disclaimer: i do not have ownership over the hunger games or the characters that appear in the books/movies
President Nereus Aspasia, the Capitol
The walls bring me solemnity.
I sit, cross-legged, in the middle of the room, as I have for the last nine hours. Still and calm, meditation clearing the distress from the crevices of my mind. The swirl of varying grey tones designed to quell the more colourful thoughts of a person's mind; to entice the serious questions into play.
This is why I spend ten hours in this room, once a month.
I was President Coriolanus Snow's successor, some fourteen years ago. He succumbed to his illness, late in the year of the 75th Games, the 3rd Quarter Quell, but survived long enough to see the end of it. An ending, engineered so precisely and so carefully, that it stopped a rebellion in its tracks and coerced them back into the darkest corners of their hiding places. Brutus was that year's winner.
I spend time in this room so I can gain insight into decisions and choices to be made; to be a wiser President than he was. My first decision was to continue the Hunger Games, which was met with mixed reactions, mostly in the Districts. This choice was more difficult than I assumed it would be, but in the end I had to calm the Capitol citizens over those in the Districts.
Now it is the year of the 99th Hunger Games, with excitement being almost doubled in anticipation, mostly due to the presence of the next Games; the 4th Quarter Quell.
A sharp knock on the door entices me from my thoughts and indicates that the ten hours are up. I stand and make my way from the room, offering a small nod to the guard, before heading towards my office for my 1:00pm meeting with the Head Gamemaker, Domitilla Epona.
Checking the gilded watch contrasting my wrist, I discover the time is 12:57pm and speed my pace up accordingly. When I arrive, it is 12:59pm, and Domitilla is waiting outside.
"President Aspasia," she says, with a curtsey.
"Ms Epona, you're early."
"Barely." A smile tugged at the corners of her lips, but she appeared to force it away, eliciting an inward smile on my end.
I opened the door and held it as she entered, watching as she took a seat opposite my desk. "Let's begin, Dom."
"So I was thinking, the games start in two months. The arena is obviously already built, but I am here to seek permission to add some specific modifications," she begins, hesitancy lacing her voice.
"Modifications?" I enquire.
"Yes," a pause, "modifications."
I raise an eyebrow slightly, "That was your indication to present your ideas for these modifications, if you couldn't already tell."
"Right, yes, it's just," another pause, "It's unusual. Unprecedented." I exercise silence while Domitilla organises her thoughts, curiosity eating at the surface of my thoughts. What has she thought up this time? "See, I was humouring this thought after overhearing some conversations and thinking random things and then I started seriously considering it at some point so I thought I would come to you because it would make good mon-"
"Out with it, Dom."
"I think we should give Capitol citizens the option of entering the arena. During the Games."
I clear my throat, studying the succulent on my desk with faux, rapt attention, buying myself some more time to begin drafting a response in my head. "So..."
"Actually try to consider it first before replying," she interrupted, "Really think about it. I know it sounds absurd, but I overheard some people when I was out the other night and they were talking about how curious they were about what it was like in there during the Games, so I figured, what if we installed an impenetrable, transparent room that Capitol citizens would be able to pay to enter and watch the Games firsthand? Or maybe multiple! Strategically positioned for front row seats of the Bloodbath, of course, or perhaps scattered around the arena for different angles," Domitilla rushed through her words, breathing hitching a little towards the end, as if monitoring my expression and finding something unreadable and assuming the worst.
"It's an intriguing concept, I'll admit. How much would the entrance fee cost?" I reply, keeping my voice monotone as to not give anything of my thoughts away. As if she could pluck my mind from ther strings of my voice.
"Enough to fund an even greater reach for next year's Quarter Quell. We could really go above and beyond; widen the budget for next year's Games. It would be our 15th year and the 100th Hunger Games, it could be," she breathed out all her air as she whispered. "Historic."
"I'll think on it. Come back again, five days from now at 5:00pm for my final answer." I watched her reactions carefully as she nodded a little, eyes bright with ideas, and lifted herself from the chair. My vision drifts back to the succulent as Domitilla turns to leave.
"Ner?"
Glancing back up, I see she has stopped at the door, one hand on the frame. My eyes betray me for a split second, taking in the outfit I'd been trying so hard to avoid. Tight-fitting and colourful, flattering. I blink hard. "Yes?"
"You're doing a good job," was all she said before she walked away.
An unwavering warmness spread in my chest. I quench it and continue to study the succulent on my desk. It had been a gift when he first started out, though he never knew who from. Examining the delicacy of the petals, he sighed. It really was very pretty.
A mini, white rose bush.
ooookay so, hi. i haven't written fanfiction in quite a while, but something possessed me to continue once more
let me start with a little background info - this is going to be an interactive story, meaning a syot. there will also be a sponsor system. all information and forms will be put on my bio. it will not be first come/first serve, though. i will pick and select from the tributes i receive and, if not enough interest is gained, then i will fill the gaps with some of my own creations instead and make it a partial syot. ways to gain sponsor points will consist of a variety of things that will be placed on my bio, along with a shop.
now onto the characters of this chapter. basically, this introduces some sub-plot characters, president nereus aspasia and head gamemaker domitilla epona. you may be wondering how nereus came into power after coriolanus or maybe nereus and domitilla's history, or you may not be wondering at all. i am warning you now, there will most likely be some sub-plot chapters embedded into this story when installing the sponsor chapters. i knowwwwww that, back when i was younger and read lots of fanfiction, i would just skip the sub-plot chapters, so do let me know if sup-plot chapters bore you and i will try to limit them to suit my audience
also, regular chapters will be longer than this, once i begin with the reapings and whatnot. this is more of an introduction to my writing style sort of thing, though it does come across as kinda rushed sounding to me, so try not to judge too harshly just yet! and if you have any feedback, let me know:)
plus! there will, most likely, be a website made, so when choosing a face claim, try not to choose someone too identifiable, like taylor swift or something, thanks!
aaaaand i will be incorporating a "review question" at the bottom of each chapter, starting when the reaping chapters do. this will be a way to gain sponsor points if you have not/will not submit a tribute or your tribute doesn't get accepted
okay im sorry for this being so long but one more thing! the time zone i live in is vic, australia. so when when i say the update should be posted on the "22nd at 5pm" or something, it might be slightly different for you depending on where you live! though i doubt i'll get that specific in my times, i'll probably just give dates! also some of the spellings may vary, as spelling here may be different from where you are!
that's about everything for now i think (finally, i know), i will try and update at regularly as possible, but anyways. enjoy your day or night everyone, and hopefully i'll see you for the next update
-writingforfun
