You’re In Her DMs. I’m In Her Grave, Throwing Hands With Her Brother.

We need to talk about Titus

Out of all the discussions around the Hunger Games, the one discussion I have yet to see is one around the past Tribute and "cannibal", Titus.

It strikes me as an extremely odd detail to be randomly thrown in, not only being one of the only past non-victor tributes to have a name, (and the only one that isn't from the 10th and 74th games or Maysilee Donner, who has further significance to the plot) but also having such a wild story. Titus being relegated to a one-off line is extremely confusing to me.

But what's more confusing is how he's treated, both in-universe by other tributes, and irl by readers/fans. And I think Capitol Propaganda has a lot to do with it.

The little we do know about Titus is:

He was from District 6

He was anywhere from 12-18 years old

He was killed by an *avalanche*

He was "crazy" and snapped during the games

He cannibalized the hearts of the tributes he killed

Right away, this tells me that there's more to Titus than just having lost it, or even being mentally ill prior to the games, though that may have had a part. However, it's definitely not the main factor at play.

Firstly, we need to look at how the Capitol treats these literal children in the short time that they're being prepared to fight to the death. They're almost constantly in the public eye, pushed to train, and treated like commodities for the residents of the Capitol. Residents who live in opulence, compared to the poverty and struggles of the rest of the districts. District 6 especially, where Titus is from, seems to have had a rough time, what with an implied morphling problem and their focus being Transport, meaning that their tributes have absolutely no prior skills that would be useful in the games.

Combining all of these factors, and we don't have to make a leap to assume that Titus would already be under a lot of stress from the get-go.

Then, consider the Arena. This is where the avalanche comes into play. An avalanche would mean snow, which would mean that the arena was likely some sort of tundra, or at least was winter-like. From other games, it has been shown that the gamemakers will purposely make it difficult for tributes to access basic resources like water or food. If Titus had been unlucky at the cornucopia, he would be hard-pressed to find food in a snow-covered environment.

And these two factors, stress and hunger, make it pretty clear to me why Titus did what he did, and why that's so important to the rest of the story as a whole.

Titus. Was. Starving.

Desperation for food, stress from what he'd already gone through, and the fact that Titus was a child makes it pretty clear that if he "snapped", it wasn't because he was insane, it was because of the Capitol.

And the tragedy of this is that the Capitol pushed this boy to desperation, and because he lashed out at them for it (and they found his actions in desperation "unsightly"), they tazed him, they killed him, and they framed the entire situation as this "monstrous crazy person gone rogue".

The Capitol once again kept the people blind to their cruelty, but this time, they even did so to us, the reader.

My father was right. I’d waited here to kill him. But my father was also wrong. About pretty much everything else.

POV: Scrolling through Steve Harrington’s camera roll

★ Discipline Made Beautiful

Discipline and consistency are often seen as heavy or restrictive, but they are the foundation of any goal. By reframing these practices as empowering and beautiful, they stop feeling like sacrifices and start feeling like acts of self-respect. The key to achieving your dreams is aligning your daily actions with the life you envision.

So, I have a list of actionable ways to embrace discipline and consistency in your life!

⋆ Reframe Discipline as Self-Care Instead of viewing discipline as deprivation, see it as an act of love toward yourself. Showing up for your goals—whether it’s working out, studying, or creating—fosters self-respect and builds confidence.

Example: Choosing to eat foods that nourish your body isn’t about restriction but about creating a body you feel confident and strong in. The same idea applied here.

⋆ Build a Lifestyle That Reflects Your Goals Align your habits and routines with the person you want to become. When you act in ways that reflect your goals, you start believing in the possibility of achieving them.

Example: Slow, intentional mornings with a cup of tea and a moment for gratitude can make success feel attainable and normalize a higher standard of living.

⋆ Normalize Small Wins Create small, intentional experiences that reflect the life you want. These moments help you feel successful and keep you motivated to stay consistent.

Example: Rewarding yourself with a favourite skincare product or a relaxing bath after sticking to your routine reinforces positive feelings about your journey.

⋆ Fall in Love with the Process Not every part of building the life you want will feel exciting, but you can find joy in knowing these actions contribute to something greater. Consistency becomes easier when you view it as part of your identity.

Example: Journaling may not feel thrilling every day, but it’s a ritual that connects you to your goals and fosters clarity.

⋆ Practice Gratitude for the Journey Appreciate how far you’ve come and recognize that every small step matters. Gratitude helps you shift your mindset from focusing on what’s lacking to seeing the beauty in the progress you’ve made.

Example: Look back on a previous version of yourself and celebrate the growth that discipline and consistency have brought into your life.

When you align your actions with the life you desire, success stops feeling distant and starts feeling inevitable.

Celebrate your progress and trust in the journey—you are building something beautiful.

Wishing you all the best,

Dictionary Of Occult Hermetic Alchemical Sigils And Symbols by Fred Gettings : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

the most insane double casting i’ve heard of is ophelia and horatio being played by the same actress. the implications of that drive me crazy

Odysseus's fixation upon his son could possibly be explained by the timeline.

A small thing that needs to be said is that according to Homer Odysseus left Telemachus a "newborn" (or at least so Menelaus says in the Odyssey). Interestingly is hard to tell how long Odysseus and Penelope have been married before they had Telemachus because the time line is not cut and clear.

It seems like their marriage took place during the oath of Tyndareus period when Odysseus was at Sparta as a suitor to Helen. From the Oath till Helen's infidelity or abduction or forced seduction by Aphrodite we see there were around 10 years of difference (quite frankly according to some accounts Helen mentions she was 20 years in Troy). That means that he and Penelope were potentially married at least a decade (which makes sense given that he made a wedding bed for her from scratch making it seem that their palace was also being rebuilt at that time)

But if Telemachus was newborn or almost newborn (like let's say about 1 year old tops) that means that Odysseus and Penelope were childless for almost a decade. Either that means they were having some issues aka Odysseus running errands in the kingdom or that they were trying very hard to have children and somehow they couldn't

Do you imagine what this means?

Odysseus potentially had to leave behind a son he wished for for almost a decade full and not to mention that Palamedes nearly killed him, that very son that he potentially tried so hard for and wished for so much!

Hell no wonder he names himself "Father of Telemachus" and quite frankly one can understand why he would hold a grudge against Palamedes (be it Higenius you follow where he frames him or be it Pausanias who says he drowned him) one can imagine why his brain would snap like that! If this hypothesis is correct that is.

Memory/help with exams spell jar 💜

Intended to soothe the mind and help the user recall information during finals/midterms

I made a small spell jar to carry around but this would also work with other containers (small tin, pouch, etc. - reuse things!)

Materials:

Container

Preferred method of cleansing (incense, sound, etc.)

Lavender

Salt (i used pink salt)

Yarrow

Elderflower

3 cloves

1 bay leaf

Amethyst

Quartz

Citrine

Pen/pencil/etc.

Purple, white, grey, or bronze wax to seal container

Step 1:

Cleanse your materials and place them either on your altar or study space

Step 2:

Create a sigil and write it on the bay leaf. You can derive sigils from words/phrases like "knowledge" "memory" "good grades" or really anything. Break the bay leaf into bits and set it aside.

Step 3:

Add herbs and crystals in this order:

Salt

Crushed bay leaf

Amethyst

Yarrow

Elderflower

Lavender

Citrine

Cloves

Step 4:

Close the container and seal it with wax. If the container is a pouch, make a little wax medallion by dripping it on a smooth surface such as a mirror.

Step 5:

Charge it by keeping it near you while you study. Cleanse with moonlight or blowing on it.

Good luck!

suzanne. we need to talk about where we get our names from.