#mockingjay

[runawaymarbles]

Reading Mockingjay as an adult is extra devastating because. Of course the plucky teenager and her ragtag friends aren't going to sneak into a government building to kill the president with a bow and arrow. That's absolutely ridiculous. It's the kind of thing that's only possible in the kind of propaganda that Coin developed. But she's so good at it that in some ways she tricks the reader into thinking that's the kind of story this is, too--even after 3 books reminding us that pretty much everything that Katniss does the second she volunteers is manipulated by adults pulling strings to make propaganda in some form or another.

[starrynightsxo]

saw someone say "plutarch heavensbee they could never make me form a solid opinion on you" and I felt that.

[shinynewmemories]

No but the Hunger Games really said "what do you hate more- the atrocities or the people who commit them against you? Because like it or not there IS a difference. If you hate the people who commit acts of pure evil more than you hate the acts themselves, what will stop you from becoming just like your enemies in your pursuit of justice? What will keep you from commiting those very same acts against THEM when the opportunity arises? And what then? The cycle of pain and suffering will never stop. Round and round it'll go. Nothing will ever change. But. BUT. If you hate the atrocities. If you hate the vile, senseless acts MORE than you hate the people who did them to you. If you are able to see that evil is evil regardless of who does it... The cycle ends with you. No, you may never get justice. But you will never be responsible for making others, even your enemies, suffer the same crimes you have. The atrocities will never be committed by you, never by your hand. And that's the way you change the world. It's the ONLY way" and that's why I am sure it will never stop being one of the most relevant works of fiction ever created

[thehobbitwithstickyuppyhair]

Okay I can't stop thinking about the line in Mockingjay where Katniss notices that Finnick does not let go of Annie's hand after they're reunited

And she thinks it's because he is afraid to lose her again, which I'm sure is a significant factor

But I also. I can't. I can't stop thinking that

That this is the first time Finnick can hold her hand in public. The first time he can hold her hand where people will see them. Because he is finally no longer the Capitol's golden playboy. He can hold the hand of the woman he loves and it doesn't have to be a secret anymore. He can hold Annie's hand without that simple action putting both of them in danger.

And don't even get me started about their wedding being broadcast into the Capitol. Finnick Odair, famous for "going through four or five" "lovers" every time he is forced to return to the Capitol. Finnick Odair, who was repeatedly sold to the highest bidders, who had to act for the cameras - and even away from the cameras! - that he liked it, that he wanted it. Who could never even risk marrying the woman he loved in secret because of what would be done to her if he did.

Finnick Odair gets to hold Annie Cresta's hand without fear of who sees them. And Finnick Odair, the Capitol's golden slave, and Annie Cresta, the girl who went mad and only survived the Arena because she could swim, get to swear vows of love and fidelity in front of everyone. In front of the cameras they had up til then feared seeing any move they made. They are married in front of those same cameras. They kiss, and they dance, and it is celebrated.

And Finnick doesn't let go of her hand.

[walkthenightalone]

further proving my theory that older siblings have the instinct to protect no matter what

Not Haymitch being the legal guardian of Katniss in Capitol and District 13.

In mockingjay,

Haymitch is annoyed about Katniss ripping off her earpiece, and he is showing her different PERMANENT earpiece option as a threat.

He specifically says, " I will AUTHORIZE them to surgically implant this transmitter into your ear".

Authorize, not ask them or tell them but AUTHORIZE.

That imples he has had to NOT authorize previous District 13 demands. Just like in the Capitol with breast enhancement surgery.

Few pages back, Asterid says how she didn't know Katniss was going to 8 till she was already gone. And Katniss goes, I'm sorry I'll ask them to clear everything with you.

And asterid replies, "Katniss no one clears anything from me".

Asterid is not Katniss' Legal Guardian anymore, Haymitch is. He has been running around for god knows how long keeping her safe and sane.

The I wonder is he the reason Katniss got discharged from the hospital while Finnick stays in a drug haze?

Is he the reason they leave her be when she doesn't follow schedule?

Is he the reason they let her hide in pipes and closets?

And I'm reminded of lil Haymitch taking care of even littler children during his games. Wondering why they all come to him. And he's fails to keep any one of them alive.

Except Katniss. That's a daughter thrusted to him. And he's trying so fucking hard to not let her die too.

I'm gonna go cry now

#why do all the little ones stick to me

[ivysos2001]

I think it’s kind of funny how coin (who obviously wanted peeta rescued from the arena instead of katniss) doesn’t see what an absolute nightmare he would be for her to deal with if she left katniss in that arena

Like she thinks katniss was hard to deal with/manipulate/control after she left peeta behind? Peeta would’ve had her whole district eating out to the palm of his hand before she even realized who she was dealing with. She thought katniss was too single minded/stubborn about her focus on saving peeta over the revolution itself? He would have been her absolute nightmare (and I adore him for it)

[lovebeatriceplz]

[pinkbairds]

you ever think about how peeta was programmed to hate katniss and think she's the pinnacle of evil and then he went and fell back in love with her despite what he was forced to believe... yeah he's crazy

[lowkeyasolo]

katniss describes people as if she was asked by police to describe the person she saw

haymitch describes them as if he has a language speaking exam and he really wants you to know he's good at another language

[peetapie]

Just a reminder that we don’t know all the good things Katniss does/did for her community, because Katniss wouldn’t tell us unless it was relevant to what was going on.

In Catching fire, she doesn’t tell us that she’s being going around and bringing food to poor children in the seam until she needs to explain why she had a bag of food and why her mother wouldn’t find that odd.

In the first book, when she’s telling Peeta about the story of how she got Prims goat, she refuses to admit that this wasn’t a selfish move so she could get money out of that goat. (You could also argue that this is her refusing to be vulnerable in front of Peeta and all of Pamen though. I think it’s both, because she doesn’t even admit that she did this purely for her sister in her internal dialogue.)

And in Mockingjay, she never tells us that she’s the one that got Haymitch the goose eggs to help him heal after the games. All she says in the epilogue is that Haymitch raises geese when the liquor runs out. And we would never know otherwise if Haymitch didn’t mention that SHE was the one who got him the geese in sotr.

[district-thirteen-intern]

I love Effie too but I think loving her means being honest about her. The films (and Elizabeth Banks) made her easy to like, but canon makes it clear: she wasn’t a rebel. Haymitch had to lie to protect her. She didn’t question the Games Or her part in it ever; she just hated being stuck with District 12 over a "better district". We can obviously hypothesize over whether or not she had such thoughts in the privacy of her mind and whether she would have really done something worthwhile for the cause if she could, that's all conjecture.

What we do know is that she’s not evil but she was complicit. And pretending she was always secretly on the “right side” may be a fun concept for a headcanon or fanfiction, but in character discussions, it erases the whole point of her arc: that she only started waking up after things got personal and unavoidable. That’s not villainy but it is moral sleepwalking, and it’s worth talking about.

does nobody remember this part of mj where haymitch and plutarch genuinely struggle to keep effie from being executed after the war because of the fact that she is so obviously not a rebel and didn’t aid in the revolution?

i’m not saying we know everything about her or that she’s a bad person or that she didn’t have rebellious thoughts/intentions with some of her actions, but she canonically doesn’t have ties to the rebels and they have to lie to keep her alive.

like yeah, she’s a victim of the propaganda of a totalitarian dictatorship. but that’s the point, i fear. she exemplifies someone who likely has the kindness to embrace change, but won’t bring it about of her own accord; she’s the archetype of the average citizen who witnesses firsthand the struggles brought on by a cruel system and still won’t do anything cos she isn’t encouraged to think critically.

again, this isn’t a personal attack on her, and i do find her an interesting character, but making her out to be more rebellious than she is for the sake of making her more likeable makes us as readers also stop thinking critically of her when she is quite literally a part of perpetuating the problem in her acquiescence.

obv this doesn’t include hcs/aus, but i’ve seen a lot of confusion surrounding fanon/canon lately and it’s making me feel like we didn’t read the same books after doing a recent reread of the og trilogy.

[ellegreenawayslover]

I can't stop thinking about how in chapter 26 of Mockingjay, Katniss goes to Haymitch for help because he is the only person she thinks can talk to about it, and he just brushes it off by saying, "More boy trouble?" and how it hurts Katniss.

He is still so used to pushing her away because he can't let himself love them (her and Peeta) after everything that happened to him.

Then he realizes he doesn't want to do it anymore when he realizes how it hurt her, and he tries to go after her. She hides from him, and she can hear him calling her. He didn't stop looking for her.

Rereading that part after reading sotr broke my heart. He was just so used to being alone to protect the people he loved. Then, he realized he didn't have to do it anymore, and he didn't want to be alone.

[beautyofattolia]

Peeta: Is something burning?

Katniss: Just my love for you.

Peeta:

Peeta: Katniss, the toaster is on fire.

[peetasallhehasleft]

#call me petty i don’t care#also katniss and peeta were so freaking cute#their lives were a mess and everything around them was awful 99% of the time and they were like we are just friends#and then they would just act like a couple ANYWAY (via @highly-flammable)

Same though. This is one of my favorite parts, because they're so coupley here. She's all "I've chosen Gale and the rebellion" and was just at the Hawthorne house...but then casually walks around their town holding Peeta's hand. She doesn't walk around holding Gale's hand. It's natural for her to hold Peeta's hand, he steadies her. The whole world she knows is crumbling around her, and she's just chillin' walking through their little town, holding Peeta Mellark's hand. Silly girl, not realizing how much she loves this boy. Man, if she had...the story could end right here...or be infinitely more tragic if she knew the whole time the Capitol had him. Oof. Young love.

I kind of have to giggle whenever I remember that one time Katniss and Peeta were walking around District 12 hand-in-hand in the middle of a crackdown, while Gale was still on Katniss’ kitchen table healing from his injuries

[rantingisalifestyle]

I couldn’t figure out why the casting of McKenna Grace as Maysilee Donner bothered me. Sure, she doesn’t look exactly how I imagined Maysilee, but no one could, because I imagined myself (heh). But McKenna is an AMAZING actress with an insane resume for such a young age. So why was I bothered? And the I realized.

She is an actual child to me.

I know she is 19, but all my life, she has been this little kid. I keep imagining her how she looked in Gifted. And that actually makes me appriciate her casting even more. Because people remember her as, and view her as, a child.

And everyone in the Hunger Games are children!

So well done, casting directors👏🏻