#a bit dramatic

[ohnocreativity]

Not a love story. 

Dystopias aren’t a dating ground for the main characters, unlike what Hollywood thinks.

Dystopian environments should make the main character and reader question everything and everyone. Would they tell me to the government? Would they leave me behind as we run away from infected people? Should I trust them? 

Hollywood focuses too much on love to notice that the economy is collapsing and trust is a difficult and complicated thing while living in a dystopia.

In this essay I will be comparing The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner and between the books and the movies.

In the Hunger Games Trilogy, the books written by Suzanne Collins), there are plenty of instances when the main character, Katniss Everdeen makes it plainly clear that she doesn’t want to have a relationship with either Gale (her childhood best friend) and Peeta (the boy who saved her life when they were young.)

She only wants to save her younger sister, Primrose, and their mother. Anyone else is just a bonus. However, playing the star-crossed-lovers is what managed to save her and Peeta from the first games, because the Capitol (like America and Hollywood) wants to see a love story. After 74 years of having every other type of victory story, romance is perfect for them. “Haymitch is right. Star crossed lovers, they eat that stuff up in the Capitol.”

Katniss Everdeen fully believes in the “eye for an eye” motive. She cannot let go of the fact that Peeta saved her life when they were young, which proves to be a good motivation to destroy the Capital and its ideals of using child slaughter as entertainment. 

Even though everyone in the Capital, as well as real life fans who only watch the movies, believe that Katniss and Peeta’s love for each other is what sparked the rebellion that led to the revolution, that is incorrect.

It was the murder of a 12 year old girl in the first games and Katniss’s grief that made the other Districts realise that they are done watching their children be placed in the awful situation where humans are pitted against each other and are forced to fight for the entertainment of others.

If Peeta wasn’t in the Hunger Games, it would still have a powerful message and Katniss Everdeen would still not be with Gale.

Although, in the prequel of the Hunger Games, we learn that before the 11th Game the Capital people didn’t enjoy watching the Hunger Games, not while contrasting their reactions in the 74th. For them it was as much punishment as it was for the District people.

In the end of the books, it is even shown that Katniss left Peeta. She left both of her love options so she can just live by herself and do what she wanted back in District 12. 

Peeta, like always, came to her. 

Survival takes precedence over romance within the books of The Maze Runner. We see it numerous times. 

In the Scorch Trials, when Teresa betrayed Thomas and still believed that W.I.C.K.E.D was good, that was the answer.

In the movies of The Death Cure, Teressa choses W.I.C.K.E.D again and decides to stay, even so. The romance still clouded Thomas’ decision, he was hesitant to trust Teresa but less so than the others.

In the movies Teresa betrays Thomas on an almost daily basis, it was starting to get very tiring. She kept getting into contact with W.I.C.K.E.D (Although it is spelled WCKD for some reason), ignoring the fact that they have failed so many times at so many things. They were meant to keep the Gladers(or subjects as they referred to them) under control, and failed. They were meant to find a cure for the Flare, but failed. They were meant to save humanity and yet again they failed.

In the movies, Teresa’s faith in WCKD was conflicting with her love for Thomas, but near the end of the books Teresa thought she was saving Thomas.

In both The Maze Runner and The Hunger Games (the movies), people’s main focus is romance. As such the screenwriters must have decided to use that to their advantage and focus on it as well. Perhaps because the real meaning of the books were too dark for Americans to take seriously and probably because when someone goes to see a movie they want to be entertained, they want to be moved by something that is seen in regular life. Cranks and murdered children are often evasive from the day-to-day life of people.

So, what is the real meaning of the books?

With The Hunger Games, I believe its main focus is how easily humans can be distracted by positive media, sparkly dresses and good food. As long as things are disguised by something pretty and something that releases endorphins, it’s ok.  The Capital uses bureaucracy, politicians, social, culture and  media control, that is what makes it dystopian.

With The Maze Runner, the main focus is how easily humans betray one another for “the greater good.” It is easy to be lied to, especially when they want to be lied to.

W.I.C.K.E.D lied to themselves. They believed they could play God with children. There were alternatives that they could have taken, but they were less entertaining to do. W.I.C.K.E.D used bureaucracy control like the Capital, but there wasn’t much media to control over, so they got creative. They used psychology to confuse the main characters, making them doubt everything. Their names, their whereabouts. The Gladers were physically confined into the Glade.

Bureaucracy, psychology, resources, physical and information control. 

Dystopian is described as an unfair society… Like ours.

[coming-for-them-kneecaps]

Monkie Destiny Challenge with Yang Jian

[cheerfullycatholic]

The one thing stopping me from working on the stories about my children the Haunted Historians team is that Carolina Valentine is a side b Catholic which is important to understanding her close friendship with Dalton so I refuse to leave it out but my parents would murder me if they knew

[milkyplier]

Feeling lonely.

I miss this. Not this place in particular—in fact, my place is so very different from this one—but we all have that place where you don’t have to worry or think—overthink, really, and all the chaos, stress and noise from the world around you is just gone. It’s that one place you love the most, that one place that you can’t think about too hard while you’re away because it will start to hurt. That one place where all your favorite songs always fit. You can be yourself there, and all your sad songs only make it better. Even when you think about the worst things that are happening, they never fully reach you. That place that’s always warm, even when the weather is bad. And when you’re sad, it’s a different kind of sad. Everything is always better, brighter, more beautiful there. It’s the one place where you look around and think “hey, maybe the world isn’t so bad after all.” And then you leave, and everything comes crashing down again. Weird, I left this place just a few moments ago. How come it’s already so far away? When can I go back? I want to go back. I want to go home.

[fuck-yeah-5pm-sky]

[theroyalthrones]

What keeps Florintina up at night?

I'm going to answer this for future Florentia. While she has had many worries about failure, and the huge responsibility she holds and must maintain properly (with her position and whatnot). But what keeps Florentia up now is the fear for her children. plural. While the royal family has many privileges and wealth. different troubles await royals who stick close to the family. She fears that one day she will have to make the fatal choice of choosing between her children and the crown. between her kin and her duty. And she doesn't know which one she will pick. And that's what she fears the most.

[improvapocalyps]

You have 90 minutes to complete. (original poem: r.a.)

In participation of the MCYT Recursive Exchange 2024 hosted by @mcytrecursive!

Inspired by know that all my love will be your breath (i will save you when your lights go out)

[text under cut]

1. Have you ever been in love? (Please circle your answer.) a. It's me and him b. Our hearts beat in sync c. Our lives intertwined

2. Do you understand what you’ve done? (Please circle your answer.) a. I couldn't do anything b. I lost my balance c. I doomed us both

3. It's been god knows how long since you felt phantom hands on your neck and there is no one in sight. If you were soul-bound to him and both of you died at the same time then why are you still waiting in the void? Please answer clearly, in full sentences. (Not a correct answer：I just wanted to see him one more time).

4. Define two (2)： Fate | The feeling of his forehead against yours Curse | The moment you realise he isn't linked to you anymore

5. True or False： i. It was your fault. ii. You wish you had met him under different circumstances. iii. You can’t regret a single moment that you had him. iv. You would do it all over again if you could. v. It ended long before either of you said anything.

thumbnails:

sketch cover thing for imgur link:

[lazylittledragon]

taking all my american followers by the shoulders. listen to me. just because you have a more promising candidate now doesn't mean you just assume it's going to be fine and don't bother voting. assuming trump wasn't going to win is how you got here in the first place so you go out and fucking vote for harris and give everyone a fighting chance.

also if you're still in the 'they're both as bad as eachother' delirium, please take your head out from between your cheeks and consider that your options are an imperfect president and the literal worst person alive who is going to get masses of people killed. i've said it like this before, but it's like deciding between maybe getting food poisoning or definitely having a brain aneurysm. take your pick i guess but don't be surprised when you drop dead.

[stripedpouch]

"I'll never lose as long as I'm with you"

(Bonus)

[thechanglingchronicles]

Sorry but we as a fandom do not talk about bigb enough

he’s really out here killing Cleo his day one ally in last life because of boogy man like if he had any sense he’d understand Cleo would never forgive him

2 of his deaths in last life were done by his previous allies

He comes up with an alter ego to hide from his murder of Cleo and names himself terry

Terry???

Like no one is out here doing it like he is

Then we have double life which in fandoms eyes he might as well be home wrecking two of the fandom’s biggest ships

Like being in a really complicated relationship with ren where he cheats on him like all he gets out of a relationship with Grian isn’t cookies

In limited life him and Pearl were allies and then ruined it with every single person on that server

His biggest downfall in fighting with people he isn’t allied with is being muted he gets out of being murdered in several times through sweet talking people

Like secret life he gets a red name task first ep and then makes it a personality trait

Making the motherfucking backrooms in a death game

Then of course as soon as someone asks he teams up with them and abandons the previous aesthetic doing a full 180 with pink and hearts and cherry wood

Like actually no one is doing it like he is

[sopuu]

1 left.

[wuruwan]

[voidesse]

The bright screen of the phone keeps thoughts away, it's a drug that I am addicted to.

[pseudophan]

dan helping phil down from a tv at the end of the show in warsaw

[eybefioro]

Wait a minute...

I knew I recognized that from somewhere lol

[fuck-yeah-5pm-sky]