Capitol TV 4: Family Interviews
So I've been asked that age old question that most SYOT writers get at some point; have you picked a winner? Until today, I could have said no and I can still pretty much say no because I know who my final 2 are but I'm edging towards one of them very slightly. But today I thought I'd do family interviews; I was planning on waiting until the final 5 but I have my reasons. Enjoy the Chapter and May the Odds be Ever in Your Favour!
Capitol
"To Panem; thank goodness you were saved from those psycho rebels" Benny, better known as "Boo", the camera man, raises his glass.
He, Aphrodite (who'd been allowed to stay since she was apparently ignorant in the events of the rebels), Hetty (makeup artist to the guests) and a very bored looking Raymond clink there glasses together all but Raymond laughing afterwards. He was glad Athena was gone as well as the fact that Aphrodite had dumped him since "it'd all been Athena's idea" but something didn't seem right. Athena, Zeus, Hera and Hades had all disappeared without a trace; no notes, no phone calls, nothing. What he didn't know was the events of the previous night when Oria killed three of the group and sent peacekeepers after the fourth. He still has no idea where Clarice is; still in the mental hospital where Salem decided to make her say since she had found out about Athena and not spoken up.
"5 minutes until showtime!" yells Marcus, now a runner for the show.
Benny, Aphrodite and Hetty all run to their appropriate posts and eventually Raymond make his way to the stage. The lights are on him and the camera is rolling.
"Good evening Panem; tonight we bring you a special treat. That's right, the final 6 family interviews! So let's get right down to it. Whittier Lear is beautiful, strong and now a cold blooded killer; so who raised this year's district 1 girl? Please welcome- Chiffon and Calico Lear!"
A bleach blonde woman who looks like she's in her late 20's (thanks to some Capitol surgery) totters onto the stage along with a stout man approaching 50.
"Why hello Raymond" Chiffon waves flirtily at the host and he blushes under the masses of makeup Aphrodite applied; her husband snorts at Raymond's reaction.
"Welcome Chiffon and Calico; now first of all, what are you general feelings about Whittier's actions in the games?" Raymond says quickly.
"Well we are just so proud of our little girl; I mean what mother wouldn't be? She's got these games in the bag; she just snapped her finger and the guys came running."
Calico grunts in agreement.
"Yes, let's talk about the Career boys" Raymond grimaces "Some of them seemed to have met sticky ends; any comments?"
"Oh Raymond you know as well as I do they brought it on themselves. I mean that boy from 4 ran straight into a fight on his own; Whit just saved him any extra pain" Chiffon beams.
Another grunt from Calico.
"Yes that's one way of putting it. What are your thoughts on Lupus Cobaine's death; he and your daughter certainly had a… conflicted relationship."
Chiffon's lip quivers just like Whittier's but instead tears are in her eyes.
"Chiffon what's the matter?"
"It's just- today I was getting my hair done and my friend Karen came in and told them to put the Hunger Games on and I saw what he was trying to do. He was trying to hurt my baby."
"You don't think your daughter could have provoked this at all?"
"How dare you; my daughter smiling at someone does not give them touching rights! He deserved exactly what was coming to him! And so does that Scout boy for breaking her heart!"
Calico raises his eyebrows but says nothing.
"Yes well that's all the time we have. Ladies and gentleman Mr and Mrs Lear!" Raymond says.
Calico guides his wife off stage and the camera turns back to Raymond.
"On that note let's meet the family of the heartbreak kid- Onyx and Gracie Parker!" on cue Scout's sisters walk on stage hand in hand "Hello ladies; please take a seat. I assume you aren't Scout's parents."
He gives Gracie a friendly smile but she bites her lip and backs as far into her chair as possible.
"Our parents died when I was 11" Onyx cuts in.
"I see; would you like to tell us about that or-"
"No."
Raymond turns his head to one side; he's reminded of Emma Suvillian, the sister of the boy from 4, Danny. He scoots his chair back slightly, just in case he gets slapped again.
"Ok let's keep away from personal matters" Raymond scans his mind for a new question steering clear of the subjects involving Whittier or Juliette "So- are you proud of your brother?"
"Until today, no; but honestly- he's proved himself to be braver than I ever thought he could be" Onyx says.
"Only time will tell if his braveness was worth it; ladies and gentleman Onyx and Gracie Parker!"
Not understanding why they had such a short interview, the two are a little slow walking off so a stage hands has to give them a shove.
"Now Annaliese Slate of District 3 shocked everyone by not only joining the Careers but actually measuring up to them. To tell us more our next guests- Tammi, Beck and Styx Slate!" Raymond says as two angry parents drag their daughter on stage "Hi guys; I'm feeling some tension here. Do you mind telling me what that's about?"
"I was supposed to be in the games this year not her! It's not fair!" Styx yells before Beck puts his hand over her mouth.
"What she means is, unfortunately we had to choose which of our children got to volunteer for the games this year and Styx was slightly upset when she wasn't chosen. We've always raised our children to be ready for anything that the games could throw at them" he explains.
"Ah I see- you train your children. No wonder Annaliese has become a member of the final 6" Raymond says.
"Oh yes" Tammi smirks "We taught her everything she knows."
"Right… your daughter had previously been mothering the girls from 12 and 10 after the loss of your son- you have my condolences by the way- how did you feel when this suddenly changed after the girl from 12 died."
"My first thought was "goodness"" Tammi seems taken aback "As in thank goodness! She had no reason to baby them anymore than she did Clio; she was becoming pathetic as far as I was concenred."
"You didn't think she was trying to compensate for the loss of her brother?"
"Clio? Annaliese barely acknowledge him most of the time and rightly so."
"It was a waste of time and effort trying to train him" Beck adds, now Styx has calmed down, instead biting her nails nervously; the audience don't look happy and Raymond has noticed too.
"It certainly did take some courage for you to give such a- unique opinion. Give it up for the Slate family" all three Slates march off stage "Next we've got an interesting one folks- the family of Santana "Lupa" Wolf had been forced to cancel due to important previously made arrangements but her sister was able to agree to come here at the last minute- Laila Wolf everyone!"
In reality, Santana's parents had pulled some strings and were allowed to reject their invitation; it'd been all over the news but not The Raymond Show; no chance. Laila Wolf takes a deep breath and glides across the stage, ignoring the audience completely. Raymond kisses her hand and due to her lack of makeup, her blushing is all too clear.
"Good evening Laila; now let's talk about you and your sister. Are you close?" Raymond pulls his chair closer attempting to comfort her but actually causing a series a wolf whistles from the audience; Laila ignores them again.
"Actually it's quite the opposite" Laila smiles shyly "I've messed up with her; I act like I'm so much better than her but I'm not. I just do what my parents tell me. But Santana is so- honest. I get that now. All these years I've thought she was jealous of me but all this time I've acted how they wanted and spoke how they wanted and I'm just- sick of it" her voice becomes shaky and Raymond slowly puts his arm around her- more wolf whistles.
"It's alright hon" he gestures to someone backstage then takes his arm off of Laila "We weren't going to tell you this but these interviews are steaming into the arena as we speak."
"They are? So she heard what I just said?"
"Most likely; would you like to say something else?"
"Yes. Santana, I'm so sorry. Please try and get home; we can sort things out with my mum and dad. Please."
With no goodbyes, she leaves the stage.
"Too bad she's underage" someone mutters in the audience; Laila swerves round.
"Goodness gracious why don't you just shut your pie hole?" she snarls.
Even though she walks off by herself, two peacekeepers escort her and they run into the Ares Tower's mother causing a minor pile up.
"Jesus Christ" Raymond sighs "Kaitlin Tower everybody!"
"Yes hiya" Kaitlin breathes heavily and keeps looking up at the ceiling "Why- what lovely- lights."
"You seem a little nervous; would you like a glass of water?" Raymond asks; Kaitlin nods quickly "Water please! Right, let's talk about your son Ares; he became co-leaders of his alliance with Angel West very early on. Was this leadership a trait you were aware of?"
"He's always been very high functioning; he has a lot of friends too. I was so proud of him when he stood up to the post like that."
"And now?"
"He's lost; he might seem like he's fine but I know my son. His heart's just too big."
"Ooh speaking of his heart; Angel West of district 8 certainly stole it am I right guys?"
The audience cheer but Kaitlin stiffens.
"Anyway, tell me what you thought of Angel? If the situation was different would she and your son have got your blessing?" Raymond asks.
"What kind of a question is that?" Kaitlin snaps "The girl is dead and you want to treat it like some petty gossip?"
"No- wait- I mean-"
"That girl made my son happy and that's all I can ever hope for. Thanks to you he can't be happy because you killed her; you and the god damn Capitol."
"Alright that's enough of that- thank you Mrs Tower."
Not unlike with Laila Wolf, a pair of peacekeepers escort Kaitlin offstage.
"Perhaps my final guests will be slightly less… lively than the previous; you gushed at her cuteness, now let's see where this dear little Ruby came from. Come on out Rodriguez family!" Raymond says "Woah, we said family only; we never said every farmer in district 10!"
Frankly he's exaggerates what's actually about eight people, three of them infants.
"We're all Ruby's family" beams 10 year old Rani "That's mama, daddy, Rosie, Riley, Ricky, Randy and that right there's Penny; she's Ruby's best friend."
"Wow ok big family" Raymond regains his focus "If some of you would like to take a seat we can get started."
After some shuffling around Rani, Rosie and Ruby's mother holding Riley, get the seats.
"First off Rosie tell me about your family; what's it like living in district 10?" Raymond asks.
"Actually we used to live in district 1 and that meant a lot of training but district 10 is a lot more relaxed. I kept training and I used to complain to Ruby that she- that she took too many risks. I guess she's proved me right" Rosie smiles sadly.
"Oh isn't that sweet? Now Mrs Rodriguez-"
"Honey call me Darcy."
"Fine Darcy; I assume you lived in district 1 through your childhood so do you think Ruby has lived up to her Career roots?"
"Definitely; Ruby's what we like to call "rough around the edges". She doesn't quite have the district 1 call down but she's strong enough. I like to think she's living my dream. You see, I was supposed to be the district 1 female in the 76th Hunger Games before the rebellion but" Darcy wipes away a tear that isn't there "It wasn't meant to be."
"I am truly sorry for you Darcy. We all are" Raymond nods at the audience and murmurs of agreement can be heard "Final question to Penny; if you can I'd like you to go back to when you lost Ruby for the first time. What was it like?"
"It was just awful; that nasty district 1 girl just kept stabbing her over and over. It was a dark day when she died. Then she was brought back only to be put back in the arena; I mean truthfully sir, that's a waste of a life if ever I did see one."
"Yeah, yeah whatever. Ladies and gentleman I'm afraid that all we have time for! So thank you to all my great guests and tune in tomorrow for Day 18 of the 77th Hunger Games!"
I ended it kind of abruptly since this has taken me long enough. I'm telling you; next games is either going to be the final 4 or the final 3 family interviews. It's so hard to think of different ways of an interview happening. Luckily I have my ideas all set in my head so hopefully Day 18 shouldn't take as long. Fingers crossed!
Death List
27th- Lewis Simmons: I had no problem with him but I thought one of the alliances should have a loss plus I think following Ruby is the kind of thing Lewis would do. I will miss him though; he was all cheery.
26th- Mai Moonheart: I always felt so sad when I was writing for her; I had no idea what to do with her character. I thought it'd be best if I just ended her pain.
25th- Coal Hartcell: I felt kind of bad killing him because he's been pretty popular but I struggled to write for him.
24th- Terrian Demetrius: I'm sorry to his creator but he was one of the hardest characters for me to write for. I have no idea why. Plus, he was all bitchy towards Cersai and I'm thinking "this girl has enough issues without you targeting her".
22nd- Dusty Abernez: In short, I thought I should have another death and believe me, choosing who to kill off was pretty bloody hard. In the end I chose Dusty, just because I thought he'd fallen under Whittier's spell the most and was therefore most likely to do something stupid.
21st- Ruby Rachel Rodriguez: I literally chose the first person who I could think of a death for; it was the only way.
20th- Annaliese Slate: Pretty much the same reason as Ruby but also because I didn't want her death end up too cliché.
19th- Jayden Williams: He wasn't as popular as some other tributes and I thought he'd run his course.
18th- Reedman Phelps: Like Jayden, he wasn't overly popular but I did like him quite a bit; at least he died a good man.
17th- Jenneth Myra Speare: She was actually reasonably popular but I just wasn't feeling her storyline anymore; also, I unfortunately left her in an awkward position what with her critical injuries and all.
16th- Clio Slate: I just couldn't think of much more to write about him and I thought he should go out before his storyline got boring. Also, selfish as it is, I kind of felt like his death will somewhat do Annaliese good.
15th- Nicole Jade Smith: I just felt like- "You know what, she's done enough." Also, it was a crazy on crazy meet up so… WHAT THE HECK DID YOU THINK WAS GONNA HAPPEN?
14th- Luke Matthew Pond: I've always considered him a pretty smart character, the type that looks at things from a logical point of view so it's the not that surprising the whole Ruby thing freaked him the crap out. To be honest, I did think about him winning at some point, but after Jenneth got stabbed I was just like, this isn't gonna happen really is it? Still, an awesome character and I'm sorry to get rid of him.
13th- Angel West: Call me self centred, but I love writing for my own characters. However, Angel's story had to come to an end because I've been writing it like that I guess. Plus, love has to end in tragedy in the games. It's a shame really because I loved her and Ares as a couple.
23rd/12th- Riddell Thicket (first time): After not giving him an alliance, I didn't know what to do with him. Sorry to everyone who supported him.
(second time): I quite liked him and like I said I probably could have given him more storyline but ultimately while he was a good character, he was one of the harder to write for characters.
11th- Aurora Felici: Poor thing was basically just another victim in Cersai's little riot; I always liked her but I just never really thought of much storyline other than the one at the last minute.
10th- Dandelion Wildflee: Loved her; loved her a lot. She has always been one of those character who actually cares about a lot of people. She never went crazy but she had a cowardly moment and I dunno, I just feel like, after a while, she got lost in the crowd.
9th- Juliette Ryde: Ok I'm gonna level with you guys; when I kill someone off I'm not entirely honest in why I kill them off. A lot of the time I love the character but I just find a way that their death will fit for a good story and I'm afraid this was the case for Juliette.
8th- Lupus Cobaine: He was killed by popular demand basically; you guys were saying one of the evil people had to die soon and frankly he was starting to piss me off so I imagined Whittier's patience would probably ware thinner than my own thus no more Lupus.
7th- Cersai Grace Helms: I guess I decided to have a 2 for 1 sale on killing off the bad people. But honestly, in one of my personal brain rambles I thought "Seriously Ellesse this girl is just too crazy and she's not going to get that back in the like few days left of the games." Plus I just thought her time was up in general and I wasn't sure how else I could write for her.
Remaining Tributes
Both District 1 Tributes
Annaliese Slate of District 3
Santana Wolf of District 4
Ares Tower of District 6
Ruby Rachel Rodriguez of District 10