Prologue

Aria had never truly appreciated her grandfather's heartbeat. But now, as she listened to it on the heart monitor, struggling to emanate that ever-so-familiar thrum-thrum...she wished she had.

"Grampa..." Her tone was hoarse and weakened from hours of fearful sobbing, and even now the persistent tears clouded her vision. "Grampa, can...can you hear me?"

The president's tired eyes slowly creaked open, his age-worn gaze coming to rest on Aria's youthful face.

"Yes, Aria." It pained the young lady how frail his voice was, as if it could break at any moment. "I'm here." A wheezy breath escaped his body.

Just for a moment, Aria allowed herself to glance down at the IV inserted into his right arm, which was feverishly pumping clear fluid into his veins.

"We're not able to do anything but lessen the pain, miss." The doctors had told her. "He's too far gone to save."

"Aria, my dear, look at me." The President somehow found the strength within him to raise a vein-riddled hand to his granddaughter's cheek, his fingers sliding easily along the tear-soaked skin. "I have a request."

She leaned into her grandfather's comforting grasp, brushing the tears away from her eyes so as to focus on him better. "What is it, Grampa?"

He took a shaky breath. "Aria, when I'm gone-" A quiet squeak escaped Aria's lips, yet her grandfather continued. "When I'm gone...you will take my place as President. And, there is, of course...the matter of the upcoming Hunger Games."

Aria of course didn't like the mention of such a brutal event in the heat of this moment, but she stifled her emotions in favor of listening to her grandfather's final words.

She sniffled, wiping a thin trail of mucus from her upper lip. "What of it, Grampa?"

"Surely you remember what those...those rebels did to our Utopia." At the word 'rebel', the dying man's lip curled, as if he'd just tasted something particularly unpleasant. "Of course I remember, Grampa. Who could forget?"

"That makes my final request simple, then." The old man shifted in the hospital bed, removing his hand from Aria's cheek to prop himself up on his gaunt elbows. Slowly, he leaned inwards, until his nose was inches from his Aria's.

Aria's wide, tear-flecked eyes searched her grandfather's aged face, from his wispy white hair to the wrinkles folding around his eyelids.

"What is it, Grampa?" She finally asked, in a tone not much louder than a whisper.

Her grandfather's century-old eyes bore into her own, and he uttered his final words:

"Give them hell."

And so our story begins! Welcome, ladies, gentlemen, and non-binary beauties, to the 44th annual Hunger Games! Overseen by the grief-stricken President Aria Poudretteite, these games are sure to be the most eventful of them all...and quite possibly the bloodiest.

Before I give you the requirements for submitting your tribute(s), I have a few requests you should keep in mind...

- Make your characters diverse! It's not a potluck if you only serve one dish...that being said, don't be afraid to make your tributes different! Unique ethnicities, sexualities, and personality traits are always encouraged. An arena filled with white, heterosexual, blond, able-bodied, mentally healthy tributes will make for a boring show.

- No one is perfect! Make sure your tributes have flaws along with their strengths, and ones that would be expected based on who they are.

- Put some effort into their backstory and personality! An interesting backstory and personality makes for an interesting tribute, which will thus result in more interest from sponsors.

- This is not a 'first come, first serve' Hunger Games. The tributes who have the most potential to be added to the story will be picked over their competitors, so that all the tributes may orchestrate into a fantastic tale. Once again, put effort into the backstory!

-Please do not send in Bloodbath Tributes. I plan to prove them myself so that you all may focus on making your tributes the best they can be! Plus, it's a bit difficult to manage too many people, as I hate to admit. I will also provide mentors and escorts, for the same reasons as listed above. This doesn't mean that all tributes will escape from the bloodbath unscathed, however. Some may suffer serious injuries, but no tributes other than the Bloodbaths I've created will die right there at the Cornucopia.

- Tributes submitted in the story comments will be not be accepted. No exceptions.

If you have any further questions, don't be afraid to shoot me a PM!

And now, the tribute information!

Name -

Age -

District -

Volunteered (if so, for who and why)? -

Family/Relationships? -

Ethnicity -

Preferred Pronouns:

Gender Orientation -

Romantic Orientation -

Height -

Weight -

Appearance -

Backstory -

Personality -

Mental Disabilites? -

Physical Disabilites? -

Strengths -

Weaknesses -

Weapon of Choice -

Strategy -

Open to Allies? -

Proffered Death (not required) -

Reaping Outfit (not required) -

Interview Outfit (not required) -

Token (not required) -

Fun Fact (not required) -

You may submit up to 5 tributes!

FYI: The 'Proffered Death' is not a guaranteed way your tribute will die, I like to make those a surprise. It simply tells us a little more about the tribute and gives us a great insight as to what kind of person they are.

And now, the Sponsorship System!

Sponsorship System

Each tribute submitted and accepted is worth 20 points

Each tribute of yours that dies earns you 20 points

Each story comment is worth 10 points

Each tribute that your tribute kills earns you 10 points

Sending in a Parade Outfit suggestion earns 10 points

Sending in an arena suggestion earns 10 points

The sponsorship system will work fairly similar to the one used in the real Hunger Games. You may begin sponsoring the day the games begin, and the prices for items will increase as the games go on. You may sponsor any tributes you like, including your own, though it's more fun if you sponsor others alongside your own. When the games begin, simply send me a DM stating who you'd like to sponsor, and we can work out a price for the items you wish to send there.

Now, back to the tributes. My bio will be regularly updated, showing how many tributes have been submitted for each tribute spot (ex: how many submissions I've received for District 4 female, etc. Remember, this is not first come first served!)

If you have any other questions, please send me a PM! Happy Hunger Games!