#lilybird23

[ongreenergrasses]

a question about Annie, Johanna and Finnick, I think all three probably feel quite a bit of self-loathing after their games and have big issues with their self-worth and how they view themselves, but what is something that they like about themselves or can at least consider as something positive?

lovely question!!! another one I’d love to hear opinions on.

Annie: in contrast to the last question like this, she’s the easiest for me. I think she loves her body. her body’s instincts have saved her life and because she is so determined and such a survivor she’s very grateful for that. I think she has a fraught relationship with both her body and mind immediately after her Games, but when she begins to reconnect with herself physically she’s reminded of all the good it’s brought her and how it continues to serve her as best it can. I think she’s a very physical person and enjoys pushing herself physically, as well as chasing a lot of physical sensations, and she takes a lot of fulfillment and enjoyment from that.

Johanna: she’s the hardest for me to put my finger on. I think she likes that she’s able to create things. build things, draw things, bead things, her pottery, whatever you think she does craft wise, I think she’s always a little startled when she looks down and has made something beautiful or impactful or sturdy, because she always does. I think she also likes that no matter what happens, she doesn’t lose that skill and capacity to create.

Finnick: I think he’s so disconnected from himself that he doesn’t think about his intrinsic qualities and instead sees it in terms of what he can offer others. his is the most grounded in canon, but I think he’s clearly deeply fulfilled in his role as a caretaker, and I think he really likes that he has that capacity to care for others and is often proud that he’s able to do it so well even when he’s undergoing the worst circumstances. in this way, he really likes what he’s able to contribute to the world and that he’s able to help others. now is he doing this in a healthy way? no. but he loves it and it keeps him going.

[thgfanspotlights]

THG Fan Spotlight Interview: Districtunrest & Lilybird23

Conducted 3/9/26. Published 3/14/26 to Internet Archive

Listen to their interview here and follow along with the transcript.

(92 min)

[lilybird23]

alright, i kinda got back into writing chapter 7 of Echoes a couple days ago… and… the way i am currently thinking, this story might end up making it completely impossible for Peeta and Katniss to end up together… guess i am growing? Or going back to the original everthorne shipper i was at some point prior to mockingjay? Or honestly maybe there is just no love story in the end, ihdk atm 🫣

wondering if I should preemptively change some of the tags?

[mollywog]

🌻

Thank you for playing @lilybird23!!

Check out this funky bird I made with grapat mandala loose pieces

Send me a 🌻

[peaonfire]

For the writer truth and dare ask game!

🥤 ⇢ recommend an author or fanfic you love

🪐 ⇢ name three good things going on in your life right now

🧩 ⇢ what will make you click away from a fanfiction immediately?

🥤-> recommend an author or fanfic you love

Well, what excellent timing! @jayellebewriting just posted the last chapter of her fic Inevitable, which I cannot recommend enough!!! Hijacked Peeta travels back in time for a second chance at life... the title might give away what happens in regards to his feelings for Katniss! Let me tell you, the last chapter had me shouting at my phone!!! Go check it out now!!!

🪐 -> name three good things going on in your life right now

1st: two if my flatmates are moving out tomorrow! The fact that this is a good thing should tell you everything you need to know about them...

2nd: I have made some really lovely friends over the past couple of months that make life so much better and lovelier <3

3rd: I'm writing for the first time in my life and it's one of the most fun things I've ever done!

🧩 -> what will make you click away from a fanfiction immediately?

Actually, I think the only thing that's ever actually made me click away was some very ooc behaviour, but like what they were doing was bad

from this post!

[ongreenergrasses]

loved your analysis of how Finnick is Annie’s caretaker, I feel like Annie is very important to his balance as well considering his extreme reaction when she is taken, to what extend is Annie his caregiver as well?

what a beautiful question. I think there’s two levels of this, the background way their lives end up being structured that helps stabilize him and the active ways she cares for him.

in the absence of conistent medical and therapeutic care, I think Annie has almost certainly landed on the power of routine for managing her mental health. she has most likely figured out (as many of us do) that she needs to eat at least three times a day, have a consistent bedtime and wake up at a consistent time, have a structured day with several activities (could be chores), work out, and interact with people in an effort to manage her condition. now notably, Finnick does not have to do any of these things with her, but since I think we all hc that at some point they are presumably living together, he is going to get sucked into this routine at least slightly. in that sense, I think Annie has an extremely heavy hand in stabilizing him because I highly doubt he was living with anything close to this level of structure before she came along and it would help him a lot too. and we see this in a way! as soon as Annie is back, Finnick’s life has so much more structure, and he improves dramatically! I don’t think it’s just because she’s back. I think it’s because he needs that, as many of us do, and her need of routine provides that as an option for him, too.

In terms of something that she might be doing more actively and is less due to him just existing in her orbit, imo it’s clear from canon that she plays an incredibly important role in helping him self regulate. without Annie, he is completely unable to handle his emotions. now I think she’s helping him regulate in part because he thinks he has to be put together for her, and of course her presence makes him very happy so that helps as well, but I think her role is more active than that. I doubt they’re at the point where it’s recognizing and naming the emotion and letting it flow through you or whatever but I do think that Annie is able to read him very well and can, if he is not able to self regulate, either prompt him in a way he’ll listen to (to go outside and walk it off for example) or she’s able to comfort him in a way that allows him to get himself back under control.

notably, I don’t think he’s learning to manage his symptoms the way Annie does or working through his trauma in any meaningful way. he is absolutely in survival mode and I think another way Annie cares for him is that she recognizes that and meets him where he’s at instead of imposing expectations on him. his ultimate goal is not to improve, but to be in control of himself and to handle everything the best he can. as such, I think Annie’s support role for him is less about helping him alleviate symptoms and more providing consistent care through her presence and support.

[ongreenergrasses]

🔥

Have fun!

I’ve been thinking about this for a while on and off but @districtfourmermaid pointed it out in a remarkably astute comment on sacapuntas (of all things lol) and hence it has returned to the forefront…it’s the reason to me why so much Finnick meta and fic and engagement with the character (specifically precanon wise) just swings and misses, which is that I have found that most people do not have any concept of what it is like to exist in a situation of extreme prolongued trauma and violence from day to day. it is a very good thing that most people do not know what this is like! I am thrilled that most people do not know this! unfortunately, this is the reality of Finnick’s life and there is very little way to research what this is like without a) talking to people who do have this experience, b) working with those people in some capacity, or c) living it yourself.

but the unpopular opinion is yes, he’s traumatized. yes, he’s probably having some difficulty functioning day to day, but what he is almost certainly not doing, especially by the time he meets Annie and this has been going on for at minimum 2 years, is dwelling on it all. this is because he cannot. it is absolutely astounding what humans have the capacity to endure but the reason we can endure it is because we adapt. from the outside, his life is horrifying and so on the surface it would make sense for him to be just a wreck all the time and for people to be reacting to what’s going on in his life with horror, but that’s almost certainly not what’s happening. he would not be able to endure for that long if that was what he was doing. instead, whether or not he is seeing it all as normal, he is adapting.

so what’s going to happen is most likely he’s going to casually bring up things from the Capitol, or have weird hang ups that are obvious but that he only talks about sometimes if they really bother him, or drop something truly disturbing into a conversation without even thinking about it. the people who have remained in his life will have learned that they cannot react with horror to these things. it’s tempting to make a big deal out of every disclosure he makes but what will happen if every time he casually mentions unspeakable abuse and Annie’s reaction is “I’m so sorry that happened, that must’ve been awful, we can talk about if if you want” is that it is going to drive him away. hearing that your life is an unendurable shitshow that upsets people every time you open up to them is not pleasant! it is also not a recipe to building a long lasting relationship with someone if they’re always horrified when you’re just trying to connect with them. so he’ll drop some bombshell, she’ll respond in a light conversational fashion, and they’ll move on.

is this approach healthy? yes and no. is this what survivors do? yes and no, because everyone’s unique. but what happens in the Capitol to him is part of his everyday existence, and so he is going to treat it that way and figure out a way to have a semi normal life around those parameters. he’s not going to be a complete catastrophe all the time because he can’t be. he’s not a normal young guy, but he’s going to have a lot more moments where he acts like just your average dude than are often portrayed in fanworks, and when he does mention something traumatic, I see it being very off the cuff.

(of course, the tension in a story often comes when he’s having a rough one or the moments where he can’t endure it come through, and I’m conscientious of that. I just think the slice of life stuff is going to be far more normal and less fraught than it’s often portrayed to be.)

send a 🔥

[thgfanspotlights]

Hi everyone ! I’ve been looking forward to any new interviews, are there any in the pipelines ?? Still very excited about this project 💜

thank you!! 💜 nothing in the pipeline right now. we'd set a March deadline for the first round of paired interviews but interest seems to have slowed and/or people have gotten busy. submissions will remain open!

excitingly, there has been some new interest in this project! hello, new followers!! 🤗

if you haven't already, please consider filling out our form for the spotlight questionnaire and/or the spotlight interview. then, reach out to me on @marmorealwit or on discord @ gabbie0034 so I can get ya paired up :)

tagging some people below who have already expressed interest in interviews:

@little-de-vil @olyaroo @sadcoms