LJ Idol Season 9, Week 17: "Scare Quotes"

[theun4givables]

Ryan hitched up his backpack on a single shoulder and glanced around the busy street. He shoved his hands in his pockets, head hanging as the voices of his fellow students continued to follow him on his long walk home.

“Going to your rat’s nest, Carrier?” someone said to his left.

Comments

[adoptedwriter]

Poor kid. Sad story but it moves nicely and had me pulled in right away. Is this part of a larger project? AW

[theun4givables]

Yeah, Ryan's definitely not going to have an easy time of it. And I'm glad that it pulled you in right away -- this is, in fact, part of a larger project. The beginning of it, actually. :)

Thank you for commenting. :D

[anyonesghost]

I'm intrigued. Tell me "more." Where by "more" I mean "all." :-)

[theun4givables]

Awww, yay. <3

I'm still working the kinks out of the universe for this one. Basic premise is that people aren't born naturally anymore, and those that are born normally are considered huge health risks to the community, and that Ryan's parents were involved in a movement to make it at least illegal to kill NB's (natural borns) and to give them full rights like the rest of the (now engineered) human race.

Whether the Disease is a real thing or a construct of a dystopian gov't, I don't know yet. The logistics (and the research I'd have to do) is a little overwhelming and I know that this is the project that will be a lot of work. ;)

[eternal_ot]

Interesting plot.

[theun4givables]

Thanks. :)

[penpusher]

Interesting take: from the teasing/bullying of Ryan to the police state/murders of his parents. It's almost as if the bullying would have been justified in this society...

I guess I wonder if the bullies implicitly knew the truth about Ryan or just didn't like him based only on his appearance, and since he's so noticeable what he might do to survive. Are there hair dye products?!

[theun4givables]

The bullying would have almost certainly been considered justified in his society. His parents being who they were probably didn't help, either.

I don't think the bullies knew and just didn't like him. And yes, hair dye products do exist. They're expensive, though -- to further punish those that look different.

[zhent]

Interesting spin on the topic this week. I'll be interested to read more of this when it makes it onto the page...

[theun4givables]

Thank you! :)

[mistearyusdiva2]

I loved this ... would be eagerly looking forward to read what came before and what comes after.... Interest perked up ....

Well Done ....

[theun4givables]

Thank you! :)