Cocinero de los Dioses, The Capitol.
10:13PM, 10 months before The Hunger Games...
I plunge my knife into the still sizzling meat and watch absently as the juices ooze and run down the side of the steak. I repeat the motion three more times, if only to distract myself. My dining company is very uninteresting after all. They've been spewing mindless drivel about their 'successes and wealth' for hours now. One can only imagine how there's even any room for us with all of these egos present.
I stab my knife into my steak one final time and cast a gaze towards everyone at my table. They're chatting rambunctiously among themselves like children at a party.
Sigh.
Fight fire with fire I suppose.
"This bores me," I say petulantly, not that my whining does anything to anger the men and women sitting around the table with me.
In fact, you could say this one very phrase, sliced through all conversations and instilled a level of unimpeded fear into the hearts of every single one of them. I can't help but smirk at that. The perks of being king I suppose.
"M-mister, President sir, I ap-"
"Silence," I order. The man's teeth snap together with an audible click.
"You, the one in the neon green, what are we here for?" I ask, pointing a finger at the random man in question.
He visibly flinches but quickly sings my praises like a trained dog, "y-yes, sir. Allow me to begin with how much of an honour it i-"
"I think I won't. Leave my table," I say abruptly, turning to point at the women in complete hot pink, from her eyes, hair, dress, nails, you name it, it's sickeningly sweet. Well, now that I'm aware of her, it's probably her perfume to be honest.
"My president, we're here to celebrate the astounding success of the previous Hunger Games, under your blazing gui-"
"Incorrect, Pinky. Also, you annoy me. Leave my table," I interrupt between a yawn, I raise one hand to my mouth and shoo her with the other.
I snap my gaze away from the fumbling women to another. My gaze lingers, she's… under-dressed, compared to the rest of my pet monkeys at least. I smirk, let's see her dance.
"You, why are we here, make it quick. 10 words or less," I instruct.
The brunette woman blinks at me and takes only a moment to adjust her glasses before speaking, "we're here to discuss the next Hunger Games, President Nova."
My brows raise. No squirming? No bluster? No praising? Huh, potential, I guess. Says what kind of state the Capitol is in if normalcy is all It takes to impress me. Regardless, I let my surprise wash off my features before my lopsided grin returns.
"BINGO! You get to stay, what's your name?"
"He-"
"She's my assistant, but sir, surely we can rest assured after the grand success of the previous Hunger Games, no?"
I tilt my head in confusion. Who is this guy?
"Head Gamemaker Orion Dashlow sir," The man responded proudly, seemingly unaware of my withering glare.
I asked that out loud? Well yikes. So it seems I need to replace my Gamemaker since this incompetent idiot is at the helm.
"Not anymore, fired and executed for all I care," I say dismissively.
The man's face drains of all colour, or it could be the mascara running, whatever the case two peacekeepers come and swoop him up and drag him away, naturally he doesn't take it well and protests in the form of harpy screeches. No class nowadays.
"Again, since I was so rudely interrupted, what's your name?"
"Helen Levenezque, sir," she replies courteously.
Finally, someone to the point, and not instantly singing their own praises like their God's gift to Panem.
"Great, Miss Levenezque, you're the new Head Gamemaker. This isn't a problem for you, is it?" I ask.
"Of course not. We are here to discuss the 99th Games after all," She answers smartly.
My smile thins marginally, cheeky shit. My grin returns back in full force, I can respect someone with spine!
"Great, great! Sure last games were good with Onion at the helm, but we need to strive for better."
"Orion sir," a man nervously says, correcting me, I think.
"Sure, Orion, whatever," I say flippantly.
"Sir, is there something you wish to aim for?" Gamemaker Levenezque asks, reigning in the topic.
"I wish to avoid stagnation and to strive towards elevation. Whatever you do, make it better than the last."
"Sir, the last Hunger Games were one of our best, a three way battle to crown a Victor was gripping 'till the very last second!" One buffoon reasons
"The arena was marvelous, long rolling hills, it made all the encounters all the bloodier!" Another agrees.
"I understand sir, I have something in mind," my newly appointed Gamemaker assures me.
I stare at her skeptically, but the glint in her eyes does wonders to sway me, my smile morphs from carefree to sadistically sinister.
"Then, let's discuss."
Panem Files #1 – The 74th Hunger Games
The 74th Hunger Games ended with Thresh Harveston the victor, the Feast being the deciding factor. The girl from District 2 slit the throat of the girl from 12 and watched as her lifeblood slowly drowned her. In her blissful satisfaction, the girl from 2 was unaware of Thresh, who heard the girl gloat about killing his district partner. In his rage he smashed her against the cornucopia and beat her face in with the pommel of his blade. The boy from District 2 eventually arrived and saw the grizzly state of his district partner. He fell into a rage of his own and attacked with reckless abandoned. His advantage was his technique, and with that absent due to clouded judgment, the battle fell to which of the two were bigger. Thresh cleaved the boy's sword arm off before hacking at his collarbone in a gruesome finale. But, not before taking a severe wound to his stomach and losing an ear. 3 Cannons went off during that feast, and one more 24 hours later, signalling the death of the boy from 12, who succumbed to his wounds and infection without the proper medicine. With the finale approaching, the girl from District 5 was eventually herded back to the cornucopia by Mutts. This was where the 74th Hunger Games ended in an unceremonious fashion as Thresh ambushed her. Being better equipped and ultimately not needing to move from the cornucopia to begin with, gave him the sight advantage. The audience were left with a boring ending, but all would agree that the true finale ended with the Feast.
This is my attempt at a SYOT. I'll admit though, I'm a bit nervous, my memory on The Hunger Games is super ancient. Nearly 6 or 7 years ago, so forgive me if I forget anything obvious. I wonder if these are still as popular as they once were. On another note, this is an AU where Katniss never won, and the rebellion never could take off, thus continuing the bloody sport game. I'll continue to give more insights on this world through my trusty Panem Files, and narration of course. If you're getting a sense of deja-vu. You'd be right. This was previously named Crumbling Tectonics, but I've already decided to change that. Moreover, I reuploaded with my Rating at T, to generate more attention too. Hope this doesn't come off as scumy to any of you.
Anyways, onto the main reason why you're all here!
RULES:
1.) Not first come, first serve. However, since there are 24 tributes spots. I'm not going to be overly critical of submissions. I don't have a deadline, but would like to start writing as soon as possible. So, I'll likely accept tributes I like.
(Reservations are No longer applicable as there is only one Spot left.)
2.) No Review submissions, They won't be accepted no matter what, submitting a character that has appeared in reviews will also, NOT be accepted.
3.) No Sues or Canon related tributes. Would likely mess with my plot. (If you make a persuasive argument for the latter of my two restrictions, I might consider it. I would advise against it however).
4.) You can submit as many characters as you like. But, I'm more of a quality over quantity person. Depending on how many submissions I receive. I might limit how many get accepted per submitter.
5.) Delete everything I have in (brackets) for your submission. As well as my explanation to the Ranking System I have below. I don't need to know what the ranking system is, after all.
6.) Remember to have fun, and know that your character is probably going to die! Isn't it grand!
General Information
Name (Nicknames):
District: (1-12)
Age: (12-18)
Gender:
Appearance: (What do they look like?, from weight, to height, ethnicity, hair colour, eye colour, hair style, body shape and even what they usually wear. Any blemishes on their skin? Scars, tattoos, piercings? What kind of accessories do they use, if any? If you wish to divide some of these things into their respective category, feel free to do so.)
Personality: (What's their mannerisms? What are they like? What's their likes, their dislikes?)
Background/History: (Try to keep them consistent to the continuity of their district.)
Family/Friends: (Names, one sentences for their relations to the person, help me populate their families!)
Reaped/Volunteered:
Reason to Volunteer/Reaction to Reaped: (Unless a career, why would they risk their lives for this? Revenge, save a love one? Has nothing to lose, delusions of grandeur? One sentence or two. If they didn't volunteer, what are their internal thoughts like the moment their name is called? Calm, panicked, indifferent, resigned, crying? Again, one sentence or two.)
Hunger Games
Allies or Solo: (would they try to team up? What kind of allies would they prefer? Or venture into the games alone?)
Strategy during Training/Interviews: (What do they show the gamemakers? What do they try to learn during training? What angle do they take during the interviews?)
Strategy in the Arena: (Do they rush the cornucopia, how do they deal with the bloodbath? What's their gameplan after it? Can build off their strategy from training and interviews too.)
Weapon of Choice: (Optional. Whether it be an actual weapon or tricks and traps).
Token: (Optional)
Greatest Strength: (What could cause them to win the games?)
Greatest Weakness: (What could cause them to lose the games?)
Fears/Phobias: (Hmm, wonder what this is for? Anyways, if they don't have phobias, what's their greatest irrational fear…)
Ranking System
From a scale of 1-10, 1 being the worst, 10 being the best, I want you to rate your tribute in the respective categories. No explanation is needed, but if you wish to provide one I'm all for it!
Survival: (How well can they scavenge, gather and procure shelter? Can they tell north from south, know anything about wild game, wild berries, the dangers of the wilderness? What's their odds of surviving in the wild?)
Athleticism: (Are they physically fit? How so, are they agile? Good lateral movements? Do they have good balance? Are they healthy?)
Intellect: (How book smart are they? How well do they know things, can they apply their understanding into action? How easily do they pick up new things?)
Wisdom: (How street smart are they? Are they capable of rationalizing and reasoning? How well can they grasp the situation, how well can they act and adapt?)
Emotional: (What's their mental state like, can they handle the death around them, do they thrive under the thousands watching them? Or, will they snap under the pressure? Can they remain poised, or are prone to losing it?)
Social: (How well can they charm people, how well can they talk to others, are they charismatic? Can they rally people to them, or perhaps manipulate them?)
Anything I missed: (Optional. Anything that you would like to add, feel free to do so here!)