Noooo Linden and Verona :(

Poor Alana too

Idk the rest.

F**k. Holy F**k. German schnitzel! Gods...
...
*, take a smoke beside a wall*
*, breathe*
...
F**k.

Okay, seriously tho. An impressive number of people died and got wounded. Practically everyone fought. Verona, a nice lady, at least got a quick death. Would have been really surprised if she didn't die. Warren, yeah, I had a feeling he was a bit of a redshirt. Thames was a bit surprising and Vera and Ricardo are once again Best Warriors for fighting the careers and making it out alive. Linden can't say the same tho, but he didn't have backup fighting the strongest tribute, so I am going to be mean here and say his death was really on him.

The one I'm most sad to die is Russett. He was a good guy, even a well-earned hero, and his death was... Kinda cool. Kinda anime-ish with Thames saying Russett did fine in the end, but that just made it better. And Now, District 8 won't get any Victor since Alana died from... Kaviraya.

I'll be honest, Kaviraya is a but forgettable.

What else? What else? Oh yeah, Lars. I'm not sure if it's surprising or not that Lars was the designated winner - but I can see it. I THOUGHT about it a year ago. He was interesting and a good friend, shame he didn't make one here.

7 deaths in a chapter that's neither a bloodbath nor a feast! :o
I mean, we didn't have bloodbath deaths, so 7 is a very valid number here.
Not only did the action finally pick up, but the flies started dropping as well!

I was keeping count of the deaths as I was reading the chapter. The eulogies at the end helped me confirm that some people aren't actually dead! :o Namely, Sarissa and Gio. Gio was injured in the latter half of the chapter. I didn't expect much from him, so I just thought: Oh well. His time has come, but then he's actually alive!? Awesome! I dunno for how long though because I thought he was dead. Then Sarissa. I was gonna say that I was so surprised with Sarissa going out this early, along with 2 out of just 4 careers! If she actually died, she'd be the biggest shocker in this chapter. I couldn't believe she died like that, and I couldn't believe she ACTUALLY SURVIVED! :O

I knew Vera would survive. Coming into this chapter, I wasn't sure with Ricardo. We know his tongue was cut thanks to his rebellious actions, but what confused me was that he whispered to the dead Russett? Not sure if he was trying to say that but couldn't, or if his tongue wasn't cut, or it was something else. He rarely spoke in the chapter anyway. Can't say he didn't deserve it based on his pre-games run, not that he necessarily deserves it either.

Warren died from a lightning strike? Wow. I thought the gamemakers would avoid the careers at least. Maybe they didn't really want to, but his luck was just rotten.

Verona was just there. Yeah. :/ Not really meant to go far. It's nice to check in with her surviving allies from a different perspective though.

Linden was killed by Sarissa. Russett was killed by Thames. Both career kills. It's hard to beat them, which is why I was surprised when Sarissa died, but didn't! She lost the fight anyway, and it had to be a tag team of Vera and Ricardo. How do you take out the queen on a chess board? Well, teamwork was a way to go for Vera and Ricardo!

Speaking of Thames, I was definitely surprised to see him go this early. He got unlucky, with a lightning strike too. Dang. These gamemakers must've just wanted blood spilled, regardless if it was a career or not. I can't believe Ricardo took out Thames with a little help from the arena. Wow. I can see how Ricardo wasn't hesitant in killing careers, unlike Doctor Suetos, whom he just knocked out, lol.

It's amusing to see that the description used for Zahira was also: She has seen better days. I've seen it not long ago to describe a D6F on a different story. I'm sure it's coincidence so I'm just amused with the description. XD Anyway, she got rid of Lars. :o Lars was given the opportunity to fight for his freedom, yet he lost it quickly. He seemed to be really strong, but he just got the bad end of the stick. He was up against Zahira after attacking Theilan. Well, it's not always the weak ones who go early. We have Warren, Thames, and Lars as the first few to die after the zero-person bloodbath.

I like the Aurelia and Nautia tag team, even though they injured my Gio. They're doing really well, and if they get lucky, I think both of them can go really far, like top 10 far.

Kaviraya meets an unknown tribute, whom he later finds out is Alana, when she was already dying from his attack. Well, yeah, Alana didn't deserve it, but for him to leave, he had to kill. Now, it looks like he's getting an arc. He'll be killing more I think? He's gonna be like a pseudo-career if this arc goes on. If not, then maybe something like an insane tribute, going off into the deep end. If this is indeed an arc, I'm excited to see where it brings him.

This chapter was fun and long. I enjoyed the details and actions we had here. This action-packed chapter is awesome! Excited for more! OwO

Well, that's that. Great chapter.

Nice chapter! I am still catching up tho, so i am excited for the games!

Tobias - Well, Verona and Tobias are thankfully alive and barely injured in Tobias's case. And once more, Tobias makes me laugh. Mostly I ask for lollipop's in banks, but I guess doctors do that too. I see that the two of them are concerned for Hermia rather than the other two allies. May the two of them be ready, whatever the case.

Emmanuel - Well, he saved Laelia! That's good. And apparently, the two don't like each other. Emmanuel is a bit of an ass, and Laelia is ignorant - almost painfully so. On the bright side, they found people who aren't going to kill them, BUT - ha, I said butt - they embarrassingly fell down a pit. Nice trap, wonder how it can improve with the Ten's onboard. I also like how Emmanuel is dumbfounded by the sudden turn of events, but yeah, I mean, the alliance if getting big, but hopefully, they will part ways reasonably even it comes down to it.

Pearlana - It's nice to see her plans not working, it's a small victory, but it's at least a little satisfying to see Pearlana frustrated.

Wondr'a - Yay! Wondr'a is cheering up a little! We all already know Theilan is a cool guy for cheering her up. Her getting better is always a plus, this chapter is getting better and better - wait, is that Lars coming at them? Oh, boi...

Aurelia - Oh, she met hp with Vera eh? Interesting team up at least, and thankfully, no one wants to kill each other. Yay for that. I can't say they have much in common, and Vera is getting really annoyed about people thinking she a rebel - because she isn't, of course? ;)

Well, at least there are no careers nearby.

Warren - Careers are nearby. Shit.

...
BRUUUUUH
XD XD XD

3 chapters since the beginning, and NOBODY has died. I am greatly amused! How the heck does this happen!? XD Well, yes, Pearlana has a point that the tributes have been reluctant. Some have barely interacted at all, and yet they're vibing, TOGETHER! XD I cannot. This is too funny and amusing for me. I just couldn't believe it. In a regular year, imagine a big alliance, and a tribute crawls into their nest. They'll just let the tribute into the nest, and then more tributes come, and the nest just grows bigger and bigger! Woooooooooow... This also means one other thing though: The careers are incompetent and gravely outnumbered. 4 versus 22? Compare that to 6 v 18, and the 18 usually decreases immediately at the bloodbath. Here, I'm just amazed how nobody has died after 3 chapters. You remind me of me writing The Amazing Race Pokémon in a way. I usually like giving teams enough screentime to the point that I don't eliminate anyone after the first episode. Well, usually. I'm not complaining at the lack of deaths. I'm just impressed, amazed, amused, etc. at how nobody has died in 3 chapters including the bloodbath. Like... how is that even possible!? XD Now I see how. Incredible. I... I can't even. *slow clapping* I really can't. *insert me crazy-laughing* XD XD XD

We get more depth with Wondr'a, and now it's just Wondr'a with Theilan. It's really nice. :3
Meanwhile, Zahira left the chat, since last chapter, lol.

It's also nice that the D10 pair interacted. Interesting comparison with how Emmanuel hasn't met someone like Laelia back home, and Laelia is getting the wrong interpretation of Emmanuel thanks to the media. Really nice interaction right there! :3

I forgot that we haven't heard from Aurelia and Nautia. :o Well now we have, but only from Aurelia. Surprised to see her with Vera, but now is the time all hell breaks loose. The gamemakers really want to get rid of Vera even with her positive intentions. If Vera wins, I would be very surprised because the gamemakers refuse to let her go under the radar. I don't know if she will lose next chapter, but I'm thinking Aurelia is biting the dust next, and maybe with one of the careers. I'm guessing Warren for that.

OwOwOwO!

Pearlana - So, people not dying is expected from her? I don't know if them being older is much of an excuse of having no deaths, I mean, I happened before in other fics, but yeah, the no death thing is surprising, and it's amusing districts - and Capitol, I guess - are reacting strongly at all.

Solomon - Oh come on! Like the careers weren't scary enough! Now Sarrisa has a sniping rifle and an invisible cloak, that's such BS! Love it. Solomon was, surprisingly, the one to talk sense to the others. And I mean, yeah, maybe they were supposed to kill others, but that really seems like a bad and stupid thing to go argue about. But Solomon with a Heli-m 550, hot damn, everyone is so f-ed.

Donna - Well, for the most part, Linden's alright, just a flesh wound. Besides that, Gio gave the idea of fighting the careers, and clearly, Donna doesn't really like that idea. I mean, I don't like the fact that she sees her allies as human shields, but at least, she has enough tact to tell the others to move far away without hurting anyone's feelings.

Maia - Well, I guess we can see a sneaky loner's perspective. Still, tho, can't believe she took Chris's jerky. Is nothing sacred anymore!? XD. Whatever. We saw some pieces of the arena, that's always nice. Maia has made her decision of being alone, and hey, she's surprisingly good at being sneaky if two large groups couldn't see her - like the careers. Man, Sarrisa looks like shes going to be insurable with the number calling.

Zahira - Well, her having reservations towards Won'dra was going to be a predictable thing, but she was nice enough. What wasn't expected was the fog - Zahira is on her own, and Won'dra and Thelian are on thier own. I'm not liking their chances.

Russett - Holy shit, the fog went to everyone! Mixed everything up! I love it! Russett was alone, then those wolves, yeah I guess mutts should have been expected, but in an action sequence like this, it was pretty awesome. Then Chris comes by, and I'm glad the two met up and kick some wolf butt. Then Alana joins the crew... which reveals that Russett is a bit jealous - never saw Russett like that, bit surprising - but Alana is a decent person, and I'm almost positive the three new teammates won't betray each other in a time like this. Then, I'm sure Alana is making a trap. Can't wait to see it.

Thames - Well, everyone survived. That's good? Right?... RIGHT?! In any case, Thames is making is very much not in favor of Sarrisa's current behavior and not so ironically, the career group seems to be the most fragile. But hey, everyone's alive. I think that Thame's noticing Sarrisa being a stereotype is a bit funny. And other things, not sure which? Thame's decision on possibly never allying with outer-tributes or the fact he has a katana.

Good chapter! :) So, are events like the fog going to happen every day?

Oh, so there were really no bloodbath deaths. :o But also, you'd expect someone to die some time in Day One, and yet there were none! Wow! Zahira's right though - less careers and more reluctant tributes. Of course the gamemakers have to send the fog and the mutts over. Unfortunately for them, still nobody died. Wow! Hahaha!

Ooh! I like Maia being sneaky. In fact, I like sneaky tributes a lot. :3

Interesting to see a bunch of loners... allied? Well, I can't really tell, but they're meeting one another, and they're reluctant to kill each other, so they're like temporarily together at least.

The most interesting one this chapter is Theilan. He has a soft spot for Wondr'a, and now that he's helping her, it satisfies his need to want to have more allies, in which Zahira was blocking him off of during the pre-games. I wonder where Theilan and Wondr'a will go from here, not as a team, but as an arc.

Excited for more! OwO

Almost 168 hours, but not yet 168 hours, haha!

Aurelia has proper closure with her business. I can't remember the guy, but from Aurelia's POV, I guess he deserved it.

Tobias and his fast money, haha! I remember the interaction with his niece calling him Uncle Tobi during his intros. :3

From Dr. Tuesday the robot, Kanton just humanized her. Wow. It took that much. I'm impressed. She's stone cold usually and I love her that way, but seeing this is definitely getting a new side of savage af Dr. Suetos. That bloodbath scene reminds me of how savage she still is. XD This goodbye scene just shows how multi-dimensional Tuesday is as a character.

Verona got a bunch of letters from home, as well as a scrapbook. Awww... she's really the grandma she is. :3

Alana's book is getting a movie? Awesome! :o :D

I find it ironic that Lars keeps getting the bad hand dealt on him, but the Hunger Games just turned the tables. For him to get to meet his loved ones here like this is not something that can easily be done in prison.

Linden got a talk with his wife after that spicy interview. :o Welp...

Haha! Yeah, not every Snow Islander is like Ricardo. Then Vera comes to visit and gets blocked off, lol. Of course the Snow Island district team didn't need more trouble, but Vera isn't really trouble to Ricardo. She just seems like one. This chaos was hilarious. XD

I didn't have specific comments for everyone, but overall, this is an interesting surprise! When I saw both chapters go up, I thought: What the heck!? Why are night before chapters so long? Who the heck would do that!? Nobody does this! That was surface-level impression though. As I read the chapters, it was nice to see that the tributes got their loved ones to visit them on the night before, which is cool and interesting! Lots of really touching family moments. :3 From here, now I understand why the night before chapters were so long. It's a special event and a unique one too! Everyone totally deserved screentime in a unique situation like this.

It was nice to see Gwendolyn on the first chapter! I remember her more than some other victors. Then the following chapter had Piper interact with her. Ooh! The subplot thickens. I wonder where it goes from here, but Piper and Gwen talking about the subplot was interesting.

This is the part where I get sappy about the story so far, because my tribute could be dead next chapter, but I read that before these so it probably won't be as sappy as it would've been, hahaha!

What I really like about this SYOT is that we really got to know the tributes. Quell or not, I just love it when tributes get depth and more than 2 POVs all throughout the story before the bloodbath. A lot of stories tend to do 1 for introducing everyone, then the 2nd POV is divided upon the pre-games, so loners tend to get less screentime. Not all authors give tributes this much depth and screentime, so I want to give you a round of applause for this. We really got to know everyone, even the 'boring' ones.

Also, no you're not a slow updater. You just took breaks and that is totally understandable. I do that too. The length of your writing shows why it takes you a while to pump out chapters, and really, I see this as already fast. I'm a slow reader, so I've been trying to keep up but I couldn't. Also, I love the detail and effort you put into every pre-games chapter, but gosh, I get overwhelmed by the wild lengths. My attention span couldn't keep up with the lengths, but really, brilliant quality with this story, especially for the pre-games. For me, what makes a story great is when the tributes are all memorable even if they die as bloodbaths. Well, this one definitely did it, so great job on this! :D

Thanks for waiting for me, but please write at your own pace. From here on out, now that I'm officially officially caught up, I'll be reading arena chapters asap because the action and excitement will start to pick up. Also because I don't want to be spoiled, which is why I had a panicked reaction when I saw the bloodbath come up while I haven't caught up.

I'll be keeping up in a timely manner from hereon out, but if ever I don't read it after a few days, no need to wait for me at all. I might just be on a burnout break or busy irl. The amount I read throughout the pre-games may have overwhelmed me, but we had a really wild ride so far. Now, on to the wilder ride!

P.S. This review has finally been proofread. XD

Wow I really love the capitol perspectives! seeing the politics/deals/drama/behind the scenes stuff from the capitol side is super interesting!

As for each of the tributes...
I liked veradisia, her attitude of always staying alive is really cool to see
Verona the badass 63 year old, I like it. The fact that she used to be a track athlete is also super interesting to see
linden's an interesting guy, can't wait to see more from him
Im worried about Thelian's mentality of always saving a life...its not going to serve him well considering this is the hunger games
Nice chapter!

Oof, I missed two chapters because of finals and now all of a sudden games are about to start? Im hyped.

also the tributes meant their families were WAY TOO FRICKING EMOTIONAL FOR ME OH MY GOD MY EHART IS NOT OK WHY ARE YOU SUCH A GOOD WRITER.

low-key attached to all these tributes now and will be very sad once any one of them dies. Can't wait for the games!

ANOTHER BLOODBATH, ANOTHER STRESS-RIDDEN HALF AN HOUR, anxiously biting my nails, awaiting death of my favorites.

I have to say, REALLY great job (I also am realizing I'm overdoing it with the capital letters, but this story is exciting and great). I've never actually seen a Bloodbath written exactly in this manner, which was very interesting. I liked how the Capitol side really cleared up some of the details about the design, the clothes, etc. As a writer, you have an incredible attention to detail and it shines in this chapter (just as it did in the last one. That one was one of my favorites so far, and I haven't reviewed it which I feel guilty about, but I'm just going to mention really quickly here that once again, you really did justice to all the characters. I didn't feel like any of them didn't get somewhat of a closure, and I really love when authors do that. You nailed it my dude). A few confusing questions: What was Maia doing, outstretching her arms? I loved the small little perspectives on the tributes. It gave us perspective as to how they were placed, and it was removed enough that we didn't get the usual "spinny camera panic" people go for, when writing bloodbaths (I know I did ahaha).

Huge tangent I went on aside, Love-love-loved that random Russian! Again, I think you do an incredible job really fleshing out the world beyond Panem with characters like these. Big yikes shoutout to Meredith's life. Love the intrigue, love the world building. You just leave me wanting to find out more about this other country and their policies and how on earth they're collaborating with Panem (although to be fair, it IS Russia). "Privet Prim'yer" is my new meme, I love it.

Vera: wow I thought she was a goner. Honestly, Sarissa seemed like a huge threat, and Vera somehow didn't die? Congrats! She was never one of my favorites, but she's definitely interesting and her story isn't done yet. Furthermore, I'm surprised they didn't sike the stronger tributes on Ricardo, the dude just smashed both Careers like it was nothing. I'm not complaining, it's just ... showdown time anyone?

Verona: LMAO that interaction with Tuesday. Woman doesn't even blink, just steals her shit and leaves ahahaah ! I don't know if it was intentionally funny or not, but I love Tuesday she's such a character, and this whole interaction just felt whimsical and hilarious. Please don't kill Tuesday, for god's sake! :') Please let her produce some more meme-able golden material.

Linden: Hmmmm he got shot, but he's not panicking. Clearly has a good head on his shoulders, but also some derpy allies who want to take the CORNUCOPIA? DID I HEAR THAT rIGHT? Gio my dear sweet boy, please no. Very interesting how no one is really fighting... I think it's great how you set this up as a contrast to the kids who usually go right at whacking each other with swords... these guys are smart and weary, and they're reticent to start anything.

Theilan: Dannng from the second he started talking to Wondr'a I knew he was talking her out of killing herself... that's rough man. Also holy shit Zahira is gonna be pisseeeeeed. Like, she's gonna kill somebody and it's sooner rather than later... yikes :') I predict this alliance being a complete shipwreck, which makes me sad, because these guys were co-workers and somewhat friendly... urgh. Living for the drama though.

Great chapter, can't wait for the next one!

Okay, Meredith... Is pretty pro-Capitol and arrogant being a DeWynter - a family you keep making me hate - while I cannot deny that a few things interest me about her. Like her being a Peacekeeper and her loveless marriage. I mean, Blue Hells, did Meredith not have any complaints with marrying Anders before it happened!? But hey, Anders can get a guy and Meredith can have that nice Russian war hero booty. I feel like this is going to end up as a marriage in name only thing(unless it already is, at least they look like they tried to get along at the start of the chapter), if not outright divorce later.

So much suspense, so much wait, it's finally here. Still, worth the wait to read this.

Moving on to the games, so... The arena's a jungle or a forest place - I'm thinking about the 75th Hunger Games map, just with a seasonal twist instead of one piece of the arena having a disaster.

A lot of impressive things happened - like the death and fighting(expect the careers), Ricardo beating down two careers, Thelian helping Won'dra and assisting her on not killing herself. I was expecting to write up a eulogy for the fallen, but I don't have to this chapter - pretty cool. So far, the most worrying thing here is Linden's injury (can't be too bad, it's the arm) and Ricardo and Vera being hunted down.

meredith meredith meredith dewynter... just like the rest of her family she's quite a piece of work isn't she? married into another socialite family but one that's more militaristic than politically inclined... she doesn't seem to be particularly enthused with her husband. fraught marriage, made more on a transactional basis for networking purposes than because they actually love each other mayhaps? that's the feeling i'm getting at least. she's clearly got a very high sense of familial loyalty - proud, distinguished, concerned with the power she holds and the image she must preserve as part of what's really sort of a legacy in your panem. the dewynters arent just the (now) presidential family, they're genuinely renowned as panemian leaders in politics, social networking, business, etc. fun stuff.

so she's less close with her mother (who she actually seems to see as a bit shallow) and more endeared to her father, who definitely has more of a powerful "presence." not one to be left in the shadows or care about, in her words, fashion or community happenings; meredith's young but she's not frivolous, she seems quite cunning and ambitious, more like viondra than i'd expected honestly. some fun interaction with the SI victors and her cousins... are francisco and saoirse involved? hehe... kinda seems like that might be the case. emilia "my room is where the real party begins" dewynter is honestly? me? i stan her? get me some alcohol and poof the fuck out of the party. what a mood.

viondra is FLEXING lmfao "district 4 has lost its luster" yeah there's that rivalry we've been so eager to get back to! oh the behind the scenes drama is always a lot of fun... meredith handled that kind-of diss/passive-aggressiveness well, with a grace that probably ought to be expected... and then the interaction with the premier! one of my favorite parts of this chapter purely because of the implications his russian heritage has regarding your panem and this verse as a whole... it's good to see that linguistics are still a thing and cultures are still diverse... often with the panem dystopia people abide by the canon establishment of isolationism and effectively avoid addressing the question of whether panem is or is not alone in the world... it's always seemed highly unlikely to me that the panemian regime is the only one still around. this is good stuff. speaking of which, i need to get back to practicing my romanian... i get reminders at least once a day but im so lazy man ghjknhg i cant haha

margot/meredith interaction was a lot of fun and i love the insight we have to the whole meredith/anders dynamic now! so yeah they're married but there's no intimacy or real romantic connection there... i can see why meredith would be unhappy anyway but knowing she's pretty much anders' beard is the icing on the cake, fuuuuck. depressing shit. maybe she could shack up w/ margot instead for a bit, hmm? lmao sorry i had to!

they actually announced the games as metamorphosis! is this breaking the fourth wall or is it actually an in universe games naming ceremony hahaha. that's so cool, and how they got commentators and everything about the different facets of the games... we got stylists addressing uniforms... gamemakers addressing arena aspects... neat. then comes the countdown and some insight to positioning which IM SO HERE FOR yeah splitting up the rebels was deliberate and fun! vera almost got trashed and sarissa's hatred for her - especially after she slipped away thanks to that save from ricardo - spells an intense rematch in the future. honestly thought she was done for for a solid minute or two! wow, wouldn't THAT have been something! she's been such a prominent figure since the reapings but i can see her falling to the wayside now that we're actually in the arena...

verona, hermia, tobias and alana are splitting from the big rebel squared duo and heading off together... makes for a tense potential reunion in the future. really im just happy all four of these peeps survived, they're some of my favorites in the story as a whole and i'd LOOOOOVE to see tobi or verona win even though i really dont see it happening! ugh idgaf if they're on-the-verge-geezers or not these hoes got personality in spades and i adore it

thames tackling linden and flipping out on him haha whoa man chill xD linden almost went down too... nice save from an ally again. tbh i wouldnt have minded if he went but laelia comes in with a HIT! i think that'll be an interesting moment to shift their continued relationship as allies from here out.

theilannnnnn my boy dxdcfvgbhjyct he saved wondra from commiting suicide and just? yeah. good shit, and thank fuck because wondra is SUCH a qt and i wouldnt have handled that well lmfao... zahira's pissed and rightfully so, after all wondra isnt even their ally and they had a plan set, but you know theilan. he's got a soft heart. sees a person in need and cant help wanting to reach out and kinda take on a therapeutic or parental role for them. probably bad for his odds but meh. and we get some interaction with him and kavi! cfvghbjnk did you do that for me lmao? i love it. they're older than me but they're both my kids and theyre both alive which im glad for... we'll see what happens tho! thanks again so much for everything you've done with them both, especially developing that little relationship with kavi and mary all on your own like honestly i didnt expect it but im LIVING for that shit! least v has a good home now for when he dies haha. theilan and tanav... aisha... they wont get to know their dad... that hurts my heart. d6 chipping in to support and care for neha though, good stuff. she deserves it, a certified queen.

awesome update my dude! some fun stuff happening and the plots getting thicker haha. cant wait to see what the games got in store! til the next