Victor's Crown: A Hunger Games Story

𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱

All of my stories, in some way or another, are intended to act as commentary on humanity on  both a personal and cultural level—a daunting endeavour, especially considering the nature of the works I've been inspired by. In essence, Finnick's story is a representation of a character struggling to maintain his  humanity in a world where everything and everyone is trying to strip it away. Throughout his narrative, he's constantly surrounded by people who  don't see him as human: President Snow and his faction view Finnick and  the other tributes as symbols of rebellion being stamped out in the most  humiliating, divisive method possible. The Capitol sees him as a  commodity, an idol, something to be raised up and worshiped as a god  without an ounce of regard toward the truth of his existence. Even  Finnick's own district views him as a hero, an invincible shield providing for and protecting them from the Capitol's ire. When you're a  god, a hero, and a pawn all at once, how difficult must it be to remain a genuine, good person?

A life in the limelight comes with such a huge expectation to always be what your audience wants  you to be, which, frankly, is to be well and truly perfect. As a teenager. Before your brain is fully developed. Performance comes to  play such a huge role in these young celebrities' lives. They act, they  play the game, they receive the adoration and recompense they so desperately crave. And little by little, their humanity is worn away. In a world inundated by news articles about young stars gone wild or crazy or some variant thereof, this isn't such a difficult thing to imagine. 

I believe Suzanne Collins gave several examples of what happens to kids who are burdened with this kind of pressure when she wrote the Careers. And I tried to do the same (though not nearly to the same degree of nuance and sagacity  as she) with my own little cast of Careers. Forced early maturation goes across the board, but it doesn't come without it's consequences. They're called Careers for a reason: Each of them have been molded into what their caregivers  and influencers think will give them the best chance at survival. 

It saddens me deeply, seeing young people thrust into the limelight deteriorate as they mature. In this series, I have and had no intention of glamourizing the unhealthy lifestyles of certain young celebrities. Rather, I wanted to emphasize the slippery slope of early stardom, and how it can affect a child's mental and physical health for the rest of their life. Just food for thought, I guess. 

Please forgive my ample use of media in this story. Graphic design is a little hobby of mine and I fear I may have gotten carried away. The epigraphs are included as media and not as plain text because I couldn't get the regular text to center for the life of me. It was easier just to type it up in Photoshop and center it there rather than fight with Wattpad from now until the end of time.

I've linked the url to my Hunger Games tumblr below. Head on over and check it out if you want.

Last but certainly not least, be sure to keep an eye out for Victor's Crown: The Official Companion Guide, a directory/art book assembled by none other than yours truly, with the help of cover artist and faithful colleague A R Maloney, aka Wordsmith316. And don't forget Victor's Crown is the first in the series. Victor's Heart, the second installment of the Victor's Crown series, will be coming to an online reading platform near you! Thanks for reading!

Your obedient servant,
Em