#plot drop: one panem

[aroacecaduceus]

I’m seeing posts talking about how Collins’ one little drop-in about AI is funny and for one: yes, abso-fucking-lutely

But honestly, I do not see it as her pausing the story to say fuck AI. One of the main lessons/ themes of Sunrise is to not trust stories the government feeds you. The Capitol creates this whole new story for Haymitch to hide any inspiring (or even just vaguely rebellious) points. They erase the real Haymitch and show the world a completely different, altered version.

How could she not discuss AI in this story? She couldn’t add AI in, not only would a futuristic version of AI completely erase Plutarch’s from the story, but it wasn’t in the original, or they would have used it on Katniss’s games.

AI couldn’t be in the plot, so she had to throw a line in telling us “this is actually worse for us today than it is in my fictional future” she’s telling us “if the people of Panem can’t trust what they see on their screens then we definitely can’t. Because Panem actually destroyed AI because it was too dangerous”

[phoward89]

Banner by me. Dividers by @saradika

Summary: Coriolanus took his wife out, in more ways than one, while you were safe and sound in his 12th floor Corso penthouse. But when you see a breaking news report, you realize that the man you share a bed with is a snake. A snake that kills with poison. And you decide to confront him about your knowledge of poisons.

Warnings: Coriolanus Snow is his own warning! Possessive!Coriolanus, Obsessive!Coriolanus, DelusionalCoriolanus, Dark!Coriolanus, Soft Dark!Coriolanus?, Head Gamemaker!Coriolanus, Poison, Murder, Blood, Plotting/Scheming Couple, um think that's about it

Story Masterlist

Chapter 5

Coriolanus sipped on his wine, watching his wife look around the dining room impatiently. She was fidgeting in her seat; it was embarrassing.

He was paying good money on a meal that they'd never eat, cause she'd be dead soon and he'd be hacking up blood. The least Livia could do was conduct herself properly in public.

The damn shrew was impossible to train. So impatient. Greedy, spoiled, rich bitch was so used to getting her way that waiting a few extra minutes for their seafood appetizer was too much to handle.

God, he's so happy that he dumped that vial of poison in their wine bottle (that he had the waiter leave on their table) after convincing his vain wife that she needed to powder her nose; that it was too shiny.

Soon, very very soon the poison will kick in and Livia will drop dead.

Not him though.

No, he won't die, but he'll get sick though since he's only partially immune to this strong, but sweet tasting poison that pairs so well with the vintage Merlot.

Truth be told, the side effects of the poison he was drinking tonight would stick with him for more than a few hours.

In fact Coriolanus would be stuck in bed recovering for a good week or so. A recovery that would consist of being weak, spitting up blood, and not being able to keep anything other than liquids down.

“Why is it taking so long for our appetizer?” Livia whined, turning to sit properly in her seat. She was giving him an impatient look.

He's sure the oysters rockefeller will be out any minute now.

Just in time for the fun to begin.

“Well, Livia, they do have to cook it.” He sarcastically reminded his soon to be dead wife.

“Don't be condescending with me, Coriolanus. I'm your wife, not some whore from a black market brothel you can speak down to.” The dirty blonde scolded him in an uppity tone while reaching for her wine.

Yes, drink up.

Right now Coriolanus was ecstatic that his nearly dead wife was a lush. The more wine she drank meant the quicker he's rid of her.

Oooo… a poisoning death has never made him more happy then hers.

He couldn't wait for her to start bleeding from her nose and choking on her own blood that'd clog her lungs.

Putting down his glass, he subtly motioned to the waiter making his way to their table. “The oysters rockefeller’s on its way now, Livia.”

“You know, husband, that most men call their wives a pet name; not use their name every time they speak to them.” Livia snapped as the waiter got closer to the table, tray of oyster appetizers in his hand.

“Yes well most husbands love their wives, yet here we are just barely tolerating each other for money and social standings.” Coriolanus factually states, his eyes following the waiter’s every move.

Livia chugged down her wine as the waiter appeared at the table, placing the appetizer tray down on the white linen tablecloth. “Finally. It took you long enough.” Livia rudely remarked, causing the waiter to quickly apologize and leave.

“Your manners are atrocious, Livia.” Coriolanus pointed out as he served them their appetizer.

Fortunately, in a few minutes, he'll never have to deal with her atrocious manners ever again. He'll be free to be with you; he knows that since you're young he can train you. Make sure that you act properly, know your place by his side and as the First Lady of Panem.

“And you parade around like some gentleman when you both know that you have degenerate desires and urges.”

“Livia…” he hissed in a low warning. Why was she bringing this up here, in a crowded restaurant where anyone could overhear? Did she have any decency, any respect for him?

No.

She doesn't, otherwise she wouldn't be insulting his sexual preferences while they’re at her last super.

Ignoring his hissed warning, Livia scooped a small piece of oyster up with her fork while telling her husband, “People are starting to talk, Coriolanus, in the social circles about us being married for so long and not having any children.”

“And whose fault is that, Livia?” Coriolanus asked, taking a bite of his own seafood appetizer. “You're the one that refuses to share a bed with me. Who's shot me down anytime I attempt to bring up the subject of children.” He reminded her as his nose began to burn, tingle, and twitch with the telltale signs of an upcoming nose bleed.

Yes, any second now his wife’ll be dead and he'll be free of his life sentence. He'll be free to make you his in every sense of the word.

“I've been told that there's a clinic that specializes in reproductive matters. That the doctor at the clinic is able to collect the necessary products from us to make an embryo in a lab; that we could even have it implanted into a female avox as a surrogate so that I wouldn't have to touch you or ruin my body by getting fat.”

Was she serious right now? She expected him to be on board with having a science baby? A baby supposedly made from their collected samples and mixed up in a test tube, in a lab.

In a lab.

Coriolanus remembers his time studying and interning under Dr. Gaul, before that terrible accident she had right before he graduated University and was given her Head Gamemaker job. He remembers the experiments that took place in the labs. How creatures were created out of thin air with a few strands of DNA samples. How easily DNA could be twisted and mutated into a creature so vile, so horrible, so deadly.

No.

He wasn't going to have a mutt for a child. Especially one carried by an avox.

No, he was going to have children the old fashioned way with you. And he'll make sure that you enjoy making them too.

Livia’s eyes went wide and she dropped her fork, causing it to loudly clatter onto the bone china plate. Blood began to trickle down her nostrils as she grabbed her neck, clawing at it in a vain attempt for air.

Oh, show time. The poison’s kicked in.

Coriolanus knew what to expect in the seconds to come, he's been through it before. So, deciding that he wanted the last word, he leaned in close to Livia and simply told her, “Snow lands on top.”

When he sat back, blood began to trickle from his own nose, along with rising from his stomach and filling up his mouth.

By this point, blood poured from Livia’s mouth and she was choking on it.

All the while the dining room of Avelina's was full of screams and terrified cries from the elite capitolites whose meals were now ruined.

Coriolanus watches the life drain out of his wife's eyes as he began coughing up blood.

It was a beautiful sight to behold.

You were in a cozy sweater, curled up on the sofa with a steaming cup of tea in your hand. You sent Tigris home hours ago because, even though she was very nice to you, you couldn't handle how she looked at you.

How she treated you like you're made out of fragile glass.

Even though Coryo was a bit much with his hot-cold behavior, he didn't treat you like you're made out of fragile glass. In fact it felt like the opposite. That he wasn't afraid if he shattered you, if you broke.

Coriolanus wasn't purposely trying to break you, or at least you didn't think he was, but he didn't watch his tongue and tiptoe around you.

He was blunt with you; treated you like a person instead of a victim of the games.

Coryo had no problems treating you like a woman, that's for sure. Your status as a victor that had seen horrors in the arena did nothing to deter him from his dominant nature in bed with you.

You know that you shouldn't seek solace with the head gamemaker, the man that designed the arena along with all the twists and turns of this July’s games, but you couldn't help but feel like he was the only one that treated you like a normal human being.

Coriolanus knew, perhaps better than anyone else, the horrors you've seen in the games and he didn't pity you. In fact, the way he looked at you seemed to be almost prideful.

His icy blue eyes also held a sense of lust and possession in them too, but you swore he saw pride in them.

Maybe you were overthinking everything. The way he felt about you didn't matter: he was married.

Of course he was married, he was 15 years older than you.

As you sipped on your tea, you couldn't help, but worry about how your brother and his girlfriend would treat you when you (eventually) went home. Would they tread lightly with you like Tigris does or would they treat you like they did before you left? Would Rein and Ashlie view you as different, would they pity you?

And then the thought of the neighbor boy, the freshly 15 year old Corbin Everdeen, popped into your head.

Would he stop chasing your heels like a puppy; think that you were horrible for killing 7 people in the Hunger Games, or would he still chase you around? Still pester you to listen to whatever song he was working on for his weekend performances at the hob, once you returned to 12?

You think being the Victor of the First Quarter Quell will make Corbin (who Rein felt was a borderline stalker with how he was always finding ways to be around you) leave you alone since he hated the games. He felt that the games changed people; either made them murderers or drove them mad out of their minds with paranoia. He felt that if you got reaped then you should just let yourself be struck down in the bloodbath in order to preserve your identity; to keep the Capitol from stealing and corrupting your soul.

You didn't do what the neighbor boy musician told you to do.

No.

You did what your older brother told you to do. You fought to survive. You did whatever it took to make it out alive.

You trained in those 2 weeks you were given in the tribute center, you listened to the Academy student that was assigned as your mentor (since District 12 didn't have a living victor to mentor you), and you dazzled the audience in your interview.

The gorgeous dresses that Tigris made for you helped sell you as the Capitol Darling too.

It all came in handy when you received a training score of 8 (your mentor thought that you deserved at least a 10 and she was livid that the gamemakers only gave you an 8) and received a few sponsors from it.

You took your brother's advice to heart and did what you had to do to survive. But now you're here, sitting in the head gamemaker’s penthouse while pondering whether or not you'll ever have people treat you normally ever again.

Some reward for winning, huh?

And to think that they tell you once you win you'll go home; will be able to live your life in peace.

Like fucking hell.

That's not what's happening to you right now.

Nope…

So, since you had no control over anything in your life right now, all you could do was sip on your hot tea and watch some rom-com on Capitol TV.

It was amazing how Coriolanus’ TV had more than 3 channels. It also amazes you how the thing took up most of his wall in the main room too.

As you watched the couple on TV do the classic coworkers fake dating for the winter holidays to make the girl's ex jealous trope, you couldn't help, but miss your cat. She used to curl up in your lap when you watched tv.

Suddenly, right as the couple on TV was fumbling thru their fake meet story, a breaking news report interrupted the movie.

You couldn't help, but sigh as you listened to the reporter at the news desk say, “We here at Capitol News 6 are so sorry to be interrupting your programs, but we have just gotten some horrible and heartbreaking, well, breaking news.” The reporter took a moment to put on a sad face and take a silent pause before announcing, “Socialite Livia Cardew-Snow, wife of Head Gamemaker Coriolanus Snow, died of sudden food poisoning merely an hour ago in the Capitol restaurant Avelina’s. Our beloved head gamemaker himself is currently being treated at Capitol General and is expected to make a full recovery.”

What?

Your wheels are turning. You knew that botulism took 48 hours to kill and salmonella had different levels of severity, but wouldn't just cause somebody to drop dead in the middle of a restaurant.

There was only one reason for Livia's sudden death and Coriolanus' sudden near death experience that he'd recover from.

He poisoned his wife and himself, but with not as high of a dose that he gave his wife, and made it look like food poisoning because they were at a restaurant.

What the hell?! How could he be so reckless? What if he accidentally gave himself a fatal dose, then where would that leave you?

That damn snake…

“Let’s go live to our favorite weather and reporter for all things game related, Lucretius ‘Lucky’ Flickerman, who’s with our beloved Head Gamemaker Coriolanus Snow in his hospital room.” The news desk reporter said before the screen cut to live footage of Lucky Flickerman standing next to Coriolanus, who was sitting up in a hospital bed.

You took one look at Coriolanus and knew what kind of poison he used. He used a toxic metal based poison made from either cadmium, selenium, or arsenic.

It's the only kind of poison that would've killed Livia Cardew-Snow so quickly; would leave Coryo coughing up blood and looking so pale and weak in his hospital bed.

You knew about the dangers of metals such as cadmium, selenium, and arsenic leaching into water and turning it into poison from your brother's career as a coal miner. It's the reason why he won't use the water at the mines; why he brings his own in a large glass jug with him to work.

Rein told you that when new shafts are carved into the coal mines or when new mines were blown into the side of the mountains that the leftover rubble gets dumped to the side where it leeches and runs off into water, creating poison for anyone who drinks it.

You've seen the effects of the poisoned mine water too when you started your short lived internship at the apothecary right before you got reaped.

It wasn't pretty.

But the few men that survived, mostly young men that were still in their teens or early 20s, spat up blood, had mouth sores, ulcers, and could barely eat for weeks while they recovered and fought the poison.

They had the same weak, pale, sunk in look that Coriolanus had right now as he laid in his hospital bed telling some bullshit story to the media about the food poisoning that killed Livia and nearly killed him.

Oh, you swear, you're giving him a piece of your mind when he shows up at the penthouse.

And you knew he'd show up since he killed his wife to be able to have you in his bed.

God, you're now sharing a bed with a snake.

“You should be asleep, darling.” Coriolanus chastised you, walking into the main room of the penthouse in the wee hours of the morning.

He looked like shit. Had blood dripping from the side of his mouth.

God, you were so pissed at him. Before you could think better of it, you chucked your teacup at his head, but it just went over his shoulder and shattered against the wall. “You want to off your wife with poison, fine, but don't drink the damn shit yourself, Coriolanus!” You angrily screamed.

“I don't know what you're talking about, Y/N. I got food poisoning from bad seafood; unfortunately it killed my wife.” Coriolanus smoothly lied, his face an unwavering mask.

“I interned at the apothecary in District 12 before I got reaped, Coriolanus. I've seen the signs of cadmium, selenium, and arsenic poisoning since the water from the mines is tainted from it.” You bluntly told the platinum blonde while standing to your feet. Walking up to him, you said, “You have the signs. You're coughing up blood, you're pale and your face looks sunk in.” His icy blue eyes narrowed at you. “Bet you got a sore in your mouth, if not then it'll pop up soon.” Pointing to his stomach, you warned, “Watch yourself, metal based poisons are notorious for causing bleeding ulcers.”

Coryo's jaw twitched as he looked down at you. “I see you're well educated for a girl from District 12. Let me ask you, how do you feel about what I did tonight?” A dark smirk twisted on his bloodstained lips as he asked, “Are you going to be a loose end for me, my darling rose?”

“Honestly, I'm not upset that you killed your wife. What I'm upset about is that you drank that poison too. You drank it without even worrying about what would happen to me if something went wrong and you dropped dead too.”

“Darling,” Coriolanus reached out with his hand, attempting to pull you into him and comfort you, but you pushed him away.

He weakly stumbled, but balanced himself by grabbing a nearby the back of a nearby sitting chair.

“Did you even stop and think about what happens to me if you died or are incapacitated? Huh?!” You asked, on the verge of angry tears. You didn't even give him the chance to answer you. No, you just barreled on with, “Would I get sent back to 12 even though Victor's Village hasn't been built yet or would I be passed onto your successor, whoever would take your place as head gamemaker?"

“Nobody will ever get their hands on you, my darling rose.” Coryo swore as he weakly collapsed in the sitting chair. “I’ll kill anyone that tries to take you from me.” He darkly vowed while coughing up blood.

“You're going to be laid up in bed for a week, maybe 2.” You told him, watching as he took his handkerchief from his breast pocket; coughing into it. The blood spurts from his coughing stained the white cloth red, as if little rain drops had drizzled on it.

You felt bad for him, watching him struggling to breath as his chest rattled with every bloody cough he let out.

You went over to his chair and knelt by his side. You knew he wouldn't stop poisoning people. Not with the outburst that he just had. But you knew that you couldn't let him keep using dangerous metal based poisons either.

Whether you wanted to admit it or not, your red string of fate was tied to the head gamemaker. You needed him for your survival.

Taking one of his hands in yours, you revealed, “Coryo, I have an apothecary book back in my room in District 12. It has recipes for herbal remedies, medicines, poisons, and antidotes in it.”

God, you were going straight to hell for what you were going to say next.

“If you can somehow get me that book I’ll help you make poisons that won't hurt you. That you can take an antidote ahead of time for; that won't make you sick.”

Coriolanus let out a rumbling cough, soaking his handkerchief, only to look at you with a mix of astonishment and admiration in his baby blues. “You'd do that for me? Make me poisons to use on my enemies?”

You remembered what he told you in the hospital, that the Capitol was a dangerous place. Was a chess game of life; that he'd teach you how to play and master it in time.

Well, no time like the present.

“You're enemies are my enemies too, aren't they? Maybe moreso since I'm district.”

Coryo's calloused thumb ran over yours knuckles and he gave you a crimson stained smile. “You're not district, my darling rose. You're a victor, like me.”

If only you knew how damning those words truly were. Would you have tried to get away or would you have still let the white snake wrap himself around you.

But you were a snake as well, weren't you? For only a snake could truly feel safe with another snake.

Where you always a snake or did you just choose to become one because you were drawn to the dark beauty of a beautiful devil?

Tags: @kuroosbby001, @purriteen, @poppyflower-22, @meetmeatyourworst, @whipwhoops, @bxtchopolis, @readingthingsonhere,@savagenctzen, @ryswritingrecord, @erikasurfer, @tulips2715, @universal-s1ut, @thesmutconnoisseur, @squidscottjeans, @sudek4l, @wearemadeofstardust0, @mashiromochi , @gracieroxzy, @belcalis9503, @shari-berri, @aoi-targaryen, @whiteoakoak @spear-bearing-bi-witch , @gisellesprettylies @loverandqueenofdragons, @qoopeeya, @mfnqueen1

[evermarch]

🕯️🔪❄️ 🐚

🕯️: on a scale of 1 to 10, how much do you enjoy editing? why is that?

8! i LOVE editing! it feels like i'm solving a puzzle. there's no greater joy than figuring out a scene or transition or even a sentence that i've been struggling with for a while. and when i do big edits, seeing the palpable improvement in my work makes me feel like i've really accomplished something. but two points off because it can be frustrating as hell sometimes when i can't figure out the solution or have to cut a part i really like because it just doesn't fit.

🔪: what's the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?

most people talk about the gory and disturbing stuff, like what happens to a decomposing body or what kinds of poison are most discreet, but for me it's the amount of academic research articles i've spent reading (to the best of my capacity) on the active ingredients in modern allopathic and alternative treatments for mental illness and their natural origins. since there are some muttation-esque plants living in the wild in panem (see: nightlock), it leaves me wondering what other herb and flower variants exist in-universe that have specific medicinal (or harmful) effects?

❄️: what's your dream theme/plot for a fic, and who would write it best?

okay so i've had this thought for a while, but i'd love to see a fic about if prim went into the games somehow and gale had been reaped with her. maybe katniss was ridiculously and contagiously sick or something and couldn't attend the reaping and couldn't volunteer, idk. especially with all the context we have from sotr about the rebellion, i think it'd be really interesting to see how that could play out. we know gale didn't play ball with the capitol when they were interviewing him about katniss because it didn't really do anything for anyone except the capitol. but i think he would if a) prim's life was at stake and/or b) haymitch recognized gale's motivations and anger and told him it was necessary for the rebellion.

like, imagine an interview with caesar where gale's words mirror peeta's about how he doesn't have a girlfriend but there is this one girl, but winning wouldn't really help with that, because her sister came here with me?? and all this time katniss is recovering and watching it all go down and if and when gale (and maybe also prim, idk.) win she's forced to play the lover back home for the cameras so his actions don't appear rebellious? and peeta is there too, maybe after dropping off a loaf of bread for her family after the reaping, which makes katniss sooo conflicted???

idk how it would play out because i'm not gonna be the one to write it, but i want to read it so bad!!! so many people could write it exceptionally well (cough, @mollywog, cough, @waywardangel-wilds), but i'd love to read anyone's version who took a stab at it in any form. i know it's a VERY big undertaking though so i'm just happy it exists in my imagination!

🐚: do you like or dislike surprises?

i. love. surprises. LOVE THEM. nothing makes me happier. what i DON'T like is when someone tells me they have a surprise for me and then make me wait for it long enough for my brain to try and guess what it is. it's like reading a book and the author tells you "there's a twist coming" and then you spend the whole time thinking about what the twist might be instead of enjoying the ride!

[slutforsnow]

His Sunflower

Chapter 3 :3

Cw/TW// Drugs, stalking (for good reason), alcohol, manipulation, taking advantage of, plotting, implied murder, talk of death

"Let me take a bat to his head," Coriolanus stated, sitting at the table of the Plinth residence. Sunni had been charmed by Festus to come study at his place with Arachne and Clemensia, but that didn't relax either of the boys. It was Festus, he could try something without knowing.

"We can't commit murder yet, Coryo," Sej replied, shaking his head no as he threw his satchel on the table.

"You can't, I can and will," the bleach blonde corrected, unbuttoned his blazer and draped it back on the chair he sat on.

"No," Sejanus replied, leaning against the counter.

"Ugh, fine, what do you suppose we do?" He questioned, crossing his arms.

Sejanus pondered his question for a moment before a grin slowly started to appear on his face. "You took photography in middle school, right?"

"Yeah?" Coryo responded, a little puzzled as to where Sejanus was going with this.

"Still got the camera?"

"Grandma'am has it packed somewhere in the apartment, but yeah," He confirmed with a slow nod, beginning to realize what Sejanus was wanting him to do.

"Get it out, and we can pretend we're taking pictures of the scenery around Sunni and Festusnto drive a wedge between them. Sunni may be a little dense, and I say that with love, but if anything, she's loyal to family. So if Festus vents to her about me, she'll drop him faster than you can say supercalifragisticespiallidocious!" Sejanus was red in the face when he said the last word, having started rapid speaking—something he picked up as a kid when he was super excited about an idea he had.

"Never say that word again," He grumbled, glaring into Sejanus' eyes with his icy stare.

"Sorry-"

As the boys were plotting, Sunni was in awe of the Creed mansion. It was bigger than the Plinth one and covered head to toe in marble architecture. She was looking around it, in total shock. It was better than she could've imagined, especially after hearing about how so many families lost wealth after the First Rebellion in History.

"Jeez, Festus, your estate is amazing," She breathed out, looking up at him as he continued to have his arm wrapped around her shoulders as if he was claiming her as his girl. But Sunni thought it was just a nice gesture, a way of comfort as if to say, "It's okay, you'll love it here."

"Ah, this is nothing. You should see Clemensia's and Arachne's—they have the best estates in all of the Academy. Their homes are where we, the Seniors of Panem Academy, have the best parties. All kinds of beers, wines, and even a little bit of drugs to try. Only if you're ballsy enough to try them at least," Festus mused, taking joy in seeing Sunni's eyes light up with excitement.

"That sounds awesome!! Not the underage drugs or drinking, but the parties themselves," She clarified as he led the girls to the library to "study".

"Oh, Sunni, you've never drank?" Arachne inquired, looking at the youngest senior. Sunni shook her head no, a serious look in her eyes. But with how much of an innocent face and look in her eyes she had, no one in the group took her seriously.

"Oh no, never! My auntie always says never to kill your body with that stuff. A little sip here and there for political parties, but never drink it all willy-nilly," Sunni explained, looking at Arachne as everyone sat down at one of the tables. Festus stayed beside her, his arm still around Sunni.

"And does your aunt tell you the same about drugs like cocaine and ecstasy?" Clemensia asked as everyone pulled out their work.

"No, my ma does cause drugs are what took out my pa," Sunni answered.

The group looked at Sunni in shock. They hadn't expected that to fall from her lips but quickly collected themselves.

Then, an idea hit Festus. If Sunni didn't have her dad, she didn't have anyone to really warn her about men who'd taken advantage of her innocence and naivety.

He started to think of how he'd be able to get her to trust him over Sejanus. After all, he had to drive a wedge between the two somehow, and substances were just the answer.

Tags: @etfrin @hearts4court @snows-wife @delusionalbunni @kiraflowersworld @victory-scream0462 @curled-hair-red-lips @morallygrayboys @phoward89 @xoxo-eyeballs @thereeallink @graciouslyc @acidaciruela @wanda-maximoff-enthusiast @firstworldproblemthings @nowitsmissing

[katnissdoesnotfollowback]

What's your opinion of President Snow as a character in THG trilogy? Was he a great villain?

* Spoiler for TBOSAS *

After reading the novel, what's your opinion about Coriolanus Snow 'transformation' in the end?

Was it his nature or the way he was nurtured that led him to become the character we know?

Thank you :)

@curiousnonny

Snow was a Bond villain and I will die on this hill. He's awful, don't get me wrong, and I certainly would never want to meet someone like him, but there are so many more efficient ways for him to get what he wants, for him to keep control of Panem. He fixates so much on Katniss Everdeen that he loses sight of almost every other threat. I mean... why send Peeta back hijacked to kill one person when he could send Peeta to 13 carrying some kind of lethal disease that would wipe out a large portion of 13's population without harming the weapons or infrastructure? He takes on his fight with Katniss and Peeta with single minded determination and basically forgets that his real enemy isn't just this one girl and her pesky tag along baker boy. These are two kids from District 12 who, while they certainly have a large impact, are by no means the largest or most important piece of the rebellion game. At times it feels like they are because we're in Katniss's head and only see her perspective, but the rebellion and the overthrow of the Capitol happens mostly not in front of Katniss.

That said, Snow tells us in Ballad that he has a tendency to be obsessive and fixate on one thing, and if I remember correctly, Collins even drops the foreshadowing line of "it would be his undoing if he didn't learn to control it" or something to that effect in case we missed the point the first time around when he tells Katniss that he was so busy watching her that he didn't see Coin coming. So that's exactly what happened he didn't control his tendency to obsess when it came to Katniss and Peeta.

And I don't think that makes him a "great" villain. I think it makes him the villain that makes sense for this story. And the one with the right kind of flaws for the plot of the original trilogy to make sense and work well.

One of the things that's actually really good about Collins returning to Panem to tell us Snow's story with Ballad is that Snow finally makes sense in the original trilogy, rather than being a caricature villain. He spends the entirety of Ballads obsessed with Sejanus and Lucy Gray, even though he doesn't want to be. He can't figure them out, and while he manages to "beat" them both by literally getting the one killed and possibly killing the other, his actions still stem from his inability to understand them or control them, and therefore his obsession with them. And then 65 years later he does the same thing, only he can't understand and therefore can't control these two kids either and thankfully just keeps (ultimately) failing with his Drama King tactics like dropping a bunch of roses from a bomber in order to play with Katniss's head rather than do something that would, you know... actually be an effective war tactic. And he does it all in the name of trying to get them to kill each other the way he killed Sejanus and Lucy Gray.

As for the nature versus nurture question, I think it's a little bit of both? We are of course, always influenced by the people around us. But the whole thing about Snow being 17 and right on the cusp of adulthood in Ballads is that yes, how you were nurtured impacts your decisions, and he was certainly raised and taught to become what he did, but Snow in Ballads was also literally surrounded by a thousand chances to do the right thing or to become a better person. I don't think he was nurtured in a way that would've made him heroic in our eyes. Not at all. But he didn't have to be so awful. And a lot of it also has to do with the REASONS he does what he does. He only helps Lucy Gray because it helps himself. He only befriends Sejanus because it benefits himself (momentarily). He only listens to Dr. Gaul because it benefits himself, and he ignores Dean Highbottom because those thoughts make him uncomfortable and angry.

There were any number of people showing Snow or telling him how to be kind, humane, thoughtful, and he ignored them all or dismissed them as weak, stupid, inconsequential (how do you like that call back to Peeta's words huh?). Tigris, Lucy Gray, Sejanus, the guy from the bar whose name escapes me but who was always kind to Coryo and his family. And yet Snow actively kept choosing to be a violent, murderous, entitled dickbag.

Thanks for the ask, @curiousnonny!!!

[ongreenergrasses]

for the fanfic author asks: 3, 27, 38?

3. What was the last thing you looked up for a fic?

it was actually in response to a comment on Tabula Rasa, someone dropped an opus number when clarifying which Mendelssohn piece I was referring to and since the violinists I know always just called it “the Mendelssohn” I had to look up the opus number to confirm. (I did say in my response to this comment that I would like to be this person’s friend, lol, it was really cool of them)

27. What is a question that you never get asked about your fics that you really want to answer?

one question that I knew would never come but wanted to answer with all my heart about the behemoth was why I included psychiatric coercion as a plot point…one of the themes of that fic is regaining autonomy, including radical bodily autonomy, so it was important for me to include that. It was also important to me that as part of Annie’s arc, she’s returning to things that we see she prefers rather than things she’s been forced into, and based on the way her episodes are handled in canon it seems like she prefers to ride them out as they come. (sure, district people don’t have access to psychiatric medication, but a victor who has the status of Annie? they’d be shoving it down her forcibly if they could. if she preferred it, they’d happily give it to her.)

but mostly I included it because I think it’s a little ludicrous and naive to imagine that Annie was just let go and left alone to care for her baby with the perception that the powers that be have of her. it’s a nice thought and it’s one I support and love to read, but for my writing and interpretation, since there’s such a long history of violence towards and undermining of mentally ill people with institutionalization, conservatorships, forced medication, forced abortion or sterilization, now in the US that a) I didn’t think that was going to disappear in the context of Panem and b) Thirteen is largely going to fill the power gap for the interim. we see how they treat people who are different. their method for mental health treatment is therapy and medication, and if Annie does not want to participate in that, they will see her as volatile and unstable and force it on her. I saw no way around that situation and honestly because it is the reality of so many mentally ill and disabled people, it’s a story I’d much rather tell, just to lift up the experiences of my community.

28. Do you prefer canon compliant fics or AUs?

for odesta fic, it’s almost exclusively AUs. this is because there are so many common fanon interpretations within canon compliant fics that fall on the spectrum of me disagreeing to outright loathing them that I just tend to avoid anything canon compliant, all it tends to do is upset me so it’s not worth it. but for thg fics that are not odesta, usually I prefer canon compliant fics that delve into worldbuilding and the author’s take on small details to further flesh things out.

edit: just realized you asked 38, not 28. smh

38. Fic idea you're most excited to get to?

I have a couple things cooking that I’m excited about although I’m not super over the moon about any of them, I actually have a couple prompt fills that spark a lot of joy and might be up soon. otherwise I’m working on developing some ideas for thg sapphics week so that’s fun, I might do a Johanna/Enobaria thing

fanfic author asks

[xtabithanala]

Another OC drop <3

Today I'm dropping one of my most dearest OCs: Szimba Luani from District 3, winner of the 59th Hunger Games ♡

Faceclaim: Alexandra Breckenridge

Szimba and her younger sister Hayden grew up im the poorest part of District 3. Their parents had left by the time Szimba was of eligible reaping age and hadn't been seen since. Therefore and to support themselves, Szimba and Hayden stuck to stealing. When Szimba was 16 years old, she was reaped for the 59th Hunger Games. Her District partner was 12-year-old Tyrone Bell, the mayor's son. The citizens of District 3 were rooting for Tyrone, not only because of his age and because he was the mayor's son but also due to her dislike of Szimba who could be caught talking to herself on several occasions.

Szimba received a score of 5 after showing her skills of building traps and camouflage. She wad mentored by Beetee Latier who'd won the games a little over 20 years before her, being District 3's most 'recent' victor.

Originally Szimba and Tyrone had planned to form an alliance that ended right before the games started as Tyrone dropped his token, which caused his platform to go off. Szima, now all on her own, stuck to hiding, camouflaging and living off a minimum of supplies that eventually left her weak and disoriented. By the point the games were almost done (the 59th Hunger Games were among the shortest recent games in history with just a little over 4 days), Szima and the District 2 female Petra were the only ones left. Hallucinating, Szimba killed her final opponent which made her the eventual winner.

The Capitol citizens weren't fond of her due to the lack of entertainment yet liked the final fight between her and the District 2 girl. Like other victors before her, Szima was approached by the president who wanted to sell her to Capitol people. When she refused and eventually returned home, she found her sister Hayden to be gone, knowing that the president must've killed her.

This proved wrong however when the name for the District 3 female for the 60th Hunger Games turned out to be Hayden Luani, Szimba's now 14-year-old sister.

For the first and only time, District 3 had a volunteer: Szimba's best friend from the black market, Aviani.

Forced to mentor her best friend, Szimba eventually had to watch Aviani dying at the cornucopia.

In the years that followed, Szimba began descending into madness. Her best friend was gone and her sister hidden away in an orphanage. The tributes she and Beetee mentored usually never made it far.

When Katniss and Peeta won the 74th Hunger Games, Szimba knew that the president would take revenge. Yet the rule for the Quarter Quell came as a surprise. Despite it wasn't her name being reaped, Szimba could never fully let go off the guilt for not volunteering in Wiress' place.

Szimba was among the many victors to know of the rebel plot. She didn't believe in its sucess as she thought the president was too powerful to be defeated by a bunch of victors. After Katniss blew up the arena, Szimba was among those escaping to District 13 where she reunited with Beetee. She and Beetee worked together in District 13's technology section to send propos all across Panem.

After the war, both Beetee and Szimba returned to District 3, where Szimba finally reunited with her sister Hayden. The two of them - now both in their 30s - hadn't seen since the reaping of the 60th Hunger Games but finally got to catch up on everything they'd missed <3

[a-skirmish-of-wit-and-lit]

Book Review: Catching Fire (The Hunger Games #2) by Suzanne Collins

Who would've thought that a handful of berries and a girl from District 12 could spark unrest throughout Panem? Forever my favorite of the series, Catching Fire dials the intensity, the stakes, up to an eleven and has readers seated front and center as the flames of rebellion begin to lick through the districts. Part of what is so engrossing about this novel is the hopeless desperation of all the characters, the bloody struggle that ensues to parse friend from foe, enemy from ally, and the chess match taking place behind the scenes that turns Katniss and Peeta into political pawns. It's unputdownable from the first mention of the Victor's Tour all the way through to the Quarter Quell.

Unsurprisingly, emotion and intrigue catch me in all the same spots no matter how many times I reread: when Katniss learns she'll be reaped into the Games for a second time, when Gale is whipped in the square, when Finnick appears all charm and flirtation with his sugar cubes, when the victors all link hands onstage, when Peeta crashes into the force field, almost losing his life, when Mags sacrifices herself to the fog, when Katniss and Peeta share a moment on the beach, full of pearls and soft lips and borrowed time, and, of course, when the pain of their separation, with her being rescued by the rebels, and him being captured by the Capitol, comes down with the force of a hammer. I want to cry at the injustice of it all every time!

There's a part of me that always stops to savor certain moments in the plot, clinging to the few shreds of warmth and light that peek through like one would a blanket, knowing that, before long, they're bound to be ripped away. They're bound to be gone in a moment. I love that there's this constant pervasive sense of me holding my breath, waiting for the next shoe to drop, while I'm also chasing that flicker of something in the distance. Still believing, like Peeta, that there's something worth fighting for, and like Katniss, still knowing there's someone worth sacrificing everything for.

Let's just say my soul is in this book's clutches. Forever.

5/5 stars

**Follow me on Goodreads

[maytheoddshq]

Interactions for the 136th Hunger Games may now BEGIN!

The three months since President Snow's announcement at the Victor's Ball have been chaotic. On the home front, many District citizens have found themselves with less and less access to fruits, vegetables, and other exports from District Eleven. In the Capitol, the food restrictions have hit the privileged citizens hard, but the messaging from the government remains positive. Vitamins and supplements have been pumped into the hands of Capitolites, but reports of disease from the Districts due to lack of important vitamins from the products of Eleven have grown concerning.

However, the Vox recruitment arm has been strong, and many from Districts across Panem have joined the fight against the Peacekeepers. Snow's announcement of the Reaping twist has caused pause for many would-be Vox recruits, but the numbers have grown steadily regardless of the fear of being Reaped.

Just before the 136th Games, the Vox plant a spy with information about an upcoming battle to surge from Eleven into District Twelve. More Peacekeepers than ever are deployed to Eleven, and the Vox take advantage of this to surge further into District Two. They hit main armories and call up the dissatisfied quarry workers who they've been targeting for months with rebel propaganda. While they have not yet taken full control of District Two by Reaping day, the Capitol has lost access to at least two key armories with stockpiles of weaponry, and the fighting continues actively in the District, getting far too close to the Capitol for comfort.

As a show of strength, the Games will go on as usual. As the team members and tributes arrive, they are all searched and patted down before entering the Tower. Once everyone necessary to the function of the Games has arrived, the president delivers a televised address broadcast to the entire city: the Capitol is on lockdown.

People are strongly discouraged from leaving the Tower. Supplies that would normally be abundant are either being withheld by the Vox or have been redirected to the war efforts. There are rumors of Capitolites rioting in the outskirts of the city.

The training center is just as equipped as ever, but the buffets on each floor are totally lacking. Instead there is one central buffet in the tributes' cafeteria, and it leaves much to be desired in terms of food. Grains, cheeses, meats, and fish abound.

OOC INFORMATION:

The tribute parade will continue as normal and with the typical level of flair and style. RPing for the tribute parade will begin on May 18th.

The training period will be the typical three days, with the training center just as stocked as ever. RPing for training will begin on May 25th.

Tributes will all do a private training presentation. These will not be submitted by players for scores from admins, but you are welcome to post your tribute's presentation and score yourself. More information about this will be posted during the training period. If you plan on posting a training presentation, please do so by June 15th.

The interviews will also be held as normal, but with a smaller audience than usual and more security screening for audience members. You are welcome to write a para for your tribute's interview. Please post this by June 22nd.

The 136th Hunger Games will launch on July 6th. The launch will be swiftly followed by a plot drop.

[eventiderpg]

District Twelve is nothing but smoke and ash due to the devastation that The Capitol caused. Just like the fallen District, District Eight has also been dealing with cruel bombings and The Capitol's militia. A district that once had over 122 thousand people, has lost over twenty-five thousand people in over twenty some days of war. Those numbers are a combination of confirmed deaths as well as people being missing in action. Had the rebel forces not been strong and united in the underground scene of District Eight, their fate might have been just as fatal as the one seen in District Twelve.

President Alma Coin of District Thirteen has begun to send troops to aid those in Eight in an act of showing unity within the rebellion. This is the first combined efforts of a District acknowledged by Panem working with physical forces of Thirteen outside of providing hovercrafts. President Snow of The Capitol has been working tirelessly to consistently air footage of District Eight, ensuring that the citizens of that District seem like bloodthirsty heathens who thrive on anarchy. Information of all the monstrosities his military forces have done against the District has conveniently been withheld from Panem's public.

This mission has many objectives: provide aid to District Eight, show Panem what its government is willing to do those who don't blindly support the nation, and to utilize the symbol of The Mockingjay to show how Katniss Everdeen stands with The People. Before leaving the safety of District Thirteen, the volunteers are ominously given a speech by a nameless officer.

"Being told of war and witnessing the carnage are vastly different beasts. With the training you've received, each one of you has garnered your clearance. This means the Rebellion sees you as someone capable of being on the battlefield. District Eight has lost a considerable amount of its people. Some of you will likely not be joining us when we fly back to Thirteen. Be sure to make your life worth it, whether it ends in Eight or continues in spite of the brutality you will witness."

While this plot drop will not actively involve everyone, it will take place over the 26th through 35th days of the rebellion. All our muns are welcome to play through the thirty-fifth day at this point. The end of this mission will play out similarly to canon in Mockingjay. The beginning and middle of it that we do not see in Mockingjay will play out however our muns see fit. If you would like your muse(s) to have seen or done something significant during the mission, please let the admins know. We plan to compile a list and post it for easy access for our roleplayers. This plot drop begins now and will run until at least September 25th.

During this plot drop, propos from The Capitol and the rebels will be airing. If there is cross interference, our roleplayers will be notified. This means if a rebel propo plays in The Capitol or a Capitol propo plays in Thirteen, a detailed post will be made as such. Additionally, we still plan on posting captive and freely roaming individuals' Caesar Flickerman interviews during this time. Also, the possibility of airing rebellion propos to Panem's public will begin. For those interested, please reach out to the admins!

Threads that pertain to anything in regards to the District Eight mission should be tagged with both #eventideevent04 and #eventidemd08. Under the read more includes information regarding the roles muses directly involved with the event will play. Some roles are individualistic, while others are paired. As always, happy roleplaying! To everyone, thank you for continuing to be a part of our roleplay.

Roles:

Commander Paylor (NPC)

Command: Paylor and other higher ups will be in constant contact with District Thirteen as well as relaying and giving orders to the troops in District Eight. As a commanding officer, Paylor also has the ability and responsibility to pick up slack in any roles below her position.

Beetee Latier

Hacker: Beetee will be working alongside a special unit on the ground that will be working in stalling communication to The Capitol, air propos to D8 and its neighbors, as well as attempt to hack into the technology utilized by The Capitol's forces. The hackers will warn the soldiers of any approaching danger.

Cadence Kentwell

Snipers: On the rooftops of a high building, the snipers will act as lookout and alert the soldiers if Peacekeepers arrive or if any other suspicious activity occurs. Aim will be vital in this role.

Cressida Astor

Filming: The District Eight mission is about offering aid to the District under attack. An underlying importance stems from the filming of propos as well. These propos will be edited and played across the nation of Panem. The filming crew will be following different facets of the mission daily.

Ezra Klair, Gale Hawthorne, & Sterling Whitvale

Scouts: Sent out ahead of the main group, scouts will go and gather intel of the enemy’s environment, position, and numbers. They return to the group and share what they have learned. The brunt of this role will be at the beginning of the mission as well as several early mornings.

Ezra Klair & Sterling Whitvale

Soldiers: Using the information gained by the scouts, they will tread forth afterwards and take down any Capitol troops that stand between them and the citizens of D8.

Gale Hawthorne & eventually Katniss Everdeen

Assists: These are soldiers whose main objective will be to take citizens and navigate them to pro-rebel safe havens in District eight. Additionally, eyes will be steadily on them once the Mockingjay arrives.

Haymitch Abernathy & Vesper Quinn

Communication: Working from District Thirteen, communication will work as a step between Command and the higher-ups of District Thirteen to relay information. When the Mockingjay goes to District Eight, Haymitch in particular will also be focusing on that objective while Vesper continues working hard with the remaining troops.

[cannotflyarc]

panem au.

this is meant to be read as a bulleted list ( yes i know i cannot shut up ), but dumblr wouldn't allow me to make this a list. if you're familiar with the themes of the h.unger g.ames, you'll likely realize this is a very dark au. out of all of my verses, this one is probably my darkest one. themes include child murder, revolution, abuse, prostitution, miscarriage ( in the final paragraph ) and rape. i want this verse to be accessible to everyone so i try to be as vague as possible, but keep in mind these themes are scattered across this post. i do warn for some paragraphs, but i am not perfect and didn't catch everything. i will not give any warnings for murder as that is a central theme in canon. keep in mind, this is a more detailed description of the second way this verse can go. details for both are the same until i mention it differs. this verse is heavily affiliated with @playboths as i developed most of this au with jasmine. keep in mind, i'm always down to plot other things for this verse, just most of the time i will be referencing events in our muses' lives. read at your own discretion.

— j.ohanna barker: the pearl of district four.

johanna is a descendent of the covey that settled in district four. lucy's parents went along with everything peacefully and even started to morph more into panem society, though they raised their daughter in covey traditions and values. that included naming their daughter lucy coral, after the color.

lucy later married benjamin, the victor of the 48th games. their match was an interesting one, but they were young and wanted to be married as soon as possible. lucy gave birth to their daughter, johanna canary a year after their wedding.

turpin was from the capital on special assignment in four. he met lucy and attempted to woo her, failing at every attempt. after she escaped after an attempt to assault her, turpin bribed his friend to make lucy one of the female tributes for the upcoming games: the 50th games. the quarter quell. being the wife of a victor didn't protect her from the reaping.

no one volunteered in her place. at hearing that a member of the covey was in the games again, snow personally came to lucy and warned her to drop the second part of her name and make no mention of her ancestry. the capital adored lucy since her mentor talked her to extort the fact she had a daughter at home to gain sponsorships.

overall, lucy was one of the most favored tributes of the games. however, that couldn't save her from the knife in the throat from the male tribute from one.

benjamin was outraged. he knew the games were rigged and made an open threat on turpin's life. turpin did not take well to this. he sent him to prison on a flimsy charge. he was not made into an avox due to the fact that he would be recognized as a former victor. turpin wanted him locked away. he faked benjamin's suicide.

without a parent, turpin took johanna in. this is where the verse branches into two different directions:

one. turpin takes johanna back to the capital and he is one of the gamemakers. ( there's not much more to it )

two. ( more commonly used ) turpin stays in four under special assignment and johanna is raised in district four.

in the instance johanna in raised in four, she is given a very similar upbringing to her canon. she is privately tutored. she is raised to be very lonely. however, turpin is more brutal and abusive in this verse.

( warnings for rape and abuse ) details will be scarce here, but what he attempted to do to lucy earlier, he succeeds to do multiple times to johanna. panem isn't religious, thus most of the reason why he "held himself back" in canon mixed with the fact he was unsuccessful with lucy is gone. he doesn't care that he hurt a child. because of this, she is even more reclusive than in canon.

however, when johanna is sixteen, she meets a.nthony h.ope, a fisherman. turpin always implied finding her a good, capital match since he wouldn't want his ward to marry district. but that match didn't matter in that moment. anthony delivers goods to the house and johanna uses it as an opportunity to sneak him into his room or talk with him. they fall in love.

but despite her newfound bliss, turpin approaches her one night with filmed evidence of her and anthony. he reminds his ward that he is a very powerful man before leaving. the reaping was the next day.

johanna knew she was never in danger, but it felt worse to hear anthony's name. he rigged it and she knew it the moment his name was read. everyone in the crowd could hear her cry, yet no one volunteered. it was as if they'd been warned not to.

anthony did not survive his games. johanna became a shell of her former self. turpin had made her watch every moment.

two years later when anthony's sister name was read, she didn't hesitate to volunteer as tribute.

she barely heard turpin yelling at her during their minutes together. he did so much to prevent this from happening. how could she? what was wrong with her? ( honestly, johanna wasn't certain if she wanted to live anymore. )

when art donaldson, the son of the mayor and winner of the 65th games informed her that he was anthony's mentor, she clung to him. as they began to get to know each other better, she slowly felt herself falling for him. it terrified her to have a reason to keep living.

johanna proved herself have a good aim, though she also trained herself in the blade. she formed an alliance with her district partner, angler. however, it was her interview that gave her an advance. she charmed the capital, securing her sponsors. that night after punching patrick walters as he claimed art was a prostitute for the capital, donation and donation came through.

the next day, she clung onto art's hand for as long as possible before she was brought to the arena. she didn't expect herself to survive. she thought she would be dead by night. during the bloodbath, she was able to grab a poison dart gun and a water canteen. she and angler took turns guarding themselves. the first gift arrived that night: a loaf of bread she split with angler.

during her games, johanna relied on luck she never had before. she was fast and a good hider. with angler at her side, she didn't have much to worry about. but the career tributes found them one night. angler was killed in his sleep. johanna, ever the light sleeper, woke up and ran off before they could catch her. however, they'd cut half of her braid off. she was completely alone now. hiding in the trees as the other tributes killed each other off. she was able to get a knife out of a corpse which brought her belongings to a small pack, a canteen, a poison dart gun she'd yet to use and a knife.

eventually, she was confronted by the male tribute from district six. he crushed her gun and she only had time to grab a small dart before he backed her into a tree. he pressed his blade against her throat. as she accepted her demise, her hands seemed to work in spite of her numbness and stabbed the boy in the back with the poison. she watched as he slowly perished before taking his belongings and her own and darting into the trees.

she stayed hidden for the rest of the games. not even the cameras could find her. it was a small arena, yet hardly anyone knew that johanna was crying to herself over the loss of her hair in the trees. she was forced out of her tree when another tribute attempted to cut it down for firewood. the fall left her unable to move, but the tribute had pity on her and left without a word. she had helped her earlier in the games to get food. she would die anyway. once johanna was able to force herself into moving, she found another hiding spot. during the final bloodbath, the final two tributes killed each other. everyone held their breath as the second place tribute let out her final breath.

johanna was the victor.

she wasn't able to climb the ladder. they had to swoop in and begin surgery. before they knocked her out, she whispered art's name. the next few days were swirls of confusion. she did not like her nudeness under the hospital sheets nor the band preventing her from sitting up. finally, she was able to leave.

after dressing, she began to look for art. when johanna saw him down the hall, she didn't hesitate before running to him. when he kissed her, she kissed back. she hadn't realized there were cameras on them nor the fact that they weren't together. art was many members of the capitol's favorite pets. she had a guardian waiting at home who would not be happy. her interview wasn't brief on that kiss. the capital was abuzz with speculation.

( warnings for rape ) returning home to confront an incredibly unhappy turpin, he dragged her to her new home in victor's village. johanna hated to lock doors, but she would keep the door to the office forever shut. she didn't want to be reminded of what he did to her in there. after he left, she tried to stop herself from feeling anything. when that didn't work, she went to art's house.

the months between the games and her victory tour were spent mainly with art. nights at his house. days teaching each other things. despite neither of them mentioning what the capital thought they were or the kiss, they were as affectionate as ever. eventually, they confess their feelings for each other and begin what they hope to be a secret relationship.

on her victory tour months later, johanna and art were outed as a couple. still a couple. the news crushed the hearts of some of the capital, but the rest rejoiced over the love story brought together by the games. they attempted to dodge questions as much as they could. it didn't work.

they were secretly married shortly afterwards.

johanna and art mentored the next few year's tributes from district four. she sobbed for days when her tribute was killed.

eventually, turpin returned to the capital but it wasn't long until he missed her. he had snow arrange for her to be brought to the capital, just as what happened with art. at the news, johanna panicked and she and art made arrangements to flee to thirteen.

he would go to make sure it was safe, then come back for her. it was a safe plan. they were supposed to be safe.

( warnings for torture ) when patrick discovered art had gone missing, he reported it to snow. as revenge, johanna was ripped from their home and brought to the capital to be tortured.

( warnings for rape ) she nearly avoided seeing turpin again. she wasn't as lucky as she was in the arena.

( warning for torture ) they rebroke her back. they drew new scars all over her body. she knew who was behind it. she knew they were filming her to send a message to art.

eventually, art was able to break in to save her. he had a small team with him. one member known as the surname, "todd" couldn't be found during her rescue. when they got to the ship, he came back covered in blood and refused to elaborate. johanna barely noticed him between trying to clutch onto art and the med team attempting to help her.

she woke up in the med wing in district thirteen. there was no band holding her back. johanna tore off her ivs and needles and ran to find art. during her recovery, she would often sneak out to sleep in an actual bed with her husband. she did eventually recover, though her progress was slowed down by her rebellious nature.

johanna learned who the todd figure was from art. her father. utterly betrayed by his decision to assassinate turpin instead of rescue his daughter, she refused to speak to him.

while in district thirteen, lucy gray helped johanna discover that she is a descendant of covey. the two bonded over this, becoming good friends.

she later finds out her full name is johanna canary. she begins to go by both.

during the rebellion, she assisted with the injured and the homeless. while art was helping with the attacks on the capital, johanna could only hope he would make it back alive.

she is one of the other nurses, along with prim, that were rushing to help citizens in the capitol. todd knew about the bomb and he snuck into a vehicle, not hers. he wasn't able to warn her. he pushed her out of the way so she wasn't harmed. when she was able to sit up, she watched her father die, unable to do anything to save him.

people called todd a hero for saving his daughter's life. they talked about how much he must have loved his daughter for sacrificing his life for her.

johanna had a different interpretation. clearly, he knew about the bombing. he did it to lead himself to his own death. he didn't have any point in living anymore. he hadn't sacrificed himself. he was selfish.

( he had learned lucy wasn't dead after all. the capital mistook her for being dead and the capital doesn't make mistakes. upon realizing she was barely alive, they worked to save her life. lucy was used to assist the gamekeepers, as a prostitute under a different name and experimented on. even as she slowly went insane. she perished, but if todd had only went in to rescue johanna, he would have been able to save his beloved wife, as well. he couldn't live knowing he was the reason his wife died. )

johanna is kept in some sort of medical wing/hospital. her burns slowly heal and she trims her burnt hair herself.

art leans he had a daughter from one of his capitol "clients." they eagerly take lily in and johanna considers her to be her own daughter.

they move back to district four where mrs. everdeen set up a hospital. johanna continues her work as a nurse there.

a few years later, she finds out she's pregnant. they found out it was a boy before she miscarried.

a few years later, canary violet is born and named after covey tradition. mavis indigo joins their family a little while later, too.

[latinorry]

thoughts on the new hunger games movie // spoilers ahead because I don’t have a letterboxd account and I can’t be bothered to make one rn but I have opinions

-pacing was really weird and the title cards announcing each act took me out of the story each time

-I don’t hate Rachel Zegler so this isn’t a personal insult to her but her acting is soooo theatre kid and I didn’t care for the southern (?) accent especially cause literally no one else had one sjskdnsls

-that being said girl can sing!

-maybe I should just read the book but I kinda wanna know more about the whole war between the districts and the capitol and how that resulted in the Hunger Games… like it’s eluded to throughout the movie that the games are a punishment for the district uprising, but when Casca Highbottom dropped that line about drunkenly coming up with the idea with president snow’s dad during the VERY LAST FIVE MINUTES LIKE??? How is that not more relevant to the plot and what am I supposed to do with this information now

-I would also have liked to see more scenes between Snow and Highbottom in general like they’re interesting because in a way they’re the same person… Highbottom is the original mind behind the Hunger Games and Snow elevated the Games to what they later became in the trilogy and yet they have such different responses to that legacy… Highbottom becomes a drug addict to cope with the guilt while Snow embraces the power and as we know ascends to the rank of President… and yet they’re both willingly complicit in the system which is an interesting comment on the corruptive nature of power +1 points for Suzanne Collins’ brain

-Was Peter Dinklage even in the same room as the other actors though ? because why was he alone in all of his scenes it just felt so glaringly obvious that he did all of his takes in remote sound studio in one day lmao

-the performance by that tribute who like tore down the flag of Panem and put them over the bodies of the deceased tributes… SO powerful it literally gave me goosebumps I think that was probably my favorite scene

-Lucky Flickerman wasn’t camp enough which is crazy considering he was played by Jason Schwartzman but maybe we can just blame the directing or lack thereof … but i can also see them not wanting to just recreate Caesar flickerman’s character cause how do you even follow a performance by Stanley Tucci anyway idk

-the acting overall was soooo ??? Meh even the top billed actors like Peter Dinklage and Viola Davis were not giving what they usually give so I’ve got to wonder what was going on with Francis Lawrence this time around like is he just not capable of directing anyone other than Jennifer Lawrence?

-Tom Blyth ate though that’s one thing about the British actors you can count on them to deliver like their work visa is about to expire at any given moment

-the actor who played Sejanus Plinth also gave a really good performance I’ll give him his flowers he earned them 💐

-not enough Hunter Schafer idc if she’s only snow’s cousin make it work

-this is kinda out of order but they never really revealed why Snow’s dad was killed other than being in the resistance but I feel like that’s such an integral part of what motivates Snow’s devotion to the Capitol and it seems so glossed over cause why was the rest of his family allowed to live idk again maybe I should just stfu and read the book

-overall I think the movie was alright but it didn’t necessarily live up to the hype for me so 4 snakes out of 10

[lestisticpsycho]

decided to copy paste *with some commentary * my wip list from my notes app, cause maybe I'll actually do something with it all if it's public... anyways

WIP List, plus apprx dates when i 1st thot of them(cause i like to torture myself for not getting them done after so long) *that is the name of the note lol*

DC(CW(SG)):

The Quest - Medieval/fantasy(?) Au, vaguely inspired by shrek cause someone i follow on tumblr *no idea who, it’s been way too long to remember that* made a post about there not being any shrek AUs and as much as i never cared for shrek i couldn't get the idea out of head so I decided to make it after all 2021-2

Librarianverse - The Librarian/s x Warehouse 13verse mash up AU (needs 9 parts minimum for what I was planning to work(will probably be longer) 2021-2 *been my fav since i thought it up, and ties with the rewrites and avatar as the most intimidating projects*

CW rewrite/DC mash up - what it says on the tin 2020

Bloodlines/P.I - SFs are P.Is/Kryptonians are the heroes in legends&myths/watered down powers AU 2020 *i'm not very attached so i might drop it*

Avatar:

The Son of the Swamp - what if aang died in the iceburg/the next water avatar was from the swamp tribe, swampbender takes on the fire nation, iroh ends up joining his side, and they take out ozai and daddy dearest, ending the war, iroh's son (who didn’t die, and takes after his father) becomes fire lord 9/2024

The Legend of the Metal Bender - sequel to tSotS, Toph is the next earth avatar, the gaang (minus aang so im going to have to change their name) has to deal with the aftermath of the war 9/2024

Republic City - sorta companion piece to tLotMB/transition piece for the final part, focus' on our beloved krew and their adventures in republic city 9/2024

Unnamed - final part of avatar quartet, it’s about korrasami's (adopted)son, a firebender, and the next avatar, will take inspiration from new series 9/2024

Arcane:

The Good Timeline AU - the timeline Ekko went to except Vi didn't die, everyone's friends, and everything's good, and nothing bad ever happens ever, it's just slice of life drama and shenanigans, also everyone’s happy yay! 2-3/2025 *the need to write this will probably be satisfied if i were to read someone else's version*

THG:

Prejudu - modern Panem Pride and Prejudice AU 2020 *thg and p&p are linked together in my head so firmly i can't ever think of just one of them anymore, but that's why i decided to write the AU, not because of it*

Unnamed modern AU - slice of life/coming of age drama type thing 2020

What if "Madge survived 12's bombing?" AU - what it says on the tin 11/2024 *i love my girl she deserved so much better*

RWBY:

RWBY rewrite/fix it - i want to combine chibi, manga/comics, IQ, and books into reworked main cannon so things flow smoother and time feels more consistent, add more content to beacon, etc (i might even do the DC xover(with my DC rewrite series)) 3/2025

Stranger Things:

Hell Fire - ST but it's in the DCU and the (extended)party has powers 2/2023 *i had a decent amount of the plot figured out, but either thought i wrote it down and didn't, or didn't properly save the file cause i can't find it anywhere*

Things are Strange - STxLiS crossover, only vibes are known, characters will be same/similar ages, don’t know if it will be 80s or 10s 2023-4

LiS:

Reincarnation is Strange - Reincarnation AU, a series of various AUs that always end with main cast dying and then reincarnating into the next 8/2023

RWBY is Strange - LiS crew in rwbyverse, i had a cool dream about it and now i want to write it 4/2025 *just thought it up today and it might be my new fav*

Mistborn AU - i want to do a mistborn AU for something (no idea what) 2022

Doctor Who AU - what ^ says, but DW 2022/3

RotPL:

S2-3(4?) - Susan redemption/pink lady arc, summer stock girl returns except he's summer stock boy now, lynthia cast as romantic leads in play, faccivinos (maybe st.faccivinos? but leaning towards SusanxSSB), Aspec!Nancy, too many vague ideas not enough substance to make it work yet 6/2023

Renegade Nell:

bunch of oneshots, maybe a xover (do Austin books take place around the same time?(i feel like lizzy bennett would get along with Nell)) 2024-5

Pirate AU - vibes 2/2025

Mega Xovers:

Queer Campy Vampire Detective Mash-up - feat. Characters from; Carmilla(webseries), Sherlock Holmes(books, and/or maybe that one Japanese drama), Buffy, Dracula(nbc), Veronica Mars, Scooby-Doo, Wynonna Earp, Jennifer's Body, and whatever else I feel like adding on a whim 2020

Original Works:

Domestic Affairs - Queer/Poly sitcom inspired by the very short lived tho(ugh)t exercise, done by ex friend group about if we (read they(i was merely an after thought(and ended up as the pet cat))) were characters in a soap opera, that took place after i went to bed 2019 *i put them in my sims it's so funny*

The Angle Blood Program - after a freak accident mc gains powers and is recruited into a secret government organization of Super-Powered individuals... but all is not as it seems 2016-7

Plushton - it's the story line my siblings and I played with our stuffed animals growing up, i feel like it would be fun to write, also they're all human here 2019 *the options were make them human, or keep them humanoid animals(like zootopia) but i didn't want to make a furry series out of my childhood so human it is lol*

Eden - Main storyline would have several parts that follow a group of students at an adventurers academy. Multiple side storylines would follow characters who aren't students. Super powers, war, politcal intrigue, and social commentary are the main flavours of this series. A collection of myths and legends of the world would accompany the main series. Started out cause I wanted to make a team for a RWBY RP, but then became it's own thing, though there's still some noticibly RWBY elements in the plot/structure 2017

Unnamed - tradgi(rom?)com about two friends and/or lovers who make a suicide pact, but only mc goes through with it. inspired by "walk through hell" by Anson Seabra 2024

Billy the Bon-bon - a bon-bon (Billy) comes to life and goes on crazy adventures, would work best as a cartoon or comic/webtoon but i can't draw for shit (thought it up with a couple friends while at the local skating rink, and then made a pilot ep for a comic project in art class the following yr) 2015

Legends series - it's a mess and i haven’t tried to do anything with it for over a decade; but i have such a soft spot for my revenge book so I'll probably never actually drop it despite the fact that i don't even want revenge anymore, and instead of being a full series it'll probably just be a duology(if anything) 2013

Bite of Love/Love Sucks (originally called Love Bites, but someone beat me to it and now I'm not sure what to call it) - campy romcom about a girl and her vampire lover, I had it all figured out when i first thought it up but I didn't write it down so I can't remember anything specific 2016

D&D:

Trilogy of campaigns taking place in the fictional world of Eingum; 2021

Unnamed; a kingdom struggling to defend itself against bandits/theives guilds, a criminal organization spreading it's reach across multiple countries, a cult trying to summon a daemon to bring about a new era, an undercover PI investigating both of the former, an empire in the process of conquering the continent, a centuries long war between a fallen angel a daemon and an angel proper, a regtag group of adventurers who have found themselves with the chance save or doom the world as they know it

Estrea: The Lost Isle; a prince determined to protect his world from dark magic, his estranged brother building himself an empire off the back of a merchant guild, the lost princess stolen off by a sourcerer of the dark one, a knight of the church of light who has set off to rescue the princess, a local hero of the federation fighting to keep his countrymen safe and free, and nature itself. six factions on the brink of war. will the ragtag adventurers (on the run after the events of part one) stop the war or ally with one or more of the factions

Unnamed; the world is in chaos after the return of Estrea, in the time the adventurers were on Estrea, the empire from part one has fully conquered the western continent, though rebels and insurgents abound and the adventurers are still wanted, Estrea is in shambles and the people don't know how to interact with the rest of the world and most factions are after the adventurers, only the Eastern continent seems able to manage itself and not want the adventurers dead, but somethings brewing in the shadows, plus the gods have taken notice of the chaos and decide it might finally be time to intervene

Unnamed campaign taking place in our world, except magic, myths, and monsters do exist, but only if you know how to find them (like PotC/PJ) partially inspired by the Carmilla Webseries 2019

Unnamed campaign taking place in our world after a group of adventurers from the forgotten realms get pulled in through a portal, courtesy of a group of goth girls... but the party aren't the only ones to cross the boundery lines - Co written with sister 2023-4

[onepanemhq]

“Dear People of Panem...

It has been a glorious six months since the fall of Snow, upon which we took back Panem for ourselves. For the first time in our history, the borders that separated our districts were rendered useless and our esteemed victors were freed from the horrors forced upon them even after emerging alive. We have entered an era of peace.

As acting president, it is my responsibility to ensure that this peace continues. One-hundred and thirteen years of persecution and tyranny is not easily forgotten and most certainly not satisfied by mere acts of retribution. My solution for this is why I have called for your attention this evening.

The Hunger Games will continue and will do so as a bi-annual event held every six months, with the Victor’s Balls held three months after each Games. To even out the odds, the tributes once Reaped from Twelve will instead be replaced by tributes Reaped from among those eligible in the Capitol. The addition of Capitol tributes will seek to slowly fulfill the call for vengeance so many of us still desire. To further protect those in the districts, the reaping age has expanded to include those between the ages of twelve and twenty-one. Eligible victors will not be excluded from the bowl, allowing them to volunteer in the place of those less adept than themselves. The reaping for the 114th Games will occur in all district squares, as well as here in the Capitol’s center, tomorrow morning. Tesserae will be available all day and all citizens will be allowed the chance to double the amount of tesserae they take out to make up for financial and nutritional struggles they may have faced in the past six months. Volunteers to help distribute tesserae goods to families throughout the districts are humbly asked to step forward, as well.

I stress that these amendments are ones that are temporary, existing solely until the time comes when the scars from our previous regime have been given time to properly heal. We, One Panem, will continue to stand together in solidarity. 

[loganlermanstanaccount]

Just to kiss me (Part 3)

pairing: Finnick Odair x reader

(AO3 mirror)

Part One, Part Two, My Hunger Games Masterlist

summary: A night at the lake goes sour. Finnick does some reflecting

warnings: drowning, implied drug use, references to depression, some hurt/comfort (although there will be more in the next part)

required reading: The song "We'll never have sex" by Leith Ross &lt;3

a/n: plot??? in my fic??? who woulda thought

wc: 3.4k

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oh, you kissed me just to kiss me

Not to take me home

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It’s cold. Sharp, shallow breaths, and his head pounds in his skull. The weight of a thousand depths on his chest. Something pressing behind his eyes; his head filled with lead. 

Finnick opens his eyes, and he’s met with the bright lights of the mens bathroom. Cold ceramic against his palms as he looks into the basin’s mirror; its ornate frame spanning the width of the double sinks. Beyond its walls, the dull thrum of the gala. Behind him, a man steps out of a stall, donned in shiny grease and draped fabric. Finnick flashes a well practised smile, and steps out.

He walks through the corridors, transforming. Shoulders back, upright, leisurely pace. Walk in like he's Finnick Odair; capitol darling. A deep breath, and he steps through gilded double doors. 

The Great Hall is packed, unsurprisingly. They all blur together, a writhing mass of limbs and wine. Hushed whispers and elbows and raised eyebrows: it washes over him like water. 

Easygoing and free flowing, he drifts between embankments of people. He tugs on the sleeve of his jacket absent-mindedly. Pulling at the threads was an art, at this point. Between sips of champagne, a gentle hand on the back, a well-placed compliment; he pulls and pulls, until they're almost threadbare. An art; skills honed in those four walls, the victory tour, press conferences, a life of cameras and glamour. Watching, always watching. And so he puts on a show. 

Some of his best work yet, he thinks. In the middle of a conversation about a raucous night with Panem's finest; he spots something. Someone. A girl in the corner, eyes flitting around the room like it's her first time. There's always one, shaky, doesn't know how to pretend like the rest of them; she hasn't built that reflex yet. His mouth moves faster than he can think; ichor flows like it's second nature. The group around him; enraptured. He likes this part, at least. Weaving stories, watching the fish in the river rush past his ankles. 

BANG! A spear into the heart of a writhing salmon, and he slams his glass on a side table. "....it was like a rocket! Cora's on the floor, Alaris can barely stand and I'm still trying to figure out which way's up…" laughter erupts from the crowd around him. The girl barely glances at him. He watches as she tucks herself behind the desserts tray, wholly more interested in the cakes than him. She's pretty, of course, but they always are. A newcomer floundering like he once did, overwhelmed by the sharp teeth and pink tongues. He's still tugging at the thread of his jacket. 

In the afterglow of conversation someone taps his shoulder, presses their lips towards his ear. Discreet. He doesn't look, Finnick knows better. Instead, he waits for instructions. 

"Venia Laurel, on your left, towards the door. He knows something." A familiar voice; of which her name he makes a point not to know. Quietly, he hums in affirmation. 

"How long do I have?" 

"He needs it done tonight."

He flashes a smile at a waiter, grabbing a flute of gold liquid. Under his breath, he says. "I need more time." It was a quicker turnaround than usual; and Finnick needed the time. Whilst stupid, many wouldn't divulge sensitive information that easily; he'd like to avoiding waking up in a bed other than his own. 

"Tonight." Firm. An unspoken threat in the air. He sighs and downs his drink. The mask drops when he begins to move away. And then, sharp nails latch onto his forearm. 

"He knows." She says lowly, voice trembling. Finnick stops like she's stabbed him. He turns, and her eyes are wide, bloodshot, scared. 

He knows. 

He rushes out of her grip, shaking. Thudding at his temples, the lights are too bright, the people too loud. Chest tight, he pulls at his sleeves and almost stumbles into an oncoming tray of hor d'oeuvres. 

In his haze, his manager, bumbling and rosy, slaps a hand on his back. Well-meaning, but it makes him jump. 

"Odair!" He splutters, lips curling so his moustache touches the apples of his cheeks. Any other time, it would've been comical. "We've got a certain Councillor Arachne, who wants a word."

Finnick rubs his eyes, tired. "Now's not the time, Stannis."

The man opposite huffs. "Not the time? She's bankrolling us -I mean - you with her campaign. All she wants is a word. Probably pimping you out to her friends, or something."

He winces at Stannis' bluntness. "Sure… sure. Lead the way."

Every step feels like lead. He's not listening when introduced to Councillor Arachne and another girl about his age. Arachne; a tall, spindly woman, dressed in a simple gown and pearls; stretches her face into a thin-lipped smile. Well-practised, too polished. 

"Mr Odair, how lovely to meet you again!" 

"The pleasure's all mine," He says, shaking her hand. It feels clammy, he's sure of it; the room's hot and thick with sweat. The girl besides her buzzes despite his nerves. "And this is…?"

“V-Vonnie. Sir. Mr Odair… s-sir. My name's Vonnie Dulaire, and I am so excited to meet you…!" She's bright, babbling on and on. Her lips are bubblegum pink, moving at a thousand miles an hour and he's barely able to concentrate - unable to stop thinking about the words spoken to him earlier.

".....and I'm probably your biggest fan! I was actually at the victory tour for your mentee, and it was electric...."

He knows.

".....is your suit custom? I hear there's a stylist you always work with that designs similar looks, like in your last interview…"

He knows.  

"....I can't imagine Ceasar actually said that to you, live! I've got a friend, who swears she 'doesn't watch that kinda crap' but even she said it was quite a scandal…"

He knows. 

"....I got it specially made and I think it matches yours, too. What do you think?"

He snaps his head upwards at the question. He gives her a smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes, but enough to dazzle. "Couldn't have said it better myself. I-If you'll excuse me." He nods, walking off towards the door. 

Finnick can't breathe.

Clawing at the collar of his shirt, gold jewellery like a noose around his neck, he stumbles onto the balcony - grateful for the cool air. He was careful, he made sure of it. Made sure there were no eyes, cashed in long-standing favours. How could Snow have found out? 

Dizzy, he steadies himself on the balcony. There wasn't the time for a panic attack, not now. He blinks away hot tears, gasping for a breath. Something clatters on the floor behind him. In the gloom, he makes out the silhouette of a stranger. Of you. 

~~~

You're frozen at first - paralysed with fear on the deck. Finnick isn't moving. A man basically born with gills, sinking into the inky blue. Why wasn't he moving? Did he fall? Where did the blood come from?

A thousand questions, not enough time. You don't think, not really, as you reach for the zipper on your gown. Haphazard, you wrench it off - not caring for the tears and rips created in your wake. Before long, you're in the slip dress underneath miles of beaded net. Barefoot, trembling, you don't hesitate. You take a step back, and jump. 

The first thing you feel is cold; consuming, numbing cold. Calm, for a moment. And then biting realisation. When you surface, you look for a sign of life - anything that can tell you where Finnick is. There are slight bubbles, a few metres away. Deep breaths, and you dive into the blue-black. 

~~~

He can't stop thinking about you.

Finnick sits in white sheets, looking up at the ceiling. Exhausted, but he can't sleep. Gentle snoring from beside him punctuates every thought. In the capitol he's constantly surrounded by beautiful things: gaudy, gauche, sickly-sweet and beautiful. Your meeting on the balcony shouldn't have been anything special, and yet… 

Even in your fancy dress, your personality shone through: kind, funny, genuine. He can't help but replay your laugh, your smile, in his head. Gently, he rolls out of bed. 

It's early in the morning, dregs of sunrise scatter through the window. He's draped in amber light as he pulls on a shirt; padding on plush carpet. In the mirror hanging up in Venia Laurel's bedroom, he looks a sight, he thinks. Sallow, glitter smeared around his eyes, and lean lined. There's a nasty bruise on his neck; bite marks at his stomach. He pokes at them demurely. It's tender, but he'll live. 

Methodical, he makes his search. He starts in the bedroom, pulling at cabinets and looking for false bottom drawers, anywhere that could conceal what he's looking for. Laurel's apartment is surprisingly messy - unexpected for such a clean cut actor. Finnick dabbles in secrets, and the older man certainly divulged; he knew of the actor's connections with ex-gamemakers, but nothing concrete to suggest he leaked plans to interested parties. 

When he searches the grand living room, he stumbles onto something out of place. A panel in the floor, it's lip jutting out of the wood. He presses on it, and it pops out with a hollow clunk. Inside, a chip the size of his thumbnail. Finnick pockets it, hoping it may be what Snow is looking for; hoping to appease the tyrant. It burns a hole in his trousers as he covers his tracks, before calling a pod to take him home. 

He can't sleep, for the usual reasons. Guilt, nightmares, fear; take your pick. It's too nebulous and vague to put a name to; he realises quickly. A ticking clock careening towards the end for as long as he could remember. Tick-tick-tick in his head, a countdown of which he dreads to hear it stop. White noise now, the scratch and itch of it all bone deep. He tried to do a good thing, for once; he tried to help Annie. But Snow knows - and now his punishment will be slow and painful. 

In the weeks that follow, waiting for a knife in the back, he analyses every word. On the balcony, the way your lips curled into laughter, how soft your hand was. It was a fantasy, somehow, one he had to convince himself actually happened. A conversation, lilting and light, that he locks up in his heart for safe-keeping. 

It keeps him distracted at events. Instead of worrying about Snow, he fans his breath, adjusts his collar, and stops picking at his sleeves; preening like a songbird. When he asks for the sleeveless sheer shirt instead of his usual, his stylist humours him and lets him choose, just this once. In the middle of a conversation, when he hears bright laughter, he turns around, looking for you. Waiting on balconies, pacing corridors. He's gone insane, he knows. But he needs something to hold on to. Someone that makes him feel like a good person - like he isn't Finnick Odair. 

~~~

You're not the strongest swimmer. Ironic, considering the circumstances. Moonlight streams into the depths as you look for a hint of gold. The water stings your eyes but in the gloom, you see him. Eerily still and rapidly sinking. You pump your legs desperately; darting towards him as best you can. Lungs screaming for air, you swim further down, reaching out for something to grab onto. The tips of your fingers graze his own. He looks peaceful despite it all: eyes closed and hand outstretched like he always does. Except this time you reach for him, a frantic grab in the dark. 

You touch something. His wrist. Curling your hand around his forearm, you pull, and grab onto one arm and then the other. You're dizzy now, hand hooked onto Finnick, kicking with all the strength you can manage. Upwards you go, closer and closer to the surface as black spots dance across your vision. A little further. A little closer….

~~~

The day of Hadrian's soiree, he pretends he's not looking for you. Pretending proves to be marginally easier than to act like he isn't disappointed when he doesn't find you. Instead, there are droves of people in masks. The hair on the back of his neck bristles: they make him uneasy. He finds it harder without a face to a name, beady eyes through masks that follow him around the room.

His own mask was gaudy; triple faced and golden. Its strap itches his nose, and his eyes are caked in glitter. At his stylist's the night before, she gave him talking points for the reporters - a face looking towards Panem's past, present and future. A handsome young Victor, making waves within the Capitol, championing it's people. Pseudo-patriotic drivel to feed the vultures, he thinks. 

Dregs of conversation drip through the night. It's always the same things - empty gossip and the like. Today's topic is no more poignant: the mentors announced for the 72nd Games. A few familiar faces, and faux shock at those not on the list. Everyone dances around the topic when he lingers, and disperses into whispers when he doesn't. Talking of bets placed and withdrawn at the news, he assumes. 

The truth is, he was tired. It was only right he took Mags' place when he won, but he was so young. Odair, bright-eyed and sprightly. A wonderboy, and Capitol favourite from the start. In the mirror of silvered bowls of food, he sees that little boy with bloodied palms and sunken eyes.

He blinks, hard. The image washes away. Seeing things in the light? A side effect from the little white pills he takes before bed, he's been told. He staggers slightly from the table. Annie tugs at his sleeve from behind. 

"You ok?" she whispers, concerned. 

Finnick brushes her off, chuckling. ".... I should be asking you that. It's not too much?" 

She shakes her head. It's the first time since her victory tour she's been at one of these events, and he's worried that it's too much, too fast. Perceptive as always, he watches for a tug of her red hair, or the blank look she gives when overwhelmed. Annie was getting better, lucid for the first time in a while. She smiled, she laughed, she shone. 

That's why he couldn't tell her what he did, what he had to do, to let her see her parents. To let her live. Another time, perhaps. 

She clears her throat, mischievously. "Looking for your mystery girl?“

“T-That's not-" 

"-what you were doing, I know, I know. That's also what you said the last five times." She bounces on the balls of her feet, restless. "I know you like the back of my hand, Finnick. It's not like you to mope in the corner - something's up."

Annie's unrelenting: she doesn't let the man worm out of her gaze. Despite his discomfort, it's nice to see her like this; the little spitfire in Class 9, kind and sweet and determined to help. A change of pace, he presents his forearm to the younger woman. 

He smiles, "We should dance." 

~~~

You break the surface with Finnick in tow. He's completely still in your arms. Desperate and tired, you try to remember the swimming lessons from your youth; on your back, resting him on your legs with an arm hooked around him. Kick with everything you've got, keep his head above water. It's messy and ugly, as you pump your legs towards the shore; searching for the moment the depths below give way to sodden banks. 

You hit silt, suddenly. Your toes touch the lake bed and you desperately try to drag him onto shore.  Without the spray of the water, you can see him properly: sallow and grey. Like a corpse. His stillness is terrifying and you try not to think about what it means, or how long it's been since he's taken a breath. On autopilot now, you lay him on the banks, pressing shaky fingers to his pulse. Nothing. Rushing, you tilt his head upwards like you've been taught. With trembling lips pressed against his, you pinch his nose and breath out. You press your hands against his chest and push down, hard. Quick compressions, and you count from thirty. 

Nothing. And so you try again. Warm lips around his cold ones, deep breaths out, and quick compressions. Again. Desperate, harder, determined. 

When Finnick splutters to life, you think you could cry from exhaustion. His eyes are wild, as he coughs and thrashes; a hand tight around yours. 

"It's okay…. y-you're okay…" You soothe, holding back sobs. It seems to calm him as he lies down, brow furrowed and taking deep shaky breaths. Up this close, his pupils are dilated, and he seems disoriented, dazed. There's a sticky cut at his brow, but his eyes are locked onto you. Green and striking in the low light. Alive. 

For a while, you stay like that; watching his chest rise and fall as you hold hands by the lake. He's closed his eyes, but still breathes steadily. You barely register anything but him, until a chill blows past. Cold. Wet. Tired. The adrenaline of the moment dies down. You have to coax his hand out of yours to grab the things you dropped before… before all this. Every few seconds you glance over your shoulder to make sure he's still there, to make sure he's alive. 

He settles his head onto your shoulder, and you cradle his hands with your own; listening for the cruel staccato of his breath. He's groggy, asleep maybe. You've wrapped yourselves up in the blankets, too tired to move. You should, really: the remnants of your dress strewn onto the jetty, shiny from where you are by the trees. Cottonmouth and lead-limbed, you wait for him to become lucid. 

Something's wrong. You've felt like this before holding Vonnie's hand on the bathroom floor after a night out with the wrong crowd. Calm, and then a moment of mania before a rough comedown. You can't help but to search for needle marks on Finnick's arms, his neck, anywhere. He's pliant, unusually so, but you don't find anything. 

Your heart sinks, when you realise. The pills in his car. Morphling? He could've slipped or fallen in. He could've… jumped. And if he's been drinking….? It wouldn't matter how strong a swimmer he was usually. You dread to think of what could have happened if you were even a minute later. Tears fall even faster. You hold onto his hand a little tighter. 

When Finnick comes to, properly, you've fallen asleep. He opens his eyes to you by his side: hair down your shoulders, glitter-peppered skin, pearls in your locs, and in a white flowing dress. Well and truly, he thinks he's died. Somewhere faraway he doesn't deserve, waking up besides you. His head hurts. 

You startle, awake from your shallow slumber. Eyes red-raw, you've been crying. He wipes at your cheek and smiles weakly. 

"Let me take you home." 

Defiant, you shake your head. "No. N-no. You need to see a doctor. I can call a pod and-" 

"-no. We can't. No doctors. I'll take you home."

"Finnick, you almost died. You need help, medical attention…"

"I can't. Please."

He must look so pathetic like this, he thinks. You soften under his gaze. "N-no doctors, then. But I'm not leaving you alone like this."

"I'll be okay. I've got a first aid kit at home - don't need you worrying about me."

You stand up. "I'll come with you, then. Help patch you up." 

Exasperated, he moves to argue but doesn't have the energy. And so, he nods faintly. Despite his injuries, he towers over you, to wrap you up in the blanket, criss-crossing at your chest. It feels intimate, too close, warm breath in the cool air. With the way you look up at him, he hears his heart splinter. He pauses. 

"I'm sor-" 

"No." You say.

Finnick frowns. "I'm s-" 

"No." Your lower lip trembles, threatening to spill over. So he sighs, softly, and makes towards the deck to get your dress. Hand tight around his arm, you stop him. He's not going anywhere near the lake, not if you can help it. Hands up like he's guilty, he waits and leads you towards the car.

_

_

_

[katnissdoesnotfollowback]

Spoiler for The Hunger Games : Mockingjay.

When you first read or watch Mockingjay, did you know or predict that Primrose was gonna die?

Who do you think were responsible for her death? Why?

If Katniss couldn’t protect Primrose until the end, was it all useless?

Disclaimer : these questions are for textual analysis, it's not meant to incite fandom war, please DNI if you don't like this topic.

Thank you.

@curiousnonny

I'll confess, I didn't predict it at all. After reading three chapters of the first book, each one ending with a kind of plot twist, I fucking gave up trying to predict where Suzanne and Katniss were taking me and just went along for the ride. Then, I didn't even realize Prim was gone until several pages after the fact and I had to flip back to reread. Part of that is also because by that point, I'd been awake for almost 24 hours, binge reading the books and desperate to just know how it was all going to end. But I've reread the books enough to have caught on to all the subtle ways Collins wrote the books to lead us to that point where the narrative only makes sense if Prim dies at the end, which leads me to your next question...

Who is responsible for Prim's death? Suzanne Collins. She wrote it.

That's actually not a joke. It's the clearest answer I can give you. Here are my thoughts. There's enough blame to go around in spades within the world of Panem. The sequence of events that leads to Prim being in the City Circle at that moment is so convoluted that it is literally impossible to point the finger at one person and say THIS is the one to blame. You could blame Coin for allowing a 13 year old medic in training on the front lines. You could blame her mother for not finding a way to keep Prim off the front lines. You could blame Gale and Beetee for designing the bombs. You could blame the hovercraft pilot for dropping them. How about the person who put fuel in the hovercraft. The person who loaded the bombs. Prim herself for running into a warzone. Katniss and the other victors for helping to spark the rebellion into a wide scale movement. The districts for even rebelling. Snow for being a vicious dictator who oppressed the districts to the point that open warfare was basically their only option... When someone dies in a war like the one in The Hunger Games, it is nearly impossible to lay the blame at any one person's door. It's thousands of small and huge decisions that lead to pervasive death and suffering felt on a societal level, but also on a very individual level. And that's... kind of the point of the books. Nobody is actually "safe" or innocent in the end. So if you're going to start a war, better be sure the reason is worth it.

As for whether or not it was all "useless," I would say absolutely not. The ending of the book makes it clear that Katniss grieves for everyone they lost, including and perhaps most especially Prim. But as they build their memory book of all the people they've lost, Katniss tells us that she and Peeta make promises to "make their deaths count." Prim's death and the war only become "useless" if the people of Panem continue to perpetuate the same kinds of horrors against each other after it's over.

@curiousnonny