I was going to write the training sessions and interviews for each of the tributes but it's too laborious and anyone reading them will only be as bored of it as I am writing it. So I'm just going to reveal the training scores and then the next episode I post will be the bloodbath. May the odds be ever in your favor, tributes!
#1ahg
SCORES:
District 1
F: Angela AngeIa - 6
M: Christian Christian_ - 7
District 2
F: January Kaseyhope101 - 7
M: Julius BluJay112 - 10
District 3
F: Jemms Wendyel - 6
M: Yi coreyants - 10
District 4
F: Sana Akeria - 4
M: Ethan varlto - 4
District 5
F: Layla DaddyDev - 11
M: Klepto Tizian - 10
District 6
F: Sys systrix - 5
M: Shea JennaValentina - 6
District 7
F: Peachie HaliFord - 4
M: Oakley bigdizzleyomama - 4
District 8
F: Tryphosa Tryphena - 10
M: Flix Novamax243 - 9
District 9
F: Kami hogiebuns - 6
M: Lorencio Kindred7 - 5
District 10
F: Reathar MudkipzFTW - 9
M: Cyan dawnpeacly - 5
District 11
F: Cassidy EmzThorne - 2
M: Allyx Allyxox - 3
District 12
F: Momo Latisha0987 - 4
M: Chase Nick24678 - 11
District 13
F: Zoe RoboZoe - 6
M: Oswald levonini - 5
26 tributes remain
#1ahg
THIS YEAR'S TRIBUTES:
District 1
F: Angela AngeIa
M: Christian Christian_
District 2
F: January Kaseyhope101
M: Julius BluJay112
District 3
F: Jemms Wendyel
M: Yi coreyants
District 4
F: Sana Akeria
M: Ethan varlto
District 5
F: Layla DaddyDev
M: Klepto Tizian
District 6
F: Sys systrix
M: Shea JennaValentina
District 7
F: Peachie HaliFord
M: Oakley bigdizzleyomama
District 8
F: Tryphosa Tryphena
M: Flix Novamax243
District 9
F: Kami hogiebuns
M: Lorencio Kindred7
District 10
F: Reathar MudkipzFTW
M: Cyan dawnpeacly
District 11
F: Cassidy EmzThorne
M: Allyx Allyxox
District 12
F: Momo Latisha0987
M: Chase Nick24678
The Reaping Day had concluded, and each of the tributes arrived to the Capitol in pairs. The tribute from One and Two arrived a mere hour after their selection, but the tributes from the farther districts took longer. Eleven and Twelve got there in two days.
Upon a tribute's arrival, they were immediately examined and beautified by their prep tram. Some of them required little work; Chase, for example, had an immaculate body, and prepping him took nothing more than a hot bath. Others needed a lot more.
January's hair, which swayed at her hips in long, black tendrils, was cut in half and bleached blonde. She cried when saw her haircut, but her head stylist, Cassius, marveled at his work. He sought to bring out the drama her face could evoke, and this her tears only brought him delight.
Yi's hair was cut as well. Though hers was already relatively short for a girl, the head stylist for District 3, Tatiana, wanted her to look androgynous. When the final strand was snipped, however, Yi's blood boiled.
"Why are you Capitol pigs so hellbent on erasing my gender?!" she cried. She realized that her volunteering in the name of trans visibility was pointless. She would die being recognized as a boy.
"Excuse me?" Tatiana replied. "This isn't a boy's haircut. It's a pixie cut. I swear, you people from Three claim to be so intelligent, but you all are utterly clueless about fashion."
Tatiana ate her words when she worked with Jemms. Jemms already had an exact blueprint of the procedures she wanted, and after her makeover was complete, she had completely transformed. Once a meek and quiet girl, she was now a beautiful young starlet. It was like there was a diva hidden away inside of her all along.
>>-->
It was only a few minutes until the Tribute Parade began. A sea of excited Capitolites filled the stands, craning to get a glimpse of the cast. For those at..
starring RoboZoe & levonini
#1ahg
Unbeknown to the other districts, District 13 was alive and well, operating clandestinely beneath the rubble of their former home. They made a deal with the Capitol to secede and be independent, so long as they didn't threaten the Capitol's power. Of course, the Capitol didn't agree to it out of the goodness of their hearts. 13's primary industry was nuclear weaponry, and they had procured a nuclear arsenal to compete with that of the Capitol's. The two powers were forced into a stalemate, nuclear warheads aimed at one another. The newly elected President of 13, Lena Ackerman, was content with the arrangement; with time, District 13 could rise up and seize power from the Capitol and put an end to their tyranny.
They had no clue that they had been tricked.
It all happened in an instant. The entire room of soldiers monitoring the satellite activity over Panem were all executed ina spray of bullets. All but President Ackerman. Peacekeepers descended from the ceiling like spiders, unlatching their steel cables as their feet planted onto the austere metal floor. Ackerman was only five feet from the computer that controlled all of 13's missile silos, but there was no way she would make it without being killed.
Hull removed his helmet and sneered. "The deal is off, Ackerman. Submit, or the last of 13 goes up in smoke."
"Just kill me already," Ackerman spat. "You won. The Capitol won. Just finish us all off and be done with it."
Hull's eyes narrowed. "It disturbs me how readily you forfeit your consituents' lives the moment you're cornered."
"Like you care about our lives!" Ackerman retorted. "I speak for the entirety of District 13 when I say that we would rather die than submit to the Capitol. So just kill me and be done with it. Isn't that what you came here to do?"
"Incorrect," Hull replied with a sigh. "As much as I find you a reckless and irresponsible statesman who would be better off dead, I am under the command of President Lycus Hunt. And he explicitly ordered not to harm you if at all possible. In fact, he has another proposal for you."
Ackerman bit her tongue. She didn't want them to know she was even considering another deal, so long as it would save her people. She had to appear unyielding.
Hull pulled out a device from his pocket, and a hologram of President Lycus materialized. "Greetings, Lena. I see you've met my squadron."
"You lied," Ackerman said indignantly. "You said you wouldn't try to control us as long as we stayed in the shadows. I said this to Hull and I will say it to you: District 13 will never answer to you or anyone ever again! Not a single one of us would ever submit to you."
"Funny that someone among your ranks would give us all the details we needed to slip in," Lycus replied..
starring Latisha0987 & Nick24678
#1ahg
"Momo Imsecond!"
The plump 16 year old girl joined the escort, Miriam Rabbit, onstage. She wasn't nervous to be selected; she had some survival knowledge that would come in handy in the Arena. That is why she wasn't emaciated like most of the people in her District. She spent most of her time in the woods with her father collecting edible berries, careful to avoid poisonous ones like the infamous nightlock, which could kill a man instantly.
What scared Momo was Miriam's bizarre appearance. She had never seen anyone from the Capitol before. Miriam had eyes the size of oranges, but lips the size of a grape. She spooked Momo into silence. Then again, Momo wasn't a fan of being around strangers much anyway, so she would've been mute either way.
"Chase Alexander!" Miriam squeaked.
Chase swaggered his way to join the escort and his fellow tribute onstage. Momo couldn't help but gawk at how chiseled his body was; his abs were embossed into his faded blue shirt. He winked at Momo, and she looked away, realizing that she was staring. She had seen him before, but he looked so much different. He grew up a lot in the time since.
How would she be able to resist him? More importantly, how would she able to outlast him?
starring EmzThorne & Allyxox
#1ahg
11 was the most high-detail Reaping yet. Tensions were highest there, as they were the last to give up the fight against the Capitol before District 13 fell. The Peacekeepers patrolling the Reaping's venue were on high alert for any threat.
Instead of an escort, High Officer Maxim Hull oversaw the Reaping. He paced the stage silently as the crowd looked at him, the children with fear and the adults with scorn. He didn't care to entertain; he only sought an efficiently-run Reaping. He would not hesitate to exercise force in response to even the merest hiccup.
He pulled a name from the selection of girls.
"Minnie Daniels."
A meek 13-year-old girl ambled her way to the stage. Her mother's stomach churned seeing her only daughter take the stage, moments away from being shipped off to her death.
Next, the boys.
"Owayne Driscoll."
Gasps and murmurs in the crowd. The boy was also only 13. What were the odds that two of the youngest among them would be Reaped?
"You can't do this!" someone shouted.
"They're too young! Someone, anyone, please volunteer!"
"Silence!" Maxim roared over the microphone.
The last thread holding the peace in the venue snapped. It started with one assault, and then an all-out war erupted in the crowd. Minnie's mother kicked a downed Peacekeeper in the stomach alongside a few other enraged parents. The Peacekeepers swatted them down with batons, but they were quickly being overwhelmed, despite their numbers. They began to rain bullets in the crowd. They, however, were relentless; a hive mind determined to protect the lives of their children, even if it meant sacrificing their own. Twenty people laid dead.
One deafening shot ceased the chaos instantly. Officer Hull stood over Owayne's corpse and grimaced. His view snapped to Minnie, whose eyes lit up in fear.
"No," she pleaded. "No no nonono-"
Hull fired his pistol once more, and chunks of Minnie's brain splattered against the front row of District 11 girls. Her lifeless body crumpled to the floor, and her mother fell with her, wailing in agony.
"Let's try this again," Hull snidely remarked. "We're in a bit of a time crunch here. Places to be." He pulled another name from the girls' bowl.
"Cassidy Adkins."
A girl from the front row, who had just been painted with the blood and brain matter of the former female tribute, ran to the stage, as if she, too, would share the same fate if she took too long.
And once again, the boys.
"Allyx Anderson."
An intrepid boy sped to the stage in similar haste.
I don't want to kill anyone, Allyx thought to himself. He quickly quieted those thoughts, fearing Hull might be able to hear his inner dialogue. He would be executed, too, if he showed any indication that he would refuse to participate in the..
starring MudkipzFTW & dawnpeacly
#1ahg
"Reather Handam!"
Mona stiffened when she saw the beast that approached the stage. She stood over six feet tall, and was even more built than the girl from 8. She was the product of endless hours of hard labor in the slaughterhouse. She scowled at Mona, which was simply the way her face rested, but Mona didn't know that. To her, she encapsulated the disenchantment of the poverty-stricken children of 10. She put distance between herself and the monstrous girl tribute and continued with the boys.
"Cyan Mintro!"
Cyan's face lit with panic. He was one of twelve children, so it was only destiny that one of the Mintro kids was Reaped. The reason for rearing so many kids was that infants in 10 were especially prone to death. That was the way there and in the subsequent districts; the more kids one has, the more that will reach adulthood. The Mintros were lucky, perhaps, since none of them had yet to die. Yet.
Cyan had never had so much attention in his entire life. Being a middle child of twelve kids, he was mostly ignored by his parents and siblings. He had to learn how to be an adult quickly. His childhood was lonely because of that, and although he acquired a lot of practical skills that would soon prove useful in the Games, his upbringing nurtured a mixture of dejection, loneliness, and vindictiveness that swelled inside of him. And then suddenly he was drenched in a downpour of attention. It felt good, despite the reality that he would probably never make it out of the Arena.
Oh well. Anything was better than here.
starring hogiebuns & Kindred7
#1ahg
It was dusk in District 9 and the Sun was beginning to set. The people were lit in a vivid amber hue, just like the endless waves of grain across their District. Arcadius Ecclestone stood out among them like a violet peacock.
"Kami Lun!"
The petite young woman flounced her way to the stage. She was 19 years old, just one year away from being exempt from this Olympic massacre. They lived in poverty, but Kami was content with the life she planned to lead. She was going to marry the boy she had loved since childhood, Thorsten Cooper. She'd be a humble housewife, rearing children who could grow up and work to support the family. It was by no means a glamorous life, but it was, to her, much better than death. The possibility of exorbitant wealth that accompanied winning the Games meant nothing since her odds were so slim. She had the rest of her life planned out, and all of those plans were dashed. And that enraged her.
"And secondly..." Arcadius continued, before-
"I...volluntear...az...tribyoot..."
A boy stumbled out of the ranks and drunkenly approached the stage. He hadn't made it halfway when he fell over and puked on himself.
Kami recognized him. Lorencio Lambert, the District's bad boy. He'd been swiping ale from the Capitol since the war ended. He was the only one left in his family, aside from his older brother, who tries and fails to keep him in check. Lorencio was good at hiding his thievery. Of course, he had to be, or else he'd have been executed by the Capitol. If he hadn't just volunteered for the Games, vomiting alcohol all over a Peackeeper's boots would've absolutely landed him on the chopping block.
She felt repulsed when he was dragged onto the stage by her side.
"Lookin' good, sugartits," Lorencio burbled.
Thorsten, watching from the boys' front row, tightened his jaw.
Lorencio had always been that way, a charmless mess that for some reason managed to have ten different girlfriends at any given time. He was only attractive to Kami in the way that a stinking heap of garbage attracts a swarm of flies. She was happy that she wouldn't have to rely on him.
starring Tryphena & Novamax243
#1ahg
The girl from District 8 wasted no time in securing her spot in the Games. Tryphosa Blanchett strided atop the stage with a proud air. She was a five foot tall hunk of muscle, unusual for a girl from her District. Her parents were worried when they saw their daughter volunteering to compete in a real life deathmatch, something they had fought in the war on her behalf to protect her from. But Tryphosa was was completely resolute in her decision to participate.
Tresha Chloette Madison, the escort for District 8's soon-to-be tributes, swirled her hands theatrically over the container of boys' names. She plucked an envelope from the top, cut it open with a swift cut of her bejewelled nail, and read the name of the Reaped:
"Flix Quigley!"
A child shuffled out of the ranks of boys and joined Tresha and Tryphosa onstage. Although he tried to at least seem brave, he was shaking like a leaf. He felt a hand on his shoulder and jumped. It was Tryphosa, whose smile was somewhat of a reassurance to him.
"We're gonna do great!" Tryphosa said. "Don't beat yourself up over getting picked. All there is to do now is get your head in the game."
"Thank you," Flix replied.
Tresha concluded the Reaping and led the two of them to the train. As they walked, Tryphosa and Flix chatted like schoolmates, and Flix's worries continued to ease. Tryphosa had that effect on people. She always had a particular knack for leadership.
Tresha was perplexed by their comeraderie. The two of them had just been cast for the most brutal and cutthroat reality show the Capitol has yet to see. And yet, the prospect of being forced to kill one another in bloodsport didn't seem to drive a wedge between them. Or was it all just part of their strategy? Tresha hoped not. Seeing an ounce of actual good cracked the ice that encased her heart, and she didn't want that feeling to cease. It crushed her realizing that one, if not both of them, were soon going to die.
starring HaliFord & bigdizzleyomama
#1ahg
The stage at the District 7 Reaping was unusually higher than the venues of the other districts. It was as though the Capitol itself was standing on its toes to seem taller than the canopy of oaks that surrounded the residents of the district. Even the escort, Emanuel Arts, who stood only three feet tall, looked below at the candidates for the Reaping like they were beneath him. Undeserving of his time.
"Let's see which of you miscreants will...get the chop."
He chortled over the cleverness of his joke, but no one joined him in laughter.
"Get it?" he said. "Because 7 is the lumber District?"
Silence. Emanuel scowled and proceeded with the Reaping, drawing a name from the girls' bowl that rested on the floor of the stage rather than on a pedestal like in previous Reapings.
"Peachie Keene."
"No!" she cried out. She began to sob. She was 17, but she had been babied all of her life by her parents and older siblings, all of whom were too old to volunteer and protect her in the Games. She had no sisters who could take her place like that young girl from 6. She was stuck.
"Pull yourself together!" Emanuel shouted.
A Peacekeeper yanked her upward by the collar of her blouse and dragged her to the stage, her stomach and lower back bare. Since the stage was raised, Peachie had to stand in front of the crowd of tributes in front of the stage instead. Her lips quivered, overwhelmed with the shock. Only moments ago, she was living the best and most carefree life a girl from 7 could ask for. Now she was all on her own.
Emanuel continued with the boys. "Oakley Windburg."
Just like Peachie, Oakley was 17 years old and the youngest of the family. Too young to have ever beared much responsibility as an adult, and yet he was still too old to be saved by any of his elder brothers, who always mocked him growing up for being weak. Upon looking back and seeing the collective worry painted on his brothers' faces, he felt a pang of guilt for resenting them.
At the base of the stage stood the tributes for District 7, the first pair comprised of a boy and a girl who did not volunteer for the Games. Ironically, they were probably the two that needed it the most. Neither of them believed in themself or knew the paths they could take to win. Peachie, who had the charisma to win sponsors, nor Oakley, who was master of evasion, had no clue that there was more to victory than just brute strength. Of course, how would they know, being from District 7 where one's value was measured in their efficiency in cutting down trees?
Their only hope was to grow up quickly like the saplings dispersed after the summer harvest, in time to face the Games with bravery and conviction. Only time would tell if their potential would come into fruition.
starring systrix & JennaValentina
#1ahg
"Trixie Thames!"
Trixie's heart sank. She looked to her big sister, Isys--just "Sys" to her family--who returned a face of utter horror. Trixie's name was only in the drawing one time. Only once. And that, apparently, was all it took.
Trixie bawled, and her sister comforted her.
"You can do this," she reassured her. "You have a shot just like everyone else."
Trixie knew she was lying. After all, what shot did an underfed 13-year-old girl really have? The Games were still enigmatic to the people of the districts, but she knew that in a fight, she wouldn't have a chance. Nonetheless, she didn't want to worry her sister, and knew she only wanted her to be brave. She wiped her tears and paced her way to the stage.
The escort, Sassy West, strutted over to the boys' side and read the next name.
"...Shea Valentine!"
Shea exhaled, and his shoulders drooped. And almost immediately as he accepted defeat, he collected himself and walked calmly to join his fellow District 6 representative. Folks in his district knew him as the boy who never cried, and that held true as he stood there onstage, arms interlocked behind him and legs spread in a steep arc. His mother said when he was born, they believed him to be dead because he had no heartbeat. And as near as she was to accepting her son's stillbirth, his eyes snapped open. Ever since birth, he was devoid of emotion.
"What a lovely pair we have," Sassy remarked. "A handsome young man and a cute, shweet wittle tween!" Sassy pinched Trixie's tear-streaked cheek and wiggled it. "As much as I would hate to see them replaced, I must follow the new standards of the Reaping. If any of you would like to volunteer in their place, speak now."
The crowd was silent. Trixie looked to Sys expectantly, but she didn't say anything. Sys was praying for a brave young girl to step forward and save her younger sister from an inevitable death, but no one did.
"I guess it's final, then! Our tributes from District 6: Trixie Thames and Shea Valentine!"
Sassy led the two tributes arm-in-arm to the double doors that led them offstage. In minutes, they'd be aboard one of the high speed trains that were manufactured in District 6, speeding toward the Capitol at 250 mph.
"Wait," Sys said, breaking out of the crowd of District 6 girls that were now walking away from the Reaping venue. "Wait!" she repeated, louder this time, but even still, she couldn't get the attention of Trixie or the prissy Capitol escort that was pulling her away. A Peacekeeper intercepted Sys and shoved her back.
"Can't I at least say goodbye?" she shouted at the Peacekeeper.
She knew there was only way she could capture their attention. The words escaped her in a flood:
"I volunteer as tribute!"
starring DaddyDev & Tizian
#1ahg
Klepto felt sick to his stomach. The sunlight was so intense that it made his eyes water. He hadn't felt this overwhelming sense of anxiety since the war. He and his family laid low, made sure to avoid the crossfire, and by the time the Capitol regained control of the districts, all of the Wichmeiers were alive. He was so elated that the bloodshed had ended. And then in a matter of months, the Hunger Games charter was enacted.
If only I were photosynthetic, Klepto thought. This boiling Sun would be feeding me. I'd be a shoe-in for these "Hunger Games."
He was so lost in thought that he didn't even hear the name of the girl who was Reaped. He'd seen her around. Probably around 13 years old. How unlucky that she got picked.
"And now for the boys," said Agoston Langbrook, the escort for 5. Klepto's stomach churned. The odds of being Reaped were low, yes, but the odds were still there. And here he thought he was so lucky, surviving the war that saw so many losses. It was only the beginning. Maybe, just maybe, that luck would carry over. Keep him from being chosen.
"Klepto Wichmeier!"
His vision began to spin.
How? How could this be happening?
Hot tears began to well up in his eyes. There was no hiding now; he collapsed to his knees, dizzy with nausea. Two Peacekeepers hoisted him to his feet and began to walk him to the stage, but he collected himself and promised to cooperate. He was chosen, so might as well be dignified about it.
He stumbled onstage and met Agoston, who greeted him with a smile and held a flowery lavender parasol over his head.
"The Games haven't started yet," said Agoston impishly. "Don't go dying on us yet!"
Agoston slapped Klepto's rear, startling him and making Agoston roar with laughter.
"Before we can go on, I must ask if anyone here would like to volunteer. If you do, this is your last chance before these two saps get shipped off to the Capitol. Going once...going twice..."
"Over here, bud!"
A 16-year-old girl skipped her way onto the stage. Although older than the girl that was reaped, she acted as though she was younger. Spry and carefree. She wore her dirty blonde hair in two tight buns, and her clothes were relatively inmodest. It was as though she believed she was tapping in for a game of tag.
"Layla Marie-Velvet Bloom Fawn here, and I volunteer as tribute!"
She giggled, like she thought introducing herself was funny.
"I'm ready to represent District 5 to the best of my ability."
"As you wish," said Agoston with a smirk. "You get a break this time, kid."
The younger girl hugged Layla before rushing off the stage.
"With that, the tributes from District 5 are officially locked. Give it up for Layla Bloom Fawn and Klepto Wichmeier!"
The crowd whooped and hollered...
starring Akeria & varlto
#1ahg
The docks at District 4 were usually bustling with the chortling of seagulls and the ringing of ships that left and returned with fish for the Capitol. Instead, they were quiet, because it was the day that two of their own people would be taken, possibly never to return. For the parents, it wasn't all too difficult; they had just lost the war, and lost many brothers and comrades already. But for the kids, the terror was fresh.
"Sana Song!"
Sana rolled her eyes. It was trivial to her that her name was even part of the drawing, since she knew her gaggle of bitches would be scrambling to volunteer for her. And she knew whoever that girl ended up being would probably die first, and she'd be one henchwoman down.
"Saaaana...?" escort Rosario cooed.
She looked to her friends. Sana's mouth fell agape, slowly realizing that none of them were going to take her place. After all she's done for them!
"When I come back, all of you bitches are dead."
She pushed her ex-friend Suk to the ground and stomped her way to the stage, swinging her fist like a metronome.
"And for the boys," Rosario continued, "Ethan Strand!"
A rather skinny boy elbowed his way through the crowd and joined Rosario and Sana. He looked disappointed to be chosen, but he looked at Sana, who crossed her arms in annoyance, and he felt a bit at ease. It was normal to not want to fight and kill people, right? The current roster of tributes reacted either with excitement or indifference, so he wasn't exactly sure. But now he felt better about being the first male tribute not to have volunteered.
starring Wendyel & coreyants
#1ahg
The cameras that captured District 3's Reaping were of noticeably higher quality than the previous two districts. Unfortunately, it didn't do them any favors; the messyheaded boys and meekly behaving girls didn't have much going for them as far as looks go. They looked disheveled, but not downtrodden. They weren't one of the severely impoverished districts like 10, 11, or 12. They simply didn't care about appearances much.
A jolly, rotund man occupied the stage in front of the District 3 kids, donning a cerulean tux and a zigzagged tie. His curly brown hair was greased to the sides of his head, but the ends perked upward, making his head resemble a mushroom. His mustache bounced cartoonishly as he spoke:
"Greetings!" he said. His outlandish accent unnerved the crowd. "Welcome to the Reaping for District 3. I am your district's escort, Henrique Desmond. It's an honor to be here with you all on this most glorious day!"
"I imagine there be some volunteers among you, but please contain yourself until after both tributes are picked. We're broadcasting live from the Capitol at this very moment, and therefore we must keep the Reaping running as smoothly as possible. So, without any further ado, let us begin!"
He drew a name and read it: "Jemms Crystal!"
An older girl stepped out of the crowd and shuffled her way up to the stage. She pushed the glasses on her nose up and looked at her feet as everyone around her stared.
"I volunteer as tribute!"
All eyes turned to the other girl who emerged from the crowd. Although, was she a girl? She had chopped black hair that reached her shoulders and her figure was feminine, but she emerged from the group of boys. Henrique turned beet red as the girl approached, her vindictive face coming into full view.
"You are volunteering as...a boy?"
"I am a GIRL," Yi said pointedly. "I am Yi Icore, and I'm volunteering as a girl."
She wrested the microphone from Henrique's sweaty palm. Four Peacekeepers snapped their guns upward in unison, training their sights on Yi, but she remained unfazed. "I am female, and I deserve to recognized that way. If I wasn't shoved into the crowd of boys against my will, just because my blood read me as a boy, doesn't mean I am one. You can literally tell that I am a girl, and I'd be treated like one if I was allowed to be in the girls' section. But what happened to me just now goes to show that the Capitol can't even pay the people of the districts the respect to recognize them by their gender identity. I will not stop-"
The butt of a rifle thunked against the back of her head, and she fell to the floor. Amidst the confusion, Henrique looked to the District 3 mayor for direction on what to do. Yi did present as female, but since she was born as a boy, she was offered exemption from the..
starring Kaseyhope101 & BluJay112
#1ahg
Just like 1, District 2 is full of Capitol pets. The district is the primary exporter of Peacekeepers in Panem, and as such, the Capitolite audience was especially interested to see what tributes emerged from here.
The escort, Griselda, welcomed the children from 2 with much greater reverence than Ruperta. "Welcome, welcome, welcome to District 2's reaping for the 1st Annual Hunger Games!" she beamed.
The children didn't respond.
Griselda cleared her throat uncomfortably. "Let's not waste any time then, shall we? We have many people watching at home who are just itching to see who shall represent you. Whoever it is, you have very great expectations!"
Griselda plucked a name from the girls' bowl and read it: "January Jay!"
The jovial escort's smile faded when she saw who emerged from the crowd. It was a rather waifish girl with pallid skin. Her long black hair brushed her shins as she walked, and she held her head as if it was too heavy to keep upright. Griselda couldn't help but show her disappointment.
"Maybe our male tribute will be a little more enthusiastic."
January lifted her head and their eyes met. She didn't say much, but Griselda could tell she was a girl full of vitriol. Though the girl appeared too weak to fight, Griselda reconsidered her; perhaps her apparent unkindness would make her an easy killer. Perhaps she had a chance.
That was when a boy materialized from the mass of District 2 hopefuls. "I volunteer as tribute!" He was the same height as January, and he had the same jet black hair, cropped so short that it stood up on his head, but the similarities ended there. His attitude was positive and magnetic, and his skin was sunkissed brown, suggesting he spent much of his time outside. He was a winner.
"The name's Julius Jay," he said as he marched up the stairs. "January is my twin sister. I couldn't just let her have all the fun!"
"My, my! A pair of siblings," Griselda remarked. "Not what I expected, but very interesting indeed! Ladies and gentlemen, the tributes from District 2, January and Julius Jay!"
January and Julius exchanged looks. "Smile," Julius mouthed to her. Her face twisted into a snarl. What an idiot, January thought to herself. The two of them had just been signed a death sentence, and all that seemed to concern her brother was charming the audience. They were twins, but complete opposites, and January accepted that she would probably never understand her brother's motives. All she wanted to think about was how she was going to survive. She didn't consider that her brother was doing the same.
starring AngeIa & Christian_
#1ahg
In each of the remaining twelve districts, teenagers were corralled into their respective venues for what would become the first ever Reaping ceremony. The kids were too naïve to understand the full breadth of what the Hunger Games were, but they knew they were being punished for the rebelliousness of their parents. They understood that a boy and a girl from each district would be selected at random to compete. Then they learned that only one of those twenty four kids would make it out of the Games alive.
Kids were frightened. Parents wailed. A select few found the prospect of exorbitant wealth and glory enticing. In any case, there was no erasing or revising the charter that sentenced twenty three teens from across Panem to die, all for the amusement of the Capitol.
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DISTRICT 1
In District 1, the charter was met with the most...glee, if you could call it that. Unlike in the higher number districts, which are more impoverished, residents of District 1 pined for prestige. They are the Capitol's lapdogs. When the charter was announced to them, the Games seemed as much of an opportunity as it was a punishment.
It was here that the first tribute was reaped.
"Angela Babicz!"
"No!" her sister Susan exclaimed.
As if expecting to be reaped, she unlocked her fingers from Susan's tight grasp and ascended the stairs to join the escort onstage. On the outside, she maintained her dignity and poise, but on the inside, she wanted to scream.
Next was the male representative. But before the escort, Ruperta, could even read the name of who would be reaped next, a voice rung out from among the District 1 boys: "I would like to volunteer myself."
He was by no means loud, but his audacity to interrupt the Reaping, especially with baton-wielding Peacekeepers lined up every ten feet to intercept him, spoke volumes. This interruption, however, was met with jubilant praise.
"A volunteer?" Ruperta sang. "Now that is what I call a tribute, boys and girls! This young man is an example to you all! A young man eager to compete!"
He climbed onstage and pivoted to face the other District 1 teens who had officially just...survived? missed out? on the first ever Hunger Games. His left eye was covered by an eyepatch. His right eye darted to the row of 19s in the front row of the boys' side, spooking them. He recognized most of them as his childhood tormentors who teased him for losing his eye. Seeing them flushed with fear and envy, flinching at a wayward glance...it satisfied him more than he'd like to admit.
"What is your name, my dear?" Ruperta cooed.
"Christian," he stoicly replied. "Christian Polar."
"Ladies and gentlemen, the representatives of District 1!" Ruperta boomed. "Angela Babicz and Christian Polar!"
Little did Christian..
