We Didn't Start The Fire
by FanficAllergy & RoseFyre
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Chapter Nine: Bohemian Rhapsody
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Last Time in We Didn't Start The Fire:
With the parade done, Snow gives his usual speech, and then it's over.
Now we have to wait for the next round of horrors to begin.
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Life in Thirteen doesn't stop because of the Games, but for the three of us it's put on hold. The techs assure President Coin they'll be able to break into the Capitol's feed soon and all of us are given lightened schedules just in case the techs finally prevail. I'm not as optimistic as they are, they've been trying to break in for at least a month now and haven't been successful yet, but hopefully they're right and it'll be soon.
It's unsurprising, perhaps, that Coin and her propo team decide to capitalize on Madge's misfortune. Fulvia wants to do a propo focusing on just Madge, but Madge, Rye, and the rest of us are all against it. They compromise by having Katniss and Madge discuss what happened on their radio show, Voices of Freedom.
Gale and I are tapped to sit in as special guests, but it's really Madge's moment. The two of us are only there to add a bit of continuity.
During her interview, Madge describes what it's like living back in District Twelve. She elaborates on what being a mayor of an underperforming, unnecessary district actually entails.
All of us from Twelve had assumed the coal we spent so much time mining was of extreme importance to the Capitol's infrastructure. It's what they teach in our schools. It's what they show on our television screens. Madge's speech reveals we were lied to. The Capitol doesn't need our coal. They get power from Five's hydroelectric and solar plants. The coal our district sweats and dies for ends up powering Four's fishing fleet, Six's steel mills, and Eight's factories. It is beyond disheartening to find out the industry we'd been taught was so important is nothing more than a sham meant to keep us enslaved, too tired to rebel, and our district has no real value to the Capitol at all. I can't imagine how Katniss and Gale feel since both of their fathers died maintaining that lie. I sense a future propo on the subject. This is about Madge and her father.
As Madge speaks, we get to know a bit more about the Mayor himself, not just the office. We hear about his sense of humor, his kindness, his willingness to take someone in not of his own family, first Rachel, then my brother, just to make sure they could escape the abuse they'd received at their parents' hands.
Wexler Undersee is a good man. However, in the Capitol's eyes, he committed the most egregious crime of letting people escape, specifically his own daughter. As though he could control the motivations and actions of all ten thousand people living in his district. But the Capitol doesn't see it that way, Madge discloses many mayors are often punished or even killed for the transgressions of their citizens. It makes his servile and nervous behavior on Reaping Day take on a whole new meaning.
I start to feel bad for the man. And I feel guilty. I never got a chance to really know him, despite his daughter being one of my best friends. I'm not alone. Katniss and Gale both look as guilty as I feel. All of us have had business or other interactions with the Mayor, and none of us even suspected him to have these depths.
Madge finishes up with, "I know my father's never coming home. The Capitol won't allow it." Her voice catches a bit. "I- I just want everyone to know exactly who the Capitol's condemned to death. So that we don't forget him." She pauses. "So that we don't forget any of them! I can't speak for the rest of the tributes this year. But I hope I can speak for the families. Please, don't forget them. Remember their sacrifice and rise up to prevent any future innocents from being sacrificed in these abominations the Capitol has the gall to call a game."
There isn't a lot we can add. Madge has summed it up perfectly. Instead, Katniss closes the show by singing one of the old songs from District Twelve, The Hanging Tree. I couldn't have picked a more perfect song for this moment.
When she finishes, she reaches out and takes Madge's hand. "We'll remember your father, Madge," she says. "We'll all remember all of them."
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We don't pay much attention to the broadcast of the tribute scores. I don't feel like watching a string of ones for the baby and other small children. We can already guess who the real contenders are, we don't need that level of confirmation.
But, on June 7th, the day before the Games start, we're called up to the main control room. The techs think that they've managed to find a way to break into the Capitol's signal and the interviews would be an ideal time to televise our message.
So dressed in our Thirteen best, Gale, Katniss, and I stand at the ready, watching and waiting.
The feed flickers a few times and we take a breath.
Caesar's hair is bright lime green this year. He had blue hair last year. I would've thought he'd have gone to purple, since he tends to rotate through the colors of the rainbow, but I guess chartreuse must be the big color this year and the older man couldn't resist.
As always, Caesar does his best to try to make the tributes look good, but he's got his work cut out for him. For the elderly tributes from District One, he focuses on experience. Oralie Jupiter goes first. She's a slender wisp of a woman clothed entirely in silver and crystal. Caesar makes much of the fact that she got a score of seven despite her advanced age. The woman just smiles enigmatically and says, "I've got several surprises up my sleeve, you'll just have to wait and see."
Caesar next asks Myron Gaultier if he got any special training from his famous granddaughter and grandson, Cashmere and Gloss, and if that's why he got an eight as his training score. The old man smiles and I can see in his youth he must have been an attractive man. "Who do you think they got their training from?"
"Whoaaaa!" Caesar exclaims. "Sounds like you were a wild one in your youth!"
"I'm still a wild one," the old man corrects, flashing a smile, revealing teeth as white as Caesar's. "Just you wait and see. I'll make sure you'll have a Games you'll never forget."
"I look forward to it!"
The oldest tribute, Prisca Wallace from Two, is up next. She talks about how she was a stonecutter before she retired and, even though she's of advanced years, she's still quite strong. But her training score's only a four, and while she might be strong, she moves stiffly. For the first time in as long as I can remember, District Two doesn't stand much of a chance.
My heart goes out to the family of the next tribute. Justus is clearly trying to be strong. The boy does his best to emulate the previous tributes from District Two, but he's far too young to pull off the cocky swagger of a Career convincingly. He's got a higher training score than I would have expected considering his age: a three. But he's still not going to earn any sponsors with that score. He's trying to be brave, put on a good front, but underneath it all he's just a scared kid.
The screen flickers again and I hope the technicians have managed to break into the Capitol's signal. But it's another false alarm.
Error Poindexter is a bright bubbly girl with pale, almost white blond hair. She idolizes her district mentors, Beetee and Wiress, and she talks about how much she loves the technology here in the Capitol. During her interview, Caesar brings up her brother, who competed in last year's Hunger Games. The girl does her best to hide her sadness and counters she's even more resourceful than he was. Her response resonates with the Capitol audience, because she gets almost as many cheers as Myron at the end of her interview.
In sharp contrast, her district partner, Kenshin Benedict, is boring and bland and doesn't stand a chance with a training score of three. Even Error's score of six is more impressive.
I can barely stand to watch the next two interviews. Little Pacifica Jonasson talks about how much fun they've had in training, especially the gong game. I realize, as she speaks, that the gong game teaches the kids to stay on their launch pedestals for the full sixty second countdown. I guess the Capitol doesn't want the children to be blown to bits. I don't blame them. But I wonder if it would be the most humane way for them to die.
I shudder at my thoughts. Just what have these Games turned me into?
The next interview is worse. Ferdie O'Doyle is less than a year old, too young even to talk. Caesar does his best, playing with the baby and letting him crawl around the stage. Still it's not enough. Caesar, hardened Games veteran that he is, is near tears. This child doesn't stand a chance and Caesar knows it. The scores reflect it. Both children receive ones.
I'm almost grateful when Lux Tamaya, the redheaded female from District Five with the sharply pointed features, walks up onstage. She's not interesting or engaging, but at least she's not a child. Caesar switches his focus to her with gusto. He compliments her training score of five and raves about the brightness of her red hair, asking her for styling tips.
Her district partner, Adad Kovacs, is silently solemn. He refuses to speak, just sitting with his arms crossed, his long iron-gray hair in two braids. Surprisingly, the man has a training score of one. Caesar tries to find out why but Adad refuses to answer any questions about it. If I had to guess, it's because he's protesting anything to do with these Games. I wouldn't be surprised if the man just walks off once the gong sounds and we never see him again until he dies of hunger or exposure several days later. Or the Capitol kills him for his rebellion.
Caesar latches on to Chevy Blaise, the former Victor representing District Six, like a drowning man. The woman's hands are shaking, her eyes have a broken, vacant look. But she answers Caesar's questions with a sense of humor. She clearly knows how to play the game. Her training score of six would be unremarkable in any other year, but compared to Adad, she's practically a Career, and Caesar treats her as such.
Both of the tributes from District Six are decent contenders. Chevy's district partner, Henry Jarvis, has a training score of eight. He's an affable young man with dark skin and black hair done up in long thin braids. I can see the Capitol responding to his handsome good looks. If I didn't know better, I'd say Caesar is actually flirting with the man. Caesar breaks out one of his go-to questions, asking about a sweetheart back home. Much to Caesar's chagrin, Henry waxes poetic for the rest of his time, talking about his wife and their two young children.
The District Seven tributes both have a score of seven, but that's the most exciting thing about them. The woman, Beulah Jordan, is middle-aged and frumpy, though her arms show the hard muscle of a lumberjack. While the boy, Ashley Pitts, is sixteen and seems almost angry that he somehow managed to get Reaped this year. I'm not sure I blame him. The odds were in his favor that someone not Reaping age would be chosen. The poor kid just had bad luck.
The woman from District Eight is surprisingly memorable, unlike last year's Victor, Taylor Paylor. Serge Singer is pretty and her stylist definitely plays that up. She flirts with the crowd and with Caesar. Her training score of nine is nothing to sneeze at. It's a bit odd someone from one of the outlying districts has the highest score so far, but considering what the Reaping did to the Career Districts, it's not too surprising.
Taylor Maitland is a sweet scared seven year old boy. Caesar tries his best with him, and at least succeeds in keeping the boy from crying. However, with a score of one, everyone knows the boy doesn't stand a chance. Even his stylist must think so. The poor kid is dressed in the exact same ill-fitting suit he was wearing during the parade.
Bettie Rothbauer from District Nine is the kind of tribute Caesar loves. She's pretty and vivacious and plays along with Caesar's flirting, even going so far as to ask the older man to give her a kiss for luck. Caesar happily obliges and wishes her the best wholeheartedly. She actually is a contender, unlike most of the rest, with a training score of seven. So far no one has gotten double digits yet. I suspect that that will be the case for the rest of the tributes.
Bran Bailey, the male tribute from Nine, is definitely showing signs of his age. He seems more elderly than the tributes from Districts One and Two, even though he's twenty years younger. He forgets Caesar's questions and keeps asking where his wife and kids are. He's got a training score of one, so even though Caesar tries to hold up his end of the conversation, it's not going to do him much good. No one's going to sponsor a senile old man.
By contrast, Earlene Dixon, who's only five years younger than Bran, looks and acts like she's twenty five years younger. Her heavily lined and weathered tan skin and white-streaked blond hair are played up well by the dark blue dress her stylist has dressed her in. Caesar's clearly smitten. She's got a score of eight, which doesn't hurt either.
Grover Roosevelt is shy. But Caesar's able to draw him out. He talks about how Auntie Earlene's been teaching him the ropes, and has told him "We Tens got to stick together." Most of his interview is focused on Earlene and it's very evident that she's planning on protecting her district partner. As yet another tribute scoring a one, he's going to need all of the protection he can get.
The female tribute from Eleven, Valli Rosales, has led a hard life and it shows in her face. She's starting to go gray at the temples and she's got wrinkles at the corners of her eyes. In her youth, she probably was a great beauty, but time hasn't treated her well. She's soft-spoken and spends most of her time talking about her four kids and the man she ran away to marry. As hard as life has been on her, it's been a happy one, and I feel Katniss reach out to take my hand as she speaks.
The next tribute really needs no introduction. Chaff Chavez is quite dapper in his vest and button up shirt. His stylist has played up his missing limb and has decided to give the older Victor a roguish air. He, too, knows how to play the game, and he jokes and teases Caesar, telling him how he hopes that any sponsors send him a flask of alcohol so he can rub it in his friend Haymitch's face later. The interview is light and it's readily apparent Caesar and Chaff are friendly outside of the Games.
The only dark spot comes up when Caesar says, "I'm a little surprised to see you back up here." It's a gaffe on Caesar's part, which he quickly realizes. I can see it on his face before he quickly schools his features.
Chaff covers, saying, "Better me than some others I could name," making it clear the others he's referring to are kids.
I like the former Victor, and District Eleven has the highest combined training score of all the districts, with Chaff scoring a nine despite his missing hand, and Valli scoring a seven.
Shuga Coombs's interview is especially hard to bear. Caesar asks her his go-to question, "How do you like it here in the Capitol?" and the little girl's face lights up. She looks beautiful in her purple dress, even if it doesn't fit quite right, and for a moment I'm glad she got to wear a dress as pretty as Effie Trinket's after all.
"I like the food, and the clothes, and I made a new best fwend, Pacifica! We's gonna be best friends forever! She's told me all about the oceanum and the pish, and we's gonna go swimming and I'm gonna bring my new other best fwend, Effie Twinket. She's real nice and smells real good, like flowers. And she's got the pwettiest hair and dress and I wanna be just like her when I gwow up!"
I can see Caesar trying hard to keep his composure. He knows that the little girl's never going to grow up. None of the children will.
Finally, the Mayor comes up onstage. He has a training score of four, which is higher than many of the rest of the tributes, and it feels weird to say that. The Mayor knows he's not going to come out of these Games alive, because he makes no point in hiding what he's feeling.
Caesar's first question, stupidly perhaps, is "How did you feel when you got Reaped?"
"Unsurprised," Madge's father answers. "But at the same time I was grateful. At least if the Capitol was taking its vengeance on me, that meant that another innocent little kid wasn't gonna end up in this atrocity of a Hunger Games."
"Those are some strong words, Wexler," Caesar tries to deflect. "Aren't you worried about sponsors?"
"What's the point? I'm not planning on surviving these Games anyway. My plan is to try to keep the kids alive as long as I can, and then die on my own terms once all the rest of the threats have been eliminated."
Caesar's clearly confused but he tries to play along. "That sounds very noble of you. I'm sure all of those children's parents will be happy to hear that."
"Those kids shouldn't have been in the Games in the first place, Caesar," Mr. Undersee snaps. "I'm just glad my daughter and everyone else who left had enough sense to get the hell out before the shit hit the fan. In fact, I wish more people had run away."
Fulvia gasps at the Mayor's language.
Onscreen, Caesar cuts the Mayor's interview short, not even bothering with the playing of the national anthem. The screen goes dark and I know that our opportunity to interrupt the interviews is over.
Gale laughs. "Good for him. We may not have broken in tonight," he says, "but I think our Mayor said everything we need to say."
I nod my head. None of the lines I had planned for tonight are anywhere near as moving as what Mayor Undersee just said unscripted in Caesar's studio.
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AN:
Written: 4/17/15
Revised: 8/7/15
Revised 2: 8/18/15
If you don't have Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" in your head now, we pity you. It's a damn good song and when we realized that we needed to split this chapter we went hunting for the perfect song and, oh boy, did we find it. It was one of those where you could literally hear the eureka moment in both of our voices as we realized that just how well the song fit the lyrics and how much it fed into the previous chapter's song. It's perfect. And now if you don't know what we're talking about, please give it a listen. You will not be disappointed and there will be headbanging involved at one point. It is a moral imperative.
Nothing was randomized in this chapter...
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