76th Hunger Games

The 76th Hunger Games are the basis and main events of **Rising From the Ashes**, the first spinoff in the Bleeding Hearts series. Rising From the Ashes can be read here: AO3 · FFN · Wattpad

## 76th Hunger Games

### Mentioned in

Bleeding Hearts

The **76th Hunger Games** is the basis and main events of Rising From the Ashes: The 76th Games. The 76th Games marked the return of the Hunger Games after a four-year hiatus during the Second Rebellion; to mark the return, these Games were deemed a "Special Games" with a unique twist: all of the tributes would be related to the Second Rebellion in some way, and each tribute Reaped would be forced to bring a loved one with them. After 10 days, the Games ended as Griff Cohen from District 4 was declared the Victor.

## Tributes

For the first time in Hunger Games history, the 76th Games included pairs of tributes who were related in some way to each other and to the Second Rebellion as punishment for the revolt. The Reapings were likely rigged to target specific tributes for their involvement in the rebellion.

## Pre-Games Ceremonies

### The Reaping

The Reapings this year proceeded as usual, with the Capitol Escorts selecting the tributes from Reaping bowls. However, in these Games, it is assumed that only one name was on the slips of paper in each bowl as they were rigged to select pairs of tributes together.

### The Train Rides

During the train ride to the Capitol, tributes are introduced to their assigned mentors and are prepared for the tribute parade.

### The Tribute Parade

The Tribute Parade this year was held the day after the tributes arrived in the Capitol. The tributes' costumes are as follows:

* District 1 - Gemstone outfits
* District 2 - Unknown
* District 3 - Unknown
* District 4 - Flowing blue outfits with gold crowns
* District 5 - Unknown
* District 6 - Unknown
* District 7 - Unknown
* District 8 - Unknown
* District 9 - Unknown
* District 10 - Unknown
* District 11 - Unknown
* District 12 - Naked, covered in coal dust

### Training

Training this year was fairly standard. All of the strongest tributes from Districts 1, 2, and 4 joined forces in one large alliance, while most of the other tributes trained exclusively with their District partners.

### Individual Assessments

At the end of Training, the tributes were assessed by the Gamemakers and given a score from 1 to 12 stating their survival skills and likelihood of winning the Games, with 12 being the best. The scores received by the tributes can be seen below:

### Tribute Interviews

Tribute Interviews were conducted by the Host, Caesar Flickerman, the night before the Games began. Interviews were conducted in District order; each pair of tributes were interviewed together.

## Hunger Games Staff

### Host

The role of Host was retained by Caesar Flickerman, who served as host of the Tribute Interviews prior to the Second Rebellion. Caesar also made some announcements during the Games.

### Head Gamemaker

Dr. Julius Heinrich debuted as this Games' Head Gamemaker. His background is unknown, and it is not known how he ascended to this position. It is assumed that he is a close ally of President Coriolanus Snow.

### Capitol Escorts

Each district was assigned a Capitol escort. It is assumed that most of these escorts were new after the war, but most of them are not seen in Rising From the Ashes.

## Tribute Mentors

Only 6 Victors were present as tribute mentors at the 76th Games. These were the only six Victors to survive the Second Rebellion. Districts without a surviving Victor were assigned Capitol volunteers to be these mentors; these volunteers hoped to achieve prestige in the Capitol if their tribute won the Games.

The six Victors mentoring in the 76th Games were Velvet Hughes (D1), Irma Bradshaw (D6), Leah Strulovich (D8), Rye Albertson (D9), Lovina Real (D10), and Viridi Alvarez (D11).

The Capitol mentors of the other six Districts are unknown apart from Nereus, who mentored the District 4 tributes.

## Arena

The Arena for the 76th Hunger Games was a black-and-white polygon Arena, with the space completely covered in black triangles and white outlines. This gave the Arena a robotic quality; muttations, such as bird and wolf muttations, were modeled in this style as well and were given robotic cries. At night, the white lines outlining the shapes in the Arena faded away, leaving the Arena completely dark. Arena events included a period of lethal acid rain that washed over the tributes.

A major feature of the Arena was that tributes' footprints were tracked in bright colors on the ground, allowing other tributes to track them. This allowed certain tributes to track and kill most of the other tributes in the Games.

The Games were concluded on the final day when a wave of bug muttations consumed the Arena and the tributes, pushing them to the center of the Arena.

## Alliances

Prior to the Games, some of the tributes joined small groups for protection in the Arena. Almost all of the tributes aligned with their District partners, as they were already acquainted in their home Districts as per the Reaping rules. Alliances at the beginning of the Games were:

* Phoenix Clayton, Isabelle Buchanan, Axel Robbins, Vesta Robbins, Griff Cohen, and Aurora Meadows
* Vance and Willa
* Jesse Mudd and Phoebe Mudd
* D10 Male and D10 Female
* D3 Male and D3 Female

It was confirmed in Rising From the Ashes that Selina Solis and Rory Hawthorne were not a part of any alliance in the Arena. The alliances of the other tributes are unknown, as many of them were killed in the Bloodbath.

## Events in Chronological Order

The 76th Hunger Games lasted for 10 days. This is a short summary of the main events of each day.

**Day 1 (Bloodbath)**

The tributes enter the arena. Tributes are placed on pedestals around a cornucopia of supplies.

The tributes killed are, in order:

* The District 5 Male, killed by Griff Cohen
* The District 9 Female, killed by Isabelle Buchanan
* The District 5 Female, killed by Phoenix Clayton
* The District 6 Male, killed by Jesse Mudd
* The District 8 Male, killed by Isabelle Buchanan
* The District 9 Male, killed by Vance
* The District 8 Female, killed by Griff Cohen

In the Bloodbath, the District 8 Female nearly kills Aurora Meadows; however, Aurora calls out to her boyfriend, Griff, who comes to her aid and kills the girl before she is able to.

Following the Bloodbath, tributes in the largest alliance (Phoenix, Isabelle, Vesta, Axel, Griff, and Aurora) track the footprints of the tributes from District 10. Phoenix kills the male tribute, and Isabelle kills the female tribute.

At the end of the first day, fifteen tributes remain.

**Day 2**

Robotic bird muttations are released into the Arena. They skewer tributes with their shark beaks, and they kill the District 3 Female. The birds also severely injure the District 3 Male, leaving him debilitated.

**Day 3**
The main alliance led by Phoenix wakes up early in the morning, tracking a pair of footprints. There is dissension in the group, but they eventually find the District 6 Female, who is killed by Phoenix Clayton.

Soon after, Phoenix discovers more footprints belonging to the District 3 tributes. The tributes come across the place where the female tribute was killed by birds; Griff Cohen and Vesta Robbins both spot the District 3 Male in a tree nearby, dripping blood to the ground, but they do not tell their allies, as they are worried that Phoenix will go insane with bloodlust.

Later that night, wolf muttations are released into the Arena. These muttations kill Rory Hawthorne.

**Day 4**
Phoenix and Isabelle wake up early and find more tracked footprints, while Vesta, Axel, Aurora, and Griff contemplate separating from their group. Phoenix insists that the group track the footprints, but Griff disagrees, saying that he will join them but that Aurora should stay behind at their camp. Axel says the same, insisting that Vesta stay behind.

Phoenix, Axel, Isabelle, and Griff follow the footprints until they come across Vance and Willa. Phoenix says that he will kill Willa along with Griff, while Isabelle will face Willa along with Axel. Phoenix takes the lead, quickly killing Willa. Vance puts up more of a fight, defending himself against both Isabelle and Axel. Ultimately, Vance is able to outmaneuver Isabelle, stabbing her in the stomach and running away.

Isabelle dies in Phoenix's arms, and Phoenix goes insane with grief. He blames Axel for Isabelle's death, and brutally beheads him with his sword. Seeing this, Griff escapes and returns to camp.

Griff returns to Aurora and Vesta, telling them of the day's events.

**Day 5**
Vesta separates from her allies, swearing to find and kill Phoenix for her brother's death.

As one of the last pairs, Griff and Aurora go flower picking to cater to sponsors who want to see more of their romantic relationship.

Phoenix tracks Vance through the Arena and kills him for Isabelle's death.

**Day 6**
The Gamemakers release acid rain into the Arena, which burns the skin off of tributes it comes in contact with. This rain finally kills the District 3 male; additionally, Jesse Mudd uses his body as a shield to protect his sister, Phoebe, and is killed as a result.

**Day 7**
Phoenix tracks Griff and Aurora through the Arena, finally catching them by surprise with an attack. Phoenix rakes his blade down Griff's face, but isn't able to kill him. Surprisingly, Aurora is able to tackle Phoenix to the ground and drag Griff away to safety. After the attack, Aurora attempts to use medical supplies to heal Griff's face.

**Day 8 (The Feast)**
Early in the morning, monkey muttations are released into the Arena. These monkeys seem to purposefully target Selina Solis, the remaining District 12 tribute, ripping her heart out and carrying her to the Cornucopia, where she is hung by a noose.

Later in the day, a Feast is announced at the Cornucopia. Phoebe arrives first and is confronted by Phoenix; Phoebe arrives first, opening the box to reveal that there is only one stale loaf of bread. Phoebe manages to steal the bread and escape from Phoenix. Soon after, Vesta arrives and confronts Phoenix, but Phoenix outmatches her and stabs her in the stomach. Griff and Aurora watch the events from nearby but do not participate.

**Day 9**
The Arena goes completely silent, unnerving the tributes.

**Day 10 (End of the Games)**
Bug muttations are released into the Arena, and these swarms swallow the Arena whole and chase the tributes. Phoebe Mudd is overtaken and killed by these bugs in a deliberate attack by the Gamemakers. Aurora, Griff, and Phoenix finally meet at the center of the Arena. Phoenix and Griff lock into a fight; Phoenix injures Griff in the leg, but Griff manages to outfight Phoenix and kill him. Immediately after Phoenix's death, Aurora holds a knife to her chest, telling Griff that he deserves to return to his family in District 4. Griff attempts to stop Aurora, but he is unable to with his injured leg. Aurora kills herself, leaving Griff as the Victor.

**Victor:** Griff Cohen, District 4

## Placements

**1st** - Griff Cohen (D4) - **Victor**

**2nd** - Aurora Meadows (D4) - Day 10 (suicide)

**3rd** - Phoenix Clayton (D1) - Day 10 (killed by Griff)

**4th** - Phoebe Mudd (D11) - Day 10 (eaten alive by bug muttations)

**5th** - Vesta Robbins (D2) - Day 8 (impaled by Phoenix)

**6th** - Selina Solis (D12) - Day 8 (heart ripped out by monkey muttations and hung on the Cornucopia)

**7th** - Jesse Mudd (D11) - Day 6 (killed by acid rain)

**8th** - D3 Male - Day 6 (killed by acid rain)

**9th** - Vance (D7) - Day 5 (tracked and killed by Phoenix)

**10th**- Axel Robbins (D2) - Day 4 (beheaded by Phoenix)

**11th** - Isabelle Buchanan (D1) - Day 4 (stabbed by Vance)

**12th** - Willa (D7) - Day 4 (cornered and killed by Phoenix)

**13th** - Rory Hawthorne (D12) - Day 3 (mauled by wolf muttations)

**14th** - D6 Female - Day 3 (tracked through the Arena and killed by Phoenix)

**15th** - D3 Female - Day 2 (killed by bird muttations)

**16th** - D10 Female - Day 1 (cornered and killed by Isabelle)

**17th** - D10 Male - Day 1 (cornered and killed by Phoenix)

**18th** - D8 Female - Day 1 (stabbed in the back by Griff)

**19th** - D9 Male - Day 1 (killed by Vance)

**20th** - D8 Male - Day 1 (killed by Isabelle)

**21st** - D6 Male - Day 1 (killed by Jesse)

**22nd** - D5 Female - Day 1 (killed by Phoenix)

**23rd** - D9 Female - Day 1 (killed by Isabelle)

**24th** - D5 Male - Day 1 (killed by Griff)

## Victor

Griff Cohen was declared the winner of the Hunger Games after ten days. He won the Games by joining forces with the strongest tributes in the Arena and outlasting the other competitors in the last moments of the Games, along with Aurora Meadows' suicide that allowed him to win instead of her.

## Impression

These Games were remembered as the first Games following the Second Rebellion. However, their events were mostly forgotten over time. In District 4, however, the story of the Games was still passed on by Griff Cohen. Griff grew bellflowers, a muttation in the Arena that was beloved by Aurora Meadows; when Griff served as a mentor for District 4 tributes, he would distribute bellflowers to the District to commemorate their fallen tributes.