whatsbehindthefacade

[whatsbehindthefacade]

What moments they've had throughout the years have all been stolen, hidden behind locked doors, in shadows and darkened alleys, terrified of being caught. Always on edge, never truly able to properly relax into their love. But now, now that doesn't matter. Now they have each other, now they can hold each other and to hell with the rest of the world. Neither of them are young men anymore, and there's little could stop them.

"A little sore." His joints certainly aren't what they used to be, and neither are Verne's, he's sure. He's just been doing his best to put the thought of the firebombs out of his mind, to not think too hard about how the house he'd lived in for over seventy years is likely nothing more than ash now. Everything gone.

Verne isn’t entirely sure how to feel about the fact that District Thirteen actually exists, but he can worry about that later. Right now, he helps Clerk Carmine to push the beds together and then he climbs in and wraps Clerk Carmine in his arms. It’s so easy to do, and it nearly makes him cry. They’ve never had this, not once. He’s going to take advantage of it as much as he can. He doesn’t think he ever wants to let Clerk Carmine leave the bed.

He rubs a hand up and down Clerk Carmine’s back, slow and gentle. “How’re you doing?” Verne isn’t doing too great, but that’s a problem for later. His priority right now is the man in his arms, because honestly, Clerk Carmine has always been his top priority.

[whatsbehindthefacade]

There weren't any Peacekeepers in Twelve now who remembered the entertainment the Covey had once brought them on the regular. Sure, they hadn't respected them, but at least they'd spared a decent bit of coin, enough to help them all get by. But then everything had taken its turn, and there'd been no more concerts, no more entertaining, no more nothing. They'd had to scramble to find other ways to make money, to be able to buy food and firewood. Life had been considerably leaner, but they hadn't had much choice in the matter. They still didn't. They were lucky as it was that the Peacekeepers were so amenable to bribes. But their luck could only last so long.

"I know, Dovey." Never any doubt that she was a Baird, that was for sure, her spirit was enough to burn. But in District Twelve, things had a tendency to explode, to burn without control, and that was the last thing he wanted for their Lenore Dove. The older she got, the more difficult it was to convince the Peacekeepers that they shouldn't waste their time and space on a foolish child. They were running out of excuses, and fast.

a soft groan escaped at his words. sure, he was right, but it still didn't make their situation ANY BETTER. as much as she tried to keep to herself and not let the peacekeepers bother her, but sometimes they came to cause trouble anyway. she could be a PERFECT ANGEL and they'd still find something to get onto her about. part of her wondered if it was because they knew her uncles would pay to keep her from being arrested again, or if it was because they seemed to have some kind of ORDERS to treat covey members badly. ❛ it's not fair, and i'm sick of pretending like it is. if more people here would just STAND UP TO THEM, things would be different, i just know it. ❜

she hated to think about the world they lived in, the way people just accepted how things were. it made her want to go out in the middle of twelve and sing the forbidden songs. maybe then people would actually REALIZE how bad the world they lived in was. ❛ i just can't stand to be here any longer, and everybody seems to turn a blind eye to the unfairness of it all. ❜ it wasn't happening to them just yet, therefore it DIDN'T MATTER to them. a big part of her wished that the people in twelve would just stand up to the peacekeepers like she did. that they wouldn't just LOOK AWAY when people were being wrongfully arrested or worse.

[whatsbehindthefacade]

The earliest things he remembered. If he tried, Clerk Carmine thought he could remember a little of life on the road, of travelling, his father's hand on his shoulder. It wasn't much but it was there, supplemented by the things he'd been told by Billy Taupe, by Barb Azure, by Tam Amber. Carefully, he slid a photo from the stack, clearly one of the oldest ones there, depicting a tall, broad man, stoic looking, but with a glint in his eye, looking at someone just in the corner of the frame, a head of curls and a laughing face.

"My father. Duncan Pewter Clade, and my mother, Annabel Sage Clade. I wasn't born in District Twelve, though it ended up becoming home. We travelled, all of us Covey. Ma got sick when I was a baby, so I can't say I remember much of her. But I remember a little more about my da."

Katniss knew she needed help. There were not many people left to tell the stories but she knew they needed to be told. She needed help to fill in the pieces she didn't know. That was why Katniss was willing to listen to others. She wanted to make sure she was doing justice to the fallen.

Katniss took in the man's appearance. It was clear the years were not kind to him. This came as no shock, as life in 12 was never kind. They'd all been through the war but the struggles had started long before. "We should start with the earliest things that you remember."

[whatsbehindthefacade]

"Dumb decisions and love go hand in hand, Dovey, for just about everybody," Clerk Carmine laughed softly, holding her close as she threw herself into his arms. It felt like she'd grown up in the blink of an eye, no longer that tiny little girl that had been practically attached to his or Tam Amber's legs. The little girl he'd tucked into bed, sung to sleep, taught to play her tunebox. It was more than a little bit terrifying, and not something he felt entirely ready for. Like time was slipping away from him, that sooner or later he'd have to say goodbye again, and the thought made his heart ache.

Ah, love. Perhaps it was a tad hypocritical of him to be wary of her relationship when his own had the potential to be just as dangerous, though perhaps in a different way. Hiding had been the only option, though he hated it, but it was the only way of getting to keep his love. They'd managed this long. They could last longer. "Don't think no one would choose to be with somebody if they thought they'd break their heart."

she hated the way her emotions seemed to CONTROL HER at times. her temper was usually the strongest of her emotions, causing her to act without thinking about consequences. it was the reason she'd made so many rash decisions. at that moment however, it was the hurt she felt about her uncle not liking haymitch, mixed with the way she seemed to HURT HIM with her arguing. typically, she didn't feel regret about a lot of things, but when she seemingly hurt those that she cared about, she did feel that. ❛ you didn't, i made you sad, i'm sorry. ❜ lenore dove took the invitation, gently throwing herself into her uncle's embrace. ❛ i know you do, but you have to TRUST that i won't make dumb decisions, ❜ she paused for a moment before adding in, ❛ about love... i wouldn't be with somebody who i thought would BREAK MY HEART, you know. ❜

she knew that she caused her uncles worry about more than just her love life. she knew that HER ACTIONS were a lot to worry about, that she overstepped a lot more than she should. they'd told her that countless times, warned her that she needed to be more careful. even if she thought she was being sneaky, it wasn't too difficult to trace what she did BACK TO HER. even if the peacekeepers may not figure out what she did, there was always somebody. thankfully, most people in twelve could keep their mouths shut. the only thing she worried about was haymitch figuring out her rebellious actions. not that she wanted to keep SECRETS from him, but because she didn't want him to get hurt because of her.

[whatsbehindthefacade]

"Didn't have the grove then..." That had come a little later. When they'd happened upon the orange scarf half buried in the dirt, weeks after they'd last seen Lucy Gray. Billy Taupe had been long buried by that point, and there had been the near unanimous agreement that he could stay where he'd been put. Even now, forty years later, Clerk Carmine still couldn't help but feel mixed up about it all. Angry at his brother for causing them so much trouble, for ruining their little peace. And yet...Billy Taupe had been his brother, the one who'd ruffled his hair and made sure he tied his shoelaces. He still loved him. "An' he caused too much trouble. Too much trouble for us all."

The Covey were all family, but it had still been difficult for him to turn away from his brother. But then the world had taken that choice away from him, and if any of the others had heard how he'd wept himself to sleep that night, or every night for the next few weeks, they'd chosen to say nothing. The sight of it was still far too clear in his mind, had been far too awful for a twelve year old to see.

"His name was Billy Taupe. William Taupe, to be exact, but he always hated that. He was five and a half years older than me."

Right. Sometimes he forgets that Tam Amber isn't CC's brother. That there was another Clade.

“Ma's mentioned him before,” he says after a moment. He can't recall if she'd left out his name on purpose or if he'd just forgotten that too.

She mentioned a falling out and then some madness after a show. Something about this BTC and Lucy Gray. It was one story she'd seemed unusually reluctant to share. Just that the fallout from what ever happened had shaken her. That she'd held Lenore Dove's ma after they'd found him-whisked her away from the scene. That Clerk Carmine hadn't been much older. A power shift in the Capitol happened a few years later and things got worse quick.

“Why not put 'im out with everybody else?” He frowned then, his brows knitting together as he peered at the small stone. It was hardly his first time in the graveyard but he hadn't noticed it before. He wondered if he'd looked at it without really seeing it. He'd thought only his Everdeen family was buried here.

“What's his name?”

[whatsbehindthefacade]

"I know, I know. Don't like it neither." He'd never been particularly fond of the peacekeepers, but he'd learned from an early age that there was a certain benefit from keeping them sweet. They were some of the handful of people who had coin to spare for a song or similar service, they could often be persuaded to turn a blind eye to the odd discretion with the right bribe. It was all about playing them just right. But god knows, he certainly didn't trust them nor did he particularly like them. And district twelve certainly seemed to get the dregs, that was for damn sure.

"Wouldn't surprise me. Ain't many of them could be considered pleasant by any definition of the word." He'd met very few peacekeepers he could say he found pleasant and those he did rarely lasted long. Kicked out, shipped off elsewhere, or worse. Sometimes he still hears the screams of the jabberjays in his sleep. "But we still gotta push through. Even if we don't like it. Show 'em they can't get us down."

His little dreamer. It both charmed him and scared him in equal measure. Lenore Dove had such hope, such optimism, such belief. He'd had that once upon a time, back when it had been the six of them curled together in the Covey house, when Billy Taupe had still been close and caring, before his brother and Mayfair Lipp and the Games had torn their little life apart. What hope was left to him now? Any that existed seemed to exist in Lenore Dove, and all he could do was try and keep her safe.

"And where would we go, Dovey? Ain't nothin' but trees for miles." Going off to the woods was already daring enough, though second nature to both of them, and to that at least the Peacekeepers tended to turn a blind eye. For now anyway, and he dreaded the day when such a thing might change. If there even was anywhere to reach by leaving that wasn't just another district, it seemed likely it would take weeks, months to get anywhere near it, and while they were better at living off their surroundings a little more than most, that could only last so long.

[whatsbehindthefacade]

They might not be actually be related by blood, but by god had Lenore Dove inherited his stubbornness. Neither of them ever liked to back down from an argument, which of course meant that there were times like these where they sometimes butted heads a bit. Tam Amber was usually fairly good at playing mediator, but sometimes they just needed to sort it out themselves. Clerk Carmine just wanted what was best for her, wanted to protect her, keep her safe from all the evil in the world that he knew would try and snuff out her spark. But they were Covey after all, and they always burned bright, their Lenore Dove most of all. Bright and loud and warm, and the thought of anything happening to her scared him more than most else in the world.

The sigh, and the way her voice changed caught Clerk Carmine's attention, and he turned his head, regret instantly curling in his belly. The last thing he ever wanted to do was hurt her and now he'd made her cry. Discarding his cup without a second thought, he crossed the floor, dropping into the seat beside her and reaching for her hand. "No, Dovey, I'm sorry. Didn't mean to make you sad." Clerk Carmine reached out, wiping some of the tears from her cheek tenderly. "I just...I just want to protect you. You're growing up too fast for this old man's liking." Tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, he opened his arms to her, giving her the option.

"Just because you ain't understandin' them don't mean they ain't reasons," Clerk Carmine shot back just as quick. He was more than accustomed to Lenore Dove's sass, cursed it under his breath sometimes. Sometimes he wished she could just see that he was trying his damn best to keep her safe. All he wanted to do was to protect her, the way he hadn't been able to protect the others. He didn't know if he could take another heartbreak. He wished he could explain it to her, that there was some way of putting it into words, but he could barely admit as much even to himself.

Would he ever be truly happy with whoever she might choose to share her life with? Probably not, nobody would ever quite be good enough in his eyes, but near anybody would seem better than an Abernathy who ran liquor. He'd seen the boy about the Hob. Clerk Carmine saw plenty of things, though he didn't necessarily speak about them. Fingers gripped his mug a little tighter, and he kept his gaze fixed on what lay beyond the window. This whole conversation was beginning to give him a headache.

[whatsbehindthefacade]

plotting call | THG muses

[whatsbehindthefacade]

Some AU ideas for my THG muses (spoilers for SOTR ahead) that I would love to flesh out with people

Clerk Carmine

An AU where Clerk Carmine gets reaped, potentially either alongside Lucy Gray or instead of, or at a future games, and how that might all pan out for everyone involved

An AU where they're able to save Lenore Dove, and make an attempt to escape District Twelve

Just Lucy Gray lives and CC still has his big sister figure

Sid

An AU where unbeknownst to anybody, Sid snuck out of the house before the fire was set, and thus survived

Potentially a carry-on from the above, where Sid gets reaped for a future games as a punishment for Haymitch, a la Beetee with Ampert

Mizzen

An AU where he ends up winning the 10th Games by some means, thus opening him up to be a mentor for future district four tributes

(If anyone is interested in any of these, please let me know)

[whatsbehindthefacade]

His little dreamer. It both charmed him and scared him in equal measure. Lenore Dove had such hope, such optimism, such belief. He'd had that once upon a time, back when it had been the six of them curled together in the Covey house, when Billy Taupe had still been close and caring, before his brother and Mayfair Lipp and the Games had torn their little life apart. What hope was left to him now? Any that existed seemed to exist in Lenore Dove, and all he could do was try and keep her safe.

"And where would we go, Dovey? Ain't nothin' but trees for miles." Going off to the woods was already daring enough, though second nature to both of them, and to that at least the Peacekeepers tended to turn a blind eye. For now anyway, and he dreaded the day when such a thing might change. If there even was anywhere to reach by leaving that wasn't just another district, it seemed likely it would take weeks, months to get anywhere near it, and while they were better at living off their surroundings a little more than most, that could only last so long.

lenore dove let out a soft sigh, nodding at her uncle's words. she knew that HE WAS RIGHT, but it still didn't hurt any less. she wanted to be free from the fear of getting reaped every year. she wanted to be able to play the music that SHE WANTED to play without worrying about getting arrested. ❛ we could take breaks IN BETWEEN, ❜ she suggested softly, not willing to just give up on her ideas of freedom. as much as she'd hoped for the games to end, the longer the years went on, she wasn't too sure that it would happen in her lifetime. at least not ANYTIME SOON. ❛ surely we could make it work. we could TRY. there's no harm in that, right ? ❜

unfortunately, there was harm in trying. if they got caught trying to leave twelve, trying to leave PANEM, surely they'd get hanged as soon as they were brought back to twelve. lenore dove didn't think about consequences like that though, too set on wanting to leave to consider what would happen if they were FOUND OUT. it was one of her biggest flaws. she tended to act first, think later. which didn't help ANYBODY in the long run. she wanted so badly to help others, her heart was in the right place, but she just didn't have the best way to go about these things.

[whatsbehindthefacade]

"Just because you ain't understandin' them don't mean they ain't reasons," Clerk Carmine shot back just as quick. He was more than accustomed to Lenore Dove's sass, cursed it under his breath sometimes. Sometimes he wished she could just see that he was trying his damn best to keep her safe. All he wanted to do was to protect her, the way he hadn't been able to protect the others. He didn't know if he could take another heartbreak. He wished he could explain it to her, that there was some way of putting it into words, but he could barely admit as much even to himself.

Would he ever be truly happy with whoever she might choose to share her life with? Probably not, nobody would ever quite be good enough in his eyes, but near anybody would seem better than an Abernathy who ran liquor. He'd seen the boy about the Hob. Clerk Carmine saw plenty of things, though he didn't necessarily speak about them. Fingers gripped his mug a little tighter, and he kept his gaze fixed on what lay beyond the window. This whole conversation was beginning to give him a headache.

❛ he's an abernathy isn't a GOOD REASON, he can't help who his family is any more than i can help being a baird. ❜ lenore dove groaned at that, upset with how that was a reason clerk carmine listed for NOT LIKING haymitch. it wasn't a reason in her opinion, so she wasn't accepting it as one. ❛ well A LOT of people die young here, so it's not like him being an abernathy is going to effect that in any way. ❜ maybe giving her uncle sass wasn't going to help her case, but she couldn't help how upset she got thinking that her uncle and boyfriend didn't GET ALONG.

❛ so far, you've given ZERO good reasons, therefore i still don't understand your distaste for him. ❜ the sass came naturally to lenore dove, as did her rebellious attitude. ❛ i really do think that if you let yourself get to KNOW HIM, you'd love him like family. ❜ haymitch would be family one day, when him and lenore dove got married, so it would be easier if clerk carmine started to like him now. she would do anything for two of the most important people in her life to GET ALONG. she knew haymitch didn't have anything against her uncle, so it was up to her to get clerk carmine to stop having whatever hatred toward haymitch that he seemed to have.

[whatsbehindthefacade]

Inbox call!

[whatsbehindthefacade]

INJURIES + AID.

a collection of prompts in which sender comes to receiver for help with an injury, focusing on trust, vulnerability, and a little bit of embarrassment! various situations included, cw for injuries, implied self harm, and nsfw content!

add +reverse as needed, or specify extra details! in no particular order:

[ 01 ] sender comes to receiver with a wound they have been keeping secret and has become infected.

[ 02 ] sender comes to receiver for help with a wound they swore they could take care of alone.

[ 03 ] sender comes to receiver with an unrelated injury but happens to be covered in marks from a recent sexual encounter.

[ 04 ] sender comes to receiver with an injury they got during sex.

[ 05 ] sender comes to receiver with an injury they got while doing something the receiver warned them not to attempt alone.

[ 06 ] sender comes to receiver with an self-inflicted injury from unwise sword/bow/weapons practice.

[ 07 ] sender comes to receiver with a self-inflicted injury from a silly domestic (cleaning/cooking etc) accident.

[ 08 ] sender comes to receiver with a self-inflicted injury for which they provide no excuse.

[ 09 ] sender comes to receiver with an injury in a location they cannot easily reach.

[ 10 ] sender comes to receiver with an injury they do not remember getting.

[ 11 ] sender comes to receiver with an aggravated old injury they knew they needed to be careful of.

[ 12 ] sender comes to receiver having re-opened a healing wound.

[ 13 ] sender comes to receiver having ruined the dressing of a recent wound.

[ 14 ] sender comes to receiver with an injury in a sensitive/intimate location.

[ 15 ] sender comes to receiver with an injury in a location that reveals an embarrassing/secret tattoo.

[ 16 ] sender comes to receiver with an injury in a location that reveals scars that are not usually seen.

[ 17 ] sender comes to receiver with a problem that reveals an old injury they need to explain.

[ 18 ] sender comes to receiver with a problem they have had before, but has been previously shoddily cared for.

[ 19 ] sender comes to receiver with an injury they're sure was a deliberate attack on them, though they have no evidence.

[ 20 ] sender comes to receiver needing care for a recent tattoo.

[ 21 ] sender comes to receiver needing care for a recent piercing.

[ 22 ] sender comes to receiver needing care for another recent body modification.

[ 23 ] sender comes to receiver with an injury that has been inflicted upon them as punishment.

[ 24 ] sender comes to receiver with a long-term injury they've finally decided to address.

[ 25 ] sender comes to receiver with an injury that reveals a long-kept secret.

[whatsbehindthefacade]

Clerk Carmine was an old man.

At seventy seven years of age, once fair hair was now a soft grey, face lined with wrinkles, and though he could still play his fiddles with fingers fast as lightning, he wasn't as quick on his feet as he had once been. Still, for someone who had lived all but a few short years of his life in district twelve, he was fairly healthy, not to mention one of the oldest.

And of course, he was the only Covey.

Carefully the old man lowered himself into the seat beside her, hand slipping into the pocket of his overalls before withdrawing a small stack of photographs, many of them weathered with age.

"There's a lot to tell. Where should I start?"

Katniss wanted to collect all the memories and moments of the people who had been lost. She was determined to save the history of District 12, even though few people remained. She watched as the man approached her. "I am ready to hear whatever it is you can share."

@whatsbehindthefacade

[whatsbehindthefacade]

Inbox call!

[whatsbehindthefacade]

beep beep how’s my portrayal ?

[whatsbehindthefacade]

@brdeverdeen asked: tell me the truth. it's okay. / for clerk carmine.

Barb Azure's boy is as sharp as his mother.

Burdock might be an Everdeen by name, but Clerk Carmine knows a Baird when he sees one, and Burdock is as much one as anyone else who's ever held the name. He can see Barb Azure in the boy's wit, Maude Ivory in the way he sings, Lucy Gray in the devotion he has to his friends. He might not be as close to Barb Azure as he had once been, but she's still family, even if neither Baird and Clade, nor Everdeen and Clade have any blood roots. They've never needed that, the Covey. So regardless, Burdock is family. He's a good boy.

He hadn't expected to find company tonight. The district is quiet, most keeping to themselves. Tam Amber is still working, and Lenore Dove has disappeared off with Haymitch much to his chagrin, and he's been in somewhat of a desolate mood, so his feet had taken him to the graveyard. Finding the little stone came naturally, even though it was barely a marker, but after all, he'd only been twelve when he'd put it there. Burdock's voice had come as a surprise, but that he'd noticed is less so. He's the observant sort, and Clerk Carmine looks at him for a moment before letting his eyes trail back to the stone, to the crudely carved BTC that has weathered and nearly faded.

"He was my brother."