Aurelio Sagittarius, age 55

Head Gamemaker

The drink was really just to keep him awake.

Aurelio wasn't one to drink often, finding that his work left almost no time for parties or spending time with friends. He rarely had time to sleep, especially once the reapings happened and the tributes were in the Capitol. Hours upon hours were spent running background checks on each tribute, learning all he could about each of them to make sure that the victor was somebody the Capitol could trust. And the ones who weren't... well Aurelio had to start arranging some 'accidents' for them in the arena.

Maybe he should have gone with caffeine instead of alcohol.

At least he got a good view of the show, being Head Gamemaker and all.

The large window overlooking the City Circle filled an entire wall of the private viewing booth that many of the elite Capitolites got to sit in. And Aurelio got a chair front and center. He should have felt privileged and important and arrogant.

All he could think was I hope these kids put on a good show. After all, first impressions were everything.

Somebody slid into the seat next to him, sipping on the same electric blue liquid Aurelio himself was drinking. The short, cotton candy pink hair gave it away as Vanessa Ki, Aurelio's assistant Head. She sat in the chair with the poise and the ease that Aurelio wished he had. Maybe sitting out here with everybody was a mistake. In years past, he had watched the Tribute Parade from the screens in the Control Center. The solitude was refreshing. It made his note taking much easier. Is it too late to get out of here?

"This is exciting, isn't it?" Vanessa asked him. Dammit.

"Oh yes," Aurelio responded with what he hoped was a polite smile. He took a sip of his drink and crunched his nose at the taste.

"I mean, the reapings are technically the first time we get to see the tributes," Vanessa went on, "but I think the parade is more of a first impression than the reapings. What do you think?"

I think that I want you to stop talking. "I think we see a more authentic version of each tribute during the reapings. They're caught off guard when they hear their name, so they aren't acting or showing us what they think we want to see. The difference from the reaping to the parade is often jarring." Now please stop.

"I never thought of it like that," Vanessa admitted. "That's fascinating."

Aurelio was saved from answering when the voice of the new Master of Ceremonies, Jupiter Littleman, boomed over the packed City Circle. "Hello everybody, and welcome to the 95th Annual Hunger Games!" The crowd roared. A few people in the viewing booth clapped. "Without further ado, I give you, this year's tributes! Roll the chariots!"

A quick glance at his notebook told him that the District One tributes were Aigrette Luxor and Theseus Francium. Their stylists were clearly trying to accentuate their natural beauty, dressing them only in sheer gold sashes tied intricately around their bodies, covering only what needed to be covered. Neither looked too bothered, though. Theseus smirked at the crowd, reveling in the attention, while Aigrette smiled wildly.

District Two was a stark change, with the two tributes wearing slate gray robes with long, heavy sleeves and the hem brushing the bottom of the chariot. Both Pallas and Roman stared stoically ahead, their expressions as stony as their outfits. Aurelio jotted some notes down in his notebook, most about how Pallas fit the stoic role much better than Roman, and noticed that Pallas had known the male tribute from last year's Games. Tributes knowing past tributes were always interesting.

The pair from Three carried themselves very differently. Drexel stood rigidly, trying to cower away from the crowd and his light studded costume, whereas Heidi had her shoulders back, her head high, and a smile for the crowd. Despite her unimpressive backstory, Aurelio knew she would be one to watch. Drexel, on the other hand, not so much.

To his surprise, District Four actually did not have incredibly revealing costumes this year. Keilani and Bocaccio were dressed in tight bodysuits covered in seashells. The colors of the shells all complemented each other, corals and peaches and whites. Both smiled to the crowd, Keilani more enthusiastically than Bocaccio. They seemed shy and rather overshadowed compared to their vibrant district partner.

But don't count anyone out, Aurelio reminded himself. Even the most meek and unremarkable tribute could win the Games, no matter how hard the Gamemakers tried to make sure a memorable tribute emerged victorious.

District Five threw Aurelio for a loop. He was expecting solar panels or satellites like every other year, not the intricate costumes Nicola and Riggs had on. Each wore all white, with a large sphere in the center of their costume, while red spheres seemed to orbit around them. They're atoms, Aurelio realized. He had to give credit to their stylists for the ingenuity.

Compared to Five, District Six was a disaster, and the tributes seemed to know that, too. Hikari and Alistair were dressed as large tires, with cutouts for their faces and hands on the enormous circles. Both looked furious, Alistair actually vocalized it, screaming obscenities at the audience until his face was red. Aurelio's background check on Alistair told him that the boy had lost his mother to the Games and he was prone to explosive outbursts. He would not be leaving that arena. None of his research had given Aurelio an insight as to why Hikari had volunteered, though. District Six would be interesting this year.

Aurelio rolled his eyes when he saw District Seven. The two young twins were trees. Like always. Neither Isa nor Duncan looked too surprised, though. Duncan waved shyly to the crowd, while Isa refused to. Aurelio couldn't help but feel bad for them. He always sympathized for the younger tributes, but he couldn't help the giddy feeling that rose in his gut when he thought of the drama that sending two siblings into the arena would cause.

Drama made for good television.

Great, even.

Another stupid costume for District Eight. Juliet and Sylvester were giant spools of thread, Juliet yellow and Sylvester green. They looked focused on trying not to fall out of the chariot, so neither of them waved to the crowd. The crowd screamed when they appeared, though. Juliet's dead sister had been one of the favorite tributes last year. No wonder the audience reacted the way they did.

Nine was a little better, the tributes wearing flowy golden robes and wreaths of wheat over their brows. Ryland grinned, waving energetically to the audience. Finley, on the other hand, crossed her arms and scowled haughtily.

It went downhill again with District Ten, with Avery and Horus dressed as cows. Cows. Aurelio made a note to himself to look into replacing some of these stylists. Having boring costumes didn't make for an interesting parade. But he couldn't help but notice the line of tension between the pair from Ten. They didn't acknowledge each other the way many other tributes before them had. District Ten wouldn't be overlooked this year.

Wisteria and Kaiser rolled out wearing earthy brown cloaks over emerald green garments. Whenever they moved, the green broke through the brown, giving the illusion of plants growing out of soil. Aurelio silently applauded their stylists. Something interesting for Eleven. Both of the tributes appeared overwhelmed, Wisteria more so than Kaiser. In fact, Kaiser has eased up about halfway through the ride, and waved and smiled at the crowd.

Finally came District Twelve, wearing their usual tight mining outfit with clunky headlamps. Sienna was crying again. She kept her head down, her shoulders shaking. Rhett tried to console her, but gave up at some point, and grinned towards the audience. Nothing of note there.

Aurelio ran down the list of tributes in his notebook, jotting down some small things here and there. Then he abruptly stood up and walked out of the viewing booth, ignoring the odd looks he got along the way.

Life as Head Gamemaker was busy and exhausting and so, so rewarding when done right.

And Aurelio wanted the 95th Hunger Games to be done right.

And the Tribute Parade is in the books! What did you think? Do you have a favorite costume? Least favorite? Next up we have the first day of training where all the tributes get to interact for the first time. Until then!

-D9T