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31_days2013-03-01 08:56 pm
seta-suzume.livejournal.com) wrote in 31_days2013-03-01 08:56 pm
[Mar. 1] [The Hunger Games] Playing at Heroes and Villains
Title: Playing at Heroes and Villains
Day/Theme: March 1, 2013 "if not famous, notorious"
Series: The Hunger Games
Character/Pairing: Mags & OCs (District 4 tributes)
Rating: PG
Author's comment: Probably more bits and pieces of this stuff this month (short pieces of long stories). I've written over 10,000 words of the sequel to Save Yourself, which I did a lot of my initial work on around here, but I'm hesitant to start posting until I'm almost finished...
Safia, exhausted (emotionally as much as physically), retires to her room, but Vere is up for more. I think he's been waiting for this opportunity. To talk to me without anyone else present. He's a real thinker. I can tell. Whereas my all of my past tributes relied heavily on me (and to a lesser degree, Aulie) to come up with their strategies, I think Vere has a plan in the works entirely of his own making. I think he volunteered with it already half-formed and now he wants to run it by me for my "expert" opinion.
…I only hope he's not too cocky to pull it off, whatever it is. He plops down on the blue couch (the one from the time of my Games has been replaced and it makes me wonder how frequently that occurs) and puts his feet up on the coffee table. Aulie likes all of this behavior of his- how funny and unique it makes him, but I just worry that it's the sort of stuff that's going to get him killed.
"Mags?" he asks me and his voice warbles on the edge of cracking young, "Can we talk?"
"Sure," I agree, "But take your feet off the table. …And don't try to tell that it's part of your 'rebellious youth' image, because no one is watching right now." …Or maybe they are. But he's not on camera for the public to consume, so no one who matters now.
"I've been thinking," he launches into his plot as I settle down beside him, "That you and that Jack and all are always trying to make your tributes heroes. …But, ultimately, even if you win, you're not necessarily seen as all that much of a hero. And, I don't know about in the Capitol- they seem to think that winning excuses everything- but back home, you know how the stories go. There are things that heroes aren't supposed to do. Lines they can't cross. But villains can do anything and you expect that of them."
I think I know where Vere is going with this.
His blue eyes are focused straight on mine. They're very clear. "So what I want to ask you is, what you were saying about continuity of character- is that really the most important thing when it comes to gaining the support of the audience? Is having a cohesive story more important than being a hero?"
"It," I hesitate, "I think it is. To gaining an audience. But if you plan on winning, you have to consider how you're going to feel afterward. The Capitol is going to expect you to be that same character after your Games; for the rest of your life. If you play a villain and do things you regret, you're going to have to publicly shrug them off. You may not get to say you're sorry." He's smart to think of it, but… "I'm hesitant to encourage you to put yourself in that position."
"Don't be," he leans a little closer, "I'm eighteen years old, Mags. I'm practically an adult. Heck, I would be a proper adult now if I hadn't volunteered at the reaping. You won't be encouraging me. I decided it myself."
It makes me uncomfortable, the way he's talking (the look is painful too, but that's because of the intense sincerity). "Then why are you even bringing it up with me if you've decided all this already?" I try to act jocular and play it down.
"Well, there was always the chance that you'd have something else in mind and get me turned around, but I need you. I can't win without your support. You could throw everything you have into Safia and abandon me if you wanted. …Maybe I can do it myself in the arena, but you're the one who knows how to tell a story to the audience." There's a hint of desperation there. "I can't do it without you."
Despite my reservations, I'm not sure I can tell him no.
Vere keeps on regarding me his so lucid eyes. "Please, Mags. Make me a villain."
"…You're never going to be able to tell everyone back in Four that you didn't mean it, that it's only the part you cast yourself in," I give him my last warning.
"I know," Vere agrees. "I've thought about it. …But you'll make sure they know that, right, if I die? I don't care what the Capitol or anyone else thinks, but back home, well, what reason is there for people to speak ill of the dead?"
I will. I give him my word. But I won't think about him dying just yet.
Day/Theme: March 1, 2013 "if not famous, notorious"
Series: The Hunger Games
Character/Pairing: Mags & OCs (District 4 tributes)
Rating: PG
Author's comment: Probably more bits and pieces of this stuff this month (short pieces of long stories). I've written over 10,000 words of the sequel to Save Yourself, which I did a lot of my initial work on around here, but I'm hesitant to start posting until I'm almost finished...
Safia, exhausted (emotionally as much as physically), retires to her room, but Vere is up for more. I think he's been waiting for this opportunity. To talk to me without anyone else present. He's a real thinker. I can tell. Whereas my all of my past tributes relied heavily on me (and to a lesser degree, Aulie) to come up with their strategies, I think Vere has a plan in the works entirely of his own making. I think he volunteered with it already half-formed and now he wants to run it by me for my "expert" opinion.
…I only hope he's not too cocky to pull it off, whatever it is. He plops down on the blue couch (the one from the time of my Games has been replaced and it makes me wonder how frequently that occurs) and puts his feet up on the coffee table. Aulie likes all of this behavior of his- how funny and unique it makes him, but I just worry that it's the sort of stuff that's going to get him killed.
"Mags?" he asks me and his voice warbles on the edge of cracking young, "Can we talk?"
"Sure," I agree, "But take your feet off the table. …And don't try to tell that it's part of your 'rebellious youth' image, because no one is watching right now." …Or maybe they are. But he's not on camera for the public to consume, so no one who matters now.
"I've been thinking," he launches into his plot as I settle down beside him, "That you and that Jack and all are always trying to make your tributes heroes. …But, ultimately, even if you win, you're not necessarily seen as all that much of a hero. And, I don't know about in the Capitol- they seem to think that winning excuses everything- but back home, you know how the stories go. There are things that heroes aren't supposed to do. Lines they can't cross. But villains can do anything and you expect that of them."
I think I know where Vere is going with this.
His blue eyes are focused straight on mine. They're very clear. "So what I want to ask you is, what you were saying about continuity of character- is that really the most important thing when it comes to gaining the support of the audience? Is having a cohesive story more important than being a hero?"
"It," I hesitate, "I think it is. To gaining an audience. But if you plan on winning, you have to consider how you're going to feel afterward. The Capitol is going to expect you to be that same character after your Games; for the rest of your life. If you play a villain and do things you regret, you're going to have to publicly shrug them off. You may not get to say you're sorry." He's smart to think of it, but… "I'm hesitant to encourage you to put yourself in that position."
"Don't be," he leans a little closer, "I'm eighteen years old, Mags. I'm practically an adult. Heck, I would be a proper adult now if I hadn't volunteered at the reaping. You won't be encouraging me. I decided it myself."
It makes me uncomfortable, the way he's talking (the look is painful too, but that's because of the intense sincerity). "Then why are you even bringing it up with me if you've decided all this already?" I try to act jocular and play it down.
"Well, there was always the chance that you'd have something else in mind and get me turned around, but I need you. I can't win without your support. You could throw everything you have into Safia and abandon me if you wanted. …Maybe I can do it myself in the arena, but you're the one who knows how to tell a story to the audience." There's a hint of desperation there. "I can't do it without you."
Despite my reservations, I'm not sure I can tell him no.
Vere keeps on regarding me his so lucid eyes. "Please, Mags. Make me a villain."
"…You're never going to be able to tell everyone back in Four that you didn't mean it, that it's only the part you cast yourself in," I give him my last warning.
"I know," Vere agrees. "I've thought about it. …But you'll make sure they know that, right, if I die? I don't care what the Capitol or anyone else thinks, but back home, well, what reason is there for people to speak ill of the dead?"
I will. I give him my word. But I won't think about him dying just yet.