The Capitol

Leda Dashlon

"Miss Dashlon?"

I look up to see a timid Gamemaker standing at my doorway.

"What?"

"The… the rest of the Gamemakers want to run a few ideas by you," the Gamemaker says. I strain my brain to try and remember her name, but it eludes me. "Miss Dashlon?" she repeats when I haven't answered.

"Call me Leda. Tell me, are you new to the Gamemakers?"

"I… I've been here for ten years," she responds. I sigh. "Why?"

"No reason. So the Gamemakers want to run some ideas by me?" I ask. She nods. I stand up, pushing a bunch of arena plans to the side. The Gamemakers are already sending me ideas for the 256th Hunger Games. Unfortunately, most of them are crap. One particular design is a simple pine forest. The Gamemaker who submitted it eagerly explained that it was unique because the tributes would be expecting a twist, even though it was a simple forest. When that failed to impress me, he assured me that the arena was a classic and the audience would love it.

I would fire the man, but he's excellent at psychologically tormenting the tributes. Most of his arena ideas are terrible, and he's not great when it comes to mutt design either, but he always has a unique opinion. I might dock his pay a bit, though, because the 'Classic Forest' was an awful idea and completely wasted my time.

I follow the Gamemaker (maybe her name's Cynthia?) into the main Gamemaker room, where they're all debating wildly. A few are especially loud and seem super angry. Most Gamemakers get super into this.

"I've told you, send their families into the arena! It would be an excellent plot twist!" one of the Gamemakers shouts especially loud. It's the same man who submitted the idea for the 'Classic Forest'.

"Shut up, Charlie, you're already in enough trouble," I bark at him. He slinks back in his seat, looking slightly confused. "Come talk to me later, I want to discuss your arena idea. Anyway, I was told there were some ideas you wanted to run by me?"

"Yes!" Nestor Willabye runs up to me excitedly, pushing his glasses further up his nose. Technically, we can correct vision impairment nearly immediately, but there are some citizens like Nestor that are completely against any type of surgery. Personally, I think they're just wimps. "We have some ideas to spice the Games up tomorrow!"

"Why?" I ask. "There were two Career deaths today, I'd say that's pretty eventful."

"Yes, but we haven't had any arena events yet. No Gamemaker interference." I open my mouth to interrupt, but Nestor raises his hand. "I know you prefer the tributes to do their own thing, but the audience loves arena events. So just hear us out."

"Fine," I sigh. "What have you got?"

Yes, another short, uneventful Capitol chapter. I swear these things will get exciting soon, but for now, be prepared for more chapters like these.

Also! A new poll for Day 5 is on my profile (unless you're reading this the minute I post, in which case, you might have to wait a few more minutes).

EULOGIES:

14th: Glitter Monique (D2F): Stabbed by Vincent Elm (D7M) - Honestly, this was an extremely easy death. There was absolutely no reason to keep her alive any longer. She was one of the most unpopular characters, her submitter wasn't reviewing, and she was even submitted as a Bloodbath. The only reason I kept her alive past the Bloodbath was because I found her interactions with the rest of the Careers fun and I thought it made sense later in the Games. You're welcome, everyone! XD

- Lilah