Apollonius "Apollo" Karaigme, 25
Head Gamemaker

The day had arrived. The dreaded day had arrived.

Apollo couldn't peel his eyes away from the television. He could only stare. Right now, all that was being shown was past Quell highlights. The 50th Hunger Games, that displayed Haymitch Abernathy's sharp wit against his opponent, ducking just in the nick of time as her axe flew over his head. The 75th Hunger Games, where Finnick Odair ruthlessly attacked his friends as he was pitted against multiple different Victors. The 100th Hunger Games, in which Leroy Michowitz flirted shamelessly with his Career allies, before slitting their throats in the middle of the night.

Currently, all the focus was on Pete Vermont, the most recent Quell Victor. He was sitting in a cozy armchair next to Tallulah Jeweltonne, the host of one of the most infamous talk shows in the Capitol. It amazed Apollo that while Pete was a 40 year-old man who had refused any sort of plastic surgery or altercations in the past, he still quite resembled the sly, witty, District 10 youth that had been lifted from the arena of the 125th Hunger Games.

"...could be anything, for all we know," Pete was saying. He tugged a strand of thick, black hair that had fallen loose from his ponytail. "All we have are speculations and assumptions. I know firsthand how dangerous those can be. Personally, I'd rather not know until the President herself decides to make the official announcement. I like an element of surprise."
Tallulah giggled. "Well, Peter, you do have a point. What good's the surprise of the twist if we keep attempting to find out beforehand. And now, we go live to the President's mansion, where the official Quell announcement is to be made."

A knot rose in Apollo's stomach. This was it.

The feed switched from a smirking Pete Vermont to an outside shot of the President's mansion. A large crowd had already gathered; everyone was eager to hear what the leading lady of Panem had to say, even Apollo. Quells were always a big deal for Gamemakers. And while a good chunk of the arena had been placed together, things could change. Details could be altered to fit the specifics of the Quell twist. And when the President showed up, everything had to earn her seal of approval.

Speak of the devil, Apollo thought to himself as the doors to the balcony swung open. Out came President Rosalina Snow, the woman who had been in power ever since the 80th Hunger Games, when she was just 17 years old. Now, she was nearing 87, but still carried herself with a sense of confidence and power. Her neatly trimmed hair was snow white. She wore a bright red blouse, with a matching skirt. Her wide blue eyes glanced from left to right, surveying the crowd of screaming Capitolites beneath her. If there was thing Apollo hated about President Snow, it was here eyes. He hated how she would stare at him, making him feel tiny and vulnerable.

"Welcome all," President Snow said in a calm tone. "Welcome to the reading of the Quarter Quell for the 150th Hunger Games."

The crowd cheered wildly; the President held up a hand to quiet them down. She began to list off all the Quells that had occurred in the past.

"For the 25th Hunger Games and first Quell, as a reminder to the rebels that it is their own fault their children perish ever year, the district citizens were responsible for voting on who would enter the Games.

For the 50th Hunger Games and second Quell, as a reminder that two rebels were executed for every Capitol citizen that was murdered, each district was required to offer up twice as many tributes.

For the 75th Hunger Games and third Quell, as a reminder to the rebels that not even the strongest can overcome the power of the Capitol, the tributes were chosen from each district's pool of living Victors.

For the 100th Hunger Games and fourth Quell, as a reminder to the rebels that the Capitol is merciful and only punishes those who rightfully wronged this country, the tributes were chosen from from a list of eligible criminals in each District.

For the 125th Hunger Games and fifth Quell, as a reminder to the rebels that they were responsible for tearing so many families apart, each district was to offer up a pair of siblings as tributes.

And now...we honour our sixth Quell."

The President kept a neutral expression, slowly sinking down in a golden throne behind her. She then snapped her fingers. A little girl, about the age of seven ran up carrying a box. The President carefully lifted the lid; it amazed Apollo to see all the faded yellow envelopes inside. Had they always been that colour?

President Snow wasted no time grabbing an envelope, holding it up so the crowd could see. Everyone fell silent.

The President carefully pulled the seal from the envelope without damaging it and slipped out a single piece of paper. Apollo held his breath. The twist was only read once, but the words stayed behind, echoing throughout the mansion, the Capitol, and Apollo's home.

"For the sixth Quarter Quell, as a reminder to the rebels that they were responsible for teaching their children to turn their backs on the Capitol, the Reaping age bracket has been winded. Anyone from the age of 12 to 25 is now eligible to participate in this year's Hunger Games."

Wassup folks, Vr here! And I have a brand new SYOT!

No, don't worry. OLS is still happening and it's still a top priority. I've just decided to come up with an entirely different universe and SYOT with my good friend MarsSpaceMom! She'll be writing this with me.

A few things to note about our story:

This is a partial SYOT. We have created a handful of tributes that will be present in the story. However, several slots are still open to the submitters. Which reminds me...

This is NOT first-come, first-serve. We will leave submissions open until a specific date, then choose the tributes for the various slots after it closes.

Maximum three submissions per person. Remember, the age range is 12-25. You can submit to whichever open slot, but at least one submission must be a Bloodbath tribute. (Keep in mind I don't always kill off Bloodbath tributes in the Bloodbath, but it's still nice to have options).

Please submit using the Google Form, which can be found on my profile. It's much neater and that way, I have all forms in one area. I have a tendency to lose PMs.

DIVERSITY. We'd love to see tributes of different races, sexualities, and genders. Any hateful comments towards a character's sexuality or gender will not be tolerated.

At some time in the future, we will start accepting submissions for escorts. This will be addressed at a later point.

Check out my profile for random story updates and to find out which types of tribute we'd like more of. If you want to know a bit more about this universe, don't be afraid to PM me or Mars!

I'll see you guys in the next chapter!

-Vr