Application for thegames

[furgood]

OUT of CHARACTER
Name: Terra
Other characters: None

IN CHARACTER
Name: Meulin Leijon
Alias: N/A
Fandom:Homestuck
Canon point/AU: Panem AU
Journal: furgood
PB: Gabrielle Union
Age: 22
History:
(Canon History)
(Meulin is Maialen from Kurlozs bg with name changed to canon name! Furitz appuroved)

Meulin was born to two loving parents, Diana and Leon, in District Four. They weren't the best off of the district but nor were they the worst. Her mother worked at a bakery in town, bringing home stale or burnt bread for their neighbors and since her father was a captain of a ship, Meulin spent much time in the care of others. She made friends easily and there were so many people around to meet that she didn't really notice the things they lacked or the hardships they endured until she was older. A bad season with the fish often meant her parents made do with less, but like most parents, they tried to shield it from her.

The worst year was also the best year for them. It was the year of her seventh birthday, the worst fish harvest in decades, a horrible hurricane, and her sisters birth. It was the last Meulin cared about the most. Meulin doted on her, rushed home from school to take her from their old neighbor and took care of her when her mother went to work. The portions were small that year, full of barely edible fish stew and bread that had to be soaked to be eaten, but Meulin was thrilled to have finally have a sister. It was so much better in some ways, even if her parents might have disagreed about having another mouth to feed.. The next year, things went better and life settled into a routine. Things were not idyllic, not really, but Meulin had nothing to compare it to.

Meulin was aware of some of the horrible things about life in Panem, even if she saw them as routine or even expected. She knew all the rules; how to act around Peacekeepers and how to keep her mouth shut around her betters and the tourists from the Capitol, but really, that was how things were. It was the same as raising her hand in school or learning which songs were best for wish times. It was just life and life had rules.

Meulin’s days usually began and ended at the ocean. She fished from the shore early in the mornng, went to school, took Taria from the neighbor and set off back to the sea. For some time, Taria had to content herself with watching from the shore and playing in the sand as Meulin swam and fished, but eventually Meulin gave into her pouting. Teaching her to swim proved to be more difficult than she had anticipated, given how energetic and prone to wandering off Taria was. And really, Taria, at four, was not the most agile swimmer. Yet as close as they were, anything they did together was something to love.

It was not long after that first swim with Taria that Meulin met a pretty new boy. He came from the Capitol and though Meulin had been warned a bit, about people from the Capitol, they soon became inseparable. Her parents, as worried as they had been at first, encouraged it later. Good relations with the Capitol would only help them after all. She showed Kurloz how to swim and fish, how to pry open clams and they both were pleased when one hid a pearl inside. He made fast friends with another boy from her classes, Tuna, and together, they became a little trio. They did everything together, from picking up younger siblings from school or babysitters to swimming and fishing. His returns to the Capitol were always tearful but he always promised to come back. He would always come back.

Except for the time he didn't.

She was 13, almost old enough to know her feelings of friendship were shifting to a crush but certainly old enough to know how utterly starcrossed and romantic that relationship would be. She made up stories about such things, from old tales of her great aunt who had married into the Capitol when a Peacekeeper thought her lovely. She'd always been a romantic, though a naive one. And that’s why she didn’t really see how she could be used against someone. Or even realize why one might want to.

This visit had been peaceful enough, until things went wrong all at once. Tuna was beaten, almost to death. Kurloz found him, took him to be helped, but disappeared himself. Tuna's friends were angry, furious. And then it happened. The Peacekeeper she had been so deferential towards, had been so sweet and kind and utterly unthreatening to, came for her. Kurloz's father hurt her almost irreparably and left her for Kurloz to find. When Kurloz saw her, hardly able to move and unhearing of his scream, he clawed his own throat out. Or at least, that's how Meulin always remembered it. She never saw him again to ask.

He disappeared from her life as quickly as he entered it.

Things were never the same. Her left ear was permanently deaf and her right was faulty at best. People had to shout to be heard and if they spoke on her left, she couldn’t hear them at all. Really though, the biggest toll was on her heart. All her rules hadn't helped her. Nothing stopped a Peacekeeper who simply didn't like you. The trust, the childlike naivete was gone. She knew the Capitol couldn't be trusted to be fair, to be kind, to protect anything but themselves. So Meulin avoided them as much as she could, going out of her way to not cross their paths. She never wanted their notice again. She couldn't blame Kurloz, he couldn't have known what would happen, but she never got a chance to say that. Eventually, she gave up looking for him on the beach or by his house. Her family worried for her, more so when she told them she didn't know why this all happened, but nothing ever happened again. With her sister so frantic and her parents always doting over her, she forced herself to cheer up. She wasn't dead or dying, just somewhat deaf. Her legs and arms still worked. Her mind was clear. She had gotten off so much better than Tuna.

Slowly, things went back to normal. School was a struggle, but one she was dealing with. She smiled again, laughed again, everything went back to normal. It was sometimes easier to communicate with notes, especially at first, and that snowballed. Writing became her passion, something she did no matter what or where she was. It wasn't particularly useful out here in the Districts, not something she could do as a trade, but she didn't mind. It was fun. It was a relief, an escape. At 17, she started working in a shop, writing under the counter and chatting with the customers. She made up her lack of understanding with utter enthusiasm and was kept on even after her little scribbles under the counter were discovered.

Her sister only had to go through five reapings before the new Games came but Meulin always dug her nails into her palms as the names were called, waiting for the girl to be called with bated breath. It was such a relief to come home with her, holding her hand as they walked back to their parents. She embraced the new Games with a light heart, eager to keep her sister at home and away from the dangers. She always felt a little guilty, being so happy and grateful for the new tributes, but not so much that she didn't watch them avidly. There was just something about them, the trials and passions, the defeat, the mourning when an ally didn't return. The stories. She watched them from the crowd when they came to the District, just as grateful as everyone else.

But like all things in life, once again, things changed.

District Three fell and for all the official stories, whispers spread of the truth. Seeds were planted. Someone had heard a radio broadcast once, spoke of it, spread it. And despite herself, despite how she tried to stay out of things related to the Capitol, she was still friends with the same people. The friends who had seen her and Tuna beaten, nearly dead didn't stand lightly for injustice. And she became wrapped up in it. It was exciting at first, writing notes for her friends and taking them between people. It was easy to hide, given she was often out for deliveries. She never spoke of it at home but she became well known for her single cat pun, hardly ever the same twice but always there. It was her signature.

The rebellion soon became all her friends spoke of and like all things,spread out among the people. Did you hear about the Peacekeeper Head who was killed? The tributes are with us. Her mother looked troubled when their father came home one day, news of the death on his lips and excitement in his eyes. Things changed. Her mother made calls, worked more, kept Meulin and Traia at home more often. She resorted to sneaking out to help the rebels, breathless as she would take messages from District 13 to the heads. She got better at dealing with Peacekeeper and Capitolites. She remembered how to smile and bow and appear as nonthreatening as possible. Smiling through things had never stopped but it was easier, with a mission, to pretend she wasn’t scared.

In the middle of the 13th Arena of the Neverending Quell, her mother took her aside. She had a ticket for her and her sister to the Capitol and she whispered instructions. She had to go tomorrow night, there would a train that would take her to the Capitol. Her cousin would take them in. They could get jobs, Taria could go to school there. Everything would be better. And they would be safe from all this rebellion. Everyone knew about it, it would only be a matter of time before people got hurt. Meulin had to go, so she could be safe. It never occurred to her mother that Meulin was part of the problem and she didn’t have the heart to tell her.

It didn't surprise her, the next day, when she was approached by the rebellion. She didn’t know how they knew but they had a project in mind for her. Get close to the Tributes, get information, help the rebelling tributes. She could inform her district, help all the people who are hurt and tormented by the Capitol. She could still be important. And to her surprise, she agreed. She got contacts almost immediately--they had been planning on putting a spy in the Capitol for some time she gathered. And that night, she was shuttled off to the Capitol.

Once there, she spent time getting used to the luxury and the expense. Her cousin spared nothing, refused to let her be seen in anything rundown or last season. It was utterly exhausting, to keep up with it all, but it was so much easier with something to do. And her cousin provided the best job for her, a gossip writer about romance in the Hunger Games. It was definitely a selfish move on her cousins part, she could tag along to see the Tributes and hear about all the gossip first hand. Yet it got Meulin closer to them than ever before.

And she was all about romance. It was just a little shocking that Kurloz showed up again right as she getting her start.


Presentation: Meulin comes off silly, easily excited, bubbly and sweet. She doesn’t seem like she would hurt a fly and she doesn’t mind that impression. If she comes off silly, then people don’t look too deep. Before being dragged into the rebellion, this might have bothered her but now it works to her advantage. She throws her all into things, whether its a game, learning new things about tributes or creating intricate stories of romance where reality fails. She is enthusiastic about life and love and not always in that order.
She states her opinion on romance as fact and is unafraid to state something controversial--as long as it's about something that doesn’t matter. She simply tries to blend in as a writer of gossip and that tends to come with a certain amount of confidence. Meulin, if nothing else, has a fake until you make it sort of attitude. Smiling through awful things included.
She’s gotten used to the idea of babbling about things to distract someone and if someone says something off color or provoking--well she pretends she didn’t hear. Or perhaps she really didn’t, who’s to say.She is open about her disability but tends to treat it as a minor inconvenience. She’s lived with it for almost half her life, it's old hat by now. She lies about how she became deaf, saying it was childhood illness, and is open about where she came from. She paints her coming to Capitol as a brilliant rescue by her relatives, that things in the Districts are dull. They are, compared to the Capitol, but she misses the ocean fiercely.
In short, Meulin puts on a bright face for the world and pretends the bad things can’t touch her. She is a rising star in the gossip world and she’s thrilled she’s done so well for herself after such humble beginnings..

Motivations: For all she shows off a confident happy exterior, Meulin worries. She worries about her family and friends.She worries about the rebellion and how her family might fare at home. Her life wasn’t perfect but it wasn’t horrible and so she often feels likes she had no reason to rebel. She was hurt by a Peacekeeper but couldn’t that have been anyone? She second guesses most things she comes up with herself and likes to have the solidity of other opinions and requests. That’s why she flocks so easily to people who back up her thoughts or at least tell her why they were wrong with some certainty. Having something outside her own mind to cling to makes life easier.

Meulin still trusts easily. She puts her faith in people and certain facts about life and continues to be saddened when they turn out to be false. She’s tired of that, of having things turn out wrong or broken. As a child she saw everything as perfect, or at least, good. Things happened that weren’t great but it always seemed to turn out well. It hurts her, deep down, that she knows better. That things don’t always turn out well.

It’s easy to see how people can find her a sweetheart or an angel but she isn’t perfect. She hates how thrilled she was to see offworld tributes take their place. And as a person of Panem, she sees the offworlders with a certain air of fascination and othering. They’re new and exciting, they’re not all human, and without the strong connection to the districts and real humans, she finds it easy to pretend they aren’t real people, at least for long enough to write about them. They’re like characters in a book, except better because she can talk to them.


Setting: Meulin is from District Four and while she doesn’t hide that fact, she wants to become a Capitolite on some surface level. She’s accepted that it might mean seeing awful things or acting in awful ways but everything she’s doing is so her parents and sister can live better lives. She’s prepared to act the right ways to do that, to be flippant and fun and act like she doesn’t care about the tributes.

SAMPLES
First Person Thread: An example of a first person post, at least 200 words minimum. Feel free to use introspection and scene setting if your character is not chatty. Please use one of the two following prompts:

For Capitols OCs and AUs: Somehow you ended up privy to a private post just gushing about how much they just LOVE the new games, how they think they are the best thing since sliced bread. Then the poster (Your friend? Some random person from a party who decided they wanted to send you their private thoughts? A rival trying to pin you into an uncomfortable spot?) namesdrops you for your opinion on the new format, versus the quaint, old-fashion style of the game.

Everyone on the broadcast is just waiting for your input.


[Meulin beams at the camera. What an stale sort of topic to bring up but what columnist doesn’t like to share their thoughts on this. Everyone has an opinion after all. She speaks, a little too loud but that’s par for the course with Meulin. Turn your speakers down]

Well, as a former resident of the Districts, I’m so grateful for the new style of games. Our wonderful Capitol spared my family and friends in their infinite mercy.Not that I don’t find the idea of fighting in them thrilling, I just know I’m not the type to win them, you know? Though I’m sure you’d have rooted for me.

[She winks, bobbing her head ]

But really, I couldn’t agree more! I love the way it is now! The drama, the romance. The way that cha--development moves from one arena to the next. How enemies can become allies or the other way around? Mesmerizing. I adore it. It’s a whole diffurent game. Before it was one shot, the thrill of the fights and the betryals but now you get so much more. They come backand fight again and who doesn’t love that! Seeing them grow and learn and try to adapt and get swept back off their feet at some new twist or challenge. I just--[She squeezes her hands together, starstruck.] I just can’t. I can not.

Prose: 200 word minimum. To mimic the style of the game, please write your third person sample based on the following prompt:

You have been set in a room in front of the Gamemakers to be judged on a score of one to twelve, with one being the lowest and twelve being the highest. The Gamemakers sit safely behind a force field and watch, and you are provided with an array of weapons and targets, though no gun to be seen.

If you are a new Tribute, you have been plucked from home and rushed in here with only a brief explanation of what is going on: You are about to enter an Arena death match that only one person will make it out of, and impressing these people will help you live.

If you are someone from Panem, then you are very unlucky. You know what's going on but... you were told all the Tributes were from a foreign land now. So why are you in front of the Gamemakers fighting for your life now? Are you a criminal, a traitor, deeply in debt? Or do you even know why you were shoved in to this room?


Meulin doesn’t know what to do.

Being found out had always been a possibility. She’d known that from day one, even as it been buried under the thrill of doing something forbidden. But it seems so dramatic, so final, so unreal. Will they bring her back like those other tributes? Or is hers a final death. There was no one to pick her up and take her to safety, to someone to wrap her up and keep her whole and alive. She was going to die and no one could save her.

She wanted to cry.

She couldn’t cry. She couldn’t. She pushed her hair back from her face as her mind raced. She had to do something. Something. She grabbed a fishing spear from the rack, turned to look at the dummies lined up so perfectly. She threw it, but it didn’t sink into the dummy like she hoped. It bounced off--they were both metal, of course that would happen--and skittered across the floor. It crashed into a rack of arrows, sending them falling to the ground. In the silence, she looked up at the Gamemakers and finally found something steady inside herself.

“My family, my sister. They had nothing to do with me. Nothing at all. I promise. They didn’t know--my mother wanted me to be safe. I’m not--please, Gamemakers. Ask them to spare my family.”

What is your character scored: Panem AU but; 2 to 3. She can fish to feed herself but she can't hear anyone coming, unless they're extremely loud, and she's physically weak. Her cuteness might make her a likable target but if she was in the Arena, she would obviously have been caught doing something wrong.

Token: A single pearl strung on a piece of cord.

Additional information:
Hunger Games AU and OC: What is your reasoning for the Capitol to include your canon doppelganger if they app in? What district is your character from? How do they feel about home?
Meulin is from District Four and proud of this fact. She loves her District, adores it from shore to town and for all its problems, it’s home. She loves the sea, whether by boat or swimming out herself, and wants to go back to it all someday.

As for her canon doppelganger, well, she’s already had one of her two versions here. Even if she doesn’t realize it. The Disciple was a version of Meulin from Alternia but her version from Beforus has not come at all.. And really, the Capitol’s reasons could be twofold. They could bring her in to punish her sister and family for Meulin’s rebellion or it could be to punish Kurloz. She would react terribly either way. She would assume it was punishment for her family and beg for them to send the troll Meulin back.