//~Mercury Duval-\\ ~District Five-

Ever since the day she came into this earth, Mercury Duval was told that she was extremely special. Her parents fawned over her obsessively, doting on her since the moment she entered the world and ever since then. If people thought that the center of the solar system was the sun, well, they were completely wrong. The world revolved around Mercury, and it had always been that way to her. In her eyes, she was the most stunning creature to ever walk the planet, all because that was what she had always been told by her parents and family. And she is quite beautiful, though not near as much as she thinks she is. When she looks in the mirror, it's almost as if her self-image is completely distorted. She is perfect to herself, and she can never look anything other then stunning. In her eyes, she is flawless. In her parents eyes, she is flawless.

How she appears to everyone else, however, is quite another story. Surely, a lot of the guys tend to throw looks her way, whether they think she knows that they are or not. Anyone with a bit of common sense, however, knows her name and knows that she isn't just a pretty face. Things seem fine about her when you keep a distance from her and don't interact with her.. however, when you do talk with her, you might find that she's extremely obsessed with herself and her appearance, along with other odd (the understatement of the year) personality traits. Even so, her obsession with herself is the only one of those traits that affects her actual outward appearance, and it is because of that that she is constantly fussing over how she looks. If the smallest thing seems to be wrong- maybe one hair on her head is out of place, or she has a speck of dirt on her arm- she can't do anything else other then fix it. Nothing matters other then her appearance, her own personal needs, and her own happiness.

It is because of this obsession with herself that Mercury wakes up so early in the morning to prepare herself for the day. Her hair is of utmost importance to her, and it's mostly what she worries about. She'll wake up at the crack of dawn when her annoying alarm starts beeping (In fact, it is her 11th alarm clock this year because she has proceeded to throw the other 10 at the wall on days when the sound bothered her to the point of extreme rage) and she will first wash her hair. Twice. It's after that that she will pick up just about every hair product imaginable and spray, massage, and lather it into her damp hair. Every single day she'll have some kind of new style, never really wearing the same hairdo twice. She cuts her own hair often to fit her needs, and colors it just as much, though nothing ever permanent. Her natural color is just as her mother's was- a dark, rich brown color, and at times she might have highlights of red (not a normal red hair color- a vibrant, fire-like red) or any other color she pleases, such as purple or blue. Sometimes her hair will be styled straight, sometimes it will have curls, sometimes it might be up in an ornate braid- anything that pleases her. The day that she has a bad hair day will not be a good day for the person standing directly next to her, because when something isn't right about her appearance, it's as if the world is ending.

And then again, that's only her hair. The second most important thing she worries about are her eyes. While she got her hair color from her mother, her eyes were distinctly from her father. He has the same warm (or in her case, cold) hazel-colored eyes as she does, though the expression in them is quite the opposite. Her father is loving and kind and he spoils Mercury like no other, and this always shows in his eyes when he looks at her. When she looks at him, though, that's another story. His expression might be soft and sweet, though that same look never once crossed her eyes in her whole lifetime. She's everything but soft and sweet, and her eyes always explain that fact. Her gaze is always cold and calculating, and if it feels like she's judging you by how she's looking at you, then she definitely is. The same hazel color that looks so handsome and nice with her father's expression is completely destroyed on the face of Mercury, who wears the color with nothing but negative feelings and a cold gaze. Along with that, she always makes sure to wear the darkest of makeup around her eyes to enhance her dangerous look of which she adores so much.

Other then the eye makeup, Mercury doesn't bother with much else on her face. Of course, in her eyes, her skin is perfect, so why should she need any other makeup? She takes good care of her face, washing it at least twice a day whenever she gets the chance, and it stays clear. Just as with her hair, if she happens to get a zit on her face it might as well be the end of the world. Her face has to look perfect every single second of her life, no exceptions. She is so obsessive about it that if one day she discovers any imperfection on her face, she will cease to do anything else other then hide away from the world inside her house. If it was Reaping Day and she had a zit on her face, she wouldn't move an inch from her own bed even though it's required that she go. If a Peacekeeper came to see what the problem was, she might claim that yes, it was an extreme emergency and that there was no possible way for her to go to the Reaping. And that's only the beginning of her obsession.

Neither of her parents were ever very naturally strong, they were both weak, soft human beings, even her father. Her mother was even plump and slightly obese, while her father lacked the strength that he should have from working with the stronger animals (i.e. horses, cows, etc.). Even when she was a small child, Mercury realized these flaws in them. Her mother had to lose weight, her father had to gain muscle. She could not under any circumstances turn out like that. She had to be perfect, after all. So, since she was about 10 years old, she exercised with the same crazed obsession that she worries about her hair and her face. Her legs have to be perfectly strong and elegant, her arms have to be able to lift something easily (or, in more often cases, punch someone in the face with as much strength as possible because it's fun), her waistline has to have absolutely no extra fat then is necessary to remain strong. In fact, there was a time in her life when she did have a slight eating disorder, but when she realized that it was interfering with her strength and her fighting ability, she proceeded to eat healthy again.

Then, of course, there is the natural shape and size of her body and her face- the one thing that she can't fix, because she doesn't reside in the Capitol. Not that she would ever choose to change the shape of her face. Why on earth would she change something that her parents told her was so extremely perfect and wonderful? She sees the perfect human being when she looks at herself in a mirror, and it never once crossed her mind that she might just be average. She reaches a medium height of about 5 feet, 6 inches tall, and weighs about 110 pounds at most, a lot of which is muscle from her constant workouts. Her arms and legs are thin and lithe, allowing her to move swiftly and easily whenever she needs to get away or tackle an obstacle of some sort. She's flexible to an extent, but that's more from constant exercise and work rather then her natural ability. If you look up at her face, you'll see that it's angular and thin, and she will never wear a warm expression unless she wants something from you and she has to act pleasant. She smiles occasionally, sometimes this is to herself, congratulating some spectacular thing she may have done or said, and other times she will smile when someone compliments her. Only when she is the center of attention or she is feeling especially good about herself will she actually smile.

Living in District Five her whole entire life, she had always wished to live in the Capitol. Setting aside the obvious reasons that everyone else has for not wanting to live in the Districts, she wanted fancier clothing to wear. If she was the most special, why was she not dressing like it?! It was preposterous to her. She wanted the fanciest clothing, the most expensive jewelry, the coolest shoes. But what was stopping her form having complete and total wealth of clothing? The fact that she lived in District Five and not in the Capitol. Her parents were well off with their business in breeding animals, but they were middle class compared to anyone in the Capitol. Even though they spoiled Mercury like crazy, everything they gave her was too plain or not expensive enough. Didn't they know that she wanted expensive, stylish clothing?! She didn't understand their reasoning. They always gave her everything she wanted, so why not great clothes too? It's because of this lack of money that she does the best that she can to work with what she has, which isn't much. Her clothing is usually plain and normal, but she has given up on asking her parents for better clothes and has resigned to hold an inner grudge against them for not giving her exactly what she wants.

There was never a time in her entire life when Mercury Duval had not been messed up in the mind. Her parents obviously lavished her with complements and adoration as a child- much more so then was needed- and this caused her to gain a sense of pride in herself. It wasn't long until that sense of pride was inflated largely, causing her to become just as obsessed with herself as she is today. Every day, she'll wake up and say to herself that she's the most special person in the world, that she's beautiful, wonderful, and perfect. She doesn't really say these things to assure herself- she's completely sure about who she thinks she is- but rather to congratulate herself on being so amazing. And if on any given day something seems wrong with her appearance (because that is what she worries about the most) she will proceed to fix it until she is, in fact, completely perfect again. Perfection is a must in her mind.

However, if someone comes around and judges her physical appearance or how she acts.. all hell will break loose. She's extremely used to getting her way and being told what she wants to hear, and if someone comes along and judges that, she will be anything but pleasant. Always an extreme flair for the dramatic, she will throw a tantrum of sorts and probably become very violent. She has gotten into many fights before because of this (and sometimes she might fight even without cause- she adores the attention) and she's grown far too used to being violent. Having been in dozens of fights only in the past two years alone, her skill has improved greatly. She likes to think that she could easily take on a Career and win- but her attitude would probably end up annoying the Career into leaving, anyways.

And that, sadly for anyone who interacts with her, is only the beginning of her... interesting ways. Along with her obsession with her appearance and herself in general, she barely ever thinks of others in any situation. She's selfish to an extreme, and the well-being of others never crosses her mind at all, unless it's a very odd case and she truly does care about someone. Seeing as her own family doesn't even qualify in that category, she may never meet someone that she truly cares about. Love is almost nonexistent, for she is seemingly in love with herself and only herself. Surely, she forms many short-term relationships which she usually believes are stronger then they are, but those relationships always crumble, leaving her as extremely violent and unstable as ever. People are only around to entertain her and flatter her, and it would take a great deal to impress her and truly make her love you- and not some silly pointless relationship, but actual love. In that case, it would have to be someone so amazing, so beautiful, so dangerous, and so much like herself, and only then there might just be a chance. However, that chance would probably be one in a million.

Other then that small possibility, she thinks of herself and only herself. She doesn't care how much pain she causes others or what others are feeling, and if you make her angry this can be harmful to you. She'll show no mercy in a fight and she's too full of pride to give up, so the best thing to keep yourself safe from her is to compliment her and not cause trouble. Surely, people despise her for her personality, and many suffer when they decide to stand up and go on the offensive against her. Even so, there are times when she'll purposefully cause harm to others as well, such as her own younger sister. She has little to no values and beliefs instilled in her mind, and whatever values her parents attempted to teach her went right through one ear and out the other. She doesn't care how badly she hurts your feelings or hurts you physically, so it's pointless to attempt to cause her to feel remorse.

Mercury is impossible at standing still and doing nothing. Her mind is always constantly thinking; excitement is another one of her cravings. She can't stand to sit around and do nothing. As it always is, it's as if her life has to be a living action movie. Excitement excitement excitement, never-ending twists and turns and plots and people, and of course, she is the main character. Everyone else is just a minor character that can be rid of at her disposal, and she has to have constant attention and excitement before she snaps. School was horrific for her- 6 hours of nothing but sitting around and listening to teachers?! It was preposterous. Second after second she sat there, not really paying attention or learning anything, all the while planning exciting schemes to perform when she immediately had the chance. In school she was like a ticking time bomb- the moment that bell rang to dismiss her (and just as often in the class), she was out of that classroom and into trouble. Whether it was fights or pranks or mouthing off to the teachers, her parents were notified on a daily basis of her trouble-causing, however refused to punish her for it. She was so special to them, how on earth could they ever punish her?

Her parents never seemed to ever bother when she did something bad. She fought like a wild woman, at times even severely hurting (i.e broken arms, broken legs, disfigured faces..) innocent kids in her school simply because she was bored. She was (and still is) an uncontrollable trouble-maker, and no matter how much her teachers insisted that she was acting horribly in school, her parents never did anything about it. Their reasoning was completely biased- they figured that there was no possible way for her to have done those things, she was their perfect child after all. Seldom did she ever cause much trouble at home- or, at least, trouble that her parents recognized- and so she was still the ideal daughter that they had always dreamed of, in their minds. Despite their beliefs, she is obviously not that perfect daughter. She is indirectly the cause of all their misery and trouble, they're both just too ignorant to see it. She fights, she steals, she lies, she manipulates people, and best of all, she usually gets away with it. She takes huge risks constantly, living for excitement and action, no matter what the consequences are.

How she acts, however, is always a bit different. She'll act different depending on what the situation is socially. It amuses her greatly to cause other people pain and manipulate them, so at times she might act completely different from her normal self to amuse herself or get what she wants. She might smile and wave and act jittery and fun to get close to someone personally, and then she'll betray them and make them feel horrible, possibly by telling their secrets or harassing them. In the past several years this has gotten to be much worse, to the point where she attacks people physically rather then emotionally. Again, she doesn't care about the feelings of others, and she highly enjoys watching everyone squirm. Hurting people is an enjoyment for her, though that is not the only reason she manipulates people. She might manipulate people for money or clothing or to gain a higher social status and become the center of attention. It doesn't quite matter what it is she does to a person, but rather what she gets out of it.

Obviously enough, when she does talk to people as her normal self she's not outstandingly social. Other people aren't good enough to talk to her, in her mind, so she'll ignore most of them unless they particularly impress her. To impress her, though, is quite a large feat. To impress her someone would have to be more or less extremely dangerous and mysterious, and it isn't often that she meets someone that fits that standard. For any other person, though, she will most likely ignore them unless she particularly feels like manipulating them for whatever reason. When she does meet someone who intrigues her, however, she will act a bit differently. She thinks less of herself ever-so-slightly and allows herself to be impressed by someone else, allowing her to communicate in a less negative way. It is to be realized, though, that her self-centered attitude is unlikely to completely go away no matter how intriguing someone else might seem, and therefore any extreme real relationships would be very difficult to come by with her.

Maybe it's obvious, but Mercury's past is just as peculiar as her personality. Someone who craves excitement and acts the way she does would have a hard time not finding trouble and doing weird things. Even so, there was technically a time in her life when she was "normal" to an extent. And that, of course, would be the beginning of her life. She was born on May 2nd, eighteen years previous. Her parents loved her dearly- too much so, in fact, and that has greatly contributed to her actions and demeanor today. They lived in the wealthier part of the District, and whenever they could they spent their time and money on their daughter. She was the most important thing to them. They both had lived difficult lives themselves, each with unpleasant families and bad situations previously. It's because of this that they were so obsessed with making their daughter's life better then their own, and that fully contributed to her narcissistic attitude later on in her life. When she didn't understand language and when she was too young to know much, she was, at least, normal. She wasn't the most charismatic of babies, but she was pleasant nonetheless. There were no signs of peculiar behavior, but of course she changed as she got older.

At about the age of 5 she developed a huge hatred for animals of any kind. Dogs, cats, cows, horses, chickens, rabbits, etc. You name it, she hated it. She hates anything that isn't human (and, more often then not, anything that is human) from several bad experiences that she had with them. At first, she was only afraid of the damn creatures. When she was 5 her parents possessed a stray dog which they called Buford, and he was anything but friendly. To Mercury, at least. He loed being around her parents- and just about everyone else, that is.. but something about Mercury always set him off. The reason that he always singled her out isn't actually known, but it's possible that maybe he knew what kind of person she would grow up to be. Maybe he knew that she would truly be evil. Just as animals can tell when there will be a horrible natural disaster, maybe the dog could tell that she was going to be a horrible person even as she was becoming one. No matter what the cause, the dog despised her and eventually he attacked her because of it. In an angry moment, the large dog attacked the oh-so-innocent 5 year old, though not enough to do much physical damage. Even so, it was enough to cause the little girl to hold a grudge against dogs forever. Several years later, she brutally murdered the exact same dog with a knife that she took from her parents' kitchen drawer, when she was 10 years old. She hid the dead dog and never told her parents about it, and instead let them believe that he had simply run away. After that, the pattern of animal abuse only got worse. Her parents, like most everyone else in District 5, bred and raised animals. They spent a lot of their time working with the animals to support the family, but Mercury only saw this as less time that they could spend with her. She wasn't foolish enough to murder all of them, but instead took this frustration out on a select few animals and hid them in the same place she had hid the dog (i.e she pulled them out of the fence and threw them into the open forest to be devoured by aggressive wildlife). It soon became a hobby rather then a need to vent out frustration against her parents, and she began killing animals from other homes as well. Not only did it fully amuse her to watch the animals die, but she loved spying on the people as they discovered that their animals were slaughtered (she didn't hide those ones, only the ones which her parents raised.) Of course, it had only become that extreme several years later, when she was about 12 or 13. She still kills animals on occasion when she's bored, but she's graduated to manipulating people and watching them squirm rather then killing animals.

School was always a huge problem for her. Sitting and listening to teachers, stupid kids chattering and gossiping about nothing that was important, and sitting in a desk all day, constantly? It was unexciting for her. She hated the teachers, hated the students, hated the freaking desks. She wanted fast-paced, edge of your seat action, and school did not qualify in that category. So, at any moment she could, she played the role of trouble-maker. Playing pranks on her teachers was a favorite thing to do, and it passed the time. When she was tired of that, she purposefully picked fights with the students, especially the stronger ones. Danger was her calling, and she couldn't avoid it. She didn't want to avoid it. Obviously, at first, she was unskilled at fighting, but she's intelligent and she learns quickly. She learned what to do and what not to do, and at first it was only hand-to-hand combat. She was beat up badly for the first few months (and always swore to her parents that it wasn't her fault, it was the other kid's fault..) but she didn't really mind the pain. Excitement was wonderful to her no matter how it turned out, and soon it didn't matter anyways. As she grew older the fights became more serious and she started wielding weapons and fighting away from school as well. She hurt people badly and enjoyed it thoroughly, fighting swiftly and mercilessly. She hadn't yet killed anyone, though that was soon to change.

When she was 14 years old, her parents surprised her with a sister. The tiny little human being that was her sibling was so foreign to her, it was as if she was an alien creature. She was tiny and wide-eyed and all she did was cry and poop, though for the oddest reason, Mercury's parents invested all their time in her after that. Mercury thought the child was ugly and horrible, but her parents adored her just as they had adored Mercury. But what did that mean? Surely Mercury was the most important, not that silly little child. The little girl's name had been Ebony, and Mercury had despised her. She had lived with that growing hatred for well over a year, but at one point in time it became too much for her. She deserved all the attention, not this evil creature that was her baby sister. One day, while her parents were out working, she was left to babysit the child and was instructed to give her a bath. She wasn't aware of what she was going to do until after she ran the water in the sink and was staring down angrily at the poor little being. She didn't know what she was doing until after it had been done, and Ebony's face was absent of life. Just like that, and Mercury had become a murderer.

And she didn't care at all.

-Her play-by is Kat Dennings.
-Her main color is Red.
-The color of her text while speaking is Silver.
-Has Antisocial Personality Disorder and Histrionic Personality Disorder, and Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Click the links to read more.
-Gawd, I hate her.