dead_black_eyes: "Catapult" (As hollow as the day after a tragedy)
dead_black_eyes ([personal profile] dead_black_eyes) wrote in [community profile] thecapitol2015-04-24 12:20 am

I Know Explosions Make Debris, and Catching it Kind of Suits You [Open]

Who| Linden and Stephen, Linden and OPEN
What| Linden and Stephen do another blindspot conversation about rebellion stuff. Also a catch-all for Linden
Where| Lots of places
When| Before (for Stephen) and after (for everyone else) the Binding!
Warnings/Notes| Bidding mentions/implications, profanity, descriptions of injuries and sad stuff.



[a]. [for Stephen]

Linden is a lot less recognizable than he usually is today. Despite the nice weather, he's bundled up in several sweaters, and doesn't appear to be perspiring. He's got a few books under his arm as he strolls down a busy Capitol street, getting a few glances and murmurs of "is that...?" from curious appreciators of reality television. He's not wearing anything around his neck and his scar gives him away to attentive fans of the Games, and who in this part of Panem isn't?

He's not planning to hang out on Main Street, though. Linden Lockhearst is going into the seedier parts of the Capitol, striding through streets he is seldom if ever seen and ignoring casual midday offers for scantily-clad companionship. Eventually, he makes his way to a dark, isolated and unbugged alley, turning past the rougher edges of an older building than is typical in the Capitol. It's clean enough, unremarkable and nondescript, and when he sees his District's Escort, he approaches. Since Cyrus began cleaning up Stephen's image, he's been wearing clothes that are more subdued than any he's likely ever worn in his entire life. Traces of glitter remain, but ultimately the aesthetic is reminiscent of Cyrus's, sharp, clean-cut and professional.

"It took me long enough to find this place," he says; even with the confidence that they won't be overheard, he keeps his voice low and the movement of his lips minimal.

[b]. [tribute center rooftop]

Linden is off Morphling, clean for weeks and counting. The world is sharper, brighter, and a lot more hateful than the one he remembers cultivating for himself after his Games; that being said, he's found other ways to stimulate and soothe himself when either of those effects are needed. One such method is hanging off the guard rails by the back of his knees, dangling his body over the edge of the tower and gazing down through the forcefield at the street many stories below as blood rushes and sings in his ears.

The Sun's setting soon. From Linden's current vantage point, it'll look like it's levitating and being absorbed into a strange, solid, silver skyline composed of jagged skyscraper teeth. He tries to focus on this instead of the depressing revelation that Panem and especially the Capitol are falling apart, and even if he has to do some pretty shitty things to contribute to a cause that has actually succeeded in lighting a fire under him, he's on thin ice. It would take so little to slip and fall, and the precision of a tightrope walker to succeed; it makes hanging off the edge of a building seem dull and unadventurous by comparison.

The building has a safety net, after all; the rebellion doesn't, and anyone willingly involving himself with it carries the welfare of everyone he cares about on that wire with him.

[c]. [upscale Capitol bar]

The Binding had shaken up a lot, and for good reason, many staff members or people who are otherwise closely affiliated with the Games have been extra careful not to arouse suspicion. In this classy, upscale establishment, Linden actually looks like he (or more likely, 6's stylists) have put some real effort into his appearance tonight. He looks like a caricature of himself, dressed in close-fitting black vinyl with silver accents. It covers every inch of him below the neck, but is skintight on his extremely thin frame. His hair looks artfully tousled rather than slept-in, and his dark makeup accentuates the hollowness in his eyes and cheeks rather than attempting to soften, conceal or apologize for it.

For as little as he really looks like himself, absolutely no one could mistake the strikingly larger-than-life Victor as he currently appears. Even his scar is exaggerated and accented with makeup, and it's not long before a tall Capitolite of indeterminate gender is slipping into the seat next to Linden, ordering a drink and wrapping the man's thin fingers around the frosted glass. They strike up a conversation, appearing to already know each other. From a distance, it appears that the Capitolite is getting close and cozy, and though Linden doesn't reciprocate, he isn't making an effort to distance himself from the situation, either. He sips at his drink as his companion's hand strays to the sharp blade of Linden's hip.


[d]. [d6 suites]

Linden comes in late assisted by two Avoxes, seeming to time it so he isn't seen by anyone. A long bath and approximately 12 hours of sleep later, he reluctantly emerges from his room, appearing... strange. He's had some help from stylists, clearly, but the swelling around his eye is still noticeable. Foundation light enough to match Linden's parchment-pale skin is hard to come by, so the result is a mismatched nightmare that clashes with the cool tones in his complexion and does very little to cover the mottled bruising. The same goes for his neck; what his higher-than-normal collar doesn't cover tells a disquieting story of someone breaking his rule about even touching his neck rather severely.

If he notices someone staring, either at the bruising or the ginger, painful way he moves, he'll offer a tight smile. The tone will vary depending on whether or not they're friendly, but the message is always more or less the same.

"You should see the other guy."

bravelyplucked: (profile)

[personal profile] bravelyplucked 2015-05-22 12:55 am (UTC)(link)
"I'd...hoped it wasn't." Torin is torn--that someone cared enough to notice is nice, but he isn't really into telegraphing an injury. That's a weakness people can strike at. The mindset might be something his father tried to drill into him, but it has a certain point to it here in the charmingly bloodthirsty world of the Capitol. "Then again, it's not like I can hide the arm." Because having a bad arm is the easiest injury to speak of, right?
yoknapatawpha: (Basic - Sad Eyes)

[personal profile] yoknapatawpha 2015-05-23 02:18 am (UTC)(link)
"Have people got their tongues wagging about me?" Bayard looks sheepish again, cheeks rounding a bit and blotting out the bottom of his eyes. He's glad that people see the best in him, and he hopes that his father and Granny would be proud to hear of him making such a good impression, but it unnerves him a bit to be the topic of conversation. Especially on the scale of being a Tribute, which means that people he's never even met in his life will approach him on the street and ask for him to write his name on things, not because they know of his father but because they've seen him on the "telly-vision".

He wasn't expecting that to be Linden's response, because from overhearing his Escort it seems like getting a deal to help the District is one of the greater successes a Mentor can accomplish here. He thinks of the women he lives around, working themselves to bone to make sure that their husbands are fed and their garments mended before they ride back off to war, how proud they are to be war wives and to do their patriotic part too. He doesn't feel patriotism in the Capitol, not from the District citizens and not even from Capitolites.

"You sound like a man that's gotten the short end of a long deal." He steps to Linden's side so the two of them can lean against the rail - Bayard looks a little nervous as he glances over that edge again, but excited, like someone handling a live snake for the first time with no idea if it's poisonous or not.
pythianjudgment: (pic#7427756)

[personal profile] pythianjudgment 2015-05-23 07:33 pm (UTC)(link)
Terezi doesn't know about the alcohol. She might not care if she did. It was progress made--progress that she hadn't even noticed. That feels wrong somehow. Like he's taken two steps forward and she's taken two back. Then again, everything feels wrong right now.

"That's good," she tones almost flatly, save for the bit of support around the edges. She's glad for him, for that much. She has to find something to be glad about. "Hospital probably thinks you're in jail again." Or wherever he was before he came to the Capitol again.

She doesn't bother lifting her head just yet. She doesn't want to move, and she doesn't want him to move either.
impaledqueen: (Until there's nothing left.)

[personal profile] impaledqueen 2015-05-28 08:03 pm (UTC)(link)
"Just because you can bounce back doesn't mean you should have to."

She means that on two levels, but it's his choice to talk about what she's really worried about or not. Linden, while he still drinks, has done well avoiding relapsing into drugs, and she doesn't want him to be pulled back into the self-destructive cycle because bidders won't leave him alone.

She sweeps up the visible glass and throws it away before straightening up. "I think I got it." There might be tiny shards lying around, though.
bravelyplucked: (ah well you see)

[personal profile] bravelyplucked 2015-05-29 12:54 am (UTC)(link)
"Oh, of course." Right. Pride. Not a constant reminder of the terrible way the Arena had ended, of course not. Though the words are what he should say, the tone suggests just how much Torin dislikes that way of looking at it. "Still, some might mistake it for a weakness."
a_minute_younger: (huffy child)

[personal profile] a_minute_younger 2015-05-29 07:24 pm (UTC)(link)
The subject change is maintained, in spite of Linden's interest. He probably doesn't want to talk about it. Gary wouldn't want to talk about it. Being called out in public like that...how humiliating. Let's not linger on that.

"Yeah, well," Gary shrugs, as well as he can while he's upside-down, "I'm nineteen and I've been in three of these things. You'd think my chances would be a little better."

He doesn't realize how much he's parroting Nick's reservations at the most recent Crowning. It just seems like such an appropriate argument right now--he's starting to feel and appreciate that sensation of being duped. It's not very fun.
bravelyplucked: (satisfied)

[personal profile] bravelyplucked 2015-05-30 04:05 pm (UTC)(link)
That gets a weary smile out of Torin. "Thank you for that." He'd like to think he holds up well given the life of a Mentor, but he's intensely aware of the weaknesses he works hard to hide from everyone else. Hard to admit that around one of the more...fragile...Mentors.
yoknapatawpha: (Basic - Sad Eyes)

[personal profile] yoknapatawpha 2015-06-01 03:59 am (UTC)(link)
"I don't reckon there's much fascinating about me compared to everything they've got here. Although I suppose that's why it is I interest them. I couldn't imagine being of this world and they couldn't imagine being from mine." He chews his tongue a bit as he looks over the city, and for the first time he feels that the marvel at the lights and the tall buildings pales in comparison to the loneliness he feels without the persons who populated his sparse and rugged little home.

He feels that Linden doesn't want him prying too much, doesn't want Bayard to state out loud the damage that he sees on Linden's skin like a stain over his entire body. So he doesn't. He just watches and he knows.

"Not in an agreement between real gentlemen," Bayard says firmly, thinking of what his father said of Compson and Ikkemotubbe, the Chickasaw chieftain who sold his land for a horse and a promise, or of the lock that Ratliff so worried over when the jail was built - all bargains that were made with hell in mind more than fairness. "A real gentleman wouldn't take all he could get from someone else. Especially from someone with such need."
capitolprivilege: (every single moment)

[personal profile] capitolprivilege 2015-06-02 05:51 pm (UTC)(link)
Stephen stares at Linden, astounded for a moment.

"...and you've never thought of using that?" he asks.
capitolprivilege: (because it's not my fault)

[personal profile] capitolprivilege 2015-06-02 05:54 pm (UTC)(link)
Stephen nods; if Linden were a Capitol citizen, an investigation into this would have respected his wish to divulge nothing more, and Stephen will treat him no differently.

"It will be enough," he promises. "All right. Time to fight a paper war -- I'll see you in a few hours."
a_minute_younger: (if all else fails)

[personal profile] a_minute_younger 2015-06-06 07:39 pm (UTC)(link)
It's in Linden's best interest that he is a Mentor, because that means Gary is willing to take him seriously regardless of his previous activities around the Capitol. Here's a guy who's won. He's famous, more than all the other Tributes combined. He had his own Crowning, his own product lines, lived in the lap of luxury (as far as Gary's aware) ever since without a care in the world or an Arena to worry over. This is someone Gary can look up to.

The point that Linden makes afterwards only drives that feeling home. "The second, definitely," Gary says without hesitation, glancing over with wide eyes. He doesn't even consider that the roof is a safe place to say this--it just kind of spills out before he can even think about it. "It's not fair, to put people in a game and punish them like that for losing. It doesn't even make sense, like--like having a football game and killing off the losing team. It's dumb! Why would they even think that was a good idea?"
capitolprivilege: (and every cure they gave us)

[personal profile] capitolprivilege 2015-06-06 09:23 pm (UTC)(link)
"Yes," Stephen presses, "but you're not alone now. There's a whole bunch of people who can use what you found. Are you willing to share that information?"
capitolprivilege: (Default)

[personal profile] capitolprivilege 2015-06-06 09:25 pm (UTC)(link)
Stephen doesn't think he deserves thanks. After all, if it hadn't been for him, Linden wouldn't have been in this position in the first place. But he gives a nod, his mouth pressed tight, and turns, and leaves.

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