And I Shine Like Gloss // [Capricious 84th BB React]

Capricious sat in her leather-backed prep chair, staring at her phone, not reading a word of text on the screen. The Bloodbath of the Eighty-Forth Games would soon commence. Her stylist team twirled about, excited, nervous, full of anticipation. She hadn't felt any of that. Not after the Private Training Sessions. No, she felt only one sinking feeling: dread. As the most senior of the Gamemaking team, undoubtedly any failings would fall on her shoulders first. And how could she account for the apathy they'd seen from most of the tributes?

She turned her phone down, sighed heavily.

"Too much smoke?" A stylist asked.

For the first time that morning, Capricious focused. She stared in the mirror, seeing not herself, but the Gamemaker she had to become. "Not enough. I want to disappear."

He nodded and set to work.

Hours later, she sat in her 'CAPRICIOUS KING' emblazoned control booth, the flickering screens relaying only disappointment. The Bloodbath - which had once been the centerpiece of the Games - ended barely after it began. The final tributes standing had nary a scratch on them. When a Junior Gamemaker pointed out the obvious, Capricious could do only one thing:

She laughed. Well, she chuckled, as much as the fillers in her face would allow. "It's an opportunity," she drawled. "We should let them taste this little success today. Give them a sense of control. Remind them that's what we're all here for, right? Victory? And then we'll see if they still like each other in the morning."

A villain, a survivor, a wild card, the tributes had claimed to her. She had only to give them time to prove themselves.