Open!

[contrarianlibrarian]

Who| China Sorrows and you!
What| Trying to acquire free labor and company, bringing gifts to District 11 Tributes, and creeping on Tower residents and the Arena
Where| Around the Tower, the District 11 Suite, and the Common Area
When| Week 5 and onward
Warnings/Notes| No warnings for now; if you’d like to set up another scenario, I’m open to anything

[All around the Tower]

Winding her way from the outside of the Tower to the elevators is China, a tall stack of books tucked under her chin. Though neither her body nor the stack waver an inch, suggesting she has everything under control, she approaches the first person she spots regardless.

With a bright but apologetic—not sheepish, though, she doesn’t do sheepish—China asks, “Excuse me. I hate to impose, but would you be willing to assist me with these?”

Why she doesn’t just ask an Avox may be one of the questions that springs to mind.

[District 11 Suite]

As Tributes return from the Arena, China’s stationed in the District 11 common area to meet them. She has herself sitting up perfectly straight on one of the couches, hands folded demurely on her lap. Spread out before her is a selection of books, enough so that there’s one for each Tribute and staff member in the District.

There’s a range of topics, from a book of tales about old Panem heroes with a cover verging on the garish to instructional texts on arts like flower arranging. Conspicuously absent from the pile are any factual accounts of history, politics, or warfare.

Inside each one is a small card on which is written, in flourished handwriting, “As thanks for your service to glorious Panem.” There’s the faintest hint of perfume on each one because China doesn’t like overdoing things. And perfume that nice gets expensive.

As anyone approaches the room—whether from outside the suite or their own room—she greets them with a soft smile, “Hello. Do you have a moment?”

[Common Area]

The Games are as enjoyable as ever, but now China watches with a new focus. As each Tribute appears on-screen, she writes something in elegantly looping hand in a tiny notebook. A clipboard would, of course, be much easier. But it just wouldn’t look quite as good; she’s an Escort, not some low-level administrator.

She does do this for every Tribute, so someone may see her jotting down notes on one of their charges or one of their friends.

They also might notice that her attention occasionally wanders from the Games to the other watchers; she doesn’t bother to hide it, though she politely refrains from making any notes on them.

Comments

just off the elevator!

[aintyourdad]

Joel may be a murdering, torturing asshole, but he's also got a deeply ingrained - if a bit rough - sense of manners. Someone asks him something with enough kindness, enough politeness, and he might just do it, especially after a year or more in this place. His paranoia is still there, but it's faded, only rearing its head when things start to get genuinely suspicious.

And not wanting to ask the avoxes to do things for you? He doesn't consider that suspicious. The avoxes are creepy as hell.

"You startin' a lending library?" he asks, pausing and waving her over to take some of those books off her hands.

[contrarianlibrarian]

Her smile grows even brighter as she follows his gesture. She holds the stack up so he can take some books off the top. "Thank you so much. I was afraid I'd topple over with all of them."

She tilts her head at the suggestion. "What a lovely idea. I do have a library elsewhere in the city, but perhaps I should consider expanding." She likes to be selective about her clientele, though, "Are you a reader, then?"

He doesn't look like one, but her eager gaze doesn't suggest that she thinks such a thing. And, besides, people would surprise you.

[aintyourdad]

"Not really," Joel admits, grabbing a bunch of books and nodding at her to lead the way. "I bet a lot of the kids here would like a library, though."

Joel and kids. Ellie would've loved having access to a bunch of books.

[contrarianlibrarian]

She turns in a slow circle until she finds the elevator, then heads toward it. Her walk is slow and unhurried; she's far more focused on the conversation than getting where she's headed. "That's very sweet of you to think of them."

"I'm afraid many of the children I know haven't been interested in books. If you think they'll be appreciated here, though, I'll certainly consider bringing more over here. Do you have anyone immediately in mind?"

[aintyourdad]

"Clementine," he says immediately. "Maybe Arya. Beth. All of 'em."

Books are great. Every kid loves books. He almost asks what the hell sort of kids she knows who don't like books, but then -

Spoiled Capitol kids. Of course. He doesn't bother saying that aloud.

[contrarianlibrarian]

"Clementine, Arya, and Beth," she repeats dutifully, punctuating each name with a little nod of her head. "I'll be sure to remember them especially. I trust they're all responsible?"

She punches the number for the District 11 suite and steps back as the doors close.

[aintyourdad]

"They're good kids," Joel says, which is as close as she'll get to a 'yes'. He doesn't actually know how any of them would treat library books - Clem and Beth would probably be fine, he's not quite as sure about Arya. But his statement is honest, anyway. They are good kids. All of them.

[contrarianlibrarian]

"Perfect. I'll take your word for that; you seem like a trustworthy gentleman."

If China tended to trust anyone at all. Which she didn't really, but it was useful to tell people that she did. She tries to back up her words with the continued warmth of her smile.

[aintyourdad]

"Uh-huh." He doesn't believe her for a moment, but whatever. After the week he's had, it's enough to be in a room with someone who isn't threatening him or throwing things at him.

"I'm Joel," he says finally, because well, that's the polite thing to do, right? Introduce himself?

[contrarianlibrarian]

"It's a pleasure to meet you. China Sorrows." She bows her head slightly.

After a moment, she tilts her head to gaze up at him curiously. "No last name?"

Capitolites tend to be rather attached to theirs--especially the ones in China's circle.

[aintyourdad]

"None that matters to anyone here," he points out with a vague shrug. It didn't matter much to anyone back home, either, except the military, who liked to try and keep track of people.

But being a smuggler he'd taken to using all kinds of last names on forged paperwork to allow him to move about through the zone. Everyone else knew him simply as Joel.

[contrarianlibrarian]

"You feel no attachment to it? Intriguing."

Her lips twitch as if she's holding in a laugh. Contemplative, she looks down at her books. "I don't believe my grandmother would have taken it well if I'd ever claimed such a thing."

But that was just too bad for the old lady now, wasn't it?

[aintyourdad]

"A name is just a name," Joel says with a shrug. "Doesn't matter much who you are where I'm from."

Nothing much matters where he's from except where the next meal is coming from, and how to survive a hard winter.

[contrarianlibrarian]

"One of many differences between this place and your home, I'm sure."

She shrugs, as if those differences are merely intriguing cultural quirks.

"Why would that be?"

[aintyourdad]

"Because survivin' to the next day is more important. A family name doesn't tell you anything useful about a person," he says flatly.

[contrarianlibrarian]

"Interesting. Here it can tell you quite a lot, but I imagine we have very different priorities."

She widens her eyes as she looks at him. "What threatened your survival in your old world?"

[aintyourdad]

Joel just shrugs. "Disease," he says, and doesn't elaborate.

[contrarianlibrarian]

She clucks her tongue. "How terrible. I'm glad you don't have to worry about that anymore."

"Some of my other books tell of those things. It's such a shame that you all had to deal with that in your worlds."

Or, you know, in the Districts. But who cares about them.

[aintyourdad]

Joel just shrugs. There's no point really responding to that. There's plenty of food here, sure, but it's not like it's much better in the grand scheme of things.

They took Ellie away from him, after all.

[contrarianlibrarian]

Silence can say a lot. But assumptions can only lead to overlooking later information, so China tries not to jump to any conclusions about his.

"You're a rather taciturn man, aren't you?"

[aintyourdad]

"Never really saw the point of small talk," Joel says with a shrug. "And my world isn't neat, or interesting."

Just terrible.

[contrarianlibrarian]

"What talk isn't pointless to you, then?"

She'd hate to bore someone. And it helped to know their values.

[aintyourdad]

Joel gives her a long, appraising sort of look.

"Where you gonna put these?" he asks finally - and it may not seem like he's answering her question, but he kind of is.

[contrarianlibrarian]

Well, that is one way to answer.

"Just on the coffee table, I think. I want to display them so my Tributes can choose what they like."

The titles revealing them to be rather pointless story and hobby books as well as their decorative bindings and covers suggest that these are the kinds of books that may be better suited to display.

[aintyourdad]

"Alright," he says, shifting the pile in his arms as the elevator comes to a halt. He waves her forward - ladies first, after all. He might be an asshole, but he's still (sort of) a gentleman.