First Official FACADED Choosing Ceremony

[Sara]

((OOC: I have to post this early; something came up and I'll be out all day tomorrow.
Before we get started, I wanted to go over some things:

• Please respond ASAP! Anyone who doesn’t post within 48 hours of their turn will be skipped. If you can, write your post(s) beforehand.
  
• If you have two or more characters adjacent to each other on the list, please post their turns separately to keep things organized.
  
• Plotting threads for initiation can start whenever, but please hold off initiation RPing threads until this is finished.
  
• Please bold your character’s faction choice so that it’s clear for anyone who doesn’t have time to read all of the posts.
  
• Please update your character bios, noting what faction they were born in and which they chose.
  
• If you need someone to post your Choosing because you can't, you can PM it to me.
  

Here’s the final order:

• Nicole Arbor
  
• Daniel Aspen
  
• Everly Maxine Braxx
  
• Augustus Derek Carter
  
• Skylark Rose Coleman
  
• Tyler Joseph Damon
  
• Daniel Joseph Edevane
  
• Denise Elbony Edevane
  
• Vaughn Evans
  
• Tania Everstean
  
• Corynne Feera
  
• Constance Greeson
  
• Allison Juniper Hardee
  
• Alice Charlotte Harlow
  
• Kamille Vanessa Jan
  
• Tobias Lee Johnson
  
• Lena Myra Orwell
  
• Elle Mattson
  
• Page Keye McAlistair
  
• Annie Metz
  
• Jacey Mura
  
• Dimitri Nikolayevich Krylov
  
• Raxwell Phillips
  
• Kyte Rayelia Reede
  
• Dominiq Michael Shaw
  
• Karen Summers
  
• Laurel Tanner
  
• Leighton Watson
  
• Ashton Xavier
  

And that’s it! Have fun!))

[Sara]

It was Amity’s turn to host the Ceremony, and Arthur Michaelson couldn’t have been more pleased to be master of ceremonies. His eyes floated around the room, checking that each faction had arrived. The 16-year-olds stood in a ring on the edges of the circular room, in alphabetical order by surname. Within that ring was another, largely made up of the families of the to-be initiates; divided by faction.
As some late Dauntless came in, and the Abnegation holding the doors sat down, he checked his watch and decided it was time. Arthur quickly adjusted his scarlet tie and walked up to the podium confidently. His gold suit gleamed in the light, and he began.

“Settle down, settle down, everyone!” The crowd quieted, and Arthur beamed back at them. “Welcome to the Choosing Ceremony! Today is quite the day for all of us. Destinies will be realized not only for this year’s initiates, but for all those who they have welcomed into their lives. And as today brings the future like the morning brings the sun, we are urged to remember days past, and the history that brought us to where we are.” He went on to speak of the importance of each faction, the necessity of the faction system as a whole, and a brief history of the city – trivial stuff the entire crowd was familiar. Despite his jovial voice, it was hard to resist tuning out. Suddenly, Arthur’s tone changed, and he had his audience’s attention.

“Now then, it has come time for our dependents to leave the comfort of their homes and choose their own place in the world.” His smile became thin, and his tenor serious. “Choose wisely.” And as suddenly as it had begun, his graveness ended and the man’s smile once again warmed the room. “The first to choose will be Nicole Arbor.” A tall blonde girl made her way up the steps, and Arthur handed her a knife. She gave him a timid smile, and the man found his seat.
There was no more time to decide – they had to Choose.

[Sara]

Nicole stood atop the stage holding nothing but a knife. She stared out at the crowd and her eyes easily found her family, as warm as they came in Erudite. Looking down at her blue dress with its lovely scooped-neck collar, she wondered how it would look in another colour. She had thought out this decision so many times over the past years, and had never been able to reach a decision. Her aptitude test had only confused her more – Abnegation, dear, with a hint of D- no, never mind, dear, just Abnegation. She remembered the words so clearly…but what had they meant? She had never considered Abnegation, and had thought for certain that she’d be Candor. And suddenly, there was a eureka moment. Nicole knew she could never live her life in the background, handing out food or doing whatever it was the Abnegation did. That wasn’t her. The test was flawed, untrue; probably created to fill out whatever factions were needed more. And with that realization, the blonde knew where she wanted to be. Swiftly, her hands moved and rested above the glass. Without a second’s hesitation, the knife came down on her palm. She didn’t wince at the pain – it was necessary. Nicole handed the knife back to Arthur with a smile, and walked quietly off the stage to join the Candor. She glanced back at her family, and could only read loss on her mother’s face. Other than that, they were void of emotion, not even looking at her. But as if she had sensed her gaze, Nicole’s mother turned to look at her and gave a sad smile before her attention was called back to the stage as Arthur called out another name.

[Sara]

“Daniel Aspen.”
He had known his time was coming, but that didn’t make it any easier to stand. For a moment, Daniel forgot the confidence he had always come by so easily, the grace in his step that he had never left behind. But he shook his head and willed himself out of the daze – this was his Choosing! The moment he had been awaiting for so long…or had he? He had always felt he knew where his place was, and it certainly wasn’t in Amity. But he had so many memories there, so much love he had received and given back in turn. And it had been fun, hadn’t it? Of course, he thought, but that’s what childhood is for. It’s time to grow up. The boy strode up confidently, took the knife from Arthur, and tried to commit the red and yellow to memory. Without breaking his stride, Daniel made his way to a bowl and closed his eyes. He was comfortable not seeing, but his curiosity took over. Once he felt the blood leave his system, his eyes popped open and he watched as the first drop of blood stained the clear water. As he moved to hand the knife to the host, the boy’s eyes searched the crowd. His family was obviously disappointed, but tried to look encouraging. Unable to bear their sadness, Daniel diverted his gaze to the ring of soon-to-be initiates. Walking toward the Erudite, he smiled meaningfully at Corynne, the girl who had made him believe that he was making the right choice, and hoped that she did the same. But as Arthur cleared his throat, Daniel found his curiosity diverting his gaze to the girl who would choose next.

[Jess]

Everly could hardly hold herself upright, she was so nervous. She walked on unsteady legs, her heart pounding. Her eyes scanned the room, locking on her family. I wonder what they're thinking right now, she thought as she took the knife. Her mother looked encouraging, her father bored. Cora clearly couldn't wait to leave. Ava looked concerned.

Someone coughed uncomfortably, and Everly realized how long she had been standing there doing nothing. She swallowed, holding her palm over the clear Erudite water. She pressed the knife to her hand, wondering if it would hurt. Ava's gaze was still locked on her; she could feel it.

The knife bit her skin, and at the last moment, Everly pivoted, her blood sizzling on the Dauntless coals. For a moment, she just stared in disbelief. Dauntless? She had every intention of choosing Erudite... yet, strangely, Everly didn't feel any regret at her split second decision. Just confusion. She hadn't even had an apptitude for Dauntless. She looked up from the fiery coals, back up at her family. Her mother wouldn't look back; her father stared disappointingly. Cora smirked. Ava still looked endlessly concerned.

Everly opened her mouth, as if she was going to say something, but the master of ceremonies was already ushering her away so that the next person could Chose. She tore her gaze away from her family-- what was there to say, anyway? --and joined the Dauntless.

[Lime]

Augustus was just starting to become nervous. For months he had put off deciding what faction he wanted to go to, but now he had to choose. He knew he was divergent and could belong in Candor or Dauntless, but he didn't know which one to pick. He loved Candor and the ability to be brutally honest, but he didn't like the fact that his family lives there. He also thought that Dauntless would be a good place to stay, the problem he had though was that if someone figured out he was divergent he would be in trouble for sure. After thinking about this all night, he was just confused and nervous, making his choice even more difficult.

He was growing more and more nervous as people started choosing. Finally it was his turn. He barely heard his name called. He walked up to the podium and took the knife. He was shaking so hard he could barley stand. He had never been this nervous in his life. He looked from the Candor bowl to the Dauntless coils. He was so confused. He knew he just had to choose so he pressed the knife into his palm and extended his arm out without looking where his hand was going , go to wherever faction the hand lands on. When he looked where his hand was, he saw that it was over the Dauntless coils, and his blood was sizzling on them.

He turned around and handed the knife back and walked to stand by the Dauntless. He looked to his family, they all seemed shocked, maybe even angry, but he didn't care anymore. He had put up with them mistreating him for almost sixteen years. Finally, he wouldn't have to deal with it.

[Admin Courtney]

If there was one thing Tyler was not worried about, but was looking forward to, it was his Choosing Ceremony. After his aptitude test the previous day, he had been slightly shaken at apparently almost having an aptitude for Abnegation. Just because he wanted to help a girl? Ridiculous! He was conceited and vain and could give the god Narcissus a run for his money. How was that Abnegation?
But then the person running his test told him in the end he proved to be Candor through and through. And he could not wait to officially be just that.

When the master of the ceremony called his name, Tyler stood from his seat and walked with utmost confidence to the centre of the bowls. The one of stones caught his eye briefly, but he took the knife and smirked. Selfless? No way. With only a second's hesitation at cutting his own skin because he did not want to harm its perfection, he smiled proudly as he let his blood drip onto the shards of glass that were the Candor bowl. Everything he could ever want was in Candor. His boyfriend, his family, his morals.
And now it was official: Candor initation would soon begin.

[anonymous]

EDE~Daniel Joseph Edevane

He was up next. Was he really? His decision had always been a clear one, he had always been sure Erudite would be him home his entire life, but doubt had started to grow in him. It was a bit ironic considering that he used to worry that his twin would bethe one to chose another faction like their sister Olivia, and now it was him who was usure. Daniel felt his hands grow clammy with every passing moment.

"Daniel Joseph Edevane," his name was called. Was it really his turn already? He felt his sister's hand squeeze his hand lightly and whisper in the lowest of voices so that only he could hear, "No matter what, we are twins, and nothing will change that." Daniel was startled. Did she know of his doubt? How was that possible? Or was she speaking for herself?

Daniel walked over to the host and took thhe knife in his right hand, pressing the blade to his left palm. He felt frozen like that. Daniel couldn't think, he couldn't concentrate. How could he contrate? Of all days, it had to be on the most important one of his life! Daniel walked to the bowls and stood infront of the one containing the clear water. Erudite.

He resisted the hiss as he sliced his palm. The sting sent a stinging sensation up his arm. His heart pounded. The blood was still not flowing. Daniel quickly found his parents in the crowd. His mother smiled, as did his father. They were both proud of him. They were sure he would choose Erudite since that's what he's had his mind on since childhood. Daniel turned back to the bowl.

He extended his hand out to the clear, or at leats, used to be clear water, since it was now tainted with drops of blood. Daniel opened his hand, letting the blood flow out, but like one of the girls before him, Daniel moved his hand at the last moment, watching and hearing his blood sizzle on the hot coals.

What had he just done?! Did he really just do that? Was it possible? No, it couldn't be. It was an accident! Those drops were meant for the Erudite bowl! But even as he stood there, trying to processes what he had just done, the host of the Ceremony comes up to Daniel and takes the knife back as he says, "Please go stand with the other iniciatives, son."

Dumbfounded, Daniel finds the strength to walk over to stand with the Dauntless inniciatives. He lookes down to his shoes, his favorite pair of blue converse. What did he just do? An ache forms and grasps his heart.

Daniel watches his sister take the knife he had just used. She turns to him and gives him a wink and the tiniest of smiles before turning back to the bowls infront of her. He lookes frantically at his parents. His mom wears a sad smile, but the gleam in her eyes say that no matter the faction, he is still her child and will love himwithout exception. His dad on the other hand...its hard to read what he's thinking. His expression is a mixture of shock, anger, sadness, disappointment, curiosity, confusion and relief. Relief?

Daniel, still replaying the past few minutes, watched his twin make her own decision.

[anonymous]

~~Denise Elbony Edevane

Denise walked over to the host, all of her clam abandoning her. Hands cold from the nerves, Denise took the knife her twin had just used. Her hand brushed the host's and he said, "Relax, darling. Everything's going to be alright." Easy for him to say, he wasn't the one who had to chose. He seemed happy with the decision he'd made when he'd been her age, he probably didn't have any doubts whatsoever.

He glanced at her brother, who now stood with the Dauntless. She'd never expected him to choose that faction, heck, she never expected to choose any faction beside Erudite! He stared back at her, though he seemed to be in a daze, and why wouldn't he? She thought of the tattoo on his thigh, the one of a sun. Maybe he was meant to be Dauntless after all.

Denise didn't dare glance at her parents, not now. Turning back to the bowls, Denise sliced her left palm, wincing a bit. She could never be Candor, Dauntless nor Amity, but could she be Abnegation? She'd thought on it all night. She could, but she wouldn't be able to handle it as the years would roll by. No, she was Erudite.

And with that, Denise extended her hand over the bowl with the now pink water and let her blood fall in, what her twin had failed to do. Denise handed back the knife and went to stand with the Erudite, where she belonged. Was this the right choice though? Denise couldn't help wonder.

[Sydnee]

Much of Vaughn’s life seemed to revolve around this moment as he stepped up onto the stage, holding the knife in his hand. He found his parents in the crowd, locking eyes with them for a quick moment before looking away. Sure, he was not entirely Abnegation. He was Erudite as well. His aptitude results sent him reeling, but the administrator erased any evidence that he was Divergent and that would have to be enough to hold onto. That and he wouldn’t have to leave the parents who cared for him, even if he knew his calling was elsewhere, even if he felt like the aptitude test was wrong and he belonged nowhere after all. No matter where he was, he’d always feel out of place. And that was that.

He took a deep breath and dug the knife into his palm, holding his hand over the stones and watching as his blood dripped onto it and settled there. He felt as if his entire life had led up to this moment and now it was done. He’d made his choice, and planning with Tania had made his choice this much easier. He didn’t have to figure out where to go, if he should go to Erudite. He had a place in Abnegation, with his adoptive parents who had given him life and a place in the rebellion that Tania was the head of, the rebellion that would shake the factions from the inside.

He’d made his choice and he didn’t feel wary about it, he felt purposeful as he walked down the stage with some sort of weird confidence in his step, to join the Abnegation.

Something would go right. This system would fall apart and he would help Tania build it into something a lot better, something that didn’t exclude others, wasn’t corrupt.

He could smile at that thought.

[Melissa]

Tania stood, and waited patiently for her turn to choose. She wasn’t nervous anymore about what to do, or where to go. She just wanted to get it done, and be over with it, so she could just move on with her plan. To think that a few months ago, she wanted to go to Dauntless. Of course she still wanted to go, but responsibility was responsibility. She gave a small smile, to Vaughn, who stood in front of her. He knew what to do, where he was going to go. He would make an excellent Abnegation.

It didn’t take long, before she had to go forwards, in that stunning dress that Page had created for her. She looked down below her, at her choices, and went to the one straight in front of her, Erudite. She took the knife, and cringed ever so slightly when the blood dripped down. The water was already stained crimson red of blood, and adding her own didn’t make much of a difference, yet the sight of just seeing a small pool of the stuff made her cringe.

She handed the knife to the Candor girl behind her, and headed to stand with the other Erudite initiates. It felt weird, finally making this decision, yet it was relieving. Now she was just one step closer, to usurping power once again for the Eversteans.

[~Michelle]

“Corynne Feera.”

And she had thought the Aptitude Test was nerve-wracking. This... well, this may as well have been a torture session, and the utterance of her name the opening notes of the funeral march. But no. This was nonsense... as the Amity leader had said, she was Corynne Feera, and nothing would stand in the way of the best decision she would ever make. Not even the hopeful smiles her mother and sister were giving her, confident she would remain with them. She would break their hearts with this choice, but she would break hers even more if she didn’t choose Erudite.

She walked to the platform, clasping the knife in her right hand. This is the right choice, she kept telling herself, repeating it in her head like her own personal mantra. Candor had been an easy faction, really, with nothing else to strive for than for truth. Erudite, however would be a bigger challenge, and she knew that there was really no other choice. There never had been.
In a rather languid movement that betrayed her easygoing confidence, she pushed the point of the knife down in the middle of her palm, and angled it downwards a little. An angry red line that spanned half her palm appeared, scarlet pooling as she looked down. It contrasted with the simple black and white garb, but even that would soon be disposed of for the Erudite blue. It trickled down her hand and into the waiting bowl of water underneath. Erudite.

She stepped down and hurried to gather with the other Erudite initiates. Passing Daniel, she gave him a weak smile, to return the one he had given her previously. He was her only friend now, alienated as she was from her family. She didn’t even want to look at them, not willing to face the truth of her decision.

[~Michelle]

“Constance Greeson.”

Detaching herself from the gray-clad crowd of her peers, Constance started to advance towards the stage that would determine the rest of her life. She had told the Aptitude Test taker to write down ‘Amity,’ even though she had had equal Aptitude for both Abnegation and Dauntless. She was still a little confused about all of that, and more than a little scared. She resolved to put that behind her; stow it away in a little box along with the rest of her Abnegation past and push it to the furthest corner of her mind. Pity that she couldn’t dispose of it entirely.
Head down as she had been used to doing for so long, she took her place in front of the five bowls. The knife was in her hand, and it seemed to thrum with a nervous sort of energy... or maybe that was just her. Constance mentally registered the eyes of the crowd on her, and flinched a little under their gaze. She had become accustomed to feeling invisible, so this was odd. And odder still was the knowledge that somewhere out there, her parents were also watching her, and would soon hate what they were seeing.

Her cut hand oozed blood, which slowly dripped onto the waiting earth below, seeping into the cracks as if it had never been there at all. Red blood... I’d better get used to the colour, as it’s my faction now, Constance thought, and stepped down from the stage. Amity. As she joined the other initiates, the blackness that overtook her mind sometimes closed in on her more rapidly than it had before, and she almost fainted. Luckily, a frazzled initiate helped her up, and her contained yell had only been noticed by those surrounding her, as the crowd had turned its attention on the next person to choose. She hadn’t experienced the blackness for a while, and she hoped it wasn’t her subconscious telling her she had made a poor decision. Because there was no going back.

[Lime]

Tobias wasn't really excited or worried about his choosing ceremony. He already knew he was going to stay in Dauntless so he didn't have to worry about his parents reactions.

Tobias was waiting for his turn patiently. Finally he heard his name called. He walked up and took the knife and sliced his palm. It stung a little, but he just ignored the pain. He walked up to the dauntless coils, and put his hand over them. Then, he heard his blood drop and sizzle onto the dauntless coils. Then he gave the knife back and walked to stand with the other dauntless.

[Melissa]

Myra stood nervously, glancing around every so often at the Dauntless boy in front of her, and the Amity girl behind her. She already knew exactly where she was going, and was happy about it, but she was still uneasy. She never told her family, and it was too late now. They would survive though. They had their perfect son to comfort them.

She held onto the knife tightly, and walked up on stage. Even from back here, she could see the brown soil, which she was going to dedicate her life too. Without wavering, she let her blood drip, and ooze into the soil, then went to stand with the Amity.

She couldn’t see Monroe’s face while she was doing it, but she could only hope that he was happy. The test told her Amity was the right place to go, and she believed it. It was just so wonderful there.