♚ klaus goravich (done) ♚

[florentine, d4b ❁]

Mr. Klaus Goravich

• Victor of the 61st Hunger Games
• Fixer of broken things 
• Observer, capturer, film-maker 
• Father of Daisy and Penelope Goravich
  (Grandfather of three)
• Proprietor of the Goravich Home for Lost Children

 A life, captured and documented. 

[florentine, d4b ❁]

Synopsis: 

After the arena, after the death and the blood - after all of it, what is left? What do we really know about the Victors who return to their districts, forever changed as people by the weight of victory? How does it feel to grow old while carrying this inexplicable burden? What is left, once all of that is taken away?

This is precisely what film-maker Klaus Goravich seeks to show Panem in his groundbreaking feature-length documentary, filmed throughout his fiftieth year, where, for the first time, he turns the camera inward, allowing never before seen footage of his family, his home, and his life. 

[florentine, d4b ❁]

Opening sequence 


It is fitting that Klaus Goravich, once just a boy with a camera in his hand, came to have the most pivotal moments of his life captured and projected to the nation. These moments are where the film begins. The still black screen remains for a moment after the audio begins; expertly, the sounds of metal clashing and cries of pain immerse us within the action before the scene itself catches up. The first shot is one that Panem has seen before: two young men on a sinking ship, each of their faces bloody, teeth gritted as they battle. This is historical footage; cameras focussed carefully on the two remaining survivors of the 61st annual Hunger Games.¹

There is a flash as their blades connect again. The next clip shows one of the boys - the one we know to be Klaus Goravich, seventeen - holding the body of a girl and rocking back and forward, back and forward. The sound is muffled. You cannot hear what he says to her as she dies.²

The image fades into another. Atop a giant sandcastle, a long shot shows three familiar faces standing, casting their gaze out over the kingdom below. They are almost silhouettes, but if you know what you are looking for, and you are familiar with the lore, it is easy to identify these three as Klaus Goravich, Fitz Ripley, and Destiny Lenstil, temporary rulers of a palace that they know is about to crumble.³

Next, Klaus' face flashes right in the middle of the camera's frame of vision. You see his reaction a moment before you see his sword drilling right into the neck of Fawn Raiys, a tribute so long forgotten that no viewer will be expected to recall her face. The shot lingers to watch the light drain from her eyes. It does not return to the boy who killed her.⁴

The scene shifts. There is a boy standing on a podium, visibly shaken, teary-eyed. A loud buzzer sounds, a crowd cheers. He lurches forward across the sand, lost.⁵

Without expecting it, we are back on the pirate ship. A great wave shakes its foundations, and rains down upon the two that battle there. This is a story in which we know the ending. Despite that, it is impossible for the viewer to look away. Klaus looks pained, although he is completely unhurt; untouched physically by his entire experience within the arena, soaked in blood that is so clearly the blood of others. Even here in the finale, not a soul has touched him. Mahla and Fitz destroy one another. Then one by one, they die.⁶

We are surprised to hear the first words of the documentary, spoken not by the esteemed film-maker himself, but by the fallen soldier he stands over. "I guess I was never the king of the castle after all, was I, Klaus?" he asks as he bleeds out. If Panem has forgotten Fitz Ripley, long dead, then this will remind them. "It was you all along. You're the king, not me. You're the one who gets to rule."⁷

Interestingly, Klaus does not choose to include his own final words here. For those who do not have the time to go hunting in the echelons of history, I can inform you that following Fitz's decree and subsequent death, Klaus stands and says, "My name is Klaus Goravich, and I am coming home." We can only speculate on why this footage was omitted.⁸

Instead of this, we cut ahead in time to the same boy, now fresh-faced and clean, as the Victor's crown is set upon his head. He is, indeed, the king, if only for the fleeting year that awaits between that moment and the following year, when Peridot Myler reclaimed the title, to the relief of the Capitol and District One. Klaus does not smile as they set the golden circlet upon his curls. His eyes meet the camera, a haunting gaze. The screen returns to black.⁹

---

1. See archival footage, 61st Hunger Games Finale 
2. See archival footage, 61st Hunger Games Day 7, The death of Destiny Lenstil 
3. See archival footage, 61st Hunger Games Day 4, The Countdown Kids 
4. See archival footage, 61st Hunger Games Day 1, The Bloodbath
5. See archival footage, 61st Hunger Games Day 1, The Bloodbath
6. See archival footage, 61st Hunger Games Finale 
7. See archival footage, 61st Hunger Games Finale 
8. See archival footage, 61st Hunger Games Finale 
9. See archival footage, 61st Hunger Games Victor Presentation Ceremony

[florentine, d4b ❁]

 

Source 1: Original photographs of Klaus Goravich at seventeen, taken before boarding the train to the Capitol to attend the 61st annual Hunger Games. 






I.  

"My name is Klaus, and today I am filming a movie about my life." 

This is not the voice we have come to know, the even voice of a man grown old. The screen lights up again: the boy from the Games, but younger, eyes clear. He smiles shyly, readjusts the camera. This is archival footage: never before seen, but undoubtedly authentic. 

"Welcome," he says, "to the horror that is my life."¹

His tone is calm, even cheerful. He is unaware of the way in which those words would come to life over the next year. It is painful to watch, in retrospect. 





1. See source material: Klaus Goravich self-tapes, filmed sometime around the 60th Hunger Games. Exact date unknown. 

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II. 

Finally, we see our protagonist. 

He is juxtaposed in the mind's eye against the previous footage; it is almost shocking how much he has changed, although Panem is familiar with this older, more worn version of Mr. Goravich. He is sitting in a director's chair, looking directly into the camera. Although his skin is now etched with wrinkles and his eyes are tired (very tired), his eyes are the same, his stare just as haunting as it was when they set the crown upon his head. 

His smile makes the viewer feel comfortable, as though they know him personally. It is undoubtably kind, which can be a difficult thing to accept when you have just watched him murder three children. 

He repeats the lament from his childhood home video: "My name is Klaus Goravich."

His face is soft. "It's been thirty-four years since I've been in the spotlight. I had more than my fair share of it, for a time. I've been on the other side of the camera for a long time, showing Panem things that might otherwise have gone unseen."

He pauses for a moment, looking slightly uncomfortable beneath the glare of the lights. He appears to be in a studio of some kind, although whether this is located at home in District Three, or in the Capitol (or at another destination entirely) is not discernible from the setting. It is plain; the backdrop is muted. There is nothing to draw away from Klaus' face. 

"I thought it was time to finally show you. What it's like after all that. Because everyone else moves on - the next Games, the next Victor. But you don't." 

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Source 2: A still of Klaus Goravich leaving a pre-Games celebration in the lead up to the 95th Hunger Games. This shot was taken at 9.37pm. The festivities were believed to carry on late into the night, with some Victors and Capitolites pictured leaving early the following morning. Klaus left alone and returned to his room in the training centre, sources report. 

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The below text is an extract taken from a magazine article published in the year of the 63rd Hunger Games. It was a popular subscription circulated amongst Capitolites at the time. The author of the text is printed as 'Celio Terrimus', however there is no record of any reporter with this name, and no other articles are attributed to the assumed pseudonym. 

"Klaus Goravich, District Three's only Victor, has surprised Panem by adopting his second child at the age of only nineteen. The baby, named Penelope (after the infamous Penelope Libertine, former member of the Countdown Kids) is allegedly the child of Klaus' twin sister¹, Marina Goravich, who died in mysterious circumstances shortly after the birth. This news comes only two years after Klaus adopted his first daughter, Daisy Ripley Goravich, after visiting an orphanage in District Five. Sources close to Klaus note that the young Victor is currently grieving for his sister, but overjoyed to welcome the infant into his family. They describe him as a 'warm' and 'devoted' father. Panem was certainly enamoured with Klaus and baby Daisy when they visited the Capitol for the 62nd Hunger Games festivities last year, and are eagerly expecting the three to attend next year's events together. Klaus himself declined to comment on either the adoption or the unfortunate death of Marina Goravich.²

1. A factual inaccuracy; both Klaus and Marina are not twins but rather quintuplets. Klaus' other siblings include fellow quintuplets Tacara, Lyana, and Jamarion, as well as older brother Hopper. 
2. Speculations regarding the death of Penelope's mother and Klaus' sister, Marina, continued for several years. Records of her death were then leaked to media sources a decade after the event; this confirmed popular suspicions that Marina Goravich died by suicide. 

[florentine, d4b ❁]

III.

We watch Klaus walk along a pathway through a garden. The flower beds are in full bloom. His back is turned to the camera, but his voice is clear. 

"I raised my children here, in the Victor village. I tried to keep a low profile, for them. I don't think it's good for children to grow up in the spotlight."

His voice continues over the following shots, snippets of home video:

• A baby swaddled in a blanket, an unsteady camera turning up to see young Klaus' beaming face looking down on the tiny thing 
• Two toddles in dresses playing together in a garden; they skip and sing
• A family dinner: several figures seated around a table. A zoom to Daisy, giddy, at the head of the table. A turn to a doorway, at first empty, and then Klaus appears, holding a cake in his hands. It is home-baked, the icing messy, nine candles. Everyone is singing, but the audio is silent in favour of the voiceover. 
• The girls, older now, perhaps eleven and thirteen, reading books in the sunshine. When they realise the camera is on them, they laugh and turn away. 
• Klaus walking Daisy down the aisle, Penelope scattering petals in their wake. 
• A dimly lit hospital room, Klaus receiving Daisy's brand new baby into his arms. 

"They have been my entire world. Without them I really don't know how I could have gone on, after everything that happened. It sounds cliché, but they gave me purpose. They needed me. When all I could think about was the terrible things I had done, the people I let down, there they were, wanting to hold my hand, wanting me to keep them safe. So I did everything I could to protect them. They're all grown up now." 

Klaus reaches the end of the garden path and turns around. Smiles at the camera. 

"I think a lot of people think my work is my legacy, and I really am proud of what I've made. But I could never work on a project that makes me as proud as they do."

He has reached the house. It is a building typical of the kind of house found in a Victor's village; great, sweeping porch, two floors, ornate doorknocker (this one is the shape of an owl). The front door is painted green.

"I'd always dreamed of having a big family, lots of children. My own family growing up -- there were six of us kids in the house. Always someone to play with, always someone to argue with. I'd imagined having the same. But Daisy and Penelope came to me when I was really just a boy myself. They were exactly what I needed. We grew up together, we learned together, we looked after each other, in a way." 

The viewer gets the sense that this is all they will see of the Goravich children. He has held them close to his chest for the past three decades, and even this short segment seems generous, carefully curated, a small gift for the curious spectator. 

[florentine, d4b ❁]

Reviews for Torchlight, a controversial but critically acclaimed documentary film piece focussed on the political and economical crisis of the mid-80s

---

1. "A dazzling technical achievement; an example of unapparelled cinematography. A truly terrifying glimpse into the unrest that haunted Panem in the period of time preceding President Snow's death." ---- Serena Vaux, Capitolite 

2. "Clever camerawork attempts to manipulate the viewer into thinking this film has anything to say. A very pretty ninety-six minutes of almost no substance at all. It presents a faux-perspective on the whole ordeal, an insult to those who really suffered. Perhaps it's better that Victors remain in their safe glass houses and avoid throwing stones." --- Anonymous, District Eleven 

3. "Deftly captured, carefully composed. Truly the storyteller of his generation." ---- Firenze Torrent, District One 

4. "A spellbinding web woven of heart-wrenching stuff. In particular, the shots following the District Eight bombing put the entire thing into perspective." ---- Jeremey Walkers, District Two 

5. "Evidently the work of someone trying too hard to toe the line between honesty and bravery. It almost manages to speak out, but unfortunately not decisively enough." ---- Anonymous, District Four 

[florentine, d4b ❁]

IV.

"I've always been good at telling stories." 

"My father used to say I had a unique perspective on things. Saw things other people didn't. I don't know if that's true, but I always felt that there were things I wanted to say that I couldn't capture in just words. It was an obvious choice, to start filming."

He sips a cup of coffee. He is seated at a kitchen table. The light is warm, it streams in through the window. The viewer can assume that we are now inside his home. 

"When someone else turns a camera on you, you lose some power over your own story. I've never watched back my Games. I'm sure I wouldn't like who I'd see." 

He clasps his hands together. 

"I've always thought there were bigger stories to tell than my own. Panem is a place filled with impossibilities. Great disparities. So many people, every one of them incredibly, incredibly important. I wanted to share that. So that's what I did." 

The camera falls to the table, where film copies of each of his works lay. There are five of them, each of them likely familiar to the viewer.

There is footage, then, of Klaus working behind the camera. Clips of him talking to his subjects, his voice always kind, always careful. His questions thought provoking, just soft enough to avoid intrusiveness. He directs and redirects. It appears natural, there is none of the hesitation that is seen when he speaks directly to the camera. He is comfortable here, clearly good at what he does.

We see an image of the boy who became, for many, the poster-child of the Rose Plague; a tiny thing, flushed cheeks, otherwise pallid. Entangled with his sister, sharing one bed, rough blankets draped around the two sick youngsters. Everyone who has seen Roses knows how the story ends. 

"I think it's important to tell the truth. But there's a point where you worry it's exploitative. People need to know what is happening, and yet there is something so desperately vile about filming people's suffering. It's a delicate line to walk."

Klaus swallows. Perhaps there are the faintest glints of tears in his arms. He speaks slowly. 

"I can give people money. And I do, I do my best to help. But money is nothing, it's a drop in a bucket of problems so deep you'll never reach the bottom. What's money when your child is dying? It's worthless." 

[florentine, d4b ❁]

---

Proof of purchase 

This document attests that the following property: Gardener's House is now in the possession of purchaser: Klaus Goravich, with payment of [redacted] received in full on [redacted]. The property is located on Forest Street, in downtown District Three, and is currently in a dilapidated condition. Previously, the property has been used for several purposes, including a hospital, boarding house, and barracks for Peacekeepers, however it has stood empty since the death of it's previous owner, Marybeth James, in the mid-sixties. Currently, the property is not safe for inhabitation and will require significant work to be deemed appropriate for use. 

---

Planning permit application 

Document dated following the 95th annual Hunger Games 

Dear District Three planning committee, 

I, Mr. Klaus Goravich, current resident of the Victor Village, am submitting this planning permit application for renovation and development on the property located at 33 Forest Street, District Three. The property is currently in an unused state, and my intention is develop the property so that it can be used to house disadvantaged youth of District Three, including orphans resulting from the recent Rose Plague. The project is entirely self-funded (please see project budget attached). The projected construction time is currently eleven months, with the intention to be open to housing children by around the time of the 76th Hunger Games.

The purpose of this application is to seek approval for the following:

1. A full-scale redevelopment of the property, including the reinforcement of all structures and the renovation of both the internal and external aspects of the property.

2. Additional development of the property, including the addition of spaces including a glass conservatory, greenhouse, pool, and covered outdoor facilities for sports use.

Please see current and proposed future site plans attached, as well as evidence of self-funding of the project.

Signed: Klaus Goravich
Witness: Lena Goravich [see]

---

Status: approved 

---

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V.

"What gave you the idea to buy the house?" The speaker is not visible on screen. Just a questioning voice. It is not clear who is behind the camera here. 

The setting has shifted. We are now standing on a gravel pathway. Klaus is in the middle of the scene, dressed casually, a linen shirt over a white t-shirt. His sleeves are rolled up. On either side, the grass grows long and threatens to swallow the path. Behind him - perhaps fifty feet or so, there is the shape of a large house, standing out against the blue sky. It has a lot of windows. 

"It was a conversation with Atticus¹ - on the train ride home from the 95th.²"

If, at this point, you were to zoom in on the house behind him, you would see that the house, although imposing, is evidently abandoned; the paint is peeling, bedraggled weeds grow through the cracks on the front porch; several of the windows are broken, several others boarded up. There is some graffiti across one wall; a mysterious dark patch across another. 

"I'd been thinking about District Three for a while. We were hit badly by the Rose Plague. Even before that, the district was struggling. I'd had this growing feeling that I needed to do something to help for a long time - I just couldn't figure out what. Atticus helped me realise there was something I could do." 

Klaus gestures to the house behind him. 

"This house has been empty for a long, long time. I used to walk past it most days. It used to be used for a lot of things; a temporary hospital during the Dark Days, a Peacekeeper barracks. But it fell into disrepair long ago." 

It is clear that restoration of the house will be a significant endeavour. 

"To me, the most important thing in my life has always been my family. Having a loving home. Food on the table. People looking out for you. I had that, growing up. I was very lucky. I gave that to my children. I realised that there were countless children out there who didn't have that. I want to give that to them." 

The footage begins, then, of the renovation process. Klaus is hands-on. There are clips of him painting, drilling, plastering and digging. There are others there, too, many faces, ever-changing, moving in and out of each shot. The montage gives the sense that the District is coming together to create something. They are dirty, sweaty, smiling. They work rain, hail or shine. They work together. 

Klaus grins up at the camera, pushing a wheelbarrow full of debris. 

Klaus' brother, Jamarion, strips old wallpaper from a wall. 

A female figure, who's face never turns to the camera, laughs heartily, using her hands to tell a story to several children, who play under the shade of the front porch while adults scrub the walls behind them. 

Klaus plants seeds in a flower bed. 

Klaus' sister, Lyana, holds planks of wood, while her daughter, Lena, holds the opposite end. 

Atticus and Klaus sit in the middle of a room, half of which has had the floorboards ripped out, both looking exhausted, drinking cups of tea. 

"How long did it take?" 

Klaus's laugh is unmistakable. "Longer than I expected. It was a lot of work. There were several setbacks." There is a smile in his voice. "But we got there. I really couldn't have done it without everybody. It's really been a work of love, not just from me but from everybody. A love letter to District Three, you could say." 

"And did it turn out how you wanted it?" 


"Oh, it's even better." 

---

1. Here he makes reference to Atticus Manor, fellow District Three Victor
2. There is no record of this conversation, nor has it been referenced elsewhere by either Klaus or Atticus 

[florentine, d4b ❁]

Invitation to the Grand Opening Ceremony of Goravich House 

- A handwritten invitation, submitted by an anonymous source 



Dear [redacted] 

Proprietor Mr. Klaus Goravich and primary sponsor Mr. Atticus Manor wish to extend a warm invitation to the grand opening ceremony of Goravich House. We wish to thank you for your involvement in the project, and present the completed building. 

Tea and cakes will be served from midday. The ribbon cutting ceremony with occur at 3pm promptly. Tours will run throughout the afternoon for all interested parties. 

Bring along your family and friends to celebrate this joyful and much anticipated occasion with us. 




The note is signed with a flourish, in Klaus's own script. 

[florentine, d4b ❁]

VI

The ribbon is cut. Half of the District is in attendance. Klaus' smile is huge. 

We see snippets of the tour. Atticus shows a small cluster of District Officials the sunroom, the library, the swimming pool. 

People sit around on the porch eating scones and teacakes, drinking lemonade. The sun shines brightly, as though it knows that today is a happy day. 

Klaus takes a moment to speak to the camera. The house is framed behind him. 

"I'm so proud of what we've done here. A place to give these children that can really, truly be home. Somewhere they can be happy to be." He looks at the house as though he is drinking it in. The viewer can almost see the children playing in his mind's eye; the house becoming a home, laughter, playing. Again, there is a tear in the man's eye. 

"When do they start moving in?" 

"Tomorrow. As soon as we put the word out that there were places here - funded places, mind you - the letters started pouring in. Unfortunately we actually won't have enough space to house every child that needs a home here in District Three. But we've tried to prioritise. Take those that need it most. And then do what we can for the others. But we need to start small, work from the ground up."

"Will you be living here, too?" 

Klaus nods. "I'll leave my home in the Victor Village. I never much liked it there anyway. It's been a bit of a ghost-town." The joke hangs in the air; a reference to the ghosts of the fallen tributes, the could-have-been neighbours that never came home. He swallows and concedes: "I raised my children there. It'll always be a special place for me."

"And Atticus?" 

He shakes his head at this. "Atticus has been a generous sponsor of the project. He's done a lot of work. But he still has a young family at home. He'll be part of it, but I'll be the one getting my hands dirty, so to speak." 

"All by yourself?" 

"My niece, Lena, and my daughter Penelope have offered to take on a position here. They'll help me out with the children. Both of them are amazing." 

A voice calls for Klaus from somewhere off-screen. The party is still going on without us. 

"I'm sorry, I'd better get back to things. We've still got so much to do before tomorrow." 

The camera follows him as he walks away. We are left with the background noises of happy voices, and, closer, the squawking of a bird in a nearby tree. 

[florentine, d4b ❁]

Clipping: Capitalipolitan Magazine, September issue, gossip column

"Everyone's fifth-favourite middle-aged Victor has made headlines again, and, you guessed it, it's through the shock-adoption of yet another child. Cross this one off your bingo cards. It's a serious throwback to the sixties. This time around, ex-teenage-heartthrob Klaus Goravich has taken legal custody of a large gaggle of misfit children. Their identities are closely guarded, however sources from District Three claim that he has recently opened his own orphanage. Always a lover of orphans, it is surprising he made it all the way to his fifty-first birthday without a move like this.

It seems possible he has left his film-making aspirations behind, after a serious of documentaries that were met with mixed reviews by critics and viewers alike. The focus of his time (and plentiful money) will instead be on raising this brood, alongside his daughter Penelope and niece Lena (with a notable lack of a husband, given his advanced age). Is this an attempt to ward off the loneliness of retirement as a single empty-nester? Certainly, we're confident that if there's one thing Mr. Goravich does well, it's being called daddy." 

--- Submitted by 'anonymous'