IC Contact
Jul. 4th, 2013 10:09 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
powdered
"Hello! you have reached the voicemail of Effie Trinket. I am unavailable at present, so please leave your name and your number and I will be delighted to return your call."
Audio | Video | Text | Action
powdered"Hello! you have reached the voicemail of Effie Trinket. I am unavailable at present, so please leave your name and your number and I will be delighted to return your call."
Audio | Video | Text | Action
audio, backdated to the 13th
Date: 2013-07-18 05:20 pm (UTC)Hello, Miss Trinket. This is Saul Goodman. How're you holding up?
Re: audio, backdated to the 13th
Date: 2013-07-18 05:27 pm (UTC)When she answers with her best Capitol cheer it's almost impossible to tell how tired and unhappy she is. ]
Oh Saul, hello! How lovely to hear from you.
I'm doing well, and yourself?
no subject
Date: 2013-07-18 05:40 pm (UTC)So it takes him a moment to respond, but when he does, there's a faint trace of an audible smile. Forced, but a smile nonetheless.]
I'm okay. Are you all settled in? Find anyone from home?
no subject
Date: 2013-07-18 06:01 pm (UTC)As much as one would expect.
It just so happens that both my coworker and victors are here as well, there's something to be said for that.
[ Except they are somehow still worlds apart. Katniss, Peeta and Haymitch were all survivors who could and had adapted to worse. Where was her place in all of this? ]
It's a little funny isn't it? I wasn't able to say goodbye last I saw them, I suppose this is my second chance.
[ If only there was a phone cord to be twisted around her manicured finger. ]
no subject
Date: 2013-07-18 06:16 pm (UTC)And boy, does the memory of what happened back home hurt.
So whatever it is she's getting at — he already understands. He tries for a light chuckle, but it sounds completely fake.]
This place is funny that way, yeah. But — that's great. That you have them here, I mean. Not everyone's so lucky.
no subject
Date: 2013-07-18 06:39 pm (UTC)You're right. Katniss and Peeta have been here for some time, which is convenient. Haymitch arrived with the last group from what I understand.
[ She had created a wonderful mask of civility once the initial shock and upset had worn off. Now there was that tight, Capitol smile of fake pleasantry in the face of discomfort or unrest.
It was tiring to maintain though, and in the privacy and comfort of this call she couldn't help but let some of the unease escape through her lilting voice. ]
I was pleasantly surprised to see their familiar faces- though I wouldn't wish this place upon anyone, they are better to equipped to deal with it than most.
no subject
Date: 2013-07-18 06:54 pm (UTC)[His response is instant this time, edging somewhere between confused and curious. It's difficult for him to imagine Katniss and Effie coming from the same place. Katniss, who's so plain and serious, and Effie, who's so... Effie.
But there's something relieving in knowing that Katniss has people here, which is strange. He barely even knows her. Likes her, sure, and likes teasing her, but what does he know about Katniss Everdeen aside from she doesn't know how to take care of cats and is easily annoyed?
But that's been the trend lately, hasn't it? Caring too much about people he barely knows.
Or maybe it's that he's just remembered what Effie did, back home in her world. So it's with slight trepidation that he adds:]
How do you know Katniss?
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Date: 2013-07-18 08:12 pm (UTC)[ A pause. Everything had changed so much. Become so... different. It wasn't normal to escort one's tributes to the Games twice. Effie hadn't fully accepted it, and was deeply internally conflicted. She could only do her best to bury her feelings with work and doing the best she could do to support them. ]
Actually, I escorted them twice.
It was a lot of work and none of it really came to fruition, due to our unexpected departure from Panem to... here.
no subject
Date: 2013-07-19 06:02 am (UTC)[Oops. Did that sound too judgmental?
He's not mad at Effie; he's mad at whatever the hell system thought to employ such a tactic. And for what? From what she'd explained to him of the Games, it's — it seems pointless, to him. Barbaric is another word that springs to mind.
And it explains an awful lot about Katniss.
It was easy to brush this off during their first meeting in the name of prioritizing: getting Effie where she needed to be, and safely. Now? Yeah, they can talk about it. Saul has some questions he'd like addressed.]
And they both survived twice. How's that work?
no subject
Date: 2013-07-19 04:40 pm (UTC)[ There was a long pause. Mostly because she was chewing on her lower lip to keep herself from sobbing.
Why had this happened to them all? When Katniss and Peeta had been taken away so suddenly she had regretted the loss of her farewell, but on a selfish level it had been easier. They were simply gone and she could only perform her job to the best of her abilities and that was that.
Now they were all here, and there were no games. They were alive and considerably more safe and sound. She wanted so desperately to go back, but if they did...
When she spoke again her voice was very small.]
The Quarter-Quell has yet to commence. There isn't a victor, but I have faith in their abilities.
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Date: 2013-07-19 05:40 pm (UTC)[It almost sounds accusatory, the way he says it. Like Effie could have done something about it.
Or should have, maybe.
There's something uncomfortably familiar about this.]
And one of them might be the victor. [Victor. He almost spits the word out. Since when are "victor" and "survivor" synonymous?]
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Date: 2013-07-19 05:58 pm (UTC)Both of them could die, but they are young and strong and I believe that Katniss and Peeta have what it takes to succeed.
[ She is defensive of them. They are her tributes after all, and she had never doubted their ability to win. When no one had believed in District 12, Effie had.
They had both lived and proved her doubly right and nothing could have made her happier. Then the Quarter-Quell had been announced, and her new life of opportunity had been dimmed substantially.
What were the odds they would live again, both of them? Would the outfit she had bought for their wedding ever be worn?
She dabbed at her nose with a silk handkerchief.]
I don't expect you to understand.
no subject
Date: 2013-07-19 06:11 pm (UTC)[That's not fair. But hers is obviously not a world that has the same kind of Constitution, if it has one at all.
It's easy to distance himself from the situation, this way. To pretend Effie's the one on trial. Speak in legal terms, forget that he himself had ever suggested having Jesse killed —
Now there's a thought he didn't need.
He sounds even more upset, now.]
Don't understand what? Escorting a bunch of kids off to slaughter each other? No, can't really say I understand that.
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Date: 2013-07-19 06:28 pm (UTC)It's not as if I approve of death or cruelty. I don't. No one does. Which is why I agree that measures must be taken to avoid conflict that could lead to much worse.
I am an escort because I believe that every tribute, even the ones from District 12, deserves a chance to survive and win.
[ The waterworks are on and it's audible in her voice and the small noises she makes in the back of her throat while attempting to control the damage to her makeup. ]
no subject
Date: 2013-07-19 06:52 pm (UTC)The next breath he takes is slow, quiet, and careful. Saul needs to steady himself before he can continue and offer an apology. He didn't mean to make her cry.
She was just doing her job, right? A job she believed in. He understands that; he gets it. And it hurts, a little.]
I didn't mean to imply that you approve of it. [He's much quieter now, voice almost gentle.] I'm sorry.
no subject
Date: 2013-07-19 07:01 pm (UTC)It doesn't matter what anyone, myself included, thinks about them because it is not our choice and it is for the greater good.
[ In a way she's not speaking to convince Saul when she says this. She's speaking to herself. Everything about it is rehearsed. A mantra that is so deeply ingrained into the fibres of the Capitol citizens that believing otherwise is both painful and close to impossible.
She's still crying because tears have never been easy to stop for Effie Trinket, but Saul's apology did so some to help dial back her emotional torrent and she sniffles once before speaking again with less upset. ]
Your apology is accepted, Saul.
no subject
Date: 2013-07-19 07:36 pm (UTC)He sighs.]
There's always a choice, Effie. I know it doesn't seem that way. Trust me, I do. But you know what they say about hindsight, yeah?
no subject
Date: 2013-07-19 07:46 pm (UTC)There are some circumstances simply beyond our control.
[ Saul didn't know. He couldn't. No one talked or even thought about choice because it was much more pleasant to imagine civilian obedience was due to patriotism and not fear. Their beautiful lifestyles were paid for by submission and even better, willful ignorance.
Another small sob, but she's running out of tears.]
Hindsight? Of course.
It's always 50/50.
no subject
Date: 2013-07-19 07:56 pm (UTC)Oh, Effie. You tried.
Saul ignores the guilt building in his chest and presses onward. She needs to hear this.]
20/20, actually. And everything becomes clear as crystal, right? Now, I don't know if you've had enough time away from home yet, or if I should take these waterworks as an indication that you're almost there, but you're gonna hit a point where you can't think about home and still ignore everything the way you used to.
[He's seeing something clearly now, too: that she and him are a lot alike.]
I'm not saying this to upset you more. I'm saying it because it happened to me, and it sucked, and I want you to be prepared.
no subject
Date: 2013-07-19 08:11 pm (UTC)None of it matters anymore. We're not home.
[ A tired, wavering sigh as she pinches the bridge of her nose and makes herself more comfortable on the threadbare couch to continue this exhaustive conversation. ]
And I don't see how can you defend these people when we are effectively their tributes? Except there is no victor or end to this game and it involves everyone.
There is nothing to realize. I don't have the time to spare on idle thought because I will be far too busy attempting to survive.
no subject
Date: 2013-07-19 08:22 pm (UTC)[God, how he wishes he could get away with saying that to Jesse.]
You'll survive, Effie. The Initiative will make sure of that. As for how I can defend them — I already told you. I explained this. We're not just protecting them.
no subject
Date: 2013-07-19 08:31 pm (UTC)I have to say, this is the most unpleasant discussion I have ever experienced. It's very rude to call upon someone to lecture them uninvited. If you've only contacted me to make me feel worse than I already am, you should just hang up!
And I thought you were a decent man.
no subject
Date: 2013-07-19 09:09 pm (UTC)It's a good thing the video feed isn't on, otherwise Effie would have just had a grand view of Saul flinching. He stares at his tablet for a long moment, silent save for a bit of controlled breathing, then runs both hands through his hair.
Damn it.]
When I showed up here, I found someone from home. A client of mine. And at the time, it was just a professional relationship. I was his lawyer, he was paying me, it was my job to make sure he stayed out of trouble. So, that's what I did. But the more time I spent with him, the more I realized I owed him so much more than just what I could do for him as his lawyer — I helped someone almost ruin his life back home, but I kept him out of prison, so I was still doing my job, right?
But then there was this kid, a little girl called Rue. She was two seconds away from kicking my ass when she thought I was hurting this client of mine after I found him half-dead in his apartment here. And that kinda put things into perspective. It happened a little too fast and there was some tunnel vision involved, but long story short: I promised her I'd take care of him, and I wasn't speaking as his lawyer when I made that promise — I was speaking as his friend. And I'd like to think I'm speaking as family, now, because there's nothing I wouldn't do for him.
Three months, Effie. That's all it took.
no subject
Date: 2013-07-19 09:32 pm (UTC)Rue. Her death had moved Effie and many others to tears. She had especially felt for Katniss who had looked after Rue like the little sister she had volunteered to represent.
She didn't want to know and didn't want to ask, but she couldn't stop herself. Just how many tributes had been taken? ]
Pardon me, but did you say Rue?
no subject
Date: 2013-07-19 09:42 pm (UTC)[Saul's voice cuts off when he realizes, with no small amount of fear, that Effie must recognize that name for a reason.
It can't be the same Rue, though.
Can't be.
When he speaks again, he actually sounds nervous.]
Did you know a Rue?