thecapitol | (no subject)

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Who| Signless and Beck | Signless and OPEN
What| Signless has a chat with the new D12 stylist and does his best to stay occupied.
Where| Around the Tower
When| Arena Week 2
Warnings/Notes| None I can think of!

A. For Beck | D12 Stylist Area
Stylists are, admittedly, not Signless's favorite part of the Tower staff. He doesn't like being fussed over and prodded and put in outfits that are more impractical than they are comfortable. It's incredible how much he misses Cinna and Cinna's understated style, even if the stylists that have been looking after Twelve since Cinna left have been giving him increasingly more and more freedom in what he wears. There are some perks to seniority, he supposes.

It's therefore with only a little trepidation that he steps into the domain of Twelve's new stylist, an as-yet mostly unknown entity to him. When she introduced herself over the network he was still steadfastly ignoring his communicator and so he has no idea what to expect from her. These tattoos aren't going to update themselves, though, and she's the best place to start.

"Miss Scordato? May I come in, or are you busy?"

B. OPEN | Tower Commons
A new rack of Celebrus is always something to at the very least take a glance at. Most of the time Signless just hopes he and those he considers his have been overlooked, but it seems this time he hasn't escaped a mention. Frankly he's surprised there wasn't more of a focus on him given his connection with the Initiate, but he's grateful that connection wasn't mentioned or, god forbid, the focus of a whole tragic chunk of an article.

No, they chose to talk instead about the time he thought providing a mercy kill as someone who'd never killed before was a good idea. They chose instead to focus on a relationship with the Psiioniic he doesn't actually have (wrong quadrant, still very much up in the air) instead of the relationship he does have and has had for months. It's not really that bad but he knows his small but dedicated group of fans are going to have a field day about what they see as confirmation of their 'ship'. Panem humans are weird.

"At least cloaks are finally in fashion," he mumbles to himself, flipping idly through the pages.

C. OPEN | Around the Tower
If there's one thing Signless has noticed about Capitol fashion, it's that male humans seem to wear an awful lot of dresses. He may be somewhat biased by the large amount of drag queens on staff, but he still feels as though that might be something he should get in on. And why not? Leggings are 'feminine' clothes (apparently?) and those are perfectly serviceable and comfortable. The right dress should follow the same principle -- and, furthermore, should show the Capitol that he's making an effort to adapt to their norms and lifestyle.

Alright. So it's possibly a little flawed, as plans go, even if it comes from a good place. It doesn't stop him from talking with Beck, and it doesn't stop Beck from making the dress or setting him loose on the Tribute Tower with it on. As expected, the dress itself is quite comfortable -- he asked for one that wasn't restrictive and that showed off the floral tattoos on his arms, and that's exactly what he got. He doesn't even mind the makeup, simple black eyeliner and red lipstick; it's no worse than any of the other makeup he's been put in and for once it actually suits him. No, the real problem is the heels.

Signless doesn't like shoes at the best of times. He's worn heels all of once, a pair of low chunky blue things that were part of his disguise during the first jailbreak. These heels -- bright red, fairly tall, strappy -- are an entirely different beast. When he's not wobbling around like a baby giraffe he can be found sitting on the nearest flat surface giving his feet a break.

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He has noticed her. He wants to sit down! There are a few moments of starstruck stammering, but then her notebook is set down, her head nodding vigorously. "S-sure! Have a seat, have a seat! Heels are tough." It's easy to have sympathy for him. Their places could be easily exchanged.

"Aaah, aaah... nice dress!" Because it is a nice dress. Super-cute. Wouldn't mind having it, herself. And it's something to say, and compliments always go over well, right?

She's definitely a Capitolite. Sometimes it's harder to tell in the Tower whether someone is from Panem or just a new arrival, but a new arrival wouldn't be acting quite so starstruck. On the other hand she hasn't offered him a mix tape or a booklet of self-published story about how beautiful Roland's eyes are, so she's already doing much better than most of the Capitolites he's run into since becoming a Mentor.

"Thank you. It's my first time wearing one -- and probably my last time in heels. I think I appreciate Jolie a lot more now."

He sits, immediately bending down to unlace the straps and slip the heels off, giving a sigh of relief. It's more than worth losing the extra inches.

It's only a matter of time on the awkward packet of lovingly-crafted words, Signless. No worries there. Or maybe all the worries.

"Aw, really?" She's not at all shy in expressing her disappointment. "That's kind of a bummer. They make your legs look really good!" Wait, that came out wrong. She squeaks and coughs and shakes her head and tries again. "I mean! I mean, in the general 'you' sense, not.. not you-you! Though. They do look good. I mean. I...."

And then she sighs despairingly and covers her face with her notebook. "You should probably go, I'm no good at this...."

He laughs, not the strained fake laugh he's been trying to make convincing for parties and public appearances but a real honest laugh. Like most Capitolites he's met she seems to honestly mean well, and unlike most Capitolites he's met she isn't being creepy about it. True, the line between 'endearingly awkward' and 'creepy' is thin, but this isn't enough to cross it.

"No, please. Stay. What's your name?"

Perhaps is that lingering sense of shame that prevents it from being too creepy. Felicity is not the most self-aware person out there, but she has a smidgen of comprehension that her hobbies and interests are considered sketchy by some. Which is why she cringes when Signless starts to laugh... and why she's slow to lower her notebook when he asks her to stay.

"F-Felicity. Felicity Yoshida. Aah, I'm... I'm Torin Byrd's niece!" Surely he knows her uncle! They're both victors! They must talk about... victor things?

Sure enough, at the mention of Torin his face brightens with recognition.

"Oh! I've met him, he was incredibly helpful when I was first learning what it was to be a mentor. I didn't realize he had family here." Torin looks like many things, but 'family man' is not at the top of the list.

"Do you stay with him, then, or are you just visiting?"

They do talk about victor things! Score one for the lucky girl! That's enough to get her to drop the notebook the rest of the way. "Oh! He does! He's really nice like that, he likes to help people. That reputation he got in his games? It's nothing. He really cares about people. Really." It's easier to talk about him than talk about the rest of the family, but the subject is there, so she "Ummmm"s a little, eyes darting from side to side as she considers how to put it. And then just huffs when it occurs to her that there's no need to be so evasive to an off-world tribute. Just a little evasive. Because he's a victor.

"...we just moved here a few months ago. From District 2. My dad's a Peacekeeper and they need lots of people here, so... so we've got our own place here!" She shrugs and smiles. "We're not really citizens, not yet, but... but that'll come. Everything'll get all sorted out!"

It's at this point that she realizes she had left her notebook open face-up, where anyone could possibly glimpse at what she'd been writing. Which wasn't much, she'd had a bit of a writer's block to work through, but there's enough time to possibly catch the following before she snatches it back up:

Is it true? Is it true?
Does it matter?
Should it be true or should it be happy?
Can't it be both?
THE TRUTH OF WHAT'S BEING GOOD

blue or indigo or red red red they're all covered in it

He nods without a trace of ire.

"Of course they need all the help they can get. With how things have been recently, the more Peacekeepers, the better. I'm sure you'll settle in well enough given time -- if offworlders can, you can." There is always, always time to suck up to any cameras that might be trained on him. Look, Panem. He likes your Peacekeepers. He likes your laws. He'll stay on the right side of them.

He's distracted from that slightly depressing train of thought by her notebook and has to quickly suppress the way his mouth tightens at the words. It's written and not spoken but he recognizes that cadence.

"What are you writing?"

"Right! That's what dad says. He's so happy to help!" She's all bright and relaxed again, because she's sure that no one saw anything. Everything's fine. Everything's cool. "A-and yeah! I guess you're right. We'll all settle in together."

...but nope. Nope nope nope, she seems to have actually gotten caught. And in reaction to the question she clutches her notebook to her chest. "...stuff." Because yes, that is not suspicious at all! It does stall for a few moments, though.

"Stuff," he repeats, in a tone of voice that says he sees right through her. If anything, he's more curious now. He's well-aware of the thriving fanfiction scene and his place in it. Is this his chance to read a draft before it's published?

"What kind of stuff?"

"Stuff." It's slightly defiant. She may be caught, but she won't let go of her secrets so easily! Besides, it's just loose thoughts, not at all ready to be gone over or beta'd by anyone.

"Just... stuff. I like to write. About... y'know. Stuff." The big wide all-around-the-lobby eye-and-headroll that she gives might give him the idea though. She is a purveyor of fanfiction. He can go right on ahead and be mad!

Well okay no, he can't, she wouldn't like that, please don't be mad, Signless.

Oh, he isn't mad. If anything he's a little amused by how bad she is at lying. How does someone related to Torin have such an abysmal game face?

"And do I feature in this stuff you write about?" Maybe it's narcissistic to ask, but if she's a fan of the Initiate (or if she was, before he revealed himself to be a disgusting traitor) she probably is at least passably interested in him.

She may be related to Torin, but all of the ass-kicking genes stayed within that particular branch of the family tree. Mom and dad were both transparently emotional ding-dongs, to put it diplomatically.

"....sometimes." Her grip on her notebook loosens a little, though it is not pulled away from her chest. "It's been a while since I've written something. What with. Um. Things." She drums her fingers along the notebook and lowers her eyes, trying not to betray some disappointment. The whole Initiate thing still really stung.

"Ah," he says. "Of course. I can imagine it was as much of a shock to you as it was to me." For radically different reasons, but still. If there's one thing everyone can agree on, it's that what happened with and to the Initiate was shocking.

"But you shouldn't let it stop you writing. Not about him, maybe -- I wouldn't want to -- but surely there's other things?"

"Not as much as..." She squeaks, and stops herself, shaking her head vigorously. "A shock. It was a shock. It's that...." And now this is hard. Now she is grimacing slightly and clutching that book all the tighter, trying to find the right way to say what feels like needs saying.

"...I guess I just need to find some new ideas!" Because the old once weren't such good ones anymore. Even if they didn't really want to leave her head. "Something happy! Something nice! Inspiration just... just hasn't struck."

In a way she's dealing with the same thing he is. She, too, has to hide her true feelings in favor of what won't get her in trouble. It's less dire for her -- must less -- but it's still difficult to live that kind of lie.

"Well. If I can do anything to inspire you, I'd be happy to help. If you have questions, I'd be willing to answer them."

Not that he's under the impression he's particularly popular, but he knows the details of his own life far better than anyone else's.

"...really?" Signless has just found a very good way to distract her from her problems. She sets the book flat on the table, flipped to a blank page, and leans slightly, eagerly forward.

"Do... do you get up in the early morning or do you sleep in or do you have a totally different sleep schedule? Trolls are nocturnal, right? How's... how's that end up working around here?" It is something that she has really wondered about. And it will give any romantic sleepy morning fics a delightful extra ring of truth if she knows the answer.

It's such a harmless question that Signless is almost taken aback. He had thought giving a Capitolite free reign to ask him whatever they wanted would lead to questions about something more personal than sleep habits, and it's a pleasant surprise to find otherwise. It's sweet, almost.

"Trolls are nocturnal naturally, yes. When I first arrived I had a lot of trouble adjusting but after two years I'm used to sleeping at night and being awake during the day. I tend to go to sleep late and wake up early; Mentor duties mean I often can't sleep in, and the life I lead before coming here and then in Arenas before I won meant it worked in my favor to be able to function on the bare minimum of sleep." He smiles. "That isn't to say I don't sleep in when I can afford it. A little extra rest never hurt."

Her upbringing may have a few flaws, but she was raised to never ask impolite questions about someone's junk on a first meeting. Besides, that's not where her interests lie. This is the good stuff, the fiddly details that she always found herself hating to have to make up.

"Sounds like you don't get a whole lot of sleep. You don't need a lot? Really?" She taps her pen as though she's going to write something down, but she's too engaged in the conversation to actually do it. "Some people are like that. Early risers! Morning people! Er, morning trolls? You... d'you like a cup of coffee in the morning? Or tea? Or something else?"

"I tend toward tea if I've slept a good amount, coffee if I need some extra energy. Sugar and cream in both." That seems like the sort of little detail she may want to know.

It's odd, but discussing the mundane details of his life is... comforting. He's managed to carve out a home for himself despite the the stress of the Games and the unfamiliar culture of the Capitol, and this is throwing that into sharp relief.

"Aah! I don't know how anyone can drink that stuff without lots of sugar and cream!" She laughs after saying it, feeling a tiny bit of not-fully-warranted understanding and connection. "I really like iced coffee... uh, uh, that's not a breakfast thing, though, so..."

And she seems to realize that she's getting maybe overly familiar here, and also doing a poor job of interviewing. Down goes her head, she hastily scribbles down 'cream and sugar' in an effort to up her journalism game, then snaps right back to grinning at Signless. "Do you think you'll keep with the dress-wearing after this? Heels are a bust, but y'know, you really make that work."

He thinks she's doing a fine job, honestly. He's enjoying himself and that's more than he can say about most every interview he's had since he became a Victor.

"I don't know if I will or not. I thought it might be comfortable -- and it is! -- but it isn't quite my style. I might save dresses for special occasions. Once it gets cold again I won't want to be bearing so much skin anyway."

"Comfort's pretty important! I mean, there's suffering for style, but why can't you have both? You're nailing both! You're ahead of the game!" And she laughs and scribbles down 'special occasions', mostly in an effort to look like she's doing some kind of proper work here and not just having a fun conversation. This is serious! Seriously!

"When it gets cold, you can go back to leggings, though. Or... or do you think you're done with that, for now? So last year, and all that?"

"Oh, no. I don't think I'll ever be done with leggings. They've become something of a signature item for me."

That and having at least some say in how he dresses is one of the little victories he refuses to give up. Even just that tiny amount of control helps to keep him sane when so many other things here are completely outside of his ability to influence.

"They're like Terezi's glasses or Roland's boots."

"Aaaah! An excellent point." And she punctuates that with a firm tap of her pen on her notebook. "Do you find that's to your advantage, having a thing like that? I, I mean... once everyone knows you've got this thing that's your signature... well, how many pairs of leggings do the stylists try to get you to try on?! Does it ever get tiring?"

She really does want to know the answer to this super-important question, but it is right after asking it that her phone goes off. Her excited grin becomes something of a grimace. That is probably mom telling her to come home and get started on her homework, already....

aaand done?

69problems - 2015-11-16 04:53 (UTC) - Expand

Yup!

talltaleteller - 2015-12-06 17:38 (UTC) - Expand

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