Cyrene Longuemare- Let the Good Times Roll D4F

It didn't take a psychic to see I was resurrected as a "villain". I used poison, I fought dirty, I used tricks. Basically I acted like someone who didn't want to die and who had been told all her life that it was okay to kill other people. There were a couple of ways to play this. I could pretend to "see the light" and go on a redemption arc. Barf. I could highlight the Tributes "worse" than I was and try to get them targeted instead. I could pretend the cloning process went wrong and I wasn't quite all there. It was a long shot, but if I didn't overdo it, it might work. We all had so many problems to think about. I didn't have to be considered the smallest threat. I just had to be not the biggest.

Laken Dervissey- Wandering Souls D4M

It was Shane who broke the news to me.

So Beth took it home, huh? Good for them, I guess. I was glad to hear Four got the supplies and the boost to our reputation, but pardon me if I didn't rush off to congratulate Beth. I was pissed, honestly. I should have won, or at least I should have beat Beth. I was the brawler. Beth was just... what even was her strategy? A lot of it was just riding on the safety of their alliance. Anyway, sour grapes. The past was the past and all that mattered now was this time around.

Arielle Ermin- 28th Games D4F

Always a bridesmaid, never a bride. Decades ago, longer ago than most marriages even lasted, I used to think I might get married someday. What a thing to think about as I lay in a hospital bed preparing to fight in the Games for, what? The fifth time? I wasn't even sure I could remember anymore. It used to be I was a normal girl. If it wasn't for the Games, I'd be almost sixty. I wondered what my dress would have looked like. When I was little I used to want a blue one.

Siren Kaecko- The Poseidon Adventure D4F

Third time's the charm, right? I was starting to think perhaps my optimism was misplaced. But then, I did have a weird, messed-up sort of immortality. I did get to see new biomes I never would have gotten near if I wasn't in the Games. I got to meet cool people and kill them, then have them kill me. It wasn't the best life, but it was a living... sort of.

Patrick Donegal- A Night to Remember D4M

Older siblings always think they know better. Imagine your big brother not only being twenty years older than you, but he also won the same Games you keep failing at and now he's your teacher. I was so lucky Shane wasn't obnoxious. He seemed even more awkward than I was. I could only imagine the conversation he had with our parents every time I didn't come home again. Honestly I was glad I was me and not him.

Faust Xantina- We the People D4M

What do you do when there's a voice in your head telling you you're not good enough, and it's right? I hadn't won the Games. Over and over I failed. I couldn't even beat other failures. Everyone in my life told me about my potential and how I was better than normal people. Well, look how that turned out. Guess they should have believed in someone else. Honestly, I wasn't at all sure anymore I even could win the Games. This time around, I was going to be more realistic. I'd try to get past the Bloodbath. Maybe that was something I could do. If I managed that, I'd set a new goal. This time around, I was just going to see what I could get.

Amphilia Fortuna- A Night to Remember

The Career Games was so much easier for me. It was harder, obviously, but it was easier. I didn't have to worry about killing someone who didn't deserve it. It was so much less guilt to kill other people who also signed up for this. I guess at least this time I could ally with the longer shots and give them a chance. We could be the inspirational come-from-behind underdogs who win the respect and love of the nation by coming through in the end. Or, more likely, we could all die again.