NOTE: I'm publishing a few chapters very close together. If you didn't catch the Oscar/Damon chapter, you might want to read that first and come back here afterwards!


Lucent Saccharyn, Head Gamemaker:

I have to be very careful about how the next couple of days play out. I'm planning on taking a risk, but it has the potential to go extremely, extremely wrong. The problem is that the Career Pack hasn't been very active of late. That's not to say that the Careers aren't interesting. Their dynamic is cute and cuddly, (with the possible exception of Eliza, thanks to the Oscar situation) and personally, I like it a lot. It's just that they aren't really killing people, which is sort of the entire point of having Careers in the first place.

There's a secret to being a Gamemaker. You have to be cautious and play it safe, but you also need to roll the dice every now and again, because it's ingenuity and danger that give the Hunger Games its zing. Langston Arquette had a disastrously long Games, but his featured almost no mutts or events to break it up. Mine will also be long, but I'm incorporating all manner of exciting new things to exert pressure on my tributes. You must have both prudence and gumption in equal measure if you want to make your mark as Head Gamemaker.

I have several different kinds of mutts remaining that have not already been used. I'm saving a few of them for later on, but something must be done about the Careers. Unless they start successfully hunting for other tributes in the next half hour or so, I'm going to get them moving of my own accord. Something tells me they won't enjoy my way nearly as much. I'm pleased with the way things are going at the moment, but after two deathless days, the audience will be getting antsy and bored.

Boredom is my enemy. Once the Games grow boring, the pressure mounts tremendously, and it's my responsibility as Head Gamemaker to ensure that the Capitolites end up with a satisfying payoff. If they have to slog through a few deathless days, they deserve a reward for doing so, a spectacular showdown of some kind that will revamp their interest and get them invested in the outcome all over again.

I need to present something that they'll really want to see. What if I decided to force two alliances to collide? What if one of those was the Career Pack? I have to select the other alliance with care, and it has to be a fair and even matchup. Which groups would provide the sort of conflict that I'm looking for? Which tributes are favorites and must live? Which tributes do the viewers want to see die? Should I choose a predictable matchup or a more volatile one? Is it worth risking the death of a Career?

This part of the Games is anxiety-inducing. I need to hit the nail on the head, and I only have one shot. I can't bring tributes back to life if the version of events I predict doesn't end up happening and someone important dies. There are limits to the things I can and cannot do, and there are expectations that I must meet. Although it's admittedly nervewracking, I'm comfortable with my decision.

In thirty minutes, the Careers are waking up, regardless of whether or not the artificial sun has risen, and if they want to live, they'll get on the move.


Hey y'all!

I'm not gonna stick the supply tracker and stuff here because I'm lazy and I did it for the last chapter which I published like five minutes ago. I just realized that none of the folks who reviewed last chapter caught my Quinten/Radley easter egg, so the first person who does and correctly names it in a review will get 10 extra sponsor points. I'm back tomorrow morning to deliver the drama Lucent's promising, so be on the lookout!

LC :)