V.01 : A SPARK TO IGNITE REBELLION.
( book canon. encompasses thg + catching fire. )
it isn’t hard to see the disparity between districts if only eyes were to look closely between the lines of capitol propaganda & the lies told within — but for the majority of those fortunate enough to be born as capitol citizens, there wasn’t much desire to pay attention to those outside city’s plentiful walls once game’s thrall had passed.
cinna — once shed of youth’s oblivious naivety — began to despise the very games placed at the height of importance in a culture previously beloved, & it’s there that his own private rebellion started. lacking in extravagance, gold eyeliner his only accompaniment to neutral clothes, he became an outlier to many of those in the capitol, accent non-existent.
that didn’t stop his name from becoming one of the more coveted designers in the city, many years of hard work paying off — more than once he was asked, begged to be a stylist in the upcoming games whenever a space became available & every time he declined. except, after a chance meeting with a man named plutarch, eyes are opened to resistance brewing underground & what had previously been refusal out of principle became acceptance to further worthy cause.
paired with fellow designer & best friend portia, they became stylists for district 12 — a controversial decision on cinna’s part as he’d been offered the pick of the districts, but empathy for those cast aside without hesitation swayed mind. & so KATNISS, THE GIRL ON FIRE is born, & with her a spark that would breathe life into a movement years in the making.
V.02 : AN ACT OF DEFIANCE IN EACH BREATH.
( book canon divergent. encompasses mockingjay. )
when mockingjay bursts free from wedding attire, the heaviness in chest isn’t due to costume gone wrong — rather it’s the knowledge that emotional outpouring into work to provide a symbol of resistance against a sickening regime has most likely put him in the firing line. it’s why mockingjay armour designs are left with plutarch, why the promise to not reveal said sketchbook to katniss until the time is right isn’t one he can fulfil in person — acceptance that that may have been his last rebel act is a worthy pill to swallow, but not even he had anticipated the speed in which retaliation came.
assaulted & beaten mercilessly by peacekeepers ordered to arrest, his last image is of katniss before darkness takes hold, pain overwhelming. what occurs next is a process both fleeting & everlasting — whenever consciousness pulls him back into agony-ridden existence, interrogation on knowledge of rebellion begins anew, denial easy when picturing those that would suffer if truth were to out. refusal to answer only brings more bouts of progressively intense violence, until once again he succumbs to the void.
each awakening is unexpected, belief that death is imminent never wavering — this intensifies when footage of a fiery woman clad in self-designed armour is shown, the words ‘IF WE BURN, YOU BURN WITH US’ raising the first shadow of a smile in weeks ( that’s my girl ). he can’t deny armour’s design, any capitol resident would be able to connect the dots, & so he doesn’t, a part of him relieved that this ordeal would finally be over, buoyed by the fact katniss was alive & the rebellion was thriving. his stubbornness is taken as defiance, no matter how weak, & this time, the darkness is so whole it feels like an ending.
it should have been. it was meant to be.
but instead, rescue comes in the form of district 13 & his battered body is loaded onto hovercraft, clinging onto life by a thread. the coma lasts nearly two weeks, a result of numerous head injuries & wounds left untreated, body emancipated as befell all those imprisoned by snow’s command. it isn’t until he finally wakes that full effect of torture is realised : a permanent tremor that made holding anything steady impossible, hands unable to grip ; a scar, prominent from right eye to jawline, pupil glassy & unfocused ; bruises littering skin where bones were fractured beneath.
but he was alive. & that meant the fight wasn’t over.
V.03 : REVOLUTION WON BUT AT WHAT COST ?
( book canon divergent. encompasses anything post-war. )
war’s end is abrupt, a hollow victory. too many innocent lives lost, too many of those he’d loved. but as is engrained in his being, he carries on, bearing weight on shoulders that tremor but take the load. for he would be there for katniss through her recovery without complaint, no matter how difficult, an unwavering pillar of support he can see she so desperately needs — heart breaks for the person she’s had to become, & he almost regrets his part in making her such a symbol. he’s there through initial burn recovery, through learnt betrayal, through president assassination. he’s there fighting for her each day when trial drags on for weeks — & finally, accompanies her back to 12 once she’s released.
there he makes a home, with the few people he could still call family. designing is off the table for good until a compromise is made — peeta, with his steady hands & artistic talent, drawing what outfit springs to mind. at first it takes a lot of patience, patience that is uncharacteristically hard to come by when memories of how easily sketches formed upon pages back then rise unbidden — but eventually something clicks, & their team work means cinna’s designs are once more put into production — not just for the capitol, but for every district in panem.
