Johanna Mason: They Will Never See Me Cry
by Arowana Flounder is a The Hunger Games fanfiction narrated in the first person by Johanna Mason. It follows her story from a girl with a loving nuclear family to a Pragmatic Hero tribute, to a hardened mentor, to a rebel, with more than half the story being a Perspective Flip of the first two books from her POV. Her relationship with Finnick (which Johanna describes by saying they are "more than friends but a little less than lovers") also plays a large role in the story. There is also a shorter, post-Mockingjay sequel story showing Johanna after the rebellion.
Tropes:
- Call-Forward: Johanna frequently talks about how nice it would feel to duke it out with Cashmere and, at one point, notes that the 3rd Quarter Quell is coming up, and she doesn't envy the "poor tributes" who will go into that Games. As readers of the original trilogy know, Johanna will be a tribute for the 3rd Quarter Quell, during which she fights Cashmere.
- Clashing Cousins: Seneca mentions that the District 9 tributes during the 54th Hunger Games were cousins whose mutual hostility resulted in a Mutual Kill.
- Cool Uncle:
- Johanna's uncle is encouraging and protective of her both before and after her father's death, teaches her the skills necessary for her to win the Games, and tries to raise money for her while she is in the arena.
- Finnick's nephew, a tribute in Johanna's Games speaks of him in glowing terms , and Finnick is protective of the boy.
- Cue the Flying Pigs: After Haymitch announces his intention to stay sober through the Games in order to keep his promise to Katniss and Peeta, Johanna replies with this:Johanna: My, my, did anyone else see that pig flying past the window?
- Driven to Suicide; Johanna's mother commits suicide after learning her daughter will be sent back into the arena, which is the last straw of her Trauma Conga Line.
- Family Theme Naming: Johanna and her brother Joey both have jo names.
- Gallows Humor: After being reaped for the 3rd Quarter Quell when there were no other female victors available to be reaped instead of her, Johanna pretends to be surprised and terrified and dramatically yells out "Oh, the horror."
- How We Got Here: The first six chapters show Johanna mentoring for the 73rd Hunger Games. The story then flashes back to her childhood, time as a tribute in the 71st Hunger Games, and what happened after her victory. Chapter 35 (out of 97) returns to the 73rd Hunger Games.
- Laughing Mad: Johanna launches into terrified, angry laughter in the middle of the town square for several seconds after watching the broadcast condemning her to the 3rd Quarter Quell arena.
- Mauve Shirt: Lyme and OC victors Sandy from District 4 and Byte from District 3 all know Johanna fairly well and have a lot of scenes, but aren't involved in a lot of the main drama and intrigue of the story and all avoid the 3rd Quarter Quell.
- My Secret Pregnancy: Croft, the oldest victor of District 7, has a daughter and grandchildren whose births he never reported (he faked his wife's death when she got pregnant and found a man willing to go into hiding and marry his daughter) so they can escape the reapings and the Games, and they live in his house in secret.
- Never Suicide: Implied with Johanna's father, who supposedly hangs himself due to the trauma of seeing her kill people in the Games. Snow denies having anything to do with it, but despite his Villains Never Lie reputation, it likely was a murder, due to the Capitol knowing more about the circumstances of how the body was found than they should have otherwise.
- Platonic Prostitution: Plutarch and Fulvia purchase time with Finnick and Johanna as part of the victor prostitution ring, but don't have sex with them and covertly recruit them to the rebellion. Plutarch does have Johanna strip to her underwear, stand near the window, and then get in bed with him (while he remains clothed), but just to throw off any potential security agents watching the Capitol for signs of treason.
- The Prankster: Beetee confides in Johanna that he once electrified a chair to deliver (mild and non-dangerous) electrical shocks to a teacher and also sabotaged a vending machine to dump salt on the food.
- Recurring Extra: Several non-Quell tribute victors (Vic and one-eyed Drake from District 4, Gate and Agnes from District 3, Baler and Flora from District 11, Greta from District 2, etc.) appear multiple times throughout the story but rarely talk, do anything related to the rebellion, or have significant interactions with Johanna. This is somewhat justified since victors are cast into each other's proximity by necessity, but past traumas and important duties keep some of them from getting to know others very well.
- Spiteful Spit: When a False Friend who is really a Capitol spy tries to interrogate Johanna about the arena plot, she spits in the woman's face.
- Scatter Brained Senior: Flora, District 11's oldest victor, runs into Johanna during the 73rd Hunger Games. Flora thinks that she's mentoring for the 71st Hunger Games (Johanna's Games) and expresses happy surprise that Johanna won, before remembering that if Johanna won, then the two District 11 tributes that year who she thinks she's still mentoring didn't.
- Tarnishing Their Own Beauty: After becoming a Sex Slave, Johanna doesn't sink far enough into despair to disfigure herself permanently but does sometimes goad johns into hitting her so the bruises will make her less appealing for the short-term.
- Team Mom:
- District 7 escort Laleney is constantly available to provide support and a voice of maturity for Johanna and Blight, with Johanna calling Lalaney her "Capitol Mom" at least once.
- District 3 Victor Agnes, in addition to having actual kids, lives in the same house as the shellshocked Wiress, implicitly to give her emotional support (although it’s unclear which of the pair is older) and also invites their District's youngest Victor, orphaned sixteen-year-old Byte, and his little sister to live with them.
- Title Drop:
- The opening and closing scenes both have Johanna mentally vowing that her Capitol enemies will never get to see her cry, whether in response to losing tributes or being tortured.
- Several chapters are titled after a phrase Johanna thinks or someone says in the chapter (Finnick tells Johanna "welcome to the brothel" in the chapter with the same name where she is dealing with being pimped out, etc.).
- Token Good Cop: Iberio, the only notable District 7 Peacekeeper who isn't a totalitarian brute.
- Victory by Endurance: The final battle of the 73rd Hunger Games has the last two Career tributes take down the boy from District 3 with some throwing knives and then battle for twenty minutes before they both die in a Mutual Kill. For a moment, it looks like there is no victor, before it turns out that Byte, the boy from District 3, is still clinging to life despite the knives in his back, and a medical team gets to him in time to treat his injuries and let him be crowned victor.
