Hey all! I cant exactly explain what this fic will become.But I just had to get something posted cause this ideas been gnawing at me for weeks.
I am deeply intrigued by the making of a villain, and how the Hunger Games came to be. So these will be interconnected one shots from various POV in how we went from the struggling to gain traction and staying power 10th Games to the 74th Games that are a glamorized spectacle.
Enjoy!
11th Hunger Games Preliminary Meeting
CORIOLANUS SNOW
Snow lands on top.
And he was certain that now, under the careful guidance of Gaul, with Highbottom dead, and that girl gone from his life, his future was bright.
The Plinths adored him. The grandma'am and Tigris adequately cared for, no longer were the Snows to be looked down on, mocked. Why he would always land on top, wouldn't he?
He strides into Gaul's meeting room, she offers a passing glance before focusing towards a tank of peculiar looking crawling bugs sitting on a large sleek table. "Hello, hello my dear apprentice, Snow! My new darlings, come look!"
Snow nods to the tank, "yes, exquisite."
Gaul taps along the glass grinning at the bugs frantic response to the sounds. The other members of the Gamemaker team find their seats around the table. They had so many ideas, but so much needed to be fleshed out and scheduled. It would take years for the Hunger Games to take shape and form to match the vision they've created.
"Yes, yes. Everyone have a seat. We must begin to prepare for the Games." She casts her glance to Coriolanus. "Tell me, what did you observe of our last games, apprentice?"
Snow stares at the swarming legs crawling along the edge of the tank. Then flicks his gaze to Dr. Gaul, as she settles into the chair at the head. "You decided to not include students to handle the tributes this year. Last year was…messy." He sneers at the word, messy indeed. Clemensia, Arachne, Sejanus…Lucy Gray. He shakes their faces from his mind. "We have conceived a different approach to mentorship for this year, but we will not be making it available to just anyone, it'll be an exclusive opportunity."
People loved words like that, exclusive, selective, it made them feel special. Coriolanus felt some pride stir in his chest, he had really begun to hone in how to charm people with his words, how to play into their vanity and stupidity and twist it to fit his needs. Hollow flattery was once a tool he'd needed, despite his distaste for it, but now he needed to cajole anyone. He was Coriolanus Snow, a man who was brilliant son of Crassus Snow and the heir apparent of the Plinth fortune and munitions empire.
"Ah, my star pupil again impresses me! It was a mistake for the student involvement, and it'll be a mistake to make it a job anyone can get. You know why, Coriolanus Snow, don't you?"
"You're Head Game Maker, you want control. And the last Games…they were too unpredictable. Too many variables out of your control." Coriolanus pulls his shoulders back,
"if it's just a job, one can be bribed or fail to handle the responsibility. We need mentors to be invested, but obedient and loyal. They need to be controlled to control the tributes."
"You're correct. I want the only thing left to chance to be who our Victor is, and frankly I do believe we can dictate that too. You've done that already though, hm?"
His eye twitches, it was worth it of course, but now looking back with objectivity, he was immature in how he handled things. He took too many risks, acted too impulsively. He's learned since then. How to use and not be used himself. To close off to anyone who could make him vulnerable and thoughtless as before. "I believe we should use aspiring Gamemaker apprentices to mentor the new tributes."
"Oh?" Gaul's brows lift. "Why?"
Coriolanus clears his throat, looking to the rest of the team. They'd come up with it together, but he really had been the one to flesh it out. "We should make it a highly selective process that is a stepping stone to their dream career. It will be an honor, a feat to be chosen as a mentor. The Games are still not terribly popular or profitable, but there are some who are passionate about the Hunger Games. They want to create arenas, and manage tributes. They would mentor Districts based on their aptitudes and skills. It's a test program, we have a few options of mentoring we've created, but this was the idea easiest to implement with the highest likelihood of the positive results."
Gaul looks to one of the other assistants, "you will oversee this task. I want candidates prepared for my approval in two weeks. We should train them. Coriolanus, you've mentored, train the new mentors coming in. Anyone who you think won't be able to handle it, cut them loose." Dr. Gaul drums her fingers along the edge of the table. "How are we going to increase views this year. We don't yet have the technology or infrastructure to enforce viewing, although its a good suggestion we can work to implement in the future. We make it more engaging, how?"
Echnida, a fellow apprentice raises her voice. "Last Games, the people were more entertained. They had someone to root for. When they were in the zoo, they were just animals. It made the Games more then, we humanized the tributes, we should make them real to the viewers again. Take them from animals in a pen to…well, a bit like pets."
Gaul throws her head back, a laugh that's more akin to a shriek piercing the air. "Like pets! People felt they owned the tributes. The tributes were precious to their districts. For the Capitol, an entertaining pet in a cage. Some were cute, or aggressive or innocent, like rabbits. How do you propose we make them real for the viewers?"
"There were a few things I noticed mentoring." Coriolanus leans forward against the table. He wears his intimate knowledge of the Games as a badge of honor. So many of the others, they didn't get to mentor. Most of his previous Academy classmates don't want anything to do with the Games so directly again. They were too soft, or too stupid to see it for the opportunity it was. They were each given the chance to get more than the Plinth prize, rather it was an opportunity to shape the future. If the Hunger Games come together as Gaul and his father truly envisioned, it could shape the entire future of Panem.
Coriolanus takes a more authoritative tone to his voice, "the tributes are distrusting, and as a result working with them to sell and humanize themselves was it's own battle. They're hungry and poor, dirty. And they were just dirty faces. Lucy Gray," her name was bitter on his tongue. Some heat rising to his neck at the mere thought of her. "She was a performer and she knew how to engage an audience. If they all were like her…well, I think people would have watched through the night to not miss a moment."
Gaul taps her gloved hands along her elbows, nodding to herself. "She was a truly captivating tribute. If only they'd all been so entertaining. I wish we knew more of her whereabouts, she'd have made an excellent choice to sing the Panem Anthem. I'd like to have a more formal opening ceremony to the Games."
A thought tickles at Snows lips, "if only they'd all been so entertaining…" He whispers the thought to himself a few times. "What if we treat them not as spectacles in a zoo…but as celebrities?"
Gaul arches a brow. "What? We follow them with cameras and cheer at the sight of them? Treat them as honored generals? Please, that's too much for a thin dirty face that'll die in a weeks time."
Snow doesn't respond, rather he turns the thought over in his mind a few times. "Perhaps…perhaps we clean them up. Give them proper food and rest, and interview them as we did before. Give Lucky some more one on one time, make them stars for five minutes. Spend a whole week focused on them. Drum up excitement, bet on your favorites, learn about them. If the Capitol shows these tributes some care, they'll work with us a bit. All I did was give that girl a flower and a sandwich and she was willing to sing and dance like a puppet." The words are even more bitter than her name on his tongue. It's not true, Lucy Gray wasn't that gullible or easily swayed, but she had used him. And he used her. They were even. Simple as that. The Victors get to choose how the story is told, and he is the Victor.
"Alright, we'll give it a go. Arrange for the tributes to be housed somewhere with better accommodations. And feed them. Clean them. And we'll have some interviews and see what happens. I want people to watch and not be able to look away…additionally, the amphitheater could be used again for the Games themselves. But it's in disrepair and the bombing has made it even more unstable."
"Let's scout for new locations. Maybe convert and gate a secluded area near the Capitol. We should also supply different weapons, just to keep things lively." Echidna says. Coriolanus offer her an appreciative nod in agreement. She's right, that amphitheater offers almost nothing now. It also isn't a surprising watch, everyone knows where the Games are and what they look like. It's become formulaic and dull. Echidna was a bit like Gaul in that way, she liked to create new things. Gaul enjoyed engineering animals, but Echidna enjoyed landscapes and plants. She could be useful.
"We should make it a surprise." Gaul slams her hand to the table, lips peeling back into a maniacal grin. "Excellent idea! A new arena for a new age of the Hunger Games! Any other ideas?"
A few other team members toss out ideas, speaking amongst themselves. Coriolanus considers the process of cleaning the tributes up, some were downright filthy. Tigris had been a godsend to help Lucy Gray into a dress and to clean her clothes for the Games themselves. Frankly, he should make sure they all get clean clothes and a bit dressed up.
Pretty people may be more enticing to sponsor. The more sponsors the Hunger Games gets, the more bets placed, the more money is flowing between the Capitol. Money and power were the two necessary keys to the Hunger Games lasting success and control over the Districts. Coriolanus thinks of the ideas they've discussed, giving the Victors a prize, having sponsors. Coriolanus flits through memories of the 10th Hunger Games, of tributes tearing into each other, his own foray into the arena. The bodies, the blood. Coriolanus frowns a bit at the memory of the bodies, his voice rising and cutting off the chatter between the team. "We need to structure the arena with access for larger drones or some kind of crane. We want to humanize the tributes, but not make them martyrs." Snows mind flashes to Reaper. "We shouldn't leave the bodies."
Gaul looks over at him, "what?"
"We shouldn't leave them. Reaper…" he adjust his collar, finding a grit to his voice "the boy from 11. He tore down the flag and…he used it to cover the bodies. While I can't attest specifically to his intention, the ripping of the flag and solidarity in placing the bodies together, could easily be misinterpreted."
Gaul rests her fingers together against the desk. "I agree. We'll remove them. A crane will be easy to attain. Echidna you will oversee the arena selection, I want three locations that will provide some 'variety' as you say. Coriolanus, I want a complete proposal of your idea of the mentorship program in two days. You are all dismissed."
Coriolanus shrugs off his coat, shifting his focus to Tigris nimble hands carefully folding his coat. "Do you think you can work more magic for tributes this year? We want to clean them up, feed them, give them a chance to win over sponsors to help them survive."
He had given a lot of thought to how he wanted to recruit her help. Not everyone could separate themselves as easily as he could from their emotions. Tigris was always being helpful, understanding to their grandmother, to Ma Plinth. Tigris purses her lips, "oh Coryo, that's a good idea. I'd love to help."
"Do you think you'd be able to assist the mentors in preparing their tributes for interviews and meeting the public? I'd ensure you get plenty of assistance and money. Your stylizing skills would be front and center." Coriolanus looks at her neatly pleated dress, a rich plum color with silver trim. It was a stunning piece, truly. Tigris was absolutely the right choice to assist him.
Tigris grins, "my skills? Like, some of the tributes might be wearing a Tigris Snow design?"
Coriolanus hadn't given it quite that much thought, but she seemed to be excited to help. Perhaps his plans would work, it would get him one step closer to growing beyond his apprenticeship. "Of course! You're amazing at what you do. And it would be a great help to me!"
"Alright, I'll do it!" Tigris beamed up at Coriolanus, "Snow lands on top!"
Coriolanus smiled with her, certainly, Snow lands on top, always.