The Shoot from the Hip Hunger Games Day 1 - The Bloodbath
Masterpost (<-START HERE! the posts are best read in order)
Content Warning: descriptions of violence, blood/injury, and major character death
The sun rises on the first day of the games, and as the cornucopia glints in the morning light, twenty-four tributes prepare themselves for what’s ahead. As they rise onto their platforms and survey the arena, the one minute timer begins to count down. The camera sweeps around, showing you their faces as the seconds tick away. Some of them, like Juliet, look confident. Others, like Robin, look grimly determined. Some appear to be eyeing specific supplies scattered around the cornucopia, while others are looking at each other.
The camera zooms in on Janae, who is staring across the field at his brother, mouthing something silently. The microphones do not pick up any sound and lip reading is difficult, but you think it may have been “it’s okay.” Panning to the right, you see Caesar staring at Juliet, a frown creasing his brow. She is not looking at him: her eyes are glued to a sword near the center of the cornucopia. The camera moves around and you see Jasper swiveling his head back and forth as he takes in the arena, John Junior crouching low on his podium and looking at the ground, and Inga rolling her neck and shaking out her shoulders.
The camera rises up, showing an aerial view of the cornucopia and the tributes in a circle around it. The timer ticks down to zero, and the sound of the horn echoes throughout the arena.
Let the Hunger Games begin!
The tributes immediately spring into action. Jasper turns and runs directly away from the cornucopia, avoiding the fray altogether. Clarissa, Peter, and Chip each take a moment to run for one of the small supply bags at the edge of the ring before they too flee into the wilderness. Johnny starts to run towards his brother, but Janae shakes his head at him, and after bending down to grab a jug of water, takes off in the opposite direction. Johnny takes a step after him, but the sight of Michael barreling towards him makes him turn, snatch a backpack off the ground, and run.
The camera cuts and you see that some smaller scuffles have broken out between the tributes going for supplies. Marty and Jimmy are grappling with one another, a basket of bread on the ground beside them. You see Marty’s fist swing hard and Jimmy screams, blood spurting from his nose. He rolls away from Marty, who leaves him in favor of grabbing the bread and making a retreat.
Michael has made it to the center of the cornucopia and is scuffling with Robin over a mace. Robin is much shorter than Michael, but he is faster and manages to avoid Michael's stronger blows. He takes hold of the mace and Michael is forced to back off, but as he retreats he gets his hands on a small knife and a supply pack.
Pinocchio has gotten his hands on a spear, but the weapon is large and clumsy in his hand. He turns back and forth, as though unsure of where to go next. Caesar rushes past and Pinocchio lunges in an attempt to stab him, but he is much too slow. He misses Caesar entirely, and instead the tip of the spear is embedded in the stomach of the next closest tribute...Maria, who was running towards Pinocchio with a bag of food in her hands.
Maria falls to the ground, her eyes wide, and Pinocchio rears back, shock and horror written across his face.
“Sister? Sister! No! NO!” he screams, dropping to his knees beside her.
Maria’s eyes fill with tears, and she reaches up and cups her brother’s cheek.
“Whatever it takes, fratellino mio,” she whispers. “Do whatever it takes.”
Pinocchio clutches her hand desperately, pressing it to his forehead as tears of his own stream down his face.
The camera suddenly cuts away to follow Jimmy. His nose is broken and bleeding, but he’s back on his feet and running straight for the pair of District 11 tributes. Taking advantage of Pinocchio's distraction, he dashes past and grabs the bag of food that has fallen to the ground beside Maria's body. Pinocchio jerks up, shouting as he tries to grab the bag back, but he's too late: Jimmy is already out of reach and running towards the treeline.
Pinocchio's face twists into a grim expression, and he looks back down at Maria's body. He plants a final kiss on Maria's knuckles, then he lets her hand fall and staggers to his feet, leaving the spear behind as he chases after Jimmy. As he runs, he manages to grab one small pack of supplies before disappearing into the forest.
The camera cuts away again to show a series of other tributes in quick succession:
Hugh gets his hands on a slingshot, Sally acquires a long, sharp looking sickle, and Priscilla grabs a bow and arrow set before they all dash in different directions to find cover.
Alexa and Benjamin both run for the same axe lying on the ground, but Alexa reaches it first by a fraction of a second. She looks between the axe and Benjamin, her eyes blown wide with terror, and Benjamin freezes.
Before either of them can act, a shout rings out and they both turn: ten feet away, Inga has caught Jim off guard and sent him sprawling with a well placed kick. There is a knife in her hands, and the sunlight glints off the blade as she brings it down into the boy’s chest.
Alexa lets out a scream at the sight, and Benjamin chooses that moment to scramble away before Alexa has a chance to decide whether or not to swing the axe. Inga looks up from Jim's body and locks eyes with Alexa, who promptly turns and runs in the opposite direction.
The camera zooms in on the cornucopia itself, where two pale faces are visible peering out from the dark. Julian and Janusz have both had the idea to try and run past the other tributes and hide inside the cornucopia, but in doing so, they have inadvertently trapped themselves.
Juliet and Caesar have gained control of the ground surrounding the structure, chasing off other tributes and amassing resources, and now they are closing in on the pair inside the cornucopia. Juliet is wielding a sword and Caesar is armed with a trident, and the two boys clearly have no way to run past the more experienced fighters without being struck down.
Suddenly, a huge explosion shakes the arena, sending all four tributes sprawling to the ground. The footage freezes, and then cuts to show you a replay from another angle.
While everyone else was fighting and gathering supplies, John Junior was attempting to dig up the land mines surrounding the tribute platforms. However, he is unable to extract them successfully without setting one off, which kills him instantly.
The camera cuts back to the cornucopia, where Julian and Janusz both are scrambling to their feet, taking advantage of the opportunity to escape before they’re killed by the power couple. Janusz runs in the same general direction as Alexa, calling out her name, while Julian goes the other way.
Caesar is the first of the couple from District 2 to recover, getting to his feet and picking up Juliet’s sword from where she dropped it. She gets to her feet a moment later, and after looking around and seeing they are alone, she pulls Caesar into an embrace.
The camera zooms in on her face, and you see the exact moment her relief turns to shock as Caesar plunges her own sword into her chest. She coughs and blood bubbles from her lips, and Caesar reaches up and cradles the back of her head.
“I’m sorry, my love,” he says in her ear. “But I cannot allow you to take Rome from me. I’ll give your regards to Maximilian.”
He pulls the sword free and Juliet’s body goes limp, her eyes wide open and glassy.
Caesar lowers her to the ground, then stands and surveys the empty field around him. He takes a moment to gather up the remainder of the weapons and supplies worth collecting from the cornucopia, before he too heads out into the trees.
This broadcast will now break for commercial. Please tune in again soon to see what else will become of our tributes on the first day of the games!
— — —
Day 1 - The Remainder (next)
Game Summary:
Deaths:
Maria was killed by Pinocchio
Jim L was killed by Inga
John Junior was killed by a landmine/himself
Juliet was killed by Caesar
Kill Counts:
Pinocchio: 1 (Maria)
Inga: 1 (Jim L)
Caesar: 1 (Juliet)
Game Meta
The following is a series of screenshots depicting the events of the bloodbath as they were revealed to me. I actually ran multiple simulations to find one that would be the most entertaining/dramatic (the first one I ran was going fine, but then the final tribute death was environmental....and so was the final death on my second attempt. That's when I resigned myself to simulating multiple times to find the best possible run). I ran a few more simulations after this one, but I gotta say, with these set of first kills, I knew that this would be the run. The drama was too good to pass up, and I'm happy to report that it maintained a satisfying level of excitement through the whole run (other simulations started exciting but then had multiple simulated days of nothing happening but minor environmental effects)
As you can see from these screenshots, the way that I'm going about this is I take all of the events from the simulation and convey them to you in the order that is the most dramatic. The simulation always tells you the day's kills first, and then all other events/interactions from the day, but that's not good narrative structure! So I eased you in with a few minor supply runs, then escalated with a few minor scuffles before dropping the bombshell of 'Pinocchio spears Maria Clarissio in the abdomen.' (when I tell you I gasped reading that for the first time!)
Now, if you're particularly sharp eyed, you may notice a few tiny changes I made. Mostly I just gave a few tributes some minor supplies that the simulator didn't explicitly say that they had, but later simulated events implies that they do. The biggest change I made to this round was the simulator said that both Robin and Michael got the same kind of weapon, which I changed into a fight over one weapon.
Going forward, you can expect those types of changes between the screenshots and my narration, but NOTHING major. I will never alter a death, major encounter, injury, or alliance. I will occasionally omit superfluous interactions (for instance, several days in two tributes who haven't interacted at all for the whole game and proceed to never interact for the rest of it apparently spend the night holding hands...I cut that for simplicity's sake) or make some additional interactions up to strengthen the narrative weight of major events, but the vast majority of events were all generated by the simulator, the only thing I'm toying with is the order.
One final note: the bloodbath is technically also on the first day of the games, but it given its own simulated 'day,' so I will be posting the rest of "Day 1" tomorrow. Going forward, each day will get two posts, one for the Day simulation and one for the Night simulation (so tomorrow will be Day 1, the day after that Night 1, the next day Day 2, and so on)
Starting tomorrow, there will be a "Fallen Tributes Broadcast" at the end of each day, and when we reach the final 8 tributes we will see a return of Andre Beetroot, conducting family and friends interviews for the loved ones of the top 8 tributes!
If you haven't voted yet for who you hope will win, there's still two days left on the poll! This has no bearing on results, as they are already generated, it's just to see who folks are rooting for. I may use some of that data for dramatic purposes when conveying the fates of our beloveds ;)
HA-HIYA! Welcome to the first ever Shoot from the Hip Hunger Games TRIBUTE INTERVIEWS, hosted by ME, the one and only ANDRE BEETROOT! Hooo, ladies and gentlemen today's gonna be a great day, it's the day before the greatest competition that you have ever seen, and we're gonna sit down and talk with each of our incredible tributes tonight!
First up from the beautiful luxurious District 1, we have Janusz and Alexa!
AB: NOW, the two of you hold the distinction of being two of our youngest tributes this year, can you tell me all about yourselves and what skills you're bringing to the competition today!
Janusz: Um, I don't really know, I'm just a janitor's son...Alexa, she is the one with the skills and the talent.
Alexa: But I don't think dancing will really help in this case...besides, I don't want to hurt anybody! I didn't want this!
AB: Ah, but the two of you are very cute, and who knows, if the audience falls in love with you, they could shower you in enough gifts that you come out on top!
Now, for our next tributes tonight we have THE Power Couple of the century, from District 2 please welcome Caesar and Juliet!
AB: Now, the two of you are MARRIED, how does it feel going into the games with that weight hanging over your heads?
Caesar: Yes, of course it's devastating, but we are going to stick together no matter what.
Juliet: We will not allow Rome to fall without us, whatever it takes. I made a promise to Maximilian that we would overcome the odds and do whatever it took to preserve the empire.
Caesar: ....wait, what do you mean you promised Maximilian?
AB: UH OH, sounds like there might be trouble in paradise! Keep an eye on these two, folks, they're sure to deliver on the battlefield!
Coming up now from District 3, we have quite the peculiar pair, let's get a huge round of applause for Janae and his older brother Johnnyyyyy!
AB: Now Johnny, I hear you have an incredible gift, please, tell the audience all about it!
Johnny: I, um...I have these dreams sometimes, and um...well, you see, um...what happens is....
Janae: My brother has supernatural premonitions, and acting upon those premonitions allows him to alter the future before it becomes fixed in time! So good luck trying to get anything past him, he'll always know exactly what to do to keep himself alive!
AB: You're lucky to have such a powerful brother looking out for you! Let's hope the future holds good things!
Let's hear it now for our next tributes coming from the deep blue waters of District 4, it's Julian and Jasper!
AB: Tell me gentlemen, do you have any strategy going into tomorrow's games?
Julian: Um, I'm just hoping not to get in any of the more dangerous tributes' way, I suppose...
Jasper: Well, this isn't the first time that I've dealt with someone trying to kill me, so if I just do what I did last time then I'm sure I'll be able to come out on top!
AB: HAHA, confidence! I like it!
Next up we have a real ELECTRIC set of tributes, from District 5 we have two young men sure to spark your interest, it's Jim L and John Hobson Junior!!!
AB: So my friends, tell us, why do you think YOU will be the one to take home the ultimate victor's crown in these games?
Jim: I know I don't look it, but I've got a temper and I know how to use it! It's probably better for people to just avoid me in the arena than to get on my bad side.
Junior: I'm a problem solver, and I also know to never underestimate the power of an alliance! Working together is always smarter than trying to do things all on your own.
AB: Only time will tell, my friends, only time will tell!
OKAY everybody I want you to give me a huge WOO HOO CHOO CHOO for our incredible tributes from District 6, Clarissa and Benjamin!
AB: How does it feel coming out SMACK in the middle of the night's festivities? You've seen half the tributes speak before you and now half will speak after.
Clarissa: I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous, but I think that the young man earlier was right, alliances are key. I definitely have some tributes now I'm thinking of approaching in the arena.
Benjamin: Not to mention some tributes that it'd be smart to avoid...I certainly know who I wouldn't want to cross.
AB: Yeah yeah yeah, I bet you do!
Speaking of people you wouldn't want to cross, coming up here from District 7 are two tributes who are no strangers to dealing with the extreme dangers you may find in the arena, we have Michael and Priscillaaaaa!
AB: Each of you has faced down certain death before, is that right?
Michael: I have, and everything I went through taught me lessons that will serve me in that arena. Working with others, being resourceful, keeping your wits about you and making hard choices...all of that is key to survival.
Priscilla: .....yes, what he said. Especially the part about working together. I think that sticking by people who have your back is very important.
AB: Well we'll certainly be watching closely to see if that holds true!
Now folks, put your hands together for our sensational tributes from District 8, we have Jimmy and the one and only Robin!
Robin: IT'S SCOTTISH ROBIN TO YOU, YOU POMPOUS SHITHEAD!
AB: .......Ah. I don't like you.
Jimmy: Well that's not fair! What'd he do to you?
AB: Just super annoying right out the gate, isn't he?
Robin: OH I'M THE ONE WHO'S ANNOYING? NOT YOU, WITH YOUR STUPID FUCKIN COAT AND VISOR?
Jimmy: Yeah! Honestly, your outfit really could use an upgrade, I know a great tailor actually, if I can just figure out how to get into his shop-
AB: ALRIGHT THEN, that's enough of these two, out you get, go on.
NOW, to represent District 9 we have the beautiful blue-eyed Hugh and the lovely lady Inga!
AB: So how does it feel to be here on the day before the games finally begin?
Hugh: It's all a bit overwhelming to be honest...I don't really know much outside of plants, but that does mean I know how to survive in the wild. And I'm brave! I won't just lie down and accept my fate.
Inga: I also know how to survive in the wild, to forage and hunt and find food and shelter, and I even know how to deal with dangerous wildlife. I feel very prepared, and I'm certain that with some help from sponsors, I could take the entire competition by storm!
AB: WHOA, amazing confidence from the young lady, let's see if she has the skill to back it up!
HEYO everyone you've seen many tributes tonight who are compliments to one another, but get ready now to see some polar opposites, from District 10 we have Peter Steven aaaaaaand MARTY!
AB: The two of you are no stranger to hardship, do you think what you've gone through in your life has been enough to prepare you for the arena?
Peter: Well, I do like spending time outside! So it'll be nice to do some of that for a change. And there have been people on before us who seem like they'd be good ones to make allies with...but I'm no fool. I know what I have to do if I'm going to make it home to my mom, and I'm ready to do it!
Marty: If you ask me, what most of these tributes lack is the proper *cough cough* conviction. I mean, let's face the facts! Twenty three of us are going to die in the next week, and even if I'm not one of them then I'll probably die in the month after! So may as well make the most of the time we've got...if those sponsors really want to see a show, then they know who to help. I'll make sure they have a...fantastic time.
AB: ........HAHA, COOL!
Now ladies and gentlemen it's astonishing that it happened once, but the fact that it's happened TWICE, I can hardly believe. Please welcome our second set of sibling tributes, from District 11 it's Pinocchio and his sister, Maria Clarissio!
AB: Maria, as an older sister, how does it feel knowing you may not be able to protect your brother in the arena?
Maria: Well...I've already failed him once before. And living with that failure hanging over my head these past months has been more than I can bear. You have to promise me something, Pinocchio. Promise me you'll do whatever it takes to win the competition and get home to Papa.
Pinocchio: But sister, what about you?
Maria: It doesn't matter what happens to me. Papa nearly lost you once, and it almost destroyed him. Don't let that happen again, okay?
AB: OH MY GOSH, you two are gonna make the waterworks come on all across the audience!
Now finally tonight we have our amazing tributes from District 12, we have the rock solid Chip and the salacious Sally Xavier!
Sally: Hey! I'm only 17, don't be weird, alright? I've had enough of men being weird in my life already.
AB: ANYWAY, tell me what your strategies are for dealing with your fellow tributes!
Sally: Well, I know I don't look very strong, but I do know how to work well with people, and I have a few tricks up my sleeve that could surprise you. Don't count me out just yet!
Chip: Look, telling you while they can hear me doesn't sound like the smartest move, to be honest. If I tell you my strategy now, then they could make a plan around it. I'll keep those cards close to my chest for now, thanks. I'm here to try and win, not make friends with someone I'll have to turn around and kill.
AB: Ah, a social butterfly versus a lone wolf! We'll see who fares better tomorrow!
Ladies and Gentlemen and ALL other configurations of being I hope you had a FANTASTIC time watching our show tonight! I hope you got to know our tributes a bit better, and are ready to place your bets on who will be the one to be crowned the victor! We here at Capitol TV want to know your thoughts, so share them with us below or in this poll!
Once again I have been your incomparable host ANDRE BEETROOT, and the Shoot From the Hip Hunger Games begin TOMORROW! Good luck to all our tributes, and may the odds be ever in your favor!
WELCOME one and all to the first ever
Shoot from the Hip HUNGER GAMES
All credit to this post from @suggestegg for this idea! Let's see what happens when we put the SFTH children into a Hunger Games simulator...who will come out victorious?
Notes on methodology and how to follow along are under the read more
THE REAPING
From District 1 (Luxury Items), we have Janusz and Alexa!
From District 2 (Weapons & Military), we have Caesar and Juliet!
From District 3 (Electronics), we have Johnny and Janae!
From District 4 (Fishing), we have Jasper and Julian!
From District 5 (Electricity), we have John Hobson Jr. and Jim L!
From District 6 (Transport), we have Benjamin and Clarissa!
From District 7 (Lumber), we have Michael (And So it Begun) and Priscilla!
From District 8 (Textiles), we have Jimmy and Scottish Robin!
From District 9 (Grain), we have Hugh and Inga!
From District 10 (Livestock), we have Marty and Peter Steven!
From District 11 (Agriculture), we have Pinocchio and Maria Clarissio!
And finally, from District 12 (Coal), we have Chip and Sally Xavier!
Who will fall? Who will triumph? Follow along and find out!
Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor!
Tribute Interviews (next)
Masterpost (full story)
More info below:
How this works: The hunger games simulator generates random events/deaths on an in-game day by day basis. I have not altered the settings of any of the characters and left it totally up to chance.
I'll be making a new post for each "day" of the games where I reveal in written form what the fate and status of each character is. Each post will have the previous days linked, and eventually I'll have a masterpost of the whole games for easy access.
Methodology: There are lots of different simulators out there, I used this one from simublast because it was easy to use/understand.
For assigning characters to districts, I followed a rule that if the characters came from the same longform, they'd be from the same district, and then I assigned everyone districts based on what tied in the best to their respective characters/longforms. If anyone's curious about why I chose the districts for each characters, let me know! Maybe I'll write a little explanation post if enough people are interested.
Now, that being said, a standard hunger games roster is 24, and to my surprise, there are actually over 24 SFTH characters who are 18 or younger, so I did have to leave a few out (such as the bartending son from Death for a Dollar, Sam and Justin from Beetroots & Murder, or the siblings from Too Big to be a Jockey), so if anyone else would like to do something this themselves, please do so, and tag me because I'd love to see it!
Let me know in the comments who you're rooting for to win!
Masterpost (<-START HERE! the posts are best read in order)
Content Warning: descriptions of violence, blood/injury, suicide ideation, major character death
It is the third day of the Hunger Games, and as the Capitol TV logo flickers to life on the screen, a low, menacing growl sounds through the speakers. The logo fades away to reveal a large, wolf-like animal prowling through the woods. But it is no ordinary wolf; it is a muttation, genetically engineered by the Capitol game masters to add extra excitement to the arena.
The mutt stops at a stream, and as it drinks its fill, the camera zooms out to reveal Jasper heading towards the spot with an empty canteen in his hands. He stops short when he sees the animal, and ducks quickly behind a tree. Peering around the trunk, he watches until the creature leaves, then he hurries back to the camp where he and his team have spent the night.
"I didn't sign up to play nursemaid," Caesar is saying to Julian, but Jasper cuts him off as he approaches.
"There's a mutt down by the stream," he says.
"A mutt?" Julian repeats, his eyes widening, and Caesar curses.
"That's all we need right now. That settles it. I'm not hanging around near that thing, and he can't move."
He gestures to where Chip is lying on the ground, his jacket draped over his body like a makeshift blanket. His face is flushed with fever, and he doesn't react as the others talk.
"His fever isn't as bad as it was a few hours ago!" Julian protests. "I think he's getting better-"
"In case you haven't noticed, this is the Hunger Games!" Caesar snaps. "He's probably gonna die anyway, just like all of us are unless we're willing to do what needs to be done! As far as I'm concerned, we should just put him out of his misery and move on."
He draws his knife and Julian takes a step back, but Jasper reaches out and grabs Caesar's arm.
"The scent of blood might draw that thing closer before we're able to get away."
"You're not suggesting we try to take him with us," Caesar scoffs, and Jasper glances at Julian as he responds.
"No, but I'm saying don't kill him here. Let's just leave, and fate can decide what happens."
Caesar rolls his eyes, but he does sheath the knife.
"Fine. But let's pack up and go now. I don't want that mutt catching us in the middle of breakfast."
The three begin gathering up their supplies, and as they do, Jasper carefully makes sure that there's enough food and water in Julian's pack. When the camp is broken down, Caesar heads off into the woods without a second look back at Chip. Julian hesitates, and Jasper leans closer, speaking in a low voice.
"You can stick with Chip or you can go off on your own, it's your choice. But I don't think you should stay with Caesar. He's not safe to be around."
"But you're staying with him," Julian points out, and Jasper gives him a half-hearted smile.
"He respects me...for now. I'll figure something out for when that changes. Listen, I'm letting you go this once, but...half the tributes are gone. I can't promise that I'll do the same next time we meet, alright?"
Julian nods.
"Good luck out there," he says, and Jasper takes his hand, in a quick, firm grasp before letting it go.
"Same to you."
He turns and follows Caesar into the forest, leaving Julian looking down at Chip's shivering form, a thoughtful expression on his face.
The camera cuts to show the mutt, once again moving through the woods. It pauses, sniffing the air, then it moves forward more quickly, a growl rumbling at the back of its throat. The camera follows along the path its walking, then moves forward, zipping past the beast and following its trajectory until it reaches another campsite.
Sally and Alexa are kicking sand over their campfire, extinguishing it for the morning.
"What are we going to do today?" Alexa asks as Sally begins taking stock of their supplies.
"Well, we're okay on food for right now," she says. "Thought it's probably a good idea to gather more anyway. We want to avoid the larger groups of tributes if we can, it wouldn't be safe...to..."
She trails off, her eyes fixed on something in the distance, and Alexa tilts her head.
"Wouldn't be safe to what?" she asks, and Sally sucks a breath in.
She drops to one knee so she's at Alexa's height and grabs her by the shoulders.
"Alexa, listen very carefully," she says. "I need you to take our supplies, and I need you to start heading north, and I need you to move as quickly as you can, but also as quietly as you can. Can you do that? Can you be quick and quiet?"
Alexa nods, though confusion is written plainly on her face.
"I can, yes. I am very light on my feet, Madame Romanoff even said so."
"Good. Then I need you to go, now, and no matter what you hear, don't stop and don't come back, alright?"
"Why not?" Alexa asks, but Sally just shakes her head.
"There's no time. Go now, and remember what I told you."
"Not to look back?"
Sally smiles sadly, and she takes Alexa's hands in hers and squeezes them.
"To keep fighting, as hard as you can for as long as you can."
Alexa nods, her little face solemn.
"I will."
"Good. Now go, hurry!"
Alexa turns, quietly hurrying away, and Sally straightens. Swallowing, she turns and faces the mutt as it comes into view. The two regard each other for a moment, Sally taking a deep breath and the hackles on the creature's back rising, then Sally lets out a defiant cry and runs into the trees, deliberately leading the mutt away from Alexa.
The creature bounds after her, and the camera follows the pair, predator and prey, as they sprint through the woods. Sally tries her best, zigging and zagging where she can to try and put some distance between her and her pursuer, but she's no match for the Capitol's engineering. It isn't long before the mutt slams into her, sending her crashing to the forest floor. The camera pulls back, flying up above the treetops as her screams echo through the arena.
The cannon fires, and the camera cuts back to Caesar and Jasper walking through the woods.
"Let's cross here," Jasper says, pointing to a shallow spot in the stream. "That will help us mask our scent."
"We should set up a new camp as soon as we've put enough distance between us," Caesar says as they splash their way across the water. "I want to scout around for signs of the other tributes, but I don't want to lug all this gear while we do it."
The pair begins setting up a campsite, and as they work the camera zooms out, revealing a third figure crouching in the bushes nearby: Benjamin. He watches silently as the two dig a new fire pit and stow their extra supplies under piles of dead leaves.
"That should do for now. I say we follow the stream further east and see whether there are any encampments nearby. We're likely to find people near a water source," says Caesar.
"I was thinking we should head north, actually," Jasper says, pointing. "There are some tall firs over that way that could serve as a good vantage point."
Caesar makes a face.
"I'm no good at climbing trees. I think we should follow the stream."
"Well, why don't we just do both then?" Jasper says. "You follow the stream, I'll head north, we'll report back at the end of the day."
"Fine, if that's what you want," says Caesar, and after a few more minutes of preparation, the two head off in their respective directions.
The camera zooms in on Benjamin hiding in his bush. He waits until the sound of both Caesar and Jasper's footsteps have faded, then he darts out from his hiding spot and begins digging through their supply packs. He has just pulled out a utility knife and a length of rope when his head snaps up at the sound of footsteps coming closer. He jumps to his feet, his eyes blown wide with panic, and sprints into the trees as quickly as he can.
The camera does not follow him, but rather stays on the campsite as the source of the footsteps draws closer.
"Did you see who that was?" Michael asks, and Inga shakes her head.
"They bolted before I could get a good look at them."
"Was this their campsite, do you think?" asks Johnny.
"No...I think this is another one of Caesar's. See?" Michael says, pulling a sleeping bag from beneath the leaves. "This is what Pinocchio stole from them the other day. They must have gotten it back after they attacked us."
"In that case, let's help ourselves," Inga says.
The three spend a few minutes digging through the supplies, and Michael lets out a low whistle, pulling out a small shovel with a collapsible handle.
"Now this is a treasure," he says. "Sally was right, Caesar is definitely no survival expert, or he wouldn't have let this out of his sight."
"How come you know so much about survival, anyway?" Inga asks. "I know about plants and things from working in my father's shop, but lumber forests aren’t like real ones. They're just trees. But even though you don’t know as many plants as I do, you make decisions quickly, you don't mind sleeping rough, and you're not grumpy on an empty stomach. Not everyone would be able to handle this as well as you have. Hugh wouldn't, that's for sure."
"I thought you liked Hugh?" Johnny asks, and Inga sighs.
"I do. I just...look, we decided before we even got to the arena to try and stay away from one another. And I have a feeling he's not handling things the best."
A pop up view of Hugh appears in the bottom right corner of the screen. He is still hidden away in his berry patch, and he is tossing and turning on his makeshift bed of leaves, his eyes screwed shut and his face pinched.
The view disappears, and the camera focuses on Michael as he stows the shovel on his belt. He hesitates for a moment, then looks up at Inga and Johnny solemnly.
"Did either of you hear about...the outbreak? In District 7?"
Johnny shakes his head, but Inga looks thoughtful.
"I think so...something about a virus, right? I remember there being a lumber shortage and a planned upgrade to the town hall not happening because of it."
"Did you get sick?" Johnny asks, and Michael laughs, a hollow, empty sound.
"No...no, it wasn't that kind of virus. If you caught it, you didn't survive. It...it did something to people. Turned them into mindless monsters. There were rumors that it was a Capitol experiment gone wrong, some kind of attempt to make enhanced soldiers. All of District 7 was completely overrun. Those of us who survived the initial carnage, we had to flee into the lumber forests and try to survive. My dad and I, we spent months out there."
"Just the two of you?" Johnny asks, and Michael nods.
"Yeah...my Auntie Julep came with us, but she...well, she got the virus."
Michael sniffs, and shakes himself.
"The Capitol eventually sent soldiers to take all the infected out and get the lumber production back on track, and we found my mom again when we got back to civilization, so. It could have been worse."
"Still, it's amazing that you survived that," Inga says.
"Anyway, I'd have killed to have a shovel like this then," Michael says, patting the tool at his hip. "My dad and I, we dug these trenches and filled with sticks whittled to a sharp point. The infected would fall right into them. It was a great way to make sure we wouldn't get attacked at night while we were sleeping. But we dug them with our sticks, rocks, and our hands. We could do the same here and with this it'd only take a fraction of the time."
"Let's do that around our camp then," Johnny says. "I like the idea of no one being able to sneak up on us."
As the three continue to make plans, the screen splits into a multicam view, giving an update on multiple tributes at once. Caesar is hiking along the stream, and finds that it disappears into a cave entrance. After a quick glance around, he follows the water into the dark and disappears. Robin has left the forest behind and is tucked away at the bottom of a ravine. He wraps his arms around himself and leans back against a rock, looking up at the sky.
"Are you watching right now?" he mutters. "Cuz if you are...you were right. Doing it on my own's no good at all. I hope I get back to you soon."
Finally, Chip and Julian are foraging together. The color in Chip's cheeks is back to normal, and though they are walking slowly, they are moving.
"I can't believe they took all the supplies," Chip grumbles, and noticeably, his voice sounds different than before. The pitch is higher, and the accent has changed entirely. Julian frowns as he picks the berries from a bush.
"So you're saying that this is...your mother's side coming out?" he asks, and Chip nods.
"I know it doesn't make a lot of sense, but I only take after my mother at certain times, often after I've had some kind of episode. I guess that fever counted."
"I guess so," Julian says, shaking his head. "I've gotten as many berries as I can carry from this bush. How about you?"
"Same here," Chip agrees.
"Should we camp nearby so that we can eat them again tomorrow?" Julian asks, but Chip is looking at the large, dense bushes, a thoughtful expression on his face.
"Such an obvious food source would be like a beacon to other tributes."
"So we shouldn't stick around, then?"
"Not just that...do you still have some matches left?"
"Uh...I think so, why?" Julian asks.
"Give me one," Chip instructs.
Julian hands one over, and Chip lights it, then squats down near the base of the bush. He holds the match out, and after a moment, the flame licks up the side of the bush. It moves slowly at first, then faster as more and more leaves catch fire.
"What are you doing!" Julian cries, stepping away from the heat as the bushes on either side of the first also burst into flame.
"If we can start limiting the food supply available to other tributes while keeping our own supply secure, we can try starving some people out of the games," Chip says.
Julian stares at him, his mouth agape.
"What?" Chip demands. "Don't forget what these games are, Julian. Only one of us gets to walk out of this alive."
"I know, but–"
Julian is cut off by a sudden, panicked scream.
The inferno grows larger and the screaming grows louder, and Julian looks at Chip with wide, horrified eyes.
Chip, for his part, looks stunned.
"Someone's IN there!" Julian exclaims.
He takes a step towards the blaze, but Chip grabs his arm.
"Don't! There's nothing you can do. Besides, like I said..." he trails off, and Julian wrenches his arm out of his grip.
"Don't touch me!" he says, backing away.
"I'm not going to hurt you," Chip begins, but Julian shakes his head.
"Maybe not now. But you will. I know you will. I can't...you can't..."
He turns and takes off running into the woods, and Chip makes no move to follow him. He looks back at the roaring fire as a cannon shot rings out through the arena, and squeezes his eyes shut, shaking his head rapidly. When he opens his eyes again, his jaw is set and his shoulders are square.
"Only one of us gets out alive," he mutters, and his voice has changed back to how it sounded before. "Only. One."
The camera cuts to Jasper, who is watching the smoke rise from the branch of a tall tree. He grimaces when the cannon fires, and after a glance at the position of the sun as it begins sinking for the evening, he begins climbing back down to the forest floor.
"If I'm lucky, then that was Caesar," he mutters to himself. "And if I am lucky, then I'm also fucked."
He drops the last few feet to the earth and lands with a thud, then picks himself up and lets out a sigh.
"Let's face it though...we're all fucked in here."
He begins walking back towards the campsite, and the camera pulls up, flying back along the river to the cave that Caesar entered earlier. A figure is standing at the mouth, but zooming back in to ground level the camera reveals that it's not Caesar, but Peter.
He is holding a small bundle of kindling in his arms, and the water jug strapped to his back is freshly filled. Looking around to make sure no one is watching, he carefully steps forward, and the darkness of the cave swallows him whole.
The camera cuts one last time, and shows Alexa sitting in a patch of white flowers. There are dried tear tracks on her face, but her hands are steady as she rummages through her pack of supplies, pulling out a small packet of matches.
Before she can light one, the sound of running footsteps echoes through the trees. She quickly reaches out and closes her hands around the handle of her axe.
Julian bursts into view and she flinches, but when he spots her crouching there, he doesn't run or move to attack her.
Instead he groans, and drops unceremoniously to the ground, gathering his legs close and burying his face in his knees.
Alexa tilts her head and cautiously moves towards him, and her expression turns from fearful to concerned as Julian lets out a muffled sob.
"Go on then. Do it," he says, not looking up at her. "Kill me. I deserve it."
Alexa hesitates, then sets her axe down on the ground and scoots closer.
"Why do you think that?" she asks, and Julian looks up at her, tears running down his face.
"I can't do this," he says. "I can't do it, I don't know what I'm doing, I don't know how to survive out here, and I can't...I won't..." He shakes his head, and wipes his eyes with the heel of his hand. "Only one of us can make it out, which means we have to hurt people, and I can't do that. How could anyone do that? If that's what it takes to win these games, then I don't want to win! So you may as well just kill me now!"
Alexa bites her lip, looking away for a moment, then she forces a small smile onto her face.
"Well, I don't want to hurt anyone either," she says. "So I'm not going to hurt you. Even if you ask me to, I won't do it. If we cannot win their game, maybe the answer is not to play it."
Julian hiccups.
"What if it isn't that easy?" he asks, and Alexa shrugs.
"I think that nothing is easy. But I also think...that I'm going to keep fighting anyway. Because that's what the people who cared about me would want."
Julian nods slowly, and Alexa's smile widens slightly.
"My name is Alexa," she says, holding out a hand, and after a moment, Julian takes it.
"I'm Julian," he says. "Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you...friend."
The broadcast will now break for commercial. Please tune in again soon to see what else will become of our tributes on the first day of the games!
Game Summary
Deaths:
Sally was killed by an animal
Hugh was killed by Chip
Kill Counts:
Pinocchio: 2 (Maria, Jimmy)
Inga: 1 (Jim L)
Caesar: 2 (Juliet, Pinocchio)
Chip: 3 (Clarissa, Marty, Hugh)
Jasper: 1 (Pinocchio)
Robin: 1 (Janae)
Peter: 1 (Priscilla)
Game Meta
I KNOW OKAY I KNOW. I AM ALSO DEVASTATED. This damn simulator gave me Alexa & Sally platonic goodness and then ripped it away immediately and I am not okay. But then! It gives me the narrative parallels of Alexa begging someone for death to then turn around and give someone else the same comfort she received?? I am going insane. How did this happen.
Anyway, not a lot of actual structure notes to make on this one, except that I'm baffled that somehow half the tributes are gone, but this is still the longest chapter so far. That's what happens when I go in to add more backstory for some of the characters, I guess. Once again, thank you so much for reading and commenting! Let me know who you're rooting for if it's changed after today's...events.
The Shoot From the Hip Hunger Games: The Victor's Interview
Masterpost (<-START HERE! the posts are best read in order and this is the LAST CHAPTER!)
Content Warning: descriptions of violence, blood/injury, major character death
The television glows to life and the Capitol TV theme music blares loudly from the speakers. Andre Beetroot is sitting in an armchair on stage, and he waves enthusiastically to the camera, his smile stretching wide across his face.
"GOOD EVENING EVERYONE!" he cries, and his studio audience bursts into applause. "I am Andre Beetroot, and YOU are watching the Capitol TV official Hunger Games Recap show. Now, I know that I'm not the person you want to see here tonight, so ladies and gentlemen welcome into the room the VICTOR of this year's Hunger Games, Michael Wilkinson of District Seveeeeeeen!"
Michael walks out onto the stage to the raucous cheers of the crowd, and he gives a hesitant wave as he takes his seat.
"Now, Michael my boy!" Andre Beetroot says, leaning forward excitedly. "I'm sure everyone watching wants to know: how does it feel to be the Victor?"
"Well..." Michael says, swallowing. "I don't know how I expected to feel if this moment came, but what I'm feeling now is mostly relief. It's like the feeling I had when my dad and I were rescued after the viral outbreak, but a million times stronger."
"I thought from the very beginning that your experiences back in District 7 might have given you an edge. In fact, let's show that clip of our first interview together now."
A large screen behind the two lights up with video footage from the tribute interviews for the studio audience to watch, while on the home televisions, the footage takes full screen with a small reaction-cam of Michael in the bottom right.
"Each of you has faced down certain death before, is that right?" asked the Andre Beetroot of the past, and Michael nodded.
"I have," he answered. "And everything I went through taught me lessons that will serve me in that arena. Working with others, being resourceful, keeping your wits about you and making hard choices...all of that is key to survival."
"Wonderful!" exclaims the present-day Andre Beetroot as the camera cuts back to the current interview. "I think I speak for everyone here when I say that your tenacity and resourcefulness were quite impressive."
"Thank you," Michael says, and his face contorts into an attempt at a smile, though the expression looks more like a grimace.
"Now! It's time for one of my favorite parts of this job," Andre Beetroot says, clapping his hands together. "Our wonderful editors have put together an exclusive cut of the games for us to review and commentate on live for you beautiful folks watching! Without further ado, let's roll the tape!"
The screen flickers to life and shows an overhead shot of the cornucopia in the arena as the final countdown to start the games begins. The camera zooms in on Michael's podium, showing that his gaze is locked on a mace and large supply bag towards the center of the pile of loot. The horn rings out, and Michael jumps from his podium and sprints towards his target. He nearly runs straight into Johnny, but the older boy darts out of the way just in time. Michael reaches his target, but Robin has made it there first, and the two tributes scuffle over the weapon.
"Now this was the first fight you got into," Andre Beetroot says as the footage continues to play. "What was going through your mind here, when Robin managed to win the weapon?"
"Well, I was worried," Michael says, watching the screen with a furrowed brow. "I knew I needed a weapon, and it was scary to lose my best chance at getting one. But making it away from the Bloodbath with any amount of supplies was a relief at the time. There were plenty of kids who weren't so lucky."
"Now this moment here, I think we can all agree was touching," Andre Beetroot says, pointing to the screen.
The footage shows Michael opening the sponsor parachute with the picture of his family inside, and the studio audience lets out an *awwwww* at the sight of Michael clutching the photo to his chest.
"Your mother revealed to us in the family interviews that it was your family and friends in District 7 who paid to have this sent to you," says Andre Beetroot. "How did having a physical reminder of what you were fighting to keep affect your morale in the arena?"
"It meant more to me than I think I even realized at the time," Michael says, his voice slightly choked. "Any time that I felt like giving up, I would think of my mom and dad, and how they never gave up on me back home, and I'd feel that photo in my pocket...it made me able to keep going."
"Now this bit here is interesting," says Andre Beetroot.
The screen is playing the moment that Michael formed an alliance on the first night in the arena, at first with Peter and Pinocchio.
"You were part of an alliance throughout most of the games," Andre Beetroot comments. "However, it was with no one from this original group. Was working in a team always your plan?"
"It was," Michael says as Sally makes her appearance to the group. "It's something I learned in the woods with my dad during the outbreak. Trying to survive on your own is basically suicide, especially if there's something out there that's trying to kill you. My dad and I weren't on our own, we were with his sister, her friend, and a few others at first. We survived by working together, and I wanted to do the same here."
"And yet, the Hunger Games arena is a very different beast than the District 7 Outbreak," Andre Beetroot points out. "Something that the young lady here from District 12 seemed very aware of."
"What do you mean?" Michael asks, and Andre Beetroot gestures to the screen.
Michael and Pinocchio have left the group to go scouting together, and the camera lingers on Sally and Peter as she explains to him that she's breaking off the alliance.
"Michael is nice enough, but I think whatever it is he's been through has given him a hard edge," she says. "Not only that, but he hides it well, and that makes me nervous. I don’t know how long he’d be willing to play allies for."
"How accurate would you say her assessment was?" asks Andre Beetroot.
"Well, I understand where she was coming from, I guess," Michael says, his hands fidgeting in his lap. "In the arena, when you're in an alliance...there's always that knowledge in the back of your mind that it won't last forever. I guess I just assumed that when it felt like the smart thing to do, I would leave and go off on my own."
"And of course in the end, this first alliance didn't last long at all," Andre Beetroot says, gesturing up to the screen.
The focus is back on Michael and Pinocchio when they returned to their camp to find it empty. The react-cam shows Michael wincing as he watches the hunting knife fly through the air and bury itself in his side. Caesar and Jasper burst out of the trees and attack Pinocchio, and Michael staggers away.
"Now I don't know about everyone else here, but I personally was SO IMPRESSED by your feat of escape here," says Andre Beetroot, a wide grin on his face as the Michael on the screen runs bleeding through the woods. "I was certain at this point that we were about to see the end of you! How did you manage to run so fast while injured?"
Michael frowns and wraps his arms around himself.
"Honestly, I don't really remember...that whole afternoon is a blur. I remember the pain when the knife went in, I remember seeing Pinocchio fall and thinking I have to run, or I'm dead. And then I did, as fast as I could for as long as I could. I don't know why they didn't catch me; maybe I'm the faster runner, or maybe they gave up quickly. I just know that eventually I couldn't run anymore, and I sat down next to a tree and waited for them to come and find me."
"But instead of the two of them, someone else found you, didn't they?" Andre Beetroot asks rhetorically.
Onscreen, Johnny and Inga appear and administer Michael first aid, and he agrees to team up with them.
"After the failure of your first alliance, you still agreed to join a second. Why is that?" asks Andre Beetroot, and Michael shrugs.
"Honestly, at that point I was just happy to be alive. I figured anyone who wasn't trying to stab me on sight was an improvement over dying alone of infection."
"The three of you were quite the powerhouse together," Andre Beetroot says as more footage plays of Johnny, Inga, and Michael working together to build a campsite, hunt for food, and raid Caesar and Jasper's camp. "What were your thoughts on your two allies during the games versus now that they're over?"
"Well," Michael says, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, "Inga was very capable. I felt better at first, being around her. I felt like I could rely on somebody who was confident in the woods and able to hold her own in a scrape."
"And Johnny?" prompts Andre Beetroot, and Michael smiles a bit wistfully.
"Johnny...he was odd, but he was sweet. I think...I know Inga mostly wanted him around because of the future dream stuff, but I actually enjoyed some of the down time we spent together. Like here," he adds, pointing to the screen, which shows the two of them arranging the spikes in their pit trap and commiserating over the loss of their loved ones.
"I think Inga thought he wasn't tough enough for this, but I don't think she appreciated what he was going through, losing his brother like that. Or maybe she did and was just trying not to think about it, I don't know," Michael says, sighing. "There's a lot you try not to think about, when you're in a situation like this."
"It was of course Inga's idea to start playing the games more aggressively," Andre Beetroot comments as the team heads out on the morning of the fourth day. "Outwardly, you agreed with her assessment, but can you give us any additional insight into your thoughts from this day?"
"I don't know," Michael says, shrugging. "Like I said, you tried not to think about it, but she was right. With so few tributes left in the arena, it was either go on the offensive yourself or get caught off guard by somebody else. And given a choice between the two, the first option sounded better to me."
"And clearly that paid off for you," Andre Beetroot says, gesturing as the screen cuts to the fight with Robin. "Was it satisfying to take out a tribute who so clearly posed a threat to you?"
Michael grimaces, and shakes his head.
"I wouldn't say it was satisfying, that makes it sound like I enjoyed killing him. I was glad that we made it out of that alive, and that we wouldn't have to worry about him attacking us first, but it didn't feel good to take a life like that."
"And that was your first official kill in the games as well," says Andre Beetroot as Inga slashes her knife across Robin's throat. "But I can assume that it's not the first time you saw a man die."
"He wasn't a man, he was a kid," Michael says sharply, and Andre Beetroot raises an eyebrow at him. "Anyway, no," Michael continues, sighing. "I...I've seen people be killed before this. And not just infected people, there were times during the outbreak when...well, sometimes the most dangerous things out in those woods were other people."
"Indeed, indeed." Andre Beetroot nods, then gasps, pointing up at the screen. "Oh, this here is an interesting moment. I do believe this is a turning point for Johnny and Inga's relationship.
Onscreen, Michael is supporting Johnny as the three of them walk back to their campsite, then Michael goes on alone to build the makeshift bridge to get Johnny over the spike pit.
Inga and Johnny begin arguing, and Andre Beetroot leans in closer to Michael as they watch.
"Now, did you have any idea that this conversation was happening?" he asks, and Michael shakes his head.
"I could tell something was bothering Johnny, he was acting really strangely, but I figured it was just because he'd been stabbed," he says. "This though..." he trails off, watching as Johnny confronts Inga.
"Will you turn on Michael and I after we've taken out all the other tributes, or before?"
"I have to say, this does clarify some things," he says, shaking his head. "I'll admit that by this point, I was thinking about when we should break off the alliance, but I still had it in my head that we would do it peacefully. But if Johnny was afraid Inga would turn on us, then...it makes sense that he did what he did, in the end."
"Do you suppose he was telling the truth here, when he told you and Inga that morning what he'd dreamed about?"
Michael watches Johnny startle awake from his dream, a thoughtful expression on his face.
"You know..." he says, trailing off as Johnny speaks.
"It was the kid from District 10. He was raiding our camp, and he was about to shoot Inga when I woke up."
"I think he actually was," Michael decides. "When Peter attacked me later, he had a bow and arrow, and he didn't have that when we first spent the night together. Sometime between when I'd seen him last and that final day, he'd gotten his hands on a new weapon, and none of us had any reason to know that."
"So OBVIOUSLY I have to know," Andre Beetroot says, leaning forward. "What was going through your mind when you saw Johnny kill her?"
The screen cuts to the moment that Johnny drives his spear down into Inga's sleeping form, and Michael winces.
"I mean, there's not much to tell, really. I was shocked; I never would have expected that from Johnny in a million years. Like I said, he was a sweet guy. And the other times things got violent he seemed so uncomfortable, so I would have never thought he'd take things into his own hands like that."
"I imagine you must have also felt a bit desperate by that point, yes?" Andre Beetroot asks, and Michael nods.
"We were down to only a few tributes left, and when Johnny left he took most of our supplies, so I was left with nothing but what I was carrying when I went hunting that morning. I really had no idea how I was going to make it through the rest of the games at that point."
"What's curious to me then, is that when you found Alexa near your camp, you tried to stop her from falling into your pit, even though having that there to deter other tributes was your idea in the first place," Andre Beetroot says, pointing at the screen as the soft sound of Alexa's singing drifts over the crowd. "Why was that, exactly?"
"I don't know," Michael says, looking up at the screen as Alexa falls backward. "I think at that point...I was tired, I had seen so many people get hurt or die, had heard so many cannon shots. And I remember her from her interview, how small and scared she seemed. I saw her about to fall to her death, and my first instinct was to try to save her, even though I know logically that it wouldn't have made any difference in the end."
"OH, and we had a close call here, didn't we!" Andre Beetroot exclaims as the camera cuts to the moment Peter's arrow whizzes over Michael's head. "Had you not bent down at that exact moment, I would be sitting here with a different tribute tonight! Now, obviously young Peter here is the first person you made an alliance with. Was it hard, being forced to turn on him at this late stage?"
"In the moment? I don't think I even thought about it," Michael says as the scene of him and Peter fighting plays out on screen. "I mean, he attacked me. I was just trying to survive. But that doesn't mean I didn't feel bad about it afterwards."
"Hence the mercy you showed him here," Andre Beetroot says, gesturing at the screen as Michael slits Peter's throat.
"I suppose," Michael says. "Though it didn't really feel like mercy at the time."
"Now, were you thinking about the fact that this was the second to last kill of the games?"
"I was thinking about surviving," Michael says sharply. "Nothing else. I didn't start thinking actively about trying to hunt down the remaining tributes until–"
"Congratulations District 7 and District 12. You are the final two tributes remaining in this year’s Hunger Games!" booms the announcer, and Michael grimaces.
"Until right then."
He clenches his fists in his lap as he watches his past self on the screen pull out his family photo. Andre Beetroot tries to prompt him to discuss his strategy and thought process in the final moments of the games, but he remains silent in the face of any and all questions.
"And right here," Andre Beetroot says, relentless in his attempts to keep the conversation going. "You hesitate as you aim your shot. What's going through your mind in this moment? Come on young man, the people want to know!"
"That he's just a kid," Michael murmurs, not looking at Andre Beetroot as he speaks. "That they were all just kids."
His arrow flies true, Chip's body goes limp, and the weapon drops from his fingers.
"Ladies and Gentlemen and all other configurations of being!" Andre Beetroot shouts, getting up from his chair and pulling Michael to his feet. "This year's Victor, from District 7, give a nice big round of applause for Michael Wilkinsoooooon!"
He lifts Michael's hand up in the air, and Michael stares out at the cheering crowd, his face blank.
— — —
The next morning, a special broadcast live from District 7 is played on Capitol TV. The newly rebuilt train station near the center of town is packed with people who have come to watch the arrival of the train that’s carrying their newly crowned Victor home to them, and standing at the front of the crowd are two familiar faces.
Michael’s mother and father stand on the train platform, their hands clasped tightly together as the train slowly comes to a stop. The train doors slide open, and his mother gasps, her hand flying up to her mouth as her son comes into view.
“Michael!” his father cries, and Michael’s eyes immediately fill with tears.
He rushes forward, and as both his parents crouch down to catch him he disappears into their embrace.
“Oh, sweetheart,” his mother murmurs, stroking his hair. “It’s alright sweetheart, it’s alright. We’re here.”
“I…I wanna go home,” Michael says, his voice muffled beneath the embrace, and his father nods.
“I know,” he says. “We’re going home right now, I promise. Everything’s alright now, Michael. It’s over. You’re safe.”
Michael just shakes his head, and clings tighter to his parents.
“No…” he says quietly. “No, it’s not over. It’s just begun.
Full Game Summary
Deaths:
Maria was killed by Pinocchio
Jim L was killed by Inga
John Junior was killed by a landmine/himself
Juliet was killed by Caesar
Jimmy was killed by Pinocchio
Janusz was killed by himself
Clarissa was killed by Chip
Pinocchio was killed by Caesar and Jasper
Janae was killed by Scottish Robin
Marty was killed by Chip
Priscilla was killed by Peter
Sally was killed by an animal
Hugh was killed by Chip
Caesar was killed by Peter
Jasper was killed by poison/falling
Robin was killed by Michael, Inga, and Johnny(?)
Julian was killed by tracker jackers
Inga was killed by Johnny
Benjamin was killed by an animal
Alexa was killed by Michael
Johnny was killed by Chip
Peter was killed by Michael
Chip was killed by Michael
Kill Count
Pinocchio: 2 (Maria, Jimmy)
Inga: 2 (Jim L, Scottish Robin)
Caesar: 2 (Juliet, Pinocchio)
Chip: 4 (Clarissa, Marty, Hugh, Johnny)
Jasper: 1 (Pinocchio)
Robin: 1 (Janae)
Peter: 2 (Priscilla, Caesar)
Michael: 4 (Scottish Robin, Alexa, Peter, Chip)
Johnny: 1 (Inga)
Game Meta
As far as this chapter specifically goes, I would just like to state for the record that Michael's "it's just begun" is not me implying that I'm going to write more in this timeline, it's just a reference to his final line from the longform AND to the fact that a Hunger Games victor never truly leaves the arena behind, since they're forced into being public figures and game mentors for the rest of their lives. I'm not saying I'll NEVER write anything else in this timeline, because who knows if I'll get inspired, but for now my only plans are for the "Alexa catharsis POV scene" that I've mentioned a few times.
I know I've said in a few places that I'd like to do a sequel at some point, but I've all but decided to tweak the worldbuilding a little bit and make it more SFTH based and less Hunger Games based, while still using an actual hunger games simulator for the plot. This whole "sfth characters are living in the Capitol Districts and their longforms are playing out there" world is a one and done, as far as I'm concerned.
That said, if anyone else would like to write recursive fic of this timeline, or do any other type of fan art/edit/etc for it, you are totally welcome to! I know some people feel like they have to ask for permission first, so this is me giving blanket permission: I always welcome any additional fanwork inspired by something I've done, in fact it's incredibly flattering!
And finally on a personal note, aaaaaah, I cannot believe it's done! Two straight weeks of work and 30,000+ words later, and this behemoth of a project is done. I am still somewhat in shock that I actually did this so quickly, I have literally never written that many words in that short an amount of time. It's by no means the most polished thing I've ever written (I spent way too much time up past midnight to stick to a chapter-a-day upload schedule and the grammar/sentence structure definitely shows in places XD), but it's still insane to me that I did this at all.
For context, I only have one other work on my AO3 that's longer than this one, and I've been slowly working on it for almost two years. I did a big bang fic challenge ONCE and then never again because the pressure was killing me, and that took three months and was 5k words shorter than this. (truly the pre-generated outline helped immensely, but also I can say with confidence that 22 year old me could not have done what I did here, maybe it's time to give big bangs another go now)
Thank you all so SO much for all the support on this project, I wouldn't have kept going at the speed I did if you all weren't so invested in it, and I'm so incredibly glad that you all enjoyed it. I hope that this last chapter brought some of you around to the idea of Michael as the victor, or at the very least made you emotional over the death of your fav all over again. :D
And of course, a huge, amazing shout out to @suggestegg for their initial post that I came across two weeks ago when I sat down intending to write the next chapter of my creak in the attic fic. That idle idea ended up consuming my entire day as I picked out tributes and tested different simulators, and before I knew it I'd tipped headfirst into this beautiful mess of a project. You're a real one for putting your ideas out there in the world, my friend <3
Thank you all so much for reading! Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor!
Masterpost (<-START HERE! the posts are best read in order)
Content Warning: descriptions of violence, blood/injury, suicide ideation, major character death
The sun rises on the second day of the Hunger Games, and the TV flickers to life as the Capitol anthem plays. A beautiful aerial shot of the arena fills the screen, before the camera zooms down beneath the trees to show the tributes beginning their day.
The first group the camera shows is the largest: Michael, Pinocchio, Peter, and Sally. The four are sitting around a campfire, roasting a freshly skinned rabbit.
“How did you know how to set that trap?” Pinocchio asks, and Sally shrugs.
“Well, I spent a lot of time alone after my sister got married,” she says. “So I occupied myself by reading through all the books in my father’s library. One of them was on wilderness survival, and I’ve always had a very keen memory.”
“That’s certainly a useful skill,” Michael says. “Are we going to stay allies for the time being, then?”
Peter nods, licking the grease from his fingers.
“I think so. I certainly feel better being in a large group of people.”
“Aye, that’s true,” Pinocchio says, looking off into the trees. “For now, at least.”
“Then we should decide whether our focus is on other individuals or on alliances. Not to mention make sure we have enough food.”
“We could split up jobs?” Peter suggests. “Have some people make sure we get food, have others go out scouting?”
No one objects to his idea, and after some discussion Michael and Pinocchio agree to go scouting for information on other tributes’ whereabouts while Sally and Peter look for food and clean water.
“Meet back here by midday to share what we’ve learned,” Michael says, then he and Pinocchio head off into the trees.
Sally waits until they’re gone, then takes a deep breath.
“Right then,” she says, getting to her feet.
“I appreciate the fire and the company, but I’ll be off now.”
“Hang on, what?” says Peter. “I thought we had a plan!”
“You three have a plan, I’m just not going to be part of it.”
“If you didn’t like the idea, then why didn’t you say so earlier?” Peter asks, and Sally sighs.
“The idea is fine, I just don’t want to be in this alliance, period.”
“But staying in a group is so much more dangerous than being alone…” says Peter, and Sally runs a hand through her hair.
"I'm not against the idea of working with another tribute on principle, I just...I don't want to work with either of them, alright?"
Peter tilts his head.
"Why not?"
"Well...I have a sort of...let's call it a gift, for reading people's intentions. And I don't like the feeling of either of those two. Michael is nice enough, but I think whatever it is he's been through has given him a hard edge. Not only that, but he hides it well, and that makes me nervous. I don’t know how long he’d be willing to play allies for."
"Pinocchio seems fine," Peter protests, but Sally shakes her head.
"Pinocchio isn't taking the loss of his sister well, and his grief makes him unpredictable. And unpredictability is the last thing I want to deal with in this place. So I'm leaving, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't follow me."
"What can you tell about my intentions, then?" Peter asks. "I don't want to hurt anyone, why can't we stay allies?"
Sally smiles sadly.
"I know you don't want to hurt me, but you've got a family you want to get back to, don't you? Can you honestly say you wouldn't do what you had to in the end, if it meant you got to see your mum again?"
He doesn't answer, and Sally nods.
"That's what I thought. Take care out there, Peter. I hope for both our sakes that we don't meet again.”
She turns and walks into the trees, and the shot fades away, before fading into a shot of Inga, Johnny, and Priscilla packing up their supplies for the day.
"Did you have any dreams last night, Johnny?" Inga asks, and the boy nods, picking at his fingernails nervously.
"I dreamed that you found a plant in the woods that we could use to help us if we got hurt, and you were sharing it with me and the boy from Seven."
"Any sign of your brother?" asks Priscilla. Johnny looks at her for a moment, then shakes his head.
"Well, I guess we'd better start looking for some medicinal herbs then," Inga says, slinging her pack over her shoulder. "Luckily, I'm very good at plants and things."
"And we can do some hunting at the same time," Priscilla says, holding up her bow and arrow. "That way we don't have to eat the jerky right away."
"As long as you're sure you can hit your target and not scare it off," Inga says, and Priscilla makes an indignant noise.
"I can too hit a target! I practiced in the training room and I'm a good shot, see?"
She knocks an arrow, pulls back the string, and fires. The arrow flies directly into a bush at the edge of the clearing.
Inga has just enough time to raise an unimpressed eyebrow before a baseball sized rock comes flying towards them from the direction of the bush. Priscilla gasps in pain as the stone strikes her square in the collarbone, knocking the wind out of her and sending her staggering back. Inga spins, drawing her knife, and Johnny ducks down, making himself a smaller target.
Marty bursts out into the clearing, a manic grin on his face and his hatchet in his hand. He runs straight towards Priscilla and swings the tool at her. She instinctively holds up her weapon to block his blow, then shrieks as the blade of the hatchet makes contact with her fingers where they're wrapped around the grip, slicing them clean off.
She drops her bow immediately, clutching her injured hand and sobbing in pain. Marty moves to swing the hatchet again, but Inga tackles him to the ground before he can strike.
Johnny hurries to Priscilla's side, helping her to her feet, but she looks up at him with tear-filled eyes.
"You have to run!" she cries.
"What about you?"
"You didn't see me in your dreams, did you?" she asks, and after a beat, Johnny shakes his head. "So you don’t have to think about me. Run!"
Priscilla turns and staggers off into the woods, and after a moment Johnny turns and runs in the opposite direction.
Meanwhile, Marty has managed to knock the knife out of Inga's hand and pin her to the ground. He reaches for his hatchet again, but before he can bring it down Inga knees him in the groin. As he lets out a moan of pain, Inga wriggles out from under him and runs into the woods herself. After a moment, Marty manages to get to his feet, his grip on the hatchet tightening.
"You'll pay for that, you bitch!" he shouts, and takes off after her as fast as he can.
The camera cuts to a close up of a berry bush, and a soft voice can be heard singing in the distance, gradually getting louder and louder, as though the singer is walking closer to the camera.
"Lady-bird, Lady-bird, fly away home, The field mouse is gone to her nest"
A hand appears in the shot, pulling some berries from the bush. The camera pulls back to reveal Benjamin gathering the berries into the pockets of his jacket.
"The daisies have shut up their sleepy red eyes, and the birds and the bees are at rest," he sings.
His eyes are distant and bloodshot, as though he spent the night crying.
"Lady-bird, Lady-bird, fly away home. Your house is on fire, Your children are gone. All except one, and her name is Ann, for she hid under the frying pan."
The camera cuts away and shows a view of Julian, who is wrestling with a pile of thin branches in an attempt to get them to stand upright. He tries to use a length of tall grass to lash them together, but he is unsuccessful and the branches clatter to the ground.
"Want a hand with that?" a voice asks, and Julian spins around, brandishing one of the sticks like a baseball bat.
"Whoa, it's okay." Chip holds up his hands in surrender. "I just want to talk."
"...what about?" Julian asks, and Chip takes a deep breath.
"My ally, she betrayed me. She took off in the middle of the night with my food, and I'm not too keen on trying to deal with the likes of Caesar or Robin without help. I wondered if you'd want to team up."
Julian hesitates, but then he nods, and Chip smiles.
"Here. I do have some string in this bag," he says, sliding a small backpack from his shoulders. "Let's see if we can get a lean-to built, then we'll go foraging."
The two begin gathering up the branches and arranging them into the vague shape of a shelter, and the camera zooms out.
It zips over the treetops in a blur of green before leaving the woods behind, coming to rest over the more sparse, rocky landscape of the northern part of the arena. There is movement visible down among the rocks, and the camera pushes in to show Janae and Robin in the throes of a confrontation near the edge of a ravine.
Janae brandishes his makeshift spear, but Robin is armed with a proper, Capitol-made steel mace, and when he swings the weapon it breaks the end off of Janae's filed down tree branch as easily as a child snapping a pencil. Janae's eyes dart around, looking for any chance of escape, but as his foe closes in there's nowhere for him to go. Robin swings the mace, and Janae instinctively leans back to try and avoid the attack. In doing so, he loses his footing, and with a shout of alarm he stumbles backward down the ravine. Robin runs closer, peering over the edge just in time to see Janae's body roll to a stop at the bottom of the valley and to hear a cannon shot echo through the arena. He lets out a sigh, then turns away from the scene, his mouth a grim line of determination.
The camera cuts to show Hugh, who is walking sluggishly through the forest. His eyes are sunken, and his chest rises and falls with short, quick breaths. He looks around as he walks, squinting at the trees suspiciously.
"You can't be here!" he calls loudly into the woods. "You're not here! You leave me alone!" He stops, turns a few times, then shakes his head and covers his ears. "You're not here!" he repeats in a loud voice. "You're gone! We beat you! Get out of my head! Leave me alone!"
As the shot pulls back into an aerial shot, his cries are still audible until the camera finally cuts.
The focus is now on Sally, who is walking through the forest alone. She has taken her jacket off and is using it as a makeshift bag, and it is full of foraged berries, roots, and leaves. The sound of a quiet sob stops her in her tracks, and her eyes dart around, taking in her surroundings.
"Hello?" she calls after a moment, and a sudden hitch of breath draws her attention to a large pine tree.
There, curled up in the makeshift nest that she slept in, is Alexa.
Her eyes are puffy and red, and most of her dark hair has fallen out of her bun and hangs in a stringy curtain around her face. She looks up as Sally approaches, and her face crumples.
"If you're going to kill me, just do it quickly," she says, looking away.
"Hey, take it easy," says Sally, her voice gentle. "I'm not going to kill you."
"No?" Alexa asks, and Sally shakes her head.
"No."
"Oh." Alexa wraps her arms around herself and looks away. "Well, you should."
Sally carefully sits down a few feet away, leaving plenty of space between herself and the little girl.
"Why is that?" she asks, and Alexa sniffles.
"Because it would be easy for you," she says. "Because I am small and weak and useless, and I cannot even last a day in these woods by myself. Because Janusz..." she hiccups, and her eyes fill with fresh tears. "Because Janusz is dead, and it's all my fault, and I don't deserve to be here anymore."
She buries her face in her knees, her shoulders shaking with sobs, and Sally lets out a sigh.
"Oh, sweetheart," she murmurs, edging closer to the little girl and placing a hand on her shoulder. "None of that is true. None of it at all."
"It IS true," Alexa insists. "If I- if I hadn't sent Janusz away, then maybe he...he wouldn't have gotten...I was just trying to protect him, but I did it wrong, just like I always do everything wrong..."
"Do you know how Janusz died?" Sally asks, and Alexa shakes her head.
"I, I guess not, but-"
"Then you can't say it was your fault," Sally says firmly. "You have no way of knowing for sure, and thinking about what might have happened will only make you miserable, trust me."
"I..." Alexa gulps. "I don't want to be here anymore. Not without him."
"I know," says Sally. "But do you know what else I know?"
"What?"
"I know that Janusz cared about you very much. And he wouldn't want you to give up now. He would want you to keep fighting, as hard as you can for as long as you can."
"Really?"
"Really."
"How do you know for sure?" asks Alexa, and Sally smiles.
"I have very good intuition. You could even call it a gift. Here. Are you hungry?" She holds out her makeshift bag of food, and after a moment Alexa takes a handful of berries.
"Everything's going to be alright, Alexa," Sally says, wrapping an arm around the girl's shoulder. "I promise."
The camera cuts abruptly from a close up of Alexa to a close up of Pinocchio as he and Michael walk through the woods.
"I'm not crazy, right? This was the spot?" Michael asks, and Pinocchio nods.
"This is the same grove of trees."
"And yet our supplies are missing, and so are two of our allies," says Michael, looking around suspiciously. "You don't think they betrayed us, do you?"
"I don't know," Pinocchio says, shrugging. "Neither one seemed very malevolent to me, though."
"I don't like this." Michael looks around. "It feels like we're walking right into some kind of tr–”
Before he can finish, a knife comes flying out of the trees and embeds itself into his side. Michael's surprised cry of pain is drowned out by the sound of Caesar yelling as he and Jasper charge towards the campsite. Pinocchio tries to draw his own knife, but he is too slow and before he fully has it ready, Caesar thrusts his trident into Pinocchio's stomach.
"Oh..." Pinocchio's eyes go wide and he falls backwards, hitting the ground with a dull *thud.*
"That's what you get for messing with us, you little freak," Caesar growls, yanking his trident free.
"Caesar! The other one's getting away!" Jasper calls, and Caesar turns to see Michael staggering off into the trees.
"After him!" he shouts, and the two allies take off in pursuit.
The camera stays on Pinocchio's face and he coughs, blood spurting from his lips as he looks up at the sky.
"I'll be with you soon, sorella mia," he says. "I'm sorry...Papa."
The light fades from his eyes, and as the camera zooms out to show his body lying in a pool of blood, a cannon shot echoes through the arena.
The broadcast will now break for commercial. Please tune in again soon to see what else will become of our tributes on the first day of the games!
Game Summary
Deaths:
Pinocchio was killed by Caesar and Jasper
Janae was killed by Scottish Robin
Kill Counts:
Pinocchio: 2 (Maria, Jimmy)
Inga: 1 (Jim L)
Caesar: 2 (Juliet, Pinocchio)
Chip: 1 (Clarissa)
Jasper: 1 (Pinocchio)
Robin: 1 (Janae)
Game Meta
Pinocchio, more like Pinocchi-noooo.....My heart is broken and my dreams are shattered, but the show must go on.
The biggest change today was, for some reason, Michael got another picture of his family from a sponsor. Someone just really wants him to think of his maybe-divorced-maybe-back-together parents, I guess. So I had to come up with original things for him to do that incorporates some setup for things that will happen in the next Night and Days to come. I also decided to make Janae's cliff death a little more dramatic by giving it, at least indirectly, to Robin. (apologies if this one is a little sloppier than the previous days, I didn't have as much time to edit it as I'd have liked. thanks for reading!)
