Hey guys! It's been a little bit since I last updated, sorry about that, but life was a little busy. I'm back now though and ready to get into these Pregames! I'm really excited to share the first glimpse of our Head Gamemaker and her team, and I hope you guys are excited to meet them!

Levana Miroslava, 36

Head Gamemaker

She'd been at the office since before the sun had peeked its head above the horizon. It wasn't something that she wasn't acquainted to at this point; she actually enjoyed spending a majority of her time working on her pride and joy of a project.

The Games this year were certainly going to be something that no citizen of Panem had ever seen before, and Levana knew that it would be the talk of the decade, perhaps even the century. It was going to be what solidified her position as Head Gamemaker, and what would soon launch her into the history books.

"Ma'am, you're needed in the main room."

Levana nodded slowly, having been pulled out of her passionate daydream of success. She made her way towards the room that her presence had been requested in, likely because she was scheduled to rewatch the Reapings in about half an hour. The intent of doing such was to inspect the tributes and see if she could spot some potential victors and problems. She would also be inspecting pictures sent of the tributes' tokens, which were submitted once they'd finished their goodbyes.

The room was just a short trip around the corner once she'd exited her office, and Levana entered it to find a rather organized chaos. There were Gamemakers rushing around, trying to iron out the final details for the Games this year. Thankfully, they were wise enough not to look like a complete mess when doing so, probably knowing her tendency to be frustrated at anything out of order when it could be perfectly correct.

Once she was spotted, the room came to a standstill out of courtesy. It was customary for them to acknowledge her presence because of her higher rank, and this was one thing out of many that made her just love her job.

"You may continue on!" she called out loudly.

The hustle and bustle continued, and soon enough, she was approached by a young man holding several fabric samples.

"Ms. Miroslava, these are the final swatches for the arena uniforms. We just need you to select the ones that will be used."

Nodding with a small smile, Levana took the small pile of fabric from the young Gamemaker. The first selection was easy enough for her to make, with it being a light, silky white fabric. The second was a bit more thought out, with several textures and colors standing out to her. Ultimately, after a few minutes of consideration, she decided on a medium weighted cotton in a deep reddish brown.

The tributes would get different designs, depending on some other factors. She was excited to see which tributes would get which arena outfit. It seemed so far away, yet so near. Levana had been planning these ideas for months now, and it was finally almost time to see them come to life.

Handing her selections back to the man, Levana turned to see yet another person standing behind her, waiting for her to sign off on something else for the Games. She quickly checked over the tablet that was held up to her, then scrawled her name across the signature line. Levana was indeed very satisfied at the job that these Gamemakers were doing, and she would definitely be giving out some promotions and bonuses after the conclusion of the Games this year.

A fanfare of music signalled to her that the Reapings were beginning to be replayed. She strode over to her chair at the top level of desks in the room and quickly took a seat before the first Reaping truly started to replay.

She'd be watching them in order, from One all the way to Eleven. Luckily for her, they'd cut out the first parts, leaving just the naming of the reaped tributes and the volunteering of the volunteer tributes.

First, of course, was District One. The district that provided the Capitol, and the very rich citizens of the Career Districts, with luxury goods. It was one of Levana's personal favorites, simply because they got along well with the Capitol and they sent excellent competitors to the Games each year.

As predicted, both tributes had volunteered, although it was a bit of a different group of volunteers this year. The girl was only fifteen, which made Levana wary of her ability to actually win. Sure, it could be a good thing that she was that confident at her age, but she was also smaller and weaker than the rest of the normal aged Careers. The boy was eighteen, the usual age for boys from a Career District, and he seemed rather unchanging and unemotional. It was something that would really come in handy when it came to the Games; having no emotions in such situations makes it just that much easier to win.

The girl had submitted an old looking ring as her token, perhaps a wedding ring from an older family member; Levana had no issues with it, so she approved its return to her. The boy had more of an ornate token: a pendant covered in half sapphires and half rubies. Again, Levana had no problems with it, so she approved of its return.

Now on to Two, another one of Levana's favorites. The masonry District was the most successful in the Games, having attained the most victors before the war. They trained admirable tributes that were some of the most entertaining to watch each and every year. Just like One, they also got along with the Capitol extremely well and in exchange, had earned their respect.

Yet again, as to the standard of a Career District, both the boy and girl were volunteers. They were both eighteen and the epitome of Career tributes from what Levana could already see of them. The girl was confident and muscular-looking, she was definitely going to make it very far this year. The boy, on the other hand, was more sly and manipulative-looking. He'd be a popular one, that was for sure.

As for their tokens, the girl had submitted a small pair of gold hoop earrings. If it had been an outlier, Levana would have thought about whether or not to approve of it, but since it was a Career, she approved it without a thought. Sure, there was a form of a weapon in earrings, but no Career worth their salt would go that low to kill someone like that. They preferred the bloodshed and violence of ending another tribute with a real weapon. The boy's token was a large silver ring with an even larger sapphire inlaid in the center of it. There really wasn't anything strange or odd about it, so it was yet another easily approved token.

Then it was on to Three, a district that really was only cared about because it provided the Capitol with its advanced technology. These tributes were usually nothing special at all, and likely would be killed shortly after the commencement of the Games. They had the disadvantage, because with Three so technology based, they usually had no idea how to survive in the arena.

The Three pair was a bit older than last year's, and Levana wondered whether or not they would perform better than their predecessors. The girl, who was sixteen, seemed rather shocked and a bit scared. Levana was unsure of her chances, but she was predicting her to end up somewhere in the sixteenth to twentieth place range. The boy seemed rather empty about being reaped, exhaling a bitter laugh after his shock wore off. Perhaps this one had a chance in making the top half of the tributes. It would truly depend on what the others looked like.

The girl had submitted a silver keychain, nothing that posed too much of a danger. Even if it did, Levana doubted that she would be brave enough to use it in a situation that she needed to. It was approved and she moved on to the boy's token. Ah, yes, this boy was definitely a wildcard. He'd submitted a rather worn notebook full of scribbled ideas for technology to make Panem better. Levana truly wanted to inspect his ideas closer, maybe he was on to something.

"I want the Three boy's token sent to my office as soon as possible. I need to inspect it more before determining if it can be returned to him or not," she stated to the man standing next to her.

"Right away, Ms. Miroslava," came his response.

She'd see what exactly he was getting into when it arrived.

Back to the Reapings, Four to be precise. The last Career District and the heart of Panem's seafood industry. Levana was a huge fan of the seafood imported from Four, and it was very handy for the district and the Capitol to be close. They also offered up some lovely tributes each year, volunteering after training exactly for the purpose of winning the Games. She had to give it to Four and the rest of the Career Districts, they were dedicated and it definitely paid off.

The same as Two, both of the volunteers were eighteen. Now it was looking as if that fifteen year old girl from One was going to be disliked for taking a spot that should have been reserved for an older, more experienced tribute. The girl was rather tall and had that characteristic grin of pride that was common among Careers. Her eyes looked a bit distant, as if she wasn't thinking at all, but it wasn't something that would be noticed by everyone. Only the people who really tried to look for it would see it. The boy reminded her of the one from One, both having that same confident, yet dead stare on their face. So alike that they might be confused a time or two despite their different appearances. However, he was a bit small for a male Career and Levana hoped that it wouldn't end up being his downfall.

The token that the girl had submitted was oddly enough, a canteen. Levana was curious as to why it was her token, but she was also curious about what to do with it. Thinking for just a moment, she decided to approve it for the girl to have in the Capitol, but it would be confiscated on the morning of the launch. There was no need to start a scandal by letting a tribute have an unfair advantage with her token. The boy had submitted a pearl necklace, maybe from a female relative or a significant other. If they hadn't been labelled, she would have thought that the tokens would be switched around. Anyway, it wasn't something that would be considered a danger, so it was approved as well.

Done with the Career Districts, Five was next. They were currently one of two outlier Districts with a living victor, who'd won the last Games. He'd been an okay competitor, but Levana felt that he'd just won solely because he was used to being starved and dehydrated. It also didn't help that the previous holder of her current job had been the worst Head Gamemaker that the Capitol had to date. The District really wasn't too special, but it did provide most of Panem's power. And to be honest, Levana would rather a victor come from one of the outlier Districts like Five or Seven than Nine or Ten.

The girl looked very malnourished when she approached the stage looking a bit horrified. The expression faded from her face quick enough after she'd mounted the stage, but Levana was sure that many had seen the girl's terror. At least she now seemed to have accepted her fate. She was another typical outlier girl, malnourished and thin, yet horrified of what would soon happen. Maybe she could be a competitor, maybe she didn't have it in her. Levana wouldn't know until she got a good look at her during training. As for the boy, Levana had heard of him before. Once word had reached her about his sabotage of medicine in a pharmacy and how it had killed several Capitol citizens, Levana had immediately ordered that he would be the male tribute for Five. If he truly wanted to rebel against the Capitol in that way, then he could pay the price for it.

Strangely, the girl hadn't submitted a token. It was uncommon for this to happen, but when it did, a tribute usually was on their own and didn't have anything to take with them. She just assumed that this was the case for her; she was rather sickly looking anyway. The boy had submitted a plastic-looking choker necklace and Levana didn't really have a problem with it, just with him. Maybe it would choke him and make him pay for what he did. She signed off on it and moved on quickly.

Six wasn't really a Reaping she looked forward to watching. The District was just so smoggy and wasted away; she hated looking at it. Plus, the tributes were always nothing special and usually died off within the first few days. The question now was, would they be different or would they be the same? Either way, Levana was fairly confident that the pair wasn't going to make it past the bottom eleven.

The girl looked a bit confident despite being reaped, but Levana felt that it wasn't the whole group of emotions that she was feeling. She had to give it to her though, the girl kept that confident face through the rest of the Reaping. Maybe she'd be a decent contender. The boy was a bit more interesting, just because of the fact that he shockedly stood in place for so long that the peacekeepers had to drag him up to the stage. Levana was a tiny bit amused by that moment, and her opinion of Six seemed to have brightened a bit.

Both the girl and the boy submitted tokens. The girl's was some wood carving of a bird. Levana definitely admired the craftsmanship in it; she always appreciated a good artist, no matter where they were from. It was made of all rounded edges and smooth surfaces, so there was no danger or doubt in approving it. The boy's token was a metal bolt, an odd choice of a token. It could pose some risk in the arena, but at this point, Levana wasn't worried that he could make it lethal.

And now for her favorite outlier District: Seven. She wouldn't say that she'd prefer a tribute from there over a Career tribute, but she usually liked the tributes from Seven the best out of the Outliers. They just did so much physical labor that it helped older tributes from the District to survive a lot better in the Games. Not to mention, they were also the Capitol's provider of wood and paper, which helped to build the marvelous buildings and print the books kept in libraries. She was positive that Seven definitely had some good tributes this year, like they usually did at least every couple of years.

Yes, from what she had heard from those that had watched it live, she was in for a treat with these Seven tributes. The girl looked rather brave and positive even after walking to the stage when she was reaped. A spirit like that would always be popular in the Capitol. With the boy was where the appeal came though; he was a volunteer and a quick one at that. Normally, Outliers would never volunteer, and if they did, it was always slow and dull. There was definitely a reason behind his quick volunteering though; it was his sister that had been reaped for the female slot. This was indeed going to make for a very interesting pair, and they were definitely going to be popular among the Capitol citizens. The appeal of an older brother volunteering for his younger sister was too strong to let anyone that watched go.

The token that the girl had submitted was a pretty, but tarnished pendant hanging from an equally tarnished chain. This wasn't going to really be a worry for Levana. It was so tarnished and old looking that even if she tried to choke someone with it or if someone tried to choke her with it, it would probably break right away. She signed her approval of it quickly and went on to the boy's token. It was similar to the girl's in the way that it was old and tarnished looking, but it wasn't a piece of jewelry necessarily. It was a watch with an old leather band and a cloudy face and tarnished silver hardware. They must have gotten these things from family members, especially with anything not a necessity being pretty expensive in the Outlier Districts. As Levana didn't see anything wrong with it, she also approved its return to the boy. They'd sure be in for an interesting ride.

After that, she was on to Eight's Reaping. The District could sure contest Six for the amount of smog in the air. Both districts had so many factories that they had just caused the air to be pretty much permanently polluted. Again, like most of the Outlier Districts (with an exception of Seven), Levana wasn't really thinking that there would be any tributes that would wow her from Eight. Similar to the rest of the Outliers, tributes from Eight usually didn't make it too far since they were often underfed, weak, and fearful. She wasn't expecting anything different; her expectations were low, so she would only be surprised, not disappointed.

Upon catching a glimpse of the girl that had been reaped, Levana began to think that the victor might be from Eight this year. The girl was tall and strong-looking, and despite her frustrated expression, Levana could tell that this girl was a definite threat. She also reminded her of the girl from Ten that had won two years ago. Both looked the same way at their Reaping, perhaps they would experience the same outcome. Now, she couldn't really say the same for the boy. He was small and clearly not very old. The boy had volunteered, but Levana had some guesses as to why. He might have just wanted to see the Capitol in all of its glory or he could have been vastly misinformed about the Games. There was no chance that he was going to make it out of the Bloodbath.

As for tokens, both had submitted one. The girl's was an old sewing needle, which made sense coming from someone in the District that manufactured textiles. No matter how much Levana liked the girl and her chances, there was no way that she could let her have that as her token. She signed off to send it back to the girl's family and moved on to the boy's token. It was a pendant, similar to the girl from Seven's token. It must have had some sort of familial memory attached to it, since she really didn't see otherwise why he would bring something like that with him. She authorized its return to him and then took a breath. She was almost done with the Reapings, with only three left for her to watch.

It was time for Nine's Reaping now. Yet another likely dull moment to watch, but at least she was close to finishing up. All Nine really did for the Capitol was produce different sorts of grain, which really wasn't the most popular food group in the Capitol. Maybe there'd be an interesting tribute or two from there, but if not, she was pretty sure that Nine was just going to get looked over. It wasn't as if they had victors very often anyways.

The girl reminded her somewhat of the girl from Eight with the glare that she gave the cameras. Perhaps they had the same potential to win, although this one looked a lot smaller and not as strong as the girl previous. They likely had the same amount of dedication though, Levana predicted from what little she'd seen of both of them. She'd probably be somewhat popular, but it would definitely depend on how she marketed herself in the Capitol. For the boy, she wasn't as impressed. He gave the cameras a disgusted look, as if they were worse than him. He was skinny looking too, likely malnourished like a majority of those who lived outside of the Capitol and the Career Districts. She hoped that he wasn't going to be popular, especially if he was going to act like that. Levana had no tolerance for rebels.

Surprisingly, the girl didn't submit a token. Levana guessed that she was probably on her own and didn't have anything to take. She could see why, Nine was a very poor district. In the case of the boy, he'd submitted a token. It was a necklace, likely belonging to a woman based on its design. Perhaps the boy's mother had given it to him. Either way, no matter how much she disliked him already, Levana knew that since it wasn't a very big threat, she would have to approve its return to him. Signing off on it, she leaned back in her chair with a sigh. Today's job was almost finished, and then she could go home and rest before her big couple of weeks.

Now, they would be replaying Ten's Reaping. As the livestock district, Ten was also not the most popular in the Capitol; most Capitolites liked to go on strange diets to stay skinny and fashionable. Levana really didn't see Ten as anything special except for their victor two years ago. For goodness sakes, the girl had killed ten people before she was crowned victor. She really had to give it to her, she'd most definitely earned that victory. However, Levana didn't think that Ten was going to have a tribute like that for at least a few years. They were really just one in a million.

As for the girl, Levana could tell that she just wasn't going to be able to mentally handle the Games. She had that appearance that made you know that they were someone that you could just walk up to and talk to, and those people generally weren't the best at handling the idea of death and murder. Levana knew that it wasn't likely that she would make it very far, although she might make for good publicity by getting compassion from some Capitolites. The boy was very young and obviously very upset about the fact that he was reaped. Levana was very confident in her prediction for last place for him.

For their tokens, they were the first pair that both didn't have one. Again, like most Outliers that didn't have tokens, it was likely that they either didn't have anything to bring or just didn't want to or consider bringing something to the Capitol with them. At least it meant less things for her to sign off on.

Finally, it was time for her to watch the Reaping for Eleven. It was the last one that she would have to watch for the next year at least, and she let out a sigh of relief at the thought of finally being done. Levana was rather neutral on the subject of District Eleven. They produced a lot of the food that Panem consumed, but they were also an outlier District. She was just thankful that they helped to feed everyone. They produced the occasional strong tribute or two, but most of the time their pair were underfed and weak just like any other outlier tributes.

Starting with the girl, Levana knew right away that she was trying to keep that brave face for someone. If you looked close enough, you could see the small tears beginning to well up at the corners of her eyes. It would make for another case of good publicity though if she chose to market herself as trying to survive to make it back to someone she really cared about. Other than that, she really wasn't anything special and looked like the typical malnourished outlier. As for the boy, he did look a bit more muscular than the average male tribute from Eleven. However, he was missing part of his left hand, which would definitely hinder him in the arena. It was rather noble of him to volunteer for his brother, but it was a bit underwhelming compared to the Seven pair and it reminded Levana of the Mockingjay, which wasn't necessarily a good thing for the boy. Knowing people in the Capitol, they would compare him to her and be reminded of the horrible time of the Rebellion.

The girl had submitted a small glass vial of dirt as her token, which seemed a bit odd, yet somewhat admirable. Levana could understand why she wanted a piece of her home to take with her to a strange new place where there was a large chance of her dying. Levana approved of the unique token and looked on to the boy's token to check it. It was an old, rusty coin, which was yet again a bit odd. Nonetheless, it was probably memorable to him and wasn't going to give him an unfair advantage, so she signed off on it.

Thank goodness she was finally done. Even though it was only around noon, Levana had been at the office for at least six to seven hours, and she was ready to go home and take a breather. The next few weeks would bring upon a whole new level of stress and Levana wanted to be as rested as she could get before facing it.

They definitely had a very interesting group of tributes this year, and there were a lot of older tributes. She couldn't wait to see how the Games went down and who would rise victorious among them all.

Death is not a fickle thing

Only one will rise again

When the gong lets out a ring

Let them see who becomes king

Or perhaps nobody will win

And now we've gotten to meet our Head Gamemaker! I'm super excited for the Pregames and the Games and what all's to come! Also, I hope you guys didn't mind my mediocre at best poetry skills, but I think it was a pretty cool addition to the chapter! Other than that, we've been filled in on all of the tribute's tokens and our Head Gamemaker's thoughts, but I'd love to hear what you guys think! Thank you guys so much for reading and I'll see you in the next one!