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I have a Coral fic I’ve tried posting at least four times and it just will not show up in the tags, other posts will show up but not the fic for some reason.

Tumblr why do you hate lesbians???!!!?!

(Edit: even this post shows up in the tags!!!!!)

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Hi! I LOVED the Tigris Snow fic!!! I see so much love for Coryo and Lucy Gray (not to say I don’t like to see it), but not enough for Tigris! Hope you have a great day/night!💜💜

!!!!! Thank you so much🩵 Happy to provide Tigris content☺️ hope you’re having a great day/night too🩵🩵

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First of all, I adore your tigris fic, it's so good!

Second of all, I need you to write another one and another and another, because this is the only Tigris fic I saw and I'm starving!!

Ahhh thank you so so much I’m so glad you liked it!!🩵🩵 More Tigris fics will definitely be coming in the future☺️

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Tigris Snow ↓

Roommate fate | Tigris Snow x Whatnot!reader (Fabricia Whatnot’s daughter) Fluff!

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Roommate fate.

Summary: you find happiness in the form of your mothers intern. Tigris Snow x Whatnot!reader (Fabricia Whatnot’s daughter).

Fic note: I made Fabricia Whatnot act nicer towards Tigris in this than how she does in the actual book, also according to the thg wiki the currency in Panem in “panars” so that’s what I used when talking briefly about money in this. Speaking of money reader is completely unaware of the Snow’s financial situation but it’s hinted that Fabricia knows.

A/N: Posting this then legging it lmao💀🏃‍♀️ I had so much fun writing this but in the same breath it’s been years since I tried my hand at writing fics so yeah, I’m not claiming to be Shakespeare here haha. I have proof read this but sometimes mistakes slip through and if that happens here rest assured I’ll realise at some point, be consumed by embarrassment and then fix it. Hope you like this even if it’s just a little bit, mwah! <3

Also the bottom lace divider was made by @plutism :)

It was hot and humid and you could hear her breathing.

It’s three months to the day since your mothers intern, Tigris Snow, had moved into your family home. Your mother had told you about the plan for Tigris to move in as casually as ever while at dinner, you can still remember how the hot tomato soup felt stuck in your throat as you began to cough in surprise. You had no idea why your mother would offer such a thing to a Snow, your family was far from poor but with your mother gaining her riches after the dark days you were classed as new money, why would a Snow want anything to do with that?

Your mother said it was nothing to worry about, that it was to do with some stylist guidance thing but the last thing you wanted was for her to accidentally offend a Snow.

You didn’t know what to think when it came to Tigris but she turned out to be kind, kinder than you ever expected. You hadn’t known her too personally before she moved in, only ever seeing her trailing after your mother or sat at a desk in your mothers studio completely engrossed in whatever was in front of her, you were convinced you could tap dance around her when she was in that state and she wouldn’t even turn her head. The night your mother told you about this arrangement you went to bed thinking about every time you’d heard someone describing the Snows as uptight and cold, you’d recounted every story, every rumour in your head before you made yourself snap out of it, your final thought about Tigris before she moved in was that if anything, you had to at least give the girl a chance.

The first month with Tigris was coated with a sense of giddiness, each time either of you saw the other it was like you were first years at school again, eager to make friends, eager to be comfortable and eager to know everything about the other.

You were out when Tigris first arrived but your mother was there to greet her and told her to make herself at home. Tigris got as settled as she could in a room that wasn’t originally hers, when she entered she was met with two seemingly untouched beds, she poked around enough to find that the oak chest of drawers had two left empty for her and the wardrobe also had room made for her. She stood in the middle of the room slowly turning trying to get a feel for it, her eyes fell upon two desks, one covered in books, notes and pens and the other touched only by a lollipop and a fashion magazine, Tigris smiled hard as she picked up the sweet and flicked through the magazine, she’d like it quite nicely here.

Unbeknownst to Tigris she had set up camp in the bed that was already yours. You returned home in the afternoon and as you walked into your bedroom ready to greet your new roommate you tried not to falter too much as you saw her sat on your bed painting her nails, you decided to go with it not wanting to make her uncomfortable or embarrassed in a situation that was probably harder for her.

As you walked into your room that night ready to go to bed you were ever so slightly taken aback seeing Tigris asleep in the bed that was bought for her, as you walked up to your bed you found a not laying on your pillow,

“You should’ve said this bed was yours and I would’ve switched sooner! Thank you for not being mad about it.”

The note was written in pink ink and she’d drawn a smiley face and a little butterfly at the end of it. You’d find out the next morning your mother had mentioned in passing how you loved staring out of that window watching whatever the world was offering, she said she couldn’t believe you’d given it up and that was when Tigris realised it probably wasn’t intentional.

Her note had left your mind till a few days later when you found that it had fallen down by the side of your bed, you picked it up and slipped it in a small trinket box not realising Tigris was watching you and not seeing the grin that graced her lips when she saw that your were keeping it.

After creating a foundation of stability the pair of you spent the second month exchanging every silly secret you’d ever kept. If you were getting paid every time one of you whispered “hey, you still awake?” across the bedroom you’d be accused of stealing from the Cranes, Tigris and you would stay up till stupid hours in the morning, till you had to relight the candles, talking about anything and everything, you both had the matching eye bags to prove it.

You liked talking to Tigris, she spoke like how you’d imagine a swan would if they could talk, her voice was soft and elegant, she spoke so gently yet still with so much conviction it made your head feel fuzzy. She’d give you her full attention when you were talking too, sometimes she’d look at you so intensely it’d make you forget what you were talking about completely.

All of that lead you to now, the third month came and plagued your mind with thoughts of why is it so hard to figure out if a girl likes girls and why does straight up asking a girl if she does paint your intentions out so obviously. It’s currently June making nighttime the sticky type of hot where you feel like you have to peel the sheets off of you if you even dare to use them, you’d spent around an hour tossing and turning before admitting you weren’t getting sleep any time soon, you decided on going to get something to eat, you know just incase tiredness could come in form of snacks.

You tiptoed out of your bedroom, careful not to wake the lucky Tigris who appeared to be sleeping and began to make your way down to the kitchen, now stood at the counter pooling jam onto your plate and trying to figure out which cheese you wanted before allowing yourself to think deeper. Far too much was at stake here, if Tigris didn’t feel the same and was uncomfortable about it not only would you lose a friend but she might want to stay away from you completely meaning your mother would lose her intern. You sighed and once more let your thoughts be consumed by sweeter things as you started slicing a peach.

Your eyes were focused solely on your plate as you made your back up the stairs and into your room, opening the door slowly trying to minimise both the creaking noises and the chance of you dropping your plate. Once inside you made a beeline to your bed not caring to look anywhere else, you sat with your head resting against the wall as you stared out your window, looking to see which neighbours still had their lights on, at the skipping ropes left on the curb by kids and the slightly drunk man that had tripped over them.

You were mindlessly reaching for a peach slice, eyes still on the window making your movements look somewhat robotic when a voice startled you.

“You not gonna share?” Spoken out of nowhere your head banged off the wall slightly before you snapped it to the other side.

“Jesus Christ Tigris!” You exclaimed in a rushed whisper, a scream kept stuck in your throat.

“What? Surely your mother told you sharing is caring and how to properly treat a guest.” Tigris stated casually with a small grin adorning her face.

“You’re not funny Tig.” Shaking your head as you spoke but holding no true offence in your voice.

Tigris let out a stifled laugh and threw her head back. “Actually I’m very funny, I’m a very funny person that wants in on your picnic.” Grinning again as she manoeuvred her way down the bed closer to you.

You rolled your eyes but shuffled down your bed too, holding the plate out and letting her take her pick. Tigris pulled away with the apple you’d already bitten, a slice of buttered bread and a sugared shortbread biscuit, you swatted at her hand as she stuck two fingers in the pile of jam you made and laughed.

You fell back into your regular routine of talking, well whispering, about whatever came to mind. Had you heard about the new drama with the Plinth prize? That a bakery had started charging nine panars for just one pastry? Or what about that man that’d dyed his hair for different colours had you seen him!? You told her about the drunk man you saw earlier and your night carried on with mindless questions.

“Hey I heard Festus Creed asked you on a date and you turned him down what’s all that about?” The line of questioning took you off guard even though it was spoken like every one of Tigris’ previous questions.

You stuttered slightly before fidgeting with the ends of your blanket in front of you and answering. “Oh uhm nothing really he’s just not my type.”

“What too young?” Tigris’ tone was still casual but slightly teasing, looking you directly in the eye.

“Yeah that and I’m not all that into guys.” You pushed the sentence out of your mouth fast enough before your mind convinced you not to, that decision was made on a mix of lack of sleep and not wanting to lie to her.

“Oh.” Her voice was somehow softer and she gulped slightly before replying. Tigris’ face was painted with confusion like she was expecting you to say anything but that.

“Oh?” Your voice held a sense of urgency, you licked your bottom lip to stop yourself from biting at it.

“No no no that’s like really uhm cool.” Tigris sat up as fast as she was speaking, head nodding in tow.

You let out a small snicker before speaking “It’s cool?” Your eyebrows were scrunched and your mouth had turned up into a grin.

“Super cool.” Tigris spoke like she was a high biology professor stating a proven fact.

Your hushed laughter filled the room you nodded in a agreement “Super cool.”

“Exactly.” Tigris voiced, you’d never seen her smile like this before.

Silence fell over the pair of you once again, Tigris lay back down and your attention returned to you plate, you both took turns trying to sneak glances at each other and then try to hold back your laughter when one of you would catch the other.

You were almost done with smothering the last bit of jam onto your last piece of bread when Tigris spoke up again.

“So, is there a girl you have your eye on?” Tigris spoke slowly, testing the waters.

The question caught you off guard, not wanting to look like a fool but also not wanting to misinterpret what Tigris was talking about.

“Uh well I’ve heard Vipsania Sickle’s older sister is recently single.” You gulped slightly before speaking and returned your attention back to your jam after stopping.

“You’d go out with a Sickle girl!” Tigris somewhat exclaimed, voice still held to a whisper but her shock was evident. The lengths the pair of you would go to to not wake up your mother!

“Yeah why not, I heard her family has their own box at the theatre and I’ve always loved the ballet.” You nodded your head to left, motioning toward your desk that held a stack of old tickets.

Tigris was left to think and the silence resumed, you finished your last bit of bread and situated yourself back laying down in your bed, ready to give sleep another go. Around twenty minutes passed before the last interruption of the night came.

“Hey y/n.” Tigris spoke softly

“Yeah Tig.” You whispered back

“If things don’t take off with that Sickle girl, I’d love to take you out some time.” Tigris spoke again before you could reply. “You know cause we’re both super cool girls that like super cool girls.”

You laughed in response at first, a laugh that felt like summer, more like a happy giggle.

“Yeah I’d like that a lot Tig.” You thanked your lucky stars that there was enough street light gleaming into your room so you could see the way Tigris smiled and laughed too.

“You just run your plans past Sickle and I’ll be here waiting.” Tigris proclaimed with the teasing tone back in her voice, nodding her head and pointing her finger at you, you both knew you’d never speak to Vipsania’s sister for anything romantic again.

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WELCOME! Welcome, welcome *effie trinket voice*

Masterlist 🪻Requests are open! ♡ (I write for Tigris Snow, Katniss Everdeen, Johanna Mason, Cressida, basically just all of the hunger games girlies lol)

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The moment Tigris tells Snow he looks like his father, my heart broke.

That's her Prim.

That's the child she took care of while being a child herself, stuck with an adult who couldn't care for them all that well. She tried so hard and sacrificed so much for the boy that despite all her love still turns into a monster.

Katniss's Prim dies, but Tigris' Prim destroys every part of the boy she raised, to the point she wants him dead and has nothing in her heart for him except absolute loathing.

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Tigris, my beloved. You did your best.

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nightmares | lucy gray baird

summary; the hunger games haunts lucy gray at night. you’ve made it your mission to keep those dreams away

warnings; angst with comfort, probably ooc!lucy gray, accidentally deleted this and had to rewrite it so it’s a little bad cause i was getting frustrated tbh ��

when lucy gray came back to district twelve, it had been the best day of your life. the memory of her running towards you and embracing you tightly has stayed with you every night since.

you were sick of waking up in the middle of the night, craving the warmth of her body next to yours. the uncertainty of not knowing whether she would come back home felt like a heavy weight on your shoulders.

so, on the first night back, when lucy gray had shared your bed, you were wide awake. you wanted to soak in the moment as you gazed at the delicate curve of her nose, her sharp jawline, and her soft lips.

your arms were around her waist, her chest pressed against yours. it was a chilly night, and you could feel the breeze coming in through the small gap in your open window.

lucy gray shifted, and you watched her for a moment, but she remained asleep. after another few minutes, you decided that you should try and get at least a few hours of sleep, otherwise you’d be exhausted in the morning.

closing your eyes, you relaxed against lucy gray. your body was already growing heavy as you laid there, and you knew it wouldn’t be long before you fell asleep.

you weren’t sure how much time had passed when you began to hear a quiet whimpering near your ear. the sound of lucy gray’s quiet murmurs disturbed your peaceful sleep. your eyes slowly fluttered open, squinting as they tried to make out her face in the dark.

you watched lucy gray, concern replacing any vestiges of sleep. you placed your hand against her face, your thumb lightly stroking jaw.

“no…please…” lucy gray mumbled, her eyebrows scrunched together and her hands gripping at your shirt. her body was trembling, her breaths coming out in uneven bursts.

“lucy gray,” you whispered, “wake up, please.” shaking her shoulder, lucy gray let out a sharp gasp, her eyes flying open.

the soft glow of the moonlight lit her face. her eyes, wide with fear, met yours. your hand reached for one of hers, prying her fingers away from your shirt. you intertwined your fingers, trying to anchor her back to reality as you whispered soothing words.

“lucy gray,” you repeated with a gentle voice, a relief against the the terror she had just felt. “you’re okay. you’re safe with me,” you reminded her, your other hand reaching up to push her hair away from her face.

she nodded slowly, the remnants of her nightmare fading. she leaned into you, soaking in your warmth as she tried to forget about the images that had painted her mind.

“yeah,” she whispered. her breathing had slowed down to its regular pace, and the hand that gripped your shirt had moved to wrap around your waist. “i’m…im alright.”

“do you want to go back to sleep?” you asked, your tone still worried though you tried to mask it. she remained silent for a few seconds, as if trying to decided.

finally, she whispered quietly, “will you stay?” her dark eyes searched your face, almost pleading for a ‘yes’.

no need to ask. you’d stay with her even if the world was ending.

“of course. i’ll be right here when you wake up.” you pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, and her eyes slowly fluttered closed.

she melted against you, mumbling a quiet “thank you.” you held her close, your hand rubbing her back slowly until you were positive she was no longer awake. you stayed up for a few more minutes, but you knew you wouldn’t be able to resist the temptation of sleep.

as you laid next to lucy gray, her breaths coming in soft, rhythmic patterns, there was no other place in the world you'd rather be. the tranquility of the scene, the peace that enveloped both of you, it was something you wanted to keep forever.

from that moment on, you made a commitment. you decided that you would do everything in your power to ensure that she always had the most peaceful sleep. no matter what it took, no matter how long it took, you would be there to provide her with the comfort and security she needed to drift off into her dreams. and if she did have another nightmare, you’d be there to make her feel better.

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the lucy gray fic 💔💔 i need a happy reunion after she comes back i can’t handle angst 😥

i almost made myself cry writing this... got the reunion part but kinda forgot about the fluff, sorry </3 i'm willing to write a third part that's actually fluffy if that's something you'd want ♡ this is a part 2 to right here in the old there before but can be read as a standalone

🕊 the sweet old hereafter ㅤ⠀lucy gray baird x reader ㅤ⠀↳ 1.6k ↳ angst to fluff ↳ gender neutral

district twelve is dark. the thick blanket of night is draped over every street as if it may never leave, as if beyond peacekeepers and criminals the real threat that awaited you beyond your home's threshold was the night itself; as if you will now forever be left here to wait for a train that will never come.

the train that would bring lucy gray baird home to you.

the moment she'd won, when the final tribute had fallen and she'd been left alone in the arena, you'd been stood on shaky legs with your eyes glued to the fuzzy screen of the covey household. lucy gray's family had been scattered in front of the television with you, and you'd all held your breath until the moment it was over.

it was no surprise a sob had shook your body, or that the covey had started crying just the same, after having spent so long just waiting for the girl you loved to die it was bound to happen.

but at the end of it all, when everything fell into place and lucy gray stood victorious, a deep fear had grown in you. the fear that they'd kill her anyway, that the capitol would spit in your face and deliver the final blow.

that never happened. the broadcast ended, and you still stood still as a statue in front of the now blank screen, only your distraught face staring back at you.

it had clutched at your heart, and kicked your legs from beneath you as you finally sat down, when you could finally let out a shaky breath. and you'd realised; lucy gray still wasn't safe yet.

you'd still stay up worried sick if the capitol swore she were being treated like one of their own, even if they told you personally she was happy and okay, you'd still feel that inkling of a stomach curdling doubt. you'd still find yourself, here, now, every night until she came home.

it's late enough that there are far less peacekeepers out, and likewise most twelve residents are reasonable, and at home; where they're meant to be. but you know one turn down the slimmer alleyways or a walk through the locked rooms of the hob would lead you right to a rebel gathering.

even with the comfort of knowing there's not a peacekeeper at every corner, your anxiety still spikes with every step, your feet hitting the ground and rustling the sticks and stones no matter how softly you walk — loud enough to alert someone with a keen ear, so you pray no one cares enough to be here.

you'd been stood immediately in front the make-shift train station you now watch from afar several minutes ago, until you'd realised if even a single peacekeeper were on the train with lucy gray and they were to notice you; you wouldn't like your chances of them not hanging you come morning. now your front is pressed against the cold concrete of an alley close enough to give you a clear view, but far enough that you hope your figure blends into the surrounding shadows.

one hand pulls at the loose fabric of your shirt while the other scratches at the wall of the wall beside you, anxiously stimming as your brow only furrows further towards the deep night. you gave up on counting how long it's been five minutes in, but you know from your weary eyes and sore feet that you've been waiting for quite a while.

a new feeling grows and battles with everything in you that begs to stay at the possibility of seeing lucy gray; the guilt of standing out here for an entire night, only to know soon you might return to the seam alone. you don't know if you could stomach facing sweet young maude ivory — who had approached you earlier in the day asking if you would wait after dark for lucy gray's return, which she was certain would be today — only to tell her her cousin still wasn't home.

maybe it would be better to head back now, where you knew she was still staying up waiting for your return, and at the very least let her get a chance at a night's rest instead of pointlessly forgoing sleep.

your throat feels tight as you try to take a deep breath and make a decision — your hand slowly drifting from the wall to wrap around your torso in an attempt to ground yourself — when a deep rumbling begins to shake through your core.

it starts small, like a shiver, but gradually, the tell-tale rattle of the train tracks reaches your ears, and a vibration runs down the line to the ground beneath your feet.

your heartbeat picks up and your hand flies back up to the rough wall, palm flat as you lean out of your hiding spot in anticipation.

your world feels like it's shaking off-axis as the train comes into view, bringing with it a dull echoing thunder and wind reaching out to whip at your face. you're too disoriented and short of breath to let doubt slip in within the time it takes for the train to arrive and for a peacekeeper to emerge and approach a carriage, but the venomous thing almost snags you in the second it takes for the peacekeeper to reach up their arm for the door.

and then — like everything has snapped back into place — you unconsciously hold your breath, and the peacekeeper heaves the door open.

your vision begins to cloud and a gasp bursts out of you as soon as a figure is tugged out of the carriage, and right in front of your eyes, upon the gravel and dirt of district twelve; lands lucy gray.

you watch almost disbelievingly as words you cannot hear are spoken and she's shoved almost to falling by the peacekeeper, who then watches her tentatively take a few steps away, and climbs back into the train once she's turned away and far enough from the tracks.

even as the train leaves, lucy gray stands eerily still, her arms wrapped around herself and head hanging low.

your body itches to just run up to her and twirl her in her arms, but something in you knows better — and something else is too scared — so you take you first cautious step out of the alley.

each step is slow, leaving gentle footprints like a child walking through the snow, like you have something to lose if you're too quick.

you don't know if it's your desperate deep breath or the gravel shifting beneath your next step, but in the blink of an eye lucy gray's head is flying up with eyes wide and fearful, and all of a sudden you're frozen in place.

you're like predator and prey in a final stand-off, just waiting for the other to make a move. you don't know who's either; who's the one waiting to pounce and who's the one shivering off their skin and praying for a chance to live. you feel like you're both prey, but lucy gray's frightened eyes reflect of the moonlight hauntingly, and it almost feels like she sees you as a threat.

you don't know what to say — or if you should say a word at all — but with your next exhale, a, "lucy gray," escapes.

her name hangs in the air, before you walk closer, and recognition sets in.

she says your name back like a gasp of relief, and within moments she's running to meet you halfway with a tight embrace that could bandage a wound.

one hand wraps around her back and the other cups her jaw, her own trembling hands flying up to encase your cheeks. she's muttering between your heavy breaths words you can't make out, and you hold her closer and whisper her own name again, as if to confirm to yourself that she's real, she's here, she's alive. she's safe.

lucy gray's voice is breathy, uneven and threatened with oncoming sobs, as she relievedly whispers, "you're alive."

you almost laugh through the beginning of your own tears, "of course i'm alive, you're alive."

"i am," she cries, "i am."

you smile tearily, wiping away lucy gray's tears as they fall, "you're home."

"i'm home," she repeats, and leans further into you, until most of her body weight rests against you, and her legs give out as you hold her close.

"i can't—" you can barely even begin to explain how much you've missed her, and find yourself closing your mouth before you can finish the sentence. she's the one who could have died — should have died — the last thing you want to do right now is make her feel guilty.

you settle on the reply of, "you're so strong," but are met with the fervent shaking of her head and a more desperate grip around you where her arms now wrap and cling to your shoulders.

"i'm not," she sobs, "i'm not, i'm not."

now, you fully understand the gravity of just how much the world has separated the two of you. you don't know how lucy gray truly feels, nor ever how it might feel to be home as if nothing is amiss after fighting for her life.

so you don't reply — you couldn't summon a word to your tongue even if you wanted to — and instead hum a song to her; one that didn't exist until now with it's jumbled tune from your misremembering and creative liberties, but one that you recite through your own waterworks for as long as lucy gray keeps crying.

beyond the darkest nighttime, you still hum comfortingly to her, even when her head finally hits her pillow but she cannot close her eyes. you hum to her, with her head in your lap and eyes wide open, and you would keep doing it for days onwards if it meant she'd start to feel better.

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🕊 right here in the old therebefore ㅤ⠀lucy gray baird x reader ㅤ⠀↳ 0.7k ↳ fluff with angst ↳ gender neutral

your head is resting against lucy gray's shoulder, both your hands are intertwined with both of hers in a tangle of warm fingertips and desperate grips. not long before now her head had sat in your lap, and before that the two of you had been knee-to-knee with your gazes linked solemnly.

your restlessness — like everything about you — melds inexplicably with lucy gray's own tendency to choose one place to rest and stick with it, she has not once complained about your constant repositioning. she knows you're worried, scared, she is too.

she'd approached you with whispers and a hand cupping your cheek, your foreheads had met and you hadn't realised you were crying until she gently wiped a tear from your cheek. you'd wiped the tears from hers too when you'd found each other in an embrace of finality, one that conveyed you both now knew what faced sweet lucy gray come morning.

now, as the day slowly dawns with slivers of sunlight and mockingjay's songs, you cannot bring yourself to untangle from your lover.

your breath fans across her shoulder, and she tilts her head to rest atop your own comfortingly.

you aren't sure what you want to say beyond the watery sentiments you've already spoken a thousand times over — you can't believe this is happening, you hate mayfair and billy taupe more than you could say, and you'll miss lucy gray even more — so instead, as the light of the sun inches up your ankles through the crack in the door, you mutter.

"the reaping's soon."

lucy gray hums, and squeezes your hands.

"better warm up," she laughs softly, the beginning of an affectionate smile growing on your own face. but the tug of your eyebrows pulling them down does not cease, the circling fear in your gut unchanging.

you lift your head and lucy gray does the same, your eyes meet hers again.

neither of you are smiling, she looks like how she gets after running into billy taupe, or when maude ivory grazes her knee enough to draw blood; when beneath the playful scolding she gets this look in her eyes. she looks like she's between thinking and trying not to think at all, her eyebrows are drawn together almost imperceptibly. that combined with the slightest down-turned lips could simply be passed as a plain old bad mood, but there's a shimmer in her eyes that reminds you just how smart lucy gray is, how strong she is.

there's a resilience inside her battling a sea of overwhelming emotions that threatens to capsize her boat at any moment, but she's the most adept sailor you've ever seen, and she stays afloat.

"don't fight them."

you hold your eyes closed for a moment to guard any more tears from falling. the moment the words leave your mouth both you and lucy gray know that you have already lost something to the reaping, a spark of the fire inside of you, the little kid who'd yell for your lover to put up a fight in the face of being dragged away to her death.

"i don't want them to hurt you," your lip quivers, and she nods.

"i trust you," you whisper, "mayfair's getting what she deserves, and panem will be damn lucky to hear your voice. but i—"

a sob rips from your throat, and lucy gray runs a hand up and down your shoulder while the other strokes your hair.

she whispers reassuringly, "i know. i know."

"please don't resist the peacekeepers, don't get hurt."

she smiles sadly, fighting off her own oncoming tears, "i won't."

her forehead meets yours and both your eyes shut, noses brushing gently through sniffles and ragged breaths.

"i'll sing my song, then i'll be on my merry way."

you chuckle miserably, and lean back to wipe your face tearstained on the back of your sleeve.

you almost say, 'on your way to the capitol', but even through your heartbroken state, you know announcing lucy gray's fate another time will do no one any good.

so you just sit with her for a moment longer, and imagine a world where she comes home a victor and you spend your days watching her perform and waste sunsets by the lake.

hope is dangerous, and will rip your heart in two without a moment's hesitation. but in this liminal space between days, when the moon sets and sun begins to take her place, and the world savours a moment's longer of rest; you let yourself pretend there is a future for you with a lucy gray who is alive and well and safe in district 12.

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Rachel Zegler attending the 'The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" LA premiere (2023)

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TOM BLYTH for VMAN 51 Fall/Winter 2023 Issue photographed by Nicole Plett

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The Hunger Games… they're to punish the Districts. Those tributes don't have a choice.

THE HUNGER GAMES: THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES (2023) dir. Francis Lawrence

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Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird in THE HUNGER GAMES: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023)

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RACHEL ZEGLER AS LUCY GRAY BAIRD | THE HUNGER GAMES: THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS & SNAKES