SYOT

Tropes and genres
Synonym(s)	Submit Your Own Tribute, Send Your Own Tribute, Interattiva, OC stories
Related tropes/genres	Hunger Games AU, SYOC
Related articles on Fanlore.

SYOT is an acronym for "Submit your own Tribute", a common kind of fanfic in the Hunger Games fandom where an author (or host) writes about an edition of the Hunger Games and their readers create and submit the twenty four tributes that will participate in said Hunger Games edition. They are almost exclusive to ff.net. SYOTs are rare in AO3, and most of them seem to be crossposted from ff.net for archival purposes. This is due to the fact that communication between the writer and submitters is a must, and that can only be done via private messages, feature which AO3 lacks.

The dynamics of a SYOT is simple. The author writes from the point of view of each one of the tributes. During the course of the story, all tributes will die except one, who becomes the Victor. The stories usually have a similar structure, which emulates step by step each phase of the Hunger Games seen in canon, from the characters being selected for the Hunger Games to the announcement of the Victor and a brief aftermath.

Leaving reviews is sometimes a requirement (or an influencing factor) to keep a character alive for longer as some authors prefer to write for people that is reading the story. Some even create interactive minigames to give their tributes a boost or items that help them survive.

A SYOT is a long type of story, which requires a lot of effort and dedication. Most completed SYOTs average around 200k words. It requires managing twenty-four protagonists, sometimes even more if the author decides to make their edition of the Hunger Games on an alternate universe. They are not role-playing games, as once the characters are created and submitted, all decisions about their fate rest with the person writing the story. It's important to make this distinction because if readers were able to influence the story, it would become an interactive fanfic, which is against ff.net rules.

The first SYOT ever written was DYI Hunger Games by JinniaFlyer450. The term SYOT didn't exist yet, but it is a SYOT in essence. JinniaFlyer450 took the concept from the Total Drama fandom, where, according to the author's notes, readers submit their own characters for the author to write their own version of the show.

Setting

Most of the SYOTs take place in the canon universe: the nation set on the ruins of post-apocalyptic North America called Panem, many centuries in the future from our current time.

The edition number of the Hunger Games is important in a SYOT, as it influences the type of information that submitters must take into account when filling out their form. The tributes (the boys and girls selected in a yearly draw called "The Reaping" to participate in the Hunger Games) from an early edition are going to be different from those in a late or mid edition, in terms of historical and social context. Since its inception, the Hunger Games have undergone changes. One of them, for example, is that in the early years there were no academies to train with a view to volunteering. This means that career tributes cannot be sent to early editions. The end of the war, however, influenced those first editions where everything was much less glamorous. In SYOTs made in early editions there are usually rebels and kids who have participated in the civil war against the Capitol.

Normally the authors who are planning a SYOT, make a summary with the list of headcanons to be taken into account by the submitters in their profile or author notes.

Sometimes authors decide to write about a special edition of The Hunger Games with a twist. These editions are called Quarter Quells and take place every twenty-five years. Said twist can be one of those that already exist in the canon (tributes chosen by vote, double tributes or edition made with Victors) or it can be from their own headcanons (tributes only of a certain age, different age ranges than usual, or reaped with criteria other than age).

There are also SYOTs that take place in an alternate universe where the Mockingjay rebellion failed and the Games kept happening. District 13 is sometimes included with the others. Other alternate versions of Panem may also include superpowers.

The Hunger Games can also be held in places other than Panem, such as the contemporary world or a specific country. A United States edition of the Hunger Games, for example, would require two tributes from each state.

Story structure

Prologue and tribute form

A SYOT begins with the prologue. When the author uploads the prologue, they include in the summary what kind of story it is. Most SYOTs offer all twenty-four tribute slots. However, some don't. "Partial SYOT" means that only some of the twenty-four slots are available, the rest may be original characters created by the host for some purpose. For example, throwaway tributes to kill in the bloodbath and give more development to tributes sent by submitters.

The prologue gives readers context about that edition of The Hunger Games. The author's note usually includes the tribute form and a list of guidelines or rules about character creation. When the summary says "Open SYOT" it means that the author still has free slots.

Interested people then send the writer a private message and reserve the tribute slot that most interests or inspires them. There are twenty-four to choose from, twelve boys and twelve girls, two from each of the twelve districts of Panem. Some authors assign tributes on a first-come, first-served basis. Others choose other methods and reserve the right to reject tributes they don't like.

The questions included in a tribute form vary from author to author, but they are usually the following: Name. Age. Face claim. Gender. District. Personal appearance. Personality. Personal history. Family and friends. Strengths. Weaknesses. Reaped or volunteer?. Token. Other important info. Some authors also ask about the outfit they wore at the Reaping, the costume they'll wear in the tribute parade, what calification they got in the private sessions, what outfit they wore during the interview, whether their tribute is open to alliances or romance, preferred position in the ranking and preferred death. Other authors prefer to choose those things themselves.

Career District tributes (District 1, District 2 and District 4) are highly coveted and usually run out fast. Careers are kids that train for years in advance and when they're ready killing machines they volunteer for the Hunger Games. In a SYOT they give the impression of being better prepared and having a better chance of winning. Other popular districts are District 7 and District 3, since they were better developed than others in canon. Once the form is filled out, the submitter sends it to the author and then they will discuss if everything is ok or if it needs a few tweaks. Sometimes the author only allows one tribute per person, but other authors allow more than one.

District 12 tends to have a certain reputation in SYOTs. Although it is specified in canon that the tributes from this place usually die soon due to being malnourished and weak, it tends to attract first-time submitters who send cliché tributes, Mary Sues, Gary Stues or copies of canon characters such as Katniss or Gale. They could volunteer like Katniss did, or go into the woods to hunt like Gale.

In general, volunteer tributes that aren't careers are frowned upon in SYOTs. In the book it says that volunteers were extremely rare and is usually seen by other readers as a lazy gimmick to make the tribute stand out. A rookie mistake. The author could limit the number of non-career volunteers, or ban them, or only accept them if their reason is good.

After filling in all the slots, the author writes "Closed SYOT" in the summary, to indicate that they already have enough tributes and are not accepting any more tribute forms.

Pre-Arena chapters

The usual way to start pre-arena chapters is to write a reaping POV for each of the twenty-four tributes. This method has both pros and cons. One of the pros is that it helps to get to know the character better, their family context, daily life and a bit of their personality. However, it's considered tedious and formulaic, both to write and to read. In a typical reaping POV, the tribute wakes up and has breakfast with their family, and then they all get ready and go to the Reaping, where they either get selected to participate in the Hunger Games, or the tribute volunteers by whatever reason.

Doing twenty-four reaping POVs means reading and writing twenty-four chapters that are going to be nearly identical in structure. It is argued, that the personality of the tribute cannot be properly conveyed, since the POV is tainted by the gloomy atmosphere of the Reaping. This is why instead of doing twenty-four Reapings, some authors write about random moments in the tribute's life. Some even skip the Reapings, or do a chapter summarizing them from the point of view of someone else.

After the Reapings come the tribute's goodbyes to their family and friends, the train ride to the Capitol, preparation for the tribute parade, and the tribute parade itself.

This is where the tributes begin to interact with each other and where all story arcs are settled.

Tributes spend three days training together. In these chapters, all the characters interact and bond with each other. Some make alliances, others make pacts, also friendships or enmities, and sometimes love also arises, although this trope is more controversial.

The last part of the pre-Arena chapters are the interviews. Here, the tribute tries to win the affection of the viewers or says the last goodbyes to their family. It is, after all, the last chance they could get. The interviews chapter is normally received with a lot of excitement and concern, since no one knows except the author what is going to happen after the gong sounds. Many submitters grow very fond of their own tribute or their favourite tributes, and suffer for the fate that might await them.

Bloodbath

From this moment onwards, any tribute can die at any moment.

The author follows various methods when choosing which tributes to kill and which tributes to let live. For example, the story arc of each character or alliance, the popularity of the character among the readers, depending on whether or not the submitter is still reading the story (and thus leaving reviews). Some even do it randomly, although this is not common.

At the end of the bloodbath in the A/N section, the author usually includes a ranked casualty list and adds a brief eulogy to the deceased tribute, the reasons why they have decided to kill them and a thank you to the submitter who sent said tribute.

In canon, the approximate number of tributes that die in the bloodbath is usually around ten. However in a SYOT, the number of deaths is usually lower, this is because it is more fun to develop the characters in the Arena instead of killing them straight away.

The Arena

In the following chapters after the bloodbath, all but one of the tributes will die. As the story arcs of each character or alliance develop, the number of tributes will decrease. Normally, one or two tributes die in each chapter. Sometimes there are chapters without deaths, where the tributes explore the Arena or enjoy a few moments of calm. Some readers find deathless chapters boring and might complain in their review if there are too many of them. Also, three or more tributes may die in the same chapter, but like the chapters without deaths, they are also not usual.

The Victor

Each author has their own method for choosing their victor. Some are guided by the fanfic topic in question, others go by the favorite of the readers, and others by their personal favorite.

After the end of the Hunger Games, there is an interview chapter with the Victor, a summary of the reunion with their loved ones and a snippet of their life after the games. Usually the SYOT ends here. If the author starts a sequel, the victor from the previous SYOT may appear in the new story, mentoring some of the new tributes.

Abandonment and recycling of tributes

Since it is a story that requires a lot of effort and dedication, the abandonment of SYOTs by the host is not uncommon.

Some authors who for whatever reason cannot continue with the story, upload a chapter apologizing to the readers and making a quick summary or ranking of the remaining tributes and who would have been the victor.

Since it also takes effort to make the tribute form, some submitters recycle their tribute for another SYOT. Recycling tributes is a controversial practice. Some authors do not want recycled tributes, others accept them with conditions. Some submitters recycle the tribute more than once out of curiosity to find out how different authors would handle their character.

It is considered bad SYOT etiquette to conceal the fact that a tribute has been recycled when the author has already specified that they'll only accept brand new tributes.

Example of A/N where the author warns about this practice:

Also, here is the thing. Use my form, otherwise your tribute is deleted. If you ever submit a repeat from another SYOT, your tribute will not be accepted. If I put them in, and find out they will die. Even if I'm in the chariot rides, they will get run over. If they are in the arena, instant death. If they win, and I find out five SYOT from now, they will die. You will also never be allowed to submit again because I will not trust you.

All-Star SYOTs

All-star SYOTs are stories that accept only recycled tributes or tributes that have already appeared in other people's SYOTs. It doesn't matter if the story was discontinued, or ended but the tribute died. A common storyline in an all-star SYOT is the Capitol resurrecting their favorite tributes, only to cast them back into the Arena. This is a good opportunity to reuse characters that got wasted, died or got a disappointing treatment by the previous SYOT writer.

Controversies

2012 FF.net SYOT purge

Because many users considered SYOTs to be interactive fiction, and therefore breaking ff.net rules, SYOT stories started being deleted during the 2012 purge. Some SYOT authors used a system of points based on the reviews which gave readers the ability to influence what happened in the story, and people started organizing in forums in order to mass report SYOTs. The forum Critics United was especially known for this practice.

Soooooo my SYOT got deleted (along with a few of my favorites)... anyone know what's going on???

Some users starting new SYOTs got harrassed via private messages. There was a lot of wank between pro-SYOT and anti-SYOT for a while.

In the end, it was established that SYOTs were not against the rules, as long as the readers didn't interact with the story. There haven't been any mass deletions of SYOTs since then, even though the reward systems are still being used. Many people whose SYOT got deleted have reuploaded it again.

Sponsor System

Some SYOTs have a sponsor system, just like in the books. Authors give readers points for leaving reviews, favorites, or following the story. With those points they can buy food, tools or weapons for their tributes, helping them to progress. Although this would be against ff.net rules, no SYOT has been removed for breaking the rules since 2012. Sometimes authors who include minigames like this are harassed by ff.net user groups trying to enforce the rules in the absence of moderators.

Romance

Romance in SYOTs is an element that a lot of people don't like. Most of the tributes come from different places, they have never met and to make feelings appear under circumstances of being deadly enemies and in such a short time is seen as implausible and unrealistic. Some authors ask in the tribute form if the particular character is open to romance or not. Romance plots are not included for realism but as a way to generate intrigue and drama. Including romance is always risky as it often clashes with readers' tastes. Many regular submitters steer clear of authors that include romance and if it appears in the story, reviews fill with conflicting opinions and sometimes turns toxic.

Competitivity and conflicts between submitters

A SYOT is ultimately a story powered by characters deaths. Chances of winning are slim and everyone who signs up for one should know this already. Still, some submitters treat it like a competition where their tribute has to win. Conflict doesn't arise in every story, but the most common ones are:

• Submitters getting too attached to their tribute and making trouble when they die
• Submitters sending self-inserts and taking it personally when bad things happen to their tribute
• Submitters trying to control what happens in the story.
• A tribute is hated by the readers and their creator takes offense. IE: On the SYOT "Weeds" by Blurry (now deleted), a submitter left a harsh review rating each tribute, which led to them being harassed for months.
• The writer is accused of favoritism. (Making their friends' characters progress and killing the rest, giving some characters more screen time in comparison to others or giving the most interesting story arcs to the same tributes while others stay bland.)
• The writer is accused of OOC or not capturing the character well.
• There are too many orphan tributes/volunteers/dramatic backstories.
• There are reaped tributes in Career districts.
• There are Mary Sues/Gary Stus or unrealistic backstories.
• The Mary Sues/Gary Stus aren't dying.
• Friction between beginners and veteran submitters. People who have been in the SYOT fandom for a long time have already seen all kinds of tributes and find clichés boring. Harsh criticism can turn off newcomers.
• A broken friendship between two submitters, or between the writer and a submitter can influence the fate of the characters in the story and bring a lot of drama. A writer can be accused of making the character suffer in the story to get revenge for real-life conflicts. Likewise, cliques of readers may gang up against another submitter or the author. Sometimes the author actually makes petty decisions that root in real life conflicts by killing someone's tribute, making them OOC, or giving them a horrible death.
• Accusations of sucking up to the writer to gain their favor and try to get their tribute to win.
• The author made more than one person survive.

In International Fandom

This type of story is common even in italian-speaking fandom, with a presence on EFP and Wattpad with the name interattiva (interactive). The naming is more confusing on Wattpad, as it's used to indicate both SYOT fics and Choose Your Own Adventure ones.

Starting from the Hunger Games fandom, where the fic first appeared in the first years of 2010s, the format of the fic has been brought to other fandoms: on EFP, it's common to see them in Total Drama and Harry Potter, while on Wattpad they're popular in bandom and K-pop, even if in both sites they appear in minor fandoms such as Mirai Nikki or Attack on Titan. The character sent by the readers can follow the base structure at the stories of the fandom (new reality for Total Drama, new year at Hogwarts for Harry Potter, new band formation for bandom) or create an entire original plot set in that world. In this last case, it's more common to also have a writer's OC in the mix.

The term fanfiction interattiva was also used as a synonym for Role-playing thread with all original OCs in the furry fandom, but it's unknown if one influenced the other.

Examples of SYOTs

• The 226th Hunger Games: Escape by Europa22 set in an AU 150 years after the failed mockingjay rebellion.
• Final Judgement: The 44th Hunger Games by Hoprocker
• Fight For Your Life by JabberjayHeart - The 125th Quarter Quell of the Esmeraldaverse.
• Beneficially Instructive Tribute Creator's Handbook by ChaosInHerWake - A partial SYOT that pokes fun at common clichés and is also a guide to things to avoid when creating tributes.
• Amapolas para las luciérnagas by Multiple Authors - A collaborative SYOT which involved twenty four authors writing their tributes POVs and five moderators. In Spanish.

Links & Resources

• The SYOT Alliance forum on ff.net
• Submit Your Own Tribute tag on AO3
• SYOT Awards 2k17