A/N: Welcome to my first SYOT story! I'm excited to try this out and see what happens! If you would like a spot in this story, please go to my profile, and PM me the completed form there. There are 24 spots available, and I'll be using a first-come, first-serve system. I might also communicate back and forth a bit with you if there are details that I'd like to change around. Thanks for reading and participating!
District 2
Head Trainer was never supposed to be an easy job. Crafting Careers out of common district children was not a task to be taken lightly, and the strength it took to watch as dozens of children competed, trained, and pushed their bodies to the limit in order for the chance to compete in the Games was no small task. This year though, the Quarter Quell had taken a harsh toll. Twice as many tributes going into the Games meant that the chosen tributes as well as the backups in the year below had been taken.
Albion sighed and leaned back behind his desk. He had weathered many challenges in his time as Head Trainer. He had come into his position after the First Quarter Quell and had worked to steadily elevate the quality of training the hopeful volunteers received. They needed to be able to survive, not just kill, he had argued; studying the footage of every available Games had taught him that much. Of course, it didn't matter how smart or strong or talented they were when a bloody volcano was able to take out half the arena!
There was no use dwelling on it. Training for this year's Games was about to begin, and it was time to put on an excellent show. And, along the way, hopefully remind the Capitol why they was a much better investment over lucky upstarts from backwater districts.
No more shocking upsets. This year would belong to the rightful Victors.
Capitol
The first meeting of the Gamemakers wasn't nearly as enjoyable as people had made it sound. Adonis Culpepper slouched in his seat, listening to one of the senior Gamemakers drone on and on. He looked up at the clock - nearly lunchtime - and then back down to the speaker, pretending to pay attention. It was all the same nonsense: honour, loyalty, tradition, respect for the president. Adonis doubted the president really cared about any of this blather. The only time he pretended to be interested in the Games was when he appeared at the opening and closing ceremonies. He'd likely never even seen an arena up close.
Across from him sat one of the new assistant Gamemakers, Emerald Kingsley. Adonis caught her eye and winked briefly. She blushed, trying to hide it behind one of her wide sleeves. He smiled to himself, already plotting out the ways in which he could introduce himself.
"And so, to ensure an entertaining Games this year, we are going to be monitoring the reaping process and the arena closer than ever before," the speaker stated, finishing just before the clock struck the hour. "Please ensure you are at your correct stations after lunch, as we will be having special training procedures."
Before Adonis could stand and make his way over to Emerald's seat, one of the Gamemakers tapped him on the shoulder. "With me, Culpepper."
Adonis stalked out of the room. Boring as the job may be, one day he would find a way to get himself noticed.
District 11
Seeder knew. There was no chance that either of her tributes would return this year. Haymitch had won last year, and while that was excellent news for him it meant that a death warrant had been signed for lower district tributes for at least a decade. It was the way things went for them. One victory meant a lifetime of loss. She was shocked Chaff had managed to claw his way out of arena and back to her.
Still, she couldn't stop trying. Just because a miracle wasn't scheduled didn't mean one couldn't happen anyway. Anyone, in theory, could win the Games.
