“I’ll lose my mind at least another thousand times.” ——————— ➳ Name: Ray (formerly known as Summer Leonova) ➳ Age: 15 years old (Round 4) ➳ Gender: Trans Male (he/him pronouns) ➳ District: 12 ➳ Sexuality: Pansexual (doesn’t have much of a preference when it comes to love interests, as long as they’re willing to accept him as he is) ➳ Personality: - Determined (+): Ray is hardly the type to stand around when he knows there’s work to be done. He has ambitions to win the Games and quite likes being alive, thank you very much. - Charismatic (+): Whether in front of other tributes or the Capitol itself, his almost annoying inner confidence really shines when he’s around cats he trusts... or cats he hates. - Loyal (+): Ray may not have had the best experience with people his age in the past, but he’ll be there for you if you’re there for him, and will likely defend you even if it puts his own life at stake. - Bold (~): Whether you see it as brave or just plain reckless, Ray acts before he thinks. - Arrogant (~): He has a notoriously short temper, which stops him from getting stepped on but is sure to cause some problems along the way. He’ll probably assume the worst of you if you say the wrong thing to him. - Cynical (~): Ray has a very dry, sarcastic sense of humour. It may seem like he doesn’t care about you or that he’s not taking the situation seriously, but it’s just his way of lightening the mood. - Insecure (-): Ray is incredibly self-conscious, which leads him to lash out whenever he feels offended or hurt. Once he does, it’ll take some doing to calm him down or hold him back. - Pessimistic (-): He’s probably not the guy you’d expect hopeful promises or unconditional comfort from, to say the least. - Intentionally Annoying (-): He won’t stop talking, even if you’re in the process of trying to kill him. ➳ Strengths: - Speed/Agility: Ray, having a relatively light and small form, would likely be pretty skilled at dodging attacks and moving through tight spaces or treetops. What his attacks lack in brute force, they make up for in speed. - Sharp Senses: Ray has tall ears and good eyes, helping him to notice details and react to them using quick wits. - High Energy: His small body weight allows him to run and/or climb for a long time without getting tired, and when he’s fighting, it takes quite a while before the breath gets driven out of him. ➳ Weaknesses: - Strength: Ray doesn’t have enough force to push large objects or to knock someone over. He relies more on using his opponent’s weight against them. - Stealth: Having such bright-coloured fur doesn’t always help, especially when he’s trying not to be noticed. He’s also... a bit loud. - Swimming: His techniques are okay—he /can/ swim— but give him a strong current to fight against and he might not be able to last for all that long. ➳ Social Skills: Ray may come off as a bit antisocial and independent at first glance, but while he would never admit it, this is partially because he’s nervous to talk to new people. Facing the whole Capitol during the Tribute Parade and his interview is a daunting concept for him, mainly because of his fear of not being accepted. However, when he grows more comfortable, he can show his true colours as a strong-willed guy who is not afraid to tell you exactly what he thinks of you. ➳ Backstory/Extra Info: Ray, called Summer at the time, grew up as an only child with a relatively normal life in District 12: despite the hardships that everyone faced there, she and her family were doing alright for themselves. She made both friends and rivals during her time at school (some of which you’ll probably recognize), but Summer’s parents died when she was around ten years old, and she was taken away to the only place where she could grow up without starving on the streets: the orphanage. While she didn’t know for certain what caused the deaths of her parents, Summer suspected that it was the Capitol’s doing, and her anger only grew until she became an aggressive and deemed ‘wild’ young cat that no one in their right mind would want to be friends with. As time went on, Summer decided to change her name and identity to Ray, and he began to try and convince himself that whoever he’d been before had never even existed, vowing to move on from it. He wasn’t accepted straight away, and it was hard for him to convince his male peers in the orphanage that he was going to work in the mine when he grew up, just like they would. He was often teased about his past, and it felt like things couldn’t get any worse when he was reaped as female tribute by the name of Summer, a cat who, in Ray’s mind, had died long ago. ➳ Notes/Trivia: - Like a lot of cats from District 12, he’s shorter and skinnier than average. - He tends to get very self-conscious about his misleadingly ‘feminine’ physique and voice. - His bright-coloured fur and eyes are easily recognizable, which is useful to stand out in a crowd but maybe not so much as camouflage.
Drawn by me! Heavily inspired off of a design from a trade with @daisykitty, slightly tweaked by me :3 Song: Devil Town, by Cavetown Roleplay created by @Banana203, here: https://scratch.mit.edu/studios/26952741/ ——————— The tension in the air was almost palpable as cats from all across District 12 poured into the town square. As much as Ray hated to admit it, he’d rather stick with the orphanage boys than risk getting lost in the crowd. If everything went well, then he’d be back to the building he was forced to call home in no time. Another Reaping gone by, another year closer to never having to attend one again. He moved through the mass of teenagers, following a small gang of the jerks he knew and standing behind them. Ray could feel the gaze of several other cats landing on him, and he tried to convince himself that it was simply because of his annoyingly eye-catching orange fur. He was tugged from his thoughts as the Reaper moved onto the stage and delivered a short speech about how excited she was for this year’s Games, how she hoped it would be even better than the last, et cetera, et cetera. In bitter silence, they watched a short film dedicated to remind them of the Capitol’s generosity and good will, and Ray wondered how much of it the big city’s residents believed wholeheartedly. Once the video had finished, the Reaper gave the crowd a beaming grin and announced: “As usual, ladies first.” She moved towards the glass bowl containing the names of every girl in District 12, and fished around for a few moments before pulling out a piece of paper. She held it up to her face dramatically, slowly opening the envelope. “The first female tribute for this year’s Hunger Games is... Summer Leonova!” Ray blinked in shock, then felt terrible cold creep up his spine as he realized that he was hearing the name he’d used to bear, the name whose speaker he’d threatened would face severe consequences. For a few moments, nothing happened. Ray didn’t move. As far as he knew, Summer had died along with her parents. The only way he’d ever walk up to that stage was if they called out /his/ name, as male tribute. “Summer Leonova?” the Reaper repeated, scanning the crowd with a confused expression, as if she’d never expected that anyone wouldn’t jump for joy at the opportunity to be sent to their death. Ray stared down at his paws. They had no way of knowing. They didn’t have time to question every single teenager here, and they wouldn’t even check the boys’ section. “Psst,” a whisper sounded from in front of him. Ray raised his head slightly, finding himself staring into the eyes of one of his orphanage peers. He’d never been particularly nice to Ray: he’d been disrespectful at first, but had eventually let the younger cat into his gang after seeing what he was capable of. But now... The boy’s eyes glinted with wild eagerness, and a huge grin was plastered on his face. All of his stupid friends turned around to look at Ray with similar expressions. Ray didn’t like this at all, and he found himself staring back at them almost pleadingly, thoroughly ashamed of his own vulnerability. His ‘friend’ didn’t seem to notice—or care—and with all the glee that came with letting out something held in for a long time, shouted out: “Run along, Summer! Your master’s calling!” The cold feeling was replaced with flaming heat. Within barely a second Ray had pounced, and before he knew it, his claws had slashed deeply across the larger tom’s neck. Both of them drew back in shock, and after holding Ray’s gaze in disbelief for a moment, the other cat collapsed on the floor, scarlet spilling onto the ground. The other boys’ mocking laughter had transformed into gasps, and somewhere nearby, a scream sounded. Ray hardly had time to react before his shoulders were grabbed by gloved paws, and he was hoisted off his feet towards the stage, kicking and screeching along the way. The peacekeepers dropped him in front of the Reaper, who backed away a few steps. “...Summer?” she guessed tentatively. Ray tried to leap forward again, itching to wipe that absurd expression off her face, but a sudden electric shock from one of the peacekeepers’ sticks sent him staggering to the floor. “It’s /Ray/,” he growled savagely, baring his teeth, and before she decided to sign him up alongside his wretched last name, he added: “/Just Ray/.” He almost couldn’t hold back his own tears, the only thing stopping him from breaking down being the knowledge that the whole world was watching. “I’ll be your male tribute,” he murmured, his voice sounding defeated as the effects of the electricity stopped him from moving. The Reaper seemed so glad he was immobilized that she was willing to accept all of these conditions without protest. She faced the shocked audience once again, her voice shaky as she chuckled: “Dear me, these tributes just get more and more interesting, don’t they?”
