#hayffie baby

[delizbin]

You know, he likes her better without all that makeup on

[arthdoesart]

Dancing with the Mockingjay 🐦‍⬛ (and the boy who doesn't burn🔥)

Everlark Valentine piece that got delayed because of (life)

[ellanainthetardis]

There’s an anon out there who is even more sadistic than I am. 👀😈

[maryonaccross]

Very random but I have this Hayffie headcanon where Effie falls pregnant with Haymitch’s daughter somewhere around the 61th hunger games (about two years after they started sleeping together) and freaks out because she wants to keep the baby but knows that it will be send to district 12 if people find out who the father is so she sorta breaks things off with Haymitch and marries Seneca Crane which works out great because the girl ends up looking like Effie and lives the first 14 years of her life as a capitol citizen ( I like the idea of her and Seneca being quite close and her being a daddy’s girl because I find the concept of a man who coordinates the murder of children for a living and then goes home to play with his daughter quite interesting from a psychological perspective).

She’s devastated when he’s killed after the 74th hunger game and only finds out who her real father is after the rebellion (she’s around fifteen by the time it ends).

And after that there’s the whole ‘Haymitch voting in favor of a capitol children hunger games’ thing which I know he only did because of Katniss and not because he genuinely supported the idea but I feel like him having a ‘capitol child’ himself would give that decision even more nuance and would be interesting to explore.

Idk I just remembered that one shot in the first movie where Haymitch is looking at the dressed up capitol children gathered to watch the games with something akin of disgust and that’s where the idea came from

[emmett-mccarty-cullen]

Haymitch and Effie are Everlark's kiddos' grandparents. It starts off as a joke when Katniss is pregnant with her and Peeta's eldest. She makes a smart ass comment calling Haymitch the kid's Papaw, and he laughs it off. But Peeta absolutely runs with it. When Hayffie is visiting with them after the birth, Peeta offers the swaddled baby to Haymitch, telling the baby, "there's Papaw, darlin'". Haymitch puts on a tough act, but Everlark's kids think he hung the moon. Haymitch is the softie grandparent between him and Effie, I just feel it in my bones.

Bonus for y'all who aren't familiar with the Appalachian dialect, the "aw" sound in Papaw is drawled out, so my cousins who grew up on the west coast spelt it as "Papol" for years. Imagine Effie having a similar sense of confusion.

Also, Effie is Gigi to her grandbabies. It just suits her.

[moowithmidnight]

Would y’all want an Effie/Hayffie fic? I have two mostly done in my drafts that I never published (my March/April 2023 hyperfixation wore off but we’re back baby)

We got:

1. Super depressing one because NO ONE can convince me that Suzanne “all my names have meanings” Collins didn’t decide to call escorts as escorts for a reason

2. Post MJ Effie goes back to 12 and she loves her little family and they love her yippee!!

[mirixmoya]

hello friends welcome to GRADING TORTURED POET SOCIETY SONGS BASED ON HOW EASILY I COULD TURN THEM INTO A HAYFFIE FIC (PART ONE) i hope u enjoy.

(for those interested but also my own future reference when i eventual do turn them into hayffie fics hehe)

i. fortnight: 5/10. potential post-war effie reflecting on their pre-canon and during-canon situationship. the "i love you / it's ruining my life" vibe is very Them but i'd have to write my way around all the wife lines.

ii. the tortured poets department: 8/10. good early-to-mid-situationship hayffie. good moments for haymitch trauma angst stuff. "who's gonna hold you like me?" is them. the wedding ring line could be just them messing around while drunk one night during games season; it's when effie realizes it's Real.

iii. my boy only breaks his favourite toys: 9/10. excellent endish situationship hayffie vibes, 74th + 75th era. has good lines for effie as doll / toy / trinket (ha) imagery. also good imagery for effie and haymitch both being pieces in The Games. also "he runs because he loves me" and "he was my best friend" and "there was danger in the heat of my touch" ... need i go on?

iv. down bad: 7/10. good for their relationship between the end of the war and when effie actually moves to twelve. "how dare you think it's romantic / leaving me safe and stranded" literally them. also lots of good stuff for effie's post-war isolation in the capitol.

v. so long, london: 3/10. has the potential for a (book-verse) post-war angst fic where effie and haymitch try their absolute hardest but ultimately have too much trauma + damage to make it work. idk if i wanna do that tho.

vi. but daddy i love him: 9/10. excellent song for pre-canon hayffie all around. effie's relationship to her womanhood / escorting in the capitol? check. effie's inner conflict over her feelings for haymitch vs. her capitolborn beliefs? check. "dutiful daughter, all my plans were laid" but oh no haymitch ruined them! we cheered! joking that she's having haymitch's baby to her parents just to piss them off... very effie behaviour. excellent song for that Haymitch Is Unlike The Capitol Dandies Effie's Been Raised To Love theme that i like. "i know he's crazy but he's the one".

vii. fresh out the slammer: 7/10. good song for smack in the middle of their situationship. winter vs. summer parallels. effie's seasons without haymitch vs. games season. restriction with her capitol bfs vs. freedom with haymitch. "all those nights he kept me going". the end is good for a post-war hayffie happiness moment.

viii. florida!!!: 8/10. really good song for a Effie's Relationship With The Capitol fic. the isolation, the beauty covering ugliness, etc. "this city reeks of driving myself crazy". "at least the dolls are beautiful" that's literally about the escorts. "you home's really only the town you'll get arrested in" okayyy book-verse effie angst.

ix. guilty as sin?: 10/10. HORNY HAYFFIE ANTHEM. i need to get back in my writing proper smut era i fear. so so much material for haymitch worshiping at the altar of effie's hips and thighs. a song for people who believe that like a good 65% of their relationship is based on the fact that they're both incredibly hot and they both love having incredible sex. true love tbh.

x. who's afraid of little old me?: 9/10. excellent fic for the Effie's Relationship With Her Escort Career stuff that i love. "so tell me everything is not about me / but what if it is?" self centered queen! the general backstage horrors of escorting. "i was tame, i was gentle, till the circus life made me mean" ... "you wouldn't last an hour in the asylum where they raised me" ... "i am what i am cause you trained me" .... yeah.

xi. i can fix him (no really i can): 4/10. potential for a very very early situationship hayffie. general haymitch being a traumatized mess and effie trying her very hardest to help vibes.

xii. loml: 6/10. the first half is excellent for post-war hayffie coming back together. "who's gonna stop us from waltzing back into rekindled flames" yeahhh. but the second half ... the "you're the loss of my life" vibe ... could fit into the (book-verse) No Matter How Hard They Try They're Too Traumatized To Make It Work narrative but idk.

xiii. i can do it with a broken heart: 10/10. THE PERFECT SONG for 75th era effie being the perfect escort despite the fact that the world is falling away beneath her feet. "I cry a lot but I am so productive! It's an art!" is sooooo her. "i'm so obsessed with him but he avoids me like a plague" is haymitch avoiding her in an attempt to save her from Rebel Stuff but effie knows their relationship is only becoming more serious. she's miserable! she's hitting her marks! eyes bright! chins up! smiles on! everyone she loves might die! it's fine!

xiv. the smallest man who ever lived: 1/10. not a hayffie song at all. BUT potential effie + seneca relationship study fic?? mayhaps???

xv. alchemy: 7/10. good song for book-verse post-war post-torture effie going to haymitch in twelve. she's ditching the capitol, she's going back to her man! who are they to fight the alchemy? how could they ever deny it? his heart is reserved for her. the soulmastism! (not that they would ever admit that lmao)

xvi. clara bow: 10/10. ANOTHER PERFECT EFFIE CHARACTER STUDY SONG! the rose imagery? snow's impact on her life. "this town is fake, but you're the real thing". effie's relationship with the capitol / escorting / womanhood / fame / youth / patriarchy / etc. "flesh and blood amongst war machines" literally the escorts amongst The Games. "hell on earth is to be heavenly" + "promise to be dazzling". sexualization has liberated effie (given her a career, money, freedom) but at what cost? it's also her gilded cage.

anyway. thank u for coming to my extensive ted talk.

[caesarflickermans]

Thank you for fan cast of Snow and Coin.

Your fancast for : Katniss, Peeta, Haymitch and Gale?

i really enjoy @little-lynx and her depiction of each of these characters. especially her haymitch art hits the nail on the head.

a brief disclaimer: i headcanon district 12, and specifically the seam, to be of native descent. the amount of roles that are given to indigenous peoples in films are not far and wide. i am not a casting director and am therefore working with limited resources, hence the people that i have selected are indigenous, but indigenous people from all across the world, as i wanted to catch character vibes more so than assuring a coherence.

my long-time go to for katniss has been erana james. any katniss faceclaim should give off those slim and pointed hunter tiny person fast runner vibes, and erana, especially in the wilds (at least the screencaps and gifs) has exactly those vibes. she has that sort of natural beauty that katniss has.

regarding gale, i like the sharp look that d’pharaoh woon-a-tai has. this hunter gaze, the serious face that sooo much makes me think of a gale forced to be a tribute on stage (and not smiling, because fuck them!). and i dunno, i feel like gale so often is perceived as this much older and wiser character compared to katniss and peeta (he's only two years older, 18, a baby in my eyes lol) and it would do some good if the person portraying him also isn't this broad-shouldered middle aged sex god.

for peeta, i like froy gutierrez because he's got that soft blond boy face but at the same time he's also of native descent and i think headcanoning even the merchant people as being mixed is an interesting take, also because it allows me to go with a white boy i like without having to search through the twenty thousand white boys hollywood has cast in the past decade.

for haymitch, it's aaron pedersen. the vibes are neat, and with vibes i mean old guy with beard who looks judgingly at you, likely gone through some shit, can be daddy of the month for the twitter crowd and satisfies the hayffie fandom in terms of hotness degree while we ignore he would probably be an overly thin and shit looking alcoholic two steps away from his grave.

[hayffiebird]

Taste of Strawberries, chap. 42

Hayffie Post-Mockingjay Multi-chapter, Rated M

Four years have passed since the end of the war when Effie returns in to Haymitch’s life once again. An old friendship is renewed. Will it lead to something more?

Meanwhile Panem has entered a new era. The rebellion’s over, the borders are open but in the shadows, anger and mistrust are smoldering. Something that will affect Haymitch and Effie’s life in a way they never saw coming.

Author's note: As always, thank you for your lovely support! It's almost midnight here, I've been editing for six hours (oh God) and finally had to call it a day even if it ain't perfect. I hope you enjoy the result! Please consider leaving a comment and tell me your thoughts! What do you think will happen next? :)

Slight TRIGGER WARNING for minor mentions like in previous chapters.

Chapter 42

A big big big day

His gift wasn’t among the others. Haymitch turned the presents over. Those big enough to qualify. Squeezed one here, shook one there, holding on to hope that Effie or June or Annabel had signed the delivery while he was passed out.

No such luck. Course not.

Should’ve called the shop sooner.

He ran a tired hand through his hair and poured himself a shaky cup of coffee.

For someone who considered gifts overrated – unless they consisted of food or clothes maybe – he was pretty bloody bummed out about the whole thing. Silly, yeah but … he really wanted the twins to have it and have it on the right day.

Maybe tomorrow. Or the day after. The post office in Eleven was famously slow, according to Annabel.

He was halfway through his cup of joe when the front door opened.

Annabel, smiling and carrying the topnotch chocolate cake. And in her wake, Effie. With one birthday child on each hip.

God, was she pretty! Prettier than usual, if that was even possible. With the strawberry dress gone – thanks to a certain retired mentor – she wore a white and pink plaid dress. A wide skirt just brushing her kneecaps, spaghetti straps and a large flat bow at the side of her waist.

Her hair was gathered in a ponytail for a change. Pink ballet flats. No “yank friendly” jewelry around her neck. No lipstick or lipgloss either. She gave that up after the twins were born since she kissed it all off on them anyway. Around her ankle: a simple silver bracelet. Simple but beautiful.

Yeah, she was gonna kill him for sure.

Amy wore pink too. Pink with ruffles. No matching bow or ribbons though. Even if she’d had any hair to speak of, the little girl would not stand for it.

Her mother had gone and dusted off one of her own princess dresses, by the looks of it, in honor of today. A toned down, less outlandish one but still – definitely more Capitol than district. He counted four different shades of pink. Posy would have loved it.

Ian on the other hand looked just about ready for District 4, dressed up in a little sailor’s outfit. White and dark blue with boats printed on the chest.

Silly ol’ Effs.

She wasn’t usually that all consumed by the whole “pink for girls, blue for boys” ideal. At least not anymore. But even she couldn’t help herself sometimes.

He had to hand it to her though – if this was Capitol it was Capitol low key. He’d seen toddlers back in the old city who looked more like fashion accessories than actual human beings. And sure, Effie wasn’t above wrestling Haymitch into gaudy outfits but she always went easy on the twins. Just like she went easy on Alexander, when she was but a girl herself.

Quite telling, if you thought about it. What kind of person she was at the core.

And contrary to popular belief, Effie preferred the district look for her kids. How was that for ironic? And the clothes he wore as a baby and toddler? Shit, she treasured them like they were truffles – the rarest, most (would be) expensive ingredient Sae used in her cooking, once in a blue moon.

Each night before bed, Effie laid out the children’s clothes for tomorrow and make no mistake! Unless they were currently peed in, pooped at or covered in baby spit-up, she always chose something of his.

“What is it with you and these rags?” he once asked her back in Twelve, while he helped Amy into a patched up romper the color of porridge. “Seriously. Capitol Effie would have shuddered. Called them poor man’s gear. Washcloth outfits.”

“I would not!” Effie protested from the other side of the bed, working the mismatched buttons of Ian’s playsuit. “District Vintage, maybe. And these aren’t rags! Don’t call them that! You know how special they are to me.”

“Why?”

She lifted Ian up. Held him close. With her cheek against the top of his head, she glanced over at Haymitch like he was the biggest idiot in all of Panem.

“Because you are!” she said. “Special. Something you really should know by now. I had your love children, for crying out loud. You’d think that if anything would be a tip off. And every time I see Amy or Ian wearing something you wore, it’s like I get a little echo of you. The child you once were. And since I don’t have any baby pictures of you, this is the second best thing. Well”, she added after a moment’s pause. A smile curved her lips. “Except for the twins themselves. Because of course they’d come out looking exactly like you. That’s just my usual luck.”

“Luck or curse”, Haymitch replied. Amy yawned as he lifted her from the bed. “There we go, baby.” He rested her against the side of his chest, her head on his shoulder. “They have your hair”, he said, pointing out the obvious.

“Mm. Only proof we’ve got that you didn’t actually make them all on your own.”

She never made the connection. Between the clothes and his kid brother. So obvious and yet, the lights never came on.

It was alright though. Really. Sure, he always felt a little pinch every time he saw the kids in Amadeus’s clothes. But not as much anymore. Not as the months passed.

Yeah. By some miracle, that particular gash got to scab over. Become a scar. Tender to the touch yes, but not bleeding, festering.

As time wore on he started to associate the clothes not only with his dead brother and dead mother but with Amy and Ian as well. That was one big reason for it. Plus Amadeus would’ve loved it if he knew that his niece and nephew spent their days dressed in his old stuff.

And Sae – that sharp-eyed ol’ busybody – she much have known this. Predicted his change of heart, or else she never would have given the clothes to Effie in the first place.

When the twins were still newborns he thought Effie might break out Alexander’s old clothes for them. The precious few garments she still had of her stars and butterflies and lady bugs baby after that prick Kane burned the rest or whatever.

But she never did. Too painful. And, obviously, he steered clear off the subject since she wasn’t ready to deal with any of that. Perhaps she never would be.

The reality of that heart-breaking situation only made it easier for him to let her have a field day with “his” old rags. Sorry, his special rags.

You couldn’t be flint-hearted with Effie anyway. Her over the moon excitement. You got to be pretty fucking cruel to take that away. Especially after she blessed you with two children.

Oh God. She’s gonna hold that over my head forever!

Little echoes. Special because you are special. Yeah, he could see what she meant by that. If he reversed their positions in his head.

After she bought the house from June and Annabel and the last of their moving vans had left for District 11 – they arranged for her things to be brought back in. Effie had donated a lot of the furniture to vintage and charity shops when she lost her home but some were kept in storage. As were most of her personal belongings. Like, for instance, the piles upon piles of little kiddie clothes.

Not Alexander’s. Effie’s own.

Now, Haymitch didn’t consider himself a sentimental guy. But when he first got a load of those silly little outfits he was almost overcome with tenderness and affection. As if a kitten – Scotch maybe – just rolled over in his chest, flexing his tiny claws.

They were just so small and so ridiculous.

Princess-pink, primrose yellow, spring green and pale shades of purple like a lilac branch. Effie’s ma and pa had stockpiled the stuff like they had ten kids instead of one. Either they planned on producing a shitload of offspring or they lived by the notion that even a newborn’s outfit was to be worn only once.

“Oh, haha! Look at these!” Effie had chuckled over by the couch, holding out a pair of the tiniest high heeled baby shoes you ever saw. White with black dots and red on the inside. “I forgot I even had them. Say what you will about me, Haymitch. I had style. Right from the very beginning.”

“Yeah, totally”, he said, cross-legged on the floor, surrounded by boxes. “But those Haute Couture diapers were a waste on you. You just soiled them 24-7.”

Effie chuckled and placed the little shoes back in the box. Reached for a soft pink hooded romper instead. Velvet, by the look of it. Patterned with raspberry colored hearts.

“My parents always knew they wanted to have children”, she said. “Especially my mother. She had this romantic scenario in her head that she would be blessed with a baby on her wedding night. Or maybe even more than one. Twins run in my family, did I ever tell you?”

“Noo. Really?”

She brushed the soft fabric against her cheek. “Mama was so disappointed when it didn’t happen at the drop of a hat. They ended up trying for years to get pregnant. You know, the old-fashioned way.”

“What other ways are there?”

Effie smiled.

“Well, I for one am an IVF baby.”

 “A what?”

“IVF. In vitro fertilization. Hospital procedure. They removed one of my mother’s eggs and mixed it together with my father’s sperm. So, unlike you or Katniss or Peeta I was first on a lil’ petri dish.”

Haymitch grinned.

“Created in a lab. I should have known.”

“Just the embryo, silly! Which was then implanted into my mother’s womb. I was carried and born like any other baby. Took a few tries though. Like … half a dozen eggs or so. My father’s juices weren’t too great. It drove my mother halfway up the wall. The hormone injections she had to take.”

“Yeah, well.” Haymitch gave a light shrug. “It was worth the wait.”

Effie looked up from the romper, an amused glint in her eyes.

“Is that your way of saying you feel fortunate to have me in your life?”

“Is there any other way to put it? The way I see it, I got a pretty decent deal out of it. Three for the price of one.”

Effie chuckled and tossed a pair of baby socks his way.

“You darling you.” She folded the romper neatly and placed it in the “let’s keep” pile on the couch. “So, what do we do with all this? I mean, some we can use but the rest? Do we give it away or …?”

“Nah, too cruel. I vote that we keep ‘em. As a memory. A timestamp. ‘Effs Trinket – The early years’.”

In the end though, even the things they did keep – they hardly ever used. Not only were the clothes hella impractical to get on and off. They were also a pain to wash correctly. Shrunk super easily – especially with Haymitch in charge – and 80 % of it had to be hand washed anyway, if you didn’t want the colors to bleed.

Annabel set the birthday cake on the garden table. The soft clink pulled Haymitch out of his reverie. Amy’s eyes landed on June and the one year old instantly held her arms out with a firm whine. The blonde woman’s face brightened and the little girl soon climbed from her mother’s arms and into her auntie June’s.

The sight pinched Haymitch’s chest, immediately bringing on a self-insult.

Grow up. What’s wrong with people lovin’ them?

Nothing. Nothing at all. But he couldn’t help it. It hurt. Hurt that his daughter’s first impulse was to go to June and not him.

Annabel’s wife may have a hard time dealing with him as of late but she adored his children. They both did.

Ian was still with Effie. His little fist keeping a firm grasp on one of her dress straps.

Haymitch ached to hold him. Hug the crap out of him and seek some comfort in his softness and warmth and sweet baby smell.

But Effie wouldn’t want him to. He knew without her saying it. She didn’t trust him with them yet. Not when he was still so hangover he couldn’t even stomach a slice of birthday cake without puking on the lawn.

He downed the last of his coffee. He was going to need a lot of the stuff to get him through today. All the while, ignoring how much better it would taste with a drop or three of hard liquor.

His eyes kept returning to June, holding his daughter. Annabel said something about “sugar dream cookies” and turned for the house but her wife hardly noticed, absorbed as she was by his little girl. She tickled her tummy and the child giggled and squirmed in her embrace.

It was all he could do not to yank his kid out of her arms and yell something like “Get your own!!”

Biting the inside of his cheek, he turned and poured himself some more coffee.

She’s not taunting me on purpose.

It wasn’t June’s fault that he was a stinking hot mess who couldn’t do a thing right. Not even when his kids had a birthday.

June and Annabel had been some of the first to ever meet the twins. Even before Katniss and Peeta. Annabel at the hospital. June, a few days later.

“Want me to bring you anything?” she asked over the phone and Effie said, quick as a flash:

“Coffee. Please, a bucket of it!”

Black. Just the way she liked it. Along with some homemade cheesecake, courtesy of June.

He remembered the way her eyes lit up like a Christmas tree seeing Amy and Ian, sound asleep against Effie’s bosom. That’s where the twins liked it best, especially since their so called father was still too freaked to hold them.

“Oh, I want two myself”, Annabel had smiled, her brown eyes shiny. “Two just like them.”

“Well, don’t look at me”, Haymitch said, stretched out on the hard leather couch. “This factory’s closed.”

Effie and Annabel exchanged a look and they both chuckled.

“That’s unfortunate”, the latter said.

They were just joking around of course. And lucky him. Because after everything the two ladies had done for his family, he’d be hard-pressed to refuse.

For some reason, he never gave it much thought at the time, but seeing June with Amy just now … It got him wondering.

Why didn’t June and Annabel have any children themselves?

Sure, you could be fond of kids and great with them and still choose to be child-free. Happy to be just “mom’s fun friend” – or “mom’s wacko friend” if you were say Johanna Mason.

But June and Annabel, they seemed like the type who’d want a baby of their own. And they’d been together for like forever.

In the districts, there were of course only two ways you could have a kid. Cum shot or adoption. But, as Effie’d told him, in the Capitol – things worked differently when it came to fertility and conception. And being in a same-sex relationship with no immediate sperm producer in the household didn’t make it that much harder either. Not if you had money.

People sold their semen for cash in the big city. The hospital even made ads about it, urging people to contribute. Hell, guys like Priapus took pride in having fathered half the nation one cup at a time – to hear him tell it at least. And if you had a few eggs to spare and wanted to trade them in for the latest handbag, you needed only book an appointment.

So if June and Annabel wanted to make an omelette, they had options.

Maybe they can’t have kids.

Annabel’s story earlier. Her struggles with food. Maybe starving herself had done something to her menstrual cycle? He was no expert. Far from it. But he remembered a conversation he overheard at the Hob once. Between old Cray and some other peacekeeper.

“At the end of the day”, the full-fledged bastard said, “what you want is a real skintight lass. The flow doesn’t go over barren land, if you know what I mean?”

As for June … He couldn’t say he knew a lot about the woman. She was no open book. Not with him and especially not lately. If anything, she was the quiet, observing type. A bit like himself, maybe.

The only really private piece of information he had about her came from someone else. Plutarch. Who never knew when to shut up.

Haymitch were out grocery shopping for a very pregnant Effie and ran into him on the way back. The man had just returned after a prolonged stay in District 7. Apparently they were shooting the pilot of some wildlife documentary that the former Head Gamemaker pitched for Capitol TV. The first of 12 planned episodes. One season per district, starting in the vast woodlands with its mountain lions and coyotes and river otters. Haymitch remembered because of how much the whole project would have annoyed Johanna.

“Panem et Circenses”, Plutarch said with a land out like Whatcha gonna do? “We have to find new and exciting ways to entertain the audience. Now that the Hunger Games are a thing of the past.”

As for Effie, and her precarious situation – he knew all about it of course. Just like everyone else in town.

Haymitch, standing there in the heat with his full bags of soy milk and brussels sprouts, brown rice and melting ice cream just wanted to get the hell out of dodge but there was no stopping Plutarch Heavensbee once he got going. That man sure loved the sound of his own voice.

“… and ah, yes the Summers. Good people. All of them. I’m friends with her father”, he said. “Great polo player! A real blue-ribbon champion during his time at the University. Shame what happened to his family! Such a tragedy! They wanted a second child, you see. A boy this time. So badly. And when they were finally blessed with another pregnancy, his wife suffered a late-term miscarriage when June was about 16. Little Otho Summer Jr. Oh! An awful, bloody affair. Then some emergency surgery and … that’s that. No more children. Poor man. Was never the same.”

Complications during pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum were not uncommon back in Twelve. Before the war. Especially among the starving families of the Seam. Thank God they had Sae and Tessa Everdeen but even in their expert hands mothers and babies were lost during Snow’s long reign.

“It’s a gamble at best”, Chaff once said, when they got to talking about it. “Not a month goes by in Eleven without us hearing the hammer blows of a coffin being made. A coffin meant for two.”

Haymitch remembered this one family. A young girl who broke off her engagement after her ma went through a really bloody labor, stretching out over three whole days. In the end, Sae managed to save both mother and child but the damage was already done.

Now, he saw no reason worth shit why you’d ever want to get married and have kids in a place like Twelve in a world like Snow’s. Some agreed with him on that note. Others didn’t. In this young woman’s case there was definitely a “before” and “after”.

Sae even had a name for it.

Tokophobia. Morbid fear of childbirth.

Maybe that was the case with June?

“Would you look at that”, Effie whispered, cheek against Ian’s temple. The words pulled Haymitch out of his depressing thoughts for a second time.

His son and baby mama were admiring Annabel’s cake.

“With a teddy for a candle”, Effie smiled and kissed the top of his head. “Just like Little Bear in the bedtime story we read at night. You remember Little Bear, my darling? But oh, we forgot the matches! You can’t blow the candle out and make a wish if not first we light it. Come baby, let’s set you down for a bit while I go look for them. Want to play with your letter blocks?”

She settled their son on the picnic blanket. The one under the apple tree. Kissed his soft, downy head a second time and turned for the house. Squeezed Annabel’s shoulder in passing when the brunette re-appeared with the plate of cookies and a jug of water and cucumber slices.

Haymitch watched as Effie bounded up the front steps and was gone.

She’s stressed out of her mind.

No question about it. She hid it but he could always tell. Recognized that stiff upper lip from the Games, covered behind bright smiles and weird exclamations like “You two are in for a treat! Crystal chandeliers, platinum doorknobs.”

As if the Games weren’t bad enough. With Haymitch Abernathy on your “team”, Effie had her work cut out for her. Because of him, her attention was constantly split. Pretty much since day one and especially in the last few years prior to Katniss and Peeta’s Games.

Her mind was in a constant state of, “Time to get them both on the train and where’s Haymitch? How many drinks has he had?” or “Let’s get these children ready for their interviews and where’s Haymitch? How drunk is he now?”

Yeah, he was little more than added stress on her shoulders.

Same thing now.

But I’m not drunk today. Haven’t had a drink since last night. What’s she thinking I’m gon’ do? Get wasted right in front of my kids?

He thrust the thought from his mind. He had exactly zero right to be annoyed today.

Instead, his gaze went to Ian sitting by himself on the blanket. Haymitch set his cup on an empty spot on the garden table and turned for June. June and Amy.

“Mind if I take a balloon? For the kid. I don’t know how to work that thing.” He nodded toward the container.

June eyed him with those green orbs, then nodded.

“Sure. Help yourself.”

With no knife at his disposal, June’s killer double knots were a challenge. Ian watched his struggles and each time the branches rustled overhead, a giggle rose from under it.

Haymitch allowed himself a small smile.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Laugh at your old man.”

He worked the knot loose and extricated the balloon from the tree. Orange. Like Effie’s hair. Once upon a long time ago.

“Here. Got something for ya.”

He crouched before his son, keeping a firm hold on the end of the string. But he was a little too quick about it, wobbled and slumped back on his ass. Tiny black dots swam across his field of vision. Like specks of dust from a fire.

Ian’s round gray eyes followed his every move. Forcing his lips upward, Haymitch struggled to regain his balance. Swallowed a flood of saliva against the summersaults his stomach made.

Please. Not here. Not now.

Feeling the cool grass underneath his palm he breathed slowly through his nose. And he was in luck. For once. The nausea subsided. The ringing as well. His vision cleared, leaving him with goose bumps all over and stinging armpits.

With shaky hands he tied the balloon string around Ian’s wrist.

“There you go, sweetheart.”

The boy shook his arm eagerly. Gave a breathy grin when the balloon bobbed.

Haymitch caressed his hair. His chubby cheek. Reached for the silver baby rattle next, a old gift of Annabel’s, and struggled to his feet with the gracefulness of someone twice his age.

The rattle found a home in Amy’s hand. He gave her strawberry hair a soft caress, just like he did Ian. His eyes went to her auntie.

“I’ll get you a balloon too if you want. Or … maybe a coffee?”

The woman drew a deep sigh.

“Fine”, she said, slightly less up in arms.

Back at the table he poured another cup. Added some cream and sugar. Behind him the front door opened. Effie with the matches no doubt. He set the hot fragrant peace offering in June’s hand. Contemplated if he actually remembered all the verses of “Happy Birthday” when his gaze dropped to Ian again.

He had but ten seconds to see it before Effie did.

The sight closed his throat up, like someone actually kept a choke hold on him. His hand flew to his back pocket, confirming what his eyes were already telling him.

The hipflask.

In his son’s hands.

Ian’s chubby baby fingers grazed against the scratched silver surface while he explored the corked up lid with his mouth. Chewing on it like he did everything.

Haymitch’s feet were already moving but it was too late.

“No!” The shriek escaping Effie’s lips made them all start. She was by Ian’s side in a heartbeat. Pulled him from the ground so fast that Haymitch’s knot unravelled and the balloon floated into the sky. Up and gone.

The boy was bawling, startled by his mother’s sudden cry. Effie clutched him to her chest, holding the hipflask a meter away.

“You brought this to the party?” she spat at Haymitch. “How could you? Take this revolting thing away from the children this instant!”

[gudvina]

If you’re still taking requests, how about a one shot of Hayffie watching Katniss and Peeta’s kids for the day? I feel like we need more Hayffie fluff, and shenanigans can ensue of course :)

Soft life

Ship: Effie Trinket/Haymitch Abernathy

Fandom: Hunger Games

Genre: tooth-rotting fluff

Can be read on AO3!

It was still early afternoon when Haymitch woke up from his nap. He had fallen asleep on the couch of his living room, lulled by the gentle spring breeze that swirled in from the open window. He opened his eyes to meet a pair of grey orbs with a lemon-zest mane.

The girl was sitting on the floor with a colouring book and pastels in front of her, an amused smile on her face that strongly resembled her mother’s.

“Hi!” she quipped.

“Robin, what are you doing here?” he moved into a sitting position, groaning when he felt the twinge in his neck. It was a stupid question, anyway. He knew the answer already. The Mellark children had inherited from their parents the bad habit of invading his house, almost as if it was another part of their own. And it was mostly Effie’s fault; she never seemed to be able to say no.

“How silly you are! We came to keep you company, of course. Mommy and Daddy worry an awful looot about you and MaMaw being all alone.” the kid explained, agitating her hands in the air.

Robin was just shy of six and had taken almost completely after her father, preferring her colouring book to more adventurous activities. Everyone adored her, and many parents seemed to envy her sweet temperament.

Nothing could have prepared them for what was coming.

Just a few years prior, Robin started emulating Effie. With her thick District Twelve accent, she used words like “refined” and “preposterous”, developing a keen interest in fashion and intricate fabric designs. Surprisingly, Katniss and Peeta didn’t seem to mind having their own District Twelve diva, even going so far as indulging her wishes whenever it was possible.

“Can’t be too lonely, when it’s the two of us” he snorted, stretching just enough to shake away the tiredness.

The kid shrugged and resumed her activity, and from what he could see she was colouring an elaborate outfit. He deduced the book had been shipped from the Capitol; the trends were a lot more subdued now but still ridiculous to him.

He heard footsteps and looked up to see Effie, walking in with a little Arlow babbling in her arms. Two years old and rambunctious, the boy looked more like his mother than Katniss herself.

“Oh, Grandpapa woke up!” Effie cooed as she sat on the rocking chair, sitting Arlow on her lap. Her hair was tied in a ponytail, and she was wearing a light flowery dress that seemed to be fitting to the current season. Haymitch’s eyes softened as he watched her talk to the boy, making funny baby sounds, and moving her hands to tickle him.

“Grandpapa wonders why we can’t have a nice evening to ourselves, too” he smirked.

“Haymitch, don’t say these things in front of our grandbabies!”

“Babies? That girl will soon manage a clothing line, sweetheart”. He winked at Robin who beamed at his words.

“That she will, that she will!” Effie acquiesced with a proud smile on her face.

“MaMaw, do you think a floral motive would go well with a tartan?”

“A floral and tartan dress? That’s revolutionary darling, I’d wear it!”

“You’d wear a potato sack if pretty enough” he teased, watching as Arlow slowly fell asleep with his head on Effie’s chest. Lucky boy indeed.

“Robin, don’t listen to him, he knows nothing of fashion”.

“Is that why it’s MaMaw who buys your clothes?”

“No, MaMaw buys my clothes because I’m lazy”.

“And because you have no fashion sense”.

“Thank God for that, you’d have a stroke if I was the one setting trends. What would be left for you?”

Her eyes were narrowed into two slits, and he felt an otherworldly urge to kiss her pout away. He would have, sans Arlow and Robin. She seemed to have read his mind and her lips stretched into a smile, one of those only reserved for him.

He would have never thought this could be his life, and he certainly knew she would say the same. Sometimes it still seemed too good to be true. But they had lived together for years, now, and shared a bed every night without fail. Even when their demons screamed. Especially then.

Twelve had been good to them, even to Effie, despite all expectations. At first, it hadn’t been easy. She’d had to adapt to Twelve’s sensibilities and feel comfortable without her wigs and makeup to shield her from the world. And she still never went out without a scarf covering her hair, he and the children were the only ones allowed to see her real hair, the only ones she could be her true self with.

Not everyone had welcomed her with open arms when she’d come, but slowly that worked itself out as well.

If he’d been told this would be his life, a life where he was free, where he and Effie could simply be without problems, he would have probably laughed. Maybe even mocked. It would have been the response of a man who had no hope, it would have been fitting.

Things changed, he mused. Their life now was walks in the meadow, trips to the Hob where they’d bicker about what to buy or not, swims at the lake during warm summer days, and dozing off under the shade of a tree. It was feeding the geese, helping Peeta at the bakery, or accompanying Katniss on her hunting trips.

They had the children, and now Robin and Arlow too. It was a soft life. It was good.

[everlarkedalways]

✺THG Series Exploration: Catching Fire✺

30: We close out this month and Catching Fire with all the headcanon posts and thoughts. Today's image is of rye bread because Rye will always be a Mellark brother. 🥰 Tag me in your posts!

[ao3feed-everlark]

Cheeks

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/7sH69hC

by dandelionlovesyou

Anon prompt from PromptsEvelark: A cheek kiss that missed. Young children!Everlark. Six-year-old Peeta Mellark has a dilemma -- he kissed his best friend, Katniss Everdeen, on the lips! What is a young one supposed to do?

P.S. The Hunger Games Series belongs to Suzanne Collins.

Words: 2228, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins, Hunger Games Series - All Media Types

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/M

Characters: Peeta Mellark, Katniss Everdeen

Relationships: Katniss Everdeen/Peeta Mellark

Additional Tags: Implied Hayffie, Children!Everlark, Six-year-old dilemma with a kiss, Our baby boy Peeta panicked

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/7sH69hC

[captainseaweedbrains]

Do you like Hayffie?

Do you like them as a individual too? Or what factor made you think they are suit each other as a ship.

(Please tag others who like hayffie too, thank you so much😊)

@curiousnonny

This is an interesting question!

I like the concept of them because they tie so well into the found family trope, which is one of my favorites. I love the idea of them being pseudo parents for Katniss and Peeta, especially in Catching Fire. I like to imagine them growing closer to one another as the post-years go by, proudly watching Katniss and Peeta grow back together, have a toasting, have babies. It's always been a headcanon of mine that both feel somewhat obligated to protect "their kids."

I ship them in the movies. I think they are definitely sleeping together on and off during the movies franchise. I got excited when they actually kissed in MJ Pt. 2 because I was not expecting it! So I'm definitely a movie!Hayffie fan.

But their book counterparts are very different people. For one, Haymitch is far more drunk and grungier and definitely suffers severely from PTSD. So I imagine any form of sexual interest is a moot point due to alcohol and trauma. Then you have Effie who is more prim and proper and definitely repulsed by him repeatedly in the series and I do not see her moving past that unless Haymitch cleaned up his act sort of thing. But a headcanon I carry, though, is that Haymitch was one of the people fighting for her safety when she was taken by the Capitol. I also believe Effie was privy to some of the rebellion things, but not all. There's no way she wouldn't have noticed certain things. She's not stupid.

As for them as characters:

I love Effie. She is my favorite of the side characters and I truly hate that she is barely in Mockingjay (book). If the movie did anything right, it was keeping her and ditching the stylists. I know that took away the Coin is Sketchy AF message, but I don't care. I love Effie and was glad to know she was safe. Her dynamic with Katniss and Haymitch have definitely made me giggle (Like when Katniss apologizes for snapping at her), or how well intentioned she is with the pearls comment. I love how Collins shows us that people are complex, and that even though Effie is enforcing the system and seeks to rise in it, she still is fond of Katniss and Peeta and eventually grows to wanting the best for them (Though this is probably more the movie at this point. Elizabeth Banks is my Effie now). I don't know. She fascinates and entertains me. I wish I had more reason to write her because her crazy fashion and belief in propriety (While still participating in a televised death match) are hilarious.

As for Haymitch, I do love him as a character, and find him super interesting, but I don't feel anything strongly toward him as a character alone. His interactions with Katniss are my favorites, though. So even though he's the Worst because of his own baggage, I do love him being there for her and that she seeks him out while also wants to murder him.

TL;DR: I do ship them, but more platonically in canon (found family!!). I have played with them being sexual partners and nothing more, though. Love Effie and think the movies did her justice (She literally has a butterfly outfit I'd straight up wear) with fleshing her out. Haymitch is an awesome character and plays well off the other characters.

Thanks for asking!

[flutteringphalanges]

Hey! Just wanted to tell you something I’ve been thinking for years but for some reason never wrote in any of my guest reviews back in the day.

I’m one of your long time followers from the hunger games era when you wrote hayffie fics. I read one of them that I now for the life of me can’t remember the name of. But your hayffie baby was named Olive. (One of the best names in the fandom by the way!) Was it called Of perfume, liquor and baby bottles??

Oh well, anyway: I’ve read A LOT of hayffie fics ever since I joined back in 2012 and while a lot of them were great and some really really great I think none of us, including myself, has nailed Haymitch and Effie’s characters, writing them exactly the way Suzanne Collins did in her books.

It’s just like no matter how great an artist is no one can’t quite copy Mona Lisa exactly the way da Vinci painted her. But out of all the hayffie authors out there that I’ve read, the one who gets closest to writing Hayffie like Suzanne did is you in that fic. Especially your Haymitch is INCREDIBLY IC. I was absolutely floored by how well you wrote him, so hats off to you, my friend!

I know it’s many years since you moved on to other fandoms and you probably won’t write anymore hayffie (sadly for us 😉) but I thought I’d share this with you instead of keeping it a secret cause I think you’ll enjoy hearing it. :)

I am literally at a loss for words. I've re-read this so many times. This was the sweetest thing anyone has said to me in a long time. Like best Chistmukkah gift (I celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas so I combine the two lol) ever! Thank you a billion times over! And yes! The story you are talking about is Of Perfume, Liquor, and Baby Bottles! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! It was my favorite story to write out of every fanfic I've ever published since posting stories on the interwebs back in 2008. This message made my day so thank you a billion times over! I'm hoping to one day maybe write for Hayffie again (I can’t say for certain when), if the inspiration finds me, and if/when I do, I hope I can still do the dynamic duo some well deserved justice. Thank you so, so, soooo much again for your kind words! Happy holidays!

[fuckingpoetry]

Hi! I'm a big fan of your works, "if walls could talk" is one of my favorite fics ever and I could read it over and over again. I love it so much, I love how you wrote every character, not just hayffie. I really love your writing style and was wondering if you take any request? It's ok if you don't, I completely understand.

thank you so much!! if walls could talk is my baby so hearing that people enjoy reading it makes me incredibly happy! i really do appreciate every comment or ask or any type of feedback in general 🫶🏼

as for requests, generally i'm always open for new ideas and i'd love to receive prompts! just a heads up that i will probably not write anything that's completely AU anytime soon. but if it somewhat could fit into canon then i'm all ears 👀

[ao3feed-hayffie]

The Beginning (Everlark - post Mockingjay)

by SakuraSisters

Katniss and Peeta after 4 years are still trying to get back to the somewhat normal people they were before the games, except they're doing it together. All is well until Katniss finds something out that causes her to spiral yet again, and no one can figure out how to help.

Words: 3826, Chapters: 3/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, The Hunger Games (Movies)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/M

Characters: Katniss Everdeen, Peeta Mellark, Haymitch Abernathy, Effie Trinket

Relationships: Katniss Everdeen/Peeta Mellark, Haymitch Abernathy/Effie Trinket

Additional Tags: Post Mockingjay, Pre Epilogue, lead up to epilogue, Pregnancy, Katniss is Pregnant, katniss is a hormonal rat, i want peeta mellark, peeta mellarks baking, Hayffie, hayffie for the win, everlark for the bigger win, Victors Village, Hunting, katniss can back off, peeta is mine, i will have peetas babies

Read this story on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/oUs2kQB