75 Victors

by LadyCordeliaStuart

I wrote a fic about the 23rd Games, and that spiraled into a little universe with 22 Victors I had to make up. This will give them backstories I can draw on for future appearances. I'll be adding more Victors as more come from my SYOTs. Canon Victors will get a little something, but I don't want to mess with them, since neither I nor my readers made them up, so they'll be shorter.

30. Tillo Peters

Tillo Peters- District Eight (16)

I kept quiet as I sewed. Children were to be seen and not heard. Little girls were supposed to do their chores and help their parents. If they wanted to hear me, they'd ask me a question.

I wanted to be a good little girl. I wanted to be a good example for my sister Puridee and a good example for my parents. There were just so many things to remember. I had to make sure I dressed appropriately and respected my elders. I had to be polite to my parents' friends, even when they were rude to me. I had to keep my clothes clean and my face washed. People were going to judge my family based on me. I had to keep up a good appearance.

I wished I was better at the things my parents expected me to do. I didn't like sewing. It was hard to sit still for that long. I wanted to go outside and do something silly, like throw rocks. Of course I wasn't going to, but sometimes I felt trapped in my own house. My mother took the sock I was darning and examined it.

"You're getting better. Look how small these stitches are. You'll make a good wife someday," she said. Always "a good wife". That was all they ever talked about. Boys had all the luck. They got to get dirty and go wherever they wanted. I'd rather be a boy than a wife.

It wasn't polite to think things like that. I was supposed to think about others and how I could help them. But if I was supposed to think about others, then they were supposed to think about me and what I wanted. I didn't understand why the rules had to be so strict. The world wasn't going to fall apart if I played catch with the boys or had a tear in my dress.

Puridee sat on the floor playing with a ribbon while I worked. Even she wasn't as constrained as I was. Little boys were allowed to do almost anything they wanted, since "boys will be boys". Girls were supposed to play quietly, but at least Puridee was allowed to play. I wished I was still as little as she was.

I finished the sock and put it on the laundry pile. There were still dishes to wash, and then I'd have to study or play with my doll. I'd never liked that stupid bundle of rags. I could have more fun with a rock, trying to see how far up a tree I could throw it. I was getting too old for dolls anyway. My mother said I'd "become a woman" soon. I didn't look forward to it. Children were allowed to do what they wanted sometimes. Adults had responsibilities. I knew my parents would start talking about who I should marry, and I didn't know how to tell them I didn't want to marry at all. I wasn't always the good girl they thought I was. I tried my hardest, but I felt the most like me when I failed.