Character Information And Background

[slowlydrowning]

Full Name : Annie Cresta
Fandom: The Hunger Games
Canon point/AU: Just before the reaping for the 75th Hunger Games during the novel Catching Fire.
Currently being played in: thegames
Playby: Astrid Berges-Frisbey
History: Character Wiki

Presentation:

Annie is a lovely young woman with flowing dark hair and sea green eyes, and a healthy collection of freckles due to so much time spent under the sun. Though her exact age is never given in cannon, Annie was victor of the 70th Hunger Games, which means that she is somewhere between the ages of 17 and 23, since District tributes are selected between the ages of 12 and 18, and her particular Hunger Games took place 5 years ago. However, given the romantic nature of her relationship with Finnick Odair, who is 24, it might be safe to assume that she is near an age with him, and is likely in her 20's. Also to be considered, is that there was no mention of her being particularly young for a victor, putting her somewhere around the age of 15 or older at the time she was selected; Finnick is said to have been particularly young to win, and he was 14 at his own Games. For the sake of simplicity, I am playing Annie as though she were 15, almost 16 at the time of her victory, so is now 20 years old, about to turn 21.

Though Annie is a very pretty young woman, whatever vanities she may have once had because of her beauty have long faded, if they ever existed at all. While she remains naturally beautiful, she does not often take the time to make herself 'presentable,' by Capitol standards, since it was not customary to do so in District 4, where she grew up.

When Capitol stylists get a hold of her, which they are inevitably prone to do at least once a year, she can be quite stunning. But being in the hands of her stylists makes her uncomfortable, due to the associations she has with them and their relation to the Hunger Games, and Annie would… just rather not. Her long, dark hair is often left to hang in its natural waves, or she will sometimes tie it back with a simple ribbon if it gets in her way. She wears no makeup unless a stylist or three force it on her, and she dresses simply and practically when she gets to chose her own attire. Capitol stylists have a habit of shoving her into dresses that scream "ocean princess," dyed in blues and sea greens to match the colour of her eyes, flowing fabrics and mermaid-cut gowns. Sometimes, she cries when she has to wear them. And if anyone approaches her with so much as a tube of lipstick or some mascara without warning, she is like to have a panic attack. She has strong associations of being "made up" with having to be on camera. Interviews, public affairs, even parties all have very negative connotations to Annie because all those things mean "Hunger Games" to her.

Annie has a tendency to appear (as Katniss once put it) a bit bedraggled, in a rather 'did not get enough sleep and haven't changed out of my pajamas in two days' kind of way. She is generally quiet, and is not fast to make new friends, but she is kind and friendly to just about everyone unless they give her reason not to be. Aggressive people, and sometimes people who may not actually be aggressive but come off as boisterous and loud make her nervous. People arguing, especially heatedly, is a major trigger for her, and she will often times close her eyes and cover her ears in attempt to block it out or hide from it.

As it will be further discussed later, Annie suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, and while this has not fully numbed her from emotions/feelings, she does sometimes have a hard time in social situations. In social gatherings, Annie is often concentrating so hard on trying to 'be normal' that she can misjudge scenarios; laugh at inappropriate things, or take things too seriously. It is a quirk that can either be endearing about her, or flat out frustrating, depending on circumstance and the persons involved.

Motivations:

At her core, Annie is a sweet, if somewhat awkward girl. Though she did not always used to be as such. As a child, Annie was energetic and happy; talkative and playful. But the traumas in her life have left her somewhat lost and confused. Rarely does she sleep well, and often she finds herself staring off into the distance, as though she isn't quite sure she's actually awake or still dreaming. To be quite honest, Annie is what you might call, a little bit broken. While not truly as 'mad' as many have suggested, Annie's largest hang up is her persistent, aggravated case of post-traumatic stress disorder. It is something that she struggles with daily, and thus far, no amount of visits to various head doctors, or a plethora of prescribed medications seem to help her with it so much as a single, specific person has.

If anything, it's Finnick Odair, Annie's one-time mentor, friend and eventual lover who helps Annie to cope. Over the years, the two have become extremely close, which has been a blessing and a curse for them both. Just because she is prone to panic attacks does not mean she is crazy. Or blind for that matter.

Though she prefers to attempt to live her life as normally and quietly as she is able, she knows as well as anyone, Finnick's 'reputation' around the Capitol. His string of 'lovers' that he's had since he was old enough to know what went on behind closed bedroom doors at night. Annie may not know the exact details of it all. But she understands that there is nothing she can do about it. One complaint. One step out of line, and Annie knows that President Snow just might decide that Finnick should remain in the Capitol year round and never come home to District 4 at all. Snow could snatch Finnick away from her forever, if she so much as hints at a complaint, and if there is one thing Annie is sure she can't live without, it's Finnick. And she also knows that Snow would do it without blinking an eye. After all, Annie has had her own taste of Capitol troubles. She knows the cost of bad behavior as much as victor.

After her victory in the Arena, it was on to her victory tour of Panem, which she spent the majority of her time dazed and medicated to a dull, but docile state, since even the mere suggestion of leaving District 4 again, for any reason, gave her wrecking panic attacks and fits of hysteria. Needless to say, her victory tour left a dull and "uninteresting" impression, as far as the citizens of Capitol were concerned. Nevertheless, now that District 4 had a new, young and lovely victor, they were insistent that she now take on her yearly duties as mentor to the new rounds of District 4 tributes. A task she did not feel up to taking, and foolishly voiced her aversion to. She pleaded with the Capitol not to make her go. But they are never very easy to persuade.

But she did try. The year after her victory, Annie was mentor at the 71st Hunger Games. It was a disaster. She handled it better than she expected she would during training, where she tried to give the best advice she could to her tributes. But once they were inside the Arena, she couldn't bear watching. Couldn't focus on anything that was going on inside.

Neither of the tributes from District 4 survived that year. And though it was not directly her fault, rumors still spread around the Capitol like wildfire that Annie Cresta was traumatized, broken and useless; as mad as she was lovely. An embarrassment.
Annie does not like the Capitol. Not necessarily because she disagrees with its policies or practices, but because she is literally afraid of it. As in, she views the Capitol as a place where terrible things happen to her and those she cares about; as a place of nightmares and where nothing good ever happens to her. It is the pungent fear of the Capitol that keeps what could easily be a far more outspoken and potentially rebellious thoughts or actions quiet.

Several months later, her father's fishing boat was lost out at sea during a storm, leaving her mother a widow and Annie herself even more lost than before.

On account of her 'madness' she was not required to return to the Capitol as mentor for the Hunger Games to follow the 71st. And though it had never been outright stated, her exemption was nothing more than a publicity stunt from the Capitol. A way to make them look sympathetic toward their precious, past victors. But there was a subtle understanding that should she fail to play the 'mad girl' to its fullest extent, the deal was subject to immediate and likely unpleasant change. Several people who were in Annie's confidence often suggested that she play up her madness in public.

Annie silently resents exploiting something that she is genuinely bothered by and struggles with. But her fear of the Capitol and having to return, or worse… them doing anything to the rest of her family or Finnick keep her playing her role. Be quiet. Be unremarkable. Be crazy.

Please describe your character's experience in their past Hunger Games:

Five years ago, Annie was selected as District 4's female tribute for the 70th Hunger Games. Typically, District 4 is what many call a 'Career District,' a place where children are brought up stronger, better trained and better fed; a District where tributes are going to walk into the Games at a distinct advantage over the other tributes of Panem who are often underfed and distinctly lacking in survival skills. Annie had always been a strong swimmer. Fit, healthy, smart and sturdy. She grew up with one foot in the water and the other on the deck of a boat. Her parents were fishermen, her father owned a sailboat. So when she was selected for The Hunger Games, she went in, intimidated, but with a better chance at surviving than most.

Before the Games even began, she and her fellow District 4 tribute were resigned to ally with at least one another, but potentially with other tributes from the Career Districts. She survived the initial bloodbath of the cornucopia, and the first two and a half days as part of a tenuous alliance amongst the Careers. But after a heated argument between a boy from District 2 and her male District 4 partner, everything fell apart...

She still sees it sometimes, even when she is awake. The horror that most say drove her mad. Even though she had watched a dozen or so years worth of Hunger Games before her own venture into the arena, Annie was not prepared to see her fellow tribute - a boy just a year younger than she - end in such a gruesome manner. She had been so nearby, that his blood had stained her jacket. His head had rolled past her shoes.

After that, she fled. She spent the rest of her time in the Arena keeping herself hidden. She got water and fish from streams and plucked berried from bushes. All her time spent in the riggings of her father's sailboat translated well into climbing trees; made her nimble and sure-footed and able to endure cramped places for extended periods of time. She kept herself hidden until the earthquake struck and the Arena flooded.

The Games were short that year, lasting just a little over a week. Annie had received a fairly average score, but since the only interesting thing she really did in the Arena was effectively hide herself, she was not exactly a sponsor favourite.

As a side note, Finnick and Mags would have been Annie's mentors at the time.

SAMPLES
Thread: Thread @ string_theory

Prose:
None of them seem particularly interested in her, but she knows they are watching. Someone is always watching, even when you don't think it's possible.

She knows what they want to see.

Something. Anything. Can the poor mad girl even function?

No.

Not here. Not in this place.

She has never been a fighter, even back so very long ago when she thought she might have been, she wasn't. She's a runner; flighty and afraid. A piece of her wishes Finnick were here. To hold her hand. To just be there. Her rock. Her shield. Her lighthouse leading her through the fog. Just seeing him makes her less afraid, and she has more fear in her than she knows what to do with. It chokes and blinds her as she stands before them, the Gamemakers, and does nothing.
Sometimes, she has to remember to breathe. To take one breath at a time. In and out and in and out. To blink. To swallow the fear rising up in her throat and just concentrate. But it's hard to think, and all she wants to do is close her eyes and pretend she isn't here. Back in this city. Back in training center. Back in this room.

It was supposed to be over for her.

She won.

She was never supposed to have to go back.

So she stands there, wishing she were not so afraid. Wishing that there was something that she could do to show them that she isn't as useless as she knows they think she is.

But the tears have already started to blind her, and its getting harder to breathe, harder to stand and the heart beating in her chest pounds against her ribcage so viciously it almost hurts.

She can't do this. She can't do anything except allow herself to sink to the floor. The echoes of her past all around her filling her ears with the cries of the dead and the dying and the memory of her own screams. The solid concrete floor beneath her slips away and becomes the rocky, weedy ground of that Arena she never truly escaped from.

"That will be all," someone says from across the room, but she cannot hear them. Not with her hands pressed against her ears to block out the sounds. Not with her eyes shut tight to hide all the visions. She rocks slowly, back and forth, elbows on her knees and tears streaming down her face.

"That will be all, Miss Cresta," another voice says. This one, a man in a white uniform who has been summoned in from somewhere to remove her. He grabs her by one arm and moves to pull her to her feet. "Thank you for your time."

Seeing him is disorienting. For a moment, she forgets where she is. And then it registers that she has been dismissed. So stands up and does what she does best.

She runs.



What is your character scored:

4

Her original score in the 70th Hunger Games was a 5; average at best. She'd woven a sturdy rope that she had climbed up onto the rafter's in, and hurled a spear into a training dummy. It had been enough then for the Gamemakers to take her somewhat seriously. But now, her 'fame' of running and hiding… and of being a little bit crazy, do not help her in this new situation. The Gamemakers know she's scared. The world knows she's scared. Despite this, she scores a 4 this time, for no other reason than to keep her in the game longer - not too low so she'll be picked off early, and not too high so she is seen as a threat. They think it will be amusing to see if they can't drive her even more insane, because won't that be good television. Besides, she's more use to them alive - they can't use her against Finnick if she's dead, after all.