Ficlet: Finnick and Johanna and Plutarch

[kawuli]

“Her?” Finnick asks, “Seriously?”

Plutarch gives them what Johanna thinks of as his snake-smile, the one that’s only funny if you’re in on the joke. “She may not seem like much...”

“Ha,” Johanna says, not quite under her breath.

“But she’s got the whole country talking,” he goes on, with barely a glance in Johanna’s direction. “We can capitalize on that.”

“Snow’s got her pretty well neutralized already,” Finnick says, thoughtfully. “Couple years and she’ll be too Capitol for the districts to care about.” His voice is calm, impersonal, but his hand tightens on the back of his neck like he’s working out a knot.

Plutarch’s smile just gets wider. “Then we can’t wait a couple years,” he says. “I’ve got a plan.”

Johanna raises an eyebrow. She doesn’t trust him, he’s Capitol for all he stands out in plain black suits, no frills or feathers for the new Head Gamemaker. More than that, he’s been pushing levers to control the Games for long enough he sometimes acts like people are just the same. Like he can hit a button on a fancy console and have a revolution instead of an avalanche.

They’re all tributes in Plutarch’s Games, really, and Johanna won’t pretend to like it, but as long as there’s the smallest chance she’ll get to put an ax in the President’s fucking head, she’ll play.

(inspired by the pic on trovia's tumblr)

Comments

[lorata.livejournal.com]

More than that, he’s been pushing levers to control the Games for long enough he sometimes acts like people are just the same. Like he can hit a button on a fancy console and have a revolution instead of an avalanche.

Ha.

[kawuli.livejournal.com]

fucking Plutarch.

[roguedemon.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that sums him up really well.

[kawuli.livejournal.com]

My phone autocorrect suggests Plutarch when I type "fucking."

[roguedemon.livejournal.com]

Nice one -- I appreciate anything that looks at the way that the rebellion had to be organizing behind the scenes for years before Katniss, and I like seeing smart victors being smart. ;) I do tend to go with the headcanon that Snow was the one that pushed for the victor games and Plutarch had to just roll with it, as was implied in the books. The odds of them being able to control the outcome in the Arena were so astronomical, and I tend to think that Plutarch and everyone else would have understood that. But I can see why they had Plutarch come up with the idea for the Victor games in the movies, as it was a way to make him look more involved...it just doesn't stand up to logic. Neither does the idea that Plutarch was manipulating Katniss all along in a bid to have her kill Snow -- how could you possibly account for all the variables? -- and it takes away the little bit of agency Katniss actually managed to retain in Mockingjay.

But anyway, nice ficlet -- I am always up for Finnick and Jo being BFFs and using their brains together. :) I'm Nell/princess-nell on AO3/Tumblr, btw. (No, it's not a disney reference ;))

[kawuli.livejournal.com]

Thanks, and hi :)

Yeah, I love the behind the scenes plotting stuff. I'm working on a thing about some of the non-Victors working behind the scenes in 6 and 9, and thinking about doing a Jo and Finnick centered one with the Victors, if I can sort out the plot...

Re the QQ, I could see it either way: on the one hand, you're right, it's hard to control once they're in the Arena. On the other hand, Plutarch is just arrogant enough I could believe he thinks he can control everything.

(this is what I mean when I say I have to sort out the plot before I can write the thing)

[lorata.livejournal.com]

When your plan is "literally everyone else involved flings themselves in front of fatal things to get her out alive" at least the variables decrease...

[sabaceanbabe.livejournal.com]

Excellent drabble involving two of my favorite characters. \o/ I love your characterization of Johanna here. Perfect.

[kawuli.livejournal.com]

Johanna is my favorite character from canon I think (well, and Lyme, but the Lyme that is my favorite is baaaaaasically lorataprose's OC)

I finally figured out how to write her, and it makes me really happy (even though basically everything with her in it is awful, thanks canon). I definitely want to write more of her and Finnick being BFFs and plotting revolutions >>