CAILLOU WIGHT, D3F: I wasn't expecting for Caillou to show any sentimentality over Dylan's death. It felt like they were extremely distant and unconcerned with one-another (with the exception of Dylan's occasional jealousy of Caillou's competence.) I found it really sweet that she seemed to sort of miss Dylan's smile, and I wonder if it's an organic feeling or if there's something in the air causing her to have these unnerving dreams. I also wonder if she'd truly come to like him or if her connection to him just grew out of her close proximity to him as a district partner.

I'm extremely glad that she's come to the decision that she has reasons to win. Her renewed motivation is encouraging feel like for the duration of the Games, she's only been motivated by a blind instinct to survive, so seeing her like this is beyond awesome!

THIMBLE BRIER, D8M: Your prose for Thimble is so true to his predicament. "He told me he got a message from his mentor Johanna last night, which apparently has renewed his hope. I don't tell him that hope is pointless. All we can do is sit around and wait to die."

The juxtaposition between he and Raven's personalities is so stark, and it's kind of depressing, though incredible to read. Poor guy, man.

MARLOWE BAHARI, D4F: Your paragraphs describing her bloodlust are extremely vivid, and they portray her character effortlessly. I'm still loving the drama between her and Passion, but I don't like how Marlowe is left to guard the Cornucopia alone! What with all of the tributes who have been raiding it left and right, being a solo lookout may not be the safest position to be in. Nevertheless, Marlowe is definitely the most competent Career to guard it, imo. She seems to have a sharp head on her shoulders.

THORN GUERRA, D11M: Wow, these two are beyond adorable, as always. Thorn's susceptibility to the sirensong is incredibly intriguing, and I'm afraid that without Luna to pull him back to reality, it would be the death of him. I'm definitely glad that these two are getting away from it.

LOGAN WHEELER, D6M: I'm glad that Logan is booking it out of there. I may be wrong, but even with the lure of the feast, I'm not certain he'll be willing to risk getting killed by the Careers to take part in it. I"m not surprised that he became wise to Volt's plan even after Volt's death. He's incredibly smart. In my opinion, it's his strongest quality. It also seems that he's coming to a similar conclusion to Caillou: he has a reason to fight until the end.

LETO LARSTON, D2F: This new trajectory definitely doesn't bode well for our beach-dwellers, and especially not for Flux. I'm definitely glad that Thorn and Luna are on their way away from the beach.

FLUX DUBOIS, D8F: The description of the dark island, the trees, and the mysterious light and structure is incredible in this POV! Flux's exhaustion is literally contagious through the writing. I can almost feel what she's feeling. And in all honesty, I have no idea what this island could possibly contain. I can't wait to see what's in store on this thing.

BLOSSOM URAKAKA, D9F: I am so excited for this feast! I'm not surprised that Blossom is choosing not to attend, but I do fear that the Gamemakers might make her pay for it, possibly in the form of a mysterious monster meant just for her. They do be cruel like that.

I honestly think that Thorn and Luna's experience with the siren mutt is a setup for a battle with it, and I feel like Luna is just tenacious enough to urge Thorn to let them go after the tool at the feast. I also think that Raven(or possibly even Flux if she's willing to go back to the mainland) will make a beeline for the tool to free Thimble. This is honestly their best bet to get him out!

This was a wonderful setup chapter, and I am absolutely thrilled to see what comes next!

The games keep getting more interesting. We got a feast coming up and that’s going to be entertaining to see what happens. Logan’s all alone but I’m glad he won’t give up and that he will keep on going. I have full faith in him. On a side note, it looks like the careers have found the island that Flux is on, so I wonder if she can escape it before Passion and Leto start to explore it, or they could forget the island and focus on the feast, we would have to see. I can’t wait to see what happens. Overall, phenomenal chapter as usual and I can’t wait until the next one!

A feast coming soon! :o

Okay wait. I'll get back to that later, haha. This is a chill chapter. We got to check in with every group, but I was particularly looking forward to Logan's especially because he had the biggest impact from that battle last chapter. He formed a big group to counter the careers', but now he's all alone. Well, the careers got cut in half, and Callum's death and Cyprian's connections were courtesy of Logan's alliance. I think this is just the start of Logan's arc. I hope to see him rise from here. Although I'm not doubting the possibility that he can be done after this, because of this.

I'm surprised they had Marlowe guard instead. I would've expected Leto to use this time to reflect on her own. She also had quite a setback, after realizing that her district partner betrayed them all. The talk about her preferred weapon was interesting. It reminds me of a career I made whose preferred weapon can be used for long or short ranges too, also for melee. I just never got to submit her to a story that made it all the way through or one that accepted her yet. Passion and Leto not getting to see the ocean before this was nice. Marlowe wouldn't be missing out on that, since she's the fish b!tch. XD She's probably gonna miss out on the island instead. Isn't that where Flux is? :o But then we have the feast of the gods coming up. Will the careers still go after the island, or will they save it for later? I'm thinking of the latter, when they have Marlowe with them. I wonder how much supplies are still in the cornucopia for Marlowe to guard them rather than for the 3 of them to just bring the stuff around while hunting. The island is interesting though! Statues? Very familiar. It's like the ones Blossom encountered somewhere else, the valley iinm.

The feast! Ah, I would say it's probably too early for a feast, as I've never seen anyone do a feast with this much tributes at 11, except me. I did a feast at 11 to cut down my numbers. XD I'm excited for the feast! We've got a lot of tributes just hiding and chilling. I wonder who's gonna go next. Hmmm... I'm gonna predict that one of the D11 pair will go. I think either of Raven or Thimble will be eliminated too. Then possibly Logan? Maybe Blossom too? Perhaps one of the career girls will be thrown into the mix.

I'm excited for it regardless! :3

Logan, Pagani, and Volt are going to execute this plan today. I wonder if it will work, it all depends on if Cyprian will kill his allies. I feel really bad for Thimble. Even if Flux finds food and water on the island, there isn’t a lot of time for Thimble and he knows that. I’m curious to see what happens though the next couple of chapters. Luna and Thorn’s friendship is really special and they’re doing well right now. It seems that Blossom is setting traps for her hideout. I wonder if another tribute will eventually find it. It was super smart of Caillou to trick Cyprian as pretending to be Volt. Not only did she get supplies but she unknowingly disrupted Colt’s plan. This could be bad. Flux leaves for the island leaving Raven with Thimble. I wonder if Flux will find anything and I’m curious to see. That was an amazing and heartbreaking battle. Unfortunately becuase Cyprian didn’t kill his allies, Logan, Pagani, and Volt walked right into hideout. As I said before, the battle was amazing. It was great to see Logan and Pagani fight together again and it was really cool to see Cyprian fight against the careers to try to save Volt. Unfortunately the battle came to a heartbreaking end. Pagani, Volt, and Cyprian died while Logan was thankfully able to get away. I’m going to miss Pagani, she was a good character and I’m sad to see her go. At least her family is living in a home now back in District 6. Volt’s death was shocking. He was a intriguing villain since he was trying to use Cyprian and I did expected him to last longer. He definitely had a great arc along with Cyprian and it’s ironic that Caillou unknowingly foiled his plans. Cyprian’s death was heartbreaking and I thought he would last longer too. It was sad that his last moment was grabbing Volt’s hand, I’ll miss him. Now Logan is on his own and I’m so happy he was able to get away. I’m positive he’ll continue to do well and I can’t wait to see how he develops after losing his allies. Overall, phenomenal chapter as usual and I can’t wait until the next one!

Yay for writing kicks! When I saw that you'd updated so soon, I couldn't believe my eyes. And the chapter is so wonderful and heavy, absolutely filled to the brim with action. My CH 31 review was excessively long, so I'll try to make this one less novel-length!

LOGAN WHEELER, D6M: Truthfully, I believe that Logan can get extremely far in the Games without Pagani and Volt holding him back - especially given Volt's true intentions. Logan's shrewdness really shines through in this POV as he reacts with distaste toward Volt and Pagani's extra endeavors. His questions and hesitation to let his guard down reveal a boy who truly has what it takes to make it out of this arena alive using his brain.

It seems to me that he comes close spotting something strange about Volt: "Volt never seems concerned about anything, and I'm not sure if it's because he's delusional or level-headed." I might be overthinking it, however. Also worth mentioning: I was thoroughly terrified that their smoke would be spotted, but thank the gods it was only spotted by tributes just as scared of confrontation as they are.

LETO LARSTON, D2F: Her terrifyingly bloodthirsty beginning sharply contrasts with the compassion that she expresses toward Cyprian. I have nothing but good things to say about the dialogue in this scene! The rising tensions, their defensive postures, and the rapid-fire exchange of accusations and presumptions. I'm totally jealous of your command over these characters!

THIMBLE BRIER, D8M: Oh goodness, the utter nostalgic tragedy of this POV is chilling. These two are just terribly cute. Of course, their background is far different from that of Thurn and Luna, but I honestly think that they're just as endearing in their own way - a true ray of light in the Games.

LUNA EVERETT, D11F: These two are just so precious, it's nauseating. Thorn laughing open-mouthed at Luna; Luna asking him personal questions and taking an interest in his personality after so long of quarreling. They've done so much growing together, the two of them. Something tells me that Luna would totally hate Thorn's writing, though. It probably isn't bedtime story material lmao.

BLOSSOM URAKAKA, D9F: Bless. This girl is proactive, and I'm totally loving it. I'm fairly worried that the Gamemakers might pull some wacky tricks to goad the tributes out of their hidey-holes eventually, but I don't think that that'll happen in Blossom's little oasis. I think it's more likely that the Gamemakers will find a way to actually push tributes in her direction. The location seems ... significant, I guess. Like it's got so many more mysteries.

CAILLOU WIGHT, D3: WOW, that was close. It's absolutely insane how Caillou's quick thinking won her extra supplies and, by extension, wiped out three other tributes. I can't help but wonder how she'll react when she sees their faces in the sky. It looks like, for now, she's bought herself quite a bit of extra time.

RAVEN LAVALEE, D7M: Raven just gets deeper and deeper. It's tragic how this trio has been met with every obstacle imaginable. Johanna's message in response to Raven's hopelessness is exactly what he needed, and it came at exactly the right time. Raven is one of my favorites in this story, and it's for a reason.

PASSION MAVROS, D1F: Passion's vanity has surpassed even Glimmer's, I believe. Her POVs always make me giggle - and boy, did this POV need some levity. I'll miss all three of these characters. Quite truthfully, they were among the most fun to read, all for different reasons. The end of the chapter is particularly jarring. It shows the Careers' brutality, two of the three of them frolicking while Leto broods wistlessly.

Another solid chapter! Plenty of excellent action in this one, that's for sure. Suffice to say that I very much enjoyed reading this and feel really impressed by what I saw. Frankly I have no idea where the story shall go from here, but that's a good thing imo. I like the unpredictable nature of it all.

The things that really stood out to me:
- Thorn and Luna's bond. They're legit the most wholesome tributes in the Games and I am very much here for it. They truly bring out the very best in each other and everything about them feels so genuine and sweet. Even if Luna can get annoyed / creeped out by Thorn and he can get a little frustrated with her as well, the genuine care is unmissable. The fact one of them has to die makes it all the sadder overall. When one of them inevitably dies, hopefully it will be quick. I feel like Thorn will outlive Luna, but we'll see what happens soon enough. If nothing else, I'm really liking Thorn's poetry and writing. :)
- Nice to see that Blossom is being proactive and working to keep herself safe, rather than just sitting around and relaxing. That'd surely get the gamemakers on her case. I feel like she'd be smart enough to know not to drink from that cup by the Snow statue, it just reeks of pure danger. Kinda like most things in any HG arena, haha. I'm not sure how long Blossom can stay where she is, or how long it'll be until somebody comes her way, but ideally her trap will either take them out or buy her some much needed time to hopefully escape. We'll soon see, and I'll be rooting for her every step of the way!
- Flux moving off on her own is certainly the right call, both her her own chances and for the story as a whole. I'd say it's time new land was explored and new events unfolded for us to see. I feel like Flux should be able to survive on her own, at least for a while. Out on the island she'll likely be safe from the careers at any rate. As for Raven and Thimble, I feel like the latter might just be able to make it through after all - that is, unless his symptoms return a second time... - while Thimble is all but dead at this point. I just cannot see a way that he'll get out of where he's trapped. At least he won't be alone when he does die. ;_;
- The battle at the end. Holy SHIT that was epic! Practically a second bloodbath right there, like for real I did not see any of that coming, at least not quite this soon. Nicely done! I love how the fact three tributes died was basically all Caillou's fault, and she'd not even tried to cause it, she just gave non-committal answers to Cyprian. Excellently written combat, I was kept on my toes as to who would actually end up dying. Pagani dying I kinda expected, but for Cyprian and Volt to both be dead so soon? Complete shocker to me, that's for sure. With that arc ended, Logan all alone and the career girls taking control it's really looking like the story is being flipped on its head. If the careers can avoid their constant in-fighting then they might be able to do some serious damage and go to the end. Like, they have the biggest alliance now. In fact, with Thimble trapped and Flux leaving the only other alliance is basically just Thorn / Luna. I'm very excited to see where this shift will end up going.

THE FALLEN

14th, Pagani, D6F: I felt like, of the F14, she was one of those who would die sooner than later. Her eagerness to enter combat situations just seemed like it'd get her killed. All the same, she'll be missed. Her cross and blunt nature made for fun reading and her back and forth bickering with Logan was good too. Bicker as they did, they were clearly close. RIP

13th, Volt, D5M: I'm legit stunned he's dead so early in the Games. He seemed smart, manipulative and potentially ruthless enough to make it all the way to the end, or at least the F6. The fact he got busted so quickly, especially by Caillou not even trying to do so, was a shock... but, in hindsight, he played very risky and not all risks pay off. He'll certainly leave a great absence, one that I'm curious to see how it might be filled.

12th, Cyprian, D2M: Another shocking death, that's for sure. He seemed like he had so much plot armour, but that's my downfall for assuming anything haha. I'll certainly miss him, that's for sure. He was a good example of a 'Token Good Teammate' for the careers, for a given definition of good of course. I feel like he fell for Volt kinda too fast, but it does show just how desperate he was for any sort of love and just how miserable he was on the inside for so long. Certainly a solid tribute and one who shall be missed.

RANKING COMPARISONS

D1F: Tiffany (3rd) / Passion (TBA) - TBA
D1M: Tiger (8th) / Callum (20th) - Tiger did better.
D2F: Rufina (16th) / Leto (At least 11th) - Leto did better.
D2M: Hadrian (6th) / Cyprian (12th) - Hadrian did better.
D3F: Tesla (12th) / Caillou (At least 11th) - Caillou did better.
D3M: Pixel (23rd) / Dylan (22nd) - Dylan did better.
D4M: Andrew (14th) / Faroud (17th) - Andrew did better.
D4F: Nicolette (2nd) / Marlowe (TBA) - TBA
D5M: Caleb (20th) / Volt (13th) - Volt did better.
D5F: Amelia (11th) / Raillen (19th) - Amelia did better.
D6M: Jason (10th) / Logan (TBA) - TBA
D6F: Antonia (19th) / Pagani (14th) - Pagani did better.
D7M: Sebastian (4th) / Raven (TBA) - TBA
D7F: Willow (13th) / Sparrow (21st) - Willow did better.
D8M: Spool (VICTOR) / Thimble (TBA) - TBA
D8F: Sock (18th) / Flux (At least 11th) - Flux did better.
D9M: Albert (21st) / Alder (15th) - Alder did better.
D9F: Grizelda (15th) / Blossom (At least 11th) - Blossom did better.
D10M: Denver (24th) / Jeremy (16th) - Jeremy did better.
D10F: Filly (5th) / Caiden (24th) - Filly did better.
D11M: Tomas (7th) / Thorn (TBA) - TBA
D11F: Marjorem (17th) / Luna (At least 11th) - Luna did better.
D12M: Rooker (22nd) / Rylex (23rd) - Rooker did better.
D12F: Eryn (9th) / Terra (18th) - Eryn did better.

Hi! I'm so glad you're back! With the immense stress of life combined with such a massive project, it's honestly completely understandable that it eventually sorta bogged you down. I feel the exact way about my writing, honestly. Under no circumstances did I think that you'd abandoned the story. After over 200k words, it's absolutely unfathomable that you'd drop it. With your passion for the fandom and your expressed eagerness to write another sequel, I didn't doubt you for a minute.

Now to jump right into it!

PAGANI CHEVY, D6F: "The creature we encountered hasn't followed us either, thankfully. Perhaps the forest is more dangerous than we thought." I giggled profusely at this line, considering that the 'creature' was actually a territorial Caillou mimicking a mutt. One of the best things about multi-POV stories is the constant potential for unreliable narration, which I think this story best portrays via Volt and Cyprian's one-sided romance. Instead of narrating in a linear manner with your tributes, you use the events from other POVs to influence their misconceptions - and honestly, that's just incredible to read.

Pagani's POV here is absolutely impeccable. Things like Logan's sleepy stirring reminding her of her mother's fitful nights on the streets illuminate her character so deeply. Your word choice is also incredibly well-tailored to each tribute. "... then Volt says serenely, 'I don't think we failed,'" did so much to portray the vibe of his character, mainly with the use of the word 'serene.' Knowing what we do about him, it comes off as ingenuine, cunning behavior.

Pagani was a character with limitless dimension. Her insistence on fighting the Careers head-on was extremely ballsy and reflective of her established personality, but it wasn't intelligent. While she did make an attempt at a plan, it had far too much room for error. Of course, that's only my opinion - seeking combat wouldn't be my personal strategy. In their defense, however, they did have the numbers to make it a proper battle - just not the Careers' physical prowess.

THORN GUERRA, D11M: You ceaselessly astound me at the amount of substance you put into Thorn. He's much less strategic than the other tributes, so his POVs are generally very emotional and nostalgic in contrast to other tributes' Games-focused internal monologues. The way you write him really makes him shine more than I ever could've hoped!

It's wonderful to see he and Luna getting the comfort they deserve, and it's all the more compelling that they derive it from each-other: two people who, by all means, would never have bonded otherwise. Not to mention the genuine nature of their relationship, bordering on siblinghood.

It's a relationship remarkable and real enough that Luna's little sister, Roselle, has come to place an immense amount of faith in Thorn to keep Luna safe. Perhaps it was Roselle's youthful naivety that has her doubtlessly trusting in Thorn's loyalty to Luna, but it means a whole hell of a lot - especially given that Thorn actually will protect Luna.

It's such a shame that only one of them can come back home. The two of them - despite Thorn's sassy grumblings and Luna's annoyance - became like brother and sister the moment Thorn hugged her in the bloodbath. Given that their respective families (just Georgie, in Thorn's case) have become committed to their tribute's partner, if either one of them returns, it'll still carry a heavy sense of tragedy.

CYPRIAN CLAY, D2M: Cyprian is too much of a cinnamon roll to be a Career. He's skilled, patient, and practical, but his heart is far too tender for him to be associated with bloodthirsty killers. He's not innocent, but he's the least awful of the group. I've always loved him to death.

It's painful, his musings over Volt. It's tragic how he's clung to a boy who doesn't love him just so he can escape the reality he's been forced into. Even as Cyprian follows and interacts with the other Careers, he seems so detached - so blind to them, playing the role he was force-fed.

I'm unsurprised by the girls' insistence upon retribution - witless as always. Passion is the kind of character that you love to hate. She's the sassy b-tch on the reality TV show who stirs up chaos, and you despise her, but what would the show be without her to be the bad b-tch?

In the end, the Careers' foolish decision to leave the Cournupocia unguarded has left me skeptical of their ability to maintain any kind of advantage in the Games. As developed as these characters are, their hubris is likely to be their Faroud Pistris-style downfall.

RAVEN LAVALEE, D7M: Raven's gentle memories of his sister, Sparrow, never cease to stop me in my tracks. So soon after losing her, he's already using memories of their happy experiences together to encourage himself. It's honestly inspiring, and it makes it all the more painful to watch his illness tear at him from the inside out.

His relationship with Flux is compelling in light of Thimble's unfortunate circumstance. It's always interesting when, in a trio, the two least-acquainted people are pushed together due to circumstances. It illuminates little-known quirks and qualities about them. It's always fun to read.

BLOSSOM URAKAKA, D9F: Holy wow! This arena is fascinating. The simple yet elegant description of the mysterious building has me in awe of its enigmatic splendor. Its surroundings, to say the least, are equally incredible. The description of Snow's statue is written wonderfully in the way that it shakes Blossom to her core. In a single measure, it turns the idyllic oasis into an unnerving doppelganger of the fabled Elysium.

Based on the little poem on the cup, I believe its contents to be poison. Whether the liquid literally results in blood loss or not, the poem states that the gold substance in the liquid is the blood's bane. Its ruin. I could be wrong, of course, but maybe after a while, Blossom will read the poem with a clearer mind and deduce the liquid's purpose.

MARLOWE BAHARI, D4F: Ah, the Career gals - love to hate 'em, hate to love 'em, but love 'em nonetheless. The patriotism between the three of them is palpable. As silly as it is, the sense of pure insult at the tributes' thievery is truly organic because the characters have been so well-written and consistent throughout the Games.

Marlowe is a very unique Career character in that she doesn't seem to be entirely stereotypical. She carries her head high but has legitimate vices and idiosyncrasies that make her extremely compelling and oddly sympathetic. Typically, I find Careers to be generally one-dimensional, but Marlowe, like all of the Careers this year, has something different about her.

FLUX DUBOIS, D8F: Flux's devotion to Thimble is beyond endearing. The way she values his life; she way she hasn't considered leaving him for a second. I think that's what sets tributes apart from Careers - compassion a value of others.

CAILLOU WIGHT, D3F: So far, Caillou's strategy is extremely effective, much like Blossom's. Staying hidden and mobile can't be understated as a Games strategy. Her instincts are intelligent in this instance: approaching the Cornucopia to observe it in the absence of the Careers is extremely shrewd - especially since she doesn't intend to engage it.

It's a relief to see that she's still playing it close to the chest!

VOLT HALVORSSON, D5M: Oh dear. Volt's callous deception is absolutely brutal. It's so insane to see the juxtaposition between Cyprian's earnest love and Volt's private duplicity. He's a character beyond compare, truthfully, and the way you write him is just so convincingly evil without being heavy-handed. Against all morals, I really like him just because of how dark he is.

I wouldn't be surprised if the Capitol would've praised him for his duplicity had he become Victor. It's common knowledge that the Capitol doesn't value morality - they value entertainment.

Another excellent chapter. I like how the fairly slow death rate is giving us much more time to get to know the tributes compared to Born to Die. It's really working out amazingly. Overall a big step-up from your first SYOT. :)

I admittedly don't have quite as much time as the norm to be able to write out a gigantic review, to my own dismay, but I'll give attention to everything that really got my attention in this one.
- I'm feeling like the career pack here, though they're sorta doing better than the one in the first story, are heading for a collapse sooner rather than later. Between Marlowe clearly becoming dangerously unstable and no doubt going to get more deranged as time goes by, I feel like something is gonna happen that'll cause a major fight that'll leave some of the careers injured, or dead. Leto feels like the only one really holding them together at this point.
- Cyprian and Volt's arc is compelling, though I feel this will only end badly for Cyprian. Volt's playing him like a piano at this point, no way does Volt feel anything real for him at all. Still, maybe it'll give him enough plot armour to survive a little longer? If Volt's plan with the poison works out then this could seriously be a game winning move for the wily boy from Five. Never a dull moment with this pair, that's for sure.
- Nice to see Blossom is fine for the moment. No mutts, no tributes and plenty of food water. Not a bad situation for her at all! I just hope she won't 'pull a Filly' and stay in one place for so long that she goes crazy. At least, for the moment, she seems fine. I feel like that cup's contents would kill her. It feels like they'd turn her blood into gold or something, that's my take at least. She certainly did the right thing by putting it back. No need to take a needless risk. Really pulling for my girl to keep surviving! _
- I feel like Flux has the right idea that she needs to head off and do her own thing, at least for a bit. Between Raven being sick and Thimble being trapped it's in her own best interests to start doing more and fight her own battles. If nothing else it'd prevent her being targeted for being 'inactive'. She's really something special, easily one of my favs. If Blossom dies, I'd hope that Flux could end up as the victor. I guess we'll see what happens to her next.

Excellent work overall, a really strong chapter here. It's great to have you back. :)

Time to try and catch up!

I really liked reading through this one and seeing the very varied POV's from the families of the tributes and what we got from the gamemakers. The sheer variety on display was really cool; it all adds towards stronger world building and making the story come to life even more. I liked how D12 are so sympathetic to each other and the dead tributes, while D4 have already decided Faroud doesn't matter nor is even worth remembering. A real interesting, if harsh look at how different career districts and outlier districts tend to be.

Overall I'd say the districts whose reactions I liked the most were D12 (Siggo and Dornan friendship for the win!), D2 (I just love the world building and Homer's interesting take on recent events) and, of course, D9. The cult sure are grasping at straws to explain why Blossom outwitted them; one can only hope the elders will be wrong about this too and really have their plans blow up in their faces. I really loved seeing Twiggy's POV and how she's starting to see Blossom is still family, not evil as the elders say and that the cult is... actually horrible. Hoping the sisters might one day find common ground with each other. I think it'd be a sweet resolution to how poor things started off between them. Stellar work there, I'm very impressed. :)

The gamemaker stuff was great too. I'm really invested in seeing what happens with Rowan and Marcelle. I feel like Marcelle could get Bellona killed if she exposes what Spool / Tag actually did, though by the same merit it may get all three of them killed. That's to say nothing of how the nation would respond to such a scandal. I'm hyped to see how it all ends up going!

Well, I caught up with that previous chapter just in time! Btw, I noticed that last chapter's title is a Lana Del Rey song that I recognized. I just forgot to bring it up, but cool reference! :D

Past me: Passion and Callum is a good pair.
Present me: Marlowe and blood. Name a better pair!
She really did huh. XD Also, fish b!tch is quite the nickname of Marlowe from Passion. Love it! XD

Thorn made a story about the fish's death, so we see his poetic side again. The part that mentions that the fish was picked randomly to die was such an ironic allegory to the Hunger Games, which they're in right now. I'm not surprised if Thorn is purposefully based from a typical SYOT writer. XD It fits. He'd probably be writing SYOT stories if he exists irl.

Cyprian was being dumb to fall for Caillou's tricks, but Caillou was slaying that moment! :O I thought she was messing Volt's game for making up answers that would probably have caused drama and conflict between Volt and Cyprian, had they gotten past this chapter.

Raven sees the light from the sponsor gift. It's nice that his optimism is slowly blooming. He's getting a good character development from that! :3

Then the battle! That was 4v3, but Cyprian is a double agent, so the battle could've flipped in favor of the side of 3. It's also interesting that Cyprian was lying to his allies, then they found out he was betraying them all along, so while the 3 career girls got a kill each, the damage has already been done by Cyprian. Passion now has most kills? Wow! I thought I was only good at sending in 12-year-olds for authors to have early non-bloodbath deaths. XD I have plenty of those haha! Good to see that Passion is on the top half, because I usually get bottom half deaths with my usual tribute mold.

It's worth mentioning that the career alliance is now a girl power alliance too. The 3 of them don't get along, but they are reality TV gold. XD Their interactions from the previous chapter is proof of that, and we saw a bit more of that here. I'm hoping for them to thrive. They won a big battle despite being outnumbered due to Cyrpian flipping on them, and they got a kill each. Also, they're the only ones alive who got kills so far. Usually, I'd root for the gutsy outer district alliance, but I have a career in this story rather than an outlying district tribute like I usually do. That probably has an impact as to why I didn't get a bottom-half placement here, but anything could've happened out of bad luck. Just didn't for me. Phew.

Pagani's story was generic, but she grew on me as the story went on. She's more than her story, and that's great character development from her. :) Cyprian got a love arc before he died, so that was nice for him. Volt is a cunning villain indeed. It was nice having him stir up an arc with Cyprian! :D

Glad Logan got out alive! I think there's more to him, but he has a wild ride so far, and now all his allies are gone. What a sad thing to experience as the leader.

OwO excited for more!

Yay you're back! :D

Ah, burnout. I get that too. I knew you'd be back. If you weren't after 6 months of the last update, I would've sent a message anyway. I take breaks once in a while. The longest I've been on hiatus was 7 months, and there were other 4-month and 6-month breaks that pretty much dragged my story into an almost 4-year run. In the end, what matters is that the product is finished from start to end. :) Take your time. Having profile updates would be nice if you'd like. It'll keep your readers aware what you're up to. I was a bit worried about your disappearance given that there's a pandemic, ngl. XD

People are stealing from the cornucopia hahaha! It's like an abandoned supermarket then everyone else just started looting what they need. The careers are on the losing end here, hahaha!

Thorn being Thorn, haha! The 11 representing Thorn and Luna was so fitting, and yes, poetic! He is, as we all know.

Blossom got to a cool part of the arena. Sculptures? Cool! The golden cup being transferable is interesting. Imagine if transferring it to the correct position would unlock a secret passage or something. Even with an arena like this which may seem generic at first, I like that you added unique points of interest in the arena. I can't remember the rest, but your writing really molds the arena as unique with a lot of places to visit. I'd explore the place if I wasn't in a deathmatch!

Career girl drama. LOL! Leto is too serious, and Marlowe and Passion are not getting along. XD Intriguing how Marlowe wanted to paint her face with her victims' blood. Wow. Interesting world building about it btw with it happening in a previous Hunger Games. Then we have Caillou. I was a bit scared for her, but I was thinking she'd be fine and not caught from her hiding place. Indeed, she wasn't caught. I really love her observation and memory with the voices. Caillou is super cool! Now, she plans to go to the cornucopia with the knowledge that the career girls won't be there. She's not planning to steal, but she wants to be close to the enemy, to observe them. Ooh! :o This can be a winning move, but it's a bit too early to tell haha! It's a risky move, but it's a good move!

Cyprian is being a double agent, hehe. Interesting reminder or revelation that he used to go on fake dates with pretty girls to be the role model of a D2M tribute. I'm really enjoying this arc with Volt. Volt is using his brain and charm on Cyprian. What I'm wondering is whether or not Volt's feelings for Cyprian are genuine, because I know for sure that Volt is doing this for himself, but how genuine is this love for Cyprian? Time will tell when we get there. I'm interested to see where this arc goes.

That's about it! I'm gonna pass proofreading my review. I have to catch up to a bunch after not reading for a few days for writing my own story. I've reviewed every chapter fwik, so counting my points won't be too difficult. I'll double check some other time if something is wrong with it. My expenses are all in 1 PM thread anyway, so it's also not hard to calculate it.

Excited for more! OwO

I’m happy to see you back! Logan, Volt, and Pagani seem to have a plan to ambush the careers. I wonder what it is and if it will work. I feel really bad for Thimble and Raven, it’s really hard to see a scenario that they both survive. Thimble being trapped and Raven getting more sick, it’s tough for them to survive. It may be Flux on her own soon if she comes back from her trip. Blossom.s paradise is great but now I wonder if it will have similar effect that Filly’s cabin had. A statue of Snow was creepy too. Volt and Cyprian are reunited and it seem that Volt and the others have a plan for the careers. I really wonder if Cyprian will go and poison the other careers. I think he will so he can be with Volt. I hope it doesn’t affect Logan and Pagani in a bad way. I can’t wait to see more and what happens. Overall, phenomenal chapter as usual and I can’t wait until the next one!

Love this chapter! I really hope Volt and Cyprian can have some actual time together. There always seems to be these kinds of plans in lots of Games I read but they never happen and I'm left wishing it had happened. I hope it actually happens this time. Quite clear Thimble and Raven don't have much time left. Even if he's saved, Thimble will be so weak. Can't wait for the next chapter!

Cyprian, you're going to make me cry. I mean I should have expected this. I'm the one who made you so starved for love that you'd do anything for affection, even if you know it's fake. But darn it what Volt's doing to you is the wooooooooorst.

Also I'm trying to figure out the cup riddle, and coming up with nothing. Best guess is it's poison. Or maybe an antidote to poison. I don't know. I wouldn't drink it, personally.

Aaah i need an update