiful. But..."

He had to laugh, just a little bit, but only a soft one. "You're pretty good looking yourself. And good looking tributes always get more sponsors then ugly ones."

[the_hit_list]

"Thank you," Tim said quietly. "He's a good man, better than anyone here will ever know. Not many people will go out of their way to help others. Genovese syndrome, the bystander effect - whatever you want to call it, it's technically called diffusion of responsibility. It doesn't affect Bruce. No one wants to adopt teenagers. I would have gone into the foster system or an orphanage, like Dick was. He stepped up, took us in, and made sure it didn't happen. No... Most people don't give a shit."

That was the least that Bruce had done, really, because it had had the most negative side effects, but it would have to serve as the best of him. The Wayne Foundation carried no weight here, and Panem didn't seem to have much interest in charitable causes. Vigilantism had an inherent defiance of the law.

He raised his eyebrows at the compliment and hearing how attractive Tributes fare better with sponsors be put so plainly. It's nothing that Tim hasn't known for a long time. First impressions matter. Physical appearance is a significant portion. It's why he hasn't argued with his stylist much; he has no concept of Capitol tastes.

Still, he appeared flustered by the revelation. "I - I wish they'd like me for who I am, but I'll take friends however I can make them."