Flora's Aesthetic
FLORA HARPER
DISTRICT 10
F / 16 / WOC: Butcher (and other small) knives / Reaped
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Flora is from District Ten, where her father works as a butcher. Her mother passed away while giving birth to her younger brother Joey, so for almost her entire life, it’s just been Flora, Joey, and their dad. When Flora and her brother were younger, their dad used to bring them to work with him where Flora helped him a lot and therefore got quite strong. Occasionally, she and her brother would get bored and go outside where they would play with butcher knives and other small knives as well, so even though she doesn’t have the best technique, she is pretty handy with knives in close combat and throwing.
THE REAPING
Flora’s family doesn’t have a lot of money so Flora has gotten a big amount of tesserae, therefore it wasn’t much of a surprise when she was reaped. When she heard her name, she wasn’t shocked, just scared. She was on the verge of crying, but she pulled herself together. If she was going to win this, which she prayed she would, she needed the Capitol to like her, and she knew the Capitol residents aren’t big fans of crybabies.
Flora's Reaping Outfit
THE TRIBUTE PARADE
Flora gave her dress one last pull before getting up on her chariot. On her head sat a headband with big horns and she wore three different necklaces around her neck, one with a big cowbell. She liked it as it reminded her of home.
She took deep breaths, as her chariot was pulled forward. She stood confidently and smiled to the crowd. They all cheered and laughed. Flora liked it, she always liked the attention.
She shot a glance at Tiberius. He looked quite nervous and very uncomfortable. He reminded Flora of her younger brother, and she felt weirdly protective of him. She nudged his shoulder and smiled at him. He responded with an insecure smile, and so she grabbed his hand and whispered a rapid “trust me”. They raised their hands in the air. The crowd cheered and shouted even louder. Flora looked over at Tiberius and saw him smiling bright and waving to the crowd as she did the same. The rest of the parade was perfect, she loved it.
Flora's Parade Outfit
TRAINING
Flora received a training score of 9
TRAINING DAYS
Flora stepped into the circle of tributes, surrounding a woman giving a speech and some brief instructions. The training was about to start; she was pretty excited but also kind of nervous. She stood up straight and confident, listening carefully to the woman. Once the tributes were allowed to start training, Flora and Tiberius moved directly to the survival station. She wanted to get a good look at all the other tributes strengths before she started working with weapons. She and Tiberius worked together at the survival station and studying plants, although she didn’t really pay attention. Afterwards, she moved to the knife throwing station. Back in Ten, she and her brother would play around with knives when they got bored at their dads work. Flora was especially good with butcher knives, she was very strong and something about the weight and size of the butcher knives was just perfect for her.
Since she never got any proper training, she didn’t really have any technique, so she worked a lot with the trainers they had in the Capitol. They helped her a lot, and she got quite good. Tiberius and Flora stuck together a lot during training, so she would show him how to throw knives and he would watch. She let him hold some of her knives, but he refused to throw any of them at the dummies, she could tell that he felt comfortable with her, and even though Flora didn’t know sign language, they got along well. Tiberius would also do a lot of parkour-type training, and he was amazing.
He really impressed Flora - he jumped between moving platforms and ropes, like a tiny monkey. Flora didn’t just do knife throwing, she practiced combat even more than she did throwing knives. She, again, used butcher knives, almost as if they were swords. She would stand in the middle of a few dummies, spin around and swing her knives, which would cut of the dummy’s arm or leg or even head, she wasn’t that great in combat, but she improved a lot.
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PRIVATE SESSION
Flora walked up to the gamemakers and introduced herself, she called out her name and district. Afterwards, she immediately moved to the knife throwing station, she wanted to throw both small knives and butcher knives. She started throwing small knives, that were actually designed for throwing. She got in front of a few dummies and threw her first knife. It hit the dummy’s head, but not directly at the target, just the outer ring. She got nervous - she needed to do better. She grabbed two small knives, one in each hand, and threw one at a dummy a little to her left, and the other one at a dummy to her right. Again, she hit the dummy, but not the middle of the target. Enough with the small knives, she needed to show her biggest strength.
She grabbed a big heavy butcher knife, it was the perfect size and weight, just like the ones at home. She moved backwards so the distance between her and the dummy was quite far. She moved her left foot forward and aimed, and then she threw the knife. It hit the target, perfectly. The gamemakers looked surprised, she really was great with bigger knives. She also really wanted to show the gamemakers how strong she is, so she hurried over to a station with big heavy medicine-balls. She grabbed one of the heavier ones, almost the heaviest and threw it. It went far, further than she thought she could throw it. Afterwards, she realized that she wouldn’t have time to show her combat skills, which really annoyed her. Although, she was pleased with her performance, especially with the butcher knife, and the gamemakers looked pretty impressed.
INTERVIEW
Caesar: Hello Flora, you look amazing tonight! Tell us about your outfit.
Flora: Hi Caesar, and thank you. Well, as you can see I’m wearing this gorgeous black dress, that I’d say looks a little vintage, I especially like the big buttons! I love it, it’s beautiful and my stylist really did a stellar job. Of course I’m also wearing shoes, gold glitter high heels and to match I have two tiny gold necklaces and a similar, silver necklace around my neck. My hair is quite basic, just a high, slick ponytail. I actually like the simplicity of it, since I think hairspray or super detailed hair is just annoying. I’m also wearing these big, chunky silver earrings that match my silver necklace. I’m also wearing a pair of black, kind of transparent, gloves. And the final touch is this super pigmented blue eyeshadow.
How are you liking the Capitol so far? What’s been your favorite part?
When I got here, I didn’t think I’d like the Capitol because I never thought I was the kind of person who was completely mesmerized by fancy, sparkly things, but I love it. I mean, it’s so bright and happy and just pretty, it’s a big difference, compared to District Ten. It’s a little hard to pick my favourite part, but I’ll have to say the food. My family back home isn’t super poor, but we do struggle, so eating the food here is like my personal heaven.
What do you think of the other tributes this year? Any friends to speak of, or perhaps, enemies?
I think the tributes this year are pretty interesting. There are so many different levels of skill and intelligence so I think the games are going to be very exciting. I wouldn’t say that I have any enemies, but there is one person in particular that I’m not the biggest fan of, but I won’t name names! As I think you would have guessed, me and Tiberius are pretty close now. We didn’t know each other before the games or anything, but he is so young and so innocent so I feel like it’s my job to protect him, like I’m his sister.
Do you think you have what it takes to become a victor? Who or what are you fighting for?
I’m not sure. I would like to think that I do have what it takes, since I have some skills up my sleeve and I’m actually quite smart, but there are so many amazing tributes this year. I just don’t know how I would be able to outlast tributes with such high scores. I am definitely fighting for my brother, and my dad. My mom died while giving birth to Joey, my brother, so I guess I’ve been his mom. My dad had a hard time after mom died, but he has still worked so hard and fought for his kids, I really respect him for that. Also, Joey is so young so I couldn’t imagine him having to spend the rest of his life without me. He is just twelve years old, like Tiberius. I think that’s why I feel so protective of Tiberius, I see my brother in him.
What kind of arena are you hoping for?
Woods, forest, definitely. I feel like everyone would. I just think that would be the easiest arena to survive in, where there aren’t extreme climates or super dangerous terrains. Its also what I’m most used to. It's not like I live deep in the woods or anything, but I live pretty close to a forest. I don’t go there a lot, but it would be easier for me to live there, rather than a desert or someplace with lots of volcanoes.
What do you miss most from your home district? Any shoutouts for anyone back home?
I obviously miss my family, my dad and brother. It's always been us three, so being away from them for this long feels weird, strange. I never really had a lot of friends; well there are a few people I go to school with, but I’m not that close with anyone. It’s just, after my mom died I felt like it was my duty to help my dad take care of Joey, my brother, and I also helped my dad at work a lot, so I guess I’ve just never felt that I had the time for friends. But shoutout to my dad. He didn’t shut down or anything after my mom passed, which was so important, and I really respect him for that. Also a shoutout to my dear brother, just because he is my best friend.
Flora's Interview Outfit