Mags Flanagan

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**Margaret Flanagan-Blackwell**, known by the Capitol as Mags Flanagan, is the victor of the 11th Hunger Games and a tribute in the 75th Hunger Games. She is known for being the first victor to gain celebrity status and for founding the career alliance. Mags served as District 4's male tribute mentor for 60 years, until retiring after suffering from an ischemic stroke after the 71st Hunger Games.

## Biography

### Early Life

Mags was born in a coastal village in District 4 to Raf and Mira Flanagan. Both of her parents worked as anglers, leading to Mags becoming incredibly proficient at fishing. She was also taught how to live self-sufficiently without assistance from the Capitol or other districts. Mira also worked as a women's rights activist, advocating for more women in angling. Raf was also familiar with activism, working in the rebel naval army in the First Rebellion.

As the oldest of 7 siblings, she was forced into a motherly role from a young age. Due to her family's large size, they often struggled to make ends meet. However, no tessera was ever taken out since the grain and oil offered by the capitol was useless when they could fish. Typically, Mags' handmade fishhooks were used for their jobs as opposed to the mass-produced steel hooks sold by the peacekeepers at the general store. She sometimes sold them to fishermen for cheap, alongside other handmade goods, such as baskets and nets. This extra income helped greatly with the family's wellbeing.

Mags was fairly popular in her village, with her beauty and athleticism catching the attention of many of her classmates. Despite this, she had no close friends, spending most of her time fishing alone, playing sports, and caring for her family. Mags played on a canoe polo team and regularly placed well in fishing competitions. However, she had only won once, at age 12, after catching an abnormally large leopard shark. These types of fish are considered a delicacy in the capitol and ultimately sold for over 1000 Panars.

This victory kickstarted a keen interest in rare and expensive sea creatures, such as predatory fish, mammals, and deep sea organisms. Mags had eventually begun to spend several hours a day doing research and fishing, not just out of necessity, but as a hobby. Because of her status as a fishing prodigy, a 15 year old Mags was granted permission to venture out onto a 4-month long deep sea fishing trip.

While on this trip, Mags had no contact with her family, leaving her oblivious to the fact that her youngest brother, Hurley, had gotten caught in a rip current and drowned. Not only did the Flanagan family utilized all of their savings on his funeral and grave, but they were also not working as much due to their grief. As a result, there was much less money coming in.

Mags brought back a lot of money from her fishing trip, but it was unfortunately not enough to sustain her large family. Upon hearing that the Hunger Games were now offering a large cash prize and homes in the Victor's Village, Mags decided to volunteer. She believed that, at best, she would win the money for her family, and, at worst, her they would have one less mouth they needed to feed.

#### Reaping

A 16-year-old Mags volunteered to enter the 11th Hunger Games, replacing Varsha Loche as this years female tribute. As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted it. Mags was the first person ever to volunteer for the games.

Mags' district partner, 17-year-old Grouper Ferrel, was then reaped by the District 4 escort, Suri Narang. Mags had recognized Grouper's dad as one of the fishermen from the trip, but had never met him firsthand as they lived in different parts of the district.

Despite begging to see her family one last time, Mags was immediately placed on the train and taken to the capitol.

#### Train Ride

The trip to the capitol took one full day. Mags, Grouper, and Suri were joined by two Academy students working as mentors. Mags was assigned to Aleka Kallergis, whereas Grouper was assigned Corus Ferdinand.

Mags started off the trip sulking and refusing to interact with anyone else. However, towards the end of the day, she began to warm up to Grouper after he told her his dad had mentioned her. This led to the pair staying up all night talking about personal topics such as death or things that burden them in life, conversing non-stop until they arrived at their destination. The two also came up with a strategy to improve their odds of winning: creating an alliance with the strongest tributes in order to pick off as many people as possible.

#### Parade

Upon arrival to the capitol, the stylists were tasked with dressing the tributes up for the parade. Mags' whole body was waxed, even areas that would not be visible to the viewers. The stylists then put blue shimmering eyeshadow and an excessive amount of highlighter on her. Mags thought the foundation they used was a few shades too light. The dress she was given was holographic and blue, with a scale pattern on it. At this point, Mags realized they were going for a mermaid-inspired look. Accessories like a pearl necklace and woven bracelets were added. Finally, her hair was put into a large Nordic-style braid with seashells and seaweed intertwined with it.

Only a few minutes after the styling team finished, they arrived at the capitol. Mags and Grouper were reunited while exiting the styling centre. He was wearing what was essentially a gender swapped version of Mags' outfit, with a blue suit made from the same material as her dress and a light bit of blue kohl under his eyes.

The pair was then placed 4th in a line made up of the other tributes, dressed just as regally as the two, and were told to walk 3 laps around the Capitol Arena. It had been repaired from last years rebel bombing and filled to the brim with wealthy capitol citizens.

Mags found the entire situation uncomfortable, feeling like the capitol onlookers were treating her "like an animal."

#### Capitol Zoo

Immediately after entering the Capitol Zoo, an unusually tall and muscular female tribute caught Mags' eyes. This was Talla Solveig, the girl from District 10. Mags struck up a conversation with her, hoping to bring her into her alliance. She learned that Talla was the daughter of a former-mayor and somewhat of a celebrity within her district's underground fight scene. Unfortunately, upon proposing an alliance, Mags was laughed off.

However, this conversation wasn't completely useless as Mags was overheard by Slaton Cronus and Bavaria Hoover, the District 2 tributes. The pair inquired about allying with her, citing Mags' volunteer status as their reason why. She enthusiastically agreed, noting that they were fairly well-nourished in comparison to the other tributes, therefore making them stronger. This gave Mags the idea to attempt to build an alliance with the District 1 tributes as they are the richest district.

Mags recalled that the District 1 boy, Chauncey, looked very young and decided that he wasn't worth allying with. However, the girl, Vineer Beauforth, appeared to be somewhat strong. Thus, Mags' next move was conversing with her. She soon learned this girl was Vineer Beauforth. The two discussed district life and their plans for the games. Vineer found Mags' conversational skills charming and ended up joining the alliance.

Later on, Mags and Grouper reconvened. She found out he recruited Cassavo Sheridan due to his size and Timbra Krenov due to her ability to use an axe. This group is often regarded as the earliest career alliance by the media, although the careers were not established until a later date.

Throughout her time in the zoo, Mags spent a lot of time conversing with Capitol citizens, quickly becoming a fan favourite. She would talk about life in the districts, volunteering, and more. However, what really caught the fans eyes' was her ability to make fish hooks, with people bringing their own materials to the zoo to get Mags to craft them their own authentic Hunger Games merchandise.

#### Interview

Mags was 7th tribute interviewed by Hunger Games host Lucretius "Lucky" Flickerman. They discussed Hurley's death, Mags' reasoning for volunteering, and her fishing skills. This interview brought in hundreds of thousands of viewers who were captivated by Mags' story, confidence, and manners. She was voted one of the favorites to win, garnering thousands of sponsors.

#### Day 1

Unbeknownst to the tributes, the 11th Games were the first to take place outside of the Capitol Arena. They were placed in pods which rose up into a massive forest. As the countdown ended, many tributes remained on their podiums, shocked about the surprising scenery. Mags, on the other hand, rushed to the cornucopia. She picked up a spear, believing her occasional spearfishing ventures could translate to weapon proficiency.

Mags soon spotted Grouper and ran to him, only to be tackled by Rodney. He had placed a knife to her throat, but was pulled off of her and stabbed through the head by Slaton. The pair was immediately attacked by Rodney's district partner, Kora, who was looking to avenge him. Mags speared her in the chest, saving hers and Slaton's lives. Filled with adrenaline and fear, Mags then threw her spear at Engel, killing him as he tried to escape the bloodbath. The bloodbath ended soon after, with Mags' alliance taking control of the cornucopia. At this point, nine were dead.

Mags returned to the cornucopia to see the piles of supplies that Grouper was organizing. They struck up a conversation and Mags learned that he had spent the entirety of the bloodbath hiding within the Cornucopia while the rest of the alliance fought to secure the supplies for themselves. This worried Mags as she sensed the others were not happy about this.

Around dusk, Cassavo caught Weft sneaking around their camp in order to steal supplies. He called over the rest of the group in order to decide what to do with him. Slaton proposed that Grouper kill him to prove his worth and handed him a knife. Annoyed, Mags told him to leave Grouper alone, but he eventually agreed and hesitantly stabbed Bear in the head.

Not long after, an announcer came onto the built in loudspeakers to announce the identities of the ten tributes who had passed. Mags was slightly annoyed Talla was still alive, believing her to be the biggest threat to her survival.

Later on, they decided on watching in shifts with a partner for the night. Mags volunteered to go first and Grouper asked to tag along. Once everyone was asleep, he confessed that he was terrified to kill and couldn't get Bear's face out of his head. At this moment, Mags let it sink in that she had killed two people. The pair held each other and cried while talking about their newly shared traumas.

Out of fear that this display of emotion would humanize the tributes, the gamemakers sent a sponsor gift of fishing line to interrupt the moment. This woke the rest of the alliance up, leading to Timbra and Vineer replacing Grouper and Mags on watch.

#### Day 2

After waking up, Mags explained that they go exploring. She believed that the fishing line she was gifted indicated that there was a nearby body of water that they could go fishing in. Desperate for food and water after last night's theft, Vineer suggested Mags and Grouper look for it while the other three guard the cornucopia.

After about an hour, Mags and Grouper stumbled across a huge lake and a small wooden cabin. While Grouper explored along the shoreline, Mags investigated the cabin. Soon after this discovery, she heard a cannon and rushed outside to check on Grouper, only to run into him doing the same for her. Realizing both of them were safe, the pair then returned to home base to share their findings.

The group decided to relocate to the cabin, worried that staying out in the open by the cornucopia could put them in danger. A sense of relief struck the paranoid teenagers as they now had access to a source for food and water, as well shelter. Mags was also excited to

After settling in, Mags and Grouper began working on crafting fishing rods, while the others tried their best at spearfishing, but to no avail. It wasn't long until they heard screaming and rushed over to the water. Expecting to see another tribute over top of one of their allies, Mags and Grouper were shocked at the sight of Cassavo being torn apart by a hoard of massive fish. Mags recognized them as a species of sturgeon she had never seen before.

Grouper attempted to run into the water to save Cassavo, but the cannon went off before he could get close enough. Timbra then pulled him out of the water, telling him he was going to get himself killed. Mags was shocked to see Slaton wipe a few tears off of his face, believing him to be somewhat coldhearted after the events of last night.

The pair sat in silence until nighttime, when the announcer began sharing the names of the day's deceased tributes. When he got to Bear, Timbra was fairly distraught as he was her district partner.

#### Day 3

Early in the morning, the group went out to search for the thieves, hoping to catch them asleep and vulnerable. While split up from the others, an Bavaria managed to get herself caught in a springing net trap. Exhausted and scared, she decided to call for help, not realizing that whoever set the trap could also hear her. As the group finally tracked Bavaria down, they saw Chauncey stabbing her to death through the net.

Slaton ripped Chauncey off of Bavaria and stabbed him in the stomach, pulling the knife horizontally to reveal his guts. As he fell to the ground, Slaton stabbed him repeatedly―continuing well after the cannon went off―with tears streaming down his cheeks. Once he finished letting his anger out, Slaton took his knife and shoved it into Grouper's shoulder, blaming his incompetency for Bavaria and Vineer's deaths.

In response, Timbra charged at Slaton with her axe. He attempted to dodge the attack, but the axe landed on his hand, cutting off multiple of his fingers. As Slaton ran off, Mags threw her spear at him, but missed, lodging it in a nearby tree. It wasn't long until they heard the familiar jingle of a sponsor gift, opening it up to see a bottle of rubbing alcohol. The three of them then rushed back to the cabin to tend to Grouper's wound.

When they arrived, Mags poured the rubbing alcohol on Grouper's shoulder. Next, she crudely stitched the injury up with fishing line and a fish hook while Timbra held Grouper down. He eventually passed out from the pain. To calm herself, Mags grabbed a rod and went fishing, eventually catching, and ultimately cooking, one of the sturgeon mutts that killed Vineer.

A little after Grouper awoke, Timbra announced that she was splitting up from the group, bringing up how there was only 7 tributes remaining. They gave her a little over a third of the supplies and the rest of the sturgeon, and they parted ways.

Mags and Grouper decided to spend the night in the cabin. Mags attempted to stay up and watch the whole night, but ended up falling asleep on the porch.

#### Day 4

This day was fairly uneventful compared to the previous three.

Mags woke up in a panic after realizing she slept through the night. However, she was quickly calmed by Grouper, who she realized took over the watch as she slept. They started off the morning by fishing for their breakfast, successfully catching enough food to last them a couple of days. Then, they filled their backpacks with as much supplies as they could and went off to find a new base, fearing that Slaton would come back to finish Grouper off.

The pair hiked up a mountain trail in hopes of being able to see the rest of the arena from the top. A cannon went off during their trek, and they pondered if someone had finally killed Slaton.

Eventually, Mags and Grouper found a cave where they decided to spend the night. Inside, they were greeted by Juniper, who was claiming that she was hiding from Slaton after he killed Angus. Mags eventually noticed a large gash on Junipers leg, which she cleaned up with the remaining rubbing alcohol.

The group had some of the fish they caught earlier and went to bed, with Mags taking first watch.

#### Day 5

The group awoke to Juniper attempting to fight off a bear mutt. After realizing they had no chance of killing it, they took off, leaving most of their weapons and supplies behind. All they were left with was the knife on Juniper's waistband and the spear strapped to Mags' back.

While running from the bear, they eventually made their way back to the cabin.

### Mentoring

After the 11th Hunger Games ended, fans demanded to see more of their new favourite victor. In order to keep ratings up, 17-year-old Mags, as well as all previous victors (bar Adam Allectus and Lucy Gray Baird, who have been pronounced dead), were brought back as mentors.

Mags was selected to mentor the male tributes of District 4. Her first mentee to win was Piker Gunnel in the 25th Hunger Games, also known as the 1st Quarter Quell. She also taught three other victors: Percy Argo, Requinn Willughby, and Finnick Odair.

After working for 60 years, Mags had the longest career as a mentor out of any victor. She retired in the time period between the 71st Hunger Games and the 72nd Hunger Games after suffering from a stroke and was replaced by Finnick Odair.

### Stroke

At age 76, Mags suffered from an ischemic stroke in the left side of her brain. As a result, her Broca's area was damaged, causing expressive aphasia. This disorder is characterized by an inability to produce fluent sentences, but, unlike many other types of aphasia, comprehension is fully intact.

#### Reaping

The 75th Hunger Games, also known as the 3rd Quarter Quell, had picked its tributes from the existing pool of victors rather than district children. As one of five living female victors from District 4, Mags had a 20% chance of getting reaped.

Although Annie Cresta, was chosen, an 80-year-old Mags volunteered in her place due to the fact she believed she was already near the end of her life. Afterwards, Finnick Odair, another one of Mags' mentees who she had "practically raised," was reaped.

#### Day 2

##### Death

When the fog hit on the second day of the games, Mags, Finnick, Katniss, and Peeta were left incapacitated. This, in combination with her old age, left Mags unable to walk. Peeta was also unable to move due to his injuries, so Finnick and Katniss were tasked with carrying the pair to safety. Eventually, Katniss began to struggle to hold Mags, leading to Finnick carrying her too.

Mags realized that, at the current rate the group was moving at, they would all pass away before escaping. After giving Finnick a goodbye kiss, he opted to jump into the fog, reducing the load he had to carry, and ultimately helping him get out of danger faster. Mags passed away from the poison soon after.

## Etymology

Mags is short for Margaret, a Greek name meaning "pearl." Flanagan is an Irish last name meaning "ruddy." This word, meaning reddish, is sometimes used instead of "bloody," which is a reference to Mags' participation in two Games and the very first bloodbath.

## Trivia

* Mags is one of two people to volunteer for the Games twice, the second being Gloss Palladi.
	+ She is also the first person to ever volunteer.
* The etymology surrounding Mags' name is purely fanon speculation.
* Mags' games had to be rewritten as they were too similar to Katniss and Peeta's.

 District 2
 District 3
 District 4
 District 5
 District 6
 District 7
 District 8
 District 9
 District 10
 District 11
 District 12