We are still missing check-ins for the following tributes:

Julius Foster (also missing check-in 1)
Aurora Xu (also missing check-in 1)
Palatino Clear (also missing check-in 1)
Rosy Ivring
Grey Hemlock
Autumn Farro
Merona Timmons (also missing check-in 1)

Please see the author's note at the end of Chapter 24 for the check-in question, and at the end of Chapter 17 for the first check-in question. Check-ins can either be submitted to either of us through PM, or on Discord.

Trigger warning: some slight deadnaming, misgendering, and transphobia in Ember's POV. Please proceed with caution.

Ember Johnson, 18
District 1 "Female"

This was not the way things were supposed to go.

Ember leaned up against the back of his seat, foot tapping against the floor. He had such a fight with his stylist to please, for Snow's sake, just let him wear some pants. He didn't hate the dress she designed for him; he thought it was absolutely gorgeous. But tonight, he needed to be taken seriously and that meant wearing a simple, yet elegant suit.

Tonight, he was finally coming out.

Ember smoothed out his dark purple jacket, folding the collar of his white shirt underneath. Rosy just watched, then fixed it for him. "Are you nervous?"
"A little," Ember admitted.

"I can see why...but you'll be great. I promise."

Ember swallowed nervously. "Right, I can do this. Thanks, Rosy."
Rosy laughed as an Avox ushered her back into line. Tallulah Jeweltonne appeared onstage, wearing the poofiest pink dress Ember had ever seen. Her teeth were blindingly white and her hair piled up on her head. She waved to the cheering audience, fully bathed in the bright spotlight.

Ember wiped his sweaty hands on his tux. This was his moment.

"Knock 'em dead," Void whispered and Ember felt his blood boil. He couldn't explain why the older man annoyed him so much. Void wasn't even supposed to be here! If everything had just gone to plan, Prince would be standing behind him and the Career pack wouldn't be a jumbled mess. Especially with Void acting like he ran the place. Who did he think he was!?

"Time for our first tribute to make the stage, the lovely Esmeralda Johnson!"

Taking a deep breath, Ember strode up onto the stage. He waved at the crowd and smiled, hoping to mask his nerves. Tallulah patted the chair next to her. "Esmeralda, dear, welcome! I'm surprised..I was told you had a lovely gown waiting for you!"

Devote had warned him about this. Tallulah was notorious for her insensitivity and crass remarks. Ember needed to regain control and fast. "Eh, I'm a slacks and suits kind of Career. What, you don't think purple suits me?"
The crowd laughed. Good. Now was the time. Ember tugged at his ponytail and took a deep breath.

"And while we're on the topic of clothes, the reason I'm wearing a suit is because of an announcement I'd like to make...I'm transgender. I'm a boy and I'd like to be addressed as Ember. Ember Johnson...the next Victor of the Hunger Games!"

There was a minute of silence. Suddenly, everyone began to clap. Out of the corner of his eyes, Ember spotted Rosy flash him the thumbs-up. His cheeks flushed. He could feel an invisible weight lift off his shoulders. He finally managed to get his secret out...and it felt so good.

"Ember, that...what a way to start off the night! How long have you known?"
"Probably since I was about thirteen and my best friend, Amber, helped educate me more about the topic. As a matter of fact, I chose my name to honour her. She was very confident and brave to be her own person, despite the ridicule I got. It's a shame she couldn't be here to see this, so I'm doing this for her."

Ember continued to talk above Tallulah for the rest of his time, right until the applause was thunderous as he finally left the stage, heart soaring. He hoped his parents were happy to finally hear who he was and that he had no more secrets to keep.

Void was up next. His dark grey tuxedo had thin black stripes running down it. He gave a charming smile as he shook Tallulah's hand, then kissed it. Ember rolled his eyes.
"Ah, you gentleman! So why are you here, Void?"

"I'm here to get the money I need to provide my lovely girlfriend and my future bundle of joy a new life. My girl, Nikia, has brought out the good in me. She's made me become a better person and everything I do, I do it for her. Really, this is the only way I can pay her back. Nikia, you're the light of my life and I love you."

The audience shrieked in joy. Ember didn't. He knew of Void's playboy reputation and his tendencies to sleep with other women. As Void came backstage, he reached out and patted Ember's leg. "How come you never told anyone, kid? You waited until the last possible second?"
"That's none of your business."

Aurora was next, in a tight grey and white dress that hugged her figure. Despite the energetic atmosphere, she kept her cool. Her answers were short and curt.
"I've been training since birth and I plan to win these Games," she said politely. It's my calling."
"And how do you plan to do that?"
"I've trained. And I know exactly what to do."

Julius skipped onto the stage next. His grey tux, black tie, and loafers made him look like a charming gentleman. He innocently cocked his head to the side as he sat down. Tallulah gushed. "Ah, what's a cute little boy doing with all the Careers?"
"I'm gonna win! Duh!"
"And what about your size?"

Julius seethed. "Don't underestimate me! I'm still deadly!"

Hera stomped up to the stage, arms crossed. She had on a shiny gold pantsuit with bronze accents. She gave no chance for Tallulah to speak, launching off into her own rant instead. "Do you have any idea how much I miss my wife? She's the only person who ever cared about me no matter what and I will not let us be torn apart!" The crowd clapped loudly, somewhat oblivious to what she was accusing them of.

The crowd was slightly relived at Palatino, who was swamped in his white tuxedo and large top hat. Tallulah asked him about his strategy, to which he jumped off the chair and threw his hat aside.

"How dare they! HOW DARE THEY! They hid this from me for 12 years! Did they not have any faith in my, their only child!? Did they not think I was strong enough!? All that time I spent tinkering away, did they not think it was useful! They've counted me out, 'for my own protection' and look where I ended up!"

Palatino didn't stay any longer. He stormed off, leaving a dazed Tallulah behind. Ember just winced; the interviews had started off strong, but everything was falling apart faster and faster.

Julius Foster, 13
District 2 Male

He was a little peeved his interview was over.

But he was still running off adrenaline and hype and they were only a quarter of the way in.

Now, this was some exciting stuff.

Julius giggled as the shitstorm of District 3 was finally over with Rosy's appearance onstage. She had on a sea green ballgown and golden jewellery. There were even gems on her face. Rosy pinned her hair up as she sat down, flashing a dazzling smile.

Tallulah patted her leg. "My, that's strangely reminiscent of the gown Chelsea Odair wore during her victory interview! Care to explain, sweetie?"
Rosy laughed nervously, hands still behind her head. "Oh please, we're just good friends! I've taught her all she knows, and she's taught me all she knows. We're down to give District 4 back-to-back victors this year!"

Alec's suit was all blue, with the various shades shaped like the waves and the tides. He seemed a bit nervous at first, stepping onstage. Good. Julius scowled; he really hoped Alec finally realized what a traitor he was to the Careers. But when Tallulah asked him about it, he had the audacity to just shrug it off.

"All I'm doing is planning my game and my strategy to win. The Careers aren't happy? Too bad!"

The final Career was up. Amperia's dark blue gown was studded with tiny blinking lights. She gave a nervous smile, before her face morphed into a calm and collected expressions as she folded her hands over her lap. Tallulah asked her about her alliance, to which she just shrugged.

"District 5 is beyond ready to become Careers. They clearly see I have potential to replace the member they lost. I feel confident enough we can do great things as a group, and our variety of talents and personalities makes us a force to be reckoned with."

Aldair quickly hurried up afterwards in a black tux; now that there were no Careers left, Julius felt a little bored. Aldair didn't smile, but propped his chin up on his fist. Tallulah asked him about his alliance and his thoughts on his district partner's allies.

Aldair just shrugged. "Why are you asking me? Ask her! I have my alliance and she has hers. Two different strategies; it's like apples and oranges!"

The audience was deadly silent when Deloris strutted onstage in the ugliest dress Julius had ever seen. It was a bright yellow and did not fit her at all. Julius snickered, getting a round of glares from the other tributes. Deloris just gave a fake grin.

Hands tucked behind her head, Deloris's sexual appeal did not work with her outfit at all. She tried laughing it off, but once her interview was done, she scowled and stomped off, slapping away the hand of an Avox trying to assist her. "Fuck off! This stupid dress!"

"It's not that funny," Aurora hissed to Julius, who just shrugged in response. To him, it kind of was.

Ezra was not wearing a suit, rather he had on a tweed jacket, a white dress shirt, and his hair in a high ponytail to keep it out of his way. His shoes were dark purple flats, but everyone could see his stripes socks underneath. It was hard to tell whether he hadn't noticed or didn't care.

Tallulah's first question was about hobbies, but she didn't get another one in before Ezra suddenly went off on a tangent about his work at home and how much he loved it. His time was nearly up before he realizing what was going on. "Whoops. I got a little carried away...I like to talk about my job...I'm really passionate about it!"

The buzzer rang.

Everyone was clapping politely. A single spotlight fell on Tallulah. "And there you have it. Okay everyone, we're gonna have a 15 minute intermission. When we come back, we'll be interviewing the other 12 tributes of the 150th Hunger Games!"

As the crowd cheered, Julius wrapped his head around everything he had heard. Ember's big reveal, Palatino and Hera's outbursts, Alec's complete lack of respect for the Careers, Ezra's nonstop rambling. Admittedly, he was a little peeved nobody was paying him attention anymore, but these interviews were pretty dang exciting. Way better than he anticipated!

Julius hoped the next half was just as good.

Ember and Rosy were whispering in the corner, while Aurora and Void had already headed upstairs to change. The District 3 pair left shortly afterwards, with Alec awkwardly sitting at the other side of the room alone. Aldair and Ezra were right next to each other while Amperia eventually moved over to join her remaining allies.

The 15 minutes were up and the second half of interviews was just about to begin.

First time writing interviews in this format and I hope I did a good job. What did you think of the first half? What do you think will happen in the second?

Also, big big announcement! Mars and I have started a side project to PC called "We Don't Need Another Hero", a collection of oneshots detailing the Victors from this verse. The first few chapters are already up and it can be found on Mars's profile. We'd really appreciate it if you checked it out...perhaps leaving a review too?

More story talk going on over at my Discord server! PM me for a link!

That's all I have to say! See you in the next chapter!

-Vr