#tbosas notes

[milliesfishes]

౨ৎTBOSAS Notes (Ch 1-7)꣑ৎ

Is a bit long I'm sorry hehe (also a some of the things I wrote down are potentially to remember for later for connections)

꣑ৎ he cries over the picture books oh baby :(

꣑ৎ Interesting that his family was slave in a way to the wealthy with Tigris's situation

꣑ৎ "His mind could fixate on a problem like that- anything really- and not let go. As if controlling one element of his world would keep him from ruin. It was a bad habit that blinded him to other things that could harm him." His anxiety is so heartbreaking to me especially in his current situation. I think this is part of what drew me to the character- the painful relatability and anger at yourself for having it to begin with :(

꣑ৎ "He loved her but she'd lost touch with reality years ago." Love the choice to have a character who represents what once was through Grandma'am. Coryo always has a reminder of the past through her and it is amplified because she's family.

꣑ৎ His family saying he'd be president someday...it's an obvious foreshadowing but it brings new light to his destiny and his goals, even if he disregarded it at first.

꣑ৎ Pressure on him as the last son- he has so much responsibility on him and he's so young oh poor baby. His mindset really shows how determined he is to fix everything and there's definitely a man of the house mentality in that.

꣑ৎ Tired of people saying he never loved Tigris- he absolutely did. The way he asks about the shirt details because he knows she wants to talk about it and listens to her and looks to her for guidance...he did love her a lot and that makes her future so much more heartbreaking.

꣑ৎ "...his only real currency was charm..."

꣑ৎ There's such an interesting connection between the Plinths and the Snows- both made their money through investments but one thrived off the others failure unintentionally. Coryo's feelings toward Sejanus would be more justifiable if he'd never met him. Still, it's understandable to have some bitterness because Sejanus brushes off his place while Coryo would give anything to be in it.

꣑ৎ Part of the reason Coryo is drawn to Lucy Gray at first is because her dress reminds him of pre-war times :( which incidentally end up being times they both long for, when they had parents.

꣑ৎ Sejanus was the first one to catch that the Reaping was rigged for Lucy Gray

꣑ৎ Coryo's relationship with food is nawwt talked about enough (I will probably have more to say about it as I read further). And the connection of wartime rationing to the name of the Hunger Games is SO GOOD. "Amid the violence of the Games, there was a silent agony that everyone in Panem had experienced, the desperation for enough sustenance to bring you to the following sunrise." OHHHHH

꣑ৎ Dean Highbottom calling him out in public...and with Coryo's preoccupation with status...his grudge against Coryo is so unreasonable. And in the end one could say that he turned out to be right but maybe if he'd never had the grudge things wouldn't have ended how they did. It was a self-fulfilling prophecy in a way.

꣑ৎ "Everyone knew what happened if you went to the districts. You were written off. Forgotten. In the eyes of the Capitol you were basically dead." Oh the foreshadowing

꣑ৎ Talking about the gamemaker in training (more foreshadowing) "...paid just enough and provided a stepping-stone to the future."

꣑ৎ Connects the train whistle signaling Lucy Gray's arrival to his father's death. Interesting when at the end of this story, he is essentially rebirthed more alike to his father.

꣑ৎ "He again had the impression that he was witnessing a performance, but a private one this time." Oh Lucy Gray the woman you are

꣑ৎ He goes to catch up with her when he thinks she might think he’s useless 😭😭loser I love him (and he doesn’t want her to think he’s a coward hehe)

꣑ৎ “Didn’t they have jobs? Shouldn’t the children be in school? No wonder the country was such a mess.” I love him 😭

꣑ৎ In a way she teaches him to perform as she does

꣑ৎ Love the Roman origin of so many of these names

꣑ৎ “People were easy to manipulate when it came to their children.” Hunger Games tribute reasoning as well

꣑ৎ I love that he loved the fluffy white cat oh 😭

꣑ৎ There’s something about how he wins Gaul over by finishing a children’s rhyme…stay tuned

꣑ৎ The contrast between how Sejanus brushes off the press after feeding tributes and how Coryo caters to them…

꣑ৎ It’s so interesting how Lucy Gray takes the things she says and weaves them into her songs word for word

꣑ৎ Interesting how Lucy Gray refuses to be associated with District Twelve, making her even more mysterious in the decades to follow

꣑ৎ Her song reminding him of his mother :((

꣑ৎ Sejanus’ empathy and defiance against the games is truly unmatched- he’s the only one unafraid to go all the way and openly defy authority. But his family’s money probably also gives him more room to do so whether he realizes it or not.

꣑ৎ Coriolanus keeps Lucy Gray both because he wants to spite Sejanus and because if she wins it would make him look better…hmm

꣑ৎ It’s hard for him to talk about his mother still oh :((

꣑ৎ Interesting how Gaul encourages Sejanus to share his opposing views openly in class

꣑ৎ Coryo hating group projects is the realest thing

꣑ৎ “Sure would have been nice to meet you under different circumstances.” :((

꣑ৎ Coryo in these chapters is hard for me not to relate to because he’s just so anxious. He’s definitely a product of his circumstances- the post-war obsession with status and appearance really got to him. 

꣑ৎ Arachne’s death is a sort of turning point- he was so young with his mother and father. But his reaction was intriguing- he cried over it and thought about it quite a bit but I think even though this death is different he’s very desensitized to it.

꣑ৎ He hates Livia so much it’s kinda funny

꣑ৎ Interesting that he’s being praised for what Lucy Gray urged him to do- go to Arachne and try to save her. That probably draws him to Lucy Gray even more and helps him start to trust her.

꣑ৎ He feels safer underground- nothing can get to him...District 13 being underground...eventually destroys him...ohhh

꣑ৎ Also on that note District 13 was associated with his downfall two times in his life. With his family's fortunes and with he himself.

꣑ৎ Gaul being associated with nearly killing one of his closest friends- keep it in mind.

If you read this far I love you and I’m sorry this got so wordy hehe 🫶🫶🫶

[watchingwisteria]

listen there really was just something about how in the book, snow’s 3-page descent from hesitant lover boy to deluded mfer happens entirely in his mind. lucy gray gives him no indication whatsoever that she suspects him, that she’s going to leave or betray him. he’s just sitting quietly in the cabin waiting for her to return when that seed of calculated suspicion, which he has needed to survive the capitol, takes a hold of him and chokes the life out of any goodness left inside him. it really drives home your terror as a reader that “oh my god did he kill her? did she escape? what happened to her? why would he even think that?” in a way that when the movie had to adjust for visualization it lost some of that holy shit this guy has lost it emphasis.

[elsaqueenofstress]

I'LL FACE JUDGMENT BY THE HOUNDS.

“i’m your man,” mitski / the ballad of songbirds and snakes (2023) / suzanne collins

[afolksongs]

And in plain sight you hid But you are what you did And I'll forget you, but I'll never forgive The smallest man who ever lived

inspiration:

[inke-ri]

So I couldn't help but browse the THG tag bc those books own my whole heart. I actually check it now and again, and it's been interesting see how opinions have changed over the years, especially in regards to Gale and Peeta. Going through the evolution of them as just potential love interests to being far more complex than I could have expected has been a wild ride. Crazy how this reads different than from when I was a preteen.

That said, I wanted to give my unsolicited two cents on my boys, because though I have been enjoying the discussion on Peeta and Gale and what they mean to the story, I also feel like reducing them to Peeta = peace and Gale = war is far too simplistic... and oftentimes unfair to one or both of them.

See, I don't think Peeta and Gale are peace and war/destruction. They're compassion and indignation.

Peeta worries about the other tributes, or their families, or how to repay people like Rue and Thresh for what they did.

Gale is indignation at how the Capitol treats its citizens, it's anger at the injustice of inequality and brutality.

Both are needed in a story like THG. You can't have people like even Peeta not say something like "maybe we're wrong about keeping things quiet in the districts", you can't have him not drop the baby bomb, you can't start a revolution without Gale's indignation at the status quo. At deserving a better life but being denied it, at having your kids be mercilessly killed for literal sport.

However, if you start a rebellion and loose sight of your compassion, you end up no better than the people you're fighting against. Gale wasn't a bad person, imo. His heart was in the right place. He was flawed, yes, but so is everyone in this series. Gale, most importantly, lost sight of the line between fighting for the people he cared about and fighting against the people who hurt him.

Reducing Gale's indignation to just revenge and hatred ignores so much of what he stands for. Who hasn't seen laws passed that dehumanize people, who hasn't been angry and furious when someone is elected who fundamentally hates everything you are, who doesn't think some people need to pay for the atrocities they committed? There's a little bit of Gale in every single one of us - and it's important that it's there, because that's what gives us strength to challenge the status quo and make life better for the future generations.

But. You can't let it take over. You can't loose sight of your compassion or your empathy.

That's where Peeta comes in. Peeta is the voice in your head that worries about how many good lives will be lost when they give themselves up for this cause. Peeta is the worry about the people caught in the crossfire. Peeta is rebuilding when it's over and believing that the next generation will have a better life than your own. Peeta is being kind, even to people who may not deserve it.

And Gale... Gale looses sight of his compassion, and he doesn't realize it until it smacks him in the face when the bombs go off and Prim is gone and he's too far gone. Meanwhile, Peeta advocates for the end of the war even though it means the status quo remains - and regardless of what he believes himself, I don't think Suzanne chose him to say those lines by chance. It means both mindsets have their flaws: too kind and things that shouldn't remain will never be challenged and changed, too angry and you may loose sight of what you're fighting for.

And that's just how Suzanne uses her characters, both of them, all of them. Just look at who is with Katniss depending on the situation:

- Katniss chooses to "rebel" after Gale is brutally whipped. She kisses him.

- Katniss realizes that in order for D12 to rebel, everyone would need to be in on it, and she realizes most of them are not like her, that they're scared and she understands, emphasises with them. Peeta walks by her side.

- Katniss finally does it though, shoots the arrow at the force field, and Peeta is taken from her, it's now Gale by her side.

(You can't start a rebellion without indignation, and sometimes you HAVE to do it or things will never change, regardless of the inevitable pain that will come along.)

- Katniss is righteously angry at the Capitol bombing a hospital full of innocents to make a point. Gale remains there.

- Coin twists people's compassion into an army to fight for her own personal gain. Peeta is hijacked and looses his sense of self.

- Katniss and Gale go to District 2 and even though she tries to be like Peeta, she's still shot- reinforcing Gale's views, the person who was with her during that sequence.

- Katniss is angry at Snow, Katniss goes to the Capitol to kill him. Gale is there.

- Katniss gets in way over her head and realizes she is responsible for the death of most of her squad. She shares the lamb stew with Peeta, and later cleans his wounds.

- Finnick dies and she's at her lowest up until that point and all she wants to do is give up and give in to the anger. She kisses Peeta and begs him to stay with her.

... Claiming that Gale is destruction ignores the fact that he's with Katniss through her own moments of strength. Her desire to change things, to fight back, is as important as her compassion. Mockingjay just brutally shows you what war does to your indignation, to your compassion. How easy it is to cross a line between righteous anger and revenge, or how your sense of empathy and compassion can be manipulated into something monstrous by others, or by all the terrible, brutal, painful things you see.

How easy it is to loose yourself- and that goes for both of them.

Peeta and Gale aren't static characters, they go from representations of sentiments regarding an injust government to what happens to those feelings when an extreme situation such as war breaks out. All of that, by the way, while dealing with this duality themselves, because they are still characters who think and feel and struggle and have flaws of their own- and while I love what they stand for, I've seen too many comments that pin everything into what they mean, that they forget that Peeta and Gale are still people, they aren't perfect metaphors. They're human.

Ultimately, Katniss doesn't really choose peace. She wants peace, yes. But what she chooses is compassion. empathy. hope. There's a time and place for anger at injustice. There's a time when fighting back is the right thing to do. There are even times when you wanna give in to your despair and lash out. But if you want peace, then you have to choose Peeta, because Peeta represents what you need to focus on to achieve that peace. You have to let go of the anger or you won't ever rest. So Gale leaves, and does not come back... And yet, Katniss still has her moments of indignation, of making a stand, even as he goes - she still casts her vote at that meeting, she still shoots Coin. Katniss does not abandon that part of who she is. It's just not her main drive anymore.

So then she goes on to make the choice, every single day, to be compassionate to others. To have hope. To rebuild. Of course she chooses Peeta.

... Idk, man. These boys are so much more than what I see them so often reduced to. They're in all of us. There will be times to stand and fight, and times to show mercy and be kind. We just need to find that balance, as Katniss eventually did.

[donttouchmyempire]

Corialanus Snow and Light Yagami would be best bitches and you can't change my mind

They both have God complex

They both pretend to be good boys

They both use a not-so-innocent girl

They both had their boyfriends killed

[everlarkyuri]

if u think about it snowbaird really was wrong person, right time.

although in the books while at the zoo, lucy gray and coryo daydreamed about what it couldve been like if they had met under different circumstances, with flirting and implications of a love that couldve blossomed from there, in reality it would never have worked. throughout the novel coriolanus frequently refers to lucy gray as “his tribute” and “his girl” in a possessive way & gets extremely jealous or suddenly detached at the idea she might still be in love with billy taupe. coriolanus only wants her if shes his, if he can have her.

the reason their relationship sparked so easily for coriolanus before the games began was because of the power unbalance between himself as a mentor, and lucy gray as his tribute. coriolanus likes having power. he fell in love with lucy gray because she was interesting, she caught his attention, he believed she was genuinely a good lovely person whom happened to belong to him, he liked her and having that power over her. but as soon as they both arrived to district 12 as equals, their thoughts they never had the chance to elaborate on in the capitol finally came to light and it proved how different their mindsets were. lucy gray would always be a free spirit, and coriolanus would always need that sense of control lucy gray could no longer give him. lucy gray went from being the only person keeping him grounded, to the only witness keeping him a murderer as opposed to the life that awaited him in the capitol.

[sqpphos]

could you do an au of where Sejanus lives instead of dies but finds out coryo betrayed him (his only true friend betrayed him and left him heartbroken/extremely hurt) so he goes home and seeks comfort from burning that photo of him and snow (kind of inspired by the song burn from Hamilton) but he burns the photo and then sobs his poor heart out?

for my pretty boy sej <3 changed it up a bit to an x reader but they don’t have an important role, just some comfort for my boy bc he really needs it :(

this is very VERY messy and probably has a lot of typos because i literally wrote this at 5 am oops

the woods are hauntingly quiet, nothing but the sounds of fallen tree branches cracking under your feet and sejanus’ shallow breaths fill your ears.

“it’s just up here, lucy-gray said it would be.” he nods at you, holding your hand tight as you lead him on.

your heart breaks as you take a quick glance at him; sejanus’ eyes are puffy and red, his lips are swollen, and his cheeks are wet. he had been crying the whole trek over to the small cabin lucy had told you about. her voice rang in your head, “somewhere safe to hide.”

you never thought you would actually take up the offer. you never thought you’d have to flee from your home, leaving all you’ve ever known from district 12 behind. you never believed you would have been in this position.

not until coriolanus snow came into your life.

there wasn’t even a second to process what he had done or say your goodbyes before you were scrambling to pack your things, running away with sejanus before you’d be caught and never looking back.

coriolanus had the strength to betray his friend. he did not care for the danger he was puttinh sejanus in, or the fact that his best friend’s life would be on the line. for that you’d loathe him for eternity.

“there it is!” you softly call out as the wooden structure of the cabin comes into sight.

sejanus is silent the entire time, and it’s beginning to scare you. you don’t think you’ve ever seen him so broken, and you wish to never see it again.

he sits on the bed in the cabin, fidgeting with something in his hands. for the first time that night, he speaks up: “i need some air.”

it almost startles you. his voice is hoarse, nothing like the gentle, soft-spoken one you know and have etched into your brain. you don’t like it. sejanus walks out of the cabin before you could even respond.

he doesn’t know what he’s doing, he doesn’t know what he’s thinking. sejanus glances at the picture in his hand, and it rips up a new tear in his heart. he feels sick looking at the blonde boy in photo. there’s no hesitation in his movements as he lights it on fire, allowing the flame to crackle and eat away at the film.

sejanus’ shoulders shake as he cries, each sob tearing his chest apart. his throat burns as if he had just taken a drink at the hob, and his fingers are beginning to ache from the heat. sejanus watched as his only physical memory left of his one and only friend disappeared, letting the ashes fall and move with the wind.

coriolanus snow was dead to him.

your head perked up as sejanus walked back into the cabin, following his figure with your eyes as he took a seat next to you on the bed. he laid his head on your shoulder, dampening the sleeve of your shirt with the remaining tears that lingered on his face.

the two of you sit in silence. all you can think of is your future; a life away from district 12, away from panem, away from everything.

“you should rest, sej. we have to continue north when the sun comes up.”

it’s terrifying, but you have no choice.

[milliesfishes]

౨ৎTBOSAS Notes (Ch 8-13)꣑ৎ

There'll be one more part to my notes- I hope they make sense. Truthfully there is always more to say about this book

౨ৎ He's so terrified of Gaul poor baby :((

౨ৎ He went to Lucy Gray after what happened to Clemensia :((

౨ৎ The remorse he feels when he sees her is so powerful- he did care about her idc what anyone says

౨ৎ "You matter to me Lucy Gray"

౨ৎ Associating Persephone with cannibalism (more food things) is interesting. It was a move of pure survival and it still bothers him

౨ৎ He's kicked into action when he sees Lucy Gray starving

౨ৎ When he sings it connects him with Lucy Gray in a way. He experiences the act of being a performer.

౨ৎ The government using Arachne's death to promote the games :(

౨ৎ "I can't distinguish the bud from the blossom." from Highbottom to Coryo on his father. Maybe it's nothing, but Coryo's wearing a blue rose in this part and he's always been told he has his father's eyes.

౨ৎ He indulges in more food than he would normally after the interaction with Highbottom :( and also breaks a few rules, prompting Sejanus to call him a rebel

౨ৎ He keeps thinking back to the circus, which is interesting

౨ৎ Every time he tries to feed Lucy Gray it goes wrong

౨ৎ The Grandma'am and Tigris are two ends of the stick of the past- they have very different perspectives of it, but they both connect Coryo to it

౨ৎ He was fond of the Ring twins and unable to sing at their funeral but he mostly disliked Arachne and had to sing at hers

౨ৎ Sejanus' family becomes associated with food through what Ma Plinth gives Coryo

౨ৎ Lucy Gray calls him the cake with the cream- more food

౨ৎ He feels sympathy for Highbottom in relation to Gaul

౨ৎ HIS INTERACTION WITH PLURIBUS' CAT I'LL CRY

౨ৎ Parallels between Coryo's father and Highbottom in relation to Sejanus and Coryo

౨ৎ It's only after Coryo starts believing Lucy Gray can win that she's able to eat what he brings her

౨ৎ The matching roses for the performance :(

౨ৎ Oh his jealousy over her ballad

౨ৎ He tries to keep holding hands with her after :(

౨ৎ The peacekeepers being drawn to Lucy Gray both in the Capitol and in District 12 is interesting.

౨ৎ Oh him talking about everything with Tigris is so sweet

౨ৎ The specific line from Lucy Gray's ballad about 'living by her charms' bothered him quite a bit

౨ৎ Tigris tells him to be kind and not disgrace Lucy Gray for it, likely because she's had to do the same thing

౨ৎ Lucy Gray won over his grandmother too when she was disapproving before

౨ৎ Him starting his essay well and then not writing anything for an hour is real asf I love him

౨ৎ The idea of a spectacle appeals to him

౨ৎ Coriolanus' father had a hatred for the districts

౨ৎ With the basket of food during wartime the first thing Coryo did was make sure nobody could take it from him by locking the door :( he's so used to good things being ripped from him

౨ৎ His favorite wartime memory was a good meal

౨ৎ PRIDE IN HIS PARSLEY OH MY LOVE

౨ৎ The ability to control things is what he loved best of all about the war, and also what piqued Dr. Gaul's interest in his essay.

౨ৎ People bet on Lucy Gray because she romanticized their humanity in a time when they were made to be ashamed of it. Humanity exists in different forms, and Gaul makes it seem like the Hunger Games exposes the true self. But it isn't the only self.

౨ৎ Coryo gets upset that Sejanus doesn't realize the gravity of the war for him. It left him successful and Coryo starving.

౨ৎ The Capitol supposedly won the war but Coryo, a Capitol citizen, was left suffering because of it. And Sejanus preaches the district's suffering but his family gained from the war. Interesting.

౨ৎ Coryo gets upset when someone makes a comment about Lucy Gray losing :(

౨ৎ He starts crying when he confesses how he feels OHHHHHH

౨ৎ She's careful with her appearance (in more ways than one)

౨ৎ "She was his girl, she had saved his life, and now he would do everything he could to save hers." :(

౨ৎ He understands love after she kisses him AHHHHHH

౨ৎ Coryo didn't involve himself with girls because of his poverty :(

౨ৎ He uses the fact that she doesn't consider herself 'district' to give her an upper hand

౨ৎ "'One look tells you ours have had more food, nicer clothing, and better dental care,' said Dean Highbottom. 'Assuming anything more, a physical, mental, or especially a moral superiority, would be a mistake. That sort of hubris almost finished us off in the war.'" Similar views to Sejanus

౨ৎ Highbottom's ability to converse with other students easily only makes his apparent hatred of Coryo more clear

౨ৎ Mentions of mentors being used. Mentor program only ensures the continuation of the games.

[overleftdown]

flaming coriolanus snow fanfiction writers for writing the things they are writing as if i’m any more normal than them. sitting in my super secret laboratory, cooking up a detailed character analysis of coryo’s narcissism, planning a detailed timeline of events that would just slightly shift the trajectory of his life in a different direction, DSM-5 open on one tab, psychotherapy techniques on another tab, DV survivor blog on another tab, a study regarding cluster B development on another tab, while eating biscof cookies and kettle popcorn.

[depressed-teacup-inc]

I don’t know why but I need a scene in Zukka fics where Zuko goes through his redemption arc earlier because of Sokka, but because of that Sokka has a very big target on his back from from the royal family?

Like imagine in the day of the black sun Sokka actually gets kidnapped in the middle of the battle to be brought in front of Fire Lord Ozai (as a method of basically luring Zuko over and also a means of demoralizing the rebellion and humiliating the guy that causes Zuko to defect)

And rather than have Sokka have this epic action-hero moment where he backflips and stabs Ozai he just??? Talks???

Like Ozai keeps trying to demean and humiliate the guy, but Sokka just verbally destroys Ozai, showing just how resilient he (and by extension the rebellion) is

I think it would be such a good moment highlighting Ozai’s pettiness and how he would actually try to destroy anything that gives Zuko joy, and just how powerful Sokka’s ability to speak is, and how he’s been able to convince and inspire people without a show of physical power but skill and intellect

(Imagined the scene to this song:)

[topperscumslut]

is this anything

[spideyhexx]

feel like some people don’t comprehend that partially the point of tbosas is that you can sympathize with Coryo. It never excuses his actions nor does it try to, but it’s way more complicated than Coryo just being ‘psycho’

[meekmedea]

livia and felix are fighting in my mind ..... help, who should I focus on?

[felixravinstills]

trick or treat!

Boo! And Happy Halloween ! Peter, you get a trick-treat hybrid that is a glimpse into my previous brainstorming/fic planning notebook. Here are two pages each from Tu Fui, Ego Eris and The Love Perfected by Death sections. (Check the alt text if you can’t read it)

Many things… just don’t make it into the fic unfortunately. And also many ideas adapt and change during the actual fic writing!

[katnissandpeetamellark]

The way I’d have to buy another ticket to watch TBOSAS again is killing me