Happy Birthday, Mockingjay!

 

Happy Birthday, Mockingjay! 5 years ago today, Suzanne Collins' final (and my personal favorite) book in The Hunger Games trilogy was released! Can you believe how quickly time has flown? 

Spotlight on Katniss and Prim - Sisters and #THGBFFs

There's no friendship as special as the one between sisters. It's a bond that remains sacred one's whole life. This is certainly true for Katniss and Prim. The friendship between Katniss and her little sister is one of the most important things in Katniss' world. Protecting her little sister and providing for her is one of the only things that motivated Katniss in the most difficult times.

"How could I leave Prim, who is the only person in the world I’m certain I love?"

Katniss hints many times throughout the trilogy that her only friends were Madge and Gale, but that Prim was one of the only people who knew the "real" Katniss. The only one who could make her laugh, smile, or tell stories.

“Tuck your tail in, little duck,” I say, smoothing the blouse back in place. Prim giggles and gives me a small “Quack.” “Quack yourself,” I say with a light laugh. The kind only Prim can draw out of me.

 

Katniss would do anything and everything she could to protect her sister from harm. She began to hunt illegally at the tender age of eleven, providing food so Prim would not go hungry. She volunteered to save her sister's life at the reaping; Prim would never have made it out of the arena alive.

 

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Katniss was motivated to survive the 74th Games to get back home to Prim. She promised Prim she would try to win, and even mentioned this in her interview with Caesar Flickerman, revealing to the whole nation how special Prim was to her.

In the Quarter Quell, Katniss faced a small but terrifying "pack" of mutts: jabberjays. The jabberjays were designed to mimic the voices of a tribute's loved one, and scream out in peril and pain. Katniss would've  easily avoided the jabberjay sector of the arena if the mutts hadn't copied Prim's voice. When Katniss heard the jabberjay's screams and believed Prim was in danger, she abandoned everyone to try and save her little sister.

 

This special friendship becomes even more sacred when Prim realizes it's her turn to try and take care of Katniss. One of the very first scenes we see in Mockingjay Part 1 is Prim brushing out Katniss' hair in the hospital. Within the first two minutes of the movie, we see how much Prim cares for Katniss, and how their roles are starting to reverse.

 

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Prim also reminds Katniss of her power when she tells her she can ask for anything she wants from President Coin.

"Katniss, I don't think you understand how important you are to the cause. Important people usually get what they want. If you want to keep Peeta safe from the rebels, you can."

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Thanks to Prim's wisdom, Katniss was able to negotiate a deal with Coin to rescue Peeta and the other victors, and in turn became The Mockingjay.

 

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gif by johannas.tumblr.comMockingjay Part 2 will show the growth and maturity of Katniss and Prim's relationship.

 

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"I look at my little sister and think how she has inherited the best qualities our family has to offer: my mother's healing hands, my father's level head, and my fight. There's something else there as well, something entirely her own. An ability to look into the confusing mess of life and see things for what they are. "

And for those familiar with the books, Mockingjay Part 2 will also almost certainly break our hearts. Katniss and Prim - two of our favorite #THGBFFs.

 

You can find Kendal on twitter @jennifer_thg.

Don’t forget to enter this week’s #THGBFF giveaway in our #100DaysofMJ celebration through the widget here,  and stay tuned as our countdown continues with more fun themes and prizes!

Sam Claflin and Josh Hutcherson: A Hunger Games Bromance #THGBFF

It’s no secret that the cast and crew of The Hunger Games series is one tight group but Catching Fire brought to light an incredible friendship which grew into a beautiful bromance between the Boy with the Bread himself, Josh Hutcherson, and the Capitol’s darling, Sam Claflin who plays Finnick. These two are clearly #THGBFFs!

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While doing press for Catching Fire, Josh confirmed that he and Sam just “totally hit it off” and bonded through their common interests and similar sense of humor. The guys grew close and have raved about the positive impact each had on the other.

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Then there was that on-screen “kiss!”

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Even leading-lady Jennifer Lawrence has noticed the love between the bros, saying “Thank god for Sam. We added a third person to the "Me and Josh." Very intense. I think we needed a third person. It was nice to see him run off with somebody else."

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“It’s a full-blown bromance, It’s really bromantic and adorable. It’s really cute. It’s annoying, but It’s cute.

One of my favorite moments of the Josh and Sam love-fest was when I (Kelsi) was at the Catching Fire fan camp and got a chance to see this bromance in action on the red carpet.

Settle down for story time, Tributes! Here’s what happened: Sam arrived shortly before Josh. Sam was walking the red carpet, taking pics and signing autographs and being a totally sweet gentleman to fans. Then, he stumbled upon a Peeta fan who had a poster that read “Josh is my Anchor.” Sam read this and proclaimed, “He’s mine, too!” He then stole the poster and held it up for the world to see, posing for the paparazzi and fans to see that he was unashamed of his love for the Hutch! 

Then Josh showed up and was clearly pleased with this public announcement of their bromance. 

 

Josh was nice enough to autograph the sign for the fan who made it, returned it to her, and then he and Sam hugged and lived happily ever after.

Okay, so maybe “happily ever after” is taking a bit too far. But they have remained good friends and serve as an inspiration to THG fans everywhere about how fandom can bring people together and how powerful that fandom bond can be. So thank you, Sam and Josh, for letting us see that you guys are super awesome bros and for reminding us to proudly proclaim the love for our own #THGBFF!

Leave a comment on your favorite Sam and Josh (Jam Hutcherflin) moment! 

Also, don’t forget to enter this week’s #THGBFF giveaway for the #100DaysofMJ through the widget here, and stay tuned as our countdown continues with more fun themes and prizes!

Follow Kelsi on Twitter and Instagram: @kelsilouwho

#THGBFF - Spotlight on Finnick And Mags

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1. a person whom one knows and with whom one has a bond of mutual affection.

During #THGBFF week we've been focusing on friendship. Real life friendships and The Hunger Games cast and characters' friendship. One of my favorite character relationships is the one between Finnick and Mags. Both from District 4 - Mags, a victor from a much earlier hunger games, was Finnick's mentor during the 65th hunger games in which Finnick won at the age of 14. From there, they formed a bond. Mags was like family to Finnick.

Mags volunteered for Finnick's love Annie Cresta in the 75th hunger games. 

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And even though Finnick had a way of being outwardly suave and nonchalant to most people, he loved Mags so much. "She basically raised him," as Haymitch pointed out in Catching Fire. "If he tries to protect her in any way, it exposes him. " and yet, protect Mags he did, carrying her through the arena most of the time.  

"Well, I can't leave Mags behind. She's one of the few people who actually likes me."

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Mags made the ultimate sacrifice in the deadly fog section of the arena, not only for Finnick but for Katniss, Peeta, and the rebellion. Finnick mourned her through the night. 

As Johanna put it after Mags' death,

"She was half his family."

RIP Mags.

 

This week in our 100 Days of Mockingjay celebration it’s all about Hunger Games fandom friendships - our hashtag of the week is #THGBFF. Find out how to participate in our weekly social media activities and enter our weekly giveaway HERE. 

Find Angie on twitter at @Angiepro4.

Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson & Liam Hemsworth Prove They Are The Ultimate THG BFFs

We all know (and love) the special friendship The Hunger Games co-stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth share. Jennifer says of both Josh and Liam,

“They are my best friends. I met my two best friends, Josh and Liam, on these movies."

Here are just 6 of the ways Jennifer, Josh and Liam prove they are the ultimate THG BFFs:

1.They Look Out For Each Other

2. They Impersonate Each Other

3. They Compliment Each Other

4.They Play Together

5. They Mess With Each Other

 

6. They Show Each Other The Love

This week in our "100 Days of Mockingjay" celebration it’s all about Hunger Games fandom friendships - THGBFFs. Read about this week's theme and enter the giveaway here.

Find Lara on twitter @Larrs9325 and get a daily dose of Hunger Games happiness at her @THGPickMeUp.

It's nearly impossible to source all of these beautiful gifs (damn you, internet!!) but we're going to give a shout out to some of our favorite THG gif-makers - some of these must be yours. We hope we didn't inadvertently steal anyone's work. If your gif is here uncredited, please let us know asap! 

papertownsy, lilieaurelie, peetamellarkthebaker, seaquell, 

 mockingday, bandathebillie, toasteed, frostingpeetaswounds, 

 a-world-of-our-very-own, mcavoys

Jennifer Lawrence Tops Forbes Annual Highest Paid Actresses List

Get it, girl! Jennifer Lawrence is #1 on Forbes annual list of the world's highest paid actresses, up from #2 last year. Jen made $52 million pre-tax over 12 months to be the best paid actress–$16.5 million more than second-ranked Scarlett Johansson, who earned $35.5 million.

Just a little girl from Kentucky with a dream.. Congrats, Jen! You certainly deserve it. But drinks are on you this round. 

Show the Love for Your #THGBFF + Enter The Giveaway - 100 Days of Mockingjay Week 2

This week in our 100 Days of Mockingjay celebration it’s all about your Hunger Games fandom friendships - your THG BFFs. Who is your THG BFF? Do you have more than one? A whole crew? Did you meet your significant other in The Hunger Games fandom? Get inspired by reading Kelly’s post about what THG fandom friendships mean HERE.

Within The Hunger Games books and films, there are many meaningful friendships and platonic relationships. Think about Katniss’ relationships with Prim, Rue, Cinna, Effie, Haymitch, Madge, her long-standing friendship with Gale. Katniss says, “I've never been very good at friends.” Yet those friendships help her cope time and time again.

There are a few THG BFFs within The Hunger Games cast too! We all know (and love) the special friendship Jennifer Lawrence, and Josh Hutcherson share. They are about the best thing to happen to any press tour, ever. Jennifer says of both Josh and co-star Liam Hemsworth, “They are my best friends.” And both actors have said the same of her in countless interviews. We'll also be celebrating cast friendships this week. 

This week, show the love for your Hunger Games squad by snapping a photo and posting it with the hashtag #THGBFF and you might see yourselves in one of our #THGBFF galleries across social media.

You can also share your edit, gifset or fanart about The Hunger Games cast or character friendships and tag it #THGBFF. We'll share some of our favorites throughout the week. 

THG BFF Giveaway

Sharing is Caring. This week, one winner will take home a pair of NEW black Mockingjay pins, a pair of Mockingjay Part 2 pins from Comic Con and a pair of Mockingjay earring sets. One to keep, and one set to share with your BFF, obvs.

The giveaway is a RANDOM drawing. You must enter through the widget below to qualify. Sharing on social media isn't required to win or part of the giveaway selection - it's just for fun!

2 Mockingjay Part 2 pins - Comic Con edition

2 Black Mockingjay pins

2 sets of Mockingjay pierced earrings (3 pairs per pkg)

The giveaway is open to international tributes and runs from August 19th until Tuesday, August 25th at 8:00pm EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway  

Fandom Friendships - The "100 Days of Mockingjay" Week 2 Theme - #THGBFF

As we found out last week, The Hunger Games is much more to our fandom than a series of novels or a movie franchise. We were OVERWHELMED, in the best way possible, by the outpouring of emotional, heartfelt, funny and interesting stories we you wrote to us last week on our site and all across social media. Read all about last week’s feature, “Your THG Story” here.

Our fandom is also a place where many of you have created close and lasting bonds with other tributes - your THG BFFs. Kelly Rivera (AKA allhailthehutch on tumblr) introduces you to our "100 Days of MJ" Week 2 feature #THGBFF and what fandom friendships mean to her:

How many of us can say that we've made lasting friendships because of our love for The Hunger Games? We've created unbreakable bonds because of our love for this amazing series. There's always someone to freak out over it. There's always someone to cry with about new trailers or stills. It's your THG BFF.

I've made many friends because of this incredible series, and I want to talk about it a little bit. We only have a few months left, and it's time to really soak in all the important memories.

I met my best friend because of The Hunger Games. I know I can't be the only one one. It's important to have people you can share the love with. That's your THG BFF.

When the last trailer came out, I was busy messaging so many of my THG BFFs, and we were freaking out and YELLING IN ALL CAPS. Those are moments that I will always remember. It's not just the fan moments that make a good friendship. When you have a bad day, they are there for you. It's a special bond that should be cherished.

I've traveled across the country to meet the friends that I've made in The Hunger Games fandom. I've cried with them, laughed with them. We've made the best out of the last few years, and I don't want to see it end. The movies may be ending, but the friendships won't be. We will always have one another and we can share new memories.

I wish I could name all the friends that I've made in The Hunger Games fandom, but I don't want to leave anyone out. You all know who you are. I'm thankful that these books and movies have brought such joy to my life in the way of friendships. Now is the time to appreciate your friends. Tell your stories.

When I've been so low, all my friends were there for me. Sometimes all you have to do is have an in depth talk about Peeta Mellark and why he is the definition of perfect. That's why it's important to have a THG BFF. You need someone in your life who understands what's in your heart.

Cherish the friendships and the memories. Make the most out of this time. We have so much fun stuff coming up in the next few months. I'll be heading to NYC to enjoy the final movie with some of my best friends. I hope that you all get the chance to do the same.

If you are a fan of Josh Hutcherson and you aren't following allhailthehutch on tumblr you're just wrong. You can also kind Kelly on twitter at @kellywithayy.