60th Reaping [D9]

[Lulu]

The escort of the district stepped out onto the stage, a smile plastered across his face as he stared into the cameras that surrounded it. It was time once again to choose two children to compete in the Hunger Games, and it was his job to do so.

"It is time," he said as he stood over the impatient people of the District, "To once again send two of our own children to the Capitol to compete in the Hunger Games. Let us begin the Reaping!"

He did not look to see the reaction of his district before reaching into the glass ball that held the names of the female children. "Ladies first," he announced, pulling out a slip of paper. He unfolded it and read out to the crowd, "Lightning Vox!"

[/color] He then reached into the other ball. "Relic Livewood!"

OOC- RPing is allowed. If you wish to volunteer, let the tribute post first either accepting or stepping down from their place for volunteers, and then post. If the tribute doesn't reply by Tuesday, January 17th, a staff member will post saying that volunteering is open. Please do not post until you see this staff message. FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE.

Tributes, please do not make your acceptance or denial of your spot in character; instead, please leave an ooc note at the end of your post stating whether they accept or are stepping down for volunteers.

Also, and this is really important: If you have been selected as a tribute and plan on going into the arena, we HIGHLY SUGGEST you take some RP Tutoring lessons ASAP. It doesn't matter what level RPer you are; everyone can use a little help. RPing a tribute is a PRIVILEGE; if you're not going to put the time and effort into making your posts the best they can be then you can count yourself among the dead...-evil laugh- It's not a requirement, but please please please just consider the lessons. They'll help even the most advanced RPer. [/blockquote][/size][/justify]

[SNOWFLAKES [Brik]]

"As soon as the blood appears our world stops for the moment."

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It would be hard to think that a girl with bright blue eyes could ever possibly want to be in the Hunger Games. And in District 9? Almost unheard of. But to make your full judgment on Lightning, you need to know the reasons why she acts like she does; thinks like she does. Judging a book by its cover is always a bad way to go, ask anybody, but it’s something different when it comes to this red-head girl. She’s something different.
~
Even as she looked herself up and down in the length of the mirror, she could feel a slight bit of excitement in the air around her. She couldn’t guarantee if it was coming from her (it was because of the fact that today was one of her favorite days of the year), or if it was the nervous excitement that was radiated from all of the other people in her Districts that created an aura around the entire area. It was stronger than usual, she noted, what with the clouds shading the little District, and of course the fact that it was a quell this year, and quells were always something that people wondered about. What do you think the rule change is? Do you think they have special mutts for this game set in store?

Believe in me, When you feel like you're losing all your hopes and dreams.
Believe in me, When I am gone, you gotta keep a smile on.
Believe in me, Goodbye, my friends, just celebrate the times we spent.
Believe in me, We all die, it's an awfully big adventure.

The plain purple clothing she chose seemed to look good, but even if it was one of the wackest outfits anybody has ever seen, she didn’t think she would have changed anyway. She honestly didn’t really care what anybody thought of her. To her, if people didn’t like her, than it would be ‘good for you, now get the hell out of my way.’ It made everything easier for herself and the rest of District 9. As she looked around her room for what she hoped would be the last time ever, she examined all of the self-made paintings that hung themselves on the walls. Some of them consisted of beautiful women lightly touching their face, others were just plain people who simply sat down on a park bench, thoughtful, and the remainder was things she designed for her clothing factory, but decided she liked too much to let go. Underneath the paintings and sketches was purple and blue paint, and a small four poster bed crammed in the corner of her room, a desk and dresser nearby. She didn’t think too much of ‘what if I don’t come home’ or any of those panicky thoughts, but she did remark to herself that if she did go into the arena, this would be one place she would miss.

Believe in me, My love is not a gamble, you can count on me.
Believe in me, No lies just love, I will be pure just like the sun.
Believe in me, When you are down, I will lift you up from the ground.
Believe in me, when I'm gone... We all fall down, We'll pick you up

See, Lightning, at a very young age, – thirteen - she began hearing rumors. Rumors that were too terrible to speak of. Rumors that drove her to the edge. It wasn’t just the horrible things people spoke about her, it was also the way people treated her. Even the teachers would treat her horribly, ‘accidentally’ losing a homework assignment, which caused her grades to go below ground. And then they would give her a replacement, and boy, there were a lot of replacements to be done that it was nearly impossible to do them. After months of anger, stress, and sadness welling up within her, she found one thing that would relieve her. Lightning herself never knew that a knife could relieve feelings the way they did, and soon enough, she was in the Venus flytrap that pulled her below ground. Even though she fought the urge to cut herself with the little switchblade her father had gifted her, she would get a little itch every once in awhile. But she realized sooner or later, that if the gashes on her wrist were deep, it would sustain her for longer. Even that very day, a day that would end up in her eventual death, she was trying to fight the knife with the pencil, and the sketches she drew were the feelings she always wanted to carve into her arms. On the day of the reaping, it had been a month since knife hit wrist. This was something she took pride in, but at the same time was afraid of. Cutting, in an odd sense of the word, was the only way she was still alive. Even on the day of the reaping, she felt like there was no sense of direction, no sense of hope. If she died on the spot, she wouldn’t have cared. That was one of the reasons she wanted to join the Hunger Games; she wanted to die. Life had grown too unsettling her her. In the process of being reaped, she knew she would be saving another child from the consequences of the arena. So, in her own right, she was there, in District 9, to be a savior. She was saving another child by killing herself, which was a fate she secretly wanted. Everything would work out perfectly. Of course she would fight, but only because she wouldn’t let the girl she saved, be saved in vain. And if she was reaped… she couldn’t let down the people of her District.

As her blue eyes looked around her room, examining each and every single picture, she hesitantly stepped her way to the door, putting on the shoes that were on the side. The sneakers slipped on easily, but she knew that as soon as the sneakers were on, that there was no turning back. If she didn’t get reaped, she would volunteer. She knew she was doing someone else’s family a service, and partially her family, because she knew that they didn’t need her. It was all in my legacy. I was destined to be a sacrifice. And now, the day is here, and there is no turning around or backing out.

Closing her bedroom door with a gentle click, she half-heartedly walked down the carpeted stairs of the house and into the living room where her two parents were waiting on the couch, watching T.V reruns of the 59th Hunger Games. It was the part where Mace stabbed Aesop through the stomach. A small bit of fear seared through her stomach. That boy, Aesop… I could be in his position. Tons of things could happen to me. I just hope I go because of blood loss… that would be a nice way to die.

Eventually, her parents noticed that she had walked into the room and glanced her up and down, like they were searching for something on her person. After they exchanged a quick little glance with each other, they got up, and wordlessly headed directly towards the door. Lightning rolled her eyes slightly and followed them, shoving her hands in her pockets as she did so. Her right hand pulled back quickly, a reflex to the little necklace that was in her pocket. Hesitantly reaching her hand back into it and pulling out the little chain, her blue eyes wandered over the little blue lightning bolt that hung carelessly off the chain. A little smile crossed her face. The necklace was something special to her; she couldn’t believe she had let it go through the washer and mentally kicked herself. This will be my token. Indefinitely.

If you're afraid of death,
It'll come at you at the speed of light. But if you're not afraid of death,
It'll cast its shadowy eyes upon you.. And guide you to eternal infinity
Believe in me, When I'm gone...

Before the little family of three knew it, they were at the District Square, where the reaping eligible children crowded around the stage, and the parents and other people sat in the back, mentally – and some physically – biting their nails. They don’t need to worry for the girls, at least. Her parent and her hastily departed, giving each other stiff hugs and handshakes and forced kisses. If I were to leave, they wouldn’t care. If they watched me bleed out on the ground of the arena, they wouldn’t care.

Leaving her parents, she walked into the crowd of people younger than her, older than her, and the same age as her, as they all looked up to the stage, desperately hoping that it wasn’t them. If I’m not reaped, I can just volunteer. I’ll be okay. She looked around in the crowd of people, wondering if there is anybody else like her; a girl who hates the way she lives her life and is desperate to die without the work of her own hands. That would be selfish, to die for only the reason of your horrible life. At least I’d be saving another life in the process. About five seconds after the thought crossed her mind, a sudden, freezing silence spreads over the air, and everybody is looking up at the stage.

The mayour addresses the people of District 9, and tells them that it is time for the reaping. As he dips his hand in the ball and pulls out a little slip of paper, he dramatically reads out the name slowly, and she knew it was her ever since the first syllable. Small tears form in her eyes. Finally. My life can serve a purpose now. I’m saving someone else, so I won’t let all of those people down. I need to fight. With slow, yet determined steps, she walked up to the stage (which wasn’t too hard of a feat, as people spread apart like the red seas) and climbed the stairs, taking position next to the mayor. Two simple words changed her life forever.
{Lightning Vox accepts the position of District Nine female tribute}

We all fall down, We'll pick you up
We all fall down, We'll pick you up
I love you...
Song credit: “Believe in me” by Blood on the Dancefloor

[/center]

[Tsarashi 2.0]

{WIP.WIP.WIP.WIP}

Relic looked around at the boys and girls who stood beside him. None of them looked back at him again. None of them cared about his presence. For years they have excluded him for reasons that he could not fathom. They simply stopped treating him like a person, acting as if he were some cruel villain or criminal. But he had never done anything negative towards them. He had never hurt them in any way shape of form that he knew of. Sure, he had bumped into the girl to his left in their childhood, but he had helped her pick up her papers.

But it was alright. Relic understood that everyone had a reason why they treated him that way. And if them ostracizing him made them happy or feel better about themselves in some way, then so be it! As long as those people were happy then Relic was happy as well. Happiness was one of the greatest feelings in the world, he wasn’t going to steal that from them. Them, that group of innocent children. Lined up for slaughter.

No. It wasn’t right to think that way. There was reason behind the chaos, behind the madness. There had to be some sort of reason. If it was for the greater good of the community then it was acceptable… right? Yet that didn’t console the butterflies in Relic’s stomach as he stood there in his jacket and jeans waiting for the name of the unlucky person to be drawn out of the strange glass ball. The ball really was peculiar. One would think that since it was circular it would simply roll away from Tanisha. It must have had a flat bottom that he couldn’t see from that angle. Silly bowl and it’s magic bottom.

Relic watched as their escort reached into the first bowl and said the girl’s name. She was a stranger to him. Not that he knew many people, but he knew enough. He used to be friends with enough of the people his age. But she wasn’t one of them. It was sad in a way. She was another person that he would never meet. Another person who wouldn’t come home for the greater good of the community. Perhaps he would have been able to gather up some goods for a charity basket for her family to console them. It always felt good to help others. He would start with visiting his neighbors and asking for donations…

That was when the boy’s name was called. It was a name that he recognized greatly, but couldn’t quite remember from where. Relic Livewood. Relic Livewood. Relic Ian Livewood. That was his own name, wasn’t it? It sounded foreign coming from Tanisha, but it was indeed his own name. He didn’t really like the sound of his last name, but he wasn’t one to complain. At least he had a last name. That was better then nothing. Those poor, nameless street children. Maybe he would get them a basket too…

But that wasn’t right. He wouldn’t be able to get them anything. He was just reaped into the games. That meant that he would be leaving for the Capitol. The Capitol was probably a sight to see that time of year. Relic wasn’t angry or sad, he really didn’t have much that he was leaving behind. His mother probably wouldn’t even notice that he was gone. That would be good, then she would be able to support herself better without him as a burden. Also, by having him go then he was saving one of the boys around him! The boys that were all looking at him now.

By going to the capitol to be in the games, Relic was saving a life that was far more precious than his own. That was wonderful. Though, it was a bit sad. He would miss that district, he truly would. But at least that meant that he would be able to meet that girl, Lightning. Meeting someone new, meeting people from areas he had never gone. That would make it worth the trip. It was like a vacation. “Oh…okay.” Relic said in acceptance as he slowly made his way to the stage.

{WIP.WIP.WIP.WIP}

(Sorry for the quick wip, I wanted to get it done before midnight. I would have done it sooner but well… Let‘s just say I should be banned from 9gag.com. Relic Accepts. Apathetic as it may be, he still accepts.)