The Caesar Flickerman Show!!

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Finley squeezed Birch’s hand back as Caesar exclaimed over her drawing. She carefully turned the notebook to show the drawings to the camera, and she couldn’t hide the smile on her face as she heard the crowd cheer for her bunnies. Her bunnies! This was the most incredible feeling.

It was so scary, but so wonderful all the same. 

She nodded a little. The idea of being friends with Caesar sounded like a lot of fun. Everyone has been really nice to me, she wrote. I think I have people I can trust in the Arena. She paused, letting Birch read her first words before she took the notebook back. It’s hard when all of the tributes are so nice. 

The mentor and tribute dynamic happening in front of Caesar was one he didn’t often get to see. It was amazing to see how well they worked together. This was what Panem should see. “I can’t wait to see what you have in store for us Finley. If it’s anything like this delightful interview full of teamwork and love, I will cheer loudly!” 

The crowd cheered and he saw some of the audience dabbing their eyes, overwhelmed at the duo on the stage with him. “So you’ve got friends here and friends at home! What about your family? Tell me a little bit about you and them.” 

IT WAS OFFICIAL,    dahlia hated these people   (  as if that wasn’t clear before  ) the way they cheered made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.   they were cheering about the fact a child was lining up for the slaughter.    her nostrils flared once again as she shot them an angry look.    her lips curled into a growl.   

the way they cooed was patronising to say the least.  dahlia wasn’t afraid of bad people.  she just saw things as they were.        ‘ lie… ’   she spoke quietly,   switching from her safe position behind to chairs  to   a more predatory one,   leaning towards caesar on all fours.  he was  ONE OF THEM.    the capitolites that took pleasure in death.   '  alone. ’    her eyes found the ground,    unable to look at his stupid face much longer,    dahlia swung her fist round with the intention of scratching his face.   '  hate people! ’   

The smile on Caesar’s face faltered for a moment as the girl’s demeanour changed from that of a cowering animal to one of a hungry predator. The switch was a little sudden, but Caesar noticed and tried to refocus his attention, but her next few words stopped him. There was not a lot that stopped Caesar Flickerman in his tracks, but the way she dropped to all fours and began to advance made him freeze. 

“Alone has seemed to -” Caesar began, trying to bring everyone back to the interview at hand. He thought maybe it would break Dahlia’s concentration on him, but she decided to take a swing instead. 

A large gasp emanated from the crowd as Caesar stumbled backwards from his perched position on the arm of his chair. A crackle of static came to life in his ear and a voice reassured him that Peacekeepers were just about to enter stage right. Caesar re-established his footing as the Peacekeepers came on stage. They went for Dahlia and all Caesar could do was skirt around the edge and address the audience. “Well, she sure has fire in her! Dahlia from District Twelve!”

“well…” laurel said, pausing to think. “i think if i found myself in an arena that looked like back home, in seven, i might have a pretty good chance. with the little village with the forest surrounding it?” she could picture it clearly in her mind. if it looked like home, laurel knew the forests of seven like the back of her hand. and she knew some other things about them, too, like how to find water and stay out from the rain.

“so, yeah. if i found myself in an arena that was like seven, i might have half a chance.”

“Well, my fingers are crossed for you, Laurel,” he said, lifting a hand and crossing his middle finger over his index. “Here’s hoping for a little village with a forest around it!”

Aspen gave the man a smile as he talked about his fish. It was something Amber would have wanted her to ask him. Back in Nine, she had filled their barn with animal rescue and pets. Only the kitten had been Aspens and it was because it followed her around for days before she officially adopted it.

At his question, Aspen balked. She just blinked at him while she tried to put together an answer. Was her foster family cheering for her? She hoped so but she wasn’t sure. She didn’t actually talk to people most days, so Aspen doubted many were rooting for her to win. If they were, it was probably because they wanted the riches and food that would be showered upon them if she did win. The only person she knew for sure rooting for her was her sister, but her sister wasn’t in District Nine.

“Oh, I am sure my entire District would love to see me win Caesar.” Aspen told him softly as she stumbled over her words and blinked back her tears. She didn’t need people back at home, but she knew she couldn’t say she had her sister.  Aspen wasn’t sure if anyone knew about her connection to Whisper and it was probably safer for her sister that way. “My family passed away years ago…” She told him softer. “It’s okay though, because I have my new family here in the Capitol. I am sure they’ll all root for me, right?”

Caesar nodded solemnly, frowning as Aspen explained that her family had passed away. “I’m sorry to hear that, Aspen. But we would be happy to adopt you into our Capitol family! Wouldn’t we, folks?” He turned towards the audience with a vibrant smile, and they cheered in response. “I think that’s a ‘yes’!”

He turned away from the crowd to focus his attention back on the girl in front of him. “Aspen, can you at least tell us you’ve made some friends here in the Capitol? Can we expect an alliance from you in the arena, perhaps?”

Couscous’ smile became strained. “Quinoa came last, Caesar. You can say it.” He would try to do better. He would try to go home.

“There’s just me and my parents, I’m afraid,” he explained. “We own a bakery- the best bakery in Panem, not that I’m biased. It’s called Dale’s Delights, and it’s been in my family since my grandpa was a young man. I…. I don’t know what’s going to happen to it if I die.”

He trailed off slightly. This was too much vulnerability for his interview, he felt, so Couscous immediately forced himself to crack a smile. “I guess I’ll just have to go home, right?”

“A bakery boy!” Caesar repeated with a smile. “You’re a few years too late, but I have a feeling you and Mister Mellark from the 74th Games would have gotten on like peas and carrots. And absolutely you’ll have to go home! And when you get there, be sure to send me a package with all your favorite breads! I’ll be looking for it in the mail!”

The audience laughed along, and Caesar offered them a smile. Anything that made the audience happy assured him he was doing his job correctly. And the boy seemed comfortable, which was what mattered right now.

“Now Couscous, I am so excited to see what you have to show us in the arena,” Caesar continued. “Can you give us any sort of sneak peek of what’s to come? Any secret skills you’re hiding from all of us?”

ashanti smiled again when her high score was announced and she cheered and clapped along with the audience. she knew she was never going to get bored of the praise that came along with being the highest scoring tribute. “and i worked hard for it too!” she exclaimed. 

tucking a strand of her hair dramatically behind her ear, she paused for a few seconds for dramatic effect. “well you know i can’t go into details, or specifics. but… let’s just say i showed the gamemakers that i’m not going down without a fight.”

“Oh, she’s being vague, everyone!” Caesar joked to the audience. “Our District One girl, coy as always! She must have taken notes from Glitter and Opal. Learned from the best, I’d say.”

Caesar shifted in his chair, still riding the energy that came from interviewing not only the first tribute on stage, but the one with the highest training score. The one to watch. At least from the standpoint of the audience. 

“Not going down without a fight, though. I would like to venture a guess that you learned this from home,” Caesar speculated. “Which, of course, gets me curious! Tell me. Who are you trying to get back to? Who was it that taught you this tenacity? This ferocity? Who helped make Ashanti Ashanti?”

Demelza chuckled along with the audience and delicately tucked one ankle under the other. “Oh, Caesar. I’ve always held the belief that flattery only highlights something that’s already true.” She chirped with a bright smile. It sounded cheesy leaving her lips, but there was truth to her words. Despite knowing the horrors that occurred within the arena, the young woman couldn’t help but marvel at the splendor of the Capitol.

“That’s very sweet of you to say! Of course I’d expect nothing less.” Caesar Flickerman seemed notorious for buttering up every guest he ever interviewed.

Her expression became more solemn, as the infamous host turned the conversation toward Dayta. “I suppose it was bound to come up at some point.” Demelza gave him a halfhearted smile and ran her hands over the delicate fabric of her elegant dress. “It wasn’t about attention. Although, I will say that Dayta was always my better half.” Her smile brightened at the notion. Dayta had always been the one to discourage her more impulsive decisions.

“I volunteered for the same reason she did..for family.” She offered, pausing for a moment to let that thought sink into the audience’s heads. “Not for my family, but for the Coda’s. Those twins are the same age we were when Dayta volunteered, and I wanted to give them more time together. Twins are two parts of the same soul that feed off each other to thrive.”

“Oh, I am positive you and Dayta were- are!- equally matched. Perhaps you’re even better, because I think you, Miss, have a wonderful chance of getting out of this thing victorious,” Caesar answered with a smile, pointing towards her as punctuation. “We all loved her. And we are already falling in love with you, too.”

Caesar smiled. “More twins! You District Three kids and your families. Why, if we had a dinner party with all the District Three siblings we’ve had up here in the last couple of years I don’t know if I’d be able to host! There are so many of you! Which I love, of course. And that was a very brave choice that you made, Demelza. Very admirable.”

He clasped his hands together. “Now another question for you. What can we look forward to seeing from you in the arena? Was it whatever fabulous stunt you pulled to earn a whole Five in training? Perhaps some sneaky skills you’re hiding behind that pretty face of yours?”

as ceasar addressed the crowd, ember smiled politely, trying to gauge their reactions. what where they thinking? did they like him? were they rooting for him? did they want him to come home? he didn’t know, but he hoped they did.

he turned his attention to ceasar, smiling just as politely as he was when he was looking at the crowd. the whole situation was weird. the people watching him could have a direct impact on whether he was making it home alive. he tried not to think about it.

“thank you, i really appreciate that. no one’s ever really felt that way about me before. back home, i’ve got my parents and that’s pretty much it. other people my age would sort of pick on me back home, so i don’t have many friends or anything. that’s why it’s so lovely being here, people enjoy being around me which is something so new, i love it.”

“Well, parents are plenty important! I’m sure you can ask one of our latest victors, Miss Jules Churchill, all about that, since her dad’s the mayor of the district. And I will tell you something, Mr. Lowell,” Caesar pointed towards Ember. “I doubt that there is any chance you continue to get picked on if you come out of this thing. You’ll be the most popular guy in District Three! You and Pixel, the coolest teens in the country, right everyone?”

The audience applauded, with a some scattered cheers here and there. Folks loved hearing a story of a kid who’s been picked on coming up and winning or showing their bullies who was boss. Classic underdog stuff.

“Now we’re getting close to the end, and I’m getting so excited to see you in the arena,” Caesar continued. “Tell me. Any big plans? Alliances? Strategies?”

Misty took a second to duck her head, flushing beet red. Innocent. Bashful. But clearly NOT in love. “You don’t mean… like THAT, do you? No sir. I’m… I don’t think I’m ready for that yet. You know? But when I’m ready, im excited.” Love was something she was allowed to aspire to. Not to have.

“but I do LOVE how I’ve spent my time here. I guess you could say I’ve fallen in love with… being here. I’ve loved every meeting the careers. Ashanti, and the siblings from two? I’m excited to ally with them.” She didn’t yet know what would happen with their alliance, but she was excited for it. “My team… they made me feel at home as well. Everyone here has. So yeah. They’re my anyone special.” She laughed internally, resisting the urge to crack a joke about how the boys on her team were the hottest alive. Innocent sweet girls wouldn’t notice. So misty didn’t.

“Oh, how sweet! Isn’t she just the sweetest?” he asked the audience. “Well, I’m sure there are plenty of folks who would love to ask you out on a date. You just have to win the hunger games first. No pressure, right?” He teased.

Of course Caesar would start off with a soft, easy question for him. Maybe it was just his luck that the next set of questions were hard to think about - hard to answer. Especially because one of the special people had just finished her interview. 

Wilder nodded, comfortable in answering this part of the question. “Yes. At least for the first little bit and the last little bit. When I was taken in, I was raised on the trains and learned everything about them. There was a point when I was seven when I was, uh…lost. I lived on the streets until -” he paused, knowing what he did would probably get him in a little bit of trouble and Stefie in a lot of trouble. He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to figure how to not be so explicit. “Until I found a good life.”

“At home, I’ve got my foster sister Stefie. We’ve been together for the past six years. She’s my family.” He took a moment to look into the camera and to do their sign that they’ve been doing every night for years. It was for her - not anyone else. Two fingers tap twice and then one finger dragged down the palm - but he did it to the air. Wilder paused, weighing the options of saying Laurel’s name. But, his heart took charge and he barreled forward. “And Laurel - she’s special to me too.”

Caesar smiled softly. “What a truly heartwarming tale! It’s inspiring that you’ve managed to find a family despite having such a rough start in life.” 

He turned to smile somewhat mischievously at the camera when Wilder spoke of Laurel. “Yes, I think we all saw how special Miss Oaken is to you, Wilder. We’ve heard her point-of-view, but can you give us yours? What happened during that parade? We want all the details!”

“They are different!” Joule smiled. “Much better water pressure. And they smell good.”

Joule fidgeted with the gold bracelet around her wrist, rubbing the charm back and forth between her fingers. She would have normally held her star necklace in her right hand, touching her finger to each of the six points as a method of comfort, but it was still soon enough that if she wasn’t careful it would get taken away. Symbols were powerful. If it went missing before her time in the arena, it would mean nothing.

“I did volunteer,” she repeated calmly. Joule smiled to the audience and the cameras. “Um, I’m sure you remember my sister, Ampere. She got second. She volunteered, too, since that was the theme of the third Quell. I… guess I just wanted to follow along in her footsteps. You know?”

“They sure do, don’t they?” he said with a warm smile. At the mention of Ampere, Caesar turned serious and a hush fell over the crowd. “We all remember your sister very fondly, Joule. And we all hope that your story has a happier ending than Ampere’s did. Don’t we, everyone?” The crowd cheered, Ampere’s memory still close in their minds.

“Now, Joule, you scored a respected six in training: not as high as Ampere, but a respectable score nonetheless! I would love to know, what is your strategy when it comes to the Arena? Are you planning to go with the same plan as your sister did?”

Aspen wanted to groan because the last thing she wanted to talk about was the elephant in the room. Ever since the scores were announced she had been considering how to answer this question, but she hadn’t really come to a conclusion. To deny it was intentional would make people think she was weak and to embrace it would give off the impression she knew what she was doing. Just go with it, Aspen reminded herself giving Caesar an awkward smile to cover the moment of silence.

“Thank you!” Aspen told the host happily as if there was nothing better in the world than her nine. “Oh, hum…” She paused for a moment struggling for the right words. “I just wanted to do something the Gamemakers hadn’t necessarily seen before. Something that played to my strengths. I am an artist, you know.” Surely it didn’t hurt to tell people that much about her. “Good art has a way of sneaking up on people disguised as something else, wouldn’t you say?” Aspen wasn’t sure what else she could say that wouldn’t give away her session as it was against the rules.

Aspen took a deep breath praying there would be no more talk about her score. Let the elephant be. Instead, she looked at Caesar and gave him a shy kind of awkward smile. “Can I ask you a question Caesar,” Aspen asked him softly hoping for a smooth transition onto a different topic. “How is your fish, Seneca, doing?”

Caesar nodded, the audience hanging on the girl’s every word. Even when the answers took a bit longer, he was happy to let the tributes take their time. “I’m sure they got to see something absolutely incredible from you. You seem like a special young lady, Aspen! And I am sure everyone wishes they could’ve been there to see whatever art it was you showed to everyone.” The crowd cheered along with Caesar, enamoured by the sweet tribute.

“Of course you can!” Caesar exclaimed. He let out a hearty laugh when she referenced his fish. “Seneca Fish is doing wonderfully, thank you! He’s swimming beautifully, almost as good of a friend as the real Seneca! Speaking of friends, Aspen, who is cheering you on back home?”

being dubbed a ‘fashion icon’ brought a fresh smile to her face and she posed for the crowd in front of her and flicked her hair back. “you’ll be impressed, i’ll tell you that.” sitting on the question for a few moments, she readjusted her dress slightly before answering. “i don’t know if i can pick a favourite victor, i really love all of the victors from one too - i think they’re all awesome and pretty much embody the elegance, and strength district one is famous for. am i right?” 

she started off a round of applause for the district one victors. “i think i’m getting ready to blaze my own trail, and it’ll definitely make great television.”

“I’m sure we will!” Caesar exclaimed, and the crowd roared in agreement. The crowd cheered loudly for their District One victors, and Caesar clapped along. “Yes, you are certainly right, Ashanti! We love our District One Victors here, don’t we!”

As the cheering died down, Caesar laughed lightly. “I can’t wait to see the kind of trail you blaze in our Arena! We can already tell you’ll be a force to be reckoned with: this girl got the highest training score, after all!” Caesar grinned as the crowd cheered again. “Tell me, Ashanti, can you give me any sneak peek into what you showed the Gamemakers? Did you use a favourite weapon or technique?” he leaned forward, intrigued. 

“Oh, you know me!” Misty smiled again, knowing she was going to state something incredibly obvious. “I’m a real district four girl. I swim, and I’m really quite fast. It would be just wonderful if the arena was… I suppose… just a big lake. With an island for the cornucopia, of course. oh, I’d be just thrilled!” She was sweet, she was dazzling, she was COMFORTABLE.

this felt awesome. “Almost as thrilled as I am to be here, really.” She waved to the crowd, to the mentors spacifically. She hoped the four mentors knew she was saying “hiiii!!!” Without saying it. “You’re so lucky, ceasar. You get to be here all the time, in front of all these people!”

“A big lake! Well, that sounds beautiful. Let’s hope the odds are in your favour tomorrow, shall we?” The crowd cheered their support for Misty and her hope for the arena.

laurel frowned. “probably not much, honestly,” she said. “i’m not like any of the victors. i’m not smart like pixel, or charming like jules, or strong like thresh. so really, the only thin i’m expecting to do is die.”

she looked at the audience, some of whom were shouting ‘no!’. “and before you ask, caesar, i’m not being cynical. i’m being realistic. there’s a difference.”

“Ah, but that’s the thing about our victors, isn’t it? Not one of them is the same as those that came before.” Sure, there were trends. Those from Three tended to be smart. The ones from One and Two were usually fierce fighters. But there were always exceptions, and even those with similarities were very different people. Caesar had interviewed enough of them to know that well.

THAT WAS NICE FOR HIM,    to have a gourmet kitchen around the corner from his home.  dahlia had  a form of kitchen behind her home.   only she had to catch the food herself  &  it wasn’t exactly  gourmet.    not by the capitol’s standards.   so she just nodded along with caesar’s words.     her taste buds were the only things that were happy. 

broken the ice.   what did that mean?   a confused look crossed her face until she figured out what he meant.    he thought that they were comfortable enough to conduct a proper interview. she couldn’t fault him for trying.     ‘ plan …  not die. ’    she spoke slowly,    elongating each syllable.    that was common sense.  if nothing else,    every tribute should be trying not to die. 

still crouched behind the chair,  dahlia raised herself up to see over the thing  before being startled by the crown  &  ducking again,    ‘ people BAD. ’

Caesar hadn’t meant to confuse the young tribute, but seeing her face light up with comprehension made me feel a bit better. She was talking to him at the very least and he let out a big laugh and clapped after she finished her three words. “I like it! Succinct, to the point! Don’t you all agree?” The crowd applauded Dahlia, a few ‘whoops’ permeating the room. “I can’t say I’ve heard a better plan.”

A small ‘awwww’ came from the crowd as Dahlia hid behind her chair and the microphone picked up her words. They thought she was scared of the bad people. Caesar smiled gently at the chair, hoping that Dahlia would perk up and see him. He moved around the chair and perched on the edge of it. “I promise Dahlia, I am not a bad person. Just a few more minutes out here and then you can rest for your big day tomorrow! Here’s my next question for you: do you have any good people at home? Any of your District 12 team been good to you?”

Birch was doing an incredible job helping out, and Finley couldn’t help but smile as he read her words aloud. It took teamwork to make it work, but Finley had never experienced anything that she couldn’t make work until this point. It couldn’t be easy for Birch, either, but he was brave like she was. 

Finley smiled shyly at Caesar’s joke, her version of laughing alongside the audience. I like to draw. And I have four pet rabbits to take care of. She paused, letting Birch read her words before she turned the page to the drawing, holding it forward to show Caesar. And I like to hang out with my best friends Riley and Sparrow. It’s easier to talk to them than it is to talk to new people. 

She was doing wonderful. Birch couldn’t help but feel proud of Finley as she wrote for Caesar and seemed to feel at least somewhat comfortable in front of the crowd whose energy was still gnawing at Birch’s own demeanour. 

Birch laughed at the joke, grinning at the audience and giving a wink to try and get more of the Capitolites on their side. He shifted his gaze back to Finley who had handed him her notebook. His eyes read the words as carefully as he could, the smile on his lips coming out as warmth in his voice. As he passed the book back to Finley, he reached and took her hand quickly and gave it a squeeze to say that she was doing really well before letting her hold her notebook.

“That is a marvelous drawing! Finley, why don’t you show it off for the rest of the audience!” Caesar absolutely loved when tributes came out showing a talent that he wouldn’t have otherwise seen. He watched the reassurance from Finley’s mentor to her and smiled again. 

“Well, Riley and Sparrow must be very lucky to have the privilege to hear your pretty voice,” Caesar said. “I hope soon we can be close enough friends that we can talk. Now, we’ve heard about your friends from home - who I am sure are cheering you on right now. What about any friends here? Any alliances we may see in the Arena?”