A Guide to Not Making Your Tribute Suck

A Guide to Not Making Your Tribute Suck, published on Fanfiction.net, began as Exactly What It Says on the Tin. Originally posted a straightforward list of dos and don'ts (but mostly dont's) in the creation of original characters in The Hunger Games Fandom, it had gone through several evolutions, both at the author's whim and in attempts to better conform to the Fanfiction.net content guidelines.

Currently, the story features an actual plot, centering around Gamemaker Deyna Balthazar. As the Only Sane Employee, he tries to teach his fellow Gamemakers how to choose tributes that won't make the public suspect the reaping are less than random. Eventually he leads them on a Sue-hunt through the internet, joined by a Parody Sue they nickname Spot.

The story was written by FoalyWinsForever, who removed it from Fanfiction.net. The first three chapters are available through the Wayback Machine.


 * Abusive Parents: Spot has them, naturally.
 * Author Tract: The story is, primarily, the author telling people to stop writing Sues.
 * The Antagonist: Deyna points out that the story, now having a plot, needs one.
 * Anti-Hero: The Gamemakers fancy themselves this, some of the time.
 * Books on Trope: It primarily addresses Mary Sue tropes in The Hunger Games fanfictions.
 * Brain Bleach: Cleo is promised some after a brush with a lemon fic.
 * Breaks the Fourth Wall
 * Common Mary Sue Traits: Spot sports many of them.
 * Deadpan Snarker: Deyna, and the author in the editions where she addressed the audience directly.
 * The Ditz: Most of the Gamemakers aren't brilliant, but Tibbi stands out.
 * Expy: Katniss expies are strictly forbidden.
 * Gender Flip: "No one wants their tribute gender-switched or something like that. ...Unless they do. Fanfictioners are weird like that sometimes. But still."
 * Hair of Gold: Spot, unless she has black hair.
 * Hammerspace: Where Cleo stores paper and writing utensils.
 * Improbable Weapon User: Deyna tells the others to avoid reaping these, at all costs.
 * I Need a Drink: Deyna, all the time. He also downs a lot of headache pills.
 * Lemon: Cleo stumbles across one while in the internet.
 * LOLcats: The Gamemakers discuss them briefly.
 * Mary Sue Hunter: Deyna works to shape the Gamemakers into a team of them.
 * Medium Awareness: The Gamemakers, at the moment.
 * Noodle Incident: Tibbi's first mass murder.
 * Only Sane Employee: Deyna.
 * Original Character: The story offers a guideline for designing The Hunger Games tributes.
 * Overly Long Name: Liana Raolin Kiyera Rosemary Abigail Reyna Catalina Milania Sunshine Glitterwings Mc Fluffysparkle.
 * Parody Sue: Liana Raolin Ki- Spot.
 * Promotion to Parent: The story condemns it as overused.
 * Purple Prose: Used to describe Spot.
 * Rouge Angles of Satin: A story summary is mentioned to contain this.
 * Shiny Midnight Black: Spot, unless she has blond hair.
 * Shout-Out: To My Immortal, when Deyna mentions in his list of requirements that Ebony Darkness Dementia Raven Way is not an acceptable name for a tribute.
 * Surrounded by Idiots: The first chapter is even entitled "Deyna Balthazar Is Surrounded by Idiots".
 * All the Tropes Will Ruin Your Vocabulary: Tibbi has this problem.
 * Unexplained Recovery: Spot gets blasted in the chest with a machine gun. Two sentences later, she's fine.
 * Villain Protagonist: One of the Gamemakers suggest they are this.
 * Violet Eyes: Spot.
 * What Beautiful Eyes!: Deyna warns against the use of fantastically entrancing eyes.
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair: A number of the Gamemakers.