#did Suzanne Collins actually write this?

[i-just-really-like-renga]

Everyone who had me thinking Ballad of Sonbirds and Snakes was going to be good???

I want my money back

Low key tempted to write a fuller review, might if I find the time, or the ability to care.

[vivicendium]

i think something that elevates the hunger games franchise is not just the quality of writing but the integrity of it. tbosas isn’t just a cash-grab by suzanne collins in the age of sequels and reboots (though i won’t pretend that didn’t play a part), it’s a character study of the main antagonist with a different structure than the main trilogy. and importantly, it doesn’t just re-hash the same old themes and beats the main trilogy had, it expands on not just the world of the hunger games but the themes as well, it actually has something new to say about the trilogy’s themes about class, capitalism, power, and control, in a way that couldn’t be explored with the main story because the protagonist of that story simply did not have access to the world that’s being explored in tbosas.

i understand the people who call for books/movies to be made about haymitch, finnick, johanna, different years of the games — we love those characters and want to see more of them! i’d kill for a novella on finnick’s days mentoring tributes, or katniss’s parents falling in love. but at the end of the day we probably wouldn’t be very satisfied with those stories being fleshed out if they had absolutely nothing new to say about the world, they’d be enjoyable, but not as interesting and engaging as tbosas has been.

[raptorific]

I lowkey hope the new Hunger Game is actually more of a Songbirds Sequel than THG Prequel. I'm sure Suzanne Collins will use her more than capable abilities to write a beautiful, chilling story that serves as a deeply unsubtle metaphor for whatever upset her in the news this time, and she's built up more than enough goodwill as a storyteller that I don't have even the slightest fear it'll be BAD

But I am not hoping for Haymitch to be the protagonist, I hope what we actually get is a completely new character who's a plucky young gamemaker named something like Suetonius Featherbottom or some shit like that, and the middle-aged President Snow takes them under his wing in the Propaganda Division the same way Dr. Gaul did to him, and the entire book is actually about how the events of the Quarter Quell are presented to the public in contrast to what actually happened

[caesarflickermans]

A TENTH ANNIVERSARY INTERVIEW WITH SUZANNE COLLINS

On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the publication of The Hunger Games, author Suzanne Collins and publisher David Levithan discussed the evolution of the story, the editorial process, and the first ten years of the life of the trilogy, encompassing both books and films. The following is their written conversation.

NOTE: The following interview contains a discussion of all three books in The Hunger Games Trilogy, so if you have yet to read Catching Fire and Mockingjay, you may want to read them before reading the full interview.

transcript below

DAVID LEVITHAN: Let’s start at the origin moment for The Hunger Games. You were flipping channels one night . . .

SUZANNE COLLINS: Yes, I was flipping through the channels one night between reality television programs and actual footage of the Iraq War, when the idea came to me. At the time, I was completing the fifth book in The Underland Chronicles and my brain was shifting to whatever the next project would be. I had been grappling with another story that just couldn’t get any air under its wings. I knew I wanted to continue to explore writing about just war theory for young audiences. In The Underland Chronicles, I’d examined the idea of an unjust war developing into a just war because of greed, xenophobia, and long-standing hatreds. For the next series, I wanted a completely new world and a different angle into the just war debate.

DL: Can you tell me what you mean by the “just war theory” and how that applies to the setup of the trilogy?

SC: Just war theory has evolved over thousands of years in an attempt to define what circumstances give you the moral right to wage war and what is acceptable behavior within that war and its aftermath. The why and the how. It helps differentiate between what’s considered a necessary and an unnecessary war. In The Hunger Games Trilogy, the districts rebel against their own government because of its corruption. The citizens of the districts have no basic human rights, are treated as slave labor, and are subjected to the Hunger Games annually. I believe the majority of today’s audience would define that as grounds for revolution. They have just cause but the nature of the conflict raises a lot of questions. Do the districts have the authority to wage war? What is their chance of success? How does the reemergence of District 13 alter the situation? When we enter the story, Panem is a powder keg and Katniss the spark.

DL: As with most novelists I know, once you have that origin moment — usually a connection of two elements (in this case, war and entertainment) — the number of connections quickly increases, as different elements of the story take their place. I know another connection you made early on was with mythology, particularly the myth of Theseus. How did that piece come to fit?

SC: I was such a huge Greek mythology geek as a kid, it’s impossible for it not to come into play in my storytelling. As a young prince of Athens, he participated in a lottery that required seven girls and seven boys to be taken to Crete and thrown into a labyrinth to be destroyed by the Minotaur. In one version of the myth, this excessively cruel punishment resulted from the Athenians opposing Crete in a war. Sometimes the labyrinth’s a maze; sometimes it’s an arena. In my teens I read Mary Renault’s The King Must Die, in which the tributes end up in the Bull Court. They’re trained to perform with a wild bull for an audience composed of the elite of Crete who bet on the entertainment. Theseus and his team dance and handspring over the bull in what’s called bull-leaping. You can see depictions of this in ancient sculpture and vase paintings. The show ended when they’d either exhausted the bull or one of the team had been killed. After I read that book, I could never go back to thinking of the labyrinth as simply a maze, except perhaps ethically. It will always be an arena to me.

DL: But in this case, you dispensed with the Minotaur, no? Instead, the arena harkens more to gladiator vs. gladiator than to gladiator vs. bull. What influenced this construction?

SC: A fascination with the gladiator movies of my childhood, particularly Spartacus. Whenever it ran, I’d be glued to the set. My dad would get outPlutarch’s Lives and read me passages from “Life of Crassus,” since Spartacus, being a slave, didn’t rate his own book. It’s about a person who’s forced to become a gladiator, breaks out of the gladiator school/arena to lead a rebellion, and becomes the face of a war. That’s the dramatic arc of both the real-life Third Servile War and the fictional Hunger Games Trilogy.

DL: Can you talk about how war stories influenced you as a young reader, and then later as a writer? How did this knowledge of war stories affect your approach to writing The Hunger Games?

SC: Now you can find many wonderful books written for young audiences that deal with war. That wasn’t the case when I was growing up. It was one of the reasons Greek mythology appealed to me: the characters battled, there was the Trojan War. My family had been heavily impacted by war the year my father, who was career Air Force, went to Vietnam, but except for my myths, I rarely encountered it in books. I liked Johnny Tremain but it ends as the Revolutionary War kicks off. The one really memorable book I had about war was Boris by Jaap ter Haar, which deals with the Siege of Leningrad in World War II.

My war stories came from my dad, a historian and a doctor of political science. The four years before he left for Vietnam, the Army borrowed him from the Air Force to teach at West Point. His final assignment would be at Air Command and Staff College. As his kids, we were never too young to learn, whether he was teaching us history or taking us on vacation to a battlefield or posing a philosophical dilemma. He approached history as a story, and fortunately he was a very engaging storyteller. As a result, in my own writing, war felt like a completely natural topic for children.

DL: Another key piece of The Hunger Games is the voice and perspective that Katniss brings to it. I know some novelists start with a character and then find a story through that character, but with The Hunger Games (and correct me if I’m wrong) I believe you had the idea for the story first, and then Katniss stepped into it. Where did she come from? I’d love for you to talk about the origin of her name, and also the origin of her very distinctive voice.

SC: Katniss appeared almost immediately after I had the idea, standing by the bed with that bow and arrow. I’d spent a lot of time during The Underland Chronicles weighing the attributes of different weapons. I used archers very sparingly because they required light and the Underland has little natural illumination. But a bow and arrow can be handmade, shot from a distance, and weaponized when the story transitions into warfare. She was a born archer.

Her name came later, while I was researching survival training and specifically edible plants. In one of my books, I found the arrowhead plant, and the more I read about it, the more it seemed to reflect her. Its Latin name has the same roots as Sagittarius, the archer. The edible tuber roots she could gather, the arrowhead-shaped leaves were her defense, and the little white blossoms kept it in the tradition of flower names, like Rue and Primrose. I looked at the list of alternative names for it. Swamp Potato. Duck Potato. Katniss easily won the day.

As to her voice, I hadn’t intended to write in first person. I thought the book would be in the third person like The Underland Chronicles. Then I sat down to work and the first page poured out in first person, like she was saying, “Step aside, this is my story to tell.” So I let her.

DL: I am now trying to summon an alternate universe where the Mockingjay is named Swamp Potato Everdeen. Seems like a PR challenge. But let’s stay for a second on the voice — because it’s not a straightforward, generic American voice. There’s a regionalism to it, isn’t there? Was that present from the start?

SC: It was. There’s a slight District 12 regionalism to it, and some of the other tributes use phrases unique to their regions as well. The way they speak, particularly the way in which they refuse to speak like citizens of the Capitol, is important to them. No one in District 12 wants to sound like Effie Trinket unless they’re mocking her. So they hold on to their regionalisms as a quiet form of rebellion. The closest thing they have to freedom of speech is their manner of speaking.

DL: I’m curious about Katniss’s family structure. Was it always as we see it, or did you ever consider giving her parents greater roles? How much do you think the Everdeen family’s story sets the stage for Katniss’s story within the trilogy?

SC: Her parents have their own histories in District 12 but I only included what’s pertinent to Katniss’s tale. Her father’s hunting skills, musicality, and death in the mines. Her mother’s healing talent and vulnerabilities. Her deep love for Prim. Those are the elements that seemed essential to me.

DL: This completely fascinates me because I, as an author, rarely know more (consciously) about the characters than what’s in the story. But this sounds like you know much more about the Everdeen parents than found their way to the page. What are some of the more interesting things about them that a reader wouldn’t necessarily know?

SC: Your way sounds a lot more efficient. I have a world of information about the characters that didn’t make it into the book. With some stories, revealing that could be illuminating, but in the case of The Hunger Games, I think it would only be a distraction unless it was part of a new tale within the world of Panem.

DL: I have to ask — did you know from the start how Prim’s story was going to end? (I can’t imagine writing the reaping scene while knowing — but at the same time I can’t imagine writing it without knowing.)

SC: You almost have to know it and not know it at the same time to write it convincingly, because the dramatic question, Can Katniss save Prim?, is introduced in the first chapter of the first book, and not answered until almost the end of the trilogy. At first there’s the relief that, yes, she can volunteer for Prim. Then Rue, who reminds her of Prim, joins her in the arena and she can’t save her. That tragedy refreshes the question. For most of the second book, Prim’s largely out of harm’s way, although there’s always the threat that the Capitol might hurt her to hurt Katniss. The jabberjays are a reminder of that. Once she’s in District 13 and the war has shifted to the Capitol, Katniss begins to hope Prim’s not only safe but has a bright future as a doctor. But it’s an illusion. The danger that made Prim vulnerable in the beginning, the threat of the arena, still exists. In the first book, it’s a venue for the Games; in the second, the platform for the revolution; in the third, it’s the battleground of Panem, coming to a head in the Capitol. The arena transforms but it’s never eradicated; in fact it’s expanded to include everyone in the country. Can Katniss save Prim? No. Because no one is safe while the arena exists.

DL: If Katniss was the first character to make herself known within story, when did Peeta and Gale come into the equation? Did you know from the beginning how their stories would play out vis-à-vis Katniss’s?

SC: Peeta and Gale appeared quickly, less as two points on a love triangle, more as two perspectives in the just war debate. Gale, because of his experiences and temperament, tends toward violent remedies. Peeta’s natural inclination is toward diplomacy. Katniss isn’t just deciding on a partner; she’s figuring out her worldview.

DL: And did you always know which worldview would win? It’s interesting to see it presented in such a clear-cut way, because when I think of Katniss, I certainly think of force over diplomacy.

SC: And yet Katniss isn’t someone eager to engage in violence and she takes no pleasure in it. Her circumstances repeatedly push her into making choices that include the use of force. But if you look carefully at what happens in the arena, her compassionate choices determine her survival. Taking on Rue as an ally results in Thresh sparing her life. Seeking out Peeta and caring for him when she discovers how badly wounded he is ultimately leads to her winning the Games. She uses force only in self-defense or defense of a third party, and I’m including Cato’s mercy killing in that. As the trilogy progresses, it becomes increasingly difficult to avoid the use of force because the overall violence is escalating with the war. The how and the why become harder to answer.

Yes, I knew which worldview would win, but in the interest of examining just war theory you need to make the arguments as strongly as possible on both sides. While Katniss ultimately chooses Peeta, remember that in order to end the Hunger Games her last act is to assassinate an unarmed woman. Conversely, in The Underland Chronicles, Gregor’s last act is to break his sword to interrupt the cycle of violence. The point of both stories is to take the reader through the journey, have them confront the issues with the protagonist, and then hopefully inspire them to think about it and discuss it. What would they do in Katniss’s or Gregor’s situation? How would they define a just or unjust war and what behavior is acceptable within warfare? What are the human costs of life, limb, and sanity? How does developing technology impact the debate? The hope is that better discussions might lead to more nonviolent forms of conflict resolution, so we evolve out of choosing war as an option.

DL: Where does Haymitch fit into this examination of war? What worldview does he bring?

SC: Haymitch was badly damaged in his own war, the second Quarter Quell, in which he witnessed and participated in terrible things in order to survive and then saw his loved ones killed for his strategy. He self-medicates with white liquor to combat severe PTSD. His chances of recovery are compromised because he’s forced to mentor the tributes every year. He’s a version of what Katniss might become, if the Hunger Games continues. Peeta comments on how similar they are, and it’s true. They both really struggle with their worldview. He manages to defuse the escalating violence at Gale’s whipping with words, but he participates in a plot to bring down the government that will entail a civil war.

The ray of light that penetrates that very dark cloud in his brain is the moment that Katniss volunteers for Prim. He sees, as do many people in Panem, the power of her sacrifice. And when that carries into her Games, with Rue and Peeta, he slowly begins to believe that with Katniss it might be possible to end the Hunger Games.

DL: I’m also curious about how you balanced the personal and political in drawing the relationship between Katniss and Gale. They have such a history together — and I think you powerfully show the conflict that arises when you love someone, but don’t love what they believe in. (I think that resonates particularly now, when so many families and relationships and friendships have been disrupted by politics.)

SC: Yes, I think it’s painful, especially because they feel so in tune in so many ways. Katniss’s and Gale’s differences of opinion are based in just war theory. Do we revolt? How do we conduct ourselves in the war? And the ethical and personal lines climax at the same moment — the double tap bombing that takes Prim’s life. But it’s rarely simple; there are a lot of gray areas. It’s complicated by Peeta often holding a conflicting view while being the rival for her heart, so the emotional pull and the ethical pull become so intertwined it’s impossible to separate them. What do you do when someone you love, someone you know to be a good person, has a view which completely opposes your own? You keep trying to understand what led to the difference and see if it can be bridged. Maybe, maybe not. I think many conflicts grow out of fear, and in an attempt to counter that fear, people reach for solutions that may be comforting in the short term, but only increase their vulnerability in the long run and cause a lot of destruction along the way.

DL: In drawing Gale’s and Peeta’s roles in the story, how conscious were you of the gender inversion from traditional narrative tropes? As you note above, both are important far beyond any romantic subplot, but I do think there’s something fascinating about the way they both reinscribe roles that would traditionally be that of the “girlfriend.” Gale in particular gets to be “the girl back home” from so many Westerns and adventure movies — but of course is so much more than that. And Peeta, while a very strong character in his own right, often has to take a backseat to Katniss and her strategy, both in and out of the arena. Did you think about them in terms of gender and tropes, or did that just come naturally as the characters did what they were going to do on the page?

SC: It came naturally because, while Gale and Peeta are very important characters, it’s Katniss’s story.

DL: For Peeta . . . why baking?

SC: Bread crops up a lot in The Hunger Games. It’s the main food source in the districts, as it was for many people historically. When Peeta throws a starving Katniss bread in the flashback, he’s keeping her alive long enough to work out a strategy for survival. It seemed in keeping with his character to be a baker, a life giver.

But there’s a dark side to bread, too. When Plutarch Heavensbee references it, he’s talking about Panem et Circenses, Bread and Circuses, where food and entertainment lull people into relinquishing their political power. Bread can contribute to life or death in the Hunger Games.

DL: Speaking of Plutarch — in a meta way, the two of you share a job (although when you do it, only fictional people die). When you were designing the arena for the first book, what influences came into play? Did you design the arena and then have the participants react to it, or did you design the arena with specific reactions and plot points in mind?

SC: Katniss has a lot going against her in the first arena — she’s inexperienced, smaller than a lot of her competitors, and hasn’t the training of the Careers — so the arena needed to be in her favor. The landscape closely resembles the woods around District 12, with similar flora and fauna. She can feed herself and recognize the nightlock as poisonous. Thematically, the Girl on Fire needed to encounter fire at some point, so I built that in. I didn’t want it too physically flashy, because the audience needs to focus on the human dynamic, the plight of the star-crossed lovers, the alliance with Rue, the twist that two tributes can survive from the same district. Also, the Gamemakers would want to leave room for a noticeable elevation in spectacle when the Games move to the Quarter Quell arena in Catching Fire with the more intricate clock design.

DL: So where does Plutarch fall into the just war spectrum? There are many layers to his involvement in what’s going on.

SC: Plutarch is the namesake of the biographer Plutarch, and he’s one of the few characters who has a sense of the arc of history. He’s never lived in a world without the Hunger Games; it was well established by the time he was born and then he rose through the ranks to become Head Gamemaker. At some point, he’s gone from accepting that the Games are necessary to deciding they’re unnecessary, and he sets about ending them. Plutarch has a personal agenda as well. He’s seen so many of his peers killed off, like Seneca Crane, that he wonders how long it will be before the mad king decides he’s a threat not an asset. It’s no way to live. And as a gamemaker among gamemakers, he likes the challenge of the revolution. But even after they succeed he questions how long the resulting peace will last. He has a fairly low opinion of human beings, but ultimately doesn’t rule out that they might be able to change.

DL: When it comes to larger world building, how much did you know about Panem before you started writing? If I had asked you, while you were writing the opening pages, “Suzanne, what’s the primary industry of District Five?” would you have known the answer, or did those details emerge to you when they emerged within the writing of the story?

SC: Before I started writing I knew there were thirteen districts — that’s a nod to the thirteen colonies — and that they’d each be known for a specific industry. I knew 12 would be coal and most of the others were set, but I had a few blanks that naturally filled in as the story evolved. When I was little we had that board game, Game of the States, where each state was identified by its exports. And even today we associate different locations in the country with a product, with seafood or wine or tech. Of course, it’s a very simplified take on Panem. No district exists entirely by its designated trade. But for purposes of the Hunger Games, it’s another way to divide and define the districts.

DL: How do you think being from District 12 defines Katniss, Peeta, and Gale? Could they have been from any other district, or is their residency in 12 formative for the parts of their personalities that drive the story?

SC: Very formative. District 12 is the joke district, small and poor, rarely producing a victor in the Hunger Games. As a result, the Capitol largely ignores it. The enforcement of the laws is lax, the relationship with the Peacekeepers less hostile. This allows the kids to grow up far less constrained than in other districts. Katniss and Gale become talented archers by slipping off in the woods to hunt. That possibility of training with a weapon is unthinkable in, say, District 11, with its oppressive military presence. Finnick’s trident and Johanna’s ax skills develop as part of their districts’ industries, but they would never be allowed access to those weapons outside of work. Also, Katniss, Peeta, and Gale view the Capitol in a different manner by virtue of knowing their Peacekeepers better. Darius, in the Hob, is considered a friend, and he proves himself to be so more than once. This makes the Capitol more approachable on a level, more possible to befriend, and more possible to defeat. More human.

DL: Let’s talk about the Capitol for a moment — particularly its most powerful resident. I know that every name you give a character is deliberate, so why President Snow?

SC: Snow because of its coldness and purity. That’s purity of thought, although most people would consider it pure evil. His methods are monstrous, but in his mind, he’s all that’s holding Panem together. His first name, Coriolanus, is a nod to the titular character in Shakespeare’s play who was based on material from Plutarch’s Lives. He was known for his anti-populist sentiments, and Snow is definitely not a man of the people.

DL: The bond between Katniss and Snow is one of the most interesting in the entire series. Because even when they are in opposition, there seems to be an understanding between them that few if any of the other characters in the trilogy share. What role do you feel Snow plays for Katniss — and how does this fit into your examination of war?

SC: On the surface, she’s the face of the rebels, he’s the face of the Capitol. Underneath, things are a lot more complicated. Snow’s quite old under all that plastic surgery. Without saying too much, he’s been waiting for Katniss for a long time. She’s the worthy opponent who will test the strength of his citadel, of his life’s work. He’s the embodiment of evil to her, with the power of life and death. They’re obsessed with each other to the point of being blinded to the larger picture. “I was watching you, Mockingjay. And you were watching me. I’m afraid we have both been played for fools.” By Coin, that is. And then their unholy alliance at the end brings her down.

DL: One of the things that both Snow and Katniss realize is the power of media and imagery on the population. Snow may appear heartless to some, but he is very attuned to the “hearts and minds” of his citizens . . . and he is also attuned to the danger of losing them to Katniss. What role do you see propaganda playing in the war they’re waging?

SC: Propaganda decides the outcome of the war. This is why Plutarch implements the airtime assault; he understands that whoever controls the airwaves controls the power. Like Snow, he’s been waiting for Katniss, because he needs a Spartacus to lead his campaign. There have been possible candidates, like Finnick, but no one else has captured the imagination of the country like she has.

DL: In terms of the revolution, appearance matters — and two of the characters who seem to understand this the most are Cinna and Caesar Flickerman, one in a principled way, one . . . not as principled. How did you draw these two characters into your themes?

SC: That’s exactly right. Cinna uses his artistic gifts to woo the crowd with spectacle and beauty. Even after his death, his Mockingjay costume designs are used in the revolution. Caesar, whose job is to maintain the myth of the glorious games, transitions into warfare with the prisoner of war interviews with Peeta. They are both helping to keep up appearances.

DL: As a writer, you studiously avoided the trope of harkening back to the “old” geography — i.e., there isn’t a character who says, “This was once a land known as . . . Delaware.” (And thank goodness for that.) Why did you decide to avoid pinning down Panem to our contemporary geography?

SC: The geography has changed because of natural and man-made disasters, so it’s not as simple as overlaying a current map on Panem. But more importantly, it’s not relevant to the story. Telling the reader the continent gives them the layout in general, but borders are very changeful. Look at how the map of North America has evolved in the past 300 years. It makes little difference to Katniss what we called Panem in the past.

DL: Let’s talk about the D word. When you sat down to write The Hunger Games, did you think of it as a dystopian novel?

SC: I thought of it as a war story. I love dystopia, but it will always be secondary to that. Setting the trilogy in a futuristic North America makes it familiar enough to relate to but just different enough to gain some perspective. When people ask me how far in the future it’s set, I say, “It depends on how optimistic you are.”

DL: What do you think it was about the world into which the book was published that made it viewed so prominently as a dystopia?

SC: In the same way most people would define The Underland Chronicles as a fantasy series, they would define The Hunger Games as a dystopian trilogy, and they’d be right. The elements of the genres are there in both cases. But they’re first and foremost war stories to me. The thing is, whether you came for the war, dystopia, action adventure, propaganda, coming of age, or romance, I’m happy you’re reading it. Everyone brings their own experiences to the book that will color how they interpret it. I imagine the number of people who immediately identify it as a just war theory story are in the minority, but most stories are more than one thing.

DL: What was the relationship between current events and the world you were drawing? I know that with many speculative writers, they see something in the news and find it filtering into their fictional world. Were you reacting to the world around you, or was your reaction more grounded in a more timeless and/or historical consideration of war?

SC: I would say the latter. Some authors — okay, you for instance — can digest events quickly and channel them into their writing, as you did so effectively with September 11 in Love Is the Higher Law. But I don’t process and integrate things rapidly, so history works better for me.

DL: There’s nothing I like more than talking to writers about writing — so I’d love to ask about your process (even though I’ve always found the word process to be far too orderly to describe how a writer’s mind works).

As I recall, when we at Scholastic first saw the proposal for The Hunger Games Trilogy, the summary of the first book was substantial, the summary for the second book was significantly shorter, and the summary of the third book was . . . remarkably brief. So, first question: Did you stick to that early outline?

SC: I had to go back and take a look. Yes, I stuck to it very closely, but as you point out, the third book summary is remarkably brief. I basically tell you there’s a war that the Capitol eventually loses. Just coming off The Underland Chronicles, which also ends with a war, I think I’d seen how much develops along the way and wanted that freedom for this series as well.

DL: Would you outline books two and three as you were writing book one? Or would you just take notes for later? Was this the same or different from what you did with The Underland Chronicles?

SC: Structure’s one of my favorite parts of writing. I always work a story out with Post-its, sometimes using different colors for different character arcs. I create a chapter grid, as well, and keep files for later books, so that whenever I have an idea that might be useful, I can make a note of it. I wrote scripts for many years before I tried books, so a lot of my writing habits developed through that experience.

DL: Would you deliberately plant things in book one to bloom in books two or three? Are there any seeds you planted in the first book that you ended up not growing?

SC: Oh, yes, I definitely planted things. For instance, Johanna Mason is mentioned in the third chapter of the first book although she won’t appear until Catching Fire. Plutarch is that unnamed gamemaker who falls into the punch bowl when she shoots the arrow. Peeta whispers “Always” in Catching Fire when Katniss is under the influence of sleep syrup but she doesn’t hear the word until after she’s been shot in Mockingjay. Sometimes you just don’t have time to let all the seeds grow, or you cut them out because they don’t really add to the story. Like those wild dogs that roam around District 12. One could potentially have been tamed, but Buttercup stole their thunder.

DL: Since much of your early experience as a writer was as a playwright, I’m curious: What did you learn as a playwright that helped you as a novelist?

SC: I studied theater for many years — first acting, then playwriting — and I have a particular love for classical theater. I formed my ideas about structure as a playwright, how crucial it is and how, when it’s done well, it’s really inseparable from character. It’s like a living thing to me. I also wrote for children’s television for seventeen years. I learned a lot writing for preschool. If a three-year-old doesn’t like something, they just get up and walk away from the set. I saw my own kids do that. How do you hold their attention? It’s hard and the internet has made it harder. So for the eight novels, I developed a three-act structure, with each act being composed of nine chapters, using elements from both play and screenplay structures — double layering it, so to speak.

DL: Where do you write? Are you a longhand writer or a laptop writer? Do you listen to music as you write, or go for the monastic, writerly silence?

SC: I write best at home in a recliner. I used to write longhand, but now it’s all laptop. Definitely not music; it demands to be listened to. I like quiet, but not silence.

DL: You talked earlier about researching survival training and edible plants for these books. What other research did you have to do? Are you a reading researcher, a hands-on researcher, or a mix of both? (I’m imagining an elaborate archery complex in your backyard, but I am guessing that’s not necessarily accurate.)

SC: You know, I’m just not very handy. I read a lot about how to build a bow from scratch, but I doubt I could ever make one. Being good with your hands is a gift. So I do a lot of book research. Sometimes I visit museums or historic sites for inspiration. I was trained in stage combat, particularly sword fighting in drama school; I have a nice collection of swords designed for that, but that was more helpful for The Underland Chronicles. The only time I got to do archery was in gym class in high school.

DL: While I wish I could say the editorial team (Kate Egan, Jennifer Rees, and myself ) were the first-ever readers of The Hunger Games, I know this isn’t true. When you’re writing a book, who reads it first?

SC: My husband, Cap, and my literary agent, Rosemary Stimola, have consistently been the books’ first readers. They both have excellent critique skills and give insightful notes. I like to keep the editorial team as much in the dark as possible, so that when they read the first draft it’s with completely fresh eyes.

DL: Looking back now at the editorial conversations we had about The Hunger Games — which were primarily with Kate, as Jen and I rode shotgun — can you recall any significant shifts or discussions?

SC: What I mostly recall is how relieved I was to know that I had such amazing people to work with on the book before it entered the world. I had eight novels come out in eight years with Scholastic, so that was fast for me and I needed feedback I could trust. You’re all so smart, intuitive, and communicative, and with the three of you, no stone went unturned. With The Hunger Games Trilogy, I really depended on your brains and hearts to catch what worked and what didn’t.

DL: And then there was the question of the title . . .

SC: Okay, this I remember clearly. The original title of the first book was The Tribute of District Twelve. You wanted to change it to The Hunger Games, which was my name for the series. I said, “Okay, but I’m not thinking of another name for the series!” To this day, more people ask me about “the Gregor series” than “The Underland Chronicles,” and I didn’t want a repeat of that because it’s confusing. But you were right, The Hunger Games was a much better name for the book. Catching Fire was originally called The Ripple Effect and I wanted to change that one, because it was too watery for a Girl on Fire, so we came up with Catching Fire. The third book I’d come up with a title so bad I can’t even remember it except it had the word ashes in it. We both hated it. One day, you said, “What if we just call it Mockingjay?” And that seemed perfect. The three parts of the book had been subtitled “The Mockingjay,” “The Assault,” and “The Assassin.” We changed the title to Mockingjay and the first part to “The Ashes” and got that lovely alliteration in the subtitles. Thank goodness you were there; you have far better taste in titles. I believe in the acknowledgments, I call you the Title Master.

DL: With The Hunger Games, the choice of Games is natural — but the choice of Hunger is much more odd and interesting. So I’ll ask: Why Hunger Games?

SC: Because food is a lethal weapon. Withholding food, that is. Just like it is in Boris when the Nazis starve out the people of Leningrad. It’s a weapon that targets everyone in a war, not just the soldiers in combat, but the civilians too. In the prologue of Henry V, the Chorus talks about Harry as Mars, the god of war. “And at his heels, Leash’d in like hounds, should famine, sword, and fire crouch for employment.” Famine, sword, and fire are his dogs of war, and famine leads the pack. With a rising global population and environmental issues, I think food could be a significant weapon in the future.

DL: The cover was another huge effort. We easily had over a hundred different covers comped up before we landed on the iconic one. There were some covers that pictured Katniss — something I can’t imagine doing now. And there were others that tried to picture scenes. Of course, the answer was in front of us the entire time — the Mockingjay symbol, which the art director Elizabeth Parisi deployed to such amazing effect. What do you think of the impact the cover and the symbol have had? What were your thoughts when you saw this cover?

SC: Oh, it’s a brilliant cover, which I should point out I had nothing to do with. I only saw a handful of the many you developed. The one that made it to print is absolutely fantastic; I loved it at first sight. It’s classy, powerful, and utterly unique to the story. It doesn’t limit the age of the audience and I think that really contributed to adults feeling comfortable reading it. And then, of course, you followed it up with the wonderful evolution of the mockingjay throughout the series. There’s something universal about the imagery, the captive bird gaining freedom, which I think is why so many of the foreign publishers chose to use it instead of designing their own. And it translated beautifully to the screen where it still holds as the central symbolic image for the franchise.

DL: Obviously, the four movies had an enormous impact on how widely the story spread across the globe. The whole movie process started with the producers coming on board. What made you know they were the right people to shepherd this story into another form?

SC: When I decided to sell the entertainment rights to the book, I had phone interviews with over a dozen producers. Nina Jacobson’s understanding of and passion for the piece along with her commitment to protecting it won me over. She’s so articulate, I knew she’d be an excellent person to usher it into the world. The team at Lionsgate’s enthusiasm and insight made a deep impression as well. I needed partners with the courage not to shy away from the difficult elements of the piece, ones who wouldn’t try to steer the story to an easier, more traditional ending. Prim can’t live. The victory can’t be joyous. The wounds have to leave lasting scars. It’s not an easy ending but it’s an intentional one.

DL: You cowrote the screenplay for the first Hunger Games movie. I know it’s an enormously tricky thing for an author to adapt their own work. How did you approach it? What was the hardest thing about translating a novel into a screenplay? What was the most rewarding?

SC: I wrote the initial treatments and first draft and then Billy Ray came on for several drafts and then our director, Gary Ross, developed it into his shooting script and we ultimately did a couple of passes together. I did the boil down of the book, which is a lot of cutting things while trying to retain the dramatic structure. I think the hardest thing for me, because I’m not a terribly visual person, was finding the way to translate many words into few images. Billy and Gary, both far more experienced screenwriters and gifted directors as well, really excelled at that. Throughout the franchise I had terrific screenwriters, and Francis Lawrence, who directed the last three films, is an incredible visual storyteller.

The most rewarding moment on the Hunger Games movie would have been the first time I saw it put together, still in rough form, and thinking it worked.

DL: One of the strange things for me about having a novel adapted is knowing that the actors involved will become, in many people’s minds, the faces and bodies of the characters who have heretofore lived as bodiless voices in my head. Which I suppose leads to a three-part question: Do you picture your characters as you’re writing them? If so, how close did Jennifer Lawrence come to the Katniss in your head? And now when you think about Katniss, do you see Jennifer or do you still see what you imagined before?

SC: I definitely do picture the characters when I’m writing them. The actress who looks exactly like my book Katniss doesn’t exist. Jennifer looked close enough and felt very right, which is more important. She gives an amazing performance. When I think of the books, I still think of my initial image of Katniss. When I think of the movies, I think of Jen. Those images aren’t at war any more than the books are with the films. Because they’re faithful adaptations, the story becomes the primary thing. Some people will never read a book, but they might see the same story in a movie. When it works well, the two entities support and enrich each other.

DL: All of the actors did such a fantastic job with your characters (truly). Are there any in particular that have stayed with you?

SC: A writer friend of mine once said, “Your cast — they’re like a basket of diamonds.” That’s how I think of them. I feel fortunate to have had such a talented team — directors, producers, screenwriters, performers, designers, editors, marketing, publicity, everybody — to make the journey with. And I’m so grateful for the readers and viewers who invested in The Hunger Games. Stories are made to be shared.

DL: We’re talking on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of The Hunger Games. Looking back at the past ten years, what have some of the highlights been?

SC: The response from the readers, especially the young audience for which it was written. Seeing beautiful and faithful adaptations reach the screen. Occasionally hearing it make its way into public discourse on politics or social issues.

DL: The Hunger Games Trilogy has been an international bestseller. Why do you think this series struck such an important chord throughout the world?

SC: Possibly because the themes are universal. War is a magnet for difficult issues. In The Hunger Games, you have vast inequality of wealth, destruction of the planet, political struggles, war as a media event, human rights abuses, propaganda, and a whole lot of other elements that affect human beings wherever they live. I think the story might tap into the anxiety a lot of people feel about the future right now.

DL: As we celebrate the past ten years and look forward to many decades to come for this trilogy, I’d love for us to end where we should — with the millions of readers who’ve embraced these books. What words would you like to leave them with?

SC: Thank you for joining Katniss on her journey. And may the odds be ever in your favor.

[fictionadventurer]

thoughts on Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games (2008) actually being a rip-off, or at the very least a semi rip-off, of Koushun Takami’s Battle Royale (1999) and therefore not truly deserving of being credited for creating a new sub genre

The accusation is complete and utter garbage, and after more than four years of tags, that's one of the takes I'm most tired of seeing. "Middle schoolers chosen to fight to the death on television as societal punishment for juvenile delinquency" is a completely different story than "post-apocalyptic society selects 12-to-18-year-old children to fight to the death on television as retribution for a war." These are completely different stories involving entirely different themes, and one is in no way a copy of the other just because they both happened to combine the idea of reality television with gladiator fights and star child characters.

Everything Suzanne Collins has cited as inspiration for her series--Greek myths, Roman history, an American map puzzle she had as a child, news coverage of war, reality television, her experience in the television industry, Enlightenment philosophy--accounts for everything that is included in her stories, and is much more likely to have served as inspiration for someone critiquing Western society than a cult classic Japanese novel and film would be. Unless Battle Royale is also a metaphorical exploration of Just War Theory--which it's not--there's zero reason to suspect any connection between it and The Hunger Games.

As far as "starting a new subgenre", I've already addressed this. The Hunger Games did not invent YA dystopia or even "televised fights to the death between children". The subgenre it started was "books that are similar to The Hunger Games". It started a publishing phenomenon of authors rushing to copy the very specific tropes and tone and style and atmosphere of this specific work, making a new subgenre--the same way that there were fantasies before The Lord of the Rings, but that series sparked a subgenre of epic fantasy involving elves and dwarves and quests.

The thing is that people writing in this new Hunger-Games-like subgenre only understood the surface trappings of The Hunger Games and didn't understand the deeper themes and message underneath. These are the type of people who think that The Hunger Games and Battle Royale are the same story, and that extremely superficial read of the series is why their takes are so vastly inferior.

[the-writing-mobster]

Because I constantly get hate for WDYW Chapter 49,

(I get it, it's polarizing) allow me to like,,, explain why I went with the plot point? I don't really owe anyone an explanation, and literally fuck any of my haters, they're ants, but I think my readers/people who actually like my writing would like to know the lore behind my choices.

So, context, in chapter 49, Frisk is drugged into obedience by Muffet and Muffet, being the money hungry cunt that she is, sells Frisk's body on the black market. It's a really uncomfortable concept, and when it happened it caused a lot of readers to drop the fic or rant at me in the comments, talk shit about my fic in private forums behind my back, or even imply a bunch of horrible things about me as a person lmao.

So why did I decide to go with this plot?

Well, for one, it all stems from two books: The Hunger Games, Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins and the Empress by S.J Kincaid.

In both of these books, there is a pivotal character who is drugged, manipulated and used for political gain by a dastardly authority figure. In The Empress, this plot point was ESPECIALLY devastating, because it completely changed and corrupted the character into a horrific shell of their old self to where they were actively antagonistic and irredeemable!

This plot device has intrigued and fascinated me ever since. Drugging a protagonist to make them wholly dependent on their abuser/villain, manipulating them, having them at rock bottom is, in my opinion, one of the worst things that can happen to a character... And seeing how the character can overcome it is the greatest triumph!

Ever since reading these books, this plot device has buzzed in the back of my mind and there is a part of me that always tries to recreate it, but I can never come close to perfecting it.

Either I always miss on the addiction part of the manipulation, or I can never commit truly to character corruption. Either way, the closest I've ever gotten to scratching this itch has been in WDYW part 3, but even then, I barely came close to getting it right.

My second reason for choosing the route; In WDYW, Frisk's whole arc is about having control over her own agency/autonomy/fate. What happens to her in Part 3 is the culmination of everything she's ran away from, fought against, and her greatest nightmare come to life. It was the lowest point I could bring her character, and make her face her past demons in a horrifically evil way. But my plan had obviously been that despite all of the torture she survives, that she not only survives but fucking WINS!

That was the whole point, but when I wrote it I was like,,, 17/18 😅, so there was definitely things I wasn't as graceful about.

With that said, would I change anything? Yes. If I could change anything I wrote about part 3, I would do a couple things:

1. Take out that obedience spell Muffet puts on Frisk. The reason I made that was because it was like a catch all spell to keep Frisk in Muffets clutches? But it was pretty OP and seemed like a hand wavey excuse to brush aside plot holes. I should've just simplified the spell to where she was simply tethered to Muffet's soul so Sans couldn't kill Muffet, or teleport Frisk away.

2. Frisk's "obedience" to Muffet should've been entirely addiction based, which would make the plot point of Frisk using determination to burn out her addiction in Part 4, and then eventually Determination becomes the addiction instead, (because overcoming addiction is really fucking hard actually and a constant struggle) a lot stronger.

3. I would probably be much more careful with my word choice in chapter 49. Some of it comes off as sexualization. Not my intention, but it was because I was writing in the creepy photographer's pov and he was objectifying her. In my head I was like, "surely people can read between the lines right???" (They can't. Only a select few fanfic readers have media literacy apparently)

So, TLDR, No chapter 49 was not some author's barely disguised fetish (that's honestly a really gross way to think about my writing and about me as a person) it was my genuine worst nightmare as a woman, and one of my favorite plot devices from two of my favorite books 😭 Please lay off me about chapter 49, and Part 3.

Last but not least... Some art is meant to disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed.

.

.

.

[vampiresuns]

ngl, I am yet to read The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, and watch the adaptation, but one thing that's popping out to me is the amount of people I've seen who assuming that, because Katniss knows the Hanging Tree song, she must be related to Lucy Gray, almost entirely forgetting the source material and its author.

because there are no chosen ones in The Huger Games. Never have been. There are a lot of elements that border on magical realism/the supernatural in the novels, from the character perspectives, but there is no predestination: it is all choice. Katniss isn't special because she's related to someone, she's special because of what she chooses and what that means in the context she's in.

if Suzanne Collins did one thing is write a web of social constellations and memory in constant conversation with the present. It doesn't matter if Katniss is or not related to anyone in TBOSAS. what matters is oral tradition and folk culture of the districts, specially D12 and within that district, The Seam, cannot be controlled. that it exists regardless of Capitol control. that it will always exist regardless of Capitol control. it is in direct conversation with the irl experiences of BIPOC in Appalachia and the working class in Appalachia (and in many places of the world by similarity of irl circumstances due to colonisation and class struggle alone) who have rich oral traditions that constitute an important part of USAmerican Folk, but exist on its own right.

you could interpret it as them being related, sure. nothing stops you: it could be just a hc, it could be analysis with more or less textual evidence, that's up to you. but as people in fandom or who engage with the world of THG we shouldn't ignore this reading bc it's so, so blatant. it is right there. in the end, one of the greatest tools these characters had to overthrow, cheat and avoid the Capitol was the existence of a second history, a local, working class, brown kind of history that in real life and for the characters is taken as non-existent and not valuable for the people in power.

and because it is not of importance, because those people think the people they oppress are barely human and therefore incapable of "actual" culture, it creates a massive blind-spot. these people have the audacity to keep existing. believe me the reason why Katniss knows those songs is because the Seam had the audacity to keep singing — not because it was capital P political, or capital R Resisting. but simply because they existed, against all odds. they lived, against all attempts to exterminate them.

there will still be singing, in the dark times. Suzanne Collins knows that.

[ionlybleedbubbles]

Writing tips deep in my heaps of cringe, that are actually good (imo) :

When writing in third person, don't say what a character cannot do while talking from their perspective. Frame the idea by telling us what they can do, or through the opinion of other characters. For eg. Instead of saying "Mattie was bad at flying planes", say "Mattie preferred cars to planes, and would much rather his brother do the plane-flying." See? Now you've even managed to drop in a nod about his brother. You could also say, "Kevin felt safer when Mattie's brother flew the plane than when Mattie did." Put the blame on Kevin - don't judge Mattie yourself. As a narrator you must pretend to always be on your MCs' side. Ofc, this would vary with different styles of narration, but this is a general rule.

Show how important a character is by how much time you take to talk about them. You would describe your MCs well, and bring up their hobbies and interests. You wouldn't describe a background character as much. You can use this to humanize or dehumanize characters. You may initially talk very little about the main villain yourself, and rely on dialogue among the other characters. This makes the villain feel like a force rather than a person. As the story progresses though, and you decide you want to drop in a *hairflips dramatically* sad back story, you can humanize the villain, and make them more understandable as a person.

Learn from art. Try describing different sceneries or portraits as practice. Also practice writing comic books or manga as stories. Visualizing your story as comic or manga panels can really help you understand pacing and paragraphs. Take note of their vibrance and positioning.

Learn from people's mannerisms and how they are received by other people. For eg, when we ask my dad a question, he pauses to gather his thoughts before speaking. Out of respect, we wait silently during this pause. This shows how confident and charismatic my dad is. A friend of mine only verbally roasts people within our friend group, and apologizes profusely after. This shows she is both empathetic and extremely quick-witted. I could create well rounded characters based on just examples as simple as these.

This tip is what I like to call 'the fake solution' and is employed by many famous authors. For this, you force readers to make assumptions. Maybe about how the magic system works, or about who the villain is. Make it seem like the characters have come to a conclusion and that conclusion is the final solution to conflict. Then tear down those assumptions and create a whole other ending. Similar to the red herring, except this time it's all in the characters' heads and dialogue. Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy is a good example of playing with assumptions forced upon readers by the writer.

In your first chapter, focus on creating potential. You don't have to jump into the heart of the action right away, but you have to make sure your readers understand the potential for this action. For example the opening chapter of Maggie Stiefvater's Raven Boys is relatively low paced, but it leaves you with questions. It makes you wonder who the boy who talked to Blue is, and how Blue will deal with life after such a strange prophecy. This makes you need to continue reading, to find answers.

For good worldbuilding, study at least a little bit of history. Wars and military tricks make for good free prompts. If your world contains vibrant races, make sure you research and incorporate the history and implications of racism, social hierarchy and trade. Understand how this will impact travellers and mercenaries (audiences love those). Make up your own old wives' tales and coping mechanisms.

Understand that the best stories are written around an idea rather than a character. Your protagonist is simply the face of your story. The weather of the world reflects on the protagonist's choices and health. Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games focuses on the dark side of media and politics and how they are used to control a people. Notice that by the third book, Katniss, our protagonist, is doing very little herself, though her few moments are loud and powerful. Katniss could achieve nothing alone. It takes a whole bunch of people to fuel the revolution. Note that it is completely okay to write a character based story, if that's what you like. But there are tons of those. If you really want to make an impact, make an idea-based story.

Respect all your characters equally. You may love some characters more than others, but remember all your characters are representatives of people. Make sure each of them has a voice and a chance to prove themselves.

Use prose to your advantage. Let the length of your sentence define whether the sequence is fast paced or slow. For example, if your want to show surprise, your sentences must be short. Instead of saying "She snatched the last dagger and stared at it, observing each engraving", say " She snatched up the last dagger. Each engraving was sick, gnarled. "

That was a heck of a long post, but that's all from me. Feel free to add your own or contradict anything I've written.

[olderthannetfic]

"omg, you guys actually need to know that Suzanne Collins wrote the Hunger Games thinking about Palestine!!!"

"did you ever see Katniss as one of the brave children of Gaza??? because I think it's fair to compare them!!!"

I need you all to shut up.

Shut the fuck up.

You can enjoy YA medias without making it about issues that have NOTHING to do with it and that are insanely bigger than novels with plot holes as huge as the moon.

This is how you create monsters like JK Rowling: they write silly little novels for kids that dare have a little more weight than a Peppa Pig episode, and suddenly they find themselves surrounded by fans who have no idea of how the real world works but are willing to bend backwards three times to make their favorite author the most politically aware person in the world.

If you want to read about Gaza, read the goddamn news, stop trying to make it a fantasy novel with a love story to the side because otherwise it's not palatable enough.

--

I feel confident that if they do want to read a book, someone from Gaza has written one.

[wheelsvoid]

SONGBIRDS ; LUCY GRAY

⇢ you and lucy gray survive the hunger games, and she takes on the roll as your older sister

masterlist

genre: platonic, angst with a happy ending

word count: 2,029

warnings: mentions of death, weapons, blood and fighting

request: “Would you be willing to write an angsty Lucy Gray from Hunger Games (if you write for her of course) where R is in the games, but young, and Lucy is protective of R (who is mute as well if ok?) they both survive the games, and she takes them in like a younger sibling figure? Up to you how it ends :)))”

absolutely, i love lucy gray so, so much. this is movie based, as i have yet to read that book (currently on catching fire, obsessed). and of course anything in this from the actual movie does not belong to me. rights go to suzanne collins, lionsgate films and everyone else involved mwah

I stood in the vast group of people, listening to the sounds of dread. The birds had stopped chirping, the breeze had gone, and so had the smiles of District 11.

Every year since I was 12 I’d stood here, praying that my name wasn’t called. If I went into the games, I’d never see my home again. District 11 was all I had, but there was a comfort in knowing I had no family to leave behind. At least I wouldn’t be worrying anyone while I died on a screen.

I didn’t listen to the woman on the stage, who seemed uncomfortably pleased with where she was. The safety of her position brought her confidence, and power.

Then, I watched as she held out a note. I held my breath. I was so nervous I hadn’t even seen her take it from the bowl.

“Y/N L/N.”

I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t move. Everyone turned to me.

I may have been lonely, but I still made an effort to be kind to everyone. They knew who I was, and as I glanced around me, I could see varying emotions. Concern, relief, pity. No one said anything, and slowly, I walked forwards on my shaky legs.

My heart was beating rapidly in my chest. As I stared up at the woman, I hoped that I wouldn’t be forced to speak—because I couldn’t even if I tried.

My voice did not work. Even if I willed it to, it would only cause me pain. The accident that had happened seven years prior made sure of that.

As I looked out to the people of District 11, I could only hope that they would forgive me for their loss.

———

I knew the games to be cruel, but experiencing it myself brought me a different kind of rage. I didn’t like being kept in a zoo, and broadcasted on live television. I didn’t like being pushed and shoved, or poked at like some wild animal. I glared at every person from the Capitol, and let them know that even if I could not speak, they would never see me going down without a fight.

The only good thing to come out of the Hunger Games had been a songbird named Lucy Gray. She showed me kindness, and she spoke for me like it was second nature. The Games were changing this year, and tributes were getting sponsors—and Lucy understood that I could not speak for myself.

Lucy Gray helped me give the people of the Capitol a story worth listening to. Some sort of sob story of how I lost my voice, but it had worked, and the people liked me.

She told me that I was hard not to like.

Although, Coriolanus Snow, Lucy’s mentor, had hated what she’d done. He didn’t like how she was fighting for not only herself, but for me and District 12’s other tribute, Jessup.

I decided that I wasn’t a fan of Snow, either.

So now, as we stood in the ruins of what was to be the arena, with my heart racing in my chest, I could only hope that either me or Lucy would survive.

“5.”

I sucked in a deep breath.

“4. 3. 2.”

Lucy and I made eye contact for a brief moment. I had no intentions of running to the centre of the rubble to grab a weapon. I’d likely end up dead. I knew my strengths and weaknesses, and killing was no strength of mine.

“1.”

An alarm blared, and the Games were on.

I watched in horror as the teenagers screamed out, rushing towards the weapons in the middle. My eyes went back to Lucy Gray, who was now the closest to me. She ran up to me in an instant, but her eyes where wild.

“Where is Jessup?” I barely heard her over the screams and cries ahead of us. “Jessup! Jessup!”

I found myself searching for him, too. I didn’t know him, and I had only met him once, but he was important to Lucy.

Lucy started stumbling backwards as she watched the bodies start to fall. I gripped her arm tightly, my mind a haze. If I could scream and cry, I would.

The Capitol found this exciting? They found this fun?

I wondered if they’d cheer when my blood spilled to the floor, or if they’d cry. Their feelings had never made sense in my mind.

A boy with an axe came charging towards Lucy and I, and with a scream, Lucy pulled me down with her to avoid the hit. We watched as he ran crazily around the arena, finding another victim for his blade instead.

“Jessup!” Lucy called once more, but I had to pull her back as we got caught in the middle of another fight. We were not safe here. We had to leave.

As a girl impaled another boy with a trident, we hastily got to our feet and ran.

Time and time again, Lucy and I avoided the deadly blows sent our way. My mind was on autopilot, and I was reacting on instinct. Lucy made sure to never remove her firm grasp on my hand.

Then, her eyes landed on someone in the distance. “Jessup!” And with bravery I felt I’d never had, I followed her through the arena, dodging weapons and fists.

———

We’d been in the arena for days now, never leaving each other’s side. Lucy was determined to keep me alive, and I wondered what I’d done to make her adore me so much that she’d put me first even if it meant her death. I wondered if she knew I’d been doing the same.

There were very few tributes left, and I realized I’d barely known their names. I worried that if I’d been forced to kill, I’d feel more guilt if I knew who they were. But I was lucky to have Lucy. She did all of the difficult things.

When I’d offered to poison the water, because I was quiet, and quick, and smaller than she was, she refused. She’d kept me hidden as she’d done it herself.

The loss of Jessup had hit her hard, too. She felt the guilt of his death, even if it couldn’t have been her fault that he’d gotten rabies. He had been doomed before he’d even entered the arena.

Maybe that’s why she was working so hard on keeping me alive, now.

Lucy and I could do nothing but stare at the new obstacle to enter the arena. It had been put there only seconds ago, but we waited with slow breaths as if it would jump out at us in seconds.

It was a tall, glass container. From here, I couldn’t see what was in it. I was lost on ideas, too. I glanced at Lucy, but she looked as clueless as I was. She reached for my hand, held it tightly, and did not let go.

“Is it over?” I watched as a small girl walked towards the container, a small smile on her face. So innocent and young. “Can we go home now?”

“Wovey.” A boy in the distance called out. He was warning her. “Wovey.”

She continued to plead, as he continued to call for her to stop. My breath hitched when the glass container started to crack. And as it exploded, a sea of snakes filled the arena.

I gripped Lucy’s hand even tighter, and we ran.

One by one, tributes fell. Lucy and I found higher ground on the rubble, but it was useless. The snakes were climbing the concrete at a rapid rate.

Soon, it was just the two of us, and as the snakes slithered around my legs and up my torso, I could only watch as Lucy Gray sang in the haunted arena with tears streaming down her face.

———

I wasn’t supposed to be alive, and neither was Lucy Gray. I had learned that Dr. Gaul had originally planned on letting every tribute die, but Snow had found a way to save Lucy, and with Lucy there was also me. We were a package deal now.

There was little time we had left before we had to leave for our own Districts, to hopefully be welcomed back with open arms. As Lucy played a guitar in the small room the Capitol had provided for us, I listened.

She had a beautiful voice, and she played the guitar like it was as easy as breathing. She knew music like the back of her hand. I had no doubt that she was born to sing.

I was glad that Lucy had a voice, because when I heard her sing I forgot all about how I’d lost mine.

When the song ended, I looked at Lucy with a grin. I realized that for now, I was not alone, but I’d eventually have to return to my District without the only family I’d ever had.

She smiled sadly like she was thinking the same.

“Well, I think we’d ought to call it a day, don’t you?” She said. I nodded in agreement. The sun had been replaced by the moon hours ago, and neither of us had slept. I suppose we wanted to spend as much time with each other as we could.

As she put the guitar down gently, leaning it against the wall, she turned to me and brought me into a hug. She sighed softly, like she was happy to be alive and I was too.

“I know what you’re thinkin’.” She said softly. “But don’t you worry,” she pulled me away to look at me more closely. “I plan on seeing you again sometime soon.”

I pointed to the guitar across the room, and she grinned. I loved her smile. “Yes, I’ll sing you all your favourite songs when we get there.” I smiled widely.

She held her hands on my cheeks and tried not to bring sadness, or dread into the conversation. “When you go home, you celebrate. We’re very lucky to both still be here, I think. I’ll be celebrating in District 12.” She said, “singin’ my best songs with the covey.”

She talked about them a lot, and it brought me comfort that Lucy Gray had people to go home to. Even if, ironically, it wasn’t the home she was born in. She never came from District 12, she had simply travelled there to show the people her music, as she usually did. Only then, she had been forced to stay.

I wondered that if she was never forced into residing in District 12, if I would still be alive today. I owed her my life.

“You’re safe now, Y/N.” She said gently. “You go home and you go do what makes you happy, and when I see you next, you can tell me all about it.”

———

It had been two years since then, and Lucy Gray and I did indeed meet again. In the best way I could, I told her all about the friends I’d made in District 11, and how they treated me kindly despite my differences.

As Lucy and I travelled the border of Panem, she told me how she’d escaped Snow and went searching for me in District 11 without a second thought.

Now, two years later, we were free from our troubles with the Capitol and the Districts. We’d heard stories of how the 10th Hunger Games had been erased from existence, and how the people of the country were slowly beginning to forget.

My honorary sister and I were sure that within a decade, we’d be nothing but a whisper, and after that, we’d be nothing at all.

But here, outside of that horrid place, with only each other we were free. We weren’t lonely or scared anymore. I had her to see me through my hard days, and sing me songs, and she had me to make her small gifts and braid her hair when she needed the quietness of my presence to block out her wild thoughts.

We were all we needed, and I think that I was okay with that.

[sadalmostlesbian]

D13: District Deep Dive

Idk if y'all are on TikTok and have seen Lucky Leftie's videos on each of the Districts, but she is amazing and really dives into the worldbuilding of each District and the importance of their industry in Panem. HOWEVER, she never got to D13. And since I've gotten a decent amount of asks regarding my thoughts (which OMG thank you all so much I literally love you all sm) i thought I'd make one.

Thirteen is probably the second most explored District in canon, so luckily I have a lot to go off of. BUT, a lot of this is comprised of headcanons that I attempted to connect to actual canon in the most realistic way possible. That being said, I reference my fic Just As it Was (ch 10 and onward) a decent bit because I had to world build 13 to write the setting for the later half of that fic.

Let's start with history and geography. D13 is located in what was once the Northeastern US and parts of Southeastern Canada. It includes parts of New England, Pennsylvania and New York, as well as Quebec. What I find really interesting is that there is an "underground city" aka RESO located in Montreal, Canada. It's essentially a shopping center, but also connects lots of hotels, and residences. Its HUGE. I think Suzanne Collins MIGHT have based the whole "underground city" on RESO. Katniss says the bunker in D13 was the work of centuries, and very valuable to the Capitol. It is also mentioned that they mine graphite (which is a used in nuclear reactors as a moderator or reflector). The Snow family, as mentioned by Coriolanus, held stock in the research labs and munitions factories in D13.

This gives us three industries to explore. I think, similar to District Two, there was a class distinction between the miners and those who worked in labs or produced munitions. Because D13 was the Capitol's main military stronghold, I can assume they were treated somewhat better than other districts due to their military advantage. This may have led to a relatively close relationship with the Capitol, similar to D2 at the time of the 74th games.

D13 is very close to two technologically advanced districts, D3 (technology) and D6 (transportation). I think before the first rebellion, they were able to collaborate and work together, which was terrifying for the Capitol. I think the development of the districts in terms of industry in Panem kind of mirrors the development of the United States. The more technologically advanced Districts are located on the east coast, where the west and central Districts are more focused on raw resource production. With the exception, of course, being the Capitol.

I think this is an interesting choice, but quite a smart play on the Capitol's part. On one hand, they have their most militarily equipped citizens far away enough to make a ground assault relatively impossible, and, incase they were attacked from the West and the Capitol was decimated, their weapons are stored far away, and those who survived had a bunker to confine themselves to wait out the enemy.

Which leads us to the first rebellion, in which 13 led and was then destroyed because of it. I think there was a lot at play here. I think D13 did not initially begin the rebellion, but they seceded to the rebels in neighboring, less fortunate districts and lent their weapons. But the Capitol recognized them as the leader because they are what made the rebels a legitimate threat. And that threat needed to be eliminated in order to quell any hope of a rebellion happening in the future.

So the Capitol bombed 13. However, I don't think that many of the citizens in 13 expected this because of their close relationship with the Capitol in the past. Which leads me to the first OC of mine, Arvada Coin (Alma Coin's grandfather). I think that 13 was headed by a General, rather than a mayor, because they're military. I think this general would not have accepted that their District was going to be destroyed. But some of his officers knew that the threat was not an empty one. Arvada Coin, who had lived underground his entire life because that was the industry his family worked in, pleaded for the General to issue a shelter in place warning and force everyone underground. When he refused, he defected from the military and began trying to get everyone to safety. In the end, he was able to save around half of the district, and the others all died in the bombings.

I think that's why the Coin family is so respected in D13. I think it was some initial forethought that ended up saving the lives of thousands.

Anyway, Coin is military, everyone under his direct command is military. They're all excellent at fighting, but none of them know anything about how to feed, clothe, and provide medical care for thousands of people. They have an excess of luxuries like electricity (nuclear reactors are INSANLEY good at what they do) and weapons but their citizens are starving because they've been cut off from all the rations from D4, D9, D10, and D11. Four whole districts are dedicated to food production and 13 has to find a way to cultivate crops with no arable land above ground and no sunlight. So they start with grain. They strip their hangars that used to house military equipment and devote them to agriculture. As I said before, they have an excess of electricity, so they are able to constantly power UV lights. So their food grows twice as fast, and there's no cold season underground. So they don't starve, despite the Capitol thinking they will.

But you can't eat only grain. So they turn to their allies. Just as the Plinths moved to the Capitol after siding with them during the war. I think some high ranking rebel officers and their families were allowed into D13 in order to escape the fallout from the failed rebellion. Two important people are Lt. Commander Finnegan, a D4 naval officer who served under Commander Harrington (Pup's dad) but defected and joined the rebels and Cera Hadley (Mrs. Hadley), wife of an important munitions dealer in D2 (who was Strabo's childhood best friend, but that's a long story). Commander Finnegan, being from D4, was able to create a fish farm in D13 (look up underground fish farms, THEY'RE SO COOL AND INSALEY EFFECENT). Cera Hadley knew the basics of gardening (thanks, Vesta (Ma) Plinth, for teaching her that btw. We're deep into the OC content now) and was able to cultivate plants important for resolving nutrient deficiencies, most notably, wood sorrel for treating vitamin C deficiencies. Limes, lemons, and oranges are notoriously hard to grow in cold climates, and orchards take up too much space. So they grew sorrel, and were able to modify their crops to grow underground and twice as fast.

And they survived, and grew more advanced with every year that passed, until they were able to become the powerhouse we saw in THG trilogy. But they stayed bitter, especially Coin, because of what they had to go through at the hands of the Capitol. So not only did they have a desire to protect the Districts, but also a desire for revenge which I think provided a lot of motivation for Alma (President) Coin.

I could talk about this forever, but I'll leave it at that! Thanks to @mr-nauseam, @maidstew, and @tumblingghosts for asking about this! I'm sorry if I gave you more than you asked for, but I simply have so much to say.

If your interested about D13 and learning about it in less "info-dumpy" way, please consider reading my fic Just As It Was. It's told through Sejanus's POV and is a Sejarcus fic, but the last half is set in D13 and dives into the character dynamics and specifics of all the people I mentioned in this post. Also I PROMISE I will update soon!

[ongreenergrasses]

☕️ (truthfully i’m curious about the housing law)

tbosas?

I do know a lot more about criminal and family law than housing law BUT. today I learned a fun new thing. in your state you should always check and see what the automatic expungement statutes are. i live in a pretty liberal state and we were talking in the context of eviction expungement today but there’s some crimes that will be automatically expunged if you meet certain conditions and it’s worth knowing about. also related to this, if you have been trafficked or know someone who has been trafficked and has convictions on their record due to that, there are a lot of comprehensive relief options for those situations as well.

ok actually talking about tbosas skdjdjd I like tbosas a lot. i really enjoyed the book because Coryo is such an excellent unreliable narrator. Suzanne Collins did a very slow ramp up where he seems reasonable and rational and you’re rooting for him, and then you start to see hints of his grandiosity peeking through, and then you start to see that actually in many ways he’s deeply evil, and I just thought it was masterfully done. she makes it look easy and having tried to write an unreliable narrator myself it is definitely not that easy.

in terms of the movie, it fixed a lot of the issues i had with the original thg movies. I really appreciated the increased representation and the commentary the movie made around disabilities and how that plays into the Games. what I would’ve liked to see is honestly a Romani actress playing Lucy Gray if they were going to pull so heavily on the historical ways that Romani people have been oppressed, but i also think Rachel did a wonderful job and the chemistry between honestly everyone in the cast was spot on.

send a ☕️

[hopelizabeth15]

Maybe this is a hot take but I’m actually really hesitant to see an expansion of thg universe beyond tbosas. Suzanne Collins is such an intentional writer, and when I saw tbosas film last night one of Lucy Grey’s lines (and Rachel Zegler’s delivery of that line!!!) really stood out to me — I sing when I have something to say. I feel like Suzanne’s writing is very similar: she wrote tbosas because she had something to say, she had more to add to the world building of Panem, she filled in the narrative gaps and answered the question of how did we get here, how are human beings capable of this? that many people were wondering after the first book/film.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Haymitch, and Finnick, and Johanna as much as any fan of this franchise, and yes it would be great to jump into those characters’ heads and learn more about them and their backstories, but to what end? Do we really need a book or film about 48 children killing each other in the 2nd quarter quell? Do we need to see 14 year old Finnick winning the 64th games and then being forced into prostitution? Do we need to see Johanna winning the 71st games just for her entire family to be slaughtered? And what does it say about us that we find entertainment in these stories?

If Suzanne finds a way to make those storylines add to the overall narrative and enrich the world building in the way she did with tbosas, of course I would support that. But I don’t want it just to have it, you know?

[tridentarius]

hunger games fans have rly had their brains blinded by nostalgia and ‘omg this is peak political commentary actually’ bc they go right along w the author who’s father was a veteran of america agent oranging vietnam demonizing the poor revolutionary who’s right to be angry at the class exploitation from his fascist oppressor, which has whipped him and fire bombed his home, which he managed to courageously save several ppl from, simply bc he’s justifiably angry and willing to use violence against his oppressor.

literal horseshoe theory to think that an oppressed person can be ‘just as bad’ as their oppressor. and the thing is an oppressed person has a right to violently resist an oppressor. the nut in district 2 is a military stronghold that supplies a fascist state. gale literally is right for being willing to do the real bloody work of being a revolutionary idgaf. these ppl would bust a vein seeing cassian andor be willing to kill innocents to rebel against the empire. bc yes seeing cassian in his first scene in star wars rogue one kill an unarmed, innocent man is shocking! but you later learn to emphasize and understand that cassian, as a rebel, is willing to compromise his morals and do dirty, bloody work in the greater goal of revolution against fascism. And I bring that example up bc andor is a perfect way to write a rebellion and all its grey morality when suzanne Collins did not in mockingjay she just cast district 13 as being ‘Just as Bad’ as the Capitol whatever the fuck.

[bloodymarine]

Ok. My first ever public rant: "The Hunger Games is boringly written and Katniss Everdeen is a boring character." Here we go. Pls bare with me.

(Spoilers ahead!)

So I came across a comment under bookstagram post that said Katniss is a boring character and THG is boringly written. The person who claimed this also said they've read the 2 first books. And I cannot wrap my head around this way of thinking. I am not able to understand where that experience would come from. So here we are.

I might be biased since I love THG: I have all the books and movies in physical forms, I've got posters and even the Mockingjay pin. So, I am a fan.

But even non-fans have for years been emotionally moved by the story and have stated that Suzanne Collins did amazing job with how she did the world building and wrote all the characters. The story was (is) inspired by our real world - starting with the major war and resistance theme - and people keep telling how much the story resonates with them. And they keep saying that year after year.

Even the people who've thought it's not much of a great story at first have found their minds changed after reading the first book. People who have thought it's overrated have changed their minds. Why? Because they have found the way Suzanne describes the poor and the entitled rich people, the contrast between the two groups, brilliant and heavily touching with how she is so brutally honest with everything: the complete lack of empathy Capitol has for the people in the districts and how damn hard the lives of the latter are, with literally no other way out than death, doesn't matter how much they work or suffer. Capitalism is always top priority. And with that, the entertainment of the rich people. Nothing is sugar-coded.

I would dare to state that objectively THG is a really well written story with how it deep dives into the darkest places of human mind and how captimalism, money and entertainment rules the world. (Sounds familiar?) And the main character is realistically written too, given the circumstances she's been forced to live in: she doesn't really have much guidance or support since she doesn't really let anyone, even the few who care for her, know exactly how bad her family's living conditions are.

Katniss Everdeen's luxuries are cut so short that she almost dies from hypothermia and hunger while trying to search for food for her and her family. She lives constantly on eggshells, not knowing what tomorrow gives or takes, trying to simply stay alive while trying to keep her family alive. She's 16 when she volunteers for the games in her sister's place. She knows that she has no chance of surviving. How could she, when she's already struggling at home, not even knowing how to fight properly?

Yet with all that she's been put through and how she's never given any time to catch her breath, she's actually a warrior. She survives the games and comes back home, as a victor.

Boring. That's the word that was used to describe Katniss and the whole story.

I didn't make this rant with ill intentions, I don't want to drag anyone down simply because their experience differ from mine. I just wanted to get this out of my chest. I've never came across anyone making this statement so it brought some confused feelings in me. And I thought: I don't really have many people over here who could see this, so why not write a small rant.

Just in case a soul or two happens to find this, I would absolutely like to hear your thoughts about this! ˶╹ꇴ╹˶ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆

[fairys-book-reviews]

The Revenant Games - Margie Fuston (8/10)

I'll start this off by saying what i thought prior to reading it. Cos i wrote what I thought down so i could do this lol

What grabbed my attention first, was the name. The Revenant Games, Revenant tends to mean someone come back from the dead, and well, I've always loved books with aspects like that. Then, the cover. It's not exactly too original, in fact on the same day I bought this book, I bought another book with a similar format on the cover. Yet it still intrigued me. I've never been too interested in stories with games and the such (Like the Hunger Games and many others like that), but vampires and witches? Resurrection? Immortality? All are in my top five favourite things, only ones it was missing was polygamy, LGBT+ stuff, and the fae.

And now, to the actual book. I wrote this last night, directly after finishing it (at 11pm).

I must say, I didnt start reading this book with high expectations. The reviews....hadn't exactly painted the best picture. Nonetheless, after reading, while those bad reviews did have points, for me the good outweighed the bad.

Many reviews stated that this was blatantly copying The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins), just with witches and vampires. Honestly? They're right. The first thing I noticed when reading, is that the writing style was suspiciously similar to The Hunger Games. The way she met Emerson? In the woods, suspicious, sorta watching. Her sister, whom shes doing this all for? Liked by everyone, probably favourite kid (definitely favourite kid). Love triangle between Dude Who Helped Her That One Time and Guy From Home That She Maybe Liked For ages. The actual games were a bit different, but the bare bones were highly similar. But either way, lets get into the characters.

First, our main girl. Bly. She's the least favourite in the family, and she's highly stubborn and freespirited. And honestly, it was rather refreshing to have a female main character whom instead of being like all those 'not like the other girls' girls, refusing to wear fancy stuff, she REALLY wanted a dress, and a ribbon, and a lot of that 'shallow' type stuff. Either way, except for the first part, set a year before the books events, her goal remains the same, with a bit of flexibility in the end. Her goal is to bring her sister back to life, as she blames herself for her death. And honestly? Only development of note that Bly gets is realising she wasnt rlly in love with Guy From Home, she just sorta fantasised about him, and that she has a vampire kink.

Next, Elise. She's not really included in the book, we dont really get anything but memories of her, stories of her. She's our main characters dead sister, and the cause of Bly participating in the games. She's put on a pedestal, likely because when a characters dead, only alive in memories, people tend to say they are better than they were.

Emersons next, and honestly? I don't much like him. At the start I did, but as the book is from Blys perspective, and she mostly just fantasised about him, we saw him in the light she did, where she idolised him. As time goes on, flaws become more apparent. He's cold, rather selfish, and i Just dont like him. Bly shouldve taken the vampire prize instead.

Kerrigans pretty cool. He's a vampire and Blys main love interest. And you know whats amazing? This fucker aint a 200+ yr old dating a teen!!! Bodily, he's 18. But otherwise, just in his early to mid twenties!! (heard others say he was 24, but i dont quite remember). He's got a backstory, and hes got a pretty cool personality. He does that sort of thing I do, where he wears masks of personalities. Cant really say much more without spoilers.

Last person I'm gonna mention is Benedict. Benedict appeared about 3 times, only for maybe a page each time. Benedict is by FAR my favourite i just love him.

Other characters of note that I cant really bother talking about and dont have much to say about are Donovan (Kerrigans brother, hes got some stuff at the end but its all big spoilery stuff), Nova and Vincent (Twins, theyre pretty cool, in Bly and Emersons team in the revenant games), and Demezela, a fuckass witch (I HATE HER GUTS AGH)

Next, we're onto worldbuilding Many people had problems with aspects, like the origins of witches and vampires, but honestly? The characters dont know what happened, not the humans or the vampires or the witches, so why should we know? Others also have issues with the games themselves. They say why would the vampires and witches encourage humans to hunt them? Well one big reason, is immortality. They get bored. They want to feel alive. So they risk their lives. And they want the blood of the enemy side. Theres many other reasons it could be, but on the side of vampires we hear the boredom side a lot.

And onto the plot. So, I wasnt really into it at the start, although by page 30 I was honestly quite enjoying it, although Bly was infuriating at times. Vampires, witches, murder...its cool. Also at the beginning Kerrigan sorta flirted with Vincent and Emerson so bonus points? There were some scenes that sorta meant nothing to the plot but i loved them anyway. Vampires? Making out? Bites? Sign me up, am I right?

Havent been doing brilliant recently but this has been a great distraction, even if it only took me three nights to read (i went to bed at 11pm i swear!!! Reasonable time!!!)

Overall yeah, I really enjoyed the book

Note: It's a series, book 2 isnt out yet