Disclaimer: The Hunger Games Trilogy is property of Suzanne Collins. This is a parody fanwork by fans for fans. No money was made off of the creation of this fanwork.
Note: This one-shot takes place in my "The Parts We Play" universe where Prim volunteers to take a pregnant Katniss's place. It could fit in someplace between chapters four and six of Spectator.
Tribute
By Fanfic Allergy
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District One - Male - Marvel
Marvel has been planning for this his whole life. He'd enter the training academy when he was ten, the youngest age allowed, and then when he was eighteen he'd volunteer for the Games. He'd put on a good show for the Capitol and then go on to win the Games and come home to One a hero.
When he told his mother this, when he was eight, she just smiled sadly at him. From then on, she focused all of her attention and love on his little sister. But it didn't matter, his father was proud of him and he'll be even prouder still when Marvel wins the Games.
After school, he'd sneak off to the academy to watch the potentials go through their paces, then he'd mimic them. A few times, the potentials caught him spying, but rather than chewing him out they went out of their way to put on a good show for him.
The day he entered the academy was the happiest in his life. He liked the other potentials, even though they were all competing for a handful of spots. They all knew that the tribute for that year was chosen at the trials a week before the Reaping. The potential with the highest scores in running, weapons, charisma, and looks would be chosen. Marvel knew that in a few years that spot would be his.
And it is.
He scored highly in looks and charisma. But it's his skill with a spear that earned him his spot as potential of the year.
So when some thirteen year old kid's name is called out for the Seventy Fourth Hunger Games, he puts his hand in the air and calls out "I volunteer!"
As he swaggers up on stage he thinks, this is it. He's on his way to being the hero he always dreamed of being.
It's good enough for him.
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District One - Female - Glimmer
Glimmer has been dreading this day her whole life.
When she was ten, her father pulled her aside and told her that she was going to be going to the academy. She didn't want to go, but it didn't matter. If she didn't go, one of her brothers would have to. She knows the statistics. One has more female victors than male ones. She has a better chance than either Kay or Levion.
The Capitol expects legacy tributes to compete in the Games and if one family member doesn't compete, it is pretty much guaranteed that another family member will. One found that out the hard way when fraternal twins Ruby and Cecil Cartier were both reaped in the Thirty Sixth Games after their older brother DeBeers had made it through without volunteering. They'd both been killed when Beetee Lee from Three dropped his electric net on them. It was a clear warning.
So when another eighteen year old potential's name is called, Glimmer meets her father's eyes and raises her hand to volunteer. He nods at her sadly before slipping on the mask he always tries to wear for the Capitol.
She takes the hint. She smiles brightly and flounces up to take her place on the stage next to the idiot boy who is going to be her ally this year. She is still going to try to win. But even if she doesn't, she knows that her brothers are safe.
It's good enough for her.
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District Two - Male - Cato
Cato doesn't even know which unlucky slop he volunteers for. He doesn't care. He knows he's going to win. He's going to bring glory to his district and he's going to make Clove proud of him. He might even have enough money with the winnings to be able to buy Clove those gold embossed throwing knives she's been eyeing as an engagement present.
This is going to be the best Games ever.
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District Two - Female - Clove
At first Clove doesn't care that her name has been pulled from the Reaping bowl. It is Cleo's year to volunteer.
Cleo doesn't volunteer.
Clove whips her head around to stare at the red haired girl in the eighteen year old section. The girl sees her and just smirks.
The bitch! Clove knew that she was one of the girls who'd pursued Cato hard, even going so far as to trap Cato in a broom closet with them. If she didn't know Cato as well as she did, she'd have ended it with him right there and then. But she knows Cato. And Cato is loyal through and through. Once he gives his word, he doesn't break it. It's his own personal code of honor.
It's one of the things she loves about him.
Clove tries to steel her face into an expression of arrogance, but she's seething inside. Once she gets home from the Games, Cleo will suffer. Then it hits her, if she comes home that means Cato won't.
She catches his eye and he smiles at her and her heart breaks a little inside. The idiot. He's going to do something stupid. She knows it.
This is going to be the worst Games ever.
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District Three - Male - Axel
Axel is completely unsurprised when his name is selected from the Reaping ball. His father is wholly surprised since several years ago he'd hacked the system to never print out any of his family's names. What's a few slips amidst thousands? No one would notice and his family would be safe.
Axel disagrees. So this year he undid his father's hack and made one small change of his own. All of the slips in the male bowl have Axel's name on them. He also fixed the hacks on the female bowl, no more favorites or exceptions. Everyone gets an equal shot.
He hopes his father will understand someday why he made the choice he did. And he intends to win. He's got a strategy and he thinks he can match or beat Six-In-One-Blow Beetee Lee.
It doesn't matter. At least now, things are as fair as they'll ever be in Panem.
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District Three - Female - Radi
When the escort calls her name, Radi can't believe it. It's not fair! She only has four slips in the bowl. One of the kids from the Line should be called. Not her. Not an engineer's daughter! She's only fifteen. Her birthday's going to be the opening day of the Games. This isn't supposed to be happening.
One of her friends nudges her to get up on stage before they drag her up and she moves.
But the disbelief follows her. It follows her all the way into the Arena when she's killed struggling to get a backpack free. As she dies, she thinks on the irony that the day she was born is also the day she's going to die. It's just not fair!
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District Four - Male - Reef
When a twelve year old is called, Reef knows what he has to do. It's his year to take the fall for someone with no chance. It's okay. Annie Cresta did the same for his sister four years ago and even though she won, she's paid a horrible price. That's the way it works in Four. You pay it forward and you clear your debts. Annie's cousin gets to live another year and he gets to clear his debt. It's a fair trade.
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District Four - Female - Coral
It doesn't happen often that both tributes from Four volunteer. Most of the time, if the tribute called is over the age of sixteen, that person takes their chances, Career or no. But when a seventeen year old with a withered arm from a fishing accident is called, Coral volunteers. She's got a better chance than Moira does. Even if she doesn't make it, Moira's family will look after hers. It's a fair trade.
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District Five - Female - Uranium
Uranium doesn't care that her name's been called. It's just one more thing on the long list of things the universe has decided to torture her with. Her father died when she was little. An accident while repairing the large dam that's been there since before even the Dark Days. Her mother didn't last long after that. The official cause of death was heart failure brought on by a chemical imbalance. The real reason was that her mother drank herself to death. Too little food and too much bathtub tequila from excessive grief. Rani was almost grateful to go to the community home. Until she found out that she would be forced to take out tesserae to pay for her keep. That her name is called because of it doesn't surprise her in the least. In Five, about one out of every three tributes is from the community home. That's because they're the only kids in Five who take out tesserae.
She smirks as she walks up on stage. If the universe wants to make her its butt monkey, she's not going to go down without a fight. She doesn't care if she takes the rest of Panem with her. This is not okay.
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District Five - Male - Coil
Coil slips off his glasses when his name is called. He doesn't want anyone in the Capitol to know his weakness. He's hoping that he can take them with him as his District Token and slip them back on when he's away from the bloodbath. It doesn't matter what his score is. Johanna Mason won her Games with a score of two. So long as people don't know his weakness, he'll be okay.
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District Six - Male - Ford
Ford hears his name and does his best to keep from crying. He's only fourteen. He knows his chances aren't very good. And he was never very athletic anyway.
He just hopes he doesn't have to kill anyone. Even if he's going to die. He doesn't want to kill anyone. It would be wrong.
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District Six - Female - Grata
"No!" Grata cries when her name is called. "No! You must be wrong. You have to be wrong!"
The escort looks down at her and sighs, making a motion to two of the Peacekeepers. She's going to be one of those tributes. Worthless.
Grata screams and cries all the way up to the stage and one of the Peacekeepers has to forcibly hold her up to keep her from crumpling to the floor in grief. She didn't want to die. She hasn't even begun to live.
And she knows she is going to die. She doesn't have any skills to speak of and is always picked last in gym class. Even the girl who everyone knows isn't right in the head gets picked before her.
The one time she doesn't want to get picked for something, her name is called. "This is wrong," she whispers to herself between sobs. "This is so wrong."
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District Seven - Female - Tacoma
"Don't let them see you cry," her best friend whispers to Tacoma when her name is called.
Tacoma nods and tries to imitate how Johanna Mason was after the Games the best she can. The only chance she has is to make herself seem like she has a bigger personality than she really does. She's strong, she knows. Maybe she can use that to her advantage.
It doesn't hurt to try.
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District Seven - Male - Elm
"Fuck," Elm mutters when his name is called. This was his last Reaping and then he would have been free to ask Peggy Rogers to marry him.
"Tough luck, bro," he hears from several of his classmates.
When Peggy visits him to say goodbye, he still asks her to marry him. Even though he doesn't have much of a chance of making it home, it doesn't hurt to try.
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District Eight - Male - Taylor
When his name is called, he hears a couple of people mutter, "There's this year's Taylor." It's become almost a joke that one person named Taylor will be in the Games. That he's this year's Taylor doesn't make him feel any better. In fact, it makes him feel worse. He doesn't know what his parents were thinking when they named him that. He doesn't want to be remembered as 'just another Taylor from Eight,' he wants to be more than just a joke on some Capitol commentator's lips. Maybe if he wins, he'll be able to kill that old joke for good.
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District Eight - Female - Taylor
She almost misses hearing her name being called, her teeth are chattering so hard. She's been fighting off one of the illnesses that sweep through the tenements regularly. All she wants to do is go home and crawl under the covers and sleep. But once her name's been called she knows that will never happen.
She ignores the comments that there are two Taylors in the Games and concentrates on not shivering openly. Sick tributes never get sponsors. She's not strong. But she's not about to give up. She just hopes that the Arena they dump her in will be warm. Maybe then she'll have a chance to knock this cold for good.
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District Nine -Female - Ceres
She's not surprised when her name is called. After all, her older sister, Juno, was arrested for spreading dissent and promoting rebellion. At least that's what Peacekeeper Miner said when they hauled her away.
Juno hadn't done much, really. Just started talking about getting everyone to take out tesserae, even if they didn't need to, so that everyone would have an equal chance of getting Reaped, not just the really poor. It wasn't getting a lot of traction, but enough that the idea could be seen as dangerous.
So in defiance, Ceres and several of her friends decided to continue Juno's work. But instead of talking to the families, they talked to the kids themselves. Everyone knew which families had to take out tesserae to survive so getting them to help convince their friends who didn't need tesserae wasn't hard. They'd managed to get about a hundred kids to take out tesserae when they didn't have to.
And it'd been noticed. When Ceres went for her tesserae, the official looked at her with an exasperated expression and muttered about 'not another one.'
So when her name is called, she knows the Capitol's taken notice and this is her punishment. That's okay. Next year, there'll be two hundred kids who sign up. It's a good consolation.
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District Nine - Male - Jace
Jace is one of the kids who has to take out tesserae. The middle of five, his family survives on tesserae grain and what his mother, a basket weaver, can sell. His father died years ago in a combine accident out in one of the huge wheat fields. The death benefits weren't enough and his mother refused to leave her family to work on one of the farming teams.
He hadn't wanted to take out tesserae, but his oldest sister couldn't anymore. She'd just turned nineteen a few months ago and had married, moving out of the house. His next oldest sibling, another sister, also takes out tesserae. He thought he'd be safe. So many other kids are taking out tesserae this year. It's just bad luck.
His only consolation is that his family will have one less mouth to feed.
It isn't much of a consolation.
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District Ten - Female - Piper
When her name is called, Piper does her best to not shed any tears. Tears don't get sponsors. She's got some skills. And she's good with a knife.
She's not afraid of blood, no one in Ten is. Not with the spring and autumn slaughters needing all hands to help process all of the meat. But killing a human, that's different. Humans talk back. And she remembers how much she cried after her first spring slaughter of the lambs.
She hopes she can see the other tributes as just animals to be butchered. It's the only way she'll be able to kill them.
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District Ten - Male - Clint
Of course, his name gets called. It's just his luck. The year after he has his riding accident he gets called. Bastards.
The bastards are going to feel sorry for him. Thinking that he's some cripple that will go down easily. What do they know?
They won't know that he's one of the best riders in Ten. Or that he can hog tie a heifer in five seconds flat. They won't know that he's been riding range with his family and their shepherd dogs since he was eight. They won't know that last year he was able to run faster than the rest of the kids his age.
No, all they're going to see is his damned twisted foot and they're going to write him off. Well, he'll show them.
No one counts Clint out. No one. And he'll kill anyone who does.
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District Eleven - Female - Rue
Her mother lets out a long wail when her name is called. The sound is almost unearthly. But it's also the one thing that lets Rue know that this isn't a dream.
She's had nightmares about being Reaped since her father's little sister was Reaped six years ago. But in her nightmares, her mother doesn't wail like someone's torn out her soul. She cries. She weeps. But she doesn't wail.
She walks up the stairs slowly. She doesn't want to die. There's a hush in the square when the crowd sees her. They know she's only twelve. That she doesn't stand a chance. She knows it too. But she might have a chance, if she can find food. She's light and quick. The other tributes will have to catch her first.
And Rue has no intention of getting caught.
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District Eleven - Male - Thresh
"Damn," Thresh says when they call his name. He'd considered volunteering until the little girl's name had been called. He doesn't want her death on his hands.
He knows he's big and strong. He's also good with a knife. Eleven could use another victor. Why not him?
But he doesn't want to kill kids. He's not a Career to whom a kill's a kill. Careers are one thing, they're asking for it. Little kids are another. So he doesn't volunteer. It's his last eligible year.
Now he's going to be in the Games anyway. But he isn't going to kill the little girl and he'll kill anyone who does.
He's just got to catch them.
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District Twelve - Female - Primrose
"Katniss Everdeen!"
"No!" Prim calls out, unable to stop herself. This is wrong! Her sister is pregnant. If she goes into the Arena, the baby will die. That isn't fair. The baby didn't do anything wrong. It deserves to live.
The choice is clear. No one else will do it.
She sees Katniss up on the stage, her dress flattened against her swelling belly and Prim knows she's making the right choice. "I volunteer!" she says, softly. Then she repeats it a little louder to make sure she's heard.
Now, even if she doesn't make it, the baby will live. What kind of aunt would she be if she just let the baby die? Katniss would have volunteered for her if her name had been called and she hadn't been pregnant. She's just doing what her big sister would have done.
It's the only thing she can do.
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District Twelve - Male - Peeta
Twice in less than five minutes, Peeta's world is destroyed. The first is when Katniss's name is called. He would volunteer for her if he could. But he can't. So when her sister does, he's shocked but a little relieved. The girl he loves will live. It doesn't matter if she doesn't love him back, she's going to live. That's enough for him.
Then his name is called and the world ends again. How can he even try to win the Games if it means that Katniss's little sister won't make it home? The answer is he can't. Losing Prim would destroy her, he knows, and as he's walking up onto the stage he makes a decision. He's going to make sure Prim comes home or at least die in the attempt.
He stifles the laughter that threatens to spill out. He hadn't intended on getting Katniss's attention this way. He was originally hoping to talk to her at the eighteen year old celebration bonfire in two years. Then she got pregnant and he knew he'd waited too long and was too late. He still loves her. He'd always love her, like his father still loves her mother.
At least now, he doesn't have to go through the agony his father did of watching the woman he loves marry and have children with another man. Maybe these Games are a blessing in disguise. He'll make sure Prim comes home and he'll die on his own terms.
It's the best he can do.
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AN:
Written: 12/20/13
Revised: 12/21/13
Second Revision: 1/2/14
Beta Read by RoseFyre
Just a little glimpse into my head canon for the tributes in Spectator. Some of them obviously got bigger sections than others. But there's only so many ways you can go "A scared kid's name is called out and they walk up on the stage." Every person has a story. And I wanted to give the tributes in the Seventy Fourth Hunger Games one.
I hope you enjoyed!