rose colored boy

eighteen years old father to (at least) one daddy's boy a future victor

[itsallronni]

The sounds of the feast raged on from the third floor of the ‘mall.’ The fourth day had come and, by now, the remaining tributes were starting to feel a little bit antsy. It was natural, of course, for human beings stuck in a life-or-death situation. They would do whatever it took to survive by any means necessary. The countless people across Panem experienced their own surges of emotions as they watched another batch of tributes bite the dust. For those in the Districts, watching the Games never got any easier. For those in the Capitol, it only got more pleasurable each time a head was lobbed off, a sternum was stabbed, or a bone broke.

For Ronni Ruiz, the Hunger Games had gotten easier and easier. 

He sat atop the glass cornucopia with his legs crossed and his arms splayed out behind him. Leaning back, he allowed his chin to tilt up and stare at the false lighting that illuminated the whole of the mall. He had been sitting in silence for what felt like an eternity and, for better or for worse, he had begun to think. He thought long and hard about everything that had happened thus far. Flashes of Aggie, Nike, Seven, the girl from District Whatever, and then Leon sped through his mind’s eye. Ronni lingered for a bit on that fight -- a strange feeling emerged in his gut, but he quickly suppressed it -- although he eventually got over it. 

It wouldn’t be wise to dwell on such incidents. He knew that -- he really did -- but, then again...

When had Ronni Ruiz ever been wise a day in his life?

The dull thud of shoes on tile flooring got his attention. His gaze lowered and a bloodied Leon came into view. It was clear to Ronni that he had been through a lot since the Capitol sensations had last spoke. It was also clear that the boy had racked up some more kills, but in order to prevent a new surge of anger from taking ahold of him, Ronni let that little tidbit of information go.  

He stared at him for a second -- his face void of emotion -- before the corners of his lips curled upwards into his usual smile. “’Sup?”

// closed starter for @castanheirx

[itsallronni]

A medium capsule attached to a parachute floats down from above and lands beside Ronni. Inside is a hot meal (clam chowder soup). Attached is a note from stylist Thalia Ohayon that reads: "remember, you're a king."

Ronni had just made his way to the first floor – where it all began – when he saw yet another plume of white. He had gone here because he felt called to do so. Something in his gut told him that he needed to go to the first floor. Before the gift could touch down to the ground, Ronni easily snatched it out of the air with his new halberd. No time was wasted as Ronni quickly ripped apart the packaging. The moment he caught whiff of the smell of clam chowder soup – a delicacy in Four – he instantly started salivating.

“Remember, you’re a king.  - Thalia Ohayon” 

The Ruiz boy let his gaze fixate upon that note for probably too long. Eventually, after he had repeated those same words that he had often told himself anyway, he smiled and pocketed the piece of paper. He looked skyward – ambition and a new hope filling his eyes – and thanked his gorgeous stylist by beating his chest once, twice, then thrice.

“All hail, right? Thanks, Thalia.” 

[itsallronni]

A large capsule attached to a parachute floats down from above and lands beside Ronni. Inside is a halberd. Attached is a note from mentors Lincoln Conway and Marina Zale that reads: "Hopefully you'll find this more useful than the dried fruit."

Ronni had barely left his former laid (which housed is former friend) when he saw the white fabric floating through the air. He stopped – heart beating furiously fast – and took in the sight. That, he thought with a big grin, was a big sponsor gift. His arms extended and his hands flipped palm-up as he caught the gift as it floated daintily into his grasp. When he felt how heavy the gift was, Ronni almost dropped to the floor in awe.

“A..no, man, this–” He breathed loudly as he tore open the packaging and nearly screamed in delight at the sight of the beautiful, capitol-made halberd. His eyes washed over the tip of the pike, hook, and axe that combined together to form the weapon of his dreams. He didn’t want to touch it – it was that beautiful. Somehow, however, Ronni mustered enough strength to release the halberd from his packaging. He held it high – for all of Panem to see – as his crooked smile spread wide across his face.

This was it, he thought. This was how he was going to win.

[itsallronni]

castanheirx‌:

“barely gotten by are you okay?” leon frowned at his soon to be former ally and tried his very best to keep another laugh at bay. the temptation to just laugh in ronni’s face throughout all of this was too strong. “well aren’t you boo boo the fucking fool. this is the hunger games not the best friends games. you should have just killed me when you had the chance.” all of them had the chance to end him, and although calix and nike’s death had nothing to do with him - aggie and goldie’s had been, and if leon had his way ronni was going to be his final career victim. “i killed the boy from twelve with a concussion and my bare hands, and then i killed aggie and you turned around and let it happen like a fucking coward. whatever happened to district honour? do you ever think about what they’re saying about you? about how you’re walking around and breaking bread with the boy that killed your district partner?”

leon thought about it often, his face twisted up into a scowl. leon never would have been able to show his face in two if he didn’t kill aggie for what she did and the fact that neither goldie or ronni had anything to say about his actions shocked him still. they both lacked the conviction that he evidently had. “no wonder your mentors have only been able to scrounge dried fruit and some soft trainers for your little skinny ankles.” a small smile grew on his face, and he moved slightly forward and a chuckle left his mouth.

ronni was so filled with his own self importance, watching him ramble on and on had become the funniest moment in leon’s entire life. he refused to try and stroke the boy’s ego, to make him feel better about his skills, or his score, or his distinct lack of kills. he was done with ronni ruiz from district four. “it feels fucking fantastic, actually i couldn’t be happier. you were instrumental in every single action i did in these games, you practically carried me through my training, interview, my private training, and then you quite literally carried me in the bloodbath. i can’t thank you enough ronni.” sarcasm dripped from his voice as he spoke, even when he slid the knife from his pocket and lifted it up, pointing it directly at the boy. “so what the fuck do you want then? a fucking cookie?”

Ronni was a furnace; internally, his heart burned as bright and as furiously as a raging wildfire. The heat that caused his insides to practically turn into putty caused his face to obtain a strange, splotchy color that made him look like a demented dog. His eyes squinted with fury and his teeth dug into the innards of his lips. The familiar iron-like taste filled his mouth and, as he listened to Leon go on and on, he turned and spat out a mixture of saliva and blood onto the nearby mirror that spanned the width of the wall. 

If only he noticed where it had hit -- across the reflection of Ronni’s chest -- the boy might have left right then and there. The Ruiz men were always men of superstition, after all.

“Yeah, I shoulda’. I should have snapped your neck as you lay on the groun’ bleedin’ and looking like a dog that had just been whipped.” Ronni couldn’t help the twisted smirk that befell his face as the other boy mentioned Aggie. On the inside, Ronni’s heart ached ever-so-slightly. Thankfully, however, the only emotion he was capable of displaying was blind rage. “Please, you think I care about ‘District honor?’” he cocked his head to the side and phrased his words with blood-stained air quotations. 

“District honor isn’t what got me here. District honor isn’t what keeps me going. District honor isn’t worth shit to me. I’m here because of me and me only. I’m the one that doesn’t care about anythin’ anybody says about me. Why would I? Because Aggie lost her damned mind? Please, we all already knew all about that. No...” 

He matched Leon’s step forward. He would have kept going but Leon’s words rang true in his ear. Ronni had carried him -- quite literally -- throughout most of the Games. Ronni wasn’t the kind of snake to be so cold and calculating. He felt everything with his heart and then decided on his actions after he had already done them. It made sense -- so much so, actually, that it was painful. He stared at the Castanheira mutt with a new emotion present in his gaze: pity. 

“Well, that’s good, man. I’m glad I could help.” He spoke in a dangerously hushed tone. Ronni couldn’t hide all of the pain, frustration, and regret that he carried on his back anymore. He should have been stronger. He should have treated Leon like he was the worthless, pedigree brat that he was and always would be. He shouldn’t have been so blind. 

“Everything I--”  he began but quickly stopped. He felt the words still linger on his mouth -- everything I’ve had, I’ve worked for. I’ve had to train long and hard for everything that has gotten me this far. I haven’t been blessed with wealth and a helping hand like you have, Leon. All those words failed to make an appearance. He closed his mouth and watched as Leon pulled a knife on him. No, he thought, he wasn’t worth it.

As per usual, Ronni acted without a second thought. He lashed out and backhanded the knife out of Leon’s palm. The weapon flew through the air and landed with a thunk in the mirror as the accompanying sound of shattering glass filled their lair. The blade stuck into wall and was symbolic of more than just a broken mirror. Bad luck (for one) pervaded the air and sliced through the friendship (or maybe there wasn’t any to begin with, Ronni thought bitterly) that had previously bonded the boys from Two and Four. 

“I want ya’ to understand why I’m angry, but I guess that’s not gonna happen, man. Whatever. Im over this.” He sized the boy up and down once more before scoffing and breaking the most cardinal of career-rules. He turned his back on Leon and walked towards the door. As he grabbed the handle, he tossed one last glance at Leon.

“Although a cookie would be nice, man, not even gonna lie,” he spoke calmly and with his usual gaiety.  

And that was that. Ronni disappeared out of the door with a familiar cocky grin and a comical wave of his hand. The moment the door closed, the boy took off into a sprint. He didn’t know where he was going but, frankly, he didn’t care. All he knew was that a fiery determination guided each step he took. He had to prove himself, he thought as his lips drew taught into a fine line.

I have to win.

Somewhere in the distance, a slew of Leonni shippers fainted as if struck dead by God.

[itsallronni]

castanheirx‌:

the way ronni phrased it made it sound a lot worse than it actually was. it wasn’t as if he was going around offering advice and help to anybody that asked for it. as far as he was concerned it was a transaction, he gave them a crumb of weapon knowledge whilst he let the outliers talk about themselves, their homes, their upbringings and what strengths they might bring to the games and what weaknesses they had too. “i what? it wasn’t as if i just went up to her and was like ‘hello little girl let me teach you how to use a dagger.’ i’m not stupid ronni.” but he was hubristic, and it was probably going to get him killed.

when ronni kicked the door down, leon was up and on his feet before the boy turned around to look at him, and in those few seconds leon started to reevaluate his position in their lair. it was too small for him to shoot his bow, and even if he did have any arrows, the second leon unslung it from his shoulder, ronni was sure to attack him, so instead he stood with his back close to a wall, a hand close to where one of his knives were concealed. “the weak? you want to talk about weak?” leon could have spewed a whole host of awful things at ronni but in that moment he decided it really wasn’t worth it. 

“actually i’m not going to argue with you whilst you’re like this ronni. i don’t want to hurt your feelings. i’m sorry, okay?” he wasn’t sorry of course, he had simply decided that at this current time a fight between him and ronni wouldn’t be good for him, not that he wanted to fight ronni anyway. killing to of his allies in the same night would be bad for sponsors and he wasn’t going to let ronni’s childish temper get in the way.

“It sure sounds like it!” Ronni yelled back as he clutched at his chin. His fingers eagerly scratched at the skin as Ronni’s mind traveled at one-hundred miles per hour. The dried bit of blood from Nadya that had caked his face -- Ronni had conveniently forgotten to wipe it away because it reminded him that he had finally gotten his first kill -- slowly started to fleck away as the boy rubbed.

He watched the boy scurry against the wall like a rat and felt a broad smile spread across his face. A sarcastic bark of a laugh echoed across the lair as he tossed his hands into his hair, bent forward, and laughed back at Leon. He was scared. He was weak. It didn’t take much for Ronni to see this now, but he wished he would have realized this days earlier. Still, as his nostrils flared and something of a growl escaped his lips, a part of his heart began to break.

Leon had been one of his friends. Leon had been someone that he had once admired. Leon--

“Yeah, let’s talk about weak. Let’s talk about how you’ve barely gotten by in these Games, huh? Let’s talk about how Seven managed to knock you unconscious in the first, what? Thirty seconds? You were out cold, man. You might as well have been dead. And do you remember who saved you -- who got you up on your feet and helped? Me!” He jabbed a finger roughly at his chest. He didn’t even flinch as he accidentally re-opened his wound and a speck of blood appeared on his makeshift bandage made from a dumb little t-shirt. 

“God, this is so dumb. I can’t believe I fell for this shit. You’re the one that’s weak, Leon. You’re the one that’s gotten this far only because of the fact that our allies n’ everybody else is weak. The guy from Twelve? Weak. Aggie? Weak. Goldie? Weak. You’ve made your way through this competition because everybody else wasn’t up to snuff -- including you!”  

Ronni was screaming at the top of his lungs at this point. It didn’t matter who heard him -- he would take them all down. He slammed a fist down on the counter near a sink and welcomed the feeling of pain that accompanied the action. The pain would only strengthen him.

“How does it feel, man? How does it feel knowing that the only reason why you’re still here is because of other people? Your family, the weaklings and-- and... and me!” 

Somewhere in the distance, another Leonni shipper had to excuse themselves from a viewing party.

[itsallronni]

castanheirx‌:

leon had seen ronni slightly aggravated, and even annoyed but he had never seen this new kind of anger that was evidently bubbling underneath the surface. “taught is a loose term i guess. i showed her how to hold a dagger and that it was easy to hide. nothing the trainer at the station wouldn’t have told her anyway.” leon would probably go on to regret it later, but for now the idea of poking the bear inside of ronni with a stick was far more entertaining than trying to calm him down. 

he didn’t seem to think he had done anything wrong, the idea of him dying by pixel’s hand seemed just as ridiculous as him dying by harley’s hand and she was now dead. if he was lucky, the little red head would be dead by the end of today if she wasn’t already. leon cocked his head to the side, the rational side of him had jumped ship a long time and it was evident by the way he just laughed in ronni’s face. “come on ronni, relax. or are you scared that the big bad, malnourished thirteen year old from three is going to stab you were her needle?” it was a serious question, hidden beneath a teasing town and badly concealed smile.

If Leon had revealed this information on the first day of the Games, Ronni probably would have been besides himself with shock. Hell, he might have even let it go -- although whether that would be because of his injured ankle or the fact that he was angry at everything else is uncertain. Now, however, Ronni’s fury was bubbling up and aimed at one specific target. 

“Okay, but you’re still saying you helped another tribute do something? Like, with weapons?” His voice was clipped and short. He didn’t feel like beating around the bush with Leon. He needed to know what he needed to know, and if he didn’t get that information, then it would be a bad day for both of the remaining careers. “Man, do you not see how dumb that is? It doesn’t even matter if the trainer was gonna teach her anyway, you--”

It was the laughter that broke him. The anger coursed its way through his body and found a home in his good foot. He waited, and waited, and waited. Finally, when Leon finished speaking, Ronni reacted by lashing out and slamming his foot into one of the stall doors. The sudden force and power was enough to cause the door to swing wildly on its hinges -- as if caught in a storm from Four -- until finally it gave way and the hinges broke. Without hesitation, Ronni turned on Leon.

“I don’t know what you find so funny, man. I really don’t. I’m not scared of that little pipsqueak -- but, dude, really?  You’re gonna sit here and tell me that you just walked up n’ gave somebody else an edge in the competition? Really? That’s so-- that’s so, I mean-- That’s fucked up and dumb.”

“I guess I’m not really surprised,” Ronni spat as one of his feet began to shake. It was a nervous habit -- a little tick -- but the unconscious effect was ominous. As he waited for Leon’s defense, the tap tap tapping of his foot filled their lair with a sense of impatience. “The weak like to help the weak.” 

Somewhere in the distance, a Leonni shipper cried out and clutched at her pearls. 

[itsallronni]

castanheirx‌:

it didn’t surprise leon that ronni knew nothing about his competitors, he had the bravado and cockiness of all careers and he wouldn’t be surprised if it got him killed by a strong outlier, but luckily for him leon didn’t think they had much competition. “did you not talk to anyone? you have to know your competition after all.” but ronni’s glassy eyes said everything and leon just rolled his eyes. “pixel doesn’t know how to use any weapons, she took a liking to a dagger i showed her how to use, though so she might have one of those. she’s really smart and she’ll probably hide this all out until she can’t anymore. harley is… well she’s blind so it shouldn’t be too hard to kill and i’m pretty sure she’s alone now. but she’s bold - i’ll give her that.” 

the capitol was probably loving leon running through the rest of the tributes, it was wrong of him to assume some would be easier to kill than others but he couldn’t help but feel confident in his abilities. “i don’t know anything about the girl from ten, i never spoke to her but the boy is… he’s nosey, also doesn’t know what he’s doing with a weapon. his cousin is a victor but he doesn’t seem to give a fuck about that which is still wild to me. cassia is small, seemed relatively unremarkable but she scored a nine and is still alive so she’s probably a dark horse.” next to ronni, cassia was probably the tribute he was on guard for.

but when his thoughts went back to freya, he smiled a little thinking about her pretty face and her sharp tongue. she had quite literally nothing nice to say to him but he still thought she was hot. “and freya - her name is freya. what a beautiful girl. she’s probably being showered with sponsorship gifts - but also has no idea what she’s doing with a weapon.” the odds were in their favour, they were both trained and despite being injured they were still statistically the strongest tributes left. he looked up at ronni and smiled, “so basically, the only person you have to worry about ronni, is me.”

“You wh--” Ronni immediately tried to interject but Leon was on a roll. He continued to go down the list of the remaining tributes and describe their strengths and weaknesses. None of that mattered to Ronni, though; all he could think about was the fact that Leon just casually admitted to teaching a competitor how to use a dagger.

The Ruiz temper began to slowly rise -- as did the vein on his neck -- as Leon continued to talk. Ronni allowed his arms to cross over his bare chest and, for perhaps the first time since the Games began, he saw the boy from Two for who he really was. It was weakness and wealth that allowed him to make such a crucial error. Sure, Ronni was guilty of hyping up his own abilities and scoffing at the competition from the lesser Districts -- he could, and maybe would, admit that once he was seated across from Caesar Flickerman.

Now, however, as Leon smiled and warned Ronni that his only competition was the Castainheira bloodline, Ronni could not help but become blind to all of his own faults. It was anger that fueled the boy from Four, and it was jealousy that would lead him to make the biggest mistake of his life. 

“Yeah, right. Sure.” He spoke quickly and dismissively. He hadn’t heard anything that Leon had said after he admitted to helping that girl -- Pixie -- and it was all he could focus on. “What do you mean you taught somebody how to use a dagger? Why-- Dude, why would you do that?”

[itsallronni]

castanheirx‌:

the last thing leon wanted to do was look at himself in the mirror. it had been days since he brushed his teeth, he hadn’t been able to do his daily skin routine and it was probably beginning to show as well. it was a shame that the people of panem were now seeing leon at his very worst. the only thing that kept him happy was that he was still taller and better looking than everybody else. “pixel won’t ally with anybody and neither will freya for sure. i mean harley is blind so somebody must have felt sorry for her and allied with her. i think calix mentioned that nova was shouting out what the cornucopia looked like so it’s likely that they allied but she’s dead now - which is a shame because she was hot - so either harley has another ally or she’s by herself which is another tragedy in itself.” 

leon could only imagine what harley was doing right now, but fortunately for him his mental exhaustion prevented him from entertaining the thoughts for very long. “jude and his district partner could be together. neither of them seem particularly talented though so who knows - maybe they’re both alone, or they’re with cassia, or maybe cassia was allied with her district partner.” who was now dead. the girl had scored a nine despite coming across as quite plain to him so he made a mental note to make sure he didn’t underestimate her.

“who knows. either way i’m pretty sure the only tributes we can count on being by themselves are pixel and freya. but pixel won’t be easy to find and freya won’t be easy to fight.”

As Leon began his dissection of the remaining tributes, Ronni watched with a glassy stare and nodded occasionally. He knew -- and Leon probably did, too -- that he had no idea who any of these people were. He unfortunately knew who Calix had been and the name of that pipsqueak from Three (but only because of her stupid score -- an eleven? Really?). Other than that, Ronni was in the dark. It didn’t surprise him that Leon knew the rest by name, though. He was a legacy, after all. A lot was expected of him.

Ronni leaned against the counter as he contemplated the rest of the tributes. Everything from here on should be easy pickings. He and Leon -- well, mostly he, considering everything else Leon had ‘been through’ -- were the powerhouses of the Games. Ronni was the muscle and Leon was, well... Leon de Castainheira! What else was he good for?

Shaking away those dark thoughts, Ronni offered up a smile and decided he wanted to dig into Leon’s apparent vast knowledge about the rest of the competition. “Man, you sure do know a lot about everybody else. Do you got like any, y’know, useful stuff about them that’s good to know. Like, did Freeza? Is that her name? Whoever she is, is she scared of anything? What’s she built like?”

[itsallronni]

castanheirx‌:

the last thing leon expected ronni to do was hug him. his muscles stiffened as the boy wrapped his arms around him, and then his muscles relaxed as he hugged the boy back. leon was surprised to discover that ronni had enough emotional intelligence to grasp that he was struggling right now and for that, he was grateful. when the pair pulled away, leon cleared his throat and gave him a firm pat on the shoulder, “thanks bruh. appreciate it.” 

and soon enough their tender moment was over as leon watched ronni count on his fingers, his eyes rolled so far back into his head he didn’t know when they were going to make another appearance. “yeah eight. we look like we’ve been to hell and back but you’re right i’m not surprised it’s us either.” leon gestured to his own clothes which were stained with more red than blue denim and both of their ragged, unkempt hair. it was a good thing that despite all of this, they were both still hot. 

the hunger games had stopped being just a competition to leon a long time ago, but if ronni’s bubble hadn’t burst yet, leon wasn’t cruel enough to do it - and even if he tried he highly doubted ronni would understand either. “a competition, yeah. you’re right.” but the nature of his shit situation had to wait. “we need to work through these outliers, some of them have to be allied with each other.”

He took note of Leon’s clothes as the other boy gestured and a sense of jealous took ahold of Ronni. It was irrational -- and oh, god, did he know it -- but all of that blood on him meant that he had been in enough battles and lived to tell the tale. How many was this so far? That boy from Twelve, Aggie (and as he thought about her he felt his eyeball twitch in its socket) and now Goldie. So, the great Castanheira had just made his third kill, huh?

“I don’t know,” the boy said absetminded-ly, “I think we look pretty damn good. I mean, look, I could probably pop the buttons off this weird fabric if I tried, man.” Staring ahead at their reflections, Ronni became entranced by his own. Prior to this, he had scrubbed off as much of the blood as he could and the result left his face and torso a little redder than it should have been. “I’m like... I’m like a hot crawfish. Look at me, man.”

As much as he tried to hide his jealousy behind his spectacular wit and humor, Ronni felt a little hole in his heart start to slowly widen -- Leon had made three kills and Ronni had just made his first. Not only that, but Leon had killed two careers. His thoughts hearkened back to Marina and her deadly antics she got up to in her Games. Were people screaming wildly for Leon across the Capitol -- maybe even Panem? He wondered for a split, brief second if the people of Four had foresaken him.

Nah, they wouldn’t do that. He came to this conclusion all on his own and decided to try and focus on what they would say about him when he won instead of the tingling jealousy. Righteous Ruiz -- no the Rightful Ruiz Victor. Yeah, that sounded good. 

“I mean, I don’t know man. What if they’re just wingin’ it? Seven and that girl -- did you say her name was Nadya? Wild... anyway, yeah, my man, I don’t know. D’ya think any of them would pair off?”

[itsallronni]

castanheirx‌:

“she’s dead.” leon wasn’t sure how many time he’d have to repeat those words before it finally sunk in. he slowly lifted his head and looked up at ronni, his face was blank, devoid of emotion because at this point he was honestly exhausted of it all. he just wanted to go to sleep and wake up somewhere so far away from where he currently was. “she had a breakdown earlier when i was talking about my boyfriend because you know she was gay and avoided acknowledging it.” after their fight with nadya and landon, leon had took it upon himself to go and find the girl. he didn’t know why, there was the possibility that she was already dead but he’d have to see it for himself - he couldn’t leave an ally behind. 

“i went looking for her, i don’t know why - but i found her and she had a knife pressed to her throat and-” that was when leon’s voice broke, even talking about it was traumatising, he ran his hands over his face again and tried clearing his throat but it didn’t make it any easier, he just had to keep on going. “she was saying some fucked up shit man. she was going to stab herself.” 

if ronni had been there, who knows how the situation would have gone down, and in some way he was happy he wasn’t. no one should have seen what he saw, or do what he had to do. “then she started trying to kill me, saying she was setting me free so i just shot her. i had to. and now she’s dead.” it was over at least for her, “so now it’s us, pixel, harley, the girl from ten - i can’t remember her name, jude, cassia and freya.” 

The first thing Ronni thought about when Leon began to share his story was, “why didn’t you let her stab herself?” Of course, he recognized that this probably wasn’t the best of his thoughts to vocalize, so he left his mouth shut. Instead, he was forced to watch as Leon recalled all the mess that had happened whilst Ronni was recovering. His eyebrows furrowed and his lips turned into a thin line.

He didn’t remember at what point he wandered over to the sink -- all Ronni remembered was feeling an ungodly amount of thirst as Leon weaved his sordid tale. When it all came to an end -- with the list -- Ronni had been slurping at the water from the sink for at least a minute or so. He stood at attention with a smack of his lips and felt the harsh fabric of the denim slide across his cheeks as he wiped away the spare flecks of water. 

This was... a lot. Yeah, he thought as he stared at Leon intently. Ronni flinched slightly at the sound of Leon’s voice breaking. What was happening, man? That’s what he wanted to say but, for whatever reason, Ronni couldn’t quite wrap his head around the emotional depth and mental fatigue Leon was going through. After all, this was all still very much a competition -- and a competition only -- for the young man from Four. 

He didn’t know what to do -- he couldn’t relate, after all -- but . he did know that one thing had to be done. He recalled the morning of the Reaping as he watched his father cry at the breakfast table. Slowly, he walked over and enveloped Leon in a hug that was tight and as tender as Ronni could possibly be (which, surprisingly, was very). 

“It’s okay, man. It’s okay. It’s all gonna be okay. Look-- I, uh, damn...”  he trailed off as he clapped Leon’s backside once, twice, then thrice. “That’s a lot. Jeez, well let’s just look at the brightside, yeah? Okay, so there’s eight of us, right?  Uh...”  he began to count off the names Leon had said on his fingers like a slow child. 

“We’re almost there, man.” Again, Ronni approached Leon and wrapped an arm around him. He winced a little at the action of stretching himself like that -- after all, his wound from that girl was still decently fresh -- but it didn’t seem to matter. “But, hey, at least we, uh... at least we’re the last ones standing of the career pack. I mean, I knew we would be -- look at us, amiright?  --but... yeah. This is all a competition, Leon, man, we just gotta keep our heads in the games, okay?”

[itsallronni]

castanheirx‌:

when goldie’s cannon had fired, leon stayed there knelt beside her body for far too long. by the time he stood up, the feeling in his legs had all but gone but as he gathered up her knives, he turned around and left her because he had to keep going - even if he didn’t want to. there had been a lot of cannons today. one of them nadya’s, another goldie’s but the others would be a mystery until the fallen showed. leon was almost back in the deluxe career lair which reside in the fancy bathrooms that he had claimed with ronni, when the anthem played and the day’s fallen was announced. he stood there and watched them before sighing and walking into his temporary lavish accommodation. 

he ignored the fact that ronni was happily pissing, which dumbfounded leon because he had no idea how the boy managed to urinate so much when both of them were horribly dehydrated. goldie’s blood was still wet on his jeans and jacket when he dropped his bow on the floor and slid down one of the stall doors. “goldie’s dead. so is nadya, nova, cain and drum roll please, sir landon ‘i pity you’ prince regent dickwad from district seven.” he let out a long, and very deep sigh before putting his head in his hands.

“Goldie? Man, what-- woah!” Ronni had been so taken aback by the sudden news about Goldie’s death that he nearly let his stream flex itself onto the pristine white of the toilet seat. Luckily (and the whole of Panem probably couldn’t say this enough as one collective unit), he kept his balance and managed to keep it all... in, as it were.

A toilet flushed and then, suddenly, a door slammed open. “What d’ya mean she’s--”  he began but instantly cut himself off. He saw Leon with his head in his hands and a lot more blood on him than Ronni could remember. “Man, what the hell? What happened?” 

As Ronni waited for a reply, he looked down and saw that his zipper was undone. Unceremoniously, a loud zipping noise echoed throughout the bathroom. “What happened, Leon?”

[itsallronni]

Night was falling -- that much was evident by the lack of sunlight beaming through the skylights (look at Ronni using his basic observational skills!) -- and the pair was exhausted. Well, Ronni was, to say the least. He and Leon had burst into their lair -- a bathroom on the second floor -- and Ronni had nearly collapsed. 

His axe clattered to the floor and he bent over one of the sinks. His eyes were on fire and he felt like he was going to gag. The pain from the slash across his chest was becoming almost too much to bare; but, like a true man, he managed to at least make his way back to the bathroom. “Shit, shit, shit, shit--” he kept repeating as he tried to thin trickle of water to wash away the sweat and grime that had caked up under his shirt. Truly, it was a sight to behold -- Ronni of District Four was kneeling atop the counter that housed the sinks as he tried to flick water onto his bare chest. 

He didn’t even notice when Leon had gone. The hours flew by and, eventually, Ronni was left sighing as he tied the remnants of his white t-shirt (torn to shreds for some sort of clean fabric) across his chest. His denim jacket, which hung loosely off one shoulder, accompanied him as he slid to the ground and allowed himself to finally savor the fact that (finally) he had gotten a kill. He did a silent little fist pump for himself and himself only -- things were just starting to get good, baby.

... (time jump of about 30 minutes) ... 

Ronni was currently engaged in a healthy pissing competition with himself and one of the toilets in the stall when he heard the door open. The possibility of it being another tribute didn’t even cross his mind. As of now, Ronni had once again become complacent with his strength and rank in the competition. This, thus, allowed for renewed cockiness confidence. “Leon! Sup, man? You were gone for so long,” he said from within his stall as the stream of urine continued to flow.

// closed starter for @castanheirx

[itsallronni]

taintedones‌:

LANDON WAS HALF A DOZEN PUNCHES IN WHEN REALITY HIT.   suddenly he was back in his childhood home,   smashing bottles at his mother.    rage possessed him like a demon.  that’s why he always took it out on inanimate objects.   trees,   the air.   a breath got caught in his throat,   unable to be released.     a though knocked it out of his airway.    he could kill this boy.     he has the upper hand,    the sword   &  the momentum.   it would take a matter of seconds.   twice in the chest,   once across the neck,    several in the abdomen.   a cannon would fire.   landon’s ledger would get a little heavier.

was that not what the capitol wanted?   to break him.

‘ i’ve killed too. ’    his voice lacked the same kind of … pride  that the other seemed to have.  he had to say it aloud.   partly for himself, partly for leon.     ‘ i suffocated a twelve year old boy with my bare hands.’    his eyes looked up to search for a camera.   he wasn’t speaking to leon anymore.    ‘ i’m not doing it anymore.  cause yeah,   i do give a fuck.’  

he released his grip on the swords,   letting it clatter to the ground a little bit away from them.  he may be making a statement.   however he didn’t trust the career enough to drop a sword within his reach.      ‘ & the fact that you can’t seem to do that— ’    he began with a sense of self importance,  ignoring the saliva on his face  ‘ isn’t going to make me want to kill you. ’  warped as a child because of a district he lived in.   transformed into a man who’d lay down his life for what?   glory?    

’ I PITY YOU. ’

@itsallronni​

He enjoyed the sound of her ribs cracking as he continued to apply pressure to her upper-torso. He watched her with a cruel bit of delight in her eyes as she gasped out line after line in an attempt to reduce Ronni to something he would never be: a loser. Her edgy, roughed up voice (and the accompanying words) truly went in one ear and out the other.

Although his anger started to rise a bit more as she talked about what would happen when (and here it should be noted that he had verbally corrected her, speaking of her ramblings to indicate that it would be ‘when,’ not ‘if’ he got out of here) he became victor, the knowledge that she was slowly dying was enough to quell him. Instead, he raised a bloody finger and dragged it from his waterline to the bottom of his cheek. He didn’t realize it, but his finger dragged a trail of red as he mocked the dying husk of a girl. “Sad. So, so sad.” 

With a swift and sure blow, Ronni lifted up the axe and sent it careening towards Nadya’s chest. Most of the axe buried itself into her with a sickening squish and a thunk. Blood splattered from the newest wound and splashed over his white t-shirt and a bit onto his face. With a slow, steady hand, Ronni wiped away a bit of the excess and flicked it back onto Nadya’s body. “You’re right. I’m so, so jealous of you, man.”

Then, to seal the deal, Ronni violently ripped the axe from her chest and gracefully allowed the bloodied handle to balance atop the back of his shoulders. In the moments that followed after, Ronni did not stop to think that he had just delivered a life into the hands of Death or the consequences that would follow. No, instead he honed in on the words Seven spat at Leon.

“Pity? Him? Ha!” He barked this as he twisted his head to the side to get a better look at his ally and Seven. It seemed their fight was done and, at this realization, Ronni felt the corners of his mouth twist up into a smile. So... Leon failed to kill him? Interesting, Ronni thought. He turned his body to face the other two boys -- to give them the attention they deserved -- and thought about how interesting this had all been. Well, Leon was right, Ronni supposed, it was Ronni’s birthday after all.

Regardless of how he was feeling about Leon, Seven, and the girl from District Whatever, Ronni knew that it would probably be wise -- I mean, imagine, Ronni being capable of thinking such things! -- to get out while they still could. Leon obviously wasn’t handling things the way he should have been and, well, if things persisted...

“Pity your dying girlfriend, buddy.” Ronni said nonchalantly as he used the remaining ounce or two of his adrenaline to get closer to Leon. He placed his free arm over his friend’s shoulders and started to guide them both towards the exit. Then, as if to solidify their escape, Ronni swung his axe deftly through the air and watched as the girl’s blood flew off and splattered against Seven’s face. “Maybe try using that ‘ounce of happiness’ to get out of this mess, man. Good luck, dumbasses!”  

And, with that, Ronni and Leon escaped from the shop and ran towards their lair. Ronni’s eyes -- as well as the smile upon his face -- were wild and alight with the feeling of victory. Finally, after all these days, things were starting to pick up for him.

@nadyavasiliev​ & @taintedones​

[itsallronni]

taintedones‌:

TRUTHFULLY,   landon was thankful at the sound of the bow hitting the ground beside them.   that could’ve lead to a messy tackle.  he wasn’t going to respond to the mockery as they wrestled on the ground.   it was childish & petty.   two things landon was not.   he found it bizarre that a career,   who’d spent their entire life being trained like adults to kill people,  could be so…immature.    maybe it was because he’d never been able to be a child.   a pang of sympathy hit landon’s chest.   it gave leon the upper hand for a few seconds.  the sword dropped, his nose was bleeding & now there were hands around his neck.

landon was  NOT  going out like this.  especially after the conversation he’d had with nadya about making a statement.  what kind of statement was dying at the hands of a career?  a common one.   he let his brain take in leon’s last comment about nadya.   that got him a little angry.  a good thing in his eyes.  his anger had always been able to carry him in these situations.  not that he’d been in many of them.  

landon used his free arms, now swordless to put his hands on leon’s,   trying to get them away from his throat.  his left grabbed hold of two fingers & pulled them, twisted them with a heavy grip.   he could’ve sworn he heard a bone break in one, could’ve been coming from elsewhere.   however he used the moment to shove leon off of him, positioning himself on top of him & repeatedly punching him in the face.     this wasn’t easy for him,  casually punching someone in the face.   however with every punch he summoned a demon.    his mother,   hickory’s daughter, nadya,   august... cecily.  he couldn’t save her.     that last one aided him in delivering a heavy punch to leon’s nose as blood from his own dripped on his face.   landon picked himself off, not wanting to continue the scrap on the floor.

‘ i can handle myself without the sword. ’    he got his breath back as he leaned down to retrieve it,     ‘ but just for good measure. ’

@itsallronni​

An almost animalistic growl unleashed itself as blood began to blossom on Ronni’s white t-shirt. He stepped back for a moment and let his hand -- which was shaking somewhat with rage rather than pain -- slap itself against his chess. When he pulled it back he studied the thin coat of red on his palm. His eyes flicked upwards and stared intently at the girl. He watched as her gaze momentarily fell on Seven. He glanced between the two a few times, and as realization dawned on him, the deep-creased frown on his face faded into that of a sickeningly sweet smile.

“Oh. Oh, I get it. The two of you are a thing, right? That’s-- god, man, that’s so dumb.” He spared another glance at Leon and Seven -- the former of the two was currently, it seemed, having a rough time -- and felt that one specific vein on his neck stiffen. The same smile didn’t fade as lurched forward and placed a bloodied hand on the handle of the axe. The career in him was severely underestimating the girl. He paid for it, too, when she reached up faster than he anticipated and sent her fist slamming into his chin. Ronni’s head flung back and, for perhaps a second too long, his head hung backwards like that. All Nadya could see was the adams-apple slowly rising and falling on his thick neck. Then, with a sudden ferocity that even Ronni didn’t expect, he snapped his head forward and spat in her face. 

“I need,” his voice rang deep and clear, “you to make it make sense to me.”  As her eyes closed from the spit, Ronni reached forward and grabbed her neck. He walked forward, dragging her until he slammed her as hard as he could against the nearest wall. Random objects that lined the shelves fell to the floor with a great clatter as Ronni used his free hand to punch Nadya squarely in the gut. 

“This is a competition, got it? Does that--” he sensed her about to move and delivered another assault -- this time a backhanded strike against her cheek. “Don’t move,”  he warned. “Does that make sense to you? Does it actually? Because it seems to me...” he trailed off as he used his free hand to clutch her cheeks and force her head to move towards where Landon and Leon currently fought. “... that you and Seven think ya’ can just pucker up and exchange spit, huh? Is that right?”

Again he felt the spirit within her -- the desire to escape and to live -- and he replied by slamming her head roughly against the wall before violently tossing her to the ground. “Don’t move!” The anger in Ronni had been steadily building and now he was yelling. The sounds of conflict were nothing compared to the way his voice shook the entire room. “You mean to tell me that the two of ya’ are just gonna waste your time trying to pretend that you can have a relationship? Give me a break-- give me a fuckin’ break!”

“I don’t understand it,” he continued as he walked over, raised his leg up high, and slammed his foot into the girl’s sternum, “I don’t understand how any of you can waste time thinking about something so dumb, dumb, dumb! Like, really? A relationship? Who do you think you are? Katniss Everdeen, huh? Do you think you’re Katniss Everdeen and he’s Peeta Mellark?” As he screamed the boy from Twelve’s name, Ronni raised his foot and slammed it back down into the girl’s chest again. Then, as she sputtered from the force of his weight, he reached down and ripped the axe from her grip. He stood above her, his face splotchy and red from anger.

“The two of you are dumb as shit if you think that’s gonna work out for you. Only one can win, got it? And guess what? Because of your dumbass wants and needs, you’re dead, sweetie.” He added a lot of emphasis on the last word -- he wanted her to feel every ounce of his anger the same way she was feeling every ounce of pain that was surging throughout his body. With the way he held her to the ground with his foot, there was a guarantee that she wouldn’t be able to get back on her feet again. Good, he thought, let her suffer and die here like a pathetic, lovesick little animal in heat. 

@nadyavasiliev​

[itsallronni]

taintedones‌:

— @castanheirx,   @itsallronni​  &  @nadyavasiliev

leon had never missed a target, not ever and admittedly he was disappointed to see no dead body on the ground but he did blow a breath of relief when he saw that his arrow aimed at nadya had missed. he hadn’t spoken to the girl from eight because unfortunately, he had been too preoccupied with his affections towards freya but it seemed as though his attention should have been elsewhere. she was beautiful in the way that capitol models were, but she had an allure to her that made him lower his bow. now was not the time to become besotted and here he was ready to risk it all for a girl that would slam an axe into his chest. after he realised he was staring he frowned at the way she addressed him, ronni’s friend? it was so demeaning he ignored the very real threat she had made almost immediately after. 

“your friend? i’m sorry but you must be nadya, i don’t think we’ve met i’m leon - district two.” he smiled at her but her scowl didn’t seem to shift, he didn’t mind though. “oh my god you’re so hot, what are you doing allying with him? anyway i’ve decided i’m going to be nice and we’ll only kill landon for giving me a concussion.” leon drew his last arrow and pointed it directly at landon’s chest. “it’s a fair deal save yourself babes.”

THERE WAS RED IN THE CORNER OF HIS EYE.   albeit a tiny bit,   but it was enough to make landon almost forget what was going on & tend to nadya.  one firm pinch to his upper thigh reminded him that she could handle it.  he turned his slightly to make sure she was good to move,    ignoring the temptation to attack leon for shooting his girlfriend — no,  that wasn’t the right word to describe them.   the only girl he’d grown close to since his sister. he wasn’t ready to lose her too. 

when leon began to speak, landon once again quashed some natural instincts to defend himself & nadya.    what are you doing allying with him?    lack of better offers perhaps.   it didn’t change the fact that there were allies though.   landon cared for her.   so naturally,   when the career offered a chance for nadya to save herself, landon turned his head,   ‘ this is my fight.’  he had been the one to injure the career in the bloodbath.     ‘ you want to settle a score? let’s just get to it. ’   he held his hands up in defence,    as if he were surrendering.   keeping an eye on leon, he bent down to put his sword on the ground  & kept inching towards him.

it was the action of a coward.   his next move,   not so much.   in a split second, landon charged for the male,   swooping down to pick up his sword as he ran,  building up enough momentum.  he lunged for a tackle,   his brute strength sending both guys to the hard floor.   

he wasn’t the kind of person who just gave up.

Ronni’s eyebrows furrowed and a crease formed in that delicate area on his forehead. A twinge of anger surged through him and he found his fingernails momentarily digging into the fleshy surface of his palms. An axe? When could she have gotten an axe? Unless-- and then, just as suddenly as he had thrown the shelving back at the pair, he recognized her as the girl who had snatched the axe -- his axe -- from the bloodbath.

Ignoring the vein that had began to pulsate on his neck, Ronni quickly snatched the knife that Leon had given him after Goldie’s untimely --  but deserved, he had thought -- demise. He held it in front of his face for a moment, unknowingly allowing a shadow to cross his right eye. Then, with a swift flick of the wrist, he turned the blade so that the wide end flashed towards the girl. “Nothing’s gonna help you now, man.” 

He had begun to lean forwards and prepare himself to rush the girl when Leon’s comment made its way through the air, connected with his ear, and swam its way up into Ronni’s brain. After a second of processing, he let his gaze switch over to the boy from Two. A flurry of emotions crossed his eyes in that split second or two, but the one that stuck was confusion.

“We’re gonna do what? Leon, man, look: it doesn’t matter how hot she is, we--” Then, just as Ronni had begun to let his thoughts flow straight into words, Seven ran forward and tackled him to the ground. This marked the second time in three days that Ronni had watched the ‘great’ Leon de Castanheira be knocked to the ground by an outlier -- the same outlier, in fact. He watched the pair wrestle around on the ground for a moment before finally letting out a sigh. 

“Nah, we won’t be doing that today. You’re gonna die, sweetie; say your last goodbyes now.” Without another word, Ronni darted over the shelving and closed the distance between himself and the ‘beautiful’ girl. The adrenaline had returned to his muscular frame and guided his fist as he swung it back and slammed it directly into the girl’s face. He watched with a satisfied grin as she plummeted to the floor. Maybe her pretty little nose was broken, too? Regardless, he thought as he walked closer towards her, not even a beautiful face would save her from his wrath.

@nadyavasiliev

[itsallronni]

taintedones‌:

HE WAS JUST ABOUT DONE WITH DOLLS.   they weren’t something cecily had ever played with  or  even had so he didn’t have any nostalgic attachment to the plastic people.  no,  the things just creeped him out.   especially when they were holding little knives.  his own doll lay a few feet away from him,  having just had to stop it trying to attack him.  that was a mind-fucking experience,   even if he did hate to use that word.

he should’ve known something was coming for them — or someone.   they were in such a peaceful bliss in that moment.  nadya’s fingers tickled his own as she toyed with them.  he didn’t mind.   being ignorant was nice when you had a distraction.  thankfully,  careers weren’t known for their stealth so he heard them before he saw them.   two of them.  oh great!

‘ watch out! ’    landon did exactly what nadya had been doing to him the entire games — he grabbed her,   pulling her out of the way as something flew towards them.  adjusting to his surroundings,   the picture became clearer.   ‘ something tells me those two aren’t here to shop for dolls. ’     he turned to nadya in the haste,   plotting an escape.   as his eyes set on small shelving unit holding doll accessories,   he swung out his leg,   knowing over the items &  sending the shelf falling directly in the careers path. 

he recognised the two males.  cautiously watching the one he’d beaten to a sword.  he didn’t want to stick around long enough to find out if he held grudges.    ‘ TIME TO GO.’

“Your aims a lil’ funny, huh Leon?” As the pair burst through the door, Ronni couldn’t suppress the excited snicker that poured out of him. Even though now wasn’t exactly the most opportune time to be cracking jokes, the boy from Four felt perfectly within his element. He had been waiting for a moment like this since he had risen from the ground and taken in the glass cornucopia with a deep breath and a lick of his lips. 

“Oh, Seven! Long time no--” The smirk on Ronni’s lips that had arisen as a result of seeing the edgy, masochistic boy from Seven quickly transitioned into a bitter frown. Although Leon had entered the room first, Ronni -- in his excitement -- had charged a little past Leon once the arrow had flown from the bow. As a result, he was now the direct target of the falling shelf. 

With a scoff, Ronni quickly raised his arms and caught the falling structure. The muscles in his arms bulged underneath the denim jacket and, without skipping a beat, Ronni gave a whoop and a holler as he immediately tossed the shelving back at the pair. The clang, clatter, and commotion that arose as a result of Ronni’s rebuttal turned the shop into a cacophony of sounds. He didn’t wait to see if the shelving had knocked anybody down. Instead, with a twisted smile. Ronni took a step forward, gingerly lifted his leg, placed his foot on the shelving (along with a hand on his cocked hip), and made direct eye-contact with the girl that had defied him on the rooftop.

“‘Sup? Still think that nine is gonna help you now? Huh?” 

[itsallronni]

There had been days in Ronni’s past where he felt like he was reaching a breaking point. Once, when he was ten or so, his mother came by to see Ronni on his birthday. He had been so shaken up by her sudden appearance that all he could remember was screaming at her to get out. Another breaking point had been reached when Jane had told Ronni about the growing ball of life within her stomach. Needless to say, Ronni didn’t take that news very well, either. 

Now, as the third day in the arena was slowly dragging on and on, Ronni Ruiz was about to reach another breaking point. 

“Man, I gotta tell ya’,” the boy began with a scoff and through flaring nostrils, “I’m getting real tired of this.” He didn’t put what ‘this’ was into words, but something told Ronni that Leon already knew. The competition -- which is what the Games was -- was drawing close to its own breaking point and Ronni Ruiz had emerged with no kills, a messed up ankle, and not even a single knife to call his own; and, to top it all off, the career pack -- if he could even call it that -- had proven to be useless. Calix had always been useless. Nike and Aggie were, well... Ronni preferred not to dwell on that. Goldie, too, had cracked and proven to be a let down. Something had to change. Something--

Then, suddenly, he stopped in his tracks. The boy from Four caught sight of a little bit of movement in the windows of one of the shops a fair distance away. He reached his arm out to stop a still-walking Leon and then, once he got his attention, pointed towards the shop with a crooked smile. “Look.”  

// closed starter for @castanheirx , @nadyavasiliev , @taintedones