#kinda of like katniss and that cat

[intjgodcomplex]

Death note au where everything is the same expect L has a fat grumpy cat that just sits around the task force with a resting grumpy face and Light absolutely hates this cat because she's always hissing at him and biting him and he's convinced that L trained her to do this. Anyways, after he kills L, he gets stuck with the cat and he's forced to adopt her. And they always hate each other, like no character development, just hatred.

#kinda of like katniss and that cat #death note #l lawliet #light yagami #nate river #near #mihael keehl #mello #misa amane #aesthetic #l #death note headcanons #death note shitpost #shitpost #headcanon #light yagami headcanons #cats #grumpy cats #l lawliet head canon #lawliet #lawlight headcanon

[m0nsterqzzz]

Cat's Out of the Bag La Rue

pairing: Clarisse La Rue x reader

summary: Valentines Day rolls around, and what kind of girlfriend would Clarisse be if she didnt get you the only present you've been wanting?

a/n: i wrote like 5 fucking valentines day fics yesterday (one with natasha, one with wanda, one with clarisse, one with carol danvers, and one with katniss everdeen) yet this is the only one im posting and i kinda hate it. literally the shortest oneshot i've ever written. also, I'm literally a dog person writing about cats. what has life come to?

is this the worst thing i've ever written? yes. do i hate every other piece of written recently cuz im in writers block and haven't updated in like 3 weeks? also yes. im so done yall.

With a baseball cap covering her head, tucking her curls against her head and being the best disguise she could come up with, Clarisse’s eyes dart all around the cab. It zooms through the streets of New York, making the child of Are’s slightly concerned for her and her siblings safety as they get honked out. The man driving seems like he’s barely paying attention to the road, but in the end it doesn’t really matter as long as they get to their destination. 

There are three children in the yellow car; Clarisse, her half brother Mark, and her half sister Ruby. They were the only ones who she could convince to come with her to town, past the safe bounds of camp half blood where nothing but their weapons can stop monsters from hunting and hurting them.

It’d be a lie to say Clarisse isn’t nervous, but she pushes the feeling down as she grips her spear tighter in her left hand. 

This is for you. She’s going into town and risking getting in trouble for the end result of seeing her favorite smile. Your smile. Her partner of one year. It may not seem like a very long time to some people, but you guys are demigods. It’s surprising you made it through the year without being killed by some horrible, ugly monster.

The car stops and the guy counts the large amount of money Mark hands him before telling them to get out of his cab. It may have annoyed the teenagers on any other day, but it doesn’t bother them too much since today is a special day.

“Why are we here?” Ruby asks, eyes scanning the area around them as if sure something is going to jump out at them. In the blonde haired girl's defense, it’s very possible something will.

Clarisse gestures to the small building in front of them. It’s run down and in desperate need of a paint job, but it doesn’t matter. That’s not what grabs the child of Ares attention. It’s the small animals chilling in their little spots inside the store. That’s what she’s here for.

The sign above the small colorful store reads, “Mike’s Animals”. Boring name, but gets the point across. She can already see the little animal she came here for when they walk through the door, the loud bell ringing from the action of opening it but no employee comes to help them. Clarisse lets her siblings stare in awe at the other animals for a few months before shoving towards a section near the back. The kitten section. You had been showing her a website on your phone a few days ago, one with a different selection of the small animals. The website was for Mike’s Animals, but you explained that even though you’d really like a cat, pets aren’t allowed in Camp Half Blood. It’s a rule.

Well you wanna know what Clarisse says about that? Screw rules. What her person want’s, her person gets.

So if the police ever come around, asking you why Clarisse shoved a black and white kitten into her brother's coat pocket and then made a run for it while the store manager chased after them, that’s what you have to say.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

You're laying on your bed reading a book when your girlfriend walks in, a large box covered by a piece of fabric under one arm and a bouquet of flowers in her free hand. She ignores your siblings' gazes as she walks towards your space, setting down the box with a type of gentleness nobody in camp but you gets to see and then holding out the flowers.

They’re your favorite, clearly straight out of the flower fields by the slight glow they give off. They’re wrapped in a brown type of paper with a pink bow clearly down by one of the Aphrodite kids to hold it all together.

“Hey my love.” She starts. “These are for you.” You take the plants with a large grin on your face, bringing them closer to your face to smell the amazing natural scent coming from them. Something moves inside the box she sat on your bed, making you hold in a scream as you jump closer to your girlfriend and farther away from it. “What the hell is moving in that Clarisse?!” You ask, your siblings' attention all over you guys now.

Clarisse just laughs, but she seems slightly nervous as she puts the crate in your lap. “Just look. I hope you like it.” She continues to nervously ramble as you remove the cloth from the top of the box, letting out a small gasp when you see the small animal looking back at you with wide, curious blue eyes.

Your girlfriend stares as you gently pick him up, him instantly curling into your hold with a soft pur as you hold him close to your chest. “You um…you like him?” She asks with a small smile.

“Of course I do! He’s adorable, Risse!” She lets out a relieved sigh, laying down next to you as your siblings surround the bed trying to get a look at the animal. “You know Chiron will never let you keep that right?” One of your brothers asks with a laugh, and you frown as you look at your girlfriend.

She thinks about it for a moment before she says, “We’ll just hide him. He can lounge around the cabin while you’re gone, and you guys can hide him somewhere during cabin checks. Chiron will never know.”

Your siblings eventually leave you alone, going back to their acticicus as your two favorite beings cuddle up to you. Clarisse cuddles up next to your side, and the kitten on your stomach. “I really like you Oreo.” you whisper to the animal, making your girlfriend laugh. “Oreo? That’s the most original thing you could think of right?”

“Okay if you're so great at naming things, what should we name him?”

She goes quiet for a few seconds before mumbling in defeat, “I like Oreo.”

You guys enjoy the silence that surrounds just you guys as you pet Oreo, but then a small laugh comes from you when Clarisse gently grabs the cat and pulls him off your chest so she can lay her head there. “He’s been here for half an hour and you're already jealous?” “He was getting way too touchy. Mine.” She teases and then fakes an annoyed groan when he crawls onto her back and lays down, stretching himself out just to prove a point.

“Will you be my Valentine, my love?” She asks as she places her chin on your chest to look up at you. There's a certain softness in her eyes that you and only you get to see. In fact, it’s very, very rare you ever see the side everyone else talks about when they talk about Clarisse towards you. “You guys just don’t know her like I do.” You tell them. Not like they believe you, half of the camp still believing you somehow put a spell on her.

“Only if you’ll be mine.” You whisper back as if it’s a secret.

“Oh…this is awkward. I already agreed to be like ten other girls date.” Her voice is teasing as she tries and fails not to giggle.

“Is that so?” 

“Mhm.” 

“Hm.” You fake being offended as you cross your arms over your chest and look away. She laughs, and the sound practically forces a smile on your face.

“I’m kidding. Only you, angel. I’m yours. Always.” 

“And I’m yours, Clarisse La Rue.” 

“Always?” 

“And forever.”

There’s a knock on your cabin door, and you figure it’s another camper until a voice calls from the other side of the door, “Clarisse? I know you're in there. Your siblings told me where you went. Cat’s out of the bag La Rue.” Chiron says. Very terrible choice of words. She groans into your stomach, rolling off of you and successfully getting Oreo to jump off her back and onto the bed.

“Those little snitches.” She snarls as she gets up to open the door, making you instantly miss her warmth.

You place the cat under your sweater, giggling and then shoving his face back under when he crawls to put his head through the neck hole. Once she knows he’s covered, Clarisse opens the door. Chirons eyes fall to you, and it’s only then do you think about the fact that there is a giant Oreo shaped lump in your sweater.

All your siblings fall silent as they watch to see what’s gonna happen.

“Mac and cheese day am I right?” You try to joke with a nervous chuckle, but he doesn’t laugh. He just runs a hand over his face and then stares at you. “You know what? I don’t care. You find a way to feed him that isn’t taking resources from us, you make sure he doesn’t do any damage to the furniture, and you keep track of him at all times, you can keep him.”

You grin at him, letting the small animal out of your sweater who in turn lowly hisses at the sight of Chiron.

He groans, walking off as he mumbles something about needing a very long vacation. There's only so much of your girlfriend bending the rules to get you presents he can handle before he was bound to just accept it.

The cinatar leaves, your girlfriend flipping him off when he can’t see. He yells over his shoulder, “I know what you’re doing Clarisse! Stop it or no dessert!” 

She stops flipping him off. Next to you, chocolate cake is what she lives for.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

That night, as you sit with Clarisse at the bonfire, she listens to you complain about how much you miss Oreo. Usually, you’d be too busy roasting marshmallows and cuddling with her to think about anything else, but your girlfriend doesn’t do anything other than smile, happy she made you so happy.

“So how’d you get him anyway? You don’t have that kind of money and there’s no way Chiron gave it to you.” You say, and she freezes in her spot on a log, slightly tightening her arms that are wrapped around your waist as she avoids your eyes.

“I stole him.” Her voice is slightly quieter than usual, and she says this in the most casual tone she can muster.

“CLARISSE LA RUE!”

#clarisse la rue #clarisse x reader #clarisse la rue x reader #clarisse la rue x you #fluff #valentines day #pjo #percy jackson #percy jackon and the olympians #percy jackson series #cats #don't call my bitch the lightning theif percy! #what was that ending? #11 days late lol #valentines gifts #valentines day fic

[justanothertiredstudent]

Spoilers for Catching fire of the Hunger games series, if u havent watched it dont read.

Rewatching the 2nd hunger games film, Catching Fire for the first time in a years here r my thoughts chronologically, & I've got a lot to say about this one:

- They actually show Katniss's PTSD, flashbacks and nightmares.

- Gale being a "nice guy", christ hes a an sh*tty

- watching them back to back, they recast the cat!!!

- Snow is a fabulous villain.

- CINNA 🥰

- Caeser Flickerman's banger theme tune!

- The camera's interview is so awkward

- Effie deserved Katniss snapping at her on the train

- Peeta acknowledging that he cant hold her to wot they did to survive in the games! Peeta's already way above Gale. Peeta king 👑 of communication.

- just asking each other their favourite colour is adorable

- The Mockingjay!

- Peeta offering to talk to make it easier for Katniss

- Peeta giving Thresh & Rue's families some of their winnings. Katniss's speech about Rue is beautiful, I'm sobbing

- I love district 11, f*ck the peace keepers!! That poor old man! Haymitch: Who's going to protect them!?

- Haymitch knows better than anyone that you never escape the games.

- Jennifer Lawrence is fabulous

- Haymitch cares about them so much, we love him.

- Katniss barely holding it together on the victory tour. She looked so horrified at the little girl saying she would volunteer just like Katniss did.

- Caeser Flickerman has no right to be so iconic.

- Peeta is amazing! I love him and Katniss

- Does Effie have to say Mahogany in every film?

- Peetas disgust at the Capitol compared to what people in the districts are going through.

- I love the politics of catching fire

- Seneca decided to stop breathing - Plutarch

- F*CK GALE!!!! SHE DOESNT HAVE TO LOVE U ROMANTICALLY FOR BOTH OF U TO SAVE UR FAMILIES!!!!! Gale's right about rebelling, but he isnt even trying to understand her trauma.

- I love the anti corporal punishment, pro riots/rebellion, f*ck the police message of catching fire

- Peeta without question helping to save Gale cos he's not selfish

- Prim being a great nurse!

- I don't think Katniss has ever had any romantic feeling for Gale, he's just her best friend at most, a lot of the time he's barely that, she would've thrown herself in front of that whip if it was anyone she remotely cared about.

- The trauma of all the victors. Haymitcch is right they're not winners, they're survivors. Nobody ever wins.

- Effie actually kinda realizing the games arent the honour shes been indoctrinated to think they are.

- Katniss didnt ghetto say goodbye to Prim 😭

- Finnick & Maggs!!! We love them.

- Finnick Odair 🥰

- The Capitol is even more perfect in this one

- Johanna Mason is iconic and fabulous

- Wiress & Beetie r great

- Maggs is the sweetest

- Transition from Seneca Cranes hanging body to Caeser Flickerman's banging theme song!

- The Victor's interviews are very persuasive & interesting, they each show a lot about the characters

- Slay Johnnana!!! Make him pay for it

- The costumes in this one is a step up from the first.

- the fact she knows that Cinna is in danger for the Mockingjay dress

- Peter "We actually got married" Mellark, Peter "If it werent for the baby" Mellark

- All the Victor's holding hands in a show of unity

- CINNA 😭 (Jennifer Lawrence was amazing in this scene)

- The arena is beautiful

- finnick: oh Sh*t Katniss might actually love Peeta.

- THE FOG ,, MAGGS!! 😭😭

- Tick Tock The arenas a clock

- PEETA! JOHNANNA!

- bye bye district 12

I love this film, for me, it's my favourite in the series.

#catching fire #hungers games films #hunger games #75th hunger games #quarter quell #district 12 #katniss and peeta #thg katniss #katniss everdeen #the hunger games katniss #everlark #peeta mellark #primrose everdeen #3rd quarter quell #thg finnick #finnick odair #thg incorrect quotes #thg catching fire #autism #autistic rambling #autistic rant #the hunger games #the hunger games peeta #thg katniss everdeen #the capitol #president snow #fuck gale #thg politics #the hunger games catching fire #johanna mason

[gingerbread-is-good]

I just got to talk about some hc's I have

I feel like Katniss would get jealous easily over basically any interaction that could be seen as flirtatious towards Peeta or from Peeta to others, like I can see Peeta just casually flirting with someone (we stan bi Peeta) or "seeming" too friendly with them and Katniss just sees red. Then he doesn't understand why she sees it as something wrong, because they both would have different interpretations of actually flirting with people, in peetas mind he's just having fun, dancing with a sexy lady or a hot man, yeah whatever, but it's not like he's going to grind against them and kiss them, he'd rather clip buttercups claws than piss of his huntress. Then there's Katniss who (I'm gonna be honest kinda projecting) doesn't care for anyone really in that way apart from Peeta, she wouldn't dare to try to act flirty because it would come out more like she's being threatened, and either way she doesn't want to flirt with anyone. So it basically comes down to Peeta trying to make up for a night out were he danced with someone and Katniss didn't like how close they got, so he would practically massage her and bake her cheese buns to calm her down. It would take a lot of trust on her part (which would happen eventually) to understand that he doesn't mean anything serious when he flirts with others, he's basically just having fun and being nice (sorry plp that like open relationships hc's but I can't stand them)

(yes this was based on one of my comments, I can't get the idea out my head)

Anyways onto my second one, I can see everlark just having a decent amount of pets, either of them would have an emotional support pet. I could see Peeta with like a giant German Shepherd or golden retriever emotional support dog following him around everywhere while he also follows Katniss, or he just has an anxiety induced crusty white dog who growls at any who isn't Peeta (and sometimes Katniss) who tries to pick them up. As for Katniss I can see her getting another cat friend for buttercup, personally I would love to think she would get a hairless cat just cos I love them little gargoyle guys, but also her getting a maincoon cat would be funny as she just reads a book with this giant furball.

PS I also love the thought of them getting a husky and regretting it immediately, like why is crying all the time

#everlark #peeta mellark #katniss everdeen #everlark headcanons #animals

[strawb3rrystar]

Could you write Katniss everdeen x fem reader maybe? Don't have anything specific in mind, but maybe protective vibes if thats alright :> if not then just Katniss x fem would be lovely!

All the little things.

Pairing: Katniss Everdeen x Fem! Reader

Warnings: Creepy man tries to hit on you

Word count: 400

✰Masterlist

Katniss is the type of girl to hold your hand on long walks, while you escape into the forest for a few hours. She's the type to hold you close at night and kiss your cheek fifty times a day. She is the kind of girl that makes you want to get down on one knee for her. 

Katniss has always been protective of you. Fighting off the kids who picked on you and the guys would try to hit on you. Today was no different. 

You and Katniss were at the black market today, picking up some things you needed. You were looking at some fabric for a new dress when a man came right up beside you, making very flirty comments. You tense, feeling uncomfortable, you go to touch your girlfriend when you realize she wasn't there anymore. 

Of course she wasn't. She wouldn't let this man get more than a sentence out before she sent him back to whatever hole he crawled out of. 

"So, a pretty thing like yous got a boyfriend?" Your attention was drawn back to the man, who was giving you a smirk. 

"Yes, I do." It technically wasn't a lie. You were taken, just not by a man.  

"I'm sure he doesn't fuck you half as good as I could." You almost physically recoil in disgust. You, instead, scrunch your nose and turn on your heal.  

"Woah, where do you think you're going?" The man grabs your wrist. 

"Away from you," you reply "Now let go of me." 

The man tightens his grip on your wrist "I don't think so, missy." 

"She said, let go." A voice behind you startles you, but you quickly realize it's just your girlfriend. "So, you better let her go before I make you." 

You were shocked by Katniss' firmness and domination over the situation. Especially saying that to a man who was twice her size. It was kinda... hot, to say the least. 

"Fine." The man huffs, letting go of you. Katniss immediately takes your hand in hers and leads you out of the black market. 

"I'm so sorry." She pulls you into a hug once you're out of earshot of people. "I thought you were following me." 

"It's okay." You reassure her, giving her cheek a peck. 

"Are you alright?" She asks, to which you nod your head. She gives you a small smile before delicately kissing your lips.

Yeah, you definitely had the best girlfriend in all of Panem.

Star's notes -> Sweet sunshine with her scary dog of a girlfriend (They're so orange cat x black cat coded)

(Thank you, sweet anon, for requesting!) (Requests are open!)

Taglist -> @arzua10 @candiedhearts55 @delightfulbelieverwerewolf @toxicbimbo @shyunivrse @@haymitchabernathyslover @saturnbourne | Join the taglist

#☆strawb3rrystar answers requests #☆the hunger games #katniss everdeen #katniss x reader #the hunger games x reader #the hunger games x y/n #the hunger games x you #the hunger games

[katnissdoesnotfollowback]

60 for the writing asks! [spellbound]

In Spellbound, what inspired the idea for the plot?

A fever dream? lol Anon. Actually, I’d started two or three witch!Katniss ideas over the years and none of them stuck. At some point, there was a couple of tumblr posts talking about Katniss as a shapeshifter witch, and that just kinda struck me as the piece that I was missing.

I actually got a request from someone for a story where both K&P are shapeshifters but I’d already gone down the spiral of planning for what would become Spellbound. Which kind of did feel like a fever dream of “and what if…?!?!” Like what if Katniss and Prim are both witches? And what if they use the “haunted” house next door as a kind of shield? And ooooooh what if it’s ACTUALLY HAUNTED… by Haymitch?! And theeeeen Peeta buys the house and Katniss is all put out who does this mortal think he is?!?! So she starts spying on him as a cat and he’s all cuddly and loving to her and she’s just like… Damn It. And theeeen…

I don’t wanna give too much away, so that’s really all I’m willing to say at the moment. Thank you for the ask, Anon!

❤️ kdnfb

Fanfiction Writing Asks

#anonymous #fanfiction ask game #look at that ask

[itsjaywalkers]

Could you tell me some jegulus variants? I want to do an art piece

sure nonnie!! i mean, take this with a grain of salt, bc none of these are really like jegulus to me, they're just similar in some way, whether it's vibes or dynamic but !! yeah !!

okay so: peeta and katniss from the hunger games + johnny and mavis from hotel transylvania + amy and laurie from little women + kinda jade and beck from victorious . to me + peter and gamora from the guardians of the galaxy + ben and mal from descendants + yatora and yotasuke from blue period + childe and scaramouche from genshin impact + spiderman and black cat from marvel universe

andddd that's it <3

#asks #anons #jegulus my beloveds

[xxbimbobunnyxx]

20 Questions For Fic Writers:

Thank you for the tags @lokis-army-77 & @onegirlmanytales

1) How many works do you have on AO3? - Honestly only like 3, I don’t usually post my fics on there bc I always forget. I need to sit down and do that. I have 11 on tumblr though.

2) What’s your total AO3 word count?- Like 30k

3) What fandoms do you write for? - Just Stranger Things atm. I have been considering a few other things lately tho.👀

4) What are your top five fics by kudos? - Again I don’t really post my fics on AO3 as much so I only have 5 on there lol but my top fics on tumblr are Beer and Bunny’s, Cat and Mouse, Best Mates, All You Have To Do Is Ask, and See You Again.

5) Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? - ALWAYS!! Sometimes when I’m feeling down about my writing I go back and reread them and it keeps me going/hypes me up.

6) What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? - I do not have a single fic that ends even remotely angsty. I cannot do angsty endings, reading them or writing them. I need my happy ending.

7) What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? - hmmm most of them honestly, but I really like the ending of Beer and Bunny’s. They’re so cute.

8) Do you get hate on fics? - I’ve never gotten hate before. I hope I give off a chill, in my own lane, kinda vibe.

9) Do you write smut? If so, what kinds? - Yesss lol honestly just nasty, pervy, unhinged smut. I don’t think I’ve ever really written any kind of soft smut. Not intentionally I’m just a whore. :)

10) Do you write crossovers? - I never have, no. I do have an AU based off my fav movie coming out soonish but it’ll be all ST characters still.

11) Have you ever had a fic stolen? - Nah lol idk who would take the time to steal MY fics

12) Have you ever had a fic translated? - not that I know of lol

13) Have you ever co-written a fic before? - Yes!! I have a whole AU universe with one of my friends and I’m working on two other collabs w other people. 👀🤭

14) What’s your all time favorite ship? - Listen, I’m fucking basic okay? I will always love Katniss and Peeta. Also Raven and Alexander from Vampire Kisses but no one ever knows that series.😩

15) What’s a WIP that you want to finish, but doubt you ever will? - Sugar and Spice. It was a series I started before I told myself I’m not allowed to write multi chapter fics bc I put too much pressure on myself about it lol

16) What are your writing strengths? - I’ve been told more than once that my dialogue is good. Which feels nice. Also nasty smut.

17) What are your writing weaknesses? - Transitions tbh, I’ll get to a certain point and get stuck esp transitioning into the smut which is usually what I was trying to get to in the first place.

18) Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? - I legit only speak English so I would not even try

19) First fandom you wrote for? - AVATAR THE LAST AIR BENDER lol zuko was my MANS

20) Favorite fic you’ve written? - See You Again, this one I’m just very proud of, and I love my OC girlfriend I made for myself and I just spent a lot of time on this one. I want to finish the prequel EVENTUALLY.

No pressure tags: @reidsbtch @babygorewhore @battymunson @take-everything-you-can @slutty-thevampireslayer @jamdoughnutmagician @lithium80sblog @bimbobaggins69 & anyone else who wants to🖤

#tag game #xoxodolly

[totallynotjae13]

I love Katniss and Peeta’s dynamic. I love how no matter how she treated him, he still loved and cared for her softly. I love how Katniss is a feral and scared cat terrible at being warm and fuzzy, and Peeta is like a big fluffy golden retriever, the only one capable of unlocking her softness. I also love how she’s the only one who doesn’t realize she loves him until it’s so painfully obvious she’s kinda of embarrassed.

I love how opposite they are as well. I love how Katniss is a hunter, and Peeta is a baker. Katniss takes to survive, Peeta makes to survive. Katniss is the act to Peeta’s talk. Katniss has literally no way with words until she’s angry and is forced to speak what she feels, and most of the time not even then, but she can create and put a plan into action like it’s nothing, and do whatever it takes to make sure that plan works. While Peeta is less of a fighter and more like a manipulator of words. He uses his natural charisma and way with words to survive. He is also a thinker. He manipulates his storyline to wrench the hearts of his audience. Showing he has great emotional intelligence. They balance each other perfectly. They’re amazing. Katniss and Peeta are amazing.

Everybody say thank you Susan!!

#the hunger games #katniss and peeta

[jhsgf82]

Feel the Beat, Always Part I

A/N: Thanks to @daydreamsandcaffeine​ for encouraging me to write this and for the little brainstorm session! I’m not very good with edits, but above is a little visual anyway. It’s kinda long. Enjoy!  

Katniss raises her arms above her head, stretching her lean, lithe body; she links her thumbs, bends her knees, and arches her chest as she drops her head back, leading with her fingers. Slowly, she goes into a full standing backbend, then drops down and catches herself. She bends her elbows and goes into a reverse tabletop position for about ten seconds, then lowers herself down to the mat.  

She’s been up since sunrise, limbering up and running through her dance routine, twice. Now she’s completing her post-dance stretches. Maybe she’ll go through the routine once more though, for good measure. 

After all, her big audition is TODAY. 

And big shot producer, Alma Coin, is going to be there. 

Dance is Katniss Everdeen’s life. And she’s good at it, really good. Oh, she’s not a star by any means, but she’s managed to land a couple of larger roles which have gotten her name out there, and she’s kept steady gigs in the chorus line of several popular stage shows. It’s been enough to make a living without having to work two or three jobs, which is a small miracle here in New York City. Her place isn’t a penthouse, obviously, nor is it a rat’s hole‒it’s just a simple loft, and it’s just right for her. What she loves best is that there’s plenty of space to dance. 

A small town girl leaving her small town life to make it as a performer in “the big city” is relatively unheard of–well, no, not unheard of. It’s all too common. What’s not common is being successful at it. But Katniss has talent, and she’s aware of it. She can sing; she can dance, and if only she could act, she’d be a triple threat; however, she sucks at acting. But that’s okay. She doesn’t really need to; she can make her body work for her when her words and facial expressions fail her. 

Katniss goes into a butterfly stretch. 

Her mangy old muddy-orange cat, Buttercup, whom she inherited when her grandmother passed, comes up beside her, brushing her with his tail as he passes. He stops to stretch out beside her, elongating his body and sticking his butt in the air as he digs his nails into the gray and beige geometric-patterned rug. Then he trots over and jumps up on her couch and assumes the loaf position. Lazily, he watches her with rotten squash-colored eyes. He blinks at her once, and Katniss’s lips twitch.   

Buttercup, an unlikely companion (and one she didn’t like very much at first), is quite possibly the ugliest cat she’s ever seen with his mashed-in nose and half an ear missing. He was definitely unwanted at first, but he’s grown on her. He’s her only company, truly, the only person in her life, and he’s not even a person. Well, Katniss hasn’t had a date in…some number of years, but that’s okay. She doesn’t really need anyone; she only needs the stage. 

As for family, there’s only her dad. She’s an only child, and her mom left when she was little. She does try to call her father at least once a week. They don’t have much to talk about, but they get each other all the same. For one, he’s good about not guilt-tripping her for never coming to visit; he’s just happy to hear her voice. It’s not that she doesn’t want to go back to New Hope, West Virginia, or maybe she doesn’t. Admittedly, it would be too hard to see…certain persons, namely one, and of course, she’d have to hear everyone drone on and on about how she abandoned the town to make her way in NYC.    

She finishes her stretches, showers, braids her long hair up in a high braid, and dresses in her dance attire as she doesn’t know what the changing room situation will be like‒she hates crowding in a room with dozens of other girls, all fighting over the last mirror. Not that Katniss cares about the mirror so much; she’s not a heavy makeup wearer. She checks the weather, and of course, it’s raining, so she grabs a trench coat and slips into it on her way out. In the elevator, she buttons it partially up and cinches it at the waist.  

Midtown traffic is a killer, per usual. Actually, it seems much, much worse today. What the heck is going on? It takes her nearly twenty minutes to hail a cab, and her once leisurely commute is suddenly a rush. When the cab comes to a stop, she says a silent thanks. But then, she sees a middle-aged woman with long gray hair across the street, and she’s going for the same cab as her. 

Oh no, no way. That’s my cab! thinks Katniss. 

Her competitive side kicking in (and also her survival instinct‒Katniss Everdeen doesn’t get pushed around by anyone), she runs for the cab as fast as she can in her character heels, and without being hit by traffic. Fortunately, it’s come to a crawl. The other woman gets to the cab just ahead of her and opens the door, and Katniss slips right in, calling out, “Thank you!” 

“This is my cab!” the woman screeches. 

“I’m sorry, but it’s a matter of life or death.” Katniss shuts the door and gives the driver the address, and he’s speeding off, leaving the woman standing there in the rain‒she’s lost her umbrella, so she’s getting pelted. For a moment, Katniss feels bad, but she can’t miss this audition; this is her big break. Wherever the woman has to go, it can’t be as important as where she’s going. She probably has some cushy office job, anyway, where it doesn’t matter much if you’re a few minutes late. 

Briefly, Katniss thinks of someone she used to know. He was always such a do-gooder that he’d never approve of this kind of behavior. He’d never make it in this city, she thinks; NYC would chew him up and spit him out. Even so, she decides to do something nice for some random stranger later in his honor; perhaps she’ll buy coffee for the next person in line at Starbucks after she nails this audition. 

----- 

Katniss gets to her audition with only five minutes to spare. It’s good she decided to wear her crop top and tights to the audition rather than change there; now she only needs to dry off her shoes a bit, so she doesn’t slip. 

When her name is called with a group of several others, Katniss heads confidently to the stage. She’s not nervous, not really. There was a time when she used to get nervous before auditions, but such a thing does no good. It’s better to appear confident, even if you’re not; although, she is. 

Katniss performs the routine perfectly. She noticed a couple of the dancers getting off the beat, but it didn’t throw her a bit. Those two will surely be cut. She makes it through the first round of cuts, and then the second, and she’s practically flying, her smile wide, her face glowing with hope and just a bit of perspiration. 

“Now, Ms. Alma Coin would like to have a look at you,” Coin’s assistant, who’s been doing the cuts, says. 

Katniss stands tall, strikes a pose, and smiles just as the cab woman walks out on stage. 

Oh crap.

Katniss prays this woman won’t recognize her, but of course, she does, her thin, lipstick-less mouth curling up into a snarl-grimace. Then she hopes for Ms. Coin to be professional, to choose the best dancers, regardless of petty vendettas. But no. She immediately begins dressing her down for her outlandish behavior, says she’d never allow such a disgraceful person to perform in one of her shows. It seems a bit much to Katniss. Just because she inconvenienced her and ticked her off she’s going to ban her from being in any of her shows? And not only that, but Ms. Coin also declares, in an overly dramatic fashion, that her ‘career is over.’ 

She can’t just decide that, announce that she’ll never work on Broadway again! 

Katniss tries to explain herself, smooth things over, but that only results in her accidentally knocking Alma Coin off the stage and injuring her. Not knowing what else to do, Katniss rushes out of the audition. 

-----

On her way back to her apartment, she receives several texts from her friend Cinna. Apparently, someone captured a video of her knocking Alma Coin off the stage and posted it on social media. The ridiculous thing is up to 30,000 views. 

Cinna, what am I gonna do? she texts.  

Cinna: Just give it some time. Lay low and try again after a month or so. It’ll die down. 

A month? she texts back. I don’t have a month. I’m already behind on my rent since the money from my last show ran out, and I’m sure my sleazebag landlord isn’t gonna be happy. 

Cinna: Don’t worry, darlin. Just let me know if you need some money. 

I don’t take charity, Cinna, she texts. 

Cinna: I know.  

-----

Over the next three weeks, Katniss does everything she can to make ends meet, even cocktail waitressing, something she never thought she’d (or wanted to) go back to. Additionally, Cinna had the brilliant idea that she should audition for Portia Rose, a big Broadway producer, who’s apparently the only one not intimidated by Alma Coin. But how is she going to audition for her? Her agent dropped her after the video, and it isn’t exactly easy to take meetings with wealthy show biz people.

Her one chance comes after Cinna does a little detective work and discovers that Portia will be dining at the ritzy Capitol Bar & Grille for lunch Friday afternoon. It might be crazy, but if Katniss can put on a performance on the sidewalk as Portia is coming out of the restaurant, maybe she’ll catch her eye. Dressed in her best dance ensemble, a sparkly silver little number designed by Cinna, she waits outside for Portia. Sure enough, she’s there, and the moment she leaves the restaurant with her group, Katniss goes right into it. 

Unfortunately, Portia either doesn’t notice her or doesn’t care because she walks right by. As she’s trying to get her attention, Katniss runs into a hot dog vendor and ends up covered in ketchup and mustard.    

For the topper on the crap sundae that is her day, and her life, when she gets back to her apartment, her stuff is in the halls and there’s an EVICTED notice on her door in bold black letters. And the locks have been changed. Did her asshole landlord throw her out with no real notice?! Okay, so maybe he’d been threatening her for weeks, but how could he just toss her stuff into the halls and change the locks? It could’ve been stolen! At least he put Buttercup in his cat carrier rather than turn him loose. She considers going to her landlord to plead her case, but he’s already made it clear he won’t be lenient anymore, that is, unless she wants to sleep with him. She’d rather be homeless. She doesn’t want to live in a place managed by such a creep anyway. 

Katniss slumps against her door between the boxes and slides down to a seated position. Her head falls back against the door with a thunk. Buttercup yowls from beside her, and she sticks her fingers through the holes of the carrier to let him sniff her. 

“We’re gonna be okay, Buttercup. We’ll be o-kay.” 

Just then, her phone rings, and as if he sensed her despair, it’s her dad. 

She hesitates, then answers the video call. “Hey, Dad.” She attempts for bright and cheery, but she’s sure she’s grimacing, and she can feel hot tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. Katniss hasn’t cried in years, not since her mom left, and she doesn’t plan to start now. 

“Hey, Catkin! How’s my best girl?” 

“Just…paying my dues, Dad,” she mutters. She can’t fake it much longer, but she doesn’t exactly want to give him the deets. 

“It’ll happen, sweetie,” her dad assures. “You’re so talented. You’re gonna make it.” He goes on to tell her how proud he is of her and how he’s saved the playbills she’s sent him for all of her Broadway shows. He’s only made it to one of her shows, but she knows that was difficult enough for him to manage, so she’s thankful. 

“Thanks, Dad,” she says, plastering on a small smile. 

“Are you…sitting in the hallway?” he asks. 

Oh God. She positions the phone to ensure he only has a view of the door, not the boxes and bags littering the hall.  

“Yeah, just, uh, waiting for my take-out,” she says. And he seems to buy it. Her dad knows how much she loves food. 

“Oh,” he clears his throat, “what’d you get?” 

“Chinese,” she answers immediately. 

“Oh. Sounds good.” 

There’s a pause. 

“Well, uh, Dad, I think that’s my food coming up the stairs now, so I better…” 

“Okay, honey. Call me later. Love you.” 

“You too.” She hangs up and sighs. 

She stares across the hallway at her neighbor’s door until she hears a little ding. She looks down at her phone. It’s from Dad. 

Dad: You can’t fool me, sweetie. Just come home. 

Dad: You can stay in your old room as long as you want. It’s all set for you. Haven’t changed a thing.  

Katniss sighs. She doesn’t want her dad to think she couldn’t hack it; she doesn’t want to admit failure. But what else can she do? Presently, this city is sucking the life out of her, and she needs a recharge. She can crash at home, er her old home, maybe get a job and save up some money, and once she’s back on her feet, she can work on getting to Portia again. 

-----

Against her will, her dad bought her a plane ticket and insisted on picking her up at the small New Hope airport. Probably for the best. There aren’t any cabs. Even Ubers are extremely rare. And unless she wants to hitch a ride on Old Farmer Diggs’ tractor, it’s best that she lets her father pick her up. 

They sit quietly in his truck; Katniss has barely said anything since their greeting and hug at the airport. After several minutes pass, her dad starts humming a little song they used to sing together, which successfully breaks the ice, and she starts humming, then singing along. Her dad has an amazing voice, always has. She swears he can make the birds stop to listen. Truthfully, he was her inspiration to get into show business, although she's more confident and comfortable dancing than singing.  

Just as they’ve passed the New Hope sign, “So, uh, heard from your mom lately?” her dad asks out of the blue, effectively putting the ice wall back up. 

“Nope,” she replies. She doesn’t know why he would think she would after all these years.   

Suddenly, Katniss has a terrible thought. Not that she should care about what the person who abandoned her thinks, but… “I hope she didn’t see the video.” Katniss groans. “Or anyone in town. I’d die.” 

“Oh, now, don’t be too full of yourself, sweetie. People around here have other things to worry about, you know. Their own lives.” 

“I know.” 

“Probably just me stalking your Instabook.”

“That’s Instagram, Dad.” Katniss smirks.  

“That’s what I said.” Her dad laughs a little, and Katniss’s lips quirk. But not long after, her lips curve into a frown. “I hate the internet,” she says on exhale. 

“Me too,” her dad replies. “Just keep up with it for my pride and joy.” 

That brings another little smile from her. 

They’re driving past Town Hall when they see Coach Odair and his football team. He’s barking at them to pick up their feet and run faster, so they’re not the slowest football team out there, as well as other little passive-aggressive encouragements. 

Katniss’s dad throws up his hand. “Hey, Finnick.” 

“Hey, Mr. E, how ya doing?” Finnick waves back, then proceeds to ride his team. 

“I see the football team still sucks,” remarks Katniss.  

“Ah, they’ve had their good years and bad. Finn’s a good coach. He rides ‘em hard, but he’s actually a big softie.” 

That sounds about right. 

Katniss and her father make idle conversation about his job in the mines, which Katniss wishes he’d give up, and about the possibility of making the farm his sole source of income, which she encourages. But he isn’t a risk taker, he tells her. Not like her. 

“Some risk taker,” she mumbles. “I take these huge risks and fail.” Katniss sighs, and Buttercup meows from the truck bed. “I really screwed up, Dad.” 

“Oh now, honey. That’s what the term risk implies, that you might fail. But you haven’t failed. This is just one missed opportunity, a minor setback after multiple successes. Like you said, in a profession such as yours, you’re bound to have to pay some dues.” 

“Thanks, Dad.” 

“Come on, gimme a smile.” She does her best to. “Aw, you can do better than that.” 

“This might be the best I have in me right now, Dad.” 

“Ah, that can’t be it. Hey, I know what you need…cheese.” 

Katniss quirks a brow. She does love cheese. Cheese and chocolate: two substances she could pretty much eat (or drink) her weight in. 

“Or better yet, cheese buns!” 

“No, Dad.” Katniss shakes her head. “Can’t we just get some cheese at the market? You know I can’t go to the bakery‒”  

“Not to worry, Catkin. He won’t be there. He’s never there this time of day. I’ll even go in for you, just in case.” 

---- 

Katniss waits outside Mellark’s Bakery while her father goes in for bread and cheese buns. She decides to get out of the truck for some fresh air. As she leans up against the truck, she cranes her neck to see if she can see who’s inside working. 

“Katniss?” 

Katniss spins at the sound of the high-pitched affected accent of who could be none other than Ms. Effie Trinket, her dance teacher from when she was a pre-teen through high school. 

Sure enough, there she is. She’s a bit older, though she looks much the same (probably thanks to Botox, and all the makeup). Naturally, her hair is dyed a vibrant color; today, it’s bright pink. She’s dressed in her usual flamboyant style and wearing at least three or four-inch stilettos. She’d always change into dance shoes for practices, but otherwise, she’d be wearing high heels around town. 

“Oh, h-hey, Ms. Trinket.” Although she’s married to the surly town drunk with a heart of gold, she still uses her maiden name. “How are you?”  

“Can’t complain, dear. How are you?” She raises her voice on ‘you.’ “The big Broadway star!” 

Katniss feels her shoulders slumping, but she puts on the hint of a smile. “Fine. Just fine. How’s Haymitch?” 

“Oh, goodness! He’ll be the death of me, I’m sure of it!” she wails. 

“You two are still…together?” 

“Heavens, yes.” Then Effie launches into a number of complaints about her alcoholic husband, who is apparently sober now (for the most part) and assistant coaching the football team, interspersed with sprinklings of praises throughout. These two have an interesting relationship. They’re so different, yet somehow, they’ve made it work all these years. 

“And what about you, dear? Any special man in your life?” 

Katniss shakes her head. “No, not really.” She knew it was a mistake mentioning Effie’s relationship, for it was bound to lead to questions about her own, or lack thereof.  

“Oh, speaking of, I just saw Peeta!” trills Effie Trinket.  

Katniss feels as though a large thorn has been jabbed into her side at the mention of his name. 

“Peeta?” another voice chimes in. “Oh, I saw him this morning!” Delly Cartwright has just strolled up the sidewalk hand in hand with her little girl, a light brunette girl with her hair in buns wearing a pink tutu and leotard. The last time Katniss saw her, she was a baby; she recalls that her name is Emmy. “Katniss! Is that really you?!” 

What is this? A reunion?  

Well, Katniss knew she was bound to run into people from her past in town. But does every one of them need to bring Peeta up?  

Katniss nods and smiles faintly, and Delly claps her on the back.

“I thought it was you, but I couldn’t be sure! I mean, I thought you were in N-Y-C. I’m so glad you’re back.”

“I’m not back,” Katniss protests, though they both seem to ignore her.  

“Ohhh,” Ms. Trinket claps her hands together. “It’s almost as if nothing has changed.” 

Delly smiles. “Minus Katniss and Peeta being attached at the lips, that is.” She giggles.  

Another thorn in her side.  

Katniss rolls her eyes out of Delly’s sight. It wasn’t like Peeta and she were super into PDA. Okay, maybe they were. Peeta, anyway. Oh, he was perfectly fine with showing his affection for her anywhere and everywhere, and he was, quite frankly, hard to resist, so that made Katniss a little more lax on her no-PDA policy. 

“Have you seen him yet?” asks Delly. 

“Who?” Katniss plays dumb. 

“Peeta!” exclaims Delly. 

“Uh, no, I haven’t.” 

“He’ll be glad to see you.” 

No, he won’t, thinks Katniss. 

“You know, back then, you two were pretty cute,” says Delly. “Some people thought you were a little sickening,” Delly giggles again, “but I always thought you two were perfect together. I really thought you were gonna get married and have a bunch of babies.”

Yeah, well, that was a long time ago, Delly. People grow up. They change.  

“Oh, but then you went off to dance school while Peeta waited at home and you got that audition in Manhattan, and then came ‘the text’.” Delly uses air quotes. 

Why is she giving her the play-by-play? As if Katniss doesn’t remember what happened. 

“Oh yes, the text!” bleats Effie. “How scandalous!” 

Katniss certainly doesn’t need to be reminded of the infamous text. She can’t help that she’s no good at saying things and chose the worst way possible to break up with her high school sweetheart. And apparently, Peeta went around telling everyone in town about it. She can’t believe he did that. 

“When you two broke up, it really messed with his head, you know,” says Delly. No, she didn’t. “He was moping around town for months, barely spoke to anyone, and you know how friendly he normally is. We were all very concerned about his depression.” 

Peeta was depressed? Katniss feels awful about that, but it was the way it had to be. It wouldn’t have worked out with her going to New York, and Peeta, quite obviously, wanting to stay in their hometown. Whatever existed between them was nice while it lasted, but it’s gone now. 

“Oh, you remember my youngest, don’t you, Katniss?” Delly pulls Katniss from her reverie, presenting the little girl in the tutu. She’s holding a stuffed pig. “She was in Pampers last time you saw her. Emberlyn. Emmy for short.” 

“Of course, I remember,” says Katniss as sweetly as possible. “Hello, Emmy. You’ve gotten big.”  

“Hasn’t she?! And she’s taking dance now, just like you!” 

“That’s nice.” 

“Ohh, and she’s doing just marvelously!” Effie chimes in. She bends slightly at the waist as she can’t quite squat in her skirt and heels and taps Emmy on the nose. “You know, Miss Emberlyn, Miss Katniss was my star pupil.” 

“That’s right!” chirps Delly. “And star soloist in the choir, too.” 

Wow, that was a long time ago. Does everyone in this town have the memory of an elephant? 

“And now she’s on Broadway!” adds Ms. Trinket with an air of pure pride that makes Katniss feel sick to her stomach. She hates the thought of letting down these people who believe in her. 

“How’s Gale?” deflects Katniss, needing a change of subject. 

But it’s short-lived as all Delly says about her husband is: “Oh, same old Gale, you know.” 

Katniss nods and says, “Give him my best.” 

“Will do!” bubbles Delly. 

“Oh, darling,” Ms. Trinket interjects, “while you’re in town, you simply must come by and see the girls at the dance studio!”

“Uh,” Katniss pauses, “I’d love that, Ms. Trinket…except…” She pauses. Being in a dance studio is the last place Katniss wants to be after the audition debacle; she doesn’t want to be anywhere near anything related to dance, in fact. Plus, she knows her dad was just blowing steam and she actually is under the town’s scrutiny‒it’s a smaaall town‒and she can’t face the looks and little whispers once they learn what a failure she is and how she blew her big shot. And as primitive as this little town is, someone is bound to see that video and pass it along. She doesn’t want to lie to them, and yet she can’t stand the notion of telling them the truth, either. So, she lies. “Except, it’s my dad. He’s sick.” 

As soon as she says it, her dad walks out of the bakery, a white bag tucked under each arm. He shoots her a curious glance. 

“Oh dear,” says Ms. Trinket. “I do hope it’s nothing serious.” She looks between Katniss and her father.  

Katniss looks to her father. “Oh no, don’t worry. I’m fine,” he says. “Catkin is just being overprotective, you know.” 

Katniss glimpses Delly, who also has a concerned look on her face. “Always such a trooper, Mr. E! Well, I’m gonna bake you a casserole!” 

Ah, small town hospitality. 

“Well, um, we…better be going, Dad.” 

“You’ll consider stopping by the studio?” Ms. Trinket jumps in before they can get in the truck. “Perhaps around…5:30? I know you need to take care of your father, but the girls…it’d be such a thrill for them. I’d hate to disappoint them.” 

Katniss opens her mouth, but her father speaks for her. “Of course she’ll be there. I can get by for an hour or two on my own, and we wouldn’t want to disappoint the girls, now would we?” Her father gives her a pointed look, and she’s toast. Although, why would they be disappointed if Ms. Trinket hasn’t told them anything yet? 

Katniss looks between her father and Ms. Trinket then says, “Sure, I’ll be there at 5:30.” 

“Wonderful!” shrieks Effie. “Well, you feel better now.” She pats Mr. Everdeen’s shoulder and announces that she’s off. Delly tosses out some last well wishes, a ‘good to see you, Katniss’, and a promise for that casserole ASAP. 

-----

After waving goodbye to her father, Katniss stands outside the New Hope Dance Studio. She stares up at the brightly painted sign with the dandelions on it, which was hand painted by Peeta, she recalls. She takes a couple of deep breaths before making her way inside. 

The place hasn’t changed much. It’s still painted a bright sunset orange. The reception area is exactly the same with the box of dance-related pamphlets on the counter and a couple of spare leotards and tutus hanging on the wall. She wanders over to the opposite wall with the corkboard. This area has changed a little. Namely, there’s a large framed collage photo of Katniss in various stages of growth in dance attire as well as the newspaper clipping with the story about how a local girl made it big in NYC on Broadway, also framed. 

Miss Trinket hums as she comes up behind Katniss. “I know I only taught you for 6 years 10 months and 22 days before you went off to real dance school in Chicago, but I’d like to think I had a hand in you becoming a Broadway sensation.” 

Katniss turns, smiles faintly, and nods. 

“Thank you, Ms. Trinket,” she humbles herself. “I’m grateful.”  

Miss Trinket sniffles and looks like she’s about to cry. She waves her hand in front of her face, then says with a hopeful expression, “Grateful enough to teach a master class, or three?” 

Katniss sighs. Not that grateful, no. 

“Oh, but don’t worry about that right now.” Effie tugs on Katniss’s arm. “Come on, let’s not keep the girls waiting.” 

Once inside the dance studio, which also looks exactly the same, and could probably use some renovations, Katniss surveys the young dancers while Ms. Trinket brings over a folding chair for her. Delly is also there. She’s a committed dance mom, of course. 

“Have a seat now, dear,” says Ms. Trinket. Then she turns to the girls. “Girls, this is Miss Katniss. She was one of my best students and is now a big Broadway star! Make her feel welcome, please!” 

The girls all clap, save for one. Katniss catches sight of none other than Primrose Mellark off to the side, and she looks none too pleased to see her. 

As for the rest of them, Katniss does her best to commit their faces and names to memory as best she can as Ms. Trinket introduces them. Meanwhile, Delly is signing alongside her. 

There’s a deaf girl with pale skin, amber eyes, and bright red hair. Katniss has already forgotten her name, but her face and nose is elongated like a fox, so she’s calling her Foxface. So, it must be for her benefit that Delly is using sign language.  

There’s Rue, a dark-skinned girl with soft brown eyes who gives off a very birdlike quality. At least she has the body of a dancer, so there could be hope for her yet. 

Then there’s a girl named Camille, who places a flower crown she made atop Katniss’s head. Katniss recalls Peeta doing the same thing one day in the meadow. It feels like so long ago…  

Speaking of Peeta, Katniss knew that Prim was interested in dance because she used to prance around in front of her constantly. And she didn’t seem half-bad for her age. She wonders how she’s progressed. Hopefully, she’s learned some actual steps. 

Katniss doesn’t know Peeta’s youngest sister as well, but she seems energetic, and maintains close proximity to her brooding older sister. 

Delly’s girls are there as well as Finnick Odair’s brood: a little girl with dark brown hair and sea green eyes named Morgan, and apparently, he leaves his son Rusty, a bronze-haired, green-eyed boy, there while he’s at football practice. Rusty just watches and colors. 

Ms. Trinket gets through the introductions, then decides it would be fabulous to have a Q&A session with Katniss, so the girls can learn from a real life success story. 

They ask questions like: When did you start dancing? Does the most talented dancer always get the part? Etc. And Katniss answers in brief. When one of them asks what show she’s in now, Katniss moves on to another topic. 

They’re all overly excited now, as if they’ve had sugar, and just about every one of them has announced that they want to be on Broadway someday. One of them raises her hand and asks how to get on Broadway. 

“Well, first of all, don’t ever make a mistake in front of anyone important,” Katniss says. Alright, so maybe she’s a bit jaded from her recent experience. “But here’s the thing. You don’t always know who the important people are, so that means you can never make a mistake in front of anyone, ever. Oh, and also, hard work and talent.” 

The girls are staring blankly at her. 

Katniss knows she should stop, but she keeps going. “I’d say you all have a .0001 percent chance of making it.” Delly signs it, then adds an enthusiastic little fist pump after as if to soften the blow.  

Despite Delly’s false enthusiasm, their faces collectively fall. And a few of them are even cuddling each other for comfort. But it’s better she tells them the honest truth now before they go out and fall on their faces. They look like criers. 

This seems like a good time to take her leave, so Katniss excuses herself (but not before Ms. Trinket slips a dance competition flyer into her bag). She feels a little bad about dashing those little girls’ hopes, but maybe she’s done them a favor. The life of a Broadway dancer is not at all glamorous.  

When she steps outside, Katniss is blindsided by the sight of her father standing next to none other than Peeta Mellark.

Katniss comes to an abrupt stop and gapes. 

“Look who I ran into, Catkin,” her dad says. 

Peeta is grinning at her. And he looks great. “Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in,” says he.  

“Peeta,” she mutters like an idiot, blinking rapidly. She’s not sure why she’s reacting this way; it’s not like she didn’t know it was a strong possibility she’d run into him while she was home.  

“You remembered.” He smirks. 

Katniss clears her throat. “Of course.” 

“So, the rumors are true. You’re back,” Peeta says. And she can’t tell if he’s happy about that or simply stating the fact.  

“Temporarily,” she clarifies. “I’m just home visiting my dad. He’s…” She looks to her father, who quickly chimes in with the fake story she made up in order to save face, which is probably already going around town anyway. 

“I’m sick,” her father chimes in. “I’ve been sick.” 

“Oh,” Peeta’s brow furrows. “Really? Mr. E, I’m…” Peeta doesn’t finish his sentence, but instead lays a hand on Mr. Everdeen’s shoulder. 

“Yeah…” Her dad gives a clearly fake cough. “I better go rest…in my truck.” 

Peeta nods solemnly, but the quirk to his lip indicates he knows it’s a lie. “Feel better, Mr. E. I’ll bake you a pie,” he promises as he waves goodbye to him. 

Well, at least thanks to her lie her father is going to be well-fed. He’ll have Delly’s casserole and now Peeta’s pie, both delicious.  

Once they’re alone, Katniss offers Peeta a thin smile. “So, um, what are you doing here?”

“What am I doing here?” repeats Peeta, clearly amused. “Did they wipe your memory while you were in New York? I’m picking up my sisters from dance class. Remember Primrose and Poppy?” 

“Of course I remember Primrose and Poppy.” 

They stand there a moment, Katniss shuffling her feet, Peeta staring at his. 

“So,” Peeta speaks up, meeting her eyes again and folding his strong arms across his broad chest. Has he gotten even broader? Peeta always had muscles, but now he’s…like a brick wall. A very cozy brick wall, she’d imagine… 

Katniss shakes off her delusional thoughts.  

“So,” she repeats, folding her arms and arching a brow. She hopes to appear nonchalant, although she feels completely the opposite. 

“So?” he repeats, the corner of his mouth twitching. He still has that damn dimple. Of course he does. She’s not sure why she’d think it would go away, or that it would stop having an effect on her.   

When she says nothing more, Peeta starts up a conversation, filling in both his and her parts. “So, how are you, Peeta? What have you been up to?” he says. “I’m great, Kat. Busy. Baking, of course. Doing odd jobs around town. And my Grandma Mags has been getting a little forgetful, so I’ve been taking over more with my sisters. You know, doing the grownup thing. Oh, and by the way, your dad is still on me about fixing the barn from that time we, uh,” he raises his brow, “accidentally started that fire.”  

Katniss’s cheeks warm, and Peeta adds proverbial fuel to the fire by saying, “Who knew starting a fire,” he winks, “could actually start a fire?” He gives her a sly grin. “Guess that broken lantern had something to do with it, huh?”

“Guess so,” she mutters, suddenly unable to look him in those blue-blue eyes.  

Working up her nerve, Katniss decides to just come out and say what needs to be said. “Look, Peeta.” 

“Mhm?” He strokes his chin and stares at her thoughtfully. Why does he have to make everything so difficult. 

“Since...” She sucks in a bit of air. “Since I’m going to be back for a bit, and we’re clearly going to be running into each other a lot, I should say…I know I broke your heart.” 

Peeta pokes out his lip and bobs his head up and down. Is he mocking her?   

“I know I didn’t end things in the most…thoughtful way…” 

“‘Sorry to do this in a text,’” Peeta quotes, “‘but I’m going to New York, so we have to break up. -Kat.’ No, see, I thought it was very thoughtfully-worded.” 

Katniss smirks and shakes her head at him. 

“I just wanted to make sure, uh, that there weren’t any hard feelings…” 

“Oh, Katniss, Katniss, Katniss, Katniss, Katniss. That was high school. Ancient history. I mean, it’s not like we were ever gonna work out.” 

For some reason, the way he says it so casually and cheerfully turns Katniss’s stomach. 

“Well, I better be going,” says Peeta, reaching out to graze her arm. She feels an electric current pass between them. He then tosses her father, who’s in his truck across the street, a ‘see ya later’

Mr. Everdeen calls out in reply, “That barn’s not gonna fix itself, young man!” Peeta just laughs. 

-----

Katniss is in a foul mood on the drive back to the Everdeen farm. And her dad doesn’t help matters by saying, “Well, it’s good he’s finally over you.” 

Katniss grimaces. 

“At least his skin’s cleared up.” Katniss shoots her dad a bewildered look, and he quickly changes the subject by pulling the dance brochure out of her bag. “Oh, what’s this?” 

“Just some dumb dance competition thing.” Katniss sighs. “Ms. Trinket actually wanted me to teach, can you believe it?” 

“Well, I think that’s nice. Means she thinks a lot of your skill.” 

“No, it means I’m a failure, Dad. I should be doing the dancing, not teaching.” 

“I told you, you’ll get your shot, honey.” 

Katniss huffs. Her dad clears his throat and starts reading through the brochure. 

“Hey, this doesn’t sound so bad. There’ll be all kinds of big name judges there.” Katniss gives a skeptical exhale. “No, really.” He starts naming them off, one of which he claims she is friends with, although she only danced in a benefit she hosted. “Then there’s,” her dad goes on, “Por-tee-uh Rose.” 

Katniss slams on the brakes and pulls off to the side of the road. “Portia Rose?” She snatches the brochure from him, and sure enough, Portia Rose will be one of the celebrity judges at the finals in Atlantic City. 

“I’m going to do it, Dad,” she announces. “I’m going to teach dance.” 

#JHsgf82 writes #Based on Feel the Beat #Feel the Beat Always #dancer!Katniss #exes!Everlark #Prim and Peeta siblings #Peeta has sisters instead of brothers #Mr. Everdeen is alive #AU #dance teacher!Katniss #dance teacher!Effie #dance dad!Finnick #dance mom!Annie #dance mom!Delly #everlark #Gelly #Odesta #hayffie

[angelsh0143]

Playlist for my babies <3

so, i think i consumed every possible catoniss content and i am very fascinated by their dynamic in the arena; the cat and mouse game, the way cato decides whether she lives or dies . just perfect. it's captivating in the way horrible, disgusting things are and i simply love it. just the right amount of chilling. (yes, i do find it kinda hot sue me) so here is a playlist.

Gladiator - by Jann. I'm fully convinced he was thinking about the careers while he wrote this song. like. it's literally them

Animal - by Maroon 5. i don't think explanations are needed. also shoutout to FantastcFandom for the amazing amv; i know it's supposed to be about the 74th hunger games as a whole but the way it looks like cato is hunting Katniss. yeah.

Young God - by Halsey. "I'm the king of everything and oh, my tongue is my weapon." this dynamic just. scratches my brain right.

Ultraviolence - by Lana del Rey. obviously. anything related to cato is related to Lana.

Born to Die - by Lana del Rey. compulsory in every thg playlist.

Toxic, cover - by 2WEI. could they be more toxic? no, absolutely not.

Butch 4 Butch - Rio Romeo. yeah i know. but still. "the music we make is unnatural but it sounds just like falling in love"

#catoniss #thg series #playlist #katniss everdeen #cato hadley

[creamytinydays]

Hiii!!! Umm okay I don't mean to be a pain about this, I really don't, it's just that I'm kinda maybe obsessed with your work sooooo, when do you think we'll get to read the next chapter of The Crush????? 🤗🤗

You're not a pain at all! I love hearing from readers!!

The next chapter of The Crush is drafted (yay!), but I don't have a timeline for posting.

To tide you over, perhaps you'd like to know Ch 2 of "Getting Lucky" which features Spider-Man!Peeta and The Black Cat!Katniss, is now available. This piece is not related to The Crush, but you can read The Crush if you want more of Spider-Man!Peeta and The Black Cat!Katniss. :D

Find Ch 2 of Getting Lucky here!

[1-danid]

MY OBSESSIONS

I'm always joining fandom, so if i were to list all of them this post would be too long so I'll do my current biggest ones.

NGLI GOT CARRIED AWAY I DIDN'T EVEN MENTION THE BOOKS AND BANDS I LIKE!!

Spiderman into the spiderverse & across the spiderverse

The Owl House

Arcane

Amaphiba (I love the calamity trio)

iZombie (Clive supremacy)

Limitless (the series)

Disney Channel series and movies

The Good Place (still on season 1)

Stranger Things (both the woman and the men I-)

Avatar & Avatar: Way of The Water

The Dragon Prince (RAYLA MY LOVE)

Kakergurui (midari please just fu-)

The Black Phone (literally all the boys)

All Of the MCU (love too many of the woman here I-)

Undertale (yes i was raised by the internet)

FNAF (nah cause these games were fire when i was 8ish)

Squid Games (067 for life)

Alice In Borderline (before the hype)

Transformers (coughs in he's kinda cute tho_)

Wednesday (love Jenna Ortega)

Adventure Time (literally loce every character their sm)

Kipo and the wonderbeasts

The Hunger games (love katniss)

Steven Universe (the gems and sadie)

Encanto (camil and lusia could get it)

Holes

A Series Of Unfortunate Events (book and series, never the movie)

She-ra The Princess Of Power (catra is my crush fr)

Camern Sandiego (Ivy tho-)

Life Is Strange (I love Chloe)

The Mitchells vs The Machines (KATIE IS SO CUTE)

My little Pony and mlp equestria girl (RAINBOW DASH THO-)

Detroit Becoming Human (Kara and Alice had me in the corner the whole time)

Yandere Simulator

Trolls World Tour (hear me out Bar-)

Victorious (Jade and Cat for the win)

Icarly (the original) (sam was an awakening)

Sam and Cat

The Croods

Purple Hearts (NOW CAUSE FRANKIE)

Helluva Boss

Red Shoes and The Seven Dwarfs

DND form Dimension 20

Kim Possible (Shego and Kim)

Any coming of age movie

Any British BBC production

My MOOTS STORIES!!

#my fandoms #i love them #watch em #live em #fear em #cry em #cry for em #cry with em #just live em #‿︵‿︵୨˚̣̣̣͙୧ dani speaks ୨˚̣̣̣͙୧‿︵‿

[hilarychuff]

ok just for the heck of it some sansa/jonsa au casting ideas that are very much up for discussion bc i haven’t figured them out enough on my own to hoard privately to make into one of my au graphics or i just probably never will make it into an au graphic but think it’s a fun idea

just dumping A BUNCH of them under the break (like basically everyone except those i am hoarding for later/have more concrete ideas about that i might actually execute in some way) enjoy this peek into my google docs xoxoxox

13 going on 30 Jenna - sansa Matty - jon  Cat - margaery???? cersei???

Panic Heather - sansa (alayne) Lilly - robin Ray - jon Bishop - harry Natalie - myranda Dodge -

OR

Panic Heather - arya Ray - gendry? Bishop - gendry?   Natalie - sansa Dodge - jon Dodge’s sister - bran

Hocus pocus au max - jon Allison - sansa Dani - arya Thackery binx - aegon? (or brandon?) Emily binx - rhaenys? (or lyanna?) Winifred sanderson - cersei Mary sanderson - tyrion??? Lmao Sarah sanderson - jaime lmao

Big little lies Daenerys is Renata (or is Cersei Renata?? Would leave space for dany to be celeste) Margaery is Madeline Jeyne is Celeste?? Daenerys is Celeste?? Sansa is Jane?? Arya is bonnie??????

Timeless Sansa is the historian Jon is the military guy Ygritte is his dead ex Sam is the science guy Theon is the villain guy who later becomes the love interest

Dead to me Jen - arya (not cold but very firmly not warm, resting bitch face, might kill sansa but also might kill for sansa) Judy - sansa (bleeding heart, bad men, so much guilt, more than a little confessy when she’s wronged someone, potential to be kinda gay!) Ted - ???? Steve - harry hardyng? Littlefinger himself? Ramsay? Joffrey? Maybe joffrey works best? Ben - gendry (work if he’s joffrey’s “half-brother” or w/e)

Saved au Mary - sansa Cassandra - arya Roland - willas? Tyrion? Hilary Faye - Margaery? Cersei? Patrick - jon? Pastor skip - ned Mary-Louise Parker - catelyn Dean - loras? Theon? Mitch - renly? Robb? Tia - Veronica -

Don’t look under the bed Frances - sansa Darwin - bran after he falls/is pushed Albert - robb? Joann - jon with modifications so that he is a potential love interest at the end for sansa Larry - theon Zoe - margaery? Parents - ned and cat

Hunger games Katniss - jon tbh lmao Peeta - sansa Gale - ygritte? daenerys? Prim - arya? Or does it have to be bran/rickon since jon is a boy?? Maybe it’s not a boy/girl tribute thing maybe it’s just any two tributes Haymitch - tyrion? Dontos? Mance rayder? Wyman manderly? Thoughts to be thunk here with who would be in what district if we want to really get crazy Effie - varys lmfao???? Finnick - jaime lannister Johanna - daenerys? Ooooh but could be brienne if you leaned into it maybe President snow - mad king aerys? Beetee - tyrion? Rue - satin?

Grease Sandy - sansa Danny - jon Kenickie - tormund? Mance? Roger - sam Other greasers - pyp, grenn, etc Rizzo - ygritte Frenchy - gilly? Val? Idk ygritte for rizzo is really the only one that resonates i just love grease Fuck actually ygritte as the rizzo to sansa’s sandy is so good that this is worth giving some more thought The wall boys are such lil fucking nerds that they feel right for the delinquent greasers, too Although lbr jon is more of an alfalfa in the he-man woman haters’ club than he is a danny zucko Theon is more of a danny zucko but i don’t know if i want this for theonsa Anyway sansa’s whole family moved and robb is now doing athlete shit with whoever that athlete sandy briefly dates is (harry hardyng?) Is chacha val?????? Maybe arya falls in with the pink ladies first and then sansa gets sort of reluctantly dragged along Arya sings sandra dee at first and then when rizzo starts to join in she’s like wait only i get to make fun of sansa

Mama mia Meryl streep - sansa Pierce brosnan - jon Swedish guy - theon Colin firth - loras tyrell Christine baranski - margaery tyrell Other friend - jeyne poole LMFAO catelyn as cher i just cackled why is that so funny even though it doesn’t make sense

Harry Potter Sirius - jon James - Robb Lily - Jeyne westerling (except is she maybe more of a james figure politically) Petunia (but nice) - sansa Peter - theon Remus - samwell Tarly Vernon (but just dating) - Harry Hardyng Madame hooch - arya Weasleys - sam and gilly

New girl Jess - sansa Cece - margaery Nick - jon Schmidt - robb Winston - theon

10th kingdom Virginia - sansa The wolf - jon Jon larroquette - ned

Goodbye earl Maryanne - sansa Wanda - jeyne Earl - ramsay

Bring it on (for the gays) Torrance - sansa Torrance’s lil brother - arya Big red - margaery // cersei? The clovers - the sand snakes Missy - mya stone? // margaery? Cliff - gendry // willas/loras? Aaron - daenerys

Teenage bounty hunters Sterling - sansa Blair - arya Debbie - cat Dana - lysa Bowser - the hound?

Buffy the vampire slayer Buffy - arya Cordelia - sansa Willow - bran Xander - jon Angel - gendry Amy - jojen (or is jojen tara?) Dawn - rickon (robb is already away at college?)

#sansa stark #jonsa #sansa stark au #jonsa au #asoiaf au

[techwaifu]

Tagged by @cauldronofmorning, 8 shows to get to know me :)

The US Office: My comfort show, my go-to when I just want to watch something familiar. Peak cringe humour and just so many wonderful characters. I could watch it forever tbh

K-on!: Autism coded cute musician girl joins a band and makes amazing friends and also they are all just so gay for each other??? Yeah this is everything honestly.

The Hunger Games: Do movies count? I'm putting movies here anyway, this entire series is incredibly important to me. Katniss may be one of the best written protagonists of the Dystopian genre, even if I feel like the movies didn't go her complete justice, she turned out great.

The Cat Returns: Another movie. Yeah I watch way more movies than I do TV shows fight me 🥊🥊🥊. I love Ghibli in general and this is my favourite Ghibli movie. A beautiful coming of age story and SO MANY CATS.

It's Always Sunny: Dark humour and terrible terrible people with too much money/too many resources available to them is such a funny combination. There are some episodes I'd avoid, and they handle some topics quite poorly in the earlier episodes, but it's really cool that they learnt from that and even went on to remove/modify some of them. Just such a great watch.

The Melancholy Of Haruhi Suzimiya: I literally refer to my religion as Haruhiism, this is the anime that introduced me to Aya Hirano, a person who would go on to be one of the most important parts of my life for a long time. (Note: I am literally named Aya lmao)

Game of Thrones: Kinda a hit or miss one and lots of people will slate the later seasons, but if you can look past the glaring flaws it's such a rich and well-built world with so many incredible interlinking plotlines. Also dragons are pretty cool man.

Steins:Gate: Stupid scientist man accidentally invents time travel. literally based on a true story. My #1 anime of all time just give it a chance.

I don't even have 5 friends on Tumblr so I can't really tag people but I hope you enjoyed this essay on the shit TV I enjoy <3

[butchdykenormallen]

so this book starts with this guy, his name is plutarch, peeta and katniss met him on tour, he basically made the arena for the latest game.

basically he and haymitch are calming katniss down, cinna is there too, if I'm remembering right. cuz shes still losing her shit.

so. before the game when plutarch and katniss met at the capital he kept talking about his watch (which is like a clock(it was a hint to the arena and how to escape and what to do))

so this guy is a part wait. wait a sec .

I totally forgot to say that there used to be a district 13!! yeah it was basically the home base of the first revolt until the capital blew it to smithereens. sorry I totally forgot to say that.

but yeah apparently theres like a new uprising happening and has been for a long time and they live underground like under the big big hole in district 13. yeah.

and why did they take katniss?

because shes gonna be the new like face of the revolt!!! cause shes been giving the capital so many "fuck yous"

and haymitch has been working with them this whole time. and he didnt tell her. so she fucking is so mad st him now too.

also during the game district 11 has been getting shittier too. they bombed the black market. and lots of other places. it's real messed up shit man.

so basically the capital has peeta and also the capital has been bombing district 11 a lot so the revolution evacuates them and now katniss has gale and prim and her mom and also I forgot to mention buttercup who is prims big stupid bitch cat (I love him)

so a lot of district 11 is with the district 13 people and district 11 is another hole now!!! wowie!!!

btw I forgot the district 13 leader but katniss does not like her. also apparent gale has been working w them for a bit? I think. I think that's what happened. he does like weapons n stuff.

so katniss is now the head of the revolt but now all she wants is to get peeta back

uh so basically they go on tons and tons of missions but katniss is held back a lot by the leader person which upsets her so she takes her team and goes on like their own mission to the capital to save peeta but like a ton of shit goes down and the capital is like hunting them down using all their horrible abomination animals and also district 13 gets peeta back.

but hes completely different

the capital basically brainwashed him and now he thinks katniss ruined his whole life and it's all very. very fucked up! super messed up.

katniss is very depressed over this and they go on another mission and also I think they take peeta as like a hostage or smth???? or they just take him with them??? I remember this book the least I think.

also katniss learns that district 13 wants to bomb the capital smth smth but also like all of panem is kinda on like a lockdown with like all this war?

at the capital building they have lots of districts kids kept in the yard that prim (who is like a doctor now btw. like her mom) and tons of other district 13 people are trying to help them but then they all get bombed by what katniss THINKS is the capital.

but it wasnt.

so prim is now dead and it's all very messed up and katniss finds president snow and he says that it was actually district 13 and shes like nuh uh

but she talks to gale about it. and it was hhis idea. so now she hates him too!!!

also they decide that katniss will be the one to kill president snow when the district 13 leader is like talking to him

but instead of doing that she shoots the reveloutioun leader (and also maybe president snow? I don't remember) and the whole thing ends with like her and peeta, who had not been cured of his brainwashing and doesnt have his memories I think but hes grown back into who he used to be and fell in love with katniss again, going and having like 2 kids and living like happily together n stuff. it's very sweet.

oh this is all sorts of fucked as hell???? what??????????

#interactions.jpeg #shared_files