Radian Sempli (16) D3M

I didn't know what was up. For some reason, our entire last night was dedicated to a party. That was very unusual, and not something I was entirely interested in attending, but it wasn't optional. That was extra unusual, but there was nothing I could do about it. Theo and Isaac told me to try to have a positive outlook, something I was willing to try to do, even if I wouldn't go as far as they would. It wouldn't be hard to smile and laugh with the other tributes, the President's posse, and the choice Capitolites who were allowed to attend.

"Hello," I said politely, approaching Capitolite after Capitolite. They were all pretty interesting. Each of them spoke with their own little differences, walking slightly differently from the people around them. I didn't mimic them, but I wanted to. They were unlike anything I had ever seen before, perfectly showing how wild humanity was when given it's freedoms.

"Hey!" Theo said, smiling and waving me over. I brought the Capitolite with me, happy to accept the drinks Theo offered both her and me. He was being his exuberant, perfect self. After all, there could be sponsors on the line. Isaac was standing by him with a small group, and we all chatted and drank soda together. I could have gotten away with alcohol, but I sure wasn't going to.

"I'm Foosunny," the Capitolite said, offering me her hand. I took it and shook it, smiling while she spoke. "I must say, your alliance is so cute! It's like a big brother thing, Theodore protecting you all. Even little Isaac, with rickets." We are not cute. We are individuals.

"Well, I'm glad you feel that way! You know, I'm going to do my best to protect everyone, but I can't do everything. It'll be so much more doable with help. You know, I have to know my limits," Theodore said, shooting us apologetic glances while taking another sip of his drink. I nodded, knowing that he was only doing what had to be done.

"I mean, I can hardly hunt, and I doubt Isaac will be any better. We'll sure be at a loss for food!" I continued, laughing as soon as I was done speaking. Isaac had already got the hint. He didn't seem hurt at all that I teased him. That was good. We'd have to go through a lot of teasing to get the sponsors we were going to need.

"I've never hunted! I'm an Eight. Have you hunted, Foosunny?" Isaac joked, keeping up the game. I liked how he got the Capitolite involved. It was a bit of poetic justice, us letting her think we were weak. She liked our entertainment. We liked her money. Only she was going to get what she deserved.

Tina Hudson (17) D4F

I absolutely loved the party. All of the Careers huddled together at first, trying to read the room, but we quickly realized that we were given exactly what was advertised: a party. There was food and there were drinks, there was dancing and joking, and everyone seemed happy. Everyone except the President herself, who was attending, at least. There was only one thing to do about that. I was going to befriend the President.

Ginger smiled when I came up to her, taking my hand when I offered it. I recognized some of the people she was with. Marcelene Chaplin, Draco Stilleto, and Cordelia Stuart were all faces I knew. I didn't recognize the woman she was with, but the man... I could have sworn I had seen him somewhere. That didn't matter, though. Ginger was the one who mattered the most. The others were important, just like every human in the world, but Ginger would have the most direct affect on the Games.

"Hello there, Ms. Ginger! I'm Argentina Hudson. You seem a little stressed," I began, honestly worried about the President. If she was worried, something serious was going on. "Is it anything you'd like to talk about? I can always listen and give you a new perspective." I waited patiently while Ginger eyed me up, judging me for what she was worried about, I figured. I had time. There was a whole night to make the President calm down.

"We're still investigating Alfred's death," Ginger finally said, her words flowing easily. She must not have been too stressed; she was all right with talking freely. "There's a good chance someone in this room is somehow connected. Everyone was hand chosen. Tributes have motives. These Capitolites, Icykill mainly, aren't trusted. And my group, or 'posse,' as someone called it, are here to help me decide who it was."

I watched everyone while Ginger spoke, trying to see what everyone else thought of her plan. The weird girl, the one I didn't know, was fully supportive. Draco was following Ginger everywhere, making sure she felt comfortable. The weird boy I almost recognized was quietly avoiding eye contact and talking to himself. I walked up to him when he was alone, making sure not to look intimidating. That wasn't too hard, but Careers could easily come off as brash.

"You're not, like, causing the President any stress or anything, right?" I asked, playing dumb. "Because that would be so mean! Like, Ginger seems really nice. She's so chill. And it'd really stink if someone was hurting that." I didn't know it the boy was a problem, but anyone who was talking to themselves in a party was. I jumped when he quickly raised his hand, settling when it went back down to his side. He was fine. I wasn't going to stick around any longer, but he was fine.

Nyle van Buren (17) D12M

"Hello, Nyle!" people greeted me cordially while I went around the room. Our alliance decided it was best for us to split up while we worked, trying to run into everyone in the room once or twice. We'd make faster ground that way, and, while nobody wanted to admit it, we'd have sponsors who were only trying to sponsor us. Sure, the sponsors would help everyone for a while, but once the alliance split, everyone was going to want to be the one who stuck out. That wasn't going to be too hard for me. I was a volunteer from Twelve.

"Hello! What might your name be?" I asked the Capitolite who was speaking to me, smiling at her in my suit. She was wearing a short dress, something I rarely saw. She was smiling brightly, apparently happy to have the VIP meeting with tributes, and I was going to let her enjoy her taste.

"I'm Lalafette! Do you have a plan for the Games yet?" Lalafette replied, practically falling over herself in excitement. I looked at the ground.

"Of course I do," I whispered, leaning in close, "But I can't really let everyone here hear." It was a sure-fire way to get someone intrigued: Make them think they were hearing a secret.

"Oh! Just... whisper it in my ear," Lalafette said, leaning in even closer, so close I could feel her breath on me. I lowered my voice farther.

"I'm going to figure things out as I go!" I breathed, my voice hardly audible. I leaned back, a fake grin splitting my face, and Lalafette laughed, too. Of course, she didn't stay long. She wanted to meet every tribute, for some reason, but that was all right. I wanted to meet every sponsor.

One person stuck out from the crowd, and I found myself approaching them. "Hello!" I said brightly, offering my hand to them. It wasn't taken. "I'm Nyle. Who might you be?" I wasn't sure if I would get an answer. The man didn't look totally sane, insisting that he "Had to get them to shut up" and "they" were "taking over his life." I should have gotten out of there right then, but nothing could be dangerous in the Capitol.

"Lumen," the man said, hardly looking up from his pacing. "Lumen Lumen. Avena. Remember her, Lumen? You do now." I took a step backward, only to find my wrist being grabbed by the man. "I'm going to remember her. She wants to be remembered."

I yanked my arm away and strutted off, not ready to be harassed any longer. That Lumen man was going to have nothing to do with me, whether or not it would cost me a sponsor. Who was Avena? Who was Lumen? Who was... Oh.

Lexi Circuit (18) D3F

Yvette and I attended the party together, smiling at everyone who walked past us and partaking in lighthearted conversation. Yvette didn't seem to like me talking about my past, and she didn't like talking about the Games, so we mostly stuck to talking about her. That was something I was fine with. She was my cuteness factor, and she knew it. I was her defender, and I knew it. We ramped it up as far as we could, me giving Yvette piggy-back rides, her constantly trying to hug me... It was sickly sweet and fake, making it exactly what Capitolites would fall for.

We wandered freely around the room, my shoulders easily able to carry Yvette any distance I wanted. She was incredibly light. Ginger had a quick talk with us, Draco trying to explain her curtness, and I was fine with that. I was amazed the President could be bothered to talk to us again, especially since we had already had time with her.

"The tea party was amazing, though," Yvette said when I voiced my thoughts. I knew she was right. It had gone astoundingly well, leaving the President and her friend happy.

"Yeah, but she's stressed now. She probably has hardly any time for tributes. And she already knows us. Anyways, there's nothing we can really do about it now. We'll have to talk to her through the cameras during the Games," I said, sticking my tongue out. Yvette wasn't as childish as she acted, but even she could appreciate a decent joke. Even I could.

"Hey! There's the friend we went to the party with. Maybe he'd make a good sponsor," Yvette said, pointing to the person that had accompanied Ginger. I watched him shiftily, not really trusting him, but nodded. He couldn't do anything. We were surrounded on all sides.

"What's up?" I called to the person. He was walking in circles, obviously frustrated, and the second he saw us, separated from the rest of the room, his eyes lit up. He muttered something I couldn't quite hear, though I thought I heard the word Three, and then approached us.

In an instant, I had Yvette off my back. She dropped to the ground with what sounded like a painful clunk, but I didn't have time to worry about that. I dropped into a fighting stance and socked the man right in the nose, allowing him no time to pull out the knife I had spotted. He reeled backwards, then pulled out a knife with his other hand, stabbing it into my neck. I glared at him and pulled him into a headlock, knowing I would die in no time. He wouldn't choke faster than I did, but I could certainly keep him from Yvette, and I could hold him down until Ginger found out.

23rd Place: Lexi Circuit - Stabbed in throat by Lumen

So yeah, this has been planned for a while. Really, I didn't have an exact plan for how Lumen would get caught. I was going to have Lexi get snuck up on, but it was so much cooler of a scene to have her try to take Lumen down. She knew how to spot creeps pretty well, and she sure did a good job protecting Yvette. Shoutout to me for submitting her just for sub-plot, and shoutout to anyone who lets me resubmit her because she actually ended up being pretty neat.

Looks like we'll need some more subplot before Into the Tubes 0:-) Gotta see how Ginger reacts to her best friend straight-up murdering two kiddos