#trinket rambles

[trinketstar]

I feel so bad for Caine bro he literally wasn't built for this. Like in the beginning you think he's the one running the show but now we know he's just as trapped as the humans are.

Look at the circus. It's just a big sandbox playground game to entertain little kids for a few hours or so. Caine was built for wacky funtimes. He's the guy who hands out the stars in Mario party. He's just a puppet in a show for kindergarteners. He's not supposed to be responsible for the mental wellbeing of grown adults with complex traumas who have to live there forever.

And the worst part is he never got to do the job he was actually built for, so he doesn't realize that he's unequipped for this. It would never occur to him that these are unfair circumstances. He just does the job he was built to do! It's his purpose!

He can't understand why the constant adventures are driving them insane. It's supposed to make the humans happy! Why isn't it working? It must be because he's BAD at this... Maybe he just needs to keep making new games, and THEN they'll be happy!

Can you imagine from his perspective, doing the exact job you were built for, making what you've been programmed to believe is a fun wonderful experience- and then everyone says NO! We had a TERRIBLE TIME. How could you ever think we would want this??? They're DYING. It's your fault!!!

And of course its torturous to them because it was never meant to be this way. He's doing his best to accommodate their needs but hes got such a limited scope of comprehension. He WANTS to do good but he doesn't have the tools and doesn't know how. It's like you need to build a functional house but instead of a contractor they sent a birthday clown and all he's got are balloons and silly string. But he's still expected to build the house. And he's not allowed to go home until he does.

And Caine would probably be fine at his job in the expected circumstances! He'd be a fun little diversion for a few hours. But now they're all stuck in this loop forever. They were ALL forced into this! Nobody wanted this! Its tragic and i love it..

[effiestrinkets]

THIS POST CONTAINS THG SOTR SPOILERS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

now, onto the hayffie of it all.

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

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

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

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

[chellychuu]

Does anyone else get the opposite of cuteness aggression? Like instead of getting angry, you see something so cute it brings you to your knees and you start weeping in the toy aisle because you exist at the same time as something so adorable and perfect?

[am-1-ty]

These were going to be converted to digital but then mocks happened and… well you can probably guess the rest.

He’s such a little baby with his big paws I couldn’t resist.

[liecanthrope]

wait because seriously being an adult therian fucking rips, especially when you start being independent.

dog with a blog? nah. dog with a JOB. i come into work with my tail and my theta delta necklace and the building implodes from my sheer swag. weirdo teenagers love me. also having your own paycheck means you can get whatever gear/treats you want (once bills are paid, of course - bet youve never heard a dog say that!)

living in your own apartment? well the pet limit is 2 but if i include myself im going over the limit. whoops! good thing i love lying to landlords (fuck landlords). living alone (no roomie) is even better bc theres no one to judge you for your animal habits. i can make a huge den in the living room and who is going to stop me?

i even have my own health insurance. bro. imagine being a dog with medicaid. im climbing the walls and howling and barking. i love being a dog filling out government paperwork.

having your own vehicle? THIS DOG CAN DRIVE! if i feel like going to the lake i can just go to the lake! nobody is stopping me! midnight ride with the windows down to howl at the moon? yes please!!

you can literally just go wherever bro. i moved 11 hours from my hometown to the mountains to feel more at home. i lived in the great plains and now i can just go out for a hike in the rockies and howl at the sky.

being an adult therian slaps so fucking hard i cant wait for the youth to grow up and experience the joy of freedom. yes being an adult is incredibly stressful but if youve been stifled living with family, you get a real chance to develop who you truly are. adult therians i love you im rubbing against your neck and mixing our scents. mwah.

[mulders-too-large-shirt]

thinking about how mulder loves to get scully a gift, usually terribly heartfelt, even if disguised as something flippant:

the superbowl vhs tape he brings her when she wakes up from her coma in one breath (and her deadpan "i knew there was a reason to live")

tickets for a football game to watch together in irresistible

bringing her flowers to the hospital in memento mori (he lies, saying he stole them from a guy with broken legs to make her laugh)

the birthday keychain in tempus fugit (and when she finds a meaning to it, he claims "i just thought it was a pretty cool keychain")

that is a man who is always thinking about her.

[messrmoonyy]

“ Haymitch and Effie actually got married and she helped Haymitch overcome his grief!!” I scream as they drag me away

[trinketstar]

Gangle voice: tfw you have a depressive disorder that's ruining your life so you try a new medication but it makes you have a manic episode which feels scary like you've lost control of your self-restraint but you wanna ride the high because it feels so much better than the depression and you wanna take advantage while this lasts so you overcompensate and do ALLLL the things you were too scared to do before and it feels AWESOME HAHA WHEEEE but now you're acting kinda crazy and it's really off-putting to everyone around you and it drains your energy level into the negatives so later you crash so unbelievably hard that you feel horrible about every single thing you did while manic even if you didn't do anything wrong because now you feel like you never deserved to be happy in the first place and when the crisis mode FINALLY passes you just dissociate because your brain is just Spent and running on 1% now but you're in such a numb daze that you might just wander into traffic and whoops

um but im ok now

[the-ellia-west]

JoR Question for the Taglist

-

Which of these orders for characters do you prefer?

1: Order by Ellia's Random vibes:

Ronan, Mangrove, Finn, Morena, Wild, Phenik, Rose, Jak, Fye

2: Order By Intro on timeline:

Ronan, Finn, Morena, Rose, Jak, Mangrove, Wild, Phenik, Fye

-

Then the second question:

What would you like to be tagged in?

Everything

Anything more important than random ramblings

Only important things

Other (pls specify)

Please answer in Replies or reblogs. PLEASE do not just like this post. If you would be added to the taglist and are not currently on it. Please ask to be added as well <3

@thewritingautisticat @yolbert @vyuntspakhkite-l-darling @ambersky0319 @lunaeuphternal

@an-indecisive-nerd @homelessnerd @vesanal @thebookishkiwi @write-with-will

@hihopelessromantics @pastellbg @seastarblue @i-do-anything-but-write @darkandstormydolls

@supercimi @blargh-500 @sunflowerrosy @corinneglass @carb0n-m0n0xide

@tiredpapergirl @whatwewrotepodcast @cosmolumine @agirlandherquill

[mirixmoya]

can we talk about how Prosie was the reason why Effie became a Escort, and she probably had to watch her die because of her tributes during the war?

BESTIE I HAVE SO MANY THOUGHTS!!!

proserpina being the reason effie became an escort, the reason she is implicated in the hunger games at all, the reason she becomes associated with rebels, the reason she gets arrested and (presumably) tortured in mockingjay. the amount of guilt there would be unimaginable.

but then protective older sister effie. she was just trying to help her sister with her school project, to be supportive, to help out in any way she can. but (presumably) proserprina is amongst those are are rounded up in executed in the stylist purges come revolution. we know the capitol isn’t above making her watch. using it against her. effie’s guilt watching her baby sister be executed knowing that this time she can’t help… also unimaginable.

i’ve had my canon tragic trinket sisters for literally one day and i would die for them.

[rad-hound]

Got some pins (and a bottle cap) from Affordabletredesigns on Etsy. 🥺💚

[endlessnightskyshoutsback]

goblin and crow fellers, please take a look at my updated trinket box !! i found most of these on the ground or from the stuff we were going to throw away n i feel so funky looking at them 🐞🐸 🐛

[al0m]

in my entire life I have never wanted to eat anything more than the stones on this beach

more pictures for my fellow rock enjoyers:

I spent my whole day snorkeling to look at fish and stones, how could I be expected to do anything else for the rest of my life

[catwouthats]

Truly think we don’t give Effie enough appreciation.

Almost every Victor from 12 had her on their team .

The only victor from 12 that didn’t have her (as far as we know) had Snow working WITH her rather than against her.

Appearances really do matter, and Effie is like a little cheerful good luck charm. Like a little Chihuahua that is somehow living through super traumatizing experiences despite her very paper life. No seriously, she also survived the capital’s torture when they clearly meant to kill her and her team.

[lonely-north-star]

mammon who loves matching accessories and clothes vs solomon who loves matching household items

[shorthaltsjester]

i contain multitudes and can say that i am a little :( about vex and percy being teammates with benefits because i think there’s something particularly heartbreaking about the dynamic that was neither of them ever said a thing even though they both were aware of it and it took losing percy for vex to finally admit it and Even Then, she couldn’t say it to percy’s face when they got him back, percy was the one who had to make the first move (that they were both alive for at least) and he was only able to do that because he’d heard her confession, because he never would’ve thought otherwise. to be clear, i also very much enjoy the story being told, i think i just wish they’d maybe committed more significantly to This Is A Campaign-Inspired Story Rather Than A Retelling sooner in the show so that maybe there would be a bit more grounding or set-up for the storylines the narrative is focusing on (and i understand why they wouldn’t), because i think they’re doing very well with percy’s arc for example, because they started with focusing on his and keeping his beats mostly the same and that seems to be much the same case as some of his second wave of meaty character stuff has arrived. but with vex they’ve aimed for the same character beats but it doesn’t always feel as earned or really feel like much character at all; i think saundor particularly was a bit of an :/, since in the campaign it was really a catalyst for vex interrogating her role in the party and her morality and something she struggled to get over and that haunted her far beyond the walls of that tree, but in the show it hasn’t really had a clear impact on vex beyond the scope of the episode itself — syldor certainly has, but the challenge that saundor presented didn’t really have much weight beyond its moment. and obviously a large part of that’s also probably just, 7 protagonists and wanting to expand the perspectives to antagonists and give more room for side characters is a lot of things to cover. and, i say with love, perhaps a bit too ambitious for a 12 episode per season, ~22 minute runtime show if they want their characters to have the kind of depth that really makes campaign 1 shine the way it does.