Helena Scott, D7 {DONE!}

.:.I'm never gonna be your sweet surrender.:.

[/center]
Her name is Helena Vivienne Scott, but please, just call her Helena. She has lived in the Seventh District of Panem since her birth on June 30th twenty years ago. I suppose that’s all you’d need if you just wanted the basics. But oh, it gets so much more interesting.

.:.Perfect by nature, icons of self-indulgence.:.

[/color][/center]
Helena was named after a Greek princess (or so say her parents), an angelic figure whose face launched a thousand ships. She’s never seen the ocean, but likes to think she could accomplish the same feat if presented with the opportunity. Indeed her visage possesses a degree of what some would call attractiveness. However, Helena’s beauty is of a cruel sort, intensely sharp features lending her an ethereal appearance that has been described as terrifyingly alluring more than once. Her skin is milky-white and flawlessly cared for, unmarred by blemishes or scars. Her face is a slightly elongated oval punctuated by a rather pointy chin and a noticeably protruding nose with a defined, thin bridge. Thin carmine lips are often twisted into a wry smirk or an unforgiving sneer, only rarely graced by a smile that reveals blindingly white (although somewhat crooked) teeth. Helena was not blessed with the elegant high cheekbones with which her brothers all seemed to be endowed, but her noble brow and delicately-crafted bone structure are classic Scott trademarks that tie her in with the rest of the family.

Her hair is a deep obsidian black, thick and straight tresses falling to her mid-back. It is well cared for but tends to get greasy rather quickly, so Helena washes it very often. This frequent cleaning has led to occasional breakouts of dandruff which are disastrously noticeable against the dark color, but she manages to cover the flaw to the best of her ability by simply pulling her hair back into ponytails and other uncomplicated updos when the white flakes begin to appear among the jet-colored strands. Helena’s hair also gives her trouble when exposed to excessive humidity, frizzing up hopelessly and nearly doubling in volume, so she tends to avoid going outside in humid weather.

Helena’s eyes are perhaps her most striking feature, so dramatically almond-shaped that they give her an almost feline appearance. Her eyes are a stormy gray color with green tones that can become more noticeable depending on what color clothing she wears, long, dark lashes framing them. They are fierce and expressive, often glinting with cold malice and calculating intelligence. Helena’s gaze is known to be unsettling, and there are not many people outside her of her family who can look her in the eyes for very long, afraid of what they will find there.

An elegant, swanlike neck connects her head gracefully to the rest of her body, ending at a sharply-defined collar bone that draws an observer’s gaze to shoulders that are more angular than rounded and always drawn back into immaculate posture. Helena’s arms are strong and toned from years of playing violin, although her right one is slightly more muscular and defined than her left. She has delicate hands with long, agile fingers, although the digits of her left are perpetually callused from wear inflicted by the strings of her beloved instrument. Her nails are kept short by necessity to her playing ability combined with a bad habit of biting them that she can’t shake, and often have rosin residue caked underneath them that she can never seem to get rid of for very long.

Her torso is somewhat long in comparison to the rest of her body, adding quite a bit of length to her five feet, six inches of height. Helena takes after her mother in that her figure is a tad bit thicker in comparison to most girls, although she is not overweight or exceptionally curvy, with a subtle hourglass shape taking up the space between an average-sized chest for someone her size and disproportionately wide hips that make finding pants that fit correctly a nearly insurmountable task. Almost all of the small amount of extra fat she has goes straight to her hips, her one hundred and fifty pound frame still compact and relatively petite.

Helena’s legs are rather short and thick, much to her despair. Her long torso makes up a great portion of her height, leaving her with comparatively stubby lower limbs that have never allowed her to run very fast. Any of the weight that isn’t centered in her hips seems to migrate to her thighs, but although she is slightly pear-shaped she stays in good physical condition and has reasonably good muscle tone. Her feet are somewhat large, easily filling out size ten shoes, and have extremely flat soles. Helena suffers from a condition called plantar fasciitis, the inflammation of the connective tissues in her feet caused by uneven weight distribution due to their unusual flatness. The condition is not by any means life-threatening, but makes it painful for her to stand or walk continuously for long periods of time.

Her clothing choices are practical and classy, gravitating towards skinny jeans, blazers, and ballet flats for casual wear and conservative sheath dresses for more formal occasions. Helena’s favorite color is red, and she has many garments in various shades or the color, from bright cherry to deep scarlet. Her jewelry choices are just as classy as her clothing selections, simple bangles and earrings carefully selected to match the constant staple of a golden locket she received from her father on her fifth birthday. She doesn’t feel the need to wear foundation or blush but often puts on quite a bit of eye makeup, smoky shadows and thick liner with copious amounts of mascara flaring out her long lashes. Her lips are often colored some shade of red and glossed over to a gleaming shine, and while she does not exactly look natural, Helena knows enough about fashion to not overdo her enhancements and make herself look bizarre.

.:.It's true, we're all a little insane, but it's so clear now that I'm unchained.:.

[/color][/center]
Helena’s personality is not what most people would call pleasant. Although she has not been officially diagnosed, she has Narcissistic Personality Disorder and is therefore very arrogant and self-loving. Her ego is extremely over-inflated, and she truly believes herself to be better than almost every other person she knows. She has a constant need for attention and admiration, becoming incredibly hostile to anyone who threatens to step into her limelight. Helena often takes advantage of other people to achieve her goals (which tend to be selfish), and exhibits slightly sociopathic tendencies in the way that she is almost entirely unable to feel sympathy or empathy for other people. She is wrapped up in herself, perpetually basking in her own glory and expecting everyone else to do the same.

This said, Helena is actually somewhat of a recluse, more often preferring to stay in her house rather than emerge and interact with the unwashed masses. She is extremely intelligent, although she often uses her knowledge for her own benefit rather than to help others. Some would call her cold and calculating, her flinty logic too abrasive in the way it is often delivered. Helena is a no-nonsense type of person, preferring to talk in definite facts instead of dealing with abstract things like emotions, with which she seems to have no skill. She is somewhat eccentric, possessing little quirks like the need to sleep with her fan on even in the dead of winter and the habit to randomly start humming snippets of her own musical compositions in the event of an awkward silence.

On the subject of music, Helena is an extremely accomplished violinist. She has been playing since the age of five and practices to the extent that it borders on obsession, sometimes spending up to eight hours a day locked up in her room with her beloved Vivaldi and Mendelsshon. In addition, she is also a gifted composer and will often create her own rhapsodies and fugues. She is extremely protective of her instrument, which was handed down from her great-grandmother, and refuses to let anyone touch it or even look at it the wrong way. Helena fancies herself to be quite the virtuoso, an opinion that could be considered accurate given her talent and passion, and nurses grandiose dreams of one day playing on a Capitol stage.

She will be the first to tell you that she’s sarcastic, short, and more than a little acerbic in her delivery of speech. Helena prefers not to waste her time with people she considers to be beneath her, and can often cross the border from cool derision over to downright cruelty. She is ruthless, cold, and can be incredibly sadistic when put in a situation with someone she dislikes. Helena is a master manipulator and attacks without mercy, bringing down any adversary foolish enough to oppose her with deliciously wicked irony (a certain brother made fun of her hair once and woke up the next morning with his head glued to his pillow, resulting in a very close buzz cut), sometimes completely destroying them emotionally and mentally in the process.

She believes steadfastly that people should stick to their own social classes, and takes every opportunity to advertise her family’s social status to anyone who cares to listen. This facet of Helena’s arrogance has made her fairly unpopular amongst the few middle-to-lower-class people from the district she’s had the displeasure of meeting, but she couldn’t care less. She walks tall, nose in the air and an almost palpable air of superiority preceding her like a herald.

While she is considered to be the pinnacle of cold hostility by most people, Helena does have a (very limited) capacity for kindness. She is very close with two of her brothers, Alec and Adrian, and treats them with a gentleness and camaraderie that would be abnormal for her with any other person. With her select few loved ones Helena is affectionate and even doting, going out of her way to make the people she cares about happy. She tends to gravitate towards people who have the same high opinion of themselves that she possesses, or at the very least will exalt her for her virtues. She finds people with low self-image boring and depressing, and hates to be around them.

Helena is by no means a naturally trusting person. She is skeptical to a tee, doubting the good intentions in anything she sees until she can investigate it closer. She refuses to believe that people are really good at heart, feeling that if this were the case then the world wouldn't be the convoluted mess that it is. However, although it is hard to earn her trust, it comes with an unshakable loyalty that many people would find desirable from a friend.

Helena's largest secret has been with her since her early teenage years. As an incredibly spoiled child, she was not used to having to deal with things that didn't go her way. Helena never learned effective coping mechanisms, and the event of watching her older brother enter the Arena was what made the drinking start. It began slowly, a few smuggled swigs of vodka from her father's well-stocked liquor cabinet to help her get through the awful hours in front of the television screen, but the problem escalated into heavy drinking binges that now take place almost every time there is something that Helena doesn't want to deal with. While she doesn't spend the majority of her time walking around in a drunken stupor, she can almost always be counted on to turn to heavy doses of alcohol at the first sign of potential trauma, preferring to sink into comfortable numbness than feel pain.

Perhaps she's a hypocrite, but she knows she could never take what she dishes out and still retain her fragile sanity.

.:.All that I'm living for, all that I'm dying for.:.

[/color][/center]
Helena's history has been far from normal, which perhaps contributes to her unstable personality. The story of her life revolves almost entirely around her family, so one must go into the convoluted depths of the Scott household to truly understand what has made Helena the way she is. She was born the second eldest of eight children and the first daughter of three girls and five boys.

The oldest child, Ander, is clearly everyone's pride and joy, especially ever since he came back from the Arena with glory, a pile of Victor's winnings, and an ego the size of Mount Everest (although Helena seemed to be the only one who noticed that afterwards he just wasn't quite right anymore, drawing away from the little sister he had once doted upon and the family he had once loved). Helena came along three years later, followed quickly by Alec, only eleven months her junior. Helena and Alec have always been close despite their incredibly different personalities, but she feels that his sunny attitude and easy smiles make her life just a bit brighter.

The twins, Adrian and Julian, were born just after Helena's third birthday. Throughout their childhood she was the model of a perfect big sister, showering her limited supply of affection on what she proudly claimed were the two cutest little boys in the world to anyone who would listen. The problems began when the cute little boys started turning into handsome young men with opinions of their own, but we'll talk about that a little later on.

As for the younger ones - Natalia, Phoebus, Sophia, and now yet another new baby on the way - Helena found herself refraining from taking an active interest in their lives. After all, she only had so much love to go around. While (in most circumstances) she was not outright cruel to the younger members of the family, she treated and continues to treat them with a coolly removed attitude that is enough to let them know that she doesn't want much to do with them, nor will she ever. Everyone in the family is used to some degree of this distance from one another, though. Their dynamic is nowhere near tightly knit.

While the family appeared normal to an outsider's view, they were nowhere close to functional. Helena and Ander had always been the apples of their father's eye, doted upon and showered with every sort of affection and gift that could be afforded, but the subsequent children seemed unable to draw the same interest from him. Ever the consummate Daddy's Girl, Helena remains one of the only Scott children on good terms with her father; she's one of the few that even see him on a regular basis. As the younger ones began to grow up and take note of this peculiar exception, issues began to arise. Little Julian now seemed to resent his former favorite sibling, shunning her affections and becoming more withdrawn until she confronted him about it and he launched into a massive rage (well, as much rage as a twelve year old could muster), causing a gigantic fight that left the twins' relationship with their sister narrowed down by one. While she is still very close to Adrian, Helena has never made the opportunity to bridge the gaping chasm left by the argument five years ago.

The children's relationship with their mother was a different thing entirely. While their father never paid most of them any mind, their mother constantly breathed down all eight of their necks, making harsh demands of perfection in every possible way. They were all homeschooled using more rigorous curriculum than the District schools, all forced to learn to be proficient one musical instrument (although Helena and Julian both found quite happily that they excelled beyond expectations in this field on violin and piano respectively), all informed from an early age that they would eventually be given a list of prospective spouses to choose from.

Fifteen was a hard year for her. In addition to the drama with her emotionally volatile little brother, a few weeks after the initial explosion it came to light that eight year old Natalia had been diagnosed with leukemia, a rare and aggressive disease that she had only heard rumors about. Helena's world plunged into chaos. Her homeostasis was completely thrown off; having been used to being worshipped and happily occupying the center of attention, she was now left hated by someone she had once held dear and ousted from her pedestal by a sickly child. She immediately resented Natalia, not for being sick and worrying everyone, but for taking away her personal spotlight. Ego wounded and anger simmering; it was at age fifteen that Helena first began sneaking into the liquor cabinet.

She was not good with trauma. A lifetime of being handed everything she'd ever wanted had not equipped Helena to deal healthily with all of it being yanked away from her. It started slowly, just a few sips until everything didn't hurt quite so badly for a while. But her descent steadily deepened to its current state. Helena now goes on heavy binges whenever life knocks her off balance enough to require coping skills that she does not possess, numbing her mind and everything else to the world rather than experience reality in all its harshness.

Sometimes it feels like she's running away, but it's all she knows how to do.

.:.Now I will tell you what I've done for you.:.

[/color][/center]
Odair

.:.And I'm still waiting for the rain to fall.:.

[/color][/center]
Main: CCCCCC
Speech: 33CC99
Thoughts/Lyrics: 99FFCC[/color]
Other Speech: CC0033

.:.Call my name and save me from the dark.:.

[/color][/center]
Helena is played by Amy Lee.

[/color][/blockquote][/size]