Thanks to owlthewriter, CrocodileReader431, Cori Anna, Tales from the Cluttered Desk, Dani H. Danvers, ladyqueerfoot, Skeekiest (THANK YOU!), & Very New To This for the reviews!

Scoring is always so repititive. But I'm excited for the interviews! As with the last SYOT, I'm sharing my thoughts on how the Capitol views scores and thus how people in this story interpret them:

1-2: Certain Death. Tributes who land here have no discernible skills for surviving the Games. Unless dared, no sponsor is touching them.

3-4: Below Average. Tributes who land here are either bad, throwing their score, or did something to upset the Gamemakers, who are retaliating by kneecapping that Tribute's potential sponsor money. More daring or the low betting sponsors would put money on them.

5 – 7: Average. The majority of Tributes should be in this range. They're on the fence, so sponsor money could go either way, and the interviews matter a lot.

8 – 10: Career levels. Them and the exceptional non-Career Tributes are here. Also, non-Careers whom the Gamemakers want to make a target for said Careers land here. Sponsor money and bets pile up fast behind Tributes in this range

11 – 12: Guaranteed Top 4 or Victor. I think only a handful of Tributes over 75 canon Games ever got these numbers. Any Tribute scoring here practically carries the Gamemakers guarantee for Victory.

Enjoy!


Chapter XIII The Tribute Scoring

The Capitol

The Tribute Training Center - Day 3

For the two elder Gamemakers remaining, the rate that things had changed under the reign of Head Gamemaker Lucan Hadrianus was shocking.

They were already in their seats, ready to score the Tributes, when Lucan and an army of sycophant Gamemakers burst in, all laughing and clearly intoxicated. The two older Gamemakers, last of the pre-Second Quell Regime, looked at the display in disbelief. True, the Scorings saw some odd behavior, but never to this level!

The Head Gamemaker slumped into his designated chair, a leg over one of its arms. He snapped his fingers at an Avox, who quickly rushed over with another drink. The other Gamemakers were in similar stupors and demanding their drinks. Last year, Lucan had tried to impose some "order" on the festivities. He was letting loose this year and even ramping it up. With a clap, more Avoxes came in, carrying trays full of food and treats.

It'd be a feast from the first Tribute on.

"Bring on the Tributes!" Lucan cried, as the newer Gamemakers, handpicked by Lucan, cheered.

First up was District 1, Casanova Rothschild. He entered with confidence and a smile so bright, Lucan could have sworn the lights were reflecting off his teeth. Charisma was, annoyingly, so hard to find in Tributes that it was always refreshing when someone had some semblance of personality.

He didn't keep them waiting. He immediately went for chakrams, which began excited murmurs from the Gamemakers. He grabbed six of them, holding two and allowing the other four to slip down his arms. He then signaled for five Trainers to attack him.

"Ready, set, begin!" Casanova announced, pouncing on the nearest trainer and hurling one chakram at another.

It was a dance of steel as Casanova whirled between Trainer to Trainer, the boy excellently weaving and dodging between attacks. Nobody got close to hitting him, even though at one point it was four on one. Casanova laughed during the fight, baiting them with taunts and witty remarks. In the end, Casanova had bested them all, leaving the Trainers covered in bruises and knocked out.

Applause rang out from the Gamemakers, though the two older Gamemakers maintained proper decorum and made no reaction. Lucan was loudest amongst them, and the other Gamemakers were eager to mirror him.

"Bravo, Bravo!" Lucan cheered. Casanova gave a wink and little bow and strolled out of the Training Center, obviously very pleased with himself.

Elegance Jacobs followed, the Gamemakers still buzzing from Casanova's performance. She selected two weapons, both heavy but easily balanced by her. A war hammer strapped over her back and a pole axe in her hands, Elegance began by showing off her routines and how easily she could shift weapons. Once she was done, Elegance called over three Trainers and fought against them. The pole axe, an unusual weapon choice, was fun to watch, and Elegance was adept at rotating it with the war hammer. The three Trainers also failed to land a blow, and Elegance left to a pleased audience.

Lucan especially so. After the disaster that was District 1 last year, Casanova and Elegance were certainly making up for that.

District 2 also had face to recover and were certainly up to the task. Still, given the fun that District 1 had been, 2 proved to be fairly regular as far as Careers went. Pietyr Kalashnikev, with a saber in hand, took on several Trainers and performed admirably. Lucan wouldn't have thought the big, bulky, moody boy would be so adept with a saber, a weapon of finesse, so that was worth some points. It made a nice motif and storyline for the Games, and Lucan scribbled a note for Caesar to play up the brute in personality yet careful in combat angle… or something like that. Lucan was feeling quite drunk…

Amaya was also impressive. Her use of a machete seemed unbecoming of a Career, but in her hands it had a certain charm. Lucan was also in love with her sabotage backstory. Hopefully that would come out organically in the Hunger Games. Pietyr might bring it up.

'Too bad… if this was last year's Pack I wouldn't have to worry about them screwing up their image on purpose.' Lucan mused, finishing his drink while grasping for another.

The food was flowing as freely as the liquor when District 3 arrived. Webster Osborn was first, looking prim and proper. Spoonfuls of food were being plopped onto Gamemakers' plates, eyes more eager for the food than the boy from 3. Annoyingly, Webster waited until they were all finished serving food before he began.

"Can I make an observation before I begin?" Webster asked them.

Lucan blinked, shocked to be addressed. He straighten up, smoothing out his robes, and tried to moderate his voice. "What's wrong with you?" He asked. He barely suppressed a hiccup.

Webster looked at him with confused eyes, but wisely kept any remarks to himself. "You have created a fine establishment for training in the Hunger Games, but I fear you have one field you have left empty – electronics."

"Huh?" Lucan demanded, feeling a temper flare coming.

"You see, I was attempting to practice my skills with building and noticed that you didn't have any for use." Web explained, his voice high and mighty. "A Trainer attempted to alleviate my concerns by saying electronics played no part in the Hunger Games. That is false. An error. So, I will demonstrate a skill, but I wished to convey that my talents are with building and logic. I hope that my performance will be satisfactory without those things."

Lucan barked a laugh and then waved at him. "Get out!"

Now it was Webster's turn to blink in shock. "W-what?" He asked.

Even the Trainers were confused until Lucan repeated himself. Soon, his lackeys were cheering for Webster to be removed and the Trainers, angry with the Gamemakers, removed him. Lucan fell back in his chair in a mood. How dare that child speak to them like they were equals? And with that smug tone! Insolence would be dealt with harshly.

Thankfully, his partner, Hypatia Diaz, knew her place and said nothing. She went and picked up a spiked mace and began practicing on a dummy. It was a solid, if repetitive, display. Lucan was quite excited about the spike mace, imagining the bloodshed it would bring if Hypatia could use it properly.

District 4 was next. Nicola Forbay proved deadly with a sword short, quickly slicing up several dummies before moving onto the Trainers. It was impressive, but still didn't reach Casanova and Elegance. Maddie Monaghan followed and, despite her fatalistic attitude and eye rolling breakdown at the Reaping, she distinguished herself as an excellent marksman. With moving targets, she scored 91% accuracy to the Gamemakers surprise. It seemed in combat she could actually focus. Lucan made a note of that, especially since a bow and arrow would certainly give her advantage.

It was always awkward when twelve year old were Reaped. Joseph Aglais of District 5 fit the profile of the nervous twelve year old. Still, he managed an alliance – and Olivia was his Mentor – so it was worth Lucan's attention. Joseph had no real skill though, grabbing a sword and starting to swing. His enthusiasm was appreciated though, though most Gamemakers were more focused on their food than him.

His partner, Teagan Windsor, seemed an intense, introverted young girl. She said nothing but went to the traps station and showed off her skills, the first Tribute to try something other than combat skills. For fifteen minutes, Teagan made several different traps whose names Lucan didn't even know. He supposed that was impressive. People liked to watch clever Tributes, right? She shuffled out of the Center quietly when she was finished, eyeing the drunk Gamemakers with disdain.

District 6 began with Diesel Chase, whom the Gamemakers were far less excited for than his District partner. Diesel seemed to sense this and played off of it. "I know, I know! The real star is up next, just please put up with me for a little and don't give me a bad score!"

His corny humor was appreciated and Gamemakers watched, more or less, respectfully as he swung around an axe, even brave enough at one point to face a Trainer. It was a shame said Trainer mopped the floor with him. But every time the Trainer hit him, Diesel gave an exaggerated cry of pain, playing it for laughs. Quite a few Gamemakers giggled at the sight and Diesel left to some polite applause. At least the boy knew how to entertain.

Dallis Casterri used a hatchet for her session. She… wasn't great. There was no real technique behind her swings, more flailing around violently and loudly. The girl didn't seem capable of doing anything quietly it seemed. It was a poor display, but Lucan had already decided she'd score well.

Just to antagonize the Careers, of course.

Wolfram Fray was up first for District 7. The somber boy stalked into the room in a mood, his shoulders hunched up like one of the dogs he apparently supervised. Like Amaya he went for a machete, but, unlike Amaya, lacked skill. He chopped up dummies and took on one Trainer, holding up adequately for someone with no formal training. His appearance of competency and steely toughness would boost his score.

The Head Peacekeeper of 7 had actually put in a good word for the boy, though it had little effect on Lucan. The Hunger Games had no use for "good" Tributes. In his drunk stupor, he slipped into one of his moods about his first Victor. Olivia was sassy, sure, which was great for TV. But she was also annoyingly caring. Hopefully the 59th Hunger Games would produce someone more… ferocious.

Like Wolf's partner.

Werifesteria Grosvener – an exotic, commanding name that Lucan absolutely adored – walked into the Center and Lucan could have sworn the temperature dropped with her presence. She said nothing to them, in fact she barely acknowledged the Gamemakers, and stormed over to the combat stations. She grabbed a hatchet, a knife, and then a training dummy, which she laid down on the ground and straddled.

To Lucan's delight, she began eviscerating the dummy. With the hatchet, Werifesteria broke the thick skin of it and then used the knife to peel the dummy's skin back. With a large enough opening in its chest cavity, she reached in with hand and began pulling out the thick stuffing, tossing it all around. When the dummy was disemboweled, she jumped up and left.

Lucan thought he was in love.

With Werifesteria done, most of the Gamemakers began to drift. They weren't even pretending to pay attention to the remaining Tributes, filling their plates with food and glasses with drink and chatting away. So, District 8 began with Raveni Algernan, who seemed surprised by the display from the Gamemakers. He waited like Webster had for the Gamemakers to settle down until Lucan bade him to begin.

Raveni went for knives, attempting to throw them at moving targets. When that went poorly, he settled for a still target. That went a little better. Lucan thought it was good he didn't cut himself. That was about the best he could say for the boy.

Blakely Katz was next and she too went for knives. Keeping with the theme of "opposites" for the past few Tributes, Blakely actually did well with them. She clearly had training, which would have raised alarm bells if the Gamemakers weren't drunk out of their minds. She hit a bullseye on her target more often than not and dodged and stabbed around Trainer attacks. There was a violent edge to her that Lucan was excited to see more of.

By the time District 9 came out, debauchery had taken the Gamemakers. Food and drink spilled over expensive couches and rugs, staining clothes and hands and notepads. Most had given up even paying attention. Lucan was holding on… but barely.

Darlington Garlain made them listen though.

His voice, smooth and crisp, rose over the din of chaos. His message was clear. "Today… my boyfriend is about to be hung for murder."

Lucan and the other Gamemakers silenced at the statement, intrigued. Darley continued easily. "What everyone doesn't know is that he's dying for my crime. My boyfriend left me. He promised me the world. He promised me his heart. And he betrayed me. So… I betrayed him. And nobody in the District knows. Nobody except me and everyone assembled here. I have skills, particularly with poison, and all I ask for is a middle score. Something that gets attention of the Capitol and avoids the ire of the Careers. Give me that, and I promise a show."

He left immediately afterwards. Lucan burst out laughing, enjoying Darlington's attitude and boldness. Maybe he'd give the boy just that?

Greta Doe-Liebert followed and was the last of the Tributes to command the Gamemakers attention. Like Teagan she went for traps and did about as well as Teagan. Lucan hardly cared anymore. He supposed the Butcher of 10 should have taught him Outliers had merit, but history tended to say differently. And the drinks and sweets were too good to ignore.

A loud cough from one of the older Gamemakers drew Lucan's attention back to District 10. He glanced at Oscar Cabrera, who was showing off some survival skills. His partner Sierra Barrett did the same. Whatever. He'd make up a score later.

The whole Center was fuzzy when District 11 came out. That was good for Calen Dianthus, who's look of pure disdain would have lost him points. Through bleary eyes, Gamemakers watched him swing his fists at a dummy before switching to a sickle. Lucan was devouring a messy cupcake and ended up missing half of the performance when he had to clean his robes. He looked down at his notes, a mess of words and half formed sentences. He shrugged, deciding he'd figure something out later. When he finally looked up, the 11 girl, Tillage Swan, was demonstrating how to properly prep food and how to make quick jerky.

Thankfully they were almost done. District 12 began with Ash Ghastly, who swung an axe about and tried to look tough. It was sort of endearing and Lucan was willing to give him a higher score since it was near the end.

Of course, the final Tribute was the demon spawn. Thankfully, Ophelia Hearst made it easy. She stomped to the middle of the Center, looked up at the Gamemakers on their viewing balcony, pursed her lips, and stuck her tongue through them to give them a big raspberry.

The noise echoed through the Training Center. Seeing she wasn't doing anything else, Lucan waved his arms wildly and the Trainers collected the insolent little brat and removed her from the room.

"All done!" Lucan cried proudly. "Now who wants more dessert!"

Nobody said no.


District 1 Apartments

The Tribute Scores were released during prime time. Caesar Flickerman, dressed in a bright pink suit with black lapels and dyed jet black hair, was sitting behind his anchor desk with a box full of pink envelopes in front of him. Each tributes name was written on the front in exaggerated style. That image was being broadcast and watched by everyone in the Capitol and the majority of Panem. He smiled, showing off his dazzling white teeth, and began.

"Let's see who's cream of the crop this year!" He announced, pulling out the first envelope. As was custom, the male Tribute from District 1 was read off first. Caesar read off the card in slow and dramatic fashion. "For Casanova Rothschild of District 1… a score of…. Oh… oh my goodness ladies and gentlemen! A score of 11! We're starting strong!"

If it was more dignified, Cas would have jumped up from the couch and thrust his fist in the air. Instead he cracked a massive smile and laughed. "An eleven!? No way!" He said, in actual disbelief. Elegance was as well. Nobody had gotten above a ten since the Second Quell.

"Next up, Elegance Jacob's of District 1… a score of… 10!"

She let out a sigh of relief. A ten was excellent, even if meant she was being eclipsed by Cas. Still, no one could accuse her of being a weak link. And besides, most of the time the Careers didn't even hit ten. She would be drowning in sponsor gifts soon.

'Take that too, Splendour.' She thought.

District 2 Apartments

Things were tense in the District 2 apartments. Nobody thought that Pietyr and Amaya would kill each other there, but nobody thought they'd be even polite either. They sat in stony silence as Caesar read off their scores.

"For Pietyr Kalashnikev of District 2… a score of… 9!"

"Damn it!" Pietyr roared, jumping to his feet. Amaya eyed him coolly, which didn't help. "How the hell did Cas get an eleven!?"

Caesar didn't respond and continued on. "For Amaya Alyec of District 2… a score of… 9!"

Amaya let out a little "hmph" of annoyance. A nine was excellent of course, but she had hoped to hit double digits. It would certainly help center her as more of a leader in the Pack. She was confident that Cas would try to seize control of things. Pietyr, meanwhile was pacing. He didn't even bother to stick around for the rest of the scores, instead retreating to his room and slamming the door shut.

He bet Maura was back home laughing at him.

District 3 Apartments

"For Webster Osborn of District 3… a score of… oh, seems we have the weakest link as of now… a score of 2."

Web felt his world collapse. Never, ever, not once in his life had he ever preformed poorly on an exam. He felt like the score not only sunk his chances at sponsors, and even keeping his fragile alliance with Teagan, but was a shattering of his core identity.

"Moving on! For Hypatia Diaz of District 3… a score of… 5."

Ignoring Web's distress, Hypatia was pleased with her score. Not too high and not too low. Hopefully she could charm a Capitolite or two. Or… one in particular.

She had a plan for tomorrow night's interviews, she just had to work with her Escort on how best to bring it about. Her father had not come for her, so clearly he didn't know she was in the Hunger Games. It would certainly help explain why he never reached out. He gripped the ring in her pocket, drawing strength from it.

'Tomorrow….'

District 4 Apartments

"For Nicola Forebay of District 4… a score of… 9!"

He nodded to himself as the score was read off. A nine was more than acceptable for Nicola. But his jaw dropped when Maddie's score popped up.

"For Maddie Monaghan of District 4… a score of… 10!"

"Did mommy and daddy buy that for you too?" Nicola asked darkly, a flash of annoyance towards Maddie's wealth rearing its head. Next to him, the brief moment of joy that Maddie felt was drowned. Had they done that? They already bought her a spot in the Games. And what did scores really matter?

Suddenly, Maddie was back in her tailspin of despair.

District 5 Apartments

"For Joseph Aglais of District 5… a score of… 5."

Seph's head whipped around to Olivia who sat next to him on the couch. She gave him a positive smile. "A five is good, Seph!" She told him. "And it's lucky! It's our District and it was my score."

It certainly did help Seph's mood, along with the fact that he actually had allies. Caesar continued on to his partner. "For Teagan Windsor of District 5… a score of… 6."

"Well done, Teagan!" Olivia complimented. But as usual, Teagan ignored the compliment and sat on the couch in silence. It took all of Olivia's willpower not to say something meaner, so she instead turned back to Seph and kept encouraging him.

Teagan considered her score, feeling proud of it. Still, the Careers were scoring high this year. Would six be enough to win over sponsors?

Especially given her current position. Web had scored an abysmal two. He'd be dead weight on her, similar to how Seph was. Perhaps she should strike out on her own? She doubted that Olivia would leave her to her own devices.

With some semblance of a plan forming, Teagan prepared to face the Games alone.

District 6 Apartments

"I swear they better not screw me over!" Dallis fussed.

"Yeah! The only person who's allowed to screw you over is you!" Diesel joked.

Dallis would have to wait as her partner was up first. "For District 6, up first is Diesel Chase… a score of… 6."

"I'll take that!" Diesel said happily.

"For Dallis Casterri of District 6… a score of… 7."

"Huh, just we're both middle talent kind of people." Diesel said.

"I should have scored higher!" Dallis erupted. "Didn't they like all the dirt I dug up!"

"Yeah… but that's not actually a real talent."

Dallis rolled her eyes. "You do realize the scores are rigged as hell, right?" She asked.

"No they're not!" Diesel retorted. "No way they could do that. Capitolites spend so much money on bets, don't you think people would have figured out if the whole thing was rigged?"

That prompted a very long diatribe from Dallis about how the world actually worked and how Diesel was a big idiot for thinking otherwise. Diesel reminded himself that if this was to be a successful partnership, he might as well get used to saying "ok" and "whatever you say" to Dallis.

District 7 Apartments

"Halfway mark, folks, and I'm sure the back half will be just as exciting! For District 7, Wolfram Fray… a score of… 7!"

Wolf let a smile develop on his face. An excellent score. He was sure his siblings would be thrilled by it. A harder task stood before him though, an interview with Caesar Flickerman. Darley had told him to be "stoic" and let him handle the personality stuff for their alliance. Wolf was happy to do that, but he knew he still had to be polite. That seemed a tall order when talking to a Capitolite.

"For Werifesteria Grosnever of District 7… a score of… 8!"

Fest made no reaction to the score, instead wandering back to her bedroom and leaving Wolf alone on the coach. He preferred that anyways. He felt evil for even thinking it, but Wolf was praying the Careers would get her in the Bloodbath.

There was an evil in Fest that even the Hunger Games shouldn't experience.

District 8 Apartments

"Starting off Distirct 8, Raveni Algernan… a score of… 5."

"Damn." Raveni muttered. He had hoped for at least a six.

"For Blakely Katz of District 8… a score of… 8!"

"Good job." Raveni told her.

"Thanks." Blakely replied. "Not bad yourself."

"Guess I have to wow people in the interview."

"I'm sure you will." Blakely said, noncommittal. She rose to leave, but Raveni cut her off.

"Hey, look, I know you said you wanted to go it alone but… I think we'd be better as a team. For the District and all that."

Blakely stared him down, eyes narrowed. "For the District? Why would I care about them?"

"It's your home." Raveni countered. "And people are counting on us."

"What's 8 ever done for me?" Blakely asked, leaving before Raveni could continue that stupid conversation. Blakely was amazed at her partner's naïveté. The Hunger Games were a perfect representation of what the world was, survival of the fittest.

Blakely wondered how long her partner would last.

District 9 Apartments

Greta was waiting anxiously in front of the TV for her score while Darley seemed rather relaxed. She had asked several times what he'd shown the Gamemakers but Darley had been coy, enjoying the attention from Greta and refusing to full answer while hinting at something unique. Darley was a mystery, Greta thought, but one that's truth probably was duller than the hype made it out to be.

"For Darlington Garlain of District 9… a score of… 4."

To Greta's total surprise, Darley seemed happy with that score. Before she could interrogate him more, the attention had turned to her.

"For Great Doe-Liebert of District 9… a score of… 6."

Before Greta could feel good about that, she was getting grilled. "So, you feel confident with your pack of misfits?" Darley asked.

Greta gave him an even look. "As a matter of fact I am! We're a big group and there's strength in numbers."

"Like there's strength amongst sheep when the wolves are circling." Darley shrugged. "Luckily, I got my own lil Wolf to protect me."

"And what are you bringing to the table?" Greta asked.

"A winning personality." Darley winked, refusing to elaborate further.

District 10 Apartments

"Starting off for District 10! Oscar Cabrera… a score of… 5."

"I don't even think they were paying attention." Oscar muttered.

"They certainly weren't for me!" Sierra confirmed. She had been shocked to see how intoxicated all of the Gamemakers were, like pigs and just as messy. How the hell could they claim to be better than the Districts?

"For Sierra Barrett of District 10… a score of… 4."

"Ugh." Sierra moaned, sinking into the couch. "At least we have allies."

"We just need to charm the Capitol tomorrow." Oscar bucked her up. "We do that, we're in good and scores don't even matter."

"Are you charming?" Sierra asked with a friendly smile.

"I mean… I've been known to be nice." Oscar replied easily.

"Not sure 'nice' is what the moment calls for though." Sierra worried.

District 11 Apartments

"Watch, they're going to give us ones."

"Don't say that." Tilly told Calen, though her heart wasn't in it. She'd be surprised if the Gamemakers remembered anything she had done given how inebriated they were.

"For Calen Dianthus of District 11… a score of… 5."

"Hey, that's not bad!" Tilly tried.

"Could be higher." Calen said, always looking for an angle to complain about.

"For Tillage Swan of District 11… a score of… 4."

"Wait a minute…" Tilly thought, face hardening with the sudden realization. "Did they just repeat the scores they gave for District 10?!"

Calen growled, sounding as feral as Tilly felt. "Freaking Capitolites." He muttered.

District 12 Apartments

"And last up, ladies and gentlemen, District 12! Starting off with Ash Ghastly… a score of… 4."

Ash groaned. Only a four? At least Sierra had scored the same, so he wasn't the lowest scoring member of the alliance.

"And finally, Ophelia Hearst of District 12… a score of… oh… well… always unfortunate when we end on a poor note everyone… a score of 1…"

"Ha! They were so pissed." Ophelia laughed, chowing down on some sort of taffy she fleeced from the kitchen.

"What did you do to get a one?!" Ash asked, stunned. "Did you even do anything?"

"Course I did! I stuck my tongue out at them and told them what I thought of them and the Hunger Games."

"Are you insane!? They're going to send a mutt after you!" Ash cried.

"Eh, they were going to do that anyways. But I think I'll charm the pants off those dumb Capitolites tomorrow night, so I'll be fine! Do you think they have anymore candy?"

Ophelia scurried off the couch, literally jumping over the backside of it and sprinting to the kitchen where Avoxes patiently handed out food. Ash wasn't sure why he was so upset with Ophelia, it's not like they were friends! But why wasn't she taking all this seriously? Every Tribute had people they wanted to get back to, Ash knew his entire family would certainly die if he fell in the Games, and yet here was Ophelia, acting like it was all a joke. He had indulged a little on the train with her, sure, but the Training Center and seeing the Careers had made it all real.

And in less than forty-eight hours, it would be…


Up Next: The Tribute Interviews: Districts 1 - 6

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