thecapitol | And all the people hurried fast, real fast [OPEN]

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And all the people hurried fast, real fast [OPEN]

Who; Rose and Open!
What; Rose exploring, attempting to make new friends??
When; The Days after Rose leaves the arena
Where; Mostly around the tributes tower, possibly around the capitol if you prefer I am coo with whatev
Warnings/Notes; Trolls are Rose's trigger, so. Be aware it's gunna be neg CR for any Trolls? And unsure face at any other aliens.

Rose has only been out of the arena for a few days, and it's a few days she's spent mostly by herself, reflecting as well as trying to find out what she can about this new place. The news of District 3's annihilation is still new enough that she hears it, stores it away. There's obvious unrest in this place and she can practically hear the whispers of rebellion. Good, she might need something to do.

Because reflecting is more just her beating herself up. She had lost controlled completely, let herself be devoured by a power she's tried so hard to tame. Se doesn't blame Bro for what he did, after all, when there's a rabid animal, you put it down. He did what he needed to do, and she can't hold it against him.

So Rose tries to occupy her time with wandering, exploring where ever she can get into. It's not too hard, she's a tribute, though she's quickly found the way the Capitol people so easily recognise her, the hushed whispered and obvious staring to be an annoyance, making her feel even more unsettled. So she spends little time outside of the tribute tower, prefering to go out in shades and a headscarf when she does leave.

But the tower has more than enough to study, from rooms to people, Rose studying anyone she runs into to try and judge if they'll be worth her time should she speak to them

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"One form of punishment, yeah, but I don't want them to get creative. I already know if they really want to start ruining your life, they bring up bidding, and that'll be enough to shut you right the hell up. They already did that to a friend of mine, and he still is dealing."

Something that she was only now able to say aloud without feeling homicidal rage.

"I have a few people that like to think a kid like me isn't going to know what to do in these adult situations. In a way I understand, since some of the kids here, they just run through the Arena. But I'm not stupid enough to think playing kid is going to help my tributes. They need a good mentor who tries to get them sponsors for the next arena."

"Bidding?" Somehow that word alone makes her almost certain she knows what Mindy means, and yet she still asks. There is still a flicker of uncertainty and Rose is yet again annoyed that her powers have been stripped. It's so hard to be an aloof know it all like this.

"Children can often be underestimated," she muses, studying the last of the tea in her cup. "Perhaps it's because we do largely see them as innocent, and we often maintain that view until we are forced to let it go. But I'm quite aware what even the young can be capable of."

"But that wasn't exactly what I was referring to when I asked about you experience." A pause and she looks up, meeting Mindy's eyes. "Do you feel bothered or guilty about what you had to do?"

"Yeah. You know how sometimes people who have money get to take gladiators out and have a good time? That's what gets to happen to us. If you want to know what happens when you refuse that, ask Joanna, a former mentor. Just...be careful. You're older than me. In this case, lack of puberty is my friend."

She grinned. "Oh, they sort of know that, but we do have kids that sort of are scrappy, but not willing to kill unless they have to. You know, noble. They're good kids, actually. Clementine. Sandy. Ellie. Max will fuck you up though."

She paused. "I have things in my Arena I feel guilty about, sure. I knew I was going to coming in. But killing people as fucked as me is the price I had to pay to become a mentor. I had to make myself distinct."

"Ah," she says even so quietly and of course she was right. She doesn't have her Sight here and yet she's still right and it disgusts her. They really are nothing to them akin to cattle in many ways and she hates the way that makes her feel. She hates knowing that she's not the one in control anymore, that she's merely a puppet of sorts.

But she won't let Mindy know all that, her gaze steady and she shrugs, as if it doesn't manage. "I'll manage, if it ever comes up."

"They should learn to use it to their advantage," she adds. "They may not want to kill but they should accept it sooner, rather than later. Adults in one of these things..." She shrugs again. "Fine. I can tolerate that. But children have too many things stacked against them, it's purely not fair."

She puts her now empty cup down, straightening a little. "You did what you had to. I'm sure you're fine rationalising it, but it helps sometimes to have others acknowledge it."

"I'm sure you will," Mindy said. "You were asking all the questions I was the first time the arena happened to me. I probably didn't get outright killed for that because I was a kid not knowing what was going on. If I'd been older, I might have been more likely to get stabbed."

Unpleasant, but true fact.

"Oh, not all will. Those girl with the exception of Max are good, like I said. They're not the type to go out and kill for the sake of it. Now Sandy's girlfriend Pruna, she was a different story. The girl knew how to handle herself. But its not so easy for them, and if they don't ask I won't push it on 'em."

She shrugged. "You can't undo that kind of shit, you can only apologize later. It sucks what I had to do, but you can't change the nature of the game without facing some major consequences."

"Great minds perhaps," she says with a smirk, and now she straightens up completely, stretching ever so slightly. That and Rose knows the best thing for her to be is prepared. Especially if she is going into that arena with people she cares for, people she wants to get out of there as soon as she can.

She merely nods to what Mindy says, though deep down Rose doesn't think it's an ideal that will last. Innocence has to be lost sooner or later, and in a place like this it would be better for that to come sooner. But then again Rose has always been a cynic.

"I'm not passing judgement. Like I said, you did what needed to be done, there's no shame in that." She collects her dishes, carrying them to the sink. "And you sound like you intend to help plenty who remain in the arena, which is a just use of your time. I'm sure not all mentors are that considerate."

"That was what I meant," she said, smiling back. She was different, this one: much smarter than some of the women she'd met, somehow she could see her being some kind of quick strategist given the right circumstance. Mindy was,m in her mind, evaluating the strength and weaknesses of the tributes here. The more the punishments rained down, the more Mindy saw the inevitability of a struggle as a reality.

"Not everyone is able to deal in the Arena. I can at least show them how to handle a weapon, or how to hold something that will help them when a fight is going down. Not in me to just let people go without any kind of aid. I'd want the same myself, if I came here with no training."

Not that her training had ended anyway but still.

It helps, having been one of the minds behind an underground rebellion before being dragged here. It's given Rose the practice she knows she'll need, and it's taught her how important information is. And without her Sight she has to rely on the old fashioned way of doing that collecting. She smirks a little at Mindy's confirmation. "See, you're only proving it now."

Her fingertips press against the counter and she nods, resisting the urge to tap them. "No, it does take a certain psychology to manage these sorts of trauma, especially when the trauma is a repeated one. Giving them something is better than nothing, when it all comes down to it."

"Not being as asshole, that's me," Mindy said with a smirk. It was true, she didn't have to do this. Hell, in other circumstances training would have meant she came down hard on the person she was helping, making sure they didn't fuck up, and giving them sparse encouragement. Here, she couldn't afford to be that bad ass.

"Not to mention when there's always all new types of trauma to mess you up," Mindy piped in. "Losing friends, seeing them turned to Avoxes, having to see the threat of a Peacekeeper right on your ass. It never seems to end."

"You'd be surprised how rare that can be." Rose herself, knows she can have her moments, too focused on what she deems important to think of the little guys. The good of the many vs the loss of the few is something she's learnt to measure, to justify even though it hurts, and so she wouldn't call herself nice.

"It never will," it's cynical, but she knows it's true. "Freedom of speech is not as free as one thinks, and when it is it runs the risk of causing trouble. Those in power never want trouble, because it threatens the security of their control."

"Yep, I'll bet I would be," she said, shaking her head.

"Yeah, but even they're acting pretty damn extreme now. The last thing I expected of them was to start going nuts and kill off a whole fucking District. One of our mentors has family there. She's fucking losing her mind right now."

"History shows many leads have had extreme displays of power. After all, it's a strong way to remind those who need it that they can take so much from us. They're not caring about the psychological aspect, not unless it's ensuring that everyone takes the warning and stays in line." A pause, before Rose adds, sincerity in her voice. "I am sorry for her loss though."

"It shouldn't all be a surprise to me," Mindy said. "I mean, back home, even though we don't live in a dictatorship people have blatant disregard of life all the time. But I guess leveling a whole place, or actually holding people up as examples takes a little adjustment. Does more than remind you that life is fragile: reminds you that nothing is more scary than people in power that will fight tooth and nail to stay there."

She hums, nodding slowly before sighing. "Yes, even before my own world began to be taken over by a genocidal fish bitch there were issues. Governments argue they're doing what's best and what's needed and make choices they have no right to make..." She shrugs slightly. "This feels like the same old song in ways, but some of the steps of the dance are different."

"A genocidal fish bitch!" Mindy looked impressed. "No wonder you're able to deal with all of this crazy shit so easily. Me, I would have had a hard time dealing with a place that has characters from my comics and TV suddenly walking around, all of us depowered and at the mercy of people. So how is this place different from the ship that you're used to?"

Rose snorts softly, a little breath of laughter, her smirk wry. "It's not as exciting as it seems. But yes, I suppose it prepped me well enough. Life was already like some terrible movie, this is just. A genre change I suppose." Though even that's not entirely true. "More advanced, less openly trying to kill us all the bring back some long dead genocidal race. I haven't seen any Betty Crocker products around either, which is a blessing. Reassures me somewhat that she has no hold here."

"It's a pretty big change, at least the blatant 'we own you' state of affairs is. People being upper class pieces of shit is not so much. We also never went as far as, you know, having spree for games where you went and killed people. We weren't too far from it, but there was still some sort of laws to keep that out. What's the deal with Betty Crocker though? Is she that big a deal?"

"At least they're not calling themselves Big Brother." she smirks a little, half amused with herself. "And yes, we haven't quite gotten there yet. Perhaps someone will pitch it when Wipeout and other fantastic programs grow old."

She grows serious when Mindy questions the name and Rose sighs, searching for the words. It's a long, overly complicated story that she's certain she only fully understands herself thanks to her seer abilities.

"That fish bitch I mentioned?" she finally says, crossing her arms. "She came to Earth long ago and that was the alias she took. And she set up her little company, growing her influence over the years until she can take over more openly."

"Well come on, that would be a little obvious, don't you think?" Mindy said, chuckling. "I don't think anyone's gonna be all up and call themselves that. They don't really need to. Hell, if anything, we're the ones that have to be the inspiration, brought to the lower classes by the Capitol. We're the celebrities."

Gross.

"Betty Crocker. Huh. We did have that name on Earth, but it was just the name of a brand of cooking treats or some shit. Nothing that, well, big of a conglomerate."

"I suppose they have limits too," she sighs, biting her tongue back. There's so much she wants to say, but she shouldn't. Not until she's sure this is a safe space. She's already pushed it. "Somehow I would prefer a different sort of terrible reality tv show. Did Top Model not have enough drama for them?"

"That's how she started," Rose says, voice sharp. She doesn't think it's possible, lord she hopes it isn't, but all the same. "If you ever return, keep an eye out. She should be taken down as quickly as you can manage, because her strength will only grow."

"I was more inclined to watching a baking show," Mindy admitted. "You know, angry British guy losing his fucking mind yelling at guys. That was more my thing., and I had to pick up shit anyway. Me and dad only, and one of us has to cook."

That was an interesting little tidbit. "If I can get back home, I'll make sure I take her out of commission myself. Makes me curious about her now though."

She waves her hand a little, because in the end it didn't matter. Trashy tv was trashy tv and it's not like it was watched to actually improve you. "I've found a diet of takeaway chinese and simple pasta dishes hasn't killed me yet."

"Just... monitor her. It could be a coincidence..." she lets it hang there. It could be, sure. But I also might not be.

Mindy laughed. "Oh, I think me and dad got sick of that after awhile, so I had to learn my ass to cook. Somehow that just doesn't hit the spot how it used to, and for what I do, you kinda need decent nutrition."

She nodded. This was all on the assumption they wouldn't be dead soon enough, but one could hope, right?

"I suppose if you're leading a more active lifestyle it's a good move to make." Meanwhile Rose considered it a success when she remembered to eat, though that's happening less and less the more she starts getting into the rebellion. She needs to be fit for that after all.

Hope wasn't something Rose did often, too cynical for that, but. She knows how and when she dies. And it's not here or now, so she trusts her Sight. That's all that matters to her.

She sighs a little, straightening up. The conversation seems to be winding down, and she knows she still has much to find out. So she smiles politely at Mindy. "It was a pleasure to meet you Mindy. I have a feeling we'll talk later." Especially since she's the mentor for Dave's district and Rose is already half plotting how to get him out of the arenas.

"You better believe it. You can't work a full day's toil of fighting and cutting without energy. You hydrate, build up your carbs, let it sink and then you start to work it off, just so you have reserves when you need it."

It would be funny, to know what Rose knows. There was something calm and accepting about her, like this was all one big play. If she had to go drink tea and act like an adult with anyone, Rose would probably be it.

"Sure you will. We might have another one of these tea chats. I might actually start to like the stuff."

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