charlunday

[charlunday]

“You had a nightmare? It’s ok, Daddy gets them too”.

[charlunday]

the mule the rascal the token collector the jackass

[charlunday]

"Me ?" I say in disbelief. "I am living proof that the Capitol always wins. I tried to keep that sun from rising on another reaping day, I tried to change things and now everybody's dead. You don't want me." And I don't want him. I don't want help from anybody in the Capitol ever again. I could never trust them. "We do want you. You shook up the Capitol, both figuratively and literally, with that earthquake. You were capable of imagining a different future. And maybe it won't be realized today, maybe not in our lifetime. Maybe it will take generations. We're all part of a continuum. Does that make it pointless ?" "I just don't know. But I do know, you need someone different from me." "No, Haymitch, we need someone exactly like you." "Just luckier ?" I say. "Luckier, or with better timing." — Sunrise on the Reaping, 2025, written by Suzanne Collins.

[charlunday]

“closer examination of the rule book”

rule book? what rule book?

there’s only one rule

“only one winner may be allowed”

this isn’t just a twist for audience attention

this is the thesis

this is the crux, the precipice

Snow demanding his game’s holy principle hold

and these two smart, kind, lucky, extraordinary and ordinary kids

with so much love to spare

got to do what so many of the ghosts unknowingly trapped under their skin never got the chance to

you have to eat the poison yourself to keep your power, Snow knows this

except that he’s just found himself on the wrong side of the bargaining table

“no victor, no games”

“two victors, no games”

berry-sticky hands push their own pawns across the board

welcome back to the arena, Coryo

your move

[charlunday]

lenore dove resenting maysilee for keeping a canary in a cage, only for the capitol to literally lock haymitch in a gilded cage after his games. he is truly a canary in a coal mine, trying to warn the districts about what really happened to him.

[charlunday]

a thing that i particularly love about the hunger games prequels is how it shows that people have been fighting against the games since their inception

when i was younger and read the original trilogy for the first time i was so bothered how it was 74 years of games, i remember thinking how could it have gone on so long without anyone doing anything

these prequels highlight that people have been fighting from the get-go: lucy gray's defiance, reaper ripping down panem's flags to cover the fallen tributes, haymitch's games and how many others shared his ideologies - the capitol just drowns them out, they rewrite their stories so their efforts are forgotten

liberation takes time and it's built upon the actions of those in the past

[charlunday]

Dm @burntblueberrywaffles or @crazyexshipper to join our snowbaird discord!

[charlunday]

You can buy yourself a plushie, a new snuggly buddy, a new friend even but watch out. The monies

[charlunday]

every day i think about the cat on twitter who looks more like a scheming eunuch than any creature has ever looked

monkey i love you beloved little freak i would die for you

[charlunday]

no one slaughter me right now ok I'm so flooded with stress hormones the meat would taste terrible

[charlunday]

SUNRISE ON THE REAPING SPOILERS

“I had a best friend once”.

[charlunday]

sit on mommy’s lap ok. mommy has to tell you something. you’re pissing me the fuck off you little piece of shit. i hate you

[charlunday]

I haven’t yet done a full review of Sunrise on the Reaping, and my feelings are complex.

First, I never wanted prequels. I had an idea of the world I liked, and any additional information will alter it. I don’t love that. However, I find I am still able to enjoy the originals, and am looking forward to a reread. More scattered thoughts below:

Here is what I enjoyed about this book:

Maysilee Donner: no 👏🏻 notes 👏🏻

The ways we get to see that the Capitol is still a system in progress, not yet as far along as we see in the trilogy

Haymitch’s compassion for the weak: absolutely heartbreaking

Many of the characters as their own people (Burdock, Asterid, Lenore Dove, Louella and Lou Lou, Ampert, and others), though perhaps less so as pieces in a puzzle

The subtler nods to Katniss and Peeta: note, I said the subtle ones

Weirdly, the no holds barred deaths

Silka and the chocolate 😭

The way it justifies a lot of Snow’s animosity towards Katniss and Peeta as personal, and not wholly pragmatic; theirs is a struggle of worldview, of will to power vs. sacrifice

Reinforced for me how important Peeta was … doubt many casual readers will clock that, which irks me to no end … he’s already getting even more erased … but nonetheless!!! gray, dove, dandelion

The epilogue … “my family”

The confirmation of emotional support ghosts; I’ve always believed there was a lot of supernatural stuff going on in Panem so that doesn’t throw me 

What I remain struggling with:

I really do not like the explanation for “sweetheart” … it feels like it cheapens their relationship by making Katniss a ghost of Louella; I mentioned before that I can make peace with some of these foreshadowings and seeming ret-cons because I think that they were well-intentioned on Suzanne Collins’ part, that she thought it would really enrich in the world and be meaningful to the readers, so maybe I’m just jaded …

I didn’t particularly love the other ways they were connected other; no problem with him and Burdock beings friends (it’s a small town) and I recognize he’d then know Burdock’s kid … but … the double braids? really? that’s Peeta’s thing

speaking of Peeta … Haymitch is such a sweetheart himself in this book, so broken, and so used … and then … why is he such a liar in the original??? because (and I need to reread, so maybe standby) … he says he loves Katniss and Peeta, and I believe him, and I’ve always believed him … but some of the things he now KNOWINGLY puts them through seem … cruel

like, I KNOW that he’s changed and I have so much sympathy believe me I cannot believe he made it as long as he did … but, like, even at the beginning of the first book, there’s this scene where Katniss describes how he makes her and Peeta stand in the middle of the room while he inspects them, prodding them “like animals” … and I’m thinking … Haymitch … how could you?

and maybe I just need to accept he’s very very complex and morally gray

but I need to reread … I am not in as big of a crash out as I was over Ballad … and many things I enjoyed … so my views may change

[charlunday]

"The law locks up the man or woman

Who steals the goose from off the common

And geese will still a common lack

Till they go and steal it back."

commissions open!

[charlunday]

I love you like allfire

[charlunday]

me when im so sweet and beautiful

[charlunday]

more textposts! because 🥰