Marina Perch -- district 4

Marina stands at a perfectly average height of five feet and seven inches high. She has a striking, almost unusual looking face dominated by her large nose and very concrete brow bone. Her young face is not yet creased with the lines of age, though there are a few tiny, faint scars that run along her cheeks as the result of constant scratching when she was a baby. She also has a few freckles from sun exposure, but it's to be expected from the long hours she's spent sitting on a boat in the ocean in direct line of the sun.

Her fluffy, golden hair lightens to an almost white color in the sun, but in the winters fades to an almost strawberry color. It is wavy and fluffs out at the ends, and near the top and under the surface, a darker, reddish color emerges where the sun's rays do not permeate. She constantly brushes it out of habit as her mother did when she was younger. The practice (and the salt from the ocean) causes a lot of it to break off, and with it's natural frizz, it gives an almost wild, untamed look. It falls a well ways past her shoulders.

She is pretty, but not in a very conventional way. Her nose, which would look right at home on a man her age's face but seems foreign on her's, is almost a centerpiece to her features. Her lips are plump, and due to the fact that she constantly applies salve to protect them from the sun and salt, they are very soft as well.

Her eyes are deeply blue, with a perpetually worried look in them. This doesn't mean that she is perpetually worried, but she does solicit a number of concerns throughout the day when in fact she is just deeply in thought.

She wears modest clothing in bright shades - yellow is her favorite, but she can make do with blues and reds as well. Hating the tinge of a sunburn, she tends to cover herself up on outings to the beach or when she joins her family on a boat ride, wearing nothing more than a sweater and a pair of shorts. Though she tries to cover herself, her skin has a natural glow from years of being in the sun.

Marina was ostracized as a child, and as a result, tries to treat everybody with kindness and acceptance, no matter who they are. Though a lot of people her age are very competitive (and though she was pushed herself to become competitive through career training), she tends not to tie herself up in that sort of thing. Fighting and physical activity are something that do not come naturally to her, and she had to work for her entire life to get in the shape she's in now. She would much rather spend her time reading.

Marina can be a little shy, and more often then not, she likes to listen to people talk. Fearing embarrassment whenever she speaks, and due to a slight stutter when she was younger, she writes down witty remarks so she can make them later if she ever gets the opportunity. This has made her rather eloquent, but only in certain situations. She is not fond of the limelight in the least, and would much rather spend time alone or with a small group of people than in a crowd.

The pressure of training and the pressure of being a Career has put a lot of stress on the relationship with her father. Since he is the one who became mayor, she also holds a bit of resentment in the regard that she and her family must make public appearances - something that she hates more than anything.

She has a rather strained relationship with her father, but she does a rather good job hiding it. She acts nicely and treats him politely. The only time she ever lets it get to her is near reaping time, when she frequently has outbursts directed toward him and spends a lot of time alone. A lot of her friends would consider it an honor to be a tribute in the Hunger Games, but Marina is terrified of death more than anything.

Family is the most important thing to Marina, and she is a little overprotective of her younger siblings, especially her autistic younger brother who is nearing reaping age very quickly.

Born on a hot summer day, Marina was the first child of Mr. and Mrs. Fabian Perch. She grew up in comfort, as her family was wealthy, and enjoyed many things little girls do, especially a doll she named Bubbles.

On her first day of school, Bubbles was taken from her from a rather large girl named Bertha and thrown into the ocean, where it is still probably sitting to this day. From that point on, Bertha terrorized Marina until her father became mayor. Then everybody stopped being mean to her, and even apologized for their behavior. Marina was uncomfortable, but happy that the bullying was over, and because she was bullied as a child, always makes it her utmost concern to act kindly to anyone, no matter who they are.

She entered Career training at a very young age, something looked on enviously by her poorer classmates, but something she just thought was a burden. In fact, it made her tired and sore all over, and she hated it quite a bit. However, not wanted to speak up against her father, she continued to train for the rest of her life, becoming a strong young lady. She still has absolutely no grace, but she can lift weights and hold her own in a fight (if she has to).

The uncomfortableness added to the fact that she hated Career training only added to the blame she put on her father. It wasn't until her first reaping where she completely lost her composure. She ran away from home the day before the reaping and when they found her up in a tree, they had to convince her to come back down for about an hour. This has been the case every year since, and the reaping continues to be Marina's least favorite day of the year.

When her siblings were born, Marina had to do a lot of growing up. Turning into quite a mature young lady by the time she was 12, Marina is very protective over her younger siblings and loves them all.

Marina is played by the lovely Brit Marling. <3