Harley Paramour

Harley Paramour is a tribute created by PoisonedPoetry. Please do not use her without permission.

Tribute Form
Name: Harley Paramour

District: 2

Gender: Female

Age: 18

Personality: Harley is usually quite rebellious – If somebody tells her to do something, she will not follow their orders. She usually makes cheeky remarks about them, but this attribute covers up her serious side. She can be grim and pessimistic at the worst of times, yet she will still try to ditch it in order to retain her life/possessions/sanity. She can seem insane at times, but this is just her crazy part of her persona. Even though she can be crazy, she is quite ingenious.    

Height: 5'9

Appearance: Harley has dyed fiery red-orange hair that is slightly wavy. It barely reaches down to her shoulders. She also has chocolate brown eyes, and normally wears a plain expression on her face.

Weapon(s): Harley was originally safe from the reapings, so she doesn’t have much experience with weapons. However, she does like the idea of using a Warhammer to do her work. But if she doesn’t develop her skills with it in time, then she’ll have to stick with knives.

Strengths: Harley has great physical strength, being capable of snapping necks off of the hardest tribute with her bare hands. She is also quite agile, after her experience with being an acrobat. To round it off, her determination means that she could escape from a situation that would lead to her untimely death.

Weaknesses: Harley doesn’t have much weaponry experience because she never thought she would have to enter the games, and therefore she wouldn’t have to train. Additionally, she has a lack of knowledge when it comes to edible plants – District 2 is mainly an urban district after all. Furthermore, she is slow whilst running.

Fears: Her biggest fear is that she’ll lose Tate in the games, and that her baby will die without her care. She also fears breaking her bones.

Training Strategy: Basically, Harley will try to stick with Tate and keep away from the careers whilst training. She’ll practice her skills with a Warhammer to decide whether or not it’s a good weapon for her. If it is, she’ll move onto the survival stations. If not, then she will continue to practice with it until she’s certain she’s mastered it. Then she can move onto the survival stations.

Private Training Strategy: Even though Harley may not necessarily ally with the careers, she still doesn't want to be seen as weak in case she has to work with them later on. So she will try her best to use her warhammer to clubber the living daylight out of both holograms and dummies alike.

Interview Angle: This is the point where Harley will reveal her softer side – She will talk about her baby at home and reminisce all her favourite memories. Despite this, she will still be serious.

Bloodbath Strategy: First of all, Harley will try to figure out where Tate is. If he is nearby, she will grab a backpack and ask him to get a weapon if possible. But if he’s quite far away, she will grab a weapon to protect him in case she finds him in trouble.

Games Strategy: If Harley is with Tate only, she will try to get him to stay as far away from strong alliances as possible. If they need help, however, Harley will try to persuade them to approach the careers and get some of their supplies. They will claim that they killed off a few tributes, even if they didn't. Then they will lie and say that they've been on the careers side the entire time, but they've just been acting as the third wheel to help them eliminate the competition.

If Harley is with the careers, she will stay behind and guard the supplies after each hunt. At some point, she will steal some supplies and destroy the rest. But before she does so, she will try to find a tribute to decapitate and bring their body with her. She will then swap her jacket with theirs, as if she was killed before the supplies were destroyed. Then she will lie low until she has to reveal herself and fight.

Alliance: Tate Lockewood or the careers if they’re not in the same games (Somehow).

Token: A military medal from the dark days.

Backstory
When Harley was born, some would say that she was lucky – She was, after all, the daughter of the mayor of district 2, Cobalt Paramour. Due to this, she was safe from the reapings and was well-fed. Although many people wished to trade their lives for hers, they were ignorant to a dark demon amongst the happiness. There was a reason as to why young Harley seldom smiled – The devil was with her, in the form of her older brother, Josh.

He was the epitome of a violent psychopathic bully – Whenever he was alone with Harley, he would attack her ferociously. New bruises would appear on her skin, yet Josh always got away with it. Why? Because he managed to persuade Cobalt that Harley was clumsy as heck. A bruise on her forehead meant that she had tripped and banged it on a table. Claw marks on her thighs were produced after their cat scratched her. And if she was cut, it was because she was trying to learn to use a knife only ti fail and injure herself. Even though Cobalt soothed the wounds with adequate supplies, it wasn’t enough to heal Harley’s emotional scar.

One time, when she was 8, Josh took it way too far – He stormed into Harley’s room, demanding to know what she had done with his book. She knew nothing about it, but he didn’t believe her. So he started to pummel her with his mighty fists until he grabbed a vase. Harley pleaded for him to let her go, yet they fell on death ears. With a crash, he slammed the vase into the back of her head, causing her to black out the instant it slammed into her.

Despite the blackout, Harley could still dream and think in her mind. Half the time, it was made up of ‘Why is Josh doing this?’ and ‘Did I do something to upset him?’ The rest of it was made up of a recipe for a nightmare that would haunt Harley on a daily basis.

In it, she was telling Cobalt all about the wounds that Josh had given to her as a mean present. Views from Harley’s eyes displayed in it, revealing all the antics. Yet he didn’t react. ''‘Daddy? Can you hear me?’ ''Harley started to wave her palm in front of his face, but he harshly slapped it away.

  'We are all born to leave a scar deep in the hearts of many. 'And that’s Josh’s interpretation on those events! You should allow him to do so!’

‘But-‘

‘No objections Harley!’ A stinging sensation spread across Harley’s cheek. Before she knew it, her father’s face distorted to become Josh’s. The smirk became apparent when he revealed a belt in his hands. Harley stared at it in horror before feeling the force slam down onto her. She cried out in pain with each strike, until all her energy was sapped. Josh continued to whip her with the belt until she was half blind. ‘I’m asleep but wide awake.’ That was when the nightmare ended.

The first time she had such a nightmare, Harley bolted upright, setting off a deep pain in her neck. Several people started talking at once. ‘When the night begins to fall, I hear a thousand voices call.’'  She thought to herself. At that moment, her father rushed up to her and nearly choked her in an affectionate hug. Remembering what happened in her nightmare, she pulled away from him. He was slightly confused, but Harley didn’t care – She was still in a state of panic.

Oddly enough, Josh stopped abusing Harley from that point. It was her turn to be puzzled by this. But she suspected it was because he knew that she was still having the same nightmare. ‘When the night begins to fall, I watch the shadows growing tall, feeding my insomnia.’ It was almost like Harley was unsuspecting of him – All she cared about was that she no longer sufficed wounds from him. ‘Like a fly on the wall.’ Later though, she would still find herself abused.

The nightmares were becoming more frequent, even appearing in some of Harley’s daydreams. It was clear that she was having one, as her face would randomly go pale and she would start jittering. Nothing could comfort her in those moments – Only when the nightmare left could Cobalt calm her down. It was only temporarily though.

It heavily affected her by the time she was 12 – She started having hallucinations wherever she went, so that it seemed like Josh was sprinting towards her with a belt in hand. She began having more frequent panic attacks. But the worst side effect was that she started to fall under depression. Whenever nobody was looking, she would release a few small drops of fresh blood, only to envision it as a massive puddle. She believed that she would die and escape the dreams, but the cuts were so minor that it did nothing good for her. ‘This is what happens when the darkness brings the cold to draw me under.’ Harley knew what ailments she stomached from, yet she did nothing about it. Nobody knew about it, as she wanted to believe that she was no longer weak. So she started taking karate lessons.

Even though the nightmares still appeared, Harley enjoyed experiencing them whilst doing something she loved. She could imagine one of the students as Josh, and she would thrash them to release the torment she felt. It was almost like a new life for her. Her confidence started to develop, giving her a major sense of hope. Hope that soon, Josh would be brought to justice. She was to report him for abuse. Harley recounted the times he had hurt her in the past, and how she continuously hallucinated her nightmare becoming reality. To ensure their trust, she showed the authority the cuts made from when she had depression – For them, they believed that Josh had gone too far, even if it was unintentional.

When Harley finished her report, she took several deep breaths. ''‘I did it. I actually managed to report Josh. I can’t believe it.  My wide-eyed confidence still echoes in my mind. It’s like a bright white prophecy, a new protector of the light.’ A million thoughts flew through her head – All of them being positive. 

Thanks to Harley’s confession and a few notes from Cobalt, Josh was found guilty of purposeful abuse. The reasons were still unclear, but it didn’t change the fact that Josh shot for malicious intent. Although Harley was smiling on the outside, she felt nothing inside. For her, it was like justice was served, just not cooked properly. For she held remorse towards her brother. Despite his misconduct, Harley still loved him. She wanted him to be there for her. '‘I am caught between the chapters of a dream. A bad dream.’ '

Harley kept up her karate training, but she almost killed a few students in training. She was furious that she hadn’t got the government to throw Josh in a cell. She could still have seen him. Yet he was dead and shoved into a wooden box. Due to her violent outbursts, Harley was booted out.

She tried to settle on something that was much less violent, yet it still provided people with thrills. She was decidedly unsatisfied with anything, until she came across a form to join a club for acrobats. Her father suggested it for her. At first, she was dismissive. But after explaining what crazy stunts could be done, she started to become intrigued by the idea.

Harley wasn’t the best performer, but she certainly wasn’t the worst. She could perform all sorts of tricks – She just couldn’t land them right. It almost caused her to break her coccyx bone. Nonetheless, she refused to give up until she had mastered it. It took her 2 years, but all her hard work on improving her weaknesses earned her a place in a basic circus.

A lot of people applauded her after each performance, once more elevating her confidence to a new level. Bouquets of flowers were thrown to her after each successful trick, and she even gained an award for best new performer at the annual circus awards. This prompted another circus owner to hire her in a travelling circus.

Harley was given a while to decide, yet she was stumped on what she should do. In desperate measure, she called for Cobalt to help her decide.

“I’m not entirely sure myself.” He replied. “I would come with you after each performance to ensure you are well, but I have my duties here. But I wouldn’t mind if you went on your own – You’ll have a caring boss, or at least a few friendly employees. Remember that it is your choice and your choice only.” Harley thought long about this. Having her father around would mean safety, but she would likely be seen as dependant. And she didn’t want people taking advantage of her over that.

“I think I’ll go for it!” She smiled as Cobalt hugged her. However, she felt nothing from the embrace. It had no father-daughter feeling to it – It was merely cold and empty. She suspected that her father didn’t entirely approve of her decision.

She was finally admitted to the travelling circus when she was 15. There were several classic faces around there, as well as a few oddballs. A few of the performers stared at her hungrily, as if they were lustful towards her. She was distracted by their hungry eyes, which was what caused her to slip and break her arm in training on her first day. A few of the members swarmed around her, joking about raping her. Harley was horrified despite their facetious nature. That was when the boss walked in and fired her on the spot, dismissing her as a worthless piece of junk. He told her that she would never work there again, even if she recovered.

She was frustrated. To try and calm herself down, she returned to the circus later and watched the performances. Nothing caught her eye, until she saw a musically talented boy. He also seemed to notice her, nonetheless he kept performing for the audience.

Later that night, the two met up after Tate had his meal. They introduced themselves to one another and shared their life stories. Already, they had fallen in love.

Tate had to leave the next night, but Harley brought him to meet her father, since they were in district 2 at the time. Cobalt took an immediate dislike to the young couple, claiming that Tate was nothing compared to Harley’s league. He even called the manager of the circus to inform him that Harley was no longer permitted to work with them. But she could still watch the shows.

On the night Tate departed, he told Harley that he had a special gift to give to her. She claimed the same thing. They met in secret outside of district 2’s fence, where they asked who should give their gift first. After nominating the other, the two got a good laugh before Harley offered hers – A kiss. It was slow and meaningful, which led to Tate begging for more. And the way he begged for more was by kissing Harley back – It turned out that their gift to one another was a kiss.

Whenever Tate returned to the district, they would slip through the fence to spend time with one another. Their least of their concerns was getting caught by peacekeepers, since it would be more devastating for them if Cobalt discovered their act. Harley was able to cover this up by claiming she had been talking to the dancing troupe. And Cobalt believed every single word.

Their relationship was stable, if a little weird. Somehow, they could make it work long-distance. So when they saw one another again, several months before Harley turned 18, they took it to the next level – For the first time, the two had sex. At the end of it, they feel deeper in love. Tate wanted to quit his job at the circus to be with her, but they refused. All this time, Harley was getting frustrated with them.

When he next saw her, a bombshell was to be delivered to him. Everybody in the district had heard of this, but Tate froze in his tracks as Harley revealed some news – She was carrying his unborn child. Her father had figured it out though. Due to this, he requested for Tate to be deported back to district 10 to the President. When Harley found out about it, she was furious at his decision. It was like she was having a nightmare that she couldn’t escape from. '‘Something is reaching out and my entire world is crumbling. 'Father must be ashamed of me, and I won’t see Tate again.’ She isolated herself from him in those moments.

When the President’s findings came back, Harley was happily shocked – Tate was allowed to stay in district 2, but he couldn’t travel with the circus. She was thrilled at the prospect of spending the rest of her life with him. However, Cobalt was less than pleased. He moaned and he groaned to the President, concerning Harley once more.

The reapings were to begin soon, and Harley had given birth to a beautiful boy, Blair. She wouldn’t be reaped and neither would Tate. She was hoping that the two would marry soon after. But her father cunningly had the reapings rigged so that Tate and Harley were to compete in the hunger games. None of the boys volunteered for Tate. But when Harley’s name was called, somebody volunteered in her place. Or at least tried to, since the volunteer was shot in the head. When the reapings ended, she gave her father a menacing glare.

Song Inspiration
 Song inspiration: Insomnia - Kamelot  'When the darkness brings the cold to draw me under' - A representation of the nerves Harley endured.   'I am caught between the chapters of a dream' - Harley's situation in her nightmares.   'Something is reaching out and my entire world is crumbling' - How the nightmares seem to be released into real life.   'When the night begins to fall, I watch the shadows growing tall, feeding my insomnia' - Her nightmares grow to the point where they almost have her under their control.   'Like a fly on the wall' - Somebody who you would least expect something bad from.   'I'm asleep, but wide awake, a nightmare on repeat' - Harley is on the edge after the nightmares. The second part says that her nightmares repeat.   'We are all born to leave a scar in the hearts of many' - Everybody leaves an impression on the people they meet. This is no exception for Harley.   'I hear a thousand voices call, chasing my insanity' - Harley waking up after her concussion, leading to her nearly losing her mind.   'My wide-eyed confidence still echoes in mind.' - Harley's sudden courage. Enough said.   'A bright white prophecy, protector of the light' - It was destiny for Tate to be one of the reasons for Harley's nightmares completely vanishing. It could also describe how they were meant to be.

Trivia

 * Harley is my third tribute to be one in a pair with another user that can enter games together, the other pairs being the Wells twins and Eliza-Beth.


 * In addition to this, this is the first time where the other half of a tribute team I'm involved in was made by Tyler.


 * Her RL picture is Hayley Williams of Paramore.