#JUSTICE FOR ODESTA

[bbrooklynbabe]

“did you love annie right away, finnick?" i ask. "no." a long time passes before he adds, "she crept up on me.”

melissa’s top 100 ships 13/100: annie cresta + finnick odair

[solar-halos]

odesta week. day #3 - free space

summary: annie and finnick cannot live without each other. here's how that happens. 4k, angst and some fluff

“Shush!”

Annie smooshes her hand against Finnick’s mouth. He licks her palm so that she yanks her hand back. That’s a trick Annie taught him (her older sister shushed her a lot), but it’s his first time trying it out.

It works. He keeps that in mind. 

She does have a point, though. They do need to shush. He met Annie at the beach a couple weeks ago, and she’s been his best friend ever since, so he thinks it’s unfair that his mom is picking him up from Annie’s house so early. Annie has shared with him that being seven is very unfair—her sister, who is thirteen, can do whatever she wants with all her friends—which is something that’s fully sinking in for Finnick.

Heavy, adult footsteps thud scarily closely to the door. Finnick and Annie hold their breath, huddling even deeper into the coats in Annie’s closet. It’s small, which doesn’t give them much room to hide, so Finnick crosses his fingers that this plan will work.

It doesn’t. A grownup—Annie’s mom—is flinging the door open in no time. Finnick thinks she might be frowning, but he can’t be sure. He’s squinting against the sunlight too much.

“Mama, please!” Annie is already pleading their case. Finnick nods in support. “I wanna show Finnick the new board game papi got us! Please!”

“Please!” Finnick joins her chant.

“Please! Please! Please!”

“Did you find them?” 

Finnick knows that voice. That’s his mom. She sounds a bit worried, which makes his stomach hurt—he didn’t mean to scare her—but she’s by Mrs. Cresta’s side in an instant, and she’s smiling, so she can’t be that mad at him. Finnick decides to plead with her, too.

“I need to stay with Annie, please.” Finnick doesn’t see why he has to leave. It’s still light outside. “We’re still playing.”

“Dad’s about to finish his shift,” Mom says. Finnick stops her right there.

“I don’t want ice cream.” He doesn’t. He and his mom and dad get ice cream all the time after Dad finishes his shifts, but he hardly gets to see Annie all the time. 

Annie gasps. “Mama, can we get ice cream? I’ve never had!”

“What?” Finnick turns to her. “Annie, you have to try ice cream! It’s so good! Mom, we should take Annie with us! To see Dad!”

“And ice cream,” Annie adds in a whisper.

“And ice cream!” Finnick echoes, feeling better already. That sounds like a perfect plan. 

“You know the rules,” Mrs. Cresta interjects, sounding less firm and more mean. Finnick snaps his mouth shut, jarred by the change. What’d he do wrong? “You can come over here. Annie can’t go over there.”

Right. Dad always said that the carriage fare was too expensive for the Crestas. Mom always reminded Finnick never to say that out loud.

“Okay, fine,” Annie says. Finnick wonders if she knows she’s poor. Then he wonders if that’s a mean thought to have. “How about we go to the beach?”

Another great idea. The beach is awesome.

“Not today,” Mrs. Cresta says firmly. Finnick’s shoulders sag in defeat. At least they put up a good fight. 

“Ugh!” Annie responds. She took the words right out of Finnick’s mouth, but he didn’t wanna make a scene in front of Mrs. Cresta. She might not let him come back. “We’re still playing!”

“Watch that tongue of yours, Annie Cresta,” her mom says. Annie straightens up, her hand flying up to her mouth. Finnick wonders what that’s about. 

“Can we finish our game of cards?” To be honest, they didn’t even start a game of cards. It’s his last ditch effort to stay longer, even though he kinda knows they already lost.

“Goodbye, Finnick.” Mrs. Cresta is done arguing with them. “You two can go to the beach and play cards the next time you come over.”

Next time. Okay, she makes a convincing case, so Finnick walks back over to his mom—slowly, slowly, just in case either of them change their mind—but no one says anything. Not even when Finnick shoves his feet in his shoes. Or when Annie stands at the door, waving goodbye. Or when Finnick waves back, sighing in exaggerated sadness the entire time.

Looks like their master plan didn’t work. Bummer.

---

It’s like having a girlfriend is a crime or something.

“Finnick!” Dad doesn’t get frustrated with him very often. Now is obviously an exception. “What’d I say about those nets?”

“I need to meet Annie soon!” 

Correction: he needs to get ready to meet Annie. He doesn’t know what point Dad is always trying to make about them knowing each other for ages. There’s a big difference between being seven and being thirteen, so he just doesn’t want to fucking stink around her all the time. 

“You need to finish your work.” Dad narrows his eyes at him. He knows that Finnick isn’t above jumping off the boat and just swimming home. “Finnick. Now.”

Fine. Finnick admits defeat, but Dad can’t even get mad if it’s not his best work, because he was in a hurry, so it’s a relief when they finally drag up the anchor. Finnick rushes through the door, bounding up to his room as fast as he can.

He changes into non-work clothes and brushes his teeth extra hard just in case he and Annie kiss again (because that’s something they do now). Then he’s finally off.

“Annie!” He automatically opens up his arms as soon as he sees her. She’s huge on hugging. “I’m so sorry I’m late!”

She shrugs, still in his arms. Finnick is just now realizing her hair is wet. It seeps into his shirt. “‘S okay. I’ve been digging around for some jewelry. Wanna see the stuff I found?”

He nods. One perk of being thirteen is that they can go anywhere they want without their parents trailing behind them. Kinda—it’s all conditional. One condition is that it has to be a public space. And within walking distance to Annie’s house. Anything further and they have to be chaperoned.

Annie kisses his cheek. Finnick really loves not being chaperoned.

Annie shows him her jewelry stuff. Finnick shows her a new trick he learned on the water, courtesy of the Career Academy. They’re just about to engage in a seashell finding competition when some adult gets a bit too close to comfort.

Finnick already knows it’s her dad. Mr. Cresta likes him, so Finnick can afford to get a little grumpy at the intrusion. 

“Ready?”

“Well...” Annie can also afford to negotiate with him. Sometimes, he waits at a nearby bakery and they get a whole new hour to themselves. Finnick hopes it’s that kind of day. “Not really. Can we stay here longer?”

“I’m sorry, sweetheart—” Finnick bites back a disappointed sigh. It’s one of those days. “But you’re scheduled to work at the shop today. Remember?’

“Oh, shoot!” That’s right, isn’t it? Finnick worked in the morning—Annie worked in the evening. Their afternoon date was to accommodate for that. Stuff like that is so easy to forget when you’re having fun. “Okay, fine. I’ll see you later, Finnick.”

Woe is them. She gives him a hurried kiss on the cheek, then she and her dad take off. Finnick wanders down the pier. 

He wonders if any of his friends are free right now. Might as well, right?

---

Annie is allowed to sleep over at his house now. She thinks that’s an added perk to being fourteen, but Finnick just thinks that her parents feel bad for them. It’s not everyday that your daughter’s boyfriend survives the Games, so maybe they just want to give them more wiggle room to see each other.

They spend more time together now than they ever had before. Finnick knows that. It’s a fact. Not only does Mrs. Cresta allow Annie to be at Finnick’s new house in the Victor’s Village, but now she lets them have sleepovers. They were never allowed to do that before, except for when Finnick’s parents didn’t pick him up from Annie’s house in time for the curfew. Even then, he was always relegated to the couch. 

Somehow, Annie has never felt so far away. Finnick has a theory it’s because she has to sleep in a separate room during all those sleepovers, but that’s not fair. She has nightmares about him still being in the arena. Finnick knows that, and her parents know that, so how come they’re still so adamant about keeping them apart?

“You know the rules,” Mrs. Cresta says, as if that means anything. “How many of your friends get to have sleepovers with their boyfriends, Annie?”

“We just wanted to be together,” he says, equally as heated. Usually, Annie fights her battles with her parents, and Finnick fights his battles with his. But he’s so irritated right now—they just wanted to be together—that he starts picking fights with anyone. “I don’t know what you thought would happen.”

Mrs. Cresta narrows her eyes at him. Admittedly, that wasn’t a very smart thing to say, but Finnick wasn’t playing smart. He didn’t have the energy for that anymore. “Excuse me?”

“Finnick’s right,” Annie says. “If you’re gonna freak out over us being in the same bed, then I don’t get why we’re even allowed to have sleepovers in the first place.”

“You’re right.” Mrs. Cresta admits defeat. That’s never a good sign. “You shouldn’t even be allowed to be here at all. It’s too far from home.”

Finnick’s stomach drops. That can’t mean what he thinks it means. 

“What?” Annie demands, which only confirms his suspicions. “That’s not fair!”

“It’s not fair that you’re breaking all the rules I made.”

“Because they don’t make sense!”

“If we’re all being nice enough to let you two be in this big house—alone, sometimes, don’t think I’m not aware of that—then you should be nice enough to follow the rules. We’ve had this exact conversation—”

“That’s not fair!” Annie repeats. She shuffles closer to him. Finnick wraps his arm around her. They can’t get separated again. “I just wanna be with him!”

“And you will. It’s not like he’s not going anywhere. And he can afford all those carriage fares.”

“Mom.” Annie sounds close to tears. Finnick holds her even closer. “We can’t be apart.”

It almost looks like Mrs. Cresta is gonna crack under the pressure. She doesn’t. “Christ, Annie. I’m not telling you two to break up. I’m just taking away your sleepover privileges.”

It’s a distressing idea in theory, and it’s even more distressing put into practice. At least Finnick has enough courage to leave the house now, so he spends a lot of his time with Annie at her family store. His father isn’t very happy that Mrs. Cresta is putting him to work, but it’s not like Finnick needs the money. He just needs to spend time with Annie—skin-on-skin time, physical time—so he’ll construct all the nets and dust all the shelves and make all the sales the Crestas want. 

“We really need AC in here,” Annie says. He followed her into the storage room so she could grab new rope, but he’s relieved when they can finally sit down and be rib-on-rib again. He imagines that the moisture on his neck is just his body’s way of sweating all his jitters out. “You wanna come to my house after this?”

She knows he does—he always did, even back when he and his father woke up for work before the sun even came up—but it’s still pretty hard to remember that he has no obligations to anyone anymore. (Well—for about four more months, that is. Then he has to do his Victory Tour.) 

They find a loophole to the no sleepover rule. When they were younger, Finnick spent a few nights on Annie’s couch whenever his parents couldn’t pick them up in time for curfew. And, now that Finnick is fifteen, he’s trusted enough to find his own way back home. So he doesn’t. 

Mrs. Cresta may not like him, but she’s never put a hand on him. Not even to drag him out of the house. Mr. Cresta comes pretty close, but Finnick holds his ground. 

This isn’t fair. He misses Annie all the time, but especially when he sleeps. 

“What you’re doing is not okay,” Dad says the next morning. Finnick and Annie are still cuddled up together on the couch, refusing to budge, but there’s not much they can do now that the curfew is over. “I still have to work. If you’re not responsible enough to find your own way back home, and if you’re not going back to school, then your time with Annie is going to become really limited.”

That’s not fair. It causes an uproar, actually, because it’s so unfair it hurts. They’re still not treating his love for Annie very seriously at all, which makes him seriously doubt that their parents even love each other in the first place. 

His dad feels comfortable enough dragging him all the way back home, insisting that all the yelling and thrashing and protesting Finnick is doing at his grown age is fucking embarrassing, but Finnick doesn’t care. He doesn’t care about anything but Annie. 

Finnick can’t even work with Annie anymore, but if her older sister is managing that day, they can get away with spending her entire shift together. Annie can still go out with her friends, and Finnick’s dad can’t supervise him all of the time, so Annie pretends she’s having a girls day and Finnick has her in his arms and everything suddenly isn’t so bleary and uncertain and terrifying anymore.

Being away from Annie is terrifying. More terrifying than being reaped, more terrifying than the arena, more terrifying than any mutt in the history of mutts, and Finnick just wants someone to understand that, but the closest they get is their friends talking about how fucking unfair their parents are being.

That barely even encapsulates it all. They think separating the two of them is a good thing, ‘cause they apparently decided for Annie and Finnick that they needed to get used to not being around each other so much, but Finnick can’t figure out why for the life of them. The only reason he hasn’t killed himself yet is because there’s still hope of seeing Annie every day.

His dad does not like hearing this stuff. The killing-himself-stuff, he means, but Finnick is just being honest. Make fun of Haymitch Abernathy all you want—seriously, Finnick used to, back when he trained at the Academy—but no amount of lectures on bringing glory to your district can erase the fact that killing other people makes you wanna kill yourself. Haymitch doesn’t even have any friends, either, so Finnick doesn’t see the point in using alcohol to self-medicate. Wouldn’t it just be faster to overdose?

He always used to keep those thoughts to himself. Never told anyone—not even his dad, and especially not Annie—but he doesn’t see any point in doing that now. It might even wear his dad down and make him realize that Annie is the glue keeping Finnick’s skeleton together. 

Annie is more than his first and only love. Annie is his life. 

He knows it must be working when his dad refuses to let Finnick be alone. Mags has always been reliable, but she’s no one’s fucking babysitter, so she’s not gonna be watchdogging Finnick all the time. Finnick doesn’t care about all those shifts his dad ends up dropping, because he never seemed to care about all that time Finnick could be spending with Annie.

It’s only fair. Finnick knows Annie has nightmares, too, so if they’re exhausted all the time, then it’s only fair his dad suffers this same fate. 

Even after all that, Annie’s parents still cave faster than Finnick’s dad. Mrs. Cresta talks big game, but she’s never been very good at consistently telling Annie no.

“Finnick!” Annie’s knocking at his door. Finnick would’ve opened it up for her sooner, but he had been in a half-asleep daze, and he was convinced he was dreaming for a long while. Then, when he finally came to his senses, he spent a long time tripping over his own two feet. “Are you home?”

“I’m home!” he calls back, flinging the door open. They snap together in an instant, their knees buckling from the force of it. Whatever. Finnick’s porch was really comfortable, anyway. “Annie, my darling! Do your parents know you’re here?”

“Yes! And they said you needed to pay me back for the carriage fare.” Done. Done and done and done. He’ll pay for Annie’s carriage fare, and he’ll pay for her mom or her dad or whoever accompanied her. There is absolutely no price he wouldn’t pay for her. “They said moping around didn’t look very good on me.”

“My dad just got mad at me for moping around.” Kinda. He got mad at Finnick for slamming his bedroom door so hard the hinges fell off, but that counts as moping around, doesn’t it? “So we’re back? For good?”

“I think so,” she says, because they obviously didn’t wanna get ahead of themselves. They approach Finnick’s dad, waiting for the moment of truth. 

“Do whatever you need to do,” he says, but he doesn’t need to treat Finnick like a powder keg ready to explode anymore. Not when he has Annie at his side. “You just need to tell us where you’re going. And Annie still can’t sleep in the same room as you.”

They agree to those terms and conditions, but only because they fully intend on violating them again. They just need to be more sneaky this time.

It turns out that it doesn’t even matter either way. Annie sneaks into Finnick’s bed again and again and again, and they get caught again and again and again, and they get scolded again and again and again, but no one threatens their relationship. They must’ve finally figured out that Annie and Finnick need each other. 

They take a celebratory trip to the beach. Skin-on-skin, rib-against-rip, heart-on-heart.

“I can’t live without you,” Finnick tells her. 

She rests her head on his shoulder, humming in agreement. “Same. I love you.”

“Like, actually.” He wants to make sure she knows he’s completely devoted to her. He knows how she gets after he cancels plans on her last minute (due to extenuating  circumstances, like foul weather or his dad dumping more shifts on him), but she doesn’t have to worry about anything. “I’d rather die than not be with you. I love you.”

She grins at him. He grins back. 

---

Finnick is going to kill himself. He already decided.

Annie’s odds were decent, but as far as he was concerned, her victory needed to be unquestionable. 

He’s not uncomfortable with that. Dying, he means. He’d been ready to die ever since he made his first kill, but the idea of Annie waiting for him back home made him keep going.

There might be no Annie in about three weeks. Then what?

Cashmere thinks he’s giving up on Annie before she even has a time to shine in the arena, but Cashmere doesn’t know anything. Finnick is only preparing himself for the worst case scenario.

It’s not easy, you know, watching someone you love get hurt on national television. He sends her salves (that cut on her leg could get infected) and gives her all the food she needs to remain focused (she can’t do that on an empty stomach) and he only peels his eyes from the screen whenever he needs to fuck all her sponsors.

The other victors think he’s wasting all her resources, but didn’t you hear him? He’s fucking all her sponors. He’s fucking anyone that will listen, and he doesn’t even want anything but their allegiance as a reward. 

Brutus isn’t above catching an attitude whenever someone in the arena wrongs his tributes, so Finnick doesn’t feel bad about giving him a taste of his own medicine. His tribute from Two doesn’t even get to finish hacking off Annie’s district partner’s head before Finnick is lunging at him. 

Brutus punches Finnick’s nose bloody. It would be embarrassing, except Finnick hadn’t really been trying that hard, had just been a flurry of anger and fists and teeth, but it’s not fair. It’s not fair. It’s not fair. He needs Annie back.

“Well, she’s not coming back,” Brutus replies. None of them are above getting nasty with each other, but that’s so unfair he wants to kill himself on the spot. “Might as well get a head start on hoarding those pills, Finnick.”

Finnick bangs his head back into the wall in defeat, again and again and again. It’s hard enough to give himself another concussion.

---

They have a routine now.

They always had a routine, but sometimes Annie had to work and the district had too many rainstorms and it would mess everything up. Now that they’re both victors, the only time he has to leave her side is when he goes to the Capitol. 

He’s grown now—nineteen. And, even if he weren’t, it’s not like his dad was around to stop him. He hasn’t been around at all, not since Finnick was sixteen.

 Turns out that he really is the furthest thing from untouchable. Finnick doesn’t see why his dad had to deal with the fallout.

He’s on his best behavior for Annie. He goes to the Capitol, and he makes everyone who hates him very, very happy. And, for that, Snow hates him a little less. He even likes Annie, too, but not a terrifying amount.

Checks and balances. Snow needs Finnick to follow directions. Annie is the only person Finnick truly cares about. If Snow takes away Finnick’s love—his life—then he ceases to function at all. Snow finally understands that, and he finally understands that Finnick goes above and beyond in the Capitol just so he can keep Annie safe, and he really, really likes that. He likes that enough to keep Annie around as leverage. 

All that really matters is that Finnick gets to love Annie every single day until he dies. Snow knows it, too, and he can’t do anything about it. Not unless he wants profits to tank. 

Yeah. Who’s winning now?

[marlinchens]

what do we think of victoria pedretti as a book!annie fancast guys 👀

[sincere1ystar]

SOMEONE WRITE A FIC RELATED TO THIS I BEGGG!!!

in modern day, annie fell in love with finnick when she saw him sing call me maybe on karaoke

[the-sun-and-the-sea]

Do you have anymore just random odesta fics? I’m so desperate x by the way I adore your blog you’re the only thing keeping me alive whenever I wanna read an Odesta fic 💕

Hi, thank you for your interest! I do have a few more fics to recommend:

we were married by the ocean (we were tethered by the sea) by beautifuldrukkari - This is such a beautiful Finnick lives AU with a cool nonlinear narrative style. If you're interested in fluff, I'd definitely give this one a try.

If these heights should bring my fall by LogosMelittaes - This one has such an interesting premise with a cool build of suspense. It's very unique but does a great job of capturing the characters/world, which makes it really engaging.

into the mystic by petruchio - This one explores a really interesting time in Finnick and Annie's relationship, and it doesn't a great job illustrating the 'she crept up on me' line. I also love how both Finnick and Annie are so fleshed out and their dynamic is done justice here.

Salt by Sheeana - This one takes place post-mockingjay so there's definitely some sadness to it, but overall it's really hopeful. It focuses a lot on the relationship between Annie and Johanna, but Finnick's presence is felt throughout the story in a really touching way.

Sea Breeze by MrsHannahLongbottom - This one does a great job of taking a simple moment and giving it so much depth and heart. Their dynamic here is beautiful, so I'd definitely recommend this one.

this my excavation by TDK - This is a short one but the amount of emotion it can pack into a story under 1k words is astonishing. The structure of the story is also so cool and creates a really poignant effect.

black rocks and shoreline sand by the_milliners_rook - This is a unique take on the soulmate AU, because Finnick and Annie's relationship still develops very organically. Also, the writing is so beautiful and expressive.

That's about all I have for right now, so I hope you can find something good to read! Feel free to reblog with recs of your own or self promo :)

[throes-of-warm-tornadoes]

nsfw odesta hcs (if you’re a minor or this stuff makes you uncomfty do not click the “keep reading” button if you do you WILL face the fury of a thousand suns)

• said this once and i’ll say it again: finnick’s pullout game is WEAK. he’ll ask annie something like “do u think i should pull out now??” and she’ll be like babe you’re the one that needs to figure that out

• i’ve seen the fandom split on if finnick has like an iud sorta thing (but like… not an actual iud obv) for protection from when he goes to the capitol. in the event that he doesn’t, they’re still going at it raw anyway. i imagine annie is like “ew :/ condoms smell gross” and finnick is like “literally just found out The Pill makes women depressed D: when will justice be served.” everyone tells annie that her body will get used to what the panem/d4 version of plan b is and she’s like nuh uh

• i know at any other time the thought of having kids is actually so scary it’s numbing to them but i think all bets are off when they are having sex. annie is like i want five. finnick is like then i better get to work. and then the post-nut clarity hits and they’re like nvm actually

• annie is so transparent with her thoughts so it takes one glance for finnick to know when she’s in the mood. it’s harder for annie to tell bc i hc she just isn’t as good at reading people + finnick isn’t as forward with those emotions (esp at first) so she’ll straight up ask him and he gets flustered w how forward she is (they’ve been dating for literal years)

• i think annie is always the one to suggest something new that’s she’s literally only ever heard of through stories her friends tell and it’s like a giggly journey for both of them as finnick tries to figure out what the fuck she exactly means. it’s a success every time though

• annie makes lingerie for non sexual purposes which is good bc i think finnick gets the horniest when he sees her in like a holey t shirt and equally tattered boxers

• one of the victors eventually gets them a do not disturb sign to hang on their literal front door bc they all learned the hard way that no room in the house is safe from them fucking. this does not pair well with them forgetting to lock the fucking door

• finnick once got his belt bunched up and SO tangled up his the waistband of his pants. he and annie still aren’t very sure how he managed to do that he was just in too much of a hurry to get it off i guess

• in the same vein, have you ever tried taking your belt off and you just end up jamming it in through the belt loops all over again like a fucking cartoon character?? that’s annie except she’s so overexcited that she ends up looping it around again and again and again until she figures out something is off. finnick is no help bc he finds it too fucking funny to intervene

• okay that’s my sign to stop bc i already struggle to take this topic seriously and we’re getting into Silly Territory here. however if you’ve made it this far and want a Odesta Silly NSFW Headcannons just let me know

[alex1que]

why aren’t you crazy about odesta, if you don’t mind me asking?

i definitely don’t hate them and i think they’re cute but i don’t really ship them as much as some other ships if that makes sense. i think that’s partly because the movies didn’t really do them justice and i just wasn’t really into it.

[allisluv]

Finnick would cry at every animal death in the movies and would be kinda embarrassed the first time he does it in front of Annie, bbut she doesn't even notice bc she's too sad and traumatized to cry and would get depressed for like a week😭😭

And I'm so happy you wanted to add my bc to your story, that's exactly why I'm sharing them, I feel like odesta needs representation other than the cocky sexy guy (what is exactly how the Capitol sees Finnick) and the Mary Sue. I'm always very happy when people do them justice!!💗💗

-🎸

odesta watch sad movies and then fall into a depressive episode for a week and a half. also im taking notes about all these right now and im hoping i can do your headcanons justice 🙏

[odestasocean]

odesta week day three: free space

this is a new chapter of one of my fics posted on ao3! there’s some references to the other two chapters so if you want to read that first, you can do so here. but you’ll still be able to get the general idea if you choose not to. anyway, enjoy <3

He knows that he should be scared right now.

He just volunteered to be a tribute in the 65th Hunger Games, after all.

He knows that he should be scared because of the whispers he heard as he made his way to the stage— “The youngest Odair boy? Isn’t he only 13?” No, he’s 14, and 14 is a very fearless age to be. He knows that he should be scared because of the tears he saw form in Calder’s eyes— his big brother never cries. Except for the year that Finnick turned five. He knows that he should be scared because of the half-yelp, half-shout sound that came from his father’s mouth the moment Finnick raised his hand— doesn’t his father understand that he’s doing this for him and Calder? They’ve barely been able to afford acquiring this month’s supply of fishhooks. Victors are promised an endless supply of wealth for themselves and their families for the rest of their lives. He will remind his father of this once they join him in the Justice Building.

Finnick knows all of this, but he isn’t scared.

The Peacekeeper standing in the room with him might think so because of the way he can’t stop his leg from shaking, but that’s only because he thinks that his father and his brother are going to be scared and he hates worrying them.

He looks up as he hears their voices sound from outside the closed door.

Finnick isn’t scared when he notices the tears rolling down his father’s cheeks as he enters the room with Calder right behind him.

“Finn,” his dad says. He doesn’t say anything else until he marches up to him and pulls him into a tight embrace. “Why are you doing this?”

“I can win, Dad,” Finnick insists as he draws back. He puts his hands on his dad’s shoulders since he’s almost as tall as him now. “I’m at the top of my class at the Career Academy. I’ve passed every test with flying colors. I know I can win. And Victors are promised a lifetime of wealth. You won’t have to worry anymore.”

An expression passes over his dad’s face that Finnick’s never seen before. It’s somewhere between guilt, remorse, and a breaking heart.

“Oh, son,” he whispers. “You have to win. But not because of the money. Because I need my son to come back home to me.”

He doesn’t really know how to reply to this (because of course he’s coming back) so he settles for a nod.

Calder approaches him next and hugs him just as tightly as their dad did. “You’re such an idiot,” he says, but it’s not in his usual teasing manner. Instead, it sounds strained and sorrowful.

“An idiot who’s going to win these Games,” Finnick answers once he pulls away.

“I hope so,” Calder replies quietly. The way he won’t let go of Finnick’s arm makes him start to think that maybe this was all a bad idea because while he might be fearless, his dad and brother have never looked so petrified.

“I’ll be home sooner than you think,” Finnick says with a grin, attempting to uplift the mood. He hates, hates, hates how their eyes look like they’re trying to memorize every inch of his face.

His dad pulls him and Calder into another hug in response.

Finnick doesn’t draw back until he hears a familiar shout of his name coming from the hallway.

“Finnick!” Annie yells as she comes barreling into the room. Her eyes are wide and her hair is awry which causes an image of their first meeting from seven years ago to form in Finnick’s mind.

Except curiosity doesn’t heighten her expression. This time it’s terror.

She runs up to him and nearly knocks him over as her arms go around him with her face pressed against his chest. “You can’t go,” she says. “You can’t.”

“Don’t worry, I’m going to win, Annie,” he reassures. Why do the three people he cares most about in this world seem so fearful all of a sudden? Annie’s always shared his fearlessness. She’s never been scared, just like him. Except for those few months after his eleventh birthday that they don’t talk about. An immense wave of gratitude overtakes him that he was able to have his best friend back after Annie had convinced her mom to let them see each other again (he still doesn’t know how she managed to do that). He’s realizing now how hard it would’ve been to leave this room without feeling Annie’s arms around him. He doesn’t think he could’ve done it.

“I don’t want you to go,” she whispers and with the crack in her voice, Finnick knows she’s crying.

He slowly releases her grip on his shirt for her because he also knows that she won’t let go otherwise.

“Annie,” he murmurs while wiping her tears free from her skin. She closes her eyes and another escapes. “I’m going to come home. I promise.”

“You have to,” she replies. “Okay? You don’t have a choice.”

“I will,” he insists.

“I…” she sniffs and reaches into her pocket before pulling out a bracelet made out of rope that’s dyed green with a blue conch shell tied to its middle. “I made this for you. I was going to give it to you after the Reaping, but…”

Finnick gently takes it from her hands and slips it onto his wrist. “I’ll wear it as my token. Thank you, it’s beautiful,” he says quietly but sincerely.

Annie nods before embracing him again as her cries are muffled by the fabric of his shirt.

Then, all too quickly, the Peacekeepers are dragging his family and his best friend out of the room.

Annie’s shouts of protest are the last thing he hears before the door shuts behind them and he’s left with nothing but silence. He’s starting to think that maybe he should’ve been scared all along. Maybe it’s fear that drives tributes to win.

i’ve been super busy so far this week so i haven’t been able to read everyone’s else’s fics yet but i should have time tonight!!!

[mollywog]

Fanfic Writers: Director’s Cut: writer's choice: what's one fic (posted or WIP/unpublished) that had the most bloopers or the biggest labor of love?

Also, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ;D

Thank you for the ask @thelettersfromnoone!!

Okay so The Odds is maybe the biggest labor of love. I have so many ideas and I don’t know how I’ll do them all justice or fit them all together… on top of that: I made a style choice with the faux regency language and I now feel like I have to continue that way for consistency so progress is slow.

The original plan was the first chapter of In Our Favor would be a stand alone… I was gonna pull a “we grow together” stunt and do a time jump to them happily together in the next story within the series… but then I wrote a second chapter and now I’m trying to figure out how to make them fall in love without it being boring or manufacturing false conflict… idk… I’m open to suggestions.

I might start the sequel before I complete the original 😬It would focus on Prim and Odesta… I sort of had Emma (Jane Austen) in mind when I came up with the idea… but not in a way that will be recognizable to anyone but me. 😛

Then I have a Johanna origin story half written that is… pretty angsty. I wanted something that paralleled her Canon story, but my version focuses more on her vulnerability under the fierce facade… We’ll see!

[awhiskeyriver]

Congratulations on finishing The Challenge! I really enjoyed following Gale and Madge’s story, you wrote them so well. And I’m so excited to read about Finnick and Annie next! <3

Thanks so much, friend! You're too kind. I hope you enjoy The Tutor and I do Odesta justice!

[katniss-evermeme]

Me: posts first chapter of a new story

Also me: immediately thinks of a different new story

[solar-halos]

are we rocking with the great panem craft off ?

[the-sun-and-the-sea]

Do you know of any Odesta fanfics that feature Finnick and Haymitch’s friendship or Annie and Haymitch’s? There was this really good one you recommended a while back that was from Haymitch’s pov and featured Odesta near the end. so I was wondering if you knew of any that had this dynamic

Hi, I do know some like that!

the bottom of the deep blue sea. by Cat_nevermind - I read this one for the first time around 4 years ago and I still come back to it. It's from Haymitch's POV and has a great perspective on his relationship with Finnick and the other victors.

It's Not the Waking, It's the Rising by carnationhes - This is another great Haymitch POV that takes place during and shortly after Finnick's Games. It sets Finnick's story in a cool and unique light, so you might like to check it out.

Haymitch's Victor(s?) by TheWalkingGrimes - This one explores a little moment right before the end of the 74th Games, and it's such a cool portrayal of Haymitch's relationship with Finnick right before the rebellion. The whole series is one of my favorites so definitely check it out if you haven't already.

Triptych by deathmallow - This is a post-war (canon compliant) fic that focuses on the dynamic between Haymitch, Annie, and Johanna. It's beautiful and long and heartwarming and does justice to all the characters.

Madrigal by sabaceanbabe - This one focuses on the Finnick, Haymitch, and Johanna dynamic which I absolutely love. The characterizations are wonderful and it covers so much time without getting bogged down in the negativity.

The Golden Mean by FernWithy - This one takes place during the 3rd Quarter Quell with a lot of emphasis on the behind the scenes aspects of the rebellion. Haymithc is the POV character but there's a lot in here about his relationships with the other victors, which I really like.

Moss On The Ruins by Trovia - This is another favorite of mine. It's Finnick's POV with his relationships with the victors as a focal point of the story. I like his dynamic with Haymitch in this one.

I am also a fan of this dynamic and Finnick's relationships with the other victors, I think there's such an interesting history there. Feel free to share recs of your own or promote your own work!

[solar-halos]

i’ve skipped so many mood board mondays, so here are a ton of mood boards. they’re all Annie Cresta themed and how i think she’d dress/accessorize in a modern au. this one is gonna be lengthy tho i luv fashion

don’t keep the devil waiting, old friend: queer couture*

comments: this one was the hardest only bc i couldn’t find a lot pics of patchwork jeans + smudged (and ugly in an on-purpose-fuck-beauty-standards type of way) makeup and i feel like that is a fundamental part of annies style in this fic. also shes in hs and i feel like that is the peak of diy-ing things that are ugly but obv pinterest didn’t have much of that. but in the fic she loves red+black color combos and sanrio and also mitski so i included that here. also, had to include a heathers pic. and before anyone says that this doesn’t count as alt pls remember something: i don’t care

* (as in annie is queer in this fic, not that u have to be queer to wear this. just btw)

fond boy with a flower in his heart: lipstick lover*

comments: her style isn’t rlly described that much in the fic but i think it’s very much winx and barbiecore. lipstick lover* to the max. she is also the queen of sporty spice athleisure

*in a “pink panther” by Scene Queen (the musician) way, not a luver of lipstick way. although annie is both in this fic

a deep dive into the mind of annie cresta: man eater couture

credits, first and foremost!

i found the first pic (starting from the top left hand corner) on pinterest. this is the second pic dress pattern. third pic is also pinterest but it gives me johanna and annie vibes. this is the fourth pic (it’s still a tester pattern so i just linked her account!). this is the fifth pic. this is the sixth pic. i found the seventh pic on pinterest. this is the eighth pic. i found the ninth pic on pinterest. this is the tenth pic (can you tell i love madebymolly? lol)

comments: okay, so at first i wanted to focus more on materials like linen bc i think d4 would be more focused on practicality than glam, but as you can tell it’s mostly crochet pieces bc i’ve saved SO many pics that gave me boho beach vibes. but also some outfits (like the green dress!) are outfits i described in the actual fic and then found on instagram later like “wait….. this was literally something i had in my head and they made it into something real.” like how fucking cool is that imagine sewing something from ur own two hands (esp lace!). but also the cheetah (leopard?) print underwear is so annie cresta after she won the games bc i feel like she’d embellish everything she owns like the fashionista she is

miscellaneous: i-t g-i-r-l

ok when i was first pondering abt annie cresta’s style @turtlesandwhales678 put this into the universe and i haven’t been able to stop thinking abt it: vintage styled annie cresta! i know i didn’t do this concept justice bc most of the outfits are condensed to a select few decades but there was an era in my life where i would refuse to post anything on my instagram stories except vintage pictures/photoshoots, so here are some i had in my arsenal that i dug up:

credits!

first pic (top left corner) is from the nanny! love that show u should watch it. i know the second pic looks like an invasion of privacy but i swear it was for a photoshoot in 1969 for life magazine. i found the third pic on pinterest, it’s lisa bonet on “a different world” i believe. the fourth pic is from my instagram stories archive arsenal. same with the fifth pic. this is the sixth pic. seventh pic is from my stories archive. this is the eighth pic

comments: i kinda said everything i needed to at the beginning. the ninth pic is giving me odesta vibes

okay, that’s it! i know this was sooo long but i was scared of uploading it to ao3 cos the last time i did something like that it got taken down. but to be fair it was sorta my fault. anyway this was sooo fun and im in a very big procrastinating mood so i will literally make a mood board out of anything / any other styles. i was thinking abt doing a cottagecore one but i heard that style has racist undertones? idk i haven’t looked into it but i should. anyway bye hope these were pretty

[the-sun-and-the-sea]

The Odesta reunion in Mockingjay is like one of my absolute favorite movie clips. Just like...the way they interact, the way you can tell how much they love each other just from a few seconds, the way Annie just jumps into Finnick’s arms. Really did justice to the book, especially the “No one seeing them could doubt their love,” line. It’s just so great. ❤️