#finally reading the hunger games books is fucking me up

[englishsub]

book rec by me

so you want to get back into reading books but have no idea where to start and disdain booktok (if you get me started on this however i will become an unskippable cutscene so that's for another day). understandable. there is so much out there and it is all so overwhelming and you don't even know what you like now that you've been a decade out of the game. again, understandable. it does not have to be scary. i will help you. below i have created some categories that can get you started.

i want to read Literature

literary fiction, with crossover from historical fiction and magical realism

PEACH BLOSSOM SPRING by melissa fu

THE VASTER WILDS by lauren groff

THE FAMILY CHAO by lan samantha chang

OUTER DARK by cormac mccarthy

SEVERANCE by ling ma

LIGHT FROM UNCOMMON STARS by ryka aoki

IDENTITTI by mithu m. sanyal

PIRANESI by susanna clarke

i want to read sci-fi/fantasy that won't break my brain

sci-fi and fantasy that is gentler on the brain cells. easier to grasp magic systems with multiple but not an overwhelming number of overlapping plotlines

EMILY WILDE'S ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF FAERIES by heather fawcett

KINGS OF THE WYLD by nicholas eames

THE JASMINE THRONE by tasha suri

THE CITY OF BRASS by s.a. chakraborty

A RIVER ENCHANTED by rebecca ross

JUNIPER AND THORN by ava reid

BLACK SUN by rebecca roanhorse

THE FINAL STRIFE by saara el-arifi

THE BONE SHARD DAUGHTER by andrea stewart

i want to read sci-fi/fantasy that forces me to lock the fuck in

i would not recommend picking these up as your first foray back into books after many years of not reading recreationally, but i'm not your mom.

THE SPEAR CUTS THROUGH WATER by simon jimenez

JADE CITY by fonda lee

THE FIFTH SEASON by n.k. jemisin

THE RAGE OF DRAGONS by evan winter

A MEMORY CALLED EMPIRE by arkady martine

GIDEON THE NINTH by tamsyn muir

THE ART OF PROPHECY by wesley chu

THE GRACE OF KINGS by ken liu

horrify me!

there is far more to the horror literary canon than stephen king and dean koontz, i promise. consider looking up warnings for these.

TENDER IS THE FLESH by agustina bazterrica

THE RUINS by scott smith

CONFESSIONS by kanae minato

EPISODE THIRTEEN by craig dilouie

REPRIEVE by james han mattson

MARY by nat cassidy

DEAD SILENCE by s.a. barnes

AUDITION by ryu murakami

THE SALT GROWS HEAVY by cassandra khaw

don't care, i want romance

some of these feature crossover genres, like fantasy and horror.

VAMPIRES OF EL NORTE by isabel cañas

DAUGHTER OF THE MOON GODDESS by sue lynn tan

SEVEN DAYS IN JUNE by tia williams

HAPPY PLACE by emily henry

ONE DARK WINDOW by rachel gillig

i want QUEER romance

again, a mix of historical, fantasy, and contemporary crossover genres.

WE COULD BE SO GOOD by cat sebastian

IN MEMORIAM by alice winn

MOST ARDENTLY by gabe cole novoa

A STRANGE AND STUBBORN ENDURANCE by foz meadows

A MARVELLOUS LIGHT by freya marske

THE EMPEROR AND THE ENDLESS PALACE by justinian huang

SPELL BOUND by f.t. lukens

SORRY, BRO by taleen voskuni

ONE LAST STOP by casey mcquiston

DELILAH GREEN DOESN'T CARE by ashley herring blake

i haven't felt anything since i read percy jackson/the hunger games in middle school/high school

adventure is still out there.

SCYTHE by neil shusterman

WE HUNT THE FLAME by hafsah faizal

SIX OF CROWS by leigh bardugo

GEARBREAKERS by zoe hana mikuta

i'll read anything that's not straight or white

many books in the above categories fit this, but here's even more, across a variety of genres.

LAST NIGHT AT THE TELEGRAPH CLUB by malinda lo

BABEL by r.f. kuang

WHEN THE RECKONING COMES by latanya mcqueen

THE UNBROKEN by c.l. clark

IF YOU'LL HAVE ME (graphic novel) by eunnie

LEGEND OF THE WHITE SNAKE by sher lee

THIS IS HOW YOU LOSE THE TIME WAR by amal el-mohtar and max gladstone

SHE WHO BECAME THE SUN by shelley parker-chan

"all ya books suck"

like any other genre or book age group, there are duds and there are standouts. ya is not special in this regard. try some of these!

DIVINE RIVALS by rebecca ross

STRIKE THE ZITHER by joan he

THE RED PALACE by june hur

A STUDY IN DROWNING by ava reid

EMPIRE OF SAND by tasha suri

LEGENDBORN by tracy deonn

i check out and read a lot of these books for free via my local library by using the libby app (you can even add your friends' library cards to gain access to libraries in places you don't live). when i'm feeling like reading via audiobook, i use libro fm!

look, no one HAS TO read diversely. no one is going to be reverse fahrenheit 451'd and locked in a room with no fanfic and only books and not let out until they work their way through the entire literary canon. but reading, and reading widely, and reading diversely, is what teaches people to form their own opinions and question the things they are told. it's why they hang up stuff like "READ READ READ!!" in grade school classrooms.

we live under systems that increasingly benefit from going unquestioned. no, of course reading ASSASSIN'S APPRENTICE by robin hobb is not going to dismantle these systems tomorrow, nor probably even in our lifetimes. but doing it will help set up a world capable of doing it in the future. and until further notice, we are all part of this wretched world. might as well read a good story while we're here.

anyway, i'm reading THE WEST PASSAGE by jared pechaček and the new cmq book this week.

[iwillseeyouinanother-life]

Just finished the hunger games trilogy. Fucking wow.

I am glad I waited till college to read this. I would not have understood a single thing when these were popular in middle school.

The final act of mockingjay was brutal.

I use hoopla so I have a bunch of bookmarks throughout the book (mostly me bitching).

I have a history and political science class this semester (I’m in college) I think I’m going to compile all my thoughts and take what stayed with me into those classes.

These books further support something I hold dear to my soul as a social studies major.

Art is the documentation of the human experience.

The Hunger Games is documentation of American apathy to war and violence perpetrated by our own government. The glorification of said violence through propaganda and well executed lies. How division is created by a few powerful people at the very top to conquer and rule to keep a death grip onto whatever power they can grasp.

The Hunger Games is also the documentation of the resilience of the human spirit. How hope in the depths of despair can make a difference. How radical kindness and empathy and love can be in such an unequal broken system designed to chew up and spit people out can be.

I think these books should be put on the shelves and taught in classrooms right next to Fahrenheit 451 and The Outsiders.

I am anxious and excited to see what Sunrise On The Reaping has in store.

[daintyys]

needy

MDNI - fem!reader x coriolanus snow, 1k words, angst, swearing, non-descript masturbation, needy coryo, intentional lowercase, lmfao i hope its not obvious but i need to reread the book

an: this is literally AWFUL but i needed to post and i didn't want my first post in a while to be smut. i'm taking asks for coryo and sejanus! if u want me to write anything just ask me!

he's into you. he hates to admit it, but its true. when you're assigned as partners for a project, coryo doesn't know how to act.

coriolanus snow had a problem: he was too observant. whenever you were around, he couldn't stop himself from watching your every move. he disgusted himself, honestly. how perverted he was, being obsessed with a girl he hardly knew. how even more perverted he felt as he rushed home from the academy, straight to his bedroom, needing to fuck himself to the thought of your face. you were too pretty not to think about, he had to rationalize with himself whilst cumming on his sheets.

the professors at the academy were being tough on their students, as the end of term was drawing near. coriolanus constantly found himself buried in projects, textbook readings, and presentations. he wasn't worried though, his grades were perfect, he had exemplary attendance, and had never turned in a late assignment. all he had to do was get past his exams, and then it was all over.

history class was no exception. professor demigloss assigned an 8-page essay analyzing cassius heath, the winner of the first hunger games, and it was to be done with a partner.

demigloss was notorious for not letting students pick whom they wanted to work with, so it was no surprise as he began to read out the pairings for the essay.

coriolanus was bored. he knew all about the first games, and certainly didn't give a damn about cassius heath. he was 8 when the games happened, his father had just been killed, and he understood they were made to punish the districts.

what finally got his attention was hearing your name, along with, ironically, his. he looked up quickly, turning his head toward where you were seated. you stared back at him, flashing him a smile. fuck, coryo thought. just his luck.

the essay was to be done outside of class, so coriolanus gathered all his courage to stop you in the hall after history.

when the bell rang, he ran straight for the door, and stood outside it to wait for you. he clutched the strap of his satchel, palms sweating and knuckles turning white.

you exited the classroom, and coryo's breath hitched. he'd never been this close to you before, even if it was just 10 feet. he cleared his throat and you looked up. "y/n." he greeted, sounding colder than he had intentioned.

you approached him and smiled, reaching out to shake his hand. coryo quickly wiped his palm on his jacket and took your hand in his, shaking it. "i'm afraid we've never actually spoken before." you noted, taking your hand back. "you seem to be right." you answered his agreement with a nod. this was awkward.

"so, y/n, when should we plan to do this essay?" coriolanus queried, running a hand through his unruly hair. you cocked your head. "tonight? my place?" you proposed, opening your satchel to retrieve paper and pen to write your address.

coryo nodded, feeling his neck begin to sweat. "great," you affirmed, handing him the paper. "just come over after class lets out." with that, you walked away, leaving coryo dumbfounded.

he had been quiet, cold, and he was disgustingly clammy. stupid, nervous, guilty, girl-crazy coriolanus.

when school let out, it felt to coriolanus like it had been days since he'd seen you. he took out the paper with your address, admiring your handwriting. your hand had been small and soft... he wished he could touch you again.

covering the growing bulge in his pants with his satchel, coryo made his way to your apartment.

coriolanus deeply regretted all those times he'd jerked off to the thought of you. he never thought he would actually have to talk to you, and yet here he was. how could he look you in the eye? he hardly knew you, and you hardly knew him.

you lived in a nice building, and your apartment was close to the top floor, with a fantastic view of the city (which wasn't really much to look at). coriolanus knocked at your door, pushing his hair out of his face.

you opened the door after a moment, out of the academy uniform and wearing an adorable floral sundress. "coriolanus!" you smiled, opening the door further for him to enter. he walked into your apartment, admiring the interior.

"you have a very lovely home, y/n." he complimented, placing his satchel on a bench next to the door. you blushed at his remark. "it is lovely, isn't it, but it's quite far from the academy. speaking of which, you didn't walk all the way here, did you?"

coriolanus paused. neither him nor tigris had a car, so there was no way for him to be driven somewhere, and he hated asking for favors. "i like walking," he lied. "i get to see the city." you smiled, guiding him to the study. "there really isn't much to see." you joked.

the two of you sat close to each other at the desk, legs brushing against together every few minutes. you both read your textbooks, compared your finds, and drafted the essay.

you found yourself admiring coriolanus. everything you'd heard about him seemed to be true. he was a genius, sickeningly handsome, and one hell of a writer. every time you made eye contact with him, you could feel your heart pounding in your throat.

there was definitely tension between the two of you, your bodies grazing each other, feeling the other jump every time you touched. coriolanus struggled to focus on the task at hand, resisting the urge to kiss you. you noticed this change in him.

"coriolanus, do you like me or something?" you joked, eyes skimming your textbook. coriolanus paused. "i tolerate you." he deflected, face burning. "well you hardly know me!" you giggled, eyes bearing into his.

"that's why it's easy to tolerate you, y/n." he smirked, blue eyes glistening. you rested your head on your hand, studying his features. coryo pretended not to notice, his heart beating rapidly as he acted like he was reading.

you smiled at him, and bit slightly down on your lip. you hardly knew this guy, so why were you trying so hard to get his attention?

coriolanus met your gaze, looking from your eyes to your lips. "i want to kiss you, y/n." he ventured, reaching up to tuck a strand of hair behind your ear. "oh do you?" you giggled. "yes, i do." coryo sat up straight, turning his body towards yours. you looked up at him longingly, mouth slightly ajar.

he gently cupped your face, rubbing your cheek with the pad of his thumb. "i need to kiss you." coryo clarified, his cock straining against his pants. "then do it." you purred.

so he did.

[neuroticbookworm]

Love in the Big City Part 4: We All Need T-aras in Our Lives

So, fun fact: the day after I finished reading the book Love in the Big City, I had a sob session that came dangerously close to The Great Hunger Games meltdown I had in 2015. Young’s story was deeply moving, and the fact that it was presented to us in Young’s voice, dripping in self-proclaimed “objective self-judgement” made it more relatable to me. It was one of the reasons why I dreaded watching Part 4, and why it took me several days to even process the episodes, and separate them from the source material.

Part 4 of the book was intensely introspective. When Young walked his path to acceptance, littered with grief, despair, sadness, unfairness, distraction (which ultimately proved ineffective), and so much more, we, as readers, walked alongside him. We don’t see him interact with anyone else in this section, with the brief exception of Habibi. In fact, I remember being struck by how much of Gyu-ho we had in this section. Young tried to run and fuck his feelings away, but learned that this time around, he can’t. Gyu-ho had meant too much. They had too much, which is now lost, and it demanded to be grieved. The final line of the book, “Gyu-ho. My only wish” was so haunting, and yet tinged with the tiniest sliver of hope. Maybe next time, he won’t run. Next time, he might choose to stay and talk.

All of this is why I felt.. disconnected, after I watched episodes 7 and 8 of the show. I am a big proponent of the fact that change is a deeply painful process, and I felt like some of the show’s adaptation choices in this section took away from showing us Go Yeong’s painful emotional processing. But, after several days of sitting with my thoughts, and many conversations with friends, I decoupled the show from the book, and asked myself “What spoke to me in this section?” And the answer was: the inclusion of T-aras and the message the show sent with it.

I absolutely love that T-aras were banging down Go Yeong’s door to check on him, after not hearing from him for six days. I love that they shoved him into the shower and dragged him out for a celebratory meal for quitting his corporate job. Go Yeong rolled his eyes at all the eggshells his friends were walking around, but I am glad that they were undeterred and made sure to always have him around to express his exasperation. I love that T-aras called Go Yeong to witness Eun Su getting engaged. I love that Eun Su chose to be vulnerable with Go Yeong, sharing his fears around marriage. And lastly, I am so, so glad that the show left us with the final scene of Go Yeong watching the fireworks with T-aras.

As I processed this show, I remembered reading an observation on the interwebs about Eeyone from Winne the Pooh that stuck with me. No matter how pessimistic, sad, and depressed Eeyore was, his friends never left him behind. They always included his sad self in their adventures, listened to his sad tales, and enjoyed his sad company. He might think that he is not a lot of fun to be around, but it does not matter to his friends, who want him around anyways.

It took me a while to understand this, but I now believe that while change is still a deeply painful process, it does not have to be a lonely one. I am glad that the show decided to centre the exteriority of Go Yeong’s emotional processing, rather than recreating the book’s focus on the interiority of it. Both are equally important, and neither takes away from the other.

My inability to participate in the LITBC book club discussion due to live events gave me intense FOMO for weeks, so I am very happy that I got to participate in the show’s discourse. Thank you @bengiyo and @lurkingshan for organizing the book club, and encouraging discourse with discussion questions and meta-round ups. And thank you to my friends, book club members, and gif makers for sharing your thoughts and work here, and enriching my watch experience immensely. See y’all around on the hellsite!

[starysky1289]

hii OMGG I LOVED HOW YOU WROTE MY REQUEST 💗💗💗 could i please maybe request sorority vannessa (again) maybe her and the reader get into an argument over something and she fucks the reader dukb?:3

Hehehe yes I love the idea of being railed dumb <3 also note, I’m not in college yet, so idk if they call the end of semester grades anything but they are report cards to me. Also this strayed from the main idea but it’s still kinda the same

Toxic!Sorority!Vanessa X Reader. Grades.

TW: toxic relationship, degrading, DubCon

“ haha, yes! A 100 in my English history class! If I keep this up I could graduate a year early! “

“ whatever, it’s just a superlative, I’m passing my classes just fine. “

You were walking across campus with Vanessa, eyeing down your report card. They were straight 100s, minus a few 87s in your history class. Vanessa’s card was 65s, 70s, and a few 93s. You held her arm tighter, looking up at her.

“ well, I can always help you study, you know I don’t mind, I wanna see you do good. I watched your mock court case, you where completely right about your case, even if it wasn’t ‘ bar appropriate’ “

“ I don’t study. I party, get wasted, and spend time with my pretty girl. Besides, you sound like a nerd when you talk about your grades. “

Vanessa pulled you into her, kissing you gently. You chuckled, rolling your eyes.

“ well your grades show it, don’t be upset when i graduate before you. “

Vanessa scoffed, walking faster towards your dorm house. You pulled against her, you had to get to your next class.

“ Vanessa stop, we don’t have time for pit stops- “

“ well you like to run your mouth, i think i should show you what you really are to me. “

“ No Vanessa, I want to go to my class. I’m not in the mood anyway. “

You let go of Vanessa arm, turning to head towards your class. You made it a bit before being yanked back, feeling Vanessa fingers shoved down your throat. You knew it was hers, you could feel her acrylics scratching your throat. Your eyes rolled back slightly, and you felt Vanessa gentle kisses against your face.

“ see how you just stop for me? You go stupid with me. Cmon. To your dorm, we have a hour before your roomates back. “

She pulled her fingers back, they dripped with your saliva. You reluctantly followed her back to your dorm. Most professors had been letting you off for the lates or missing because of Vanessa, only because you’d always get any work you missed done.

She walked you into your dorm, and sat you down on your bed. You tried to push her away, tried to fight back against her advances but you couldn’t.

“ see how pretty and stupid you are? You can’t even get me off you…you love me too much y/n…. “

“ I-i don’t love you…y-your gonna make me fail my classes- “

“ here we go again. Did you just see your grades? Yourll be fine, infact, why don’t we study~ “

She finally got behind you, sitting behind you and pulling you onto her lap. She dug through your back pack and pulled out a textbook, flipping it open to a random page.

“ Here. Read this page, and if you finish in time we’ll run to your class. “

You grumbled, narrowing your eyes on the paper. Vanessa’s hands trailed up and down your body, as you began to read.

“ as seen in works such as ‘ the hunger games-?! “

You where immediately interrupted by the thrust of Vanessa fingers into you cunt, you could feel her warm breath heavy against your neck as she nuzzled into you.

“ keep going…any time you mess up or moan you restart the paragraph…”

“ f-fuck…w-written by s-Suzan c-Collin…a-a curr-erupted government c-can symbolize- oh nessy p-please…”

“ restart. “

You whine as she slams her fingers deeper into you, how she curled them up against the roof to f your dripping pussy just to mess you up.

“ a-as seen in w-works…s-such as t-the…Vanessa please~! “

“ your not getting anywhere like this. What, that desperately horny you can even read? For shame L/N. “

Vanessa slowly pulled out, putting the book to the side. You thrusted into her hips, whimpering softly for her again. You never got like this, how did she do this to you, how did she melt you so much you were desperate for her, like you hadn’t been touched in years.

Vanessa slowly laid you down on the bed, kissing every part of your revealed skin, slowly stripping you of your pants.

“ isn’t this better than another annoying class? Keep your legs spread, I’ll take care of you..”

Her words were soft, as she bent down to your core, gently being to drag her tongue against your folds, moans leaving your lips as soon as she did.

She’d keep you spread open with her hands as she would work her mouth over every part of your sensitive cunt, eating you out like you where her last meal. Your mind was melting from every movement, your mouth could only muster up incoherent words.

“ f-feels so good…so so good…n-need you..need your help a-always…”

“ awww…you get cuter every time I eat you out. Are you gonna cum already Y/N? Is my baby girl gonna cum from her mommy’s mouth? “

You moaned out again, pushing her head closer between your legs as you vigorously nodded.

“ Y-yesm!! G-gonna��gotta cum m-mommy…pwease p-please please let’s…”

“ that’s it baby…you cum all over mommy’s mouth…and afterwards I’ll make you taste yourself on my lips~ “

Her tongue only sped up, and so did your moans, feeling yourself get closer by the minute. First it was your legs shaking, then how you gripped the bedsheets, until you finally reached your climax, a loud ruined cry coming from you as your went limp in your sheets.

Vanessa rode out your high, before pulling back, chuckling to herself.

“ worthless, arnt you? You’re not all brains up there huh? Most of that brains just filled with thoughts on how I fuck you…what would your teachers say if they knew you weren’t all that smart huh? You can’t even complete a sentence with me on you like that…”

You couldn’t answer her, your mind felt like it was a mushy puddle, and your legs would twitch every few moments. Vanessa bent down and kissed you gently, letting her tongue slide into your mouth as you tasted her saliva mixed with your cum. You hated to admit how sweet you tasted, but you did, you were almost jealous that Vanessa could taste you and you couldn’t. You both pulled away from the kiss, Vanessa wipped her lips and turned away.

“ now. I have- “

“ stay p-please…d-don’t wanna be alone…”

She looked at you from the corners of her eyes, you must of looked pathetic, your legs a sticky mess and how you couldn’t move your own legs. She hesitated, looking down at her phone before groaning.

“ fine. But I’m not cuddling. I’ll just gonna sit here and scroll on my phone. “

She sat abover your head, and kicked her shoes off, beginning to scroll through her phone. You nuzzled your head against her thigh, she surprisingly didn’t move it away. You smiled softly, closing your eyes.

“ m..love you ness…”

“ yeah. You too. “

[godsfavdarling]

Here's my acosf review. If you enjoy sjm and acotar pls don't read.

Also, this isn't much of a review. I just had to get this out of me.

The review is: this shit stinks just like everybody's arousal in this fucking book. Imagine being able to smell everybody's sex stink all the time. Disgusting.

1. The book should be half as long.

2. It reads like a fanfic and as if it was written by a man at the same time, which is strange, but congrats Sarah! You must be the first to ever achieve that.

3. Nesta is the only thing I liked.

4. Why was this sooooo long?

5. Sarah, please, I'm begging you: stop writing smut and focus on writing a good story.

summary:

In this final (for now) continuation about our favourite group of friends, we get to follow Nesta, Feyre's sister, who's been a million times more interesting from the beginning. Nesta is in her spiraling crazy hoe bitch era and spends some of Rhysand's money, which he doesn't like even though he's the fairy version of Jeff Bezos. Nesta is told she can't be a little hoe anymore and is locked away in one of Rhysand's houses "for her own good."

You see, when Tamlin locked Feyre away in his mansion for her own good, he was a bad, bad fairy. But locking Nesta up is totally okay because they just love her. Thank God she has Cassian around, her pilates instructor, who makes sure she eats well and exercises every day before she goes to this huge af library to put books away. There, she meets some girls who've been through it and try to find peace in their work and community. But Nesta thinks they should start working out.

At last, Nesta has some friends who also love smut. Good for them. Nesta has to find some horcruxes or something to stop some people, something, something cauldron. Anyway, she meets some bad guy and pisses herself <3

Also, Feyre is pregnant, and Rhys is a piece of shit, but I guess he is our favorite book boyfriend, and he can do no wrong.

But who cares about the plot? Most of this book is Cassian's huge veiny schlong and balls hitting Nesta's bare skin. This is what we're here for. Good for them, I guess? I didn't need to know all that, but hey! There's 800 pages! So they had to fill those (just like Cassian fills Nesta every day) since the plot is just kind of there.

Nesta is the best character in these stupid books, and everybody else sucks. Maybe except Az or Elena or whatever her name is. I don't care about Cassian. But thank God he's there to eat our girl out and pound his waaaaaay too big (don't you dare forget how big his fairy dick is) schlong into her beautiful, dripping wet pussy.

At the end, three women who have been doing pilates classes for a few months win some Hunger Games against a bunch of men who have been preparing for this their entire lives. Some evil bitch gets killed in a second, and everybody lives happily ever after.

I am so tired.

[michellemisfit]

Weekly Tag Wednesday

Thanks for the game @heymacy 💜 and for the tag @gallapiech @sleepyheadgallavich

name: Michelle

age: 39

location: 🛁

top sheet, yes or no? I’m not sure what a top sheet is… is it just a thin sheet? Like instead of a duvet? In which case No. if it’s something else then someone please explain it to me and I will decide if yes or no lol

how many stuffed animals do you own? These days only like 5-10 max. Used to have hundreds.

the names of your pets (and the explanations behind them): Wiggins (after Bradley Wiggins the cyclist), Howard (after the foreman we had on a big build on the farm when we got the three kittens. His name was Howard Allen Crisp, and we loved him, so we named the three cats Howard, Allen, and Crispy), and Mouse R.I.P (after Mouse from The Dresden Files and Michael ‘Mouse’ Tolliver from Tales of the City)

favourite color: rainbow 🌈

any tattoos? Mickey Milkovich Voice: YEP YEP

how you transport your belongings (purse, tote, hands, pockets, etc.): small tartan backpack

the last movie you watched: watching the hunger games mockingjay tonight 🙌

how long does it take you to get ready in the morning? 10 minutes to get dressed, 10 minutes to eat breakfast, 10 minutes to do make up. If I am running late 2 and 3 are optional lol

favourite weather: 20 degrees, sunny, scattered clouds

relationship status: single, and not mingling

ice cream flavor of choice: chocolate with brownie chunks and stuff like that. The more bits of cake you can put into my ice cream the better. Which is ironic as I’m not a big fan of cake 🤷🏽‍♂️

first fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer 🫶 (I’m pretty sure wearing a Claddagh ring to a job interview got me my first real job lol)

how many books have you read this year? Trying to re-read Mockingjay, which will make the grand total… 1. Fucking fanfic man… 😬

first 4 words of your last notes app entry: Arrowshaft. Knock. Feathers. Point.

and finally, if you had to change your URL tomorrow, what would you change it to? I wouldn’t. There’s a few socials where I had to be MichelleMisfitX and I would like to drop the X. But that’s it.

Okay my lovelies. I’m very sleepy so tagging is gonna be a MESS! haha

@rutherinahobbit @deedala @darlingian @iandarling @too-schoolforcool @the-rat-wins @suzy-queued @vintagelacerosette @heymrspatel @gallawitchxx @whatthebodygraspsnot @ian-galagher @iansw0rld @palepinkgoat @faejilly @rereadanon @energievie @lupeloto @wehangout @sickness-health-all-that-shit @mybrainismelted @crossmydna @captainjowl @creepkinginc @tsuga-of-mars @lynne-monstr @mickeygifs @mikhailoisbaby @crestfallercanyon

[metanarrates]

I'm really interested in your takes on hunger games bc despite what this site says based on their memories of reading it 10 years ago in middle school I do think it's a little overhyped and there are political messages in the third book that are straight-up counterrevolutionary. and keep in mind it IS for 13 year olds and as an adult I personally would never reread it so if you've underwhelmed that may be one of the reasons why...I do look forward to hearing your thoughts on the final book if you get there tho! thanks for sharing your thoughts so far - in hindsight the narration WAS extremely cruel to haymitch for his trauma response. fwiw there are more compassionate depictions of addiction later but none that I think are...great

yeah I agree that me being underwhelmed is largely due to it being YA. it has goals and priorities that are not at all interesting to me given that i am a decade too old for it. I'm also not exactly sure how to handle it critically due to that - a lot of its political stuff makes no fucking sense but I don't know whether I'm expecting too much from a YA novel!

my other big critique, though, is I feel that it pulls its punches when it comes to its depiction of teenagers exploited by being objects of popular entertainment. again, I'm very aware that this is a novel For Children, but so far in the novel (just finished part 1,) there's just not as much discomfort as I feel there needs to be. katniss enjoys the food, she finds the outfits cinna has her wear pretty, and as much as she hates being trained to be a cute object of entertainment, there just is not a strong sense of her being dissected for the benefit of an audience. it's played quite straight that the audience likes her For Her. I want it to make my skin crawl and it doesn't! isn't the point supposed to be that it's scary and uncomfortable!

[alwaysahiccupandastrid]

I watched TBOSAS today (Sunday) and I’m sadly not very well (bad cold or flu), but I wanted to try and make a little post to appreciate the film/give my thoughts.

I saw the first three Hunger Games movies on opening weekend during my teens - the only one I didn’t watch at the cinema was Mockingjay Part 2, because it coincided with my GCSE mocks and some other stuff I had going on. I saw the first one twice at the cinema, once on opening weekend with one friend and then a second time with my then-best friend a few weeks later; I saw CF and MJP1 with my younger sister on opening weekend because it’s one of the few series we both love and so it’s one of the few things we can both enjoy together. My point is that I’m a huge THG fan, have been since I read the first book in late 2011 when I was 13 - I even still have my Mockingjay pin that I bought in March 2012 from Waterstones that I still wear!

Anyway, I read TBOSAS during lockdown, my sister bought the book and let me read it after she did, so this has been one of my most anticipated movies of the year!

!Spoilers below!

I was ill when I watched it and I’m even iller now but I’ll try to remember as much as I can

I LOVED IT

I’m glad they made Coriolanus Snow hot because I felt so conflicted watching him and that’s EXACTLY what was needed for the character, he’s got this beautiful exterior but he is POISON inside

Rachel Zegler was AMAZING by the way, I’m not her biggest fan by any means but I say fuck the haters

Hunter Schafer as Tigris was AMAZING casting, she really needs to shine away from Euphoria because damn she was so good in this film

Just in general casting ATE in this movie; Viola Davis, Peter Dinklage, Jason Schwartzman etc

Tigris was spot on: “I wouldn’t sing a note for you” and pointing out that Coryo needed to get Lucy Gray’s trust in order to help her win

Arachne Crane deserved death, idc 🤷‍♀️

NO ARACHNE FUNERAL LIKE THE BOOK?!?

The fact that the tributes were just dumped in a zoo and put on display like animals?!? Compared to six and a half decades later where the tributes are glammed up and treated like royalty, even allowed to train before entering the arena??? I love how starkly different it is

I won’t lie, Lucky Flickerman stole the film whenever he was in the scene 😭😅 absolute scene stealer?!?

Lucky trying to cancel his dinner reservations on night 1 of the games because “this is taking longer than I expected” 💀

Also telling one of the mentors not to puke on the floor after their tribute was killed?!?! Iconic really

“Those drones really are not very good” - PLEASE 😭

You can definitely tell Lucky is an ancestor of Caesar lol

The bow and arrow when Coryo enters the arena?!?! 👀🏹

Coryo killing Bobbin was BRUTAL. He could have stopped after the first hit, that was self defence - but he carried on and kept hitting him. It was definitely a huge moment

I obviously knew Wovey wasn’t going to survive, but god DAMN it 😭 DID THEY HAVE TO MAKE HER SO SWEET AND LIKEABLE?!? She just wanted to go home, and those were her last words before she was killed by the snakes 😭

Coryo really cheated just so Lucy Gray could survive, and it still has me questioning whether he cares for her or if it is just to do with the Plinth prize? 🤔

“What are the Hunger Games for, Mister Snow?” And all I can think about was him explaining in the original HG movie why there’s a Victor, why they don’t just kill 24 kids at random:

THE SNAKE SCENE IN THE ARENA WHERE LUCY GRAY SINGS?!? ASDFGHJKL THIS IS CINEMA

The Games felt so much more primal and sad, like you could tell all of them were just trying to survive, even Coral who seemed to target Lucy Gray ruthlessly but then before her death made the comment that it can’t have all been for nothing…

The fact that Gaul didn’t want to call an end to the games even though Lucy Gray was the final survivor, and it was only when the other mentors were chanting to let her out, to call it, that she finally did it…

I nearly lost my shit during the first hanging scene because I suddenly remembered that THIS was what the Hanging Tree song was based on; “they strung up a man they say who murdered three” “dead man called out for his love to flee” etc. And that is EXACTLY what happened, right to a tee: the man protesting his innocence, calling for his love to go…

Listen I may be REALLY off, but the meadow where Coryo and Lucy Gray met up again… is it the same meadow from the final scene in Mockingjay P2 with Everlark and their kids?!?

It probably isn’t but it reminded me of it idk

THE KATNISS PLANT - FORESHADOWING 😭 “it’s not ready yet” “things change fast” ASDFGHJKL

SEJANUS PLINTH YOU HAVE ALWAYS DESERVED BETTER 😭 knew it was coming but I was so sad

The scene where they hang Sejanus was so chilling, because the birds (i think they were Jabberjays and not Mockingjays but I could be wrong?) repeated his blood curdling calls for help as he was hung, like I was so haunted by it afterwards

No wonder Coriolanus Snow hates the fucking birds, Jesus Christ

THE CABIN AND WOODS SCENES?!?

The absolute tonal shift when he finds the guns, when Lucy Gray remarks that she’s the only loose end as if it’s a taunt, a challenge etc.

Coriolanus running through the woods, screaming “AFTER EVERYTHING I HAVE DONE FOR YOU?!?” - it just SCREAMS toxic relationship quite frankly, like whether you believe there was any genuine love at all or not, it just screams how toxic the relationship was between them. It was doomed from the start frankly

I was so concerned that the film would make it clear whether or not he killed Lucy Gray, but thankfully they left it ambiguous just like the book. Did one of his bullets hit her? Did she fly free?

It’s so interesting that Lucy Gray and her games were completely and utterly wiped, there was no trace of them - but her songs, her art, survived even after she disappeared. Songs like the Meadow song and the Hanging Tree survived and were passed on through District 12, becoming part of their culture - Snow couldn’t destroy that, no matter how hard he might have tried

Someone on Twitter made this comment and I agree:

Also YES, I noticed that Tigris called him “Coryo” until their last scene together, and then it was “Coriolanus” 😭 and also the fact that she warned him not to turn into his father, his father had hate in his eyes… and then at the end, she sadly tells him “you look like your father, Coriolanus” 😭

The small little hints of the man Coriolanus Snow is in the original series though??? The roses, the Katniss plant Easter egg, etc. And then there’s the fact we see glimpses of what later became his preferred method of killing his enemies - poison. He put poison in the compact and gave it to Lucy Gray, and then he poisoned Casca Highbottom… it’s just so fascinating to think of who this young 18 year old becomes later on, the way he changed over the course of the next 64 years and how those changes came directly from what happened in this story.

Ending the film with Donald Sutherland’s delivery of “It’s the things we love the most that destroy us” from the original movies?!?! FUCK YEAH I WAS THIS CLOSE TO SCREAMING

Honestly it’s got to be VERY hard to play a younger version of a Donald Sutherland character, but especially this one because that man KILLED the part in the films, but I think Tom Blyth did a really good job and I could definitely see hints of the older Snow being included in his performance, like I could genuinely believe it was the same character?

The fact that 64 years later a dark haired girl from District 12 wearing a mockingjay pin and singing songs once sung by a girl he thought dead absolutely fucked his life up?!? We love to see it. It’s like Lucy Gray gave him a middle finger lol

I’ll be honest, as soon as we left the cinema I said to my sister “the only thing is now I want to watch the original four Hunger Games movies” 😭

That’s all I can think of right now because I’m very feverish, I’ve got work in the morning and it was also a long film so there was a LOT going on, but I absolutely LOVED IT. The Hunger Games has truly been the only franchise that has a prequel that has been nearly universally loved and accepted by the fans, Suzanne Collins is truly amazing.

[sameschmidtdiffname]

I'm actually desperate to hear your thoughts on the new hunger games book.

What characters do you wanna see? You think there will be a romance aspect? Who's POV should it be in?

Do you think this is Suzanne's final attempt to make it as clear as possible that the games are NOT cool and snow is NOT a misunderstood good guy?

And the movie too!!!! You have any fan-casting ideas?? Think young haymitch is gonna be hot?

Idk no pressure man I luv u :3

I'm excited! I'll actually be completely honest, I seriously didn't think that we were going to get any media about Haymitch's games since we already went over the events in 'Catching Fire.' I would like to apologize to the prophets, clearly I was wrong. Sorry for silently judging your requests by thinking y'all missed the point, I'm sittin' down now.

So, tackling POV first, I personally think it's definitely possible that we're working with a multiple POV situation due to the fact we did already go over the events of the Games in CF. Or, if not multiple POVs, I actually think it'll be retrospective.

Remember how Katniss and Peeta end 'Mockingjay' by creating the book of memories? I think it's possible that Sunrise is meant to be Haymitch looking back on his Games. How he survived, maybe who he mentored after. Honestly, this is what I'm hoping for because I admittedly am a desperate whore for canon post-Mockingjay material. (Please, Suzanne. Just a crumb. A CRUMB!!)

I think we're done with Snow's POV. I may be wrong on that, but I'm admittedly hopeful on it. 😭

LISTENNNN I liked Ballad and I think it was WONDERFUL writing, but Jesus fucking Christ was I happy to be away from Snow by the time it was over. He was an asshole, that was the point, I respect it and love it as media but reading it was/is hard, and honestly? That's praise. But besides personal preference, there's also just a straight 'The End' at the end of Ballad. Maybe that's subject to change, but with Suzanne's masochistic level of detail? Probably not. Or maybe I'm stupid and will eat this post in nine months, find out soon!

ANYWAYS. I so want to see Mrs. & Mr. Everdeen in this, as well as Peeta's parents. Give me their fucking names, Suzie. NAMES.

Haymitch's girlfriend is probably gonna be my favorite character. Imma be honest. I know nothing of her, nada, zip, zilch. But I can sense it in the air. There will be kinship, and I will kill myself when she dies.

(Suzanne, please don't make me eat that last statement.)

Romance aspect? Yes. Between Haymitch, his girl, and the Everdeens? Plus if we get Peeta's parents? I think one of the main points of The Hunger Games is love and the different ways it exists, so I think there will 100% be romance.

Hell, maybe Suzanne will throw us a curveball and the POV will be one of Everlarks parents. If so, probably Mrs. Everdeen as that'll give us insight to the merchant part of District 12, Madge's family and what it was like to be of Reaping age in the thick of Snow's reign.

I want Mr. Everdeen confirmed as Covey. This is a demand. I have hostages. (My lawyer wants me to clarify I don't.)

Now, in terms of the books real world meaning, I'm interested to see. I think the safest guess is 100% a commentary on Palestine, Congo, etc. But I am interested to see what else there is to say.

Personally, I think there really is a possibility this book will be centered around healing. Especially if this is Haymitch looking back at his life, it could offer commentary on his recovery from his Games, the war, as well as everyone else's. This perspective is 100% the one I would love to see the most, but we all know imma be a fiend for whatever happens.

And to wrap this up, fancasting? Stanley Tucci. If Caeser comes back and he doesn't, I have fucking hostages. (Again, I don't.)

Imma be honest, to add to your question, yes young Haymitch is supposed to be hot, but I want him to be a kid. I want a teenager cast and I want him to obviously look like a teenager, even if he is handsome. I think that's an important point of the Games people miss.

[boookfreeak]

Introductory Post

I think it's time for me to finally do this

Hi lovely people looking at my blog <3

I'm boookfreeak.

My name is Lilli - like Lily or Lilly or Lili, but different.

I'm German but was born and raised in Singapore so I grew up bilingual, which means I'm just as bad at English as I am at German. I also speak French and Swedish.

I am 19 y/o but because of Covid I feel like I should still be 15, school and friend group drama being my biggest problems.

I first turned up on tumblr in 2020 because my older sibling introduced me to it and it was a great platform to interact with fandoms with (that wasn't tiktok). Now I'm still here to talk about my special interests but also to speak to my mutuals and make new ones because you guys are the best!!

I am also on ao3, eventhough I don't post as much as I'd like to. You can find me under the same name boookfreeak.

-ꕥ-

my interests are:

The Witcher, Marvel, Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Avatar (the blue ones and the airbender lmao), Lockwood & Co, Dead Boy Detectives, Sherlock Holmes, Pride and Prejudice, My Lady Jane, Voltron, Supernatural, Hunger Games, Teen Wolf, Grishaverse, Cruel Prince, Karen M McManus books, Holly Jackson books, Rubinrot (a German book series very few people on here know :') ), How To Train Your Dragon, The 100, Shadowhunters, Anne of Green Gables, Ghosts, The Office (both versions), Shameless (only the US one), Brooklyn 99, New Girl, Derry Girls, Merlin

The Amazing Devil, Taylor Swift, Noah Kahan, Hozier, Bo Burnham, Lin Manuel-Miranda, Chloe Ament

books, movies, tv shows, musicals, video games (mostly tw3 and sims), mythologies, historical dramas, linguistics, crime, writing and drawing

If you don't support LGBTQIA+ or the people of Palestine you are not welcome here.

-ꕥ-

my current read: Mostly Harmless by Douglas Adams

my current watch: Supernatural and X-Men

-ꕥ-

Some fun facts about me:

I am queer (mostly in the asexual way, but who-knows-what-else way)

I have the ability to lick my own elbow (but only the left one for some fucking reason)

I love rain and snow

I've been to four continents and 20 countries

the first musical I ever saw live was Cats and my first concert was P!nk

people like to debate if I am a blonde or a redhead so I'd confidentaly say that I have strawberry blonde hair

my eyes are green and blue

I do not wear glasses (the only one in my family not to, suckerrrs)

I have 3 siblings and am wedged in the middle

I tend to curse so you probably see that a lot in my tags even if I try to keep it down

I have 3 budgies and a golden retriever

My hogwarts house is ravenclaw

My personality type is INTP

[waywardsunlight]

Everything that really sticks out to me in the Hunger Games was in the books unfortunately. I think the movie did a really good job for the opening, the first 20-30 minutes of the film are AMAZING and then it just doesn’t hit as hard as the book when it gets into the games and I think a major issue with the Hunger Games is that the movies kind of gloss over Haymitch’s and Katniss’s trauma and the scenes that really make the characters feel hopeful. I think the ending of the books is extremely depressing and I think the movies absolutely fail to capture the final book especially due to splitting it in two when the first half of the book is... just not that interesting at all and they should’ve kept it as one film. Because the ending of the movies skips the really awful parts of Katniss after the Hunger Games. My favorite scene in the books (and forgive me if this isn’t super accurate because I haven’t read them in almost 8 years) is the one where District 13 is getting bombed and Katniss has a flashlight and notices that Prim’s cat is chasing it and then the people in the bunker kind of gather around and they watch the cat chase the light. Everyone is terrified and scared but they still watch the cat chase the light because it’s fun and it gives them hope. The Hunger Games are a distraction. People watch them because it helps them ignore reality, however the Hunger Games is actively harming them. It’s like getting entertainment from the news, or how people were watching the war in Ukraine while people here are kicked off of welfare every day. War as a distraction to the inhumanity of our systems. But also this scene with the cat has a take that... we need joy to survive. And it’s okay to take a minute to watch a cat play with a light, we deserve to be happy but not at the expense of the lives of others and we shouldn’t let media distract us from the wider reality that our system is fucked up. I think the Hunger Games doesn’t give a clear answer on that issue and I love that it doesn’t. I think it’s just really interesting.

[redshoes-blues]

I’m finally rereading The Hunger Games and I’m on chapter ten and have already cried so much. I really didn’t expect to be so emotional this early in the book (let alone this early in the series), but it really hits different reading this book as an adult and realizing just how young Katniss and the other tributes are. One of my brothers is a year younger than Katniss. Another is the same age as Rue. I don’t think it hit me the same way when I read it as the same age as Katniss, that those are kids in the arena. Which is really obvious in hindsight. I knew this when I read the series as a kid, but as an adult, there’s just a whole extra layer of fucked-up that I’m recognizing.

And the amount of foreshadowing early on in the book is just insane. Katniss’s comments about how, yeah, she thinks the Capitol and Games are fucked up, but she mostly cares about survival and not starving and keeping Prim safe. And how she’s willing to do literally anything it takes to save her sister’s life—to make sure her childhood is just a bit easier than Katniss’s has been.

That’s not even getting into the depth of the world building that is laid out brilliantly. The way that even in an impoverished district like District 12, there are still class and labour divisions. The nuance and subtleties and the ways that race and gender and class commentary are all woven into Panem. There’s so much depth and realism built into this world that is just so brilliant, and absolutely the reason why this YA dystopian has broken past the bounds of the genre, reaching the modern classic status that it has today.

[what-gs-watching]

"It's the things we love most that destroy us."

The other night, I did the last live session for my career bootcamp, and I decided I was gonna take yesterday to myself and just chill out. 

Which led to me seeing an early movie. I honestly enjoy going to the movies by myself, sitting in a mostly empty theater and just getting lost in whatever is going on for a while. I’ve been meaning to go since this ‘hiatus’ started and there hadn’t really been anything enticing enough, but finally I gave in, and went to see

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. 

….Fuck, y’all. I came home and I felt a lot of WAYS about a LOT of things.

I read all of the original books while the movies were coming out. They were lent to me by one of my forever best friend slash favorite coworker - this dude was NOT the type of person to ever, ever read the Hunger Games but he did, and we got into the habit of swapping books and I ran through all of them. It was only fair, I’d made him read The Rum Diaries.

I love dystopian shit. I really do. I think most of us are fascinated with the idea of society breaking down. And also, how much worse it could actually be than it is now. That’s why I loved The Last of Us and Handmaid’s Tale and a million other things. It’s a curiosity. And a comfort, kind of.  Like, things are fucked, but look how much more fucked they could be, aren’t you kind of glad, now? 

So of course I was all in on a villain origin story for The Hunger Games. Who wouldn’t be? 

I’m not really sure what I was expecting. I haven’t read the book yet, I’m so behind on actual reading (has fanfic taken over my life? Yes) but holy HELL. Like, they made this movie and they put it out and they were like “people are terrible, here’s a wonderful example of that. Hope you can stomach it.”

Wherein, a young Coriolanus Snow  tries to mentor a tribute in the 10th annual Hunger Games (whose popularity is waning)  to victory so he can get some desperately needed money for his family and shit spirals incredibly out of control. 

Heartstrings are definitely pulled for Corio, I can’t deny it. He lives with his grandmother and his cousin and their family used to be powerful but his mother died in childbirth and his father was murdered during the rebellion and they show him and the cousin almost starving during that time and I get it. It’s unfortunate. But he gets into the academy and he sees his opportunity to finally get his family back to better footing, and that’s commendable.

He does some dubious shit in the beginning to help his standing - like making suggestions on how they can make the Games more popular again. Suggesting people need to get attached to the tributes, so they’ll be invested in their ultimate fates. That’s some psychological warfare. But also, it makes perfect sense. And it’s so gross. 

Then he gets attached to his tribute, Lucy Gray, and he’s determined to help her live, and of course it’s because if his tribute wins then he’ll supposedly get some prize money, but it also seems like cares about her. Along the way, his friendship with Sejanus, another academy student who is originally from district 2, and who is rightfully absolutely disgusted with the games, grows. Eventually, Corio cheats to help Lucy, even though he’s been explicitly told that cheating will come with terrible consequences. 

And so like, I’m with it so far. You gotta do some unsavory things to survive, we all do, it’s human nature. And that’s really the entire point of the movie but this motherfucker eventually takes it too far.  But he also helps Sejanus when he goes into the arena to try and protest what the fuck is going on, and so it’s like, a balancing act. 

Lucy Gray eventually wins the Hunger Games. I’m not gonna go into how fucked up all the death scenes during the Games are. Or how horrible the one girl is, leading a pack. There’s a lot of ruthlessness but also tenderness and it’s just as terrible  as all of the other Games are, with a lot less finesse. 

Anyway, after she wins, Snow is obviously punished and forced into being a peacekeeper in the districts, and he weasels his way to 12 where he knows Lucy is. And surprise! They fall in love. I am VERY curious to know how he gets away with running off with her all the time, that dude is supposed to be part of the military that shit should not be possible, but whatever. 

Turns out, Sejanus follows Crio to 12 too, and that’s sweet. Sejanus really thinks they’ve got a bond. And maybe they do. But he’s dealing with a fucking psychopath and he doesn’t know it. 

So sweet little Sejanus sees injustices in the district and he wants to help so he starts cavorting with rebels because of course he does, he’s the good guy in this fucking story, and Snow doesn’t approve but he’s also caught up in Lucy Gray and trying to figure out a way to get back to the capital, apparently.

And then it all comes to a head when he follows Sujanus to a secret rebel meeting and Snow ends up killing one of the dudes involved, and then the mayor’s daughter dies too, and tells Lucy and Sujanas no one can know about any of this obviously, and another guy takes the guns that were used and hides them.

The next day the Peacekeepers are obviously intent on finding the guns and hanging the killers. There’s some searching, and then they find one of the rebels involved. THEN we cut to two guys up in the noose, Corio standing guard like a good little keeper, and then they’re pulling SEJANUS up to the platform too and he’s crying for Snow to help him and he just watches and this poor kiddo is unceremoniously snapped at the neck. 

Afterward, Snow makes a plan to run away with Lucy Gray and so they go. Like, he must love her if he’s going to try and escape Panem with her forever? Like, he must be abandoning his family and going for it? He’s abandoning his chance to be sent to 2 for officer training as well, his way back into property society. So he must mean it? 

But when they stop at a cabin to get out of the rain, he discovers the guns they’d used in the murders. And he realizes he can get rid of them for good, and maybe he doesn’t have to escape after all. And Lucy can see the gears working in his mind and she knows he’s already lied to her because he let it slip that he’s killed 3 people and she was like ‘who was the 3rd?’ and I’m thinking the same thing too. And he lies about it. 

So she lies too, says she’s going out to forage some food and when he goes after her, he finds the scarf he gave her on the ground and when he picks it up, a snake she’d planted there bites him. And he loses his shit. He’s carrying the gun he used to kill that rebel and he’s screaming and when he catches a glimpse of her, he shoots. He wants to kill her, she’s a loose end now, just like that. 

Maybe she got away. We never really know. But honestly, in my mind, he got a good bite out of her and she eventually dies. Because it would make sense this asshole ruthlessly kills the one person he worked so hard to help survive, the one person who loved him, just out of self preservation. 

Afterwards, he goes back to 12 and finds out he’s being sent back to the capital. And we need to give ALL the kudos to Viola Davis for her portrayal of Gaul, who was the head gamemaster, and was absolutely out of her everloving mind. She’d been pushing Snow behind the scenes throughout, likely because one fucked up person can recognize another fucked up person with potential. 

So he meets with her, and we find out that he’d slipped information to her about Sejanus’s activities, and that’s why he was strung up. She wants him to attend university and become her protege. And he’s all about it. Sejanus’s family is going to pay his way because he was such a good friend and tried to do right by their kid (jesus christ y’all) and tada! Just like that, his family is restored to the status they expect and they have nice things now and everything is tickety-boo. 

At the end, he meets with Highbottom, the academy’s dean, who has been absolutely not a fan of Snow throughout his exploits. He’d been determined to keep the kid down, and at first you’re like ‘yo what’s your deal?’ but we come to find out that Highbottom had inadvertently invented the Hunger Games as a thought experiment, sharing it with his best friend, Snow’s father. Who took it, and had it implemented. And Highbottom’s been trying to stop it ever since. No wonder he wanted to get rid of Snow. 

Joke’s on him though, he’s hooked up morphling and after Snow leaves, he takes one of the viles that Snow had dumped on his desk, part of Sejanus’s personal effects, and immediately dies. Everyone that could of stopped him, everyone that could have been even vaguely a threat, gone.

And all of this, for what? Power and money? Security, I guess in some twisted way? Because he felt threatened? Did what happened to him turn him into this, or did what happened to him just show him he’s always been this way? 

I wanted a villain origin story and I got it. And I kind of hated it. Because they had me in the first half. Because maybe we all have the propensity to become something so horrific if we’re thrust into just the exactly right set of circumstances. I mean, maybe we don’t, but we could, and I don’t think anyone ever really wants to find out. 

Don’t make me look too close at humanity. That way lies madness. 

The point is: I probably did not need to feel all of that right now. But it was good in a way that makes you angry. And sometimes, life’s just like that. Sometimes snow lands on top. 

Fucking dystopian futures...

[llliiinnnaaa]

Reprisal | Chapter Twelve

coriolanus snow x gaul oc

Summary: Ten years after the Tenth Hunger Games, Coriolanus Snow is under Dr. Volumnia Gaul’s wing as a Gamemaker alongside her niece. Unbeknownst to either of them, they’re both being prepared for a much greater task.

Warning: This story will contain explicit violence against adults and children alike (I mean, it’s Dr. Gaul AND Snow) as well as explicit language, and sexual situations.

***This fic is in no way, shape, or form, me endorsing or co-signing the horrific shit Snow does, nor am I trying to romanticize it. Also, apathy and will be the main driving force of any remnants of a relationship between my OC and Snow’s character. So if you’re interested in something very romantic and fluffy…it’s not gonna be this.

Thank you for reading!

     THREE WEEKS LATER

          Her nails bite into his shoulders, legs wrapping tighter around his hips as he fucks into her, her back pressing against the book case of his office. 

“. . . I love you ,” It’s nearly whimpered from her before her soft moan is muffled with his lips, Dyess’ tongue meeting his wife’s as she hits her high, her words encouraging his pace to pick up, addicted to the way her back arches, her brown eyes close and her full lips part while she squeezes around him as tightly as she does. 

He’s soon reaching his own end, spilling into her before tucking himself back into his pants and buckling his belt, smoothing over his hair as she cleans herself up as best as she can. 

He grins looking at her, thoroughly enjoying the sight of his spent running down her leg before she’s scrubbing it away with facial tissue from his desk. 

Dyess hadn’t known what had gotten into his wife, lately, but the last couple weeks had been spent fucking like rabbits, his wife being the one to initiate it more times than not, getting so desperate that she hadn’t been able to control herself — not even at work — coming to visit him only to drag him into his office or a bathroom and rip at his belt. 

Part of him believed that being at home was boring her, another part believed that with the absence of work in her life, she had more time to focus on him and she was merely missing him while he was away. 

. . .And then there was the obvious reason for her seemingly insatiable appetite for him. 

They had been trying for another baby, per her request. 

It had been music to his ears for her to tell him not to bother with any protection, or pulling out. 

He felt like all was finally right in the world: he had hit a milestone in his career, his wife had quit her job to stay home and look pretty, and was constantly on his prick, begging for a load. 

All of it had sprung out of nowhere.

At least he tells himself that, even as they step to the door and unlock it, coming face to face with Coriolanus whose hand had been raised as if about to knock on the door. 

Tawny looks up at him bitterly, and he looks at her with the same spite, knowing very well from the mess of her hair and stumble of her legs what had been occurring, while Dyess pretends not to take notice of either exchange. 

Just like he pretended not to notice how coincidental it had been that when Livia Snow announced her pregnancy, Tawny decided she too wanted to have another child. 

Typically Coriolanus and Tawny would exchange polite acknowledgements, a cordial, “Mr. Snow,” and “Dr. Crane,” in passing. 

But this time, they look at one another, eyes lingering more than they would with anyone else, looking at one another the way they always had, but don’t speak a word as he steps aside so there’s no chance of her touching him on her way by.

The last time she had touched him was three weeks ago, and ended abruptly in a screaming match, something they had never quite done — raised voices were no stranger between them in the middle of back and forth bantering, but it never quite reached as loud as it did that day. 

Horrendous things thrown at one another just to see the other person’s jaw clench, their eyes dim. 

What a whore she was, how her next career should be established in prostitution seeing as spreading her legs to married men seemed to come easy to her. 

What a disappointment to his father he would be if Crassus Snow had only been able to see his son, now, having done something as classless as cheat on his pregnant wife. 

How she had failed at her career.

How he failed at being a husband. 

He’d made it clear he was abhorrent with her and she made it clear he had rattled her with enmity toward him .

It ended with him declaring, “This is over,” as he motioned between them, while she agreed whole-heartedly. 

“You’re never touching me again,” Tawny had said roughly in agreement with the slam of the door behind her after she stormed out.

Blue eyes now watch as she kisses her husband goodbye.

It makes him want to vomit in disgust.

Snow knows she loathes him, now, but for her to so seamlessly kiss and touch the man who has ruined her career? Not a flinch, not a hidden grimace, not a tale-tell of her hatred for him and what he has done to her? 

He has to applaud her, recalling having to coach her when he had first informed her of what Dyess had been doing. 

Her tears had been defeated and whiney.

The sound of them as Tawny buried her face in her hands irritated him. 

She was a fucking Gaul, after all. 

Where was the raining fire? The grit? The sadistic torture? Where was every cruel thing she had learned from her aunt through the years? 

Where was her destruction?

“ Tawny .” He had said it evenly, sternly, allowing her a couple moments to try to get it out of her system, but when it surpassed his limit of reasonable seconds to have a come apart, and reached over dramatic and weepy, he stated, “ Dr. Crane .” 

She wiped her tears and looked at him, forcing herself to calm down and take as steady of a breath as she could. 

“ They want to keep it as low-key as they can, until after the Games. Which is why no arrest has been made, why everyone’s been acting as if everything is normal, and why his subjects are still featured in the Games .” He explained, his brows raised. “ Ravinstill has agreed to send him away to be a Peacekeeper after the Games to reprimand him. Which means an immediate dissolution of marriage will be served to you shortly after his arrest, a dissolution that you will sign .”

His last sentence stung her heart.

Fourteen years of marriage, all to end with the stroke of a pen and a submission of a piece of paper. 

No. Fourteen years of marriage, all to end with the countless times Dyess had screwed her over, belittled her, embarrassed her, didn’t listen to her. . .

He wasn’t entirely to blame, though. 

She had been the one having an affair. 

The thought had her closing her eyes and hanging her head, as she tried to further wrap her head around the situation at hand, and attempted to focus on one problem at a time. 

“ What about during the Games? ” She asked him, and opened her eyes once more. 

“ You act as if nothing is wrong .”

It seemed impossible, Tawny scoffed in disbelief, tears came back to her eyes at his order. 

“ Tawny, Tawny ,” He reached for her, grabbing her face in his hands. His eyes paralyzed her as he said “ It is imperative that you do not let him know you know anything. Do you understand me? We wait for him to be arrested and sent off, and then we go from there .” 

He had been so level-headed, calm and assuring, so confident and certain of himself. 

He anchored her in that moment, he pulled her swimming mind to shore.

If he wasn’t scrambling about, she shouldn’t have been, either.

Pretend nothing is wrong. You know nothing. Wait for him to be arrested. Wait for him to be sent off. Then we go from there.

She repeated it in her mind, and nodded slowly when she finally got the hang of it. 

“ Agreed ?” He asked, her hands came up to rest over his.

“ Agreed .” She repeated. 

Agreed . 

The word echoes in Snow’s head as Tawny giggles while Dyess leans to kiss her one last time. 

Coriolanus takes no time to clear his throat and say, “You’re needed in the Hall, Dr. Crane.”

She’s clearly playing her part of the oblivious victim well, pouting when Dyess tells her, “I’ll see you tonight.” 

“But your lunch isn’t over, yet.” She whispers it, deliberately loud enough for Coriolanus to hear. 

“Dr. Crane.” Snow says flatly, raising his brows to Dyess. 

“I’ll see you tonight. I have to go.” Dyess kisses her cheek. 

If looks could kill, Coriolanus would be a dead man with the way she stares at him. 

“I’ll see you tonight. I love you.” She brushes off her frown and smiles sweetly to her husband.

Snow nearly laughs. 

She’s so full of shit , he thinks to himself. 

Once they arrive back to the Hall, monitors plastered throughout the room that’s lined with Gamemakers, Dr. Gaul seated at the center of them all, watching the boy from District One use his bottle of water to wedge it against the windpipe of the girl from his district. 

They all watch silently as the two fight with one another, the only sound in the room is that of everyone holding their breath. 

The girl shoves at him as he puts his entire body weight on her, rendering her nearly helpless, until she’s reaching for something. 

Dyess’ face lights up at the sight of her hand grabbing ahold of his altered Ivy. 

She’s willing to be miserable for a little while if all bodes well. 

The moment she touches it, it starts sprouting more leaves, reacting to active human touch, crawling and growing quickly, over taking her hand, until she’s shoving her green-covered fist into the boy’s mouth, growing as still as she can to avoid it swallowing her whole. 

But he fights, encouraging its overwhelming growth, his yell muffled, until it’s too much. 

He’s stumbling off of her, ripping at the vines as they quickly crawl down his throat, gags filling the air while they trace up his nose, over taking his face and his nasal cavities. 

Soon, green finds itself wedging from between his eyes and eyelids, out of his ears, covering his entire body, inside and out. 

Snow exhales as he’s declared dead with the loud pop of a cannon, and the girl is declared victor with Dr. Gaul’s laughter and the room’s applause. 

“A job well done, ladies and gentlemen!” Dr. Gaul announces with pride, referring to the new arena, and the hard work of everyone to ensure each angle was met, body was accounted for, and curve-ball was thrown when needed be. 

A successful and entertaining Game, indeed. 

Dyess drinks in the glory, his mutt being the one to give them their victor and he gets the pat on the backs and constant brags of, “incredible work,” from his colleagues to go with it.

Snow’s eye is caught where he stands, able to see the door of the Hall in his peripheral. 

Tawny watches from the sliver of the open door, her eyes meeting Coriolanus’. 

No one else sees her, no one else looks at her, only him, as her eyes dart from his and she takes in the view of her husband getting praised for work she had a heavy hand in creating. 

She disappears in the blink of an eye, and Snow nearly goes after her, but is stopped by Dr. Gail’s gloved hand on his shoulder. 

“A beautiful arena , Mr. Snow. A beautiful Game .” She has to give credit where it is due being that he had been the one to bring up possibly changing the scenery of the arena. 

“Beautiful indeed, Dr. Gaul. Thank you for the opportunity.” He means every word of it as it’s said, his eyes glancing back once more to the door that’s now closed shut. 

Everyone’s dismissed among the noise of fireworks shooting around the Capitol in celebration, Lucky Flickerman in full swing of his post-game recaps as Coriolanus leaves the Citadel. 

Livia’s waiting for him on the steps, arms outstretched, an excited squeal leaving her as her husband embraces her. 

“I’m so proud of you!” She exclaims, his lips meeting hers.

She breaks away with a little gasp, his brows furrowing in concern before she’s grabbing his hand, pressing his fingertips to her stomach. 

A small, very faint tap meets him in a moment, his eyes meeting Livia’s as his heart starts to race. 

“ We’re so proud of you,” She corrects herself in a near whisper, tearing up at the sight of her love feeling their baby kick. 

He’s not completely heartless, her words to him are like a dog getting scratched behind the ear. 

Both his palms hold her face as they kiss again. 

   Tawny waits for Dyess to get home, dinner on the table, lights dim and candles lit. 

Her parents had left shortly after the Games had ended, excited and proud for Dyess’ work, but desperate to get back to their own home.

The apartment feels empty, too quiet to Tawny, now. 

Many, many years ago, Tullia would be begging to go for a car ride, to go out and see the many people out and about celebrating, the fireworks, the joy. 

It used to lightly aggravate Tawny to hear, “Mom, can we go now?” Repeatedly as Tawny would try to catch her bearings and clean up the house after guests that would always be over watching, go home. 

But now it’s just silence. 

And she suffers in it, placing a hand on her stomach, imagining it carrying another baby. 

She pictures her life with a newborn while her dissolved husband has gone to a district for at least twenty years. 

He won’t be her husband, anymore. 

He’ll just be a man she knew once. 

A man who used her up and betrayed her.  

A stranger. 

Snow is a stranger to her, now, too. 

Content and thrilled with Ms. Ribbons about their spawn. 

Tawny has to sigh out and scold herself silently for being mean about Livia once more. 

She is the victim in all of this, the pregnant, unsuspecting victim. 

She shouldn’t despise her, nor envy her, nor hate her. 

A part of her can’t help but think if Coriolanus feels the way about Dyess that she feels for Livia. 

That he spurns him for being with Tawny, because he wants her. 

He doesn’t want you , She tells herself. He likes the way you look on your knees. That’s all .

She can’t argue. 

Glancing at the clock once more, she starts shaking her leg in impatience. 

Perhaps Dyess got caught in traffic. 

Perhaps he got held back at work. 

Perhaps he’s already been arrested. 

She rushes to the living room, turning on the television to see Lucky on Capitol T.V., reiterating a part of the Games in which a young girl from four got shredded to bits by Martia Glint’s piranhas. 

She flinches given the sore subject, but waits patiently for it to be interrupted. 

That interruption never comes. 

Tawny ends up asleep, the flow of the television highlighting her face when Dyess eventually comes home, stumbling drunk, stopping to stare down at his wife. 

“T,” He uses her nickname, something he hasn’t called her in some time, he shakes her awake, grinning when she stretches, her back arching in her soft gold dress, brows scrunching as she looks at him. 

“Dyess?” She asks, sitting up, looking around. “What time is it?”

Truth be told, he doesn't know, himself. 

He and a few friends had gone out after work, and lost track of time completely along with track of how many drinks they had. 

“I’m not sure,” he says, sitting next to her as she adds, “I’ve got dinner on the table. We can go eat —”

She abruptly stops when she stands but he keeps ahold of her hand, stopping her. 

“I already know what I’m having for dinner,” he tells her, and she blushes but shakes her head. 

“I’m exhausted, Dy. Let’s just eat, and lie down, please.” She pleads kindly, sitting down, grabbing his hands in hers. 

“That’s virtually all I want to do, darling.” He kisses the back of her hand and she looks at him pointedly. 

His smile fades after a moment as he grows more serious. 

“Do you think it will work?” He asks her. 

She tries to keep her breathing easy at his question, too paranoid, too worried he’ll reveal that she knows the truth and will find a way to get out of his punishment. 

“Do I think what will work, my love?” 

She touches her fingertips to his cheek, staring into his cobalt blue eyes. 

“Us trying for another baby.” His voice holds sorrow, the way it shakes and cracks. 

He’s just as hurt over his daughter’s death as she is, whether she hates him now or not, she can’t deny this truth. 

“Do you think we’ll have another?” He clarifies. 

If I do get pregnant, I’ll be the only one of the two of us having another child , she thinks to herself. You’ll be out of my life entirely . 

“I think we will, darling.” She assures him, smiling softly with a small nod that has him running his fingertips along her jaw. 

“I love you,” He speaks it quietly, his nose brushing against hers. 

“I love you.” She replies in the same tone, their lips meeting before she’s nudging him to lie down on the couch, the two of them giggling when she straddles him. 

     The next week and a half to follow is a blur. 

Invitations to the Presidential Palace for the medal ceremony arrive, every Gamemaker and Scientist alike invited. 

Tawny immediately tracked down Tigris who agreed to help her with her attire, having only five days to do so. 

In the final fitting, Tawny waits patiently for Tigris to finish sewing the last glimmering stone to the fabric dyed the same rich red of Panem’s flag.

Her eyes fall to the suit in the corner of the room that’s the same color.  

“. . .Is that Dyess’?” She asks, Tigris tensing upon the question. 

“Um, no. It’s my cousin’s.” Tigris says, pulling the thin thread through the fabric of Tawny’s outfit. “He came over to discuss his suit, and saw me mixing the dye meant for yours. He liked the color.” 

“Oh.” Tawny wants to tell her it has nothing to do with the color and everything to do with wanting to fuck with Tawny’s head. 

“In fact, he should be here any moment to pick it up.” It’s said as a warning, Tawny’s eyes meeting hers. “I’ll hide you in the guest room.” Tigris adds. “He won’t even know you’re here.”

“I don’t care if he knows I’m here.” Tawny argues quietly, looking forward once more. 

“Are you sure?” Tawny looks at the Snow, yet again, raising a brow. “I-It’s just the last time I saw the two of you together it wasn’t. . .”

Tigris can hear the two of them screaming horrendously at one another all over again. 

“We’re adults, Tigris. We’ve gotten over our spat. . .as well as our affair. We’re cordial. We won’t shred through your apartment.” She promises. 

Tigris merely nods, continuing her work. 

Just as she said, a knock at the door soon sounds through the apartment. 

“Come in!” Tigris pipes, Tawny’s heart picking up, her skin growing hot and prickly with oncoming nervousness as she hears the door. 

“I’m here for my suit.” Snow stops walking upon seeing the smooth skin of a familiar back. 

Immediately recognizing the three small moles on her left shoulder blade that are perfectly spaced apart to form an invisible triangle. 

“It’s here,” Tigris informs him, handing Tawny the thin needle she’d been finishing her stitching with. 

He doesn’t dare go any further, not wanting Tawny to see him, though he knows that she knows it’s him that’s present. 

Tigris grabs the suit in its thick clear bag, handing it to him. 

He notices something missing, however. 

“The tie?” He raises his brows. 

“Oh! Oh, I knew I forgot something.” She goes back to the dining room table where many ties she had been concocting lay, and Snow waits for her. “Here, this stitch is loose.  Give me just a couple moments.”

She moves to her sewing room, leaving the two of them alone together. 

Neither of them say a word, but Tawny can feel his eyes on her, brown eyes shutting to keep their composure while his eyes wander up and down her. 

“It’s nice, Dr. Crane.” He speaks politely in reference to what he can see of Tigris’ creation: a formal jumpsuit that’s tailored to perfection, the legs of it loose around her feet, and slightly longer as to not be too high when she slips her heels on, an open back, haltered top decorated in unevenly cut diamonds all throughout, reflecting beautifully. 

“Thank you, Mr. Snow, yours as well.” She mumbles in response, nearly holding her breath, not wanting him to notice how struggled her breathing becomes when he’s near. 

It feels like an eternity before Tigris returns. 

“Here, Coriolanus.” Tigris pipes, holding the tie out to her cousin, the loose stitch fixed and in place. 

“Thank you, Tigris.” He replies softly, offering a half-smile. “Here,” a check for her work is placed in her palm, and she glances at the amount and her blue eyes grow in size.

“Too much.” She mouths to him so Tawny won’t hear. 

“No such thing.” He replies in a silent whisper.

She is one of the many women in his life that keeps him looking his best. 

His most expensive accessory.

“I want a framed portrait of you with the President.” She speaks to him as he heads to the door.

“Yeah, I’ll be sure to thank him for you on account of his idiocy of raising taxes once more.” He scoffs bitterly. 

Ravinstill had declared a higher tax in an attempt to ease the amount paid by the Districts.

Many in the Capitol, including Snow, saw it as him easing up on the Districts, becoming lenient. 

Just as he had been lenient on Dyess Crane – who anyone with a brain would consider an enemy of the state for sabotaging what the Department of War considers weaponry – only sentencing him to Peacekeeping, whereas he should be put to death immediately. 

President Ravinstill had been losing his grip in his old age. 

“Please do.” Tigris retorts, knowing he’s only kidding. 

Though he may truly be irritated by the raise of taxes, he’d never make a scene and disclose such to the President himself. 

Tawny exhales when he’s gone.

“I’m sorry.” Tigris says to her, quietly. “I’m sorry he didn’t tell you.”

“That’s what I get for spreading my legs to a married man.” Tawny hisses. 

“You’re not the first person in the Capitol to have an affair with someone who’s married. You certainly will not be the last.” Tigris assures her, tying off the thread before cutting the excess. 

“All done.” She says next, coming to a stand, examining her work on Tawny Crane before she smiles brightly and states, “Beautiful.” 

     “Beautiful!” Dyess exclaims as his wife steps from the car two days later, her curled hair falling down her exposed back. 

“Thank you,” She replies, pulling back when he tries to peck her lips. “Lipstick, darling.” She warns him with a giggle.

“Damn the lipstick.” He states, arm wrapping around her waist before he’s kissing her.

It’s obvious that perhaps he’s had a little liquid courage to ease his nerves for the evening.

Her manicured fingers are wiping the red from his mouth with a grin before the two of them are approaching the doors of the mansion. 

Flutes of champagne are served inside, the place filled to the brim with their colleagues, and their colleagues' significant others.

She almost loses her breath the longer she looks around at the Presidential Palace. 

What had been the point of the old sports arena the Hunger Games had been held in all those years? They could have easily played a ball game just on the first floor. 

“Dr. Crane.” She and Dyess both hear a familiar voice, both of them turning to see Dayla Shoemake.

When she only keeps her eyes on Tawny, it’s clear who she was speaking to. 

“Mrs. Shoemake.” Tawny replies with small surprise, not realizing she had been invited as well, but happy not to be here by herself aside from Dyess. 

“You look terrific.” Dayla says, looking her over. “Whose is this?” 

“Tigris Snow.” She informs her, proudly before Dayla is reiterating, “It’s beautiful work.”

“Who did yours?” Tawny asks her, looking at the remarkable gold that seemed to be dripping from Dayla’s gown, glittering with her every move.

Dyess tenses with his wife getting showered in attention, even from passerbyers, her dazzling outfit and demeanor stealing the eyes of those who had been praising his work, patting his back, stroking his ego earlier in the night before her arrival. 

As she and Dayla continue their conversation, she and Tawny both are interrupted about their attire.

The last straw is when Atticus Dovecote, one of Tawny’s students, approaches her to commend her on her incredible subject that had been a success. 

“I saw the tape of its case review. It was incredible.” He says, both of his hands around Tawny’s before Dayla is piping, “It was.” 

“It’s a shame it didn’t get picked.” Dyess cuts in, keeping his voice genuine, Atticus looking at him for the first time in the night as Tawny’s eye twitches, her jaw clenching before she forces herself to keep her composure, and her husband quickly changes the subject, “I didn’t realize just anyone in the Citadel had been invited tonight.” 

“Students interning at the Citadel who have a hand in the Games in any way are invited.” Atticus replies. “I had the privilege of shadowing Dr. Gaul a few times during the Games.” 

Dyess now looks to Dayla for her excuse – she had only been a receptionist, after all. 

“My husband is here.” She states with narrowed eyes.

Her husband, Albus Shoemake, was only a member of the Board . 

Why wouldn’t Dayla be here?

Tawny goes quiet in embarrassment from her husband’s behavior. 

“Excuse me.” She says to the two guests and her husband, spotting Philo Marius sipping champagne in the corner, avoiding the thick of the crowd. “Mr. Marius,” Tawny greets him, hands clasped behind her back. 

“Dr. Crane,” He replies, pulling the crystal glass from his lips before he looks her up and down, “You look very nice this evening.”

“Thank you.” She takes her own glass of the sparkling liquid, taking a very small sip, wanting to pace herself tonight of all nights. 

“Have you seen Mr. Snow?” He asks her.

“No, not in some time.” She shakes her head as another man approaches them. 

“The restroom is the size of our apartment.” He states to Philo with shock in his voice before adding, “Dear, I told you not to drink, you’re getting all splotchy.”

Tawny’s brows shoot straight up as Philo looks at her.

“Cyrus, this is my colleague. Dr. Tawny Crane. One of the most amazing scientists that we have got at the Citadel.” He introduces him. “Dr. Crane, this is my partner, Cyrus Marius.” 

“‘Partner’ makes it sound like we’re patrolmen.” Cyrus replies. “I’m his husband ,” he extends his hand. 

Philo has married someone equally as handsome as him, it appears, and Tawny takes his husband’s hand in her own and shakes it. 

“It’s wonderful to meet you, Mr. Marius.” She replies before adding, “I adore your name, by the way. My older brother was named Cyrus.” 

“Cyrus Gaul?” He asks to which she nods. “I thought so. My father named me after him.” Cyrus replies. 

“Really?” 

“He was the youngest in my father’s unit.” 

Tawny doesn’t doubt that for a second. 

Cyrus was seventeen when he was drafted. 

“Small world.” She replies with a little smile. 

Her father would be proud that one of his boys had inspired the name of another. 

She goes to speak once more but is distracted with the sight of deep red moving through the crowd toward them. 

Tawny doesn’t have time to flee without it looking obvious so she looks at the ground as Livia and Snow greet Philo and Cyrus. 

“Mr. Marius,” Coriolanus is smiling as he says it, shaking his apprentices hand. 

“Mr. Snow,” he replies, regarding Livia as well with a kind, “Mrs. Snow.”

“Oh, please, Philo, how many times do I have to tell you to call me Livia. We see enough of each other to be on a first name basis.” She sweetly reminds him, looking at Cyrus. 

“This is my husband, Cyrus. And, Cyrus, this is Dr. Livia Cardew, and you know her husband, Mr. Snow.” Philo says.

Cyrus shakes Livia’s hand, her blond hair perfectly waved and pinned over one shoulder, complimenting her strapless white dress, matching the white rose pinned to Coriolanus’ suit that matches Tawny. 

Coriolanus looks Tawny over quickly, taking a deep breath, tightening his jaw just slightly at the exposed skin of her shoulders, back, and chest, wishing to run his hands and lips over every inch of it. 

Dare he admit he misses their meetings?

Cyrus’ brown eyes look from Tawny’s outfit to Snow’s as Philo and Livia exchange more conversation, taking note of the exact color match but he doesn’t say a word about it. 

Tawny makes eye contact with Snow, catching him looking her over, which automatically prompts her to dart her eyes away, and say “Hello, Livia, how are you?”

“Hello, Dr. Crane. I’m well, how are you?” Livia replies cordially. 

“I’m well.” Tawny says, offering a smile. 

Coriolanus keeps his eyes on her throughout the entire exchange, and she refuses to speak to him, instead clearing her throat and saying, “I better find Dyess. It was lovely to meet you, Mr. Marius.” 

“You as well, Dr. Crane.” Cyrus replies before she’s turning to go. 

“Excuse me, just one moment, dear.” Snow mutters in Livia’s ear, to which she nods, still mid-conversation with Philo. 

He disappears in the sea of people, catching up to Tawny in no time as she’s making a bee-line for the door to get some air. 

“Dr. Crane,” He says as calmly as he can and she doesn’t respond, reaching the back door that’s congruent with the front, seeing the enormous backyard that’s covered in a beautiful configuration of tall shrubs. 

A few people have made their way out here, but not many, most staying inside to make sure they don’t miss the announcement of moving to the large ballroom for the ceremony. 

“Dr. Crane.” He repeats himself.

“I’m not speaking to you.” She refuses him quietly. 

“Okay, well I’m speaking to you.” He grasps at her hand, tugging her between two shrubs, shielding them from any onlookers. 

“You didn’t tell me.” She hisses to him bitterly, venom dripping from the words. 

“Because it doesn’t concern you.” He argues lowly. 

“It does concern me, Coriolanus. You fucking me while your pregnant wife skips around for baby clothes and nursery decor does concern me. It’s very concerning how little thought of others you actually have.” 

“As if you are any better.” He grits it through his teeth. “Stringing him along as if you aren’t fully aware he’s about to get arrested and shipped off — ”

“ — Because you told me to!” She raises her voice and he’s covering her mouth, shoving her back against the bush behind her, trapping her as he glances around to make sure no one heard her. 

“I told you to pretend nothing happened. Last I recall, you weren’t so eager to fuck him before you found out what he’d been doing. But you find out he’s been screwing your career and suddenly you’re insatiable to get those pretty legs around him.” 

He can’t insult her anymore than he had the day they last exchanged their words and swore one another off, but what he says annoys her to the point she can’t help herself as she spits back, “And if we’re so fortunate, I’ll have a little girl, too, just so she can be the best of friends with yours.” 

It takes a moment for her words to register in his mind. 

Blue eyes growing angry yet running cold as he realizes, now, why she’s been so adamant about being intimate with Dyess. 

He’s blindsided by her utter stupidity. 

“Are you so moronic?” He sneers. “You’ll be a single mother with no career, no husband, all to spite me for having a child with my wife?” He almost laughs. “Do I take up so much space in your life you’d change its entire trajectory to try to get even with me?” 

She doesn’t speak a word, she doesn’t protest, staring up at him. 

Her lack of protest lets him know that she in fact is not doing it to try to even the score with him.

It’s not Snow that she’s trying to get one last “fuck you,” to. 

He recalls her telling him that Dyess wished for another child, he had even witnessed the conversation being brought up at dinner with her family. 

Dyess wants another child. 

Dyess is getting apprehended any day now. 

He pictures Dyess receiving a letter that she’s pregnant, wherever far off District he’s sent to, and having to live the rest of his days knowing he has a child he won’t see until he’s discharged of his duty. 

Snow can see it in Tawny’s eyes that the goal is for Dyess to know he has a child.

And to make sure Dyess knows his own child will never know about him. 

There it is , he thinks to himself, seeing the Gaul in her plan — as kitchen-sinky as it may be. 

The raining fire. 

The sadistic torture. 

The destruction. 

If she’s successful in conceiving a child before he’s arrested, Dyess Crane will go so mad, he might just off himself, and save Snow the blood on his hands. 

[likesunsetorange]

omg can i hear your thoughts about annie/armin as peeta/katniss i’ve been saying this for such a long time

omg yes!!! thank you for asking like nobody ever really sends me asks so this is so fun to me!!! also i’m sorry for getting on this train late but i’ve seen the light finally!

(also putting the preview thing bc i went on a long ass tangent, i told y’all if you get me started on this i won’t stfu 😭)

but my mutuals and i have been talking about it and we were saying how katniss is definitely not the kind of person who ever wanted to be a hero. she certainly isn’t a selfish person (her volunteering for prim shows this), but she never intended to be the forefront of a revolution. also katniss is very socially inept and pretty unaware, she thinks everyone hates her or she doesn’t like people but she constantly goes out of her way for people bc she cares! i think these are really similar (in my head at least) to how annie is. annie only became a warrior to help her dad (well he also kinda forced her but anyways), and her intention was always just to get back home to him, so that kinda reminds me of katniss. also annie is perceived as mean and aloof, but she’s just not the most social person and isn’t the best as socializing (i think this is most shown in aot jr high), and kind of misinterprets social situations, very similar to katniss! i think annie is a very caring and kind person but her situations have led her to be closed off and causing her goals to be the forefront of her mind, but towards the end of the series she realizes that people do care for her and starts to be more trusting/open (i.e. armin/mikasa/even reiner a bit) and we see a more lighthearted side of her (the okapi scene LOL)!! i think katniss and annie aren’t exactly the same but i see so many similarities between them, even with the whole aruani interaction too, it reminds me a lot of some of the more vulnerable everlark scenes. also annie is very aggressive and so is katniss, and that whole scene where katniss throws peeta into the wall after the whole “if it weren’t for the baby” shenanigans, that’s annie as hell LOL she wouldn’t want to be perceived as weak or vulnerable, it’s just not her

as for armin, armin is literally the equivalent to peeta to me. armin is actually my favorite character after eremika, so i adore the fact that he’s so similar to my favorite book character. i think armin is one of the most kind characters in the story, and his genuine care and devotion to mikasa and eren make me love him so much, but armin is also definitely a very manipulative person. he knew how to manipulate situations to his advantage in order to achieve whatever it is he wanted, and that’s definitely in line with peeta. peeta put on a performance as much as katniss did, but because he knew how to work the room and use his charms to his advantage. i 100% without any thread of doubt in me know armin is capable of pulling off the baby stint, because he would think of the same scenario, using the capitol’s pity to their advantage. being able to be manipulative stems from your ability to read people and your intelligence, and we can tell that armin is good at both of those (how he got eren to confess his true feelings for mikasa just by fucking around with him lol)!! also cute blond boy, blue eyes that’s so armin!!!! but beyond all the manipulation and working for the cameras, peeta did have a genuine care and he loved katniss his whole life, and armin had always been interested in annie as well and she was a bit naive to it too.

honestly i was never the biggest aruani fan (i like them but they’re not a fav basically) but seeing their everlark parallels made me have a new appreciation for the ship!! i could honestly say more but i just woke up and i can’t think of as many canon references to as i’d like!!! but sorry for going on a whole tangent i just love the hunger games a lot 😭