Note: I considered a straight reversal of Sparrow and Frost's roles--i.e., making Frost a victor and Sparrow the Chancellor of Parabellum--but ultimately decided it doesn't fit with what I feel is the core of Sparrow's character. While she's not an apolitical person, she's not one to desire (at least in canon proper and at the onset of this story) the role of a political figurehead. In both her canon incarnation and this version, she's more a surly anti-government type at first (and will only later begin shifting into something of a philanthropist).
I also briefly considered putting her in a Loretta-esque role in which she would manifest as the daughter of an OC Chancellor, but I felt that came too close to the "never a self-made woman" stereotype (should I decide for her to become more political later) and also risked introducing another strong male figure (presumably but not definitely a sympathetic one) that could too strongly influence both her character and the plot. So, what I'm going with here is that Sparrow has a very Frost-esque background; she was born to an elderly man in the Circle (a previous Chancellor, in this case) and his much younger "trophy wife".
Their romantic roles, however, will be much the same. Frost is obsessive, aggressive, and much more sexually open, while Sparrow is cold and distant and though lacking in childhood sexual trauma still suffering from the unwanted affections of Octavian Donahue, who no doubt intends to use her as a way to strengthen his campaign for Chancellor.
So let's see how this works out.
Sparrow had been surprised when she'd heard the news. She wasn't one to pay much attention to the Culling normally; honestly, the entire thing sickened her, and it would probably be more merciful to simply let everyone that entered the arena die there. For every Isadora Bitya, there were five Nadia Sens, wide-eyed and innocent and scared and wholly undeserving of the fate they would suffer for the rest of their lives. The men and women who could, like Izzy, actually enjoy their new lives could be counted on one hand.
But the number of men and women like this one, on the other hand... well, she was sure there must have been more, but there weren't any she could recall. The Circle had a type when it came to the Culling, and that type hadn't varied much in the last few decades, as far as she knew. There was a bit more leeway with women, a healthy range of colors and sizes, though there of course wasn't an unattractive specimen in the bunch, but the men were held to much stricter roles; they all had the same dark features, the same fair skin, the same general build. And yet somehow this newest victor bucked the mold.
He wasn't even young she realized. Certainly, he wasn't as old as the current generation of patriarchs--no one that far along in life stood a chance of winning the Culling, after all--but he was probably about forty, more than old enough that she doubted the Circle had actually chosen him, and wasn't that a laugh? How long had it been since their plans to pick out the new victor had failed?
And, more importantly, what did it mean for the poor bastard who had the gall to win instead of whatever pretty little thing they'd chosen?
Sparrow sighed and stood, setting her glass of wine down on the coffee table, barely touched. German was up in an instant, setting his book aside and rising from the armchair diagonally across from the couch. "You can take it," she said reluctantly, gesturing toward the glass. She would've prefer to stay and finish it, of course, but there wasn't going to be any getting out of this tonight; it wasn't just a Debut she could "forget" to RSVP to. The Circle begrudgingly tolerated her disinterest in their system because of who her father had been and the rewards one of them might reap one day if they she so completely lost her mind as to marry, but they wouldn't let her avoid a Victory Ball. If she didn't come, her absence would be noted, and there'd be hell to pay.
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timeasmymeasure
Inverted [1/?]
Date: 2016-02-06 03:20 am (UTC)I also briefly considered putting her in a Loretta-esque role in which she would manifest as the daughter of an OC Chancellor, but I felt that came too close to the "never a self-made woman" stereotype (should I decide for her to become more political later) and also risked introducing another strong male figure (presumably but not definitely a sympathetic one) that could too strongly influence both her character and the plot. So, what I'm going with here is that Sparrow has a very Frost-esque background; she was born to an elderly man in the Circle (a previous Chancellor, in this case) and his much younger "trophy wife".
Their romantic roles, however, will be much the same. Frost is obsessive, aggressive, and much more sexually open, while Sparrow is cold and distant and though lacking in childhood sexual trauma still suffering from the unwanted affections of Octavian Donahue, who no doubt intends to use her as a way to strengthen his campaign for Chancellor.
So let's see how this works out.
Sparrow had been surprised when she'd heard the news. She wasn't one to pay much attention to the Culling normally; honestly, the entire thing sickened her, and it would probably be more merciful to simply let everyone that entered the arena die there. For every Isadora Bitya, there were five Nadia Sens, wide-eyed and innocent and scared and wholly undeserving of the fate they would suffer for the rest of their lives. The men and women who could, like Izzy, actually enjoy their new lives could be counted on one hand.
But the number of men and women like this one, on the other hand... well, she was sure there must have been more, but there weren't any she could recall. The Circle had a type when it came to the Culling, and that type hadn't varied much in the last few decades, as far as she knew. There was a bit more leeway with women, a healthy range of colors and sizes, though there of course wasn't an unattractive specimen in the bunch, but the men were held to much stricter roles; they all had the same dark features, the same fair skin, the same general build. And yet somehow this newest victor bucked the mold.
He wasn't even young she realized. Certainly, he wasn't as old as the current generation of patriarchs--no one that far along in life stood a chance of winning the Culling, after all--but he was probably about forty, more than old enough that she doubted the Circle had actually chosen him, and wasn't that a laugh? How long had it been since their plans to pick out the new victor had failed?
And, more importantly, what did it mean for the poor bastard who had the gall to win instead of whatever pretty little thing they'd chosen?
Sparrow sighed and stood, setting her glass of wine down on the coffee table, barely touched. German was up in an instant, setting his book aside and rising from the armchair diagonally across from the couch. "You can take it," she said reluctantly, gesturing toward the glass. She would've prefer to stay and finish it, of course, but there wasn't going to be any getting out of this tonight; it wasn't just a Debut she could "forget" to RSVP to. The Circle begrudgingly tolerated her disinterest in their system because of who her father had been and the rewards one of them might reap one day if they she so completely lost her mind as to marry, but they wouldn't let her avoid a Victory Ball. If she didn't come, her absence would be noted, and there'd be hell to pay.
And she certainly had no time for that.