#and all katniss being forced into being a symbol of the rebellion against her will as the mockingjay when all she wanted was to save prim

[dykesbat]

thinking so hard abt the little rebellion of district 12’s silence when katniss volunteers for prim and their funeral salute to her..

[thesweetnessofspring]

In Mockingjay, if Snow’s objective was to emotionally break Katniss to the point where she would be unable to be the symbol of the rebellion, wouldn’t it have been more logical to show Peeta in his real deteriorated and abused state since the beginning? After all, it was only after seeing Peeta’s first propos where he looked healthier than ever that she made the decision to be the Mockingjay. If the first propos had actually shown Peeta was actually being tortured, how would have Katniss reacted? She was really fragile by this point and hadn’t actually become involved in the rebellion. Also, Katniss theorizes that Peeta’s first propos was actually filmed only a few days after he was captured, so Snow held onto that footage for several weeks before deciding to use it which is really interesting. I also realize that he wanted to use Peeta to manipulate the Capitol’s citizens, so his propos weren’t meant only to hurt Katniss. Am I overthinking this? 😅 I really love all your opinions so I’d thought I’d ask you about it it. Sorry if it’s all over the place. Thanks in advance and a have a great day ❤️

Hi non, I'm flattered you think so well of my opinions! Let's see what we can discuss about this one.

Idk if you've ever played with a cat, but in play with their humans, cats will wait and monitor before pouncing. They want the toy from the start, but they're calculating hunters. Snow treats Peeta and his appearances like Katniss is a cat trying to capture him. One appearance will not be enough, especially not with D13 involved. So his first move is to simply keep him away. Let her grief destroy her. Then, as she might be returning to functioning, hit her with her first sight of him in weeks. Then a little later with him looking so much worse that her "hunting" instinct becomes elevated. She can't trust anything she sees from the Capitol even more now and wants him. The third appearance is the one where he warns them 13 will be bombed.

I think that this appearance and Peeta's slip was all planned. Are we really to expect the highly controlled Capitol doesn't have a 10-second delay in their live feed? How would Peeta have known such sensitive information if it hadn't been given to him? The Capitol freaking out and cutting off the feed was all part of the act.

Snow didn't want Katniss dead from the bombs. She would become a martyr, a face on a poster to rally the troops. Even in D8, they bombed the hospital after she left. Makes you wonder if it was all a game for Snow's biggest show and break down for Katniss: getting her to kill Peeta.

Prim is the one who assigns Snow's motivation to break Katniss with Peeta. It would be a disservice to Prim and Suzanne to try and pull a "nuh-uh!!" to this point, however, I think it's telling the method Snow chose. It was to try and force her hand to take the life of the boy she loved, as Coriolanus had been willing to do to the girl he loved. To him, the world is an arena, yet Katniss never played by the rules she'd been given and that had been the problem. By Katniss finally killing Peeta as he wanted her to in the 74th Games, she would no longer be a martyr with a spotless reputation and she would have to live the rest of her life with the fact that she killed the boy she loved. To the audience, she would be a husband-killer, drawing her own weapon against the father of her would-have-been child. The lovers act would be proven to be nothing but a sham, because survival is more important than love, violence more key than compassion.

And like every time, Katniss proved him wrong.

[siderealmaven]

Sidereal Aries Characters in Fiction

The following are fictional characters that fit the Sidereal Aries archetype as described by @siderealmaven.

1. Korra

Korra from the Legend of Korra is known for her proficiency in firebending at the beginning of Season 1. She knows how to use physical force and her willpower in order to create change in the world around her and believes that it is her duty to do so. Her main conflict is figuring out how to airbend and create change in circumstances where brute force doesn’t work. This is the opposite of her predecessor Aang, who was an airbender and struggled to learn firebending. Regardless of how much she tries to learn how to be like Aang from his son Tenzin, she has to forge her own connection to her airbending when her firebending is taken away by S1’s antagonist. There is no one who could teach her how to deal with that situation because no one she knows has ever experienced it before. This is a perfect example of how Aries is forced to forge their own path and learn to rely upon their own instincts. Throughout her arc, Korra goes from an overenthusiastic upstart to a battle honed warrior and experienced leader.

2. Katniss Everdeen

Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games is the first person from District 12 to volunteer to participate in the Games. She does this in order to protect her younger sister who does not have the physical capabilities necessary to survive in the arena. During her time there, she breaks all of the rules and challenges the status quo. She forms an alliance with Rue and then holds a funeral for her when she dies, which in turn challenges the audience’s idea of who the enemy is and what winning really means. She also forms an alliance with Peeta and pretends to fall in love with him in order to save his life. This in turn changes the rules of the game and there are now two winners when there was only supposed to be one. Later on in the series when Katniss is turned into a symbol of the Capitol’s power, she uses her influences to lead a rebellion against it despite being coerced and punished at every turn. She shows over and over again how important it is to make personal sacrifices for the greater good, even when it could come at the cost of your life. 

3. Hua Mulan

Hua Mulan from Disney’s 1998 Animated Film is a woman who decides to take her father’s place in the Imperial Chinese army because she knows that if he goes to war, he will not survive due to his previous injuries that have left him disabled. She steals his armor and impersonates him, becoming the first woman (that we know of) to join the army, which is against the rules. What is so special about Mulan is that even though she does not have a mentor, she does have a spiritual guide in the form of a dragon named Mushu, sent to her by her ancestors. This is a symbol of how Aries may technically be physically alone, but spiritually can draw upon their own inner reserves of power that cannot be seen by others. Mulan is outed and abandoned by her military commander when she is injured after causing an avalanche in order to win a battle against the Huns. Because of this, she sees the Huns have survived and are on their way to invade the Emperor’s palace. This makes her the only one with the power to stop it. And she does, earning herself the honor of going down in history forever. The most heartfelt moment of this movie is at the end, when her Father welcomes her home with open arms.

What all of these characters exemplify perfectly, is what it means to take responsibility for yourself. Each one of these heroes has a unique set of skills born out of a unique life experience that only they have. This means there are challenges in their world that only they can take on and accomplish. There is only one avatar, one Katniss Everdeen, and one Mulan.

If they didn’t stand up, face their fears, and learn how to use their power, nothing could have ever changed at all. This is what is means to be Sidereal Aries!

Originally discussed in @siderealmaven 's Patreon video on Everything You Need To Know About Sidereal Aries.

Want to know more? Join Sidereal Maven’s Patreon for exclusive content such as articles + videos about sidereal astrology, astrological transits, and lessons on how to read your own birth chart and write your own horoscope!

[bluiex]

Just so yall know- this all stemmed from me simping over Finnick again after binge watching all of the HG movies today

Scarian Hunger Games AU!

So! In how the books/movies go, Grian would be Katniss in this scenario, living in District 12. The Mockingjay, symbol of the rebellion against the capital in this Hunger Games universe.

He'd be the one to go instead of Pearl (his sister who was chosen but Grian volunteered in her steed), the other pick will be Big B. Going along with the first book/movie: they play up being "Star crossed lovers" like Peeta, Big B is actually in love with Grian.. by the end of it when they are the two alive they stage that suicide deal with the berries until the announcers like "Congratulations, our winners of the 74th Hunger games!" yada yada- causes the uprising

So moving onto the 2nd book/movie, 75th annual HGs- the president(who i think I might make Evil Xisuma) makes it so past winners are the ones who go into this one (cuz ykno gotta kill Grian, the person who made the districts rebel again) Grian and Big B would’ve been the 2nd and 3rd only winners of District 12 (idk who I wanna be the first winner) MEANING they're both going to be forced into the 75th HG (cuz big b would refuse to let the first winner go) now this is where it will get into my own little idea of how it'll go cuz this is where Scar comes into play! He's a past winner, from 10yrs ago! (What me making him to be like Finnick?? who would've thunk it!!)

Grian and Scar see each other for the first time in the starting ceremony thingy where each victor rides the chariots down the thingy for all of the ppl to see and the president welcoming them or w/e.. Scar would be wearing the same thing finnick was in the film (as seen here)  So ykno, imagine that as Scar, scars and scitties galore, waltzing up to Grian. ofc Grian is like wow- this man is attractive. 

Scar is apart of the rebellion, so is the new games master (who rigged this whole HG like in the book/movie)(who i have no idea who to make that as yet, could be Bdubs, i think thatd be funny) and it's Scar's job to keep Grian alive (BigB helps cuz he is in on it as well) and befriend him, become allies-- Mumbo is gonna be there too (he'd be like Beetee from the book/movies) and also befriend them inside the arena uwu ANYWAYS While getting to know one another the whole week before the games start, training and all that jazz.. Grian starts falling for Scar and same goes for Scar to Grian! So when they get into the games their love blossoms further but ofc they cant show it cuz the world thinks Big B and Grian are together!! DRAMA!! (ofc bigB doesnt care, he's over Grian) anyways yeah itd be tense and stuff until they escape the arena, Grian barely making it out alive

basically, they get to District 13, the rebellion is in full swing lol Grian the face of it as "the mockingjay"

i think i'll make Tango be like who Johanna is in HG.. I think he'd fit her fiery angry self lol 

some Scar angst (like finnicks wowie so original) Victors, who are seen as desirable, are sold off to people after winning.. Those people can do whatever they please to that Victor they bought time with. So you can imagine what he has been through.  He uses that after awhile though, to gain information about a lot of things. and is a big asset to the rebellion cuz of it. 

also also Scar would be around 30ish in this and Grian 20 (this is my au the ages are different *rattles the bars of my cage*)

[shesasurvivor]

Hi.. Could you explain more about this?

"Actually, I've always held a theory that the parents' love triangle represents the fate of Panem in the first rebellion/the Dark Days that lead to the creation of The Hunger Games, while the Katniss/Peeta/Gale triangle represents Panem in the second rebellion."

Thank you :)

@curiousnonny

Absolutely! I thought about going further into this the other night, but I was so tired that I couldn't find the energy. Thanks for asking!

The first time I read the books, I couldn't help thinking that Katniss reminded me a lot of Scarlett O'Hara because they were both survivors. In Gone with the Wind, the love triangle between Scarlett/Rhett/Ashley is meant to serve as a symbol for the South's struggle to adapt to the changes that the end of the Civil War brought about, or if it would allow itself to be overcome by its refusal to change with the times.

So with this influence in mind, I couldn't help seeing both Everdeen women as being representatives of Panem -- Mrs. Everdeen was Panem before it attempted rebellion but failed miserably. Mr. Mellark, who was from Mrs. Everdeen's old life that held considerable more comforts (even if it still wasn't great) represented what Panem was before that first rebellion. Mr. Everdeen represented the change, the possibility to improve your quality of life by just being brave enough to rebel against the status quo. Mrs. Everdeen made this choice when she chose a life with Mr. Everdeen, the man she loved, and left her life of comfort to live in the Seam. Unfortunately, just as the first rebellion ended poorly for the districts, and now had an even worse life because of the Hunger Games, Mrs. Everdeen's choice ended similarly when Mr. Everdeen was killed in the mines.

The next generation is born, and now we have Katniss, Peeta, and Gale. Katniss is what Panem has become in the story's present time. Worse than things used to be (and now we have evidence of this, knowing things were still less harsh for the districts during the events of TBoSBaS). Panem is surviving, but not thriving. And the same can be said for Katniss. Now, the love prospect from the Seam represents Katniss's status quo before the Hunger Games, and before the rebellion. He's Seam, like her, which is just about as bottom rung as you can get in Panem except for maybe the Avoxes. But it's Katniss's life, it's all she's ever known, and because it's familiar and doesn't capture the attention of anyone who can cause her or her family any harm, it's comfortable for her.

Then she goes into the Hunger Games, and along with that, Peeta, who had always been dancing around the backdrop of her life the way thoughts of freedom did in the minds of every citizen of Panem, suddenly becomes a realistic prospect in her life. Despite her defenses telling her not to do it, she can't help choosing compassion and humanity in the face of the Capitol's threats. These things are inherently, deeply rebellious to the Capitol because Snow's number one method to keep control is to keep every single citizen as divided as possible. (This is the point of his little quip at the end of TBoSBaS where he decides if he ever gets married, it'll be for power and not love.)

After her act of rebellion, with the boy who represents actual rebellion because he represents compassion and humanity and hope, she's had a taste of what life could be if she decides to go after it. Panem, too, has seen two teenagers have the absolute audacity to choose to remember each other's humanity on live TV aired on forced viewing across the nation, and suddenly they have a glimpse of this life as well. That's why the act with the berries has such a profound impact on the districts that it tips things over into rebellion.

So come Catching Fire, Katniss now has the choice: does she go towards this new rebellion, the rise against the oppressive system that's stripped her and everyone else of all shreds of what humanity they have? Or does she stay with the boy she's known her whole life, because it's comfortable and safer than the unknown of seeking what she knows in her heart she actually wants?

In the end, Katniss has no choice but to reject the old life, which is so often the case in life. But she does make the choice to embrace the new world and life, just as she made the choice to become the Mockingjay. And even though she lost every single facet of her old life in an unfathomably cruel way, we still see that in the end, she was able to find her way to a life that gives her the freedom she always yearned for. Just as Panem made the choice to fight the second rebellion, and this time succeeded in winning its freedom.

[howtotrainyouragents]

Agent H's Book Reactions

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Revolution is rising in the districts of Panem as Katniss and Peeta are selected again for the Hunger Games Quarter Quell

-Unfair, that only Gale calls Katniss Catnip. I, too, would like to call her Catnip

-It's really fun reading the love triangle through the lens of what each boy represents (Gale: rage and rebellion, Peeta: hope and peace) because it so beautifully serves Katniss' emotions and journey. She chooses Gale when she decides to join the rebellion instead of running. She holds on to Peeta in the Capitol/Games. etc. Genius character technique, Collins

-I completely understand why Collins wrote it this way, but I wish that the victory tour had been longer. Like it goes by in pretty much two pages. I was looking forward to them going to each district, because it would help us get to know each district better and see the rebellions first hand. And I think it could've raised some tensions if while on tour, District 12 was being cracked down on and Gale got in trouble, and there'd be nothing Katniss could do. It parallels watching the Games and emphasizes the hopelessness and violence the Capitol is trying to inflict

-Between the victory tour and the Quell announcement, I was really bored. It was important plot set up and I really appreciate how these books dedicate time to Katniss's trauma and emotional well-being. But it dragged on a bit too long for me.

-I really appreciate the posts that point how Rue is the true start of the rebellion, but I don't want to mistake that for the impression that her death matters more than her life. She was a young Black girl, she deserved to live :(

-At first I was like, ugh, this Games feels different than the first. But, duh that's the point!! The first part of this book is about the districts uprising. The second part of the book is the microcosm of the districts, the victors uprising. The Games feel different because it truly is the districts against the Capitol instead of each other

-They say that once the gong rings, the solidarity that the victors showed during the interviews will be gone. But then they're wrong!! Katniss and all work in a team, and they rebel against the Games by showing compassion and solidarity. It's the victors working together to rescue Katniss. It's Peeta consoling the dying victor. It's Katniss taking the time to clean and soothe Beetee and Wiress. It's joking around with Finnick. It's Finnick having Johanna's back. That's the revolution!!

-I like the first book's arena more for how it was so realistic, but I can appreciate just how batshit traumatizing this book's arena is. Who tf thinks of raining blood??? Also I like the set up of the District 12 electric fence to the arena's forcefield. And how them destroying the force field is the literal AND metaphorical destroying the games for good

-Really sometime I should sit down with this series and just connect all the different parallels and symbolisms and set ups

-Peeta continues to be the best and my favorite

-"If it weren't for the baby"- PEETA MELLARK IS THAT BITCH. I LOVE HIM

-Unsurprisingly, I am down bad for Johanna. I want her to step on me

-*Me @me*: You cannot adopt another gorgeous, witty, secretly tragic boy. *Me, sighing, knowing this will not end well, but putting Finnick Odair in my pocket anyway*

-I know it was for the escape plan, but it was so cute how Finnick was obsessively counting the bread each time

-I couldn't tell if Finnick knew the truth on the baby thing, but I thought it was adorable that he seemed to so earnestly believe Katniss' lies, e.g., the baby, hearing the forcefield

-The whole hearing the force field thing is so funny because it has no significance to the plot, it's just Katniss overthinking things again and then having to keep up the lie

-I love Katniss and Peeta so much. They're so ride-or-die for each other before ever having real feelings (on Katniss's part at least) involved. Like the foundation of the relationship is just pure human empathy and friendship in the face of unimaginable circumstances. God damn

-I also really love how as much as Peeta gives Katniss hope, she also gives him hope. She saves him in the games. She makes life in District 12 worth living. It's not just one-sided, they save each other. Couples who mutually inspire each other to live=Top Tier

-I got confused on the ending, but why wasn't Peeta at the tree with Beetee? Finnick went after Johanna and Katniss after they realized the wire was cut. So I can get that Peeta would've wanted to go after them too, but Beetee would've insisted that he stayed put, right? Do they ever explain this?

-See, the rebellion rescuing Katniss feels less like plot armor to me than I think other books would've made it feel, mainly I think because Finnick and Johanna were still down to kill Katniss if it came to it and District 13 is very much also just using her in their Games

-Ohhh, the ending with Haymitch hurts so much. Because Peeta says that he lied to one of them about which one he'll keep alive. And we, like Katniss, know that he lied to Peeta because he agreed that it's Peeta's turn to live. But as much as he loves Peeta, turns out he lied to Katniss and us. The betrayal is real T^T

-The movie gives a cleaner explanation on why Katniss and Peeta can't know about the rescue plan

-Because I rewatched the movie immediately after finishing the book, Strokes of genius from the movie: 1) The little girl saying she wants to volunteer like Katniss (scariest moment of the movie) 2) The graffiti "the odds were never in our favor" 3) The shot of Johanna and Finnick leaning on the tree as they decide on Beetee's plan

-While rewatching, I saw a comment that was like "I can see how these books are beginning to reflect now in our real time." And I was like, hmm, yeah, like obvs we're not having children killing each other in an arena anytime soon (though we seem to be okay with children dying from gun violence and police brutality *side-eye*), but the series' themes of media, propaganda, and violence are very much in play now

-I think Hunger Games should absolutely be taught in dystopian fic sections of literature classes alongside things like 1984 and Brave New World (admittedly, Hunger Games was a little too disturbing for me as a young teen, but then again Brave New World was a little disturbing to me as a young teen SO)

[eventiderpg]

District Twelve is nothing but smoke and ash due to the devastation that The Capitol caused. Just like the fallen District, District Eight has also been dealing with cruel bombings and The Capitol's militia. A district that once had over 122 thousand people, has lost over twenty-five thousand people in over twenty some days of war. Those numbers are a combination of confirmed deaths as well as people being missing in action. Had the rebel forces not been strong and united in the underground scene of District Eight, their fate might have been just as fatal as the one seen in District Twelve.

President Alma Coin of District Thirteen has begun to send troops to aid those in Eight in an act of showing unity within the rebellion. This is the first combined efforts of a District acknowledged by Panem working with physical forces of Thirteen outside of providing hovercrafts. President Snow of The Capitol has been working tirelessly to consistently air footage of District Eight, ensuring that the citizens of that District seem like bloodthirsty heathens who thrive on anarchy. Information of all the monstrosities his military forces have done against the District has conveniently been withheld from Panem's public.

This mission has many objectives: provide aid to District Eight, show Panem what its government is willing to do those who don't blindly support the nation, and to utilize the symbol of The Mockingjay to show how Katniss Everdeen stands with The People. Before leaving the safety of District Thirteen, the volunteers are ominously given a speech by a nameless officer.

"Being told of war and witnessing the carnage are vastly different beasts. With the training you've received, each one of you has garnered your clearance. This means the Rebellion sees you as someone capable of being on the battlefield. District Eight has lost a considerable amount of its people. Some of you will likely not be joining us when we fly back to Thirteen. Be sure to make your life worth it, whether it ends in Eight or continues in spite of the brutality you will witness."

While this plot drop will not actively involve everyone, it will take place over the 26th through 35th days of the rebellion. All our muns are welcome to play through the thirty-fifth day at this point. The end of this mission will play out similarly to canon in Mockingjay. The beginning and middle of it that we do not see in Mockingjay will play out however our muns see fit. If you would like your muse(s) to have seen or done something significant during the mission, please let the admins know. We plan to compile a list and post it for easy access for our roleplayers. This plot drop begins now and will run until at least September 25th.

During this plot drop, propos from The Capitol and the rebels will be airing. If there is cross interference, our roleplayers will be notified. This means if a rebel propo plays in The Capitol or a Capitol propo plays in Thirteen, a detailed post will be made as such. Additionally, we still plan on posting captive and freely roaming individuals' Caesar Flickerman interviews during this time. Also, the possibility of airing rebellion propos to Panem's public will begin. For those interested, please reach out to the admins!

Threads that pertain to anything in regards to the District Eight mission should be tagged with both #eventideevent04 and #eventidemd08. Under the read more includes information regarding the roles muses directly involved with the event will play. Some roles are individualistic, while others are paired. As always, happy roleplaying! To everyone, thank you for continuing to be a part of our roleplay.

Roles:

Commander Paylor (NPC)

Command: Paylor and other higher ups will be in constant contact with District Thirteen as well as relaying and giving orders to the troops in District Eight. As a commanding officer, Paylor also has the ability and responsibility to pick up slack in any roles below her position.

Beetee Latier

Hacker: Beetee will be working alongside a special unit on the ground that will be working in stalling communication to The Capitol, air propos to D8 and its neighbors, as well as attempt to hack into the technology utilized by The Capitol's forces. The hackers will warn the soldiers of any approaching danger.

Cadence Kentwell

Snipers: On the rooftops of a high building, the snipers will act as lookout and alert the soldiers if Peacekeepers arrive or if any other suspicious activity occurs. Aim will be vital in this role.

Cressida Astor

Filming: The District Eight mission is about offering aid to the District under attack. An underlying importance stems from the filming of propos as well. These propos will be edited and played across the nation of Panem. The filming crew will be following different facets of the mission daily.

Ezra Klair, Gale Hawthorne, & Sterling Whitvale

Scouts: Sent out ahead of the main group, scouts will go and gather intel of the enemy’s environment, position, and numbers. They return to the group and share what they have learned. The brunt of this role will be at the beginning of the mission as well as several early mornings.

Ezra Klair & Sterling Whitvale

Soldiers: Using the information gained by the scouts, they will tread forth afterwards and take down any Capitol troops that stand between them and the citizens of D8.

Gale Hawthorne & eventually Katniss Everdeen

Assists: These are soldiers whose main objective will be to take citizens and navigate them to pro-rebel safe havens in District eight. Additionally, eyes will be steadily on them once the Mockingjay arrives.

Haymitch Abernathy & Vesper Quinn

Communication: Working from District Thirteen, communication will work as a step between Command and the higher-ups of District Thirteen to relay information. When the Mockingjay goes to District Eight, Haymitch in particular will also be focusing on that objective while Vesper continues working hard with the remaining troops.

[lorbanery]

She has no power in the rebellion except as a useful piece of propaganda, and the entire trilogy is her straining against that role.

To expand on this and make it really clear: This was isn't just an interpretation of the text, intended or not. Katniss is told, explicitly, to her face, in the text, that the reason the rebellion wants her is as a face for the rebellion. A mascot. Someone they can send out on planned, partially staged missions that they can film/livestream to rally support from normal citizens.

Like, Katniss very much, very explicitly, stumbled into becoming an icon for the oppressed people of Panem through little more than her genuine compassion for the people around her and determination to not die herself. She was the first person to ever volunteer for the Hunger Games because she couldn't stand for her sister to have to go. She befriended Rue because she reminded Katniss of her sister and was devastated when she was killed and put Rue's body to rest the only way she could in the circumstances and according to her own people's traditions; and because that act was filmed, it became a rallying moment for the people watching. She deliberately manipulated the narrative being woven around her and Peeta to force the people running the Games to allow them both to win, not really as a "fuck you" to them, but because she couldn't stand to kill someone as kind as Peeta had always been to her, and her main goal throughout all the books was just to survive. One of them dying was not an option to her.

Even her big iconic moment of defiance before the Games started was something put on her by someone else — the designer of her costume.

But because of all these things, plus her performance in the Quarter Quell, Katniss was already a symbol of rebellion against the government. Not because she wanted to be or at any point set out to be, but simply because she cared about people and found ways to fight for them.

And the rebellion told her this. That because people were already rallying around her, the rebellion decided it would benefit them as they were going public to have her as their mascot.

She was never their leader. They never asked her to be their leader. They never claimed she would be their leader. They made it exceedingly clear to Katniss from the get-go that they just wanted her face so that the public who supported her would support them. That while they would send her out on missions and she would be in real danger, she was only going out so that they could film and/or livestream her for public consumption. That the things they were claiming to the public that she was doing were being done by people who actually knew what they were doing, and the videos featuring her were partially staged and scripted to make it seem like she was meaningfully leading any parts of the rebellion.

But Katniss was always just a pawn. She knew that, Coin knew that, Snow knew that, the narrative text knew that. The only people who weren't told that she was just a pawn and thought that she was a leader in the rebellion were the normal ass citizens who only saw the rebellion through the videos they produced explicitly for that purpose.

I think the Hunger Games series sits in a similar literary position to The Lord of the Rings, as a piece of literature (by a Catholic author) that sparked a whole new subgenre and then gets blamed for flaws that exist in the copycat books and aren’t actually part of the original.

Like, despite what parodies might say, Katniss is nowhere near the stereotypical “unqualified teenager chosen to lead a rebellion for no good reason”.  The entire point is that she’s not leading the rebellion. She’s a traumatized teenager who has emotional reactions to the horrors in her society, and is constantly being reined in by more experienced adults who have to tell her, “No, this is not how you fight the government, you are going to get people killed.” She’s not the upstart teenager showing the brainless adults what to do–she’s a teenager being manipulated by smarter and more experienced adults. She has no power in the rebellion except as a useful piece of propaganda, and the entire trilogy is her straining against that role. It’s much more realistic and far more nuanced than anyone who dismisses it as “stereotypical YA dystopian” gives it credit for.

And the misconceptions don’t end there. The Hunger Games has no “stereotypical YA love triangle”–yes, there are two potential love interests, but the romance is so not the point. There’s a war going on! Katniss has more important things to worry about than boys! The romance was never about her choosing between two hot boys–it’s about choosing between two diametrically opposed worldviews. Will she choose anger and war, or compassion and peace? Of course a trilogy filled with the horrors of war ends with her marriage to the peace-loving Peeta. Unlike some of the YA dystopian copycats, the romance here is part of the message, not just something to pacify readers who expect “hot love triangles” in their YA. 

The worldbuilding in the Hunger Games trilogy is simplistic and not realistic, but unlike some of her imitators, Collins does this because she has something to say, not because she’s cobbling together a grim and gritty dystopia that’s “similar to the Hunger Games”. The worldbuilding has an allegorical function, kept simple so we can see beyond it to what Collins is really saying–and it’s nothing so comforting as “we need to fight the evil people who are ruining society”. The Capitol’s not just the powerful, greedy bad guys–the Capitol is us, First World America, living in luxury while we ignore the problems of the rest of the world, and thinking of other nations largely in terms of what resources we can get from them. This simplistic world is a sparsely set stage that lets us explore the larger themes about exploitation and war and the horrors people will commit for the sake of their bread and circuses, meant to make us think deeper about what separates a hero from a villain.

There’s a reason these books became a literary phenomenon. There’s a reason that dozens upon dozens of authors attempted to imitate them. But these imitators can’t capture that same genius, largely because they’re trying to imitate the trappings of another book, and failing to capture the larger and more meaningful message underneath. Make a copy of a copy of a copy, and you’ll wind up with something far removed from the original masterpiece. But we shouldn’t make the mistake of blaming those flaws on the original work.

[385bookreviews]

1.45.3 Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

SPOILERS

Pages: 390

Time Read: 5 hours and 44 minutes

Overall Rating: 4.5★ Storyline: 4.5★ Dialogue: 4★ Characters: 4.5★

Genre: YA Dystopian

TWs for the book: Death, war, violence, child death, blood, murder, grief, torture, injury, su*c*dal thoughts/attempted su*c*de, fire and burns, gun violence, mental illness, panic attacks, gore, alcoholism, medical content/trauma, addiction and drug use, body horror, police brutality, genocide, confinement, classism, physical abuse, emotional abuse, self harm, kidnapping, forced institutionalization, child abuse, death of a parent, death of a sibling, vomit, slavery, mass shooting, psychosis, gaslighting, animal death, abandonment, toxic relationship, chronic illness, disordered eating, fake miscarriage, pregnancy, brief mentions of forced underage prostitution

POV: First Person

Time Period/Location: Set one month after the events of Catching Fire in District 13, District 12, District 8, District 2, and the Capitol.

First Line: I stare down at my shoes, watching as a fine layer of ash settles on the worn leather.

Katniss visits the remains of District 12 alone. Most of the people didn't make it out and the street is littered with bodies. Her mental state isn't good, and District 13 only agreed to let her make this trip so that way she would be the Mockingjay publicly for them and be a symbol of the rebellion. Her old house was destroyed, but the Victor's Village remains. She goes to get some of her things, and also grabs Buttercup, her sister's ornery cat. When she goes up to her room, President Snow has left a genetically enhanced rose in a vase. This frightens her, and she leaves and goes back to 13 in a hoverplane. 13 is run strictly, the entire population basically a functioning military. Katniss chafes against the schedules and trainings and uses her mental disorientation as an excuse/reason for her absences. When her and Gale arrive back, they go to Command and see that Peeta, who was captured by the Capitol, is doing an interview with Caesar Flickerman. He says he had no knowledge of the rebel plot, and calls for a ceasefire between the districts and the Capitol. Everyone in the Command room immediately begins calling him a traitor. Katniss runs away. After talking with Gale and Prim, she decides that she will be their Mockingjay, but with conditions.

The next morning she goes to Alma Coin, the President of District 13, and lays out her demands. She wants to be able to go above ground and hunt with Gale, Prim gets to keep her cat, Peeta and the other victors are automatically granted immunity for all of their actions before they are rescued, even if they harm the war effort, and she gets to kill President Snow. She also demands that Coin publicly announce this to all of her people. After deliberation, she agrees. Plutarch and his assistant, Fulvia, both Capitol defectors, give her a sketchbook of Cinna's, where he designed the Mockingjay suit for her. They tell her they have the actual thing, and lead her downstairs for a surprise. The surprise, however, ends up shocking everyone. Plutarch had Katniss' prep team rescued, but they were being kept in dungeons in 13, shackled, starved, and beaten, for stealing a bit of extra food. Plutarch orders them freed, and Katniss takes them to the hospital to see her mother. After her and Gale hunt in the woods, Coin makes her announcement to District 13 about Katniss' demand to pardon the victors. She also threatens though, that if Katniss doesn't follow directions, the deal is off the table.

The next day, Katniss' prep team remakes her. She goes to see Beetee, and he has designed new bows for her and Gale. She puts on her suit and goes into a studio where they try to film a scene for one of their "propos". It is a massive flop and Haymitch, now sober, reappears to tell her so, and then calls a meeting with a lot of people from District 12. Everyone gives examples of moments when Katniss inspired them, and Haymitch uses that to make his point that she can't be fed lines, that she has to be on the ground, in the action in order to get spontaneous material. Everyone agrees on this and they fly her to District 8, where bombing from the Capitol has just ended. Katniss goes in and meets with the wounded, talking with them and encouraging them. Just as they are about to leave, the Capitol begins bombing again. They try to hurry Katniss into a bunker, but her and Gale abscond to the roof and begin shooting down Capitol planes. When they come back to the ground, the hospital has been bombed and everyone in it killed. Katniss, at the prompting of Cressida, a film director from the Capitol, gives an impassioned speech letting the districts know that she is alive, and that the Capitol must fall. Then she collapses and is taken back to District 13.

The propos are a hit, and while Katniss rests in the hospital, kept company by Finnick, another interview of Peeta plays. Even though it had only been five days, Peeta has deteriorated significantly. In the interview, Peeta urges Katniss to stop the war. Finnick tells Katniss not to tell anyone that they've seen it, and to her shock, no one informs her about it, not even Gale, which causes them to fight the next day. The propo team has Gale and Katniss go back to District 12 to talk about the bombing and their lives there. Back in the Victor's Village, Katniss kisses Gale, but he tells her she only notices him when he's in pain and stalks off. When they return to 13, Peeta is on TV again, urging the districts to stop fighting. Suddenly, Beetee breaks through the airwaves in the Capitol and puts Katniss and the propos up on TV. This rattles Peeta, who is in an ever worse condition, and he manages to warn the people of District 13 that they'll be "dead by morning". This results in him getting beaten. President Coin decides to heed his warning and evacuates the population into the bomb bunkers. This gives them 10 minutes of extra evacuation time, which saves Prim and Gale's lives as they went back for Buttercup. The Capitol bombs them for three days, but no one dies and the damage is minimal.

Katniss realizes that Snow is using Peeta to break her down. Coin and Plutarch want her and Finnick above ground immediately to film a propo letting the country know that they are safe and alive. When she gets up there though, the ground is littered with Snow's artificial roses, and both her and Finnick have a breakdown and end up back in the hospital. When they wake up, a team has been sent to rescue Peeta, Johanna, and Annie. Gale has also gone on the mission. Katniss is desperate to do something to help, so Haymitch instructs her and Finnick to go and get footage above ground and tell a story or something so Beetee can use it to distract the Capitol. Katniss tells the story of how she met Peeta for the first time, but Finnick begins a long tale of how he was forced into prostitution at 16 by President Snow, and all of the horrible, nasty secrets he knows about the wealthy Capitol citizens. Lastly, he talks about the secrets he knows of President Snow's, revealing that he uses the roses to cover up the scent of blood that comes from sores in his mouth he got from drinking poison. He poisoned all of his political enemies in order to stay in power, and drank from the same glass to avoid suspicion, but the antidotes weren't always perfect.

They all return from the mission alive. Johanna is tortured, and Annie is overjoyed to see Finnick. Katniss runs to see Peeta, but he immediately tries to choke her to death, bruising her throat badly. They later inform her that Peeta's memories of her have been altered using tracker jacker venom. That he thinks she's a mutt made by the Capitol and that he has to kill her. They try to eventually use Delly, a friend of Peeta's from 12, to get him to calm down and open up, but Peeta reacts negatively when he hears that his family is dead and he blames Katniss for all of it. Katniss can't handle being in 13 anymore, and they send her to District 2. She spends awhile moving around 2, hunting with Gale, and listening in on meetings as they try to figure out how to get into and take control of the Capitol's mine, the Nut, which is all buried inside of a mountain. Gale finally proposes the plan that instead of capturing it, they bury the people inside except for one entrance, and then capture whoever escapes. Katniss is appalled by the idea but President Coin approves it anyways. They station Katniss in the square to announce the defeat of the Nut and apprehend any survivors that manage to escape. Just when they think no one is coming, and Katniss is about to give her speech, armed and wounded survivors come pouring out of the train station. Katniss runs towards one wounded man but he aims a gun at her. She talks him down, but is then shot by someone else in the field. She wakes up in a hospital back in 13, missing a spleen and with some bruised ribs from the bullet impacting her suit.

Finnick and Annie get married. Katniss wants to be sent to the Capitol to fight but they refuse to let her until she does three weeks of training. Her and Johanna both do this, rooming and training together, but only Katniss passes the final challenge and is able to go to the Capitol with a sharp shooting squad, including Gale and Finnick, Boggs commanding them. Before they leave though, Coin informs them that they will be the "Star Squad" and only be doing the minimum required to shoot propos, not seeing any actual combat. Katniss is ok with this because she plans to sneak off and kill Snow and then herself. When one of the twin Leeg soldiers is accidentally killed during a propo, Coin sends Peeta to be her replacement. He is immediately put under heavy guard, and Boggs and Katniss speculate that Coin sent him there to kill Katniss. The next day, they go to film a propo but it goes wrong, with the Capitol directly setting off traps in order to kill them. Boggs' legs are blown off, and Peeta tries to kill Katniss, resulting in Mitchell's death. They are chased into a building to escape a toxic, oily black wave that threatens to smother them. Boggs transfers clearance of the Holo, the map showing where all of the Capitol's pods are, to Katniss. After he dies, Jackson, Boggs' second in command, demands she give her control. Katniss refuses, saying she's on a special mission from President Coin to assassinate President Snow. Jackson doesn't believe this, but Cressida backs her up, and they continue on, eventually ending up in the underground of the Capitol, being guided by Pollux. They quickly realize they are being hunted by mutts that are tracking Katniss specifically. While trying to escape, Messalla is melted by an orange ray of light, and Jackson and Leeg stay behind to try and slow down the mutts. Finnick, Homes, and Castor are killed by the mutts, and Katniss blows up the Holo to kill the rest of them and prevent them from following. With only five of them left, Katniss, Peeta, Gale, Cressida, and Pollux, they make their way to an underwear shop owned by a woman named Tigris, a friend of Plutarch's. Katniss is disturbed by the woman's appearance, surgically modified to look like a tiger. Tigris hides them in her basement, and they eat, regroup, and plan their next steps.

As the rebels begin encroaching closer on the center of the Capitol, more refugees begin filing in, and the Peacekeepers begin to assign people to other's houses. When it's announced that President Snow is going to be allowing refugees into his mansion, they make a plan. Cressida and Pollux leave, Gale and Katniss leave, and then Peeta leaves alone to be there to cause a diversion if necessary. On their way there, rebels attack, and the Capitol begins setting off pods and shooting into the crowd, disregarding their own citizens' safety. Gale is captured and tells Katniss to shoot him, but she hesitates and he is dragged away. Just as she makes it to the mansion, she notices children all grouped in front of the mansion in a pen. A Capitol hoverplane drops parachutes, and the children reach up to grab them thinking they are gifts, but they're bombs. Half of them detonate, and then rebel medics from 13 rush in to help. Katniss sees Prim and yells her name, but the rest of the bombs go off. Prim is killed and Katniss is caught on fire. She wakes up in a hospital again, suffering major burn wounds and having to receive skin grafts. Coin has taken over as President, and the rebels have won. Katniss is sent to temporarily live in the mansion, with Haymitch to look after her since her mother is busy working and grieving. She has lost her ability to talk, and becomes addicted to the morphling they give her, until one day, she goes to the greenhouse. Guards try to stop her, but Commander Paylor tells them to let her in. She goes to find a white rose to pin to Snow's lapel before she executes him, when she finds him sitting right there. He tells her that Coin bombed the children and the rebel doctors, and she realizes that it was one of Gale's traps that he designed. She is disgusted with him, and after a cold goodbye, they don't see each other again. The day she is supposed to execute Snow, her prep team comes to dress her, and Effie Trinket, still alive, comes to escort her. First though, their is a meeting with Coin of all the remaining victors. She proposes there be a final Hunger Games held with Capitol children. Peeta, Annie, and Beetee vote no, but Enobaria, Haymitch, Katniss, and Johanna vote yes.

Katniss aims her bow at President Snow, ready to take him out, but she shoots and kills Coin instead. She tries to take her nightlock pill as the crowd converges on her and Snow, but Peeta stops her. The soldiers take her and lock her in her old room in the training center. Over the course of weeks, she attempts to starve herself to death, but before that can happen, Haymitch comes to get her and says they're going back to District 12. Plutarch tells her on the plane ride that Snow was either killed by the mob or choked to death on his own blood. Paylor was made President, and Plutarch is now in charge of the airwaves. They had a trial for Katniss and determined that she was just mentally disturbed and traumatized, so she is given leave to go back to 12 as long as she talks to her psychologist on the phone. When she arrives home, Greasy Sae comes over with her granddaughter every day to make her eat two meals. But Katniss doesn't move from in front of the fire. After awaking one morning to the sound of shovel, she runs outside and sees Peeta planting primrose bushes in her front yard. This finally prompts her to pull herself together. She goes into town, where some people are beginning to cart away the dead and try to rebuild. She learns that Madge and her whole family are dead. She goes into the woods, but feels sick and goes back home. When she comes back, Buttercup has returned, all the way from District 13. Him and Katniss grow closer as Katniss finally allows herself to mourn Prim's death. Annie gives birth to her and Finnick's baby, and Katniss and Peeta get closer again by making a memory book of all the people they have lost.

Years later, Peeta and Katniss have children, and, while still struggling with nightmares, are happy together in 12.

[adamwatchesmovies]

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014)

It’s in the title, but worth pointing out: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 is a “part 1”. You’re not going to get a complete story of out this film alone, and not only because it’s the third in the series. The right way to see this picture - particularly now that it’s available on home video - is back-to-back with the sequel. If you do this, then this is a steady buildup that will pay off.

At the end of the last film, Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and her new allies escaped from the Hunger Games. Unfortunately, Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) has been left behind and captured by President Snow (Donald Sutherland). Learning that her home District has been completely annihilated by military forces as punishment for her rebellion, Katniss prepares herself to become the symbol of the uprising against the Capitol.

If you found Katniss and Peeta being thrown into a battle to the death once again in Catching Fire a little repetitive, don’t worry. This film is about a whole other kind of game our young heroine isn’t ready for. Katniss meets the leader of the rebellion: President Alma Coin (Julianne Moore). She asks our heroine to become the woman everyone thinks she is. While attempting to win the people's hearts through propaganda videos, it becomes obvious Katniss is just a pawn being moved to further other people’s ends. At least in the arena she knew the other contestants were out to kill her. She knew no one could be trusted. This time, who knows? Who is really on her side? When do the games begin, and end? The tension comes not from physical traps but mental ones as the tribute must navigate between the legs of much bigger, more powerful opponents fighting above her.

While the lack of action makes this a slower film, it recuperates points through its characters. Elizabeth Banks's Effie Trinket is a standout. Despite being stripped of her opulent dresses and wigs, she remains determined to be a fashionista with the meager instruments she has at her disposal. Katniss’ younger sister, Primrose (Willow Shields) was a shivering leaf two films ago. Now she’s growing up and making herself useful by becoming a nurse. All of these individual, realistic people make you realize that there’s no way a teenaged girl, popular as she may be, could topple an entire fascist regime on her own. By learning this, Katniss becomes a more active protagonist and it leads to a turning point which just happens to land right before the end credits begin. Talk about a cliffhanger!

The performances in the series continue to be a notch above those found in the imitators. When Lawrence cries, it isn’t merely a few drops gently sliding down her cheeks, it’s agonizing, heartfelt stuff. Those emotional moments make you understand why the teenage-aimed love triangle is always present in this series. If you are a teen, it’ll wrench your heart dry.

On its own, Mockingjay Part 1 is the weakest entry in the Hunger Games series. In its defense, there’s no reason to watch it on its own - not anymore. What it lacks in action it makes up in political intrigue, careful chess-like moves and countermoves. I assure you it’s all building up to a solid conclusion. (On Blu-ray, December 7, 2018)

[gay-harambae]

Comparison of katniss and Eragon? That’s actually been on my mind lately. Young people thrust into a position of influence in a war against tyrants through no action of their own. Faced extreme and personal violence that ultimately turned into armed combat. Both somewhat an image and the real deal. At the end, the mockingjay is an identity that katniss can lay down, while Eragon grows into his final form as a dragon rider that will forever be his identity. Katniss finds peace in a domestic life away from the world, but Eragon can’t do that because his whole identity is soaked in tragedy and there is still pressure for him to rebuild something that’s more or less gone forever and that he never even got to be apart of in the first place. Maybe that’s part of why he leaves the continent.

Thoughts? Can Eragon find peace the way Katniss does? Not necessarily the “spouse and two kids” peace, just the watching the flowers grow on the gravesites and the internal forgiveness and moving on with her life.

ok thank you SM for this ask, i love it and never really thought about comparing the two. So, lets do that.

(Spoilers for both the hunger games series, and the inheritance cycle)

i suppose first off, I never compared the two in my mind, but you're right, there are so many similarities in their situations, and the trauma that they go through. however, it's not their similarities, but their differences that I think are interesting, so lets start there.

Eragon, like Katniss, is shoved into the spotlight and forced to become a symbol for the rebellion in his world, however, there is a lot more power inherent in his position than for katniss. he is a part of the dragon riders, who dined with kings and rulers and were independent of all of them. his position itself holds the power to govern and make decisions for many, and it's a power that he is forced to deal with (along with saphira) directly, and without guidance (after brom dies). However, while there is power inherent in Katniss's position, it isn't a power she often wields directly. she is not the one who fights in the rebellions (until mockingjay, and even then), she is not the one who calls the shots on much of anything. she is a figurehead, a symbol, but not a true leader.

I think this is a key point in how these characters ended up being so different. Katniss can be selfish, vacillating, rude, and cold. Eragon however, is brash, honest, direct, and at times, impulsive. (the impulsivity usually pays off for him but still). I think that they ended up so different is because eragon is distinctly aware of the duties that came along with being a dragon rider, as well as the responsibility of being the only one with enough power to defeat galbatorix. I think that sense of responsibility aged him from what he could have been: a farm himbo. there's still an amount of good thats inherent in eragon that i don't see as much of in katniss, but i think that katniss, if she was in eragon's position, would have grown tf up a little bit and assumed responsibility more than she did in her own.

i suppose to sum it up, katniss doesn't have nearly as much of a sense of responsibility as eragon does. if eragon fucks up, it has numerous consequences that ripple across alagaesia (lookin at u elva), however if katniss fucks up, shit burns to the ground and a bunch of people die, but there's still a chance of a later rebellion. Eragon is literally *the last hope* tm, while katniss has a lot less direct power and influence, as well as there still being hope even if she fails/dies.

OK NOW TO ANSWER YOUR ACTUAL QUESTION. (i rambled on for a bit because it was fun, but you can skip down to here if u like)

do i think eragon can have peace similar to katniss's? yes, i do. do i think he will get it anytime soon? nope. he has too many irons in the fire right now for him to have any sort of peace. he has the legacy of the riders to (at least start to) rebuild, the dragon race to coax back into the world, and he has to train and teach the new riders that will begin to crop up. but once he finishes that, sure! i think there will be a time for him to fade back and let younger people take over the legacy and merely be a guide, but that's a very, very, very, very long time coming.

ok so i think this has become enough of a monster to read that i should stop, so thanks again for the ask!!!

please, everyone, dont hesitate to send me asks i will type until my fingers bleed about these book series

[somekindofstrnge]

A bitter chuckle escaped her parted, sound partially muffled by the one, sharper, of the blade being carelessly discarded next to her. If you felt safe here, I'd call you an idiot. It truly bothered her to admit this, but he was right. It was stupid she even said that out loud, as if she knew what SAFETY felt like anymore. Or if she had ever experienced it, for that matter. Her first thought when thinking of that sweet, warm, unreachable concept, was Peeta. These disturbing nights where she'd wake up shouting after having been forced to relive her worst fears, again and again, in cruel nightmares, HE would be there. His arms would wrap around her middle, her head would rest against his chest and she'd listen the slow heartbeats, until she'd decide that she could try falling asleep again. It'd be okay, because he was here to chase the bad dreams away. But now ... well, she SHOULD be fine. Not happy, that would be word far too bright for the dark, current circumstances. However, her mom, Prim and her unnervingly likable cat - despite behaving like a little prick most of the times, Buttercup still offered company she could somewhat appreciate. The ones who were the most important, her family, had managed to escape District 12 on time ... yet, she felt incomplete. This deep, burning ache stuck with her, even though most of her wounds had begun to heal thanks to the most attentive healthcare. She didn't deserve it. The healthcare nor the time, when these people could get their hands onto people who needed both much more than she did. She could handle the pain most of the civilians who had brutally lost their homes couldn't. Although, it felt a little less simple without HIM.

Sometimes, she'd forget Haymitch might be actually apart of the small group of people capable of understanding what she felt. Resentment. Anger. And that longing to finally be left in PEACE. But peace wasn't an option anymore, was it ? Had it ever been ? With everything that happened once she had attempted to intervene without brute force, it now seemed clear that the Capitol only knew the language of violence, therefore violence should irremediably be what they'd settle for. And in that plan, she was to be the voice and the face of a rebellion carried by many. Why ? Because of how she'd lost her cool and showed she disagreed with the system ? Because she hadn't been able to keep her mouth shut ? Once again, the similarities between her and her mentor's behaviour hit her like a ton of bricks. Her eyes, which had been previously staring at the mud sticking to her shoes, moved up to fall on her elder's face, sat like her at the other side of the room. Just when she was getting this disturbing sensation he might get her a bit too much, he confirmed the shared situation, and she was left stunned at how he had, in a few words, described what she had been feeling like since she woke up from being pulled out of the arena a second time. The expectations on her were the same, which she hadn't really started to acknowledge, mostly due to the frustration she felt from what she still considered a BETRAYAL. Haymitch was never the one to open up much, so it'd be rude to shrug it all off without at least trying to register that he could comprehend what she was going through. He had become a mentor because this was how things were supposed to happen. He had survived only to be kept inside this endless ritual of killing. Meanwhile, she had been chosen to be the symbol of rebellion and all she wanted was to disappear.

"Yeah, I know that." Katniss mumbled at his remark about the Capitol. Would she be captured, she wouldn't last long. Snow hated her guts as well as everything she represented for the people rebelling against him. Unwillingly, she had become the number one ENEMY for the rich bastards feeding off the poor in a disgustingly vampiric lifestyle. She couldn't stand the injustice, but was she REALLY the best candidate ? "Coin was right. You should've kept Peeta instead of me. He would've understood, he would've made a likable leader, a real gentle-hearted hero." A weak smile devoid of happiness tugged at her lips ; it was more a sign of exhaustion than any trace of joy. There was no more joy left inside her. "But now, he's probably dead. We don't even have any way of knowing if he's alive. Maybe they'll send me his head as a warning." Her heart squeezed at the thought, yet her voice did not waver. If it was true, and Peeta was dead, well she couldn't let herself slip in endless sadness. It would kill her.

He was too sober for this.

A thought that had been constant since his first year as mentor, after his Tributes died. Because the Games never end, not for them. And now, one of his Tributes may well be dead. He had to continue mentoring his way through a revolution without the comfort of knowing he could retire into a corner somewhere with a bottle when things got too much. Alcohol was detrimental to one’s health, and in Thirteen everyone had to be in tip top shape.

Once he’d been deemed sober enough to interact with Katniss, they immediately sent him to find her and talk sense into her. Obviously the man she attacked would be the one to convince her to come around; he could use some nail marks on the other side of his face, to even out the scarring. He knew the real reason was more along the lines of him being the only one who knew how she worked, but that didn’t mean he could convince her to do anything. Katniss couldn’t be forced into anything. He admired and despised that quality equally.

Haymitch didn’t react outwardly to her nicking herself with the knife, or the disgusted look shot his way. The cut wasn’t too bad and he deserved the disgust. 

“If you felt safe here, I’d call you an idiot.” He sat down and mirrored her position against the wall across from her. After a moment, he decided maybe being vulnerable wouldn’t be so bad at a time like now. Over the past two years he learned approaching Katniss at her level was best.

“You know, you’re in the same position I was in when I was your age.” Except she had a family to return to and confide in. “Going back as a mentor after your Games, it’s awful. Everyone expects you to be on, to know what to do, to have a plan, to be able to function. Meanwhile you wanna do nothing more than to rip out your eyes so you don’t have to see all that shit happen again.” His voice was flat, emotions that so readily poured out with the aid of alcohol tucked away with the need to function. Not betraying the images of his first Tributes that flashed behind his eyes, vulnerable and blood-soaked and far too young. “I ain’t makin’ you do anything, Katniss. But you don’t feel safe here, and you shouldn’t feel safe here. You’ll be treated a lot nicer here than you would in the Capitol, but if you say no there’s no way you’ll be allowed to wander around like you have.”

[endlessnightlock]

Ohh there were some reallyyyy good ones on that Drabble Prompt list... Let's go with #21 "You're mine. I don't share." Everlark, please and thank you! 💕

Thank you @peeta-pocket <3 <3 <3

Drabble Prompt List

TW: reference to forced prostitution, poison. Canon divergent.

21. You're mine. I don't share.

Peeta spent the last torturous moments alone here fidgeting, waiting for Katniss’s prep team to finish dressing her so they could leave. He stood at the mirror in his Capitol dressing room, smoothing the front of the blue suit coat, the one Portia designed specifically to match his eyes. He exhaled deeply and pushed his hair off his forehead, disheveling the style.

Even after three years as Victors and mentors for their district now that Haymitch had “retired” (meaning he was finally allowed to drink himself into oblivion), neither he nor Katniss had grown used to these dinner “invitations” at the presidential mansion. It was awful each time, but the familiarity in Snow’s inhuman, black eyes was the thing that frightened him most. Peeta hated him, hated that he knew so much about his relationship with Katniss. He was aware that Snow was keeping his favorite sort of degradation for the star-crossed lovers in reserve. Tonight, Snow was planning to fold.

Peeta took to heart every warning Finnick passed his way. The whispers came not only from him, but gossip was freely shared by the other Victors—Capitol buyers were hungry for new meat, and Snow was ready to slice the pair in two to feed their ravenous appetites.

Katniss entered his dressing room on silent feet. She walked to the divan and paused, arranging her skirts to allow her not to muss up her gown before sitting. Peeta met her eyes in the mirror. She was mesmerizing. Even after three years, she never failed to take his breath away. 

He considered himself lucky to have experienced the force of her love. Three years wasn’t a long time— what he wanted was a lifetime together, settling down in Twelve, raising a family, spending his days baking while Katniss hunted. He wished those were the things they had to look forward to. Living a quiet life, growing old together. 

But fate was cruel, and the star-crossed-lovers were taking a considerable risk at the president’s dinner party tonight. If they lost, they would forever be immortalized as young and foolish, symbols of a rebellion destined to fail. 

Peeta wouldn’t allow himself to entertain thoughts of living through the night. Hidden in a secret pocket Portia constructed in the lining of his suit was a syringe filled with concentrated nightlock. Katniss had a knife hidden in her undergarments. They both had nightlock pills tucked away in case of failure. Capture was a fate worse than death and would make being sold to the highest bidder look like a picnic.

“Is this all worth it?” Peeta asked as Katniss approached him from behind and wrapped her arms around his waist. 

“You’re mine. I don’t share. I won’t share you,” she reminded him of the words she’d said the night Plutarch Heavensbee approached them with the assassination plans. She pressed her cheek against the soft fabric of his jacket. “I couldn’t live with that. I love you too much.”

Peeta’s eyes fell closed for just a minute to feel the full force of how much Katniss loved him and how much he loved her.

“Together?” he whispered.

“Together,” Katniss repeated the promise softly. Peeta barely caught the word before it disappeared into memory.

Hand in hand, they left the building, stepping into the night where a car waited to take them to their fate, whatever that might be.

[motsimages]

I'm rewatching The Hunger Games and I'm very surprised by the level of "casually here" that Katniss is. While I didn't remember her superactive, I did remember her less invested in her own self, in her own survival. I thought she had more input and more worldview. Maybe in the books she did have more sympathy for people who are not her family.

In the movies, she was forced to mother her mother and her sister, and the only thing she can think of is the two of them. She became a helicopter parent for them and they are her priority. Even after seeing the riots, all she can think of is running away with them. It's Gale who brings up "what about the others?" She hadn't thought about that.

She was broken before the games and she only broke more during the games. She cannot understand that other people also have trauma and suffering and that you can thrive in spite of that. She judges Haymitch and even when he has helped her, she still thinks he is a loser of sorts. It takes her A LOT to understand him and accept him, maybe because she can see herselfin him. She doesn't look farther than her own experience, unless she can take care and nurture someone (which is why she chose Mags, Nuts and Volts. And Peeta). It took Peeta calling her out to think that maybe he is there too? Maybe he is also suffering?

She cannot get emotionally attached to people because, and this is excellently shown in the movie, she will make herself responsible of them. She will take all the blame if anything happens to them (which is what she brought with her before the games because of the parenting done in her family). Anything that happens to anyone she liked or was there when she did/said something, she will assume as her fault, as a consequence of her acts. She is constantly in survival mode and her thought process is a mess.

The only reason she got as far as she did is because she was a symbol of the revolution. People thought of her as a leader of sorts (because of propaganda, not because she is) and it motivated them, when in reality, she is a puppet for both the Capitol and the Rebellion. When she wakes up in the plane, and they explain to her the plan, she fights Haymitch because Peeta is not there, which is the only thing she had in mind.

And she probably wanted to save Peeta as a symbol too. She saw him as optimistic, as a light, she needed to believe there is good in the world and that is Peeta. Peeta is good and it (he) has to be preserved. But that is also her hyperfocusing on saving someone, on caring for someone, because it is the only thing she actually knows how to do, how to deal with. Probably, the only positive emotion she has.

Of course she rebels a bit too, but whenever there is any retaliation, she takes all the blame for the suffering she caused and goes back into flight mode. Even in the 4th movie, she does it and she stays on plan because Peeta says that if she kills Snow, all the death will have meaning. If it were for her, she would live in a cave in the woods with her sister and mother, never to speak with another human being again (ironically, that is what she gets in the end with Peeta). She has no interest in the revolution, no hope. She is a selfish coward and the narrative is ok with it (and so am I, tbh).

It's not the hero against her own will. It's not The Chosen One (or well, it literally is in that they chose her as a symbol, not in that the Gods gave her superpowers). It's not even the hero's journey. She is not going anywhere, barely learning anything, barely changing at all. And she has 0 leadership skills and no team-working skills either.

Regarding the love triangle... it is not romantic love (and for at least 1 and a half movie, it's barely affection). There is love, I give you that, but no romance (which is also very refreshing). It takes Katniss a lot to understand that she does love Peeta and it is not really explained romantically, it's more practical in a way. Same applies to Gale, he feels like home (until he doesn't) but he is more infatuated with her than she has ever been with anyone. I'd say she is aromantic in a way that is very rarely portrayed.

I think it is a weird movie. I don't remember the books well enough to compare, but no wonder the book created a subgenre of YA dystopia. No wonder many people tried to copy it but couldn't. It's like it has the ingredientes, but used in such a weird way that it is a miracle that they work. And they work so well.

[books-and-cookies]

REREADING THE HUNGER GAMES - some thoughts™

okay so i reread the hunger games for the first time in like... 8 years or something and boyyyyyy it was a ride:

* this book came out in like 2008, but goddamn it’s still relevant as fuck * i absolutely adore the fact that it wasn’t a traditional “rise against the government” story, where the girl was The One and she did All The Things - Katniss was thrown into all this shit somehow under the radar, with adults still running the rebellion, but choosing her as a symbol and honestly she’s like “i have no idea what the fuck to do, but i’ll listen to Haymitch and Cinna - adults who know more stuff than I do, and hopefully not get killed” * i also liked the fact that her and Peeta’s traditional roles were reversed: she was the hunter, he was the baker (who was doing the FROSTING on cakes int he bakery, like, i stan) and this was Suzanne Collins saying fuck you to expectations about what roles men and women are supposed to fulfil * this book is disguised as another YA bullshit, but my dudes, holy fuck no - even if you take out the whole “we’ll send your kids to murder each other in an arena for our entertainment” - it deals with a shit ton of issues: PTSD, abandonment, alcoholism, children way too young being forced to take the roles of providers in their respective families, how entertainment affects the way we see the world, how media manipulates perception - like, this shit is Deep™

* it annoys me that at one point, this book/series was reduced to Team Gale vs Team Peeta, when... it was honestly about SO much more. And tbh, the progression of the love triangle was natural - when you share a life and death situation with someone, it’s completely natural to have at least some conflicting feelings towards that person, so Katniss’ indecision over Peeta and Gale is completely fucking normal for an adult, let alone a teenager just discovering themselves and exploring their heart

* the writing is Really Good, even compared to newer books that I’ve personally read and adored - it’s intense, fast paced, I flew through this in a couple of days and even knowing the story, it was still gripping and adrenaline-fuelled

* Peeta is completely underrated as a strategist - like, that kid is Smart™ as fuck

* Katniss and Rue’s relationship was such a punch in the gut, because it really solidifies the idea that these are kids, paying the price for something they had no hand in, paying the price for a past they had no choice in and no control over, and I’m unashamed to say that I, a woman in her 30s, still cried ugly tears when Katniss sang her song for Rue 

* honestly, my dudes, just... pick up this book and read it, because it’s so, so much more than what the movies reduced it to (I love the movies, but... yeah) - this shit is a dystopian masterpiece and Suzanne Collins is a queen, we stan

[piracytheorist]

@piracytheorist​ you beat me to it (searching for things on tumblr is always a adventure)

since anon said that about Lavinia and Zoe et all I was thinking about it too but with more wracking my brains trying to remember it

Not only was Kat in the woods to hunt she was still very young (hadn’t been forced into all the fighting and rebellion stuff yet... another parallel to Ethan? I need to reread)

also about your last point: Lavinia (the Avox girl) was okay with it iin either the first or second books Katniss hurts her hands (I think she broke a few dishes????) and Lavinia tends to her wounds and Katniss apologises for it all? yeah its been awhile since i read it

Yeah, Katniss was pretty unwilling to become the rebellion's symbol, even though she was absolutely down to fight. They were trying to film a propaganda video with her in it and she was so uninspired, and then they went and actually fought and she transformed. Though she definitely isn't Just a Girl, the whole being brought into the situation against her will and trying to do the best she can can be paralleled to Ethan "Just a Guy" Winters who finds one (1) gun and starts blazing at the monsters trying to kill him.

Also, hurt hands. I don't know if you noticed that, lmao XD I haven't read the books in years, too, so I don't remember that scene, but I do think there was a moment where Katniss managed to sneak in a few words with Lavinia. Like, I remember there being some kind of closure between the two. Maybe a reread is due at some point XD