#I thought it would be haymitch pov

[gatheryepens]

okay some thoughts about Sunrise on the Reaping, because if I don’t say anything I might go insane….

[mitsuki91]

Oooonce again here we are.

Excuse me and us shippers if we actually can separate fiction and reality. Can I suggest all the antis to not consume the media if they can not handle it in full and, yes, I include shipping here, lol.

Suzanne Collins was really pissed when she saw all those edits of Snow as ‘daddy’ and whatever other bullshit after the TBOSAS movie, sat down at her laptop again and started typing “let’s see if you get the message now when HE KILLS 47 CHILDREN”

[effiestrinkets]

THIS POST CONTAINS THG SOTR SPOILERS

finished sunrise on the reaping !! losing my mind. i cried so much.

here are some long rambling thoughts about my beloved effie trinket and also her friendship/relationship to haymitch abernathy. (yes, i’m back here after all these years lmao)

CW for themes present in the hunger games novels — murder, war, torture, cannibalism

this really is kinda wild to get new canon lore about haymitch and effie’s backstory so many years later. and that it contradicts all of our old fanon headcanons is funny, but honestly i love this canon backstory.

effie wasn’t a child watching haymitch’s games, but she’s actually a lil bit older than him! probably 5-10 years older, right? and imo she’s such a sweetheart even though she’s flawed and capitol-brainwashed. she came in and showed so much kindness to the D12 districts in the 50th hunger games, she met haymitch before he went into the arena and saw his true self. before alcoholism, before the capitol twisted him into something he wasn’t. the moment when he picked up the dropped makeup box for her was sweet.

i just love all of the new details we learn about effie. in the og trilogy katniss is so oblivious and dismissive of effie (no shade ily katniss) so i really enjoyed getting haymitch’s pov and finding out that he feels comforted by her and trusts her

• she had lavender hair when we first meet her!! this to me feels related to maysilee having a lavender dress at the reaping. something something both women are women haymitch grows to love. also love that we see effie wearing lavender in the hunger games movies a lot. lavender is associated with many meanings — calmness, grace, love, devotion, femininity, queerness, royalty, take your pick.

• loved to know effie loved her younger sister proserpina so fiercely and would go out of her way to help her :’)

• she dressed D12 nicely for their interviews and really showed them some small moments of kindness — it was especially lovely to see her and maysilee having moments of girlhood together in what were maysilee’s last hours of normality — and that she was kind to lou lou

• also i enjoyed the hints about the trinket family and effie’s great-aunt messalina and great-uncle silius disgracing the family during the war. knowing it’s ‘hard (enough) to be a trinket’ in the context of the capitol really informs us of so much of effie’s motivations and mannerisms. she’s obsessed with being perfect because their family has clearly been critiqued and shunned at times. her sister’s at the university, not the academy, which means they aren’t part of the capitol elite.

and thinking about what they might have done to be disgraced… silius trinket owned clothes with concealed weapon slots? bloodstains?? plutarch describing silius as ‘depraved’??? it probably wasn’t rebel sympathy because effie says “you win” when vitus says that’s what his grandfather was, so i’m leaning towards cannibalism, becausec also…

in TBOSAS we learn from snow that nero price (a titan of the railroad industry) was a cannibal during the war and served his maid’s leg to his family. his daughter persephone price was a mentor along with snow in the 10th hunger games. it’s implied persephone price, as a child, ate the human meat food that her father provided. much like the myth of persephone eating the pomegranates from the underworld.

can someone with more ancient history knowledge pls expand upon this — i feel like it’s something. now, in ancient rome, valeria messalina was the cousin of emperor nero. she was the third wife of the roman emperor claudius, but had an affair and married her lover silius and as a result, messalina and silius were both executed.

and proserpina (effie’s sister) is the roman name for persephone (confirmed daughter of a cannibal in tbosas)! i personally believe that’s gotta be a sign that effie’s relatives also engaged in cannibalism during the war.

• effie told haymitch he was being brave and said he deserved to look beautiful 🥹

• she’s a fake leather hater, lol, this fact goes so well with film!effie loving mahogany

• she was so nervous before haymitch went into the arena that her hands were shaking, and she reminded him not to step off the plate for 60 seconds so he wouldn’t die

• she promised to get his token to his love (leonore dove) if he died in the arena

• she believed in a positive attitude to get through anything :’)

• post-games, she stood strong in the face of peacekeeper bullets and she was already faking positivity and she was determined as ever, ‘you can’t keep effie down’

• while everyone else saw haymitch as a vicious animal and had him chained up, she trusted he would never hurt her and stood by him

• she watched over haymitch at the victory party in the capitol when he was in a cage

• when they needed a new escort and plutarch suggested effie, she came even though it wouldn’t be easy for her. being an escort is a way for her to climb the social ranks, but it’s also so challenging and puts effie in line of president snow’s gaze

• after his family and leonore were killed, she tried to motivate haymitch to keep living when he was suicidal and she helped him to bathe and get cleaned up and doted on him and she took the knife out of his hands when he started sleeping with it

• she tried to keep haymitch sober on the victory tour despite all the booze around them

i love her so much u guys. she’s such a misunderstood character with a lot of love in her heart <33333

she’s brainwashed by the capitol from birth and she’s certainly got all of their superficiality, like she worries about trivial things like ageing and cares too much about how she looks, but in her heart she’s good and kind. she’s clearly just trying to survive and not get herself or her family killed by the regime.

plus, i’m now thinking of all of this in context of the other novels.

how in the hunger games haymitch tries to hug effie when she’s drunk (but she pushes him away bc she’s worried about looking perfect for the reaping), and how they bicker (more so in the films) but trust and actually get along with each other, because now we know they’ve known each other 25 years at this point and in this time, and that means they were mentor and escort to 46 children who died before katniss and peeta came along.

effie tries to help katniss and peeta, as best as she can, and she grows to love them. she just wants them to be safe and hates to see them hurt. and she wishes she could make sponsor deals… and she and haymitch are “of one mind” and really do work well together as a team. and effie hides her smiles when the other 3 are being kinda traitorous. she’s got a rebellious streak herself.

then in catching fire she’s even more of a mother hen to peeta and katniss, she stops drinking in solidarity with haymitch while he’s trying to be sober, she gets them all the gold bangles to be a team, when effie stresses about being behind schedule and everything not being perfect because of delays haymitch sides with effie when katniss is rude to her, effie fusses over the kids all the time, she freaks out when peeta and katniss do the seneca crane / rue moments to the gamemakers and haymitch sides with her warning them not to be rebellious. effie is so deeply aware of how rebellion gets u killed and she keeps her mouth shut to stay alive. just like haymitch does. GAHHHH.

and, the detail in sotr that effie hates needles, but then in mockingjay (the book) she ends up a prisoner of the capitol and gets tortured and starved and probably gets drugged to all hell. and haymitch and plutarch have a hard time keeping her alive. bloody hell.

now, onto the hayffie of it all.

book!haymitch loves leonore more than anything, and he still sees visions of her throughout his life including into the epilogue, post-war. i always wondered what suzanne collins would do after the films leaned in harder into the hayffie romance angle (thank u woody and liz lmao) and i do like that she kept it aligned to the original books — it’s very mature and realistic. they do care deeply for each other, but it’s not some glossed over romance given the deep trauma haymitch has been through.

book!haymitch by the end of his games, after everyone he loves is murdered, believes that he cannot love anyone or they’ll die. he closes himself off completely. of course he’s not going to allow himself to become romantically linked to effie and have a relationship with her. he’s broken and an alcoholic and trying to win a rebellion. katniss, in catching fire, thinks he could’ve had any woman in the district, but he doesn’t. he can’t.

but in the epilogue, now that the war’s over? yeah he worries that his liver is gonna fail him, but he’s still only in his early 40s and they do have great medicine so who’s to say what happens between him and effie in the next 40-50 years of their lives? maybe they stay just friends, maybe they become romantic. i think that’s all open to interpretation. SOTR really doesn’t rule out romantic!hayffie to me. in fact i think it gives us some delicious angst potential (hello fanfic) wherein he loves effie but will always love and mourn leonore.

anyway, i am just so glad to know more about effie trinket and glad we got to see her again. she is so special to me. i need an effie book please and thank you. ❤️

[ultimate-marysue]

It's so important to me that Haymitch figures Lenore's mystery.

We know Lucy Gray was such a remarkable woman in spite of Snow's pov. He never understands her and to the audience she remains mysterious despite the fact that we (the audience) know there was more to her than the pretty songbird or traitorous snake. To Snow she stays his manic pixie dream girl, a lesson in getting attached to pretty things he can't control.

But not Haymitch.

There are multiple characters (including Lenore Dove herself) that allude to Haymitch not knowing all her secrets. Even when he's dreaming of a life where he's not reaped, he immediately starts thinking about how Lenore Dove has that side of her that doesn't include him. Does that make him rethink his love for her? Does he ever wonder if he should find another girl that would be happy as just a miner/bootlegger's wife? Nope.

He understands that Lenore Dove has her own interior life, her own dreams and her own agency. Haymitch knows that he doesn't play a major part in all of those. He fears her rebellious spirit for the trouble it may bring to her, never blaming her for the major problem it caused him, but he doesn't try to stop her and control her. Haymitch never once wants to ask her to do what he wants, he doesn't even seem to register that as a possibility.

I keep thinking about how Snow hated Lucy Gray's poem, how he dismissed the poetry as silly and never cared about metaphors. I don't remember his exact words, but he made it sound beneath them, barely managing to pretend he cared only to get Lucy Gray off his back.

How Haymitch admits that a lot of Lenore Dove's philosophies go over his head, but instead of just giving up he keeps trying to understand her explanations. How he never got angry or frustrated despite wanting to chill with his girlfriend when she started quoting David Hume. He's constantly reflecting on what she teaches him, he's proud of how many new words she's taught him through songs, and laments that the covey can't sing them. She recognizes the dangerous lyrics and makes them his flag in the games. He memorizes Lenore Dove's name poem and he constantly analyzes its meaning. That man is 24/7 rotating The Raven by Edgard Allan Poe in his head because it's his girl's poem. He was never a singer but he learns to love and understand poetry to be worthy of the girl he loves.

So the fact that, in the end, he learns about the orange nail polish and the posters is so important. The fact that he gets the final piece to understand that Lenore Dove wasn't just his girl (he never thought that, he's not Snow), that she wasn't just smart, philosophical and a bit rebellious; that she was actively a Rebel. The fact that he takes it as a sign to forever forsake whatever remains of his dreams and commit to his promise to her, to bringing her dream to reality... He is the antithesis of Snow.

Haymitch truly, selflessly, loved Lenore Dove. In the end, he understood her better than anyone else and honored her wishes above his own. When he found out that her dreams were so much bigger than he first thought, so much bigger than him, he wasn't turned off by it. He never wanted a woman that was reduced to just him, but he gladly sacrificed all that he was for her legacy.

Snow tried to erase Lucy Gray from the world, Haymitch worked his entire life to transform the world into Lenore Dove's dream, even if he had to erase himself in the process.

[mirixmoya]

my initial first-read thoughts for SOTR PART II: THE RASCAL there will be MAJOR SPOILERS under the cut but pls enjoy :)

chapter 10;

fake louella is so interesting, i'm excited to see where this plot point goes

"and someone's definitely rapping at my chamber door." we are 2 for 2 on The Raven references that's wild

"what breaks a machine?" "time." and the machine in question is the Capitol itself suzanne u kinda ate w that.

chapter 11;

whatever u do don't think about haymitch and burdock sneaking into victors' village to admire the luxury of the houses only for haymitch (and burdock's daughter) to spend great portions of their lives trapped in those houses drowning in their luxury

beetee entrusting this complicated ass plan to a 16 year old is crazy work bro

maysilee trying not to giggle at haymitch's singing... her and effie would be best friends i fear

haymitch picking up the word aphorism from snow immediately and using it himself ohhhh my sweet clever boy :(

chapter 12;

ceasar flickerman mention thank u jesus

guys... guys i'm not even joking i read the words "big, big, big day" and i burst into tears #normal

chapter 13;

ITS REAL ITS REALLY HER HOLY FUC K

OLDER SISTER EFFIE CANON

ngl i did not think we would get an effie cameo. not even a little bit. i didn't even let myself hope for it in any small way. life is so fucking good rn

okay so effie is obviously a Little Older than we've all be writing her huh

"well, she's swallowed the capitol propaganda hook and took the line and sinker with it, but at least she's brought us some decent footwear." TEARS. TEARS IN MY EYES.

i cannot believe i have lived to see the day where we actually get canon haymitch pov perceiving effie this is crazy

The Trinkets being slightly socially disgraced... interesting.

"For a moment, they're just two girls on a mission to beautiful the world." WHAT DID I SAY. I KNEW THEY WOULD BE BESTIES.

HAYFFIE CRUMBS HAYFFIE CRUMBS

not him jumping to pick up her shit for her... in a world of boys he's a gentlemen

EFFIE THINKS HE'S BEAUTIFUL :((((

"the capitol citizens lose it and so do i, until i remember the joke's not just on panache. it's on all of us stupid, clawed district piglets. animals for their entertainment." haymitch gaining class consciousness in real time

"and you, darling?" okayyy abernathy charm

effie just hanging around in the background in making me inexplicably happy. i am smiling and giggling

not her tryna shoot her shot by putting the flower on his label okayyy miss Effie Subtlety Trinket

chapter 14;

"sometimes she cries because things are so beautiful and we keep messing them up. because the world doesn't have to be so terrifying. that's on people, not the world." felt that one in my chest my god...

"i love you like all-fire. that's for always." this food is so fucking good suzanne

effie and plutarch going this far back is... interesting. then why didn't u save her ass from prison during the 75th SIR?

"i hate needles" PLASTIC SURGERY PHOBIC EFFIE CANON!!!!

another The Raven reference... what is going on

chapter 15;

mags mother of millions

MORE HAYFFIE CRUMBS SUZANNE I OWE U MY LIFE

haymitch asking her to make sure the token gets back to lenore dove... effie laying a hand on his chest and promising to do her best... the interconnected web that is haydove / hayffie has never been more alive

effie being the last person he sees before going into the arena is kinda insanely romantic??? "locking my eyes on hers until things go black" ??? hello??

chapter 16;

"the games must end. here. now." and then he's gonna spend so many years watching them happen over and over and over again suzanne how dare u

"i don't want one of my last acts to be taking out an ally, especially a dove-coloured one." he loves lenore dove sm im crying fr

"fire is catching, she'd say" ... suzanne is doing comedy now

chapter 17;

"i can't keep one of them safe. why do they flock to me?" just thought about him having this mindset for the next 40 years and cried :(((

chapter 18;

"in a way, it's a comfort that a bunch of people i know have gone before me." my baby :( spoken too soon girl :(

haymitch trying to blow this shit up katniss&haymitch fatherdaughterism has never been more alive and well

ampert :( haymitch's closeness with a lot of the victors makes so much more sense now. like it's not JUST that they hang out during the in-between years but their lives are tied so closely together from the moment haymitch enters the games.

is the goose and the common song silly? yes. is it important to remember that the enclosure of common land is historically and inextricably linked to (1) the rise of private property, (2) increasingly powerful centralized states, (3) the economic dependence of the labouring poor on their lords of the land. suzanne u big history nerd

he's so hopeful :( he believes so hard :( it's sad to know that that's all slowly washed out of him :(

more slightly intelligent thoughts! even more rambly nothing thoughts! either way i hope u enjoyed :)

[retrowitchy]

hiiiiiiiii i rly like ur lenore dove stuff on ao3 so far, do u have any headcanons about her other than what we know (which isn't much)

omfg thank you so much!!!! i LOVE lenore dove with all my heart and soul and bones and writing from her pov is fun for me because we don't get to hear directly from the minds of most of the covey characters in the series (might do some lucy gray stuff soon too, or maybe go more niche and start making shit up about barb azure because i love her lol). here are some thoughts i have on our girl!

lenore dove headcanons because i miss her <3

massive sweet tooth (this is like...canon adjacent (rip) but i don't think it's directly stated). she'll take any sweets she can get, but she enjoys walking by the bakery and seeing the mellark family at work, even if she doesn't have the means to pay for anything. otho is a softie, though, and sometimes he'll trade a hot bun for a song on her tune box !

i think she was one of those little kids that was a yapper, and then got quieter when she got older. we know from haymitch's pov that in school she was pretty quiet, but very talkative around him and her uncles- but i bet from ages like 4-8 or 9 she never stopped talking. that girl has a LOT on her mind.

it took her a minute to warm up to haymitch and trust him. not THAT long. but i think she's the sort of person to not reveal her full self until she really feels comfortable.

she's known haymitch since she was ten, but burdock is her first and oldest friend (since they're related).

i think clerk carmine in particular really looked up to lucy gray, and because of that, lenore dove gets almost all of her information on her from him. tam amber, too, but clerk carmine was just a kid when lucy gray disappeared, and i think would have viewed her as kind of a living legend/big sister ------ > meaning that lenore dove has a similar, awestruck, larger-than-life view of her. i also like the idea that the scrap of raspberry ribbon on the inside of her sleeve is directly from the rainbow reaping dress, and clerk carmine gave it to lenore dove himself.

after her first bought in prison, she was grounded for a month. haymitch would climb up the clematis trellis outside her window, sneak into her room, and bring her gifts and leaves and flowers from the Meadow, since she wasn't allowed out (not that she didn't try to escape many, many times in that month).

first kiss at age 12. it didn't take her that long to fall head over heels for haymitch, even though they were still kids. my best guess right now is that she would have kissed him in some impassioned moment where he said something she wholeheartedly agreed with on a topic she cared very much about (sort of a romione first kiss type of beat) and it just sort of happened. and he'd get all blushy and silly about it and she'd feel a little embarrassed but also not really because she does what she wants and she never does a thing without a purpose. (idk maybe i'll turn this into a drabble sometime)

i got a ton more but these are just off the top of my head right now before i run off to class <3 <3

[moethewriter]

Could you do one for Finnick where no one knows they are together except close friends, we know katniss doesn’t like him much at first and the reader knows the rebellion plan and obviously Finnick so she doesn’t stop him from flirting with her and maybe(?) thinks it’s amusing because she knows why he’s doing it but it’s revealed in the arena they’re together and katniss is shocked

I hope you like it! I was excited to write it but I fear I made it far more angsty and less flirty than you would like! TITLE: A Lover's Cry WORD COUNT: 1.8k PAIRING: Finnick Odair x Reader WARNINGS: General hunger games violence, secret relationships, angst and multiple POV! (Katniss, Reader) TAGS: Let me know if I need to tag anything else! A/N: I actually really loved writing this one, and i hope you enjoy it despite only loosely basing it off your prompt! Thank you so much for the request and as always I take constructive critisicsm! Not beta read as usual! -

“So what’s with those two?” Katniss questioned, pointing towards the screen.

She had watched Haymitch flick through the tributes, giving her and Peeta the basics on everyone who was going into the arena. Two had caught her eyes immediately, Finnick Odair from District 4, and Y/N L/N from District 8. She knew their names, their faces but she didn’t know anything about their skills or who they were. But both seemed far too polished, posh and pretty standing in front of their respective crowds. It seemed like they were ready to head back in there, almost like they wanted too. 

Haymitch turned towards the television.

“Finnick Odair and Y/N L/N.” He stated, watching the scenes of people he knew, waving towards the crowd of people. Picture perfect smiles adorning their faces.“The Capitol Darlings, everyone loves them … and people to watch out for. Finnick Odair, the youngest Victor in history at only fourteen and Y/N L/N took the top spot for kills from Beetee during her games. Took out nine people in one go. Extremely humble” He shook his head, remembering the brutality.

Katniss made a face. “You’re kidding right?” She snorted.

“Yes, I’m kidding.” Haymitch rolled his eyes. “They’re both peacocks, preeners … The Capitol loves their charm and friendship. They have a lot of support. They would make good allies … but deadly competition.” Haymitch explained.  

“Weaknesses?” Peeta questioned, leaning towards his mentor.

“Finnick will have Mags in there, she basically raised him. He’ll want to protect her in whatever ways he can” Haymitch told them, taking a seat. “Y/N … far too trusting at heart and will do anything to protect them both. She’d rather see herself die than her friends.” He stated.

Katniss simply nodded.

-

Katniss walked into the training room, and scanned her surroundings … She didn’t know these Victors well enough to decide who she wanted to align herself with. According to Haymitch … to make it through the Quarter Quell, she and Peeta needed strong allies. Though she knew deep down the only one she could truly depend on was Peeta. 

Katniss walked towards the bow and arrows laying on the table when she heard the sound of a faint giggle, something she thought she would never hear. She looked up, and her eyes moved around the room … finally they landed on the culprit. She frowned at the sight as she watched a blush rise on Y/N’s face. It wasn’t from endurance training, but from Finnick Odair. 

Katniss had not taken Finnick, refused to, even … he was far too cocky for her taste and she didn’t want him anywhere near her. But Y/N seemed almost enamoured by him … like she liked … whatever the hell was going on.

Katniss made a mental note of the two, as she headed towards Mags … she would keep that to herself for now. She needed to make some friends here, and Katniss thought that Mags would be a good start.

-

“You’re going to get us caught, Finnick.” You blushed, pushing him away as you headed in the opposite direction. “Play it cool, Odair … can’t have everyone knowing about us.” You whispered.

“Sorry.” Finnick put his hands up in defence, a small smile lacing his features. “I’ll try to tone it down but looking at you … that’s going to be hard to do.” 

“Zip it.” You made the motion of your lips. “We’ve got training to do.” You told him, gesturing towards the room.

Everyone else was laser focused on honing their skills, making it known that they were not to be messed with in the Games. But you two were simply goofing off, and giggling like two schoolgirls who had gossip that no one else knew. You were certain that Snow wasn’t pleased, nor was the new Game Maker but you were in your world. Finnick had always made it hard to concentrate on the task at hand.  

You and Finnick had been together for three years. During the 71st Hunger Games you had both been mentors for your respective Districts, and he had confessed to you. It was strange … so confusing to find love in the hardship of the Games but you wouldn’t trade that for the world. You loved him more than anything and he loved you right back. Long distance had been hard at first but you made it work, you would always make it work for him. 

“Find me later?” He asked.

“I know your room number.” You said, smiling towards him.

-

“I don’t know if I’m ready to go back in there.” You whispered, snuggling closer to Finnick.

You knew the plan, and you knew you had to get Katniss and Peeta out of that arena. Plutarch and Haymitch had made that abundantly clear. There was a Rebellion and Plutarch was on your side, he was hiding in plain sight, ready to take down The Capitol. You jumped at the chance to join, even if that meant sacrificing your own life. Finnick had agreed immediately once he knew you were joining. He had always shared your sentiments about having a better future for everyone.

You wanted a better life, a quiet life with him and you would fight for that every single day. You finally had your chance, and you had no idea if it was going to work but you had to try, you had to fight.

“I know.” He whispered, his thumb gliding across your hip. “I’m not either.”

“When we’re in there …” You muttered, kissing his jaw. “You have to remember that Katniss and Peeta are the most important ones there. Okay? You have to protect them first and everything else comes later.” 

He smelt like vanilla, probably from the soap supplied from The Capitol, but it was so soothing to you.

“I … I don’t know if I can do that.” Finnick said, plainly. “I know this Rebellion is important … I know that they are important but they’re not the most important things to me, Y/N. You and Mags will always be far more important than some Rebellion.” 

“Finnick.” You felt the lump rise in your throat.

This could be the last time that you two were together, and you weren’t handling it well. You knew you would never be safe again after winning The Games. You were well aware that you would never have peace again, but you didn’t think you would be in this position ever again. You certainly didn’t want to be here with Finnick.

“Let’s just be together right now.” He said, kissing the top of your head. “Let’s pretend that nothing is going to happen tomorrow and we're just laying under the stars and nothing is going to go wrong.” His breathing started to even out, and his heartbeat steadied your own.

“Okay.” You whispered, desperately swallowing. “Okay.”

-

“Finnick! Katniss!” You cried, chasing them into the woods, Johanna and Peeta on your tail.

The Games hadn’t been going as planned. 

First you had been separated from Finnick, which had caused you great distress. You ended up pairing with Johanna, Beetee and Wiress, fighting your way through blood rain and wild beasts. 

Then you had lost both Wiress and Mags. You had lost so many who joined The Rebellion, you watched the announcements every night and flinched whenever a cannon fired, wondering if you were losing a friend or foe. But you didn’t have time to grieve either of them, so much was at stake. You had to make it through another night to ensure that you would be saved. Giving up when you were so close wasn’t an option

But God you were so tired.

Then … the jabberjays started. 

You hated jabberjays.

They hadn't been used during your games, but you knew they tortured anyone who listened.

You had stepped out to find something food for everyone, and Beetee volunteered to come with you. You were all hungry, and getting weaker, especially after the fight at the cornucopia. You needed some sort of energy, and you weren’t going to see anyone die of starvation. 

You had been gone for maybe twenty minutes when you heard Katniss scream, shortly followed by Finnick. Fear had seized your heart, as you wasted no time chasing the sounds, Beetee desperately calling for you. 

You weren’t afraid to fight whatever threat was out there … especially when Finnick’s life was on the line. You would gladly die if it meant he lived.

You had met up with everyone, chasing down the other two and when you had found them, screaming, Jabberjays fluttering above them … your voice crying for help … you had cried, desperately trying to reach Finnick but to no avail. 

He and Katniss were trapped, writhing on the ground … sobbing and there was nothing you could do but wait.

It had been horrible to watch, you could only imagine what they were experiencing. 

You didn’t care who knew anymore, you would scream from the rooftops that you were in love with Finnick, if that meant he would be okay. You needed him to be okay.

It seemed like hours before the Jabberjays had flown away, and you had run to his side in an instant. Holding him close to you, assuring him that you were okay. 

“Y/N?” His voice sounded so goddamn small.

“I’m here baby.” You whispered, into his ear, gently rocking the man. “I am here, and I am okay. You’re okay.” You leaned in and kissed his forehead.

You were well aware of the shocked eyes on you, no one but Johanna knew anything about the two of you, and you met the brown eyes of Katniss. She seemed the most shocked out of anyone here. You knew she didn’t particularly like Finnick, she had only really met the persona he portrayed to the world. She didn’t know him like you did, you knew his heart.

“Everything is going to be okay.” You told him. “It’s going to be all okay.”

-

“He loves them.” Katniss said after a moment of silence, watching the two figures in the water.

She wondered how she could have missed it, all the signs were there yet she had been shocked. She didn’t understand the two, probably never would but that wasn’t really any of her concern.

“Yeah.” Johanna nodded. “They do. They’ve been through a lot together, I’ve known for a long time that those two were together. It’s disgusting really how much they love each other, they would quite literally kill for one another. Can’t blame them though, when you find someone like that you keep them close to your heart.” She shrugged. 

“I never thought …” Katniss trailed off.

“That anyone could ever love someone that much?” Johanna questioned, crossing her arms. “Well believe it, Katniss, because it’s right there.”

Katniss moved her gaze away from Johanna and back towards the water, the kiss was short and sweet but in that moment she knew that nothing could break those two apart. Nothing would, and they had something worth fighting for.

[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.

[speechless-illusions]

So... The brainrot got ahold of me and I am writing the "The hunger games but it's in Haymitch POV after the things we've learnt in SOTR plus add a little bit (or more like a lot) of Hayffie slow burn because I want him to heal" fanfic.

Currently 3.7k words in and I've written until the moment Katniss gets reaped. I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep up and write all I want, so it will maybe end up as little unconnected snippets of scenes, but the plan was to at least write the first book in his POV (which will be way less shorter than the book itself, since he's not "on screen" during most of it)

It's basically a lot of connecting what happens in the book with what feelings and memories each moment would bring out of Haymitch and filling gaps of what I think Haymitch would be doing out of scene while the events in the book unfold. And in those "out of scene" parts I add conversations I think he would have with Effie and small details of how their relationship has developed in all those years they've known each other and how they subtly care for each other. Also, I want to mix scenes from the book and from the movie (or mixing some conversations that happen in the book with those ones in the movie if it seems like they could connect well) selecting those I feel give more content for me to write about Haymitch's feelings and thoughts.

I've never posted anything of what I write in AO3 here (since I've never used Tumblr for the fandoms I've written so far) and this will be my first THG fanfic ever, so I'm not sure if I should post an announcement here once I post at least the first chapter or something like that? Would someone be interested in it? Any thoughts or advices on the whole thing?

[shadowqueenjude]

Hard agree with what you’re saying. It’s so frustrating trying to talk to people critically about sotr. They just always claim that you’re upset because you’ve “fallen for the propaganda” which I take issue with because there is not a chance in hell that Collins wrote Haymitch in the og trilogy with sotr planned out or in mind.

And they claim that we’re just upset because it disrupts our headcanons and ships etc. As someone who never really had headcanons or shipped Haymitch with anyone it’s so frustrating hearing that parroted when you’re trying to have actual discussion. Like they refuse to listen to any discussions about narrative or lackluster writing or the fact that a lot of things don’t make sense and a lot of characters are written poorly in the name of “propaganda” and fans being upset about their ships. They act like Collins is a genius that can do no wrong.

How have we suddenly “fallen for the propaganda” when we had no such issues with TBOSAS??? It’s really really annoying that just because it’s a prolific author like Suzanne Collins they think she’s incapable of poor writing. And is that not ironic? They claim we “fell for the propaganda” yet they refuse to see the faults in the writing because “it’s Suzanne Collins.” Idolatry is what it is, which is ironic because isn’t that exactly what Collins is trying to warn us against? People who blindly believe propaganda when it comes out of the mouth of someone they know and like/trust??? Hello???? As a fan of Rick Riordan books I am all too familiar with this situation.

I’m going to be perfectly honest: I didn’t care about Haymitch enough as a character to have headcanons about him; I wasn’t even a Hayffie shipper or anything. I read the book because I’m a big fan of TBOSAS and SOTR was the newest book in the series; plus I thought SC would have something important to say. The message is fine but the execution is poor, and I hate to say it but it really does feel like a cash grab. The lore here is inconsistent with what we know from the OG trilogy AND the Ballad prequel which have been out for years, and they’re acting like we “fell for the propaganda;” no we didn’t. The actual story was changed, Collins didn’t have SOTR planned out when she wrote the previous books and it’s painfully obvious.

Collins was doing a lot more telling than showing, which is a far cry from TBOSAS, which is subtle and masterfully written. I was skeptical from the moment the book was announced as Haymitch first person POV because I wasn’t sure what new things he would have to offer that we haven’t already seen from Coriolanus and Katniss’s povs. My skepticisms were proven true: this book could’ve been greatly enhanced by a Plutarch POV; a well-off Capitol citizen but also a rebel, also feeling trapped. Even multiple POVs would’ve been good. A Lenore Dove POV would’ve been helpful so that I could actually get to know her character and like her, and see the POV of the districts when their tribute has gone to the games, you know? I was wondering how SC would convince me of Haydove when LD was going to be gone throughout the games and again I was right: she utterly failed to develop her character, trying to turn her into a watered down Lucy Gray and ultimately having her suffocate the narrative. SC did a great job developing LG in spite of not having a POV, but LG also had far more time on screen. Hence why a LD pov would’ve helped us better understand her.

I don’t think Haymitch’s girlfriend should’ve been Covey at all. The covey should’ve been long gone by now to be consistent with the chronological timeline, but for some fucking reason SC wanted to parallel Haydove with Snowbaird. We already have the Everlark-Snowbaird parallel; it was completely unnecessary. Additionally, she made Katniss’s dad a “distant cousin” of the Covey which doesn’t make sense since Covey isn’t even originally from 12 and has a small family; but she wanted to give Katniss this uber special status, which reduces the whole point of the OG that Katniss was just an ordinary girl. And why the hell does Haymitch know about Lucy Gray? The copies of the 10th Hunger Games were canonically destroyed and it’s really dumb that Snow was able to get his hands on them so easily just to taunt Haymitch. And why wouldn’t Haymitch expose the Snowbaird relationship when Finnick exposed his sex trafficking??? Also Snow’s characterization is way too close to TBOSAS Coryo when at this point it should be closer to THG Coryo.

Also LD really kills Haymitch’s characterization. We’re expected to believe that this manic pixie dead girl love he had at 16 was what drove him to drink and he was totally fine with his entire family dying and Maysilee and constantly mentoring tributes to their deaths. Ok ok. And where is his brain? I was expecting a cunning, charming rascal. I’m not saying he has to be as smart as THG Haymitch, but the brains have to come from somewhere, you know? And that rebellion plot really should’ve been Maysilee’s. Maysilee was more of a true rebel than Haymitch was at that point, kicking Drusilla’s ass and winning over the tributes. And she wanted to die with pride and honor. She is the far more sensible choice for a rebel side plot than Haymitch, who to the rebels ought to look like a hothead even if we know he isn’t. Again how this book could’ve benefitted from multiple POVs: SC could’ve fit in a rebel plot and described it from Maysilee’s POV.

I know that was long but those are just a few of my problems with the latest book. I can’t wait for the hype to die down so that people can finally see the book for what it is. And when that happens I’ll be here saying I hated it all along. Thanks anon!

[maritteknewtheenemy]

genuinely YEAH the epigraphs at the beginning made know that immediately, this was gonna be her worst one yet.

the day SOTR was announced, i was absolutely miserable. i've been saying for ages that we didn't need a haymitch book. that's not just because i consider myself his biggest fan, but BECAUSE we already had everything we needed to know in a way that would give us light and understanding to a character who prior, seemed like a drunken miserable ass.

but no, he gets revealed as extremely intelligent and 10 steps ahead of the game. and they punish him for it. he tells katniss that it was the forcefield stunt in which killed his family within mockingjay, and so many people have been arguing with me about "falling for propaganda" or "we didn't have the whole story!" OG trilogy haymitch had his story laid out for us perfectly.

i've been saying this very thing in particular, but sunrise on the reaping could've been the story where a young, intelligent and cunning teenager utilizes the things around him in order to survive, armed with snark and wit to do it. i would've had his relationship with his girlfriend be a motivation, but it would've been subtle. haymitch would think about the beauty of the arena, and THEN go "i hope i get back to my girl." with his family, they'd be at the forefront of his mind.

they are his biggest supporters. he is their breadwinner. one of his friends could be taking care of his mother and brother, sure! but haymitch would agonize over not being there to protect them, not being their man in the house to provide. sunrise could've so deeply been about family, right up until he loses them in this deep horrible way. his girl would be a thought of relief in his time of stress; not constantly in mention, but spoke of when it matters to him. his interaction with snow would've been tense and chilling, and the loss of his loved ones would have near put him in the ground, WERE I SUZANNE COLLINS. that boy would've been haunted by shadows on the wall, scared of the reaper for the rest of the people he cares about.

he wouldn't drink until he gets deep in mentoring, but a young, fresh out of the arena haymitch would be in so much pain, both physically and psychologically. he'd wake up screaming for his family, he'd struggle to form coherent sentences, he'd dissociate. he would try so hard to avoid reminders of how he (a guilt-plagued young man,) had failed to do the one thing he had the entire time; protect. and his saviour complex would be made then.

all this to say (and i'm totally Not having to develop all of this in my own work on him anyway,) SOTR could've been impactful without in your face callbacks and weakly mentioned politics. it could've been the BEST book if done right, and i don't understand how people consider it to be such now.

Omg hi! Yours is one of my favourite blogs on here, this feels like a celebrity sighting.

I agree we didn't need a Haymitch book but I can't pretend I wasn't excited when his book was announced. I love Haymitch and knowing that SC has historically done well with his character I was looking forward to it. Needless to say I was thoroughly underwhelmed.

You get it. Haymitch is supposed to be snarky and sarcastic and SMART, instead sotr gave us a character who is so glaringly unintelligent that it's hard to believe he's supposedly the same Haymitch we see in canon, because I refuse to believe a kid this dumb who's girlfriend is even dumber and has a knack for pissing off the cops + government would make it to adulthood. I'll die on the hill that Haymitch as we see him in sotr on the reaping could be a GREAT character if we weren't supposed to pretend this is Haymitch Abernathy from the hunger games. If she'd named this character Carl and wrote the rest of the story the same way I'd probably defend him a bit more. If she'd made Carl die suddenly with Ampert after his failed attempt to blow up the arena and either left the book there or suddenly switched to a different POV I might actually think Carl was tragic and the story kind of silly but ultimately a lot stronger than sotr. Carl would be my little blorbo. Him and his dumb as rocks girlfriend would serve as a cautionary tale. Alas, I'm supposed to pretend that Carl is Haymitch and so the whole story falls completely apart because I spent the whole time thinking He Would Not Fucking Say That.

Once we got past the reaping I genuinely wondered why SC even BOTHERED to include Sid and Ma as characters. Supposedly losing them was one of Haymitch's formative events, something he struggles to even mentions years after their deaths, but to be honest I forgot about them most of the time. And you're telling me I'm supposed to believe Haymitch loved Sid as much as Katniss loved Prim? I dont think so. And don't even get me started on how dirty SC did Ma. Needless to say I wasn't convinced Haymitch even LIKED his family, let alone that they were his motivation to get home, which is so unfortunate because the potential was there. (Also, while I liked Haymitch's bootlegging job I think it's unfair to say he's the main breadwinner. He helps out, sure, but Willamae doesn't scrub miners overalls on a washboard all day to not be given the credit she deserved. She kept them from starving after her husband died and before Haymitch started bootlegging and I hate the way I've seen the fandom pretending like her labour did nothing for the family.) In any case, if I actually was supposed to believe that Carl Haymitch cared about his family at all, he should have been planning to die the second Snow made his veiled threat about them and Lenore Dove living a 'long and happy life' without him. But maybe I'm just a cynic.

I wholeheartedly agree we should have seen more of his grief + trauma + descent into alcoholism. In my opinion, the games themselves should have played a much smaller part in the story, especially because we already knew the broad strokes and because we already knew Haymitch would win. Hunger Games was suspenseful because we didn't know if both Katniss and Peeta would make it out alive. TBOSAS games had an element of suspense because there was no guarantee Lucy Grey would win, especially because Snow was an outside narrator. Haymitch's games were supposed to be suspensful because...he had a plan we knew would fail? Idk, i was just bored. That's not what I was there for, I was there for the aftermath that we didn't really get. Honestly, SC should have let you ghostwrite it, you would have definitely done a better job. We should have at least seen his victory tour, and I think it would have been more impactful to have the last scene be the first time he gets drunk. Like, the beginning of rock bottom. It would have staued with people more. And no epilogue at all. (Dear GOD don't get me started on the epilogue). the epilogue was so unnecessary. We know what happened to Haymitch. We saw him in the original trilogy (and I refuse to believe everything he ever did was because his dead fairy princess girlfriend's ghost told him too. Maybe that would be true of Carl, but not Haymitch).

Finally, the callbacks. for fucks sake i hated the callbacks, which is very uncharacteristic of me. Usually I love parallels and the occasional callback, but the sheer NUMBER in this book were overwhelming. Did SC want nothing in this book to be new AT ALL? Call me crazy but I don't think every scene in the original trilogy needed a deeper meaning. I think Haymitch calling Katniss sweetheart to mock her and having it evolve into a sort of endearment was a lot more impactful and showed their relationship growth better than having it have been genuine the whole time because Katniss reminded him of a dead girl. Lucy Grey did not NEED to make a cameo, she haunted the narrative well enough given everyone remembered twelve had another victor but no one knew who she was. And we all know how I feel about Lenore Dove- I shan't get into that again.

Anyway, you're exactly right. The book had potential, and Haymitch's story could have been the best of thg books if SC put any amount of thought or care into it and it's unfortunate that she did not. I still think that she should have written Wiress' games instead, for a whole host of reasons I already detailed on another post. But yeah, sotr was such a missed opportunity and i'll never not be mad about it.

[war-in-time]

It's insane that you can't criticise this book when honestly? Haymitch being a cocky get who gets humbled in the worst way possible for making a crucial mistake would be a much more impactful story imo.

The problem I have with sotr is that we know absolutely nothing about his family. He barely talks about them and they weren't mentioned in the epilogue. THAT screams lazy. Especially because he was on good terms with oh idk the woman who RAISED HIM??and him losing his family was such an important part to his character.

If you criticise this book, you're called "immature.", "falling for Capitol propaganda," "Too old for Suzanne Collins." (what)

I personally am in the YA age group (14) and I still have all of these issues and was let down. It's like people think that kids can't call out bad writing or have opinions on books.

You are actually exactly the perspective I was hoping to get, someone who is the target audience for this book. I’ve never been part of the target audience for a single book in this series, the first Hunger Games book came out when I was 8, bosas came out when I was 20, and now sotr has come out while I’m 25. Since the original books are a bit older I was wondering if Collins would write this one with an older audience in mind, letting the work grow with the fanbase. She did not and it sounds like it isn’t even believable for YA readers.

I’ll tell you right now first hand: there is no such thing as being too young or too old for any book. It’s kind of like how you can still watch old Disney movies as an adult and notice new things you didn’t as a kid but still enjoy the movie regardless. Books are much the same way, I was able to read the Hunger Games when I was younger and enjoy it. I’ve reread it as an adult and yes still enjoyed it, but also picked up on things I hadn’t realized the first time around. One of the things I noticed on my recent reread is that the book is very obviously written from a 16 year old girls pov, which isn’t a bad thing and it’s a clear indication of how she thinks, but as an adult it does feel cringy at points (just a part of aging I guess).

All of that being said, yes let’s talk about Haymitch’s mom and brother. We are told very early from the start of sotr that Haymitch is relatively close with Sid, and he sometimes helps out his mom, but outside of that I truly don’t know anything about them. We spend so little time with his family it’s actually very hard to believe that they’re close despite being told repeatedly that they’re close, and he doesn’t once think about them while he’s in the arena. Haymitch’s thoughts are far more often on Lenore than his own little brother who doesn’t even understand the games, Sid is 8 and very clearly confused when Haymitch gets reaped.

As a side note: was there really any true reason to change the reaping? It was to add conflict sure but would it not have been just traumatizing enough for Haymitch to think he was safe and had a nice meal waiting for him back home just to be picked? It gives poor conflict creation and the entire scene of him saving~ Lenore from a peacekeeper came out very muddled and actually confusing to read.

I talked about age a good fair bit earlier because I wanted to relate it to all of their deaths. Haymitch by all intents and purposes should be a lot more upset about his families deaths than Lenore’s. He has every reason to be upset by her death immediately after it happens, but there is nothing that can convince me anyone would hold on to their childhood romance for more then 25 years. I had my own high school romance at 17 and I promise you the ‘love’ you feel at 16 is very shallow. Sotr reads like a high school romance, there is nothing organic or deep about it and it’s not even remotely comparable to what we can believe exists between Katniss and Peeta.

Let’s be real, what Katniss had with Peeta was a trauma bond that developed into actually caring about him. The guy I dated in high school never crossed my mind past the age of 20. You know what has hung over my head for 23 years though? My father almost dying when I was a child and I remember him on his death bed. I was 2 and every now and again I’ll just remember out of nowhere that I could have grown up without my father, and it’s terrifying. It’s why Katniss blowing up after Prim’s death makes sense, why her mom went into a deep depression when her husband died, family ties are all so much stronger than a fleeting romance.

Haymitch reacts to his families deaths instantly in the moment when it happens, but for the next 25+ years he somehow only thinks about Lenore? It’s not only bad writing it’s also unrealistic. No adult in his 40’s should be pining over a childhood crush. Haymitch never needed to find love after the war was over, but he did need peace and that was one thing Collins refused to give him in his own book. It actually made me think of him as pathetic for holding onto her so fiercely but his family was less than an afterthought.

I knew from the second that Lenore was mentioned having geese in sotr that the only semblance of peace Haymitch had in the original epilogue would get torn away from him and I was right. Instead of Haymitch making the decision to have something to take care of and nurture (because this man would be too scarred from mentoring kids to their deaths to ever settle down and have a baby) his geese get turned into another reminded of his very long dead ex.

Would it have been so hard to just write that maybe his mother raised geese and that was why Haymitch got them? Because they were familiar and he wanted to hold onto the woman that raised him by raising something of his own? I guess it was because we got a scientifically wrong analogy about geese mating for life: they don’t. Geese only stay mated so long as they’re both alive, if one dies the other will find a new mate within the same breeding season.

I would advise you to save your energy when it comes to people online. Actually especially people online. You can usually have a descent and relatively civil argument about a topic in person because there is no anonymity to hide behind so people actually have to watch their words, but online? They’ll switch to personal insults instead of actually focusing on the topic of argument. You said people have called you too old for the books (ironic since you’re the actual age group meant for these), falling for the capital propaganda, and immature., those are all personal insults because they can’t find any in text citations to dispute what you are criticizing. It’s childish and it’s also one of the first things I learned in my degree: you can throw around any words that you want but without proof you’re just shouting into the wind. An argument needs to be objectively built on facts, otherwise it’s an opinion. You can have any opinion that you want about anything, but it won’t make that thing true.

[prcybeth]

Honestly? I think Suzanne made both decisions because she knew it would make her teen audience happy. But older fans - and fans who can read between the lines - will still be able to craft our own headcanons around these things.

Let's look at "sis" for one. For the teen audience, this puts Maysilee firmly in the platonic friend bracket. They don't have to have complicated thoughts about how maybe Haymitch might be attracted to her. It's a one and done for them. But an adult audience is looking at that and thinking some thoughts.

Thoughts like:

Why is Haymitch so determined to push Maysilee into a sister role? Why not just a friend? Ally? Partner? Why "sister" in particular? Wouldn't it make more sense for Louella or Lou Lou to have been his "sister"? Even Haymitch seems a little unsure about what makes Maysilee his sister. Or what a sister even is. Because he doesn't have one, so he doesn't actually know what he's talking about here. It seems more like he wants to give Maysilee a special role in his life, something that acknowledges the bond between them is deeper than friendship, and he settles on family because he can't imagine anything else.

Why can't he imagine anything else? Because it would be dangerous. It would hurt too much. One or both of them will be dead in days. He has a girl at home too (and everybody knows that). They just had a break up so painful it felt like his heart was being ripped out of his chest, and then she called and told him she'll never love anyone else or move on, and wants them to haunt each other even after they die. So much for his healthy idea of her moving on. Oh, and she's going to be watching all of this. Even if none of that was an issue, and he was free to like Maysilee - Maysilee would probably think she's too fine for a boy like him anyway. There are a thousand reasons Haymitch won't let himself go there in his head - but that doesn't mean those feelings aren't there.

My honest opinion is that Haymitch is lying to himself with the whole "sister" thing. The same way Katniss lied to herself about not having feelings for Peeta in her Games. She tells herself it's all for the cameras and she never wants to be with anyone anyway, but if you scratch beneath the surface there is a lot that contradicts what her pov is telling you. The same (in reverse) is true of Snow in ABOSAS. I don't think Haymitch in SOTR is any different. All of these characters lie to themselves about what they're feeling. They all have their blind spots. What is Haymitch's?

Why did he tell us he wouldn't have tried to follow LD if she'd been reaped? Why did he spend so much time thinking about how he would want her to move on after he died, if they were each other's one and only? Why was LD killed by poison candy (Maysilee makes candy) and Maysilee was killed by birds (Lenore Dove is associated with birds)? If it wasn't a love triangle, why frame it like that? There are so many other foods Snow could have poisoned. White liquor Haymitch brewed. Layer cake "his mom" made for his missed birthday. One of the geese Lenore was raising. Why was Maysilee's candy the thing that killed Haymitch's lover? Nothing is an accident with SC. Everything has meaning.

Just like all the Effie hints have meaning. Effie is probably about ten years older than Haymitch, which makes her seem impossibly old to a teen audience. Ew, icky! But adult readers know that Hayffie spend 24 years together, and that by the time Haymitch is in his twenties, that age gap won't seem huge. It's really not a deal-breaker. So adult readers look at the subtext, and ask questions about what SC is choosing to show us here too.

Questions like:

Why highlight that Effie has always been able to see the real Haymitch? Why show that Haymitch was always understanding of her too, and always appreciated her? Effie was never a rebel, so why does it matter so much to show that she always supported Haymitch and tried to help him? If Haymitch's story is meant to mirror Katniss's, then should we also notice the similarities between Peeta and Effie? Children of relative privilege, artistic natures (baking for Peeta, cosmetics / fashion for Effie), good "people" skills and charm, not afraid to show their sensitive side, likes to take care of others . . . and finally, both kidnapped and tortured by the Capitol after the events of CF. That's a lot of similarities. Do they all mean nothing? If they don't, what do they mean?

I think YA readers look at Haymitch saying geese mate for life and getting emo over a poem, and think it's a done deal and he's right to just wait for the grave. But adult readers think he's still mired in grief and guilt, and that his healing isn't done. If you believe every word in the book is gospel, then you probably think both Hayffie and Haysilee are dead and it's a done deal. But if you think that characters lie to themselves, and that the subtext is worth investigating, you probably side-eye the entire concept of Haymitch only being able to love Lenore Dove. And hope for his sake that he's wrong.

perfectly said! i love this, anon! i do almost wish this book was written a lot earlier because questions like this alone could last at least two books, (bonus if we were to get haymitch scenes with merrilee and he’s forced to unpack for a minute on why he felt that way about her sister.) One of my main issues with h/ydove aside from the writing is how everything that happens is essentially what haymitch feels like he has to do. he feels like he has to mark maysilee down as his sister because what they’ve shared in the games will always be so much deeper than just friendship, but he likely wouldn’t call her his partner out of respect for his girlfriend. haymitch grows a bond with Effie (whether he wants to admit it or not) but he never marks her as anything let alone as his sister because what they have is deeper than that, he even trusts her. but with LD, I struggle to think about that of all people, she’s what haunts him after all this time especially when so much of what he likes about her screams men writing women.

[districtunrest]

How are you feeling about the excerpt!!

feeling okay! no change, really. so far it reads and is paced how I thought it would be: like every other Haymitch's Games fic, lol. but that's not necessarily a bad thing - like how else is SC supposed to do it? just makes me wonder once again if this is really the best POV and time frame to add to the world 🤷🏻‍♀️

I am surprised at how young Haymitch is. like he *just* turned 16 - younger than Katniss! he might even be a grade below her in the first book, depending on where they split that up? but anyway, that's already a bit of new info that better informs his character but isn't crucial for us to know if that makes sense? it doesn't ruin anything for me that I pegged him somewhere in March and here it's actually July 4th. it's just, now March is wrong. and it lets me know even his birthday will be a point of angst for him - because nothing in his life can be good. :/

Lenore Dove seems to be Covey, and they go into the woods, so we'll see how that goes and how many parallels are drawn there. it might get annoying and become what I was glad TBOSAS wasn't for the most part. or it might be really good! we shall see. 👀

@lasthaysileeshipper did point out in our dm's how that 'butt' should have been 'ass' which I find really amusing. maybe Haymitch won't curse like a sailor and push the YA limit, lmao

what did you think??

[petruchio]

i've been looking for some sotr criticism after reading the book and thank god i found you! i totally do think that this was a cash grab even more than ballad. like .. the way lionsg*te already had the idea of a movie even before the book came out? when i read ballad for the first time i thought that it kind of worked on his own. not that i was that interested in snow's history, but it was interesting to see the perspective of capitol's citizens, how war impacted them etc. and lucy gray was a character i enjoyed, it made sense with the trilogy canon because our eyes were katniss' and she never has a clue (about almost nothing). but with sotr? everything that was already clear in the og trilogy - the rebellion being always there with 13 plotting since the dark days etc - .. all gone to hell. everything felt forced, as if collins tried hard to 1 play with all the things we couldn't know because again, our pov was katniss pov and 2 make us cry. do i really have to buy this romance story about how haymitch was this kind of lover boy back in his teenage years? how his life is miserable now and he's an alcoholic because he lost his family and the "love of his life" when he was 16 when katniss makes a point telling us that probably he's like that for the simple reason that is hard enough to mentor 2 kids every year that are, inevitably, going to die? and oh! let's not forget that his birthday also falls on reaping day. it's like collins tried so hard to give haymitch every excuse to be the man we have known for 3 books without it feeling earned - and i can say the same for lenore. i felt almost nothing for her? their love story felt flat and almost annoying at times; collins keeps on telling us how much sorry we should feel and how we should think about the dynamics between the characters (haymitch calling mayselee "sis" is another example and also him being best pals with katniss' dad) as if we can't read or feel or think on our own (the irony in all of this!). there's no room for thought, for reflection, for mystery. truly, this book adds nothing new because everything she shows us we've already felt and known for years. yeah capitol's brutal, the propaganda is there (lmao wasn't katniss aware at one point in cf that she had to pretend her whole life, that she was basically handcuffed to peeta in order to protect her own family and, also, that she couldn't protect the children that she was supposed to bore not for her own happiness or out of love but for panem's sake, as snow kept on reminding her?), no one really wins the hunger games etc. what collins was trying to do, what she was trying to say, really? because i'll never buy into the "she writes only when she has something to say" when clearly this two books were written for the movies (lol i can see another one coming because maude? i know she's cooking something already about her, about another covey girl that she'll try to paint as a rebel or something like that). what about cinna! it's almost like the fandom totally forgot about him and his reasons/plans around the rebellion. we used to speculate so much back in the day because why a capitol citizen would risk his life for the districts? what was going on in his life, his family, and what kind of life he had that he felt so much attached to katniss from the beginning?

lol it all felt like a what if fanfic, i can't wrap my head around the thought that this is a printed book. a CANON book. perharps im a hater, but for me this is what the cursed child is to the hp fandom 😓

yeah anon i had a similar experience reading it, i was like tbh i should've just printed out some of the good haymitch's games fanfics and read them bc that was legit how i felt reading it

i don't have much to add bc you said it all but i will say i agree about lenore dove. in general (and i've written about this many times before!) i find it hard to get invested in a romance that begins off screen. like, i don't see much intrigue in the author just being like "these two characters LOVE each other and have a ton of chemistry, TRUST ME" because it's like well, why should i care? without seeing it or having it be developed on the page it just feels kind of meaningless, it feels more like a plot point than an actual intriguing romance or actual compatibility between the characters. what does lenore dove like about haymitch? what does he actually like about her? it's hard for me to tell since they barely interact outside of like, a couple makeouts and a random phone call where they just repeat that they love each other

and yeah this book was clearly not written because she had something to say, it was clearly written because the tbosas movie made a huge profit and someone (sc herself or lionsgate or whoever) was like waiitttttt there's more money to be made here. and it's just like UGH. you know where there's also money to be made? A NEW STORY. ONE THAT IS GOOD. ONE THAT IS ORIGINAL. ONE THAT EXPLORES THESE TOPICS IN A NUANCED AND SUBTLE BUT STILL INFORMED AND THOUGHTFUL WAY. COME ON. like i love thg but let's let it die!!! it's ok!! we can do new things now!! the fans are here and we'll be writing insane fanfiction forever. give us a new story now. we'll probably write insane fanfiction about that one too.

[retrowitchy]

lenore dove is stirring up some kind of ruckus here

here's chapter 4 of this little fic i'm working on from lenore dove's POV the night she calls haymitch on the phone !

*✴︎+ the law locks up the man or woman who steals the goose from off the common: chapter 4 on ao3

The Peacekeepers have quite the predicament on their hands. On the one hand, the beams in front of the Justice Building, holding up a big banner that says “PANEM TODAY, PANEM FOREVER”, are flickering with flames only growing. On the other, they got a full on riot going on. People are running to escape the fray, but others are throwin’ things, fighting back, getting a few licks in before they’re inevitably carted off.

It is a far better outcome than anything I could have dreamed.

I can’t make it up to Haymitch. It’s my fault, all of this. But this is a good start. If I can stamp my name on this, do my part, show that District 12 has not yet lost its voice, I can lose him with peace in my heart.

As reinforcements start to pull up to the scene, I’m yanked out of my dream of the future and into a van, cuffed, and locked out of the light. “Careful of my skirt!!” I yell as I thud against the wall of the van. They pay me no heed. The world goes dark as those doors slam shut.

The Covey have a saying, something Tam Amber repeated I-don’t-know-how-many times throughout my childhood.

We’re here on earth to reduce misery, not add to it.

My uncles believe this means staying out of the fight. Spreading love through music, and gentle words. They know of loss.

Me, I see it a bit differently. I think reducing misery has a bit more bite to it. Reducing is an action, it’s in motion. It’s alive, it’s moving, it’s working. And I believe that in order to really reduce misery, we ought to push back against the powers fighting to spread it. There aren’t too many around here that would say the same, at least not out loud, but I know that people feel the same, deep down. That show, that stage burning down due to heaven-knows-what, that was the proof in the pudding. Fire is catching.

The van rumbles its way to the prison, and I’m just getting into a good rumination on the other times I’ve spent in this car, when we stop, and the doors swing open. For a second, the bright light flooding into my space makes me think it’s morning, until I remember it’s not, and it’s really just a Peacekeeper’s flashlight.

“Out!” they snap at me. I obey, holding my head up high.

_____________

“So. The Covey girl, once again.”

The commander leans forward across his desk, his great ugly teeth sneerin’ down at me. I hate ‘em. I hate his grey uniform, these grey walls, the grey handcuffs trapping me to the table, this grey, empty room. They don’t deserve this color. They don’t see the beauty in it.

“I don’t have a clue what you mean,” I say.

“Girl, don’t play stupid. We all know this isn’t your first trip to the cells.”

“Well, I haven’t done a thing wrong,” is all I say in response to that. I meet his eyes. Daring him to say otherwise.

“You’ve expressly defied the Capitol and all affiliated with it through your little routine tonight, missy. Don’t get smart with me,” he warns, as I start to open my mouth. “And we got you this time. We could keep you here for the rest of your days. We could hang you for this.”

I swallow. Hanging’s threat as good as any, but this time it looms a little too close for comfort. My uncles are not gonna be happy about this one.

“Clerk Carmine, Tam Amber. They’ll be comin’ for me in the morning,” I say. “They’ll throw a right fit if you do anything drastic tonight.”

Clerk Carmine’s got a gun in a secret spot somewhere in our house, but I don’t say that. I just think it.

The commander laughs like I said something funny. And suddenly he leans forward again.

“You think I care about two old men getting a little protective?? I’ve got better things to worry about…and so do you.”

My heart jumps up for a second in fear, and I don’t know why, but my first thought is Haymitch somehow. That’s dumb, though.

“You’ll be spending the night here. Tomorrow, a full trial for your crimes-”

“Actions-” I interject. Might have been too bold- he slaps me right across the cheek. I do everything I can to stop my eyes from watering, but I don’t think it’s working.

“I said don’t get smart with me,” he says. “A full trial for your crimes. Inevitably resulting in guilt and a sentence to the gallows.” He’s reveling in those words, I can tell, chewing ‘em around in his mouth and spitting ‘em back out at me with pleasure. It makes me so mad I could scream.

“So hang me,” I just say, jutting my chin out despite the tears sparkling in the corners of my eyes. “Make me a martyr. I’ll be back with my boy soon enough.”

He opens his mouth to say something else, cruel and horrible no doubt, when another officer comes through the door.

“’Scuse me, sir,” he says, “but there’s an emergency phone call direct from the Capitol.”

“What?” asks the commander, standing up. “Fine. I’m coming.”

“It’s from a high-up connection. Something about a last-meal type call for the District 12 tributes. It’s….for her.”

A call from a District 12 tribute. For me.

Guess I was right to think of Haymitch.