Chapter 48:
Five Days After The Quell Ended
Seraphim Lukianas, Head Gamemaker
Four trains are ready to leave the Capitol today, the rest having left the previous day and letting the victors finally return to their loved ones. Today, the mentors with the victor and survivors will return back to the Districts for some time before they will have to return to the Capitol to begin assisting them in the changes moving forward. Already they made statements giving their support, but they'll have more to do in the future.
Seraphim stands on the train platform with the gathered people, watching as they prepare to head home. The longest return home will be for Fox returning to Ten with Johan and Pigmy, and a Capitol doctor who is traveling with them to take care of Fox's wife. Fox hesitates on the platform, clearly not wanting to leave the group and be separated, and he gives Amelia a long hug until he tells her she's hugging him too tightly.
Amelia will have the second longest trip, not back to Six but to District Three where she'll finish the summer program before starting her first year at the university there. She's still visibly upset at all the things that have happened, yet there's a hint of excitement in her eyes as she gets ready to leave with Matla and Isidore. Despite everything that has happened to her in the last two years, something good is coming out of it with the opportunity to attend the university.
Elias has a nervous energy to him as he stands by Anastacia, Thetis, and Emilio, but Anastacia keeps quietly reassuring him that he has no reason to be nervous. The train that left yesterday with Jarle and Dampero will head to One soon with Cecy so the two can start a new life in One away from Elias' parents. And Anastacia looks ready to take on her new responsibility – and new friendship with Elias.
And then there is the large group returning to District Two. Odyssey and Misha huddle together, the newest victor leaning against Misha for support. Glacia and Darach hold hands as they chat with Kat. Flannery is with them, to assist in the newest victor returning home. And then there's Zephyr…
"I still wish you weren't leaving," Seraphim says quietly to his boyfriend, holding his hand tightly as if that could get him to stay.
"It's just for a week or two," Zephyr tells him, a little amused at Seraphim clinging to him. He leans down to kiss the top of his head, "Just some time to gather some things and get ready for being in the Capitol for a longer time."
"I know…" Seraphim sighs at this, knowing it's true. "I just…don't want you leaving when there's still so much in the air with the rebels."
"Hey, they're quiet right now," Zephyr reassures him. "The country is rallying behind the Capitol after they killed the President when he was trying to make a peaceful negotiation."
"True," Seraphim says as their groups get notified that it's time to leave. Seraphim looks around at the victors and survivors, giving a wave that's returned by some of them as he calls out to them, "We'll be in contact soon, but safe travels."
Zephyr sighs as he gets ready to let go of Seraphim's hand, but Seraphim holds on tighter for a moment. "I have something I want to ask you before you leave," Seraphim says, feeling a little nervous about what Zephyr might say.
Zephyr raises an eyebrow at him, not looking too nervous at what Seraphim could be asking. "You've already asked me to come live in the Capitol, what more could you ask?"
Seraphim gives a nervous laugh as he rubs the back of his neck. "Well…you've been involved a lot with the Games and helped me so much. I wanted to ask if you want to be a Gamemaker, or even maybe a kind of co-Head Gamemaker with me…"
"Oh," Zephyr says softly, not giving any indication on his face about his response.
"You can say no," Seraphim continues quickly, looking away to find Glacia waiting in the train entrance impatiently for Zephyr, one hand on her hip and one holding her daughter. "It's a big thing to ask of you and I understand if you want to say no. It's probably not a good idea to work with your boyfriend anyways so-"
"Seraphim," Zephyr cuts him off, bringing Seraphim's gaze back over to him. "You're rambling. It's kind of cute, but you are rambling." He chuckles a little as he kisses Seraphim, before letting go of his hand as he starts walking back towards the train. "I will think about it while gone and have an answer for you when I return, okay?"
"Okay…" Seraphim says quietly, not quite happy with having to wait, but understanding. "I'm going to miss you."
"You'll be so busy you won't have time to miss me," Zephyr answers, making Seraphim smile a little.
"And we're going to miss our train if you don't hurry up," Glacia calls out to him, making Zephyr roll his eyes with a smile.
"The trains won't leave without you," Seraphim answers, starting to frown. "Keep in touch, okay?"
"I will," Zephyr reassures him as he stops in front of the door. "I'll contact you so much that you'll get annoyed by me."
"Not gonna happen," Seraphim finally starts to smile as Zephyr steps up into the train. "Bye Zephyr."
"Bye Seraphim," Zephyr replies with a wave before the doors shut and the train gets ready to leave.
Seraphim stands on the platform, watching as the train leaves, and once alone – well, relatively alone, there's always guards with him – he lets out a sigh and turns to leave, only to jump at the sight of Theodosius there. "A little warning next time?" Seraphim tells him, putting a hand up to his racing heart.
Theodosius shrugs at him as he steps closer. "Can't do that, we're trying to keep things off phones for the time being until we know for sure what's secure. And this is something very important."
"Okay…" Seraphim says nervously, never knowing anymore with Theodosius what might happen. "What's going on?"
Theodosius scans the train station with the sharp gaze of someone trained to secure areas before returning his gaze to Seraphim, "We can't talk here, come with me."
Theodosius leads Seraphim to a waiting car and they get in, letting the guard drive them to the Presidential Mansion. "Are we meeting with Rosabella?" Seraphim asks, trying to see what answers he can get.
"Yes," Theodosius answers as he stares out the window.
"Is it about the Games?"
"You'll see."
Seraphim rolls his eyes at this and holds in a sigh as he stares out the window, watching the Capitol go past them. Less people have been out on the streets following everything that has happened in the last few days, afraid of the rebels despite the reassurance from Rosabella. But their reaction has been better than he hoped about the inclusion of their children in the Games, although he suspects they don't know exactly what it will be like yet.
Before long, the car slows in front of the mansion and Theodosius leads him inside quietly, letting Seraphim think back to how nervous he used to be coming here, but now the place just makes him sad after the President's death. But he gets curious when Theodosius does not lead him to the President's office and instead takes him downstairs into the basement. He stops Seraphim at the bottom of the stairs, "Leave your phone and any technology here."
"Okay," Seraphim agrees hesitantly, but still obeys Theodosius. It would be dumb to not listen to him. He sets his things on a table near the stairs, knowing no one will take it here. "Can you tell me what's happening yet?"
"Nope," Theodosius answers as he keeps walking, sounding amused at leaving Seraphim in the dark. Seraphim sighs at the Council Member, left to speculate as they go through winding corridors, finding himself losing track of where they've come from – which is probably intentional. Theodosius eventually slows as they approach a door where Rosabella waits in front of with four guards stationed around it.
"Rosabella, what's going on?" Seraphim asks the interim President as he glances over at the guards.
"We have something important to discuss with you Seraphim," Rosabella answers him, still standing in front of the door. "As you know, the President's death has spurred a good majority of the country into support for the Capitol against the rebels. He's in a way become a martyr."
"Yes, he has…" Seraphim slowly agrees with her. "What about it?"
Rosabella looks over at Theodosius for a moment before returning her gaze to Seraphim. "What we're about to share with you is of the utmost secret. Not even Zephyr or your mother can know about this. We're only telling you this because it was requested…"
"Requested by who?" Seraphim asks, starting to get a little scared by all the secrecy and security happening here.
"Just go inside and you'll see," Rosabella gestures to the door and two of the guards open the doors.
Seraphim slowly steps towards the door but stops in the doorway, staring with wide eyes in shock at the sight in front of him.
"Hello Seraphim," Mendalius Xavier greets him, picking up a hand with numerous tubes connected to it to wave at him. "Please, come inside. We have much to discuss."
"You're supposed to be dead," Seraphim says quietly as Rosabella gently nudges him inside. "We saw you get attacked and Rosabella told everyone you were dead."
"Yes," Mendalius agrees as the doors shut behind them. "That was my decision. I knew my supposed death could drive the country towards unity against the rebels and as much as it hurts to know the lie we've told…I know it is the necessary step to stop a rebellion."
"I thought you were dead," Seraphim whispers as he sits down in a chair next to his bed, feeling his eyes beginning to well with tears. "Yet you've been here this whole time."
"I did nearly die," Mendalius tells him, gesturing to the medical equipment supporting him. "But the rebels did not succeed, and they must not succeed moving forward. Which is why I asked Rosabella and Theodosius to bring you here now so we can discuss how you will aid the country."
"Anything you need, I will do it," Seraphim answers him as a weight slowly starts to lift from his chest, a weight that's been there ever since he first heard the news of Mendalius' death.
Mendalius smiles at this, "Good. I hope you won't mind that I have lots of ideas for next year's Hunger Games that I would like you to implement."
Odyssey Gunderson, Victor of the Sixth Quarter Quell
So much has happened in the last few days that it's almost surreal to Odyssey to be back on the train heading home with his fellow victors. So much that Odyssey has barely had the chance to process everything or think about what will be waiting for him when he gets back to Two.
His family.
"Stop worrying," Misha tells him as he sits back down next to him, offering him a hot cup of coffee, knowing he hasn't slept much the past few nights. Odyssey sighs at this, continuing to stare out the window of the passing mountains, knowing there's not much time before they will be back in Two. "I can tell you're worrying because your face gets all scrunched up."
"Sounds attractive," Odyssey jokes under his breath and glances over at Misha to catch a smile as he curls up next to him once more. He takes the cup of coffee from the table, holding back a sigh of annoyance at the way his left hand wobbles from the unusual action, and takes his time sipping it, grimacing at the bitter taste. "Nope, coffee isn't for me," he tells Misha as he sets it back down on the table and pushes it away from him.
"You're avoiding the topic," Misha tells him, making Odyssey sigh once more. "What's worrying you?" Misha asks gently.
"Everything," Odyssey answers honestly, feeling a bit over his head about everything he's agreed to do. "I don't feel like I'll be very helpful to the Capitol. I don't know how I'm going to actually train children in six months when the training center opens in the Capitol. I don't know if anyone in Two will actually be happy to see me return home after I had to kill my own District partner…" Odyssey pauses as his voice begins to waver and he looks down at his prosthetic hand, once more ashamed at himself and what he did in the arena. "And I'm afraid my family won't want to see me after what I did…"
Misha puts his arm around Odyssey's shoulders and pulls him close to him, letting Odyssey rest his head against him. "I promise you, you'll be helpful. I will be right there with you helping you out. And Two is most definitely excited to see your return. They wouldn't have helped buy you that pizza in the arena. And I know your family will want to see you too… Did I ever tell you that Laurentina helped chip in for the pizza?"
Odyssey picks his head to look at Misha at this, feeling tears threatening to fall. "No, you didn't," he whispers, feeling overwhelmed at his sister's sacrifice. "She's been saving for years to move out…I have to pay her back, if she'll let me."
"If she did that, I am sure your family will want to see you," Misha tries to reassure him, and part of Odyssey knows he's right, but part of him also doubts that they won't view him differently because of the things he did. "They love you and that won't change because of the Games."
"But everything has changed because of the Games," Odyssey points out and Misha nods his head, at least not denying that.
Someone clears their throat and they look over to find Glacia standing near their table. "Can I join?" She asks hesitantly, having been weird around Odyssey ever since she found out about them being related.
"Yeah, of course," Odyssey answers right away and Glacia sits across from them. She looks down at the relatively untouched cup of coffee in front of him, and Odyssey slides it closer to her. "Go for it, I hate it."
"Thanks," Glacia says before taking a long sip and letting out a sigh of happiness at the taste. "Anyways…" Glacia continues as she sets down the cup of coffee and looks over at Odyssey. "I didn't mean to be listening in, but also I care and want to see you do well returning home. And Misha might sugar coat things and tell you that things will be just fine once you're home, so I'm here to tell you that they won't be."
Odyssey lets out a heavy sigh and begins frowning at this, "I knew it wouldn't be fine…"
"It's different," Glacia clarifies and takes a few sips of coffee before continuing, "You're different than the person you were when we left Two. Every victor is different when they return home and sometimes families have a hard time adjusting to that. The shit you go through in the arena," Glacia pauses to shake her head. "Only victors understand how that truly fucks up your head. Your family will try their best to understand because they love you and are happy to have you back alive, but they won't fully understand. You're going to be different to them and everyone has to adjust to this and it's going to be real hard the first few months. But if they really love you, they'll do what they need to do to understand you and to keep having you around. You're going to struggle and have very hard days, but know that you have an entire new family with the victors to count on."
Odyssey nods his head at this, understanding parts of what she said. "I feel different, that's for sure…" Odyssey tells her and Misha pulls him closer, trying to comfort him silently. "I don't like many of the things I did in that arena."
"Join the club," Glacia says with a harsh laugh. "You'll find most victors in that club."
"Doesn't sound like a fun club to join," Odyssey answers her, getting a nod of the head in return. He sighs once more, his worries only slightly soothed by Glacia. "I just can't imagine how my family wouldn't be afraid of me…"
"My family wasn't afraid of me when I returned because they understood that I did things for survival, things I wouldn't normally do," Glacia tells him, but his frown only deepens at this. "The District was happy to see me return home and I killed my District partner too. But I get it. The only way your worry will be gone is to see first hand what your family thinks, and that won't be too long from now."
"I'm so excited," Odyssey says in a monotone, expressing just how far he feels from excitement. "Can't wait, jumping for joy."
But Glacia laughs at his monotone and lack of excitement, surprising him a little. "Kid, I was with you there. At least you don't have to face the crowd and instead get to go right to the banquet in the Justice Building."
Odyssey is thankful for that for sure, even if the reasoning behind it unsettles him. But he wasn't going to argue about avoiding a possibly large crowd gathered to see him for security concerns. Or alternatively, face a very small crowd.
Glacia reaches across to put her hand over his for a moment, giving him a reassuring smile. "You're going to be okay. You have all of us supporting you."
"Thank you, Glacia," Odyssey tells her with a small smile. "This has helped, honestly. It's reassuring to know that what I'm feeling is normal, even if it sucks. And you're the coolest first cousin once removed that I didn't know I had until a couple days ago."
Glacia laughs at this statement, but it doesn't reach her eyes. "Yeah I have some words for my grandmother for keeping a whole side of my family from me."
"I bet my mother would have had words for my great-grandfather," Odyssey tells her, finding a bit of comradery in this bizarre situation with her. "You'll like my mom, she's tough like you."
"I've met her a bit at the training center," Glacia says quietly. "But haven't talked to her that much. I'm looking forward to changing that."
Odyssey nods his head in agreement, smiling a little at the mental image of Diana and Glacia together. Having a whole new family he didn't know about before…yeah that's one change he is looking forward to from the Games. "Me too."
Odyssey grips Misha's hand close to him, no doubt holding it too tightly as they enter the Justice Building, but Misha doesn't say anything about it. An anxious pit has formed in his stomach ever since the train arrived back in Two and they were brought to the Justice Building. Despite not having a formal exit from the train, there was still a crowd gathered outside, cheering for him…and he still doesn't know how to process it. He suspects he won't be able to fully process a lot of the things happening today until later, no doubt keeping him up well into the night.
"It's going to be okay," Misha whispers to him, doing his best to reassure Odyssey. But he knows it won't be. He knows his family will view him differently and he's not ready to see that. "I'll be right here with you."
"And I'm so glad you will be," Odyssey answers softly, pulling Misha to slow down their pace. He doesn't know what he would do right now if Misha wouldn't be allowed into the banquet since it's only the victors and their families that are invited. "I'm so nervous about seeing them that I haven't even thought about the fact that they're meeting you for the first time."
"I've met Diana before," Misha reminds him with a reassuring smile. "I was top of her class, she loved me."
"I really didn't like her class, but don't tell her that," Odyssey says with a laugh, knowing his mother is aware of this. Games History was not his forte as a twelve year old. But his laugh soon trails off when he realizes he's very close to facing his mother once more.
Misha squeezes his hand and gives him a reassuring smile once more. "It's going to be okay."
"I sure hope you're right," Odyssey tells him quietly before they enter the banquet room, their group being the first to arrive since he's the guest of honor, or whatever dramatic thing they want to call him. He's just the latest in a long line of victors to make it back home alive in Two.
Odyssey and Misha hover awkwardly near a table, Odyssey having no clue what exactly he should be doing. But soon a long line of victors arrives in various groups, surprising Odyssey in the way they all greet him pleasantly. He thought for sure at least some of them would be hesitant with him after what he did and yet…no one says anything of the Games, just mentions of being proud of him or congratulating him on representing Two well.
At one point, Bronn and Sylvia get there, the last of the victors, and Glacia goes over to her grandmother and talks in a hushed tone before taking her elbow and leading her over to Odyssey. Odyssey smiles pleasantly at Sylvia, starting to offer his hand in greeting before realizing it's his fake hand, and putting it back down as his smile begins to falter. "Pleasure to meet you, Ms. Skylar."
"Grandma," Glacia says, her tone holding a hint of scolding as she gestures to Odyssey. "Odyssey is Eleazar Aldrich's great-grandson."
"I know," Syvlia answers, surprising both of them. The old woman gives a shrug at both of them as she takes a seat. "I kept track of that asshole's family – sorry, but it's the truth."
"If you knew, why didn't you ever say anything?" Glacia asks in disbelief as she sits next to Sylvia. "I could have had a whole other family!"
"And I could have potentially ruined that family if they knew the truth," Sylvia answers, shaking her head at her granddaughter. "Eleazar was engaged at the time, which I didn't know. When I found out…I swore to never have anything to do with him and take that secret to the grave. But leave it to the Capitol to reveal my biggest secret for me."
Glacia shakes her head at Sylvia some more, but it's clear she still has so much love for her. "I just wish I would have known…"
"Well you know now," Sylvia offers with a shrug before pointing over at the door. "And you can change things now."
Odyssey follows her gesture over to the door, but he knows before looking who he'll find there. Standing in the entrance to the room is his family, Diana leading the way in and scanning the room, the most at ease being around District Two's entire population of victors. Laurentina is close behind her, Julia at her side with her arm around Penny, his two sister's looking around with awed and nervous expressions. In the back, Calypso keeps her head down as she follows their family in.
Misha gives Odyssey's hand a comforting squeeze as his family spots him and Odyssey gives a small wave to them, hesitating to approach them. "Go," Misha encourages him, also giving him a small shove over in their direction.
Odyssey takes a deep breath as he starts walking over to his family, trying to keep a smile on his face to not let them know how much he's hurting inside, but that soon fades away when he gets close and Diana holds her arms out to him and pulls him into a tight hug. "My baby boy," Diana whispers as she holds onto him so tightly.
"I should have listened to you, Mom," Odyssey half jokes with her, trying and failing to hold back tears as he clings to her. He presses his head into her shoulder, hiding his face from his sisters so they won't see him crying. "I shouldn't have gone into the Games."
"Shh, it's okay, you're back here now," Diana tells him as she smooths out his hair and he picks up his head to look at her, not realizing how much he needed a hug from her. She smiles at him, surprising him when he sees her struggling to hold back tears. "You're home and that's all that matters. We never stopped rooting for you."
Odyssey nods his head at her, not knowing if he can really get out many words right now, and Diana comfortingly pats the side of his head before letting go of him so he can greet the rest of their family. Diana has barely let go of him before Julia is hugging him, not trying to hold back her tears. "We're so happy you're home safe."
"So am I," Odyssey tells her, so happy to have Juju around and still treating him the same. But his mothers weren't the ones he was really worried about…his sisters are the ones he's most unsure about.
Odyssey lets go of Julia and looks over at his sisters, silently hoping that they're going to treat him the exact same way because he doesn't know what he'll do if they don't. Laurentina steps up to him, smiling and shaking her head at him. "Don't do something stupid like that again," she tells him, lightly punching him on the arm before pulling him into a hug. "I love you, even if you scared the shit out of me."
"I'll try not to," Odyssey laughs as he hugs her back. "Maybe you should have gotten more of the stupid genes from Homer so I don't have them."
"You can keep them," Laurentina jokes back at him but as she steps back, he can see the slight bit of hesitation on her face as she looks him over. He notices her gaze lingering on his hand and he puts his arm behind his back, making her give him an apologetic look for staring.
She stays quiet and to avoid the uncomfortable conversation surrounding his new hand, Odyssey turns his gaze over to Penny, but soon wishes he hadn't when he sees the uncertainty in her eyes as she looks up at him. "Hey Penny," Odyssey says quietly, trying to hold back the hurt in him over her keeping her distance.
"Hi," Penny answers him, but that's it. No going to hug him, no 'glad you're home', just…nothing for her big brother who used to be her role model. He expected this kind of behavior from Calypso but to have Penny treat him this way…
God, it fucking hurts.
Odyssey just stands there, not knowing what to say or do as he realizes his worst fears about returning home to his family are true. He knew they would be afraid of him…he would have been scared if he watched any of them go through the Games and do the things that he did. He murdered people in terrible ways, all acting out of hurt. So why wouldn't his family be afraid of this new anger in him?
Diana steps up to him and takes his arm as he feels himself slowly breaking inside, picking up on his mood like mothers always seem to do. "Come, let's go chat me and you," Diana says quietly before giving a look over at Julia, who quickly smiles and gathers his sisters to get some food, and Diana starts leading him over to the side of the room for some privacy.
"They hate me, don't they?" Odyssey asks when they're out of hearing, tears forming right away at the look Penny gave him when she first saw him.
"No, they don't," Diana reassures him right away as she sits him down off to the side of the room. A couple victors glance their way, and Kat notices and takes the time to go chat with Julia and his sisters, giving him the privacy to talk to his mother. "They…" Diana lets out a sigh as she tries to figure out her response, surprising Odyssey by her uncharacteristic behavior. "I don't know, I think they are just a little nervous by seeing that side of you in the arena and struggling a little to remind themselves that you were hurt and that wasn't their normal brother."
"Penny hates me," Odyssey says, absolutely certain it's true. "She hates me just like Calypso does and I'm sure Laurentina is just acting like she likes me still because she doesn't want to hurt my feelings in front of all the victors."
"Okay I know you just went through the Games but you need to stop being so damn pessimistic," Diana tells him firmly and he slowly brings his gaze away from his sister's and over to his mother. "If Penny hated you, would she have been cheering you on the entire time and screaming in excitement when you won?" Diana waits for him to slowly shake his head after a few seconds, but he still knows she is scared of him. "No. Would Laurentina have given up most of her savings to help get you a sponsor gift? You and I both know how much she's been working hard to save up and move out and she wouldn't have given that up for someone she hates."
"I have to pay her back for that," Odyssey says quietly, having another thing to feel guilty about. "But you didn't mention Calypso."
"Calypso…" Diana lets out a sigh as she shakes her head. "It's not my place to tell you things she's told me. But even if she doesn't show it, she cares about you. Seeing what you went through in the Games changed her view of you, I think maybe for the better."
Odyssey sighs as he looks down at his hands in his lap, "But their opinions all changed."
"Yes, because you changed too," Diana tells him and her words echo what Glacia told him earlier. If he wasn't feeling so upset at Penny's reaction to him, he would be amused by the similarities between his mother and Glacia. "My opinion of you has changed a bit too, yet I still love you. So listen to your mother telling you that your sisters still love you."
"I haven't done a good job of listening to my mother's advice," Odyssey manages to somewhat joke with her, looking up at her and finding a small smile forming on her face. "I should probably work on that."
"We thankfully have time for that," Diana tells him, reaching out to take his hand. Odyssey tries to pull away the prosthetic hand but Diana takes it anyways, holding it firmly and not flinching away from the feel of it. "You're my baby boy and I'll love you no matter what. All of you. Just give your sisters time to come around and see that you're still you."
"I'll try," Odyssey answers her honestly, even if it hurts knowing what Penny thinks of him.
"Now, no more sad stuff. Tell me about Misha," Diana says sternly and Odyssey can feel his cheeks heating up in a flush. "Why didn't you tell us about him before?"
"I…" Odyssey starts coughing and holds up his good hand to cover his face, trying to cover up his blush as he glances over at Misha chatting with Jory, laughing as he tells him something. "Well, I couldn't exactly tell you about something before I even admitted feelings to myself. I only realized at the party. But you'll like him, he…" Odyssey trails off as he watches Misha laughing and looking the best he has in days since he's finally gotten rested up and isn't actively worrying about Odyssey right now. "He's already helped me in so many ways."
"Does he make you happy?" Diana asks him and Odyssey looks over at her, nodding his head right away. "Good, that's all I want out of anyone you date. And if he helps you get through this, then I'm happy. But he is coming over for dinner one of these days."
"Of course, Mom," Odyssey agrees right away, smiling at the thought of Misha coming over to his home. "But maybe first we can have dinner with just us. I…I want to be with my family today and show you all I'm still me."
"Oh if you thought we were letting you go off without us today, you don't know us," Diana answers, furthering the smile on his face. Diana stands up, gently pulling him up with her, and she reaches out with her free hand to wipe away the tears from his cheeks. "Now you're going to introduce me to Misha and I'm going to scare him a little and make sure he's a good fit for my son."
Odyssey groans at the thought of his mother grilling Misha with questions, but her acting the same way as normal with him is needed more than he anticipated. "Be nice, Mom," he tells her, but the look on her face tells him she's not holding back at all. But he knows it will be fine. If Odyssey didn't scare Misha away by the awful things he did in the arena…there's no way Diana will scare him away.
You know I had to hit you with one more plot twist lol. Surprise, Mendalius isn't actually dead! And we got to see Odyssey return home to his family and some classic new victor angst! This chapter wraps up the main story part of this. Just three epilogues to go and then the story is over, so wild to believe we're at this point already! As excited as I am for Renegades, I'm gonna be a sappy mess when this story is officially over after we get through the three epilogues.
But no sap today because subs are now officially open for tributes AND escorts for Renegades! *throws party confetti* On my profile is a ton of information about the submissions with a consolidated list of the changes and guidelines/rules. Please make sure you read over everything because it's very important and I took the time to put it all together and I would like people to actually read it lol.
Key things:
- Subs are open until June 12th for escorts and June 24th for tributes.
- Both tribute and escort subs are NOT first come, first serve.
- All escorts need to have a new form submitted. If they were in this story, they must have a new form submitted to be considered for Renegades. But being in this story does not guarantee they will be in Renegades.
- The final placement of escorts will be decided by me because I have a specific way that they are going to be assigned to Districts (and will do this considering the answers on the forms). That being said, I am changing up when we see escorts for Renegades. We'll be introduced to all of them in one of the prologues and I will have a chapter after all the intros where we see all of the reapings. After, I am going to try (key word there lol) to show them more in the pre-Games and Games, but no promises.
- If you're subbing to the Capitol, be aware that this is likely a competitive spot and maybe consider subbing another tribute to a different District to increase your odds of being accepted.
- If you're planning on making a rebel, know that I am going to be very particular about escorts and they will have a lower chance of being accepted.
- Please do research on tributes. I will do my part with researching for tributes, but it needs to start with the form. If the form is just incorrect (be it an identity, disability, etc), I am not going to take a tribute where the submitter didn't put the time in to make sure it is correct.
- Please only submit if you are going to be active. I know that things come up irl that prevent you from reading, and that is okay, but if you know you're going to struggle to keep up with it, please consider not submitting. This could be the last full SYOT I write (I don't have plans or know what will happen after it) and I want to have a really solid cast of tributes and a good amount of readers. It's also not fair to other submitters if I accept a tribute from someone that will be inactive over theirs. I've had a lot of submitter drop out in past stories and would like to minimize it for this one since it makes it really hard at times to have motivation to write. Thank you for understanding.
As mentioned before, there's a lot of information on my profile so make sure you read over all of that too. The submission links for both are also on my profile!
That's all I have to say here so I will see you next Friday when we kick off our epilogues! The first two will be small little sections dedicated to each tribute and then the third one will be a look at our victor and survivors within the six months following the Quarter Quell!