Little Miss Mionie's Recs: Messenger by Annwyd (Katniss/Peeta, Post MJ)

I have a real love for post-Mockingjay fanfiction – it’s the type I actively sought out to read. It’s like I need to know that Katniss and Peeta are going to be all right (although I am quite aware they’d still be a little screwed up after all the went through.) My adoration for Post-MJ fics inspired me to even write my own THG fanfic. So, needless to say, when I read a fanfiction in this genre, I’m praying it will be just what I have been yearning to read.

Messenger by Annwyd is exactly that.

Summary: In the months before their daughter's birth, Katniss and Peeta travel to the Capitol.

Messenger is currently one of two fanfics in the author’s personal fanon timeline/fanverse called Iris. It follows Katniss and Peeta finding out that Katniss is suddenly allowed to visit any district, even the Capitol, just as it’s become public knowledge that she’s pregnant with their first child.

Our beloved characters are placed in a familiar situation – the Capitol wanting them to play by their rules. I think the plot is a realistic look at what might have happened when Katniss and Peeta finally had children; I don’t doubt that because of their involvement in the rebellion that they would have received some unwanted media attention. This familiarity, though, isn’t something the characters should just complain about: I think the author shows a perfect representation of what this type of resurfacing manipulation would do to them.

I look askance at both of them. When there's no reply, I raise my voice. "You're telling me. Now."



Haymitch sets his hands on the table; there is no flask of liquor in either of them. He's serious now. "It's been more than a decade and a half since the Revolution," he says. "The government is starting to worry that people will forget why it's the right one. People do that. Governments get worried about it." He looks, for a moment, like he wishes he did have some liquor on him, or in him. "Remember how people felt about your imaginary kid? Think how they'll react to your real one."



Peeta nods unhappily. I stare at the two of them, not quite comprehending yet.



"You take it from there, father-to-be," Haymitch tells Peeta.



"They want to use us again," Peeta says quietly.



That's when it clicks. I don't need to say anything; I just recoil in my seat. I'm going to be sick--yes, I really am going to be sick.

Messenger is one-shot in Katniss’ point of view – and frankly, it’s annwyd’s perfect characterization of her that really makes this fic – and is what blew me away. Years on, she’s still very much the girl that we, much like Peeta, all love and admire.

"I'm not the pretty Mockingjay anymore, Plutarch," I say. "The burn scars didn't just vanish."


It’s a very touching fanfiction that takes what we loved best from the book series– Peeta’s loyalty, Haymitch’s dry remarks, Effie’s naivety, and Katniss’ strength. Memories of Cinna, Prim, and even Katniss’ fractured relationship with her mother have been stitched seamlessly and heartbreakingly throughout the fic.

"Cinna," she says. "His name was Cinna."



I can't say anything, myself. Instead, I start to cry. Those hormones again, I'm sure. But it's just too much. The dead are everywhere among the living. Finnick in Aisin's face, Prim in my mother's garden, Cinna in Leda's style. I will never get away from them. But a part of me doesn't want to.



There's something both apologetic and satisfied in Leda's expression.

"He meant a lot to you, didn't he?"



"Yes," I say as I gain control over my tears. "They all did."

Annwyd has a great mastery of dialogue between all of the characters in this story, and balances emotive language with short, sharp sentences to emphasized Katniss’s impassioned tone in regards to her child and how she herself has been treated in her life. I personally think that some fics take the “Katniss-didn’t-want-kids-EVER!” idea a bit too far; Messenger shows a Katniss who has matured and grown in a relationship where she wants a child, and what’s best for her.

Messenger is a truly emotive piece of writing not to be missed for those who enjoyed the end to the series. The title is apt, as is the name “Iris” for the timeline; and the last line is killer perfection. 

PS. If you're wanting to find some fellow K/P lovers, or some other fanfic recs, check out loavesofbread.livejournal.com! It's a super cute comm that I like to stalk for recs/stare at its prettiness...and the mods are lovely, too!

~ Little Miss Mionie