ruthless as clockwork - a mind made of stone, numb to the blood of the weeping stars. （full information + extended summary inside） （cover by @crystallous）
[screen-reader friendly ; no 'fancy' fonts ] by char (charnobi) second-person perspective - uses 'you' and 'your'
The blade, sharp-mouthed and silver-lined with venom, is an extension of yourself; it moves as your hand does, limitlessly, spat with hunger. The handle is soft-spoken, the blood of honourable people belongs to this country of saints, all represented on its slithering smile. It smiles at you, for you, calling you to another tribute.
Dripping with marigold honey, Vienna Kentwell's hands are cuffed in yellow tree sap, his face cultivated into a smirk — curved around his cheekbones, the strict perfectionism of society performs itself. Everyday is a lie. Bullet-streaked mascara, a charcoal-black suit; his lips portray the smoke of truth, reality; the cold air is his spirit animal, his adrenaline, his numbing anesthetic of strength. Like a God, he will rule the world and devastate tributes, all in the name of his sister—
—the brightest star in his life, so humane, mortal. If he doesn't volunteer, she will perish in poverty, outcast from the district. She is only fourteen, and she cannot prance in lilac fields forever, dragging a paintbrush of pink through valleys, leaving joy. It is a splendid cause, but not realistic. That doesn't matter to Vienna - if he had it his way, she would be innocent forever.
She will grow up eventually, and all little Vienna can do is delay the inevitable.
There are two sides to Vienna. The part of responsibility, fatigue; the part that curated the flawless mask, the crimson arrogance. And, the other part? A tiny, wide-eyed child shrinking from the universe, his hand up to the stars. In a world where philosophy and agenda can be the difference between a voice and a grave, who would control the body? The small toddler longing for a flower, or a boy growing into a man? Who controls his body? The child underneath, or the mask above?
Who is Vienna Kentwell, when stripped of childhood and a flimsy mask? Who is left to protect his delightful sister? Or, more importantly— what will he do if she grows up, and he is left perfect, shallowly idealistic, drowning in his own self-identity.
Who is Vienna Kentwell, when he is all gone?
And that's ignoring Emalia Abacus - the girl he loves, who just volunteered to be in the same games as him. Fuck!
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PUBLICATION DATES
ONE: 25/07/2021
TWO: 8/08/2021
THREE: 22/08/2021
FOUR: 28/08/2021
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TRIGGER WARNINGS
contains description of murder, suicide, depersonalisation, depression, major self-blame, racism and swearing. this is the hunger games, not a rollercoaster; the themes are dark!
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THANK YOU
to . . .
hyperjedi for betaing and reading the first draft of clockwork, can't thank you enough!
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