#thgagain

[everlarkedalways]

✺✺✺ Welcome to The Hunger Games Exploration! ✺✺✺

In the months leading up to The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes movie release, we will read through the books, rewatch the movies and celebrate all things fandom with some incredible posts, some merch, giveaways, some surprises, and with a monthly podcast: Back to Panem!

✺How this works:

May through September, we'll highlight a book by reading through it corporately, having prompts throughout the month to inspire you to think, create and engage one another. Every day I'll post something new for the Series Exploration.

May--The Hunger Games

June--Catching Fire

July--Mockingjay

August--The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

September--The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

October--Movie Rewatches!

November--TBOSAS comes out!

Stop in daily and check out the pinned post to see what's going on or check out the tag #explorethg.

To see what other things we've done in the past, check out #rethg #thgagain #toastedthg & #backtopanem

#explorethg #the hunger games #thg #the ballad of songbirds and snakes #thg renaissance

[ritta1310]

I need you

Beach scene in catching fire 💛

#the hunger games #thg #thgagain #katniss and peeta #peeta my beloved #thg peeta #peeta fanart #katniss everdeen #the hunger games katniss #mockingjay #catching fire #everlark #art #ritta1310art #my art #drawing #fanart #artist

[little-lynx]

TRIBUTES FROM DISTRICT 12 vol.2

Well... So... I have two things to say:

1. I wanted to expand somehow Peeta’s portrait I did for “how you draw his hair” ask. I mean, why not?

2. I wanted to participate in #thgagain and this is an iconic look for the first book of the series.

3. Oops, did I say TWO things to say? Never mind. I really really HATE the one I draw in November, it’s awful. So I always wanted to redraw this outfit.

4. Also I find a mistake in my old drawing and HAD to redraw it immediately.

So here we are! Everlark Outfit #9, version 2.

What do we know about this outfit: Cinna does my hair in my simple trademark braid down my back. Then the clothes arrive, the same for every tribute. Cinna has had no say in my outfit, does not even know what will be in the package, but he helps me dress in the undergarments, simple tawny pants, light green blouse, sturdy brown belt, and thin, hooded black jacket that falls to my thighs. “The material in the jacket’s designed to reflect body heat. Expect some cool nights,” he says. The boots, worn over skintight socks, are better than I could have hoped for. Soft leather not unlike my ones at home. These have a narrow flexible rubber sole with treads though. Good for running. I think I’m finished when Cinna pulls the gold mockingjay pin from his pocket. I had completely forgotten about it. [Katniss] + a bright orange backpack. + silver sheath of arrows and a bow, already strung [Peeta] + I agently unzip his jacket, unbutton his shirt and ease them off him. + I hand Peeta my knife, since whatever weapons he once had are long gone, and he slips it into his belt.

#the hunger games #thg fanart #lynx hunger games #peeta mellark #katniss everdeen #everlark #katniss x peeta #katniss and peeta #hunger games fanart #everlark fanart #thgagain #thg outfits #thg art #lynx thg outfits #74th hunger games

[mega-aulover]

“Maybe I’d think that, too, Caesar,” says Peeta bitterly, “if it weren’t for the baby.” There. He’s done it again. Dropped a bomb that wipes out the efforts of every tribute who came before.

Collins, Suzanne. Catching Fire (Hunger Games Trilogy, Book 2) (p. 73 Chapter 18). Scholastic Inc. Kindle Edition.

@everlarkedalways #thgagain

#thgagain #my meme #Peeta Mellark #Katniss Everdeen #THG #The Hunger Games #thg edit #Catching Fire #The Baby Bomb #The Capitol #The Interview #Caesar Flickerman #mega-aulover #hope you like it #hope it's well received #my first meme ever

[theartofdreaming1]

To celebrate the end of the awesome reread for the first THG book organized by @everlarkedalways​ , I thought it would be nice to compile the illustrations I’ve made over the course of it. It was such a cool experience and I’m quite proud of myself for having managed to draw at least one illustration per week/ every 3 chapters consistently over these past 9 weeks! Because I ended up with more illustrations than fit properly in one post, I decided to arrange them per parts of the book :) Can’t wait to tackle Book 2! 😁

My illustrations for The Hunger Games, Book 1, Part I “The Tributes”

#thg #hunger games #thgagain #katniss everdeen #peeta mellark #madge undersee #haymitch abernathy #cinna #effie #portia #my sketches and drawings #hunger games fanart #thg fanart

[katnissmellarkkk]

Elllow! Today’s bookcomb consists of Peeta being protective of Katniss. Could have been much more implied moments but here’s some explicit ones 🤗

-

But it’s too late to run. I pull a slimy arrow from the sheath and try to position it on the bowstring but instead of one string I see three and the stench from the stings is so repulsive I can’t do it. I can’t do it. I can’t do it.

I’m helpless as the first hunter crashes through the trees, spear lifted, poised to throw. The shock on Peeta’s face makes no sense to me. I wait for the blow. Instead his arm drops to his side.

“What are you still doing here?” he hisses at me. I stare uncomprehendingly as a trickle of water drips off a sting under his ear. His whole body starts sparkling as if he’s been dipped in dew. “Are you mad?” He’s prodding me with the shaft of the spear now. “Get up! Get up!” I rise, but he’s still pushing at me. What? What is going on? He shoves me away from him hard. “Run!” he screams. “Run!”

-

I trip and fall into a small pit lined with tiny orange bubbles that hum like the tracker jacker nest. Tucking my knees up to my chin, I wait for death.

Sick and disoriented, I’m able to form only one thought: Peeta Mellark just saved my life.

-

I jump as Peeta grips my shoulder from behind. “No,” he says. “You’re not risking your life for me.”

“Who said I was?” I say.

“So, you’re not going?” he asks.

“Of course, I’m not going. Give me some credit.”

-

Anger flushes my face. “All right, I am going, and you can’t stop me!”

“I can follow you. At least partway. I may not make it to the Cornucopia, but if I’m yelling your name, I bet someone can find me. And then I’ll be dead for sure,” he says.

“You won’t get a hundred yards from here on that leg,” I say.

“Then I’ll drag myself,” says Peeta. “You go and I’m going, too.”

-

“We’re going!” says Peeta, shoving the Peacekeeper who’s pressing on me. “We get it, all right? Come on, Katniss.” His arm encircles me and guides me back into the Justice Building.

-

Peeta steps up on a crate against the wall of the sweetshop and offers me a hand while he scans the square. I’m halfway up when he suddenly blocks my way. “Get down. Get out of here!” He’s whispering, but his voice is harsh with insistence.

“What?” I say, trying to force my way back up.

“Go home, Katniss! I’ll be there in a minute, I swear!” he says.

-

“He was poaching. What business is it of hers, anyway?” says the man.

“He’s her cousin.” Peeta’s got my other arm now, but gently. “And she’s my fiancée. So if you want to get to him, expect to go through both of us.”

-

When we’re outside, I turn to Peeta. “You go on back. I want to walk by the Hob.”

“I’ll go with you,” he says.

“No. I’ve dragged you into enough trouble,” I tell him.

“And avoiding a stroll by the Hob . . . that’s going to fix things for me?” He smiles and takes my hand. Together we wind through the streets of the Seam until we reach the burning building.

-

“Peeta’s argument is that since I chose you, I now owe him. Anything he wants. And what he wants is the chance to go in again to protect you,” says Haymitch.

I knew it. In this way, Peeta’s not hard to predict. While I was wallowing around on the floor of that cellar, thinking only of myself, he was here, thinking only of me. Shame isn’t a strong enough word for what I feel.

“You could live a hundred lifetimes and not deserve him, you know,” Haymitch says.

“Yeah, yeah,” I say brusquely. “No question, he’s the superior one in this trio. So, what are you going to do?”

“I don’t know.” Haymitch sighs. “Go back in with you maybe, if I can. If my name’s drawn at the reaping, it won’t matter. He’ll just volunteer to take my place.”

-

The reaping takes only a minute. Effie, shining in a wig of metallic gold, lacks her usual verve. She has to claw around the girls’ reaping ball for quite a while to snag the one piece of paper that everyone already knows has my name on it. Then she catches Haymitch’s name. He barely has time to shoot me an unhappy look before Peeta has volunteered to take his place.

-

“And I’m not saying I’m not going to try. To get you home, I mean. But if I’m perfectly honest about it. . .”

“If you’re perfectly honest about it, you think President Snow has probably given them direct orders to make sure we die in the arena anyway,” I say.

“It’s crossed my mind,” says Peeta.

-

I check over my weapons, which I know are in perfect condition, because it makes me seem more in control. “I’ll take the lead,” I announce.

Peeta starts to object but Finnick cuts him off. “No, let her do it.”

-

No one’s thrilled with the idea of me going off alone, but the threat of dehydration hangs over us.

“Don’t worry, I won’t go far,” I promise Peeta.

“I’ll go, too,” he says.

“No, I’m going to do some hunting if I can,” I tell him. I don’t add, “And you can’t come because you’re too loud.” But it’s implied. He would both scare off prey and endanger me with his heavy tread. “I won’t be long.”

-

Nothing. I find nothing. Not so much as a dewdrop. Eventually, because I know Peeta will be worried about me, I head back to the camp, hotter and more frustrated than ever.

-

I know it’s stopped when I feel Peeta’s hands on me, feel myself lifted from the ground and out of the jungle. But I stay eyes squeezed shut, hands over my ears, muscles too rigid to release. Peeta holds me on his lap, speaking soothing words, rocking me gently.

-

While Johanna collects water and my arrows, Beetee fiddles with his wire, and Finnick takes to the water. I need to clean up, too, but I stay in Peeta’s arms, still too shaken to move.

-

This is when Beetee reveals the rest of the plan. Since we move most swiftly through the trees, he wants Johanna and me to take the coil down through the jungle, unwinding the wire as we go. We are to lay it across the twelve o’clock beach and drop the metal spool, with whatever is left, deep into the water, making sure it sinks. Then run for the jungle. If we go now, right now, we should make it to safety.

“I want to go with them as a guard,” Peeta says immediately. After the moment with the pearl, I know he’s less willing than ever to let me out of his sight.

-

I’m so light-headed I’ll black out in a matter of minutes. I’ve got to get away from this tree and —

“Katniss!” I hear his voice though he’s a far distance away. But what is he doing? Peeta must have figured out that everyone is hunting us by now. “Katniss!”

-

Caesar leans in to him a little. “I think it was clear to all of us what your plan was. To sacrifice yourself in the arena so that Katniss Everdeen and your child could survive.”

“That was it. Clear and simple.” Peeta’s fingers trace the upholstered pattern on the arm of the chair.

-

A hush has fallen over the room, and I can feel it spreading across Panem. A nation leaning in toward its screens. Because no one has ever talked about what it’s really like in the arena before.

Peeta goes on. “So you hold on to your wish. And that last night, yes, my wish was to save Katniss.”

-

“When that wire was cut, everything just went insane. I can only remember bits and pieces. Trying to find her. Watching Brutus kill Chaff. Killing Brutus myself. I know she was calling my name. Then the lightning bolt hit the tree, and the force field around the arena . . . blew out.”

“Katniss blew it out, Peeta,” says Caesar. “You’ve seen the footage.”

“She didn’t know what she was doing. None of us could follow Beetee’s plan. You can see her trying to figure out what to do with that wire,” Peeta snaps back.

-

Peeta’s on his feet, leaning in to Caesar’s face, hands locked on the arms of his interviewer’s chair. “Really? And was it part of her plan for Johanna to nearly kill her? For that electric shock to paralyze her? To trigger the bombing?” He’s yelling now. “She didn’t know, Caesar! Neither of us knew anything except that we were trying to keep each other alive!”

Caesar places his hand on Peeta’s chest in a gesture that’s both self-protective and conciliatory. “Okay, Peeta, I believe you.”

-

Gale’s expression darkens. “Peeta might have done a lot of damage tonight. Most of the rebels will dismiss what he said immediately, of course. But there are districts where the resistance is shakier. The cease-fire’s clearly President Snow’s idea. But it seems so reasonable coming out of Peeta’s mouth.”

I’m afraid of Gale’s answer, but I ask anyway. “Why do you think he said it?”

“He might have been tortured. Or persuaded. My guess is he made some kind of deal to protect you. He’d put forth the idea of the cease-fire if Snow let him present you as a confused pregnant girl who had no idea what was going on when she was taken prisoner by the rebels. This way, if the districts lose, there’s still a chance of leniency for you. If you play it right.” I must still look perplexed because Gale delivers the next line very slowly. “Katniss . . . he’s still trying to keep you alive.”

To keep me alive? And then I understand. The Games are still on. We have left the arena, but since Peeta and I weren’t killed, his last wish to preserve my life still stands. His idea is to have me lie low, remain safe and imprisoned, while the war plays out. Then neither side will really have cause to kill me. And Peeta? If the rebels win, it will be disastrous for him. If the Capitol wins, who knows? Maybe we’ll both be allowed to live — if I play it right — to watch the Games go on. . . .

-

Caesar and Peeta have a few empty exchanges before Caesar asks him about rumors that I’m taping propos for the districts.

“They’re using her, obviously,” says Peeta. “To whip up the rebels. I doubt she even really knows what’s going on in the war. What’s at stake.”

-

He asks Peeta if, given tonight’s demonstration, he has any parting thoughts for Katniss Everdeen.

At the mention of my name, Peeta’s face contorts in effort. “Katniss . . . how do you think this will end? What will be left? No one is safe. Not in the Capitol. Not in the districts. And you . . . in Thirteen . . .” He inhales sharply, as if fighting for air; his eyes look insane. “Dead by morning!”

-

“Katniss!” He whips his head toward me but doesn’t seem to notice my bow, the waiting arrow. “Katniss! Get out of here!”

I hesitate. His voice is alarmed, but not insane. “Why? What’s making that sound?”

“I don’t know. Only that it has to kill you,” says Peeta. “Run! Get out! Go!”

-

#everlark #thg #hunger games #thgagain #Peeta mellark #katniss everdeen #bookcomb ♥️🔎

[anythingiwantreally]

Maiah’s arrangements are beautiful and enhanced my experience reading the balled of songbirds and snake. Don’t let Lionsgate get away with removing fan content.

https://www.change.org/p/let-maiah-wynne-keep-her-videos-up

#the hunger games #hunger games #thg katniss #thg series #thgagain #peeta mellark #katniss and peeta #katniss everdeen #president snow #lucy gray baird #the balled of songbirds and snakes #tbosbas #tbosas #gale hawthorne #the covey #letmaiahkeephervideos

[panemposts]

This quote happens as Katniss and Peeta are taking a drunk Haymitch back to his room. Peeta seems to know what to do here, even if it seems a bit innocuous. It makes me wonder though... does Peeta understand how to deal with an alcoholic? I don't know why this thought jumped out at this reading when it didn't before, but I get the feeling here that Peeta is used to doing something like this. Maybe another reason his mother is so miserable- could his father be an alcoholic?

#thg again #thg #the hunger games #thg re read #thgagain #haymitch abernathy #peeta mellark #i know people might jump on his mom as an alcoholic #but that doesn't feel right to me #but his father #unhappy in love and life #that makes sense to me

[leilanisart]

mother's day (reaping day)

katniss's relationship with her mother is very important to me. while rereading the hunger games, it makes me sad that there's no comfort in seeing her mother for the last time before she leaves for the capitol. a lot of katniss's fears stem from her mother, but I think that, most of all, she fears being alike her mother.

I wish I could give katniss her mother's love because there is a special feeling in being a daughter craving her mother's love and comfort, and knowing that she won't be able to receive it; or to long for it despite how strained the relationship has become.

#dreamymoongirl #thgagain #the hunger games #thg #katniss everdeen #mrs everdeen #fanart #ya lit

[everlarkedalways]

»» Explore ««

the epic trilogy of The Hunger Games.

»» Remember ««

the powerful story of Panem.

»» Connect ««

with others in fandom.

||| ||| |||

On May 8th, we begin a journey through the three amazing books that comprise the trilogy of The Hunger Games. Over the next six months we'll create, share and converse about the books through a joint reread and weekly prompts meant to inspire creativity. All of this culminating in a movie rewatch this fall.

Stay with me?

#thg #thgagain #peeta mellark #everlark #the hunger games #katniss everdeen #mockingjay #catching fire

[apencilandaneraser]

How can it be #thgagain without me posting a new art about my babies?

#thgagain #thg #the hunger games #fanart #katniss everdeen #peeta mellark #the hunger games fanart

[shesasurvivor]

Are ya ready, kids?

I can't hear you!

Great-great-grandmother shesasurvivor of the fandom elders from ancient yore has finally caught up on her IRL responsibilities, and is finally ready to join in on #thgagain to reread the BEST TRILOGY OF BOOKS, RULER OF MY HEART. Because once you're on this train, you're never off.

Anyways! Tonight, I'm going to settle down and read the first chapter. I'm so behind! I thought I'd jot down some thoughts and write them out as I go along.

Let's start!

(I don't know why this post has taken on a Spongebob theme.)

Lots has been said about this, but the fact that Katniss starts the trilogy out by waking up alone in bed, separated from her loved ones, and ends the story in bed (in more than one way) with Peeta... I love it.

Oh, and the way her relationship with Buttercup evolves from beginning to end, too!

Now that I've read The Underland Chronicles, I can't help wondering if the comment about protecting the goat cheese from hungry rats is supposed to be a (very mild) reference to those books, lol.

Likewise, now that we've seen more of District 12's past from The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, the comment about the animals that "used to threaten (their) streets" is a little amusing, in a sad kind of way.

LOL, the symbolism, the imagery of an arrow stuck in a loaf of bread. Barely a few pages into the book, and Peeta is already coming between Katnis and Gale. ;)

WHAT HAPPENED TO MRS. EVERDEEN'S APOTHECARY SHOP? WHAT HAPPENED TO HER PARENTS? Did they disown her? If so, are they still alive? Did they die? I can only assume they died, but why and when? So many questions!

The description Katniss gives of the warm summer day teeming with life has always been one of my favorites. So beautiful, but so bittersweet when you think about it in terms of what's going to happen down the road for them.

The comment about Katniss being jealous when she overhears the girls wanting Gale... on the surface level, I think it's easy to read this as her having secret feelings for Gale. Maybe it's just my Everlark-loving goggles on, but I've always thought it was a red herring on SC's part, and that Katniss really is just resistant to the idea of change. I know there's an interpretation (that I agree with, among others) that one thing Gale represents is the past, and Katniss's old life, so I think it makes sense narratively if Katniss is just trying to resist the idea that things will one day change.

Continuity Issues: Gale says that they can go fish at the lake. But in Catching Fire, Katniss tells us she never went there with Gale. Are there two different lakes?

"It could keep a family in bread for months." Hmmm I wonder if anything related to bread is going to be important to this story.

*draws mental parallels between "Tuck your tail in, little duck* and Ducktales*

I always wonder if Prim and Mrs. Everdeen ate much of the meal Katniss gathered for them that morning.

"He lists the disasters, the droughts, the storms, the fires, the encroaching seas that swallowed up so much of the land, the brutal war for what little sustenance remained." Everyone always asks what happened to the rest of the world in the books, but the answer is right here. The rest of the world has been destroyed.

This whole portion where she discusses the history of Panem and The Hunger Games really makes me want to read Ballad again. I wish SC would publish a whole encyclopedia about this world.

WE FINALLY KNOW WHO THE OTHER VICTOR FROM 12 WAS. Imagining the mayor reading Lucy Gray Baird's name. Suzanne Collins read my post and answered my wish.

Is it just me, or does Haymitch trying to give Effie a hug seem really out of character for him? Is there more going on here? I'm not really a Hayffie shipper, but idk, maybe this scene is subtext? Or is something else going on?

NO NOT PRIMROSE EVERDEEN!

Aaaaand, that's the end of chapter 1! Will I do another post tomorrow for chapter 2? Combine my thoughts for 2 and 3? Who knows! I sure don't! (lol) Happy Hunger Games everyone!!!!

#thgagain #THG #The Hunger Games

[isarnicole]

I’m behind on the reread and trying to catch up, but this quote from Peeta stuck out at me:

“I know. I know that. It’s just sometimes I can’t stand it anymore. To the point where . . . I’m not sure what I’ll do.” He pauses, then whispers, “Maybe we were wrong, Katniss.” “About what?” I ask. “About trying to subdue things in the districts,” he says.

Is Peeta the first person to out and out mention full scale rebellion to Katniss? 🤯🤯

I’m pretty sure Gale hasn’t mentioned it yet at this point and Katniss hasn’t really thought it herself yet. She’s decided they can all run away, but she hasn’t ever thought about fighting back or giving the districts a reason to fight. It’s Peeta. PEETA. The one who everyone always categorizes as meek and weak that voices this first.

Let me know if I’m wrong. It’s possible Gale has already said it and I missed it or don’t remember.

#thgagain #thg #peeta mellark #katniss everdeen #the hunger games #Peeta the rebel #damn right

[theartofdreaming1]

I’m a little late for week 17 (thanks to an inconveniently placed art block) but still managed to whip up something for the prompt - isn’t it wild that the beach kisses (or rather: make out sessions 😏😁) actually took place at night, until midnight (lightning hitting the tree), to be exact? (the movie kiss at sundown/dusk is gorgeous, though!)

As usual, my thoughts on chapters 22-24 are below the cut:

Chapter 22

Peeta drops the sheath and buries his knife into the monkey’s back, stabbing again and again until it releases its jaw. He kicks the mutt away, bracing for more. [...] “Come on, then! Come on!” shouts Peeta, panting with rage. - Here we see Peeta being aggressive/angry after witnessing someone getting hurt because of him (in this case, the morphling, but we’ve also seen a similar reaction during the Victory Tour of D11, with Peeta smashing some stuff and yelling after his act of rebellious kindness backfired inadvertently); also probably a hint of how he’s going to go absolutely beserk when Katniss destroys the Quarter Quell arena and he’s going to be worried out of his mind about her, leading to him overpowering and killing Brutus - But something has happened to the monkeys. They are withdrawing, backing up trees, fading into the jungle, as if some unheard voice calls them away. A Gamemaker’s voice, telling them this is enough. - Where they literally that close to the beach (and the invisible barrier of the horrors of this wedge) or did Plutarch interfere to give them a chance to get away?

I think of Rue, how maybe I could sing a song or something. But I don’t even know the morphling’s name, let alone if she likes songs. - I think it’s sweet that despite not having really formed a bond with the morphling, Katniss considers singing to her as a comforting gesture; also, in a way, this passage brings up how, for Peeta, the morphling’s death parallels what Rue’s death was to Katniss - I just know she’s dying. Peeta crouches down on the other side of her and strokes her hair. When he begins to speak in a soft voice, it seems almost nonsensical, but the words aren’t for me. - When Peeta talks, he never uses empty platitudes, but instead always says something that is geared towards the individual interests/needs of the person he’s talking to, which makes his speeches so personal and effective/moving; he must be very observant and intuitive to be able pick up on this sort of thing, even in unplanned situations such as this one - [...] The morphling stares into Peeta’s eyes, hanging on to his words. 

The morphling seems mesmerized by Peeta’s words. Entranced. She lifts up a trembling hand and paints what I think might be a flower on Peeta’s cheek. “Thank you,” he whispers. “That looks beautiful.” For a moment, the morphling’s face lights up in a grin - Peeta makes this woman feel good in this last moment of her life 😭 He’s such a good person

“Why don’t you two get some rest?” I say. “I’ll watch for a while.” “No, Katniss, I’d rather,” says Finnick. I look in his eyes, at his face, and realize he’s barely holding back tears. Mags. The least I can do is give him the privacy to mourn her. “All right, Finnick, thanks,” I say. - Katniss is being very considerate of Finnick and his feelings here

“Don’t scratch,” I say, wanting badly to scratch myself. But I know it’s the advice my mother would give. “You’ll only bring infection.” [...] The sight of my fingernails, caked with blood, stops me. I’ve been scratching my skin raw in my sleep. “You know, if you scratch you’ll bring on infection,” says Finnick. “That’s what I’ve heard,” I say. - I love Katniss and Finnick’s bickering; they have such a fun friendship-dynamic!

Really, the combination of the scabs and the ointment looks hideous. I can’t help enjoying his distress. “Poor Finnick. Is this the first time in your life you haven’t looked pretty?” I say. “It must be. The sensation’s completely new. How have you managed it all these years?” he asks. - As I’ve been saying 😂 It’s so playful and fun

We slather ourselves down, even taking turns rubbing the ointment into each other’s back where the undershirts don’t protect our skin. “I’m going to wake Peeta,” I say. “No wait,” says Finnick. “Let’s do it together. Put our faces right in front of his.” Well, there’s so little opportunity for fun left in my life, I agree. We position ourselves on either side of Peeta, lean over until our faces are inches from his nose, and give him a shake. “Peeta. Peeta, wake up,” I say in a soft, singsong voice. His eyelids flutter open and then he jumps like we’ve stabbed him. “Aa!” Finnick and I fall back in the san, laughing our heads off. [...] By the time we pull ourselves together, I’m thinking that maybe Finnick Odair is all right. - They are becoming friends! yay! This scene is so funny, I’m sad it didn’t make it into the movie

And just as I’ve come to this conclusion, a parachute lands next to us with a fresh loaf of bread. Remembering from last year how Haymitch’s gifts are often timed to send a message, I make a note to myself. Be friends with Finnick. You’ll get food. - Haymitch and Katniss again with the nonverbal communication - Finnick turns the bread over in his hands, examining the crust. A bit too possessively. It’s not necessary. It’s got that green tint from seaweed that bread from District 4 always has. - I wonder whether the D4 bread was like a token of respect/sympathy over Mags’s death or a secret message that our trio should wait by the beach (since there will be more silent communication of the rebellion via bread (!) further down the line and D4 has this connotation with water)

Three figures, about two spokes away, stumbling onto the beach. [...] The trio’s in a bad shape - you can see that right off. One is being practically dragged out by a second, and the third wanders in loopy circles, as if deranged. They’re a solid brick-red color, as if they’ve been dipped in paint and left out to dry. - Knowing that this red “paint” is blood... yikes 😖- [...] The dragger stamps the ground in frustration and, in an apparent fit of temper, turns and shoves the circling, deranged one over. Finnick’s face lights up. “Johanna!” he calls, and runs for the red things. - Lol, Finnick recognizes Johanna via her body language of being an asshole 😂

When we reach them, Johanna’s gesturing toward the jungle and talking very fast to Finnick. “We thought it was rain, you know, because of the lightning, and we were all so thirsty. But when it started coming down, it turned out to be blood. Thick, hot blood. You couldn’t see, you couldn’t speak without getting a mouthful.” - Horrifiying and gross 🤢😧

she [Wiress] careens into Johanna, who harshly shoves her to the beach. “Just stay down, will you?” “Lay off her, “ I snap. - Katniss, always stepping in for the defenseless - Johanna narrows her brown eyes at me in hatred. “Lay off her?” she hisses. She steps forward before I can react and slaps me so hard I see stars. “Who do you think got them out of that bleeding jungle for you? You-” Finnick tosses her writhing body over his shoulder and carries her out into the water and repeatedly dunks her while she screams a lot of really insulting things at me. But I don’t shoot. Because she’s with Finnick and because of what she said, about getting them for me. - Finnick getting Johanna away before she lets slip too much, but Katniss picking up on it regardless... Also love how Katniss doesn’t harm Johanna because she knows that she’s Finnick’s friend and Katniss now likes and respects Finnick

Beetee’s clothes are glued to him with blood, so Peeta holds him in the water while I loosen them. It takes some time to get the jumpsuit off, and then we find his undergarments are saturated with blood as well. There’s no choice but to strip him naked to get him clean, but I have to say this doesn’t make much of an impression on me anymore. Our kitchen table’s been full of so many naked men this year. You kind of get used to it after a while. - Katniss being a lot less awkward about nakedness (at least as long as it’s in a clinical/medical context) says a lot about how bad the circumstances in D12 must have been, though

I look over at the jungle. I bet there’s a whole pharmacy in there if I knew how to use it. But these aren’t my plants. Then I think about the moss Mags gave me to blow my nose. “Be right back,” I tell Peeta. Fortunately the stuff seems to be pretty common in the jungle. I rip an armful from the nearby trees and carry it back to the beach. I make a thick pad out of the moss, place it on Beetee’s cut, and secure it by tying vines around his body. We get some water into him and then pull him into the shade at the edge of the jungle. “I think that’s all we can do,” I say. “It’s good. You’re good with this healing stuff,” he says. “It’s in your blood.” “No, “ I say, shaking my head. - I think Katniss is selling herself way too short here; she might not be a more-or-less professional healer like her mom and Prim, but she’s very observant and quick to figure out what could be useful and how to use alternatives when you don’t have medical equipment at hand, which is very useful and doesn’t necessarily come naturally to everybody -“I got my father’s blood.” The kind that quickens during the hunt, not an epidemic. - She definitely does take more after her father, but I can’t help but wonder if Katniss doesn’t sometimes ignore what she has gotten from her mom (probably from the resentment resulting from her mom’s neglect due to her depression)

I [...] join Wiress in the shallows. She doesn’t resist as I work off her clothing, scrub the blood from her skin. But her eyes are dilated with fear, and when I speak, she doesn’t respond except to say with ever-increasing urgency, “Tick, tock.” She does seem to be trying to tell me something, but with no Beetee to explain her thoughts, I’m at a loss. “Yes, tick, tock. Tick, tock,” I say. This seems to calm her down a little. I wash out her jumpsuit until there’s hardly a trace of blood, and help her back into it. [...] For a while, Johanna gulps water and stuffs herself with shellfish while I try to coax something into Wiress. - Katniss might not be a healer, but she is definitely a caretaker as we can see here with her patiently and carefully taking care of a shocked/confused Wiress, making sure Wiress is clean and fed, and also trying to make her feel better

Finnick tells about the fog and the monkeys in a detached, almost clinical voice, avoiding the most important detail of the story. - I think it’s fairly common for people who have just experienced a traumatic event to relay said event in a very detached manner, as the experience hasn’t really had time to sink in yet

“So what were you doing with Nuts and Volts?” I ask. “I told you - I got them for you. Haymitch said if we were to be allies I had to bring them to you,” says Johanna. “That’s what you told him, right?” - Did Haymitch pretend like he was ‘working’ in Katniss’s (and Peeta`s?) name or did Johanna and the other victors just assume that Katniss and Peeta were in on the whole rebellion-thing, at least to some degree?

“Tick, tock,” whispers Wiress. I guide her in front of me and get her to lie down, stroking her arm to soothe her. She drifts off, stirring restlessly, occasionally sighing out her phrase. “Tick, tock.” “Tick, tock,” I agree softly. “It’s time for bed. Tick, tock. Go to sleep.”-  Katniss is so sweet

Twelve bongs last night. Like it was midnight. Then lightning. The sun overhead now. Like it’s noon. And lightning. Slowly I rise up and survey the arena. The lightning there. In the next pie wedge over came the blood rain, where Johanna, Wiress, and Beetee were caught. We would have been in the third section, right next to that, when the fog appeared. And as soon as it was sucked away, the monkeys began to gather in the fourth. Tick, tock. [...] “Oh,” I say under my breath. [...] “Tick tock, This is a clock.” - Love how Katniss figures out the arena! She’s very smart and methodical

Chapter 23

A memory struggles to surface in my brain. I see a clock. No, it’s a watch, resting in Plutarch Heavensbee’s palm. “It starts at midnight,” Plutarch said. And then my mockingjay lit up briefly and vanished. In restrospect, it’s like he was giving me a clue about the arena. But why would he? At the time, I was no more a tribute in these Games than he was. Maybe he thought it would help me as a mentor. Or maybe this had been the plan all along. - Katniss is on to something here... Considering how suspicious she was of the content of the envelope revealing the special peculiarity of this Quarter Quell being too convenient for the present political situation, it’s not that far fetched that the victors being the next tributes was already decided upon (or at least in the talks), don’t you think, Katniss? 

Beetee’s still pretty out of it, but when Peeta tries to lift him, he objects. - Should you be the one to carry Beetee, Peeta? It’s not like you almost died yesterday or anything like that - “Wire,” he says. “She’s right here,” Peeta tells him. “Wiress is fine. She’s coming, too.” - ‘Course Peeta would assume that Beetee would be thinking about his district partner, good bean that he is

“Oh, I know what he [Beetee] wants,” says Johanna impatiently. [...] “This worthless thing. it’s some kind of wire or something. [...] I don’t know what kind of weapon it’s supposed to be. I guess you could pull off a piece and use it as a garrote or something. But really, can you imagine Beetee garroting somebody?” “He won his Games with wire. Setting up that electrical trap,” says Peeta. “It’s the best weapon he could have.” - Peeta’s meticulous preparation is paying off! - There’s something odd about Johanna not putting this together. Something doesn’t quite ring true. Suspicious. - Katniss, of course, is immediately suspicious of Johanna. Very on-brand ^^ But also: was the escape route out of the arena already clear between the rebelling victors (sans Peeta and Katniss, of course)? Do you think that Johanna is playing up her cluelessness here not just to conceal their plan from the audience, but also to test whether Peeta and Katniss are in the know? (Do you think that she’s got a suspicion after Katniss had asked her why she’s hanging out with Beetee and Wiress, that maybe the Mockingjay had no idea what was going on?)

Yes, it’s great to have allies, as long as you can ignore the thought that you’ll have to kill them. [...] Johanna, frankly, I could easily kill if it came down to protecting Peeta. Or maybe even just to shut her up. What I really need is for someone to take out Finnick for me, since I don’t think I can do it personally. Not after all he’s done for Peeta. I think about maneuvering him into some kind of encounter with the Careers. It’s cold, I know. But what are my options? - Katniss knows that can’t kill Finnick because they’ve become sorta friends by now

Because this is so repellent to think about, my mind frantically tries to change topics. But the only thing that distracts me from my current situation is fantasizing about killing President Snow. Not very pretty daydreams for a seventeen-year-old girl, I guess, but very satsfying. - Well, at least she’s aware of how effed up this is? 😅

Suddenly Wiress stands up very straight and points to the jungle. “Two,” she says. I follow her finger to where the wall of fog has just begun to seep out onto the beach. “Yes, look, “Wiress is right. It’s two o`clock and the fog has started.” “Like clockwork,” says Peeta. “You were very smart to figure that out, Wiress.” Wiress smiles and goes back to singing and dunking her coil. - So, Peeta and Katniss have just become the very supportive parents of Wiress, huh ? ;)

“She [Wiress] can sense things before anyone else. Like a canary in one of your coal mines.” “What’s that?” Finnick asks me. “It’s a bird that we take down into the mines to warn us if there’s bad air,” I say. “What’s it do, die?” asks Johanna. “It stops singing first. That’s when you should get out. But if the air’s too bad, it dies, yes. And so do you.” I don’t want to talk about dying songbirds. They bring up thoughts of my father’s death and Rue’s death and Maysiliee Donner’s death and my mother inheriting her songbird. - Wow, songbirds really pervade Katniss’s world/story, huh?

I realize it’s just another disadvantage the District 12 tributes have faced over the years. We don’t go down in the mines until we’re eighteen. It looks like most of the other tributes learn something about their trades early on. There are things you do in a mine that could come in handy in the Games. Wielding a pick. Blowing things up. Give you an edge. The way my hunting did. But we learn them too late. - I wonder why D12 seems like the only district in which child labor is not an integral part of the work force (we know definitely that in D8 and D11 kids also have to work, and Finnick and Johanna’s skill suggest that the same applies to D4 and D7, and probably D3 as well)? It’s not that children working in mines is unheard of (sadly enough) - in that way, Peeta and Katniss had a huge advantage that they both had been involved in their parents’ trade to some degree

I look over his [Peeta’s] shoulder and see he’s creating a map of the arena. - I’m probably reading way too much into this, but I think it’s interesting that Peeta is the one to create something that helps you navigate your world - he’s always the one giving people a sense of direction

We all nod in agreement, and that’s when I notice it. The silence. Our canary has stopped singing. - such a cool metaphorical device that was set up and then paid off in this chapter, tbh

Finnick knocks away a spear Brutus throws at Peeta and takes Enobaria’s knife in his thigh. - Finnick’s really been watching over Peeta from the start; he’s such a good bro

That’s when I remember the wire and how important it was to him [Beetee]. I look frantically around. Where is it? Where is it? And then I see it, still clutched in Wiress’s hands, far out in the water. [...] As I tread water, I have to wrench the coil of wire from her fingers, because her final grip on it is so tight. - reminds me of Katniss getting the bow and arrows from Glimmer in the other Games; she always has to pry crucial weapons/tools from someone’s dead hands 🙁 - There’s nothing I can do then but close her eyelids, whisper good-bye, and swim away. - It’s kind that Katniss takes the time to say good-bye to Wiress, despite everything that’s going on

Finnick’s gotten Beetee back alive, although a little waterlogged, sitting up and snorting out water. He had the good sense to hang on to his glasses, so at least he can see. - You know, it’s actually surprising that Beetee wears glasses; as a victor, I’m sure he could have easily gotten some eye surgery or whatever in the Capitol - maybe that was his form of rebellion against the Capitol early on, like Chaff refusing to get a prosthetic in place of his missing hand

I look at the others’ sober faces. Now Finnick, Johanna, and Beetee have all lost their district partners. I cross to Peeta and wrap my arms around him - 😭

“I should have never mentioned the clock,” I say bitterly. “Now they’ve taken that advantage away as well.” “Only temporarily,” says Beetee. “At ten, we’ll see the wave again an be back on track.” “Yes, they can’t redesign the whole arena,” says Peeta. “It doesn’t matter,” says Johanna impatiently. “You had to tell us or we never would have moved our camp in the first place, brainless.” Ironically, her logical, if demeaning, reply is the only one that comforts me. - I think you could argue that Beetee’s (and Peeta’s) reply was rooted in logic as well, but Johanna is definitely the one who would never say something nice and comforting just because, so I guess that’s what comforts Katniss here; in general, Katniss seems to be much more receptive to logical reasoning than empty words for comfort (an approach Peeta will also employ in the next chapter, after the jabberjays, to calm and soothe Katniss)

As I stand there, weapons ready, I can’t lose the uneasy feeling that something is going on and that it has to do with Peeta. [...] There is no question about it. For reasons completely unfathomable to me, some of the other victors are trying to keep him alive, even if it means sacrificing themselves. - Does this have anything to do with Coin wanting Peeta rather than Katniss? Or is it more of an insuring that Katniss would be a more willing participant in the rebellion as long as Peeta’s around and alive? Maybe a bit of both, since they are kind of a package deal - I’m dumbfounded. For one thing, that’s my job. - lol, possessive Katniss - For another, it doesn’t make sense. Only one of us can get out. So why have they chosen Peeta to protect? [...] I know my own reasons for keeping Peeta alive. He’s my friend, and this is my way to defy the Capitol, to subvert its terrible Games. But if I had no real ties to him, what would make me want to save him, to choose him over myself? - as usual, Katniss always considers more personal reasons first, before she moves on to the bigger picture; her close, personal relationships are always her driving motivational force and only then, does she consider the more abstract, bigger picture: - [...] and then I think of it, what Peeta can do so much better that then rest of us. He can use words. He obliterated the rest of the field at both interviews. And maybe it’s because of that underlying goodness that he can move a crowd - no, a country - to his side with the turn of a simple sentence. I remember thinking that was the gift the leader of our revolution should have.

Chapter 24 

Prim makes a sound - such a lost, irretrievable sound - that I can’t even imagine what they have done to evoke it. “Prim!” I rip through a wall of green into a small clearing and the sound repeats directly above me. - Poor Katniss, she’s in a complete frenzy after hearing the screams that are supposedly from Prim 🙁 - [...] “Prim?” I say pleadingly. I hear her but can’t see her. Her next wail rings out. It’s coming from the mouth of a small, crested black bird perched on a branch about ten feet over my head. And then I understand. It’s a jabberjay. [...] I silence it with an arrow in its throat. The bird falls to the ground. I remove my arrow and wring its neck for good measure. - Kind of interesting how in the last chapter, plenty of songbirds were mentioned with a more or less positive connotation (canary = warning sign, mockingjay/Rue = something innocent and fragile, Maysilee Donner’s bird = memento of a dead friend, Mockingjay = rebellion/freedom), only for this chapter to bring back a bird that has been created for spying on the rebels until the rebels used its abilities against the Capitol, only now to be used as a torture device against the symbol of the rebellion (Katniss/the victors) again

The piercing shriek cuts me off. It’s another voice, not Prim’s, maybe a young woman’s. I don’t recognize it. But the effect on Finnick is instantaneous. The color vanishes from his face and I can actually see his pupils dilate in fear. “Finnick, wait!” I say, reaching out to reassure him, but he’s bolted away. Gone off in pursuit of the victim, as mindlessly as I pursued Prim. “Finnick!” I call, but I know he won’t turn back and wait for me to give a rational explanation. So all I can do is follow him. - It’s moment like these that really open Katniss’s eyes to the fact that Finnick isn’t that different from her after all; like Katniss, he has built a facade to hide behind, to conceal how deeply he cares for some people in his life - unlike Katniss’s aloof loner-persona, he has adopted some shallow swagger - but there are always some small moments during which their facades become more transparent (Katniss with Peeta hitting the force field, Finnick freaking out hearing Annie’s screams) and both Finnick and Katniss realize that the other actually feels a lot more and deeply than they are letting on - and these moments are super crucial for them to starting to like and respect each other, causing their relationship to grow 

when I slide down to join him, he looks more despairing than ever. “It’s all right, Finnick. It’s just a jabberjay. They’re playing a trick on us,” I say. “It’s not real. It’s not your... Annie.” - It’s sweet how Katniss is trying to comfort Finnick - “No, it’s not Annie. But the voice was hers. Jabberjays mimic what they hear. Where did they get those screams, Katniss?” he says. I can feel my own cheeks grow pale as I understand his meaning. “Oh, Finnick, you don’t think they...” “Yes. I do. That’s exactly what I think,” he says. [...] My knees turn to water and I sink to the ground. Finnick is trying to tell me something, but I can’t hear him. [...] He starts pulling me downhill, toward the beach. “We’re getting out of here!” [...] He moves me along, half dragging, half carrying me, until I can proces what he said. - After bringing up his doubts/fears, which in turn increase Katniss’s worries and fears, Finnick is trying to take care of Katniss - I love their friendship so much 😢 

we will be trapped like rats until the hour passes. Peeta presses his hand against the surface and I put my own up to meet it, as if I can feel him through the wall. I see his lips moving but I can’t hear him, can’t hear anything outside our wedge. I try to make out what he’s saying, but I can’t focus, so I just stare at his face, doing my best to hang on to my sanity. - touching hands through the barrier 😭 Katniss focussing on Peeta’s face to keep a grip on her sanity 😭😭

finally I give up and curl up beside Finnick, trying to block out the excruciating sounds of Prim, Gale, my mother, Madge, Rory, Vick, even Posy, helpless little Posy... - I’ve said it before: for a supposed “loner”, Katniss sure has a lot of people she cares about (love how Madge is being mentioned! And, of course, all of the Hawthorne children 😢)

I know it’s stopped when I feel Peeta’s hands on me, feel myself lifted from the ground and out of the jungle. But I stay eyes squeezed shut, hands over my ears, muscles too rigid to release, Peeta holds me on his lap, speaking soothing words, rocking me gently. It takes a long time before I begin to relax the iron grip on my body. And when I do, the trembling begins. “It’s all right, Katniss,” he whispers. - It takes Katniss so much longer to somewhat recover from this jarring experience than the movies have time to establish - the severity of her reaction in this passage just really drives home how horrible it was for Katniss; and Peeta comforting her throughout just further established how he is her rock

“Katniss, Prim isn’t dead. How could they kill Prim? We’re almost down to the final eight of us. And what happens then?” Peeta says. “Seven more of us die,” I say hopelessly. - Katniss perspective is all dark and gloomy, she has lost her hope; luckily, Peeta is there to restore it, as usual - “No, back home. What happens when they reach the final eight tributes in the Games?” He lifts my chin so I have to look at him. Forces me to make eye contact. “What happens? At the final eight?” I know he’s trying to help me, so I make myself think. “At the final eight?” I repeat. “They interview your family and friends back home.” “That’s right,” says Peeta. “They interview your family and friends. And can they do that if they’ve killed them all?” “No?” I ask, still unsure. “No.” - Love how Peeta doesn’t just tell Katniss about the interviews but actually makes her figure it out herself; he doesn’t throw around empty phrases like “everything is going to be okay” but instead uses a rational and logical approach - reminds me a bit of socratic dialogue, an approach used in cognitive behavioral therapy to have the patient work out cognitive distortions and distorted assumptions by asking naive questions and forcing the patient themselves to figure out which of their assumptions are irrational and contradictory

“You really believe that?” I say. “I really do,” says Peeta. I waver, thinking of how Peeta can make anyone believe anything. [...] “Do you believe it, Finnick?” I ask. “It could be true. I don’t know,” he says. “Could they do that, Beetee? Take someone’s regular voice and make it...” “Oh, yes. It’s not even that difficult, Finnick. Our children learn a similar technique in school,” says Beetee. - It’s interesting how Katniss involves Finnick for a second opinion (their relationship has come so far!) and how Finnick reaches out to Beetee for information (since they’ve been victors for some time, they know each other better) - with their combined social support/network, they manage to calm down enough to be able to move on

I need to clean up, too, but I stay in Peeta’s arms, still too shaken to move. - Katniss still needs some time to recover in the safety of Peeta’s arms 😭 - “Who did they use against Finnick?” he asks. “Somebody named Annie,” I say. “Must be Annie Cresta,” he says. “Who?” I ask. “Annie Cresta. She was the girl Mags volunteered for. She won about five years ago,” says Peeta. - Peeta’s preparation is really paying off (and is a good way to get some exposition in)

“Did she [Annie] get better after?“ I ask. “I mean, her mind?” “I don’t know. I don’t remember ever seeing her at the Games again. She didn’t look too stable during the reaping this year,” says Peeta. So that’s who Finnick loves, I think. Not his string of fancy lovers in the Capitol. But a poor, mad girl back home. - At this point, Katniss can’t help but to respect and like Finnick, now that she knows that he is so much more than the superficial flirt he pretends to be

Two-thirds of us [tributes] gone in a day and a half. That must be some kind of record. “They’re really burning through us,” says Johanna. - Telling how fast they are losing people in this arena; doubt that it’s merely for the ‘entertainment’ of the audience... - “Who’s left? Besides us five and District Two?” asks Finnick. “Chaff,” says Peeta, without needing to think about it. Perhaps he’s been keeping an eye out for him because of Haymitch. - Y’all ever think how Haymitch might be seeing this moment, Peeta keeping track of his friend, and feeling bad that he (Haymitch) is involved in all these plots behind Peeta and Katniss’s backs, after everything these three have been through?

A parachute comes down with a pile of bite-sized square-shaped rolls. “These are from your district, right, Beetee?” Peeta asks. - You know you’re right, bread boy ;) - “Yes, from District Three,” he says. “How many are there?” Finnick counts them, turning each one over in his hands before he sets it in a neat configuration. I don’t know what it is with Finnick and bread, but he seems obsessed with handling it. “Twenty-four,” he says. - 24:00: “It starts at midnight”, huh? Also Katniss’s remark on Finnick’s obsession with the bread is kinda hilarious - it’s not like bread hasn’t played an important role for her as well (the first loaves from Peeta, the one from D11, later the cheese buns and so on)

Peeta and I sit on the damp sand, facing away from each other, my right shoulder and hip pressed against his. - always connected to each other -[...] After a while I rest my head against his shoulder. Feel his hand caress my hair. - this is so soft, I can’t 🥺 - “Katniss,” he says softly, “it’s no use pretending we don’t know what the other one is trying to do.” No, I guess there isn’t, but it’s no fun discussing it, either. - lol, typical that Peeta’s the first one to bring up an unpleasant (if albeit important) thing to talk about; he’s definitely the bigger communicator in this relationship (it’s worth mentioning that Katniss is not per se against addressing their issue here - she just knows that it’s going to be a bummer and would rather enjoy the time they still have left together)

“Why are you saying this now?” “Because I don’t want you forgetting how different our circumstances are. If you die, and I live, there’s no life for me at all back in District Twelve. You’re my whole life,” he says. “I would never be happy again.” I start to object but he puts a finger to my lips. “It’s different for you. I’m not saying it wouldn’t be hard. But there are other people who’d make your life worth living.” - Katniss is going to hint at the jabberjays in just a moment and I can’t help but wonder whether this particular Capitol-created horror might also have influenced Peeta’s speech here - whose voice, besides Katniss’s, who was already with him in the arena, would he have heard? He saw how absolutely shaken she was to hear these screams, but does Peeta have a connection with anyone (aside from Katniss) that would rattle him as intensely as it did Katniss?? The jabberjays probably just reinforced his decision that Katniss must survive (not to say that Peeta wouldn’t care hearing his friends and family members’ screams - he’s a pretty empathetic guy - but he just doesn’t have any personal relationship as close and loving as Katniss has with her (extended) family  - Peeta pulls the chain with the gold disk from around his neck. [...] It’s [...] a locket. And within the locket are photos. [...] There is nothing in the world that could break me faster at this moment than these three faces. After what I heard this afternoon... it is the perfect weapon. - Peeta just knows you really well, Katniss, doesn’t he?

“Your family needs you, Katniss,” Peeta says. My family. My mother. My sister. And my pretend cousin Gale. But Peeta’s intention is clear. That Gale is my family, or will be one day, if I live. That I’ll marry him. So Peeta’s giving me his life and Gale’s at the same time. [...] Everything. That’s what Peeta wants me to take from him. - Jeez, that boy is so giving, to the point where he completely disregards himself; because he doesn’t have any super close relationships, he feels like his life is worth less although he’s the sweetest boy ever; it’s sad 😢 Also, not to bash Gale or anything, but Gale’s salty jealousy over Katniss being forced to be engaged to Peeta against her will vs. Peeta basically giving his blessing for Katniss to be with Gale after his own death, no hard feelings, is a super stark contrast of how the boys handle this supposed love triangle (I know, I know, Gale is just nineteen years old, I’m not blaming him - Peeta’s emotional maturity is just through the roof, y’know?)

“No one really needs me,” he says, and there’s no self-pity in his voice. It’s true his family doesn’t need him. They will mourn him, as will a handful of friends. But they will get on. Even Haymitch, with the help of a lot of white liquor, will get on. I realize only one person will be damaged beyond repair if Peeta dies. Me. - Gosh, Peeta’s line here just always break my heart 😭 He’s like the kid that people enjoy having around when he’s hanging out with the group, but nobody seems to miss when he’s gone - it’s a shitty feeling... Peeta truly deserves someone who makes him feel loved and needed (which is why he and Katniss fit together so well)

“I do,” I say. “I need you.” He looks upset, takes a deep breath as if to begin a long argument, - Peeta, at this point you really shouldn’t be that surprised that Katniss is going to fight you on that point - do you remember how badly she freaked out when you hit that force field? - and that’s no good, no good at all, because he’ll start going on about Prim and my mother and everything and I’ll just get confused. So before he can talk, I stop his lips with a kiss. I feel that thing again. The thing I only felt once before. In the cave last year, when I was trying to get Haymitch to send us food. [...] there was only one kiss that made me feel something stir deep inside. Only one that made me want more. But my head wound started bleeding and he made me lie down. This time, there is nothing but us to interrupt us. - Aaaaagh, my heartttt!!!! 😭

He [Finnick] sits up with a sharp cry. I see his fingers digging into the sand as he reassures himself that whatever nightmare he inhabitated wasn’t real. - Poor Finnick! 😢 Also, another instance of the issue of horrors being real/not real, which is going to become a lot more important in the next book - “I can’t sleep anymore,” he says. “One of you should rest.” Only then does he seem to notice our expressions, the way we’re wrapped around each other. “Or both of you. “I can watch alone.” - If Katniss’s reaction to Peeta hitting the force field hadn’t already opened Finnick’s eyes about everlark’s relationship, this moment might have done it just as well ^^

I let him [Peeta] lead me over to where the others are. - She could have totally walked there herself, but instead they wanted to have one more moment 😩💕- He puts the chain with the locket around my neck, then rests his hand over the spot where our baby would be. “You’re going to make a great mother, you know,” he says. He kisses me one last time and goes back to Finnick. His reference to the baby signals that our time-out from the Games is over. That he knows the audience will be wondering why he hasn’t used the most persuasive argument in his arsenal. That sponsors must be manipulated. - I like how Peeta clearly signaled that now it’s back to playing it up for the audience, implying that everything he said before was him being honest and real with Katniss (just because he’s excellent at manipulating doesn’t mean he’d misuse these skills on Katniss - our boy has some integrity!)

if only one of us can be a parent, anyone can see it should be Peeta. As I drift off, I try to imagine that world, somewhere in the future, with no Games, no Capitol. A place like the meadow in the song I sang to Rue as she died. Where Peeta’s child could be safe. - Hey, that’s going to happen, Katniss!!! And even better: Peeta’s child - or rather: children - are going to be yours as well! 😊🥰

#thgagain #thg #thg meta #katniss everdeen #peeta mellark #everlark #finnick odair #thg fanart #my sketches and drawings #catching fire #I'm not too happy with my drawing this week but at least I finished it

[katnissmellarkkk]

I did a bookcomb for Everlark and their inside jokes throughout the series because it’s very pure, esp when you isolate them all together 🥺🥺🥺.

-

“Where is Haymitch, anyway? Isn’t he supposed to protect us from this sort of thing?” says Peeta.

“With all that alcohol in him, it’s probably not advisable to have him around an open flame,” I say.

And suddenly we’re both laughing. I guess we’re both so nervous about the Games and more pressingly, petrified of being turned into human torches, we’re not acting sensibly.

-

“Lean down a minute first,” he says. “Need to tell you something.” I lean over and put my good ear to his lips, which tickle as he whispers. “Remember, we’re madly in love, so it’s all right to kiss me anytime you feel like it.”

I jerk my head back but end up laughing. “Thanks, I’ll keep it in mind.”

-

“Katniss?” Peeta says. I meet his eyes, knowing my face must be some shade of green. He mouths the words. “How about that kiss?”

I burst out laughing because the whole thing is so revolting I can’t stand it.

“Something wrong?” he asks a little too innocently.

-

“You know they didn’t expect that to happen. It wasn’t meant to be part of the arena. They never planned on anyone using it as a weapon. It made them look stupid that he figured it out. I bet they had a good time trying to spin that one. Bet that’s why I don’t remember seeing it on television. It’s almost as bad as us and the berries!”

I can’t help laughing, really laughing, for the first time in months. Peeta just shakes his head like I’ve lost my mind — and maybe I have, a little.

-

Beetee is still messing around the tree, doing I don’t know what, taking measurements and such. At one point he snaps off a sliver of bark, joins us, and throws it against the force field. It bounces back and lands on the ground, glowing. In a few moments it returns to its original color. “Well, that explains a lot,” says Beetee. I look at Peeta and can’t help biting my lip to keep from laughing since it explains absolutely nothing to anyone but Beetee.

-

Peeta’s just pried open an oyster when I hear him give a laugh. “Hey, look at this!” He holds up a glistening, perfect pearl about the size of a pea. “You know, if you put enough pressure on coal it turns to pearls,” he says earnestly to Finnick.

“No, it doesn’t,” says Finnick dismissively. But I crack up, remembering that’s how a clueless Effie Trinket presented us to the people of the Capitol last year, before anyone knew us. As coal pressured into pearls by our weighty existence. Beauty that arose out of pain.

-

#everlark #hunger games #thg #thgagain #and they never had a moment like this again after catching fire how depressing Suzanne #bookcomb ♥️🔎 #also I legit forgot so many #100

[yelenaa-romanova]

My annual THG reread - thoughts

I always forget how much more gruesome and dark the book is in comparison to the movie: the descriptions of injuries, starvation, and tributes getting killed are hard stuff.

President Snow is being described as "a small, thin man" and I think in some way, that makes him more terrifying than Donald Sutherland's portrayal of him. He is looking fragile which might lead people to not pay attention to him, but his sharp mind is what makes him so dangerous.

Katniss's inner monologues show us that she actually has a lot of personality; she can even be extremely sassy, and I love it! Her telling Peeta "who can't lie" after she's knocked him unconscious is a great example. The audience in the Capitol would love it, and so do I!

And finally, the ending. Usually, when I finish a book, I smile and move on, but not with THG. The final lines hold so many implications and leave me with a mix of confusion and dread, which is exactly what Katniss is feeling - she's confused about her feelings for Peeta and knows, deep down, that the Games are far from over.

#thgagain #thg #the hunger games #suzanne collins #books #booklr #thoughts #reread #read #text post #booklover #booknerd