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IC Contact
"Hello! you have reached the voicemail of Effie Trinket. I am unavailable at present, so please leave your name and your number and I will be delighted to return your call."
Audio | Video | Text | Action
"Hello! you have reached the voicemail of Effie Trinket. I am unavailable at present, so please leave your name and your number and I will be delighted to return your call."
Audio | Video | Text | Action
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[It almost sounds accusatory, the way he says it. Like Effie could have done something about it.
Or should have, maybe.
There's something uncomfortably familiar about this.]
And one of them might be the victor. [Victor. He almost spits the word out. Since when are "victor" and "survivor" synonymous?]
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Both of them could die, but they are young and strong and I believe that Katniss and Peeta have what it takes to succeed.
[ She is defensive of them. They are her tributes after all, and she had never doubted their ability to win. When no one had believed in District 12, Effie had.
They had both lived and proved her doubly right and nothing could have made her happier. Then the Quarter-Quell had been announced, and her new life of opportunity had been dimmed substantially.
What were the odds they would live again, both of them? Would the outfit she had bought for their wedding ever be worn?
She dabbed at her nose with a silk handkerchief.]
I don't expect you to understand.
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[That's not fair. But hers is obviously not a world that has the same kind of Constitution, if it has one at all.
It's easy to distance himself from the situation, this way. To pretend Effie's the one on trial. Speak in legal terms, forget that he himself had ever suggested having Jesse killed —
Now there's a thought he didn't need.
He sounds even more upset, now.]
Don't understand what? Escorting a bunch of kids off to slaughter each other? No, can't really say I understand that.
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It's not as if I approve of death or cruelty. I don't. No one does. Which is why I agree that measures must be taken to avoid conflict that could lead to much worse.
I am an escort because I believe that every tribute, even the ones from District 12, deserves a chance to survive and win.
[ The waterworks are on and it's audible in her voice and the small noises she makes in the back of her throat while attempting to control the damage to her makeup. ]
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The next breath he takes is slow, quiet, and careful. Saul needs to steady himself before he can continue and offer an apology. He didn't mean to make her cry.
She was just doing her job, right? A job she believed in. He understands that; he gets it. And it hurts, a little.]
I didn't mean to imply that you approve of it. [He's much quieter now, voice almost gentle.] I'm sorry.
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It doesn't matter what anyone, myself included, thinks about them because it is not our choice and it is for the greater good.
[ In a way she's not speaking to convince Saul when she says this. She's speaking to herself. Everything about it is rehearsed. A mantra that is so deeply ingrained into the fibres of the Capitol citizens that believing otherwise is both painful and close to impossible.
She's still crying because tears have never been easy to stop for Effie Trinket, but Saul's apology did so some to help dial back her emotional torrent and she sniffles once before speaking again with less upset. ]
Your apology is accepted, Saul.
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He sighs.]
There's always a choice, Effie. I know it doesn't seem that way. Trust me, I do. But you know what they say about hindsight, yeah?
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There are some circumstances simply beyond our control.
[ Saul didn't know. He couldn't. No one talked or even thought about choice because it was much more pleasant to imagine civilian obedience was due to patriotism and not fear. Their beautiful lifestyles were paid for by submission and even better, willful ignorance.
Another small sob, but she's running out of tears.]
Hindsight? Of course.
It's always 50/50.
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Oh, Effie. You tried.
Saul ignores the guilt building in his chest and presses onward. She needs to hear this.]
20/20, actually. And everything becomes clear as crystal, right? Now, I don't know if you've had enough time away from home yet, or if I should take these waterworks as an indication that you're almost there, but you're gonna hit a point where you can't think about home and still ignore everything the way you used to.
[He's seeing something clearly now, too: that she and him are a lot alike.]
I'm not saying this to upset you more. I'm saying it because it happened to me, and it sucked, and I want you to be prepared.
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None of it matters anymore. We're not home.
[ A tired, wavering sigh as she pinches the bridge of her nose and makes herself more comfortable on the threadbare couch to continue this exhaustive conversation. ]
And I don't see how can you defend these people when we are effectively their tributes? Except there is no victor or end to this game and it involves everyone.
There is nothing to realize. I don't have the time to spare on idle thought because I will be far too busy attempting to survive.
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[God, how he wishes he could get away with saying that to Jesse.]
You'll survive, Effie. The Initiative will make sure of that. As for how I can defend them — I already told you. I explained this. We're not just protecting them.
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I have to say, this is the most unpleasant discussion I have ever experienced. It's very rude to call upon someone to lecture them uninvited. If you've only contacted me to make me feel worse than I already am, you should just hang up!
And I thought you were a decent man.
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It's a good thing the video feed isn't on, otherwise Effie would have just had a grand view of Saul flinching. He stares at his tablet for a long moment, silent save for a bit of controlled breathing, then runs both hands through his hair.
Damn it.]
When I showed up here, I found someone from home. A client of mine. And at the time, it was just a professional relationship. I was his lawyer, he was paying me, it was my job to make sure he stayed out of trouble. So, that's what I did. But the more time I spent with him, the more I realized I owed him so much more than just what I could do for him as his lawyer — I helped someone almost ruin his life back home, but I kept him out of prison, so I was still doing my job, right?
But then there was this kid, a little girl called Rue. She was two seconds away from kicking my ass when she thought I was hurting this client of mine after I found him half-dead in his apartment here. And that kinda put things into perspective. It happened a little too fast and there was some tunnel vision involved, but long story short: I promised her I'd take care of him, and I wasn't speaking as his lawyer when I made that promise — I was speaking as his friend. And I'd like to think I'm speaking as family, now, because there's nothing I wouldn't do for him.
Three months, Effie. That's all it took.
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Rue. Her death had moved Effie and many others to tears. She had especially felt for Katniss who had looked after Rue like the little sister she had volunteered to represent.
She didn't want to know and didn't want to ask, but she couldn't stop herself. Just how many tributes had been taken? ]
Pardon me, but did you say Rue?
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[Saul's voice cuts off when he realizes, with no small amount of fear, that Effie must recognize that name for a reason.
It can't be the same Rue, though.
Can't be.
When he speaks again, he actually sounds nervous.]
Did you know a Rue?
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[ For once Effie didn't know what to say. It didn't really matter, because flowery vocabulary couldn't carry the weight of her tone like those three words did.
Rue. It wasn't be that common of a name, and from how he had described her... she had been so strong.
It was always the young ones that made it difficult to watch. ]
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Small? Dark skin, dark hair, um — [A pause, as he tries to remember.] Dark eyes? She was pretty young. Barely a teenager, I think.
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[ Effie didn't need to tell him it was the same girl. She had no questions now.
Rue had been here. What did that mean? Had they somehow taken her from before her death, or even more incredulously, after?
Why was Effie so scared to know that small girl had been here, to realize she had been part of this war when Effie had already seen her die. She didn't and wouldn't ask herself the question that already nagged at her conscience.
Would that little girl have been spared if she was still here? Was this barbaric place somehow more forgiving than the Capitol?]
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[Saul's voice sounds a little tight. He wonders if Jesse knows about any of this. He and Rue were close — how much did she tell him of home?]
She disappeared... um. A little while after we met, I think. I dunno where she went. No one knows where anyone winds up unless they come back to tell us what happened.
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[ What else was there to say? Effie didn't want to tell him the details, not after their previous conversations.
That she had been a tribute. That she was dead, and so were twenty one others. That many more of Rue's people had died because they had rebelled and were quelled with force. ]
I do hope her stay here was... pleasant.
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[Maybe for a little while, but never for long.
His next question is asked without hesitance, without fear, without any emotion at all. He already knows the answer; what he wants is to see how Effie will react.]
She's dead, isn't she?
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[ Almost pleadingly.
She prays he won't ask her how or why, she doesn't want to touch upon that topic. Not right now, not here and not with someone who didn't understand.
Not when she was feeling so vulnerable and confused. ]
Yes, she is.
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Saul is quiet for a long time, to the point where she might think the call has been disconnected.
Then:] I'm sorry, Effie.
[It's not clear whether he's apologizing for this conversation or expressing condolences for Rue or offering sympathy for Effie's whole situation. It might be a combination of all three.
Whatever it is, it's sincere.]
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[ Now it was her turn to be sincere, and it was the closest to an admission of guilt Saul would get.
After an unconscious moment of silence she cleared her throat, lifting her voice to a more amiable pitch and hopefully restraining the new tears from reaching her voice. ]
I do appreciate your call.
It feels like this place saps the pleasantry from everything.
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[Never for long doesn't necessarily translate to never, at all. This place has its moments. Maybe Effie hasn't experienced one of them yet.
Saul can help with that.]
There are some decent restaurants here.
[do you see where this is going
do you]
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