dear_mun | voice testing

Yours plays games too huh?

Too many.

[The sentence definitely weighs more than it sounds, but Katniss isn't a girl of many words. She has however learned a little about the presentation of her expression, which she keeps flat. Better than upsetting people, because who knows just who may be watching this meeting. It takes a lot to not instinctively pull her bow on this stranger, but unless you're actually in the games, instincts can be dangerous if acted on without second though.

Still, her fingers give a slight twitch as she acknowledges the man. Takes in his size and demeanor just in case.]

[ Stephen's tall but reads more "geek" than athlete and all of Ultra's training hasn't changed that, and for all his height, he's still a teenager himself. ]

Yeah I've been warned. He's not really got a plan in mind for me yet though. Other than running me into my uncle and John.

[He may not be built like one of the Careers, but Katniss knows better than to judge a book by it's cover. There have been a few Victors who won the Games by embracing their image and tricking the rest into believing that the look is simply truth.

Katniss just gives a faint nod, smoothing the hand that was itching for her bow on her pants in one little swipe. Speaking to people isn't her best feat, but again... The Capitol has made sure that any and all tributes at least have to pretend to know what they're doing.]

What sort of warning did you get?

[Because she never got one from Mundane (and what a stupid name to have), but those instincts are always warning her of something. Being controlled by a person she doesn't even know is common where she comes from.]

[ Stephen's a lot of things - and a survivor among them. According to the other Tomorrow People, even The Chosen One. But killer? He's not. Genetically, they are wired a certain way: they can't kill humans. ]

Just that he tends to go for the 'break you down to make you stronger' route. But that means throwing you into the deep end.

[ There's a few friendly others rattling around his Mun's head. Most aren't. ]

[That confirms everything that Katniss had already assumed. Maybe this wouldn't be exactly like the Games, but it is pretty much the same level of control.

Or it could be identical. Either way, the news isn't very good. Another thing Katniss is getting used to.]

Sounds like that came from someone in position of power.

[It's her way of acknowledging that she understands without saying too much. Again... anyone could be listening.]

Was it the same back home?

[At least Mundane let her know about how people come from different places in the strange world.]

Not really sure who has the power in here.

[ There's a few he knows but avoids for various reasons. ]

There's a shadow war going on. My father is missing, I'm lying to my mother and little brother to keep them safe, a lot of the Tomorrow People think I'm the chosen one, when I had no idea what I was until a couple months ago, and my uncle is the ringleader of the group hunting us, and I work for him. Compared to that? This place hasn't been so bad.

[Katniss is about to tell him that as of right now, the ones in power are the ones who call themselves Mundanes, but his story is much more intriguing than stating the obvious. She can relate to a lot of that, being coined the Mockingjay. The symbol of rebellion.

He certainly is right. So far, this place isn't bad compared to being in an arena fighting to the death. But it's the worst idea to lose your guard because of false comfort.

Nothing ever pans out well when someone controls what happens all around you.

Instead of giving away anything about herself right away, Katniss decides to direct the conversation towards him. Both out of curiosity and the hope he will keep talking smoothly without trouble, much like Peeta.]

Who are the Tomorrow People?

[ He's got other issues with the other 'pups' in this head here, it makes him worry less about his mundane.

After meeting The Founder, he'll take any break he can get, even if he wants to find his father. Needs to find his father. ]

We're people. A different kinds of human though, a new species. We have powers, called the three T's. Telepathy, telekinesis, and teleportation.

[ Here it doesn't matter, he can talk. Somewhere else, he wouldn't. Being invisible keeps them alive. ]

My father was the leader but he disappeared years ago, and they found me when I broke out. There aren't very many of us, but more than most know.

A wise decision; you have better games to play, after all.

Who does, really? When someone else writes the rules, it's a lot harder to win.

[President Snow. The man who smells of blood and roses, the one who is determined to squash the fire that she unintentionally set. The man who is about to send her and many others to their death a second time.

While this place is different, Katniss reaction will be the very same. Careful, and yet honest... because they said they wouldn't lie to one another.]

Much more important games.

[Short but to the point. As terrible as he is, as the Capitol is, Katniss has to agree on this. Being in a fake world with fake problems won't save Peeta, and that is the one thing she wants to come out of the Quarter Quell.

Which means she needs to be there for it.]

Easier to be killed, too.

Same thing.

You're a little young to know how to write good rules, though.

I don't write them.

[Just participates in them. Loathes them.]

There's your problem.

[This guy may or may not deserve to be hit.

She's still debating, although even if she decides he does, she won't do it.]

It's a problem for a lot of people.

[ He does. Undoubtedly. ]

If a society's system is a car, it's a three-wheeled, backfiring old piece of shit that gets a fresh coat of paint every ten minutes. It has power because it's so shiny, and because half the world's out there pushing it.

Sometimes it's interesting to see how far it'll limp along. Sometimes it's more interesting to see how many parts you can pull before it falls apart. Either way, the best place to be is not in the car, or behind the car, but at a safe distance.

[All any of that does is make Katniss think about the Capitol, the things they do to people. Muttations. People don't just come with powers after all... power is given, stolen or made.]

Did they make you that way?

[She would express that she's sorry about his father, but that is something for friends, and while he seems nice, they are complete strangers.]

[Katniss likes even less the fact that he is right. Whoever he is. While she doesn't write the rules, she certainly caused an uproar with a simple handful of berries.]

Safe distance isn't exactly a choice where I come from.

[She pauses, not really wanting to elaborate on that, but she does because apparently if you don't actually talk to this man, he will make fast assumptions about things and say things that are a little bit absurd to her.]

But I do know what you mean about the parts.

Nope. Born this way, we all were. I inherited them from my father, but-

[ He shrugs. He still thinks of himself as human, even if he isn't. ]

It's just genetic.

[Katniss is surprised to hear that, but not very. Different worlds, she reminds herself. Different people, different rules.]

Oh. [That really is a weird concept to her. Power, inside of your own body. That's something only books talk about, and those books are pretty much impossible to get a hold of in a place like District 12. It's kind of a vague concept for her to grasp.]

There's nothing like that where I come from. Just Muttations.

Really.

[ He's interested: ]

Tell me more?

[This feels like dangerous ground to tread... she's already spoken with Snow, which means there could be anyone listening to this. But he also didn't give away that he heard her say anything, and they have already discussed this in her home.

It can't hurt to vaguely tell him. Especially because the comment about it being her problem really irked her. Anything to shut off that ignorance.]

Everything is run by the Capitol. They use fear of war to keep the people under their thumbs and send people from each District to fight to the death to remind them of the sacrifice for peace. [This is not easy to talk about, but somehow pretending to be a third party and not a Victor makes it a little bit easier.

Still, saying this much to a stranger will always feel uncomfortable to Katniss.]

An uprising started after two in the Games decided they would rather die than kill each other. One part broke and the rest is trying to follow.

Human sacrifice. Crude. [ But possibly effective - though not forever. ] And an interesting way to take attention off of where the real hostility lies.

But - fragile. Harsh. Fear isn't a good long-term tactic.

People are wonderfully unpredictable.

I didn't know there was anything like this at home. I didn't know about my dad.

[ But he really wants him. Not just for the others, but he wants his dad. He's angry at Roger for lying to him, but mostly, he just wants his dad. ]

What are Muttations?

It worked for 75 years.

[But maybe he is right, considering the facts. All she had to do was try to eat some berries and people suddenly got strength to stand up to tyranny.]

On a cosmic scale, might as well be 75 seconds.

Not that I mean to diminish the suffering involved.

How did you find out about your Dad?

[A pause]

They're mixes of animals. [Katniss frowns a little bit, she can't help it. Even thinking about it is horrifying.]

Or people and animals.

[This guy is somewhere on a scale between mildly interesting and absolutely disgusting.]

It doesn't feel that way to people living it.

Well, take some comfort in this, then: the people who lived their lives trying to control the world are, in the end, probably going to die pretty horribly. It's kind of how it works.

That still doesn't rid the world of the people who do those things. There will always be more.

And good people always die, and ultimately everything we say and do is meaningless.

You going to let that stop you? Or comfort you?

He made a video, for John to show me when I broke out.

[ That probably won't make sense to her. So wait, let's try again. ]

John and my dad used to work together, for Ultra. My uncle still does. They left, Ultra wants them both dead. John gathered the others, some who knew my dad, he's kinda in charge, my dad's missing. But before he disappeared, he recorded a message for me. See, Dad knew Ultra was hunting him, so he made us move, changed our names. Hid us. But when I broke out, they'd be able to find me. So they waited.

[ That's okay, he makes a face too. ]

That-what? That's horrible.

[A complete stranger is asking her some pretty deep stuff, and Katniss isn't sure she likes it. Her scowl increases a bit at she stares at him silently for a minute.]

I'm going to save who I can.

[ A smile. ]

I like you. I'd hire you. Good salary, family health insurance, dental. Little operational budget, because it'd be interesting to see what you do with it.

And I wouldn't worry about the part where you sort of want to punch my lights out. It's a common reaction.

[For the most part, this story just has her head swimming, but the confusion doesn't go very far. She may not know what half of this means, but once again, there are some parallels to her own experience and that is enough for her to understand without asking any more questions.

Finding things out by video, being in hiding, being wanted dead. Protecting people, all of it. Somehow it makes Katniss feel just a little bit more comfortable having such a deep conversation with a person whose name she doesn't even know.

The look on his face when she tells him about the Muttations helps too. That level of disgust says enough about who he is on the inside. If she were forced to pick allies in a place like this, he may be one of them.]

It's disgusting.

[There's a pause again.]

Our worlds don't sound so different, do they.

Ultra experiments on people, but I don't think they do things like that.

[ God he hopes not. Seriously. Oh god that's just.

He's going to try VERY HARD not to think about what else Ultra does that he 'doesn't have the stomach for'. ]

Maybe not. Hate for anyone to be stuck here, but if we are...I keep wondering if my father is going to show up.

Glad you agree.

[And yet Snow can't help but feel like it's nothing short of lip service. Not that he particularly minds; at least he has her intimidated enough not to argue.]

What other games does your mun wish for you to play, Miss Everdeen?

voice testing

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cue lady gaga

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he's laugh. he's kinda a geek like that

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meanwhile katniss has no idea what that means

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Aww Katmiss, Stephen would teach you but he's still in trouble over his last party

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