Bobbin Taper, District Eight Female, 12 years old

I think my father finds reaping day harder than I do. It's hard for me, don't get me wrong, of course it would be. The prospect of being chosen to die, essentially, at random is hard but for him it's always harder. I'm all he has. You see, my mother died in childbirth with my younger brother who unfortunately didn't make it. Apparently loads of people thought he wouldn't be able to handle two losses but, sure enough, he pulled through and was there for me. He channels his life into me, protecting me and making sure my life is as enjoyable as possible - that much is certain. I think he's even more nervous because it's my first one; the first of many.

As much as he doesn't want to, he lets me see my friends, Lacey and Spool, this morning. We're not going far - only to the small bench that accommodates the three of us nicely near my house - but he still wants to know. His over protectiveness is annoying sometimes, but when you step back and look at it, it's understandable. Besides, I'd rather him be devoted than distant.

Before I go he makes sure I'm in my reaping dress. It's simple but you can tell it cost him a lot of money. It's slightly oversized - it'll probably fit me until I'm fourteen - which makes it obvious he intends for me to wear this for a while, not that I'm complaining. The texture's a lot smoother, nicer, than what we usually wear.

"Come back when the bell rings," My father says to me as he hugs me tightly, acting as if I'm disappearing and this is the last time he'll get to hold me.

"I will," I reply, hugging him back as tight as I can manage.

He pulls away, smiles at me and ruffles my hair slightly - though not enough to completely ruin it - and nudges be towards the door. I smile back and head outside. The air's lightly warm with the hint of a faint breeze. The sun's not too intense, but it's not midday yet. Lacey and Spool are already waiting for ma dn I take my place in the centre of them.

Usually we help Lacey make jewellery, Spool and I. It's her hobby and she wants to make a career out of it one day. I'm not an expert on jewellery, but I'd buy whatever she makes - it always looks pretty, even if she uses the cheapest of materials.

On a normal day we talk about school, worries we have and our aspirations in life but today we're silent and any conversation that does crop up is about the reaping. We're all nervous; it's our first time. None of us have taken any tesserae so our names are only in there once, but it's still scaring us. We finish the necklace rather slowly, taking meticulous care with it. It's pretty and I hope Lacey intends to give it to her mother - she'd like that.

"We should get some nice food tomorrow," Lacey says after placing the necklace securely in her small pouch she carries around, "As a celebration for not being reaped."

Spool and I nod in agreement, hope creeping in. Optimism is the best thing to have during the reapings - it's the only thing we have. Nobody can be certain about not being reaped, so why not hope?

We spend our last minutes together hugging one another, saying things of encouragement. We promise to stand by each other at the reaping and, when the bell goes, we give each other one more tight hug and go back to our houses.

My father's waiting outside, holding out his hand for me to take when he sees me walking over. I take it gladly and he squeezes it lightly, reassuring me that I'll be fine.

Phantom Spinarid, District Eight Male, 18 years old

My life is one big paradox, a juxtaposition. My father expects too much, wanting me to be a model citizen like my older brother - probably wanting me to make the family proud or something. But my mother, my mother expects too little from me. She's not at the point where she doesn't care about me, no, but she probably accepts that I'm far too different from Cipher to be like him. Cipher's good at football and sports whilst I'm better at manipulating people. Maybe she's realised that, after all these years or maybe she just doesn't care.

I'm not completely unlike my brother - we're both rather handsome, if I do say so myself, and as such attention just naturally draws itself to us. The main difference is, he channels that attention into being popular, having a girlfriend and the like whilst I channel it into being manipulative, getting people to do what I want them to do. It's much more satisfying to do that by making them do it unknowingly as opposed to them doing it in the hopes of having an ounce of your popularity. In that respect it's me - one, Cipher - zero.

The conflicting views in my parents means reaping days are always so fragmented. Ever since Cipher passed the eligibility age they don't seem to care as much. My father tries to teach me how to act, how to hold myself and what to do in case I'm reaped. I think he wants me to join the Careers. I wouldn't be surprised - he expects that much of me. No, ever since Cipher can't get reaped I've been left to my own devices. No more family breakfasts and a pep talk, not that I'm sad about that ending. In fact, it was more of a nuisance than beneficial, so I'm glad it's gone.

For the past few reapings I've just done what I always do in the mornings, stay in my room as long as possible. I find reaping days enjoyable - I can really accentuate my visual appeal and make sure people notice me. Besides, the more people that notice me the more minds I'll get to play with. Another benefit of the reaping day is I get to wear the nice clothes I have. I've gotten them from hand me downs from Cipher who got them from his adoring fans or from people I've manipulated in the past. I've got a nice wardrobe to choose from and I decide that silk would be the nicest thing to wear. It's ironic, really, how we live in a district that makes clothes yet most of the population can't go further than the scratchy stuff issues by the Capitol.

I look at myself in the mirror and I'm content with my appearance. There'll be people looking at me for sure and, if I am reaped, the Capitol'll take a liking to me. I'll probably be the most handsome outer-district kid they've seen in a while. I think I might go for a similar tactic in the Games like our last year's male tribute, Velvet, did. He was pleasant enough until the Games began and he became ruthless. I think I might do the same, just exclude the cannibalism.

Bobbin Taper, District Eight Female, 12 years old

I've seen the reaping before, seven times is what I can consciously remember, but it's so much different standing in the centre with so many eyes looking at you. The only reason I'm not completely terrified is because I've got Spool to my left, Lacey to my right and I can see my father in the corner of my eyes. I'm perfectly safe - they won't let anyone harm me.

We've got a new escort this year, a young man who's replaced the old woman we had. He has strikingly orange hair and a suit to match. If he had a normal hair colour, he'd probably look a little better.

I try to take notice of what he's saying, but I don't really latch on to any of the words. I'm too scared to do so. Instead, I watch the film about the Dark Days with glassy eyes and tense when I see him walk over to the bowl.

There's only one Bobbin Taper in there. Is is at the top? The bottom? The middle?

He picks up two piece of papers, two names, and compares them. He's dragging it out and wants to make a show out of it. He decides on the name in his left hand, letting the one on the right drop back into the nest of names. He opens it as he walks back so, by the time he's at the microphone, he has a smile on his face as he announces the person.

"Bobbin Taper!"

I feel my body go numb. I look over at Spool, then Lacey - both of their faces are contorted in horror and I bet mine is too. I can't move but they push me lightly. Not in a malicious way but supportive. If I don't move by myself then the peacekeepers will force me up, and I don't want that.

I manage to keep my emotions on lock until I reach the stairs, then I let it go. Tears roll down my cheeks as the escort wraps his arm around my shoulders, presenting me to my district. The older children look sympathetic, scared even. It's always sad when a twelve-year-old is reaped and this year that's me.

Phantom Spinarid, District Eight Male, 18 years old

Bobbin looks weak - a Bloodbath tribute, for definite. Maybe I'll ally with her, if she makes it out of it. She looks like she'd go into an alliance blindly and not think about the repercussions. I make a mental note to be kind to her.

The escort repeats the tedious ordeal of picking two names and dropping one back into the bowl with the male names. He's wasting our time but I know the Capitol will be enjoying it. It makes it even more of a show than it is.

"Phantom Spinarid!"

For a second, I'm in shock. Of course it'd be my luck, being reaped on my final time of eligibility, but then I remember who my district partner is. Compared to her I'm the best thing District Eight has. As I said, I'm handsome so the Capitol will take a liking to me.

I hold my head high as I walk to the stage, making sure to show off all my attributes. I've got a good chance of winning and I know that.

When I'm on the stage I flash a smile as he presents me to the world. When he instructs Bobbin and I to shake hands I take a good look at her.

Her eyes are red and puffy from crying - and the tears don't look like they're going to stop anytime soon - and she looks frightened. I definitely know next to her I look good. I give her hand a respectable shake but pull away at the first chance I get, leaving her arm extended and awkward for a few seconds. The worse she looks, the better I'll fare.

I can hear our escort conclude the ceremony as we're ushered into the Justice Building, separated into our individual rooms for the goodbyes.

I actually really loved both of these tributes! I thought I'd have a hard time writing Phantom just because of his nature, but I think I did a good job.

I hope I did them justice!

We've only got four districts left and then it's the goodbyes! One step closer to the Games :D

Can I ask you, if you have a tribute submitted, to make sure you review as often as possible. I already have a tentative order of deaths and victor but the more you review the more likely I am to review that order and adjust if I think it's doable (a lot of placings coincide with character development for other tributes so, if you do review a lot, and your tribute dies early it could be because I just couldn't write them)

As always, reviews make me happy~!

- Oli