Yup, I'm redoing "Living on the Edge" now. Didn't like where it was going, so I figured a revamp wouldn't hurt.
Now, keep in mind my main objective is still to finish Chains of Reality: Divinity Reborn. Once I do that, I might focus on updating this story, or Epithet Academy, or something.
Thing is, I won't update this story for a while, and I hope you can be patient with me.
Anyway, without further ado, let's go.
Royal Woods was your typical suburban city. From the sprawling collection of buildings, to the hundreds living their average lives, there was little that set Royal Woods apart from other cities.
"Hahahaha! You really think your petty little flight will help you, Luna!?"
Oh right, the citizens had superpowers.
But then again, that was also the case in the rest of the world, so even that wasn't too out of the ordinary.
Anyhow, currently, a girl with Blonde hair raised her gloved hands, electricity surging through them as she levitated several pieces of metal towards a flying brunette wearing a purple bodysuit and cape.
"For the last time, Whittney, don't call me by my normal name!" Luna snapped, pausing her flight to send the metal back with a single punch. "My superhero name's Lunacy, how's that hard to get!?"
"And what's the point when your real and superhero name are so dang similar!?" Whittney responded, visibly frustrated. "And besides, I'm an Antagonist! The bad guy! Wouldn't it be weirder if I followed the rules?!"
Luna gritted her teeth as Whittney prepared another attack.
"You know, I hate to say this, but Whittney has a point."
That was the comment Lincoln Loud, the only son of the Loud family, made after the previous statement, which also prompted him to turn off the TV before Clyde McBride, his childhood friend, remarked:
"You know that if you weren't in your house, you'd get in a lot of trouble for saying that, right?"
"But it's true," Lincoln shrugged. "Aren't Antagonists supposed to be rule breakers by default? If they break the rules, and yet they follow a set of rules like everybody else, doesn't that kinda beat the purpose?"
"The rules exist to keep order in Royal Woods, Lincoln," Clyde argued. "Without them, we'd be set back by a hundred years, maybe even more! It's either everybody follows a set of rules, even if they don't make sense, or nobody follows the rules and chaos reigns supreme."
Lincoln lowered his eyelids and looked at the ground, humming in contemplation for a moment before he jumped off the couch and stretched.
"Well, we're gonna be late if we stay here any further," Lincoln said before grabbing his backpack off the ground. "Let's get going."
"We?" Clyde snickered as he got off and grabbed his backpack as well. "Last time I checked, you have your own method of fast travel."
"Perhaps," Lincoln sighed and headed to the door. "But Lola doesn't like it when I ask her to be my taxi. Plus, she left a while ago."
Clyde smiled. "We both know I'm not talking about Lola."
"Lincoln!"
As soon as the boy opened the door, he was glomped by a certain redheaded girl with a pair of pink angel wings on her back.
This was Cristina, another childhood friend, whose arrival heralded the debut of the fourth and last of Lincoln's childhood friends.
"Yo."
A dark-haired Hispanic girl entered the house, and shared a fist bump with Clyde before she helped Lincoln stand up.
"Hi, Ronnie Anne," Lincoln greeted casually while Cristina clung to him. "Were you waiting for long?"
"Nah, I just got here," Ronnie Anne answered just as casually. "And Cristina, could you please let Lincoln go?"
"No! He's mine!" Cristina pouted. "Go get your own!"
Ronnie Anne simply snickered at the response. "You can keep him, what I mean is that he's gonna be late for school."
"We're all gonna be late, in fact," Clyde pointed out. "And given that this is the day where we find out what our Cliches are, that's kind of a big deal."
"Well," Cristina clung tightly to Lincoln and spread her wings. "He's not arriving late on my watch!"
"Cristina, wait-!"
But it was too late, the redhead quickly took off with Lincoln on her arms, the boy screaming as they took to the skies.
And Ronnie Anne and Clyde could only shake their heads with amused smiles before joining them.
In this world, when people enter their high school, all students are gathered at the school's auditorium in order to perform "The Indexing", a mix between a welcoming ceremony and an initiation where the students not only are... well, welcome to their new school, but discover what their Cliche is.
Because with Cliches, so many overlap with one another, that one can never be sure of what they have.
Not only that, but they would get a designation in the Archetype System, where one could become either a Protagonist, who defended the city, an Antagonist, who attacked it, a Neutral, who never got involved, or an Outsider-
"Man, when's this old fart gonna stop blabbering?" Ronnie Anne yawned as the principal did his speech. "We came here to find out what our Cliches are! Not to be welcomed into a high school with open arms!"
"Hey, at least it's better than when we were in middle school," Clyde pointed out. "Seriously, it's one thing to talk for a long time; it's another to talk for so long the school day ends before it even begins."
"My butt was so sore by the end of it, and I think my legs fell asleep, too," Cristina remarked. "At least my wings still worked, so that's a plus."
But Lincoln didn't say anything after that. Instead, he looked at the podium where everybody would be given a designation and have their Cliches revealed.
The same process that lead his sisters to a life of bragging heroism, constant antagonism, or hopeless neutrality.
"Hey, I know some of your sisters got the short end of the stick in their Indexings," Cristina said while rubbing Lincoln's hair. "But look at the bright side! Maybe luck will be on your side and you'll get something good for your Cliche."
Lincoln raised an eyebrow. "You really think so?"
"Looks like we're about to find out," Ronnie Anne chirped while rubbing her hands. "The Indexing's about to begin!"
"Now, for the moment you've been waiting for! The Indexing!" the principal exclaimed. "Now, when I call your name, walk to the podium and stand still while you're scanned! You'll get your designation and Cliche soon after! Now, to kick things of... Clyde McBride!"
If Clyde had been drinking anything at that point, he'd probably have spat it out in shock. But instead, he swallowed his worries and walked to the podium.
A green light scanned him for a moment, and once it finished, a mechanical voice spoke:
Clyde McBride!
Designation: Neutral!
Cliche: Cricket Orchestra!
"Aw dang it," Clyde groaned as he walked back to his friends and sat down. "A dumb Cliche and forced passivity."
"Hey, it could be worse, you could've gotten Antagonist or Protagonist instead," Ronnie Anne pointed out with a teasing smile. "I mean, seriously, could you imagine either of them attacking with crickets?"
"I don't think "Cricket Orchestra" is a Cliche meant for attack, though." Cristina remarked.
And before the conversation could go on, both girls were called to the podium.
Ronalda Anne Santiago!
Designation: Protagonist!
Cliche: Tsundere!
Cristina McCann!
Designation: Neutral!
Cliche: Cupid!
"D'aw, I got the cutest Cliche!" Cristina cooed as she flew back to her seat.
"And I got the dumbest one in the world," Ronnie Anne rolled her eyes. "I mean, seriously, I'm not a Tsundere!"
"You don't have to be a Tsundere to get it as a Cliche," Clyde scratched his chin. "At least, I don't think so."
"Lincoln Loud!"
Lincoln got off his seat, and walked to the podium as Ronnie Anne and Clyde flashed a pair of thumbs up, and Cristina blew a kiss at him.
Once there, the machine scanned him, and the result floored everyone:
Lincoln Loud!
Designation: Protagonist!
Cliche: Edgelord!
"... What?"