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application for somarium
Feb. 20th, 2013 12:53 pm[Player name] Michi
[Age] 23
[Personal Journal] limitedwings
[Other characters currently played]
Shikibu Seiju / DOLLS / wiretrap
Richard / Tales of Graces f / windfell
Natsume Zange / Inu x Boku SS / inssight
Julius Monrey / Heart no Kuni no Alice / godofclocks
[Character name] Katniss Everdeen
[Age] 17
[Canon] The Hunger Games Trilogy
[Point in time taken from canon] End of Catching Fire
[Background]
"He tells the history of Panem, the country that rose out of the ashes of a place that was once called North America. He lists the disasters, the droughts, the storms, the fires, the encroaching seas that swallowed up so much of the land, the brutal war for what little sustenance remained. The result was Panem, a shining Capitol ringed by thirteen districts, which brought peace and prosperity to its citizens. Then came the Dark Days, the uprising of the districts against the Capitol. Twelve were defeated, the thirteenth obliterated. The Treaty of Treason gave us the new laws to guarantee peace and, as our yearly reminder that the Dark Days must never be repeated, it gave us the Hunger Games." - The Hunger Games
Panem as a country has a history of conflict, but is singularly unified. As far as we know, it is the only country remaining on the entire continent. And while much land was lost, there is still much land to be covered. The Capitol is it's own city and perhaps the largest of the areas. And around it are the districts, named simply by their number and defined by their trade. Each area is vastly different from the next; shaped by it's trades and the lands. Some are larger than others and more heavily populated, others are smaller; each has their own unique landscape - some with lots of trees, others with many fields, and in the case of Twelve, mines and forests. Some are more technologically advanced, others barely have the basics and only have electricity at certain times of the day.
Katniss hails from district twelve; the mining district, where coal is the major export. It's far from the capitol and as far as districts go, it is one of the poorest. It's not heavily populated or particularly large unless you count the uninhabitable lands and those that are off limits. It's one of the districts that rarely has electricity, and no shortage of people going hungry. Of course there are those who are a little better off - the merchant class... but the majority come from the seam, where the main work is done in the mines and living day to day is a struggle.
Her parents were from very different walks of life - her mom being the daughter of the man who ran the apothecary and her father being a simple coal miner. But her father was also very skilled and well-liked. He was known for having an amazing singing voice and great skill for hunting and tracking, and with bow-making. Granted, many of those skills are considered illegal in district twelve, as the woods are bound off by a fence that is supposed to be charged by electricity by all times and the woods beyond it - off limits. However, the state of district twelve being what it is, the fence was rarely charged and even the officials were happy to buy game that her father hunted. He had a lot of friends and a great reputation. However, he died when Katniss was still very young in an explosion down in the mines. When he died, Katniss' mom fell into a deep and terrible depression. She stopped working, stopped taking care of the kids... and Katniss was forced to take the lead.
Even in her grief, having lost the person she loved most besides her sister, Katniss had her younger sister Prim to take care of - she forced herself to take up where her father left off. She learned to hunt and put food on the table so her family wouldn't starve. Because of the lack of support from her mother, she grew up with a lot of distrust - in her and the rest of the world. She dislikes accepting help or handouts unless she's giving something in return. And it took a long time for her to feel trust in her mother again. Though she eventually accepted that yes - her mother had been sick, it didn't make it any easier for her after spending so much time trying to keep three people alive. Early on, she easily referred to her sister Prim as 'the only person I'm certain I love'. She made friends with Gale - who had also lost his father in the same explosion her father died in. And while it took time before they began to trust each other and work as a team, they made a great team, and it made the days in the woods easier and a lot more fun. She learned a lot of useful new traps from him and she shared one of her father's bows with him.
But there was one thing that Katniss was always powerless against, and that was the Hunger Games. In remembrance and repentance for the Dark Days, every year each district was forced to pick two tributes - one boy and one girl of the ages 12-18, to participate in the Hunger Games - a twisted sporting event that took place in an arena where they would all fight to the death. The last one standing was labeled the victor and given a cushy life and rewards for the rest of their life to represent the Capitol's graciousness and forgiveness. But no one escaped the games - even if you won, you could end up the mentor of future tributes. And the games were broadcast throughout the country while people watch and bet on the winner. Certain districts consider it an honor, and even prepare and volunteer. But in district twelve, it's almost certainly a death sentence that no one would volunteer for. Your name goes in once the first year, twice the second and so on. But your are allowed to put in your name extra times for a meager years worth of grain and oil for one person. So the poor are by far worse off.
Katniss took, each year, grain for each herself, her sister and her mother to help keep them alive, and the odds were not in her favor. But in the 74th Hunger Games, the most unexpected happened - her sister Prim, who was only 12 and had her name in only once... was picked. And Katniss, with no other choice, volunteered to take her place. And as if to make things worse, the boy chosen was Peeta Mellark - a boy Katniss had never spoken to, but owed greatly for saving her life once, when she was starving and showed her that there was hope. Even if they'd never spoken, she could never have forgotten him, even if she tried.
Their mentor was the only remaining victor from district twelve - a drunkard named Haymitch Abernathy and their escort was a woman from the Capitol named Effie Trinket. They were given an opportunity to have a few minutes to say goodbye to important people before they were shoved on a train and taken off to the Capitol. Long story short - they are paraded around, fed, clothed, and given a week to train before they travel to the arena. Their mentor's job is to collect sponsors for them in the arena - sponsors that could raise the money to get them life-saving water or medicine or food during the games. With a bit of trouble, they get Haymitch to sober up and do his job - though as one mentor with two tributes... he can only hope to get one out and the one he chooses, though he doesn't tell her, is Katniss.
Katniss is a success with the Capitol thanks to the brilliant work of her costume designer Cinna and prep team, which make her beautiful for her debut and later, her interview. But also with the help of Peeta, who gives them an angle by admitting his love for her - making them the 'star-crossed lovers of district twelve' which makes them such a hit. And Peeta continues to protect her in the game, teaming up with the strong pack of careers, but working against them. It almost costs him his life, but thanks to a trick of the Capitol, he's saved when they announce that 'two tributes can win if they hail from the same district'. Katniss tracks him down and heals him - and vies for favor from the sponsors by playing up the romance.
The stipulation was, of course, a lie, but they win together by playing at a two-person suicide, forcing them to crown them both - an act that will start a rebellion and get Katniss and Peeta both thrown into the games a second time, the next year. While that's supposed to be an impossibility, the fact that the next year is the 75th - the Quarter Quell, means that there's a special stipulation - that stipulation being that the tributes are pulled from the districts pool of existing victors. Katniss wanted nothing more than to forget, but even if she hadn't been chosen to go back, she would have had to continue the act and have married Peeta. Instead, the Capitol is out to kill her, believing her both to have rebelled against the Capitol with her idea to threaten them with the berries that would have killed both her and Peeta, and for inciting rebellion in the districts which saw her actions and took them as acts of rebellion. Even if she hadn't meant it that way, she had started something much larger than herself.
She goes into the second Hunger Games with the intent to save Peeta, and let herself die. However, others had different plans - including their mentor Haymitch, who lied to her and was unable to save Peeta. While they were saved from the arena, Peeta was captured by the Capitol and Katniss enraged. She was saved to be the symbol of the revolution - she was lied to and felt betrayed. And to add to her problems, she learns that day that district twelve had been bombed and was gone. Gale had gotten her mom and sister out but... her home was gone, just another thing lost to her. It's from after this that she's taken to Somarium.
[Personality]
Katniss is... Katniss. She's the kind of girl who what you see... is what you get. Most of the time. And when there is something beneath the surface, it's something she doesn't want to share. She's a highly independent individual; trusting few and in unwilling to rely on others unless she has something to offer in return. While she isn't necessarily prideful; she knows her strengths and weaknesses and how to play them. But she also underestimates herself from time to time. As others say, "She doesn't know the effect she can have." She doesn't give herself the credit others do for the spark that brought on the revolution. She doesn't see how she seems to bring out the fight in others by just being... herself.
When talking to people, she's generally very straightforward; getting straight to the point, and generally saying it like it is. If it's important, she's very insistent - if you try to avoid the subject or side-step her questions she will repeat herself as much as necessary. And if that fails, she might go to more drastic measures, such as getting your attention through other means, such as violent suggestion. She's stubborn; and difficult to sway when she sets her mind to something. When she's trying to have a serious conversation, she's very serious about it - she doesn't take well to fooling around in an important conversation.
In preparation for her interview, Katniss is described as having a 'hostile' attitude. Her speech is riddled with sarcasm and dry humor. Sometimes whether she likes it or not, the things she says come out harder than she intends them to. Because she's so distrustful and hateful, it's hard for her to connect with some people. She sympathizes with suffering and feels mixed jealousy and disgust for the privileged.
Years of having to watch her tongue in regards to the Capital's poor treatment of the districts taught her to hide her thoughts and wear a mask to hide what's she's really feeling. She uses this in the early stages of the hunger games - hiding any signs of pain or weakness so as not to appear like a weakling; someone who would be targeted. But beyond wiping her face of emotion, Katniss is a terrible actor. Which is why she's often left to find out shocking things instead of informed ahead of time - because her acting is poor but her real reactions are believable.
Katniss is a very emotional girl, despite seeming to be the opposite at times. She spends a lot of time trying to protect herself from the pains that come with emotional attachment because she's far too familiar with the pain of losing people she cares about; and because she worries that it will become a weakness in life, where she strives to be strong and in the games, where she has to fight with the reality that she will have to watch all of them die - even kill some of them, by the very nature of the games. She doesn't want to get invested emotionally - she admits that it's exhausting, trying not to think about the bad and try to act like friends with Peeta; trying to question other people's motivations and what's real and what's not.
She pushes a lot of people away, but when she does connect with people - feels for them, she does so with a lot of heart. Whether she's angry, sad, upset, happy, confused... she's very dramatic with her emotions. When she's hurt, she can cry for a long, long time and shut out the world. When she's really angry, she doesn't need a weapon to cause great damage; having proved that her nails are enough to scratch open a grown man's face in a second of fury. When her emotions get confused, she has a habit of over-thinking it until she almost goes in circles with her train of thoughts.
Memories are something that are both haunting for her and precious to her. She remembers important things, both terrible and wonderful. Most important to her is the memory of the boy with the bread and the dandelion that he showed her, reminding her that there was still hope. Among those that haunt her the most are her memories of Rue - the young girl she couldn't save in the first games... the one who reminded her so much of Rue, and died in her arms. There are many others like these. She hangs on to her memories - both precious and painful for a long time - she doesn't allow herself to forget them or the people she shared them with, even if it hurts. It allows her to keep them close to her heart - lets her keep a piece of them with her.
Nightmares frequent her nights. During the second games, she took to sleeping with Peeta, which helped, but didn't stop them. Katniss often cries out loudly. She has nightmares of her father's death still, and of the games and their many horrors. Losing people she cares about it one of the things she fears, and that haunts her the most.
Katniss doesn't like talking about herself. She doesn't like telling anyone she wouldn't consider a friend about herself. Things like that are personal to her. When she shares details about her life it's usually with someone she'd call friend unless there are some unusual reason why it would be important and helpful to her to share it.
She puts a lot of weight on her own shoulders; expecting a lot of herself at times and being prone to throwing guilt on herself in the face of failure.
Love is hard for Katniss. She may say she know she loves people, but its harder for her to pinpoint what kind of love it is, or pinpoint the differences in her feelings for certain people (primarily in canon this being between Gale and Peeta). Ultimately, they believe she will chose the one whom she thinks she can't live without. And in a sense that's true of her. Public displays of affection are something that she's become accustomed to, but when it comes to real displays of affection... not ones that are meant to sway the hearts of sponsors, she also dislikes people seeing it. If she's kissing someone for real, she would want it to be just between the two of them; not with other people watching.
That said, the games show a lot of other aspects about Katniss. She's sometimes hasty and jumps to the wrong conclusions; often imagining the worst and not properly thinking it through first. In those moments she can yell or even get violent for a moment, only to have it explained to her and have it dawn upon her. At that point she's quick to apologize and shows genuine remorse. Even though she knows she does it, knowing that she does this doesn't prevent her from continuing to do it in the spur of a moment.
And lying... if it aids her, she's not opposed to going along with it. But she's not good at lying to people she knows. She's not spectacular at lying to people she doesn't know, but she can manage it better. If it's important enough - like lying about going to the feast and risking her life to save Peeta's life? She'll do it, and she will force herself to be convincing.
[Abilities] Katniss is a human, but one with a lot of skill. Yeah, she's got a rather small build, but she's quick to make up for it. And she's talented with a knife, but her real skill is with a bow - excellent aim; still or moving target, it doesn't matter. It's noted as a tribute to her skill that she always hits the squirrels she gets clean through the eye. She's accustomed to hunting - moving silently and hiding; climbing trees. Gale also taught her to make a number of traps ideal for trapping various kinds of animals. Her father taught her a lot about different types of plants and berries - some for cooking and others for medicinal use.
Entering the games, she gained some other skills - such a knot-tying that will make traps for larger targets: humans. She also obtained experience in fighting and using other weapons. While she still sticks to her primary, she can use other weapons if it's all she has to work with. She's not the best by far, but she's a good swimmer. She's also pretty resourceful, finding ways to use what she has. Being accustomed to having little to work with means that she knows how to make the most of just about anything.
[Other important stuff] Her favorite food of all that she got to try thanks to being chosen for the hunger games was the lamb stew. The person she loves most is her sister Prim. And she's ultimately in the middle of an awkwardly beautiful love triangle.
[Sample Post]
[First Person]
Uh… hey. So. Someone want to tell me what’s going on? This is starting to get really old. I’m in the Games, I think I know what’s going on, then… get out, find out I have no idea. And then, as soon as they actually fill me in? I wake up here.
[It’s clear that there’s a lot of hostility there. She’s defensive and distrustful and impatient. There’s hurt and anger clear in her voice. ]
I don't know if there's anyone I know here, but I guess if you're here now would be a good time to speak up. [Not that she tried too hard - this phone is a little beyond her easy comprehension... or that she'd want to see some of the people she knows right now even if they were here...] And if not, well... I guess I can't be too picky right now. I want answers, so... if you have them, I want to hear them.
[Third Person]
Everything is so very disorienting. Katniss was still trying to digest all the information she’d been force-fed just days before she came here; still trying to get over the shock and the anger and the hurt that still felt so real and immediate. The medication they’d given her made her mood spike at times. Sometimes it was so strong it was dizzying. And sometimes there were hallucinations... water that looked like blood, or grass that seemed to transform into a mess of snakes at her feet. There are times when she can barely tell the difference between what is real and what isn't. But she knew this couldn't all be fake. There's too much that doesn't add up. And still there are always the images of Peeta - him in a white room, surrounded by Peace Keepers... sometimes even President Snow is there... he's screaming and she knows that what she's watching is him being tortured for information about her.... information he doesn't have.
Katniss felt the bile from her stomach rise to her throat but she shoved it down. Her hands were still itching to get a hold of Haymitch. There was so much hatred bubbling under the surface. She hated the people of Somarium that she passed on the street - people she knew weren't from district thirteen... people she had no reason to hate. She still felt the hatred for those back home that she couldn't reach from here. But most of all she hated herself - hated herself for being confused; for being powerless... for failing to protect Peeta.
She hears clips of words here and there when she listens. She knows she should be listening closer... learning something, but it's still too soon. The word 'dream' pops up a few times and even though her face is wiped clean of emotion, her mind still flinches. 'I don't have dreams... only nightmares.' Only days ago, she still had at least one. But now, even that was gone. Thinking about this world and being here hurts. When it feels like she can't possibly take anymore, she tries the exercise the doctor suggested - to start with the most basic things she knew and expand upon what she knew from there.
'My name is Katniss Everdeen. I'm seventeen years old. I come from district twelve. I survived the hunger games... twice. Peeta was captured... I should have saved him. I didn't...' She stopped there. That train of thought wasn't helping. So she backed up a bit and changed her focus. 'This isn't district twelve. It isn't the arena. It's not the Capital. And I'm not in district thirteen anymore. I don't know where I am. I could be anywhere in Panem... I might not even be in Panem anymore...'
The hardest part to grasp is that she doesn't know who to trust. Haymitch betrayed her trust. And now she was amongst strangers... and she had to ask them for answers. Even if she didn't like it, she needed them. And she needed to trust them if she wanted to learn
[Why do you want to play this character in Somarium?] Katniss is a very private character - Somarium will push her to open up. Maybe make some new friends. Make her face her problems. Get to play out her complex reaction to dealing with just about everything.
[Which rule was your favorite and why?] All of them.
[Where did you hear about Somarium?] From myself.
[Any questions?] Dude, where's my car?
[Age] 23
[Personal Journal] limitedwings
[Other characters currently played]
Shikibu Seiju / DOLLS / wiretrap
Richard / Tales of Graces f / windfell
Natsume Zange / Inu x Boku SS / inssight
Julius Monrey / Heart no Kuni no Alice / godofclocks
[Character name] Katniss Everdeen
[Age] 17
[Canon] The Hunger Games Trilogy
[Point in time taken from canon] End of Catching Fire
[Background]
"He tells the history of Panem, the country that rose out of the ashes of a place that was once called North America. He lists the disasters, the droughts, the storms, the fires, the encroaching seas that swallowed up so much of the land, the brutal war for what little sustenance remained. The result was Panem, a shining Capitol ringed by thirteen districts, which brought peace and prosperity to its citizens. Then came the Dark Days, the uprising of the districts against the Capitol. Twelve were defeated, the thirteenth obliterated. The Treaty of Treason gave us the new laws to guarantee peace and, as our yearly reminder that the Dark Days must never be repeated, it gave us the Hunger Games." - The Hunger Games
Panem as a country has a history of conflict, but is singularly unified. As far as we know, it is the only country remaining on the entire continent. And while much land was lost, there is still much land to be covered. The Capitol is it's own city and perhaps the largest of the areas. And around it are the districts, named simply by their number and defined by their trade. Each area is vastly different from the next; shaped by it's trades and the lands. Some are larger than others and more heavily populated, others are smaller; each has their own unique landscape - some with lots of trees, others with many fields, and in the case of Twelve, mines and forests. Some are more technologically advanced, others barely have the basics and only have electricity at certain times of the day.
Katniss hails from district twelve; the mining district, where coal is the major export. It's far from the capitol and as far as districts go, it is one of the poorest. It's not heavily populated or particularly large unless you count the uninhabitable lands and those that are off limits. It's one of the districts that rarely has electricity, and no shortage of people going hungry. Of course there are those who are a little better off - the merchant class... but the majority come from the seam, where the main work is done in the mines and living day to day is a struggle.
Her parents were from very different walks of life - her mom being the daughter of the man who ran the apothecary and her father being a simple coal miner. But her father was also very skilled and well-liked. He was known for having an amazing singing voice and great skill for hunting and tracking, and with bow-making. Granted, many of those skills are considered illegal in district twelve, as the woods are bound off by a fence that is supposed to be charged by electricity by all times and the woods beyond it - off limits. However, the state of district twelve being what it is, the fence was rarely charged and even the officials were happy to buy game that her father hunted. He had a lot of friends and a great reputation. However, he died when Katniss was still very young in an explosion down in the mines. When he died, Katniss' mom fell into a deep and terrible depression. She stopped working, stopped taking care of the kids... and Katniss was forced to take the lead.
Even in her grief, having lost the person she loved most besides her sister, Katniss had her younger sister Prim to take care of - she forced herself to take up where her father left off. She learned to hunt and put food on the table so her family wouldn't starve. Because of the lack of support from her mother, she grew up with a lot of distrust - in her and the rest of the world. She dislikes accepting help or handouts unless she's giving something in return. And it took a long time for her to feel trust in her mother again. Though she eventually accepted that yes - her mother had been sick, it didn't make it any easier for her after spending so much time trying to keep three people alive. Early on, she easily referred to her sister Prim as 'the only person I'm certain I love'. She made friends with Gale - who had also lost his father in the same explosion her father died in. And while it took time before they began to trust each other and work as a team, they made a great team, and it made the days in the woods easier and a lot more fun. She learned a lot of useful new traps from him and she shared one of her father's bows with him.
But there was one thing that Katniss was always powerless against, and that was the Hunger Games. In remembrance and repentance for the Dark Days, every year each district was forced to pick two tributes - one boy and one girl of the ages 12-18, to participate in the Hunger Games - a twisted sporting event that took place in an arena where they would all fight to the death. The last one standing was labeled the victor and given a cushy life and rewards for the rest of their life to represent the Capitol's graciousness and forgiveness. But no one escaped the games - even if you won, you could end up the mentor of future tributes. And the games were broadcast throughout the country while people watch and bet on the winner. Certain districts consider it an honor, and even prepare and volunteer. But in district twelve, it's almost certainly a death sentence that no one would volunteer for. Your name goes in once the first year, twice the second and so on. But your are allowed to put in your name extra times for a meager years worth of grain and oil for one person. So the poor are by far worse off.
Katniss took, each year, grain for each herself, her sister and her mother to help keep them alive, and the odds were not in her favor. But in the 74th Hunger Games, the most unexpected happened - her sister Prim, who was only 12 and had her name in only once... was picked. And Katniss, with no other choice, volunteered to take her place. And as if to make things worse, the boy chosen was Peeta Mellark - a boy Katniss had never spoken to, but owed greatly for saving her life once, when she was starving and showed her that there was hope. Even if they'd never spoken, she could never have forgotten him, even if she tried.
Their mentor was the only remaining victor from district twelve - a drunkard named Haymitch Abernathy and their escort was a woman from the Capitol named Effie Trinket. They were given an opportunity to have a few minutes to say goodbye to important people before they were shoved on a train and taken off to the Capitol. Long story short - they are paraded around, fed, clothed, and given a week to train before they travel to the arena. Their mentor's job is to collect sponsors for them in the arena - sponsors that could raise the money to get them life-saving water or medicine or food during the games. With a bit of trouble, they get Haymitch to sober up and do his job - though as one mentor with two tributes... he can only hope to get one out and the one he chooses, though he doesn't tell her, is Katniss.
Katniss is a success with the Capitol thanks to the brilliant work of her costume designer Cinna and prep team, which make her beautiful for her debut and later, her interview. But also with the help of Peeta, who gives them an angle by admitting his love for her - making them the 'star-crossed lovers of district twelve' which makes them such a hit. And Peeta continues to protect her in the game, teaming up with the strong pack of careers, but working against them. It almost costs him his life, but thanks to a trick of the Capitol, he's saved when they announce that 'two tributes can win if they hail from the same district'. Katniss tracks him down and heals him - and vies for favor from the sponsors by playing up the romance.
The stipulation was, of course, a lie, but they win together by playing at a two-person suicide, forcing them to crown them both - an act that will start a rebellion and get Katniss and Peeta both thrown into the games a second time, the next year. While that's supposed to be an impossibility, the fact that the next year is the 75th - the Quarter Quell, means that there's a special stipulation - that stipulation being that the tributes are pulled from the districts pool of existing victors. Katniss wanted nothing more than to forget, but even if she hadn't been chosen to go back, she would have had to continue the act and have married Peeta. Instead, the Capitol is out to kill her, believing her both to have rebelled against the Capitol with her idea to threaten them with the berries that would have killed both her and Peeta, and for inciting rebellion in the districts which saw her actions and took them as acts of rebellion. Even if she hadn't meant it that way, she had started something much larger than herself.
She goes into the second Hunger Games with the intent to save Peeta, and let herself die. However, others had different plans - including their mentor Haymitch, who lied to her and was unable to save Peeta. While they were saved from the arena, Peeta was captured by the Capitol and Katniss enraged. She was saved to be the symbol of the revolution - she was lied to and felt betrayed. And to add to her problems, she learns that day that district twelve had been bombed and was gone. Gale had gotten her mom and sister out but... her home was gone, just another thing lost to her. It's from after this that she's taken to Somarium.
[Personality]
Katniss is... Katniss. She's the kind of girl who what you see... is what you get. Most of the time. And when there is something beneath the surface, it's something she doesn't want to share. She's a highly independent individual; trusting few and in unwilling to rely on others unless she has something to offer in return. While she isn't necessarily prideful; she knows her strengths and weaknesses and how to play them. But she also underestimates herself from time to time. As others say, "She doesn't know the effect she can have." She doesn't give herself the credit others do for the spark that brought on the revolution. She doesn't see how she seems to bring out the fight in others by just being... herself.
When talking to people, she's generally very straightforward; getting straight to the point, and generally saying it like it is. If it's important, she's very insistent - if you try to avoid the subject or side-step her questions she will repeat herself as much as necessary. And if that fails, she might go to more drastic measures, such as getting your attention through other means, such as violent suggestion. She's stubborn; and difficult to sway when she sets her mind to something. When she's trying to have a serious conversation, she's very serious about it - she doesn't take well to fooling around in an important conversation.
In preparation for her interview, Katniss is described as having a 'hostile' attitude. Her speech is riddled with sarcasm and dry humor. Sometimes whether she likes it or not, the things she says come out harder than she intends them to. Because she's so distrustful and hateful, it's hard for her to connect with some people. She sympathizes with suffering and feels mixed jealousy and disgust for the privileged.
Years of having to watch her tongue in regards to the Capital's poor treatment of the districts taught her to hide her thoughts and wear a mask to hide what's she's really feeling. She uses this in the early stages of the hunger games - hiding any signs of pain or weakness so as not to appear like a weakling; someone who would be targeted. But beyond wiping her face of emotion, Katniss is a terrible actor. Which is why she's often left to find out shocking things instead of informed ahead of time - because her acting is poor but her real reactions are believable.
Katniss is a very emotional girl, despite seeming to be the opposite at times. She spends a lot of time trying to protect herself from the pains that come with emotional attachment because she's far too familiar with the pain of losing people she cares about; and because she worries that it will become a weakness in life, where she strives to be strong and in the games, where she has to fight with the reality that she will have to watch all of them die - even kill some of them, by the very nature of the games. She doesn't want to get invested emotionally - she admits that it's exhausting, trying not to think about the bad and try to act like friends with Peeta; trying to question other people's motivations and what's real and what's not.
She pushes a lot of people away, but when she does connect with people - feels for them, she does so with a lot of heart. Whether she's angry, sad, upset, happy, confused... she's very dramatic with her emotions. When she's hurt, she can cry for a long, long time and shut out the world. When she's really angry, she doesn't need a weapon to cause great damage; having proved that her nails are enough to scratch open a grown man's face in a second of fury. When her emotions get confused, she has a habit of over-thinking it until she almost goes in circles with her train of thoughts.
Memories are something that are both haunting for her and precious to her. She remembers important things, both terrible and wonderful. Most important to her is the memory of the boy with the bread and the dandelion that he showed her, reminding her that there was still hope. Among those that haunt her the most are her memories of Rue - the young girl she couldn't save in the first games... the one who reminded her so much of Rue, and died in her arms. There are many others like these. She hangs on to her memories - both precious and painful for a long time - she doesn't allow herself to forget them or the people she shared them with, even if it hurts. It allows her to keep them close to her heart - lets her keep a piece of them with her.
Nightmares frequent her nights. During the second games, she took to sleeping with Peeta, which helped, but didn't stop them. Katniss often cries out loudly. She has nightmares of her father's death still, and of the games and their many horrors. Losing people she cares about it one of the things she fears, and that haunts her the most.
Katniss doesn't like talking about herself. She doesn't like telling anyone she wouldn't consider a friend about herself. Things like that are personal to her. When she shares details about her life it's usually with someone she'd call friend unless there are some unusual reason why it would be important and helpful to her to share it.
She puts a lot of weight on her own shoulders; expecting a lot of herself at times and being prone to throwing guilt on herself in the face of failure.
Love is hard for Katniss. She may say she know she loves people, but its harder for her to pinpoint what kind of love it is, or pinpoint the differences in her feelings for certain people (primarily in canon this being between Gale and Peeta). Ultimately, they believe she will chose the one whom she thinks she can't live without. And in a sense that's true of her. Public displays of affection are something that she's become accustomed to, but when it comes to real displays of affection... not ones that are meant to sway the hearts of sponsors, she also dislikes people seeing it. If she's kissing someone for real, she would want it to be just between the two of them; not with other people watching.
That said, the games show a lot of other aspects about Katniss. She's sometimes hasty and jumps to the wrong conclusions; often imagining the worst and not properly thinking it through first. In those moments she can yell or even get violent for a moment, only to have it explained to her and have it dawn upon her. At that point she's quick to apologize and shows genuine remorse. Even though she knows she does it, knowing that she does this doesn't prevent her from continuing to do it in the spur of a moment.
And lying... if it aids her, she's not opposed to going along with it. But she's not good at lying to people she knows. She's not spectacular at lying to people she doesn't know, but she can manage it better. If it's important enough - like lying about going to the feast and risking her life to save Peeta's life? She'll do it, and she will force herself to be convincing.
[Abilities] Katniss is a human, but one with a lot of skill. Yeah, she's got a rather small build, but she's quick to make up for it. And she's talented with a knife, but her real skill is with a bow - excellent aim; still or moving target, it doesn't matter. It's noted as a tribute to her skill that she always hits the squirrels she gets clean through the eye. She's accustomed to hunting - moving silently and hiding; climbing trees. Gale also taught her to make a number of traps ideal for trapping various kinds of animals. Her father taught her a lot about different types of plants and berries - some for cooking and others for medicinal use.
Entering the games, she gained some other skills - such a knot-tying that will make traps for larger targets: humans. She also obtained experience in fighting and using other weapons. While she still sticks to her primary, she can use other weapons if it's all she has to work with. She's not the best by far, but she's a good swimmer. She's also pretty resourceful, finding ways to use what she has. Being accustomed to having little to work with means that she knows how to make the most of just about anything.
[Other important stuff] Her favorite food of all that she got to try thanks to being chosen for the hunger games was the lamb stew. The person she loves most is her sister Prim. And she's ultimately in the middle of an awkwardly beautiful love triangle.
[Sample Post]
[First Person]
Uh… hey. So. Someone want to tell me what’s going on? This is starting to get really old. I’m in the Games, I think I know what’s going on, then… get out, find out I have no idea. And then, as soon as they actually fill me in? I wake up here.
[It’s clear that there’s a lot of hostility there. She’s defensive and distrustful and impatient. There’s hurt and anger clear in her voice. ]
I don't know if there's anyone I know here, but I guess if you're here now would be a good time to speak up. [Not that she tried too hard - this phone is a little beyond her easy comprehension... or that she'd want to see some of the people she knows right now even if they were here...] And if not, well... I guess I can't be too picky right now. I want answers, so... if you have them, I want to hear them.
[Third Person]
Everything is so very disorienting. Katniss was still trying to digest all the information she’d been force-fed just days before she came here; still trying to get over the shock and the anger and the hurt that still felt so real and immediate. The medication they’d given her made her mood spike at times. Sometimes it was so strong it was dizzying. And sometimes there were hallucinations... water that looked like blood, or grass that seemed to transform into a mess of snakes at her feet. There are times when she can barely tell the difference between what is real and what isn't. But she knew this couldn't all be fake. There's too much that doesn't add up. And still there are always the images of Peeta - him in a white room, surrounded by Peace Keepers... sometimes even President Snow is there... he's screaming and she knows that what she's watching is him being tortured for information about her.... information he doesn't have.
Katniss felt the bile from her stomach rise to her throat but she shoved it down. Her hands were still itching to get a hold of Haymitch. There was so much hatred bubbling under the surface. She hated the people of Somarium that she passed on the street - people she knew weren't from district thirteen... people she had no reason to hate. She still felt the hatred for those back home that she couldn't reach from here. But most of all she hated herself - hated herself for being confused; for being powerless... for failing to protect Peeta.
She hears clips of words here and there when she listens. She knows she should be listening closer... learning something, but it's still too soon. The word 'dream' pops up a few times and even though her face is wiped clean of emotion, her mind still flinches. 'I don't have dreams... only nightmares.' Only days ago, she still had at least one. But now, even that was gone. Thinking about this world and being here hurts. When it feels like she can't possibly take anymore, she tries the exercise the doctor suggested - to start with the most basic things she knew and expand upon what she knew from there.
'My name is Katniss Everdeen. I'm seventeen years old. I come from district twelve. I survived the hunger games... twice. Peeta was captured... I should have saved him. I didn't...' She stopped there. That train of thought wasn't helping. So she backed up a bit and changed her focus. 'This isn't district twelve. It isn't the arena. It's not the Capital. And I'm not in district thirteen anymore. I don't know where I am. I could be anywhere in Panem... I might not even be in Panem anymore...'
The hardest part to grasp is that she doesn't know who to trust. Haymitch betrayed her trust. And now she was amongst strangers... and she had to ask them for answers. Even if she didn't like it, she needed them. And she needed to trust them if she wanted to learn
[Why do you want to play this character in Somarium?] Katniss is a very private character - Somarium will push her to open up. Maybe make some new friends. Make her face her problems. Get to play out her complex reaction to dealing with just about everything.
[Which rule was your favorite and why?] All of them.
[Where did you hear about Somarium?] From myself.
[Any questions?] Dude, where's my car?
