ghosts in the shadow of firelight shine the brightest,
brighter than sunlight or moonlight,
brighter than starlight from galaxies away.
firelight dances on their paled skin as if a reminder, a plea:
dance a little closer to the fire, where i lay,
where i tell my story.

~ghost stories, by this bitch right here

GHOST STORIES

Isidora's face was warm when she woke up. Warm like bathing outside in the sun when she was younger, when she could afford to travel to beaches and shut her eyes with a cushioned folding chair underneath her. She had been hesitant when Eirene said she wanted the sun on their faces in the morning, having always been a late start, but the light woke her up gently, affectionately, placed its hands on her face and let her keep her eyes shut against it until she was ready to open to its warmth.

Most mornings anymore, she couldn't afford to be a late riser. A president had duties, and she couldn't afford late nights to make up for lost time in the day when she had meetings at eight in the morning or dinners that lasted well into the night.

Or this morning, for example, when a small box full of yellow envelopes would give a little glimpse into the future, and it was her job to be an oracle to the people.

Eirene was waking up with her, her body instinctively inching closer to Isidora's before she was totally conscious. After a moment, her eyes opened, little slits of icy cold blue revealing themselves. Isidora smiled and reached out, cupping her face, her thumb stroking across slowly. "Big day," she whispered.

Eirene's job would be influenced by today's findings, too, although of course she already had many things put in motion. A Game was not planned this quickly, not even on the year of a Quell when everyone was mostly anxious for the twist. But little touches could be added in light of it, of course, and she could see a glint in her wife's eyes already. She was hungry for the blood of the Games, and more than that, she was hungry to see all her hard work played out before her.

She was such a brilliant woman. Even though she was president, Isidora felt she paled in comparison.

They both sat up without a word, legs swinging over the side of the bed. Isidora traced a command onto her nightstand, and the responsive tabletop opened up the closet on her side of the room and revealed a tasteful, royal blue dress with black sides for her to wear at the presentation. Stylists would be here soon to do up her hair and make her look more presentable than usual for the cameras.

Eirene was already out of bed, not bothering to have their computers do the work for her. She sifted through her closet while Isidora opened the bathroom door to brush her teeth. Perhaps they weren't the most traditional Capitolites, adorning themselves in makeup that masked their faces and adjustments that altered them altogether, but their flair for the fashionable and eye-catching was not to be overlooked. Eirene's pantsuit for the day was a bright, lavish purple velvet. Perhaps dull compared to what the models in the Capitol wore, but sophisticated for a dedicated, older career woman. Or maybe it was just that Isidora was biased, and everything her wife did was beautiful, revolutionary, sophisticated. That could absolutely be part of it, but she was certain it wasn't all.

She tapped on her bathroom's screened space of the wall to tell the staff downstairs what she wanted for breakfast. Eirene had chosen the day before, so now it was her turn. It was something they both liked, anyway. It was supposed to be a very extravagant day.

She had heard of the parties happening surrounding the announcements downtown, and although she couldn't go to any of them due to business and age having sent her away from the more exciting parties, it still sent a thrill through her, reminding her of the days of her youth. She could remember the announcement of the last Quarter Quell, the year that the second rebellion began, and she had been at a party for it all. When President Snow declared that victors would be going back into the arena, a shock was sent through the crowd, a mix between fright at everyone's favorite victors being killed while they were in their prime, and a thirst to see this drama play out.

This would be the first Quell since the rebellion, since the districts ripped the Capitol's heart out once again. There was a little bit of revenge in everyone's hearts, and the wait couldn't seem any longer.

After breakfast and getting ready, Isidora was carted off to the part of the mansion where all of her announcements were always filmed. Eirene had business to attend to and left for a meeting with the other Gamemakers, all of whom were ready to start brainstorming ways to capitalize off of the twist as quickly as could be done in order to carry them out. Isidora made small talk with other officials who were there for meetings after she drew the Quell while she waited for the box to be brought out of its little vault in her mansion. She pictured President Snow in this position, in this very house, twenty-five years before. How revolutionary this house had been in history, bringing peace to the Capitol and attempting to bring prosperity to the stubborn, unworkable districts. She commended him on not saying, "To hell with it," and blowing them all away as sometimes she felt tempted to do.

Mr. Andaius, whose first name she could never remember and whose department was so frivolous she had to be reminded every time it was relevant, approached her with a wide smile on his face. His teeth were pointed as was the trend when he was younger. It looked so tacky, and normally she kept a very open mind with all of the altering trends that ravished generations in the Capitol. But she couldn't imagine actually carrying those in her mouth.

"President Luna," he greeted, holding up his glass of champagne as if to have a toast over their fortuitous meeting. He was always so dramatic in ways that irritated her, not in ways that she felt best represented the lavish nature of Capitolites. It grated at her skin, but she had grown so much better at holding her tongue since she decided at a young age she wanted to engage in politics. As a teenager, she would have been wont to toss her drink all over his fancy suit. "I imagine you're just as eager as the rest of us to know the fate of this year's Games."

"Of course," she said, with a polite nod, even as she found herself with wandering eyes. Searching for anyone she could run off to. "Mostly I'm excited for my children to stop asking if I know early, I suppose."

He laughed and put a hand on her shoulder, and it took everything in her not to shrug it off, although she felt she would have been in her right to. Where did this man find that it was within his power to just touch the president's shoulder? "I can't say I've been in that position, of course, but I know what you mean," he said, letting his hand fall back to his side. "My oldest daughter is the nosiest sort. Did you know she—?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Andaius," she said, smiling wider as she saw the cameraman motioning from across the room that it was time. "I hate to cut you short, but I believe it's nearly time." She patted him on the shoulder, wishing he could understand how passive aggressive she meant for this to be, and marched quickly off to the adjoining room before anyone could stop her.

The quiet hum of conversation quickly stopped as one of the sound crew hushed the officials in the room next door. She sat down on a lush red chair and someone carried the box of twists in to her. She wanted to rifle through them, see all possibilities that would never occur in her lifetime. What she would do for the Quells to just be a little closer together, so she could see more than perhaps two or three.

The camera began to roll and she gave her spiel, talking of the excitement of the Games, and the importance they held for the unity of the nation. And then she opened the box delicately. These ideas were a hundred years old, and something about that was so exciting. But there were some newer envelopes too, some that were added in light of the rebellion twenty-five years ago. She could tell the difference between those two kinds of envelopes, so she made a small show of looking away from the box to ensure a fair draw.

Her fingers danced through the paper, back and forth a couple times, before finally landing on one near her right edge of the box. She pulled it out, and it was one of the newer envelopes. Some part of her was almost disappointed, just for a moment. Every insight into the minds off the people after the Dark Days, the rebellion that had wrought nothing but pain on the nation, was a sliver of history that enticed her. But perhaps next time, if she was still president in twenty-five more years at the age of 75.

She opened it and scanned over the paper, committing the words to memory, before looking up into the camera with a smile to recite them. "For the Fourth Quarter Quell, the districts will be reminded that branding the Capitol as an enemy and acting on this mindlessness brings nothing but pain. As such, each tribute in the arena will be partnered up with another tribute of an enemy district, and these partners are not permitted to kill each other, on pain of death themselves."

hello this is the same story i had before but i remade it bc i wanted a quell, so all the already submitted tributes are still there. there are Many, Many, Many spots still open (including district thirteen) so submit submit! if you want to reserve a spot just let me know

also feel free to send in cishets, but i just want to emphasize that diversity is important to me, which means more than lgbtq+ characters & also extends to characters of color & disabled or neurodivergent characters

the character sheet and a little explanation about the world is on my profile page

you can submit up to 4 characters, but if you submit that many, the third must be a bloodbath. that being said, bloodbaths should still be fleshed out characters bc i'll still put effort into their pre-death chapters

pls review i'm a thirsty ho and this girl isidora really loves her wife and she deserves a little praise for that

have a grand day!