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𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐏𝐔𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐂𝐀𝐍 𝐁𝐄 𝐀deadlytool in most situations. It is considered to be an art, the way a person can single handedly twist someone's thought process or their beliefs to fit their own selfish needs. It is hard to master without someone seeing past your lies and bullshit, unless you were born with such a natural talent, then that is when you never know who to trust. A lot of the Capitol's government was skilled at this particular method, but it was rare to see it in a tribute. Especially if that tribute emerges a victor.
No one was more talented at the art of manipulation than Deirdre Rowan was. From such a young age, Deirdre was good at getting everything and anything she wanted. Her parents weren't well off, but they weren't living in the Dread either, that's for sure. She was good at playing them against one another to benefit her own needs. By this, meaning buying things she knew they couldn't afford and instead of finding a way to get the money, forcing her parents to work hours on end in the factory and in the fields for an unhealthy amount of hours to pay it off, because there was no way she was going to work herself.
At the time, Deirdre didn't care. They were her parents, they were supposed to provide for her and do everything they could to make her happy. It was their responsibility. When she saw a new dress or new shoes or even sweets she was craving, those were the things that would make her happy. Now despite the cruelty of her actions, Deirdre really did love her parents, even if she rarely showed it. They were her blood, she was obligated to love them. She wasn't good at it and after a certain age, never once hugged them again and the only time she hugged them was when they would finally cave and get her everything she wanted.
When she was reaped for the 51st Hunger Games, she had been so angry with them when they came to see her before she left for the trains, blaming them for not protecting her from the pool of death. It didn't matter that they had zero control over the Reapings... in Deirdre's eyes, they were supposed to protect her and she was being forced to fight to the death and it had been their fault. They are her parents after all. They made the choice to bring her into this wretched world filled with loss and cruelty, not hers. She didn't ask to be here, to suffer for a war she wasn't even alive to be a part of. But she was because of her parents selfish actions and they failed to keep her safe. They were just as much to blame for her being reaped as the Captiol was.
Just like it was their fault for not teaching her any survival skills, leaving her defenseless against those who actually have skills. It doesn't matter that she refused to listen to her father when he tried to teach her to make a fire or her mother who tried to show her the different kinds of poisonous plants and herbs. It was their fault for not enforcing it, for not pushing her. It was all their fault, not hers.
She didn't know exactly how she was going to survive the Hunger Games until the Opening Ceremony. That is when she was able to get her first true look at her competition and not just from the screen of the other Reapings. And that is where she locked eyes on Lake for the first time. The male tribute from District 11. Extremely handsome and built like a boulder. It was almost impossible to believe he was only seventeen years old. He looked mid to late twenties at the most. When Deirdre's eyes landed on him, a plan was swift to form in her head. She knew her limits... she knew she did not have the physical strength to fight off the other tributes or hunt to stay alive, but he surely does. He definitely has the muscle for the first part, at least.
