inez harvard [d2] [fin]

lyss Tribute [M:1300] 414 POSTS Pronouns: she/her last seen Nov 16, 2021 0:07:26 GMT -5	inez harvard [d2] [fin] Aug 17, 2021 21:43:07 GMT -5 Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by lyss on Aug 17, 2021 21:43:07 GMT -5 inez harvard district two 18
	Last Edit: Sept 16, 2021 11:34:53 GMT -5 by lyss

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inez harvard [d2] [fin] Aug 17, 2021 22:17:53 GMT -5

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Post by lyss on Aug 17, 2021 22:17:53 GMT -5

i n e z h a r v a r d

you're a l i a b i l i t y

From the moment Inez Harvard was brought into the world, she would forever be a disappointment to her parents. She never could meet the impossibly high standards they had set for her before she was even conceived. Her parents had ambitions just like any other career couple in the upper districts; they wanted to turn their family name into a household name, one that was always on the tips of tongues and in the backs of minds. While they were successful and cunning in their own ways, they never had the ‘it’ factor that would make themselves unforgettable. They just knew that when they combined their talents, the result would be so special that every other career family in Two would envy them.

Inez’s parents decided that they only needed one spectacular child to cement their legacy, so Inez never had anyone to share the burden of her parent’s expectations with. Inez knew that plenty of her peers envied her only-child status. It was easy to be forgotten and unloved in larger families, so she heard often how lucky she must be to receive endless attention from her parents. Inez couldn’t deny that she received an overwhelming amount of attention from her parents, but it was almost never wanted, and it certainly was not the kind of attention her peers imagined. It was a loveless, incessant attention that she received.

There was a time when she was younger- naive- that she felt loved, but that didn’t make her parents redeemable in her eyes. She felt loved when she was younger because she was more compliant. She wanted the hugs and praise that came when they were satisfied with her progress and feared the punishments that came when they were displeased. As her disappointments quickly began to outnumber her accomplishments, she realized that it wasn’t love- it wasn’t even close.

Inez could remember watching the games back when she had this realization that her childhood was not a normal one. She would watch the kids from the lower districts with envy whenever they’d struggle against a pack of mutts or the career alliance. She could tell that their parents hadn’t raised them to how to win a fight when they were her age. She would daydream about the childhoods these strangers had, one’s where they went to school and had friends and came home to play with their siblings and were kissed goodnight. It wasn’t until later in grade school during Panem history that she realized how naive it was of her to envy the children in the lower district. Her career training was a privilege, no matter how fucked up it was.

Inez wasn’t the girl who would have exceptional skills with blades or the girl who would have immense power packed into her punches. She was the girl who cried when her mom sang her the nursery rhyme about squishing bumblebees. She was the girl who chose drawing and writing and daydreaming over outdoor recess because there was no time for creativity at home. She was the girl who could love so fiercely and whole-heartedly, if only somebody would let her.

None of this mattered to her parents, of course. They weren’t going to let Inez’s apathy ruin their plans for her. She was still mandated to spend the majority of her free time training, and any resistance was met with invasions of her privacy. They would escort her to every activity in her day and would remove the doors to any rooms that were meant just for her. They would take away anything they deemed as a distraction, including a ukelele she had bought for her 13th birthday with money she’d saved up.

Inez was hanging on by a thread when she entered high school. She was chronically tired from anxiety-induced insomnia and had all the joys of life stripped away from her. Her happiness was irrelevant to her parents, but she was desperate for her life to have meaning. On a whim, she signed up for a choir audition, knowing how much it would piss her parents off if she got in. Despite the shake in her voice, the choir teacher eagerly accepted her, just happy to have an eager student in the choir. She ached for a sense of meaning and belonging, and choir was there to fill the cracks in her heart. For once, she had something to look forward to, and nothing compared to the absolute thrill she felt when she was pouring her heart out alone on stage.

Well, almost nothing else compared. It was like apples and oranges really, the thrill of performing and the rush of catching a certain brunette’s gaze. Inez never quite knew where she stood with this girl, but she couldn’t stop dreaming about the accidental brush of fingers when passing music or the raspiness of her alto voice. Inez wanted to melt into the warm chocolate of her eyes and get tangled in the waves of her hair. Her infatuation wasn’t a secret, and yet, Inez couldn’t keep a conversation going with her that could last until the late bell rang. Years of confidence blows from her parents had destroyed her self-worth and made her doubt every move she made. Her parents had took so much from her, and she was ready to start taking it all back.

As the day of her last reaping neared, she made it clear to her parents that she wouldn’t become a career trainer like they demanded. It was delusional to think that she could swing that as a career even if she wanted to. Of course, they swore they would cut her off if she pursued her silly dream of becoming a musician. Inez knew her protests were futile until she had a plan for how to support herself and cut ties.

It didn’t matter that she didn’t have a plan the day she was eventually kicked out. Her parents had started attending her training sessions again because they were desperate to secure her a job after aging out. Inez was zoned out during the session like she usually was and found herself starting absent-mindedly at some of the other girls. One of the more popular girls at the center caught Inez staring and made a whole scene out of it, calling her a perv and a slew of other insults. She effectively outed her to everyone who didn’t already know, which was really just the parents in attendance. True to their nature, Inez’s parents had to assert their dominance over their daughter in front of the other parents. They gave her an ultimatum that she could either fully commit to career training and abide by their new strict set of rules, or she would be kicked out and cut off. They didn’t expect their daughter to take the out, but there was clearly a lot they didn’t understand about her.

Inez was grateful it had been so easy to leave, honestly. She’d expected the moment to be full of shouting and tears, but both parties quietly accepted that there was no going back. Inez packed a bag and set off, unsure of what was in store for her.

She had heard rumors of a safe haven that gave queer youth a home, but that’s all it was to her- a rumor. Inez was never a fan of spontaneity, but she had no other avenues to pursue. She could either try to find this rumored house, or she could sleep on the streets until she devised a better plan. Although the sun had already started its descent, it didn’t take long for Inez to find the building that she believed to be a figment of her imagination. It was a large two-story building, similar to her school, with a vast garden teeming with life in the back. Outside, a sign read The Harvard House, and Inez knew this was where she was meant to be. The home looked so warm and accepting from the outside, and she ached to experience those things for the first time in her life.

She crossed the brick path that separated her old life from her new and made her way to the front door. Well, here goes nothing.

Knock knock.

you're a little m u c h for me

Last Edit: Sept 15, 2021 14:39:30 GMT -5 by lyss

lyss Tribute [M:1300] 414 POSTS Pronouns: she/her last seen Nov 16, 2021 0:07:26 GMT -5	inez harvard [d2] [fin] Sept 16, 2021 11:35:55 GMT -5 Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by lyss on Sept 16, 2021 11:35:55 GMT -5 apologies for how long this got lol ripred_bot finished!

Deleted 0 POSTS last seen Nov 21, 2024 9:35:33 GMT -5	inez harvard [d2] [fin] Sept 16, 2021 12:36:42 GMT -5 Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by Deleted on Sept 16, 2021 12:36:42 GMT -5 dont apologize omg i STAN miss inez she could never disappoint x