Aasim Habibi, 18 - District Two Male

I often feel like I'm the only one drowning in a pool full of people who can swim, the only one who can't climb the rock wall that everyone else mounts with ease, the one who's panting for air on his first lap while others are leaping over me.

I suppose it's partially due to the fact that I live in what the Capitol classifies as a religious cult.

We aren't crazy. We pray, we worship, and we work together. Sure, the Capitol puts major restrictions on our religious freedoms, denies us the right to properly hold courts ministered by a qadi, infiltrates our ranks with Capitol agents to ensure that we aren't rebellious, and frequently arrest those in the community that they believe are rebellious, but we still have freedom. Kind of.

"Hey, Aasim - catch!" One of the instructors throws a knife at me, and I flinch before snatching it out of the air. I'm still not used to the move, but I'm starting to get there - if I can surprise my opponents in battle with little tactics like that, I can defeat them. I just have to trick them, first.

"How's that?" I toss it back, and the instructor grins. "I'm getting better - I think."

"You're doing well, Aasim. You've got a chance, you know. You're one of the strongest ones here."

"Thanks." I toss the knife towards a target, sighing in relief when it goes in. It's muscle memory at this point to aim and hit targets with the weapons I train with, but there's always a nagging feeling in my stomach that I won't hit the target.

Something in me always expects to fail.

"Oh, it's Aasim - don't talk to him, he's..." I look out of the corner of my eye to see one of the older female cadets walking down the hallway, a younger cadet on her heels. I shrug my shoulders and keep walking, making sure that I stay well away from them. I'm not supposed to touch women, according to my religion - I'm not supposed to speak much to them either. Some people take it even further, only communicating with women in their family and no one else, but I'm laxer in that respect. I just don't treat them the same way as men - because they shouldn't be.

I don't see anything wrong with that.

It's a quick walk to my locker so I can take my things and head home - one of the hard-won victories of my community is the right to sleep in my own home. It's probably to make sure that none of us guys end up making our way into the girls' dorms: at home, our parents and elders - most of whom, including my father, end up doing the things that they warn us about - can keep an eye on us.

Oh, if only they knew that their real danger was letting me sleep with guys.

I grab my stuff, make sure that my clothing's tidy, and head towards the door. Congregated around the door are a few of the boys in my year, cheering as one of the boys finishes a set of pull-ups on a bar hanging on the door and drops down. His cheeks are bright red, and he raises his tired arms in victory.

I lower my face, knowing that if my complexion was any lighter that my face would be as red as him. And I don't want Carter - my old friend, my old crush, the one who rejected me - to see that.

"Hey, Aasim, want some chocolate? We snuck it from old man Remus' office - it's good. It's real milk chocolate! You have to try it." A boy - one of the cadets that I'm competing with for a spot in the Hunger Games - chucks the bar at me. I shake my head, tossing it back with ease.

"It's five hours before sundown - I can't eat until two hours, forty-six minutes, and twenty seconds before then. You all know that," I laugh. The boy laughs as well, and waves to me as I head out the door and to my home.

"Have a fun jog! See you tomorrow, Aasim. Apparently, the trainers have big news about the Games this year - be there bright and early!"

I wave back, then start to run. I probably won't be chosen - I'm in the top ten, but nowhere near the top. Unless something miraculous happened, I won't be the guy heading to the Hunger Games.

I'll hope that something miraculous happens, then.

Zirconia Bell, 18 - District Two Female

I'm not the type to let myself take the fall for something.

That's why, when I've been caught sneaking out of the Academy and to the town in the middle of the night - just for a little sip of something stronger than the coffee we try to make from acorns because our instructors don't believe in giving us proper drinks - I deflect the blame.

Naturally.

"Tessa was looking for a drink of water - since we don't have running water in the dorms, I left to get her some. She still has a nasty cold, you know. The mountain hike didn't help her lungs, so I figured that I might as well get her some water. Everyone else was asleep, so it was my duty to do so. You know, go above and beyond the call of duty and all that." I give a small smile to Remus Garrison, Two's seventh victor. He's known for being strict to those caught sneaking into town, a fact handily spread throughout my year of cadets, so I tilt my head in innocence and debate the pros and cons of giving him a large, simpering smile.

I decide against it. Remus isn't a man who'll be swayed by an overly-large smile and a handy explanation. He needs someone to blame.

"Woah, woah, woah, let's back up for a moment," Remus protests, putting out his monstrously large hand in front of my face. My eyes widen in surprise - that thing could snap me right in half. It's a good thing that I can run faster than him. "You said that your roommate was sick - Tessa Granyte has reported no such thing to the nurse's office."

"Oh, it's just a nasty cough that she developed over the night. Lots of phlegm: last I checked, it was yellow. That means infection, doesn't it?" I suck a breath of air through my teeth, faking concern, and Remus' eyes narrow. "Do you want to check?"

"Oh, I'll check alright," Remus mutters. He takes his flashlight that he used to spot me creeping through the courtyard and towards the gate and points it into the night, looking for my dormitory before marching in that direction. I mentally offer up a prayer to whatever gods that may live in the mountains that the kitchen, being the only source of drinking water in the Academy, is also in the same direction.

A harsh, hacking cough breaks the silence of the night when Remus opens the door, followed by a large groan. "Zirconia? Is that you? Thank you… thanks for getting the..."

Tessa takes a moment to have yet another coughing fit, and Remus wrinkles his large nose. I'd say that it looks almost noble, if it wasn't for the fact that it's been broken in at least three different places. "Well, I can't deny that - Cadet Bell, go and fetch Granyte some water. She needs it."

"Thank you, sir! Oh, I almost forgot - I saw Fletcher Mason and Alison Adakite heading out to town when I was going to fetch water before you interrupted me." I make sure to add an accusatory tone to my voice - the more guilt that I can inflict onto the victor, the better. "I'm sure they have a good reason, but I was about to go report them for leaving. You can't just do that here, can you? There are rules! But Tessa needed water, so I went there first."

Remus sighs, likely tired with me but having no reason to reprimand me for it. I've beaten him in our little game of wits. "I'll check on them right away - once you get the water, Cadet Bell, stay in bed."

"Of course!" I watch Remus walk away, then hurry back to the dorm.

Tessa's sitting up in bed for me, her eyes bright with merriment. "Still can't believe he fell for that - I was prepared to cough all over him if he tried to check me for a fever."

"Thanks, Tess - I needed that excuse." I smile at my friend, and she giggles before settling into her bed. We're both satisfied - I might have not gotten ourselves cheap liquor to drink the night away, but I slipped away from any punishment Remus could throw at me.

No one can catch me that easily.

It's the JAJ intro party WOOP WOOP

Thank you to santiagoponcini20 and goldie031 for Aasim and Zirconia, respectively - they were very fun to write! I'm excited to see how they do :D

Also yes, Aasim is kinda a really sexist jerk jsyk

APPEARANCES TIME (my A/Ns are going to be the most erratic of everyone's but I'm just having a fun time lololol)

Aasim: He has dark skin (not as dark as an african person but still dark). He has black short straight hair and dark Brown eyes. He has a high pointed nose, and he is gawky. He always dresses in clothes that are related to his religion.

Zirconia: Zirconia is a very standard One girl in a lot of respects: platinum blonde hair, green eyes, tanned skin, nice boobs, nice butt. On top of that, she's 5'10", and is very well-built and muscular. She's like the ultimate combo of strength and looks.

I hope you all enjoyed this! I'm here to remind you to submit your tributes because we really want to write the intros as quickly as possible and get into the Game, as well as reminding you all that this is SURVIVOR - make alliances, make alliances in alliances, backstab, do anything you can to win except, like, bullying. Don't be rude to each other, just blindside each other. This is a game where YOU make the decisions, so do what you need to win, but be respectful. Harassment isn't fun.

Read, review, have a good day. I'll see you with the District Three intros soon! - JAJ