Alphonsus Hale

"Don't let fear or insecurity stop you from trying new things. Believe in yourself. Do what you love. And most importantly, be kind to others, even if you don't like them." -Stacy London Alphonsus Hale is a tribute who belongs to FrostyFire. Please refrain from using this tribute without permission. If you do wish to use this tribute, you can leave a message asking. Stephen lives in District Four and his district partner is Midori Adelpha. The two do not need to be submitted into Hunger Games together, or in a special order.

Basic Information
Name: Alphonsus Hale

Age: Seventeen

District: Twelve (Eight, Ten)

Gender: Male

Personality: Although Alphonsus has experienced insecurity and tragedy throughout his teenage years, he's been able to develop a strong moral character with an—albeit challenging—optimistic outlook on life. He radiates positivity and confidence to those around him, even if it is feigned at times, and he's been frequently commended for his infectious smile. Furthermore, his inquisitive nature has enabled him to never accept things for face value; he always strives to fully understand complex issues before declaring a stance on it. Most people tend to be surprised that he's insecure about his sexuality, as he portrays himself to be a confident and easygoing man. However, he is overly concerned about other people's opinions about him; while he is no longer ashamed to admit that he's gay, he's afraid of others changing their opinions of him due to it. As a result, he struggles with an inner turmoil of wanting everyone to know about his sexuality but being terrified of the person having a negative response, especially after the initial rejection of his mother. Nonetheless, he remains a selfless and humble boy, knowing he's lived a fortunate life of serendipity; as a result, it is challenging for him to intentionally harm another person. However, he knows that he's going to need to for the sake of returning home to his mother, even if he feels uncomfortable about it.

Weapons:

Appearance:

Backstory: Arianell Hale gave birth to Alphonsus at the age of seventeen, after being in an affair with a closeted Peacekeeper for roughly a year. Upon delivering the news that she was pregnant, the Peacekeeper immediately left her and disclosed his sexuality, much to Arianell's surprise. However, the prospect of him being gay is not what upset Arianell the most; it was the realization that he used her in an attempt to hide his sexuality that destroyed her confidence. As a reuslt, she developed homophobic tendencies, which continually strengthened after numerous encounters with same-sex couples.

Despite Alphonsus being raised in District Twelve, he never experienced any poverty or hunger in his childhood, as his mother's family was considered one of the wealthiest in the district. However, he never developed any conceited or egostical personality traits; instead, he developed humility for knowing how fortunate he was to be raised in his respective environment. At school, he would never treat his classmates differently based on their social class, much to the surprise of some of the poorer children. Through his example, he became an advocate for equal treatment of all students, which enabled him to make a variety of friends from different economic backgrounds. Furthermore, he was identified by some of his teachers to be an exceptionally intelligent boy, so he was transfered to a nonprofit school for advanced students; although it was a smaller setting, he was able to connect with almost all of the students.

Alphonsus was eight years old when he witnessed his first openly gay couple kiss on his walk home to school. He had been with one of neighboring friends, Alistair, during the encounter, who responded negatively to the couple's public affection by throwing rocks in their direction. Upon returning home, the naturally inquisitive Alphonsus asked his mother about the couple, wondering what it meant if "two guys were kissing." His mother expressed her homophobic beliefs to Alphonsus, embedding the concept that homosexual acts are sinful and undesirable into his young, impressionable mind. She essentially taught him that homosexuality was the worst possible trait a person could develop.

When Alphonsus started to undergo puberty during his teenage years, he began to feel dissociated from the normal teenage boy. Unlike his fellow male peers, he never developed a solid female crush based primarily on appearance; instead, he developed "crushes" on people based on their personality. Furthermore, he would never consider doing anything sexual with one of his supposed "crushes," as he simply wasn't interested in it. His mother considered this to be a purer form of attraction, believing it will prevent him from experiencing a tragedy similar to her own; as a result, Alphonsus was not concerned with his lack of female attraction.

However, unbeknownst to his mother, Alphonsus became increasingly aware of the attractive qualities of men. He would frequently catch himself staring at the attractive boys at his school, and his eyes seemed to become transfixed on them when they took of their shirts. He rationalized this as jealousy for their seemingly flawless complexion, although he was not insecure about his own appearance. In fact, he knew he was attractive, as many girls were attracted to him; however, he used unconscious jealousy to justify his staring, as he was overly ignorant about the possibility that he may be gay.

Alphonsus experienced his sexuality crisis prior to his fourteenth birthday, when he was pressured by some of his friends to go on a date with Tessa, a girl who had a massive crush on him. The date ended when Tessa unexpectedly threw herself onto him, kissing the boy passionately and messily. However, Alphonsus was became discomfited by the passionate kiss; he became increasingly petrified that he wasn't interested in the kiss at all, even though Tessa was an attractive girl and any other boy would be turned on by it. In that moment, he realized he wasn't a "normal" boy, so he did the only thing he knew how to do in times of internal discord: he cried.

Tessa was horrified when Alphonsus began crying during the kiss; she immediately pulled back, embarrassed by the discouraging response of the boy. She considered leaving the boy to cry alone, as it was an overly awkward situation; however, she couldn't leave him in good conscience, knowing that Alphonsus was one of the most openminded and selfless boys in the school. While she calmed him down, he disclosed his inner struggles he has been dealing with for the past year (involving his lack for female attraction) and his disgust for staring at the handsome boys. When Tessa suggested he might be gay, Alphonsus' sobs became more pronounced and heartbreaking, as he believed he was damned and cursed for having such attraction. Tessa continued to comfort him through his sobs, but his views were unwavering: he could not be gay because it was not right to be gay.

After this experience, Tessa and Alphonsus mutually agreed to never reveal the true nature and events of their date to anyone else, as they were both embarrassed by its outcome. However, due to the awkwardness of the situation, they were able to develop a strong friendship, which would eventually grow to the point where they were each other's best friend. Although most people would assume they were dating, the two wouldn't bother trying to correct them, as they realized early on that their efforts would be futile.

Through Tessa, Alphonsus became friends with a more diverse group of people, as he had previosuly only established friendships in his small school environment or in his neighborhood. Fortunately, it was easy for him to form friendships from his positive demeanor, so it didn't take long for his friends-of-a-friend to become his actual friends. In particular, Tessa introduced him to Wren, a boy who was undergoing a similar discomfort of attraction as Alphonsus. Wren and Alphonsus were both able to relate to being raised in a homophobic environment, to actively denying their attraction to boys, and to be fearful of retribution for their homosexuality. They both believed they were damned and cursed, allowing them to bond closely.

One day, Wren decided to make the first move by kissing Alphonsus. Unlike his first kiss with Tessa, Alphonsus was blown away by the kiss, his body being filled with passion as he kissed Wren back. Although Alphonsus continued to struggle with his discomfort for his sexuality, he admittedly enjoyed kissing Wren; this caused his internal conflict to increase as he didn't know what was right and what was wrong. It took the boys months before they were able to admit they were gay and that they were dating.

Once Alphonsus was able to come to terms with his sexuality after six months of dating Wren, he felt uncomfortable around his mother, knowing that he was hiding a major part of himself from her. He knew that she was intensely homophobic, but he felt inclined to tell her about his sexuality, as the two had a very tight mother-son relationship; their relationship further increased after the death of Alphonsus' grandparents, leaving the two as the only family members left.

When he finally came out to her at the age of sixteen, she was taken aback and immediately dismissed his sexuality. For months their relationship was fragmented and fractured, as she struggled to accept the concept of her son being gay. However, one day, he returned home with a black eye, having been beaten up by a group of teenagers who overheard his conversation with Tessa about his sexuality; from that point forward, she accepted his sexuality and learned to help her son as he struggled with society's acceptance of him. In fact, she even encouraged him to take self-defense classes from one of their neighbors, enabling him to fight back if he were ever to encourage homophobia again.

With his mother's support, Alphonsus became confident with his sexuality and encouraged Wren to come out to his parents. However, Wren was not prepared to publicly come out; as a result, the couple continued to keep their relationship secret to everyone, except for Aphonsus' mother and Tessa. While Alphonsus was displeased by having their relationship remain a secret, he truly loved Wren, so he learned to tolerate whatever he was offered. Nonetheless, the couple began to engage in more risky behavior, sharing quick kisses in alleys and holding hands when nobody was around.

However, one day, Wren's younger sister accidentally barged into her brother's room while Alphonsus and Wren were passionately making out. Wren freaked out, hastily pushing Alphonsus to the ground, and begged his sister to never tell his parents. Unfortunately, the girl was too young to maintain the secret for an extended amount of time; she mistakenly told her parents about the incident less than a day later. In disgust, Wren's parents grounded him, prohibiting him from ever seeing Alphonsus again and demanding he attend weekly conversion therapy sessions to adjust his "sinful" life.

Later that night, Wren climbed out of his window and escaped to Alphonsus' house, packing a bag in hopes of fleeing the district altogether. When he arrived at Alphonsus' house, he asked his boyfriend to flee with him, claiming that they could live a happy life in a different district where they didn't have to worry about their parents. However, Alphonsus could not leave his mother, knowing that he was the only person left that she deeply cared for. He informed Wren that the two cannot keep running away from their problems and homophobic encounters; instead, they had to learn to overcome them and to accept them, even if it was challenging. Unfortunately, this was not the response Wren had been hoping for, so he vanished into the night after embracing Alphonsus for the last time. Wren's body was discovered the next morning in a part of the district known for its illegal activities; his death was classified as a suicide through overdosing.

The news of his love dying destroyed Alphonsus, causing him to undergo an extended period of depression. However, he learned to focus on the positive aspects of their relationship and everything he had learned from it. Although it took months to overcome the death, he learned how to repress the negativity through a shield of positivity and confidence. Less than a month after he finally came to terms with the term and dealt with its repercussions, he was reaped for the Hunger Games.

Reasons for Winning: Alphonsus primarily wants to win for the sake of his mother, knowing that he is the only she deeply cares for that is still alive. Although their relationship has been strained in the past, it has become stronger than it previous had after he came out to her, as it destroyed all secrets between the two. He is not interested in winning for the monetary reward or for the regonition that comes with being a victor from a poor district; his reasons are all intrinsic and pure. In fact, instead of keeping the money for himself, he plans to use it to advance the economy of District Twelve, knowing that he has the potential to change life for the poor and the homeless.

Strengths: At an early age, Alphonsus was deemed a genius by his teachers due to his ability to readily adapt to and  comprehend complex topics; as a result, he was sent to an exclusive school for advanced students, which enabled his inquisitive nature to flourish. Unlike other children from District Twelve, he's been able to learn about creating electronics, improving the economy, the psychology that affects all people, and the mechanisms behind mining. In fact, his intelligence could almost be compared to that of a District Three child of the same age, as he's been taught in an environment to help him improve the conditions of District Twelve. Furthermore, after taking self-defense classes for over a year, he's become fairly good at athletics, including exceptional speed, moderate strength, and decent endurance. He knows how to defend himself in a fight, even when he is weaponless; however, he does not enjoy employing these techniques, as he does not like harming other people. Finally, Alphonsus is able to easily form friendships due to his positive demeanor; very rarely has he created enemies as a result of his actions.

Weaknesses: Although Alphonsus had fairly good athletics, he is incapable of climbing trees and swimming. While his adaptability may enable him to learn during the course of the Hunger Games, he's had no prior experience to either activities, so he's not concerned about learning how to do perform either until it is necessary. Additionally, he has very limited knowledge about survival techniques, such as the conservation of heat and creating a stable shelter; while he knows the textbook information about such techniques, he has never actively applied them to real situations. The same reasoning applies to weaponry; he knows how to mentally calculate the distance and force required to accurately throw ranged weapon, but he has only recently become familiar with weaponry during training. Although he has become moderately good with spears and throwing knives, his conscience causes him to feel uncomfortable and overly emotional about killing other tributes. While he realizes he must kill in order to return home to his mother, he despises the idea of beign the reason why someone else couldn't return home to their family; as a result, he prefers using ranged weapons so he doesn't need to see the person die right in front of his eyes.

Strategy:

Typical Alliance:

Height: Six Feet

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Token:

Participated Hunger Games

 * No finished Hunger Games

Trivia

 * Alphonsus' backstory contains 1,740 words with an average of 27 words per sentence.