THG fic: "Spin Control" [22/24]

[trovia]

Title: Spin Control
Pairings: Finnick/Haymitch, Kat/Peeta
Characters: Finnick, Haymitch, Chaff, Peeta, Gale, Kat; plus appearances by Mags, Johanna, Caesar Flickerman, President Snow, Effie, Claudius Templesmith, Beetee, Prim, Thresh, Rue, District Twelve ensemble and various OC
Rating: adult
Warnings: forced prostitution & non-con; people dealing

Comments

[trovia]

I've seen certain writers argue that Haymitch and Finnick wouldn't be good for each other, because Finnick would be too easily hurt by Haymitch's snark. :p They seem to have forgotten how Finnick deals with Johanna's snark by throwing her over his shoulder and dumping her in a lake.

Uh, the way I picture it, Finnick smokes only ever when he has a special reason to approach particular journalists. Not being a smoker, you might not know that the smoking area is a fantastic place to bond with the other addicts. ;) I think he probably tried around with things when he was seventeen or eighteen, yeah, but ultimately I'm with you on how he's too much of a control freak and health freak to enjoy smoking. Especially since he's a swimmer. I don't think he'd like the idea of damaging his lungs. Here, I mostly liked the idea that he would have a cigarette just because it helps him do a marketing thing, even though smoking goes against his principles. I liked the idea that he'd just make that quick sacrifice. (I smoke. My parents don't, or haven't been before I was born. Ugh, I smoke way too much.)

[roguedemon]

Hee, I've heard from smokers that it's a great way to pick people up. :) People that quit have said that they needed to find new ways of starting conversations with people.

Yeah, I bet I know who said Finnick would be hurt by snark. :-/ I always thought Finnick dumping Jo in the lake was a great scene, and it said a lot about their friendship and who they both are. That fact that Finnick knows how to handle Jo and is able to get away with dunking her speaks to a close friendship -- she would have killed anyone else. And yeah, he's obviously not one to melt in the face of a snarky comment.

I think people mistake the fact that Finnick internalizes his anger for weakness. Joanna is the opposite, she acts out her anger on other people,. Certain people say that she's stronger because she's so aggressive, but it's just one way of dealing with trauma. I hate the whole "strong" thing anyway. Jo hurts herself by hurting other people and driving them away. Finnick hurts himself by internalizing things and beating himself up. Just different styles of coping with the uncopeable.

Something else I've been thinking about is that in canon we see both Jo and Finnick during some of the absolute worst points in their lives. It's interesting to think about what they're like in more everyday situations. Sort of like Caramel: what is Jo like when she's, say, not in the arena or dealing with the aftermath of torture?

[trovia]

Yeah, I bet I know who said Finnick would be hurt by snark. :-/

Yeah, I bet you do. ;)

The lake dumping was great. It shows so well how close they are, as you said, and definitely shows that it takes a lot more than a snarky comment to get under his skin. Generally, I think it's a safe bet to assume that a lot of victors had to develop a thick skin. A lot of them would be more likely to laugh in your face at your inexpert attempts to insult you. Somebody like Kat or Peeta would never succeed. (it was also once pointed out to me that Haymitch would have felt hurt when Kat and Peeta made "eww" faces at the thought of living next to him during their Games in the cave - likewise, I think Haymitch has bigger fish too fry than take at all seriously what two sixteen-year-olds are saying about him, especially since he and Kat haven't exactly been exchanging hugs and kisses on the cheek up to that point. I think whether or not Kat takes him seriously is not at all on Haymitch's list of things that matter)

I hate the whole "strong" thing anyway. Jo hurts herself by hurting other people and driving them away. Finnick hurts himself by internalizing things and beating himself up. Just different styles of coping with the uncopeable.

Yeah, exactly. Different personalities, different coping mechanisms, different situations. If you start comparing who suffers "better" or whatever, you misunderstand the whole point of the books. Similarly, those people who dislike Finnick for being very attractive ultimately misunderstand the books.

I would really like to see Jo on a normal day. I think the conversation she had with Kat about Annie and Finnick, in the arena, probably comes closest to what she'd be like - able to come down, contemplative, probably remembering that she's hurting and either trying to get out of that state quickly or if she doesn't have the energy to do that right now, getting more miserable by the minute. But basically, much less extreme.