Chase’s POV is so intense! I like how you’ve established she knows sign language straight away. That’s cool! She has an underground base? And she’s doing heists? And she has an interrogation room? Wow, her backstory is so wild! I love it! Chase’s grief for Tye is really sad and I can tell how she really hates Spark for betraying the gang. I’m really excited to see what this criminal mastermind is capable of in the arena. I have a feeling she’ll get along with Chevre given that she also has criminal connections. She also knows sign language, which could help her communicate with Zinnia if she also knows it. They’re about the same age as well. I’m excited to see who she allies with.

Poor Patrek. His dad is sick and probably dying. His sister also died of an illness. His life is pretty sad. Aside from that, he seems like a pretty normal kid. He works at a greenhouse which is cool and his friendship with Pome is sweet. I find him the least interesting tribute so far because he seems like such a normal kid and I tend to prefer the off-the-wall bonkers tributes. Maybe he’ll grow on me in the pre-games when he starts interacting with the others.

Okay… WHAT THE FLIP IS AESCELIN? HE’S A CULT LEADER? IN THE FOREST? AND HE SACRIFICED HIS OWN BROTHER? THAT’S SO EVIL IN A COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY AWESOME WAY! OMG HE’S A LEGEND. I LOVE HIM! THAT’S MY FAVOURITE CHARACTER RIGHT THERE, FIFTH PLACE ICON! TOTALLY HONOURED THAT MY GORL IS THIS GUY’S DISTRICT PARTNER, THEY SHOULD BE ALLIES EVEN THOUGH AN ALLIANCE BETWEEN THEM WOULD MAKE ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE. DISTRICT 7 VILLAINS STRONG!

Aescelin is so cool, I covered almost his entire POV in all-caps.

Tier list time! I couldn’t decide between “SIYU SIYU SIYU SIYU!” or ‘Leader of the Serbian Towel Cult’ for my boy Aescelin so I combined them and got ‘Fifth Place Icon’. Maybe if he carries on being awesome, he’ll pull a Nene Palmer and move up the tier list above my own tribute.

Mi bebébé: Tina
Fifth Place Icon: Aescelin!
“Intelligents support intelligents.”: Wisdom
Martin Österdahl, Mr Worldwide!: Chevre, Chase
Soldi, Soldi *clap clap*: True, Zinnia
Malta’s seagull man: Jude
Australia almost winning Eurovision: Fleur
The Roop’s Eurovision hands: Tiernan, Jest
O Jardim: Patrek

HIII! Sorry for the late review! I'm so excited to meet these kids! Let's gooo.

Chevre: Pretty name! Brie? Asiago? I love it so much already! Oh boy... brittle bone disease... that is not going to be okay during the Games. Also, glitter bombs! Let's gooo! Love that for you bestie! She seems very chill, very interesting, and also very wholesome. She's making money, while also... maybe keeping the peace between the two gangs, all while selling mostly harmless stuff! But she hasn't told her family, so there's some conflict there... overall, she's pretty cool. I'm eager to see more of her. I feel like her and Fleur could be besties. Just a random hunch, could be totally off-base, but I kinda love predicting alliances!

Wisdom: What a good name! Oh! That took a dark turn! Oh... oh no... oh boy... that was honestly terrifying? And also not what I was expecting. Not sure what I WAS expecting, but, you know. Not that lol. Wow... well, he'll definitely do well in the Games. That is, if he has the proper tools to create that acid... and if he does have those tools... I'm honestly terrified of what he could be capable of. Also, his almost... detachment, or morbid curiosity about the whole situation... yeah. Yeah. He's an interesting dude. Just a scientist! I'm neutral on him for now; that was such a well-written intro. Wow. I have no idea where he will go from here but I am INTRIGUED.

Jude: Hi, smol child! I'm very curious about you! I know you will make me sad... the biggest question is, how sad exactly? Oh my gosh... the answer is SO sad. The most saddest, even. My heart... oh my goodness... just why? Why... why does he deserve to go through this? I'm not okay. I love them so much. I want to give them a hug. The way that he internalized his mom leaving as his fault... and then all of it being a dream! And then imaginary mom coming to comfort them. What... why... I'm just speechless. I'm so sad for him. I want to protect them at all costs. But also! Did his mom actually leave? Was that less of a nightmare and more of a memory, or... I need to know more, but I also don't, because it will just break my heart even more. If this is just the intro, I am not prepared for how much pain I will go through with Jude; and he's not the only one who will make me sad. I really love Jude. I don't want them to go into the Games, but hopefully he will find some friends... which will make me sadder. Cool. Just sad times all around!

Amazing chapter! I am blown away by these intros—they are so powerful and I have a distinct impression of each kid that is sometimes hard to achieve, especially with a full cast. Each intro has a unique style and tone which is just truly masterful. I am beyond excited for the rest of intros and, of course, everything that's to come after! Amazing chapter, as always. I hope you're having an amazing day, bestie! :)

Has My Heart: Jude, Zinnia, Tiernan

My besties!: Fleur, True, Valentina, Chevre

Nothing Against You (Neutral): Jest, Wisdom

NOPE:

*screaming screaming screaming screaming* he's here!

okay but first - chevre brittle bone disease you poor poor child (as someone with chronic joint pain, I feel this...in my bones)
she's a genius, a real entrepreneur this one! I love her, I'm supporting her, and I want to see more of her (goldie ur little cheese girl is awesome okay? okay cheers)

*ahem* BALLOONS WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS. I'M LITERALLY MOUTH OPEN COMPLETELY SHOCKED i had to stop reading for a bit because i was so shocked; wisdom is quite the lad if i do say so myself

now I'm crying real tears at work while reading this oh my god baby Judester...so precious, so perfect, 100/10 execution I love them so much and I want to hug him so tight

what a chapter rb, knocked it out of the park. Excuse me while I sob

Okay, Chevre is epic! I know about Brittle Bone Disease because when I was ten or eleven I watched something on TV about a girl with Brittle Bone Disease who climbed the Eiffel Tower. I remember thinking it was such a scary thing to have. I’ve never actually broken a bone because I’m sheltered LOL. I absolutely LOVE how Chevre is like ‘Screw the fact it’s hecking easy to break my bones. I’m gonna be a badass anyway.’ and then she starts selling supplies to BOTH the local gangs. And she insists on mixing glitter into the paint just because it’s COOL! I love her! She’s probably my favourite so far.

Wisdom is fantastic as well! He’s a mad scientist trying to make the world’s greatest super acid? That’s SCARY. Not “they should’ve used a better lock”. Oof, poor Lumen. I can’t believe this dude just watched his best friend’s hand get burned off by acid and thought ‘Wow, I did a good job today.’ I’m actually kinda excited to see this guy in the arena. Excited and SCARED. Now HE’S my favourite so far.

Awwww… Poor Jude! He’s just a little kid who has dreams he can’t control. It’s also possible that their mum abandoned them because of their dreams. It’s hard to tell from this POV because Jude has such vivid dreams IDK which part of his POV is real and which part is imaginary. This kid seems pretty angsty and I like angst but IDK if they’ll last long because they’re twelve years old and sleep deprivation sucks.

Tier List Time. Today’s tier list themes are ‘Dudes dressed up as animals.’ and ‘I still like everyone.’

Mi bebébé: Tina
“Intelligents support intelligents.”: Wisdom
Azerbaijan Horse Head Man: Chevre
Soldi, Soldi *clap clap*: True, Zinnia
Malta’s seagull man: Jude
Australia almost winning Eurovision: Fleur
The Roop’s Eurovision hands: Tiernan, Jest

i was about to call this chapter a sausage party but then i remembered valentina's here and she's a girl so... actually no it is a sausage party bc she could barbecue the sausage but in a like... not weird way i mean like the meat sausage idk what's in it but she could barbecue that

tiernan is sort of a real one tbh? like he lo9oskj like leister so i had to stan and then he';s also just sad boy who doesn't fit in and i eat that shit up yummy yummy in my tummy! i want to know his lore. i want him to be found families because he deserves friends and also by publicly saying this, ace can now blame me and make herekiah get found families and then eat shit bc sad

JEST! god any mans name that soyuqjds vaguely like testicle is gonna be a hit in my book. im also biased asf to brooke, my wife of 7 years, and a kid of hers isa like theres a high chance its one of my fave (not a 100% chance bc rin annoys me shes just a bitch who gets nosebleeds and loves butterflies) but like jest is such a cool dude3! his dead brother is sad esp bc he's abt to be a dead brother himself. OR NOT! there is so much sexual tension between jest and what he is capable of and i hope he rocks idk umm... jude's shit bc of it! that';d make hi9m feel terrible tbh and i'd be sad. anyway jest i hope rb makes u wo0rse

VALENTINA IS THE MOST TRIBUTE EVER! god i like hate brisket or ribs or whatever she cooked which is ribs actually and i love brisket so... she is slay! her fc scared me tbh but now i get it. she';s a barbecue bitchj the same way marina dfiamindis is a bubblegum bitch. oh miss coleslaw lick lick lick i wanna be ur barbecue bitch. ur descriptions were so mouth watering i was like hmmm maybe i do actually like ribs. i think she was robbed bc i hate coleslaw so if i were a judge they'd all be equally bad to me. pride or like stubbornness will be the death of her. usually i dont condone tributes i like being barbecued to death (oakyyy em it was funny when u did it bc it was vanya whois still alive), but like it'd be ironic

do you think liu would LIO change his last name to valencia? fucking bottom ass bitch

mine: aveybaby (1), who?mi? (10)
not mine but like shes my stepchild: bassywassy (2)
Laura wait no Laura LAURV: JESTICLESSS (5)
like more than a little: TRUE (D8), tiernan (12), miss tina (7)
like a little: floor (6)
neutral:
okay: zinnia (3)
nope:
HELL NOPE: who?mi? (10), townes (6)

okay so!

true is a bad bitch! she loves her dad which is sorta an odd take in panem but mr. true seems like a baller boss ass bitch man so ig he can stay. she should beat me up she's pretty cool. glad to see d8f is in its slay era after suicidal flop georgette. true is cool asf. want to learn more

zinnia is just straight up sad. like okay sad child who can't hear. you know who else couldn't hear? my daughter clio. and she just coped with it and killed 3 people and had gay sex. i hope zinnia doesn't tho bc that'd be gross she's like 14 or younger. yeah she was sad asf. i'd say i wanna learn more but i dont really. like i've heard enough so she can either stop being trauma porn or die. that sounds mean. she's just not my fave and im valid

why did i like fleur? deadass was not expecting that one! like she's fun and silly and she has a stalker. as somebody who's never been stalked except for that guy in home depot yesterday and my ex who fucking dm'd me on Pinterest after i blocked her everywhere else, so i empathize with her. i think its cool she went to d6 like thats such a humbling experience. i wonder if her dad knows townes dad. i hope not - eldritch zamoras sucks

i miss townes !

bye

WAIT NO

TIER LIST!

mine: aveybaby (1), who?mi? (10)
not mine but like shes my stepchild: bassywassy (2)
Laura wait no Laura LAURV:
like more than a little: TRUE (D8)
like a little: floor (6)
neutral:
okay: zinnia (3)
nope:
HELL NOPE: who?mi? (10), townes (6)

"price of a promotion" yeah i guess that's one way to put it

i wrote that like a while ago when the chapter dropped prob s but now its now and im gon give u review ! uwu

okay so bellona is the baddest bitch out there and minerva is just phobie nd liana's fave cats. remember when minerva taylor just straight up died during ellie's private session where she peed? lol

i have a friend named holiday im glad hes not dead like this bitch really just got promoted to the death period poo ! thats fucked up

idk what's up w aurelia. why do her and sienna have beaf? im on seianna';s side bec ause i like her more

bye

Hi r-b! I'm so sorry I've been MIA for so long. I definitely had plans to submit to this, but life and mental health and other issues got in the way and I honestly just couldn't get the motivation to do much at all, so this fell by the wayside. But I am back and just read through these first four chapters. I'm excited to come along for the ride even though I don't have a tribute in these Games.

I really enjoyed the prologues. The emails between Sienna and Esper were so pure and it was really neat to see their relationship progress through that medium. I also really enjoyed the second prologue. I'm interested to see what impact that prologue has on these Games, since it seems Bellona will not be holding back at all in an effort to impress her mom and not, you know, get shot.

The intros have also been great! I have enjoyed all of the tributes we've met so far. I really liked Zinnia from last chapter. She was probably my favorite of those three. Of these three, I think my favorite is probably Jest. He's just so pure and seems to care so much for his family, which is really sweet.

I think that is all for now. I will be around now with reviews (hopefully) and I'm looking forward to reconnecting with your verse, because I really enjoy your writing!

HELF

Tiernan: oooo a Rapunzel tribute! Those are always fun. I remember seeing one in Mask of Shadows. Tiernan though just feels so relatable and I can’t help but root for him, I just found myself really liking him of course soon he will be out of his isolation but not for the reason he would have wanted. Poor guy..

Jest: A bouncer tribute?! I’ve not seen one of those before. Also I’m intrigued because he’s my girls dp. Anyway, he’s really cool. I kind of love him? He has such a relatable family life and is just so likeable. I would recommend getting a tatt btw Jest they’re really fun.

Valentina: I can see why these three were paired. Their families all suffered a misfortune which has helped to shape their lives today. A masterchef tribute? Cool. She’s just out here doing Panem masterchef haha. I love that for her. Go Tina! I loved her attitude aswell and she had a fun perspective to read from.

Ok I really liked all of these, these games are going to be sad - like everyone popped off with their tributes? Damn.

Hey! I'm finally getting around to giving my thoughts on the characters so far since I'm sick at the moment and have some spare time.

Firstly your writing is incredible! It's so easy to get stuck in, your so talented! Anyway to the tributes.

True: She's cool and badass. Looking out for her family defo a like for me. I have a feeling she's going to be a big contender in these games and get far.

Zinnia: I just feel sorry for her tbh with such a shitty home life and neglectful family and now she's going into the games. I hope she can find some happiness/freinds in the pregames.

Fleur: She's interesting. A capitolite in the games! Interesting.

We're off to a strong start! Really enjoyed reading abut all these characters!

another amazing intro! (i did get an early peeksies and it was very exciting)
tiernan is incredibly interesting and secretive and i have so many aquestions
jest is such a little lad and i love him and divvy is literally perfection and must be protected at all costs
valentina is such a QUEEN SHE REALLY WENT AND SAID "I WAS SMARTER THAN U WHEN I WAS LITERALLY SEVEN" like okay queen go off (u'll get that dummy henry next time queen i know it)
amazing chapter! looking forward to the next!

Hello RB! I had a quick second to review a few things and I just wanted to check in with Fool’s Gold since you’ve been publishing intros now! :)

I’m not really sure how to review the first chapter since it is in e-mail format, but I think that’s definitely a fun way to start us off and also introduce us to the friendship between Sienna and Esper. Seeing how the Games affected them both was also really neat. It was a good way to show these two and their respective stories without just dumping it all in one place and I feel like I have a pretty good, if vague, understanding of them now which is great!

There were also some interesting nods to your own canon, such as the Capitol mentors or the removal of scars from Victors that I found really intriguing as well. Not to mention the actual editing of the Games, which I know some of us have discussed over on Verses a few times. I think it’s almost gaslighting, isn’t it? Sienna isn’t questioning her account of things, but they are still falsified. They both also had some interesting experiences with Careers; either Cal, or Esper’s entire Pack if I’m understanding correctly. Fun dynamic to sort of think about.

Really cute to see that Sienna was excited to see Esper in Twelve as well. In fact, I’m really looking forward to seeing Sienna and Esper interact in the future. They’re both adorable and it will be fun seeing how much has changed so far into the future! It’s clear that they do care for each other to some extent, and I’d like to know how friendly of terms they’re on now.

Then there’s the whole Townes thing, too… :)

All in all, it was great to learn a little about these two and how their lives have been going post-victory. I can’t wait to see them again, and I’m super excited to dive into the second prologue (and intros!) whenever I have the chance. Keep up the great work!

I’ll start this review with an apology for misgendering Unix last chapter. I didn’t notice per pronouns in the chapter and assumed per was female. Thanks to Platrium for including per pronouns in your review so I could recognise my mistake.

Poor Tiernan. He seems to be really isolated from the world, not just because he’s stuck in the house but because he doesn’t fit in with the Seam or the merchants. His family life seems to be sad as well, since his mother’s death has affected both him and his father. I think he might have a disadvantage when it comes to interacting with other tributes but his imagination might help him come up with unique plans.

Wow! Jest is a bouncer. That’s an interesting backstory and I’m sure it’ll help him in the arena. He seems to have really close bonds with his family but also some darkness in his past. What happened to his brother? I think Jest’s temporary tattoos are a really interesting metaphor for how he presents as all big and tough for his job but doesn’t want to be haunted by any repercussions from that.

ALRIGHT! TINA MY GORL! LET’S GO! I love how you laid out her backstory at the start of her POV. Especially her ‘Scam or be scammed’ motto. She’s already so cut-throat and ruthless. I can’t wait to see what she gets up to in the arena.

OMG PITMASTERS! It was so fun seeing Miss Tina in a barbecuing competition, especially her conversation with Mr. Henry. You really captured her competitive spirit and the sweet little girl facade she hides behind but also the fact that she can’t take criticism. And her main weakness in the competition is that she can’t step out of her comfort zone with the coleslaw! Tina’s so ANGRY that she keeps coming second and that’s going to give her so much fire in the arena. I’m scared LOL. So far, she’s probably the closest thing we’ve had to a villain but there also haven’t been any Careers yet.

Here’s my Eurovision Tier List. I’m case you’re wondering, ‘Mi bebébé’ equals ‘Mine’. And, in true Eurovision Tier List fashion, I like everyone so far.

Mi bebébé: Miss Tina
Soldi, Soldi *clap clap*: True, Zinnia
Australia almost winning Eurovision: Fleur
The Roop’s Eurovision hands: Tiernan, Jest

Heyyy Rb! You are zooming! I'm so, so excited for this set, so let's go!

Tiernan: Oh boy. Tiernan... that made me so sad. I really do enjoy characters like this (as much as you can enjoy them, tragic as they are.) I'm really worried about him. I just want him to be safe and happy and not alone and I'm really interested to see how he navigates Pregames and if he finds any allies/how he reacts to the sudden change in atmosphere. His intro just made me so sad. He needs a hug and a friend. I really like him and think his concept is super cool.

Jest: Okay! So, on the one hand we just have this happy dude who's hanging out with his fam. But also... what was that scene in the club, and the reputation he's talking about? And somebody in their family died? There are some undertones to this POV that keep it from being totally lighthearted, which is intriguing. I feel like I don't quite have a grip on who Jest is and his character, quite yet. But his scene with the baby was really cute. He's cool; I like him, and I definitely have more questions about his character and his past.

Valentina: Ayo! She's interesting! The concept of cooking shows in Panem is so creative, and not something I've ever considered before. I am intrigued by her, as it was described, ditzy aura, and how it's merely a veneer—when beneath it, she has this feisty mindset that she almost covers up. And what's this talk about scamming or being scammed? She seems really fascinating.

This was an amazing chapter as always, and this is shaping up to be a killer cast! See you soon!

Has My Heart: Zinnia, Tiernan

My besties!: Fleur, True, Valentina

Nothing Against You (Neutral): Jest

NOPE:

Great chapter as always!