Emery Carlisle , District Two

Emery spent her entire life being fitted to Capitol fashions. Dyed skin, fried hair, absurd makeup, painful injections and alterations to her face. So now that she has the opportunity to live in a place where such aesthetic flourishes are viewed as strange, it would be an understatement to say Em is happy. Every morning, when she washes her face and looks at herself in the mirror she gives a little squeel of excitement. No, not because she's overwhelmed at her own beauty or anything like that--she's not vain--but she has never been able to recover from the surprise of actually seeing herself and not just another product of her parents'.

From the top, Emery has a heart-shaped face. She has a wide and large forehead which funnels down to a narrow chin. This chin tends to seem a little disjointed from the rest of her features, especially when she smiles--it sticks out and usually draws everyone's attention. Regardless, Emery isn't exactly conscious about it, and instead is constantly smiling about anything and everything. Em's eyes are liquid brown and narrow; rather small in proportion to the rest of her face. They only become smaller when she smiles, and seem to be swallowed up by her cheeks. She has absolutely gigantic cheeks that inflate like balloons when she smiles.

In terms of her body, Emery is small and lithe. She appears to be fragile, and she very well is, having spent her entire life growing up indoors. She's of no used in the mining industry the District thrives on because, well, she's quite weak. This may come as a surprise to many because Em is absolutely full of energy. She is constantly perky, even in the early hours of the morning and can be found prancing around the district, bouncing off the walls. She's light on her feet and has a quick touch, earned from playing years of hide-and-seek with her babysitters. But, she has absolutely no body strength. Emery cannot lift something even a few pounds heavy, and will quickly run out of breath if she is required to.

Emery's skin is soft and supple from years of Capitol cosmetics. Because of this, she's had a been of a hard time adjusting ot the district. She was accident prone for a few months, most likely from her over excitement, and as a result was constantly injuring herself. She's earned her share of scars--or as she proudly claims, 'battle scars'--from trying to cook dinner or running down the street. These adorn her legs, and a large line runs across her forehead from when she managed to drop a flowepot on her head.

For the most part Emery had an incredibly pleasant childhood. She was presented with almost everything she desired. Books, instruments, pets. What have you. Her toy chest was enviable and her room was beautiful and sunny. Her family, the Carlisle's were one of the most influential families in the Capitol, and I believe it would be safe to say, all of Panem. They stood close to the President, and her father himself was one of the man's chief advisors. Because of this stature, Mr and Mrs Carlisle were always incredibly careful of how they presented themselves in the public. Politics are such a delicate thing, and one wrong step meant they could be thrown off of their position. Every moment didn't to be perfect, and so every moment in Emery's life was calculated for her.

Em could spend her time doing almost anything she pleased, so long as she stayed indoors and away from the public eye. Granted, she had little choice in the matter. When her parents weren't home to supervise her, an Avox was, and the doors and windows were always locked from the outside. However, as the years wore on, and her parents still refused to ever let Emery out of their site, simply using her as one of their political puppets, she grew restless. She would stare out her window for endless periods of time, watching the wind rippling the Capitol flags, or the shouts of people in the street. Emery wanted to be out there, feel the wind in her hair and have those people talk to her.

She loved her parents dearly, but Emery was certain her life just felt incomplete. It felt like she was a painting, and the artist had left before he had completed the most important part: her heart. So she cautiously began formulating a plan in her head, hoping to one day ask her parents to take her outside, and not just for a party. Let her wonder the streets, or maybe, maybe if she worded it just right they'd take her to see the districts. Yes, the Districts. Wondrous places she had only ever read about in her books. Of course, the opportunity for her to ask never arose, every time she began someone would interrupt her, or her courage would shrivel up same as putting salt on a slug.

But one day, her parents made a mistake. They invited a delegate to reside in their house for a month. Emery had been instructed his quarters were strictly off limits, he was not to be bothered, but the then twenty-two year old was far too curious. She could be found peering at him curiously from the small crack he left in the door. One day, the man asked for Emery to talk to him and she was absolutely ecstatic. The pair would talk long into the night, and the man, a trade advisor between the Districts feel the capita. He told her everything there possibly was to know about every District, but he also instilled in her an overflowing need to see these places. The man took a certain interest in her, probably fueled with pity. He promised to take her to see the Districts if it was the last thing he did.

And the man managed to pull it off, he smuggled Emery with him when he boarded the train to visit District Two. Em scrubbed herself clean of the Capitol valor. She rubbed her skin raw, until the purple dyes and intricate gold patterns disappeared. She cut her hair so that her natural blonde grew in its place. Everything that reminded her of the Capitol was gone, and she just wanted to start anew, at least for a little while. What she had planned as a little while seems to have ended up as permanently. The man dropped her off with an elderly woman, Meme, in the district, who, though a little crazy accepted Em as her own. Surprisingly, no one has questioned Emery's sudden appearance, at least not to her face. They all seem to believe the story that she's Meme's daughter. According to the fabricated story, Emery was bid-ridden for most of her life until she was miraculously cured.

Emery is quite content with her new life in District Two. She's still the same naive girl she always has been, but her eyes are slowly opening to the rest of the world and both it's dangers and beauty.

I'll be the first to admit that I know there are problems with this character, I just like the idea of her. She is probably bordering on, or is a mary-sue right now, but I'm unsure of how to fix it. I want to keep her innocent and just an open person, if that makes sense. I would really like a critique on her and what I need to fix/take-out/add. Thank you! : )