SymphonianBookworm

1 minute ago, SmilingPanda19 said:

"No..." He whispers. He stares at her for a moment. He just watches her eyes. "P-please don't tell anyone." He chokes a little. 

Aria sighs.

"I'm not that kind of person."

Her eyes are still. She is being honest.

"But I do know now, and that's not going to change. So... I might be the only person who will be able to say this to you."

She takes a breath.

"Even if you're not special or the son of a first citizen, even if you're a street rat and a servant boy and an orphan and a liar, you will always be worth knowing. You will always have worth, because we all do. We all have our little melodies, hidden in the beat of our hearts. When you're lost, remember that. Remember the songs that you've created. They... they help you find your way. When you don't even know what direction is."

She turns to go.

"I'm sorry."

2 minutes ago, SmilingPanda19 said:

He lets go of a breath, seeing her scream at him hurts him deeply inside somehow. He lets her scream, taking it for a moment before lowering his voice to a murmur. 

"You are foolish to think I don't understand pain. You are so so foolish. I am no special person. I am no son of any stupid first citizen. I am street rat. I am servant boy. I am an orphan. I am a liar. " He looks at her a moment and realizes what he has admitted. His face moves to a shock. Stupid stupid stupid! How could he do this- he is ruining himself. 

Aria's eyes widen for a brief moment, before realization sets in.

She doesn't say anything for a second.

"A liar? The only person you're lying to is yourself. By saying you are only those things." She takes a step forward. "Do you think that I haven't heard the voices in my head? That I'm stupid, insane, untalented, worthless, disgusting, ugly? But if you listen hard enough, it's not really your voice, is it? It's what everyone has told you to think. We all become the same people, in the end. When the media we consume, the sights we see, and the people we meet start blurring together... so do we. But stop. Stop and look. Stop and listen. You need to notice that when you dance, you are not the one making the music. When we sing, we sing off of a script. And when we call ourselves rats and servants and orphans and liars, it is because that is what everyone else has told us. It is not what we are. It is what they want us to be."

She presses her lips together.

"Is that who you want to be?"

“SHUT UP!” Aria screams back. “SHUT UP. STOP BEING SO ENTITLED. YOU CAN SAY THINGS LIKE THIS! YOU CAN SAY THINGS LIKE HOW YOU DONT LOVE YOURSELF BECAUSE THERE WILL ALWAYS BE SOMEONE WHO DOES. YOU WILL ALWAYS HAVE SOMEONE WHO LOVES YOU. No one wants you? THEN WHY ARE YOU HERE? IF THEY DIDNT WANT YOU HERE, THEY WOULDVE REMOVED YOU. BUT YOU’RE A FLIGHTLEADER AND A GOOD PILOT. YOU CANT SAY YOU HAVE NOTHING.”

She takes a deep breath.

”At least you’re wanted in a place you can excel. At least someone wants you somewhere. At least someone wants you to exist.”

4 minutes ago, SmilingPanda19 said:

He was shocked at being grabbed, its been a long time since he was handled like this. He can't seem to form words. He brings his hands up to his throat holding his necklace when she lets go. His eyes are wider. 

"Don't touch me-" He swats away, his voice getting a little higher pitched, protecting his necklace. 

"I don't believe the lies- I AM THE LIAR!" He yells, not realizing he is yelling. 

"You think my life is easy? Do you have any idea who I am?"

“No, I don’t,” Aria says, quiet once more. “But I would like to.”

1 hour ago, SmilingPanda19 said:

“I can’t answer them I-“ His eyes flicker with anger. “You! You got pulled from that stupid snooty art school didn’t you? Forced to come here with idiots like me! Who do you think you are?” He points his finger out, accusingly. 
@SymphonianBookworm

Aria grabs his necklace and yanks his face down to her level. Her lips are pursed.

She’s… angry.

”Idiots? Idiots? That’s how you think of me? That I’d be the kind of person who…” 

She glares at him, her eyes too close to his. Close enough that he can see himself reflected in them, clear as day.

”Who do I think I am? Well, that question doesn’t matter, does it? It’s who they think I am. Because whatever they think about me is right, no matter what I do or who I am.” 

She scoffs at him then, before releasing him from her grip.

”You’re not an idiot, but that’s only true if you choose to believe what they say is lies. But that’s hard, isn’t it? To face the lies?”

She turns away, with—no, she could be crying… But then why are her eyes glistening?

Her voice still remains unaffected by any emotion.

”Too hard for most people. Are you one of those?”

3 minutes ago, SmilingPanda19 said:

His mouth hangs open for a moment searching for words, but he can't find any. There is no way to explain this. He just looks at her, backing up a step against the wall. "I- I should go-"

Aria’s voice, so quiet, seems to reverberate solely in the space between them. “Don’t leave just yet. Would you mind answering my questions?” Her eyes flicker with a strange sort of fire-light. 

4 minutes ago, SmilingPanda19 said:

"I uhm." He looks to the side, quickly trying to change the subject. "My art! Isn't it wonderful! I have a whole cavern full! Its covered in art and color and paint and its so beautiful-"

“A cavern?” Aria presses. Though her voice is light, there is something crushing in the weight of the subtext. 

6 minutes ago, SmilingPanda19 said:

"I mean I was applying to this art school- I mean I didn't have enough money-" He stutters and chokes. "Well of course I had enough money, my parents were going to pay and I wanted to go art school- but then they forced me to go to flight school- but they wouldnt pay and- I mean-" He fumbles for words.

“You- I- what?” Aria asks, momentarily confused. “Are you… Did you not have money? At some point?”

She looks, for a moment, as though a million thoughts are running through her head, before it clears, her eyes crystallizing before meeting Jock’s. “Would you mind explaining?”

4 minutes ago, SmilingPanda19 said:

He brings his hand up to his cheek and wipes it off before she can. He takes a step back. 

"Yeah I guess..." He trails off, letting silence rest for a minute.

"You know you must be pretty talented in art and all too... I mean I did see your name on that one school roster and uhm-" He tries to make conversation, but sees the mood switch instantly and isnt sure what to say. 

Aria’s expression darkens. “You did?”

8 minutes ago, SmilingPanda19 said:

"You’re kidding yourself." He laughs. Brushing his hair back with his bandaged knuckles. Theres some paint on his face and hair. "I wish I never even met myself." He kicks the skateboard up and sets it down by the wall. "A lot of people wish they never met me."

“How dare you presume that I kid myself. Only I can tell that,” she replies with a grin. However, her smile falls into seriousness. “The reason I’m here—or at least, people like me are here—is because when people like you say they wish they never met themselves, we say that it doesn’t matter because we are glad that we met you. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned—I mean, I’ve learned more than one thing, but if—it’s that more often then not, people will hold you back or are just wrong. Don’t listen to them.” She pauses for a moment, her eyes focusing on his cheek. “There’s paint on your face…” Aria says, reaching up before pausing. “Do you mind if I-“

2 minutes ago, SmilingPanda19 said:

He smiles for a second before sticking out his tongue at her. 

“I guess I’ll have to show you at some point then.” He smiles, moving his hand over his ship.

”You know I don’t exactly have a lot of…. Friends…..”

When he smiles, Aria beams back at him, clapping her hands together. “Yes! It’s so rare and so nice when someone listens to me. And it’s everyone else’s loss for not being around you. I mean, I’m certainly happier for knowing you.”

7 minutes ago, SmilingPanda19 said:

He looks at her from the side of his vision. 
“So hypothetically you want to…” he trails off a little. “Be around me…- I mean my artwork more?” He forces a disgusted look into his face, but you could tell he wanted to smile.

Aria rolls her eyes jokingly. “Ah yes, I hypothetically want to be around your artwork because it’s nice to have conversations with. Artwork is very helpful when trying to socialize.” Then she smiles once more. “Also, as a side note. I think smiling doesn’t really mean admitting weakness. It means admitting that you can be happy, which in times of war hurts your enemies the most. So therefore, if you were trying to harm me, smiling is most definitely the way to do it.”

1 hour ago, SmilingPanda19 said:

“This is how I imagine the land of our ancestors…. Quite incredible really.” He mumbles. This is who he was, he loved the history of his people… especially considering… his thoughts trail off and he just looks at her. “I have a lot better paintings back home…” he mumbles. “It isn’t much here honestly.” He rubs his hand on the back of his neck.

Aria grinned at him. Damn. "I despise it when people downplay their work by comparing it to something else. Even if your other works are spectacular! Brilliant! That does not make this piece any less magnificent." She placed her hands on her hips. "And also. If you even hypothetically wanted to show someone hypothetically more of your hypothetical artwork. Just putting it out there that hypothetically there might be someone who would be hypothetically willing to see it." She paused. "I should stop saying hypothetical." She paused again. "It wasn't hypothetical. I want to see more of your artwork. Not that you have to show me. But. I do."

13 minutes ago, SmilingPanda19 said:

He smiles a little on the corner of his lips. He pulls himself off the skateboard and brushes his pants with his hands. 
“Good.” He brings his hand up to the flashlight he has sitting in the ship to help with the dark and he flicks it off. The room goes pitch black for a moment, nobody else was in there except them. The only sound was their breathing.

Under the ship a little glow appeared, in the dark a light started to illuminate. You can see his smile faintly in the glow. He steps and flicks a lever on the wall, the ship starts to go up and it stops and rests about 15 feet off the ground. He stares directly up at the bottom.

Along the bottom is a painting. Anything can be a canvas if you have the patience to use it. The under side of the ship glowed with a glow in the dark paint. It had depth, dimension, a thousand colors. 
 

“I read about this place in old text books.” It was a painting of old earth, the sky was many colors with clouds and raindrops. There were no skylights or debri. There was trees and grass and stars, beautiful stars. A little drawing in the corner of a small shallow cave with a little boy sitting inside it, holding open a book. It vaguely looked like him even, mesmerized by the books glow. It was quite a sight to say the least.

 

Aria.

Was stunned. 

She looked at the painting. 

Than at Jock.

Then at the painting.

Then him again.

Her voice was a soft murmur. “I didn’t think… I suppose I should’ve known… I…”

And then she smiled, too. Not the usual smiles she gave, plastered onto her face in hopes that they might make her happier. No, this was a smile caused by happiness. By witnessing something… beautiful.

Art.

Aria tentatively reached out a hand to the painting as if to touch it, before withdrawing. “I… I love it.”

1 minute ago, SmilingPanda19 said:

He rolls out from under the ship and sits up.

”Tell me. Do you like colorful things?”

Aria looked at him, quite seriously. "Yes, I do."

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GO TO BED. GET REST. REST IS IMPORTANT. IT IS NECESSARY. WE LIKE REST.

2 minutes ago, SmilingPanda19 said:

He stares at her for a long moment.

”I don’t think I have one…” he mumbles, leaning down to paint some more, but not quite going all the way under. He wasn’t exactly good at conversing either. Most of his ‘friends’ are never friends. They just temporary acquaintances. It was always commands, instructions, and orders. Never friendly banter, laughter, or joking. 
“I’ve never really thought about it though. I do like the color blue though.”

Aria nodded, mock-seriously. "A good choice indeed, young soul. But only the truly wise choose the color purple. And not just any purple. The light purple. Lilac, one might say. The soft color of sleep, bound by a tantalizing mixture of seductive darkness and shimmering light, blended into a combination of ferocity and calmness."

She paused. 

"Purple is my favorite color. Do you have any questions for me?"

2 minutes ago, SmilingPanda19 said:

He rolls out from under the ship. His flight suit is pulled down and wrapped around his waist and he is wearing a once white tank top. He is covered in colorful paint all over his shirt and face and a bit on his bandaged hands.

He has a little stubble along his chin and baby blue eyes that have a milky glow to them. His jet black hair is tied back into a bun so he doesn’t get too much paint in it.

He dips his paint brush in the paint again, and leans back to roll under again. 

“So why are you still talking?”

He looks up at her. He has a little accent, something from old earth even. Probably passed down.

"Well, if we never did the things we were bad at, we'd never get good at them. I mean, look at you! Do you really think-" Aria visibly swallowed down the next words. "I'm trying not to be insulting. Which is something I rarely do. You're welcome."

She sat down (ungracefully, as one is when wearing a flight suit). "But what I said still stands. Some people have natural talent, some don't, but no one is incredible at something they've never done, or at least haven't practiced. The only price getting better at something is the pain it puts you through and the pain it puts others through. And I don't care about my pain or yours, so. Looks like I'l be improving by conversational skills today! What's your favorite color?"

Just now, SmilingPanda19 said:

“Stuff.” He mumbles, swishing his paint brush in the light of the flashlight.

”Colorful stuff.” He mumbles. He seems absent, lost in his own head.

"That's what people tell me when I insult them," Aria replied with a straight face. "Yep, some very colorful things. Hopefully the paint won't have as much negative connotation."

There was a pause.

"Fine. I know I'm not good at making conversation when I'm not being mean."

9 hours ago, SmilingPanda19 said:

He just sits on his back under his ship. He lays back on his skateboard. The only thing you can see is his waist down and a few paint cans. He doesn’t speak for a long moment, a shared silence. His voice is a little breathy when he speaks, deeper, weaker. It was as if it flowed with the wind. It was hard to hear.

”What now?”

"I came to make fun of you, but it feels like you're doing that enough in your head!" Aria replied brightly---too brightly---as she examined the paint cans. 

She stepped back, groaning. "Look, if you're not going to be rude to me this isn't as much fun." She sighed.

"What are you painting?" Aria asked with a very obvious subject change.

Aria blinked. She opened her mouth to say something, before closing it once more.
She could only watch as Nova walked away.

She pressed her lips together. "I've always been bad at this part," she murmured to herself, her brow furrowing.

She turned back to Jock. "Did you make her cry?"

After Aria docked her ship, she stepped out of her cockpit, taking off her helmet and letting her hair fall from the tight bun she had placed it in. It fell at about her waist. There was something in her smile—and she was always smiling—that spoke measures about her. The curve of her lips shouted, I know I am pretty! You cannot tell me otherwise. And she was pretty, though not for her skin, nor her hair—it was her eyes, alight with mirth! Dancing to an unspoken tune no one else seemed to hear. Her eyes, made of liquid ivory and glass, reflective and see-through and strange and lovely all at once. 
She was also quite bored, so she made her way to the one place she could get a laugh out of: Jock. 

She found him talking---or rather, arguing---with another person.

She made sure to smile widely as she approached them.

"How are you both doing on this wonderful day?"
 

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I don't really want Aria's friendship to be ruined with Junior. I want there to be someone she can trust with her in the Games.

2 minutes ago, Lotus Blossom said:

Junior whistled under his breath. "Still can't confirm that. There are more than two cadets."

Aria laughed. "Very true. Anyway, if it's all right, I think I"m going to head back inside. I'm tired out of my mind." She headed back to the base.

2 minutes ago, SmilingPanda19 said:

 

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ANY HELP AT THIS POINT IS APPRECIATED.

I GOT HOME AT 7:40 AND HAVE NOT HAD AMPLE STUDY TIME IF YOU CATCH MY DRIFT

Just now, SmilingPanda19 said:

 

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WE'RE LEARNING ABOUT WORLD WAR ONE.

1 minute ago, SmilingPanda19 said:

 

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Lolll and then maybe you can help us study for our french tests and latin and science quizzes tomorrow!