[softestaries]

oh wyatt callow, the boy who weighed everyones odds in the arena and still threw himself in front of a blade for lou lou, knowing hers too.

[nefarious-vex]

can’t believe Suzanne Collins had Wyatt Callow, who knew the odds of all the tributes’ deaths better than his own name, die protecting Lou Lou, who he statistically knew wouldn’t make it anyway. had Louella McCoy, who was immediately ready to try and stick it to the capital any way she could in the games, die before she even reached the arena. had Maysilee Donner, who constantly talked back, who wanted to die with her head up, who didn’t want to be treated like an animal by the capital, die mangled on the ground after having her vocal chords ripped out by a capital-manufactured bird. had Haymitch Abernathy, who from the moment he learned of Beetee’s plan, knew he was ready and willing to give up his life so that his friends and family could live, be forced to live without them, knowing all he did in the arena was for nothing. that everyone died anyway. sick and twisted.

[mysteriouseggsbenedict]

Thinking about Maysilee Donner. A girl who refused to let the Capitol dehumanize her. A girl who wanted to die with dignity, without begging for her life, because that mattered to her. Who set up a place setting with napkins and forks in the middle of the arena because she is a human being. Who loved jewelry and fashion and believed that her appearance sends a message about who she is, and who wanted that message to be respectable, dignified, worth something.

Thinking about Maysilee Donner who was unafraid to slap the woman who pulled her name in the reaping and who threw clever insults towards anyone who provoked her, no matter who they were. Maysilee Donner who believed human dignity is inherent but respect is earned and who refused to give respect to those who did not deserve it.

Maysilee Donner whose father threw money at the reaping stage as if that could save her, and the money floated to the ground just like the confetti, meaningless paper that signified nothing when placed against the power of the Capitol. Whose privilege could not save her. Who recognized that reality and faced it with more fortitude than any person should ever have to display. Maysilee Donner.

[paperlit]

Thinking about how Wyatt Callow is proof that Dr. Gaul’s and Snow’s assertion that humanity’s essential nature is violent (which is part of their argument for the Capitol’s control being necessary) is false. That “What happened in the arena? That’s humanity undressed… A boy with a club who beats another boy to death. That’s mankind in its natural state.” is false.

I’m sure he had it all calculated. He knew exactly what choices would give him the best odds of survival. He knew that the faster he got out of the initial bloodshed the better his chances would be. He knew that letting other kids die would benefit his odds of survival. He knew exactly what he should’ve done to preserve himself.

And yet, he threw all those statistics and odds, all that reason and logic out the window in the name of protecting Lou Lou, a girl that wasn’t even from his district. He threw it all out the window in the name of helping another human being that was in an unfair situation and had worse odds than him. He knew who the real enemy was; he knew it wasn’t the other kids being taken advantage of by the Capitol just like him.

That is humanity.

[tryingssss]

since everyone is talking about the difference between katniss' and haymitch's narrations, i find it funny how in sotr everyone is vaguely described and in og trilogy we know how most of the characters look and i know it's coincidental but it's like this:

haymitch describing a character: she has two sisters two brothers, her parents married each other on one spring day, one of them is gay, she's a lesbian and broke up with her girlfriend over jealousy

katniss describing a character: idk man he has.... brown hair

[wolfish-chan]

It’s all fun and games laughing about Haymitch over sharing and Katniss under sharing in comparison until you realize Haymitch is trying to remember all the fine details of everyone he will never see again and Katniss is trying to protect her remaining autonomy by keeping those details private

The difference in their trauma responses being shown from the very start of their narratives guts me

[katnissmellarkkk]

katniss : “haymitch hates me so much! he despises me and everything about me!”

peeta : “that’s true. only i think he hates me even more…”

haymitch in actual canon : “those two are my only reasons for living and the only people left on this earth I love.”

[dramaticallychill]

a thing that i particularly love about the hunger games prequels is how it shows that people have been fighting against the games since their inception

when i was younger and read the original trilogy for the first time i was so bothered how it was 74 years of games, i remember thinking how could it have gone on so long without anyone doing anything

these prequels highlight that people have been fighting from the get-go: lucy gray's defiance, reaper ripping down panem's flags to cover the fallen tributes, haymitch's games and how many others shared his ideologies - the capitol just drowns them out, they rewrite their stories so their efforts are forgotten

liberation takes time and it's built upon the actions of those in the past

[hereforhappystucky]

So we all know the 75th Quell wasn’t just for Katniss now, right??

It was - get rid of Finnick, people tell him too much and like him too much

It was - get rid of Mags (she’ll volunteer to save anyone), she’s always been too much of a rebel and cares more about the tributes than the games (i.e. hiding Finnick from cameras)

It was - get rid of Beetee, we’re finally done with him (I want to know why he’s suddenly disposable though). But let’s make it as awful as possible and remind him every day what his son was feeling in his own last days

It was - get rid of Wiress (and also show the world what she’s become) because she never should have won (and we’ll show people what happens when you think you’re smarter than the Capitol)

It was - get rid of Johanna Mason, we killed everyone she loved and it didn’t break her enough so now we can’t control her

And of course, it was - get rid of those rebels from 12

But it wasn’t just punishment for Katniss. She had no idea how influential and volatile of a group they were.

Honestly, I feel like the 3rd Quell might have actually worked if the Capitol hadn’t decided to just send all the most rebellious and threatening victors into them. You can’t put 10+ people who rebelled in their own games back into an arena (and this time they’re all together) and expect it to go well for you???

[cryingmyeyesviolet]

Lucy Gray should be proud to know she haunted that evil man every damn day of his fucking miserable life

[eggsyfired]

The beef between Haymitch and Snow is so funny. The way Haymitch drank an entire pitcher of milk just so Snow wouldn't get any, so Snow kept supplying him milk throughout his entire stay in the Capitol after his victory... bro what are you doing you're the president of Panem😭

[sapphicathenas]

anyone else thinking about effie spending 24 years watching haymitch completely fall apart. effie, who met haymitch by accident, who knows exactly what kind of person he is, who sees him every year on his birthday for 24 years and each year he’s drunker, each year he’s angrier, each year he’s faster to give up. and then they get katniss and peeta. peeta, who is kind and open and understanding, who refuses to give up on haymitch. and katniss, who is so much like haymitch at 16 that it hurts. and over the few days they’re together, effie watches haymitch come back to life. watches him try. watches him have hope. and then they get to keep not one but both of those kids. they get to come home. and then, less then a year later, effie pulls haymitch’s name at the reaping.

[batcavescolony]

the difference between Haymitch and Katniss's narration is so funny. Haymitch would give us everyone's social security number if he knew them, while Katniss wouldn't even tell us her mom's name.

[outromoony]

“They’re just fictional characters” ok then why do I feel like their heartache personally cracked my ribs?

[heartforeyes]

I wish Maysilee Donner would've met President Snow. He wouldve said some corny shit like "Snow lands on top" and she would've eaten the words and chewed them right back up so nasty that he would've been so ashamed to say them ever again.

[glowcowboy]

i love re-consuming media i used to love when i was younger. like wow! child me still is in me i am holding her hand and keeping her safe and doing her favorite things with her!!!!

[eatpussypraylove]

Continuing to be warm and soft and open to the possibilities of life even when it seems hopeless and you’re heartbroken and soul sick does actually work btw. Like there will be love around you again and real recognizes real