#that and a character study of haymitch

[picnic-at-dreaming-rock]

realising what I actually need from Suzanne Collins is just a multi-volume panem history book

[effieotto]

Sunrise on the reaping bellow, you know the drill

“I know that,” she says. “I’ve known who you are ever since you helped with my makeup box. And I know your position could not have been easy.”

It’s surprisingly touching. “Thanks, Effie.”

“But they really are for a greater good. The Hunger Games.” And now she’s lost me.

this scene really struck me, because…does she really think that? I find it funny how fast she recognized the anti-government edge of her speech, implying that “she knows his position could not have been easy, thus she felt sorry he had to go through it”, and how it went against the whole purpose of how it was all the great sacrifice she was supposed to believe, and just as fast made sure to reaffirm that it all was for a greater good. Even though it sounded out of place.

Stay with me —since the beginning, when she broke into the apartment with those outfits in hand, telling everyone they should work hard because “A lot of people lost their lives to guarantee peace and prosperity for their nation”, effie wasn’t giving her opinion on the matter, she was repeating the propaganda the government sold. Word for word.

which reminds me how she wasn’t clueless to the consequences of their acts during the first two books. How upset she was every time Katniss did something reckless, because she knew it was going to affect “all of them”. How she knew about Seneca’s not-quite-suicide, and was terrified to know that Katniss did know too…all of it doesn’t imply the sky-level of ignorance we usually associate with her.

the trinkets were somehow disgraced in society, hence effie had to do the double duty of clawing her way back into the high class to be respected in the field and still try to protect her sister’s reputation and, more likely than not, her safety. This was hard labor and it probably gave her some privileged knowledge of how it all really worked. She was the victim of a dictatorship, and i feel like she knew exactly what it meant…she did believe in the propaganda Snow sold, at some level,but she also knew she didn’t have a choice of supporting it or not

which brings us back to the scene— effie was in the bugged apartment of District Twelve with a dozen of peacekeepers standing right behind her, her little speech about her recognizing haymitch as a real person, and feeling sorry (or the closest thing of remorse she could afford) was risky (if you know how not-understanding a dictator is when it comes down to anti-government speeches, you know that she was in danger only for feeling sorry) and she knew that. she had a sister, she had a reputation, she had a family and friends, and years of life…is it really a surprise that she would jump right into her parrot-mood when she noticed she was that close to imply she didn’t really agreed with the whole ordeal?

Was Effie truly a loyalist who buys into the capitol propaganda, or is she just a person under a totalitarian regime who knows the boundaries of safety? She was terrified of the president, you can see that when she said “HE asked you to wear it”. she had people to lose, she had her own safety on the line, should she risk it all for a boy she barely knew?

I am not saying she didn’t have her controversial opinion, or that she didn’t believe in the idea that the games guaranteed her safety. What i am saying is that she saw it more like an unavoidable social dutty than a necessity, and she’s aware that she couldn’t speak against it if she wanted to see the sun rising the next day. She is a much more complex character than just “a selfish loyalist who truly buys the entire propaganda” or the “innocent daughter of Panem”

[archiveosprey]

hey everyone I’ve never posted on here but SOTR has a chokehold on me and so I wrote a Haymitch x Effie character study here you go whoever may find this and goodbye 😭😭😭

[epihlogue]

Haymitch having been best friends with Katniss's dad wounds me. cause he could've been looking after Katniss and Prim, instead he was lost in his liquor due to what happened to him. I think that's why he ended up letting Katniss and Peeta eventually in too, helping them win against Snow . cause he needed someone after all his years of solitude. I like to think that in the years after the games he and Katniss end up having the father/daughter bond that she would've had with her dad if he was still around and her dad would've been proud of Haymitch finally stepping up to that and in that eventually forgiving him too.

[angstandhappiness]

Interesting

what makes Snow such a formidable villain within THG universe is that nothing he does was set in stone. there was no sense of inevitability about his actions and his brutality. Snow had enough perspective of poverty, capital cruelty, district hunger and not to mention his own arena experience’ and yet he actively chose at every moment to stray from natural goodness. its even more terrifying in the sense that he had the ability to care. Snow is not a mindless sociopath, he displays feelings to others such as sejanus, lucy grey and tigris but ultimately he will always choose himself. his ability to betray those he cared about in order yo advance himself makes him so much more than the stereotypical villain who is forced into his actions.

[vivicendium]

i think something that elevates the hunger games franchise is not just the quality of writing but the integrity of it. tbosas isn’t just a cash-grab by suzanne collins in the age of sequels and reboots (though i won’t pretend that didn’t play a part), it’s a character study of the main antagonist with a different structure than the main trilogy. and importantly, it doesn’t just re-hash the same old themes and beats the main trilogy had, it expands on not just the world of the hunger games but the themes as well, it actually has something new to say about the trilogy’s themes about class, capitalism, power, and control, in a way that couldn’t be explored with the main story because the protagonist of that story simply did not have access to the world that’s being explored in tbosas.

i understand the people who call for books/movies to be made about haymitch, finnick, johanna, different years of the games — we love those characters and want to see more of them! i’d kill for a novella on finnick’s days mentoring tributes, or katniss’s parents falling in love. but at the end of the day we probably wouldn’t be very satisfied with those stories being fleshed out if they had absolutely nothing new to say about the world, they’d be enjoyable, but not as interesting and engaging as tbosas has been.

[softie-rain]

A small study on the difference between how Lucy Gray Baird and Sejanus Plinth haunt the narrative

contains spoilers from Sunrise On The Reaping!

Little disclaimer: this is my personal interpretation of the books and the characters! You're free to disagree with me, but please be nice about it :)

While less talked about, Sejanus haunts just as much as Lucy Gray does. But while Lucy Gray haunts the narrative, Sejanus haunts Snow. Let me elaborate on that.

Coriolanus, through the books, always seems to be followed by Lucy Gray's ghost[metaphorically or not, I'm not implying she's officially dead]: Haymich's girlfriend being a covey, Katniss and the mockinjay, The Hanging Tree song. I don't think he ever forgotten about her, probably tries to, but she's always there to taunt him.

Snow despises Lucy Gray because he doesn't have any control on her. She's a "free spirit", he thinks he has control over the narration of her Games and life yet snaps any time he's reminded that, in fact, he doesn't (ex. when he sees Lenore Dove). Snow wants to keep Lucy Gray a secret, he doesn't want anyone to know about her, to know what happened to her. He's scared people will find out what happened in the woods.

And if you think about it, Snow's issues with Lucy Gray have always been about that, began with that idea: "no one has to find out about this, and I'll make sure every obstacle is gone, dead or forgotten".

Her references in Sunrise On The Reaping are explicit, because Lucy Gray haunts the narrative. Lucy Gray "flies" over the story and influences everyone in it with her disappearance (the many songs that are mentioned, the way Snow talks about her to Haymitch, Haymitch being shown the interview etc.).

And Sejanus?

Sejanus doesn't haunt the narrative, Sejanus haunts Coriolanus Snow.

Sejanus' "haunting" happens to a more personal level than Lucy Gray's does. Sejanus' death doesn't affect the narrative (to an extent), it affects Coriolanus personally. Coriolanus isn't scared of anyone finding out about Sejanus and his death, everyone knows about him and the way he died, but no one is affected by it the way Snow is.

Lucy Gray haunts Coriolanus and the narrative in a "You can't escape me and what you did. You'll be haunted by me and what you did to me forever". Sejanus haunts Snow in a "You can't forget me. I'm everywhere, but only for you to see me. You don't feel guilty for what happened to me, but I'll always follow you."

The proof of this is that while (as I previously said) Lucy Gray's references in Sunrise On The Reaping are always explicit because the reader has to get them, the same way Haymich does (even while not knowing Lucy Gray at all), Sejanus' references are subtle. They're "quiet", you don't catch them unless you pay close attention. And that's because they're only for Snow to get. They're not actual references, they're things (anything) that only Coriolanus will forever associate to Sejanus. I already made a post about those references, so here's a quick recap:

1. Drusilla being related to Prof Sickle, whose pupil was Sejanus; 2. The peacekeepers discussing the gym used as training center, gym payed by Strabo to ensure Sejanus' graduation; 3. Haymitch letting a rabbit guiding him through the Arena, and Dr. Gaul comparing Sejanus to a rabbit when they escaped from the Arena with Coryo; 4. One of the D2 tributes being named Janus; 5. Lenore Dove loving gumdrops, and Snow poisoning her with them. Gumdrops, the same thing Coriolanus associates Sejanus with since it's what he was holding the first time they met; 6. Haymitch imagining of a peackeeper in 12, hung for helping the rebels.

All of these references are subtle, some might even say "a stretch". Yeah they're subtle, yet so many of them are somewhat "important" to the plot. But you wouldn't associate them with Sejanus, would you? No. Not unless you're Coriolanus.

Don't get me wrong: Snow doesn't feel guily about Sejanus. But while Lucy Gray haunts him in a more "terrifying" way, Sejanus haunts him in a natural way. Snow doesn't care about it, Sejanus' memory isn't a threat to him like Lucy Gray's is.

And so, once again: Lucy Gray may haunt Snow and his narrative. But Sejanus haunts Coriolanus Snow personally.

[onyourstageleft]

Haymitch stumbling towards Katniss and making a fool of himself by falling off the stage at the reaping now seems like a bigger thing, like it was deliberate. I think that he saw the district's refusal to clap, the silent salute they all did, and he knows how much trouble that can get everyone in, but he's already in deep, he knows he's fucked and Snow won't let him die and has no one left to take from him, so he pulls the attention from them by drunkenly challenging the Capitol, "more than you!" and pointing at the camera, making himself the laughing stock by falling off the stage, making everyone remember his failed show at defiance rather than that of the people of District 12

I'm sure he is actually an alcoholic and was absolutely some degree of drunk, but after Sunrise on the Reaping, I'm not sure he's as incompetent as he seems to Katniss and Peeta. how much of it is playing into the Capitol's perception of him and how much of it is him dealing with the trauma of everything he went through?

also, could he have been talking directly to Snow, or maybe even Plutarch? we know they're eventually allies and Plutarch has been in this rebellion thing all along, but he also runs the whole show, he's historically been in charge of the media coverage for District 12, so maybe he's challenging Plutarch? I don't know what theory I subscribe to but I do know that this reread of thg is going to turn into a Haymitch character study

[amisha-jaya]

He is literally confessing he will love Leonore forever and he will die soon and he is at peace.

And you care for your ship!?!???!????

This book is about propaganda and paying attention and is published THIS YEAR in THIS POLITICAL CLIMATE

And YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR SHIP!?!?!??

A ship that is nonexistent in the books!!!?!?

Yes. Next question.

But since you asked important questions about politics and propaganda, I think you deserve a more thoughtful answer.

Yes, I care about my ship. I love Hayffie, and nothing will stop me from shipping them because I love them. Whether it's canon or not, whether it's in the books or not, does that even matter? I don't know why people are freaked out by ships. Shipping is fun because they're fictional characters, and it strengthens a fandom. And what if it's not canon? Seriously, you guys wouldn't have survived the ElsaxJackFrost era. It's my life and my account. If I feel like it, I can ship, I don't know, Mags with Beete, and no one can stop me.

That I care more about a ship than the book's message? So what? It's not the first book to address the issue of propaganda. I love dystopian literature. In fact, my favorite dystopian book is Fahrenheit 451, which marked a deep love for books. The world is a shithole and always has been. I don't need anyone to tell me that; I'm living it. I'm Latina, from Peru, to be precise. I could write a lot about how screwed up my country is because of corrupt authorities. I know what it's like to live under propaganda, I hate propaganda, and I live in constant fear that my country will end up in dictatorship again. I don't stop fighting, even though they might kill me, because this government kills protesters, calling them terrorists and communists.

Forgive me for worrying about a fictional ship instead of a message I've already ingrained in my mind after studying, reading, and experiencing it. I really hate the moral superiority the fandom has when it comes to claiming they do care about the message of the work. I'm not saying this about you, anon, but it's annoying to see that kind of criticism directed at people who are just enjoying something. We don't deny the message; we understand it. But I think emphasizing the obvious would be a very poor analysis of what we're being given. One thing that characterizes fandom is overanalyzing even a single sentence because we're unbearable and we like it that way.

Finally, what's stopping Haymitch and Effie from being together after the epilogue? Haymitch is finally healing, and it's a possibility. Until their deaths are confirmed, Hayffie will always be a possibility.

Haymitch is one of my favorite characters, and I find it very sad that he's closing himself off forever, so I'm not going to accept it. He deserves better than to die a depressed alcoholic yearning for a past love. Especially since he was so young—he was 16 when all this happened to him. And Haymitch is only 42—still young to die. In real life, people are attracted to others again; it doesn't mean they don't love their lost love, but they can move on.

I prefer to stick with that take.

[effieotto]

So Effie created the Spring Saturnalia (sotr)

A festival that was known in the Ancient Rome for it’s temporary suspension of social norms, where slaves and masters exchanged roles and enjoyed festivities together. Yeah, we’re saying that the woman who always made sure to bring kindness and respect for her tributes, even before the glorification of a victor, had created a festival that it’s main purpose was to promote social equality, even if for a small period of time, when she wasn’t even aware of what real social inequality meant!!!!!! We are saying that when she was still a kid in university and surely ignorant about the situation of the Districts, she already lived under the principles of mild ideological equality, despite the government trying to shove down her throat the idea that she should feel superior to that pack of stud!!!!!

She had created the festival “where participants were momentarily detached from their fixed societal positions and experienced a unique sense of community”, and then she proceeded to make sure Katniss and Peeta were having the best time of their lives during their short staying in the Capitol, stuffing them with food and candy and comfortable clothes. She treated them with kindness and made sure they were ready and comfortable to what they were going to have to endure. She rebuilt the concept of what a Escort represented, so she could give her tributes the dignity they deserved, even if for a short while.

I mean, we can clearly see that, while Drusilla and other Capitol citizens behaved like those kids were no better than animals or foolish entertainment, Effie had done her best to keep their relationship as light as possible. She asked Maysilee’s opinion about how to do Lou Lou’s makeup. She made sure they were all proper dressed and well prepared for their interview. She promised Haymitch she would do her absolute best to give his token back to Lenore Dove if he died…and she did all those things because she believed they had the right to be seen as people. It wasn’t just empty kindness, she honestly saw them as equally deserved of sympathy, and that is crazy…

Effie Trinket wasn’t a rebel, she didn’t know how she could change things. She didn’t believe things could ever be different than the reality she had born into. But she was resilient, and her kids would never be seen as less than what they were. Just like the Saturnalia, her job was to embrace the sense of equality and afford her tributes the right of being momentarily detached from their pain and poverty, so they could enjoy all the things she could grant to make their time a little less difficult. Effie has always been about humanity —from the very beginning

[war-in-time]

I know people keep asking you things and I’m sorry if it’s getting annoying obviously feel free to skip this question, you just always respond with such detail and maturity it’s refreshing honestly lol

I just saw a video of someone saying they don’t like the addition of the Covey in the prequels they thought that Lucy gray and Lenore dove felt like manic pixie dream girls and that the covey felt kind of just one note which I don’t necessarily disagree with, but all the comments were tearing this person apart and saying that it makes them a colonizer to say they dislike the covey because they’re indigenous coded and based on Romani people. What’s your take on the addition of the covey, and then this situation?

I don’t take extreme issue with the Covey I think there are other things about the prequels that are worse. I do wish Lucy Gray and Lenore Dove felt more developed and distinct from each other. For Lucy Gray you can make the excuse that we’re learning about her from snows perspective and he has idealized her and only thinks about her in terms of himself, but then Haymitch treats Lenore Dove almost exactly the same. I feel like you can acknowledge what a group or character is meant to represent and still acknowledge that maybe the execution wasn’t done very well especially when the author isn’t of the culture they’re representing? Idk to me it feels like this comes back to people acting like SC is above criticism.

Authors are not gods, they are in fact willingly sharing their work with the public and part of sharing a story is expecting people to analyze it. Be it good or bad, that’s the reason that universities focus on critical thinking when studying literature. Nobody is above or below being critical of any work.

I think the covey are far too simplified as a concept and the way they’re actually represented in the books. Sure you could say they’re Romani coded but if you’ve also studied Native American history they can fit into many different Indigenous groups that also tend to have nomadic lifestyles and are very family oriented. It takes a village to raise a child is something that every Native person I’ve ever meet shares a sentiment with and they have very close familial ties. I’d also like to note that I currently live around the Canadian Rockies and the university that I went to is built on Treaty 7 lands. I’ve had the privilege of being able to see a portion of their cultural practices and what they are still able to do in today’s world when they have been confined to a single plot of land.

All of that being said what we do know about the Covey does not properly line up with what we do know about both Romani and Native groups.

1) Romani people are known for being nomadic yes, but they also intermingle with people from the areas they travel through which is why they always look so diverse. Romani people are also most heavily associated with living in Europe so if we are to base the covey on them solely, then by extension they would have ancestors that came over from Europe to North America at some point and then started intermingling again. Most Roma groups are actually settled and do end up staying in communities that they like, meaning they don’t stay nomadic forever; but they’re not forced to stay in one spot, they choose to.

2) If the covey are based on Indigenous people why make Lucy Gray so adamant that her people aren’t a part of district 12 when everyone else in the seam is also by the books standards, Indigenously coded? Why add a second layer of segregation to a group of people that are already marginalized and make the split between them even further. There are also no cultural practices that the covey perform, even something as simple as smudging, that tie them directly to any Indigenous practices.

Neither of those two groups line up with how the covey are actually presented in universe. The characteristics of the covey includ: musicians, naming their children after poetry and colours, and feeling superior to everyone else around them because their life style is better. A portion of that last one can be somewhat excused in bosas because it was all form Snow’s point of view and he was trying to convince himself that it was okay to fall for Lucy because “she’s not district, she’s special, she’s covey,” so from his perspective he’s very bias towards them to try and justify his own feelings.

Lenore Dove does not get the same grace because she is literally ‘not like other girls’ personified, only we know Haymitch isn’t a classist asshole from the capital so he isn’t making up excuses for why it’s okay to like Lenore like Snow did with Lucy. Lenore is ‘not like other girls’ because: she has geese that hate everyone and have apparently attacked people? (Normal geese aren’t inherently dangerous, and Canadian geese are more dangerous but only during mating season when when their eggs are hatching so Lenore’s geese are just assholes), she paints anti capital slogans in town but doesn’t tell Haymitch about it despite being ‘the love of her life’, she hates Maysilee because she has a pet canary and she doesn’t deserve her mockingjay pin because reasons. She’s we don’t actually see any of this, it’s all told to us, but it doesn’t make her sound likeable and that isn’t he kind of person I’d want representing any marginalized group.

Looking at the covey and saying they’re Romani because they’re musicians is also an outdated racist stereotype. The Hunger Games isn’t the Hunchback of Notre Dame that was published in 1831. While Romani people do have musicians and they do tend to play music where they settle, one of their defining features is their language, not their music. It’s complicated to place the covey because they really aren’t one concept of a group and I don’t think Collins should have ever boiled them down to a specific group like she tried to do.

All of the covey characters that we get introduced to are very similar to each other because I don’t think Collins was actually trying to convey them as people, rather as concepts and especially as ways to strip originality from her own books. Lucy Gray being the creator of the hanging tree song is the biggest offender to me; we couldn’t let something stand on its own and imagine that it was probably a war song during the first rebellion against the capital and that was why Katniss’ mom had such a quick and negative reaction to her child singing it at a young age. It could have been a song that insights rebellion (like it was shown to be in Mockinjay), instead of just a song that was performed once and only in front of peacekeepers.

Collins then tired to explain that away with Lenore singing forbidden songs in the town square, including hanging tree, in front of an audience of people. It’s a retcon of a retcon and that’s wild to me.

I dislike the covey, yes, because they’re poorly done and their existence is so shoehorned into the books to try and make them feel like the most important people in the whole series without having any real meaningful impact on the og novels and it’s just annoying. Not to mention they completely disappear by the 74th games so their existence doesn’t have any true impact on the story outside of: the songs Katniss sings aren’t forbidden rebellion anthems by the capital which was why they’d been powerful. Instead they’re just something that made Snow upset personally once, and Haymitch gets to be eternally enslaved to a dead child because all of his reasons for rebelling were actually Lenore’s and not his own hatred of the capital.

Anyone that wants to send me a question and get one of my mini essays in response you’re welcome to do so. I’m happy to share my opinions if people want to use me as a resource to bounce their own ideas off of.

[julietasgf]

SOTR — MY THOUGHTS

I finally finished SOTR and I wanted to give some opinions. I already warn I didn't like it much (and I'm going to explain why), but I didn't hate it. just... meh. this is probably the first and last time I'm going to talk in deep about it besides making one face study or other :) as always, this is just my opinion and pls remember to respect each other's opinions! if you enjoyed the book, good for you! and if you didn't read it yet, read the book to have your own opinions on it!

I want to be fair and start with what I liked in this book:

wyatt and maysilee are great characters! wyatt honestly became my favorite in this book lol (love my little neurodivergent guy) and maysilee was written so funny! to me they honestly carried the book, I was so entertained by them

burdock and asterid 💖 they were so cute, and mind you, I was never invested in everlark or interested in katniss' parents

the little cameo of tam amber and clerk carmine raising a girl was adorable! clerk carmine in general was lovely ngl

beetee's plotline was amazing, despite heartbreaking, and I deeply enjoyed how it was written

wiress' games were SO interesting??? maybe it's me focusing on such a minor detail but I loved it

the whole plot of louella and lou lou was disturbing, maybe the most disturbing I've seen in the whole franchise, and it really struck out to me as a horror element

I understand and appreciate the attempt of trying to pass a political message for a younger audience, because let's be honest, this book was indeed written for a younger audience and there's nothing wrong with it! it's quite simplistic in the way it tries to pass it through, yes, but I recognize it was not written for me and that's okay

before going into what I disliked, I want to point out that I put the blame a bit on myself bc I had some expectations and it's natural to be disappointed when they don't happen (even if I tried a lot to NOT have expectations, I talked about this before in my blog). so read this with a grain of salt because I'm not a casual reader.

this book felt cheap. and when I say cheap, I mean that it doesn't bring new things at all. not thematically, not in worldbuilding aspects. I was already concerned when the book was announced and it was haymitch's pov because this meant it would be too much like the original thg book: a kid in D12 from the seam is reaped and goes through horrific events in the games. and in this case, it feels like a mix between THG and catching fire. and the thing is that I'm not completely against narrating the 2QQ, but there would be other ways to do it with other characters that didn't feel so overused tbh;

still on worldbuilding, it's so disappointing this book doesn't bring anything new to the table regarding panem or the districts' cultures, except for some interesting burial traditions in D12. it's confusing to me that the hunger games are still that undeveloped when it's just 25 years before katniss' games. it seems like such a short time for the efficiency of the capitol change so much. same for characters. I expected this book to have so many interesting characters (specially since we were going to have 48 tributes lol), but we have almost nothing except cameos, and the ones we have (like wyatt and maysilee) felt underused by the narrative;

I know a lot of people say that this book was a bridge between tbosas and og trilogy, but then the bridge was made out of really bad quality wood and it's about to fall at any minute. the connections felt forced and for some reason now half of D12 is covey or related to them (and I say this as someone who loves the covey). some of the connections established here make the og trilogy interactions seem a bit odd;

this book, to me, paints an idea of katniss being some sort of chosen one in thg that made me quite upset. and I don't say that for the covey relations, but oh! she actually reminds haymitch of louella, and oh! she was also the daughter of his best friend, and oh! haymitch also had a private talk about president snow not trusting in birds! the charm of katniss to me, at least, was that she was never a chosen one. she was the right person at the right time. she was a kid used as a tool. but anyway that's just me;

I know the cameos and fanservices are controversial because this book is very on the nose with it. and yeah, it's annoying, but not as annoying as the goddamned snowbaird fanservice on the sheer year of 2025. compared to the og trilogy, snow felt ooc. in tbosas it's justifiable because he's a kid, he's a teen, but here he's pushing 60. why is he telling things like this to a D12? why is he letting so many rebel discourse pass in front of his nose? in thg it felt justifiable that he wouldn't kill katniss because it would clearly turn her into a martyr, but in this, nothing really justifies why he didn't kill haymitch;

if I had the energy, I would do a whole post on lenore dove and why her character is deeply disappointing and honestly shallow (it's specially disappointing when her character is written by a woman, and still, she feels like the trope of the dead girlfriend that doesn't get depth and it's clearly there to haunt the boyfriend). there's an attempt to paint her as a strongly opiniated girl that really didn't work for me because we never get to know lenore dove outside of how haymitch talks about her. her personality felt like mixing sejanus and lucy gray, but without really caring about the nuances of both, and she's clearly an attempt to make lucy gray happen again but without what made her special;

the parallels between katniss and haymitch felt forced imo and it felt like SC was trying so so so hard all the time to convince us that actually he's just katniss but male version. and it's specially sad to me because haymitch, the main character of the whole book, was the most uninteresting one;

how do you make a book about propaganda and hume and doesn't approach career tributes at all? here, they feel exactly how they were in 74th hunger games. WHAT happened? how did they go from scared children trying to run from the arena in the 10th to this?

the writing didn't feel good. the dialogues were too expositive and didn't make sense for some adult characters (like beetee and plutarch) to talk in the way they did. I'm not going deep into this because I didn't read her other saga of books like TUC, but I have friends who pointed out exactly that this doesn't feel like how SC writes.

I want to finish this saying that I've seen some takes around saying that if you dislike or criticize this book, then it's because you didn't focus on the political message regarding propaganda and the characters were used as tools to get the message through. and I'm going to hold some people's hands and tell them to go read political books outside of the hunger games. a book's political message can be valid, but I'm not going to say it was well done or well written just because of it. after all, in the end, a book is still a book, and a book is a work that gets to be judged by its writing and structure.

this book felt like a movie script, and when I say it, I mean it was written structured like one. the way things happen, the amount of quick name drop, the chronology of events. and I say this because books and movies are different medias and are narrated in different ways. I'm going to say that I already thought it was a red flag that when the book was announced, the movie was already confirmed for 2026, but I didn't expect it to be so clear about being written for a movie. bc that's what this book is. it's a book written for lionsgate to produce a new hunger games movie. I've said it before, and I'm going to say it again: the feeling I had is that lionsgate wanted a new movie after tbosas being such a hit in 2024. but oh no! when the book came out, it was so badly received... SC, can you do a safer and much more comfortable for the audience book? one that they for sure will love. and here it is.

I didn't find it downright bad, it's enjoyable at times (the first two chapters were genuinely good imo), but it's at best 2.5 to me. it doesn't work as a standalone work, it doesn't work as part of a trilogy. this may be an unpopular opinion, but I feel like it's being so praised rn bc ppl are still hyped with it coming out (like when you eat too much sugar, yk what I mean?) and it has a lot of cameos and familiar faces. but, in some months, I def think some people will start to change their opinions once more debates rise up.

it's specially sad to me that the og saga proposed itself to criticize the death of children and the issues of entertainment industry, and people spent years saying there wouldn't be a haymitch book because it would go against the point of the trilogy, just then to... get another book about children dying in the most brutal ways (this one in specific is so much more brutal than the others, I have to say, specially with the amount of 12-13 yo tributes that appear).

suzanne collins always writes when she has something to say, but in this, she really only told us she had to pay her bills.

[coryosmin]

Have you done anything for first kisses with the THG characters??

i don’t think i have!! this is first kisses with each character but not exactly like their or your first kiss ever

coriolanus - your first kiss with coryo would likely be at the academy, truthfully. it was late one night and the two of you were studying together. however, the night led to the two of you laughing together, something so rare as coryo rarely ever shows emotion other than being stoic or charming towards those with power. and one thing led to another where you’re both walking out of the library in silence until you’re at the entrance with no one around. and coryo just looks at you and you look at him and he plants a soft kiss on your lips, not a long one. but enough to leave an impression on you. and it was safe to say that it most definitely ended in a hot makeout session with you pressed up against the wall of the library.

tigris - your first kiss with tigris would probably be after she became a stylist for the games. like the beginning of her career. she would have her own studio and you both would be visiting it for the first time ever. and in excitement, tigris would smile, grab your face and just kiss your lips without any warning. and after a moment, she would pull away, apologizing profusely until you pull her back in, kissing her softly.

sejanus - OKAY SO your first kiss with sejanus would be in his bedroom. your families were having dinner together as the two of you are from prominent families within the capitol. the two of you were definitely the best of friends. and when you and sej go to his room to take a break from your guys’ parents, the two of you are just sitting on sejanus’s bed, talking about how stupid this whole dinner is. but as you’re talking, sejanus can’t keep his eyes off of his lips and without any thought, he cuts you off by kissing you. and to his surprise, you immediately kiss back because truthfully, it’s something you both have wanted for so long.

haymitch - your first kiss with haymitch would likely be after he has an episode. he had been off of alcohol for some time now and you’ve been there to get him through sobriety. and one night, he has an episode, thrashing around, the trauma all coming back to him. until you wrap your arms around him, hugging him and whispering soothing words into his ear. once he’s calmed down, he’s just focused on you and your voice, looking at you as you speak to him. and he would realize just how much he appreciates you which would lead to him kissing you on the lips as a thank you.

finnick - okay but imagine being at the beach with finnick. and the two of you are just splashing around in the ocean, laughing and having fun together as you swam. finnick would come up to you, acting as though he was going to wrap his arms around you and slam you into the water (because what else would anyone do?) when instead, he ends up just looking into your eyes, you looking back at him. and suddenly, his lips are on yours while the waves crash into the two of you. and it’s just a sweet and romantic moment.

johanna - your first kiss with johanna is definitely a thing in passing. the two of you would just be talking, maybe she’s just venting about how annoying someone is. and when she looks at you, listening so intently at the words she’s speaking, johanna just can’t help the fluttering in her chest. so she just leans in, planting a kiss on your lips before she continues on with what she was talking about.

peeta - imagine just baking with your best friend peeta, just smiling and having fun with him as you both bake goodies. you’re concentrated on the recipe at some point and peeta is stood next to you, looking at you. he can’t help but watch how beautiful you look in your apron, with a furrow in your eyebrow as you read. he would bring a finger underneath your chin, move your face gently to look at him. and he would plant a soft kiss on your lips before continuing as though nothing happened whatsoever.

katniss - your first kiss with katniss was in the meadow in district 12. she was taking you hunting, showing you how to fend for yourself. and eventually, spending the day with her led to the two of you just sitting down in the grass, watching nature without the worries of peacekeepers seeing you guys. you’d glance at katniss and she’d glance at you. and without any words spoken, you both go for it and kiss each other.

[thedelicatearcher]

thedelicatearcher's masterlist

my requests are always open!! if you have any thg character request (blurb, headcanons, one shot, etc), thought or just want to talk about them, my asks are open!! (also i love glee and would write anything about quinn fabray)

sorry if sometimes it takes me a while to respond to my asks, at times my inspiration is a little bit low or uni is killing me, but i will answer them

i looove talking about anything, so pleease don't be afraid to interact with me, i would love to be mutuals :)

THE HUNGER GAMES

Finnick Odair

boyfriend!finnick odair who helps you study for your finals

boyfriend!finnick odair who breaks up with you after seven years together

finnick odair who loves making improvements to your home to make your life easier

finnick odair who loves doting on his partner, but he also loves being doted on back

finnick odair is a sucker for affection from his romantic partner

finnick odair loves knitting and crocheting

finnick odair loves knitting and crocheting with a swiftie gf

finnick odair has a bed full of plushies

finnick odair loves dancing with you on the living room floor

finnick odair x reader who loves animals

modern!finnick odair would be a sucker for romcoms.

modern!finnick odair is a passionate duolingo user

finnick odair and reader going dress shopping

modern!finnick odair loves minions

finnick loves being taken care of when he feels sick

finnick survives the mutt attack but is left with scars

finnick's hair after the rebellion

finnick odair loves showering with his partner

boyfriend!finnick odair and classic maritime romance

modern!finnick odair considers himself a fashion connoisseur

young!finnick had a lemonade stand

finnick odair has nightmares

poet!finnick odair who can’t stop writing about you

boyfriend!finnick odair calls you cupcake

finnick odair loves gifting you flowers with symbolism

finnick odair doesn't want to wear his retainer

modern!finnick odair loves fearless

finnick odair with a musical gf hc

painting finnick's nails

finnick odair loves receiving forehead kisses

modern!finnick odair loves cats

finnick's favorite ice cream

finnick and johanna watching garfield

finnick odair & surprise songs

finnick odair is a hydrated king

finnick has a stanley cup in every color

finnick odair has protective cases

finnick odair & the sims 4

finnick odair had braces as an adult

finnick is an expert at poker

finnick has a spiderman toothbrush

finnick odair loves being the little spoon

finnick odair is an excessive emoji user

finnick odair loves watching cake boss

finnick is a menace playing roblox

finnick gave everyone a kenough hoodie

finnick odair is bad at making pancakes

finnick odair likes going to sleep early

fair dates with finnick

finnick odair fluff alphabet (coming soon!)

finnick odair and what happens after he exposes president snow in mockingjay (coming soon) (requested)

finnick odair with his tattoed gf (coming soon) (requested)

finnick odair and reader who dyes their hair (coming soon) (requested)

finnick odair with a rockstar gf (coming soon) (requested)

Katniss Everdeen

young!katniss everdeen x hyper fem!reader

modern!katniss everdeen loves garfield

katniss finishes the milk and puts it back

katniss has a candy crush obsession

katniss owns tons of scrunchies

Johanna Mason

johanna and finnick watching garfield

johanna mason & character.ai

johanna mason x reader after the rebellion (coming soon!!) (requested)

Peeta Mellark

nothing (yet!)

Haymitch Abernathy

haymitch learns how to braid your hair

Everlark

everlark falls in love in every universe.

katniss and peeta move out of the victor's village after the rebellion

modern!everlark as swifties

modern!everlark and minecraft

peeta proposed to katniss in the lake

everlark & chocolate croissants

everlark & the sims

everlark & ice cream

everlark washing the dishes

roadtrips with everlark

General Headcanons/Blurbs

THG characters and the ttpd songs i think would be their favorites only based on vibes and delusion (i made it before it came out lol)

THG characters and their favorite animated character

THG characters and their favorite animated character (TBOSAS edition)

modern!finnick odair and modern!peeta mellark love water parks

modern!finnick odair would call the property brothers to remodel everlark's home

GLEE

Quinn Fabray

quinn fabray loves snoopy

[everlarkedalways]

"I roll straight off the mattress onto the floor and pull on a pair of shorts made from a government- issued flour sack. The words COURTESY OF THE CAPITOL end up stamped across my butt."

--SOTR, Chapter 1

Wow. That's just gut-wrenching. I feel like this book will read like this--painful. I don't know what else I was expecting.

It's an interesting contrast to read this versus reading Ballad because of the characters' points of view. We love Haymitch, so anything that happens, we are going to empathize with and even cheer him on. Whereas with Snow, it felt like a historical study of this character and of Panem--but I've only read a chapter in, so I know nothing.

[phefics]

This just came to my mind while I was studying for my psychology exam - but what do you think THG would be like if they were dating a reader who is a theatre performer? Like them picking the reader up from rehearsals that ran overtime, watching their performances and listening to them talk about their crazy (and sometimes kinda weird) rehearsal memories?

I hope this makes sense because I am not too great with explaining things

this is so cute, not weird at all!! you didn't specify the guys so i'm gonna do all the characters i write for. hope you like!! xo

coryo is supportive, mostly because he likes the idea of dating someone who could be famous one day. he brags about your talents to people at school/work, and comes to every show, sits in the front row, and brings you roses. he admires your dedication, even when it means staying late to run scenes or crazy rehearsal stories.

finnick loves to watch you perform. he's been caught trying to sneak into your rehearsals before, and given you a sheepish grin as he's escorted out of the theater. he's just so captivated by you. as someone who has spent a lot of his life performing against his will, he loves to watch you flourish doing something you love. he loves hearing about cast drama, like straight up will make popcorn to listen to the gossip.

gale isn't super into theater but will be supportive! he likes that you have a hobby you're so passionate about, even if he doesn't understand. he tries to make every show when he isn't busy with work, and has terrible theater ettiquette the first time and keeps cheering every time you're on stage, so you have to explain that he can't do that, lol. he also picks you up from rehearsals because he won't let you walk home late at night, ever.

haymitch isn't very into the arts, in general - he's just never had an urge to consume it or have a hobby of his own. but seeing you feel so passionate about it and have so much fun opens him up to the idea a lot, and i can see him definitely going to your shows and finding the beauty in live theater.

johanna would be a stage crew girly, so i think she would participate in your theatre stuff (if it was local/small, i don't think she would pursue it as a career) and she does the lights or sound. definitely ignores directions so she can put the spotlight on you even when you aren't talking in a scene.

katniss is very supportive, but i don't see her being into theatre at all - she'll go to your shows but doesn't really vibe with it, so she's there to support you but wouldn't go if you weren't involved. if you are in a musical production, though, she will get the songs stuck in her head and whistle/sing them around the house.

lucy gray is probably also involved in theatre!! or, she at least totally understands your passion as well as your workload. if you do musical theatre, she helps you practice your songs and learns them on guitar so she can play them for you. she is always cheering so loud in the audience - she is so supportive and loving.

peeta would probably get involved in your production behind the scenes, painting sets. he is so supportive and i could even see him joining the show if you convinced him he'd be good - he's clearly a very charming actor and would probably find it fun. if he doesn't join you, though, he is in the front row of every single performance with flowers.

sejanus is the most supportive boyfriend ever, i swear. he will singlehandeldly fund your local theatre just so you can participate. he takes time off of work to go to every single show, and has flowers sent to you backstage. he helps you rehearse at home, always being a bit goofy and over-the-top when he reads the lines.

tigris would probably be involved as well, designing and altering costumes!! she loves to design and sew and having that outlet that benefits the community as well as her partner would make her really happy.