Courtney Ganhador

## Bio

*Courtney Ganhador (he/him). District Ten Tribute. 25. Rafael L. Silva.*

* What was their childhood like?

Courtney grew up in a ranching family. He grew up disciplined; up before the big Ten sun to feed the cows and horses, to collect the eggs, to help his mother make breakfast for the family. Court is the oldest of six, with another little brother on the way; the family business being such that benefited from a large family.

As soon as some of his siblings were old enough to help around the ranch, Courtney took a job in town, spending his afternoons and evenings as a firefighter. With wildfires posing an eminent threat to everyone in Ten, he enjoys the sense of pride and duty that comes with the role - and the fact it prevents the rest of his family from needing to take out tesserae.

Functioning somewhere between brother, uncle, and occasional father figure (his own father, though loving and dedicated, spends a sizable amount of time traveling to secure business for the ranch), Courtney never quite got - or, indeed, wanted - the childhood he fights for his younger siblings to have. It instilled a deep sense of family importance on him - Courtney is the one who remembers everyone’s birthday and particular favorite treat (or, like in the case of youngest sister Neena, favorite bouquet of flowers).

Like any family in Ten, the Ganhadors live with the fear that one of their children would get Reaped. It has always been a tense terror every year for Courtney as he mentally prepares to Volunteer for any of his siblings, with this year bringing a new problem: what happens next year when he’s too old to protect them? What he was unready for, however, was for his own name to come out of the bowl.

* How do they feel about the Games?

Like many in their District, the Ganhadors are silently resigned to the awful reality of the Games. It has been generations since a Ganhador hasn’t been eligible, and like all their neighbors, they know someone who has been taken too soon.

If Courtney could end the Games, he would in half a heartbeat. But how can you fight something you’re in the middle of? How can you fight something you’re not designed to beat?

* What is their personality like?

Courtney is and always has been a “head down and do the work” kind of person. Any task can be broken down into subsequent steps and, with enough planning, can get done. This does tend to lead him into overthinking, overplanning, and spiraling - but his brain has had to work in this way his whole life.

He was never much of a “free time” person, which he has come to regret to an extent. So much of his life was wrapped up in the needs of his family that even in the wide open wilds of Ten, he never had the space to find what was important to him and him alone.

Courtney tends to keep the good parts of his days to himself and share the bad, leading some to find him abrasive. He prefers to think of it as efficiency; if you can fix a problem for him, then you need to know the problem, not the joys. It also has always worked in his favor to be upfront and honest - even if the things he has to say aren’t the kindest. But as he has learned many times: sometimes the difference between a younger sibling getting kicked in the head by a horse and not is hurting their feelings by calling them a moron to their face.

He is resolute, though - he has the skills of the ranch to lean on, the strength of his brigade, and a family to make it home to. All he needs is Panem on his side.

* What is their district token?

A small wood carving of the head of a fox, whittled by his little brother, Brooks.

* Three strengths and three weaknesses.

+ headstrong + focused + organized

\_ easily overwhelmed \_ overthinker \_ brusque bordering on rude

**PENNED BY: M**