OOC: The Games: Application

[reapsthewhirlwind]

OUT of CHARACTER
Name: Waffle
Other characters: N/A

IN CHARACTER
Name: Alastair Stara
Fandom: Hunger Games OC
Canon point/AU: Just after 74th annual Hunger Games
Journal: reapsthewhirlwind
PB: Gaspard Ulliel
History: The Victor of the 63rd annual Hunger Games, Alastair was a Tribute from District 9. He grew up on a farm with a relatively large family, and almost as soon as he could reliably help out in the fields he was taught how to use a scythe and sickles. It was a hard-working life, but his family was loving and supportive, so it didn’t feel too much like hardship. The Capitol took their crops, and gave them very little in return for it, but they had their own garden that did reasonably well, so they were never too hungry. And the Games… they were just a part of life, talked about in hushed tones, but they never seemed real… until Alastair’s older sister was old enough to start participating in the Reaping. She didn’t get chosen, and the whole family heaved a sigh of relief, but the next year one of Alastair’s friends did, and when he watched him die, the whole thing became real in a horrifying rush of understanding.

And then Alastair was old enough. He didn’t get chosen either, but for the first few years it was a time of standing among his peers with his heart pounding in his chest so hard he could hardly breathe, and when the names were called he’d stare at the Tributes and know they were going to their deaths.

But life continued. The crops needed harvesting. Sometimes, Alastair and his brothers would play at “Hunger Games” when their parents weren’t watching, fighting with their sickles and scythes and wrestling in the tall grain. It still was a distant thing, something that happened to other people.

Until the year of the 63rd Hunger Games, when Alastair was 16, and his name was called, and in that instant it all became more terrifyingly real than Alastair ever thought he understood.

Alastair didn’t make much of an impression in the Capitol at first. He was too much in shock to do anything extraordinary, too frightened to make an impact in interviews. It all went by in a blur, right up until the Games themselves. The details of the arena are described below, but in summary, Alastair entered as a terrified young man and left as a killer.

But the Games are much easier to understand than life in the Capitol as a Victor. Alastair is a very observant man, and he quickly grasped the most important thing: he was meant to be a pawn, a figurehead, a pretty picture for the Capitol to hang on the wall and admire. A toy for Capitol citizens to play with as they desired. Alastair wanted nothing to do with it. So he rebelled. He refused to follow directions, acted sullenly and rudely, wouldn’t answer questions in interviews, and flatly refused to be bid on.

Of course, that’s when his family started dying. They were described as accidents, but they came swiftly in response to Alastair’s rebellions and when he was informed of their deaths it was always with that knowing look that Alastair could easily interpret. At first, this only encouraged Alastair to be uncooperative, but his family was large, and as they continued to die, Alastair realized that his rebellion was achieving nothing. He was being really only being selfish and his family was being killed because of it.

With only his older sister left alive, Alastair began to cooperate. At first he was quiet and reserved, holding back his emotions, but as time went on he learned the ways of the game that was living in the Capitol, and he began to play it until he was skilled at it.

Presentation: To most of the world, especially the public one, Alastair presents a charming personality, cultivated over many years of navigating the world of a Victor in the Capitol. He smiles he laughs, he chats, he answers questions, he’s friendly, but he never lets anyone in too closely. To some, this might make him seem mysterious, another alluring aspect of this handsome young man. He is a wonderful addition at parties, a good listener and confidant, and reaches out to Tributes who are having trouble adjusting to their new life, offering help and experience. He’s observant and intelligent, able to quickly take stock of the situation around him and act accordingly.

Get him away from the cameras and the public, however, and the charming facade is dropped, leaving a man who is calm, cool, and almost cruel in his disinterest and detachment. It’s clear he doesn’t make much effort to care about anything, and the act he puts on for the sake of the cameras and the public is just that: an act, built to appease the crowds and the authorities. He is instead a person who holds all his emotions very deep inside, where no one can be affected by them, not even himself.

But even the detachment seems like a mask, though it’s a very good one. He just doesn’t seem to feel much at all… except when he’s truly alone, or with someone he trusts, and those people are few and far between. In those cases, when he’s safe and alone or with a person he trusts completely, he’s quiet, thoughtful, and even a little cautious, having experienced a lot of pain and horror and unable to really completely heal from it.

Motivations: It’s been a long time, and Alastair, through a lot of discussions and arguments with himself has come to the opinion that the way of life in Panem is the way it should be. The Capitol acts the way it does to protect the people, and the Games are a fundamental part of maintaining the status quo. He maintains public personality not only to keep up appearances, but also to move through the Capitol more easily and keep an eye on things. He’s not officially a spy, but he likes to know what’s going on and how people feel about things, and in certain cases, encourage them to feel a certain way. At this point he truly believes Panem would fall apart without the rigid systems in place, and if he has to gently remind others of this fact, then he will find an appropriate time and method of doing so. He’s subtle about it, however. He knows very well that force, while often times an incredibly effective means to encourage obedience, can’t really hold a candle to a successful manipulation.

Setting: Alastair has had a long history of experiences with witnessing and participating in extreme violence, and it doesn’t disturb him anymore, not even remotely. Watching Tributes he’s gotten to know die is all part of the process, and one of the central reasons he so adamantly refuses to care (though many don’t realize that he doesn’t) is so that watching them die won’t bother him anymore. They die because they couldn’t play the game, and that’s just how it goes. He can’t do anything about that, and he doesn’t care.

SAMPLES
First Person Thread: [He’s not at all surprised they’re asking for his opinion. He’s been interviewed a million times over the past twelve years about all manner of subjects. That he’d eventually be asked about the new Games was inevitable. He is a little surprised at the informal, sudden nature of it, however.

Still, that does nothing to faze him. He smiles and spreads his hands and talks as smoothly and eloquently as ever.]

Change had to happen sometime. As illustrious as our traditional Games were, everything has to grow and change over time. Granted, I never expected the Games’ evolution to look like this, or for there to be so many Tributes from so many different places. I do feel like something has been lost in choosing Tributes this way instead of from the Districts… District loyalty and pride in the Arena is harder to come by through this method.

However, I do appreciate that we no longer have to worry for our children’s safety. And you can’t deny it’s very exciting to have so many Games in one year, though I do wonder if the excitement will dull more quickly like this.

[He shrugs.]

I suppose only time will tell. The Games will continue in some form or another.

[His smile fades just a little.]

The President knows best.

Prose: “Why am I here?”

It’s the first thing out of his mouth as he glares up at the viewing booth. “I’ve done my part, I fought, I won, you have countless others to choose from. Why am I here?”

But there’s no answer from his audience, and Alastair takes a deep breath, knowing that lashing out will only make things worse. They want him to be their killer again? Fine. He’ll show them that he’s lost none of his skill. Alastair turns and strides over to the weapons rack and without hesitation takes the scythe into his hand. He passes it from hand to hand, gauging its weight and balance. He inspects the curve of the blade and then takes a few experimental swings.

Alastair takes the scythe into a comfortable grip and turns back to the gallery. He looks at each and every one of them, then turns to the dummies. The way he swings the scythe is easy, flowing, and remarkably graceful, like he’s doing nothing more than cutting grain in the field, but the dummies are cut to shreds, falling to pieces in a matter of moments under the expert strikes.

Alastair lowers the scythe and looks back up at the gallery, his face calm, the only clue to his anger and frustration in his eyes, too far away for the Gamemakers to see. Without a word he puts the scythe back on the weapons rack. Then he smiles, the charming, friendly smile that so many in the Capitol are familiar with.

“I hope you got what you were looking for!”

What is your character scored: When Alastair was originally a Tribute, he was intimidated and nervous, and so didn’t perform particularly well in training. However, he was still skilled with a scythe, and the Gamemakers took that into account along with his physical fitness and gave him a 6. After his victory, he’d likely rank a solid 10 for how many people he killed and his charming, likeable personality in public.

Additional information:
Past victor: Alastair’s arena was a labyrinth. The Tributes were raised into the center of it, where the Cornucopia was located. The area was surrounded by very high walls, and survivors of the initial bloodbath escaped through the various paths leading away from the center in a twisting maze. There were oasis-like areas with food and water available to be gathered, but much of the structure was stone. There were statues and other decorations, some of which were traps, some of which contained helpful things like water or food. For the first day or two, the labyrinth remained relatively unchanged, but as time went on, the Gamemakers purposely twisted the paths as Tributes walked them, leading them together.

At first, Alastair relied on his good sense of direction and stayed out of trouble, managing to take a few necessities from the Cornucopia before escaping and finding a safe pocket and staying there as long as he could. On the third day his path intersected with another Tribute’s. The other Tribute attacked, and Alastair had no choice but to defend himself. When Alastair killed him, he understood the one very fundamental thing he had to do: kill or be killed. And he wasn’t going to be killed. It’s this moment the recappers like to focus on, because it’s the moment everyone remembers and everyone talks about, the moment where the camera focused in on Alastair’s face and you could pinpoint exactly the moment when the shocked, intimidated teenager became a killer. He took his scythe and managed to scale the walls of the labyrinth, walking quietly above the paths and looking down into them, stalking Tributes, taking them by surprise by jumping down behind them unexpectedly and killing them. The final fight was between Alastair and a Career who had also managed to climb the wall, and they fought on top of it. It was a close, exciting fight, and Alastair finally triumphed.

Hunger Games AU and OC: Alastair is from District 9, and though he thinks of home fondly, he rarely returns these days, if ever. There’s too much pain associated with it. Most of his family is gone because of him, and he’s no longer the child he was when he was growing up there. He’s a completely different person now, and he knows that, and returning to the District reminds him of that. So though he has great affection for it, he returns only to keep up appearances and to visit his sister and her husband and their family.