The interviews are shorter because there are more Tributes than normal.
Harlequin Marceau POV
Ugh, all Careers.
I never liked the Careers. They were thuggish and brutal. I may have been a Capitolite, but the farther away a Tribute lived from the Capitol, the more I usually rooted for them. The snark was going to be strong today. I added some last touches to my makeup, finished it with a splash of lipstick (Theodora's favorite shade. At least there were still some good things about the Games), and waited for my cue.
The first Tribute was one I'd never seen before. I'd watched Tritium on television, that is, but I'd never interviewed him.
"This is your first Resurrection Games, isn't it?" I asked. "How are you liking it so far?"
"A lot has changed. It's not exactly what I signed up for. But then, I didn't sign up at all this time," he said. It almost sounded like he wasn't happy to be killing people. Imagine that.
"I hear you're allying with Victory this time. However did that come about?" I asked Jynx.
"I wouldn't want anyone else to kill her. That's my job. She feels the same about me," he said. Isn't that sweet. Though I don't know what Theodora sees in him. He's not my type.
"Are you still the villain this time around?" I asked Rapture. He'd elected to be interviewed with Diamond, so she was the first female Tribute I saw.
"Whatever gets me the win," Rapture said.
"He's not a villain. We're just trying to win," Diamond said. I liked her a lot more than her brother. But then, I'm pretty biased.
"A lot of people say you were robbed of your win," I said to Glaudius. "Is that true?"
"Definitely. It was a fluke. It won't happen again," he said, like he was the victim. He wasn't robbed of anything, but he robbed a lot of children of their lives.
"What's it like seeing Tillo and Felix again?" I asked Hunter.
"It's definitely a trip. I'm just glad the other Felix isn't here. That way we can both win," he said. In a perfect world...
"You're one of our older Tributes. In fact, you're older than me!" I said when I saw Charmaine. She laughed.
"I guess so. I never thought of it that way. Older and wiser, I hope," she said. I hoped so too.
"I have to ask. How do you feel about your recent loss?" I asked Victory. She facepalmed.
"Oh my goodness, have mercy. It won't happen again, okay?" she said. I had mercy.
"You performed excellently last time. How do you intend to improve?" I asked Olivine.
"This time I'm going to win," she said. Short and to the point.
"You'll see me again," Chantal said confidently.
"As a Victor or a Tribute?" I asked. I can be so mean.
I'd been dreading interviewing Priscilla. We both knew what was missing. There was an empty space on the stage neither of us could forget.
"I'm sure you'll do a great job. Anything can happen in the Capitol, especially for a Victor," I said. She must have known what I meant, but she didn't say anything.
"Are you planning to improve upon your last performance?" I asked Ash innocently.
"No, I plan to do worse," he said. Well shoot. I met my match.
"How are you liking the Capitol?" I asked Troy. It was my most generic question, but he ran with it.
"It's been great. I've seen so many new things. I feel like I've spent all my life in the Academy training to live and only now do I actually live," he said. That was... surprisingly eloquent. I had someone I wouldn't mind rooting for.
I didn't ask Orren any questions. He took care of all his airtime.
"Judgement Day has come. The sins of the many will be repaid sevenfold. There are so many here awaiting condemnation. None will escape," he said. He stared at me like the Grim Reaper.
"All right then. By the way, I have never sinned. Not once," I said.
"Your alliance seems like the strongest so far. Are you this year's pack?" I asked Akari.
"It seems so. We won't disappoint," she said. Her answers were short and assured. She knew what she was doing.
"Don't you look beautiful today?" I said to Ava. She always looked so uncomfortable when she had to be onstage.
"Thanks," she said shyly. It was an improvement from last time.
"Say hello to your newest Victor," Mary Ellen said.
"Where is she?" I asked.
"Some of these Tributes seem rather homicidal. They'll probably remove each other. They don't represent Panem anyway," Steel said.
"Oh no, not at all," I said in my most sincere voice. Panem is always watching.
"I can't wait until I get to run into the Bloodbath," Odeda said.
"Neither can I," I answered.
"Your alliance seems to be having more fun than they're allowed to have," I said to Lottie.
"If we aren't yet, we'll work on it," she said. I hoped one of those crazy goofballs won it all.
"Here's the girl you've all been waiting for," Aversa said as she walked onstage with her arms oustretched.
"It wasn't worth the wait," I said.
"I'm feeling good about this year. I underestimated myself last time. Now I know what I can do," Cierra said. A lot of people underestimated her. I hoped they made the same mistake.
"Do you have anything to tell us?" I asked Venus.
"Nothing comes to mind," she said. She wanted to get done as quickly as possible. I didn't like being next to her any more than she liked me.
"It's weird seeing people from so long ago. It's a blast from the past," Ole said. He was looking off into the distance, like he was thinking of someone in particular. I tried to get it out of him, but we ran out of time.
"Here's Panem's berserker, back for another go! You must be overjoyed," I said to Floki.
"It's all right. I'm kind of tired of fighting. This time I think I just want to live," he said. That trickster. He was living up to his name.
"I can't help but notice that Vera's not here. How's that been for you?" I asked Whyte.
"There's more to me than Vera. I hope I'll see her again, but I can get along by myself. Floki and I are having a lot of fun," he said. Fair enough. Shame on me for assuming.
"What's your strategy for the Games?" I asked Tally.
"I'm going to stay out of the big fights. Honestly, I'm not a heavy hitter," she said. The non-threat defense. Good choice in your case.
"I learned a lot from last time. I've noted all my mistakes and I'm going to work on them all," Arielle said. It was a surprisingly humble and honest approach for a Career. I hoped it paid off.
Mist looked like a different person. She was neatly groomed and her eyes were focused.
"You seem happy," I commented.
"It's been all right," she said hesitantly. She kept looking around, like she expected to find someone who wasn't there. Still better than last time. I wasn't even there, but I saw the tapes.
"Going to go all the way this time?" I asked Marley.
"You bet. Elver's not here this time to stab me in the back, and I have two great allies to watch it for me anyway," she said. I wasn't allowed to bet, but I would have laid a paycheck on that alliance.
"How do you feel about your competitors?" I asked Camille. She had the strangest accent when she answered.
"A lot of them are very soft. They're going to have to toughen up if they want a chance," she said. I couldn't argue with that.
"I haven't met you before! It's a pleasure," I said to Kaliana.
"You too. You're not anything like I expected," she said. I hoped she hadn't expected something terrible. I didn't think I was scary, especially not for Careers.
"What do you think about this Games' all Careers twist?" I asked Nadia.
"It's certainly going to make things harder," she said. She was the first one to say what we were all thinking.
I was all talked out when I finally got to the end. It wasn't as bad as I'd feared. Some of the Tributes were even a little commendable. I knew who I wanted to win, even if I wasn't about to tell the others. No need to say anything that could be taken as rebellious. At least I didn't feel as guilty as I usually did. As soon as I got to my dressing room, I threw off my outfit and put on a pair of flannel pants and an old t-shirt. Theodora didn't need me to wear a fancy dress. We could chill and eat pizza or whatever we wanted. As long as I didn't have to do any more interviews.
Yesterday at work I decided I shipped Harlequin and Theodora. As you can tell by her training reports, Theodora usually finds men attractive, but sometimes she prefers women for actual relationships. It's a pretty casual thing they have going on anyway. It's basically a fling that picks up every year when they're back together in the Games building.
For my little sis: I couldn't open the email due to my ad block, humorously enough. I'll be adding Daisy retroactively after I open it on a different computer.