Polyphemus Ignotus POV
"Good morning, Panem! It's that time again! On behalf of our wonderful President Snow, I present to you... The Fortieth Hunger Games parade!"
"One comes first, as always. Karyssa is a vision in class- a head-to-toe golden idol! She knows it, too, and she's looking straight ahead with the ferocity of a true Career. Hiyas is less pleased with his outfit, and it's easy to see why. His head-to-toe silver paint is less impressive, and he won't even look at Karyssa as he sulks over the edge of the chariot."
"I know I've been dying to see what our newest stylist Tigris Chatte will drag in. And she hasn't disappointed. Theo looks terrifying as a Roman warrior, and Valerie is just as foreboding in her Amazon armor and paint. They hold their weapons up and ready for war."
"Electra wears a simple and tasteful gown covered with lines of electricity. She looks angry at the crowd, but I don't know why. They love her. Demarcus' suit is plain black, and the electricity theme is found in his hat, which is a crown of sparklers. He's standing very still as the sparks fly around him, only moving to swat them away when they fall on his clothes."
"I've never seen anything like this, and I love it. Careen is covered in green-blue scales, leaving only her blue-painted face open. She most be loving it as much as I am, since she's swaying like a fish. Angelo's wearing a more conventional fisherman outfit. Ha! He just tossed his line at Careen. She grabbed it and now he's miming that he's pulling her in."
"Quiola's getting more entertainment from her partner than from the parade. Kerry keeps moving around and pointing at things in the crowd to show her. It's like they're watching the show, not part of it. Their matching matchstick costumes are forgettable, but they sure aren't."
"Oh... did Puff forget the parade has a theme? That's a very eye-catching dress Adonia has, but it has nothing to do with transportation. It has more skirts than a revue and more accessories than a shoe store, and Adonia can't move at all, which seems ironic. Titus has the expected conductor's outfit. He's shyly tucked into a corner of the chariot. Six is slow as molasses this year."
"Desiree's already as tall as a tree, so Flora's job was easy for her first time. Desiree is wearing a simple green suit, and she's waving warmly at the audience. Ash refuses to look at them. He seems upset, but I can't imagine why. He's in the Capitol, the city of glitz and dreams! Of course, he's dressed as an ash tree."
"That's cute- Blaise is a doll! I'm not sure why he's hiding his arms behind his back and refusing to look at his costume. It's a doll, not a snake. Incense is wearing your everyday floofy dress with lots of layers of fabric. Sometimes Eight takes the easy way out. She's running the layers through her hands like she wants to know what each one is."
"Granja wears a simple farm sundress and she's holding a sheath of grain. She seems to be enjoying herself, and she waves at the crowd like they're already old friends. Diggory's suit is covered in dandelions, and he's having a grand time blowing them one by one at the audience."
"A little birdie told me that Ten is going to be a real shocker this year. But then, anything but cows would- oh my! It's not cows! Rory is wearing a butcher outfit, and I hope those stains aren't real. Zinnia's dress is canary yellow and moves like a swan, but I know enough about Ten to know those feathers came from chickens."
"Why is Hoban dressed as some sort of savage medicine man? They don't have those in Eleven. Maybe he's supposed to be a Voodoo doctor? Ventrix thinks it's pretty funny too, and Hoban just shrugs as she laughs. They're standing side by side with their arms around each other. Ventrix's dress looks good enough to eat, since it's made of corn tassels, tomato slices, banana peels, and hemmed with blueberries."
"Chase's arm is still in a cast, but Cuisine has made the best of it. She's fashioned it into the tip of a mining pick, with the rest of Chase providing the handle. Peach is wearing some sort of wire frame and her one-piece suit is studded with lights. Oh, she's the lantern! Genius! She's up against one edge of the chariot, trying not to jar Chase's cast. He's waving merrily with the one arm he has left.
"There they go, folks, and I've never seen anything like it. I see this every year, and there's still nothing like it. Old favorites, new surprises, and twenty-four of the bravest children in Panem. Win or lose, we'll never forget them."
Hoban's beads were Mala beads. They're used in Buddhism.