Day 5: Jealousy

Snowbaird Film Fest is coming THIS SATURDAY!!

Join us for another #snowbairdWeek fan work fest! There will be an AO3 collection, and we will be tracking both #snowbairdweek #SnowbairdFilmFest (no space) on Twitter and Instagram as well as 'SnowBaird Week' 'SnowBaird Film Fest' (with spaces) on Tumblr.

We can't wait to see what you come up with!

2024 Snowbaird AU Fest

Day Six: Peacekeeper

Officer Coriolanus Snow is assigned to guard the Tribute Lucy Gray Baird. He falls in love with her.

It's not enough.

It's that time again!

Snowbaird Valentine Event!

The prompt for today is birds u.ù

As usual, thanks to @snowbaird-events ( @burntblueberrywaffles ) for this event 💖

Birds

During the summer break, after he has been forced to work hand in hand with Dr Gaul on the new edition of the Hunger Games, Coriolanus has asked and been granted to spend the summer at Twelve. President Ravinstill has made the first house built in the Victory’s village available to him also because, in fact, he is taking Lucy Gray home to see her family.

Lucy Gray shakes his hand throughout the train journey, without saying anything.

She too knows that the Hunger Games are an evil he is forced to endure, but there is a limit even to his acting ability.

***

In the Twelve everything is better. They are no longer at the Seam - although coal dust still gets everywhere - and the Coveys have huddled together, happy and excited to have Lucy Gray back for a month and a half all to themselves. They have moved into the Victory’s house with them - although they take turns not to leave their house empty - and spend their days together, as happy and carefree as they have ever been.

The schools are closed and none of them have to work. Coriolanus personally makes sure that plenty of money arrives every month to support the whole family, because the idea of CC or Tam Amber going down the mine gives him the creeps.

They spend wonderful days amidst music, singing and games, and then the time also comes for a trip to the lake.

They talked about it briefly, him and Lucy Gray. Coriolanus told her that it would be no problem and, then, following her glare, confessed that he would do his best to overwrite the bad memories.

So they set off early in the morning, taking advantage of the still cool breeze of the night before the sun burns them. They walk briskly; Coriolanus grasps Lucy Grey's hand tightly and tries to concentrate on Maude Ivory's voice and the songs she sings.

Unfortunately, so do the damn birds.

Coriolanus is forced to listen to their echoes in his ears for as long as it takes for them to arrive. There are times when he thinks he'll go mad, when he just wants to squat on the ground and plug his ears - echoes and reverberations of that terrible day, of the song of the hanging tree smashing his head and shattering it into tiny pieces.

When it happens Lucy Gray understands him, and always distracts him with a kiss.

Her smile and her love are the most valuable weapon he has to fight every crisis.

***

They finally arrive.

At last they can undress and dive into the lake and make noise, and the birds above their heads, apart from a few neutral melodies, no longer sing like in his nightmares.

It's shaping up to be a perfect day.

They soak for the whole morning and then engage in various other activities and games - Coriolanus has brought a real ball and a pack of cards, and everyone enjoys themselves.

Then, after lunching on fish - caught by Tam Amber and CC - and bread and cheese - brought from home - they all lie down in the shade of the trees, praying that it will be enough to combat the heat.

Lucy Gray has laid her head on his chest and has one leg entwined with his. It seems that not even the mugginess is enough to keep them physically apart , and Coriolanus is perfectly fine with that. He caresses her hair and she begins to murmur a quiet melody.

Immediately the Mockingjay stop singing, and then imitate her. Coriolanus' hand stops and so does Lucy Gray, raising her face to his, worried.

“Sorry,” she murmurs.

Coriolanus smiles.

"It's not your fault" he replies to her "Nor theirs" he adds, under his breath.

Holding her still helps him keep his mind clear of terrible memories. The tiredness and peace that pervaded him that morning also help to keep him calm.

Lucy Gray smiles and leans in to leave a small kiss on his cheek.

"They are the true example of freedom, you know?"

"The Mockingjay?"

"No, birds in general. I'd like to be like them" Lucy Gray pauses "That's what they call me at the capital, isn't it? Songbird. I wish I had a pair of wings, and I could live and sing in the sky for the rest of my life."

Away from me.

Coriolanus turns to her and grabs her, sinking his face into her hair.

"I'm sorry," he tells her, as his heart breaks for the umpteenth time, "If you feel trapped at home.

If I'm not enough.

Lucy Gray bursts out laughing and returns his squeeze.

"I didn't say that, silly."

Coriolanus knows that he cannot afford to make demands on her. He knows that Lucy Gray is a free spirit, and that trying to force her into a trap would lead to her dying little by little, day by day. At the capital, she expresses her need for freedom by singing all over the place; she enjoys her fame as the Victor to have the doors open in any club that tickles her fancy. And Coriolanus has learnt to let her go and hush the terrible, insistent voice that tells him she will find someone else.

But here it is more difficult.

Here, in the Twelve, it is established that Lucy Gray belongs to no one.

Least of all to him.

Coriolanus hopes that it will be enough to keep showing her love day by day, to make her stay.

***

University has been going on for a fortnight when one afternoon Coriolanus comes home and Tigris announces that Lucy Gray is waiting for him in the roof garden.

Curious, after hurriedly changing his clothes, Coriolanus goes up and is stunned when he sees, in the middle of the rose garden, a huge aviary.

It is a wonderful cage, gilded and decorated with wrought-iron roses. It has inside it a lot of small bowls with grains at different heights, others with water, and various bird handles as well as hanging cuttlefish bones.

And the birds are there. Some are hopping on sticks, some have decided to take a bath, some are eating. They hum, but the wonderful melody he hears is that of Lucy Gray, standing in front of the aviary enchanting the birds.

Coriolanus, past the first moment of surprise, approaches and embraces her from behind, interrupting her song.

That is the moment when he realizes that the aviary has no little door, that the birds can come and go as they please.

Lucy Gray raises her head, staring up at him from below with a huge smile.

"There are no Mockingjay here," she tells him, "No bad memories. But, you see? Even in the city the little birds live ".

At that moment two of them come out of their cage with a shake of their wings and disappear into the sky.

"This is a safe place. With food, water, fun and fragrant flowers," Lucy Gray continues, "A home to come back to again and again. A safe choice."

You are my safe choice , Lucy Gray is telling him, the place I want to return to.

Coriolanus smiles and spins her around in his arms until they are facing each other. He leans towards her and kisses her passionately, and she reciprocates by sinking her hands into his blond curls.

Her. Lucy Gray.

His wonderful songbird.

Who chooses him day after day, never leaving him alone again.

💖💖💖

Link on ao3:

2024 Snowbaird AU Fest

Day Seven: Out Of Panem

Prince Coriolanus and his wife, Lady Lucy Gray, must play the game of power and win.

FOR DAY 7 OF THE 2025 SNOWBAIRD VALENTINE EVENT: SNOW

Hello Snowbaird fam! After already more than a full year of tbosas, we are officially announcing the second edition of our Valentine event!

The dates:

from February 14th to 20th (as always, late entries will be welcome!)

The prompts:

Day 1 (february 14): Domesticity Day 2 (february 15): Scars Day 3 (february 16): Fire Day 4 (february 17): Hands Day 5 (february 18): Jealousy Day 6 (february 19): Song Day 7 (february 20): Snow

The rules:

Any medium is allowed (fanfic, fanart, playlists, mood boards, etc)

AI content is not allowed

the work needs to be about snowbaird

please tag content appropriately!

On tumblr, tag us and post using the #snowbairdvalentine2025 tag

On ao3, post to the collection!

We look forward to seeing your creations! 🫶

At the request of @lucygraysmockingjays , I'm posting a doodle from back in March! Lucy Gray and her Snowflake ❄️🤍

commissions open!

The second run of the Snowbaird smut week will be taking place August 4 to August 10, but in the meantime, we’re officially announcing the next event cooked up by our discord server: The Snowbaird AU fest! (The official prompt list will be announced later!)

Like with the smut week event, we will be doing two runs! If you are too busy to participate in one of them, you can always do the other (or both if you feel like it!)

The first run will take place from September 22 to 28, and to celebrate the first anniversary of the movie release, the second run will take place from November 17 to 23!!!

As usual, for any questions or concerns, DMs and asks are open!

Only one week until it starts!

WAIT IS THE CURSE OVER???