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everettlance · 3 years

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LIVE WIRE // SELF-PARA

The people of District Two are a brutal people. The District has been hardened from years in the quarries and Academies, years of sending their children willingly to die in the Arena. The sounds of knives being sharpened on stones and forks scraping dinner plates in silent dining rooms are familiar to a child who grows up in this environment.

Familiar to Everett, whose older siblings made sure to tell him what was in their blood: violence, hurt, pain. There was little mercy in the family home, little opportunity to prove oneself or to stand out, even as the youngest. The hierarchies of District Two society were clearly mimicked in the Lance family; the strongest and tallest were the best, and the weakest and smallest were not to be given a second thought.

He was not taught to defend himself, but rather, he taught himself, learned how best to block a blow by trial and error. He learned to hide himself and any potential weak spots deep inside. There was no place to express emotion. There was no opportunity to be oneself. He had to stand out by fitting in. He had to swallow anything that might make him different, had to follow the path that was laid out clearly for him by his ancestors.A hand in the air on a hot July morning indicated a straying from the path. Straying from the path is frowned upon by the people of District Two.

The screaming echoed through the woods, off each of the trees like a ball being thrown back and forth, back and forth, ever faster. The sound seeped through his pores and into his bloodstream so that it felt like it was somehow flowing through him. Being tossed between his limbs, his bones. Dragging through his sinew, his muscles, every inch of him.

He’d left the Cornucopia when the screaming began. It didn’t feel like a good omen and as it was, being gathered with others, even though they were on his team, made him nervous. He trusted Nikita, though, and had noted who else had shown up. These were the people willing to work with their fellow blue team members. It was good to know.

But how long the loyalty would last, he couldn’t say. Better to be alone, him, his knife, and his sword.

The parachute got stuck in the branches of a tree as it floated down to him, and he could hear its beeping, see its little light. Glancing in all directions, he stuck the sword in the ground and scaled the tree. He’d gotten good at climbing in these past few days; funny how many trees there had been in his last Arena and how little time he’d spent in those woods. Only enough time for Delta to die. Being here made him feel itchy, but the town was too populated.

Every inch of the Arena was, like every inch of his body, hell.

He grabbed onto the container and tugged it free of the branches it had wedged itself between. Dropping back down to the ground, he opened the container and put the hat on his head. He unfolded the piece of paper and stared in confusion at the number printed on it: 20.

Twenty. What the hell did that mean? Was it a time? A place? He stuffed it into his pocket, not in the headspace to puzzle it out just yet, not with the fucking screaming that he felt like he couldn’t escape. He picked up the sword again and started walking, not sure where he was even headed. Just away. Away from everywhere, towards nothing.

By this point he had managed to find himself a backpack. (Take that, Isa.) It was fairly small and simple, the fabric worn, but he’d found it in under of the desks in the school building. Inside of it was his remaining antiseptic wipes, the roll of bandages from the first aid kit, a painkiller tablet, a metal cup, and some dried fruit.

Not bad, for a non-Career.

Twenty.

What the fuck did twenty mean?

The echo of the conversation came to him as he adjusted the hat on his head, pulling it down over his ears.

I still need to find attendance numbers from my funeral.

I’ll do it.

Oh fuck I don’t know if I wanna know.

The number suddenly made complete sense, but just as it became clear, he wished like hell that it hadn’t.

Twenty people.

The realization came only a moment before the new scream, one much closer, more real, somehow, and he broke into a run. Maybe it was stupid to do so, but in his mind, several things were happening at once:

One, twenty people had come to his funeral. There were 8 people in his family. One of the attendees was Maverick. One must have been Orpheus. Maybe Agatha had shown her face. That left nine. It was the quickest math he’d ever done and the result set a chill into his bones that was deeper, more real, than the scream. Of all his friends growing up, all his friends at the Peacekeeping Academy, his teachers and mentors, only nine people had shown up who had no obligation to be there.

Two, there was a reason for this. It was because he’d never fucking done anything. He’d lived an entirely mediocre life, scraping by well enough to become a captain someday and lead his own fucking group of robots in District Eleven or Twelve. He wasn’t the smartest, fastest, strongest, nicest. He was middlingly average at everything. He wasn’t a Career, he was a fraud. He was probably only brought back to life because of his connection with Orpheus.

Three, it was time to do something. It was time to not be average. The sleeve on his arm was pulled down or else he might have caught glimpse of the tattoo, the cresting wave there, fresh on his skin, a bit red for lack of care. If he’d seen it, he’d have thought of Delta. The person she had thought he was at first. The person she’d wanted him to be. She should have been fucking brought back, not him. There was no goddamn reason why it was him.

No reason.

So he’d give them one.

He’d give the people of District Two a reason to attend his funeral this time.

Sloane was on the ground. Sloane was clad in red. She told him quickly of an animal — a wolf, she said. She had a large gash in her side but she had sent the wolf running, it seemed.

Smart animal. Smart to run.

Smart, to leave your prey for someone else.

He had supplies in his backpack. The cup; he could get her water. The pill; he could numb her pain. The wipe; he could clean her wound. The bandage; he could cover it. She might be alright. Her weapon had been thrown to the side and she lay, red, glowing, bleeding, on the ground.

She might be alright, had the right person come across her.

The right person had not.

District Two is a brutal place that produces brutal people. If it sees a heart, it constructs a casing around it made of stone. If the heart threatens to beat free of its casing, the heart is beaten into submission.

Twenty people.

The knife would do the job better than the sword; it found her neck, the way he had been taught by the man who he had touched as if he knew what love was.

He made it quick, at least, quick enough that she would not be able to scream. He couldn’t have stood anymore screaming.

#125 #writings #day 4 #just after midnight #ft. sloane

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xxmaybellxx · 5 years

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Cadet Backstory

Decided to update my “Cadet”’s backstory; this is a rough draft, basically just getting ideas on paper, idk, the tone shifts pretty dramatically at some point? Feedback welcome!

As she approached the venue, the nameless girl was overwhelmed by excitement, nervousness, and everything in between. She was -vibrating-. She was really here, she was going to see them! Her idols, the most amazing musical superhero… The AQUABATS! She tightened her grip on her bag and the conspicuously large case she carried. They were really all she had left of her past life, the one she’d fled from to come here. The people in her past weren’t worth thinking about, not any more. She would never agin put up with being yelled at, isolated, or controlled. She was -free-, her power hers to never use again. Though she couldn’t help but look over her shoulder every few minutes, she’d seen no sign of them. They probably hadn’t even realized she was gone. As she entered the venue, the girl ran her fingers through her freshly dyed hair. Pink. Vibrant, full of life.. She was happy with it, even if she’d done it on a whim. It seemed to glow in the dim lighting of the building. By the handfuls of people milling about and the occasional discordant note, sound check was underway. She made her way to the front, voice caught in her throat as she watched her heroes, albeit out of uniform, fiddle around with their equipment. She had to cover her mouth to contain the downright -embarrassing- noises she was making. She was -really here-. Minutes passed, the stage cleared. The lights dimmed. An animation played. Then five amazing, blue clad men charged onto the stage, cheering and throwing sharks. The concert was practically a blur as she was caught up in the Aquabats’ absolutely -infectious- energy. The long case leaned against the barricade, her backpack slumped at her feet, she danced as if her life depended on it, knees nearly giving out. Near the end, during a break, the commander was talking to the crowd, bouncing jokes off his teammates, his friends, when he leaned down, catching the girl by surprise. He pulled something from his belt, something silver and very familiar, plopping it on her head with playful lopsidedness. She felt her anxiety wash away, her heart fluttering. He’d given her an anti-negativity helmet..? She looked up, meeting the Commander’s playful gaze. “What’s your name, Cadet?” With a grin, he pushed his microphone towards her. “I- um.. T-“ She paused, voice catching in her throat. No. That name wasn’t hers anymore, it wasn’t -her-. “… May.” “Alright, Cadet May! You ready to keep an eye out for any evil doers that might threaten this concert?” May blushed, thinking about her power. She could use it on command, if she really needed to, but.. In spite of herself, she nodded. Villains WERE known to crash their concert, as the ‘Bats were very famous superheroes. “You got it, Commander!” He chuckled, nodding. “That’s the spirit, Cadet May!” As they continued with their set, interaction seemingly all but forgotten, May found herself happier than she’d felt in all her life. She didn’t know if it was the Aquabats’ helmet or the joy they spread themselves, but… And then, a dark shadow appeared just offstage. May froze, clutching her chest. A number of black clothed, overly edgy looking villains crowded the stage, disrupting the show. One go them was blaring bad dubstep music, completely throwing off the vibe of the concert. May looked around; the rest of the audience was as confused as she was. This was no joke. “The Aquabats! It’s been too long!” The dubstep-playing leader grinned, looking crazed as he ran swinging at the commander. The rest of the Bats had already mobilized, most abandoning their instruments to fight as Bones tried to pick off as many of them as he could with his laser powered guitar. The other concert attendees screamed and fled; a normal response. But not May. No, she was frozen in place, watching in awe as the Aquabats did their best to fight off the Anti-Bats. But… They were loosing..? May’s eyes widened in panic; she had to do something! The Commander… He’d asked HER for help earlier! He must have done that for a reason, right? Throwing open the large case she’d been carrying, May pulled out a rather large bass guitar and vaulted over the barricade, brandishing it like a hammer. The Anti-Bats hadn’t exactly expected the short, scrawny girl to do, well, much of anything. They all stopped what they were doing to laugh at the sight of the small girl holding an instrument almost as big as she was. Feeling small and embarrassed that even these pathetic-looking villains were laughing at her, May grit her teeth. “You… You’d better not underestimate me! I’m s- stronger than I look!” This only made the Anti-Bats laugh harder, loosening their grip on the Aquabats they’d pinned down “Oh no, I’m quaking in my boots!”

Bass Girl’s tone was sarcastic and derisive as she rolled her eyes, eliciting another round of laughter. May inhaled sharply, tears in her eyes. What could help them right now? She wished a giant broom would just… Fall from the sky and knock the Anti-Bats off the stage! Imagining that made her feel a lot better. However, it… Did more than just that. A giant broom did indeed fall from the sky, knocking Skillsawz over the head. Aaaand then falling down onto May, toppling her. She heard a loud crack as she fell from the stage, then blackness. When she woke, May found herself in a wall bunk, surrounded by blue sheets and a throbbing headache. She groaned, reaching up to touch her head. Bandages..? What had happened..? She tried to sit up, yelping as she whacked her already sore head against the ceiling of the bunk. Where -was- she..? Her vision cleared as she finally stood, and she saw five men standing around her. Five VERY familiar men. She blushed heavily, eyes widening. “The… The Aquabats..?!” “Are you okay, little homie?” The Commander spoke first, genuine concern in his eyes. May nodded. “Y- Yeah. What happened?! I- I didn’t hurt you guys, did I?” “Actually yeah, the broom-“ Bones elbowed Crash before he could continue, though the damage was already done. May’s face crumpled. “Your power was a big help! It distracted the Anti-Bats long enough for us to apprehend them!” Jimmy’s tone seemed much more cheerful, but by this point, it was obvious they were all trying not to say something. As May looked around the room, she saw her backpack, but something else was conspicuously missing. Oh no. She felt the color drain from her face, and knew the others had seen her realization. “Where’s..?” The Commander flinched. “You sort of… Landed on it, when you fell. We kept the pieces, but…” May’s face fell, and she closed her eyes. Well, there went that. “It’s okay! R- Really!” Tears tried to form in her eyes, and she looked up at the ceiling, fighting them. “As long as you guys are safe, I’m glad I could help!” “You really were awesome! Summoning brooms is a cool power! I bet you’re great at cleaning! OWW, Bones, what was that for?” Crash’s innocent antics made May laugh, in spite of herself. “It’s.. A little more complicated than that…” The Aquabats looked curious, Ricky speaking up first. “So what IS your power?” May rubbed the back of her neck, looking at her feet. “Well… I can sorta, make things appear? Out of nothing? But only when I think real hard about them… I usually can’t do it on command like that… A- and it causes… A lot of problems…” “Well, Cadet, that’s a very useful power!” “Yeah! You can make burritos whenever you want!” May blushed, a small smile on her lips. “My constructs don’t usually last long, and I get a headache if I try something too complicated…” “Aww, well the Commander doesn’t even HAVE a power!” “Crash, you don’t know that! I can TOTALLY breathe fire!” Bones snickered at the, clearly amused as he gave Crash a high-five. “Anyway, Cadet, do you have somewhere you’re staying? We can give you a ride home!” Jimmy smiled, obviously trying to be helpful. At the mention of home, however, May hugged herself, smile fading. “I uh… Well… Don’t exactly..” “Awwh, why didn’t you say so! You can stay here!” Crash grinned, and Ricky nodded his eager agreement. Bones raised an eyebrow at their eagerness, but didn’t disagree. “C- Can I really..?” Hesitant, May looked up at the Commander and Jimmy, eyes wide. She didn’t notice the Commander’s hesitation, but did see Jimmy not-so-subtly nudge him. “S- Sure! Of course you can, Cadet!” “We’d be gonners without you! It’s the least we can do!” Ricky flashed her a smile, easing her nerves. “Th- Thank you… I…” “Hey, don’t worry about it! Our couch is REAL comfy! And if you can’t sleep, Jimmy’s real good at bedtime stories!” Crash grinned, and Jimmy seemed to light up at the idea of having company. May nodded, grinning as she finally, for the first time in her life, began to feel at home.

#Aquabats #The Aquabats #fanfic #Cadet #Cadet backstory #May #Mine #Sorry for flooding yall

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