R. Lutece (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
dotsanddashes) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
thecapitol2014-05-15 05:45 pm
dotsanddashes) wrote in thecapitol2014-05-15 05:45 pm
Entry tags:
If you should ever leave me - though life would still go on, believe me....
Who| Rosalind and YOU!
What| Some people take transitions like this well on their own. Rosalind is not one of those people right now, so she has finally decided it's better to familiarize herself with her surroundings...and opponents.
Where| The Tribute Commons!
When| A day or so after she arrived.
Warnings/Notes| Probably some coarse language, definitely some angst.
How long had it been now? Two days? A week? It was nigh impossible to tell, the way that time crawled along. She couldn't bring herself to look at a clock - the way it ticked, second by second instead of all at once. If things were different, she may not have found it so grating...maybe on some level, she would even have found it a relief, being in one place and one time.
If Robert was here with her, it would all be different.
But he wasn't.
That was the hardest part of all this for her. She had been everywhere and everywhen, and the sudden end to that boundless awareness was jarring...but without Robert, it felt like she had left a piece of herself out there in the multiverse. Rosalind wasn't the kind to cry...not usually, not easily. She was the type to take action. Until the Arena began, she decided the best action would be to research...to bide her time, and to be ready.
If she was honest about it with herself, though, that was an excuse. What she had really been doing since she got here was avoiding people, drinking, and glowering at every word she read about the Capitol.
So now she had moved into the common room - where she was drinking and glowering at every word she read about the Capitol...but now in a place where she could be approached. Her icy eyes were lined with dark circles, a bottle of something or other danging from one hand and a book in the other. She didn't go out of her way to approach anyone, surreptitiously watching others instead and studying from her position - sidesaddle on one of the plush couches.
If someone wanted to talk to the newcomer, they would have to approach her. She might never admit to being lonely...but she wasn't going to shun company right now, either.
What| Some people take transitions like this well on their own. Rosalind is not one of those people right now, so she has finally decided it's better to familiarize herself with her surroundings...and opponents.
Where| The Tribute Commons!
When| A day or so after she arrived.
Warnings/Notes| Probably some coarse language, definitely some angst.
How long had it been now? Two days? A week? It was nigh impossible to tell, the way that time crawled along. She couldn't bring herself to look at a clock - the way it ticked, second by second instead of all at once. If things were different, she may not have found it so grating...maybe on some level, she would even have found it a relief, being in one place and one time.
If Robert was here with her, it would all be different.
But he wasn't.
That was the hardest part of all this for her. She had been everywhere and everywhen, and the sudden end to that boundless awareness was jarring...but without Robert, it felt like she had left a piece of herself out there in the multiverse. Rosalind wasn't the kind to cry...not usually, not easily. She was the type to take action. Until the Arena began, she decided the best action would be to research...to bide her time, and to be ready.
If she was honest about it with herself, though, that was an excuse. What she had really been doing since she got here was avoiding people, drinking, and glowering at every word she read about the Capitol.
So now she had moved into the common room - where she was drinking and glowering at every word she read about the Capitol...but now in a place where she could be approached. Her icy eyes were lined with dark circles, a bottle of something or other danging from one hand and a book in the other. She didn't go out of her way to approach anyone, surreptitiously watching others instead and studying from her position - sidesaddle on one of the plush couches.
If someone wanted to talk to the newcomer, they would have to approach her. She might never admit to being lonely...but she wasn't going to shun company right now, either.
My willpower stat is low
A high pitched accusation would be her only warning as a blond woman shamelessly short shorts and roller skates launched herself over a chair to bounce onto the sofa closest to her. The woman was giggling with delight and sat up to offer a crooked smile.
"I heard District Nine was getting some fresh meat! And that meat must be you!"
Actually Harley had received a message and photo once Rosalind had left her room but that was beside the point.
The power of physics compels you.
She had not, however, quite expected that she would be shouted at upon sight. Lifting her head, she peered at the strange woman, quirking one brow and speaking in a flat, irritated tone of voice.
"New? Yes. Meat? I suppose, on a technicality." She propped her bottle against her hip on the couch for a moment, freeing her hand to turn the page of her book. She'd finished the page anyhow.
"And you are...?"
Meanwhile gravity and I are at odds.
"Harleen Quinnzel, Harley to my friends! Psychologist, clown themed crime queen and most recently, victor from a previous arena!"
She straightened up with a jerk and a wink "And one of your mentors!"
Just refuse to fall. Works for Rosa.
"...Interesting resume."
Mentors? This girl won the arena? This raised...a few questions, but...first things first. She had time for questions.
"Rosalind Lutece. Quantum physicist. Charmed." It didn't sound friendly, but she did swing her legs off the couch, making room for Harley to sit beside her.
Aiming at the ground and missing. That's the Harley way.
"I don't think we have any physicists yet." She explained "That might make things interesting if you find a way to use it in the arena. I'm more into the physical parts of physics. Like how fast do I gotta be running to jump from one roof to the next." She added with a chuckle.
Re: Aiming at the ground and missing. That's the Harley way.
Selecting a strawberry one, she gave it a lick before speaking.
"Mm? Well, I plan on finding a way to use it. Finding materials I can use to build machinery, however, seems...unlikely. I shall have to be creative." Popping the lolly in her mouth, she spoke around it. Not precisely ladylike.
"Are you an acrobat, then? Parkour?"
She was...calm, for someone out of her own world and into a strange one.
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"Of course in the last arena it took everything I had to win, my agility, my knowledge of how to get in peoples heads, and even my friendships. Also luck, luck was a thing." She smirked.
"So what should we work on with you to get you ready? We can watch some horrible gruesome videos of past arenas to give you an idea of what you're in for. We can train with weapons and stuff..." She offered.
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When the questions came, however, she lifted a brow, pulling the pop out of her mouth and gesturing vaguely with it.
"You'd be willing to help me train?" Honestly, Rosa wouldn't normally be so keen to accept the help, but...this woman had won. Plainly she knew something the books weren't going to tell her. "I have little experience with weapons. Could use the advice, I suppose."
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"See the way the system works is people who survive the games and win, go on to become mentors. That means we have to train the next generation of human sacrifices slash tributes. In the old days that meant alot more because the tributes all came from the same districts so they likely knew the mentors from around town. Plus the whole dying forever thing." She waved it off dismissively.
"Between trying to help you prepare for the arena once you're in there I have to help the coordinators wrangle some sponsors so that you can get gifts to help you survive. Like care packages full of food and stuff."
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But what choice did she have? She had to play nice for now if she wanted to make it out again...or build her own way out.
So she attempted a smile - a sad excuse for one, really - and she offered over the bottle she's been drinking from.
"Fascinating. I would be interested to hear what weapon you think I should train with...and I would like to hear more about this place from someone who has been here for a time."
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"Well we'll have to go to the training hall and see if anything feels particularly good. Any weapon can be learned with enough practice and a good teacher but it helps if the weapon feels natural."
A mischievous glint flashed in her eye.
"As for finding out more about this place, I've been around long enough to give you a good bit. But I'm far from the longest lasting tribute around. If you see a giant walking turtle his name is Donatello and he's been here since the first arena where they were drawing in people from other worlds. He's still a tribute though." Her lip pouted "Seems he's just too honorable to win."
She would fix that sooner or later.
"As for locals, our elder mentor is Eva. She grew up in this world. She's prickly and closed off but if you keep at her she starts to warm up to you...a little."
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Rosalind nodded along with the words, following it all with ease, until - she quirked an eyebrow. This Eva character sounded...well, honestly, the description sounded much like how people described her. But....
"...I beg your pardon. A giant walking turtle? Really?" It wasn't necessarily the strangest thing she had ever heard of...but once in a while, concepts COULD still catch her off guard. Especially when she couldn't see everywhen at once.
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Mutants. Well, familiar enough territory, she supposed.
"Mutated via procedure or other means?"
She wasn't much for blathering on idly, but...if she were honest with herself, the conversation was actually very nice.
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Really that would be one of the best ways to get Donnie to play to win, if they had one of his brothers. Donnie was very dedicated to his family from what Harley had gathered.
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If. Not when. The word when suggested she would be sticking around, and she didn't plan to. She needed to get back to where she WAS needed. She needed to get back to Robert.
She heaved a sigh.
"...If you've won, and you're still here...I am guessing they don't let the winners go?"
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"Oh that'd be real kind of em wouldn't it?." She threw an arm around the new woman affectionately.
"No I'm afraid you just become a mentor and work for the Capitol training new recruits to go off and entertain. But on the plus side no more arenas, and you get to go to some fancy parties." She muttered softly in sharp contrast to how projecting she had been before "And if there is any way to get home the only way we'll get it is by tearing this place apart piece by piece till we find it."
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But then there was the murmur, and she understood at once what the woman was driving at.
Her only response was a tiny, curt nod. She wasn't going to take this lying down. She was going to get out, and Harley had found herself an ally in that.
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"You're gonna have to develop a sense of humor if you wanna keep your head in a place like this. That's rule number one from your mentor." She added with a wink.
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"Point taken," she intoned, knowing full well that this odd blonde would be bright enough to take her real meaning.
"My sense of humor has gotten a bit...dull, I suppose. Was bound to happen, given my circumstances."
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"Well lucky for you, this place is made to sharpen skills and I bet wit is just one of the many daggers in your collection that I can help you sharpen before the next arena."
She stuck out her hand in a more professional sort of way. "Whenever you're ready, whenever you need me just give a shout and Harley Quinn will be there." She declared.
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"Very well. I do suppose if you need anything to do with physics, I shall return the favor."
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Her eyes were sharp when they flicked up over the book, briefly, and then back down again.
"I was just brought here. If you're not a complete dunce perhaps you can surmise."
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She turned the page, then took a swig from her bottle.
"Perhaps I overestimated you when I said 'dunce.'"
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"I am not doing anything of the sort - and I am not anything of the sort. Do not count me in with you, you miserable sod."
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Instead, she swung her legs up onto the couch, bringing them down with some force to use Spike as a foot rest.
Then she took a swig from the bottle she had, staring him down.