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The Gamemakers (gamemaker) wrote,
@ 2011-10-04 12:33:00

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

The Arena: This is the area in which the Hunger Games are played. Each year the Arena is in a different location, with different design, geography, and environmental factors. It is impossible to escape the arena. After each Hunger Games, the Arena becomes a hotspot for Capital tourists, who can visit the places in which each tribute died.

Avox: Slaves who have had their tongues removed so cannot speak. Avoxes are captured criminals from other districts, as well as the Capital. They work in The Capital, including the Training Center, serving meals and performing housekeeper duties.

Careers: A term often used by the poorer districts, Careers are children who are trained from a young age to enter the Hunger Games. If their names are not called during the Reaping, they often volunteer to join the Arena and bring food and glory to their districts. Careers are typically from Districts 1, 2, and 4.

Cornucopia: A giant, golden shaped cone with basket weaving that was designed to look like a traditional cornucopia. At the very beginning of the games, it is filled with supplies, food, and weapons that will help tributes survive the games. The most valuable supplies are inside the cornucopia, while items of lesser value are spread out closer to where the Tributes are standing. Typically, the action around the cornucopia results in a bloodbath and many deaths.

The Dark Days: A term coined by the Capital and taught to students in all district schools, "The Dark Days" refer to the time that the districts tried to rebel against The Capital. District 13 is said to have been obliterated.

Feasts: Every year the Gamemakers typically devise a “feast” in a well-known location, such as the Cornucopia, to force tributes together and induce a bloodbath that will please the Capital audience.

Gamemakers: The members of the Capital who are in charge of creating the Hunger Games. They decide the layout, traps, and other environmental hazards that players will run into during the games.

Hovercraft: The Capital’s security transportation. Also, a Hovercraft appears in the Arena to pick up each body after a tribute is officially declared dead, lifting it into the air and taking it into the vehicle. A Hovercraft’s appearance is often preceded by a long whistle of a Mockingjay.

The Hunger Games: An annual sporting event created by the Capital to remind citizens of Panem that they are still in control. 24 citizens (two from each district) from the ages of 12-18 compete in an arena death match until only one remains. These games are widely anticipated by Capital citizens, who watch live, nonstop coverage and place bets on winning tributes.

Mentors: Former Victors from the individual districts must take turns serving as mentors for the Tributes from their district during the Hunger Games. There are typically two mentors, one for each Tribute, Male and Female if that is possible. If there is only one Victor from a District, they must serve as Mentors for both Tributes. Mentors serve as a liason between the Tributes and the sponsors, they help the Tributes formulate strategy prior to the games, and they provide a valuable asset in helping Tributes determine their strength to give them the strongest chance of survival. Some mentors take to the task and others are reluctant to take on a role in perpetuating the Hunger Games, however in reality, everyone knows they really have no choice in the matter. Mentors may bring their own skills and strategies to the table, or also may prove a weakness to their Tributes if they are mentally unstable or lack the social skills necessary to connect with sponsors.

Mockingjays: A breed of bird that is part Mockingbird and part Jabberjay muttation. Unlike the Jabberjay, they are unable to repeat conversations, but are able to reproduce simple melodies of songs sung by citizens.

Muttations (Mutts): Animal mutations created by the Capital. Some of them were used for specific jobs during the Dark Days, but these days most muttations are created for entertainment value in the Arena.

Panem: Formerly the United States, Panem is a country made up of the Capital and the twelve districts surrounding it. Each district is surrounded by fencing that prevents people from leaving/escaping to another district. The thirteenth district was destroyed by the Capital in the war.

Peacekeepers: Trained soldiers who police the districts to prevent criminal acts from occurring. They are under direct orders from the Capital, although severity of punishment and the obedience of Capital rule are not uniform in each district.

Quarter Quell: An important year for the reaping celebrating 25 years of Hunger Games. Typically, the rules for the Reaping are significantly changed during the Quarter Quell.

The Reaping: The day each district’s two Tributes are drawn. All the citizens of the district dress in fine clothing and gather together for a “celebration”. Those who do not attend the Reaping must be severely ill or they will be punished. Former winners are invited on stage for the taped and televised event. A Capital representative draws the names.

Sponsors: Private Citizens of the Capitol or the Districts who take an interest in invidual Tributes and want to help them suceed in the game. Typically Sponsors are very wealthy individuals, who pay dearly in order to support their favorites, providing them with food, medicine, or weapons at key points in the game in order to help insure their survival. Sponsors work with the Mentors to send gifts to the Tributes in the arena, which typically arive from the air, borne by silver parachutes.

Support Crew: Made up of the Stylists, the Escort, and the Prep Team, these are the individuals who help the Tributes look their best and adjust to life in the Capitol and prior to the Games.

Escorts: Capitol Citizens who are employed by the Capitol to escort Tributes from their Distric to the games. They serve as Chaperones, Press Secretaries, and Etiquette Guides as well as help Tributes learn how to navigate the intricacies of Capitol Politics.

Prep Team: Wardrobe, Makeup, and Hair Artists employed by the Capitol to present the Tributes in the best possible light to the viewing public. They work closely with the Stylists. Each Tribute has their own Prep Team to make them look their best. Prep Team members are typically Citizens of the Capitol, who are largely thrilled to be working for the Games.

Stylists: Part Designer, part Magic Maker, part PR representative, stylists work with their Prep Team to present each Tribute successfully to the Panem audience in hopes of appealing to the crowd and winning them Sponsors . They work closely with the Mentors and Escorts, to help form an Image for each Tribute that the audience will identify with and hopefully support.

Tributes: This is what each boy or girl fighting in the Hunger Games is called. Tributes are chosen in the Reaping to represent their District and must fight to the death in the Arena leaving in the end, only one Victor. One girl and one boy is chosen from each District to be Tributes. All Tributes are between twelve and eighteen years of age. After the Reaping they are allowed a short few moments to say goodbye to their families, then travel by train to the Capitol. Once there they undergo two weeks of training, strategizing, and interviews before they are taken to The Arena via Hovercraft. accompanied by their Stylist. All tributes are implanted with a Tracking Device while in the Hover Craft prior to The Games. They are prepared for the Games in a holding area, then lifted up into the vast outdoor Arena via an elevated platform which is surrounded by explosive devices. After a sixty second waiting period, the games begin starting with the bloodbath at the Cornucopia. Tributes fight to survive and against each other, facing their opponents, the elements, and gamemaker made natural disasters and obstacles. At the end, only one Tribute survives and is proclaimed the Victor.

Tesserae: An offer designed by the capital to increase the odds of a child’s name being pulled in the reaping. It is one year’s worth of grain and oil provided by the Capital. For each extra entry into the Reaping, a citizen can gain another tesserae for his or her family up to one per each family member. Typically, children from very poor families use Tesserae, resulting in a alarmingly large number of entries in the Reaping.

Training Center: This is where tributes sleep, eat, and train before the Hunger Games. They are provided with lavish living quarters, fine food, and help from their mentors and stylists. There is a garden area at the top of the Training Center, though a Capital designed force field keeps Tributes from leaping to their deaths.

Victors: Winners of past games, Victors are treated largely as heroes and celebrities by the citizens in the Capitol but often looked at askance by any but their own Districts. Victors are well known to each citizen of Panem and spend the rest of their life at the beck and call of the Capitol's Whims. They must serve as Mentors in future games and it is stated that they are often treated as a commodity by the politicians in the Capitol to gain favour from the Citizens.

Victory Tour: Six months after the Hunger Games have finished, the winner visits each district in Panem to celebrate his or her victory.

Victor's Village: At the beginning of the Hunger Games, the Capital built lavish houses in each district for winners of the Hunger Games to win in. They are provided with plenty of money and food to live off of and support their families.