Fics for Holiday Tears

Happy Holidays! The Owl is back with some heartbreaking stories so you'll have an excuse to cry during the Holidays (ouch).

And of course I'm kidding!

Tie a Knot and Hang On (ff.net and AO3), by Shesasurvivor (author's tumblr)

Let's start with a Finnick/Katniss (friendship!) story. We don't see this often, and Shesasuvivor explored this relationship in this one-shot.

Summary: Finnick visits Katniss in the hospital after Peeta's assault, and shares the story of how he and Annie fell in love. Odesta, Everlark. Written as part of the Hunger Games Spring Fling on AO3.

Warnings: Rated T.

Why is this fic a creature from the night?

Finnick and Katniss share the stage as friends. Their conversation is what guides the plot, and this is certainly something rare in this fandom.

Why is it good?

It's an interesting journey in the author's take on Finnick and Annie's relationship. Katniss is destroyed because of Peeta (Mockingjay), and the Victor from Four brings her comfort.

Writing stuff comments:

Shesasurvivor's dialogues are very fluent, and they domain this fic's context. 1^st Person POV, Katniss' POV, Present tense, but we go into Finnick's mind by his lovely words.

Heartbreaking line:

“Was it worth it?” I ask.

“Yes.”

I had some fun around Shesasurviver's profile. Titania522 recently recommended amazing stories from a not-so-comfortable theme: prostitution. I loved her recs, and since this theme kind of enters in my jurisdiction too (obscure!fics), I decided to add this WIP.

The Tigers Come at Night (ff.net and AO3), by Shesasurvivor (author's tumblr)

Summary: Forced into prostitution in the Capitol, Katniss and Peeta find a way to seek refuge in the only people who understand: each other. But when they begin to sleep together for comfort in the supposed safety of their own homes, an unplanned occurrence makes the third Quarter Quell more difficult than it already is. Catching Fire AU. WARNING: Forced prostitution, non-con sexual situations.

(Yeah, the girl can go to the dark side too.)

Warnings: Prostitution, Non-Con, Adult Content, Abuse, Rated NC-17.

Why is this fic a creature from the night?

Prostitution. Not a fun theme; full of angst, fear and desolation.

Why is it good?

Katniss and Peeta are surprised by it. They are leaving a party and suddenly they have to face this reality. The first paragraphs install a setting that you can't just stop reading.

Katniss' innocence is another center theme. She doesn't know what it's going on, and Peeta has to lead. It's what canon Everlark would be.

Writing stuff comments:

Another point to Shesasurvivor's dialogues, but there are more description here. Katniss' POV, 1^st Person, Present Tense. Like the books. The description from Katniss' POV is limited due to her inexperience, but it adds to the feeling of the story.

Heartbreaking line:

" (…) and with a bow (…), ushers us inside. We exchange another glance, unsure, before Peeta cautiously steps forward, placing himself between the man and me (…)  Then the door shuts."

Burning (ff.net and AO3), by Swish Willow Wand (author's tumblr)

Entering the "minor pairing" section of my recs, I offer you this angst Gadge (Gale/Madge) story.

Summary: He doesn't know how it happened, but suddenly it's the night before the Games start and he's restless in his bed, thinking of her. - Alternate Games.

Warnings: Rated T.

Why is this fic a creature from the night?

Minor pairing. I recently discovered this great Gadge world, and I intend to write a full rec about Gadge stories.

Why is it good?

It is a current theme in Gadge stories, when Gale and Madge are reaped. They are both minor characters in the books, and the author is free to explore their personalities, but Swish makes them look really canon. Her take on Madge is extremely rich.

Writing stuff comments:

She likes flashback scenes and to jump forth and back the timeline, but she does the transitions skillfully, and it's a great way to present an AU. 3^rd Person POV, Gale's POV, Present Tense.

Heartbreaking line:

"Stop," she hisses, (…) "What good is it to talk like this, Gale, when we're going to die?"

Do you have any suggestions for my next review/rec? I'm on tumblr : thesagaciousowl - I'm also Miss Maia on ff.net and AO3. Leave an ask or a PM so we can chat.

Need a beta? Check out the I need a beta blog!

Dark, In-the-Capitol Katniss fics

I'm sorry for all of us not being around much lately - myself, Cindella204 and Forthegenuine have been tied up with the business of real life. Remember, we're looking for new reviewers to join out team - email nightlockrecs@hotmail.com if you're interested!

We recently were emailed a lovely request by the fabulous Steffi:

Love your blog! So I've recently become obsessed with Capital Katniss fics. Darker fics that explore Katniss and Peeta's lives as victors living in the Capital. If that's too specific, I think I'm just on a dark Katniss trip lately lol. It sounds terrible to say- but I'm addicted to self-destructive Katniss! I cant help it! I am! So, any recommendations you may have would be awesome! Seriously, no such thing as a rec list that's too long ;) thanks for your blog!!!!

And here I am to deliver a few of the coolest Dark, in-the-Capitol!Katniss fics around - both one-shots and multi-chapter fics!

The Darkness Within by Usako3000
Summary: AU. As the newest victor, Katniss finds herself sold as the wife to the dark and possessive Cato, a Capitol citizen. Did he save her from a terrible fate or is her life about to get much worse? Through all the darkness can love and rebellion still bloom?
In A Word: Popular

His Deadly Game by Obsessive Muse
Summary: Katniss and Peeta survive the games with the aid of those little deadly berries but President Snow doesn't have to worry about any rebellions, he's only concerned with teaching Katniss that no one defies the capitol.
In A Word: Twisty

Through the Hole in the Wall by EvilPeaches
Summary: The Capitol owns all of the victors; even their bodies.
In A Word: Heedy

And once again just because it's so fantastic...

Dark Toast (part 1 of the Five Loaves of Bread series) by Aimmyarrowshigh
Summary: How Katniss and Peeta fell in love without the Reaping: in a Panem dictated by a violent Peace instead of twisted Games, Katniss and Peeta Mellark try to piece their lives together as they watch another girl catch fire.
In A Word: Frightening

Happy reading!
~ Little Miss Mionie

Together By Chance, Together By Choice (Katniss/Peeta)

Title: Together By Chance, Together By Choice
Author: Bookgirl318
Summary: Katniss is in District 13 wtih a small population of refugees after all of the districts have been destroyed by the Capitol. After a disastrous loss of population, the leadership has declared that men and women will be reaped and paired together in marriage. They are then given one year to conceive a child. Katniss' name is one of the names to be matched.

Bookgirl318 asked me to review her fics for Nightlock, and so here I am. The plot of this fic caught my eye straight away as I scrolled down her ff.net fic listing. Together... is a really unqiue fic; I found the plot believable, especially canon-compliant, and the writing very well done. I found Katniss and Peeta's characterisation a bit blase but overall this was an interesting fic to read.

Happy reading,
Little Miss Mionie

Six Seeds by thewindwarns

Hello everyone! I hope you're having a lovely day. For all those NaNoWriMo's out there, I hope these last few days are good to you! I'm so behind on my word limit, oops :P

This evening I'm recommending a fic I recently stumbled upon. I actually end up finding a lot of my favourite fanfictions by browsing through my friend's favourites' from ff.net, and that's where I found this Effie-centric masterpiece. Here's my profile if you want to scroll through mine!

Title: Six Seeds
Author: thewindwarns
Summary: The Capitol swallows you whole. How Effie leaves the districts in the spring and returns in the winter. An AU fic based on the yalit100 prompt Earth/Ground, and inspired by the myth of Persephone.
Why? Six Seeds is a wonderfully in-depth look at Effie. I love how interesting, original and utterly decent the backstory thewindwarns creates in Six Seeds is to Effie Trinket. Thewindwarns gives Effie the benefit of the doubt and makes her more than an often two-dimensional fashion-loving character that we find in fanfiction. It's called AU, but feels canon to me. I cannot explain enough how much I enjoyed the ideas about Effie's life that are in this fic. It's the plot that I find most memorable; but the writing is great, too. The history nut that I am, I was drawn to the idea that Six Seeds was inspired by the myth of Persephone.
The last scene in this one-shot feels like a good-bye to Effie, but what a good-bye it is. A smashing fic.
Excerpt:

"There are two ways to succeed in the Capitol: (1) know the right people and (2) blend in. Effie Trinket chooses the latter.

She parrots what she learns in school because here, in the heart of Panem, there is only one truth, and that is the government's. She doesn't question; no, not when that would set her apart. The others still mock her and her backward District ways, laughing at her funny words and her plain clothes and her even plainer face.

But Effie is a student, a master one at that, and so she throws herself into her studies, practicing her Capitol accent by reading all the magazines aloud and listening to only the pop stars at the very top of the charts. (She misses the quaint folk songs she used to sing with her friends, but she's here and they're not, and it wouldn't do her any good anyway.)"

Happy reading!

~ Little Miss Mionie

PS. Remember to enter our fic prompt challenge! The challenge closes on the 16th of December :)

Interview with VividlyVisceral!

Welcome, Panem!  Today I have the honor of presenting an interview with a lovely and talented author known as VividlyVisceral.  Though best known for writing the longest in-progress Hunger Games fic on Fanfiction.net, The Capitol Games, she was also named "Best Author" in the 2011 Summer Hunger Games Awards and was the September author of the month here at Nightlock.  Enjoy the interview, everyone!

Welcome, Vivid! Thanks for doing this interview.

No problem, thanks for the opportunity!

So, first of all, tell us a little bit about yourself.

Well, I'm nineteen years old and I live on the eastern coast of Australia. I've been writing fanfiction since I was twelve, but I've only been on http://www.fanfiction.net since about 2005. This is my third account, and I'm planning on sticking with this one.

How did you get into the "Hunger Games" and Fanfiction worlds? What was it that made you love the books?

I can't exactly remember how I got into FanFiction itself, since it was back around 2003 where I first began writing fanfiction on Quizilla, but I do remember when I first started delving into fanfiction of the Hunger Games. I was having a study period and had gone to the local shopping centre with some friends when I first picked up the book. There were little blood splatters over the title that interested me, and I was sold the moment I realised that it was about a game where people killed each other for glory.

I bought the book and brought it back to school. I didn't stop reading until later that night. I remember just sitting there staring at the last page thinking "Wow. That was amazing." No other book had held my attention like the Hunger Games had, and I knew right then and there that I needed so much more. Since I already wrote fanfiction, it was an easy solution. I began working on my own fanfiction, The Trial Games that same week.

What charmed me most about the book was the entire 'fight to the death' situation. I have a bit of a thing for gore in literature, and the Hunger Games offered this wonderful opportunity to write gore, despite the fact that the book itself isn't too explicit in its descriptions of murder/mutilation. Katniss was also a welcome change from all the other YA heroines that were circulating at the time, and I enjoyed reading about her. Although, I wasn't really too invested in the romantic aspect of the books.

Your Fanfiction "The Capitol Games" is the longest in-progress "Hunger Games" story in the Fanfiction.net archive. Did you always know it would be record-settingly long?

To be completely honest, no. I had no idea it would get to this stage. When I first started out on The Capitol Games, all I was set on was doing the best I could to present each character adequately. Previous stories that used characters created by other users tended to focus on a handful of tributes and gloss over some characters- even ignoring them completely. Seeing that always bothered me. To avoid doing the same, I decided to give every character the same number of perspectives before the games began. It started with twenty-four reaping chapters of 4000 words, and sort of spiraled on from there when I hit the pre-games chapters, with each installment reaching counts of 9000 words apiece.

The numbers just sort of accumulated over time, and to be honest even I'm a little stunned to see how much I've written.

You've won honors such as "Best Author" and "Best SYOC Story" in the seasonal Hunger Games awards, as well as being a Victor in oneshot challenges on Starvation. How do you feel about these awards, do you think they help bring you more readers?

I think awards are great fun and good for bolstering confidence in authors, but I don't think they really brought me more readers.

"The Capitol Games" is enormously popular, with nearly 1400 reviews. What do you make of all the fan response to your writing?

I'm really quite surprised that I have almost 1400 reviews. If I were to make something of the overwhelmingly positive response that I've gotten, I'd say that I must have done something right in my writing that the readers are responding to. It's a nice thing to have happen.

*Note: "The Capitol Games" has now passed 1400 reviews!*

Do you have a favorite pairing or character to read about, or just a favorite type of fic (AU, post-MJ, pre-canon, etc.)?

Personally I love AU fics, and other stories that use submitted characters. However I will dabble in pre-canon stories and the occasional pairing fic. I can't get enough of Katniss/Marvel! Ahaha.

The TVTropes page of "The Capitol Games" notes that it's one of the only SYOTs (Submit Your Own Tribute) with the support of most of the Fandom. Were you concerned about writing this type of story originally, or was it something you always wanted to do?

At first it wasn't something that even crossed my mind. I had been inspired by Chocolatiee's wonderful SYOT, and I knew it was something that I wanted to try for myself. I felt like I had the capability to take the characters I was given and really make a story out of them.

The issues of SYOTs came only really began a little while after I had started work on the Capitol Games. I couldn't argue that the SYOT format broke guidelines- asking readers to submit characters- however I was one of the few who had collected their tributes before posting the story, thereby rendering it as a collaborative work.

However, that hasn't exempted me from being questioned about my motives for writing an SYOT story rather than creating my own characters, but I stand by my decision. The story has brought me so much closer to the creators of the characters, I've made some wonderful friends and everything has just been so fun. I wouldn't have it any other way.

What's your writing/editing process like? Do you prefer writing your usual longer chapters, or your shorter pieces?

I work from a chapter plan, meaning that I've written a basic run-through of each of my chapters right to the end of the story. Whenever I start to feel like I'm getting off track, I check my plan.

Longer chapters are actually more rewarding, but it's nice to mix it up with a shorter piece now and then. However I prefer to update with longer chapters because I know how upset I am when an author I am watching only does tiny updates. It's much more rewarding knowing that I'm giving my readers a nice big update.

You're often commended on your "gore" scenes – is that your favorite area of writing?

It really is! I know that sounds odd, since the usual 'favorite' areas of writing tend to be action, romance or dialogue- but to be completely honest, nothing makes me happier than writing gorn scenes. It's hard to explain, but there's a great deal of satisfaction in being able to write something that can simultaneously horrify and enthrall readers at the same time. I believe that, if gore is well written, it can be absolutely beautiful. The Hunger Games fanfiction archive has some marvelous proof of that.

Are you excited to reach the second installment of your epic, "The Vicious Games", or will you be sad to leave the first behind?

I'm excited. The Capitol Games will always be very dear to me, and really The Vicious Games is just continuing on what The Capitol Games started. It won't truly be over for a long, long time.

Your writing always flows so well – but has there been a particularly difficult part of Fanfiction-writing for you so far? Any type of scenes you struggle with?

I don't know if there's any particular scene I struggle the most with, but I have a bit of trouble with "dramatic silence", and I constantly feel a need to fill things in with words. Because of that I end up telling a lot more when I should be showing. I also struggle quite a bit with romantic scenes.

There are also a few things I want to fix with my writing, and that's mostly my use of dashes. I'm a bit dash-happy at times.

Do you have plans for other fics you'd like to write or other Fandoms you'd like to explore?

I'd love to explore the Fallout (video game) fandom, because there's a lot of opportunity there to have fun with the little unexplored side-stories that aren't explained in the games, and I'm really getting into the Divergent fandom, so expect a few fanfictions on that front someday.

How do you feel about writing OCs created by your readers? Do you think there's more pressure to write them well, or does it come more naturally?

I do feel pressure to write them well, but that's part of the fun. It makes sure that I don't slack off or misuse the characters, and it guarantees that I must finish what I started. I'm not just writing for me, which is the case with all my other stories. I am writing to do justice to the twenty-four characters I was given, and their creators who read their fates.

Could you tell us about some of your favorite "Hunger Games" fics? Are they similar to what you write?

It's hard to pick my favourite fanfictions, but three that have stuck with me since the beginning are "First" by gethsemane342, "150th Hunger Games: Make Your Own Characters" by Chocolatiee and "A Capitol Experience" by Claratrix LeChatham.

"First" was the first fanfiction that really hit home with me about the reality of the Hunger Games without being preachy or overly emotional. I loved the characters and the chemistry they had. Chocolatiee's story was similar, and was the first SYOC/SYOT I read where the characters meshed well and were respected rather than used up like dirty tissues. "A Capitol Experience" is also special to me because of the love and dedication put into it, and the subtle but lovely action/gore descriptions mixed in.

None of them are as 'explicit' in their use of gore as mine are, but they treat characters expertly which is what I hope to do in my own writing.

What inspires you to keep writing "Hunger Games" Fanfiction – the positive responses to your work or your original love of the series?

I'd say it's a mixture of both. The positive responses are a wonderful incentive, but I really do love the Hunger Games itself. It's the only book I've read more than five times, and the movie blew me away.

Finally, is there anything else you want your readers to know?

Just thank you. Writing is so much fun, and I'm so glad to have been able to cross paths with everyone this way. :)


Thanks for doing this interview!

Sponsors/Game Over (OC)

Allo, allo folks! I'm Polkapop and I'll be rec'ing the more complete side of THG fics. Which means I'll be spending countless hours reading through extensive stories for your enjoyment! And... maybe mine as well.

So let's get started, shall we? My first two fic rec's are by the wonderful gethsemane342. I've chosen this set because of my need to get the full picture of Panem. So today I bring you:

Title: Sponsors
Author: gethsemane342
Summary: So, why would someone actually sponsor a tribute? Twenty-four sponsors and their reason for picking their tribute

&

Title: Game Over
Author: gethsemane342
Summary: We know why someone would sponsor a tribute. But how do they feel when their tribute dies or wins the Hunger Games? Twenty-four oneshots for twenty-four tributes, sequel to Sponsors.

Recommendation: Okay, I know what you might be thinking - how on earth does a capture of one-shots make a complete story? Well, in my pursuit of completion I'm not only searching for stories that are technically complete, according to the authors, but also stories that make the idea of Panem complete. Both "Sponsors" and "Game Over" are outstanding ideas to add to the fanfic of THG. They're well written and are strong in their character development of the sponsors themselves (each one-shot features a different sponsor). In these short stories the reader is given a character who they know nothing about and in less than (typically) 500 words, the reader knows a backstory, scenario and reasoning for why they chose their tributehow they felt post-tribute death. That to me is excellent construction. Further, each story hints at the bigger picture of Capitol residents - they tell of rebellion, pity, selfish pursuit and realization. The author gives a side of humanity to characters that readers often only see as one-dimensional.

Mostly, I just liked the idea of breaking the mold set out by canon. These stories are snapshots of the characters who are the audience - and that viewpoint is strangely intriguing.

Little Miss Mionie's Recs: Humorous Fanfiction?

Little Miss Mionie's Recs:

Humorous Fanfiction?

I thought it would be a good idea to start this post with why I decided to do this post.

Like many other fans, my love for this fandom knows no bounds.

And like many other fans, I enjoy having a little gigglesnort at my favourite things - I think the success of the infamous for Harry Potter and The Hot Boys Who Jump From Trees for the HP fandom certainty shows this.

Illustration by EmpressFunk (http://empressfunk.deviantart.com/)

So, after listening to "Hunger Games! I Wanna Go" by WinterSpringPro for the billionth time on my ipod, I decided to do a post listing some awesome Hunger Games Parodies. I searched a while, through many sites...and, well, I could only find a couple that were worth mentioning. I'll be honest, I was looking for a satirical kinda parody, where someone comments on the political and social stuff in the books, but I guess we'll have to wait for the movie parodies to do that.

I know everyone's humour is different, so if there's a funny fic I haven't recc'd (and since I've only done two, I'm sure there's squillions) and you're like o_O LMM WHY HAVENTCHOORECCEDZIS?, leave a comment and I'll add it here :)

(The rest of this post is under the cut because once I added the fanfics suggested by you, this post got a little long!)