the world digs a hole in your yard;

“It also does help that I’m very lucid and coherent most of the time,” Carol pursed his lips together and nodded, as if to point out that he wasn’t doing so bad, after all. He could accept a little insanity. If he were his old edgy self, he would even insist that it was needed, not to get boring. “Are you hitting on me? Just checking. I’ll assess later how I feel about it.”

“Good job,” Zero nodded, sending Carol a reassuring nod that was partly teasing and party entirely serious. Being lucid and coherent most of the time was quite the achievement. Zero knew that. He paused for a moment, before crossing his arms in front of his chest and leaning back in his seat, cocking his head to the side. “Alright, let’s play this out. What if I am?”

“Don’t stress it. I don’t mind threats,” he waved a hand, dismissively, and focused on the other thing, the question. No matter how many times he got it, Carol always had a different answer, every time genuine. “Boring and comforting. I don’t want another experience like it, but I would go back in time to relive it. Is that Career madness?”

“Right,” he nodded, as though this was something he’d always known about the newest victor. “How could I ever imagine it was the other way around?” Zero’s brow momentarily quirked at Carol’s answer. “It sounds like you’re a little bit insane man, yeah. But some people do it well, you know? Crazy is the new sexy sometimes, I hear.” Zero shrugged off his own words, nonchalantly somewhat. 

“Aren’t you a stylist? Make me a costume, and I’ll wear it.” The idea was dumb in itself, and Carol could never be caught dead dressing into a joke, but he wasn’t going to give in and point any of that out out loud. “And, anyway, I don’t really live to provide the Gamemakers with a good laugh. That was only my job in the arena.”

“Right, good, we have a deal. You tip me and I’ll make a platform out of you. Sounds like a threat, but isn’t. It’ll be fun, trust me,” Zero joked dryly, leaning back in the seat. “How’s it feel to be outside looking in now?”

He paused the Games nonchalantly at the point where Otto was being brutally strangled by his platform, the one that spelled out Jvpiter, carved in stone. “See, this is what I feel like is rude. This should have said Carol. It’s me who won the Games, not Jupiter. It’s fucking intentional and rude,” he used the remote control to point to the screen, not quite meaning all of it. 

It wasn’t an arena he understood completely yet, but he’s never watched them from this angle – it had always been Rio’s screens from back home, not quite as big as these, or the small television in the Academy kitchen. Relief filled him at the realization that he never had to do anything like what was in there again. That, and a lonely feeling.

“You know what? You should make a statement. Go to the presidential ball dressed as a platform with Carol inscribed in it. The Gamemakers will get it, trust me,” Zero snorted, the absurdity of his statement not lost on him. But, it was an oddly funny picture to imagine. 

HADES

“Well, thank you,” she answered Zero genuinely; his words were kind. “I think for most of the Sponsors it’s less about empathy and more about who makes the best investment, but I do still think I can sell them on Nico and Holland,” she concluded. “I don’t like to get too ahead of myself, but I think they’ve got a good chance.”

“If you had to choose one, who would you pick?” Zero tilted his head to the side, less interested in causing emotional chaos than just wanting to know in who Auri saw the most potential. After all, only one would get out. And if there was ever another escapee, they’d be dead and buried long before another underground District could find and save them. 

As Clover came to a panting halt she tried to wipe the sweat off of her forehead. The holograms of simulated fighters slowly vanished as the last one fell backwards an arrow stuck in his windpipe. She wasn’t quiet sure how long she had been going at the familiar weight of the bow grounding her more than anything had the past fleeting days. The tension in her shoulders refused to loosen though nerves still tingling as if she was waiting for something else to attack. As something rustled behind her her body reacted on instinct whirling around in a second aiming at whoever had disturbed her.

Zero’s brow quirked for a moment, almost an imperceptible gesture as his hands slowly rose up as the tip of the arrow was now aiming for his face. “Maybe don’t,” he muttered, a small, almost bitter chuckle twisting his lips. “At least not today, I’m behind on doing the outfits for the presidential ball.” 

“I think we’re always one of the underdogs in most people’s eyes.” Auri wasn’t too proud to admit it. It’d been decades since she’d won, and people had long ago stopped expecting much from Six, but she did really believe in both Nico and Holland. “But I think they’re stronger than they seem, and I think they could really surprise people. Now, there’s just the challenge of getting sponsors to see it too.”

“I think you can do it,” Zero hummed after a moment of considering his words. “You seem like a very... responsible person. And you can talk to people, make them empathize with you. I think, hand over heart honestly, you can do it.”

It wasn’t everyday that Cosmo was given the opportunity to dress up. How could he possibly turn the stylist down for a chance to get out of his slacks and linens? “Those Capitol officials can wait. We can’t let your tributes go on stage wearing trash now, can we?”

A wide grin formed on Zero’s lips when Cosmo agreed, though it quickly made way for a near scandalized expression. “Trash? Cosmo Crimson, are you calling my outfits trash?” A twist to his brows, he nonetheless turned around and gestured for Cosmo to follow him. “I’m not going to put you in trash, but I’m very much considering it right now.”

“No, it’s never easy,” she agreed. Losing tributes was guaranteed for every team but one, and even they had to lose one of their two tributes. It didn’t matter how concrete of a fact it was, it didn’t make actually losing them any easier. “Luckily, strength doesn’t always win Games,” she pointed out. “I’ll admit that it helps, but there are a lot of Victors who’ve won for reasons other than their strength. Sponsors like to root for an underdog sometimes too.”

He hummed. “That’s true.. Do you think yours are strong? Or the underdog?” Zero didn’t want to say that Six seemed to usually be the underdog, without any wins. It would’ve been rude. If anything, he’d have liked to see Six win again. They deserved it.

“well then, surely it’s bad planning. surely your best coffee is no good if you have to search alleyways to find it ??” he simply argued back. forty had never really had a brother, was sure this wasn’t exactly it either. but god, did this awfully feel like a sibling rivalry he’d started himself, was currently losing at, and was entirely unwilling to let go of. “at least i look cool. you wear stupid gloves,” he muttered, a non-committal edge to his blunt tone of voice, as though he couldn’t be bothered to muster up a better insult.

“You don’t know that until you’ve searched up and down all the Capitol alleyways and have for sure found nothing better than your stupid little latte.” He would’ve almost felt triumphant with his words, could have had that winner expression gracing his features, had Forty not immediately gone for the, unknowingly, low blow again. “Stop talking about my gloves,” he grumbled. “That joke’s getting fucking old.”

“So far, so good, yeah,” she nodded at Zero. Her tributes had certainly turned heads during their chariot ride, but training was a much grittier experience. It wasn’t always as easy to put on a show in the Training Center. “They seem to be willing to put in the effort anyway, and that’s about all I can ask for. How’re things with Three?”

“Effort is good. Effort is important. That’s sometimes how you can tell they won’t die in the first five minutes. But... I guess that just makes it sadder when they do. Anyway -” He’d been trying to be gentle and considerate before his mouth had gotten away from him with his words. “It’s less rosy in Three, but you know, if all Districts were strong all the time, the sponsors wouldn’t know who to bet on, right?” His smile was tense, but he offered it nonetheless. 

“Zero Linux, you and I are both too busy for small talk,” Cosmo said as he stopped in his tracks. He didn’t know what kind of business a stylist would want with him, but he could spare a second for the man. “But, I have to say I’m excited to see what you’ve got designed for your tributes this time.”

The way Zero snapped his fingers sounded dull through the gloves. “Dammit, I was trying to get a hold of someone who could pre-model my designs a little.” He pushed out a sigh, hand ruffling through his hair. “You’re too busy for that, too, I assume?”