History Fanfic / SomeSemblanceOfMeaning

* {{Adorkable}}: Vale can be slightly adorkable sometimes, but the cake really goes to, of all people, [[PrivilegedRival Obsidian]] (he was correct when he said that he wasn't like the typical Career). See also: [[spoiler: his rehearsal of how he would propose an alliance with Vale, as well as plenty of things he does once they actually do team up]].

%%* NaiveEverygirl: Vale shows shades of this.

%%* MouthyKid: Kit Littleby, full stop.

%%* NonActionSnarker: Kit.

%%* GirlyBruiser: Amber.

%%* ArcherArchetype: [[FieryRedhead Fen]].
* AscendedFanboy: It seems that Obsidian used to idolize the tributes from his district who were chosen to participate in the Games. And now that he's one of them... [[spoiler: He realizes that it isn't all it's cracked up to be, at least not for someone who still has a conscience.]]

%%* DarkActionGirl: Amber.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Quite a bit of it, if you're looking for it, in regards to the final confrontation and how it all goes down.

* SelfSacrificeScheme: Fen tells Vale that, if the final confrontation was between herself and her brother Lark, she would die so that Lark could win and make it home. [[spoiler: This doesn't come to be.]]

%%* SeriousBusiness: The Hunger Games, naturally.

* ShellShockedVeteran: The old victors in District One who play roulette because they feel they have nothing left to lose. Also, [[spoiler: Obsidian]], post-Games.

* ShrinkingViolet: Vale, especially at the beginning of the story. Her little sister Laurel may also qualify.
* SiblingTeam: Again, Fen and Lark of District Five.

* SleepCute: [[spoiler: Vale and Obsidian, eventually.]] Even before that, a platonic, sibling-like example could be found in Vale and Kit. [[spoiler: The open trust that this action displayed was one of the things that kept Obsidian from killing them when he came across them.]]

* BerserkButton: Do not ever threaten Kit's safety in front of Vale. [[spoiler: It's what got Cassia killed.]]

* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: Kit attempts to kill himself by jumping off the roof of the Training Center on the night before the Games. Also, Blake from District Eleven killed himself after he and Phlox escaped the bloodbath.]]

%%* TheCynic: The pragmatic voice in Vale's head.

* AfterActionPatchUp: Naturally, this occurs a few times over the course of the story.

* ArcherArchetype: [[FieryRedhead Fen]].

* BraidsOfAction: Phlox has these.

* DarkActionGirl: Amber.

* GirlyBruiser: Amber.

* MouthyKid: Kit Littleby, full stop.

* NaiveEverygirl: Vale shows shades of this.

* NonActionSnarker: Kit.

* SeriousBusiness: The Hunger Games, naturally.

* TheCynic: The pragmatic voice in Vale's head.
* TheHero: Vale.

* TheIngenue: Vale could be called this.

* TheStoryteller: Vale.

* UnkemptBeauty: Vale, inferably.

* ActionGirl: Several of the female tributes, naturally: Amber, Fen, and Brigid, just to name a few. Vale herself may even qualify later on.

* BabiesEverAfter: In the end, [[spoiler: Damon and Lavinia get married and have a child. They name him Kit, in honor of one of Lavinia's last two tributes.]]

* BattleCouple: [[spoiler: Vale and Obsidian]], toward the end of the year's Games... although [[spoiler: Vale]] isn't the best at combat, and [[spoiler: Obsidian]] would prefer that [[spoiler: she]] stay out of harm's way if possible.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: Vale when you [[BerserkButton mess with Kit or anyone else she cares about.]]
* BewareTheQuietOnes: Vale again.

* BittersweetEnding: Vale and Kit [[spoiler:both die. Obsidian is left distraught and suicidal and is later killed in an explosion. However, he reunites with Vale and the others in the afterlife and and Damon and Lavinia get married and have a child, naming him Kit.]]

* BloodKnight: Several of the Careers (Amber, Achilles, Brigid) are shown to kill merely for the enjoyment of it. [[spoiler: In fact, when they go for several days without encountering another tribute, they even attack an innocent fawn. This is what causes Obsidian to leave the pack.]]

* BreakTheCutie: Vale is broken by [[spoiler: Kit's death at the hands of a mutt]]. She eventually gets somewhat better, but she never really forgets.
* BreakTheHaughty: Although he enters the Games with Career-like confidence, [[spoiler: Obsidian is broken by the fact that the Games are not what he dreamed they would be. He feels great remorse for his kills, and this is why he doesn't ally with Vale the first time he gets a chance (along with the fact that Phlox had just allied with her, Fen, and Lark): he fears that he would probably kill her, as well.]]
* BridalCarry: [[spoiler: Obsidian]] carries Vale like this after [[spoiler: their skirmish with Chas]], as he's helping her get down from a tree.
* BrokenAce: Obsidian can be viewed as this.
* BrotherSisterTeam: Fen and Lark from District Five.
* CanNotSpitItOut: Apparently, this was true for Kit towards Laurel Whitaker... until his interview with Caesar Flickerman.
* CheerfulChild: Laurel Whitaker--at least, as much as one can expect from someone whose sister has just been selected to be in the Hunger Games, an almost-certain death sentence. Kit would be this, if not for the several times that he gets depressed about the bleak future of the Games, [[spoiler: [[DrivenToSuicide enough to attempt suicide]] on the night before they begin]].

* DeadGuyJunior: [[spoiler: Lavinia and Damon]] end up naming their child after [[spoiler:Kit]].

* EveryoneIsRelated: Blink and you'll miss it but the second chapter reveals that Vale is [[spoiler:Hazelle's older sister, which means she would have been Gale's aunt had she survived.]]

* ForegoneConclusion: There are only four District 12 victors, three of which are accounted for, with only one established to be dead by the time the 74th Hunger Games rolls around. The first chapter outright states that Vale is not going to survive.

* HappilyMarried: [[spoiler: Lavinia and Damon, eventually.]]
* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler: Obsidian's can be said to happen when he leaves the Career pack after they go too far.]]
* HeelRealization: [[spoiler: Obsidian has one as he begins to notice the way the other Careers behave and as he thinks on the kills he has made.]]
* HeroicBSOD: Vale has one of these after [[spoiler: Kit's death]].

* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Vale has her moments of this. Due to her inclination to trust (almost) everyone, she [[spoiler: makes an alliance with Phlox, who tries to kill her and her other allies. Vale is contrastly disinclined to trust Obsidian, who has been quite kind to her, all things considered.]]
** Later on, [[spoiler: during their alliance]], we learn that Vale also misjudges Obsidian by thinking that, as a well-trained and strong Career, Sid must not have any problems, while he is simultaneously [[spoiler: plagued with constant questions about the morality of his actions, as well as the fear that he is NotSoDifferent from Amber and the other Careers]]. Sid also misjudges Vale by thinking that she is a PuritySue type who could never hurt anyone and therefore lacks the kind of worries that consume him.

* InTheBack: When [[spoiler: Obsidian is leaving the pack]], he ends up stabbing [[spoiler: Ford]] in the back. This comes back to haunt him, and later on, in his fight with Achilles, the latter mocks him for being a backstabber. Then, [[spoiler: when Obsidian has him prostrate on the ground and is preparing to kill him, Achilles asks him to just let him turn over first, so he won't stab him in the back, and lets him stab him in the chest instead.]]

* IrrationalHatred: Vale's hatred of Obsidian falls into this. Although he is a Career tribute, he is actually quite kind to her [[spoiler: and actually spares her life several times. Eventually, she warms up to him.]]

* KillTheCutie: [[spoiler: Poor Kit. Poor, poor Kit.]]

* LoveConfession: Naturally, this fanfic has several of them. Kit's confession to Laurel in his interview, [[spoiler: Blake kissing Phlox right before he kills himself, then Obsidian's to Vale later on, Damon and Lavinia...]]

* MasterOfTheMixedMessage: Vale views Obsidian as one of these. On one hand, [[IrrationalHatred she hates him]] and thinks he is a huge jerk, but on the other, she can't seem to understand why he does certain things, such as [[spoiler: sparing hers and Kit's lives]].
* MeaningfulEcho: [[spoiler: Vale's "bedtime story" to a dying Kit is later used again in the climax of the story.]]

* MeetCute: Vale references this trope by name when she is trying to convince the pragmatic voice that [[spoiler: Obsidian is not in love with her]], listing their lack of this as one of her reasons.
* MementoMacGuffin: The necklace given to Vale by her sister Maybelle. [[spoiler: It's not really plot-relevant in any way, aside from the fact that]] it provides Vale with a link to her family, and she sometimes imagines that clutching onto it gives her some of the fiery Maybelle's strength. [[spoiler: In the end, the last time she clutches it, she thinks that this time, she is "drawing not upon her sister's strength, but on her own."]]

* MostWritersAreWriters: Vale wants to be a writer. This affects her perception of events at times, and her storytelling actually comes into play when [[spoiler: Kit asks her on his deathbed to tuck him in, and she tells him about a "land without districts" where good people go when they die]], and later, when [[spoiler: she echoes that story during the final confrontation]].

* OfficialCouple: [[spoiler: Damon/Lavinia and Obsidian/Vale (at least while both of them are alive)]].

* {{Protectorate}}: Vale is fiercely protective of Kit. [[spoiler: Obsidian is also fiercely protective of Vale.]]

* [[spoiler: StalkingIsLove: ...Vale does warm up to him.]]

* [[spoiler: TheHeroDies]].

* BittersweetEnding: And how.

* ForegoneConclusion: There are only four District 12 victors, three of which are accounted for, with only one established to be dead by the time the 74th Hunger Games rolls around.

* GenkiGirl: Lavinia Gilden, Vale and Kit's escort and makeshift mentor.

* BigBrotherInstinct: Along with her own siblings, Vale feels a sort of Big Sister Instinct towards Kit, and she also seems to feel the same way about Lark eventually.

* DyeOrDie:
** Lavinia and Damon [[spoiler:run away to District Twelve. Lavinia removes the disguise she has worn all those years, while Damon shaves, dyes his hair, and wears contact lenses.]]
** Obsidian [[spoiler:runs off to District Twelve and dyes his hair black to blend in.]]

%%* ShoutOut: Several, when one is looking for them (or occasionally, they'll just be pointed out in the author's notes): Series/TheTwilightZone, Literature/The39Clues, Music/TaylorSwift, Music/{{Paramore}}, Theatre/TheMusicMan, Disney/{{Hercules}}...

* EyesOfGold: Amber has amber eyes, of course.

* GrayEyes: Most Seam residents are said to have gray eyes, and those of Vale and her siblings are said to be a [[InnocentBlueEyes blue]]-gray color.

* GreenEyes: Obsidian has these, as does Ford.

* AnguishedDeclarationOfLove: [[spoiler: Kit declares his feelings for Vale's younger sister Laurel during his interview with Caesar Flickerman, fearing that he'll never be able to tell her in person.]]
** [[spoiler: Later, Obsidian confesses to Vale after she is nearly killed.]]

* BabiesEverAfter: In the end, [[spoiler: Damon and Lavinia get married and have two children. They name them Vale and Kit, in honor of Lavinia's last two tributes.]]

* CanNotSpitItOut: Apparently, this was true for Kit towards [[spoiler: Laurel Whitaker... until his interview with Caesar Flickerman]].

* DeadGuyJunior: [[spoiler: Lavinia and Damon]] end up naming their two children after [[spoiler: Vale and Kit]].

* ForegoneConclusion: [[spoiler:There are only four District 12 victors, three of which are accounted for, with only one established to be dead by the time the 74th Hunger Games rolls around.]]

* LoveConfession: Naturally, this fanfic has several of them. [[spoiler: Kit's confession to Laurel in his interview, Blake kissing Phlox right before he kills himself, then Obsidian's to Vale later on, Damon and Lavinia...]]

* OfficialCouple: [[spoiler: Damon/Lavinia, Obsidian/Vale (at least while both of them are alive), and eventually, Laurel and Sid's cousin Glint]].

* PuppyLove: Kit and [[spoiler: Laurel. Unfortunately, by the time of his confession, he'll have no chance to see her again and learn for certain that she returns his feelings.]]

* SecondLove: [[spoiler: Glint Citrine is this for Laurel, several years after Kit's death.]]

** Apparently, [[spoiler: Lavinia, as she tells Vale's story to Katniss Everdeen in the end, after the events of the Hunger Games series]].

* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: The ending shows [[spoiler: Lavinia, now old with grown children of her own ([[DeadGuyJunior who are named after Vale and Kit]]), relating Vale's story to Katniss. We also find out that [[CheerfulChild Laurel]] ended up with Obsidian's cousin Glint, and that both families survived the bombing of District Twelve and the war on the Capitol]].

* BigEater: Kit.

''Some Semblance of Meaning'' (link can be found [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8396718/1/Some-Semblance-of-Meaning here]]) is a HungerGames fic published on Fanfiction.net by author Volcanic Lily about the 44th Hunger Games, which mainly focuses on the experience of Vale Whitaker.

* ShoutOut: Several, when one is looking for them (or occasionally, they'll just be pointed out in the author's notes): Series/TheTwilightZone, Literature/The39Clues, Music/TaylorSwift, Music/{{Paramore}}, TheMusicMan, Disney/{{Hercules}}...

* ShoutOut: Several, when one is looking for them (or occasionally, they'll just be pointed out in the author's notes): TheTwilightZone, The39Clues, TaylorSwift, {{Paramore}}, TheMusicMan, Disney/{{Hercules}}...

* BrownEyes: Fen, Lark, and Phlox, among others.

* BlondGuysAreEvil: Averted with Kit. [[spoiler: Also averted with Obsidian and even with Ford from District Four, who did go along with the other Careers but only because he was seemingly afraid to cross them.]]

* BlondesAreEvil: Amber Sheen.

* HandsomeDevil: Obsidian is perceived as this, although Vale believes him to be more of a jerk than he truly is.