Zara Tovar- District Twelve female (15)
When the training room closed I was excited to explore the Games building and just see everything it had. I'd never been in anything bigger than a small town, much less a city or a metropolis. I knew there was really no chance someone like me was going to win the Games. The Hunger Games were held up by the Capitol as the great equalizer- a grand event that could catapult anyone, even a poor nobody, into fame and riches. Everyone knew it wasn't really like that. The rich people had their academies and the stronger older Tributes were always going to beat the younger poor Tributes. We had a chance, theoretically, and even won once in a long, long, while, but the Capitol liked to focus on those few crumbs and ignore the decades where every single kid my age was killed.
It was probably silly I ended up in the arboretum. We had plenty of plants back in Twelve. I wanted to see if they had weird plants like giant rainbow roses or something. I didn't see any giant rainbow roses but I did see a lot of plants I'd never seen before. There were all sorts of little biome sections like a desert with cacti and a rainforest with vines and mist and stuff.
"Oh, hey. You're a Tribute too." I recognized the girl from Three right away since she was the only one with rainbow hair. "You like plants too?"
"I guess I like plants. I think most people like plants," I said, not really sure how to respond to such a weird question.
"Guess we're arboretum buddies, then," Tabitha said.
Or maybe allies? I wanted allies but I could never be so bold just like that. I'd only just met Tabitha. I couldn't jump right in like that. I had to wait and see if she stuck around for a while. I didn't want to be that person who latched on right away and suffocated someone. This could be my only chance to make a friend and I couldn't blow it.
"Hey, you know they have a mini golf course in here?" Tabitha asked when we were done.
"What's mini golf?" I asked.
"I don't really know. Wanna find out?"
Mini golf turned out to be kind of stupid, except for the cool windmills and stuff. We moved on to the mirror maze and then laser tag, which neither of us were very good at but which was fun anyway. I could have hung out with Tabitha for days, just doing stuff all around the Games building or running around doing not much of anything. All my life I'd had to spend every moment working on finding food or taking care of one crisis or another. I felt like I was six years old again and could do whatever I wanted. No school, no hunger, no worrying about anyone else. For the next few days I could just be silly.
"My friends and I are meeting up at the noodle bar for lunch," Tabitha said when we started to get hungry. "You wanna come?"
Yes! I thought. Since coming to the Capitol I'd been entirely alone for the first time in my life and it was unbearably isolating. I'd been with Tabitha for three hours and already I was dreading going back to being alone.
"They won't mind?" I asked.
"Don't worry about it," Tabitha said with a casual sweep of her hand. I followed her to a casual-looking restaurant.
"Hey everyone, this is Zara," Tabitha said to the people already gathered around a table. "She followed me home so she's with us now."
ATTN: HEAD GAMEMAKER TITIAN QIN
THEODORA HARD AND DR. HYPATIA SATRAPI
PRIVATE SESSIONS REPORT AND PREDICTIONS
PREDICTIONS BASED OFF EVALUATION OF FIGHTING PROWESS, SURVIVAL SKILLS, MENTAL TOUGHNESS, PAST EXPOSURE TO HARDSHIP, WEAKNESSES AND RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHER TRIBUTES. THESE FACTORS WERE UPLOADED INTO DR. SATRAPI'S SIMULATOR, WHICH WAS RUN 10000 TIMES FOR EACH TRIBUTE. FINDINDS ARE A SUMMARY OF SIMULATION RESULTS
ALICE MASON, DISTRICT TWO FEMALE
PRIVATE SESSION: The most notable factor of Alice's session was her cold demeanor. This will allow her to remain impartial in the Arena and to control her violence. She used daggers and demonstrated knowledge of poisons as well as fashioning a garrote. Score: 8
PREDICTION: Alice will easily survive the Bloodbath and will likely make a single kill to test out the Arena and the Games. She will remain with the Careers until they break up and will then ally with Talise in order to target the biggest remaining threat: Irina Sokolova. The two will succeed in killing Talise and Alice will continue until the endgame, where she will be killed by Malcolm Royden due to injuries sustained during the attack on Talise. PLACING: 3rd
NOTES: Alice's schizophrenia is currently well-managed with medications. Her sociopathy, caused by her abusive upbringing, has not responded to treatment.
BROCK CARVER, DISTRICT TWO MALE
PRIVATE SESSION: Brock showed a surprising variety of skills. He first identified edible plants and then dressed a simulated wound. The greatest surprise was the ferocity and skill of the fighting that took up the last half of his session. It is clear Pray has invested a great deal of time and effort into Brock. For this reason we scored him at 7.
PREDICTION: Brock's inexperience will make him a smaller target to his Career allies. He will remain with them until the split, at which point most of them will target Juniper because of his greater threat. After killing Juniper the Careers will turn on Brock and he will be the final casualty of the Career breakup. PLACING: 10th
NOTES: Tough break, really.
CALLUM ROSENCRANZ, DISTRICT ELEVEN MALE
PRIVATE SESSION: Callum performed as expected for someone who has never used a sword before and thinks they look cool. However, it is true that Callum has killed before and thus has both the mentality and the ability. While usually alliances are a strength, we anticipate Callum's relationship with Stevie will hinder him in the Arena. Score: 6
PREDICTION: Callum will stay with Stevie during the Bloodbath despite her limited mobility. This will cause her to be attacked by the Careers. Callum will defend her and will be either killed alongside her or die when he recklessly attacks her killer. PLACING: 21st
NOTES: Callum scored highly for symptoms of oppositional defiance disorder
CHRISTOBAL CHANEL, DISTRICT EIGHT MALE
PRIVATE SESSION: The first half of Christobal's session was normal. He did some camouflage and it was adequate. Things got weird when he started singing. It was really good singing- so good we wished the session lasted longer- it was just unexpected. It could definitely get him some sponsors if he goes with that angle. Score: 5
PREDICTION: Christobal's seeming normality will allow him to escape the Careers' notice in the Bloodbath. Unfortunately this same normality means he has few of the skills needed to survive the rigor of the Games. He will likely die of exposure or dehydration within two days. PLACING: 16th
NOTES: Why do we even have District talent agents if they missed someone like you?
DECIDUOUS STOWERCRAFT, DISTRICT SEVEN MALE
PRIVATE SESSION: Like many Sevens, Deciduous focused on plant skills and did so with some success. He also displayed mediocre skills in shelter-making and water purification. Deciduous's greatest asset is an alliance, which will provide security and is also with a strong Tribute. However, this is more than balanced out by his previous close relationship with rebel Jude Sanders and his assistance to Jude, which will bring Capitol repercussions.
PREDICTION: My algorith was unprepared for political variables and I was unable to adequately adjust to the difficulty of the problem. Raw data states that Deciduous will last until the midpoint of the Games. With my personal knowledge that the Capitol seeks reprisals for his rebellious activity, I predict that he will survive the Bloodbath and fall victim to Gamemaker interference on the first night. PLACING: 17th
NOTES: That kinda sucks since rebels can be so hard to spot.
DENTON PAINE, DISTRICT TWELVE MALE
PRIVATE SESSION: Denton wandered around the room, sometimes poking at one of the stations before he settled back to his cards. I scored him a 2 because he did at least touch them. His moderate to severe autism prevented any further activity.
PREDICTION: There is no variability in this case. From a statistical standpoint it is certain that Denton will die in the Bloodbath. PLACING: 24th
NOTES: Yeah... just... yeah.
ELLE PHANT, DISTRICT EIGHT FEMALE
PRIVATE SESSION: This is the funniest shit I've seen in decades. So this chick named Elle Phant- yes, that is really the name she gave- waltzes in. This chick's like five and a half feet tall, 130 pounds, normal looking teen girl, right? She picks up this flail and just goes ham with it- just swinging it like a madwoman. She wasn't that good with it but it was just freaking hilarious. I almost died. Anyway I gave her a 6.
PREDICTION: The massive size of Elle's alliance will allow most of them to survive the Bloodbath and far into the Games, especially with Irina's fighting skills. As the Careers strategize against this biggest threat they will begin to try to pick off members singly. Elle is the slowest runner and will be their first successful snipe. PLACING: 14th
NOTES: Oh my gosh I want to quit my job just so I can sponsor you a flail.
IRINA SOKOLOVA, DISTRICT ONE FEMALE
PRIVATE SESSION: Irina fights lions. I feel like that's all we need to say about her. We didn't have a lion available in the session room so we told Polybius to act lion-y. Irina definitely showed him who was boss and he ended up fleeing early because he was like "aaaah", "the whip's right by my face", "it huuuuurts" like a whiner. We scored her a 10.
PREDICTION: Irina is part of the largest alliance and is the powerhouse of it. She will safeguard her allies and her friendly personality will help them stay together until long into the Games and after the Career breakup. Once the Careers break up they will zero in on Irina as the biggest threat. Alice and Talise will temporarily meet up to overwhelm Irina and kill her. PLACING: 8th
NOTES: Doesn't that hurt the poor lions?
JUNIPER TRITON, DISTRICT SEVEN MALE
PRIVATE SESSION: District Four is an interesting pair this year. Neither were the first candidate and Juniper wasn't even considered. Despite this, he showed some prowess with his trident and surprised us by fighting underwater with as much skill as abovewater. He also threw in some singing as a little treat. We scored him a 9. HOWEVER, he will likely receive no sponsor gifts due to "stealing" a spot and this is often a huge blow to Careers.
PREDICTION: As long as the Careers stay together Juniper will benefit from the security of the alliance. Once the breakup comes the other Careers will turn on him first because of his lesser training and a perceived easy target. He will be the first to die in the breakup. PLACING: 11th
NOTES: Bad year for Four.
LESTER BROWNING, DISTRICT THREE MALE
PRIVATE SESSION: I don't even want to talk about it. Lester came in and started twisting himself apart on purpose. He was touching his toes to the back of his head and popping his shoulders out of place and it was absolutely disgusting. Quirinius fainted and Gardenia almost threw up. We gave him a 3 just to make him leave.
PREDICTION: Lester's alliance and circus skills would bring him far into the Games. What will bring him to a premature end is his close friendship with Tabitha Sparks, who is predicted to die in the Bloodbath. Lester will be distraught by her death and his mental state will slowly deteriorate, allowing the Careers to sneak up on him and kill him. PLACING: 13th
NOTES: YUCK
MALCOLM ROYDEN, DISTRICT ONE MALE
PRIVATE SESSION: Malcolm showed himself to be a well-rounded and pragmatic Tribute, showing hand-to-hand combat, archery, memory skills, and shelter-making. His manual combat style was markedly more practical than most Careers and could be called "dirty", something that may surprise his more cultured allies. Due to his all-around threat level we scored him a 10.
PREDICTION: Malcolm will make one or perhaps two kills in the Bloodbath and will join the Careers in hunting down Tributes throughout the next few weeks in the Arena. He will survive the Career breakup with minimal injuries by attacking without regard for "honor". He will then go off on his own to continue to eliminate straggling outliers. After killing Alice, who will be wounded from her attacks on Irina and Talise, Malcolm will kill his last remaining opponent in the finale. PLACING: Victor
NOTES: Kind of a letdown but that's usually how the Games go.
MAX DELORIA, DISTRICT SIX MALE
PRIVATE SESSION: Not much to talk about here. Max used knives. Pretty self-explanatory to use a knife. He looked like anyone else trying to kill someone with a knife. Score: 5
PREDICTION: After the early death of his ally Max will need to devote most of his energy to watching for attackers and finding sustenance and shelter. Around the midpoint of the Games his evasion will run out and the Careers will find and kill him. PLACING: 12
NOTES: Though not meeting the criteria for any diagnoses, Max scored highly on depression and feelings of inadequacy and higher than average on the borderline personality disorder evaluation.
NENE PALMER, DISTRICT SIX FEMALE
PRIVATE SESSION: Nene kind of did a bunch of random skills. She did some plants, she tried her hand at the bow and arrow (the plants were much more successful) and tried out the gauntlet with some pretty sweet moves for an amateur. I'm not sure what she was going for but she wasn't really bad at it? Also she's really really tall and has cold dead eyes. I think that will help her out. Her score was 5. Also she's autistic but way milder than Denton.
PREDICTION: Nene's large alliance will insulate its members and allow them to survive largely unscathed until late into the Games and past the Career breakup. Once the Careers start targeting the members they will all avoid Nene, each of them seeing her imposing size and demeanor and hoping someone else will take out such a foreboding target. This will allow Nene to avoid combat until the very end of the games, when Malcolm will have no choice but to engage her and with his well-honed skills he will easily defeat her. PLACING: 2nd
NOTES: Honestly it would be way cooler if you won instead.
PETRA RIDLEY, DISTRICT SEVEN FEMALE
PRIVATE SESSION: I didn't expect Petra to use a sword. She didn't have much skill but she sure had enthusiasm. Her alliance with Veda will not do much to increase her odds but may initially dissuade Careers from attacking in the Bloodbath just because of numbers. We gave Petra a 6.
PREDICTION: After Veda is killed in the Bloodbath Petra will follow quickly, targeted by a Career looking for quick kills. PLACING: 18th
NOTES: Petra would have scored a 5 but she scored so highly on mental resilience we increased her score by one point.
RALEIGH FOSTER, DISTRICT TEN MALE
PRIVATE SESSION: Not much to say here. Raleigh tried building a fire and piled some sticks into a shelter. I mean, she's fourteen and she had three days to train for a deathmatch. We're not gonna see miracles. All she really has going for her is her alliance with Max. She got a 4.
PREDICTION: Due to her youth and her lack of fighting skills Raleigh will be targeted and quickly killed in the Bloodbath. PLACING: 20
NOTES: Sometimes I wish the Games were only 16-18.
RICHARD FRANKLIN, DISTRICT FIVE MALE
PRIVATE SESSION: Richard brought some chicken fingers into his session. It was not part of his demonstration, I just felt like it was worth reporting. After he ate them he broke a sword over his stomach. I have to admit that it would be harder for a Career to kill Richard if their sword was broken over his stomach. That, along with his strong alliance and his notable girth, earned him a 7. For whatever reason Richard didn't choose to show off his visibly prodigious muscles, which will be another huge asset to him.
PREDICTION: Richard has two huge advantages: his alliance and his size. His alliance will shield him from harm and his bulk will give him a reserve against the malnutrition of the Arena. These two will allow him to survive past the Career breakup. Sometime after that he will either be sniped by a Career or die by misadventure caused by his careless nature. PLACING: 6th
NOTES: I bet you actually are fun at parties.
SKADA SOCKET, DISTRICT FIVE FEMALE
PRIVATE SESSION: Skada used a sword and she was okay with it. What's far more interesting than her session is her past. Due to her job as an escape artist Skada is quick-thinking, flexible, adaptable, and full of tricks. Her entire job is centered around facing and evading harm and this will continue in the Arena. I think she has far more skills than she is letting on but we played along with her strategy and scored her below her ability at 6.
PREDICTION: Skada, along with Irina, is the most skilled of their alliance and has close bonds with them. She will remain with her allies until after the Career breakup when the remaining Careers heavily target her alliance. With her allies dwindling Skada will escape harm until finally her luck runs out and she becomes one of the last of her allies to fall to the Careers. PLACING: 5th
NOTES: You'd think you could have escaped the Reaping.
STEVIE PAGETT, DISTRICT ELEVEN FEMALE
PRIVATE SESSION: Stevie doesn't have much to work with. Despite being fundamentally healthy her body has been ravaged by forced wheelchair use, atrophying her muscles, and chemo, which has ravaged all her bodily systems. She did some halfhearted first aid but it doesn't really matter. Her mother killed her before she ever entered the Arena. Kinda poetic, I guess. Score: 4
PREDICTION: Stevie's drastically reduced stamina and mobility skills will make her helpless in the Bloodbath and she will be among the first killed despite Callum's defense. PLACING: 22nd
NOTES: Stevie shows various effects from the lifetime of Munchausen's by proxy she endured at the hands of her mother.
TABITHA SPARKS, DISTRICT THREE FEMALE
PRIVATE SESSION: Tabitha ate bugs. Very impressive in my opinion. She also accompanied this skill with a steady stream of puns. Finally, she showed her adaptability by assuring us that she would dye her hair a less eye-catching color for the Games. She got a well-deserved 5.
PREDICTION: As a smaller and weaker member of her alliance, Tabitha will be targeted and killed in the Bloodbath. PLACING: 19
NOTES: Maybe she'll win despider weaknesses.
TALISE CICERO, DISTRICT FOUR FEMALE
PRIVATE SESSION: Talise is kind of a funny story. She got sent to the Games to be a meat shield for the male Tribute but then he got bumped by some upstart. She must have gotten wind of this because after she swam and threw spears the last half of her session was just her telling us every embarrassing story she knew about her allies. THAT was a good time. Score: 7
PREDICTION: Talise will survive to the Career breakup and will survive that because Brock and Juniper will take the brunt of the damage. Some time after that she will ally with Alice to eliminate Irina. Both will be wounded in the fight but Talise more so. Alice will capitalize on this with a quick surprise attack that will kill Talise. PLACING: 7th
NOTES: They thought you were bad but like two of the other Careers are worse so by default you're one of the better ones.
TODDWARD HOWARD, DISTRICT NINE MALE
PRIVATE SESSION: Todd did some pretty normal stuff with swords and water purification. Every once in a while someone comes along who just seems like a cool guy and we take a shine to him. That's what happened with Todd. He just had this jaunty attitude and a charismatic aura. Honestly he didn't really deserve it but we gave him a 10.
PREDICTION: Toddward will attempt to safeguard Denton during the Bloodbath. Though he will eventually be forced to abandon him he will first incur some wounds. These wounds will trouble him throughout the Games. He will survive until the final third of the Games but at that point he will be weakened enough that he will not be able to evade the Careers. PLACING: 9th
NOTES: I don't know what it is but you have it.
TYLER ALVAREZ, DISTRICT TEN MALE
PRIVATE SESSION: As expected, Tyler emphasized his physical assets. He easily lifted and threw around weights that showed him to be a physical powerhouse. Reading between the lines, Tyler's background is more significant than his session. He has been involved in multiple fights, as evidenced by a trail of citations and probations, and has often won. SCORE: 9
PREDICTION: Tyler's imposing size and violent nature will ward off attacks until the Careers have no one else to target. He will survive until the endgame and will finally be attacked and killed (likely injuring his killer before he dies) by Alice. PLACING: 4th
NOTES: Wow maybe try meditating or something?
VEDA KEATE, DISTRICT NINE FEMALE
PRIVATE SESSION: None of us were surprised when Veda showed first aid skills. It was far more of a shock when she pulled up a hologram of a cow and showed how to butcher it. I guess appearances aren't everything. The biggest factor here is Veda's upbringing. Her cult background has left her passive and with a low value of herself, as well as highly averse to violence and "impropriety". We scored her a 5.
PREDICTION: In the Bloodbath Veda will be overwhelmed by the violence and shock. She will panic and freeze until she is killed. PLACING: 23
NOTES: Our doctors theorize massive trauma that cannot be pinpointed stemming from Veda being sexually exploited and abused as a child.
ZARA TOVAR, DISTRICT TWELVE FEMALE
PRIVATE SESSION: Zara focused on identifying medical plants rather than edible ones. She also demonstrated shelter-making skills. She is a late addition to the large alliance and seems to be acting as their medic, making her an invaluable member. SCORE: 6
PREDICTION: Zara will survive the Bloodbath with her allies but will likely be wounded due to her allies instinctively going for their closest friends first. She will be slowed by her wounds and will die either of complications and/or the elements or by being hunted by the Careers within two days of the Bloodbath. PLACING: 15
NOTES: Medics never win...
SIGNED,
THEODORA HARP- ASSISTANT HEAD GAMEMAKER
HYPATIA SATRAPI, PhD- HEAD STATISTICIAN
HARLEQUIN MARCEU- SECRETARY
I decided to retain Hypatia's predictions with Theodora and Harley's notes to make a hybrid new more informative experience. Also I did alphabetical order to make the predicted placements more suspenseful.