The Capitol Games is a fanfiction written by VividlyVisceral, based on the young adult trilogy The Hunger Games.
For the Quarter Quell, a shocking twist is added to the Hunger Games: It will be Capitol children who are reaped. For the Districts, it is delicious justice served at last. For twenty-four Capitol children it is a death penalty they never expected to receive after relishing for their whole lives. Now they do something they thought only District children ever did: Fight to the death for the entertainment of the masses.
It is notable for both being longer than the actual published books themselves, and for being the only story of its kind (submit-your-own-character) approved by most of the community. The story can be found here
.
Unfortunately it was never finished.
Provides Examples Of:
- Accidental Murder: Evon never meant to shoot that Peacekeeper...
- Actual Pacifist: At least one character, Koriana, has decided not to fight.
- Adaptation Expansion: It's longer than The Hunger Games, even before getting to the arena.
- Adults Are Useless: Even more so than in The Hunger Games. Not only do the parents not try to stop their children being taken away, the kids often had to be the "grown-up", strong ones during their goodbyes.
- Alternate Universe Fic: Katniss and Peeta sort of did their thing Katniss was sniped, only Peeta was crowned a victor, but the Hunger Games still exist.
- Attempted Rape: Ferroh saved Ashen from a group of rapists.
- Author Appeal: The gore, death, rape... Vividly Visceral has a violent set of tastes.
- Back-Alley Doctor: Dr. Galen has never actually provided credentials, persay. But Evon is desperate...
- Bears Are Bad News:
- One District 10 mentor won by riding in on a bear mutt and massacring his opponents.
- The arena sports trees with Bear markings. The tributes are rightfully terrified. Particularly once Jasse is mauled to death.
- Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Averted. Only a day in and Natalia's cheek is torn up and the other girls/guys are looking more than a bit ragged.
- Beneath the Mask: Ari tries her best to be a good little pop star, but after her reaping, she just can't take it anymore.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Ferroh might not have seemed like the most likely to go off into a murderous rage, but after his training session...
- BFS: Brandit uses a claymore during the bloodbath fight.
- Big Damn Heroes: How Cotton volunteers to save her sister Glitz, ending with a loud, confident "-and I'm going to win these games!"
- Bloodier and Gorier: The gore gets much more
squicky and descriptive than the suorce material, before the Games are even reached. - Bloody Handprint: Poor Evon is forced to inflict this against Jasse's chest for the chariot rides. With her own blood.
- Bookworm: Faye-Anna. Heck, her reaping chapter is even titled "Intelligent Reader".
- Brother–Sister Incest: Faye-Anna's brother and sister are engaged.
- Calling the Old Man Out: Ari tries very hard to please her father for most of her life, but when he brings her agent in with him for their final goodbye, she snaps.
- Camp Straight: Holland insists he isn't gay, although admits he exhibits some traits that might suggest he is.
- Chekhov's Skill: Pretty much every useful ability the kids have counts as one. They don't need them to survive in the Capitol, they never expected to be entered into the Hunger Games. They just picked them up for their own enjoyment.
- Children Are Innocent: Both played straight by some of the younger girls, who are too sweet and pure to really do much, and subverted by some of the others. Notably Vince.
- Damsel in Distress: Laco has decided Ari is one. It seems likely that she is, despite her proficiency with a bow and arrow, but it is yet-unproved.
- Disproportionate Retribution: A Capitol citizen sneaks into the big pre-Games party. The Gamemakers' response? Reduce her to a bloody, inhuman-looking stain on the floor. And from what it sounded like, do it very slowly.
- Don't Go in the Woods: Or, preferably, don't go into the games at all. The woods promise a particularly spectacular variety of horrors, however, considering the author's style.
- Doorstopper: If this thing was in print form, picking it up could probably break your arm.
- Dying as Yourself: Jason knows that should he survive he most certainly become a psychopathic murderer like his mentor Antony, so he invokes this.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: If you want to survive, twenty-three other more-or-less innocent children have to die. Achieving this is a slow and painful process.
- Electronic Eyes: Iilvsea has a sniper's crosshair in her right eye instead of a pupil/iris.
- Eye Scream: When the bear got Jasse, it chewed through his eyeball.
- Faint in Shock: Britney faints on stage, causing her to miss her final goodbye to her family.
- For Want Of A Nail: Katniss is killed by a sniper rather than allowed to win with Peeta, ensuring that the rebellion failed and the Capitol continues to reign supreme.
- Freudian Excuse: Subverted. Vince's mother murdered his father, but he's not evil because of it. It just makes her the target of his murderous insanity. Hopefully, for the sake of the readers' delicate compositions, we'll never learn how ''that'' came about.
- Friend to All Children: Ferroh makes a point of saying he has a soft spot for younger tributes.
- Gentle Giant:
- Ferroh is awfully intimidating, but awfully kind, when he's not going a bit crazy.
- Diego is often described as large, but is hardly violent.
- Genki Girl: Francesca is very energetic and talkative.
- Go Out with a Smile: Jason dies smiling, proud of how 'this is ending'.
- Gorn: The author has professed her deep fondness for violence and gore. If it's not fun for the readers, it's fun for her at the very least.
- Guys Smash, Girls Shoot: Played with. The majority of the males use swords, lances and poles and at least two of the girls (Ari Saint-Claire and Minerva Nanaia) use bows and arrows, but there are several aversions.
- Hangover Sensitivity: Ava comments that Holland struggles through his interview because of his hangover.
- Non-Heteronormative Society: Assorted ones of the characters have lesbian guardians. It must be a Capitol thing.
- The Hedonist: Francesca's only focus in life is being happy and having fun, even in the days between her reaping and the beginning of the Games.
- Home Base: The dome made of roses is one for the Capitol-career group.
- Howl of Sorrow: Markie does this when taken away from Liotta, apparently knowing his master might not coming home. She isn't.
- Hypocrite: Some of the kids behave this way towards the Quell, but Sapphire takes honorable mention for crying about how unfair the Games she'd supported her whole life were to her mentor who cut off both his legs to feed his allies back during his Hunger Games.
- It's Quiet… Too Quiet: Courtesy of Vince, we have"To be honest I was expecting more ferocious muttations, this being a Quarter Quell and all, but it's been rather quiet so far. Almost too quiet."
- Death of a Child: The whole point of the series is killing fictional children (and the odd young adult)).
- Incredibly Lame Pun:
- The escort Boo jumps out on stage dressed like a ghost to make her entrance. Ha. Ha. Ha. Overlaps with Punny Name, for that scene alone.
- The Gamemaker Ares wears his hair style after ram horns.
- It's All About Me: Idola somehow jumps to the conclusion that the Quarter Quell announcement party was canceled because she fainted.
- Kill the Ones You Love: Allies, romantic interests, etc., all have to die if you want to survive. Even then, your parents and loved ones at home are immediately at risk if you refuse to comply with the Capitol's demands.
- La Résistance:
- Ari is secretly a member of one.
- There are members of an Anti-Hunger Games group who infiltrate the party. Two get killed.
- Love at First Sight: Subverted. Vinel says he was waiting to just know when he met a girl. He tells Cotton that this was the case when he met her, but others are not shy about informing her he's more fond of his engaged District partner.
- Lyrical Dissonance: Natalia singing a song about loyally standing by someone for the purpose of outdoing Ari Saint-Claire. Natalia's not really big on loyalty that interferes with her agenda.
- Meaningful Name:
- The twin Gamemakers 'Winn' and 'Remy' are named after the gun companies Winchester and Remington.
- Galen is the name of the Mad Doctor character, and also an historical doctor and philosopher.
- Ari means Lion. Namer means Leopard. Coincidence?
- Laco is patterned with Zebra stripes. Animal symbolism?
- One of the Gamemakers is named 'Pestil'. Seeing as that particular Gamemaker is a withered old man, it's not much of a jump between 'Pestil' and 'Pestilence' - the name of one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
- Vociferor means 'shout'. Naturally, Varro Vociferor is a loudmouth TV presenter.
- Mood Whiplash:
- The Gamemakers have called Evon up to speak with her about her hands! Yes! They're going to heal her! Now she'll have a chance! Now they- will tell her they will not be fixing her hands because her status as a human being has been revoked. Uh...
- Ferroh and Faye-Anna are having a fluffy moment for their budding alliance by Ferroh piggybacking Faye-Anna to the training centre for a bandage. What's that moving pile of flesh on the ground...?
- Never a Self-Made Woman: Zigzagged. Many of the characters first focus on the fact that Iilvsea's grandfather was Head Gamemaker before her, but she's proven to be a quite monstrous and creative Gamemaker in her own right.
- Never Got to Say Goodbye:
- Britney, who only woke up from her faint after she'd been taken away from her family to die. Zig-Zagged in that she hasn't died yet, but probably will, still without saying goodbye. Played straight, she's dead.
- Marshall, whose father forbid the family from seeing him.
- Koriana, whose parents just plain old didn't show up.
- Diego, whose aunt was killed sometime before/during the reaping.
- Nobody Poops: Subverted. Vinel explicitly states they're all holding off on going to the bathroom in fear of being attacked while relieving themselves.
- No Party Like a Donner Party: The mentor Nikolai cut off his legs to feed his allies when he was in the Hunger Games.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: The narrative makes sure to mention that Iilvsea fully opens her eyes as the Games begin.
- Original Character: Twenty-four tributes, their friends, families, townspeople, past victors- then Capitolites including escorts, media personalities, gamemakers and politicians. A lot.
- Overly Long Name:
- Francesca Emmeline von Bardot.
- Montserrat Pierre de Saint-Phillipe.
- Painting the Medium: Expect particularly sing-song lines to be accompanied by a pretty little tilde.
- Perspective Reversal: Due to the nature of the Quarter Quell, it's the Capitol citizens who are freaking out over losing their children while the Districts sit back, laugh, and watch the carnage.
- Rape as Drama: The attempted rape of Ferroh's friend Ashen, in his backstory.
- Realistic Diction Is Unrealistic: To a much lesser degree than in much fiction. While most dialogue between characters is spotless, the narrators' thoughts often include pauses and stuttering, especially when something surprising has just occurred.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here:
- Evon tries to run away from the Capitol on reaping day with her father's antique gun. It didn't end well.
- Jasse tries leaving the careers this way. on the way, he gets eaten by a bear.
- Shipper on Deck: Laco's stylist isn't insinuating that he and Ari would make a cute couple. Of course she isn't! Don't be ridiculous. But she is awfully pretty, don't you think, dear?
- Shock Party: As if being forced to attend a party celebrating a Blood Sport you yourself have been chosen to participate in, Ferroh and Faye-Anna get the added experience of running into three of the Gamemakers standing over the mutilated body of a party crasher.
- Signature Style: Vividly Visceral is quite fond of tildes, ellipses, and dashes.
- Single-Minded Twins: The Creepy Twins Winn and Remy move in synchronization and often speak the exact same lines in unison.
- So Happy Together: Minerva and Vidar had been planning their wedding. Then Minerva got reaped...
- Stepford Smiler: Iilvsea. She's usually polite and smiling, even while she's torturing people to death.
- Taking the Bullet: Diego throws himself over his allies and takes a barrage of bee stings for them.
- Technicolor Eyes: Sapphire and Holland both have purple eyes, although it's quite possible they are unnatural in both cases.
- Teens Are Monsters: When forced into it, kids in the Hunger Games are willing to kill. Sometimes eager.
- Theme Naming: The stories in the series are all "The *insert seven-lettered word here* Games.
- Too Dumb to Live: Ari stops her ally from killing Vince, falling completely from his overly childish behavior.
- Was It Really Worth It?: Is becoming a murderer and possibly a nightmare-hounded, alcoholic, drug-abusing Sex Slave worth winning?
- Wham Line:"-they're sending Capitol kids!"
- An exchange between Iilvsea Crane and Evon:"...why...-why can't you do something-?"
"Because you are no longer of human status."
- An exchange between Iilvsea Crane and Evon:
- Wings Do Nothing: Wings are useless, except when they cause great pain, as Liotta and Jason know.
- Women Are Wiser: On average, the female characters are more likely to be the nonviolent, sweet types. Subverted with Natalia, who looks bluntly at the facts and forms a Career group, ignoring the fact that the other girls dislike her for it.
