#mockingjay between the lines

[triassictriserratops]

my two favorite Peeta Mellark moments are ones that aren't explicitly confirmed by the text, but GOD do they live in my head rent free because of what they could tell us about Peeta and his headspace post hijacking with regards to his feelings about, and devotion to, Katniss. 1.) peeta being caught in flames of the same firebomb that burned katniss. we know for certain that peeta did make it to the City Circle

and, given the severity of Peeta's burns and the way in which they mimic Katniss' - i believe Peeta was able to follow behind close enough to stay within sight of her. I believe that he was close enough to see the initial bomb go down, see katniss yelling after prim, and have just enough time to make it to katniss before getting hit with the flames face first (throwing his hands up to protect himself.)

so, in the end, just as they started their journey of "the girl who was on fire" and "the boy with the bread" on that chariot to the City Circle - they ended it the same way. Together and covered in flames. 2.) tucking Katniss into bed after her breakdown with Buttercup.

we see the breakdown happen in the living room, where she passes out, and we also see that hours later she wakes up in her own bed with Buttercup next to her.

i have always believed that Peeta heard the the breakdown and the yelling, and, just as he always did for her nightmares, he came to check on her. Finding her passed out on the floor of her living room, he carried her up to her bedroom and puts her to bed.

[lokisgoodgirl]

loki stuffing your panties into ur mouth to keep u quiet while fucking u in the empty throne room !!!

Don't mind if I do. 😎🩲 Ps. I HC that Asgardians don't really do underwear, so we have something else instead.🧤

Throne

Warnings: Smut/ Soft dom! King! Loki/ Gagging/ Breeding kink elements. I've been off work this afternoon so rattled this out, apols for any snaffoos - I'm in a bubbly mood today so fancied some filth. w/c 750 A link to my masterlist is here

Loki’s angular face is all sharpness and shadows in the gloom of a hundred torches lining the wall.

“Closer,” he orders, and you obey. Your eyes flicker penitently from the floor, pinning on his as you climb the steps. His leather-gloved fingers toy leisurely with the strap around his hips; the pop of metal buttons echoing. Everyone else is at the feast, and the throne room has never looked more beautiful: like a glittering, golden tomb. This isn’t what you expected when the king slipped you a note in the great hall – but now you’re here, you can’t imagine it being anything else.

“Closer,” he says again.

One corner of his mouth curls. You gasp as he reaches out, pulling you to his lap in one harsh movement and the iron meat of his bound cock slams against your clit. Loki’s hands run covetously up your thighs, pushing the chiffon dress around your hips. “Ore and blood,” he breathes, slipping a finger between your folds and thrumming against your clit. "I've wanted you all night. Hel's fire, you have no conception of how much." A strangled moan scrapes from your throat, and immediately the free hand not making lazy circles on your cunt is pressed to your mouth. “Quiet,” he warns gruffly. The god’s hair is glossy in torchlight; tangled with a sheen like magpie wings. He tilts his head, eyes narrowing. “Use your hands. Quickly.” You grasp against his crotch, sliding a hand inside his leathers and curling around what lies within. Your eyes widen, and Loki’s amused expression twists to pleasure as your grip tightens. He's as hard as the marble pillars. “Gods, how I’ve wanted this,” he says breathlessly as you shift up and hover over the tip. “Say it?” you beg, brushing the head of his legendary cock against your slit. “Please…”

Pearls of sweat glisten on Loki’s forehead, and he looks up beneath those dark lashes, his bottom teeth jutting forward as he tries to restrain himself from thrusting into you like the sexual beast he is. “I command you to fuck the king, as you were born to do,” he drawls with all the regal arrogance you’d requested. Your slippery pussy edges down the god’s length, meeting the root with a filthy growl from his throat. Loki’s hands fly to the arms of the throne, and you’re sure his knuckles are whitening beneath those slutty leather gloves as you begin to rock against him. Your groans sound like music in the empty hall; bouncing between pillars of marble like mockingjay song. “Quiet,” he grits, brows peaking. “You’ll alert…a-alert the guards.” You tighten around his cock in response and give an insolent, echoing whine of pleasure. Without another word Loki brings his hands together and peels one tight, leather glove in front of your face. You follow his movements as he plucks the tips of his fingers: one, by one, by one. “Don’t…fucking…stop,” he enunciates slowly – and a thrill of dangerous desire swells in your lower belly. His face is clouded with manufactured disdain as you moan again, squeezing around the fat, sensitive tip before sinking to the base with a rattle of his name.

It’s interrupted by Loki’s fingers flying to your jaw; stuffing the leather glove inside your open mouth. You choke on nothing, eyes wide and cunt throbbing.

“There. The perfect angle for me to fuck you full of myself: here where you belong…me on my throne, and you on yours.” Loki’s eyes blaze as his grip moves to your ass, pulling you flush to his chest; buried against your cleavage and thrusting so deep you think you might shatter. “When the king tells you to keep your voice down, he means it,” Loki whispers hot in your ear. He releases a disgustingly gravelled rasp of pleasure as his one gloveless hand tangles in your hair. It pulls gently while the other guides your hips: leather sticking to the sweat misting your skin.

A muffled moan of understand is all you can muster as Loki’s cock stretches you; his pubic hair tugging your clit; an orgasm so powerful welling between your thighs you could swear the throne was trembling. The leather stuffed between your lips tastes warm; oak-birch undertones of his natural scent making you dizzy. Even if you both screamed your orgasms to the old gods, the guards won’t come, they know better than that. And he knows it, too.

“Where better for my glorious wife to conceive a future king than on my throne,” Loki growls, his voice beginning to break as it comes undone. His mind, too. And as he does, unhinged and bucking everything he has inside your heat – so do you.

The glove isn’t enough to stifle the cry of his name in your throat - it never is.

-----

👑❤️x Tags in comments as per.

[tempestandwhirlwinds]

SPOILERS FOR SUNRISE ON THE REAPING (long post)

One major thing that surprised me about this book was how involved and active the rebels were in Haymitch's games. They clearly weren't incredibly organized yet, but they had plenty of smart people in their numbers (Beetee, Mags, Plutarch, etc) who were bold enough to try interfering directly with the Hunger Games arena. But despite all this, the sparks from the rebellion never caught fire (despite Haymitch's token), even though Haymitch and his allies did WAY more outright rebellious things in his game then Katniss did in hers (blowing up the arena, killing gamekeepers). So why didn't the rebellion start with him, and why wasn't he the "mockingjay"?

Here are my theories as to why in no particular order:

1. Haymitch betrayed his rebel spirit to Snow BEFORE the games started (making Snow 'claim' Louelle's death after the parade) which made him a clear and obvious target for Snow to focus on.

2. Once Snow started paying attention to Haymitch, he clearly saw some similarities between Haymitch's relationship with Lenore Dove and his own with Lucy Gray (that whole conversation they had at the Heavensbee manor). We know now for sure that Snow was haunted by Lucy Gray throughout the rest of his life (💅), and any reference to his lost "love" who betrayed him makes him a bit trigger happy, to say the least. Which means that-

3. Snow clearly paid VERY close attention to what was happening in the arena, to make sure he could punish Haymitch for any rebellious actions or censor them from the footage. This is the critical piece here. Snow knew the power of televised rebellion (the stunt with the Panem flag covering the corpses as a way to hold the Capitol accountable in Lucy Gray's games was a big one), and Haymitch had already demonstrated a similar sentiment in the parade. Because of this, it's clear to see that he had an EXTREMELY heavy hand in the games - he sent the (poisoned?) milk directly to Haymitch, and he heavily censored and manipulated the footage to remove any traces of deliberate rebellion and district solidarity, changing the narrative of Haymitch's games completely.

4. Because Snow was able to prevent the Capitol and the Districts from seeing the rebellious acts (or doctoring a propaganda film of the games that erases ppls memories of the actual events), Snow was able to neutralize Haymitch and the rebellion before it could spread past the arena. And his brutal punishment of Haymitch after the games only served to guarantee that Haymitch wouldn't step out of line again, removing the possibility of Haymitch being the face of the rebellion after Snow has taught him what will happen to those Haymitch cares about.

This led me to the next question: how was Katniss able to spark the rebellion and become the "mockingjay"?

Here are my thoughts:

1. Snow was clearly past his prime by the 74/75 Hunger Games, relying on his reputation of fear and control to keep people in line instead of continuously poisoning people outright. This may be because his body can't handle the poison as much anymore, or because he's slowly dying, but the scene we see in SOTR with Snow vomiting poison (and being unbothered by Haymitch witnessing it), combined with the fact that we don't see Snow as anything less than perfectly presentable in the Trilogy, shows how his older self is reaping the reward of fear and control that his younger self set the pave stones for with all the poisoning. By the time Katniss' games come around, he's like a lazy CEO who has everyone else and his reputation doing the work for him. He only starts picking up the slack once egregious mistakes start being made and his position at the Capitol becomes less stable with the rise of the Rebellion. Crucially, he was less involved in Katniss' games than he was in Haymitchs.

2. Katniss clearly wasn't trying to be a rebel in either of her games, unlike Haymitch, and Katniss and Snow were so similar (survivor's at heart) that Snow wasn't worried about rebellion from her at all. He wouldn't have liked her winning, obviously (Lucy Gray the icon that you are) and he would've been sneering over the star-crossed lovers angle, as he's absolutely certain that self-preservation will always prevail over love. After all, that's the same dilemma that happened between him and Lucy Gray, and they both chose self-preservation over each other!

3. I would bet money that Snow was fairly hands off during the 74th Hunger games, with the exception of the two-victors-from-the-same-district rule. Knowing what we know now about how Snow handled Haymitch and Lenore Dove, he would've been itching for a recreation of "killing the one you love" situation between Katniss and Peeta, the same way that it happened between him and Lucy Gray and Haymitch and Lenore Dove. He didn't believe that Katniss and Peeta were in love, but he also very sincerely believed the foundations of love crumple to nothing when someone's life is on the line - and he had to believe that, bc that would mean that he killed(?) Lucy Gray for no reason at all.

4. When Katniss teamed up with Rue, their alliance was so clearly different from the careers' in a way that was dangerous for the Capitol - it showed genuine comradery between districts. With the Careers alliances, there's no threat because they all turn at each other at the end (furthering the 'Disticts are subhuman/animal/inferior' perception with the Capitol), but Katniss very visibly treated Prim like a sister. Katniss showed that the Districts were family. This portrayal could not be allowed to continue. This was the first spark to the fire.

5. When Rue was killed, the cameras almost certainly lingered on her so they could capture her dismissively walking away from the body (because everyone is out for themselves, after all) but instead, they capture Katniss grieving and giving Rue a clear funeral in the only way she can - transforming Rue from a number and a bet into a dead girl and a child to be mourned. This is the clear moment that sparks the rebellion and keeps it aflame. Snow clearly didn't expect Katniss to do this, and was unable to avert the cameras in time. The rebellion is past the arena now.

6. This, I believe, is the moment where Snow tried to punish her and work some damage control. He implemented the 2 Victors rule as a bait and switch, to prove to himself and the Districts that even if Katniss will care and protect someone else, she will still choose herself, even if it means that she has to kill someone from her district. This, obviously, would make her a pariah back at home (tributes from the same district killing each other was confirmed to be social suicide in the first HG book) and squash out the face of the rebellion before it could spread.

7. But, of course, Katniss didn't do this and stepped out of the rules of his little "checkmate" entirely, which left Snow in a VERY sticky situation. Either they both died (showing the Districts that the Games are truly just a fancy way to murder their children, without the fame of the victor to distract from it) or they both lived (showing that 2 teenagers are able to hold power over the Capitol itself). Either way, the Capitol doesn't look good and, most importantly, it proves Snow wrong about his perception of humanity. Some people do choose love over survival - even the most brutal of survivalists like Katniss - and that is just too much for Snow to handle. No wonder he's obsessed with Katniss for the rest of the Trilogy, desperate to prove himself right after sixty plus years of the blood on his hands justifying his belief in people being inherently violent and selfish.

TLDR/In conclusion? Haymitch had a little too much boldness and a little too much bad luck, while Katniss had an overwhelming amount of love and loyalty within her, decades of people consoldiating for rebellion behind her, and just enough luck to truly spark the flame of rebellion and keep it lit until it burned the Capitol to the ground. Suzanne Collin's entire story focuses on strength of the power of the many, but how even then, there still needs to be a person to rally behind. This person, this symbol of resistance, can never be the person you want, only the person you need. You just gotta hope the stars align enough to make that person step forward and lead us to victory.

Suzanne Collins, the author that you are.

[msmarvelwitch]

spoilers for sunrise on the reaping

Listen, as someone who shamelessly loves fan service I was surprised Suzanne Collins gave us any breadcrumbs at all but I was more than thrilled she got it out of the way in the first few chapters. To me it sent a message that while, yes, a lot of the fan theories were cannon after all, it wasn’t what this story was going to be about. This is very much a story about finding, losing, and regaining hope even when the cards are stacked against you. This is very plainly pointed out by Plutarch being able to spin the narrative and Wyatt constantly remarking on the odds of their situation. I think the direct parallels between Katniss and Haymitch’s life also underline the fact that there was nothing more special about Katniss than the rest of the victors - she just had what they never did, which was good timing.

I think the real tragedy of this story is that the rebellion movement was beginning well before Katniss was even alive. If the timing had been right, it would have been Haymitch that was the Mockingjay twenty five years before our story even begins. However, the victors failed. Whether it was due to Beetee’s obvious emotional investment in the planning. Or perhaps it underestimating the commitment of the Capitol to improve the Arena after Wiress embarrassed them in the prior year’s games. It doesn’t matter what particular thing prevented taking the arena down, at the end of the day they failed. Badly. And each of the victors paid a price for it. These prices sidelined them for years - decades for Haymitch at the very least.

Not only did they have to live with the failure of their plan, they also had to what the Capitol grow stronger and somewhat more competent. What really struck me while reading this was the fact that even by the 50th Hunger Games, the Capitol still seems to not quite have its shit together. The train to the is noted to be a little shabby as if it’s an old subway car and the District 12 tributes even seem less than impressed by their living quarters during training. We know from Katniss and Peeta’s games that the conditions only “improve” for the tributes over the years. All of this is definitely to fatten the pigs before the slaughter, but I can’t imagine how disheartening it must have felt for the victors who could see the incompetence of the Capitol only becoming more efficient and powerful every year as more kids died. Not to mention that they had to guide those kids to their deaths under these conditions as well. No wonder they lost hope over the years and put their aspirations of freeing the Districts from the Capitol because who would know better about the human cost of this fight better than the victors? They all know that the cards are stacked against them and the odds aren’t in their favor, so they more or less fall in line.

Then comes Katniss. She instantly stirs Haymitch awake by reminding him of Louella, not to mention the fact of the emotional connection he has to her father. I think she eventually even reminds him of Maysilee by fighting back against Haymitch on the train after he immediately writes them off as two more kids doomed to die in the arena because he has seen it so many times before. Because Katniss and Peeta are no more different or special than any of the tributes that have come before them. I think the other victors no doubt were reminded of a young Haymitch once they saw Katniss in action during the games. She’s openly rebellious to the leaders before the game but instead of scoring low on their assessment as Haymitch did, she gets the top marks. She is protective of “weaker” contestants like Rue just as Haymitch tried his best to protect Louella, Ampert, and Wellie. I think it’s Rue’s death and Katniss taking the time to honor her before her body is whisked off by the Capitol and wakes everyone back up again. It’s not that Katniss is doing anything new or different than the people who came before her, she just reminded them of all the injustices they have endured for over fifty years. It’s a long list of people who not only died during the Hunger Games, but their loved ones who were killed to crush their hopes and kept them fearful. It just goes to the timing where everyone - the victors and the citizens of the Districts - have had enough and it opens up the door to hope again. Even though the Capitol is stronger than ever and the deck is stacked against them, they decide to screw the odds and fight back anyway.

Also, because of their failures, the victors are able to learn from their mistakes during the Second Quarter Quell. Nobody understands Katniss better than Haymitch and he knows that if she is informed on the rebel plans ahead of the 75th Games, their cover will be blown because she is not a natural liar or actress. As a result, she and Peeta are kept in the dark about the plot to take down the arena and I think this was critical to the success of the plot. I wish Haymitch’s epilogue gave us a bit more into the planning and scheming the victors did ahead of the games to make sure their plan didn’t completely fail again, but it’s safe to assume that Beetee, Wiress, and Mags also had their own learnings from their failed scheme that helped take down the arena and start a revolution twenty five years later.

Now I think the themes of going against the odds even when it’s hopeless are really plainly stated here but I think the similarities in Katniss and Haymitch’s stories aren’t just fan service but essential to the plot. Which I think given today’s political climate - particularly in the U.S. - is exactly the point Suzanne is trying to make. Now, I know there is a whole debate on TikTok on whether books are political…which is a a thing people truly believe these days. However, this series has always been political and I think the timing of both “A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” and “Sunrise on the Reaping” being released over ten years after this series has been completed is no accident. Similarly to Katniss not being the first person to experience the trauma of the games and being a target of Snow, everything happening today in the U.S. is not the first time or place where something like this has happened. I think this story is meant to encourage people to keep their hope even when it feels futile and naive.

[cashmeresglimmer]

*SPOILERS FROM AN EXTRACT OF CHAPTER 1 OF SUNRISE ON THE REAPING*

Haymitch's birthday is reaping day. Haymitch's 16th birthday is the day he's selected as a tribute. He spent every birthday between 16 and 41 being forced to 1 mentor two kids he knew had no hope of survival, and 2 to remember all those that he lost because he survived. The extra weight this adds to (book) Haymitch's outburst after Katniss volunteers.

Sid is so Prim coded, I want to eat glass.

Haymitch's dad also died in the mines like Katniss and Gale's fathers.

Each of them doing everything they can to help provide for their families. Katniss and Gale by hunting and going beyond the fence, Haymitch by doing any job he can.

Haymitch's mom working as a laundress like Hazel Hawthorne. Makes Haymitch taking Hazel in as his housekeeper (after the entire district essentially boycotts her after the peacekeepers whip Gale) hits so much harder. As much as it hurts me, it does make me wonder if he ever looked at Gale with Rory and Vick and thought of himself and Sid, especially since he shares a lot of physical features with Gale (the "seam" look, dark hair and skin, and grey eyes).

Haymitch and Katniss are truly the same side of the coin, we knew that from the original series but I'm so looking forward to delving into that more in this novel.

I betting that there's going to be a Sunrise on the reaping/Sid's wakeup call callback at the end and that it is going to hit so hard and shatter me into a million pieces.

For the above, I do have three scenarios in my head; 1 is that it's the morning of the 51st games and someone from the captiol comes to wake him and says a line about how it's sunrise and they have to get ready for the reaping or 2 we time jump to the morning of the reaping for the 74th games and Effie says something to that effect, or 3 Haymitch says it to himself on either the morning of the 51st or the 74th games as he drinks, or post mockingjay (in a similar style to the mockingjay epilogue).

Haymitch's love is called Lenore Dove. I'm interested to find out if she has any link to the covey as her first name is also the title of a poem by Edgar Allen Poe. The poem, from my reading, is about the death of a beautiful young woman, and her lover who hopes to reunite with in the afterlife.

"So don’t feed the nightmares. Don’t let yourself panic. Don’t give the Capitol that. They’ve taken enough already." I CANNOT WAIT TO DEVOUR THIS BOOK.

[katnissmellarkkk]

it’s kind of ironic and sweet in a miserable way that it’s katniss’ parents who hold haymitch down and sedate him when he’s inconsolable over his family’s death

“No! Let me go!” I fight to free myself, but I’m so out-numbered, still so weak from the long days of recovery, that I’m overpowered. “Let me go with them. Please!” But they don’t, they hold on to me tight. I lie there, sobbing, begging, calling for Ma and Sid, until no more sounds come out.

“Can you help him?” I hear Burdock ask.

A cool hand rests on my forehead. The scent of chamomile flowers. Asterid March’s face swims into view, pained but sur-prisingly calm. “Drink this, Haymitch.” She presses a small bottle to my lips. “Drink until I say when.” Despite my desperation, or perhaps because of it, I follow her orders. Sweetness fills my mouth, soothes my gullet. “One, two, three, four, five — okay, when.” She pulls away the bottle. Smooths back my hair. “That’s right. That’s good. Try to rest now.”

My eyelids become leaden. “What . . . ?”

“Just some sleep syrup.”

“Ma . . . Sid . . .”

“I know. I know. We’ll do what can be done. You go to sleep now. Sleep.” Dead to the world, I am, for over a day.

and then twenty five years later it’s haymitch who holds katniss and lets her be sedated when she’s inconsolable over peeta’s torture

Several sets of arms would embrace me. But in the end, the only person I truly want to comfort me is Haymitch, because he loves Peeta, too. I reach out for him and say something like his name and he’s there, holding me and patting my back. “It’s okay. It’ll be okay, sweetheart.” He sits me on a length of broken marble pillar and keeps an arm around me while I sob.

“I can’t do this anymore,” I say.

“I know,” he says.

“All I can think of is — what he’s going to do to Peeta — because I’m the Mockingjay!” I get out.

“I know.” Haymitch’s arm tightens around me.

“Did you see? How weird he acted? What are they — doing to him?” I’m gasping for air between sobs, but I manage one last phrase. “It’s my fault!” And then I cross some line into hysteria and there’s a needle in my arm and the world slips away.

It must be strong, whatever they shot into me, because it’s a full day before I come to.

[justafewberries]

not only is “peeta is useless” fundamentally untrue to katniss’s character:

“I do,” I say. “I need you.”

But from a basal level, Peeta represents something crucial to long-term survival:

That what I need to survive is not Gale's fire, kindled with rage and hatred. I have plenty of fire myself. What I need is the dandelion in the spring. The bright yellow that means rebirth instead of destruction. The promise that life can go on, no matter how bad our losses. That it can be good again. And only Peeta can give me that.

To unpack this, let’s explore the general symbolism of fire in a survival literature. Let’s turn to Lord of the Flies.

In Lord of the Flies, the fire is a motif used to symbolize the decay of the relationship between the survivors. At first, the fire is controlled. It is beneficial. It is a source of warmth, light, and community. They gather around the fire. They cook on the fire. Their hope for rescue resides in the fire.

When they fall out with one another, the fire grows out of control. It blazes beyond the camp. It destroys. It raises everything to ashes.

That is Peeta. Then that is Gale.

You do not need a complex understanding of The Hunger Games to read Katniss’s own words in the conclusion of Mockingjay. You do not even have to know that Peeta is a “whiz with fires”.

The most iconic line from the franchise provides enough context to understand this notion alone:

If we burn, you burn with us.

It is true that when the Capitol sets fires, it destroys the nation. However, the inverse is also true. With Gale’s uncontrolled fire, everything burns. Everything is destroyed.

There is no world in which Gale and Katniss successfully run off without Peeta. They could survive physically, but they would burn on each other’s fire. They would fuel each other until it became irreparable. Eventually, there would be no fuel left.

They needed Peeta. They both needed Peeta.

And you don’t have to have an in-depth understanding of Hunger Games lore and meta to understand this. Just an idea of what fire represents across media.

[atelierlili]

The Butterfly and the Ladybug

The Mockingjay (pin) and the Candy.

At first I thought the Butterfly and the Ladybug were suppose to represent the divide between the the Town (butterfly) and the Seam (Ladybug). Where one is seen more beautiful and seen compared to the other, but are in the same in which they are both insects useful for gardening.

But now with the Mockingjay and the candy, I think thing these promos are going in a different direction. I think we're getting the D12 tribute in the order that they're reaped. (Ladies first afterall) We are two weeks away from the release of book, just enough time to shed a spotlight on the remaining two tributes.

But that still leaves the questions of what these symbols mean for each tribute and why they are arranged this fashion.

As I stated before, Butterflies and Ladybugs are the same at the end of the day. They are both insects. If both symbols are made to represent a single tribute, then perhaps the dividing line between these symbols represent the false image the tribute puts forth for the games. Two sides of the same coin. This wouldn't be the first time Suzanne Collins flirted around with this type of dualism in the Hunger games. Additionally, I've seen people bring up the Cartwrights in response to the first image. It should be noted that both the Butter-fly and the Lady-bug are both insects which names comprised of two words of different meanings. Lady-bug in the particular makes me believe that this tribute maybe a merchant-seam child. And with the deep connection to gardening (Butterflies spread pollen and Ladybugs eats pests), the little sister Primrose Everdeen (and Rue) allusions are very strong.

This running theme of show image (illusion/propoganda) and reality is seen ever further in regards to Maysilee Donner. Who is most known in the series at the original owner of the Mockingjay pin. Until now, the only thing people have known of her were the symbolic to the resistence. But what do we really know of the girl with the pin? Her family runs the Sweetshop. ( I think, I'll let the Maysilee fans correct me if i'm wrong)

Where does that leave us now? If my theory is correct, next week we'll probably get the symbols associated with the Oddmaker. (Will he get the dice? that seems to on the nose.)

But what will Haymitch get? I think he's getting the Crow or the Raven. (maybe both) They are an intelligent bunch and it would tie in perfectly with the themes of birds vs snakes, that followed Katniss and Lucy Gray. Not to mention that Haymitch's lover is Lenore Dove :) Perhaps his true symbol would be a lovebird at the end of the day. </3

Anyway these are just my crazy delusional ramblings! I'm very excited for the new book! tune in next week to see if I was being deranged or not!

[highly-flammable]

What do you think Peeta is trying to say with the if I can grows wings I could fly after Katniss says it is good if he can start to identity the shiny memories as then he can figure out what is true? He then says mockingjays need wings to survive when she says real people don’t

This scene is a very subtle and tentative display of compassion between the characters.

Peeta at this point is starting to sort out some of his memories, but bear in mind that all he can do is separate the shiny ones from the ones that are not shiny. He cannot actually recover the memories which have been already tampered with, at least not by himself, and even if he is shown footage of those moments and told that the truth is different from what it feels like to him, the emotional consequences of his hijacking are still not wholly removed. All of this is to say that his mental state is extremely confused.

Katniss is trying to comfort him by offering him a simple solution, but his situation is actually not simple, and that is why he uses quiet sarcasm here. It’s like this, “Yeah, I can just sort out of the memories and learn what is true, the same way I can just grow wings and fly.” He is not being unkind towards her, but rather bleakly pointing out how unlikely it is that he will ever be able to fully understand and internalize what was true and what was not.

In response, Katniss gently tells him that people don’t need wings to survive. With this line she acknowledges that he is right and the task she spoke of like it was so simple might be impossible for Peeta, and he doesn’t have to do anything impossible to survive. It is okay that his perception of reality is a mess, it is okay that he is damaged, he can still live. (By the way, this is a big piece of development in their relationship, because as far as I remember this is the first time Katniss has been able to voice her acceptance for hijacked Peeta. This is her letting go of the near-perfect image of the old, resilient, strong Peeta, and acknowledging that Peeta is not gone, only changed, and whoever he is now, that is okay with her.)

But this kind of grace is hardly ever extended to Katniss herself. She had been turned into a symbol of revolution before she even knew it, and then she was paraded around, made to look like an inspiration and source of strength, pressured into compliance, even when she was traumatized and afraid and grieving. It is a deadly game for Katniss, with no out. She can either be the Mockingjay, or she will be destroyed.

Haunted, broken Peeta, even though he had been programmed to hate and fear her, has come to understand some of this as he tries to work out who Katniss truly is. This is perhaps especially because Coin has sent him to join Katniss’ squad. Confused as Peeta is, he is smart and likely has worked it out (especially after the psychotic break when he tried to kill Katniss roughly a day ago) that Coin actually wants her dead. He and the rest of the squad have also figured out that Katniss is lying about the mission for Snow’s assassination being sanctioned by Coin, that it is actually her personal mission. They understand, or at the very least Peeta understands, that this means Katniss knows her situation is dangerous enough that she cannot go back to anyone who can then hand her over to Coin. She feels like she herself has to end this and buy her freedom and safety through that Herculean feat. All in all, Katniss is immensely burdened. She cannot afford to be her authentic, flawed self, to be afraid or weak. She has to be a symbol of strength and hope, even now. To choose otherwise is to choose death or some other form of annihilation.

This understanding is why Peeta says, “Mockingjays do (need wings to survive)”. He cannot offer her the comfort that just being who she truly is, is going to be enough for her survival. But he can acknowledge what a difficult situation she is in.

By the way, after this exchange is the first time Katniss voluntarily touches Peeta to soothe him since his hijacking. And Peeta feels safe enough with her that he lets her.

[gudvina]

Your point about SC and the noble poor trope is so important and needs to be discussed more in fandom actually.

One of the things I struggled with most about the book was that LD was put on such a high pedestal her beliefs were meant to be seen as correct and virtuous but the issue is that Suzanne Collins was locked into having Maysilee and Haymitch team up. So we end up with Maysilee (who is a great character and the only thing I like about the book other than wyatt) who is sort of written with the reformed mean girl trope but then we also have LD who hates her because of her status and we’re not supposed to disagree with LD based on how she’s written the narrative is contradicting itself.

If SC could’ve just let LD be a flawed character it would’ve been a great opportunity to delve further into how division within the districts actually prevents rebellion and benefits the capitol. We could’ve explored more about the themes that were introduced in the first book with gales treatment of Madge.

Idk I’m biased because I love Maysilee as a character and dislike LD (not even speaking about them as love interests just as characters) and people refuse to acknowledge that LD’s hatred of Maysilee is unfair. Also her owning a caged canary is supposed to parallel Haymitch in a cage except Maysilee herself is in a cage too? Like she’s from the districts and is a tribute and is maybe better off than other people in district 12 but like she’s still a victim of the capitol and people refuse to acknowledge that? Idk I can’t stand the Maysilee haters out there LD included lmao

I also believe that showing Lenore Dove as a complex, flawed character would have benefitted way more to the story than the portrayal she had on Sunrise on the Reaping.

The way her character was written didn't leave any room for discussions, she was a sort of messiah who was rebellious in a reckless, inefficient way. A noble pure girl who was beautiful, smelled like honeysuckle, played the piano, was able to read proficiently but was also so poor she couldn't eat. She's written as the missing link between Lucy Gray and Katniss Everdeen. We are supposed to feel for her, admire her intelligence, be intrigued by her mystery, feel the ominous meaning of her words because, and that's important, it's all tied to a higher purpose.

And yet, she falls flat because her writing was inconsistent, underdeveloped and, at some point, incoherent. That pedestal she was put on by the narrative does nothing to help this, instead it just highlights these problems and makes her character feel even emptier than it could have been had she not been mentioned every two lines.

On the contrary Maysilee, the reformed mean girl as you rightly called her, was just a girl who happened to not be from the Seam, but instead from the Merchant Area, and because of that (and the fact that people have been interested in her dynamic with Haymitch, colliding with Lenore Dove's character) her writing considerably undermined the importance of her character in favour of Lenore Dove's. She's the owner of the mockingjay pin but she hates it, apparently, so much that Haymitch feels it appropriate to mention how Lenore Dove would have been glad to have it herself. The mockingjay pin. What would one day become the symbol of the rebellion that frees the District, not anymore associated to Maysilee only, but also to Lenore Dove. She is judged constantly by Haymitch and Lenore Dove and constantly implied to be like Capitols just because she's well off, when she's actually the real rebel of this story. Lenore Dove's rebellion is closer to Gale Hawthorne's than to Katniss Everdeen's, but Maysilee's acts of rebellion feel more real, more powerful and, in a way, they have a higher impact on the story.

These parallels between Gale and Lenore Dove could have been explored and could have given the latter much more complexity, but Suzanne Collins was afraid to go that way because she didn't want the reader to dislike her, she wanted the reader to root for Lenore Dove. And for people to make twitter posts about her haunting the narrative.

Especially considered the fact that Lenore Dove is like that™ because of what she was told about Lucy Gray, someone she idolised herself and wants to imitate.

This book could have gone a different way. Could have been a little more subversive than the others, but for that Suzanne Collins should have put some effort in writing it, and ultimately its main purpose wasn't to send a message but to make a few more pennies to add to her wallet.

[effieotto]

Random Hunger Games headcanon

•Haymitch liked to trace the lines of Effie’s face when they were in bed to keep her in memory, because he loved her features and usually couldn’t see them properly when she was all caked up

•Katniss and Peeta had a hard time deciding which of their last names they would choose for their children. Because even though she knew that hers hold too much weight, for being forever associated with the mockingjay -and she didn’t want their kids to be associated with everything she once meant- It also represented the name shared between her, her Father and Prim, and she didn’t want to erase their memory from such a important thing in her life. So later on, Peeta suggested for them to use both of their names (Mellark-Everdeen) so the kids could decide which they would use when they got older

•When his rage had settled down and the Hummingbird Operation (along with everything else he had done during the war) had finally sink, Gale had a very ugly breakdown, while they waited for Katniss’s trial, and Haymitch was the one to pick him back up. The boy sobbed on Haymitch’s shoulder and he decided to, for once in his life, be the father the boy never had and help him through it all

•Effie Trinket had a bunny (i won’t go further, but she looks like the bunny type. So yeah, after the war she had a white fluffy bunny called Daise)

•Annie knew all those things about Gale when she wrote the letter for Katniss because, after the war, him and Johanna developed a close enough relationship and she had those informations by overhearing their conversations sometimes

•Haymitch resented Katniss a little for how blunted she had been when she asked for him to take Peeta’s place when the announcement from the Quell came out (even if he had been the one to offer it, he wished she had at least hesitated a little bit before throwing him to the wolves), and even though he had never (and would never, for countless reasons) tell her that, he always carried the feeling that she didn’t care for him as much as he cared for her, and the coldness of it hurt him badly….even if it wasn’t exactly true.

•Effie felt uneasy every time she went out with Katniss and Peeta’s daughter and a man talked to her too softly, because as much as she knew District Twelve’s citizens were warmer and that she wasn’t in the Capitol anymore, she couldn’t shake the memory of how the men usually talked to her when she was the same age, and as irrational as it goes, she didn’t want anything like what they did to her back then to happen with that little girl. So, not so politely, she would excuse them and nudge the girl to walk faster every time she gave too much attention for them

• When he got his recess from the Peacekeeper job, Gale went to District four and he and Johanna went out every Friday night to drink their sorrows away and find a easy fuck to each other -which wasn’t really an easy doing, because Gale was too shy and Johanna was too picky, but they had fun anyway-

•Even though Haymitch never enjoyed to leave District Twelve for long, he had managed to get involved in a handful of political activities for the new Panem, since President Paylor had finally decided to have some use of his limited political knowledge and strategies to help the government and the country back to its feet, with as much peace possible. He traveled once or twice per year through the Districts to help the new President with small social programs

[marianbrook]

books read in 2025

be ready when the luck happens - ina garten ★★★★☆ (1/7)

assistant to the villain - hannah nicole maehrer ★★★☆☆ (1/9)

apprentice to the villain - hannah nicole maehrer ★★★☆☆ (1/18)

piranesi - susanna clarke ★★★★★ (1/19)

yellowface - r.f. kuang ★★★☆☆ (1/27)

how to end a love story - yulin kuang ★★★★☆ (1/28)

deep end - ali hazelwood ★★★★★ (2/9)

circe - madeline miller ★★★★★ (2/12)

the dead romantics - ashley poston ★★★☆☆ (2/16)

the seven year slip - ashley poston ★★★★☆ (2/17)

is she really going out with him? - sophie cousens ★★★★☆ (2/18)

you between the lines - katie naymon ★★★☆☆ (2/19)

small things like these - claire keegan ★★★★☆ (2/22)

once upon a broken heart - stephanie garber ★★★★☆ (2/25)

foster - claire keegan ★★★★☆ (2/26)

not in my book - katie holt ★★★☆☆ (2/26)

divine rivals - rebecca ross ★★★★☆ (3/5)

ruthless vows - rebecca ross ★★★★☆ (3/6)

check & mate - ali hazelwood ★★★☆☆ (3/8)

the hunger games - suzanne collins ★★★★★ (3/10) [reread]

the ballad of never after - stephanie garber ★★★★☆ (3/14)

a curse for true love - stephanie garber ★★★★☆ (3/15)

catching fire - suzanne collins ★★★★★ (3/17) [reread]

mockingjay - suzanne collins ★★★★☆ (3/19) [reread]

sunrise on the reaping - suzanne collins ★★★★★ (3/21)

first-time caller - b. k. borison ★★★★☆ (3/24)

done and dusted - lyla sage ★★★☆☆ (3/26)

the strawberry patch pancake house - laurie gilmore ★★★★☆ (3/30)

flawless - elsie silver ★★☆☆☆ (3/31)

so late in the day - claire keegan ★★★★☆ (4/4)

beach read - emily henry ★★★★★ (4/11) [reread]

people we meet on vacation - emily henry ★★★★☆ (4/14) [reread]

book lovers - emily henry ★★★★★ (4/19)

bride - ali hazelwood ★★★☆☆ (4/20)

great big beautiful life - emily henry ★★★★★ (4/24)

happy place - emily henry ★★★★★ (5/3) [reread]

just haven’t met you yet - sophie cousens ★★★☆☆ (5/4)

this time next year - sophie cousens ★★★☆☆ (5/6)

problematic summer romance - ali hazelwood ★★★☆☆ (5/31)

the good part - sophie cousens ★★★★☆ (6/13)

what happens in amsterdam - rachel lynn solomon ★★★★☆ (6/13)

harriet tubman: live in concert - bob the drag queen ★★★★☆ (6/17)

currently reading:

emma - jane austen

before i let go - kennedy ryan

caraval - stephanie garber

a darker shade of magic - v. e. schwab

[joysmercer]

(here is the place) where I love you

(post-canon; katniss and clerk carmine)

I stop there sometimes, at the lake, when my arms give out but I haven't yet caught enough game for the week. It's cooler there, because of the water, and I wrap my father's hunting jacket tightly around me, munching on a few berries or one of Peeta's cheese buns. But just as I'm unwrapping my lunch today, a flash of grey on the opposite shore distracts me from my hunger. Wolf?

I slowly walk around the perimeter of the lake until a reach it. It's not an animal at all, as it turns out, but a gravestone, about as tall as my waist. The edges of the stone are decorated with swirling vines and flowers. I kneel down to read the three names etched onto it in careful cursive.

The first is one I don't recognize—a woman's, by the sound of it—but my breath hitches when I read the ones that follow: my father's, and below, in a slightly different hand, Prim's. At the base of the stone is a quote, a modified lyric of one of a familiar tune:

Deep in the meadow / here is the place, where we loved you.

I choke back tears as my father's voice fills my head, and then, my own, singing Rue to sleep.

"Burdock loved this lake," A gruff voice mutters behind me. I whip around and find an old man with scruffy beard a cane in one hand standing a few feet away. He looks vaguely familiar, though I can't place the face.

"He was my father," I supply, unsure of how else to respond.

The man laughs. "Aye. I could've guessed just from the jacket you wear, but your name is the farthest thing from unfamiliar, these days," the man says, a twinkle in his eye. "Everyone in Panem knows."

I nod. The Girl on Fire, the Girl who Killed the President, and everything in between. "And you are?" I ask, mostly out of politeness.

"Clerk." The man doesn't go any further but simply stares at me, eyebrow raised, as if willing me to fill in the rest, and suddenly I realize where I'd seen him.

"You played at Finnick and Annie's wedding!" I exclaim. The fiddler. He'd seemed lonely, even then, and I'd assumed he'd stayed at 13 – most of us who came back had something to tie us here.

"This has been my home longer than anyone else remembers, child," he says, answering the question unprompted. "I didn't want to die in a foreign land."

And, all of a sudden, it clicks. A vague memory of one of Haymitch's stories, the woods, longer than anyone else remembers. "You're Covey," I say. "Clerk…Carmine?"

"I am." Clerk Carmine smiles. "I hope you didn't mind me leaving that here," he says, gesturing to the gravestone. I'd almost forgotten. "Tam Amber, he started it for Burdock's ma, and it felt right to—" He pauses. "Actually, would you like to see them? The others?"

It takes me a minute to respond, my mind still preoccupied with the mention of my father, his mother, Tam Amber. "Yes. Yes, of course," I say, my mouth moving on it's own accord.

Clerk Carmine leads me slowly through the woods, his cane methodically tapping on the forest floor like the beats of a drum. I imagine my father walking this same path as a teenager, perhaps whistling a tune to make the mockingjays in the leaves sing. Haymitch himself had done so once, too, though he never could bring himself to again.

Finally, we arrive at a beautiful grove, hidden far away from the lake. I'd never thought to venture this far out before. Before me are four beautifully-decorated headstones, each with a lines of poetry—or is it song?—rather than names, carved in similar print to the one decorating my family's. But that's where the similarities end: the stones are all different shapes, sizes, and colors, and it occurs to me that, perhaps, their selection itself was a ceremony of sorts, that each person was given a slab that captured them better than any portrait ever could. Clerk Carmine gestures for me to sit next to him.

"Lucy Gray," he starts, nodding to the far right. Snake-like vines almost entirely cover her grave, save for the area surrounding her name-poem, and fresh daisies are placed on top. "She was a lot like you, you know." He gives me that look again, like he expects me to immediately understand what he's trying to say. "Sharp as a tack, voice like a bird." He sighs. "A Victor, too, like yourself."

I gasp. I had no idea.

Clerk Carmine notices my surprise and laughs hollowly. "Oh, yes, he tried very hard to kill her, but somehow, she lived on in memory, all of ours…and his." He doesn't mention who he is, but somehow I know, instinctively, anyway, and I suddenly feel a rush of affection for this girl I never knew who apparently managed to defy Snow, even in death.

Clerk Carmine then gestures to the stone on the far left of the row, a clean, white one that sparkles where the sunlight hits it. "Maude Ivory, Lucy Gray's cousin. Though we were all family." And then the one next to hers, speckled, somehow, with purple. "Lenore Dove, her daughter, but this you know."

I do know. It took a while, because getting Haymitch to open up about anything is as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack, but one night, I found him writing pages and pages in our Book, and Peeta and I learned of her—and our parents' childhoods, as a result—that way.

I ask Clerk Carmine what happened between them, if he knew. Haymitch's memories start at age ten end with his Games, for the most part, and so much has changed since then, my head spins sometimes, thinking about it.

There isn't much to say, as it turns out. My parents got married after the 52nd Games, and the remaining Covey gifted them our house as a wedding present—my grandmother had been Covey-descended through her mother (who had left her with her father), and apparently she and Maude Ivory had been thick as thieves as teenagers, which was how my father came to spend so much time with Lenore Dove. As for the time before my parents, "it's almost too long a story for words," Clerk Carmine tells me, and I'm forced to leave it at that—though I make a mental note to bring him my Book and see if he will write like Haymitch did.

The last stone, in the middle of the row, is Tam Amber's. It, too, stands out from the others, a deep, strong clay. Him, too, I know—knew, in fact, as he was the Goat Man I'd bought Lady from. He passed just before the third Quell.

In the pocket of my father's jacket, my fist closes around my mockingjay pin. Tam Amber was the one who had made it all those years ago. I bring it out and show Clerk Carmine, then carefully kneel by the red gravestone to bury it. "It started here, and should stay here," I explain. He nods, and that's when I notice the tears in his eyes.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to keep you," I say, suddenly feeling like I was intruding on something very private, which I am. "I have to head back to the cabin—eat, then more hunting to do."

I try to back away quietly, but Clerk Carmine motions for me to wait. I watch him struggle to his feet—he refuses my arm when I hold it out—and grab his cane again.

"I'll come with you," he says. "After the girls…Barb, Tam and I…we had to get out, you know. Only ever ventured back here to tend to the graves." He looks at me. "But thank you, for giving me a reason to return."

I didn't do anything, I think, but I shrug in acknowledgement anyway.

This time, it is I who leads him back to the lake, and we share a quiet lunch by the memorial he carved for my family—our family.

[jujuprincesinhasofia]

The Hunger Games Parallels and What They Could Mean for Stranger Things 5

If you've never watched The Hunger Games, think of it like this:

Will = Peeta

El = Gale

Mike = Katniss

Why:

Katniss meets Gale in the woods at 12. Peeta met Katniss first (they weren't close but we ignore that for this).

Then there’s Peeta’s line: "Your family needs you" ("so El needs you Mike) and the scene includes a gift Peeta is giving Katniss talking abt Gale. (there were three pictures, gale's was the one in the center, between her mom and sister)

People also thought Gale was Katniss’s cousin ("she's my cousin").

Gale also asks Katniss "Do you love me" ("you don't love me anymore?") and Katniss said "You know how I feel about you" which reminds me a lot of "you know what I think of you."

But things get even more interesting if you bring in Snow as Vecna.

Peeta’s Capture → Will’s Fate?

In Mockingjay, Peeta is taken by the Capitol (aka Snow), and Gale—along with others—goes on a mission to rescue him. Meanwhile, Katniss is trying to reach and talk to Snow. Desperate, she pleads:

"Please, release Peeta and take me instead." (this is such a mike thing to say btw)

Snow refuses. He taunts her instead.

Katniss realizes too late—it was a trap. "It's a trap. We have to get a hold of them." "It's a trap! I need to warn them. It's a trap!" (mike in s2 + star wars parallel i think)

She says "Did I lose them both tonight?" and it is heartbreaking y'all. I def see us getting something similar. She hugs Haymitch, and I'd see Haymitch being Eddie, but since Eddie is... not here, I'd think idk. Nanyc, Karen, Hopper, anyone from the party? Idk y'all and this is not the focus but i spent too much time here and I think hopper

Like: "Am I losing both of them? I can't— I can’t lose them again." or "I can’t—I already lost them once, I already did this once I can't"

This is actually the quote that got me writing this

NOW, something else: Peeta was hijacked. In this theory: Hijacking → Vecna’s Influence

In THG, hijacking

"Induced terrifying hallucinations, altering the memory and introducing fear and doubt into the victim’s mind."

Which sounds a lot like what Vecna did to Max in the Snow Ball memory. This fits a lot the Venkman foreshadowing too.

And: Peeta, under Snow’s control, attacks Katniss—specifically grabbing her throat. Now, if you remember, there was a rumor that Will was going to choke Mike in Season 5.

And, in Mockingjay, Gale watches her kiss Peeta and says:

"She never kissed me like that."

Maybe we will get something similar in Stranger Things? Maybe a version of:

"He never looked at me like that." or idk

Of course, we can (and will) ignore the bad parts of Gale’s arc (ahem, Prim). But the core dynamic? The love triangle, the rescue mission, the betrayal, and the emotional fallout (and for multiple seasons now!!)? Yesss I'm here for it

pls let me know what u think!!!!! what u agree and disagree with + stuff I got wrong or forgot! and whatever you'd like to add <3

[venusacrossthestars]

Here is a more put together post of my thought on Sunrise on the Reaping

SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT

I want to start this off by saying these are my opinions, and overall thoughts on the book. I do not want to argue in the comments or reblogs.

I've seen many say that SotR is a fan service; of course it is. People have been begging for Haymitch's games for years. HOWEVER- that is not a bad thing!!!

You can clearly tell the fan service elements with the inclusion of Mags, Wiress, Beete, Effie, Katniss's Parents, and even the Lucy Gray mentions. However they all play a part in Haymitch's story now and later on in Catching Fire and even The Mockingjay.

Mags and Wiress were added as the Mentors for 12 because we as readers already know about them. We see Mags first in Catching Fire when she volunteers for Anne, how she interacts lovingly with Katniss and ultimately sacrifices herself. We as an audience already trust her. So we don't find it strange when Haymitch seeks comfort in her. And it's at this point it's be 39 years since Mags won her games, and what is a good way to keep her spirit broken-not only training kids from your district to fail, but kids from other districts too.

The same applies to Wiress, we see her in CF, as someone who is already a little off their rocker. A victor who won her games in a not so significant, non-rememberable way. Exactly why she was chosen to mentor 12- the forgettable district.

Beete and his son Ampert were added heart-breaking inclusion and answers Katniss's question "do the victor's kids get reaped?" This is essential to the early seed of the rebellion. I was heartbroken at his inclusion in the story, but I see how it was necessary.

Overall, the addition of the past victors make it much more meaningful to us as an audience in CF when Katniss picks them as allies. We know what they mean to Haymitch, the narrative, and the overall rebellion development. And in the deleted scenes Plutarch switches the 75th Quarter Quell card. But it makes you wonder, was the 75th tributes rigged to ensure the rebellion? The fire was buring with Katniss and Peetas win, they had to strike while the iron was still hot.

The addition of Katniss's parents- Burdock and Asterid- is a welcomed one, especially seeing how it ties into the Lucy Gray to Katniss Everdeen related theory pipeline. Each of their bestfriends getting reaped, something Asterid then relives with her own daughter.

I've seen some backlash on this addition, the biggest complaint being "why didn't we know this in the original trilogy?"... Katniss was the textbook definition of an unreliable narrator. It's also entirely plausible that Haymitch distant himself from everyone- fearing their fates would turn out the same as his loved ones.

Haymitch also being the one to give Lorane Dove the poison is heartbreaking. Snow could've done numerous things to her, but in the end made Haymitch be the one to kill his love.

Suzanne Collins message is clear. You don't have to read between the lines to understand what she is saying in SotR. It's a warning, and one that is in your face.

It's a callout to leaders; past, present and future and a warning to leaders now and to come. Rebellions happen, they take time and failure, but they happen. And when they do no one is left unscathed.

Propaganda and Censorship are very heavy themes in this book and at times (IN MY OPINION) are overly done. I understand the importance of not censoring the truth and we see how easily the Capitol manipulates the truth of the games, something that all current governments are capable of. But it felt like every page I read had the words propaganda and censorship in it. But it got the message across.

All in all, I throughly enjoyed the book. I found it fansicating that Haymitch was the "original mockingjay" in a sense. It makes you wonder how many other tributes and their games were botched Rebellion attempts. Were Anne's or Johanna's also failed attempts? But we know that it took 25 years after Haymitch's games for the cycle to be broken. Victory is not won in a single day, it may take years but it will happen

[calisources]

𝐓𝐇𝐄   𝐁𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐀𝐃   𝐎𝐅   𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐆𝐁𝐈𝐑𝐃𝐒   𝐀𝐍𝐃   𝐒𝐍𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐒   𝐐𝐔𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐒.   all   sentences   have   been   taken   from   the   hunger   games:   the   ballad   of   songbirds   and   snakes   book   and   some   from   the   movie   trailers.   might   include   spoilers   for   the   movie   and   book.   change   pronouns   and   locations   and   names   as   you   see   fit.

“Nothing you can take from me was ever worth keeping.”

“Being from the Capitol doesn’t give you that right. Nothing does.”

“Well, as they said, it's not over until the mockingjay sings.”

“People aren’t so bad, really, It’s what the world does to them.”

“That is the thing with giving your heart. You never wait for someone to ask. You hold it out and hope they want it.”

“Snow lands on top.”

“I think there’s a natural goodness built into human beings. You know when you’ve stepped across the line into evil, and it’s your life’s challenge to try and stay on the right side of that line.”

“Before need, before love, came trust.”

“And try not to look down on people who had to choose between death and disgrace.”

“What are lies but attempts to conceal some sort of weakness?”

“The strain of being a full-fledged adult every day had grown tiresome.”

“You can blame it on the circumstances, the environment, but you made the choices you made, no one else.”

“Wars are won by heads not hearts.”

“There is a point to everything or nothing at all, depending on your worldview.”

“You're mine and I'm yours. It's written in the stars.”

“But better off sad than dead.”

“What young brains lack in experience they sometimes make up for in idealism. Nothing seems impossible to them.”

“I think it’s more important than love. I mean, I love all kinds of things I don’t trust.”

“I’m planning to build a whole new beautiful life here. One where, in my own small way, I can make the world a better place.”

“If the war’s impossible to end, then we have to control it indefinitely. Just as we do now.”

“What was there to aspire to once wealth, fame, and power had been eliminated? Was the goal of survival further survival and nothing more?”

“They were both after all, still children whose lives were dictated by powers above them.”

“Star-crossed lovers meeting their fate.”

“I’m bad news, all right.”

“The ability to control things. Yes, that was what he’d loved best of all.”

“What happened in the arena? That’s humanity undressed. The tributes. And you, too.”

How quickly civilization disappears. All your fine manners, education, family background, everything you pride yourself on, stripped away in the blink of an eye, revealing everything you actually are.”

“A boy with a club who beats another boy to death. That’s mankind in its natural state”

“Please, Coriolanus, I would never forget the favor.”

“Who are human beings? Because who we are determines the type of governing we need.”

“What sort of agreement is necessary if we’re to live in peace? What sort of social contract is required for survival?”

“It’s just the kind of story that catches fire.”

“And last but least, District Twelve girl . . . she belongs to Coriolanus Snow.”

“Man is born free; and everywhere he is in chains.”

“If history teaches you anything, it’s how to make the unwilling comply.”

“You know what I won’t miss? People. Except for a handful. They’re mostly awful, if you think about it.”

“And to erase me, they must erase the Games.”

“Why did these people think that all they needed to start a rebellion was anger?”

“And if even the most innocent among us turn into killers in the Hunger Games, what does that say? That our essential nature is violent.”

“It's the things we love most, that destroy us.”

“We all did things we’re not proud of.”

“What are the Hunger Games for?”

"If you want to protect people, then it's essential to accept what human beings are and what it takes to control them."

“Hope is the only thing stronger than fear."

“If the cause wasn’t honorable, how could it be an honor to participate in it?”

“He’s a Capitol boy and clearly I got the cake with the cream, ’cause nobody else’s mentor even bothered to show up to welcome them.”

“To dine with her suggests that you consider her your equal. But she isn’t.”

“The endless dance with hunger had defined his life.”

"In nature, things that are prey, that are weak, are marked"

"The world is not kind to those who don't fit in"

"We all wear masquerades in this Capitol"

, "There's a price for everything, Lucy. Sometimes you pay it willingly, sometimes it's taken from you,"

"Freedom is not given, it is taken"

“I’m not convinced that we are all as inherently violent as you say, but it takes very little to bring the beast to the surface, at least under the cover of darkness.”