Eeeeeep, there's not much to say here. It's nice to have all the loose ends tied up from our victor. You know i've never been the biggest fan of her, but reading a story like this is such an experience regardless. She has her story and her flaws and, at the end of the day, she's got her win! There's something really satisfying about seeing a character struggle after their win but knowing that they have the strength to get through.

The little eulogies too! Ahhhh, so cute. I love seeing these little glimpses into the mind of our author. I especially like that you have the humility to say which characters you didn't understand. I agree with a lot of the sentiments here. I made the most ungodly sound at Finn, so grateful to have been a part of the journey.

there’s a lot to say here so why don’t I just go by death order to organize this a bit? I could spend a half hour on this review because there’s so much to be said but I also feel like i’ve said a lot of this before, so i’ll do us both a favor and keep this short….er…. maybe.

6th: andronika.
the intensity of this POV… the complexity in their relationship, in andronika not trusting him yet still caring for him, was really killer. I don’t know how else to describe things at this point because apparently im illiterate, so. the confusion and the hurt really sold it for me because these two have a connection and of course there’s going to be a ton of emotion in that betrayal even if she saw it coming. plus how dramatic her death was, falling from the railing, followed by enoch disappearing… SHIT. I loved it.
rip andronika; may your mind find peace in death.

5th: riette.
autocorrect has fucked up her name so many ties I added it to my laptop dictionary. that’s the power of pud.
again, I love that this isn’t just happening over one single pov— you have auberon, now riette, and you keep showing short bursts from whoever needs to be shown. it’s really cool, again!
i’ll admit that I was surprised to see riette come this far, but given her journey and who she’s ended up with, it makes sense for her to end up here.
“i’m okay. I promise.” all your final lines just hurt me. stop. please. I don’t have the emotional capacity for this. rip riette… proud of you, girl.

4th: auberon.
the purest of d10 boys. I love the way you’re varying these tribute deaths, even with the few weapons that are available. the line of him being lifted up like a marionette was SO good and the mental image of his death was just really powerful. him warning the others but doing so in such a way that you don’t even reveal it for a little while was a nice way to end his arc. rip auberon: murdered by a clown.
kidding, please don’t hate me for that.

3rd: enoch.
I liked enoch, but by this finale it became clear that I could not like the person he became. and that’s okay, because the truth is death and murder are going to change everyone and not everyone’s going to still be a good person. for enoch, he fit the villain role nicely, gradually filled it in tirsa’s absence. that was probably my favorite part, that while he became the new villain it was slow-moving, over the course of several chapters.
this fight scene truly was the best of the bunch, especially in its culmination. I don’t know how to sing you enough praises for your word choice, your pacing, everything that goes into a fight scene like this. but the way it culminates, with enoch falling back into the flames, staggering out, and then falling to the floor dead… absolutely stunning. truly.
rip enoch. I rooted for you until I couldn’t anymore, and even then, I still loved you as a character.

2nd: murphy.
i’m glad we didn’t have to see murphy and astrid fight, honestly. it would have shattered me.
you have heard my live thoughts on this but I’m still obsessed with the way that this victor is crowned. just because one holds on slightly longer.
and I screamed at the “wake up, astrid.” it was pure, it was beautiful, it was… what z deserves. truly, an excellent victor reveal.

and, astrid.
i’ve given my epilogue thoughts already but… a lovely victor, and i’m biased because she was close to baylor, but truly I loved her path through the games and while I think both murphy and astrid would have made great victors, I can see why you picked her. we do get to see murphy again real soon, but she’s an excellent victor and I love the way you’ve written her.
congratulations, astrid! (and z)

favorite story moment: the baylor/murphy/astrid/frances fight with a runner-up award to this finale. all the fighting in the church was just killer, okay?

favorite tribute: unpopular opinion but I really enjoyed frances. did I want her to win? not necessarily, which is why i’m confused. but I liked her energy, I loved her relationship with murphy (even if I didn’t love her alliance with baylor at times) but yes. I liked enoch for awhile, auberon grew on me, and of course I adored astrid and murphy. i’m obsessed with that final two.

and overall thoughts? as this is my final review for this story… thanks for the ride! as i’ve mentioned before, it’s been so much fun to see this story progress and to hear bits of your writing process as it continued. one of my favorite SYOTs i’ve been a part of, as your care for all these tributes and your desire to do them justice is so evident. i’m so proud of you for completing this and so glad you’ve enjoyed it as well, because that’s what we’re here for!

praise limos. i’ll talk to you soon! 3

a quieter chapter, but quiet doesn’t meant slow. it was a perfect way to lead into the next chapter— to bring everyone together without it really being forced. we know they’ve been driven towards the church for the last few chapters so it’s not abrupt and it feels organic.

also nice to check in with everyone another time.

we get to see riette on her own, briefly, reminding us of how nysa defended her when she felt broken down from linden and how she’s got more fight in her than she initially showed.

there’s auberon again, properly mourning nysa and allowing himself to feel everything— the fury, the trauma, the overwhelming sadness and injustice. all of this may have been formally catalyzed by nysa’s death but it’s been bubbling for quite some time and it’s a nice contrast to the quieter way that other tributes are dealing with their own angst.

andronika is killing it, of course. she’s determined as ever, although i’m still somewhat less connected with her than with the others. she’s not emotionless— you said it yourself, it’s more of a quiet strength— but there are other characters who feel easier to empathize with. not that I don’t empathize with her, but when there are others to care about and root for, she’s lower on the hierarchy.

astrid and murphy are coping in their own ways in the immediate aftermath. nice touch for them to burn the bodies— it’s rational, given what they know about the zombies, and respectful, almost a way to bury the dead when so many other bodies have been eaten or destroyed by other means. kind of a contrast between what tirsa did earlier, burning the bodies to send their souls to limos or however she justified it. there’s care here, even if they don’t outright say it.

I loved the shorter cuts here, showing the tributes on either side of the door and their respective reasoning. you really make the short POVs work for you and I do really enjoy the less standard version of setting up POVs. you throw in voices where they’re needed and it still has a nice flow to it.

praise limos indeed. we finish with another check-in of enoch followed by the arrival of andronika. now everyone’s here together and the real fun is about to begin. again I love how this finale set up was catalyzed several chapters ago so them all being here is neither forced nor coincidental. everything works together! I love it.

praise limos. I don’t think ive reviewed your iconic finale so that’s where i’m off to next!

how do I even review this
reading this again…in full…?
it’s breaking me. you bitch. how dare you make me care about all four of these kids so much.

frances’ opening bit with all the thoughts going crazy, and her realizing she couldn’t read baylor, was so goddamn cool. I think this chapter, at the very least this whole sequence with this alliance fighting, is my favorite part of the story. close runner up is the finale but we’ll get there. I just love the emotional complexity, all the relationships at stake here, and how everything each character does just makes so much sense to them. frances trying to get away, to not get involved, is very much her. baylor attacking isn’t her exactly, but her power overcoming her. astrid and murphy, naturally, wouldn’t want to kill automatically, even if their ally is attacking another. I really like how they hold off for so long, essentially until they can’t anymore.

I just love the speed and the intensity of this scene and like how do I even praise it enough? baylor sort of coming back to reality from astrid’s presence just made me feel things again and there’s so much going on here but you organize it so nicely. even though there’s a lot, it’s not overwhelming.

of course I loved this little peek into baylor’s mind… some piece of humanity among her reptilian, killing mindset. she seems calm, and then boom, she’s gone again. I love how you staggered the pacing here— gave us a bit of a rest before “oh hey lol she’s gonna attack again”. really cool.

I screamed when I thought murphy died I was like NUH UH BITCH YOU DID NOT—

and frances thought murphy died… FUCK.

it’s the worse version fo baylor not realizing she killed frances. astrid not telling her to spare her the hurt. bitch THAT hurt ME. murphy, rising from the flames, not so triumphant but instead battered, broken, so shattered by frances’ death. his internal pain paralleled with her physical pain was a really nice touch. him feeling that he failed frances… shit HURTS.

go to sleep, baylor… you earned a rest.
where’s that gif that goes “if I could feel anything I would totally be crying right now.” that’s me.
everything about this scene just hurts in all the best and worst ways. how dare you give baylor the gaylor a tender, precious death scene. while frances is dead in the back and murphy is crying over her I swear to god im gonna riot from the emotionality of this shit.

anyways enoch is back on his bullshit and I love it. he does seem to have his shit together a little tooooo much… so not sure (yes I am) if he has room for development moving forward or if he’ll be one of the next to fall.

and nysa— this hurt as well. I think I am more tied to riette and auberon as it stands so maybe that’s why I wasn’t as connected to the alliance? but it was very noble of her to rush in and save him… and his pain at her having done that just hurts, okay. I don’t know how else to describe that at this point because everything’s a lil numb since baylor but. you’re really killing it with the deaths, okay.

as for baylor… not sure if I ever gave a proper thanks for writing her, but— thanks so much. it was great to be in a completed story of yours and great to watch her grow. I think for most of the stories I submit to, I care very little for the other tributes and mainly focus on my own… but here, the relationships she made and the connections that formed outside of her were so compelling that even though I mourn her, I feel even more connected to the story and the other characters in her death. that just speaks to your skills as a writer in how you’ve really made me connect with all these tributes who I normally just write off a bit while i’d focus on my own. I miss her, but there’s so much else to keep reading’s going to miss everyone, too.

if I made predictions here i’d still get them wrong you know how stupid I am so imma just go into the next chapter before my brain cells black out again

I really love how you split finn’s povs here so we get to see some time passing between him seriously starting to doubt his upbringing, his faith, his spirit, and him eventually being pushed to the point of yelling “FUCK LIMOS” which from him was super powerful. I think you did a really good job of this being hinted at over a period of time and being a natural progression from his journey so far in the story. it wasn’t abrupt or forced. that goes for pretty much all the development so far… you do a really good job of planning everything out and for finn it was just really nicely executed.

I love auberon and riette and nysa. for some reason as much as I love the individuals im not as emotionally tied to the alliance, which doesn’t make sense to me. because nysa clearly cares so much for them, and they for her, and… I guess when I compare them to other alliances right now they just aren’t as fiery and powerful so they fall behind in my mind compared to frances/murphy and astrid/baylor. but I love them all as individuals, lemme just reiterate that… any one of them could be victor and i’d be pleased because of what you’ve done with them so far and the way you capture their thoughts.

here, with murphy, I think you kill it with him caring about oliver and really acting to it. because yes, they’ve technically just met, but this is a valid response and it makes sense in the context of the story to me. oh by the way, murphy literally using a zombie’s severed arm to clear a path is a gd power move if i’ve ever seen one.

I mentioned finn already but this was one of the best death scenes in this pic if not THE best one. especially in the way you lead to those final sentences about him wanting to be forgiven for his sins…. oof. i’m gonna need a few minutes and a cup of choccy milk to recover. hold up.

baylor and astrid, sitting in a tree. k-I-s-s-
I love the progression here, from them literally launching themselves out of the tree to punch the shit out of some zombies, the image of them booking it towards the church while murphy and frances come up on their side (i’m imagining the bloodbath scene from the catching fire movie now, katniss and the other guy running down the adjacent spokes, in case you wanna see how I imagine this), to then getting some relative calm in the church…. except baylor’s going crazy from the stress. #blessed to be able to just go ahead and rush into this next chapter at this point so I can give you alllll my thoughts on what’s about to go down!

alright SO

decided I might fuck around and review this fully because it’s worth at least another reread, maybe five, who’s to say? also you deserve them fat reviews. #getcoreyto400

okay I fuck with the spookiness of tirsa coming back right away. if I were andronika i’d be bugging out too. and okay i’ve always connected a bit with enoch so I can’t say I blame him for staying hidden— it’s self-preservation and he’s smart to break off that alliance now, while he still can.

baystrid…. my gay daughters…. I love them so much. astrid telling baylor to fight her if she sees her was so fantastic. jokes aside about their non-canon (or is it?) pairing, they really are a killer alliance. the bickering and snapping at each other commingled with their actual care for keeping the other alive is so tender.

finn and ash…. fucks sake this hurt even worse the second time. you do an excellent job contrasting two of the more devout tributes and their clash is so real, so rooted in their beliefs. it was a fitting way for ashriel to go even if it physically pains me. “i’m ready for you, limos…” chills. god damn.

I love the way you throw in these quick interludes with the game makers, a quick reminder that this scene, as organic as it seems, is still orchestrated, manipulated by fingers pulling strings behind their screens. it also adds nicely to the dramatics and quick pace of the chapter!

murphy really shone through here. I do love that you’re checking in with everyone, even for a short few paragraphs— it means you have the freedom to show what you want to show and cut in with some quick POVs when you want to, which for this chapter worked great. things are definitely picking up, the kids are fighting harder and slowly becoming more and more a part of the arena in terms of their mentalities. even murphy has had to get serious for once. there’s no way back at this point— the zombies are going to keep everyone moving.

I hope these reviews make sense because i’m trying to respond to your chapters objectively even though I know what’s coming and tributes’ development and whatnot! ok see u in a few bb

omg this is the second time you make me believe Murphy is gone aaaaa I don't know if being happy or sad because I adore him but now he's a zombie! I'll be happy because I get to see him more. Does his heart beat and pump blood or he's just an animated dead body that uses some kind of fuel to reanimate? Cyril is fascinating and I loved to hear about his experiments and that he's fond of his "kids". I was ready to hate the guy when the nightthorn issue happened and root for Bacchus, but I just cant. I don't think I'll ever get to like Bacchus because his lack of backbone is ennervating, and his inaction during the games caused a lot of suffering to the tributes.
It was a good touch to show all the differences with canon Panem about the victors. And yes, it doesn't make sense that they get treated like celebrities.

Loved reading the eulogies!

okay wow! we are here! the epilogue/official conclusion of the MASTERPIECE known as PUD! holy SHIT, dude - it feels like you just started this fic yesterday and now... its over. congratulations, because this fic's been such a wild and complex ride from start to finish... with the introduction of religion into panem, to cyril creating zombies, to your six person finale chapter... im just like :') forever in awe of your worldbuilding capabilities and your plot execution.

victor!astrid... i think you already know how i feel about this from what i've expressed in DM but im SO PLEASED with this decision and with your final two overall... both of them were power players in this story and more than deserved the win, but seeing astrid come out on top after being so thoroughly beaten down by religion throughout her life is rather satisfying. she's still got the same dry, snarky, sardonic sort of attitude she's always had, although (understandably) winning the games has definitely injected some more melancholy and jadedness into her. her connection with wyatt is honestly so heartwrenching, just knowing that he's one of the few positive connections she's had in her life and seeing how much she's already kinda leaning into him for support brings out the feels.

not wanting to indulge bacchus in conversation makes total sense; i'd be shocked if she actually chose to engage with him. interesting to see as well that he's being blamed for the zombies... i wonder how well known cyril's actions are amongst the capitol. poor dude's probably being shat on for something totally beyond his control. though personally i do favor cyril :') mad scientist babe ftw. hdjdkdkdkdkd and HE BROUGHT BACK MURPHY?! MURPHY IS CYRIL'S ASSISTANT?! WE HAVE ZOMBIE!MURPHY?! LISTEN. LIS. TEN. LISTEN. i was not ready for this. what the fuck. DUDE. im screeching this was such a perfect note to end the story on and set up for SFU. also so glad that the babe isnt dead. AND HES STILL CRACKING ONE-LINERS! shidkdkd fuuuuck i love this okay? (insert discord pleading face) hopefully we get more zombie!murphy in SFU.

the eulogies are wonderful. thank you for writing this story and putting so much into it for us readers. i'm honored to have been a part of this journey and even more honored to be privy to the camaraderie that's formed out of it. cant believe its over for PUD but im excited to see what you have in store for us with SFU and TAOW. until the next time i review! take care, bruv.

hey i havent reviewed in like 3 chapters but here's a good place to start!

...looking back at my review history i have not submitted a review since august 9. that's fun for me! love that!

this story was wild. literally wild. i was so attached to so many characters and it feels so bizarre that we've just... come this far!

i'm happy astrid won. at the end of the day, she does deserve it - she's come oh so far and had a hell lot of development. you really said it in your eulogy for her (is it a eulogy if she's alive? maybe? who knows.) that she was really carved out and defined by those she came into contact with. though she might've tried to be icy and heartless, that wasn't her. she really did care too deeply about those she interacted with and only wanted the best, and that set her apart from some of the other tributes who really only wanted themselves to go far without much care for those beside them. it displayed a side of humanity that's interesting to see where so many others fell apart. maybe i'll have to go back and review chaper 24 just to get some more of my thoughts out on that.

but no, she's alive and better than ever! it's good to see that some of the rage she feels towards her victory is being put into a productive mindset already. she deserves everything that's coming to her with her newfound freedom, and i'm quite excited to see how she deals with the upcoming district 5 tributes. it'll be good to see her again, back in action as a mentor.

and then we have... murphy!

i never could have guessed this would be the route you'd take him. you said we'd see him again and i thought it meant the eulogy... but you had something entirely different up your sleeve! i won't say i'm not jumping at the fact that though he died, he's not... dead. and cyril's assistant, too! i really want to see what cyril saw that was worth keeping him around in the undead world - his skin regeneration for sure, but maybe he's got a childish, cheeky side to him too.

even if he wasn't my tribute i think this is a stellar new plotline and i'm really excited to see it play out in 6fu. you're breathing new life into him and i'm excited as can be - you know i wasn't really ready to say goodbye to him, either. i think he's one of my most favorite tributes i've made, and this is beyond anything i ever expected for him!

"And that's why you're my apprentice, Prentice. Let's get going. We have a point to prove."

LEMME DIEEEEE! that was SUCH a good ending line

ugh corey i've loved this story through and through and i'm honestly so sad to see pud finally ending. you've taken us all on such a journey and i've gotten attached to so many of these tributes it's hard to say goodbye.

so goodbye pud!

also three cheers for finally being in a completed corey story!

see you in 6fu. see you apprentice, prentice.

Ok Corey count yourself lucky because I got a HUGE review queue and you just got cut right to the front because PUSHING UP DAISIES IS OVER LIKE WHAT? Plus I should be making a trib for you and Em but... I guess I'm reading and reviewing?
Of course Astrid wants a cigarette. *sigh* And of course she's snarky with Bacchus. Is anyone surprised here? Not me. I do appreciate that we're getting a bit of her backstory? Up to this point, she was only personality with no backstory.
Awww... Tobias... making me sad here. Plus we're getting to know Wyatt before he loses his crap in the Six Feet Under? Since Elika and his ally (I forgot his name... rip) are coming back?
Victors in this verse are also so interesting too. The dynamic is crazy different but I kinda dig it?

Oh dear... Cyril... no me gusta. And he's back with his zombie creations... ugh.
WHAT IS HE DOING? So when you said you'd bring back Auberon... you meant as a zombie? That's it; you're a clown again. Absolute clown. You knew I was so attached to him and yet you said "what if I bring him back?" WELL BRING HIM BACK AS A ZOMBIE YOU SNAKE?
ugh.
WOAH. Boy with tight curls and a square jaw. This is Murphy, isn't it... but as a zombie/human mix...
*sigh*
I both love and hate this. Leaning towards hate, but I'm fascinated. Cyril can go die.

Ok, after reading your (mostly) sweet eulogies, I take back the "clown" and "snake." Just for now. Know that they'll likely be coming back in Six Feet Under. A lot.

Anyway, concluding thoughts on the story to lay it to rest? (haha lol ok)
I don't think I've ever been this engaged in a story. I may be a little biased since I've been trying to get in on one of your SYOTs for years and the completed SYOTs I read were years ago, but I don't remember ever getting this attached to so many characters. Usually, when I see an update, I add it to my review queue, but I always had to read and review instantly for PuD. I always just HAD to know.
Now this wouldn't really be a Joseph concluding review if I didn't give a few critical thoughts... but I'm struggling on this one. It was just so GOOD; plus, I'm kinda like "who am i to critique corey?" But I'd say... the pre-Games were definitely the rougher part of this story. The lack of character intros meant that we didn't have a "before" to anchor us into a character before we saw the damage the Games did to them. For the characters that lasted till the end, it didn't make a huge difference, but it definitely affected those that died early, like Hendon, in giving them significantly less screen time. Plus it made the pre-Games a lot more confusing. That's honestly the only negative thing I can say about this story.
So yeah. It's over. Thank you so much for this wild ride; it's even inspired a couple of things for my stories stylistically (I'm stealing this 3rd Person Limited POV method for Justice). It took a hot sec for me to get started (at me kinda confused and non-attached in the early pre-Games), but once I got attached... oh boy... my heart... you fricken' heard my breakdown you know what I'm talking about.
Now it's far too late for me here so I can't work on my submission? ERGH I'll make it happen if I have to brute force it.
Happy writing!

MURPHY IS CYRIL'S SERVANT. Fuckin wild, LOVED this, oh my god, he even says dirty one-liners in his second life, holy motha. So happy about this hahahha.

I really liked Astrid's interactions with Bacchus and Wyatt. She flippin hates Bacchus and refuses to ever give him a chance (with GREAT reason of course) and then I felt myself sadden when I read Wyatt easily open up his feelings to her, how lonely he felt when he came back and how he wants to make sure she's okay... so sweet. Wyatt is a babe for sure, ABSOLUTELY cannot wait to see these two mentor in 6FU (I really like this initialism).

These tribute obituaries were so sweet too- I love how so many SYOT writers here care about the tributes so much :'). I'm so thankful I get to read your stories they are so fun and enthralling and I'm happy I get to experience this big round 2 of yours over the past few months. You're da guy Corey!

Happy writing my well-written friend, I'll see you in the review section of 6FU and maybe even AoW ;)

okay I SAID I wasnt reviewing till this weekend but this has made me feel things so here we go anyways

ugh I was obsessed with the way you closed this story. you havent gotten my written thoughts on all these chapters yet cause ive been a bit lazy with reviews but I think this was the perfect way to tie it up. from the chapter title (yes), to astrid being so cynical as expected, to her bonding with wyatt? scars on her face reminding her of baylor? wait back to wyatt first they will be the fperfect neighbors. especially as you tied in her backstory here to where she doesn't have anyone to go home to... now she has him. a bit of sunshine in what's already very dark for her!

you of course know already how hyped I was to learn about ap-Prentice and the reveal here was SO good. I thought you were gonna bring fucking tirsa back too so thank god. but yeah, it really ties so nicely into SFU and you've really done an outstanding job connecting these stories beyond the same verse and some similar characters. it's going to be fun to see what other easter eggs you throw in there for us!

and then for the tribute blurbs, I read them all and they were really so gd sweet I almost shed a tear. you truly cared for these tributes and that's part of what has made this such a compelling story. beyond the excellent writing, plotting, execution, is a careful love for what you're doing and it's really so sweet to see.

i'm so proud of you for completing this (and killing it along the way). i'm so glad to have gotten to know you through this whirlwind of a pandemic and an apocalypse- I have always looked up to you for your writing and I'm blessed to know you now too as such a caring (shady, lowly) friend now, too.

ill see you soon with sfu and taow. till then- you did it, corey! you darn did it.

Ugh, I though Enoch was gonna win. I was low key rooting for him. Sorry, I haven’t been around much or low key went into a ghost reader. I had to do a mental reset.

Favorite moment. Probably when Loire died. I don’t know. It was sad, but I thought you wrote her death so eloquently. I also miss the early interactions with Cliff and their little group. Their hangs around the water we’re a fav. Ugh.

Fav tribute? Enoch. I don’t know, I just really enjoyed reading him through the Games. He just surprised me, I don’t know. I’m not using words, I know.

Story thoughts? This is worthy of publication. You’ve outgrown FF my man. You’re an author. Collins level. In my book.

This ending was complete chaos and pleasantly surprised me because I was under the impression that there was going to be one more arena chapter after this one.

To start off, enjoyed how six tributes were in the finale, definitely a change of pace from normal 2-4 finales. It added an extra sense of panic! I can't say Astrid was my choice but I can at least say that she totally deserved a victory. Of course I wanted Murphy, but I'm happy he made it to second place. Astrid overall went through development that didn't completely overhaul her original traits and I like that. I think she deserved to win a bit more than Auberon and Riette.

Favorite moment of the story had to be when Frances hears Murphy's voice and rolled her eyes! Loved that because I honestly didn't expect much in the arena from either D3 tribute but they both proved that they were competent, and then it was very satisfying to see them come together mid-games! That was a fun dynamic.

Favorite tribute easily became Murphy. I've stated it before, I loved his 180 from the joking boy he was before and his subtleties really captivated me!

Overall thoughts: I loved it! Thoroughly enjoyed the characters and their dynamics! One thing that did bog some parts down for me were some of the slower parts specifically with Riette and Nysa BUT I understand that these parts played a crucial role in the story and I appreciate those moments for it! Everything else, however, enthralled me and I think you should be very very proud of this piece of art that you have created. Especially the superpower mechanic- that brought this one to a whole other level!

Congrats to Astrid for winning! Yes, I wanted Murphy to win, but I am pleased with this ending and I understand why you made Astrid win. Perhaps the winner would have been different if Dr. Cyril didn't mess the games up. Perhaps in that case, the winner would have been Murphy or Enoch, in this case, choosing Astrid as victor makes sense to me.

Andronkia tried not to trust, but failed. She should have killed him straight away when she had the chance. RIP.
Enoch appeared different in this chapter. He never struck me as vicious. Perhaps the fact that they're so close to win made his worst traits resurface. Unhealthy coping mechanism for his insecurities, but that attitude helps you more than not.
Riette, the moment she lost her mind I knew she was going to go. She did well for a girl that hasn't toughened up yet before going to the arena. Extreme stress situations finally took a toll on her. Even when she killed her, Astrid was sweet to her.
Auberon, he did it well, he really did, but sometimes doing it well isn't enough. Other people did it better.
Oh and thank you for not making Murphy and Astrid turn on each other. At least, Astrid won't have this terrible memory of her having to kill his ally. They defended each other to the very end. Of course, I like reading about people having to take difficult decissions, but once in a while I love things like these. It suits them.

Fav moment of this story: When Ashriel awakened her power and everything started dying, including Castanea.

Fav tribute: As I've said many times already that it was Murphy, I'm going to say my second fav, which was Oliver. I don't know why but my favourite characters from your SYOTs are usually males. The goofy, slightly naïve ones.

Overall thoughts: I'll be honest, I have some sort of zombiephobia, it disturbs the shit out of me just the thought of putrid, dead human beings eating the living. That's why I never watch series or movies about undead. These zombies creeped me out, and there was lots of them. Sometimes I wished Bacchus moved his ass and got rid of them but he didn't.

About Limos verse: I enjoyed reading the Capitol chapters, where everything was so different from the usual, and plus I know things change from year to year so there's going to be more surprises.

About the Arena: I love colour pink so I was pleased with the arena, so lively and peaceful at first. I also enjoyed seeing it decay little by little, with trees turning brown and birds falling from their branches. Great batch of tributes, too. It was hard to see them die one after the other.

About the superpowers: Amazing touch, it gave flavour to the story without stealing the limelight. I've read hunger games with superpowers before, but I felt like the story revolved too much about the flashy things. This time, the focus remained on the tributes and the way they interact with each other.

Waiting for the epilogue and the eulogies ~ thank you so much for this story. It is now a favourite of mine.