The Hunger Games rented several weapons from The Sword & the Stone for production and press - come in on Saturdays 10am-6pm to see, touch and gasp, purchase them!

version 1

version 2

version 3 (background is district 12 and black&white pics are the people Katniss Lost)

version 4 (katniss crying pics and then Strong Katniss in the middle)

- I don’t like them very much, but I wanted to try a new style. I’ll do more Katniss wallpapers in my usual style: I promise

- this idea was given by the amazing @finnick-wemournforyou

- please like share comment and reblog! It helps me so much

- you can make requests, I make them!!

Does anyone else think Haymitch is like the dad Katniss never had?  (well lost)

Imagine waking up one morning and looking in the mirror and you’re Katniss Everdeen.  Like what would you even do.

dandeliononfire:

Curious for your THG meta: What actions by Katniss actually affected the course of Panem history?

One of the things I admire about The Hunger Games trilogy is that, unlike most YA novels in this genre, the ‘fate or mankind’ as it were, doesn’t actually orbit the protagonist’s ability to step in as savior. Eventually, the rebellion would have happened. (The 75th games and Victors strongly suspecting they’d be reaped was a good motivator, plus the rebellion was already brewing and 13 was preparing.) Eventually, the rebellion would have won. (Or at least arguably so.) And, following, Snow eventually would have died. Katniss played an important role as instigator, and motivator, no doubt. But, without her it still arguably “would have happened anyway.” The fate of Panem did not truly rest on her being the savior.

So… what moments did her actions actually, truly, affect the course of things? Not in the short term or in minor ways that ultimately could have not happened and yet still not prevented the rebellion and its outcome?

Curious for your thoughts.

I almost never comment on these things, but this question really caught my eye, so I hope you don’t mind! I started reading The Hunger Games when I was about 12, and Katniss was the first protagonist that I really ever resonated with. What initially made me like her so much, and what I think initially gets the people of Panem to pay attention to her, I think, is her volunteering for Prim. We know that, in 12, “the word tribute is pretty much synonymous with the word corpse,” and that they haven’t had a volunteer in decades. So, that begs the question to everyone watching, why volunteer? Sure, it’s her sister, but people’s sisters get reaped all the time. It is not known to the public of Panem at the time, but as we know all along, Katniss is the main breadwinner in her family. Why would a girl who is better fed than most of her district and genuinely skilled (even if her skills are illegal) volunteer for a death match she has no chance to win? 

It’s a sweet gesture, sure, but it’s also certain death. 

Unless it isn’t. Unless she actually, really, truly has a chance to come out on top. Katniss volunteering (though I believe she would’ve volunteered for Prim even if Katniss had no discernible skills) is in itself an act of rebellion. And that act dares to suggest that maybe she thinks she can win. Her odds are unbelievably slim, sure, but I think Katniss volunteering sparked something in the people. She’s a small, slight girl from the poorest district, but for some reason, there’s some part of her that believes she can take a stand, that she can make a difference, even if she only knows this subconsciously.

She’s an anomaly from the very start. Unpredictable. And unpredictability is probably the greatest asset Katniss has against the capitol, from a strategic point. Her ability to love and her determined spirit endear her to us, not to mention make her my favorite protagonist of all time, but her unpredictability is what undeniably makes her so hard to control. You can’t know what Katniss is gonna do because not even Katniss knows what Katniss is gonna do. She’s so impulsive and has no regard for the future, really, which must be infuriating to those is power, both on the side of the rebellion and the side of the capitol. She’s a nightmare for any sort of authority figure, but she’s golden in the eyes of the people. 

Which brings me to the first time that I really believe she has an impact on the course and timeline of the rebellion. The berries. When she pulls out those berries, it puts everything into motion. She’s been great so far, the people love her, but if Katniss dies during the games, or kills Peeta and lets herself become a changed sort of figure, the revolution doesn’t happen as quickly, and maybe she is not the figurehead. She’s not done enough at this point to be a martyr, really, and she loses a lot of appeal if she puts an arrow through Peeta. 

volunteering was rebellious, and unexpected, but this? This is unprecedented. this is an idea that assumedly, the people have never considered before. Katniss wasn’t even chosen for this, did not want to fight, and still insists on making her own rules and doing things her way. She refuses to go home without Peeta. Whether you believe at this point that she loves him or not, her refusal to do what she has been demanded is nothing short of inspiring. She has just shown the people that you do not have to play by someone else’s rules, that just because someone else is pulling the strings does not mean you have to be puppeted about. 

We know the rebellion had been in motion for years before, probably since the dark days and the birth of Panem in its current incarnation, but that they’ve been waiting. Katniss has not been around long enough to be discredited or properly silenced like the victor who came before. The capitol did not expect her, and as such, they cannot control her. they do not have a contingency plan for the girl that, somehow, continues to live. 

I don’t think she can gain the initial interest and respect if she doesn’t volunteer for Prim (thus she isn’t able to gain the momentum from the chariot ride or Peeta’s confession, because no one really cares who she is w/o volunteering), just like I don’t think she becomes the figurehead of the rebellion if she leaves the arena any other way than she did. She is just another tribute if she doesn’t pull out those berries, doesn’t blatantly and obviously act in a way that says “I refuse. I will not be controlled.”

Without Katniss Everdeen volunteering as tribute for her sister in the 74th Hunger Games, without saving the boy who came there with her, without raising the berries to the sky in the most evident show of “screw the capitol” in games history, the 75th Hunger Games end with a single victor, and maybe not even one that’s been previously crowned. I think the capitol couldn’t have resisted doing a “victors” games eventually, but without Katniss, there really is no reason to rush it. Maybe they wait a few years, or even to the next quell. If things were really getting dicey, or if they wanted to do the games while finnick was still in his prime, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to assume that the capitol might have done a special victors games at any point of their choosing. It’s sort of like RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars. No one is gonna tell RuPaul that he can’t have another contest with everyone’s favorites whenever he chooses. that’s why we’re gearing up for AS5 right now, when really, maybe we should’ve waited another few years for new talent to emerge and fan favs to be selected. That’s a whole other issue, one that is definitely not of importance in this particular conversation lol, but anyway. I’m just saying that snow, with the ardent support of the capitol, probably could’ve managed to sneak an “all stars” games in whenever he wanted. Would the people like it? no, but I’m assuming that if he’s resorting to that, it’s probably already too late and the people are past the point of control. It would act as a delay, nothing more. It is speculated in the books and suggested by one of the deleted scenes in Catching Fire (I mean, I know we can’t trust the movies, esp the deleted scenes, but it’s an interesting thought, at least. It was my suspicion from the beginning that the Victor’s games was a last-ditch effort, not something with loads of pre-planning, though I know that’s never confirmed, and clearly, my feelings don’t match everyone else’s) that the “Victor’s” games was not part of the original plan for the games, at least at that time. If Katniss doesn’t win the games, she goes down as another great “could’ve been.” If she wins without Peeta, she’s threatened and prostituted into submission and obedience, like Finnick. If she refuses, she becomes another Johanna. Maybe she drinks away her days like Haymitch and tries her best to tow the line so everyone who she loves (that is still alive) is spared from the wrath of Snow. I don’t know. Finnick, Johanna, and Haymitch are all deadly warriors and excellent almosts. But they do not have the pull, the intrigue, or the support that Katniss has. I’m pretty sure that, without volunteering and without Peeta living and especially without the berries, Katniss  doesn’t become the figurehead of the rebellion, and they have to wait another however many years for someone else to come along. 

Emotions were high, people were fed up, rebellion was all around, but they needed a catalyst. Someone to spark the fire, cause a reaction. And the Katniss Everdeen who volunteered for her sister and was willing to eat those berries for the boy she loved is the perfect one. Without volunteering (which gained her the attention and put her in the games), she is of no matter. If she comes home alone, she is sad and broken and subdued, maybe forever. But an undeniably defiant Katniss holding up the berries? that’s the face of the rebellion. 

So, I’ve been rambling for like 10 minutes, but essentially what I’m saying is that the berries get things moving. Not only does the rebellion happen (as it always would’ve), but it happens now. that cements Katniss as the figurehead, makes her an unstoppable force. That, to me, is how Katniss really well and truly influences the revolution.

There are a million moments after the berries as well, but I think the berries are really when the action sparks.

Emma To Bruce

Dear Bruce,

I woke up this morning to find it was an improbably beautiful day with bright blue skies and those cute little white scudding clouds. “All right,” I thought. “There is no way I am spending this gorgeous day in wonderful London inside this falling-down house, scrubbing the floors and brooding about ghosts. The question: how to convince Julian that we should go out and have fun?”

I marched upstairs and found Julian drinking coffee in the kitchen. I said, “Jules. You know that thing you want me to do, that I’ve been refusing to do? If you come out and have a good time with me today in London, I’ll do it.”

A big grin spread over his face. He said, “OKAY!” In fact, he said it as he was already running out the door. I had to get him to come back for a jacket.

Bruce, we had an absolutely great time in London. We took a boat ride down the Thames. We went to a costume shop. We saw the Tower and went to Fortnum and Mason’s and had tea. Julian ate all my cucumber sandwiches because I hate them. We went on the London Eye, which is like a more spectacular version of the Ferris wheel on the Santa Monica Pier. Demons did not attack this time, and Julian booked a whole pod so that we could snuggle and cuddle.

In the middle of the snuggling and cuddling, Julian stopped and stared into my eyes with an intense look. I could tell he had something to ask me, and for a moment I thought—well, it doesn’t matter what I thought.

“Emma,” he said, “what would you think about moving to London with me?”

I said, “What do you mean? We’re already here.”

He explained that he was thinking, if we got Blackthorn Hall all fixed up, we could live in it until Dru or Ty or Tavvy (or all three of them) grow up and want to move there. He explained that Helen and Aline were doing a great job running the LA Institute and that they don’t really need us. Besides, they’re thinking of starting a family soon so maybe they don’t want so many people running around the Institute. I said, “But I thought you liked Los Angeles, and practically everyone we know is there.” He pointed out that that wasn’t totally true. In London, we’d be closer to Ty, and pretty much the same distance from the east coast, where Dru is, and of course Mark and Cristina are in New York half the time, too. I think he could tell that I wasn’t sure what to say, because he added, “It’s really about us having a home, one that we make together. Being grown up, and having a grown up kind of life.”

I joked around, saying we were still pretty young, and he said, “I know that most people who get together when they’re teenagers break up. They get older and they change. I just want us to go through the important things together, so we change together. Does that make sense?”

I told him it did though I was pretty freaked out he even mentioned BREAKING UP as a concept. So I kissed him, which distracted us both, and when our pod came to a stop on the ground everyone cheered and whistled. The English are more lustful than I had previously suspected.

I was exhausted by the time we got home and discovered that our ghost friend had been active in our absence. In the dust on the dining room floor were written the words

FIND THE DEVIL TAVERN

Now what on earth does that mean? Though honestly, we were both kind of pleased to see the message. At least it’s a clue so that we can begin to unravel the mystery of our ghost and his silver band.

PS Bruce, I know you’re dying to find out what it was that Julian wanted me to let him do that I have been refusing to do. Remember when I said we went to a costume shop? Well, apparently Dru made Julian watch The Hunger Games with her the last time we were home, and he really really wanted to paint me like this.

The things we do for love.

—Emma