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tanner and lamina smooch

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aghh lily im so sorry i accidentally posted my incomplete anona fact things early and then had to delete it, so i have to do it here 😭

@persephoneprice i am so sorry 😭

also just a funny thing to mention, my earliest draft of anona's name was pippa ryenn, i then changed it because pippa was too close to pip, my other oc and ryenn was too on the nose with the grain theme 😭 but yeah u were definitely destined for anona to be ur fav bc her earliest name draft was also ur pippa's name 😭

anyway on to the actual ask:

- she is eighteen during her games, making her thirty five at the time of her death

- before her games, she's very outgoing and is friends with everyone

- she also swears off lying, since her father hates it

- her birthday is october eighth

- she is always haunting the narrative trust

- most of the stage plays she performed were written by her father, it was a hobby of his to write that he kind of gave up in favor of providing for anona

- her father calls her 'nona.

- during her interview for the games, she lies that "her ma is capitol-bred" and that her mother became a peacekeeper and was sent to nine, so she wins some favor in the capitol.

- she copes with the lying by telling herself it's just acting like back home, and her pa wouldn't be upset

- she says her father brews medicine for sick children in district nine, and that she has three loving siblings who wanted her home.

- when, in reality, anona is an only child whose mother (who was not capitol) died in childbirth.

- but anona doesn't like lying. she wishes she were braver and was able to accept it and "die an honest death instead of living a life of lies", but she loves her life more than anything, she loves her father and she loves her friends and she loves performing.

- that need to live outweighs the thought of dying with dignity and nobility.

- and anona's a great actress, for seventeen years people believe her story, and she's one of the most admired victors.

- but, deep down, anona starts hating her life more and more, something she never thought she would do, having to see the children she mentors die. she wants something to happen, she wants rebellion, though she has no idea how she can do it herself.

- she drifts away from her pa and her old friends, in shame and exhaustion

- now this is where it gets interesting:

- i mentioned that panlo had two younger brothers, one of which (jaz) goes on to be my oc thea's grandfather.

- well, panlo's other brother, garner, grew up with anona. he gets angry that she lied her way out of the games, while his brother died from being honest.

- after his brother's death, garner started to become more and more rebellious, and has a giant fallout with his other brother jaz over "what panlo would of wanted" (garner basically did the same sort of things billy taupe and spruce did, trying to sneak people out of prisons, and then the district itself)

- anona explains that she doesn't want to be lying, and she's doing it to keep her father, her friends and herself alive.

- garner, being a known rebel, explains what he's doing (after getting to know anona for a while, and realising that she's actually very trustworthy)

- garner and anona eventually work out a deal, anona will continue her act on the capitol, but use any money they give her to get supplies to help get people out of nine.

- their plan works smoothly for years, and anona and garner form a close bond.

- that is, until anona can't take it anymore, she sees people die everyday (especially since she started aiding rebellion, the peacekeepers got stricter in punishment)

- she gets drunk and openly speaks on her hate for the capitol, and for the first time in forever, she feels free again, she's no longer confined by a performance that she doesn't want to be a part of.

- she wakes up the next day and realises what she's done, and how she is going to be killed for it. and, after everything, she doesn't regret it. she gets garner and the other rebels to flee north (which they do).

- anona never thought she would die an honest death, but she does.

- she finally feels the same as she did when she was younger, before the games, onstage.

- she finally feels herself again, and if she has to die in the next hour in order to live her truth, so be it.

anyway that was a complete and utter lore dump i am so sorry, if i ever end up writing an anona-based fic i completely spoiled most of it 😭

thank u sm for the ask (sorry i accidentally deleted it) and im actually so happy that you like anona 💗

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Summary:

Annie approaches Callie to play music together a month before her Victory Tour. She gets a lot more than that.

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she has a little boy who at times violently reminds her of mizzen. quick question are u trying to kill me be honest.

okay i’m sorry i simply have to come here. i just love the persephone lore you are sharing. please, im begging for more persephone thoughts from you.

HIIIIIII LILY IN THE INBOX!!!!

the thing is right, you have heard most of my Pippa lore bc a.it is largely inspired by yours and b.whenever I am struck with a Pippa insight I literally run to yell at you in ur inbox, replies, etc.

+ I 100% believe her situation during the civil war was extremely dire. she literally had to resort to cannibalism. it must have been real bad.

+ I'm so sorry everybody. but her relationship to festus is so, so precious to me. It's one of the first things I was dead set on when I finished the book and decided to forego all feelings of shame and write. a 4 weddings and a funeral AU. as they were my wedding 1 I guess I have spent a lot of time with them and I'm very attached now okay.

+ they literally bring out the best in each other. persephone is actually very shy and quiet and he makes her more adventurous and fun! persephone mellows festus out. she hates gambling so he quits cold turkey for her sake. she makes him feel more confident so he drops the macho facade as he matures. still loves a party though! sorry back to pippa

+basically the moral compass of her friend group. like: no livia dont take apart palmyras pointe shoes so she breaks her ankle come on now. her friends are insanely protective of her because they see her as this pure soul that must be protected at all costs. additionally, vip and livia both know how traumatic the war was on the price household (not the cannibalism I dont think, but they know it was bad), and they really admire / are puzzled by how she emerged from all that while remaining kindhearted.

+ she has a little boy who, at times, violently reminds her of mizzen.

+ she's kind of a blindspot of coriolanus's but not because he underestimates her, but because he finds her so repulsive that he refuses to see her as anything more than an abstract concept. livia keeps saying these insane things about him to Pippa over tea, and Pippa is immediately like. this guy is crazy actually. but festus is like nah Pippa that's just coryo he's a bit of a freak but he's harmless, he was my best man!

+ festus dies out of nowhere. the coroner rules it a morphling overdose. to Pippa's dismay, no one in the friend group is shocked and they keep coming to her and: she should have said something if festus was struggling with addiction! you remember how he was at the academy, etc, etc. where the fuck did these stories even come from you know? well pippa can't prove it but she has an inkling.

+ she goes insane with grief. like. its horrible. she keeps telling everyone that something's off but no one listens to her because as far as they are concerned its just the insane ranting of a recently widowed woman.

+ and as I said, she keeps a box of 'evidence' that coriolanus is somehow behind all these mysterious 'purges'. it gets brought up when snow is tried at the hague of panem circa mockingjay.

+ Pippa feels guilty for having been a passive cog in an objectively evil machine, along with festus. she loved / loves him so much but she never really gets over the fact that they were complicit with the regime. she thinks back to all the times her friends called her kind, and she wonders if they're wrong.

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What fictional character are you completely convinced is a lesbian and nothing anyone can say will change your mind on that and why?

I want to know because I feel like lesbian head-canons are always pushed aside in fandom.

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I always wanted to die clean and pretty (but I'd be too busy on working days).

chapter one: ceres' ailment

summary: ceres miller won the fourty-seventh hunger games and has been a mentor for twenty-one years. since then, her life has been a downward spiral full of unhealthy coping mechanisms. by the time the sixty-eighth games roll around, she is at the end of her tether.

Ceres Miller is tired. To her, that's nothing new. She's always tired these days, especially when she's at home. No matter how long she sleeps in, the lethargic feeling that fills her bones continues to persist. It plagues her, but she has come to terms with it. If you can't beat it, join it or whatever the phrase is.

It's only now that Ceres is starting to realise the full extent of what tiredness means.

She is sitting on a stage, whilst the mayor of District Nine gives her ever-boresome rendition of the Treaty of Treason. Its the same story every time, one that Ceres isn't going to delve into now. All of her focus is on trying desperately to stay awake. She can't miss when the names are called out. Not when she has to mentor one of the poor kids that gets picked. Not to mention that the cameras are probably trained on her and Angus now, because even beaten-down victors are favourable to the mayor's repetitive drawl. Ceres feels a subtle tap on her shoulder.

"You awake, Ceres?" whispers Angus, leaning in close to her, probably too close, in Capitol opinion.

"For once, I am," replies Ceres, trying to stay nonchalant, "but if she goes on with her speech for much longer I won't be."

She has to be very, very quiet here. Any syllable pronounced too loudly would be a red flag to the cameras, especially when it is the Treaty they are badmouthing. But Ceres has perfected this. To the Capitol, it just looks like idle chit-chat between victors about their day so far, or who will mentor who. To Ceres, it's her own small act of rebellion.

It seems she was right for staying awake, for the treaty seems to end two times as quickly.

Now the real ceremony begins.

Vestis, district nine's escort, walks uncharacteristically slowly over to the microphone.

It isn't his usual strut, but yesterday took a toll and today is bound to be worse. He seems to be working with what he has.

Though, he is meant to be much more suited for this than the mayor; he's been doing it for twenty-one years, if Ceres can remember correctly.

"And now," he says, in a way Ceres reads as mock-enthusiasm, "we will choose the tributes who have the..."

There is a potent pause, and Ceres can see conflicting emotions flick across Vestis' glamorous face.

"Responsibility, of representing District Nine in the sixty-eighth Hunger Games."

Responsibility?

Vestis hadn't said honor, he hadn't said privilege, he hadn't said glory. Not like he usually did.

He said responsibility.

Ceres does not know the implications of the word nor why Vestis had the thought to change it. All she knows is that it is different and different, in the Capitol's eyes, is wrong.

"As always, ladies first." Vestis' peppy Capitol voice snaps Ceres out of her stupor.

Why does it matter what he said? The tributes are being chosen now, she has to focus.

"The female tribute representing District Nine in the sixty-eighth Hunger Games is..." he pauses again, this time intentionally.

"Thérèse.. oh, no, uhm... Thea Vaughn!"

The cameras finally take their invasive eyes off of the stage, and pan their way through the crowd, looking for Thérèse, no, Thea Vaughn.

After what feels like forever, their beady lenses spot her, in the middle of the square, the section for fifteen year olds.

Ceres looks further into the crowd and there, huddled between lanky and short limbs alike, stands Thea Vaughn.

Thea Vaughn is a pitiful girl, thinks Ceres.

Like any child from district nine, Thea wore her work clothes to the reaping. The standard dungarees and plain shirt combination can be seen everywhere in the crowd, from ages twelve to eighteen. Thea's clothes seem to be particularly outdated, the dungarees are torn slightly nearer her calves, and her shirt looks as if it is two sizes too big, clearly belonging to someone else.

The only thing that seems to be intentional about her ensemble is her bandana, flower-patterned and blue, that is carefully weaved into her dark, wavy hair. The state of it is completely clean, not worn-down like her clothing, so it must be for the reaping.

The expression on Thea's pale face is blank but Ceres is sure she sees tears being blinked back into Thea's eyes.

Maybe Ceres is assuming, but with how most kids like Thea did during the games, she isn't  going to last a second.

Something seems to sink in for Thea and, almost instinctively, she makes her way to the stage.

By the time Thea is onstage, any tears Ceres could previously see are gone.

Well, temporarily.

Thea's expression only changes back to horror when she hears a shout from the outer-crowd, the section for people who are no longer eligible to be reaped.

"Thea!"

The voice is strong and distinctly female, but Ceres can't detect who it's coming from.

"Thea!"

It slowly gets louder and closer, until Ceres can see a girl of about twenty pushing and shoving her way towards the stage, screaming Thea's name at the top of her lungs.

"Just go, Ivy!" Thea finally speaks, and it's apparent that she's trying with all the force she has not to break down into tears.

"Leave, don't worry about me!" She pleads again.

Peacekeepers flood the scene, and start restraining the girl, Ivy, until she can't bare to fight anymore. She's carried away, kicking and screaming, until the shouts of Thea's name are a distant sound.

Ceres realises, in the midst of all the distress, she must of grabbed onto Angus' hand at some point. Her grip is tight around his fingers, but he hadn't once bid her to let go.

She quickly releases her grip from his hand, not once looking aside to him, and stretches out her cramped fingers.

Angus doesn't move an inch.

Trying to distract herself from the burning from Angus' touch, Ceres looks to Vestis.

"Well... District Nine, put your hands together for Thea Vaughn, this year's female tribute!" Vestis' attempts to rescue the situation are half-hearted, and Ceres wonders what on earth must be perturbing him.

This happens often, there is always someone too old to volunteer who still tries to anyway. Hell, it's the only time District Nine would ever get a willing volunteer. It's always awful and it's always disturbing, but Ceres has learnt to shut herself off from it.

She couldn't get invested.

These kids were going to be sent home in a box in a month, getting attached to them is the most foolish thing she could do.

"And now for the boys," says Vestis, still in the same exhausted tone.

He dips his hand into the bowl, and pulls out three different slips by mistake. What is with him today? His performance is usually flawless. He's Capitol, he's meant to enjoy this.

After carefully putting the slips back in and choosing a different one, Vestis reads out the name.

"The male tribute representing District Nine in the sixty-eighth Hunger Games is... Emory Bledsoe."

The cameras have an easier time spotting Emory than they did Thea.

He's a tall, stocky boy stood in the section for eighteen year olds.

He seems to have groomed himself for the occasion, because whilst he is in his work attire, it isn't worn-down from a day in the fields like Thea's is. His honey-brown hair falls in carefully combed waves over his forehead, and he bares a genuine smile as he walks toward the stage.

Emory is the kind of tribute Ceres always hopes for. Tall, muscular and able to perform for the cameras. Then, there's at least a chance that she can garner a few sponsors for him. Then, there's at least a chance that he can come home, no matter how slim it is. Once Emory had mounted the stage, Vestis instructs him and Thea to shake hands.

They do, and Emory pulls Thea into an awkward bow, waving to the cameras as he does so.

Thea seems to have calmed down since the incident with Ivy, but still can't force a smile on her face.

The only time even a blip of happiness comes to her is when Emory whispers something, which is completely inaudible to Ceres.

Vestis wraps the ceremony up hurriedly, and instructs everyone to clap, as he usually does.

Except this time, the silence couldn't have been more apparent.

Ceres looks into the crowd, and sees scowls plastered over the children's faces.

They weren't sad, not the stereotypical sadness that came with the reaping, anyway.

The thing she spots on their faces is anger.

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huhhhh sketch

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i don’t know how to put this into words but i love how everyone has a different versions of these characters. like there’s a whole multiverse of different versions of my favorite characters and each one has its unique little moments to explore. and because of this they get to live an array of different lives.

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Pippa……Pippa,,oufhhdf

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i don’t know how to put this into words but i love how everyone has a different versions of these characters. like there’s a whole multiverse of different versions of my favorite characters and each one has its unique little moments to explore. and because of this they get to live an array of different lives.

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18. Choose a passage from your writing. Tell me about the backstory of this moment. How you came up with it, how it changed from start to end. Spicy addition: Questioner provides the passage.

passage choice:

“For years, I thought about asking my father where he got the meat just to watch him crack. In the end, I decided it didn’t matter. It kept me alive, didn’t it? If I was starving with no there option, I’d do it again. I’d close my eyes and eat it. Savor the first full meal I’d had in months. It doesn’t matter what it was. It kept me alive.”

Why are you telling me this?”

His voice came out in a whisper.

Were girls always this confusing and terrifying? 

Well.

Now that he thought about it. Artemisia could be both those things.

“I’m tired of scrapes,” Persephone said, jostling him from his thoughts. 

25. What is a weird, hyper-specific detail you know about one of your characters that is completely irrelevant to the story? (it doesn’t say i can specify but…request for artemisia mayhaps?)

ask game

Thanks for the ask, Lily! So fun to rant about Close Your Eyes again... it's almost been half a year since I started writing it... 4 months since I finished it...

18. Passage Question (See Above Excerpt From Ch. 2, Close Your Eyes)

I remember wanting to acknowledge Festus/Persephone in Close Your Eyes, because I do love them, and I hate when a character's more "canon" love interest gets kind of sidelined or vilified to prop up the fic's ship. Obviously, as she's not really central to the story, Persephone doesn't appear very often but I wanted to make sure it was clear when I wrote her that she had her own life that she was living.

The original draft had the interaction as much shorter, but the intention was always to have it be longer. Most of the changes was me finding my characterization of Persephone.

I've talked about my version of Persephone being more confident than yours, so this is kind of that shining through. I like writing strange, unnerving women (that might be obvious idk), and this is also that shining through. I was like "what if she's not ashamed? what if she's come to terms with it as just something she did? she did it to survive, why regret it?" I think in someways it's more unnerving for someone to act weirdly normal and well-adjusted about an incident that other people would normally be horrified by than to be tortured about it.

It's also kind of a sign of her kindness and trust in Festus that she's telling him this secret (because while she's not ashamed, it could damage her reputation) and also basically telling him as they are breaking up that he should just get over himself and admit that he's in love with his two best friends. The main thing we know about her is being kind, and I felt that should shine through even if she's in a very frustrating position.

Because of the situation, I also have her asserting herself and her boundaries. He's wasting her time if he's not committed to this relationship. She's going to find something more fulfilling. She's tired of scraps. <- me realizing I put scrapes instead scraps (whoops let me go edit that real quick).

This answer was mostly just explaining choices. The process, as with most of my writing, is brute force hitting a passage with editing until it makes sense with the rest of the story.

25. Weird, Hyper-Specific Detail (Artemisia)

Hmmm. Unsure if this is weird or hyper-specific, but it does never come up in the stories (directly)!

Artemisia is so resentful towards most of the Capitol because of her childhood. You'd think that even in Close Your Eyes that she'd be a pretty likely candidate for questioning the status quo and maybe turning rebel, but she doesn't do that (in that fic). The reason that Artemisia never contemplates becoming a rebel in Close Your Eyes (before Felix's death, although even after, she doesn't really rebel) is because Brandy kills Arachne.

I don't really focus on Artemisia and Arachne being friends, but I do think someone from the Districts killing Arachne definitely stops Artemisia from truly empathizing with them. That's why it it's kind of ironic (and important to me) that in All That You Can Do, Artemisia actually sees herself in Brandy, and that is what sparks Artemisia to rebel in that fic.

Close Your Eyes! Artemisia unfortunately was not immune to the Capitol's attempts at utilizing her friend's death to further the Capitol-District divide.

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dark persephone is haunting the narrative today

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Can you please do Lamina as a little guy? Pretty please?

here she is <3

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"what do you do to contribute to society" i post my ocs to tumblr dot com lol.... 5 people on there like them.......

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no that’s exactly the vision here

rip treech you would have loved lord huron

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rip treech you would have loved lord huron