+ profile +

[makestheplans]

haymitch
abernathy

name. Haymitch Abernathy
nicknames. you drunken idiot
age. 41
date of birth. tbd
occupation. mentor, revolutionary
professional alcoholic
marital status. ahahahahaha.

height. 5'10"
build. slim in a slightly unhealthy way,
with a bit of a paunch around the middle
hair. dirty blond
(no really it probably needs a wash)
eyes. blue
friends. cinna, finnick, katniss, peeta
frenemies. people who love mahogany

personality

abilities+skills

history

notes

playlist

personality. }

Over the years Haymitch has built a very careful persona centered around not giving a shit about anything or anyone. He is aggressive in his refusal to take anything seriously. It's the biggest and only defense he's ever found against the Capitol's power: if you don't care about anything, they can't take anything away from you. To this end he is also as offensive as possible, both because he's depressed and full of self-loathing, and because it keeps people at bay. He's surly, childish, and purposefully abrasive, bullheaded in an argument, and downright vicious when provoked.

Haymitch is highly intelligent, a born analyst, someone who picks and pokes at situations and people until they give up their secrets. That that intelligence wasn't fostered or encouraged in any way beyond the meager schooling he received in District 12 makes his brilliance only more remarkable. He used his wits to win his Games, to mine the political landscape of the Capitol and find other dissenters, to help build a rebellion right under Snow's nose. He's also charismatic, persuasive, and ruthlessly manipulative when he needs to be. That analytical mind makes him keenly perceptive when it comes to reading people-- what they have, what they want, and where their weak spots are.

The flipside of this is that Haymitch is very sensitive to other people, quick to see beneath the surface, to see the qualities they may not even see themselves. He can see the vulnerability in Katniss and the steel in Peeta when on the outside they each appear to be the complete opposite. It's what gives him such a visceral connection with Katniss-- he knows her like he knows his own self, can see how she, too, has shut herself off from emotions because all they've ever done is cause her pain. In a very real and poignant way, Katniss and Peeta are his children, the only family he's known for twenty-five years, and at his core he is desperately afraid of losing them, and of seeing them turn out as bitter and lonely as he has.

abilities+skills. }

Haymitch's main ability, if you can call it that, is his intelligence. He's not only smart, but cunning and dogged as well. If confronted with a problem, he will work out the solution, even if it takes him days. He is the one who makes the plans because he's a master strategist-- he sees the political landscape of Panem like a chessboard laid out before him, every player with their own powers and limitations, and knows exactly how to manipulate those pieces to his advantage. He's also incredibly charismatic when he wants to be, able to lie with a straight face and convince anyone of almost anything.

Haymitch is also reasonably skilled with a knife, but if it came down to hand-to-hand combat, his lack of physical fitness and the high likelihood of intoxication would put him at a disadvantage with most fighters.

history. }

Haymitch was sixteen when he won the second Quarter Quell of Panem's annual Hunger Games, becoming only the second victor to ever come from the poverty-stricken District 12. He managed to win through a combination of intelligence and cunning, using his time to learn everything about the arena that he could, and then using it against his fellow Tributes. He paid dearly for his success, however, as President Snow had his mother, brother, and girlfriend killed two weeks after the Games, to remind him of the price of flouting the rules of the system.

Haymitch's victory turned to ashes as he found himself totally alone in the world. The trauma he'd experienced in the Games and the weight of guilt at his family's murder was compounded, year after year, by sending children into the arena with no hope of survival. Plagued by nightmares, he turned to alcohol to help him sleep, then to help him get through the day, a reliance that turned to a serious addiction. He withdrew from life in District 12, barely seen by anyone except each year at the Reaping. For twenty-five years he lived a half-life controlled by the schedule of the Games, appearing at the Capitol just long enough to watch his Tributes die before returning home and sinking back into depression.

Then a girl with more spirit than sense volunteered to take her sister's place in the Reaping, and Haymitch's life was changed forever. Til now, he had cultivated like-minded friendships in the Capitol, halfheartedly imagining that if a revolution ever were to begin, he would want to add his own paltry contribution to the cause of bringing Snow down. He never dreamed he'd be at the epicenter-- but Katniss and Peeta were a force to be reckoned with, and Haymitch found himself not only believing they could stage this rebellion, but actually hoping they might win.

Hope was a dangerous thing in Snow's Panem, and it paid Haymitch mixed results. The escape to District 13 was a success, but District 12 was obliterated; the rebels saved Katniss, but left Peeta to the Capitol's mercy. As the rebellion grew in strength, rescuing the captives from Snow's clutches became more and more important, and Haymitch helped put together a team to go to the Capitol to get Peeta and the others back. He leaves District 13 after seeing Peeta freak out and try to attack Katniss the first night he returns to District 13 during Mockingjay.

notes. }

Haymitch is not trapped in the Nexus. He will not ever take anyone to Panem who is not from there originally. He won't talk about the Games, the rebellion, or really anything to do with his home universe with anyone who isn't from there.

Haymitch is a mostly-functional alcoholic (though some would contest the functional part). Most of the time you encounter him, he will be some level of intoxicated unless specifically noted otherwise.

He dresses casually and warmly unless it is actually hot outside; usually jeans and sweaters and boots. He almost never goes barefoot.

playlist. }

kenna
rolling stones
bastille
u2
david bowie
lorde
tracy chapman

red man
laugh, i nearly died
daniel in the den
acrobat
cat people
everybody wants to rule the world
born to fight

code by wearestardust @ supersuits