inbox

Feb. 16th, 2021 05:07 pm
slavophile: (That went better than i thought)
[personal profile] slavophile
Inbox
voice. text. video.
𝚄𝙽: 𝚀𝚄𝙴𝙴𝙽 — ̶̛̦͈̟̯͇́̃͗̆͢UN: ➶̳̿͟͞
( please indicate who you're contacting )

coded by [personal profile] shipping

Date: 2021-05-13 09:52 pm (UTC)
caputium: ᴛᴀʙʟᴇ? ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ ᴡᴇʀᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴋᴇᴇᴘɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴀᴛ? (ᴅɪᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ғʟᴏᴘ ᴀ 10-ɪɴ ᴅɪʟᴅᴏ ᴏɴᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ)
From: [personal profile] caputium
To the city? ( it reminds him of slade and the days of mirakuru. when it comes to crime running rampant in poverty-stricken areas, the rise of warring gangs isn't too surprising. ) Anarchy, from what I can gleam. I haven't been out much yet.

( if they had been awake, they might have been able to slow it. change the tide, something. he's not sure if it's worse in the down or it's just another kind of oppression. )

Date: 2021-05-13 10:01 pm (UTC)
caputium: ᴀɴᴅ sᴀɪᴅ ᴛʜᴀɴᴋ ʏᴏᴜ. (ʙᴀᴄᴋ ɪɴ ᴍʏ ᴅᴀʏ ᴡᴇ ᴛᴏᴏᴋ ᴏᴜʀ ᴛᴏʀᴛᴜʀᴇ)
From: [personal profile] caputium
You don't have to find out. ( not won't. oliver can't promise that here or star city. for now, it's a bridge they don't have to cross. he pulls in a slow breath, makes a quiet introspective noise, permanently in distaste with his position in duplicity. )

I can handle it. I'm safe. I'll be okay even if that changes. ( not that it will. ) I'm in the Down. I became uncontracted while we were sleeping.

( detatchment is easier. )

Date: 2021-05-13 10:14 pm (UTC)
caputium: (pic#14735962)
From: [personal profile] caputium
Yeah. ( it's what he can push out. yeah, everything has transformed. overnight for them, a month for everyone else. felicity had to endure the insanity, the violence, the uncertainty, and she lost him ( them ) again. there aren't words for that. there aren't apologies. john would tell him to do better, to aim for penance, yet he's clueless as to how to go about correcting the sins he keeps committing.

he wants to laugh about the bit in reference to retaliation as if either one of them were present enough to fight tooth and nail. and oliver surely would have until he couldn't so much as crawl.
) The important thing is that you're in your apartment, okay?

( they didn't touch him. )

Everything else, it's going to work out. ( short, clipped, like he's saying it for himself because if he doesn't, then william will want to see him. )

Date: 2021-05-13 10:29 pm (UTC)
caputium: ɪ sᴀɪᴅ sᴛᴇᴘʜᴀɴɪᴇ. sʜᴇ ʜᴇᴀʀᴅ sᴛᴇᴘ ᴏɴ ᴍᴇ. (ᴛʜᴀᴛ's ɴᴏᴛ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ʜᴀᴘᴘᴇɴᴇᴅ.)
From: [personal profile] caputium
No. ( perhaps, over time, he's improved with letting people help him push the boulder up the hill. when he fails, he prefers to be crushed in solitary. he can't regress to the man void of vulnerability, jagged where he should be soft. he needs a moment ( a moment here being defined as a day, at minimum ). ) I don't want you coming here. You might be putting a target on your back.

( william's ... an easy mark. he hates to think it because he's brilliant, impressive in technologically crippling someone. )

I don't belong there. ( not without felicity. ) I can do some good here. Keep people safe. Make sure they get where they're going, that they aren't being extorted. ( because he heard something about a cage and about fees, and it's not unusual for criminals to charge a protection fee. )

Date: 2021-05-13 10:49 pm (UTC)
caputium: ʙʀᴀss ᴋɴᴜᴄᴋʟᴇs ʜᴇʟᴘ. (ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴜʀsᴅᴀʏs ᴡᴇ ᴛʀʏ ᴛᴏ ғᴇᴇʟ ᴀʟɪᴠᴇ.)
From: [personal profile] caputium
( when he shuts his eyes and hangs his head back—not praying but thinking—he can picture william at eleven, fourteen, distantly but not so long ago, arguing with him because he wanted oliver to show him he cared. he wanted his father to fight for him like he fought for everyone else. his free hand clenches at his side. the temptation to pull the curtains shut and sit in the dark for twelve hours is more alluring than showing up. )

Okay. ( he crosses the room and sinks to the edge of his bed. it's cramped, shoved back into a space with two beds. ) I'll register with the app. They — um, need my name? Designation? To turn find my phone on?

( he jests faintly, making the strenuous effort of not tapping out, not hiding. it's exhausting. william lost felicity too, he doesn't need oliver to vanish on him in addition to that. )

Date: 2021-05-13 11:01 pm (UTC)
caputium: ɪᴛ ʜᴀᴘᴘᴇɴs. ᴡᴇ ᴀᴅᴊᴜsᴛ. (ᴡᴇ ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ᴘʟᴀɴ ғᴏʀ ᴅᴇᴄᴀᴘɪᴛᴀᴛɪᴏɴ.)
From: [personal profile] caputium
What you're saying is I'd be going in blind and without backup, for now. ( the need to throw himself into the thick of it and walk away from a beating is strong. sometimes, there's nothing like an injury to remind oliver that he's still alive. ) I didn't say I wouldn't come and see you. I want to set it up right. Get my papers in order. Do they count as traveling documents if they're electronic?

( watch him hyperfocus on insignificant details to get through this, to tiptoe around the chasm inside of him that threatens to swallow him whole. )

I assumed it'd be the same person I was living with before, unless they contracted and deciced to move out. I haven't seen anyone yet. It used to be Katherine.

Date: 2021-05-13 11:25 pm (UTC)
caputium: ᴡɪʟʟ ʀᴇsᴛᴏᴄᴋ ᴅᴜʀɪɴɢ ɴᴇxᴛ ʙᴜsɪɴᴇss ᴅᴀʏ. (ғʀᴇsʜ ᴏᴜᴛ ᴏғ ғᴜᴄᴋs ғʀɪᴅᴀʏ.)
From: [personal profile] caputium
I'm getting them in order as we speak. ( there's an echo if they're both on speakerphone now, though nothing unbearable. thankfully, he's had practice with making his voice carry. registering himself with the system is annoying but it isn't as if they don't already track everything. oliver's fairly convinced they're chipped somehow. they come into the city in a hospital gown of all things. )

No. It doesn't matter. Whoever I get thrown in with isn't going to have much say in it. We'll make it work. If it is Katherine, we're at least civil.

( once he's accepted the terms and filled in all the boxes, he tucks the phone back up against his ear between his shoulder. he can't promise he won't go searching for trouble because he is who he is but he can address what he's glossing over to placate his son. )

I'm not going to disappear.

Date: 2021-05-13 11:50 pm (UTC)
caputium: ɢᴏᴅ ɪ ʜᴏᴘᴇ ᴛʜᴀᴛ's ɢᴜᴍ. (ʜᴏᴡ ᴅɪᴅ ᴡᴇ ɢᴇᴛ ɢᴜᴍ ᴜᴘ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ?)
From: [personal profile] caputium
We're... friends? ( tentatively. they haven't hit it off the wrong way and the conversations they've had have been good. oliver wants to protect katherine. whoever she'd been before, they all have histories, she seems like she wants to do better here. he knows what starting over is like. he doesn't know her well enough to branch beyond that. admittedly, he spent most of his time with felicity and william, when he wasn't out at night. ) We're friendly.

I don't need to hide. ( yet. ) It looks like they want my exact route. Where I'm going, what time I'll be there. Specifics. I know what you meant. If we felt exposed before, we're under extreme scrutiny now.

When do you want to meet up?

Date: 2021-05-14 12:12 am (UTC)
caputium: ɪғ ᴡᴇ ɴᴀᴍᴇ ɪᴛ ᴡᴇ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴋᴇᴇᴘ ɪᴛ. (ᴄᴜʀᴛɪs ᴡᴇ ᴄᴀɴɴᴏᴛ ɴᴀᴍᴇ ɪᴛ.)
From: [personal profile] caputium
We could be if I was better at making friends. ( he is when it's beneficial, when he lets down his walls. now? he's not sure he wants any friends right now. he needs them with the current state of affairs, more so now than before with a ready-made contract in his back pocket. ) Have you checked in with any of yours?

( pot, kettle .. maybe. family comes first and he wouldn't trade that for anything, he's glad that's ingrained. this is something he won't talk about with william — not in its entirety. coping, dealing with losing his wife, having to meet quota. finding his footing won't be simple. they have that middle ground to relate with each other. making contracts with strangers now. )

Either way, I can meet you at the crossing point. You would be safe as long as you gave me notice.

It's like what the SCPD wishes they could inject us with.

Date: 2021-05-14 12:43 am (UTC)
caputium: ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ᴛᴇʟʟ ᴍᴇ. ɪ ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ᴋɴᴏᴡ. (ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀʙsᴏʟᴜᴛᴇ ****?)
From: [personal profile] caputium
I was notoriously unlikeable as mayor. ( his campaign was spearheaded by the media from the beginning. he likes to think he did some good while he was there for the police department, for quentin, operating in the light in laurel's memory. there's a lot of ugliness and chaos when he reflects in everything from barry messing with the timeline to prometheus and ricardo diaz, and ultimately his secrets and duality that assisted in decimating everything and everyone around him. ) I don't know. Were you close? On again, off again? Maybe if you want them to speak to you again and not think you're as careless as disappearing for a month feels.

( william can't see him squinting like he's trying to figure out the dynamic of multiple ex-spouses. how do they holiday? also: why is it that serious? in a land of whips and handcuffs, marriage is still laughable. sure, he remarried, but he and felicity made fun of every aspect that duplicity ( probably deliberately ) misinterpreted. )

How did you get around it? The microchipping.

( he's unusually quiet, long enough that oliver notices the lack of focus, if only because it means he has more heavy lifting to do in the conversation if william's distracted. )

Should I head out now?

Date: 2021-05-14 01:07 am (UTC)
caputium: ғᴇʟɪᴄɪᴛʏ ʜɪᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴋɪʟʟsᴡɪᴛᴄʜ. (ɴᴏ ɪᴛ's ғᴀsᴄɪɴᴀᴛɪɴɢ.)
From: [personal profile] caputium
It's expected. ( it's what he encouraged, isn't it? for william to put himself out there and meet people. marriage isn't what he anticipated but duplicity is nefarious in its practices and its determination to drive people closer. ) The nature of this city and you being single.

( mm......mhm. change the subject. )

You won't need a coat. ( he tries, not certain if william hears him or not before he hangs up. he stares at the device in consideration for a beat, then shoves it into his pocket. as a man that appreciates routine as a means of encouraging productivity and order, he hasn't bothered cleaning up. he's not full-on homeless on the island get-up but his hair's grown in a few inches. it serves as a disguise in and of itself to people he doesn't want to be recognized by while he's out. whatever side they meet on is irrelevant to oliver, probably not to the regulations of the city. it can all be sorted when he reaches the front of the line.

his side of the line is shorter, if only because the walk there feels sketchy. he doesn't glance over his shoulder because he's attuned to listening for the right sounds and watching the shadows change, but he can see why someone would want to stay indoors. it's another tedious ten minutes or so before he's able to take the elevator up, feeling prickly at best. his smile is practiced when he spots william in line, three people ahead of him.
)

You brought a coat. ( does he have regrets? it's warm. ) Hi.

Date: 2021-05-14 01:38 am (UTC)
caputium: ɪ ʜᴀᴛᴇ ᴛʜᴇsᴇ ᴏɴᴇs ᴛʜᴇ ʟᴇᴀsᴛ. (ʏᴇs. ᴛʜᴇsᴇ ᴏɴᴇs.)
From: [personal profile] caputium
( he doesn't realize he needs the embrace until he's in it and returning it openly. generally, he adjusts to the rule of thumb of whatever length william's comfortable with. the only good thing about having family in the city is being able to communicate without verbalizing any of it. felicity isn't his birth mother but for a time, she was his guardian. a mentor. someone that would have fought tooth and nail for him, and did as oliver recalls. she was a mother to him even if that version wasn't here, it was still her.

oliver thinks by now that he should be accustomed to losing people. he should be a professional with his coping mechanisms, sliding fluidly from one lost connection into another. it's survivable, never easier. maybe he leans into the bear hug aspect, crushing william because it isn't often they get to hug like this. pats on the back, one-armed quick hugs that men do? yes. he doesn't care if anyone's staring, though he imagines it takes more to turn heads around here.

when he draws back, one hand finds william's shoulder to squeeze it firmly. a reminder that he's here in spite of every bone in his body wanting to fold. he wants to go back to sleep.
)

It's going to be okay. ( it's an acceptable lie. )

Date: 2021-05-14 02:05 am (UTC)
caputium: ᴇᴠᴇʀʏᴏɴᴇ ʙᴜᴛ ᴍʏ ᴡɪғᴇ. ɢʀᴇᴀᴛ ᴡʀɪᴛɪɴɢ. (ᴡᴇ ᴄᴀɴ ʙʀᴇᴀᴋ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛɪᴍᴇʟɪɴᴇ ᴡɪᴛʜ)
From: [personal profile] caputium
( he can if he wants. he would catch him. it's neither the time, nor the place but he would keep william steady. over the years, he's come to care less and less about big, emotional displays. that's life. emotions and needing people is a huge part of being alive. he thinks he sees flashes in william. pieces that match his adamance to be an impenetrable fortress. he hopes that in finding himself, he sheds as much of that defense mechanism as he can. )

Time changes everything. ( whether it's an abundance or a lack thereof, time puts loss into perspective. ) Yeah. ( he grimaces but there's a smile pushing through beneath it. ) I was thinking of growing it out. Get one of those buns that the artsy guys wear.

No? ( is he joking? his expression got real serious. ) Be honest.

(no subject)

From: [personal profile] caputium - Date: 2021-05-14 02:28 am (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

From: [personal profile] caputium - Date: 2021-05-19 05:47 am (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

From: [personal profile] caputium - Date: 2021-05-19 06:06 am (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

From: [personal profile] caputium - Date: 2021-05-19 06:19 am (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

From: [personal profile] caputium - Date: 2021-05-20 09:08 pm (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

From: [personal profile] caputium - Date: 2021-05-20 09:59 pm (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

From: [personal profile] caputium - Date: 2021-05-20 10:18 pm (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

From: [personal profile] caputium - Date: 2021-05-21 02:14 am (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

From: [personal profile] caputium - Date: 2021-05-21 02:57 am (UTC) - Expand

Profile

slavophile: (Default)
ᴡɪʟʟɪᴀᴍ ʜᴀʀʀɪs ᴄʟᴀʏᴛᴏɴ ǫᴜᴇᴇɴ

Style Credit