Lotus Mulberry||D1

Lotus Mulberry||D1 Mar 5, 2013 8:55:15 GMT -5

Post by gliss on Mar 5, 2013 8:55:15 GMT -5

Lotus Ray Mulberry

Appearance

There is a castle on a cloud
I like to go there in my sleep,
Aren't any floors for me to sweep,
Not in my castle on a cloud.

I am tall, 5'7" to be exact but I'm still growing, and thin. I tip the scales at just around 130 pounds. Thankfully, I'm not so lanky where I'm awkward, I'm still graceful. I sometimes just go into my room, shut the door, and dance. I never remember the dances afterwards, but it's fun nonetheless. I'm also fast. I can run like a lightning bolt, and I don't become fatigued easily. I have even more endurance if I pretend there's a monster behind me. My fuel becomes adrenaline. I can also climb trees very well, as my long limbs can reach branches easily. I warn you, though, never jump out of a tall tree. I tried it once, and it didn't exactly go well. I stuck the landing, but sprained my left ankle in the process. That's why if you ask me to balance on my left leg, I couldn't do it. Thankfully, nothing in my daily routine requires balancing on my left leg. I don't walk with a limp or anything, at least, I don't think I do. My left foot is just weaker than my right.

Speaking of weak, I'm not exactly strong. Mentally is another story, of course. I wouldn't consider myself weak exactly, but I'm certainly not strong. Not that my sister has bulging muscles or anything, but she's much stronger than I am. I think that my being fast makes up for that, though. I'm good at obstacle courses, because I'm thin enough where I can squeeze between obstacles or simple climb over them. When my sister makes me come to training with her, I just do obstacle courses the whole time. I'm fairly flat-chested, which allows me to squeeze between two poles or something of the like. The reason for my being thin is not malnourishment, by the way, like it might be for some people in the lower districts. It's just genetic. (At least that's what I assume- a lot of things are genetic.)

I sometimes wonder why genetics left me with an average-looking face while Laurel gets a pretty one. Maybe all of the pretty genes were taken by her. At least I'm not ugly. I have hazel eyes, which are probably my best feature. They help me see with perfect 20-20 vision. I can see and hear very well. To give you an idea, I can hear a quiet thud of my sister sliding into bed ten minutes late from her bedroom on a different floor than mine. I’m very observant, as you can see. I have thin lips, but some people say I have a nice smile, not that most people get to see that smile. When I talk to people, I show a small smile that could be interpreted as a straight face. If you want me to smile, you'll have to get me to laugh. This is a task easier said than done. My high cheekbones make me look sullen if I'm not smiling, not that I really care how I look. I notice a lot of things, like my looks, but I don't necessarily care.

I don't care about my hair, but it is pretty, come to think of it. It's light brown, almost the color of caramel, only not as orange. It falls just over my shoulders in curls that will never straighten no matter how much I brush them. The girls with straight hair wish it was curly, but they don't know how big of a pain curly hair is. I like my hair though. It's almost like a waterfall, like the ones I've seen in the Games. Of course, waterfalls aren't brown, but still. Sometimes I pull my hair up into a ponytail, but most of the time I leave it down. It's not like it would get in my way of training, since I don't train for the Games. (It is illegal.) Maybe if I trained, I'd be stronger, swifter. But if I had trained, I wouldn't be as, well..... me.
.

Personality

There is a room that's full of toys,
There are a hundred boys and girls,
Nobody shouts or talks too loud
Not in my castle on a cloud.

There is a world in my mind I can escape to. I'd be considered mad if I were to tell anyone about it, which is why I keep quiet. But to me, this world is real. I am the queen of this world in my mind. I have loyal subjects, and the place is peaceful. My world is districtless. People work at what they are good at, unlike here in Panem. I'm not one to cause drastic change, but in my world, I can. People say I'm imaginative, but to me, my world is reality. Maybe they are right. Maybe I'm crazy. But at least I can escape to my kingdom. I have the time to escape, of course. I still work making luxury products, but the hours are lenient. My sister Laurel spends her spare time training. I'm not as much of a people person, of a trained killer than she is. I am a simple girl, introverted and a good thinker.I think a lot. While working, I think. It's mostly just boring, no-brain-required jobs anyway.

I'm smart, analytical. I can't imagine living in one of the lower districts where they have no resources. (Actually, I can imagine it- I can imagine anything. But for the sake of emphasis, I said I couldn't. If you have a problem with emphasis, I can tell my Career sister.) From my resources, I know about justice, and that's why I accept the Games. I won't prepare for them or hope to be in them- but if I were to be reaped, I would accept it. We wronged the Capitol. The Capitol punishes us. It is the right thing. I've thought about it constantly, and that's my conclusion. When I see reapings from the poorer districts, I see citizens who hate the Games. They don't have the resources to know about justice, so I don't blame them. They think of the Games as a beast, and the Capitol as its tamer. I know that they are simply a glorified (and slightly gorier) time-out chair.

My sister thinks the Games are a treat. For whatever reason, she wants to be in them. And since my parents think the same way, they help her train. (which is illegal but they don't seem to care) Once, when I was six I tried to tell them about my world. I was just starting to make it up. They laughed after I said one sentence and went to go help Laurel train. I don't trust easily because of this. If I confide in someone, they'll just laugh. So why bother? I admit, I get jealous easily. It's so easy to envy others when no one cares about you. They are pretty or strong and I have more than them in my world, but that doesn't matter to them because my treasures are fantasies and their gifts are real. My sister is the person I am most jealous of. My parents constantly tell me to be more like her. Can they not accept individuality? She is perfect. She is amazing at the bow, she is strong, she is pretty. I am not any of those things. I'm tired of living in her shadow. I'm not her clone, but they don't seem to realize that. They expect, no, they want me to be like her.

I am above lying to make myself sound better than her. A lie will just cause more complications than necessary. I pride myself in being honest. People sometimes say that I'm honest to a fault, but honesty is never a bad thing. I'll speak my mind about things. If those pants do make you look fat, I'll tell you. If I don't, someone might criticize you later and then you'll get mad at me, and the last thing I want is an enemy. Peace is better than fighting. The Games aren't a war, which is why I'm okay with that kind of fighting. But an actual war, an actual uprising is what fears me. I am calm. War? Not so much. My name, Lotus, is a flower that symbolizes calm. I was named perfectly, one thing my parents took care to do perfectly for me.

I've turned out far from perfect. But I like to think I have better brains than Laurel. I analyze every situation, think up all possible solutions, then pick the best one and try it. If it doesn't work, then I go to the next best solution. I'm good at brainteasers, I'd like to see you try to find one that could stump me. My smarts also lead to sarcasm. I'll be sarcastic, but never with a mean intent unless you had a mean intent with what you said before my sarcastic remark. I'm good at telling people's intentions. I used to lie a lot before I learned my lesson, so I know how liars act, because I was one. I can tell if people want to be my friend, or if they just want to take advantage of me. It shows on their face in subtle ways, that not many others but me could recognize. I could explain it, but that would take a whole book. In 2 sentences, however, here's the simple version: People who want to be your friend don't try too hard. Liars try way too hard to be your friend.

I don't really try too hard in conversation. If someone doesn't like me, I figure that won't change. I do have problems making eye contact. From lack of socialization, I don't know if I should look people in the eye, or stare at their nose, or any other weird theory I have. So in conversation, I mostly just avoid looking people in the eye and instead look at the floor or a particularly interesting spot on the wall. I guess I'm just socially awkward like that. I'm completely fine with being this way. I don't like to socialize much anyway. I keep to myself, and others talk amongst themselves, everyone wins. In a group project setting, someone else could be the leader. I can do work- not all of it, I don't like being taken advantage of- but I won't be in a leadership position. It's too much pressure. People would count on me to make important decisions, and if I didn't do what they wanted, they wouldn't like me and wouldn't help with the project. Then I'd be stuck doing all the work. If I do work, though, I prefer jobs that don't require thinking so I can think about other things.

History

I know a place where no one's lost,
I know a place where no one cries
Crying at all is not allowed
Not in my castle on a cloud.

My parents care about Laurel. She is my sister, and the picture of perfection. She's pretty, strong, agile, and any other positive adjective you can think of. She's actually pretty nice, a bit arrogant, but still nice. She doesn't rub her talents in my face or anything, like some other 16-year-olds. She tries to get me to train, and when she manages to drag me to the training facility she helps me. It's how my parents treat her that bothers me. I get fed and clothed, but other than that my parents don't really do anything with me. They're constantly helping Laurel train. My mother and father both trained for the Games, though they weren't actually reaped. They didn't even volunteer. I guess they just didn't want to risk their lives but they still wanted to seem perfect. I guess that they were striving for perfection with Laurel but they didn't bother with that standard for me. I sometimes wondered how I'd have turned out if I were the firstborn. Probably just a Laurel clone, and quite frankly I'm glad I was born second. I've gotten room to develop, not just be molded like Laurel. She might be perfect, but I'm myself.

My mother was outstanding in training. She could wield a spear amazingly well. If she had been in the Games, I wouldn't have been suprised if she had gotten a spear and killed everyone within the first day. My father's weapon of choice was an axe. He was (well, he still is) strong and muscular, so he could lift that thing like it was a mere feather. They met, fittingly, while training. My mother was 16 and my father was 18. It was some sort of workshop lead by a former victor, and they bumped into each other. Each one says that the other looked about ready to fight, but that they fell instantly in love. I have a feeling that the real story is much less "one true love" than that, but they've never revealed how they really met. I like making up stories about it. When my mother was 20, they got married. About a year after, they had Laurel. They were young and fit when they had her, which is probably why they were willing to help with her training. With me, Laurel had already exhausted them and they weren't willing to help.

I remember once my parents took me to a park. They let me run around, and they laughed and played with me. I know the magic of family. I experienced it that day. That was the last time, unfortunately. Laurel reached some important milestone in her training and my parents forgot about me. At least, that's what I think happened. It's less painful than thinking they concsiously ignored me. Why would they consciously ignore me? Laurel. She's why. They already have her, so why would they want me? They wouldn't. I've grown up knowing how I've been deprived. It's better than having the truth hidden from me. Being totally blind and waking up to it would just sting terribly. For me, the pain is spread out.

FC: Kerris Dorsey

Comments/other: For some reason, the color wasn't working. Not sure if it'll show up in the actual post or not, but if there's no color that's why.

EDIT: Fixed color