Platonic Haymitch - Tumblr Posts

The Hunger Games: The Rise of the Phoenix

A/n: 

Sorry I haven't posed on either story; I'll start writing for the other story soon enough. But I hope you enjoy the new chapter for this one! 

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Y/n sat quietly in her compartment, the clatter of the train blending with the distant hum of conversations that Effie was having with Mineta.

Gazing out the window, she watched the landscape as they left District 12. The trees merged into a continuous green blur, and her eyes caught sight of a figure, shrouded within the trees.

Sitting up straighter on her bed, she focused on the figure standing behind the tree.

They wore vibrant dresses. The skirt was a cascade of ruffles, boasting hues of raspberry pink, royal blue, and sunflower yellow. The bodice resembled a corset, adorned with a blouse underneath. Their dark curls danced in the breeze as they seemed to lock eyes with her, beautiful brown eyes meeting Y/n’s own.

Noticing movement behind the mysterious woman, Y/n saw other faces—some younger, some older. As she leaned towards the window for a clearer view, a knock interrupted her, prompting her to pivot towards the door and invite the visitor inside.

Effie entered, striding towards Y/n’s closet and flinging open the doors as she spoke.

“Oh, why haven’t you changed?! You need to be ready for the Capitol, darling. You can’t present yourself in…um, that.”

Looking down at her attire, Y/n saw nothing amiss with the faded colors and the slightly frayed edges of her clothes.

“What’s wrong with it?”

“What’s wrong?!”

Effie stared at her as if she had seen an apparition. Composing herself, Effie smiled at Y/n and gestured towards her outfit.

“What you’ve got on, young lady, is—no offense—horrendous! The Capitol won’t approve, and I certainly don’t! Come here; I’ll fix you right up!”

She grasped Y/n’s arms and guided her to sit on the edge of the bed. Effie then rummaged through the closet, muttering her thoughts on each garment she examined. “Too dark, ew, too mucky, mmmmm…. that’s not bad, but it isn’t you…”

“Effie, it’s fine. I can keep wearing this—”

“Ha! I found the perfect one!”

Effie produced the ideal shade of f/c dress from the closet, presenting it to Y/n with a beaming smile. The f/c silk flowed through Y/n’s fingers like water, devoid of any wrinkles or creases.

“Well? Try it on!”

Effie encouraged as she headed for the door. Opening it, she stepped through and offered a few parting words before closing it behind her.

“I’ll be waiting in the main area.”

As the door shut, Y/n proceeded to the bathroom to shower. It took her a moment to figure out the shower’s mechanics, but once she did, she never wanted to leave.

Immersed in the shower, Y/n’s thoughts drifted away from the figures in the forest. But unbeknownst to her, they hadn’t forgotten about her—and they never would.

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“Oh, darling, I told you you’d look beautiful!”

“And hot! Oh, I would give anything to have a peek underneath that—”

“I will kill you right here, right now if you don’t shut the hell up, Mineta. I don’t care if the games haven’t started yet.”

You sat in an empty royal blue armchair with gold lining, crossed your leg over another, and glared daggers at the boy as his face had gone white and he had started to shake uncontrollably. You guessed it was a good thing that you wore black leggings underneath the dress after all.

“Oh, honey, those shoes? Out of all the other ones, you chose those?”

“Yeah, I like them, and I’ll die in them too.”

The shoes you wore were f/c Converse. Like hell you would change into those uncomfortable high heels. And besides, you always dreamed of these shoes since you first saw them on some random tribute who had gone into the Hunger Games a couple of years back.

“Well, at least they match.”

Effie smiled at you, and you returned it, now turning to stare out the window. You noticed a tunnel coming up ahead, and once the train entered, everything turned pitch black.

In the dark, you could hear a door open and close as someone seemed to have entered. Mineta gave a small squeak, and Effie gasped as you all heard something shatter on the floor.

Suddenly standing, you grabbed the nearest thing within your reach, which happened to be a lamp, and gripped it in your dominant hand, pulled back and ready to throw it at the mysterious person in the dark room.

You walked silently towards the person’s silhouette, wondering who it could be—a guard? Another tribute you had yet to meet. You didn’t know, nor did you want to wait around and find out. These were the Hunger Games, after all, and like hell you’d die before they even got to the Capitol.

Now walking right behind the person, you raised the lamp and bashed it on the person’s head. Their hands flew up to their head, and you prepared to bash it once more, but they whipped around and grabbed hold of the lamp and threw it across the room, causing a few dishes or something to crash on the floor and shatter.

Mineta was now fully crying, while Effie was shouting.

“What is going on?!”

“I don’t wanna die! I promise not to say those words again, Y/n! Don’t kill me!”

The mystery person was now walking towards you as you started to back up. Desperate, you grabbed something (a wine bottle, if you had to guess) and swung it at their face, the sound of glass shattering was heard.

What seemed to have been hours, the train finally came out of the tunnel, and the light flooded back into the room.

As you looked around the room, you saw that Effie was slightly shaken up, while Mineta was still crying and hugging Effie’s leg. You looked in your hands and saw the remains of a wine bottle, blood slowly dripping from the glass edges and onto your hand.

Looking up, you saw that the mysterious person you had hit was a middle-aged man. His hair was a dark blond color, with streaks of gray. His gray eyes bore into yours, and the room became quiet. Effie, seeming to recognize the man, gasped slightly, but cleared her throat.

“Mineta, Y/n, he’s your mentor—”

“Haymitch.”

The man, Haymitch, said as he finished Effie’s sentence. He brought his hand up to his cheek and touched the wound that you had just given him. Blood trickled down his face, staining his stubble.

“Great, you just gave me a new scar, kid.” He said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He glared at you, as if daring you to attack him again.

A surge of anger and fear flooded into your mind as you glared back at Haymitch. You knew who he was, everyone knew him. He was the victor of the 50th annual Hunger games, and a drunk man who wasted his life away in the victors village, drinking his life away with every bottle of alcohol he could get his hands on. You felt anger because he’s glaring at you, but you also felt fear. Fear because this sad excuse of a man is supposed to mentor you and teach you how to survive. Somehow, you don’t think that’s going to be happening anytime soon. 

“Sorry, I didn’t know it was you,” you said trying to sound calm and collected. “I thought you were someone else, an intruder.”

“Intruder? On a train full of guards and cameras? Don’t be ridiculous kid, you're lucky that I didn’t kill you right there on the spot.” Haymitch said as he grabbed a nearby napkin and wiped off the blood from his face.

“You must have been really brave, or really stupid to have attacked your own mentor.”

He was getting on your nerves, so you decided that staying quiet had lasted long enough. 

“Well at least I’m not some drunk guy wasting my days when people are dying out there.”

“Excuse me?” The older man said as he took a couple more steps toward you, but before anything else could happen Effie interfered, placing herself in the middle while holding a hand out at Haymitch and taking the broken bloody bottle out of your hand and placed it onto the table.

“Now Haymitch, she didn’t know any better, she’s only a child.”

Haythich snorted, as if he found what Effie had said amusing. 

“A child? She’s a tribute, Effie, and a good one that is. She’s a fighter, she’s no child. And she’s a weapon, a damn good one too.”

He looked at you once more, a hint of admiration in his eyes. You felt a curiosity and confusion rise, why did he switch up his attitude and opinion on you so fast? You didn’t have time to ask as Haymitch continued.

“But she’s reckless, impulsive, and naive. Why? Because she didn’t think twice or about the consequences on what would’ve happened after she attacked me. I’d be lying if I said she wasn't something I needed to see one day.”

“Haythich, I don’t know if that’s you really saying those words, or just the liquor talking.” Effie said as she now stood beside you so you and Haymitch now faced each other and he answered back to her. 

“It’s not the liquor or I’d be saying all sorts of shit right now.”

He then gestured towards Mineta, who was still sobbing on the floor. Y/n felt a pang of disgust and pity for him. Haymitch looked at the younger male, he was there when they picked the tributes. He knew right away -and the events that had just occurred confirmed it- that he was nothing like you. He was weak, cowardly, and not to mention perverted. 

“That boy, he has no chance of surviving my training. And if he can’t handle me, then he has absolutely no chance of surviving the Hunger games.”

Effie slightly tried to stutter out a response while Mineta stopped crying and was now sniffling as he talked. 

“I’m not gonna d-die, right? I-I want to go home!”

Haymitch raised his hand and Mineta stopped talking, he then pointed at the purple headed boy with slight disgust in his eyes. 

“Why would I train and waste my energy on someone weak like you, when I have this,” He grabbed onto your shoulders and pushed you in front of him, shaking you slightly as if showing off a new toy he received for his birthday. 

“A monster in the making?”

Mineta looked heartbroken, but it was true, all of what Haymitch had said. He was weak and useless. He had no muscle whatsoever, no skill, always relying on others, and just plain out useless. There wasn't even a slimmer chance that he was going to get at least one sponsor to help him out in the games. 

Effie hadn't said anything more as she looked at Haymitch, a questioning expression on her face. 

“Then what are you going to do with him?”

Haymitch laughed.

He really just plain out laughed and it unnerved you, you tried to move away from him but his grip on your shoulders increased and held you in place. 

After a few minutes, he finally settled down and stopped laughing. Sighing, he looked at Effie. 

“Oh Effie, Effie, Effie, I’m not going to do anything about him. He’s all yours, train him how you like. But this one,”

He gestured at you as he patted your shoulders.

“I’m turning this one into a killing machine.”

| | | | | | A/n:

I actually felt bad for Mineta for a second 💀. 

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! I had to run this thing through AI so it could detect any words or phrases that didn't make sense so I could fix it and suggest some tips on how to improve my writing, since I'm a newbie at writing. But I also started journaling in a notebook I had laying around so that should help me a little. I also just got off for winter break at school, thank god for that 🙏🏽.

I hope you enjoy your winter break and have a good rest of your day!