#lavinia thg

[diddlesnap]

everyone say happy pride month katniss!!!

[thesweetnessofspring]

Trick or treat! 👻

You can ask one question to a Hunger Games character and they have to tell you the truth!

Who would you pick and what would you ask them?

Ok so I'm taking this question as a team effort to get the most info from this world as possible, and as @notsocooljess has Cinna's selection of District 12 covered and @mollywog is asking Mr. Mellark about his history with Mrs. Everdeen (so we have at least one side of that triangle covered), I would ask Lavinia what happened that led her to be an Avox. I'm so curious what her life was like before, if she was rebellion or did something else the Capitol didn't like, who the boy with her was, how she got to the woods of District 12. I really want to know everything about her but I'd start with that.

[jesse-pinko]

My personal headcanon for Lavinia (Avox Girl) is that the boy who died in the woods w her was her older brother, who was very protective of her, and that maybe they were on the run from the capitol bc she was the one who did something to piss them off and he was the one who risked everything to help her escape, and so he essentially died in the process of trying to protect her. So when she sees Katniss volunteer to die in place of her sister, what choice does she have but to forgive her? Even if she doesn’t want to; even though she doesn’t want to. She can’t help but forgive her.

[deadboydoodling]

Let me know whose your favorite and if I should do a part two! ❤

[thesweetnessofspring]

Lavinia was likely named for the Shakespeare character from Titus Andronicus. It's been a while since I read that play, but Lavinia was engaged to one of the sons trying to take over Rome and he was killed, she was raped and her tongue and hands cut off. Also her father kills her because she was raped. Honestly the whole play is pretty crazy and I'm probably missing a ton of details but I've been planning on revisiting it for my (eventual) Katvinia fic. Based on this, though, I do think

Lavinia's father was in the military/very high in the government

She and the boy were in love

something to think about (because i've also been thinking about it lately) : the story behind Lavinia, how they killed the boy she was with but captured her

Ooo send me your thoughts! Here are some of mine:

How wild is it that Lavinia doesn’t remind Katniss of the girl in the woods, she is the girl from the woods. What are the odds? (I don’t think there’s any great rebellion conspiracy behind Katniss and Peeta being the 74th tributes, but it’s just another one of those luck/fate things that play into the story.)

Moving past that, I was trying to make parallels between Lavinia capture and the QQ: Katniss being ‘rescued’/spared and Peeta being left-for-dead/captured and used to punish Katniss.

then I pulled up the text and it felt very reminiscent of Rue’s death: the Mockingjays, the net, the spear, Katniss’s desire and inability to save both girls…

Lavinia’s Capture

“No, my friend Gale. Suddenly all the birds stopped singing at once. Except one. As if it were giving a warning call. And then we saw her. I’m sure it was the same girl. A boy was with her. Their clothes were tattered. They had dark circles under their eyes from no sleep. They were running as if their lives depended on it,” I say.

For a moment I’m silent, as I remember how the sight of this strange pair, clearly not from District 12, fleeing through the woods immobilized us. Later, we wondered if we could have helped them escape. Perhaps we might have. Concealed them. If we’d moved quickly. Gale and I were taken by surprise, yes, but we’re both hunters. We know how animals look at bay. We knew the pair was in trouble as soon as we saw them. But we only watched.

“The hovercraft appeared out of nowhere,” I continue to Peeta. “I mean, one moment the sky was empty and the next it was there. It didn’t make a sound, but they saw it. A net dropped down on the girl and carried her up, fast, so fast like the elevator. They shot some sort of spear through the boy. It was attached to a cable and they hauled him up as well. But I’m certain he was dead. We heard the girl scream once. The boy’s name, I think. Then it was gone, the hovercraft. Vanished into thin air. And the birds began to sing again, as if nothing had happened.”

Rue’s death

It's a child's scream, a young girl's scream, there's no one in the arena capable of making that sound except Rue. And now I'm running, knowing this may be a trap, knowing the three Careers may be poised to attack me, but I can't help myself. There's another high-pitched cry, this time my name. "Katniss! Katniss!"

"Rue!" I shout back, so she knows I'm near. So, they know I'm near, and hopefully the girl who has attacked them with tracker jackers and gotten an eleven they still can't explain will be enough to pull their attention away from her. "Rue! I'm coming!"

When I break into the clearing, she's on the ground, hopelessly entangled in a net. She just has time to reach her hand through the mesh and say my name before the spear enters her body.

[fantasy-nerdddd]

The rooftop scene(s)

Today I'll talk about the rooftop scenes. Mainly the first one, from The Hunger Games, but a bit of both. Both of them are quite passable at first, but mean a lot, each in their own way.

In Catching Fire, Chapter 11, Peeta says to Katniss while working on the plant book: "You know, I think this is the first time we've done something normal together." Well, the rooftop scene is the first time they have done anything fun together. Not drawing some plants, not staring at each other's eyelashes (cough cough KATNISS YOU THIRSTY LITTLE GIRL), two teenagers laughing and having fun together just days before they need to go into an arena and kill each other. So rebellious, having fun with your opponent and getting closer before the games, just behind using CPR in the arena. Also, it is the first insight that there's something more going on. Because for Effie to not to train Katniss on walking on heels, it means that Katniss won't need the sponsors.

The first rooftop scene... Well there's two more? I think? The first one is in a garden, however the garden is still on the rooftop so I'll count it. I think these scenes played a big role later. And I also think they are proof that Snow had bugged the rooftop, too. Lavinia was only acknowledged by Peeta in two moments. One, where he covered for Katniss and said that she was Delly Cartwright. That was for just a moment, and for all Snow knows, it wasn't even a lie. And when Katniss explained to him how she knew her. That Katniss didn't protect her. And I think Peeta seeing the girl Katniss couldn't protect being brutally killed, might have helped with the hijacking later on, because it would prove in his mind that Katniss just didn't care about any life, or even worse wanted to see suffering, and that she was heartless towards everyone, not just him. He'd think that anyways, but seeing Lavinia die in the hands of the Capitol just underlined this.

And of course, the elephant in the room... The "I don't want to be another piece in their Games" rooftop scene. Firstly, even though Katniss is the unreliable narrator that she is, we can clearly see Peeta's true character in that scene, if we are not too caught up in Katniss' thoughts and can consider the possibility that Peeta isn't lying. That he values self-awareness, agency and staying true to yourself. Personally, that made me love him even more, wanting to resist the corruption. And of course, that makes his character arc even more tragic. That he became exactly what he resented. A piece in their Games, a monster he's not. And that is another reason I think Snow was watching them the entire time. Snow could have known from the Games that Peeta was against violence. That he adored Katniss. That he'd do anything to save her. But he couldn't have known that Peeta's dying wish was to stay true to himself. Not to be changed by the horrors of the Capitol. He couldn't know that Peeta would absolutely resent himself once he was lucid enough to realise what was going on. And also, yeah I am going to add that this scene might be my favourite foreshadowing of all time. I don't know if Suzanne had planned it all along, she probably didbut I like to think that she didn't, and instead her decision to hijack Peeta went like this:

Suzanne, rereading her own book: I'm stuck. What could I possibly do that will move the plot forward? But doesn't seem cheap? No, I have to reuse an idea. It'd be out of place to just invent facts about Panem. Wait a minute. I could turn a fan favourite (and Katniss favourite) character into an insane 17 y/o so that Katniss will be desperate for revenge and the story has a bit more Angst. The readers will hate me and I don't give a shit

Or maybe

Editor: The love triangle isn't working.

Suzanne: I know. I have expressed my opinion towards the love triangle

Editor: Yes, but it sells more. And you cannot just abandon the idea.

Suzanne: Who says that Katniss can't choose her own boyfriend in the middle of the book and not the end

Editor: Listen... There's still a lot people who like Gale. You can have anyone win her. In fact, I would advise you to stick with Peeta. But the idea of a romance between Gale and Katniss has to have a satisfying ending. So no one can doubt Katniss' decision. But it also needs to feel like a hard choice. Or maybe make it impossible to choose between them anytime before the end.

Suzanne: What if I make Gale kill Prim?

Editor: Wha-

Suzanne: And make him unfathomably annoying the entire book and have him become a violent b*itch because of the war.

Editor: What's preventing Katniss to choose-

Suzanne: What if I make Peeta go insane?

Editor: What!?

Suzanne: What if I make him go insane? He's already in the Capitol, it wouldn't be a hard feat

Editor: But then Katniss couldn't choose either of them!

Suzanne: Not permanently, idiot! You know I have a weakness for Peeta.

[f1llory]

i know this all started like 11 years ago but i'm still so mad at how the hunger games movies have removed practically every trace of the avoxes that they can. i know that movies can't include everything from the books, but the avoxes are so important to the story and it does a real disservice to the movies by removing them. also, it would have added maybe a couple minutes per movie to include them the way they were in the books.

there are mentions of them here and there, and we do see lavinia briefly, but the only avox who's there in any meaningful way is pollux. and they couldn't take him out of the movie! not only is he important to include with the camera crew, he has to be there because he's the one who leads the group through the tunnels. if it were possible to cut him out of mockingjay, i think they would have.

removing so many scenes with lavinia genuinely detracted from my enjoyment of the first movie. especially witnessing her capture & carrying the guilt about it. when there are avoxes waiting on her, katniss does treat them politely, but i think it would have been so important & impactful to see her truly recognizing lavinia and her humanity and trying to communicate with her like anyone else. fixing this probably wouldn't add more than like 5 minutes to the runtime, but it would be such an improvement.

and don't even get me started with darius being removed from the movies. maybe he shows us a little less about katniss's character than lavinia would, but the mentions of him in catching fire add so much to our imagination of the hob and illustrate just how different peacekeepers were in district 12. this is also the first time this has happened to someone katniss actually knows. i think this would take maybe a minute and a half to fix? at most. really all we would need to see is darius talking to katniss in the hob, then being one of the peacekeepers getting captured when thread takes over.

obviously they kept pollux in because they literally couldn't remove him from mockingjay. i don't really have any complaints about his portrayal in the movies, which is kind of surprising given how passionate i am about him. also, the movie actually portrayed castor's death better than the book! it wasn't really in the book, basically castor was there and then he wasn't. so the movie version has a lot more impact.

also, it sucks that we didn't get to hear what happened to lavinia and darius. i always have intense second-hand embarrassment at the fact that in the book, peeta realizes pollux is an avox then immediately starts trauma dumping about seeing lavinia and darius tortured to death. if it were done as written in the movie, i might have experienced literal physical pain. but at the same time, i think it's very important that katniss finds out what happened to them. also in the books, squad 451 hears all the avoxes in the tunnels screaming as the mutts kill them. i feel like that would have been really easy to add in.

anyways we are moving on before i write an entire dissertation on pollux.

it was even worse in tbosas! the movie cut the scene where snow sees dr. gaul experimenting on and torturing avoxes. it would have been absolutely horrifying to see that translated to the screen, but it's incredibly important to snow's character development and his transformation into someone who both allows and perpetuates that cruelty. also, justice for ma plinth! i think it would have been incredible to see more of her and the way she treats people. in the book, she is so kind and caring to the avoxes working in her house. they're able to communicate with her, and she cooks food that will be easy for them to eat. since treating the avoxes as remotely human is so unusual, treating them with such love and respect is a revolutionary act, and goes to show what kind of person sejanus was raised to be. i know that this would add quite a bit to the runtime, but it probably should have been two movies anyways.

i know that side/background characters are cut from movies all the time. it happens. but even without getting a lot of lines, the avoxes are incredibly important to the story. these are people who have been enslaved, tortured, and dehumanized more than basically anyone else in panem. once characters truly see the avoxes, they're forced to confront the true brutality of the capitol and what they'll do to keep people in line. i think the movies don't truly force audiences to confront the brutality of this punishment. any rebellion is punished by literally robbing people of their voices and cutting them off from everything they've known. even if there's someone left to buy their freedom, they're physically disfigured for life--even removal of part of the tongue can have catastrophic side effects.

also, characters' perceptions of avoxes can say a lot about the kind of person they are. avoxes are the lowest class in panem, and treated with about as much agency as a piece of furniture. people aren't supposed to treat them like people. they're only supposed to talk to avoxes when giving them an order. despite this, there are certain characters who choose to show them kindness and love.

anyways i'm gonna end this here before i write a post so long it crashes tumblr but pls ask me literally anything about pollux i am in love w him <3

[chamomile-tea-time]

99, with Lavinia (the red-haired Avox girl from the first book) for the Spotify art challenge!

gore warning!!!! it's lavinia with my 99th spotify wrapped song: i wanna be your slave by måneskin

"and if you want to use me, i could be your puppet."

[diddlesnap]

more katniss Yuri pretty please

I love seeing her with the girls she should've had

I want her to stay until I fall asleep. To be there when I wake up. I want the protection of this girl, even though she never had mine.

[antoine-triplett]

katniss + bonding with non-verbal characters

PLUS:

[jesse-pinko]

One thing that really worked for me w The Hunger Games trilogy was the attention to detail given toward developing even the most decentralized of background characters and how it doesn’t detract or distract from the story as a whole but enhances it, by driving home the theme of every life being precious and worth protecting and every human person being just that, fully, indomitably human. Esp the female characters!! When does that happen with female characters? Every character could in theory get their own book no dice, and that’s that’s how I want to write

[heavensbeehall]

"Just like I was watching the Games." -- Katniss, on how she watched Lavinia and her brother. Chapter 6, "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins

Our first impression of Katniss is someone who is selfless, and gives herself up for Prim. But with the appearance of Lavinia, Collins stresses that Katniss is not some saint. She has stood by while other people died, literally in this case. But she has also watched the Hunger Games her entire life. The Capitol wants the citizens of all districts to be okay--relieved even--when others die.

She knows what happened to Lavinia is wrong, which shows her moral compass is not bent in the wrong direction the way many of the Capitol people we meet. But she is an ordinary girl, with very little power, and the system relies on people like her staying quiet for their own safety.

Lavinia's brother, whose name we never know, was probably not much older than Prim, or Rue but it prompted no acts of defiance like when Prim is Reaped or Rue is killed. Perhaps because Katniss was only watching that time.

[mollywog]

My spirit. This is a new thought. I’m not sure exactly what it means, but it suggests I’m a fighter. In a sort of brave way. It’s not as if I’m never friendly. Okay, maybe I don’t go around loving everybody I meet, maybe my smiles are hard to come by, but I do care for some people.

‘Maybe my smiles are hard to come by’ is a top 10 line

[barbreypilled]

[trampled-and-melting]

District 2 Names

Ajax (M)

Antigone (F)

Bellona (F)

Cylon (M)

Fidelia (F)

Flint (M)

Hadrian (M)

Iphigenia (F)

Juno (F)

Lavinia (F)

Lucretia (F)

Luther (M)

Magnus (M)

Martia (F)

Medea (F)

Nero (M)

Nike (F)

Priam (M)

Pyrrhus (M)

Shale (M)

Slate (M)

Terra (F)

More THG Names

[thesweetnessofspring]

Tagged by @thelettersfromnoone 🫶

LAST SONG:

CURRENTLY WATCHING: Girls5Eva

THREE SHIPS: Everlark, Valarney, and lately Katvinia (Katniss/Lavinia) has been eating at me.

FAVORITE COLOR: Turquoise <<moodboard

CURRENTLY READING: Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy for THG book club. I'm afraid right now my other read is more work-related. Beyond Behaviors by Mona Delahooke.

CURRENTLY CONSUMING: Had toast with butter and a chocolate protein shake for breakfast.

FIRST SHIP: Sabrina x Harvey on Sabrina the Teenage Witch

PLACE OF BIRTH: California

CURRENT LOCATION: California

RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Single.

LAST MOVIE: Everything Everywhere All At Once

CURRENTLY WORKING ON: 😭 Roses and Pearls, these final hours, Katniss Gets Kisses, a lover's desire is mutiny, plus the yet-to-be-published one-shot of Regency Everlark and the to-be-published-next-year Everlark fic The Huntress and the Beast.

Tagging: @moonlightredfern @safeinpeetasarms @soulluvs2read @lavenderbehindherear @starrrbakerrr