#reminds me of how the hunger games movies are shown as if from the Capitol

[biryukzlodei-artblog]

"I am reminded of something Wolsey once told me. That I should only ever tell the king what he ought to do, not what he could do; for if the lion knows his own strength, no man could control him."

Once again, while drawing, I decided to "re-listen" the pseudo-historical series "the Tudors". The theme of the "glamorous middle ages", as well as the middle ages in general has never interested me, I like this serial only because the main character (Henry VIII, King of England) is also a main villain, and in four seasons it’s shown how he turns from a humanist and supporter of progressivism into a bloody tyrant in every meaning of the word. Furthermore, I’m found of his ability to blame the others for his own mistakes. Remind me of someone. It’s a rarity in Western creativity for the mass audience to see a typical Machiavellian character in the main role without the dull, primitive moralizing of the false Protestant virtue. Well, almost. And if Collins (or whatever who really wrote the Hunger Games) wasn't obsessed with desire to shove her values down the throat of easily manipulated teen audience and would write stories about people of 20 years old and older, then I think the paths of becoming the leader of the nation of Snow and Henry would have been similar in some ways.

Because while my memory was being refreshed, I was a bit amused by some similarities in the biographies of two movie villains: sad love story - Anne Boleyn/Lucy Gray. An old friend whom the main character betrayed and executed - Thomas More, Cardinal Wolsey/Sejanus Plinth. A sister who does not approve of her brother's actions - Margaret Tudor/Tigress. Revolt of the Northern Earls (Season 3)/ Revolt of the districts (3rd book). Henry fears rebellion because when he was a kid, civil war raged in England and the lives of the royal family were in danger. The king's wife and children had to flee the capital, which left its mark on the future king's personality. Snow fears rebellion because when he was a kid, civil war raged in Panem that left Snow's family deprived of everything and forced him to survive in harsh conditions, which left its mark on the future president’s personality. Henry takes harsh measures to suppress the rebellion, which leads to the death of many civilians including women and children. Snow takes harsh measures to suppress the rebellion, which leads to the death of many civilians including women and children. In the middle of the plot, both fall into a slight madness from a serious shock: Henry after the death of his third wife, Snow after the destruction of the arena by the district 13.

There is nothing surprising about this since Western creativity is based on templates and rules. Why Russian classical literature was and stays popular? Because Russian writers said - fuck your rules, we want to and we will write like this. And the world liked it. And now our creativity is secondary because we are learning to follow Western rules and templates.

Well, whatever. I've been slowly scraping one work for almost a month now. I've made a background for the page, but most of it won't be visible at the end. Now I need to color it all. Nah.

p.s. Pity that Snow didn't have the same plot armor as Henry. I would have a good laugh watching how the kids would have shit themselves and cried when the rioters were hung on the Capitol walls like that at the end. And then black screen and credits.

[dumbass-tumbler-cryptid]

I can see Spider being taken to the Capitol and tortured like Peeta was in Hunger Games 3, it reminds me of Spider being interrogated by Ardmore.

Hey everybody remember the Hunger Games Au i wrote up back in November? I needed to watch the final movie but then I got bronchitis (that took me two months to recover from) and it was also Christmas at the time and I really didn't feel like watching the child murder movies. But I never forgot about this and I finally got around to watching the final movie! So without further ado let's wrap this up.

To the question of what Spider and Kiri would have shown off in individual training, I feel like Kiri would have purposely tanked her's just for fun not even for strategy. She'd see the whole thing as stupid plus she knows her abilities so she's got nothing to prove. the gamemakers though can see what shes doing and give her a 9 to make her more of a target. I can see Spider pulling a Katniss and shooting an arrow right at the gamemakers to make them pay attention then bowing out. Quaritch is only half pissed at him. The other part is so proud. He's even more proud when Spider is awarded an 11.

In interviews they're both just kinda dicks lol. Spider taunts the whole crowd, talks mad shit on Snow, and heckles the fuck out of Flickerman. Kiri is similar just way more sarcastic and petty. So Snow was definitely super pissed when these two won the game.

Moving on to the ending.

I've tossed around a lot of idea's in my head for who gets captured and I had almost settled on it being Neytiri, Ronal and Paz, but that was mainly because I didn't want to hurt any of the kids especially Spider (I hurt that kid enough in Cabin and all I want is good things for him. I really dont want to hurt the moms either or anybody for that matter but this is a Hunger Games au) And yeah it does match actual Avatar canon to have Spider be one of the ones captured so that's what happens. Neytiri and Aonung are also captured.

The families are all incredibly distraught. Paz has a full on meltdown the moment she wakes up in recovery and is told the terrible news. It's her worst nightmare come to life and she completely blames herself for it. Quaritch, who's already inwardly losing his shit over his son but trying to keep it together, internally breaks seeing his wife like that because he's never seen her break before. After Paz is sedated Quaritch goes off to be alone. Spider's capture cases a real strain on their relationship because neither knows how to comfort or emotionally support the other. Paz is so guilt ridden that she doesn't want to be anywhere near her husband feeling intense shame when ever he looks at her. Quaritch doesn't blame her for Spider's capture. He blames himself for not volunteering in his son's place the day of the reaping. the only thing they can manage to do together is plan on saving their son.

Ronal also blames herself for her son's capture but she buries it deep under a wildfire determination to get him back. Tonowari of course wants Aonung back too and is just as determined, he just advocates that they be calm and level headed about their recuse so that they don't lose anyone else.

Jake hasn't felt this powerless in years. He wants to storm the Capital single handed to get his wife back but no one will let him leave. They all look down on him for being in a wheelchair and forget that he was a victor in the Hunger Games once. That he trained his children to be warriors while being paralyzed. But no matter how much he advocates for himself it just falls on the deaf ears of district 13's president. Who i decided is not Grace but General Ardmore.

Ardmore rules over district 13 in a strict but seemingly fair manner. And she is a pretty good leader. She's just extremely power hunger. I'm going to say Ian Garvin is the Heavensbee of this au. He sees right through Ardmore but he does need her to win the war. It's him that convinces her to let Jake, Ronal, Tonowari, Quaritch and Paz into her war room. Jake impresses her with his war strategies ( Don't worry Jake doesn't come up with Gale's plan. That's all Ardmore) and quickly becomes the lead strategist of her army. Tonowari and Quaritch are on the frontlines. They try to convince Ronal and Paz to stay back but Paz brushes them off with a bitter, "I have nothing left to lose," and Ronal snaps, "i will fight!"

The Capital starts airing interviews with their clearly brainwashed hostages. Paz's shriek silences the entire cafetiere when she sees her son on the t.v. His wild mane of curls now fall neatly around his chin, brushed out of his face like a perfect little gentleman. It shows off how sunken his cheeks have gotten. how hollow and dead his eyes looks. His once tan skin is now pale, made to look even paler by the snow white suite they've dressed him to hide his thin frame. "what would you like to say to your friends and family right now Spider?" "Kiri? Mama? Dad?," Quaritch is trying to hold Paz up as she openly sobs for her child for all of district 13 to see, "please stop. This isn't you. Your good people that would never betray the country. Just stop fighting and come home please."

Aonung get's the exact same treatment dresses up and paraded around on t.v like the Capital's little pet, begging his mom and dad to surrender. Ronal cracked a tooth from clenching her jaw so hard in rage and Tonowari put a hole in the wall when no one was looking.

Neytiri is also brought out, her braids are taken out, hair straightened within an inch of its life. she's dressed in a tasteful white cocktail dress, with a white rose tucked behind her right ear. when she's asked "what would you like to say to your husband right now." She says, "my Jake," there's a long pause, a whole war going on behind her amber eyes before she finally chokes out, "end them." the broadcast instantly cuts off.

And the kids in all this? Since I don't really have a mockingjay singled out among the bunch, I'm gonna say they're all kinda the mockingjay. They're the kids who survived. The ones who have to now live with the horrors inflicted on them by the capital. As I was typing this I actually thought it'd fit Neteyam to make a shrine for one of his competitors like Katniss did for Rue. He bonded with a little girl that was Lo'ak's age at the time but reminded him a lot of Tuk. When she died it was like he could see both of his siblings dying with her and it utterly gutted him. He honored her in front of all of Panem and for it everyone loves him.

Kiri is beloved for her definice. It inspires so many others to stand up and fight.

Lo'ak feels ashamed for what happened to his mother and is very candid about it. He talks openly about how he felt so inadequate compared to his "hero" parents and brother. But he understands now that underneath all the pageantry and splendor of the Capital is a absolutely vile core that needs to be ripped out so that they all can finally know peace.

Tsireya is a medic in this like Prim was. Her and Lo'ak start up a romance because they trauma bond over a family member being held hostage.

Tuk is there but she's just too little to really do anything.

And finally Grace in all this plays a similar roll as the mayor from district 8. She just had this lightbulb moment after having Kiri that her daughter would never know peace as long as there tyrannical government stayed in power. She wanted to take Kiri with her but she got word that a sickness was spreading through 13 that was killing all the children. Kiri and her have a lot to work through but Kiri doesn't get angry with Grace for wanting to fight for a better world. Kiri still grew up healthy and happy with her adopted family and soon all of them would be able to live freely and safely in the world they'll create.

Finally the opportunity arrives to save the hostages. Norm is able to hack the system giving a volunteer strike team an opening. the team is made up of Quaritch, Paz, Ronal, Tonowari and Neteyam. It goes off without a hitch. I want to say that unlike in the movie/book where Snow actually just let them go that in this au the strike team was actually just that good and got in and out without anyone noticing. The families all hold each other all the way home the only sounds coming from their cries of relief.

Also none of them are brainwashed to try and kill a loved one. They are severely traumatized though. Their tortures goes as follows and you can skip to the next paragraph if you’d rather not read this. Spider was made to see horrific fantasies under trackerjacker venom to the point where it’s hard for him to tell what’s real anymore. He’s jittery and anxious all the time and panics easily. He flinches if someone raises a hand too fast and that includes his own parents who are both devastated for their son and enraged that the capital would hurt their boy so badly he couldn’t even trust his own mom and dad anymore. Kiri helps Spider through it playing “real or not real,” something she tells Quaritch and Paz about to better manage Spiders dissociative episodes when she’s not around. Aonung was given electric shocks in water now making him fear it. Even seeing a few drops of water is enough to make him shake. This hurts his whole family to see since the ocean is the core of there cultural identity. Ronal and Tonowari want to burn the entire capital down to nothing for the crime against humanity they’ve inflicted on their son. It takes so much time but his parents and sister start with coaching Aonung through the breathing mediation he’d do as a small child when he was first learning to swim putting his mind at ease by reciting the way of water with him. Once he doesn’t freak out seeing so much as a cup of water they slowly get him to interact with it again first with a very shallow bath (basically a puddle) building until his family is lovingly coaxing him into a pool. He panics at first but swimming is like breathing to him and surrounded by so much love and support he eventually calms. Neytiri was given a drug that made the simplest touch feel like excruciating pain. She knows it was just the chemicals they pumped into her veins but she can’t help but flinch every time one of her children hugs her, her breath catching in her throat. She puts on a brave face and holds her children despite how much it makes her heart race. The only one she talks about this with is Jake. They do their own form of real or not real where he’ll brush his fingertips over her arm so so gently he’s almost not touching her at all and ask, “pain or no pain,” until Neytiri can retrain her mind to not associate every minor touch with pain.

After they take time to recover it’s decided that a strike team will be sent out to assassinat Snow. There’s no way in hell any of the parents will let there kids go on this mission so it’s all the adults. Maybe it's just because I love all these characters and don’t want to kill them off but I’m going to say they’re all so good that they outmaneuver every capital trap and survive Ardmore’s bombing of civilians but if I was going to kill people off here's how I’d do it…

Tonowari meets the same fate as Boggs killed in a trap.

Quaritch is overwhelmed by mutts like Finnick was. Paz shoots him herself to put him out of his misery

Neteyam is killed in the second wave of bombings. He snuck out of 13 with the medics because he wanted to give aid to the civilians hurt in the war.

I also had the very evil idea of Neteyam getting sent to the group like Peeta was for some reason, and him being injured in the same trap that killed Tonowari and Neytiri staying with him while the rest move on only for them both to die when the building their hiding in is bombed and then Tsireya dies trying to give medical aid to civilians but good god is that devastating for me to think about.

But it’s a good thing none of that happens! So Ardmore gathers all the past hunger games victors to discuss Snow’s public execution and to float the idea of a hunger games with the capitals children. They are all equally horrified because they’ve all been through so much and just want peace. The kids all speak out but the parents stay quiet all silently thinking the same thing. This bitch has got to go.

All the victors are lined up with bows and arrows to execute Snow in front of the whole country. Only half of the arrows pierce him though. They other half sail right into Ardmore’s chest. Grace is later elected president. Kiri is constantly going from the Sully’s place to Grace’s to Spider’s. Spider and his parents live in a cottage in a peaceful meadow where he continues his recover. His mom is kind of smothering now still recovering from the trauma of losing her son but he knows it’s all love. When he’s in a better place he decides to travel and see the new world. Ronal and Tonowari are surprised to learn they’re expecting but it’s a happy surprise. They can’t wait to bring their third into a peaceful world. Tsireya continues her medical training and Aonung becomes a sailor. He just feels at peace out on the ocean. Jake is basically Graces Vice President and Neytiri is basically the secretary of infrastructure working to rebuild every district. Neteyam, Lo’ak, and Kiri are the leads on construction on a memorial for all the children slaughtered in the games. Everyone is their on opening day. It’s seeing the memorial that really brings peace to all of them. It’s not only a testament to those killed, but a marker that all the horror is now over.

Hope you all enjoyed the long awaited part 2! I’d love to know your thoughts 💙

[majorsoapfan]

⭐️🥰

Ok, since I've been given the license to choose, I'm going to give you the director's cut about my interpretation of Festus and Coral's relationship. The fic that I'm focusing on for this is Play At Your Own Risk, however for every canon-ish AU that I've written, am in the process of writing or have plans to write, where there is a focus on Festus and Coral's dynamic, I do follow the same dynamic so to speak (so they've definitely been on my mind for a while).

This is going to be very long, but you asked for the director's cut so, you've been warned.

Now, in terms of Festus and Coral's dynamic, at least from what I've shown in my works so far, the paragraphs from 'Play At Your Own Risk' that can sum up their relationship dynamic, in particular, Festus' thoughts towards Coral, is this:

'Then finally, came the Mentors. She knew that they were coming because if the songbird had gotten one, then it was reasonable to assume that so would everyone. Although if she had had the choice, then she would rather have no Mentor at all rather than the one she had gotten. Because hers was a creep. A complete and utter creep, who made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up and a shiver run down her spine as she observed the way that he had looked at her, the gestures he made towards her, the words he used to describe her. 

She had always thought that the Capitol saw the Districts as something less than human, not quite people like they were, but she was pretty sure that her Mentor didn’t even see her as that. To him, she was probably at best, an object, a possession, something for him to shape and mould in any way that he desired.'

And I'll admit, my inspiration for this stemmed from both the movie and book and from a gifset I saw here on Coral and Festus' first meeting in the film, where the creator made a mistake and had put 'desirable' instead of 'marketable' in Festus' lines. However, I'll admit, it took me a while to realise that it was a mistake, simply because 'desirable' didn't look too different or too off from what Festus had said, and if I hadn't seen the movie, and had just seen that gifset when going by my knowledge of the characters in the book alone, then I genuinely could have seen Festus saying desirable in the film and it looking natural.

Because both 'marketable' and 'desirable' both have connecting factors in what the Mentors are aiming to do with their tributes during the 10th Hunger Games. Their project after all, is for their tribute to be entertaining, therefore it would be obvious to Festus (in his own mind at least) that he needs to market Coral to the Capitol (marketable), he needs to make them want her or want to see her (desirable), otherwise he won't stand a chance at winning the Prize.

I'll admit that the word choice used in the film also felt to me a little like foreshadowing/an easter egg for the audience when referencing to how the tributes are basically marketed to the Capitol in the later Games, with the Capitol population starting to desire the more physically attractive Victors (Finnick, Cashmere, Johanna). Especially when one thinks about Finnick, who was also from District 4, seems to have been 'marketed' as 'desirable', at least after his victory.

(I also headcanon that Coral is actually related to Finnick, through his maternal side. That she's his grandaunt [her brother being Finnick's maternal grandfather] - there's no basis for this really than my own crazy mind connecting dots that aren't there. And if you believe the headcanon that Mags and Coral were friends/romantically involved before Coral was Reaped - which I do, it makes Mags and Finnick's bond that much sadder on Mags side as she would have Mentored Finnick through his Games, haunted by the reminder that she lost a relative of his, someone who was very close to her and she loved deeply, to the Games as well. And then by the time the 75th Games roll around, all of Finnick's family seem to be dead, making Finnick her last living connection to Coral. Finnick's Games and subsequent victory also would have haunted both Festus and Persephone then if they were still alive at the time as both of them would have seen their own dead tribute in him [Coral - family ties and Mizzen - youth and gender] and would have been reminded of their own failures towards their tributes whenever they saw him.)

Admittedly, all of that are just my wild thoughts so please feel free to just write me off as crazy.

However, crazy thoughts or not, it has influenced the way that I write Festus and Coral's relationship, as it highlights the power dynamic that is in place here between the two in the fic (and really any canon setting AU that I write).

Because as Coral hit right on the head in the paragraphs from the fic, Festus doesn't truly see her as a person. He doesn't truly consider her as a human being with her own thoughts and opinions. Right now, he sees her at worst, as an object or a product that he can advertise or market any way he wishes, or at best, an inferior being or animal that he can train and who will act exactly as he tells her to, regardless of whether or not that's who Coral personally is and her own thoughts about this situation and his ideas (another hint to the future fate of the tributes and victors by the time of the Hunger Games trilogy, how they're forced to adopt a marketing strategy so to speak in their interviews to try and get sponsors to help them survive the Arena regardless of their actual personalities and how many of the Victors might have fake personas that they present to the Capitol after they win to protect the last bit of individuality and self that they have from the greedy and entitled grips of the Capitol).

As far as Festus is concerned, Coral has no say, no right to voice an opposing opinion to his plans. She has no choice and he will be making the decisions from here on out when it comes to her well-being and for or the Games.

And then, what makes it worse for Coral here is that Festus can. He has the power to do exactly that. He has the power and the control to mould Coral in any way he wishes. And if Coral wants to give herself a fighting chance at survival (or to give Mizzen the best chance, which means she needs to keep herself in the best shape possible), then she can't go against him. She can't tell him no or try to fight back and/or argue with him.

Festus holds all the cards in this situation. The cards that could spell the difference between Coral's life and death here in the Capitol. Coral after all, is a starving kidnapped child, who is being chained and locked up, with guns being pointed at her constantly, away from her home and her family, with the looming knowledge that death will more than likely be coming for her, as well as trying to look out for Mizzen to in this dangerous environment for them both.

Festus on the other hand, is older than her (only by two years, yes, but as he's eighteen, he is legally an adult, whereas Coral is sixteen it seems and a minor). He is a member of an influential Capitol family and has freedom, perks, powers and comforts that Coral would never have even back in District 4 and as her Mentor holds her life in his hands, holds power over her and she knows this deep down even if she refuses to admit it in the fic.

Because to admit it, would mean admitting that she is vulnerable, that for the first time in her life, she is unable to defend herself and almost entirely dependent on the mercy of a stranger who she has no reason to believe would be merciful. And for someone like Coral, that is agony.

And in 'Play At Your Own Risk', Coral has no trust that Festus will truly help her survive the Games, so Coral needs to take care of herself.

I tried to show to this in particular through the topic of food, the main focus of the fic. Throughout 'Play At Your Own Risk', Coral is watching as the other tributes, already starving, battle between giving in and performing for food, chance that the Capitol citizens might be willing to simply hand it over without giving them something in return, or stubbornly hold on for a little longer. At first she resists going to the visitors to try and obtain food for as long as she can, but after her first meeting with Festus, where she hadn't received anything from him, hunger wins out and she tries her luck with the visitors when she gets back to the zoo.

Because she knows now that she can't count on Festus for help.

After all, technically Festus as her Mentor, should be invested in making sure she's well fed if she's going to have a chance at winning the Games. But that's not what the Mentors are interested in. Not really, going by the requirements of their project. As theoretically, Coral doesn't have to be the last one standing in the Arena for Festus to win (obviously though, the longer your tribute lives, the better your chances at winning. Now admittedly, their tribute living until the end and being entertaining seems to have been slowly intertwined in the quest for the Prize when it hadn't been originally going by the project's aims), she just needs to have been the most entertaining.

There's the difference.

Once again, tying back to Festus' first words to her in the film, he wants to win, therefore she needs to be marketable. She needs to be entertaining. Living until the very end? Maybe.

And for the Mentors, their competition started at the Reaping, they're already competing, therefore they want their tributes to put on a show. To entertain the crowds. Win them that prize. And it's possible that Mentors like Vipsania and possibly Androcles, deliberately didn't feed their tributes at the Zoo to make them perform for it in front of the citizens, as it would make them entertaining and memorable and therefore would better their chances at winning. Who's to say then that Festus hadn't considered the possibility too?

Festus, like Vipsania, seems to be competitive. He canonically likes dogfights and considered that betting on the Hunger Games would liven things up, hinting that he often betted himself. He also wanted Coral to do well in the Games, both for the Prize and for his own glory and had clearly been thinking of ways to achieve that prior to meeting her. Henceforth the way that Coral describes his behaviour towards her in their first meeting in the fic, the way he makes her feel and how he sees her as an object to control.

Festus wants Coral to win him the Prize, but when he first met her had never considered bringing her food to help keep her strength up for her to fulfil the task (not saying that she would, but logic would rule that a well-fed tribute would have the energy to be entertaining over a weaker and starving one). His reasoning for which I didn't show as Coral obviously wouldn't know and wasn't about to ask. I also left it unclear as to how much Coral knows about the Mentor's project/Prize (i.e. be entertaining), but at the end of that meeting, she knows enough:

Festus holds her life in his hands, she is subconsciously aware of this even if she doesn't voice it. Festus could be the key to her survival in the Games, but the same time she holds no trust that he'll actually help her. After all, he never gave her food, while she furiously notes that other Mentors did.

And in doing so or not doing so, Festus lost the only opportunity that Coral might be willing to give to him in terms of trust. Therefore by going to try and obtain food from the visitors at the zoo after, she's trying to make herself less vulnerable/at his mercy.

Coral might be powerless to stop Festus from 'marketing' her to the Capitol, but by trying to get food from the visitors without performing and not waiting and hoping for Festus to show up, she is trying to make herself less dependent on him and reduce the power that he holds over her well-being.

She has no reason to trust that he has her best interests at heart after all.

Now that's not to say that I think that Festus would be nothing but a horrible monster to Coral either. He has a softer side to him too after all (in the book as the film tried to erase it); he was one of the kinder classmates to Sejanus which had been considered unusual due to Sejanus' isolation from his peers due to being from the Districts and he was initially angry with Clemensia for not feeding Reaper in the Arena, even though a starving Reaper would be to Coral's and therefore his own, advantage. And I think after Coral's death, in the film especially, Festus would be haunted by her ghost and her last words for the rest of his life.

And Coral in the book clearly developed some trust towards him as she does ask for and receive food from him when she was in the Arena, so an understanding clearly had been reached between them. But Coral, as of the end of 'Play At Your Own Risk', and many of my other fics, has not reached that point in her relationship with Festus and therefore has no reason to trust someone from the Capitol who views her as a possession or something to control will actually help her.

I hope that makes sense.

[mooingwithmidnight]

Cashmere and Glimmer

I know it’s a popular theory that Cashmere was Glimmer’s mentor in the 74th Games and purposefully trained her poorly to cause her death, saving her from being sex trafficked like Cashmere.

However, that rings very false for me, because the Careers weren’t like the other tributes, and weren’t going to be very susceptible to bad advice. They weren’t only trained by their current Games mentors, not necessarily. Glimmer was training for the Hunger Games likely long before she’d ever met Cashmere. And even if Cashmere had started training her earlier, she likely wouldn’t be the only person. Cashmere’s speciality is knives, I don’t think they’re going to pick her to teach Glimmer every type of weapon, not when District 1 has other Victors with other specialities.

But I honestly think that adds a layer of tragedy.

Because let’s say that Cashmere had tried to sabotage her. Glimmer is way more likely to assume Cashmere was some sort of idiot than doubt her own training. Glimmer was extremely confident in herself; even if she’d looked up to Cashmere, she was likely going to ignore any bad advice Cashmere could’ve tried to secretly feed her.

Another thing to remember is how important appealing to the Capitol is, especially for District 1, as they’re one of the more respected Districts. While the Capitol sees all Districts as below them regardless, we’re shown that they’re still a lot more likely to root for and support the Career tributes. Whatever angle Glimmer presented herself to the Capitol from was going to matter.

While it’s not in the movies, Glimmer’s outfit for her interview with Caesar is described as essentially transparent. She came right out the gate with blatant sex appeal as her angle, something that Cashmere could’ve had some control over, but not all. (I’d argue not even most- people tend to downplay how important fashion is in the books.)

Counterintuitively, this is amplified because Glimmer is a Career; again, she’s gotten much more advice from outside sources. Besides, Glimmer never would’ve acted meek or scared, she’s from District 1. And Cashmere could’ve told her to dial down her flirtatiousness, but the people of the Capitol were willing to sleep with a 14 year old Victor. I don’t think that would’ve made much of a difference, and certainly wouldn’t have had the impact that a different costume choice would’ve had.

All of that to say that whoever the District 1 stylist/prep team were had infinitely more power than Cashmere ever did on how the Capitol was going to see Glimmer. While they might not have saved her from Cashmere’s fate completely, they definitely could’ve taken measures to change how the Capitol sees her. And sure, Cashmere might have tried to give her input and convince the stylists to do XYZ differently, but she’d never would have gotten the final say.

Cashmere could never have done anything to save Glimmer from her own fate, not a single thing. Even if Cashmere hadn’t gone to Sponsors, people would have sponsored District 1 anyway. Glimmer was taught to survive at all costs anyway, she likely knew how to live without relying on Sponsors.

Being a mentor is already a terrible punishment. And this is something that the Snow knows because of his experience watching Sejanus break during the 10th Games. It serves as a reminder from Snow that while the mentors may be respected as Victors, they don’t have any real power, and they never will.

The very second Glimmer volunteered for the Games it was game over, even if she’d survived.

And Cashmere knows it.

I think that is so much more a tragedy than anything else.

[books-covers-andanalysis]

Sunrise on the Reaping Review

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Yes, a perfect 5 stars. This is the best Hunger Games book

Characters

This has reminded me why Haymitch has always been my favorite character. He is so much more complex than some people gave him credit before this book. He was never just a “drunken asshole” who had a soft side, he is a deeply traumatized person who closed himself off due to all his loved ones being killed. Seeing Haymitch before his trauma was devastating, especially because he has such a big heart (which I’ve been saying but some people didn’t listen!). He loves his ma, brother, and girlfriend so much. He grows to love his fellow tributes so much. He even decides the bunnies are his allies! Then the last 40ish pages destroyed me because we saw him break in real time and turn to alcohol to deal with his grief. His PTSD is so bad, it’s genuinely some of the worst PTSD I’ve ever encountered in a book before. Haymitch is the best Hunger Games character

The side characters were also outstanding. The ones that stood out the most to me were Maysilee, Lou Lou, Wellie, and Ampert, and all of their deaths hit me. It was like Haymitch had multiple Rue’s. Maysilee had so much unexpected depth; helping the tributes with their tokens, despite being the most stuck up girl in town, wanting to make the Capitol pay for what they’ve done. She was an outstanding character. Lou Lou is a tragic character. We don’t even know her real name or personality, that’s how deeply horrible her story is. Wellie stuck with me because of how much and deeply she bonded to Haymitch. The scene of her and Haymitch in the tree with chocolates is one of the most memorable parts of the book for me. Ampert is another one whose story is just so tragic. He was punished for his dad’s defiance

Of the returning characters, I was most moved by Mags. Even though her role in the story was small, she left such a lasting impact on Haymitch. Even in the arena, he thought it’s okay to cry to her. Wiress was also a lovely surprise, as was Beetee. Plutarch finally became a character I care about and remember. The seeds of the rebellion being planted was fascinating, and I appreciated the acknowledgement the rebellion didn’t start and end with Katniss; people had been trying for years, she was just the spark

Plot

On the surface level, this book is about Haymitch’s games and how he doomed his family and girlfriend during it by trying to break the arena. Now, in Catching Fire it is shown that Haymitch finds a force field at the end of the arena, and then we he fights the other last tribute, he accidentally uses it to fling her weapon back at her. But it’s implied there’s more to the story. Why did this get his whole family killed? Katniss’ stunt with the berries didn’t get her whole family killed, and that was intentional! It’s been implied forever there was more to Haymitch’s games year, and now we finally get it. It wasn’t just the force field, Haymitch had defied the Capitol every step of the way as soon as he landed in there. And he suffers the worst consequences one can think of for it. While the whole book was great, the moments that stick out the most to me are:

Haymitch being threatened by Snow. Every part of this scene, from Haymitch drinking the milk to try and stop Snow from being saved, to Snow projecting onto Haymitch, to saying Haymitch should be thanking him for giving him the option to choose how he dies, to the horrifying Lou Lou reveal. Every part of this scene was written in a way that is so horrifying it sticks with you the rest of the book

The last 40ish pages, or as soon as Haymitch wakes up in the hovercraft to the end of the book. This sequence felt like it was out of a horror movie. Haymitch waking up chained and watching a snake eat a bunny, to being isolated with nothing but milk and rolls. He was shown disturbing footage of old Games, handcuffed and taken to his Victor Party where he sees the other Victors who helped with this plot have been tortured. Snow threatening him again, and him being locked in a cage at the party and treated like an animal. Haymitch had to ride home knowing Maysilee, Louella, and Wyatt’s bodied were right next to him. He got home to his family being burned. Then gave Lenore Dove the poisoned gumdrop. Haymitch’s PTSD during all of this is so genuinely devastating, he is having nightmares, and shutting down, and terrified. This is the best written part of the book, and the best written part of the whole series

Themes

On a deeper level, this book is about implicit submission, propaganda, why do we let the few control the many? It’s about abuse of power, corrupt governments, and all the usual Hunger Games themes like how American capitalism is evil, classism is evil, we are desensitized to violence. This book explores these themes in both subtle ways and big grand ways. These are obviously very worthwhile themes to explore, and this book does so with care. Haymitch wondering who is he, to take down the Capitol. But little does he know how much trouble he is causing it. Plutarch asking why didn’t you just have a rebellion in the training room? Why don’t the districts rebel?

My issues with the past Hunger Games books have always been that something was missing. For the first one, it was that all the careers felt like caricatures for the villains in the arenas. For the second, it was that it felt distant. For the series as a whole, it was that while it’s good, it seems afraid of the horror of its own setup, and most of the tributes are meaningless deaths, despite the books own themes. This book fixed all my issues with the other books. All the named tributes felt human and got moments where you empathized with them. Every character death was devastating and written with the emotion it deserved. It was in the scene with Haymitch the whole time. Suzanne Clark has improved her writing tremendously. This is the best book in the series and the only one I’ve given 5 stars too. Well done! One of the best books I’ve ever read

[rubyred078]

Hunger Games Review

Hello my lovely readers and welcome to my review of the Hunger Games! The movies to these books have recently been shown on Foxtel, and I was reminded of how much I want to read the books when I saw them! So here is a review of the whole series, including a section for the prequel, The Ballard of Songbirds and Snakes. Sorry about not giving the review expected, but I was borrowing the Red Queen series and haven't managed to get the next books, so a review couldn't be done. I hope you enjoy this one just as much!

Book trio from The Looking Glass Belgrave, $20 and prequel from Dymocks for $22.99

The Hunger Games was a great series that really captivated me. I loved the way the line between good and evil was blurred and the way romance was slipped in without feeling out of place. I felt like the quality of the books didn't deteriorate as the series went on as it does with some books. They were very well written and the details that were given added to the story in amazing ways.

The storyline was amazing and full of twists. I felt like the way killing was portrayed was true, it definitely showed the way it rips apart your soul unlike  some other series where killing is seen as something you get used to. The romantic dilemma was realistic and raw, but didn't overtake the whole series. I feel like there was some I-don't-know-what-to-do-with-this-character-so-I'll-kill-them moments, but most deaths had purpose. The twist of the surviving district shocked me, and I loved the way that 13 was in the grey zone, not good or evil, and I loved how realistic the confusion about loyalties was. The ending was a bit confusing to me, but I thought that The Hunger Games was an amazing series.

What about the prequel? The little moments that related to the trio made me sink even deeper into the world of Panem.

Characters, rules, even songs were referenced from the first three books and I loved it. The Ballard of Songbirds and Snakes definitely showed a different side to the Hunger Games and it made you more sympathetic to the Capitol. I look forward to reading these books again and again!

Thankyou for taking the time to read my review, and if you've had time for this, then I would appreciate it if you would spend just five minutes checking out The Looking Glass' website. They're an amazing second hand bookstore with affordable books and other nicknacks.

Thankyou again,

Ruby Red