(no subject)

[amoral_savior]

Who: Topher and OPEN
When: Week Six and Seven
Where: Out and About
What: Reunions and tears. Probably not many tears



It was strange returning to this place. Strange, but not as frightening as one might think.

Okay, the whole death arena thing was kinda scary, but if Topher just ignored that whole issue, then coming back wasn't so bad. It certainly made things that happened back home easier to forget. Whiskey, Claire, whoever was a giant headache. Run around and trying not to die? Only a small headache that was easily soothed by juice boxes and cake.

One frustration was wandering around in a constant state of deja vu. Everything was familiar and yet sometimes he had zero idea why he knew a thing or person. He was normally not one for going outside under the best circumstances, but with this awkward memory thing he tried to at least take time out to wander around and jog his memory.

The more he wandered the more he was annoyed by how many people there were and how they all wanted to talk to him only to become offended when he stayed silent. Socialization was for chumps and Topher was no chump. What he was, was hungry, so he braved the line of some brightly decorated monstrosity of a cafe and ordered an extra large slice of whatever had the most chocolate. He sat at a table in the corner and tucked into his own chocolate profiteroles cake.

Comments

[quiteliterally]

Chris recognized him instantly, Topher Brink. One of his favorites this cycle, of course, just like all his other favorites. But oh my word what was he eating. Without any pretense whatsoever, he slid into the booth across from Topher and sipped his protein smoothie.

"That is literally the most unhealthy, most delicious-looking thing I have ever seen."

[amoral_savior]

Topher stops mid bite to glare at his unwelcome company. "That's sort of the point. Life is too short to deny yourself the good stuff."

He takes his bite with a bit of smugness. Health nuts. Of course the Capitol would have creepy health nuts. This place was basically Los Angeles on acid.

[quiteliterally]

"What a delightful motto. Especially for an accomplished Tribute such as yourself." A bright grin as Chris leans across the table a bit to get a better look at the thing. "And what do they call this sugar coma waiting to happen?"

[amoral_savior]

Was this guy serious? Topher would have looked around for cameras, except he'd be more surprised not to find any than to see them flying around like mosquitos.

"Death by chocolate? I don't really pay too much attention to the fancy names when I'm in a carb mood." He nodded to the silverware that laid next to the guy's arm on the table. "Join in, I promise you don't get diabetes from one bite of heaven; usually it takes, like, three."

[quiteliterally]

Chris blinked down at the fork next to his elbow, like he didn't know what it was or what he was expected to do with it. "I know you're joking, but 'death by chocolate' is an ominous title..." Especially for something so unhealthy. Did he dare...? "You go on, maybe I'll join in later."

Was it hot in here? Chris felt hot. He moved to loosen his collar a little, glancing around as if he'd find the answer written somewhere in neon. Was the Capitol not the city of excess? He raised his fork, but didn't move towards the cake, realizing he skipped over an important part of Topher's speech. And it wasn't 'diabetes.'

"A carb mood." Maybe he wasn't so far out of his element with tributes, after all. "Have you ever tried kale chips? They are literally the most satisfying carbohydrate on this earth."

[amoral_savior]

Was this guys a priest? Who had that sort of self control around chocolate? Topher took his next bite as slowly as possible. There was some serious chocolate seduction going on. Come on, man, join the chocolate side.

He licked his lips and frowned at Chris. "No, see, carbs are suppose to be delicious and no where near healthy. It's no fun if it's good for you."

[quiteliterally]

"Fun isn't really the point of... eating. Food is fuel, and whatever you put in your gas tank -- well. Have you ever heard the expression 'you are what you eat?' I would not like to become a chocolate cake, as delicious as that would make me."

[amoral_savior]

"You're kidding, right? Don't you think things are boring enough without breaking out with the inappropriate starches?" He took another large bite and added a large sip of his strawberry milk to wash down the cake. "If turning into a delicious chocolate cake is my destiny then so be it. You," he pointed at Chris with his fork, "will die healthy and unhappy if breaking into chocolaty goodness doesn't happen in your life now and again."

[quiteliterally]

He scowled as he looked at the cake. Was that true? Would he die unhappy? It certainly seemed that way of late, and he didn't want something so simple to stand in his way. Not when being happy was an even higher priority than being healthy. "Even if it shaves a year off my life?" He paused a beat, fork raised in a hover over the cake slice. "I suppose 149 is still an admirable age to... stop living."

Closed to Sherlock (BBC)

[amoral_savior]

He was back to square one. Topher scowled at books in front of him which were as useless and uninformative as they had been during his last visit to the library. Of course he already knew what he needed to know, but a small part of him had hoped that someone had updated the medical knowledge of this place during his absence. No such luck. He returned to his blueprint with irritation.

Getting basic supplies were beyond easy this time; no calling up Timaeus (how was that guy doing anyway?) to beg for drafting pencils and diazo. Nope, the Capitol was all too happy after they had discovered how well his "art work" had sold during his little vanishing act. It irritated him to no end when he thought of his genius being hung up like some second grade school art project.

He was more than a little relieved that the Capitol had had no idea what he'd left behind thanks to his forethought in leaving out the critical details. No, if anyone was going to profit off Rossum in this place it was going to be Topher. Getting this just right was his ticket to getting out of the Arena for good.

On a roll with recreating his sketches, Topher took no notice of anyone else in the library. Usually this was the perfect place for quiet as even in the future people viewed the building as a place that held volumes and volumes of boredom. Usually.

Re: Closed to Sherlock (BBC)

[alldeduction]

Sherlock had been avoiding everyone. His friends were either mad at him, or had yet to return at all, and he hadn't exactly been doing himself any favours. So, the library was a welcome refuge from the Capitol. After all, what true Capitolite would want to educate themselves?

It was completely by chance that he caught sight of Topher. Of course he knew the man - had never met him, but he knew him - had memorized every tribute that had come and gone in his time here. For whatever reason many of them had been reappearing lately and he didn't know why.

"Topher Brink," He said, testing out the name on his tongue as he walked over, sliding into a seat across the table from him. "What district this time?"

Closed to Sherlock (BBC)

[amoral_savior]

The voice and the sudden company caused Topher to frown. Did he appear to want company? He not so subtly slid a paper over his sketch and pasted on a grin.

"The dirty one." Of course they all sounded dirty to him. "Coal miners or whatever. Don't think I met you last time, although the memory is a bit fuzzy when it comes to this place."

It was more than a little irritating to still not have a firm grasp on what had happened to him the last time he'd been here. Why didn't they bring him back right away the last time? He tried not to think about what sort of meaning is rearrival might have. Glitch in the system. Seemed like a good excuse to him.

[alldeduction]

"You didn't," Sherlock replies with a shrug. "But I was here, and I have a very good memory." He offered him a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"Sherlock Holmes. District 2. What do you mean by fuzzy?"

[amoral_savior]

Topher's mouth opened and he did a rather poor imitation of a fish when he heard the man's name. Eventually he realized he looked like an idiot and closed his mouth and offering a wide grin. "Sorry, Sherlock Holmes? The Sherlock Holmes? It's suddenly Christmas!"

His excitement was palpable, but there was also a touch of cynicism. "Is your Watson here?" He tried to take the grin off his face. "Sorry, I'm just a fan of your work. You can say I've used your genius a time or two."

[alldeduction]

Sherlock's face fell into a flat expression and he waved a hand. "Not the. A. I am a Sherlock Holmes, and not even the only one here. John is here, yes, but so is Joan."

He paused, though, at the mention of genius, and tilted his head.

He was never tired of hearing how brilliant he was, after all.

"Did you," He said, though his tone wasn't scathing. Merely interested. "You aren't a detective," A statement, not a question, "So what use would it be to you?"

[amoral_savior]

Another Sherlock and a Joan. He was pretty sure some of his online friends could have a field day with that sort of dynamic. He had to hold back a laugh at the thought of what those people would come up with.

"Oh, nothing so dastardly as catching a Moriarty, but, you know, sometimes you need the kind of mind that notices the details." Topher rolled his pencil between his palms as he continued talking to the man. "Don't worry, your mind is safe." For now. Topher really wanted a peek as some of the medical technology they had here if only for the chance to see if his build matched the real thing.

[alldeduction]

He twitched, slightly, when Topher dropped Moriarty's name - couldn't help it, even though he knew that the man didn't mean his Moriarty, didn't mean that he was here.

He smiled, but it was cold.

"Good to know," He said flatly, though unlike Topher he was completely sure that his mind wasn't safe. "You didn't answer my original question."

[vissernone]

It takes Eva a while, but not long, to seek Topher out. She made a mental note when she saw him in the Games, remembered his blueprints and research, the mind she suspected was manipulable and brilliant - a combination she'd rather get to than let the Capitol mine.

But he isn't her top priority, and so she sees to Eponine first, and to her District, before she comes and finds him at a place that sells good significantly less diet-friendly than most Capitol locations. She takes a seat across from him without asking.

"How nice of you to join us again."

[amoral_savior]

The smile he give Eva is real. They hadn't been close, so few were in his life, but he liked her enough. It was reassuring that she was as real as he had thought she'd been. He should have sought her out earlier, but dealing with people was always odd, even when he liked the person.

"How could I stay away from all the excitement?" His grin remained as he tucked into his cake. "The only letdown is that they sold my stuff as some sort of creepy souvenir." All that work...gone. "I hope you're here to tell me about all the fun I missed."

[vissernone]

"Oh, just the usual, parties upon parties. Who could ask for more?" She smiles, and for the moment it's warm, before it settles into something more professional. It's the difference between the smile of a wolf and the smile of a serpent, if either of them could muster the expression.

She pulls a small piece of paper from her pocket. It's a piece of one of Topher's blueprints. "You're welcome. I bought several hundred assi worth. All my kill money from the last Arena."

Not because she expected him to return, but because she knew whatever he was setting his mind to was something she'd rather have in her possession than leave in someone else's.

[amoral_savior]

"Forced socialization, how much I didn't miss that I can't even say." It was a sad truth that when it came to flattering the public, Topher was at the bottom of the pack. Too often he was in a constant state of nervousness; his natural state of being was as a hyper ball of anxiety. There were few who could stand him for any real length of time.

Eva was lucky that she had found him sitting and filling himself with unnecessary sugar. Of course that sugary meal was pushed to the side when the woman pulled out a piece of Topher's mysterious blueprints. "Serious!? You are a light in my dark life." He looked up at her. "How much did you get?"

[vissernone]

"If I weren't convinced you were allergic to sunlight, I'd suggest you spend more time in the gardens. It's usually fairly quiet."

She hands it over.

"Maybe twenty blueprints. Whatever they are." She raises one finger above her knuckles, puts it to her lips in a 'shush' gesture. "I thought it would be a shame if they rotted away in some connoisseur's collection."

[amoral_savior]

"Hey, I just don't want to lose my pasty complexion."

Topher takes hold of the piece like it's a precious antique. It's only a small part of a bigger picture, but he knows right away what the coded blueprint is telling him.

The smile he gives Eva could light the Tribute Tower. "That's enough. More than really." He leans in and lowers his voice. "The good stuff is locked upstairs." It wasn't just adolescent bragging when he called himself a genius; no one knew Rossem's tech like Topher.

[vissernone]

"I won't ask you what it is." Here is unspoken. It's very clear that she wants to know, and expects some sort of reward of that sort for recovering some of his work.

She leans over and listens. "Upstairs being your head, am I right?"

[amoral_savior]

"Yeah, yeah, I'll, uh, later." Much later. He suddenly felt a twinge of guilt. This wasn't something she'd likely approve of, but she had to understand that running around letting people kill him was too much. So far he'd managed not to kill anyone, which probably didn't make him anyone's favorite. He wasn't meant for the Arena and this was possibly his ticket out.

Topher pulled out a smile for her and nodded. "Safest safe ever. I'm like the gatemaster of secrets, which isn't something I'd normally advertise, but I like you."