PROLOGUE

The morning had dawned a bright day in the Capitol to show that the beginning of summer was nearing. The masses had awakened along with the bright sun with a gleeful sense of excitement and it was almost as if the entire population of the Capitol were singing with joy. Feelings of dread were at a distance and were otherwise silenced by the crowding people hurrying to the Capitol's centre hoping to get a live view of the head gamemaker's introduction to this years games. The people had been watching for months on end as high security equipment for the games was transported in with a warm sense of anxiousness as to what the games would come to be. Many imagined something horrible; many imagined something sensational; many didn't seen the difference between the two.

Blasius Watts was one of those people.

Head gamemaker of the quarter quell, Blasius was a man ripe with promise and pride who was as passionate a patriot for the Capitol as any man on the propaganda testing team. He'd watched the rise and fall of the second rebellion with a type of fear he'd never once felt in his life before; he'd viewed the death of close relations as a result with sorrow he couldn't describe and he'd gazed at the execution of the rebels with a smile on his face. Time didn't heal his wounds but he was going to make sure that the district masses knew what it felt like to feel as he did: to have all sense of hope ripped from you in an instant.

He sat solemnly as a brightly decorated woman touched up his make-up with crowds of colours akin to a rainbow gathering in front of the two. A public interview was being broadcast to the Capitol as an exclusive sneak peak to get the crowds hyped for the games and he was the main attraction. Being the centre of attention hadn't been Blasius' forte in the past but there was something about it that gave him a rush. Having the crowds reach out to you hands stretched with eyes as wide as the ocean, begging to know your secrets: it was like a drug.

"Mr. Watts, five minutes to set," a woman told him, scooting past in heels with a folder in her arms.

In an instant, Blasius raised his hand to the make-up woman as a signal for her to stop as he rose from his chair. He took in a few deep breaths in front of the mirror to prepare himself for what was to come: he was going to give it all he had.

He positioned himself behind the stage curtains, fiddling with his bright cerulean crisp suit as the host took a moment to introduce the event.

"Good morning to all of you beautiful ladies and gentlemen in the audience today! It's nice to see everyone breaking out their best to wear on this glorious day: the day we mark the one hundredth Hunger Games!" Aeliana Flickerman, newly appointed master of ceremonies in the case of her father's ill health, boomed to the Capitol citizens gathering gleefully in the area with a smile so unnaturally large. At her words, the crowd gave a thunderous applause. "Now, I know everyone's been looking forward to this for a long time - just like I have - because it's the next Quarter Quell. Can you believe it? The last games seemed like just yesterday, remember those cannibal tributes? Good times."

At the memory, the crowd chuckled.

"Now, now, let's not get too wrapped up in the past because I have a very special man here today - the man who is in charge of all things Quarter Quell, your head gamemaker: Blasius Watts!" Aeliana announced as Blasius made his way up to the stage. Applause was rampant as he took his strides and he was glowing with arrogance and pride.

"It's good to have you here," Aeliana, charismatic and bubbly, grinned at her elder as she pulled him into a friendly hug.

"It's better to be here in front of the Capitol - it just feels like a speech in front of all of my closest friends but I'm afraid I can't thank everyone here can I?" Blasius laughed though having little genuine love for the strangers in the audience.

The two sat on their seats on stage, looking out to the crowd with smiles. "So, tell us everything!" Aeliana gushed, flicking her mane of blue hair behind her.

"Wouldn't that ruin the fun?"

"Come on, you have to tell us something," Aeliana gave him a nudge, "Whet our appetites a bit."

"I really can't," Blasius raised his arms in a defence-style manner, "But I can say that this is going to be the best games yet - a display of the districts in practise and in tribute." The crowd gave a giggle at the pun.

"But what's the twist? It is a quarter quell after all?"

"The twist? Aeliana, dear, you're insulting me," Blasius laughed, "This Hunger Games is going to be so full of twists and turns that you'll start to feel dizzy. Everything is on the line here for these tributes and it's something that's going to separate the winner from the losers. Who'll be able to handle such sudden changes? Who can brave it all and survive?"

Blasius was being sure to pick his words carefully in fear of letting any spoilers for the games spill out. He knew the things that he had planned could even push the limits of some of the Capitol viewers but he couldn't stop now.

For him, how far he pushed the tributes was simply nothing more than a game of go hard or go home.


A/N: I'm sure most people here already know the drill for 'SYOT'-style Hunger Games fics so I'm just going to give a little guidance on my story here. It's an AU in which the rebellion failed and as a following of that, the Hunger Games still commence annually. This takes place twenty-five years after the fail of the rebellion during the first quarter quell to take place since (Marking the 100th Hunger Games).

Any guidelines for the application can be found in brackets on the application next to the area it's providing guidance for. Any part of the application in italics is optional and does not need to be filled out, whether you do or do not is optional. 23 tributes will be taken in total - as I will have a tribute myself but fret not about them having an advantage or anything because I'm the author as everything will be done fairly. Places will be filled first come first serve. Please submit tributes through PM only as tributes submitted via review will not be counted.

A temporary list of tributes will be put up as the next chapter and regularly updated until all spots are filled!
EDIT: I will accept reserves through PM if necessary.

May the odds be ever in your favour.