Maria Darcy

It's so quiet today.

[Beetee waited quietly for the woman to stop speaking, and after she did, he took a moment to compose himself before he replied, his voice cold.] How ironic, Miss Darcy…how ironic. Did you know that Coin said that exact thing to me, almost word for word? I asked just what she intended for me to create in Special Weaponry and how it would be used, and she assured me that she only wanted weapons for the army, to be used against Capitol soldiers…that was it. For the…oh, what was it? Ah, yes: for the greater good. [He gave a bitter laugh before his face set grimly.] And, like the fool I was, I bought into it. I believed her every word, thought doing as she requested would not only help me bring peace to Panem, but help me…do other things I felt were necessary. [He’d almost let something else slip, but he caught himself just before he finished his statement with “help me keep my promise to Wiress.” His promise that he would liberate Panem, no matter what. But Maria didn’t need that bit. Beetee shook his head.] Again, I was a fool. I made a mistake, trusted a woman well on her way to becoming a tyrant because I was too consumed with thoughts of the “greater good,” with thoughts of, I’ll admit it, revenge — no. I will not do it again. Never again. My eyes are open, Maria! There’s no point in trying to cover them again! There will always be a disparity between how much the common civilian — which includes myself — is permitted to know and what you “trustworthy leaders” know, such as the fact that that meeting went on in the first place! [Beetee forced himself to take a calming breath.] Is that so? Well, that’s lovely for you, Miss Darcy, but unfortunately not very helpful. When push comes to shove, Paylor has the power, not you. The fact that you work directly under her does not make you just as or almost as poweful, but rather a pawn, which is something I refuse to be. Never again. I’m sorry. [But he wasn’t. Not at all.]

Miss Darcy is for my superiors, and there is only one woman who can claim to be that. You may call me Ma'am. Are we clear? You're right, though. Paylor has the power, and I am very pleased with that fact. Still, it's my job to help her carry the burden. While I do not have as much power, I am her second in command and I promise you I have enough power to do what needs to be done. Paylor and I are a team, Mr Joule. Believe it or not, we are not tyrants and we want this country to be a better place. The government is not as secretive as before. We would never let what happened before happen again. Never.

Has anyone seen my assistant?

Well, good for you, but I was referring to that pesky little creature I sent to get my coffee two hours ago and whose location still remains a mystery. Tell me, has she died or something?

You're all business. It's boring. I'm afraid I haven't seen her. Useless woman anyway. Just fire her. Unless you'd like her to be dead. You can make those things happen now. Or I can.

Has anyone seen my assistant?

How am I supposed to kill her if I can’t reach her?

I do hope you're not referring to me. I am no woman's assistant. Unless she asks nicely or gives me incentive.

Don’t feel like killing someone today.

What I despise are the place and the ways, not the people. Still, it’s not without a reason. Though the progress we made in the past few months could be marked as decent, I’m still seeing things I find unacceptable, and not as a woman from a district, but as a plain and simple human being. I agree, however, that loyalty and respect are something that has to be deserved. On both sides.

Capitol people are like ship. We lead, they follow. If you don't like some of the ways, change them. For example, I'd like to stop production of a special tonic that induces vomiting. Since the war and the bombings in various Districts, food is still scarce at times. We still have to ration it. This drink promotes wastefulness and I won't have it any longer. See, those are things you have a right to dislike. I dislike some of them myself. But my activities affect nobody but myself and any other consenting individuals who happen to be involved. Those may not be to your tastes, but you cannot hate them if they do no harm. Besides, I barely have any time to indulge nowadays. It's all training and business. All work and no play. But tell me... do I have your respect and loyalty, or have I yet to earn it?

#gallery #love this whole photoshoot

adlerized

thexrebel

"Good." He said bitterly, people starved while the Capitol citizens indulged themselves with food, it shouldn’t have been legal in the first place.

"Indeed." Maria smirked, watching the young man's expressions. She found it rather amusing that he always seemed so brooding and sulky; always so serious. At least, that was the impression she always got from him. "How are things in District 2? I trust the military continues to run smoothly, Soldier Hawthorne?"

#convogale

It's so quiet today.

[He shrugged.] All right, then. Thank you. [At the woman’s next words, he became livid and struggled to keep his voice calm.] Perhaps I should make my meaning plainer, Miss Darcy. While I’d like to find something to occupy my time, overseeing and assisting in the creation of weapons for mass murder is a bit distasteful to me. Though I’m sure you and your affiliates would know all about that, yes?

[Maria's jaw clenched, the smirk finally disappearing from her face as the topic grew more serious. When she spoke again, her voice was quieter and keeping it calm was clearly somewhat of a struggle.] I would not ask you to create such things. I would not ask anyone to create such things. Regardless of what you seem to assume and imply about me, I most certainly do not condone mass murder, especially the murder of innocent children. I voted no for those bombings and I made my opinion clear, which was why I was no longer permitted to enter the Command room for the final stages of the war. I refused to support Alma Coin's decisions in District 13 and I refuse to let anything of the sort happen while I am in government. So kindly keep your accusations to yourself. Special Weaponry is about creating weapons for the army. There will be no more hidden secrets, motives or intentions. And we could make you offers that ensure your work stays your property. We could make it so you have to clear every use of your creations. We are trustworthy leaders, whether you believe that or not.

Don’t feel like killing someone today.

Are we really having this conversation? [Paylor frowned, not even trying to hide the disgust she felt toward the Capitol and its ways.] Unlike you and your friends, I prefer to keep my personal life my own business, as well as my take on the… activities. But let’s be realistic, I couldn’t like this shithole even if I tried to. Sure, it’s still a better option than returning ho– to Thirteen, but that doesn’t mean I won’t continue pointing out its flaws whenever I see them.

Alright. It's clear we disgust you, and I don't particularly care. But allow me to give you some advice, as is my job and duty... You will find it very very hard to rule a place and a group of people you so blatantly despise. If they don't even have an ounce of respect from you, you can forget the hope of ever having their loyalty. You have mine because I'm sworn in as your Vice President, and regardless of your opinion on me, I do respect you. But the people... you can't rule people if the hate is clear in your eyes every time you look at them.

thexrebel

"I want to know how people in the Capitol eat so much, I can barely eat a plate of that stuff."

"Well, Mr Hawthorne, there are drinks that allow people to vomit. That way, they can eat more food. But we're going to ban those now that we can."

#convogale

Don’t feel like killing someone today.

I know there are other physical acts besides training. I just don’t tend to refer to them that way. And I’ll stop being moody once you stop being obnoxious. Because that’s not adorable. At all.

I grew up in the Capitol. You and I have very different interests. In the Capitol, women talk about these physical acts over their morning tea and compare their experiences in the supermarket queue. And there's nothing obnoxious about it. Of course, you'd think it's all obnoxious, but you haven't tried it, and therefore, you cannot know. You District people see us as despicable, I know. But we're not all bad, and neither are our leisure activities. Maybe if you loosened up, stopped sulking like a child and tried a few of those activities, you'd like the city a little better.

It's so quiet today.

[He fiddled nervously with his glasses as he replied.] I’ll take that as a compliment. And if that’s the case, I suppose I’ll simply ask around. [He shrugged.]

It is a compliment, Mr Joule. The things you do would completely baffle me. I suppose we all have our own talents. But I could have tasks for you. Unfortunately, you keep turning down our many job offers.

#gallery #you do misbehave don't you?#that's why I left the quote

adlerized

I misbehave.

sparklerps

#gallery

newtonmagnus

"Well, there is a lot about me and my combat style available on-line" he said trying to avid the question. "Ehm" He got visibly uncomfortable because he didn’t know if she was hitting on him. "Don’t worry, I just do it on the ring" He said visibly uncomfortable.

"Reading about combat style is boring. I prefer to see fighters in action." She shrugged, still smiling. "So you like to fight, hmm? You train? That's my 2nd favourite night time activity. I admire it, though... the fact you still train even though the war is over and Panem is at peace. Even still, we mustn't let ourselves be caught off guard. But you strike me as a hard man to catch off guard."

#convomagnus

It's so quiet today.

I’m not embarrassed. [He mumbled, though this was a lie; Maria, the minx, had a way of making him very uncomfortable and flustered with very little effort at all, and it wasn’t something he was eager to admit. What he didn’t realize was that it was painfully evident in the shaking of his hands and the color that rose in his face.] I simply find myself without anything to occupy my abundance of free time. Idleness bothers me. As for how you could help me…Give me something to construct, perhaps? Or even to repair?

[The smirk remained ever-present on Maria's face as she watched the man.] Something to construct or repair, you say? I do admire men and women who are good with their hands. Unfortunately, I have no task of the sort to give you.

newtonmagnus

"It’s okay. I just had to…" He stopped for a second because he didn’t want to talk about what those night terrors he experienced. "I’ll just have one beer or perhaps go and hit something. Getting out some steam of my body helps me. I like to hit things..:"