preface

show me

the most damaged

parts of your soul

and i will show you

how it still shines like gold.

nikita gill

before the reaping, reverie bloom just wanted to help others.

before the reaping, finnick odair just wanted to be happy.

they meet, somewhere in the middle.

*

"Humanity desires entertainment to remain pacified— television, parties, gossip magazines, literature. They are useful devices, when regulated." Snow watches me, interpreting my silence as disagreement. "You do not agree." He states.

"Literature has clearly not been regulated effectively. It still exists. The human condition, though flawed, is persistent. You cannot control every aspect of their lives."

—

Reverie Bloom became a tribute at age 17.  She had wanted to become a teacher in the coming years— she wasn't a fighter. But no one volunteers to take her place, and so, she leaves behind a sick brother and a heartbroken mother. She was old enough, and frankly, disposable.

Reverie Bloom becomes a victor at age 17. She is no longer disposable. In hindsight, she considers this her first mistake. Dying would have been the easier route.

Being a victor requires sacrifices— giving up your morality, your pride, your peace of mind, your privacy. It means pretending to be someone you're not, or someone you're scared to be come. Serving as a model citizen for the people of Panem, there is no room for error. Any hint of disobedience is snuffed out before it can spark into a flame. There were plenty of examples to pick and choose from, and Reverie knew none of the outcomes were particularly pretty.

But Reverie Bloom has little left to lose.

And Finnick Odair thinks she's brilliant for that.

Reverie's love for education is bogged down by the knowledge that she is raising future tributes, future TV deaths and murderers for entertainment. She teaches kids to read and write, but the content is shallow praises for the Capitol. It is meaningless. Everything after the Games is meaningless.

Finnick tells her it isn't.

And it somehow changes everything.

tw: mental health, alcohol/substance use, some violence, profanity
————————————

playlist;

oceandust ; hands like houses

six feet over ground ; aquilo

the jester ; badflower

paralyzed ; nf

let me be sad ; i prevail

for now i am winter ; olafur arnalds & arnor dan

breathe ; fleurie

if i get high ; nothing but thieves

daylily ; movements

void ; the neighbourhood

my stress ; nf

mercury ; sleeping at last

a mark on my soul ; imminence

cast list (partial);

sam claflin as finnick odair

cillian murphy as darrius archer

ansel elgort as xander grayson

laura harrier as cleo meriton

krysten ritter as rain burkheizer

elódie yung as nova raidler

more to be added; reverie will not be casted