Thg Thoughts - Tumblr Posts

The fact that I didn't read these books for YEARS because people whose opinions I valued told me that they weren't any good and laughed at the nonexistent love triangle...and now I find these genius commentaries on the books. Bless you op

"snow hates katniss because she's lucy gray reincarnated" well no. it's not magic, not some kind of prophecy, not a saga of one family that's fated to overthrow the regime. katniss *isn't* lucy gray, she's just a girl. that's the point. she's nobody.

except that she is lucy gray. not *actually* but in spirit, in her actions. because what lucy gray and katniss -- and snow himself -- prove is that nobody can be truly independent of their community. snow wants to believe (he is taught to believe) that we are all ungenerous, calculating, power-hungry. that we all value ourselves above all else, that we could never love selflessly because we are, at our core, selfish. so when lucy gray shows him that doesn't have to be the case, it terrifies him. and so, in his fear, he kills her, hoping that will kill the doubt she seeds inside of him. kill the source of the doubt, kill the doubt itself. prove to yourself that love is selfish. win at the game that you yourself created -- snow lands on top.

and for years, you really believe that. you won. you gain steadily gain power, people show you the same story, over and over. and it twists you, warps you, into the calculating dictator you were told you had to be.

only then, decades later, another girl shows you the very same thing: true, unselfish, radical love. a girl who volunteers to die for her sister, who sings to her friend as she dies, would rather die than kill the boy she loves, and she's from the same place as the very person who first made you doubt it. you thought you'd killed that doubt years ago, but what you failed to account for was that killing lucy gray doesn't kill her love.

so katniss reminds snow of lucy gray, but not because she *is* her, but because she created something that can't be killed. it's not magic, it's art. it's no accident that katniss grew up singing her songs. lucy gray is dead, but her art lives on, and woven into that art is the love she showed snow all those years ago. her love can't be killed because it doesn't belong to her individually -- it belongs to her people. and it's nurtured in that community. it's in the art, the music, and thus in the people that live there. love becomes the soundtrack of an entire community, and then it lives on in their lives and their actions. it lives on in katniss' father who sings his way into her mother's heart, it lives on in haymitch who holds his ally when she dies, and then in katniss and prim and peeta and every person from district 12 who shows that same, selfless, radical love. it wasn't fate, or destiny, or even one family. it's community. it's art. no man is an island. we cannot survive without love.

Watching HG Catching Fire: maybe it's just me, but it feels so rushed and forced.

And why is the convo between Peeta, Katniss, and Haymitch (after the victory stop in district 11) so so rushed? Like there is so much content in the book, and if I hadn't read it I would have no idea what was going on.

And why is Kat always seeing little bits of what's going on through cracks in the doorway?? Why do people leave the doors open a little bit??

I loved the books but man oh man I will nitpick these movies.

Watching HG Catching Fire: maybe it's just me, but it feels so rushed and forced.

And why is the convo between Peeta, Katniss, and Haymitch (after the victory stop in district 11) so so rushed? Like there is so much content in the book, and if I hadn't read it I would have no idea what was going on.

The fact that they removed the older peacekeepers I'm D12, the ones that are there when Gale is getting beaten, and they're like, yeah no you've whipped him a lot. And those people were just cut out??

And Gale is conscious for like, all of it??

And Katniss' cuts are so mild?? And she doesn't get sent away to her room??

Also I hate the nickname Katnip so so much it's horrid.

Watching HG Catching Fire: maybe it's just me, but it feels so rushed and forced.

And why is the convo between Peeta, Katniss, and Haymitch (after the victory stop in district 11) so so rushed? Like there is so much content in the book, and if I hadn't read it I would have no idea what was going on.

Prim's Old Soul Wisdom TM is actually annoying to me. I don't really like her, cause she's so stilted.

"You could live a hundred lifetimes, and never deserve that boy." Gets me every time.

Every time I see gale, I feel like puking. How was anyone ever Team Gale??

Effie is incredible. The fact that she seems totally aloof and stupid, but is actually so in tune with everything but covers it all up and pretends not to notice. Like what happened to her to make her this way ??

Watching HG Catching Fire: maybe it's just me, but it feels so rushed and forced.

And why is the convo between Peeta, Katniss, and Haymitch (after the victory stop in district 11) so so rushed? Like there is so much content in the book, and if I hadn't read it I would have no idea what was going on.

All of the training in D12 got cut out??

And so much time with her styling team got cut out ugh

It was an absolute crime that THG were made into movies not a TV series.

The whole movie is so scene after scene, no transition. There is so little flow, it's all disjointed.

It doesn't make sense for peeta to be walking out just as Kat walks in for individual assessment?? And the painting is covered and she uncovers it in the books.

Watching HG Catching Fire: maybe it's just me, but it feels so rushed and forced.

And why is the convo between Peeta, Katniss, and Haymitch (after the victory stop in district 11) so so rushed? Like there is so much content in the book, and if I hadn't read it I would have no idea what was going on.

It's so hard to get into Taylor Swift's Eras tour, how hard would it be to be an audience member at the Victor interviews??

The fact that after Johanna GOES OFF (as she should) Caeser says "well thats one woman's opinion" as if he can downplay something like that.

"Snow made me wear it" actually makes sense in the books. The movie totally ignores all of the wedding dress stuff.

The wings on the dress don't make practical sense.

Watching HG Catching Fire: maybe it's just me, but it feels so rushed and forced.

And why is the convo between Peeta, Katniss, and Haymitch (after the victory stop in district 11) so so rushed? Like there is so much content in the book, and if I hadn't read it I would have no idea what was going on.

If the quarter quell had been canceled for the baby, then Katniss would have had to actually get pregnant so she could keep up the show and not have to go into the games.

Watching HG Catching Fire: maybe it's just me, but it feels so rushed and forced.

And why is the convo between Peeta, Katniss, and Haymitch (after the victory stop in district 11) so so rushed? Like there is so much content in the book, and if I hadn't read it I would have no idea what was going on.

The fact that kat realizes it's a spiel so quickly in the movies??

Watching HG Catching Fire: maybe it's just me, but it feels so rushed and forced.

And why is the convo between Peeta, Katniss, and Haymitch (after the victory stop in district 11) so so rushed? Like there is so much content in the book, and if I hadn't read it I would have no idea what was going on.

"Look up at the sky, look at all those colors" lies, Peeta. Bull. That was the boringest sunrise. It's all gray. The woman was dying and you lied??

Like I'm joking but like. It's CGI. They could do better than that.

Watching HG Catching Fire: maybe it's just me, but it feels so rushed and forced.

And why is the convo between Peeta, Katniss, and Haymitch (after the victory stop in district 11) so so rushed? Like there is so much content in the book, and if I hadn't read it I would have no idea what was going on.

Am I maybe watching an edited version of the movie or smth?? It doesn't mention the food deliveries??

Not Gale sitting by her side, watching her sleep I hate that and that dreadful nickname

Watching HG Catching Fire: maybe it's just me, but it feels so rushed and forced.

And why is the convo between Peeta, Katniss, and Haymitch (after the victory stop in district 11) so so rushed? Like there is so much content in the book, and if I hadn't read it I would have no idea what was going on.

Watching THG: The Mockingjay pt. 1

Finnick breaks my heart.

Why are the buildings in D12 still smoldering?? It was bombed when Kat ended the games, and then she's asleep for days and has time to get more or less settled at D13, enough that they know they have to cart her back to bed most nights, so why is the district still smoldering??

If someone could remind me what the deal is with the white roses, that'd be great. I know they're Snow's signature, but the powdery stuff??

I don't think prim realizes this, but if you can't sleep that does not mean you want your little sister to sleep in your bed. Also I'm not a fan of her Aged By The War Wisdom TM.

I also hate the nickname Little Duck.

It's fascinating to see the capitol's side as they plan to bomb the injured. The fact that they would sink so low as to kill the dying. Like, that's not gonna win the war, it just makes a statement.

Gale comes into her room saying he's got good news, and you know Kat is hoping for Peeta to come back, but Gale's like We can go hunting now 👍👍

Gale makin moves is so icky. Make him stop. Not him being lowkey manipulative with his "I knew you'd do that, cause I'm in pain. But don't worry it'll pass." Shut up

Love Peeta

Aww Finnick

How is Kat's hair so clean??

Why is her hair always in her mouth?

Maybe this is just my memory, but in the books, finnick's propo is for information purposes, in the movies its to jam signals and break Annie, Johanna, and Peeta out.

The way Coin manipulates everything in her speech.

If I were watching as the movies came out, I would freak out at the end.

Just finished The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. What blows me away is how Coryo has all the influences for him to become worse and to become better.

Here's what I mean, he's a mentor, so he has a close view of the games, which could make him more sympathetic with the districts or more cruel to them.

He writes the papers for Dr Gaul and talks with her a lot, their interactions could have made him more pro or more anti Capitol.

Dean Highbottom resents the Snows, which makes coryo anti-whatever-highbottom-believes, but hearing about the origin of the games could have changed his mind.

Sejanus, Tigris, and Lucy are all anti-capitol and they are the greatest influences in his personal life.

Spending time in D12 could have made him sympathize with the people that are the same as Capitol people, but instead he becomes more pro-capitol.

But as the first chapter makes very clear, he's out for personal success. It foreshadows everything. At the beginning he has some sympathy for the tributes but sees them as pawns for his own success. At any point, he had the catalysts in place for him to become anti-capitol. The conversations and family and friends. He could have been.

"Look up at the sky, look at all those colors" lies, Peeta. Bull. That was the boringest sunrise. It's all gray. The woman was dying and you lied??

Like I'm joking but like. It's CGI. They could do better than that.

Watching HG Catching Fire: maybe it's just me, but it feels so rushed and forced.

And why is the convo between Peeta, Katniss, and Haymitch (after the victory stop in district 11) so so rushed? Like there is so much content in the book, and if I hadn't read it I would have no idea what was going on.

#1 made me think of Coraline by @neil-gaiman and some stuff I read a while ago, so idk if Neil Gaiman said it, or an article, or a tumblr post, I just remember the concept that adults see a child in danger, but children see themselves fighting something evil and winning. And i think that's part of why THG is very entertaining to kids/teens/young adults, and then as one gets older, we start to see the horror of it.

And #3, peeta is absolutely epic, takes Haymitch's advice and RUNS with it.

So I read the hunger games as a teenager and don’t remember much, and I’m watching the movies for the first time. (In short spurts bc I don’t have time to sit down and watch a whole movie in one go)

First thoughts from the first 1/2 hr..

1. This is horrific. (The plot, the movie is well done). I remember as a teen I was like “this is a fun book! Danger, fighting the govt!” Now I’m watching it and I’m like this is extremely disturbing…. The reaping was so hard to watch. The way the town was just silent. How Effie was waiting for applause that never came. Because why would you applaud watching your children be murdered. But also no crying, no yelling (except from Katniss) because they are just so beaten down and used to this.

2. On a lighter note, I am LIVING for the 1920-1930 aesthetic. The poor coal mining town as a 1930s American shanty town, and then the Capitol in Art Deco. My little art and fashion nerd brain is so happy.

3. I don’t remember a whole lot about peeta besides that he and katniss end up together. But in the first 30 min I’ve seen that he is so smart. Immediately starts asking haymitch how to get sponsors. His response: get people to like you. So what does peeta do? Goes ti the window and starts waving at the crowd. At first I was feeling like katniss like “what are you doing? Pandering to the people who want you to die??” But then I realized, he’s following advice. Become a show- become entertainment and you might get a chance to win. And that’s what he does the whole story as I remember: admit he loves katniss. Say she’s pregnant. Make a sympathy story and make yourself indispensable.

i feel like it's kind of the opposite of the learning curve.

What i mean is that i think they slowly rebuild trust because peeta has been through a lot of psychological trauma and manipulation to make him not trust her, and he can't just intellectually tell himself that he can trust her because his memories + his gut instinct + his fear of katniss are too much. so there's no way he could just go back to trusting her.

and Kat was attacked by him and has the trauma from both hunger games, and her sister's death, and peeta attacking her, not to mention the trauma and ptsd from the war. so her issues run pretty deep too, she can't just bounce back from all that and fall head over heels for him.

so all that said, i feel like when he gets back from the capitol at the end of bk 3 they both are intellectually aware they can trust each other and will be safe, but they can't quite believe it. so what ends up happening is that they slowly spend more and more time with each other, kind of creating safe spaces. maybe not much physical contact, or not spending more than a couple hours with each other at once, and they don't do anything with sharp objects (like maybe they walk in the woods together, but she won't take her bow and arrows. maybe they cook together, but they chop vegetables beforehand, not with the other present.) But once they start trusting each other, then they trust more and more rapidly. So it's kinda slow burn for a while and then things escalate quickly.

i am interested in seeing what everyone's timeline is for everlark in the growing together stage. i have been putting together some thoughts for a post about it for a while, but i was wondering what everyone else thought before i finalize it.

Like, do you think it is a slow burn? if it is a slow burn, do they become friends quickly? or is that a slow burn? or, instead of a slow burn, do they just fit back together now that peeta has returned? after the therapy in the capitol, was peeta's temperament more like his pre-hijacked temperament and that made katniss feel like he was back? and if he was back, they could maybe more quickly lean into their friendship/relationship?

what do you all think? ^o^

Coriolanus Snow did not mansplain, manipulate, manslaughter his way to the top for some of y’all to decide that Peeta is the toxic one

I'd be really interested to see a list of parallels between the hunger games and the ballad of songbirds and snakes, and I'm not talking "when coryo says the things we love most" No. I'm saying katniss and Lucy both have mentors who don't expect then to win but still take actions that aid in their successes, but coryo ditches Lucy and haymitch becomes katniss's friend. If no one else makes a list, I might

If there is a list comparing the uses of "corio" vs "coriolanus" I'd really like a copy

The way both lucky and caeser flickerman have charisma and are funny but like

about children dying and stuff