Iolani Lavonne, 23, Capitol

To say Iolani was excited would be an understatement. Click click went two pairs of heels as she and Melisende left the studio together for their lunch break, beaming widely as she pushed a button on the elevator for the top floor cafe.

"You're a natural, Io," the older woman smiled as they entered the glass box and began to ascend. "Dorian prepared you well."

"He sure did!" Iolani burst, brimming with anticipation. The Reapings would be tomorrow, and with them the first batch of twenty-four teenagers she would interview as Host. She hoped Dorian, her mentor and the last Host, would be proud of her. He'd put an awful lot of faith in the girl who'd knocked homeless on his apartment door asking to become his intern.

The elevator rose rapidly, and as the doors opened the refined Announcer, with her steely blue curls and striking burgundy eyes led the way out, Iolani catching up with a huff. Even with heels on, she was almost a foot shorter than the towering Melisende Omnius. They settled down at a table on the balcony overlooking the City Circle, an Avox waiter bringing them coffee and cake. The skies were clear and the sunshine was warm on the skin of the two women. Below them, the road towards the President's mansion was being prepared by dozens of workers for the Parade tomorrow evening, fully visible from their vantage point.

Melisende ignored the Avox as he set down two cups and a slice each of her and Io's favourites- coffee and walnut for Melisende and vanilla with summer fruits for Io- and she sighed relaxedly.

"The TV appearances and press interviews are already exhausting, don't you agree?" She muttered.

Iolani sipped her Americano and opened her journal, skimming her notes, before answering, "I like the attention."

The Announcer groaned. "When you do this job for upwards of ten years, you'll learn."

"I don't think I'll ever get sick of meeting old Victors," Iolani said cheerfully, thinking towards the last of the mentor interviews they'd be conducting after this break. "Or new ones, for that matter!"

Melisende smiled as she put a forkful of cake in her mouth. "Meeting all of the wonderful Victors is something to revel in for sure. And without Dorian holding you back, you can really shine and be yourself. I can only hope we get a good batch this year, and that Astraea has concocted something special for the Arena."

Oh, yeah, Astraea. Flipping through her schedule to remind herself of what she was going to have to do for the rest of the day, Io remembered the most important person on the Games team. This was their fifth year of being Head Gamemaker, and under their watch, they had led the construction of multiple unique Arenas; their history of being the Head of Technology before their promotion certainly had something to do with that. She picked up her cup and took a sip. The few times a year Iolani had met them they'd had this air of threatening calculation, disguised with soft smiles and a dainty disposition. Their strong friendship with the menacing President Karnak certainly didn't help in making Iolani feel safer around them.

"I'm sure they'll pull something unusual out of the bag," Io muttered as she set down her coffee. She began on her slice of cake, looking up from her notebook to stare at Melisende's face. "And even if the Tributes aren't too great this year, I'll be able to dig into them enough to make them interesting." She said with a smirk. She had to be confident; the time where Iolani Lavonne was a scared child desperate for approval had to end, to be replaced with years as the eager and wholehearted interviewer.

Melisende's face scrunched upwards in a wide smile. "That's the spirit. Now, try to hurry up. We have to be back in the studio by one."

Iolani glanced at her watch- 12:50 pm. Her breaks were so short. Melisende finished off her coffee as Io scoffed down the rest of her cake, taking care not to smudge off too much of her magenta lipstick, before they left the balcony and went back inside. They crossed the cafe without a glance to anyone else there, though it was relatively packed with stylists, technicians, and members of the press.

"I'm not sure which mentors you're interviewing today, care to remind me?" Melisende mumbled offhandedly as they reached the elevator and hoped nobody would be occupying it.

Iolani snapped out of the relative daze she'd found herself in. "Oh, yes! I'm pretty sure it's Pierre, Yvonne, and Gilbert." She hadn't needed to consult her journal, as these were the last three to be interviewed out of the twenty-four. Gilbert was one of two mentors that had won their Games during Iolani's internship, and one of her personal favorite Victors- a boy from Twelve that won out of sheer endurance. Pierre was a middle-aged Career victor from District Four, and Yvonne was from Seven and won five years before him. She was excited to meet Yvonne for the first time- she was a rather reserved woman who'd only restarted mentoring recently after having children- but her work elevating Seven to Career status in the last few years was a feat to behold.

The sliding doors opened, and whilst they were accompanied by a tired-looking technician, they reached their studio without any trouble. Their makeup and hair were quickly fixed up by the gaggle of stylists waiting for them as they exited the elevator, ever fussy about Io's fuchsia waves and the highlighter on her dark skin, before they were allowed back on set to present to the public at one on the dot. For mentor interviews, Melisende had to sit back and observe, but she was present for the precursory discussion.

At one thirty the mentors arrived, sitting down on the couch opposite Iolani. Pierre Morogh was up first, and whilst Iolani questioned him on how his year had been, he gave the typical charming answers- wonderful, he was so proud of his District for their volunteers this year.

"So, I hear your teenage daughter has expressed a desire to volunteer when she turns eighteen," Iolani pried. "What are your views on that?"

Pierre coughed awkwardly. "I'll support her in any decision she makes, but I've advised against it." Iolani let out an interested 'ooh'. "I'd rather she use her academy training to coach future tributes than risk death when she already lives in the Victor's Village. I don't want her to potentially waste her life."

"I'm sure you have her best interests at heart, but aren't you worried you'll be branded as overprotective?"

Pierre sighed, the perplexed look on his face showing he knew he had dug himself into a hole, and he'd have to think carefully about what he was going to say next. "Maybe so. But the life of my child is more important than my public image."

Soon, Yvonne Huxley was being interviewed.

"I'm proud to say we've had our first proper academy set up in Seven this past year." She beamed. "Expect two wonderful volunteers from us."

"I'm very glad to hear! President Karnak's relaxation of the laws against training tributes has been greatly beneficial to the Districts, as we'll be bound to witness."

"The President has given me a lot of hope- I care deeply for my District, and want nothing but for our children to succeed in the Games. Maybe we can stand a chance against the traditional Career Districts this year." She said, her face lighting up.

Lastly, Gilbert Paleo. He smiled genuinely as Iolani declared his name to the cameras. "It's lovely to see you again this year, Gilbert!"

"It's nice to see you too," He said, his inflection confident. She had met him before, during her internship, and the boy's self-assured disposition hadn't changed since his interview with Dorian five years ago. "I can't believe this is already my fourth year mentoring."

"It's impressive for someone so young," she replied, almost as if he weren't the same age as her. "You've been doing a lot of work in Twelve, haven't you?"

"Right, I have!" He exclaimed exuberantly, clapping his hands together. One of them was visibly mechanical- a result of him losing his arm from the elbow down during the last fight of his Game. "I've been working with the higher-ups in the District to bring the Seam out of poverty. There's still a lot of work to do and it's been incredibly difficult, but I think by the next Quell we'll be close. I've put a lot of my Victor earnings into this, and I'm going to try my best to help another kid win for the betterment of our District."

Iolani wiped a tear from her eye, only half-faked. "That's so noble, Gilbert. The President would be proud of your work." And he would- many of Karnak's acts as President were to improve the state of the Districts after a long period of disruption and violence.

"I'm glad you think so." He said, looking only slightly uncomfortable. The kid was clearly trying his best, but talking about the President in such a positive light would be saved only for TV. Anyone who'd actually met him would attest to how he was only interested in helping the Districts for his own selfish gains. He was just good at hiding it as being benevolent.

After some more small talk with the three mentors, the cameras focused in on Iolani and Melisende. "So, that's it for the mentor interviews! You'll be seeing a lot more of them in the coming weeks, so stay tuned! Melisende and I will be back after the break to provide more pre-Reaping intel, as well as speculate on outfits for tomorrow's Parade!"

The cameraman gave them a thumbs up. That's a wrap. Io thought. She gratefully thanked the mentors, shook Gilbert's non-robotic hand, and allowed them to be escorted off by their personal Capitol teams. They'd have to go back to their Districts now, prepare for their reapings. She was sure under his facade, Gilbert was worried that his efforts would be for null. Pierre might not be able to keep his child from becoming a Tribute. Yvonne's hopes for her newly Career-status District might be shattered.

Iolani hoped things would work out, but in the end, it was now her job to detach herself from people with hopes, dreams, and fears. Someone on set handed her a glass of water, and she drank gratefully. She did love the cameras, lights, and personalities- but she had a nagging doubt in the back of her mind that told her that she wasn't prepared for the first year on the job.


Yo, I'm Henry and welcome to my first SYOT! Some of you might already know me, some may not. Either way, I hope you enjoyed this prologue. I haven't seen much emphasis on the Hunger Games Hosts or Announcers in many of the SYOTs I've read, so that's where this came from!

As it's a Google Form, I'll have to link the Tribute form on my profile. I'm also accepting escorts, but if I don't get twelve that's fine, I'll add some of my own characters. Same with tributes, the form is on my profile.

Like other SYOTs, I'm going to be using a sponsorship system with chapter questions for extra points. The full list of what actions will get you what number of points will be on my profile eventually.

If I get both One Tributes pretty quickly, I'll be doing their intros next, but if not, there'll be another prologue from the POV of Astraea, the Head Gamemaker. If you'd be interested in that, let me know in a review! (if you're confused about pronoun use when I mentioned them, they're agender, so refer to them with gender-neutral pronouns!)

Ok, so, I think I know how to do this. CQ#1: What do you think of Io? Do you think she'll be a good Host?

Again, thank you so much for making it this far, I hope it wasn't too long. If you're considering submitting, I'm excited to see your Tributes! If not, I hope you'll enjoy the ride.