Eponine Thenardier

Eponine Thenardier is a District 3 Tribute reaped for the Arena 4 of the 75th Hunger Games.

Eponine is originally from Paris, France, circa 1832,  and as such, speaks French as well as the language of Panem. After her death in Arena 13, the Gamemakers chose not to bring her back.

BACKGROUND

Eponine was brought up in 19th century France, amidst the political upheaval of the end of the French Revolution. As a child, she grew up in The Sergent of Waterloo inn, in Montfermiel, before her parents lost their business and the family were forced to move to Paris. Until this point, she had a relatively comfortable existance; she was loved by her parents, and given the best that they could afford for her and her younger siblings, Azelma and Gavroche. Another child also lived in the inn; this child was called Cosette, and she was terribly mistreated by Eponine's parents, and indeed Eponine herself. When Cosette was taken away, as far as the young Eponine understood, the Thenardier fortunes turned for the worse and they were forced from their home.

Once in Paris, Gavroche was turned away from the family, and Madame Thenardier subsequently sold Eponine's youngest brothers. The two sisters stayed with their parents as they moved through various locations in the slums of St. Michel, eventually, in the winter of 1830-1, sleeping rough under one of the bridges at the Seine.

During this period, Eponine became suicidal and says that she had thought of drowning herself to end her misery, but she didn't because she was afraid the water would be too cold.

Eventually, the family gained a place in the Gorbeau tenement in St. Michel, which is where Eponine lived until she was arrested. The family of four shared one room, with Eponine and Azelma taking a bed under the window, and their parents the one next to the wall. They possessed a stool, a chair, a writing desk and a cooking pot. And a portrait of Napoleon, as they professed to be 'Bonapartists'. The family, during their time in Paris, had become involved with the criminal underworld, with Thenardier becoming a member of the notorious Patron Minette gang. Eponine was often used by the gang; she is shown to be a close ally to her father and the daughter he is most dependant on to help in his schemes.

Thenardier often wrote begging letters to rich men in the community, and sent Eponine with them to ask for money. One of these people happen to be Marius Pontmercy, the young gentleman who lives next door. Eponine is immediately infatuated with him and does her best to be charming and flirt with him, but unfortunately, Marius does not notice. He does, however, give her money and a crust of bread and vows to keep an eye on the family.

Eponine was soon sent on another begging mission, and this time ended up leading Valjean and Cosette back to the hovel. When Thenardier recognised Valjean, he came up with a scheme to rob him, and set Eponine as a watch. She was, however led off by a gang member, Montparnasse and failed to watch. Marius intercepted the plan and the gang were arrested by Javert. Eponine was picked up some time later and sent to La Madelonnettes prison. She was kept in prison for six weeks, before being freed - she says it is because she is too young, but Javert says it is because of a lack of evidence against her.

With the rest of her family in prison and the tenement gone, Eponine set out to look for Marius, apparently sleeping rough. She eventually discovered him, and led him to Cosette's house - a location she had already found, under instruction from her father. After that, she followed Marius constantly, sometimes trying to speak to him, before eventually following him to the house and waiting outside whilst he visited Cosette. There, she met her father, recently escaped, and the rest of the gang. They argued and Eponine eventually threatened to scream, in an attempt to disuade the gang from breaking in. She was rejected by the gang, and warned off by her father.

This is Eponine's canon point for the Games.

Personality:

Eponine began life as a spoiled brat. She was an odious child, used to getting her own way in everything. She got as much as her parents could afford, and was lauded above all other children, including her younger siblings. She enjoyed showing off in front of Cosette and making her jealous. She actively sought to get Cosette into trouble with her parents. She thought it was funny when the little girl was beaten. She was adored by her sister and took command in all of their games.

The years in Paris knocked Eponine's bossiness out of her. She grew tougher and thick skinned. Insults bear no effect on her, and she has learned to ignore vulger language and leers that come her way. She will stand up for herself and doesn't back down in an argument. She will shout and jeer even when outnumbered.

Eponine will talk to anyone and everyone. And if she's alone, she talks to herself. Her chatter can come across as forced and awkward, and even inappropriate. She flirts badly. She speaks more than she should to people she doesn't know and is very open about herself and her life. The more in control and even ladylike she tries to seem, the more it comes off as a sham and as desperate. Hugo says that the bubbliness and gaity that should have been hers, had she been a society miss, are still visible in her personality, despite her drab life. The reality of being poor has rendered her uneducated and out of her depth in social situations with her betters. She longs to be a lady but knows it's not something that she can attain.

Eponine relies on her tongue, rather than her fists, to get her out of sticky situations. She has been a victim of abuse, both physically and mentally, at the hands of both her father and Montparnasse for going on ten years and it really has made her unwilling to fight back. She cannot be described as a pacifist - but she is close to it. She knows that she is weak and cannot win in a physical fight - but she will shout and jeer. Amd she'll accept violence against herself as quietly as she can, with her head held high and a glare in her eye.

She's difficult to scare; her life has desensitized her to a lot of horrors. She will have seen, and possibly experienced things in prison that no seventeen year old should ever be put through. She can come across as cold but it's an act she puts on to disuade people from starting on her. She's world weary and brow beaten, so much so that she can barely laugh, barely smile. But she is very emotional. She is in lust with Marius, purely because he seems to be an ideal to her, a fairytale prince rather than a real person. She craves love and will be exceedingly loyal to anyone who shows her kindness, even if their tasks cause her pain. She is outspoken and says what she thinks, regardless of consequences.

She's defiant; she hates what her dad makes her do, and jibes at him, before following his instructions anyway. She does whatever she has to do to survive, from thieving and begging, to even allowing herself to be prostituted to wealthy men offering a Franc for her company. She can be manipulative, if she thinks she'll gain from it, but it isn't really a talent of hers. She's a good liar and people generally believe what she says. She is very brave and has little sense of personal danger. The only thing that seems to scare her are the monsters in her head (and now R).

She is sensible though - she would rather sleep rough than take a beating. She's very loyal, to the point where she'll do as she's bid, whether she agrees with the plan or not. She does not think she is at all attractive; she actually really, really hates herself, both looks wise and in her personality. She doesn't think she deserves to be happy - though the Capitol is teaching her that she can be attractive if she lets them mess with her. She likes mirrors and will preen in them for as long as she is allowed, even if she hates her reflection. She has a good imagination; if she squints and tilts her head just right, she is pretty. She is self depreciating and all too aware of her class status and her place in the dirt of society.

She can be bitter to those better off than her. Jealousy is a massive fault of hers. But as much as she hates her life, she has all but given up fighting for it to be better.

Eponine can be sweet. She likes flowers and is a bit of a dreamer. She likes to sing. She wishes she could be a student, even if her mother says she's thick. She's so proud of her academic achievements. She's steadfast. She's proud, and hates being pitied. She's playful and somewhat of a tease.

In the Games

Eponine came straight into Arena 4, without the benefit of experiencing Capitol life beforehand. Dizzy and disorientated, she ran far away from the Cornucopia, and found a hollow tree in which to hide. Eponine spent roughly a week or so there before hunger drove her out and back to the Cornucopia. Whilst trying to steal a loaf of bread, she was found by Draco Malfoy, who taunted her, before slitting her throat.

In the Capitol, Eponine began to meet some of the Tributes and learn more about the Games and Capitol life. She particularly enjoyed indulging in the food - and found a foodie companion in Howard Bassam. Both emaciated waifs, they understood one another's greediness and comforted one another when they ended up sick from the rich foods. She took an instant dislike to Wyatt Earp when he caught her thieving - and made an enemy of Draco Malfoy too, since she yelled at him for killing her.

She decided to herself, that she disliked the Games and therefore would not fight. It made little sense to her to keep fighting and being hungry, when she could have beautiful clothes and food in the Capitol. She decided not to fight in the next arena at all, and just sit and wait to be killed.

In Arena 5, Eponine  sat down as soon as the klaxon sounded. Unfortunately, several men tried to save Eponine, with Steve eventually picking her up and carrying her away. He eventually left her with Howard. She stuck close to Howard and the two formed an alliance with Sigma Klim, Howard's friend. In this ice arena, Eponine survived a little longer, as Howard at least knew how to hunt birds. She eventually decided to commit suicide, still reasoning that it was silly to suffer when she could be warm and full in the Capitol. In her most (accidentally) provocative moment, she stripped to the skin, leaving even her shoes with Howard and Sigma, so that they would at least be warm, and went out into the snow to die. Before nature took it's course, however, she was found by Wesker, who comforted her, before snapping her neck.

Back in the Capitol, Eponine was shocked to find that Howard was mad with her for abandoning him, and she began to understand that she meant a lot to Howard, and surprisingly, that he meant a lot to her. This confused her dreadfully, and she continues to be confused through the next few arenas. Her relationship with Wesker also developed; she looked on him as a friend, and he... well... perhaps not. He let her sing for him and made her feel special. She also began to develop a friendship with Valeria and with Eva as well, who came to be almost a mother figure for her. She also made friends with Ian when he gave her his coat to cover her up a bit. Eponine's hatred for Draco increased when he taunted both Howard and herself.

In the Disneyland Arena, Eponine found her way to Fantasy land, and hid in the Snow White ride. Valeria, by this point, had taken it upon herself to sharpen Eponine's teeth and nails, which she hated. For a while, Eponine lived in solitude, but was soon found by Draco. Having recovered his magic, Draco placed Eponine in a full body bind, and performed the Imperius curse on her. He ordered her to find and kill Howard. Eponine did indeed find Howard, and having no other weapons, used both nails and teeth to tear at his face. The sheer weight of Draco's spell kept Eponine going, until her skull was smashed in and she died.

Back in the Capitol, Eponine awoke to find that Valeria had given her a breast augmentation, something that she was really upset about. Eva helped her to find clothes that covered herself and made her feel more comfortable with her new figure. Eponine was absolutely terrified of Howard's reaction to her, and spent the majority of her time in the basement of the training centre, hiding from everyone. Howard found her and reassured her that he didn't hate her and that he understood it was a spell. Mollified, Eponine became closer to Howard and began to depend on his love for her. She couldn't admit that she loved HIM, but she was happy to pretend. At Timaeus' party, the two became closer, attracting Timaeus' eye as potential sponsor-ees. This kinda went down the drain when they tried to steal his lifeboat to run away in. At the same party, she began to make friends with Parker, who encouraged her thieving.

Soon after, Eponine really did run away from the Capitol. She was found and executed on the spot, only to be brought back a month or so later, due to her 'popularity'. She returned to the Capitol, and tried to forget her execution. She found that Marius had been brought to the Capitol too - and that he lived next door to her, something that both delighted and confused her. She found that she did indeed have feelings for Howard as well as Marius... but Howard wouldn't talk to her (beyond shouting).

Eponine witnessed the bombing and offered her support to Eva. She also witnessed Ariadne's execution. Within the next few days though, she was in the Candyland Arena. Eponine was one of many tributes who had been injected with poison, and she was helped, first by Kurt Hummel, and then by Marius, before the latter seccumbed to the poison. Eponine died meters away from Marius by herself.

In the Desert arena, Eponine found Parker, and eventually was befriended by Mona and Pierrette. She tried to share her sponsor gift with Parker, but Parker refused. Between them, the girls did okay, and Eponine received a further gift of a knife from Wesker. Many people helped the girls this time, with Sigma and Marius chipping in, and Alex offering them shelter.

Soon, out of the four girls, only Eponine and Mona were left, and Eponine, after a fight with Don, had a set of broken ribs, which she tried to bandage with her underskirt. Whilst pillaging for food, Eponine accidentally hurt Alex, and the poor boy ended up being eaten by a sandworm. She also robbed Ian at knifepoint, invoking Mona as a bully to gain his sympathy, before realising that Ian was allied with Marius and becoming incredibly embarrassed.

Eponine met her end via Maximus. The two had made enemies of one another in the Capitol; District mates they might be, but friends they were not. He stabbed her in the chest, which made her scream and Sigma come running. Whilst she was bleeding out, R attacked her, ripping chunks out of her limbs and eating her. Hearing her agonised screams, Maximus realised she was still alive and beheaded her.

Back in the Capitol, Eponine is being traumatized with nightmares of R eating her - he is a real-life version of the hallucinations that have plagued her for years - and she is absolutely dismayed to find that Maximus has won and will be her mentor. She has already decided to kiss any sponsorship goodbye.