Syl Park, District 3

Born into the poorest area of District 3, Syl�s lack of indulgence has maintained his slender, and somewhat gaunt figure. 5�10, with a nimble frame weighing about 59kg, Syl�s bone structure is light, thin, and susceptible to fracture. Yet, despite his pseudo-cadaverous frame, Syl remains fairly athletic; where he lacks in brute strength, he easily makes up for in agility and speed. He considers himself one of the most agile athletes in the area, skilled in sprinting, free-running and acrobatics.

Dark, messy hair, flat nose and almond-shaped eyes, Syl exemplifies typical Oriental features. His lips are remarkably thin, occasionally curling into a hesitantly mischievous grin. His eyesight is impaired, requiring him to wear corrective glasses � regardless of his hindered vision, however, Syl usually goes without wearing his glasses, finding them far too cumbersome for athletics and town activities. Syl has bony, spider fingers, used regularly to assist his father with mechanical tinkering.

Syl is a simple dresser by both necessity and choice � he judges clothes on the basis of their use, rather than aesthetic appeal. Wearing typical fitted tees and pliable cloth pants on a regular basis, Syl owns very few pieces of unique clothing. His signature, however, is a plain baseball cap � a tradition started by his father�s ancestors, he is never seen without it, regardless of the occasion. Sewn by his mother as annual birthday presents, Syl highly values these caps. He also regularly wears his grandfather�s leather watch, and a compact bag strapped to his back.

Growing up in a quiet, uneventful home, Syl has adopted his parents� reserved personalities. Unobtrusive, discreet and typically in the background of the bustle of District 3, Syl seems to slip by without much unwanted attention. While by no means shy, Syl simple values the tranquility that silence provides. He values meaningful discussion, and strongly dislikes small talk. Syl hates interacting in large crowds, and prefers more intimate settings with a few people whom he values. He dislikes attention from strangers.

While Syl is confident in his physical abilities, he is insecure in his strength and ability to defend himself. Lacking martial arts or weapon proficiency, Syl�s main tactic in life is to run away from danger. Much like his father, Syl will go to great lengths to avoid conflict, even to the point of recklessness. He dislikes violence, and will always attempt to create peace in a tense environment. Consequently, Syl loathes The Hunger Games, which he views as senseless dehumanization of humankind. He views the Capitol with utter disdain, blaming them for the districts� desensitization to the slaughter of innocent children.

Even though he is somewhat cowardly in his approach to conflict, Syl remains immensely proud, even to the point of arrogance. He views his parents are more talented and intelligent than anyone else he knows, and consequently, thinks of himself as superior to most people he has encountered. He values intelligence, tact, and talent in individuals, choosing to ignore those who fail to meet his high standards. Syl views himself as athletically skilled, intellectually sharp, and greatly talented in mechanical invention and tinkering. If others don�t best him in some area of life, Syl views them as lesser, and consequently treats them with less respect.

Syl remains bitter towards the Capitol, and ultimately, life itself. Viewing his father as immensely talented and hard working, Syl is convicted that his family deserves a better life. Angry with the lazy rich and the pretentiously haughty, Syl often voices his disdain for the upper classes to his parents. Hypocritically, Syl constantly strives to be accepted into the upper classes as an equal, working to improve his family�s social and financial status. Bent on fulfilling his prideful ambitions to succeed and become great, Syl is a hard-worker, willing to labor for a better life.

Even with his flaws, Syl is not without redeeming traits. Syl has a witty, dry sense of humor, often used to disarm hostile situations and charm his acquaintances. He is quick on his feet, and excellent at solving problems. To match his intelligence, Syl is also a superb actor, readily able to change his personality to magnetically charm his intended audience. Syl regularly uses these skills in the workplace, and around District 3, to get what he wants.

Born in the slums of District 3, an infant baby was delivered to the welcoming arms of Hahn and Roux Park. On the brink of old age, the quiet couple had been attempting to have children for nearly a decade. Finally, their faithfulness was rewarded with their one and only son - Sylvain.

Hahn Park was a lowly mechanical tinkerer in District 3. Initially a brilliant, promising engineer for a military contractor catering exclusively to Capitol interests, Hahn suffered a stroke at the young age of twenty-six. Recently wed to his wife, Roux, and unable to maintain his stressful workload, Hahn remained at home, slowly recovering from the immense toll his illness had taken upon him. Roux was forced to work as a clerk at a small pawn shop, working double shifts to make ends meet. Eventually, upon gradual recovery, Hahn began a new career as a mechanic and tinkerer of the obsolete technologies used by the citizens of the district. Working from dawn to dusk, the couple lived in immense poverty, barely scraping by on their meager livelihoods.

Consequently, Syl’s birth was simultaneously a blessing and a curse. While his parents were overjoyed at the birth of their first and only child, the added financial burden forced Hahn to take upon increased work and ultimately, withdraw debt from the local black market.

From a young age, Syl refused to remain still. Constantly disappearing from his home to play in the outdoors, Syl treated district’s architecture as his personal playground. While he remained quiet and shy, keeping distance from the other neighborhood children, Syl spent hours outside, climbing walls and trees, finding pleasure in the nature around him. This all changed at the age of seven, however, when Syl fell from the roof of his neighbor’s house, breaking his leg and rendering him unable to walk.

During this period in his life, Syl was forced to remain inside. To cope with his boredom, the young boy began to create various intricate inventions with his father’s spare parts. Recognizing the boy’s superior talent with mechanics, Hahn began to train Syl in the finer points of mechanical tinkering, making Syl incredibly skilled at working with mechanics. Thus, even when Syl recovered to full health, he simultaneously maintained his interests in both athletics and mechanics.

Throughout his childhood, Syl chose to distance himself from the other children in school. While many others attempted to include him in their games and friend circles, Syl willingly chose to separate himself. Instead, Syl grew intensely close to both his father and mother, looking to them exclusively for guidance and companionship. While the two were rarely home, due to their heavy work schedules, Syl would spend hours as a young child in his father’s workshop, helping his father with his work, and ultimately cherishing the time they spent together.

At the age of eleven, Syl was heading home from school when he stopped at the sight of a crying girl on the corner of a street. As he approached the girl, he realized she was sobbing over a broken pocketwatch, which lay in her hands. She had accidentally dropped it, and crushed it with her own footsteps. In an attempt to console her, Syl offered to fix the pocketwatch for her. Working on it for a few days back at home, the boy returned the watch to this young girl, who profusely thanked him. Introducing Syl to her wealthy merchant father, Syl became exposed to the life of luxury, fueling his desire and ambition to help his parents out of poverty, and into the life of riches. During this time, through the fixing of a broken pocketwatch, Syl also became friends with the little girl Mizah, who became one of his few, and closest, friends.

Although he was friends with Mizah, Syl stil maintained very few friendships. At the age of twelve, Syl was introduced to his new next-door neighbor, Tarren. Although dramatically different in talents, interests, and physical stature, the boys immediately became friends. While Tarren was large and strong, Syl remained agile and physically weak. While Tarren was skilled with biology and animals, Syl was skilled with sciences and machines. Regardless of their differences, however, the two boys remained inseparable.

At the age of thirteen, Syl and Tarren were offered a prestigious apprenticeship under Mizah’s father. Paid heftily for their services, the two boys gladly took on the job, under the pretenses of lightening their parents’ stressful burdens. The young boys would work after school, helping Mizah’s father with maintaining the books of his lucrative merchant business. In their free time, the two boys would spend time with their friend Mizah. Tarren and Mizah eventually became romantically-involved, pushing out Syl as a third-wheel.

One afternoon, upon returning from school, Syl, Tarren and Mizah found Capitol soldiers swarming Mizah’s home. In an attempt to investigate, Tarren entered the home, telling Syl to hide Mizah and keep her safe. Syl, fleeing across the street with Mizah behind a bush, watched the house in horror as soldiers exited the home with Mizah’s bloodied father, clearly beaten to the point of near death. Mizah, in absolute horror, ran from the bushes to run to her father. Although he attempted to stop her, Syl failed to hold her back, letting the girl run to her father. Her father, and later mother, was taken away by the Capitol soldiers, under the pretenses of rebellion against the Capitol. The boys were helpless as they saw their close friend, Mizah, sent to live with her abusive aunt. She would completely shut down, isolating herself from her friends.

Crimes against the Capitol. Syl would later discover, through rumors, that Mizah’s father had sold technology to a Capitol informant, who had later leaked the technology to a rebellious force. Regardless of intent, Mizah’s parents were tried by the Capitol, and ultimately sentenced to lives as Avoxes. Recognizing the massive injustices brought forth by the Capitol, Syl developed a deep seeded hatred for the oppressive government, vowing to rebel against them in every viable opportunity he had. However, this was not enough - Tarren immediately blamed Mizah’s emotional departure on Syl. If Syl had hidden Mizah, Tarren argued, the two could have hid the girl, and kept her in her from her abusive aunt. The two formerly best friends now fell apart.

Syl went through a bout of depression, now burying himself in doing his father’s work. This despair was compounded by his father’s second stroke, which caused his father completely unable to complete the most basic of tasks. Syl, now barely managing school and his father’s full-time business, had no nearly no time to grieve. Without enough resources to purchase necessities, Syl was forced to enter his name for tesserae several times. The family barely scraped by on the mixture of meager income and tesserae – his father would barely recover, unable to return to his job or function in any helpful capacities.

Syl, under the pressure to support his family, has now fully taken over his father’s shop, barely getting by in school and rarely finding time for himself. In his free time, he finds himself free-running around town - to run away from his problems.

I'd eventually like someone to create Tarren or Mizah as a character, but it's really not paramount at this point (I don't plan on making it central to his storyline, anyways). If you know anyone who might be interested, let them know that I'm willing to ret-con Tarren and Mizah's names/traits. Syl is kind of an open book, as far as what I'm willing to do with him. Any suggestions would be welcome.

Oh yeah, also, to any staffers out there, is it alright if Syl has drawn tesserae to support his family? I don't expect it to be added to the actual reaping (i.e. the stuff you have to pay for with money from posts), but it makes sense in the context of his character history. Would that be alright, or must I make revisions? Please let me know.