Rylan Faulkner, District 11 (finished)

One thing that can be said about Rylan is that he looks every bit like a farmer's son. Dark hair that has been cropped fairly short is almost constantly dishevelled due to negligence in care and his fingernails are in much the same state, often covered in dirt from helping his father in the fields when he isn't in school. Overall, his build is fairly average for boys of his age since he stands at 5'8". Yet due to living in one of the poorest districts his family, like most of those in District 11, doesn't get much in the way of food. As a result he is somewhat underweight at only 123 lbs, resulting in a fairly skinny or lanky build.

Yet it is also because of the manual labour included with the work of farming that has allowed him to gain some decent muscle tone. Nothing impressive due to the poor diet of the District, but enough so that he doesn't appear to be just skin and bones even if he does still appear too thin to be healthy. In spite of all this, he admits that he is somewhat satisfied with his appearance. One such aspect that he is most fond of would be his eyes, a dark brown that is much the same shade as his hair. Luckily for him, it adds to his appearance rather than detracts.

Rylan's clothes are nothing impressive. Most of what he has are merely hand-me-downs. They're usually from his father or older brother which often causes the clothes to be ill fitting and slightly too large for his frame. Yet his favourite attire is what actually fits quite well, a gift from his parents. It consists of little more than a simple button up shirt and plain jeans with a pair of worn sneakers but he is fond of them. It's one of the few things that fit him well outside of what is designated only for special occasions and Reapings.

Rylan is a very hands on type of person, often preferring to handle a problem himself instead of having someone else do it for him. It is because of this that he is also quite practical, he hates sitting in school and being out in the fields is often his work of choice simply because it provides him with something to do. Though this is also because he is rather impatient, simply sitting still for hours on end can cause him to become rather irritable and begin itching to just do something. This can certainly be detrimental as it means that he will often act instead of simply waiting something out. Unfortunately, this can also cause him to be fairly blunt. He prefers to get right to the point instead of dancing around things which can certainly be irritating to some.

Overall however, Rylan can be fairly easy to get along with if you approach him. While his impatient and blunt nature could serve to drive others away, he has a fairly easygoing humour and is usually willing to laugh at anything. Even at his own expense if need be since he feels that it eases the stress of life present in the Lower Districts. Yet this can be subject to change as Rylan's moods can be quite mercurial. While it isn't as extreme as to simply flip from happiness to anger within a split second, it does mean that the wrong comment can cause him to become ill tempered. This is especially true if someone insults his family or friends, even in jest.

If you do become his friend then you will find that he is incredibly loyal. Rylan will easily take the side of his friend in almost any conflict. This also means that he is quite trustworthy and will keep something secret unless it would be detrimental to do so. This does not happen often, however, as he is also stubborn. While this has the benefit that Rylan will work incredibly hard for a goal it also means that he won't back down even when he should. This often results in arguments that have gone too far.

Rylan was born to a rather simple family in District 11 who cultivated some of the crops that supply Panem just like many others. His family primarily worked in the fields, cultivating the Rye that went straight to the Capitol for various things like breads or alcohol. Like many families that worked on farms, Rylan's family had an abundance of children and he was he second oldest of five children in all. It's because of the amount of children as well as his place among them that he was expected to help his father and brother in the fields when he wasn't in school once he reached an appropriate age. As he grew older he was gradually joined by his younger siblings in the fields.

Growing up he had to watch the Hunger Games from the Reaping all the way to the declaration of the victor since they were mandatory. Just like everyone else, he reacted in a different way than others might have. Where some fell into indifference, hatred or even acceptance, Rylan gradually became desensitized to the violence. He began to think nothing of it when someone his own age or even someone he had known was killed on the screen in front of his eyes. It was largely a defence mechanism to protect his mind from the horrors of what he was seeing.

Rylan's own family is one of the lucky few who has never been affected by the Reaping even in spite of his older brother often signing up for tesserae in order to keep the family fed. Now with his brother in his final year to qualify for the Reaping, Rylan knows that it will soon fall to him to do the same. Yet he continues to work in the fields and attend school, seemingly intent on refusing to let such things get to him. Some might call this denial or simply resilience, either way he refuses to cower over something that might never happen. Yet, like so many others, he still fears that one day his name might be called.