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This will be a bit of a short series on Finnick Odair and the Games that he won. It will be told from his point of view; the prologue is just written slightly differently. And this lovely short series is all thanks to the suggestion from Ariel123, who requested Finnick's Games to be written out (:
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Suzanne Collins.
They say it's about the odds, but it never really is.
It's not about the odds when they pick your name from the Reaping bowl - it's all planned out. They pick who they want to kill, and somewhere in a big room in the Capitol, they have your name - all the kid's names - on a big screen on a computer. Next to your name is everything about you; your family, your habits, your education - they know everything about you, and they know everything about everyone.
So then, this is the fun part. They choose a boy and a girl from every district to play. They pick who they think would be fun to watch in the Games, and who they think will raise up the rankings. Who will provide entertainment, and who to kill off.
Can you imagine that? Somewhere in the Capitol, in a basement, huddled in a corner, there is a man that knows your name, your face, your quirks and your likes - and you know nothing about him. He smiles when he reads your biography, and with a click of his fingers, he can change your life. He picks you - he handpicks you - and he thinks that you'd be fun to watch.
Some stranger in a basement decides your life.
Thousands of thousands of names go through his computer, and he reads them all. It's not about the odds; he picks who he likes and he places the bets. And out of the thousands of names, they pick your name.
This man indirectly kills twenty-three kids and scars the last one standing.
How simple it is to him, to just press a button and ruin someone's life. To write down a name on a sheet of paper, and send it to the Reaping bowl in every district so that only that one name is written on every slip of paper.
That sniveling girl from 10? He picked her because he wanted to see blood run from her eyes.
The monstrous boy from 1? He likes the glint in his eyes; he'll rank the ratings up for sure.
That waif-like girl from 6? He wants to see how she can run away from the mutts they've planned out.
And the bronze haired boy from 4? He'll charm the Capitol for sure - he might be bronze in District 4, but he'll be gold in the Capitol.
This man, he writes the names neatly down onto a sheet of paper to send to President Snow, going in order from District 1 to District 12.
That agile girl from 9, the awkward boy from 3 - their names are written down, all of them - a death sentence for twenty-three of them and a mind-scarring experience for one.
The man goes down his list, smiling. Once again, his eyes settle to the bronze haired boy from 4. He smiles as he reads his name - he knows he will be big and he knows this is his best choice so far.
His fingers rest on the name next to the grinning, unknowing picture.
Finnick Odair.
Thanks for reading!
Just a few things to let you all know before we get started - firstly, if you've read some of my previous stories, you will know that my chapters are pretty irregular in length. Unfortunately for this story, it'll be quite the same - I'll be cutting it off at points that are important, and if that means the chapter is shorter, then that's that. I apologize in advance for that, but I really can't help it.
Secondly, this series won't be told in supreme detail, meaning that I'll be glossing over a few events here and there but I won't be going in-depth into everything Finnick goes through. It's a short series - I'm not attempting to write a book out here. But yes, the major points will be described; only a few things that I'm too lazy to write will be lightly covered instead of a bomb of emotions and descriptions.
So, yup. I think that's about it. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I hope that you'll stick around to see how everything unfolds!