you can run on for a long time; open;

[aintyourdad]

Who| Joel and YOU?
What| Actively avoiding watching the arena.
Where| Various places around the Tribute Tower.
When| Week 5.
Warnings/Notes| None ATM.

1] District 8 commons

Here, he cooks. It's a very normal sight by now - tributes, mentors, stylists, anyone who wanders through the District 8 suites with any regularity has probably caught Joel cooking at some point. In the morning, it's breakfast, his favorite meal of the day - eggs, bacon, toast, country potatoes, the works. And he always makes more than he can eat himself. Anyone who isn't too annoying can probably get him to provide a plate. Dig in.

2] Training center

He spends time here primarily to avoid paparazzi. And, occasionally, to shoot arrows at targets, just for the exercise, really, not necessarily to train. Someone who looks particularly lost, or out of their depth, might be able to talk him into giving some lessons in the survival areas - how to build a fire is something he's particularly good at, as is erecting temporary shelter and things like that. He doesn't really care which district people are associated with - as long as they don't annoy him. Kids, in particular, will get special treatment.

3] Roof garden

He spends time wandering the roof garden to get some air, and what little privacy any of them are afforded in this place. There are no TV screens up here, a blessed relief from the constant recaps and repeats of the arena footage - something he can't do anything about, so what's the point of watching it? He's sent Tess some supplies, which is about all he can manage. He walks up here for the quiet. Sometimes with a beer in his hand as he watches the sun set.

Comments

[aintyourdad]

Joel doesn't ask about the comfort food. That's one thing Joel is good for at least - avoiding unpleasant conversations.

"Is makin' me get a full body wax part of her job description?" he growls, grabbing another plate and turning back to the stove to add some more potatoes to the pan. "'Cause last I heard, you were the stylist. Also that boyfriend of hers is a menace."

[reallynow]

"What?" Jolie balks for a moment, then her eyes drop suspiciously to his chest. She can't see it, but she's curious as to whether he's being dramatic or not.

"You're damn right it's my job, what'd you say to get her pulling that card on you?" She's choosing to word this carefully, even if it doesn't sound like it. It wouldn't be right if she immediately believed him over her co-worker, even if she's starting to notice Swann makes questionable life choices.

Like. Ah. That guy.

"Who? Jason?" She snorts. "That guy has more baggage than a District Six hobo." The pieces are falling together, so she refrains from bitching further and simply folds her arms over her chest. "Tell me the full story."

[aintyourdad]

Yes, Jolie, he is quite literally hairless from the neck down. No, he does not feel the need to prove it right now.

"There is no story. Swann's an overbearing ass, likes to scream about how mean I am to her and then forces me to get waxed all over for some stupid photoshoot. And her boyfriend's just a raging sadistic asshole."

[reallynow]

"Overbearing I'll give you, but ass? Forgive me if it's a little hard to imagine from her. Guess it's an escort thing." She tries to emphasise the fact that her skepticism comes from the fact that they'll never be treated on the same level, but it's hard to convey without getting too deep into it.

"It's petty though, I'll give you that. Guess she ain't ever herded cats before in her life." She says, knowing well that Joel makes jobs difficult, but she looks unimpressed overall for a long moment. Speaking about Jason, however, is a point of interest that garners a little more enthusiasm. "Did you see him smacking around Avoxes or is he moving onto quicker targets?" She cocks her head to the side, unconvinced about the lack of a story here.

[aintyourdad]

"Bored and rich is never a good combination," Joel says by way of answer, but doesn't bother to elaborate. He slides a plate of food across to her instead, a good distraction he thinks.

[reallynow]

"Rich? We talking about Jason here? Hoo' boy, you're way off." She covers her mouth, as if she's said too much. Not that she particularly respects Jason enough to keep his personal life under wraps, but it's the principle of the thing. She considers that he might mean Swann, but the information is out there anyway.

"Thanks." She says sincerely when the food comes her way, picking up a fork to dig in but pausing before it gets to her lips. "Answer my question." She knows better than to think he'll just yield, but she's patient.

[aintyourdad]

Joel just raises an eyebrow at her. They may have very different concepts of what 'rich' entails, of course. As far as he's concerned, anyone with enough money to hang around the tribute tower at all hours and buy stupid crap for Swann is, indeed, rich.

But that's neither here nor there.

"What question?"

[reallynow]

"What did you catch him doing? What makes you think he's sadistic? I'm curious. You know me, I love a good story." The words are vapid, but the expression she's leveling on him is a little more severe. She's trying to read his face, looking for signs he's being evasive or not telling the whole story.

She just knows there's a story.

[aintyourdad]

Joel makes an annoyed sound in the back of his throat. "Dumpin' hot coffee on Tributes tryin' to mind their own business seems pretty sadistic to me."

[reallynow]

Despite the depth of the conversation, Jolie had been appreciatively picking at her food the entire time. When Joel finally drops the bomb, she drops the fork with a clatter and pushes herself back from the counter to puff herself up to her full and mighty height of a whole 5 feet and 8 inches plus heels.

"He what? He did what? To you?" She points at him, but she doesn't wait for an answer. Instead, she starts to pace, letting out a drawn out huff of frustration as her fingers curl into claws before she turns on Joel. "He is way out of line. Did he do that in here? In this suite? I'm gonna pluck his eyelashes out, I swear to god."

[aintyourdad]

"Hey now, don't go makin' a fuss about it," Joel says, raising his hands in a quelling sort of gesture. "Guy's an asshole but I'm not interested in gettin' in trouble over it." Because you bet your balls he'd be the one punished, if it came to that. He has no illusions about his position here.

[reallynow]

Ever the voice of reason, Joel actually does have somewhat of a calming effect on Jolie. Only because the idea of him getting in more trouble bothers her, so she pulls a face at him despite herself.

"But if he gets away with it, he might keep doing it." She can't help pressing the issue, folding her arms over her chest to show some restraint. "It's not fair if you all have to hide in your rooms because he wants to posture or whatever. I don't like it." This is clearly coming from someone who generally gets their way.

[aintyourdad]

"Yeah, he'll keep doin' it," Joel says bluntly. "You think he's the only Capitolite with a sadistic streak and a sense of superiority? Just cause he's the one who pulls it more openly."

[reallynow]

Jolie opens her mouth and closes it before she can properly respond to that. It doesn't hurt as such, but it's awkward enough to stun her for a moment before she comes back at him. "That's the thing, though. He doesn't have superiority. This is my District, you're my Tribute and I'm not playing that game." She tightens her arms over her chest, because the thought that she's being sadistic is suddenly making her a little insecure here. "Some people have no class."

[aintyourdad]

She's definitely a little sadistic. It's nothing he can't deal with, but if she hasn't thought about how intentionally humiliating them at Crownings and things is just a little sadistic, well, that's on her.

He doesn't say anything because it could be so, so much worse. She is definitely a better alternative to the likes of Jason. But there's a reason he grumbles about not being able to dress himself, and it's not entirely because he's just grouchy and uncooperative. Bodily autonomy is a thing Jolie has and the Tributes under her care don't.

"You wanna argue about who has more power over which Tributes, be my guest," is what he says instead, shaking his head a little. "Just... leave me out of it, okay?"

[reallynow]

The frame of reference Jolie has for being a morally good and fair person is, admittedly, not the best one. There are worse things she could be doing, she knows that much, she hasn't quite clocked onto the fact that she isn't always benevolent and doesn't always use her privilege powers for good.

Besides, if she just stopped it would be weird, but that's neither here nor there.

What matters is that she feels like she's doing right by Joel by expressing her distaste and disgust for that kind of behaviour, but it is slowly becoming apparent that she might be looking for reasons to come for Jason. It certainly doesn't negate the fact that she's mad on his behalf, but it does make her insistence despite his objections a little. Well. We'll call it rude.

"That's not what it's about, Joel. Don't be like that." Her voice softens and she drops her hands to her sides as if surrendering somewhat. "Fine." She adds, not without petulance. "But if I catch him doing it again, I'm not gonna pretend I didn't see it. Gonna slap the smug right off his face, and you can't stop me." She raises a finger to point at him, a little gingerly because she's still reeling from being schooled.

[aintyourdad]

Yeah, well. Yeah. Joel at least feels comfortable enough with Jolie to express some of his actual feelings - aside from general grouchiness and uncooperative-ness. Lucky her?

But he just shrugs again after a moment. "You won't," he promises. Mostly because if Jason ever walks into a room he's in again, he plans to walk right back out without a word. Otherwise he'd probably throttle the guy, and that would be the end of Joel's "career", such as it is.

"Not that the idea of you slappin' that dumbass isn't real appealing," he admits.

[reallynow]

At this point in time, it's hard to appreciate the sincerity, but she'll come around to it. She's already aware that he brushes off people he doesn't care about, when she thinks about it she will most likely realise that being warned is as good as getting him to open up a little.

"I'd never do anything that came back on you. I promise." And she makes that assurance with a very quick reach forward so she can place her hand on his arm, she doesn't let her hand linger because she's sure he doesn't appreciate it but she feels as if she's gotten her message across.

"I've come close. Trust me." She rolls her eyes, easily slipping back into a more casual level of conversation. "I don't know what she sees in him, but the last thing I'm gonna do is tell her no. It'd be like slapping a big bow on him. On the plus side, if they break up he might avoid the floor for awkwardness." She inclines her head to the side to sell her point.

[aintyourdad]

"Yeah, yeah," he mutters. Joel knows better by now than to really take Jolie's threats seriously. She's got that going for her, at least. Most of the other Capitolites don't have any problem calling the peacekeepers on any Tribute who steps a toe out of line. But he can shit-talk with Jolie and not have to worry about that.

He shakes his head a little at the mention of Swann. "She probably thinks she can change him," he says, in a tone of voice that tells Jolie exactly what he thinks of that stupid idea.

[reallynow]

The scoff Jolie lets out is veering on elated, as if she's excited to know that somebody is seeing what she sees. The excitement is brief, because it's going straight back to being frustrated.

"It's so cliche." She remarks, and it's definitely bitter. "All that you don't know him like I know him stuff. I dunno if she's just willfully ignorant or if he's really great in bed, but I do not want to find out."

[aintyourdad]

Joel makes a disgusted face at that. What people do in the bedroom is their business, but he hopes for the sake of any partners Compson has that he thinks of them as human beings, at least.

"I know his kind," Joel says without comment on the other thing. "They don't change. They can be capable of caring, sometimes, but that don't make them better people."

[reallynow]

To be fair, Jason used what Jolie does in her bedroom against her in previous arguments, so she considers that door wide open for debate.

"It's just gonna have to run it's course." She says finally, a little dejectedly. "Glad I'm not the only one seeing it that way, though. Here I thought I was being unreasonable and meddlesome." She smirks half-heartedly. "He got all kinds of defensive when I tried to imply he had a crush on her. Now they're in each others pockets? It's incredible."

[aintyourdad]

"You can't tell her what to do with her life," Joel says with a shrug. "People gotta make their own mistakes."

Even if it kills them, sometimes. Not that he's being hypocritical or anything....

[reallynow]

"Oh trust me, I know. You wanna talk about watching car crashes? Oceana is the closest thing I've got to a kid." She rolls her eyes, but the look on her face is affectionate. "You can't tell anyone what to do 'round here anyway. Everyone has an attitude, it makes working at Drag Clubs seem like conducting tea parties."

[aintyourdad]

Joel snorts. "Can't say I know anything about either of those things, so I'll take your word for it."

But he knows the feeling. Boy, does he know it.

"Doesn't matter how many times I've steered her right, Tess never wants to listen," he points out.