#and it didn't have a cornucopia
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tearlessrain · 2 years ago
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I love "mysteries" and "conspiracy theories" that have really obvious explanations. because like due to the fact that I enjoy the Watcher channel I get constant recommendations for other, worse mystery/ghost/conspiracy youtubers, and sometimes it will be something like "why do so many people go missing in alaska?? conspiracy explained!!" and I'm like. well first of all alaska is both a popular vacation destination and a fuck off huge expanse of wilderness that's very cold and hard to navigate and full of bears. but no you're right it's probably cults or aliens or something.
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runefactorynonsense · 1 year ago
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Cozytober - Day 10 - Cornucopia
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warmilikeit · 2 months ago
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Yandere Batfam x Camp half-blood (Neglected reader)
DC x Pjo
Part 6
This had like a huge timeskip
___________________________
It's been 3 months Since you decided to stay at camp
It's been so good, the camp is quiet, since it's school year right now, it's currently October, the weather outside doesn't really affect the camp but it's chilly, the good kind
Percy and Annabeth have been sending you photographs of their schools, since you can't go to school anymore
Because you're "dead"
Still even if you're not studying, no way you're gonna let them get ahead of you, so you spent an entire day carving an Athena statue
You got a bunch of food from the Cornucopia as offerings
Then you pray "Lady Athena, may you please guide me, I need books on grade 6 studies.... Please?"
For good measure you decided to place a drachma on the statue
"I- I want to study... And uhhh, I've never really prayed to a god before- I mean what kind of god would - okay going off topic, I want to learn because I don't want to feel helpless anymore, I've been there, never again, so if- you could help me... I'd appreciate it, but you don't have to if you don't want- sooo... Yeah I guess, do I say amen? Um bye"
"didn't think a child of Aphrodite would ever be interested in learning"
"AH!" You yelp as a voice appears behind you
" 'Thena can you not sneak up on children, that's fucking creepy"
You tilt your head "Mr. D???"
"kid next time you want to study just bother Chiron, there's legal procedures to this kinds of things" he groaned
You were about to apologize but then Athena spoke up for you "Nonsense, if she wants an education is it not reasonable to get it from the best?"
She turns to you "kid, what do you want to know about?"
With great determination you say "I want to know everything I can manage to learn"
"really?" She smirked
"Yes. Whatever you can teach me, how to use an abacus, what body part do you stab someone to kill them in an instant, how to crochet, whatever you can teach"
"yeah while you two are at it can you teach her how to undo my punishment" Mr D opens another new diet coke
______________________________
"Gods- Wait crap" you collapse on the floor
4 fucking hours now, she's been training you for four hours, Mr D had finished 55 diet cokes watching and laughing at you
Out of every fight, she wins, of course she does, out of every train, sparring, archery and everything she made you try
"new rule, all you have to do is make sure this cloth touches me, whether it be a momentary graze or wrap it around me, it just needs to make contact, and I will try to push you out of bounds" she says pulling out a blue cloth and a bunch of rocks and twigs form a square
You didn't think it'd be easy, at all, she'd dodge and dodge and dodge
You lunge at her and change direction to where she's going, but she flies instead
The sun is going down, and Athena flies down and kicks you near the bounds
"AHHH! ow! Shit!" Your form looks disfigured, your arm is under your body and it doesn't look good
You cry, tears coming out as you try to not scream "I fell the wrong way, I-" you sob on the ground
"Shit, Thena what did you do?!?" Mr D stands up
"I'm sorry- I didn't, help please...." You scream in pain
Athena teleports to you and kneels, she turns to Mr D "I'll call on Apollo to heal her arm and-" she stops talking
She stops talking as she feels a silky texture on her cheeck
With wide eyes she looks at you, and your smug smile, that stupid smile
"I finally won against you" you stand up and dust yourself off
You can't beat the goddess of wisdom, but- you can trick her
"huh..." She says
Mr D spikes his diet coke on the ground "(name) go fuck yourself"
___________________________
I'm about to take a test rn, it's mathematics 😀
Anyways enjoy the chapter:3
@delias-stuff @sadslasher13 @ellaprime7 @wpdarlingpan @mountvesuvu @chinxinsomnia @nathaly36 @vanessa-boo @bat1212 @ceramic-raven
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dovveri · 4 months ago
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matching wounds
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synopsis: 2 victors are brought back as mentors for the 58th hunger games. you don’t understand how your fellow victor nayeon seems so okay after everything that happened in the arena.
warnings: angst! sleep issues, trauma, death, killings, blood, weapons, mentions of sex trafficking, suggestive at times, all the trigger warnings that come w the hunger games ig…
w/c: 13.3k
a/n: got this idea post conan concert listening to the exit and being thrown back to this one hunger games edit to the exit and this was born! its mostly just them dealing w their trauma and talking and being there for each other </3
»┼)➝
the train ride to the capitol is it's usual flamboyant, boastful lie. you scowl, looking out the window as you pass the countryside at rapid speed. a year was not nearly enough to recover from the trauma of winning the infamous hunger games. you still remember very clearly, the absolute dread you felt sitting on this train a year ago, praying to all the deities and gods you had never bothered learning the names of in your limited education in district 9.
your attention is drawn over to the carriage door when it slides open. your accompaniment, the only other victor alive in district 9, walks in briskly. she doesn't seem to take notice of you slinking around in the corner of the carriage. im nayeon was something else. she was your mentor when you were in the games last year. she had won her games not too long before you, reaped at the very young age of 14 for the 49th hunger games. you guessed you could consider yourself lucky in that sense. your name was picked out last year when you were already 18, so you already had the build and experience from working out in the fields all day to help you win. nayeon's games didn't make too big of a splash because the next year was the quarter quell and haymitch abernathy from district 12 stole the win to the surprise of much of the capitol and the districts. he was all everyone could talk about and people easily forgot the winner of the games the year before his.
you don't remember watching her games on television either, you were only 10 at the time, and your family was too poor to afford something as luxurious as a screen. you saw no sense in watching the games when you could be out working the fields to bring home food for your family instead, that was the first year you were trusted with heavier tasks after all.
as a mentor, nayeon was surprisingly bright and enthusiastic. she was a little awkward when she first met you, but when she found out you actually had potential, she poured her all into preparing you for your games. and with that bright charm she enticed capitol citizens easily, getting you sponsors left and right despite coming from such a poor district. your male counterpart was a little less lucky, he was killed in the initial bloodbath at the cornucopia, it was a shame but everyone expected it. you think he was one of the ones in your district that was worse off, he looked skinny as a stick, and when you sparred during training you had him flat on his face within seconds.
you'll never forget the face nayeon made when you came out of that arena, bloodied and barely conscious after killing the other final contestant, but nayeon was the first face you recognised. she hovered over you, eyebrows creased, hand over her mouth, tears falling uncontrollably, dripping onto your face.
you were the only other victor district 9 produced. it must have meant a lot to her that you survived after she sent kids off each year knowing they'll most likely die. it was the first time you had seen her break, the first time she wasn't putting on a mask for the kids she lead to their deaths.
because your district didn't have a male victor, you were asked to come back as a mentor this year instead. the kids reaped were scrawnier than ever, you had asked the staff to instruct them to take a shower first before meeting you and nayeon. you remember when you were escorted onto the lavish train for the first time you felt so disgusted with your grime and dust you felt too bad to eat all of the food that would be laid out, thinking you were much less than presentable, especially in front of nayeon.
you continue sulking in your chair, watching nayeon move around the room effortlessly. although you had moved yourself and your whole family into the victor's village, you still didn't see much of the older woman despite practically being neighbours.
you got to know her mom and her sister a little better but found out her dad was killed in a small uprising when she was only a little girl. not long after, her younger sister was born and she had to practically raise her while her mom was out trying to find as much work as she could to support all of them. nayeon grew up to be strong-willed and caring, winning her games with her cunning and natural ability to draw people into her and make them trust her. back home though, she spent most of her time away from home, no one, not even her family knows where she goes.
the carriage door slides open a second time, and this time the tributes for this year walk in shyly.
nayeon turns immediately with a smile, the same one she presented to you when you first walked in.
"hi! come in! please help yourself to all of the food here. it's a fairly long train ride into the capitol so it's important to bulk you guys up as much as we can before the games start."
the contestants flinch at the reminder of the games, looking at each other in uncertainty.
you step up then, "it's okay. everything's safe to eat. i had the same worry last year because i heard the story of that boy winning one of the early games by poisoning everyone on the train on the way to the capitol so all the other tributes were already dead or weakened by the time they stepped into the arena. security has upped considerably since the early games so it's safe to eat. you should eat, it'll help you get strong before you go in."
nayeon's gaze flicks over to you when you step out of the shadows, a curious look settling over her face.
the male contestant lurches forward at the reassurance, immediately stuffing his face with all he can reach, never having seen this much food in his life.
the girl also steps forward watching her counterpart, gingerly picking up a scone and biting in, her eyes light up at the texture.
you smile, moving towards them, "here. add this, it's called jam. it'll make it taste even better." you grab a scone for yourself and show her how to apply the jam, watching her take a bite and grin, mumbling her thanks around a mouthful of food.
nayeon slides in next to you, sitting across from the contestants with a kind smile.
"good right? after only eating plain bread and wheat for so long it's almost otherworldly."
the contestants hum and nod, still more focused on the food than the two of you.
"what were your names again?"
the boy finishes his mouthful of scrambled eggs, "julian. my family mainly works in transportation of wheat. so i've had a little experience hauling heavy things and lugging them around."
nayeon nods, "that can come in useful. there are always weapons that are included for heavyweights like you." she turns to the girl next, prompting her to reply.
"adeline. i don't have a lot of experience doing much of anything." she replies shyly.
you speak up, "that's okay! i'm sure we'll be able to find something once training starts."
you don't ask any further questions, nayeon and you in mutual silent agreement to let them eat until they were full. you send them off to explore the rest of the train and have a look outside, getting accustomed to the rapid change of pace from grueling farming work under the hot sun everyday, to air-conditioned velvet cushions and endless food and drink.
nayeon excuses herself as well, saying she was going to ask the train conductors exactly how long it would take to get there.
you wave goodbye, the permanent smile etched onto her face unnerved you.
when she was your mentor, you just thought she was encouraging. but now… now you know how she feels to be the last one standing in the arena. and you don’t understand how she can possibly smile or act as if everything was okay, not when the people you killed and betrayed haunt you in your nightmares every night, not when your senses are constantly on alert, terrified someone would jump out from around a corner to try and kill you, not when you felt like you had never left the arena.
it felt like you and nayeon had matching wounds, but yours were still black and bruised, and hers were perfectly fine. leaving the arena and trying to live life after the trauma it put on you, and being forcefully reminded of it every year afterwards, it was like you buried something that never died. how could she live with herself?
you spend the rest of the day moping around, wallowing in despair and wondering just how you were going to survive the next few weeks.
»┼)➝
a jolt of the train wakes you up. not that you could ever sleep well anyway. the first few nights after the arena you barely slept an hour a day. if you weren’t paranoid someone would attack you in your sleep, you’d be woken by the voices of the ones you killed.
you sigh, sliding out of bed and stepping outside your room. you wouldn’t be able to sleep for any longer so may as well rise early.
you pad down the hallways lightly, rubbing your eyes and wandering around aimlessly. you had gotten used to waking up at ungodly hours and usually chose to be productive when you were awake, cleaning, gardening, knitting, learning whatever you couldn't learn when you were living in poverty and didn't have the opportunity to learn. anything to get your mind off the ghosts that haunted you.
you find yourself at the back of the train, in the last carriage where half the carriage's ceiling and back wall is practically clear, allowing you to see the terrain the train was passing through.
what you don't expect is another figure, curled up at the end of the carriage sitting on the ledge and looking out at the landscape. nayeon.
she's got one knee up on the ledge, the other stretched out dangling over the edge, arms perched on her knee, head rested on her arms. you approach slowly, unsure if she was awake or not.
it seems her senses never really dulled at all either though. she noticed you when she walked into the food carriage earlier in the day, she just chose to let you think and brood, she noticed you now as you tread towards her slowly. this time she turns her head to not scare you, letting you know she was awake. her eyes are crinkled in a softer smile, heavy and tired.
"hey y/n."
you reach her quietly, she gestures for you to sit opposite her on the ledge, shuffling around so you have the space to sit up and lean back against the window.
"hi... did you sleep?"
nayeon hums, "a little."
it's silent for a few minutes, the churn of the train and the soft breaths the two of you let out are the only sounds you can hear. you look out towards the horizon as well, the fields and forests the train rapidly passes blur into mixes of brown and dark green. it's getting brighter, slowly but surely, the sun was lazily making its way up, signifying another day you were alive.
your eyes eventually drift over to nayeon. (they always do.) she was like a mystery someone would dedicate their life to uncovering. you trace over the lines on her face, noticing the little mole under her left eyebrow for the first time, the small array of freckles that dotted her cheeks and the bridge of her nose, her heart-shaped lips full and-
you catch yourself, eyes flicking up to hers again to make sure she wasn't watching you. you breathe out a sigh of relief, she was still entranced by the slowly rising sun.
"are you always up this early?" she speaks up at last, breaking the silence that settled over you calmly, although it wasn't an unwelcome break, like a raindrop disturbing the peace of a still lake.
"sometimes. i haven't really slept well ever since i left the arena." you realise this is the first time you're speaking about your experience in the arena with her. the first time speaking about your experience period. you had closed the memories off, pushing them down deep inside you so they could only haunt you in your unguarded sleep. and your family knew better than to ask, they saw what you went through on the big screens, there was no need to remind you of the trauma more than you already were reminded of it everyday.
nayeon lets out a dry chuckle, "that never changes."
your eyebrow raises, you knew close to nothing about the older woman. she never talked about herself or her games, when she was your mentor she was solely focused on helping you survive. and you had never asked.
"... you always seem so... fine though. i don't know how you do it to be honest."
she looks at you then, a sarcastic sort of glint in her eye, "is that what you think of me?"
you gulp, suddenly nervous for whatever reason, "i think that's what most people think of you. i didn't think much of it until i stepped out of that arena too. most people think we can just leave it all behind, enjoy the riches, bringing our families out of poverty, not having to live on scraps of grain everyday, they'd think we'd all look like you. but i'm not."
"i'm not either y'know. i have to put on this face. so that my family doesn't ask how i am. so that the kids i send to die every year think they have a chance of getting out and being as happy as i look."
"even faking it though... it must take so much. i can barely look at the kids without being thrown right back into that arena."
"you never get used to it. y'know the first year after i won, i was so optimistic. i thought, if i could do it, there's no reason anyone else can't do it from our district. and i thought that year they had better chances than me. i was only 15 y'know, when i first started mentoring, not to mention it was the quarter quell so there were twice the tributes i was in charge of. the tributes that year were all 16 or 17, i thought they were older than me, fitter than me, they could win, they really stood a chance. and then i watched them all be cut down in the first few seconds of the cornucopia bloodbath. four people. just like that. dead."
"...i'm sorry."
"don't be. that's just the world we live in right? the only way to survive is to think like the people in the capitol. when you view them as objects, as items of entertainment instead of real, tangible lives, it's a hell of a lot easier to watch them die." there's a somber pause, your mind racing, sorting all this new information you're getting out of her, "not you though." and then your mind's quiet, senses hyperfocused on what nayeon says next.
she sighs, looking back out at the soft orange and yellow hues that start to fill the early morning sky, "i couldn't do it. i couldn't look at you like that. no matter how hard i tried, i couldn't- i don't know. you were different. eight years sending 18 kids to die, but you came back."
"i couldn't have done it without you."
her lips turn upwards, just a little, but you catch it, "no. you brought it out of me. turns out when you actually care about who's in the arena instead of treating them like your next poker piece, you work a little harder to make sure they survive."
"but then what if they don't?"
her smile drops again, "i think you'll answer that for yourself after this year's games."
she sighs, standing up, about to leave, but you catch her hand, not even sure what compelled you to grab it. the contact makes both your eyes widen, looking down at where you're touching.
"wait..."
she waits. cocks her head, hand closing around yours in reciprocation.
you struggle to form the thoughts in your mind, too much information for your cognitive load to handle, but eventually one thing comes to the forefront.
"i care about you too."
nayeon smiles, a real smile this time, you can tell because her eyes crinkle, her nose scrunches, cheeks blush, perfect teeth show. you suddenly pull a memory from the depths of your brain, the first time you saw her, when her name was called out at her reaping. she was a small little thing, obviously young and frail, but her smile was just as practiced. except back then she had two large front teeth, it gave the appearance of a freshly born rabbit. you don't question where they've gone, her time in the capitol right before her games likely had her stylists 'fix' her teeth so she was objectively prettier and would attract more sponsors on screen. like cleaning the pigs before sending them to the slaughterhouse. what a broken world you lived in.
»┼)➝
you spend the next few days on the train leading up to the capitol getting to know julian and adeline better, trying to tease out parts of their personality that could be used to appeal to the public, as well as putting them on a basic exercise and meal regime to get them fitter and healthier for the games.
you also spent a lot more time with nayeon, working together to come up with the best plans and routines to put the tributes into, staying up late and studying all you can know about the other contestants that would be in the games, coming up with strategies that could be used once they were in the arena.
the outlandish extravagance of the capitol will never cease to amaze you. and judging by the look on nayeon’s face as you pull in, it seems no matter how many times you return, you will always be reminded of their power and riches over the districts.
you’ve been getting to learn nayeon’s expressions. right now, she’s sporting her fakest, most exaggerated smile for the capitol viewers. you know better though, the anger and disgust in her eyes only able to be interpreted by someone who came from the districts.
she turns to you then, and you blush, feeling caught staring, but she doesn't comment on it, instead brushing her hand past yours lightly, behind the peacekeepers stationed out front for your protection (or to keep you in line), and interlock your fingers where no one else can see. she squeezes gently in reassurance, leaning in to whisper into your ear, "smile y/n. you're the most recent victor, the one they'll remember best, the one they'll be most curious about since her games ended, their attention on you can help bring attention to our tributes who would never normally get this much of a crowd."
she was right. you didn't have time to wallow in the self-pity and hate you held for the capitol when you remember your two mentees from back home, likely terrified and completely overstimulated from their first sight of the capitol, the people coming to welcome them not even looking like they belonged to the same species, all dressed up in absurd colours and materials people in the districts probably slaved days away to manufacture.
you squeeze her hand in return, looking out to the crowd and smiling.
"look for the red dots. those are signs that cameras are currently recording for the rest of the capitol to see."
you follow nayeon's instructions, spotting the small blinking dots and smiling directly at them, waving and trying your best to remove yourself from your body, going into autopilot to not feel the utter abhorrence at being paraded around like a circus monkey.
the crowd becomes impossibly louder at your actions. when you can tell everyone's eyes are on you, you point to your tributes who are standing next to you, looking like newborn foals learning to walk, redirecting their attention.
nayeon gives you a little nod of approval, her hand not leaving yours while you slowly step off the train and follow the peacekeepers towards your transport to the training facilities while making your way through the welcome crowd.
by the time you finally arrive, it's already sundown and you can feel the exhaustion of having put on a face for so long. the tributes are taken away from you to meet their stylists for the first time. you're too tired to offer them any advice but nayeon steps in, still as energetic as she was when the day started.
"do everything the stylists tell you to do. it's gonna feel weird at first and they may even want you to do some things that you won't be comfortable with, but it's all gonna be for your benefit. just remember that they're on your side. they want to make you look like the best version of yourself for the rest of the capitol, and beauty sells. trust me i know."
they nod, thanking you both and being led off by peacekeepers.
you and nayeon are led to your floor where you'll be staying for the remainder of the games. as soon as you're inside you slump down onto the couch, waving off the avoxes that look at each other a little concerned.
"she's okay. just tired. you guys can leave us, we'll call you if we need anything." nayeon offers a polite smile, sitting down much more elegantly next to you.
the avoxes nod their acknowledgement and wander off. poor things.
when you hear that they're gone, you roll over to look at nayeon who's finally taken off her smile, folding her jacket neatly and placing it off to the side.
"you're really good at that."
she looks at you, tilts her head in question.
"you fooled me too. the whole happy polite princess thing you have going on. and you know you're way around. this is my first time back to the capitol since the games. i never thought i'd be back here."
something comes over her eyes, but she brushes it off, smiling at you, a little pained, but before she can reply, one of the avoxes comes back and whispers something into nayeon's ear. her face darkens, and she nods, standing back up.
"i have to go y/n. rest well." it's curt, she doesn't even look you in the eyes, and then she's gone.
you’re left blinking after her, confused at what just happened. did you say something wrong?
»┼)➝
nayeon isn't back even by dinner time. neither are your tributes, although they probably wouldn't be back until the next day, or even the day after. you remember the amount of procedures you'd gone through when you'd arrived. the preparations for the opening ceremony were extremely important for first impressions and they didn't have that much time to fix all the issues you'd grown up with. major plastic surgery was normally the way to go.
so you push the abundance of food around on your plate, thinking about how at home the amount of food you're eating could feed a family of 10. it sickens you. it's the first time since you'd left home that you were really alone. not counting the avoxes positioned behind you that had to attend to your every need. it was almost like you missed nayeon. she was always able to brighten your moods, playing around, even when things were serious she'd make sure nothing ever got too overwhelming for you or for the tributes. she was a veteran.
you sigh, pushing your food away, apetite gone. with nothing else to do, you retire to bed after a shower. maybe the soft mattresses and expensive fabrics designed particularly for sleep would finally grant you a night of good sleep.
it did the exact opposite. the fabric rubs your skin the wrong way, and you're tossing and turning in bed, playing around with the different settings of the window, shuffling your pillows around. you just couldn't find peace.
you yawn, giving up and sliding out of bed. you pad outside your room, intending to get some fresh air. on the train you didn't have that luxury, but you could still see the countryside while it passed. at least now you had a balcony in the main living room. it was caged off in case any of the tributes tried to commit suicide before the actual games, but it was still fresh air.
the cool tiles of the floor feel foreign on the skin of your feet. before you make it to the balcony door, you hear the front door clicking open.
your heart stops, sweat immediately building up on your brow, your body being thrown back into the arena, terrified someone was here to kill you.
your movements are quick, crouching and scrambling towards the couch in silence, grabbing the closest thing you can, the couch blanket. you'd learnt anything can be fashioned into a weapon with the right mindset. the blanket could be used to choke the intruder if it really came to it.
you peek to the side of the couch, holding your breath as soft footsteps pad towards the living room, the only light available is the one in the entry way, overcasting a shadow moving its way closer and closer.
but as soon as it's about to turn the corner, it stops.
you curse internally. did they notice you?
you don't get to form a second thought before a pin is whizzing your way, impaling itself into the couch. you barely have enough time to scramble backwards, the cushion of the couch saving you, but the person is leaping forwards, pushing you down into the floor. you react automatically, struggling against the figure, using the blanket you're clutching onto to latch onto a leg, yanking so they lose their balance, toppling over. you take the opportunity to quickly clamber over them, pulling the blanket to wrap around their neck.
their hands come up immediately, trying to create space between the fabric pulled tight at their throat, gasping in effort.
you finally can assess the intruder. she's wearing a short dress, pale skin exposed, hair pinned up in a clean updo with the same pins that she must have used to throw at you once she noticed your presence. and then suddenly, with horror you realise it's nayeon.
you quickly let her go, scrambling back until your back hits the couch, staring at her as she coughs, trying to catch her breath.
"nayeon!"
she groans, turning, eyes adjusting to the dark, "y/n?"
"oh fuck i'm so sorry i didn't- i thought there was an intruder-"
she massages her throat, letting out a little chuckle when she realises what's happened, "it's okay y/n. i thought the same. sorry for almost impaling you with a hairpin."
you stare at her, still in shock. "what- where have you been- jesus i almost killed you-"
"don't get cocky now. i could've gotten out of that."
you roll your eyes, "i'm serious nayeon. what are you wearing? i'm sorry too." your words are flying out, too many thoughts coming up too fast, but mainly, you're just glad it wasn't some assassin sent to kill you.
she looks down at herself, like she was just remembering she was dressed up. "ugh never mind that. are you okay? you're not hurt are you?"
you shake your head, "you?"
"i'm good don't worry your pretty little self. anyway i'm gonna go take a shower. you should go back to sleep y/n."
you tilt your head, standing up when she does, "but where have you been?"
she starts towards the bedrooms, turning on the hallway light so you can finally see each other, "out." she doesn't look at you when she replies, pulling her dress down so it covers more of herself. you catch a glimpse of the scar on her right thigh right before she covers it, the one she got in her games when someone had slashed her leg. her face is made up, but you notice the mascara running down her face in tear streaks. it's such a surprise it stops you in your tracks. you hadn't seen nayeon cry since that time you were barely conscious and just out of the arena.
"nayeon..."
she pauses, but doesn't turn back to look at you, "what is it?"
"i... you... are you okay?"
nayeon lets out a dry laugh, "i'm fine y/n. you aren't that strong. i just feel really gross and i need to shower. i'll see you in the morning."
before you can stop her she's stepping into her room and closing the door. you frown, she was obviously lying, something had happened while she was out and she wasn't telling you. it was fine if she didn't want to tell you, you just... you cared about her. you owe your life to her. you want to do anything you can to repay her.
so you sit outside her room, it's not like you were going to be able to get any sleep anyway, you'd wait for her to finish her shower and talk to you.
»┼)➝
it's almost an hour before she leaves her room. you sit fiddling your thumbs, thinking up scenarios of what could have possibly happened. nayeon was too good at hiding herself. you wished she'd open herself up. if not to her family, to you, someone who understood what it feels like to be in her position. you were one of a kind, there weren't going to be many district 9 victors after you, there certainly weren't any before her.
when she finally opens her door you scramble up.
she looks down at you surprised, her hands wringing out her hair in a towel, face bare. you're reminded of just how young she was. despite her experience and knowledge of everything, you remember she was just a girl.
she smiles. you're practiced enough that you can tell it's fake.
"what are you doing here y/n?"
"waiting for you."
"i told you to go to sleep."
"i couldn't sleep anyway."
her smile stays as she steps past you, you follow quietly. she turns the kitchen lights on, rummaging around in the fridge for something to eat.
"have you not eaten yet?"
her hands stop moving for a second, "no. not yet."
"where were you?"
she sighs, taking out a takeaway box and moving to the microwave. "i was out y/n. i told you. please stop asking me."
"but why can't you tell me?"
"it's classified."
"what?"
"i can't tell anyone."
"but why?"
"i can't tell you that."
the microwave rings.
"do you not trust me?"
"it's not that."
"then why?"
she sighs again, ripping off the lid of her takeaway box a little roughly, "i just can't tell you y/n. you'll probably find out after this year's games end anyway."
"what is that supposed to mean?"
she whips around then, eyes red, eyebrows furrowed, she's raw and genuine for the first time, too tired to keep concealing herself. "you're not stupid y/n. you're an attractive victor. what do you think happens to attractive victors? where do you think i go when we're back home and i have to leave? i'm certainly not out farming or doing all the regular jobs people back home do."
that takes you back, the pure hurt in her eyes, the way she cowers into herself in just her thin sleeping clothes and bare face. she's so much younger, so much more human without all the flashy smiles and outfits she wears for the capitol.
"i- i don't- i just thought-"
"no. you weren't thinking. you're naïve y/n. you think we have to live with just our traumas from the games. you think there's an end to it all. that once you get over what happened in the arena you'll be able to live a normal life. the life. the life they promised us when they said we'd win the games. well i'm sure living it!" she chuckles darkly, arms flailing out and raising her voice to the ceiling.
"it never ends y/n. all they do is take and take until we're as bare and barren as the farms we take care of."
you blink stupidly, the reality of what she's saying settling in.
"you admire me for how well i lie." she spits the word out, mouth dripping venom and eyes furious, "i lie to survive. everyone does. the capitol lies to us, promising us riches and glory for winning the games. that's why districts like 1 and 2 exist right? why careers fight to volunteer to kill other kids in the arena? i wonder if they'd go back in time and do the same thing once they realise what winning actually means. we're not real to them y/n. we're not humans. we're products. expensive, dolled up, murderers they have on a leash."
she sighs heavily, both hands coming to rake her hair backwards. "i'm sorry. i was meant to be your mentor. i was meant to prepare you for all of this." her voice cracks, you stare at her, mouth agape, processing all this new information, "but i couldn't. i just couldn't. i was so happy when you won. i thought i could protect you from it all."
"w-what do you mean protect me?"
she slumps, her posture giving out, you've never seen her so broken. "they wanted to start you off last year. because you were already 18 when you won." she scoffs, "not that it stopped them from starting me when i was 15. i convinced them to give you a year. i wanted you to know what it felt like to win. to be free of it all, to have your belly full, to be with your family, to be able to live without the fear of not waking up the next day."
you gawk at her in horror, "what did you do nayeon?"
she chuckles darkly again, "i said i'd take your customers. until your year was over."
"you- what?!"
she wipes at her eyes angrily, picking up a spoon and stabbing it into her food, "it's fine y/n. it's not a big deal."
"wha- nayeon- it is a big deal! this- you can't- i'll kill-"
suddenly she's got a hand clamped over your mouth, so close you can see the redness of her eyes, the small freckles that dot her skin. "don't say something you'll regret. they have ears everywhere."
you gulp, nodding, wide-eyed as she lets you go.
"w-what about what you said?"
"i didn't say anything explicit. and you were going to find out soon anyway. your year is almost up."
"what- why haven't you fought back? why have you gone along with this for so long?"
she laughs thickly, "careful. that's rebellion you're talking about."
"but it's not fair! the deal was once we won we won! the only thing we should have to do is become mentors! and even doing that is cruel enough being forced to relive the games each year!"
"there are no limits to how cruel humans can be y/n."
"i- but- but still!"
"i have family. so do you. what do you think happens to them if you say no?"
that makes you pause, thinking back to your parents who worked so hard to bring you and your siblings up. who kept you alive until you were 18. lots of kids weren't that fortunate. many died from starvation, or of the unhygienic circumstances back home.
you collect yourself, taking a breath, nayeon was still inches away from you, studying your reactions. "do they know?" you ask softly.
she sighs, shaking her head, "my mother went through enough when my dad died. even more when i was reaped for the games. she thinks my trips away are just meeting people in the capitol for business ventures or whatever. it makes sense because i always bring back large sums of money. and my sister... i never want her to find out how cruel this world is. it's enough she still has to be entered into the reapings at least once a year, but that'll stop soon when she turns 18. and then i hope to just give her a normal life. she'll never have to worry over me again."
"nayeon..."
she sniffles, "it's fine y/n. worry about yourself. i can't look after you anymore. i'm sorry."
"are you kidding?! nayeon please... i don't- do you not understand what you mean to me? i owe you my life. and now i find out you've been doing this for me for the past year. you don't have to protect me. i can protect myself. i won my games didn't i?" you try for a smile, she gives you a teary one back.
"i just- i never knew nayeon i'm sorry. i'm sorry i didn't know you were going through all this on your own. i wished you'd told me. i wished you wouldn't shoulder all this on your own. we know you're strong. we all saw your games, we know you're capable of survivng. you don't have to keep proving that. you can rely on others every once in a while."
"others like you?" she jokes, smiling up at you.
"yeah. like me. i'm the only other one that can relate. that can understand. i want to be there for you. i told you, i owe you my life, my family's lives. that's a debt i'll never be able to repay. i want to do as much as i can in this lifetime to be there for you."
"you don't have to do that y/n-"
"yes. yes i do. you've been there for me this entire time, without me even knowing. when will you let me do the same for you?"
that gives her pause, she hides under wisps of hair that have fallen down over her forehead.
you ache to brush them away, to cup her cheeks, to see those eyes again.
your wish is granted when she looks up after a second, pupils glassy. and then without another word she's burying herself in the crevice of your neck, arms coming up to wrap around you, taking a shaky inhale. you react just like you had when she had thrown that pin at you, immediately reciprocating, pushing your cheek against hers and circling your arms around her waist.
you stay there for an immeasurable amount of time. unsaid words drifting between you, sharing emotions, pain. nayeon finally feels like she's not alone for the first time since she'd won her games 9 years ago. and you finally feel at peace in her arms, the ghosts that haunted you gone for the moment.
the both of you wound up in nayeon's bed that night. it wasn't awkward, the complete opposite. you naturally gravitated towards her after she finishes eating, and she lets you cling to her. when you fall asleep, limbs entangled and hearts beating in tandem, you'll realise in the morning, it's the first time the both of you will have had a full night's rest without any of your regrets invading your dreams.
»┼)➝
the horn sounds. you grip nayeon's hand as the competitors rush forwards, you try taking in as much of the arena as you could, as if you were standing on the platforms in the arena for the first time again. you were lucky in your games to have been granted fields of tall grass. it obstructed all of the other competitors’ vision and would prove very difficult to hide in, but you were practiced in moving around between blades of wheat that grew up to 2m tall back home without making a sound. this year it seems they took a more traditional approach, the cornucopia is in the middle of the arena as always, plain desert and beating sun the only thing visible. you can make out sand dunes on the far right of the arena. it would be hard to find a water source. your eyes lock onto your tributes, praying they make it through the initial bloodbath. they're not placed in a position they can see each other, in this scenario, you and nayeon had instructed them to run for it. don't bother with the initial bloodbath, the first thing they'd need to find was water.
you breathe a sigh of relief when you see adeline do exactly that. she makes for the dunes you spotted earlier, leaving behind the chaos of the first few minutes. but then the camera pans to julian, seemingly frozen on his platform, completely petrified as he watches the girl from district 8 fall to her knees after someone launches a javelin at her.
"move!" you're extremely tense watching the scene, trying to maintain your composure as you knew you were still in public, the opening of the games was always a big spectacle, all the mentors were situated up in viewing boxes while the capitol watched along on massive screens.
nayeon grips your hand tighter, a warning not to be too loud, to keep on that mask.
you spare a glance at her, her features are tight in concentration, eyes glued to the little figures on the screen.
your head whips back when the crowd suddenly howls. it seems the career pack has formed and has just taken down both the tributes from district 12. it disgusts you how these people can cheer over the deaths of children.
julian has finally started moving though. he leaps off the platform and runs forward.
no. no no no. he needs to run away from the cornucopia. you grit your teeth, he must have seen the deaths of the district 12 tributes and thought the careers would be distracted.
the camera follows as he crouches and dips past ongoing fights, he manages to grab a sword, but that's where his luck ends. the girl from district four is wielding a nasty trident, charging straight for him. he tries to fend her off with his sword, catching it in one of the prongs of the trident, but then with horror, his feet catch on the sand. he hasn't gotten used to the terrain yet. he must have known running on sand was much more difficult than running on regular ground or the concrete of the training grounds. the girl takes the opportunity to yank her trident back, and then jabs it straight into him, all three prongs go through his chest and out the other side. you can see him cough up blood in shock, hands coming up to rest on the handle of the trident, she pushes him down and steps on his stomach to yank her weapon back out, already on the lookout for her next victim.
you can't believe what just happened. you had knew him. you had spoken to him. you had just seen and touched him this morning before he was flown off to the arena. it's completely unreal. the crowd roars with glee.
your mind can't keep up with your eyes. there's no way he was dead. the sounds, senses of the crowd drown out, you stare blankly at the main screen, watching other kids be cut down left and right, kids smaller than your youngest siblings, all while people dressed up in nauseating colours and patterns placed bets and had their children play fight with toy swords and weapons imitating real life people that died for their entertainment.
"y/n- y/n... y/n!" nayeon's shaking you out of your stupor, you blink, looking down at your intertwined hands, her concerned look that's quickly masked with a smile.
"the announcer was just asking you for some comments about the opening." you can see straight through her smile, you've spent much more time together over the past couple weeks while you were preparing your tributes for the games. you didn't explicitly talk about it, but you'd always end up in her bed each night, cuddled up and talking about everything and nothing until you both fell asleep. it was the only way you could sleep these days, and you knew it was the same for her.
you look past her shoulder to see a short man with bright green hair and a matching moustache. he smiles expectantly, teeth all white and glowing, holding out a microphone to you.
nayeon squeezes your hand again, hidden under the tresses of your gowns.
you clear your throat, awkwardly leaning forward and looking into the camera panned towards you, "r-right. um well it's pretty standard from what we can see. my arena last year must have made it difficult to see all the... fighting so it seems they've gone with something a lot more open this year." you try for a joke, earning a boisterous laugh from the man with green hair and from some in the audience who were looking on where your face was projected on one of the smaller screens next to the main livestream.
"we can definitely see all the juicy bits more clearly can't we!"
juicy bits?! is he trying to remind us of the bloody insides of all the kids being slashed open?! what kind of sick joke is it to use those words?! nayeon saves you the outburst, speaking up with a smile and a voice you know she's only ever used when talking to capitol media.
"definitely! and i must say wilbur your moustache is fantastic this year!"
he blushes, twirling the green hair on his upper lip, "thank you nayeon. you're as beautiful as always. and i'm glad to see you're finally accompanied by another victor your age! it must have been very lonely these last few years on your own."
nayeon's hand tightens against you. you want to punch this man in the face.
"yes i'm very glad to have y/n here. we make a fine team don't you think?" she grins. you notice the angrier she is, the more absurd her acting is, almost as if she's testing the limits of just how far she can go before people finally realise she's been sarcastic the entire time.
"of course! 2 fine ladies such as yourselves, you're both a hit in the capitol! i'm sure lots of fellas in the crowd tonight would love to see you two team up another time."
there's an uproar in the crowd, obviously male voices hollering and agreeing with laughter.
you're absolutely revolted at the implication. so you can't stop yourself when the next words fall out of your mouth, "i'm sure you'd know a lot about teaming up wouldn't you wilbur? how many fellas do you have twirled around that moustache of yours?"
nayeon is barely able to conceal a scoff, hiding it as a cough into your shoulder. you smile daringly, all teeth as wilbur stares at you aghast.
he clears his throat, "i'm not quite sure i know what you mean by that y/n."
"oh nothing. just wondering how many balls you have to play with when you do that team sport out here... i don't quite recall the name, it must be something that is only really fashionable out here in the capitol."
"r-right. sports. ahaha! you must have gotten me mixed up with someone else y/n! yes that must be it. everyone here will know i'm not really one for sports." he tries to steer the subject off, his face burning up bright red, with his green hair he looks like a mishappen christmas tree. he moves on quickly after that, going to interview less problematic mentors.
"you shouldn't always let them get away with shit like that nayeon." you frown when the attention is off you again, whispering into her ear.
she shakes her head, "sometimes it's better to let it go than to bring it up. more trouble than it's worth. you did very well though. are you okay? you zoned out a bit back there."
you sigh, running your thumb over hers gently, "yeah. just... wasn't prepared i guess. adeline is still in it though, she's got a decent chance if she manages to find water."
"you can never prepare for this. i'm sorry."
"there's nothing to apologise for. you warned me on the train, about what it's like. nothing compares to the real thing though."
"i know. i'm here for you though okay? i couldn't physically help you in the arena but i can now."
"stop that nayeon. you did more than enough for me in the arena. i told you. i owe you my life."
she smiles. you're taken aback by the genuinity of it. the slightly dimmed lighting, her makeup not too over the top like some of the people you've seen walking around the capitol, but accentuating her already flawless features even better. you knew she was attractive, you'd have to be blind not to. and you'd be lying if you said you hadn't thought of nayeon as something more. you pushed it down though. people like you and nayeon didn't have the luxury of feelings like love.
you quickly break away from her gaze and those perfectly heart-shaped lips, looking back to the aftermath of the opening minutes. but even the grim bloodied bodies littering the floor that you can barely comprehend are real, do little for the blush that dusts your cheeks and the fluttering in your stomach.
»┼)➝
you can tell from the way she's breathing nayeon’s not asleep yet either. one of her arms is draped over your midriff, her breaths lightly hitting the back of your neck, legs entangled with your own.
"you're still awake." you whisper out into the quiet of her bedroom walls.
"so are you."
you don't dare turn to face her, knowing your faces would be centimetres apart, breaths hitting each other's lips, noses almost touching.
"i can't get it out my head. the way the trident just went through him. like he was made of clay."
her voice is soft, careful, "i’ll never forget any of them. not any of my kills.”
“he wasn’t your kill nayeon. the tributes you mentored aren’t your kills.”
“they may as well be. as a mentor, surely i can do something. but every year is the same. i don’t learn. i can’t do anything for them.”
“you helped me survive.”
she sighs, breath tickling the back of your neck, her arms wrap around you just a little tighter. “i told you. you’re different.”
“how?”
“you just are. i don’t know how to explain it.”
“you don’t have to. i… nevermind. still, i don’t think you should think of the tributes we mentor as people we’ve killed. it’s the capitol, everything’s them, that’s the big enemy remember?” your voice is hushed, paranoid they’re listening in somehow but also desperate to soothe nayeon’s worries.
“it doesn’t change what i did. all victors are murderers. we lost our innocence the day our names were pulled out of that bowl.”
“you’re right. we have to live with that. but at least we’re not alone now.” you decide to risk it, turning and shuffling around the bed until your nose to nose. you can feel the blush creeping up your cheeks already, wisps of her hair tickling your face, her eyes shining in the dark.
she stares at you for a little, eyes darting around your face. "you're right. we're not alone now." she speaks in a whisper, breath gently kissing your lips with her words.
you can't help but look down at her slightly parted, heart-shaped lips, her breaths coming in and out softly, luring you in. you're magnetised. the tension between you two is undeniable, thick enough to make you feel almost drowsy, eyes drooping and lidded, only focused on tracing the shape of her lips.
nayeon's the one to break it.
she leans in closer, hand tightening around your waist, closing her eyes and pressing your lips together. it's not sparks or lightning, it's just two mouths moving against one another, finding comfort in one another, it's soft and pure and everything the capitol robbed the two of you of when they turned you into murderers.
but then it's not. there's a salty tinge to her, the taste of tears. you open your eyes slowly, breaking away from her, she takes the opportunity to inhale shakily.
"nayeon?" you frown, immediately concerned you've overstepped.
she hides her face in your neck, squeezing herself against you.
"hey... what happened? what's wrong?"
"we- w-we can't." her voice is wobbly, there are still tears dripping down her face.
your heart sinks, "we can't?"
"i'm- i can't- i'm a product y/n. you'll become one too. i can't- i can't lose you too."
"but- you won't lose me."
"you don't know that y/n. you don't know what the capitol is capable of. if they find out we're- if they find out we care for each other like that they'll tear us apart. we can never have what normal people have."
"but that won't stop me from caring for you! and i know that's not going to stop you either."
"but when- i don’t- when they start selling you off i don’t know how i’ll be able to- to not kill them all."
you bring a hand up to her cheek, forcing her to look at you, thumb swiping across the skin under her eye, wiping off her tears, "i know. i don't know how i'll be able to do it either. but you're worth it. i haven't felt- i haven't felt this understood, i've spent so long thinking i'm alone, that i'll have to spend the rest of my life like this, but you make me feel happy. after all we've been through don't you think we deserve that?"
"but- but- they can't know y/n- they can't take you away from me."
"and they won't. i promise. do you trust me?"
nayeon stares up at you, her eyes shining, lip wobbly. she bites down into it after a second, breathing out a small "yes."
"i trust you too. anything they throw at us, we'll take it together. okay?"
she sighs, nodding, bringing a shaky hand up to feel you, just to make sure you were real, that she wasn't conjuring all this up to cope with her trauma. you lean into her touch, hand coming up to grip her wrist and squeeze, leaning in and touching your nose against hers, feeling safer than you've ever felt in your entire life.
»┼)➝
the next day is more of the same. at least this time you're not in a display box so you can have genuine reactions and you can be close to nayeon in the privacy of your own floor, finding comfort in her arms and words.
you spend the morning cuddled up, choosing to eat breakfast on the couch while the livestream of the arena plays. when there's nothing interesting going on they have live coverage of news anchors and commentators reacting to replays and talking about what happened during the night that the audience may have missed while they were asleep. adeline hasn't been seen on screen much but you know she's still alive and has found a small alcove in the desert with cacti that she can cut open to drink water from. still, you know it won't last her and nayeon and you plan on going out during lunch when most of the capitol citizens will be out and about to start finding sponsors to send water or food to adeline in the arena.
by the time you're in the city you come to realise just how good nayeon is at networking. you trail behind her like a lost puppy while she greets extravagantly overdressed citizens of the upper circle with a bright smile, compliments, and sparkling eyes. she seems to understand that you're much newer at this so she brings you along as a prop of sorts, convincing new and old sponsors to sponsor district 9 once again, after all, the most recent victor did come from district 9, and adeline was tutored by you with the most recent experience winning which made her someone to look out for in the later days of the games.
there are lots more people that recognise than you think, colours and materials you've never seen or felt before invading your senses, fake voices and compliments trying to get on your good side, you can simply smile and try your best to keep up.
eventually, you're seperated from nayeon when a short man engages you in a conversation about hair products and how you got yours to be so shiny and natural, you only nod along while he talks your ear off about different products and chemicals he's tried on his orange mess of a flat top, you can only provide clueless agreements and your simple hair routine back home. but you manage to steer the conversation back to the games and actually manage to get him to donate something as long as he gets the name of the random shampoo brand you use back home.
once you wave him off, you excitedly look around for nayeon, eager to tell her about your first donation that you managed all on your own. but as you scan the square, you can’t seem to catch sight of her.
you frown, wandering around a little until you spot her, hidden away in the shadows behind a few pillars. your eyes light up, almost skipping over to her until you realise she’s with someone else.
“stop- no i don’t want to-“
“c’mon you want sponsors don’t you? i’ll give you double what your highest donation is if you come now-“
“no! i’m not rostered on right now you can’t just- you can’t approach me in public like this-“
“no one saw us sweetheart c’monnn if we go now we can leave quietly. besides i saw your other victor and she’s doing alright on her own, she won’t even notice you’re gone.”
the man she’s with is gripping nayeon’s forearm harshly, when he starts pulling her away you step in, clearing your throat, eyes flaring up. “i did notice she was gone actually.”
nayeon whips her head around to you, but you can barely see her, your gaze is fixed on the way he still has his fingers wrapped around her, squeezing so tight her skin is white around his fingers.
your eyes trail up to his face when he laughs, not letting go of nayeon, “oh! y/n right? don’t worry nayeon and i are good friends. i’m just gonna borrow her for a bit yeah?”
you step forward, an arm sliding around nayeon’s waist protectively, glaring up into his blue eyes and perfectly sculpted nose, “is that true nayeon?” you don’t back down from his sleazy gaze while you direct the question to the older woman.
his eyes flick over to her, a warning in his eyes.
“i-it’s okay y/n i can handle this just go back to the square.”
you frown, unwilling to let her go, “no.”
the man raises an eyebrow, “you two a package deal now or something?”
nayeon bristles then, yanking her arm away from him, “don’t fucking touch her.”
the man backs up, surprised, “woah! calm down bunny i was just joking around.”
nayeon flushes at the nickname, “whatever josh. i told you i’m not rostered right now. book me in for when i’m actually available.”
“and her?” he smirks, nodding his head to you.
she grits her teeth, “take it up with your agent. don’t contact me outside again or i’ll make sure you won’t be able to buy any one of us.”
she doesn’t wait for him to respond, pulling you away and back into the main area.
you’re quiet, processing the information you just learnt. she doesn’t look at you, eyebrows furrowed, hand tight against yours.
“… was that one of your customers?”
she sighs, “yeah. one of my pushier ones.”
“i’m sorry.”
“what for? he pays well.” she spits out, storming back to your accommodation, deciding socialising for the day is done, she had collected enough donations today.
“i’m sorry you have to deal with him.”
“it’s not your fault.” she says simply, pulling you into the elevator and punching in your floor number.
you ascend silently, fiddling with your fingers, unsure of what else to say.
when you arrive, your fingers are still interlaced with hers, but she relaxes as soon as you step in, letting her mask drop.
“you did really well today.”
she smiles at you then, “thank you. i saw you grab that last donation too. adeline will be happy.”
you step closer to her, tentative and shy, her eyes crinkle at the sight. “thank you.”
“what for?”
you step closer again, swinging your intertwined hands slightly, “protecting me all that time.”
her hand tightens against yours.
“can you actually do that? stop him from using your… services?”
she snorts, “no. but he doesn’t know that. all he thinks about is his dick anyway, any danger to that and he’ll back off.”
“do they ever hurt you?”
her eyes soften, looking into yours, searching. “sometimes. sometimes it gives them pleasure. other times they like to take out their anger on us. maybe they’ve had a bad day or they’ve had a fight with their spouse at home or whatever else. they don’t need an excuse to treat us however they like.”
“that’s terrible.”
“it’s the world we live in.”
“what if we… what if we were a package deal?”
she raises an eyebrow, “what do you mean?”
“if they had to book us together. it’d make me feel better, if i could protect you somehow while we’re in there. that you have someone else there in case anything extreme happens. and…” you blush, thinking over your next words, “i know i have to… share you, but at least this way i can see what others do to you, so i still have some semblance of control over the situation.”
nayeon hums, pulling you in by the waist so you're no longer awkwardly hovering around her trying to think of how to get closer to her, "i can ask. that's a good idea y/n. and i'm sure lots of people would love to see two pretty girls getting it on." she jokes.
you blush, looping your arms around her neck loosely, playing with the hair at the back of her neck that has come out of her updo, "i don't- i've never- y'know..."
there's a hint of a smirk on her face, you're avoiding her gaze, "you've never...?"
you whine, knowing she's teasing you on purpose, pushing her away from you but she laughs, pulling you back into her and pecking you gently, "do you want to? there's no rush. i'm worried we may be taking things a bit fast but as long as you're comfortable i'm okay with whatever."
you look at her determinedly, "i don't think we can move too fast. i think we should take whatever we can get while things are good before the capitol tries to break us apart. i want to be with you, all of you, for as long as you'll let me."
nayeon smiles, leaning her forehead against yours, "i want to be with you for as long as you'll let me as well."
you reciprocate her smile, leaning in and pressing your lips against hers, hesitant, but loving. she responds immediately, one hand remaining at your waist and another coming up to rest on the crevice of your neck. you move easily against each other, it's comfortable, safe, you're both on the same wavelength, and nayeon treats you with utmost respect and adoration, ensuring you felt just as loved as she felt, keeping you grounded and at-home in her arms.
»┼)➝
it's another few days before something big happens. nayeon and you spend every minute wrapped up in one another, basking in the comfort and excitement of something new yet reminiscent of innocent, purer times.
that shatters completely when it gets to day 6 of the games.
adeline has managed to survive this long without coming into real contact with any of the other surviving tributes. nayeon has done most of the brunt work in receiving sponsorships and donations which you use strategically to lead adeline towards water sources or away from enemy tributes that may be nearing her location.
however, it seems the gamemakers had had enough of her cat and mouse game by the time there are only 5 tributes left, adeline, the boy from district 1, the two from district 2, and the girl from district 11 who managed to create her own water and food source in the barely repairable soil, turning it into her own farm using knowledge from her home district.
it was nearing the finale, and everyone in the audience knew it. the anticipation would put pressure on the gamemakers to bring out their final tricks, to lure all the tributes into one location to fight it out to the end.
that trick turned out to be a sandstorm in the night, blinding all the tributes, throwing off coordinates, destroying the girl from 11's farm, and forcing all the contestants to stumble blindly in the dark while the storm whipped around them harshly, sand cutting into skin and drying up lips while the cold chill of the desert night only made it even more difficult to find one's senses.
the girl from district 2 was smart, she used the sandstorm and her teammates' confusion to her advantage, taking the chance to stab the boy from 1, making him think it was the boy from 2, and letting them fight it out while she ran off, abandoning the career alliance that was inevitably going to break down towards the end of the games anyway. the boy from 2 ends up being able to defend himself well enough to deliver the finishing blow on the boy from 1, but he sustained fatal injuries in the process and died slowly and painfully in the storm while the sand lapped at his open wounds and his mouth gasped for water through mouthfuls of sand, wishing he was the one who was killed first.
when the storm finally dies down, the audience can see the carnage it has wrecked on the arena, three girls left, all within a 20 minute radius of one another. if it wasn't clear this was the endgame, it was definitely clear now.
the entire topography has been shifted, everything is now covered in sand. there would be no food, no water, the girls would either starve or thirst to death first in which case it would be a test of endurance, or find each other first and win the games to end their own form of suffering in living in this unlivable arena.
the girl from 11 seemed to want to take the former approach, burrowing herself under dunes of sand, digging for her farm and hoping the desert heat and lack of water would mirage her location into regular sand dunes while she hid until the final 2. the girl from 2 is set on the latter, going on the prowl immediately to find the remaining two contestants and claim her victory.
unfortunately for adeline, because the girl from 11 hid herself so well, it meant she came into contact with the girl from 2 first.
she puts up a good fight. everyone in the capitol is on the edge of their seats. as soon as the storm had cleared, nayeon and you had immediately sent adeline some supplies, water, a basic first-aid kit to tend to the wounds she had received earlier in the games, anything to let her know you were both still watching and keeping an eye on her, that she wasn't alone despite the immense loneliness and hopelessness she must have felt living in the desert for the last 6 days.
but even that wasn't enough to deal with the mental pressure of being in that situation for so long, thinking you actually have a chance of winning, of going home, she let her guard down, openly gulping down water while the girl from 2 crept up behind her.
adeline reacts just in time, throwing her bottle away and picking up the sword she had retrieved off a dead tribute's body earlier on in the game, swiping blindly in order to create some distance.
she manages to find her footing, standing on both legs, eyes zeroing in on her opponent who has already started lunging forward with her next attack. her weapon is longer, able to reach further, but adeline is tall and gifted with long limbs, able to maneuver herself out of the way before getting impaled by the pointy end of a spear, whipping around quickly to slice a deep cut in the girl's arm while it's still outstretched holding the spear.
the girl yelps out in pain, but quickly recovers, switching the spear to her non-dominant hand, jabbing forward without missing a beat, gritting her teeth in effort.
the crowd in the captiol is cheering, throwing popcorn, placing last minute bets, rowdier than ever after they couldn't clearly see the fight between the boys from districts 1 and 2 because the sandstorm had lowered visibility on the cameras. now, they could see every parry, every stab, every drop of blood that’s splattered onto hot, golden sand. the pure bloodlust is nonsensical.
adeline manages to block off each advance, but there's simply nowhere left to run or hide, everything that could be used has been covered by sand, there's only acres and acres of desert. so it makes sense when she loses her footing on the loose grains, falling onto her back and losing grip of her sword. the girl from 2 is quick to kick it away and out of reach, and adeline is tired, thirsty, and near delusional from being in the heat and arena for so long, that the ripping squelch that sounds out on speakers across the country as the girl from 2 shoves the end of her spear into adeline's chest, comes almost as a blessing, ending her pain at last.
the gamemakers are able to lure the girl from two to the girl from 11's hiding spot after that, and the final battle ensues, the girl from 2 rising up on top, bloodied and battered but grinning with the glee and pride only those in the career districts could have after killing and coming out on top over 23 other children.
you barely have time to mourn adeline's death, you and nayeon are both thrusted into interviews immediately, forced to watch replays and close-ups of the killing, to watch the life drain out of adeline’s eyes over and over again, asked for comments and messages to send back home, to congratulate the winner on becoming one of you, a murderer.
and even worse, when the day’s finally over and you can retire to your safe space in your apartment for your last night there, nayeon is called out for a premium customer, someone paying triple the normal fare to spend one more night with her before she goes back to her district. so you're left alone, watching repeated news coverage of the hunger games from start to finish, dolled up 'scientists' and gamemakers being brought on for interviews and time to analyse kills and strategies the tributes used, milking every drop of profit and entertainment out of the deaths of children not their own.
you'd watch something else but every channel on capitol television is talking about the end of the games, you switch every time your face, or your post-games interview comes up, cringing at the way you looked and spoke, feeling as if you betrayed your district for dishonouring adeline and julian's deaths by dragging them out for the enjoyment of people who never cared for them, wanting desperately to go home and find their parents and offer your condolences, and maybe sneak some of your victor rations to their families so they at least didn't have to worry about another death. you were determined to take care of all of your mentee's families, you know it's what you would've wanted if you had died in that arena.
by the time nayeon comes back, you've already settled in her bed, cuddled up on her side and taking in the scent she's left behind, the tv still playing in her room at a low volume.
you sit up immediately when you hear her come into the room, closing the door softly behind her. she looks at you and smiles defeatedly. "you look cute."
you blush, burrowing into her sheets more which only serves to widen the smile on her face, "are you okay?" you ask.
"i need a shower."
she doesn't say anything else. you remember the last time she came home this late, not having eaten anything and only wanting to get rid of the feeling of another person's hands on her body off of her. you nod, shy, letting her walk around collecting clothes and heading into the bathroom.
she doesn't bother closing the door. you appreciate the gesture. it's a dramatic change from the first time she had locked you outside her room unknowingly, to think she trusts you enough to leave the door unlocked in her most vulnerable state warms your heart. you hate the capitol for what they've done to her, what they'll continue to do to her. at least this was the last time she would have to do it alone, she had talked to higher ups in the capitol and gotten president snow himself to agree to your proposition, you'd hope your presence would at least ease some of the tension she felt during those sessions.
you hear the shower turn on, and you hesitate, thinking over your next moves carefully.
after some deliberation, you quietly move off her bed, padding to the bathroom and stripping off the pyjamas you had already put on when you were getting ready for bed.
you stand outside the fogged up door for a second, admiring her silhouette, but soon grow cold, opening the door gently and announcing your presence to not frighten her.
she turns, surprised, bar of soap in her hand, hair wet and squinting at you without her glasses or contacts on. she's adorable.
"y/n?"
"hi... is it okay if i join you?" your arms bracket your chest, suddenly shy even though she's seen all of you already.
she smiles, pulling you in under the stream of hot water, "of course. i'm sorry i'm not really feeling up to doing anything today-"
"no! i didn't- no i didn't come in with that intention i just... wanted to help you get clean."
she blinks up at you, water still running over her face and hair, and then she pulls you down into a wet kiss, arms still holding onto yours as you kiss her back sweetly.
you break away first, smiling and nudging your nose against hers, "turn around, i'll do your back first."
she follows, bending her neck down so the water doesn't get in her eyes, handing you the bar of soap she was holding.
you lather her back up, caressing the small scars and moles you had memorised. you had asked the story of each one, and nayeon had told you. your heart broke with each scar, most of them from her games, but some of them from rougher times with clients, others from when she was even younger, working the fields and factories back home. there were more from when she was young, but most of them were surgically removed or fixed when she was first fitted for her games, her stylists wanted her to look as young and as pure as her age suggested, hoping to entice sponsors either out of pity or admiration.
you rub her shoulders, work the knots in her back while you wash her, feel her relax under your touch.
when you get to her right thigh, you're extremely careful, and nayeon takes notice.
"it's okay. it doesn't hurt anymore."
you frown, rubbing gently over the largest scar on her body, the one she covered up most often and got in her finale fight in the games. "i know. i still want to be careful though."
she smiles, pecking your cheek while you concentrate on cleaning her to the best of your ability. she had opened up about how disgusted she would feel in her own body after she would come back from sessions with her clients, often spending an hour or more scrubbing away at her skin until it was red and irritated and hurt to continue before she finally felt clean. you were determined to make her feel loved, feel safe in her own skin, and do so without hurting her.
when you finally come out of the shower, you're quick to wrap her up in a towel first, patting the rest of her down dry and sitting her down on a stool, grabbing the hair dryer and brush.
she scolds you in the process, telling you you'll catch a cold if you don't dry yourself off first. you pout but do as she says, quickly drying yourself off and slipping into your pyjamas again.
then your hands are back at her hair, combing through gently with your fingers first, before turning on the hair dryer.
she watches you with a smile, her eyes crinkling upwards at the way your eyebrows furrow in concentration, drying each part of her head with meticulous attention.
when it's just slightly damp you turn it off, placing it back down and start to brush through her hair, wincing and apologising with each knot you work through. nayeon giggles, constantly reassuring you it was fine with each apology, but her reassurances do little to quell your concern.
it's quiet, peaceful in the bathroom, just the two of you.
"my mother used to do this for me when i was young."
"mine too."
"it feels nice."
"i'm glad."
"are you ready to go back?"
"as long as i have you."
"you'll always have me."
you meet her eyes in the mirror, "will your mother be okay with this?"
"you brushing my hair?" she jokes.
you whine, "you know what i meant. us."
she smiles, "yes. both my mother and my sister only want to see me happy. they know how much the games affected me, they're just glad i'm still alive."
"mine too." you repeat.
"…even if they weren't, you know i wouldn't stop wanting to be with you right?"
you blush again, easily affected by her, "i know."
she nods, satisfied, the both of you falling into an easy silence again.
you think this isn't too bad. living out the rest of your life with nayeon like this. she helped you forget all the bad stuff, but also reminded you of all the things you've been through together, you healed each other. in no other universe, no other situation, no other time, would you be able to find this kind of love with nayeon, and that little special thing the both of you share, it makes everything you've gone through and will go through a little more bearable.
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simdertalia · 1 year ago
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🍁 🍂 ACNH Harvest Set 🍂 🍁
Sims 4, Most items are base game compatible (see notes below) 37 items
It's harvest time! & Thanksgiving is coming up soon the United States (sorry, Canadians, that I didn't have it done in time for yours!) So I wanted to  get this set made asap. I didn't make swatch previews this time, as most of the items follow the same orange, brown, and green color scheme. Some items have extra swatches added by me, all info below.
Always suggested: bb.objects ON, it makes placing items much easier. For further placement tweaking, check out the TOOL mod.
Contains: -Arch | 2 swatches | 3600 poly -Autumn Treasures (made by me!) | 2 swatches | 1163 poly -Baking Dish 1 | 2 swatches | 1200 poly -Baking Dish 2 | 2 swatches | 1200 poly -Baking Supplies | 2 swatches | 1202 poly -Chair | 4 swatches | 1226 poly -Cornucopia | 1 swatch | 2362 poly -Cutting Board | 4 swatches | 700 poly -Dish Drying Rack | 6 swatches | 1190 poly -Dish Towel | 4 swatches | 496 poly -Extra Candle | 5 swatches | 137 poly -Festive Table Decor | 2 swatches| 2268 poly -Fireplace (functional) | 4 swatches | 2414 poly -Folded Cloth | 2 swatches | 418 poly -Kitchen Blender | 9 swatches | 906 poly -Large Freezer (slots on top) | 4 swatches | 1210 poly -Leaf Pile | 3 swatches | 412 poly -Leaf Table Decor | 4 swatches | 82 poly -Leaf Wall Decor | 3 swatches | 962 poly -Pro Coffee Grinder | 7 swatches | 1196 poly -Pumpkins 1 & 2 (2 items) | 2 swatches each | 342 poly -Rug: Acorn | 1 swatch | 817 poly -Rug Maple Leaf | 7 swatches | 1020 poly -Rug Square | 2 swatches | 996 poly -Rug Wood | 1 swatch | 481 poly -Stand (end table) | 2 swatches | 1226 poly -Stand Mixer | 6 swatches | 1148 poly -Table | 6 swatches | 2158 poly -Table Setting | 2 swatches | 862 poly -Takumi Mug | 6 swatches | 782 poly -Takumi Mug Full (has steam, animation requires Cats & Dogs) | 6 swatches | 818 poly -Toasty Radiator (Requires Seasons, has slots) | 7 swatches | 1164 poly -Turkey Decoration | 1 swatch | 908 poly -Vegetable Basket | 1 swatch | 1190 poly -Wall Ivy Pot | 4 swatches | 1150 poly -Wheat Decor | 2 swatches | 1181 poly
Type “acnh harvest" into the search query in build mode to find  quickly. You can always find items like this, just begin typing  the title and it will appear.
📁 Download (SFS, No Ads): HERE 
📁 Alt Download (still no ads): HERE 
As always, please let me know if you have any issues! Happy Simming!
✨ If you like my work, please consider supporting me
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Thank you for reblogging ❤️ ❤️ ❤️
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🦃 More Thanksgiving & Harvest CC
The rest of my CC
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wonderlandwalker · 11 months ago
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Frozen Solid | Finnick Odair x Reader
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THG Masterlist / Taglist / Inbox
Summary: Your past is haunting you, but Finnick is there to remind you it's going to be okay
Content Warnings/Tags: Nightmares, trauma, ANGST, character death, happy ending though dw, hypothermia, mentions of violence
Word Count: 2.6k
Requested by Anon: Do you think you could do something fluffy with Finnick Odair x Víctor! Reader where the readers games were in the extreme cold and they say something like “I don’t think I’ll ever be warm again” to Finnick
A/N: Please send me more requests! I am dying to keep writing but I don't have any more ideas. Also my spell check keeps telling me it's 'realized' not 'realised' and now I'm doubting my entire knowledge of the English language. Did not read this after writing it so praying my brain worked properly
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To say the games left you with issues would be an understatement. But this particular memory always seemed to keep haunting you. Maybe that was because this had happened before you taught yourself to close yourself off from your problems. Maybe it was because you hadn't figured out how to find closure yet.
Maybe it was because you were still afraid. Afraid of the tribute towering over you. Even though you weren't a kid that hadn't hit your grow spurt anymore. Even though you weren't that defenseless, innocent child anymore. The tribute was still bigger, and simply the memories made you feel powerless.
The familiar trees surrounded you, but they didn't make you feel safe like they used to before. A layer of snow covered the leaves like a warm blanket, except it was anything but. You were shivering, trembling, not sure which one. So you ran, your fight or flight instincts trying to contradict the memory
So you ran from the man who had said he would help you. You ran from your problem. You ran from your fear.
But it didn't work, it never did. You ran out of the forest, but before you even realized, you were right back inside. Every time you ran you just got stuck again. But they were all different spots. All the ones where you had camped for the night, all the places where you sat silently, too scared to light a fire to warm yourself, not willing to take the risk of eating any food that needed cooking. They all made their way into your imagination, but they all had one thing in common, they made you feel afraid. For most, you thought, childhood memories should resemble a sense of ease, of making you feel secure.
But that feeling had disappeared for you when you first entered the arena. You could still see it in front of you as if it was a crystal clear picture. Your platform had come to a stop, and at first, you were blinded by the light, the bright sun. Your mind had tricked you into thinking the sun meant warmth, and comfort. But when your eyes adjusted, and you saw the frozen lake you were placed over. You saw the cornucopia, on a frosted island in the middle. It had weapons and food, but most importantly, it had thick coats and fur blankets. You wonder sometimes if you should have gotten one, if it would have helped you, but the risk was too great, so once you heard the canon, you immediately ran in the opposite direction, for the forest behind you.
The first thing you did was look for a freshwater source, but everything, everything, was frozen. When you had become desperate, you had started to punch a hole into the thick ice. It took a long time before you broke through the surface, your hands weren't strong enough, but you didn't give up. There was a small crack, and it gave you hope to continue. When you had managed to get to the water, your knuckles were bleeding, and you could see bruises starting to form. But it didn't matter. You had done it. You cupped your hands into the water and felt the cold come over them once again. It was soothing, in a way. Your hands had become warm from the strain, but it was the first time you had felt any sense of warmth since you entered, so you were disappointed to lose it. 
You brought the water to your lips, and took a sip from it. You could feel it course through your body, and while it satisfied your thirst, it felt as if there was ice inside your veins. You had been cold up to now, but it was nothing compared to this. You could feel your insides losing temperature from the icy water.
You saw him walking your way, and even if you tried to forget, you could see his face in so many details. From his freckles that you had always admired to the dark look that filled his eyes as he came closer
You knew there was no use in running, but you still did, not wanting to confront him, having avoided doing so for as long as you can now remember. But all it did was pull you back into the forest. 
He came from the same district as you, he had said you reminded him of his little sister, and he had offered a pact. You still weren't sure why, you didn't have much to offer him. But now you guess it must have been his own memories, his own innocence wanting to help the girl that you made him think of, made him think there was still good left in him. And so you accepted, and in a way, you were grateful, because you never would have won without him, but the turmoil that stuck with you was heartbreaking. Maybe it would have been easier if it had all been over then.
He was still walking towards you, and even though he wasn't saying a word, you could tell what was going on inside his head. You could see it by the way he walked, how his arms stayed tightly next to his body. You could even hear him yelling at you in your head.
You walked backwards until you hit one of the trees. You started calling out for help, even though you were fully aware no one would come. There was no one else left. You screamed, asking for someone to help you, and the fear made your voice shiver. You knew it was the fear this time. Your body had stopped shaking from the cold after a few days. You had thought that was it, your body had given up, the cold finally having overpowered it.
You stood up, scrambling to your feet. For once, you felt warm again, you felt the blood dilating your vessels, but you knew better than to get hope. You have seen this. You had seen this in other tributes. Your body making a last attempt to warm you up, giving you a boost of power right before it would all be over. In a way you were grateful, it would finally be over. You didn't even want to win anymore, you just wanted to be warm. 
But your instincts still told you to run, and with the extra energy coursing through you, you did. 
You ran to the frozen lake, to where it had all begun, it was the only thing you could think of to go to. You ran, you ran until could no longer even feel your legs moving. He followed behind you, of course he did. He was close behind, but you were smaller, you were leaner, and you might not have as much stamina, but when it came to a fast sprint you could only just outrun him. You didn't even watch where you were going anymore. The more you ran, the colder you started to feel again. You wanted to stop, to not lose any more. To keep this little bit you had been given, but you weren't sure it would even stay if you did. 
The trees started to disappear, and before you knew it, you were on the lake. When you had first gotten here, the lake had seemed peaceful, tranquil. But now, it was nothing short of a battlefield. The bodies might have been taken away, but the blood still stained the ice, and the axes and spears still stuck out of it like weeds disturbing the carefully crafted landscape. 
You ran as far as your fleeting body could carry you. You felt it before you saw it. Ice freezing cold. This was it, this was the end. It wasn't a haven to be at peace, it was even colder than you had been. Your clothes were clinging to your body like the blankets of snow you had first noticed. Your hair was stuck to your forehead and your neck. 
You remember in the beginning, when you would run, and you would sweat. It was the first time you had carefully appreciated it in your life, the warm droplets gracing your skin. But not anymore, if your body even had the energy to sweat, it was cold, it stuck to you like the first rain of autumn. The brisk wind in combination only making you shiver more. 
So you opened your eyes, if this was the end you had hoped for, you didn't want it anymore. You opened your eyes and focused on your senses. You saw the lake, but it had risen. You had fallen in it. You looked around you and saw the cracks in the frozen surface. 
The fights, the violence, it hadn't just taken a toll on you. The ice was suffering just as much. It was hard to see from the snow that covered it, but from where you were, you could see it from the footsteps that had disturbed it. You looked behind you, and you saw him again. He had seen you fall in, and halted. You could see relief come over him. Relief that he wouldn't be the one to have to kill you, that the water would do it for him. You almost felt bad for him, he hadn't wanted any of this either. And if you had been in his situation, you weren't sure you wouldn't have done the same thing. 
But the water was your friend, at least it used to be. 
In your district, you grew up surrounded by it. Going to the sea in the summer, swimming until the sun went down. You remember you used to get so cold when it disappeared and you were left on the beach alone. But now you longed for it. 
So you swam, you swam until you felt your hands meet the solid surface of ice again. You had been light before you came here, the lack of food taking a toll on everyone you know, but it was worse now. The only thing you knew how to get was fish. You knew how to fish, but anything else you had counted on was not there. There were no berries on trees, there were no plants that could survive in this environment. And so your frame had become even slimmer. Your arms were trembling as you tried to lift yourself. You weren't sure if you would manage. This couldn't be the end. If it ended like this, your body would float away in the water like the ice that was floating on it, and you would always be cold. 
With a surge of motivation, you lifted yourself onto the surface and as soon as you did you fell down on your back. You looked up, thinking you had done it, you could rest now. You looked up at the sky, the sun was there, but you didn't trust it anymore. 
You heard something else move, and it made your head snap up. He was still there. 
He considered his steps, he couldn't reach you from where he was. But it was just the two of you, and something had to give. So he walked around the hole you had fallen into. He traced around it. He stood in the footsteps that had already been placed in the snow. 
But you didn't care anymore. You had gotten yourself out of the water, and you laid your head back down, looking back at the sun. Trying to recall the memories it held. But you couldn't feel it anymore, you couldn't feel the radiating heat. So you made peace with being cold, at least it would be over soon. 
If he had left you be, your body probably would have given up before his did. But he wanted it to be over too, he didn't want to wait any longer. He took another step, and you could hear the crack that echoed through the empty space. You looked at him, and you saw him realising his mistake as it happened. The footsteps had looked like a path, but really, they were weak spots. The steps had caused the ice strain, and it had decided it had had enough.
The cracking sound continued, until you could see the ice start to get lopsided. It started to slide towards the open water you had fallen into. You could see his eyes plead, he had convinced himself he had already won, and he was watching all his hopes disappear with one shift of snow. He fell in the water, but he wasn't friends with it. He trashed and tried to move forward, but his body was too broad, and all it did was exhaust him further. You wanted to reach out for him, to help him. You knew the cold that engulfed the water and you didn't want him to die that way. But all it would do was drag you in with him, and you found yourself watching. You watched him as his head sank under, you kept watching as if he'd come back out. You watched until you heard the last canon. 
It made you feel even colder. You thought it was over. But you could feel your heart stop, it didn't stop beating, it stopped giving you warmth. The last piece you had, had sunken down with him. Your head was filled with panic. You would never feel warm again, you don't think your body knew how to anymore, and your mind was too frozen over to even try. And just as you felt your heart slow down, just as you thought you would die in this permanent state of despair, you heard a voice calling out to you
It sounded familiar, but you couldn't place it. It felt like a star calling to you, telling you to follow it into the sky, to fly, to be free, free of this fear.
It told you to wake up.
Before you knew it the smell of pine left you, being replaced with a mix of sea salt and jasmine, it smelt like home
You felt someone shaking you lightly, and you realised the smell wasn't bound to your surroundings, but the person that was next to you.
"Sweetheart, you need to wake up, you keep shaking." He told you in a sleepy, but still gentle voice.
As you started to get a better concept of your environment, you realised that in your distraught state, you had woken him up.
"I didn't mean to wake you I'm sorry, I know you haven't been sleeping well lately." You said, guilt already entering your mind.
"Hey, look at me, don't you dare apologise" He looked at you as if your worry pained him, and you couldn't stop the next words from leaving you.
"I'm scared I'll never be warm again Finnick" You started to cry, and he took you into his arms.
"If you're having nightmares, I will stay up with you until the sun rises again." He smiled down at you. And that's when you realized, he wasn't a star in the sky, he was the sun, he was your sun. His smile warmed you, and his arms around you made you believe again. He was your sun, and as long as you had him, he would warm you.
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anatay004 · 7 months ago
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ꜰɪɴɴɪᴄᴋ ᴏᴅᴀɪʀ | ᴍᴀꜱᴛᴇʀᴍɪɴᴅ (part six)
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ꜰɪᴠᴇ ʏᴇᴀʀꜱ ᴀꜰᴛᴇʀ ᴡɪɴɴɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇ 70ᴛʜ ʜᴜɴɢᴇʀ ɢᴀᴍᴇꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ꜰᴀʟʟɪɴɢ ɪɴ ʟᴏᴠᴇ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴍᴇɴᴛᴏʀ, ʏᴏᴜ ɢᴇᴛ ᴅʀᴀɢɢᴇᴅ ʙᴀᴄᴋ ᴅᴏᴡɴ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀʀᴇɴᴀ, ʙᴜᴛ ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴛɪᴍᴇ — ʏᴏᴜ ɢᴇᴛ ᴛᴏ ᴘʟᴀʏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘɪᴄᴛᴜʀᴇ-ᴘᴇʀꜰᴇᴄᴛ ᴄᴏᴜᴘʟᴇ ᴛᴏᴏ ʙʏ ᴏʀᴅᴇʀꜱ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ɴᴏ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ᴛʜᴀɴ ᴘʀᴇꜱɪᴅᴇɴᴛ ꜱɴᴏᴡ.
ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢꜱ : ꜱᴇxᴜᴀʟ ᴄᴏɴᴛᴇɴᴛ, ᴍᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴘʀᴏꜰᴀɴɪᴛʏ
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"DON'T BE SCARED," Dean's voice slid into your thoughts; breaking into your reverie as you visibly flinched. Instinctively, you looked up to meet his gaze, allowing his hand to squeeze your arm comfortably. "The fabric is light, not thermal," Your stylist revealed, referring to the wetsuit you were wearing, trying to dissipate the tension in the air. "So, I'm guessing tropic."
You swallowed hard, trying to take in his words. You were in the Launch Room in the arena, waiting for the countdown to begin as Dean finished braiding your hair down your back.
"And tropic means water," Dean acknowledged, offering you an encouraging smile as you slowly nodded. "You're good in water."
He was right — you were good in water, that's how you'd managed to win your first games. You remember it all too well; an earthquake breaking the dam, the flood in the arena, and you swimming for your life. You swallowed hard at the memory, trying to ignore the pain that tormented your chest. After all, you supposed Dean was right; having an arena close to home could be a great advantage to you and Finnick.
You exhaled sharply.
"Sixty seconds to launch."
You swept Dean a glance. He was looking back at you with a familiar warmth in his eyes — one you'd seen before, and you couldn't help, but reach for him. "Are you still beating on me?" You whispered in his embrace, and his arms immediately tightened around your frame.
"Always." He answered, a little strained.
And with that, he stepped back — wiped the tears in his eyes, and watched as the glass cylinder slid down around you. You watched him blow a kiss at you before you felt the plate underneath you moving upwards. The plan was simple in your head as you leaned against the glass: get to Finnick, get some weapons, and run the hell away from the blood bath.
Simple, simple, simple.
You eventually forced yourself to straighten up when the glass started to retreat, but you found yourself frozen in place when the arena stumbled into your line of vision. For a moment, you faltered as you took in the sight of water in every direction you turned. Only one clear thought formed in your brain as you took in the landscape: Snow was beating on you too.
"Ladies and gentlemen, let the Seventy-fifth Hunger Games begin!" The voice of Claudius Templesmith, the Hunger Games announcer, suddenly broke into your reverie. And, instinctively, you searched for Finnick around, but panic quickly flitted across your features when you couldn't find him.
"He's on the other side of the Cornucopia," Peeta's voice slid into your thoughts, and your shoulders slumped in evident relief when you heard his words. "Don't lose focus."
Belatedly, you realized Peeta was standing on the plate next to yours. And he was watching you with concerned eyes, trying to quench down the panic that threatened to break you in front of the cameras, but you didn't notice. You were far too preoccupied with staying alive.
Eventually, you dived into the water.
Hence to your ability to swim, you were quick to reach the spoke of land that balanced your plate and Peeta's. But, to your surprise, you didn't run towards the Cornucopia right away like the others; instead, you found yourself looking back for Peeta. He was struggling to reach the land, so, you impulsively offered him a hand and pulled him out of the water. 
"Allies?" Peeta asked, trying to catch his breath as he climbed onto the land.
You didn't answer, but your silence was quite telling, and it took everything in you to ignore the smile that curved Peeta's lips, before sprinting towards the Cornucopia. Within a few minutes, you eventually reached it and immediately grabbed the closest weapon at hand — a trident. A satisfied smile twitched your lips as you balanced the weapon in your hand, but the moment was fleeting, before you knew it; Peeta was already back in the water fighting a tribute.
"Peeta!" You shouted and made to run in his direction when a steady hand dropped on your shoulder. Instinctively, you made to throw the trident, but another hand on your wrist stopped your movements altogether. "Oh." You breathed out, in sudden relief, when you realized it was just Finnick. "Are you okay?"
"Stay with Katniss, I'll get Peeta," Finnick commanded, dismissing your question, his voice powerful enough to make you obey him. In that moment, as Finnick dived effortlessly back into the water to help Peeta; you realized he'd made his alliances too. Katniss was close by, watching the scene with a horrified expression on her face. At the sight of her distress, you couldn't help but wonder if this was all an act like everyone else said. Or, if Mags was actually right, and there was something real about it?
You couldn't quite piece together an answer yet.
When the canon finally fired, your heart skipped for a moment, but relief quickly washed over you when you caught sight of Peeta's moving figure and Finnick pulling him back onto land.
The other tribute had died.
"You okay?" You eventually turned to ask Katniss, when Peeta was finally out of danger and you were both waiting for him and Finnick to come back. Katniss threw you a skeptical look, one that underlined you were not friends. "The baby, I mean."
Realization quickly dawned on her face, as if she'd suddenly remembered she was supposed to be pregnant. "Yeah, we're fine."
You nodded.
"Are you alright?" Peeta was quick to ask you, when he rushed back to the group, with Finnick strolling right behind him. The concerned tone in his voice caught you off guard, but you decided not to show it as Katniss watched you.
Carefully.
"Are you?" You asked instead, scrutinizing him for a moment; just to make sure he wasn't terribly hurt. To your surprise, he wasn't. "I barely even left you." You mumbled as you recalled he was running right behind you before he was even thrown back into the water.
"Don't." Peeta scoffed, a little faintly.
And you blinked in surprise.
"Hey," Peeta suddenly turned to Katniss, as if he'd suddenly remembered the cameras. "Are you okay?" He asked, before pressing a kiss to her cheek. You watched their interaction with curious eyes, unable to hide the perplexed expression on your face as you studied the scene.
"Yeah," Katniss replied, offering him a faint smile before turning to look at you. The weight of her gaze made your muscles tense; for a moment, you could've sworn she was throwing daggers at you. "We're okay."
The atmosphere suddenly grew thicker.
"We need to head to the jungle." Finnick suddenly spoke, breaking the tension, before sliding his free arm unexpectedly behind your waist. "We need water and a place to rest before night falls."
You nodded and made to move forward, but Finnick kept you in place; making sure Peeta walked past you first. "What?" Finnick asked innocently when you raised an eyebrow in silent question. "He can take the lead."
You opened your mouth to reply something along the lines of, " We should probably separate" but he muffled your words with his mouth— silencing you with a kiss.
"Come on," Finnick whispered against your lips, beckoning you to follow behind the group. You hesitated and lingered there for a moment before he lifted your chin to look at him. "Trust me."
You pressed your lips together and — for a split second, you thought back to the conversation with Haymitch you'd overheard from the previous night. Perhaps, this is what it was about, you thought, about this alliance with them. So, with that in mind, your grip tightened around the trident in your hand and you turned to follow Peeta and Katniss.
With Finnick right behind you.
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Peeta took the lead, cutting through the patches of vegetation with his long knife as you walked through the jungle. Now and then, Katniss turned back to look at you and Finnick; as if she was almost expecting for you to attack them at any moment. You supposed you couldn't blame her for that.
You, yourself, didn't trust her either.
"God, it's hot," Peeta hissed, stopping suddenly on his track to catch his breath after a few miles. The jungle was hot and humid; you could feel your hair damp and plastered over your forehead from the sweat. Simultaneously, your lips were chapped and dry from the lack of hydration. "We need to find fresh water."
"You don't say." Finnick deadpanned, to which Peeta threw him a glare in response.
"What if we move to the other side?" You suggested, cleaning some of the sweat off your forehead with the back of your hand. "Maybe there's a spring or something."
"There isn't." Katniss limited herself to answer.
"How do you know — " You started, but the words quickly froze on the tip of your tongue when the cannon started to go off again; indicating more deaths.
"I guess we're not holding hands anymore," Finnick quipped, stifling a chuckle as he counted the number of times the cannon fired.
You counted three.
"You think that's funny?" Katniss hissed, throwing your husband a heated glare.
"Every time that cannon goes off, it's music to my ears," Finnick replied, matter-of-factly, before he added. "I don't care about any of them."
"Good to hear," Katniss scoffed, reaching her arm back to pull an arrow from her quiver. Instinctively, you aimed the end of your trident at her, but Finnick was quick to lower your weapon.
"You want to face the Career Pack alone?" Finnick questioned her, rather indifferent to her threat. His reaction took you aback; for some reason, he seemed certain she was not going to shoot him. "What would Haymitch say?"
You, on the other hand, were not.
"Haymitch isn't here."
You tilted the trident towards her direction again, but Peeta was the one to break the interaction this time. "Come on, let's keep moving." He said, beckoning Katniss to move along. And, from the corner of your eyes, you could've almost sworn he threw you an apologetic smile.
You watched them walk ahead of you for a few seconds without a word. She's going to kill us, you thought to yourself, as you watched the girl on fire with cautious eyes. And if she doesn't, she's certainly going to try to — at one point or another.
You nibbled your bottom lip pensively. Would this be a good time to separate? You wondered again, trying to think of a coherent plan. To turn the other way and let them face the Career Pack on their own? It's what Snow would want. But what about Peeta?
You paused, the question caught you off guard; as if you'd suddenly realized what you'd asked yourself subconsciously.
What about him?
"Put the trident down, baby," Finnick's words slid into your thoughts, and you blinked; belatedly realizing that you were still holding the trident up defensively. "They're harmless."
"You sound a little too sure about that," You questioned him, tilting your head suspiciously. "As if she didn't just threaten to shoot you."
"Just — " Finnick paused as if he were choosing his next words carefully. " — just trust me, love."
Your eyebrows knitted together. "I'm trying to."
Finnick's lips twitched, clearly dismissing the seriousness of the conversation. "You're gorgeous when you're mad."
"I'm not mad," You clarified, but the annoyance in your voice betrayed your words. "But if it has to come down to choosing, I'm choosing you."
Finnick looked at you for a moment, eyes softly lit with vulnerability. "I know."
You opened your mouth to say something else, but the sound of Katniss screaming quickly cut you off. In a split second, you watched as Peeta flung back from a force field he'd just hit, bringing you and Finnick down along with him.
"Peeta!" You screamed, rushing over to his motionless body, where Katniss was trying to shake him awake — with no luck.
"He's not breathing!" She yelled, almost frightened. "His heart's not beating!"
At the sight of this, you suddenly remembered something Mags had taught you a few years ago — when your dad had almost drowned once, and you didn't know how to bring him back. Instinctively, you pushed Katniss aside, ignoring the way she immediately reached for an arrow.
Finnick yelled something at you, something along the lines that he would do it, but there wasn't time. So, you pinched Peeta's nose and pressed your mouth over his to blow air into his lungs. You did this for a few minutes until a cough eventually slipped out his mouth and you leaned back to look at him in relief.
"Shit." You breathed out, subconsciously resting a hand over his chest as you watched his eyelids part. For a few seconds, he lay there on the ground, simply looking up at you as he slowly regained back his consciousness.
"Careful," He eventually mumbled, wrapping his fingers around your wrist harmlessly. "There's a force field up ahead."
A small laugh escaped your lips. "Thanks, I almost didn't notice."
Peeta smiled, despite the evident pain he was in, and you were just about to help him get back to his feet when Katniss slightly shoved you aside. You didn't mind, you supposed she was in the right too. But you could've sworn Peeta's grip tightened around you — for a split second as if he almost didn't want to let go.
You decided to dismiss it, thinking nothing of it as you made your way back to Finnick and Katniss pulled Peeta into an embrace.
One that made you look away — for some reason.
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"I thought you wanted to separate." Finnick confronted you sometime later when you were both leaning against a tree, trying to catch some sleep before sunrise. Your head rested on his shoulder sluggishly as you watched Katniss take the first watch from a comfortable distance.
"What?" You returned, unable to hide the confusion in your voice as you looked up.
"You saved Peeta." Finnick suddenly pointed out, but his tone was hard to label. Was he angry? Unhappy? Nonchalant? You couldn't tell.
"You said they were harmless." You answered, throwing his words back at him. But he didn't answer, instead, he looked down to scrutinize your features carefully — as if he almost wanted to decipher something, but couldn't. "What?"
"You saved him twice."
Your eyebrows knitted together. "I didn't — "
" — During the blood bath, when he was pulled into the water, you were willing to jump back in to save him," Finnick interjected, and you supposed he wasn't entirely wrong. You did go back for Peeta, but only because you considered him a friend. Someone who would, strangely, do the same thing for you. Or, that's the first thing that came to your mind anyway.
"Where are you going with this?" You eventually asked, trying to read the emotions that flitted across Finnick's face, but — like always, there was nothing you could place a finger on.
"It's — just an observation." He simply said.
But you didn't like the tone of his voice, it made your skin pepper with goosebumps. If you didn't know any better, you were almost certain his tone was accusing. But of what exactly? You didn't know, he didn't elaborate any further.
"Mhm," You hummed, trying to move the conversation elsewhere. "I'm starting to get the impression you just want me to yourself."
Finnick stifled a chuckle, grasping onto the fact that you wanted to change the subject. "You? My gorgeous wife? I don't think so, no."
Your heart skipped at the word "wife". The truth was, you were still not used to it. And the word alone was enough to have your heart hammering against your chest. "Dork," You quipped, snapping your eyes to the side, but Finnick didn't miss the pink hues that tinged your skin.
"You're pretty when you blush." He teased, dissipating the tension in the air, as he curved the side of your face with the palm of his hand to make you turn to look at him again.
"I'm not blushing.” You argued, but it was a futile attempt when you felt the heat rolling up your cheeks. Naturally, Finnick pulled your face closer to his; until you could feel his breath pressing against your skin and there was barely a gap between you. Instinctively, your eyes dropped to his lips and he took the opportunity to brush them against yours.
"Sure you're not," Finnick whispered into your mouth before he allowed his tongue to sweep past your lips in a passionate kiss. As if he was almost needy; as if he almost needed to prove something. Whether it was to the cameras or himself, you weren't exactly sure, but you kissed him back — with equal fervor.
Until the sound of the arrival of a silver parachute broke you apart. For a moment, neither of you reached for it; allowing the item to land before you peacefully. After a few seconds, Katniss walked over to your spot and, subconsciously, your eyes traveled past her frame in search of Peeta.
"He's sleeping," Katniss informed you, just as Peeta's body stumbled into your line of vision. He was a few feet away, curled on the ground — sleeping almost peacefully. You nodded, trying to ignore the fact that she'd just read your subconscious thoughts.
"Whose is it?" Katniss eventually asked, eyeing the parachute on the ground with curiosity.
Finnick shrugged, pushing himself back to his feet. "I have no idea."
"Open it." You encouraged her, ignoring the way she narrowed her eyes at you. "Or not."
Katniss sighed audibly, but she eventually took your advice and opened the parachute. Curiously, you peeked over to catch a glimpse of a metal object inside alongside a note. "It's a spile!" She informed you, to which you only blinked — dumbfounded. "It's to access water."
Relief washed over your features when Katniss took the metal object and hammered it into the green bark of a tree. For a few seconds, nothing happened as you stood there watching; until a stream of water eventually ran out. After Katniss, you rushed to hold your mouth under the tap, allowing the water to wet your parched tongue.
And, it wasn't until Katniss was waking up Peeta and Finnick's back were facing you when you finally decided to search for the note that was attached to the parachute. But a chill soon kissed down your spine when you took the parchment paper in your hands and read through the letters:
Remember why you're here for.
— S.
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Finnick was sleeping next to you, his arm was wrapped around your waist and his face was buried in the crook of your neck. The jungle was quiet — too quiet to your liking, but you supposed you could appreciate the silence as you warred with the thoughts inside your head.
To say the note scared you was an understatement. You were terrified. Because Snow was watching each and every one of your moves; listening to every one of your words. Unsure of how everyone else would react, you fisted the note in your hand before anyone else could read it. And when anyone asked about it, you simply answered it was from Haymitch.
But, now that you were lying down and thinking about it — one thing was clear; Snow wasn’t content with your choice of alliances.
He didn’t approve of them.
How could he? If you and Finnick were both reaped for a purpose and one only: to kill the Mockingjay. To annihilate any chances of her winning, to win over her sponsors, and to make the fight seem fair. And, so far, Snow had done his part of the deal; he’d placed you and Finnick under the limelight, made you both the Capitol’s favorites and even incarcerated you inside an arena close to home.
With tridents, especially made for you.
So, now, it was time for you to do your part too.
You swept Katniss a look, then Peeta. They were both sleeping on the other side of the ground; just a few feet away from you.
One wrong move and everything could go wrong very quickly. For you — for Finnick, and the thought alone forced a sickening feeling to retaliate in the pit of your stomach. Because you didn’t want to kill Peeta or Katniss, as much as she managed to get under your skin.
But if it had to come down to that, would you do it? Was Katniss right in mistrusting you after all? Would you really kill her and Peeta?
You exhaled pensively as your eyes searched for Peeta again — almost subconsciously. The mere sight of his chest rising and falling with each breath he took made your heart skip. Would you be able to kill him? His soft features, the strands of blonde in his hair, and his kind heart.
No, you thought quietly, not Peeta.
And then, as the thoughts quietened inside your head, something in the distance caught your attention. For a moment, you watched as a wave of fog slid into the jungle. Instinctively, the hairs of your arms rose and you pushed up on one of your elbows to examine the scene a little closer.
Simultaneously, Katniss stirred awake and quietly turned her attention to the mysterious curtain of fog too. In a matter of seconds, you watched as she reached to touch it with the tips of her fingers — and a scream quickly erupted.
“Run!” She yelled in pain.
Finnick snapped awake instantly, pushing your body behind him; ready to encounter an enemy, but to his surprise, Katniss clarified. “It’s the fog! It’s poisonous! We have to run, Peeta!”
Katniss helped Peeta climb back to his feet as Finnick beckoned you to run. For a few minutes, everyone sprinted, but the curtain of gas was expanding in every direction you turned. And it didn’t help that Peeta was tripping over everything on the ground either — he was weak, you could tell, perhaps it was the aftereffects of hitting the force field. So, without thinking, you gripped his arms securely and pulled him forward.
“Come on!” You encouraged, but your eyebrows jumped when he pulled his arm back. You opened your mouth to berate him — tell him there wasn’t time for this, when he intertwined his fingers with yours instead. Amidst the circumstances, you didn’t have time to coherent a reaction or a reason to let go.
Droplets soon sprung free of the vapor and landed on your bodies. You hissed in pain, it burned your skin searingly — like a chemical. After a few minutes, Peeta eventually fell to the ground and, despite your and Katniss’ efforts to pull back to his feet, his legs gave up.
“I’ll have to carry him.” Finnick eventually sighed, when there was a good distance between the fog and your group, and Katniss nodded.
For about a mile, you watched as Finnick carried Peeta on his back until he eventually collapsed on the ground too. You rushed to him, but the pain that seared your skin was equally as defeating, and, along with Katniss, you hit the ground almost instantly. But Finnick mumbled something under his breath, something along the lines of “go to the water” when you belatedly realized you were just a few feet away from the water that surrounded the Cornucopia.
After a few tries, however, you eventually faltered and turned to face the curtain of fog. But the chemical didn’t suffocate you as you’d expected. Unlike, it grew thicker and condensed as it suddenly pressed against a force field.
After a few minutes, it eventually went away.
“It’s gone,” Katniss murmured, but her voice was strangled and barely audible. “The fog.”
Your body was still twitching when you heard a wail slip out of Katniss’ mouth from somewhere close. Then you heard Peeta’s and then you heard Finnick’s. You tried to part your eyes when you eventually felt someone slide his hands under your armpits, but you couldn’t even do that. Naturally, you hissed in pain, but the action was abruptly interrupted by another pair of hands on you.
“I’ll do it.”
“I already got her.”
“Peeta.” The voice, you later recognized as Finnick’s, was dangerously low — as if he was suddenly speaking through his teeth.
Giving out a warning.
The only thing you could remember after that was your skin being torched. As Finnick pulled you into the water, a heart-wrenching scream ripped out your lips; as if you had suddenly been thrown into an open flame.
“I know, baby,” Finnick cooed, pressing a gentle kiss on the top of your head. “I know…”
After a bit, the blisters in your skin slunk back into your flesh and disappeared along with the pain. “Motherfuckers,” You cursed, falling back against your husband’s chest in evident exhaustion. “I’ve never run that much before.”
Finnick laughed, incredulous at your sense of humor. “You and me both.”
You didn’t say much after that, instead, you allowed yourself to indulge in the fleeting moment of peace in Finnick’s arms. But the moment didn’t last for long when you began to wonder if maybe— just maybe, this was a warning from President Snow.
And you needed to do your part of the deal soon.
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Author’s Note
I’m back after a horrible writersblock! It took me so long to write this, I’m sorry, besties, but don’t worry, I have the rest of the chapters planned already. Anyways, I would really appreciate you guys could interact with the story! Lately, I don’t have that much motivation and reading you guys thoughts and comments on my inbox helps so much!
With that being said, I left some Peeta content for those of you who are #teamPeeta. Enjoy!
@serrendiipty @avoxrising@queerqueenlynn
@darlingsoulbeautifulthoughts@stayc-a-I-m
@chaoticcoffeequeen @wonderland2425
@leilani788 @nexxus13 @whatsupb18
@maxinehufflepuffprincess @meri-soni-meri-
tamanna @iwantmyredvelvetcupcake
@syd649 @flavorofsalt @wisewidowweasley-
blog@meikoo@mozz-are-lla
@nomorespahgetti
@aestheticOcherryblossom
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Arena- Finnick Odair
Can you please write something about finnick and reader being very touchy and flirty in the arena?
A/N: i'm a little rusty but i like how this turned out <3 part 2 is underway. requests open! word count: 3.6k
"Ladies and gentlemen, let the 75th hunger games begin!"
It was bright. Very bright. Hard to see 10 feet in front of you type of bright, particularly with the sunlight reflecting off of the water that surrounded you. You barely registered the monotonous countdown as you scrambled internally to make a plan. You could hear the waves lapping at the metal plate you stood on, and distantly you wondered if it was salt water or fresh water- probably salt. Fresh water would be too easy. Your home in District 6 had not prepared you for this type of terrain, but you did have some tricks up your sleeve.
The canon sounded off and you made a smooth dive headfirst into the clear water, all of those trips to district four paying off.
Swimming to your right you made it to one of the rocky spokes that led to the cornucopia, hoisting yourself up fluidly and taking off towards the big metal half-cave where all the supplies and weapons laid.
It didn't take long for you to reach the jagged island, where you could see Katniss and Finnick in the middle of an exchange from a distance- he was holding his hand up towards her. A gold bangle was shining on his wrist.
"Good thing we're allies," You heard him say as you quickly jogged over, looking over your shoulder to see if you were being pursued. You didn't see anybody behind you, but you could see the man from district 5 coming around the corner with his weapon poised and ready. You picked up your pace, yelling warning to Finnick, reaching them just as he instructed for Katniss to duck before throwing his trident and hitting his target.
"Finnick," You called in relief and his eyes flicked from the body to you.
"Y/N!" he said running towards you, forgetting about the now bloody trident that was lodged into district 5’s chest. He pulled you into his grasp and just held you there for a few seconds, breathing deeply into your damp hair. It was soaking just a few moments ago but the humidity and sun had already dried it partially.
He pulled away too soon, taking your hand and leading you back to where Katniss was standing, his trident in her hand. She must have de-lodged it during your reunion with Finnick.  
She absentmindedly tossed it to him, looking around in all directions frantically.
"I'll go get Peeta," Finnick assured, and spun back around to face you. He kissed you once, twice on the lips softly, cradling your face. "I'll be right back."
He dove off the side of the island, and within a few minutes you could see him towing Peeta towards you. You could hear Katniss let go a breath of relief.
You ran to meet them, squatting down near the edge and helping Finnick lift Peeta out of the water. Peeta clambered up clumsily, seemingly happy to be back on land.
In the distance, on the closest spoke to you, stood Mags- slowly but surely shuffling forward.
“I’ll go get her,” Finnick said and took off before you could offer to go get her instead.
It didn’t take him long to retrieve her, gently slinging her onto his back and marching on the slippery rocks steadily. He made it back and set her down on her feet. You grabbed her hand and squeezed, and she smiled at you sweetly.
"Let us regroup, shall we?" You asked.
*
You all decided it was probably better to get off the island and retreat into the woods where it wasn't so open.
Walking up to you Finnick wrapped his hand around your neck gently, leaning in to press a kiss to your lips. Your cheeks burned as you kissed him back- you weren't used to such public displays of affection from him, only ever in the privacy of your own homes.
You could feel Katniss and Peeta's eyes on you. It must have been a surprise for them, too.
You could only imagine how the Capitol was reacting. Your relationship, while speculated broadly, was never 100% confirmed. Until now.
Each year you only saw Finnick a handful of times: once for couple weeks at the annual games, and a few times on borderline secret trips down to four. Being from district 6, the district of transportation, had its advantages. Although it was obvious you both had feelings, there was never enough time to form a real relationship- especially since you weren't necessarily supposed to stray from your own district.
You thought about this as the group of you retreated into the tree line, trekking forward without much trouble; everyone had grabbed their assorted weapons and went on their way.
As soon as you passed the first couple trees the first thing you noticed was how unbearable the heat was; your jumpsuit stuck to your body with salt water and sweat, clinging to your form.
Peeta took it upon himself to lead, using a long knife to cut through the jungles vines and various, thickly packed vegetation. You let yourself fall into step with Finnick, who immediately took your hand and brought it up to his mouth. He kissed the back of your hand three times before interlocking your fingers and gently guiding you along, Mags bringing up the rear with her walking stick.
"I'm glad I found you alive," he whispered, keeping his eyes trained forward. "Don't actually know what I'd do without you."
You hummed, looking around at the trees nonchalantly.
"You have my heart Odair."
*
Nothing eventful happened on the first day, besides Peeta having to be resuscitated.
One minute he was making good progress, and then within seconds there was a loud zap that sent him flying backwards into Finnick, knocking him over and taking you with them.
Your heart dropped as you watched the scene unfold in front of you; Peeta was laying on the ground, not moving.
"He's not breathing," Katniss cried. Finnick rushed over, shoving Katniss out of the way so he could start mouth to mouth on Peeta.
She raised her bow towards Finnick and you tackled her before she could do any damage.
She hissed as she came in contact with the ground and hopped up just as quickly, glaring at you before taking notice of Finnick pumping his hands hard against Peeta's chest. She scrambled over to them and you followed in suit, closing your eyes and praying Peeta would wake up- without him, there was no solid allegiance with Katniss, and the whole plan went underwater.
"Come on, come on," Finnick grunted, leaning down to blow more air into his lungs.
As soon as Peeta's eyes fluttered open Finnick and you both exhaled a huge sigh of relief in unison, falling back and letting Katniss shoot forward to embrace him, tears leaking out of her eyes.
Finnick sighed and pulled you close, wrapping his arms around you and letting them have their privacy.
"I love you," he murmured which left you surprised. He had never said that before, but you could understand why his confession came now rather than later. Who knew how much time you had left together?
Katniss took the lead after that, claiming she could hear the force field with her bionic ear. She led you along the edge of the force field until you found a semi clear spot that would work for camp for the night.
Mags plopped down on a fallen tree and immediately began weaving something, her fragile hands and nimble fingers working at a quick pace. Finnick took a seat next to her, pulling you into his lap.
Now it was time to figure out the water situation. You were all clearly struggling after walking all that way, panting heavily with dry mouths.
In an effort to find drinkable water Katniss scaled a tree, scouting to see if she could see any type of water source from up high.
You held your breath as you watched her disappear among the tree branches, praying she'd find something, anything. She reappeared not even 5 minutes later, grimacing.
"Nothing," she sighed, climbing back down skillfully.
A silence fell over the group as you all processed that information, each with different levels of anxiety. In your first games you had nearly dehydrated to death, the lack of water leading you the point of hallucinations and delirium, so the lack of supply left you grappling with traumatic memories and an intense pit in your stomach.
You opened your mouth to say something when the branches above you rustled, drawing everyone's attention upwards.
A familiar silver sphere made its way down from the trees, beeping along the way. It landed on the ground in front of you. Nobody moved.
Hesitantly Katniss reached forward, unscrewing the top, and pulled out a thin metal tube. It looked familiar, but you couldn't put your finger on it.
Nobody said anything, staring at the small silver tool. Finnick didn't say anything, not knowing what it was either. He had his arms wrapped around your waist still, and his strong hands squeezed your sides reassuringly.
"A spile," Katniss finally said. You all looked at her. "Like the thing they use to get sap out of a tree. To make maple syrup."
Peeta still looked confused but you were nodding slowly, recalling a previous games where a spile had also been gifted.
"I think I get it," You said. "It'll get us water, yeah?"
At the sound of the word water everyone jumped into action, Katniss immediately finding a thick tree to puncture. Finnick stood up but didn't let his hands go from around your waist as Peeta ran to catch up with Katniss. Finnick double checked on Mags, who was still weaving, before leading you to follow them.
They were taking turns drilling the spile into the tree, carefully so it wouldn't break.
Once it was sufficiently in you all stared at it; nothing happened.
Your mouth was drier than it had been in years. Your mentor had warned against this last time, advising you that the first thing you should do is find a fresh water source.
You thought back to Lavan, your mentor, who was the only competent one on your team. The other two were downing morphine like it was water constantly, offering no help or advise before sending you into the arena. But could you really blame them?
You were brought out of your thoughts at everyone gasping; water had begun to trickle down from the spout, everyone rushing towards it at once.
"Let katniss go first, she's with child," You scolded and Peeta ushered her towards the spout. You all took turns drinking, and then washing the grimy sweat off your faces. Finnick brought some to Mags in a basket she had easily constructed.
You couldn't lie, watching Finnick drink from the spilling water was a godly sight to behold. He just looked so sexy, and he wasn't even trying.
You waited until he was done to grab him by the front of his jumpsuit, kissing him roughly. He didn't object, smiling through the kiss.
It truly was now or never. Before, there was always the worry of how the Capitol citizens would react to their favorite victors being taken off the market, and how Snow would retaliate. But to be honest, you didn't care too much about what the Capitol or its viewers, and especially not Snow, thought right now.
You let him wrap his arms around you like he used to, pulling you closer and cupping your face. Mindlessly you reached up and ran your fingers through his messy hair.
He sighed and pulled away, pressing the side of his face to yours, his lips angling downwards to kiss you gently on the cheek. You smiled in the dim sunlight.
Given the circumstances, it was fairly easy to somewhat relax next to Finnick as you all finished setting up camp. Just his presence was comforting, and his touch made you visibly less tense.
"I'll take first watch," Katniss insisted, and you and Finnick shared a look. Peeta was most hesitant, however you and Finnick went down without a fight. At some point Katniss must've convinced Peeta he needed to rest because soon after you laid down you could hear him shuffling around not far from you. Mags was already sleeping, snoring softly. Finnick laid down and pulled with him, letting your head rest on his broad chest.
Your blinks started becoming slower and slower and you pulled him closer, his heartbeat lulling you to sleep.
*
"The fog," Katniss's screeches jarred you from your sleep, Finnick shooting into a sitting position beside you. "It's poisonous!"
Before you could process entirely what was happening you were on your feet, Finnick had Mags on his back, and his hand in yours, dragging you along until your feet started working themselves. You stumbled along in a panic, glancing over your shoulder only once to see a thick greenish fog licking at your heels. It crept up behind you and made you scream in agony as it burned your back.
"Y/N keep moving," Finnick ordered. You could tell he was trying to remain calm but you could hear the panic in his voice.
You took a deep breath and darted forward through the pain, using all your strength to keep pushing. You noticed the muscles in your back started to spasm, making your arms start to twitch at your sides. You led the way the best you could, Katniss and Finnick close behind and Peeta bringing up the rear.
You glanced behind you. Peeta was struggling, hard- you abandoned your spot at the front and did your best to help Katniss drag him along but it was getting harder and harder, especially now with your back spasming and your thighs wobbling as the fog clearly targeted your nervous system.
Before you knew it you were almost as bad as Peeta, dragging yourself along and holding tightly onto Katniss.
"Finnick I can't," Katniss breathed heavily, and she sounded near tears. "I can't support both of them."
By now your eyelids had gone slack, leaving you with half vision. You hear Finnick call Mags name once, then twice more desperately. A canon went off and you stopped. Surely that wasn't what you thought it was.
Before you could ponder for long you were in motion again, Finnick urging you forward.
"Come on Y/N, we have to get through this," he said desperately, pleading with you.
The sound of his voice pulled you through and you focused only on your legs, propelling yourself forward.
You were the fastest, normally, but being half awake and spasming combined was slowing you down tremendously. You were leading the pack once again but with the fog closing in on you, you feared this might be the end.
With your half open eyes you didn't see the tree root in front of you, and as you staggered forward it immediately took you down, causing a chain reaction.
You all went flying, tumbling down a steep hill and landing face first in the dirt. You had been going the fastest which meant you had fallen the fastest, hitting the ground and rolling into shallow water. As soon as your skin met the water you screamed, a burning sensation covering everywhere the fog had touched and making the burns that much more unbearable. It felt like you were being burned alive.
Slowly you started to notice a cloudy substance leak from your wounds, dispersing in the water around you. Hesitantly you reached up and rubbed the salty water against your arm, biting back another scream, but it seemed to be working.
"The water helps," you breathed but you weren't sure anyone could hear you. Behind Katniss the poisonous fog seemed to hit a wall, gathering up before dissipating completely, vanishing all together.
Katniss seemed to be the only one who heard you, dragging herself across the muddy ground before submerging herself in water. She let out a deep groan as the water hit her burned skin but she was a soldier; she took it like a champ, dunking her face first and letting out a garbled scream underwater.
You let her and yourself heal in silence before going your separate ways; she helped Peeta while you dragged Finnick, who was in the worst shape of all of you.
Shakily you made your way over to him where he was groaning in pain on the ground, just laying on his back. You slipped your hands under his arms and tried to get him to stand; when that failed you resorted to dragging him as best you could, leading him over to the salty water and plopping down.
You gently pulled Finnick into the water with you, softly tugging him into your lap as he groaned loudly, making you flinch.
You rubbed the water over his burns, watching the poison slowly discharge from his skin. He made sounds of pain as you rubbed him down as gently as you could while still being effective. Eventually he was fully submerged and wiped down; his breathing was shallow pants and his eyes were screwed shut as he slowly recovered. You smoothed his wet hair back from his forehead.
"Did I die yet?" he mumbled, eyes closed, and you let out a shaky laugh.
"No, not yet. And you better not.”
His arms were still twitching slightly while all of your nerves seemed to have calmed down; just sitting soaking in the water was helping significantly.
“I thought we were gonna die,” he exhaled.
“Me too,” You admitted, and ran a hand through your tangled wet hair. “I thought I was gonna lose you.”
He smiled, eyes still closed. “You can’t get rid of me that easily.”
"We need more fresh water," Katniss said from a few paces over. You stood, offering your hand to Finnick as Katniss helped Peeta up.
"I'll get it," Peeta volunteered, shaking his head when Katniss gave him a protesting look. "I'm fine. It'll be good to stretch anyway."
He took the spile from Katniss and went off, slightly wobbly but determined. You watched him go, following him with your eyes. You were so focused that you hadn't noticed the deadly silence, or Finnick posing in a defensive stance in front of you.
"Peeta," Katniss called calmly. "Can you come here? Slowly."
Your head turned forward where Finnick was standing in front of you, trident raised threateningly; hundreds of monkeys stood in the trees, beady eyes glaring down at all of you. You faltered; how were there this many? Where did they all come from?
As soon as Peeta took a step forward all hell broke loose- the monkeys charged forward with no warning or tell tale signs. Everyone readied their weapons. Katniss handed you a big machete before starting to shoot off her arrows. Finnick was spearing things left to right, and you hopped around him to help fight them off. You knew what the mission was: protect Peeta and Katniss. Get them out of the arena in one piece.
The fight felt never ending and you were honestly running out of steam. You lost focus for one second and before you could do anything one of the monkeys got past you and lunged directly at Peeta. Right before he could be slaughtered someone jumped out in front of him, taking the hard bite to the throat. You squinted your eyes and tried to figure out who it was, and a sinking feeling in your stomach began to form as you recognized his tired, tired face. He was your district partner, just another soul that got swept up in addiction in an attempt to drive the games out of their head. Tears sprang in your eyes as you watched Loto struggle to breathe in Peeta's arms- you hadn't noticed the monkeys begin to retreat, with no prompting or cause seemingly whatsoever. Finnick stood guard as they backed up, not trusting the horror to truly be over.
Katniss and Peeta gently pulled Loto into the water and you ran towards them, holding back a choked sob as you reached their side.
You stroked Loto's head softly as Peeta started talking; he was good, distracting him with the colors in the sky and telling him about all the paintings he made back at home and how he  mixed colors to get the perfect shade. It truly did seem to relax Loto.
"It was an honor knowing you," You whispered to him, and he smiled as much as he could back up to you. You kissed his forehead and backed away, unable to watch the life drain from his eyes. You walked back to Finnick, who was watching you with a stricken expression. You flinched as a canon sounded. You didn't bother to play independent or engage in flirty back and forth with him, instead going straight into his arms.
Eventually Katniss and Peeta rejoined you, a hovercraft appearing in the distance to come retrieve the body.
Katniss took one look at the both of you; you, having lost Loto, and Finnick, having lost Mags. She offered to stay up and take watch again, this time with Peeta, and nobody disagreed. Without saying anything Finnick pulled you close to him and laid you both down on the sandy ground, nuzzling his face into your neck. You could feel small hot tears smudging in your skin and it made your heart break- you knew how close Mags and Finnick were. Closer than you and Loto, so you could only imagine what he was feeling.
You flipped around so you were face to face, bringing your hand up to gently trace over his handsome features .
"I'm sorry," you whispered and he closed his teary eyes.
"I'm sorry too."
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aangelinakii · 2 months ago
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DICK'S CORNER.
— 1-800-cute-barista.
summary : when you get caught in the snow, no place it open. apart from dick's corner.
note : i'm crying this is based on a bts jungkook fanfic i wrote in 2019 💀💀💀
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snow, which had started off as fluttering feathers, had began to piss it down. before you knew it, roads were being closed, and you could barely see your hand if you held it out at an arm's length.
you'd come down to visit some friends from the next town over, unaware of the unexpected weather conditions. there was no way you could drive home in this.
all shops were closed. you were fucked, for lack of any better words.
turning round onto the next block, hands dug heavy in your pockets, begging, aching for the feeling to come back, your eyes focused in on the remnants of an orange light lingering in the back of a café. when you came to a stop outside the wide window, you could make out the silhouette of a man wiping down the counter at the back.
a gasp brushed past your lips, and you knocked on the glass, knuckles pink and on the brink of cracking, and the man in the closed café glanced up.
he jogged up to the door, twisting a key on the other side before opening it, fighting against the blizzard. before you could even think about begging him for a place to stay, he was ushering you inside, where there was an immediate difference.
"you must be freezing!" he gasped, brushing the white specks from your clothes. he pulled a chair from one of the stacks at the edge of the café and practically pushed you down into it, before he was off again behind the counter. "what were you doing out there?"
skin tingling from the new-found warmth of the café, you glanced back out the window to the dark street outside, rough falling snow illuminated by the street lamps.
a shaky chuckle brushed past your chattering lips. "i wasn't out there on purpose. i was meeting friends. didn't realise it would get so... shit out there."
from behind the counter, the man was sifting some cocoa powder on top of a warm mug of hot chocolate, topped with a castle of whipped cream. he gave a laugh.
"no kidding," he agreed, peeling away from the counter, expertly holding the mug by its base, despite the steam hovering above it, following behind him. "no idea how i'm supposed to get home tonight. i'm just lucky i have radiators in here."
muttering a soft thanks as he handed you the mug, you gave a nod. "at least if you stay the night, you'll be able to open bright and early."
the guy pulled up a chair of his own opposite you, placing it with the back toward you, and sat down, perching his arms along the backing. he sighed. "i love working here, i do, but i would rather die." the corner of his mouth quirked up, and you couldn't help but laugh back.
a few beats passed as you gingerly sipped at the hot cocoa from beneath its cornucopia of cream on top, and your eyes began to roam around the little coffee shop, trying to avoid the gaze boring into the side of your head.
finally, he spoke, holding out a hand. "i'm dick, owner of this place. and you?"
lips pulling into a soft smile, you turned back to him and allowed your chilled fingers to meet his in a handshake. "(name)." another sip, and you pulled your hand away, resting in your lap. "so, how long have you been here? i visit here sometimes and i've never clocked you."
"just going two months strong."
dick was cute, in a boyish way. he was allowing his hair to grow out, you could tell by the way it was sticking out near the back of his neck, and by the way his raven curls swooped out near his ears, like he hadn't quite figured out how to style it yet. despite the warm light, his oceanic eyes stood out, sunny, in contrast to the snow outside. his apron had been discarded to a hook behind the counter, and he wore a football shirt for a soccer team you weren't familiar with, the sleeves hugging his biceps.
"that would explain it," you hummed, eyes roaming the café once more. "but you've got a really nice place going. wish i'd been here sooner. and under warmer circumstances."
the use of the word warmer seemed to cause his ears to prick up. "oh, you still cold?" he stood abruptly. "i have a spare hoodie in the back. i left it here the other day."
before you could retort, he was already disappearing through a dark door behind the counter, and all you could do was begin to lap up the pile of whipped cream adorning your drink.
when he returned, the grey hoodie he passed you had been neatly folded, and seeped warmth into your hand.
"it was in the dryer, so it's extra toasty," he chuckled, carefully plucking the mug from your hands so you could pull it over your head. "if you weren't here, i'd have stolen it for myself."
head poking through the hood mid-pull, you began to shove it from your frame. "hey, it's yours, if you want it—"
"no, no!" he responded almost too quickly. "no, sorry, i didn't mean if it sounded like that. wear it. you need it more than me."
eyeing him for a moment, he seemed genuine, and you continued to tug the hoodie over yourself, until it enveloped you in its dry warmth; a great contrast to the sharp frost you'd endured, and in entirely not the right clothes for it.
blue eyes halved into crescents, dick held out the mug for you again, which you took with a smile.
"looks great on you," he smiled. it was difficult to tell if he was flirting, or if he was just one of those guys with that sort of charm.
you could only smile sheepishly and continue to sip at your hot cocoa, until it was merely a ring of brown at the bottom of the mug.
dick didn't leave any time, and carefully took it from your fingers, returning behind the counter to wash it.
when you peered out the window, the sky was still dark, and the pavement stark in contrast, but the heavy blizzard had calmed, to the pale butterflies gracing the darkness.
"hey, thank you so much for letting me stay, but i think i should get going," you piped up, standing to your feet, voice causing dick to glance over from the running sink.
"no problem," he replied, chipper as ever. "i'm always happy to help!"
your fingers fidgeted with the fabric of the hoodie around your frame, unsure whether to take it off promptly, or to wait for him to ask. "do you want the hoodie back, or...?" you lingered on the other side of the counter.
at this, dick turned the tap off, placed the mug upside-down on the drying rack and turned round to face you. that smile lingered upon his lips, perpetually cheeky, like he might have a trick up his sleeve. "seriously, it's all good. keep it for a bit. you never know, we might bump into each other again and you can give it back."
left slightly dizzy, trying to decipher his words, you thanked him again before excusing yourself to go brave the cold once more. it wasn't as nippy as before, but still much too cold.
fortunately, it wasn't long until you found yourself back in the safe confinements of your car, ready to get on your way home, when something caught your eye.
a piece of paper had fluttered to your cupholder.
fingers shaking from the cold as you reached out for it, you peeled it open. a phone number?
and right beneath... dick :)
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loovely-lilly · 5 months ago
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~ 𝐒𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐜𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠
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𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘖𝘥𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘹 𝘍𝘦𝘮! 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘺: You two are in the quarter quell, but your boyfriend couldn’t protect you from the jabberjays attack
Everything happened very fast, you were in the cornucopia, Wiress was killed there and then everything started to spin, and for a second you forgot all the alliance you had made with the group, you just wanted to find Finnick
He knew how to swim, everything was fine -you kept repeating to yourself-
Well, everything happened and now you were on the surface trying to rest a little, you played a with the sand, watching it slip from your fingers, until you heard
“KATNISS!” She stand up and run fast after hear the voice that called her. “PRIM! PRIM!” She screamed back and you went towards her
“WAIT! KATNISS!” You screamed trying to reach her, and soon noticed that the two were away from the group, alone
“Y/N! Y/N MY BABY" Everdeen heard a female, fragile and weeping voice calling for the girl and saw her face stunned. "No" you whispered talking as you ran your hand through your hair "Y/N PLEASE" the woman spoke again and you started shouting "MOM! MOM NO!”
Katniss held your arm strongly "They are jabberjays, it's not her!" She said, "Shit!These birds reproduce sound, where do you think they heard it from?" You asked and felt your head start to spin
You couldn't pay attention who shouted Katniss's name, many people already called yours
“Y/N! THEY'RE COMING! Y/N!” Now a male voice called you, you could only shout "DAD! DON'T LEAVE ME HERE!" Tears burned your eyes
Katniss was going in one direction and you followed her, interrupted by more screams you had to stop "MY LOVE! Y/N! Y/N" that voice you would recognize everywhere, Finnick your beloved screamed to all his lungs, but were the birds, how did they have his voice recorded, how?
You saw Kat hit a force field, she was trying to talk to Peeta, soon Finnick saw you and came towards you, "It's okay! They're just birds! Y/N, please!" He screamed as he hit the barrier but you couldn't hear anything, nothing but your parents shouting your name, panic set in your heart, you couldn't deal with all that, you couldn't
Finnick observed the despair in your face, you grabbing your hair and falling to the ground, some jebberjays came so close to you that they began to hurt you beyond psychologically, physically, and he had to watch all that imposing, watching his beloved suffer and not being able to do anything to help her
Peeta hit the glass while trying to talk to Katniss, you couldn't maintain self-control like her and ended up falling to the floor, you screamed while holding your head, trying somehow not to freak out
Some time passed, you didn't know how much, you forgot where you were, but never what you had heard
"Y/n, dear" someone called you while caressing your hair, you had passed out
"Finn" you raised your head looking at the boy. "It's okay, I'm here," he added and soon you were hugging each other. You just wanted to be anywhere else, as long that he was with you
✫彡
The group had returned to the beach, you were on Finnick's lap, the two watching the sea, feeling the body shiver every time a small wave came towards you
"Whet happened to her parents?" Katniss was direct when asking Johanna, seeing her expression saddened. “Y/n has to do services for the Capital…one day Snow said she could go back to district 4 just for dinner”
"What kind of ser-" Peeta said looking at her but soon understood "Oh”. "It happens that when she was arriving at home a truck with peacemakers was coming out of there" she took a deep breath to continue "Y/n opened the door and saw the parents… dismembered, Snow ordered to kill them" Peeta held Katniss's hand when she saw her eyes start to cry "It was her birthday you know, the President thought family was a distraction, even with her doing everything he wanted"
They watched the couple at the beach. "But Finnick helped her, right?" Johanna shook her head negatively "The president prohibited contact between the two".
"There comes a time that, when the threats are break even with you doing your part, you kind of do what you want, Finnick knew what happened and went to look for her" Beete added
"It must not have been easy-" Katniss started but Johanna interrupted her "Prostitute yourself and get home with your parents cut off on your birthday, with no one else you know? It shouldn't have been, and that's what the Capital does, that's what the fucking Snow does"
But you didn't hear all that, no, all that mattered was that you were with the person you love the most in the whole world, and with him by your side, you knew you could handle all that
"I love you Finn" you said as he wiped a tear of yours "I love you sugar cube" replied while kiss your lips.
✫彡
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stxr-slut · 3 months ago
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finnick odair and s/o with nightmares from her games. (like her district partner betrayed her but he was also her best friend so she wakes up with nightmares of him stabbing her) 🫶🏾
You never imagined it would happen. I mean how unlucky would you have to be to not only get reaped, but have your best friend reaped alongside you.
You shook as you rose up into the arena, heart beating a mile a minute as you took in your surroundings. And then you wrote running.
You had to find him, had to. He was your best friend. You spent the first day trying to get as far away from the cornucopia as possible. It was torture, waiting for nightfall, twitching at every twig snapped under the foot of an animal.
You were relieved when the darkness slowly faded in, and the panem anthem sounded. Pictures of fallen tributes flashed through the sky, but not his.
He was alive. You both made it past the first day, past the blood bath.
You spent the next day looking for him, creeping through the terrain in search of your best friend. Your ally.
When you found him, you were elated, about to run towards him when you noticed something was off. He didn't look happy to see you.
He looked.. angry. What was up with him? You were both alive. You both made it past the first day. He should be happy.
He stepped closer, and you flinched but didn't move. He was your ally. He wouldn't hurt you.. right?
Wrong. A knife sank into your stomach. You didn't know what hurt more, the blade or the betrayal. You were supposed to stick together, you'd both promised on it, but he broke that promise. What's worse was you could see the pain in his eyes..
And that's when you woke up, jolting awake at the sharp pain, clutching your stomach.
You were fine. It was a dream. Finnick was led next to you, you were safe, totally safe.
That didn't stop you from waking him up, though. You whispered his name, shaking him lightly.
"Hmm- hey, woah, what's wrong?" He questions, waking up fully when he sees the pure terror on your face.
You explain the nightmare to him, and once you're done, he comforts you, holds you in his arms till the tears cease, and your breathing slows. Once you're calmer, he fetches you a glass of water, returning and placing the glass against your lips, tipping the cold liquid into your mouth.
He holds you for the rest of the night, trying to soothe you back to sleep, and even if you can't, he just lays there, holding you in his arms, and you feel the safest you've ever felt, slowly drifting back to sleep.
Sorry to the person who requested this, it took so long for me to get this out but I finally did.
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eufezco · 11 months ago
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Could you do a Finnick x reader with the troupe rivals to lovers pls
—I know that you didn't want to be part of this alliance, but hey, lucky us. I get to see your pretty face for as long as I have left to live and you have made new friends. We all win.
—You're not my friends.
You had lost those people that Finnick called friends a while ago and now it was you and him walking lost in the jungle.
Finnick chuckled. —Right, yeah, your only friend here died within minutes of stepping onto the Cornucopia. Who would think of going for the same weapons as the professionals? Did your mentor teach you nothing?
—She taught me the difference between an alliance and a friendship.
You stopped walking and turned around to face him, the end of your machete pointing at his neck and brushing against his Adam's apple. Finnick kept the smile on his lips because he knew you wouldn't do it. They said that barking dogs seldom bite. Oh, but he knew you did bite just not to him.
—If I agreed to this alliance it was because I believed it was best for him, but now he is dead and I have made promises. I don't need any of you to win these games again but I do believe in what that girl from District 12 represents.
You thought about lowering your weapon but it got on your nerves the way Finnick was staring at your lips as you spoke, with his own parted and nodding at everything you said even though he had stopped listening to you a while ago. Did Finnick think you were not noticing? No, it couldn't be that. He knew perfectly well that you were noticing because he wasn't even bothering to hide it. He just wanted you to bring it up so he could shoot his shot.
—When it's just the seven of us, things will be very different and I'm pretty sure I won't be the first to die but I will have no problem being the first to attack. —Standing face to face with Finnick and with his eyes on your mouth... It was almost impossible not to notice his lips as well but unlike him, you tried to hide it as best you could, going from looking at his lips to his eyes and back again.
Finnick's lips curved up into a smile. —Oh, you wanna kiss me so bad.
You swallowed nervously. Your head was high, a sign that you were not going to please him and tell him he was right. —I just told you that I would kill you if I had to, what makes you think I want to kiss you?
—Because I can see you looking at my lips the same way I'm looking at yours. —Finnick said as he came closer to you. You slowly lowered your weapon, his body towering over yours as he ran his tongue over his lips, leaving them a little wet and making them look even more desirable than before.
You were both waiting; Finnick held your chin between his thumb and index finger, expecting you to move away or kill him on the spot. You were waiting for him to kiss you already. Your eyes were squinted, ready for when he decided to put his lips on yours, but you could still see him smiling proudly.
Finnick leaned in and pressed his lips against yours. Finnick's hand remained on your chin for the few seconds that your lips were connected, yours were still holding your machete, still pretending to be defensive about his actions thanks to how vulnerable Finnick was making you feel with just a kiss.
—Your lips are sweeter than what comes out of them when you open your mouth.
You rolled your eyes at him and turned around to keep walking. You took advantage of the fact that he could no longer see your face to run your tongue over your lips and enjoy what was left of him. You used your machete to cut the vines that got in your way, stomping to avoid your feet getting stuck in the ones on the ground.
—And you are sweeter than your lips, Finnick Odair. You taste salty.
342 notes · View notes
underoospeterparker · 10 months ago
Note
uhmmm finnick consoling fem!reader who is having a panic attack ?! (maybe triggered by stress? i dunno)
i finished this one the day it was sent in I'm happy
finnick odair x fem!reader, set in catching fire during the blood rain, 0.7k words
You had been thinking that this hunger games wasn't too bad. Clearly, you'd underestimated the lengths the Gamemakers would go to to make this games 'different' from the others.
Johanna had run away from the group. She pointed up to the sky and yelled, "I think it's rain!"
You'd joined her, severely dehydrated and needing just a drop of water on your dry tongue. Wiress and Beetee had been quick to follow, their steps heavy on the muddy ground of the forest.
It wasn't long until you noticed it wasn't water that was falling down. It was blood. Coming down in thick, heavy currents, scorching to the touch.
Shrieking, you'd tried to run to shelter but the blood blinded you, and all you could see was red. Johanna reached for your arm, desperately trying to pull you in the direction of the Cornucopia.
You started running, your legs moving faster than they ever had before. You turned around, trying to spot the rest of the group in the haze of dark red.
Panic enveloped you, making itself home in every corner of your body. You trembled as you stood still, looking in every direction for anyone, anything, that could help you.
"(Y/N)!" Johanna. You reached out blindly in front of you. When you didn't reply, she screamed, "We're over here! By the beach."
Spotting a flicker of the water, you sprinted ahead, all but collapsing on the white sand. Johanna knelt in front of you, shouting, "Finnick, she's here!"
Finnick felt a breath he'd been holding leave his body as he made his way over to you, crouching by your side. "Honey," he murmured as a way of a greeting, his voice quiet to not frighten you.
You looked up from the ground, your panicked eyes meeting his, trying to grasp for his hand. You heaved in deep, heavy breaths, but it didn't work.
"I can't-" you choked out, fear evident on your face, "I can't breathe."
His face looked worried as he tilted a finger under your chin. "Can you look up for me, please?"
You complied, doing as he asked. Your bottom lip trembled and he swore he felt his heart shatter. "You're okay now. I promise, sweetheart." When you nodded, he continued. "I just need you to take a few deep breaths. Can you do that for me?"
You tried to do as he asked, inhaling the salty air in as deep as you could. Finnick let out a small sigh of relief out when he noticed you were slowly getting air into your lungs. "That's it, honey. There we go," he crooned, his voice deep and soothing. "Good girl," he murmured, a small, smug smile forming on his lips when a pink blush formed on your cheeks.
"Let's get you cleaned up," he said, extending his arm over to you and helping you stand up. You took it gratefully, clinging to him as he led the both of you to the water. He motioned for you to sit down, and you did as he asked.
While you scrubbed off the remainder of the red, sticky liquid off of your body, Finnick washed your hair, his slender fingers gentle in their motions against your scalp. "Is that better?" he whispered, his lips pressed against your wet hair.
"Yes," you replied, your voice breaking on the single syllable as you felt tears swell up in your eyes again.
When you turned around, Finnick was quick, wrapping his arms around you and tightening his hold when he felt you tremble against him. "Shhh," he cooed, thumbing away your tears, a sympathetic frown on his face. "I'm sorry I wasn't there."
You looked up at him, shocked. "'t wasn't your fault, Finn," you mumbled, hiding your face in his wet suit, listening for his heartbeat. "Shouldn't have happened in the first place."
At this, he nodded, and you pulled away. He reached for your hand, grasping and squeezing it tightly.
"Thank you for taking care of me," you said timidly, eyes looking everywhere else but him.
He let out that perfect smile of his, and you thought that you'd do anything if it meant you got to see that smile again. He paused, then said, "Always."
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captainlunaxmen · 8 months ago
Text
All for the Cameras
Chapter 8
Finnick Odair x Fem!reader
Here we go! With this chapter, we officially say goodbye to Chatching Fire, and we will soon enter Mockingjay-part1. I hope you guys will like this, and if you want to be added to the tag list, just tell me♥️♥️♥️
Chapter summary: we're at the Quarter Quell finale.
Chapter warning: Now, Cal is a huge warning himself, Hunger Games cruelty, death, blood.
Tag list.
@guacam011y @justtrying2getby @idontevenknow1359 @alexandra-001 @bambikitten @maggiecc @redh00dsbf @haneybunny @1-800-styles @sisiking99 @merromimo @yourdailymemedelivery @regsg18 @gordorio @bambikitten @gracieeleanorr @shev3nom @honethatty12 @savingprivatecass @erindiggory @martahabla @sterredem @aawdrea @wpdarlingpan @strawberry--fawn @barbarathewanderer @ih8books @a-mysterious-potato @mayonesavegana @celinaiscrying @katherinejess @meri-soni-meri-tamanna @abaker74 @syd649 @meikoo @secretsicanthideanymore @p1stachi @laylasshiftingtonight @yourmumstoy @s0urw00lf
I'm sorry if I can't tag everyone😔🥺
Masterlist
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Finnick's POV
They managed to find some food. Finnick decided to catch some, more to distract himself that because he actually needed to eat. His stomach was completely closed after what happened.
He eats with the other because he does need his strengths, but doesn't feel like it at all.
Mags was like a mother and seeing her go like that... broke him.
The only thought keeping him going was Y/n, the thought that they could finally have a chance.
Finnick gets distracted from his thoughts when Peeta, opening one of the oysters, found a pearl. Finnick watches him giving it to Katniss, her accepting it. Finnick takes a moment to notice the way Peeta looks at her, the exact way he looks at Y/n, with adoration. Katniss is a little more reserved, of course, but she does feel something too, even though she doesn't realise it yet.
The sweet moment is interrupted by a loud scream.
"That's new." Peeta says standing up, Katniss and Finnick soon do too.
They look ahead, trees moving and breaking, then a big wave appears, it looks secluded to a section of the arena, but still aiming towards them apparently.
Even though the waves breaks at the cornucopia, it still creates waves towards the beach all around it. Thankfully not big enough to make damages.
As they watch the hovercraft flying to get the body of the dead tribute, Katniss grabs an arrow ready to fight.
"Someone's here." She says.
They all get their weapons, ready to defend themselves. They hide, watching who it was.
When Finnick sees Johanna, along Wiress and Beetee he lets out a sigh of relief, hope growing back in him as he walks to her calling her name.
"Whete the hell have you been?" He asks as soon as they're close enough.
"Me? I was looking for you the entire time, asshole!" Johanna shoots back.
Finnick knows she's not actually angry, rather worried, even though she would never admit it.
"So was I." He says, more calmly, "are you all okay?"
Johanna shrugs.
"Well, I got them out. We were a the way deep into the jungle where I thought it was gonna be safe. That's when the rain started." She starts explaining, while Beetee and Wiress got into the water to clean up, "I thought it was water. It turned out to be blood."
"Tick tock" Wiress comes close repeating the same two words.
"Hot, thick blood." Johanna keeps going as if she didn't notice her, "it was coming down. It was choking us. We were stumbling around, gagging on it, blind. That's when Blight hit the force field."
"Tick tock, tick tock" Wiress keeps talking as Johanna takes a big breath.
"He wasn't much, but it was from home." She says bitterly.
"What's wrong with her?" Katniss asks, referring to Wiress.
"She's in shock," Beetee answers, "dehydration isn't helping. Do you have fresh water?"
"We can get some."
As Johanna tries to, forcefully, stop Wiress from talking, Katniss immediately goes to defend her, almost starting a fight if it weren't for Finnick separating them, leading Johanna away.
"I got them out for you!" She screamed before she got dragged away.
"It's okay, it's okay." Finnick tries to calm her.
"Let me go, Finnick!" She insists, "let me go, I'm fine."
He lets her, and goes to sit down on the sand, soon Peeta joins as Katniss was helping Wiress clean up.
"Are you sure you're okay? I know Mags was important to you... and Y/n." Peeta asks.
"Yeah... uh... it was a possibility we didn't want to acknowledge, but... still a possibility." Finnick sighs, sadly.
"I'm really sorry." Peeta gives his shoulder a reassuring squeeze.
"It's alright."
"Can I ask you something?" Peeta suddenly whispers, so no one would hear and Finnick nods, still looking ahead, "your speech at the interviews... was for Y/n, wasn't it?"
Finnick only nods, so does Peeta understanding.
"What a situation, uh?" Finnick says sarcastically.
"Yeah.." Peeta sadly chuckle, then his attention shifts to Beetee, who was messing with a wire of some sort, "what's that?"
Beetee looks up to them, then back at the wire in his hands.
"Something we can use." He simply says before standing up and walking closed to the water.
Finnick and Peeta shares a confused look before shrugging.
The moment interrupted by the lightning hitting the big tree again, 12 times.
"They have out done themselves this time, uh?" Finnick comments once the lightnings stop.
"Yeah..." Peeta breaths out.
They attention is caught by Katniss walking back to them, a determined look on her face.
"I figured it out." She says.
Y/n's POV
"That's the plan?" I ask Plutarch as we talk in his office.
"Yes." He nods, "are you okay with that?"
"Of course, I am." I confirm, "does Haymitch know?"
"Yes, he does."
"Perfect... do you think they will do as you predict?" I ask, again feeling nervous.
"I am positive, they figured out how the Arena works, it's only a matter of time, we need to be ready." He replies, "I suggest you start packing and be ready."
"Got it." I nod, taking a deep breath, I look at Plutarch, who nods his head to give me courage somehow.
There's suddenly a knock on the door.
"Mr Heavensbee? Miss L/n?" One of the Gamemaker peers inside.
"Yes?"
"There's movement." He says.
"We'll be right there in a minute." Plutarch informs him so he can go back to the controll room.
"We still need to keep up the appearance, I know." I sigh.
"All for the cameras, miss L/n. Always."
We walk back into the room, just in time to see Gloss killing Wiress, I can't help the gasp leaving my mouth, it was so unexpected I couldn't stop it.
Plutarch put a hand on my shoulder for a second to make regain my composure.
We need to keep up the appearances, so I just move to one of the Gamemaker, to take a closer look. Katniss immediately kills him, Cashmere, of course, runs to attack her, thankfully Johanna pushes Katniss away and kills the district 1 tribute.
That means the other part of the Career pack is close.
"Keep the cameras on them, the other side there." I point where Finnick and Peeta stands, just in time to frame Brutus and Finnick fighting, Enobaria manages to wound Finnick before running away, thankfully is nothing bad.
Peeta tries to chase them, but Finnick holds him back, letting Katniss and Johanna go instead.
I look up at Plutarch, him already looking at me. Then he looks up and mouths "for the cameras."
He wants me to suggest something believable, to fool the president.
I start to think something that might be an obstacle, that might slow them down, we can't have the Games end now, we still have things to prepare, but it doesn't have to be something... deadly.
Think.
Think.
Think.
Thi.... okay.
"Make the cornucopia spin." I say, the Gamemaker, of course, looks up at Plutarch for confirmation and when he nods the cornucopia starts to spin on itself, making everyone lose balance.
Johanna helps Katniss stay on, as Finnick, Peeta and Beete do the same.
My heart skips a bit when Katniss falls, instinctively look at Plutarch.
"Okay. That's enough." He orders, "good thinking, miss L/n."
"Thank you, sir." I say, breathing heavily from anxiety, "it will be harder for them to tell time."
"Clever." He nods, and I let out a sigh of relief.
It made some trouble, but not too much... Good.
They quickly reunite, and go back to the beach... but a different section. I try to figure out which one it is.
"Brace yourself." Plutarch whispers so slightly to me as he passes by.
I take a quick look at the map, each section is perfectly labelled and I can quickly spot their position. It's the Jabberjays section.
Shit.
I take a deep breath and just wait to see what's going to happen.
They're counting down who might be left still in the games, now. Thankfully, it seems that Brutus and Enobaria are far from them.
"Activate them." Plutarch orders, I force myself not to look at him, because I know he has to do it. We are still not out of trouble, and at the Capitol, appearance is the most important thing.
So once Prim's voice reaches Katniss, she's immediately on her feet, running towards the sound. The rest of the group tries to keep her from going into the forest, to what they suspect is just a made up sound. Finnick is the fastest and immediately reach Katniss, who just shot a bird, finally realising it's fake, like everything else.
"You okay?" He asks, but Katniss can't even respond because another scream breaks in.
I can't help it this time, my eyes shoot up immediately to Plutarch.
That's my voice, screaming at Finnick for help.
Plutarch looks at me, guilty, he motion for me to just take a deep breath and stay calm as Finnick runs towards the sound with Katniss, this time, to convince him to stop.
"It's not her!" She screams at him to gain his attention. "It's just a Jabberjay. It's not her."
"Well, how do you think they got that sound?" He spits back, "Jabberjays copy."
I just want to scream at him that I'm okay, that's just a decoy... my idea nonetheless...
As Gale's voice adds itself into the mix, Katniss and Finnick run away, but unfortunately my idea has another problem.
They bump into the invisible wall, surrounded by all the mutts screaming at them.
Kantiss is holding her hands to her ears, Peeta screams at her, but of course, the wall around the section is supposed to isolate them even more.
I look at Finnick protecting his ears too, he's muttering something, but I can't understand what he's says, the birds screams are too loud. My throat feels tight, I feel the burn of tears ready to come out in my eyes, my chest hurts.
"Miss L/n?" Plutarch calls me, his voice feels so far right now, but I reluctantly look at him, "would you be so kind and go look into my office for the arena projects? I want to check something."
I can only nod and walk to his office, I know he wanted to give an excuse to be alone and recollect myself.
I close the door behind me, and I just lean against it until I sit down on the floor.
It's all my fault, I can't believe I make them suffer like this. Katniss' screams to somehow cover the noise broke my heart, so did Finnick's face.
I did that.
It's my fault.
I have to do everything in my power to get them out...
Finnick's POV
It's Johanna's voice asking him if he were okay to ground Finnick.
After God knows how long he and Katniss were trapped with the Jabberjays screaming at them, the invisible wall vanished and the other were able to rescue them.
Peeta reassures Katniss, telling her that at the Capitol they will never touch Prim.
"Your fiancé's right." Johanna agrees, "the whole country loves your sister. If they tortured her or did anything to her, forget the districts, there would be riots in the damn Capitol." Everyone looks at Johanna, a mixture of surprise and shock for having her reassuring Katniss. But she was not done, "Hey, how does that sound, Snow? What if we... what if we set you backyard on fire? You know, you can't put everybody in here."
The shock is shared between the other tributes as they listen to her screaming.
"What?" She asks, finally noticing, "they can't hurt me. There's no one left that I love. I'll get you some water." She finally says, seeing no one knows what to say... obviously.
They all go to the beach, Finnick put his trident in the sand and goes to sat in the water.
It always calmed him. He remembers the first night at the Capitol after he was reaped.
He couldn't sleep, he didn't even want to, not knowing what the Capitol actually had in store for him surely wouldn't accommodate a good sleep. He remembers he went into the bathroom, to fill the bathtub and get under the water. Unfortunately the bathtub wasn't big enough. When Y/n knocked on the door, he thought she was there to take him back to his room, instead she sneaked the two of them into the pool. There she tried everything she could to calm him, she got into the water with him and lay there with him, talking.
That's when he realised she was not like the rest.
The others looks at him, as they rest, Johanna brought Katniss some water and now they're talking.
"Why did they use Y/n's screams with him?" Katniss asks.
"Really?" Johanna's taken aback by that question. "Have you... haven't you noticed anything?" She slightly scoffs.
"I'm afraid not." Katniss answers flatly.
"Love sometimes is cruel." Johanna simply says.
Katniss thinks for a moment before understanding her words, and can't help but agree with her.
"I have a plan." Beetee suddenly says and everyone gathers around him listening closely.
"Where do the Careers feel safest? The jungle?" He asks the group.
"Jungle's a nightmare." Johanna speaks up.
"Probably here on the beach." Peeta suggests.
"Then why are they not here?" Beete asks once again.
"Because we are. We claimed it." Johanna answers.
"And if we left, they would come." He guesses.
"Or stay hidden in the tree line." Finnick says.
"Which in just over four hours will be soaked with the water from the 10:00 wave. And what happens at midnight?" He speaks as if he is teaching to a class, and wants them to understand the concept before having to say it himself.
"Lightning strikes that tree." Katniss answers, understanding the concept of the plan.
"Here's what I propose. We leave the beach at dusk. We head to the lightning tree. That should draw them back to the beach. Prior to midnight we then run this wire from the tree to the water." He explains, pointing to the tree and then the beach, "anyone in the water or on the damp sand will be electrocuted."
"How do we know the wire's not gon a burn up?" Johanna questions.
"Because I invented it." He replies, with a hint of pride. "I assure you, it won't burn up."
The silence falls as everyone thinks about what to do. Johanna and Finnick looks at each other, they both seem to agree to the plan. Katniss looks at Peeta, worried, and still a little suspicious.
"Well, it better than hunting them down." Johanna agrees.
"Yeah, why not?" Katniss agrees too, "if it fails, no harm done anyway, right?"
"All right, I say we try it." Peeta nods.
"So what can we do to help?" Finnick asks, hoping the real plan will work... quickly.
Y/n's POV.
"Keep me alive for the next six hours. That would be extremely helpful." Beete says to the group.
That's our chance.
Plutarch's in his office with the president, so I'm the one directing the Gamemakers.
"Keep it as close as possible to the lovers." I say, "the Capitol loves them. Give them as much as they want."
They of course want the other to win, and if it goes down to them being the last two one of them would surely sacrifice themselves for the other... I pray we get them all out on time.
Peeta tries to convince her, she is the one who should live, he shows her the pendant Effie gave him, opens it and show her the picture of her family.
It breaks me hearing Peeta saying that no one needs him, because it's so far from the truth and he doesn't realise it.
Thankfully, Katniss reassures him she needs him. As they kiss my heart warms, and also hurts as I think of Finnick... maybe when everything is over we could... have our chance.
No. I don't have to keep my hopes up, for no reason.
Plutarch comes out of his office, nods at my direction and then addresses the Gamemakers.
"We're almost at the grand finale." He declares. "How about you go get some rest, miss L/n? You worked a lot today."
"Are you sure, sir? If we're at the finale, you might need all hands on deck, right?" I ask, pretending to be sorry.
"Go have some rest and enjoy the show, you earned it." He nods.
"Thank you, sir." I force an enthusiastic smile and walk to the exit.
As I pass him he whispers to me, "pack what you need. You'll know when it's time to go, so keep an eye on the games."
"Yes, sir."
"When it's time, immediately go to the roof of the training centre." He instructs, I nod and just walk out, to my apartment.
--------------
I put the last item in my backpack, a picture of my brother when we were younger, before we got sent to Snow. I turn the TV on to keep and eye on the games, as Plutarch instructed. Thankfully, I got the program so I can see everything live and change angles.
Apparently the group has to split, Katniss and Johanna are sent to unspool the wire all the way to the beach. Peeta, obviously, tries to offer to go with them, but Beetee says he needs both Finnick and Peeta as protection.
Of course, it generated a little angst in the group, suspects raising, and it ends with them agreeing to part ways until midnight.
I look for any sort of signal within the games, but I can't see anything yet.
I bounce my leg anxiously, as I look at Johanna cutting Katniss' arm, I look closer and realise she's tacking off the tracking device, this let me let out a sigh of relief. I try to find Finnick with the other cameras, only to see him looking for Johanna. He probably heard the Careers and went searching.
But I need to force myself to look for Katniss instead, Finnick knows about the plan, he knows what to do, Katniss doesn't so if I have to look for a sign, she's the one I need to follow. She's going back at the tree, looking for Peeta, but once she gets there, she only finds Beetee. I gasp, looking at a shaking Beetee lying down. Then her eyes fall to a made-up spear, the wire wrapped around the tip.
The sound of the cannon distracts her, screaming for Peeta she stands up, but when Finnick shows up, my heart stops as I see her taking an arrow and pointing it at Finnick.
"Please..." I whisper.
The door opening only increases my anxiety, and I quickly grab the emergency gun I took from my small voult.
My eyes drift between the hallway and the TV.
"Hello, my sweetness." Cal appears in front of me, a creepy grin on his face.
"Cal? What are you doing here?" I ask.
"Missed you." He simply answers, stepping closer, but I take a step back. He gives me a surprised and irritated look.
I look at the TV, in time to hear Finnick saying something to Katniss.
"Remember who the real enemy is." He said.
Cal looks at the TV, then step closer again and I take another step back, the gun still behind my back.
"Turn it off, sweetheart." He orders.
My eyes are, instead, glued to the screen. Katniss takes the spear, unwraps the wire only to wrap ot again around her arrow.
"Sweetheart." He calls again.
Finnick tries to get Katniss to get away from the tree, but right before the lightning strikes, she fires the arrow towards the sky and the screen turns black.
"Shit." I mutter.
"What happened?" Cal asks, alarm clear in his tone.
"I have to go." I say, rushing past him, careful to keep the gun somwhow hidden.
"Y/n!" I hear him scream my name as I near the door.
I open the door, but I find Peacekeepers in front of me.
"Yes?" I ask, as flatly and emotionless as I can.
"You are to come with us." One of them informs me.
"Where?"
"You're under arrest." Another says.
"What?" I scoff.
"What's going on?" Cal appears beside me, I hold the gun under the backpack harder.
"She's under arrest, she's suspected to be part of a rebellious group, a group Plutarch Heavensbee is part of." They explain.
"That's ridiculous." Cal laughs.
"I'm afraid it's true, sir." The peacekeeper replies.
I need to get out, I need to get to that roof.
I push past them, taking a little advantage of their talking. I arrive at the elevator, as I wait the doors to open I hear quick footsteps nearing. I point my gun at the Peacekeepers, firing twice, I manage to slow them down just in time for the doors to open and let me in, and I fire three more before the doors close again. I only injure some of them.
I didn't see Cal, he probably froze because of the news.
I decide to exit at another floor, I'm sure there would be more peacekeepers down, so then I'll go for the backdoor.
I get to the 4th floor, and carefully step out, analysing my surroundings as I walk to the stairs. I'm not so sure it's the best choice, but it's the only one I got. I try to be fast, but careful at the same time, the last thing I want is for them to get me.
Steady steps, controlled breathing, gun at hand, I move down the stairs.
"In here!" I hear someone scream and I just have to rush down now.
I run downstairs, jumping a few step in the process until I'm in front of the door.
I don't think, I need to get away from the ones on the stairs...
So I open the door.
Finnick's POV
Finnick sits up straight, holding his aching head, breathing heavily from exhaustion.
"Good, we started to think you were dead." Haymitch's voice makes Finnick raise his head to look at him.
"I'm... okay... I think." He says, he looks at his body, noticing some bandages, especially on his arm. They thankfully took off the tracking device.
"Yeah, the device is off, no need to worry about... that." Haymitch says, there's tension in his voice, resignation too, anger.
"What exactly happened?" Finnick asks, confused still.
"Katniss fired that arrow to the force field... that obviously broke, the screens, the cameras were down, this gave us the time to come and get you." Haymitch explains.
"Okay..." Finnick nods, he senses something wrong though.
"Come, let's talk." Haymitch nudges him to get up and follow him.
They arrive to a room with a big table, and screens taking their position on the walls.
Plutarch's there to greet him, but he's not happy, he's not satisfied.
Finnick hopes to see Y/n soon, he needs a friendly face to calm down.
"Mr. Odair... glad to see you're okay." He then says.
"Well, I'm alive... that's something." Finnick replies, forcing a small laugh out, "what about the others?"
He sees Plutarch and Haymitch sharing a look, then they both sigh deeply.
"We manage to get the Mockingjay out of there, which was the main mission." Plutarch starts, but doesn't continue.
"The others?" Finnick pressures.
"We managed to also get Beetee out." He answers.
"Johanna and Peeta?" Finnick's now scared.
"The Capitol has them." Plutarch simply answers.
Finnick pales, they might as well be dead, who knows what the Capitol will do to them.
"And..." Haymitch walks a little closer to Finnick, eyes down, guilty and angry.
"What? What is it?" Finnick snaps, frustrated.
Haymitch looks him dead in the eyes, so he can perfectly see the fury in his stare.
"They got Y/n too."
111 notes · View notes
writersblockiskillingme · 11 months ago
Text
Blood Rain | Katniss Everdeen
Pairing: Katniss Everdeen x fem!reader (District4!reader)
Summary: Your mission in the games was to get the victors who the love of your life wanted to be allies with. You did it, but it is never easy.
Warning/s: angst and fluff, this is really just a little blurb, blood, blood rain, death, madness, weapons, possible grammar and spelling mistakes
Author's note: Send requests for Katniss, Johanna and Cressida, I BEG YOU ALLL!!!
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Where the hell is Finnick?!
Your angry thoughts continued to swarm you as you forced your legs to move along towards the beach. The beach. Water. You would quite literally kill for a few drops. All of you would.
Your feet were sticking to the leaves on the ground of the giant jungle due to the blood that covered you completely head to toe. The knifes pressed onto your suit were slightly digging into the skin of your legs as you took bigger steps, trying to get to the water at the Cornucopia as fast as you possibly could.
The biggest mistake you could have ever made was separating at the beginning of the games and now you had to suffer the consequences. Not that you had any choice, really.
When your platform raised up, putting you in the place from your nightmares you were standing quite far away from Finnick. The flash of the bright rays of sunshine were blinding you for a while and before you knew it you had to jump off of the pedastil. However you faced a major problem once you got in the middle of the water. You were rounding up Beetee, Wiress, Blight and Johanna who weren't able to swim. But once you did round them up you were attacked by Enobaria and Brutus. You couldn't fight them on your own as you tried to help your allies. You had no choice, you had to leave the idea of joining Katniss, Peeta and Finnick like you planned to. You had to run for the shore and loose yourselves in the vines and thick threes.
And that's how you ended up alone with Wiress, Beetee, Blight and Jo for a few days. You were severely dehydrated already so you were very happy once you heard something light hitting the leaves of the trees all around you. Only one thing could make those sounds. Raindrops. Now you could only imagine the shock planted onto your face once you realized that the things that were coming down onto you and your allies was not rain. Well, not rain made out of water. It was blood. It was burning you and was covering you too quickly.
This torture lasted for what felt like ages, but once it finally came to the stop you still didn't get out of the forest immediately.
As you ran ahead of the rest of the group, trying to escape the nightmares held within the forest, the living nightmares that tried to get you, the only thing on your mind was the safety of your lover. Katniss. God, you hoped that she was alive.
You didn't see her since the night before the games. You were lying with her in her bed, bringing her comport after yet another life inducing nightmare with which you were a little too familiar with. You met during your Victor's Tour the year that you won, but you became inseparable the moment she volunteered for the games to save poor Prim.
She was your everything. If you lost her you were sure that you wouldn't be able to pull through. So the moment Finnick and you heard about the rebellion you didn't waste a second, you joined immediately. You immediately accepted to join the plan of keeping the mockingjay safe. To get her out.
The moment you stepped out of the forest, yelling for your allies you heard the voice that belonged to an angel shout your name. It was the voice of your angel.
You tuned around as Katniss practically jumped on you, hugging you so tightly that you felt like you couldn't breathe. But it didn't bother you at all. The thought of her was one of the only thing that kept you going for a very long time now. You wrapped your arms around her quickly, afraid that she would disappear.
"What happened, Y/N?" Finnick's concerned voice brought you to reality, you had to separate from Katniss so you moved yourself away so you could look at Finnick but you never moved your hand that felt right into Katniss' away.
"It was horrible," You admitted, sighing a bit. "Jo, Blight, Beetee, Wiress and I rounded up at the beginning, but then Enobaria attacked us by the Cornucopia."
The rest of your allies that came from the forest weren't far away from you. Johanna was right on the other side of you, sticking her axe into the sand on the beach as she desperately tried to catch her breath. Beetee was leaned over, still in pain from the knife that he received in the back. Wiress was walking in the circle around you constantly repeating "Tick-Tock" over and over again. All of them were covered in blood just like you were.
The sight alone brought an uneasy feeling in Katniss. She looked at you once again, clear signs of dehydration were there along with the heavy breathing as you still tried to get the air into your lungs and the fact that you looked like you bathed in blood was enough for her to gripp your hand tighter in hers.
"We had no choice but to run for the forest," You continued your story, Finnick's pair of sea green eyes mirroring your own, a reminder of where you come from, watched you intensely as you spoke. "We stayed there up until now."
"What then?"
"Tick-Tock."
"We heard the rain coming down, but it wasn't rain." You ran your free hand through your hair as you let out a sigh.
"It turned out it was blood. So much blood. It was falling on us, choking us. We were stumbling around trying to get here gagging on it blind. But then Blight hit the force field..." You looked down, grief swallowing you at the reminder of Johanna's face at that moment. "And now he's gone..."
"Tick-Tock."
"What's going on with her?" Peeta asked, looking at Wiress.
"She's in shock," Beetee said as he removed his glasses, wiping his face while he tried to get rid of the blood that covered him. "The dehydration isn't helping. Do you have fresh water?"
"We can get some." Katniss' soft voice next to you spoke and you turned to her again, your eyes full of love.
"How about you go wash up?" Finnick smirked at you, obviously catching the look that you send Katniss. You just glared at your district partner, but you listened and started to walk towards the water, pulling Katniss along with you.
You're not letting her out of your sight again.
As you washed the blood off of yourself, your hair, suit, knives and everything you talked to Katniss. You felt like you could listen to her forever. And at the moment when you dove into the water completely to get the rest of the blood to go away Katniss followed the suit. You never took your eyes off of her as you watched her place her hands on your face, giving you warm smile, the smile that was only reserved for the ones she loved the most, before she pulled you in, locking your lips with hers. Away from the cameras for a few short moments.
From that moment on you swore to yourself that you would follow her anywhere.
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districtunrest · 1 month ago
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hey! :) i just saw your tags on one of your reblogs mentioning peeta killing the d4 boy? i was just wondering if you can cite some theories about this or even canon events (maybe i missed something?) in support of this? thank you!
hi good morning! and ofc
I can't find the post now but someone within the last year or so did do the research within the first book to support this. I held the same theory before that, but I'll be going off things I remember that post referencing as well my own rationale, jsyk.
mostly, it always stuck out to me that a Career tribute died during the bloodbath (thg 157). let's forget the movie's depiction of him; the D4 boy was very likely not a younger, untrained kid. the D4 girl was in the Career pack, I think it's safe to assume the D4 boy would have been as well. but he died on the first day.
this is after Haymitch, like this post points out, advised both Peeta and Katniss to stay way from the bloodbath at the Cornucopia (thg 138-139)... and then both of them didn't, lol
because Katniss sees the bow and arrows there and thinks she can go for it, second-guessing that Haymitch wouldn't have advised her like he did if he knew how fast she was (thg 149). but when she sets herself up to run for it, she notices Peeta shaking his head at her - like, no don't please just listen to Haymitch pleaSE - and misses the gong (thg 150). fumbling, she still gets away with a backpack - and a knife from Clove - from the outer edge of the Cornucopia (thg 151). we don't know where Peeta is through all of this, but the next time we do, he's in the Career pack (thg 160).
at which point, Katniss notes,
His face is swollen with bruises, there's a bloody bandage on one arm, and from the sound of his gait he's limping somewhat. I remember him shaking his head, telling me not to go into the fight for the supplies, when all along, all along he'd planned to throw himself into the thick of things. Just the opposite of what Haymitch had told him to do (thg 161).
...okay at this time in the story Katniss is notorioisly wrong about Peeta. she assigns motives to him that end up being the exact opposite of what's true. so piecing through her judgment here, we can tell Peeta fought, presumably in the bloodbath, and came away from it in the Career pack. we also know he wasn't supposed to do any of that - but he has a crush on Katniss, and plans to die for her, and he saw that she was about to throw herself into the thick of things.
one of the Careers remarks that Peeta is "handy with that knife" - on the first night in the arena (thg 162). so they've already seen him fight, and whoever his opponent was left some considerable damage, and they're down an ally...
so I theorize that, spurred by Katniss' last-minute decision to forgo Haymitch's advice, Peeta followed her into the bloodbath in order to protect her. but whereas Katniss got away, Peeta got caught up in a fight - I presume with the D4 boy. Peeta won, showcasing his knife skills and impressing the other Careers, and then from there was able to talk his way into the pack, with the dual purpose of saving his skin for another day as well as protecting Katniss. after all, she learns during the recap how he "misled the Careers about [her], stayed awake the entire night under the tracker jacker tree, fought Cato to let [her] escape" (thg 363). but I doubt that was his plan from the get-go, he was just working with the circumstances he had. I mean, it would be near impossible for Peeta to leave the alliance alive once he was in it - he's the first one they'd turn on - and so I doubt Haymitch would've approved it prior. to me, it seems like Peeta got stuck in it and used it for all he could.
Peeta goes on to mercy kill the girl from D8 (thg 162). this, I imagine, was harder for him since she was defenseless and not trying to kill him. but I think people conflate this as being his first kill when we don't know that for sure. when watching the recap, Katniss doesn't note Peeta killing the D8 girl - it tracks she wouldn't note him killing the D4 boy, either. not that Katniss doesn't watch/learn this information, but it's just sort of the shock of it all and she wouldn't hold it against him in any way. and we know all too well Katniss doesn't always share what she does know with us.
so that's my long-held theory! let me know if you have other questions about it :)
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