Keep My Heart Slow

[ PHILLIPA SOO, CIS FEMALE, SHE/HER. ]   well, if it isn’t raicheal t'ang, our resident ASSISTANT GAMEMAKER ! i’m so excited to see what they’ll be bringing to the table this year. they’re thirty-two years old, & they’ve been in this position for three years. i hope they’re ready for the publicity — the tabloids have already started talking about them ! anyways, i got to meet them once, & they’re a lot like pearl necklaces, red bottom stilettos, a wicked smile, an ironically innocent voice, & hoop earrings.

[ EMMY RAVER-LAMPMAN, CIS FEMALE, SHE/HER. ]     introducing proserpina rollins, VICTOR of the 68th hunger games, representing district one. my sources say that they are thirty years old, & that they’re pretty handy with poison &weaponry . wonder if that did them any good in the arena ? anyways, caesar says you can’t miss them, because they remind everyone of a switchblade, poison gloves, needles, &fangs.

hi friends! this is my first baby, and i'd love to plot with you all! i’m very excited to be here. 

Well, Stefania certainly had some sass in her today. The bright smile on Ravi’s face fell to a murderous glare for the briefest of moments before bouncing back into a content smirk. “Where’d you learn that trash talk? The pathetic competitors during your Games?”

Ravi sipped at her drink again, sizing the young woman up. After a moment, she saw Stef scratch at the tattoo on her wrist, and a light bulb went off. “Stefania. You can’t possibly be mad at me for my Games? All those years ago? You were in the Arena yourself - you know it’s kill or be killed. If it makes you feel any better, I quite enjoyed fighting Ariadne. She was a marvelous opponent, unlike just about everyone else in my Games.”

Ravi took another measured sip from her champagne as Stef downed hers. “You seem so on edge! What say you we let bygones be bygones and have a good clean Games this year? And I’ll start that off with a piece of advice: don’t get sentimental on your Tributes. One, it only will end in heartbreak and two, the Sponsors don’t give two shits about the families. If you actually want to help your Tributes, hype them up. Get excited about the Games. Play them. We’re on the other side now, Stefania. Hop to it.” 

With that, Ravi drained the rest of her wine.

𝒮𝓉𝑒𝒻𝒶𝓃𝒾𝒶'𝓈 𝒻𝒶𝒸𝑒 𝑔𝓇𝑒𝓌 𝓅𝒶𝓁𝑒 𝒶𝓉 𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝒹𝓈 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝒶 𝓈𝓅𝓁𝒾𝓉 𝓈𝑒𝒸𝑜𝓃𝒹 𝒷𝑒𝒻𝑜𝓇𝑒 𝒷𝑒𝒸𝑜𝓂𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒻𝓁𝓊𝓈𝓉𝑒𝓇𝑒𝒹 𝒾𝓃 𝓇𝒶𝑔𝑒. “That wasn’t trash talk. I don’t stoop down to the childlike behavior of your niche.” She responds with a snarl as she sips on her second glass. As she heard her aunt’s name come out of her mouth she broke the champagne glass and pointed it in the direction of her neck. “Don’t you, ever, breathe her name to me. Ever. I don’t give a fuck about the games. I killed people too. And people hate me for it. Rightfully so. But I show respect. You’re an apathetic sociopath. You were heartless.”

She gasps as she slowly drops the glass as she turns around, grabs a tequila shot and downs it. “You may be okay and wired like a robot but I have my humanity. I remember how I got here just enough without letting it take me over, because I’m a decent fucking person. There’s no excitement.We may have trained for this, but if they play their cards wrong...or stabbed in the back, they become memories. So you do things your way, and I’ll do things mine.” 

          to  say  that  winslow  dislikes  saffron  is  perhaps  not  entirely  accurate  .  they  think  that  if  their  circumstances  were  different  ,  they  could  have  been  the  best  of  friends  —  but  that  is  not  the  case  ,  and  so  they  are  bitter  rivals  ,  locked  into  a  pointless  death  match  even  more  disinteresting  than  the  games  they  help  to  run  .  “  if  everything  were  as  it  seemed  ,  neither  of  us  would  have  a  job  ,  ”  they  reply  ,  seemingly  unbothered  .  internally  ,  they  are  irritated  ,  because  of  course  they  are  ,  what  kind  of  rivalry  would  it  be  if  they  weren’t  ?  and  because  win  despises  baseless  accusations  —  does  saffron  really  think  that  they  would  still  be  here  if  they  were  a  subpar  employee  ?  it’s  not  as  if  their  family  holds  any  sway  with  the  capitol  ,  with  one  parent  dead  for  rebellion  and  one  a  disgraced  ex  -  peacekeeper  .  winslow  is  the  only  one  in  the  tiny  jeong  family  that  anyone  with  power  likes  —  if  they  fuck  up  ,  they’re  gone  .  they  turn  away  from  their  co  -  worker  to  observe  the  parade  ,  the  tributes  in  their  absurd  ,  capitol  -  appropriate  outfits  that  the  stylists  all  seem  to  think  are  the  height  of  fashion  .

"𝒽𝓂...𝓌𝑒𝓁𝓁 𝓈𝒶𝒾𝒹 𝓂𝓎 𝒹𝑒𝒶𝓇." 𝓈𝒶𝒻𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓃 𝒻𝓁𝒾𝓅𝓈 𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝒹 𝓉𝑜 𝓁𝑜𝑜𝓀 𝒷𝒶𝒸𝓀 𝒶𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓅𝒶𝓇𝒶𝒹𝑒 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓈𝒸𝑜𝒻𝒻𝓈. saffron’s desire to show out during these games was alive and well, and can only increase at this rate. the question was how quickly. her family was around somewhere enjoying the parade. her happily married parents and her siblings, cheering on the tributes. “I think the fashion show happens to be rather cute. They have their fun now, we have ours in a few. It seems fair.” She twirls her hair with her finger, smiling softly.

                    𝖆  𝖜𝖔𝖒𝖆𝖓  𝖒𝖆𝖗𝖐𝖊𝖉  𝖇𝖞  𝖙𝖍𝖊  supposed  glory  that  comes  with  victory  in  games  that  are  painted  as  a  majestic  trial  of  puppets  to  please  their  almighty  master  ,  her  eye  catches  juniper’s  timid  frame  and  all  hopes  of  shying  away  immediately  vanish  .  there  is  no  peaceful  retreat  when  she  has  already  been  spotted  ,  no  escape  that  doesn’t  carry  the  brand  of  cowardice  that  juniper  has  been  made  aware  that  she  cannot  carry  .  an  encounter  with  another  victor  ,  a  reprimand  where  she  was  prompted  to  embrace  the  cruelty  that  comes  so  naturally  to  some  .  told  that  fear  does  not  make  her  worthy  of  a  crown  ,  she  is  left  to  grasp  at  any  darkness  within  her  in  hopes  of  hardening  her  exterior  in  preparation  for  a  battle  where  the  stakes  rise  higher  than  they  have  ever  been  .  juniper  stands  tall  in  the  face  of  a  victor  ,  even  when  her  knees  threaten  to  buckle  beneath  her  own  weight  with  every  step  that  the  woman  takes  in  her  direction  –––––  no  you  weren’t  ,  and  juniper  has  been  read  accurately  .  a  gulp  ,  yet  no  fear  is  swallowed  back  –––––  it  lingers  on  every  pore  ,  ever  present  .  she  may  not  be  the  soft  ,  innocent  girl  she  once  was  ,  yet  juniper  is  far  from  the  evil  that  nero  waterway  expected  of  her  –––––  no  ,  she’s  just  so  scared  .  ‘  i  am  ,  ’  juniper  says  ,  with  a  small  nod  .  it  carries  no  pride  .  only  the  grim  reluctance  of  a  girl  who  has  accepted  the  fact  that  she  must  fight  for  her  own  survival  .  ‘  though  i  guess  fighting  for  my  life  is  a  bit  more  accurate  .  ’

     𝒮𝓉𝑒𝒻𝒶𝓃𝒾𝒶 𝓃𝑜𝒹𝓈 𝒸𝓊𝓇𝓉𝓁𝓎 𝓁𝑜𝑜𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒶𝓇𝑜𝓊𝓃𝒹. “It’s very smart of you to get a quick look around before you attempt to impress the snooty gamemakers and their snooty douche guests.” She offers an encouraging smile. “I’m not on official duty myself but you know. I get dragged out to this nonsense every year. It’s not great but it’s better than dying.” She sighs. She was looking at a tribute and she was thinking of the Archembaults. A family from her home who had both kids reaped at once. The Dugues are no stranger to the games. Stef was the first victor to come out alive. Alive she was. But scarred. “I’ve been hauled around or so many years after I won and I still...struggle when it comes to what to say. There is nothing we can say to make things easier. Not even ‘I’m sorry’. Even though I am.” She offers a hand, “Stefania Dugue. District 1. But Stef or Steffi works.”

Ravinia was thrilled to be in the Capitol to watch the Parade. The pomp and the glamor, the ritz and the sizzle - it left her with a permanent, beaming smile on her face. And how majestic the District Two Tributes had looked! Not as good as she had back in her day, of course. But nonetheless, they were fabulous.

Ravi allowed herself one moment of fond remembrance. Her own Tribute Parade, the warm applause of the adoring crowd, the way Caesar’s hair changed color overnight. Ravi almost got lost, but was snapped back to the present by the man in front of her. “Oh, yes, fabulous!” she replied, hoping it was appropriate. The man smiled and excused himself - hopefully Ravi had secured some funding for her Tributes. She took a sip from an oversized champagne flute when someone roughly passed behind her, nearly causing her to spill her wine.

She turned to see the lovely Stefania Dugue - now there was a throwback to her own Games. “Oh, as I live and breathe! Stefania Dugue!” Ravi raised her glass in a small salute. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages. How have you been? I am obsessed with the Tributes from One this year. They looked marvelous in their chariots. Not quite as good as my Theodore and Grier, but not too bad, not too bad.” She gave a roguish wink and sipped at her wine. “Ready to see District One fall to District Two again?”

𝒮𝓉𝑒𝒻𝒶𝓃𝒾𝒶 𝓇𝑜𝓁𝓁𝑒𝒹 𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝑒𝓎𝑒𝓈, 𝒶𝓁𝓂𝑜𝓈𝓉 𝓈𝒾𝒸𝓀 𝓉𝑜 𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝓈𝓉𝑜𝓂𝒶𝒸𝒽. Listening to her ramble enthusiastically about the games, didn’t help. She lightly scratched her wrists as her aunts name stretched out her skin. The shit in her lab could make her killer suffer for weeks, months even before she perished. But that would bring more trouble for Stefania. She had been more vocal for her disdain for her and the games, yet here she was. She raised her hand to cut her off. “How lovely, as the years go by your brain melts and your skin sags. The Archembaults are in my thoughts and I’m gonna make sure that family doesn’t lose two kids. Not for the games’ sake. But for them.” She scoffed as she took two glasses from the waiter and downed one instantly. 

𝒮𝑒𝓉𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔: 𝒫𝒶𝓇𝒶𝒹𝑒

           𝒯𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓎𝑒𝒶𝓇'𝓈 𝑔𝒶𝓂𝑒𝓈 𝓂𝒶𝓇𝓀𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝒾𝓍𝓉𝒽 𝑔𝒶𝓂𝑒𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒮𝒶𝒻𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓃 𝒽𝒶𝓈 𝒷𝑒𝑒𝓃 𝒶 𝓅𝒶𝓇𝓉 𝑜𝒻, 𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝒻𝑜𝓊𝓇𝓉𝒽 𝒶𝓈 𝒶𝓈𝓈𝒾𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝑔𝒶𝓂𝑒𝓂𝒶𝓀𝑒𝓇. She could not hold her excitement. Being a part of what makes the games the games kept her alive. She watched the parade eyes wide. Watching each tribute, each person. She read them Their aura, they’re style. The slightest bit of microexpression. She held onto it. It was gonna do her well when it was go time. She needed this. She needed the games more than ever. The past couple of months were tense and she needed her release. She looked around and made eye contact with Crane. Her blonde waves were looking just the way she wanted. Working with an ex can be trying. But Saffron was not about to be shoved around. She’s going to continue working her way up. She throws a wink at Crane before turning away to find her co worker in her eyeshot. She smirks. If anyone was somewhat a threat to what was rightfully hers, it was Winslow Jeong. “Well well well,” she tilts her head as she trots toward them. “It’s quarter to game time. Are you ready? You don’t seem ready. But then again, do you ever?” 

𝒮𝑒𝓉𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔: 𝒫𝑜𝓈𝓉- 𝒫𝒶𝓇𝒶𝒹𝑒

𝐸𝓈𝓂𝑒 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝒾𝓃 𝒶 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝒹 𝓅𝓁𝒶𝒸𝑒 𝓇𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝓃𝑜𝓌. 𝐵𝓊𝓉 𝒽𝑜𝓃𝑒𝓈𝓉𝓁𝓎, 𝓌𝒽𝑜 𝓌𝒶𝓈. Her luck was awful. Of course she got picked. But what was left for her in district 3. A family life full of neglect. A childhood full of ignorance. She was more than a oops baby. Maybe if she made it out alive, she could prove herself as such. She sighed as she pulled on a wristband and released it, causing a sting on her wrist. She kept doing it, increasing the stimulus on her wrist. She looked around as her heart palpated at an accelerated rate. She didn’t know what to think. How to feel. She wanted to be scared. But fear does nothing positive in her eyes. She had to remember this is real, and that if she doesn’t play her cards right. Her days were numbered. She looked over at a young woman and looked away immediately. Social hour wasn’t a thing. “Take a picture, it’ll last longer.” 

𝐿𝑜𝒸𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃: 𝒫𝑜𝓈𝓉- 𝒫𝒶𝓇𝒶𝒹𝑒

     𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒢𝒶𝓂𝑒𝓈 𝓌𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓁𝓁𝓎 𝒶𝓇𝑜𝓊𝓃𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒸𝑜𝓇𝓃𝑒𝓇 and Stefania was over it. Being a Dugue. Being a career victor. She wanted to be at home, in the house she earned, playing with poison, playing with chemicals...and of course, helping people the best way she could. But the games...were her duty. She played the game, won. Little did she know this was her life now. There was no running away from the games...until death. She just loved the constant reminder of her victims, and all she has lost to the entertainment of...well, the capitol. the parade was over and she was walking around, greeting people who she thought she should make her presence known to. In her eye shot she saw the one woman she detested more than any one. she looked down at her tattoo. 𝒶𝓇𝒾𝒶𝒹𝓃𝑒. her aunt. her best friend. district one. third place. 59th hunger games. and in her eyes was the woman who one who not only won, but killed her to get there. she continued walk and she shoved her with her shoulder before turning around to scoff, “sorry. didn’t see you there.” 

“𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠....”

[ LULU ANTARIKSA, CISFEMALE, SHE/HER. ]    introducing esme palewski, TRIBUTE of the 74th / year hunger games, representing district 3. my sources say that they are 20 years old, & that they’re pretty handy with knives, combat and archery wonder if that will do / did them any good in the arena ? anyways, caesar says you can’t miss them, because they remind everyone of wicked smile, pompous attitude, combat boots, a half sleeve of tattoos.