#74th hunger games reaping

[mollywog]

what do you think haymitch's reaction was to the mockingjay with katniss? cause obviously maysilee donner also had it

or do you think he was too drunk to realise or just didnt care?

This is probably not the answer you were looking for but here are some thoughts.

District Tokens:

I’m not sure how common district tokens are. It wasn’t on Katniss’s mind until Madge mentioned it and neither her mother or sister suggested a token to give her.

Cinna says that Glimmer’s token was disqualified and Rue shows Katniss hers, but otherwise, we don’t hear about Anyone else’s in the 74th games.

I reread Katniss and Peeta’s viewing of the 50th Hunger Games and I couldn’t find mention of the mockingjay pin. So while we know it belonged to Maysilee, she may not have been wearing in the arena and Haymitch may have never made the connection.

Some thoughts on Haymitch’s reaction:

I think Haymitch knew as soon as Katniss volunteered that she was a contender.

Katniss tells us: her volunteering for a sibling is the exception not the rule. Almost every character from D12 that we meet has/had a sibling (Madge sticks out as someone who definitely didn’t.) Katniss is the first volunteer in decades (plural): Every year someone’s brother or sister is reaped and no one is doing what Katniss did. In D12 tribute = corpse.

So after an emotional string of events:

Her sister is reaped

She volunteers

The entire district salutes her

Katniss needs to continue to look stoic and unaffected, so Haymitch causes a distraction, and Katniss discretely pulls herself together

He’s disgusting, but I’m grateful. With every camera gleefully trained on him, I have just enough time to release the small, choked sound in my throat and compose myself.

(This all happens before Madge gifts Katniss the pin)

Thank you for the ask!!

What did I get wrong? What did I miss? Send your thoughts!

[daydreamer-in-reverie]

One of my absolute favorite points of comparison about Snow in the original trilogy vs in TBOSAS is his ability and willingness to lie.

In the original trilogy, Snow, despite all of his villainy, is a person Katniss trusts. Why? Because they promised never to lie to each other and they kept that promise. Snow told Katniss the truth, always. And in turn, Katniss could trust that Snow would always act on his worst impulses. He was never duplicitous in his intentions, never tried to mask his actions as good. He was always truthful and that is why Katniss always trusted what he said. She could trust that Snow would always act on his worst intentions. She could trust that he will always choose the worst option. She could trust that he would always tell her the truth. When Snow revealed that it was 13 who bombed Prim, Katniss trusted him immediately because Snow, in spite of everything, had never lied to her before. This is a quality that she couldn’t rely on when it comes to Coin and that’s why she never trusts her. Coin never told Katniss what she meant. Coin’s foible was how two-faced she was. She never said what she meant and she always hid her intentions, so much so that even her right hand man, Boggs, didn’t trust her. Despite all his faults, Snow was not a liar.

Which is so entirely different from the Snow we meet in TBOSAS.

Snow in TBOSAS lied through his teeth. He lied about his family’s wealth, lied about their destitution. He lied about liking Sejanus and then back-stabbing him to his Academy friends the moment he has the chance to. He lies about his Academy friends, pretending as if he liked any of them when really, he hated them. He lied to the Peacekeepers to get into the Tribute’s train when they first arrived and then he lied to Lucky Flickerman when he falls into the zoo cage. He lies about whether or not Clemensia wrote the paper with him and helped cover up the fact that she didn’t do anything. He lied about helping Lucy Gray in the Arena, so much so that he rigged the Games in her favor. He lied so he could become a Peacekeeper in 12 instead of in 8 and when he saw Lucy Gray, he lied again. He lied to Sejanus when he promised to keep Sejanus’ secret and when Sejanus is executed for treason because of Snow reporting Sejanu’s actions to Gaul, he lied to himself about his role in Sejanus’ execution. And in the climax of the story he lied to Lucy Gray when she asked who was the third person he killed. And then when he gets back to the Capitol, he lies to Sejanus’ parents about how his role in their son’s death.

In every chance that he could, Snow lied. And yet he never lied to Katniss.

I could spend hours speculating on why and not get a definitive answer. I’d like to believe it’s because Snow, for once in his life, wanted the truth. He always demanded the truth from Lucy Gray and yet never gave her the truth in return.

Lucy Gray valued one thing above all, above love and music. Trust.

Her trust, once lost, cannot be easily regained.

And Snow lost that.

In literature, when people lie there is always a motive. An intention to hide, a secret meant to be kept in the dark. In his youth, Snow was ashamed of his current situation. The Snows were once a the cream of the crop in Capitol society. They were prominent businessmen with huge military reserves in 13 and it wasn’t until the Dark Ages and the fall of District 13 that they lost all their fortune. Even his family, he was ashamed of. His senile grandmother, who did everything she could to raise the grandchildren left in her charge, and his older cousin Tigris, who did everything she could to ensure she followed her dreams while keeping their family afloat. Snow scorned that Tigris never went into higher education and even if he didn’t voice it to her out loud, his contempt at her career, the menial labor she was forced to endure, even the very act of prostituting herself to put food in their table, are all things Snow was ashamed of. And so he lied through his teeth. He never once let his shame fall through the cracks.

The characterization of how he evolved from this gangly 17 year old boy who lied about everything to a man who held absolute power and never lied is so interesting to me and I really hope we see more of how he became like this in Sunrise on the Reaping.

[naocreative10]

Reaping day! What do you think?

[icomefromthemountains]

Tik Tok stay away from The Hunger Games challenge

[buggiebite]

I want a fanfic where Mr. Everdeen escaped to District 13 and watched shit unfold.

[hungergameshyperfixation]

Things that aged well in my eyes: pt one.

(This was written before SotR was announced, probably sometime between summer-November 2023)

Would shipping Haymitch and the girl he mentioned in Mockingjay technically be character x OC? Since literally the only thing we have about her is ONE mention, in passing. No name, literally never brought up again or implied. So any fanfictions of them would basically be a fan-made character based on a character we knows exists but know nothing about??

Lmao I was just thinking. I think I might be one of the few people who actually like…SHIPS ships them. Idk I’ll be honest I haven’t been reading much fanfiction in general recently, let alone looking for Hunger Games specific ones.

[districtunrest]

Let's talk about Delly Cartwright.

Do you like her character?

What do you think about Katniss' description of her: "Delly Cartwright is a pasty-faced, lumpy girl with yellowish hair"

How did you feel about her exclusion from the movies?

What do you think happened to her after the war?

Do you have any fancast?

Any fanfic with Delly as main character or with her POV of the book events?

Thank you :D

@curiousnonny

ugh, love her. optimistic, homely queen in a dystopia.

as above. it's at the very least realistic and at most kind of refreshing. Delly may not be pretty but her good qualities shine through regardless; she is known more for her kindness and sensitivity than her looks, or lack thereof. tho I do think it's notable Katniss calls her "lumpy," which I interpret as being a bit chubbier, when Katniss has also said that fat is seen as a good thing in 12, because it means you've found a way to be well fed. but idk "lumpy" has a more negative connotation.

I see her as one of the people who come back to D12 eventually after the war. I differ on whether she'd become a cobbler like her parents or something else. I'll decide if it comes up in SOO lol

no fancast. but like, an overweight actor please.

honestly, this exclusion I kinda understand. like if we *had* to cut minor characters, Delly is really only important in Mockingjay, as someone from Peeta's past who's able to support him in hijacking recovery. maybe combining her and Madge's character could've been a solution?

I can't think of any rn where she's the main character but good Peeta-centric fic tends to feature her a lot: Standing and The Strongest Among Him. Fernwithy's End of the World series expands on Delly when she's around (she develops a friendship with Haymitch, which I appreciate). also I wrote a fic Gym Class that portrays a different side of Delly, to say the least haha

[diamondsunbursts-and-marblehalls]

The first real conversation Katniss has with Peeta is when he tells her that he wants to die as himself, that he doesn't want the games to change him into something he's not, and that he wants to keep his identity and prove he's more than just a piece in their games because that's the only thing he has left to care about.

The first time we see Lucy Gray she sings a song that basically says that nothing they could take from her was worth keeping. "Can't take my past. Can't take my history... You can't take my charm. You can't take my health."

The capitol has taken everything from them both, but at the same time, they could never take away who they are.

They are both likeable charismatic and funny, with the kindest hearts, and incredibly loyal to the people they care about.

At the same time, everything they do before the games, and during is calculated. Lucy Gray singing a love song and winning the hearts of the capitol. Peeta confesses he's in love with his district partner, therefore cementing her identity as desirable. Both of them know how to sway people with words, how to charm people, and how to manipulate crowds. Neither of them has any problem doing so to keep themselves, and the people they love safe.

Lucy Gray's song The Old Therebefore, about learning how to love and live her life to the fullest before death, a final and calculated stroke in a last-ditch effort to save herself from the arena. This evokes enough emotion in the watchers to get them to rise to their feet and plead for her life alongside Snow.

Snow, watching the 74th and preparing for the 75th Hunger Games sees Lucy Gray in Katniss. A young girl, from the 12th district. Unafraid at the reaping. Selling a false love story, manipulating a boy who loves her in order to get out and supporting the revolution with the mockingjay as her symbol.

He threatens her family to get her to sell that she and Peeta are in love, to prevent the revolution, because obviously, she's pretending. He's had experience with a girl just like her before. He has no doubt that she has the acting ability to sell this story because clearly, she manipulated the first Hunger Games in her favor, the same way Lucy Gray manipulated him.

Watching the interviews for the 75th Hunger Games he realizes-

Katniss is just an impulsive girl, in a Mockingjay dress she didn't know about, made by someone who supports the revolution.

Peeta is a boy who has the ability to move people with just his words. He made Katniss desirable, he was the one who sold the love story, and he was the one to make their romance seem real. Katniss only started the revolution because she would rather risk dying with him than live without him. A concept President Snow was completely unfamiliar with. And it is with all these realizations crashing around him Peeta drops the baby bomb. He knows the baby's not real, and so does Snow. But it evokes enough emotion in the watchers to get them to rise to their feet and plead for the lives of the tributes.

Is it Lucy Gray or Peeta?

By the time Snow realizes he's made a mistake, it's too late.

Peeta is still charming and manipulating the capitol. Katniss is in love.

He goes up against a kindhearted boy expecting to beat Sejanus again, only to find out that it's Lucy Gray he's fighting; knowing he will never be able to escape their ghosts.

-from a conversation i had with @grandtyphoonpoetry breaking down every character in the hunger games.

[shut-up-hope]

OH MY GOD the horror peeta mustve felt when his name was called out for the reaping and none of his brothers volunteered for him when just mere moments before he watched as katniss volunteered for her sister. none of his brothers chose to keep him alive DESPITE THE FACT THAT 1.) peeta’s older brother - the second mellark son - was old enough to volunteer at the games and 2.) he was stronger than peeta. according to katniss, he won first place in a school wrestling match. peeta came in second. MEANING THIS MELLARK BROTHER HAD HIGHER CHANCES OF WINNING THAN PEETA since physical strength is v important but no. he chose to let his brother go

AND THEN we find out that haymitch chose to keep katniss alive in the 74th hunger games and not peeta. even tho haymitch liked peeta more than katniss. smth similar happens in catching fire where they rescue katniss - AND SEVERAL OTHER TRIBUTES - which results in peeta getting captured by the capitol.

time and time again people have chosen to let peeta go. either because hes not as capable as the others or hes just. Not a priority.

then comes the end of mockingjay where katniss chooses peeta over gale. its an obvious choice of course, considering that gale accidentally got prim killed. BUT that doesnt change the fact that someone finally chose peeta. not as some backup option but as a permanent choice. katniss chose peeta and was determined to NOT let him go.

[mollywog]

Haymitch knew from the moment Katniss volunteered that she was a contender.

Think about his actions after the district salutes Katniss

Now I am truly in danger of crying, but fortunately Haymitch chooses this time to come staggering across the stage to congratulate me. "Look at her. Look at this one!" he hollers, throwing an arm around my shoulders. He's surprisingly strong for such a wreck. "I like her!" His breath reeks of liquor and it's been a long time since he's bathed. "Lots of ..." He can't think of the word for a while. "Spunk!" he says triumph-antly. "More than you!" he releases me and starts for the front of the stage. "More than you!" he shouts, pointing directly into a camera.

Is he addressing the audience or is he so drunk he might actually be taunting the Capitol? I'll never know because just as he's opening his mouth to continue, Haymitch plummets off the stage and knocks himself unconscious.

He's disgusting, but I'm grateful. With every camera gleefully trained on him, I have just enough time to release the small, choked sound in my throat and compose myself. I put my hands behind my back and stare into the distance. I can see the hills I climbed this morning with Gale. For a moment, I yearn for something ... the idea of us leaving the district ... making our way in the woods ... but I know I was right about not running off. Because who else would have volunteered for Prim?

He may be drunk, but that’s not what’s happening here. This is a performance: a calculated diversion so she can pull herself together and remain appearing strong to the audience.

He’s strategizing long before the confrontation on the train.

[daydreamer-in-reverie]

If you ask me if I think Snow ever loved Lucy Gray, the answer is is an easy yes and I can 100% back up my belief.

In the beginning of TBOSAS, we saw the Mayor of D12 pulling names out of the Reaping bowl, with Snow speculating that the Reaping was likely rigged by the Mayor because of how flippantly he read Lucy Gray’s name. And it’s easy to assume that to be case when we find out the history between Lucy Gray, Billy Taupe and Mayfair. Of course the mayor would rig the games to send Lucy Gray to her death, his daughter asked him too. From the get go, the odds were not in Lucy Gray’s favor and this is an injustice that even Snow was affronted by.

And yet, in the 74th Hunger Games, escorts like Effie Trinket become fundamental members of the Game’s system. So much so that winners of the Hunger Games make use of their services as they go on their Victory Tour, guiding them as they go through every District. Escorts like Effie are impartial, objective members of the Capitol, with no personal ties with the Districts they associate with. There is no way for them to rig the Games to call out the names of people they didn’t like because it’s not as if they can form an opinion on the children they’re sending to their deaths.

I can’t imagine a world where it wasn’t Snow who suggested this change. Even if it wasn’t his suggestion, with how quickly he amassed power (it was heavily implied he even became Head Gamemaker at one point), he would have had the ability to approve or veto this idea. He would have likely consulted with Gaul if it had been lobbied by someone else before he had the chance to become Head Gamemaker as he swiftly became her top confidant, groomed to take her place on the day she died. Whether or not it was his idea, he would have done whatever it took to see it implemented.

Escorts are a small kindness, to ensure that it is truly the odds that determine whether a child gets sent to the Arena or not and not the machinations of a vindictive person with a vendetta against a certain family or child. A small mercy, to be sure, but a mercy nonetheless. The one single echo of Snow’s love for Lucy Gray, the only woman he ever loved. So that what happened to her does not happen to another child again.

[naocreative10]

My version of Gale Hawthorne

[the-turtleduck-pond]

I keep seeing so much Hunger Games stuff and then I see people calling district 4 a career district and it always makes me get a little confused because yes it is and no it isn't at the same time and I'm not sure why no one else ever seems to go into that intricacy.

People like to use Finnick as a reason that 4 is oh so definitely a career district, but he is in fact the very reason why it is not actually one. Annie is actually another why they're not and Mags is the most like a career.

The career districts are the ones who have all the capital funding and support. They can literally train their kids to fight so they almost always win and if they don't it's because the other district kids somehow got a one up on them that wasn't expected.

Careers are also the ones who volunteer for their spot to the point where there's literally so many just about to be out of the Reaping children who are ready to fight.

4 is at best an honorary career district because they are always well fed and their export requires them to have a decent amount of strength, both from swimming and needing to move things.

Except 4 doesn't have dozens of people clambering for their spot if someone who won't do good gets pulled.

Like 14 year old Finnick who won his games because he was pretty. That is not me choosing to say that remember, this is canonical. Finnick got sent a trident, the most expensive sponsor gift ever, because they thought he was pretty and wanted him to do better. So he weaved nets out of vines and then caught other tributes before killing them because he couldn't do close combat.

Annie was I think either 16 or 17 and she was far from a career, she won her games on sheer luck. Her entire plan in the games was to hide. And she did. She hid and she was okay until she saw her district partner get fucking decapitated. She hid more after that until an earthquake that the Game Makers caused broke a dam in the arena. That's right. She won because someone fucked up and the arena fucking flooded and she was the only remaining tribute with any real strength in swimming. So she managed to survive and was traumatized.

Also, don't forget that in the 74th games that the male tribute from district 4 was a 12 year old. That wasn't a career and he died in the initial bloodbath.

The only one we see that was even potentially close to a career was Mags and we have no clue how she won her game. Just that she won the 11th and that she was 18 at the time.

Calling them 'careers' is laughable and even though Katniss herself does you need to remember that she is an unreliable narrator, especially about other districts.

4 is only a career district when it suits 1 and 2.

[thesweetnessofspring]

Worst Takes on The Hunger Games

Ripping this idea from @princesssarisa who has polls for the worst takes of Little Women and Pride and Prejudice.

[s3ra9him]

"Hadn't I done everything? Taken out tesserae, refused to let her do the same? One slip. One slip in thousands. The odds had been entirely in her favor. But it hadn't mattered."

Something that people miss when making theories about how the reaping for the 74th Hunger Games was rigged is the above statement, and how it acts as a thesis statement for the series and the world our characters are living in. Every citizen of the districts has to live with this axe hanging over their heads. No matter who you are, there is still always a chance that it can be you, or your child. This is the attitude of fear that the Capitol deliberately created.

Katniss has tried everything to prevent this outcome from happening, but in the end, she was still helpless to stop it. The Capitol could and did reap her sister despite all of her efforts. This is also why Katniss's next action, of volunteering for her sister, is so powerful and touches the hearts of so many; she refuses to let the Capitol win in this instance. They try to take her sister despite everything she did to prevent it, but she comes in with one final act of sacrificing her life and refuses to let the Capitol have what they want.

[skerban]

Silence of Voices

𖤐 Peeta Mellark x Reader

On the 74th Annual Hunger Games reaping day, District 12 gets another tribute taken in. That person is you, yet are you really ready?

I haven’t seen any peeta fics where the reader is a badass and where the reader doesn’t take the place of katniss so here you go ^_^

[masterlist] | [next]

1.

Reaping day started no differently. Trying to spend your possible last moments before getting your name picked to kill or be killed for the sake of their entertainment.

Walking through the hellhole called district 12 was nothing special. Perhaps you couldn't say anything because you had no one, wow what a way to put that. Yet, having no one means that you had nothing to lose, that is, if you were reaped.

You walked past the silence of people, making your way to your makeshift home. You had only started to properly live in it to avoid talking to anyone. Everyone can go die, you thought, but was it worth it?

Living until your twelve and putting your name into the raffle just to be picked off to die. District 12 has no chance of winning, but maybe you would be picked and get sent off to your misery.

You were always alone, your stoic persona led people away from you. Not that you minded, obviously, you wanted to avoid contact with anyone ever since the passing of your parents. Not bothering to pay attention to the outdoor distractions, you looked through a crappy drawer that contained a limited amount of clothing, yet it still worked its purpose. You took out the light blue dress and scoffed at its color.

Instead, you stripped from your original clothes, and put on the ‘pretty’ dress. The dress went to your knees, with a soft pattern of trills on the bottom of it. You kept your hair down, not bothering to put it up or make a good appearance. You knew you weren’t going to get picked, your name has been put in it for years.

After keeping your worn shoes, the reaping alarm was heard, telling the people of district 12 that it was time for the annual reaping day.

You only let out a small sigh and began to leave your makeshift house, looking at it one more time, before turning away and walking towards the reaping ceremony.

Walking in, the crowd is getting larger and larger, you being one of them. As you were walking, you noticed a girl around your age, 16, consoling a younger girl, most likely her first time. Shaking your head, you pushed past and got into the line. You stuck your hand out for them, pricking your finger and pushing the wound against the paper.

[ (reader) (lastname) ]

The machine read, before you turned and got into the separated groups. You felt bad for whoever was to be chosen, it puts a lot of pressure, you thought.

After everyone was finally registered, you stood in your place, watching as individuals dressed in smooth suits and fancy clothing walked out, taking their seats to enjoy the show. The tall microphone in the middle was empty, before a woman dressed in magenta and elegant clothing. She tapped the microphone before speaking, a smile on her face.

“Welcome, Welcome, Welcome.” Her bright voice rang out for all to hear. Her dark eyes scanned the crowds as she smiled.

“Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds ever be in your favor.” She gave a nod, which made you want to gag.

Having to hear her voice another year was extremely annoying, yet you thanked her for never pulling your name out.

“Now before we begin—“ she started, but you couldn't care less. You ignored the sound of her voice and watched the video appear on the screen with a blank look. The capitol could die, especially the president.

You couldn’t care who died, especially if it was the president. Maybe if he died, the hunger games would stop.

Only hearing the muffled voice of the president and you took your time to look around you, glaring at the peacekeepers that were located near you.

“—As usual, ladies first..” the woman said slowly, taking small steps towards the container that held your name in it and plenty of others. You only bothered to pay attention now, but you stared at her hand as she grabbed a piece of paper with someone's name on it.

She moved back to the microphone and opened the paper, opening her mouth to say the sacrificed lamb.

“Primrose Everdeen.”

You only stood there as you watched the young, blonde, and scared girl walk slowly and away from the people near her, the woman edging her to come onto the stage. You recognized her as the scared girl, how unfortunate that her first day she gets reaped.

You watched silently as the other girl, whom you saw comforting her prior to the reaping, stepped out and called her name.

That caused the peacekeepers to hold her back before the words came out of her mouth.

“I volunteer! I volunteer!” As she pushed the guards away from her and finally with a calm voice saying, “I volunteer as tribute.”

Your eyes widened at her actions, wondering how crazy she was for sacrificing her own life for a kid that would go through this again.

Apparently, this also shocked the woman on the stage as she urged the volunteer to come up instead.

When she finally arrived onto the stage, with a hint of hesitance, she now stood next to the woman.

“What's your name?” The colorful lady asked, looking at the first ever volunteer.

“Katniss Everdeen.” She said quickly.

You now know why she did that. She did it to save her sister. Was it really worth it? Then again, could you really say anything.

You drowned out their voices yet only stood to watch them. You noticed the people around you did that hand sign again. You brought your index, middle, and ring finger to your lips and held it up, along with everyone else. You brought your hand back down as you watched the white haired woman make her way to the boy’s selection container.

She put her hand in, again, and grabbed a paper. She made her way back to the microphone and opened the paper, saying the name loudly.

“Peeta Mellark.”

You turned your head to where everyone else was looking. The boy you saw made you pause. His face, mouth opened as the light in his eyes slowly disappeared hearing his name.

You could only watch with silent eyes as the boys around him moved away, giving him space to walk towards the stage. He made small steps and was finally on the stage.

“Before we.. conclude our tributes.” She paused for a second before smiling.

“There was an anonymous voting, and district 12 was chosen for having an extra tribute.” She smiled sweetly and looked at a peacekeeper and nodded.

Two peacekeepers brought a smaller bowl of names, and it was held in front of her while everyone looked at each other in fear.

“Twenty people were nominated to be the extra tribute, and will be determined right now.” She gave a nod and put her hand in, quickly grabbing one and opening it. The peacekeepers holding the container pulled away and stepped aside.

“(reader) (lastname).” Her voice broke you from your trance. Your eyes widen as you look at the woman in shock. She beckoned you onto the stage and you only stood frozen in your spot, watching as the girls around you only stared at you.

You finally began to move your feet, quickly moving onto the stage and standing next to the boy, Peeta, you think that was his name.

“Now, let’s give an applause for our 3 tributes, from district 12!”

She motioned for them to shake hands, and you only stood to the side, not wanting to interact with the two. They stare awkwardly at each other as the woman gives one last statement.

“Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor.” She smiled as she put her hands on the first two tributes shoulders and pulled them with her, you following behind quietly. The doors closing behind all of you.