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."

pythianjudgment: (pic#7427756)

b

[personal profile] pythianjudgment 2015-04-25 12:19 am (UTC)(link)
Linden isn't the only one walking that careful tightrope. It's been a difficult few days for Terezi since the mission was completed, leaving her feeling wrung out and unstable. Part of her wants to scream. Part of her wants to burn everything to the ground. Part of her wants to not make things worse...

She doesn't feel safe around people right now with everything still so raw and painful. She might snap or do something to give herself away. She has to keep it together--just until she can figure out how to grab Kurloz and run.

She clutches a bright red blanket around her shoulders as she makes her way to the roof. Out of everywhere in the Capitol, it's the place where she usually finds the most solitude. She doesn't want to feel suffocated by the people of the city. She doesn't trust herself around half the Capitolites. If she has to hear even one word about Kurloz, she might gut someone in the middle of the street, and that isn't going to help anyone.

Not that she feels like she can help anyone right now.

She's barely paying attention when she comes to the roof, to absorbed in her own thoughts and misery. At first she thinks it might be empty anyway, and she's almost relieved--until she realizes that isn't quite right. There's a pair of feet hanging from the railing, and she has to assume they're attached to a person.

Terezi stops a few steps from the railing and frown distantly at the person. She has half a mind not to bother, but she knows it'll provide a distraction--if she can just force the words out.

It takes a few minutes, but she finally speaks up in voice lacking her usual emotion. "What are you doing?"

capitolprivilege: (would you be upset)

[that prompt up there the one for me]

[personal profile] capitolprivilege 2015-04-25 01:50 am (UTC)(link)
Stephen's perched atop a waist-height brick wall, holding a cigarette with smoke that blows rainbow-colors as it disappears into the sky.

"I'm sorry," he says as he jumps down, with a smile that reflects the apology. "I keep taking you to places that are more convenient for me than for you. You can pick the rendezvous point next time, if you want." He puts out the cigarette and tosses it in a nearby trash can.

His excuse is a 'breakup' with Candi -- you know, the stripper who was arm at the Crowning -- it was clearly a difficult conversation for him, and he's out here having a long think and unwinding a bit before going back to the Tribute Center. But Stephen figures Linden doesn't need to hear about that. It doesn't matter; they're here to talk about more important things.

"Let's get right to business. I don't know if you know about it, but a secret post went up on the Network yesterday, the first one in months. Did you see it?" Stephen wants to know this, first -- he doesn't want to explain something Linden already knows.
impaledqueen: (She's a rusty dagger)

d - Mentions of bidding in this thread

[personal profile] impaledqueen 2015-04-25 06:15 am (UTC)(link)
Peggy knows the signs of when Linden's out with a bidder. She knows because she's experienced it plenty of times, the most recent of which was just the other night. It's made easier on her when she knows that they'll let their secrets slip to her in some vain attempt to make themselves feel like there's genuine care and intimacy in their encounter, and she will smile and nod and pass those secrets to District Thirteen.

It's still hard to come back from, though. No matter how many secrets she sucks out of the process, it's still something that's fundamentally out of her control, and she hates not being in control. So she's sensitive to the fact that Linden left the tribute center dressed far more nicely than usual with that unsettling makeup and that he didn't come back until after everyone else had gone to sleep.

She doesn't know if he'd want to talk about it. If he does, he'll bring it up himself. Linden is very blunt about uncomfortable topics if he chooses to be. So she swings by District Six after she feels he'd probably be awake (so some time in the afternoon). She doesn't stare at the bruises, but she knows what they mean, and there's a flicker of anger in her gut. "I'm sure you gave him the what for. I was wondering if you felt like sharing tea or coffee with me today?" She wants to distract him. Give him something to hold onto that isn't alcohol or drugs.
reassures: (shine ☙ you'll have to break me open)

c

[personal profile] reassures 2015-04-25 11:07 am (UTC)(link)
It seems like everything as of late has gone right to hell. If Karkat was okay then no one was making a point of telling Nill what was happening to him - not that she would expect them to - and she is far more than just certain that both Steve, her District mate, and Kurloz are dead, the kind that the Capitol will not bring them back from. She almost hopes they're dead, because between all the things the Capitol could do to them it was probably the kindest.

(Please, please don't still be alive.)

It's the kind of thinking that would easily destroy Nill if she let it, which is why she's been trying to do other things, keep heerself busy, make things easier for other tributes. So when her escort - who Nill has only heard speak very rarely - suggested that being in the public more often would be a good idea she wasn't really in any position to turn it down, and certainly not the state of mind. No one had bid on her yet but that was purely luck, and if she was going to keep herself mostly whole she had to learn how to be casual in a place like this, how to not want to crawl out of her skin and leave it behind for the people that actually want to touch it, because she sure as hell doesn't.

She's not with bidders when Linden arrives, but there is a small group paying attention to her off to the side, relatively quiet compared to some of the other people. Nill's fans, at least the ones that she's with this evening, are a bit more subdued than some others. While she doubts it will last she's nonetheless grateful. They ask about her clothes, about her favorite brand of cigarettes, if she liked the e-cig Oceana had given her for the evening (because she has been smoking constantly), how hard it must be to care for her wings, if she would ever want to dye her feathers, they could just be so lovely if maybe they were a little more purple--

If Linden didn't actually see Nill when he came in it's because she's trying not to be seen. There's only so much she can handle for an evening, and him spotting her here isn't something she wants to worry about dealing with for now. She continues to think as much when she glances towards the bar every few moments. Oblivious, her fans offer her drinks, but she denies most, writes that she would rather recall speaking with them than not, and they practically swoon.

She doesn't budge until when she glances up she sees that the Capitolite actually has their hands on Linden, and after that it doesn't take long before she's waved some of them off and on her feet. Nill approaches immediately and practically yanks the Capitolite's hand off Linden, but she doesn't look at him, instead holding up her notepad for the Capitolite to read almost the second she's touched them.

would you buy me a drink?

The smile on her face is quiet and polite, but if in the last Arena Linden saw fire in her veins after Karkat was killed then now the only thing in her eyes is pure ice, the coldest he has probably ever seen her.

And if she's managed to get between them a bit then that's all the better if it means this disgusting excuse for a person is not touching someone she cares about as much as she does Linden.

Today her hair is lightly curled and left down instead of the usual braid or ribbons. Oceana was kind to her and though she's wearing the equivelant of a little black dress with some red trim, between her hair and her clothes it's hard to see any of her scars without looking for them purposely. Her makeup is meant to imitate something more natural, but to Linden it will still be obvious where the foundation is around her eyes to mask the fact that she has been sleeping even less than she did before the Binding, and her e-cig with at least two packs worth of vapor in it is matte black to match her dress. Appealing, but not eye-catching. It's practically advertisement.
Edited 2015-04-25 11:23 (UTC)
capitolprivilege: (all the time we're spending)

[personal profile] capitolprivilege 2015-04-25 01:21 pm (UTC)(link)
"Being involved isn't all sabotage and high-risk infiltration," Stephen replies, sticking his hands in his pockets and leaning back against the wall he'd been sitting on. There's a smile on his face and a light in his eyes; after nearly a year of District and Tribute and 13 sympathies coupled with six months of good behavior and keeping his head down and publicity mind-games, he's finding himself happy to be actively helping, involved again -- especially since he's planning to be helpful in a way that he's certain won't get him caught.

"I'm planning a party on the night of the break-in, and I'd like to have you there." The way he says it makes it clear that this isn't as simple as Please come to my party as a guest.
a_minute_younger: (huh)

B

[personal profile] a_minute_younger 2015-04-25 08:05 pm (UTC)(link)
It's not often that Gary actively searches for quiet places, but it's also not every day that something like Sigma's message happens. There's an awful lot to sort through and Gary has no idea where to start. That would involve thinking. Gary isn't much of a thinker. Maybe that's why the Initiate had such an easy time ordering him around. Maybe he should try thinking a little bit more.

The rooftop has been a good place for thinking in times past, and a good place to speak about things that Gary is fairly certain will have him executed. Even if it wasn't his fault, he was still involved, he still stole shit and he's not that much of an idiot to hope he can avoid punishment for that. He doesn't want to have his head turned inside-out on the stairs outside. But they can't hear him on the rooftop, he's been told, so perhaps he can find someone to talk to about this here.

Luck seems to be in Gary's favor, as he steps out from the elevator and sees the shins of someone dangling over the railing. A novel idea. Not a bad one, especially since there's no reason to be worried about falling (Gary has tested this theory before). Curiously he creeps over and, after realizing that whoever this is isn't actually doing anything, Gary silently sits on the rail a small ways down and flops backwards over the edge, dangling with his hands on the back of his head. Within seconds his brain is pounding in a numb, kind of calming sort of way. Gary relaxes.

A minute later, he gets bored and glances out of the corner of his eye to see if this other dude is doing anything interesting.
pythianjudgment: (pic#7427759)

[personal profile] pythianjudgment 2015-04-25 10:18 pm (UTC)(link)
"Yeah. I guess." Not quite the same, but the shorter answer is the easier one to voice. The differences don't really matter, and she doesn't think that she can explain.

Instead, she hunches her shoulders a bit and pulls the blanket tighter around her. She stands there awkwardly, unsure what to say. There's a deep pain in her chest, and she sorely wants to relieve it, but if there's a remedy for a broken heart, she doesn't know what it is.

"I didn't know anyone was up here. I just... can't stand being down there."
reassures: (light ☙ and come out at night)

[personal profile] reassures 2015-04-26 02:57 am (UTC)(link)
It probably is the natural course, and truthfully, Nill has seen things like this often enough that she knows interfering is an unwise choice to make, that it will only make the stories in the tabloids worse after this. There are so many dangerous things going on that acting in this way is about the stupidest decision she could possibly make.

But as of right now Karkat and the Initiate are probably dead, or Avoxed, her District-mate is probably dead, she has no idea how she is supposed to go talk to Bucky or Dave later when she knows Steve meant the world to Bucky as much as Karkat did to Dave. At least for a few days everything in this place feels empty and cold except for Linden. Now this person thinks he can do whatever he wants to Linden, touch him like he's a possession and not a human being, and that she would just sit back and not care and not at least try to get his hands off Linden for a few seconds?

Fuck that. Fuck all of it, fuck this place, and fuck these monsters trying to parade around and tell themselves they were good people.

It doesn't take long to pick up on at least the physical resemblances to Scorpii, the cheekbones, the way he has tried to be something he so clearly is not. Nill hadn't liked Scorpii, would never like him, but he was the charming sort that most people did, and this man doesn't resemble that in the slightest. She can't drag Linden out of here or tell this man to go right to hell, so she would just have to handle it however she could.

The smile remains firmly in place on her face, while almost every other word he spouts and every other thought she has about the thing in front of her continues to spiral. He reminds her of Scorpii, but more than that he reminds her of the first man she killed. Entitled and cruel, and she hadn't been there when he breathed his last, but she saw the videos on the news and she remembers the few fuzzy photos of the body that were shown. She had been in prime self-destruction mode, and right now she's not, but maybe if Linden was gone too she would be. She had felt very little about that man, and she's sure she would feel less about Claudius as well.

To her credit, being mute is a fairly effective way to hide your intentions. Most people won't look twice at a young woman that smiles and can't speak, and she's glad for it, because the only crack in her exterior that shows is when the man says lovers. The side of her smile twitches, and her wings fold in closer to her back, not because she's hiding them but because if she doesn't they will give away how livid she is under the surface. She only glances at Linden when he says friend, and though none of the ice running through her is directed at him he probably knows her well enough. That is bullshit, Linden, that is bullshit and you know it and she is not leaving.

I apologize for interrupting. It works a little differently in my world.
it's nice to meet you.
could you move down a seat?


If it wasn't already clear before, Nill has no intention of letting this man get anywhere close to being within easy reach of Linden again. Hopefully Claudius will be flattered instead of put off.
reassures: (cut ☙ she's so still; she's dead)

[personal profile] reassures 2015-04-26 06:24 am (UTC)(link)
To a certain extent she does realize it, but there are certain levels to things that sometimes she just isn't interested in paying attention to. It would not be the first time that a man like Claudius has given her attention; it will not be the last, and Nill knows full well that at some point eventually she will be the one sitting here trying to drink herself into oblivion before they can start putting their hands on her so she won't have to remember it come morning. She's smart enough not to glare at the man at the frankly grotesque suggestion, and she's careful enough not to let anything about her expression become unfriendly. To someone like Linden, who knows Nill as well as he does, there is close to nothing on her face that is realistic; for him her hatred for this man is probably blatant, and if not then the distaste for him is. He can read her better than most people can.

She's good at seeming polite however, even as she glances at the bartender every so often to make sure there is nothing extra in her drink. She takes it with a polite smile when it's set in front of her, about the only genuine thing she's managed this entire evening, and it's gone just as fast. For the most part she's happy to let him prattle on, as most anything he would ask her would receive a partial lie in return anyway. It's easier. And the longer he talks, the longer it will be before he leaves.

But the more Nill listens to him talk the more the polite smile slowly drains out of her expression. It's still there in the corners of her lips - which have been painted to shine in a way that is not overly noticeable, but tends to draw attention to them anyway, thanks to her stylist - but outside of that it doesn't hold up as well. He cites dates and years and Nill wants to punch him just for being that obsessed, for making Linden's life as awful as he has.

When the most disturbing aspect of it finally hits Nill in the chest in the chest she almost forgets how to breathe, and though she has not touched the drink she takes a very hesitant sip, far less to actually get any alcohol in her system and far more so she can look away. Her pen, which matches her outfit, is held in a white-knuckled fist on her lap, mostly out of view from Cladius but maybe not Linden.

This man has been using Linden since the moment he won his game, and he's one of the reasons that for years Linden preferred the sting of a needle to actually needing to live in his own skin and mind. Probably one of the reasons why sometimes he still preferred to live that way, and always might, despite trying his damnedest not to go back to it. This man is a living embodiment of the things that destroyed the boy from the interviews with Ceasar.

Nill also remembers that night on the roof before the first Arena, remembers carefully trying to get Linden to somewhere that could be close to safe, or as near that as either of them could get in this place, and how even though he had no idea where he was and who he was with he still curled in on himself and practically begged without ever speaking that they just not touch that one part of him.

There have only been a handful of times in Nill's life where she wished that she could scream, but sitting there, staring at this man that was going to do the one thing Linden had managed to avoid, she wishes she could. She wishes it was a restaurant instead of a bar, that instead of napkins on the bartop there were utensils, that if she actually reached for it there would be a knife in her fingers in a moment instead of a useless pen.

It's lucky that Nill is too smart to think for even a second that she could just grab Linden and leave. No matter what they would be caught, and they would be killed, and his parents and karkat would go down right alongside them. She clenches her jaw, mostly so she can stop holding her pen as if she wants to plunge it into the man's eye.

my escort and mentors have decided it would be best to wait until I'm a victor.

It's a neutral enough answer, one that doesn't really give any indication of her own feelings on the matter while not exactly confirming whether or not she's used to it. She hopes it's enough, because the next thing Nill writes she actually wants an answer to.

why can you do it now?
Edited 2015-04-26 09:52 (UTC)
bravelyplucked: (profile)

B

[personal profile] bravelyplucked 2015-04-26 11:58 pm (UTC)(link)
Torin likes taking a warm cup of relaxing herbal tea out to the rooftop some nights. It's quiet, and if he's had a good day, he can pretend he doesn't hate the city he's got a breathtaking view of. Of course, most of the time, when he runs into someone else out there, they're not dangling off of guardrails. "I'd tell you it's safer to try that in the training facilities, but then I'd imagine it wouldn't be quite as worth it." Not that he's about to do anything of this sort.
reassures: (cut ☙ how did you forget my name)

[personal profile] reassures 2015-04-27 12:21 am (UTC)(link)
He wouldn't think her so sweet and gentle if there was anything sharp within her reach. As it is the temptation to stab the pen down and ruin something he so obviously cherished is overwhelming. Nill sets her hands on the bar top, still managing to seem mostly polite as she twirls it idly with her fingers because she does not trust herself not to do something with it if she can hold it in her first for an extended period of time. It's a good show of dexterity, though not an over the top one, and concentrating on it does at least help not to have her mind focused purely on this pathetic moving pound of flesh in front of her.

Thankfully Nill's tells are restricted to her wings this evening; though she can't possibly stop every little thing that would give her away, if she's conscious of it then she can at least make sure that most are only seen in the shift and bristling of feathers. There's a very obvious twitch when Claudius talks about watching then, and Nill needs to put a plastic and not as convincing smile on her face so as not to outright grimace. Maybe, maybe that could happen between them some day, if either of them lived long enough for at least one of them to get over all the trauma and misery that might prevent it, but the idea of this monstrosity watching is enough to make her feel ill.

It's nothing compared to the sudden, gaping hole in her chest when he says there's a revised contract, that it's no longer a rule, that he absolutely intends to touch Linden's neck later whether he wants it or not, maybe even because he doesn't, and her wings practically turn to stone against her back, tense and rigid.

Whether or not the confirmation from Linden makes it worse is of course unclear, but it is one of the only times during most of this entire thing that Nill completely turns her attention away from Claudius so she can look at Linden, expression remaining mostly neutral save for where the ice has been replaced by confusion and an at least partial lack of understanding.

What the fuck was Stephen doing?

She looks like she wants to ask, to do something, but she doesn't have the chance. It's around then that a woman from the group Nill had been in earlier finally makes it over to the bar, and immediately starts gushing about Nill's clothes, her drink, and Linden might recognize her, because it's the Capitolite that Stephen just broke up with recently that has come to fetch Nill again. That might also be why she doesn't seem intent on sticking around, because though Nill jumps slightly when Candi grabs her hand the young Capitolite woman seems not to have noticed, and is entirely intent on brining Nill back over to the people that have technically been given her time for the evening and who Nill has not been paying enough attention to.

Unless Linden or Claudius try to get them to stay she will probably succeed in dragging Nill away.
capitolprivilege: (every single moment)

[personal profile] capitolprivilege 2015-04-27 01:35 am (UTC)(link)
As he does. Stephen lets out a little huff of breath when Linden says it, a half-laugh with an eye-roll, a god dammit, Linden, you're so impossible -- but then Linden goes on, and Stephen's eyes go wide.

"He what?"

Sudden fear seizes him -- he used his communicator to access the post! -- and for a moment, it feels like the world crashes in on him. He sees himself on trial, sees himself Avoxed, sees himself executed -- and then, reason returns. Of course a post like that wouldn't leave traces on communicators, Stephen thinks, and can breathe again. I'm fine. I'm completely fine. Oh, god.

He covers his mouth, shuts his eyes, and takes a deep breath.

"Okay. Okay, that's -- everything's okay. I've been careful with my messages anyway, since it's all recorded by the Peacekeepers, so I haven't said anything Cyrus can't know about."

Jeez -- reading my messages? What the hell? Stephen thinks. Having the peacekeepers cache his messages is one thing, but Cyrus? Personally? That's a breach of privacy Stephen feels actually really uncomfortable with. He's sent sexts.

"Oh, god. Oh, god, that's awkward. Okay. Thank you for telling me. I'm really glad I know that."
voiceinthephone: ([Shock])

D

[personal profile] voiceinthephone 2015-04-27 06:50 am (UTC)(link)
If there was one true manifestation of Phillip's insomnia and his past drinking habits, is the fact that he is frequently asleep during the day and awake at night. He tried getting more done, like reading or watching TV, anything to get him knocked out but he was restless without at least a glass or two. For now, he'd nodded off on the nearest table, head down and nestled between his arms as a letter and corresponding envelope underneath.

When Gray heard the faint sound of someone coming in, he sat up straight, "Sorry, I just had mail and-" he rattled off to allow his eyes to focus. He didn't expect to see his Mentor as he was: bruised to hell and back.

"I don't care about the other guy, sir," the Phone Guy was blunt about that much, "What happened to you?" Maybe mugged? Assaulted? Should he call in Officer Falxvale?
capitolprivilege: (would you be impressed if I said)

[personal profile] capitolprivilege 2015-04-27 06:59 pm (UTC)(link)
Stephen would probably be more embarrassed about it if he wasn't already used to the idea that Peacekeepers were reading them. He's a little embarrassed, yes -- it's different when it's someone you know -- but it's not a deep-seated sense of privacy violation. It's just like ugh, seriously? Awkwaaard. "No one asked you to read my messages," he gripes. "Don't be gross. Jeez, is there anyone in the Capitol who isn't reading my communicator?"

Even as he's complaining, though, he's thinking. His first instinct is to tell Cyrus to stop, but he can't do that, can he? Not without raising questions that Stephen doesn't want asked. He doesn't want Cyrus thinking that Stephen's thinking. It would be better, as gross as it is, to pretend he doesn't know. And actually... "Now that I'm thinking about it, that might be useful eventually. The Peacekeepers read everything, but they've got so much to go through all the time. If Cyrus is keeping tabs on my device personally--" ugh-- "then we've got, basically, a direct line to the government. It can't look like I'm deliberately spreading misinformation, so we can't use it often, but..."

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