Francisco Specular adjusts his golden top hat as he waits to be called onstage. He takes a good look at the mirror in the room. He wears a golden tuxedo, with a translucent blue diamond-esque vest over it. His slacks are also in the golden color. His leather shoes are also in gold. His hair, mostly covered under his top hat, is gold. He wears contacts purely in gold. Even his skin is in gold! The only thing that isn't gold is the black polo that's under his tuxedo, as well as the blue vest that doesn't really match his overall outfit, but he doesn't know that, nor does his wife, who told him to wear it before coming to District One.
This is Frank's first time to actually escort District One. Last year, he was assigned to be the substitute escort for District One, but he never really escorted the tributes from District One to the Capitol. He was basically assigned the spot after the supposed District One escort's emergency.
When Frank was called onstage by the mayor, he didn't really have much to say.
"Let's get to the video first shall we?" Frank starts.
The video plays and talks about the history of Panem, and how the Hunger Games came to be, and how the Mockingjay Rebellion started and ended, with the Hunger Games mostly being a form of entertainment today.
"Good morning, District One!" Frank greets. "Thank you for welcoming me today as your official escort for the 141st Hunger Games. I used to escort District Six for a while, but here I am, covered in gold for the district of gold."
The crowd cheers. Frank isn't used to this, but he feels more excitement escorting for a higher district.
"I heard from your victors that there are already volunteers assigned for this year," continues Frank. "So instead of having to pick names from those balls filled with many many slips of paper, why don't we just cut to the chase?"
The crowd cheers even louder in excitement.
"Therefore, if you are the chosen volunteer, please come up to the stage immediately!" Frank welcomes.
With that, a boy comes from the group of seventeen-year-olds, and a girl comes from the group of eighteen-year-olds.
The boy is relatively tall at 6'1". He has hazel eyes with close-cropped blonde-white hair. His skin is in the color of honey, not that it obviously shows his Mediterranean ancestry. Some would say he looks almost elven with his high cheekbones and sunken cheeks. He wears a charming red sweater over a golden shirt and a red-and-white-striped tie. He also wears black dress pants and dress shoes to go with them. His face is serious but confident.
The ecto-mesomorphic girl is 5'7" in height. She has darker skin than most of the citizens in District One. Her eyes match the jet black color of her hair. Her head is closely shaven on the bottom from ear to ear in an undercut, and the rest of her hair lies atop her head in a plethora of tight black braids that she often knots or ties back, which reaches mid-shoulder. She remains focused on the situation at hand and keeps her chin up confidently. She wears a deep red long-sleeved blouse with the slightest plunge in the chest, the color resembling the soft and glowy sheen of a million small rubies. Accompanying her blouse is a velvety white high-waisted skirt. She wears clear stockings that glisten with the reflective fabric woven into them, and her footwear consists of matching heels. Her makeup is natural and minimalistic. She smiles as she mounts the stage, professional and glad as ever.
"Please welcome our tributes for the 141st Hunger Games!" Frank announces.
The crowd cheers in a lively manner.
"Let's start with the lady. What is your name, miss?"
"The name is Ryoko Ishida." She remains confident as she wears her professional smile graciously.
"And is there anything you would want to say to your district?"
"I will make District One proud and come home as the victor our district has long been starving for."
The crowd cheers wildly for her. For a district in which training for the Hunger Games is a regular occurrence, District One has not brought home a victor since the 124th Hunger Games. The more advanced gameplay in recent years compared to the Hunger Games prior to the fourth quell have put tributes who aren't well-equipped for the Hunger Games an equal advantage, and for District One, it has been a while since they have brought home a victor.
"How about you young lad, what is your name?"
The boy holds a sheet of paper with his name, Golden Varia, written with a thick black pentel pen.
"Any words for your district?"
Golden moves his hands to say something. He opens his mouth subconsciously at one point, which leads to Frank thinking he didn't hear what Golden said.
"I'm sorry?"
Golden signs. He may be built differently, but he's not gonna let his muteness stop him. In fact, he has accepted this position to show his family that he is worthy to them, or worth more to them.
"Ah, well, I see. Please give both of our volunteers a warm round of applause!" Frank says.
The crowd claps and cheers aloud to support the District One volunteers this year.
Frank tells the two tributes to shake hands.
Golden has his right hand ready, as he waits for Ryoko to take hers out from behind her back. When she does, Frank's eyes widen in surprise, having missed the detail that Ryoko is wearing a bionic prosthetic hand where her right hand is supposed to be. Golden doesn't seem as shocked, but his eyes speak in a way that he's not used to shaking a prosthetic hand, feeling somewhat foreign by the action.
Leif Ray Khan jumps out to the cheering crowd of District Two as he was called in after the mayor gave his speech. He wears his usual leprechaun outfit from head to toe, except he is in different shades of purple this year, with his supposedly neon green top hat being purple this year. His orange wig last year has been replaced with a turquoise one this year. His skin is tinted in the shade of blue and green. His eyes are still wearing contact lenses in the color of shamrock green, and he still carries a golden staff around with him.
"Thank you District Two for the very warm and wonderful welcome," Leif says. "Don't worry, I am still your same old charismatic gay leprechaun. I am just in purple this year! I hope you all like my new outfit."
The crowd continues to cheer for him.
"Before we meet our tributes for this year, can we please roll the video? Thank you." Leif backs off a bit as he waits for the video to finish playing. The older citizens have already gotten sick of this, but for formality's sake, the escorts are required to have the video played. Last year, he accidentally left the file and had people of reaping age role play scenes from previous Hunger Games. This year, however, with the change in presidency, there has been more order than there has been last year. When it's done, Leif hops back to the microphone.
"As is tradition, I shall draw two slips." Leif skips to the left side of the stage. "One here." He then skips to the opposite side of the stage. "And another here." He skips back to the center. "But before I reveal the names, I know the lovely District Two has teenage citizens who are ready to step up for the Hunger Games, so… do we have any volunteers?"
"I volunteer!" said a man and a woman in unison. Both volunteers come from the eighteen-year-old sections of each gender.
The man is standing over six feet tall with a muscular and athletic build. He has dirty blonde hair and pale skin. His hair hangs just above his shoulders. His icy blue eyes remain cold as he makes his way to the stage. He wears a black leather jacket, over a plain white shirt, along with ripped black jeans.
On the other hand, the woman has dark brown skin, dark brown eyes, and straight silky dark brown hair that falls a little past her shoulders. She stands tall at 5'8" and wears a dark red dress with black wedges. Her hair has been styled nicely, given the occasion that she is volunteering for the Hunger Games today.
As the two tributes reach the stage on two opposite ends, Leif skips around happily and excitedly. "Let's start with you, young man. What is your name?"
"I am Thorfinn Threndell," he responds in a stoic manner.
"And is there anything you would like to say?" Leif smiles professionally.
"I volunteered to attain glory, and to see if the tributes from outer districts yield worthy opponents."
"Ooh! You're catching my interest with your confidence, handsome man!" Leif turns around one-eighty and maintains his smile. "How about you young lady, can you please tell us your name?"
"My name is Lavinia Lavictus," she said, followed by a confident smile.
"Ooh!" Leif reacts with a grin. He wants to comment on the alliterative names of both volunteers, but he remains professional about it. "And would you like to add anything else?"
"Aside from being the chosen volunteer, I also want to live up to my parents' expectations." She smiles with that statement, but she doesn't explicitly say that she wants to show them that she has control over her life by winning the Hunger Games.
"Please give our handsome Thorfinn and our beautiful Lavinia a round of applause!" Leif announces.
The crowd claps and cheers at the chosen volunteers.
Leif holds one hand from each tribute and lifts them up in glory. He loves the energy here in District Two, and he's glad to be welcomed back.
Amelia Loreal is new to this. She feels insecure but optimistic for her first reapings. She wears contact lenses in a deep blue today, having a spectrum of colors for contact lenses at home. Her hair is dyed deep blue today. Her hair regularly changes color because she can afford it, but for today, it's in deep blue, just like her contact lenses. She has tanned skin, but beneath it, one can tell that she is built to be flexible and athletic. In fact, her gymnastic clothes matching her tall stature presents her athleticism very well. It makes her stand out. Once her name is called, she thinks to herself, I'm gonna do my best out there!
As she walks out from the building, she almost trips ungraciously on her way to the microphone. "Hehe, sorry about that," says the demigirl. "Good morning, District Three!" Amelia waits for an applause but is greeted with none. Oof, that's okay. "Oh sorry. I wasn't waiting for a round of applause. I swear!" Amelia chuckles as she tries to stand out and be funny, but it's disappointing to her that no one is laughing at her joke. Hehe, that's okay. Amelia likes this attention and validation from the crowd. The only problem is that it's awkward here.
Nevertheless, she tries her best! "Okay techie techsters, let's show you our usual video about the Hunger Games first. It's fresh from the Capitol. Roll it please!"
The video briefly explained what started the Hunger Games and how it evolved along the way. When it's done, Amelia jumps towards the mic, knocking it off unintentionally in the process. It makes a screeching sound, and someone had to help her with the mic.
When the mic gets back to Amelia's hands, the first thing she does is tap it aloud. "Oopsie. Sorry for that. I must be even more careful next time, ehehe… Let's pick your representatives now, District Three!"
Because of the way the slips are colored in the two transparent bowls, with pastel pink slips for the girls and pastel blue ones for the boys, the district can see that she is picking the boy's slip first, without her realizing it, not that it matters so much by the 141st year.
"Keith Kabelek," Amelia reads. She can see a boy from the fifteen-year-old section moving towards the stage expressionlessly. Before he reaches the stairs though, he hears two magical words that save his life.
"I VOLUNTEER!"
"Oh! Oh! Oh! A volunteer!" Amelia jumps up and down excitedly. She was truly hoping for one even though she wasn't expecting one.
The volunteer leaves the fourteen-year-old section full of energy. The boy with dark brown eyes and a skin tone slightly darker than olive has a smile that shows both nervousness and excitement as he makes his way to the stage. His curly hair is something he leaves messy for people to notice and comment on, yet nobody has ever mentioned it to him. He wears a black shirt, blue pants, brown boots, and a yellow sweater.
"My first volunteer! Hi!" Amelia greets. "Can you tell us your name, kid?"
"My name is Vinillo Garion!" he says quickly and nervously.
"Can you tell us why you volunteered?" Amelia is too excited she's visibly vibrating onstage.
"Uhhh… my crush said that if I volunteered, we'll be together!"
Amelia reacts, "Cool!"
"Electric, this is for you!" Vinillo waves to where his crush is.
The kid in the crowd hates having all the attention on them. In fact, they already have a boyfriend. They're glad the freak fell for their trick.
"Electric must be so supportive of you!" Amelia says. "But let us now move on to the girls."
Amelia picks a slip and realizes it's blue. "Oopsie! Sorry." She goes to the other side of the stage, carefully watching her step so she doesn't trip, but instead she knocks over the bowl full of pink slips. The glass shatters onstage, and Amelia jumps in surprise. "I'm so sorry!" She bends down and picks a random pink slip. She then gets up and reads the name from the slip.
"Charlotte Wiresworth!"
A small twelve-year-old girl with short brown hair is crying her blue eyes out as she makes her way to the stage. Her skin is pale, and freckles dot her skin visibly. She's trembling in fear knowing that she'll be sent to fight to the death.
"Any volunteers?" Amelia asks. She looks around the crowd expecting none but hoping for another. She waits for a few more seconds for extra measure, and so came the words she's been hoping for.
"I volunteer!"
"Again!?" Amelia places her hands on her face for a dramatic reaction. "Am I dreaming? Or am I in a career district? I'm LOVING THIS!"
The seventeen-year-old volunteer is tall for her age at 5'9". It's easy to tell that she's well off based on her healthy looks. She has dark blue eyes, fair skin, and a brown pixie cut. She walks calmly to the stage, not showing fear nor excitement. She's wearing a forest green knee-length sleeveless dress along with a loose skirt, cinched at the waist with a brown leather belt. She has black flats for her footwear, and her sleeveless dress shows her toned limbs and slightly visible muscles.
"My second volunteer! Hello!" Amelia greets. "Can you tell us your name, dear?"
With a professional smile, she responds with, "My name is Logan Hannah Weaver."
"Can you share with us your reason for volunteering?"
"I wanted to save the life of the girl who was originally chosen," replies Logan in a serious tone.
"How heroic!" Amelia reacts. "You remind me of that girl from Eight last year don't you?"
Logan remembers Lainey Sash from last year, yet she does not react to Amelia's comment.
Amelia announces, "District Three, a round of applause for our trib-" She cuts herself to use a better word she just thought of, then continues, "For our very courageous volunteers!"
The crowd shows their support, albeit unenthusiastically. Logan and Vinillo shake hands. While Logan's face is unreadable for not showing any color of emotion, Vinillo's face is unreadable for the overflow of emotion, having something in between a smile and a grimace, feelings of fear and of joy.
"What do you mean I need to be in blue!?" Viktorio Antonio Mario Polyhaima reacts violently.
Tommy sighs. "It's a District Four tradition for the person escorting District Four to be in blue."
The victors look at his outfit, and so does Vamp. His nickname not only references his theme and obsession for vampires, but it's also the initials of his full name. He has a white long-sleeved polo, with a red vest over it, and then a cape over all of it, with the outside of it in black and the inside of it in red. He wears black slacks and black leather shoes for his bottom. His body has nothing blue either. His eyes are eerily red. His skin is pale white. His lips are blood red. His fake vampire teeth are dirty white. His scepter is dark red.
"Why!?" Vamp questions aggressively. "Have you ever seen a blue vampire?"
"Yes," Delta responds. "I've seen a blue steampunk vampire in magazine covers."
Vamp facepalms. "Then what if I'm not wearing blue? I don't get it!"
Jawes mutters something. Kiwi walks around the room.
"Pardon?"
"Forgive me, Vamp," Kiwi whispers to his ear. "I expected you to be stubborn."
"Well, so what if I am!?"
The floor opens to reveal a tub of blue dye, before Kiwi and Jawes push Vamp into it.
"AAAAAAAGH!"
After some splashes and laughter from the present District Four victors, Vamp gets up angrily.
"YOU CAN'T JUST DO THAT!" Vamp leaves the tub of blue dye. "I'm mad now, and WET TOO!" He shakes off the blue water from his clothes.
"You're blue now," Man tells Vamp.
"NOOOOOOOOOO!" His once white polo is now blue. His vest and the inside of his cape have turned purple. His lips have also turned purple, and his fake teeth are now tinted in red. The most drastic change to his appearance is his deep blue skin though.
"Now we just gotta give you some gears so you can look like Bluetooth the blue steampunk vampire," jokes Tommy.
"What the actual fuck have you done to me!?" Vamp takes one last look in the mirror, before the victors leave the building to go to their seats near the stage. It doesn't take long for his name to be called by the mayor, as it is time for him to pick two tributes for the 141st Hunger Games. Ugh, GREAT! Vamp thinks as he thinks he looks like a fool in blue.
As he appears onstage, he has most of him still covered by his cape. When he flips it, he makes an evil laugh. "Hello and good morning District Four!"
The crowd cheers for him. He's not used to it, then he remembers that he's in a district that always provides volunteers from a certain year onward.
"Thank you. Thank you. I came here with a damn damp welcome from your victors, but it's nice to see that you are a warm crowd unlike your victors."
With the lack of context, most of the people there can only wonder what Vamp meant with what he said.
"Let's show the video from the Capitol about the Hunger Games shall we?" Vamp moves to the side and watches the video play, waits for it to finish, before picking up the mic to pick the two tributes for District Four. "Let's start by picking a girl's name. Mwahahahaha!" He dramatically whips his scepter around as he walks to the girl's bowl.
He picks a slip and reads the name in it aloud.
"Halsea Reeford. Mwahahahaha!"
The sixteen-year-old walks to the stage knowing somebody will volunteer for her, so she makes her way to the stage calmly.
"Do we have any volunteers for Miss Reeford?"
"Yes, I volunteer!" An eighteen-year-old raises her hand.
"Yes! Mwahahahaha! Come right up!"
The volunteer with beautiful caramel skin and deep brown eyes is standing in the front of the eighteen-year-old section. It seems like she was strategically there for volunteering convenience. She is 5'11" and very attractive for District Four standards. Upon closer inspection, one may notice that her eyes are littered with flecks of gold and light brown. She wears a midnight blue bodycon minidress with an off-the-shoulder neckline. She also wears silver stilettos bedazzled with many rhinestones, a diamond choker, and a pair of diamond drop earrings. The most eye-catching feature of her appearance has to be her long luscious cotton candy pink hair, which is styled in a braided updo with a white ribbon tied into the braid.
"Young lady, what is your name?" Vamp makes an intimidating smile after asking the question.
"I am Adella Merian." She then smiles like how she would when presenting herself in a beauty pageant, gracefully and confidently.
Vamp interviews, "What is it that brings you up here? Is it fame? Money? Honor? What is it?"
"It's not fame. It's not money. It's not honor. It's not even the desire to kill. I view the title of Hunger Games Victor as the highest and most difficult to obtain title in Panem, and to claim it for myself would be an achievement like no other. I want to prove to myself and to the world that I am capable to do what it takes to earn the biggest achievement in all of Panem, and I believe I will be content in life when I earn it, because there is no achievement more prestigious than the title of Hunger Games Victor."
Her answer gets the crowd roaring and applauding for her. Even Vamp tucks his scepter to his armpit to give her a quick applause, to his surprised satisfaction.
"Well said, young lady!" Vamp says. "We are excited to see your journey start here, but we must pick you a district partner first, so shall we?" Vamp moves to the other side of the stage to pick a slip for the male tribute.
"Markermeer Santorini. Mwahahahaha!"
An eighteen-year-old is shocked to find out that he's been selected for the Hunger Games. He's prepared, but he knows someone who's more willing to go will take his spot. He's not as enthusiastic about being a Hunger Games tribute as the typical academy trainee.
"Now, do we have any volunteers for Mister Santorini?"
A boy from the eighteen-year-old section raises his hand. "Me. I volunteer as tribute!"
"Mwahaha! Lovely! Come on up!" Vamp escorted for District Eight in previous years since the quell, and for him to try out a career district has been interesting. He's grateful for Ezairlayne for allowing him to switch places with her.
Standing tall at 6'2", the male volunteer is a young man with golden brown eyes, long and thick eyelashes elegantly beneath his strong brow-line, a square face with a prominent jaw, a slightly crooked nose that's hardly noticeable, and black hair that's buzzed short. The guy has the body of an ideal swimmer, with long arms, broad shoulders, and powerful legs. He's tanned, which is not uncommon for a District Four citizen. What makes him stand out is his two thick black bands tattooed around his right bicep and two similar bands around his left forearm. He also has a thin black line that spans between his collarbones to the center of his bottom lip. He wears a white button-down shirt with little golden fishing hooks on it, a pair of khaki cargo shorts, a nice pair of white loafers, and a white and brown puka shell necklace.
"What a fine young man! What's your blood type?" Vamp winks with his menacing smile.
"Uhhh… A-negative."
"A negative!?" Vamp raises an eyebrow.
"Please try to B-positive for me."
"UGH! NOOOOO!"
It gets some people in the crowd to laugh. Vamp is ashamed of the pickup line he started after the response that he got. He clutches his head dramatically before going on with the show.
"So young man, please tell us your name," Vamp starts.
"Solomon Bismarck, sir, but please call me Sully."
"Ah Sully, can you share to us your motives? Why did you volunteer for Mister Santorini?"
Sully knows he shouldn't speak of the details of his motives. He's picking his words wisely before responding with, "Money and security."
"What an interesting answer, Sully!"
Sully sighs in relief when Vamp turns around to face the audience. By volunteering for the Hunger Games, he hopes to free himself and his family from what his curiosity led him into a couple years back.
"Mwahahahahahahahaha!" Vamp lifts his scepter. "Let us please give a round of applause to Mister Bismarck and Miss Merian!"
As the lively crowd applauds both volunteers, Vamp made Adella and Sully shake hands. They make eye contact for as long as the handshake lasts, trying to read one another in different ways. It's not easy though when both of them wear confident smiles to mask whatever is behind their respective façades.
"Please welcome… Meme S. Cort!" the mayor calls.
The lady with dyed orange skin and a hat that says "Make Panem Great Again" sashays to the mic on the stage. She has short blonde hair, blue eyes, and a pair of unnaturally big breasts. People have told her that her face is ugly, and that it resembles someone from the past, but she doesn't care. She's still slender enough to like herself. She also wears a plain black suit.
"Hello District Five," she greets monotonously with a stuffy voice. "I don't know if you remember me, but I am Meme S. Cort. I ran for president in the most recent elections, but I only received sixty-nine votes."
"I also enjoy seducing victors when I meet them." Meme looks to the side. A frightened Filly and a surprised Maggie both look away from Meme. The district has two more victors, but one of them now resides in the Capitol, and the other is fashionably late just like she is every year.
Maggie is the victor from the 127th, and she has olive skin, wears round eyeglasses over her yellow contacts, and wraps a tie-dyed rainbow bandana over her long and frizzy blonde hair. Filly is the most recent Hunger Games victor. The fifteen-year-old is short and skinny with neat reddish copper hair and round brown eyes. His face is round and dotted with freckles. He remembers being part of the crowd last year, and he's relieved to not be there this time.
"Okay okay, let's get to our video first." The video plays, and from time to time, Meme would make bigoted comments about certain scenes from the video.
"By the way, if you're all wondering, the S in my middle name stands for Sassy." Meme then walks towards a bowl. "Let's pick a boy first." Meme has seen her predecessor Vi picking slips. She would pick a handful, then let them fly until one remains. Meme will do her one better.
Meme picks a slip from the boys' bowl, then she intentionally knocks over the whole bowl, shattering it as it crashes to the hard ground and not on the stage. Avoxes will clean up her mess for her. She knows it.
"Flintaris Bohm," Meme reads stuffily.
On the eighteen-year-old section is a guy standing at 5'10" with an average build, neither skinny nor buff. Why me!? is what he thinks to match his shocked expression. The boy with heavily tanned skin and amber eyes was so close to escaping the Hunger Games, as it is his last year to be eligible. In a few days, he would be turning nineteen. He grimaces as he walks to the stage. He wears a white T-shirt, a plain black baseball-style cap, knee-ripped blue jeans, and black sneakers over his black socks. His outfit shows his slightly visible muscles on his arms, but it doesn't show those on his legs. He chose to wear this outfit thinking he could celebrate with his friends since this is their last reapings. Alas, the odds were not in his favor. Flint's long light brown, almost dirty blonde, hair is supposed to reach the middle of his neck, but he has it tied in a man bun, while also hidden under his baseball cap. When Flint makes it to the stage, he puts on an unreadable expression.
"Anybody wanna volunteer for this handsome young white man?" Meme asks.
Nobody reacts, and it makes Flint's anxious heart sink into a pit of hopelessness, but he keeps his expression still.
"Haha," Meme says menacingly. "You're gonna make District Five great, unless you die." Meme moves to the other side of the stage. She picks a slip on that bowl, but this time, she throws the bowl to the crowd. It hits a peacekeeper, who knocks the bowl sideways before smashing into pieces on the ground.
Meme reads monotonously, "Lilit Grimsborne."
A small and thin girl with ice-white skin smirks from the eighteen-year-old section. Her eyes are big and bright blue, and her hair is dark in color, nearly-black. Some people may find her face in an odd shape, having a tapered chin and a large forehead. She struts to the stage proudly and stiffly, wearing a dark gray dress, black leggings, black jacket, and black combat boots. Her makeup is dark and smoky. She continues to wear her smirk, knowing she's in control. She knows she looks intimidating right now, but she likes to flaunt her body enough to look sexy and appealing at the same time.
When she reaches the stage, she says, "It's Lee-lit."
"Shut up," responds Meme stuffily with two "OK" hand expressions. "I don't give a fuck." Meme clears her throat. "Do we have any volunteers for this pronunciation-obsessed bitch?"
Nobody volunteers again, which makes Meme say, "That's disappointing, but also, fuck everyone! These are your tributes for the Hunger Games, District Five."
Meme doesn't tell them to shake hands. Flint, however, offers a hand to Lilit. They shake hands and try to read each other's stern faces.
Lilit notices a little stubble on his chin, as well as a straight pink line running from his lip to his right nostril.
Flint was born with a unilateral cleft lip, but he did not have a cleft palate. Regardless, his family had enough money to afford surgery, so all that's left is the pink scar.
Flint can tell Lilit is hiding something, and Lilit thinks the same of Flint.
As Arthas Musical waits for his call inside the building, he takes another look at the mirror, adjusting his gray collared button-up along with the white scarf wrapping around his collar. Belts are wrapped in various areas of his outfit. There's one on his waist, and there are connecting belts to the one on his chest. There are also two belts each on his upper thighs, over the surface of his light gray slacks. There are connecting belts from there going down to his knees, but they are covered by his knee-length brown boots. Between the waist area of his slacks and the belt on his waist is a pair of brown leg garters, which is longer on the sides and shorter on the front and back.
The thin man standing at 5'10.5" can't wait for his first year to escort District Six, or for the Hunger Games for that matter! He has short black hair, bright blue eyes, and a pointed nose. A notable feature about his face is the large birthmark on his left cheek. Being on testosterone is a great feeling for him. He's gonna muster any confidence and optimism he can throughout this ceremony. He knows it!
Before he forgets, he wears his thick potato brown coat over his gray button-up. The sleeves may be long enough to reach his wrists, but the height of the coat doesn't reach the stomach. He leaves his coat unbuttoned, takes one last look at the mirror, then peeks to see if he's about to be called in by the mayor.
"May I please welcome…"
Arthas jumps out of his lounge before his name gets called. He literally can't wait, and he knows it.
"Arthas Musical," the mayor finishes.
"Hello everyone!" greets Arthas enthusiastically. "I'm very excited to be the new escort for District Six. What happened to your previous escort, and who was it?"
"Mayonnaise Puddington," Royce, Victor of the 131st Hunger Games, whispers aloud from his victor's seat.
"Oh? May the midget?"
"You betcha!" Royce replies.
"Well, before we pick your representatives," Arthas says. "Let us show you what the Hunger Games is all about and how it came to be. Roll the video, please!"
As the video plays and talks about the history of the Hunger Games, Arthas adds some commentary to it.
"That was from the 85th Games, where a District Six tribute won!"
Violet Aureon may have mentored last year, but she is absent for this year's ceremony, as another District Six victor is relieving her of her mentoring duties.
A clip shows a tribute crawling inside a dimly lit laboratory. "That was from the 99th!"
The video then shows tributes being strapped into an astronaut's outfit before being launched into the arena of the Fourth Quarter Quell.
"That was from the 100th Games! It's still too bad what happened to it."
When the video ends, Arthas proceeds to the girl's bowl.
"Let's pick the girls first; ladies first as they say." Arthas carefully plucks out a slip from the bowl. He opens the slip and reveals the name to everyone.
"Kara Automata!"
The brunette girl from the sixteen-year-old section is shocked. Her bright blue eyes scream disbelief. Her pale skin grew even paler when she heard her name. She walks to the stage in disbelief.
"How are you?" Arthas asks nicely as Kara makes it to the stage.
She closes her eyes for a second, then shakes her head, still in disbelief.
"Well, you want to be hopeful, because sometimes, you can win by luck." Arthas puts a hand on Kara's shoulder. "Sometimes, you also want to hear the voice of a volunteer, so without further ado, do we have any volunteers for Miss Kara Automata?"
They both look out on the crowd. Arthas maintains his smile of excitement. He remains optimistic for Kara, and behold, there is someone from the girl's section who raises her hand, albeit unenthusiastically.
"Is that a volunteer I see? Please come on up!" Arthas welcomes expressively.
The tall light-skinned girl with a fairly lanky build departs from her position from the eighteen-year-old section. She has straight black hair that goes to the middle of her back. Her dark brown eyes lack any life or emotion. Her faded blue jeans and baggy gray sweatshirt continue to present her as someone who just crawled out of bed. Her lifelessness has gotten to a point that her walking speed is too slow. Two peacekeepers take a gentle but tight grip on both of her arms to speed her up to the stage.
When she reaches the stage, Arthas greets, "Welcome to the Hunger Games, young lady! I am honestly surprised but excited to have someone volunteer in the district I'm escorting for. Now, can you tell everyone your name?" Arthas puts the mic in front of the volunteer's mouth.
She stares dead straight into the horizon. Arthas is losing his patience in the process, then she mutters, "Alyssa… Barden…"
"Alyssa! What a wonderful name. Can you tell us your reason for volunteering?" With the mic once again in front of her mouth, Arthas is losing patience. His annoyed face expression and bopping body looks like he's about to itch the answer out of Alyssa's tongue.
Then, all Alyssa does is shrug.
"Gee, that didn't even need the mic," comments Arthas.
Inside Alyssa, she feels hollow. She's done. There's nothing left for her. Perhaps, the games can give her a chance to leave her constant state of zombieness.
"Next, let's pick from the boys!" Arthas marches to the other side of the stage. He carefully picks a slip, and opens it delicately, before revealing the name of Alyssa's district partner.
"Rin Yukimura!"
Coming from the section of thirteen-year-olds is a slender and lithe boy. His face shows terror and despair. He has short black hair and narrow dark brown eyes. The 5'4" boy with a small nose makes his way to the stage visibly shaking. His light skin comes from his Japanese ancestry. He's wearing a dark blue jacket over a plain light blue shirt. His shoes are black, and so are his trousers. Rin may be scared, but he doesn't want two peacekeepers to pull him forward. He can do it on his own, so he doesn't walk too slow as he makes his way to the stage.
When Rin reaches the stage, Arthas welcomes him too. "How is your day?"
Rin continues to vibrate fearfully, his teeth chattering in a lowkey manner. "Sc-scared…"
"Well, I was hopeful for Kara. I'm being hopeful for you too! You'll never know." Arthas pats Rin on the shoulder. "Without further ado, do we have any volunteers for Mister Rin Yukimura?"
Arthas looks around as he keeps up an optimistic smile. He waits a bit more, but there's really none. He doesn't wanna wait too long.
"I guess there's none. Sorry kid." Arthas frowns while rotating his arms to gesture that there's nothing else they can do. "Kara got a different fate, but I guess I can't say the same for you."
Afterwards, Arthas looks around. This looks like the time to wrap things up.
"A round of applause to our tributes, please!" Arthas says with energy. He doesn't get one. If he did, it was too soft to notice.
"You two can shake hands now," instructs Arthas.
Rin waits for Alyssa to reach her hand out from her pocket, then they shake hands. Even though Rin is scared, he tries to give Alyssa a friendly smile. Unfortunately for Alyssa, it's like her mind is out of this world. Her dull expression consistently presents her as an unenthusiastic person. Rin gradually frowns in disappointment the longer he looks into Alyssa's face.
Attila Jonehawk can't sit still at home, even though she's already retired.
This is why she's an escort now.
Attila has bright red hair that is beginning to desaturate. The presence of web-like wrinkles around her eyes is an evident sign of aging. She has olive skin and blue-green eyes. She looks at her black gloves, seamlessly connecting to her black long-sleeved outfit. Her whole attire fits her just right. Her long-sleeved button-up is under a black vest, making her outfit look seamless once again. If one takes a closer look, she has a smaller and inner collar from her button-up, then she has bigger and more evident collars from her vest. Her tight black pants also connect to her black combat boots.
She considered bringing her helmet along with her, but she didn't. She likes the simplicity of her outfit. Less is more, like they say. She doesn't need to be as expressive or as colorful as the Capitolite stereotype. She considered wearing her honorary uniform, but she can't let a friend down when she designed Attila something more stylistic yet passing her simplistic fashion tastes.
Attila waits for her cue. This may be her first time escorting, but she has seen other escorts do it before. It shouldn't be too hard.
When she is called out, she maintains a stern expression.
"Greetings, District Seven. My name is Attila Jonehawk, and I am your escort for this year. I once served the Panemian army, and I was the head peacekeeper in District Five for a few years. Retirement is boring, so here I am escorting two teenagers to the Capitol from this district to participate in the Hunger Games."
Attila gestures for the video to be shown. She patiently waits for it to finish. She doesn't have to comment on it too. It explains itself after all.
"Before I pick our tributes, all I demand is respect. Treat me impolitely, and I promise you that you will regret it," Attila says aloud in a very serious tone.
"I will now select a female tribute." Attila walks professionally to one side of the stage. She quickly picks a slip and neatly unfolds it.
"Cynthia Pew, please come to the stage immediately."
The short and skinny seventeen-year-old girl clenches her fists. Her regular brown eyes start to fill up with tears of anger, with a couple spilling over as she makes her way to the stage. The way she moves shows that she's visibly upset from being chosen. She has pale ash blonde hair worn in a ponytail. Her pale-skinned face is dusted with freckles too. She is missing a couple of teeth due to poor dental hygiene. She comes to the stage with a frilly pale green dress that looks too big for her. She can't afford a dress that fits her right, so the one her mom used to wear will suffice. She looks messy overall, not caring much about maintaining her appearance. At least she took a shower today, because it's reaping day. When she reaches the stage, she sniffs loudly and tries to keep her emotions together.
"Are there any interested female volunteers?" Attila looks around, not expecting one. "Okay, I will now select a male tribute."
Attila moves to the other side of the stage in a very professional manner. She wastes no time picking a slip then carefully unfolding it.
"Axel Greene, please come to the stage immediately."
The sixteen-year-old boy expresses a twinge of annoyance. He stands tall at 6'1", and he has big eyebrows and broad shoulders. His physical features make him look angry or intimidating all the time. He has light skin, brown eyes, and short black curly hair. He walks to the stage calmly. His attire is a plain brown shirt along with a pair of jeans. It may be simple, but it's enough. A very distinctive feature of Axel is the scar across his left cheek. He has nothing to lose with it as he doesn't have a nice face in the first place.
Upon reaching the stage, Attila asks, "Are there any interested male volunteers?" Attila looks around once again, but just like the girls' turn earlier, she is not expecting anyone to bravely take the spot of Axel.
"Please support Cynthia and Axel in their journey through the Hunger Games. Give them a round of applause if you want." Attila doesn't expect them to. She's not in a career district, so she knows what to expect.
"Please shake hands," Attila commands Axel and Cynthia, and so they do.
Axel and Cynthia can tell from each other's appearances that they don't come from well-off backgrounds. That fact doesn't quickly compel themselves to each other though. There's an aura of fire or ice beyond their rough façades.
If there's one thing Ezairlayne Aquaffee was excited about, it's revisiting and re-escorting for District Eight. She escorted District Eight for the 119th, 120th, and 121st Games. She then escorted for a few other districts, including District Four, which she had been escorting for until last year.
She had been escorting for District Four since the Fifth Quell, and thus she has grown accustomed to her aqua blue aesthetic. She even altered her name to fit the aquatic theme. She doesn't alter it back for District Eight, but she alters a couple of aesthetic details since the last time she appeared in District Four.
First and foremost, the 5'2" middle-aged woman once had long aqua blue hair, and it is now in a pixie cut. Her aqua blue eyes match her equally as aquatic blue eyelashes. She once dyed her skin in blue, but she now has a paler look, reverting back to her natural skin color. Her makeup is a lot for district standards but actually minimal for Capitol standards. She used blue lipstick to match her overall aquatic aesthetic. She wears a literal carpet as a dress. It's actually a dress with just the pattern of a carpet - patterned intricately like those from the ancient times.
When her name is called by the mayor, she walks to the stage poisefully. She picks up the mic and smiles gracefully.
"Greetings, District Eight. My name is Ezairlayne Aquaffee, and I am your… somewhat new escort for this year. I have previously served as District Eight's escort twenty years ago, so I don't expect anybody to remember me." She then brightens her tone as she continues, "Regardless, I am excited to be back here, District Eight!"
Ezairlayne pauses, waiting for the applause and cheering, but then she realizes that she's no longer in District Four. Ah… She understands.
"Let us get on with the video shall we?" Ezairlayne lets the video roll. She silently and patiently waits for it to finish before moving along.
"It's great to be back here, District Eight!" she repeats in a sunny manner. "Now, do we want to start with the boys, or with the girls?"
Ezairlayne waits for a response. The crowd is much weaker in Eight than in Four, as she knows by now. She waits nonetheless for even a little squeak from the crowd.
"Boys!" one person screams.
"We're starting with the boys then!" Ezairlayne walks to the boy's bowl. She picks a slip, then reads the name aloud.
"Diomedes Fibre!"
The 6'1" man with brown eyes and a crew cut dusty brown hair freezes in place. With his name being called, he can feel himself stunned and shocked. It's as if all of his blood suddenly froze and his blood vessels all broke. Two peacekeepers had to approach him and help him make his way to the stage. It's not like he's obviously gonna be a bloodbath fodder, as he's in a very good physical shape, but his actions can make reading him a bit conflicting. He is muscular, but it's covered by his clean appropriate long-sleeved shirt with square patterns. He wears formal long pants along with it. His skin is that of the average Caucasian, and his face isn't particularly handsome.
"Hello, Diomedes. Is that how I should refer to you?"
Diomedes nods emotionlessly.
"Thank you for coming to the stage. Now, do we have anybody willing to take Diomedes's place?" Ezairlayne waits. She waits long enough to be sure not to get a response.
"Okay, Diomedes, you become District Eight's male tribute this year. Let us select you a district partner." Ezairlayne walks to the bowl of female slips. She picks one carefully, then reads the name aloud.
"Athene Ramirez!"
Diomedes's eyebrows furrow, while what seems to be the parents of Athene Ramirez can be heard crying and wailing.
The tall woman with Hispanic heritage simply sighs at her parents' reaction and steps up. There's no point freaking out about being reaped. There's nothing else she can do about it besides accepting her fate. She has really dark hair that flows down to her hips in gentle waves. Her cheeks have a natural hint of rosy in them. She's wearing an elegant floral dress with a pearl necklace to go with it as she makes her way to the stage, with her hair gently flowing over her shoulders. There's no way she will appear weak and vulnerable in front of the whole nation, so she musters the self-confidence and bravery in her as she reaches the stage.
Ezairlayne notices Athene's Latina charm, beautiful curves, full lips, and a killer stare. Eziarlayne's got a good feeling about this. Athene is well built, and with that height, she could even be a model. Ezairlayne doesn't express any of it publicly though. She professionally does her job as an escort and greets, "Hello, Athene. Is that how I should refer to you?"
"Yes, ma'am," she answers swiftly.
"Thank you for joining us today. Would anybody be willing to take the position of Athene?"
Athene looks around, hoping for someone to volunteer for her, but knowing that the chances of it happening are very slim.
"Very well then. Athene, you become District Eight's female tribute for this year." Ezairlayne faces the crowd. "Let us all give our warmest supports to Diomedes Fibre and Athene Ramirez!" She no longer expects the clap, so she faces the two eighteen-year-old tributes and instructs them to shake hands.
Athene is not letting her guard down, still keeping up her strong demeanor as she shakes her district partner's hand. Diomedes, on the other hand, maintains a stoic expression during the handshake.
Fustian Houndsouth's first year of escorting is a milestone for him. There was a vacancy in this escorting position, and on the train ride to District Nine, he was emotional about it. Now, he is ready to meet the people of the districts.
Fustian's skin is dyed orange, but his dark brown hair and blue eyes look natural. He wears a top and a bottom that look like they were woven with white, light blue, and light pink. He wanted to support his parents' business by not only wearing something made out of eco-friendly materials, but he also wanted to show pride to his identity. That's why he wears a cap themed with stripes that go light blue, light pink, white, light pink, and light blue from top to bottom.
The mission Fustian wanted to accomplish by escorting for the Hunger Games is to prove to his parents that he's not their little baby anymore. The feeling of the binder around his top feels physically constricting, but he keeps it on anyway as it's mentally relieving, silencing the dysphoria within.
When Fustian gets called onstage, he jumps out of the door and makes a very goofy face. "Hello grain citizens! It is my pleasure to be escorting for District Nine this year!" He doesn't know what exactly happened to his predecessor, but according to rumors, Neomett bought a luxurious mansion and lives in some faraway place now, possibly migrating in the process.
"Before we get into the actual picking of the names, can we please have the video to show you what the Hunger Games is all about?" With that, the video is shown to the crowd of District Nine. When it finishes, Fustian talks about his outfit, coming from his parents' business called Weave and Weft Eco Clothing.
"Maybe I should've been in District Eight but I did not get the slot, hahaha!" Fustian says. He then babbles proudly about the colors of his clothes and what they represent, and when he's satisfied with what he has shared, he says, "I am very confident that I can pick you your next victor, District Nine!" The optimism is bursting within him. Escorting for a victor in his first year would be so awesome!
"Let's select from the boys first." He walks to the bowl full of light blue slips. When he picks a slip and opens it to reveal the name to himself, he laughs childishly. He can't believe such a name exists, so he tries to calm down his laughter before proceeding to read the name.
"Rad Doode!"
The seventeen-year-old boy with brown eyes, slightly tanned skin, and dark brown hair is confused. It can't be me.
"Rad Doode, please come onstage!"
Indeed, it was him, because nobody else in the district would be called Rad. The realization makes him freeze at his spot for an extra few seconds, before mustering up the courage to walk to the stage. He's 5'9" and of Turkish descent, wearing a plain black T-shirt under a blue blazer along with regular blue jeans. As he makes his way to the stage, he walks slowly, and he isn't smiling at all. His walking speed has encouraged peacekeepers to make their move, and in effect, it encouraged him to walk faster as well, before they can hold his hand moving forward. When he reaches the stage, he gives the escort a smile – no, a grimace.
"You must be… Rad!" Fustian says, playing with his name.
Rad continues to wear the grimace.
"Would any of you be… rad enough to volunteer for our one and only Rad Doode?" Fustian gives the crowd a goofy smile, looking around optimistically. "Ah, well, I'm sure you'd make a rad victor for your district. Isn't that right, Rad?"
Inside him, he can feel himself dying, because of his surprisingly poor luck of being picked, and his unsurprisingly poor luck of not being volunteered for. He's holding himself back from weeping, but he's trying not to break down in front of the whole nation right now.
"It's the girls' turn!" Fustian says joyfully. He goes to the other side of the stage where the bowl full of pink slips are. He digs a bit deeper and picks a slip, reading it aloud.
"Marley Rey!"
The look on the thirteen-year-old child's mystifying blue eyes shows Panem that he's shocked to be picked. He has naturally curly hair that is shaved on the sides and left long on top. It's naturally very dark in color, but he currently has frosted tips, with the top of his hair being dyed blonde. After the initial reaction, Marley walks to the stage with a fiery determination. His light brown skin comes from his Egyptian ancestry. He wears a nice dress shirt, slacks, and dress shoes that are only used lightly.
Fustian's eyes glow with interest as he sees the look of Marley. When Marley reaches the stage, Fustian asks, "You must be Marley. Do you happen to be a trans lad like I am?"
Marley responds with, "I am genderfluid and go by he-his or she-her pronouns depending on my mood. I go by he pronouns for today." He then smiles at the escort.
"Lovely!" Fustian continues, "Now then, would anybody be… rad enough to volunteer for Marley."
Marley remains optimistic at the crowd, but nobody takes his spot.
"Well, let's all give our next victors, Marley Rey and Rad Doode, a rad round of applause!" Fustian concludes.
Nobody applauds, and if anybody does from the crowd, it is not even audible from the stage.
Fustian lets Marley and Rad shake hands. Rad still looks dead from the inside, but Marley smiles in a cute and friendly manner.
Hari Nagao is ready to have fun! She takes another glance at her very vibrant and somewhat promiscuous clothes. She's confident like that, but in no way is she being provocative for it. She has light tan skin and light green contact lenses on her eyes. She also has golden blonde hair with red tips, tied into pigtails that curl down to her chin. Her face is caked with vibrant red makeup, with her lips being the reddest part of her face. Her nails are painted dark blue. She is slightly chubby with visible curves. She's glad she's wearing her favorite skirt to her first reaping today. It's a short red skirt with three folded blue tails at the back. She takes one last look at her overall appearance, before her name is called by the mayor.
Hari skips passionately to the stage. "Viva la vida! Welcome one, welcome all, to the reapings of the 141st Hunger Games! I am Hari Nagao, and I will be your escort this year. Hallelujah!"
The crowd silently waits for her next move.
"Oh right, I have to show you a video about the Hunger Games and its history." The video plays and she waits. When it finishes, she skips to the girl's bowl.
"Cowabunga! It's time to pick a name!" She dips her hand into the bowl of pink slips. When she grabs a slip, she pulls it out while spilling a few others on the floor. "Oopsie daisies!" She opens the slip and reads the name.
"Leiche Hanoverian!"
The fifteen-year-old 5'3" girl is confused. She was just picked to go to the Hunger Games, and if she's being honest, she's somewhat scared too. She makes her way to the stage, wearing a simple dark blue denim dress. She has light blue eyes, full lips, and dirty blonde hair, coming from her German and Swedish heritage. Meanwhile, her slightly tanned skin has to do with being raised in a horse farm.
When Leiche makes it to the stage, Hari says, "Woohoo! You made it. Wubba lubba dub dub! First, let's check with the crowd: Do we have any volunteers for Leiche?"
Both of them look around and wait for a response, but none comes.
"Bahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!" Hari imitates a laugh she has seen heard of from an animated sponge show. "Awesome! I'm so excited to have you with me on this journey, Leiche! Let's give you a district partner. Viva la vida!" She skips to the other bowl full of light blue slips. She picks a slip towards the top so she doesn't spill some more slips unnecessarily.
"Colt Trinity!"
The soft brown eyes of the kid with curly ginger red hair widen as he is immediately sent into a state of shock upon hearing his name being called. Matching his soft eyes are his notably long lashes, heavy dark bags, and small nose. His hair is pushed back up around his ears, despite it getting messy at times. As he steps out of the fifteen-year-old section, he makes his way onstage while keeping his eyes on the ground, trying not to think of the people looking at him. He can't help but feel embarrassed though, and his rosy red cheeks on his pale white freckled skin aren't helping him hiding it. He's wearing a pinstripe shirt in the colors of sepia and white. He has dark brown slacks too to go along with his heavy black steel-tipped work boots for his bottom. When he reaches the stage, his eyes are still looking at the ground.
"OwO! Colt, there's nothing to be shy about! Viva la vida! Your rosy cheeks look really good on you," says Hari.
Having it mentioned makes Colt even more insecure. He bites his full lips near his soft rounded cheekbones. He is a short and skinny kid but has a pair of broad yet bony shoulders. He has stage fright, and he can tell this escort doesn't understand him at all.
"Do we have any volunteers for Colt?"
Silence, and for Colt, hopelessness too.
"Waka waka eh eh! That's a wrap I guess. Go shake hands, you two, UwU." Hari grabs a hand each from the tributes, only to realize she grabs one left hand and one right hand. Leiche makes a slight smile and switches her hand to shake with Colt's, who's still looking at the ground.
"Let's give them a round of warm applause. Woohoo! Viva la vida!" Hari ends. She has said a bunch of expressions she's heard from varying types of media, and yet she doesn't know what any of them mean. She giggles at her having fun with them though.
Leiche can't see Colt's face fully, but she makes an attempt to mock him by putting her head down too and making expressions that nobody can see. Leiche continues to shake Colt's hand weightlessly until the escort tells them they can stop.
Calient Racha-Basco returns to escort for District Eleven once more. It's his sixth year now. He questions why the heck he's back doing this. On one hand, he's having fun. On the other hand, it hurts to see his tributes die, year after year. The last time District Eleven had a victor was in the 99th Games, and the victor is mentally incapable of mentoring, yet he goes to the Capitol every year as he is District Eleven's only living victor. Calient not only becomes an escort for District Eleven, but in a way, he is also the district's mentor.
Calient has red orange eyes usually covered by his shades as well as a fair skin tone. His hair is mostly orange, with a few red and yellow strands scattered around as a way to hint those colors. He also wears and activates his fake flame, placed on his hair. It looks real, but it's really just holographic. He loves the flaming hair on himself, and he loves the technology behind it. He wears an orange blazer over a red tuxedo, his slacks are red orange in color, his dress shoes are red, and his gloves are yellow.
When Calient gets his cue from the mayor, he enters the stage with a professional smile. "Good morning, District Eleven, and it is a pleasure to be back here with you. If you don't remember me, I am a former circus performer, popularly known as El Kaliente, but I go by Calient Racha-Basco for the annual Hunger Games reapings! I am pretty sure you're… excited to have another two tributes try out to become the next victor of District Eleven. Is that right?" He waits for a response even though he knows he won't be getting one. "Well, before we pick you your next victors, let us watch this video from the Capitol like we do every year, shall we?"
Calient waits for the video to be over. It pains him to see this still happening over one hundred and forty years later, but he doesn't speak up about it. When the video ends, he goes to a bowl.
"I will now pick your first tribute." He grabs a slip, taking his time to dig for a name. He feels nervous inside. The fate of District Eleven is in his hands. When he plucks out a slip, he reads it out loud.
"Ketsia-Mai Cartway!"
Calient waits a bit, but when he sees movement and hears crying from the twelve-year-old section, it's like his soul collapsed inside him, packing its stuff then running for the hills.
The girl with soft chest-length straight black hair falls to the ground crying. The peacekeepers approach her to help her get to the stage. She's wearing a simple blue jumpsuit and a special leather belt, which was previously worn by her mom. Her dark green eyes blaze like emeralds, and she has dark skin as she's descended from a family of African-Americans. She's also tall for her age, at 5'7".
When the peacekeepers drop her to the stage, Calient asks, "Are there any volunteers?" Calient is really hoping for someone to volunteer, but knowing District Eleven, it wasn't gonna happen, and indeed, it didn't. "Now, for the boys." Calient goes to the other side of the stage. He picks a slip, still taking the time to pull a slip out. When he does, he opens it and reads it out loud.
"Anubis Harlowe!"
The heterochromic sixteen-year-old goes deadpan flat. His eyebrows furrow slightly, and he looks slightly confused, but other than that, he coldly and obediently makes his way to the stage, maintaining the unreadable neutral expression. He wears black skinny jeans, black boots, and a slightly saturated maroon long-sleeved shirt. He is 5'11", with shoulder-length curly black hair that hangs over his eyes. The left eye is golden brown while the right eye is bright blue. His warm and freckled golden brown skin shows his Egyptian ancestry.
When he reaches the stage, Calient immediately asks, "Do we have volunteers for Anubis?" Calient knows that just because someone is older doesn't mean they have a better shot at winning. Sometimes, volunteers would have what it takes to win the Hunger Games, but he's not in the upper districts, so Calient isn't even gonna hope for a volunteer.
"Okay you two, shake hands please." Calient then faces the crowd. "Thank you for your cooperation, District Eleven. Please support them, and happy Hunger Games!"
Anubis shakes Ketsia's hand lethargically. Ketsia notices this, and so she smiles to Anubis genuinely and in an innocent manner. Anubis doesn't smile back though. He continues to shake hands with Ketsia without any color of emotion.
Evezleya von Evezelle is excited to be back to her favorite district for another year! She was once the master of ceremonies, but she felt like she had a bigger mission coming into District Twelve as an escort. It's her fourth year in District Twelve, and she wants to bring them a victor home. It's not easy though. She can't just pick a tribute and know for sure that the tribute she picked would win. Other than the conditions and complications the gamemakers plan into the Hunger Games, luck plays a factor. That's what makes the Hunger Games a very gnarly competition.
Evezleya is covered in white from head to toe, although she's not completely white. She is wearing pink boots and pink gloves. Her bows with flowing ribbons are above her left and right ears, and another one is present on her neck. The ribbons are pink at the center and white going out. The white ribbons on the bows flow really long, with the tips colored pink, blue, and light blue. The headband she wears has long rabbit-like ears, and they're colored pink on the outside while the ear insides are blue. She has a pink tail behind her all the time. She also puts her blue fairy-esque shades on to cover her shiny blue contact lenses.
When she's called out, she waves to the only living victor of the district, Larry Rockenstein. She then greets the district with open arms. "Good day, District Twelve! Happy Hunger Games, and while the video is boring as hell, I will show you what caused Panem to start the Hunger Games, so… let's watch it."
Last year, Evezleya mocked the video and didn't even show it to the crowd, but due to some changes, all escorts are required to have it shown this year unless they have a good excuse not to. It's a very big change for the government, but for Evezleya, she knows it doesn't matter. She can say it's a waste of time, but that time doesn't really go anywhere because she'd have to replace the boring video with something else to keep the people informed and entertained.
When the video is finished, she says, "All right! Now that we're informed, let us get to the thing, shall we? I wanna do a drum roll again, but we don't have it this year, so I will slowly march to the one side…" She picks up a blue slip. "…then I will slowly march to the other side as well." She picks up a pink slip. She then makes her way to the center of the stage. "I will now read the names of our tributes. If your name is called, please come forward."
She makes a long pause. She finds it amusing that she thinks of this ceremony as something like winning the lottery, but of course that's not the case while also being the case.
"Our tributes for the 141st Hunger Games are…"
They're winning in a sense that they can become victor, but they're also losing because their lives are at risk. She looks around suspensefully before looking back at the slips to read both names.
"Glenn Corinth and Ivy Bluebell!"
On the fifteen-year-old section is a thin and tan-skinned boy who is tall for his age at 5'10". His typical Seam gray eyes wanna scream that he's scared, but he tries not to cry as he slowly walks to the stage. He has straight dark brown hair that goes a few inches beyond his shoulders and is tied in a ponytail. His feet and shins have lots of cuts and scrapes for preferring to go barefoot at home, but the public doesn't see them thanks to his brown dress pants and black dress shoes. His dress shirt is yellow. All he wants to do is go home somehow, but without hurting anyone, he knows deep down that it is almost impossible. It still has happened in the history of Panem. In fact, District Twelve's very own Larry Rockenstein did it, but the chances of it happening is extremely slim, perhaps slimmer than he already is.
On the fourteen-year-old section is a five-foot girl with green eyes and wavy dark brown hair. She is scared and shocked at the same time. She moves out of her section with her white flats and slowly joins Glenn on the way to the stage through the center aisle. Her skin is olive in color, and her face is dotted with freckles. She has a small mole on her nose, and she's wearing a yellow headband, matching her pastel yellow dress. She doesn't really know what to do now besides being obedient enough to go onstage. She tries to be confident, but she knows it's not showing because she's really feeling a mixture of fear and surprise that she can't hide.
When both tributes reach the stage, Evezleya says, "Alright, guys, gals, and non-binary pals, do we have any volunteers for these two?" Evezleya isn't expecting one, but she asks for the sake of asking. Sometimes, there may be a pleasant surprise coming. However, time goes by and nobody volunteers, just as expected. She even looks around one last time to check, but nope, there are really no volunteers. "Alright! Please give Glenn and Ivy a round of applause! Please support them. It's not only for me but also for you as a district. Thank you!"
Evezleya turns to the pair and tells them to shake hands, so they do. Both of their eyes meet, and so do their friendly smiles, like a match made in heaven, except it's not. Perhaps they'll get along.
AN:
First and foremost, sorry for the unexpected delay. I know I scheduled this update to be out 3.5 weeks ago, but stuff came up and it drove my mental health into a roller coaster ride. Because of this, I don't want to schedule another update in the near future. I'll try to update once a month, and I would love to update more than once a month if I'm being honest, but I can't promise.
Yeah, this is a full-fledged reaping. All 12 reapings are packed into this one chapter right here, so we meet all our escorts here. They'll only be written in depth here, so if they ever appear more in the future, that'd be lovely bonuses. Thanks to AlexFalTon for Attila; CelticGames4 for Hari; and santiago. poncini20 for Amelia, Arthas, Fustian, and Meme.
Also, thanks to the following for submitting the tributes!
•A Proud Bibliophile
•AlexFalTon
•cartierscrown
•CelticGames4
•Closet
•david12341
•dirtwolf
•foxfox12
•HogwartsDreamer113
•HungerGamesL0V3R
•jimster920
•kremit1000
•ladyqueerfoot
•LordShiro
•Nemris
•optimisms
•PrinceofCorinth
•RakTurtle
•Red Castellan
•santiago. poncini20
•timesphobic
•tracelynn
•wg152
•Yugi-Smallymcsmall
If you know my style from Cards of Mortality, I won't specify who submitted which tribute yet until I have written them to their respective ends. This doesn't mean that I'm banning you from talking about your tributes though. You're still free to share who you submitted if you want! I just like doing this. :3
Fanart of Anubis Harlowe by his submitter: cdn. discordapp. (cee-oh-em) /attachments/647933691447869452/726489462250668113/image0. png
This chapter shows us a bit from each tribute. It's definitely not the whole character, but these are ideally the first impressions we can get from the tributes if we are like Capitolites watching the Hunger Games. Now, just like what the title says, make these first impressions count, because we're gonna have participation for this chapter!
Here's how it works: You're gonna be selecting 5 of your favorite tributes so far, then you're gonna rank them from most to least favorite.
Open the google form right here: docs. google. (cee-oh-em) /forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfJsfaI_Wiu2X-lEaZxgQ_Dkr165HpZJ-lVWXlaTsS5T0VY0Q/viewform (I will also post it on my profile and on Discord for convenience. Please remind me in case I don't.)
For your favorite favorite tribute in the story so far, put them in the column numbered 5. That means you're giving them 5 points. For your 2nd favorite, put them in the column numbered 4. You're giving them 4 points. For your 3rd favorite, put them in column 3. For your 4th favorite, put them in column 2. For your least favorite among your top 5 favorites, you put them in column 1 to give them one point. For the rest of them, you give them 0 points. The only exception is if you have a tribute in the story. If you do, you can't give points for your own tribute, because simply submitting a response through the google form link I gave above will automatically give your tribute 5 points. That means, if you're an active reader and you have a tribute in this story, your tribute will have an advantage over the tributes of submitters who aren't actively participating.
If you still don't understand how participation works, PM me and I'll walk you through. :)
Participation was first used in goldie031's The First Inter-District Inter-Disciplinary Events. The story has completed so participation is done for that story, but it is an amazing story where 13 districts plus the Capitol compete in challenges, and the most wholesome part is that nobody dies! So please check it out if you can. :3
Back to the topic of participation, the points will come in play later when we reach the arena. For now, you can get an extra five sponsor points for predicting what they are for. I won't confirm or deny any of your predictions, but whether your answer is right or wrong, you get 5 sponsor points for answering: What do you think these participation points are for?
Now, for the people who submitted stylists! If you did, please PM me and pick the top 3 tributes you think your stylist would style for. If I don't receive an answer, I'll simply pick a tribute for your stylists. We'll be meeting them next chapter btw!
Wow, that's a lot! Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Also, since I don't know if I'll update again this month, happy holidays! :D