What/Who Inspires Your Games Writing?

Oh god. Everything. Literally everything. Idek where to start, but more than anything the people on this site are what make me want to be a better, more interesting/compelling/fun/everything writer because I'm just in a constant state of oh god I have to get on your level. That feeling doubles, triples, infinitizes every time I'm in a fight thread with someone or their trib dies because suddenly I'm part of your writing legacy and if I can somehow manage to write something that adds to that then it feels like the greatest accomplishment ever.

I'll just attempt to take this one tribute at a time lol.



Aesop Bloom (59th)

Bromance and romance and drugs and magic and home and not getting to grow old. Chaos tutoring me in the Drug!Box lol.

Fleet Foxes — White Winter Hymnal

I was following the pack, all swallowed in their coats
With scarves of red tied 'round their throats
To keep their little heads from falling in the snow, and I turned 'round and there you go

Fleet Foxes — Mykonos

When out walking, brother, don't you forget
It ain't often that you'll ever find a friend

Fleet Foxes — Your Protector

Your head caught in a waking dream
Your protector's coming home
As you lay to die beside me, baby
On the morning that you came
Would you wait for me?

The Delays — Find A Home

Everyone I left behind, they think I left my mind
Under Mesmer, sola fide
Same dream I'm always having like shivering, shivering, shivering
Find a home amongst the trees and bend your branches over me
Find a home, defy the freeze and glow

Coldplay — Beautiful World (Don't Panic)

Bones, sinking like stones
All that we fought for
Homes, places we've grown
All of us are done for

Coldplay — Fix You

When you try your best, but you don't succeed
When you get what you want, but not what you need
When you feel so tired, but you can't sleep
Stuck in reverse
And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you can't replace
When you love someone, but it goes to waste
Could it be worse?

And high up above or down below
When you're too in love to let it go
But if you never try you'll never know
Just what you're worth

Tears stream down your face
When you lose something you cannot replace
Tears stream down your face and I
Tears stream down your face
I promise you I will learn from my mistakes
Tears stream down your face and I

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

Yes I just quoted the whole fricking song but MY SUNDROP FEELS idec. Fight me. I regret nothing.

Also Beck, Passion Pit, Pretty Girls Make Graves, Outkast, Stars, The Killers, The Pixies, Sea Wolf, Neutral Milk Hotel, Florence + The Machine, The Beatles, Snow Patrol, Andrew Bird, The Knife, The Shins, Sufjan Stevens, The National, Hot Hot Heat, Viva Viva (lil local boston band — this is a grrrreat album, this Shira Erlichman poem



The Bros (Mace Emberstatt/Kay, Denver Samuels/South, Alexander Hood/Aya) — OH MY GOD I WAS SO EFFING STARSTRUCK TO BE ALLIED WITH THESE GLORIOUS WRITERS I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH MYSELF. I think it was South who got us together and bless her for that bc otherwise I'd have never had the courage to ask any of them. Aya's writing was the reason I joined the site to begin with, then South (along with Chaos, Cinder, and Kara) basically took me under her wing and was like hello thread all the things, plot all the things, look at all these pretty words and new ways to write and fttttttt and then Kay was just like an instant icon around here and Mace was KING OF ALL TRIBUTES EVER and so my little fangirl heart was basically exploding the whole of the 59th lol. The whole alliance dynamic of them being a band of brothers was amazing in contrast with Aesop's less than perfect relationship with his actual brother. Even though he wound up running off with Sundra, without the Bros Aesop would have just been a one-dimensional junkie instead of part of a lil family. Not just in the loving way, but in the way they held him accountable and called him out on his BS and like... actual brotherly things. Everything was genuine and creative and fun and I'm trash for having to filler so much, regardless of Aya's love for Aesop's fillers lol.

SHROOM FIGHT. 'Nuff said.

Cassandra Hearsh (Chase) — Chase being hyped on Aesop beating Cassandra to death with her own severed leg has gotta be like... one of my top 5 Games experiences. At the time most people were like jfc NO how could you do that????!? same when Aesop and Sundra slept together in the arena lol but I dunno, kicking off my very first bloodblath with someone who was so excited to make the most of their Tribute's death, even though it was so early on and everything, that's inspired me ever since to want to make the most of everything. I wound up writing about this throughout the Games and all the way to the finale and without Chase I think Aesop would have been much less complex and interesting. There are so many things I'd have probably never have gone on to write even after the 59th too, because otherwise I'd have wound up listening to the people who told me I shouldn't do things and I'd have gone on to only write safe, socially acceptable things, lol. I would honestly be such a different writer.

Sundra Wie (Shrimp) — I'm Shrimp's fangirl forever and that he deigned to write with a peasant like me still blows my mind and makes me feel blessed by the gods. Sundrop was legit magic way beyond Aesop's silly tricks and his stunning writing for Sundra, a character with so much more depth and love and history than Aesop could ever hope to have, was everything. Their willful pretending away of reality kept it from feeling like instalove bc they both knew it wasn't real and the way fear and inevitability underlied everything taught me so much about writing with depth. Some things like drawing houses in the snow and such were blatantly inspired by all the home-centric music I was listening to, but Sundra feeling real was the biggest inspiration. It made it so effortless to react to her because it felt like they really did exist in this tiny little alternate reality.

The 57th Games — I read every single word of them and it was a huge influence on Aesop and his posts. Storm Wie's friendship with Heron, carrying her to victory despite the odds. Dancin's trib going solo and having these long, fantastic threads with herself. Katie and Themba being terrified of each other, but accidentally allying out of circumstance. Luna's glorious mutts being dead set on nomming Justin Bieber's hair. It was awesome. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Saskia and Razor in the 58th — SHIP FOREVERRRRRRRRRRR. This was basically the standard to which I held Sundrop because I loved everything about Raskia, both together and as individual characters. (There's a reason I wrote elaborate posts dedicated to them via my Capitolite hahaha.) But yeah. Razor hunting D12s and Saskia the Mutt Slayer making fun of his perfume and instaing mutts with cooking pots and shoes because BAMFs, jfc they were great. If I get to Nocturne for this then I'll be back for a second round of gushing. <3