Filed To Story: Sunrise on the Reaping Book PDF Free
He decides he can just direct us all at once for the propos that will air throughout the Games, so he doesn’t have to repeat himself. “Let me catch you up on what Haymitch and I have been discussing.”
Yes, I think.
Better catch me up.
“Let’s start with the basics. Public opinion is driven by emotion. People have an emotional response to something, then they come up with an argument for why it logically makes sense,” says Plutarch.
“I don’t think that’s smart,” says Wyatt, looking uneasy. I’m sure his calculator brain’s appalled by the idea.
“Oh, I didn’t say it was smart – I just said it was true. Make the audience feel for you, they’ll figure out intellectually why you’re the right tribute to support,” Plutarch explains.
“But they hate all of us,” Wyatt counters. “They’re watching us kill each other for entertainment.”
Plutarch waves this away. “They don’t see it that way. Supporting the Hunger Games is their patriotic duty.”
“Whatever. We’re all their enemies,” says Maysilee.
“Sure, but they have to root for someone. Why not you? You Newcomers have done a terrific job setting yourselves up as worthy adversaries to the Careers tonight. In fact, I think the Capitol audience finds you much more engaging, oddly enough, because you’re not trying to appear to be like them.”
“You mean, because we don’t seem like Capitol suck-ups,” concludes Maysilee.
“Exactly. There’s been a lot of concern in the Capitol lately that district citizens are aspiring to break in here. It’s not entirely unfounded, particularly with people from One and Two who work closely with us. Luxury and military, you know. There are Capitol-born folks assigned out there who’ve got mixed families they want to bring here now. But you’re unapologetically district. And any way you can drive home that the Careers are buying into the Games and trying to be more Capitol than the Capitol itself will increase the social disapproval for them.”
Once in a blue moon a Seam girl falls for a Peacekeeper and ends up with a baby, resulting in plenty of social disapproval in 12 as well. But there’s never any talk of the kid going to the Capitol. Most are simply disowned by the father, who’s then shipped off to another district.
“Calling them the Careers still makes them sound like they’re better than us,” says Maysilee. “We need to give them a stupid nickname.”
“Name-calling! Excellent!” exclaims Plutarch. “Cheap but effective.”
Itchy Itchy Haymitchy.
Yep. Cheap but effective.
“But the nickname should call them stupid without being stupid itself,” Plutarch goes on. “We need some wordplay. Something clever or rhyming or catchy. But not crude – this is a family show.”
We toss around words.
Suck-ups. Bootlickers. Turncoats. Pretenders. Backstabbers. Wannabes. Nothing quite works.
“We need an image that comes from real life,” says Maysilee. “That’s why Neddie Newcomer stuck with us. We need something that’s a poor copy of something else. Like that artificial sweetener we have to use in our candy when real sugar’s too dear. But worse.”
“Powdered milk,” says Wyatt.
“Fake leather,” chimes in Effie.
I think of the beer they sell in the Capitol store, thin, sour, and feeble. The joke is a barrel of it wouldn’t get your mamaw tipsy. “Near Beer,” I pitch.
Everybody laughs. The name itself is the joke.
“Hey, Near Beer Career!” says Wyatt. “It even rhymes.”
“I think we might be onto something,” says Plutarch. “Haymitch, why don’t you kick it off? You’ve already got the bootlegger angle going. People loved it. It was one of the most memorable bits of the evening.”
We work up a little piece where Plutarch asks me about our opponents and I answer, “Well, back in Twelve, where we know our libations” - I brush off pretend dust from my cocktail glass vest and continue – “we just call them Near Beer Careers. You know, because they’re all foam and no beer.”
We play with it and change “no beer” to “no kicker” so as not to repeat the first “beer.” Then we make up some similar sayings for variation. Maysilee does “All brag and no britches,” since she’s about fashion, and Wyatt comes up with a gambler’s “All bluff and no aces.” Lou Lou’s really not in a position to write her own, being curled up with the snake now, so we decide on the old standby “All bark and no bite.” Wyatt gets her to say it, just once, for the camera. The snake shows its teeth on “bite,” so it’s really all we need.
Plutarch seems genuinely happy, saying he’s going to be able to edit the clips together into some fine propos. He sighs when he mentions the tools that were abolished and incapacitated in the past, ones deemed fated to destroy humanity because of their ability to replicate any scenario using any person. “And in mere seconds!” He snaps his fingers to emphasize their speed. “I guess it was the right thing to do, given our natures. We almost wiped ourselves out even without them, so you can imagine. But oh, the possibilities!”
Yeah, it’s amazing we’re here at all. Given our natures.
Lou Lou’s snake comes up missing, and we’re about to hunt it down when Plutarch notices the clock on the mantel and waves us toward the door. “Never mind, never mind. We’ve got to get you to bed. Tomorrow’s the show.” As he escorts us past the Heavensbees, he starts talking about getting everybody to jump on the bandwagon again, which he says is about people being eager to join a popular thing, but it makes me think about the Covey riding around on their wagon, which was an actual bandwagon. When we reach the waiting van, Plutarch wishes us all well.
I still don’t know what to make of the man, but maybe he really did risk his life to give me a last, few priceless moments with Lenore Dove and maybe, in the arena, his information will prove true. Who knows if he might be able to aid us in some other way once the “show” begins? Yet again, it’s better to stay on his good side.
I offer him my hand. “Thanks for all your help, Plutarch.”
Gratified, he takes it. “Well, I’m despicable on many levels, but in this I’m on your side.”
I guess we’ll see.
Back at the apartment, Mags and Wiress have a big dinner awaiting us – pot roast with all the fixings – but there’s not much room in my stomach due to the butterflies. They compliment us on our performances and the wonderful work we’ve done with the Newcomers, although I feel like most of that credit goes to people other than me. At least I didn’t mess things up.
New Book: Returned To Make Them Pay
On her wedding anniversary, Alicia is drugged and stumbles into the wrong room—straight into the arms of the powerful Caden Ward, a man rumored never to touch women. Their night of passion shocks even him, especially when he discovers she’s still a virgin after two years of marriage to Joshua Yates.