Live Reveal:
Goomba is...
Gaiaphage!!!
A Hunger Games enthusiast, Gaiaphage had a lot of hype, and intended to bring lots of activity and strategy to the table. We were sad that he wasn’t able to fully participate, but respect his choice to step away.
Personal Effie Notes: I played an ORG with you and you really brought a zeal and enthusiasm that based on your application I thought might translate well to this game. Maybe in the future you will grace us with your presence the one and only Chris Stoner <3
Toxicroak is...
animorpherv1!!!
He worried about having a partner who would be “very set in one direction” but seemed excited to work together with another player in a pair. Unfortunately, life got in the way such that he missed out on the partner phase. We wish him the best!
Personal Effie Notes: Was really bummed you were unable to participate in this game. I thought this format would be right up your alley and was excited to see what you could bring. I hope everything is okay
Harbinger is...
Daigus13!!!
He described himself going in as adaptable, strategic, creative and cunning. He also stated he hoped he and his partner could “go the distance.” It was nice to see the loyalty and camaraderie his District developed in a short time, and thus very sad to see him forced to take on his District partner. Due to other commitments, he conceded the Eliminator to his partner, who carried the District 12 torch all the way to the end. We were sad that Daigus’s time was limited, but would be glad to see him give another LSG a go some time!
Personal Effie Notes: My friend IRL. I’d played in the original Super Survivor Bros. with you that Haschel hosted offsite and really enjoyed your presence and zeal for challenges in that game. You struggled to keep up socially with this and unfortunately real life distractions got in the way. I hope you play another game here some day because I really do enjoy you when you are able to participate.
Tapu Lele is…
NotAJumbleOfNumbers!!!
One idea he had from the start about how to handle the pressure of the Eliminator was getting into a good-natured insult contest with his former District partner. Jumble seemed to have a target on his back due to a combination of strong challenge performance in the Eyeball Test and not getting on the right foot socially with some players. To his dismay, his partner became paranoid that he threw the immunity challenge, which may not have helped keep them out of the Eliminator. He had a very competitive performance against his District partner in the Eliminator, finding a shortcut through the maze that the playtesters didn’t. Sadly, he came up just short. We definitely enjoyed his presence as a spectator throughout the remainder of the game!
Personal Effie Notes: We were excited to cast you this game. We thought this would be the perfect format for you to succeed in given your strong showing in challenges in recent games. Unfortunately, a single mistake cost you redemption in the Eliminator and sent you home way earlier than any of us expected. I still think you were super robbed this challenge and just HAPPENED to be about 2-3 minutes shorter than an absolutely insane score. Who knows what could have been if your first submission had been perfect? I hope this doesn’t discourage you from playing games in the future. I’m truly sad this was your fate this game.
The Star Worn By Verka Serduchka is…
Cheery Dog!!!
When asked what he would bring to the table as part of a pair, he stated “I think I'd bring an apple. because apples are nicer than pears in my opinion.” We think he delivered as a comedic presence in the game. He entertained us by dediding his partner preferences based on the games the characters were from originally. Cheery Dog was playing a respectable UTR challenge-focused game, with strong showings both in Welcome to Panem and more prominently in Capitol Trains. Unfortunately, he got tripped up with one of the few challenge types he doesn’t feel suited to in his first Eliminator. We definitely respected his character choice, even if the name was too long for Proboards!
Personal Effie Notes: Another victim of an unfortunately timed Eliminator challenge. Despite an absolutely insane score in the Capitol Trains challenge that I thought would propel you far in this game, your partner did not perform as well, and then outperformed you in the next challenge giving you an extremely premature demise. I was interested to see how you would do this game and I would say you performed admirably. Unfortunately the Eliminator giveth and the Eliminator taketh away, and for you it tooketh away far too soon
Montreal Impact is…
mysteryismagic!!!
He boldly stated going in that “no matter who I'm paired with, I'll be better at the game than my partner” and also stated his intention to use “this game as a laboratory to try incredibly crackd shit.” Unfortunately, modding an ORG that was in early merge ended up limiting his time greatly. He was an elusive but entertaining presence that was able to make a big play with his Sponsor. While some speculated that Montreal Impact was an experienced player attempting a new approach to the game, he was in fact a newbie to MS!
Personal Effie Notes: I very much value you as an ally from the ORG we played. You are a force when you want to be and you did dedicate what little time you ended up having available to this game. Unfortunately, the time commitment was too great for you and it ultimately cost you a chance to do well. Devon, you are a force to be reckoned with and I hope when you have more time someday that you fully apply yourself to a game here because when you are at your A game you are one of the best.
Coco Pommel is…
Brightskies!!!
She talked up her love of puzzles to begin with, but sadly didn’t end up getting to show her skills in that area before leaving the game. She did make a strong showing in her first Eliminator challenge though. Brightskies also seemed to have a good social game relative to her activity level (time zones didn’t help!), which may actually have made her be seen as more of a threat. We definitely thought that she had a good showing for her first LSG without a hydra partner, and we won’t forget those bizarre shorts she posted in The Capitol!
Personal Effie Notes: You are a ray of sunshine and an absolute delight to host. When you were able to dedicate time to this game, I think you truly had fun and you survived an Eliminator I did not think you would. Unfortunately, real life got in the way. I know you had a hard time towards the end and I truly hope everything is okay. You are a graphics goddess and I am enjoying my time working on the BOTW game with you.
Donald is…
Panzerjager!!!
He expected that working in a pair could help with figuring out the game. As it turned out, he seemed to be pretty apprehensive toward his District partner, which was the subject of quite a bit of gossip early on. The alternate universe where Donald had a partner he trusted and meshed with better would have been an interesting one. We thought he was one of the most entertaining Callers in a Lasting Impression. He made a gamble in the Eliminator puzzle that, if it had gone his way, would have got him 2nd place during a competitive twist round. We are very thankful that he replaced in, and wish him the best with the situations that kept him busy.
Personal Effie Notes: I think if you had been able to be available more you’d have done considerably better this game. When we needed a last minute replacement, you eagerly jumped up and were ready to rumble! You had some rough goings overall but also had some great moments. I am grateful you stepped in to play when you did and am sorry your journey was cut earlier than you expected.
Pikachu is…
dsjstr!!!
He referenced plans to be a dominating presence early on, and told us his biggest fear with a partner was needing to betray them. He seemed to be a big social presence in the initial stage of the game, and was a fun confessionalist throughout. Pikachu was going to submit a painting of all his fellow Tributes if his partner did not make an appearance in A Lasting Impression, which we think represents his positive attitude in the game well. He fought hard to talk his way out of being sent to the Eliminator, being dubbed by one of the immune pair as “Detective Pikachu” in the process. Pikachu was a joy to moderate and often told us how much fun he was having. We only wish he had lasted longer, but there’s always next game!
Personal Effie Notes: This was your first anonymous LSG and you brought a lot of enthusiasm and vigor to this game. You were exciting to watch and you killed it in the Capitol Trains challenge! Were this a Survivor or BB game, I think you would have killed it, but unfortunately the Eliminator has to Eliminate and your score just wasn’t quite enough to keep you in the competition. You will not be forgotten though. I hope you play more games in the future because you are truly a delight.
Shadow is…
kdowns!!!
He said that he would bring challenge strength to the table in a pair, and him carrying his District to a very respectable score in the first immunity challenge was a fantastic example of this. Unfortunately, his challenge ability combined with being part of relatively quiet Districts seemed to make him an easy target. He received 28 votes in 3 rounds, the most of anyone in the whole game. kdowns was a very rootable underdog and it was hard to lose him to our first twist round after such a great showing in his first Eliminator. We are very thankful he was able to step in as a replacement, and think he definitely left a mark on the game.
Personal Effie Notes: Of anyone who could be considered a robbed goddess this game, hands down it has to be you. You not only were a backup replacement, but you were paired with two players who unfortunately were unable to match your challenge and social availability. All in all, I feel like if anyone deserves an apology this game, it’s you. I can’t thank you enough for stepping in and being active this game and I wish you had gotten someone who could have helped you long term. But that’s the way the cookie crumbles sometimes, and unfortunately a difference of 20 minutes was the final nail in the coffin for you.
Birdo is…
Jamelia!!!
Jamelia told us he performs well when his “back is against the wall” and also promised to be “super iconic.” As someone whose reputation preceded him in his first non-anonymous game, we were quite interested to see how he would maneuver an anonymous one. As it turned out, with a lot of selfies and challenge prowess! It seemed like he was playing a solid UTR game and had a good shot to make it deep with or without his partner. Unfortunately, him getting sick resulted in a subpar challenge performance from him that contributed to sending his District to the Eliminator, and then his former partner’s cutthroat strategy ended his journey sooner than expected.
Personal Effie Notes: I thought you embraced the spirit of being a character in an anonymous game and your hilarious tactics made me chuckle. I think you were a bit of a dark horse this game because when you were actually quite great in the challenges you participated in. I was impressed with you and thought you brought a lot of spunk to the game. Towards the end you had a less than active partner and fell victim to the Eliminator. I hope you choose to play in more anonymous games because I do think you are an entertaining character
Thanks for playing this game, ORG legend DK <3
Shuchi Saihara is…
VashtaNeurotic!!!
He sought to have a “long lasting partnership” and his biggest fear was having a partner who wouldn’t tell him when he is being dumb. Quite entertainingly, he also went into the game trying to roleplay as Fluminator, the player behind the original Shuichi (though that didn’t seem to entirely stick). Vash really embraced being part of a pair, actively strategizing for challenges and of course socially. He also entertained us with charts of who the biggest challenge threats were. One of his better moments was in the District Tour challenge, where his District had to deal with the forum server being unreliable but still earned a very respectable score and 3rd place. District 1 made for a pretty perfect match, and it hurt to lose them both so suddenly in the Eliminator, with Vash correctly predicting Beetlejuice was his biggest threat.
Personal Effie Notes: You were one of the more active players this game and always helping your teammate with technical difficulties. You had moments this game where you were very entertaining and were part of probably the most universally loved district this game. The Eliminator was not kind to you this game and sadly we lost you sooner than we should have. Thanks for playing and I hope you had some fun in this game.
Beetlejuice is…
Save The Dragons!!!
He set the expectation that he hates people and would kill his partner asap, but surprised us by playing for his partner to survive at his own expense in the Eliminator. In practice, he actually seemed to play a pretty loyal, alliance-focused game. When he was the drawer in A Lasting Impression, it was suspenseful to see whether his partner’s coordinate-focused strategy would work for him; we ended up being quite impressed by his ability in that challenge! He confessed that having middling challenge performance was part of his District’s strategy, but perhaps pulling out a win at some point would have helped them not be the first to be betrayed in a competitive twist round. Save the Dragons brought some needed levity to the game and we were happy to have him.
Personal Effie Notes: When you were active, you were probably one of my favorites. You always make me laugh. Despite having a cruddy schedule, you still remained active well throughout the course of this game. Due to a blindside your district landed in the Eliminator much sooner than anticipated and because you decided to play for your partner rather than yourself, you became an unfortunate victim. My hat is off to you my friend.
River Song is…
Crystalcats18!!!
She told us going in that her social game would be her biggest strength, but we think she surprised herself with her strengths in other areas in this game. River Song put her all into the first challenge, expecting it to win her immunity if she somehow placed first. It didn’t, but it did create a very memorable duo in District 1, who of course were each other’s first choices. She earned a Sponsor from the Hybrid: Hunger Games banner that helped save their partnership from ending so tragically soon. From that moment, she knew she had her work cut out for her in managing her threat level. Her social skills got her to about the halfway point of the game before having to face the Eliminator again. It was very sad to lose her to a last minute stab from Ulysses in the Eliminator, but she was a wonderful spectator for the remainder of the game.
Personal Effie Notes: I’m beyond ecstatic that I got you to play another game after an almost 3 year hiatus. And you not only killed it here, but you blew me out of the water. You had the best score in the first challenge, making it your “first challenge win” in any game ever, you found a sponsor almost a full day before anyone else, and you were one move away from surviving the Eliminator. People loved you both in and out of game. You were socially and at times physically dominant in this game. Unfortunately, one of my favorite people decided to play a sponsor making you play a much needed sponsor that would have gotten you out of this scenario. It’s truly tragic as I thought you had what it took to maybe get into the finale. Thank you for taking a chance on my new game sis <3
12 is…
McMenno!!!
“ill own the challenge 420 blazeit :sunglasses:” promised McMenno, while insisting he be cast as 12 from A Quiet Place. We didn’t realize we would be seeing so many more numbers references! 12’s gimmick was pretty controversial, but he made a good impression on some others nonetheless. He was extremely dedicated to it, still using it when talking to the Moderators on Discord, and was often saying it was hard not to accidentally type to people in numbers elsewhere! He did give us some stress by reverse image searching in District Tours and his drawing was deemed nightmarish in A Lasting Impression (granted, it was completed much quicker than any other District’s.) But he definitely proved himself a strong competitor in every other challenge. Sadly he was not able to continue to challenge beast his way deeper, but his character is still unforgettable.
Personal Effie Notes: You were one of the best characters this game when you were here. Talking only in L337 5p34k was a fantastic gimmick and if anyone “embodied the spirit” of their original character I would have to say you probably took that to heart the most. At times you made me laugh harder than anyone else in this game. Using the “roleplaying A Quiet Place” to say why you weren’t talking to other people is probably my favorite quote this whole game. I had no idea what to expect when we cast you, but you delivered in ways I couldn’t have predicted. I was sad when you opted to end your journey in this game, but somehow doing it in 12th place seemed weirdly appropriate. Thank you for an endless supply of laughs.
Gilly is…
Nicholas1024!!!
Gilly promised “strong social play and snark,” and absolutely delivered. He received a Sponsor ranking of 10 due to placing high on just about every partner preference list, and also having a good score in the Welcome to Panem eyeball test. He applied his usual Survivor social strategy, forming the most significant alliance in the game. Nich was less confident in his challenge ability, but gave a winning performance in the hard version of the Navigating the Arena puzzles at a time when District 4 definitely could have been in danger. He was also a strong competitor in Forging Alliances/Chain Reaction, despite it being rather early in the morning! In general, we found District 4 the most mysterious District: they seemed to be very prominent in the social game but kept their scheming in PMs rather than their District forum. Still, it was interesting to hear of them through the lens of others. Gilly stepped down in the Eliminator, not wanting to end his partner’s journey, and in the end Kirby successfully fought his way to the finale. We are super happy to have Nich back as part of the community.
Personal Effie Notes: Another returning player I hadn’t seen play in years. I was interested to see how you did in this format, and then after the first couple rounds saw your activity levels dwindle. You eloquently explained both in your confessional and in the spec lounge why that was, but even so you gave what you could to this game in spite of a partner whose time zone didn’t quite match yours. I commend you for doing a valiant job in all of the challenges and working with a new format that wasn’t perfect. I appreciate you coming out of hibernation to give this game a try
Ulysses is…
Shrek!!!
He expected to be able to “handle the social game” for his pair, and his biggest fear was “them tossing me out like i'm yesterdays lunch.” He played the grumpy old man role quite well including in some snarky confessionals. We enjoyed, in stark contrast, the snippets of “Ulysses chan” we would get in his Discord prod chat. It appeared that Shrek making a good first impression was what got District 9 into the D3-D4-D7-D9 alliance. Shrek had interesting approaches to both District Tours and A Lasting Impression that focused on making sure he and Beetlejuice were focusing on the same parts of their images. Ulysses also had a great performance in Hunt, Gather, Hide that I think evidenced that most of that group would have been glad to have been partnered with him at the end of it. We found it really touching that he named his Survivorbot for Beetlejuice and never forgot him. Sadly, othello did not turn out to be a challenge that suited Shrek, and he could carry OG District 9’s torch no further.
Personal Effie Notes: I always love watching you play games. I never know what to expect with you. I enjoyed the gimmick you started with, but I think the amount of effort to play this game slowly brought you out of the gimmick. I don’t think you did as well as you were hoping to do this game, but you always had an active role this game and I appreciated that about you. Your challenge ideas were always outside the box and you are uniquely creative. I think the peak moment for you in this game for me was your bonkers strategy for the reproduce drawing challenge that created a nearly identical replica of the original. There is a method to your madness and I always love watching it.
Zod is…
Awoo!!!
He entered the game excited to “KILL KILL KILL,” do “big brain scheming” without a jury to worry about, and also very prepared to throw challenges. Awoo’s confessional was peak CPN, complete with aesthetically pleasing threat index charts. Throughout the game we heard about how he was setting up everyone else to want to kill each other, even throwing his own partner under the bus in the event of a partner swap. Awoo seemed, more than many other players, to view his connection to Fenrir as all business, which was an interesting dynamic to observe. It was also very amusing to watch his District go from trying to throw challenges, to realizing they were performing better than most while throwing and thus switching gears to try to immunity run. Though District 3 lasted surprisingly long for the obvious threats that they were, it was very sad to lose Awoo and his confessional content.
Personal Effie Notes: I would say hands down the viewer’s favorite. The amount of people who enjoyed your schemes, your hilarious insight and perception, and your beautiful charts is honestly uncountable. You were far and by far the most quoted contestant. Your District was the de facto threat, yet somehow you always seemed to downplay that until it was unavoidable. The fact you lasted so long is a testament to how good you actually are at these games. In a game where social prowess wasn’t as favored as challenge prowess, you excelled in both unironically. I am ecstatic you chose to gave this a try and you were a necessary component as the standout character fmpov.
Ted Cruz is…
SleepyKrew!!!
He told us he would bring a “charming personality” to the table and that he’d fake enthusiasm for his partner if needed. Multiple players remarked that they were surprised to be putting “Ted Cruz” of all characters so high on their partner preference lists. He also ended up having genuine camaraderie with Stitch as part of the longest surviving original District pair. Ted Cruz was a big character throughout the game but seemed to be overlooked as likeable and funny for much of it. He was the only other person besides River Song to find the Katniss Krunch in the banner, and we imagine if he’d gotten to it first, he’d have had the opportunity to keep it around for a lot longer. District 7 seemed to become less of social threats and more of challenge threats as they got deeper into the game. For their final immunity challenge together, District 7 put in significantly more practice time than the others. It wasn’t their day, but the effort to stick together as long as possible was respectable. Back on February 23rd, SleepyKrew boldly predicted Fenrir would win the game. Will Fenrir in fact prevail along with Ted’s original partner? Find out later in the reveal!
Personal Effie Notes: I think you were one of the most memeable characters in this game. Your Ted Cruz puns and hilarious antics had me rolling with laughter throughout. You were a great blend of strategic and social, but unfortunately the challenges caught up to you and sadly you were unable to survive the Eliminator the first time you faced it. You had a commendable showing and overall were a delight to watch. Thank you for a great show and I hope you had fun!
Tracer is…
Entreri!!!
Going in, he told us he expected his partner to dislike him; we don’t think that was true to begin with, but that is absolutely how their story ended. He also referenced his capability to “miraculously” survive. Entreri seemed to stay pretty under the radar socially, occasionally being named as someone people wanted to work with. His District was an early standout in challenge performance with two 2nd place finishes in a row. He played a cutthroat game in Hunt, Gather, Hide that nabbed him a win via tiebreaker, and showed new enthusiasm for the game upon returning from the Eliminator. He also had an impressive 2nd place finish in Tracker Jackered after doing some research about how close one needs to be to get max points. Entreri put up 3 great showings in the Eliminator, but was sadly bested the third time.
Personal Effie Notes: A dark horse/underdog that I think was very entertaining to watch. As the namesake for a character that had already been portrayed by DeathNote and myself, it was a little weird watching you and not making comparison to you predecessors. What was fun about you, is that you turned this character into your own with a mix of underdog survival story and a mix of challenge prowess. Unfortunately you were paired up with Fenrir one round too early and a devastating loss followed by a crazy score in the eliminator sent you packing. I enjoyed your character arc and wish you’d been able to complete the Tracer saga by making the finale. Alas, Hybrid had other plans for you and you fell short of the ultimate goal.
Wenya Zhu is….
TanisNikana!!!
Her biggest fear of being part of a pair was “getting shankified.” Fortunately this did not seem to come to pass! She was an outspoken character from the get-go, complaining about 12’s gimmick and being vaguely British. She beat her “23rd place curse” when she defeated Tapu Lele in the game’s first Eliminator. The rest of her journey was alongside Tetra, and they made a wonderfully scrappy team that was on brand for the District’s history. Against the odds, both fought their way back from the Eliminator in a competitive twist round. Tanis attributed most of their District’s social successes to her partner, but Tanis herself carried their team to victory in Tracker Jackered and was also very strong individually in Forging Alliances. She was bested by her partner in their third Eliminator, but their goodbyes were very touching. As a relatively new player, it was very fun to get to see Tanis make it so deep into a game for the first time. Along the way, we of course got a lot of maroo-ing in her prod discord chat. Caesar had too much fun switching her avatar every time she returned from the Eliminator, insisting it was a missed opportunity to not have a PAIR avatar in a pairs themed game.
Personal Effie Notes: You shocked me this game. You are so good at challenges! Like wtf?! Where have you been hiding this the whole time I’ve known you? Seriously we threw some real zingers at you and you curb stomped all over those challenges. You were highly impressive to me this season because you had your own way of doing things that was unique to you. In a crowd of people who do things the same way every time, you tried to have fun with this game and gave it the good ol Tanis flair we enjoy from you. Thank you for being a fun underdog to root for this whole season
Susan is….
xofelf!!!
She described herself as a “chameleon partner” who was “all in on blowing up all the things with [her] buddy.” She sought to prove her character was a deserving winner. From her eyeball test performance, she linked up with her 5th favorite partner in "Iz." It was quite fun to see them plot to choose their nominee as the winners of Capitol Trains. xof was resilient when she was dangerously close to being voted into the Eliminator during a twist round, maneuvering herself to safety and guaranteed survival in the next round. While she had immunity, she was a particularly strong social presence, aiming to get a strong partner from former D4. Kirby's and Susan's strategizing was delightful to watch and they managed to maneuver themselves to avoid the Eliminator for quite a while. Ultimately, her choice of partner arguably came to bite her in the Eliminator just before the finale. We definitely think xof was a strong competitor in this game and found her a delight to mod.
Personal Effie Notes: You played the hell out of this game. No one can say you didn’t. You played an entire round essentially by yourself with no partner to help you through it. You put yourself in a fantastic position to go far and you did it all. You are one of the people who blew me away this season because you went to such extreme lengths to always continually put yourself in a good position. At the core of it, you recognized that this game is not only a pairs game but an individual game and it really showed. Unfortunately, as you feared, you were the Eliminator’s final victim. All-in-all you were one of my favorite players and you did everything you could to go as far as you could and you kicked butt along the way. Great job
~Pre-Final Post:~
Now to reveal our spectators. Before we do, we'd like to give special shout outs to several individuals who helped us along the way. CaptainMeme was originally part of the Mod team and not only contributed a ton to planning the game, but continued to be a resource throughout it, which we are very grateful for. Peeta helped us a bunch with challenges despite not actually being a moderator. Thank you for literally stepping in to help run some things when our schedules didn't allow for us to be open. When we had someone accidentally break a challenge, Queen of Hearts stepped in to help make sure a district could still run their challenge which effectively took them out of the alternate pool. Thank you for doing that. Thank you to Tapu Lele, River Song, Peeta, Coco Pommel, Shadow & Tracer for all helping playtest the final challenge to ensure we had a valid solution and that it would run how we intended it. We also want to thank Mr. Freeze and Dave Strider for taking the time to double check the Survivorbot results for us. It takes a village to run a game and without the help of individuals such as the ones above, this game would have not functioned as well as it did. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you so much for all that you did to ensure this game ran as smoothly as it could.
Christine was natshido
Dave Strider was tris
Donna Noble was Scootsbaboo
Eldin was Papa Zito
Gagigabber was Skelda
Kat was CuddlyCaucasian
Lulu was 0verki11
Megara was Iprobablysuck
Mr. Freeze was Snakes
Ness was Betch
Paul Abrahamian was BROseidon
Rand Paul was Haschel Cedricson
Rarity was Aurathebirb
Regigigas was CaptainMeme
Rocket Raccoon was Aronis
Sangmin was Fluminator
T-Bird was Radja
Sabrina was Xalxe
Seattle Sounders was D3f3nd3r
Queen of Hearts was Cephrir
Zoroark was zoraster
~Final post:~
Only two tributes remained. Those they had to defeat to get here weighed heavily in their minds. Per the revised rule this year, this Quarter Quell had promised two victors so long as those victors were from the same district. They slowly lowered their weapons and with a small smile and sigh of relief, acknowledged that their perilous journey was over. They were now vic-
“Attention tributes.”
Both of the tributes look up to the booming voice of Seneca Crane calling from above. As he spoke, dread filled their thoughts as attention usually signaled a rule change.
“The rule that states two tributes can become victors if from the same district has been amended. Now, only one can win, as per the standard rules. That is all.”
As his voice faded, the two tributes looked at each other. The first raised their weapon, ready to strike for the kill, but the other...simply stood there.
“Go ahead, I can’t bear to kill you after all we’ve been through.”
The words touched the first tribute. And they eventually realized they couldn’t either.
“So, what do we do?”
The second tribute simply reached into their pocket and pulled out a small satchel.
“We call it a draw.”
The first tribute knew instantly what this was and, lowering their weapon walked up to the second. As the satchel was opened, a familiar berry was observed, Nightlock. Even just the taste alone would be enough of a poison to end their own life.
“A draw then.”
The first tribute took the offered Nightlock and held it in their hands.
“On three...one...two…”
Both tributes slowly began to raise the Nightlock towards their mouths. If they couldn’t both win together, they didn’t want to win at all.
“Three.”
And just as the Nightlock touched their lips the announcement crackled.
“STOP!”
Both tributes stop and look up.
“...L...Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you, the co-victors of District…”
With a final score of
20/20 in
38 minutes and 21 seconds, you had the best performance on the final challenge and are therefore the winners of Hybrid: Hunger games.
Unfortunately, with a final score of
17/20 in
22 minutes and 55 seconds,
District 12 becomes our runner-up district. That’s not to say they didn’t put up a valuable fight, but unfortunately it was not your day.
Tetra is...
Chemist1422!!!
Chemist said he thought he’d be good at bouncing ideas with a partner but worried about “caving under pressure.” He ended up being paired with his very lowest ranked partner based on their Welcome to Panem scores. Just as he started to connect with Harbinger, they ended up getting sent to the Eliminator by virtue of both Sponsors being played! He ended up getting a fresh start with Wenya Zhu, and led their District’s social game, bonding with District 8 in particular. In his next two Eliminator challenges, he scored better than all of his competitors, and ultimately survived more Eliminators than anyone else in the game. As someone who has had a rough go of it in some other LSGs, we were very thrilled to see him succeed here. He would sometimes use his prod chat to vent his concerns about letting his partner down or update us about what his challenge background music was. We found him to be an endearing presence in the game and hope he is proud of himself for his play here.
Personal Effie Notes: I picked you as a sleeper hit when you applied. I had this gut feeling you would do well this game and I was so happy to be proven right! Time and time again we threw stuff at you and time and time again you prevailed. You survived the Eliminator more than anyone else this game and deservedly so. How you play this game fit this format so well and it was nice to see you do well in a game! I couldn't be more pleased with you and I hope you had a lot of fun. There would have been something so epic about going to the first eliminator and yet still win the game. Even still, making the finale, you proved the whole point of why this season was designed in this specific way. Even someone who was voted out in the first round could end up in the finale of a game like this. Thank you for playing and being a bright spot in this game for me.
Kirby is...
Espeonage!!!
Going in, Espeonage expected to perform well in challenges but worried his social game would be “awkward.” Despite these concerns, he actually placed 2nd highest of the cast on partner preference lists. Beating Gilly in Welcome to Panem in a tiebreaker, they ended up paired together, both being each other’s second choice. They were a strong duo that appeared to be movers and shakers socially. While some joked that he came across as sketchy or manipulative, he did well in avoiding being targeted, seeming to earn immunity at the perfect time based on impressively quick puzzle solving. As part of the immune pair, he was blindsided by the unanimous vote against some of his closest allies in District 9, and in the next round was forced to face the Eliminator. Kirby was resilient as part of a new strong duo with Susan, avoiding being sent back to the Eliminator until the very end by pitching other Districts as stronger threats. His goal at that stage of the game was to ultimately end up paired with a perceived stronger competitor, and he seemed very happy to link up with Tetra for the finale. What he said to Tetra before the final challenge was beautifully heartfelt. We were excited to see Espeonage try another LSG after a long break and were super impressed with his strategic play!
Personal Effie Notes: I think you painted a target early on in the game for yourself by being overly strategic. However, in spite of this, you still were able to secure a very strong social presence that kept you out of the Eliminator for quite a few rounds. Coupled with a well timed challenge win and ending up with arguably the strongest social player throughout this game, you were well positioned to have a path to the end. The final pairing of you and Tetra was considered the ultimate underdog team as neither of you were on the stronger challenge teams at any one point. You played the heck out of this game and I'm thrilled you made it as far as you did. Honestly? I think this will shock a lot of people seeing as you haven't played in quite awhile! Thank you so much for having been a part of this game and this experience. You were definitely a fun character to watch from start to finish. I also think you didn't get as much credit for some of the great moments this season as you deserve. Kudos and props to you for a well played game.
Fenrir is...
DeasVail!!!
DV joked that in this game, he would get to pretend he’s been casted on Married at First Sight and/or Wife Swap. He made an impression early on with puppy imagery, but intentionally held back on being “hyper-social” to try to control who he would be paired with. It turned out he performed well enough in Welcome to Panem to get his preferred partner in Zod, and together they made a strong and compelling pair. Through this connection, Fenrir became part of the famed alliance, despite some reservations. District 3 proved themselves quite competent at communication-related challenges, winning immunity twice. While a few notches less schemey than his partner, Fenrir seemed to be both a social and challenge threat, and in spite of this avoided being targeted for most of the game. DV(‘s representative robot) placing second in the Survivor portion of Hybrid, was of course the twist of fate that ended the original District 3. It did not, however, defeat DV himself! He continued forward as a challenge beast, besting Zod in othello in spite of Zod practicing, besting Tracer in the flash game by a strong margin, as well as placing 2nd and 1st in the last immunity challenges before the final. We are so proud of him for finally cinching a LSG win after a lot of close calls in his past!
Personal Effie Notes: I am so happy to crown you as one of the co-winners of this game! After watching several of your characters be spectators from the amount of times you have made it to a finale and not won probably felt like a slap in the face. However, your cheery demeanor and optimistic attitude helped propel you with a strong challenge partner, but even more so, your performance in and outside of the Eliminator was dominating. You just excelled in every challenge and your dog memes were a hoot. You definitely deserve this win after the great game. Congratulations! You killed it this game and I'm so thrilled I got to be part of the modding team that helped this reality happen. You rock DV! Thank you for not only coming in with such a positive attitude but really reveling in this game and enjoying every moment of it. Your enthusiasm was infectious.
Stitch is...
Reundo!!!
Reundo hoped to utilize his skill in “staying under the radar and maintaining a decent social game,” which he hoped would keep him out of the Eliminator as much as possible. We do think he managed the former (only going to the Eliminator once!) but we definitely think he proved himself in challenges with 3 immunity wins. He also performed well enough in Welcome to Panem to get his 2nd favorite partner in Ted Cruz. They managed to last an impressive 7 rounds as a partnership. Stitch made a strong first impression on many people, and District 7’s social game seemed to make them untouchable until after the D3-D4-D7-D9 alliance fell apart. He did the bulk of the work on a very complicated Survivorbot that protected his District at a key time. His victory over Ted Cruz in the next round was very bittersweet. The only remaining players of that original alliance, he and Fenrir proved themselves a strong pair in Signal Fire, launching them into the finale. His new partner complimented him on his speed and effort in the final challenge. Having won both Hybrid: Hunger Games and Disney’s World Domination is a rather impressive resume!
Personal Effie Notes: There was a point where you were worried that the action you took would be a mistake looking back. It was a choice you weren't sure if it was correct because it meant breaking away from an alliance you helped establish. You and Ted Cruz did a great job playing the middle and making tough choices such as breaking away from an alliance and then later on piling everyone on the stronger districts than you. You were also part of a district that won multiple challenges. You were a delight to watch and seeing your personal perspective and internal struggles was endearing throughout the whole season. You are ideally set up for these types of games and I think your back to back anon wins proves it. Wow just a force from start to finish. It was a joy watching you and you are a fantastic character. Your survival and then dominance towards the end is particularly awe-inspiring. Thank you so much for helping make this season as great as it was
And that’s how two victors were declared instead of one at the
75th 1st
Annual Hunger Games was decided. Is this where Hybrid’s story ends? Well that...will have to wait until another time.
Good day and as always, may the odds be ever in your favor!
