#pv:starter

[iratuscst]

❪   🍂   ❫    —   OPEN STARTER  ﹕ @pyrrhicstarters  ．

johanna mason hated the capitol — she hated the parties , the excess , the plasticity of it all . she hated the glorification of the games and the sheer lack of common sense most people seemed to have — she felt the effects of last year so clearly on her skin , she wondered how she could even stand half the time . but mentoring ? oh , she might just hate that more than anything else and that was saying something . she knew these people — she knew their families , where they lived , for fuck's sake she worked with baxter a year ago when she'd been a different person altogether and he'd been a scrawny fourteen year old annoying the shit out of everyone . now , she'd been stuck in a room urging him to pick up the fucking axe and do something because he definitely wasn't acting like he wanted to go home . she hadn't meant to yell , and she imagined he hadn't either , but they both had . that'd been how she ended up sitting outside the private training room , axe held firmly for no other reason than the familiar weight grounding her , urging some sense of calm to wash over her now that she'd yelled the boy all the way up to the elevator and grumbled her way back here . " fuck me . " the silence was welcoming , and so she let her head fall , her failure heavy on her shoulders and the urge to tear this place to shreds barely contained .

[hxabernathy]

The bar was a second-- or third, if he counted Victor's Lane-- home for Haymitch. While Harlow and Lex had started training in the Training Center, he sat in the bar in the Mentor Center with a glass of whiskey in his hand. He had thought about going to watch the Tributes on their first day of Training, but he still didn't get up from his spot at the bar. How long had he been there for? Sure he was Twelve's only Mentor, should have been more attentive to his Tributes and helped them, but when had his help ever paid off for them? It had almost been twenty-five years since there was a Victor for Twelve, he wasn't helping anybody get back home unless it was in a coffin.

He lifted his head to down another pull from his glass, nudging the empty dish toward the bartender to refill. Footsteps approached the bar and Haymitch let out a sigh through his nose. "They done at the Training Center yet?" he asked, checking his watch. Was that the right time? Was his watch even working?

OPEN STARTER

[gcmmislapsis]

꒰ 🌼 ꒱ — open starter ﹕@pyrrhicstarters

the kids showed promise — they always did , of course , the academy made sure that they all left perfectly capable of leaving the arena . . . in theory . it had been enough time and enough turns around the block for cashmere to know that some tributes would never become victors , no matter how well they wielded weapons , and some years she knew she was undoubtedly returning home with closed caskets . this year , she wasn't so sure — silver had asked her for private training , and while cash could definitely compliment her training , it had been the questions she'd been asked that struck her — something about her tribute's curiosity was hopeful . aware of her advantages , but not prideful enough to think herself the best would be cash's assessment . she stopped at one to drop silver off and grab a drink , making her way up to the rooftop still in her workout gear — there was no such thing as privacy in the training center , but by god they really made sure you remembered they were always watching . listening . at least up here in the slight breeze and the windchimes twinkling , she could sit and breathe and pretend she was afforded luxuries like solitude. cash stiffened when the door opened , relaxing slowly when she saw the person entering , lifting her singular glass in greeting . " late night ? "

[svgarcvbes]

WHO : open WHEN : day two of tribute training WHERE : bar in the mentor's center

if he was tired there was no way of knowing it simply by looking at him — finnick's prep team had done a perfect job of hiding the dark circles under his eyes, thankfully they'd mastered that art not long after he won his games. the bruises on his knuckles and arms were long gone, leaving no trace of the hours he'd spent up with isla and neptune gauging their skills first hand. they had been a hit with the crowd, neptune especially, and after watching them during their first day of training he knew there was a solid chance one of them would be making it home when all was said and done as long as he held up his side of the arrangement — which was half the reason he was here instead of watching training again. finding sponsors was easy enough, but finding ones with deep pockets? he'd always found it was better to start early. he imagined someone would eventually notice he never really drank whatever it was he ordered, though he doubted anyone would say much even if they did. still he kept the glass in hand as he wandered through the room to find himself a seat at a table in the back for a moment of quiet — three hours of flirting and talking up his tributes on top of the lack of sleep was nearly enough to convince him to retreat upstairs where the capitolites couldn't easily follow, but he could settle for a few minutes in the company of a familiar face instead. "you'd think at least some of them would get tired of all this eventually."

[ibiswestgrove]

OPEN STARTER @pyrrhicstarters

Is it this hard every year? Ibis thought as she stumbled around the grounds in front of her building in Victor's Lane. She had awoken from another round of nightmares, just as she had every night for as long as she could remember, unless she was lucky enough to drink herself into a complete stupor. Even then, half the time she ended up just as she is now - half drunk, half hungover, fully exhausted. When she wakes up like this she can't stay still. She paced her apartment for as long as she could stand it - but she needed fresh air, and the expanse the outdoors could provide her.

Luckily, the weather in the Capitol wasn't too cold this evening - despite it being the warm season, the temperature still tended to drastically drop at night. She was used to warm weather year round in District 10; though she had been spending much of her time in the Capitol the past few years. Her sisters had made her house in Victor's Village a home, but the halls still echoed with her daughter's laughter, and it was too much for Ibis to take. Moxie had never been to the Capitol - so despite the fact that she hates just about every facet of it, Ibis spent most of her time there. Less likely to feel the lack.

She stumbled a few steps forward, walking further away from her building. She saw a figure up ahead - someone else out in the middle of the night. She immediately slinked into the shadow of the closest building, her natural instinct to flee taking over. But this wasn't an arena - this person (probably) wasn't trying to kill her. So her curiosity, always brought out from liquor, took over. "What's keeping you up?" she shouted in the direction of the person.