regarding approaching movie releases

[primreaper]

Well!

The release date for the latest propo about the rebellion draws near and I must say, as pleased as I am with my part in everything, there are some ignorant opinions out there about me.

No thanks to victors who will remain nameless.

Mr. Abernathy.

But! I suppose that is what one must face when one is the escort from the Capitol to the poorest, most down-on-their-luck district. Of course they cannot see that I truly do enjoy my job. Not necessarily the company, or the looks the denizens of District 12 give me- oh yes, I can see them all- but bringing hope to the districts! I knew when I grabbed Primrose' name things were going to be different that year.

I am so grateful that Katniss took her sister's place- I would not have been able to bare watching another 12-year-old die from the District I hold nearest and dearest to my heart. Not after poor Willow Fletcher. That was the 61st Hunger Games.

My! How time flies. I hope that you will humor me in the upcoming months. Just think of all the fun we can have!

Comments

[catnipped]

I wouldn't call it bringing hope.

[primreaper]

Katniss, I hold you in the highest esteem.
But I believe I have been doing my job longer than you have been alive. I believe I know why I took this job. And I know that year after year I tried to bring hope to the tributes whose names I pulled from those jars.

Even when they believed they would die.

[catnipped]

You can call it whatever you want, what you did. What you do. I'm just saying that's not what I would call it.

[primreaper]

I understand that. I simply wish, well, that all of you could understand. [Effie, your privileged is seeping out of your pores. Knock off the Capitol Savior thing.]

It's an uphill battle. But I am on your side.

[catnipped]

[A little grumpily:] I don't need anyone on my side.

[primreaper]

Come now! There's no shame in admitting it. We all need outside help sometimes.

[imbiber]

[Good lord. He is too sober for this.]

After that little speech, I doubt anybody is going to have much trouble forming their own opinions.

[primreaper]

[She raises a brightly colored eyebrow.]

Excuse you. I'm simply trying to explain my rationale! Since I seem more ready to help our tributes than you.

[imbiber]

Help them with what? Positive thinking? Reminding them how horrible their lives are?

You're practically a saint.

[primreaper]

Maybe if they didn't go into the arena every year convinced that they were going to die, they might have some hope! You should be instilling that into them! But you set them all at a direct disadvantage, and it shocks me you still don't understand that twenty five years after your own victory.

[imbiber]

[He regards her for a second or two. Then he chuckles -- bitterly at first -- and builds into a cackle that last several long seconds.]

Twenty five years. No kidding. Twenty five years since my glorious victory! Thank goodness someone is keeping track. I remember hoping so much that I'd get out of that arena alive, and look what happened! You must be on to something.

[primreaper]

[She glares at him. She remembers his games. They were the first one she was truly old enough to remember. She had been rooting for him.]

You understand, then, what I am saying. You had hope to get out of there. Now you set your tributes up to die in the blood bath.

[drowningthedays]

[A drink. a smirk.]

Brain capacity. Of. A. Woodchuck.

[That's all.]

[primreaper]

[What is a woodchuck?]

I object to that! [She glares over her own drink.]

You know very well that I'm intelligent. I just wear it different than you.

[drowningthedays]

[Ask, Effie. Go ahead and ask. Haymitch is 100% guaranteed to offer a charitable explanation.]

Ignorant until proven guilty. Unless your eminently useless talent for mind-boggling clothing combinations counts as intelligence, in which case you have the brain of a fashionable woodchuck. Congratulations.

[primreaper]

If a woodchuck is dressed anything like you all do in 12, then I'm going to take that as a complement.

Really, Haymitch. You're lucky I'm paid to put up with you.

[drowningthedays]

Yes, Effie. We all dress exactly like woodchucks.

I do feel especially blessed. Morning, noon, and night, I thank the Mighty Capitol.

[primreaper]

Woodland creatures do not wear clothing.

[She glares.] I know you're bitter.

[orator]

We would've been lost without you, Effie. [Mostly literally.]

[primreaper]

Thank you, Peeta. I appreciate it.

I do care very deeply about you and Katniss. I hope you recognize that.

[orator]

I do. [She has a... particular way of phrasing that care sometimes, but he doesn't doubt the genuine affection Effie holds for them. Plus, he's hard-pressed to come up with a better guide to the Capitol.]

I'm sure Katniss does too, no matter what she says. You know how she is with expressing herself.

[primreaper]

[Part of that particular way of phrasing things is her own attempt to keep herself safe. She'd learned the hard way that if you get too attached to your tributes, you were more often than not going to be heartbroken. For the others in the Capitol, they were celebrities and tributes. They weren't people who they had witnessed cry or scream. The way Effie saw it, she needed to keep their spirits up. Instill them with some sort of hope.]

I do. She's a very lovely woman, that Katniss Everdeen. I dare say, she really has inspired us all.

And you, Peeta. You're such a kind, brave man. I'm glad to count you as, well, a personal friend, if I may be so bold.

[orator]

She'd hate to hear us saying that about her. [He glances away for a second, smiling a little despite himself. He shouldn't smile. The reason she'd hate is because of the growing rebellion, but he also can't help imagining the disbelieving face Katniss makes whenever people compliment her. Most of the time she tries to redirect the attention onto him instead. It's not hard to play the role of devoted fiance with all the glad-handers in the Capitol — usually when people say something like this, he has a bland, adoring response about how Katniss is a daily inspiration, she's his reason for living, etc.

Peeta doesn't really want to, with Effie. He supposes that means he really does consider her a friend.] Of course you can, Effie. I mean it, we wouldn't have gotten as far as we did without your help.

I'd just hoped it was adding up to more than returning into the arena.

[primreaper]

Then we we won't tell her, will we? [She offers a conspiratorial smile. Yes, Effie can be mischievous and mysterious. You would be surprised. She does have a life outside of escorting. Especially this past year! She'd, for once, been at the top of the guest list for every big event. There had been talk of promoting her to a better district, but she knew she couldn't take it. After all, the new mentors for 12 would be Katniss and Peeta, and she was loathe to abandon them.

But then they'd announced the Quell, and she knew she could never go to a different district.]

I'm glad you think so. I know I can come off as... callous sometimes. It is selfish of me, for my own protection, when what you need is a warm smile and a comforting hand. Got to keep your spirits up for everyone involved! I never saw the use in mourning prematurely. [Unlike some mentors of District 12 who will remain nameless.]

In truth, I was hoping you and Katniss would be mentors. Together, you would be unstoppable. I'm sure of it. Well... Perhaps next year.

Latest tag. DX And I love your username.

[andproper]

[Just this face, Effie.

Just this face.]