She Would Kill Me If I Said That - Tumblr Posts
i’m not a violent dog → coral
coral!tbosas x reader
notes → in which you get to understand coral a little better. feminine intended reader.
warnings → descriptions of brandy’s dead body, other typical thg warnings. also me giving characters angst alert!!! not edited & uploaded via iphone (i didn’t know how to end this lol) AND ME NOT REMEMBERING HOW THE BOOK WENT LMAO
you barely managed to choke back a scream as brandy’s body dangled in front of you. heavensbee hall went silent, as the crane hauling her limp form, which was ridden with gunshots, paraded through the street. below brandy, the tributes could be vaguely made out, chained up. you couldn’t help but scan over them quickly, trying desperately to account for coral. spotting her, you sighed, though not of relief. perhaps it was shame that this is what your home had come to, exploiting the youth of it’s country. maybe it was even sympathy for coral, but seeing her in the state she was in brought anything but relief. coral was slouched over, making herself as small as possible, a stark contrast to the brave face she had put on at the zoo, when you had first met her. swallowing the vomit that threatened to rise, you decided to give her a visit later that night.
when the time came, you vowed to immediately make your way to the zoo, declaring that determining her safety was more important at the moment. and as soon as class ended, you were off. peacekeepers formed a wall in front of the entrance, forcing you to buy your way in. after arguing with the peacekeeper, who finally gave in when you had offered him payment, you were allowed visitation, but only under supervision and for a limited amount of time. you tried to be polite with the gruff older man, making small talk with him as he guided you to the monkey cage, but once you saw coral you were out of his sight.
“coral!” you cried. once she had noticed you she made her way to the front of the enclosure rather slowly. they still had the tributes chained up. “please tell me you’re not hurt.”
“not. but i can’t take much more of this.” she admitted. her gaze was fixed to the floor, and the refusal to look you in the eyes broke your heart.
“i.. i know. i’m trying my best to help but dr. gaul won’t give me the time of day.” you explained, eying her with worry. “i can’t believe they’ve chained you up like this, it’s inhumane.” while that was true, compared to the rest of the list of things the capitol was enforcing, this hardly scratched the surface.
“i wish they’d just kill me already.” coral muttered, voice gravelly.
“please, coral, don’t say that. you can win, i know you can.” you pleaded. her eyes bore resentment at your words.
“why do you believe that, huh?” she gripped the bars that separated the two of you forcefully, “because i’m big and scary? do i intimidate you?” her voice rose and her tone grew angry. the chains holding her hands together rattled as she moved. seeing as you almost flinched, she scoffed, slouching once more. “i don’t want to be the way i am, y’know,” coral mumbled, her lip quivering. “i’m.. i’m not violent. i don’t know why i fight. we’re all animals to them, that’s all we’ll ever be.” her words brought tears to your eyes.
the dehumanizing of the districts had gone on for far too long. there had been countless encounters with your classmates where the district people were referred to as “animals,” and the thought truly disgusted you. but up until this point you had merely been a pawn. despite the countless opportunities you were given to speak up to your classmates, you remained silent. even worse, you had ignorantly laughed along with them in the past. but what better way to wash away your guilt than play the savior in someone else’s story? even if the ulterior motive went unbeknownst to you, the privilege you had couldn’t be ignored by yourself. you could make a difference if you tried, if only you knew how. the best you could do for now was try to get your tribute out of the games alive.
“you’re not an animal, coral. you’re a girl. a strong one, and a really, really brave one. coral, please.” you begged her, you didn’t quite know what for, though. “the fight you have in you is nothing to be ashamed of, it’s how you survived. i’m sorry, coral. i’m so so sorry.” you broke down, allowing the tears to spill from your eyes. “i wish i could do more to help you. this is so… messed up,” you sobbed.
“back home, they tell us not to cry. there’s too much work to be done for tears. me and my siblings start work before dawn, and we work till night. if only they could see me now,” she laughed humorously. “and the things they’d say about you, gosh… you wouldn’t last a day there, princess. i can’t imagine you being able to haul crates of fish. let alone be able to catch one.” you pressed your forehead against the bars and let her words hang in the air. after a minute or so, her head rest against the bars as well, nearly touching yours. silence rang in the air as the two of you sat, contently.
“alright, girly, time’s up. you’re way too close anyway.” the peacekeeper approached you after a while, grabbing your arm and sweeping you away before you could object.
“coral!” she glanced up at you. “i’ll see you tomorrow.” coral took that as reason to get ahold of herself, suppress her vulnerability and impress the cameras tomorrow. besides, the cameras weren’t the only thing she wanted to impress. maybe, just maybe, if coral won the games she could have you too.