To the Victor, The Spoil by Annakovsky (NC-17)
Title: To the Victor, The Spoil
Fandom: Hunger Games
Pairing: Katniss Everdeen/Haymitch Abernathy
Categories: Canon Divergence AU, First Time
Length: Medium [13361 words]
Warnings: dark themes and forced prostitution, psychological issues
Author on LJ: annakovsky
Author Website: Annakovsky's AO3
Summary: No berries, no mockingjay, no rebellion. Katniss killed Peeta in the arena, and now she has to live with herself like every other victor.
Review: The summary already gives it away: This very much is not a happy story. It's also not an entirely unhappy ending, but there is a bittersweet bleakness to it.
Katniss/Haymitch isn't exactly the kind of pairing I usually read much, but the canon divergence interested me and I was pulled right in, because the divergence is done very well and thought through perfectly. It does take the characters and the pairing very seriously and plays with it without every breaking into OOC territory.
At the core this is a story about broken people trying to find something to hold on to in a fucked up world that put them in rather fucked up circumstances. The author explores all the trauma under the surface, but also the steel that makes some people go on despite everything. I loved the parts with Finnick and how what we know about his story reinforced what we learn about Katniss in this world.
The story is told from Haymitch's point of view and it nails his wry sort of voice and explores the way he faces the moral dilemma and how he struggles with helping his former protege now that she is also a victor and in a terrible position.
To the Victor, The Spoil
Fandom: Hunger Games
Pairing: Katniss Everdeen/Haymitch Abernathy
Categories: Canon Divergence AU, First Time
Length: Medium [13361 words]
Warnings: dark themes and forced prostitution, psychological issues
Author on LJ: annakovsky
Author Website: Annakovsky's AO3
Summary: No berries, no mockingjay, no rebellion. Katniss killed Peeta in the arena, and now she has to live with herself like every other victor.
Review: The summary already gives it away: This very much is not a happy story. It's also not an entirely unhappy ending, but there is a bittersweet bleakness to it.
Katniss/Haymitch isn't exactly the kind of pairing I usually read much, but the canon divergence interested me and I was pulled right in, because the divergence is done very well and thought through perfectly. It does take the characters and the pairing very seriously and plays with it without every breaking into OOC territory.
At the core this is a story about broken people trying to find something to hold on to in a fucked up world that put them in rather fucked up circumstances. The author explores all the trauma under the surface, but also the steel that makes some people go on despite everything. I loved the parts with Finnick and how what we know about his story reinforced what we learn about Katniss in this world.
The story is told from Haymitch's point of view and it nails his wry sort of voice and explores the way he faces the moral dilemma and how he struggles with helping his former protege now that she is also a victor and in a terrible position.
To the Victor, The Spoil