#if I didn’t know snows love interest is lucy

[bookofbonbon]

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (2023) dir. Francis Lawrence

[targaryenluvs]

OUR LITTLE DOVE

pairings: dark!lucy gray x fem!reader, dark!coriolanus snow x fem!reader, coriolanus snow x lucy gray

summary: you reunite with your dear songbird after the games, but it seems the capitol has followed her home, and taken an interest in the two of you. but it seems lucy gray is willing to share you with a certain peacekeeper, even if you aren’t.

warnings: crazy lucy n corio conspiring like evil doers, manipulation, chasing, primal play?? is that what is called idk corio enjoys hunting your ass down, kidnapping, drugging, forced into accepting a third partner?? nc touching, abuse of power (peacekeeper), power dynamics, kinda cheating (lucy n corio), guilt-trip, jealousy, threatening, self doubt and relationship problems, murder, betrayal

word count: 3.0k

a/n: lol i complain about wanting to write fluff but all my good ideas r so dark 😭 someone needs to give me tips on how to write girls cuz i have no experience would be easier if i was gay boooo!!

he was like a shadow, stuck to your back, always.

you’d complained to lucy numerous times that you didn’t feel comfortable around him when she played at the hob, knowing he’d be there, in the crowd. “sweetie, he was my mentor. he helped me so much in the games, i wouldn’t be here without him. you love me don’t you? so you need to learn to love him too, he’s a good friend a mine. i love you and i gotta get to the stage baby.” she explained as she ran around getting herself and the covey ready.

you were always front row. wanting to be as close to lucy as possible. she looked especially majestic tonight with flowers in her hair. as you listened to her sing you’d managed to forget about the certain blonde peacekeeper near the back. but he hadn’t forgotten about you, nor lucy.

you’d left to get a drink and you’d came back to an unfamiliar tune. you usually knew every song being played off by heart but this was new.

Everyone's born as clean as a whistle

As fresh as a daisy

And not a bit crazy

Staying that way's a hard row for hoeing

she sounded as angelic as usual and the crowd around you seemed entranced.

As rough as a briar

Like walking through fire

This world, it's dark

This world, it's scary

lucy smiled at you once, just once. which threw you off since you usually got a bunch. especially during new songs and songs about you. was this not also about you?

I've taken some hits, so

No wonder I'm wary It's why

I need you

so it is about me! you thought as you closed your eyes, allowing yourself to sway to the music and singing. you’d hoped you wouldn’t miss a smile headed your way.

You're as pure as the driven snow

your eyes flew open as you stared at lucy, she was looking past you and to the peacekeeper. to coriolanus snow. you’d always been a rational person, you prided yourself on restraint but that restraint was hanging on by a thread. you wanted to jam a beer bottle into his neck. lucy was your girlfriend not his. and yet he smiled stupidly towards her as she sang and you could feel your heart clawing its way up. best to leave now rather than stay and hear more of the ever so driven man.

your head was spinning as you slumped to the floor, in one of your finest dresses yet worst mental states. of course, something had formed between the two. she was in the goddamn hunger games and he was her mentor. trauma bonding? he quite literally saved her life, coached her and you did what? sat at home and hoped.

hope could only get you so far.

your hope and faith in lucy gray baird was dwindling as her lyrics swirled in your head. of course she loved him. who wouldn’t? the man was undeniably eye catching. a capitol man. but you’d always imagined lucy staying away from the capitol, despising them. but maybe it wasn’t the captiol part but the man part. maybe she wanted a true life, a home, marriage and children and everything she could wish for.

what on earth could you provide her with?

“y/n?” it sure as hell wasn’t lucy calling out for you and you knew that. coriolanus’s reflection was prominent in the puddle before you as he neared. great, you sneered, would love to get to know you mr peacekeeper. please tell me how you stole my lovely girlfriend from me!

your chest felt oh so heavy as you heard his footsteps in the gravel, determined and unwavering as he made his way to your slumped body. “what do you want? you wanna gloat?” coriolanus stopped in his tracks, gloat? “why would i gloat?” you looked up at him annoyed, “rub it in my face. you practically stole my girlfriend from me.” coriolanus laughed. actually laughed and it made you want to strangle him with his stupid dog tags.

“sweetheart.” vomit. you wanted to vomit. maybe choking and dying on your vomit would be less embarrassing then this. why on earth was this fuck head calling you his sweetheart. “fuck off.”

you didn’t see him coming. and you certainly didn’t expect his demeanour to snap. but the large hand tangled in your open hair was a big slap in the face to your unreadiness. “you of all people don’t get to talk to me like that. do you know who you’re talking to?” you could hear his perfect porcelain teeth grinding at your words. god this man couldn’t handle an insult. wuss.

“what the hell is your- ow! problem!” you yelped as he dragged you into an alleyway. “you need to learn how to respect your superiors. if you’re nice to me, i can make your life easier. doesn’t it hurt? not being able to fully provide for your family? seeing them struggle? do you really think disrespecting a peacekeeper is going to help? i suggest you straighten your act and thank me for even looking your way. there are plenty of other girls here.”

but he didn’t want those other girls. he wanted you. you with the teary eyes and messy hair. you who he’d been seeing in his dreams and during the day. you with the kind smile and curious eyes. you who were so sweet and pretty but mean when need be. the y/n who was stupid enough to spit such hateful words at a peacekeeper. but he’d teach you. whether it be with words and lessons or actions and bruises. you’d learn your place, by his side and lucy’s, and underneath. but with such fearful, brown doe eyes watering up infront of him, the girl he’d heard oh so much about from lucy. how could he refrain from indulging?

his hand reached out to wipe away the few stray tears that fell as his left extended towards your right, which was clutching your head, where he’d grabbed you. “shh, let me help you.” your hand slowly retracted as your heart ran a marathon. the man was obviously unstable, going from a deceptively caring man to violent. coriolanus smiled at your actions, and it freaked you out. he caressed your scalp in an attempt to soothe, “good girl.” he cooed as your apparent saviour approached.

“sweetie?” lucy called out to you as coriolanus withdrew from your personal space. he walked over to her and she let him. he held her hand and spoke with, love? his voice was soft and comforting, his thumb again caressing the back of her hand as they talked, whispered, plotted? god knows, all you wanted was to leave.

was this your chance?

you tested the waters, slow and calculated movements as lucy nodded in agreement with him. but by the time they were done speaking you’d bolted.

but you sure as hell weren’t getting far with these two on your tail, poor y/n l/n. a little dove trying to spread her wings but they were bound to be clipped.

your feet were throbbing and begging for you to slow down. but your brain was in charge for once, your heart which yearned for your dear songbird pushed to the side as your head screamed and urged you to go. she was in league with him apparently. her seeing him corner you and not even batting an eyelash. did she truly care for you so little? did she want to rid herself of you? she could’ve broken up with you and let that be it. maybe the games had twisted her head.

even as you believed yourself to be gaining distance from the two you could hear the not-so distant steps of determined pursuit, headed your way. how would they kill you? slow and intimate? hasty and brutal?

“if you stop running now we won’t be mad little dove!” lucy shouted in warning as you felt yourself momentarily slow at her words. traitor. you thought to yourself as your body involuntary listened, she still had an affect on you. “she’s right, we love you, we won’t hurt you. unless we have to, don’t give us our reasons.”

“shut up!” you screamed. god, i know we haven’t talked in a while. last minute efforts right? maybe he’d listen to you, save you from your tormentors. you should’ve kept your head clear, focused on running. focused on your surroundings and if you had, you would’ve noticed the nearing tree roots, thick and protruding from the ground, ready to knock you down.

you crawled behind the tree, trying to catch your breath as your hands worked tirelessly to provide some form of relief to your aching ankle.

crack.

you’d been found. you fucked up.

“our little dove, ever the sprinter.”

his words had you lurching forwards in an attempt of fleeing but lucy’s cold hand on your ankle dragged protests and cries from your throat as well as you, back to them. “you should’ve listened before, we would’ve been nice. given you some time to adjust, but you can’t sit and think for a second can you?” coriolanus mocked as his hand trailed up your un-injured leg, “that’s okay, you won’t be doing much thinking from now on. we’ll be taking care of you, since you obviously can’t take care a’ yourself baby.” lucy’s voice was saccharine, like honey, and her smile was even sweeter. the familiarity and comfort of her presence was intoxicating, you felt at peace on one side and the other wanted to jump off a cliff. she lowered your guard and coriolanus slithered right in.

the prick in the side of your neck wasn’t painful, but their words were. “you’re with us now, we’ll take care of you, we promise.” and you were stuck, stuck with them for god knows how long.

you blinked away the sleep in your eyes, adjusting to the room. maybe they had killed you? in their own twisted way they’d keep you forever, in their memories and soul. coriolanus and lucy’s voices swam around your head and blended together. you were wrong. yay.

“it’s a bit early for katniss, even if it’s one of her favourites.”

“she should eat something better.”

“better? don’t go all capitol on me now corio.”

he was smiling, you could tell.

“never lucy gray. but she’ll be weak for a few days, proper meals will help her regain some strength.”

you picked your head up and looked through the window, the lake was evident.

“alright, you go grab it and i’ll stay here.”

“why? so you can get more time with her? if anyone should get extra time it’s me.”

“now who was her partner first? oh that’s right, me. you’re acting as if i’m gonna pick her up and run away. if you’re that scared than we’ll both go. take her with us.”

coriolanus’s head whipped towards the cabin and you quickly flopped back down on the bed. you shut your eyes as you heard the door creak open. “gosh, doesn’t she look pretty?” lucy asked, knowing the answer already. “so calm, i liked her better when she was crying.” lucy hit him, “coriolanus snow!” he stroked the side of your face and you had to resist from turning your head and biting his fingers off.

“little dove.” your eyes opened again, turning your head his way tiredly. “we need to get some supplies okay?” you nodded as lucy went outside to gather the baskets she’d left out earlier on to dry. coriolanus’s hand dug into your cheeks as he forced you to look at him, “i told you i’d make you respect me. now listen, if you try anything when we’re in town i will never let you forget it. you’ll know who you belong to every single day. maybe i’ll pay your family a visit? an appointment with the hanging tree for being rebels? stealing?”

you shook your head violently as you began to cry, “you don’t want that? didn’t think so. you listen to me and everything will be fine. your family will get daily help and weekly groceries. they’ll never go hungry again. all thanks to their sweet little girl. lucy’s too nice, but don’t think for a second she’ll save you from me. you’re mine and if you try anything.” he leaned in to whisper, “i’ll strangle her with my bare hands infront of you.” his words were meant to scare you, and they did. but don’t you know? coriolanus snow doesn’t need a reason to do bad things.

coriolanus was wicked and ruthless when it came to what he wanted, if you had any hope of trying to get through this then you’d need lucy’s attention and help. so you nodded. “words sweetheart.” you swallowed your pride, your dignity, and you shook hands with the devil.

“yes, i’ll do what you say.” he straightened up, his white shirt a contrast to his dark thoughts.

“y’all ready to go?” lucy questioned as coriolanus grinned, “yes, yes we are.” he lifted you up and helped you dress, you hadn’t realised the fact that you were only dressed in his own white shirt, dress to you. he handled you like you were the most delicate object. as if he wasn’t hell bent on breaking you, over and over again. till you were fit to his standards. the captiol standards. the snow standards.

his, his, his.

with how obedient you were, he figured you’d do well in the capitol. which was exactly where he was meaning to bring you.

lucy walked in front of the two of you as you made your way through the woods. coriolanus’s hand was glued to your waist as he held you close, afraid to let go. you were at flight risk of course. his grip was tight and bruising. lucy’s humming distracted you at times, if you were delusional enough you could imagine it to be the two of you. your brothers far infront and the covey following. after an amazing afternoon at the lake, heading home for dinner, maybe a performance or the night shift.

your daydreaming was interrupted when you clocked coriolanus’s missing hand from your waist, and his arm now around lucy grays throat.

don’t you remember? you’d do well in the capitol! you were his! but not entirely, no.

not with her in the way.

you were frozen in place as lucy clawed at him before reaching out for you. a plea, a cry for help and aid yet you stood stuck in fear. a minute, two. she’d put up a strong fight, especially when you ran towards the two, pushing and shoving at coriolanus to let her go. but again, you fucked up.

here lies lucy gray baird, singer, victor, psycho.

obsessed? madly in love? you couldn’t think of another word, and as much as you wished to forget her, forget how she’d practically allowed another man into your relationship and let him kidnap you. her lifeless face and hollow eyes made your heart clench. but soon enough she was rolled over, thrown in a pre-made hole and buried. she’d survived the games but no one survived coriolanus snow.

“don’t forget what i said. don’t forget what you agreed to. you said you’d do as i say, i’m telling you to get up and follow me. we’re leaving district 12.” your face was painted with confusion as coriolanus clutched your face, “i’m going back, and you’re coming with me. don’t ask questions, just do as i say.”

and you did.

when he had you say goodbye to your family, a courtesy, a privilege he’d granted you. you kept it short and sweet, no questions just hugs and false promises of return.

when he ushered you onto the train and he wanted you to sit and be silent, you did.

through his time at the university, he wanted you close to him, living with him. and you did.

through his presidency campaign he wanted for you to charm sponsors and entice newcomers. you did.

when he wanted to marry you in a grand spectacle infront of the captiol and dress you up, you did as he asked.

when he held you down on your wedding night after tearing your dress off, biting and marking you down all over, pushing you down to your knees and took you all over the house, asking you to give yourself to him as if he didn’t take you anyways, you did.

you had no idea why at this point.

for your family? who hadn’t reached out in so long, even when they promised to talk to you every day? coriolanus had them all arrested, punished and hung for inciting riots and uprisings.

for your friends whom listened to your concerns of the capitol peacekeeper who hovered and didn’t make you feel crazy? each of them ended up dead in many different ways, hung, shot, a mugging gone wrong.

you didn’t know at this point and when you looked in the mirror you didn’t recognise the girl who stared back. a captiol sheep, dressed up in the finest silk dresses and slick heels yet the filth underneath the finery, jewels, and makeup weighed you down. each time he touched you, kissed you, fucked you, it felt like a peace of yourself was thrown away.

and as you clutched your swelling stomach, you couldn’t help but feel pity for baby number four.

maybe you’d grow up and find love.

maybe i’ll be able to take you all away from him.

maybe we’ll heal.

you thought, but in the back of your head, a little voice wouldn’t shut up.

you’ll always be his little dove.

[mcmactictac]

everyone talks about how katniss is like lucy gray but no one talks about the parallels between her and Snow which I think is a tragedy. Like they’re both strong willed, determined, willing to do whatever is necessary. They both have that carefully controlled facade (katniss constantly being aware of the cameras and not wanting to be seen as weak vs snow keeping up appearances, hiding his lack of money and keeping his anger in check) the difference Is katniss has that ability to love and care in a way snow doesn’t. I stand by the fact that he sees her as a reflection of himself and knows that he can’t control her because of that. She is the jabberjay he knows and loves, and the mockingbird he’s grown to hate. She is a mixture of Snow and Lucy Gray (the jabberjay and the mockingbird respectively)

If anyone resembles Lucy Gray, it’s Peeta. Lucy Gray knew how to work the cameras to her advantage, had the charm that made her so beloved. While snow and katniss are both aware of the game being played, peeta and Lucy Gray use their good nature to their advantage. They know where their weaknesses are, and they use their charm to show strength. Katniss has a physical prowess that Lucy Gray didn’t.

And that makes snows demand that katniss prove her love for peeta more interesting. Because he thinks he sees his inability to love Lucy Gray reflected in katniss. That peeta will turn away from her, that she’ll never truly connect with him. And he’s wrong because katniss doesn’t see peeta as an object to be controlled. Neither of them seek power over each other. When they were the last two in the arena, they planned to go down together instead of kill each other.

If Snow was in katniss’s position, he would have killed peeta, the same way he tried to kill Lucy Gray. He sees the berries solely as an act of rebellion against the capital. When obviously it’s more than that because katniss cares for peeta as a person and doesn’t want him to die. Katniss is a reminder of everything snow isn’t. She chooses people, whereas snow chooses power. That’s the critical difference between the two of them.

[hs-is-loml]

Another Pawn in Your Game. (c.s)

Pairing: Coriolanus Snow x Fem!Capitol!Reader

Summary: you felt betrayed by coriolanus and lucy gray's act in the capitol zoo. or coriolanus coaxes you into thinking what he did was okay.

Warnings: minor felix ravinstill x reader (one-sided). angst. manipulative snow who knows all the right words to say. they stay together in the end. UNEDITED

a/n: if you have seen my post about coriolanus before reading this, my stand does not change. and i am not trying to justify anything. that being said i do find him an interesting character to write for with his complexity!

masterlist

You couldn’t believe your eyes from the act that Coriolanus and Lucy Gray were pulling in front of Lucky Flickerman. Introducing her. Holding hands with a district. You felt eyes of pity land on you from around the table as you were with Arachne, Felix, and Clemensia.

“Did you know that he was going to do that?” Arachne hounded on you.

Clemensia added, “Is that not cheating?” 

“I wish I knew,” you scoffed, continuing to look at the screen of Coriolanus staring at Lucy Gray with ​​narrowed eyes. “He didn’t tell me anything.” 

“Maybe it’s time you realize you can do better than Snow,” Felix grinned while you all watched as the peacekeepers dragged away Coriolanus. “Always more options around…”

“Felix, I would love for you to say that to his face,” Clemensia snickered at his poor attempt at flirting.

“Oh, please. No one would ever dare,” Arachne rolled her eyes at the two and began to get up as the bell rang. 

You walked alongside the group with Felix on your side. You felt him place a hand on your back and leaned in to whisper in your ear, “Let me know when you get tired of him, will you?”

“We’ll see about that.”

“Y/n!” Sejanus called your name from behind the group, walking quickly to catch your arm before you walked through the doors while everyone headed in. “What was that with Felix?”

He held a concerned expression, and the grip on your upper arm began to tingle. “Sejanus,” you tried to move your arm and he finally took notice, dropping his hand and muttering apologies.

“I didn’t mean to grab you that hard. I’m sorry.”

Taking a deep breath in you explained to him, “Coryo wants to make a fool out of me. You saw what he did in the cage. Felix is simply taking his chance.”

After Doctor Gaul had left the room, you neglected Coriolanus’ attempts to have a word with you, and you continued to keep a conversation with Sejanus. You felt the irritation that radiated off his body when he noticed that you were purposely ignoring him.

“He looks like he is going to murder me if I keep talking to you, Y/n,” Sejanus quietly pointed out as he looked back and forth from you to Coriolanus. 

“He’s lucky if I don’t murder him for what he pulled,” the blank expression that was written across your face mildly scared Sejanus not knowing how you truly felt. 

“At least acknowledge him or something, Y/n,” he pushed.

“And why should I?”

“Because, because this is unlike you and Coryo,” he tried to explain but failed to give any valid reasoning to you.

You turned to your other side and looked at him with darting eyes, “Hello, Coriolanus,” you articulated the entirety of his name. It felt foreign on your tongue. 

He met you with perplexion at your sudden coldness, “Y/n/n. Dearest. What is the matter with you?” He knew that he had said or done something wrong as you gathered your things and went to Dean Highbottom to be excused. 

“How was your little songbird, Coriolanus?” Arachne teased and was aware you could still hear them before you walked out of the room. Livia continued, “Fragile, little thing she is. I do hope her death is rather quick.”

“She’s okay.”

“Did everyone hear that?” Arachne looked around the room to those who were interested in where she was taking this. “Coryo made sure his songbird is okay.”

 Coriolanus had no time for games as his mind wandered back to you, “Arachne. What is the point of all of this?” he snapped at her.

A smirk planted visibly across her face, “Is your Dearest okay, though?” she mocked him.

The realization was evident as it spread to his face. He looked over to Sejanus who avoided his stare by pretending he was focused on his paper instead. 

“Felix, you know he has no shame in going after you once he sees this,” you mentioned knowing the rather possessive tendencies that Coriolanus had to the boy who followed you out. 

Felix hid his nervousness with a chuckle, “What could he do? I’m the president’s son.”

“I’m just warning you,” you went through your bag to look for the rose Coriolanus had given to you this morning. 

“Y/n. You don’t deserve what he did to you,” he tried to reach out for your hand but you had pulled away before he had gotten the chance to. 

Having found the rose, you glanced around for a trash bin to toss it in, “Oh, believe me. I know.”

“Isn’t that one of the roses that Lucy Gray had in her hair earlier when we saw her on the screen?” Felix observed the rose in your hand and noticed it was the same pure white as the one that was in Lucy Gray’s hair. “Is that from him?” he made the connection with the frown you held.

“Yes.” 

He bellowed another laugh as he realized the Coriolanus was found in even more mistakes. “That bastard.”

Coriolanus was searching for you throughout the academy grounds once the bell had rung. He found no luck in finding you until he passed a hallway he had never seen you go into before, and there you were standing by a pillar with Felix Ravinstill standing too closely for Coriolanus’ comfort. Though he could tell that you had not reciprocated Felix’s intentions, it didn’t help the rising jealousy that was consuming his mind. 

For a moment, his vision was red as he saw Felix take his Grandma' am’s rose out of your hands. It had taken everything in him to not launch himself at Felix as he didn’t want to be convicted of murder before the Games even started. He was already in too far. 

Your head turned as you heard a call of your name from Coriolanus, “Y/n.” Through the tone of his voice, you knew he was not asking for you but rather commanding.

Before you started to make your way to him, Felix caught your hand and pulled you back for a moment whispering in your ear while making direct eye contact with Coriolanus, “Make him pay for it, yeah? And don’t forget my offer will always stand for you.” Coriolanus stood there with a tense jaw and flared nostrils as he watched.

Felix smirked at him, seeing you walk towards his direction but going pass him, “Come along, Coriolanus.” 

The silence was starting to get to the both of you as neither of you chose to speak a word before arriving in front of your house. Your parents rarely being home helped your situation because you figured that an argument was going to begin right as the door was closed behind you. 

That’s how it always was. The picture perfect couple in the public eye to keep appearances up than a cracked frame when it was just the two of you. 

“What was that about, Y/n?” he fumed the second the door was shut. You ignored him as you went to put your bag away in your room. “You cannot keep avoiding me here. And don’t think I am going to let go of what you did today.”

“What I did?” you talked baffled.

“You are making a joke out of us-”

“Is it fun for you?” you interrupted him, finally meeting his burning stare.

“Is what fun?” he gritted his teeth at the lack of specificity in your question.

You began to laugh maniacally and spat out, “Making a fool out of me. You already made me a laughing stock for everyone to see.”

 “Is this about-” he started but you didn’t give him a chance to finish.

“Of course, this is about her, Coriolanus!” you proclaimed. “Why didn’t you tell me? Why did you hold her hand? And for goodness sake, a district girl from 12 of all people! You are the one ruining us.”

“She is my tribute,” he defended.

“YOU GAVE HER A ROSE!” you yelled at him in frustration. “How do you not see a problem with that?”

“The rose is nothing compared to what you let Felix do today,” he said, enraged, taking steps closer to you, but your hand met his chest, keeping him at arm's length. “You are mine. Not his.”

“And what? She is also yours now too?” you closed your eyes as they welled with tears that you had tried to blink away. 

He moved your hand and grasped it as he stood in front of you. He cupped your cheek with his other hand and softened his tone, “She doesn’t mean anything to me.”

“And how am I supposed to trust your word?” you threw at him and saw a look of hurt flash on his face but it had left just as quick. “Everyone told me it was a mistake to be with you.”

“Do you believe it was?” he blanked, tightening his hold on your hand. 

“I do not know what to believe anymore.”

“It was an act. A farce. She needs to win,” he stroked your cheek with his thumb. “I need to win.”

Your body was tense with vexation and you spoke through clenched teeth, “Am I just another pawn in your game as well? The easiest one you can sacrifice?” It felt like your heart was ready to burst from out of your ribcage waiting for his answer. 

He brushed a piece of fallen hair away from your face and uttered, “No, you are My Queen.”

[evielmostdefinitely]

I would love see the first time that “excentric” aspect of they relationship started. Like how Coryo punishment her for the first time, She know what will happened? They talk about? And how she feel with that? Afraid ? Turn on ? Jealousy in think that probaly he did this with someone else ? Sorry if i wrote something wrong, english is not my first language

closer to the darkness |young!coriolanus snow x capitol!reader|

prompt: as requested, the dark backstory that led to you and coriolanus' exciting sex life.

contains: very very VERY DARK undertones. mentions prostitution and the exploitation that occurs in the capitol. public sex with undertones of slight humiliation. very very dark coriolanus. slightly manipulative and obsessive coriolanus. bdsm themes. dom!coryo x sub!reader. spanking. spanking with implement. oral (fem receiving). overall very dark smut. minors dni.

A simple invite, passed to him by the sly smirk of a classmate. “Snow,” Dennis hissed lowly, pencil tapping on the page of a book, eyes cutting to watch for the librarian. “A couple of us are going to The Underground tonight. Are you coming?” 

Coriolanus blinked, face staying stoic, unreadable. He didn’t particularly like the boys in his class, not now anymore than years before. He found the civilness of their polite conversation to be useless now- now that he had you. 

“I’m busy.” Coriolanus dismissed. He had no interest in going to their gambling billiards room or whatever this club was. 

“Oh, come on.” Dennis grinned, head ducking low. “You can leave the Duke girl for a night. She won’t mind anyways. Her brothers are always there. You’ll be in kept company.” 

Coriolanus perked at the mention. Your brothers, the two elder Duke boys that he hadn’t yet charmed the way he had your father and mother. A necessity to secure their approval. He knew they’d run the family business, already high up in the family ranks. If he planned to go forth with his game ideas, he’d need their investment. 

That drove him to cancel his plans with you, a half-hearted excuse about studying, offering to spend the weekend with you instead. He joined the boys of his class, socialites and aristocrats alike, all wearing their family’s name like a badge of honor. Coriolanus followed them towards the luxury end of the Capitol, secluded and reserved for only the best of the Capitol goers, exclusion even in the highest class. 

Coriolanus twisted the wad of cash in his pocket, hoping he could remember enough to pass at the roulette tables. “Here,” Dennis hummed, passing the small, black mask to Coriolanus when the doorman let them in. 

“What’s this?” Coriolanus muttered, twisting the mask in his hands. 

“Just part of it. I’m sure it helps the others feel their identity is well protected.” Dennis shrugged, tying the silk ends to the back of his head, eyes accentuated with the harsh black contrast of the material. 

They gamble openly during the games, but are worried here? Coriolanus thought, fighting back an eye roll. Instead, he fastened the material, following the string of people through the darkened hallways. It felt far from luxurious, more like the burrows and halls he’d sneak with Lucy Gray back in District Twelve. 

His mind wandered back to hers, furiously shaking her from his thoughts. He needed to be sharp, alert. Coryo had already decided he’d stumble into your brothers, hopeful he could still find them with the masks, that he’d sit at the right roulette table. 

Coriolanus stilled when there was no table. No green velvet lined table with dice and cigar smoke, no liquor or Avoxes roaming about. No, instead, there was a small, circular stage with a single row of chairs surrounding it. 

“Snow,” Dennis nudged his arm, pulling him from his thoughts. “We’re over here.” 

Coryo followed him, thankful for the mask, hoping it would conceal his wandering eyes. What was this place? A stage in the middle, nothing else. Coriolanus’ chest tightened with fear, grim curiosity perhaps as he settled into his seat. All around him, men with masks, chatting with each other, all nearly identical in the dim light of the room. 

“I heard they found her from Eleven.” The boy, Lucios, beside Dennis grinned. 

“I’m quite bored of the homely looking girls. They always look frightened, like caged animals being led to slaughter.” Dennis rolled his eyes in boredom. “I wish they’d bring in another girl from One. They always know how to put on the best shows.” 

“I’d even settle for Two.” Lucios cackled in a droning posh tone, waving over for his drink. “Maybe Three.” 

“It wouldn’t even be a real girl from Three. A hologram.” Dennis laughed. “As long as it isn’t Twelve or Ten, they always have the worst smell.” He snarled, eyes cutting to Coriolanus, who was rigidly watching the interaction. 

Dennis frowned, lips parting with a question, the trilling of a bell silencing him and everyone around them. All settling into their seats, quiet and still. Coryo’s heart beat so loudly it was deafening in his ears. Eyes scanning the room, he caught a glimpse of your brothers on the other side, eyes meeting only for a moment before the room fell dark. Completely pitch black, Coriolanus swallowed his rising panic, fists balling. 

It was a set up, a conspiracy to get him here, kill him. Of course they’d want to, they wanted you all for their own. Dennis had commented on you weeks ago, congratulated him behind bared teeth. How could he be so stupid? How could he not see?

A single light blinded him, body tensing at the sudden intrusion of light spilling above the stage. Underneath the beam, a man stood. His face was concealed entirely by a red mask that covered all his features, dressed in appropriate but dark wear, but with gloves that matched his mask. Next to him, a girl kneeling in a collar, and just a collar. Her face not covered, oh no, Coriolanus could see every line of fear, shine of terror though she tried to hide it. 

“Gentlemen,” The man’s voice was loud, even through the muffling of the mask it rang through the silent room. “Tonight our guest from Nine.” His gloved hand ran over her tied hair, and Coriolanus didn’t miss the way she shivered, biting her lip in fear. 

Coriolanus watched in eerie intrigue as the man brought her to a small bench like contraption, making a large show of securing her arms and legs, so she was left spread, vulnerable to the audience to see the most intimate parts of her. 

Coriolanus’ chest burned, maybe with fear, maybe with something else. Your brothers were here, here. He hoped they hadn’t seen him, stomach turning with the fear of what you’d do if you found out- fear that you’d leave him. The man on stage’s droning words fell deaf on his ears, mind racing with a plan, a plan to leave before they’d see you. He couldn’t see the row on the other side because of the light, so he hoped they couldn’t see him. 

His thoughts were stopped by a single cutting whistle of wood through the air, walloping onto skin with a resounding smack! followed by a muffled cry. 

“In the dark times, far before the dark times, since nearly the beginning of time, there have been many forms of debauchery that have been used to cause excitement.” The man droned dramatically, twisting a leather paddle in his hand. 

He tapped the girl’s left bottom cheek, before bringing his arm back, sending the paddle soaring onto her ass again. Coriolanus jumped slightly at the impact, mind dumbly blank of the worries from before. Nearly trance-like, watching the man paddle the girl, how she cried pathetically, how her flesh turned, blossoming with marks. 

“There has always been a power imbalance.” The man continued, letting the paddle rub teasingly over her body. “There have always been the powerful, the helpless. Those who are in charge, those who are submissive- completely at the mercy of your cruelness, of your control.” 

Coriolanus felt his pants tent, blood rushing from his head down to his throbbing cock. The man stalked, heavy footsteps that echoed in the room, back between the girl's legs. “There is a need for order. Even in intimacy.” He hummed, bringing the paddle down twice, two snapping flicks of his wrist. 

Coriolanus swallowed, spit pooling in his mouth at the cries the girl gave. The man scanned the room, setting the paddle on her backside, slowly taking off a glove. Coriolanus leant forward, watching the man with intense intrigue. 

“Because as we all know, there is pleasure in power.” The man boomed, his hand disappearing between the girl’s legs. A gasp ghosting on the edge of pleasure filled the room, her back arching at the sensation that was hidden from Coriolanus’ view, his eyes narrowing for a better view. 

Coryo’s face blushed deeply, burning with excitement when the man’s fingers lifted, covered in sticky arousal from the girl that webbed his fingers. “And as you can see, there is pleasure in pain as well.” Though his face was hidden, Coriolanus could hear the smug smirk of his voice. 

“My darling guest here is one who enjoys such pain, which is why she’s chosen to serve the Capitol and offer her services.” The man continued, wiping her release on his pants. “For the night, the rates bidding starts at a high price since she can only be shared once.” 

Coriolanus slipped out when the bidding started, the lights dimming enough for him to see the exit. He walked furiously down the streets of the Capitol, throwing the mask furiously on the ground. Still, his cock throbbed, stirred to life, not at the girl but at the idea. The idea that you would be tied up, tilt that power to him entirely, be at his mercy and command. 

He’d brain his throbbing cock as the reason his thoughts were scattered, why he showed up at your penthouse. 

“I thought you were studying- oh!” You squeaked, letting the door fall with a snap shut, Coriolanus’ hands on your waist, kissing you with feverish hunger. 

“I missed you.” Coriolanus rasped, your heart swelling at the words. “I couldn’t wait until this weekend. I had to see you. Had to taste you.” 

Your knees wobbled at the words, tensing with excitement. You could feel his stiff cock on your hip, ignoring the way he rubbed himself into your hip, letting him settle between your legs. You were surprised when his plush lips pressed to the inside of your thighs, hot breath ghosting over your clothed pussy. Your fingers tangled through his hair when his lips wrapped around your sensitive clit, lapping and suckling. 

Coriolanus knew what to do, what he needed to do to get you brainless, pliant before he’d suggest such a proposal. So he let you pull at his hair, let you tug at the roots while you whined and cried out, bucking beneath him as his tongue worked you open. 

“I want to try something.” Coriolanus hovered above your sprawled out frame, slack and limp against the rustled sheets. His eyes were dark, looking down at you from the slope of his nose- it sent a shiver right through your already trembling frame. “If you’re willing.” 

Brain still foggy from the previous orgasms, you nodded lazily. Of course you did, it was like clockwork to Coryo, all a part of his plan. “You always enjoy it so much when I’m rough with you,” Coryo began, biting back a smirk at how you blushed, body folding shyly into itself at his words. “I want to try something a little… more.” 

“I don’t much care for torture.” You frowned, lips pulling in a scowl. 

“I would never torture you, darling.” Coryo smiled softly, a small shake of his head that had you relaxing. “I think you’ll find this more pleasurable than painful.” 

He had you over his thigh after a short amount of coaxing. Legs on either side of his thigh, body resting on the silk sheets behind him. He alternated sharp smacks to your ass that left you squealing, lifting in tense alert at the sensation only for his hand to slip back between your thighs, tease and pleasure you until you melted back onto his thigh. Until his spanks were met with pathetic whimpers of pleasure, rubbing yourself shamelessly on his thigh. 

It was only the beginning. The very start of the shift in power for the two of you. First in the bedroom, then out in the world.

[tomblythismyhusband]

hoax [ coriolanus snow x fem!district!reader ] P.1

[summary]: coriolanus snow x fem!district!reader | part one | coriolanus stumbles upon you while on patrol in the woods. He tricks you with his charm, making you trust him.

[warnings]: +18, no smut but will progress that way in future parts, kissing, possessive snow, violence, slight gun play, pushed up against a tree, begging, peacekeeper snow is a whole warning in itself….,

[wc]: 2k+

[note]: in this version, coriolanus had just been through the whole ordeal with lucy gray recently. He hasn’t been sent back to the capitol yet.

**Part Two Here**

He was watching you. Waiting, calculating his next move. You were out of district territory. Sitting up against a tree seemingly relaxing. How pathetic. You come all this way out of your district just to sit?

Coriolanus was on patrol, and one of the areas now had you in it. You were in a place you weren’t supposed to be. He couldn’t help but study you from the comfort of his hiding place. He gripped his gun tighter as he watched you.

You seemed so soft, so innocent. The way your lips parted ever so slightly to let out sighs, the way your hands felt the grass by your side. Coriolanus couldn’t help but watch with interest.

After everything had blown up between him and Lucy Gray he felt desperate.

He didn’t like to admit it, but a gaping hole was left where his love for Lucy Gray used to be in his heart. It was painful to even think about. He wanted the pain to stop and it had.

-When he looked at you.

Coriolanus noticed the new lightness in his body when he studied you. He viewed you as maybe something he could have all to himself, something he could control. His.

He shifted his weight, causing a twig to snap under his boot. He saw you look up, an expression of paranoia on your face.

Coriolanus thought to himself as he stayed hidden. Would it be alright for him to come out? Would you scream, would you run? He decided it didn’t matter. He knew he could shut you up if he had to.

He slowly made his way out of the trees, becoming more visible, the soft forest ground crunching under him. He felt your eyes meet his and he watched as they widened.

You immediately stood up and smoothed out your dress. A fearful look replaced the calm expression that once inhabited your face.

“I- I’m sorry I didn’t-“ You stuttered.

It was a pathetic sight, but it made Coriolanus’ body warm.

“Your not supposed to be here.” He said lowly, inching forward ever so slightly. His gun still laid ready in his hands. He kept having to remind himself that no matter how pretty you were, you were district scum.

Your breathing quickened, as a knot of anxiety formed in the pit of your stomach. You had noticed his peacekeeping uniform. This was the moment you accepted the fact that you were going to be arrested.

“I’m sorry- I wasn’t doing anything I swear.” You explained with an urgency to your voice. Coriolanus let a laugh puff past his lips.

“Is that so?” He said coldly.

You pleaded with him. “Please trust me sir, I know I’m not supposed to be here. Please don’t hurt me.”

His eyes glistened at the sight of your pleading, it just confirmed that you were just a weak girl he could control. “Hurt you?” He drawled, stepping closer. “Why would I hurt a pretty thing like you?”

Your breathing hitched. Had he really just called you pretty? Your mind swirled with a mix of confusion and fear as you stood before him. Every step he took seemed to make him tower over you more and more .

“I’m Coriolanus..” He said coldly. He kept out his last name. He didn’t want you to know to much about him yet. You stared up at him. His name sounded fancy. It was a name fit for a powerful ruler, not a peacekeeper. He gave you an amused look.

“Are you really not going to tell me your name in return dove?” He teased.

“I’m-“ You hesitated weighing in the pros and cons of telling this man your name. It would give him more insight into who you were which could be a bad thing, but he trusted you enough to give you his name right? You finally gave in. His cold gaze seemed to make you want to obey anything he said. “I’m Y/n”

“Y/n…..” He murmured. Your name sounded silky in his voice. Your heart thumped painfully in your chest.

“Y-your a peacekeeper. Aren’t you going to arrest me for being out of district boundaries?” You whispered. You stared up into his impossibly blue eyes.

“I wouldn’t want to go through all that trouble dragging you back to base now would I?” He teased darkly. “Unless that’s what you want. If so I’d be happy to arrest you.”

“No!” You burst out. It came out a little louder than you intended and he raised his eyebrows. He looked almost pleased with your outburst, with your need to stay free.

Your breathing was still rapid as continued to draw closer. What was he doing? What were his intentions?

His eyes roamed your body, taking in every aspect of you. He was now super close now, his gun pressed into your hip.

“What do you want from me, if you’re not going to arrest me…” You asked, your voice quaking.

He had cornered you against the tree you were previously sitting at. You watched as he tilted his head at you. Up close you could see him more clearly. The shape of his lips, the strongness of his jaw, the hint of color in his cheeks. If it weren’t for his permanent icy gaze you would even argue that he was beautiful.

“I’m doing you quite the favor Y/n.” He crooned. “I could have you killed right now..” He paused to take in your reaction. “…but don’t worry I won’t….”

He brought up one of his gloved hands and traced it on your jawline as you trembled.

His gaze kept flicking down to your lips then back up to your eyes again. “Why are you doing this.” You whispered. You weren’t sure whether to fight back or not. His gun digging into your hip kept reminding you what you were dealing with.

“You’re beautiful.” He mumbled, inching his face even closer. You could feel his breath on your nose. Your cheeks heated at this.

“I’ll let you go..” He said in a low voice. His hand that was tracing your jaw slid down to your neck. His big hand encased it making you shiver. “If you do one little thing for me…”

You felt as if you were unable to speak. The emotions in your body were all over the place. “What…. what do you need me to do.” You choked out.

He studied your face again, his thumb slightly grazing your lips as you spoke. “I want you to come here everyday to see me.” He whispered.

You were confused. What would a peacekeeper want with you? Perhaps he was lonely? You felt guilty and hopeless for getting yourself into this situation. “Why? Why me?” You asked softly.

“Do you have family dove?” He asked quietly. The sudden question caught you off guard. You nodded.

“I live with my grandfather and my sister..”

He let out a hum. His thumb still traced your lips.

“I’ll offer you and your family my protection and services to help you survive if you meet me here everyday…” His words were soft but you couldn’t help but feel that there was malicious intent behind them. Everyone in District 12 was always either sick or dying. The thought of someone protecting your family from the horrors was intriguing.

His body pressed you up against the tree even harder. “No harm will ever come to any of them… or you.”

Your stomach tightened in fear. He was giving you an offer. His presence was so threatening you were worried something would happen to you if you were to disagree.

“Ok…..” You finally said. The grip on your neck slightly tightened.

“Oh dove…. you have to be more specific than that. What are you agreeing to?” He said smoothly. His voice was cold, calculating.

“I’ll meet you here everyday.” You replied meekly.

An amused look pulled on his lips. “That’s right. Everyday. 9 am.” He directed. You felt the hold on your neck slightly loosen. He leaned his head to your ear. His hot breath making you shake nervously.

“I’m looking forward to our next meeting..” With that he moved his head swiftly, mashing his lips against yours. The brim of his helmet was digging into your forehead as he kissed you. You let out a tiny grunt at the unexpectedness of the kiss.

You felt utterly helpless as his lips worked against yours. The kiss was hungry. So much built up frustration and heartache seemed to seep through his frantic lips.

When he finally pulled back he gazed upon your face. “You seemed to enjoy that didn’t you dove?” He cooed. He released your neck after giving it one final squeeze before turning and leaving back into the thick of the forest.

Coriolanus leaving you so abruptly left you more pained and confused as ever. Your lips still felt his kiss lingering, reminding you that everything that just happened was real.

You were almost in a daze as you trudged your way back to the confines of District 12. The woods was always your safe place, away from the hunger, the pain, the work. Your mind swirled at the thought that it wasn’t safe anymore.

Coriolanus owned it now. It now felt like he owned you too. He staked his claim and sealed the deal with a kiss.

The kiss. Oh how you wish that never happened. Your mind drifted to the boy you called yours back home. You never said anything due to the fear of Coriolanus’ strength, but you had a lover.

You scowled at yourself. You felt weak for even letting anything happen in the first place.

Your boyfriend’s name was Ben, and you loved him deeply. He was about medium height, a little taller than you. He had cute dimples that were especially highlighted when he smiled. He also had dark brown curls that always laid perfectly atop his head. You sighed as you thought of him. There was no way you were going to tell him about Coriolanus. Ever.

Coriolanus was nothing to you anyway. Just an inconvenience. He was dangerous, controlling. You had only interacted with him because he had caught you in a vulnerable moment. If you did anything but submit to him you might’ve not be walking back to your home now.

As you walked through the soft forest you thought to yourself.

You don’t have to come back here like he directed…. He will never find you again!

You comforted yourself at the thought. He didn’t control you. He couldn’t. Maybe outside of the District he had that power, but if you laid low he wouldn’t ever find you again.

Right?

[importantgalaxyrunaway]

Between the bars (Coriolanus Snow x reader)

AUTHORS NOTE 📝 : yall im so proud of this one i think its my best one yet would you want a part two bc i would be interested please comment and o worked Really really hard on this one especially a little longer than normal got a little carried away.

WARNINGS: pining, my post concussion writing, suggestive but no lemon, hardcore making out, fluff and slight angst w/ coryo family, tried my best for snow to be in character, were basically Lucy gray

My hands wrapped around the cold metal bars of the monkey house where I was enclosed in. I couldn’t sleep no, not a wink so I decided to watch over my district parter. It was cold at night, they didn’t give us any blankets. It’s barbaric the way they treat us, just because we’re district doesn’t mean we’re not human. And just since most of us are going to our death you’d think that we’d be entitled to a least a little dignity.

you’d think….

Suddenly I hear footsteps and peer out the bars of the monkey cage into the empty zoo. Well…..not empty anymore. There approaching me is the one person who has treated me fairly since coming here. He handles me like I was a true lady of the capital.

Coriolanus snow walked up to the bars where I was.

��hello y/n….I’ve brought you something” he hands me an intricate compact “it was my mothers I thought it would remind you of me in the arena and…….” He pauses and looks around though no one is there “there’s poison in it. I know, but only in self defense in that arena your going to things you’re not proud of”

I nod “I understand” I say knowing I’ll have to use it at some point “it’s beautiful…thank you” I run my fingers over the delicate and fancy design.

he smiles. That smile that stupid smirk. When I first met Coriolanus I had to admit I was struck by how attractive he was. Paired with holding out a rose for me to take from his hand and saying that he would take care of me….well it’s enough to have any girl blushing like a fool. I tried my best to keep it together but I knew some of the blush was showing on my face when he held out the rose. Whenever I look at him I get butterflies in my stomach. Little did I know at the time he felt almost the exact same way about me and my appearance when he first saw me. But it was my spirit at the reaping and going foreward that truly made him fall for her. In fact the was one of the things that prompted him to arrive with the rose at the train station. When I was reaped I didn’t cry or scream or anything but….well I sung. I’ve always been a performer at heart and though my song was very short it showed that they couldn’t break my spirit.

now he leans down and brings his face close to mine. Closer than ever before.

“Coryo, I don’t know if I’ll ever see you again…but I wanted to thank you, you’ve treated me well like an equal and that’s rare. If I die in that arena it won’t be your fault-“

“I’m going you out of there y/n. You’re not just a tribute to me. You’re going to survive”he shocks even himself by saying it. He had never spoken about his feelings to y/n. Not even to Tigris. But with the games tomorrow there was no chance other than now. He was enchanted by her beauty and her charm when they first met, her realness. And though it was hard to admit her survival in that arena now meant much more to him than just getting the plinthe prize. He cared about her. Love was a feeling that was all too foreign to the young Coriolanus snow. He had only ever possibly experimented with a girl or two and that was nothing special just a fling. He was an orphan he never knew love from his parents all he had was Tigris, the grandma’m and now y/n.

I let my fingers slip in between the the bars that separated us and caress the side of his soft cheek. Letting myself give in to the temptation that has plagued me ever since we met. His eyes lock onto mine and me gaze at each other for a while lost in our own thoughts. as I stroke his cheek he leans into my touch so heavily as though he has never felt real love in his life. My other hand goes to cup his other cheek from the side so I’m holding his head in my hands now. He looks up at me and I slide one of my hands down to his neck. He was so clearly touch starved, I could see the desperation and hunger in his eyes.

and we’re both wondering the same thing. is this it? Is this the last time l’ll ever see them?

“Y/n l/n” he breathed like it was a desperate plea.

“coryo…”

and then he leans in close and we are in between the bars. He kisses me at first gently, soft and pure like driven snow. I can smell the roses on him a sweet scent that fills my lungs and takes me away. And we both forget about everything. The arena, the tributes, the fact I might be facing my death tomorrow. Because all I can feel is his lips upon mine. His lips are warm and soft, unlike the cold crisp air around us. We’re almost gasping for air. The kiss turns hot and heavy. More rough as it goes on. Like he was holding back before, now he had given up the fight with control. I gasp as I feel his hand snake around to the back off my head and pulling impossibly closer to him in the kiss. When I gasp he takes advantage of that and and deepens the kiss even further if possible. It was never a fight for dominance he took control. A small groan of pleasure escapes Coriolanus’s lips. I hum in response showing that I’m enjoying it as much as he is. Eventually we break and put our foreheads together.

And there stands Coriolanus snow one of the finest men in the capital, panting uniform messed up, and face as red as a beet. All because of the tribute y/n l/n from district 12. She had more than just affect on him. That was an understatement

not that she was any better…

Our foreheads touching both of us panting for our lives, tomato faced. I gaze once again into those beautiful blue irises that remind me of crystals

“Coryo…I won’t let you down in that arena I’ll survive for us…you’ve given me something to fight for” I breathe out

”and you’ve given me someone to root for. I’ll be waiting for you y/n” he almost whispers the last sentence

[coryoskywalker]

History (Young! Coriolanus Snow x Reader)

Description: Maybe you should’ve taken the risk. Perhaps things would’ve been different….

You and Coriolanus have been friends since the age of six. There was a moment between you two that she couldn’t forget. It was after the war when Y/n spotted young Coriolanus walking around the Capitol, presumably searching for food. Being the kind soul she was, Y/n took a piece of bread from her basket and offered it to him. Despite Coriolanus's initial stubbornness, he eventually accepted the bread, forever thankful.

From that moment, both Coriolanus and Y/n knew they would become great friends, or perhaps something more. It wasn't until they became adults, in their last year at the academy, that Coriolanus faced a crucial day. Winning the plinth prize was his only chance to save his family from starvation and secure a worry-free university education.

Y/n, aware of Coriolanus's home situation, always told him to come to her if he needed anything. However, he, driven by guilt and a high ego, consistently refused her help. When the day of the plinth prize announcement arrived, Dr. Gaul changed the rules, making each of the 24 students a mentor and allocating them to a tribute.

Y/n, the saint she is, panicked when she got the young girl named Wovey, knowing the girl didn’t stand a chance, breaking her heart. It wasn’t until Coriolanus softly grasped her hand and reassured her that everything would be fine. As time passed, Coriolanus still didn’t have a tribute. He knew High Bottom purposely gave him a girl from District 12, Lucygray, to secure his downfall. An interesting tribute, Y/n admitted, especially the moment the girl started singing and swearing on live television.

Y/n looked at Coriolanus as the scene played out. He had a stern look, and what she assumed was admiration, a look she had never seen him have—at least not directed towards her. From that moment, Y/n knew Lucygray would be the downfall of her and that Coriolanus could have been.

———————————————————————————

“Coriolanus do you love her? Do you love lucygray?” Y/n whispered to him. It was mid way during the hunger games.

Coriolanus looked guiltily at Y/n, unable to meet her gaze. "I... I have feelings for her," he muttered faintly, without even looking at her. Y/n had noticed Coriolanus's unusual behavior — his inability to sleep, his loss of appetite, and his lack of social interaction. She couldn't figure out what had changed, but now, she knows the answer. Coriolanus felt an unexpected affection toward LucyGray. He was deeply ashamed of it, but he couldn't deny it. He looked at Y/n painfully, yet with determination.

"I'm sorry," he said, his voice breaking with emotion. "I don't know when it started... I have no idea how to explain it. All I know is this: I love Lucy, and I want to win the Games for her." Y/n was stunned. She had known that Coriolanus felt something for the District 12 tribute, but she didn't expect him to put his feelings into words so soon. It was as if he had forgotten about her completely, as if he no longer cared about their shared time together. Her heart ached with pain.

"Y/n..." He looked stared at you. "Lucy... my Lucy... deserves happiness. She deserves to know what love is. She deserves a shot at a future. And I will give it to her. But that doesn't mean I haven't felt things for you. It's just... You... you and me... it's not as simple."

“I understand,” was all you replied. He had always been honest about his feelings, but it was not the answer you were expecting. You were hurt to find you had been reduced to ‘too complicated’ when you thought of him as the perfect complement. But you knew you could never be that simple, with all your duties and expectations. As much as it pained you, you could understand why he had chosen another girl. He would never have to worry about her, to question her motives or her honesty. She would be loyal and good, with no strings attached.

“Is it easier with her?” You questioned him. You were confused and doubtful. How could being an outsider from the Capitol be easy? You refused to believe him.

“Yes,” he was honest with you. No reason to hide the truth. “She’s... simpler than you. Easier to understand. She’s honest and good and pure. But our path in the Games is not that simple. And you... You’re complicated too. I’m aware of our status. I know I’m bound by duty while you’re… free in comparison.” He spoke pushing a piece of fallen hair.

Y/n stepped back, keeping a short distance between herself and Coriolanus as her heart shattered to pieces. She couldn't believe the man she loved... the man she had spent years thinking also felt the same way for her had betrayed her like this. She was lost for words and the only thing which came out of her was an uneasy breath and tears flowing down her angelic face.

"So everything was a lie, Coriolanus?" Y/n whispered, her voice shaky and broken. "Everything we admitted to each other throughout the years was a humorous joke to you?".

Coriolanus stood there, strong and proud even though the words he was speaking were breaking her heart. He said without shame, without hesitation, "Yes."

Seeing the heartbreak on her face, he softened his tone and spoke as gently as he could despite the situation. "I'm sorry. I'm truly sorry. I do care for you... it's just..."

He searched for words, and then stopped. His jaw clenched... there was nothing he could say. So he just stood there, trying really hard not to look away as her tears poured.

Y/n felt her heart break into pieces when she heard Coriolanus speak those words. She had no idea that her feelings for him were not reciprocated all this time. Coriolanus had been honest with her, but at what cost? She felt betrayed and hurt beyond measure, and the only thing she could do was let out a painful cry. Y/n could not believe that her and Coriolanus's relationship was now over. She felt like a piece of her heart was missing and she didn't know how she would ever recover from this heartache.

———————————————————————————

As y/n lay curled up on the forest floor, she took a deep breath, taking in the tranquil atmosphere. Coriolanus's arm was wrapped around her, his breath gentle and slow against her cheek. They had found refuge from their busy schedule under this old tree, and for now, nothing else mattered to them but each other. The day's worries melted away, the stress of work and deadlines no more than a distant memory.

"What do you see in your future?" Coriolanus asked casually, brushing her hair away from her face as he looked down at her.

"Huh? Oh...my future..." y/n mused, blinking slowly. She thought for a moment, her mind wandering back to the dreams and ambitions she held when she was younger. But something changed as she grew older, and she started to feel as if those fantasies were becoming increasingly unrealistic, to the point where she no longer believed them possible. "I'm not sure anymore."

"Why not?" Coriolanus pressed, shifting so her head was now nestled on his lap. The gentle rustling of the leaves in the trees above seemed to drown out their conversation, providing them with a sense of seclusion.

"I used to dream about becoming a scientist. Or becoming a journalist. But after a while, I began to realize that the odds of that happening were next to zero. So, I settled with less..." y/n trailed off, feeling her voice waver slightly.

Coriolanus reached up to stroke her cheek, the sound of his own voice now soft and subdued. "Maybe you're not giving yourself enough credit, y/n. You're smart and capable; you can do anything you set your mind to."

"Maybe..." y/n mumbled, leaning into Coriolanus's touch. But her uncertainty remained, her voice a whisper as she spoke. Even her best friend, the boy who had supported her throughout all her life's ups and downs, believed in her more than she believed in herself.

Coriolanus seemed to notice a hint of sadness in y/n's voice and his gaze met hers, his expression one of concern. Y/n tried to hide it, but was it really that easy for people to see through her defenses?

Coriolanus studied y/n closely, his hand moving up to her cheek and gently turning her face so that their eyes met. Y/n's heart skipped a beat as she felt the warmth of his touch and her gaze quickly flitted away. After everything they'd been through, she should have been used to these moments where he looked at her with such tenderness, but it still made her cheeks flush and her blood run cold. She wondered whether he was thinking the same thing as her...and if maybe this moment was about to become something more...

Y/n felt the weight of the world melt away as Coriolanus leaned in and brushed his lips against hers, so gently and sweetly that it felt more like a whisper than a kiss. Her eyes remained shut, her heart pounding in her ears as she savored the sensations of Coriolanus's arms around her and their bodies pressed against each other, a perfect moment of intimacy. Y/n parted her lips slightly, and Coriolanus's kiss deepened as he wrapped his arms around her. The warmth in her stomach grew, her breaths coming in rapid gasps.

Y/n felt a jolt of electricity run through her body as her heart pounded harder in her chest. She had always known these feelings existed, but now they were suddenly given life as Coriolanus pressed himself closer to her, his hands brushing her hair away from her face and his breath catching in his throat. Y/n tried to hold back, but the kiss was so overwhelming that she let out a tiny whimper of surrender, her hands clutching at his shirt as their embrace became deeper and more meaningful.

Coriolanus was the first to pull away, his chest heaving as he lifted his head and stared down at her. Y/n couldn't breathe, her body still trembling from the sensations of the kiss.

"Y/n..." Coriolanus murmured, his fingers slowly brushing aside the dark locks that framed her face. His eyes were fixed on her lips as he studied her face closely, trying to determine whether she truly was as affected by their kiss as he was.

Y/n swallowed hard, unable to tear her eyes away from Coriolanus's face. How could their friendship ever be the same after a kiss like that? Yet, as she looked at him, she felt as if they were the only two people in the entire world, and that nothing else besides their feelings mattered at all.

She wanted to say something, ANYTHING to break the silence, but her thoughts were too clouded by the emotions coursing through her body, still reeling from the intensity of their kiss and every touch of his fingers on her skin.

Maybe if she broke the silence, maybe, just maybe things would’ve been different….

[balladofmyramblings]

I’ve seen my fair share of…interesting BOSAS takes (Tigris and Snow’s relationship doesn’t make sense, Sejanus wasn’t important to Coriolanus/Coriolanus’ character, Dean Highbottom was inconsistent, people just called Lucy Gray Lucy instead of LG or something, etc) but never has one irked me as much as people saying the ending was rushed or out of character or didn’t make sense.

The ending is a representation of their whole relationship. Yeah, it’s rushed, because it lasted 3 months and they were prepared to spend their life together after that. No, it was completely in character. Yes, it made total sense, because what else would have convinced Coriolanus to go back, if not the idea that he was safe?

First off, elaborating on the rushed point, be so fr. 1, the book was getting a bit long anyways, and 2, it couldn’t have been long and drawn out. How quick their relationship crumbled and we were shown Coriolanus’ true loyalties shows so much I can’t even begin to explain it, but I’ll try.

It shows how Lucy Gray valued family and trust. She’d already talked about how much trust mattered to her, and she’d been hurt so badly before she needed it. She needs trust, and she doesn’t just need it for herself. She needs to be able to trust him, and she needs him to be able to trust her. When Coriolanus obviously lied about the third person he killed, Lucy Gray realized that neither of those things were there.

It shows how Coriolanus valued himself and the capitol above all else. He was going to, and tried to, kill Lucy Gray. The person who, just 10 minutes ago he was prepared to spend the rest of his life with. He did that because he couldn’t be guaranteed loyalty, and because he realized she definitely didn’t belong to him. Coriolanus’ view of Lucy Gray- that she’s a pet, or something just for him, is entirely effed up and he can’t see that, so he clings to it. He clings to that idea of her being his and when it’s proven false, he can’t let go of it.

Lucy Gray was there when Coriolanus lied to her about the killing, and there was only one person he could have also killed. She was wary of him then, what he was capable of, but she didn’t know for sure where his loyalty truly laid until she saw the look on his face with the guns. She knew then that the Coriolanus standing before her she couldn’t trust, and she knew what that meant, and Coriolanus knew she knew what that meant and he couldn’t deal with the fact she wasn’t completely infatuated with him.

It’s also worthy to mention how easily Coriolanus started to see Lucy Gray differently. He justified his killing of her to himself, as we see in the whole “she’s a victor, maybe Billy taupe was right, etc” page. He thinks that it may have been an act all along, and can’t deal with the fact he fell in love with someone who could turn on him so easily. So he justifies it and makes stuff up and uses all he can to convince himself of the devilish nature of Lucy Gray.

Coriolanus’ deep, unwavering faith in the capitol is shown here so clearly I feel like it’s bleeding into my eyes. He was so ready to leave her (also how he thought she’d be ok with it also proves how he sees her as completely loyal) when he realized he was basically innocent. He is only ever scared of the capitol when it could harm him.

Their whole relationship was a whirlwind, and could never have had a breakup 3 chapters long. It needed to be quick and easy, all ties cut. The fate of Lucy Gray also needed to be a mystery, because nothing else in his life is. The constant worrying of if she’d ever tell, if she’s alive or not, blah blah blah unsettles him just like he deserves it to. We don’t get an answer to if Lucy Gray came back (probably not though), we don’t even get an answer if she’s alive.

In conclusion, the end of BOSAS was very fitting, and though unpredictable and fast, it was right.

[ilguna]

Can I please get number 2 and 8 from aisle 3 with sejanus, it could be her finding out about his plans to leave panem together and her trying to get him out of the jabberjay situation with snow to keep him safe? Thank you 💛

(ps. I know you love angst but pls don’t have him die I don’t think I can take it 😭)

☼ birds and stones (Sejanus Plinth) ☼

warnings; swearing, death mention, gun mention, rebel plans, bird death.

wc; 5.4k

notes; 2. "How much of this did you hear?" AND 8. "Were you ever going to tell me the truth?"

--

The Center.

A place that you never thought that you’d semi-willingly step foot inside of in your entire life. In fairness, you don’t think the few hundred people wandering around the building had planned to  turn to becoming a Peacekeeper, either. At least they have somewhat of a choice, though.

You weren't given one, courtesy of your actions while you were mentoring a single tribute for the Tenth Hunger Games. You’d like to say it’s not your fault you ended up here, because it truly would be so easy to pawn it off on Coriolanus, or even your own boyfriend, Sejanus. The truth is that you deserve every minute of the next twenty years as much as they do.

Although, your crimes against the Academy aren’t as severe. With your mother being part of the Committee, you were able to hear their charges and they were about what you had expected. Sejanus was pretty simple, the only real questionable thing he’d done was entering the arena without permission, thereby putting himself in danger.

As for Coriolanus—he was a desperate man. It didn’t take a genius to know that there was something more going on between him and Lucy Gray. Which did shock you, considering the opinions he’d aired about district people to you in the past. He never really struck you as the type of person to switch sides at the drop of a hat, but you’ve done some pretty interesting things yourself, these past couple weeks.

Anyway, Coriolanus had illegally smuggled Academy food into the arena. They picked up a napkin after the arena had been bombed, and found his DNA all over it. Which in of itself wouldn’t have been enough to expel him. Then, they found out that he was behind the compact that Lucy Gray had, which held rat poison inside of it.

Your mother explained to you that she knew the Snow’s when they were alive. She knew that the compact couldn’t have belonged to the Twelve tribute, because Coriolanus’s mother had been seen with it. She never went anywhere without it. And your mother wasn’t the only one who noticed this, Dean Highbottom already had it down on his list.

The final nail on the coffin was when they’d found Coriolanus’s handkerchief in a snake tank—the mutt tank that they’d used to take out the remaining tributes inside of the arena. In the corner, the initials ‘CXS’ was stitched with the same white thread at the border. Coriolanus might have been able to deny it, if it wasn’t so glaringly obvious that it belonged to him.

This proves that he tampered with the neon snakes. You didn’t understand right away, but your mother explained that Dr. Gaul had engineered the snakes to become comfortable with familiar scents and violent with smells they didn’t have in their system. The theory your mother shared was that Lucy Gray had touched it at some point in time, and Coriolanus never washed it.

And when he heard that the snakes would be going inside of the arena, he paid a visit to Dr. Gaul’s laboratory to drop off the handkerchief in the tank. It was a smart move, no one would have been able to trace it back to him. If the initials weren’t in the corner. Even one of the lab assistants was convinced it’d belonged to them until they inspected it further.

Just like that, he’d been expelled.

As well as you and Sejanus. Unfortunately, you haven’t heard information on either of them beyond that. The last time you talked to your boyfriend was about two nights ago, when he kissed you goodbye at your doorstep after you’d watched Lucy Gray win the Games. He promised to see you the following day, but he never came.

Since then, you received the news of your own expulsion, which has been an incredibly slow process as your mother and father have fought against it. They were pissed at the idea of you losing your honor status and your diploma. It’s a disgrace that they consider you a dropout, not even making it to your graduation.

This means that higher schooling is completely out of the question. They’ve trapped you into the next twenty years, whether you like it or not. If you were anyone else, you’d say you’ve shed some tears, but after being friends with Coriolanus and Sejanus, your skin has grown thick and your emotions rare.

“Form?” The woman asks, holding out her hand.

You pass over the paper the Recruitment Office handed to you after you enlisted yesterday afternoon. They told you that they’d need it when you got to the Center today, as there was information they had to fill out before you could officially get sent off to one of the districts.

She takes the paper from your fingers, eyes searching for your name at the top, printed in your neat handwriting. Her face twitches briefly, eyebrows raising. “(Y/n) (L/n)?” When she locks eyes with you, the bewilderment is prominent.

You give her a small smile. “That’s me.”

You were expecting this, it’s not everyday you get the daughters of one of the most infamous families in the Capitol. You wouldn’t necessarily say you’re important by any means, but if someone were to mention your last name, they would be able to recognize it. You come from a family that’s been successful for generations without sharing their secrets.

She hums, “They’ll start with your physical.” She places the paper on the table. “If you were a boy, they’d cut your hair, but you should be fine.” 

“Thank you.” You murmur, walking around the table to head behind the curtains.

“Thank you.” She echoes.

The physical is pretty simple, you pass without any problems being brought up. After they fully vaccinate you against the sicknesses going around in the districts, you’re then led through a row of chairs, occupied by men getting their hair shaved into a buzz cut. You’re ordered to change into fatigues, your previous clothes being promptly discarded.

They hand you a duffel bag with a change of clothing, a hygiene kit, a water bottle, and a packet of meat sandwiches for the trip on the train. Your final stop in the Center is at the table, where you take care to read through the stack of papers they hand you, knowing better than to blindly sign.

When you’re done completely, you hand in the papers, watching as the man staples it all together. “Before I stamp your slip, do you have a district you’d prefer to go to?”

You open your mouth to tell him ‘no preference’, but a voice behind you cuts you off entirely. “District Twelve.”

Your face twists at the very thought of going to such a dirty district. There will undoubtedly be a layer of coal dust on everything you touch. It’ll be impossible to escape.

As you turn to look at who spoke over you, you try to drop the disgusted look. The moment your eyes land on him, a flood of relief hits your body like a truck. You throw out your hands. “Sejanus!”

Dressed in the same colored fatigues, with his brown curls shaved away, stands your boyfriend. His signature smile spreads across his face while he opens his arms for you to hug him.

You squeeze him tightly, letting out a laugh. “I thought you’d already gone.”

“No, I would never have gone without saying goodbye to you, first.” He says, you pull back to look into his eyes. He takes this as an opportunity to kiss you, holding you in place for several long seconds until he’s satisfied.

You quickly remember the recruitment officer sitting at the table. You keep one hand wrapped around Sejanus, turning to look at the man. “District Twelve.”

He writes it in on your slip, stamps it, and then slides it over. You hold the paper, watching as Sejanus turns in his papers and requests District Twelve, too. He holds his hand out for you, which you take gratefully, squeezing his palm. Together, you take a bus to the train station, where you wait for the next hour.

Sejanus has so much to tell you in this short span of time, most of which you already know. You know about the expulsion of the three of you, and how Lucy Gray was sent back to District Twelve without being paraded. He then goes on to surprise you by saying his father went before the board to promise them a new gymnasium for the Academy if they let him graduate and sign up for Peacekeepers. However, Sejanus refused to take the deal until both Coriolanus and you were allowed to graduate, too. And since Professor Sickle really wanted a new gym…

“I graduated?” You ask, eyebrows twitching in.

Sejanus opens his box of belongings, pulling out a small leather folder with the school’s emblem and your name engraved on the front. You take it from him carefully, flipping it open to see the diploma inside, crediting you with High Honors, like you’d wanted.

“Sejanus.” You pout.

“Don’t act like it’s a great deal.” Sejanus laughs, pushing your shoulder away. “It’s the least I could do for getting you in trouble.”

“It still means a lot to me.” You tell him. “And you know that.”

“That’s why I did it.”

–

Lately, Sejanus hasn’t been acting like himself. 

It started happening a couple weeks back, right around the time he and Coriolanus were asked by the base commander to attend the hanging of Arlo Chance. Well, it wasn’t much of an option, they were instructed to go because Commander wanted more bodies there for show, and he was looking for recruits.

While they were given the opportunity to go, you were told to stay on base and continue with the schedule that you were given for the day. At the time, you weren’t upset by this in any way. In fact, you were thankful that you wouldn’t have to put on the full Peacekeeper uniform to stand out in the heat while they hung rebels. It wasn’t an afternoon that you’d been picturing all day. 

Now that you’re looking back on it, maybe it would have been better if you’d offered. At least then you would’ve been with Sejanus. You saw the looks on both of their faces when they came back later that evening. Whatever had happened obviously upset Sejanus enough for him to barely kiss your cheek before disappearing to his room to write to Ma.

When you saw him for supper that night, he was overwhelmingly quiet. Despite the amount of times you tried to start up a conversation with him, he wouldn’t respond. He barely offered you more than a smile, but he did hold onto one of your hands with both of his, needing the comfort.

It wasn’t until you, Coriolanus and Sejanus were mopping the mess hall did he finally speak.

“What’s bothering you? And don’t say nothing.” Coriolanus said, eyes set on your boyfriend. His silence must’ve been poking at him, too.

Sejanus stuck his mop into the bucket of dirty water. “I don’t know. I keep wondering what would’ve happened today if the crowd had gotten physical. Would we have had to shoot them?”

“Oh, probably not.” Coriolanus told him almost immediately. You paused where you were several feet away, hands beginning to tighten around the wooden pole. “Probably just fired a few rounds in the air.”

“If I’m helping to kill people in the districts, how is it any better than helping to kill them in the Hunger Games?” Sejanus asked.

The silence that took over the room only lasted a few seconds, but a hundred thoughts passed through your head in that short span of time. The first was concern for your boyfriend, because there’s nothing more than he hates than unnecessary violence. And the second was concern for you and Coriolanus, because this exact train of thought is what had gotten you here, in District Twelve, in the first place.

Coriolanus hesitated. “What did you think it was going to be? I mean, what did you think you’d signed up for?”

“I thought I could be a medic.” Sejanus murmured, looking up from the floor to you.

You locked eyes with him, forced a smile, and went back to mopping. You’ll admit that when you signed up for Peacekeepers, you had a handful of unrealistic expectations, yourself. It’s taken you twice as long to adjust to this lifestyle than it has for them. Sejanus fit in with the district almost immediately because he used to live in District Two, and it’s like Coriolanus was meant for a military life.

On the other hand, you’d never pictured yourself leaving the Capitol, never really had to lift your finger for a single thing. Regardless, you knew that it would be more gloomy skies than sunshine days here. There’s going to be a lot of grimy memories that will follow you for the rest of your life, even after you make it back to the Capitol someday.

“A medic.” Coriolanus repeated. “Like a doctor?”

“No, that would require university training.” Sejanus continued. “Something more basic. Something where I could help anyone who’d been injured, Capitol or district, when violence breaks out. At least I wouldn’t do any harm. I just don’t know if I could ever kill anyone, Coryo.”

That’s all it took for you and Coriolanus to share a worried look. Sejanus was beginning to fall right back into his Capitol habits. This time, his actions would have worse consequences than just being banished. They could get him killed.

“What about in war?” You asked, causing them to look over. “We’re soldiers, you know.”

“I know. A war would be different, I guess. But I would have to be fighting for something I believed in. I would have to believe it would make the world a better place. I’d still rather be a medic, but there isn’t much demand for them at the moment, it turns out. Without a war. They’ve got a long waiting list of people who’d like to be trained to work at the clinic. But even for that, you need a recommendation, and the sergeant doesn’t want to give me one.”

“Why not? Sounds like a perfect fit.”

“Because I’m too good with a gun.” Sejanus paused, lips pulling down at the corners. “It’s true. I’m a crack shot. My father taught me from when I was tiny, and every week I had mandatory target practice. He considers it part of the family business.”

“Why didn’t you hide it?”

“I thought I was. In reality, I shoot much better than I do in training. I tried not to stand out, but the rest of the squad is terrible.” Sejanus’s eyes widened, looking between you and Coriolanus. “Not you two.”

“Yes, me.” Coriolanus laughed. “Look, I think you’re making too much of this. It’s not like we have a hanging every day. And if it ever did come to it, just shoot to miss.”

Sejanus let out a heavy sigh. “And what if that means (Y/n), or you, or Beanpole, or Smiley, end up dead? Because I didn’t protect you?”

“Oh, Sejanus.” You shook your head.

“You have to stop overthinking everything! Imagining every worst-case scenario. That isn’t going to happen. We’re all going to die right here, of old age or excessive mopping, whatever takes us first. In the meantime, quit hitting the target! Or invent a problem with your eyes! Or smash your hand in the door!”

“Stop being so self-indulgent, in other words.”

“Well, so dramatic anyway.” You mused, dragging your mop back to the bucket.

“That’s how you ended up in the arena, remember?” Coriolanus asked.

Sejanus blinked as if Coriolanus had reached over and slapped him. “That’s how I almost got us both killed. You’re right. Thanks. I’m going to think over what you said.”

It seems like he’s taken Coriolanus’s words to heart after that night, genuinely considering them and the consequences his actions could have. You know that the last thing Sejanus wants is to put the three of you back into danger, getting you into trouble, to find yourselves in worse work than Peacekeepers.

Sejanus has good intentions, you know he does. They’ve shown through several times, despite the mistakes he continues to make. In the past, before you’d been asked to mentor for the Tenth Hunger Games, they weren’t as frequent. And if they were, you never noticed them because they weren’t life-altering.

The truth is that you can never fully blame Sejanus for what he’s done, mostly because you feel as if the Hunger Games brought out the worst in a lot of people. The moment it was suggested, it started a domino effect that none of you had foreseen. And it ended with half of your classmates dead, and you being banished from the Capitol.

Still, this doesn’t mean that you excuse Sejanus’s flaws entirely. He would never let you.

“(L/n).” A voice snaps. You straighten where you stand, turning sharply to face the voice. You’re met with the face of your Commander, his eyebrows raised. “Go help with the birds, I want them labeled and on the hovercraft by the end of the hour.”

“Yes, sir.” You nod, waiting for him to take his eyes off of you before you walk away.

A part of you feels guilty, though. Sejanus’s train of thoughts progressively got worse in the Capitol when he confided in you. When he told you that he wanted to leave the bread crumbs on Marcus’s body, you said that he should find a way how. Granted, you were picturing him doing it after the Games had been finished and the bodies were extracted.

Really, you expected him to pull some strings with his father to get it to happen, too. Sometimes you forget that he doesn’t like to use his wealth and name the same way that you do. He doesn’t like taking the advantage. What he doesn’t realize is that if he does it in moderation—especially for something as simple as bread crumbs—no one will think he’s trying to get a step up.

If you hadn’t encouraged Sejanus to find a way to Marcus, then he wouldn’t have gone into the arena. Ma would not have gone to the Snow’s looking for her son. Coriolanus would not have gotten the call from Dr. Gaul regarding your boyfriend being in danger. There wouldn’t have been a reason to send Coriolanus in there to save him. And Coryo wouldn’t have had to kill one of the tributes.

You believe you’re a good portion of the reason why you’re here, in District Twelve, now.

Of course, there were other factors that contributed to it, but that was the start of it.

As you go to walk around the corner of the building to where half of your bunkmates should be, Sejanus’s voice cuts through the silence. “Listen, we’ve only got a few minutes. I know you won’t approve of what I’m going to do, but I need you to at least understand it. After what you said the other day, about us being like brothers, well, I feel I owe you an explanation. Please, just hear me out.”

Your boots freeze in the mud, eyebrows draw in. The quiet chirping of a nearby jabberjay fills the silence, while Coriolanus thinks of a response. Then, it falls quiet too. As if it wants to hear what your boyfriend has to say.

“It’s like this,” Sejanus starts. “Some of the rebels are leaving District twelve for good. Heading north to start a life away from Panem. They said if I help them with Lil, (Y/n) and I can go, too.”

You blink, face twisting deeper at the new knowledge. Sejanus is talking to rebels. He isn’t learning from his mistakes. Why hasn’t he talked to you about this? What does he think Coriolanus is going to do? If either of them get into trouble, it’ll be you who pulls them out this time. With Coriolanus wrapped up in Lucy Gray again and Sejanus talking district rebels…

As if reading your thoughts, Sejanus begins to speak quickly. “I know, I know, but they need me. The thing is, they’re determined to free Lil and take her with them. If they don’t, the Capitol will hang her with the next lot of rebels they bring in. The plan is simple, really. The prison guards work in four-hour shifts. I’m going to drug a couple of my ma’s treats and give them to the outside guards. The medicine they gave me in the Capitol, it knocks you out like that—” Sejanus snaps his fingers.

“I’ll take one of their guns. The inside guards are unarmed, so I can force them into the interrogation room at gunpoint. It’s soundproof, so no one can hear them yell. Then I’ll get Lil. Her brother can get us through the fence. We’ll head north immediately. We should have hours before they discover the guards. SInce we’re not going through the gate, they’ll assume we’re hiding on base, so they’ll lock it down and search here first. By the time they figure it out, we’ll be long gone. No one hurt. And no one the wiser.”

You’re gonna be sick.

You reach out to steady yourself on the wall, taking in deep breaths through your nose to calm the rising nausea. Sejanus has lost his goddamn mind if he thinks that he’s going to get away with all of this. He’s going to get himself hurt. He’s going to get himself caught. Or, he’s going to get himself killed.

“I couldn’t go without telling you.” Sejanus says to Coryo. You raise your head, face screwing in, because apparently telling his girlfriend doesn’t matter. But the person he considers a brother is more important, even though he’s not a part of this plan? “You’re as good to me as any brother could be. I’ll never forget what you did for me in the arena. I’ll try to figure out some way to let Ma know what happened to me. And my father, I suppose. Let him know the Plinth name lives on, if only in obscurity.”

It’s quiet for a couple of seconds, and then the jabberjay they must have nearby, begins to sing the song it had been before you walked up to the corner. Your eyebrows twitch together, suspicious. 

“Here comes Bug.” Coriolanus says.

“Here comes Bug.” The bird repeats in Coryo’s voice.

Now it’s repeating what’s been said?

“Hush, you silly thing.” Coriolanus murmurs.

“We need another water bottle. One broke.” Bug says.

“One broke.” The bird echoes in Bug’s voice, before switching to imitate a nearby crow.

It dawns on you suddenly, as the blood seems to run from your face to your toes. You remember the crash course they gave everyone on jabberjays and mockingjays just a few weeks back. How mockingjays only replicated notes, while the jabberjays could repeat back whole sentences if instructed to.

Usually, they’re quite talkative. The jabberjay should’ve been repeating little parts of that conversation the entire time. The only time they fall silent is when they’re listening…

Your feet move before you tell them to, eyes searching for the jabberjay that holds Sejanus’s rebel secrets that will get him killed if they’re heard by the wrong person. Your presence immediately draws three pairs of eyes, but you’re locked on the cage that Bug is carrying toward the hovercraft.

“(Y/n), what are you doing over here?” Coriolanus asks.

Your eyes slide over to him, and they must not exactly be kind looking, because the happy look on his face vanishes completely. You take in a breath, forcing a smile despite the many things you’d like to accuse him of.

Not now, you think. “Commander told me to come here to make sure that the work gets done by the end of the hour.”

As you glance over at Bug, you find that the cage is marked with J1.

“Oh, well we don’t really need help.” Coriolanus shakes his head, looking between Sejanus and Bug. “We’re almost finished.”

“Let me organize the hovercraft, while the three of you focus on getting the birds covered.” You tell them, leaving no room for discussion. You have to get your hands on that bird, and you need to get it out of this area.

“Sure.” Sejanus nods, face twisting slightly. “Are you alright?”

He catches your arm, holding you in place for a moment. You give him a smile, reaching up to touch his face, even though you want to be everything but tender right now. He’s been lying to you about what he’s been up to. He made the wrong assumption of thinking that you’d be fine with going along with what he wanted. And out of all the people he chose to tell, he picked Coriolanus.

“I’m good.” You nod. “I just don’t want to get in trouble.”

Sejanus lets you go, smoothing the wrinkles out of your sleeve. You follow after Bug, allowing them to resume their conversation. You hesitate, waiting at the bottom of the ramp, wanting to hear what Coriolanus has to say to your boyfriend, if he’ll try to talk him out of it. But if he actually cared about Sejanus, he never would have recorded the first part, the most criminating part.

Bug peeks his head out of the hovercraft. “Are you coming inside?”

“Yes.” You start up the ramp, sparing a single glance back at the two boys. 

It’s dark inside of the hovercraft, half of the lights overhead are covered by the cages and tarps to hide the birds. Bug quickly explains what he’s been doing with the birds and how they had been instructed to organize them. You feign interest, you’re not planning on staying for long. 

In fact, as soon as Bug announces that he’s going to grab the next bird and disappears, you sweep J1 off of the shelf, heading down the ramp and straight into the street. A singular remote clutched in your free hand. You walk for a couple minutes, unconcerned about being missing. When the hovercraft is entirely out of sight, you step behind a tree, placing the bird cage on the ground, and pulling off the cover. 

You stare down at the bird, shaking your head. You do the easiest task first, which is erasing the conversation. You press play, then put it on neutral so that you can press record, putting the bird back on neutral when you’re done. Now, it has nothing but the sound of birds chirping in the trees in its memory.

This should be good enough, but that means you could’ve just done it inside of the hovercraft, it would’ve been easier. A pit in your stomach tells you that you can’t just pick up the cage and walk back to the ship. You know that you’ve gotten rid of the conversation correctly—what if you didn’t? What if it’s still able to play it back? If it were up to you, you’d get rid of the bird, but they’re going to notice one is missing.

You guess you could come up with an excuse, take the punishment and move on.

You gnaw on the inside of your cheek, trying to come up with ways to get rid of the creature. You’re only drawing up one solution, though. You’re not entirely sure how you feel about killing the thing with your bare hands, but do you have much of a choice? This is the only way to ensure that he stays safe…

And after all the time you’ve been together, and what he did to make sure you graduated, the least you could do is get rid of it.

Begrudgingly, you kill the bird, dig a shallow grave, and bury it. You cover the cage back up with the tarp, and head back to the hovercraft, where Bug is nowhere to be seen. You set the cage by the ramp, and when you peer inside of the ship, you can see that he’s brought two more cages since you walked away.

It isn’t long before Bug comes back, holding two more cages. “There you are. Where’d you go?”

“The bird died.” You tap the cage with the tip of your shoe. “I went out and buried it.”

His face twists, eyeing the cage. “We just put that one in there.”

You half-shrug. “I was checking on the ones in there and this one had stopped moving.”

There’s a brief moment of silence that passes. “I’m pretty sure we’re supposed to report it and hand them off to the scientists to be looked at.”

“Oh, well I didn’t know that.”

Bug still looks skeptical, but he doesn’t push it. He hands the two cages off to you, and then leaves to grab the next two. In the span of the next thirty minutes, the hovercraft is loaded and the Commander comes with a small portion of the scientists to check to make sure that they’ll be safely transported.

As expected, your dead bird doesn’t go unnoticed. However, you aren’t given as harsh of a punishment as you’re expecting. You’re simply taken off bird duty because you don’t know the rules as well as Bug, Sejanus and Coriolanus. And you’re met with a disappointed remark from the Commander, something along the lines of, “This is why we didn’t put you there to begin with.”

You’re free for the rest of the day, as long as you make it back to base before dark. You watch as Sejanus and Coriolanus walk side by side, talking animatedly. When Coriolanus reaches out to touch your boyfriend, you squeeze between them, wrapping your arm around the elbow of Sejanus.

“You know, Coryo, as much as we love to be with you all the time, I’d like some time with my boyfriend.” You raise your eyebrows.

Coriolanus doesn’t seem bothered, nodding. “You haven’t been able to. I’ll go back to base.”

“We’ll see you there.” You smile, Sejanus offers him a wave.

You come to a slow stop in the dirt, watching as Coriolanus walks down the path, further into the trees. Once you’re alone, you turn to look at Sejanus, lips pressing together.

“What is it?” He asks.

“Is there anything you might want to tell me?” You ask.

A crease appears between his eyebrows, as he reaches to touch the side of your face. You grab his wrist, pulling your head away. “No, (Y/n).”

“You’re lying to me.” You tell him. “I heard what you said to Coriolanus about the rebels.”

Sejanus’s face drops, he swallows. “How much of this did you hear?”

“All of it.” You tilt your head. “Actually, I heard the first part, until Bug came to get that bird, then I had to show myself. Were you ever going to tell me the truth?”

“Yes, I was, I just wanted to figure it out first.”

“It sounded pretty figured out to me. You were going to do that all on your own? You could’ve gotten into trouble, especially with Coriolanus.”

“With Coryo?” Sejanus repeats. “He’s our friend, (Y/n). There’s nothing to worry about.”

“He was recording you on that jabberjay.” You emphasize. “I bet he was planning on sending it to Dr. Gaul. You know they listen back to what they have to say, right? Just in case they’ve heard anything incriminating? You’re lucky I caught it.”

“You killed the bird?” Sejanus asks, eyes wide. “Coriolanus was recording me?”

“I had to kill it, because erasing the conversation never would’ve been enough.” You shake your head.

“He’s my brother.” He breathes.

“He’s a fucking snake.” You grab onto his sleeve, shaking him to try and pull him to reality. “We need to get out of here. You need to get yourself out of that plan with Lil without pissing off the rebels. I’m gonna call my mom tonight, she’ll come up with an excuse to get us home.”

Sejanus cups your face. “I am so, so sorry, (Y/n). I’ve done it again. I’ve gotten us into trouble.”

“I’m going to get us out of it.” You grab his wrists, squeezing.

--

this was part of my 3k celebration!! will i ever be done celebrating? hopefully before the end of 2024!!

[mostofthingsmostofthetime]

My thoughts on The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes movie

I don’t know if I liked it as much as the original films (maybe Mockingjay 1 & 2 as they are pretty emotionally draining), but I still enjoyed it.

I think where it fell a little flat for me is 1. The beginning was a bit slow (tbh I only really started getting interested when Lucy Gray stuck that snake down that girl’s dress & even then I enjoyed the story more when the setting changed from the Capitol to the district) 2. I knew Snow would survive 3. I’d already been spoiled online for a lot of stuff that happens & 4. while I know the director did his best to make Snow as “likeable” as he could for as long as possible, even before he started getting “a little too comfortable” with killing & snitching I didn’t find him as sympathetic as Katniss or Peeta (but that is probably again down to the fact that I know what he goes onto do & there’s no real way around that), this made engaging with him difficult for me.

The world is fascinating. Getting to see all the new locations we never had access to before as well as old locations now in a totally different light (for example district 12 which, while still clearly suffering, seemed like such a bustling industrial town compared to how it is in Katniss’s time). It might have a much more retro aesthetic but there's also just a more vibrant, natural, wild & lawless atmosphere to this movie compared to the others in the franchise. The whole scope of the film just felt more cinematic then I remember the others being yet also weirdly intimate. Maybe because it was one contained story & we knew the main character’s fate from the start. I also loved the title cards signifying the start of each section of the story like from the books & wished they'd done something similar for the other films. It just added a certain flair to the whole thing. Almost gave it the vibe of a tragic play.

The costuming was great. The bright red of the academy uniforms.  Flickerman’s snazzy suits. Snow’s dapper black & white outfit. Both peace keeper uniforms (despite one of them giving very ‘1930’s Germany’ vibes) looked great. Grandma might have been a bigot, but at least she was well dressed. Everything Dr Gaul wore (except the top that looked like a used tampon, lol) was exquisite. The main ladies of fashion, Tigris & Lucy Gray slayed. Our Future Capitol stylist looked like some regal yet exotic bird & Miss Survivor was giving Bohemian, country girl realness the entire time she was on screen. Even the extras were serving (like that random couple Snow walked past on his way to the reaping ceremony).

The music was amazing. Every song that played was fantastic (shout out to Olivia for her end credit contribution). The lyrics & instrumentation were beautiful & my god does Rachel Zegler have pipes! Anyone who says the singing scenes are cringy is just stupid like I’m sorry you can’t appreciate art. Also, the words ‘ballad’ & ‘songbirds’ are literally in the title. Plus, Lucy Gray is from the poorest district, so what exactly do those people want her to do in her free time? She can’t exactly hop on an X-box for a few hours. Not too mention that (as the offspring of someone who’s musically inclined) I can tell you, it’s completely realistic for a musician to use their craft to help them deal with trauma & Lucy Gray clearly had more than her fair share of that.

The Grandma'am helped to paint a sadly very realistic background for Snow. As who among us hasn’t met at least one delusional old person who thinks that their/their group’s suffering (regardless of the severity of it or the reason behind their former/newer status in society) means that no one else are deserving of even the tiniest shred of humanity & there are some people who are unlucky enough to not only be related to these people but be raised by them.

Hunter schafer as Tigris is clearly the superior Snow when it comes to things like empathy & overall mental stability but I do kind of wish they’d been more for her to do. Credit where credit is due though her & Tom did actually look like they could be related & I did buy their familial bond (which makes her appearance in Mockingjay so much sadder in hindsight).

Peter Dinklage as Casca Highbottom was a bit of a mix for me just due to his purpose as a character & the limit of film as a form of media. Like sure the audience know that Snow’s going to become an irredeemable monster in the end but without a window into his mind it really does just seem like the Dean is just out to get him & even when we find out why it seems kind of unfair. Like sure his dad sucked but haven’t the Games shown that blaming children for violence caused by others is unjust (& like ok he hates Coriolanus & probably the grandma but Tigris hadn’t done anything to deserve living in poverty, as she can’t control who she’s related to)? Plus, it felt like he could have at least tried taking Snow under his wing at some point to try to hinder Dr Gual’s influence. Saying all of that, though, Peter Dinklage is great at playing an addict with depression & the idea that some drunken rambling could lead to such long-lasting suffering is terrifying. Also its pretty realistic that living with that kind of guilt & in such a cruel environment for that long would make most people jaded & bitter, even if they did have good intentions.

Omg we finally get a Mayor family on screen & they’re assholes! Madge would be so disappointed 😭. It was interesting to see how harsh & overall “boot licky” the mayor & his family seemed compared to decades later, which makes sense as the war wasn’t that long ago for them so the dad probably felt more incentive to align himself with the Capitol as well as not feeling very connected to the district people as 12’s decline probably didn’t fully set in until they really started running low on coal & Snow became president (oh I just know he wanted to blow that district off the map 😆). I also wouldn’t put it past Billy to come up with some sob story of how he really does love Mayfair but wicked Lucy Gray is somehow preventing them from being together. Still no excuse to try to send her to her death twice in one week, though. Definitely not a girl’s girl.

Ok, so a liar. Cheat. Drunk & someone who hits women. Is there anything good about Billy Taupe? Also, trying to get your ex back, while your current girlfriend is literally standing right next to you? Dude, have some god damn back bone! You made a choice, now stick to it. Also, fumbling Lucy Gray, for a girl like that? What’s it like having no brains or taste? Well, too bad, coz you’re stuck with her forever now, lol.

Viola Davies, the actress that you are. What else is there to say? Dr Gaul is almost comic book levels of insane. Like she is how the Right see women in STEM, on crack! I don’t know what she did to get into character, but whatever it was, it worked.

Jason Schwartzman as Lucretius Flickerman is a very interesting addition to the story despite playing such a small & seemingly insignificant role. He is strange in how unthreatening he is while also extremely blasé about the abhorrent violence he witnesses that it’s as funny as it is disturbing. Making him come across as  more human yet harsher than his son, who at least pretends to care about the tributes (in a very Capitol way, obviously but still). There’s also a polish & confidence to Tucci’s performance that I think Schwartzman did a great job of avoiding copying (despite knowing what audiences were probably expecting) because not only are their characters in entirely different stages of their careers but the whole ethos of the Hunger Games is different in Snow’s youth than it is in Katniss’s. Caesar is a well established presenter & during his time, the games have always been a success (minus the year with the tundra) that the entire Capitol is invested in & seemingly in support of. On the other hand Lucretius had the unique task of not only coming into a job like this with zero experience (I mean imagine going from announcing the weather to presenting the fucking hunger games) but also there were no vibes to try to emulate let alone guidelines to follow because he truly was the first person to do this. On top of that, the "event" his presenting has been panned for years as both boring & unethical. Schwartzman brought a slightly awkward, experimental, yet try hard vibe (like a comedian who's desperate to get a laugh) that I think worked wonderfully for the character.

Tom Blyth's performance was great & he was visually perfect for a young Snow (the power of a good wig! Who knew lol). Even having the cool, analytical stare of Donald Sutherland, down pat. While his appearance was very Eminem during his peacekeeping days, his realisation in the cabin and subsequent breakdown in the woods were crazy. There was so much tension between him & Rachel in that scene that for a second, it literally felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room. I could almost hear the record scratch for both of them, & all that building paranoia finally coming to a sudden crescendo in the way that it did? Pure cinema!

Josh Rivera, as Sejanus, was honestly a mix for me. Obviously, I agree with his morals, but his way of going about it did seem a little dumb. However I do think it’s pretty realistic that a teenager, especially a rich one, would be rather naive. Also I’ve heard that he’s smarter in the book & I think at times my frustration with him is more just down to the fact that I’m seeing him from Snow’s point of view. Meaning scenes that would be portrayed as noble in any other film instead come across as almost painfully inconvenient because the focus is always on how they affect Snow rather than the actual victims of the situation. Lastly, sorry, Snowjanus shippers, I just don’t see it (especially on Snow’s end), but whatever floats your boat.

Rachel Zegler played Lucy Gray with the perfect mix of natural charm & emotional vulnerability with clear pride in her culture & a refusal to let the world around her change who she is. Yet there was also an air of mystery & a subtle resilience to her that makes her potentially surviving out in the woods for years without being detected actually believable (though I don’t buy the theory that she went on to become president Coin). Definitely the highlight of the movie for me.

PS. I'd love to know what you think of my review in the comments/tags & am open to criticism (as long as it's respectful) just remember that I'm only talking about the movie so please don't reference anything spersific to the book.

[bloodstainsontengensfloor]

Late night PJO thought: This is unorganized. Messy. It’s just brain vomit. Bare with me.

So like looking back at the PJO book series at Luke’s age in TLT just makes me realize how FOUL Luke’s treatment of Annabeth and Silena was, primarily Annabeth. I think the TV show making Luke more nuanced is a great route to take but I also hope they keep the fact that he’s actually not a ‘good’ person.

Like I can’t imagine treating even my friends who are a year younger than me the way Luke treated Annabeth over the course of the first five books. The second I turned 18, I became so aware of my age and after going to college, I became so aware of how YOUNG a teenager is. And don’t get me started on how young a tween is. The manipulation was actually insane. Pleading her, someone SEVEN YEARS YOUNGER THAN HIM, to run away with him so he doesn’t have to do all the bad things he does. Him using her as his anchor (which I found so interesting) and even in his final moments asking if she loved him? And I know this part is a bit controversial in terms of interpretation. Was it romantic or did Annabeth just misunderstood and take it that way which is why she answered it? In the Staff of Hermes, Percy talks about Luke having developed romantic feelings for Annabeth- which once again could be the result of an unreliable narrator. The TV show makes a point to eliminate any possibility of this *possible* misconception. Either way though, it still can read as such a power move. Like before he dies he make sure that he still has some control over her. Something that will always haunt her, when in all honesty he isn’t the Lucy gray to her Coriolanus Snow. He’s closer to the latter 😭

And also important to note is the difference between how he treated Annabeth and Thalia. He knew annabeth admired him, even if he didn’t know if it was a school yard crush.

Like looking back and thinking about it as an adult, the way Luke put all that responsibility on Annabeth’s shoulder? Like the “oh I can fix him” mentality but totally turn it on its head and weaponize it almost? Like she was going through it. Their relationship is complicated. And I’m gonna re-read the books and definitely have a more clearer version of everything but before I do this has just been cooking in my head as my brain continues to develop.

Ironically, I do think Luke is a fascinating and interesting character but boy. Some aspects of his villainy are so like child’s book antagonist and other aspects of it are so real. Like the way Luke manipulates Annabeth is something that happens all the time to girls and older guys.

[targaryenluvs]

Idk if you are taking requests currently, but if you are…

Could you write a similar fic to our little dove, where Coriolanus doesn’t kill Lucy. I would’ve loved to see more of them arguing over who gets to spend time with the reader, and all three of them spending time together.

Or maybe a different ending where Lucy takes reader to pick up katniss with her. And whilst Coriolanus is in the cabin lucy convinces reader to run away with her… but Coriolanus finds both of them and takes them to the Capitol with him.

OUR LITTLE DOVE,, ALT ENDING

pairings: dark!lucy gray x fem!reader, dark!coriolanus snow x fem!reader, coriolanus snow x lucy gray

summary: you reunite with your dear songbird after the games, but it seems the capitol has followed her home, and taken an interest in the two of you. but it seems lucy gray is willing to share you with a certain peacekeeper, even if you aren’t.

a/n: here’s for all who wanted a different ending! the full fic is here ( our little dove )this is just a detour for everyone who wasn’t happy with the ending! DONT READ IF YOU HAVENT READ THE FULL FIC!!!

the trek back to town had you dying. it usually didn’t take so long but with coriolanus’s arm practically glued to you, the sun beating down on your trio and your dress sticking to you? fainting seemed very fun right now.

the entire routine was rushed, food stashed, no goodbyes to your family nor friends, just lucy and coriolanus wanting you on the train asap. they’d sprung their plan of going back to the captiol on you quite abruptly once you reached town but at this point you had no hope in your body of escaping them. so you obliged and followed like a lost puppy.

being in the capitol was worse.

you were completely and utterly alone. coriolanus was busy running the country, lucy was always working and you always seemed to be stuck on your windowsill. staring out onto the streets as the world passed you by. stuck in a prison of marble and luxury.

at first you had to endure lucy and coriolanus’s never ending arguing, always over you. when you still had an inkling of freedom. “are you kidding me? you chose what she wore yesterday lucy. will you just back the fuck off?” lucy’s jaw was dropped open, “excuse me? she was my-” coriolanus’s head tilted back as he dragged his hands over his face, “oh my god how many times are you going to use that? who the hell got her here huh? who provides for all of us? sure as hell not you. now don’t make this any harder. she’s wearing the red dress.” you sat there the whole time, just waiting for someone to notice you.

it always led back to you. but apparently kidnapping you and uprooting your life wasn’t enough since after time the duo fed off of eachother, delusions enlarging. seemingly everyone was out to get you, be with you, but you were theirs. coriolanus wasn’t president long enough yet to go around killing people without raising suspicion and alert towards him and as much as people did respect him, he couldn’t exactly go around killing everyone who looked at you and lucy even if he wished to. so he settled for the next best thing. keeping you away from them, out of reach.

and here you ended up, alone.

you had everything you’d ever dreamed of yet it all meant nothing. you were a shell of your old self and the two of them knew it. but all they cared was that you were with them. whisperings of the president having two lovers were imminent, lucy gray the victor, and the other. the unknown. and you weren’t sure if they’d ever know you. if anyone knew who you were, what you looked like let alone your name. even the staff of your prison did what was necessary, nothing more nor less. food, water, changed bedsheets and drawn baths was all the interaction you had with people that weren’t corio nor lucy.

you wanted to die, anything was better than living the same day over and over. the little flickers of hope came in the form of broken promises whispered during the dark nights, barely heard over the heaving breaths originating from yourself and the other two. promises of people, of the sun and temporary escape from here. but you’d learnt not to believe them.

“sweetheart, it’s not good for you to sit there all day. come, eat.” coriolanus asked demanded from the doorway of your library. the book at your feet long forgotten. coriolanus led you to the dining room where lucy was already eating. “there you are baby. somethin’ wrong?” lucy’s eyebrows were creasing as she took you in, empty eyes, emotionless face, slumped shoulders. you were nothing like the girl from twelve.

y/n l/n. sweetheart to almost everyone. a smile on her face as she went about her day. opening up to people and allowing others to lean on her. making sure her friends were okay when she noticed the slightest shift in feelings. always the lover. the carer.

but the girl who stood in front of her was so different and it broke her heart.

but she knew if she wanted to repair you she’d have to let you go. and as the three of you cuddled together in bed, your soft breaths lulling coriolanus and herself to sleep, she knew it was worth it, as long as you were here.

how selfish! she thought, but at the end of the day.

you’re our little dove.

[catindabag]

TBOSAS CRACK! TAKE: ✨AMNESIAC!CORYO SNOW✨

It’s that time of the year where my favorite buddies from the other side of the ocean text me nonstop about their weirdest TBOSAS/THG prompts. Lol. One of them even gave me a call yesterday to make a short crack!AU about our poor cabbage boy (Coryo Snow) accidentally getting ✨amnesia✨ after the Arena Explosion Incident (which is honestly an interesting idea to write and read).

However, because of that, my crack!fueled brain is currently stuck on the mental image of seeing an amnesiac Coryo Snow trying to navigate his old/new life in the Capitol without remembering anything, even the Dark Days and the Hunger Games. He might even become Himbo!Coryo or Soft!Coryo for all we know. Well, let’s just say that his original personality was deliberately thrown out and erased forever when he finally woke up in the Hospital.

But seriously, think about it. If Coryo had amnesia after the explosion, he wouldn’t be able to get Sejanus out of the Arena or save Lucy Gray from the snakey snakes because of his memory loss. He wouldn’t even be of use to Dr. Gaul, which will affect the future of the Hunger Games.

And honestly, I believe that the games would eventually die out in this AU because amnesiac Coryo is not fit to do anything “that” complex. So say goodbye to Snow’s political dreams and ambitions.

Lol. Coryo’s new hobbies will be cooking, gardening, and sewing whether he likes it or not because Tigris is now the head of the family.

Moreover, even if Lucy Gray won and Sejanus was still alive by this point, Highbottom can’t just send an amnesiac Coryo to District 12 because our cabbage boy technically didn’t cheat in this AU.

So hypothetically speaking, let’s say that Coryo won the Plinth Prize. He still wouldn’t be accepted in the University because of his current condition. So what’s his next step?

Option 1: Work in the fashion industry with Tigris in order to pay rent.

Option 2: Marry Sejanus Plinth and his money.

Option 3: Become the best gardener in all of Panem.

Option 4: Sue Highbottom and Dr. Gaul for the Arena Explosion and end the Hunger Games.

Option 5: Marry Plinth, end the Hunger Games, and live a vapid wealthy lifestyle while sipping tea with Festus, Felix, Clemmie, and Lizzie.

Either way, Sejanus is happy that amnesiac Coryo genuinely likes him now.😂

They be like:

Sejanus: Coryo, I’m so glad that you’re alive!

Coryo: Um- who are you again?

Sejanus: I’m your friend!

Coryo: My friend?

Sejanus: Since childhood.

Coryo: You’re my childhood friend?

Sejanus: And more~.😘

Coryo: What do you mean-

Sejanus: We’re together~.😍

Coryo: Together?!

Sejanus: That’s right, my love!

Coryo: My love?!

Sejanus: Yup! I’m your husband-

Tigris: Sejanus Plinth, what are you doing?

Sejanus: Tigris, hi-

Tigris: Are you bothering my poor baby cousin again?!

Sejanus: It’s not what it looks like! I swear-

Tigris: Get away from my poor baby cousin, Plinth!

Sejanus: Coryo’s mine now!

Tigris: He’s mine first!

Sejanus: He said yes!

Tigris: I never gave you my blessing!

Sejanus: Take my money!

Tigris: I’m calling the Peacekeepers!

Coryo: Ugh. My head hurts.😞

[wordsarelife]

—today was a fairytale

pairing: quill kipps x gn!reader

summary: you and quill go on your first date at arif‘s

warnings: mentions of sex at the very end

notes: this was such a cute thing to write and i think we need more domestic quill kipps fics… or fics of him in general.. get to work, people!!

arif‘s was pretty busy that morning. it was winter and you were watching the snow fall from the window of the little shop. you could hear people talking lowly, almost slipping into a chorused whisper around you. the coffee in front of you was still hot, so you couldn’t drink from it just yet. quill had just brought you this new one after the first that you had already finished.

Quill slid in the seat across from you. you turned your head at the sound and smiled at him. the moment your eyes met his, he was already sipping on the second cup of hot chocolate, that he had just ordered at the counter, seemingly uninterested in waiting until it had cooled down a bit.

“isn’t it a bit funny, that you ask me on a coffee date and then continuously drink hot chocolate?” you asked

quill shrugged his shoulders “nah”

“okay” you smiled brightly

the both of you had been here for over an hour, talking with no end. when quill had asked you to go on a date with him, you had never thought that it would be so entertaining, or that you both would find that you had so much in common.

in your eyes, quill had always been pretty strict and serious, turns out he could be quite funny, making you laugh with almost everything he was saying.

"can i ask you something personal?"

quill nodded and you smiled softly.

"lockwood told me that your talent faded some time ago. why did you choose to continue to work against the problem? why not do something else?" you asked interested "i've been an agent for all i remember, i do get the grind, but doesn't it get tiring after all that time you worked as one?"

contrary to your belief, that he might get offended at the question, quill smiled. "i don't know" he said truthfully "the thought of quitting did enter my head but it never stayed for long. i love the people i'm working with and i want to make a difference in the world"

"i like that" you replied "i always admired you for it, honestly. the way you carry yourself and stick up for your team, like it's more than just a job"

"it is more than just a job" quill insisted "it's our lives and from what i've heard and seen you don't seem to hold back either" "thank you" you laughed, before you got serious again "do you think we will some day get rid of the problem?"

“we will” he assured. you couldn’t tell if he was really thinking that or if he was just saying that to ease your nerves. he knew that you were always worrying about the problem.

you would sometimes work together, him with his fittes team and you as a member of lockwood and co. this is how you had met as well. even though lockwood never held back with comments about quill, you had grown to like him.

lockwood had thought you had made a joke when you had told him about the date.

one of the first things you had noticed was that despite you mentioning them all the time, quill did not say one bad thing about your friends. it wasn’t your intention to test or annoy him, but they were your whole life.

every story you could tell happened with them, they were your family and you were surprised how quickly quill had understood that.

he even praised lucy and george, when you told him the story of annabel ward and said that he would have been glad to have them on his team as well.

you could notice the stiffness in his face, every time you mentioned lockwood, there was just too much to just forget it, but he didn’t say anything at least and you registered that he seemed to really like you.

“maybe we could repeat this some day?” quill asked when the two of you had left arif’s and were walking down the street to portland row.

“yes” you smiled, glad that he was thinking the same as you. you didn’t want to wait until some day though. “how about tomorrow?” you asked “i’m free the entire day”

quill laughed at your eagerness. “tomorrow sounds great. i’m glad you suggested it, i didn’t want to pressure you, but i’d love to meet up again tomorrow”

“good” you breathed relieved. and somehow his agreement seemed to have made you brave, so you quickly added: “i really like you, quill”

“i really like you too”

you stopped in front of the stairs to portland row and on quill’s face rested a lopsided grin, as he noticed the curtains moving and lockwood’s face pop up in the window.

his smile wasn’t mean though. for a short second, the time you had taken to notice lockwood as well, you had thought that he was only smiling because it was annoying the boy. but now it seemed like that was just a plus and he was going to do what he wanted, regardless of lockwood watching or not.

he bend down and pressed a featherlight kiss to your cheeks and the heat entered your face almost immediately.

“bye, y/n” quill waved “i’m gonna call you tomorrow at noon, if that’s alright, then we can arrange something” he was already starting to walk away

“that’s good” you called “hey, wait, what do you want to do tomorrow?”

“whatever you want to do is fine with me” he smiled “i’ll call you!” he assured again, before he finally turned around and walked away

“stop being so smitten with him” you turned your head to look at lockwood, who had opened the front door and was now leaning against the frame.

“i think it’s already too late for that” your eyes returned to quills frame again, that was almost too far away to see.

lockwood sighed. “never have sex in my house”

you walked through the door, giggling at his seriousness. “i won’t promise anything” you laughed, quickly sprinting up the stairs

“what was that?” lockwood called behind you, but you ignored him, just smiling to yourself and feeling excitement bubble in your chest to tell lucy everything.

[evansbby]

I finally watched a ballad of songbirds and snakes and here are my thoughts!!! (movie and book spoilers below the cut!!!)

Overall I think it was a PHENOMENAL movie. Especially Tom Blyth as Coriolanus Snow, he was just incredible. The subtlety in his expressions, how he portrayed cool confidence as well as awkwardness that lies beneath… he was just WOW.

AND Rachel Zeigler as Lucy Gray!!! She was incredible and so charming!!! I loved her accent and the little things like how she’d call Coryo “gorgeous” and “sweetheart” I was scared they’d make her a typical Hollywood girlboss and I think I got maybe one or two glimpses of that, but for the most part she was just brilliant and an amazing singer too!

I think they adapted the book into a movie really well.

But here are some things they cut out which I wish they included: (there are some I’ll miss bc I’m rusty with the book since I read it one year ago)

— Clemensia’s fate. The last we see of her is when she sticks her hand in the snake pit and gets bit by the snake and exposed as a liar. But in the book, the snake bite literally has a physical effect on her like her skin becomes yellow and also her eyes, she starts growing scales, her brain is altered by the venom too. She basically becomes like a snake and they showed none of that??? In fact we never see Clemensia again??

— Arachne’s funeral scene. This scene was SO poignant in the book bc of how they paraded Brandy’s dead body and one of the things I remember so clearly and I understand maybe it was too gruesome but I really feel like it should’ve been included in the movie. It really really showed how the Capitol treated the tribute kids. I was really waiting for this scene and they never showed it so that was a bit of a letdown.

— They should’ve showed more of the exchanges between Sejanus and Marcus. They went to school together in district 2, and they REALLY should’ve highlighted this a lot in the movie, to show that it easily could’ve been Sejanus in his place has things been different. Idk I just felt like there was more to explore there. Marcus barely had any lines in the movie.

— The Covey was barely explored and introduced at all. Maude Ivory and the rest of them barely had a speaking line! I know the movie was very long so I understand they had to cut a lot of things out but the Covey was so important to LG’s character and it’s a shame they basically got cut out.

Okay and now I have a few good things to say. My favourite parts included the way they filmed the bombing of the arena in the beginning, with the shot of LG and Coryo and bombs just going off all around them. Visually it looked pretty cool.

Also the hunger games themselves were very interesting to watch! They were actually my least fav part of the book (the district 12 part aka part 3 was my fav in the book) but the movie made the hunger games so interesting! Loved it from beginning to end.

I just need to talk about my biggest problem with this movie. Now I’ve read the book and the book mad it obvious from the beginning that Coryo was… Not Good. But in the movie this wasn’t very obvious. My friend, who hasn’t read the book, literally was on Coryo’s side and thought he was justified throughout… I feel like the movie should’ve showed Coryo’s hatred for the districts more, his shame for being poor more, his hatred for Sejanus more, even his second thoughts about leaving with Lucy Gray… none of that was obvious in the movie. My friend thought the movie deliberately made Coryo look not that bad, which defeats the purpose of the book in my opinion. In the book, it’s always somehow made clear that Coryo is not good. He does good things but innately… there’s always something off about him. Movie didn’t show that enough imo. Like his possessive nature especially was never highlighted. I mean ofc Coryo gets progressively worse and he does have his good moments in the book too BUT the book makes it clear that he had sooo many chances to make the right choice and he just… doesn’t IDEK im scared no one is gonna get what I’m trying to say

SEJANUS is probably my biggest gripe in this movie. In the book, he was my favourite character. He was the only one speaking sense, the only one who was so passionate about how THG were wrong and how the treatment of the districts was wrong. In the movie, I’m so sorry but he came across whiny and annoying. He wasn’t being passionate like how I imagine him in the book, he just…. fell a bit flat for me. So much so that when his execution happened, it fell flat for me too. As opposed to when I read it in the book… you guys I CRIED and couldn’t breathe and felt sick to my stomach. Had they better highlighted how much Sejanus trusted and seemed to love Snow, his death would’ve had more impact in the movie. Idk how to explain it but I just didn’t like Sejanus in the movie? The acting felt flat, the guy was doing nothing for me… and in the book he was everything bc he was the one saying what all us readers were thinking!!! My friend who hasn’t read the book found Sejanus INCREDIBLY annoying too. Idk.

A lot of people said that the third act in the movie was too brief but to me it felt too long? Maybe bc I knew what was coming. I liked the ending, I think it was done really well. Exactly how I imagined it in the book. I also wished they’d showed LG and Coryo kissing more in the film. They only kissed once??? Whereas in the book they were always kissing??? And I wish they showed Coryo’s reaction to the first kiss, like in the book he fell asleep repeating the kiss in his head, likeeee idk I wish they’d have translated that initial infatuation better in the movie.

BUT APART FROM THAT.. and I know I’m missing so much more but I’m so tired… but yeah, this movie was really good, it was really special, it was entertaining throughout and I wasn’t bored even for a second!!!

I’d give it 8.5/10