Very Bad Little Devils :: [ Wolfgang + Poppy ]

[L△LIA]

we all pretend to be the heroes on the good side
but what if we're the villains on the other

It would be better to be hungover, for the excuse of it. If only she smelled of alcohol instead of this morning’s shower then no one would question her irritability, her disheveled edges, or any of the lazy ways she has been contemplating ending the world. Everyone she encounters seems to quirk their head, sensing that something is off but unable to fix the tilted perspective of her, and all she can do is silently brush past them. Thankfully it’s easy enough to disappear within the extensive labyrinth beneath the Games colosseum, even after being mercilessly outed as a so-called Gamemaker by the President herself.

An open concept office filled with tittering interns is an unexpected relief. They’re like this every year, so thrilled by the prospect of opportunity that there’s room for little else in their heads. Usually it annoys Wolfgang, who prefers working with true ambition and complex minds, but as she stands in the doorway she cracks the faintest of smiles. They’re like puppies, unable to fathom how big and dangerous the world can be, assuming every face a friendly one and every hand that’s held out to them an offer of kindness.

The NDAs each of them signed are stacked neatly on a table. Wolfgang walks in so casually that most of the interns don’t notice her as she begins checking through the paperwork, confirming that everything matches up with her headcount and cross-referencing their faces against the photographs meticulously stapled to the HR records bundled with each set of forms. Everything looks to be in order. None of their excitement or first day nerves betrays any true understanding of the legal rights they’ve thoughtlessly signed away. Opportunity indeed.

"Welcome to the Seventh Games team," she says, several people visibly jumping at the unexpected sound of her voice. Understated yet commanding, Wolfgang’s self-assurance has never sought to make a spectacle of itself. Her dominance is a given and anyone who cannot recognize that has always been too feeble minded to bother with. "I assume you’ve all been given the tour and introduced to the heads of the departments that you’ll be assigned to tomorrow." It is not a question.

The response is a mix of nods and blank stares with one or two interns beginning to open their mouths, undoubtedly to suck up with the kind of overly-calculated and droll responses that so often mark her least favorites. All talk and no innovation, they’re middle management in the making. She cuts them off. "Too much money was spent on the Fifth and Sixth Games. The budget this year will be limited. We will need to create something out of nothing. I am here to offer a promotion to whichever one of you can prove that you possess tenacity and ambition greater than fetching coffee for the tech crew or shoveling animal shit in the lab." Tossing a sheaf of paperwork at their collective feet, Wolfgang takes a seat and kicks her boots up on the nearest desk. "Fight for it."

villain by stella jang