Application
PLAYER
Name: Sazzles
Journal Username:![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
bricks_and_bones
E-mail: Nah. I never check this.
PLURK: manicmanic
Current Characters at Luceti: Jack Sparrow |all7seas
CHARACTER
Name: Effie Trinket
Canon: Hunger Games
Gender: Female
Age: 33
Wing Color: Violet
Canon Point: From "The Hunger Games"; the Malnosso take her from the Capitol just before Katniss and Peeta are sent into the Arena.
Canon Point Explanation: I want to play an Effie who is still unquestioningly loyal to the Capitol and what it stands for, and who hasn't had her blind spots challenged yet by Katniss and Peeta's act(s) of rebellion. I am interested in developing her relationships with castmates and others from this perspective in Luceti.
History: Effie's bio at the Hunger Games wiki
Personality:
Prim and Proper, Capitol-Style: One reason the Capitol finds Effie useful is because she is able to maintain their presence physically and behaviorally in the districts. That is, she symbolically reinforces the superiority and power of the central government through her appearance and her behaviors. Effie is effervescent, well-mannered and polished, even in the midst of squalor, death, and horror. She can stand up in front of terrorized crowds of children at Reapings all over Panem and quite merrily summon them to the Hunger Games without cracking the facade of power with any sign of compassion. It is this juxtaposition of manner, mannerisms, attitude, and outlook with the extreme social injustice of the districts that provides a lot of the horror that shades Effie's presence in the novel.
A Diplomatic Schmoozer: Effie is most certainly a climber. Not only does she work to finagle sponsors with Haymitch for Peeta and Katniss in the Capitol, it is also likely that she got to her position as an escort for the tributes through her abilities to negotiate the echelons of the Capitol's political class. On some level, though, she does enjoy the aura of celebration that surrounds the macabre events of the Hunger Games. Her love of pageantry and spectacle would probably be the same in an alternate universe where Panem is a just and happy land. Effie loves a parade, displays of patriotism/power, men in uniform (or high fashion power suits.)
Loyal: At the canon point from which I am drawing her, Effie is still unquestioningly loyal to the Capitol. Later on in the series she becomes associated with the rebellion, with Katniss and Peeta being, I believe, a strong rallying point for her sea-change in thought and belief, but for now her consciousness to Panem's horrific social crises has not been awakened. She's still "asleep" as far as rebellious thoughts go. She enthusiastically wishes any and all a "Happy Hunger Games!"
Organized and Punctual: One doesn't get hair and wardrobe perfection like that and make it on time to every district by accident. Effie gets things going promptly. She often gets upset with Haymitch for being late, slovenly, drunk, etc. In this sense she might also be a bit of a perfectionist. As someone invested in Official pageantry and pomp, Effie has to make sure that things go off without a hitch: that her tributes are well-groomed and prepared for their fates, and that she meets each expectation and requirement to help get the Games off the ground.
Upbeat and Cheerful: Effie will smile right at you, young Tribute, while she announces that you will soon be sent to face your fate in a death arena. She'll also expect you to be thrilled about it, too.
Values Order and Systems of Control in Which She Can Flourish: Effie is so inculcated and such a perfectly-coiffed cog in the Capitol's machine that she, I believe, cannot function well outside any such system. The fact that she has been molded and also self-created into a perfect Capitol spokeswoman while on the road in various squalor-infested Districts demonstrates how much she needs the system to function as such. We see her as making no sense: how could a human being treat children as she does? But for Effie, this horrifically skewed universe makes perfect sense. Just as the system props up her personality and mannerisms, her manners, wardrobe, and polish help construct a sense of self that can exist in a dystopic universe like Panem. It could be that her elaborate makeup and wardrobe also help her separate herself from the horror and behave as she is expected to. They may help provide the psychological barrier necessary to maintain a semblance of sanity within a system that promotes madness as normality. A physical and emotional mask, if you will.
Prizes Propriety and Orderly Behavior in Others: Katniss and Haymitch tend to bring out the scolding schoolmarm in Effie when their manners aren't good. Still, her understanding of the world is that Capitol manners and mannerisms are key to success in winning sponsors and getting ahead. While I believe Effie prizes manners for their own sake, she's no idiot and understands that they are also necessary to survive. This is why she tries to encourage them in her tributes and finds Haymitch so incorrigible.
Fashionista: Lookit those brightly-colored, highly structured fashions. Damn. I want to squint at the rest of her closet. But that may in fact be the point. Effie represents the superstructure of Panem society. Her clothing is glaring and highly regulated and structured -- stiff, almost. Not comfortable-looking at all; many angles and sharp corners and lots of very agonizingly careful balance -- balance that is only maintained by constantly skewing those aforementioned angles. Lots of mad, showy pomp. If you unskewed even one seam it would all fall apart.
A Joiner/Follower: Perhaps the secret to Effie's success in the Capitol is the fact that she doesn't question the system but instead is one of its major perpetrating puppets. But Effie is not loyal to any one person -- that is important to note. Instead, she is loyal to what in the books is a nameless, faceless leadership: a system of violence and disregard for human suffering. She is a blindly privileged member of this system as well as a perpetrator of it.
Ambitious: Effie is eager to rise in Capitol circles. She has a pretty important position at a fairly young age, for one thing. But she is also extremely careful to do things by the book and behave in ways she knows will bring success: this becomes apparent in scenes where she is ushering Katniss and Peeta to the Capitol and begins their instruction on how to be good tributes. Effie doesn't take any chances.
Willfully Blind to Abominations of Social Justice: Basically everything I said above. Elaborating on this will likely sound repetitive. But Effie does stride into the squalor of Katniss's hometown apparently happily oblivious to its filth, illness, and poverty, a million-dollar smile on her face.
Prefers to Honor and Support the Illusion of "Good" in Panem's Social Order Rather Than Entertain the Idea that the Social Order in and of Itself Might Be Horribly Flawed: Artificiality is safer than facing the darkest realities.
Strengths
Physical: Effie has no outstanding physical strength beyond that of the average young woman. She is a dazzling fashionista as far as Capitol trends go, and can put together stunning outfits that depend a great deal on bold colors, almost uncomfortable-looking angles, wigs, and elaborate makeup. She is a pretty woman without these accessories; her natural hair is long and blond, but Effie hides everything natural about herself. Humanity is for the Districts: sweat, dirt, blood, bad table manners, stains, decay, aging, death. The Capitol aesthetic is all about oblique, perpetual, and almost doll-like beauty. Death is completely fetishized in the Games as a symptom of District humanity. Thick and by our standards outlandish makeup -- the power to shock and disguise flaws beneath bold acts of art -- turns the human body of the Capitol into something ethereal and superior, as far from Death as Art can be. In its representation of a stylized humanity, it achieves separation from the suffering bodies that are punished and humiliated in the Districts. Thus the Styles of the Capitol are all part of the power structure that keeps most of Panem's population in chains, and Effie willingly and effervescently participates in this system of oppression through her acts of art/beauty/style.
Mental: While I would suggest Effie is a smart woman, she's not a genius. However, she sets up strong mental guards against betraying any disloyalty against the Capitol. I believe her words and actions are always carefully and artfully chosen. Effie will fall back on tactics like using Capitol slogans on her tour of the districts -- "May the Odds Be Ever in Your Favor!" -- as a way to drill the ubiquity of Capitol power into the hearts and minds of the residents. She is the central government's walking propaganda.
Emotional: Effie has the normal emotional capabilities of the average woman. PLEASE SEE BELOW.
Weaknesses
Physical: There are no canonically defined physical weaknesses apart from those of the average healthy adult woman.
Mental: Effie's blatant disregard of human misery and apparent lack of compassion might be deemed a weakness, at least a moral one. On some level she is the way she is because this is the best way to be if one wishes to survive and thrive within a system as screwed up as Panem's. On the other hand, if she ever did let her mental defenses down and allow everything she has witnessed to enter her heart, I think there would be a significant mental/emotional breakdown.
Emotional: Again, Effie's apparently stunted emotional growth and careless attitude toward young human lives is a symptom of the system that she acts within. I don't think Effie personally has a lot of agency in this system. I think her willingness to later become associated with rebel forces acknowledges that she functions as an agent OF the system rather than an autonomous person, at least in her official capacities. She does allow cracks to show as we are led to believe that she truly wants Katniss and Peeta to succeed. They are like the lobsters she doesn't want to throw into the pot, even though she believes she has no choice in the matter. She does, of course, have a choice, but she doesn't know that she does, and that is part of why she is emotionally trapped within the system that physically imprisons and abuses those in the districts.
SAMPLES
First Person: Greetings, denizens of District Luceti! I would like to announce a change in the protocols at Seventh Heaven. Management has determined that these changes will enhance meal service and the experience of our diners, so please do listen! From now on, the meal service will occur in shifts. Children and those under the age of seventeen will please dine between the hours of eight in the morning and twelve noon. Remember, young people, that healthy bodies are fed bodies. We won't have any of your hunger strikes and bad behavior here! Of those OVER age seventeen, the grey-headed older folk are invited to attend meals between noon and three. Three sharp, mind you! The rest of us -- all who have our own teeth and a bit of pep in our steps, as it were! -- may arrive for meals from three o'clock on into the evening dinner hours! Now we don't want to linger too long over our meals, but it is important to enjoy each other's company with polite and intelligent conversation. Proper dress is required, of course! Elegance is excellence! Thank you for your attention to this matter, and may the odds be ever in your favor!
Third Person: The Luceti library echoed with the clack clack metronome of a pair of stylish purple four-inch pumps. Just as Effie Trinket would never reveal her shoe size, she would die before disclosing the fact that her feet were killing her. These shoes were padded with a very soft cushiony innersole, but the effect was negligible. Her feet were often sore in Luceti. One had to walk everywhere -- no proper modern transport! She'd tried to hire a carriage, but the folk down at the stable had laughed at the notion that they were to be there at her beck and call.
Now where on earth was the section on history? One ought to know as much about the political history of one's residence as one could: who was in power. Who had fallen out of favor. It was valuable information and she had to find it. Of course the Guide explained SOME things – she had discovered quickly who the movers and shakers of Luceti society were – but not nearly in enough detail. Effie leaned against a reading table and glanced about her. No one else was there. She sighed and slipped off her left shoe so that she could reach down and massage a sore instep. Someone – someone had to live here who had enough clout to get her a proper vehicle.
Since it was rather late and she was the library's only inhabitant, Effie chanced to take off her other shoe as well. Barefoot felt strange. Barefoot felt wrong and naughty and dangerous and chancey. Anyone could walk in and see her feet! Perhaps she should lock the front door, or lower the lights, or put the shoes back on. Or, perhaps, she should stop fretting and wasting time and get down to business. With a brave breath, the Tribute Escort forgot about her shoes and knelt beside a long shelf of history books. Different worlds – worlds she had never heard of in her rather narrow life in Panem – and different political systems splayed out before her as she pulled book after book from the stacks. None of them seemed to have any useful information in their indexes or chapters; most of them had words that were strange to her. Communism. Autocracies. Democracies. Oligarchies. Republics. These, she realized, would be forbidden texts back home.
Effie's face reddened. Hoping that the Capitol had not seen all of this in that way they had of seeing, she hurriedly placed the books back in order. She then slipped her feet back into those fuchsia pumps and hurried back out into the night. There would be other, safer avenues than this, she was sure.
Name: Sazzles
Journal Username:
bricks_and_bonesE-mail: Nah. I never check this.
PLURK: manicmanic
Current Characters at Luceti: Jack Sparrow |
all7seasCHARACTER
Name: Effie Trinket
Canon: Hunger Games
Gender: Female
Age: 33
Wing Color: Violet
Canon Point: From "The Hunger Games"; the Malnosso take her from the Capitol just before Katniss and Peeta are sent into the Arena.
Canon Point Explanation: I want to play an Effie who is still unquestioningly loyal to the Capitol and what it stands for, and who hasn't had her blind spots challenged yet by Katniss and Peeta's act(s) of rebellion. I am interested in developing her relationships with castmates and others from this perspective in Luceti.
History: Effie's bio at the Hunger Games wiki
Personality:
Prim and Proper, Capitol-Style: One reason the Capitol finds Effie useful is because she is able to maintain their presence physically and behaviorally in the districts. That is, she symbolically reinforces the superiority and power of the central government through her appearance and her behaviors. Effie is effervescent, well-mannered and polished, even in the midst of squalor, death, and horror. She can stand up in front of terrorized crowds of children at Reapings all over Panem and quite merrily summon them to the Hunger Games without cracking the facade of power with any sign of compassion. It is this juxtaposition of manner, mannerisms, attitude, and outlook with the extreme social injustice of the districts that provides a lot of the horror that shades Effie's presence in the novel.
A Diplomatic Schmoozer: Effie is most certainly a climber. Not only does she work to finagle sponsors with Haymitch for Peeta and Katniss in the Capitol, it is also likely that she got to her position as an escort for the tributes through her abilities to negotiate the echelons of the Capitol's political class. On some level, though, she does enjoy the aura of celebration that surrounds the macabre events of the Hunger Games. Her love of pageantry and spectacle would probably be the same in an alternate universe where Panem is a just and happy land. Effie loves a parade, displays of patriotism/power, men in uniform (or high fashion power suits.)
Loyal: At the canon point from which I am drawing her, Effie is still unquestioningly loyal to the Capitol. Later on in the series she becomes associated with the rebellion, with Katniss and Peeta being, I believe, a strong rallying point for her sea-change in thought and belief, but for now her consciousness to Panem's horrific social crises has not been awakened. She's still "asleep" as far as rebellious thoughts go. She enthusiastically wishes any and all a "Happy Hunger Games!"
Organized and Punctual: One doesn't get hair and wardrobe perfection like that and make it on time to every district by accident. Effie gets things going promptly. She often gets upset with Haymitch for being late, slovenly, drunk, etc. In this sense she might also be a bit of a perfectionist. As someone invested in Official pageantry and pomp, Effie has to make sure that things go off without a hitch: that her tributes are well-groomed and prepared for their fates, and that she meets each expectation and requirement to help get the Games off the ground.
Upbeat and Cheerful: Effie will smile right at you, young Tribute, while she announces that you will soon be sent to face your fate in a death arena. She'll also expect you to be thrilled about it, too.
Values Order and Systems of Control in Which She Can Flourish: Effie is so inculcated and such a perfectly-coiffed cog in the Capitol's machine that she, I believe, cannot function well outside any such system. The fact that she has been molded and also self-created into a perfect Capitol spokeswoman while on the road in various squalor-infested Districts demonstrates how much she needs the system to function as such. We see her as making no sense: how could a human being treat children as she does? But for Effie, this horrifically skewed universe makes perfect sense. Just as the system props up her personality and mannerisms, her manners, wardrobe, and polish help construct a sense of self that can exist in a dystopic universe like Panem. It could be that her elaborate makeup and wardrobe also help her separate herself from the horror and behave as she is expected to. They may help provide the psychological barrier necessary to maintain a semblance of sanity within a system that promotes madness as normality. A physical and emotional mask, if you will.
Prizes Propriety and Orderly Behavior in Others: Katniss and Haymitch tend to bring out the scolding schoolmarm in Effie when their manners aren't good. Still, her understanding of the world is that Capitol manners and mannerisms are key to success in winning sponsors and getting ahead. While I believe Effie prizes manners for their own sake, she's no idiot and understands that they are also necessary to survive. This is why she tries to encourage them in her tributes and finds Haymitch so incorrigible.
Fashionista: Lookit those brightly-colored, highly structured fashions. Damn. I want to squint at the rest of her closet. But that may in fact be the point. Effie represents the superstructure of Panem society. Her clothing is glaring and highly regulated and structured -- stiff, almost. Not comfortable-looking at all; many angles and sharp corners and lots of very agonizingly careful balance -- balance that is only maintained by constantly skewing those aforementioned angles. Lots of mad, showy pomp. If you unskewed even one seam it would all fall apart.
A Joiner/Follower: Perhaps the secret to Effie's success in the Capitol is the fact that she doesn't question the system but instead is one of its major perpetrating puppets. But Effie is not loyal to any one person -- that is important to note. Instead, she is loyal to what in the books is a nameless, faceless leadership: a system of violence and disregard for human suffering. She is a blindly privileged member of this system as well as a perpetrator of it.
Ambitious: Effie is eager to rise in Capitol circles. She has a pretty important position at a fairly young age, for one thing. But she is also extremely careful to do things by the book and behave in ways she knows will bring success: this becomes apparent in scenes where she is ushering Katniss and Peeta to the Capitol and begins their instruction on how to be good tributes. Effie doesn't take any chances.
Willfully Blind to Abominations of Social Justice: Basically everything I said above. Elaborating on this will likely sound repetitive. But Effie does stride into the squalor of Katniss's hometown apparently happily oblivious to its filth, illness, and poverty, a million-dollar smile on her face.
Prefers to Honor and Support the Illusion of "Good" in Panem's Social Order Rather Than Entertain the Idea that the Social Order in and of Itself Might Be Horribly Flawed: Artificiality is safer than facing the darkest realities.
Strengths
Mental: While I would suggest Effie is a smart woman, she's not a genius. However, she sets up strong mental guards against betraying any disloyalty against the Capitol. I believe her words and actions are always carefully and artfully chosen. Effie will fall back on tactics like using Capitol slogans on her tour of the districts -- "May the Odds Be Ever in Your Favor!" -- as a way to drill the ubiquity of Capitol power into the hearts and minds of the residents. She is the central government's walking propaganda.
Emotional: Effie has the normal emotional capabilities of the average woman. PLEASE SEE BELOW.
Weaknesses
Mental: Effie's blatant disregard of human misery and apparent lack of compassion might be deemed a weakness, at least a moral one. On some level she is the way she is because this is the best way to be if one wishes to survive and thrive within a system as screwed up as Panem's. On the other hand, if she ever did let her mental defenses down and allow everything she has witnessed to enter her heart, I think there would be a significant mental/emotional breakdown.
Emotional: Again, Effie's apparently stunted emotional growth and careless attitude toward young human lives is a symptom of the system that she acts within. I don't think Effie personally has a lot of agency in this system. I think her willingness to later become associated with rebel forces acknowledges that she functions as an agent OF the system rather than an autonomous person, at least in her official capacities. She does allow cracks to show as we are led to believe that she truly wants Katniss and Peeta to succeed. They are like the lobsters she doesn't want to throw into the pot, even though she believes she has no choice in the matter. She does, of course, have a choice, but she doesn't know that she does, and that is part of why she is emotionally trapped within the system that physically imprisons and abuses those in the districts.
SAMPLES
First Person: Greetings, denizens of District Luceti! I would like to announce a change in the protocols at Seventh Heaven. Management has determined that these changes will enhance meal service and the experience of our diners, so please do listen! From now on, the meal service will occur in shifts. Children and those under the age of seventeen will please dine between the hours of eight in the morning and twelve noon. Remember, young people, that healthy bodies are fed bodies. We won't have any of your hunger strikes and bad behavior here! Of those OVER age seventeen, the grey-headed older folk are invited to attend meals between noon and three. Three sharp, mind you! The rest of us -- all who have our own teeth and a bit of pep in our steps, as it were! -- may arrive for meals from three o'clock on into the evening dinner hours! Now we don't want to linger too long over our meals, but it is important to enjoy each other's company with polite and intelligent conversation. Proper dress is required, of course! Elegance is excellence! Thank you for your attention to this matter, and may the odds be ever in your favor!
Third Person: The Luceti library echoed with the clack clack metronome of a pair of stylish purple four-inch pumps. Just as Effie Trinket would never reveal her shoe size, she would die before disclosing the fact that her feet were killing her. These shoes were padded with a very soft cushiony innersole, but the effect was negligible. Her feet were often sore in Luceti. One had to walk everywhere -- no proper modern transport! She'd tried to hire a carriage, but the folk down at the stable had laughed at the notion that they were to be there at her beck and call.
Now where on earth was the section on history? One ought to know as much about the political history of one's residence as one could: who was in power. Who had fallen out of favor. It was valuable information and she had to find it. Of course the Guide explained SOME things – she had discovered quickly who the movers and shakers of Luceti society were – but not nearly in enough detail. Effie leaned against a reading table and glanced about her. No one else was there. She sighed and slipped off her left shoe so that she could reach down and massage a sore instep. Someone – someone had to live here who had enough clout to get her a proper vehicle.
Since it was rather late and she was the library's only inhabitant, Effie chanced to take off her other shoe as well. Barefoot felt strange. Barefoot felt wrong and naughty and dangerous and chancey. Anyone could walk in and see her feet! Perhaps she should lock the front door, or lower the lights, or put the shoes back on. Or, perhaps, she should stop fretting and wasting time and get down to business. With a brave breath, the Tribute Escort forgot about her shoes and knelt beside a long shelf of history books. Different worlds – worlds she had never heard of in her rather narrow life in Panem – and different political systems splayed out before her as she pulled book after book from the stacks. None of them seemed to have any useful information in their indexes or chapters; most of them had words that were strange to her. Communism. Autocracies. Democracies. Oligarchies. Republics. These, she realized, would be forbidden texts back home.
Effie's face reddened. Hoping that the Capitol had not seen all of this in that way they had of seeing, she hurriedly placed the books back in order. She then slipped her feet back into those fuchsia pumps and hurried back out into the night. There would be other, safer avenues than this, she was sure.