#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. ❤️

[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 :)

[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.

[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.

[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??

[chrkrose]

I’m still going through a second read, but I have a few more thoughts about Sunrise that I want to share:

Lenore Dove just didn’t work for me as a character. She felt more like an archetype than an actual person—this idealized, almost mythical girl that we only ever see through Haymitch’s eyes. We don’t get a real sense of who she is outside of how he perceives her, and that made her feel hollow to me. And I don’t think this is because it’s from Haymitch’s pov; Peeta, Gale and Lucy Gray exist to prove otherwise. I think the problem is that Suzanne tried to give her too much—she’s too quirky, too rebellious, too special. She’s not just different; she’s the different girl ™️, the one who stands apart from everyone else in a way that feels forced rather than natural. Again, more of an archetype than a character with depth.

And then there’s all the symbolism layered onto her character, which just felt too much. Instead of weaving these themes into the story organically, it felt like Suzanne was trying to construct this larger-than-life figure, but it just didn’t land. She came across as a Lucy Gray 2.0, but without the small, nuanced details that made Lucy Gray feel like a real person.

On top of that, her love story with Haymitch lacked everything that made the other romances in the series work. It didn’t have the quiet charm and slow build of Katniss and Peeta, or the emotional complexity of Katniss and Gale, or even the charged tension of Coriolanus and Lucy Gray. It was just… there, where Suzanne tells us that this is how it is, instead of showing us how it is. And as much as I love a well-written love story, this is one of those cases where I genuinely think Haymitch’s arc—and the book as a whole—would have been better without her.

Her presence felt unnecessary, especially considering that other characters could have carried the themes and symbolism she represents in a much more natural, less heavy-handed way. And if the whole point was that Haymitch never moves on from her, I wished she had been a better developed character then. The idea that he spends his entire life pining over a 16-year-old girlfriend, especially when her character didn’t earn the level of impact we’re supposed to accept she had? It just doesn’t work for me.

I don’t hate her. But I find that she hinders the narrative, and the story suffers because of it.

[felixravinstills]

Some half-baked sotr thoughts after finishing the whole book:

I've seen reactions from both sides of the spectrum. People seem to love or hate the book. I'm pretty eh about the book. I'm trying to give it a fair shake and put aside what I want it to be and what I think it should be and evaluate it on what it is.

I think (especially with Lenore Dove's name but also with the dreams and the Louella and Lou Lou as doubles. Also seeing Lenore Dove even later in life) there's some attempt at invoking gothic literature here, but it kind of feels weak.

The above actually leads into this feeling that I came away with that's just the book is struggling to be its own story separate from the Hunger Games franchise? Like instead of feeling like building off of the rest of the franchise, it feels like they're shackled to each other. It seems afraid to go out of familiar territory

The story gives the impression (to me) of portraying Haymitch as a failed Katniss which I don't really like. It's especially those lines between Haymitch and Plutarch about wanting him for the rebellion. Needing someone like him but luckier and during a better time in Chapter 27. I think I would have less of a problem with this if it wasn't basically spelled out in the text. It makes what should be Haymitch's story feel less his own. Again, going back to what I said about this book struggling to be its own thing and also a part of the franchise. I think my main problems come from that feeling.

It's too self-conscious of being a part of the franchise.

I wish Haymitch could have had more time in D12, because I feel like all those relationships and characters were underdeveloped. Like I feel like I was told that he cared about these people, but there wasn't enough for me to truly get to know them as a reader. Aside from Haymitch's clear attachment, I don't really care too much about them, except for some of the characters we already know!

Actually, I felt the book did a lot of telling me and not showing me at times. Even outside this. With the plot and the having so many people, there wasnt really a lot of time to just watch things play out in detail.

I liked the D12 tributes overall, especially Maysilee and Wyatt!

Capitol incompetence is to be expected, but I was taken off-guard by just how barely hanging together this all seemed.

There are times when Plutarch feels like he's morphing into the author's mouthpiece, but like... I love that they kept this man an ambivalent character who does seem to mean well but also comes from a privileged position that makes you want to punch him.... (lol when he talks to Haymitch about why he doesn't resist authority and then surprise pikachu faces when Haymitch does a small mini resistance by not giving Snow milk... Like sir... I realize that this is not the battle you would have chosen but this is a small resistance). Haymitch calls him out on it, but I love him being like 'no more implicit submission,' then he edits footage for Capitol propaganda and when called out on it claps back with 'I live to fight another day!' sir... how many people don't have the privilege to do that? anyway, love that guy

I didn't mention it earlier today, but no Snow Spouse reveal... Sad for me and my friends :(

Very random, but I think it's really funny that Haymitch's 1st person POV goes out of it's way to explain how Lenore Dove taught him the meaning of dreary in Chapter 10 (and also not knowing what an aphorism was in Chapter 9), but it pulls out convalescent in Chapter 25. It caught me off-guard

Drusilla-Magno divorce marriage amuses me but I don't care about them as individuals too much except for Sickle family member (naming convention could imply connection to Livia based on personal HCs about Capitol names. Livy-Vips friendship HC...) and Magno's the toad licker we clowned on in the Discord chat.

As a Locked Tomb fan, the D2 girls being named Camilla and Nona was cute. It probably means nothing, but in my mind, it is a reference.

That's all the thoughts off the top of my head! I'm going to bed!

[itsjuliak5]

I have several thoughts and ideas regarding "Sunrise on the Reaping" so allow me to share some:

I love the idea of dual or multiple POVs. Suzanne said this book would focus a lot more on the propaganda side of things and it could be interesting to see how different characters are affected by the propaganda. I won't complain though if it's just Haymitch's POV though, he's one of my favorites; Maysilee and Haymitch dual POVs would be the death of me I think.

What if it is told from the POV of the Career girl that Haymitch killed at the end of his games? The career districts are trained for the games and made to believe that volunteering for the games is an honorable thing to do because of propaganda. Also at the end of the first Hunger Games book, Cato essentially becomes disillusioned with the whole thing after Clove dies, and it would be interesting to see the perspective of a character as they process those emotions and realizations.

Based on the title, there's an emphasis being placed on the reaping ceremony (duh), so it could be told from the POV of a character like Effie Trinket who goes to the districts and calls out tributes names.

It could also be told from the POV of the Head Gamemaker for the Quarter Quell. We got to see the beginnings of it all with Dr. Gaul in "ABOSAS" and then how they have basically been forced to up the stakes every year, especially now for the Quarter Quell. There might be some fallout on them and their team for what happened at the end in a sense of "the faulty design" of the arena allowed for Haymitch to "cheat" and win. It could be a Seneca Crane situation.

This is probably a long shot, but I'm throwing it out there for the fun of it: Caesar Flickerman POV.

People have already said this multiple times but Kiefer Sutherland as (another) young President Snow would be such good casting for the movie.

[the-sun-and-the-sea]

my SOTR thoughts

I'm sure most of us have seen the recent sotr excerpt that was posted so I thought I'd share my opinions!

I generally enjoyed the snippet! I know a lot of us were expecting a different POV, myself included, but I like what we've gotten so far. His birthday being on reaping day definitely adds a layer of tragedy that we didn't know about before.

I have heard some speculation that his girl Lenore Dove is Covey, and honestly I'm not really sure how I feel about that. It may be cool to get some more Covey lore, but I would rather establish d12 as a culture instead of learn more about a group that isn't even from 12. I'm actually really torn on this. On one hand, the Covey isn't from 12 and focusing so much on them deprives us of district 12 and appalachian content, which I always wish we could see more of. However, I do get that the Covey is a major connecting thread between the generations in 12, and by the time of the og trilogy, it has influenced the culture a lot.

I like the bits of humor/sarcasm that we got to see from Haymitch and I'm excited to see more of that! I'm also really interested to see him interact with his girlfriend/friends because we didn't really see him in that context during the og trilogy. It will also be cool to see who the other tributes are and how Haymitch interacts with them.

I really enjoyed the final lines of the excerpt and that little bit of rebellion we see from him as well.

If you have thoughts on the new excerpt, I'd love to hear them!

[acourtofthought]

Something I'm confused by is when Elriels insist that the twins are Elain's found family and their friendship is proof of Elriel being endgame.

I mean, I'm not saying Elain isn't friends with the twins because she is, but if they're meant to be her found family, why would they, and their friendship with Elain have been introduced already?

I've only read ACOTAR, so it might be different in other Mass books, but doesn't it make more sense for Elain to meet her found family in her own book? That way, the readers can see the love/trust develop between everyone from the very beginning instead of starting us in the halfway point, where Elain apparently already has her found family set and is only missing her endgame guy?

If the twins are Elain's found family, it just feels like the readers are missing out on a lot of possible key moments and information since they're all already friends before we've even had Elain's pov.

Your anon is very much in line with a conversation I was having with @acourtdelaluna that I had in my drafts and that I'll post screenshot of below.

The friend argument is similar to it. These are not contemporary romance book where a FMC starts off with her core group of girls that remain her core group as the series continues. Where she doesn't need her friends as anything but a sympathetic ear. In a fantasy books a FMC might have friends at the start of her journey but those friends are not the ones she's going to adventure with, to grow with. Take Hunger Games for example, Gail was Katniss's closest friend yet she grew closer to Peeta, to Finnick, to Haymitch (sort of?? haha) as the series progressed. She might keep the old friends but they aren't typically the ones who drive her character growth. Think of Fourth Wing. It was about the relationships the FMC made along the way that made the story what it was even outside her romance.

That e/riels are so distraught over the thought of Elain growing and meeting new people outside her sisters, the wraiths and Az is disheartening. They'd rather what her character is canonically known for (easily making friends) to have no part in her story because they know if Elain's world / friend group doesn't stay small, there's the chance that she'll want more than her current life.

Also if we're were supposed to care about the wraiths, why were they completely absent in SF when Elain was around? Why was Lucien at Solstice and Starfall but they weren't? Why was their only "appearance" when they brought Gwyn and Emerie tea (an off page appearance at that)? Why does Az fail to mention them at all? Why have we never witnessed a single conversation between them and Elain? Hell, we even had Amren and Nesta share dialogue in ACOWAR. We had Mor and Elain share dialogue.

It's not difficult to understand which people are meant to be important to a FMCs story because the author will make you care about them, she'll flesh them out and make them multi dimensional. We've had multiple books that feature N & C yet we know nothing about them outside the work they do for Rhys and Feyre.

This is especially true in a Sarah J Maas book. She puts as much time and care into the developing friendships as she does their endgame person. The only reason we won't see this setup for a Gwynriel book is because we've already witnessed the Nesta, Gwyn, and Emerie friendship play out in real time in Nesta's story. We don't have that for N & C though. We're told they're Elain's friends but they have no development outside of that so it shouldn't be shocking that people feel meh about them.

Regarding Elain being perfectly settled and content with the relationships in her life, this is where my conversation with acourtdelaluna comes in. Because the argument is never just that Elain already has her found family but she also already knows exactly who and what she wants -

[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.

[deepdonutkid]

Peeta’s and Katniss’ roles reversed in Mockingjay

I just got to ramble, because I have this idea for a canon divergent Peeta POV fic, where he is the one who gets rescued from the Rebels and Katniss is taking to the Captiol. I saw some posts about this, and it’s also meantioned in the books, when Haymitch says something like “He wouldn’t treat you like this, if you were the one being hijacked” (I can’t quote the actual line, because I just have a translation of THG at hand, but if anyone can add this part, I would be very grateful).

And this got me thinking about, how the hijacking took the one thing about Peeta, that was very exceptional in this world, which was his kindness. Everybody said, they couldn’t believe, how cruel Peeta was to Katniss. That was very much unlike him, like they just ripped out a huge part of his identity. yes, but also... His benefit to the cause of the rebels. He was pretty much useless in district 13 and he was a risk to be with 451. Truth to be told, he held them back a lot, which was okay, because the squad was willing to do the extra work, but well, it played into the Capitols hand, right? He would get rid of Katniss for them.

Now we turn this thought around. How could they hijack Katniss, without killing her, to diminish the Rebel’s cause? They wouldn’t turn her more violent. At least, that’s not what I was thinking. Because they would make her just a more useful weapon for Coin if she was mentally unstable and violent. Also at this point they wanted to discredit the star-crossed lovers, who basically pulled the trigger on the whole rebellion thing. Side thought: Snow saw something in the third quarter quell, that was real and not just for the cameras. He recognized how deeply they loved each other and he wanted to destroy their bond, because any form of alliance is weakening his powers, this bond in particular.

So they want to tear the star-crossed lovers apart, because Victors are important figures in this propaganda war and people look up to them, and also make Katniss useless for the cause. Not only in a way, she couldn’t be used for propos anymore, but actually keep her away from the whole fight.

For that to happen they need to take one thing from her: her fire. Her braveness to help those in need. Her survivial instinct. And Katniss was always willing to fight for something, somebody else. Rarely ever for herself. She was thinking about winning for Prim’s sake not her own, among other stuff. And she was able to keep going, because she always had somebody who would ground her.

Well, I’m trying to say. They would hijack her in a way, she would not be brave and selfless, but terrified and scared without any connection to those around her. They would make her see Peeta as a monster, a mutt, but not something she can destroy and overcome, but something that’s almighty. Like Peeta is not the one person she can trust, but the one person she can never defeat.

Just imagine this from Peeta’s POV. Him seeing her in person after months, and instead of the hug or something he expected, she starts crying and hiding, begging him to spare her. Because in her eyes she is seeing something so cruel and horrifiying, she doesn’t even put up a fight.

And she would be to afraid to pick up any kind of weapon. She would be useless for propos and she coulnd’t heal for a long time, because the only person who could help her with her mental state is the same one who can’t go near her.

[katnissmellarkkk]

if this book is just from someone else’s pov of the second quarter quell, i’m going to be honest. that’s really stupid.

for years people begged suzanne to write haymitch’s story. it went without saying, they meant his pov. i never imagined she would do it. i thought her telling that story in catching fire, through katniss watching his game tape, was all we would get. however, now that she’s committed to writing the second quarter quell, it would be a big disservice to not write it from the pov people have begged for. if you’re going to give people what they’re asking for, you must do it all the way. writing sunrise on the reaping from any other pov would be a cowardly move imo.