trying not to glow at all.

Cashmere had to chuckle at Gloss’ statement. “Wouldn’t dream of it. Not like I could fool you anyhow.” Anyone else, Cashmere was certain she could fool with ease. Sponsors regularly drank up her little white lies and stories. Gloss was a different story. A life time of familiarity filled in the gaps she might have filled in with words instead.

“People have been telling me a lot that I expect too much from them.” She made a face. In her world, that was never a bad thing. You set a bar too low, that’s what you were going to get; sub-par and lackluster effort. “I mean I’m almost thirty and I’m not married,” not that she necessarily wanted to be married, she was happy alone. “I only have a small handful of friends.” A blessing honestly. “I just hear it a lot. I don’t want to settle though. I deserve more than that and lets face it, when ever is anyone in this family happy with less than perfection?” Never. That much Cashmere was sure.

“You know what I mean?”

gloss quirked his eyebrows at her comment. it was true, if there was anyone who could see through his own lies and masks and facades, it was cashmere, and honestly, it was freeing to have someone like that. 

he put his bowl down, facing all of his attention towards her. “who’s been saying that? give me a list and i will knock down every single one of their doors and beat them up.” he was only half joking. sure, he would beat someone up for her, but he wasn’t particularly the violent type anymore, and he didn’t want to go to that length if he didn’t have to. 

did he know what she meant? of course he did. he barely had anyone he trusted, he got the majority of his companionship from people who were paying to spend time with him. but he wasn’t going to tell her to do anything different. he was convinced that she deserved the world. “if you don’t want to settle, then you shouldn’t settle,” he stated matter of factly. “you will find someone who checks all of your boxes one day, i assure you, and it will have been worth the wait.”

he wasn’t even sure if he believed the words he was saying, but he said them anyway.

“Only you would miss the crappy ice cream from home,” Cashmere joked but she kind of did too. It wasn’t as good as the Capitol ice cream, but it had been on of her favorite things they had made as a kid. If they had a good day at the Academy, their parents had let them make ice cream. A reward for doing what they were supposed to. Their reward for winning the Hunger Games (like they were supposed to) was living the life they deserved.

At her brother’s question though, Cashmere shrugged her shoulders hoping it would buy her a little time to think of an answer. “Just a rough day.” It wasn’t a lie. Things had been different this year. “Do I set my standards to high?” She asked curious to his answer, but she kind of knew how he’d answer. LePointe’s deserved the best of everything. They worked hard and very much deserved to reap the benefits.

he wiggled his eyebrows at her, laughing before taking another bite of ice cream. “if liking shitty food that reminds you of home is bad, then lock me up and throw away the key.” ice cream tasted like home, like success, like childhood, like a time when things were easier. it reminded him of his sister.

with a shake of his head, he adjusted his seat to lean in closer. “that’s a lie. the fact that you think you can lie to me is honestly borderline offensive,” he said, with mock shock. “of course you don’t. you deserve the world, what’s making you think that you don’t?” this time, his words were more sincere. he wanted her to know that he meant it.

The bloodbath was over. It was good and it was bad, but it was what it was. Cashmere didn’t want to think about the Hunger Games right now. What she wanted was to talk to her brother. No one knew her quite like he did and there was a few things she wanted his thoughts on. Time for the two of them were common back home, but not so much here. In the Capitol everyone wanted a piece of their time.

“Here you go,” she told him with a smile as she handed him a bowel of ice cream. “The Capitol does have better ice cream than we make at home, admit it. But hey, it’s okay. We can still chat with good ice cream too, right?”

@glcssisms​

not having to worry about the games was a privilege, although gloss never really thought of it as one. it was something that only few people were able to do, and he could do it his entire life. when he was a child, he knew that he could win if necessary, so he never worried about his name being picked from the bowl, and now, with someone so strong and capable representing district one, there was nothing to worry about either.

he smiled at her and took the bowl of ice cream, taking a bite before putting his feet up on the coffee table. “fine, i’ll admit it, but a part of me still does miss the crappy ice cream from back home.” he took another bite. “what’s going on cash?”

Harlow was a little surprised to see Gloss there, familiar with him outside of The Games and mentoring. She expected him to be still watching The Bloodbath, but she wasn’t going to question it; wasn’t her place to. She returned the smile and lifted her glass with his before drinking some of the amber liquid.

“Your girl was kicking ass in there last I checked,” she pointed out, “should be proud of that.” It wasn’t surprising to see the kids from the Career Districts clean house in the Bloodbath, but it was obvious who one of the big stars would be in The Games recaps Caesar Flickerman and Claudius Templesmith would make once things settled. Not that Harlow would be watching, she had seen more than enough of the Bloodbath. 

he nodded his head, smirking at the mention of ashanti and how well she was doing. harlow was right, she was doing incredibly, but he wasn’t at all surprised. from the way she acted in training and before she into the arena, he knew they had a victor on their hands. it was just a matter of her getting to her inevitable victory now.

“well thank you very much,” he said, trying not to sound cocky about it. “i am proud, she’s a killer kid and i think she’s got potential. but enough about that, how are you doing on this lovely evening?” he asked, craving a change in conversation. ashanti was great, but talking about her non-stop was a bit exhausting.

Harlow hated the Bloodbaths. She always did.

Joule managed to escape from the chaos, which helped relieve some of the stress that had been coiling up in her gut all morning. She knew her own concerns had stretched beyond this year, went as far back as the 70th Games. Though as a Mentor, she had to watch, even as Gee had gotten killed by the little girl from Twelve.

She had to keep reminding herself that Joule was still alive, that she still needed them to help her get out of the Arena. But the mantra was drowning out of her head with the burn of whiskey running down her throat. She had tried to stay sober through this year, though also made that promise to herself knowing eventually it would cave. She could still hear the cheers and the shouting from behind her and she intentionally kept her back to the screen. She wouldn’t look unless something was said about Joule. She didn’t need to see the replays of the ‘upset’ from District Twelve.

The brutality of the Bloodbath was what always made her sick. And though she knew it wasn’t the same way she had lost Soren, she couldn’t help but correlate Gee’s death to his. To this Bloodbath with that one. It was why she had to get up from her spot in the viewing room and walk away, try to drown out the cheers and images of Gee’s death from her mind and get rid of the pain tearing at her heart again. 

Harlow set her glass down and gently nudged it forward in a silent request for a refill. A shadow had cast over the bar top on her right and she glanced over at the person taking a seat next to her. “Couldn’t handle the excitement, either?” she asked, turning her attention forward again as the Avox refilled her glass.

@ttwstarters

it wasn’t that gloss didn’t watch the bloodbath, he did, but after seeing the outcome of his tributes, he was content to wander off, finding a drink and some different company and a break from the violence. he could only handle so much of it before it started to mess with his brain, before he felt a familiar tingle in his fingers and his toes and the desire to find a weapon came back in an non-ignorable way.

so, he found himself wandering over to the bar and grabbing himself a drink.

he smiled softly as soon as he recognized harlow sitting by herself and wondered over to her, plopping down in the seat beside her. “you know me, never one to stay too idle for long. your girls got spunk, i’ll give that to ya,” he said, raising his glass with a nod towards her. 

tucking her hair behind her ears, she closed her legs on her bed and got comfortable. she only had a few more days in the capitol and now was the time to be enjoying the tiny comforts like having a bed, and mentors with you. “don’t worry about it, i get it - you’re like super busy when you get the capitol.” 

she had spoken to glitter about the same thing, and even after the elation of her score died down, she felt the same way. “i’m feeling… well i’m feeling really confident actually.” his question made her smile, tipping her head to the side she fluttered her eyelashes a little. “tell me how pretty i look before i go on stage maybe? how do you think i should play the interview? like what angle should i go for?”

super busy was an understatement. there were parts of him that wanted the requests to die down, parts of him that wanted his free time back, that wanted the opportunity to stay home in one for one season, but the other part of him knew that he would feel so purposeless without his clients, without the knowledge that he was so desired and wanted by so many. “thank you so much for understanding.”

ashanti was feeling ten times more confident with her position in the games especially after her score, but with the interviews round the corner - she knew that was the perfect time to solidify herself as the favourite going into the game. “of course,” 

sitting up and closing the book she was reading, she smiled at the male mentor and felt herself blush a little. she had always had a bit of a crush on gloss, but tried her best not to make it known - but it really was written all over her face. “how you doing gloss?”

the redness in the cheeks of female tributes was something he was so used to seeing, it barely phased him anymore. if every time someone found him attractive, he was taken aback by it, he would never have normal conversations, so he tried his best to pay it no mind.

the night before the interviews, he knocked on her bedroom door. “ashanti? can i come in?” // starter for @cxntinuum

Training was coming to a close, which was both a relief and a worry for Cashmere. There was so much more work to do and sponsors to talk to, however, for tonight she had decided to take some time off. Since arriving in the Capitol she had been so busy, she felt like she hadn’t seen much of her brother other than in passing.

“Look, I brought gifts.” She teased as she put a plate of cookies down in front of him on the table. Were they as good as the ones she made? Definitely not, but they weren’t horrible either. “I hope our tributes do a little better this year.” Cashmere admitted. She had thought Goldie had a real chance last year, but… It didn’t matter. This year was this year and either way, they’d figure it out.

@glcssisms​

the two siblings were the most recent victors district one seen. it was, quite frankly, almost embarrassing for him. he wanted so desperately to contribute to wins in a larger way, and he knew that if he could find the strength within himself to help their tributes with fighting technique, they could win. but he didn’t trust himself around the weapons, didn’t believe that he wouldn’t lose control. so he was content with the other side of it, talking to sponsors, getting the tributes prepared for the interviews.

plus, it meant he had more time to spend with his sister. he smiled at the cookies and grabbed on, taking a bite and nodding, showing his approval. “edible gifts are my favorite of the gifts you bring,” he said, before backtracking. “no, i love all your gifts equally, that’s a lie. i have faith in them, one will see the glory it deserves to see again one day, i know it will.”

“Archery!” Emmy said quickly as she smiled and stabbed a piece of pancake with her fork.  “Mom says they don’t know what they’re doing at the Academy and only worry about the bladed weapons.”

Glitter shrugged as she finished helping Sterling with his food.  “I told her I never really got good at it so she wants to get better than me,” she informed him.  “I doubt that will take much work.  I was always better with throwing knives than a bow if I needed a distance weapon.”  Pausing, Glitter reached for her glass of water.  “How are you doing though, Gloss?  It feels like ages since we’ve properly caught up.”

gloss grinned again, putting his hand up for the young girl to give him a high-five. “that’s a good answer,” he said, expressing his approval. “take advantage of every opportunity you can, you’re a smart cookie.”

and with that, he took another bite of food, enjoying the warmth of the meal provided to them. “yes but no one will ever be better than you at throwing knives, the academy is sure of that,” he said, only half joking. “i’m doing alright, you know, staying busy with...lots of different things. how are you? how’s wiress?” he didn’t want to dwell on himself, didn’t want to bother her with the things he was forced to do. not here, not in front of the kids.

Castle heard the voice and his head snapped toward him. Gloss. He immediately relaxed and took a breath of relief. He wasn’t sure how he would’ve handled meeting anybody else that was new to him, or another Victor, for that matter. The fact that he had already spoken to Lark Timbers and Fell Vasile was enough of a whirlwind for him today. It shouldn’t have phased him anymore, given how long he had been friends with Gloss. It helped ease Castle’s last bit of tension with the younger man when they had gotten to a point where Castle told him the suspicions he had toward the Rosseau’s and his own paternity. It was a nice thing to get that off of his chest to someone when he couldn’t do it to his own mother. 

“Honestly?” Castle breathed, shaking his head and looking around the room. “All I’ve been doing is… talking. I don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing. So… I’m starting to think that lunch is a better option until I can find my team, I suppose. Unless you’re joking, to which I’ll probably get embarrassed. I came a lot later than I should have. They were having trouble placing me in a District.”

he felt bad for the man. coming into this world without being born into it was hard enough, but coming into it in the middle of a season was even harder. gloss had connections, even if some of those were not that most positive of relationships. this made it easier for him to find people to talk to, to always feel like he was in the right place, even if it bored him to death sometimes.

@glcssisms

There were certain things about Games Season that had nothing to do with the Games, yet Glitter looked forward to them nonetheless.  One of those things was brunches with Gloss and her kids.  He’d been there for her thought thick and thin.  Always there for her kids.  They adored Uncle Gloss almost as much as Glitter did.  He was, in a lot of ways, like a brother to her.

Glitter was helping Sterling get his food while she looked over at Gloss and Emmy.  “You know Mom says I can use the training center once the tributes go in the arena,” Emmy told him as she reached for her orange juice.

Smiling, Glitter chuckled.  “She’s getting good.  I swear I won’t be able to stop her soon.”

glitter and gloss had been through everything together. from his highest points like his victory to her lowest moments like the moment they found out she was pregnant the first time, the two of them had been by each other’s side, making fun of the other all the while.

there were few things about gloss that glitter didn’t know, she was the person he was closest to next to cashmere, and so sitting at that table in the restaurant, he felt at home.

emmy’s words made him smile. “does she now? what are you most excited about learning?” he asked, giving glitter a knowing smile at her words.

@ttwstarters

Cas knew he got there late. 

He knew he had screwed up by not really knowing where to start or where to go. He missed the Chariots by finalizing his paperwork and solidifying his title. He also wasted more time than any arguing with his mother, knowing her cap would pop off once she realized that he had secretly been applying as a trainer for the Hunger Games. They nearly put him in District Three, but with anxieties bursting at the seams for being too close to his potential sister’s District, he couldn’t accept that. So he took the next best thing – District Six. 

Now he was worried that the mentors he was working under were going to rip him a new one, not that he really knew who they were under the facades that they put out to the world. Cas was attempting to not be clammed up and awkward as he walked into the Training Center, watching as the twenty-four tributes all bound around the room at different stations and spoke with different varieties of people. As he realized how much socializing was going on, he started to wonder if training really was something he could handle. 

He knew how to fight. He knew how to start a fire. He knew how to navigate. He knew how to tie ropes. Those were things that he learned as a kid, because his mother couldn’t stand the idea of him being helpless. Cas never quite understood why as a kid, but as a teenager and now as a thirty-five-year-old adult, he had his suspicions. Now it was simply about him unraveling the mystery of it all.

He moved slowly into the room, his six foot three frame seemingly towering over everyone else, but inside of his own head, he felt small. Cas had no idea where to begin, who to start talking to, so he simply stood awkwardly over to the side, his brown eyes scanning the room, attempting to spot anybody that would look like District Six. He was given names, but he was in such a rush to get going that he hadn’t bothered to look at photographs. So he stood, crossing his arms and scanned the room, chewing on the inside of his cheek when a form came to stand at his side.

Then, he realized, someone really was standing next to him. So he awkwardly stared ahead, not saying a word, not even casting a glance at them. His mind raced to figure out what to say and the only thing he came up with was something he wasn’t entirely sure he should say, until it poured from his lips before he could stop himself as he gave an awkward smile to no one in particular.

“I’m not doing anything,” Castle blurted.

gloss had spotted his friend the moment he walked in. it’s not like he was very inconspicuous, the man was tall and attention swarmed to him whether he liked it or not, and while gloss liked the attention, thrived under it event, it was evident that castle more than likely did not.

he made his way across the training room to stand beside the other man, not all that interested in what the tributes were doing anyway. the hunger games were won from home base, it didn’t matter how good a tribute was at fighting, if they were no sponsors to send them the things they truly needed, they were as good as dead.

it had taken Snowflake about an hour to wonder what the heck she was doing here.

her hair was pink, her clothes were bright. and the personality she was painting on? brighter. she didn’t want to be caught. not here. she couldnt be. that would be absolutely awful. and the best way not to stand out was to fit in. so she matched verena lavender’s bright happy and bubbly personality with her own when they’d met, and kept it on ever since.

her mother, for her part, was thrilled. finally her ugly duckling of a daughter was becoming a proper capitolite swan. oh, mom. if only you knew.

Snowflake beamed at the nearest person she’d saw, pulling her head out of her thoughts to speak with them. “hey hey! do you mind if i get a picture?” she held up the camera that was currently draped around her neck, over her sponsor’s weekly t-shirt and the black skirt below that. It was odd in training, but she’d been told to come take pictures here. And she wanted to know how it worked, so she wasn’t one to complain.

@ttwstarters

gloss was used to people wanting to take pictures of him. in his opinion, that wasn’t conceited, it was just the truth. people knew him, knew that he was important and interesting and always in the public eye, so this meant that people wanted to take pictures of him, and often. it was what it was, he was good at smoldering.

so, when the girl walked up to him, it wasn’t anything out of the blue and he nodded, said “of course,” and posed for the photo, smiling at her in the same way he always did, no teeth showing and only half of his face tilting up, eyes sparkling.

he was made to be photographed.