Good question! There are different amounts of mentors for some Districts because some Districts have more reader-submitted Victors than other Districts and I like to give them all a moment.
I decided to skip to the parades this time for no particular reason.
Alsace Cartier- District One male
Eh. Suit covered diamonds? Groundbreaking.
Andromeda and I shared the same underwhelmed look whenever we met each other's eyes. I unenthusiastically climbed into the chariot with her. We unenthusiastically waved to the crowd while pretending we were very enthusiastic. It looked exactly like two people trained to kill who were now being forced to pretend to care because theoretically they might need help from the screaming baboons that filled the auditorium.
Medusa Gorgona- District Two female
I was the bad guy. Of course I was the bad guy. Of course Sagar was dressed in the golden robe, his hair feathered and his skin dusted with bronzer. Of course he had the sword and mirrored shield and laurel crown. Because he was Perseus. And I was Medusa.
The crowd still cheered for me, even though I was bad. That made me happier than I wanted to admit. I guess who better than a Capitolite to know it's only a costume. I wouldn't be able to hear them, but I hoped they still cheered for me in the Arena.
Ryx Marker- District Three male
What a silly outfit. I was supposed to be the one getting filmed. Not the video camera! But there I stood, wearing a giant bulky square-shaped outfit with a plastic lens sticking out one side. I could barely move without knocking into Andrea and her sparkly doctor outfit. Must be nice to have rich parents with Capitol connections. But at least it was fun to ride behind real horses and see all the Capitolites and their crazy outfits all cheering and throwing flowers. It was the experience of a lifetime, with the price that the lifetime wouldn't last much longer.
Cyrene Longuemare- District Four female
The outfit was meant to make me look like a sea nymph. Something dangerous and duplicitous. Something the Capitol wouldn't want to win, especially with its family history. I took the barely sharp prop knife and sliced the bottom swathe of material off. I tied it loosely around my waist for a carefree, bohemian sort of skirt, something an unassuming bubbly young woman would wear. I scooped a thrown flower off the ground and tucked it into my hair before I stepped into the chariot. And when we started moving, I squealed and smiled and waved and folded my hands in front of my chest like I was just so happy the big awesome Capitolites loved little old. Little old unthreatening me who loved the and would never ever do anything to make them mad.
Remus Ray- District Five
I hated it. But things were looking better, actually. I didn't hate it because it felt deeply wrong and unspeakably unnatural when I looked in the mirror. It was just a horrible outfit whether you were a boy or a girl. Aurelia and I wore skintight catsuits covered on every inch by mini fans that I guess were supposed to be wind turbines. They made an annoying droning noise and every time I brushed the side of the chariot a whole bunch would clunk against it and their blades would get stuck. It would have been a better costume if they'd just had us stick our fingers in a socket.
Siobhan Hearse- District Six female
"Choo choo, mother...trucker," Antonio said, smiling at me and censoring himself at the last minute after suddenly remembering how young I was. He had a good sense of humor for a guy wearing a caboose outfit. Meanwhile I wore a snazzy conductor outfit.
"Guess you know what this means," Antonio said. He bent over and scooped me up so I was sitting on his shoulders. I screamed playfully and waved at the crowd, which was going nuts. Antonio did a funky backwards gliding step and shimmed from side to side in the chariot. Maybe it wasn't a real train, but he did the best he could.
Rigel Aspen- District Seven male
I got the feeling that Banyon was definitely freaking out back at the orphanage. He was always trying to tell me about his nerd books about dwarves and stuff. I forget which one, but this definitely looked like one of the pictures he'd shown me once. Could be worse, so I wasn't mad. I could be an axe or something. No complaints here.
Cerise Dupin- District Eight female
Awkward. Awkward standing in a very small chariot with the guy you just broke up with. Awkward wearing a weird patchwork outfit of mismatched red fabric while he wore a mismatched green one. Awkward watching Capitolites fawn over me while I secretly fought against everything they stood for. About the only thing not awkward was that the stylists listened to my request and didn't make me wear a dress. Thank heaven for small blessings.
Arthur Harrington- District Nine male
Capitolites swarmed on either side of the chariots. They were screaming and jumping and throwing things. The heat from thousands of bodies left the air as stuffy as the factories back in Nine. I couldn't hear myself think over the pounding and yelling. The floor shook with how much they were moving. It was loud and hot and piercing and honestly awful and I just wanted it to be over.
Angus Pastor- District Ten male
This is my life now. This is what I have become. I am in the front half of a two-person cow suit. In the back half of the costume there is a potted plant. This is what my life has become. My butt is a potted plant.
Rachel Larson- District Eleven female
The Capitolites seemed to think I had a chance. They were sure cheering loud enough. I liked to think I was a pretty tough girl, but they might be slightly overconfident. But I wasn't going to complain about a crowd of people cheering for me as I rode by. I mean, thousands of people can't all be wrong, right? Guess I was going to win.
Joy Wincenty- District Twelve male
One of my first thoughts after realizing I was going into the Games was how cool the parade would be. After all the panic and fear got processed, I couldn't help but think about wearing some crazy outfit and having everyone look at me while I paraded magnificently through the Capitol. The parade was everything I dreamed it would be. It was only a few minutes and after that came things I couldn't imagine yet, but those few minutes were something I would never forget.
